The Exchange

Standing in a chariot with Pardus by her side, Rowena looked up at the wall where Acinonyx stood with his bow ready. To say that Taurus and Pardus were displeased that the Crown Prince of Hyperion would not be joining them was an understatement. They were positive that Acinonyx would try and loose an arrow at them from the walls of the city, they were cure of it!

Was Rowena though? She couldn't say, but suspected that her abductor had something else in mind.

As the Hyperionite chariots rode out, Rowena thought about how the Hyperionites and those traitors Taurus and Sarpedon and the former's companion Elephas knew nothing about her being aware of the treachery they had planned. If they had, they would have had her bound and gagged.

That such treachery could have been carried out on such a beautiful day was difficult for some people to imagine. Not so for Rowena. The sky may have been blue with few clouds, but even bloody battles were fought beneath skies such as this. How much blood was there in the soil since this siege had begun? For all she knew there was enough blood in the soil to fill the entire ocean and drown the earth. Well, perhaps not, though Rowena believed in twelvemonths to come the siege would be exaggerated to such an extent people who had been alive during the time would sarcastically wonder they had been when the world had drowned in blood.

As the chariots approached the meeting place between Hyperion and the camp of the joint host, Rowena's eyes widened and a smile came to her face when she saw Falco. Her heart leapt. Perhaps the act of treachery that Taurus and Pardus had planned would fail, perhaps she and Falco would be together once more, perhaps this long nightmare of being a prisoner of Hyperion would finally be over for her and she could aid in the rescue of Scholastica and Xe-tian.

From where she stood in the chariot, the Last Queen of Aether saw an expression similar to her own upon that of her husband appear. Even Kenneth seemed to perk up upon seeing her. In the distance, the braying of a donkey could be heard and Rowena wondered if it was just a donkey or the Donkey God himself.

As Taurus stepped down from his chariot and stepped forward, Rowena noticed the High Priest of the Earth Bull raise his shoulders and pause when he heard the bray of the donkey. She may not have been able to see behind the mask that he wore, but his body language spoke enough.

Shaking off whatever fear had touched his cold, black heart, Taurus stepped forward and for a moment stood there, staring at the people before him: Falco, Shahbaz, Lupus, Buri, Minos, some girl, Lupus' wolf and a group of soldiers. Quite a few of them were even armed with bows... Almost as if they expected treachery on the Hyperionites' part.

Rowena could only continue to smile. The treachery Taurus and Pardus had planned had been too obvious.

Holding up his free hand, the High Priest of the Earth Bull uttered: "I can assure you all, that this is indeed Rowena of Aether and not some phantom that I or any of my priests have conjured up."

Stepping down from Pardus' chariot, Rowena began to make her way towards Falco and he to her. Alas, the Last Queen of Aether was only able to get so far when she felt Pardus' hand grab her by the arm.

Calmy, Lupus said: "Let her go, Pardus, and let us discuss the release of the remaining two: Scholastica and Xe-tian."

"They will be releathed with the debt of the Cambytheth Empire and the Ulgen Khanate hath been paid in full." Stated Pardus.

"Debt?" inquired Shahbaz, more than a little puzzled. "The Cambyses Empire recognizes no claim of debt."

"Nor does the Ulgen Khanate." Commented Lupus.

"Then who payth for the Hyperionite blood thhed on thith plain?"

"The blood of those who will never return home to the Cambyses Empire and the Ulgen Khanate has paid in full." Stated Falco, taking a step forward.

"The blood of foreigners is not a valid currency in Hyperion." Growled Taurus. "Nor does it pay for the armour and weapons that have been built."

"Hyperion is a great trade center with enough in its coffers to pay for such equipment." Commented Rowena, glaring at Pardus as he continued to hold onto her. "Or does your royal father refuse to pay his blacksmiths from his own coffers?"

As Pardus raised his hand to strike Rowena, Taurus cried: "Hold your hand, my dear step-nephew!" The Lisping Prince obeyed and so did, the High Priest of the Earth Bull then state: "Half of the treasure of the Cambyses Empire and half the treasure of the Ulgen Khanate will be brought here and every twelvemonth hereafter one thousand gold pieces shall be given to Hyperion as tribute."

