Sapphire, by lyradaemon

Chapter 9: Dorothea

A/N: You've got Paksennarion to thank for this chapter – great idea! This is for you.

Hayll: Draega

Dorothea paced the length of her room, scarlet skirts swishing in her ferocity, hands clenched behind her back. One word circled relentlessly through her mind: Sadi…

Ever since that bastard had run off, she had had to watch her back from all sides. Queens had sent her letters, claiming to be 'terrified' at the possibility that Daemon would be after them; daring to blame her, the High Priestess no less, for letting him get away; suggesting, always discreetly, that perhaps if she was not fit for her position, would it be best if she stepped down graciously?

All of this because of that damnable man.

It made her seethe.

One night he had been there: in fact, she was the last one to see him after she had sent him away following a night of 'pleasure' on her behalf. And the next morning, he was gone. There had been no trace of him, no letter (he wasn't that stupid), no hint as to where he might be. She trawled through her mind for any recollection of a careless word, a thoughtless conversation where he could have left a clue for her. But there were none. Daemon was well and truly gone.

Now it was up to her as the most powerful person in all of Terreille to see that her fiery Warlord Prince returned. No, she told herself, not hers; not hers at all – that, Daemon made quite clear. We belonged to no one. And he had taunted her with it ever since he realized just how powerful he was, how much strength he could shape for his own purposes. The urge to have him killed had been almost overwhelming on occasion, but one sentence, uttered in the deep voice, had been the only thing that stayed her hand:

The day either of my sons walks among the dead, is the day you wish you'd never been born.

No one took the High Lord's threats idly; not even she was foolish enough to. No, she had to keep Daemon alive, against her will. And the very fact that he was even now hiding who knows where was a grave danger. If some stupid little province-Queen found him and decided to 'do her a favour' by killing him, she would find the High Lord on her doorstep before she could blink.

She had to find him. She had to.

But she didn't know where. Or how.

A knock at the door roused her from her thoughts. "Yes?" She called irritably, hoping that it wasn't a message saying Daemon had been found dead. She shuddered at the thought.

"Priestess?" A quivering voice said through the gap in the door.

"Come in, man!" She snapped.

A subservient wretch of a Warlord scuttled into view. Dorothea rolled her eyes. "Yes?" She asked through gritted teeth. She was definitely not in the mood to deal with idiots.

"Priestess…there is, umm, word, from…from, uh Dena N-Nehele that…" he trailed of, licking dry lips.

Dorothea prowled over and grabbed his shirt. "Yes?"

His muddy yellow eyes bulged but he cleared his throat. "Priestess, forgive me," he began, sweating. "They say that the assassin, Surreal, has been seen."

"Surreal?" Dorothea frowned, letting him go roughly. Surreal…she had heard that name before. Through various connections Dorothea had managed to learn the names of just about every assassin in Terreille. Some were more well-known than others, but she recognized most on hearing them. But Surreal…

"Who is she?" She demanded abruptly.

"Oh, umm, Priestess, she is…ah, well was an accomplice of Sadi's…of sorts. I believe, well, I'm not sure, but I think they know each other."

Dorothea whirled around, eyes flashing dangerously. "And was anyone else seen in the company of this woman?" She asked. She already knew the answer.

"No, Priestess, no one was seen…not Sadi, or anyone else. I'm sorry, Priestess."

"Hmm," was all she said, pacing the room, tapping a long nail against her lips. If this Surreal was about, the chances that Daemon was nearby could be quite high. He was notoriously hard to find, but Dorothea knew that sometimes he made mistakes. Not often, to be sure, but it wasn't unheard of. He didn't have many contacts, of that Dorothea was sure: serving for centuries in Courts saw to that. But if Surreal was one…Dorothea smiled.

"And this woman is a known assassin?" She asked.

"Ah, well no, Priestess, not really. She is a, uh, whore by profession, but it is rumoured that she can, um, you know…kill."

"Huh. A whore who can kill…the semblances are striking, are they not?" She directed this last to the hapless Warlord who looked utterly confused.

"Priestess?"

"Oh get out of my sight you wretched man!" She snapped, waving him away. "You're whimpering is giving me a headache." She turned to stare out the window, grateful to hear the door close.

So…what was Sadi playing at? His little friend Surreal was in Dena Nehele. He, on the other hand, was no where to be found. The name Dena Nehele tugged at her memory, but she couldn't place it. No matter: she would work it out sooner or later. At the moment, her wayward Warlord Prince was of more concern.

There was only one thing to be done.

She snapped her fingers and within moments a door on the other side of the room opened and a figure slipped in. "You called Priestess?"

"Yes…tell me, do we have anyone in or around Dena Nehele?" She asked lightly.

A pause. "Several."

"I want them all searching for the lady Surreal within three hours."

"Ah," another pause. "And she is there?"

"No, she's in Dhemlan. Of course she's there you fool! And I don't want her to be there, I want her to be here, because then that damned Sadi will come looking for her! Then," she said slowly and precisely, "then, my dear, we will find him. And when I do…" she smiled, a cold, heartless smile, "he will wish he'd never been born."

"As you wish, Priestess. Is there anything else I can do?"

Dorothea thought for a moment. "Yes, I believe there is. Send for that worthless wretch who brought me the message. He annoys me. Have him shaved."

"Priestess." The door closed.

Dorothea gazed out at the darkening sky. Suddenly Daemon was in her grasp. Everything seemed so much better.

You can't hide from me, Sadi, she thought. No one can.

A/N: Right, another one up. All comments appreciated as always. Lyradaemon x