:::sits outside alone under the nights sky in the grotto where she hopes to one day see the face of the man to whom resides in the grotto::::

::thinks about her Uncle's latest decree...fuming all over again as his words ring out in her mind:::

Give me to Sinny....as though I were some bloody piece of real estate to be given or sold as he sees fit! How dare he think he can own me and pass me around to whomever he deems prestigious enough! " I promised her to Sinister..but he'll have a tough time keeping her in line. Regular floggings might help." Regular floggings....Ill be damned! The man has lost all his sensibilities I swear it! " As a suggestion, I say we collar Lyras and Vixen as our personal slaves." Oh..collar us they might...but they will never know what hit them! " Lady Vixen Blade. Lady Lyrias. I command thee to enjoy the last night of your freedom. For at dawn you shall be roused from your beds and brought to Coconut Grove. Vixen to be Mine, Lyrias to be property of Nemesio." *seethes in Anger* Property of Nemesio?

Seriously....just who in the hell does he think he is? I am NO man's property! A slave! Me?! Oh, they may think theyre getting exactly what they want...but...Ill wager my life that they will rue the day they treat me as property to be given and taken freely without my consent! I cannot believe this! This is sheer and utter madness....true, I may give in and go along with this..until I can find something to be done about it, but, I guarantee if they believe they will break me...I hope they have a lifetime to wait..because they will NEVER break me.

::sighs softly as she looks at the entry so far::

God, Taelie, where are you? I need you here so badly. I know you wouldnt allow this to happen if you were here. I know you wouldnt. *sighs* What am I going to do? How am I going to deal with this? I have to keep a level head for the time being...I have to. Its the only way I will survive this whole ordeal with even a shred of dignity in tact.

::::sighs and consigns to the fact that dawn is nearing...and possibly the end of her freedom. The end of the one thing she always knew was hers to have...to keep...and at the hands of the man she had so openly adored...her Uncle.::::

I dont know that Ill ever be able to forgive him for this. I dont know that I can ever look at him the same again...taking away the one thing that has been mine to have for 127 years. My freedom. What gives him the right? This is worse than being taken prisoner, as I was while I remained a Knight. I believe it to be so only because it is done at the hands of one who supposedly loves me as his own Family. What worse fate could there be?

:::sighs softly as she begins to pen poetry as it comes to her:::

Sadness
Darkness takes hold of my cold heart.
Covered with couds so thick, not even the sun can part.
The organ, ripped, shredded, torn, laid to waste.
The feeling, and word; love; leaves a bitter taste.
Sadness takes hold with a firm grip.
The word love to never again part my lip.
The love-light never again to brighten my eyes,
Remaining under constantly cloudy skies.
In a world where the rose never blooms,
Only darkness, darker and darker, it looms.
Careless thoughts, careless words, cast me into my cell
Where; from beauty and sunlight; I fell.
Left blinded by the constant dar,
Kept company; only; by the sound of my cold, beating heart.

~Lyrias~

::::leaving it at that, she tosses some sand onto the ink to dry and closes the journal tucking it away::::

--Journal entry 11 September, Lyrias Dreams

"she glances out the window after having been up all night walking the floor, trying to think what to do about this new situation"

Me a slave?? Lyrias a slave?? This is getting worse each day.. How the hell can he do this to us? I will NOT wear a collar, Im not a slave!! How the hell can he hand Lyrias over to Nems? He owns neither of us. A personal slave my ass. He may have us flogged but they will never break us.

NEVER! Tells me im his property. No No No this is like a nightmare..

We cant run or hide. Theres no place on this damn island to run to. And if we tried they would find us anyways. The docks are shut down and guarded. We cant leave the island that way. Dragons... well he has ordered them confined so they cant help us escape.

What the hell are we going to do? Its almost dawn and we are doomed it would seem. Doomed to slavery. I never thought i would see the day he would do this. Not to me and not to lyrias.

"glances to the window seeing guards approaching the house she growls and lays the quill down and slams the journal closed muttering to herself:: he will regret this::::.."

--Journal entry 11 September, Vixen Blade

:::sits outside the cabin just before dawn, as she watches the paths below for signs of the guards::::

I cant believe this is happening. There isnt a damned thing either myself or Vixxy can do. No where to hide..no place to run to. Nemesio....I refuse to break to his will...I absolutely refuse. Ill have to do this...there is no way out of it. They wont break us...they cant break us...not if we both stick together. There is no way they can break us...*sighs*

Why would Uncle Alterio do this? I dont understand. I never thought he would ever force us to become someones slave. Property...try and be damned...neither of us will consign to that, ever. I just simply refuse to wear that collar. I am NOT a slave. I dont belong to ANYONE.

:::hears the sound of approaching feet below from her cottage and growls..:::

The guards..I know it has to be them...damn him. *thinks* Maybe, if I slip out I can make it to the dome to find Vixxy....

:::closes the journal, not caring about the ink drying, and heads out the back quickly, then to the dome to find Vixxy:::

--Journal entry 11 September, Lyrias Dreams

"goes into her office at dome and locks the door after talking to lyrias"

Well seems Lyrias escaped the guards this morning aswell. I managed to slip out the back as a maid that i paid distracted the guards long enough for me to sneak out. Going thru the forest til i came to the edge where i could see the dome. Not seeing any guards anywhere in sight i made for dome. Lyrias was already there. It seems she isnt going to give herself over to them so easily either. Aye, we know we cant evade them forever. But we sure as hell will as long as we can. Theres no way we can stay hidden for long on this island.

