Heh, so sorry for the infrequent updates. My life is… Eh…..

Disorganized.

Aaaaaanyway, here goes. Not much to say this time. Thanks to all for reviews.

Pssssssst, and Naesala's gonna come in next chapter.

Reuben

It didn't take long for Amythest to find herself being moved through the undergrowth, surrounded by archers. They didn't seem to mind slowing when she tripped over a length of her dress, but neither did they help. Amythest wished the red haired man would just shut up for once, she was in no mood to be told that Cree wouldn't be harmed by the archer left guarding him as long as he didn't follow. "Cree could take out that silly 'ol archer any day," Amythest muttered. The man appeared not to have heard, or was simply ignoring her as he talked.

Amythest was struck by the silence that seemed to elude her captor as they exited the forest and walked out onto a sparsely sanded beach. The man must have seen her surprised expression when she saw his ship, then said, "Well you didn't think we flew here did you?"

Amythest had no answer for that…

"Now I'll be brief with this, as I'm tired of telling every Laguz that comes into my possession this," he started. Amythest visibly bristled at the word 'possession', but he didn't seem to mind.

"Alright. While you're aboard the ship you'll sleep in a cabin with another Laguz, as I doubt you'd be pleased with a Beorc room mate. This is temporary, since we have limited space at the moment. When we get to Begnion you'll have a room of your own," the man went on. Amythest opened her mouth to ask a question, but the man seemed to brush her off without saying anything, and Amythest didn't get a chance to ask as a wood plank descended from the small ship. The man indicated to the plank, and the archers moved Amythest up to the deck. They then seemed to know what the man wanted before he asked, and with what seemed like practiced movements, nudged Amythest through a door and closed it behind her. A lock clicked shut after the door closed, and Amythest blinked in the darkness of the room.

When her eyes had adjusted, Amythest walked over to one of the two beds in the room and sat down, thinking she should be crying, or cursing the man, or SOMETHING other that sitting there looking like a fool in shock.

"Don't worry, I did the same thing," a voice came from some forsaken corner of the small room. Amythest looked up in alarm, and relaxed slightly as a boy that looked about a year or two older than she stepped out from behind the other bed. Though he had no weapon, his stare probably would have been enough to slit anyone's throat had it any physical force.

"Don't worry about that either," the boy ordered when he caught Amythest gawking at his reddish eyes. They seemed to shift to red when he spoke, but were otherwise a dark brown color. The change-eyed boy grinned at Amythest when she figured out a simple fact; when he spoke, his mouth didn't move.

"It's all mind speech, you'll get used to it. Dear old Oliver seems to have taken a liking to Laguz with particular… Well, frankly he's got a habit of picking up people who have things that don't work properly, and in my case it's my voice," he 'said'.

"Er….. So that's his name," Amythest said blandly.

"Mmhmm. Nasty piece of work isn't he?" the boy replied, a frown appearing on his mouth.

"Yeah. Where are we going?" Amythest asked.

"Begnion I think, it's where he lives," was the brief reply.

"Er…. But that's Beorc territory," Amythest muttered worriedly.

"Duh, the man himself is a Beorc," the boy retorted.

"Soooo…. Who are you?" Amythest asked finally.

"Reuben."

"Can we get out of here? My brother's back on the island an-" Amythest started, but Reuben cut her off.

"Of course not, didn't you hear the door lock?" Reuben retorted.

"Yes but you're-"

"Incapable of breaking the door down."

"Um… What sort of Laguz are you anyway? I can't see in the dark…" Amythest said, trailing off.

"Oh. That. I'm from the dragon tribe," Reuben said with a shrug.

"Crows for me. Naesala (may-he-live-forever) will get us out. He wouldn't stand for this," Amythest said with a confident nod.

"HA! You're counting on Naesala for this? Last I heard he was going to sell out some poor Laguz to Oliver," Reuben said with a dry laugh.

"Hey, shouldn't you say may he live forever?" Amythest asked, slightly aghast.

"Why? The man's just the filthy crow king," Reuben said.

". . . . . " That was the second time Amythest was rendered speechless that day. She'd just assumed everyone respected Naesala, if only for his strength.

"Things are different out here. They're even stranger in Begnion. You'll get used to it or die trying, and I hope for the former," Reuben said with a shrug.

"I want to go home," Amythest said, as soon as all that was happening hit home and she realized she might never see it again.

"To bad," Reuben said with another shrug. It seemed he had quite a mean streak in him. Amythest shot him a slightly teary eyed look, and Reuben drew a breath and exhaled it slowly as he ran his fingers though black hair that should have been washed a few days ago.

"Sorry," he said finally, but Amythest had already curled on one of the beds and begun to cry.