Willow Dream Catchers

[xhesika]

Incredibly long excerpt, but my favorite chapter at this point in time. I just love how much is going on at this point.

Chapter Seventy-Four: Idealist


The ceiling of the bedroom of the Haven had been covered in a plethora of hanging dream catchers, each made from the vines of Celeste and giving the already dark room an even more claustrophobic feel. They had been successful thus far in keeping Van Dean out of Artemis' dreams, but it seemed to cause panic and desperation for the ruler of Dalia. Kamen surmised that Van Dean's increased threats and more frequent conferences with Clovis had been directly related to his not being able to reach Artemis through the astral, and seeking her in the waking world.

That summer had been oddly reminiscent of Kamen's childhood. With Artemis and Kamen spending each night in Jannah the two had spent much time swimming and exploring the forest, and in retrospect it would have only been more complete had there been a young blonde trouncing about with them.

Kamen let the corner of his mouth curl up slightly as he opened his eyes to the woman next to him and turned towards him in her slumber. He was slightly thankful that September that year had been much colder than any year he had spent in Clovis prior, the common sight of Artemis in a stola had made him uncomfortable on several occasions.

He could see the scar through where her shirt had started to become undone; it had faded only slightly, and served as a reminder to him of what had been sacrificed for his sake.

Rei had berated him on the subject several times prior—how it was incredibly hard for him to assure Sargasso that his daughter was in good hands when Rei always seemed to be catching Kamen in the midst of affections. More often than not Kamen could truthfully say that it had not been entirely his fault, and that morning would be one of those times.

He rolled onto his back and smiled at the recent memory of Artemis coaxing him to bed. Kamen had come to the conclusion many weeks prior that Artemis believed that he alone held the power to keep the dreams away. She had scoffed at the dream catchers when he brought them to her, and instead of accepting the items from him took he himself into her arms.

After glancing at Artemis one last time; Kamen rolled onto his other side, reaching for the holodex on the floor to check the time, his fingers grazing her stephane as he opened the small black machine.

"Artemis." Kamen whispered as he turned back to her; propping his head up on his hand, "Wake up. I have to get you to Parliament."

She took a deep breath through her nose and rolled onto her back, pushing the blankets from her torso.

"Sleep well?"

"Hmm." Artemis hummed with eyes closed, and arching her back to stretch. "Yes."

Kamen smiled, "You were right, I should never have kissed you."

"Hmm? When?" She opened her eyes and rolled onto her side to face him once more; propping her head up on her fist, "When Cassie was watching and you almost got us both killed? Or how about the handful of times when Papa decided to stop in for tea?"

Kamen groaned, "Yes, your parents think I'm an ass. I'm well-aware."

Artemis giggled, "I don't think they think that." She let out another small hum, "When do you mean then?"

"When you were just Artemis and I was just Kamen."

"I'm still just Artemis."

"My Dauphine?" Kamen mumbled.

"Awful pillow talk, Covington." She poked his nose with her index finger, "First you talk about how you wish you never kissed me, and then you go and bring politics into the matter. You've botched a perfectly prime tone once again."

He poked her nose in revenge, "I never said "I wish". Who's botching the tone now?"

"The one that woke me from a particularly nice dream." She turned back to lay supine and closed her eyes before opening one to look at him, "Why did you wake me again?"

Kamen raised an eyebrow at her, "Parliament. Today. Less than two hours."

She sighed and closed her eyes again, "Five more minutes."

He leaned over her, "Rei would kill me if you were late."

"You're afraid of death now?" She smiled with pursed lips and eyes still shut tight.

"For all the wrong reasons."

Artemis rolled onto her stomach in one smooth motion, grabbing her pillow to hug tight, and bumping her side into Kamen, "We need to start growing up. We need to start acting like adults."

With a small smirk, Kamen placed his hand on Artemis' lower back, "And here I thought we were already doing adult things."

She turned her head to look at him and rolled her eyes, "Xivrivt."

