Disclaimer: I own nothing but he plot and my OCs (Evalyn, Aviran, and Vespera).
Frog: Sorry, sorry, sorry!!!! This took WAY too long to update. But no one reviewed either, so I didn't have as much drive to write as I usually do. School is also a problem, and I have other fanfics I'm working on. So this chapter may be a bit shorter than others. Sorry again...
It had been a little over two weeks since Danica and Evalyn had been kidnapped. They were actually ajusting well to likfe here, though the princess of Avia refused to admit it.
A light tap on their door told them that Aisha was there. Evalyn promptly answered the door, and greeted the dancer kindly. Their guest, however, had an unusally grim expression.
"You girls need to come with me to the entry hall," she stated plainly, and then walked away. The othere two girls shared a glance before hurrying to catch up with her.
When they arrived, they saw Aviran, reading as usual, and Zane who was holding a knife and staring coldly at a man shaking and crumpled on the ground. Ailbhe was leaning against one of the walls. Aisha nodded to the girls, and left the room, closing the door behind her. All was silent for several long moments, save for the strangers ragged breathing.
"Well?" Zane looked at them out of the corner of his eye.
"Well what?" Danica snapped back, "Who is this man?"
"Y-your highness!" the man gasped, looking relieved.
"He's and Avian scout," Ailbhe explained, "He stumbled across our hideout by accident."
"Wh-what do you need me for?" Danica frowned, watching her frightened subject.
"Well since he's one of your people, I thought it fair that you decide what we do with him," Zane crossed his arms, dagger still in hand, "We can either kill him, or keep him locked up here for the rest of his life."
Danica said nothing at first. She knew why the man wasn't just allowed to leave and swear he wouldn't tell a soul about this hideout. He would still have the information, and thus it could still slip out. And if his job was basically that of a spy, the punishment for witholding information could result in the same punishment as giving it out. She went over, and knelt by his side.
"What's your name?" she began softly.
"E-Eldeck..." he stuttered, looking up at her.
"Which punishment sounds better to you?" she asked softly. He shook his head weakly.
"I-I'm afraid of death, but...I-I don't want to live without my family..." he sighed, "You decide, your highness. It does not matter to me..."
"How many in your family?"
"Myself, my wife, and our two young daughters."
Danica looked up at their captor, "If he stays, would it be possible for his family to join him?"
Zane pondered this a moment, "I suppose. Though your children would no doubt grow up to work here."
Eldeck smiled slightly, "Th-thank you sir."
Danica nodded and stood, "Yes. Thank you."
Zane smirked a little, "What's this? You've decided to become polite all of a sudden?"
"I wouldn't press my luck with this one, if I were you," Aviran mumbled, "She's close enough to hit you if she feels like it."
"Excellent point," Danica glared. His smirk just grew.
"I'd like to see you try," he sneered.
"Well to bad for you then. I consider myself above such acts," she snipped, turning on her heel. Ailbhe couldn't help but snicker in the corner.
"Loosing your touch Zane?" he asked playfully.
"Loosing my touch!" the black-haired man pretended to take offence to the question, "My dear friend, I wasn't even trying. Had I been, not even her ladyship would be able to resist."
Danica decided not to even give him the satisfaction of a response this time. Ailbhe just shook his head, and escorted the Avian spy out of the room.
"Is there anything else you needed to see me about by any chance?" Danica asked irritably.
"No, we're done here," Zane sighed, waving his hand dismissively, "You can go back to whatever it is you do all day."
Just as Danica was turning to leave, Aviran spoke, "If you've nothing better to do, I suggest you visit Vespera."
"Vespera?" Zane gave him a questioning look, "What for?"
"Nothing that concerns you," the door guard shrugged, glancing in Danica's direction.
"Where is she?" the Avian princess questioned.
"She's probably in the library right now."
Danica nodded, and left the room, followed closely by Evalyn. Her maid cleared her throat after a moment.
"Uh...your highness?"
"Yes?"
"Would it be alright if I went to the nursery instead?"
Danica gave her a smile, "Of course."
Her friend smiled thankfully at her, and hurried down a differant hall. Danica shook her head a little, smiling. That girl would make an excellent mother one day.
She had been to the library a few times, but didn't go there often. She didn't want to get too comfortable here, after all. A girl about Evalyn's size was browsing the shelves in the cubical type room. She had straight, fiery-red hair, dull light blue eyes, and a pale compexion. Danica coughed lightly to get her attention.
"Hello there," the other woman greeted, her voice had the hint of an accent, "Your the princess, right?"
"Yes. Are you Vespera?"
"That's me," the red-head approached her smiling, "Aviran told me about you. I was just looking for another book for him since he can't leave his post in the entry hall. You want to learn how to fight, correct?"
Danica nodded, though she couldn't help but look a little surprised. That's what this was about? What was Aviran thinking? Did he want her out of here?
