[color=a1e4ee][h3][u][center]Kaelira Isrilen[/center][/u][/h3] [sub][center]Sister-wife of Kalani Solle, Bride of Krone the Scream Taker[/center][/sub][/color] Kaelira refused to speak to the other girl, not even looking at her. Actually, she didn’t want to speak at all. She sat still for much of the ride; when at last they came to Krone’s estate, she stepped out and stood still beside him. The chains chafed at her wrists and ankles and made walking difficult. So she just… waited. She listened as Milligan and Cia were introduced; she refused to say anything. She met the Milligan’s eyes for just a moment. Then Cia’s eyes. Measuring them up. Krone had banked on the fact that the ordeal would break her resistance. But he did not realize just how resilient Water gems could be. So, for the moment, though she put on a good act, she was unbroken. The carriage ride had been enough time to put herself mentally back together, though the bruises and other damage done physically would linger for weeks. She sighed softly, taking note of Krone’s son. He had three sons. That he obviously loved, by the tone of his voice. Maybe… no, she pushed the thought out of her mind. She couldn’t do that. Well, not yet, anyway. [hr] [color=e3c5ee][h3][b][center]Astaelin Cassiel[/center][/b][/h3] [sub][center](former) Sister-wife of Atallia Faeron, (former) Bride of Edokaluriconus Nordiere[/center][/sub][/color] Oh, what a joy it was, riding hard again. Vain was a good horseman, able to keep a blazing-fast pace that Asta herself was hard-pressed to match. At about two hours past midnight they crossed the top of the Spine; the watchtowers there dark and deserted. The Drakkens were moving fast. But the Gems would be faster. The sun was not yet risen when the horses galloped past the gated castle entrance; Asta couldn’t waste time talking to the queen. Not when the Drakken were on the move already. Within an hour of passing the castle, just as the sun started to rise, they were in Asta’s home village, since they could ride faster on the relatively flat roads of Gemminia. No one was out on the cobbled street yet; so much the better. The fewer people that saw them, the better. She pulled lightly on the rein, the horse slowed to a stop. Dismounting fluidly, she threw the reins to Vain, jogging across the road to stand in front of the Tyridur house. She knocked three times and jumped back, narrowly missing the blade that popped out of the middle of the door. [color=e3c5ee]“It’s not funny, Idasu!”[/color] she called. [color=e3c5ee]“Open the door already!”[/color] The refined tone of voice she’d used in talking to Zakroti was gone now. The door opened and Asta barely avoided being tackle-hugged by the tall, muscular Gem. “Asta! What happened, we thought you’d gotten taken, where’s Miry, and who the hell is that?!” [color=e3c5ee]“Id, calm down. I was taken, I fought my way out; Miry has been… married off to a Drakken.”[/color] Her voice cracked and she swallowed. [color=e3c5ee]“This is Vain. A spy of ours who was working as a servant at the banquet. He helped me overpower my captor.”[/color] The lie about Vain rolled easily off her tongue. “Is he trustworthy?” another voice from the shadows; Idasu’s twin brother, Iral. [color=e3c5ee]“He helped me escape, and didn’t murder me on the way here.”[/color] Vain coughed. “You might want to not talk about “him” when he’s standing right here. And Astaelin, did you not say that this was somewhat urgent?” Asta blushed slightly. [color=e3c5ee]“Right.”[/color] She turned to her two closest friends. [color=e3c5ee]“Report.”[/color] A gust of wind around her, cutting the air so that the report would only be heard to the four Gems. A method of minimizing eavesdropping. “We’ve been getting the reports from some of the other Air gems.” Idasu spoke quickly, his black eyes intense. “The Drakkens are coming back across Gemminia. Moving fast. They’ve already gone through Riversong and Silvermount and tried to burn the towns; thank the gods that they’re both by rivers and had a team of Water gems to put the flames out.” Asta took a shaky breath. [color=e3c5ee]“Aye, they’re trying to meet up with the main Drakken army. They… declared war. What have you done thus far?”[/color] Both men looked sick; she couldn’t blame them. Just the thought of it made her want to throw up. Her people could be slaughtered. Idasu shook the thought off and spoke again. “The people from Riversong and Silvermount are on their way to Mistvale to find weapons and reinforcements; the general plan is for the people to lay low until the Drakken get here, then there’ll be a surprise for them. We’ve called for the villages to evacuate and hide, so hopefully no more casualties. If they listen.” His mouth twisted into a grimace. Iral picked up the train of thought. “Messages have been sent all the way up the chain of cities towards the capitol, warning the people.” [color=e3c5ee]“And the queen and princess?”[/color] “If they’ve heard, they’ve not done anything.” “Well, but they can’t do anything on such short notice.” Both men looked to Asta. She sighed, scrambling to think of a plan. Finally she said, [color=e3c5ee]“Nicely done, the both of you. I think that all that’s left is to acquire some weaponry and wait for our people to start showing up.”