CHAPTER 8: Time

The sound of water dripping somewhere was cool, and relaxing. It reminded John of back home, of the leaky peasant house he used to live in with Nanna and his brother, before his brother disappeared, and Nanna died. The only thing missing was the smell of freshly baked goods in the bakery downstairs.

For a second, John thought he was back home. His mind almost tricked him with the smell of baked buns and warm bread. It took a few seconds for him to realize he was not laying back on his straw-stuffed mattress, but instead on the cold, damp, stone floor. He finally managed to pry his eyes open. The room around him was dark It took a few more seconds for his eyes to adjust, before he realized he was in a prison cell.

He leaned up. His head ached. How did he get here? Where was Dave? …Dave! He looked around frantically. He was in a tiny prison cell. He was no longer tied up, but that really did not help matters here. There were no windows, but the door did have a small barred hole, about head-level, and a wide flap at the bottom of the door, wide enough just for an arm to stick through, or a plate to slide in. Dave was nowhere to be seen.

Panic erupted through John's mind. The last thing he remembered was standing between Dave and the Queen… Dave was badly hurt… he could be dying! Where was he? The boy wrapped his cape around him, feeling the tears fill his eyes once again.

"Dave!" he called out weakly. His voice was coarse - probably from all the screaming he did…whenever that was. He had no idea what time it was, whether it was still daylight, or if it was night. He stood up, and called out louder, "Dave!" His voice cracked on the 'v' in Dave's name. John cursed himself and screamed his master's name as loud as he could.

There was no answer.

John dropped to his knees. Ok… this was no time to panic. Panicking wouldn't do him any good. What he needed to do right now as think of a way out of this mess.

Suddenly, a sound that sounded like claws on rock filled the air. Curiosity got the better of John, and he stood up again to look out the tiny window in the door.

Just as he did so, a large, beautiful white dog walked by. It was probably the most beautiful creature John had ever seen. He let out a small gasp as he saw it, and the dog stopped. It turned to look at him. John wondered whether or not it was friendly… Ok, a dog walking around a prison cell usually means its not friendly. John smiled at it anyway, "Hi puppy."
The dog sat down and tilted its head. Its eyes were nearly as white as the rest of its body.
John did not know what to do. He just smiled at the dog, "What are you doing here boy?"
The dog's tail wagged and it came over to the door.

John suddenly grew afraid that it may bite him. With a deep breath, he bent down and pushed open the flap at the bottom of the door. The dog stuck its nose in and wagged its tail. John laughed and reached out to pet its nose. The dog replied by licking John's hand.

"You're a good boy, aren't you?" John smiled, petting the dog, "Who's a good boy?" The dog barked and wagged its tail, causing John to laugh again, "Yes! You're a good boy!"

"Bec?"

A voice called from down the hall.

"Bec was that you? Here boy!"

John felt the panic set in. The dog did not move. It laid down in front of the door, wanting more pets.

"Bec!" A whistle sounded, and the footsteps were coming closer…

… … … …

"Its been three days and no word." Dirk complained, "Fuck letting him do this on his own! If I don't hear anything back from him by tomorrow, I'm going after him!"
"Jake." Rose snapped, looking up at Dirk's attendant, "Please, for the love of everything good and holy - make Dirk stop pacing. Its highly distracting."
Jake reached up and grabbed Dirk by the shoulders. Dirk protested, but stopped pacing. The older Strider sighed theatrically and plopped down on the couch.

They were all seated in Rose's room. Unlike the boy's room, Rose's room was heavily decorated with only the finest goods Derse had to offer. The furniture in her room was plush and comfortable, and the stone walls were all covered with curtains. Plants and statues lines nearly every corner, and there was a flowerpot on nearly every table. It made the room look a lot smaller then it really was, but a lot more homely then the boy's rooms.

Kanaya folded her hands over her lap to keep them from shaking. "I'm sorry boys, but Rose needs full attention for this spell to work."
"Its not a spell, Kanaya." Rose corrected, "I am trying to predict the future. I want to see if anything is going to happen to Dave."
"And?" Dirk replied, obviously impatient,
"I can't concentrate with all your fidgeting!" She snapped,
"Come on, Dirk." Jake said, "Let's go out hunting or something? Let you burn off some of that energy?"
"I don't need to 'burn off energy'." Dirk snapped, "I need to find out if my brother is ok."
Rose was clearly getting annoyed, "And I can't do that if you all don't leave. Now."

Kanaya stood up, "I'm sorry, but you heard Rose, if you would kindly follow me to the door…"
"Fuck!" Dirk complained, "Fine. But the moment you see something, you tell me first. Got it?"
Rose nodded.

