Chapter Two: Iolaous
All written works displayed are (C) K.E. Wright.
Princess Dhianeila stared at me and the woman I now cradled against me. Honestly, I’d barely managed to catch before she hit the floor and after such a poor reception, I imagined she’d be grateful for the small things I could do for her. “She… she’s clairvoyant, Iolaous… perhaps you should let Aneasha carry her instead?” she intoned finally.
I shook my head. “She’s more familiar with me at this point than with anyone else on this ship.”
“But the psychic overload…”
“Has already forced her into unconsciousness, your highness, but when she was alone with me in the interrogation suite, she was fine.” In fact, it really hadn’t seemed to get particularly bad until the princess had arrived. I wondered if it might have had something to do with magnitude of the princess’s abilities –or perhaps a lack of training with her own. “I understand that she must be under Aneasha’s care, but please allow me to carry her.”
The princess swallowed hard. “Does Age know she is aboard?”
My younger sisters shook their heads. “He was busy in the garden,” Mail volunteered. “We saw no need to disturb him.”
“Perhaps he should be there when she wakes, then, since he is what brought her to us.”
I nodded slowly. “I can go after him when she’s waking,” I volunteered. Clairvoyant I may not be, but instant transmission had its perks. There was something about this particular woman I couldn’t quite put my finger on, but oddly enough, I liked it. That she had endlessly frustrated me for three solid hours of interrogation intrigued me. Maybe all of her intrigued me. I had never met a woman quite like this Ambrose.
I wanted to know more about her. More than that, though, I did not want her to awaken in strange surroundings and be afraid. Though I had been her interrogator, she had warmed to me to some extent. I might be enough familiarity to keep her from panicking –and a panicking Nodos would definitely be something to avoid if we wished to have a ship left.
Finally, the princess relented with an almost dismissive wave of her hand. Pulling Ambrose a bit closer to my body and lifting her for easier carrying, I began to walk toward the infirmary. Anesha followed on my heels with an unreadable expression.
Eventually, she said, “Iolaous, you don’t need to carry her the whole way –you could simply take her directly to the infirmary.”
How ironic that it hadn’t even occurred to me to use that ability? I rather liked the feel of her in my arms and I wasn’t all that inclined to speed the process. Though the thought was certainly rogue and odd for me, it didn’t worry me. But that didn’t mean that I was willing to admit anon of it to Aneasha, though. “She probably shouldn’t arrive before her care-taker,” I remarked instead, trying for levity. “If she’s anything like Age, she can get into mischief even unconscious.”
Aneasha quieted and bit her lip slightly as we reached the infirmary. I laid Ambrose out gently across the cot, settling her arms by her sides and brushing her coppery curls out of her face. She was beautiful like this, as though she had finally found a bit of peace, and something in me wanted to protect that peace. By the stars, what is wrong with me? I wondered.
“Doesn’t it bother you?”
I turned to look at her, wondering if I’d voiced my thought aloud for a few moments. “Does what bother me?”
“She… she’s a Nodos. More than that, she’s obviously a half-breed. Don’t those things bother you, Iolaous?” Aneasha questioned, her face flushed.
Blinking, I stared at the woman before me. I’d never seen Aneasha like this and I’d rarely heard a cross word even slid through her lips. Why now of all times was her temper running amok? “Why should any of that bother me? Age is a Nodos, as well, and while he can be a bit troublesome at times and rather naïve, I don’t find him repugnant or anything of the sort. She can’t help her heritage, Aneasha, and I can’t bring myself to hold it against her, any more than you could hold the princes against Dhianeila.”
Blinking rapidly, she appeared somewhat chastened. “I…I…” She stumbled for a few moments, obviously flustered. “I hadn’t thought of it that way…”
“In many ways, Ambrose is very much like our princess. Smart, strong of will…”
“Clairvoyant?” she interjected, trying to lighten things.
I offered her a smile. “Indeed, that as well. Would I be in the way if I stayed here by her side, Aneasha?”
“Not at all.” She shook her head. “Perhaps it is a good thing, since I’m creating senseless prejudices out of puffs of smoke.” Her sigh was heavy.
I shrugged. “I may have met her a little sooner, but she’s… she’s not the enemy. She’s something else entirely.”
“Providence at work, then?”
We’d never had prophecies of more than a single Nodos to our tribe, but we were promised that our Nodos would protect the ones to who they were bound. It wouldn’t be all that shocking to find out she played into our prophesies that way, either. Yet there was something in me that cringed at the thought of her fighting battles for us. “In her own way, she’s as lost in dealing with her heritage and her power as we are. I think that’s why I can’t hold those things against her. She’s snap back at me and hold her own in the interrogation, but I watched her curl further and further into herself for three straight hours. She’s scared and hurting and uncomfortable, and like us, she wants nothing more than to be back home. At least, that’s what I could see in her posture and body language.”
Aneasha touched Ambrose’s hand for the first time. “That’s so sad… I hadn’t looked at things that way, really, and I’m sorry to have judged her so harshly.”
