Finally the king tore his eyes away from the closed door
to look at Cece, who couldn't seem to find a comfortable position to be
standing. She constantly shifted, which was not quieted when the king's cold
eyes fell on her.
"I hope for your sake that my son is not
correct," Xvenaad said in his gravelly voice. "I trust you, Watcher.
You have been around for much longer than all of us and have seen things none
of us would wish to see in your place. But that does not mean I trust the
prophecy and its outcomes." Although his words were for Loyie, he did not
look at the small woman. He continued to watch Cece, as if she would suddenly
grow fangs and claws and attack.
Loyie stayed quiet for a long moment. She seemed to be
taking in the sight of the king and Cece, weighing and measuring each in turn.
"Prophecy is not always what it seems. It is neither good, nor evil, but
is simply a message of what will come to pass based off those that are good or
evil. The best anyone can hope for is that it speaks of a positive outcome, not
the death of us all."
Xvenaad sighed and finally turned away from Cece, rubbing
his temples. He no longer looked so imposing, but rather a man with too much
responsibility and too much weight upon his shoulders.
Cece felt compelled to place an arm around the large
man's shoulders and assure him that everything would be just fine, though she
felt silly just thinking it. Why should I
make anyone in my dream feel better? I'm getting waaay too into this dream!
Instead, Cece simply said, "King Xvenaad, I have no
intentions of hurting your people, no matter what this prophecy says. I simply
just have to find a way out-"
"- of everyone's bad graces," Loyie said over
Cece, finishing for her.
Cece felt her jaw drop incredulously, though she was too
stunned to interrupt once Loyie had started. The woman didn't even seem fazed
that she had spoken right over the top of Cece!
The king did not seem to notice Cece's shock as he
glanced up at Loyie, nor did he seem to care that Loyie had finished Cece's
sentence. "I'm afraid my son has already done much damage, but there are
ways to ease the men's minds. We cannot afford anyone wasting any time watching
over this… guest of ours," Xvenaad said, as if unsure what Cece's status
was within their makeshift village. "We are waging a war to get back what
we lost, not to stare at a strange girl that could possibly be a viper in our
den. We have no choice but to quiet what we can."
The Watcher simply nodded and bowed her head. "I
will make my rounds and ease concerns as I go. I will also make sure Cece stays
under my watch. It will be easier to keep an eye on the girl."
Xvenaad shook his head and stroked his chin in thought.
"No Watcher, you cannot interfere if she does start anything to hurt our
people. I will find a hut to put her in where more than one pair of eyes can
watch over her.
Cece planted a fist on her hips and glared at the two.
"I am standing right here!" she nearly growled, though she felt
surprised at her own forceful tone. She would never say such things if she were
truly in front of a king and a strange woman who seemed young yet so old at the
same time, but it was her dream, and
she could no longer stand the thought of those two controlling everything!
The two stopped speaking for a moment, eyeing Cece out of
the corner of their eye. The king looked slightly surprised, but neither spoke.
"Good, now, listen!" Finally something is going as it should… "I will not be treated as a prisoner or a child.
No one needs to watch over me. I will
be fine and dandy without you two sending anyone to stare at me and make sure I
don't scare all the children at night."
Giving the two her best glare, she spun and stalked out
the door.
Hands clenched in frustration, Cece began wandering
around the small village, her jaw set tight. She ignored the frowns from the
fierce men honing their weapons or standing guard around the camp, and she
ignored the indignant sniffs from the women. Even the children avoided her.
Why the hell can't I just wake up? This is so ridiculous!
It went against Cece's nature to keep thinking so negatively, but she truly was
getting tired of this dream. As much as she wanted to believe that this all was
just in her mind, she hated how real
everything felt. The sticks and hard packed dirt under her slippered feet, the
cool breeze brushing against her face, all felt more real than any dream she had
ever had before. Probably why I'm in such
a bad mood. This place is exhausting!
Cece shivered and stomped on, not paying any mind to the
direction she was headed. It felt good to wander about as freely as possible
and not have Bramaad's hard green eyes peering at her so accusingly.
"You know, muttering to yourself doesn't help people
feel more easy around you," a warm voice said, interrupting Cece's
thoughts.
Startled, she stopped mid-stride and blinked up at the
tall man standing before her, a lazy hand on the hilt of a rather long looking
sword. He also wore the leather armor with the embroidered eagle and sun, though it was over
his heart, rather than on his right arm like the majority of men she had seen. Despite the smirk on his lips, his eyes held a deadly cast that
made Cece take a few steps back from this man.
Not wanting to talk to anyone, Cece clamped her mouth
shut and turned away from the tall man. Maybe
not the smartest thing I've ever done, turning my back on a man with a big
sword, but if I hear one more comment on me bringing death to these people,
I'll-
"It is also rude to turn and walk away from someone
trying to engage in a conversation with you," the voice said before Cece
had only gone a few steps.
Grinding her teeth, Cece turned and gave the man her best
stage smile. "Please forgive me, sir,
but I'm not in a very conversational mood, at the moment."
The man shook his head and grinned at Cece as if her
smile had been genuine. "Well, I'm afraid you can't be wandering about the
camp. If someone else gets a hold of you, you may as well be one of the Grivnogn.
Better you be properly escorted, and I volunteer my services." The man
swept a flashy bow that made Cece roll her eyes. How much more can my mind really come up with!? Now I have a
flourishing swordsman!
"I don't even know who these 'Grignogn' people are,
but I'm certainly not one of them, and I've no need for an escort," Cece
said firmly, only slightly pleased that she had pronounced the strange name
without too much hesitation this time. It seemed easy enough to catch on their
strange pronunciations once more practice was involved.
Straightening from his bow, the man slowly frowned down
at Cece. "So you truly do not know of our land," he murmured, more to
himself than to Cece.
Cece sighed heavily and glared at the man. "No, I do
not know of this stupid place! I wish I'd just wake up and let it all be over
with! I just want a good night's sleep with Patrick by my side."
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