| Gohan crouched low, watching the three figures attempting to move quietly through the forest. Amazing! I would guess spies from Pelth judging by their accent. There's supposed to be a trap that me and Sarris set up last week. Once the get caught, I'll tell Sarris. But then again, she's busy training the soldiers right now. Boy, I feel sorry for those poor souls already. Just then he heard the rustle of tree leaves and a few muffled curses that swiftly followed. Perfect! Right on cue. Gohan began gently probing the mind link with his twin as he slipped out of his hiding place. :Gohan?: :Yes, it's me Sarris. And you will not believe what I'm seeing right now.: replied Gohan as he neared the trap. :What do you see that's so impressive?: :Well... I spy with my two eyes, three spies, hanging upside down in one trap that you and I set up.: :You have GOT to be kidding!: :I am being perfectly serious, sister mine.: :OH MY GOD! You are!: :Where should I take them? To the War Council room or to the reception room for foreigners. You know the one in the west wing, forth attachment, the fifth floor, seventh hallway down on the left, third room on the right?: :Gohan, I am perfectly aware of where the reception room for foreigners are. And no to both of the rooms, they're much to crowded at this time of the night. Let's see... I think that you best bring to Ocean's room instead. Meet you there.: :Alright. See you and Oceana in a bit.: Gohan ended as he closed the link. "Let's take a look at what I caught, shall we? Let me warn the three of you, one wrong move and you shall be asleep for eternity. Now..." said Gohan amiably as he let the three down. The youngest tried to reach for the his knife, but before he could even reach the handle, a dagger had already pinned his sleeve to the tree trunk. "I said: one wrong move and you shall sleep for eternity. Do you not understand? In the case that you don't, let me simplify: make a move and you'll die. There, is that clear enough for you? Or do I have to demonstrate?" "I think the demonstration won't be necessary." said a voice to his right. He turned around and saw a middle aged woman, maybe about his age. She had shoulder length auburn hair and keen brown eyes. Gohan could tell that she was not a person to be trifled with. In fact, she kind of reminded him of his twin in a certain sense. "Well... who might you be?" "That's for me to know and you to find out." Cham replied in an icy voice. "Touchy! Alright, enough small chat. Time to go meet the Queen." With that Gohan led them away. A short while later the three prisoners stood in a room that was richly furnished waiting for Sarris and Oceana to appear. Unfortunately, they heard the Queen before they could see her. "Sarris, if your twin is lying, I will strangle him with my bare hands, and you had better not try to stop me." "Of course not Oceana. I wouldn't dream of it." "You got that right!" :Sarris, was this a bad time to drag her out of whatever she was doing?: :Does it look... I mean sound like it? YES! It was a bad time to drag her out. She was in the middle of planning our first attack!: :Oh well, it'll be worth it.: :Let's hope so.: "Oceana! Nice to see you again. Don't you look all peachy keen and happy!" greeted Gohan in a sickeningly happy voice as Oceana walked into the room "Gohan you will never cease to amaze me. Do you have any idea what your twin just dragged me away from? At your bidding?" "Yes. I do. But I think you'll find our three guests much more interesting than planning our first attack. You see, they're from no where other then Pelth." Oceana stopped dead in her tracks with her mouth wide open and stared blankly at Gohan. Eventually she regained her composure. "I think that you had better tell me your name right now." said Oceana facing Cham. "Oceana! That is NOT how you interrogate spies!" "But it's not an interrogation! It's a...it's a...demanding conversation between representatives from two warring nations." "That's the same thing!" "No. It's not!" "Yes. It is!" "No." "Yes." "Will you stop being so god-damned stubborn? I swear one of these days I will lose my temper and do something drastic!" said Oceana in an exasperated tone. At this point, Sarris turned around to face Cham. "I'm really sorry, um...whoever you are, but bear with is for a few more moments." said Sarris with unusual eloquence, then turned to face Oceana again. "What were you planning on doing, may I ask?" Cham decided it was time to invoke her gift of subterfuge to check if the Queen and the woman that came in with her were using the old "sympathizer and antagonist" ploy. To her utter amazement she found something entirely different. All the time! They fight like this ALL THE TIME!?!? And they're still friends? How could they still possibly be friends? Unbelievable! After a little further probing she found something else that shocked her even more. Utter and complete trust and faith in each other. Cham had only seen this type of trust a few other times and usually it was with siblings, not leader and subordinate. Those two can't possibly be related, they look nothing like each other, act like each other or