Silver Millennium: Prologue

by Bruteaous

The foundation of an era, the planets and their own separate cultures and rulers striving to survive and make their way in history. Before there was unified peace there was civil war and chaos. This is the story of that war.

9. The Power of Choices Part 2

Chapter 8: The Power of Choices part 2

King Elieon's reign upon the moon 576

Andvarinaut Valley, Saturn

Draupnir Castle

People as well as children are always at risk from the times and their ability to change on a dime or at the whim of some higher power. No one grieved for that truth more than the royal children as they braced themselves beneath the protective forest canopy as a torrent of violent rainwater erupted from over head, crashing upon the shielding leaves loudly.

"Batten down the hatches." Sinis said standing up from where the group had been sitting almost in a semicircle on the grass. "Beware friends, here it comes!"

Orion grabbed at Sinis' pant leg and yanked him back to fall to his butt upon the ground with a grunt, "Sit down you fool."

"At least we're sheltered from the worst of it in here." Anna uttered calmly, sitting unmoving, her long arms wrapped loosely around her knees.

Lucretia nodded deftly as Alexandra watched the little droplets of rain as they ran in quiet streams across the branches of the canopy of green above and then dripped down in small rivers steadily about the clearing.

"I…" Alexandra caught a wayward drop as it fell from the canopy above and hit the palm of her small ivory hand, transparent without any hint of the characteristic foreshadowing color a drop of blood has. "I feel safe here."

"Why am I a fool?" Sinis asked defensively.

"Because you are careless, obstinate, and crass." Orion retorted bitterly. "Do you need more of a reason?"

"That's practically a compliment!" Sinis jeered, clapping Orion hard on the back so he saddled forward towards the long grass at his feet.

Silently, Anna found herself thanking whatever good spirits who had permitted their passage into the glade. It was a subtle gift which the others she realized, as they laughed and talked around her, had not taken into account. She turned her head and caught Lucretia's gaze and recognized the comprehension in her eyes and knew that the she and the Marian princess were the only two who understood the significance of such good fortune. Perhaps, it was the fact that on their two planets the virtue and nature of the survival of a few was based on the uprising of fortune such as this and the good sense to recognize it.

Venus, Mercury, and Saturn were well populated with vast cities and trading settlements, and as such, they were used to a far richer lifestyle than that of their Marian compatriot or their Jovian comrade. It was far more difficult a thing for them at this age to comprehend how fortunate they indeed were.

Anna mused to herself with an inward smile, Perhaps what they say is true, fortune does favor the bold. She allowed herself a small swell of pride, but relinquished it quickly and laid back, closing her eyes comfortably. For how ever long this false childhood was to last, she would strive to enjoy it before she was forced to grow up, to be dutiful and sacrifice her wants for her people's needs. Anna would gladly do it, she would see her people through whatever hardships may fall over them and do her best to keep the peace on Jupiter. It was a duty which had been bred into her veins, instilled so deep into her being that she could not tell her restless soul how to escape it anymore.

Lucretia remained restlessly alert. Although she knew she and Anna both understood the importance of their stumbling upon a place such as this uninhabited, the Marian could not bring herself to relax in the comfortable environment surrounding them. Jupiter, though it was a tribal nation much like Mars with a vast undiscovered wilderness, was far more inhabitable and hospitable than the lands of Lucretia's birth. Its tribes did not fight with one another, instead they had united a number of years ago in a tribal alliance which ensured constant peace between them. It was also a widely known fact that Jupiter's grand army, the largest and most powerful out of all of the nine planets, was kept solely in service as a guard against foreign attackers. So it was in this way that the nation of Jupiter was secure. Not only did it have a great army to squash any invading force, but if by chance a foreign invader were to escape into the wilderness, the likelihood of their survival would be slim, close to naught.

On Mars, however, one's neighbors were their enemies. Wandering too far into another's lands ensured an untimely death for anyone with the tenacity to trespass outside of their own borders. Men, women, children death did not distinguish between the masses. Within one's own ilk there was safety, outside of those bounds there was only uncertainty and the unknown. This knowledge is what had made Lucretia initially hesitant to trust anyone of these children upon first meeting them for she had never trusted anyone outside of her own tribe before, but her companions had proven their worth over the past year and had become a cohesive group of individuals, the kind Lucretia was used to being with and so she had come to trust this her new family with her life.

All except for one individual that was. Sinis of Saturn unnerved her. He seemed very closed off to the other members of the group and Orion was the only one he really played with, if at all.

It was not his quietness which bothered her, for she was also guilty of keeping her own personal matters to herself, but something in the way he looked at all of them. It was almost as though he felt he was better than his other companions and it was not a thought which settled well with Lucretia. A member of a group who thought himself better than the group at times was just a hindrance to the rest of his companions and couldn't be of any good to anyone.

Alexandra rested comfortably beside her, the light breeze funneling through the canopy swaying her golden tresses around her smartly as she slept. Lucretia would keep a watchful eye for strangers who should think to sneak up on them and especially on one of their own, Sinis.

A short distance away from the other lounging children, Orion continued to explore the glade to his heart's content. He was busying himself noting the differences between the sorted fruit and leaf shape of the different kinds of bushes surrounding them. Beneath one opal shaped leaf, he discovered a cocoon nestled comfortably in a secret glade of its own away from the world. Just as he was about to move on to discover something else, movement came from within the cocoon's leathery skin. As curious blue eyes took in the tiny development, Sinis moved up behind him.

"What did you find?" Sinis asked with a small amount of genuine interest.

Orion grabbed at the other's shoulder and pulled him forward by his cloak. "Look! A cocoon and if my judgment is correct, it the butterfly within is just about to emerge."

"Seems so." Sinis let a small smile touch his lips at his younger friend's enthusiasm. "You're very seldom wrong, my friend. That's a fact."

"Look, look!" Orion gestured to his comrade excitedly. "It's emerging!"

Sinis squinted from his vantage point and sure enough, out from the grey leathery skin of the cocoon was crawling slowly a bright blue butterfly with its wings still folded upon its back. Both boys were somewhat in awe of this little creature being reborn boldly into the dangerous world. So small and yet so brave a thing, Sinis thought, to venture out into the world when there was a chance of safety one chose to leave. Brave little butterfly, just like them. It was so peaceful and defenseless. So poor and without any knowledge of the world it was about to enter. How sad a thing it was, that it could not see the horrors it was up against? How merciless things could really get. It was almost too hard to bear.

Bending down, Sinis picked up a stick laying at his feet and with all of his strength he lashed out and swatted the cocoon and butterfly with it against the branch it had been hanging from and both fell to the grass below. Orion let out a squeal of horror as he bent down and searched through the long grass frantically for the lost butterfly. Sinis swallowed his own surprise and watched over the boy's shoulder, the stick still dangling loosely at his side.

Anna shot up smartly from her resting position to her feet along with Lucretia while Alexandria started awake at the squeal.

"What is it?! What's the matter?" Anna asked, rushing over to the two boys.

Alexandra stood and walked over to stand beside Orion peering down at where he was holding a seizing creature in his hands and weeping. Slowly, she knelt down beside him, her hand on his shoulder and reached out to open his closed hands which were resting on the ground.

"No!" Orion cried and just as quickly pulled his clasped hands protectively back to his chest.

"It's alright, Orion." Alexandra soothed, rubbing his back comfortingly.

"No it's not! It'll never be alright again!" He wailed.

As the youngest of their troop, Orion was still prone to fits of tears and wailing from time to time. Lucretia came up behind then both and then rounded on Sinis.

"What did you do to him?" She asked him harshly.

"What makes you think I did something to him?!" Sinis shouted back angrily.

"Well, who else was over here with him?!" Lucretia matched his volume and intensity.

"Stop, stop it, both of you!" Anna admonished them both into silence. "Arguing the point about whose fault it is won't change the fact that it happened."

"All of you, please." Alexandra interjected calmly. "Orion needs us. We shouldn't argue with each other, it'll just make the situation worse."

They were all quiet after that. The only sound which could be heard above the breeze for those few minutes were the sniffles and hitches of the weeping Mercurian. All the while, Alexandra sat by and continued her ministrations on Orion's back quietly. As his fits subsided, Orion's grip lessened and he let his still closed hands fall to the ground softly.

Alexandra reached forward and covered his hands with one of her own gently. "May I see?"

Orion sniffled and nodded opening his hands, he allowed Alexandra her first look at the small butterfly in its last struggling throes of life. Her reaction, to be quite frank, was not what Lucretia had expected. Alexandra did not shy away or lose her nerve because she was looking at a dead thing, instead she slanted her head to one side as though curiously studying it. Sinis had to admit that, even in death, the butterfly was even more striking than it had been in life. Its black and blue wings were spread out to reveal its back elegantly and the moisture on it which had not yet dried from the cocoon, had an ethereal silver gleam to it. Even Orion was stunned into hiccupped silence at the sight.

Anna took the most notice of the blue and silver mixed. It's the same color as Entarais eyes, Anna contemplated, with a sheen of tears glossed over them. How sad and beautiful a thing it was that two seemingly unconnected things could mesh together to create such a breathtaking image. Like life and death, both equally beautiful and miserable at the same time.

Sinis dropped the stick to the ground. His body posture was loose and calm, but the light in his amethyst eyes had faded to a dull glow and there was a gloss of unshed tears moistening his eye lids. It was the right thing to do right? He had saved the naïve creature from the fate of being eaten by a ruthless hawk or of dying after only one week of life as was common for the species. The butterfly had been given life and he had given it mercy. What was wrong with that? But leaning forward, looking down upon Orion, he knew there had been.

Orion sniffled and gently laid the prone and stiffening form of the deceased butterfly in the dirt. As he lifted an arm to cover his eyes, Alexandra leaned forward and whispered something to him that was too low for the others to hear and the younger of the two nodded before standing reverently and allowing the Venian to lead him away.

Anna turned to see that Lucretia was staring distractedly after them, one hand gripping the hilt of the dagger at her belt rather tightly. She noticed the change in the mood of her friend almost immediately, but ignored it in favor of focusing on Sinis who was now kneeling before where the dead butterfly was laying. She took a few steps forward to better see what he was doing. He had his hands clasped to his chest and she noticed almost immediately that the body of the tiny creature was nowhere to be seen anywhere on the ground. Sinis' lips were moving and he was chanting something to himself in a whispered tone which she could not discern. His hands suddenly looked orange as though he had caught a couple fireflies between them and they were glowing from within.

Anna rubbed her eyes hard and then looked again. She wasn't sure if she was seeing things correctly or if the day simply was playing tricks on her. But when she opened up her eyes for the second time, the sight was still the same. It was official, she was not seeing things.

Sinis took a deep breath and lowered his hands in front of him as though praying and then opened them. Anna's jaw dropped as she saw the newly reborn butterfly, alive now in splendid glory, fly out of his hands in a flutter of wings back to the safety of the trees.

"Go my little friend. Perhaps I was wrong." Sinis reached up and rubbed his eyes before allowing his hand to fall to his side. "You go and live your life to the fullest for the both of us now that you have a second chance to live it."

Anna closed her mouth politely and watched still awed as Sinis stood and walked away in the same direction both Alexandra and Orion had set off in. Lucretia took a deep breath and continued on after Sinis, not having seen what he had done.

High above them, the invisible sky hidden beyond the canopy of green leaves erupted in a loud explosion of vengeful thunder.

