The Nexus

Chapter Six

"What were you thinking?" King Caspian demanded, slapping his hand on the arm of the throne. Xavier fought the urge to roll his eyes. "You brought a human here to be a captive? That is not who we are, Xavier. You better explain yourself this instant."

"You wanted the humans gone in a peaceful way without killing them." Xavier reminded impatiently.

The desire to go check on the human was nearly overwhelming. It made him feel like he was crazy. "I did not kill any of the humans, I even saved one. I thought you would be pleased with me."

"You are holding her hostage." Caspian snapped, eyes flashing with rage.

"But she is not dead." Xavier pointed out with a shrug. "In fact, she is retrieving the best care available. She will not be harmed in anyway. Or would you rather I had left the human to be eaten by the Night Stalkers?"

"Of course not," Caspian grumbled as he pushed to his feet, "but this is rather a mess. You are suggesting we use her to force the other humans away?"

"Yes, exactly, it appears she is valuable to them. We tell them that if they wish to have her returned, they leave. When they are gone, we send her through the Gateway, unharmed."

"Or a war will start!" Caspian's booming voice rose. "We have already lost so much, Xavier. These humans do not want peace and will not leave peacefully, not if we threaten them. What you are doing is a human's tactic, it is not of our people."

"It will work, father! You wanted them gone without bloodshed, this is how we do it!"

Caspian had begun to pace, rubbing his bearded chin in thought. "You believe this will be successful, without starting a war?"

"Yes, father, I do. The humans are already frightened by the Night Stalkers. They are on the verge of leaving already. We need to do this now while they are scared and vulnerable, before they send more humans through and there are too many to drive away."

The King looked at his son in thought, hesitantly giving him a nod. "Alright, fine. You are in charge of this human you've brought here. You are to keep her safe, is that understood?"

"Yes, father." Xavier nodded, feeling both a trill of excitement that his father agreed with his plan, but also dread.

He hadn't expected to be the one in charge of taking care of the human. He was hoping perhaps one of the servants would have had that task, not he, so he wouldn't have to be around her anymore than he had too.

"Prince Xavier?" Kayda appeared through the opened double doors, then winced when she realized he was in conference with the King and immediately bowed in apology. "I apologize for interrupting you, my liege, however I thought you would wish to know that the human you brought in has woken up."

"Oh," Xavier wet his lips, feeling a surge of anxiousness, and perhaps even relief, "thank you, Kayda."

He hoped she would be unconscious longer. Kayda bowed again before quickly leaving the room and Xavier slowly turned and met his father's gaze.

"Go." Caspian nodded. "Tend to your human."

Your human? The term did something to Xavier that he didn't like. It made his pulse flutter in an odd way.

Nodding stiffly, Xavier walked briskly from the throne room and made his way to the medical wing. His heartbeat began to quicken as he approached the door of the room. Feeling oddly nervous, he used the key from his belt to unlock it.

Swallowing hard, he pushed the door in and entered, freezing in his tracks when he realized the room was empty, one of the windows open, the breeze causing the white curtains to flutter.