The excitement of actually being in space coupled with terror of the same thing made her almost miss the warrior. Only in the light of Faren’s valor squares, pulsing quietly, did she finally make him out in the shadows. He was the most frightening being she’d ever seen. Faren was a towering giant, and his cold eyes made him seem even more terrible, but he still looked like a Brion. What stood before her then, carefully out of the general’s way, was an actual monster. No metaphors, no symbols, just a monster.
His face was crisscrossed with scars so badly Leiya thought at once they couldn’t be accidental. Someone, possibly the beast himself, had done that on purpose. His body seemed distorted, like a twisted version of the martial glory of the Brion warrior. All that didn’t diminish from the fact he was still huge, almost at eye-level with Faren. His breathing seemed like growling.
Leiya screamed.
It was the only noise on the otherwise quiet deck, and she heard shuffling in response, probably from people looking to see who was going to upset their master. Instincts took over, and she inched closer to Faren without thinking. Even he had to be better than the monstrosity she couldn’t even be sure was really a Brion.
The general’s solid, sure form beside her was oddly comforting. Leiya didn’t want to think like that, but she felt safer when she was near him. For all of the horrible things he was, Faren still remained one of the most feared men in the galaxy. This was his ship. Nothing would get to her if he didn’t allow it.
Like in answer to her thoughts, Faren said quietly,
“You have no cause to fear.”
Official, straight to the point, but something in his voice made Leiya believe him without question. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the twisted creature shrink further into the shadows.
Still shaking, Leiya followed Faren to wherever her cage was going to be. The meeting with the terrible warrior had shaken her, so she stumbled. Faren’s hands caught her at once and didn’t let go when she had straightened herself. Almost clumsily, if anything about the general could be called that, he took her hand.#p#分页标题#e#
She winced at his touch, but it was a welcome guideline in the dark. To her surprise, he didn’t push forward in any way. Didn’t reach out to touch more of her than was strictly necessary to help her through the looming darkness. Leiya was so surprised she nearly forgot her fear. The general’s hand was huge and rough around hers, but firm and strong.
With the smallest touches he guided her through complete darkness. She only realized they’d arrived somewhere when the doors slid open with a whoosh. And then she could make out a room just slightly less dark than the corridors.
Just as she’d thought that, Faren did something, and Leiya found herself standing in a large, arena-like room. There were doorways leading to others. Like the light had cleared out her mind as well, her thoughts tumbled over each other in a hurry. The first was the panicked idea of Faren still being psychic after all. She discarded that with an annoyed frown. It was no magic trick to see she was uncomfortable in the dark. So, he’d turned on the lights. No mind-reading there.
The second shut her mind off completely. There was no doubt she was in the general’s personal quarters.
In Faren’s rooms.
Oh gods, she thought, forcing her legs not to give out on her now. Not his rooms anymore. Our rooms.
It seemed she never got to feel the same emotion for more than a few minutes. Just as she’d almost been fine with his presence in the face of that abomination in the dark, this happened. Being alone with Faren made her very sharply aware of how much she still mistrusted him. Standing beside her expectantly, Faren once again seemed cold and unreachable.
This is what my life will be like, she thought. Dark ship, mute people, and the one person I least wanted for my gerion.
She looked around her hesitantly. In Leiya’s mind, the rumors about Faren paraded before her eyes. Would he really drink blood? If she had to kiss him, would she feel the taste of it on his tongue? She shivered. Tears rose up to her eyes, but she’d be damned if she cried in front of him.
Peeking into one of the rooms, another scream nearly made it to her lips. Of course the first room she’d look into would be the trophy room. Huge beasts and alien creatures stood in dark, grim silence. She half-expected them to move, just like the shadow statues had in the hallways. Only she knew with morbid certainty that Faren would make damn sure everything in his trophy collection was properly dead.
