The Guardian Chapter 57: Burning Room, a song of the lioness fanfic

Whazzup readerz???

I have a super important announcement! I have created a forum of sorts for fanfiction readers to just hang out, talk about fanfiction, collaborate, and just go crazy! It's kind of like the forums fanfiction has, but with games, colors, and less over all boring-ness.

Joining is super easy. I am the owner of the site, and will always be there to talk! We can even discuss some TP or Guardian... haha.

here is the address: http:// aluminummuse . Proboards . com (minus the spaces)

Song for this Chapter: Amazing → Kanye West. The ultimate song for this chapter. It's so perfect that I can't even portray...well...it just helped out with writing a lot.

Now. Let's get ready to die.

Disclaimer: Got some TP goin' on. Some originality in the house, Gilda Radner, V for Vendetta... ya know.

Chapter 57: Burning Room

In the last chapter...

Well goodness me. I have been dreading writing this 'in the last chapter' just because it's so epic. I shall give the short version:

Romeli and Maggur have their little get together with the inhabitants of Corus...and most importantly, Jonathan. We'll cut to the chase...Maggur announces to the whole ballroom that he's alive and kickin', Romeli is still is slave, and he's come back to reclaim her.

There's a little debate. Jonathan's all like 'hell no wtf are you doing. like she would obey you anyways'

So...Maggur, who already planned this all beforehand, announces that no, Romeli wouldn't obey him. And if he couldn't have her, no one can. He then sentences her to death with a formal scroll in hand and everything.

James decides to take a stand. He comes up the stage, debates with Maggur one on one about why he can't just sentence Romeli to death. They fight over politics and laws that really aren't worth mentioning...so...yeah. In the end, Maggur wins. He announces the fact that not only would be sentence Romeli to death, but James as well (because of the whole forbidden love spiel we saw with D'mitri).

So...we end with Romeli and James taken captive by Maggur. Romeli would be sentenced to death by merciless torture the next day, James by ceremonious hanging two days after.

"To die will be an awfully big adventure" - JM Barrie

Death is peaceful, easy. Life is harder.

Or perhaps it's the act of dying that's hardest of all. The pain, the arduous torture. She could feel her blood thickening with every slowing pump of her heart. Each beat lulled, achieving a molto retardo that cast shadows in her vision.

Romeli was on her last. There was just one last thought. One last breath. One last stare into James' pained eyes. One last chance.

OOO

He wanted a perfect ending. Now he learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity.

Yeah. I should be so lucky.

James stared into Romeli's eyes, a tear forming in his eye and overflowing down his cheek.

When a last breath escaped her lips, he knew she was gone. His eyes couldn't escape her cold dead gaze.

OOO

MANY HOURS EARLIER

OOO

There was a constant drip of a leaky pipe. The droplets of water formed quickly and constantly, adding more rust to the metal little by little. Eventually, the water would become too heavy and would fall to the ground with a melodic clunk, adding to a forming puddle. The drip of the water was constant. It never slowed or sped up—balanced.

Romeli watched the drops of water fall to the ground bitterly. For once, she was envious of the humming drips. It was so simple. Form, fall, splash, repeat. The dripping water had no life to live, and therefore could not die.

The dripping water had no life to live, and therefore could not be sentenced to death.

Despite the jealousy coursing through her veins, she could not look away. The rhythm served as a mantra, keeping her head clear and empty from looming thoughts. She had been staring at the scene for hours with a slight glare on her face.

James on the other hand was deep in thought. He had his legs stretched out as he sat against a wall. His hands, handcuffed like Romeli's, were in his lap where he fumbled with them subconsciously. Every few minutes or so he would look around the room—all stone, dreary, a cell in the palace's supposed prison, though he had never been down here before—and then cast a glance at Romeli. She had barely moved an inch since they were thrown in this dump.

Not like they could anyways. Their legs were chained as well as their hands. The metal used to handicap them was heavy and rough. It was a struggle to lift his arms. To make things worse, the chains around their ankles were attached to the walls with a metal rope. It gave them just enough freedom to stand up, walk two or three feet, and sit down.

