The Cost of Peace

[Emora Deen]

Tenele took in a breath. She was almost afraid to even answer him. What would he say? What would he do? He'd get himself killed, that's what he'd do. "What?" she asked, acting confused. "No... Don't listen to me. I'm out of my head at the moment." Tenele didn't know what to do. Her heart was beating out of her chest. Vlad was not himself, and what if he forgot that he cared for her. What if he got mad and just ripped her to shreads. If she didn't lie to him, he'd do something and it would be her fault. If she lied ot him he'd be mad at her for no reason. He'd probably be mad with her for being so stupid as to drink something someone gave her.

She was an idiot. She felt like a complete idiot. How could she have been so stupid? She was angry with herself. Verin had been the one to hand her the drink. So, who was the one in the street? Could it have been him? No, he had been at the party. Right? She didn't know. She hadn't been there the whole time. Her eyes flickered back to Vlad, waiting for him to explode. She could take it, right?

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad tightened his hands into fists at his sides. He was almost too stunned to speak. Her fear was making his bloodlust stronger, and she was lying straight to his face. "If all you can do is make up incoherent lies to me, and you're too plastered to even hold on to that stupid pendant, then I'm doing my own thing," he said in a low voice. "I could attack you right now, and you wouldn't even fight back, would you? When they come here looking for me, you should tell them I'm outside your control." He turned away and disappeared.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele watched where he had been standing. His expression burned into her mind. He was angry with her. He had every right to be, she was angry with herself. There was no way to take this back. She couldn't do anything to make it up to him. Telling him the truth would make him angry. Even if she wanted to tell him the truth, she didn't know where to look.

She felt a knot in her throat. It was hard, and she tried to swallow, but her throat was tight. She wished she would have told the truth. Why did she have to lie to him? She fell back flat on the bed, throwing an arm over her eyes. Her heart was still pounding.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad appeared on the roof of a building outside, nearly shaking with anger. He scowled and punched the chimney hard enough to crack it. He had nothing left to look to for support to control himself. Maybe he couldn't be that person anymore. Maybe he wasn't that person, and he'd just been tricked.....dominated. Now he was free. The burning ache in his throat and eyes told him that wasn't true. He really cared about things, about people, about this war. He wanted to go back to Tenele's room, badly enough that he didn't care if she couldn't defend herself. That was when he realized he really couldn't go back. He tried not to taste his growing horror of being out of control, of ruining lives, of starting wars that could destroy millions more lives.

He looked down as footsteps sounded in the street below him. A man was there, looking a little drunk, probably making his way home.

WHY HOLD YOURSELF BACK? THEY'RE ALL YOURS, IF YOU DARE TO TAKE THEM, a voice that Vlad now knew was Verin's boomed in his head.

The drums were getting louder again, like a symphony of chaos drowning out his own thoughts. Vlad clenched his eyes and staggered backward.

YOUR HESITATION IS MEANINGLESS. YOU ARE FREE NOW, FREE TO INDULGE IN YOUR DESIRES

Vlad shook his head, but it was like holding fire to his skin. "That's not what I want, pushy bastard," he choked, falling to a seat against the chimney he'd destroyed. He threw his head back against the break and held his arms over his chest, as if he could literally hold himself back. He began shaking, one of his eyes dipping into an endless black, the other burning fierce, determined fire. He was determined not to leave that spot until he had a plan.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele was fading, she wasn't meaning to. She didn't want to sleep again. If she had even slep that time when everything had gone so black. She felt as if she could remember, but it was sheilded. She remembered someone whispering, what they whispered she didn't know. And image appeared above her, well in her mind she was seeing it through her own eyes of course. It was someone, and as his face became more clearer the door to her room suddenly burst open.

She shot up from the bed so fast her head spun. Two lines of soldiers filed in, and through the middle came Atul, General Gray, and a priest. "Where is he?" Atul asked Tenele, seemingly at odds with himself. She was still sitting in the relative decency of the curtains surounding her bed.

"I don't know," she replied truthfully.

