| Chapter Three | Jewels of Demand |

The gold of the goblet barely touched her skin as it was smacked from her hand, the contents spill onto the floor as it crashes with a bang. Adara jerks her head up towards the prince, his eyes dark. His jewel-like eyes from two different worlds. She could only grit her teeth as he snatches her chains, pulling her close.

"You dare make demands -- you make demands to my king as though he owes you?" The prince seethes with anger. As much as she wishes to laugh in his face, she holds back. He held her chains and a sword at his side, all she had were her wits and mind. His sword trumped her thoughts in any scenario.

"I made demands because you will owe me, because if I help, there will be everything to pay," Adara sneers, watching as his hand settles on the hilt of his long-sword. Just as the shiny silver of the sword begins to be brandished, the king rises from his velvet coated seat.

"That will be enough you foolish boy, she shall be rewarded graciously for her work, I would like to hear your demands so that I may give you what you need," King Oros points a stern finger towards his son. If Adara hadn't seen how the princes eyes were in anger, she would have thought the Kings' were cold.

"I am glad that someone in your rich family has a heart," Adara thumps the prince on his chest which earns her an, if possible, even deeper frown. "Firstly, I would like to return to Juula, I want to see my home," she says. She wanted to take a step away, to let out a breath, but she couldn't. She couldn't look weak to them.

"Absolutely not, it now is nothing more than ashes and dust, there is no purpose in wasting precious time to go to a barren wasteland," the prince says. On his neck, a red stain begins to flourish. Adara felt her chest tighten.

"It is only ash and dust because of you," Adara says quietly. "It is only barren because you murdered everyone who lived there."

"That's an incorrect statement, if I had killed everyone who lived there, you would not be alive," the prince says back, his voice is cool and collected. The sarcasm dripped from his voice like the venom from a serpent into its prey. She was the prey.

"Enough of this childish talk, get away from the girl and allow her to continue," the king rolls his eyes.

"Should something happen to myself, I would like to return to Juula, this applies if I should meet my ultimate demise," Adara says. She refused to think about such morbid things; she needed to be prepared for everything when it came to the king.

"I also would like compensation for whatever wild plan you may put into action."

The prince let out an audible groan of intolerance. Adara just smiles. She runs her hand down the smooth wood of the table.

"It is quite evident that you can afford it," she says, winking at the prince. His hand did not move from the hilt of his sword.

"Finally, I would like protection," Adara says, her voice dropped low. The prince thought he saw fear in her eye, but it disappeared as she saw his eyes on her.

The king himself looked puzzled. The king asks slowly, "If you do not mind my asking, protection from what?"

Adara tried to smile, but it faltered on her lips.

"When you ride with the royal caravan you are protected by armed men almost all hours of the day, even in your own home you are protected at all times from what I have seen," Adara says, glancing at the guards at the door. "I won't have that, and it will be my people who come after me."

"You will be protected, you have my word on that, Adara," the King addresses her boldly, and Adara almost thanks him. It was going to come at a steep price.

"Considering that you would protect me, I must ask, what might you be asking of me?" Adara asks.

"We are going to cut down your king on his throne, but we need a translator and someone who knows the entrances and exits of your land," the Prince speaks up, he has since mellowed out. "You were the lucky one who seems to be able to do both."

"I'm the only one who could because you were quick to murder all the others who could," Adara says under her breath. The King rises a brow at his son who did not seem to hear the words that came from her mouth.

"Will you be able to get us in and out of your lands?" The prince asks.

For a moment, he looked almost like an innocent child to Adara. His eyes were wide, his lips parted slightly like he could not wait for the answer. His left hand gripped his right tightly. He looks like his life depended on her answer. She almost felt powerful.

"Yes, I will be able to do so," Adara says.

"We must waste no time, Adara, Leonidas, your men, you must all discuss plans this evening after we feast," the King boasts, a grin on his face. He looks as though he had already won. In a way, he had. He was getting just what he wanted. Her kings' head on a wooden spike.

Adara knew that.

"Take her to the maids' chambers to freshen," prince Leonidas orders to the guards, both hastily taking the chains tightly into their hands.  "Bring her straight to the dining hall, if she is late, I will kill the both of you," the prince offers a deadly smile at the men, both of which are quick to say their understandings.

  He could not threaten her in his father's presence, but he could threaten them.

  The guards pull her from the room, she almost fell to her knees as she began to get used to the chains around her feet again.  They pull her down the hall to another door, it was similar to the one that led to the cells, except it opened to a larger more open room. 