Before anyone on the other side could raise any objections, Acinonyx appeared upon the scene, mounted upon his snow-white charger with Paris following him. Without a new helmet to hide his features, it was undoubtedly him and he had come armed with a bow and a quiver full of arrows, as well as a javelin. Wrenching Rowena from his brother's grasp, the Crown Prince of Hyperion lifted his captive onto his horse and said: "The deal is off. Rowena stays here and so does her ladies-in-waiting. Enjoy another twelvemonth of siege everyone. Oh, and Shahbaz!" Hurling his javelin at the Shah of the Cambyses Empire, Acinonyx threw his head back and laughed before riding off back to Hyperion, Paris following but not before hissing at Kenneth. The caracal replied by giving the cheetah a hiss of his own.

Struggling in the grip of her captor, Rowena reached for Acinonyx's quiver. Her father-in-law Tigris, her friend Frumentius and now Shahbaz! The Crown Prince of Hyperion would not kill again! Grabbing an arrow from the quiver, she then struck, but alas, the galloping of the horse caused her to miss and instead strike his scale armour, alerting Acinonyx, who until then had been so focused on the gates of Hyperion.

When next Rowena struck, fury in her reddish-brown eyes, she found her wrist in the grasp of the Crown Prince of Hyperion. Struggling against him, she attempted to bring the arrowhead to his neck, but alas, all she managed to do was caused Acinonyx to lose balance and fall from his horse, thus bringing her along with him.

As they hit the ground, Rowena continued to struggle against the Evil-Hearted Coward she been illegitimately married to. Even as Hyperionite dragged her from him, she attempted to stab her abductor in the throat with his own arrow. Alas, by the time she tried, Acinonyx was out of her reach.

Turning her head in the direction of the plain, Rowena saw Falco running to her aid with his sword drawn... If only Pardus had not been coming up close behind him.

Seeing the Lisping Prince approaching in his chariot with an axe raised, the Last Queen of Aether shouted: "Falco, look out!"

The last thing that Rowena saw before she was dragged into the city, her prison, was Falco turning and dodging Pardus' attack. When the gates closed, her first instinct was to run up to the walls and see what was going on. Upon reaching the top, the sight of Leo with Priam by his side caused the daughter of Alfred to freeze.

Chuckling, Leo said: "How I love helping my sons sabotage each other." Waving her over, the King of Hyperion then uttered: "Come, let us see how my favourite of the hour is doing."

Glaring daggers at her unwanted father-in-law, Rowena walked over to the side and looked down. Pardus had stepped down from his chariot and was continuing to swing his axe at Falco, but quicker than the arrow from the bow, her true husband avoided every attack, not even raising his sword while to the side, Kenneth and Hector sized each other up, caracal and panther waiting for the other to strike first.

From atop the wall, Rowena heard Pardus yell "Hold thtill!" Even with his bull-headed helmet muffling his voice, his annoyance was clear. He was becoming less focused every swing of his axe was just a wild attempt to strike Falco and he seemed to be tiring himself out more quickly than a level-headed combatant would have been.

It was well that Pardus was not as focused as Hector, for the panther continued to stare at Kenneth, the smaller cat glaring back, ears flattened against his skull and back arched to make himself seem larger. When Falco took a moment to look over to his feline companion and that of his opponent, Rowena muttered under her breath: "No, Falco, don't look away!"

As if hearing, Falco looked once more to Pardus as the Lisping Prince charged with his axe raised. Jumping out of the way, the Last Divine Deucalion of Aether swung his broken, half-rusted old sword at Pardus, but alas, with his sword being as it was, the most it was able to do was leave a scratch upon his opponent's scale armour. He needed help, his sword, his armour... against Pardus could Falco have actually had a chance?

Rowena could only pray and she prayed even more when Kenneth and Hector finally began their clash, the panther leaping forward and the caracal jumping up out of the way.