The Crystal Heart

Wolf in Sheep's Wool

Back in the dock Nereus and Zakiah led Krystal off the ship. "Hey pops, where do you want her to room for the time being?" Nereus asked spinning on his heel to look back at his father, who had mentally disintegrated him a few hundred times by the look on his face.

"Well I can have her kept in a cell to keep up the act, or she can use the EXTRA room in your quarters if you think you can behave like a soldier and not the teenager I thought you had grown out of." Verantheis half scolded as he gave her a once over, "and if the two of you ever expect to make it with a woman I recommend acting like gentlemen, a woman is a woman no matter how talented and strong. I'm sure Ms. Anvindr would like to get out of her armor and into a more relaxed outfit."

With three sets of eyes turning towards her she couldn't help but grin and look down at her armor. "I honestly wouldn't complain." She said wishing she had her wardrobe from home, but that would be impossible to retrieve without setting off several red flagged alarms back home, including one overly loud Jeremiah who would no doubt be smothering her apartment in his presence.

Stopping by a small clothing store for the civilian people in the nation they got her the necessities she would need. Undergarments a few pairs of pants and tee-shirts with a pair of boots and a pair of sneakers and a few pieces for personal hygiene. As the three of them headed back to the soldiers quarters she couldn't help but wonder what he thought about Verantheis allowing her to share a space with him. Although he had said something about a cell, she was starting to think that sharing his quarters may have been a way to keep up the appearances that Verantheis had given her to his son as a pet.

Once they made it to his quarters she was given a tour that ended in her room. A hot shower and change of clothes later she found herself sharing a couch with a man that she had flown against and fought many times, and a small sliver of doubt started creeping in. What if she really had just become his pet, she didn't know him personally, it could all be one hell of a show. An illusion to get her guard down.

Since her arrival she hadn't had a moment to herself until the shower, was she under surveillance? Had her guard dropped fast enough to leave her blind to any real threats? As the movie played before her she ran through the days events and tried to find anything more than her times on Verantheis's ship where she had been treated like a prisoner. If the roles were reversed and he had flown to her, aside from her fiance getting in the way, were there major treatment differences?

Yes. Verantheis had changed his tone with her all too fast. He had gone from commanding warlord to impressed future father n' law as soon as his son had walked in the room. If the oath was everything he had said, was it really enough to make sworn enemies stand down and be friendly in a matter of minutes? Now that everything had settled down a bit, things just didn't seem right. If this was all a friendly show and his statement to Kade was her new reality, and she was considered a pet, would she be able to find a way home?

"Hey, coming back anytime soon?" Nereus asked, leaning back into the corner of the couch while the screen before them sang one of the ever annoyingly popular jingles for an advertisement.

"Sorry just thinking." She said wondering if he was this laid back with all his pets "What do you think about all of this?" She asked curling around the pillow and twisting to face him. "I mean we've been talking for weeks online and the first time we try to meet and all of this happens coming at us like wildfire. Surely you have some thoughts on it all." She added when he gave her a curious look.

He grinned half mischievous half amused "Oh, I have thoughts on the matter, but you didn't warn me about a brother or just how hopeless your betrothed was." Leaning towards her he smirked. "If I had to sum up the day, I would say that in shooting you down Zakiah was the second steppingstone to saving the damsel in distress from the cruel Marconians who were about to force her into a marriage with a man who has more estrogen than her.