Chapter 15- Know Your Friends
When Ash entered the room in which the peace talks were helped, she felt like she had entered the room of someone on their death bed. Everyone was quiet with stony faces and the air seemed heavy. She didn't like it. She felt Dante twitching nervously beside her, so she squeezed his arm in reassurance. He gave her a tight smile. It seemed to be all he could manage at the moment.
Carn, on Ash's other side, raised her eyebrows. Rarely did Ash and Dante show cousinly affection to each other, but then again, a lot of strange things were happening since they came to Tortall. Nanya falling in love, for one thing.
"Please sit down," said Ozorne heavily, as if he was about to announce the apocalypse, but there was a gleam in his eyes. an excited gleam that made Ash want to dive under the table in fear. Something bad was going to happen, she could feel it in the air- she could feel it in her very bones.
The others sat down, so she didn't have the chance to flee, although she would have liked to.
"I'm sorry to tell you," began Ozorne, "that Ms. Nanya Frewing, one of your delegates, has been starting a slave rebellion. We have no choice but to cease the peace talks due to this."
It was just as Mirk and Dirk had guessed, but hearing it from this cold man made Ash's stomach clench and plummet. She knew it wasn't true. Nanya was out cold somewhere just like Naku. It said so in the laws of bonding. Ash had found a book on it in Corus and Jonathan had given it to her, in fact, it was back in her rooms. Nanya had an exact copy of it.
"What proof do you have of this?" asked Alanna loudly and coldly, obviously not believing a word of it, "if you have none, then we have proof against it!"
"This young slave," Ozorne motioned to the young man next to him, "informed me of it. He was one of the few who are still rightfully loyal."
Ash recognized him as a guard who had spent his free time flirting with Carn. She growled under her breath and felt Carn moving restlessly beside her, obviously wanting to say something, but not stupid enough to.
Dirk wasn't that smart.
"I've seen that man on guard duty at the gates of the palace," he said loudly, "he spent most of his free time following Carn and flirting with her!"
Ash elbowed him hard. It was the emperor's word against that of a young man that no one really knew. It didn't look good for Nanya.
"You question that I know my slaves from my guards?" demanded Ozorne, glaring at Dirk. To Ash's pleasure, there was a spark of nervousness in his cold amber eyes.
"No, we question your honesty," said, to everyone's surprise, Martin, "Ms. Frewing's Flamer, Naku, Prince of Flame's, is in our room unconscious. According to the laws of the Flame's, this means that Nanya is also unconscious somewhere in your castle."
"Why had she left the rooms in the first place?" demanded Ozorne, once again nervous.
"Because she needed time to think to herself after you kissed her, against her will," said Mirk quietly, "she was angry, and she wanted to get away. You've had an answer for everything so far, so explain this, Your Imperial Majesty."
He took the choker from Martin and tossed it to the Emperor, eyes hard and focused on Ozorne to see what would happen. The emperor was reading the inscription, his eyes hardening.
"This is probably just a way to clear her name so you may have peace. You expect us to believe that she is the sister of Gambler? That would make her the daughter of Mithros and Arneith!" Ozorne laughed, "it is up to you, who's fault it is that the peace talks ended." He directed this to the people from the other countries who had come to see if the peace succeeded, "but first let me give you my final peace of evidence."
He tossed a letter onto the table. It was a letter.
To the holder of this letter,
The slaves are ready to rebel, I'll join you before the week ends. Keep this silent and we'll succeed. Mithros bless. -Nanya Frewing
Ash read the letter twice, then looked up.
"It's not even Nanya's writing," she stated flatly, "I've known her since we were two and she is much neater and not as fancy as that."
"What proof do you have of that?" asked a Gallan.
"Dirk, you have any of Nanya's writing?" asked Mirk.
"No, she hasn't written anything since we got here, unless she keeps a diary?"
It was Carn's turn to shake her head.
"No, she doesn't believe in that stuff. She uses stories to express herself and she hasn't had time to write any here. did she read any books, she always writes notes in them."
Ash thought, Nanya always had her face in a book, but had she read any since they got here. Suddenly she brightened.
"She wrote in my copy of "The Lands of Fire and Ice: A Book of the Flames". no, never mind- she printed in that." Ash broke off, looking dejected, where as Rocky brightened.
"Nanya hates writing, she always prints. She says it's much easier and she believes her writing is messy, although it's anything but messy," Rocky said. The others nodded their agreement, so Rocky added, "we're her best friends. She may dislike slavery, but she wouldn't try to make them rebel. She isn't the kind for war, she'll defend herself, but she won't start anything that may cost innocent lives."
"How do we know you know her as well as you claim?" questioned Ozorne, a look of victory in her eyes.
