A/N: Okay, chapter 2 of "Betrothed"! I've gotten some great reviews on the first chapter, and some really good advice. I won't reply to reviews seperately on here, but I'll click on the button below a review that says I can reply to it. I'm pretty sure it sends it as an e-mail when I do that. I haven't tried it yet, though.
Well, thanks everyone for the encouragement! It means a lot. And to know that my story is original - as far as we know as of yet, that is - is GREAT!
IMPORTANT: Just wondering, is there much said about the Arbiter's past or the customs of the Covenant and the different species within? If so, I need to do some research (or you could just tell me, that'd be great! PLEASE!). If not, I guess I'll be using creative license. I've already used a little bit in this chapter, so bear with me, please.
ENJOY!
and
REVIEW!
AN2(04/07/09): Not much to say here. Just proofing and getting rid of all the little mistakes that have been bugging me. You'll notice a character change - Arby's friend is no longer an OC, but has been replaced by the canonical Zhar. It seemed appropriate.
2
Meeting
Sonya sat on the edge of her bed, slouched over a camouflage outfit clutched in her slender fingers. For a moment, she wondered why the rough fabric seemed to be shaking, but after wiping the flood of salty tears out of her eyes, realized it was the reaction from her own trembling hands. Garbed in khaki pants and a simple white tee-shirt, the young soldier let fall the blinding liquid that escaped through her eyes, watching as it soaked into the scratchy material and faded away; leaving that godforsaken ship without so much as a fleeting thought - much like her sanity.
Her life had fallen apart. She had nothing left to live for, unless foolish duty counted for something. She would rather die then face the hell she was bound to go through. The only thing stopping her was her Uncle, Jonas, and even he was having a hard time keeping her loyalty in tact.
Four nights ago, she had considered suicide for the very first time in her life.
Four nights ago, her world had crumbled.
Four nights ago, a living nightmare had replaced the life she had been living.
Four nights ago, she had been betrothed.
-
- "So...who's the 'lucky' soldier?" She put a sarcastic emphasis on the word 'lucky', making sure her frustration was very evident. Looking from each other, to the girl, back to each other, the captain and Master Chief rested their eyes on her and let out a long sigh before the white-haired man answered. "You." "W-wha-" "Now, Sonya," broke in the commander before she could get another word out. "Please, don't go ballistic." "Y-you're joking, right?" The smallest bit of hope could easily be detected in her voice. It was destroyed soon. "No," came the gruff voice of the Master Chief. "This is very serious. You're our last hope, soldier." Oh, how he hated to say those words! He would have given anything just to be able to infiltrate the Covenant base and blow up everything that moved inside, but things weren't that easy. "Why me!" she yelled, her face pale and her eyes as round as the moon. "Many reasons," explained the white-haired man, a look close to sympathy - but not quite - plastered on his features. "Firstly, you're the only female in this squadron, which happens to be the closest to their main base. They requested -" A cough, coming from Master Chief, sounded beside him. " - demanded - someone to be ready within four days." "I don't care if I'm the only female in the whole blasted army! Find a gay soldier, for all I care! I'm sure they can't tell the difference!" She was panting heavily from her outburst, which gave the man enough time to continue. "Secondly, you're one of twenty humans - and the only female one, I might add - who can speak their language." "Why should that even matter?" Sonya began again, slapping a hand against her brow. "That's what translators are for!" She gave the man a look just screaming of the word 'duh'. This time Master Chief broke in, the reflection off his visor giving her a small taste of how wild she looked at the moment. "Because, soldier, they have demanded something else. You are not to be wearing any of your equipment onto their ships. You'll be going as a civilian. Her eyes got wider - if that were even possible - and her mouth gaped open as she uttered one despairing word: "C-civilian...?" "I know this must be hard for you..." the commander began, but the rest of his words fell on deaf ears.
No, she thought. You have no idea how hard this is for me. You've just condemned me to a life with my most hated enemy. You're making me wed a disgusting animal. You will never know how hard this is for me.
-
-
Sonya smiled grimly as she stared at her shabby reflection in the mirror. Hair seemed to jut out in all directions from her head. Her face was red and splotchy, and her eyes were puffed up from crying.