"You should arrest her too, for conspiracy or something," Gray muttered, stepping further into the room.

"She had nothing to do with that," Atul advised.

"So? She's an Ightenian." The Arken commander hissed. "She could have stopped him if she felt like it."

"I was here, sleeping. I got sick." She was full of lies tonight. Why lie? They probably knew she had been drugged.

"Could you step out where we can talk better? I like to see who I'm talking to," the priest hissed, his voice like that of a snake. He wanted to see her, so he could tell if she was lying.

Tenele reluctantly slid from inside the curtain, wrapping a blanket over her shoulders. "He left. You're God did something to him," she spat, unable to control herself.

Gray chuckled. "First you insult my queen, no you insult my God. You do want to start a war. Arrest her."

The guards came forward.

"Wait!" Atul growled. "General, this is my kingdom. You have no authority to give orders to my men. She will not be arrested."

"We'll see what your father says," Gray muttered, narrowing his eyes dangerously on the prince. "Your sympathies lie with the wrong girl. You should be thinking of what he did to your sister."

"I am, but I will not have another innocent person hurt. In the morning, you will come and speak before my father and I. I will not let this trial of peace be altered because of this. I still want to hear you out. Now get out of this room, General, Preist Ranga." They turned to leave, and the soldiers followed. "Your escort is no longer watching over you. I'll put my personal guard at your door. I fear that some people will do anything to keep you from making your point."

Tenele nodded, not really knowing what to say towards his kindness. He was turning to leave. "Thank you," she said quickly.

He smiled. "Your welcome." And he was gone.

* * *

Tenele hadn’t been able to sleep. She had sobered up, but never really considered herself drunk to begin with. No, she had been drugged, and there was a difference. Tenele was not easily effected by alcohol. No matter how tired she was how tired, sleeping could not be an option for her. Vlad was somewhere out there... fuming. Angry, and not entirely himself. Most of that was her fault, the other half Verin’s. She’d love to blame him for everything, but she couldn’t

It was early morning. The sun had barely crested over the horizon, and she drew herself from her morning bath. She had felt dirty, and decided to bathe before presenting herself to right the problems she had created last night. She was slow in getting ready, unable bring herself much motivation.

Her hands combed there way through her wet stringy silver hair. Tenele felt this burning urge to throw something. To hit someone. It was the strongest feeling for violence she had ever felt for something she had done.

She knew she wouldn’t even be able to douse the flames of self-hatred until she found Vlad. She had to make sure he was safe, even if he cared not to see her.

Her green eyes flickered up to the mirror... her skin was warm and bright, her eyes glimmered beautifully, though her glare was something to truly fear. She sat slouched on the edge of her bed, the dark curtains hanging gloomily about her. Even still, despite the darkness of the room her skin seemed to shine.

She was dressed in a few minutes in a pale blue dress. It was standard Queen’s Maiden style. A dress made from many layers of thin fabric. It had a long slit in the side of it, though it was almost impossible to tell. She propped her leg up on the bed, pushing the slit open to where her leg was revealed. She took the dagger sheath and wrapped the strap around her upper thigh. It hung there very snug. Standing straight, smoothing her dress, she grabbed her belt and sheath, pulling to hang loosely around her waist. She combed her hair, and knew it wouldn’t take long before it dried. It never did.

The prince’s personal guard was waiting too escort her when she opened the door, she greeted them as warmly as she could manage in her current mood. They did not return her greeting.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad squinted his bloodshot eyes up at the sun that was growing higher in the sky. He looked uncharacteristically drained and sweaty. He was sitting in the same place against the chimney, arms still wrapped around himself, and he was leaning forward with his chest against his knees. An outside view made him look more like he had a severe stomachache than like he was possessed by a god. Fighting Verin all night had made him exhausted and hungry, but although the god's overwhelming influence over him had become easier to endure once the sun rose, he was still waiting to make sure he could really trust himself to come out of his guarded stance.

