This took a little longer than anticipated. But this is a good one. :) mwa ha ha ha ha...

Song for this Chapter: Street Lights -- Kanye West (and not the rap Kanye, the new Kanye)

Disclaimer: There's a Grey's Anatomy quote somewhere in there, some Bram Stoker. Some TP action too. ya know how we do. rhymz.

get ready for the most epic conversation. e.v.e.r.

Chapter 56: Rush

In the last chapter...

Romeli is kidnapped by Maggur and is placed in a trunk, confined. When she is taken out, she comes face to face with Maggur...they do a little insulting...and then start to migrate towards the palace menacingly.

Meanwhile, at the palace, Jonathan receives a letter—blackmail from Maggur. All palace inhabitants must move to the ballroom in three hours for a very important meeting. Jonathan is like woah.

At the same time, James is all like "where's Romeli"...and he's kind of freaking out along with his friends, Alanna, Romeli's parents, etc. We get a little recap of what James was up to the past few days. Nothing too exciting happens until a palaceman knocks at his door and tells him to make his way towards the ballroom. He then realizes this must be about Romeli and departs.

The ballroom begins to fill up fast. James and Alanna stood next to each other near the front. Numair and Daine stood by them as well. King Jonathan situated himself a little ways from them, standing next to Thayet.

Of course there's also Maryann, who suspected something had happened and barreled over the palaceman before he even had a chance to knock on her door. Once at the ballroom, she talked to James a little bit and then walked over to stand behind Jonathan's shoulder.

Suddenly, there are collective gasps from across their rooms and Maryann's head whips around...

When Maryann's eyes landed on her previous boss, they widened. She stood silently as she stared, suffocating her emotions before they had time to escape.

On second thought...no. I really don't know what's going to happen.

"Love is stronger than death even though it can't stop death from happening, but no matter how hard death tries it can't separate people from love."

During times of great trauma, suddenly everything becomes slow and bright. Your surroundings are pixelated and almost too vivid to look at clearly without squinting. Suddenly your brain seems to work at double-time. Every sound, the rustle of a paper, a cough from across the room, a lowered whisper in the corner, becomes audible. You can see anything and everything. It all makes sense.

Romeli's heart was battering against her ear drums as she experienced this now. When she was pulled out from behind a curtain and into the packed ballroom, there was a wave of aftershock that started in the first rows of people and swept across the rest of the room. Silence.

The whole room was still for what seemed like minutes, though it was probably no more than a couple seconds. In this short amount of time, her eyes scanned the room, meeting faces she did not know and others she knew quite well. Her gaze finally landed on James, as if her whole scan of the room had just been a search for a pair of eyes equally as green as her own.

Without hesitation, the two connected their stares which locked and held. No facial expression or bodily movement was needed to portray what the two were saying to each other now:

This was it. Their fate would be decided now.

The seconds following the rush of silence were packed with outbreak. There was a low mumble of whispers throughout the room, much like a hum. The nobles more towards the back were exchanging glances of confusion. Most did not know what was going on. While quiet chatter filled the ballroom, the inhabitants more towards the front seemed to realize the impact of the situation. Most of these people were a part of Jonathan's inner circle, and a majority of them had fought a war against Maggur not once, but twice now—they knew his face better than most.

Romeli's eyes broke away from James' briefly as she took in the scene around her with apprehension. The room was mixed with anger, confusion, fear, and grief. Her parent's were fuming, and most of the warriors she was acquainted with like Lady Keladry were staring with horror. Neal had closed his eyes in dread, holding his hands behind his head. Alanna was red in the face, though her expression portrayed more fear than fury. King Jonathan met her eyes and the eyes of Maggur with shocked ones. His hands were clenched tightly in two fists and his body looked tense with anger. Maryann stood behind him carefully. Her expression was stone though her eyes alerted Romeli to her surprise and anxiousness.

Four hands gripped her arms tightly like a trap. Ever since being pulled out of the trunk, Maggur had made it obvious that he didn't want her going anywhere. The two rugged guards held her back powerfully. Behind her she could sense the magic of multiple mages, though she couldn't turn her head to confirm the estimation of how many.

Maggur stood to her left and slightly more in front, a smirk stamped across his lips. She couldn't handle looking out into the crowd any longer. Instead, she stared at him, letting the hate build up and overpower her other emotions.

It didn't take long for her blood to start boiling.

"Jonathan," greeted Maggur coolly.

