~O~

The High Priestess

The Twilight was surprisingly silent as it arrived at Kaon.

Eros took a deep inhale and walked into the library, finding Jhiaxus there, observing the ship's descent impassively via a monitor. She could feel his doubt through their link, but soothed him with her own trust and love, hoping it would be enough to pacify him. Jhiaxus simply responded with a deep sigh.

"Jhiaxus, I'm leaving now." she told him.

Jhiaxus glanced down briefly. "There are over thousands of recorded documents here. I've read them all more than once, but never have I had the chance to share them with anyone..."

Eros looked at him sadly. She knew what he was doing. "Jhiaxus..."

"I know." he said, quietly.

He turned and approached, holding her to his chest and placing a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I will not keep you here. You do what you feel you must."

"I wish you could come with me."

"That would complicate matters."

"Yes..."

Eros looked up at him and he lightly touched her cheek with one claw. "Then I will gladly wait for you if I must."

She closed her optics. "I know you will."

Jhiaxus parted from her and looked troubled. "Do you know what you will do now?" he asked.

"No. But I'll come up with something." Eros promised him.

Jhiaxus still seemed hesitant, but nodded his head. "Then you are free to go."

As Eros departed the ship later, Jhiaxus and the drones observed this from the bridge.

"She will release us from this war." Jhiaxus promised to himself.

A drone approached him. "My Lord, she is an Autobot!"

"I am well aware of that."

"If she betrays us, she will lead them all to our doorstep!"

Jhiaxus suddenly rose and grabbed the drone by the throat, startling the others. Specter couldn't very well see this, but he could deduce by the startled gasps and Jhiaxus' snarl that he had taken the drone in his hand.

"Yes, it is true, drone," Jhiaxus said, quietly, though gritted denta. "Autobots will constantly be at our backs. They will eventually find us and attempt to gun us down. But when that day comes, Eros will not be the cause of such actions. I trust her with my life and so long as I cycle breath, you will do the same. Do you understand?"

"Yes, my Lord!" the drone gagged, gripping at the fingers holding him.

"Again!" Jhiaxus spat, "I want to make certain you understand that!"

"YES!"

"Good." Jhiaxus released him and left the bridge.

Specter exhaled and heard the drone rising. "I told you not to say anything." he said.

O

Eros wasn't sure why she felt hesitation returning to Iacon.

She could see wounded Autobot outside the city walls, and suddenly remembered why. A selfish part of her sought to run from all of this and live a life of happiness with Jhiaxus. Being far from him made it feel as though their link was weak, but that was natural. Her father had told her he felt a peculiar tug at his spark when her mother had left for battle.

"Eros! Is that you?"

Eros transformed and stopped at the gates, spotting two Autobot guards above on the walls. "Yes! Let me in!"

"Open the gates! Send word to Ultra Magnus!"

Eros inhaled and stepped through the gates, meeting with her friends and comrades, who anxiously gathered to meet her. It wasn't long before Ultra Magnus pushed his way through the crowds and embraced his daughter, holding her tightly in his arms. She could hear his pounding spark beneath her audio receptor.

"Primus and all, I thought I'd never see you again..." he whispered.

"I'm fine, father. Alive and well." Eros smiled up at him.

"You must tell me everything!" Ultra Magnus insisted, not noticing Pontus and Tau making their way through the crowds as well.

"Well, I - " Eros began.

Pontus smiled a little, though he seemed intrigued by Eros' return. "It's good to see you again, Eros. We had been worried."

Eros frowned. "I can handle myself, you know."

It was good to put on an act so he wouldn't suspect anything. She knew Pontus was a rather intelligent mech who could smell an oddity a mile away, so she had to be certain nothing would betray her real reason for disappearing for over a month. It seemed to work for the others watching.

"Pontus, don't hound her," Alpha Trion's voice turned them toward the bot stepping through the crowds now. "Let Eros get some food and drink in her and we can discuss anything else later."

"Of course." Pontus said. "Priority first."

Eros was led away by her father and friends, yet she could feel Pontus' optics burning into the back of her helm.

Upon her return, she was not entirely interested in going out into combat again, so Ultra Magnus gave her a temporary leave so that she could rest from whatever trama she had endured. Eros had few talents in the Autobot army, but one of them was definitely in Intelligence and she had a way of keeping secrets if need be. She wanted to reveal to her father her love for Jhiaxus, but it would have to be at a suitable time. Much to her dismay, there were numerous questions from them all, but she assured them that she had been a prisoner for a short time.

