Chapter Text
The guards dragged the human out of the throne room. Janai's stomach was turning with regret. She should have known this would be the outcome of the prisoner meeting with her sister or at the very least she should have suspected. She could have warned the human - Amaya, her name was Amaya. She could have warned Amaya. But instead, Janai had stripped her of her only ways of communicating. Handcuffed and blinded.
At no point in their previous battles had the human- Amaya ever shown fear. Janai had seen humor, amusement, determination, disgust. Never fear.
That was possibly the thing that had rattled Janai the most. The unflappable, unstoppable general, eyes wide in fear. Gasping in pain. Tears streaming down her face. Janai felt bad for this human.
Janai walked behind the guards dragging her prisoner along the hallways of the palace. They were headed back to the circle of fire. Amaya could not see, could not stand. She was still shaking and gasping for breath. The guards had no sympathy. Janai's heart twisted.
"Stop," she said. They were at a juncture in the palace corridors, a convenient place to switch directions.
The guards stopped, turning questioningly to the Golden Knight.
"I'll take her from here." Janai stated. Before the guards could protest she said, "Look at her. She's not going anywhere." She added extra derision to her tone, hoping to prove her point. She was glad the human couldn't hear it. Amaya. Her name was Amaya.
The guards, momentarily confused by the strangeness of her request, remembered their place and released their captive.
Janai reached forward to grab Amaya's collar, just as the guards let her go. It looked like a transfer of power, albeit a clumsy one. It did not look like Janai was trying to protect Amaya's face from the stone floor. At least she hoped it didn't.
"Dismissed," she said, brokering no questions. As the guards turned to leave, walking back towards the throne room (excellent, that was the best option for keeping Janai's plan a secret), she spoke. "Find the linguist, Kazi, and send them to my quarters."
This was a risky move, she knew. She could have given an excuse, like that she had a question on interrogating the prisoner, but that would have made it look like she had something to hide. Janai was typically to the point, she needed to stay that way.
One of the guards nodded and they continued on.
Janai turned her attention to the hu- to Amaya, hanging limply from her grasp. She was pale, sweaty, and shuddering. Guilt simmered in Janai's stomach.
She dragged Amaya around the corner, tucking mostly out of sight. Janai carefully settled the human onto the stone floor and placed a hand against the general's clammy cheek. Amaya startled, head whipping up, terrified. Shit. Janai needed to be less abrupt and more predictable in her movements.
She kept her hand there, almost gently, trying to communicate who she was. Janai was well aware that anyone walking by could see them, could go tell the queen. But Janai owed this to Amaya, at the very least.
The human stilled for a moment, shakily gasping in lungfuls of air. She relaxed slightly against Janai's palm.
Okay, okay now -
Taking a second to make sure the human wouldn't topple over, Janai shifted behind her and grabbed the metal cuffs, slotting in the key. She had played up the insult when speaking to the guards, but she was right. Amaya wasn't in any state to go anywhere.
The moment the cuffs were off, Amaya's hands whipped around, coming up in front of her, searching. She grabbed Janai's hand and followed it up her arm, to her face. It occurred to Janai that she should possibly be concerned about her enemy's hands so close to her throat and her eyes. Even so, she sat quietly while Amaya's hands mapped her face, touching and tracing almost desperately. Janai let her. The human had a right to know who she was.
Seemingly satisfied, Amaya's hands dropped. Janai stood, intending to pull the general to her feet. They had lingered in the hall long enough. Before they could get anywhere however, Amaya pushed Janai's hands off, frantically signing words that Janai did not understand.
"I don't- " she began, cutting herself off when she remembered it would be futile. But it didn't matter, Amaya had begun simply gesturing wildly towards her eyes, the fear on her face filling in the rest of her question.
Janai reached out, grasping one of Amaya's hands. How could she communicate that Amaya's eyes would heal, that her blindness was temporary?
She tentatively pulled Amaya's hand to her face and nodded slowly several times, pressing the human's hand against her cheek to feel the movement. Janai hoped that she was saying "Yes, your sight will return" and not "Yes, you are blind forever."
It seemed to assuage the general, however as she sagged in relief, fight and adrenaline leaving her. Janai tried not to think about how unwell Amaya looked. Approaching footsteps sounded through the halls. Time to go. She tugged Amaya to her feet, tried to get her to follow along, but the human stumbled. This would take forever. Instead -
Janai bent and scooped the human up, hand under her knees. She ignored the voice in her head that cracked a joke about carrying a human to her quarters in bridal carry, and moved through the halls.
Amaya's limp form was nearly dead weight in her arms. Nearly. Janai definitely did not notice the way the woman curled into her or how she limply looped her arms around Janai's neck. She did not think about the implicit trust in Amaya's immediate acceptance of Janai's assistance. She didn't think about how her formidable opponent suddenly seemed fallible and weak (almost small) in her arms, or the warm breath (much too fast and shallow) on her neck.
Janai was so busy not thinking about these things that she nearly strode into view of the guards stationed outside her quarters. Maybe it didn't matter and maybe everyone already knew (Khessa had said to enjoy her "pet" after all) but Janai preferred to play it safe.
She carefully set Amaya on the floor in the corner. As Janai went to pull away, Amaya's hand flew out desperately grasping. Janai took her hand and held it firmly for a moment, wrapping her other hand around it. The human stilled and nodded, having established some understanding that Janai was not abandoning her here.
Janai rose, and strode around the corner. The guards on duty saluted her, and opened the doors to her chambers.
"Thank-you," she said. "You are both dismissed."
The guards looked at each other quizzically, but did not move. Janai raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms.
"Yes ma'am," one of the guards stuttered, saluting and backing away. He dragged the other guard along with him.
They shuffled down the hall as Janai watched them, heading towards the barracks. Away from Amaya.
As soon as they turned the corner, Janai quickly returned for Amaya. The general was slumped against the wall, eyes closed, brow furrowed. She was shivering. Janai knelt down beside the woman, waiting a moment before reaching out to touch Amaya's shoulder. The woman didn't react other than to try to push herself off the wall with limited success.
You did this. Janai's conscience said. You did this.
Yes, she grumbled to her conscience. I know, that's why I'm going to fix it.
She stood, and scooped Amaya up like before, carrying her through the broad doors into the Golden Knight's quarters.
Truly, the size of her quarters had more to do with her royal status than anything. Janai would have much preferred less pomp and procedure but today, she was glad that her command and power did not allow for questioning from curious palace guards.
After carefully walking through the sitting room and into her bed chambers, Janai gently set the trembling general down on her bed, laying her head carefully back onto the pillow. Amaya seemed to accept the soft bed without question.
Janai studied the human's pale face. Definitely feverish. It was a good thing she had decided to bring her here. Going back to the dungeons would have been unnecessarily cruel. She had done the right thing, right?
As Janai sat, not staring at the scar that curved along Amaya's face, not following the sharp line of her jaw, and certainly not wondering what it would feel like to stroke the human's cheek (soft, her skin looked soft), there was a hesitant knock at the door.
Right. Amaya was in Janai's quarters (in her bed) for a reason and it certainly wasn't for ogling. Janai had a job to do.