Many times in the last several hours, he'd considered praying. But he'd never been devout before, and he hardly believed the goddess of light would bother with a nonpious abomination with a red liquid diet. In the end, there was only one plan that made any sense, though it still wasn't reasonable. At least, he thought, if that one didn't work, it would get him killed. That solved it one way or the other. He leaned forward and slowly stood up, still staring at the sun. He had a strange whim that Verin would have more trouble touching him with the sun in his eyes, but it sounded a little silly, even to him. He thought about going about his task right away, but he needed to eat. He couldn't possibly defeat a god on an empty stomach. And he didn't intend to hunt down civilians. He would do it his way, which meant it was time to go looking for trouble. He began patrolling from rooftop to rooftop, looking for signs of crime. Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of rape or murder at 7 am in the morning. He was a hunter, and he could be patient. He would have to see something by nightfall.

[Emora Deen]

She had been feld well that morning, but hadn't eaten much of what was given to her. Tenele didn't eat much of anything lately it seemed. How she survived she wasn't quite sure. After an hour had passed she was led to the throne room. They opened the doors to reveal a room that had been cleaned and straightened from the night before. There were two lines of soldiers on either side of the walkway leading to the three thrones, and behind those soldiers were nobles curiously watching the loan Ighten woman walked what some considered the path to certain death.

The guards haulted her at least five feet from the thrones. She curtsied in a beautiful manner, bowing her head as she did so. "Rise," the king advised darkly. His plastered smile had faded.

"God king, I'm sorry for what happened last night. Vladimir has been ill. That was very unlike-" He cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"You brought a dangerous creature into my house, one that attacked my lovely daughter."

"I am truly sorry," Tenele whispered, looking down. "Forgive me. I still want to work as hard as I can for peace."

The king looked her over and nodded. "I can see that... Or else you would have left in the dead of night. Most would have feared their heads to be lost. That earns my admiration, Maiden." Maiden... that was how Arken soldiers addressed her kind. This didnt sound good. "General Gray here is protesting your right to speak in my court. He has opted to challenge you to a fight so that you may redeem yourself. If you win, then we will seriously consider making peace with you."

"A fight?" Tenele asked. General Gray just wanted her dead so no peace could be made. Did he actually fear this happening? Did she actually have a chance at winning a peace treaty.

"Afraid?" General Gray asked, stepping out from the crowd.

"Confused, hardly afraid," Tenele replied.

"Do except or forfiet your right to present yourself and your country as worthy of peace?" the king asked, and his plastered smile was back. Why did she get the feeling he was hoping Gray would kill her?

"I except," she said loud and clear for all to here.

"We will convene in the training grounds in thirty minutes," the king announced, rising from his seat.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad cursed under his breath. The day had waxed on, and the trouble that usually found him so well was apparently being coy with him today. He rolled his eyes and looked back at the palace. His artificial blood was still packed in a crate in his quarters. Not only did the thought of week-old, lukewarm blood revolt him, but he wasn't sure his room would be empty. What if it had been guarded, or emptied? He was tired of waiting for things to happen. He needed to do something now so he could stop feeling powerless. He prepared himself for anything and teleported back to the room he'd been assigned at the palace. He could tell with his ears alone that he it was empty, before he even scanned his surroundings to find all his things exactly as he had left them. He went to the crate he wanted and pulled out several large pouches of blood, then carried them into the bathroom and braced himself.

[Emora Deen]

She couldn’t believe that his fool was challenging her for the right to make an agreement of people with the Outlands. She took the belt off and held her sheath with one hand, the hilt with the other.

“Challenging a woman?” Atul asked.

Gray pointed to Tenele. “That is not a woman. Don’t let her pretty dress, or those lovely eyes fool you, good Prince. That is a warrior. Born, bread, bathed in war.”

Tenele sighed, and those around them look at her peculiarly. “I didn’t know we were dishing out compliments. I didn’t come prepared to lie.” Her eyes flickered dangerously and Gray smoldered in his spot. “Let’s get this over with.”

Atul leaned in close. “This is a battle to the death. A duel. That is our custom when challenged.” Atul advised, his eyes a glimmer with worry. He was worried.

