A/N: So I had this entire chapter written and lost it, and it always feels like it never turns out quite as good as the first copy. Alas. But I think I did myself justice, and I hope you enjoy.
I own nothing.
Madison gaped at the Warrior in front of her, too stunned to move or speak.
"Ellen," she breathed after a moment. "What have they done to you?"
"Oh this?" Ellen tried to laugh, gesturing to her stomach, but it sounded forced. "Just put on a little weight is all." But Madison only stared back at her. She put her hands to her mouth as if she might be sick. Ellen stepped forward, took Madison's hands and led her to the bed.
"No fainting allowed," Ellen smiled weakly as she sat Madison down on the bed. But her smile faded, and she peered intently at Madison.
"Madison, how did you get in here?" Ellen asked, once it appeared that Madison forced herself to continue breathing. "Why did you come back?"
"I drove here this morning," Madison answered meekly.
Ellen frowned. "You shouldn't have come back."
"That's what I've been hearing," Madison said, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from Ellen's stomach. "Ellen, what-"
"You're in danger here," Ellen interrupted. "Did anyone see you?"
"I don't think so," Madison said, putting her hands to her cheeks, feeling herself growing hot and panicky. "I saw Jack outside, he told me where you were-"
Ellen scowled. "Did Jack tell you to come up here?"
"Well, no," Madison admitted. "He told me to get the heck out of dodge, but I just- I was hoping to find you, or Rachel-"
"Rachel?" Ellen asked, a confused look on her face. "Rachel's your cousin, right?"
"Yes," Madison said. "And she's supposed to be running this place, but I can't find her anywhere."
Ellen frowned in thought. "I haven't seen her here for a long time," she said. "Though, to be honest, I haven't seen much of anyone for a long time."
At this, Madison could no longer control herself. She had never been one for panic attacks, but she supposed at the way today was going, it was only a matter of time. She felt foolish – she was normally one to never shed a tear, but she couldn't stop the tears from falling down her cheeks. It was all too much.
"Ellen," she gasped. "Please, please tell me what's going on here. Why-" But she could barely finish her sentence. It felt as if her lungs were rejecting air.
"Oh, Maddie, please don't be upset," Ellen jumped up and grabbed a box of tissues from on top of a nearby dresser. Madison couldn't help but marvel at how gracefully Ellen moved, even in pregnancy, and the thought only made her cry harder. Ellen brought the tissues back to Madison, and she blew her nose loudly. Ellen put a hand on Madison's arm and looked concerned. "It's really ok. I didn't mean to upset you, it's just that… well, why on earth did you come back here?"
"I- I was-" Madison shook her head from side to side to compose herself. It worked – a little. "I was going to visit Rachel, and drop off some artwork for my classes. But then I met Jack outside- Ellen, please help me make sense of this. What is going on?"
Ellen looked at Madison sympathetically, and a bit warily. "How much did Jack tell you?"
Madison gulped. "He told me that- that the Roses and D'Orsay attacked Trinity, and that they've taken over. But that- it can't be true, I was looking for you to see what was wrong with him!"
Ellen nodded sadly. "I'm sorry Maddie, but it is true. The Roses attacked, and we held them off for as long as we could, but there were just too many of them," she bit her lip. "They've taken over Trinity, and all the Anawizard Weir are their prisoners. And they've moved into the Legends too – it's become their new Raven's Ghyll. Your cousin Rachel might still be running the Inn, but if she is, it's only as a pretense. D'Orsay and the others run things around here now."
Madison was silent for a moment. She pushed the panic in her stomach away. She had been counting on Ellen to rebuke everything Jack had told her. It couldn't be. It was impossible.
"Jack… Jack said that the Roses… they killed Nick and Hastings and… and Seph," Madison said, looking at Ellen for a reaction that would tell her it wasn't true, but she saw tears well up in Ellen's eyes.
"It's true," Ellen said sadly. "I'm so sorry, Maddie. He was a threat to them. There were so many of them, at the end of the battle, we couldn't get anywhere near him…" Ellen trailed off and looked away.
Madison put her head in her hands. This was ludicrous. How could Jack and Ellen be so wrong? She remembered the battle, remembered winning. What was going on? She felt Ellen's hand on her back.
