"Aftermath"
The first thing I was aware of was an intense pain in the back of my head. And a stinging pain running up my leg. There was also sharp points of pain scattered around my body.
I also felt horribly drained, like I'd sucked out all my energy with a hose.
I slowly opened my eyes, to see red paint coating the grass. Wait, no. Not paint, blood.
Then everything came rushing back to me.
The Shadow Slayers. The fighting. The smoke. The smog. The fire. The lightning. The knives. The blood.
Vitani. Athan. Tansy. Kalika. Kiron. Xavier. Austin. Oh my God, Austin.
I pushed myself up onto my hands and knees. Noticing that it was daylight. Then I rocked back so I was in a sitting position.
I chocked on a scream when I looked around.
The clearing where the once awesome party had been hold, was now littered with bodies. Witches, Shadow Slayers. I couldn't tell who was dead, and who was just hurt. I noticed some that were definitely breathing, but some I couldn't tell. Most of the Shadow Slayers seemed dead. However, there were definitely more Shadow Slayers last night. . . Some of them had definitely gotten away.
Most of the witches were on the ground. Although, some of them were up. They were stumbling around, looking around panickly, sobbing, trying to wake people up. One girl, covered in blood, was standing off to the side, screaming. Just looking around, and screaming. A non-stop, horror-movie, scream. Another girl was crawling towards the line of trees, where she collapsed and started crying. It was horrible to watch. Everyone looked horribly injured, and the one's who were awake looked traumatized.
I looked around wildly, searching for people I knew. The first one I found was Vitani. She was a few feet from me, and looked as if she had recently gotten up as well. Her short hair was soaked with blood, and her clothes were more red then black. Scratches and cuts decorated her skin along with the tattoos. Two parallel slashes ran down her left cheek. She was surveying the carnage with an angry expression. Which, immediately, turned to pain when her eyes stopped on a body across the field.
She jumped to her feet and ran over there. And I mean really ran. She jumped over the bodies, and swerved through the people who were up. Vitani stopped when she was a few feet from the body, and just fell to her knees. I couldn't hear her crying, because she was on the other side of the clearing. But, I could see her small frame shaking with sobs.
Instictually, I got up, and ran towards her. My run was more of a jog actually. I couldn't manage a real run at this moment, especially with the pain in my ankle. But, I went as fast as I could. I stopped dead when I reached Vitani. A few feet from us was Athan. He was lying on his back in the bloody grass, his arms limp at his side. His eyes were closed, and his head was tilted towards us. There was a gaping wound on his shoulder, and the skin around it was coated with blood. Actually, most of his skin was coated with blood. His arms were practically all red, and spots of red were scattered around his skin. He had an ugly bruise on his forehead, and blood trickling down from gashes on his forehead and jaw. I couldn't tell if he was breathing or not.
Vitani was shaking violently, and crying broken sobs. Her eyes were on the bloody grass, refusing to look at the body of her friend.
I knelt down next to her, adverting my eyes from looking at Athan.
"He's dead" she sobbed without looking up, "He's dead . . . because of me!"
I rubbed her shoulder, trying to console her.
"He's gone" she cried brokenly "He's gone"
"It's alright, Vitani" I soothed hollowly.
Her head whiped up to look at me. Her tears had mixed with the blood, and made it look like she was crying blood.
The emotion in her violet eyes was somewhere between crushing sadness, and blinding hate.
"How!?" she snarled "How can it be okay? How can it ever be okay!?"
"It will be" I promised "It will be"
"How!?" she demanded "How Becca, how!? He's dead! And none of my spells, or useless magic can ever bring him back!"
"It's not your fault. Nobody can bring back the dead" I consoled.
"No. But it's my fault that he's dead in the first place!" she cried "He died protecting me."
"It's not your fault" I promised.
"Yes it is. All of this" she sobbed, gesturing to the carnage around her, "All of this is my fault. I'm the one who threw this stupid party, I'm the one who brought everyone out here. I'm the one who took them away from the adult witches, the ones who could've of handled this. I'm the one who arrogantly took on three Shadow Slayers, just to find out I couldn't handle it. And just when I was about to get what I deserved for causing this, Athan jumps in and saves me. And dies! So, you tell me again that this isn't my fault"
I wanted to tell her that it wasn't her fault.