“Death has worst luck than I do.” It had too, or he would have caught up with her by now.

“Get back, Prince.” Tenele advised.

Gray must have been a favorer of surprise attacks, because suddenly he was charging. Tenele ducked under his swing just as she was drawing her sword and throwing her sheath aside. He turned in the mili-second afterwards and she met his blow. She had expected his strength, and though it rattled her arms she held fast.

He was relying too much on heavy blows, thinking that he could crush her quickly. Many people underestimated the Queen’s Maidens. They were women. Beautiful, angelic, lithe. But, deadly. Gray was right. She had been born and raised, built for war. She had to be to protect a Queen.

Each maiden had their speciality and Tenele’s was the blade. Her mother had been a Maiden, and had married a soldier and an alchemist. In the end he left her, taking her brother with him before abandoning him too. He had disappeared from the face of the planet, and was better off dead in Tenele’s oppinion.

She had been very little when her mother had gone to Arken on a diplomatic mission to deliver a message to Shea. Her mother had been tortured and beheaded as a sign to Sinead. Her head had been placed at the palace steps. That was a reason that messengers were no longer sent to Arken. That is also a reason Talon was not pleased with her making this mission. What if the same thing happened to her? She was taken in by the Queen, and lived in the palace all her young life. Since she could remember she had been Maiden. She had longed to get vengeance for her mother, part of the reason she and Talon never saw eye to eye.

Tenele had always been scolded by her tutors as having too much fire. It was something she couldn’t get rid of. Maybe it was from her father, her mother had always been described as a regal woman. Her fire is what had kept her alive so long. She was one of the last Maidens. The others were long dead thanks to Shea. The ones living were young still by her standards.

Tenele ducked as he swung, using the fact she was far less bulky than he. She brought her sword with her, slicing into the leather siding to his armor. If he had felt the clean slice he hadn’t let her know. He uttered not a word, just came at her with sudden quick lashes.

Tenele blocked them, twisting with the hilt and angling the blade down. She stabbed into his foot and in that moment of shock, she pulled the sword free roughly and slammed the hilt up into his jaw. He stumbled back, and Tenele stood by cooly, twirling her blade idly. She twisted it so that the blade fell flat across her forearm, and her eyes met the small amount of red liquid that had slid across the metal surface. They glanced up to Gray and she smirked. He could only stare back at her wordlessly.

She stepped forward in one long movement, lunging forward. He quickly brought his sword around with one hand, knocking her attempt off course. She didn’t fight it, instead she used the harsh slam to propel herself in a full spin to come around and attack again. In mid spin though, he redirected his other hand. He punched her roughly just under her ribs.

She sucked in a breath quickly, stumbling away to make sure she could gather her composure enough to face any other attacks. He was on her faster than she expected, and Tenele blocked as fast as she could. There swords locked at the hilt. He angled his blade downward and drew back. It sliced across her shoulder. She hadn’t the time to pause and find out the damage.

He swung around, trying to lop off her head. She ducked and rolled away, trying to get some distance. He followed quickly, a lot faster than he had been earlier. It all happened so fast. She blocked and his boot came up and hit her in the chest. The impact caused her to loose her grip on her sword. She tried to breath, but couldn’t. Her body hit the wall of the arena... he lunged forward. He was going for the killing blow. Tenele slid to the side, grabbed the arm that held his sword and kicked up into his stomach. He took his free hand and brought it across her face. She couldn’t afford to fall down now. She didn’t want to die, and she wasn’t about to. She was falling forward. As much as it would hurt she pushed forward quickly, sending herself into him. They tumbled to the ground and she was fighting to stay on top. He was fighting to whack her away. She reached to her revealed thigh, grabbing the dagger. He thought she was going to stab him, so he went to block his chest. She brought it around and sliced into the arm that held the sword. He cried out, letting it go. She was on her feet, taking his sword with her. She took to steps back, and as he was stumbling to stand she drove his sword forward through his chest.

