Disclaimer: Only Evalyn, Aviran and the basic plot are mine
Frog: Sorry that this took a little while. School started earlier this week. And I guess Charis will have to die, but it won't be till much later. That's a shame. I like her. But I already have it planned out. And now I'm done talking now.
Over the next few days, Aisha seemed to have made herself their official guide and teacher of just about everything in fortress.
It was a building, Danica had learned, though the back part (where their room was located) was partcially built into a mountain's side. There were very few windows, so pretty much the only outside air made its way in through small holes in the walls through which arrows and the like could be fired. There was supposedly a second floor, but Aisha refused to let them know how to get there.
The dancer took them everywhere she went, and they were given little choice otherwise. Currently they were in a bit of a gathering place for the members of the organization. It was nicely furnished, and had many pillows littering the floor. This was where Aisha and some of her friends did most of their entertaining.
Irene handed them a plate of fruit, and plopped down on a nearby pillow. Aisha was dancing in the center of the room.
"How do you like it here so far?" she asked kindly as though they had come here by choice. Danica said nothing, feeling she had no right to ask.
"The people are pretty nice," Evalyn murmered shyly. Irene nodded.
"Would either of you like to take the stage?" Aisha asked as she sauntered over. They looked up at her in surprise, and she rolled her eyes.
"You are a princess, are you not? You must know something entertaining."
Danica glared at her a bit,"The only dancing I know is for the ballroom."
"What are royal balls like?" another girl nearby babbled excitedly.
The Avian princess sighed inwardly, "Fancy, I suppose. Even by nobility standards. But they get quite monotnous after awhile."
"What are the gowns like?" Irene asked, cocking her head. Danica knew that they had never been in the same kinds of situations she had, so they found all of this very interesting. She didn't.
"Overly extravagent. I doubt any of you would enjoy wearing them for too long. They aren't made for comfort," she explained.
"Maybe I should sneak into one of those parties," the other girl mused, "Just to watch."
"Anyways," Aisha waved her hand, cutting the conversation short, "Can you do anything else?"
"I hear that you have a marvolous singing voice," Irene offered.
"But I'm not going to sing," Danica glared at her.
"Oh come now. We'd all love to hear you," another girl a little ways away snorted. It was obvious that she wasn't being sincere.
"Leave her alone, Adelina," Irene warned, glaring at her.
"I wasn't doing anything," she murmered innocently. The other girls gave her a harsh look, so she walked away.
"What was that about?" Evalyn frowned.
"Adelina wants to sell you to Falcane," Aisha answered simply, "And she hopes that afterwards we'll be hired to assasinate the rest of the Avia royal family."
"She's a tad eccentric," Irene explained, "Don't worry. No one is taking her advice."
"I hope not," Danica sighed.
"Did that have anything to do with her fight with Zane?" Evalyn asked worriedly.
"It was a small factor, but I doubt the outcome would have been any differant without it," the black-haired girl muttered.
"Quit changing the subject," Aisha snapped irritably at all of them, "Danica. You sing, right now."
"No," the princess of Avia replied to the command in a slightly stuck-up tone.
"Please," Irene pleaded.
"Why are you insisting I sing?!" Danica exclaimed, getting tired of this.
"Because ever since they heard you were comming, someone who's heard you sing has been talking about it constantly," Zane muttered from behind them, glaring slightly at the other girl in their group.
"Well it's true," she giggled, "Please Princess Danica."
"I said no. And that is the answer I'm sticking with," Danica huffed, standing up, and leaving the room. Evalyn was right behind her as always.
"Why don't you want to sing?" her naive little friend asked curiously, "You love singing."
"I just..." she sighed tiredly, "I just don't feel like it right now, ok?"
She didn't know why her friend had gotten so comfortable here. It was probably just denial. Like that time her father, a palace guard, was severly injured in some uprising in town. They weren't sure if he was going to live, and didn't allow Evalyn to see him for days. And during that time, she still went to her father's room to visit him early every morning just as she always did, and then would tell Danica that it was strange that he had been put on duty so early. And every morning, Danica would remind her that he was hurt. And every morning, Evalyn bawled when she heard, remembering what had happened, and still being terrified of it. Danica wasn't going to remind her friend of their dire situation if she didn't have to. The young maid could only take so much.
"Where are you going?" Zane asked, causing them both to jump in surprise.
"Why are you following?" Danica shot back.
"Touchy," he muttered, "I was going to show you something if you weren't buisy."
