Dark Secrets


      Author: Aria


      Rated: UnRated



      Chapter 5
      She woke up feeling as if the world was rolling from side to side. 
      Clasping a hand to her mouth she stifled the urge to regurgitate what was 
      left of the meal from the previous night. It took a moment before her 
      balance was regained and she could get up. Dressing was a matter of 
      fighting the bouncing of the floor and her own yearning to get back into 
      her hammock. Though, she knew that it would displease him and kept moving.
      She managed to make breakfast for what was left of the crew and brought 
      the pots out to the galley where they would converge for the meal in a 
      matter of moments. Quietly, she took her portion and walked up on deck. It 
      seemed like eons ago that they left dock to go on a trip that was destined 
      to kill many men. The reason was still a mystery to her. But she was here 
      and she was stuck.
      The fresh sea air settled her stomach a little. They had been at sea for 
      far too long and she was growing very tired of the daily routine. She took 
      a spoonful of the gruel and grimaced, tossing the rest of it overboard. 
      There were a lot more things than the routine that she hated. Grumbles 
      could be heard and she looked over her shoulder at the men, weary and 
      sleepy eyed wandering on deck.
      She looked back out at the sea before a voice broke the silence. "What? 
      The same thing again?" a familiar voice roared. "I'm sick of this shit!" a 
      loud crashing accented his words.
      Cringing, she went back in to see what she could do to ease the situation.
      When she got to the galley the gruel she'd made was sliding down the walls 
      and was splattered all over the floor. Standing over it was a large man 
      beaming as if he just won a huge fight. He leered at her through his long 
      straggly blonde hair and stalked over, pulling her into his arms. "Good 
      morning, little one. Did you sleep well without me?" The others in the 
      room roared with laughter at her discomfort.
      She tried to push him off when he tried to kiss her, but he was too 
      strong. "Get off, Egil." His breath stank and his eyes seemed to see 
      through her clothing. It only made her push away even more, repulsed by 
      the revolting man.
      Another voice roared now, "Yes, Egil, get off of her. She is not your wife 
      yet."
      She looked up to see her father, tall and forbidding filling the doorway.
      Hands tightened on her shoulders. "She will be soon enough!"
      She was thrust aside now, forgotten.
      "Where is breakfast?" shouted the man at the door. "Why is it not at the 
      table?"
      "I-I made it. But..."she looked over at her fiancé.
      She was answered with a slap across the face. "Make more, stupid woman!"
      Blinking back the tears, she kept her eyes down and ran from the room. She 
      didn't know why she still let him get to her like this. She berated 
      herself for being so weak as she threw the pots onto the meagre stove and 
      blew at the flames to make them grow. For as long as she could remember 
      her father had treated her as nothing more than an inconvenience. A 
      gigantic thorn in his side. Her role in the household was to cater to her 
      father and her brothers and try not to get in their way as she went about 
      her job. Not until she reached her teens did he pay any attention to her 
      and that was only because she had become a bargaining chip. He had 
      betrothed her to the son of a wealthy neighbouring village chieftain, 
      Egil, whom she detested on sight and even more so when she got to know 
	him.
      She rubbed at her sore cheek and stirred at the sticky soup-like 
      concoction. It wasn't fair. What had she done to be stuck with someone 
      like him? She daydreamed as she cooked, imagining a place where she 
      wouldn't be pushed around and used. But she knew it was only a dream. 
      Blinking back the tears and taking a deep breath, she brought the meal out 
      again.
      She ignored the grumbling and dutifully set in the middle of the table 
      then moved away while the men took their fill.
      Getting bored of watching them shovel food into their faces, she climbed 
      up on deck. There had to be a better life than this. There had to be 
      somewhere she could just be herself and not have to be subjugated by men. 
      She closed her eyes and let the warm sunlight shine over her skin.
      Her hair was damp and the animal skin she wore was starting to smell by 
      the time she pulled herself together. There was only one place she could 
      go to get away from them all, and that was her tiny room. But even a 
      sanctuary as small as that was better than none.