"Maggur." The King's face was stone as he stood with the crowd. Thayet and Maryann were at his shoulders, their stares as deadly as Jonathan's.

"I see you got the letter."

"Obviously." Jonathan's word were dry.

Maggur gave him a look of disapproval, not appreciating the sarcasm.

Maryann stepped out from behind Jonathan's shadow and walked a couple paces forward. Her eyes were steady as she stared him down. They glinted with wit, seeming to convey that she knew more than Maggur thought.

A chuckle escaped the Scanran King as he eyed her nonchalantly. "Well it's been a while now hasn't it. I've missed you Maryann. It's a shame you've been plotting against me all along. Now that I have the upper hand however," he motioned to Romeli as he spoke, making her stomach squirm. "I suppose the laugh's on you."

Maryann's eyes narrowed, but a grin began to form on her lips. "Ha ha ha."

"What?" Irritation covered his expression. Obviously he had been looking for a different reaction.

"Oh nothing," Maryann replied with a smirk. "Except for the fact that I secretly slept with you thirteen times as thirteen different people. So who's laughing now?"

Sure enough, there were a few laughs from the back of the hall.

Maggur froze and his skin grew considerably pale. "Enough of these games, spy. Let me speak to your king." His voice was slightly more monotone than usual.

Maryann shrugged and returned back to her post behind Jonathan. She stole one glance at Romeli, giving her a reluctant look.

"What is the reason for all of this commotion, Maggur," said Jonathan slightly exasperated.

"I came back to regain my property."

"What property?"

Romeli closed her eyes in defeat. It was as she expected...sort of. Maggot was back to obtain the one thing he wanted more than anything in the world: her. The only setback was that Tortall didn't know about it—meaning that Jonathan's cluelessness was fully justified. Only two people besides her knew. One was standing right behind the king's shoulder and the other stood down to her right.

Oh and Maggur of course. Romeli's blood thickened as Maggur glanced at her to share some sort of inside joke. Instead of meeting his dreadful eyes again, she looked down, mute.

Maggur turned back to Jonathan and answered his question with one word: "Romeli."

Jonathan shook his head immediately. "You can't do that."

Maggur snorted and Romeli would have hit her head with the palm of her hand had it not been for the guards restraining her. The crowds listened intently to the conversation, its intensity growing. The two king's voices were audible throughout the whole room, echoing off the stone walls.

"Really?" Maggur's brows shot up as he spoke.

"We both signed the Blood Treaty," countered Jonathan, his eyes darkening. "If I won the war, you would leave Tortall alone, if you won the war you would come to Tortall to search for Romeli. But we won the war months ago. You have no right kidnapping and threatening Tortall's inhabitants." His voice grew more passionate and angry as he spoke.

"The treaty and the war are irrelevant," said Maggur cooly. "As you said, they happened months ago."

Jonathan shook his head. "No amount of time can dissolve the power of a Blood Treaty."

"Then tell me why I'm still standing here."

Jonathan's face began to lose color. Of course, the consequence of breaking the Blood Treaty is death. But here Maggur was, standing before all of Corus' noble court.

"You shouldn't be standing here," returned Jonathan. "You're supposed to be dead."

Maggur laughed. "Not everything goes as planned. Especially when my murderer," he stole a glance a Romeli, "killed me with a poison containing an antidote."

There was a murmur throughout the crowd. Neal and Faleron immediately exchanged uneasy glances and her parents shook their heads in disbelief. Maryann brought the palm of her hand to her forehead with a groan. It seemed that Jonathan was the only one in the first few rows to maintain a steady composure.

"That still doesn't justify your capture of Romeli."

"Really? Tell me Jonathan, if the Blood Treaty still applies right now, could I do this?"

Before the crowd could register his actions, Maggur had whipped out a dagger. He slashed it across Romeli's face, leaving another long gash across her cheekbone slightly below her other violated wound. The pain hardly registered until minutes after when the outraged voices in the crowd began to enter her ears. Her eyes scanned across the crowd until she found James. She stared at him desperately, heart beating wildly. James stared back, his eyes warm and comforting, though he had both hands in tightly clenched fists.

She refused to let her eyes leave his. It was the only thing that kept her calm and gave her purpose. This is for him. You will save him.

The muffled sensation began to fade away when the two kings started talking again. Romeli was drawn back to the conversation.

Jonathan's voice became rough and hard. "You have no right to do that. Let her go."

