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A Life in Chains

Chapter Seven: Brewing storms

I awoke with a dull ache all throughout, my ears rang and my head was bandaged along with my arm. Wherever I was however was safe, I wasn't outside lying limply in the amphitheatre. I could feel something cold and damp on my forehead, it's presence was somewhat relieving, but as my senses continued to return I grimaced from the sudden rush of muggy warmth all over my body; as if I had been standing out in the sun all day and been burned. It was then that I could hear voices nearby through the ringing; my headache was amplified the longer it droned on, but I tried my best to eavesdrop upon the conversation through the throbbing within my head.

"It's just a fever, an allergic reaction to some of the medicine we administered, he'll be fine however. He should wake sometime today, you may question him then." someone said, the voice seemed to echo dully and for a moment my; eyes opened, only to see blurry colours before my overreach of effort returned me to my pained slumber.

I felt horrible, not emotionally in any sense, I was dizzy and off balance even though I was lying down; I could cold and excruciatingly hot at the same time, my mouth was dry. I'd had a fever before when I was younger and had managed to fight it off without medicine, but then again, I wasn't the same as back then anymore; I'd left all that behind. I didn't know how many hours of vomiting into a steel bucket passed by during my brief moments of feverish waking. Said bucket was emptied regularly by someone, and the water pitcher by my bed refilled. It felt like I'd been lying there for days, lost in the pitches of fever dreams.

My head hurt the most, everything else just fluctuated between being hot and cold but my head was in total agony, almost like something was clawing through my grey matter. It only grew worse as the hours ticked by, until I was writhing in agony; my throat was too parched to usher any sounds. But then I heard a familiar voice, aged and piercing, it uttered only two words as I felt something touch my forehead.

"Be gone" It rang out in my head suddenly, alleviating the pain, driving me into the black depths of unconsciousness. When I next awoke I felt better, the fever was gone as was the pain in my head but the uncomfortable heat and cold remained and I was still parched. I grasped at the side table for a cup of water that I could see from the corner of my eye. I downed the entire cup in a few gulps before a coughing fit struck me, I was still feeling dizzy and things were still blurry too, but I could at least make out a few things in the room like long white curtains that seemed to surround me.

"Is he awake yet" I heard a smooth yet exotic voice say, It was dusk and there were shadows cast through the curtains from the fading twilight.

"He's been in and out all day but I think he's settled now, he should wake tomorrow" replied a feminine voice.

"The Queen wants his statement; none of the other wounded saw anything and he was the closest to the blast" the exotic voice said sternly. Whoever was talking was with the Antt Vedn by the sounds of things.

"What's taking so long Vervain? I give you a day to take statements and yet I have to come down here myself during the night to do it myself " came a much richer feminine voice, the clip clop of cloven hooves on stone flooring echoed out as whoever spoke.

"The last witness has been unconscious all day Milady, please forgive me" Vervain stated, I heard more clopping of hooves as someone left.

"Well he's Vermian, is he not? What's recorded on his tag?" the woman said impatiently, a clear tone of irritation in her voice. I managed to sit up with some effort, still weak from the fever and I found myself panting; it was rather warm in here and it suddenly occurred to me that as a reptile I probably didn't have sweat glands.

"He doesn't have one Milady, we think he may be a mercenary from the equipment he bore." The statement struck my core with concern, did Virgil and the others not know what happened to me or where I was?

"I'm not a mercenary, I'm a soldier" I corrected, speaking up to the strangers behind the curtains in a coarse and dry voice. A second later a head popped in through the curtains, that of a woman's. She flung the curtain open, her posture relaxing; she was dressed rather scanty, a bright gold and sky blue sash top and some sort of odd looking skirt that left very little to the imagination.

"Oh splendid, you're awake and preferably in good health." She said, her tone becoming ever so slightly warmer, though still bearing the taint of indignation. There was a crown of ivory and silver atop her short filed horn nubs, her skin was a bronze colour and the short cut fur of her cervine legs were snowy white.

"I'm a tad thirsty but otherwise I think I'm alright Ma'am" I said as respectfully as I could with my dry raspy voice; the man outside, Vervain, had his hand at his swords pommel.

"Vervain, fetch some water" she said with a commanding tone, the taller dark haired Satarian quietly nodded and marched off with that ever present clip clop sound.

"Now, I know you're resting but I'd like to ask you a few questions" the woman added as she sat at the end of the bed I lay upon. It was only then that I realised I was naked under the thin sheets, my cloak and clothing were all gone.

