Took longer than I anticipated. I'm really sorry! I truly am trying to get them done faster!

Thank you's!

ficscribber - Welcome to the party!

Gemini - Always lovely to hear from you!

6/30/2013 UPDATE - made a slight alteration to how the tunnel was lit. Nice catch Gemini!

The decision had been made, after much opposition from Marguerite, that Finn would go with Naomi directly back to the Kingdom. She was the only one not already made famous in the culture. Naomi explained that after the last encounter with the explorers almost every human and lizard knew who each and every one of them were. Many humans even looked to them as liberators of their race. That was when Naomi had her first suspicions about the location of her mother. However, at the time she could not pursue the matter because of Calia.

Finn was to be a refuge from the Empire that Naomi was glad to take into her home. The disguise was not one the blond was particularly fond of, due to the fact that she had to abandon her cross bow, but she agreed. It was an adventure to be charging into the belly of the beast. She also had to wear a simple frock, which failed to hug her as much as she was used to, over her traditional black shorts and top to blend in. Another part of the git up she was annoyed with, but agreed to do after much reassuring that she would only have to wear it until they retrieved the baby. Carefully she had placed a few knives in her leather belt so not to be completely unprotected.

There was her home on the horizon. They would be there within minutes and the closer that they got to the Kingdom, the more nervous Naomi got. Even though the plan was set and should go off without a hitch, there was something in the back of her mind that gave off a grave feeling. Caught in this thought a hand was placed on her knee and she reciprocated the smile she was given.

The child of the future could see a darkness in Naomi's eyes and offered her hand as a comfort."We will get him back. Just you wait." Finn, always the optimist, smiled her most reassuring smile.

After that comment the two women rode in silence as they passed through the Kingdom gates. Finn could just look around and tell something was not right. There was a dark gloom over the few people and lizards they saw in the streets. The same gloom that plagued New Amazonia. When some of the people caught a glimpse of the Queen a twinge of excitement could be seen in their eyes but it was quickly gone when they realized she was being handled by an armed escort. Finn could see that Naomi did not want to walk through the town like this; as if she were a common criminal on parade. "You weren't kidding when you said this place was crappy." Of course that is not the way Naomi worded it, but in Finn's lingo it pretty much meant the same thing.

Naomi did not acknowledge the statement. It hurt her to see the people like this. To know that they were suffering just because Decant was not given what he wanted. "Hush Finn. Only speak if you are spoken to. If Decant hears your voice he will kill you on the spot. As far as he is concerned you are an outsider and should not be allowed to live." She had been giving Finn these type of instructions for the better part of the last few hours. It made her nervous that the woman was so outspoken and defiant. While they were good qualities to have, they could easily cost her life or worse that of her son.

Taking the hint Finn shut her mouth. She knew just how important it was to stay alive at this point. The two women were quickly led through the streets and into the palace in the center of the city. If Finn was being honest there really was not anything spectacular about the Kingdom. It was set in a circular pattern with the palace at the center and streets radiating out in all directions. The only brick covered roads were leading directly to the palace and all others were dirt. There was no telling how many people actually lived in the territory because many of the buildings were right next to one another for at least a mile or more, making it hard to discern where one started and another ended. That was all Finn could absorb before being shoved into the large center building.

As soon as they entered her home Naomi could tell something was different. Seeing the smug look on Decant's face as he approached did nothing to calm that feeling. Her heart sank to her stomach when she saw the emblem embroidered on his jerkin. Her words came out breathy and she saw confusion in Finn's face. "I see you have taken the opportunity to become High Regent to the King. Too bad he does not need one." She held her head high not letting the idea in her head be seen.