"Do I, Jonathan?" questioned Maggur with raised brows. He held Romeli's face with his hand tightly holding her jaw. A few drips of blood began to fall to the wooden floor. "Think!"

With his free hand, he began to bring the dagger up to Romeli again. This time, the blade was pointed at her chest.

Jonathan seemed speechless, his mouth opening and closing mutely. Maryann stood behind him, itching to hit him upside the head.

Romeli's eyes fixed themselves upon James' as the knife slid across her collar bone, cutting her like butter. Only a small groan of unease escaped her lips.

"Still no answer?" said Maggur loudly for everyone to hear. He then turned to Romeli looking at her with an exasperated expression. "Can you believe him?" he asked her with a mocking grin on his lips. "He still has no idea."

Romeli spat in his face.

Maggur wiped off the insult with the back of his sleeve, his exasperation morphing into disgust. "Just as rebellious as ever," he observed, barely loud enough for both of them to hear.

"Stop hurting her," growled Jonathan angrily. His blue eyes pierced into Maggur's dangerously. "She is a Tortallan Citizen. You have no right—."

"Wrong," interrupted Maggur, unfazed by Jonathan's hostility. "She is no citizen of yours."

Jonathan's glare turned into a look of confusion. "How can that be..." His voice trailed off as realization dawned on him.

Maggur's lips grew into a wicked smile. "I suppose our story begins, as stories often do, with a king. He's a deeply driven man with only one purpose: to obtain the most dangerous weapon in history. Imagine his surprise when he discovers that not only was the weapon in enemy territory, but that their king had no idea the weapon was in his hands all along! So here he strikes a deal, a Blood Treaty of sorts, with the rival king and war breaks out. When the king discovers that this weapon was not only alive, but a girl, the stakes grew higher—the king wanted this weapon at all costs. The final battle came around and the plan was played out. The girl had crawled right into his hands with the help of some very valuable hostages, and without the rival king ever knowing! By the time the rival king found out that he held the weapon all along, it was too late, and the girl was taken into slavery and full ownership of the king. The rival country thought they had won the war, but all of it was a cover up—a distraction to hide the king's true motives—and he succeeded! The weapon was his. It is at this point in the story that the king realizes that wielding the weapon would be much harder than anticipated. His efforts towards total hegemonic domination would be in vain. Just when he thought he was making progress, the girl escaped with a party of Tortallans, killing him and disarming her slavery spells in the process—or so she thought."

Jonathan shook his head in disbelief. "Everything went fine that night," he retorted. "The only set back was that—."

"—That she died?" Maggur finished his sentence without hesitance, making Jonathan snap his mouth closed again. "Jonathan I'm sorry to say this, but you don't know half of what happened that night."

"Just get to it Maggur," drawled Maryann impatiently. "The evil monologue doesn't suit you."

The look Maggur gave Maryann could have burned the skin off her bones.

Maryann only snorted and shook her head, laughing silently.

"Either way, Romeli failed," Maggur said flatly.

"Tell me something I don't know," Romeli whispered nearly inaudibly.

Maggur continued on, his voice carrying across the crowds easily. "She only successfully unlocked one of three spells the night she escaped: the suffocation spell. She failed to destroy the slave bondage spell, and of course the ownership spell that she tried to break by poisoning me."

Jonathan spoke slowly, his gaze glossed over with realization. "...making her a slave of Scanra."

The Scanran King grinned. "Precisely."

A look of defeat crossed the king's eyes and there was a long silence following after that.

Romeli kept her eyes open stubbornly, keeping them rooted on James. He wouldn't look away either as they silently communicated. Both of them knew everything up to this point, but whatever happened next would be beyond them.

Romeli glared at the guard to her left and shook her arm under his hold. His grip was incredibly tight, leaving her arm sore as she shook it out. The neck-line of her top was beginning to crust with blood from the slice across her chest.

The room seemed to have turned dark and gloomy. The air was thick with suspense, as if the very molecules around them knew the outcome of the get-together. People stood all around her completely still, as if they lacked the will to move. Not even a sound echoed through the hall. The palace had lost its spirit to sing its homely sounds.

After the silence seemed to grow on for too long, Maggur spoke again. His expression was not grim, but victorious. "With that point exhausted, I have come to take her back."

The uproar that followed was a large contrast from the previous silence.

