Last time: "Oi, shut her up!" another voice snarled. Something hit my head with a sharp blow, and everything went black.
"Have some tea," a voice muttered wearily to me.
My head was killing me. I tried to open my eyes and found that one of them was concealed. I lifted my hand sluggishly to my forehead, feeling a gauze pad wrapped tightly around me. Looking from the eye I could see out of, I glanced around the room. It was a cozy circular area, furnished richly in bright colors and draperies of gold. I inspected where I was sitting, feeling soft velvet underneath my fingertips.
I did a quick mental check over my body. My head was aching fiercely, but I couldn't find any other maladies. There was a woman in front of me, holding out a steaming cup. Her long hair, pulled back into a loose bun, was sprinkled with gray, and she wore a deep emerald dressing robe over a thin silver nightgown. She clutched her robe to her chest as I eyed the cup suspiciously, not making a motion to take it.
"Why offer her tea?" A voice cried out from the other side of the room, and the woman turned to Zane Cobriana, who was pacing around the room frantically. "So she can enjoy the lap of luxury while Gregory is held host—"
"So maybe she can remember that she was treated well here, and extend the favor to Gregory when she returns to her people!" she snapped, her slight figure wavering angrily. "Do you have any idea what you have done, Zane?" They locked tension-filled eyes for a moment, and then the woman slumped back in her seat, taking an exhausted sip from the tea that I wouldn't touch. "I know you meant well, but I fear you don't understand the magnitude of what has been done," she said, much more softly. "This hasn't been done, not in the entire history of the war."
"I know, Mother," Zane said, staring at the floor. "I panicked."
The woman stood and walked towards him, murmuring soft words to Zane with her arms outstretched. I took the opportunity to try and make sense of what had happened. I remembered Zane in my room, holding me hostage. Rei came in to save me, and I was moved. Everything after that was a blur. I straightened up in my chair. No Avian had ever come out alive to share what the inside looked like, but I was certain that I was in the Serpientine palace. My neck itched, and I realized with horror that I was dressed in a light fabric that constricted the feathers on the back of my neck. I blanched. Had they undressed me?
"You are not to be a prisoner here," the woman uttered, turning back to me. "This was a mistake, a grievous mistake. The Serpiente are more than willing to negotiate your release with the release of Gregory Cobriana."
My eyes widened. Regardless of this being a 'grievous mistake', I was to be traded for Gregory's safe passage home. The scenarios flickered by in my head, each worse than the last. I was certain that my mother would blame Gregory for my kidnapping. What would happen then? Would he be tortured, killed? How could I get home? I would surely have the same punishment enacted on me.
And at the same time, I was worried for Gregory's safety. Why had I saved him? It was a rash decision, one that I barely remembered. The emotion and heat of the battlefield had gotten to me, that was all. But while everyone else was looking at it through purely political motives, I hadn't even considered that he could be used for negotiations. He seemed too … lifelike, even on the brink of death. Too animated, too personable, to simply be a pawn in any political schemes. Too much like a real person.
"I regret to inform you that, as heir to the throne of the Tuuli Thea and Gregory Cobriana's primary care keeper, I do not believe he will be in well-enough condition to make such a journey as to the Serpientine lands." I stood up tall and proud, my voice regally strong. Not an ounce of my inner quivering was revealed.
"Not in well enough condition?" Gregory demanded, kicking at a wall. The resounding boom made me flinch. "What did you do to him?"
"Nothing," I said, my voice smooth. Sky above, he was so violent! What if his mother wasn't there to be a calming presence? I inwardly shuddered to think about it. I had heard horror stories about the serpent court. "He was received at our court on the brink of death, after being shot down in a battlefield. Since then, he has been being nursed back to health."
Zane spat on the ground, still pacing wildly. "I don't believe a word you say," he hissed.
"Zane!" the woman snapped. "That is enough." He growled and turned away from the two of us, storming out of the chamber. I heard something crash in the hallway outside.
"You can't possibly think of hurting me," I said distantly. I was the soon to be Tuuli Thea, not a quivering little girl, and I would act as one. "The entire Royal Flight will be knocking down your walls within the hour."
"Oh, they've been outside for quite some time," she responded airily. "Once we informed them there will be negotiations for your release and not an attack, they refrained."
"How long have I been here?" I asked conversationally.
Before the woman could answer, Zane came back into the room, walking with a bit less malice. "I am telling you now," he said, seating himself into the chair a few feet away from mine, "my family will not be toyed with. Dying in battle is bad enough, but for you to kidnap and torture Gregory—" he cut off, his voice thick. "You will return him to us."
I clenched my hands together to hide their shaking. "I find it slightly ironic that I am to be lectured on kidnapping from one who took me from my own home," I retorted calmly, draping my words in an elegant tone. "Once again, I will repeat for your benefit: I have not harmed Gregory in any way."
Zane laughed bitterly. "I believe you like I believe that the earth is made of steel," he snorted.
"That is your choice," I responded, turning away from him to his mother. "Who am I to speak to so I can have these … negotiations? You must realize, I cannot negotiate with anybody without having someone here to represent me."
Once my guards were here for the negotiations, they would sweep me away from these kidnappers. I would return home and,
and what?
Gregory did have to go back to his own people soon. Once I had nursed him back to health, what was my plan? I didn't exactly have one. The woman in front of me was speaking, but I wasn't listening, lost in my own thoughts. How could I have not thought of this? I had been so caught up in how to keep him alive, I had never considered what would happen after. Would our families go back to fighting? That seemed absurd to me, when I thought of it. I had talked with him for hours, I had held his hand and sang to him, he had told me stories about his childhood. In a few days, we had bonded, and I couldn't ignore that. I had become-, well, attached, slightly, at least.
Would Gregory care that I had saved his life? I'd like to think that he would. But when put against his brother, who obviously wanted to kill me, or his mother, who considered me a prisoner, no matter what she said? I wasn't sure what would happen.
A/N: I hate to end it here, but I am really super tired (it is midnight here!) and I want to head to bed, but I also want to post this chapter. So, the ending isn't exactly swell. =]