"Through the mouth and over the gums, watch out stomach, here it comes." Sinis said, almost to himself as the gears of storm wound around and around prepping for another explosion.

Orion sniffed and wiped his runny nose on the sleeve of his tunic. "Oh no"

"Ugh, not again." Alexandra complained with a sigh.

Anna moved to the center of the glade and played silent witness as the canopy above was separated and jostled from side to side violently, unforgiving winds suddenly whipping frighteningly around them. As the fiasco continued, two of the largest branches creaked and one fell just missing Sinis' shoulder in the process.

"What should we do?" Alexandra shouted over the howl of the winds.

"We need to move." Anna said. She didn't want to give the clouds a chance to regroup and leave them stranded in its wake without shelter.

Lucretia nodded and moved to usher the others out of the glade. The sooner they were able to get out of this death trap with all of its looming branches and crackling underbrush which could be pushed into them at any moment. They didn't know where they could run to for shelter or even if there was a safer place to go, but they had to try. Not trying because one assumes that there is nothing better is a self defeating prophecy.

Just as the sky opened up and dropped a curtain of pelting water droplets down on the children, the last of them ascended the entrance of the glade and they rushed back out into the unknown in search of safer ground.

--

King Elieon's reign upon the moon 586

Pella, Mars

The Festival of Anubus, the Marian God of war

A shrill wind sang through the equitable frigidity of the Marian night. No living, breathing soul who had never before in their lives ventured from their home worlds to experience the desolate plains of Mars would ever believe that the temperature of the planet of flame and war could drop so frightfully low once the sun sank past its lowest summit in the sky, but it did, oh how it did.

Tuireann pulled his heavy chalmys cape closer to his shivering form and pulled the scarf around his mouth and nose tighter against the renewed vigor of the wind. He had decided on walking from the launch pad on to the city of Pella and after twelve kilometers walked in the freezing cold and mocking winds, the young Jovian man could honestly admit that he had never made a more idiotic decision in the entirety of his young life. He groaned to himself as he took another step and felt a small army of sand particles filter into the heel of his sandaled foot. There was no use in stopping until he was well within the city walls.

Tonight was the night of the festival of Anubus. All those citizens well enough to travel had come in from the countryside before the night had fallen and safeguarded themselves within the cities walls for the festivities. The rest were left to the cruelty of chance and the winds. Anubus was no a god of mercy and so the negligence of his holy day for any given reason was grounds for punishment by the divine god himself. How or when was of no consequence, for the implications of wrought actions always came to pass upon a person in due time. It was not a Marian's prerogative to worry about what may come days they could not foresee, just to accept the hard facts of the lives they led. It was all that was required of them.

Tuireann paused on a small hill only momentary. He could barely tell the dark of the night from the obscure mass of swirling sand that surrounded him, but through the dense haze he thought he saw two precise and bright beacons of light braving the darkness in front of him. As quickly as he could, Tuireann gathered all the strength he could muster and gravitated towards them. As he got closer he recognized the solid exterior of the austere angular stone walls surrounding the capital city. He came closer, felt along for the gates, he knocked on them, but as expected no one opened them. With a tired groan he reached back to pull something from the pack slung over his shoulder, still taking refuge from the assaulting sand from behind the corner edge of the wall against the gate doors as he did so.

He pulled first a hook and then a long rope from within the sack and then knelt to tie them together securely in perfect unison. The wind was still blowing which would make the trajectory of the throw off, but he was sure he could still land and catch it on the top wall. Without hesitation, he left the protection of the alcove and snapped back into the company of the fierce, sand laden winds.

The Marian sentries patrolling the walls solemnly trod through the blowing sand, which did not filter to the other side of the wall into the city, being pelted repeatedly and painfully by the offensive particles. Maluginensis of Volsinii paced back and forth on his small section of wall. His hand held the short sword at his side in a vice grip which tightened every time a large gallop of sand smacked into a patch of uncovered skin on his neck or shoulders, many raw sores already lining the skin exposed above his collar. He had had it with this weather. A nephew of Parmellion and cousin of the king should not have to take this. He should be at the festival. This type of task in stormy weather such as this was for lesser men, not he.

His father was the Khan of Volsinii, one of the most desirable and richest khanates on the whole of the planet Mars. Maluginensis greatly resented his choice to devote himself to the king's service. He had done so out of hope for advancement as a reward for his fealty, but King Tarquinius had simply pledged him into the service of his brother, Prince Sejanus, who had put him on guard duty. Guard duty! Might as well have killed him and put his head on a spit! All opportunities were unattainable from this low a point on the totem pole by this time anyway so it would have been more merciful had his cousin just killed him instead.

He pulled at his trimmed beard through the fabric of the scarf protecting his face from the wind. He hated guard duty; he had come to the conclusion after about ten minutes of being out in the sandstorm. But there was nothing he could do, but weather the storm and serve his purpose. After all, his cousin was the king. He had expectations to live up to and standards to raise. He was not just a common soldier or royal relative. Maluginensis was Volsinii and Volsinii was power, real power in the north. Who knew, perhaps one day, if he played his cards right, he may even be king of Mars….

The thought brought a feral grin to his face, but before he could get too used to the inviting idea, the steel hilt of a wall hook was brought against his throat and he was pulled back into a much taller frame equal in strength to his own. He struggled against the grainy metal suppressing his windpipe, but the superior force of the being behind him won out and he lost consciousness within moments.

Tuireann slowly lowered the unconscious guard to the ground, careful that his movements did not make enough noise to arouse suspicion amongst the other guards, not that they would be able to easily hear him over the roar of the sand laden winds. This was the perfect weather for a foreign invader to transcend the usually impregnable battlements of the city. He lowered the guard in the corner and propped him up so that he appeared as though he had fallen asleep, then he turned to go, but thought better of it and turned back. Silently, he unclasped the man's thick cloak, so popular a style among the Marian elite, and clasped it over his own native chalmys cape so that no trace of the other could be seen by the unsuspecting eye.

For months he had been training on the plains of his own planet in the heavy heat and the increased shade of his skin gave him a look, still lighter than, but more similar than different to the exotic olive skin tone of members of the predominant Marian tribe: the Tarquins. The only thing he could not weather which separated him from all others was the color of his distinctly Jovian eyes. All Tarquin males had dark brown, nearly black eyes and only women of the royal line had violet or amethyst eyes while all members of the Sabine tribe had blue eyes. It was a Marian's most distinguishing trait, their eye color. It told of which ilk a person came from before they even opened their mouth. Not one within the Marian tribes had emerald eyes, not one, unless of course you were either of the lowest class, the helot slaves, whose blood lines were untraceable or of a mixed noble house which the Marians considered to be just as bad as the lowest class. Marians of mixed blood were frowned upon and children who were suspected of coming from a different race were killed young or hidden away to prevent any ill will from being harbored against the family's name.

Tuireann could not play the part of either a helot or of a titled man of mixed blood because either would be immediately done away with in the square. A helot who masqueraded as a khan would be stoned to death upon being found out and a noble man of mixed blood would meet an equal fate. He could simply not be found out. So the rendezvous would have to be quick. As he descended the stairs which lead down behind the wall, he gripped the stiletto knife tighter at his side. He was descending into foreign territory, a whole swimming valley of red and gold danced beneath him. As he came closer and realized that half of the façade was made up of the elaborate satin tents which lined the pathways.

Various men from every different walk of life each had a tent set up in front of their hovels at which they gave out treats and delicacies to those who passed by. One of the first tents was a washing station with lines and lines of marble basins full to the brim with scented and herbed oils which every festival goer was expected to wash their hands in. Tuireann walked to a basin and lowered his hands into a basin relatively full of herbed oil compared to those around it. It was citrus, there was a zest of fresh lime rising up from the vat languidly, every known scent from jasmine to rosemary wafting up into the air and consummating with one another like smoothly flowing liquid.

Once he had dried his hands he moved along the path ways. The bearded man from the first tent offered him a slice of flat bread with rarely cooked lamb's meat dripping with orange sauce on it, a delicacy and the religious meat of choice on Mars. Put shortly, it was something every Marian citizen, particularly the men were expected to eat as a part of tradition. Tuireann stuffed the entire concoction into his mouth and was at first put off by the sudden tang of the sauce, but once he began to chew he noticed the meat was lush and tender and the sauce, sweetening with every movement of his mouth, was rich and tenacious. The complicated taste of all of the rush of flavors overwhelmed his senses and he had to, much to the man's chagrin, refuse another helping of the delicious food. There was little wonder as to why this was a revered and rare delicacy dish on the Marian homeland.

When Tuireann was a child, his father had brought him to this very festival as a guest of his great Marian friend and later the man who would one day murder him in cold blood, Parmellion. At the time he had thought it odd that there was no official currency for the planet and that no one bought or sold anything in these tents, but that goods were merely given out. It was a custom which seemed to contradict the fact that Mars was the poorest planet out of the nine when it came to resources. Then his father had explained to him that on this one day a year, it is required of a Marian citizen to show kindness and generosity to those of his own ilk. Many of these men in the tents cooking and passing out food with their sons were Tarquins. If a Sabine were to walk by and they were to take notice, Tuireann had been told that such a man would not make it far into the festivities before he found a knife between his shoulder blades.

Even on the religious holidays, maybe especially even, the ancient blood feud was always honored and never forgotten. Old prejudices and ill wills died hard. It was misleading in a way. Everyone always assumed that Mars was a backwards nation, that they were barbarians without hearts and without souls. Tuireann believed in this mantra himself when it came to Marians. But no one would think without any former knowledge of the planet that Mars had as many separate and diverse tribes as it did. Looking from the outside in, it appeared that there was only one: the Tarquins. They were the ruling class, the minority, but also the majority in every way. Don't think leaders from other tribes didn't try to fight for their own representation. Oh, how they tried, but were beaten down brutally each time.

Anubus had not always been the principle deity on Mars. Indeed, members of every different tribe had their own religious traditions and their own gods, but where the Tarquin king took over, he impressed his religion upon all of his subjects with heinous punishments being enacted upon all of those who did not comply. It did not stop the people of the tribes from worshiping their own gods in private, but on the surface and in some form or fashion everyone paid tribute to Anubus. And the younger generation, no matter from which tribe, grew up worshipping a deity their parents despised, hence, the Tarquins had secured their own dynasty in another way by ensuring that their ways lived on in the people they had conquered.

Mars may have come a long way in a short number of years. It may have had itself a king and a monarchy, but it did not yet have for itself a government leastways one that was designed with the greater good of its people in mind.

At the next tent, Tuireann was approached by a veiled woman who did not look him in the eye as she handed him another piece of meat, a pheasant leg blackened from being cooked thoroughly at the hearth. He nodded his thanks, but she scurried away and did not see. On Mars, men ruled and women did not look a man, not even a foreign one, in the eye. He took a bite out of the drumstick and found that not only was it fabulously cooked wild pheasant, but that the inside beneath the meat and near the bone had been stuffed with ground pomegranates, peaches, and spices. It was sweet, but in a sour sort of a way.

On his way down the path, he made sure not to look anyone in the eye. But where was the main part of the festival being held? He was such a small boy the last time he had been here that he could no longer remember exactly where the square was and with every single alley way and street being decked out in every shade of red imaginable, it was like trying to navigate a map painting color blind. He had the lines, but what good where they when everything looked the same?