Between the trophies, rows upon rows of weapons lined the room. The smell of blood was clear there, even if all the weapons were pristine and clean. They had all been used, there was no doubt of that. She stood frozen in the doorway, staring upon the evidence of who her gerion really was. All her life she’d fought against violence, and wars, and murder, and now she was going to live in a museum of horrors.
She turned to see him looking at the room too. If any emotion showed in his eyes at all, it was pride. Of course it would, wouldn’t it? He was a Brion general and he took pride in killing as many living creatures in the name of all Brions as he could.
Leiya wondered what she had done wrong to be punished so by the gods.
“This is where you’ll live,” Faren said. “You are free to go anywhere on the ship if you like, but be careful in the dark. This is a war ship.”
Leiya nodded mutely. The tears wanted to come again, but she swallowed them down. If the general would leave her alone for just a moment, she could let them fall.
“I will leave the lights on for you,” Faren said and with that, Leiya was left alone in her new cage.
Small mercies. Or not, now she could clearly see the trophies and the weapons that were used to kill. She almost wished for the darkness back.
She walked around the quarters, finding them much like she’d expected. They were bereft of all things that weren’t used for something very specific. No colors, no decorations. Not even anything lying around to show someone really lived there. It was a dark, gloomy place and it made her insides tighten up.
Usually, when she was sad, she sang. The thought of that made her lips curl in a humorless smile. Sing? In a place like that? Who sang on the Unbroken?
She finally dared to enter the bedroom. A huge bed stood in the middle of the room, dark and cold like everything else in Faren’s rooms. At least it had pillows. Leiya threw herself on it, burying her face into the pillows. A hollow laugh escaped her lips at finding the pillows soft. She’d almost expected them to be hard as rocks.
Oh well, she thought. Better get the self-pitying out of the way.
Then the tears finally came.
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CHAPTER TWELVE
Faren
Faren found Roven dutifully waiting outside his rooms, as was his place. The deformed warrior saluted him, fist over heart. His bodyguard fell into step behind him as he made his way to the command bridge.
It wasn’t like Roven to speak out of turn, but after a minute, he said,
“Did I scare your gesha, Commander?”
“Yes,” Faren said.
That much should have been obvious.
“I will try to keep out of her way,” Roven said.
“That is not necessary,” he replied. “I want you to protect her in my absence. Make sure no harm comes to her. I don't know how she came to Briolina, but she's human. She can barely see in the dark.”
If Roven was surprised, he didn't show it. Whenever Faren needed someone for an out of the ordinary task, he chose the warrior. One of the reasons was that he rarely asked questions, only did his duty.
It wasn’t like Roven to object to his commands either, but Faren supposed the next question was justified.
“What if she refuses?”
“I will talk to her,” he said. “It is your duty to see that no harm befalls her.”
Roven nodded, accepting that as he did everything.
“Yes, Commander.”
“To your duties, then.”
He heard Roven turn around and walk back to his quarters. With him gone, Faren could focus on what was doubtlessly waiting for him. He didn’t relish the possibility of the conversation one bit.
When he arrived on the bridge, the holo-image was already shining brightly in its center. Senator Tawren turned to him, his eyes burning with loathing.
“What have you done to my daughter?” he demanded.
Brave words from someone far, far on Briolina’s surface. Faren did not find much humor in life, but he shared Diego’s amusement at the senators. And how their tones changed depending on how many miles were between them when they spoke.
“I have brought Leiya to the Unbroken, Senator,” he said simply, letting the first outburst of the concerned father pass.
It was merciful of him.
“I demand that you…” the senator began, but Faren cut him through.
His hatred for the senators had always been strong, but after the events concerning Rhea, it bordered on loathing. He was still trying to make up his mind about Senator Tawren, so it was in the man’s best interest not to push his patience.
“You don’t demand anything,” he said calmly. “She is my gesha, and her place is with me. And I know she's not your daughter. She's not even a Brion.”
Senator Tawren’s face twisted in fury, but it seemed to make him think.