But I knew it wouldn't do any good.
"See" she cried "You agree. You know all of this is my fault."
"It's not your fault" I said again, not caring if it was futile, "You didn't kill him"
"I might as well have" she sobbed.
"Vitani" I said quietly "Blaming yourself is not going to bring him back"
It was obviously the wrong thing to say. And I didn't realize it 'till after I said it.
I wished I could take the words back.
Her lower lip trembled, and she chocked on a sob. She let out a broken cry, and lowered her head again to stare at the grass. Bloody tears rolled down her cheeks and dripped off her chin. Her body shook with sobs, and she cried, and cried.
I robbed her back, trying to comfort her. Even though I knew it was useless.
"Don't worry Vitani. Everything's going to be okay" I lied.
She looked up at me again, her face covered in bloody tears.
"He was my best friend" she whispered.
At that, my eyes began to sting like they wanted to tear. And then a few tears did escape my eyes.
I wiped them away absently with the back of my hand.
"I loved him" she whimpered quietly, so quiet it was almost as if she was saying it to herself.
More tears escaped my eyes as she crawled closer to his body.
She stopped a few inches from him, still not looking directly at him. She stared at his bloody hand lieing limply on the grass. She reached out, as if to place her hand on top of his, but her hand stopped dead in the air and fell to the grass. She inched her hand forward so that her fingers were barely touching his.
"I love you" she whispered.
Torrents of tears began pouring down my cheeks.
She placed her hand on top of his, and then her entire body froze. Like she'd been hit with some kind of stun gun.
With a new urgency, she placed her fingers to his wrist.
Her head whipped around to look at me. There was a faint hope in the back of her sad eyes, and her mouth was open in a little 'O' of surprise. Her expression was completely confused, and lost. Her head whipped back around to look at him again. She placed her fingers to his throat.
"No. . ." she whispered "He-can't. . ."
Urgently, she placed her hand over his heart.
"Oh my God" she whispered "Oh my God"
Louder this time, with more joy, and less surprise; "Oh my God, Oh my God!"
Her head whipped around to look at me. Her expression was filled with such a fierce joy that I was shocked.
"Becca! He's alive! Oh my God" she sobbed, a happy sobbing though.
"No way" I whispered, scrambling over to them.
I pressed my fingers to his throat, and felt the faint pulsing of blood in his veins. Continuing my evaluation, I placed my hand on his chest, and felt a very faint rising and falling.
"Oh my God" I mumbled, intensely shocked, but intensely happy.
Vitani looked up at the sky, and whispered "Thank you"
Then, she buried her face in his chest and cried even more. More of a happy crying though.
Crying from intense relief.
It felt like a miracle to me, and it must've felt like a miracle to Vitani as well. We had both assumed he was dead based on his horrible appearance. But, we hadn't gotten close enough to him. We hadn't checked if he was dead. We just assumed.
I was so happy that Athan was alright. He'd been really nice, and he definitely made a nice match for Vitani. And I always was a sucker for a good happy ending.
And that's when it hit me. Where was my happy ending?
"Where's Austin" I whispered in horror, half to myself, half to Vitani.
Only, Vitani was still sobbing.
I got to my feet, and looked around the clearing. I didn't see Austin anywhere. Which might've been a good thing, it meant he wasn't lieing around here dead.
But, if he wasn't here, where was he?
Maybe he went to go get help. Others are missing too. . .maybe they all went to get help.
But, for whatever reason, I didn't believe that.
I decided to use the bond to find him. The bond did have some perks. One of them being that I would know if he was dead, I would feel it. So, wherever he is, he's alive.
I reached out to his mind, and saw nothing. Blackness. But, I felt something. I felt pain in the back of my mind, and not my pain. This pain wasn't in the right places.
It was Austin's pain. He was somewhere. Unconsciousness and hurt.
And until he wakes up, I can't find him.
I heard rustling in the trees nearby. I assumed all of the other consciences witches heard it too. But none of them did anything. The screaming girl near the trees kept screaming, the sobbing Vitani kept sobbing, and the crying witches, kept crying. They obviously heard it, but none of them seemed to care. Perhaps they were in their own little worlds from the trauma, or perhaps it just didn't matter at this point.
