Chapter 2

Stellar caught up with the guards who were escorting Shinn to the dungeon.

"Wait. Do not take him to the dungeon just yet." The guards looked at each other then looked at Stellar with odd expressions on their faces.

"Her majesty wishes to speak to the criminal."

One of the guards broke the silence that followed Stellar's comment "But…." She glared at the guard, causing him to quiver. "Do you think I would lie about her majesty's orders?" Now all the guards were quivering in fright. Shinn glanced at the guards and was disgusted by their lack of courage. At the same time, he was impressed by Stellar's forcefulness. Then, he remembered about the rope that was binding his hands.

"Well, you heard the lady. Get this damn rope off of me!" Stellar just glared at him. "'m the one giving orders around here not you! Do you understand that criminal?" Shinn was insulted but he was too afraid to fight back. He let out a weak smile while mentally cursing himself for being afraid of a woman.

When they arrived at the throne room, Cagalli ordered everyone except for Stellar & Athrun to leave the room. The guards were reluctant, but they obeyed her. "Well Shinn, it's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Not long enough. The only time I wish to see you again is when you're on the end of my sword."

After that comment, Athrun couldn't sit by and allow Shinn to disrespect or threaten the queen. "Watch your mouth Shinn. Even if you are my little brother, if you disrespect or threaten Queen Cagalli, I'll kill you!" It pained him to say that to the one family he had. What hurt him even more was when he heard Shinn accuse him of being a traitor and a disgrace to their family name. Cagalli noticed the tears in Athrun's eyes and told Shinn to stop. Surprisingly, Shinn complied with Cagalli's order, though he didn't know why. The topic of the conversation changed to the reason Shinn was here.

"As you can figure, your majesty, I was sent to kill you."

"By who?" Athrun was waiting for the answer. As soon as he hears the name of the fiend, he would go to any and all means to kill him. The culprit would pay for turning his little brother against his beloved.

"You should know him. After all, he is the one who your father sent to kill me, Athrun, and the rest of our family." Cagalli gasped when she figured it out. "That's right, it was Lord Rhondo Ghina Sahaku."

" Why would you work for that bastard? Shinn, you accuse me of betraying our family and yet you…" Athrun was cut off.

"I have no time to waste trying to explain it to you brother. Or should I say ex-brother." To Ahtrun, that sentence felt like a sword piercing him. "Now, if you'd excuse me, I believe there is a cell in the dungeon awaiting me." Cagalli was feeling the same pain as Athrun was.

Shinn left the throne room without permission, which he didn't care if he was given it to him or not. He couldn't stand to look at her for another minute. Stellar followed him to bring him back.

Cagalli went to the devastated Athrun and began to cry with him. What happened to the little boy she used to play with when they were children? Has he truly changed from the innocent child to a bloodthirsty and vengeful demon? She didn't want to believe it, but it was true, unfortunately.

Shinn's hands were tied again, and he was escorted to the dungeon by Stellar and three guards. For the first few minutes, there was absolute silence, until Stellar began to question Shinn. "Why are you trying to kill Cagalli? What did she do to you that was so bad that she'd have to pay with her life? Do you know what would happen to this country if she was killed?"

Shinn just looked at her. "If you want to know, then ask that wench or that treacherous brother of mine. And I really could care less about what happens to this country."

One of the guards pulled out his sword and struck at Shinn. Shinn dodged it and kicked the guard. The guard accidentally rammed into Stellar, thus pushing her out of the window and into the moat. "No, Lady Stellar! This is bad. She can't swim and the basilisk is probably looking for an easy meal."

This statement horrified Shinn, and tried everything he could to free himself. "What the hell do you think you're doing," one of the guards asked. "What does it look like? I'm trying to get free so I can go down there and save her. So hurry up and untie me, damn it."

"Yeah right, like we're going to believe you!"

"Can any of you swim?" All the guards were silent." That's what I thought, so untie me now." They did as he said. Shinn grabbed one of the guard's daggers and dove into the water.

He arrived in time to prevent the unconscious Stellar from being dinner to a hungry snake. Shinn used the borrowed dagger to stab one of the basilisk's eyes and thrust a jagged rock into its other eye. He went down to Stellar and brought her out of the water. Shinn threw Stellar on land then pulled himself out of the water.

"A little help would be nice. After all, I did just save one of your queen's handmaidens." Upon hearing this, the guard closest to the drawbridge came to assist him. Shinn handed Stellar to the guard and was expecting the guard to help him up as well, but that assistance never came. "Aren't you going to help me up or are you just going to stand there?"

"I only came to retrieve Lady Stellar. I could honestly not give a shit about what happens to you." Shinn frowned at the guard. "Ungrateful bastard."

"Say anything you want to say about me, kid. I'll just ignore it."

"Kid. Did he just call me a kid. He is so not going to get away with that!" Shinn thought. Another guard came to the drawbridge. "Hey Mwu, we've got orders to arrest that boy, so don't let him get away." Mwu helped Shinn up, bound his hands, then escorted him to the dungeon