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Hope tried telling herself she was safe, but as Jaiden and Arjun were marched in under heavy guard, she couldn't help the shiver that slid down her spine. Jaiden looked as if the whole affair was one massive inconveniece to him, but Arjun gave her a look that spelled trouble, a look that turned to jealous dislike when she tightened her hold on Eldon's hand. He tightened his grip in response, and Hope welcomed the almost bruised sensation; it reminded her she had people in her corner who'd defend her to the very last breath in their bodies.
Arjun, however, was soon caught off guard when he saw Chika in her natural form, and his eyes widened. "You're one of them?" he exclaimed, loathing all over his face.
Chika's ears went back and she hissed. "Yes, I'm one of them," she snapped. "You didn't work that out from all your years of spying, you cretin?"
Before Arjun could retaliate, Tanila intervened. "You are a prisoner," she told Arjun in a voice cold enough to cap even the most potent of all active volcanoes. "You have no right to disparage my guests."
"They're fugitives on the run from justice!" Jaiden said angrily, but he wilted when the queen turned her glare on him.
"You both are prisoners," she said. "From this moment on, you are forbidden to speak unless spoken to."
The Faceless - two silent, black garbed individuals who really did have no faces - never moved. But the prisoners' eyes bulged as they suddenly found their mouths shut, and Hope bit down a giggle in spite of herself. It was rather satisfying to see her former husband and father-in-law brought down a peg or three. Tanila gave her a smile before her expression turned to stone once more.
"You are here by deceit," she told the two Pandorans. "How you managed to win your way past our stringent protections is not a matter to be dealt with right now. What is to be dealt with is the matter of why you came here. Oh, don't look so shocked! You think I am ignorant of what goes on beyond my borders? You truly believe I would not be fully informed as to why Chika and Eldon came seeking my aid five years ago?" She shook her head. "You are truly dimwitted if you think I haven't been actively working with them to undo the tremendous wrong your ancestors visited upon my kind, the wrong which you yet seek to continue with two innocent victims who have no part in your schemes!"
One of the Faceless used their arts to unbind Jaiden's mouth; Arjun blinked, before his eyes went wide. Clearly his ears had been stopped so he couldn't hear what his father was saying, but Hope couldn't find amusement in his outraged expression this time. "We are dying," Jaiden said angrily. "You probably heard a bunch of lies from these two, but I can assure you, it is not as bad as they claim!"
"I subjected them both to truth spells," Tanila said. "They could not lie, even by omission, and every word that came out of their mouths was examined from all angles, until it was determined they were indeed telling the truth about your long-standing campaign to weed out the less 'worthy' of your abused women and children. And I know full well how it's become a monster of its own, a monster of your making."
Jaiden turned a murderous glare on Chika and Eldon - or tried to, at least. Clearly his sight had been blocked as well, and his face contorted in an expression of pure animal rage. "Stop that!" he snapped. "You're not supposed to manipulate things! It goes against your moral code!"
"I am not doing anything," Tanila said simply. "It is your own twisted passions that are working against you. Now, as to your crimes; I cannot do anything about what you and your ancestors have done in the past. Nor can I bring you task for what you are doing now; it is out of my hands, as much as I long to see you and all your kind facing justice. But I can promise you this; you and your son will be returned home. You will recall all that has happened here, but neither of you will be able to do a thing about it. If you try, you will find yourselves subjected to the worst nightmares known to humankind. I will not inflict those nightmares on you; they will come from within you. So long as you refrain from declaring war, you will not suffer. But should you even think of attempting an invasion, then those nightmares will torture you, waking and sleeping, until you are jumping at every shadow, until you go insane from lack of sleep for fear of what awaits you in your dreams. And be warned; I am merciful. But my mercy is not to be taken lightly. I could easily go against all I stand for and personally curse the two of you for all eternity. But I choose the higher ground. That is my mercy; remember it."
Jaiden and Arjun - who'd had his ears unstopped during this speech - were both whiter than it was possible for a human to go. Hope didn't blame them; the queen's mercy was a terrible thing to behold, and she clung even closer to Eldon, who put an arm around her and held her tightly. "You have no power over us!" Arjun finally managed to get out. "You're bluffing!"
"Try me," Tanila invited. It sounded innocent on the surface, but there was a deep, dark threat under her words. "I invite you to give it your very best go, gentlemen."
She rose. "Escort them to the secret way," she told the Faceless. "Let them see it, for it will do them no good in the long run."73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVxSfX1sk95
"This isn't over," Arjun warned. He then turned his glare on Hope. "And you haven't gotten off lightly either. You will be brought back to Pandora where you belong, even if you have to be dragged kicking --" He cut off, his eyes widening once more. "What the hell is that?" he demanded, pointing at an empty corner of the room. There was nothing there that Hope could see, but she knew without being told the nightmare geas had taken hold of her former husband already. She wanted to feel sorry for Arjun, but as he and his father were led away, she told herself not to be an idiot. Arjun still had her daughter - his daughter as well, thanks to the DNA manipulation he'd used - under guard. And he planned on mating her against her will when she was older. That cancelled out any soft feeling Hope might otherwise have entertained, and she sighed as she slumped against Eldon, the tension of the meeting draining out of her as reaction set in. As she buried her tears against his shoulder, she thanked God for him and Chika, knowing she wouldn't have been able to handle that nightmare interview without them.
But her tears were also for her daughter, now a helpless prisoner under Pandoran control. There was nothing she or her friends could do, and though Jaiden and Arjun had been rendered powerless, they would double down on their efforts to ensure Hope's daughter would never know she had a mother other than the one to which they would no doubt assign her. And that mother would probably fill her head with all sorts of lies, until Hope was painted as the worst kind of individual possible. 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkClofsf1Z0
"I wish there was something we could do," she whispered helplessly against Eldon's shoulder. He kissed her hair gently in response.
"There's nothing more we can do, love," he said, helpless rage in his voice as he held her tightly. "But one day, your daughter will learn the truth, and she'll come looking for you on her own, I swear it."
"And I'm still not entirely without resources," Chika added, joining the two of them on the couch. "I can't do much, but I can ensure your daughter is placed with someone who's flown completely under the council radar for almost seventeen years, someone they'd never dream would turn on them."
"Saanvi?" Hope said, startled.
Chika nodded. "Saanvi doesn't agree with the idea any more than I do," she said, "but she's got the good sense to keep her mouth shut and her nose clean. She'll obey the council to the letter, but she'll ensure your daughter is not brainwashed, and if she has to expend some of her own abilities to do so, well, she will."
Hope nodded, feeling better. "Thanks," she said. "And ... I'm sorry."73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk8YPXsXWQU
"There's nothing to be sorry for," Chika told her. "I did you a bad turn, and I've got years to make that up. But I do hope I count as a friend, at least."
"You've never stopped," Hope said, reaching out and giving the feline woman's hand a squeeze. She took a deep breath. "We all might as well get settled down," she told the two cat people (Eldon had chosen to finally shed his own human disguise at that point). "And pray Saanvi can fly under the radar somewhat better than her mother," she added with a small grin. Chika rolled her eyes, but she squeezed Hope's hand tightly, as did Eldon.
"Then I shall declare the three of you citizens in the morning," Tanila said, smiling warmly at them. "It is late, and such matters are better done during daylight hours. For now, I think we all need to rest."
"Good idea," Hope said, yawning as Eldon and Chika helped her to her feet. Matters could definitely be settled in the morning, she told herself. But the most important matter - her daughter - would have to wait just a little bit longer.
And then the Pandorans would really have to watch their step!
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