"Yv jy oys utebb libyzg ty mzytfiv amz?" Kamen said softer.

"E jyzt libyzg ty mzoyzi." Artemis said while blushing slightly at his words. "E libyzg ty ai."

"The good thing about this war is that I don't have to worry about some Prince coming in and marrying you." He moved his hand to her side as she turned to him, "They're all too terrified of Van Dean."

"I'm all the prince I need." She kissed his forehead, "I could be your prince."

"I think you've been spending too much time with Rei."

Artemis sat up slowly, letting her eyes scan the dark room until she found the item hanging in the corner, "I'll dress for Parliament today."

Kamen glanced back to the gown in the corner, "Are you sure?"

She smiled weakly, "No." Artemis fell backwards into her spot next to Kamen, "I think I'd rather be a boy, none of this would be a problem if I were a boy."

Kamen cleared his throat loudly, "I can think of a few problems."

"I want to be difficult today. I think that being difficult will be advantageous in Parliament." She nodded decisively.

"You're already difficult." He laughed.

Artemis ran a hand over her left side, the pain had only vaguely returned, giving her enough time to remember to take her next dose of medicine. Delrocco had only recently switched her from amitadone to fidryaphone, but the dose was large enough to cause Artemis to worry slightly about why the ribs had not yet healed.

The meetings between Clovinian and Dalian officials had become a biweekly occurrence, and Artemis did not want to think on the consequences of not being present for one of them. No real advance in ending the war had been achieved; for most of the summer the meetings had consisted of pushing the blame for Nora Sybil's death, and much shouting from both sides. It almost seemed as if sibling rivalry had come out of the woodwork; like the Gildanians and Blandishes had just discovered that they were brothers and were not fond of the idea in the slightest.

The Dauphine garb hanging on the wall in the corner of the room would be worn that day; something had to be done to reach peace, and appeasing Van Dean would certainly be a step in the right direction.

"Did you need something for that?" Kamen asked.

Artemis snapped out of her thoughts and glanced down to where her hand now clawed at her side. She shook her head slowly, and pulled her hand away from the spot to stop Kamen from worrying too much, "I'm not due yet. I think I have an hour."

"We can talk to Delrocco about increasing the dose if it isn’t working."

She shook her head quickly, "It's not necessary. Besides, I honestly couldn't say if the pain was real or if I were just feigning for the drug."

Kamen bit the inside of his mouth, angered slightly by the details he had extracted from Rei in the past few months, and the way Artemis seemed to not be bothered by the pain. He had often wondered if she had been told what was going on and not said anything to him, but when he approached her he had found that she was more blissfully unaware than the upper circle could have hoped.

Placing a hand lightly on her left side, Kamen let his eyes lock with Artemis', "Does this hurt?"

"No." She whispered back.

Kamen moved his hand to Artemis' hip, pulling her body to meet his. She pressed her mouth to his, beginning a series of small kisses along his jaw while letting her fingers map the contours of his face.

With a small laugh at her sincere simplicity, Kamen pulled her leg around him and wrapped the other around her shoulders, pulling her mouth back to him.

"I love you." Artemis managed breathlessly.

"Mu jy E." Kamen turned his head with a glare once the words as escaped him. There was a small buzzing coming from the side of the bed next to where Artemis' stephane had been discarded for the night—the holodex was alarming.

There was only one person that Kamen knew who had timing good enough to ruin a perfect moment.

"Don't answer it."

Artemis' words brought a warm smile back to Kamen. She wrapped her arm around his waist, and let two fingers lightly trace nonsense lines on his lower back.

Kamen strengthened his grip on her hip and let his hand run down to her thigh and wrapped his fingers as far around as they would stretch. Pushing Artemis more onto her back than her side Kamen's mouth found the scar on her chest, and with one simple kiss to the afflicted area, he released her. "Parliament."

