Back in the workroom Viekar approaches me. "Where's Master Bavarthos?"
"He's going to be busy for a little bit. Someone showed up and they need to catch up." My smile throws Viekar for a loop as he stares puzzled at me.
"Who on Earth could show up here?" Viekar scratches his head in thought.
"No one from Earth." Is all I say as I go back to the book I was reading earlier, seeing that our suits were being dipped into the warding potions and left to soak.
"That doesn't make any sense... how could?... Wait.." Viekar takes off, a thought coming to his mind. I shake my head in mirth.
"I think they may want to be alone!" I call out after him but he's already long gone.
Queen Lirael comes and sits in the chair opposite of me that's a heavily padded, ornately carved, cherry wood seat. "So who showed up?" She asks me.
"B's wife. I figured they needed some time alone to catch up." I say nonchalantly.
"She came?! I am so happy for them! It broke my heart to separate them, but she needed to come into herself and it was too dangerous for her to be here before. Now that she is here though..." She grips her head and mumbles, "I am weary..."
Damn it, she's changing again.
Her hair turns gray and wispy, her skin wrinkles and back hunches over into the familiar figure from so long ago. I can still smell the wet, salty earth down in that hole, feel the wet sand under my backside, hearing the gunfire and bombs exploding off in the distance when I first met her.
"You're staring, petit phénix." (Little Phoneix) Lirael the crone leans forward on the arm of her chair, curiously.
Snapping out of my memories, I apologize. "Apologies, your majesty. I was lost in the past for a moment." I clear my throat and look back down to the book.
Chuckling in her dry raspy voice, she attracts my attention. "Remembering when you first met me?"
She raises a brow, knowingly at me. I merely nod in response and try to return to the book, but remember that I did need to say something to her.
"Thank you, by the way." I tell her quietly making her pause.
"Oh? A thank you? After all the times I've heard that you cursed me and the gift I gave you, you are finally grateful?" She gives another dry laugh and asks me quietly, "Why do you say thank you now?"
I study her face, thinking of all the pain and suffering I've endured, but all the amazing memories too. All the years with Nathanial and Sarah and her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. For the years working for the government that enabled me to meet John, to draw closer to him, for meeting Cass. For making sure John was returned to me.
Tears fill my eyes as I realize I owe her much more than a thank you. "For everything." My weak and strained voice is barely audible but she merely nods with a smile.
"I knew you would appreciate it sooner or later." She chuckles before sighing and leaning her head back. She's snoring softly in a matter of minutes and I grab the small throw blanket on the back of the lounge and place it on her lap while she sleeps.
Viekar comes back in muttering angrily to himself after a little over an hour. I hop up and join his side, rubbing his shoulder with my own. "Hey, what's the matter?"
"They are already going at it!" He grumbles, he's acting like a child who had their favorite toy taken away and it makes struggle to hold back a laugh.
"I told you they were going to need some time alone..." I start before bursting out into laughter at Viekar's annoyed face.
"We have all missed Rakara, if you knew how much of an effect she leaves on Master Bavarthos, you would too." Viekar scans the room and see's Lirael sleeping in the chair with a blanket over her lap. He raises a brow at me with a questioning look. He didn't have to use words for me to understand him asking me, did I do that?
I nod. "Yes. Is that a problem?" I ask confusion filling me.
Viekar shrugs, "It could have been. I consider it to be a brave act on your part. If she had awoken while you did it, you could have witnessed the might of our Queen and not in a good way."
I understand what he's saying and look towards the vats holding the suits.
"Do you know how much longer this is going to take?" I ask him, still trying to hold my self together when everything in me wanted to leave and unleash hell of the Erlking for taking John. I clench my fists trying to calm my self down for a second as my heart starts feeling heavy as it begins to beat faster.
"You can still see the suits, right?" The queen had awoken and came to stand behind us and we didn't even know. We both jumped, turning to her wide eyed, nodding.
"Then it still needs more time." The young Queen says rolling her eyes and turns to Viekar.
"Where is Bavarthos?" She asks with an arrogant air as she shakes her head, still rolling her eyes.
"He is..." Viekar is interrupted by another voice.