He coughed, surprise written all over his face. It only to a second for him to slip to the ground. The silence was deafening. She looked around at the Arkenians and Outlanders. “So? The Arken Third Batallion Commander wouldn’t happen to be here, would he?” One and now two down. Why not three? She couldn’t keep up the bravado long. Her knees buckled and she barely caught herself with one arm, suddenly aware of the terrible pain in her shoulder. Blood was seeping down her arm, and she could taste it in her mouth from her burst lip. At least she won. She was alive... and she had earned the right to go before the King for peace. That was all that mattered. She'd been worst. She could handle this.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad had his meal savorlessly, then washed his face and mouth to get rid of the sweat and the vile flavor. Then he stood there, giving his mind time to clear and think. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this tense. A voice outside the door distracted him.

"She actually won!" one of the maids gossipped in the hall, sounding out of breath.

"Over Gray? You're kidding me?"

"Oh yes, I saw it with my own eyes! Don't ask me how long she'll last though, bleeding all over the place like that."

"And you know who they're going to ask to clean it up."

Vlad froze, his keen ears picking up every word. Forget tense, he was outright stressed. He'd planned to avoid Tenele...he should really stick with the plan. Maids had a way of hyperbolizing everything they saw. It was the only entertainment they got. Why in the world would Tenele be fighting Gray? Who else could they possibly mean?

[Emora Deen]

A while later Tenele was being carried towards her room. Carried. It had to be the most annoying thing to her. The only person she had ever been alright with carrying her was Vlad. Even when he had first playfully picked her up she had been vaguely annoyed. It had grown on her, since he had a habbit of doing it.

"Really," Tenele muttered, holding a blood stained cloth to her shoulder. "This is not necessary. I am very capable of walking." Her crystal green eyes looked up to one of the prince's personal guards. He gave her a bland look, as if he were about as happy as she at the moment. "Hey, you could put me down and we'd all be happier."

He was very silent, and just kept walking until he reached her door. Atul ordered him to place her on her feet. She almost lost her balance, but she fought very hard to keep it, reaching out and grabbing the door frame. "Thanks," she coughed out. Her chest was a bit sore from having a giant boot try and crush her ribs in.

"Bring me a bag of medical supplies," the prince said, and urged Tenele into the room.

"I can do this on my own," she protested. She really hated people looking over her like she was a child. "Go get that bag and I'll do it myself."

The prince narrowed his eyes. "I'll do it."

"Why?" It was a legitamite question. He was a prince. Why would he soil his hands with her blood?

"Because I don't trust anyone else in this palace to do it." He was being honest.

"I'll be fine. I've had worst," she reassured him, well at least tried. "Besides, I don't have time to rest. I have to find Vlad."

The prince was very silent for a moment. "I'll get that bag," he said, as if he wanted to hurry this along. Did he too want to find Vlad? And if so... for what reason?

When he left Tenele immediatly went into the wash room and dipped a rag in some cold water. She loosened the neck of her dress to where it hung off her wounded shoulder, hissing. That hurt. The gash was deep, and definitely needed stitching. She sighed, squeezing the rag over the wound and watching blood and water pore out over her skin and stain her dress more. She had a nice light bruise just to the left of her cin, a red gash on her lip. She knew she had to have a nice dark bruise where had given her a kidney shot... Her chest hurt like it was on fire, so that couldn't be good. Over all, she would say she had fared very well. Better than dead.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad had teleported to a dark corner of the room downstairs and seen Tenele's condition. It took composure, but he only watched, carefully ensuring that no harm came to her as they slowly guided her up the stairs. He ultimately ported just outside her window, where he could hear what was happening in the room. The smell of her blood was acute, and he knew it wasn't a good idea for him to stay. But he wanted to be sure about the wound. Oddly, he found that he had a certain amount of confidence in Prince Atul tending to her wound. At the same time, it made Vlad hate him a little bit for being the one who could be at her side and look at her blood without thinking about how it would taste. He waited for some clue as to what had happened. If Tenele was under Atul's protection, then things must not have gotten too much worse diplomatically. Of course not, she's not me, he thought bitterly. That still didn't explain why she would be able to kill an Arkenian ambassador without punishment.

