The Battle for Astodia

by Maryam Durrani

  The girl was grinning. “Okay, then I’ll start with you.” The boy raised his eyes, surprised. “I love you.”

  The boy laughed. “That’s the spirit.”

  The girl laughed too. She was human, not a monster, and

  he was desperately trying to help her realize it.

  “Look at the stars. There are many tonight,” he finally said, wiping his tearful eyes from all the laughter.

  She nodded, yawning. “I want to tell the queen I love her.”

  He grinned, nodding, and helped her up, giving her one last hug. “Let’s go tell her.”

  “Of course,” the boy said, amused.

  One year. Her life was perfect for one year. But the day the queen passed, was the day everything changed. The girl’s hope was lost, along with her heart, along with the love. Everyone she loved left her, so if she kept loving, no one would stay. Her heart had shattered like the thinnest of fragile of glass, and then she became the assassin. Adalia the Assassin.

  The queen was dead.

  I woke up to find us still lying on the roof.

  The sun had begun to rise. I sat up abruptly, the sudden movement waking up Lance, who sat up groggily. He frowned at me.

  “Are you alright?”

  “Why wouldn’t I be?” I asked, confused.

  He reached out, brushing his thumb against my cheek.

  “A tear.”

  I rubbed my eyes.

  “I’m fine,” I said, standing up emotionlessly. “Let’s head back before they start looking for us.”

  Without questioning me, Lance stood up, following me back into the base.

  THIRTEEN

  “Lift your sword like this and hold it an angle,” Lance advised as I fumbled with the heavy metal object. “No,” he reached out warmly to fix my grip, “like this.”

  Sad to say, I wasn’t acting. I felt so disturbed I had no intention to train or hold a sword properly. Finally, Lance threw the sword aside in defeat, running a hand through his hair, exasperated. “You told me you were bad, but this is horrible. Hello?” he called, waving his hand in front of my face. “Your eyes are glazed over again.”

  I sighed. “I don’t feel like training.”

  “Why?” I didn’t answer. His eyes softened. “Is this about yesterday?” I blushed. I could feel the heat crawling up my neck. Lance waited for me to answer, watching me closely.

  “No.” I was embarrassed. “I don’t want to do anything. I just hate life right now,” I mumbled, crossing my arms over my chest.

  Lance raised his eyebrows, his green eyes amused. “What has life ever done to you?”

  “Besides having taken everyone from me?” I slumped to the ground and started yanking grass up out of its roots. Lance sat in front of me. “I don’t know.”

  “Are you sure that was life? Isn’t that supposed to be death’s job?”

  “No, that’s definitely life. Life is cruel. If you don’t live, then you won’t have to go through losing someone.”

  “Who’ve you lost?”

  I made a small sound in the back of my throat.

  “Tell me.”

  I got to my feet, throwing a fistful of grass in his face. I started to walk away.

  He laughed. “Do I have that much of an effect on you?”

  I froze in mid-step, Xavier’s grinning face flashing before my eyes.

  “Adalia?” Lance broke my train of thought. “You okay?”

  “No,” I breathed out. “No, I’m not. I have to go.” I walked inside, my pace quick and desperate, ignoring Lance’s calls of protest.

  “I’m sorry!” he called. “I didn’t mean to upset—have I said something wrong?”

  I walked inside and slammed the door shut behind me, running up the stairs to my quarters, and there, I collapsed onto my bed with a groan. I’d been here too long. I was an assassin, not an undercover spy. Or was an assassin supposed to be a spy? I hadn’t signed up for this. Then again, I hadn’t signed up for killing people either.

  I’d let so much of myself go. What was I thinking tearing up because of a memory? Like a child. I rolled over onto my stomach, a raging anger inside of me.

  I jumped up, yelling at the stool as I tripped over it. “Get out of my way.”

  I ran my hands through my hair with an irritated sigh. What was I doing? I had to get out of here. I’d been here for ten whole days.