He could hear music coming from someplace, but it, much like the loudness of the paths, seemed like it was everywhere and nowhere in between all at the same time. Then there it was. Above the bead shaking instruments and drums which set the tumultuous rhythm of the place, the single slur of notes from a wood flute broke the atmosphere. Like a cobra under sway from the snake charmers sweet music, he followed the melody of the flute as it dove under the surface of the red all around him and surfaced again and again until he was practically running after the notes in the one direction he knew they had to be coming from.

Seeing that some others were staring at him strangely, Tuireann slowed his running pace to a quick walk and kept after the sound until it suddenly died and the subtle baritone note of the drums and heady panting of the bead shaking instruments ended the song. Still, even without the music to lead him on, he continued down the narrow alley way it had led him to situated snuggly between two rows of stacked mud brick homes. Carefully, he came upon the festival square where crowds of red again permeated throughout the area. Tuireann was briefly glad that he had decided to steal the cloak from that stupid guard still sleeping high up in one corner of the city walls after all. Otherwise, something told him that he would have been first on their stoning list for the evening.

Sitting around the absolute edge of the square closest to the show were the high ranking members of the Tarquin hierarchy.

Tuireann could not see many of their faces through the fragmented view left to him by the swirling crowd, but he knew they were there. Out of all of the ones he could see, there was one face he did recognize. That of the son of his father's murder and his closest childhood companion up to a certain point: Raiden, heir to the khanate of Diceto. The single most murderous of all men on the whole of Mars. By all accounts he was worse than his father. A killer even in his youth, he had taken to fighting with his father's serfs and then when he had beaten them, he would administer the killing blow and not one whom he fought ever survived his brutal treatment. Mercy was not a word synonymous with his name.

At the time that Raiden was doing these things, he and Tuireann were the best of friends. He had heard of these goings on, but had dismissed them as rumors. It was not until after his father's death that he began to believe what he had once thought impossible. The Raiden he knew was not a killer, at least not to him. He was at worst, arrogant and fool hardy, but those qualities could be prone to befall any boy of his age. Nothing was quite out of the ordinary right off of the bat with him. Oh, but was he ambitious! His ambitions had always separated him from the crowd and put him head and shoulders above the rest of the young khans his age.

The years had been kind to him, Tuireann noted. His long and lanky form had filled out into the stout, muscled form of a Tarquin warrior. He unlike most married men of his tribe, sported no whiskers or beard, but Tuireann would not venture to assume that a man of his stature, no matter how arrogant, could have dodged the responsibility of marriage. He wore a leather cuirass, as was the style with most high ranking warriors, with a cloak almost identical to the one Tuireann wore now shrouding the majority of the rest of his body. Even though he couldn't see it, he knew Raiden was carrying a sword on him plus a small assortment of other daggers hidden in various places on his person. No Marian warrior took a chance on his own life and Raiden would not be an exception in that respect.

Tuireann reached under his cloak and up to his neck. Resting there on a gold chain was the tooth of a jaguar. The great cat had attached Tuireann when he was a boy on Jupiter and almost killed him, but Raiden had slain the beast and carried him all of twenty miles back to his father's castle on his back. As Tuireann stroked the worn ivory surface of the tooth, he pondered what might have become of him had Raiden not risked his life to save his own. Slowly, his grip relaxed around the hilt of his stiletto.

He couldn't do it. He could not attack the man who as a boy had been closer to him than a brother, even if his father had murdered his own father, he could not blame him for it. Nor could he take out his anger and rage upon him as he had thought he might be able to. Tuireann took a deep breath and retreated a few steps back idly. Perhaps Parmeillion was not even present at the festival. Perhaps, he had made the year long trek for nothing. No! He pushed that thought aside and refused to indulge it, lest he lose all hope whatsoever of success.

For that one moment his guard was down and only a small fraction of time within that moment was needed for Maluginensis of Volsinii to sneak up on Tuireann from behind.

--

King Elieon's reign upon the moon 576

Andvarinaut Valley, Saturn

Anna slid as she hit a particularly slippery patch of mud while rushing over one of the rocky forest paths which would take them out of the woods. Lucretia elbowed her way forward past Sinis and Orion and took a hold of Anna by the front of her tunic, pulling her back against her so that her fall would be cushioned by her own body instead of the hard ground she feared was covered with dangerously sharp rocks. However, the sudden move had repercussions for both as the back of Lucretia's head hit the edge a very unforgiving hidden stone and Anna knocked her head into her savior's chin with a painful groan.

"Um…..Anna?" Orion's suddenly small voice was almost drowned out completely by another bout of thunder over the rhythmic thrumming of the rain falling continuously all around them. "Are you alright?"

Lucretia coughed as Anna picked herself up and she could finally breathe again, new air burning in her chest and taking her mind off of the warm trickling she could feel on the back of her neck.

Anna attempted to pointlessly wipe the mud from her soaked clothes. "Perfect."

They had given up rushing to find some sort of shelter. The winds had died down and now the rain was their most precocious enemy. Sinis looked down from his vantage point with one leg propped up on the root of a nearby tree. Not far below him, Lucretia still sat in the mud, catching her breath. He wanted to pounce upon her. Hit her and strike her back down into the mud, but he resisted the urge. Sinis did not like their Marian companion and he made no prolonged effort to keep up pretenses otherwise. Alexandra reached out to offer Lucretia assistance, but the other rightly pushed her hand aside and stood up on her own accord.

"You're bleeding!" Alexandra screeched noticing a splash of red on the Marian's dark tan skin at the bare junction where neck and shoulder met.

Lucretia reached back and felt the wound gingerly. She was a little shocked at first to find that it was almost at the base of her head, where a stoning wound would be left. The shock she felt must have shown on her face for Alexandra immediately looked more worried than Lucretia had ever seen her look in all the time that she had known her. To put her mind at ease, she brought her expression back to neutral and tried to focus on some positive aspect of it. It was a deep gash, but nothing too serious really. She'd suffered worse.

"It's not much." She grunted in Alexandra's direction. "I'll live."

"We should keep moving." Orion spoke up.

Their sudden halt in the downpour made the intellectual prince a little nervous. Regardless of the winds or lack of them, they really should be on their way. It was not safe out here in the forest where thieves and vagabonds lurked and prowled. They needed to find shelter, preferably someplace closer to the castle where their safety was assured before the downpour began to get more violent.

"He's right." Anna looked to all of them and then stopped when her glance fell on Lucretia. "Are you alright to travel Lucretia?"

"I am fine." The Marian stated, no worse for ware than she had been before. "Let's keep going."

"Alright then."

And they continued on, but this time at a much more sedate and collaborative pace than they had before. Sure but steady.

--

It was cool and her once healthily tanned skin was pale and chilled. She could feel and was dimly aware of her heart beating in her ears and her body crying out to her in pain. She was not alone, Entarais knew. She could feel the rain washing over her and spilling along with her own blood into her wounds and smell the wet aroma of the previous storm's afterbirth mingling with the new scent of fresh rainwater. Under different circumstances the experiences might have been almost pleasing.

Her breathing was shallow, but strong and loud enough to be heard resonating in her own ears. The vigor of her youth was in her favor. Sleek and active, Entarais own good health was helping to ensue her survival even in this, the most precarious of situations. Her eyes were closed and he mouth was slightly ajar. The short auburn strands of her hair were plastered in moist designs across her forehead and ears.

A retaliating mist was rising over the stones and boulders which had only recently been warmed in sharp contrast by the sun and was rolling over the prone forms of Entarais and the dead girl who had been left behind. The robbers had not left them, even if it had seemed so. They had camped nearby in an area over shadowed by trees which was close enough so that they could guard their investment until they decided on a basic plan of action.

The giant dug in his pack for something while the slimmer, smaller Segal nibbled a piece of cooked pork meat they had snatched from the kitchens of Draupnir Castle which he was balancing on the edge of his broad dagger. Segal grinned around a mouthful of meat. What a price they would fetch for that little brown haired girl! She had to be one of the brats in the high lord's care, she had to be. And as for the other girl, he ripped a chunk of meat off of the dagger, taking a strip of charred skin with it. Well, she was just unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

He was halfway through his mouthful of meat when he turned back to his larger partner. "What are you looking for?"

The larger man turned hurriedly around and looked blankly fearful, much to his chagrin. "Nothing, boss, nothing."

Segal's previous grin fell into a flat dead line as he stood up and took a step forward menacingly. "Yes, you were, you fucking liar! What is it? What are you hiding from me?!"

"Nothing, boss, nothing." Drifus' anxious backpedaling belittled his words almost before they were out of his mouth.

"It's not nothing you mindless oaf!" Segal raced forward and grabbed the pack, beginning to rifle through it crazily.

In his haste to get away from the other, Drifus had fallen backwards and was now sitting in the mud. Segal pulled everything out of the pack and at the very bottom he retrieved a small yet deafeningly heavy statue of pure gold which he recognized from the study of Lord Anslem. Segal rushed forward and smacked his gigantic partner who reeled like a child being punished by a strict parent. The smaller of the two latched onto the front of Drifus' tunic and held him up in a death grip like a vice.

"Holding out on me were you, you fucking cheat!" Segal launched forward with one of his small fists and the larger man's nose erupted in a spurt of blood. "When were you going to tell me, huh? After you had already fetched a hefty price for it and were on a ship off of this gods forsaken planet?! Real nice! After all I've done for you, you louse!"

He hit him again and this time his nose gave way in a sickening crunch before he pulled him back up to eye level. "Wasn't it me who ferried you away from that overbearing bitch of a mother of yours! You'd still be scrubbing floors and pulling that plow out in that lord's fields if it wasn't for me! I set you free! I gave you a way out! Me!! You just had to go and screw it all up!"

The hands which were holding the giant's collar in a death grip were shaking almost as surely as the man beneath their onslaught was trembling in fear. "It was our chance, our only way out and you loused it up!"

"But boss, we was in the clear." Drifus tried to redeem himself, but his voice was unsteady and croaky as both his own tears and blood ran into his throat and mingled there. "We've stolen enough over the years to have enough money to buy our own lands and our own serfs and our own women. We have enough to be content, boss we do-"

"I don't want to be content!!" Segal roared in his face, dropping him to the ground only to pounce on him and strike him upside the head again. "Do you understand?! I could have been content in that little hole in the ground we called home, but content is not part of the picture. I wanted wealth and power and women and you got in the way of everything! I freed you to help me not get in my way!"

"But boss-" Drifus sputtered.

"Shut up, just shut up!" Segal roared and in a flurry of rage, he let go all restraints and let his fists say everything.

Segal stood up and grabbed the statue again, smashing it into Drifus' skull without any remorse or restraint. Without any holds barred, he beat him. He beat him until he could no longer speak, hear or breathe and then Segal stood, covered in his partner in crime's blood. Even his thin face, breathing heavily with the exertion of his latest murder, was speckled with dots of fresh liquid red.

He looked over to the Neptunian girl lying deathly still on her back. Her chest was rising and falling, if only lightly so. She was alive, then and unconscious still. All of the chips were in Segal's favor except for one. He'd just killed the only ally and companion he still had left in the world who would have been loyal enough to rally for him. Now he was on his own in this crime, unless he could gather another stupid oaf to his cause and for profit he was sure he would be able to catch enough fish from one barrel to come out on top when this fiasco was over.

He hefted the dead man to sit up and removed his cloak from him, slinging it over his shoulder as he let gravity take possession of the corpse again. He walked over and wrapped Entarais in it. A man whether pauper, thief, or lord had to protect his investments and the Neptunian was his. He lifted her up and slung the girl over his shoulder haphazardly. If he was to be successful in this he would have to find a new place from which to hatch a plan, a place unmarred by his previous crimes.