Well, it still mattered to me. If the Shadow Slayers were back, then I would fight them. I was almost glad they were back. A chance to get another crack at the bastards who caused this.
I spun around to face the direction the rustling had come from. I stared into the woods, waiting for the Shadow Slayers.
But, it wasn't the Shadow Slayers who emerged from the bushes. It was the adult witches, the senor members of the Black Rose Coven. There were even more of them then the kids. In front was my grandmother, and Raziel. Raziel was covered in cuts, and blood. A couple of other young witches were with them, covered in blood and cuts as well. So, obviously, these were the ones who went for help.
People began screaming each other's names. Kids cried for their parents, and parents cried for their kids. People were hugging, and people were looking for their kids, and people were crying. Several witches flushed out to tend to the children on the ground.
My grandmother approached me, and hugged me so hard it hurt.
"Oh thank God your alright Rebecca" she said "Where's Vitani?"
I pointed numbly to where Vitani was clutching to Athan. I noticed that a woman and a man were kneeling next to Athan now too.
The woman was crying, and the man was carefully picking up Athan.
"Vitani!" Grandma Strega cried, and rushed over to them.
Feeling lost, I continued my scanning of the battlefield. Austin might not be here, but there were other people I was worried about.
I spotted Tansy, drooped like a wilting flower in Kiron's arms as he passed her off to a man, whom I assumed was her father. Both Tansy and Kiron both looked pretty banged up.
I spotted Kalika next, she was consoling Vitani as the man carrying Athan conversed with my grandmother. I noticed Raziel, helping Xavier up. Xavier blinked at the sunlight and looked around, seeming dazed. A man and woman, whom I assumed where Xavier's parents, pushed Raziel out of the way to get to their son. Raziel backed off quickly, and looked around for someone to help. I must've of looked pretty pathetic, because he came over to me.
"You okay?" he asked.
I shook my head, biting my lip, "I don't know where Austin is. . .he's unconsciousness and hurt somewhere. . ."
"I'm sure he's alright" Raziel promised, putting a comforting arm around my shoulders, "He's probably in the woods somewhere"
I nodded, although, I wasn't sure if I believed that.
Tears filled my eyes, as the weight of everything came crashing down on me.
I couldn't take it anymore.
And for the second time that day, I blacked out.
******
When I opened my eyes, I saw a blinding white light. For a split second, I thought I was dead. Then my eyes adjusted and I realized I was in a white room similar to a hospital room.
I was laying in a hospital bed, and I was alone.
I kicked off the blankets and swung my feet over the side. I got to my feat, and my head spun. But, everything refocused quickly. My head still throbbed, but I wasn't as drained.
I looked down at myself, I was still wearing my bloody shorts and tank top.
Confused, I went to the door, and stepped into a bland white hallway. People were rushing around, witches actually. With unconcealed marks. Some of them were crying, and others were rushing around busily. It reminded me of a hospital, actually.
I stopped a witch in clean white clothes with sheets in her hands. She looked kind of worn out, but seemed friendly enough.
"Excuse me" I said "Do you know where Vitani is?" I didn't feel the need to include her last name, How many Vitani's could there possibly be?
"Oh yes" she said, pointing to a room a few doors down, "She's in Athan Wolfe's room"
"Okay, thanks" I said, and forced a smile. I doubt it was very convincing.
I made my way to the room she pointed to. I debated mentally over whether to knock or not, I decided not to.
I opened the door, and the room inside looked similar to the one I was in before.
Everything was sterile and white. A small plasma was on the wall, and a desk in the corner. Lieing in the white bed was Athan. None of his tattoos were apparent, for whatever reason they must've used a concealing spell on them. He looked better then earlier. He was no longer drenches in blood, and his wounds weren't exposed. He had white bandages rapped around his head, and his shoulder. His left arm was in a cast, and his other arm was covered in bandages. His eyes were closed, and his breathing was more apparent then earlier.
