Sapphire, by lyradaemon

Chapter 6: Travelling

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, same as always.

Just to clear things up a bit; I do know that a stiletto is not a shoe; when Noelle said "Why is she protecting herself with a shoe?" I was trying to be funny. It failed. Miserably. Terribly sorry. I'm sorry if I seemed rude when I replied to the reviewers who informed me of my mistake; I was in a rush, and I might have been shorter with you than I wished. I'm very sorry!

"Daemon."

Daemon tried to claw his way out of groggy sleep. He failed.

"Daemon!" The voice grew louder as a hand attached to the voice rudely shook his shoulder violently. "Wake up would you?"

He opened bleary eyes to find Surreal's unimpressed face glaring down at him. "Finally," she said, rolling her eyes. "I've never known anyone who took so long to wake up."

"Well I've never known anyone who was so intent on waking people up," Daemon retorted, stifling a huge yawn. "I need my sleep as much as the next person."

Surreal snorted. "Whatever Daemon. We need to get going; Noelle's downstairs. I want to leave as soon as possible."

Daemon looked confused a moment before groaning, burying his face in his warm pillow. "I'm staying here," he mumbled into the pillow.

Surreal yanked the covers off of him, pausing a moment to admire his beautiful body, before beginning to pull on his arm. "Don't be ridiculous Sadi, of course you're coming. Now get out of bed before I have to throw water on you."

That got him up. Glaring at Surreal he got to his feet, calling in a shirt and beginning to button it up. "Do you mind?" He asked tartly. Surreal laughed before strolling out the door, throwing a last, "Hurry up then" at him before closing the door. Daemon locked it.

About an hour later the three of them sat in their coach. Daemon had covered them in a Black shield and they'd managed to reach the Coach Station undetected. Surreal slipped out quickly to hire it from the rather bemused looking man, then she had ushered the quickly inside.

Daemon still looked rather grouchy and tired; Noelle was yawning widely; Surreal was lost in thought.

"Where are we going by the way?" Daemon asked, peering out the window.

Surreal seemed to shake herself out of her little reverie. Giving both of them a bright smile, she announced "Dena Nehele" before launching the Coach into the Winds.

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"Dena Nehele?"

Surreal sighed and rolled her eyes. She knew she was going to get this reaction out of them. "Yes," she said. "Do you have a problem with that?"
Daemon and Noelle looked at each other. "No."

"Exactly. So shut up."

That produced two golden eyed glares. Hell's Fire…

"Apparently your parents were there a lot. Stands to reason that we can find out something there which will explain why someone would want to kill them," Surreal explained reasonably.

Noelle looked slightly less startled. "Well, I suppose that makes sense…"

"Surreal, do you have any idea who could be in Dena Nehele?" Daemon demanded.

"No."

"Precisely! Anyone could be there; which could mean trouble. I haven't just escaped from a Court to end up in another because Dorothea finds me." He had a cold glint in his eye. Surreal shivered.

"Daemon, there's no way of telling who's going to be there. But we have to take the risk."

Daemon looked away angrily. "You could have told me where we were going. You know what will happen if I'm found," he said too quietly.

"I know. I'm sorry. But if I had told you, you wouldn't have agreed to come; besides, you're perfectly capable of looking after yourself." The air temperature dropped noticeably. Noelle's teeth began to chatter. "And if we're to find out what happened to Noelle's family, we have to go to Dena Nehele. There's no other choice."

Daemon didn't reply.

They sat in silence for the remainder of the journey; Surreal gazing out one window, Daemon staring moodily out the other and Noelle sitting uncomfortably in between.

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When they finally arrived Noelle was the first out of the coach, clambering over Daemon – much to his astonishment – to get away from the unnerving tension in the carriage. She never imagined that anything could be more uncomfortable.

Daemon and Surreal emerged soon after, both being careful not to look at each other. Considering that what they had said hadn't been exactly offensive, Noelle assumed something else had passed between them, which had escaped her notice. She really didn't want to know what it was.

Noelle looked around, taking it all in quickly – an art she had learned as an assassin. They seemed to be on the outskirts of a small but neat town, with low, spacious buildings and wide, clean streets. She could just make out a larger building which she recognized as the mansion where the Queen lived. Noelle had only been to Dena Nehele a few times – all when she was much younger – but she could still remember a lot about it.

"Where are we going?" Daemon asked neutrally, no emotion in his voice.

"To where Noelle's parents used to go," Surreal replied in a similar tone.

"And where's that?"
Surreal sounded suddenly unsure. "It's on the other side of the town I think. Near the Court."

They headed off in that general direction, again under Daemon's Black shield. "Won't people sense your Craft?" Noelle asked interestedly when he put it up.

Daemon looked at her and smiled slightly. "No."

As they passed the Queen's mansion, Daemon paused. "What's the name of the Queen here?" He asked, gazing at the lovely marble building.

"The Queen left years ago," Noelle replied, stopping next to him.

"Didn't someone take her place?"

"There was no one to take her place." Daemon could tell what she meant: Dorothea killed them all.

Daemon turned to her. "How do you know so much about this place?" He questioned, curiosity giving his golden eyes a lovely gleam.

"I came here when I was young," Noelle answered shortly.

Daemon simply looked at her before moving on. Leaving Noelle behind them, he caught up with Surreal. Ignoring their earlier silence, he spoke. "She's hiding something."

"I know," Surreal replied, not looking at him.

"Do you have any idea what it is?"

"None; but I'll find out. It obviously has something to do with this place. I know her parents came here often – without her or her brother, mostly – but I have no idea why."

They walked in silence until they reached a small, modest looking building. "What's in there?" Daemon asked, indicating the house with a brief nod of his head before slipping his hands nonchalantly into his trouser pockets.

"Hopefully, answers."

Daemon shrugged before following Surreal inside.

A/N: Sorry it's so short. I've had three French literature essays to do this week, so I've kind of been busy. Still, I have ideas about what's going to happen in the next few chapters, so in theory I'll get them written quite quickly. Hope you're still enjoying reading it, and many thanks as always for the lovely reviews! Lyradaemon x