But the rope's length did not allow them to hold each other. They had tried. All they could do was touch fingertips, and even that took major stretching on both ends.

"Romeli," James started a moment after sneaking a glance at her again. "Do you have a plan?"

She didn't speak for a couple minutes. James was beginning to think that she hadn't heard him at all. It wouldn't be much of a surprise at least. The leaking pipe had her staring.

"No."

James looked down and played with his hands some more. "Shouldn't we start thinking..."

"I've never been good at plans, James," she intercepted. Her eyes didn't even glance at him as she spoke.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

"So we're just going to die then," James returned fatly.

Romeli didn't bother replying that time.

Silence.

"I never thought you would give up on this," he started again a few minutes later.

"There's no way out," she argued. Her voice had a little more color in it than the previous conversation. A sign of emotion. That was good.

"There's always a way out. We trained for this moment for months. Now you're just throwing it out the window."

"It's the way it's supposed to be." For the first time in hours, she looked at him. Her emerald eyes were dull. "Maybe we're not supposed to be alive any more. Maybe we're fighting fate."

James returned the look with level eyes. "Wow. We're not even in the torture chamber yet and he's already broken you."

Romeli's heart felt like it had been kicked. She looked at him alarmed and then turned her head away again, silent.

He looked at her sadly. Whatever slump she had gotten herself into, she had to get out of—and fast. They had no time to just sit and stare at water. It was time to think.

"Why don't you try escaping then," he threw in after another moment of silence.

"We've already tried that."

"I've tried that," James countered. "With my chains. You haven't even touched yours."

Romeli blinked and looked at him again. "Do you honestly think that my chains will be any easier to get out of?"

"No. But then again, you have more powers than me."

Romeli sighed and looked down at her bonded hands and then back at James. "Fine. I'll give it a try."

She closed her eyes and assessed the situation. Immediately her pitch black vision began to color up. Threads of every sort of color could be seen this way and that, like she was seeing the prison cell in neon. James was sitting adjacent to her, a plethora of bright colors enveloping him.

Romeli focused her vision on herself now. The bright threads of copper, gold, and green sketched her hands like veins. But where was the white? Where was her Gift? When she searched in her soul, the seedbed of her powers and where the threads were the brightest, she found it. The white glow of her Gift sat as a sphere in the center, flickering.

Frustration filled her and the scene began to dim a bit as she lost focus. They had used the Blood Spell on her, just like they had done in Scanra to block her Gift. This would take weeks to break. They didn't have weeks, they had hours. She stared at the constricted sphere in despair.

So no Gift then.

When she turned to the chains, she found they were enchanted with not only a Gift-blocking spell (probably as an extra precaution), but a spell that would take the form of anything she transformed into. Wild Magic was out. There was no use morphing if it would still constrain her.

As for her plant magic, well that wouldn't do much either. They were secluded in a dark stone room. There was no space to grow a plant, and no light to feed it. Not like making plants would do them much good in this situation. Even transforming into a tree would be useless.

That left her Golden Magic. She stared at the gold threads within her in yearning. Sure, they coursed through her, but she could not draw them out. She would need her Gift to do that. If only she had her Golden Magic, they would be out of this mess in minutes.

When Romeli opened her eyes again, she shook her head sadly. James' shoulders fell.

"I'm sorry, James," she said. "There's nothing. My Gift is gone."

James smiled weakly. "Mine too."

"They put the Blood Spell on you too," she stated flatly, angrily. It wasn't a question, but more of a statement. Now that she thought about it, she could barely sense James' magic inside of him. Usually she could sense his Gift from across a room if she focused on it.

He nodded an affirmative.

"You must be really tired," she observed, watching him. The Blood Spell was a taxing leech. A mages' energy comes not only from sleep and nutrients, but from their Gift as well. When she gave him a closer look, his eyes seemed sickly. There was a puffy redness at the rims that she had not seen before.

"I'm fine," he said shaking his head. "You must be more tired anyways."

"I'm not," she countered, smiling weakly. She didn't bother explaining that being under this spell for a straight month in captivity sort of built up her tolerance of it. "I've been through worse before."

James looked at her sadly. "Romeli, you're going to die."

"I've died before," she pointed out.