Rose watched them leave. She could understand Dirk's agitation. She felt it herself. It had been three days since Dave set off for the front lines. Now, she knew Dave was supposed to be there for a couple of days… but his job was just to deliver the reinforcements, give moral support, and leave. Rose had to admit, she was starting to get worried herself.

'Its only been three days', she kept telling herself. It was a day trip there, a day back. Which meant that logically, Dave should hopefully be back by tomorrow or the day after.

Rose just wish Dirk would settle down about it. It was making her worry more then she normally would. She sighed and stood up. She could not concentrate right now. She needed a break. She turned to Kanaya, "Would you mind getting us something to eat?"
"Yes Milady." Kanaya nodded, quickly leaving the room.

And now Rose was alone. She got up off the couch and walked over to the window, pushing the shutters open. Its only been three days, she told herself. People were sometimes off at war for weeks to months! Of course, they were there to fight, and not just for moral support…

Oh who was she kidding? Dave of all people, sitting on the sidelines and letting other fight? That would never happen. He was probably out there right now on the battlefield fighting his hardest, and killing as many of those Prospit Knights as he could.

She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate again, but couldn't find it in her. Sighing to herself, she closed the shutters, and went back into her room, collapsing on the couch.

What about John? Surely John wouldn't have gone into battle. He promised her that he would keep an eye on Dave. Hopefully that meant that he'd keep Dave in line as well.

She closed her eyes again, maybe a couple minutes shut eye would help her concentrate…

… … … …

"Oh! There you are Bec!"

John sat on the other side of the door. He had backed away from the flap, seeing the dog paw and 'dig' on the inside of the door, trying to reach him. He heard the dog whine.

"Is somebody in there?" It was a girl's voice, sweet and innocent. John was suddenly very interested. He stood there awkwardly though, not knowing what to do.

Two small hands wrapped around the bottom of the window, and John's heart began to race as whoever was on the other side of the door slowly hoisted themselves up to see inside. His heart nearly skipped a beat though, when he saw who it was.

"Jade?" John gasped,
"John!" Jade cheered, "John is that really you?"
John ran over to the barred window and placed his hands on hers, he stuck his arms out the windows and tried to hug her.
"W-what are you doing in there?" Jade gasped, "I thought you ran away?"
"I did… and I got caught, and then some stuff happened, and I'm here again." John explained,
"Well! I'm going to go talk to Mama!" Jade protested, "You should not be locked in the dungeons!"
"No!" John gasped, grabbing onto Jade's arm, "Jade… the Queen knows I'm here. She's the one who locked me here. Please Princess, don't let her know you saw me."

Jade pouted. John smiled, unable to release her hand. It had been over ten years since they last talked, though while John was in Prospit, he kept an eye on her growing up from a distance. He was glad he got to see her again. It had been over a year since he last saw her. Since then she had grown her hair out. She had long wavy black hair - the same shade as John's, that draped down her back. Her green eyes shone out at him with worry, but she still seemed happy to see him. She was wearing a beautiful golden dress, as bright as the rest of the Prospit colours.

"Well? What happened! Tell me everything!" She begged,
John looked away, "I… can't."
Jade stuck out her bottom lip, "Why not?"
John could not meet her eyes, "I don't want you to hate me…"
"I can never hate you." Jade promised,
John sighed, "Ok… I've been in Derse for the last year."
Jade gasped, "Derse? Why there?"
John's eyes watered, "Fine. I'll tell you everything…but its going to be a long story."

Jade suddenly pulled free from John's grasp. He instantly grew worried. Did she change her mind? Did she not want to hear his story? But the flap opened up at the bottom, and John saw Jade poke her face in with a smile. John laughed and dropped to the floor as well.

"I've got all day." She sang.

… … … … …

"Rose, Rose wake up. Milady?" Rose groaned and opened her eyes. She was asleep at her desk. When did she fall asleep? Her eyes still felt heavy and she wanted to curl up and go back to sleep.
"You fell asleep, Milady." Kanaya stated.
"Yes. I can see that." Rose groaned, leaning up.
Kanaya handed her a warm cup of coffee, "Here you go. You've been working hard."

Rose nodded. She was tired. She had been up all night studying this damn book, trying her hardest to see the future surrounding Dave. Why couldn't see? She couldn't see to far into the future at all… was she failing at her job as a Seer?

"You'll get better with practice." Kanaya said, as if reading her mind.
Rose stretched and took a sip of her coffee, "I just…don't know. Where is Dave and John? Its been over a week. One would think they would be home by now."
"Maybe the Knights asked them to stay longer?" Kanaya asked.
"Doubtful." She sighed, "And I don't think Dirk is going to wait much longer either…which by the way, he'll be coming in the room in about three seconds."

