Gwynn followed Versailles through one of the doors leading out of the ballroom and to an open landing pad attached to the Artorias Palace, filled with Annwynese soldiers. Towering above them all was a gargantuan silver ship. Surely no ship was so shiny or sleek? And yet, there it was, in elegant aerodynamic shapes that reminded Gwynn of the dragons in the oldest of stories, like the ones behind Bonfire Night.
It was easy now, even as she stood next to one of the Spider-Queen’s champions, to feel as small as a mouse.
Have courage, she whispered to herself as she clutched fistfuls of her skirt in her free hand. Pale pink cotton, with ruby-colored strawberries and mint-green leaves printed all over with pale yellow blossoms. Celine had gifted her this fabric for her fourteenth birthday, and it was one of the first garments she had made for herself. It had been reinforced throughout the years, with evidence of clumsy stray stitches here and there, but she loved it all the same for its imperfections.
To find those stray stitches with her fingertips was soothing, reassuring. Still, her knuckles were as white as the fallen snow around the soft cloth.
The Annwynese soldiers bowed their heads as Versailles approached, head held high in every image of a prince.
Gwynn thought she might have imagined it, but he gently squeezed her hand as they passed by, an attempt at comfort. One that she would not have expected, but she appreciated all the same.
She bit her lip as they started to ascend the gangplank. What awaited her now? What would they do to her or make her do, to get her sister to come after her?
She could only hope that Sorrel would not hate her for putting her in that difficult position. Gwynn would have been angry had Sorrel been so reckless, so careless with herself in the name of something greater.
But then she could close her eyes and see Princess Misha, her tears and her whimpering for she did not know what Gwynn did. That Versailles would not hurt either of them.
Her sister had always wanted to be a hero. So maybe she would understand what Gwynn had done and would not hold it against her.
She entered the ship’s main corridor, with an interior of ivory and gold that would have looked more fitting in a palace. She and Versailles passed a few more doors before he pulled one open, revealing a lounge with a large viewport looking to the outside. How even the Artorias Palace seemed small from within the depths of the Annwynese dragon-ships!
A quick glance told her that the Annwynese soldiers were retreating—including the elegant, solitary figure of Lady Isolde. Gwynn could not help but shudder—would she be joining them here?
Versailles walked past her, only to glance back when he too saw the gleaming white figure of Lady Isolde.
“Don’t worry, she has her own travel area,” he assured her. He then pulled out a chair at the small table right by that large viewport. “Please sit. It’s going to be a long journey back to Annwyn.”
Gwynn bit her lip again—she’d have to work on that habit when this was all over, if this was all over—and obliged. She sat gingerly into the straight-backed chair. A closer examination found that the spindly-looking table appeared to be made of gold worked into a delicate design.
Versailles took the seat across from her.
Gwynn sat up, forcing herself to be alert and wary. She was in completely uncharted territory here and would have to have her wits about her. It would be easy to lose herself in the gilded glamour of Annwyn and forget what was at stake.
“There’s no need to look so fierce.” A polite smile played on the prince’s lips. “You are a hostage, not a prisoner.”
Gwynn raised her eyebrow. “I hardly think there’s much of a difference.”
“That’s fair.” Versailles tilted his head in acknowledgement. “If there is anything I could do to assure you that you will be well-treated here, please tell me.”
Gwynn frowned. “I will.”
She glanced out the viewport once more. All the soldiers were gone, retreated to within the silver dragon-ship, she supposed.
“Where are you taking me?” Gwynn asked. “To the Spider-Queen, then?”
“No, no.” He was perhaps a little too quick to assure her there. “We’ll be going elsewhere. Somewhere remote, safe.”
“Smart, to keep me away from allies and enemies alike.” Gwynn surprised herself with how easily silver words rolled off her tongue, out of her blood-red lips.
She expected him to falter, or to get angry—but she did not expect the fear in his dark jewel-like eyes, for him to lean in and speak in a whisper:
“I don’t want her to have you.”
Gwynn frowned. There was something unspoken in that, something further to decipher that she could not. She wondered what it meant, the strange emotions in his eyes.
“I see, she finally managed.
She looked out again to see the clean cities of Otso and its dark forests disappearing, only to give way to stars streaking by.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
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The travel through space passed in uneasy quiet. Versailles watched her intensely, that even blinking could not diminish the effect. It made her think of the dance that they had shared together at the Governor’s Mansion.
She’d thought him some gentleman, then. Coming in and offering her that dance that made her feel beautiful, less provincial, less like a nobody compared to her sister.
Why had he done it? Now that she had seen more of him, she knew it wasn’t to play any tricks on her, it wasn’t a means of playing with his food. But looking into those intense indigo eyes and the way he had danced with her—it could only mean one thing. And that frightened her more than any other possibility.
She could not give voice to it. But she considered asking him about that night at least seven times in the awkward silence of their journey, save for the humming and whirring of the machinery keeping them all alive.
But that would be rather awkward.
She considered any kind of small-talk—but that also felt impossible.
So she instead looked out the viewport and saw the stars streaking past. She thought of Sorrel. Did she know that she was gone yet? Did she know who had taken her? Had she already fallen into the inevitable trap that they laid out for the crew of the East Sun?
She knew she shouldn’t have left such a burden on her sister. But what else could she do?