      Making sure she stayed out of sight, she went back down. She barred the 
      door with a sword and huddled into a small ball in the corner of the room.
      The next thing she knew there were shouts of joy from the deck. Shaking 
      the sleep from her head, she got up and unlocked her door. "What's going 
      on?" she shouted at the first man she saw running past.
      "We're there! At last!"
      "Where?" It had been a mystery for the entire journey. No one had told 
      here where they were going, only that it was very important that they made 
      it there. It must have been since they had lost roughly half the crew and 
      the half that was left was close to mutiny in the attempt, and her father 
      still pressed on. He had never pushed so hard for anything before.
      Joining in their excitement, she ran up on deck to see where they were 
      landing. The ship was passing enormous golden gates as they floated into 
      the harbour. Buildings reached up to the sky wherever she looked, all of 
      them white and some gilded.
      Her jaw went slack with awe. Never before had she seen such splendour. She 
      saw people coming to the dock dressed in fine fabrics that flowed in the 
      wind. They too were dressed in mostly white, though vivid colours also 
      mingled in with it. Her fingers went to the course materials that made up 
      her own clothing then the mangy fur of her coat and cringed at how modest 
      they were in comparison.
      Shouts of welcome reached her ears and she smiled and waved. She couldn't 
      return the greeting for she didn't know the language. People of every 
      size, shape and colour welcomed them into their harbour. As in her usual 
      fashion, she followed the men off with her head bowed, hoping not to do 
      anything to incur the wrath of her father or the amorous advances of Egil. 
      Surprisingly, someone took her hand and tipped her chin up.
      Looking up she saw a dark haired woman with flawless skin and impeccable 
      makeup, hair and clothing. She blinked looking up at her as she said 
      something completely incomprehensible, but friendly. Her smile told her 
      that. The woman shook her head in amusement and pulled her along behind 
      her.
      Fearfully, she looked around to see what her father was doing, but he was 
      occupied with trying to communicate with some other men and had completely 
      forgotten about her. The tug on her hand became insistent and she could do 
      nothing but follow.
      A carriage awaited them but it didn't look like any she had seen before. 
      It seemed to be formed out of a strange metal. But that wasn't the 
      intriguing bit.
      It was horseless.
      How on earth were they expected to go anywhere when there were no horses 
      to draw the carriage? They were the first into it and the men soon joined 
      them. She waited, expecting to see men bring horses or some other animal 
      to help moved them along. But the conveyance started moving by itself.
      Shocked, she looked around but didn't see anything pulling or pushing them 
      along. Her eyes went to the other woman's and she smiled back 
      reassuringly. She even took her rough hard working hands in her own smooth 
      ones.
      Not feeling much better, she sat back and snuck a look at her father. He 
      wasn't hiding his surprise very well, neither were the other men. From the 
      looks of it they were about to spring out of their seats with their 
      weapons drawn at any second. She hid her amusement by looking at the city 
      as they moved through it.
      The sprawling metropolis was the most amazing thing she had ever seen. It 
      was set on what seemed like consecutive rings separated by canals and 
      linked together by bridges. And what bridges they were. She looked up at 
      the massive golden constructs and wondered if they were made entirely out 
      of the metal like they seemed to be.
      People looked over to see them, waved and shouted greetings before going 
      back to their business. She had never seen people so welcoming of 
      strangers. If this had been her village the strangers would have been 
      captured and brought to her father to be interrogated. And it was never 
      simply just questions either. Most often her father enjoyed throwing in a 
      little torture to liven up the questioning. It sickened her that he abused 
      his power like that.
      Looking over at him she found herself getting so angry that she literally 
      wanted to hit him. A finger tapping on her shoulder snapped her out of her 
      rage. The woman was pointing at something. Guessing that she wanted her to 
      look, she did just that. And her jaw dropped.
      In the centre of the city, she could see a shimmering palace reaching up 
      to the azure sky. It was so tall; she wondered how they managed to build 
      it. Surely, it reached the heavens.
