Trial and Tribulation Copyright 1997 by Renee a.k.a. Alethea All "NiGHTS" characters and related indicia mentioned herein are copyright and TM by one or more of the following: Sega Enterprises, and/or Sega of America. Used without permission Etienne or "Eti" and related characters copyright Jeanette Merrell. Used without permission Dunamis, Alethea, Frost, Aldwyn, Nettle, Tarragon, Salpinx, Rhian, Talitha, the baku, and related characters copyright Renee. This document may be freely distributed as long as it is not modified in any way. Trial and Tribulation (Part 16) *A short time later* Reala walked down the line of tense, sweating troops. They were so strait they were almost ridged. One Hollow in particular was so strait that he was about to pass out. Reala frowned at them. " You're dismissed." Several of the troops nearly dived trough the door. Only a small amount of self-restraint kept them from bolting. Instead, they walked out of the room before removing themselves promptly. Reala grinned. " I love my job." *** Aldwyn stood next to Rhian's bed. He had been there for about half an hour. Talitha watched him sympathetically. He seemed to be taking the whole thing rather hard. She had no idea why he was so upset. She knew Aldwyn was kindhearted to other people, b ut for him to be this concerned was unusual. Talitha walked over to him. " You know, you can stand here all day and all night, but your not going to do any good. Get your mind on something else. You're only making yourself miserable." " That's going to be difficult." " Why? You don't know her. It's not like she's part of your family." Aldwyn left and Talitha watched him. She hated it when someone did not answer her question. Etienne, who had just finished talking to Nights, was saying something to Alethea when the two of them noticed Aldwyn leaving. Talitha followed him to the door curiously. " He's taking this rather hard isn't he?" Eti watched him from the window. He looked like was brooding on something that had his complete attention. " I would have though he'd say something to me. He usually say's hello at least." For several minutes, no one said anything. " You know, he used to be more optimistic. Even in his pessimism. Sure he was never bouncy, but he was much more cheerful." Ale thea watched him. " Maybe we should talk to him. This shouldn't agitate him as much as it does." " Let me go!" Alethea stifled a smirk. " Don't be nosy, Talitha." Talitha gave her a look of mock astonishment. " ME? Nosy! I'm not nosy! Why, I resent that statement!" " No, you resemble it." Talitha glanced down at Nights. He grinned up at her. " Who let you in on this conversation? Go back to sleep." Talitha threw a pillow at him. *** Jackle leaned against the wall with an ice pack against his jaw, and growled venomously under his breath. Nettle tried not to laugh at him. He could be very melodramatic, which made him look remarkably silly, but he would get deeply offended if y ou said anything about his behavior. " I hate my life." Jackle mumbled. It was the first thing he had said loud enough that Nettle could understand it. Several other battered looking Minions glanced at him. " You should be glad that you're not one of the enlisted troops. They have a much harder life." Jackle shifted and winced. " How many of them have ever had to report to wizeman? I feel like one giant welt." " You look like you just crawled out of fight with a baku." Jackle groaned. *A couple of days later* Rhian eyes flitted open. Aldwyn was sitting in a chair next to her and smiling. She glanced around the room. " Where am I?" " At our base. In the infirmary to be precise." The 'maren gave him a scared expression. " What are you going to do with me?" " Well we're not going to throw you in the prison, if that's what you're worried about." The 'maren relaxed a little. " I don't think you'll go running back to Nightmare any time soon." Her eyes widened. " NO! I don't want to go back! They'll kill me." She sat up slowly and Aldwyn watched her with concern. " Take it easy, you've been very sick." Rhian winced and glanced at her side. " Your ribs are broken." He fidgeted a little and looked out of the nearby window. " How did your ribs and leg get broken." She drew back anxiously, and her voice dropped to a whisper. " I don't want to talk about it." Aldwyn decided not to push it and tried to change the subject. *** Nights glanced around the room like a five-year old about to snag a cookie from a cookie jar. He slowly started to get up. The sound of footsteps caught his attention, and he leaned back quickly, putting on an innocent look. Alethea strolled into the r oom and smiled at him. " No. Don't even think about it." " This is BORING! Why can't I get up! Come on!" " No." " Awwww! You're going to kill me with boredom!" " Poor baby. Consider it your chance to think about why we lost." Nights became very serious. " I know why the King let us loose." " Why." " Partly for a test, and partly to teach us about Him." " Ah." " Yes. At least we didn't loose anyone." They glanced at Salpinx, who was asleep in a bed across the very long room. " We almost lost him." " How long will it take him to get well?" " Weeks." " What about you?" Alethea smiled. " Awhile. It's not that bad." " Jackle broke your arm?" Alethea grinned " You should have heard Dunamis on the way back. I thought he would never be quiet." " I can imagine." The sound of Aldwyn talking caught their attention. Alethea left the room and Nights tried to sleep for the fifteenth time. " I thought wizeman was the King." Aldwyn snorted. " He'd like us to believe it; he only was supposed to rule over the dream realm under the King and obey the King. The King did tell him to make some things and how to do it, but the life we have comes from the King not wizeman." " Oh." Alethea walked into the room, and the two of them stopped talking. " Well, it looks like you finally got over the fever. I was worried you might not." *** Nettle sat alone in the dark of the infirmary. What she had done was frightening her. If anyone found out her life would be in danger. More than her own life was at stake; Tarragon had helped her also. Visions of being dragged to the prison, or worse, to wizeman sent chills up her spine. It's only a matter of time before someone finds out. The though kept pulsing through her mind no matter how hard she tried to push it out. Nettle shivered visibly. Tarragon was a nervous wreck at the moment, but she knew in a few weeks he would calm down. She knew Tarragon would stay calm if someone started interrogating him, but she could not. She was a wreck now, and she knew she would not be able to stay calm if she had to talk about it around a bunch of other guards. Nettle paced in a tight circle. She could not sleep. I'm going to get paranoid if I keep this up. She sat down again, and suddenly realized how tired she felt. She blinked tiredly out the window. I need to be ready. The End