"I'm sorry, Maddie," Ellen said soothingly. Madison felt horribly ashamed that it was Ellen comforting her, and not the other way around. She looked back at Ellen's stomach, as if hoping the bump wouldn't be there. Maybe she had imagined it. But it was still there, undeniable evidence of something gone horribly wrong.
"Ellen…" Madison whispered. "Please tell me something that makes sense. You- you're-"
Ellen smiled sadly back at her. "Yeah, I am," she said simply. She appeared deep in thought. "What's today?"
"November 17."
"Then I'm just about 5 months in," Ellen said. "I know I'm due in mid-April."
Madison was at a loss for words. She had never imagined having this conversation with Ellen Stephenson of all people, or at least not for many years.
"Does Jack know?" Madison asked.
Ellen paused. "He knows. It's his baby."
Madison felt her mouth fall open. Ellen ran her hands through her hair. "Urghhh, Maddie, it's been awful since you left," she said. "It's like it used to be years ago when the wizards were in charge, except worse. They rule absolute now. Warriors, enchanters, sorcerers and seers – everyone in Trinity now is the property of the Roses," her gray eyes flashed angrily. "They set up shop here, destroyed the sanctuary, and made it like it used to be in Raven's Ghyll. Trinity's like their new command post. They have plans to reinstate all the old traditions, and among them, the tournament." She grimaced at Madison. "The problem is, they need warriors to have tournaments, and Jack and I are the only ones left that they know of." Ellen turned red as she continued. "So… they're trying to create more."
Madison felt sick as the truth sunk in. Jack and Ellen, the last two known warriors. Surely their child would also be a warrior.
"We didn't have a choice," Ellen explained, her voice hollow. She looked down at her hands. "They had killed Seph and the others, and they threatened Will and Fitch and Becka Swift if we didn't cooperate."
"Ellen," Madison breathed. She was too repulsed to cry now.
"I'm ok, really," Ellen said. "There was a time, for a little while, when I didn't want to do it." Her voice became very quiet. "When I first found out, I wanted to get rid of the baby. I didn't want to bring a baby into this life," she looked from her hands at Madison. Ellen's face was wracked with guilt, but her eyes begged Madison to understand. "Because I knew exactly what my baby's life would be like, because it happened to me. They would take the baby away from me, and it would be raised by a warriormaster, trained to fight and kill. And then they would make my baby play in the tournament, and I couldn't-" Ellen broke off with a stifled sob and turned her face away. Madison felt as if she could scarcely breathe. She understood what Ellen couldn't say – the tournament was a fight to the death, with only one victor. Even if a warrior were to win, there would always be another tournament, and another, and another. The chances of survival were slim.
Ellen took a shaky breath. "But I'm ok now," she continued. "Jack talked me out of it. He said he's been looking for a way to get us out of here. He said we'll get out of here before the baby's born."
"We will," Madison said, meaning to assure Ellen, but she knew the words sounded hollow. None of this was making sense.
Before she could say anything else, they heard a noise from the hallway. Ellen's entire body stiffened.
"Longbranch," she hissed. "I'm expecting her. Quick, hide."
Before Madison even knew what was going on, Ellen had grabbed her by the hand and pulled her around the bed toward the closet. Ellen opened the closet door with one hand and ushered Madison inside with the other. It was mostly empty, save for a few folded blankets and towels on the shelf. Madison shut the closet door with a snap and retreated as far back into the space as she could go. She heard the bed creak as Ellen sat down on it just as the bedroom door opened.
"Good morning, Ellen," Madison heard the unmistakable voice of Dr. Jessamine Longbranch cut through the room like a sterile scalpel. She raised herself as quietly as possible to her knees and leaned forward to peer through the keyhole in the closet door. That was one of the perks of the Legends being such an antique, Madison thought – actual keyholes. The keyhole only afforded her limited scope, but Madison could make out Ellen, sitting on the bed, unmoving, her arms crossed, and Longbranch, staring at the warrior from the doorway. Madison clapped her hands over her mouth to keep from gasping – Longbranch shone with the familiar light of an extremely powerful wizard – at least that was how it looked to Madison's eyes. She had always been able to pick wizards out in a crowd because of the way their power appeared to her, as an illumination from their bodies. But Longbranch no longer had power – Madison had seen to that when she had removed Longbranch's Weirstone last summer. How was it possible that she had magic now? But Longbranch had started talking again, and Madison pushed her questions out of mind to focus on what the wizard was saying.
