Ch. 18
AN: I think I will dedicate this chapter to minute Maid Apple Juice ( I think that's right…) b/c I love your story! And you actually update….(*ahem* swimfreak.)
Righto….on with the story.
"Briar," Sandry started. "I-I…yes. I guess. I mean, I think I mght love you, but I'm not sure, and every time I see you, which isn't often, if you'll notice, it's just that I'm so busy, so I just can't see you very often, but every time I see you—" Briar, smiling gently at her ramblings, gripped her face with both his hands. He watched her eyes grow larger as he leaned in closer. "Briar, I've never been kissed before, you know that, r—" Her eyes closed involuntarily as her lips were captured by his. The muscles in her stomach tightened, her knees felt slightly weak. All she could think about was his lips on hers. She felt his hands leave her face, one coming to rest gently on her waist, the other tangling in her hair, tenderly bringing her closer to him. After a shocked second, she slowly brought her small hands up behind his neck, clasping them together. One long finger twirled in the fine strands of his dark hair, making Briar shudder with delight. He laughed softly as he broke their kiss.
"That tickles, Sandry." She smiled back at him. "I think I love you, too. And I know I'm not supposed to, but frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.*" She chuckled, then pulled him closer to her for another kiss.
"Neal, will you sit down please?!" Kel was irritated and annoyed. She knew why Neal was pacing so restlessly: it was because of that Sandry girl. "Bitch." The word crept out of her lips softly. Kel didn't think anyone had heard it, but she was wrong.
"Who's a bitch?" Tris bluntly inquired.
"Euh…you are." Kel glared at the redheaded girl; it was true; Tris was definitely a bitch.
"So're you. Have you tried one of these tea cookies?" Evidently, cussing Tris out was the best way to make friends with her. Kel decided that she had to respect that. She smiled at the shorter girl and reached for a cookie.
The door opened again. Everyone looked, hoping it was Sandry. When they saw it was only a meduim sized oriental woman, they all turned away and resumed their conversations, except for the Duke.
"Dedicate Moonstream! What brings you here?"
"I'm sorry to interrupt, your Grace, but one of our students has sighted something most…unsettling."
"Oh? Come with me, we shall discuss this. Your Majesties, if you would care to accompany us?" They nodded. Introductions were made on their way to the Duke's conference room. As they all arranged themselves around a thick stone table, Moonstream took in a deep breath and began.
"Houghton Bahakus was meditating when he was touched by a vision. He saw Lady Sandrilene in Namorn, with a young man. They both stood on a high balcony, with many people below them. Then he saw Lady Sandrilene nod, and hundreds of men fell to the ground, and blood ran freely through the streets. He said that next, black stones, like onyx, came raining out of the sky. They all bounced off the people below, but each one cut Sandry. He said that then she fell to the ground, and the man leaned over and touched her heart, and she got up, and was fine. Then she said something that he couldn't understand, and all the men that had fallen down got up, and then everything was paved in gold and shimmered like nothing he had ever seen. And all the people seemed happy, except for Sandry. She stood there and started to cry, and then another man came up and put a large crown on her head. I didn't quite understand all of this, but because the young student is from Namorn, he was able to explain it. It seems that the crown placed on her head was the Empress's crown; Sandry was the new Empress. He said that there was an old wives' tale about this happening, except in the tale, every able bodied man in the Empire died, and nothing was ever good again." Moonstream took a deep breath after finishing her tale, and sat back, waiting for a reaction.
"It makes sense." Was all that the Duke said. The Kind merely nodded his head.
"No, it doesn't. Why is Sandry the Empress?" Moonstream had evidently not yet heard about the Empress' death.
"The Empress of Namorn is dead. She named Sandry as her heiress. Sandry is the rightful Empress of Namorn, but she is undecided as to whether or not she will take the throne." Moonstream's eyes widened, then she nodded. "We won't tell her, Sandry I mean. She has the ball to think of. If and when she accepts the throne, that is when we shall tell her of this vision. Until then, I want nothing spoken of it. Nothing." The Duke's tone was authoritative. The King and Queen murmered their agreement in his wise descision, and Moonstream nodded.