Crying! she thought incredulously.
She was never one to cry. It was a weakness, in her opinion. The last time she had cried was when she had had to leave Jonas to go to military training. And before that...
Fresh tears appeared in her eyes as that horrid image of her parent's mangled and twisted bodies flashed through her mind.
They shouldn't have died like that!
It just wasn't fair!
And because she was forced to witness it, her last memory of them was a disgusting one.
When she thought of her mother, she didn't see her smiling gray eyes, light auburn hair, or a cheery grin. She didn't remember the smell of freshly baked cookies wafting out of the kitchen after coming home from a hard days work at school. She couldn't hear her soft, sweet voice, singing her to sleep on stormy nights when the lightning and thunder proved too much for her young nerves.
Instead, she saw a bloodied half of a face, the other blasted off somewhere in another corner of the room, bone poking out at odd angles. The flesh - or, that which remained - was either a deathly pale, or a sickeningly charred black. Her hair was strung up against the rafters, holding her body in mid-air and keeping her from falling into a small pile of broken glass. Brain fluid seeped out from where her skull was cracked open by God knew what, and blood dripped lazily down the side of her neck onto the previously white carpet below.
Sonya shuddered, her mind wandering towards what had happened to the rest of her body.
Fingers twisted every which way, white bones sticking out, but that wasn't even the worst part...
"Sonya?"
A knock sounded at the door, making the soldier sigh in relief at having her train of thought broken.
"Yes?"
"The commander wants you at the loading docks in ten minutes for the arrival of the Covenant ship. He also said something about you dolling up...?" the unidentified voice wavered slightly, and Sonya could just feel the smirk coming off of his face.
"Get out," she growled and was rewarded with the sound of quickly retreating footsteps.
Kicking the camouflage uniform she had unknowingly dropped in the floor under the bed, Sonya shuffled over towards her dressing room to further evaluate her appearance.
She brushed her fingers through her hair, rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and forced herself to calm down to reduce the red splotches on her face, yet no matter what she tried, nothing could cure the cold and distant look engraved in her gaze.
The soldier walked out the door as she was, her last thought before crossing the threshold between reality and nightmare being: To hell with the commander; I wear make up for no monster.
-
-
Jet black eyes scanned the vast reaches of space, watching as the millions and billions of tiny suns - stars - floated by at an alarming pace. Ever since his encounter with the Prophets four days ago, everything had seemed like a dream to the Arbiter.
Mated to a human...
The Elite shook his head and growled deep in his throat, startling a Grunt that had happened to walk by at that moment.
Disgraceful, his thoughts recommenced as the trembling little beast flitted away.
Dark eyes scanned around the control room, taking in the familiar surroundings of the Covenant ship he would soon leave.
And when I return...
Once again his head nodded from side-to-side and he slit his eyes, thinking of the weakling human he would have to accommodate.
How shall I bed her? The thought, making the Arbiter's eyes widen in shock, came of its own accord, and he immediately regretted imagining such a thing.
But he couldn't help but wonder! Would she be like an Elite female? And, if not, how could he...?
Shivering, the Elite grunted and tried to think of anything - anything - but that.
He thought of his homeland and wondered, for the very first time in his life, if he would ever get to see it again. If the war ended, he might be able to return to his own planet. Granted, he had no family there, but just to breathe in his native air would be a blessing! Would the female join him?
No, no! he yelled inside his head, jerking towards the left to look out a window facing a strange cluster of stars. I will die before I let such disgusting filth lay one foot on my planet.
With that resolution, the Arbiter gave his reflection from the window a curt nod, as if confirming to himself his intentions.
"I wonder what it will look like," he whispered to himself, thinking of the primitive monkey he was soon to meet.
"I heard she's quite striking," answered an unexpected voice from behind, causing the Arbiter to spin around and smack straight into a wall.
The wall turned out to be his exceptionally tall friend, Zhar.
The elite before him turned up his mandibles in what could only be described as a sneer, though in truth the action was much more friendly.
"Zhar!" the Arbiter stated in surprise, eyeing the Elite's shining silver armor. "I didn't realize you were aboard this ship!"