The sun seemed to throw heat down onto the city in a last hurrah, in the late September the summer still refused to release its hold from the island, and somehow Artemis couldn’t help but feel that when it finally would lose its hold the memories of the previous winter would return more vivid than ever.

Looking down at her lap Artemis immediately felt that dressing for Parliament had been a bad idea. For the entire previous year she had come to Parliament dressed ready for war and clad in a uniform hat gave her strength; now she almost seemed to have lost that resolution.

The brief walk from the gyrocle into the Parliament Hall would seem longer that day. Without Chaos at Artemis' side she would cling tighter to Kamen's arm and feel more like cattle being herded than an official surrounded by military.

Artemis would join Valerie in the holding room while the airship from Dalia touched down; their isolation while Van Dean was in Clovis had never been argued.

Valerie seemed to be out of sorts that day; she wouldn't greet her daughter at the door, but rather sit quite stiffly upon the davenport while wringing her hands in her lap, "They know no restraint."

Artemis tilted her head at her mother from the door, closing it quickly behind her, "Who?"

"Civilians." She wiped her palms on her knees slowly, "We've never known poverty as Clovinians. We've never been in a position where we needed to rely on our own resources and stocks. Now, when it is imperative, we struggle and fail."

Artemis took a few steps toward Valerie, "Nonna believed in this."

"Yes, she believed in this, and him, and he killed her. You know that better than any of us."

"I just think…maybe we're going about this the wrong way. Let me talk to him."

"Artemis." Valerie looked back to her lap and shook her head slowly.

"I know there's good in him."

"Artemis." She gave her daughter a harder look now.

If you let me talk to him, maybe I can get through to him."

"Artemis! No!" Valerie made an exasperated sigh, "You're an idealist. There's no room for that here. You of all people should know what kind of person Van Dean is."

"If I talk to Cassie, it will help." Artemis' voice was low as if almost defeated.

"Cassie. Is that habitual, or is it how you feel?" It was enough to stop Artemis from talking and lower her gaze to the floor. Valerie took a small breath; agitated with having to be firm with the girl she had only recently been able to share a mother-daughter relationship with. "There's a new deal we've been working on, hopefully we can convince him with that, our sources tell us the mines that opened up in Dalia are not as extensive as what they had thought. Celeste refuses to get involved."

Kamen rubbed his face roughly a few times in an attempt to wipe away the sleep-ridden creases. It had been much too long since his system had come into contact with rermanim, and there was an oddly refreshing feeling that accompanied it.

It had only been a few minutes since Artemis had disappeared into the holding room with Valerie.

Everyone that day had seemed out of sorts in Kamen's opinion, although he had to admit that after the previous meeting's content of raised voices and passing the blame for Nora Sybil's death, anyone would tire of the Parliament Hall. Inwardly, Kamen admitted feeling a bit out of sorts himself; of course to wait outside of Artemis' waiting room was a newer practice for him. Ordinarily he would have waited inside with her, but Valerie Araceli's appearance had caused him to back down.

Rei let crossed his arms over his chest and let his arm hit the wall on the side of the door opposite to Kamen, choosing just as Kamen had, to allow the Queen a moment of privacy with her daughter.

"Sleep well?" Rei muttered.

"You have no idea." Kamen smirked.

Rei gave Kamen a dirty look, "First you ignore my call, and then you poke fun at me?"

"I didn't mean it that way."

"You've been off the rermanim longer than you're admitting, haven't you?" Rei narrowed a sideways glare, "You shaved today, but you had one hell of a shadow yesterday."

Kamen groaned, "Oh, not this again."

"And don't think I don’t know where you've been sleeping."

"It isn't like I haven't admitted it already."

"If it wasn't for Val I'd out you do Deni in a heartbeat."

"Or because you feel responsible."

After looking around his surroundings for anyone paying attention, Rei hit the back of Kamen’s head, "I should have shot you when I had the chance, now we're friends and I'd feel too bad about it." Kamen gave Rei an arrogant grin and Rei reciprocated. "You're the only sap I know that would keep a ring in his pocket for four months without proposing."