  There was a line of small child-sized beds along 't,he side wall -- chests and large poles for belongings and clothing.  In the back was an array of cleaning products, hand towels, large pails, soaps, sprays, amongst other things.  They lead her to another door, much more hidden than the products, it was a small restroom.

  "One rag is all you have, clean what you will, and let us be on our way," the youngest guard spits, releasing her chains and closing the door respectfully. 

  She gazes in the small room, a large mirror took up an entire wall, a small porcelain sink beneath it with a small toilet in the corner.  Adara takes a small white rag and sets it in the sink, drenching it in warm water before squeezing out the excess.  She didn't care about the blood that dotted her cheeks and forehead from killing or being hit.  She cared about her hands.

  She had her thin white gloves, stained brown and red, torn from grass and holes burnt in it from the flames.  She closes her eyes as she strips them from her hands, balling them up, she shoves them under the water stream.  Squeezing, soaking, squeezing, soaking.  She waits until they no longer feel slick with soot before turning the water off and slipping them back into her hands. 

  She looks down at her gloved hands, they were a faint brown, but cleaner than they were.  She uses the small rag to wipe some of the blood off of her chest and neck before throwing the towel in a small waste bin. 

  Adara backs to the wall as the guards open the door, taking the chains once again. 

  "You missed a spot," the older guard laughs a sick laugh, and Adara just smiles at him.

   As they make their way back towards the throne room, which would be lined with tables fit for kings and queens to be seated, Adara stares at the guard.

  "I hope they do not miss a spot when they are cleaning your blood from the floor," she smirks, but is stuck across the face with a loud smack.  She is knocked easily to the floor, the chains come down onto her head, slicing her forehead.  Adara brings her hand to her face, staunching the blood as best she could as she glared up at the man.

  "You enjoy being beat, do you not?" He laughs.  "You threaten me, because you love being hurt."

  "What is going on here?" It was Taledius who ushers the guards away, helping Adara get to her feet. "He hit you?" He asks, his face holds a general calmness.

"It is to be expected, I would not be here if I could not handle a few good hits," she murmurs as he opens the door.

She counted a few people. Two guards posted inside the door. The king, queen, princess and prince. Taledius and a younger man assumed to be his son, and a woman who could have been his wife. There was a chef standing in the corner of the room with two women serving the food. Guards circulated the area.  There weren't many people, but this place also wasn't the capital of the Kings' lands.

Adara walks inside beside Taledius, making a somewhat gentle eye contact with the prince.  She brought her hand down from her head, the blood on her had begun to clot, but her glove bore a large red stain. The princess' face paled at the sight, but the rest did not seem too fazed. 

She is walked to the table, seated by herself at the end of the table opposite of the King and Queen. In front of her was a random assortment of foods; breads, soups, beans, and meats of various types. She did not touch it.

"Seeing as how it is just us, we may now begin conversing about our plans," the prince suggests, rising a brow at his father. Adara could barely pay attention as her eyes land on the guard who sat with her on the horse. The vile one. He was watching her too.

"Tomorrow, we will rise early in the morning and prepare our steeds and set off down the trail, but instead of going down the mountain we will head into the forests," the prince says, the few guards nodded and Taledius seemed pleased. "We will then set off to the village -- Juula, to gather a few things and then allow Adara to take us to her capital."

Adara's head snaps up at the mention of her name, knocking her unused silverware to the floor. Only the princess pays attention to it, the rest seemed to not hear. Just as she went to take it, a hand snatches it up. She rears back to see the guard.

"Tomorrow will be mostly a stealth mission, trying to not let Glass guards notice us," the prince declares.  "We wait out in the forest until the troops are gone, then we follow to Ahnos, form there it will be up to Adara and I to enter in and out, then we will regroup and retreat."

  "You really should be careful," the guard whispers, setting the utensils on the table, running a hand over Adara's leg.  Shivers ran down her spine as the hairs on her neck stood straight.

  "Do not touch me," she whispers lowly, the princess glances over, a confused expression on her face.  She turns back around quickly, watching her brother continue to carry on conversation and dine.  Adara bites her lip as the guard stands directly beside her, as though he were just standing guard; she knew the truth.

  "And how does she propose you two get into the kingdom safely?" One of the guards pipes up, and Adara glances up, taking a fork into her hand and moving the food around on her plate.

  "I know people in Ahnos, people who know how to get us easily in and out," she says.  "It will not be easy, but it is doable."

