Chapter 13
Ambassador Samantha Gaines
I stood there in shock. I did not know what to do. I was paralyzed with fear and heartbreak. Trent had just broken my heart by saying there was no us. He was done with me. He had discovered my secret, and the fact that I did not get a chance to tell him myself only made it worse. That treacherous bitch Malaya told him, and she told the Waysaw scouts. Now Jenku Vade knew the truth. He would not let this go. I was pregnant with his child, and he considered it his property; he considered me his property. If he were not a monster, of course, I would want him in his child's life, but that was not the case. He was an evil monster, and I would not have my child near him. It was all so complicated and crazy, and now he was coming for me. Now I was alone in this. I did not want any Grantsion Zenkian to die because of me.
As the hours passed and the night gave way to morning, there was so much anxiety as we all prepared for a raid that would come either today or the next day, or further into the future. But I knew Jenku Vade. He would not wait around in order to perfect some plan; he would be angry as hell. When he was angry, he would react without thinking things through. This was a bad thing, but maybe a good thing as far as military strategy went. He wouldn't be as prepared and would just be doing an all-out raid instead of some sneaky, well-thought-out plan.
Suddenly, I knew what I had to do. I left my dwelling and made my way to Trent's home. I knocked on the door; to my surprise, he answered.
“What are you doing back here? I thought you were meeting the Waysaw in the outlands?”
“What are you doing here? I don't want to see you. I never want to speak with you again,” he said as he began to close the door. My heart ached.
“I am going back to Waysaw!” I shouted. He opened the door again and looked at me.
“What?”
“I am going to hand myself over to Jenku Vade. I will not let any Grantsion Zenkian die because of me. I could not deal with that. So I am going to turn myself over to him. Once he has me, then he will stop this raid to look for me. It is the only way,” I said.
“You would do that for us? You would give up yourself, your freedom, and your child for us?” he asked.
“Yes, it is what I am going to do. I indured Jenku Vade's hateful ways and what he did to me before; I am strong. I know that his punishment will be great, and I will be locked up as to never escape again, but at least lives will not be lost,” I said.
He stood there in silence and seemed visibly shaken by my words. I did not know why. He had already said that he wanted nothing to do with me and I'm sure that my secret had forced him to fall out of any deep feelings he might have been having for me. Perhaps it was just the fact that there would not be a battle that had him so emotionally stirred.
“No, you are not,” he said.
“What?”
“You are not going to hand yourself over. I will have no more talk of this.”
“It is not your decision anyway. I will go to the leaders now and tell them. They will take me to the crossing line, and I will go the rest of the way myself,” I said angry that he was trying to control me.
“No, you will not do that. Our battalions are already set up in the outlands ready to meet the Waysaw. We have battalions set up all around the village ready to fight. We can defeat this raid, just as we have before. There is no need for you to go through such anguish,” he said.
“You are not making sense. The leaders and everyone else will eventually find out that I am pregnant. It is best to deal with it now and to stop Jenku Vade,” I said.
“And give you to him. Over my dead body,” he said.
His words filled me with hope again. He still wanted me.
“What?” I said as tears began to form in my eyes.
“I won’t give you up that easily. You are too important to the agreement with Earth. We need you here, or it will unravel,” he said.
“Oh,” I said realizing it was not because he wanted me that would not want me to hand myself over.
“I suppose you are right. I didn’t think of that,” I said.
“How will it look to Earth for you to suddenly go back and live with the Waysaw? Earth will think you were a Waysaw spy and tricked them. All would be lost, and they would never trust us again. No, we have to do all that we can to keep you with us. That means a battle must and will happen,” he said.
“You are right. This is bigger than just me leaving to please Jenku and to stop him. Earth would think I was a spy,” I said sadly.
“And there is another reason I won’t hand you over to that piece of shit Jenku Vade,” he growled.
I looked at him confused. He pulled me against him and placed his mouth on mine. He kissed me with hunger and longing. I melted against him. I felt safe once more and desired. He finally stopped kissing me.
“Because you are mine,” he said.
“I am?”
“Yes,” he said.
“Even though I carry a child from another?” I asked.
“I will claim it as my own,” he said. I sighed in relief.
“But you will be punished for breaking the rules,” I said.
“Fuck the rules. You are all that matters,” he said.
Suddenly a loud piercing sound vibrated in the air.
“What is that?” I shouted.
“It’s the raid siren. They are coming,” he said. He pulled me to him and kissed me again. It was a hard and quick kiss then he grabbed my hand and ran into the hallway.
“Commander! The Waysaw battalions have been spotted. They are headed right for our front lines in the outlands!” a soldier ran up to him and said.
“I will jump in my speeder now and head there. Soldier, take Ambassador Gaines into the mountain shelter with the leaders. I want fifty soldiers guarding her; is that clear?” Trent shouted at him.
“Yes, commander! This way, Ambassador!” the soldier shouted. I gave Trent one last look; I hoped that it would not be the last time that I saw him. Then he turned and ran in the other direction. I followed the soldier deep into the mountain. It was a long dark hallway. Finally, we came to a very large door with soldiers barricading it.
“Ambassador Gaines, let her into the shelter!” the soldier shouted. They moved and opened the door. I ran in. The leaders were already gathered.
I had no choice but to wait out this battle. It would be the longest hours of my life.