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Escaping Q'ael Dan'il
Just a taste of what I've been working on, I love the post-wedding adventures.
Artemis slammed her door behind her, making Kamen jump back a few steps in confusion, "Artemis? We have to go; grab a few things, and let's get out of here."
Devsad Rupert gave the closed door a slightly puzzled look. He had followed the two back to Q'ael Dan'il hoping for a second to speak with his cousin, but found any and every chance thwarted by their trip. He shrugged, knowing that he would get his chance sooner or later and turned to Kamen, "Nice shot, by the way."
Kamen gave him a questioning look, "What do you mean?"
"I don't know anyone else who could get away with lashing out at Van Dean twice."
It was three times now really, three times that Kamen could remember, but it wasn't like the number mattered, he had always been on the top of Van Dean's list. He looked back on his actions of the day and felt his stomach twist, if Devsad Rupert thought these things he didn't want to think what Chadwick Doyle and Shelley Olene thought. Even worse, how Van Dean would react to being so humiliated at his own wedding.
Kamen looked back at the door and gave it a pound, "Artemis, open the door."
"You pushed me, you ass!" Her voice was slightly muffled from behind the door.
"Pushed you?" His actions from earlier flooded back to him and he groaned, "You know why I did it! Besides, you called me thick! And lanky, and wide, and massive."
Rupert wrinkled his nose, "Tall. You're very tall."
Kamen gave Rupert a dirty look and then turned back to the door, "Artemis, we have to go, Q'ael Dan'il isn't safe."
Artemis opened the door, "Q'ael Dan'il has never been breached! I'm not leaving!"
"You're surrounded by Dalian spies! Faegles, Daher, Helvan, the two that were at your door earlier, the list goes on. All of them reeked of kescan."
Rupert wrinkled his nose, "Covington, kescan doesn't smell like anything."
"Oh yes it does." Kamen said quickly to the man looking quite confused behind him, "Eyes like blackthorns and a stench to go with it!"
Artemis crossed her arms over her chest, "I'm not running away."
The panel beside the door was opened in a matter of seconds and the black button had been pressed in less time. Kamen gritted his teeth, "You can't be serious. Even as we speak the Dalians that made their way into the military are making their way to us, your family's already been moved into a hiding spot."
Rei came skidding around the corner, "Why are you guys still here?"
Kamen looked over at Artemis, who swallowed hard before opening her mouth, "Q'ael Dan'il hasn't really been infiltrated, has it?"
Rei bit the inside of his mouth and looked at Kamen, "Kamen, kidnapping is when you take someone against their will."
"I was right, wasn't I?" Artemis said in a lower voice, "The cycling, that was how they got in, wasn't it?"
Rei let out a small sigh, "It was. Seventy percent of my military is loyal to Caspius Van Dean. I've still got some good men, we'll be purging Q'ael Dan'il of the Dalian soldiers once you leave, but you have to leave. I can't have anyone getting caught in the crossfire."
"Where's my family?"
"They've been moved into some fallout locations. You're going to the Haven, Van Dean's pissed, but he's not stupid enough to defy Celeste." Rei glanced once to Kamen then back to Artemis, "I'll meet you in the Haven later, we need to discuss some of the details, but right now, you need to get out of here."
Artemis looked back inside her room and let her eyes scan it one last time, unsure of how long she would be away. The books in the Haven would be enough to keep her occupied for a little, but she had the slight tinge of fear that her quarters would be turned upside-down by the encroaching Dalians in search of anything they could use for their master.
Najh sat on the table with his head tilted to the side curiously as he watched Artemis push a chair against the bookshelf and retrieve the item from atop it.
Chaos still appeared to be in perfect condition, the black scabbard and belt it was attached to would have to be properly cleaned from the dust that had collected on it from years of neglect. Swallowing hard, Artemis pulled the veil from her hair entirely and wrapped the belt around her waist, it clashed terribly with the wedding dress, but with Rei's encouragement, she understood that there was little time to waste. Pulling her red cloak over her shoulders she called out for Najh at the door only to find that he had grasped onto the hem of her gown and climbed up to attach himself to her waist.
"You ought to go as well." Artemis said to Rupert as she locked the door behind her.
Rupert winked to his cousin, "I was going to stick around, put up a little bit of a fight before they get me."
Rei's eyes widened, "Oh hell no."