"What are you planning on showing us?"
He smirked a little, "Follow me."
They followed him to some of the less familiar hallways. This made Danica a little nervous, but she continued after him anyways. Soon they came to a normal looking pair of double doors. Zane opened one, and motioned for them to enter. Danica couldn't help but smile slightly at the room.
It was a nursery of sorts. There were some cribs and baskets about the room. Soft pillows littered the floor. Charis was in there, along with some other women and young children.
"We thought you might like a break from Aisha," Zane explained, "And this was the most pleasent place we could think of. I hope it's not objectionable."
"It isn't," Danica smiled, "Thank you."
He nodded, giving them one of his cocky grins before closing the door. The other women in the room greeted them warmly as the girls entered the room.
"You don't mind helping with the children, do you?" Charis asked hopefully.
"No, we don't mind at all," Evalyn beamed, peaking in one of the baskets.
"That's good," another woman sighed with relief.
"You see, we kind of need some more helpers in here," Charis explained, "Many of these ladies still need to work, so we'd appreciate it if you would come here sometimes."
"That's reasonable," Danica nodded, tenderly patting a curious child on the head, "Does everyone in this place work as assassins?"
"Most of us do," a younger mother answered, "But some are just married to our members, so they do other types of work. And Aisha's group stays just because they like it here more than anywhere else.
"I want to have kids someday," Evalyn mused softly after someone handed her one of the babies.
"Do you have any potential husbends back home?" someone asked. Evalyn shook her head sadly.
"I'm a bit too buisy for a relationship," she lamented, "And no one seems at all interested in me, anyways..."
"That's a shame. You're a pretty girl," Charis frowned, and then turned to Danica, "What about you?"
The Avian princess paused thoughtfully, "I have one suitor at the moment, and I have to be married by my next birthday. So at the moment, I guess that's who my future husbend appears to be."
Charis frowned, "But I take it you don't love this man?"
Danica sighed heavily. She wasn't particularly fond of this subject, "I...admire him...But no, you are right. I don't love him..."
"How can you stand something like that?" the younger mother asked bitterly, "I would rather die than marry someone I don't love!"
"You were raised differantly than I was," Danica murmered, "But if I had a choice...I would be willing to give up everything for what you have..."
"Really?" Evalyn looked at her questioningly.
"I said I would be willing," Danica repeated, "But I doubt I actually would if the opportunity was presented. My duty to my people is more important than my personal desires could ever be."
"The makings of a excellent leader," Charis murmered in admiration.
"But obviously not a very happy one," Zane mused.
"Do you enjoy appearing unnanounced?" Danica sneered, "Civilized people normally knock."
"I'm an assassin. That's what we do," he smirked, "If I wanted to kill someone, I wouldn't normally give them a proper greeting first to let them know I was there."
"True..." she muttered, but still couldn't help but be argumentative, "But I'm not sure why my happiness would matter to you. Being my kidnapper and all."
He gave her a hurt expression, "But I'm being a nice kidnapper."
"That doesn't make any differance."
Charis sighed heavily, "Did you need something, Zane?"
"Yes, actually," he held up a letter, "Princess Danica, this is for you."
"What is it?" she asked skeptically, snatching it from his hand.
"A letter from home," he shrugged, "It was sent with their response to our demands."
She opened the envelope, and read through the letter carefully. Evalyn looked at it over her shoulder. It read:
Dearest Princess Danica,
We pray that this letter finds you in good health, and that you are safe and remain unharmed. We have been told that they will not lay a hand on you, but we still advise you to stay on your guard and not give them the luxury of your trust. We have faith in you logic, your decision making, and all the training you have been given. Please use them to the best of your abilities to make it through this incident. We do not yet have the funds available to rescue you at the time as we are sure you know. But rest assured you will not remain in their hands for long. Again we ask that you keep yourself safe.
Sincerely,
King Gerald, Queen Nacola, and Prince Andreios.
"Of course..." Danica thought sadly to herself, "They always have to be completely formal..." For once she just wished they would treat her like a daughter, and not a princess.
"You have spies and such, don't you?" she asked Zane after a moment, though her eyes remained on the paper, "Any estimation on how long I'll be here?"
He rubbed the back of his neck, "I don't have one. You could always ask Aviran. He might be able to help you," a playful grin lit his face, "Unfortunatly we don't have any fortrune tellers with us."
"Hm..." Danica looked down at the paper again solumnly, "I suppose I will go see him. Are you comming Evalyn? Or would you rather stay here?"