Pontus was one of those questioning when she visited with Swift Streak. Tau was with him, but didn't say anything.

"You were his prisoner for an entire month." he said, folding his arms across his chest. "Interesting how you show no signs of suffering or neglect of health."

Eros rolled her optics. "Pontus, for someone you claims to know so much, you know so little." she muttered. "He kept me alive because I was the daughter of Ultra Magnus. His words were 'A dead hostage is no good to anyone. There can't be any necessary bargain when the object of such is in poor condition'."

Swift Streak smiled. "Sounds like him."

Pontus narrowed his eyes with interest. "And you managed to escape?"

"I found an opportunity and took it. Like the rest of us do in war."

It pained Eros to put on such a front, but it was better for Pontus not to suspect anything at the moment.

"Hm. Well, maybe I shouldn't be so quick to suspect. After all, you have returned and are safe once more." Pontus' features softened a little as he said this, but he quickly corrected himself by putting on a harder expression. "But we've come across those who flip sides more often than not. You understand."

"Yeah, I do."

Pontus smiled, as if he was finally pleased that she agreed with him, at least on something so trivial.

"Well, I'll leave you to Swift Streak," Pontus said, turning to go. "I have duties to attend to."

Tau lingered when Pontus departed. He gave Eros a smile. "Good to have you back." He leaned forward and whispered to her. "Pontus has been worried."

"I figured as much."

Tau chuckled. "Now I hopefully won't have to endure his chatter about it."

"Why do you even hang around with him anyway?" Eros asked.

Tau was silent for a moment. "He's been my friend since we were younglings. War changes some people."

"...That's true."

O

It felt like an eternity, though it had only been a few months since Eros had seen Jhiaxus.

She only felt the most brief flickers of his voice through their link when she ventured out into the cities. He would call upon her to see how she was doing and hoped that she would find a way to be by his side again. Eros felt that returning to the Autobots was a hollow gesture. Though she was among friends she had known for a long time, she had never felt more alone than she did now.

Ultra Magnus had spent more time with her than what he usually would under any other circumstance. Perhaps he felt the need to stay with her since her disappearance. It was a good opportunity for her to discuss the politics of war with him while they were alone having a meal.

"Father, what would you do if the war ended?" Eros asked him, chewing on an Energon cube.

Ultra Magnus didn't glance up. "I would go back to being a council member, probably." he replied. "And you'd be free to do what you wanted as well."

Eros smiled inwardly. That was good news. "I still think about it. Killing my friends out there."

"We've talked about this before. They're not your friends anymore."

"I know, I know. I just... What if a Decepticon decided they didn't want to fight anymore. Would you listen?"

"Eros, I don't like this talk, you know that."

"But really. Would you?"

Ultra Magnus looked down at her and sighed gently. "Of course I would. But it's not that simple." he told her. "Thinking about the 'what if's' will never help. Some bots are beyond our aid. Jhiaxus himself was one of our most proud scientists, and now he's nothing more than a common savage."

You're wrong. "I know it's silly. But I can't help but think about it, I guess."

"I know. You want to hope that things can change."

"...I do."

Ultra Magnus sighed and placed an arm around her. "I know, my daughter. So do I."

"We all do, my love."

Rhea had joined them by placing her arms over them both. Eros wouldn't see her, but Magnus did. He closed his optics.

Once Eros returned to her room later that night, she felt an unusual twist in her spark that nearly downed her. She clutched her chest and fell to her berth, letting out soft sobbing sounds. Jhiaxus must have felt her pain because she felt a wave of concern wash through her spark.

I'm fine, Jhiaxus. This...just isn't fair.

She wasn't sure if thinking would get the message across, but it must have because she felt a comforting, and quite soothing feeling of warmth touch her. She smiled and rested a hand to her chest, closed her optics and somehow managed to find the sleep she desperately needed.

When she fell into recharge, she had a dream that she was standing among Autobot corpses in the streets of Cybertron.

One of those corpses was her own.

O

Note - Commonly the High Priestess is associated with the card reader or the querant, because it is also focused on 'secrets' it also interpreted when a secret is kept or revealed, when you are holding on to the truth or revealing it, the card associated with mystery, when powerful feminine influences and support currently in force for the querant. It can also represent the perfect woman in a man's life, and to a woman it can represent being independently solo perhaps without a man. Words associated with this card are: Knowingness, Love, Relationships, Wisdom, Sound judgment, Serenity, Common sense, Intuition, Mystical vision, introspection, otherworldliness.