TO SUFFER FOR NO MORE THAN A SIMPLE THING

Thaleia watched as Gabrielle eased the Wood Pigeon out of the box checking it over carefully and gently. "You should have hit Iona back what she did was wrong!" Gabrielle took in a deep breath seeing that the door to her room was closed. "Believe me I've had much worse in my lifetime and by tomorrow this will be all healed up, it's another perk of not being human." Thaleia stood up eyeing her friend watching as she put the Wood Pigeon on her shoulder stroking it. "That's not the point! What she did was wrong she should answer to the Empress!" Gabrielle gently stroked the birds throat listening as it cooed. "The Empress will say that it was my fault since I broke the rules."

Thaleia tensed this was starting to annoy her. "What is this agreement I heard that you and the Empress made one but I've never seen it?" Gabrielle moved her hand taking hold of the scroll close by tossing it to her. "That's my agreement, it was written by the Empress herself and I have no choice but to obey it." She watched as the other woman unrolled it reading carefully. "Iona was just doing her job."

Thaleia slowly looked up feeling a painful knot twist in her stomach. "But this isn't fair its one sided." Gabrielle breathed in deeply sitting back on the bed. "Life isn't fair, you get used to it." Thaleia blinked as she walked towards her friend. "Why do you have to be so negative? I mean it's like your okay with the things that people do to you, even if their wrong!" Gabrielle looked up sharply she slowly stood up eyeing the other woman. "Because I don't get a choice, it's always been that way for me! I was bitten when I sixteen and since then I've learnt one thing which has served me very well, which is that no body cares about any body, every ones just out for themselves."

She sneered slightly watching as her Wood Pigeon flew over landing on the balcony. "Humans hate werewolves, it's the reason we are being hunted to extinction! We have had it as a race, every things falling apart and it'll only be a matter of time before we become myths and legends and our bones will be put on display to woo the masses!" Thaleia stepped forward. "Well I'm human and I don't hate you!" Gabrielle felt her hand form a fist. "That's because you don't know me!" Thaleia breathed in frustration. "No Gabrielle your right I don't know you but I do know that you're a good person and that you're very lonely. I think you deserve to have the rights and privileges that every one has in this palace and it makes me angry that you're not getting them."

Gabrielle turned sharply. "I'm a werewolf Thaleia it's the reason I don't get those privileges! All that matters to everyone here is that I'm a beast and I'm dangerous and there right I am dangerous." She narrowed her gaze. "When Iona had me chained up I could have broken those chains and wrapped them around her scrawny little neck and then killed her but I know better!" She shook her head. "One foot wrong and the Empress will end my life all she needs is an excuse!" Thaleia raised her hand to say something only to stop as someone knocked hard on the door. Gabrielle turned slightly. "Come in!" She watched as one of the maids came in whom she recognised as the woman she'd strangled by mistake a while back.

Evadine walked in to Gabrielle room, she nodded as she looked at Thaleia. "Thaleia it's nice to see you." Thaleia felt her smile form. "You to." Evadine turned only to stop as she caught sight of the bruising on Gabrielle's face. "By the gods what happened to you?" Gabrielle winced as she turned to meet her shocked gaze. "The gods had nothing to do with it, was there something you wanted?"

Evadine slowly raised the small scroll in her hand. "Phrixus would like you to look over the scroll with him, he's asked after you many times but it seems clear that his messages aren't getting to you, so he asked me to bring this note to you personally." Gabrielle took the note gently from her hand reading it slowly before looking up. "I'll go and visit him now." She turned eyeing Thaleia. "I enjoyed the market today, it's a shame it ended the way it did." She paused taking in a deep breath. "Please shut my door when you leave." Thaleia watched as she left closing the door behind her she watched as Evadine blinked in surprise. Evadine turned sharply. "She didn't ask us to leave, despite that this is her room."

Thaleia watched as the Wood Pigeon on the balcony started to preen itself. "She's like that she just assumes no one likes her so she just lets people walk all over her, even if she's the one in the right, it's really sad." Evadine turned to face her. "You two are friends?" Thaleia lowered her gaze sadly. "I'm her friend yes, but I don't think she's embraced the fact that I want to be hers." Evadine took in a deep breath. "You're not afraid of her you know when she's…" Thaleia looked up slightly. "No I'm not." Evadine raised an eyebrow. "How come, I don't understand?" Thaleia stood up slowly walking towards the door watching as Evadine followed her. "If you get really close to her and look her right in the eyes when she's a werewolf, you'll see a very human set of eyes staring back at you and you can see that she's suffering."

8

Phrixus eyed the scroll again watching as the door opened and Gabrielle stepped in side the room. He turned seeing Chara look up from her desk. "Ah there you are and here I thought for a moment that you didn't get the message I sent you this morning." He stopped as he caught sight of the bruise and cut on the blonde woman's face. "What in Tartarus happened to you? You look terrible!"