Vitani sat in the chair pulled up next to the bed. She was cleaned up as well. Her face and hair were no longer soaked with blood. She had white bandages wrapped around one hand, band-aids scattered around her arms. The two slash marks on her cheeks were no longer bleeding, but they weren't bandaged. She had changed her clothes too, and was now wearing a black dress. It was almost knee-length, and sleeveless. It looked silky, but was generally very simple. Her blonde/black hair was styled in it's carelessly messy style, and her tattoos were still showing. She seemed in a much better mood then before. She just looked a little sad now, probably because Athan was hurt.
"Hey" I said quietly, softly closing the door behind me.
She looked up, "Oh hey" she said.
"How's he doing?" I asked, looking over his injuries.
She shrugged, "Okay. His injuries are severe, but he's stable. They say he probably won't wake up for at least a day, though"
"I'm sorry" I apologized, really not sure for what though. Just that he was hurt, I guess.
She wiped her eyes absently, as if she thought she was crying. She laughed, sort of shakily, "It's alright" she mumbled "As long as he's okay"
"How's everyone else?" I asked, fearing the answer.
"Nobody's dead" she said, and I sighed in relief, "For some people it's touch and go, though"
"That's awful" I said, slumping against the wall.
"I know. . ." she mumbled.
"As anybody seen Austin?" I asked nervously. I already knew the answer, she would've told me if they found him.
"No, sorry" she said "They just sent out people to look for him in the woods, I'm sure they'll find him"
"Sure" I mumbled, although I really didn't agree.
Vitani nodded absently.
"So, where are we?" I asked, filling the awkward silence.
"Infirmary. . .third floor" she answered.
"You guys have an infirmary?" I asked, surprised.
She rolled her eyes, acting more like herself, "We have a meditation room, a weapon room, a personal restaurant, and a ballroom. . .are you really that surprised we have an infirmary?
I laughed, "I guess not"
She didn't answer. Her eyes drifted back to Athan, and a sort of awkward silence came between us. Or, at least it felt awkward to me. Vitani might've even forgotten I was there.
"Do you know what they wanted?" Vitani asked abrutly, after a moment of silence.
"I thought they wanted me. . ." I admitted "I've run into them before, they specifically tried to kill me. . .they said they're boss wanted me dead. . .but. . .I don't know. . ."
She didn't answer, instead she stared vacantly out the window overlooking the backyard.
I wasn't sure if she was processing what I was saying, or just zoning out.
"But. . . maybe they didn't recognize me. . .you know, because of the tattoos" I continued.
"Yea" she mumbled "It would make sense. Because, last night, after a bunch of people were down, they just. . .left"
"Maybe they figured I wasn't there" I suggested.
Vitani nodded in agreement, and was about to speak, but was cut off.
"Or they just got what they wanted"
We both turned to see Attis standing in the doorway. He had bandages wrapped around his head, and around his arm. He was covered in cuts and bruises. He had changed into clean clothes though, and he wasn't covered in blood. Since he had a t-shirt on, you could still see all of his tattoos. For a minute I mistook the red tattoos for blood.
Instead of going immediately hostile like I expected Vitani to do, she looked thoughtful.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
His gaze moved to Athan, "Let's talk somewhere private" he suggested.
"He's asleep" Vitani snapped.
"I'd still feel better about this if we did this somewhere private" Attis said.
Vitani glared at Attis, "Fine" she snarled "At least if we leave you won't give him nightmares"
"Ha. Ha" he said sarcastically.
Vitani rolled her eyes at him, and then got up from her chair. She leaned over to kiss Athan's forehead.
"Aw" Attis mocked "I hadn't heard that you two were together. Isn't that precious, best freinds falling in love, how story book"
"If you enjoy living your gonna shut up" Vitani snapped at him.
He smirked, and we both shoved past him on our way out the door. He just laughed, and followed us.
He actually had the decency to shut the door behind him quietly.
Attis led us to a door across the hall. Inside it was empty. I assumed it was his room, considering he knew it would be empty.
We all stepped inside, and I closed the door behind us. Attis leaned against the wall, and Vitani sat down on the bed. I leaned up against the door.
"What do you mean they got what they wanted?" Vitani asked again.
"I mean that they got the Prince" Attis supplied plainly.