"Right here, your majesty. How can I assist you?"
Bavarthos stood behind her, calm and collected as always, a light smirk catching the corners of his mouth as we exchanged a subtle flick of our brow.
"I heard your little... woman has shown up, is she avoiding coming to greet me?" Queen Lirael asks.
"Of course not. I insisted she relax for a few minutes so she could look presentable when she does come to greet you my queen." Bavarthos gives her a light bow as she waves her hand.
"Very well. Let us continue on our work, shall we?"
....John's POV...
*Drip-drip*
*Drip-drip*
"Ohhh man, my head." I groan against the head splitting pain of a hangover that I'm feeling. The steady drip of something sounding like drums being beaten next to my head. My dry tongue rolls about in my mouth tasting acrid and foul as I try to find moisture in it.
I go to move my stiff and aching body, that feels like I've been hit by a bus. I hear the clink of chains moving and realize, that's not right.
Eyes snapping open, I can't focus on the fuzzy haze that surrounds me. I blink a few times and everything comes into focus.
"Shit." I'm on a dirty concrete floor, in most likely a locked room, by the presence of a large heavy metal door. I go to push my self up and see the chains hanging from a shackle attached to my right arm. I push myself off the ground and carefully move my body that is screaming at me. I look around and notice the spigot that drips near the corner of the room near a floor drain.
"How in the hell did I end up here?" I ask myself out loud, trying to recall anything before this.
Looking down at myself, I see the giant reddish brown stain on the front of my shirt near a hole on my abdomen.
Then everything comes rushing back to me. The war, the fighting, the familiar sword sticking out of me as I am pulled through the air into the swarms of enemy soldiers, with Mary screaming out my name.
"Mary!" I struggle to stand and move forgetting about my chains until I fall flat on my face as they reach their max length.
"oof!" The wind gets knocked out me as I hit the ground, so crawling closer to the spigot, I instead drink from it. The water is a bit rusty as i turn the nut to open it more, after letting it run clear, I lap it up greedily.
After rinsing my mouth out and drinking my fill, I lean back against the concrete block wall. I know it's pointless, but I try to snap back to base camp anyways.
Burning pain, like boiling water, flows over my skin coming from the shackles.
"FUCK!"
I'm left panting, my heart racing, terrified of the shackles that just sent the wave of torture through me. I immediately try to find the hinge or seam, any thing to show me how they had been put on me. I couldn't find anything, sending adrenaline coursing through me.
"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." I am so fucked. They had to have put them on magically. I don't know how I will get out of these not being able to use my magic with out the pain of being boiled alive.
I cover my head and rest it against my knees, stress, anxiety, fear is filling my thoughts. What are they going to do to me? Mary... she must be freaking out right now.
My heart twists in angst at the thought of how stressed out she must be. I know if she isn't already blowing through the hordes of soldiers without care, then they will be soon.
It's a small reassurance, a flicker of hope inside of me, knowing that they will doing all they can to end this war and win. I just have to hold on until then.
I keep trying to get my hand out of the shackle, but it won't budge. I even run water over it in hopes to lubricate it over my wrist with no luck. I do not know how long I have been here or if I will be able to tell time from the window on the door.
There are no windows in this room, just dirt, concrete, a sickly yellow bulb in a caged fixture in the ceiling, a toilet and the spigot with me. The dripping spigot's steady rhythm lulls my eye lids to begin to drip, eyes jolting back open, only to close every time I hear the splatter of water on the ground.
I jolt awake, not knowing how long I have been asleep, but I'm hungry. I drink more water from the spigot and lean back against the wall to nod off again. I wake up, my stomach aching with hunger. If I had woken up in my battle gear instead of just my clothes I wear under the suit, I could have maybe found some gum or an energy bar stuffed some where. Instead I was filling my stomach with more water, trying to make it feel full so I could think about something other than the gnawing pain.
I can handle this, I keep telling myself, but as time goes on, I don't know how long I've been here. I'm growing weaker, and no one has opened the door or even walked by. I'm going to end up starving to death, only to keep coming back to life and starve again.
I look down at my hand, knowing what I have to do.