Ana's feelings of soaring hope were quickly dashed once her consciousness had been reunited with her body. Valdis, ever the master of buzzkill, was now ferociously questioning Ana as she grabbed Newlyn's hand and started to head back towards the temple. Some of the fairies were still scurrying about in a panic, while others were so surprised to see their Lady Raanana being aggressively pursued by her betrothed that they dared to stop and gawk at them.
"What in the name of Maturin was that?" he seethed at her as he followed them closely, his green eyes bugging out, his normal attempt at appearing calm and collected long lost.
"You know what that was," Ana answered curtly, pulling Newlyn closer to her as they attempted to increase their pace, as if that would lose the erratic fairy.
"Raanana, I know without a doubt that it was the vile creature, but what on earth were you doing looking like you idolized it? Like you were overjoyed in its presence?"
"I don't recall any of that, Valdis. In fact, what I vaguely remember was lying blacked out on the sand," Ana replied coolly, and Valdis ran a few steps to gain ground on the two girls, successful in getting in front of them and stopping them from going any further. "Get out of my way, Valdis."
"I will not!" Valdis cried, and he reached out to seize Ana's arms roughly. Newlyn started to protest, but Valdis let go of Ana just long enough to slap her in the face, making her cry out and stagger on her feet. "I will not allow such disobedience, and as your fiance - !"
Ana, whose arms were in the strong grasp of the much larger, angered body in front of her, used one of her free limbs kick its shin. This time, it was Valdis who cried out in pain, and as soon as he let go of her, Ana reached out to put her arm around Newlyn's shoulders and keep her moving towards the temple. Valdis, resolved to get answers, continued his pursuit.
The three of them reached the staircase that led to the main doors, and Ana turned on her heel to face him before he could pounce on them again. "You will not cross this threshold, Valdis! I wish to be alone with Newlyn."
Valdis raised his hand as if to strike her this time, but a loud, booming voice fell on the trio, instantly interrupting his intended assault.
"You will not lay a hand on my daughter!" Seaghda's baritone timber commanded, and Valdis appeared to shrink as he realized his act of abuse had been witnessed by his future father-in-law. The temple master approached them, a stern look adorning his features, his white hair looking uncharacteristically disheveled.
"Master Seaghda, forgive me," Valdis sniveled with a bow, "My zeal for an explanation of tonight's actions overtook me."
"Young Valdis, I do believe that all of us are disquieted and wanting reassurance that the Incubus will not cause our clan harm. But there is no justification for violence," Seaghda replied calmly. "Return home now, Valdis." He gestured for the girls to go into the temple, and Ana didn't wait for him to have to tell them again, wanting to go somewhere private and away from her hysterical fiance.
"I'm so sorry, Newlyn," Ana said remorsefully to her friend, who was gently cupping her reddened cheek as they walked.
"Don't apologize, Ana," Newlyn replied quietly. "Everyone is understandably upset by all of this."
They started up the stairs towards her golden apartments, and Ana was a bit leery that her father had not yet come through the main doors into the temple. She hoped Valdis wasn't busy trying to persuade the temple master of something that would not be in her favor, but she knew it was a likely possibility. Once they were in the sitting room with the doors closed and Newlyn was seated comfortably, Ana started to pace the room.
"Ana, please, you need to rest," Newlyn said, and Ana shook her head.
"No. No rest. I need to try to get out of here tonight."
Newlyn audibly gasped. "Ana, there's no way - "
"But this will be the best time. Everyone's panicking, not organized, and I might be able to slip by unnoticed," Ana muttered, wringing her hands as she continued to pace. The two argued for some time, Newlyn feeling protective of her friend and not wanting to do anything stupid, Ana not wanting to hear anything rational. Once Ana figuratively put her foot down on the matter, telling Newlyn that she was going to try to get into the cave whether she helped her or not, she went into one of her father's many studies to fetch a large silver blade that was kept as a relic. It was a grievous offense to take the weapon from its pedestal with intention to use it against one of her own kind, but Ana was far from caring about following her people's customs now.
"Ana, that is a grave sin," Newlyn said ominously as she watched Ana tuck it into her robes. "You'll be lucky if you live through the night, by the grace of Muir!"
Ana rolled her blue eyes as she straightened her robes. "If it was the tortoise's goal to strike me down for my sins, he would have done it a lot sooner."
Newlyn sighed, shaking her head at her blue-haired friend's response. "You've changed so much, my Lady Raanana."
Ana gave her a half-smile, her first instinct to be rude to her pious friend, but holding herself back out of affection. "For the better, I hope."
