15

"Alti, I don't like this. They're going to see that I'm missing, and then you'll be punished!"

Alti smiled and shook her head, brushing Ariana's auburn hair from her face. "Don't worry about me. You and your toy boy need to play this up though." She said, eyeing the man in the cage next to them.

"They'll kill you if they learn of this." A deep voice rumbled. The Steel Wolf had been quiet while the girls spoke, but he felt the need to at least voice his concerns.

"They can try."

"They almost did kill you! I didn't think you'd wake up after they beat you for that stunt three weeks back." Ariana huffed. She remembered the broken bones and blood after the guards left Alti in a crumpled pile on the floor. They'd re-shackled her neck and placed shackles to her wrists for added measure.

Alti sighed. "That's why I need you away from here. They know I can get to my shadows even though these cuffs are on me. I don't want them to hurt you or force me to hurt you."

"I'll do this, but I'm not going to be able to escape. The girls who say they've fallen pregnant are moved to an infirmary outside the coliseum to be tested. The doors are guarded and if the tests are positive, the girls are kept under lock and key until the birth."

"More to the point, how can you guarantee she'll be put with me?"

Alti's grey eyes rolled in annoyance. "You'll just have to win, won't you. And Ari, I have come to love you, but complain anymore about me trying to give you the freedom you deserve, and I'll wring your neck myself."

Ariana huffed but couldn't help the small smile that crossed her lips. "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't fret. It's not that I don't trust you. I'm-"

"Scared?"

"Terrified."

Alti's hand rested against the cheek of her friend and a sweet smile passed over her lips. "You can do this. You're braver than you give yourself credit for. You'll have to wait the guards out. Learn their rotations. Pay attention to who keeps watch near the doors. Once your out, find a way to get to Bellum. It's going to take some time, but you can do this! There's a town to the north of the country called Deepmore. I had a room there rented at the hotel down the road from the Lupus Nocte under the name Adriel. Room number 369 Can you remember that?"

"Bellum. Deepmore. Adriel. Hotel down the road from Lupus Nocte."

"Room 369."

"Room 369, right."

"Good. Once you get into that room, look under the bed. Count the floorboards from the wall. The seven one is loose. I hid a communications lacrima there and a crystal I hauled from a traveler in a game of cards. You take the lacrima and crystal to make your way to Dawn City. That crystal is worth some serious jewel and that's the place to sell it.

There's a hotel there that I stayed at for a while, it's a shady place, but… the owner is decent if the price is right. Find the Black Dove. Tell the owner that Crimivos sent you, he'll let you stay in my room. There are a few shop owners that will give you odd jobs while you wait. If I'm not there within a month, well… you'll be set with the jewel from that crystal and the jobs… you'll be free."

"Alti, I can't do this! I'll never remember this. I'm not strong like you!"

"Ariana, you have to do this. You're stronger than you think you are. Now, tell me what the plan is."

Ariana inhaled a shaky breath and blinked the tears from her eyes. "Get out of the infirmary-"

"How?"

"Spend a week watching everything. Wait for an opportunity in between shift changes."

"Good. What next?"

"Shh. Someone's coming." The Steel Wolf hissed. He had to hand it to Alti, the plans she'd made were solid, and he hoped for both the girls' sakes that it came to fruition.

Alti sneered when the door to her cell was opened and a plate of stale bread was thrown onto the floor. It was the guards favorite pastime anymore- only giving them enough food for one person. She'd overheard them placing bets to see how long it would take for herself and Ariana to start fighting each other. Little did they know it would never happen. Once her friend was free, she'd do her upmost best to level the hellhole they kept her chained in.

Ariana broke the already small portion of break in half and offered Alti one piece. The shadow mage shook her head and refused, telling the brunette she wasn't hungry. Her frown was ignored and Alti waited patiently for her to finish eating before pushing her to memorize her escape route.

"What do you do if I don't meet you in Dawn City?"

Ariana's lip wobbled. "I… I go to either Bosco or get further into Fiore. But I want to go to Bosco… if… if it's alright I want to find your home…"

Alti drew in a breath. "You want to find my home?"

"I want to see the island that made you so strong…" Ariana said in a small voice. "If that's alright."