  My place was in the castle to work under the king. So why was I here? I’d spent three whole days sulking in my room and not doing anything. I’d been here for more than a week and I hadn’t accomplished anything, and that made me more miserable. I jumped back onto the bed and smacked my head against the headboard.

  “Damn it,” I mumbled. “I am the biggest idiot I have ever met.”

  A loud knock on the door caused me to sit up, alert.

  “Come in.”

  The door opened, and Lorelle slithered in with a smile, plopping down on my bed.

  I pressed a pillow over my face.

  “I’m not in the mood, Lorelle,” I said quietly. “I don’t feel well.”

  “You’ve been around more people for quite a while now,” Lorelle said softly. “That may be why you feel different. You know many more people. Before, the only person you had any interaction with was—” she paused, the whisper of the unspoken name hanging in the room. She looked at her hands but not before I could see tears in her eyes.

  She regretted it. It wasn’t a show she was putting on. Suddenly, as if right on cue, there were a loud pattern of knocks on the door.

  “Come in,” Lorelle and I said in unison.

  A boy stood in the doorway, breathing heavily as if he’d just run a mile. “Lorelle?” he said.

  “Yes, Cameron?” Lorelle quickly stood up and wiped her eyes.

  “Lorelle, you know the rat that was experimented on for the poison to kill the prince?”

  “Yes?”

  “It just died.”

  Something snapped inside me. I whipped around to face the boy. “Out! Haven’t you any decency?” I hissed.

  He smiled apologetically. “Excuse me. It was an order from Clarice.” Then he turned on his heel and left.

  I faced Lorelle, newfound hatred bubbling up my chest. I could feel my face reddening with anger.

  “Adalia—” she said, horrified, stepping back. New tears were forming in her eyes. “It doesn’t mean anything—”

  “Get out. Get the hell out before I slit your throat and toss you out the window. Get out now.”

  “But Adalia, I can—”

  “Didn’t you hear me?” I yelled, slamming my fist against the bedpost. The wood cracked and splintered, and I gritted my teeth. “Get out.”

  She turned on her heel and left, shutting the door behind her. I flexed my fingers, cursing myself.

  I used the fact that I needed new bandages to return to the infirmary in hopes of finally getting further information on the antidote.

  Esmeralda, reading a book, told Lance to fix up my splintered hand.

  I was sitting on a stool, and he was standing fairly close, examining the base of my fist. It was turning a sickly shade of purple.

  “Adalia,” he whispered, cleaning my hand with a warm cloth, “Why do you keep hurting yourself?”

  “Stop asking me questions,” I snapped, and he looked into my eyes, ignoring the sharpness of my voice. Lance looked

  down at my hand with a sigh.

  I watched his fingers move quickly and carefully around my hand, light and graceful.

  “Move your fingers,” he said as he caught me watching. I wiggled them, streaks of pain running through my hand.

  “Look—it’s blue, green, and purple,” he said, his voice disapproving. “At least it’s not broken,” he said with a sigh.

  “Oops,” I mumbled as he wrapped a white bandage around my hand, and it was then I realized how close we were standing. I could hear him breathing. He looked up at my face and smiled, his green eyes shining.

 
; Do I have that much of an effect on you?

  The smile slipped away and I turned my face, blinking angrily. There was a fifty—no, seventy-five—percent chance Xavier was dead.

  He’s dead. Get over him. He’s been dead to you for the past week so why do you even care?

  Lance turned his back to me, clearly irritated. I would be annoyed too if I were him. I was an idiot. I rubbed my face with my uninjured hand and hopped off the seat, turning to Esmeralda.

  “Thank you,” I said with a nod.

  “It’s not me you should be thanking,” her cool voice cut through my ears sharply. I winced and looked over my shoulder to see her nodding towards Lance who was bending over something, his shoulders tense. He was hurt. Because of me.

  “Thank you,” I mumbled.

  Lance turned to face me, tapping one gloved hand on the table. “Just doing my job,” he said with a smile.

  “Really, Kristina, stop rejecting him,” Esmeralda laughed, and I saw Lance’s ears go red. “Poor child is falling head over

  heels for you and you’re being so heartless.”