All of the frontal crowd was outraged. Numair and Daine looked grief-stricken and outraged. Alanna was red in the face, disbelief shaking her core. Neal and Faleron looked on with horror sketched on their faces. Maryann was biting her lip and yelling profanities like many other listeners. Whave, Sereem, Ethan, and Ryoku were exchanging horrified expressions. The back of the hall was filled with unshed whispers of unease and shock.

The only two people who were silent through the chaotic crowd were Jonathan and James. Jonathan stared at his enemy king with disgust, though his eyes seemed to burn hopelessly. James kept his eyes on Romeli the whole time—the rest of the room was muffled as they stared at each other.

Jonathan spoke slowly. Word by word, the crowd ebbed to silence. "What do you want?" he asked seriously, his voice dangerously low. "What can I give you that will keep Romeli here."

Maggur laughed out loud. "What do I want? Jonathan, what could I possibly need that Romeli can't give me? She is the ultimate weapon, the ultimate way to domination."

"She's a human being." Jonathan replied heavily, enunciating each word clearly.

Romeli clenched her jaw and looked down, her heart thumping wildly. Human wasn't exactly what she would call it.

"Like it matters."

Jonathan shook his head, a small grin forming at the corner of his lip. "It does matter. How do you expect to control a free will? Especially a will as strong as hers. You've tried breaking her, you've tried forcing the magic out of her, and it still didn't work. Do you expect to succeed now?"

Jonathan had hoped to alter his mindset and bring him to reality. The Tortall King was expecting some sort of eye widening look of realization. Perhaps Maggur was running on a crazed desire that shunned actuality.

Or perhaps not.

Maggur shook his head a grin plastered on his lips. "Perhaps you're right," he muttered more quietly. "Perhaps controlling Romeli isn't possible."

Jonathan's expression began to brighten victoriously. Romeli felt a weight begin to rise off her chest.

It came crashing down again with Maggur's next words.

"And if I can't control her, then no one can."

Jonathan's face turned to confusion for only a moment before it hit him. "...What?" He shook his head, bringing his hand behind his head. "You can't do that."

"I can do that," Maggur pointed out confidently. "Or did the whole first half of our conversation fly right past you?" He motioned towards Romeli's slave collar as a little reminder.

The crowd stared in silence horrified as Maggur pulled out a scroll from his pocket and unrolled it.

Romeli clenched her jaw and stared forward at the back wall, waiting for the words.

"Romeli Salmalin, official slave of Scanra, for your willful commission of crimes against the crown, these crimes being the attempted murder of King Maggur...twice..., destruction of palace property, breaking of legal slavery binding contracts, and escape from the area of designated slavery, you have been brought on this day for punishment. Said punishment will be executed tomorrow afternoon, where you will be mercilessly tortured...until dead."

Romeli's heart fluttered and stopped. The sentence pinned her down like a weight, but she kept her head steady. This wasn't the end of it. Words couldn't just stop her. It had only just begun, and she would get out of this.

Wouldn't she?

Clenching her jaw down hard, her stare of disbelief transformed into determination. Of course she would get out of this. It was a death sentence, not months of slavery.

Romeli's senses lacked to register the outcries of the Tortallans below her. King Jonathan was shaking his head in disbelief and Maryann stood behind her with her hands covering her mouth. Daine was leaning on Numair in tears and Numair held onto her weakly, his face sunken with hopelessness. Neal and Faleron were furious.

Alanna glanced over at James uneasily, her own heart sinking as every second passed by. Behind her, voices were whispering and talking and yelling, but she didn't understand any of it. She herself felt like breaking down as the rest of them did. Looking at James now, she was surprised to find his face expressionless as he stared blankly ahead of him. He seemed to be in a state of great thought.

When James met her eyes, Alanna knew that he was about to do something very stupid. She also knew nothing could stop him.

James looked away after only a few seconds, Alanna's saddening eyes sending pain through his body. He couldn't afford losing control of his emotions like the people around him. His heart began to pound loudly as if telling him to reconsider what he was about to do. Ignoring it stubbornly, he looked over at Maryann from across the way.

Maryann stared back, her eyes steady. She knew what he was thinking. The spy gave him a single nod.

It doesn't matter how tough we are. Trauma always leaves a scar. It follows us and changes our lives. Trauma shakes everybody to the core. But perhaps that's the point. All this pain and fear...maybe going through all of that is what keeps us moving forward. It's what pushes us. Maybe we have to get a little messed up, before we can step up.