She needed to warn Sorrel somehow.
It was a relief when they jumped out into the black and the planet of Annwyn came into view. Covered with mountains and forests, it was a beauty similar to what Perrault had been, once upon a time. Not that Gwynn herself had ever known it, but it was what she imagined from just seeing the Reserve.
The sight of Annwyn brought relief in that it meant that it was the end of the journey. But it also brought terror, as it was time for her to be brave again, as little as she might have liked it.
A captain, one of the Annwyn with their jewel eyes and jewel-dusted cheeks entered the lounge—the first Gwynn had seen since she boarded. He tipped his turquoise cap to Versailles. “Five minutes to the surface, Your Grace.”
“Thank you, Captain Ardell.” Versailles looked back to her. “I will have to ask that you come with me, Miss Marchand. It is preferred that you would not be able to identify the exact location of one of the Royal Family’s safe houses.”
Not that I’d be able to figure it out just from watching.
“Alright.” Gwynn stood. “Where will I be following you to, then?”
“Just another room on the ship.” Versailles took her hand. “I assure you, you will be quite safe while I will be overseeing your stay.”
Does that mean that at some point, you won’t be?
“I see.” Gwynn bit her lip and swallowed back her question.
She followed Versailles out, with Captain Ardell bringing up the rear.
It was a good sign, she supposed, that they were obscuring this information. It meant that she would survive, that they were bothering to hide it. They certainly wouldn’t go to all this trouble for a girl that was certainly not leaving the planet alive.
Would they?
That was what Gwynn wanted to think, at least.
She knew that the prince had made his promises. That was something to believe in, she supposed. Because while she knew she should not trust him, she did. She had to. If she wanted to make it back home to her mother and sister, to save the star system, she needed to be quick and clever and could not afford her usual timidities and fears.
“I really do regret this is the way things had to be.” Versailles glanced over his shoulder. “I wish we could have left you out of this.”
“I know.” When she met his eyes, she granted him a silent absolution.
His breath hitched at this and he looked away, a flush rising in his cheeks.
Captain Ardell’s eyes flicked between Versailles and Gwynn as they continued into another room, one without any viewports in the ship. He then glanced at the screen on his wrist. “We’re almost to the surface, Your Grace.”
“Right, thank you.” Versailles stiffened in posture, his countenance grew more stoic.
Gwynn nodded, trying to think of any information that had been revealed to her in that little exchange. There and to be at least something she could do with any of that.
She would find a way out of here, and if that didn’t work, she would figure out how to aid her sister while playing her captor’s game.
“Here we are—if you will follow me, please—“
She reluctantly followed him once more, out of the Annwynese dragon-ship. She was instantly taken aback by the romantic and jagged mountains, covered in foliage painted in shades of gold, scarlet, and magenta that were only there for fleeting moments in Perraultian autumns.
“I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in all my life,” Gwynn confessed as stepped off the gangplank.
“I am rather glad to hear that.” Versailles smiled at her—a genuine smile, she realized. “I would prefer that you see some of the beauty of Annwyn. It will make this far more pleasant.”
Gwynn nodded, grounded as sharply as her imagination had taken off. She now set her sights on an ivy-covered chateau. For gilded cages, this one wouldn’t be so bad.
“We will be staying here until I receive further orders from Her Majesty,” Versailles explained as he walked with her. She could hear the ship’s gangplank closing behind her. “We will be operating with a sparse staff. This is not meant to be a prison—if you need anything, all you have to do is ask.”
Anything but my freedom.
“Thank you.” Gwynn was surprised at how sincerely she meant it. “I suspect you’ll be dropping by on occasion, then”
“I’m afraid not.” His eyes lingered on her. “I will be staying here to assure your safety.”
That’s one way of putting it.
“Thank you, Your Grace.”
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She took it all in, the golden bannisters and the quartz tiles on the floor as she was guided into the chateau and the room where she would be staying.
It was a room of indigo blue and gold, decadent by her standards, beyond even some of the richest in Lemuria. She spotted golden threads in the embroidery of the blankets. There were jewels in the walls and the ceiling, making the dark blue walls appear like a romanticized night sky. A glance at the closet revealed several gowns—given Gwynn’s own height compared to that of the average Annwynese woman, she was likely too tall, but she was a seamstress—she’d figure it out.
“Feel free to do what you like,” Versailles said with a grand, sweeping gesture. “Might as well be comfortable—revolutions and wars can be terribly long and I suspect it will be a long time before our role comes.”
“I understand.” Gwynn approached the desk, where a sewing kit was awaiting her. He had somehow known she liked to sew. . .
Versailles shifted uncomfortably in the doorframe. “You are not my enemy and I am not yours. I hope to show you that, in due time.”
With that, he left her alone.
Gwynn sat at the desk. She would be here a long time, and it was best to keep her hands busy, lest her mind spiral into worries as deep and endless as the sea of stars.
But when she tried to thread the needle, tears started to burn at the corner of her eyes.
It seemed her worries as deep and endless as the sea of stars could not be kept at bay.
She set down the kit and crept over to the door. No one appeared to be watching or listening, for neither the prince nor his soldiers were anywhere in sight.
She shut the door and locked it, and then she let herself slide down the door as the tears slid down her cheeks. Finally, she let herself be vulnerable and cry, now that she was truly alone.