*Disclaimer* Too tired to think of something witty. I don't own anything.
A/N: HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I'm Daine, from the Tamora Pierce series. Or, since almost no one I know reads them, I'm a wood nymph. Fun stuff. I hope I shock SOMEBODY with this chapter, because it's sort of...well... shocking. Read on!
Chapter 28- Going Too Far
She stepped up to Awaren, looking him in the face defiantly. Linka stood in the background, with Damita, who had finally emerged from her room. Her foster mother looked like a wreck.
"Rosellyn," said Awaren, in a deep, sad, tired voice, "please tell me why you did this." He would never shout at her. She wished he did; then it would give her license to shout back. She twisted her lips. She obviously couldn't tell him the whole truth, so she pulled a story from the air.
"Fia was--was making fun of--Dam, and Meira and Ellie. And I saw red and hit her." There. It was certainly plausible. Awaren shook his head.
"Rosellyn, dear, the enemy is on shore, not in my house, they are the ones we should be fighting--" This was the opening she had been waiting for. She took off.
"Then why aren't we fighting them?! Why couldn't you have taken this attitude in the first place, would've helped a lot! But instead, we sit in here and pick them off one by one! I may not be a genius when it comes to all this, but it seems to me that if we had struck from the beginning, we wouldn't be in this situation! Ellie and Meira would still be here, Dam wouldn't be crying so much, I would be back on the mainland...Awaren, as much as I hate to be the bearer of bad news, this whole fiasco is ALL YOUR FAULT!"
The last words rang in the silence that ensued. Knowing full well that she was pushing her limits, she glared at him. All three adults looked shocked.
"Rosellyn, dear, don't talk to master Awaren like that!" said Dam, absolutely scandalized. "You know he's done everything in his power to prevent this!"
"No, he hasn't!" she said, voice quavering in righteous anger. "Dam, how can you stick up for him? If he had crushed the Riders while he had a chance, your daughters would still be here!"
"Now, I don't think that's entirely fair. Meira and Ellie were ever getting into trouble; it was only a matter of time before something happened." Rosellyn stared at her adoptive mother in frank, unbelieving astonishment.
"Are you listening to yourself?! It shouldn't matter what Meira and Ellie do! I don't care if they took a boat and started sailing! Where's the sentries, that are supposed to watch out for these kinds of things? Why didn't you say something when you realized you couldn't find them? Did you think they had just wandered off?! This is a war, dammit, not playtime! When kids go missing, you look for them! Then we wouldn't have had the wool pulled over our eyes, and now the Riders--"
"ENOUGH!" Awaren's shout cut through her furious tirade. "Miss Stillwater, I realize you are wroth about the kidnapping of your little friends, but I will not stand here and be insulted in mine own house--" There was no stopping her, now.
"Then where shall I insult you? On the mainland? Oh, wait, no, it's being overrun with Riders!"
"NO MORE INSOLENCE! Ever since your mother's death, I have given you an extraordinary leeway when it came to rule-breaking. But outright treason, questioning my decisions that you know nothing about--"
"Somebody's got to question them," she snapped.
"Silence! You will not speak another word, young lady, do you hear me? Not another word! I am putting you in solitary confinement and sentencing you there until I am fit to deal your real punishment. I will make no decisions in anger."
"No, you'll make them in ignorance, apparently." The full-handed SLAP caught her completely unawares, knocking her back, stumbling, until she lost her balance and fell. Her cheek stung like fury, and there would be an attractive bruise to deal with, especially where he had been wearing rings. Was she cut? It felt like it, but she wouldn't check, not with Awaren looking at her.
"Get. Out," he said, clearly pronouncing every word, "Get. Out. Of. My. Room." She struggled to her feet, trying to banish watery eyes. She was not going to cry, she was not going to cry...
Damita looked horrified, but whether it was for Rosellyn's words or Awaren's actions, no one was certain. She stumbled towards the double doors, half-blind where her eye was swelling shut. Before she could touch the handle, though, one of the Elves who had been right outside the door came in. His eyes widened slightly at the sight she must have made, but said nothing.
"Sir?" he asked uncertainly. Awaren tried to put on a semblance of calm.
"Take this girl to one of the empty rooms, and delegate someone to make sure she does not leave it." The soldier's uncertainty increased.
"The only empty rooms are cells, sir." Awaren nodded brusquely.
"That will do. You have your orders. Go." He nodded and grabbed her by the elbow. She winced, but he led her out, not ungently. He said nothing to her the entire walk, and she made no attempts to instill conversation. She thought she saw Legolas, briefly, but she bowed her head so her hair covered her face. She was fairly sure he didn't see her.
The cells were miserable little holes in the wall in the bowels of the great floating house; most were below the water level, making them damp, cold, and nearly uninhabitable. As long as she could remember, these cells had never been used.
