The Princess and the Blade

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad raised his brows at Atul. "Husband, you're going to make me jealous."

Havitharon didn't breathe. Didn't twitch.

The vampire sighed and looked at his daughter. "He can stay in a secure cell, or accept the cuffs in a private room. You pick."

[Emora Deen]

Tenara scowled. "If he stays in a cell, then I have to stay in a cell near him. Do you really want me sleeping in the dungeon after being gone for months?"

Her mother placed a hand on father's shoulder and shot Poppa a warning look. "I think the cuffs in the private room are going to be fine. There is a spare room down the hall. That should be close enough."

"It's morning..." Tenara said. If they locked Havitharon away in a room, and she walked around with the sword, it would just be dragging him along anyway. Her parents wanted him trapped. They wanted him locked up so he could hurt her or manipulate her or do whatever it is they seemed convinced he could do. They were so focused on this goal they weren't understanding the laws of magic here. She gently took the sword back from her Poppa.

"You could use the rest," her mother said. "We'll spend the day in the family suite and enjoy the quiet of each other's company. Enjoy you being home. Havitharon can enjoy the solitude of his room. Does that work for you? Or must you cling to her?"

[Soran Nightblade]

Havitharon looked at Tenele calmly. He was very, very well rehearsed when it came to masking emotions in front of Yurivis. He was also hyper-conscious of Vlad's grip on the sword.
"About a hundred yards. That's my estimate, before the sword pulls me back. Take it further, and I may end up "clinging", chained or not."

Vlad didn't look thrilled with the man's words, but he shrugged. "Alright, then. Atul, since you're so eager to use our toys on him, want to do the honors?"

[Emora Deen]

Tenara didn't like any of this, but her parents seemed to believe they were protecting her from something. Poppa disappeared in a flurry of blue embers, only to reappear a few moments later carrying a pair of heavy black cuffs. He approached Havitharon and Tenara slid in front of him. "Is this really necessary?"

"Under my roof it is," Atul said. "I won't have something summoned by Arken walking freely. How do we know he wasn't summoned for this? To infiltrate our kingdom and destroy us?"

"Because I'm supposed to be dead," Tenara said, and she felt the room vibrate just a little at her parents' collective anger. "Arken didn't plan this. He doesn't know why he's here because I stole him away."

For a moment, Poppa seemed to consider her words, and then he stepped around her. "These are meant to hold the most powerful of demons. It effectively renders you with mortal strength. You won't be snapping cuffs or breaking doors or... whatever it is you might be able to do." He reached forward to attempt to place them on Havitharon when Tenara grabbed his wrist.

"Tenara..."

"I'll put them on him," she said softly. She took the heavy manacles from her father and turned for Havitharon, holding them out. She glanced up to his strange eyes, mouthing an apology.

[Soran Nightblade]

Havitharon's eyes met hers, looking alien and intense. They followed the line of her arm to the manacles she was holding, but didn't move.

"Cooperate," Vlad said.

The word sent a compulsive shudder through him. Havitharon lifted his wrists and let her put the manacles on. The second they closed over him, something shifted in his chest. He didn't understand what it meant, but somewhere, it was like a valve that should have been running was now shut off. He knew without even trying that if he tried to speak to Tenara's mind, it wouldn't work. Was this what they meant about sealing his strength?

He waited for the second latch to click, and then turned to Tenara's other father, eager to get out of this room and be led to the "privacy" they'd been talking about. He didn't know if he wanted to be there, but he definitely didn't want to be here. "Secure enough?" he asked the man, flexing against the chain to demonstrate that it wasn't going anywhere.

[Emora Deen]

Atul appraised him a second longer before calling for the guards to lead him away. He gave them the instructions of where to place him and how to guard him, and though the guards looked at the alien warily, they did as they were told.

Tenara felt like someone had dropped a brick into her stomach. She wasn’t certain why there was this anxiety in her. It wasn’t like an enemy was leading him away, and she didn’t think her family would hurt him if they knew it would upset her. But she didn’t like seeing him in chains or guards circling him and leading him from the room.

The door closed and she was alone with her family. It should have brought her comfort, and it did in so many ways, but she had a lurking sense of wrongness tangling inside her. She tried to rid herself of it by promising herself she would visit him as soon as she could.

“His name,” her mother’s voice came quietly behind her father. “The one you loved… what was his name?”

Tenara scoffed at the word ‘love’. The scoff melted into confusion, and her mother answered, “I wasn’t asleep the whole time. I heard... Tell us, please, Tenara, so we can protect you. If he knows your vulnerabilities…”

Tenara shifted, waving the question off. “He has changed it, I’m sure.”