[Emora Deen]

Atul was at the door to her bathroom, and she hadn't even heard him walk into her bed room. He was watching her clean the wound with water, and she idly saw a form with dark hair out of the corner of her eyes. She half-hoped to see Vlad, but deep down she knew he probably wouldn't be there. It still startled her, none the less.

"Have a seat," he advised. "You might want to turn around and lower your dress top."

"Doesn't this go against some code of modesty?" she muttered, taking a seat on one of the benches in the washroom. She reached behind her and pulled several more strings loose with one hand. Atul kept his eyes away until she had adjusted the fabric to where she gathered it around the front. Holding it in one bloody wet mess at her chest.

"Modesty doesn't come into play win treating battle wounds," he muttered. He didn't warn her, he quickly pored clear liquid into the gash. It fizzled and hissed, and Tenele made a soft sound, clenching her teeth shut. "You are worried about him?"

"He's my escort, why not?"

Atul was quiet as he pored a little bit more of the liquid into her wound. "You are more than that. I can see the way you look at him." She blinked, glancing into the mirror so she could see the reflection of his face. She was surprised. "I used to look at someone that way, as well."

"Used too?" she asked.

"She died," Atul whispered, bending and reaching for a black cored and a long curved needle. "Can you handle me stitching it?"

Tenele thought for a moment, gripping the dress a bit tighter. "Sure," she replied. "I'm sorry to here about your... eh, princess."

"She wasn't a princess. A peasant, in fact," Atul confided. He began stitching her, and Tenele just tried her best not to call out very loudly. Instead, she bit down on her own teeth as hard as she could. "Royalty and nobility are saved from being sacrificed to Verin... But, the commoners are intered into lotteries... That's how they choose who goes to the chopping block, or is burned, or drowned. Whatever the given sacrificial way it is for the year. This is the year of fire... Ellea was pulled in the lottery. I tried to do what I could, but once a sacrifice is chosen, no one dare defies a God. I can't defy him..."

"She was sacrificed?" Tenele breathed out in a hiss.

"Yes," Atul muttered, nodding gently as he began to work the stitching in middle way. "It was then that my eyes were open to what was happening around me, and the cruelty of what we are doing."

"I'm sorry," she told him.

"Its fine. Its in the past. I have to move on, my kingdom needs me too." They sat in silence as he worked through the stitching. Silence for the most part, Tenele often couldn't keep her mouth shut. Atul continuously apologiesed at those moments.

"So what is it your father wants for peace?"

Atul narrowed his eyes, seemingly ignoring her question as he finished up the stitching. "We do anything for the sake of our people." That bothered her, just that once sentence. He cut the string, and pored the liquid over it once more. "Would you like to try and wrap this around it?" He held up white gause. "I could do it, but..."

"Er... I'll do it. Just, go tell everyone I'm not dying. Crushing there hopes will be fun." Atul left her alone.

She knew that Atul would be back soon, so Tenele hurriedly crossed the distance of her room. She needed to change her clothes. There was too much for her to do, and staying around her room resting from blood lost. She had to find Vlad, she had to make peace with an enemy kingdom, and she had to stop whatever Verin was up too. Her eyes drifted to the broken glass from the night before. The room was disaster with clothes, broken glass and water, and now blood.

Her eyes stared at that broken glass, and at the curtains outside to where the balcony was. No windows, just curtains.... They tossed in the wind. She knelt down and lifted a piece of glass up in her fingers. “What are you up to Verin...” she muttered. “What did you do?” Probably nothing. Probably just made it look like something to get Vlad all pissed off to where he went and did something... She shook her head. That seemed like a really pathetic thing to do for a God. No, there had to be something else. Right?

She didn’t have long. She let the dress fall from her, and already could feel with her hand the whelp growing on her skin where he had punched her. Her chest was red, and bruising. Damn men and there big feet. ‘No need to wear a dress,’ she thought. ‘I might just ruin it in a fight.’

