Hey guys! So yes. New chapter. Thank you all for your lovely reviews!
Scarlett Bloodwhite: Thank you so much! And I've updated!
MehScrewIt: Yes! I did do a chapter like this, but I screwed up so I deleted it. And cool theory XD
Mya2015: Update is here!
the Know: No prob! And yes! CARROT CAVALRY!
Golden Pheonix: I may not make it a redhead (Because I am one, and whenever I put a redhead in a story, everyone thinks it's me XD) but I'll definitely make it conflicting XD
Bestlauren: My god indeed XD
Luke16: Awww thank you :). As for Nye, hmmmmm will we ever know?
Chapter 19:
Ashmera was riding back to the caravan when she saw the blockade. Twenty soldiers stood armed across the road, blocking all escapes with swords and crossbows that were all trained on her.
She winced and stopped her horse, letting the soldiers come and disarm her. She was outnumbered and even though they were mortals, they would kill her quicker then she could touch them to break their bones.
She scowled as she saw a pudgy figure in silk robes approach on his large horse. The General. The best strategist there was.
He shook his head as the soldiers cuffed Ashmera and sighed,
You were such a good soldier Ashmera." He said sadly watching as the soldiers dragged her to him. She went limp in between them with hopelessness.
He dismounted and stood looking at her as they released her, forcing her on her knees with their blades. She hung her head and scowled at the ground.
"I'm still willing to let you go back." He said, looking at this pathetic figure.
Her scowl deepened and she growled, "What's the catch?"
"You can't be trusted all on your own." He said casually, smirking, "You're bringing your long lost boyfriend back with you." Ashmera scowled and snapped her head up looking at him with surprise,
"What?"
He snapped his fingers and a man stepped forward, large in build, with a dark, long beard and curly hair that was tied back. His eyes were dark and cunning. His arms were burly and he seemed to be covered with sweat and hair.
Ashmera wrinkled her nose with disgust.
"You will return to your assigned caravan with Cedric. You will tell everyone that he is the love of your life and he has just returned from the sea."
Ashmera scowled and sneered at Cedric as he looked at her hungrily, "And if I refuse?"
The General smiled down at her, "You're smart. I'm sure you already know what will happen to you." The blades that were pointed at her back poked her.
"Fine." She snarled. The General had forgotten that once she was left alone with Cedric, she'd kill him.
"I'm going to tell you a few things about Cedric. He's a brilliant actor, and he's a very impressive fighter. Better than you, I reckon."
Cedric grinned down at her, his red and shiny face looked like a beet.
"Oh, but what to do about your power?" The General said, pretending to be stumped. His eyes lit up as he pretended to remember what his solution was, "I know, when facing magic, use science."
Ashmera heard a soldier was behind her and move her hair to one side. She stiffened as a needle pieced the back of her neck and a strange chemical was injected into her system.
She gasped, as she felt something slipping away, something that was as much a part of her as her swords were. Something she relied upon. Her magic. It was gone.
"How?" She gasped, feeling naked and vulnerable without the constant hum of magic in her blood.
"Those scientist found a way to inject magic into a mortal. We found a way to do the opposite." He said, a smirk spreading across his pudgy face, "I'm sorry Ashmera, I really am, but you need to be controllable. And this is the only way." He said cheerily, motioning for the guards to uncuff her hands. She grabbed at one of the guards with her hand, straining to break his bones with a touch, something she never had to think about doing. Nothing happened and the guard smirked.
She scowled up at The General, utter hatred burning in her eyes.
"If you attempt to alert the others to your condition or our campaign, Cedric will kill everyone." The General said, mounting his horse again, and then turned to Cedric, "Have fun m'boy."
Cedric grinned and nodded. The soldiers marched off, and when they disappeared, Cedric turned to Ashmera, his rude grin gone, who was still kneeling on the ground, defeated.
"Come on." Cedric said gruffly, his eyes cast downwards, avoiding the angry gaze of the newly turned mortal.
Ashmera stumbled to her feet and staggered to her horse, the grace she had possessed seemed to have slipped away along with her pride and dignity.
She mounted and slumped in the saddle, flicking the reins. Cedric glanced at her twisted face and his eyebrows scrunched together with sympathy, "I'm sorry." He said quietly, but loud enough that she could hear.
She laughed. It was a dead, bitter thing. It was sharp and painful to Cedric's heart and ears.
"Alright boyfriend." She spat, scowling at the road ahead.
"Please don't call me that." Cedric said calmly, looking ahead.
"Why? You seem to be willing." She snarled.
"I have a wife. And a little boy. They're being held prisoner until The General either gets bored and kills them or I prove myself worthy." Cedric said coldly, "I'm a prisoner as much as you are."
Ashmera stiffened and looked at him, "You? A wife? I feel sorry for that wench." She spat, her face a mask of contempt.
