MAN OF WAR

9

The days and nights ran into each other. Miya could not be sure just how long he had been locked away in the dungeon. He had been taunted by the guards from time to time — denied food and water. One large guard, in particular, would stand by the door and stare in through the window, telling Miya in explicit detail what the Emperor and his advisers were discussing about what to do with him. When he grew tired of receiving no response from Miya, he would tell him what the rumours around the court were about the Admiral and his sister.

            Miya did his best to ignore the guards. He never spoke to them and never reacted in front of them. He was always grateful when they would finally leave. Much later, when all was quiet, and the guards had been gone for some time, Miya would hear the soft sounds of footsteps outside his cell. With eager anticipation, he would rise from his place in the corner and move quickly to the door. Princess Gaia had visited him in the still of the night every evening since his incarceration. She had brought him water and food that she could hide in the flared sleeves of her gowns.

            This particular evening the guard was overly happy as he taunted Miya. “Tomorrow, you are getting out of here for a while,” the guard chuckled. Miya could not believe his ears. There had to be a catch. The Emperor must have made up his mind as to what to do with him. “They are going to torture you until you tell them everything about your people. They plan to use you to hunt them and enslave them,” he said, grinning his yellow-toothed grin.

            Hunting his people, good God, he could not allow that to happen. He could not live with himself knowing he was the instrument of his people’s enslavement. The guard continued to mock him through the rest of the evening, and when he finally left, Miya rushed to the door and studied the structure. There had to be a way to get out of this cell. Perhaps the hinges had a weak point, or maybe with some leverage, he could remove the door. He looked around at his empty cell and wondered just what exactly he could use as leverage. He might try fighting off the guards when they came for him tomorrow, but the odds of a successful escape at that point were definitely stacked against him.

            Miya tried once more to shake the bars of the small window, to pry them apart or find some fault in them. Anything at all that might aid in his release. Miya paused and became still, listening to the quiet. He had heard the soft sound he had come to know so well over the last few nights. His angel, in a gossamer silver gown, emerged from the dark shadows stepping into the soft glow of the torchlight. Her thick golden curls hung in long ringlets from the elegant configuration atop her head, adorned with a brilliant silver band of jewels and gems that encircled her brow to attest to her station in life.

            Gaia was so beautiful, and he could not help but smile when he saw her. She had become his light in this dark place. Miya reached his arm out through the bars to touch her. “You are beautiful tonight,” he said as she came to the door.

            “I have brought you some jerked meat,” Gaia said, taking a handkerchief from her sleeve. She unfolded the fabric to reveal the food, and she handed it to him through the bars of the small window.

            “You are truly kind,” he said, accepting the gift. She offered him a sad smile. “You are so sad. Why?”

            “Tomorrow, I meet my husband, Prince Victor. I have heard he is a terrible man.”

            “And you do not wish to marry,” Miya finished for her.

            “It is my duty. The Empire needs an heir, and my father has chosen. I must do what is right,” she sighed, looking at her hands. “At times, I too feel enslaved to his will.”

            “You should not be forced to marry a man you do not love,” he said sympathetically. “You could flee.”

            “It would be treason. I would be put to death,” she gasped.

            “He would execute his own daughter?” Miya snarled with great disgust. He disliked this ruler more and more. He pressed close to the bars so she could better see him. “Gaia, my sweet Gaia, I beg of you… release me,” he pleaded softly, his eyes holding hers. “He means to torture me. To enslave my people,” she cast her eyes to the dirt floor as if struggling with her conscience. “I know you do not mean for more of us to suffer,” she looked at him once more, biting her bottom lip with indecision. “It will be easy. Just bring me the blue crystal. That is all you must do,” Miya said softly. “Gaia, please,” she appeared distressed and picking up the hem of her skirt, she ran off. “Gaia!” He called after her with frustration. Miya dropped his head against the bars. It was hopeless. He was doomed.

