Dominion

It was a simple dream.

There were trees. Many

beautiful

trees. The sun was bright and warm, so inviting as its rays reflected against her bright yellow feathers. She was perched high upon a branch, singing a bright melody, and the other birds around her chirped away in response. The wind began to pick up, so she spread her tiny wings and took flight. The forest floor below was so tremendous in its beauty. The way the beams of light filtered through the leaves of the trees, dancing among the flowers and moss... It filled her heart with joy. The song in her heart never faltered. The song in her heart was pure and true, and she belted out the simple tones with nothing but joy and happiness. For once, she felt safe. For once, she felt at home.

But the dream would have to end, eventually. Because that was all it was. Just a silly little dream. She would never be free again, and she could never go home. She was trapped here forever, but that was the price she would have to pay to keep people safe. She felt the dream recede, and she could feel the cold stagnant air of the dungeon against her pale, unbathed flesh. The torn rags she wore were like rough spun burlap rubbing against her skin. And the bracelet... The cursed bracelet around her wrist. It was cold and harsh, not only in the way it felt against her emaciated wrist... But in what it meant.

She could still sing... But she could never fly.

Aryn shifted and yawned, opening her eyes and realizing with a bit of panic that she had been moved. She shot awake and looked straight into Joel's eyes with an expression of pure terror, and quickly tried to scramble off of his lap. Her sudden movement caught Joel by surprise, but his reaction time was fast enough to catch her before she could escape. It wouldn't do to have her ending up in someone else's arms. He didn't feeling fighting today.

"Whoa there lass, I'm on yer side," he told her as he restrained her and dragged her back against his chest. "Just calm down now. There's no need to panic."

"Please," she whimpered. "Please let me go."

"If ye' insist," He chuckled, still holding her against his chest as he spoke, "but there's two other men in this cell with us, and another on the way, so unless ye' wanna end up as someone's little toy again, I suggest ye' stay right here."

"Oh for the love of the gods!" Kara spat, "All you limp dicks do is fawn over that sweet little cunt like she's a god damned piece of candy."

"At least she's not a sour pussed bitch like ye', Kara," Joel shot back with a wry grin on his face. "Few men in this world would have the balls to come onto ye'."

"You're damned right, you bat winged scum. At least I don't crawl into a corner and pine after my mama like a filthy milk drinker," She spat back and the girl in his arms flinched, hurt by her cruel words. "You should've been put down ages ago you damned mutt."

"Awe don't be like that lass, we're both prisoners of war here. At least ye' didn't get betrayed by yer own people," He grinned. "If anyone should be bitter here, it's me."

"Don't play that card with me, mutt."

"Yer lucky I have this 'sweet little cunt' curled up in my arms right now, or I'd show ye' the time of yer life," He countered. "Sounds like ye' need a good lay, anyway. Loosen up that sour cunt of yers."

The woman ticked in irritation, but turned away without another word. Aryn seemed very subdued by the conversation, and curled back up into his lap. He could hear her sniffling and trembling against him and he sighed. Way to scare the hell out of the poor lass.

"Hey," he cooed and tilted her chin up to look at him. Her eyes were red like she'd been fighting to hold back her tears, and she looked absolutely terrified, "don't listen to that bitter old bitch, okay lass? She's just peeved that a soft, pretty little thing like ye' is stealin all the attention away."

Kara shot him the meanest glare he'd ever seen and he held back a chuckle as he regarded the little thing in his arms. So she wasn't a warrior, so what? She probably got caught stealing, or something simple and was thrown in here with a lick of bad luck. The doll was such a sweet little thing, and he couldn't help but be enamored by how adorably pitiful she was.

What could he say? He liked his women soft, innocent and sweet.

"I... I'm sorry to be a burden, m-mister," Aryn mumbled between sniffles, "I don't mean to be so weak..."

"Oh hush. Why're ye' in here anyway?"

Her eyes widened a fraction at the question and then she quickly looked away. He pondered at her reaction. Was she embarrassed? Afraid? Who knew.

"I was stealing food from the bakery," her answer was quick, practiced. "They caught me and threw me in here."

He frowned at her words. After all his time as an interrogator, it was almost second nature for him to be able to tell whether a person was lying or not. He could feel her heart beat, the pattern of her breaths, but the tone of her voice alone gave it away. Why was she lying? What did she have to hide? He pondered at her dishonesty, and the thought that her past may not be as simple as he thought only made her that much more intriguing to him. He wanted to know more, but he would have to be careful about how he approached the subject.

"Look at me, lass," he scolded her, and she turned back to him with wide eyes. "Yer a terrible liar."

Her breath caught in her throat and she tried to look away again, but he caught her chin and held her in place. She was trembling again, and he could tell this was a subject she did not want to touch on. So he decided to push it farther... Only he would have to trick it out of her. He stored into her frightened eyes as he considered a different line of questions. Ones that might seem innocent on the surface, but who's answers may lead him in the right direction.