--

"Where did all that come from? You would have thought it hadn't been raining nonstop for the last few weeks." Alexandra asked ringing the rainwater out of her golden hair as she sat down on the floor of the gazebo they had been forced to take shelter in as the seemingly threatless sky they had decided it would be wise to move beneath opened up again with another fierce storm.

"Nowhere." Sinis complained ruffling his own short hair causing the ebony strands to stand like sharp pine needles on end. "One moment the weather was perfect, the next and it was pouring rain like tears."

"Something had to cause it." Orion argued. Ever the curious model of a future scientist, he watched the clouds bicker with one another like two battling armies vying for the same position. "A build up of humidity and of continual hot weather over the last few months, no doubt gave to a need for renewed hydration of the land."

"No doubt." Sinis rolled his eyes at the characteristic scientific analysis of situations Orion was so prone to giving.

Alexandra shuddered as the cool drops ran on her already goose bump ridden skin and caused her body to realize the undeniable fact that it was suddenly very cold. Unexpectedly, a heavy red shirt was wrapped around her shoulders. She looked up and Lucretia was leaning against a pillar behind her in a black sleeveless undershirt. It was an odd sight for Lucretia was so proper a soul that it was uncommon for a person to see her shed any article of her clothing while in their company. The Venian princess looked away, the lingering gaze of those lavender eyes striking a fearful, yet not so uncomfortable note within her soul. Lucretia was always making exceptions for Alexandra. Things she would not usually consider or even think of when it came to their other companions were done, sometimes at her own expense even, to please the Venian.

It was a rather recent development and Alexandra still marveled at the sudden change in the girl she could easily call her most devoted friend. Alexandria was not yet a very astute individual for, as with most children her age, her sense of self and thoughtfulness of the world around her was not yet fully developed, but she could feel a very fluid shift in the aura around Lucretia. She knew that her friend was changing, faster than many of the others in their group, maturing faster maybe also as well.

Alexandra smiled up at her savior and the Marian looked away from her uncaringly, just as avidly avoiding contact with those clear blue eyes. "Thank you."

Silence, then quietly as a hesitant whisper barely audible over the rain. "You are welcome."

Alexandra continued to smile to herself, a slight shade of pink rising to her cheeks as she pulled the shirt around her shoulders and reveled in the scent of vanilla and natural Marian spices mingling together for her to breathe in like a fresh aroma of wild flowers.

Anna sat on the edge of the gazebo, the knees of her trousers becoming soaked against the droplets running down from the slanted roof of the building and though her legs were getting cold beneath the growing dampness on her calves, she found herself not quite caring what she was feeling. Quietly, her vigilant emerald eyes stared out into the storm, searching the horizon for something they could not find.

"You look glum, like you've been run over by a miller's cart." Sinis observed half-heartedly, not bothering to look at her, but focusing on the lightening slashing destructively through the clouds above instead. "What is the matter with you, Anna?"

Every one of the royal children turned and looked over at the unresponsive Jovian, though Lucreatia was the only one of their party who hesitated. She was always apt to pretend that she did not care when it came to the situations of others which were not her concern, though she too was curious as to what the other would be worried over. It had been a fine day up to this point. They had gone on two adventures, survived them both and had returned from the much feared forest of vagabonds unharmed. What could possibly be bothering her? Anna watched hawk-like over the sprawling lands laid out like a fresco backdrop of vying greens and alternating grays ahead of them, her worried eyes combing the unmoving forms of idle bushes, boulders, and trees.

It was then that Orion ventured to look around them and realized no sign of the Neptunian princess. After all, Entarais' only punishment had been to clean the courtyard and if it was raining then that defeated the purpose and she would have most likely been released with a warning to pay more attention in class, but that would be all. She would have ventured into the valley as well, for he had told her that was where they were headed, but she would not have stayed there for long in the rain? It didn't make sense. Where then would she have gone?

"Where is Entarais?" Orion asked out loud, looking back to Anna then to Sinia for his answer.

That was when two and two clicked in Lucretia's mind. Where was Entarais? She and the girl were not particularly close to one another, but the Neptunian was a member of her group and a good Marian never left a member of their own behind.

"Beats the hell out of me!" Sinis threw his hands up in frustration as Anna continued to ignore him and fell back upon the cold, damp stone floor of the gazebo.

Orion rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the Jovian he knew Entarais was so close to. If Entarais had decided to tell anyone where she was deciding on going, it would have been Anna.

"Did she confide in you where she was headed to, Anna?" Orion asked curiously.

"No. I wish she had." Anna said crestfallen, it was barely above a whisper, but everyone heard it. She was near tears now, as she squeezed her eyes shut tightly, ashamed of her own emotions. A good Jovian did not cry. Her brother had told her so before she had been taken away and why would he lie to her?

"Don't worry so much, Anna." Sinis admonished, finding the diamond pattern carved into the domed ceiling more interesting than the conversation or the whereabouts of a friend. "She's probably still scrubbing that courtyard."

Anna turned to him incredulously, her emerald gaze hardening. "In the rain? What good would a clean courtyard be if it was under water?!"

"True." Sinis conceded finally giving her his full attention, he rolled over and propped his head up on his elbow. "But there is nowhere else I could think of where she would have run off to."

Anna suddenly stood, her attention focused entirely on the far away tree line ahead of them.

"I am going to search for her."

"Are you mad?!" Sinis yelled launching himself out onto the yard after her. He stopped and stood not ten feet from her. "The sky is practically spitting fire and you run out there without a thought in your head."

"Wouldn't you, if it were someone you cared about?" Anna turned and looked at him, soaked to the bone, shaking and the nearest to being ready to spout tears than she had ever been.

Sinis was taken aback, but his stubborn will, wisely self serving, refused to back down. "But she's only one person!"

"So, would it be more important if only you were lost instead of her. Would you not want us to go looking for you?" Anna asked.

"You're overreacting!" Sinis shouted and turned his back on her, not the last time he would ever do that to his childhood comrades when they would implore him for his aide.

"Am I?" Anna asked. "We are royals, dressed to show, and alone. It's not hard to find ourselves in very real danger. We mortals, common or no, have so many weaknesses. We fight, bicker, and disagree so nothing gets done. It is not the time which breed war it is ourselves who breed it like a disease. All we have is the ability to care about others and those for whom everything counts. Threats to out personages are very real, what else is their more important than the love of those we care about?"

Sinis stood there brooding with himself as Anna turned from him and continued on her way without him. He turned on his heel, looking quickly to his other companions. Lucretia standing close to the steps now, her stance a ready one, swept a disapproving glare in his direction and the Saturnarian prince was not at a loss as to why. On Mars, cowardice in the face of possible danger was the highest of all capital crimes equivalent to treason. After all, on that little red planet, your group was made up of the only individuals you could trust and turning your back on a group member when they were in need was a form of treason.

His dark amethyst eyes hardened at her and his lips turned down in a tight frown. How dare she raise an affront against him! He was no coward. No one would dare imply that he was one. He was not a coward! His breathing became heavier as he turned to Orion with blank eyes. The Mercurian looked up at him only briefly, but in the short moment their eyes met, Sinis caught a hint of both emotions hiding there: suspicion and fear.

His jaw tensed. Orion was supposed to be his closest friend. They did everything together from playing games to relaxing and true, Sinis did enjoy poking fun at the intellectual prince more often than most, he loved to see him squirm, but it was not meant to offend, it was all in the name of good fun. How could his closest friend think so lowly of him? Sinis snorted, remembering their interactions in the glade. He probably still hadn't forgiven him for the butterfly, the pitiful sap, Sinis thought snidely to himself. No matter, he would show him, he would show all of them especially that presumptuous Marian that Sinis of Saturn was no coward.

Finally, Sinis sighed tersely and turned to the rest of them before transcending the stairs down into the muddied grass. "I am going with her."

They all seemed surprised, but Lucretia was the first to agree with him.

"You will not go alone." Lucretia sided with him and raced down the stairs towards them, sparing Sinis an approving glance that implied that perhaps she had misjudged him. "We'll come with you."

"I certainly will not." Alexandra spoke up causing both Anna and Lucretia to turn towards her. She looked down at herself dressed in her golden gown of no good use when it came to fighting through trees and underbrush. It had tripped her up earlier when they had found the glade and she did not want to slow the group down a second time. "What could I possibly do to help anyway. I am not the strongest out of all of you. I'm not even the fastest or the smartest. I'd just slow you down along the way."

"Nor should you have to accompany us." Orion piped up, he was always planning ahead for every possible hardship. There was a strategic purpose for every member of a group and to him, Alexandra had a very important one. "Instead head back to the Castle and tell them what has become of us. Something tells me you are the one who has enough fire to argue with Lord Anslem on our behalf. You will not let us down, I know it. Tell them to send guards on horses, I have a feeling we will need one or the other. This is not a welcoming day. You will do the most important thing out of any of us. You will ensure we are saved."

Orion backed away from her down the steps, smiling genuinely up at her. He had always been fond of her fire, her vigorous spirit and he knew the most important course of action was not always along the most well trodden path. Someone had to be brave enough to go it alone and he knew it would be her. She did not give herself enough credit for her attributes, but so long as her friends knew her true worth it was all that mattered at the moment. She had strength oh, yes. Hurriedly, he caught up with Sinis and matched his running pace behind Anna who had taken off without any warning and Lucretia through the fathomless meadow bravely in tow.

Alexandra nodded and headed down the steps on the other side, but before she got too far she turned back around and watched them go, particularly the Marian among them. "Lucretia!" She shouted at her.

Lucretia stopped and turned sharply towards her, surprised. "What?"

Alexandra had wanted to tell her to be careful, but the words would not form on her tongue instead she held the shirt tighter to her shoulders. "Your shirt!"

"Keep it!" Lucretia shouted back to her and then ran after the rest of them who were heading undauntedly into the woods.

Alexandra watched them go, her heart going with all of them wherever they ventured. Almost to herself she clung to the shirt draped over her shoulders and prayed. "Please, be careful all and come back safe to me."

Then, with speed in her little feet she did not know existed, she raced off towards the Castle. It would be a few miles until she reached the grounds even at a run, but that did nothing to hinder her. She did not intend to let them down, no matter what should come her way. She would do her part and ensure that they came home safe to her.

--

It was dark, but Entarais was not numb. She felt a dull ache in her back which increased every time she inhaled. She did not hear anything around her except for the droning of the rain. Nothing of the birds singing or of the babbling of the nearby brook. No audible signs of people either. She was alone. The murders must have left her for dead, then. Entarais could taste salt faintly on her lips and was aware that she had been crying, even in her unconscious state, she could not help but be traumatized at what she had seen, just as she could taste the metallic twang of blood in the back of her mouth.

Entarais could not see, she could not discern what was real from the world around her and yet it did not bother her, as if she were watching it all from the outside looking in, she had been sure that it would. Her own cataleptic nightmare was not one based on sight. It took the forms of sound. The screams of that little girl. The crackling crunching of her bones as they were twisted the wrong way. Then her body's memory of the hateful and agonizing sensations which had overtaken her only hours before. Of the pressure of the holding foot, of the sharp feeling of the dagger pressed into her back, or of the shocking swipe of the leather boot as it smacked into the already injured side of her face. The grief and utter helplessness she felt at the loss of that strange girl.

