Chapter 6- The Blame Game
A/N: This certainly is a quick update! Thanks to all who reviewed me! You are so wondeful! R&R everyone!
Disclaimer: Me don't own, they belong to Tamora Pierce and her publishers, blah blah blah.
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In a prison.
With Joren.
Waiting to die.
I didn't want to think about all that was happening, what this all meant, but I had to. Joren was sleeping (how did he manage to do that at a time like this?) and prison cells are extremely boring and impossible to break out of. So I had to think.
I didn't deserve to die! I was too young, just nineteen a month ago! There were so many things I had never done, so many dreams I had yet to accomplish. I had only begun my work to make Tortall a better place. It was like taking a new candy from a child just when they had begun to discover how much they liked it. When you're a knight, you know that there is always a chance of being killed, but it was completely different when the enemy had arranged the date of your death like it was a teaparty. And no one would even know I was dead... Contemplating your own death is just too difficult.
Even more difficult was thinking about my friends and family. If Joren and I died, no one would know about the war and it was likely that they would all die. It wasn't only our lives Joren and I had to protect- all of Tortall's fate rested on our sholders. That's just a little bit too much pressure to take, thank you.
Just then, my bitter enemy- and ironically enough, my only ally at this time- awoke. His slightly messy hair and skin were utterly white in the gloominess of the underground room. Streching, he remarked,"So, we're not dead yet." Well, that was obvious enough, wasn't it? I was extremely annoyed at how he could seem so calm and collected, even managing to take a nap, when our deaths were looming in our future.
"How can you just be like that?! It's so infuriating!" I questioned angrily. I wasn't normally like this, but I was a little stressed out at the minute.
"I don't fear death." he responded. "But I'm so glad that you care so much about me, Mindelan."
"Oh shut it, Joren! Won't your family and friends miss you?"
He let out a hollow laugh, so deviod of emotion that it chilled me to the bone. "Friends? What friends? And my family won't give a damn if I die. They might seem upset, but that's probably because it would mean they couldn't marry me off and earn more fame for Stone Mountain. Believe me, if I died, most people would just say 'Good riddance, he was always a jerk anyway'." I inwardly cringed, realizing that I probably would have said that exact thing. I had no idea if there was anything nice for me to say. How do you comfort the person that has tormented you and beat you up for years? Besides, he would probably just get mad at me.
"Well, you would deserve it if people said that about you. You aren't exactly the nicest person in the world!" So maybe that wasn't the best thing to say. It was downright mean, really. But it felt more natural arguing with Joren then it felt comforting him.
Joren flushed, then glared at me. "At least I'm not a perfect goody-goody, who always does what is moral and right! I bet you've never made a mistake or disappointed someone in your entire life, have you?!"
It was my turn to blush. "At least I don't always make mistakes and screw everything up! That's the whole reason we're going to die, anyway!"
"My fault?! You must be joking! You're the one that can't even act or get a guy to flirt with!"
"It's certainly not my fault! You are the one who is always fooling around and insulting me! How were they supposed to believe we're friends when you were criticizing me and bossing me around all the time!"
"Don't blame me because you can't take a friggen insult!" He yelled back at me. We both just sat on opposite sides of the cell, glaring daggers at each other. I hated him so much. The bastard! Any sympathy I might have had for him earlier was completely gone by now, which was probably just the way he had intended it to be.
Suddenly, a man I didn't recognize entered our chamber. We transferred our glares to him for a second, then went back to our furious staring contest. He came forward and said, "I would think two people about to die would pay more attention to the man with their fates in his hand." That caught my attention. I wondered why I had never seen him before if he was as important as he claimed. Before I had a chance to ask him who I was, Joren was speaking.
"Why are you here? Come to rub that in our faces, right?"He sneered.
"Well, Joren, that could be the reason I am here. But why would I tell you? It looks like I'm the one in a position to ask questions here, not you."the man taunted.
"Let us out of here. We weren't planning treason against your stupid King. You can have him. We have no need of him." Joren answered calmly. I had to recognize the irony in that- he could remain perfectly collected around the man who had the power to kill him or save him, but he lost his temper at me.
"I know you're not planning to kill the King, you idiot. We all know. That whole thing was just an excuse to arrest you. Our exaulted leader wouldn't believe that you were really spies, and it is much harder to catch someone spying then it is to set them up. And really, why do you want to get out of here so badly? Tell me- is the brave, bold hero, Joren of Stone Mountain, afraid of being killed? It's not as though there would be anyone else in all of the world who cared if you died." And I thought that Iwas being mean to Joren! As much as I hated him, I don't think even I would go that far in insulting him.
Joren was furious. He growled and dove at the unknown man. "Uh uh." he scolded, wagging his finger at Joren. "These will make sure you don't get out of your place." Chains appeared out of thin air, attaching Joren to the wall. Still, Joren fought to get to the man.
"You bastard! I'm going to rip off your f-"He pointed at Joren and ended his insult.
I rushed over to Joren, who had been hit in the stomach by a large beam of black light. The chains that had been holding him back were gone. It was impossible to tell if he were dead or just knocked out in the weak light that penetrated the darkness of our room. I had know idea why I was so concerned about this person who just a second ago I was mentally stabbing. "Why did you do that? You really hurt him!"