"She's our best friend. We've known her since forever. Ash and Dante grew up with her, I met her in daycare and Mirk, Carn and Dirk met her in kindergarten, how could we not know her that well?" asked Rocky in exasperation. Everyone knew about the seven of them, they were called the "Lucky 7".
No, she scolded herself, everyone from Newndale knew about the Lucky 7, not here.
"Your Imperial Majesty, if we could go back in this conversation a little, what did they mean when they said you had kissed the young woman against her will?" questioned another Gallan.
For the first time, Ozorne was lost for words. Ash smirked slightly.
"I don't know," said Ozorne slowly, "I did no such thing."
There was a scratching at the door. When no one moved to open it, there was a low, eerie howling. The door snapped open and a figure that was the size and shape of a small dog came stumbling in. It was Naki. Rocky rushed over to him and picked him up.
"Naki, what's wrong?" she asked, cradling him in her arms, "why wouldn't you and Naku wake up?"
"Naku wouldn't wake up 'cause Nanya wouldn't wake up. where is she anyways?" the Flame pup looked for Nanya.
"We don't know, that's what we're trying to figure out," said the emperor coldly, "why did you fall asleep?"
Naki looked thoughtful, then chose his words carefully.
"I think. it was a warning. Something bad's going to happen and my mother and Gainel were warning me." Naki thought for a moment again, "either that or someone slipped dreamrose into my food. that would explain the dreams I was having of this meeting."
"Does dreamrose affect Flames?" demanded a Tusaine.
"No," said Naki sarcastically, "I was just saying that it did, but it doesn't."
Rocky gave the Flame a little shake.
"Don't be pert, or sarcastic. You'll become your brother," she scolded, taking her seat again.
"So? He would've never let my bonded partner get kidnapped if I had one," the pup looked down sadly, "I did."
Rocky stroked him and glared at Ozorne.
A Gallan leaned back.
"We'll have to believe that the girl is guilty," he said. "I am sorry."
Ozorne smirked.
"Take them away guards!" he ordered.
Somewhere beneath the castle a young women woke up, only one thought on her mind. Ozorne had to pay.
Wow! I can't believe that I'm almost done this story, the first one I'll ever finish. I promise that there will be more R/G and N/N fluff. Please help me come up with a new title. This one is really lame. Give me an idea for the title of the sequel, too. Yes, there will be a sequel. Also, has anyone else besides me noticed that this story isn't really a 'people get sucked into Tortall' fic anymore? None of them even complain about lack of services. ah well, you can't win them all.
~oneinamilliongirl
When Ash entered the room in which the peace talks were helped, she felt like she had entered the room of someone on their death bed. Everyone was quiet with stony faces and the air seemed heavy. She didn't like it. She felt Dante twitching nervously beside her, so she squeezed his arm in reassurance. He gave her a tight smile. It seemed to be all he could manage at the moment.
Carn, on Ash's other side, raised her eyebrows. Rarely did Ash and Dante show cousinly affection to each other, but then again, a lot of strange things were happening since they came to Tortall. Nanya falling in love, for one thing.
"Please sit down," said Ozorne heavily, as if he was about to announce the apocalypse, but there was a gleam in his eyes. an excited gleam that made Ash want to dive under the table in fear. Something bad was going to happen, she could feel it in the air- she could feel it in her very bones.
The others sat down, so she didn't have the chance to flee, although she would have liked to.
"I'm sorry to tell you," began Ozorne, "that Ms. Nanya Frewing, one of your delegates, has been starting a slave rebellion. We have no choice but to cease the peace talks due to this."
It was just as Mirk and Dirk had guessed, but hearing it from this cold man made Ash's stomach clench and plummet. She knew it wasn't true. Nanya was out cold somewhere just like Naku. It said so in the laws of bonding. Ash had found a book on it in Corus and Jonathan had given it to her, in fact, it was back in her rooms. Nanya had an exact copy of it.
"What proof do you have of this?" asked Alanna loudly and coldly, obviously not believing a word of it, "if you have none, then we have proof against it!"
"This young slave," Ozorne motioned to the young man next to him, "informed me of it. He was one of the few who are still rightfully loyal."
Ash recognized him as a guard who had spent his free time flirting with Carn. She growled under her breath and felt Carn moving restlessly beside her, obviously wanting to say something, but not stupid enough to.
Dirk wasn't that smart.
"I've seen that man on guard duty at the gates of the palace," he said loudly, "he spent most of his free time following Carn and flirting with her!"
Ash elbowed him hard. It was the emperor's word against that of a young man that no one really knew. It didn't look good for Nanya.
"You question that I know my slaves from my guards?" demanded Ozorne, glaring at Dirk. To Ash's pleasure, there was a spark of nervousness in his cold amber eyes.
"No, we question your honesty," said, to everyone's surprise, Martin, "Ms. Frewing's Flamer, Naku, Prince of Flame's, is in our room unconscious. According to the laws of the Flame's, this means that Nanya is also unconscious somewhere in your castle."
