Star Storm

Chapter Six

Hostage

Nona Galtionie had never envied her brother. She had never so much as considered his life to be better than hers or dreamt about what it was like to be him, their mother's favourite child. Being a prince could never have been as fun as being a princess; he had people to please through his wisdom and attitude. Nona only had to bat her eyelids and throw on a fancy gown and she would have the heart of any ambassador or politician.

Too bad for him, she scoffed.

A princess had the best life. Everyone wanted to be a princess - everyone wanted to be her. So, when Nona found herself wishing to trade places with her brother for the first time in her life, she found her confidence failing.

"Can you stop this old bucket from shaking so much?" she called to her closest companion. The hideous hood they had tugged over her face stopped Nona from seeing his face, but the deep grunt was confirmation enough that someone was listening. "I'm trying to think and it's hardly comfortable in here."

Any decent raider would have explained who they were, what they wanted and where they were going. Nona was unlucky enough to get caught by the worst of the worst, or as she called them, Jule and Julius.

Since snapping her awake roughly an hour ago, her companions had said nothing. Not a slither of sentence. Nona had asked for their names and been given no reply. When the two men had caught her staring at them, the worn sack had become the newest addition to her outfit.

The strangers had not cared for her protests. They had not cared that brown leather did not match her delicate dress or golden sandals.

Nona had been given no choice but to grant her company names on her own accord. The two burly men were now Julius and Jule. Her great grandparents would be proud to have their names used in such a fashion.

"Hello," Nona said, leaning forward. "Can't you hear me? Listen. Princess here. I want you to tell your captain how to fly a ship properly. How I'm expected just to sit here and relax while this thing jumps around is quite unthinkable."

Even the smallest of movements caused the chains around her wrists to clank. Their song was a terrible reminder that this was not a game. She would not be able to wink her way out of this one – least not while her head was covered.

A hand gripped the top of the hood, a clump of her hair with it. Nona squealed as the sack was pulled aside. The window across the shuttle's deck reflected a rather disturbing image. She turned her head aside. It would not do to cry over her ruined hair before these men.

Aside from her captures' human forms, she could pick out nothing of interest about them. They were cloaked in armoured black wear from head to toe, with a specialised mask hanging over their faces. Nona had seen the equipment used before by her mother's personal guards, but she failed to remember what it was for.

The larger of the two men had earned the name of Julius. He turned his head to his companion who hovered over Nona and stood up slowly.

"Yes," Nona said proudly. "I'm glad you agree with me. These conditions are quite unsuitable - hey, wait a moment!"

A gloved hand moved rapidly around her face, tugging a piece of cloth over her mouth. Nona did her best to protest, proclaiming her dislike of being gagged, but when neither of the two fools would listen to her words, she shifted her tactics. Actions, Telion had always claimed, made much better statements than words.

Closing her mouth, Nona took a deep breath, then brought her knee up in a rush, hitting the unprepared stranger in the backside as he tightened her gag. Rudely, he cursed and stumbled back, the fabric falling from around her face and onto her lap.