"Of course, it's more than alright. You'll survive, Ari. I know you will." Alti said after she placed a gentle kiss to her friends' forehead. The first time she'd done that, she'd chuckled as Ariana told her women didn't kiss other women. She'd taken the time to explain that in Bosco… none of that mattered.

Ariana nodded and turned to the man in the cell next to them. She'd come to see him as a friend in the last few weeks. Nothing was said between them, but she could see it in his eyes that he promised to treat her well when he asked for her.

"You can't let them hurt her, wolf." Ariana demanded.

"I will try my best to keep her safe, but there are still bars between us, little one."

Ariana sighed. "I know… but… just… don't let her brood. Or do anything stupid."

"I am right here, you know." Alti mused. She blinked in surprise when Ariana threw her arms around her waist, clinging to her like a limpet on a rock at high tide. "We'll see each other again."

"Will we?"

Alti smirked. "You can't ever get rid of me now. We're family."

"Family?" Ariana blinked. She'd lost her family to the pits before. Her mother, she'd never known. Her boys were taken as soon as they'd inhaled their first breaths. She'd never known the meaning of family. Not until Alti. A slow grin overtook her face. Family. "I like the sound of that."

"I figured you might. Now get some sleep. We have a rough week or two ahead of us and you need all the energy you can get."

Ariana jolted awake, panic jarring her mind briefly. She fought to control her breathing and counted in her head to ease the heavy staccato of her heartbeat into a softer rhythm as she rested her hands on her lower abdomen. She'd followed Alti's instructions meticulously. She'd even made it to Dawn City without anyone so much as glancing her way twice. The first thing she'd done after her daring escape was to beg someone to remove her shackles. The rush of power that raced through her veins after they dropped to the floor brought her to her knees.

She'd taken the crystal to a reputable shop keeper and sold the thing, gladly taking the amount of jewel offered. Once business concluded, she'd asked him to point her towards the Black Dove and learned why Alti had been so adamant about taking the lacrima too. With it in hand, the hotel owner allowed Ariana past the front door, and gave her a key so she could come and go as she pleased.

She spent the first week on the floor, tears in her eyes, as she prayed to whatever gods would listen to keep her sister safe.

After a month of working for a shop keeper who specialized in the distribution of deadly poisons, she'd come face to face with a man she only knew from stories.

Crimivos had improved on his tracking abilities since his time in the Bloodriver Guild. He'd followed lead after lead until he'd come to the Black Dove. When Ariana closed the door to her room, it had taken everything in her to not scream at the sight of a strange man sitting at her side table. It didn't take long for him to learn what had befallen the girl he'd fallen in love with. He'd helped her get to Bosco then, setting her up in a small apartment in Pelerno, promising to help her in whatever way he could. Once he learned all that she'd endured to find her freedom, he promised he'd take her as family too- her and her child.

"Ariana, you awake?"

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. "I'm up now."

Crimivos nodded. "Sorry I just let myself in. I got back early from my job. Hey, are you alright?"

"It's fine… I needed to wake up anyway. Kaveh asked me last night to help mind the café this morning. His mother, Jazmine, is sick and he's taking her to see a healer because she refuses to look after herself. I'm alright, by the way. I just keep dreaming of her."

Crimivos sat down on the bed beside her and nodded. "I couldn't get her out of my head for the first two months or so after she left. I'd never seen her so… helpless. I knew she was powerful, but… I don't think anyone realized just how much she kept to herself. I wanted to tell her I wasn't mad."

"I think she was scared you'd hate her… she never said as much… but she didn't have to. She'd tell stories to me and the other women… about you…about the guild… even her home."

"She was my best friend and I loved her so much. I heard about the rest of the guild trying to track her down. They were furious that she'd killed the master… they wanted her blood. I was proud of how she evaded them… but… I just wish she'd have contacted me somehow."

Ariana smiled and placed her hand on his. "Don't think about that. Regret only allows the pain to linger."

"Now, you sound like her."

She shrugged. "She's my family."

Crimivos nodded. He turned his attention to the door when it opened and a head full of raven hair popped through the crack. "Ariana? Are you in here?"

"I'm here Zada. I'm still in bed."

"Well, get up then lazy!" a voice chimed.

Ariana sighed. "Mean."

"Oh! I didn't know you had a guest."

Her head shook. "It's not like that. Zada, this is my brother Crimivos. Crimivos, this is Zada… she's Jazmine's daughter and a friend of mine."