"And I didn't realize you were the one Claiming the human!" replied his friend, the 'sneer' still on his face.
Snarling deeply, the Arbiter slit his eyes dangerously and turned his back towards the other.
"Not Claiming, friend." he spoke bitterly. "Betrothed."
Rolling his eyes, the silver-armored Elite stepped in front of his friend, studying his form from large black hooves, to onyx colored breastplate, to the unnaturally dull ebony eyes.
"Friend, what is wrong?"
The black-clad Elite gave Zhar an incredulous look, his lower mandibles nearly gaping open in surprise.
"Are you blind? I'm being forced to mate with a dirty, filthy, primitive beast! And you're asking me what's wrong?"
The once dull eyes flared into a fire of fury.
Good, the other thought grimly to himself. At least he's back to his old self.
Holding up his hands, Zhar replied.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on their, friend! I meant no harm."
Moments passed with the ebony-armored Elite staring down at his friend with cold, black eyes. Slowly the eyes softened, and the Arbiter let out a sigh-like sound, shaking his head and taking a few steps back.
No harm, indeed, he thought, watching as Zhar took careful strides towards the window.
Watching absently as the millions of stars floated by, the silver Elite folded his large, clawed hands behind his back and glanced over towards the other.
Coming to stand by him, the Arbiter leaned against the glass-like material and stared out at the growing human ship, War Monger.
"Tell me," he spoke resignedly, "of this human."
Zhar grinned, but avoided eye contact as he spoke.
"She's plain, in human standards. Light brown hair, tanned features from military training."
Glancing at the Arbiter, the Elite continued.
"But...they say her...eyes..."
"Eyes?" The Arbiter questioned after his friend failed to continue.
"Golden. Or, probably more likely, amber."
"Strange."
"Quite."
Most Elite's had black eyes or, in rarer cases, gray. Human's, they had found, had varying eye colors such as green, brown, or even blue. Those were common among their species. But golden was different.
The human ship was rapidly growing in size, now. Groups of Grunts were chattering at each other in their native tongue, the Arbiter only able to catch a few phrases.
"Prepare for docking," one yelled.
"Human ship coming up," another one shouted from behind.
"Shields down!"
"Get ready!"
"Arbiter," spoke Zhar, noting how his friend tensed with every spoken word.
Like a tight spring itching to uncoil, the Elite snapped back.
"What!"
A few moment's silence, broken by a ragged breath or two, then the other Elite spoke again.
"Go to the door. We're landing in a few minutes." His manner was very civil - almost cold - towards the troubled alien, yet the Arbiter consented with a nod of his head.
Before he left, as the door was closing behind him, the ebony-armored Elite heard the distinct sound of Zhar's voice drifting over the noise to reach his ears.
"Don't give up," he called sadly.
Unbeknownst to him, that time was soon to come.
-
-
Sitting ominously before her was the sleek purple ship which carried her fate; the engines - or, at least, she assumed them to be as such - pulsating a strange, eerie blue light before fading completely.
Before she had time to gather her thoughts, Sonya watched as a smooth piece of the alien craft slowly lowered from the adjoining material. It touched ground, and for a moment the image went blurry.
Hopes raised, she expected the thing to dematerialize before her, like in a dream, but soon realized it was her own eyes getting watery.
Wiping her tears furiously, the soldier looked back up, clenching her jaw to keep herself strong.
A large, yawning hole seemed to have replaced the door, and a blinding white light shot out of said hole. It would have been appropriate for smoke to billow out of that gaping entrance like the gates to hell.
Instead, two silhouettes appeared and began to slowly make their descent.
First, two sets of large, hoof-like feet broke away from the light, becoming visible to the dozen or so employees watching the display. Then armor-plated legs and armor-plated bodies. After what seemed like years of tension, the heads came into view, and Sonya nearly collapsed with disbelief.
They were even uglier up close!
I have to get away, she thought desperately, flicking her eyes around the room looking for an escape.
The commander of War Monger seemed to read her mind, and instinctively placed a tight grip on her arm, keeping her in place.
Trapped!