      Within moments they were climbing out of the vehicle and were being 
      escorted into the palace. One thing bothered her more than anything else. 
      She couldn't see a single form of protection. There were no fortifications 
      or guards anywhere. Not even a door! It puzzled her that people of such 
      importance and who had control over such wealth would leave themselves 
      open to attack like this.
      Egil looked particularly interested in the gilded halls and splendour of 
      the palace. She could almost see him planning what he was going to take. 
      She'd make sure that didn't happen. These people were too nice to let a 
      barbarian like him take advantage of their kindness. She looked at her 
      father. Him either.
      The open halls were a great change to what she was used to. Her father's 
      home was a small, dark, dank hovel compared to this place. Which it was. 
      But she felt like she was spoiling it just being there in what she was 
      wearing. She had certainly not seen stone as white or as smooth anywhere 
      before. Lights hung from the walls and ceiling and glowed softly even 
      though it was daytime. There was no smell of oil or wax so she didn't know 
      how they worked. As a matter of fact, there was no aroma except for a 
      sweet fragrance, something like a flower she had once smelled.
      Wide-eyed, she followed them into what looked like a throne room. It had 
      to have been since there was an ornate chair on a dais on the far side of 
      the room. Sitting on it was a young man with dark hair and piercing blue 
      eyes that didn't seem to miss a thing. He didn't wear a crown but his fine 
      clothing was bejewelled, well fitted to someone of royal stature. But she 
      barely noticed the clothes. She was entranced by his beauty.
      His skin was smooth and tanned, his hair as dark as a summer's night. He 
      was physically fit, definitely someone used to working his body. But the 
      amazing blue of his eyes was what mesmerized her. They were of the deepest 
      blue and sparkled like the jewels he wore. They took in their appearance 
      and didn't judge. She could feel the compassion in his gaze. And when they 
      turned to her she could see something like sadness.
      She was so spellbound by him that she hadn't noticed that the others in 
      her group had knelt before him. A sharp tug on her arm brought her to her 
      knees, though her head refused to bow as she gazed upon him.
      He rose gracefully to his feet and touched an orb on a plinth next to him. 
      He motioned them to get up and pointed to a similar sphere near them.
      They obeyed and her father tentatively touched it. He spoke to the man 
      with the incredibly blue eyes and he answered in his own language. She 
      looked at them. They seemed to understand each other though they were 
      conversing in two entirely different languages. She looked at the spheres 
      and decided they had something to do with it.
      As she could only understand her father she focussed on what he was 
      saying. From what she could gather, he wanted some technology of some sort 
      from these people. He was trying to convince them that he was worthy of 
      having it and that they needed it badly. But from what he was saying she 
      could tell that the young ruler was not giving in easily. Then her father 
      mumbled something and yanked his hand off the orb. He bowed and they were 
      led out of the room once again.
      Curiosity taking over her defences she asked. "Father? What did he say?"
      She was rewarded with a slap across the face. "Never mind. It's men's 
      business."
      She held her cheek and blinked away the red haze the sharp contact 
      created. She shyly took a look to see if he had seen her being humiliated. 
      Blazing blues eyes that caught hers told her he had seen it all and was 
      not pleased. Ashamed that he'd witnessed it, she hung her head and 
      followed the delegation silently.
      The same woman from the harbour appeared at her side again and started to 
      tug her in a different direction from the men. She looked over to see if 
      she could and her father shook his head. She looked up helplessly at the 
      woman.
      The woman glared at her father and continued to usher her away from them. 
      If her look said anything it was that she was not to be questioned. He 
      relented and gave her his 'don't you dare do anything to embarrass me' 
      face. She nodded and turned her attention to following the quickly moving 
      woman.
      She was lead through a maze of enormous halls and was led to a room with 
      only a thin curtain separating it from the hall. Inside was a lavish 
      bedroom complete with gigantic bed, vanity and wardrobe. As with 
      everything else, all the furniture was white. She was pulled past them and 
      into another room. This one was opened to the sun and it shone down on the 
      shimmering water of the bath.
