by Aron Lewes
Esha fired back, “I wasn't asking to visit my sister. I was making polite conversation. As surly as you are, I doubt you understand the concept.”
“Wilhelm isn't usually so grumpy,” Kylin said. “I think he's under a lot of stress, with his sister being captured... and...”
“And what?” Esha asked. “He doesn't like me, does he?”
Kylin mumbled, “W-Well, I wouldn't say that. I think he's just slow to trust, and... since you're supposed to be his guard, he... he, um...”
“He's not my guard, he's my tagalong,” Wilhelm corrected her. “If I wanted to, I could kill him in an instant. I tolerate his presence because I don't want anything to happen to Vala.”
“Wilhelm!” Kylin cried. “You shouldn't say things like that?”
Her voice was so sharp, her horse threw back his head. She tried to calm him with a few strokes of his mane.
“Say what? That I could kill him?” Wilhelm guessed. “You don't have to like it, but it's the truth.”
“You know, you're awfully cocky for a man who failed to kill the prince,” Esha said. “Not to mention, you have no idea what I'm capable of. You think you can kill me so easily? Try it.”
Kylin begged them to stop their bickering, and to her surprise, it worked. She didn't expect to have any influence on them when they were dead set on hating each other.
When they entered Kiley, Esha's first stop was a sweet shop called Lolly's. They had a colorful array of lollipops in every flavor imaginable. Esha bought twenty, and Wilhelm heckled him at the counter.
“Your friend has quite a sweet tooth, eh? Or... do you plan on eating all of these by yourself?”
Esha ignored Wilhelm and crossed the road to his next destination: a toy shop. There, he bought wooden puppets, dolls, toy ships and coloring books.
“Please don't tell me you're donating all this to a bunch of needy children or something,” Wilhelm said. “You'll make me look bad.”
Wilhelm was only half-serious, but his guess wasn't far from the truth. Esha carried his toys to the local orphanage, where a dozen shrieking children met him at the door. They pounced on him, screamed his name, and one timid little girl even confessed to being in love with him. They sat on Esha's lap, tousled his hair, and vied for their favorite toys and lollipop flavors.
“Unbelievable,” Wilhelm grumbled to himself. “He had to be a saint, didn't he? I wanted to hate the lad, but... he's making it hard.”
Kylin was standing next to Wilhelm with a little girl in her arms. Unlike the assassin, she had a knack for handling children. “The orphanage's head matron says he visits once a month,” Kylin said. “She said Esha always brings toys and treats and—”
“Don't tell me that!” interrupted a groaning Wilhelm. “He's already put me to shame with his sainthood. You don't need to rub salt in the wound.”
A little boy, six or seven, tried to ask Wilhelm a question about his sword. Wilhelm looked so awkward, Kylin had to step in and save him. She pulled the boy aside, hooked him up with a lollipop, and he soon forgot about the assassin's sheathed weapon.
Wilhelm tried to clear his throat, to tell Esha it was time to leave, but Kylin's Chosen ignored him. Instead, he announced to the children that it was story time. The orphans gathered around Esha's chair, watching him with wide-eyed wonder as they licked their oversized lollipops. Wilhelm muttered a few curses to himself, and he didn't clear his throat again. Even he wasn't cruel enough to deprive twenty happy children of their story time.
Kylin returned to Wilhelm and whispered, “Esha, he... he doesn't seem too bad, does he?”
“Are you serious? He looks like a damn angel!” Wilhelm exclaimed, loud enough to attract a glare from the orphan's head matron. “The more I see, the more I realize he is the man for you. He's the Chosen you deserve.”
“I'm not sure I've accepted that,” Kylin whispered.
“I've accepted it,” Wilhelm said. “I might not like the boy, but you have my blessing. You don’t need it, but you have it.”
Chapter Eleven
“RAI, WHAT THE HELL do you think you're doing?” Vala jumped from her chair and clapped a hand on the young rebel's shoulder. “Did you really think you could storm a castle by yourself? Huh? Are you stupid?”