Rose started counting down on his fingers, and right as she hit zero, the door swung open, and Dirk strode in. "Good evening, Brother."
"Rose!" Dirk said enthusiastically, "Anything yet?"
Rose shook her head.
Dirk sighed and sat down on the chair, "Great… fuck it! I'm going after the brat."

Rose opened her mouth to speak, instantly closed it. Her eye suddenly grew distant, and her pose slackened.

"Is she having a vision?" Dirk asked, looking at Kanaya,
Kanaya nodded, staying perfectly still and not saying a word, afraid she would disrupt the vision.

Rose slowly shook her head, and buried her head in her hands. Dirk jumped up and ran over to her, grabbing her shoulders with both hands, "What did you see?"
"I saw… us. We were in the Throne Room…Father, you, me, and Kanaya." Rose depicted, she looked up at Dirk, "You were covered in blood."
"When?" Dirk asked, "Where was Jake?"
Rose shook her head, "He was not there. You were angry Dirk, and you were shouting at Dad… there was a dead knight on the floor…also covered in blood, but his injuries did not look fresh…"
Dirk's eyes widened, "A dead Knight?"
"He…he had a broken sword in his hand." Rose's voice stuttered, "Dirk… it was Dave's sword."

Dirk's jaw dropped. Rose was shaking in his arms. He let her go and sprang up, but did not get to far, before the sound of trumpets filled the air. Dirk flash-stepped to the window, pushing the curtains aside and throwing the shutters open.

The trumpets were coming from the Castle Gates. A single horseman was riding through. He was slumped over, and even from this distance, Dirk could see he was injured…

…an dead Knight holding Dave's sword…

Dirk swore and turned around, dashing towards the door. Rose quickly reached over and grabbed her cloak before following her brother. Kanaya did not even have to ask to go with her master, she just followed wordlessly.

Dirk wasted no time. He was heading straight for the Throne Room, just like Rose had predicted. Barged into the room - the Knight had not yet made it there. The King was sitting on his Throne, looking confused.

"Dirk, Rose. What are you two doing…" He stopped mid-sentence. The doors to the throne room were suddenly thrown open, and a Knight came riding in.

The King stood up with a gasp. The knight did not stop his horse, instead he merely fell off it sideways. Dirk quickly ran over and caught the guy before he hit the ground. The man sloshed against Dirk's chest. He was bleeding all over. There was still an arrow lodged into the man's shoulder.

"What is the meaning of this?" The King gasped, running down the stairs to see the Knight,
"Y-your majesty…the breach mission…" The Knight gurgled on his own blood, "We failed… we were…amb-am-ambushed."
Dirk's face paled. He gently put the man down on the ground. The man's blood was covering Dirk's shirt. "What do you mean ambushed? What happened to the knights stationed there?"
"S-Sir D-D-Dave s…sent me b-back to alert…you…that…they…need…"
"Shhh." Rose cooed, placing a finger over the man's bloodied lips, "Its ok, rest now."
The Knight reached into his cape, and pulled out a broken sword. All that was really left of it, was really only the handle, engraved with the Derse Royalty Insignia.

Rose picked it up and held it close to her, her eyes watering. It was just like her vision…

Dirk snapped, "What? They need help? Fuck! I KNEW I should have gone after the lil man! Fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!" He jumped to his feet and started for the door.
"Stop right there, Dirk." The King ordered.
Dirk whirled around, an annoyed expression on his face.
"A Crowned Prince does not head off into battle." The King stated,
"Dave could be in trouble." Dirk yelled, probably louder then he meant to, "Fuck being the crown whatever. My brother - your SON - could be out there dying right now!"
"I understand that, Dirk." The King replied, "And that is why you cannot go. If they were really ambushed at the border, and that base has fallen, it could be under the control of Prospit now, and that would mean you would be running into enemy lines."
Dirk raised an eyebrow and folded his arms, "And that's supposed to stop me?"
"Yes." The King snapped, "It may already be too late for Dave. And if you were to die as well, there would be no one left to ascend the throne."
"Fuck the throne!" Dirk shouted, "I don't plan on dying."
"Dirk Strider, as your King, I order you not to go."
"Just try and stop me."

Rose frowned. She stood up from the Knight, he had stopped breathing anyway, "Dirk."
Dirk turned and looked at his sister, "Not you too!"
Rose shook her head, "I may not be good at long-term predictions yet, but I am fairly good at nearby ones. I can help you get to the base the safest way."
Dirk nodded, and bolted from the room, Rose at his heels.

Kanaya stood there awkwardly, listening to the King shout for them to return. The King yelled angrily, "Stop them!"

Several Knights charged out after Dirk and Rose. And Kanaya closed her eyes in fear of the battle that was most likely to unfold right here in the castle…

Tears welled up in her eyes, and she covered her ears.