The world outside of her own nightmare was making itself more and more known to her with every drop of rain that landed on her face and soaked into her already drenched clothes. One particularly grossly fattened drop landed on her forehead and wadded through the amber straight of her eyebrow and took solace in the hollow of one closed eye.

Slowly, Entarais cracked her other eye open. The dark purple sky over head came clearly into immediate focus just as a daring bolt of lightening struck a rock not five feet from her head. The close encounter did not phase her in anyway. Entarais wanted to stand up, to somehow find the poor girl and save her even though she knew the hours had passed and she must have died in a matter of minutes.

She stretched her cold, stiff fingers at her sides and found one set of them sickly encased in a sticky cocoon of the fresh and drying blood pooling beneath it. She closed her eyes again as she thought back to her earlier lessons and to her most influential teacher.

Every human is free of their own minds and bodies, with the ability to make their own choices live. Every person carries a distinct power within their beings, the power of free destiny, the power to choose their paths they would wish their lives to follow. This power gives the most insignificant of beings the right to change the future. Never forget, in these times of peace, we write our own destinies.

She was crying. Her chest was shaking uncontrollably and in the darkness her mind cried out for some release, a way to escape this dreaded nightmare she was a captive prisoner of. Shadows danced, light swam through her dreams, and the little girl's voice screamed and gurgled as her throat was cut precluding her death.

Entarais swallowed and her wet and sweating brow creased as thoughts and memories swirled in her head, overwhelming her mind and cultivating the beginning of an entirely new ideal entirely, a radical one for the times she lived in.

Without choices, without freedom lacking disdain, what are we? Miserable creatures who kill each other in war after war with no higher purpose. It is not the gods who give us wings, nor restrictions. The restrictions reside as walls of stone in our minds, while our wings remain too captivated to fly. But if we drop these walls, the distances we could soar over are limitless. Nothing restricts the individual, except the individual himself.

Anshar had not thought they would understand the meaning behind his lessons then. How could he? When most grown men, kings and diplomats did not heed such a teaching what was the likelihood that a few careless children would choose to be aware of it? Those men had chosen to leave her for dead, to kill the other girl instead of her and to allow themselves indulgence in the vice of hurting others. That was their error. It is not the hidden merit of a person so much which distinguishes their characters, it is their choices and the actions that shows the potential of that merit.

Entarais grimaced as she felt a couple of ants nibble at the wound beneath her. Something had to be done against people like that…something. The nibbling along with the constant festering ache inside the wound became too much for her and again, Entarais embraced the darkness without any further thought. But a beginning had been reached, a great ideal had been founded. Something beyond the law of the land, something beyond the will of the Fates. It was the power of choice which would write the future in the hard days to come.

--

Tuireann careened forward, but before he could smack into the person ahead of him, he was caught by the scruff of his cloak and pulled backwards into a darkened side alley. His unknown assailant threw him roughly into the dirt. Dust fished up around him and he coughed violently when the rusty fog entered his throat and his inflamed nostrils. His eyes filled with tears at the corners as they were suddenly dry and irritated, but he refused to let his discomfort show in his features and he turned his face away from his attacker. Better that way. If he was further assaulted from behind then at least it would not be on his face. He could not bear a mark of Marian make to be left where all could see, his pride would not allow it.

"You should look me in the eyes." Maluginensis' voice was the only thing which cut firmly through the dust. "You owe me that much."

"I thought that I'd hit you hard enough so that you'd sleep at least another fortnight, but I was wrong." The Jovian tried for the humor in his voice, but it was all bitter in play. "You always were the more stubborn of the two."

"Raiden has always had the stronger resolve, but I leave no affair unfinished. I had thought you would have remembered that if anything from your childhood stay on Mars." Maluginensis stepped out of the shadows near the entrance with his unsheathed sword dangling ready for use in one hand. "Why did you come here?"

"For my own reasons." Tuireann tried to hold out as long as he could from where he held himself up on his hands and knees, but Maluginensis was insistent.

"Do not play with me you fool!" He moved forward and held the blade in front of him so that it's hardy steel surface shown in the dim firelight coming in from the square. "Who sent you?"

"No one sent me."

The khan to be moved forward and smacked Tuireann upside the head with the broadside of his sword, giving him time to digest the smarting pain before he continued. "Now, I will ask you again, who sent you?"

Tuireann reached up and touched the bump forming on the side of his head. "You know me better than you remember, Maluginensis. For a Marian the highest crime is abandoning their loved ones when they need them, for a Jovian the most despicable thing we could do is tell a lie."

"Hm." Maluginensis grunted, a smirk coming to his features. "Right. If I remember correctly though, you were anything less than a normal Jovian child, spending your days with two Marians as your closest companions."

"Closer than brothers." Tuireann smirked in kind, wincing inwardly when the muscles in the side of his face cried out against the movement and as he spoke his chest rumbled with bitter laughter. "I was young then. I didn't know what lay ahead of me."

"Such things cannot last into adulthood." Maluginensis said. "We inhabit different worlds."

"You've changed, Maluginensis, grown up too much. What of the lifelong friendship between your king and the king of Venus, do they not also inhabit different worlds, more different from one another than those of yours and mine?" Tuireann asked.

Maluginensis released a heavy breath. "It's a mistake. My cousin the king is a wise man, he will come to realize it in time. Your country is no enemy of mine, but because of your intentions in coming here you have made yourself my enemy and Raiden would feel the same way."

Tuireann spit in the dirt. "He's your uncle, what concern is it of yours?"

"It is every concern of mine." Maluginensis replied plainly. "You must know by now, Tuireann, that a Marian's loyalty lies with his tribe and more importantly with his family."

"Raiden and I were like brothers…" Tuireann stared dully at the spot on the ground where he had spit, the dirt there was still moist.

"Blood is thicker than thin air promises are spoken in." Maluginensis said easily. "You surprise me, Tuireann. I would never have thought of you, least of all, to be one so ignorant of our culture as you were practically raised as a Marian. Though, I have to say, in your passion to avenge your father you are more Marian than of your own ilk."

"I'm a Jovian not a Marian and I refuse to be referred to as one!"

"Such a flare of national pride from a boy I remember always scorning his heritage." Maluginensis shifted his weight to his other leg. "What was it you called your father then, 'a weak and indecisive man' was it?"

"Shut up!" Tuireann snapped, the only restraining him from leaping up and strangling his previous friend was the thought of that same friendship as it once had been without the very real thought that those days were now over with.

"You came for Parmellion."

It was a statement, never a question for Maluginensis was well aware of his former friend's hatred of his uncle and of the reason for that hatred. It had been what had ended their friendship after all, but though, he understood his plight to regain his father's honor through vengeance, Maluginensis was a Tarquin and the man Tuireann wanted to kill was his uncle and it was his duty to protect and defend his own ilk, his own family. Tuireann was not blood, he never had been. Even Raiden would understand that their once irrepressible friendship was at an end and, though he both loved and hated his father, he would never support Tuireann.

On the contrary, if the Jovian was impulsive enough to attack Parmellion in his presence, Raiden would be obliged to kill him outright on the spot. There was no mercy in such circumstances, but Maluginensis had broken the rules, just this once. Even this, what he had done in dragging Tuireann from the crowd had been an act of mercy. Had he leapt into the square, even if Parmellion was not there to attack, he still would have been beaten to death by the king's guards or his generals as he was a foreigner and would have been seen as a trespasser into Marian territory.

Though Maluginensis was more than happy to admit that their childhood friendship was at an end, he had to admit that was a little hesitant to kill the hot headed Jovian and had already formed a plan as to how he was to get him out of this situation, but only this once. The second time, he would have to kill him.

"He's not here."

"He must be." Tuireann hissed and stared down at the ground below his hands resentfully, glaring at the settled dirt there as his fingers dug vengefully into it. He felt the essence of desperation creep through him at the realization of his worst fears. His fists pounded at the dirt. "No! It cannot be so." The Jovian refused to believe that the pursuit he had devoted his life to thus far was a frivolous one. "You lie. He's here somewhere and I'll find him."

Maluginensis shook his head, a fixed smirk on his features as he chuckled delightedly to himself. "What a stubborn fool you are. He's on a diplomatic mission."

"To where?" Tuireann asked heatedly.

"I do not know." Maluginensis replied calmly. "It's not the job of my higher ups to share all of their information with me. My uncle is an important man. I have no doubt his services are held in the confidence of the king and of the king only."

"What of your renegade sister?" The smile returned to Tuireann's face as Maluginensis' expression melted into a thin line at the steam of questioning the Jovian was initiating just to get back at his former companion, make him feel as worthless and dejected and he was feeling at the moment. "I hear she's causing quite a stir on Saturn with those self proclaimed vigilantes of hers."

"My sister is none of your concern." Maluginensis visibly stiffened, his jaw clenching and grinding subtly.

"And I hear she's not even your full sibling." Tuireann was drawing the sting away from the fact that he could not take his vengeance on Parmellion as he had planned and was adding insult to the injury of the hotheaded Marian. "Your father made a wife out of a helot slave and your sister is the product of that shameful union. A Marian princess of half blood, is there anything more disgraceful?"

Tuireann began to laugh, but a brutal blow to the back of his head waylaid him and he fell down to the ground. He was not unconscious. The swirling daze of pain and confusion in his head told him that. The tangy metallic taste of his own lukewarm blood filled his mouth at the back of his throat. He coughed and gagged violently and then settled back into a labored rhythm of breathing while lying prone in the dirt.

Maluginensis stood up a little taller, raising his chin proudly. "A Marian of any kind is better than a Jovian on any given day."

Another blow and Tuireann rolled to his side with the immense momentum of the strike. He was not aware that he had passed out really, until he awoke slumped against the outer walls of the city, alone and minus the Marian cloak he had stolen.

--

"Are you sure she came this way?" Sinis asked, sighing in frustration as he fought his way through another dense pack of brush which scratched offensively at his face and eyes.

"I'm not sure of anything at this point." Anna returned pushing forward, fighting against the undergrowth determinedly. "But these are small foot prints about her size and that is enough for me for now."

Lucretia knelt down and touched her fingers to the drying mud inside one of the prints. "It is only a few hours old, but still. If it was her, she seems to have been in a rapid retreat from something."

"Um….Lucretia?"

Lucretia turned at the sound of Orion's voice and made her way over to where the Mercurian prince was standing. Away from the bushes, at the base of a large oak there was a great footprint scarred into the still moist mud. Kneeling down to examine it in detail, an overwhelming sense of foreboding came over Lucretia.

"What could have made that?" Sinis' firm jaw had dropped and with it went his usual confident demeanor.

"A giant of a man." Orion swallowed nervously beside him. "If the owner of that foot were after me, I would certainly be in a hurry."

Anna, all business at this point, looked on over Lucretia's shoulder as she examined the print. Her eyes were hard and unnerving. "How old is it?"

Lucretia dipped two fingers into the mud while simultaneously giving it the clinical eye. "A couple hours at the most."

"What makes you the expert on all of this?" Sinis asked cynically. His patience with the situation was deteriorating fast.

Lucretia stood coming eye to eye with him, her steady amethyst gaze lending him no ground. "I come from a planet with conditions which would make you weep in fear every night for your life as you heard the screams of others being killed, beaten, or tortured by members of an opposing tribe or eaten by some unforgiving beast or eroded by the fierce desert sands into nothing but mounds of scathed flesh. It is not so hard to learn how to track if it means your life over your death. Perhaps it is something you might want to look into, prince of death and destruction."