      The woman motioned for her to take off her clothes. Shyly, she started to 
      disrobe. She had never been naked in front of anyone before. Not since she 
      was a child anyway. The woman took her clothing off as well and when there 
      were both devoid of clothes, she led her to the water. Both got in and she 
      began to wash her, systematically washing off all the grime from her skin 
      and hair using sweet smelling oils.
      Amazingly, it seemed that this was exactly what she needed. She hadn't had 
      a bath since she'd stepped on board that ship and that was only a dip in a 
      frigid stream. This positively rejuvenated her.
      They got out and she was dressed in clothing that was similar to the other 
      woman's. The thin linen was wrapped around her waist as a skirt and her 
      top was nothing more than woven gold that hung from her neck and tied at 
      her back. Her hair was dried and curled then piled artfully on the top of 
      her head and secured with golden pins. Make up was quickly applied and 
      when she was done, she hardly recognized herself in the mirror.
      She looked at the other woman's reflection. "Thank you."
      She simply nodded and motioned to the bed.
      Climbing in between the silky sheets, she started to think that this was a 
      fabulous place to live.
      It was growing dark out when she woke up. Through the thin curtains she 
      could see the moon start to rise. She sat up and wondered if it was too 
      late to go exploring around the palace. There was so much more she wanted 
      to see in this magical place. She got up and walked past a mirror and 
      caught a glimpse of her nearly nude self. Her hands immediately sought to 
      hide the skin that was showing. She looked around for her old clothing but 
      they were gone and a quick search of the wardrobe left with nothing more 
      to wear than what she already had on.
      She looked out at the hall longingly. Maybe no one would be up.
      She stuck her head through the curtain door and looked around. There 
      didn't seem to be anyone about. Pulling her clothes around so that they 
      covered the maximum amount of skin, she dashed into the hall to explore.
      Lamps brightly lighted the halls. She remembered her earlier curiosity and 
      decided now was the time to sate it. She walked over to the closest one 
      and climbed up a table to take a look inside the sconce. There was nothing 
      but light inside. How was this achieved? Her fingers went to investigate 
      and were rewarded with an abrupt zap of power.
      Shaking her hand, she leapt off the table and eyed it suspiciously. There 
      was strange sorcery at work here. She quickly forgot about it though. 
      There were so many different things to see and do; she couldn't make up 
      her mind where she wanted to go next. Wandering and seeing where that took 
      her seemed like the best option. And that's what she did.
      Her hands must have touched every sculpture, painting and curtain there 
      was in her path. Everything was so beautiful and clean. They must have had 
      hundreds of servants swarming around for the sole purpose of cleaning. She 
      was used to scrubbing but she could not figure out how they managed to 
      keep everything in this place sparkling.
      Sandals clicking on the shiny stone, she turned a corner to see two men 
      stealthily running around another corner. She blinked. Was that her father 
      and Egil? They were dressed differently, but then again so was she. It 
      definitely looked like them.
      Wondering what they could be doing up at this hour, she tiptoed along 
      behind them. They seemed to know where they were heading; how they knew, 
      she had no idea. But both men were moving very quickly and surely toward 
      something.
      Soon she found herself hidden behind a statue at the entrance to the 
      palace. She watched as they produced a sack and a small axe between them 
      and started to work on a golden statue.
      Incredulously they started hammering away, taking off huge chunks of gold.
      She stood there petrified with shock. How did they have the brazenness to 
      do something like this when there were welcomed here with open arms and 
      given a place to stay? She had to do something. She couldn't just let them 
      get away with it. Without thinking, she jumped from her hiding place. 
      "Stop!"
      They didn't even stop working. Egil looked over his shoulder at her. "I 
      was wondering when you would show up. You do have that nasty habit."
      "Stop it right now. How could you do something like this?" she wanted to 
      grab their arms and pull them away but she knew that they were too strong 
      for her. She would only end up with more injuries. There had to be 
      something she could do. She could only think of one thing. She opened her 
      mouth and screamed.