Gabrielle raising her pipe breathing in the smoke, trying to ignore the stinging pain in her eye where Iona had punched her. "It's nothing." Chara looked up slightly catching sight of the deep bruise on the blonde woman's right eye and a cut on her lip. "That doesn't look like nothing it looks like some ones hit you." Gabrielle felt a sad smile form as she breathed out the smoke from her pipe. "Yeah they hit me hard." Chara felt a sneer form. "It was that bitch Iona wasn't it?" Gabrielle ignored the pain in her shoulder as she moved forward. "I broke the rules I deserve what I got." Phrixus moved forward eyeing her. "I disagree no one deserves this."

Gabrielle breathed in her pipe before breathing out the smoke. "I'm a monster it's the way things are, no one can change it." Chara folded her arms. "You should tell the Empress what Iona did to you." Gabrielle breathed in sadly. "What ever I say it won't matter, she doesn't approve of me being here." She put her hand on the long scroll wanting to change the subject. "You wanted me to help you translate this?" Phrixus moved so he was standing beside her he looked slowly over her shoulder. "You don't sound the way you did when we last met, there was so much fire in you and you even smoked my pipe."

Gabrielle looked up slightly. "I didn't know who I was I was just going through the motions and I shouldn't have taken your pipe." Phrixus breathed in deeply eyeing her clearly she was in a very melancholy mood he looked up slightly. "So did your people write this?" Gabrielle eyed the scroll slowly tracing it with her fingers. "Yes." Phrixus pushed a written piece of scroll forward. "I've made corrections based on the letters you fixed when you were in here last but I need the rest of the alphabet corrections." Gabrielle eyed the scroll again before turning to his written parchment she eased up a quill slowly making changes one by one to his letters.

Chara looked up eyeing the short haired blonde woman. "Would you like a chair to sit on or something to drink?" Gabrielle shook her head breathing in her pipe. "No I'm fine." Phrixus turned picking up a goblet of wine. "Look you should drink something it might make you feel better." Gabrielle breathed in deeply eyeing the goblet of wine before turning away. "Alcohol never does anything for me."

Phrixus shook his head. "Is that why you smoke, because it helps?" Gabrielle eyed the larger scroll as she carried on making corrections to his letters. "Yes." She found herself stopping as she caught sight of something on the huge scroll. "Where was this scroll found?" Phrixus slowly put the goblet down. "It was found in the ruins of a temple to Athena, why?" Gabrielle felt herself tense as she eyed the creators seal. "Because I've seen every creator seal there is and I don't recognise this one." She put a hand on her face. "Yet I've seen this scroll before, but this vision is very different." She turned writing down his final corrections then passed the parchment to him as moved along the scroll. "This one is telling things differently."

Phrixus looked up. "What is this scroll?" Gabrielle breathed in deeply feeling her eyes dart as she looked over the scroll. "It's a history scroll it tells the complete history of the werewolf race and shows all off its leaders." Chara sat up slowly watching as Phrixus's face lit up with joy. "That's what you said it was, you were right Phrixus!" Phrixus moved to where Gabrielle was standing pointing to one of the werewolves with horns. "So these are the leaders?" Gabrielle breathed in deeply. "Yes right up to the present day." Phrixus pulled up his hand. "I knew it!" He tapped one of the figures again. "So these are the rulers of the werewolf face, like kings?"

Gabrielle breathed in painfully. "They used to be but now there no more than a figure head. Werewolf sociality is now ruled by the Imperial Council three hypocritical and cruel werewolves who make the rules and tell the leader what to do." Phrixus looked up catching the bitterness in her tone. "Its sounds as though you dislike them." Gabrielle sneered slightly. "The ruler is the one whose horns rise to the heavens he or she is the one picked above all others, chosen some say by the gods. The Imperial Council is very corrupt and has no right to have their position they cause nothing but cause suffering." Phrixus looked up slightly. "Have you ever met the true leader among your people?"

Gabrielle moved her finger to the grey werewolf with white horns with golden armour who the sixth. "I met him once yes but we didn't have much to say to each other. I've always wished I'd said more to him." Phrixus moved his finger to the seventh werewolf with brown horns who was golden in colour and dressed in silver armour. "Then who this one, is he leader now?"

Gabrielle looked at the image for a long moment before running her fingers over it. "She's not a leader she failed her people, she couldn't do what was asked of her when it was asked she let her feelings get in the way of her mission." Phrixus raised his eyebrow. "Sounds like you've met her to." Gabrielle breathed in looking up meeting his gaze. "No we've never met." Phrixus looked up slowly watching as she breathed out the smoke from her pipe as she leaned over the scroll causing her bone pendent to fall out of shirt. He wasn't sure he believed that fully but everyone was entitled to there own secrets and maybe once she trusted him a bit more she'd say more. "So you have scroll like this one yet this one is different to that one, how is this one different?"

Gabrielle looked down at the scroll. "This scroll is all about the leaders and their great accomplishments there loves and their dreams. It points to them being the true leaders of the werewolf race and not the Imperial Council." She looked down not wanting to say anymore, now that she realized how important this scroll really was.

End of part 22

Silvermoonlight.

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