  The man beside her squeezes her shoulder, hard enough that she has to grit her teeth.

  "We will likely have to disguise you as a creature native in the Ahnos kingdom," Taledius interjects.

  "An elf would be easiest, elongated ears are easy to mimic, it's truly the only difference between an elf and a human besides the height," the princess points out, and the prince nods.

  "Please get away from me," Adara flinches as the man runs a hand back down her her inner thigh.  Her gut began to twist as she struggled to keep her eyes down.  She tries to keep herself calm.

  "Hopefully it should take no more than three weeks time, assuming there are no surprises," the prince begins.  Adara gasps as the man touches her again, she sets her jaw before tossing the fork into her left hand. 

  She spins in her chair, stabbing him in the eye with the fork.  She slides out of the seat and punches him with her right hand.  She grabs his hand and his arm, bringing it down roughly onto her knee until there is an audible crack.  Before she can do any more, she is pulled backwards by the chains, falling roughly onto the floor.

"Stay down," Taledius shouts over the guards' screams while the prince holds the chains. The princess stood out of shock, frozen beside her chair.  The king stood as well, two guards stood protectively in front of him and the queen.

  "Touch me again and I will do to you as I did to him," Adara hisses, ripping herself from the princes' hands.  "Stay off of me," she croaks, her thrown felt swollen, choking her.

  She brings her knees to her chest, leaning against the wall -- the prince watches her in confusion.  One second she was stone cold, staring, strong, and the next she was fighting, screaming, unhinged.  He thought she might be mad.  Insane. 

  "Yes!" The king exclaims, laughing.  "My dear, there is no doubt now that you are the one we need for this plan to work."

  The room was quiet apart from the whimpering of the guard, and the sound of the Kings' gayness.

"I was wondering when we all might get to see your theatrics, and I must say that I am pleased," the king boasts. "Get her out of here, and shut that fool up," the King orders, and the prince pulls Adara to her feet as Taledius drags the guard from the room.

  She is handed off to the two guards who where previously guarding the door, both take the chains carefully and ensure that they do not pull tightly.  She was no longer the fearful one.  She was the predator now and they were her prey.  Only the easiest targets realized that.  The guards, maids and servants.  The princess realizes this quickly.

  Adara is taken from the room, her entire midsection felt as though it were on fire as she walks -- she over exerted herself when she attacked the man.  She knew it.  No one else did.  They almost reach the door that leads to the cells when a guard is stopped by a jeweled hand.

  "Princess, what is it that I can do for you?" The guard asks, and Adara watches as he bites a lip, staring at the girl.  The princess looked at him similarly.

  "Cassidy, I will be taking the prisoner from you," the girl smiles, reaching for the chains.  He resists.

  "Aehlsy- princess- I do not believe that this is a good idea you have in your mind," he says.  She still will not have it.

  "I do not want to have to command you to do anything, so please, for me," Aehlsy murmurs, and he obliges.  Slipping the key into her open hand.

  The two men hand the chains to the princess, who's white gloves covered with jeweled rings turns a darker shade of color.  She walks with Adara, leading her up the stairs that Adara had seen her on when she arrived. They walk slow, climbing the stairs at a steady pace. Adara for the immense pain. Aehlsy for the planning and calculating.

As soon as they reach the top, they enter a long hallway, they go to the right, all the way to the end. The door is opened to reveal are large, white room.  A large, white bed sat in the middle of the room, golden dressers and chests sit in the room. 

  "My parents had Baron Taledius build this room for me, in case there is a threat and my mother and I need to escape," the princess says quietly, picking a necklace from a table top and setting it inside a drawer.  "I think it is beautiful," she whispers.  Almost as though her usual rich ways were not.

  Her beauty and Adaras' were two different things.

  "I apologize, let me get those chains off of you," the princess smiles, slipping the keys into the locks until all of them are in a pile on the floor. "I must say, you gave me an awful fright before, but I do not blame you I blame that guard."

Adara rubs her sore wrists, watching the princess bounce over to her bedroom door, ensuring that the door was locked.

"We must get you out of those clothes and get you bathed and freshened," the princess says, frowning at the burnt and tattered clothes on Adaras' body. "I have a restroom in through that door, and I can ready fresh night clothes for you," she says as she points to a small, wooden door.

"I can not allow them to look at you as less when you are obviously so much more, that is why I am doing this," the princess says before Adara can ask, why? "In order to act your best you must look your best, that is what my mother always says." 

  Adara is lead to the room; a large white mirror was on the wall, a white sink and a white porcelain tub on the floor filled almost to the brim with water. 