Decant chuckled a chilling laugh. "Do you really think I would be wearing this for no reason? The young King is in my care and I cannot let an infant make the decisions of the Kingdom." He watched the truth revel itself on the former Queen's face. He watched her realize that she would never see her child again. It was then that he noticed the other woman who was brought with Naomi. More human scum to trouble him with. "Who is this? A mid afternoon snack?" A hiss slipped out of his lips as Naomi stood in front of the mystery woman who clearly was ready to go on the attack if need be. Decant saw her tense and could only assume she was some sort of pet brought home by the monarch. "No matter, take them to her prison."

"I want my son!" Naomi screamed at the top of her lungs as she was seized by two guards, the same done to Finn. She yelled, kicked, and struggled the entire time that they were taking her away. The show had to be a good one.

Finn did the same, being careful not to land a kick or punch any where that would matter. They needed to believe that she was not a threat. So far the plan was going perfectly.

"Marguerite if you keep pacing like that we won't be able to get you out of the ditch you are making." Veronica gently tried to calm her friend down. After briefly meeting the brunettes daughter she could see the resemblance in both appearance and personality. The woman was obviously very capable and cared very much for the family she was trying to protect, both traits that Marguerite had either had or developed over the past few years. Waiting, however, was not a skill she had managed to accomplish.

The plan was simple; if one considered chances of being killed by a ruthless tyrant, sparking a revolt, and rescuing a baby all the while, simple. All these factors are what had Marguerite pacing. "Excuse me Veronica, but my daughter being alone in a castle surrounded by man-eating lizards has me a little on edge!" Her voice was fierce.

Roxton shook his head to the side. "She is right my dear. Naomi will signal when the time is right, and Finn is there to keep her safe." He placed a hand to her shoulder stopping her back and fourth movement. "Calm down." He had a pleasant smile on his face and one of his hands gently brushed her stomach as a reminder that there were other reason's to be calm. If he knew that she was going to give this much fuss, he would have left her at the Empire.

The last thing Marguerite was about to be was calm. "Don't tell me to be calm John!" She threw his hand off her shoulder, completely missing his reminder that she was pregnant, more for the 'my dear' comment than the attempt at comfort. While everyone knew that they were engaged, she was still not comfortable with the affection in front of Veronica and Ned. It was a big adjustment to be made. "She should have signaled by now. Clearly something has gone wrong and they are either dead or close to it! This entire plan was insane!" Huffing around she sat on a log that had fallen during a storm.

As much as she still wanted to be annoyed with the secret keeping and Marguerite's outburst, seeing Marguerite fret about this with so much gusto made Veronica want to burst out laughing. This pregnancy must be wreaking havoc with her. She crossed to the irrational brunette with an amused gleam in her eye but no smile. "You know that is not true. Why must you always assume the worst?" Her mind went back to when the boys took a tumble off the cliff and they spent hours looking for them. "The signal will come soon enough and then we will do what we can to help her." The blond gave a reassuring hug. Every time something went wrong she was there to help her 'sister' see reason.

Marguerite visibly relaxed a little. She knew that there was no reason to be this worried as of yet, but she could not help it. After being reunited with Naomi she wanted to take no opportunity of losing that second chance. Rather than admitting she was being unreasonable and apologizing, the brunette just sat on the log and remained silent, only tilting her head in acknowledgment that Veronica's words were understood.

As soon as they were alone in Naomi's former room, the dress was shed from Finn's body. "I don't understand how any woman can get anything done in one of those! They are such a pain to move in." Her comment obviously disregarded that her current company was garbed in a simple dress as well, earning her an odd look and shake of the head. "So where do we go from here?" Finn knew that the next step of the plan was to find the baby, but in order to do so they had to get out of this room. Glancing over at the door she went to inspect what kind of locks were on it.