"I was tired of his insults and his pathetic attempts at killing me. He's only knocked out, don't worry. I'm surprised though- I would have thought you had better taste in men, Lady Knight."
"What?! I do not like Joren! And how did you know our names?"
"I've known since the very beginning. Hmm, almost time to announce that our ships are going to Tortall to the nobles. I'm afraid I must leave you, my dear. Oh, and don't get too attached to Joren- you'll only both be alive for a few more hours!" he let out a horrible, grating laugh that made the hair stand up on the back of my neck and left.
I examined Joren as best as I could in the faint light. He seemed okay to me, but I didn't have much experience in the medical field- Neal had always handled that sort of stuff. Joren stirred and I looked at him with concern in my eyes. He moaned and clutched his stomach, his face a frighteningly pale shade of white.
"What the fuck happened?"he asked softly.
"That man knocked you out because you were annoying him. Listen Joren- we've got to get out of here really soon, we haven't got much time left to live. And I know that at least a little tiny part of you wants to stay alive. We must find a way out, or it will all be over." He looked like he was going to object, but two figures were approaching our cell. More visitors. Just what we needed. As they drew closer, I recognized them as Lillian and Evan. They too, entered our cell.
"What do you want?"I asked coldly.
"Only to congradulate ourselves on a job well done. We have Tortall for sure now, and no one will be able to stop us!" Lillian said evilly. Then she exited the room. Evan stayed there a second longer but did not say anything. Instead, he stared at Joren, and then at me for what seemed like an eternity. I held my breath, wondering what his thoughts were. He abruptly turned around and left our cell,closing the door behind him softly.
I waited until the footsteps had all faded and gone before making any movement. Sitting still was too difficult, so I got up and paced the perimeter of the tiny cell, letting my fingers run over the uneven walls and feeling the cracks and bumps. There must be someway out. Dying was beyond the question. It was impossible that there was nothing to do...
"How are we going to get out?"asked Joren. He was still subdued from being knocked out. He must really have been in a lot of pain, because he was acting nice for once. It was odd, but not that bad, I must admit.
"I have no idea."I replied, sighing. I leaned back against the door of the cell to think. A large creaking noise came, and before I knew it, I was sprawled against the ground outside the cell, looking at the door that had easily swung open when I had leaned against it. Joren had gotten up and quickly exited the room as if he were afraid that it would close on him again.
"Are you telling me that door was open the whole time?!"he asked increduously.
"It couldn't have been." I responded. "I tested that door only about fifty times. It was completely secure before. The only thing that possibly could have happened is that Evan forgot to lock it."
"Forgot? People don't just forget to lock prison doors. He must have done it on purpose. Did he have any reason to?" Joren inquired.
"Not that I know of."
"My point exactly. Doesn't it seem just a bit suspicious that one of the King's chief advisors didn't lock the prison door for no apparent reason? Doesn't it seem just a bit like a trap?"
It did. I was surprised. Joren never struck me as the think-through-the-sitution-logically kind of person before, but nothing really seemed strange anymore. After all that had happened, could you blame me? "I agree with you for once, Joren. It does seem just a bit to convienient to be true. But if we don't test our luck here, we'll just stay in this cell and die for sure. We either take a chance and perhaps escape, or surrender our fates and lives by staying here. I say we take our chances. What about you?"
Joren thought about it for a split second before anwering. "Let's go."
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A/N:Well, how was that? Let me know by reviewing. I meant for it to be longer, but I want to go read some fics! Now, for the thank you's from last chapter:
Keita: Thank you! I love it when people think I'm funny! You have to be my most faithful reviewer! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Zenin: Well, I'm going to be egotistical and assume that you were cheering because you got to read more of my WONDERFUL fic. Sorry that Joren had to be captured, but... it just made more sense that way, I guess. Not that my story makes sense or anything.
Evilstrawberry: Awesome name! Those mushy fics are just awful, I can't tolerate them at all! Thank you for your review so much!
Shadow of Blood: Thank you so much! I love new reviewers! I think that it is really getting better- I don't have any idea why, though. It will definately be K/J, don't worry. Hope this update was quick enough.
Cami of Queenscove: A/A fics are pretty hard sometimes, but since I already had the whole plot written out, only my readers are wondering what will happen next. Most of the time, anyway. About Joren and Kel getting together... I don't actually know when, so it probably won't be next chapter, but it is extremely hard for me to wait too. So it will be pretty soon, I think.
Lybi Lunsar: More fun heading your way! Okay, I sound like a really bad commercial... How come everyone has really cool names except for me? It's not fair! *pouts* Glad you like it!
Queenofilangees: You think I'm funny too?! Yay! Thanks for reviewing!
chihiro: I absolutely loathe Cleon the Clown! You really think my story is that good? Yay! You think it's completely different from Aether Winds? Wow, that is one of the nicest reviews! *sniff* Thank you sooo much!
Please R&R everyone! Bye!
~ The Dark Goddess ~