Newlyn was about to respond, when they heard the creaking that indicated the front doors were opening. Ana patted herself down quickly, double checking that the ancient artifact wasn't noticeable through the white material. Her father came through first, a solemn expression on his features as he came towards them. Ana opened her mouth to greet him, but the welcome died in her throat when she saw guard after guard cross into her home after him.
"Father," Ana said as she bowed, hoping not to sound as alarmed as she felt just then, "What is happening?"
Seaghda walked past her, going to stand in front of the pink-haired fairy, who had sprang to her feet and gone into a deep bow as soon as he had entered. "Newlyn, Seer of the Maturin Temple, it is my duty to inform you that you are under arrest." At his words, two of the guards sprang forward, immediately pulling Newlyn's hands behind her back and binding them with golden shackles, their much larger hands placed on her shoulders to keep her in line once she was bound. There was no need for such restraint, as devout Newlyn would never think to resist her detainment.
"Father!" Ana gasped, rushing forward to aid her friend, but she was stopped short by the two guards that weren't manhandling the seer. "What is the meaning of this? She's done nothing wrong!"
At her statement, the flame-haired fairy she had come to entirely loath stepped into the room, a smug look on his face.
"Valdis informs me otherwise," Seaghda replied quietly, gesturing to Ana's fiance.
"Informed you of what?" Ana seethed, and she wondered how far she would get if she surprised the whole room and stabbed Valdis right then, imagining how satisfying it would be to feel the silver blade slide into his flesh like butter. But Pennywise was always in the back of her mind, and she couldn't make the situation harder. She had to get back to him. "What could she have done that's so deplorable that you would do this?"
"Raanana, hold your tongue. You know these matters are left to the council," her father said, his patience suddenly gone as his daughter challenged him, a behavior that was punishable in their culture. Ana kept quiet then, knowing her badgering would only make the situation much worse. So she apologized yet again to her friend as they took her away, refusing to let tears fall with all of the males in the room, not wanting them to see how fragile she felt. Her father and the guards left with Newlyn to take her to the council for questioning, and Ana found herself alone with Valdis.
"Such a pity," he said, shaking his head somberly, although Ana knew it was put on. "Newlyn is such a righteous seer, to see her fall into such immorality is heart-breaking."
"You shouldn't be in here without my father's blessing," Ana replied through gritted teeth. Her urge to slice him was becoming even more unbearable.
"Oh, I think he's rather preoccupied right now," Valdis said, taking a few confident steps towards her. "Much more important things to figure out." Ana stood her ground, refusing to back up as he got closer to her, his emerald eyes shining at her mischievously.
"What did you tell him, Valdis?"
"That she had something to do with you and the Incubus communicating," he said nonchalantly.
"That's a heavy accusation, and you have no proof!"
"Oh, I don't believe it's far off, dear fiance," Valdis replied. "You see, those lights seemed quite still at the same time you fainted on the beach, and those things only took place after she touched you."
"You speak of things you know nothing about," Ana hissed. She was clenching and unclenching her right hand, fighting the desire to pull out the blade.
"Maybe, maybe not," Valdis said, smirking as he looked down his nose at her. "But we'll know when we have the elder seers look into her mind."
"And then what, Valdis?" Ana asked haughtily, taking a step forward, communicating to him that she wasn't going to be intimidated. "What is the end goal to this? I thought when we spoke earlier, we agreed that it would be easier for you to become Temple Master if we left all of this alone."
"That was until I saw your reaction to the Beast. How euphoric you looked, and everyone saw. I'm afraid I feel the need to enforce a bit more authority over you if this marriage is going to work, Raanana."
"So this is you blackmailing me further? Keeping Newlyn in a cage so I'll behave?"
"You'll find I have a large amount of influence with the council. Her punishments may need my input."
Ana took a deep breath, attempting to steady her rage. "You have no idea what you've done, Valdis." She knew that if the council succeeded in seeing into Newlyn's mind, then they would see all of Ana's memories from Earth. And then they would come after her.
Valdis seemed to ignore her. "But I can make this all better, my dear. I can make this all go away, as long as you adhere to what I want from you."
Ana sneered at him, feeling absolutely venomous. She didn't need to ask him what he wanted from her; she knew her whole life what the male members of their city wanted from their females. Absolute, undisputed submission, to appear to be the perfect wife, to bear offspring to assert their political positions. He wanted her to keep her mouth shut, attend masses daily, obey his wishes without question. He didn't care what she may or may not have done with the Incubus, as long as no one else knew and she appeared to be pure and worthy enough to continue being the direct route to eventually becoming Temple Master. What he wasn't comprehending was that soon, the entire council would know of her life with the Eater of Worlds, and there was no way any of them would be able to look past that.