"I can see from the shape of yer ears that yer of Daegra descent," he mentioned offhandedly, hoping to catch her off guard. "What gifts did the Tree Mother give ye'?"

"I... My spirit is a canary," she began awkwardly, obviously confused by his questions, "And..."

"And..?"

She snapped her mouth shut and wrenched her face away, pulling her knees up to her chin and resting her head against them. Hmm... so she was smart enough to tell he was prying. Interesting. Did she have experience in dealing with interrogation? Or was she simply quick witted? He couldn't tell. what she didn't seem to realize was that not telling him had given him a lot more to go off. Her abilities would give away her identity, or at least clue him in on what put her in here. Maybe she wasn't as innocent as she seemed. Her silence was driving him mad! What in hell did this tiny little girl have to hide?

"Little bird," he murmured softly as he twisted a strand of her hair between his fingers, "why're ye' hiding from me?"

She remained quiet, and left him to ponder what little she had given him. He considered her spirit animal with a big of interest. A canary. Why did that seem so familiar? He couldn't quite place it but the bird seemed like something he had heard before somewhere. It was right on the tip of his tongue, driving him completely mad! when someone in the back of the dungeon began to hum a very off key tune, he froze as he dropped her hair.

The Canary.

The

Canary!

She

was the silent assassin he had been investigating? The very enemy he had put most of his life's work into capturing? The rumors said that her singing could captivate people, and she was near impossible to track because most of her targets died of unrelated natural deaths. To think she was here all along? In this very cell with him? Of course she was terrified of him. She had heard his name, and she knew he was the one that was hunting her. Ah... This was better than he could have expected. How did she manage to escape his detection for so long, and how did he not figure it out before now? He hadn't even known her gender before this. He hadn't known her age, or even what she looked like. The only sightings of her had been the canary that was her spirit animal. He allowed her a moment of false security, and waited until she looked comfortable enough, until she thought he had finished pushing for information before he spoke the words:

"Sing for me, little canary."

Aryn tensed, and then quickly lunged to escape him, but he was far too quick and soon he had his arms and legs coiled around her thrashing body. She shrieked in horror as he spun their bodies until she was pushed against the cement, and she began to cry while he held her still. The others chose to ignore his sudden display of dominance, probably assuming it was his plan to trick her all along. It was the way of criminals, and it was pointless to think that killing that one man would have ended it. Trysten was gone now, she had no one to protect her anymore.

Even Kara turned away, not wanting to be caught in the middle of it. They had been murmuring back and forth for who knows how long, and she knew it was only a matter of time before he pounced on the little whore. He was half Kyaga after all, and a Daegra mutt to make it worse. Of course he would act like a rabid animal. Why should she be surprised? The girl was naive to trust him.

"All this time and ye've been right under my nose," he growled into her ear. "How fitting that we meet here, is it not, little bird?"

"Please," she whispered brokenly. "I don't want to hurt anyone else. I hate it. I don't like hurting people!"

"Shh little bird, I just want answers," he murmured with sickening calm. "Ye' know as well as I that ye' could've escaped this place a hundred times now. That bracelet only suppresses yer spirit animal. I want to know why ye' choose to stay here."

"Because I put myself here!" She squealed a little too loudly. It drew a bit of unwanted attention, and some of the other prisoners looked curiously in their direction.

"Go back to yer business before ye' give me a reason to tear yer hearts out through yer throats!" He roared at the others, and returned his attention to the girl. "Wha'dya mean ye' put yerself here?"

"I went off the radar under a false identity, and I... and I set myself up. Petty theft," She whispered back to him, and he relaxed his hold on her. "I couldn't do it anymore. But I didn't have a choice. So I did the only thing I could do to get away, so they wouldn't find me again."

"Who," He growled into her ear venomously, and she shivered again. "Who. Are. They."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, Joel."

"Humor me."

"The Brotherhood. They have been planning this rebellion for years now."

He froze at her words. The Naugu were conspiring against the Kyaga? No, it couldn't be! Even through All the fighting and corruption, the Dominion held strong to it's treaty. The Brotherhood wouldn't dare go against the Dominion. They couldn't stand a chance in a confrontation with them! The two had been allies since the beginning of time, and to even think that the Naugu had the nerve to do something like that was ludicrous! How dare she try to play these games with him!

"Yer a bloody liar! he growled, and pulled her hair back to lift up her face. "Ye'd better start talkin, and soon."

"I'm telling the truth, I swear!" she sobbed. He watched her face, and the truth in her expression disturbed him, "They held me captive and fed on me, to... To use me. They wanted the Kyaga to think it was the work of the Kaharin Republic."

Kara's head turned slightly at the words the girl spoke. She hadn't been listening until she heard the republics name roll from the little brats tongue. What on earth were they talking about that would include dealing with the Tourik? What did this little girl know, that she was unwittingly spilling to a Dominion interrogator! All it would take is one call to the Consort, and he could buy his freedom. Then he would be back to his old job and the Republic could be at risk! Was the child completely insane? She tried to look inconspicuous as she tuned in to their argument.