The two alien monsters glanced her way, causing the girl to shiver. Those dark, black eyes sliced right through her body and probed her soul, taunting her with her own fears. Ugly four-part mouth's hung slightly open, revealing row upon row of sharp, rigged teeth.
This was it. She would die, she knew it. Her life was to be given to these disgusting, blood-thirsty monsters like some living sacrifice to a sick pagan god.
There was no way the humans could win this war.
And she was the deciding factor in whether or not they survived.
Humanity rested on her shoulders.
Mankind was counting on her.
Did she really have any choice?
Hell yeah!
To hell with humanity!
She could care less!
She was about to make another attempt at escape when a thought stopped her.
How could she abandon her Uncle Jonas?
He was everything to her. He loved and cared for her; raised her, clothed her, fed her! She couldn't single-handedly destroy mankind's hopes and dreams.
Well, not with him still alive, at least.
Nearly about to collapse from this mental battle, Sonya looked up once again to find two more Elite's coming out behind the first two. One - armored in red - was apparently the commander of their ship. The other...
He was something the soldier had never seen before.
Onyx-colored armor to match the inky black expanse of space covered him from head to toe, wispy silver spikes and swirls etched on the breastplate and helmet; small, jagged metal-like armor jutted out of four tiny strips that covered his four mouth parts.
He carried himself with an air of regality and... danger.
Spine turning to ice, Sonya couldn't help but shudder upon seeing such a magnificently terrifying beast.
They were all monsters, but this one seemed exceptionally fierce.
Following her gaze, the commander let go of her arm and leaned towards her to whisper in her ear while the Elites were conversing.
"Watch your tongue around them," he said first in a harsh tone. Then, more softly, "That's the one. In the black armor. That's your..."
He didn't have to finish that sentence.
Sonya gave him a death glare warning him not to.
And, besides, the Covenant scum had turned to face them.
"Commander Donald?" the red Elite spoke in English, his tones ruff and gravelly and his accent very strange. His annoyance at his inability to speak the human language was painfully apparent, as a fierce scowl was permanently etched onto his face.
Nodding, the commander took a step forward, motioning for Sonya to follow behind him.
The soldier followed her orders and kept her eyes to the ground so she wouldn't have to look at the disgusting monsters a mere few feet away.
Two hooves occupied half of her view as she listened half-heartedly to the commander speaking negotiations with the Elite.
Two more hooves appeared after a few minutes, and - with painstakingly slow caution - Sonya lifted her head to stare into the dark black eyes of her - she shuddered to think about it - mate-to-be.
"Sonya," barked the commander suddenly, causing the girl to jump with surprise. Shakily she lifted her face to meet the stern - if sympathetic - glare of the white-haired man.
"Go with him -" he jerked his head in the direction of the Arbiter. "Over there -" this time tossing it towards a secluded corner of the room. "And talk for a while. Me and Jor 'Nalee," he stumbled over the foreign name, unknowingly giving it a heavy, clumsy sound. "Need to discuss some matters."
"C-commander..." Sonya began to protest, but one sharp glare from her superior cut her short. "Come on," she said resignedly, hanging her head and trudging towards the instructed corner.
The thump, thump, thump of large footsteps behind her reminded the girl of the beast following her every move, like a shadow.
Slitting his eyes, the Arbiter studied the girl's back carefully, watching the tiny trembling movements her hands made, the tense shoulders, how her strange-colored light brown hair waved gently with ever step she took; how her shoulders slumped forward slightly and her head hung in the most pitiful manner.
He watched as she stopped, turning around so slowly he wondered if she ever meant to face him; looked at the shocking amber eyes and was stunned by their depth for a moment; held her gaze for a moment longer and saw the endless grief, pain, and sorrow buried in those magnificent orbs.
Sonya, in turn, studied him with a guarded gaze, shuddering ever so slightly at the imposing form. Oh, how her fingers itched for a gun - any gun! - at that moment. She had only stood this close to a Covenant Elite once in the war, and had blown it's head off two seconds afterwards. To be so close to danger with no weapon, no armor, no shield, and no means of protection or self defense made the soldier even more afraid of the monster than she should have been.
He was tall, easily three feet above her, but his neck was curved downward, making him a little less imposing.