  "I am going to go fetch you your nightclothes, soap is in the wooden basket beside you along with washcloths and hair lathers," the princess says as she exits the room, closing the door quietly. 

  Adara waits a moment, rushing to the door and placing her ear on it; she could hear the princess humming to herself.  She rushes back to the tub, taking both her apron and her dress, setting them atop a small counter.  Adara brings her right leg up, reaching beneath her dress, unstrapping the band that holds her second dagger.

  She holds the black strap, staring at the shining silver weapon, admiring how beautiful it was.  She wishes badly that she and her dagger could slice their way from the Keep; to kill the prince and the king and return to Juula to her mother and father.  She couldn't.

  She couldn't and it made her feel absolutely nothing.

  "I hope you do not have a color preference, everything I have is white," the princess enters the room, and Adara pulls the dagger behind her quickly.  "I apologize, I just wanted to give you these," the princess smiles and sets the clothes down by the sink.

  As soon as the girl leaves, Adara releases a deep breath she hadn't realized she was holding.  Setting the knife beneath her clothes, Adara steps a foot into the water.  It was cold.  It chilled her to the bone and made her teeth chatter.  She pulls her undergarments off and allows herself to sink into the water.

After a few seconds of sitting in the tub turns in a mucky brown, but she allows herself to sink beneath the water, scraping her hands over her hair, her face, her neck, her body. She wanted all traces of Juula off of her. She wanted that night out of her head. She wanted that day out of her head.

Adara took the soap and cloth and began to scrub the dirt and grime away. She scrubbed and she rubbed and she did not stop until her skin was a faint pink. No blood. No dirt. No sweat. Nothing but her own flesh. Her own skin.

She lathers her hair with product and let's it soak in the water.

She closes her eyes as she allow her ears to sit below the water as she floats atop.  As she sinks, she see's her mothers face.  Adara opens her mouth, but nothing comes out.  Her mother does the same.  The air which should have been cold, was scalding hot; Adara felt as though her skin were melting.

  Adara was standing; she walked towards her mother, each step let ripples flow around her feet. Every step she took the further away her mother was.  She began to run, but it did no good.  Her mother was close, but she could not reach her.  Adara reaches out, she thought she might be able to touch her hair or her robes.  She could not.

  She screamed.  No one could hear her.

  Suddenly Adara was back in the tub, choking on the water, she surfaces and spits the liquid from her mouth.  Eyes wide.

  She takes a shuttering breath, standing from the cold water, she wraps. a towel around herself; what was left of her hair plastered to her back.  Adara took her knife into her hand and pulls her hair in front of her, slicing off the frayed ends of her hair until it evened out.  It still touched close to her rear, closer towards the dip in her back.

  She gazes in the mirror at herself.  Her face was slightly discolored and disproportioned due to the bruises and sores on her face from being smacked around.  Her lip was split and her ribcage was purple and green from the horse kick.  She grimaced at it and ran a gentle hand over it, it would heal but it would take a while, her ribs were there but likely fractured. 

  She wouldn't die from it, but she would likely wish she did.

  Adara turns from the mirror and slips into the silk nightgown, looking down at it.  It covered her down to her mid-calf, but left her arms exposed.  She liked it despite it being different from her usual attire.  Clipping the dagger back into place on her leg, she slips the other clip onto her other leg, ready for when she gets her other dagger back.

She opens the door, the princess sat on the edge of her bed brushing her dark hair back. Aehlsy was also sporting a similar robe, dark circles were beneath her tired eyes. She still managed to look beautiful.

"In the morning I will be sure to wrap your feet, as well as any other sore parts," the princess smiles at Adara, who stands on a soft white rug, gazing around the room.

"You said I must look my best to act my best, that is why you are helping me, but there has to be more," Adara says quietly, "why me?"

"I am certain you have noticed, but my father thinks us to be above everyone else and I do not see it that way at all," she murmurs. "I believe we are all the same, even you and your people."

Adara yawns, her entire body ached.

"You can take the bed if you would like, I can sleep in the spare room next to us," the princess smiles. "Do not bother trying to change my mind, use whatever you need."

Adara nods sleepily, her eyelids heavy with sleep as she draws back the covers and slides into the silk sheets. She almost fell asleep before the princess opens the door, glancing back at her.

"I saw your knife, and I am not going to tell my father or brother," she whispers. "If you were going to kill me or my family you would have done it by now."

With that, she flicks the light off and leaves.