This last part was filed off with a self-assured smile, one the Martian princess would become more accustomed to in later years, but which was new to her character as of late. Something she had picked up from Anna and adapted to her own uses.

Both Anna and Orion had proceeded ahead of them and were now passed the closest trees beyond their vision.

Anna arched her neck so that she could still see Lucretia with her back to her and Sinis' burning face between the branches of the nearest tree, "Come on, both of you, we do not have time to fight each other."

Lucretia slowly backed away from Sinis and quietly followed in Anna's footsteps, trailing close behind them, but not so much so that she would not have had space enough to react if the two ahead of her stumbled into danger. Sinis stood back stubbornly for a moment, his hard gaze lingering on the twig of a swaddling bush which for the moment, would have to bear the weight of his wrath. This was not his fight. He didn't even know Entarais that well to begin with. He reached up and felt his warm cheeks aflush with indignation and embarrassment at being made a fool of by his Marian companion. Who did she think she was anyway?

Sinis lashed out and tore the offending twig from the safe haven of its parent plant.

For the love of all the Gods, he was a prince of Saturn! People did not jeer at a prince of Saturn, least not if they did not have a death wish, that was, but that was beside the point.

Why did he have to take a chance at getting lost in these dense forests, all for what? To die in this dank place? What if they couldn't find her? What if they got lost in this miserable maze themselves? What then? Suddenly, fear gripped him, a fear like he had never known before in his short life. Trepidation at the unknown to come, one of the greatest vices of all men when it is indulged, lodged itself deep inside his being like a parasite without any plan to dislodge itself ever from him.

Sinis was afraid, but he was not a coward. The prince of death and rebirth was a pragmatist. He knew that bad outcomes were the most prevalent when it came to situations like the ones he and his school mates so often found themselves in and as such he was little the optimist for it. He would show them. He would help find Entarais and he would prove himself as better than all of the rest of them. With lofty ambitions in mind and a hearty sneer taking reign over his face, Sinis started off again in the same direction his companions had disappeared in.

--

The rain had eased and the storm had waned a bit. Alexandra had reached Draupnir castle without incident and was being escorted down the main hall by a tall armored guard. At first, the guards at the gates had refused to let her in. Lord Anslem was a largely private person and as such the royal children were not allowed to travel outside of their own specific wing of the castle for fear that they would disturb their patron's privacy.

He really does need to get out more, Alexandra thought to herself as they continued down the long winding corridor which seemed to have no objective in mind. Just as she thought this, the guard looked suspiciously over his shoulder as he had many times during their long walk to make sure that she was indeed following him and that she had not wandered off into one of the many other hallways. She'd honestly thought about it and had almost been off down one of the other side corridors when she had been questioned by the guard and forced to turn around again.

Alexandra knew she wasn't being led to Lord Anslem. They'd been going in circles for at least ten minutes. Besides, that was just too nice and hospitality was not a trait she had encountered when first setting foot in this palace. Animosity and apprehension was more the norm. But she had to find a way to him. If this guard was just going to lead her in circles all day then she would never be able to get help for her friends. Then a thought occurred to her.

"I would like to go to the library." She called out stopping the guard in his tracks.

The guard turned to her, bemused. "The library? Why the library?"

"I have some coursework the instructor gave me to finish." Alexandra lied expertly, her clear cobalt eyes gleaming mischievously in the lamp light. "It requires research."

"What of Lord Anslem?" The guard asked suspiciously.

"What of him?" Alexandra challenged.

The guard was hesitant, but relented and escorted her to one of the castle's four main libraries. Meanwhile, it was left for Alexandra to use her mental compass to determine which direction they were headed in and which would be the easiest way to go to the east wing where Anslem secluded himself from the rest of them. As she entered the library and turned to regard the tall guard lingering distrustfully a few feet behind her she knew that losing him would not be the biggest problem she would have to overcome, but being able to find the exact whereabouts of the reclusive lord before the rest of the guards were alerted to her presence. Alexandra's face became a tribute in concentrated dedication as she ventured through the library searching for the research section.

Lord Anslem was a very organized man and everything he compiled was valiantly stocked in shelves clearly distinguished by whatever category literature it held. There was however, a restricted research area where many controversial or banned subjects were kept. If she could get on the other side of the separating wall, for that would be the first part of the battle won, then she would have a fighting chance. Every one of the four main libraries had four double doors on each wall which allowed for escape from all sides. It was simply a matter of finding her own route of escape.

"What area of research does your coursework entail?" The guard asked as he jadedly leaned on his pike. "Perhaps, I could help you search for it?"

With a smile which bespoke of the social meter of a woman twice her age, Alexandra agreed. "Yes, that would be very thoughtful of you."

The guard smiled and followed her lead, already reeled in by the encouraging words she had fed him. After a fair amount of indiscrete and fruitless wandering, the Venian princess finally had to concede that she had no idea where the section she was searching for might be located and that she could use some help. Couldn't hurt, might in fact help. It was worth a try.

"Where is the restricted section?" Alexandra asked offhandedly.

"The restricted section? What would you want with that?" The guard asked, very much at a loss. "There's nothing much there except for policies, records, and literature which the Lord restricts access to. I'm afraid we can't go there."

"I have to research the-" Alexandra had to think for a moment, this fabrication took a bit more thought than her last one. "dissertation made by Anshar of Pluto during his stay in Theia."

"Hmmm…" The guard once again leaned on his pike, this time in deep thought. "I haven't heard of that one, but I've heard that name before. Was he not that philosopher from Pluto who was killed in a riot there?"

Alexandra swallowed to keep from losing her nerve. "Yes."

"Ah, well, the end comes to us all, I suppose." The guard said with a cocky grin. "He just got unlucky."

"I suppose so." Alexandra smiled to stave off the churning of her stomach.

"Just because I've never heard of it doesn't mean it doesn't exist." The guard said already bypassing Alexandra. "You know, you could get me in a lot of trouble, convincing me to help you with all of this, but where's the fun in life without the risk."

"You'll help me then?"

The guard continued to smile. "Come along, I'll show you the way."

And with great hesitation, she followed him. They had not advanced far when they turned and Alexandra caught site of the hard wood of the separating wall and a brass sign roughly engraved which read RESERVED.

"We're here."

"So I see." She said with an enchanting smile. "Wait here, I'll only be a moment."

He stepped back and allowed her to pass, but even with that small act of compliance, she did not believe that this guard was so simple as he seemed. The looks he gave her and the tone of his voice set off warning bells in her head. No matter, if she was able to get away then she had no qualms that this man would be any trouble to her.

She entered the small door within the separating wall, shielded from the guard's sight by the iron grating above the wall, Alexandra immediately set to work finding a way out. There were three main bookcases towering over her up to the ceiling and countless shelves lining the walls filled with books and bound scrolls, but there was no opening that she could see which was large enough even for her small form to slip through unnoticed.

Alexandra was disheartened, but fought hard to hold back hard tears of desperation. She could not fail in this thing as she did in so many other aspects of their training. She had never been very physically apt and her instructors constantly bemoaned her lack of balance and her clumsiness in any and every event, but she was a very bright student and despite the complaints of many of her trainers, she was well thought of among their tutors. The Venian had made it this far, she could not and would not fail now. The others were all counting on her, how could she let them down?

But there was no visible outlet from which she could flee the room. There had to be a way though she pondered as she scoured the corners and any crevice she could find, there was always another way. Alexandra had learned that much from their adventures together. There was no reason to ever give up or surrender because there always was another way, no matter how hopeless the situation seemed, there were always the possibilities to consider.

Alexandra, ever the optimist was becoming increasingly frustrated, however, with the situation at hand. In a huff, she turned a corner too sharply and her foot caught on the edge of the shelf causing her to fall into the shelf and then slide to the ground. However, the fall to the ground never came. As soon as she slammed into the wood of the shelf it gave way and she slide into darkness listening to the wood click back into place behind her. What in the world? Alexandra sat up as far as the small space would allow to better get her bearings.

First, her little hands flew over her clothed form searching for rips or tears which might preclude an injury, but there were none and second she realized that she was entirely in darkness and the library, even at midnight, would not have been this dark.

"Ha!" She shouted. "Finally, sweet escape here I come!"

The words had no sooner left the Venian's lips when she clamped her hand over her mouth, realizing the possible danger to such an action, but it was too late. She had spoken. The door through the separating wall opened and she could hear muffled footsteps in the foreground.

"Princess?" The guard called lightly as he advanced, heavy footsteps a cadence she could not ignore. "Do you require assistance?"

Alexandra was not thinking, barely breathing, and sitting as still as a wooden board frozen by the fear of possible realization. If she were to be found out then there would be no chance of escape. She was scared. Venians were known for being superficial and fearful. Of course, they were not known for their exploits in battle. Venus was a trading nation known, in most part, for its merchants and its immense expanse of goods which it imported and exported from both inside and outside the Sol system. Though Venus did have a very well equipped army, it had never taken its military into battle against the army of another nation so it was a mystery as to how they would perform. Alexandra, even in her experiences with her companions, had not been in many frightful situations and therefore did not know how to react under such pressure. It was a learning experience. She was scared, she did not know what to do, but she was determined not to give up and that is the first step in winning any victory.

The guard's heavy footsteps made the floor seem as though it were being tread upon by a giant and it shook in turn with each movement of his feet. "Princess Alexandra?"

For what seemed like an eternity, she held her breath, convinced by her frazzled mind that should she take one small breath, the thin wooden barrier between her and her pursuer would be knocked down and she would be dragged out and punished. She didn't move, didn't breathe, but the sudden movement of a tiny creature which brushed up against her back startled her and she started somewhat, trying not to make a sound. The footsteps stalled outside her hiding place and it seemed, if only in that moment, that her heart had even stopped beating, but then the guard continued on his way without a pause in his gate. As the footfalls faded away, she breathed again, big gaping breaths of the stale, dry air the confined space had to offer her.

For a moment, Alexandra was not anywhere. Her heart was in her ears, her mind aching in her head, relief flooding her lungs. She had done it. As she let out a deep, cleansing breath which hitched in her chest as all of the fear she had been feeling drained away, she knew she had succeeded somewhat. Now she only had to find a way out. The darkness was all consuming and she could not see her hand in front of her face if she tried. She would have to feel her way out if she was ever going to find one.

Cautiously, Alexandra turned around and on her hands and knees, she began to explore the little tunnel. It was thin and long and there was neither a great deal of ventilation nor headspace, of that much she was for certain, but how long did it go on for? It was a straight road, never shifting, never turning so she was sure that she was off in the direction she wanted to be in, she just had no idea where the tunnel led or what it might have been used for. A servant's door perhaps?

Alexandra quickly dismissed that idea as no one coming or going would be able to bring anything but themselves with them and a servant usually had a purpose. Perhaps, a tunnel for escape? That was more plausible an explanation. It was certainly unique. The palace on Venus had nothing of this like that she knew of. Along the way, Alexandra also reached up the short distance to feel out the ceiling and the walls. If there was to be an exit hatch, odds were it would not be on the floor, but one never knew what was ahead of them so it was important to explore all of the possibilities.

After what seemed like hours, Alexandra pushed against a panel above her head and it gave way a little bit, but she was not strong enough to completely open it as it was heavy, as though something was resting atop of it. Thinking quickly, she scrambled onto her back, bracing herself against the floor as she kicked against the hatch. With the first kick, it only shifted and some dust fell through the cracks, through which she could see light in the room above, but with another mighty the hatch leapt open and she could see the dim foyer of hidden room.