"Jaedis will be upset that she's missed such an event. I'll have to give her all of the exciting details when I see her next." Rupert smiled, stifling a laugh at Rei's reaction.
"Jaedis?" Artemis looked at him slowly, curious as to what his connection was with the Queen of the North, but even more as to the detail of his golden eyes, "What is your gift?"
Devsad Rupert only smiled and turned the corner, following Rei, "Maybe you should be asking others."
Artemis looked at Kamen, who appeared to have an abundance of energy, still riled up from the events of the day. She gave Najh a small squeeze against her stomach, "The entrance to the passages from my room is still blocked."
Kamen shook his head, pulling her by the hand into a small room just a ways down the hall, "Every room of Q'ael Dan'il is connected to the passages."
Artemis looked around the room, she had visited this room before, but the entrances to the passages were not something that she was very familiar with. Apart from the one in her own room and the one that she had found in the gardens, she knew that the only consistent hint to their location would be the small latch. Even then she had seen them in different colors and shapes, and no two ever seemed to be alike.
Kamen pushed the door shut behind him, turning the lock above the handle, hoping to buy them more time. He began to inspect the details of the room, making small knocks on the walls and looking for hollow sounds in them, "You aren't really angry about earlier, are you?"
Artemis set Najh onto the floor, knowing that the miidorai would have more luck in finding the entrance than either of them, "Did you know they were Dalian?"
He shrugged, tapping an ornate molding with two fingers, "They smelled like it. If I would have kissed you I would never have made it to Nora."
She looked at him quickly; she had been under the impression that Nora had been informed by Rei, and the new knowledge that he had gone to Nora personally and admitted to everything personally seemed to mend things better than any apology could. She watched Najh scuttle around the room, looking for the entrance in his own way, "What does kescan smell like?"
"Mechafly fuel." He had moved onto a mirror, pulling it from its spot on the wall and setting it onto the floor to inspect the wall behind it, "It's not strong, but it's there. Might be a human thing if you and Rupert can't smell it. I haven't asked anyone else about it."
"What do I smell like?" Artemis asked quietly.
Kamen smiled and glanced back at her, "Honeysuckle. But that's just you, I think it's your soap." Artemis nodded and Kamen smiled again, "I like it." He was almost all the way around the room now, and a nervous feeling settled into his stomach. "So, did you see me?"
"What do you mean?"
"When you closed your eyes."
Artemis rolled her eyes, "Is that all you can think of in a time like this?"
Kamen pushed his attention away from the walls and let out a huff, half laughing at what she said and half annoyed that he had failed in finding the entrance. He took a few steps toward her, "Not even fifteen minutes ago you were hell-bent on staying here, now you're set on escaping. Did it sink in about who the Dalians are storming Q'ael Dan'il for?"
She looked at him, swallowing nervously, "They're looking for you."
"You'd be a fair prize too, you know."
The scuffle of footsteps could be heard outside the door, the soldiers had made it into the royal halls and were now rushing to her rooms, past the room she currently occupied. Artemis took a deep breath, thankful that she had locked the door to her quarters, it would keep them busy for a few minutes, at least until they got the doors open and realized that she wasn't behind them.
"Where's the entrance?" Artemis asked nervously, curious as to why Kamen had ceased his search.
Kamen looked to the floor and then back to Artemis, "I don't know."
"E jy!" I do! Najh chirped, pointing a single finger at the rug beneath his foot, "Here! Move the rug!"
Each taking a corner of the throw-rug into their hands, Artemis and Kamen pulled the heavy fabric away from the spot that Najh had pointed to. Najh began to poke at the floor, tracing a square before reaching inside a crack and flipping out a small latch and giving it a pull.
The door swung up from the floor and Kamen let out a sigh, releasing his nervous energy with it, "We need to position the rug to cover the door when we close it." Artemis nodded quickly and helped Kamen pull the rug to the hinged side of the trap door, draping it over the open wooden panel. "Perfect."
The sound in the hall had shifted, the Dalians had broken open Artemis' room and were now searching the insides.
Kamen pulled the white ribbon from Necrosis and tied it around his wrist before tying the other end to Artemis', "I don't want to lose you down there."
Artemis laughed nervously at the item, "I lost this five years ago."
Kamen smiled, "I found it."
She shook her head, "You really are an awful sort of gentleman."