She pulled a pair of brown pants on. She quickly took the gauze bandage and began wrapping it up and over her shoulder, and around her chest to keep it secure. Over that she pulled a white shirt, which she tucked into her snug pants. She pulled leather arm guards over the long sleeves, buttoning them up to her elbow on either side. She pulled her brown knee-high boots on, lacing them up tightly so they wouldn’t come lose. Her sword was being brought to her, they hadn’t let her bring it with her since she was wounded. Though, Atul seemed the only one concerned with that. She stood up from lacing her boots and suddenly her head was swimming. She needed to take it easy, but would recover on her feet.

Her feet didn’t want to cooperate with her. She hadn’t slept all night, had barely eaten. She was worried, but not showing. Fearful, but couldn’t afford to reveal it. This was her duty, her job, and she’d do it right. She had to do it right. Ighten was counting on her. Her Queen was counting on her. And she’d like to think that Vlad was counting on her too, but that just seemed to add to the anxiety. She fell back on her rump, her back pressed against the bed, once again facing the mirror. Her eyes were as bright as ever, and her skin shined despite the dull color. She tilted her head, her silver hair falling over her shoulder. Her vision clouded with a memory, as if it were invading her mind. It was dark, she was staring up at someone moving over her. She couldn’t see who it was. It was too dark. The light barely hit the cantors of his face. He was whispering something. What was he whispering.

It seemed like gibberish and basic all at once. Maybe more than one person speaking at the same time? No, it sounded like the exact same voice all at once. What was he saying? What was he doing? She held her head in her hands, trying to think harder. Why was she going so insane? What was she wanting to remember? The door swung open, the movement caught her attention. Atul was standing in the doorway, holding her sword and sheath in his hand.

“Something wrong?” he asked.

Tenele watched him as he stepped into the room, she twisted, using the bed to help herself up. “No,” she told him, reaching out for her weapon. She wrapped the belt around her waist, fastening it. “Everything is fine.”

His dark eyes glowered, and she wondered just how bad of a liar she really was. She could understand if Vlad could hear her heart beat every time she lied, but this guy could tell just by looking at her. “Are you ready?”

“Your court isn’t wanting a lady to rest after such a grueling battle?”

Atul chuckled, his eyes twinkling. “You have earned their respect, Lady Raider. As well as redeemed your place to speak before our king for peace. They are thinking that if you could take a well trained Arken soldier, than you can surely endure a few more minutes of diplomacy.”

“Honestly, I’d take a battle over diplomacy any day. And you people must have never heard of a Queen’s Maiden.” Placing a hand on her sword’s hilt in a relaxing gesture, she smiled at him. “Let’s go your highness”

He didn’t smile. It was as if he suddenly remembered something, and he just turned and led her out of the room.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad smiled slightly as he overheard the exchange inside. She was so stubborn, and fiercely strong, and crazy. So she'd killed Grey for a chance at the King's ear. He regretted not seeing that.

Verin could wait until afterwards. Although it was a risk, he knew Tenele needed the extra security if things went badly. He had to hope Verin wouldn't try any new tricks while he was lurking in the room with Tenele and the royal family.

Five minutes later, he was very inconspicuously perched atop a huge statue that stood in the corner of the King's throne room. The statue happened to be a near-nude rendering of the god of darkness. Vlad let his razor nails carve ridges into the back of Verin's head as he waited for the King to speak. Tenele was led in, with Atul at her side.

A brief noise of protest came from among the king's advisors, who sat in groups at the sides of the room, but the king silenced them by standing up and clearing his throat. Standing at the top of his pulpit, with 5 stairs separating him from the carpeted floor where Tenele had been led, it was very clear that he believed himself the boss, and that belief was probably justified.

"Lady Raider, you have won the right of discussing politics with me here in this room. I have promised you my time, but not my cooperation. You are tired, and I am as well. Let us get to the point here. Arken has been our ally these many years, and their friendship has been of great value to us. Many important trade ties and sensitive military pacts exist between us. For what reason would I possibly find it in my interest to disrupt such an alignment?" he demanded.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele stood before the King, and she stared at him with her green eyes. He spoke to her as if there was something hiding in his words, something else he wanted to say. He was waiting. There had to be more to this. Atul had seemed like he was troubled by something that would happen.