She stood up cautiously. Had there been someone in the room? If so then they most certainly would have heard her and she would have been found out immediately. Peeking out from the hole in the floor, Alexandra was briefly awed at the sight presented before her. She had emerged into a vast study. It was almost as large as the main library she had just been in and twice as ornately decorated. Before her was a large desk carved as though hewn completely out of the lone trunk of one giant cherry wood tree. It was duly engraved and polished. The craftsman who had made it was a true and worthy artist of wood.

Alexandra crawled out of the hole and onto the rug covered floor cautiously. As she looked around the room, there didn't seem to be anyone present. It was a large chamber which made the wing of the castle all of the royal children inhabited seem squalid and insignificant. The Venian princess had to admit that she had seen very few chambers of its make in her travels and stays in other places.

Everything she'd seen paled in comparison to something of this magnitude.

Great tapestries lined the walls, leaving very little of the polished gray stones to be seen by the eye. The faded images on the once ornate tapestries could hardly be deciphered, however, as the room was dimly lit (even by most standards of the day). A few sticks of spicy incense smoldered languidly in a crystal vase, the peppery smoke they produced spiraling loosely in the opaque light coming in from the window. Alexandra walked around, taking in the sights of the room. There was an unlit oil lamp resting on the desk surface along with a few dulled quills and a stack of blank pieces of parchment.

The Venian moved over to the side of the desk and took in the smell of antique wood and along with the pungent, tasteless aroma of fresh ink. Whoever had been here had been at work for the majority of the day and had only recently retired, or at least that was what she figured. Before the great pilgrimage, most royals did not know how to read and write and education was kept predominantly to the scribes and religious laymen. Afterwards, the classical education of royals was instituted and the new generation became very sell schooled, but still many kings and princes employed scribes to man their libraries and document their reigns. Anslem was one of the few who still kept his own records. He hid himself away in seclusion reading, reflecting, and writing.

In fact, Alexandra was surprised that she had not found him here as he no doubt was only a few hours ago. By all accounts the children had come across regarding the mysterious man who owned the castle which they had called home for the last few years, Lord Anslem was more reclusive than a Mercurian and more staunch a man than a Plutonian. Quite personally, she was a little scared of him.

She heard a rustle outside of the room and the double doors opposite where she was standing creaked open quickly. Alexandra froze and with a small squeak, dropped to the floor. It was a move meant to prolong the secrecy of her intrusion, but the sound of her body hitting the floor was clearly audible in the still hanging air and she was sure it was the loudest noise she had ever heard.

If Lord Anslem had heard the sound he gave no indication of it. The man seemed utterly lost in the familiar maze of his own thoughts. Alex's heart was racing in her chest. Should she rise and get his attention? Would he be overtly angry to find her in his private study? She didn't know and wasn't sue she wanted to find out, but her friends were counting on her.

Oh, the power of choices, how it confounds…

Warmth, her body was uncomfortably warm. From the moment she opened her eyes, Entarais knew only that. The entire plain of her back was sore and the place where her uncleaned wound resided felt spongy and balloon like. Her mouth and throat were dry and her brow sweat coated while her breathing remained unsteady. Frankly, if she could have thought straight, Entarais would have been surprised that she was still alive at all.

"You're awake." She recognized the irritated voice of Segal someplace beyond her line of vision. "About time too, I should think."

"W-wh-" Entarais tried to speak, but her throat was dry and her mind still reeling somewhere between consciousness and merciful oblivion.

"Hell if I know." Segal's voice interrupted her after several failed attempts to speak. "I don't know where we are, damn it, but we'll have to stay here. Lie low for a while."

Entarais closed her eyes and swallowed. Her fever was hearty and the festering in her wound was growing incorrigibly with every passing moment. She was hovering on a precipice and how she longed to fall one way or another, but something pulled her back. A nagging thought at the back of her mind. Anna. She and all of their friends, where were they? And Anna, was she alright? Entarais didn't know, but her heart leapt at her when she thought of the notion of her best friend in danger. Segal leaned over her and shook her hard.

"Wake up, wake up!" He shouted. "You fall asleep again and I'll give you such a wallop like you've never received before."

Entarais opened her eyes and groaned at the sudden aggravation in her back as he shook her.

"Please don't…" She pleaded weakly in protest to the movement. "It hurts…"

And he let her go.

"Alright, alright, don't get all riled up." He said standing up, his hands resting on the sides of his belt. "You just can't fall back asleep. If you do then the festering in your wound might turn into a full fledged fever and we can't take that risk until I can get a doctor to lance it. You're not well enough to travel as far as we need to. Well , well now, what do we have here?"

It was then that Segal noticed the gleam of the aquamarine pendant peaking out from Entarais' high collar. He reached for the dagger at his side and unsheathed it. Then he bent down and reached it into the prone girl's collar and pulled up the silver chain with the pendant on it. It did not appear old, though the silver looked to be practically pure and the stone reflected the day's dull light in a million shards of tiny mirrored fragments tinged with a translucent sheen of the stone's actual color like the many refracted sides of a prism.

"Where did you get this?"

Entarais' unfocused eyes zoned in on the man above her, trying to talk as she regulated her breathing. "It was my father's. My uncle gave it to me as a parting gift before I left."

"A family heirloom, eh?" Segal gave the dagger a yank and the chain gave with the pendant sliding off to the side. He grabbed off of her and stood, examining the gem in the dim light the slipping through the dense canopy of the lower part of the woods they had wandered into to hide. "I could fetch a hefty price for it after I sell you back to Anslem."

But there was no grim or sneer on Segal's thin face. Entarais' pallor had increased as time passed and the infection in her wound was gaining momentum with the passing hours. That was not good. Any illness with such ferocity as to over take its victim in a short matter of moments was a formidable foe and he sincerely hoped that the girl would make it through the night. After all, a corpse was worth less than a living body intact. Segal had been raised in a poor background, as a farmer's son who worked a lord's land. When he was a boy, he had witness one of his brothers accidentally strike another with a sickle blade, the type used for the harvest. As a result of how poor they were, his brother had contracted infection without proper care and had died within a day of contracting the illness, so Segal was very much aware how fast these infections tended to work.

He'd made the mistake of letting the girl under his charge pass out and sleep for too long. He would not make the same error again for it was in sleep when the infection took over the body. Without another thought, he stuffed the pendant and chain in a pouch at his belt and stepped away from Entarais, out of her line of vision. She could not decipher much about the place they were in as her body hurt when she moved, but she knew what it felt like. It was damp and humid. The land around her was laden with water and algae. If the smell was not enough to tell, she was in a swamp.

What better place to hide in than one in which no one wanted to go looking for you? Segal, though a brute, was not a stupid man.

Entarais swallowed uncomfortably as the spot on her back gurgled and bubbled. She could feel it fester, could feel the lingering orifice eating away at her strength and consciousness and the sleeping monster setting on her brow, waiting until she finally closed her eyes to awaken. The rims of her eyes were red, whether from the illness or from crying she did not know, but she could feel the minor sting at their corners. That was the least of her worries, however. The back of her throat was filled with a mixture of draining fluid and blood which she had to cough to clear every so often and the whole of her body, her limbs and organs, felt like they had been stuffed full of cotton like a child's doll and then weighed down with huge blocks of iron ore.

"I'm going to find you a doctor." Segal said matter-of-factly. "And when I return with him you are not to speak a word about what you've seen or this whole situation do you understand?" His eyes hardened as he said this and his jaw tightened menacingly, "Or I will, I swear upon all of the gods, kill you myself."

Entarais doubted that she could have said anything even if she wanted to. Segal did not wait for a reply. She heard his footsteps trudge through the muck of the swamp and then climb up the muddy bank before they became too faint to hear any longer. With strong resolve, she tried to roll over so that she could perhaps get up to her knees and then maybe she would be able to crawl away and escape before Segal returned. The sudden movement was a bad idea. She made it onto her side before the dizzying pain over took her and she threw up in the mud close to her head. Lying on her side, waiting for the violent cycle of pain and dizziness to leave her be, Entarais knew that there was simply no way she could get up and ford the swamp without falling into it. And the endless echelon of bacteria swarming and breeding in that water would prove deadly if any given one of them were to inflame her open wound.

Her eyes rolled back and then forward again as she struggled to remain conscious. For an hour or so she fought against the exhaustion which was trying to coheres her to rest, but in the end she gave in and allowed sleep to claim her. Her last conception was of the canopy swirling around her.

--

"A swamp? Who would venture in there?" Sinis asked incredulously.

"Someone who does not want to be found." Lucretia replied. "It's had to track in a swamp. The mud never sets so the foot prints are always easily swayed, but can be easily followed. It's when you get into the water that makes it hard to trace for a person could have changed direction any number of times and may have come back on some other bank. We'll have to look sharp."

"Count on it." Anna said leading the way determinedly.

Orion shook his head at Anna's bullheadedness, but followed her anyway. Lucretia was not far behind. She had already pointed them in the right direction. When they descended down the slope, she would have to search for more signs, but for now she thought it better to let Anna lead the way. It would ease her anxiety somewhat, though it did nothing to ease Sinis' worries. He followed at the back and though worried, he did not let it show. However, he was certain Lucretia knew. She had stopped to give him a few lurking glances as he continued as though she expected him to turn tail and run. She could smell fear, he'd guessed, but Sinis was not giving in to expectations. He was not running.

As they came upon the steepest bank, Lucretia skirted to the front a large set of footprints emerged out of the water and climbed the bank just passed them. Time had past since they had been made, a few hours or so Lucretia would wager. Whoever it was, they had been in a hurry.

"We should turn back." Sinis started, but was cut short by Anna.

"No. These footprints are too large for her feet and they came from that direction." A feeling of foreboding settled in the Jovian's stomach as she thought about what may or may not lay just beyond the watery crypt of the swamp. "If she's anywhere, I'd say she's in that direction."

"It's logical that Entarais might still be there, after all, there is only one set of footprints." Orion concluded.

"Yes, but whoever took her could have been carrying her." Sinis argued.

"I don't think so." Lucretia interjected bending down and pointing to the footprints. "If he had these tracks would have been deeper, more set into the ground than they are."

"It's settled then." Anna said. "We'll continue in this direction."

This time not even Sinis opened his mouth to protest. Instead, he pitched forward eagerly after them, fear and a thirst to prove himself both burning entwined at his core.

--

Segal hacked another low hanging branch clean off of the tree ahead of him. "Damn underbrush."

There had to be a better way out of the forest, an easier on than the direction he had decided to start off in, but no, he just had to chose to come this way. He just had to. He was pissed off and it was his own fault and he knew it. Gods be damned though, he had thought it was a good idea at the time. He hacked another branch. It didn't appear as though he was getting anywhere at all in this mess of leaves and undergrowth.

The underbrush was reaching a growth of such magnitude that it was proving almost too thick to wade through. It was late in the afternoon. Night would be coming on soon and he would not be the one who wanted to be left to the mercy of the forest when darkness did fall. Even or especially a vagabond fears greatly for his own life. But he was not certain that Entarais would make it until the morning. The festering in her wound was strong and it could just as easily over take her completely, even if she was a fighter, there was no guarantee. If he brought back a healer, then there would be a better chance of survival for the girl, but at what risk to himself? Was this investment really worth it? Would it not be easier to kill her and move on?