“Names are like stains. They linger even if we think we’ve washed them away. Someone will recognize him somewhere. Tell us his name.”

Tenara didn’t understand her reluctance to utter it, or the point. Rami was clever enough to deceive her for five years, he’d be clever enough to hide now that she’d found him once. And what would they do if they found him? Kill him?

Isn’t that what she wanted? To punish him for what he’d done—for the lies, for selling her, for putting her on that ship where gods knew how many men… Tenara felt sick. She turned green and willed the thought away like flinging out her soul.

“Rami Altaran,” she whispered, as if saying it louder would conjure him or them. She was afraid to lift her eyes, afraid the world would melt back into the dark hold of the ship while there was no Havitharon to hold her hand and pull her back out.

——

The guards led Havitharon down bright, sunbathed corridors to an ornate wing of the palace. The people they passed shrunk back against the wall in fear, and along the way other guards seemed to join them, curiously following the being bound in chains and being led to the royal family’s wing.

The room they took him to was large and comfortable, with towering ceilings and heavy pillars holding up the gold-lined vaults. A room off to the side led to a bathroom almost as large as the bedroom itself, with a huge tub sunken into the floor. A large circular bed sat in the center of the bedroom, draped in a fine duvet and satin sheets, a pile of pillows, and a tray containing a wine decanter and glasses. The guards removed it from the room, while another group went to the wide spaces between pillars leading out onto a wide balcony and pulled steel lattice-like doors closed, latching them.

Within minutes, Havitharon was alone in his luxurious prison.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad listened quietly as Tenele and Tenara spoke. When the name came out, he absorbed it like a permanent tattoo in his mind. This was the man who had betrayed his child. The man who had caused this anguish he'd never seen in her before. He exchanged a look with Atul. One of them would need to track and apprehend their daughter's betrayer. The other would need to supervise Atul's sister experimenting with an alien being and a possessed sword. For Vlad, it was obvious which role was more desirable. "My King," he said, words he chose usually when he wanted to defer to Atul's preference. It was only fair; he had had his way last time, when it was a question of which of them would go to find Tenara.

_ - -_ -- _ -- _

Havi waited until he was alone to test the metal again. The chain allowed his arms to spread about 2 feet apart. He took a deep breath and tried to weigh his options. Was it really wise to just sit in this room and leave everything to his captors? Even if they solved Tenara's problem, there was a good chance it wouldn't be a solution that worked in his favor.

What would work in his favor? What good options did he even have? What did he hope would come of all this?

He thought of Tenara, and wondered if she was okay. Of course she was okay... her whole family was here. But she didn't quite seem it. She'd seemed worried, and she had tried to keep him with her.

She'd been protecting him.

The thought loosened something that felt screwed too tight in his chest. It shouldn't have been such a comfort. He couldn't afford to be protected. The fact he needed to rely on anyone was proof of just how out of control his situation had grown. Unlike in his sister's administration, he didn't have leverage here, and he didn't know the rules. He was at their mercy, and that made him... anger wasn't the word for it. Anger almost never came to him; After all, it would do him no good. To survive, he needed to be level. He needed to be smart.

*Tenara.* he tried, once, despite himself.

[Emora Deen]

Atul nodded. “I’ll go.”

Tenara shook her head. “No… it’s not important.”

“He sold you to our enemy, Tenara. It can’t go unpunished.”

“It won’t change anything! I’m home. I’m here. Poppa, please.” Then, Tenara realized why she didn’t want to say Rami’s name or for her family to hunt him down. She could see it in Atul’s eyes. His vengeance was an all-consuming fire that would devour Rami, and he would break and give up everything he knew. They would find the ship. They would find it, the crew, and then they would know.

Her chest felt tight. The air thin. The room began to swim and she wanted out. Back. Away. She wanted the cottage and the distance and the distraction. She wanted Havitharon, because he was just there. He didn’t care about who had hurt her. He didn’t need a quest to burn off his rage and helplessness. He was simply there—begrudgingly and without any choice—listening and keeping her company. Apathetic.

Should that make her sad? It did, she thought, and then again, it didn’t. Not now. Right now, she’d relish a little apathy.

The hardened look burning in Atul’s gaze softened. “Alright. I won’t go.” The hesitation in his voice finished the sentence. Tonight. I won’t go tonight. She knew, deep down, he would be gone in the morning.

Tenara tried to enjoy the time she had with her family, but it was strained. Different. It likely would be different for some time. There was a wound, and she’d made it by doing as Rami had asked and keeping him a secret. By going to him and being taken. By coming back changed, however slightly.