"I'll tell Houghton. He shall be instructed to not tell anyone."
"So you're the Lioness, eh?" Daja had been trying to get enough nerve to speak to the legendary female knight.
"Yes. So you're Daja, eh?" Daja nodded. "I hear you're good with metals. I've been looking for a new smith since my friend Coram died. How about we head down to the smith sometime tomorrow, you can show me what you do. I might commission you to make a new suit for me. I've heard good things about you." Daja's eyes lit up with excitement. She nodded vigorously. Alanna laughed at her excitement. "Tell me what new things you've discovered. I heard from Frostpine that you work very well with steel."
"Niklaren Goldeye. Been quite a while, eh?" Numair and Niko shook hands like old friends, grinning fiercely.
"Arram! Oh wait, it's Numair isn't it? Seems someone mentioned it to me. Haven't seen you since that fiasco in Carthak! How've you been?"
"Wonderful, wonderful. Have you met my wife, Daine?"
Sandry and Briar had talked for hours about nothing in particular. Eventually, Sandry had rested her head in Briar's lap and fallen asleep in the middle of a sentence. Briar had soon followed her, tangling his hands in her hair and resting his head against the brick hearth of her fireplace. Everything seemed to be going well for now. The only person unnacounted for was the furious Neal, who paced the hall, thinking up plans to win Sandry over. For some reason, all of the plans involved him roughly pulling her to him, and forcing himself on her. He smiled. She would be his. He knew it.
AN: wow, I can't believe I got another chapter out! Yeehaw! * We all know what this is from: Gone with the Wind. For the politically inclined readers, Bahakus is a variation on Senator Spencer Bachus' name. He's an Alabama senator, and I just happened to have a letter from him sitting next to me while I was trying to come up with a name. Houghton Mifflin is a publishing company. There's a lot going on in the story right now, but don't worry, I'll do my best to not forget anything! Feel free to remind me if you think I did….i just might if know one does! Also, feel free to give me suggestions a/b where you want this to go. I'm very open to any ideas! Remember, read and review! And keep updating your own stories! That's where I get my inspiration to update mine! 3 babooshka.
AN: I think I will dedicate this chapter to minute Maid Apple Juice ( I think that's right…) b/c I love your story! And you actually update….(*ahem* swimfreak.)
Righto….on with the story.
"Briar," Sandry started. "I-I…yes. I guess. I mean, I think I mght love you, but I'm not sure, and every time I see you, which isn't often, if you'll notice, it's just that I'm so busy, so I just can't see you very often, but every time I see you—" Briar, smiling gently at her ramblings, gripped her face with both his hands. He watched her eyes grow larger as he leaned in closer. "Briar, I've never been kissed before, you know that, r—" Her eyes closed involuntarily as her lips were captured by his. The muscles in her stomach tightened, her knees felt slightly weak. All she could think about was his lips on hers. She felt his hands leave her face, one coming to rest gently on her waist, the other tangling in her hair, tenderly bringing her closer to him. After a shocked second, she slowly brought her small hands up behind his neck, clasping them together. One long finger twirled in the fine strands of his dark hair, making Briar shudder with delight. He laughed softly as he broke their kiss.
"That tickles, Sandry." She smiled back at him. "I think I love you, too. And I know I'm not supposed to, but frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.*" She chuckled, then pulled him closer to her for another kiss.
"Neal, will you sit down please?!" Kel was irritated and annoyed. She knew why Neal was pacing so restlessly: it was because of that Sandry girl. "Bitch." The word crept out of her lips softly. Kel didn't think anyone had heard it, but she was wrong.
"Who's a bitch?" Tris bluntly inquired.
"Euh…you are." Kel glared at the redheaded girl; it was true; Tris was definitely a bitch.
"So're you. Have you tried one of these tea cookies?" Evidently, cussing Tris out was the best way to make friends with her. Kel decided that she had to respect that. She smiled at the shorter girl and reached for a cookie.
The door opened again. Everyone looked, hoping it was Sandry. When they saw it was only a meduim sized oriental woman, they all turned away and resumed their conversations, except for the Duke.
"Dedicate Moonstream! What brings you here?"
