The Dragon Blood Guardian *COMPLETED*

Gilded Cage

My words caught her attention, her head snapping to face me and her eyes growing wide. "Oh Adelaide, I always knew you would come for me!" Cecily hopped off her velvet cushion and darted across the bright marble flooring before rushing into a deep embrace. "Never once did I doubt that you would find me."

"Of course your highness, I would never abandon my mission. Only death's grip could keep me from reaching you."

As she squeezed her arms around my back and buried her head into my shoulder, I peered past her mane of dark curly hair and drank in the oddly dainty room before me. As far as I had seen, no where in the citadel had their been white paint upon the walls, any flooring other than well worn stone, or a single bit of decoration, much less the finely woven rug before a roaring fireplace or the four poster bed draped with lacy pink curtains. However, I had also not seen much of the fortress and could not necessarily make a clear judgment on the strangeness of Cecily's bedroom, at least in that sense. I could, though, say with complete certainty, I'd never witnessed a finer jail cell.

"What is it Adelaide?" asked Cecily, pulling herself away, holding me at arm's length so she could scan over me with a judicious eye. "Have you been hurt?"

"No, my lady," I said, figuring it wasn't quite a lie since it was not the various injuries I'd suffered over the past few days that gave me a distant look in my eye. "I was just thinking this room is awfully nice for a hostage. What is it they had planned for you?"

Cecily released me as my thumb rose up to brush the bottom of my lip, my eyes crossing over the ceiling and admiring a golden chandelier with pearly white candlesticks blazing upon its intricate arms.

"They treated me as they should one of my station," answered Cecily in a dark tone that brought my eyes back to my charge. She bowed her head to the ground, her long hair curtaining her face so I couldn't see how her eyes studied the floor, but I heard the apprehension and pain in her voice. "They never wanted to hurt me, I was just a pawn to be used to get what they needed. They knew they'd be far more successful if I was in good condition when you came with the ransom."

"I'm sorry, I didn't come with the ransom," I said, my voice straining as I bared my failure before her. "I should have been at Jyn days ago to make the exchange, but I'd met with...difficulties." I bit back my words, chastising myself for immediately conjuring up the image of Vincent's pale and fragile body back at the shrine, my heart radiating sympathy instead of anger. I, however, allowed myself some forgiveness as the princess was clearly all right and his greed had not threatened her life.

"I heard," she answered, her face still turned from me. I wanted to reach out and bring her eyes to mine so I could tell if the tinge in her voice was strain from her trauma or simple disappointment with my inabilities. "Things got less pleasant here after they discovered you weren't going to make it to Jyn, but still, since they did not have the jewels, they weren't ready to dispose of me. They were simply less eager to make me feel at home." Finally, she snapped up and looked upon me with pain and regret glistening in her wide eyes. "I mean look at me Adelaide. I've been left to do my own hair and I haven't properly bathed in days!"

I managed to stifle my snicker of amusement at Cecily's tragic accommodations and reminded myself that to a princess that has always had several maids at her beck and call at any given moment, being left to figure out how to simply manage her flyaway curls was a rather daunting task.

"At least you are well and you are alive," I said. "Now that I know you have been treated kindly, I can confidently spend the next couple days scouting the citadel and planning our..."

"Couple days!" she shrieked and it took me a moment to remind myself of my place when I nearly slammed my hand over her mouth. Instead I cast a wary glance over my shoulder. The wooden door was a heavy one, built of thick planks and hefty iron. Still, when Cecily was displeased, her voice could cut through steel.

"Your highness, I can't just run you out of here. This place is like a labyrinth and I am unarmed and unguarded, which is particularly dangerous in a nest full of dark mages. To make sure I get you safely out of here and back to the Western Shrine..."

"Western shrine," she said, pulling back slightly. "You mean with my aunts?"

"Yes, they're some ways from Exton, the town that provides the citadel servants, but we can get there in half a day by foot."

She paused, her eyes darting around the room, before swallowing down something hard, her eyes pinching as she gritted her teeth.

"Adelaide we must leave today. I know they got the jewels by force yesterday. Ever since then, their patience has been waning and they've been discussing what to do with me before they move on with their plans. I wasn't supposed to be around for whatever they're scheming. I don't know how long it will be before they simply discard me in the most efficient way possible."

She couldn't say the words and her voice shook with fear, but I knew her concerns to be warranted. The mages had the jewels, there was no reason to keep the princess alive. The fact she was a princess was probably her saving grace. Some of the mages must have had enough good sense to know that if they slaughtered the king's only heir, the hunt for their heads would be far more brutal than if they were just thieves in possession of priceless jewels. However, what other course did they have? They could drop her off somewhere to be found and rescued, but that would take a lot of effort to keep their tracks guarded, tracks that were already in danger of discovery after their trip to Zinya, which undoubtedly was the concern Orion mentioned to Gorton.

"All right, your highness, we'll leave today, but at least give me some time to plan things out. What can you tell me of the citadel? What have you learned about the layout? Their habits? Their..."

My words disappearedin the roar of an explosion that rattled the walls and sent rocks raining downupon us.

***

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