Naomi quickly went to the window. The first step was to signal the others to let them know they were safe inside. She gazed into the dirty side street that was below and recognized the mid-month market. So much time had passed. Doing exactly what she was told to with the small mirror she held, the light caught and she flashed it a few times. "Are you sure this works for you?" Turning to Finn she glanced the blond checking the lock on the door, trying to figure out how they were going to get out. "We are not going that way." She went to the desk on the far side of her room, completely disregarding her earlier question. As she reached the mahogany chair that was in front of the desk she glimpsed a bit of paper work on it. The scrap had been made to look as if it was unimportant, but the image was what caught Naomi's eye. It was of her son and daughter together. Immediately she recognized it to be one of Ritzia's paintings. She was so grateful to the woman who sacrificed herself for them. It was no surprise that they had returned and she was not there. Naomi hoped and prayed that she would be spared but knew that it was an unrealistic dream.

"What's that?" Finn approached and looked over the woman's shoulder. Seeing the painting a small smile came to her lips. The two siblings had never met but there was a resemblance that could only be achieved between two children who shared at least one parent. "They look like you." It was a sarcastic remark because both were covered in scales and Finn knew that technically Calia was not even Naomi's.

A small chuckle erupted from Naomi's throat. Her children may not look like her, but they both had her spirit. A spirit that she realized came from her own mother. Carefully she tucked the picture into her dress, a reminder of what she was fighting for. She reached behind the desk and felt for the small latch behind it. Pulling gently a small rumble was heard before a door appeared in the stone wall. "This will lead us straight to where I think he is keeping my son."

Finn could only smile at the door. "Awesome!" Poking her head in she could see the passageway presumably led to all over the palace. "What is this normally used for?" In her mind she was questioning if the evil guy they were trying to outsmart already knew about the tunnel.

Naomi could hear her concern in her voice. "Don't worry. The only people who knew of this passage are my husband, Calia, and myself. We needed a way to travel in between rooms without always taking the main route. I cannot tell you how hard it is to get alone time with a King!" Still smiling she led Finn into the dark tunnel, their way illuminated by an oil lamp she had taken out of the room.

Twenty minutes after her little burst of emotion, Marguerite had the reassurance she needed with Naomi's signaling. They were now close to the trading gate where they would be entering the Kingdom themselves.

Tartan had spent the morning figuring out when the best time to get them in would be. He would have much preferred to be without the other humans, but his soldiers could not come close to the territory until they were sure the young prince was safe. He turned back to the others of the group. "I must shackle all of you now. It will be the easiest way to get through the gate. No one will question me bringing in a bunch of slaves. Just keep your heads down." Everything he said was relayed with a sense of duty and authority. The General was not going to take any chances of something going wrong.

There was a nod from the explorers as each was placed in simple hand cuffs and tied together with a bit of rope. Veronica took a deep breath before they approached the gate and let her hair flow over her face as she walked. She and Ned had shared a wonderful night together at the Empire and it was stuck in her mind. She very carefully avoided allowing a smile come to her lips as she thought of the night her prince had finally claimed her.

Malone was thinking much the same as they crossed the small space. He had acted out of pure instinct.

The entire day he could not get over the fact that something was on her mind. He could also tell it was not something she wanted to discuss in front of Marguerite or her daughter. So he waited until that night and followed her when she said she was going to bed. He planned on talking, on finding out what was troubling her, but that is not what happened. As they got closer to the door he wanted more and more to be inside with her. It was not the gentleman way of doing things, but they were in the jungle.

She turned to say goodnight and looked into his eyes. She saw the desire and passion there. Before she could say a word his lips were upon her own. It took only moments for her to deepen the kiss and lead him into her room.

He smiled at the memory as a sharp pull of his wrist brought him out of it.

They had passed through the gate will little trouble. Sometimes it was convenient to be known as the ruthless general to the tyrant. Tartan knew that his reputation had drastically changed since he seemed to be on the side of Decant, but once all this was over the King and Queen would make sure there were no repercussions for it. He was loyal to the crown and that was all. As agreed upon they stopped close to a loyalist bar.

Each explorer was handed a map. The map had specific locations that were loyal to the crown and not to Decant. They were to go there and incite the rebellion. Start talking to the people and, when the time came, fight back. The group broke apart pieces of the plan falling into place.