      He sat at his desk thinking about that day as he finished off some work. 
      Those people who arrived on the ship today gave him a vibe that he found 
      very distasteful. Everything about them begged his instincts not to trust. 
      Especially that 'king' and his right hand man. The rest seemed to just 
      follow orders, probably under duress. Who he felt sorry for was the lone 
      female in the group. She looked as though she had been abused to within an 
      inch of her life. Her stance and manner showed that she was less than 
      subordinate to the men. He shuddered to think of why she was brought 
      along. Her knew that long treks on the sea were arduous and men often grew 
      restless without women on board. But to use a woman like that was 
      despicable. Especially one so young. He had seen her address the king 
      informally; so she must have been a family member. The conclusion had him 
      clenching his fists. He wasn't a violent man, but he did not appreciate it 
      when people were being mistreated no matter who they were.
      But she had spirit though. He could see it behind those wounded eyes. If 
      only she could get away from them. Sadly, he doubted that she ever would.
      He shook his head and got up to return to his chambers and go to bed. He 
      was going through his usual routine of casual checks when he heard a 
      piercing scream. The alarm was immediately raised as he ran to see what 
      was going on.
      A group of people converged on the screaming and he was at the front. The 
      strange girl he had seen earlier was in the middle of a life and death 
      battle with two men. One was the man that he had assumed was her father 
      and the other was his right hand man. He watched as she bit and scratched 
      against the hands that were trying to silence her. The younger man managed 
      to connect a punch to the girl's face before he climbed in himself and 
      pulled them off of her.
      "Enyakil!" the word may have been foreign but the force behind it was 
      enough to stop everyone struggling. He knelt down and touched the girl's 
      bruised face and issued some quick orders. Several men appeared and took 
      the two menacing men away, kicking and yelling.
      He murmured a few comforting words as he picked her up. He shook his head 
      at the women's offers to take her and carried her away.
      She covered her hands over her face so people wouldn't see the state she 
      was in. She could feel the stares and tears started to burn her eyes at 
      the shame.
      The voice near her ear was deep, quiet and comforting. And it was nice to 
      be held gently rather than being kicked around. She felt herself being 
      carried for a short while before being gently lowered to a cushiony bed.
      Large hands tenderly removed hers from her face and tapped at her cheeks 
      for her to open her eyes. Concerned eyes, the colour of the sea, peered 
      into hers as he asked her something.
      All she could do was stare into the depth of his eyes and search for the 
      meaning of his words.
      He shook his head and chuckled, mumbling something to himself. He got up 
      and walked over to a man at the door and said something to him. He waited 
      at the door while the other man ran off. Moments later her returned and 
      gave the blue-eyed man something, bowed and left again.
      The beautiful man walked back to her, a golden chain hanging from his 
      hand. He sat down next to her and opened his hand to reveal a small blue 
      sphere held within a thin swirl of gold. Smiling, he indicated a similar 
      one hanging around his neck. He leant forward and closed the clasp around 
      her neck.
      "How is that?"
      She blinked at him. "Excuse me?"
      "Is that ok? It's not too tight?" he looked a little concerned at her 
      reaction.
      She shook her head, delighted that she was able to understand him. "How 
      does this work?" she touched the jewel and noticed that it was warm to the 
      touch.
      He relaxed and smiled. "I'll explain some other time." His expression grew 
      serious. "Are you ok?"
      She'd forgotten what had happened just moments before and her hand moved 
      reflexively to her face. "I'm fine."
      "No, you're not." He pulled her hand away from her face again and touched 
      the eye that was already swelling shut. He noticed some fine scars now 
      that he was close to her and the anger twisted in his gut. "How long have 
      they being doing this to you?"
      She replied automatically, "Not very long."
      "Then how come you have scars?" he traced them with his fingertips as if 
      to prove he'd seen them.
      She touched them as well. "It's their right. Men can do what they want to 
      their women." She flinched when she heard him growl furiously.
