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Astrosa
Allyson
Chapter Seven
Neal knew Akilah was right; Akilah usually was. Sadly, she knew that as well, Neal thought with a smile. She'd almost be pretty if she didn't always look so smug. Although it was kind of cute when she threw her hair to the side, and raised her eyes at you over those glasses�
Neal immediately drove his mind back to the problem. Now was not the time to fantasize about his best friend, however wonderful she may be. Not to mention, she'd massacre him if he didn't find Astrosa soon.
Not that Neal wasn't sorry on his own. He was! It was just so� unlike him to apologize when he thought he'd been wronged. Astrosa had been cold, distant, and violent when he'd tried to help. Nevertheless, Neal walked to the girl's dormitories, and found Astrosa's room. He knocked carefully, and heard the clicking of the lock. A second later the door opened and Astrosa peered out.
"Neal?" she asked incredulously, "What are you doing here?"
Neal ran his fingers through his hair. "Astrosa, can I come in? I think we need to talk." Astrosa nodded, and Neal walked in. He saw the room was in a state of disarray. "What are you trying to do?" he asked, eyes widening.
"Trying to get a ball of fire the size of my fist through those three rings." she answered calmly, stepping over a burnt chair."
What happened?" he asked in awe.
"I lost my temper," she admitted with a shrug.
Neal coughed nervously, and shifted on his feet. "Listen Astrosa, I-"
"You know, you have some nerve!" Astrosa said angrily. "Coming in here and expecting me to apologize to you for something that was partially your fault."
"I don't-"
"No, don't talk! Don't do anything; just listen! I don't get friendly with people for a reason! Then you go, and be nice to me, and I start to like having friends. And then you leave me all alone, and I have to readjust." Neal was surprised to see tears spring to her eyes. Astrosa acted as if she didn't care they'd stopped being friends.
"Gods Astrosa," Neal said tiredly, "You sure aren't easy to apologize to."
"And another thing, you always-" Astrosa stopped in mid-sentence. "What?" she whispered.
"I'm trying to tell you I'm sorry for being such a jerk." Neal said. Astrosa smiled softly. The smile immediately disappeared back into the protected fortress she called a heart, but not before Neal saw it.
"As long as you admit it," she said teasingly.
"Hey," Neal said with a laugh, "you're supposed to say how sorry you are." Astrosa raised an eyebrow. Neal was surprised to see how much she looked like Akilah when she did that.
Astrosa was glad to have rekindled her friendship with Neal. What she didn�t tell him; didn't tell anyone, was that Astrosa had considered giving in to her father. After all, he'd know her the best, wouldn't he?
And so, with fights and friendships, successes and failures, two years passed. Astrosa celebrated her twelfth birthday in her room, with Neal, Akilah, Otto, and Dawn. Neal -now 14- now towered over Astrosa, and his voice was beginning to change. After cleaning up the last few pieces of cake and mess, Astrosa went to sleep.
A familiar place stood in front of Astrosa, although she didn't place it. There was a garden of black marble, with black roses, and a black marble fence. Astrosa didn't recognize it until she saw her father leaning against the fence, his robe whipping even without wind.
"Ah, so at last you've arrived my daughter. I was worried my spell had failed." The Duke of Cont� smiled coldly at his daughter. "You've grown since out last meeting. Grown both taller and weaker."
Astrosa wavered for a moment, showing confusion. "What in Mithros' name is that supposed to mean?"
"When I first saw you, you reminded me of myself. Closed off to the world, unable to be breached."
Astrosa smiled grimly. "Then I've changed for the better. I want to be as far away from you as possible."
"A strange dream for a girl to have regarding her father. Most illegitimate children would love recognition from their parents."
"Most children don't have traitors to Tortall for parents. I've read about you; you really are insane. I want nothing to do with your plans."
Roger of Cont� chuckled quietly. "Now you lie," he said, his eyes gleaming with malice. "You know you've thought of what it would mean to have so much power. What it would feel like to have the world under your thumb."
Astrosa took a step back. "So what if I have? That means nothing! N-n-nothing, do you hear me?" Roger laughed at his daughter's worry.
"You've applied for early graduation; this is your last year in training. Soon you'll be free to do as you wish. You could fight for whatever side you wanted; why Tortall?"
"My friends are all in Tortall," Astrosa said. "My entire life is in Tortall."
"Really? You mean your only living family member, who refuses to acknowledge your existence?" That was true enough; Jon stayed as far away from his second cousin as utterly possible. "This is who you fight for?" Roger reached out, but Astrosa backed away. "I have a deal with the Goddess of Chaos; fight for Ozorne and I can guarentee you'll get what you deserve. You'll get nothing fighting for Tortall."
Astrosa woke in a cold sweat, every nerve trembling.
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