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Zada grinned.

The grin was returned as Crimivos stood. "Believe me, the pleasure is all mine." He purred, delighting in the pretty blush that dusted Zada's cheeks.

Ariana rolled her eyes and stripped herself on the way to her bathroom. It had taken her just a week to ignore the presence of people in her room while she dressed- or undressed- and slept. Years of sleeping in a cell or being at the mercy of men using her for pleasure had desensitized her to the feeling of eyes on her body. She only went about her morning routine and made her way down the stairs and out of her small apartment.

She used the ten-minute walk to the café she worked in to collect herself. She smiled at those patrons she recognized and waved Kaveh and his mother off as they left, calling that she hoped the woman started to feel better soon. She returned to her usual morning duties until a throat cleared and caused her to jump.

"Hey, easy there gorgeous. I didn't mean to spook ya!"

"Oh shut up, soul doctor! You enjoyed seeing her jump."

"Fuck off, poison breath."

"Boys!"

Ariana looked back and forth between the two men and the lone female now standing in between them. As far as looks went, Ariana was willing to bet the woman hailed either from Iceberg or Fiore. There was no way that blonde hair and fair skin were a product of the Boscan tropical climate.

A snort was pulled from the lips of the man to the right of her. Ariana took him in, his height, his build, down to his maroon hair and the purple color of his one eye. Overall, he was gorgeous. The man to her left was just as gorgeous: blue and black colored hair, red eyes, lithe muscles, and tanned skin? Yes please.

"Sorry about them. They're a little… salty… without coffee first thing in the morning."

Ariana smiled. "It's alright. You three can have a seat at the bar, or if you'd like I can get you a table by the windows over there in the corner."

"Oh um… actually… we're here to get a large booth for our friends and family."

"Well, that's alright too… how many seats do you need?"

"I think ten should about cover it."

Ariana nodded. "Yeah… we can work that. Follow me over this way. I'll get you guys some coffee while you wait." She shot a dour look over their shoulders at Zada, who'd just waltzed in to help her.

She better not have fucked him in my bed. I'll murder them both.

A deep chuckle drew her attention back to the trio in front of her and she blinked. Had he actually heard her?

Cobra was a grouch first thing in the morning. Without coffee or something else of sustenance to help him wake up, he was more so. Having to deal with a crank seith mage and an overly perky celestial mage too early in the morning was not his idea of fun. Add in that, yes, he had been on babysitting duty last night while Lucy got a few hours of sleep? Nope, he wasn't happy.

Hearing the foul thoughts of the little flower in front of him, well… that was perking him up at least. He sighed and chuckled again when Lucy elbowed his ribs.

"Don't worry your pretty little head. I can tune you out… but… that vicious streak of yours… it'd be fun to explore… if you're ever interested. Oh and, you might want to scrub down your couch when you get home. Legs over there didn't want to disrespect you too much, but she likes the ride she had on your brother this morning."

Ariana's mouth dropped open in shock. Lucy only sighed and shook her head while the seith mage was left to cackle with glee. He didn't stop cackling even after more of their party joined them, not caring that he was drawing attention to them, just that his good mood was restored with a few well-placed words from the poison dragon slayer.

Zada arched an eyebrow in curiosity when Ariana only huffed in annoyance after coming back to the counter. "My couch? Really?"

She shrugged. "Better than the bed."

"Fair point."

"Oh, aren't they just the cutest little things?!"

Ariana turned her attention to the boys who'd just walked in with a man too massive to be real. His short blonde hair and bright blue eyes scanned the room before landing on the gathering group that housed the rather boisterous man and his obnoxious friend. She had to agree though that the boys were cute.

She offered them a sweet smile when she reached their table again, gasping when she saw their eyes. The pen in her hand hovered over the paper and her entire body shook so much so that Zada was by her side to see what had happened to her friend. Ariana would recognize those eyes anywhere. she saw them every time she looked in the mirror.

Alti what do I do? Those eyes are just like mine.

It was the last thing she thought before her world faded to black. She didn't see the man with long blonde hair and white tattoos shoot his head up to stare at her as she fell. She didn't feel the large, but gentle hands, of the man with long black hair catch her before she fell.

She was lost to a world of memory and pain.