"What!?!?!" I thundered.
"Shhhh!" Vitani hissed "People are sleeping!"
I clamped my lips shut firmly.
"What??" I repeated, quieter but still outraged.
"They kidnapped the Prince" Attis said calmly.
"Who" I hissed, my voice low and dangerous.
"The Shadow Slayers. . ." he said with an eye roll. I leaped across the room and slammed into him. I pinned his arms at his side.
"Where. Is. He" I growled in his face.
"I don't know" he admitted "But, if I had to guess? I'd say the Arthasian palace"
"How do you know all this?" Vitani asked from across the room, suspicioun clear in her voice.
"I heard them talking" he explained "I passed out in the woods, and when I woke up a bunch of Shadow Slayers were talking. I pretended to be asleep still. They said something about how the others had the Prince and they were supposed to bring him back to the Arthasian capitol. And then something about how they couldn't find the Lost Witch. . .which proves just how stupid they are."
"Why are you telling us this" Vitani asked suspiciously.
"Because, even I, have morals. And most people with morals have a problem with random abductions" Attis explained.
"Theres just one part of this that doesn't make sense. . ." Vitani mumbled, deep in thought.
"What?" Attis asked.
"Since when do you have morals?" she asked.
He rolled his eyes, "You should consider being grateful for this information" he said.
"I am grateful" she said "Now shut up, I have to go tell my mother"
Vitani paused at the door. "Oh, and Becca?" she said "Don't kill him, yet. He's useful to us for now." Then she dashed out the door, closing it behind her.
I turned back to Attis, and he was smirking at me.
I glared at him, baring my teeth angrily.
"Play nice" he instructed smugly.
"Shut up" I snapped "I won't hesitate to end you"
"You heard Vitani" he said "Your not allowed to kill me"
"I believe the key words there were yet and for now" I snarled.
"Oh don't get testy just because your boyfriend was kidnapped" he said, rolling his eyes.
"I'm not testy. . .I'm fuckin pissed" I growled.
He was about to respond, but the door opened. Several people stepped in. Vitani, Prima, and a few men and women who I assumed where Prima's advisors.
They shut the door behind him.
"So, Attis Payne, you believe that you know where Prince Austeralgo is" my grandmother said formally, getting right to the point.
"I don't believe I know where he is. . .I know" Attis said.
"And how exactly do you know" she asked.
"I heard the Shadow Slayers say it" he explained "I got knocked out while fighting with some Shadow Slayers in the woods, passed out, and woke up to find them talking. Talking about takin' Prince Austeralgo to the Arthasian Capitol"
"Are you sure" she asked.
"Positive" he confirmed.
She turned to me, done with him. "Now Becca, Raziel says that you have reason to believe that Austeralgo is unconsciousness and hurt?" she checked.
I nodded, "Yes, I went into his mind. . .and it was dark and I could just barely feel pain in the background" I explained.
"I see. . .have you checked on him since waking up?" she asked.
"Well, no" I told her.
"Well, why don't you try now?" she asked.
"Okay" I said, drawing out the word.
I closed my eyes, and reached out to Austin's mind.
He was awake.
It was cold, and it was dark. Even to Austin. He could just barely make out the iron bars in front of him. He was sitting on the cold ground, and everything hurt. His head hurt especially, it felt like something was beating against his skull from the inside. His side hurt to, extremely. The rest of him just ached, and throbbed. He knew he was covered in bruises and cuts. He could even smell blood, and knew that it was his. Experimentally, he reached up to touch his hair and, sure enough, it was soaked with blood.
He had woken up a few minutes ago, and found himself passed out on the cold floor. In some kind of cage. He was surrounded by metal bars. And the cage wasn't very big. Big enough for someone to lay down in, or even pace comfortably. But, still, not very big.
As he peered through the metal bars he could make out other cages, all empty. He was pretty sure that he was alone. He couldn't see anyone, not even an outline. And he didn't hear any noises except his own heavy breathing. And the only blood he could smell was his, so he was most definitely alone.
He had no idea where he was. The last thing he remembered was fighting with some Shadow Slayers, and they were driving him into the woods. He hadn't noticed until they were fighting amongst the trees. Still, he was winning. Until something bashed him over the head and everything went black.