***

            Gaia strolled through the corridors of the upper levels passing the private chambers. She was torn between what she knew her duty to be and what she felt in her heart to be right. She knew she should not visit Miya in the dungeon. It was not proper, but he had intrigued her so very much. The first of his kind that she had ever seen. She had wished to learn more about him about his people.

            She had at first been frightened. After all, he had taken her hostage, but in his cell, he could not harm her. Gaia had actually found him to be very kind and charming. He was handsome, and those incredible amber eyes made it impossible at times to look away from him. The first time he had touched her through the bars had felt like fire burning her. He stirred a strange unknown feeling in her belly.

            Each day she found herself eagerly awaiting dusk. So that she might once more steal away under cover of darkness and see Miya, she brought him food and water when she could, knowing the guards were under instruction to starve him as punishment. Her father and his advisers had been discussing the best way to use the shifter prisoner.

            They found his defiant and rebellious nature to make him a difficult servant to break. They figured he would likely cause problems or runoff. They thought about using him as a warrior against the rebellion, but they would have to give him back his powers and then they could no longer control him. The whole thing had proven quite the conundrum to them all. It would appear they had found a use for Miya after all. Information, they would torture him to death in order to find the others and wage war on them, a lifetime of slavery or g******e.

            She hated to admit it, but her father was a tyrant, and the man he would have her marry would be no better. If she did nothing, she would be as guilty as they for what was to come. Could she live with herself knowing she could have prevented it? Gaia paused outside her father’s chambers. She knew he was with his advisers preparing for the arrival of his heir tomorrow. Gaia looked at the handles of his doors. Could she betray her own father?              

            What he was about to do was wrong, Gaia decided. She could not sit by and do nothing. Gaia looked about to be sure no one was around, and she pushed the huge, heavy door open. Gaia went inside and quickly shut the door behind her. She looked around the huge room, wondering where her father might keep the crystal she sought. She walked over to a huge wardrobe and opened the doors. She searched the small shelves inside and the tiny drawers. It did not take her long to find what she was looking for.

            Gaia found the blue crystal in the bottom drawer of the wardrobe along with some other jewels. She took the blue crystal and placed it around her neck, tucking the gem into her bodice. Gaia shut the drawer and rose to her feet. She shut the doors of the wardrobe and quickly made her way to the exit.

            Gaia opened the door and peered out into the corridor to be sure it was empty. The coast clear, Gaia exited her father’s chambers and moved swiftly, trying to put as much distance between her and the room before she was seen. She headed toward the gardens and slipped into the shadows. Looking over her shoulder to be sure she was alone, she made her way to the courtyards by the stables and slipped through the doors that led down to the dungeon.

            She carefully navigated the steep dark stone staircase that led underground. She stumbled once and caught her footing, preventing herself from falling. Gaia held the hem of her gown high to allow her to step freely. She reached the bottom and headed down the narrow hall toward the dimly lit area. There were many cells, but in this area of the dungeon, only the one was occupied.

            Gaia came up to the door. “Miya,” she whispered, taking hold of the bars and staring into the darkness behind the door.

            She heard movement from within. “You returned,” she heard his voice and then his face appeared in the window. He was smiling, happy to see her. His hands closed around hers over the bars, and Gaia felt his warmth coursing through her. “I am glad you came back.”

            She felt her cheeks flush warm from the way he was gazing at her. Gaia cleared her throat nervously and withdrew her hands. “I have brought you what you have asked for,” she said, removing the crystal from her neck. She held it up and saw the flash of excitement in his bright eyes.

            Miya held his hand out through the window. “You are my angle. Give it to me,” he pleaded.

            Gaia held on to it a bit apprehensive about returning his power. “You will not harm me, will you?” She asked.

            Miya offered her a dashing smile. “Sweet Gaia, you have nothing to fear from me. I would no sooner harm you then I would my own sister. Please hand it to me,” he insisted. Gaia placed the blue crystal in Miya’s hand and watched as his fingers closed around it. She released the lace and stepped back. Miya pulled his hand back into the cell and placed the crystal around his neck once more, tucking it into his tunic. “Thank you so much, my dear,” he said softly, slowly stepping back into the shadows.

