Disclaimer: don't own Black Jewels.
A/N: My face is burning with shame. I've found so many places where I've screwed up that I should just flog myself to death. But I have to give myself credit, I've gotten through my little writers block thing, so now I can keep going. I hope.
* * *
Daemonar woke up and looked around. It was dusk, and he was still sleeping on the couch in Shayna's sitting room. He rubbed his eyes and searched the room for his friend, but she wasn't there. Sighing, he got up and walked down the hall to the library, where he thought she'd be at.
The library was occupied, but not by Shayna. A young Dea al Mon Warlord sat in an armchair and was poring over a book. He didn't look up when Daemonar walked into the room.
"Hello?" Daemonar asked quietly, not wanting to surprise the man.
He looked up at Daemonar. "She's not in here. I don't know where she went," he said, sounding a little annoyed. "She was here a few hours ago, but didn't want to share my company."
Daemonar looked curiously at the man. "What do you mean, she didn't want to share your company? Shayna gets along with everyone."
The man was looking at the book again. He laughed and replied, "Not me. We have an interesting past."
Daemonar sat down across from the man. He was interested now. "What does that mean?"
The Warlord looked up. "I courted your friend for a few months. She didn't seem to like me.and it ended on bad terms." He shrugged. "Not a real big loss. There are plenty of other witches out there," he said nonchalantly.
Daemonar was a little surprised. There weren't many witches like Shayna. How could he pass her off like that? "Oh." He paused for a minute, then said, "So do you serve in Gabrielle's court?"
The Warlord closed the book with an annoyed huff and looked at Daemonar. "No, my parents serve. But the court is reconvening in a few days, so my parents brought me along for the trip. I pretty much grew up here." He looked at Daemonar. "Who are you?"
"My name is Daemonar. I live in Ebon Rih. I'm just here visiting Shayna for a few days."
"So you live with the former members of the Dark Court?" the Warlord asked.
"My father was the First Escort. He's still the Warlord Prince of Ebon Rih," Daemonar replied.
"Are you going to take his position? Or have you already made the Offering?"
Daemonar reached into his shirt and pulled out his Ebon-gray Jewel. "I've made the Offering.but I didn't want to rule. I have no interest in telling others what to do. Who are you?"
"My name is Karo. I'm a Warlord, but I haven't made the Offering yet. I don't think I'll have a position of authority, even if I were to be strong enough."
"What Jewel do you wear now?" Daemonar could have found out for himself, but he'd thought it rude to probe the younger man's mind just to find his rank.
"I wear the Blood Opal. I don't know if I'm strong enough to descend to the Red, but even if I do, the only position I could have would be one serving in this court."
Daemonar nodded. "If there was still a Dark Court, I'd be serving there, but Witch's reign ended about sixteen years ago. So I serve my father."
Karo was about to reply, but just then Shayna entered the room. "There you are! I've been looking for you. I got word from my father. They'll be back-" she stopped short when she saw Karo. She raised an eyebrow but continued. "They'll be back within an hour. Come on, we've got to get ready for dinner."
She turned on her heel and left the room without a word to Karo.
Daemonar gave a helpless shrug to Karo. "Will you be at dinner?"
Karo nodded and replied, "I will see you then!"
* * *
When Gabrielle and Chaosti arrived back at home, Gabrielle immediately sent a message to Karla, telling her that it was urgent and she should get to Dea al Mon as soon as she could.
Chaosti led his wife to their bedroom and sat her down in an armchair. He crouched in front of her and said, "Okay. Tell me. What is going on?"
Gabrielle's voice shook as she spoke. "A few weeks ago, I had a strange dream. It was.a vision."
"What was in the dream?" Chaosti asked.
"All I saw were two Dea al Mon witches dueling. I didn't understand, so I wove a web, hoping that would clear things up. It only made them more complicated. In the web." Gabrielle stopped, her voice shaky.
Chaosti took her hands. "What?"
"It showed Shayna in a duel with another young witch and.and the other woman won. I saw Shayna lying on the ground in a pool of blood, and then I saw a guard place a crown of leaves on the victor's head. I also saw a young Dea al Mon Warlord taking her hand, but the face was fuzzy; I couldn't see who it was."
Chaosti was shocked. Their daughter? In a duel? Defeated?
Gabrielle seemed to pick up on his shock, because she nodded. "I didn't tell anyone about it. I was hoping that it was just a strange dream.but it appears as though the web was right. I just hope that the future that it showed can be changed." She snorted. "A Black Widow hoping her vision is wrong."
"It might not be the same witch, Gabrielle."
She just shook her head. "The witch wore the Red, was a Black Widow Queen, and had that same distinct psychic scent."
Chaosti visibly shook. "Are the webs always right?"
Gabrielle just looked at him.