Rai disguised his sheepishness behind a defiant smirk. “I was trying to save you!”
“Why?” Vala crouched, bringing her face closer to the boy's. “You don't even like me that much!”
Rai didn't disagree—he only shrugged. “You saved me once, so... I thought I would return the favor.”
A gravelly sigh rattled out of Vala's throat as she faced the prince. Larien was standing behind her, chatting with one of his guards. She waited for their conversation to end, but it didn't, so she had to interrupt. “Excuse me, Your Highness, but this lad is my brother's fiance's brother. Please don't hurt him.”
“Hurt him? I was about to commend him!” Larien exclaimed. “According to the captain of the guard, this bright-eyed little boy sent six soldiers flying into the air, and one even suffered a broken arm.” Smiling at Rai, he added, “I have a fondness for kitsune, you know... but not in the perverse way that some people do. Rather, I empathize with you because you're historically oppressed. No one deserves to be hunted.”
“I could send you flying into the air!” Rai threatened, which earned him a swat on the head from Vala.
“Behave yourself!” she chastised him. “The prince is being kind to us. You don't have to be an ass.”
With a chuckle, Larien said, “Boy, if this lady is telling you to behave, you should reassess your entire life. I have a feeling she never behaves.”
“I wouldn't say never,” Vala corrected him. “I'd say...rarely.”
Larien left them in a guard's hands and promised to rejoin them for supper. Rai stuck out his tongue as the prince walked away with an entourage.
“What a pisshead!” Rai shouted, using a word he learned from Vala. “I don't like him. He might be all smiles, but he's not a good man if he's captured you!”
“Well, to be fair, I did try to kill him.”
A guard motioned for them to follow. Vala had to wrap an arm around her rebellious companion to get him to move.
“Kylin isn't Wilhelm's fiance,” Rai blurted. “She met a new Chosen, her real Chosen, and Wilhelm's not even on her mind anymore.”
Vala's face was momentarily caught between a grin and a grimace. She didn't know if it was good or bad news. “Really? And how did Wilhelm react to that?”
“I dunno,” Rai answered with a shrug. “I guess he was alright about it. I tried to talk him into saving you, but he didn't like the idea, not even a little bit. He dumped me with a lady friend of his, but the lady friend had sons who bullied me. They had bedbugs too. I didn't want to stay there for more than a day, so I left and tried to save you on my own.”
The guards escorted Rai and Vala to a bedroom for two, and closed the door behind them. Vala tried to knob, realized it was locked, and fell into bed with a sigh.
“Sorry I failed my mission,” Rai said.
“There shouldn't've been a mission. I wouldn't have wanted you to put yourself at risk,” Vala said. “In fact, that was damn stupid of you. To be honest, the prince has been more than tolerant of us. I wonder what kind of game he's playing?”
“Game?” Rai jumped on the bed next to Vala, his eyes wide with excitement. “Can we play a game?” He pointed at a stack of puzzles, tucked away neatly on a shelf.
“Alright. I s'pose.” Vala sighed again. “But try not to make too much of a mess, alright? A thousand piece puzzle sounds like a pain.”
LARIEN'S EYES WERE closed as he listened to Esha's voice, whispering in his head. It was so faint, he needed absolute silence to hear it.
“We made a small detour. I'm no fan of the assassin, and I wish I could blame it on him, but this delay was actually my fault. You know I can't resist a visit to the orphanage when I'm in the area.”
In his mind, Lar
ien replied: “It's fine, but you're already a day behind schedule. Try to stick to the mission from now on.”
Only Esha could initiate the telepathic link between them, and he could sever it just as easily. Larien didn't want his lecture to be the end of their conversation, so he quickly added, “I'm not angry with you, Esha. Quite the opposite. You know I appreciate what you do.”
“And you know you can rely on me, sir,” Esha replied.
“Why are you being so formal when it's just the two of us? Call me Larien, please.” A few seconds later, he asked the voice in his head, “How is the assassin treating you?”
Esha answered quickly, “About as well as can be expected from one of his kind. I wouldn't call him polite, but he isn't as intolerable as he could be.”
