FlamingKnight: It's okey, I think I can manage, maybe..
Serpent of Light: Ohh, I feel soo bad, you live on an island, where it's sunny! God, I line in Minnesota where there are iceberg in the river in the summer! I do say I understand about the cabin fever thing, because where I live if you go outside nine months out of the year you freeze soo.. Do ya know where ya get to go next? Maybe it'll be snowing… hehee, Ranting is FUN!
Tisa: hi, I read the book u gave me. It was funny, I giggled.
Nip: Too much plot? Rapid? Maybe, I guess mow that I look back at it. Lol, I just thought it was the next step but I can see how a chappi in the middle there would have been good, ;). Gemma character building comes up in this chappie, which if you think about it is only a few more pages, so it was coming just not when you wanted it to. Court gown descriptions coming too, maybe I should have just combined the to chapters, thought that would have been a lot of plot in one chappie. Lessa book? ::is completely lost:: An I am waiting for my beta who seems to have randomly died, both of my betas seem to have randomly died. Wow, I must be a beta killer…And long reviews are best!
Too_Lazy_For_A_Name: See my reasoning for frodo in above review…No more use of the word ego, got it. Didn't even think about it, lol, that's sad…no more use of the word ratty… okey, gots it! J
Lady Emmi: ::giggles:: yes but, logically, he couldn't have gone because If striders elfin girlfriend was supposed to have gone on the last boat, it was the last boat and they wouldn't have made such a big deal about her going if they could make more boats correct? So therefore there couldn't be another boat, and therefore Frodo couldn't have gotten on any boat to elfland because there aren't any more boats! Get it?
Chapter Six: The Midwinter Ball
"You know, women don't belong in combat Keladry." The man said, looking at the girl he had in a cage. She did not look happy. "Now, I'll let you go, if you give up this ridiculous thought you have of fighting and join with my other women.
"You mean pets." She said caustically.
"Temper, temper. But the offer still stands."
"I'd rather burn." She spat.
"The you shall. Burn her." He said.
That night, for the fist time in a decade the second highest tower on the castle was aglow, aglow with the eerie, disgusting light that is given only when a human is burned.
Not once did she scream or cry out. She just burned.
He was feeling completely useless, Gemma had gone somewhere, and he didn't know where, not that he thought that he wanted to. Saturn and he where sitting in front of the fire drinking tea of all things when there was a war to fight, and then suddenly he couldn't take it anymore, he just laughed. Saturn gave him a funny look before she too started laughing. Gemma had walked in the door and was watching them, completely amused though stress was evident on her face. So, that's what happens when nobles get really stressed. She thought to herself and waited the few minutes it took them to settle down. She felt terrible; she knew she was sending them to do something she herself would never be able to accomplish.
"Alright, now that that's out of your system." She said, quietly as she walked towards them. "Here are your clothes for the ball later tonight, I had them cleaned, Alec and Jack should be here any moment." She said, as if on cue the two walked down the hall, both dressed up, hair combed neatly, though Saturn hid a grin when Alec ran his fingers through his dirty red colored hair. She hadn't ever noticed that his eyes where a blue you could drown in, what? Her mind screamed as she thought that. You are not supposed to be interested in your own conspirators. She told herself sternly. Jack looked overly bored.
"Explain again why I have to wear this?" he asked, "I ain't goin into any palace." He said plainly, Gemma rolled her eyes and ignored him
"Alec, you need to go, Ladyfoot, sit your arse down over there, Liam get dressed, Saturn, come on, we have to make you look like a proper lady in, ahh!-less than an hour." She said, grabbing the dress and dragging her up the stairs.
"Ow!" He heard Saturn yell, and then he heard a stream of expletives that would wilt flowers and make the burliest guardsman grin. Liam looked nervously at the door. They were supposed to be at the Castle in half an hour and he had yet to see Saturn, only hear her.
"Do ye think mayhap they're killin' each other?" Ladyfoot asked, glancing at Liam, all who frequented the Dove had noticed the silent tension between the two girls.
"Dunno." Liam said frankly, "But I'm not goin' to march in there to see."
"That'd mean a fate worse than death." The other man agreed.
Liam sighed, this question had been bugging him for days. "Do ye know, hoe, Gemma became queen?" He asked. Ladyfoot grinned.
"Yea, she cut off the old kings," He gestured to his pants. "And that was the end of that. No thief can be respected it he ain't got nothing." Liam grimaced, that wasn't what he had wanted to know.
"I meant before, who was she growing up? Who where her parents? Where was she from?" He asked, looking at the stairs.
