Sadero sighed as he looked at his precious daughter. He had always tried to do what he felt was best for her and best for their kingdom, but it was obvious that she wasn't going to see things from his perspective. He remembered her days of youth when she hadn't been so rebellious. He tried to remember when all of these things had started, and knew that most have it had stemmed from her teenage years. She thought she knew so much about the world, but she didn't.<br/><br/>Still, her insolence was making him very angry as their caravan worked its way through an open plain. They had encountered no trouble on their way to the Reltican border, but they hadn't expected any. Even if they did come across soldiers, the soldiers would simply think they were the convoy. There was no reason for them to attack. The journey from the Zusan capital of ShindCom to the capital city of ShindCom was less than three days. So, there was still quite a bit of journey left for them.<br/><br/>A sudden burst of inspiration struck Sadero.<br/><br/>"Hm, well, if you won't listen to logic and reasong, perhaps there are other ways to make you see things my way." Sadero called for the caravans to halt. He climbed out of the caravan and gestured for Sajedene to follow. He made his way back to the caravan where Daishoga was held. The man was still slumped in one of the corners. He was weak. He was no threat to anyone, and that's what made Sadero think this would be an excellent way to punish his daughter.<br/><br/>The king unlocked the cage and pulled it open. A few soldiers had gathered with confused looks on their faces. But, that worked to Sadero's advantage.<br/><br/>"Put her in the cage," Sadero commanded.<br/><br/>The soldiers were quite understandably confused. They didn't move obviously thinking this was some kind of trick. But, Sadero repeated the command and the soldiers were quick to move. They grabbed her, gently, and guided her over to the cage. They then helped get her into it.<br/><br/>Once she was in the cage, Sadero locked it up once again.<br/><br/>"I want you to think about things the rest of this journey," Sadero declared. "That is the man that killed our people, demolished our land, and imprisoned you. When you come to your senses and are ready to submit to my superior judgement, I shall allow you to be free from that cage."<br/><br/>Then without even waiting for a response, he walked away and got back into the caravan. It wasn't long before they were trundling along once again. Daishoga opened his eyes. There was no glow to them anymore. In fact, they were a normal shade of black. All of the things that had made him the powerful emperor were gone. Somehow Sadero and Gando had sucked away all of the abilities that he had been born with.<br/><br/>Meekly, he looked over at her, but he didn't say anything. He was angry. But, he knew that he couldn't blame Sadero for what he did. That made sense to him. What didn't make sense to him was why Gando was working with him. He knew that Gando had a lot of historical ties with Sajedene's family, but he didn't think that meant that the man would turn on him. Gando had been his most trusted confidant for his entire life, and now he didn't even have that. Who could he really trust? Perhaps nobody