Segal felt for the pouch at his belt where the aquamarine pendant on its beautiful silver chain rested comfortably protected in Galapagos leather. He would still be able to turn a small profit from the stolen gift he had pilfered from the girl, but why should he set all of his labors up to this point at so low a price? Anslem may have been a reclusive coward, but he had been charged with the safety and well being of the royal children on their pilgrimage to Saturn and he would pay a hefty price to ensure that the girl would be returned to him safely. Why not take what he could get and then move on? He'd be all the better for it, with two profits made.

Segal gripped the handle of his sword thoughtfully, taking notice of the fact that the skin of his hands was once again white. After he had beaten Drifus to certain death, his hands and his face had been splattered generously with red blood and had stayed that way until he found his way into the swamp and scrubbed them free of the carnage. There were various spots of blood littering his cloak and tunic also. Some of it he could guess had come from the beating and still more from Entarais' wound when he had to carry her.

The mean edge of a branch slapped him in the side of the face, scratching his cheek and causing another flare of red to be born on the drawn surface.

"Damn it!" He cursed loudly as the new affliction began to smart and sting as it oozed fresh blood. "This isn't worth it! If the gods take her, they take her. There's always another way, an easier way to make a profit."

Impulsive and resenting, Segal turned away and began the short trek back to the swamp where his wounded charge no doubt waited for him.

--

"Spore."

"What?"

"It's a patch of spore."

"What's spore?"

Lucretia was bent over a drying puddle of what looked to be blood mingling with mud and pieces of torn cloth. "Spore is a mixture of blood and hair left by a wounded animal which a hunter can track during a hunt."

"Oh." Both Sinis and Orion said in unison.

"It doesn't look good if this is Entarais though."

"Why?" Anna was front and center again, all of her attention on Lucretia.

The Marian pointed to the blood which had some air bubbles drying on its outer edges. "Those bubbles usually mean a serious wound which involves the lungs has been suffered. If so, she may not even still be alive."

It was a grim possibility that brought with it an eerie silence of sorts over the group.

"We should separate and spread out." Sinis announced. Everyone looked back at him and he felt the need to clarify himself. "If we do, we will have a better chance at covering more ground."

Anna nodded reluctantly. "He's right. We'll break off into groups, but stay in this area. After a short time, we will regroup here, understood?"

They all nodded and paired up. Sinis traipsing off in one direction with Orion following timidly behind him while Lucretia went walked cautiously off in the other. Anna stayed to inspect the ground. This blood was not old, though it was drying, she would venture to say that it whoever it came from was not far away from their current position. But who was the victim?

Entarais.

Her heart began to drum with the rapid and sharp, tense note of a snare in her ears at the thought of her dear friend, the one she admired and set above everyone else lying out there bleeding and injured. Who else could it be though? The dread that shot throughout her small frame caused all of her reason to be overlapped by a much stronger force which so often overrides the confines of logical thought: fear. She was truly afraid and not for her own life, but for the life of the friend she treasured.

Taking a deep steadying breath, she stood and reached out to push back the branches of the shrubbery obstructing her path. No one ever got anywhere taking heed of their own fears and reservations. To stare fear in the face, to know truly what it is and why it lives and then to waylay those fears, that is how the essence of life is promoted and the human spirit nurtured.

Anna began fighting her way through the thicket of the swamp, her knees shaking.

--

The steady rhythm of her heart beating in her ears roused the weakened Entarais back into consciousness. She opened her mouth and sucked in a greedy breath full of spongy air, but violently coughed it back out as the action caused a pocket of phlegm in the back of her throat to launch into unwanted action. Cerulean eyes, once as vital and deep as the diverse, swirling oceans of Neptune, were now dull and listless, shimmering tears lining their corners. The girl did not know what to think for she could no longer contemplate anything clearly. The illness which had plundered her body with an invader's unheralded vengeance had robbed her of the ability she cherished so much along with the full knowledge and use of the only attribute she credited herself with: her innate and unquenchable curiosity.

Many times before she embarked on this pilgrimage, her uncle had had her punished for running off into the hills to explore what she had not see or for swimming alone in the cove to explore its numerous schools of colorful fish and to take solace in the bright and diverse patchwork of raw creativity which seemed to naturally pour forth from the coral reef there, a true work of art which no god could have had a hand in. But now, the only tool she was never without. The curiosity which gave her life meaning and purpose had been vanquished unjustly by the demon destroying all that she was from the inside out. Without it, she was empty and unwove. Even in her delirious state, she could feel that much of herself missing.

Along with her faithful companion, curiosity, had fled all of her strength, flowing out of her back as easily as garnet wine would from a spilled glass. Even the simple and natural act of taking one breath after another became a chore. Her chest felt heavy, as though someone had placed a board there and had piled it high with a mason's stones or even with a few boulders and that with slow and equal precision, she was beginning to be crushed to death by its invisible weight.

There were pains low in her abdomen and in her back. Why she did not understand, nor did she know. All she understood was that she was in pain and nothing else in the world seemed more vivid than the sharp pangs erupting from those areas. Why was she still awake? The fever should have claimed her by now, should have taken her.

Oh! How her head swam! What was the canopy, the color of garnets and the sky a magnificent orange? When had the colors turned? The throbbing in her head and the seasick clenching and unclenching of her stomach made the state she was in one of Hell in the land of the living.

Mercy comes…

Her eyelids became heavy and slowly began a steady descent until the dull blue of her eyes was nothing more than a reminiscent glitter of the crescent moon which came out on only the coolest of nights and her breathing, the very stay of life, shallowed copiously. If only she could let go, be blown away and tossed through the storm. She didn't care whether of not she survived. What could be worse than this hell she already suffered in? Would not relinquishing her soul to the Gods' cool embrace be far better a thing than staying here?

Heat laced beneath her half closed eyelids. It was the only inclination that her rational self, bound, tied, and gagged by the ruthless enemy which had captured her body and imprisoned all of her ability for free will was truly ashamed at the selfish thoughts she was conjuring up. Had she been older, she may have realized that she was only human and that in times of crisis such thoughts, initially, are natural, but being so young she blamed all of her flaws on her strength of character.

Even then though, this shame was subconscious, for in her ill state, she could not have thought clearly enough to have come to that conclusion.

The thought of those she would leave behind, did not enter her mind. Her uncle, her aunt and cousin Mariner or even of her friends who had become a second family to her in their short time together. What of Anna? What of Lucretia and Alexandra or of Orion and Sinis? Where would they be without her? Even then, she knew that in their group, she was of little importance at the moment and that almost all of the royal children would be able to return to their lives practically unscathed. Why would they dwell on her? They hadn't dwelled on the death of their first teacher Anshar, why should they dwell on her own? One of them, she was sure, wouldn't get over it so easily though.

Anna.

Her best friend, she would not forget her. What if she were to give in to her selfish yearnings and let go? What would become of the one person out of the lot of them she knew really cared for her? Would she be able to recover from such a loss? In her fabricated state of mind, Entarais refused or rather could not assume the fact that she might be overstating her importance in the whole scheme of things. However, perhaps it was better that she did not come to that realization for these thoughts of Anna were what kept her breathing and flourishing. Floating in a colorless precipice she no longer thought, no longer recognized, she simply was.

Where was she, really? How had she gotten there? Entarais couldn't remember.

There was a rustle in the branches near her, but Entarais did not hear it. By this point, she had sunk so low into a warm, hazy delirium, which reminded her of being submerged passed her ears in water, that it was practically impossible for her to have noticed it. Out of the bush, the Jovian child stumbled and fell like an anvil to the ground when her foot caught on a upraised root. With a groan she hit the ground, but slowly she was getting used to her natural clumsiness and without much effort she steadily righted herself again.

"Ouch." Ann rubbed at the ache in the back of her neck, vainly trying to work the muscle back into fruition.

Entarais, eyes closed, took in a sharp breath and, even though she was not near enough to see her limp form clearly, Anna heard it. Immediately, she sprang to her feet. At first, in the dim few seconds of silence following the sound, she tried to convince herself that she had only been dreaming, but when a pain filled groan, faint though it was, reached her ears from beyond the rise in swampy land, she knew better.

"Entarais?" Anna called in a whispered tone, more to answer her own questions than to cater to her friend, and then in a more frantic tone as she began her frenzied trek up the rise. "Entarais! I'm coming!"

Anna pawed through the swamp grass like some mad animal. Parting the long blades, rapidly, she wasn't quite mentally prepared, for the sight ahead of her. Sprawled out on the ground, Entarais' limp form was as pale and fragile as newly fallen snow. The ground around her, like the circle surrounding the Vitruvian man, was soaked a deep red which even colored the murky liquid in the moist mud a filthy burgundy, practically a garnet. What was worse, Entarais' body looked drained, as if the very blood pouring out of the infected wound had taken her life and all likelihood of survival with it.

Anna shank back only a moment, her forward motion impeded by the sheer carnage of the sight, but she soon continued forward and rushed to her friend's side. She reached down and touched the bitter ice of Entarais hand. The skin of the back of the Neptunian's hand was so pale and cold, with her eyes clouded over with tears as they were, that it appeared to Anna as though it was almost a light shade of blue.

"Entarais?" Anna asked leaning over her and stroking her ashen cheek in a soothing motion. "Entarais, please, you have to wake up, please…"

Her heartfelt pleas were lost on unconscious ears. Desperately, the Jovian bent down to touch her forehead with that of Entarais' own burning one, allowing the tears to start running down her cheeks in streams. There was no hope. Without hope where were they? How did they stand a chance without it? Choice could not be so powerful a thing. They had chosen to search for Entarais, but finding her was only half of the battle. Chance played the other side of their hand. If by chance Entarais died and never revived then the power of their choice to come after would be useless. What would be the point then? I wasn't to be true! As Anna sobbed, her tears running onto Entarais' face and neck also. It couldn't be! Then there would be no point to anything they did, to any attempt they made in any endeavor because chance would be all powerful and she knew that that was not the way of things.

It was not. The power of choices was not so easily shot down or defined.

"Please…" A whisper sank in thin air and then, dejected and aggrieved beyond any point of sudden redemption, at a loss to the moment, she wept.

---

Author's notes: To be continued…Tune in for the next exciting chapter of the Prologue for further details. Heh. All kidding aside, I hope this chapter is to everyone's liking. It has been a long work in progress, but it was worth the write. Also I just wanted to clear up any confusion as to how old the royal children are in these chapters:

Entarais 6 years of age, born in 570

Anna 6 years of age, born in 570.

Lucretia 6 years old, born in 570.

Alexandria 5 years old, born in 571.

Orion 5 years old, born in 571.

Sinis 6 years old, born in 570.

Regelle has not been born yet. Remember, she was born in 579, so this takes place before her birth.

I apologize for this chapter taking a little longer to post than I implied in the first part, but life and all of its craziness has intervened a lot in the past few months. Keeping with that, I would like to dedicate this chapter (though I know no one will read this and care) to my grandmother who has just recently passed on. I'm not sure if my grandmother ever knew that I loved to write, but I know that she would have supported me in it as she always supported and encouraged me in everything I have done. If you have any questions about this chapter or anything else concerning the story please let me know. Thank you for reading, please drop me a review or two and tell me what you think of it! Likes, dislikes, flamers, I welcome it all! By the way, who is your favorite original character in this story so far and why? It's just a curiosity of mine, as these characters in a way both foreshadow and pave the way for the senshi who come after them. I hope you all enjoyed the read! Thank you all for everything and have a great week!