~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
** Author's note*** ( PLEASE READ!)
Since I've been away so long I kinda felt it was my job to write an author note thing, so here it is. When I was halfway home from camp, we stopped at a mall to eat dinner. My cousin and I wanted to look in book shop, and ( amazingly) Walden books wasn't closed yet. So I begin browsing the teen aisle, and I see a book called the two princesses of Bamarre. I picked up, and almost dropped it. the author was Gail Carson Levine. I nearly died on the spot. She had a new book out??? Since When??? How come I had no freaking idea of it???? well anyway, I just had to ramble it.
**** one more thing. I do know I have this horrible little habit of leaving everyone hanging for two weeks and skipping off to camp. I'll try to get some chapters without horrible cliffhangers. And thanks for hanging in there. I know I've been an extra week late, but I was suffering severe writer's block.
~ Faerie_gurl, AKA Kira~
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Anniya 18
" Hurry and get the powder in. We don't have much time to lose. Count's men be here any moment now. Blast you, why didn't we come earlier!," a grimy man growled, taking out his dagger. 3 burly men surrounded Anniya, pinning her down. Struggling, she gave a fierce kick that landed straight into the man's gut. He swore, and pierced a vein in her left wrist. Anniya gave a snort of laughter, and flung her arm out at one of the men.
" I hate to tell you, but people don't usually aim for the wrist when their trying to kill someone," she told him lightly and jammed her foot into another man's stomach, it coming free.
" Hold her down you fools! She'll be down in a moment," the man shouted. A glimmer caught Anniya's eye, and she stopped resisting for a moment. The man took the cork out of a small capsule with fine, thin white powder. Anniya recognized it immediately as poison.
" Get the parchments, and bring them to him as soon as possible. We're already late" he growled to the other men. One man reached his hand in Anniya's pocket and pulled it out. Anniya didn't know what it was, but the parchments were in Diobla's saddle bags. Brushing the dirt off himself, the man quickly walked away. Anniya was too concerned about her life to worry about the documents at that moment.
The first man began emptying the capsule onto Anniya's open cut. The thin white powder stung, but was dissolving quickly. With the last ounce of strength she had left, she flung her hand up and sent the capsule flying out of the man's hand. It landed with a crash a few feet away, it's contents littering the alley floor. The man swore. But he also loosened his grip on her for a moment.
Anniya seized her chance. In a fraction of a second, she snatched his dagger and held it to the man's throat.
" If there is any justice in this world, you would be struck by lighting so I wouldn't have to touch your bloody throat. But since there seems to be a lack of it, I suppose I'll have to do it myself. First of all, what on earth were you trying to just do? And believe me, I will sink this into your throat if I have to," Anniya told him sweetly, pressing the blade down just a bit to put emphasis. The man gulped, but answered shakily.
" Kadai powder---- I received orders to kill you."
Anniya stared at him. Kadai powder was one of the most powerful poisons on earth. From what Anniya knew of it, the victim had horrible seizures and could vomit blood for fifteen minutes straight. There was no cure for it. And she had it in her. A sob escaped her, and tears were suddenly streaming down her face. One fact hung in her mind; she was going to die. Shaking her head, Anniya tried hard to control herself. But despite her will, her voice was shaking unsteadily.
" So do you mean to tell me I have less then a day to live to a poison in which there is no cure?"
The man nodded, holding his breath as Anniya pressed the dagger harder.
" Where did you get it from," she demanded.
" My employer gave me the capsule. If I didn't kill you, he'd kill me."
Anniya was silent for a moment, thinking. There was something about Kadai powder that was special, something she couldn't remember.
" My Lady, may I beg for my life? I will have guilt enough to rival a dragon for what I have done tonight, but if you..."
" Dragon," Anniya whispered, knowing the special component. " Where on earth did your employer find a dragon? Their illegal, death penalty to anyone that anyone in the royal family hasn't issued a pardon!"