"I'll try my best to answer any questions you have for me" I replied as I looked around, the features of the room kept becoming clear before going blurry again. I clutched my head and groaned as bile stung the back of my throat, although in a lesser quantity then before.

"You said you are a soldier, but you have no tag, you're not a deserter are you?" She asked with a cautious frown.

"No, I'm in training, I'm accompanying my master to the races, we passed through the market and he told me he was going to catch up with a friend. He said I could have free reign for the day" I told her as I fought back the urge to hurl yet again. Vervain returned at that moment with a pitcher of water that I downed as steadily as possible. Washing away that nauseous feeling as the room swayed slowly, the fever was gone but I still felt ill.

"And who is your Master? I'm sure he is quite worried about you, I can have a dispatch track him down and inform him of your situation?" she said, half questioning and half stating as she began relaxing and smiling warmly at me as she rifled through a nearby cabinet for something.

"His name is Virgil, he's a Naga, we came by Zeppelin from Aldoran" I replied as she mixed some sort of powder into the water and motioned for me to drink.

"Virgil.. Prince Virgil Loruk?" She questioned slowly causing me to nearly spit take the water, I broke into another coughing fit.

"Big white Naga, opal eyes, soft coral colours all down his back yes?" She added. Virgil had never told me his last name, or his title, or anything about him, I hadn't even thought to ask him of such things either.

"He didn't tell me he was a prince, no one did... I've been serving a Prince this whole time..?" I sat there, suddenly unaccompanied by the feeling of nausea; instead my mind was racing with my own actions toward him during my tutoring. I gulped as I sat there wide eyed; the woman burst into a fit of snickering and giggles.

"Advent Royalty doesn't act conventionally, we like to mingle with our citizens, act.. equal; have fun and what not" she said with a sly smirk. My ears pinned back as I realized the woman before me was most likely royalty to.

"Milady... Forgive my ignorance I didn't know..." I stammered, this only seemed to issue more giggles from her as I sat there scared, confused and nervous. I never thought I'd meet royalty in my life, certainly not whilst naked either.

"Relax, I'm not like those stuck up human Queens who act like 'Proper' ladies, with their huge ornate dresses and shining manners... urgh" she said waving her hand with a disgusted eye roll. I felt uncomfortable, I was sitting next to a Queen, bare nude with just a sheet and some bandages covering me, I didn't know how to feel or act.

"You know, you're kind of handsome" she said with a smirk; Vervain coughed awkwardly from behind her and her smirk turned to an irritated frown.

"Vervain I'm allowed to flirt with whomever I please, go find Virgil, check the air docks and leave me alone you prune" she snapped. He quickly marched off with a downtrodden look on his face, leaving me with the flirtatious Queen.

"Buzzkill... humph, did you see anything, before the explosion"? She said after a pause and a sigh. I scratched the back of my head with an awkward smile, glad she had changed the topic.

"Not really, I think I saw a man, red robe, some sort of face tattoo... He was holding a cask or urn or... Something, that's all I remember" I told her, still looking around for my clothes and equipment. The woman was looking off into the distance thoughtfully; it gave me time to come to grips with the now reeling thoughts of my own. Virgil had rescued me from Aldoran in my time of dire need; he'd freed me and given me the choice to completely start over with a better life. He'd been a prince the whole time, Tahl, Briar not even Bastille had told me, did they even know? Surely they did, they couldn't all be strangers picked up from horrible places, like me.

I didn't get to dwell on that thought for long as Vervain came hurrying back now with an entourage of armed soldiers.

"Milady there's been another attack at the library, I strongly suggest you go back to the Palace at once" he said with a harsh tone of urgency.

"Find out who is doing this Vervain, close the ports, Not a single boat or blimp is to leave here, I want these wack jobs caught right now!" She barked, her warmer tone of voice suddenly replaced with an authoritative urgency, it caused the poor man to recoil slightly in surprise, but nonetheless he nodded and hurried off with the other soldiers in tow.

"Your clothes and equipment are in the foot locker beneath the bed, do make yourself decent. If I know Virgil he'll be waiting at my Palace, he always comes to me if he loses something in Caprii." She ordered, her voice still sounding authoritative but I just nodded and pulled the sheets away to dress. I wasn't surprised when I caught her gazing at my groin and rump as I dressed; all I wanted was to find my Master.

I sheathed my daggers and slipped Tahl's gift over my left shoulder just as a trio of alarmingly heavily armoured Antt Vedn arrived to escort the Queen and I back to the Palace. I was still rather confused as to how in the Lord's sake I had gotten to where I had come to be.

The streets were all mostly empty, it was night time after all but the air was sweet with the scent of something and the breeze was a welcome relief.