He was silent for a moment, and then asked, "Is that why you sent for Karla?"
Gabrielle nodded. "I preserved the web. I want her to take a look at it before I tell Jaenelle.and Shayna."
"How can we possibly tell Shayna?"
Gabrielle shrugged her shoulders helplessly. "I don't know.but we can't hide it from her."
Daemonar walked alone down to the dining hall. He'd gone back to Shayna's chambers just to find them empty. So he'd cleaned up a bit and then went back down to find everyone else.
On the way, he found Chaosti. He looked troubled, but brightened when he saw Daemonar. "What are you doing here?" he asked cheerily.
"I came to visit Shayna. I knew she wasn't happy with coming back, so I wanted to spend a day or two with her.if that's okay," Daemonar said.
Chaosti laughed. "Boyo, you've been a part of the family ever since you met Shayna. Of course you're welcome here."
Daemonar smiled. "So is everything okay? You seemed a little upset."
Chaosti looked a little uncomfortable. "Gabrielle and I got some.bad news."
"What bad news?" Daemonar pressed.
Chaosti sighed and pulled Daemonar into a nearby room. He ran his fingers through his long silver hair and sighed. "When Gabrielle and I went to that landen town.we found a threat to our family's rule. A witch.who wears the Red as her Birthright Jewel. I was worried at first but didn't really think too much of it until Gabrielle told me about her web." Chaosti paused as his breath hitched. "She saw the witch kill Shayna in a duel. She also saw a guard put a crown on the witch's head- meaning that this witch is going to take the throne from our family."
Daemonar couldn't speak for a moment. "Except for the duel, isn't that normal? I mean, thrones go from Queen to Queen all the time," he said, knowing the answer.
"No," Chaosti replied defeatedly. "The throne has stayed in Gabrielle's blood for.thousands of years. The Dea al Mon don't work like the rest of the Blood. It's a family inherited position, although caste and Jewel do play some part."
Daemonar scrubbed his face over his hands. "What are we going to do?"
Chaosti shrugged helplessly. "Karla is on her way here as we speak. Gabrielle wants to consult her before making any decisions."
"What about Jaenelle? Are you going to get in contact with her?"
"Eventually. But you know Jaenelle. She'd do the first thing any witch would knowing her friend's life was in danger: run off to find the perpetrator."
Daemonar gave a short, tense laugh. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Chaosti looked right into Daemonar's eyes. "You can keep my daughter safe."
A/N: My face is burning with shame. I've found so many places where I've screwed up that I should just flog myself to death. But I have to give myself credit, I've gotten through my little writers block thing, so now I can keep going. I hope.
* * *
Daemonar woke up and looked around. It was dusk, and he was still sleeping on the couch in Shayna's sitting room. He rubbed his eyes and searched the room for his friend, but she wasn't there. Sighing, he got up and walked down the hall to the library, where he thought she'd be at.
The library was occupied, but not by Shayna. A young Dea al Mon Warlord sat in an armchair and was poring over a book. He didn't look up when Daemonar walked into the room.
"Hello?" Daemonar asked quietly, not wanting to surprise the man.
He looked up at Daemonar. "She's not in here. I don't know where she went," he said, sounding a little annoyed. "She was here a few hours ago, but didn't want to share my company."
Daemonar looked curiously at the man. "What do you mean, she didn't want to share your company? Shayna gets along with everyone."
The man was looking at the book again. He laughed and replied, "Not me. We have an interesting past."
Daemonar sat down across from the man. He was interested now. "What does that mean?"
The Warlord looked up. "I courted your friend for a few months. She didn't seem to like me.and it ended on bad terms." He shrugged. "Not a real big loss. There are plenty of other witches out there," he said nonchalantly.
Daemonar was a little surprised. There weren't many witches like Shayna. How could he pass her off like that? "Oh." He paused for a minute, then said, "So do you serve in Gabrielle's court?"
The Warlord closed the book with an annoyed huff and looked at Daemonar. "No, my parents serve. But the court is reconvening in a few days, so my parents brought me along for the trip. I pretty much grew up here." He looked at Daemonar. "Who are you?"
"My name is Daemonar. I live in Ebon Rih. I'm just here visiting Shayna for a few days."
"So you live with the former members of the Dark Court?" the Warlord asked.
"My father was the First Escort. He's still the Warlord Prince of Ebon Rih," Daemonar replied.
"Are you going to take his position? Or have you already made the Offering?"
Daemonar reached into his shirt and pulled out his Ebon-gray Jewel. "I've made the Offering.but I didn't want to rule. I have no interest in telling others what to do. Who are you?"
"My name is Karo. I'm a Warlord, but I haven't made the Offering yet. I don't think I'll have a position of authority, even if I were to be strong enough."
