Please note: I am updating this draft of The Prisoner of Arlunn. The most important change is that the main character's name has been changed from Philip to Rian.
37
Anya woke with a headache and a feeling of panic. She remembered how angry Shaz had been with her last night. He had hit her, several times. She'd been terrified to see him in such a state.
Had she deserved it?
She had misled him, about her age. She should have told him how young she really was. In Earth years, she was barely 14, but in their world, in Chuness years, that was only about 9.
The thought that she'd have the baby and not be married brought a new bout of tears. She cried helplessly for awhile. She had begun to hate Arlunn. It was a dismal place. There was nowhere to go and the sun never really shone here.
But would going back to Chuness be any better? Surely Aldena was disappointed in her. Aldena was the Regent of the Seven Worlds of Cathal right now. Having a pregnant daughter with a failed engagement to the prince of Chuness had to be an embarrassment. But Anya wasn't even Aldena's true daughter. And Aldena hadn't adopted her. She was just a foster mother. They'd known each other less than a year.
After this mess, Aldena wouldn't even want her any more. And this thought made fresh tears fall.
Finally, Anya got out of bed. First, she took a hot bath. Her bedroom had its own bathroom. She didn't know if they'd really invented hot water plumbing, or if the tub were enchanted. Either way, she didn't care.
After soaking for a good, long while, she felt better. She got up and found a suitable dress, not too frilly, because her mood was gloomy. Something practical—modest with long sleeves and a button up front, made of a dark brown material. It came down to her knees, but there was a slit. She wore knee-high brown leather boots and striped leggings and a leather hat with goggles. She thought of it as her Amelia Earhart outfit.
She didn't bother with her translator hat. She didn't feel like talking to anyone anyway.
Almost she worried that her door would be locked again. She was still furious at Shaz for locking her in last night. What right did he have—prince or no prince!
But the door wasn't locked, so she opened it, checking to see if Shaz was around. His door was ajar, which usually meant that he wasn't home. On most days, he'd left already by now.
She slipped across the hallway into Shaz's room. He was not there. She entered, cautiously, almost afraid of getting in trouble somehow for entering his room. But nothing happened.
His room was larger than hers, a large bed sat in the corner with a large carved wooden dresser and armoire next to it. Next to the door was a small sitting area with a loveseat and end-tables. In the other corner was a large desk. It was the only thing in the room that was disorderly. Papers and books were stacked all over it, in no particular order.
She wandered over there. Most of it as written in Vassi, a language she still struggled to read. The rest must have been in a more arcane language because she didn't recognize it.
A large shelf on the wall held some decorations and knick-knacks, or were they more than that? There were some small sculptures, some pendants. One in particular caught her attention. It was an amulet with a small, sabre-tooth tiger carving on it. Near it was a round purple stone with a single rune on it and a map. She picked up the map. She could only read two words on it: Nethermost Realm.
She'd heard of it. Molan had come from there. Shaz had some arcane interest in the Nethermost Realm. He'd spoken of it a few times. The rune on the stone was also a rune on the map.
There was also a small wooden chest. She opened it and found it full of gold coins and a few gems. That could come in handy, in a pinch. She pocketed 5 gold coins, just for an emergency.
After that, she quietly left the room.
"Going somewhere?" The voice startled Anya. She turned and saw the Ninja, Chiarra, watching her from further down the hallway.
"Maybe," said Anya, with nonchalance. Either the Ninja had orders to keep her inside or to follow her. Let her follow then, if she wanted.
Anya turned and headed downstairs, testing the measure of her freedom. The Ninja followed, as usual. Anya headed straight to the door, without even stopping for breakfast. No one prevented her from leaving.
But the Ninja followed. Fine, let her.
Numerous times Shaz had warned her against walking out in the open. It wasn't seemly for a girl of her status to walk alone or she would be the queen some day and had to show decorum. Humph! None of that mattered now.
There wasn't much of anywhere to go on Arlunn. There was the College, the castle, and the shopping district, as she called it. Even that was very limited. Her hometown in Nebraska was larger, and that wasn't saying much.
Then there was the Tower. That's where she would go. She knew they were holding Kyran there. She should have gone there days ago after that boy sent her the note from Rian, but she'd listened the Shaz's stupid advice. No more.
She took the path down from the castle, past the lake and straight for the Tower. The Ninja followed her, saying nothing. At least she didn't stop Anya.
The thought of seeing anyone from home, even Kyran, who was about as emotional as a robot, sounded comforting. At least he knew her. They were friends. She marched up to the front door of the tower where a man stood guard.
"I want to see the magic-spawn," she demanded.
"That isn't allowed," said the man.
"I'm Anya, daughter of Aldena Jade, Regent of the Seven Worlds of Cathal. Kyran is my cousin and you will let me in to see him." She had no qualms about using what clout she had.
The man hesitated, deciding that this decision was above his pay-grade. "Just a moment," he muttered, vanishing inside the tower.
She waited, patiently. So did the Ninja, ever so silently. She would report back to Shaz, but Anya didn't care. He could say what he liked. Insufferable bully! She felt the tears coming back, but she steeled herself against another crying session. She didn't want to be seen blubbering in public.
After a few moments, the door opened and Ehina stepped out.