It was not hard to track the injured lizard through the forest. He left signs all over of where he was off to. After only an hour and a half Challenger had caught up to him and watched as Malakai set up camp for the night. The lizard looked quite worn, something that the scientist could only assume was because of the injuries. Once a small fire was made He watched the other man lean against a tree for support and take something from the pack he stole. It looked to be some small animal, raw of course, to be consumed. Taking great care not to startle Malakai, Challenger emerged from the trees. "The lengths to which you lizards go to cause us annoyance astounds me!"

Malakai was winded. After a moment of shutting his eyes he was slightly startled to hear the scientist. His first reaction was to lash out, but he quickly realized who was talking. "I'm surprised you came. I thought my condition was an annoyance to be rid of. I did just that."

Challenger slightly shook his head. "Your condition may be an annoyance, but I cannot in good conscience allow you to be alone in this jungle." He sat down next to the fire. Throughout the day he had wondered about this man's intentions. If he really was going after his family, or if it was just some political situation that needed to be addressed. Being a lizard, Challenger was more set on the latter. "What made you leave?" Even though he believed to know, it was his duty as a scientist to know the truth.

Malakai took a deep breath. He did not expect this human to understand his feelings, half the time he did not understand them. "My Kingdom and family is in trouble. Is it any wonder that I would go after both of them?"

"I understand that you are going after your political position. I find it hard to believe, however, that one of your kind could do something other than for personal gain. Which is where I cannot fathom an explanation for your own daughter's behavior to save a woman who is not even her mother, or yours to save a human life."

Malakai was offended by Challenger's remark, even if he could see the reason behind it. "Naomi has been more of a mother to that little girl than I could have even hoped for. As for my own feelings towards her, you would have to understand how we met." With that he dived into the story.

Since the day her mother died, King Malakai had been looking for a suitable replacement for Calia. None so far had been found among the lizard females that wanted the position of power. It was no secret that he needed to remarry and every power-hungry female was trying to win his favor. That is what led him to having this audience with his father. "I don't want someone like Centuria to influence her. I truly believe that she needs a human mother."

Tribune scoffed at this. "You cannot be serious! I may have more favor with the human species, but you cannot think I would let you wed one of those creatures?" It would be a political suicide for both.

"Father, hear me out. If I could find a suitable female she would be no more than a pawn. Humans are much more easily manipulated than our noble kind. It would be a good defense in the uprising human rebellion. Think of the favor you would gain." Malakai knew that his father was still trying to get back into the Empire as the Emperor. After being banished, the meetings between father and son had nearly stopped. His mother did not want Tribune to be any sort of influence on her son. Once Malakai had come of age he made the decision himself, much to Centuria's disappointment, to see his father again.

The banished lizard thought for a moment. It would be an opportunity if the right human came along. "If you can find one, I will put her through much and be sure that she is acceptable to be manipulated. Until then I want no more talk of this." He took a sip of his wine signaling the discussion was over.

Three weeks had passed since his conversation with Tribune. Still not one human had passed the requirements. They were either too strong willed, or not strong enough. He needed someone who would be able to protect his heir as well as do what ever was asked of her. As he was lost in thought the new catch of slaves was brought in. Of course he was required to be there and inspect ever one. Most of the catch was sent to the work house to be assigned there. A few men were chosen for the games and a few women for the champions. Then he saw her. Her face was obscured by dirt, her hair hung in her eyes, and there was a lack of nutrition that could be seen on her body. There was nothing that could explain what drew him to her because by all accounts he should just have made what was left of her dinner. "What might your name be?"

Naomi flinched at his question. She had been on her own for a week. Chasing after the ghost of her mother had been the worst mistake she had ever made. What made her think she would actually have any chance of finding her? Now she was captured by creatures that could not be any type of human. Hearing her be addressed as a person was not what she expected to happen. "Na...Naomi...sir" She stuttered and added the 'sir' just to be safe.