He reached his hand down to Najh, inviting the miidorai up onto his epaulette, "Lead the way."
Artemis slammed her door behind her, making Kamen jump back a few steps in confusion, "Artemis? We have to go; grab a few things, and let's get out of here."
Devsad Rupert gave the closed door a slightly puzzled look. He had followed the two back to Q'ael Dan'il hoping for a second to speak with his cousin, but found any and every chance thwarted by their trip. He shrugged, knowing that he would get his chance sooner or later and turned to Kamen, "Nice shot, by the way."
Kamen gave him a questioning look, "What do you mean?"
"I don't know anyone else who could get away with lashing out at Van Dean twice."
It was three times now really, three times that Kamen could remember, but it wasn't like the number mattered, he had always been on the top of Van Dean's list. He looked back on his actions of the day and felt his stomach twist, if Devsad Rupert thought these things he didn't want to think what Chadwick Doyle and Shelley Olene thought. Even worse, how Van Dean would react to being so humiliated at his own wedding.
Kamen looked back at the door and gave it a pound, "Artemis, open the door."
"You pushed me, you ass!" Her voice was slightly muffled from behind the door.
"Pushed you?" His actions from earlier flooded back to him and he groaned, "You know why I did it! Besides, you called me thick! And lanky, and wide, and massive."
Rupert wrinkled his nose, "Tall. You're very tall."
Kamen gave Rupert a dirty look and then turned back to the door, "Artemis, we have to go, Q'ael Dan'il isn't safe."
Artemis opened the door, "Q'ael Dan'il has never been breached! I'm not leaving!"
"You're surrounded by Dalian spies! Faegles, Daher, Helvan, the two that were at your door earlier, the list goes on. All of them reeked of kescan."
Rupert wrinkled his nose, "Covington, kescan doesn't smell like anything."
"Oh yes it does." Kamen said quickly to the man looking quite confused behind him, "Eyes like blackthorns and a stench to go with it!"
Artemis crossed her arms over her chest, "I'm not running away."
The panel beside the door was opened in a matter of seconds and the black button had been pressed in less time. Kamen gritted his teeth, "You can't be serious. Even as we speak the Dalians that made their way into the military are making their way to us, your family's already been moved into a hiding spot."
Rei came skidding around the corner, "Why are you guys still here?"
Kamen looked over at Artemis, who swallowed hard before opening her mouth, "Q'ael Dan'il hasn't really been infiltrated, has it?"
Rei bit the inside of his mouth and looked at Kamen, "Kamen, kidnapping is when you take someone against their will."
"I was right, wasn't I?" Artemis said in a lower voice, "The cycling, that was how they got in, wasn't it?"
Rei let out a small sigh, "It was. Seventy percent of my military is loyal to Caspius Van Dean. I've still got some good men, we'll be purging Q'ael Dan'il of the Dalian soldiers once you leave, but you have to leave. I can't have anyone getting caught in the crossfire."
"Where's my family?"
"They've been moved into some fallout locations. You're going to the Haven, Van Dean's pissed, but he's not stupid enough to defy Celeste." Rei glanced once to Kamen then back to Artemis, "I'll meet you in the Haven later, we need to discuss some of the details, but right now, you need to get out of here."
Artemis looked back inside her room and let her eyes scan it one last time, unsure of how long she would be away. The books in the Haven would be enough to keep her occupied for a little, but she had the slight tinge of fear that her quarters would be turned upside-down by the encroaching Dalians in search of anything they could use for their master.
Najh sat on the table with his head tilted to the side curiously as he watched Artemis push a chair against the bookshelf and retrieve the item from atop it.
Chaos still appeared to be in perfect condition, the black scabbard and belt it was attached to would have to be properly cleaned from the dust that had collected on it from years of neglect. Swallowing hard, Artemis pulled the veil from her hair entirely and wrapped the belt around her waist, it clashed terribly with the wedding dress, but with Rei's encouragement, she understood that there was little time to waste. Pulling her red cloak over her shoulders she called out for Najh at the door only to find that he had grasped onto the hem of her gown and climbed up to attach himself to her waist.
"You ought to go as well." Artemis said to Rupert as she locked the door behind her.
Rupert winked to his cousin, "I was going to stick around, put up a little bit of a fight before they get me."
Rei's eyes widened, "Oh hell no."