"Anya?" said Ehina, recognizing her. At least Ehina was a familiar face.
"I want to see my cousin, Kyran," she said.
Ehina considered this carefully, looking behind her at the Ninja. "Very well, but she can't enter," she said, speaking of the Ninja.
"Fine," said Anya.
"Unacceptable," said Chiarra.
"Oh, can it!" said Anya. "I'm going to see Kyran. It's a tower and there's no way out! It's not like I'm going to escape or something."
"I'm her escort," said Chiarra.
"I know what you are," Ehina said darkly. "The girl will be under my protection. I assure you, no harm will come to her."
Anya's admiration for Ehina just quadrupled. "Thank you," she said.
"You're welcome." Ehina turned and headed inside the tower. Anya followed her, leaving the Ninja on the porch.
Inside the tower was poorly decorated and not very well lit. The tower was large but there was little furniture. Kyran sat there at his desk in the center of the room, reading. Sometimes she imagined that he never even needed to sleep, but she supposed that he did.
"Kyran?" she said.
"Anya!" he stood and a smile broke over his face. She rarely saw him smile. Kyran wasn't an emotional person. In fact, she liked that about him. But there were times when he could be very human. And seeing him felt very good.
She hurried over to Kyran and gave him a big hug. "It's so good to see you." She knew that hugging always made him feel awkward but this time he didn't seem to mind. Perhaps he was as lonely as she was.
"So," she said, disengaging from the hug and looking at him. "You're a prisoner too?"
"Yes," he nodded.
"Are they ever going to let you out?" she demanded.
He shrugged. "I don't think so. No."
That thought was gloomy indeed. She couldn't do it, stuck in the this tower ... the rest of her life? She shivered. Though, maybe Kyran could. He was very quiet and she saw that they'd given him a lot of books. He would like that. He wasn't so much a people-person.
"Rian is stuck in the Interstitium for the games," said Kyran. His face and voice were stoic, but she could sense his distress.
"So I heard," she said.
"I heard about you and Shaz," said Kyran, looking at her.
"Yes," she said. Now, being here with someone she considered a friend, the tears began to roll down her face again.
Kyran looked up at her. Emotional displays usually made him uncomfortable, she knew, but she couldn't help herself. But this time, he reached up and touched her cheek gently, a true gesture of tenderness for Kyran.
"He broke your heart?" Kyran said quietly.
She burst into sobs and hugged Kyran again. Patiently, he let her. "I don't know what to do!" she cried.
Kyran allowed her to hug him, but he didn't have any advice to give and remained silent. She didn't really expect advice from the pale boy. After a few minutes, she let go of him and managed to stop sobbing, even though she couldn't stop the tears.
"Are you doing all right?" she asked him. With Kyran, she didn't expect much of an emotional display.
"I'm all right," he said. He face was impassive; she couldn't tell how he really felt.
"Good," she said. "Getting some reading done?" she asked, casually.
"Yes," he said. Kyran wasn't much for small talk.
She had a thought. "Tell me, what do you know about the Nethermost Realm?" she asked.
He gave her an odd look. "Where did you hear about that?"
"I think Shaz is reading up on it."
"It's another plane of existence separate from ours."
"Did Molan came from there?" she asked.
"Yes." Kyran seemed very certain of this. "The Nethermost Realm isn't an area of space, it's an alternate plane, a created place, like Arlunn or the Interstitium. Life there is only sustained by magic, as is the Nethermost Realm itself. There's no sun. It is ruled by the forces of Chaos."
"You know a lot about it," she observed.
He shrugged. He walked over to his desk, where four or five dark paintings lay. One was of a bleak landscape in a semi-dark world. One was of a horrific monster with giant jaws. One was of a winged demon rising out of cave. One was of a tall fortress with huge statues of fierce looking wolves in front of it.
"I see it in my nightmares, sometimes."
She shivered. "Not a place to visit, by the look of it."
"No," he agreed, solemnly.
She wasn't sure what else to talk about.
"It's good to see you," she said.
"It's good to see you too," he said, and she believed he meant it. Kyran didn't say things just to be polite. No doubt he was lonely, cooped up in here all day. And Rian was in the Interstitium all the time.
"We should break out of here and go back to Nebraska," she said in a voice low enough that perhaps Ehina couldn't hear her.
At this, Kyran smiled. He always got her wry humor. "Yes," he said, though he knew that was impossible. "Even Nebraska would be better."
At this rare joke from Kyran, she laughed out loud. Soon both of them were laughing. It felt good.
But soon the laughter died away. There was an awkward moment of silence. Conversation had never been Kyran's forté.
"Well," said Anya. "I guess I should get back."
"Yes," said Kyran.
Reluctantly, she gave him a quick hug. "Good bye."
"Good bye, Anya," said Kyran. "I'm glad you visited me."
She nodded. She'd have to come back again. She needed a friend. Ehina escorted her back outside where the Ninja was waiting.
Just to assert her independence, Anya walked all over town into almost every shop, just to annoy the Ninja, who followed her silently, saying nothing. In face, she couldn't tell if Chiarra was annoyed at all.
Finally, Anya gave up and went back to Shaz's apartment. Though, if there had been a way off Arlunn, she might have taken it, in that moment. She didn't look forward to her next encounter with Shaz.
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