            Gaia suddenly felt fear welling up inside her. She backed up against the far wall and watched as a bright light filled the cell. Suddenly, the cell door was torn off and tossed aside. Miya emerged from the cell. His bright eyes were glowing like flames in the night. He came to stand before her. “I feel so much better,” he said, offering her a smile. She watched as his dark hair turned to golden locks, and his jaw grew a full beard. The clothes he wore transformed into armour, and in seconds, a new man stood before her. The only thing that remained was his eyes. His unmistakable amber eyes. “I am forever indebted to you, Princess, but I am afraid that now I must be leaving.”

            Miya leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Gaia’s lips. A spectacular sensitization tore through her. It was nothing she had ever felt before — both scandalous and remarkable. Gaia had never before been kissed. It was soft and sweet, and it had a way of making her feel light-headed and weak in her knees.

            “Good-bye, sweet angle,” Miya whispered and then she watched as he disappeared into the darkness. She wondered if she might ever see him again.

***

            A quiver at her very core woke Jade from her slumber. She smiled and carefully rose from the bed, trying not to wake Titus. She quietly slipped into the next room and taking a cape from the hook on the wall, she wrapped herself in it and went outside. Jade looked around in the dark of the night. She could not see him, but she felt him. She knew Miya was close.

            Jade walked along to the side of the house, searching for her brother. She saw no one but the men on the wall. She kept to the shadows so as not to be seen herself. Jade headed for the barn and slipped inside. She felt the quiver once more. She was close. “Jade,” she heard a voice call to her. A soldier stepped out from one of the stalls.

            He might have been wearing a new face, but she would know her brother anywhere. “Miya,” she grinned, running to him. He scooped her up, hugged her tight, and spun her around. “You are free,” she said with glee. “This is wonderful.”

            “Come, we leave tonight,” he said, taking her hand and pulling her toward the door.

            Leave, she could not leave without her crystal. If she did, she might never again find it and be trapped like this forever. No, she could not leave without it, not yet; she would be unable to hide anywhere. “No, Miya, I cannot. I need my crystal,” she said, pulling away from him.

            “I do not know where it is. It is lost,” he said.

            She was sure that Titus knew where she might find it. She could not leave until she had located it. “I cannot go with you.”

            “Then, I will stay,” he said.

            “No,” she said, placing her hands on the front of his armour. “You cannot stay. They will be looking for you.”

            “I can hide,” he insisted.

            “Not for long,” she said. “You must flee.”

            “I will not leave you here,” he argued.

            “You must,” Jade said. “Seek out the man they call Sakwa. A rebel leader, he fights these tyrants. Join forces with him. Use his influence and his strength to come back after those who have done us wrong.”

            Miya frowned. “Join the war?” He scowled. “This is not our war,” he reminded her.

            “They have made it our war,” she said firmly. “Our people have been driven from their homes and are now exposed. It is only a matter of time before we can run and hide no longer. We must choose a side, Miya. We must make a stand.”

            “And the enemy of our enemy is our ally,” Miya said with understanding. “But I cannot leave you. Who will protect you if I do?”

            “I will protect myself,” she promised. “You go, align with Sakwa. I will find you once I have found my crystal,” she said, pushing him toward the doors of the barn. “Go quickly before you are discovered.”

            “But, Jade…” he began.

            “Miya… please… do not make this harder than it must be…. go,” she cried with tears in her eyes. “Just go before I alert the guards myself,” she threatened.

            Miya stared down at her with love in his eyes. “I will come back for you,” he promised.

            “Go,” she insisted, shoving him through the doors. Jade watched as her beloved brother, the only family she had left, disappeared into the night. Leaving her alone and trapped. A sense of overwhelming helplessness filled her. Would she be trapped here forever?