I know you guys have been waiting. So, here's the next chapter. I won't be able to do too much more until X-mas break, I'll be busy with school, my site, and all the other fanfics I have going on.

"That wasn't even right. In any sense of the word."

Deepest Night. Chapter 4.

She likes you, stupid.

A day after his screaming fight with the Bane's Heir, Gregor was staring at himself in the mirror. He was in charcoal colored pants and a fancy kind of shirt with a gold border around the hem. A sword hung at his belt, now that he was back down in the Underland he felt uncomfortable without it. With a shrug Gregor walked out of his room and into the hallway, and he began the walk to the High Hall where a feast had been prepared.

Luxa had been frantic about him after he fairly collapsed. In an odd moment of cooperation Rae and Luxa had taken him to his room after he had sunk to the floor in tears. Gregor had refused to talk to either of the girls and eventually they had left him alone. As soon as he was by himself he had thrown himself onto the bed and cried.

Gregor hadn't all out cried for a long time, but he did then. He sobbed for upwards of an hour and when he couldn't cry anymore he lay staring at the ceiling and thought. Thought about everything, about Luxa, about Flay, about his family, but mostly about Ares.

Ares had been his best friend, even though Gregor had only known him for about a year. And even though he had let Ares go, Gregor still couldn't get over the guilt. The guilt, the thought, that it had been his fault Ares died; it hung over him constantly.

"Gregor?" It was Howard, the older boy's hand was on Gregor's shoulder, "Are you alright?" His voice was compassionate, not pitying. Gregor gave him a small smile, Howard knew, Howard understood. He had lost a bond too, and he was perhaps the only person that could understand what Gregor felt. "He will fly with you always." Howard reminded him kindly. He let it go at that and took his hand off of Gregor's shoulder. The two walked silently into the High Hall.

For a brief moment Gregor wondered why they always seemed to through feasts, it was like a regular thing for the Regalians. Every time he came down there was a feast prepared for some reason or the other. And then he saw Luxa…

She was in a deep green gown with long sleeves that gathered at the wrist. The bodice was trimmed in silver and there was an inset of lavender in the flowing skirt. Luxa had exchanged her simple gold band for a delicate tiara. With a slightly wary look the young queen approached Gregor, "Are you feeling better?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yes, much." Gregor told her, "You look beautiful." he blurted without thinking. Luxa blushed a little and graced him with a radiant smile.

"Thank you." She replied modestly, "Come." Luxa beckoned him to the table. He followed her, Howard walked ahead a bit and sat in a seat close to the head of the table.

As Gregor walked he noticed Rae in a rich royal blue dress and gold trim. She waved at him and then turned back to her neighbor, a young Fount guard, and continued her conversation with him. Gregor glanced at the table, it was diverse in it's species and ages. Near the head he saw Ripred and Flay, seated next to Flay was a slender grey gnawer that he remembered only vaguely. Between Ripred and Flay was an empty seat, Gregor assumed it was for Erin whom he didn't see in the Hall.

The moment she caught sight of him Flay stood up, Gregor tensed automatically. Ripred glanced at Flay as she stood and then turned to Gregor, the grey rat made eye contact with him for only a few seconds but it was enough for Flay to walk over to him.

"What?" he snapped irritably, Gregor really didn't want to deal with this crazy rat right now, he couldn't imagine what she might say to him next.

"It has been brought to my attention…quite…forcefully, that I was out of line." Flay scowled as she said this but seemed sincere enough, Gregor stared at her shocked. This was the last thing he expected from her. "I am sorry for causing you hurt."

"It's fine." Gregor told her. He realized he may have been a bit hard on her, she had been through almost as much as he had.

Flay laughed sinisterly, "No it isn't. You're just saying that." Gregor glowered at her but before he had time to retort a mocking voice called out,

"Flay, what are you doing to that poor boy?" It was Erin.

"Nothing, Erin, just trying to decide how to eat him." Flay responded sarcastically, the white rat walked over toward her friend and Erin stroked the fur on her neck. Gregor had the odd impression of a lion tamer as he looked at the two off them.

