After Aidan and Sean had left the room, Ismael turned to Raven.

"I'll leave you two ladies alone for now." Winking intimately at her, Ismael strolled through the door, shutting it behind him, and Raven and Francesca were left staring at each other.

There was a crinkle between Francesca's eyebrows. "I do apologize for him."

Raven smiled, the corner of her mouth pulling up in the tiniest motion. "No need to apologize. I'm well acquainted with Ismael and his... idiosyncrasies." She fingered the watch on her wrist.

Shifting unobtrusively, Francesca rubbed her arm in a movement that Raven catalogued as nervous. "How are you going to get out of it? Hasn't he made it clear that he wants you as Queen?" Francesca's brown eyes were searching.

"Oh, he's been making it clear ever since I've known him." Raven arched a supercilious eyebrow, fighting back a smile. "It is not me that he has business with, this time." Francesca blinked, and Raven continued. "What I do not understand is why you are here, attempting to speak on matters that you know nothing about."

Francesca didn't so much as stiffen. "Ismael is no friend of mine. The only reason I'm not long gone is because Sean won't leave."

Raven read the hidden meaning behind her words. "And how do I know that this is not a bluff, a double cross of some kind?"

"You don't." Francesca's reply was blunt. "But your only option, if you and Aidan want to get out of here, is to trust me. He's not going to let you leave this time, no matter who his business is with," she added, seeming to read Raven's mind.

Raven affected nonchalance, lifting a shoulder in an indifferent shrug. "And why would I want to leave? Ismael does not treat me badly."

Francesca laughed, the harshness of the sound only amplified by the low tone at which it was pitched. "You can't seriously pretend that you want to stay."

Tilting her head, Raven's eyebrow lifted. "Can't I? It's less of a gamble than trusting you."

The muscles in Francesca's jaw remained--very pointedly--relaxed. A small part of Raven admired her composure, for Raven herself was not an overly patient person.

"What do I need to do to make you trust me?" Francesca asked.

"Another thing that I don't understand," Raven mused, ignoring the other girl's question, "is why you desire so greatly to help me, in the first place." Her grey eyes, steely and probing, flicked up to Francesca's brown ones. "What is in it for you?"

Francesca smiled sadly. "Isn't it disillusioning, how no one can do something for another without being accused of having an ulterior motive?"

"This is not someone doing something for another," Raven countered. "This is a girl, risking her life for two people whom she barely knows, with nonexistent reasons to do so."

Francesca's eyes hardened, then. "I want out," she said, voice low and cold and fierce. "I want out, and I want Ismael Samar dead."

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A/N:

I do so love these strong, cunning, manipulative female characters, don't you? God, I keep typing and deleting sentences because everything that I want to add about these two is a spoiler in one way or another XD oh well, I guess you'll just have to read on to find out more, won't you? Much love to those of you who have already made it this far, and even more to those of you who will keep reading ^^ vote, comment, the usual, and have a wonderful day, darlings!