“Well, I don’t think she would blame you either. After revealing those things, I think she expected to be judged. It’s human to be afraid of things we don’t understand, Aneasha.” I offered her a smile. “And she understands human better than anyone, I think.”
I shook my head. “She’s more familiar with me at this point than with anyone else on this ship.”
“But the psychic overload…”
“Has already forced her into unconsciousness, your highness, but when she was alone with me in the interrogation suite, she was fine.” In fact, it really hadn’t seemed to get particularly bad until the princess had arrived. I wondered if it might have had something to do with magnitude of the princess’s abilities –or perhaps a lack of training with her own. “I understand that she must be under Aneasha’s care, but please allow me to carry her.”
The princess swallowed hard. “Does Age know she is aboard?”
My younger sisters shook their heads. “He was busy in the garden,” Mail volunteered. “We saw no need to disturb him.”
“Perhaps he should be there when she wakes, then, since he is what brought her to us.”
I nodded slowly. “I can go after him when she’s waking,” I volunteered. Clairvoyant I may not be, but instant transmission had its perks. There was something about this particular woman I couldn’t quite put my finger on, but oddly enough, I liked it. That she had endlessly frustrated me for three solid hours of interrogation intrigued me. Maybe all of her intrigued me. I had never met a woman quite like this Ambrose.
I wanted to know more about her. More than that, though, I did not want her to awaken in strange surroundings and be afraid. Though I had been her interrogator, she had warmed to me to some extent. I might be enough familiarity to keep her from panicking –and a panicking Nodos would definitely be something to avoid if we wished to have a ship left.
Finally, the princess relented with an almost dismissive wave of her hand. Pulling Ambrose a bit closer to my body and lifting her for easier carrying, I began to walk toward the infirmary. Anesha followed on my heels with an unreadable expression.
Eventually, she said, “Iolaous, you don’t need to carry her the whole way –you could simply take her directly to the infirmary.”
How ironic that it hadn’t even occurred to me to use that ability? I rather liked the feel of her in my arms and I wasn’t all that inclined to speed the process. Though the thought was certainly rogue and odd for me, it didn’t worry me. But that didn’t mean that I was willing to admit anon of it to Aneasha, though. “She probably shouldn’t arrive before her care-taker,” I remarked instead, trying for levity. “If she’s anything like Age, she can get into mischief even unconscious.”
Aneasha quieted and bit her lip slightly as we reached the infirmary. I laid Ambrose out gently across the cot, settling her arms by her sides and brushing her coppery curls out of her face. She was beautiful like this, as though she had finally found a bit of peace, and something in me wanted to protect that peace. By the stars, what is wrong with me? I wondered.
“Doesn’t it bother you?”
I turned to look at her, wondering if I’d voiced my thought aloud for a few moments. “Does what bother me?”
“She… she’s a Nodos. More than that, she’s obviously a half-breed. Don’t those things bother you, Iolaous?” Aneasha questioned, her face flushed.
Blinking, I stared at the woman before me. I’d never seen Aneasha like this and I’d rarely heard a cross word even slid through her lips. Why now of all times was her temper running amok? “Why should any of that bother me? Age is a Nodos, as well, and while he can be a bit troublesome at times and rather naïve, I don’t find him repugnant or anything of the sort. She can’t help her heritage, Aneasha, and I can’t bring myself to hold it against her, any more than you could hold the princes against Dhianeila.”
Blinking rapidly, she appeared somewhat chastened. “I…I…” She stumbled for a few moments, obviously flustered. “I hadn’t thought of it that way…”
“In many ways, Ambrose is very much like our princess. Smart, strong of will…”
“Clairvoyant?” she interjected, trying to lighten things.
I offered her a smile. “Indeed, that as well. Would I be in the way if I stayed here by her side, Aneasha?”
“Not at all.” She shook her head. “Perhaps it is a good thing, since I’m creating senseless prejudices out of puffs of smoke.” Her sigh was heavy.
I shrugged. “I may have met her a little sooner, but she’s… she’s not the enemy. She’s something else entirely.”
“Providence at work, then?”
We’d never had prophecies of more than a single Nodos to our tribe, but we were promised that our Nodos would protect the ones to who they were bound. It wouldn’t be all that shocking to find out she played into our prophesies that way, either. Yet there was something in me that cringed at the thought of her fighting battles for us. “In her own way, she’s as lost in dealing with her heritage and her power as we are. I think that’s why I can’t hold those things against her. She’s snap back at me and hold her own in the interrogation, but I watched her curl further and further into herself for three straight hours. She’s scared and hurting and uncomfortable, and like us, she wants nothing more than to be back home. At least, that’s what I could see in her posture and body language.”
Aneasha touched Ambrose’s hand for the first time. “That’s so sad… I hadn’t looked at things that way, really, and I’m sorry to have judged her so harshly.”
“Well, I don’t think she would blame you either. After revealing those things, I think she expected to be judged. It’s human to be afraid of things we don’t understand, Aneasha.” I offered her a smile. “And she understands human better than anyone, I think.”