"Mistrust the person who finds everything good, and the person who finds everything evil, and mistrust, even more, the person who is indifferent to everything."
-Xamdú
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Analia knew something that she would not have ever wished to have known. She pressed her head against the plush pillow before rising with a deep sigh. She had a minor head wound, nothing to be bed-ridden for. However, Karos always had cared and worried for her.
She had known, Karos was up to something. The way he shirked his duties and responsibilities off to Baastian, of all men, Analia knew, so she followed close behind.
Her foot touched the cold marble floor. Soon, her other foot was on it and, before long, she was up and walking. The worry in her mind was eating away at her. There was only one way to quell it down and it was to see him.
"Baastian," Analia mumbled as she entered the next room. His head was quick to rise causing Analia to smile for a moment.
How he was able to show how he was afraid and scared, was something she had hated, at first. Yet, as she came to think more on it, she realized she only hated it because she, herself, could not admit it to herself when she was afraid. When she needed help, when she was fearful. Every day of her life was something scary and fearful, however.
"Karos...how is he?"
His amber eyes soon met with her much lighter ones.
"He is well."
She let out the breath she had been holding before sighing out loud. "And the meeting? How did it go?"
"...He will give us an advisor." Baastian took a hand down the side of his face. "After what had happened between the princes and Karos, I am most definite of it."
"I am going to go and see him. Be sure to stay in these rooms. We will soon be leaving." Analia opened the door.
"Wait. Before you go, tell me... What is it that you know that I do not?"
Again, she smiled.
"Baastian, leave things as they are. You will sleep much better that way."
As she walked out the door, she felt the cold, chill of the gold floors pressing against her bare feet. She was lightly dressed in no armor nor comforting pants. Her black hair was drawn up into a ponytail keeping it away from her face. Looking as vulnerable as she felt, Analia did not like the thought of seeing Karos the way she was.
Still, she swept down the hall in deafening silence. She kept a firm grip on the dagger strapped to her leg as she approached his door. Just as she was about to press her ear to the door, Fariel opened it with a smile.
"Analia, you are awake."
"I had not been able to sleep," Analia said back with narrowed eyes. She knew what he had done.
"Karos is well attended to."
"I do not care. Let me in to see him."
His brown eyes gazed into hers with a fervor before he gave her a smile and side-stepped out of her way. She made her way to the bigger bed chamber and saw Ake hovering near him causing her to stop in her tracks. Of course, he would be here, Analia thought.
"He had taken his blood, so he is quite healed up now. We can leave when they are finished with their final goodbyes."
Fariel pressed against her from behind. His breath tickled her ear, but she did not flinch away.
"I saw you. I saw you and the princess's retainer," Analia dared to speak.
Analia saw as Ake turned his head in their direction. His red hair was sprawled along his back causing the creme of his robe to highlight his already apparent features. Truly, he was a gorgeous man, a pretty dragon. There was no wonder why Karos had become so enraptured with him, Analia thought.
There were bandages wrapped around his sword arm, but other than that, she could see no other injuries. This time, Fariel had not been lying. He was very much well.
"You saw nothing."
Her eyes fixated back on to Ake as she saw his hand press against Karos' face. They were speaking, but they were too far away for her to hear. Still, by the look in Karos' eyes and the way his hand pressed against his, she knew them for sweet words. She realized then, just how much in love they were with one another.
"However, I know why you had done what you did. Still, I do not agree with it. You tearing them apart like this, ripping them into pieces."
"It was the only way. There is such a thing as good lies, Analia, my sweet. Do not act as if you are a stranger to it."
Soon, she felt an arm wrap around her and the touch of his lips upon the nape of her neck. His touch was hot, searing when it had not been once before.
"He could have died," Analia hissed.
"I knew you would follow him."
"And Ake?"
"Ake...I did not count on being there. However, they are tethered to one another. If he dies, so does he."
Analia's eyes widened as she turned around to face Fariel.
"It was not only for Karos was it? The princes...you also wanted to be rid of them."
"Do not paint me as a scheming villain, Analia. None of them had perished, just greatly injured."
She turned herself back around and pressed her cheek against the doorway. In an instance, Analia saw Ake press his lips onto Karos' causing her eyes to widen. Her cheeks became flushed and the entirety of her body felt hot. Soon, her eyes began to fall and she was quick to leave out the room along with Fariel.