Next to the king was Lalana, and Atul went to take his place by his side. Next to them was a group of priests, hands clasped and heads bowed.

"King," she replied, leaving out the good. "I think you never had the intention of letting me speak before you. You brought me here because there is something you want. No matter how I proclaim the wonders of my home, or the good of the Ighten people, you will deny me, won't you?"

The Maharaja stared at her blankely and smirked. "Try?"

Tenele narrowd her eyes. This was all a game to them. She glanced around, her eyes finding each and every noble adviser, priest, and royalty. "Shea relies on intimdation and darkness. She oppresses people that could otherwise strive to be better than what they are. We distorts and controls because she has this sick dream of rulling Heirot. We, the people of Ighten, have been trying to keep the darkness at by. A darkness, I might add, that you swim so loveingly with. There is nothing I could say, and I realize that now. Standing here, before you and the eyes of your dark God, I am doing nothing but being a fool. You had something in mind this whole time. You will never break your ties with a kingdom that is as corrupt as you."

"You are correct," he said cooly. "We will never break our ties with Arken. But, we will consider peace with Ighten. I want to unite our kingdoms, as one. If your Queen will agree to this agreement, her people will be spared. They will keep their lands, their livelyhoods, and most of all their lives. They will be protected from Arken forever."

"What is it you are asking?" Tenele asked hollowly.

"That you, as the supposed heir, wed my son, Atul... and the Queen steps down. Leaving her kingdom to you and my son."

"That's not peace. That's manipulated surrender!" Tenele argued, stepping forward. Atul lowered his head, he did not meet her eyes.

"It will mean that your people will not suffer needlessly! You, a Queen's Maiden, should want to put your people first. Your Queen should care more about their lives than her throne!" the Maharaja hissed.

Tenele's heart was pounding in her chest. "This is ridiculous... Sinead will not agree to this!" Marry? What? This was crazy...

"Then her people will die. The villages will burn. Do you honestly think that Ighten can fight both of us? Ongoreth is already lost," he explained. "You are a strong woman, and have proven yourself worthy to bare my sons children"

"Children?!!" Suddenly there was short preist next to her. She hadn't even noticed him until his hand rested on her belly. "Get your grubby hands off me!" She slapped his hand away, taking a step back. He bowed repeatedly, retreating towards the priests to snicker about something. "Atul, can you honestly be listening to this madness?!"

Atul looked at her very seriously. "We do anything for our people."

"You won't us to basically surrender!" Tenele took several steps forward, her hand tightening around the hilt of her sword. She was so angry she could barely think of the words. "I will not surrender my Queen's kingdom to you."

"I suggest you ask her," he mutterd. "Maybe to just make sure she wants her people to suffer." He chuckled. "They truely are sisters. Both equally cruel to their commoners. The nobles will sell her out once they here of this. Chaos will break out in your kingdom. This is the only way to make the transition go smoothly."

"And what if they would have sent a man, would you have married off your daughter?" Tenele asked angrily.

"We knew exactly who she'd send. Mighty Verin told us-"

"Oh, Mighty Verin can kiss my ass!" Tenele growled. Everyone was immediatly silent. "You people are slaves to a power hungry God, one that plays with your lives like chess peices. You are nothing but a form of entertainment. Grow a pair and disown him!"

The king rose quickly, pointing to her. "Do you accept or not?!"

"I can't make this decision! I am not Queen! I need to consult her. Is there a way I can do that?" Tenele's mind was spinning and she couldn't tell if it was from the blood lost or the fact that she felt like she was slowly but surely being chained to these people. The short grubby priest went to his King and began to whisper in his ear. Would Sinead agree to such a ghastly offer to keep her people from being mutilated and murdered? Sinead would fight with every ounce of her strength... Wouldn't she?