  Heartless.

  There was that word again I’d heard so often. I squeezed my eyes shut.

  When I opened them, Lance was rubbing his face and glaring at Esmeralda who was chuckling to herself. I stared between both of them unsure of what to do, and then I turned abruptly and tried to walk away just before Lance caught me by the arm and turned me around to face him.

  “Lance, what—”

  “Esmeralda would like to speak with you,” Was all he said and then he walked up the stairs, leaving me all alone in the room with this old woman. I stared at Esmeralda.

  “If this is about that annoying book of rules I have to read, I haven’t finished. I’ve been busy.”

  “This is not about the book,” Esmeralda said, standing up with a new confidence. “This is about you and where your loyalties lie.”

  I tensed. Immediately, my thoughts went to the hidden knife tucked into my belt.

  “No need to pull out weapons, I can assure you that I’m unarmed,” Esmeralda chuckled. “I just want to make sure you know that you’re not fooling everyone. I can even assure you that I know exactly why you’re here.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said without emotion, my face unreadable.

  “Don’t take me as a fool, dear Assassin.” Her lip curled up at the word and I felt my stomach slide, though I hadn’t betrayed any signs of confirmation. Nor did I speak. “You must be wondering how,” she continued. “And I have no intention to hide it from you. You see, my granddaughter is an amazing child and I love her tremendously. She could never bear to hide anything from me. She loves her mother, yes, but love is different from trust. I, on the other hand, have both; her love, and trust.”

  “Lorelle,” I said in disbelief, staring at the old woman’s wrinkled face. She was the only one who knew.

  She nodded. “Yes, it is Lorelle, and you’re here for the prince’s antidote. I suspected so.”

  “Does anyone else know?” I asked, not bothering to lie anymore about my identity. “Lance?” I croaked his name, realizing he’d been acting very strange around me for the past few days.

  “No, not Lance,” Esmeralda rolled her eyes. “Even if he is my grandson, I wouldn’t betray a secret that quickly.”

  I nearly choked on my words. “Grandson?”

  “Oh, he hasn’t told you? You must sit down for this then.”

  “No, I’ll stand,” I said with a menacing hiss. I stood my ground. I wouldn’t back down.

  “Alright then,” Esmeralda sat down, her green eyes sparkling, and it was only then when I realized how similar she and Lance appeared despite their ages. “You see, Lorelle’s mother was a beautiful person, though not what I’d call ‘lovely.’ Her sister, on the other hand, was a shining sun that brightened every room she walked in. She was sweet and kind, and the two sisters often didn’t get along with each other, especially because of the older one’s jealousy.”

  “Lorelle’s mother is the older sister,” I raised my eyebrows. “What does—”

  “Shh,” Esmeralda hushed me. “The two sisters grew up and fell in love with two best friends. Both boys evenly matched each sister’s personality. They were married, and

  then the older sister had a daughter.”

  “Lorelle,” I nodded, “but the younger sister?”

  “A son,” she finished. Now her eyes were so bright they resembled stars. “The younger sister, her name was Janine, and the older sister was Clarice. You know Clarice’s current position, don’t you?”

  “She’s a leader,” I answered the question, my palms sweating. Don’t think. Thinking will make it worse. Don’t think you know the answer. Don’t.

  “Where do you think the younger sister is now?” Her smile was creepy, foreboding.

  A horrid jolt of realization ran through my stomach as I stared into her eyes.

  “She’s the other leader.”

  That meant . . . That meant Lance was the other child.

  “Listen. I know—”

  “You don’t know anything,” I snapped. “Nothing. You don’t know me. You don’t know what I’ve been through, the things I’ve done. Just . . .” I slid the knife out of my belt. “Just shut up,” I growled.

  “You’re right. But I believe in you. I can help you change—”

  “Why would you do that?” I narrowed my eyes. “Why do you trust me?”

  Her eyes fell on the blade of the knife, and then met mine.