She felt no pride in being the first.
A/N: HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I'm Daine, from the Tamora Pierce series. Or, since almost no one I know reads them, I'm a wood nymph. Fun stuff. I hope I shock SOMEBODY with this chapter, because it's sort of...well... shocking. Read on!
Chapter 28- Going Too Far
She stepped up to Awaren, looking him in the face defiantly. Linka stood in the background, with Damita, who had finally emerged from her room. Her foster mother looked like a wreck.
"Rosellyn," said Awaren, in a deep, sad, tired voice, "please tell me why you did this." He would never shout at her. She wished he did; then it would give her license to shout back. She twisted her lips. She obviously couldn't tell him the whole truth, so she pulled a story from the air.
"Fia was--was making fun of--Dam, and Meira and Ellie. And I saw red and hit her." There. It was certainly plausible. Awaren shook his head.
"Rosellyn, dear, the enemy is on shore, not in my house, they are the ones we should be fighting--" This was the opening she had been waiting for. She took off.
"Then why aren't we fighting them?! Why couldn't you have taken this attitude in the first place, would've helped a lot! But instead, we sit in here and pick them off one by one! I may not be a genius when it comes to all this, but it seems to me that if we had struck from the beginning, we wouldn't be in this situation! Ellie and Meira would still be here, Dam wouldn't be crying so much, I would be back on the mainland...Awaren, as much as I hate to be the bearer of bad news, this whole fiasco is ALL YOUR FAULT!"
The last words rang in the silence that ensued. Knowing full well that she was pushing her limits, she glared at him. All three adults looked shocked.
"Rosellyn, dear, don't talk to master Awaren like that!" said Dam, absolutely scandalized. "You know he's done everything in his power to prevent this!"
"No, he hasn't!" she said, voice quavering in righteous anger. "Dam, how can you stick up for him? If he had crushed the Riders while he had a chance, your daughters would still be here!"
"Now, I don't think that's entirely fair. Meira and Ellie were ever getting into trouble; it was only a matter of time before something happened." Rosellyn stared at her adoptive mother in frank, unbelieving astonishment.
"Are you listening to yourself?! It shouldn't matter what Meira and Ellie do! I don't care if they took a boat and started sailing! Where's the sentries, that are supposed to watch out for these kinds of things? Why didn't you say something when you realized you couldn't find them? Did you think they had just wandered off?! This is a war, dammit, not playtime! When kids go missing, you look for them! Then we wouldn't have had the wool pulled over our eyes, and now the Riders--"
"ENOUGH!" Awaren's shout cut through her furious tirade. "Miss Stillwater, I realize you are wroth about the kidnapping of your little friends, but I will not stand here and be insulted in mine own house--" There was no stopping her, now.
"Then where shall I insult you? On the mainland? Oh, wait, no, it's being overrun with Riders!"
"NO MORE INSOLENCE! Ever since your mother's death, I have given you an extraordinary leeway when it came to rule-breaking. But outright treason, questioning my decisions that you know nothing about--"
"Somebody's got to question them," she snapped.
"Silence! You will not speak another word, young lady, do you hear me? Not another word! I am putting you in solitary confinement and sentencing you there until I am fit to deal your real punishment. I will make no decisions in anger."
"No, you'll make them in ignorance, apparently." The full-handed SLAP caught her completely unawares, knocking her back, stumbling, until she lost her balance and fell. Her cheek stung like fury, and there would be an attractive bruise to deal with, especially where he had been wearing rings. Was she cut? It felt like it, but she wouldn't check, not with Awaren looking at her.
"Get. Out," he said, clearly pronouncing every word, "Get. Out. Of. My. Room." She struggled to her feet, trying to banish watery eyes. She was not going to cry, she was not going to cry...
Damita looked horrified, but whether it was for Rosellyn's words or Awaren's actions, no one was certain. She stumbled towards the double doors, half-blind where her eye was swelling shut. Before she could touch the handle, though, one of the Elves who had been right outside the door came in. His eyes widened slightly at the sight she must have made, but said nothing.
"Sir?" he asked uncertainly. Awaren tried to put on a semblance of calm.
"Take this girl to one of the empty rooms, and delegate someone to make sure she does not leave it." The soldier's uncertainty increased.
"The only empty rooms are cells, sir." Awaren nodded brusquely.
"That will do. You have your orders. Go." He nodded and grabbed her by the elbow. She winced, but he led her out, not ungently. He said nothing to her the entire walk, and she made no attempts to instill conversation. She thought she saw Legolas, briefly, but she bowed her head so her hair covered her face. She was fairly sure he didn't see her.
The cells were miserable little holes in the wall in the bowels of the great floating house; most were below the water level, making them damp, cold, and nearly uninhabitable. As long as she could remember, these cells had never been used.
She felt no pride in being the first.