[h3][i][color=808000]Onyx Briyll[/color][/i][/h3]
[color=808000]"-and with one final swing of our Hero’s sword, the great beast fell to the ground. With its last breath it spoke a curse on the Hero’s soul, that for every beast they would slay from that point forward, the hero would lose something much dearer in return. Paying no heed to-"[/color] The sudden lurch of the carriage as it stopped caused Onyx to lose her place on the page. She'd been reading to those riding with her, another Gem named Nadia and two Drakken, to pass the time during the trip, and to help calm herself and her fellow Gem. [color=808000]"Oh, Are we here already?"[/color] She closed the book and smiled at everyone in the carriage. She wasn't sure how much the Drakken had liked the story, but judging by the looks on their faces they weren't too eager for her to stop.

One of them sighed and opened the door, both of them getting out of the carriage before the second one spoke. “Alright. Out, both of you. Don't forget your things.” Onyx nodded and put her book back into the small chest she'd been allowed to bring. The chest held five other books, along with a dress that used to be her mother's. She got out of the carriage after Nadia, smiling at her as she did, one final reminder to stay calm. [color=808000]"Don't worry. You'll be ok."[/color] As she was led into the building she heard Nadia call something after her, but couldn't make it out before she was forced into a bathing room.

As she undressed and immersed herself in the slightly-warmer-than-room-temperature water, she allowed her imagination to wander. She came up with an explanation for her circumstance,  she was merely a damsel bewitched into a trap set by an ogre, and now would be forced into a marriage or else be eaten at the feast. She laughed at herself, comparing a Drakken to an Ogre. At least she knew a Drakken wouldn't eat her, however as a husband an Ogre may just treat her better!

After towelling off, she took her mother's dress out of the chest and put the outfit she had been wearing in its place. The dress was simple enough, made out of pure cotton for warmth and comfort. Pure white made up most of the skirt, while the deep forest green of the top accented her features beautifully. She didn't put her hair up at all, just left it to hang down her shoulders after tucking it behind one ear like she normally did. 

Just before leaving the room, she took another one of her books from her chest, figuring that she could read as she waited to be chosen. She walked into the room the guards motioned her to, after being assured that they'd bring her things to her new husband’s room after she was chosen. She kept calm pretty well, painting a look of what she judged was appropriate indifference and acceptance of her fate onto her face as she joined a small line of Gems waiting to be chosen. 

As soon as she was there, she started reading, silently this time. Of course the guards weren't going to let that stand, and a couple of them walked over to her. After a well placed glare and a few big words they didn't quite understand, neither of the Drakken guards who had tried to take the book from her bothered her again, and she noticed a few other guards laughing at how she sent them off. She wasn’t meek, just soft spoken, and she wasn't about to give up anything left she had of who she is.

[h3][i][color=ed145b]Nadia Parnel[/color][/i][/h3]
One second Nadia was with her father, talking to one of his friends and a regular client as well as the source of many of her Father's wares; and in the next there's chaos. People rushing off the street, and soon a large hand on her shoulder. She turned to see a Drakken warrior, in his other hand he held the arm of a girl she recognized as the librarian's daughter, and he started pulling the both of them towards a carriage. Another Drakken took her arm and the first one said to them that they both had an hour to pack a single small chest with whatever they deemed necessary to bring, before releasing her to the grip of the second Drakken.

[color=ed145b]"B-but, wait I-"[/color]

“Shut up girlie.” He interrupted her, shaking her in his grip. “Now, where do you live?” 

[color=A52A2A]"About 20 minutes outside of town by horse.”[/color] Her father spoke to the Drakken, holding himself as nonthreateningly as possible as he did. [color=A52A2A]"I am her father, and while I will not attempt to keep her from you, if you will allow it I will go and pack a few things for her and meet you back here before you leave. Please."[/color] As he finished speaking, it seemed as if the Drakken was considering the proposal. 

After a moment he noded, and declared with a sly grin “Alright. But we are leaving in an hour, whether you're back here or not.” The grip he had on her arm tightened at the last few words, and she looked to her father, tears already starting to form in the corners of her eyes. 

[color=A52A2A]"If I'm not back by then, I'll just follow you all the way to Shadow Worth."[/color] He flashed a winning smile at her and tipped his hat before turning around and running to his horse. She watched him ride off, and didn't see him again before the hour was up. The two Drakken forced her and Onyx into the carriage to begin the days-long trip to the border. They lived in the southern part of Gemminia, close enough to the border that they'd be there within a week. 

After the first few hours, and nothing but tears from Nadia, Onyx started reading one of her books out loud, and the story alone was enough to distract Nadia from their circumstance, helping her to get through the trip. Over the course of the trip Onyx read them two whole books, and was about half-way through a third when the carriage lurched to a stop.