"I will give them this one, last night. I am not so cruel of a person to deny them that."
"Fariel."
"If they found the love they had been searching for within each other, then so be it. However, they will love from afar. Maybe then, they can rediscover some new love elsewhere."
"You are cruel," Analia murmured.
"You are a woman. I do not take any offense to your words filled with feeling."
Analia pursed her lips and glared into his eyes.
"Karos is a dear friend of ours. Being with Ake will make him bring the dragons into a war not meant for them. Ake's little actions will cause every dragon to fall out of Mercy's grace. Do you not realize this?" He stepped closer to her causing her to take a couple steps back.
"Griffins and phoenixes will be what the dragons will have to face. You will know no war like no other if this comes to pass."
Analia felt his hand on her arm tightening with each passing second.
"It will be a slaughter. You saw what one or two griffins could easily do to a dragon," Fariel hissed. "A great dragon such as Ake. Tell me, what do you think will become of the others?"
"...I..."
"Oraanu was right in his words, and he was doing his best by Ake for both his sake and ours."
"Because I am a woman, my words must be filled with emotion and mean little to you?" Analia shook her head. "I will not allow you to diminish my word's value because my sex is as a woman and not a man." She snatched her arm back.
"Karos is free to love whomever. Do you not think he has suffered enough to be allowed even the smallest fraction of love, Fariel?"
Fariel laughed, his brown eyes showing more specks of gold. His smile was full of whitened teeth and his lips pink and plump from pressing down against them. In her eyes, Fariel had always been attractive to her. However, there was a sense of danger about him she noticed since she first met him.
"You ignorant woman. Since you are so keen on their love, let me tell you something I think you should know."
"Do not."
"Ignorance is not bliss, Analia." Her eyes darted left and right before she met with his darkening eyes.
"Do you want to know the reason for why Karos and Ake had hated one another so much in the beginning?"
"I do not."
"Karos had killed his dear friend at the battlefield. As you know Ake is without much friends here, so you can imagine how hurt he was."
"Enough of this."
"Stuck in a foreign land, filled with the monstrosities that had killed most of our kind when we had first lived down below. Believe me, I am sure he was scared and he was frightened but overall much more angry and vengeful."
"Fariel," Analia pressed, but he continued.
"Karos seemed to leave much out when he told you about how he came to have met Ake. Before they left out of the cave, Andel had found them."
Analia's eyes became wide.
"I am sure he saw something was different about Karos' companion, so he ordered the rest of the men to secure chains around the both of them. Just precaution."
"Stop this..."
"However, Ake broke free of his confines and slaughtered every last one of them."
Her eyes squeezed shut as tears began to form in her eyes.
"Karos was torn between telling you because he knew you had developed some feelings for him."
Analia shook her head as tears began to drip down her cheeks.
"I suppose not all love is equal."
"You are a manipulative bastard!" she choked. It only caused him to shake his head and smile. "You say you are doing this for Karos, but I have room to believe otherwise. You have your own agenda in mind, and him being with Ake will only seem to ruin it."
He lunged for her, but Analia took a step back before drawing her obsidian dagger.
"Do not dare to spread such vile thoughts into his head. I am his friend, whether you want to admit to it or not, and I only have what is best for him in mind."
Analia wrapped her fingers tight around the handle of it before pressing it close to her. Still he walked closer to her until the dagger was pushing onto his skin and the bejeweled wall could be felt on her back.
"Who are you? Who are you, really?"
"I fear you may not like the answer I will give you," Fariel whispered.
His head was quick to rise to the sound of something dropping onto the floor. When Analia followed his gaze her eyes widened at the sight of Baastian. He had dropped a plate of fruits onto the floor as well as spilled some water from a glass.
"Baastian," Analia's voice grew worried. Just how much did he hear, Analia thought as she saw Fariel's eyes darken.
"I suppose your interests lay with other men and that is fine." He cleared his throat causing Analia's eyebrows to knead.
"Well, I--I must be heading back to my room. You may choose to accompany me there or not. It does not quite matter to me." Soon, he turned and headed back to his rooms causing Analia to breathe out.
"Now, this truly does make you a whore."
"I do not trust you. I have never trusted you," she said shirking off his insult.
"After tonight, when all is done, you will have nothing left to trust, but me."
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[A/N]
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