"Hmm, you know Virgil may be sleeping at this late hour, you may just have to entertain me." the Queen said with a sly smile. I was most uncomfortable with how her mood shifted so suddenly, she certainly wasn't your typical woman; but I had no experience in such things, my mind flashed back to some of the rapes I had seen in Brant's basement; I'd seen little of it but it was all I knew about sex.

The Palace was at the centre of Caprii, it actually wasn't as grand as I had imagined it would be, it was just a single three storey building centred in the middle of four adjoining courtyards all lined with roofed corridors that were furnished with lounges and sleek water features.

"Milady, There is a Minister Falath of the Black Church waiting to speak with you inside, as well as Lady Veronica from Mirodel." said a slender Satarian with eye glasses and wearing nothing but a bare chested vest garb. I averted my eyes skyward as I saw him approach with a smile, the Queen groaning in further irritation while I found my mind suddenly swarmed with curiosities. I found it hard not to stare from the corner of my eye as those curiosities swam lazily around my head. Those curiosities didn't go unnoticed however as his cheeks flushed a light red. The Queen shot me a funny look to before her head slumped and her arms sagged.

"Urrrgh fine!" She exclaimed like a spoilt upper class child as she began to climb the stairs to the main building with resignation.

"Seht, take care of the lizard will you, make sure he doesn't wander off" she added, sounding truly agitated now. I didn't know if that had been an insult of some sort or not, was I a lizard, I knew I was a reptile but I was unsure on the exact terminology. I watched as she disappeared through an open archway at the top of the stairs and I sighed. Seven weeks ago I was in on a stage being sold; now I was walking around with Queens and nudists.

"Come, my dwellings are just on the other end of the west wing" Seht said with a smile, turning on the spot and clip clopping off with a hum. I followed him without saying anything; I was too busy being lost in my thoughts yet again. It hurt; I'd never had headaches until I'd woken anew, now they plagued me.

Seht's home was a simple two storey building built into the end of one of the courtyard wings. It was like all the others in Caprii, solid white stone with the window frames painted warm red and yellow. Inside was fairly similar, warm red carpets, purple and yellow tapestries and wood carved furniture all gave a cosy feel to the room as I entered.

"I have a spare room you can rest in for the night if you'd like" he said, strutting past me and pouring some crimson liquid from a clay pitcher into two wooden cups. I was handed one a moment later and looked at it suspiciously.

"It's rum, it'll help you relax, even a blind man can see you're tense" he remarked as he took a mouthful from his own cup. I'd never had alcohol before, not even the watered down ale in Ludos; Seht motioned for me to try some as he took another mouthful. It was warm even though it was cold, it tasted sweet, sickly so; but it was good. It certainly did the trick though, after only one cup I felt relaxed and my headache was quieter.

"I'm sorry for staring earlier; I think I'm just curious... I think" I muttered as I was poured a second cup. Seht seemed to find that amusing as he chuckled softly for a bit before sighing and sitting on a cushioned bench.

"It was nice that someone looked at me like that to be honest, serving Lana is... well you've seen her... I barely get time to visit the Troublesome Tail Inn anymore these days" he said exhaustedly; I raised a brow at the amusing name of the inn, imagining what sort of mind had come up with the name.

"I think the both of us could use some fun tonight though, I heard about the Market attack, I'm glad no one was seriously injured" he stated, standing again and coming right up to me. My Frai fell away effortlessly in his hands but I didn't stop him, I helped him; thunder boomed in the distance as I undressed with his guiding hands. Sure I was hesitant but the whole reason I had taken that elixir seven weeks ago was to start over and try new things.

The room was cosy the drink was good and the company was certainly confident. I didn't know if it was the rum or if it was just me, but I felt energised and there was this strange warmth in my loins. Looking down I saw scarlet flesh, slick with some clear fluid, swollen and throbbing like the beat of a drum and looking nothing like the manhood I had once possessed.

"So that's what it looks like." I said with a curious look of surprise, the cool night air stung at it pleasantly, causing it to twitch in response.

I tipped back my head and downed my second cup in a single gulp as Seht confidently brought a hand to my thigh.

"I've never fooled around with a Vermian before" he said as I pounced on him. We wrestled on the floor for a bit in playful intoxication before he came up to sit astride my hips as I lay on my back. The fur of his flank and thighs felt good against my hands and claws, the sensation of that thicker fur under his tail enveloping my reptilian member as he pushed down atop me. And then all at once fireworks exploded behind my eyes, my whole body arched and shivered and everything else melted away as my hips began to feverishly piston.