There were a few murmurs up and down the table as Erin sat down, some because she was talking to the white rat, although most were from assorted young men. Luxa and Rae's dresses were both obviously Underland style, Erin's was more of a hybrid. It was a sleeveless off the shoulder dress in a dark purple. Erin had modified it by adding a black velvet corset and had painstakingly sewn more black velvet in a lacy pattern below the corset. The velvet lace crawled around her hips like spider webs and accentuated the curvature of her body.

Gregor sat down at the table, most people had already loaded up their plates. "Greetings, Warrior." said the grey female rat next to Flay. Gregor nodded to her but for the life of him couldn't remember her name, he flushed sheepishly. Ripred smirked and said,

"Well since the mighty warrior seems to have forgotten, I'll do the introductions." The grouchy grey rat gestured toward the other, "This is Preypounce, she is Flay's foster mother." Flay stuck her tongue out at Ripred, he ignored it and continued, "She also happens to be Razor's last surviving child."

Gregor stared at Preypounce for a moment before it clicked. "No way…" he breathed before he could stop himself.

"Does that shock you?" Flay sneered. Preypounce shot her a look and the white rat quieted. Gregor was having a little trouble coming to terms with the irony of the situation. That meant Flay's father had killed Preypounce's father…and now Preypounce was her foster mother. That wasn't even right. In any sense of the word. Gregor shifted uncomfortably and stared at his plate, he picked absently at his food.

More toward the head of the table Rae and Luxa were talking in cool polite tones. "How long have you known Gregor?" Luxa questioned, Gregor noticed a hard look in her eyes that he had never seen before.

Rae smiled charmingly, "Oh, about eight months I suppose," she spoke in an offhand way like it didn't really matter, "I'm over at his house a lot." Luxa's civil smile slipped a bit and she replied,

"I see, you must be very good friends." The queen laid severe emphasis on the word friends. It sounded very much like a threat.

Flipping her long red hair, Rae responded in a similar manner, "Yes. I am certain you are good friends with him as well."

"The best." Luxa parried, she sat up straighter in her seat. Her queenly demeanor was firmly in place as she looked down on the other girl. Rae looked unconcerned about the disdain Luxa barely masked, and held her smile firmly in place.

"I am certain that as the warrior, he is a good person to have on your side." Rae's voice took on a slightly harder tone, a vague note of accusation was hidden in her words.

"What exactly does that mean?"

"Oh, nothing much." The girl said innocently, her brown eyes had the look of a cobra ready to strike, "Just that being able to call on him whenever there's trouble, must be nice."

Luxa lost her calm politeness and her visage grew cold, "Are you suggesting, that I use him?" Her words where a very quiet whisper, but there was a hint of deadly anger.

Gregor turned apprehensively to Erin, who was seated across the table watching the verbal spar with a look of interest. "What's going on?" he asked anxiously throwing glances back at the two girls.

Erin rolled her eyes, "They're competing for territory."

"What territory?" Gregor was confused.

"You." Erin replied briefly. She looked slightly aggravated at the interruption and turned back to watch Rae and Luxa.

"Why is Rae acting like this?" Gregor mused to himself. Normally the red haired girl was quiet and innocently kind. Now she had the manner of someone in the midst of a battle.

"She likes you, stupid." Flay sneered. She was eating at a steady pace but wasn't as boisterous an eater as Ripred, who stuck his entire face into random bowls of food. In fact she was disgusted by the older rat's way of eating. Living in the Palace for most of her life Flay had rarely eaten anything freshly killed, and her food was almost always cooked.

Gregor jumped slightly, he hadn't been aware anyone could hear him, "I don't get it." he observed.

Flay rolled her eyes, "They both like you, they're basically trying to prove who has the most claim over you. Each one is presenting reasons why the other shouldn't have you. Rae suggested Luxa is using you as a political pawn and…" The white rat paused listening to the next verbal jab, "And Luxa has just foregone all social barriers and called Rae a red haired jezebel. Things will get nasty soon." she observed sagely.

Ripred glanced at her, Flay was talking as if she had experience in the subject, and he was quite certain that she had none. Although, some things like that seemed instinctual for females. He shrugged mentally and turned his attention to the two young girls.

"Alright, we get the point." He snapped, "Now both of you kindly shut up." The two quieted and looked at Ripred in surprise as if they had just realized they weren't the only ones in the room. Luxa scowled, Rae blushed, and Ripred turned away burying himself into a vat of shrimp in cream sauce.