Eyes set on the stage in front of him, he walked towards the stage and leapt onto it. He faced Maggur with a steady stance, his eyes on fire as he spoke for the first time since the start of the meeting.

"No."

Maggur turned to the defiant voice, his eyes glinting with a hint of surprise. "Why, it's Jameson of Queenscove." His face screwed up into a look of confusion. "I thought I killed you."

"Obviously you didn't," he replied motioning towards his living figure.

Maggur smirked.

Romeli looked at James with horror, her heart pounding ten times harder than it had been previously. The whole death sentence thing was fine until James hopped onto the stage. He pulled himself in—and that was not okay.

The emotions were beginning to settle in now. She could handle her own problems, but not someone else's. When she spoke it was shaky, and not just because of her harsh constraints. "James what are you doing..."

The look James gave her made her close her mouth immediately.

"Explain to me, Sir Queenscove, why you have disagreed with my sentence." Maggur's gaze was serious. He stared at James with an intimidating look.

The squire held his own and spoke with an even voice. "Because you have no right to condemn a Tortallan citizen to death."

Maggur stared at him with an exasperated expression. "Look, I know you're young and still learning, but don't tell me you weren't listening to this whole exchange between me and Jonathan here."

"I understood perfectly well."

"Then what are you getting at?" Maggur snapped back.

Romeli looked on equally as clueless. What was he getting at?

There was a small smile on James' lips as he spoke. "When Romeli poisoned you, what poison did she use?"

Maggur stared at him with disapproval. The boy was wasting his time. "The Gift Poison." His voice was flat, unamused.

The squire screwed his face up in thought, trying to remember the characteristics of that particular potion. When he remembered, his face lit up brightly. "She used the Gift Poison which does kill its victim, stopping heart and all. The only setback to the poison is that it has a rare antidote: the dew of ebony wood. It's rare, but obviously your men acquired some in time."

Maggur's eyes narrowed. "Get to the point, boy. There's no need for a school lesson."

James held his hand up, silencing him. Romeli's eyes widened in disbelief. She felt like kicking him off the stage. What was his doing?!

"But the explanation is the point," interjected James with excitement in his eyes. "Because Romeli killed you."

"Yes." Maggur's patience was starting to thin.

"Your murder broke the official slavery bond between you and Romeli." His voice was steady, slow. "She is not your property anymore."

Romeli's eyes grew even wider, her heart caught in her chest.

...what?

Maggur too was silent for a while. His eyes fell to the ground as he sunk into deep thought. When he spoke again, his voice was just as steady as James'. "But I'm alive now."

James shook his head. "That doesn't mean that she is immediately reinstated as your slave. You have to reapply the bond."

Maggur clenched his jaw, annoyance flickering in his features. "You've really done your research, haven't you."

James' eyes were level. "I like to read."

"Cleary," Maggur murmured under his breath. It was just loud enough for Romeli to catch. "How do you know I didn't reapply the bond to the new slave collar?"

"Because bonds like that contain very powerful magic. Magic that I can sense from the far end of this room. The only thing I sense in that slave collar is the spell blocking her Gift."

"Confirm it," Maggur growled.

James faced the crowd until he found who he was looking for. "Numair?" The squire motioned at Romeli's collar.

Numair nodded and closed his eyes. After a moment he shook his head. "He's right. I only sense the Blood Spell and the magic left behind in her scars...the Scanran bondage."

James turned backed to Maggur with raised brows. "Need more proof? I'm sure there's someone in this room with the Sight..."

"That will do," Maggur said icily.

"So, you'll let her go," James started slowly. Victory began to creep up in his eyes.

Romeli stared at both James and Maggur in disbelief. Had James seriously just singlehandedly disproved all of Maggur's arguments? Had he won this war for her?

Maggur laughed out loud, his voice booming off the stone walls. "Wrong."

James' eyes fell. "What..."

"You've forgotten a very important point, Queenscove," started Maggur, boring his icy blue eyes into James' green ones. "Despite my death, Romeli failed to abolish her formal binding of slavery with the Scanran government. Or did you forget the scars that haunted her neck for the last few months?"

James shook his head slowly.

"You're right about my death, and I'll give you credit. Technically my personal ownership of Romeli was broken when she poisoned me. However, I am still the King of Scanra."

Romeli's shoulders began to fall, knowing where Maggur was going.