"I'm sorry to interrupt, your Grace, but one of our students has sighted something most…unsettling."
"Oh? Come with me, we shall discuss this. Your Majesties, if you would care to accompany us?" They nodded. Introductions were made on their way to the Duke's conference room. As they all arranged themselves around a thick stone table, Moonstream took in a deep breath and began.
"Houghton Bahakus was meditating when he was touched by a vision. He saw Lady Sandrilene in Namorn, with a young man. They both stood on a high balcony, with many people below them. Then he saw Lady Sandrilene nod, and hundreds of men fell to the ground, and blood ran freely through the streets. He said that next, black stones, like onyx, came raining out of the sky. They all bounced off the people below, but each one cut Sandry. He said that then she fell to the ground, and the man leaned over and touched her heart, and she got up, and was fine. Then she said something that he couldn't understand, and all the men that had fallen down got up, and then everything was paved in gold and shimmered like nothing he had ever seen. And all the people seemed happy, except for Sandry. She stood there and started to cry, and then another man came up and put a large crown on her head. I didn't quite understand all of this, but because the young student is from Namorn, he was able to explain it. It seems that the crown placed on her head was the Empress's crown; Sandry was the new Empress. He said that there was an old wives' tale about this happening, except in the tale, every able bodied man in the Empire died, and nothing was ever good again." Moonstream took a deep breath after finishing her tale, and sat back, waiting for a reaction.
"It makes sense." Was all that the Duke said. The Kind merely nodded his head.
"No, it doesn't. Why is Sandry the Empress?" Moonstream had evidently not yet heard about the Empress' death.
"The Empress of Namorn is dead. She named Sandry as her heiress. Sandry is the rightful Empress of Namorn, but she is undecided as to whether or not she will take the throne." Moonstream's eyes widened, then she nodded. "We won't tell her, Sandry I mean. She has the ball to think of. If and when she accepts the throne, that is when we shall tell her of this vision. Until then, I want nothing spoken of it. Nothing." The Duke's tone was authoritative. The King and Queen murmered their agreement in his wise descision, and Moonstream nodded.
"I'll tell Houghton. He shall be instructed to not tell anyone."
"So you're the Lioness, eh?" Daja had been trying to get enough nerve to speak to the legendary female knight.
"Yes. So you're Daja, eh?" Daja nodded. "I hear you're good with metals. I've been looking for a new smith since my friend Coram died. How about we head down to the smith sometime tomorrow, you can show me what you do. I might commission you to make a new suit for me. I've heard good things about you." Daja's eyes lit up with excitement. She nodded vigorously. Alanna laughed at her excitement. "Tell me what new things you've discovered. I heard from Frostpine that you work very well with steel."
"Niklaren Goldeye. Been quite a while, eh?" Numair and Niko shook hands like old friends, grinning fiercely.
"Arram! Oh wait, it's Numair isn't it? Seems someone mentioned it to me. Haven't seen you since that fiasco in Carthak! How've you been?"
"Wonderful, wonderful. Have you met my wife, Daine?"
Sandry and Briar had talked for hours about nothing in particular. Eventually, Sandry had rested her head in Briar's lap and fallen asleep in the middle of a sentence. Briar had soon followed her, tangling his hands in her hair and resting his head against the brick hearth of her fireplace. Everything seemed to be going well for now. The only person unnacounted for was the furious Neal, who paced the hall, thinking up plans to win Sandry over. For some reason, all of the plans involved him roughly pulling her to him, and forcing himself on her. He smiled. She would be his. He knew it.
AN: wow, I can't believe I got another chapter out! Yeehaw! * We all know what this is from: Gone with the Wind. For the politically inclined readers, Bahakus is a variation on Senator Spencer Bachus' name. He's an Alabama senator, and I just happened to have a letter from him sitting next to me while I was trying to come up with a name. Houghton Mifflin is a publishing company. There's a lot going on in the story right now, but don't worry, I'll do my best to not forget anything! Feel free to remind me if you think I did….i just might if know one does! Also, feel free to give me suggestions a/b where you want this to go. I'm very open to any ideas! Remember, read and review! And keep updating your own stories! That's where I get my inspiration to update mine! 3 babooshka.