Vespera lead her down the hall to one of the living quarters. Danica could only guess it was the girl's own. Inside was some nice furniture, with a large woven mat in the center. Vespera took a staff leaning on the wall, and tossed it to her. She clumsily caught it.
"Why does Aviran want me to learn how to fight?" Danica asked lightly, taking the fighting stance her brother had taught her.
The other girl winked at her, "That's for us to know, and you to find out."
Danica frowned. Hopefully she wasn't putting too much of her trust in these two. They could either be really trying to help her, or some of the biggest tricksters here.
Vespera trained her for over and hour. By the end of that time, Danica was thouroughly exausted. Her teacher gave her a kind smile.
"Well done. You're a fast learner," she beamed, "Either that, or I'm just an excellent teacher."
She giggled at the strange look Danica gave her, "You're free to return to your room now."
"Thank you," the Avian princess nodded, and turned to leave.
"I'll catch you tomorrow sometime, and we'll train some more," Vespera called as she left.
"I'll be looking forward to it," Danica muttered to herself sarcastically as she steadily made her way to her room. However, things started spinning and she was forced to lean against the wall for support. She remained their, panting for a moment. Apparently she trained too hard. She pressed her hand to her temple, trying to recover.
"Are you alright?" someone asked, concern present in their voice. Danica managed to lift her head to see Zane standing not far away with a worried expression on his face.
"I'm fine..." she tried to sound firm, but her voice came out shaky, "Just a little dizzy."
"What were you doing?" he asked, comming a little closer.
"N-nothing really. I'm fine," she said again, and pushed herself away from the wall. However, she lost her balance, and nearly fell to the floor. Fortunatly, Zane was there to catch her.
"You don't look so good," he smirked a little, though it didn't quite reach his eyes as he looked down at her in his arms. He then picked her up, and started to carry her to her room.
"Put me down this instant!" she snapped struggling. He chuckled.
"Do you really think you can walk?" he asked, now smirking fully. She glared at him, as her cheeks became a little pink. She was too proud to vocally admit he was right. But she knew she wouldn't be getting anywhere on her own. So she stayed quiet as he continued onward.
"What are you thinking, Shardae?" her inner voice snapped bitterly. In truth, Danica wasn't sure. But this was alot easier, and she felt like fainting at any moment. So she figured she was just saving both of them trouble. Not to mention, it would be more embarassing if she actually did pass out while he was standing there.
"Here we are," Zane smiled pleasently, setting her down in her doorway. She didn't notice he was still holding her hand until she had full balance. And then he almost reluctantly let it go. But she was too preocupied with staggering to the bed to realize.
She sat on the blanket and sighed, "Thank you," she said sincerely.
He gave her another one of his smiles, "Of course. I'll let Evalyn know you aren't feeling well."
Danica nodded, and layed down, burying her face in the pillow as he closed the door.
Zane smiled thoughtfully to himself as the door clicked shut. He then went off in the direction of the nursery to see the shy little maid girl. He rounded a corner, but quickly went back, peaking around it. He couldn't help but smirk at the scene.
Ailbhe was obviously flirting with the poor girl...agian. Honestly, he couldn't leave her alone. And Evalyn's face was scarlet in color, as always whenever the man was talking to her. Zane debated on whether or not he should interupt. Eventually he decided he might as well. Someone had to see to it Danica was taken care of, after all.
"Ailbhe, must you annoy the girl so?" he asked, startling the petite young woman and making her jump.
"I'm just talking," Ailbhe complained, "I wasn't annoying you, was I?"
Evalyn apparently didn't hear the joking tone in his voice, "N-n-no, but..."
"Leave her alone for now. She has more important things to do than let you hit on her," Zane chided. And he thought her face was red before...
Ailbhe let out and exasperated sigh, "Fine. Farewell fair maiden," he bowed dramatically, and kissed her hand. Zane rolled his eyes, though he couldn't help wondering if Ailbhe was really serious about this. The more he saw, the more that seemed to be the case. As soon as he left, Zane turned to Evalyn
"Danica isn't feeling well. I thought you should know," he stated plainly. Evalyn's face went from red to white in record time.
"Is she alright? What happened?" she asked worriedly, already headed toward the room they were staying in.
Zane shrugged, "Don't know. She was just on the verge of fainting in the halls. But I think she's laying down now."
"Ok. Thank you for telling me," Evalyn called, continueing down the halls.
"Your welcome," Zane called back, and went in another direction.
Frog: Sorry to end it like that. I didn't know what else to do. And sorry again that it took so long. If you have any suggestions, let me know. And I know my grammar isn't always the best. I don't have spell check at my house, and I'm too lazy to download something from the internet. Please reveiw. It lets me know if the story is liked at all, and I'll be more likely to update sooner. Bye.