He shook his head, looking down at his hands. "I guess what I mean to say is that I don't want to watch you die. Not again." There was a brief pause. "And I feel like you're just giving up! We haven't even arrived at the ordeal yet and you're already digging your own grave. There must be a way out somehow..."

"We've tried getting out," she said, holding out the chains in front of her for emphasis. "What other option do we have?"

"I am not letting you die."

Romeli stared at him bewildered. It was so ironic, to the point that it was even humorous. Somehow their roles had switched. She had been so convinced that she would be flying solo. The ordeal would be a personal matter, and she would save James, alone.

Wrong.

Not only was James so bent on stopping the inevitable, but Maggur's plans for her had been political all along. To him she was a weapon that he couldn't have. The only solution was to destroy her. It wasn't even personal at all.

"Well I don't really feel like dying either, James," she snapped back, irritated with herself and the situation. "I just don't see..."

"So you have no plans at all then," he stated, monotone. There was no question in his voice. His face was pale, sunken. The more she looked at him, the more she realized how much the Blood Spell was costing his energy.

She shook her head. "No."

"Then I'll make a plan myself." He said the words with flawless determination. Bringing his knees up to his chest, he proceeded to sink into deep thought and concentration.

After a long moment, Romeli stole a glance at him. His expression was defeated. It was easy to tell that he wasn't able to think of anything either.

"James," Romeli prompted gently, pulling him out of his thoughts. He looked up at her sadly, his green eyes lost. Romeli's eyes began to brighten with the fiery determination that James had displayed minutes ago. "I will do everything within my power to save us."

James stared at her silently, then he nodded. "I believe you."

Without warning, Romeli stood up. It took some effort—the chains were remarkably annoying, but her legs held strong even after hours of sitting. Slowly, she shuffled he feet towards James, going as far as she could before she felt the tug of the tightened rope behind her.

She stared at James weakly. When she spoke, her voice was shaky. "Come here."

James looked at her, pained. "I can't...the rope isn't long enough."

Romeli shook her head, fighting off tears. "I don't care. Just...come here. Because I can't stand being far away from you...and I'm tired...and I need a hug...and I love you..." She stopped for a moment, swallowing down a growing lump in her throat. "And I really don't want to die. I don't want either of us to die. But...in case we do... I want to say goodbye." She barely finished the last sentence before breaking down, tears staining her cheeks.

James' heart constricted as he watched her, and he immediately got to his feet and shuffled as far as he could as well. There was still around five feet between them. He stretched out his arm as far as it could go.

Romeli shook her head. "Watch out."

He took a couple steps back as Romeli closed her eyes. Her tears slowed as she turned to a focused state. Carefully, she captured the strength of the strongest animal she could think of: an elephant. With the picture in mind, she shoved her Wild Magic into her legs and ran.

There was a crumbling sound and the next thing she knew, she was on the ground on top of James. When she glanced over at the wall she had been tied to, there was a large chunk of rock taken out from the thick brick. The motivation to care evaded her. She turned to James again, more tears streaming down her cheeks.

James sat up and tucked her inside his arms, his hands still chained like her own. Romeli leaned her head against his chest. He shook his head in disbelief. "Romeli, you idiot, why didn't you do that before?"

She held onto him tighter. "I didn't think of it before," she said into his tunic. "It doesn't do us much good anyways. The exit is enchanted." Tears had already begun to wet his tunic.

He kissed the top of her head and then propped his cheek on top of it, holding her tighter. He cared just as much as Romeli did—not at all.

When Romeli's tears had slowed, she spoke again. James' tunic was soft and warm on her cheek. She could hear his heart beating when she placed her ear against the fabric. "James," she started slowly.

"Hmm?" he murmured back. His chest rumbled beneath her.

"I love you."

James was silent for a while, as if he was taking in the words letter by letter. His arms around her tightened as he brought her closer and kissed the top of her head again. "I love you too."

Romeli lifted her head up, lips yearning to meet his own. He kissed her sweetly, encircling her in his arms. Their lips were crushed together earnestly. There was something in the air that alerted them to the fact that moments like this would soon be gone...no matter how dreary the prison walls around them were.