"I put a lot of thought into this plan," he said. "When my closest men revived me, I made sure at all costs that no one, not even my own country, knew I was alive. I had to make sure that Tortall thought I was dead." He glanced at Jonathan. "That turned out to be easier than I anticipated. So Tortall fell for the trap and immediately began to suspect the coming of a new king. I'm surprised that no suspicions were aroused when Scanra did not proclaim a new king for months. In reality I was alive all along—hiding, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

"I suppose the point is this, Sir Queenscove," Maggur explained, looking at the Squire. "I am still the King of Scanra. And that bond Romeli still carries in her scars designates her as the government's slave. The king's slave. My slave and therefore my property."

James' face began to pale. He seemed unable to speak.

"It was a nice try though, honestly," Maggur said with a humorous laugh in between his words.

Romeli's palms tingled to hit something. Bastard.

"But while you're up here, Jameson, I have one more thing to discuss."

She took a sharp breath in, a surge of pain ripping through her heart. For some reason she knew these words were coming. She knew Maggur would never let him off the hook so easily. Staring at James, she felt like she could hear his heart intensify in beats.

James stared at Maggur, his eyes empty. His pulse was pounding so hard that it was hard to hear. Somehow is was hard to distinguish between ground and ceiling. Neither of them were staying where they should.

Maggur didn't bother looking at James any longer. Instead he turned to the crowd once again.

"Jameson of Queenscove has done his research," he pointed out clearly. "But not enough. He seems to have skipped over a major rule in Scanran slavery."

Romeli shook her head with closed eyes, as if doing so would somehow disable Maggur's ability to speak. The words broke through her just as powerfully...no, more powerfully... than the last time. and he hadn't even said them yet.

"No Scanran slave may have intimate relations with another man or woman without consent of the king. Doing so will result in severe punishment for the slave. The man or woman participating in the relationship will be hung by the neck until dead."

Deep down, Romeli knew those words would be coming all along. She didn't know it would be so bad the second time around. A tear slid down her cheek and hit the floor, mixing with the blood at her feet from the slashes on her chest and face.

"You can't do that!" Neal yelled out defiantly, his face red with panic. "He's a Tortallan citizen! You have no right!"

Jonathan shook his head, hopeless. "The rule is international. It's just not common in Tortall because slavery here is not permitted..." His voice trailed off as if it lost the will to further justify the point.

Maggur grinned victoriously across the crowd, pleased with the idea that he didn't have to defend himself that time.

Neal swore loudly, muttering threats in between.

Maryann shook her head, disgusted. "Why are you doing this, Maggur? What's the point? You're already ruining one life today... there's no need to ruin two." She looked him deeply in the eye.

Maggur laughed. "Rules are rules, Maryann. Besides, I can't just leave this place without having the last laugh. Who's laughing now, Maryann?"

Maryann clenched her hands into fists, her eyes on fire.

The Scanran King motioned towards his remaining guards and they snatched James into a tight hold. James didn't bother fighting them, knowing it was useless. He kept his eyes on Maggur defiantly.

"I bet you regret kissing her now, don't you," Maggur said to him, his voice black.

James eyes burned with a passion that seemed to light the floor on fire. "I didn't regret kissing her then, and I wont regret kissing now."

Maggur shook his head. "Kids these days..."

Romeli was shaking her head over and over. All along...she was right all along. And now what? What was she supposed to do now? She was due to die tomorrow, and James not long after that...

She looked towards the ceiling, glaring at the Gods, her Guardians, high above her. What do you want me to do? How do you expect me to get out of this now...I have no Gift, I have no strength, I have no fight left in me. If you want me to get out of this then you have to help. I'm going to be dead in hours, so go ahead and shoot some adrenaline in me or something, because I can't fight anymore.

When no voice replied and no thunderbolt descended, she dropped her head. One tear began to fall after another until she began to cry uncontrollably.

Right. Thanks. She stared at the scene in front of her bitterly. James' eyes were boring into Maggur's and he stared right back, his lips set in a smirk. Another tear slipped down her cheek. How blessed are some people, whose lives have no fear, no dreads, to whom sleep is a blessing that comes nightly, and brings nothing but sweet dreams.

When Maggur began to speak again, Romeli felt like she was going to be sick. "Both Romeli and Jameson are in my hands now. If any attempts of attack or escape are executed, I will see to it that more than two lives are shed this week. I expect accommodations. I expect no protests. Tomorrow Romeli's execution will be held privately. But don't worry, Jameson will be there to see through that I'm true to my word."