The servant paused for a moment, "Will you be comming back soon?" Danica nodded, and she smiled a little, "Ok. I'll wait here, then."
"Very well. I shouldn't be too long," the Avain princess smiled at her friend, and walked out the door.
It took her a little while to find the entry room, but she was still learning her way around this place. Aviran was sitting at his table, reading some book just as expected. She approached him purposfully.
"Can you give me a guess on how long I'm going to be staying here?" she asked, trying not to sound irritated. He looked up at her boredly.
"My best guess is at least two months. And that's only under unnaturally perfect conditions, "...Unless you somehow manage to escape that is..."
"I suppose there's no way I could bribe you to let me leave then," she muttered sarcastically, but she silently hoped that wasn't the case.
"Actually..." he put down his book with a thoughtful expression, "Tell you what. If you can manage to beat me in a duel, I will admit defeat and allow you to come and go as you please without question."
"Really?" Danica could hardly believe she was hearing this, and then narrowed her eyes, "What's the catch?"
He pointed to a staff leaning against the wall, "That's the type of weapon you are to use, and you only get three tries."
"Is that all?"
"Yep."
She studied the staff momentarily. A few years ago, her brother had taught her the basics of such a weapon for self-defence. Though doubted that her simple training would be enough to defeat him.
"Alright deal," She stated firmly. He nodded, and went back to his book, and she left.
"Was he any help?" Zane asked, popping up next to her.
"Please stop doing that," she sighed wearily, "Is there a reason you're talking to me?"
He shrugged, "Not really. I just wanted to chat."
"Why?"
"Because I have nothing else to do," he answered simply.
"Joy..." she muttered, "Ok, what are your questions?"
"What's your brother like?"
She paused momentarily in surprise, "Well...he's kind, chivilrous, fair..."
"That's not what I meant," Zane chuckled. She gave him a questioning look, so he explained, "What's he like as a brother?"
She was quiet again. Then a thoughtful smile began to spread across her face, "He's one of the few people that knows me, and not the princess I try to be. He lookes out for me however he can. And he actually listent to what I have to say..."
"You must miss him," her companion mused. She nodded slowly.
They talked about her brother and her parents on the way back to the nursery room. Zane would ask her questions occasionally, but mostly just listened. Danica paused midsentence as they entered the last hallway.
"Is something wrong?" he asked, looking at her strangly.
"I don't know why I'm even talking to you like this," she frowned, and glared at him, "Why do you want to know about my family?"
"Just curious," she shrugged, "It seemed to cheer you up, though."
"You won't use any of it against them?" she asked coldly.
"That was never my intention," he responded calmly, "But if it makes you feel better, I swear on my honor that I will do nothing to harm your family with anything you say."
"Not that your honor is worth much," Danica mumbled, not caring if he heard her or not. She walked off, and went inside the nursery. Zane sighed heavliy once the door closed behind her. This was going to be harder than he thought.
He turned around, and started walking away. The assassin leader took a piece of paper out of his pocket and studied it momentarily. Then he shoved it back, scowling as he stalked through the halls.
Why had he taken her so far off subject? He had wanted to get her talking about her brother, and then find out how strong a fighter he was. But he had urged her to talk about other things for some reason. There had been several opportunities for him to ask, but he had procrastinated, and now he would have to wait. Maybe he should try Evalyn instead.
The thing with Danica was that he found it difficult to get his thoughts straight around her. That was the biggest reason he had failed his self-assigned task, as far as he was concerned. Sure she was beautiful, but not that much, was she?
Zane rubbed his temple tiredly. He just needed to rest was all.
Danica knelt on the floor next to her best friend, feeling flustered. There was something about him that just...annoyed her. Her thoughts became scattered, and he was too easy to talk to. She was a princess, and had already had more suitors than she could possibly count. How could this one man, her kidnapper no less, so easily make her feel like this!?!
"Is something wrong? You're scowling?" Evalyn asked, cocking her head. She was playing with some children.
"It's nothing," Danica waved her hand dismissivly, "Are you having fun?"
The servant girl nodded enthusiastically, and started to introduce her new charges.
Frog: Kind of a pointless chapter, I think. And the ending was awkward, but I had no idea how else to do it. I hope you all liked some of it anyways. I'll try to update as soon as I can. I think I need to put in more with Evalyn. She doesn't have enough character to her. Anyways, please reveiw! Bye!