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“And why would ye think that?”

The woman smirked at Skye; “Because that’s what’s written.”

“Written where?” Skye asked as she moved closer.

“In one of his journals that we have.. Do ye lie to protect her? Or yer self?” the woman asked as she turned towards Skye, revealing her hand to be conveniently placed on her hilt as well.

“Both,” Skye replied in a hard tone.

Zazzy made an odd sort of grumbly whimper as she lifted her head up, and out of their line of fire. She didn’t understand why, but she could sense the hostility emanating from the two. And was smart enough to keep out of her mother’s way when angry.

Skye and the woman stared at each other for a solid minute before the woman’s face shifted into an amused smile. She nodded to her, then said, “Fair enough,” then went back to fussing over Zazzy like nothing had happened.

As Skye stared at the strange woman with confusion; Tidas, Murdoc, and a few of the Highlanders’ elders approached her. She wanted to grill the woman about what she knew, but Tidas’ expression let her know that something else more pertinent was about to be discussed.

Murdoc gestured to the people with him; “These are the heads of our Council. They wanted ta meet ye and take measure before they’d let me make an offer to ye.”

.....

Skye half-bowed as a sign of respect, then asked; “Who’s the woman then?”

“I’m the head of the Council. My name is Amara, by the way,” the woman commented as Zazzy leaned her head down for more pets.

Murdoc coughed to regain her attention; “That be Drexel’s widow. She was just elected Head Chiefton of the Council this morning..”

Skye’s head whipped back to the woman that she’d nearly just pulled a sword on with surprise. Amara stared back at her with a small smirk tugging at her lips, which annoyed Skye.. ‘Was she testin’ me?’

“We wanted ta meet the one known as ‘Eir’ ourselves before we discussed yer current crisis,” an elderly man stated.

“And which one would that be, exactly?” Skye asked as she looked from one elder to another.

Amara pet Zazzy a final time, then came over to join the conversation; “Shelter, but what other problems do ye think ye got?”

“Shelter for us, And shelter for Zazzy. When will we be able to head up to the Old Capital to scout it out? How long will our rations last? Will I ever get to bathe again? How will I know that Zazzy is eatin’ enough-”

“I think we get Yer point,” one of the other men said.

“No, I like hearin’ that she thinks about all of that. Tis proof that she’s capable of seein’ the bigger picture of things..”

Amara began to slowly circle Skye as she spoke; “Why did ye not list us as a worry?”

“Because we have a treaty-”

“That isna signed yet.. And even so, tis nothin’ but a wee scrap of paper, as ye said. What makes ye so certain that we’ll honor it? Especially knowin’ that their be fools like Drexel among our kin?”

Tidas stepped forward and spoke with a calm tone; “Skye is simply showing good faith by-”

“I was not speakin’ ta You, MacArthur!” Amara stopped to snap at Tidas, then turned to Skye; “I was speakin’ ta the Warrick.”

“Don’t talk to him like that if ye be wantin’ answers from me. And my name is Moonstone, Not Warrick,” Skye stated in a stern tone.

Amara grinned knowingly at Skye; “That be Yer Southerner name. Here, to Us: yer a Warrick.. And the last one at that.”

Skye felt her anger roiling beneath her mostly-calm exterior. Amara seemed to know a lot more about certain things than she did, and was taunting her over it. Seeing that that was her point, Skye took a breath and spoke..

“I would prefer that ye call me Skye. The other one isna much but a blood relation, and I don’t recognize it as anythin’ to do with me.”

Amara chortled as she came within a foot of Skye and spoked in a hushed tone; “Oh, ye wee lamb of a lass.. It has everythin’ ta do wit ye. And if ye deny it much longer, ye will lead us all to slaughter.”

“Alright, that’s enough, Amara. Ye had yer fun, now get to yer point,” Murdoc interjected with a hard tone.

“Aye, sire,” Amara replied, then took several steps back from Skye before she spoke again.

“If yer people can follow the rules and earn their keep, then we can offer one of our bunkers up to ye. It’ll be a wee bit of a tight fit, but twas built for a few hundred people ta live in. It’ll give ye heated shelter, a kitchen ta cook in, and bathrooms ta use..”

Skye’s eyes lit up when Amara had gotten to the last part. Making her lips twitch as she forced a smile down, and continued talking..

