Anjole woke from a fitful rest and groaned silently when he realized he was still scrunched up in the little iron cage onboard the ship that brought them to their destination. The air had shifted from moist to dry, hot and the Harmoni man wondered where they were. He could not see out of the window until they opened the side door to unload cargo and pulled his cage out onto the dusty arid soil of what seemed to be a desert.

No! Not the desert! No, please, anything but that! Anjole's thoughts repeated over and over as he grimaced at the terrain around him. He had spent too many years in the desert upon crashing on the planet as a youth, trying to avoid death which was at every turn there.
In fact, seeing Juniper, her body so close to the Prince's, hands entwined, made it even worse for the broken-voiced man. Now, not only was he back to the place he loathed, but he had no protection, no voice, no instrument, no way of surviving. He was a slave, completely dependant upon his new captors. The man closed his eyes and whimpered silently, pleading that death would come swiftly, somehow. Just soon.

Elizur stepped out of the cabin after the Prince and Juniper but instead of following them, he glanced over to where Anjole was caged like a common beast. He frowned with concern, knowing it would probably break Ahira's heart to see the love of her heart in such a state. Still, Elizur was reminded by their betrayal and turned to go away.

Once they stepped off the aircraft, Juniper's skin itched at the dry air and Kieran noticed when she shifted her free hand to her arm. "Ah, do not worry, My Princess... I want to always feel the softness of your skin and therefore, my home has been conditioned for your exact desired temperature and humidity." He stroked her skin, frowning at the sudden dryness. "Let us get inside."

Juniper glanced ahead and noticed a tall towerlike infrastructure in front of them. It was not as decorated as her home but more so magnimonous. She glanced over her shoulder to see Elizur and Cletus standing behind her and released a breath. As long as her bodyguard and advisor were close to her, she could make it in this new place. She hoped at least.

Unable to keep his eyes closed while they moved towards their new home, Anjole stared out into the dismal desert, eyes alert for nomadic mutants that had plagued the place for so long. He felt a strange measure of relief once they entered into the tall structure that seemed to be a fortress, strong and sturdy to keep all invaders from within.
Once inside of the entrance, the air was noticably kinder to them. Cooler, moister, breathable.

Anjole's cage was carried to one of the upper floors, reached via a large elevator, and dropped carelessly down, causing him to wince. He had to remind himself over and over that he could not speak, could not utter a single note of music, and felt the helpless feeling of despair crash around him each time. He longed to be back in the port town, quaint, charming little town, and stroke Ahira's pretty face once more. Images of touching green skin appeared and he tried to shrug it off, knowing he was just a plaything now to the changed princess. She belonged to the Taretians now.

It was Elizur's duty to stay by Juniper's side at all times, except for when she was with Prince Kieran. Now was one of those times and even Cletas stayed back while the royal couple strolled around, talking quietly amongst themselves. He decided to go find Anjole, to talk some sense into him... Perhaps to get an understanding of why he was here.

Not taking long to find the Harmoni man's prison, Elizur carried a cup of cold water and gruel for Princess Juniper's new pet. It was rather ironic that Anjole would be found in this position, especially since he and Juniper almost stood alike when they came to his village. Now he was bound captive, Juniper did not recognize or like him, and Ahira was alone. Ahira...

Clenching his jaw, Elizur carried the food to the cell and entered, eying Anjole's defeated stance warily.

Juniper had to find a way to escape from Prince Kieran's unwavering presence. He made no move to let go of her hand or leave her side, always staring at her, kissing her and touching her skin while complementing on how soft it was. Right now, she was having a maddening headache and needed to see Cletus.

"My Prince..." she said to Kieran once they entered the chamber that elevated them to the highest floor--their marriage suite. "Would you terribly mind if I take a little nap? My head is pounding." She bowed her head politely.

Kieran sighed, obviously disappointed that they could not finish what was started on the roof. He slowly released her hand and nodded. "I will send Cletus to watch you."

"But Elizur is..." she paused when she caught a glimpse of annoyance in Prince Kieran's eyes. Then she nodded. "Thank you, My Prince."

Anjole, finally freed of his tiny cage, studied his new home. It was no better than the prison cell back in Flat Earth. It had a small toliet and pallet to lie upon at least. The door was made of plastic, shatterproof no doubt. Soundproof too, although why they needed to lock him in something soundproof now was beyond him. His throat no longer felt as if it were on fire, but he knew it was injured and would take a few days to see just how long-lasting the damage was. He wished he had a medic or cleric to tell him the extent of the damage, but then again, did he want to know?

Anjole spun to face the visitor who had just entered, and did not allow himself to relax his aggrevated stance when he realized it was Elizar. He eyed the food he carried with disdain but looked at the cup of water hungrily. Anything cool on his parched and burned throat would be much welcomed at that point!

"Let's talk, shall we pal?" Elizur muttered and extended the water to Anjole as if it was a peace offering, although it should've been Anjole giving him the peace offering for betraying him and Juniper.