"That laddie, is a question you need to ask Gemma." He said sternly, signaling that the conversation was over. So they sat, waiting for the door to open. Five minutes later it did. Revealing a smug Gemma and a gasping Saturn.
"I am never wearing a dress again." She said, glaring at Liam, who was stunned. She was in a black and red dress with a miniscule waist. The bodice was a deep red fabric covered with a black lace and the same dark red made the sleeves that hung far past her hands. The skirt flared out far from her feet the same red as her bodice, and covered in the same black lace. Her hair had bee piled high on the top of her head and curled to fall gracefully around herself. He eyes were lined in black and her lips painted a deep red. Her face had been powdered to milky whiteness. Ladyfoot reached over and pushed Liam's jaw back into place.
"Um, Saturn." He began haltingly. "You look…" He started again, but then lost his words. Ladyfoot stepped in to save him.
"Absolutely stunning darling. Really, truly amazing. Like the goddess Saturn herself come to pay us lowly mortals a call." He said with a broad grin. Saturn frowned then smiled widely.
"Thank you, it seems that you, unlike some men around here are actually smart enough to for complete sentences." She said with a wicked smile before gasping again. "It really has to be this tight?" She asked Gemma who nodded.
"I don't know if you've ever seen courtiers but they have about four inch waists." She said, Saturn nodded, though you could tell she knew sarcasm when she heard it, they had fourteen-inch waists.
"Lets go get this over with then." She said, walking stiffly to the door, hand on her stomach. I'll get used to it. She repeated to herself, practicing rapid, albeit shallow breathes as she walked out the door to the waiting carriage. Gemma, Liam and Ladyfoot joined her a few moments later; Swiftfinger was already in place at the palace. Saturn hardly said anything as they were carried across the bumpy roads of the city. When the bumps stopped and they felt the road incline steeply Gemma and Swiftfinger climbed into the crawl spaces under the seats to hide until after Saturn and Liam had left the carriage.
The plan was that Saturn and Liam would go to the palace as courtiers. Swiftfinger was to impersonate a squire, what he was actually doing was gathering information about the court, blackmail really. He'd been up there for a week and he had already successfully gathered rather, embarrassing information about the kings, 'mage' and other high-ranking nobles. He was successfully baiting many noble wives and daughters, in various disguises. Swiftfginger was much more than a common thief; he was a master of disguise, a different type of thief.
Saturn and Liam were only to make an appearance, let the king and his advisor know that they were alive and kicking. It would enrage the man just to know Liam was alive, but he couldn't very well attack them in the middle of his own Kings banquet now could he? That was Gemmas reasoning anyway, Liam and Saturn had decided that that plan of action would not certainly not work and had placed knives on their body wherever they would go. Saturn's legs were almost completely covered in knives. As was Liam's back.
Gemma and Ladyfoot were going to break into the Advisors chamber and locate the private room, Gemma insisted he would have a private room, and then collect information as to what he was up to, what spells he was using, people on his 'hit list', people he was using, spies and other such useful information. Gemma was also going to try and convince one of the king's women to pass information she picked up to them.
Gemma was in anguish, she felt like she was feeding them to the lions without them knowing it. They seemed to think this would be easy, which it could very well be, but she knew it would probably not be. And Saturn worried her, Gemma knew a little more about Draconians than Liam, and she knew they didn't leave their precious island unless they absolutely had to, which was never, or if they where banished. When a Draconian was banished a mark was burnt into their skin to mark them as a traitor, the mark of a certain planet, and Saturn had the mark of the Planet Saturn. Gemma did not believe the nonsense of planets, she could see the moon so she believed it was there. But other planets? That was nonsense. Supposedly the Dragons had seen these planets, flown to them. Gemma didn't believe a word of it.
To say the least Liam was nervous, his hands were sweating like no other and he felt nauseous. Not at all like a prince going to a ball in his own palace should feel. IT was odd really, he was returning 'home', and yet he felt disgusted that he was even considering entering that place again, the place where his father and brothers killed, his mother and sisters raped. The place from which joy and happiness had once pulsated and not it only radiated fear and destruction.
The carriage stopped and Liam got out and then helped Saturn out like a proper Gentleman would, not even really thinking about it. He was focused on his home, the ruins of Balor's needle still where piled around the part of the needle that still stood, the parts of the castle walls that had fallen had been replaced by black stone, giving the palace a motley look. He offered Saturn his arm and began climbing the overly familiar stairs to the door. The doors opened and a stuffy servant showed them to the grand hall.
