Chapter 47

 

This chapter has been copied from the original and may contain typos and grammatical errors.

~*~

Anwyn, Liam, and Romeo landed on the shore of the mainland. They had been two days behind Gloria, but now they had no idea where she was. They didn’t know where they had landed, only that it was indeed the Mainland and that she was here somewhere.

They didn’t speak. Too many memories were haunting them like ghosts, too heavy to shake loose.

They had discussed their plans on the way there, with a six day journey it was plenty of time to come to an agreement on what they had to do. Anwyn wasn’t nearly as experienced with identifying the terrain and different regions of the Mainland as Liam and Romeo as they were once soldiers or the King and had toured the different regions.

“Based on the time and the angle of the shadows from the trees, I’d say we're not far off from the capital, just a few days walk north.” Liam noticed, breaking the silence.

“I’m assuming you learned that in the years you were on the run?” Romeo asked.

“And a few other things. Let’s see if we can find a discrete ride there, or any information about a returned heir.” Liam answered.

The roads were long and dim, but they tried to make the best of the time. “Liam,” Romeo asked, “Do you have any family? I can’t believe I’ve never asked you about it.”

“I left them when I was very young, about 14 years old. I joined the military and didn’t look back. Jeez, that must have been… 26 years ago? 24?”

“Where abouts did you live?” Romeo asked. Anwyn had heard all of this before, so she walked quietly.

“I believe it was up near the Northern border. The area was fought over for a while. I don’t even know if my parents are still alive.”

“So when we were so far north, we could have hid with them when we were running from the king? Why didn’t we visit them? Gotten provisions?” Romeo asked incredulously.

“They’re a bit further in the wrong direction, and I had already been in touch with the Cupshires and they were bringing everything we needed. I didn’t want to have to bother my family or have them put in danger.”

“But you may have never seen them again? How could you not tell them that they were going to be grandparents and where you were going?”

“There’s no love lost between my parents and me.” Liam pointed out. “There was no reason why after 10 years of not talking to each other that I needed to talk to them. They’re my family only by blood.”

“If I had a family, I would talk to them.” Romeo grumbled. “I have no one left. No one assigned to me by birth. I have my sons, my wife, if I even have her anymore.” He turned to Liam and the group halted. “We’re here for Gloria- for family. For our daughter. You can’t believe that your family doesn't love you when we’re risking our lives for the sake of family. At the risk of never seeing our children again. With all the love you feel for your children, do you really think that your parents don’t feel a shred of that for you?”

Liam looked him steadily in the eyes. “Yes.”

~*~

Gloria sat in the little room she had been interrogated in, but it had been made a bit more hospitable. A bed had been brought in, as was a small table, chair, and a small mirror. She was given books to read, and if she finished one she could request another.

She felt like it was busy work. They didn’t know what to do with her yet, so they did nothing. How long was it to the capitol? Marco had mentioned it at their first meeting, but she couldn’t grasp the words that he had said. Was it two weeks? Three? How long had she been in this room? The days had all blended together, and the lack of bathing options meant that she couldn’t even measure the days based on how dirty her hair was. Everything was dirty. The next time she saw someone bring her food or a new book, she was going to ask them about it for sure.

Not feeling anything was odd. She tried to meditate and reach out with her mind, but it felt like she was surrounded by a stone wall, and not just the one imprisoning her body. Her mind couldn't wander. She didn’t know if there were spiders in her room (likely), and if there were she couldn’t convince them to leave.

After countless hours, a knock sounded at the door. She wasn’t hungry, so it wasn’t time for a meal, and she still had a whole other book to read. The schedule was changing.

Seneca opened the door and stepped inside. “I’ve been told to summon you. My mother requests your presence.” he said without emotion.

Gloria stood up from the chair. “If it’s a request, can I decline?” she asked with a wink.

“It wouldn’t be wise.” he didn’t smile. He didn’t acknowledge her hardly at all. It threw Gloria, but she walked with him regardless.

They stepped outside and Gloria’s eyes hurt suddenly. She hadn’t seen daylight in days, possibly weeks, and even with the clouds it was brighter than she was prepared for.

“Ms. Reed,” the queen began. She was dressed much more plainly. Her hair was done simply, and her clothes weren’t made off brocades anymore but simple linen and cotton. She was nearly another person. “I have received letters back from my supporters and while the opinions are mixed, the majority of them believe that you are more of a danger than you are worth. With you still alive, there is still hope for the King to have an heir from his second wife. As we cannot allow you to take the throne, we have no choice but to execute you.”