He kissed her gently, with the one kiss that was an eternal pledge to him. And as James kissed her his heart strained in his chest. He never intended to know her, he never intended to fall in love with her. He certainly never intended to die with her. But now it was over. He had crossed over, and all that he had left behind meant little to him.

When they broke apart, it was only to breathe. Neither of them wanted to stop.

"Romeli," he whispered deeply, looking into her emerald eyes. "I'll see you on the other side."

She nodded, swallowing down a lump in her throat.

Right on cue, there was a screech from across the room and the sound of more crumbling rock. The previously solid stone wall across from them now sported a thick-wooden door that was equally as menacing as the rock built around it. The door creaked open and Maggur stepped in followed by numerous guards...too many to count quickly.

Romeli slipped out of James' arms so that she was sitting next to him. Maggur looked at them with disapproval.

"And here I thought you learned your lesson," he told her shaking his head. "Sentenced to death and you're still breaking rules." Maggur eyed their close bodies and Romeli's broken chains with menace.

Romeli's eyes narrowed stubbornly. "Perhaps I break the rules because I am sentenced to death." Her words were slicked with ice.

Maggur clenched his jaw, unamused.

"Do you know why you're here Romeli?"

Romeli stared at him calmly from the ground where she sat, her knees curled up to her chest. Her eyes were open and steady as she looked at him.

He continued on. "You've been formally charged with conspiracy to commit murder, attempt escape, and break traditional slavery laws, the penalty for which is death by merciless torture. You have no chance to save your life. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

"Yes."

"Are you ready to cooperate?"

"No."

His lips curved up into a sly smile. "We wouldn't have it any other way, would we."

He held up his hand and the guards grabbed Romeli and James. They unlocked the chains quickly, holding their prisoners with caution. Most of the guards were mages; they wouldn't stand a chance even if they did fight back.

Maggur nodded and turned on his heel towards the exit. The guards followed after him with Romeli and James in their hold.

Romeli looked over at James, her face pale. She hadn't forgotten the words she told him: she would do anything in her power to save them.

But if that was the case, why couldn't she think of a way?

OOO

The situation: bondage. And perhaps bondage was an understatement. Captivation. Paralysis. Dead-locked. No word seemed to fully encompass their situation. She was strapped to an uncomfortable table. All around her were odd mechanisms and buttons that summoned a dread she had never felt before. The only light in the room came from the pained green eyes of James who was tied to a pole beside her.

The reason: Love. Some may say that that word alone is enough of a justification for anything.

The goal: To escape imminent death. No magic. No movement. No fight.

The method: Improvisation.

Maggur loomed over her, a professional expression plastered on his face. He wore a fitting color of black with matching leather gloves that protested every time he flexed his hands.

"We're going to play a game," he told her calmly, his eyes boring into her own. "I play it with most of the victims I torture. And here are the rules." He paused for a moment, adjusting one of his gloves. "You swear allegiance to me and give me all your power, I wont kill you. And if you don't bow to me..." He placed his hand on a wheel attached to the table. "You die."

Her breathing was heavy, and it was hard to carry her words, but her will was stronger. "You're crazy."

Maggur laughed. "And you're an idiot."

He turned the wheel with one hand. It rotated slowly. With every turn it consumed more chains until it finally reached the limit. Romeli felt a tug at her appendages, making her heart jolt. It wasn't hurting yet, but it was about to.

"You're about to get your first taste of torture," he told her. "There's still a chance to back out, you know."

"You've tortured me before," she spat out, eyes burning.

"That was just a warm up."

He turned the wheel again. Instantly, pain began to shoot up her arms and legs as she felt the tendons pull. The chains attached to them tugged and stretched until Maggur stopped the wheel again. Romeli began to sweat, breathing heavily. She felt like her muscles were beginning to rip. Two more turns and the joints would be dislocated.

Romeli breathed in heavily, trying to calm her racing heart. It was all in vain. She glanced over at James. His eyes were wide as he stared at her, seeming to be in just as much pain as she was. He was gagged and unable to move.

"Do you really want to die Romeli? Do you really want to feel this pain?"

Romeli closed her eyes and turned her head so it faced the ceiling, away from the eyes of both Maggur and James. "You wont break me this easily."