"Why had she left the rooms in the first place?" demanded Ozorne, once again nervous.
"Because she needed time to think to herself after you kissed her, against her will," said Mirk quietly, "she was angry, and she wanted to get away. You've had an answer for everything so far, so explain this, Your Imperial Majesty."
He took the choker from Martin and tossed it to the Emperor, eyes hard and focused on Ozorne to see what would happen. The emperor was reading the inscription, his eyes hardening.
"This is probably just a way to clear her name so you may have peace. You expect us to believe that she is the sister of Gambler? That would make her the daughter of Mithros and Arneith!" Ozorne laughed, "it is up to you, who's fault it is that the peace talks ended." He directed this to the people from the other countries who had come to see if the peace succeeded, "but first let me give you my final peace of evidence."
He tossed a letter onto the table. It was a letter.
To the holder of this letter,
The slaves are ready to rebel, I'll join you before the week ends. Keep this silent and we'll succeed. Mithros bless. -Nanya Frewing
Ash read the letter twice, then looked up.
"It's not even Nanya's writing," she stated flatly, "I've known her since we were two and she is much neater and not as fancy as that."
"What proof do you have of that?" asked a Gallan.
"Dirk, you have any of Nanya's writing?" asked Mirk.
"No, she hasn't written anything since we got here, unless she keeps a diary?"
It was Carn's turn to shake her head.
"No, she doesn't believe in that stuff. She uses stories to express herself and she hasn't had time to write any here. did she read any books, she always writes notes in them."
Ash thought, Nanya always had her face in a book, but had she read any since they got here. Suddenly she brightened.
"She wrote in my copy of "The Lands of Fire and Ice: A Book of the Flames". no, never mind- she printed in that." Ash broke off, looking dejected, where as Rocky brightened.
"Nanya hates writing, she always prints. She says it's much easier and she believes her writing is messy, although it's anything but messy," Rocky said. The others nodded their agreement, so Rocky added, "we're her best friends. She may dislike slavery, but she wouldn't try to make them rebel. She isn't the kind for war, she'll defend herself, but she won't start anything that may cost innocent lives."
"How do we know you know her as well as you claim?" questioned Ozorne, a look of victory in her eyes.
"She's our best friend. We've known her since forever. Ash and Dante grew up with her, I met her in daycare and Mirk, Carn and Dirk met her in kindergarten, how could we not know her that well?" asked Rocky in exasperation. Everyone knew about the seven of them, they were called the "Lucky 7".
No, she scolded herself, everyone from Newndale knew about the Lucky 7, not here.
"Your Imperial Majesty, if we could go back in this conversation a little, what did they mean when they said you had kissed the young woman against her will?" questioned another Gallan.
For the first time, Ozorne was lost for words. Ash smirked slightly.
"I don't know," said Ozorne slowly, "I did no such thing."
There was a scratching at the door. When no one moved to open it, there was a low, eerie howling. The door snapped open and a figure that was the size and shape of a small dog came stumbling in. It was Naki. Rocky rushed over to him and picked him up.
"Naki, what's wrong?" she asked, cradling him in her arms, "why wouldn't you and Naku wake up?"
"Naku wouldn't wake up 'cause Nanya wouldn't wake up. where is she anyways?" the Flame pup looked for Nanya.
"We don't know, that's what we're trying to figure out," said the emperor coldly, "why did you fall asleep?"
Naki looked thoughtful, then chose his words carefully.
"I think. it was a warning. Something bad's going to happen and my mother and Gainel were warning me." Naki thought for a moment again, "either that or someone slipped dreamrose into my food. that would explain the dreams I was having of this meeting."
"Does dreamrose affect Flames?" demanded a Tusaine.
"No," said Naki sarcastically, "I was just saying that it did, but it doesn't."
Rocky gave the Flame a little shake.
"Don't be pert, or sarcastic. You'll become your brother," she scolded, taking her seat again.
"So? He would've never let my bonded partner get kidnapped if I had one," the pup looked down sadly, "I did."
Rocky stroked him and glared at Ozorne.
A Gallan leaned back.
"We'll have to believe that the girl is guilty," he said. "I am sorry."
Ozorne smirked.
"Take them away guards!" he ordered.
Somewhere beneath the castle a young women woke up, only one thought on her mind. Ozorne had to pay.
Wow! I can't believe that I'm almost done this story, the first one I'll ever finish. I promise that there will be more R/G and N/N fluff. Please help me come up with a new title. This one is really lame. Give me an idea for the title of the sequel, too. Yes, there will be a sequel. Also, has anyone else besides me noticed that this story isn't really a 'people get sucked into Tortall' fic anymore? None of them even complain about lack of services. ah well, you can't win them all.
~oneinamilliongirl