Looking into it's eyes, Sonya could tell it was brimming with questions and aching for answers.
But, Lord knew, she wasn't going to be the first to talk!
So a few moments awkward silence settled upon the human and alien. The commanders of both human and alien ships could be heard droning on about something or other.
Letting out a large breath, the Arbiter flicked his gaze around War Monger, studying the hanger with a frightening intensity.
"Planning for an ambush?" she mumbled incoherently under her breath, her own strange eyes watching the beast before her carefully.
"If I wanted you dead, you would be dead already," replied the Elite with a smirk, watching as the human girl's eyes widened in shock and her brows creased in frustration.
"B-but how did you - ?"
"I do have ears, you know," he answered, his voice laced with sarcasm. "They're just not jutting out of my head like those flabby pieces of flesh on your face."
"I'd rather have flesh than your slimy, scaly hide." Her nose wrinkled at the thought and she shuddered visibly, shaking her head.
Slitting his eyes, the Arbiter took a step forward and let out a deep chuckle as the soldier stumbled backwards.
"Scared, human?"
Gripping the railing she had backed into so hard her fist turned white, Sonya shook her head.
"Never, monster."
In one quick movement, the Elite latched onto the girl's arms with both his slender claws - the pressure hard enough to hurt, but not strong enough to break the skin - and pulled her about a foot away from his tall, lanky chest. His head was arched above her, and he inhaled deeply, ruffling the hair atop her head.
Sonya shook, her eyes forced closed and her jaw clenched to prevent her teeth from chattering.
The Arbiter felt her shake.
"I can smell your fear."
Shouting out weakly, the girl wrenched herself free from the Covenant alien's grip and slid back against the rail a little ways.
"Stay away from me, monster," she stated flatly, the look in her eyes wild and determined.
Idiot! The Arbiter wanted to yell at her. We're to be mated!
But, even after these few days, the thought chilled him to the bone, and he wasn't about to bring that horrid image up again.
Instead, he resigned himself to make the best of this situation, and it would do no good to frighten the primate he was married to into a shell of a woman.
"Human," he answered as calmly as he could.
Sonya was shocked to hear the steel and ice in his voice completely dissipate. Her mind was screaming to her that it was a trap, but she unconsciously took a step forward.
Still tense, the Arbiter noted absentmindedly as the girl moved closer towards his imposing form. But brave, nonetheless.
Standing before an enemy, completely outmatched?
It was either very courageous, or very stupid.
Or forced upon oneself.
"What..." He paused for a moment, looking deep into her breathtaking eyes filled with utter misery. Something in them had sparked, and he knew it to have been a resolution.
She was determined to do something, he just didn't know what that was yet.
"What shall I call you," he finished.
Slightly shocked, Sonya reconsidered the thought she had just had of completely ignoring the monster and began to think more along the lines of a shaky, mutual peace.
After all, he was being forced to wed her, too, wasn't he?
"S-Sonya," she answered with unease. "Sonya Dable."
He snorted and turned slightly, satisfied with her answer.
After concluding that that was all he would say, the soldier posed her own question.
"And...what will I call you?"
"I am the Arbiter."
"Is that your name?"
"No."
Noticing her confused look, the Elite shook his head and turned towards the girl once again.
"I have no name."
He spoke as if that would explain things, but it only confused Sonya even more.
"Why? Are the Covenant not given names?"
He growled and slit his eyes, angry at her stupidity. He was about to explain that the Covenant was not a race, but more like an army which has many races recruited into it. That, technically, the Covenant did not give names, but each kind is dubbed according to the name given by their parents. In the aspect of naming their offspring, at least, both humans and aliens were alike.
But a vision of himself standing before the Prophets, accused of treason for giving the human too much information, passed through his mind and he held his tongue.
He would have to watch himself around the girl. There was no telling what the Holy Ones could charge him with while mated to her.
"I had a name, but not anymore, thanks to your Demon."
"Demon?"
Turning his head towards the green giant standing near the white-haired commander, the Arbiter let out a low, vicious growl and slit his eyes. Oh, how he wanted to rip that monster's heart out of it's very chest! As fury blinded his vision, the Elite vaguely grasped thinking if it would bleed red, like most humans, or black, like the tale of the beasts which lived in a lake of fire.