"Closer to five, really."

"And that makes it any better?" Rei rolled his eyes, "Other people are starting to think that you've given up." Amongst the people passing quickly Rei picked out Chester Allyn, rushing to meet the Chancellor and holding an expression as if he was already late. Rei quickly pointed to Allyn and spoke to Kamen low enough to not be heard by the ex-soldier: "Egar's started to inquire. You’re a jealous fellow; you have to have noticed the way he looks at her."

"Jealous?" Kamen scoffed, all the while knowing the truth in Rei’s statement, "With Van Dean so obsessed, no man is stupid enough to touch Artemis."

"Some are." Pitch and Fosh nonchalantly took the spots next to Rei, leaning their backs against the wall to mimic their superiors. Rei paid their entrance no attention and continued to speak with Kamen, "Seriously though, your behavior is a little excessive."

Kamen made a face; feeling as if the word Rei had used was sour in the air, "How do you mean "excessive"?"

Rei narrowed his eyes on Kamen, "The touching."

Fosh scoffed, "The PDA."

Pitch raised an eyebrow, "The whispers."

Dr. Delrocco rushed by while reaching into her pocket to check the time on her holodex. She paused for a few seconds at the met standing around the Dauphine's holding rooms and shook her head twice before muttering: "The blushing."

There was a small rustle of snorted laughter that burst into torrents from the men lined up against the wall, and Kamen let out a small nasal sigh of discontent.

At Delrocco's appearance Kamen remembered the intramuscular injection of fidryaphone that still sat on the small table in the Haven. He had forgotten to help Artemis with it and she had not mentioned it since they had lain in bed that morning.

Kamen seemed to jump to Artemis' side when she followed her mother out of the holding room, her expression almost upset. When asked the cause of her unhappiness Artemis only shook her head and forced a smile for Kamen.

Van Dean entered the meeting hall with Alexander Coy and Derek Theron, letting a small smirk grace his face before taking his usual seat and settling his gaze on the Dauphine on the other side of the table. He had learned to relish the meetings: being surrounded by people who hated him had been twisted into a sort of flattery in his eyes. Each present blamed him for Nora Sybil's death, and he delighted in the fact that there was no proof that he was at fault for it apart from the account from Artemis, and even that had been quite a trial for Weinham to pull from the Dauphine.

Valerie Araceli sat with her head high, feeling wound up emotionally from the argument that she had taken part in with Artemis not ten minutes prior, and even more angered now at the way that Van Dean had immediately taken a great interest in her daughter.

Rei took in a slow breath; puffing up his chest and pulling his posture to stand straight and tall behind the Queen. Weinham found the gesture to be quite calming when practiced and his voice came much smoother, "Caspius Van Dean, we hope that today will not end in the same un-pleasantries as the last. We have come up with another agreement you may find to your liking."

"I have no need for Clovis." Van Dean said coldly.

Van Dean's statement forced Weinham's next words to become lodged in his throat, and the Chancellor shut his mouth slowly.

Valerie Araceli broke the silence of the room, "Your mines are not as deep as you think, Caspius Van Dean."

Van Dean smiled to the Queen, "Of course not, but where is the need for a mine that is limitless when my geologists have discovered ways to cause the ore to replenish itself? Buenae is a living creation, did you really think it would be so long before the technology was developed to allow it to grow."

Valerie's jaw dropped, "That is blasphemous! How dare you? Buenae is our Father, Great Goddess Celeste is our Mother; all life stems from their union!"

Van Dean chuckled, "Then what are you? The offspring of an incestuous relationship between the Great Mother and one of her children?"

"You will not speak of Ellioweish in such a way!"

"Remove your spies from Gorgosa before I remove their hearts." Van Dean said quickly, his tone now hard and his smile grim.

Rei felt his mouth begin to twitch, "Remove your spies from Q'ael Dan'il. You've no right to make demands of the Queen."