[/color] Both looked like they were going to argue. [color=e3c5ee]“Hush. You know I’m right. It would be suicide for the three—well, four of us, to go try to head them off like I know you want to. So we wait for our people to get here. Where’s Ridel and Sisur, anyway? Do they know?”[/color] “Aye, they know. They’re rounding up weapons and trying to figure out how to get messages relayed to the slaves in Drakka to see if they can’t slow the Drakkens down. I wish Miry were here; she’d know exactly how to do this.” Asta took a deep breath, trying to ignore the stab of guilt. She should have asked Lord Unalim to free Miry, too. She should have waited until he did… [i]No sense worrying about it now, idiot girl.[/i] she thought to herself. Then, a filament of an idea, from thinking about Miry and what she would do. [color=e3c5ee]“No, here’s what we’re going to do. Keep the ambush here, since it would take too many redundant orders to change it. We’re sending a group westward. To the Spine. We’ll send Ridel, since he, of all of us, knew Miry’s explosive things the best. Then we’ll need a full unit of magic specialists with him… Elli, Andon, Myla, and Jaril, how about, because they also worked with Miry and knew how to set up the devices.”[/color] “What’re you going to do? Asta, I don’t like that look in your eyes.” Idasu spoke, almost nervously. [color=e3c5ee]“We’re blowing up the pass. Unless you have a better idea, Vain?”[/color] She spoke to the blackguard, trying to not show how out-of-her-depth she was in this case. God, she hated ambushes. Just let her have an honorable fight, none of this preemptive strike stuff. Both Iral and Idasu turned to stare at her. She just crossed her arms and looked them in the eyes until they looked away and bowed slightly. They’d appointed her their commander; they had to respect her decisions. Including the decisions of who she asked to advise her. [hr] [color=a251bf][h3][i][center]Aymiria Cassiel[/center][/i][/h3] [sub][center]Sister-wife of Amaryllis Stone; Bride of Zakroti Unalim[/center][/sub][/color] Miry had spent much of the ride asleep, her head leaning against Zakroti’s arm. She awoke when the carriage stopped, listening as a password was given in… some language she didn’t understand. She looked out the window, blinking sleepily in the sun. Violet eyes went wide as she took in the grounds of Zakroti’s estate. Wiping her eyes to clear the sleep, she glanced at the rows and rows of soldiers training in drills and formations. All hardened, muscular men who seemed fast and very, very strong. Internally she shuddered; there were easily seven hundred men out on that field. Just Zakroti’s people would be enough to storm the Gemminite capitol and take it. The carriage stopped, and the door was opened. Miry obediently followed Zakroti out, pausing only to grab the polished ebony case that held her flute. The only reason that she’d gotten to keep it was because she’d been practicing when the Drakkens had come to take her, and she’d refused to let go of it. [color=a251bf]“S-sir… i-if I may ask… I-is there a l-library or a st-tudy of some sort, that I m-might borrow some b-books from?”[/color] Miry spoke softly, her cheeks slightly flushed. She didn’t want to seem demanding, but… books. She loved old books; her family had never really had much in the way of books, and Miry had all but memorized the few she’d been able to get her hands on. Children’s books, mostly; fables and tales. She’d never been allowed to get any military theory, nor ones on engineering or chemistry. Most likely because her parents didn’t want her to turn out like Asta. She jumped about a foot in the air at the sudden loud voice, calling Zakroti “uncle”. She watched the other girl approaching; even though she was clearly young, she was still easily a head taller than Miry. And beautiful. Mentally Miry sighed in exasperation. She hated being short; really, really hated it. It let people look down at her and she didn’t like it one bit. She listened to the rapid-fire exchange in that same foreign tongue, trying to make sense of it. Some words were starting to click a little bit… did “Vivpre” mean “apologize” or something? [i]"And you two-- Ladies, are...?"[/i] Miry faced the girl, trying to not tremble, most definitely not making eye contact. [color=a251bf]“M-my name is Aymiria, or M-Miry, s-second-born daughter o-of house Cassiel. It is an h-honor to m-meet you, lady S-Silnor.”[/color] She curtsied deeply. She pretended to not notice the bitter tone in the girl’s voice; but she would keep an eye on her. Not that Miry could do anything to defend against Silnor, if the girl decided that she was too much trouble to keep around, but… she’d at least be aware of it. Miry then thought of something to say that, if Silnor was intelligent, might put her at least a little at ease. If Miry was thinking right, Silnor just felt threatened. Also, she’d been meaning to ask the question for a while but it had slipped her mind until she’d picked up her flute case. She turned to Zakroti. [color=a251bf]“My l-lord, I was wondering, i-if there were other, w-well, if y-you have any other s-servants who p-play instruments, i-if I might find some extra m-music books… I… was n-not allowed to b-bring any of m-mine.”[/color] Again her cheeks flushed slightly. She hoped Silnor would pick up on the fact that she was classifying herself as a servant. If she was unimportant, maybe the taller girl would forget about her.