James' eyes narrowed, disgusted.

"Jameson's hanging will be held two days after," he informed. "All are invited to attend, and you are free to dispose of the bodies however you please."

With that, Maggur ushered for his guards to follow him as he made towards an exit. The crowd was mostly silent. Only the occasional cry could be heard. Even Jonathan seemed unable to move.

"Romeli," James started as they were guided out of the ballroom and down a long hallway. Maggur gave him a warning look, but he ignored him. "I love you."

Romeli shook her head, tears falling down her cheeks. "I should have never told you. I should have never let you in... I don't want you to watch me die."

"No one should die alone, Romeli," he told her strongly. "I will be right there."

She was shaking, barely able to hold her own weight. "I can't win. Not this time."

"Just have a little hope," he told her gently, his voice easing to a whisper as Maggur glared at them again.

"Hope is not victory, James."

He sighed shakily, his throat beginning to close up. James watched, pained, as Romeli folded into hysterics beside him.

For the second time in both Romeli and James' life, they were going to die.

Well, I'm just so glad we could finish this chapter with a happy ending.

So umm... next chapter should be...graphic.

Replies:

x17SkmBdrchiczx: Well...we found out what Maggur was up to. . And James definitely reacted... I really do enjoy writing Maryann's parts. I think she's just as fun to write as she is to read...just because she's such a badass. luv her. Hopefully the chapter was up to your standards! :) I always love your reviews.

inktounge: ah ha! Farm country. that's pretty cool. at the moment I sort of live in the middle of no where, but usually I reside near San Diego. There's some farm country there, but not lots... and the guys are short! A lot of them that is...or maybe that's just how they seem to me. Glad you're liking the story! haha...the story is starting to gain some momentum again isn't it...mwa ha ha.

doveofdreams: yay procrastination. eh...I'm a senior in highschool... whatevs. Hope you liked the chapters. Romeli kind of freaked out at the end...but it should be turning around soon enough. ...we hope. :)

dares to dream: :D yay critiques. Okay. Well Maggur and Romeli (who was missing for two days) were staying in Corus because there's no need to leave before that. Maggur's plan was this (and I should have made it clearer): he wanted to kidnap Romeli to kill her, but wanted the palace to grow suspicious of her disappearance so that when he reappeared, Jonathan would do whatever Maggur told him to. So they just stayed in Corus for two days, no traveling.

I do love kidnapping scenes too. And they're so fun to write!! Aww thanks so much. We all know that Romeli wouldn't just get kidnapped without a fight. She was starting to break down at the end though... And I really do hate Maggur. At the same time though...he is fun to write. haha. Thank you so much! I always love reading your reviews. They are so uplifting, though I must apologize for the cliffhanger. That was torturous wasn't it.

Alliekat1996: lmfao! half doom. half cool. I think that pretty much embraces the idea of my writing. lol. ...hmm. until the sequel. I suppose that would be torturous to a reader. Oh man, that cliffihanger. As I pointed out before (I think), I had no intention of ending the last chapter where it did. Originally, it was going to be the last chapter and this chapter into one...but it got too long. Perhaps the best cliffhangers are the ones we never plan on making. :) Speaking of new forms of torture...just wait until next chapter mwa ha ha. er. yah. YOU HAVE TWELVE CATS?!?! lol. That's amazing. Cats are cool...I'm more of a dog person, but I do love cats as well. Moose are dank though. lmfao. I love how you ended your review. "um. I'm done?" hahahaa

KrazyBookLuver: hahaha....uh...sorry. I suppose I did leave you with that ending. Everyone's freaking out about it. Sorry about the slow update. Something about this chapter! Sometimes it was really hard to write, and other times it just flowed from my fingers! I'm so glad you love this story! Don't you just love it when you come across a book that you love so much you can't stop? ahhhh...heaven. Thanks for reading!!! 3

Diamondflame92: THANKS!!! :D My update wasn't as fast as I would have liked, but I have been rather busy. At least I'm updating though! :) And I'm not gonna stop. mwa ha ha. I'm glad you liked the pie thing...and King Maggot is being a bad boy. We must stop him.

LittleMissGiggles'94': Ahhhhh sorry. I did end it at a bad point didn't I. At least my update was somewhat fast...though not as fast as I would have liked. Hope you keep readin'!

KEEP MOOSIN'

Moose