Then he'd woken up here. He had a vague feeling of where 'here' was. Although, it was just a hunch. Wouldn't it be just so damn hilarious if he was kidnapped by Arthasians again?
What would this be? The third time? Well, at least their changing things up. Instead of sending immortals after him, this time they sent psyco cult-like humans. . .
He sat alone in the dark for a little while, leaning against the cold bars. He knew there was a lot of things he should be worrying about. If the others were alright, if I was okay, when he would get out of there. But, he didn't think about them. He just wanted to sleep.
He leaned his head back against the bars, and closed his eyes.
He was drifting when he heard a creaking sound, and smelled humans, and one vampire.
He opened his eyes, and saw light shining from a door. People were stepping into the dungeon like room. They shut the door behind them, cutting off light.
But, they flicked on the lights above. The lights were dim, but at least he could see a little now.
He wasn't as pleased about seeing again as he thought he'd be. Because the first person he saw, was Princess Aurora. She was coming towards the cage, flanked by a group of Shadow Slayers. She had on a slim blood red gown that reached the floor. Her blonde hair flowed around her shoulders and a smiled played on her full lips. And he hated her with a passion. The sight of her made his stomach lurch, and made him want to break things.
She came closer to the cage, and bent over it, her hands on her knees. She peered at him through the bars, smirking.
"Morning darling" she said sweetly.
Unable to think of a response, Austin snarled at her.
She laughed, "Cranky I see" she said "Understandable. You are pretty banged up. . .possible concussion. . .and I have reason to believe you have several broken ribs"
"Not to mention I'm in a cage" he snapped.
"You don't like it?" she asked with mock surprise "I thought it'd be a refreshing change from that dreary suite you usually stay in"
"Because I always enjoy being locked in cages" he growled sarcastically.
"Well, you don't have to stay down here if you don't want" she said "All you have to do is promise to marry me and you can come upstairs to our room."
"I think I'd rather stay in the cage" he said tonelessly.
She laughed, "I think a few nights down here will change your mind"
She straightened up then, and grabbed a key from around her neck.
"Now, Austin" she said, putting the key in the lock, "I'm going to open this door, and your not going to try to escape."
"Then your clearly crazier then I thought" he snapped "Because I'm at least going to try and escape. Why wouldn't I?"
"Because, your hurt, your tired, your outnumbered, and we don't want to have to hurt you" she said.
He had to admit, those were pretty good reasons.
But, attempting to escape still sounded appealing.
When Aurora swung the door open, Austin didn't move, he stayed put on the cold floor.
"Well, come along" she prompted "Get up"
Unwillingly, he pushed himself to his feet. He gripped the iron bars for support.
"Now come out" she continued slowly, as if she was dealing with a child.
He stepped out of the cage, but didn't feel any less trapped.
He stood on the threshold of the cage.
He wanted to make a run for the door, but that would be stupid. He was obviously under the palace. Which would mean that the door would probably lead him to the upstairs of the palace, which would be full of people. Not to mention that, even here, he was outnumbered.
"Now, I'm not going to drink from you . . .today" Aurora continued "Your to drained as it is. . .Although, the scent of all the spilled blood is making me kind of thirsty"
She grinned, revealing her elongated fangs.
"Then why did you take me out" he asked, keeping his voice emotionless.
"Because I want to see if you can be trusted not to run" she explained.
He had a lot of smart-ass responses to that, but thought better of them. About ninety percent of them would get him slapped, and ten percent would get his remaining blood drained.
So, he bit his tongue. And ground his teeth to keep from responding.
Aurora reached out then, to touch his hair. She twirled the bloody, dirty lock of hair around her finger a few times. Austin didn't move, he knew that was the best move right now.
"You are absolutely filthy" Aurora noted "Once you come to your senses, and all this is over, I really need to give you a good bath"
He couldn't take keeping quiet anymore. "I think I'm quite capable of bathing myself" he snapped, bitterly sarcastic.
She smiled, "You'd be surprised how difficult it is do simple tasks with a broken arm"
Austin furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "My arms not broken" he said slowly.