His grip on the reins clenched harder, but he said nothing, staring ahead.
Ashmera scowled at his silence. She wanted a reason to hate him. She wanted him to scream at her and hit her. She wanted him to kill her. But he sat there, a tear trickling down his cheek.
"I'm sorry." Ashmera sighed, looking down at her hands, "I'm just-"
"Upset, I know." He said, "Losing your magic isn't exactly fun."
She looked at him, "They took away yours too?"
He nodded and made Ashmera feel even guiltier for acting like a child.
"I'm sorry." She said, her face turning to its natural stony state.
He managed a smile, "Well, since we'll be acting for who knows how long, we might as well get to know each other."
She looked up at him, "I'm a fighter, not an actor."
He raised an eyebrow, "I'm living proof that you can be both. Besides, you'd be an actress."
She rolled her eyes and smirked, "I don't care. You should join our caravan's little theater troop if you want to talk about that stuff."
His eyes lit up, "Theater troop? They do plays?"
"Yeah," She said, smiling sadly, thinking of the teenagers and how they went around their lives innocently, "They do skits about Skulduggery and Valkyrie mostly, but they also do scenes from the war."
He nodded, "I've heard you're Tanith Low's descendant. Is that true?"
She nodded, smiling gently, as if she tried to fake her happiness to much, her face would break, "Yes."
He nodded and looked back at the road, "My wife's a dwarf. Everyone claims that dwarfs came from the mages, but it's hard to believe."
Ashmera frowned, "I thought it was goblin and mage."
He shrugged, "Might be. It sounds more likely, but I wouldn't want to tell her that." He said, chuckling sadly, "She has a short temper, like most dwarves do. I only hope that it won't rub off on our son."
Ashmera plastered a fake smile on her face, "Yeah, I had a dwarf boyfriend once, we drove each other nuts." She said, trying not to think about how he had tried to kill her in the end.
He grinned, "Yes, most dwarves are from down south, near the sea. That's where I met my wife, on the beach. She hit me with a fish." He said, smiling at the memory.
"So you are a sailor." Ashmera said, smirking.
He nodded, "The only reason I stopped sailing was because I heard Yera, my wife, was pregnant."
Ashmera nodded, "I've never been on a boat. The ocean is too big for my taste. Who knows what monsters lurk below?"
Cedric looked at her, a glint in his eyes, "One time in a fishing boat, we saw a monster of a squid. It was bigger than three of our boats. It's pupil alone was the size of my head." He said, gesticulating to demonstrate how enormous the beast was.
Ashmera smirked, "I know when I'm being lied to. Squids are small."
Cedric rolled his eyes and sighed with mock defeat, "Well, I guess I'll just have to take you with me to prove it."
Ashmera raised an eyebrow, "I'm never going to go into a boat. Especially since you just told me there are monsters that are of unimaginable size."
Cedric smirked, "Well, the sea isn't for the weak of heart-"
Ashmera laughed, "Weak hearted? Me? I've got one of the hardest hearts you've ever seen. It's made of stone." She said, grinning. Something about Cedric was nice. Ashmera felt she could talk to him, and she already felt like she'd known him for ages. She hadn't even opened up to Echo this much.
Cedric grinned slyly, "Then promise you'll come with me on a boat, and sail the sea when this is all over."
Ashmera nodded, "Fine. When this is all over, I will. And I'll hate it."
Cedric smiled, "You never know, you may love it."
Ashmera laughed, "No."
Cedric smirked and they rode in silence for a while.
"So," Cedric finally said, "Do you have any family?"
Ashmera shook her head, "Just my dad, and he died a couple of years ago."
"No boyfriend?" He asked, frowning as if he couldn't believe it.
She laughed humorlessly, "No. I've tried, they all either end up trying to kill me, or they get killed."
Cedric raised his eyebrows, "You lead a violent life."
Ashmera smirked and nodded, "I only joined The General because my dad just died and I was homeless. Before that, my life was fairly normal."
Cedric laughed, "I think all of our lives got stranger when we joined with The General."
"Do you think the effects are permanent?" Ashmera asked Cedric, her voice growing glum.
"You're talking about our magic? Well, I don't see the point in taking our magic away temporarily."
She sighed and looked at Cedric, "Would you really kill everyone if I told them to stop travelling to the mountain kingdom?"
He nodded, "I have a family at stake, and if I have to kill yours to keep mine alive, I'm afraid I would."
Ashmera nodded with understanding. She had loved her father too. Then a fire mage had slaughtered him.
"I just don't want to see them walk into that trap." Ashmera said, sighing, "I've grown attached to them, because they can make me feel normal. I get the feeling most people get around their family when I'm around them. I just don't want anymore of my family to die."
Cedric nodded empathetically, "I know." He said simply and they rode the rest of the way in silence.