Disclaimer: I don't own Pern. I do, however own many of the characters in this story.

Chapter Twelve: Chains

Virika stared at the man in horror, then leapt at him, intending to knock in over. He pressed the knife hard enough against Hayatch's neck to make a tiny cut, and Virika stopped short. "What do you want?" she demanded, he voice quavering slightly.

"Bring that younger one here," he said, jerking his head at Urtiatch. Vyrania and her queen approached warily. He called up two more men, and they took hold of the younger queen. When Vyrania protested the man pressed the knife harder to Hayatch's throat and drew blood again.

The men bound Urtiatch at the wrists and tied her wings to her sides, then put a leather collar around her neck with a chain on it. Vyrania cried out, seemingly torn between her queen and her sister's. "Be still, Hayatch," the younger said, and smiled shakily at her. "It is better for me to be tied than for you to be dead." But when the men turned to the older queen and began shackling her wings both started to struggle.

"You will look quite nice in cages," the man said, grinning without humor at them.

"Cages?" exclaimed Hayatch, fighting now that the knife had been taken away, but the ropes and chains held her fast.

"Let them go!" cried Virika, launching herself once more at the man, but the other two grabbed her arms. Vyrania, too, grabbed at the man, but two more swarmed her. One clapped a rag against her mouth and nose; it was soaked in something that made her collapse, seemingly asleep. Another man did the same to Virika. As she collapsed the last thing she saw was Hayatch struggling wildly to get to her.

I'm sorry, the queen told her mind-to-mind, I'm so sorry...

000

Kilatch awoke in a small room, apparently inside a human dwelling, for the stones that firmed its sides and floor were irregular blocks and the ceiling was a slab of rock. She tried to move, but found that her hands were chained together and shackled to a ring in the wall. Her wings were bound as well, and she found that her head hurt too much to do anything besides sit.

After a while, when the throbbing eased, she cautiously looked around. The first thing she saw was the iron door against the far wall. She sat a little straighter, and saw that she was alone in the small room, and that a window was filtering light down from above her. Kilatch coughed, and continued until she was shaking and weak from the spasms.

A human had touched her brow and she jerked away. Something, a bowl or cup of clay of some kind touched her lips and she drank between coughs. Finally they eased, and she looked up at the young woman who presented the bowl. "Where-" she coughed, and tried again, but she was to weak.

"I do believe the poor thing's trying to imitate our speech," the woman said, addressing this remark to the man who held the door for her. "Rest now," she told the queen, and stood. As if Kilatch could do anything besides rest! She drifted into uneasy sleep.

When she woke again it seemed earlier in the day, judging by the light from the window. She must have slept a day and a night already. Kilatch moved her arms, shifting them to a more comfortable position and found that she could move without any pain from her head. She also found that the chain from her wrists to the wall was replaced by a leather cuff on each wrist connected by a short chain.

Kilatch looked around again, then carefully stood up. She was shaky on her feet, but she could stand. And she was very hungry. "Hello?" she called in the direction of the door. Now she saw that in a corner a mattress had been set. She made her stumbling way towards it and sat on it. Her wings were sore and heavy from the ropes. Kilatch settled against the wall to wait.

Not long after the sounds of the door being pushed open roused her from a half-trance state. She looked and found that the same woman who had given her something to drink earlier was carrying a tray with food on it. The woman set the tray near Kilatch and backed away towards the door. She looked through the door and nodded. "Where am I?" the queen asked her as the door swung open again. Her voice was little more than a croak.

The woman froze, then turned swiftly. "Where am I? And what am I doing here?" repeated Kilatch, and broke into a few hacking coughs.

"You speak our tongue?" the woman asked, amazed. "How?"

Kilatch shrugged and smiled a little sadly. "How do you?" she asked. The woman smiled back at her shakily.

"They old us you were no more than fancy animals," she said. Kilatch sat up straighter, a little ruffled at being called an animal. "I didn't really believe animals was right, but something like a strange watch-wher, maybe."

"Watch-wher? What's a watch-wher? Is it like a dragon, for if so then I suppose you could call my people that, but if it is more like fire lizard or an animal then you could not. My people are relatives of the dragons, very distantly, so I think you could say we are alike." The woman still stared.

"No, you are not like watch-whers at all," she said softly.

"So just what is a watch-" she broke off, coughing again. The woman took something from just outside the door. She gave Kilatch a drink like the one from the day before and the coughs eased again.

"Rest again is best. I'm-" she hesitated, then went on. "I'm Virisail."

Kilatch gasped. "VIrika's mother?" she asked. "You are mother to Virika and Darrinel and Vyrania?"

"You know them? Are they safe?" The woman grabbed Kilatch's arm and clung to her, eyes wide.

"They were safe when I left," the queen comforted her. "They are good friends to my people, Vyrania and Virika." Her face darkened in rage. "But Darrinel is not. Darrinel is one, with Sofreteh, who led the men against my people. There are few enough of us to defend ourselves against normal dangers, and we queens are not rising as often as we should. There are two few of us and we do not have many eggs…" her voice grew softer, gentler, and she trailed off.

"What is your name?" asked Virisail. The queen shook her head, ridding herself of the memories.

"Kilatch." She looked down at the woman's hands on her arm and pulled away. Virisail let go.

"Eat first, then rest, Kilatch." Virisail gestured to the food as she left the room. "There will be little enough rest for you soon…" Her voice trailed off sadly, indecisively as the door closed behind her.

000

Hayatch and Urtiatch watched as their human friends were taken away in a cart. The cart they were in started in a different direction from the one Vyrania and Virika were taking.

The men kept them from escaping by any means necessary except fatal blows, and eventually the two queens huddled together away from them. Hayatch bore several bruises and a long, thing cut down her neck and shoulder. Urtiatch had escaped most harm, but both had bruises around their necks from the collars and chains.

Eventually Hayatch made one leap for freedom to many and the men doused them with the same kind of liquid-soaked rags they had the human prisoners.

Later they woke in a stone room, with shacked wings and wrists. Hayatch turned over and a hand pressed her cheek. "It is time you woke. You nearly had poor Kilatch frantic with worry."