She wanted nothing more than to kill him.
He left her shortly after he told her of his plan to keep her in line. She had hoped to leave the apartments as soon as he was out of sight from the temple, but quickly found that there were warriors stationed all around the temple to ensure she couldn't leave without anyone knowing. She tried to tell the one stationed outside her apartment door that she was only going for a walk, but she was told without hesitation that it could not be allowed.
She paced the many heavily decorated rooms again, this time for hours, muttering to herself at first about how to get to the cave, then pretending that she was conversing with Pennywise. It was the only thing keeping her sane right then, acting as if he was there with her instead of a universe away and unable to come to her.
It was a late hour in the middle of the night when she heard screaming from somewhere outside the temple. Ana rushed to one of the windows, seeing nothing amiss in the dark at first. Then, she heard something loud like an explosion coming from somewhere near the forest, and more screaming.
There was a loud knock on the door, and she rushed to open it at once, coming face to face with one of the winged guards. He bowed as he laid eyes on her.
"What is it?" she asked hurriedly.
"An attack, my lady Raanana. I've been informed the Sordidus have invaded the city." Ana knew The Sordidus were a race of large, slimy goblins that lived on a nearby continent, ones that had attacked the fae many times in recent decades. They were largely a nuisance, but were increasing in number and weapons every time they returned, hoping to mine the surrounding area for precious metals.
"Have the others gone to fight?" Ana asked, peering around the fairy's shoulder to look around the empty temple.
"Yes, my lady, but I shall remain stationed here to defend you - "
He was cut off when Ana snatched a large cudgel from the guard's waist and brought it down as hard she could on his head, making him fold to the ground in a heap immediately. Luckily for her, this one hadn't been wearing a gold helmet, indicating that he was not of the warrior class. Knowing she was leaving him vulnerable, she took the time to drag his limp body into the apartment and shut the door. Then, she was off, armed with her silver shank and the truncheon that had given her her freedom.
More of the Sordidus had entered the city limits, and Ana was now dodging goblins and fairies alike as she sprinted towards the forest for cover. She heard one fae cry out her name, then a yelp that indicated that they had been attacked; she didn't bother to turn to look, only looking towards where she intended to go.
She reached the trees, about to wonder if this had been a bit too easy, when she heard a growl nearby. A goblin dripping thick green fluid from its greasy skin and bearing it's jagged teeth had is gaze set on her, and she stopped running to ready her club, knowing she wasn't going to be able to out run it. The creature stood nearly seven feet tall, and with its stature had long, sturdy legs that would allow it to reach her in a few strides. Had she been her former self, the sight of the menacing creature may have reduced her to a sobbing puddle. But now, she had been exposed to a being much more impressive, one that lived to induce fear in anyone around it, and she had grown to adore it. This thing in front of her, readying to pounce, was nothing more than annoyance. When it rushed towards her in a fury of snarls and saliva, Ana swung and bludgeoned the thing right in the temple, causing it to howl in pain, look at her apprehensively, and trample away from her into the trees. Intruders of Dulcis typically weren't used to such confidence from the fairies. Right now, it was the very thing separating Ana from her past.
Ana didn't know how long she journeyed through the forest towards the cave that held her powers. Luckily, the majority of the fighting was taking place in the city, and she only had to sneak around two more goblins before the entrance came into sight. She crouched down, waiting to see if anyone was guarding it, hoping she would have a chance to get in without a fight. There was no movement for several minutes, and she decided that it was now or never.
As she stood and started to hurry towards the entrance, screaming close by made her startle; she turned to look towards the sound, then gasped when hands suddenly grasped her arms and torso. At first, she thought a goblin had grabbed her, but in a few seconds, she realized that she was surrounded by fairies, all with golden helmets adorning their heads.
"Let go of me!" she yelled, trying to struggle out of their grip. She was rewarded with shackles being placed on her wrists, and then she was pushed to her knees. The group of fairies parted, allowing someone to walk up to her. She didn't even need to look up to know who it was.
"Lady Raanana, you are under arrest," came her father's low voice, "for the copulation with, and idolization of the Incubus."
Ana's heart plummeted. One guard, she had been able to get away from. But being restrained by this many, and with her father present, she would need a miracle to outsmart or over power them.
She finally looked up when she saw someone else approaching her. It was Valdis, and she could tell he was pretending to look sullen. But she knew him well enough to know, he was hiding the fact that was absolutely pleased with himself.