"Jaedis will be upset that she's missed such an event. I'll have to give her all of the exciting details when I see her next." Rupert smiled, stifling a laugh at Rei's reaction.
"Jaedis?" Artemis looked at him slowly, curious as to what his connection was with the Queen of the North, but even more as to the detail of his golden eyes, "What is your gift?"
Devsad Rupert only smiled and turned the corner, following Rei, "Maybe you should be asking others."
Artemis looked at Kamen, who appeared to have an abundance of energy, still riled up from the events of the day. She gave Najh a small squeeze against her stomach, "The entrance to the passages from my room is still blocked."
Kamen shook his head, pulling her by the hand into a small room just a ways down the hall, "Every room of Q'ael Dan'il is connected to the passages."
Artemis looked around the room, she had visited this room before, but the entrances to the passages were not something that she was very familiar with. Apart from the one in her own room and the one that she had found in the gardens, she knew that the only consistent hint to their location would be the small latch. Even then she had seen them in different colors and shapes, and no two ever seemed to be alike.
Kamen pushed the door shut behind him, turning the lock above the handle, hoping to buy them more time. He began to inspect the details of the room, making small knocks on the walls and looking for hollow sounds in them, "You aren't really angry about earlier, are you?"
Artemis set Najh onto the floor, knowing that the miidorai would have more luck in finding the entrance than either of them, "Did you know they were Dalian?"
He shrugged, tapping an ornate molding with two fingers, "They smelled like it. If I would have kissed you I would never have made it to Nora."
She looked at him quickly; she had been under the impression that Nora had been informed by Rei, and the new knowledge that he had gone to Nora personally and admitted to everything personally seemed to mend things better than any apology could. She watched Najh scuttle around the room, looking for the entrance in his own way, "What does kescan smell like?"
"Mechafly fuel." He had moved onto a mirror, pulling it from its spot on the wall and setting it onto the floor to inspect the wall behind it, "It's not strong, but it's there. Might be a human thing if you and Rupert can't smell it. I haven't asked anyone else about it."
"What do I smell like?" Artemis asked quietly.
Kamen smiled and glanced back at her, "Honeysuckle. But that's just you, I think it's your soap." Artemis nodded and Kamen smiled again, "I like it." He was almost all the way around the room now, and a nervous feeling settled into his stomach. "So, did you see me?"
"What do you mean?"
"When you closed your eyes."
Artemis rolled her eyes, "Is that all you can think of in a time like this?"
Kamen pushed his attention away from the walls and let out a huff, half laughing at what she said and half annoyed that he had failed in finding the entrance. He took a few steps toward her, "Not even fifteen minutes ago you were hell-bent on staying here, now you're set on escaping. Did it sink in about who the Dalians are storming Q'ael Dan'il for?"
She looked at him, swallowing nervously, "They're looking for you."
"You'd be a fair prize too, you know."
The scuffle of footsteps could be heard outside the door, the soldiers had made it into the royal halls and were now rushing to her rooms, past the room she currently occupied. Artemis took a deep breath, thankful that she had locked the door to her quarters, it would keep them busy for a few minutes, at least until they got the doors open and realized that she wasn't behind them.
"Where's the entrance?" Artemis asked nervously, curious as to why Kamen had ceased his search.
Kamen looked to the floor and then back to Artemis, "I don't know."
"E jy!" I do! Najh chirped, pointing a single finger at the rug beneath his foot, "Here! Move the rug!"
Each taking a corner of the throw-rug into their hands, Artemis and Kamen pulled the heavy fabric away from the spot that Najh had pointed to. Najh began to poke at the floor, tracing a square before reaching inside a crack and flipping out a small latch and giving it a pull.
The door swung up from the floor and Kamen let out a sigh, releasing his nervous energy with it, "We need to position the rug to cover the door when we close it." Artemis nodded quickly and helped Kamen pull the rug to the hinged side of the trap door, draping it over the open wooden panel. "Perfect."
The sound in the hall had shifted, the Dalians had broken open Artemis' room and were now searching the insides.
Kamen pulled the white ribbon from Necrosis and tied it around his wrist before tying the other end to Artemis', "I don't want to lose you down there."
Artemis laughed nervously at the item, "I lost this five years ago."
Kamen smiled, "I found it."
She shook her head, "You really are an awful sort of gentleman."
He reached his hand down to Najh, inviting the miidorai up onto his epaulette, "Lead the way."