Maggur laughed. "All right..."

He didn't touch the wheel this time. Instead, he pushed one of the multiple buttons attached the the table. Instantly, a shock of thousands of pins shot into her body. She flinched as the pain spread, making her shake weakly. She refused to open her eyes because she knew what she would see: spikes stabbing into her body from the once flat surface of the table. Blood was already beginning to spill from her back, her arms, her legs. She could practically hear drips of blood pool from the table to the stone ground.

James closed his eyes, horrified. The blood. It was everywhere.

"What about now?" Maggur inquired.

Romeli pursed her lips closed, unable to speak as she shivered. Sweat began to mix with the blood below her.

Maggur turned he wheel again, making Romeli scream out in pain as the muscles in her appendages tore.

"That's what I thought," he murmured, victoriously.

The torture seemed to continue on for hours. She went through numerous stages as Maggur mercilessly followed through his plan. Sometimes the pain was unbearable, other times the endorphins in her body took over and she felt completely numb. Most of the time she was in a state of delirium, the pain toying with her mind. Every once in a while, she was shocked back to full consciousness, where the pain hurt the most. He tore her limbs, whipped her, cut her with sharp spikes, and even used the elements of electrocution.

All the while, her jaw remained clenched. She didn't speak, she couldn't move. The pain was unimaginable, but her refusal to give in kept her going.

Finally, Maggur had reached the breaking point of her will. He whipped her harshly across the stomach, the barb stabbing into her side and ripping across her flesh as it retracted. The large gash added to the numerous welts and cuts across her body. The blood from the wound only added to the growing puddle forming at the feet of the table. One of her arms was dislocated while the other appendages barely held on. The electrocution executed made her shiver violently.

Until...finally...everything seemed to fade away.

Death is peaceful, easy. Life is harder.

Romeli was on her last. There was just one last thought. One last breath. One last stare into James' pained eyes.

One. last. chance.

Romeli was about to take that chance, though she knew the strength required was more than she had at her disposal right now.

James looked on, seeing her chest rise and fall slower and slower. Life seemed to sink away from her now.

Yeah. I should be so lucky.

James stared into Romeli's eyes, a tear forming in his eye and overflowing down his cheek.

When a last breath escaped her lips, he knew she was gone. His eyes couldn't escape her cold dead gaze.

Maggur gazed upon Romeli's ashen face for only a moment. He put his finger to her neck to check her pulse. There was none. With ceremonious quality, he placed a white sheet over her body. Blood already began to stain it.

OOO

Unseen by the eyes of both Maggur and James, a small creature, a mouse, crawled out from under the table. The mouse's gait was labored, it was limping, torn apart and weak. It dragged itself into a small hole in corner of the room and into darkness.

So...what do you think? Short, yes, but pretty... umm...pretty...good. I suppose. Yeah.

Replies:

inktounge: YAY!!!! hooray for momentum. It's pretty much a race to the finish now. All action from here. :) ooo Virginia. I have a couple of friends who live there are they're pretty cool! So, I'm just letting all the most-awesomest-readers know in each reply to not forget about answering my super important question (which is asked right after the end of the chapter). Also, I made an important announcement at the top, about a new website/forum that I made for fanfiction writers that you should join!! :) it's fun, crazy, and creative. the link and everything is at the top.

dares to dream: Ah. Track. I've never been a good runner. I can run about a mile and then I die. lmfao. I never thought about my summaries at the beginning as funny, but I guess you're right! haha. I just kind of like...summarize the chapter in a way that I would say it out loud. :) Dude. Maryann is a total bamf, am I right? Such a badass. I love her. LMFAO. I died when you wrote about the Maggur taking on the speech of a modern teenager. I definitely didn't intend for the words "like it matters" to sound teenager-ish...but I can see how it would seem that way. And that's just bad because now I'm picturing Maggur as a teenage girl. Oh James. I love him too. I want to create him and then marry him. Also, just a reminder, I asked a supah important question that I need everyone to answer before I update again. Should the the next chapter be 'Romeli's road to recovery', or should I just jump to James' hanging scene? And another thing, I made another awesome announcement at the beginning of the chapter (if you skipped it). I made an awesome forum for fanfiction writers to hang, talk, be crazy, and be creative. You should join! I own the site, and there's some really great people on it so far! The link is at the top of this chapter.