  “I don’t trust you—I never said I did. What I do know is that if you had wanted to, you would’ve destroyed us by now. I needed to know where your loyalties lay, and to me, it looks like they’re neither with the rebels nor the king.”

  I let out a humorless laugh.

  “You’re crazy.”

  “Don’t hurt my people,” she said, eerily calm, her eyes flashing. “Don’t touch them, and I’ll give you what you want. When I do, you must leave, and never show your face again. And,” she continued, her eyes cold, lips pulled in a straight line, “you will do everything in your power to prevent the king from hurting us again.”

  I stared at her, scanning her face. She was deadly serious.

  “I can’t make that deal,” I said, lowering the knife. “If the king finds out I’ve betrayed him . . .” I shuddered at the thought, the healed lashes on my back beginning to burn again.

  “Then join us.”

  The words slammed into my chest, knocking the breath out of my lungs.

  Join us.

  Never, ever had that thought even crossed my mind. That was impossible.

  “Think about it. I’ll give you two days, and I’ll be waiting here for you to make your decision,” she said, getting up.

  I stared at her back.

  The next day, Lance was the first to show up with Aland by his side.

  “Morning,” Darren greeted as he walked in. Lance had awoken me with his loud knocking. I was sat up straight in bed, squinting at them.

  “What the hell do you want?” I muttered, rubbing my eyes. “I need to sleep.”

  “It’s lunchtime.” Lance raised his eyebrows. “You overslept.”

  “What?” I asked, a little surprised. I was fully awake now.

  “That late?”

  “Pretty,” Darren agreed, and Lance elbowed him in the stomach. “What?” Darren exclaimed. “I meant pretty late!”

  I rolled out of bed and pushed past them, throwing open the wardrobe and pulling out a shirt, pants, and a knife. I pointed it at them.

  “Well?”

  “Oh. I’m sorry.” Darren marched out of the room, but Lance stayed.

  “Well?” I repeated.

  “What did Esmeralda want to talk to you about?” he finally asked, rolling up his sleeves above his elbows.

  “You mean your grandmother?”

  “Oh. You know?” He winced.

  “I know about you and how you didn’t
bother to trust me enough with the fact that you’re the leader’s son.”

  “I just didn’t want you to think differently of me. I wanted you to know that I was normal.”

  “You are normal, Lance.” I put my hands up. “Why would being the leader’s son change that?”

  “Again, the point comes up, why was it important for me to tell you?”

  I sighed. “I just . . . It was worth mentioning. And, I don’t think differently of you.”

  “Good,” Lance nodded, and he seemed to have relaxed a bit. So that’s why he’d been acting so strange. He was afraid I’d think differently of him.

  “Lance,” Darren poked his head in. “Are you going to stand there and watch her change or will you come out here?”

  “Darren. . .” We both warned at the same time. Lance and I looked at each other. He started to laugh.

  FOURTEEN

  “You rat, let go of my sandwich!” Charlotte yelled, smacking Aland’s hand.

  “What? You said I could have it!” Aland yelled back, recoiling.

  “Take mine,” I offered, handing him the plate.

  “He’s eaten four already, and you’ve only taken a bite. You should eat it,” Lance said, shooting a look at Aland who dropped the plate and hastily set it back in front of me. I laughed.

  “Just eat,” he said.

  “No, no,” I patted Lance’s arm, “I’m fine.” I returned the sandwich to Aland who refused to eat it.

  “Lance will kill me, just watch him if I take it. He’s my spar partner,” Aland narrowed his eyes at a proud Lance.

  “I’ll make sure he won’t,” Charlotte and I said in unison, and I turned to her, raising an eyebrow. She suddenly found a keen interest in her plate.

  “Well then I am good,” he grinned and took a bite.

  “Ugh, she bit from that side,” Darren swatted the back of Aland’s head. He choked on his food.

  “No’ody ca’es,” Aland said through a full mouth, and I laughed.

  I shook my head, taking a sip of water. I was very unlucky though because at the same time, Darren tried to make me laugh and he accomplished his goal, but it was very poorly planned because the water spurted out of my mouth and soaked him.