[color=808000]"Oh, Are we here already?"[/color] Onyx spoke before the Drakken ordered them out of the carriage. “Alright. Out, both of you. Don't forget your things.” Nadia made a choked sound of sadness at the order as she climbed out of the carriage, though before she could start crying again Onyx spoke to her one last time before one of the Drakken started dragging her into the building. [color=808000]"Don't worry. You'll be ok."[/color] 

Nadia nodded and called after her. [color=ed145b]"Thank you."[/color] Wiping her eyes, she glanced at the other Drakken, wondering why she wasn't being dragged inside yet as well. Seeming to guess what she was thinking, he motioned down the path towards Gemminia and muttered something about someone following them.

She started to hear the familiar sound of her father's horse’s hoofbeats at about the same time as she turned around and her father yelled. [color=A52A2A]"Wait!"[/color] Within seconds he was there in front of her, holding her tightly in his arms. She couldn't speak, even though she tried, her voice was choked with tears. 

Once she'd caught her breath, she couldn't think of anything to say. Her father was listing things he'd packed for her. A sewing kit, a few outfits, and a few “presents” in his own words. The Drakken took the chest from her father and told them to hurry up. She hugged him tightly as every word she'd never get to say to him again came pouring from her lips. [color=ed145b]"I love you, dad. So, so much. Tell mom that I love her too. And I'll miss you both. Dad, dad I-"[/color]

She was cut off by the Drakken pulling her away from him, practically picking her up off the ground as she struggled, though she went limp after a moment, allowing herself to be carried into the fortress. “You know, you're lucky. That almost never is allowed to happen.” The Drakken said as he put her back on her feet in front of a door. “Go. Bathe. I'll hold onto that chest of yours until you've been chosen, and then put it in your new husband's suite.”

The guard smiled at her and then pushed her into the room, slamming the door behind her. Now that she was alone, she didn't feel like crying anymore. No, she felt like dying. She'd never been one for social interaction, and now she was going to be [i]married[/I] to a complete stranger. A Drakken, no less.

She numbly washed herself, the cold water helping her to stop her tears. Once she had dried herself, using a little of her power to help the water simply evaporate from her hair and skin, she looked though the chest her father had packed for her, and almost started crying again. On the very top of the pile was a dress she'd been working on making with her mother, a beautiful gold color with a deep red trim and red laces down the front to cinch the fabric tight around her waist.

She put it on delicately, as if the fabrics it was made of were thin films of glass, although she knew better. As she struggled to tie up the laces, for the sleeves were just a little bit too long, she looked in the mirror and was surprised at how much… older it made her look. Certainly she was no child, she had curves in all the right places and was almost the average height of any Gem woman, but the dress seemed to remove the rest of the child’s likeness from her. Her face and shoulders, normally so rounded and narrow to make her look almost 16, were now made by the dress to give her an air of grace and fragility. The collar dipped down just enough to accent her chest without showing too much, and the way the sleeves flared out made it so her waist seemed even narrower than it would with just the laces. 

 Tying her hair up into a simple bun, she left one stand out to frame the left side of her face, and then went back to looking through the chest her father had packed for her. The dress was the first present she assumed, and her mother's necklace was the next. Nadia had never been one to wear jewelry, neither had her mother, but as she put on the necklace she felt she would never take it off. The red jewels gleaned against her fair skin, and the metal which should have felt cool instead had an almost happy warmth to it, a Loving warmth.

She didn't let herself cry anymore, although it probably looked like she was about to simply break down, instead she would touch the necklace when she felt as if the tears were about to spill over. She left the room and was led to the choosing hall, where she stood staring at the walls and wondered how long it would be until she died. 

[h3][i][color=A52A2A]Zane Parnel[/color][/i][/h3]
[color=A52A2A]"Wait!"[/color] Zane yelled as he saw Nadia getting of of the carriage. He rode up to her and jumped off of his horse, hugging her as tightly as he could. She was crying, so much, it hurt him that he couldn't do anything to stop this from happening. If only he'd had a weapon with him when they'd went to town…

Sensing the Drakken’s impatience, he started listing the things Nadia would find when she opened the chest, smiling at the thought of the presents her mother had packed. He never would have thought of the dress or the jewels. All he was able to think at the time was how much he wanted to have fought that Drakken off. But now it was too late. 

He kissed her on the forehead as she said what she could assume was their final goodbye, crying “I love you”s as she squeezed the breath out of him. Though, as the Drakken carried her away, He promised himself that they would see each other again. He would be trading in Drakka for the next couple of months after all, and it would not be hard to figure out which brute had claimed her.

He considered leaving, moving on towards Drakka, but decided instead to stay as long as possible. He knew that he wouldn't be allowed inside the fort, but as a merchant it would not be out of place for him to hang around just outside the gate on the Drakken side of the border. He could sell a few things or claim to be resting his horse, so long as he was gone by nightfall no one would be suspicious.