natsumi456: No worries no worries. Everything will work out in the end!! ...though it is quite sad, now that I think about it. And I did a super fast update just for you :). Also, if you could please answer this question for me. I need answers from everyone before I can update again. Do you want the next chapter to be Romeli's road to recovery, or should I just jump to James' hanging scene? And... I also made an important announcement at the top of the page. I made an awesome forum for fanfiction people to talk, chill, be crazy, and collaborate etc. I own the forum, and it would be awesome if you joined!! :) The link is at the top of this chapter.

KrazyBookLuver: yea I know the whole waiting thing is horrible. I know exactly what you mean. Fortunately, this update went pretty quickly. A couple weeks I think. That chapter was pretty confusing wasn't it...so many laws, and secrets, and debates. But yeah. The end was pretty clear. . I also have a very important question (if you didn't catch it right after the end of the chapter). Do you want me to have the next chapter be Romeli's road to recovery, or should I just skip to James' hanging scene? I can't update until I get an answer! And...I also made a forum for fanfiction writers to hang out, go crazy, and be creative. You should join! I meantioned it at the top of this chapter (the link is there too). I'm the owner of the site and it would be awesome to see you there.

Alliekat1996: haha. The master of torturing, I think, goes to Maggur in this chapter.... 13 cats?? I'm not one to be suspicious, but that just sounds like a double whammy. haha. That's cool that you saved the cat though. You are a good person. It's always great to be reminded of the good things done in the world, instead of the bad. And what's also cool, is the fact that you should join the forum I created for fanfic members and etc. I mentioned it at the top of the page (that's where the link is too). Pretty much, it's for hanging out, talking about books, and being creative. You should join! Also, if you could answer this question for me: should I have the next chapter be Romeli's road to recovery, or should I skip to James' hanging scene? I can't update without an answer! :)

Grace: Yeah I should really stop it with the cliffies shouldn't I. But it's so much fun to write them!! LMFAO. pretty big ballroom indeed...I think I was kind of exaggerating with the whole number of people thing. Still. It's one big ballroom. I did a quick update!! You're review motivated me! ...plus I couldn't sleep because this chapter has been wanting to get written for a while. Also, if you could answer the supah important question for me that I mentioned earlier. Should the next chapter be Romeli's road to recovery, or should I skip to James' hanging scene! I can't update without some answers. ya know? Also, you should definitely join the forum that I created (I mentioned it at the top of the page, and the link is there too). It's for readers and writers, and anyone who likes to talk about books, be creative, and just hang. Hope you can join!!

doveofdreams: Was this chapter interesting enough? I intended for the torture scene to be really long...but it was too hard to write. I had to look up torture devices online, and I got grossed out, then I couldn't write it, then I did write it...but it was hard. haha. Yeah that chapter was pretty confusing wasn't it. Probably one of the most confusing of the whole book, but I had to do it that way. lmfao. Yup...just book one. Book two I really don't have plans for yet. And I need to start thinking about it soon! ahhhh. Also, if you could please answer the question I mentioned before for me. Should the next chapter be Romeli's road to recovery, or should I skip to James' hanging scene?? They'll both be good, but I need an answer before I can update. Also, you should join the forum that I created! (the link is at the top of the page). It's for fanfiction writers and readers who want to talk about books, collaborate, be creative, hang out, go crazy, etc. You should join!!

Aly-Of-Tortall13: lmfao. The suspense was built, wasn't it. I'm glad it was worth the wait!! I was in the middle of college auditions during the past updates and I panicked every week because I wasn't writing anything...anyways, that's besides the point. I need the answer to a very important question that I asked before. Should the next chapter be Romeli's road to recovery, or should I just skip to James' hanging scene? I need an answer from peeps before I can update again. Also, you should join an awesome fanfiction forum I created (the link to it is at the top). It's for writers and readers who like to discuss and talk about books, collaborate, be creative, go crazy, or just talk. You should join!! It would be fun. :)