Chapter 8, Part 1. Eos's plan

 Lonely couldn't believe what he was seeing: a ginormous goose with three heads entered the arena. He saw Eos grab a spear and shield from a weapon rack that was pushed up against the wall. The giant goose was the size of a two-story house, and it had a ferocious honk that shook the stadium. 

"Brilliant, isn't she?" The bird boy Eros smiled.

"The goose?" Lonely asked, quickly going to look at the floor as the goose head ate one of the warriors in the arena.

"Hmm, I suppose the Goosdra is an extravagant creature, but no. I meant Eos; you can watch the gears turning in her brain. It's quite fascinating, don't you agree?"

"I've never thought about it. I haven't known her that long. I still don't really know much about her." Lonely admitted, wincing as he heard a squawkish scream. He wanted to watch to make sure Eos was still alive, but he couldn't bring himself to look up, fearing that as soon as he did, he'd watch her be eaten.

"Care if I fill you in? Eos and I used to be close." Eros said.

Lonely was pretty sure that Eros would tell him whether or not he wanted to hear about Eos's past. He thought it was hers to tell. Lonely also didn't like this bird boy; he seemed full of himself and willing to make mischief when it could hurt a lot of people. He didn't like how Eros talked to Eos; it was clear something had happened between them, but Lonely wasn't sure what. 

"She came here on a diplomatic mission with her father about maybe-. You are a human, right?" The winged boy asked.

Lonely nodded, finally bringing himself to look up just in time to see Eos roll out of the way of the Goosdra's jagged beak. There were four heads now, not three.

"Yeah, to humans like yourself, it would have felt like four years ago. Eos's father and the Emperor had decided to try and form a peace treaty, this was before her father rebuked her and made her take a job as part of the king's guard. I didn't like her at first; she was snippy and hot-headed, but I started getting to know her better when I saw her in the library. She was reading a book I hadn't seen before, and we had a long conversation about it. The forming of the peace treaty took weeks, and we got to know each other better, pulling pranks, telling jokes; we were a good pair. It didn't take me long to fall for her. The day before they were going to sign the treaty, I told her how I felt. When she told me she didn't feel the same way, I got angry. I still am; I might have done one of the most dangerous things I could have done to her. I made the kitchen bring her eggs for breakfast. That's offensive here, by the way. The Emperor could have had her killed, but instead declared that there would be no peace treaty between Ancient Geese and Starlin. She left mad at me, how could she not, but her father was furious. Claimed she did it on purpose and was no longer his daughter. He made her into a soldier so she could learn discipline and respect. That's the last I heard about her until now." Eos sighed.

Lonely might not have taken his eyes off Eos, but he had focused on every word the boy had said.

"Who's her father?" He asked, watching the arena. Eos was the only one left. Every time she rolled out of the way, she tried to stand on her injured leg, almost falling over each time. Just seeing her do that made his chest hurt. "Why did she choose to fight for me?" Lonely thought.

"Why, she hasn't even told you that?" Eros laughed. Eos was running now, she was running toward the mouth of the gated cave that the giant goose came out of, limping with each step. 

"What are you doing...?" Lonely whispered, watching her run into the cave, the Goosdra close behind.

"Her father is the King, the King of Starlin, of course." The winged boy was laughing. Before Lonely had time to react to this statement, the Goosdra had entered the cave with Eos, and it had cornered her.

Lonely shot to his feet, "EOS!".