Van Dean offered a simple, toothy smile to Rei, "Don't I?" He looked back to Artemis and let his eyes lock with hers, "I have no use for Clovis, it wouldn't bother me one bit to see it aflame and in turmoil, swallowed by the sea."

Van Dean's words hit a soft spot for Kamen, he had managed thus far to stay out of the arguments and stand steady behind Artemis' chair. As Van Dean to spoke so coldly of the place that Kamen had learned to call home, Kamen would feel as if a lens were lifted from his vision. The room around him seemed clearer: Van Dean's hard and sinister grin, Valerie Araceli's disgust with the accusations made against Celeste, Rei's anger at the way Van Dean now worked his way under the Queen's skin, and Weinham's disappointment that the meeting would now probably end worse than any others.

Kamen slowly looked at Artemis in the chair just in front of where he stood, quite certain that he would be unable to see her reaction from his angle, but curious what he could see from that angle.

Small red stands had come down from her stephane and now lay in wisps on her neck, some tangling in the row of earrings hanging down the side of her neck. She swallowed and he followed the soft line of flesh down to the scar across her chest, watching the lighter skin expand and contract as her breaths seemed to become more labored. His eyes went lower to the skin had been both covered by the service uniform and displayed by a gossamer stola.

"Kamen Nyles. Restrain yourself." Van Dean hissed quickly.

Kamen stood up straight, only realizing as he did so that he had begun to lean forward. Artemis turned her head to look up at Kamen curiously and he attempted a smile, knowing that she was the only one oblivious to his staring.

The snort that came from Rei's direction quickly turned into a snicker, and Valerie Araceli quickly silenced it with a glare. She swallowed slowly as she looked back to Van Dean who still gave Kamen a stern look, and cleared her throat to get his attention before speaking, "If you have no use for Clovis, then remove your blockade."

Van Dean's expression slowly softened as it left Kamen and set itself back onto Artemis as he responded to the Queen, "I have no use for Clovis, but you still have something I want." He leaned back in his chair, smiling slightly to the two men he had brought with him from Dalia sitting on either side of him and choosing to remain silent. "I will lift the blockade today if I leave here with Artemis Celestine."

Weinham shook his head, "That is not an option."

"You will never leave these shores with my daughter." Valerie said quickly.

Artemis spoke up, "You still push this request despite having no cure to the blight." She shook her head, "At least open trade until you have something to show."

The corner of Van Dean's mouth curled up as he leaned forward to rest his arms on the table, clasping his hands, "Oh, but I do. Tested. Perfected. Ready for you."

Artemis sat back in her chair slowly and felt the same silence as befell the others in the room slowly take hold of her.

"You want to help Clovis, don't you Love?" Van Dean said softly, "You're hiding behind a false Queen, and your people will suffer. Would you like to do something to help them?"

Artemis watched him fixedly.

"Kiss me. I will open the trade for one day."

"No." Weinham said firmly.

"Oh hell fucking no!" Rei burst, "You'll start asking for sexual favors."

"How dare you ask for something so demeaning!" Valerie said.

Van Dean grimaced, "How is it demeaning for my wife to accept a kiss from me?"

Valerie's hands were in fists, "She is not your wife!"

Van Dean crossed his arms over his chest, "The marriage has been consummated. She is mine."

Artemis glanced around the room to the hostility that had begun to rise at an alarming rate and felt almost dizzy from the shouting fights that had begun. "How dare you. I belong to no one."

Derek Theron quickly cleared his throat, "Perhaps a different avenue can be taken at this point? I see no reason in repeating the past meetings."

Artemis smiled slightly to Theron, thankful that the man who was too politically-correct to be emotional in a time like this had been brought along with his brother from Dalia.