      "That isn't how things work here!" he lowered his voice when he saw the 
      frightened look on her face. "I'm not like them. So don't ever cower from 
      me." He sighed and the angry expression dissolved. "Here men and woman are 
      equal."
      "Equal?" she looked at him like he had sprouted two heads.
      "I take it from your reaction that the concept has never even crossed your 
      mind."
      No, it hadn't. Things had always been that way, though. Men were the 
      hunters the heads of their families and their sons were expected to become 
      the same. Women were to stay home and bear children, cook and clean. They 
      were there to please men, period.
      He nodded and smiled sympathetically when she didn't answer. "Let's get 
      that cut on your eye cleaned up." He leaned her back against the pillows 
      and went to a tray that was waiting on a table near the door.
      She could see crystals of varying colours waiting to be picked up and 
      wondered what he would do with them. She didn't have to wait long. He 
      returned with a purple stone and a pink one.
      "Now hold still, it won't hurt at all."
      He moved the pink one over her eye and she could feel her skin warm up. It 
      felt nice, even when it got warmer. It wasn't a burning heat but more like 
      someone moving a glowing ember just above her skin. She watched him nod 
      and return the stone to the tray in trade for the other. "This one's 
      cold." She shivered a little as a chill replaced the heat, as if someone 
      placed ice on her skin. The moment he moved his hand back, the sensation 
      disappeared.
      He touched it then smiled. "There. As good as new."
      She took the mirror he offered and gazed in amazement at her healed face. 
      "How did you...thank you-" she looked up at him and realized she didn't 
      even know his name.
      "I am called Dal'rien. And you are..."
      She bowed her head again. "I do not have a name." Her voice was barely a 
      whisper.
      "What?"
      "I-I was never named." She hastily continued before he could speak. "My 
      mother died giving birth to me, and since then my father's hated me. Not 
      only was I a girl, but I killed his wife." She fought to hide the sob in 
      her voice. "So he never named me, because he never wanted me."
      A muttered vow came from his magnificent lips before he smiled tenderly. 
      "I shall name you now then..." he paused and looked out into the night 
      sky. And a smile curved his lips. "You shall be known as Sern'riya."
      "Sern'riya." She liked the name. It sounded pretty to her ears. "What does 
      it mean?"
      "Lady of the moon. How can you be called anything else when your colouring 
      matches exactly that of the moon?" he pointed at the moon and then her 
      hair. He was right, the colours matched perfectly.
      "Can you do that?"
      "Do what?"
      "Name me."
      "Of course. I am the ruler here. I can do what I please."
      Her eyes widened. She was in the presence of royalty and didn't even know 
      it! "Oh my..." she collapsed to the floor and bowed her head. "I'm sorry! 
      I did not know. Forgive me for--"
      He straightened her up and shook his head. "For what? There is nothing 
      that needs to be forgiven."
      She looked up at him in absolute awe. From close up, she would believe 
      that she was looking at a god. His hair was as dark and sleek as a raven's 
      wing. A lock swept over his eyes while the rest of it was tied neatly at 
      the nape of his neck. His face was young, his skin taut. There was no 
      trace of a wrinkle or blemish anywhere on the tanned surface. The tan, in 
      turn, brought out his eyes. They were a dazzling blue that she had never 
      seen anywhere else. He wore a thin linen tunic over her broad shoulders 
      and chest. His arms were well defined, as were his legs. She could tell 
      that he was not unused to physical work. His clothing wasn't as elaborate 
      as it had been that afternoon, but on him, she would wager a muddy sack 
      would look wonderful.
      He was beauty, kindness, wisdom and power all rolled into one. And she was 
      in love.
      Dal'rien smiled at her. "Sern'riya. I must talk to your father about his 
      behaviour." He paused and looked at her. He seemed to be considering 
      something, then nodded to himself as if he'd reached the answer.
      He smiled at her and took her hand. "Follow me."
      Moments later, they were back in the throne room. Dal'rien disappeared 
      then reappeared seconds later having thrown on a regal blue and white robe 
      to disguise his casual clothing. He now stood at the dais looking 
      positively intimidating. Sern'riya stood off to the side of the room 
      watching as the men brought her father and Egil into the room.