“We can also help build a shelter for wee Zazzy over there, but ye will have to agree to our rules, and do us a few favors as well.”

Skye’s features turned skeptical; “What kinds of favors?”

Murdoc stepped forward; “Yer makin’ it sound shady, Amara. We want ye ta help out in our hospital, check out our crops, and maybe tinker with a few things.”

Skye visibly relaxed, but her eyes still retained their skepticism. She clearly didn’t trust Amara, but most assumed the wrong reasons why. Tidas was most likely the only one that understood her hesitation in that moment.

If she’d had any ill intentions, Zazzy would’ve reacted to Amara instead of letting the woman pet her head. Skye was on her guard because she’d used her true mother’s name: Warrick.

It was the name of the original royal family, before the continent split into different kingdoms. Hardly anyone knew about the real history of Alcon, and even less knew who Skye really was. As Tidas watched his wife and the Highland Chiefton square off, a sense of foreboding crept up his spine..

‘Why do I get the feeling that those two are gonna fight at some point?’

Tidas sighed deeply as he continued to listen. They were discussing the rules to them staying, and most seemed reasonable.

Stay in their designated areas and pitching in with the work crews when needed were the main ones. Not fighting with the locals, even if provoked, no destructive actions, and Skye had to fulfill her requests. It wasn’t a bad deal, except that Amara kept looking at her with a cocky expression.

Skye was half-tempted to tell them no, but her pride was far less important than the lives of Zazzy and the RMC members. She agreed to the terms as long as Tidas did, too.

Amara glared at Tidas again, making both him and Skye wonder why she kept doing it. They each also wondered why she kept calling him ‘MacArthur’ instead of his name or title. As their talks came to a close, Skye wondered how long they were all going to last with hardly anything to do..

As Tidas gave a quick announcement to the soldiers, Skye followed Murdoc and the elders over a craggy outcropping of rocks. They were about four-hundred feet away from their campsite, or about the length of a city block in Alcon.

Amara padded one of the rocks and said; “Now, if ye don’t mind partin’ this, you’ll find a metal wall about twenty-five feet or so inside. Just be careful not ta bring the whole mountainside down on us.”

“Why can’t we just go in the same way that Murdoc had brought me and Tidas through last time?” Skye asked as she watched their reactions.

“Because we dunna want Southerners traipsin’ through our home. Which ye all would have ta do ta get in and out. Makin’ this new entry will cut all the excess out,” one of the elders stated in a gruff tone.

Murdoc spoke up; “And this valley leads straight ta the Old Capital. It’d be easier ta launch yer mission from here, too.”

“Aye, aye, I hear ya.. I suggest that ye all back up a bit,” Skye replied, then started to funnel her magic into the mountainside.

At first, nothing happened. When the ground beneath their feet started to shake, the Highland Council members moved further back. Small rocks and dust started to crumble and fall all around Skye as she stood unfazed, and concentrating.

Amara wasn’t sure what she was expecting to see, but it surprised her all the same. They couldn’t easily used one of the other entrances, but this was more convenient for the Highlanders as well. When the Alconians went back to their home, the groundwork would already be done to turn the bunker into a launch area for their vehicles...

As Skye pumped out her magic, the rocks shifted and seemingly rolled into each other. Amara thought that it would leave piles on the sides, but Skye condensed the rock instead. She broke down some of the minerals, and shifted them into the ground.

It would make the soil richer, and help yield larger crops if they decided to convert the valley. She would mention the effects later, so long they didn’t double-cross them in the meantime.

As soon as Skye felt the familiar cold zing of forged metal, she stopped to finish working the rock face first. She’d designed it like a half-rounded tunnel, but left one side extended a bit farther than the rest to act as a wind guard.

Once the rock was done, Skye went into the tunnel, and started to peel back the metal like layers of an onion. It took Tidas a second to figure ou what she was doing, but he was the only one to do it before the product was finished.

“Did ye just make a bloody door for it?!” Murdoc exclaimed with utter shock on his face.

Skye shrugged as she yelled over the noise of grinding metal; “No one likes snow in the house!”

Amara chuckled as she watched Skye use her magic with ease.. ‘With that attitude and power, Ima sure she’s Sorcha’s daughter. I’d bet a bottle of whiskey that Lucas never told her that she’s our rightful Queen. That lass is in for a hell of a surprise..’