"So yer telling me the Naugu were behind the entire thing?" he murmured thoughtfully. It made more sense why he was arrested. They probably thought he was getting too close to the answer. "This whole time I've been chasing the wrong lead?"

"Yes," she breathed, relieved that he was catching on. "When I'd heard you were arrested, I began to make plans to escape. I couldn't count on you to catch them anymore,"

He remained silent as he contemplated her words. All this time he thought she worked for the Tourik, yet he had only bought into a carefully planned deceit. And she was just another victim. She would rather be raped repeatedly in prison than go back to her previous life, and it was no wonder! She wasn't even the one doing the killing! The Naugu probably kept her locked up and fed off of her blood to adopt her powers for a short amount of time, which explained why she was so hard to track. He was tracking multiple people, all with different styles, mannerisms, and tactics. It was fucking ingenious, and he cant believe he didn't consider it. He was too loyal to the cause. He was too blind to the truth.

His own stubborn ignorance had cost him his freedom.

Cursing in frustration he released her from his hold, watching as she scrambled onto her feet and fell right into the hands of another cell mate. Of course she had to pick the biggest bastard in the dungeon. It seemed that he and Aryn both had nothing but terrible luck.

"Ello lovely, guess it's my turn now," he grinned as he lifted her off of her feet and pressed her up against the bars of the cell. She shrieked and squirmed, only adding to his amusement.

"Not a

chance

, lad," Joel rumbled angrily as he whipped to his feet and charged at the man. With a swift punch, he broke one of his elbows, and quickly swooped the girl up as she was dropped into his arms. He spun around and placed her onto the ground before turning to face the man again. He looked awfully angry, but it wasn't hard for Joel to take him down. All it took was a kick to his diaphragm and a fist to his throat and the guy was keeled over on the ground, nursing his broken arm and gasping for breath.

The prisoner got back up again, and glared at Joel. His left arm hung loosely at his side, but he held the other up as he charged Joel in his anger. Aryn was pushed to the side as Joel faced the man head on. Joel stared him down with a sneer on his face as he used the mans momentum against him, knocking him onto the ground. He was unable to catch his fall due to his broken arm, and fell face first onto the concrete. A swift kick to his temple knocked him unconscious, and Joel shoved the bastard into the empty corner before turning around to assess the reaction from the other prisoners.

Trysten was not the only one who could hold his own in a fight.

"Let that be a warnin to all of ye' sorry bastards. Lay a hand on her again," he pointed to Aryn, "and ye'll catch these hands."

He turned to address the trembling girl and sighed again. Why did he always have to make such a mess of things? He took a step toward her and she hiccuped and stumbled back into her little corner. He had no idea how to make this right, but he had to try. He owed it to her after what he did to her.

"Look I-" he stopped mid-sentence, cursed and began again as he took another step toward her, "sweetheart... I'm sorry I scared ye', okay? I just... I've been obsessing over this my entire life. If I'd only known ye' were just a small piece of the puzzle I... I wouldn't have reacted that way. Understand?"

Kara was now watching their exchange with mild interest, and it was his turn to glare at her before turning back to the girl huddled in the corner. He crouched down to her level and cringed at the way she flinched away from his touch. He closed his eyes and sighed. What could he do to rectify the pain and fear he caused her? How on earth was he going to fix this? He doubted her forgiveness would be easily sought. He couldn't blame her, he'd acted like a monster.

"Little bird," he cooed again as he reached out and brushed her hair away from her eyes, "what is yer favorite song to sing?"

She looked up shyly from beneath her damp lashes and watched him the way a field mouse watches its predator. When he searched into those deep gray eyes, he knew that this woman was not capable of murder. No, he had been too blinded by his own pride to look deeper into the situation, and only made things worse because of it. He was always quick to jump the gun, and it was what landed him in here in the first place. He needed to learn from his damn mistakes.

"I like 'canvas of slumbering souls'," she offered nervously, and he smiled at her. So all was not lost. He slid down beside her and pulled her back on his lap, and she began to relax once again into his gentle hold.

"Will ye' sing for me, little bird?"

He waited in silence for her answer, almost giving up entirely after what felt like forever, until her sweet voice broke through the soft conversation traveling about the dungeon. All were silent as her crisp notes pierced the air, sending a chill through Joel's heart as he pulled her close to him. The song was filled with grief, and even his hardened heart melted under the weight of her laden melody. This was her gift. The gift of the tree mother, and one that no power suppressing bracelet in the world could contain.

Her last note wavered, and he hushed her softly as her sobs broke through the silence. he wished he could take away all of her pain and put it onto himself. She was such a young girl, so full of life, and the cruel world had broken her smile and dragged her through the mud before she ever had a chance at true happiness. He would keep her secret, and he would keep her safe for as long as they were alive together inside of this cell. It's all he could do to make up for the pain she was caused by the Dominion.