The Alyta Trilogy: Handmaids, Heroes, and Hierarchy.

The ever lurking figure peers in where Sytifa lays, reading a scroll by a solitary candle.  She enters the room without Sytifa noticing.  The sound of metal hitting the floor startles her out of her reading trance.  Instead of looking up, she freezes and slowly turns her head �till she sees what fell.  A silver spiral wobbles to a stop on the floor beside her.  She straightens until she is eye to eye with the intruder.  A hardened glare meets her questioning one. 

�Nice to finally meet you mother.� Kyria spits out.
Sytifa falters, blinks, and reaches for support.  Kyria doesn�t move.
�Pity.  I thought you would at least faint.  Well, I suppose that�s what I get for expecting anything from someone who left me to die.�

                                                                      *~*~*

�Jason, where are we going?� Alyta yells up breathlessly up the spiral steps.  The sound of his running footsteps is all she knows of Jason�s presence.  A mumbled response comes from above, so she shakes her head and keeps running.  Turning the last corner, she runs into him.

�Oof.�  Jason says as he gets rammed by a running Amazon.  �This way, Alyta, come on,� he says as he opens the door.  A gust of wind catches them by surprise as they step out onto the platform.  Alyta thinks that they are on a balcony, but as her eyes adjust to the lack of light, she realizes that they are on the roof of the castle.  She emits a small gasp, which makes Jason smile in the dark. 

�And here I was thinking that you weren�t afraid of anything,� he chuckles.

�Not afraid, simply startled,� Alyta defends herself, blushing slightly from the shock.  �So what is this place?�

�It�s the palace roof, where I went as a child when the royal functions were too boring.�  He takes her hand and they sit on the incline.  �I have more hiding places for that reason.  I hope that one day I will be able to show you them all one day?�

Alyta looks down at her hand in his and feels the knot in her stomach that began when she first saw Jason today tighten.  Jason molds her hand so that it points and brings it up to face the sky.  Alyta�s gaze follows the finger, and when it comes to a stop pointing to the stars turns her focus from her finger to the sky, and for the first time she notices the starry night. Her back flat to the roof, lively festivities going on under her, she watches the abyss above her, each star a candle beyond her reach.

�I can see why you liked this better than the royal functions.�

Jason looks into Alyta�s eyes and sees the stars reflected in their orbs.  Yes, he thinks, this is definitely the way to go star gazing.

                                                                   *~*~*

A sharp kick to her side makes Sytifa lose any faltering.  She gets to her feet by a back flip.

�Huh.  Who knew the old woman had any spark left?  Oh well, only a minor setback.� The armed warrior says as she takes out a dagger and throws it at Sytifa.  She dodges it. 

�Why are you doing this??� Sytifa cries out.