Gloria’s eyes grew wide, but the queen continued, “Now, as you are innocent of any crimes, we will allow you to choose your method of death.”

“Why can’t I just go home?! I don’t want to be the heir, I don’t want to rule anything! I swear, I’m no threat to you!” Gloria’s voice was a bit sore from not talking for such a long time. She had tried to talk to herself for a while, but she felt too silly doing that.

“While you may not choose to ascend the throne, the King has ways of making people do things they don’t want to do. You only need to ask your mother to know that. And sending you to the Western Islands would be too dangerous also. If word got out that you are still alive and not at the bottom of the river, first they would go through every village searching for information about you, track you back here, then go to the Islands. Blake has already been there and will be able to send someone to find you. So unless you know of any other hidden utopias, you are out of options.

“Not that I need to explain anything to you, you’re a dead girl walking.” The queen finished.

Gloria felt shattered. She wouldn’t see her parents again, she wouldn’t see Robin get married years from now, she wouldn't help her sisters learn to read…

“The less people know you’re alive, the better. Saving your life was a mistake, and Seneca should know better than to save the lives of witches.” the queen addressed.”I’ll give you some time to decide how you wish to die, and we’ll try to get it arranged.

“Now, our supporters are also adamant that we move our own heir to a secure location. The compound is too well known as a hub of our activity, and now that it’s said that someone has leaked that Gloria is alive and in the hands of the resistance, we need to make sure that we don’t lose the most important part of our campaign. We’re going to send you to the little island off the coast. It is defendable and you will be safe there.”

Seneca had gone through this whole conversation with a blank expression and didn’t look his mother in the eye. Instead he looked somewhere at the distant ground. “What if we hide her with me?” he asked quietly.

“What was that?” the queen asked, looking up from her papers.

“We’re hiding me, why not hide Ms. Reed as well? If we keep her as a bargaining chip, as a captive, instead of throwing away our ace. The king will do anything to have his child and second wife back, he won’t harm her or do anything that would lead us to do so. Keeping her alive could gain us some ground.”

“We aren’t even supposed to exist to them!” his mother lashed out. “She isn’t supposed to exist, you don’t exist to anyone but our cause! How are we supposed to use her life to bargain if we don’t have a negotiation open?” she paused, looked down at the papers in frustration, then back up. “I didn’t come to this decision lightly. It’s for your safety that her life be put to an end.”

“But you even said that someone has let slip that Ms. Reed is still alive. Eventually that rumor will make it to the capitol and they will be coming to find her. But if the plan to hide me works so well, then we should both be able to be safe on the island. Her being claimed by the King won’t be a problem, and that means that she doesn't have to die. She's still useful.”

The queen looked at him, jaw set, but she was thinking. “It’s dangerous. They’re not looking for you, they will be looking for her. You’d be just another young man on an island, she’s the missing heir.”

“I think that’s a risk we should take,” he answered.

Gloria was puzzled. The queen treated him like an asset, precious cargo, but barely a son. She seemed only as concerned for him so that he could still help her plan, not even trying to act like it was their plan. What had growing up like this been like?

She thought for a few moments. “There were several supporters who thought that she would be of value. I guess I’m siding with them. The two of you leave at nightfall. Be ready. And Seneca-” she interrupted him from leaving just yet, “The equipment stays on. No magic permitted. She’s still dangerous if she has powers.”

Seneca turned and Gloria didn’t know what to do now, so she followed Seneca. He walked into the house, and started walking making his way to the stairs.

“Thanks for convincing your mother to spare my life. I guess you’ve saved my life twice now.” Gloria said meekly.

She saw his jaw tighten, and he turned around sharply. “There is something that I want to make very clear. I don’t like you. I didn’t do it for you. I did it so that in the future we still have you as an asset to save ourselves and my fellow people. We are not friends.” he punctuated each word of the last sentence. “This trip should prove… challenging.”

Anyone want to guess what real life time it is? 11:30! I would have had the chapter out earlier (maybe) but I was making some of the next setting's setting. Can't have a naked island, now can we!?

I actually meant to write more on the older trio, but the storyline about Liam's family popped into my head and since I don't usually go back to the same people after I've finished that scene and moved onto another set of characters, I thought the original idea was better left to the next chapter. As always, thanks for reading! and here's a few bloopers:

So, I implied that Seneca and Krista jumped each other's bones last chapter, so I figured I may as well make it canon.

Then I took really nice pictures of the older trio, only to realize that the 5:00 meant evening and not morning so the sun was setting and it didn't work with what I wrote for the story.