Gregor shifted nervously in his seat and focused his attention on the food he had barely touched. All of his senses were open and searching for something to comment on that wouldn't set someone off. A light sweet smell drifted to his nose.

It was faint and almost entirely covered by the heavy aromas of the feast. Gregor sniffed again, the smell was out of place among all of the rich Underland foods. It reminded him of hot summers in the Overland. Some kind of fruit, he identified.

"What smells like strawberries?" He finally asked, he thought it was strawberries that he smelled. Erin and Flay looked at each other and began to laugh softly. Ripred emerged from his food and said,

"That would be the little demon over there." The grey rat looked disapprovingly at Flay who merely rolled her eyes, "Erin got to her…" Ripred said in mock regret, "Now she's more human than rat, I swear."

Flay scowled at him, "Am not!" she retorted angrily.

Ripred scoffed, "You prefer cooked food to raw, you can barely hunt, and you take a bath once a week."

A bath? Gregor was amused by the sudden image of the morose and aggressive white rat covered in bubbles. Flay shot him a 'don't even go there' kind of look, before turning to glare at Ripred.

"Just because I don't take pride in living in my own filth, doesn't mean I'm not a rat." Flay snarled. The two rats looked ready to leap at each other but Erin intervened hurriedly. Gregor gave a sigh it seemed anything he said or did lately resulted in something like this. Why was everyone at each other's throats?

------

Everyone was just settling into the dessert course when a servant slipped into the High Hall, his face was calm but his steps were hurried and he looked slightly disheveled. Something told Gregor that he had run the whole way here. He braced himself for bad news.

The servant bowed to Luxa and then whispered into her ear. The queen's eyes widened, in surprise or worry Gregor couldn't tell. Luxa composed herself and sent the servant away, then she stood gracefully. Her land lifted slightly and she made an odd gesture and swept out of the High Hall, Aurora followed. Ripred gave a regretful kind of longing glance at the rest of his plate, but he stood as well and walked after his royal bond. Gregor hesitated but eventually stood and began to walk out of the hall.

When he reached the exit he stopped and turned to see if anyone else was coming. Nike was on her way, Howard, Erin, Rae, and the two rats were standing as well. Gregor watched slightly shocked as Howard attempted to assist Erin out of her chair and was coldly rebuffed. Without a backward glance Erin strode out of the hall.

Now, Gregor was confused, he had been here not too long ago and the two had been getting along fine. Better than fine if you wanted to be precise. Curious to see what had happened he wondered who he should ask. Howard would probably be uncomfortable talking about it, there was a fifty-fifty chance Erin would stab him, Nike was loyal to Howard and probably wouldn't tell him anything personal, and Preypounce probably didn't know. Which left…Flay. Gregor scowled at the prospect of talking to the white rat once more, but she could probably tell him what he wanted to know.

Gregor lingered behind waiting for Flay, who was the last to exit the High Hall. She smirked as she saw him and said quietly, "Can I help you?"

"Yes, actually." Gregor replied curtly. He really didn't like this rat, her knowing and condescending gaze made him want to hit her. Hard. Preferably with some kind of blade.

Flay's smirk widened slightly and her mocking tone continued, "So pleased I can be of assistance, oh, mighty warrior."

Gregor scowled at the rat, who met his hard look with one of insincere innocence. "What's up with Erin and Howard?" Flay gave a short laugh,

"You mean, why aren't they all over each other?" The white rat rolled her eyes at Gregor's slight discomfort at her choice of words, "It isn't like they were subtle. Well, Howard finally figured out that Erin was an Overlander, and that it would be generally unacceptable for the Lord of the Fount to marry an Overlander. Being denser than a crawler, he can't grasp the concept of flirting and messing around. So he assumed that if he continued the relationship with Erin he would be expected to wed her." Flay glanced at Gregor, "Do you see where this is headed?" she asked.

Gregor could see exactly where it was headed but he made a gesture for Flay to continue her story, which she did with a shrug.

"Anyway, Erin didn't take it well and there was screaming and crying and some hitting." Gregor looked shocked, so Flay elaborated, "The histrionics were Erin's bit, Howard just looked on helplessly and attempted to calm her down. Now Erin avoids him and he goes out of his way to be nice to her."

"So, they broke up?" Gregor summarized. Flay nodded.