Once Kieran left after a long kiss, Juniper swayed toward the larger than king-sized bed, her head pounding heavily. Before she got to the bed, Juniper's knees gave in under herand she tumbled to the floor.

"Can't really talk now, can I?" Anjole thought to the pale man angrily as he pulled the cup to his lips and drank as if he hadn't had anything in weeks. The water, so cool and fresh, soothed the aching irritated and burned tissue of Anjole's throat and he sighed in relief as he drained the cup and set it aside. He stared at the man defiantly, angry that Elizur was there and not helping him. Did the man not realize that Ahira was alone? If he had a voice, perhaps he would have told him so, but then again, he was remembered that Ahira wanted to leave him, that he had not been a good mate to her at all.

Elizur leaned against the wall and smiled down at Anjole. "Let me tell you a story... You wouldn't mind, would you?" He waited, as if listening for Anjole's protest. Then he shrugged. "Okay, thanks."

Clearing his throat, he began to walk around the prison. "More than sixty years ago... We were stuck in a dark hole, growing up among the old who did not even know about our whereabouts or the families we had lost." He smiled gently. "I remember a slender girl who tended to herself, playing with her dolls and teacups as if she had an invisible guest with her. This girl was always alone even though her cousins liked to come over and play with her."

He turned to face Anjole again. "Then I went over and sat in the chair of her invisible guest. She cried for days and refused to talk or eat." Elizur could already picture that small vulnerable girl, the age of ten curled in a corner and clutching her toys. "There was anger and loathing for me. The elders thought it only fair for me to make it up to her by visiting her, even if she didn't want me near... I suppose that day, I realized we were to be with each other. She made me stop staying away from the world and eventually, she embraced my presence, setting me a place in her tea-party along with her invisible friend."

Elizur cocked a brow at the silent Harmoni man. "You might be wondering why I'm sitting here telling you about this girl... But let me continue." He folded his arms and went back to leaning against the wall. "I don't care what Ahira or Juniper have told you about me or yourself. We are not alike at all." He frowned at the man in front of him. "While my heart wanders from time to time, yours has not even found a home yet. You are constantly moving back and forth, unable to settle within yourself were to rest your heart."

"You are a selfish creature who wishes two hearts to devote themselves to you without hesitation and you are sadly mistaken." He clenched his fists. "Despite the fact that Ahira chose to leave me because my heart does not know how to love her correctly, I know for a fact that you cannot love her correctly, especially since you will not give Juniper up. You do not know Ahira, her fears, her insecurities. And unknowingly, you've confirmed every single one of them by coming here." He narrowed his eyes. "You choosing to come here has shown both me and Ahira that you have chosen neither, since even Juniper is apathetic toward you."

"If you know what is good for you, Harmoni man, return to Ahira while you have a chance. And don't come back here again." He frowned. "Even if the Taretian prince will not kill you, the aggravation of Juniper's hardened heart toward you will. Leave now so that you can still live for Ahira. It's all I can do for her."

Anjole frowned at the pale man and his words. It hurt him to think of Ahira all alone, waiting on the invisible friend in the chair beside her, empty now thanks to him.
But Anjole knew in his heart he couldn't let Juniper become a target. It wasn't fair to her and he felt loyalty to the woman, no matter how badly she treated him now.
The Harmoni looked towards the door, and back at Elizur, wondering if he were setting him free.

But he knew he would do it again - he would leave Ahira and try to save Juniper. He would get his throat healed somehow and come back to try and free the Lacertian. He couldn't just turn his emotions and feelings off for her because she had memory issues! Hopefully Elizur could see the expression he had on his face and understand that if he set him free, he would not flee with his tail between his legs and try and be happy with Ahira, never knowing the fate of the one he once considered his charge, his ward.

Elizur sighed. "It astounds me how you can love two women..." He rubbed the back of his head. "I thought about it earlier. Trying to figure out how a man could tell the same story to two women and expect them to really believe him. I'm wondering how Ahira could possibly want someone like you, who would leave her alone. Wondering why Juniper would bury her hurt self within and take on this..." he lowered his voice, fearing others would hear him refer to their princess. "Cold-hearted, ill-tempered royalty, just on account of you."

He smirked sardonically. "Then I realized something. A part of you must really love Ahira as a woman and love Juniper as a child." He shrugged. "To keep saying you're her guardian sounds insulting almost. Well if I were her, I'd be very angry." He grinned. "But then again, I'm not her am I?"

Anjole had had enough from the man standing before him. And now, without the Harmoni able to defend himself verbally, he refused to take anymore from him. As if he didn't feel guilty already for being what he was - for loving both? Unable to resist his pacifist nature, he launched himself at the man, throwing punches as fast as he could. The pain of Juniper's hatred and loathing, the torture of knowing Ahira was waiting for him all alone, lonely and scared, along with the venom from Elizur's words sent him into a frenzy and he could not stop himself from ramming his fists into the mans face and stomach over and over again.