"What Jewel do you wear now?" Daemonar could have found out for himself, but he'd thought it rude to probe the younger man's mind just to find his rank.
"I wear the Blood Opal. I don't know if I'm strong enough to descend to the Red, but even if I do, the only position I could have would be one serving in this court."
Daemonar nodded. "If there was still a Dark Court, I'd be serving there, but Witch's reign ended about sixteen years ago. So I serve my father."
Karo was about to reply, but just then Shayna entered the room. "There you are! I've been looking for you. I got word from my father. They'll be back-" she stopped short when she saw Karo. She raised an eyebrow but continued. "They'll be back within an hour. Come on, we've got to get ready for dinner."
She turned on her heel and left the room without a word to Karo.
Daemonar gave a helpless shrug to Karo. "Will you be at dinner?"
Karo nodded and replied, "I will see you then!"
* * *
When Gabrielle and Chaosti arrived back at home, Gabrielle immediately sent a message to Karla, telling her that it was urgent and she should get to Dea al Mon as soon as she could.
Chaosti led his wife to their bedroom and sat her down in an armchair. He crouched in front of her and said, "Okay. Tell me. What is going on?"
Gabrielle's voice shook as she spoke. "A few weeks ago, I had a strange dream. It was.a vision."
"What was in the dream?" Chaosti asked.
"All I saw were two Dea al Mon witches dueling. I didn't understand, so I wove a web, hoping that would clear things up. It only made them more complicated. In the web." Gabrielle stopped, her voice shaky.
Chaosti took her hands. "What?"
"It showed Shayna in a duel with another young witch and.and the other woman won. I saw Shayna lying on the ground in a pool of blood, and then I saw a guard place a crown of leaves on the victor's head. I also saw a young Dea al Mon Warlord taking her hand, but the face was fuzzy; I couldn't see who it was."
Chaosti was shocked. Their daughter? In a duel? Defeated?
Gabrielle seemed to pick up on his shock, because she nodded. "I didn't tell anyone about it. I was hoping that it was just a strange dream.but it appears as though the web was right. I just hope that the future that it showed can be changed." She snorted. "A Black Widow hoping her vision is wrong."
"It might not be the same witch, Gabrielle."
She just shook her head. "The witch wore the Red, was a Black Widow Queen, and had that same distinct psychic scent."
Chaosti visibly shook. "Are the webs always right?"
Gabrielle just looked at him.
He was silent for a moment, and then asked, "Is that why you sent for Karla?"
Gabrielle nodded. "I preserved the web. I want her to take a look at it before I tell Jaenelle.and Shayna."
"How can we possibly tell Shayna?"
Gabrielle shrugged her shoulders helplessly. "I don't know.but we can't hide it from her."
Daemonar walked alone down to the dining hall. He'd gone back to Shayna's chambers just to find them empty. So he'd cleaned up a bit and then went back down to find everyone else.
On the way, he found Chaosti. He looked troubled, but brightened when he saw Daemonar. "What are you doing here?" he asked cheerily.
"I came to visit Shayna. I knew she wasn't happy with coming back, so I wanted to spend a day or two with her.if that's okay," Daemonar said.
Chaosti laughed. "Boyo, you've been a part of the family ever since you met Shayna. Of course you're welcome here."
Daemonar smiled. "So is everything okay? You seemed a little upset."
Chaosti looked a little uncomfortable. "Gabrielle and I got some.bad news."
"What bad news?" Daemonar pressed.
Chaosti sighed and pulled Daemonar into a nearby room. He ran his fingers through his long silver hair and sighed. "When Gabrielle and I went to that landen town.we found a threat to our family's rule. A witch.who wears the Red as her Birthright Jewel. I was worried at first but didn't really think too much of it until Gabrielle told me about her web." Chaosti paused as his breath hitched. "She saw the witch kill Shayna in a duel. She also saw a guard put a crown on the witch's head- meaning that this witch is going to take the throne from our family."
Daemonar couldn't speak for a moment. "Except for the duel, isn't that normal? I mean, thrones go from Queen to Queen all the time," he said, knowing the answer.
"No," Chaosti replied defeatedly. "The throne has stayed in Gabrielle's blood for.thousands of years. The Dea al Mon don't work like the rest of the Blood. It's a family inherited position, although caste and Jewel do play some part."
Daemonar scrubbed his face over his hands. "What are we going to do?"
Chaosti shrugged helplessly. "Karla is on her way here as we speak. Gabrielle wants to consult her before making any decisions."
"What about Jaenelle? Are you going to get in contact with her?"
"Eventually. But you know Jaenelle. She'd do the first thing any witch would knowing her friend's life was in danger: run off to find the perpetrator."
Daemonar gave a short, tense laugh. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Chaosti looked right into Daemonar's eyes. "You can keep my daughter safe."