By this time they had reached the war room and Gregor walked straight in past Ripred who was guarding the door. As Flay attempted to brush past Ripred, the grey rat blocked her.

"What the hell?" Flay exclaimed angrily.

"No war meeting for you, pup." Ripred told her in a fake cheery voice.

"I'm hardly a pup!" The white rat protested, "Why can't I go?"

"You may be a demon, but you're still a pup," Ripred replied, "And you can't go because you don't need to. And honestly? I don't trust you." Flay glared daggers at him and tried to push past the older rat, but Ripred stood firmly. Flay unleashed a volley of profanity. Ripred's eyebrow raised, "Where did you learn language like that?" he asked, "No, wait. I know." With this he stuck his head in the room and called, "Erin! Stop teaching Flay Overland swear words."

From inside the room came a mischievous kind of giggle. Outside, Flay stalked away from Ripred with a look of fierce determination on her face. "Don't go sneaking off now!" he mocked her retreating form. Flay smirked, that was exactly what she planned to do, and this time: she wasn't coming back

------

Luxa fidgeted anxiously with her tiara while she and the rest of the group waited for Ripred to come back in. The bad-tempered rat sauntered into the room and sat down, saying as he did, "Well, I took care of her."

"Ripred!" Preypounce protested.

"Oh, get over it Preyprance," Ripred sneered, proud of the nickname which he had made up on the spot, "You know she's a bad one, just like her mother." Preypounce ignored the epithet and scowled,

"Flay's a good girl, and she would be better if you stopped picking on her constantly." Preypounce said protectively. The grey female really cared for the young rat who was an odd combination of a daughter, a sister, and a friend.

Ripred sneered derisively, "You sound like Razor. And everyone knows what happened to him." Preypounce's face was contorted with anger and she was about to reply with a string of choice insults and swears, but was interrupted by Luxa.

"Are you two quite finished?" She burst out angrily. Ripred looked taken aback by her sudden exclamation and was shocked into silence. "A dilemma has arisen." Luxa said cryptically. Then she laughed, "Dilemma is a bit of an understatement."

The young queen lowered her head into her hands briefly then looked up and murmured, "The spinners assaulted and killed one of our patrols." Everyone in the room looked shocked save Rae and Gregor. Gregor because he had experienced the spinners' ruthless viciousness, and Rae because she had only a vague idea of what spinners were.

"This means war." Ripred said quietly.

"I know what it means!" Luxa snapped, then her voice lowered once more, "The cutters and spinners have had dealings before. But we have recently been informed that the darters have also joined this alliance."

Ripred scowled, "The darters want one thing."

"The extermination of the sleepers." Preypounce whispered sorrowfully. The Overlanders in the room exchanged a bewildered look, but the everyone else just continued talking, oblivious to their confusion.

"The sleepers were never our friends." Howard said to Luxa, "In fact they were more our enemies."

Ripred snarled, "They were our friends. The sleepers and the gnawers have been allies for years! We must go to their aid."

Luxa glanced at her bond, "The gnawers and the humans may be at peace, however, the sleepers have made no attempt at negotiating with us."

Ripred's voice was sarcastic, "Because the Crystal Grotto is just a hop, skip, and a jump away. It takes days to reach it!" Ripred replied angrily. Preypounce nodded emphatically.

"The Crystal Grotto?" Gregor asked, finally saying something in the midst of the argument.

Nike bent close to him to murmur, "The sleepers' dwelling, it is very far, on the border of the Uncharted Lands." Gregor nodded and finally said,

"There's going to be a war again, isn't there?" Luxa turned to him,

"Whether we help the sleepers or not, the spinners and cutters will undoubtedly attack us." The young queen looked at him with pleading eyes, "You do not have to stay."

Gregor gave a short laugh and shrugged, "You know me, I love wars." This got him an eye-roll from Erin, "I'm staying, just as soon as I send something back up." He didn't specify exactly what he was sending up, but everyone's gaze turned to Rae.

"What?" She said warily as she saw everyone staring at her.

Erin laughed, "Ariadne can take her."

Rae: -whines- I don't wanna go!
Me: Too bad. You were one of my least favorite characters anyway. I only brought you down so you could get scared by Flay.
Preypounce: Wait...'Razor's last surviving child'? Where's Fangsong!?
Me: Ummmm...-runs away- No spoilers for you!