Chuckling to himself, Larien said, “I'm trying to charm the lady assassin. I think she likes me.”
“Really?” Esha's whispered response was accompanied by a gasp. “Based on what little I've heard of her, I'm surprised.”
“No. She likes me. I'm sure of it. No one can resist my charms.” Larien wished he could attach a grin to his reply—or some mannerism that would make his sarcasm obvious. “And before you think I've completely lost my mind... that was a joke.”
“Are you sure about that, Prince Charming? I've yet to meet a lady who could resist you,” Esha teased him. “Anyway, I should probably sever the link now. We're on horseback at the moment, and it's getting hard to concentrate.”
“You should have told me that sooner!” exclaimed Larien. “Give my regards to your Chosen, Esha. She's a lucky lady.”
When Esha severed the link, Larien sat up and indulged his temples in a much-needed massage. Communicating with Esha over a great distance never failed to put a crushing pressure in the prince's head. His body was tense and tingly too, but a few squats restored his limbs to life.
A few minutes later, it was time for supper, so he made his way to the dining room. There, he saw his unusual guests, still dressed in rags. The assassin was chugging a glass of wine, while the boy was constructing an elaborate fort of carrot sticks.
Their backs were facing his direction, so he heard the boy say, “I don't like the prince. You don't like him, do you? If he drops his guard, you will sink a dagger in his back, won't you?”
“Brutal,” Vala replied. “You're much different than your sister, you know. Kylin wouldn't hurt a fly.”
Larien didn't hear the rest of her reply, because she whispered it into Rai's ear. He crossed the room with heavy footsteps, and their chattering quickly stopped.
“I could get you some new clothes, you know,” Larien said. “You don't have to wear those rags.”
The servants descended on Larien with three plates of food as soon as he sat.
“I like these rags,” Vala said. “And... good lord, that's a lot of food.”
“Is it? I can never decide what I want, so I usually end up asking for two or three things.”
“You sound spoiled,” she mumbled, her mouth stuffed with potato. “It must be nice to be a prince.”
“I wouldn't know, because I haven't lived any other way.” Larien turned to Rai. “Young man, would you like to decide what we have for dessert? We could have cake, ice cream, pie, or—”
“All three!” Rai cheered. “I want three plates like you have three plates!”
“That can be arranged.” Larien flicked a finger, motioning for one of his servants to come forward. “Did you hear that? The boy has spoken. Tonight, we feast on cake, ice cream, and pie.”
“You're going to be so sick, mate,” Vala warned them. “You might have a sugar hangover too. Trust me, it's not pleasant.”
The prince spoke up, defending their right to excess sweets. “It sounds delightful to me. You can never have too much of a good thing.”
“That's wrong. I like men, but you can definitely have too many of those,” Vala argued. “I like my brother too, but in small doses.”
“And you like killing people,” Larien added.
“Nah. Not really. It's a job. Jobs pay.”
“But...” Larien paused to sample his chicken. “If you don't like killing people, couldn't you get a normal job?”
“This job pays well. I like getting paid well. I can't make this kind of money by kneading bread or whorin' myself.”
“Should we be talking so crudely in front of a child?” Larien flicked his fork at Rai, who was busy with his carrot fort. Part of it had toppled over, and he was frantically trying to fix it.
“Why shouldn't we? The boy'll find out about whores soon enough... if he doesn't know already,” Vala said. “Lord... I would be one ugly whore, wouldn't I?”
“Not at all. You look broader than the average lady, and your hair is an unusual shade, but you aren't without appeal.”
“Are you saying I should be a whore?” Vala shoved a carrot into her mouth and wiggled her eyebrows as she chewed.
“Goodness, no! To be honest, I would rather end this conversation altogether,” Larien said.
For a few minutes, all conversation ceased. Vala finally ended the silence to command Rai to stop playing with his food, and she told him to eat his vegetables. He didn't listen. He had no interest in carrots and potatoes. He was saving his appetite for their many desserts.