think like each other. And yet...there's the trust, as plain as can be. If all her people have an ounce of that trust or faith in their Queen then Sirvan has a major advantage over Pelth. Gohan cut in with a telepathic remark, :Well duh!: along with lots of different images and tones. Cham thought it was a good to intervene between the two before it resulted in actual violence. "Umm... how about I umm... just tell you my name. Freely, without being umm... conversationally interrogated." All of a sudden she felt Gohan's mind beside her own. :Smooth: and also a sent image of Queen Oceana and Sarris with very ditzy happy expressions on their faces. She then watched as the two's faces turned into just that. :And how did you know that would happen are you a foreseer....if so why didn't you just tell them who I was in the first place!: Cham sent to Gohan the best she could hoping that the man could pick it up with whatever power he had. :Oh, I don't have any foresight! I just know my sister and Oceana very well... I did grow up with them!: Gohan sent back with short mind laugh. :And my sister just told me me to stop telepathically talking to the prisoner....um Oceana says your a political-: "-Guest!" Oceana growled. Her face no longer ditzy, but very much like an angered monarch. Guess he wasn't supposed to do that, Cham thought with a mental chuckle. "Now who are you and what are you doing here, since it is considered impolite to just read another persons mind in our land," the Queen stated glaring at Gohan. "Hey, she was projecting out really loud!" "Hard to believe that I am a spy, eh?" "Hey your not a telepath!" Gohan exclaimed. "I have something similar....." "So you are here spying?" Sarris asked. Asked! And I can tell that she is very experienced at getting information, but this was not the demanding interrogation she expected. "Gohan is right you project to much, how did you ever make it as a spy?" "I...hey! Well since I have a mission to complete, I will just get it all out now! I am not on a spying mission right now. I work for the Prince of Pelth, Trunks. I spy on his father and his fathers lackey's. And this isn't just throne rivalry, the King of Pelth is a very terrible man. The people of my country are not happy. I belong to a group of rebels run by the prince. We try very hard at making the lives of the people better, but after your parents died, he saw an opening he couldn't resist. You were the strongest neighbors the King had and he doesn't believe that you will be a problem to destroy. We, the Prince, I, and some others, made an assassination attempt, but we failed." Oceana looked puzzled, "He would kill his father?!" "There is no love lost between them. The King has always been a cruel man. He would torture and kill peasants he had brought up from the street. Many of the were already half dead from lack of food. He never just killed anyone. The King always made sure that he made them lose even all hope before he killed them. He is even responsible for the death of his wife. Her blood is on his hands and his alone. T-trunks doesn't know that I heard this as well, but I know that is was his mothers dying plea that he become a good man and King." Sarris broke out in sobs. "That is the saddest true story that I have ever heard in my life!" Gohan looked embarrassed as Oceana looked thoughtful. "We were a very close family," they both said at the same time. Then they looked at each other startled. So there is some relationship some where...Thought Cham. "So what happened next?" Sarris asked, her tears gone. "Prince Trunks was the one who was going to assassinate his father. But Someone we thought we could trust showed his true colors..... now the Prince is locked in the tower of his fathers castle, and regularly beaten." "Why not just kill him? Trunks, I mean," Sarris asked in a very militaristic voice. "The King has some messed up idea that only royalty of his line can rule....." "Oh." "And you are here, why?" Queen Oceana asked. "I'm supposed to warn you that the King is going to declare war on you. And try and help you get a good start on some of his possible battle plans." "Oh! Is that all?" Sarris asked, disappointed. "We kinda already know what they are doing." "Really, so you have foresight?" "No it is on our 'Possible Strategies of the Enemy' board. I made it so we didn't have to second guess on the spot." Cham blinked, "You can't be that good. The King is the best strategist in the known world!" "Well, then this can't be part of the known world can it!" Sarris said matter of factly. "Anyway, we were going to avoid a battle and just have Oceana burn down the entire country of Pelth with the gift of Firestarting." "Y-y-you w-w-w-WHAT!! YOU CAN'T DO THAT! ALL THOSE INNOCENT PEOPLE WILL DIE!!" Cham screamed, her face shocked and outraged. She charged at Sarris, who blocked her strike as if she was as weak as a child. "I CAME ALL THIS WAY TO ASK YOU TO HELP MY PEOPLE AND YOU WERE JUST GOING TO KILL THEM ALL!" Sarris hit did a hand chop on her shoulder, knocking Cham out. "Sarris, that worked a little to well...." Gohan's works were the last thing she heard. |
| Part VII |