Theron smiled slightly, "The ore replenishment may look blasphemous to the daughters of Celeste and Clovis, but to Dalians something had to be done to make the resources renewable. It uses the same basic technology that you use to replenish your fuel sources." He offered a small smile to Valerie Araceli who crossed her arms with a huff and continued. "The spies will probably never be completely gone from either of our countries, but that is the way it has been for centuries, why fret now?"

"War." Rei said flatly while rolling his eyes; politics were not something he wanted to sit through a lecture about.

Theron nodded slowly, "Well yes, but I can assure you that anything you wish to know we will tell you openly. Dalia as a whole waits the day that we return with Artemis Celestine, and anything we can do to reach that goal is miniscule in comparison."

Coy watched Van Dean's temper dwindle as he added to Theron's point: "The trade blockade will remain. We cannot wait forever for the Dauphine to be given."

Artemis resisted the urge to nod, relieved that the meeting had finally seemed to be getting on track after a year of failed attempts, and happy that logical talk had made its way to the table.

"Give me five minutes to speak with Artemis." Van Dean said slowly, "I will open trade for one day in exchange for five minutes."

Weinham shook his head and Valerie spoke, "Absolutely not, you will never see her after this meeting. She will no longer be present for them as you cannot concentrate on anything else."

The fire in Van Dean's eyes had returned and he had just barely opened his mouth to shout when the soft voice from the girl opposite him reached his ears.

"T-three days." Artemis closed her eyes for a moment to try to steady her voice, "You will give us a full three days and I will give you five minutes."

Valerie Araceli clenched her jaw at her daughter's words and shook her head in disappointment, and Kamen looked down to the girl in the chair as his stomach twisted into itself.

Van Dean turned his attention to Artemis with a small smile, "Three days is a lot to ask."

"Ten minutes then." Artemis said quickly, "On the condition that Rei be present for protection only.”

Rei’s ears pricked and he turned to look at the girl quickly; ready to make the comment that Kamen would have been the more appropriate choice for this endeavor, but upon looking in her direction he caught sight of Kamen. Artemis was right, Kamen would be much too jealous to allow her to speak with Van Dean without interruptions.

“I had hoped a more private conversation.” Van Dean managed with a weak smile.

“If you feel the need to have a sentry present for your protection, I will not object.”

Van Dean chuckled, “I accept. I see no reason to continue this meeting further; we seem to be stuck in a circle.”

Derek Theron slowly nodded and he began formalities with the Queen and Chancellor, keeping an eye on his brother as Van Dean opened the door for Artemis.

The holding room that Rei escorted the two to was one that hadn’t been used since the death of Nora Sybil, and he had barely enough time to shut the door and take his spot inside next to it before Artemis began to talk.

“Cassie, this has to stop.”

Van Dean had only taken a few of steps into the room and had not moved an inch more, he watched Artemis carefully as she turned back to him to approach him with her hands making a desperate attempt to get her words through to him.

“Clovinians have never wanted for anything,” She said quickly, “They don’t do well with restraint. Nora Sybil thought we had the rations to deal with this until you wouldn’t feel threatened by Kamen, but the people have demolished three years supply in less than one.”

Van Dean raised an eyebrow, “When I wouldn’t feel threatened by Nyles?”

“You…you know. Because he’s human.” Her voice faltered at the words, feeling almost sickened by even thinking on the date.

“Clovinians will have to learn restraint.” He reached out to run his index finger down the side of her face, “As far as Nyles is concerned…” He let his voice trail off as he circled her, taking in each facet that he had been away from for far too long. “He’ll have to learn to keep his thoughts in check and his hands off of you.” He smiled slightly, “I refuse to forfeit you.”

She turned her head to look as far behind her as she could to look at him, “You have no right to ask these things.” She shook her head and let her head relax to look in front of her, "If you won't listen to me then listen to yourself. You'll damn all of Clovis for my transgression? For your greed?"

"You're the one damning Clovis, not me."

She turned to face him, “You wish fire and destruction on Clovis, and yet you claim to not damn us?”