"How are we feeling today?" Longbranch asked.
Ellen waited a beat before answering. "Fine."
"Any more stomach pains?" Longbranch queried. Her gaze was cold and calculating.
"No."
Longbranch gestured, and Ellen stood up and moved to the corner of the room and out of Madison's line of sight. Madison heard what she supposed were the sounds of tests being taken – she heard puffs of air she associated with blood pressure being measured. The bedroom door opened and her attention was diverted toward the motion. Two men entered, pushing a large, black machine on wheels between them into the room. The machine had a large digital display screen and more buttons than Madison could count. The two men didn't shine like wizards, but they looked all too knowledgeable of the situation to be Anaweir. Madison had never seen either of them before, but she supposed they might be sorcerers or soothsayers, held prisoner in Trinity by the Roses. The two men were unacknowledged by Longbranch, and together they pushed the machine next to the bed and walked back out of the room, shooting furtive and sympathetic glances toward where Longbranch and Ellen still worked in the corner.
After another minute or two of silence, Ellen moved back in Madison's periphery. She walked to the bed and sat back against the headboard. She lifted her legs up and stretched them out in front of her, and Madison couldn't help but marvel again at Ellen's graceful movements despite her growing stomach.
"What is that?" Ellen asked, looking at the machine next to the bed.
"An ultrasound," Longbranch answered, turning the machine on and starting to connect several of the wires. "We're going to be checking in on the baby today." Longbranch continued connecting wires and pressing buttons. Soon, the screen flickered to life.
Madison had gone with her mother to an ultrasound when Carlene had been pregnant with John Robert. She knew it could be a little unpleasant, so she bristled with rage when Longbranch yanked Ellen's shirt up to leave her stomach bare. Ellen winced slightly as Longbranch squeezed some of the cold gel onto Ellen's stomach and began to spread it around using the sensor handle. Moments passed in silence, but Madison could see both Ellen and Longbranch staring at the monitor intently. Longbranch moved the sensor around Ellen's stomach in slow circles.
"There we are," Longbranch said after a time, looking at the monitor. Madison couldn't see anything on the screen from her position. "Hmmm. Looks healthy. Big for 16 weeks." She glanced at Ellen with a cruel smirk. "You know, I'm very pleased with how this has been going so far. It's very promising. Wylie, as usual, didn't want to wait, but I think this is going to be well worth it." She paused, as if waiting for a reaction, and then continued. "You've been doing well. Jackson, on the other hand, doesn't have much to do lately. I've been thinking of trying him out with some other recipients. Might as well, seeing as how you're out of commission for another couple of months." Ellen either hadn't heard Longbranch or was very good at ignoring the inference – she only had eyes for the display on the monitor. Longbranch turned back to look at the screen.
"Congratulations," she said flatly after a moment. She smiled at Ellen, but it was insincere. "You're having a bouncing baby boy."
Madison felt tears well in her eyes. She balled her hands into tight fists – it was all she could do to keep from attacking Longbranch right then and there. The only thing that held her back was the fear that Ellen might get hurt in the crossfire.
Ellen was still staring at the screen as Longbranch stood and began to turn the machine off, disconnecting the wires and pushing the ultrasound against the wall so it was out of the way.
"Keep up the good work, Ellen," she said carelessly as she turned to leave the room. But just as she reached out to turn the door handle, she stopped short. "I wonder…" Longbranch appeared to be deep in thought. She pulled a small silver cone from her pocket and strode back toward Ellen. "Usually we can't tell in fetuses younger than 20 weeks, but it's always worth a try…" Madison watched as she placed the cone against Ellen's stomach and waited for a moment, as if listening. Then her face lit up with excitement, and she let out a sound almost like a hiss. "A warrior," she breathed. With one last cruel smile for Ellen, she left the room, snapping the door shut behind her.
Madison waited several minutes after Longbranch left before opening the closet door. Ellen sat unmoving on the bed, her hand cradled under the bump in her stomach. Longbranch hadn't bothered to clean off the remains of the ultrasound gel, so Madison got a towel from the bathroom to wipe the stuff off Ellen's stomach. Still, Ellen said nothing.
"Ellen?" Madison murmured. Ellen looked up at the sound of her name. Pain Madison never could have imagined was etched in every inch of Ellen's face, and suddenly she was sobbing, and Madison put her arm around Ellen and let her cry.
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