Realm of the Sun

Part 3: Shattered Twilight (Chapter 22)

The messenger led them into the back foyer, shoes clacking against the hard tiled floor.

There, right in the entrance, stood two battered girls, holding a twisted rope attached to a stone column nearby.

"I- I must inform the king," Ahran said, rushing off, quickly followed by Feiyi. That left Gwen to deal with the situation.

"Ariadne? Nila?" Gwen looked at the two girls, then back at the rebel they had tied to a stone column. "Care to explain?"

"Well, I certainly can!" The man was kicking his feet, trying to loosen his bounds.

Ariadne placed her hands on her hips. "With all due respect, which in actuality, is none at all, shut up. Nila?" Nila raised her hands, and soon enough, the man's emotion changed from rage to tranquility. "Anyway, it's a very, very, simple story. We got kidnapped. They bound our hands so we couldn't use our powers, but they forgot about our fingers. I debated just killing them right then and there, but Nila convinced me to just escape and get the others out. We couldn't find them, so we paid them back ten-fold and kidnapped them." she gestured with her head to their prisoner. "I think it worked very well."

Gwen's gaze darted back and forth between Nila and Ariadne, mostly wondering how Ariadne could still be such a snarky girl even after being tortured in a rebel house. "Are you going to do my paperwork for all of this?" was all she could manage, still in disbelief that the girls had pulled off such a feat within their own escape.

Nila narrowed her eyes. "Now why would we do that? Just get Roza to do it. After being held hostage for who knows how long, I believe that Ariadne and I deserve to get some rest."

With that, both girls strutted off to who knows where, and Gwen was left with a man that was starting to come back to his senses now that Nila was gone. Sighing, she did exactly what Nila had suggested she do and after throwing the man into a cell, went to find Roza.

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"So, you're the one who decided to torture sixteen year-old girls so you could get something from the king?" Roza crossed her arms, leaning back against the wall. Gwen had dragged her from the outside drills, so she was still wearing her black combat books and navy blue coat. Watching from the other side of the one way glass, she saw the way Roza's ringlet curls swished and bounced around, and she was instantly entranced- but at this moment, she wasn't allowed to dilly-dally. Work had to get done.

Roza strolled over and swung her foot underneath the chair's leg, sliding it out gracefully and sitting down right in front of their prisoner. "Look, we don't have to make this difficult. I don't really want to be here, but you getting captured got me out of some very unpleasant drills, so I can offer you some forgiveness," she traced her fingers along the edges of the table. "But don't expect mercy. Preferably, I'd rather not have to get my hands dirty- I mean, I just redid my nails and I would hate to ruin them... Then again, things change." Judging by the look on the man's face, Gwen could only assume that Roza had flashed those damn dragon eyes. Admittedly, they were slightly terrifying when one first looked at them, but after a little bit, it got less and less... eerie.

The general continued watching, and she could see the man's mouth moving. Good. He was talking, at least. Any information was useful information.

About an hour later, Roza emerged, slamming the door shut behind her without a care. "Had fun?" asked Gwen as they walked out of the holding room together.

"Let's just say I want a glass of wine." They reached the living quarters of the palace. "Now shut up and kiss me. It's been a long day."

Gwen obliged her for a moment, but soon realized that people would be coming up this hallway in a few minutes if not earlier. She hastily dragged herself and Roza into Roza's bed chambers, and kicked the door shut so hard she thought it might shatter.