On the way to her room she passed a door where the wall was lined with guards. It must have been where they were keeping Havitharon. She tried to enter and her mother steered her away.

Later that evening, she sat in the awkward quiet of her room, glancing around at all the things that were exactly as they'd been the night she'd left the safety of her home and never returned. It had only been two months, and it felt like a lifetime. She didn't feel like the same person who had sat on this bed before. The room felt too big and too open. There were no windows or doors leading to the balcony, nothing to lock out the outside world. It was open, and the salty sea air blew in, rustling the sheer curtains. She thought about pulling the iron lattice closed, but decided she was being silly.

She was home and safe.

Tenara bathed and curled into her bed. Her mother visited again, as if to just be sure she was home and real. Then, Tenara slept.

She woke in the middle of the night with a gasp, her silk gown damp with sweat. She searched the shadows, clutching the sword at her side and watching for the warped, faceless figures to come out of the dark.

Nothing did.

She stretched out on the bed and tried to sleep again, but the bed was large and the room was foreign. She thought Havitharon must feel the same. Lonely in his unfamiliar room, worried they’d cast him into some dark place.

After a minute more of thinking about it, Tenara drew on a silk robe, took up the sword, and wandered down the hall.

The guards were surprised to see her. One of them eyed her sword and asked, “Come to kill him?”

“No,” she said, going to open the door. He grabbed the knob.

“We were told not to let anyone enter.”

“I’m not anyone.”

“Princess…”

She stared at him until he moved his hand and she opened the door, stepping into the midnight space beyond.

[Soran Nightblade]

Havitharon's sleep was fitful. He couldn't seem to lie still for more than a few minutes before a stray thought or unfamiliar sound would jerk him awake. More than once, he'd called for Tenara in his mind, telling himself it was just an experiment of the effects of the bindings. He turned and clenched his eyes, knowing he'd drift off eventually, even if it wasn't for long.

A knock sounded at the door. He ignored it, pretending to sleep. "Havitharon?" Tenara's gentle voice called from outside.

He sat up immediately. "Come in."

She walked in, wearing a gown of gold silk. "It took me some time to get here."

"They don't want you to see me. You could have waited until morning."

She shook her head sadly. "No, I couldn't. I need to speak with you now."

He frowned at the unsteady look on her face.

"My parents and I discussed our options, and we found a way to separate me from the sword."

An ache he hadn't expected thumped inside him. "Good for you. How?"

Tenara drew the sword out and looked at it, near tears. "I'm sorry. It's the only way I can be free."

Vladimir Dracul stepped in beside her, as if he'd been listening the whole time, cloaked in darkness. He reached out and accepted the sword his daughter handed to him. "We weaken it first." He gripped the blade in both hands and crushed it like fresh bread, twisting it in half.

Havi shot up in bed, grasping his chest. The dream ended, followed by the usual procession of shock and embarrassment. He rested his head in both manacled hands and took a deep breath.

[Emora Deen]

Tenara saw the sharp movement, a shadow rising up against the pale moonlight falling through the diamond-shaped openings in the lattice gates over the balcony entrances. Had he had a bad dream too? She edged towards the bed, but didn't want to startle him, so she called his name gently. "Havitharon."

[Soran Nightblade]

Havitharon went very still, not looking at her. Was he dreaming again? How could he be sure? He slowly curled his fists in his hair and pulled at it. The pressure felt real. But so had being twisted in half. He pulled harder. No. This was real. "Tenara?" he asked carefully, looking at her with his head still between his hands.

[Emora Deen]

"Sorry it took me so long," she said, going to the bed and sitting on the edge. "I tried to talk to you, but... I guess you can't hear me with those on." She nodded to the cuffs on his wrists, wondering why exactly her parents kept them around their personal quarters. She laid the sword on the floor at the bottom of the bed and crawled a little closer towards him. "I had a bad dream, too. I don't think I had a single nightmare when I slept next to you."

[Soran Nightblade]

His hands loosened from his hair and dropped to his lap with a jangle of chainlinks. He released a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. She'd been trying to contact him too. What kind of dream had she had? Should he ask? They didn't usually discuss such things. "Can you stay?" he asked quietly.

[Emora Deen]

Tenara smiled, feeling a sting in her eyes. She felt a knot in her throat at his kindness, his need. "I would like to stay," she said. Tenara shed the robe from her shoulders and slipped down into the bed next to him. She rested her head on one cluster of pillows. "Do you want to talk about your dream?"

[Soran Nightblade]

He lay back slowly, into the arrangement they'd grown comfortable with over the past week and a half. He shook his head slowly. Something told him that if he explained what he'd seen, it would upset her as if it had really happened. "Do you want to talk about yours?"