They waited in line for a few minutes and when the Herald asked for their names Liam told him Liam and Saturn, ambassadors from the House of Givernia. Supposedly Gemma had 'detained' the real ambassadors and they wouldn't be attending. The herald nodded and announced them. A few people turned to look at them and then turned back to what they where doing, but one man in the corner, dressed in dark robes watched them carefully, almost afraid. The King hadn't even given a thought to it, and when they came and gave him their regards he laughed drunkenly.
The pair had danced and eaten and when, hours later, Gemma came in dressed as a serving girl and told them to give the mage, Dovinair-she had found out his name, their regards and thanks for a lovely party the two where elated. They glided over to him, smiling and laughing like they where having a lovely time the man winced.
"Good, sir, we where going to tell your king but decided not to interrupt him. We've had a lovely time, Sir Dovinair, Saturn and I. And we hope, that in due time, we shall meet again." He said a little drunk from all of the wine it would seem. Saturn smiled politely and the two disappeared into the crowd, just in time for a loud roar to be heard above the crowd.
Then they ran for it, Saturn hiked up her skirts, in a much unladylike fashion and Liam maintained a harsh grip on her elbow. A blast of black magic exploded a few feet to their left and Liam spun around and created a wall of blue fire, Saturn turned to help him but he shook his head, "Go!" He yelled and turned to face the advancing mage.
"No, I can-" She started.
"GO NOW!" he yelled in a tone of voice Saturn was sure she never wanted to hear again. She turned and ran, shame evident on her face, she was running away. She knew that was what it was, and she ignored the turning in her stomach. She wasn't running away, she was going for help. She told herself that as she ran across Corus, all the way back to the inn. She burst through the door, just as Gemma was giving a toast to their success.
"Saturn, come in, we where just about to-" She began.
"No time, Liam, and the mage…" She said, breathing hard. Gemma's face turned to stone when she realized what Saturn was trying to say.
"You left him fighting Dovinair by himself?" She whispered, Saturn nodded, her face wet by the tears she had shed. Gemma bolted out of the inn, muttering something about stupid, noble born girls without brains. She followed Gemma out the door only to see a horse disappear into the darkness. Saturn's head swam for a full minute before she hit the ground, the familiar darkness enveloping her body.
Alec watched in something quite like awe and Saturn entered the room, enchanting in her disheveled state. The he had watched with growing concern as Gemma's 'mad face' became more evident. The he watched her blaze out of the room, Saturn with a look on her face that was shockingly close to fear. She looked at the people in the room. "Start packing, I have a feeling we'll be leaving."
§
As Gemma rode towards the palace she felt the magical struggle going on inside the building. The static charge in the air tried to push her away but she pressed on, she remembered the feeling from her childhood, her father's experiments had always created this pressure that pulsated through the house and had driven her mother to madness. The pressure that had invaded her body and turned her into a sniveling whelp, the pressure that had driven her from her home.
She had made a point of avoiding her father and the country they had lived in at all costs, until her father had, once again invaded her life.
She jumped off the horse and ran through the palace, following the magical signal of the two mages. She ran down the stairs of the great hall, Liam was holding his own keeping the mage away from him but he had no means of escape. She ran towards him, putting up her own wall. She heard Dovinair's aggravated shriek as she pulled Liam from the battle, weak and shaky in her arms. They stumbled for the door.
"Gemmamina." Came the voice of her father cutting through the magical pressure that was slowly dissipating. She turned and glared.
"Dovinair." She said, hatred dripping from her voice.
"Now, is that any way to treat your father?" He asked, almost sternly, like a father reprimanding his child.
"You, are no father of mine." She said, pulling Liam further away from her father.
He laughed, his evil laugh that radiated ill will. "Whether you like it or not we are flash and blood and you will have to deal with that Gemmamina. Take the idiot boy, he's not worthy of my attention, even if the only reason I was even looking at him was to kill him." He said before turning to walk away.
Gemma, looked at Liam, trying to find words to explain. He shook his head, "Later, right now we have to get far away from here. She nodded and they ran for the Dove. Everyone was waiting for them. "We have to leave." Liam said as they cam through the door. "Now."
Well, That came out a little different than I thought…I hope this chapter explains some questions left over from the last, I know some of you thought it was a little fast, I know this chapter goes fast as well, next chappie things slow down for, a little while anyway. And I went over this chappie for spelling grammar things, I'm just not sure it if helped.
Well, YAY for funny little, unplanned plot twists! Oh, and can anyone explain the term 'plot bunnies' to me??
~Ana