“Actually, Vala, I think you're a lovely lady,” Larien suddenly said. “I would love to court you, if I could.”
“Are you shittin' me?” the assassin asked.
“No, not at all. You're much different from the well-to-do ladies who usually hold my attention. I find you wildly refreshing.”
“I find you wildly crazy, Your Highness. No offense,” Vala said. “Any man who would court the lady who wants to kill him is touched in the head.”
“Probably,” agreed the chuckling prince. “I guess I'm not averse to a bit of danger.”
“This is more than a bit of danger, sweetheart,” she warned him. “This is walking on a bed of bloody knives. But if you're up for it... I'm up for it. Who'd say no to a prince?”
Chapter Twelve
THEY WERE HALFWAY TO Prince Edmore's villa when Wilhelm decided to camp for the evening. They didn't have proper lighting, and the horses whinnied in protest when they were forced to walk in darkness. Wilhelm leapt from his horse, hitched it to a tree, and kept his distance from Kylin and Esha. He wanted to be close enough to see them, but far enough to avoid conversation with them.
He threw down a bedroll, started a small fire, and laid down to watch the stars. All was well until the sound of Kylin's voice brought back his underlying sorrow.
“Are you angry with me?” she asked.
“No.” Wilhelm fought back an urge to roll his eyes as he met her gaze. “You ask that a lot. You must think I'm the angriest man in the world.”
“No, I just... you haven't spoken to me in hours, and you've been distant... quite literally. You're all the way over here, and we're all the way over there.”
“I prefer to be alone. It gives me time to reflect,” Wilhelm said.
“Alright.” Kylin sidled away, but not too far. Her mouth opened slightly, as if she wanted to say more, but words eluded her.
When she lingered, he asked, “Did you need something?”
“No.” Two breaths later, she changed her mind. “Actually, Esha and I were wondering if you'd help us start a fire. You made it look so easy. You—”
“Gather some kindling, and I'll do it,” Wilhelm said. “Find me some leaves, bark, dry twigs, and I'll see what I can do. Don't wander off too far.”
WHEN KYLIN LEFT ON her errand, Esha followed, as he often did. She tried to pick up her pace, to lose him, but her Chosen stuck to her more tenaciously than a shadow. He was the exact opposite of Wilhelm. One was frustratingly quiet, and the other wouldn't stop talking.
“Kylin, wait!” Esha cried—at which point she had no choice but to let him catch up. “You shouldn't go into the woods on your own. There could be dangerous people out there.”
“Then he should have gone with you... or he should have asked me to go with you.”
Kylin wanted to say she needed no protector, but after everything that happened in her village, she was less confident in her ability to defend herself.
“I'm not going too far from camp. I'll be fine,” said Kylin.
“Still, I'd like to go with you. I'm always looking for an excuse to spend time with you.” Esha picked up a stick, decided it was useless, and snapped it in two. “I'd like to learn more about you.”
Kylin stopped at a bush, teeming with berries, and asked, “What would you like to know?”
“All kitsune have a unique power of some sort. What's yours?”
“I can control the weather.” She was reluctant to discuss her second ability, extraordinary as it was. “I can... bring back the dead.”
“I've never heard of a power like that. If that's true, that's amazing!”
“It is true. Why would I lie?” Kylin sampled one of the berries, decided it was too tart, and left the bush behind.
“I'm not saying you're lying, I'm just surprised,” Esha said. “In what way can you change the weather?”
“I can summon a storm... or a cyclone,” Kylin said. “I can make it hotter or colder. I can make it rain... or even snow, if the temperature is right. My little brother has similar powers, but I think he's going to surpass me.”
“I doubt it. Your power sounds amazing.”
“What's your power?” Kylin asked. “Besides, the telepathy, I mean.”
Esha shook his head. “I'm afraid the telepathy is all I have. When I was younger, I could heal.”
“But not anymore?”
“No, I'm afraid not.” Esha attached a long, rueful sigh to his reply. “Over the years, living in the city, away from nature, dampened my abilities. I can't heal anymore, and I can only link up with a select few.”