"sighs and lays the quill down and closes the journal as she sits there thinking"

--Journal entry 11 September, Vixen Blade

*turns her clear innocent eyes upwards, ageless depth sparkling, doubling over and sizing up the entire situation as its slipped and drifted past her room*

A'trio....?

*she frowns delicately, some hardened, stony light surfacing.. so much death and destruction surrounding her scant years... inclining her head gently she sighs, her opinions of Alterio so vastly rocked, swayed, destroyed.. all respect, all love, adoration, admiration..gone...A cold shade of awe and anger lifts the gold from her complexion like a sieve and leaving in its place gray monotony, and in perfect grammar forms one small sentence..."

how could you?

--Journal entry 11 September, Thirlia

:::sits alone in the grotto where Taelie lived, looking out at the nearby paths from her perch atop a large boulder for the guards:::

Well...one day down. I still wear no collar..neither does Vixxy. Alterio wont let her see the children. Ive mananged to avoid the fate worse than death for 24 hours. How much longer can I hope to avoid it? Likely not long at all.

Someone will see me out and about...then they have me. I know this is coming, but, if he expects me to be up in arms about it, or dancing in the streets with joy...hes sadly mistaken. I dont comprehend this...the giving of someone who is not yours to someone else without the persons consent. I dont know what to do...the dragons are all confined...the docks are guarded and shut down. This Isle is too small to attempt hiding forever in it. Its an imposibility. All of this is like some sick, twisted dream. Its like a nightmare. This will be like suffocation for me...Im meant to be free, to be able to roam as I see fit. Its what my race does. Its in my blood. To be denied this is like stealing the air from my lungs.

:::shakes her head:::

I will not suffocate. I will not give in and let despair overwhelm me, I cant. I will remain strong and well and make it through this with a calm, level-head. I will continue to do as I wish, even if I am flogged. I will not let them break me!

~Lyrias~

:::sprinkles sand on the journal so the ink will dry, and closes it, tucking it away in its hiding spot in the grotto:::

--Journal entry 12 September, Lyrias Dreams

"she Glares at Black's sleeping form and gives up trying to sleep"

Egads I should stuff a dirty sock in His mouth. I swear Ive never heard anyone snore like that in my life. IF i have to listen to that much longer I will be begging them to take me away.

Well, Lyrias and I have managed to elude the guards for one day. I miss my children and want to see them. But I know if i go to see them, i will be grabbed. I hope Thirlia is ok. I worry for her. How can Alterio do this. He knows the children need me. And im sure they are asking for me.. I wonder what he tells them. But as much as I want my freedom, I dont know how long I can stay away from the children. But do they need to see me as their Fathers slave? They are young and that could hurt them as well.

Gods , what should i do? Mia and Alkane are old enough to know I would not stay away from them this long Unless something was wrong and i had no choice. And i know they wont believe Alterio's lies about why Im not there.

I hate this shit. Running and hiding like im a criminal. I have dont nothing wrong. How can he do this to me? Theres got to be a way to make him understand.

"sighs as she looks at her dirty clothes"

I cant stand this. I have to have a bath. hmm should be able to sneak to the beach and bathe before daylight at least. Shouldnt be seen by any one with it still dark. It will be daylight soon.

"she closes the journal and hides it then leaves the quietly so not to Wake Black.. glancing around to make sure no one is in sight before she goes to the beach and strips off her clothes, she dives into the water and shivers muttering to herself:: How much longer must i live like an animal? Damn you Alterio, you better come to your senses soon::..."

--Journal entry 12 September, Vixen Blade

::She sits at home, just waking up and yawns softly as she opens her journal to a blank page::

What is going on exactly, around here lately? That's a great question. Alterio pronounces himself Prince-Emporer of the Island...Nesmesio is Marshall, Ben a murderer? This was all too much, but yet that was only the begining....

Now Jane is supposed to marry Alterio, there is a resistance against him, in which Jane is part, Vixen and Lyrias are to become slaves. Gods, it seems that the whole place has gone berserk. I truly can't believe it.Now Jane and Ben give me the slient treatment, as if I'm the enemy, then act all friendly to me hours later. I don't know who I can trust aside from Vixen. I trust her and she trusts me, but for only one reason...we speak our minds to each other, and we seem to almost understand each other too. I no longer trust Jane as I once did, she has been acting too oddly...and Ben...well...he doesn't seem to trust me like he once did and seems stuck to Jane's side. Do I think what Vixen said yesterday was right? Yes whole heartedly. I feel that perhaps this whole ordeal will help me to find out who my friends truly are, if I had any to begin with.

In my mind a few plans are in the working....as well as a few suspicions, which will be put in the back for now...no need to fight against the one's I am to be fighting with.

But I...I don't know... I kept my low profile for a while...which I am an expert at. And well, put on a smiling face around my "alies". And everything will work out for the best...for that I'm sure.

--Journal entry 12 September, Lina Metallium