He closed the gap between them, holding the side of her face in his hand and causing her neck to crane up to look at him, “Clovis will eventually go hungry, and the riots will ensue. The people will wrap you in bows and set you on my doorstep, my dear. Mob mentality is a simple beast.”

She backed away from him quickly and gave him a hard look, “It’s really going to be like this then?”

Van Dean watched her curiously as she went over to the sofa, “Like this?”

Artemis slumped into the cushions of the davenport, burying her head in the palms of her hands, and feeling stupid for going against Valerie Araceli’s wishes, "Mother is right. I’m an idealist and there’s no way I’ll ever be able to get through to you. I was stupid to hope."

With a small smile Van Dean knelt at her feet, letting his hands rest on her knees to look up at her, "No. You’re wrong. It’s because of your idealism that I love you. The way you delight in the simpler things of life. Your childlike ability to forgive me and you continue to love me despite it all."

She hardened her expression at his accusation, "I do not love you."

"Oh but you do. You love Nyles as well, but you do love me. I can see it on your soul every time I look, it’s there without fail." Van Dean reached one hand up and found her hand, threading her fingers with his, "You love me, you hate me, and it’s tearing you apart."

Artemis rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to place her hand on her side. The pain had been building up throughout the meeting and now burned with each breath. She blinked away the thoughts and focused her attention on Van Dean, “You’re ridiculous.”

“You indulge me, what other proof do you need?” He smiled, “You allow me to be near you.”

“Affection has nothing to do with emotions.” Artemis said sternly.

Van Dean laughed, “For one as innocent as you it is the same.”

“It is not.” Her voice was harder now, “Actions are actions. Feelings are feelings.” She bit the inside of her mouth as the pain ramped upwards, “If I allow a man to kiss my hand, or if I give a smile to someone I pass, it doesn’t mean that I love them.”

“You’re a goddess incarnate. You love all you see.” His smile began to fade as he read into the pain clouding her mind, “They still haven’t told you?”

Artemis ignored his comment, “I’m not a child. I can take responsibility for my actions, and I am free to love and be affectionate to whomever I choose, but affections do not equal love.”

Van Dean placed a hand on her waist, trying not to apply too much pressure to the afflicted area, “You’re worse than I thought. I can heal you in Dalia. We have the technology to save you.”

“I would rather die in Clovis than live with you in Dalia!” Artemis clenched her teeth and gave an angry sigh, “I don’t know why I even bother! You never listen!”

Van Dean wouldn’t have anticipated the action; his attention had been taken up entirely by the dread that Artemis would injure herself further in her anger and he almost did not notice when her hands held onto the sides of his face.

At the contact of her mouth on his in a kiss unlike any other she had ever given him, Van Dean reached out for her and pulled at her chin slightly for her to open her mouth and felt a rush of unreserved bliss when she complied without complaint and reached out to embrace him.

Artemis broke away from him and placed a hand on her side in an attempt to stop the pain as she gasped for air, “It means nothing. Don’t you understand? I don’t need to love a man to kiss him.” She pushed herself away from him and stood slowly, “To hell with you opening trade, you’re too thick for me to even bother to reason with.”

She slammed the door behind her and Van Dean slowly stood from the floor.

Rei stood quite still next to the door, still inside the room with a look of shock stuck on his face.

When Van Dean opened the door he found his brother on the other side ready to inquire, “She looked angry, did you two argue again?”

Van Dean touched a hand to his mouth, “I think so.”

Theron raised an eyebrow curiously, “You weren’t in there very long; do you still plan to open the blockade?”

“A week. Give them a week.” He started to walk but stopped abruptly, “Help Minister Pitch with his research as well. Artemis’ condition has gotten worse; it would appear that in their attempt to not raise suspicion with the public they have neglected to tell her or even start to find organs to transplant. She needs at least three.” He let out an agitated sigh and stuffed his hands in his pockets, “It’s my fault that she’s like this. I won’t allow her to die because of it.”