His thoughts wandered to if she could be the one. "Take her to my chambers." A few guards threw him questioning eyes but say nothing. He followed a few hours later, the business of the day completed. She's waiting in the room looking around at the different tapestries hung and the chandelier. He clears his throat so she notices his presence. "I could have killed you today, but instead I have a proposition for you."

Naomi knew the moment he entered the room. Ever so slightly she tensed as he spoke, thinking that this was the last voice she would ever hear. It was far from her mind what kind of offer he had, but anything was better than death. Quietly she spoke "What sort of proposition?" Many situations ran through her mind ranging from personal servant to a sex slave. Each was preferable to being dead.

It was then that Malakai saw her eyes. They were ice blue with a torment behind them. This could be just what he needed to secure his political position in this Kingdom. "My daughter needs a caretaker, but I have not been able to find someone suitable. I would like to test your ability. Should you fail I am sure you will make a fine meal."

She tensed at his words. Death or a child, those were her current options. Could he not see that she was young herself? In retrospect she had managed to make it to the Plateau and survive a week on her own, so a child should be no match. It was also the only option that did not mean death. A smile spread across her lips. "I would be more than happy to try this out." Little did this lizard man know that she would only be there long enough to make him think she was loyal. Then by any means necessary she would leave.

Days turned into weeks and weeks into months. Naomi lost her desire to leave as she cared for the young lizard girl. After being approved to take charge of her, little Calia wormed her way into Naomi's heart. It was a week before the princess's seventh birthday and Naomi wanted to make it special. She remembered all to well her fifth birthday which was even more of a reason to make the day great. First she would need the child's father's permission. There were few times that she traveled into his chambers, and even fewer that he was actually there, but today was her lucky day. As she quietly knocked she could hear a voice on the other side permit entrance.

Malakai had gone over a defensive strategy with Decant when she came in. "Decant can you give us a moment?" The adviser obliged and left the room with a wicked gaze upon Naomi that did not go unnoticed, but was disregarded. The lizard did not have any care for the humans at all. "Naomi what brings you to my chamber? Is Calia alright?" He was not too worried about the princess. It was not proper to have too much feeling for her just because they were related.

"Calia is fine." For a moment Naomi wondered why he would ask as he had never done so before. "I would like to give her a birthday party." Her voice was strong as was her demeanor. This was something that she would demand of the King.

He was caught off guard by this blatant try to display some sort of power. In the months leading to this moment the woman across from him had been perfect for the plan devised between his father and himself. She had played her part, even though she knew nothing about it, when those pesky explorers came to Tribune's territory. It had sparked several other small rebellions, but this Kingdom was free of them because of her. "I do not understand the need for this frivolity." Giving in to this demand would give her a voice she was not allowed to have.

She did not relent. "I understand that it is not a lizard custom to celebrate one's birth, but it is a human one. It would be good for the image of your Majesty to respect those customs as well." Naomi was all too aware of the influence she had. Walking the market street many people would come to her and try to get something relayed to the King or would just give her what she wanted because she worked for him. Now it was time to manipulate the manipulator.

Malakai had to give her credit for thinking of such a thing. By all accounts she was right and it could not be ignored. That spirit made him smile for a reason he could not fathom. "Given your clear argument, I approve of the party. You may plan it."

"And that was the moment she got the upper hand on me." By the end of Malakai's story he was smiling. The time after that had been memorable as she slowly changed into the strong defiant woman that he married. It started small, but by saying yes to that party he had given birth to a Queen.

Challenger was at a loss for words. It was now clear that this man, because that is what he was, had very deep feelings for Marguerite's daughter. The tale he wove had much emotion and love woven into it. "I did not realize that Naomi was so much like her mother." His own lips curled into a smile. "Marguerite can be quite the opponent as well."

Malakai only gazed into the fire, more thoughts of his wife and children dancing in the flames.

"I'm sure."

The next chapter: Who will come out alive as the group battles Decant? At this point not even I am sure...