"Your kind call him Master Chief, I believe."
"Oh," Sonya whispered shakily, the malice in his voice turning her spine to ice and making her involuntarily take a step back.
Snapping out of his blood lust, the Arbiter turned once again towards the girl and nearly rolled his eyes at seeing her fear.
"As I stated before, if I wanted you dead, I would have already killed you. You do not have to fear me."
Well, that's so very comforting, she thought sarcastically, then stopped herself, wondering if he could read minds as well.
"So, Arbiter, it is?" For a fleeting moment, a thought crossed her mind which made her smile. Arbiter. Are bitter. He really was bitter.
He watched as the tiniest of smiles graced her lips, something he was sure to never to see again. For, after spending six months on his alien ship, she would surely be shaken to a point past revival. And, even if she survived that ordeal, what must eventually come to pass would...
Blocking the thought out of his mind, the Elite eyed the girl once again.
"You know what is expected of us?"
"Yes." Her voice was laced with suppressed anger.
He didn't believe her.
"We mate through both our ceremonies. The human way, and the Covenant way."
"I know," she stated irritably.
"And what happens after...?"
At this she looked at him aghast, taking several steps back.
"Of course we don't have to do that!" Her face had taken on a pale, pasty complexion and she had begun to shake her head vigorously, as if afraid he would rape her then and there.
Humans, the Arbiter thought, inwardly rolling his eyes.
"The treaty called for a betrothal - two weddings, mating, whatever you want to call it - but it said nothing of consummating those idiotic ceremonies!"
"But you, girl, have no idea of our mating ceremonies," the Elite retorted darkly. "Understand this, human, if nothing else!"
Suddenly his voice had risen considerably - still low enough to keep the others from hearing, though - and he took several steps forward until he had cornered the girl and his nose was nearly touching hers.
"We are different from your kind. Much different! Yes, we have the ceremony, but our law states that until the sacred acts are performed - or, as you call it, we consummate our betrothal - the linking is not legitimate!"
Sonya grew paler, if that were possible, and slumped against the wall. For a few eerie moments, she stared emotionless into the eyes of the monster she was to be forever wed to. Her hand flew to her chest as a single sob choked out of her throat. It was a moment of weakness that she couldn't allow herself to show, especially not in front of this 'Arbiter' creature, but show it she did, as silent, unbidden tears leaked from her eyes.
Blinking in confusion, the Arbiter bent his neck further down to try and get a look at the weeping woman's face.
"Human...?" he said, unsure of what to do in a situation like this.
Comfort her?
Never.
But, she was to be his mate.
No, not mate. That word was associated with someone you liked - loved.
So was he just to leave her?
What would the Prophets say to abandonment, a crime worse than beating?
Treason.
Comfort wasn't one of his better qualities, so he went with the next best thing.
"Soldier," he barked, hoping this would catch her attention. "Get up, woman. This is pitiful. Either all humans are spineless, or you are just an exceptionally weak member of the race."
"W-weak!" she shouted, her voice dry and painfully hoarse. "Leave me alone, beast," she said, drained from the rage she had felt moments before.
Snorting, the Arbiter straightened up to his full height and turned his back towards her, striding over to Jor 'Nalee and the human commander.
Pitiful thing, he thought absentmindedly. How could a race so weak even come close to defeating my kind?
Taking his place by Jor, the Elite cocked his head and watched as Sonya emerged from the darkened corner she had been crying in. Her face was stony, not even tear streaks remained on the mask she wore.
But it was just a mask.
The Arbiter knew that, underneath the layer of fire and grace she showed, she was a frightened child, too old to run from her troubles, yet too young to understand why she couldn't.
And that, in some sick twist of Fate, both he and she were inevitably linked in their miseries, just as much as they were linked in their betrothal.
AN2(06/07/09): As you can see, I changed up names a bit to keep it a little more accurate with Halo canon. Also, chapter three should be out in a few days! If I happen to slack on that promise, feel free to PM me with creative threats~ So that seems about it for house cleaning. Time to write up what happens next...
- Kodu