Nethermost Realm: Prisoner of Arlunn

Chapter 52

Please note: I am updating this draft of The Prisoner of Arlunn. The most important change is that the main character's name has been changed from Philip to Rian.

52

Dully the artificial daylight of Arlunn reflected off the water of Kearn Lake which lay below the college. Anya missed the sunlight and also she missed seeing stars at night. She missed a lot of things about Earth. Even the world of Chuness, as unfamiliar as it was, had sunlight. It was a real world. Not like this place.

Anya had been alone her whole life. She was nobody. Even her parents had abandoned her. Until Aldena took her in last year, Anya had been unwanted and unimportant. Then everything had changed. Aldena had returned to her homeworld of Chuness where she now ruled as Regent. Suddenly Anya was a princess, at least in title—but she didn't have royal blood. And now her fiancé, Prince Shaz, knew.

At his insistence, they'd rushed into a relationship and now Anya was pregnant, only to be rejected by him. She didn't have royal blood and now he'd refused to marry her.

Soon, she'd be sent back home to her mother, Aldena—in disgrace. If only Shaz would marry her, then at least some good would come of this. Shaz might win the Challenge and, in so doing, the Throne of Cathal. Then Anya would be queen and be respected. But if she went back to her foster mother, Aldena, pregnant and unmarried then perhaps Aldena would reject her as well and send her back to Earth. Who would want to marry an adopted orphan who already had a child?

She had no magical heritage, which was highly prized in Cathal. If Aldena, now equal in status to a queen, threw Anya out—she'd be homeless and alone—again.

It was too much to bear. She was only fourteen years old. She couldn't stand for her life to be falling apart just when it felt like it was beginning.

And deep down, she loved the handsome prince that had promised to marry her. If only that could still happen! It would solve everything. Then the fact that she'd allowed herself to get pregnant before getting married would seem like a small mistake. She's still be respectable and Aldena would forgive her. Anya didn't think she could bear the disappointment on Aldena's face when she came home unmarried and expecting a baby.

She wiped the tears from her eyes.

Nearby, her "governess," Chiarra, whom she liked to call the Ninja, stood nearby silently watching as always. They never spoke and the Ninja never arranged tutors for Anya or worried about her education. Anya was sure she was nothing more than a bodyguard or—babysitter.

Anya got up and decided to head back to the apartment. Shaz had been gone for two days. He spent a lot of time in the Interstitium for the Challenge. Anya wasn't sure what that entailed—except to kill her friend, Rian, who was Shaz's competitor for the throne.

She got up and walked back.

Back at the apartment, she found Shaz waiting for her. "Anya," he said. He looked uncomfortable, as though he had bad news.

"What is it?" she said.

"I'm afraid it's your cousin, Rian."

She felt fear in the pit of her stomach. "You killed him?" she asked.

"No," said Shaz, a little defensively. "I had nothing to do with this!"

"What happened?"

"He tried to take Kyran as his magic-spawn—"

"He what?" demanded Anya. She couldn't believe it. "Rian wouldn't do that!"

"Well," said Shaz, a little taken aback. "He did. And he's been taken to the healer's wing of the castle, but I doubt there's anything that they can do."

"Why not?"

"They say he's now possessed by Molan," said Shaz.

Molan, the necromancer? Anya shivered. "But, why would he do such a thing?"

"I don't know," said Shaz. "He named Kyran as his second in the Challenge but the Arlunni probably refused to let Kyran into the games. Maybe he thought that he could force the issue by taking him as a magic-spawn. But there was too much of the old magic user left in the magic-spawn; it was too much for him. I think it drove him mad."

"I want to go see him!" said Anya.

"No!" said Shaz. "They wouldn't let you in anyway. Rian and the magic-spawn are dangerous! You won't go near there." Irritated with the conversation, Shaz broke it off and went to the kitchen.

"Where is dinner?" he demanded of Cook. A short muffled conversation with Cook followed. Shaz came back in the room. Dinner's nearly ready. Come on," he said, and went to the dinning room and Anya followed.

They sat down and Cook brought out some wine and cheese with a small bowl of soup to start with. Dinner felt awkward. They had very little to say.

"When were you going to send me away?" asked Anya.

"I don't know. Are you eager to go?" asked Shaz coldly.

She ate her soup.

"You're never around," she said.

"I'm in the middle of the Challenge," he said, angrily. "What did you expect?"

She wasn't sure what she had expected—but it certainly hadn't been this.

A little while later, Cook came out and took the uneaten soup and brought out steak with vegetables, which Shaz ate hungrily.

With all that was going on, Anya had little appetite. She only took a few bites.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Shaz. "Eat something."

"I'm not hungry," she said. He gave her an annoyed look.

"No," he said. "You're pregnant and you're going to eat something. Now go on!"

Is this what it would be like to be married, she wondered? She plunged her fork into the vegetables and began eating. "Fine," she said sourly, wishing he'd go back to the Interstitium. What would he do if she didn't eat it—force feed her? The whole thing made her angry.

They sat in silence and ate for awhile. Finally, Anya spoke. "Please, don't send me away," she said.

"If Rian becomes incapable of staying in the Challenge, then he will no longer be the Favored Heir," said Shaz, darkly. "Then that honor will revert back to me. My mother, Gwindle, will once again become the Regent of Cathal. That will leave your 'mother' Aldena with no title." He stared at Anya. She couldn't tell if he was lording this fact over her, or if it disturbed him.

"I know, you already said that you can't marry me, but I'm having your baby. I thought you said I could stay until the baby came."

"I don't know," said Shaz. "My mother doesn't approve."

"And does she make all of your decisions?" asked Anya.

"That's none of your concern," said Shaz, angrily. He ate in silence after that, though Anya felt that perhaps she had guessed it right.

+ - + - + - + - + - + -

Follow Meredith Skye on twitter: @meredithskye

If you liked this chapter, encourage me to write more--please click "vote."