He was sure it wasn't. Actually, his arm was one of the few things that wasn't broken.
"Really?" she asked, reaching out to touch his arm. She probed along his bloody arm, gently poking it with her thumb and pointer finger. She started at his shoulder and worked her way down his arm. When she reached halfway between his elbow and his hand, she paused. Her grip on his arm tightened, and she smiled. Then, she snapped it.
The sound of the bone cracking echoed through the spacious room. Austin chocked on a scream, and stumbled back into the cage.
Aurora slammed the door in his face.
In agonizing pain, he dropped to his knees, cradling his broken arm to his chest. Panting, he fell the rest of the way to the floor, and curled on his side.
He breathed in shakily, clutching his arm. He gritted his teeth and tried not to scream. A whine did, however, escape his lips.
Looking pleased, Aurora said "Looks like it is broken after all"
He wanted to scream at her, to call her an evil bitch, and curse her out. But he couldn't. If he opened his mouth he would definitely scream.
Aurora smiled down at him, and blew him a kiss.
She strutted over to the door, and paused there.
"Sleep well my angel" she said before disappearing.
They shut the door behind them, and turned the lights back off.
Alone in the dark, with pain surging through his arm, he lay on the cage floor.
He wanted to go home.
I hadn't realized I was screaming until I snapped out of it.
And I was really screaming. If you didn't no better, you'd think she had broken my arm. It sure felt like she did.
My grandmother was shaking my shoulders.
"Becca" she said "Becca, wake up"
I blinked a few times, but didn't stop screaming yet. I let it go on for another thirty seconds before giving it a rest.
I slumped back against the wall, panting.
"What is it?" my grandmother asked "What happened?"
"Aurora-Aurora broke Austin's arm!" I shouted.
"Princess Aurora?" my grandmother asked, surprised.
"See, I told you it was the Arthasians" Attis said smugly from across the room.
She ignored him, "Where is he?" she asked.
"In some kind of dungeon. . .in a cage. . .below the Arthasian palace" I gasped "Aurora said that she wasn't letting him go until he agreed to marry her. And they were talking, and she said something about his arm being broken. . .and he said it wasn't. So, she took his arm and looked at it for a minute. And then just-just snapped it"
Vitani slammed her hand down on the desk in the corner, "That little bitch!" she shouted.
Nobody repremened her for cursing like I expected.
"Harmony" my grandmother commanded "Get the Council on the phone"
One of the women, who I assumed was Harmony, nodded and ducked out of the room.
"The Council won't do shit" Vitani snarled.
"Now, Vitani-" my grandmother began.
"She's right" I interjected "The Council won't help, we have to do this ourselves"
"We can't just go to the Arthasian Palace" my grandmother said lightly "All of the the young are injured, and many of the adults are horribly upset"
"We don't need everybody" Attis chimed in "We could-"
"That's quite enough, Attis" my grandmother interupted harshly "Thank you for your service, but perhaps now you should go"
"Fine" he snapped, glaring at her. He shoved his way to the door, and slammed it behind him.
Vitani's head whiped around to glare at her mother, "You didn't have to do that" she hissed.
"Attis doesn't know what he's talking about" her mother said "He doesn't realize all of the strategy and resources needed to break into the Arthasian Palace"
"Well, then neither do I" Vitani snapped "Because as far as I see, a simple transportation spell could be used to bring us there and back"
"It's not that simple" my grandmother explained "The Arthasian Palace has wards all around it, it could take days to remove them"
"Then let's get started" Vitani suggested harshly.
"The Council will handle things Vitani" grandmother soothed "They'll help him"
"Did they help Aella!?" Vitani demanded, tears in her eyes, "Did they!?"
Her mother looked stunned, she stood frozen place.
Eyes sparkling with tears, Vitani ran from the room.
My grandmother recovered after a minute, "I'm sorry about all that, Rebecca" she apologized "Don't you worry, we'll sort this out"
She kissed me on the forehead, and left the room, along with her advisors. They closed the door behind them.
I had absoloutly no idea what just happened.
All I know, is that they're planning to have the Council rescue Austin.
I also know that Vitani was right, we have to do this ourselves.