The man shrugged. " I just came in to get the powder and my 'ployer told me to hang on for a moment, cause they hadn't gotten the saliva added yet. So I watched them extract the saliva out of this big Emerald dragon, just about as green as those eyes of yours," the man told her, loosening up a bit, more confident that Anniya wasn't going to kill him. " Come to think of it, I think it might of been a-."
" Emperor dragon," Anniya said, finishing the sentence rather then guessing. Gleex. It had to be.
" Where on the bloody earth did they get him," Anniya demanded, a high, tinny note in her voice that warned Robert, West, or John to get away. But this man was not used to Anniya's volatile temper, and went on, hardly noticing.
" A babe, I think. Thrust several swords in it, and it wailed like a banshee. Wings are all folded. Ugly little beast if you ask me," the man chuckled, making his mistake at that moment. Anniya's eyes flashed.
" You horrible, rotten, low down rotting skunk! I should run this dagger through your throat slowly and painfully! You are not going to tell me that my dragon is ugly, when you yourself look like a cow with rabies! If you gave an Ogre your outfit and paraded around town, no one would notice the difference for days!"
With that, Anniya stood up and kicked him hard in the ribs, trying to refrain herself from killing him. A snap was heard.
" Lass, I am telling you what has just happened! There is no reason to kick me," the man cried angrily, losing his patience.
" No reason? You inject a killing poison in my veins, hurt my dragon, and you tell me there is no reason to hurt you, you horrible monster," Anniya demanded, having lost her patience a long time ago. " Where were you last when you saw the dragon?"
The man scratched his head for a moment, trying to think. Anniya rolled her eyes, finding stupidity a bit of an unfair barrier when she had around seven hours to live.
" Sir, I have roughly seven hours to live and you have wasted about one of them. Do you remember or not," Anniya said at last.
" It was out near the border, several days ago. Keeping the dragon in humongous cave, with this little cottage out near the front. Lot's of guards 'round it. Keep on having to drug it, ' specially after it set twenty men on fire. Fire goes forty feet. They keep it in a big cage."
Anniya would of clapped her hands in delight that Gleex could do forty feet, if it were not under the same circumstances.
" How long ago was that?"
"About two days ago."
Two days ago. That meant they were still most likely there.
" How long did it take you to get here," Anniya asked curiously.
" Two days."
Anniya would of fainted, if she was the fainting type of person( which she was obviously not.)
" I might as well kill myself now and do away with the miserable existence that is unfortunately my life," Anniya said, more to herself then to the man. Giving a noise of frustration, she spun away from the man and headed toward Diobla. Stopping, Anniya suddenly had a thought. Turning back for a moment, she asked the man curiously.
" By any chance, would you happen to know who West is?"
The man nodded vigorously.
" The fellow who was whipped the other day. The Count's mind work's in funny ways, bringing him up all the way to the border."
Anniya caught her breath at that moment.
" West's at the border?"
" Heard several of them talkin when I was waiting for the saliva. Pretty sure."
Anniya didn't need to hear more. There was no time to waste. She dropped the knife with a clatter and raced out of the alley. Getting on Diobla, she was on the verge of riding when she stopped. What about Robert? Hesitating, she took out a quill and a spare piece of parchment. What should she write? Dear Robert, I am off on a mad quest that I must complete in 7 hours, assuming I don't die along the way? Dear Robert, I'm not sure if I love you or not, since I also have some mixed feelings for your cousin? Dear Robert, you are the friend I will always treasure, and I think I love you? She didn't know what to put. Every time she thought of West, she couldn't help but think of Robert. Robert and his smile.
Anniya was utterly confused. Sighing, she at last just scribbled down her feelings and tucked them inside her pocket. Getting on Diobla, she rode hard. But not to the palace.
**** Ok, I know that this is the most short, pitiful chapter in the history of mankind, but that's because I'm working on my next chapter, in which BIG things are going to happen, so forgive me. The next one will be up by tomorrow or the next day, so please don't abandon me this far.
***** I'm just rather curious. I already know who Anniya is going to choose in the end, but I would love to hear who everyone thinks it's going to be: Robert or West? Tell me when you review. Once again, thanks for hanging in there!