      There were back in their original clothing and were muttering under their 
      breaths. She caught the look from her father that told her she was in 
      deadly trouble. Painfully, she looked away. Her eyes went to the man at 
      the front of the room, hoping that he would be able to save her because if 
      he didn't she was surely dead.
      He touched the orb and waited while her father did the same. "What do you 
      have to say for yourselves?"
      "We were only trying to protect your home from her." He answered smoothly. 
      "She was trying to steal the gold for herself. We were walking around 
      admiring your home when we found her," he pointed directly at her, 
      "hacking at your statues trying to take what she could. We tried to stop 
      her, but someone intervened." He looked to see if he was being believed.
      "So I am to believe that she was the one stealing?"
      "Yes. She's always been a troublemaker. There's nothing she wouldn't do to 
      make a little money." He let the insinuation hang in the air, knowing 
      everyone would get his meaning.
      Sern'riya gasped. How could he be saying all that about her? Tears started 
      to fill her eyes and she looked again at the man on the dais. He knew what 
      had happened. He knew what she was like. She hoped.
      "You are telling me that it took two men to get her under control?"
      His voice faltered for the first time that night. "She is deceptively 
      strong, highness."
      Dal'rien looked over at Egil. "And this man had to hit her with all his 
      might to bring her under control?"
      "Not with all his might."
      "Do you realize that violence is punishable by death here?"
      "N-no. I did not." His voice grew hard again. "But it was for a good 
      cause."
      "There is never a cause good enough to physically abuse anyone."
      He started to beg now. "Please your highness, we were only trying to help 
      you."
      "How? By lying? There were witnesses who saw you and your accomplice 
      tearing apart the statue long before Sern'riya's arrival."
      The confusion was evident on his weathered face, "Whose arrival?"
      "Sern'riya," Dal'rien scowled at the man. "The daughter you did not deem 
      good enough to name." He stepped down and slowly approached the aging man. 
      "Now I give you one last chance. What really happened here tonight?"
      He bowed his head and broke down in tears. "It was all his idea!" he 
      pointed at Egil. "He talked me into it!"
      Egil saw the finger pointed in his direction and jumped in, slapping his 
      hand onto the orb. "Whatever he's just said, he's lying!" he was barely 
      able to duck a big fist aimed at his face.
      Dal'rien stared, unable to believe the two conniving men. He let them beat 
      each other to a near pulp before stopping it. "Seize them!" the young 
      monarch stared at them, his eyes as cold as ice. "I will make you a deal. 
      I will let you leave here with your heads intact under two conditions."
      "Anything!" the trembling men were slowly sliding to their knees.
      "One. You never return."
      "Yes...yes."
      "And two. You leave Sern'riya."
      Her father looked at her and sneered before shaking his head. "What do you 
      want with her? She's worthless."
      Egil shook his head as well. "She is betrothed to me."
      Dal'rien shook his head. "Now what would either of you want with a useless 
      woman? Seems to me, I'm doing you the favour by taking her off you hands." 
      He smiled in triumph when neither man could reply. "Your ship has been 
      restocked. You will leave tonight."
      "But, but...we haven't-"
      "You dare try my patience?" his voice was clear and sharp in the silent 
      room.
      Both men stood up and shuffled quietly out of the room. But before he 
      could get out the door, her father leaned in and whispered in a voice that 
      chilled her to the bone. "May you get everything you wish for."
      Her stomach sank and gooseflesh dotted her skin. The words may have 
      sounded nice, but she knew it was a curse. Her own father had cursed her. 
      Sern'riya closed her eyes and kept them closed until she knew he was gone. 
      A warm hand on her shoulder an instant later opened her them.
      She looked up at her saviour, but this time the tears weren't from fear 
      but from relief and happiness.
      "Salt'uya Altanicis. Welcome to Atlantis, Sern'riya." He smiled at her and 
      bowed grandly. "Your new home."