Always Golden

by Gina Dickerson

  ‘We have to jump,’ she said.

  Throwing her flaming torch down, Ravenna disappeared over the edge. Oriana cautiously edged forwards and shone her own light over. Ravenna clambered up from where she had rolled and retrieved her torch, waving it at Oriana.

  ‘Come on, Princess!’ she hissed.

  Oriana shook her head. ‘It’s too high; I can’t jump from up here!’

  ‘You must, it’s the only way.’

  Oriana threw her torch over first. She counted as it fell, one second, two seconds...

  ‘Hurry up!’

  Taking a deep breath Oriana jumped.

  ‘Fall and roll!’ Ravenna ordered.

  The soldier’s orders came too late and Oriana hit the ground hard with both feet, the impact sending a jarring pain up the back of her legs and into her spine. With a wobble, she toppled backwards, narrowly missing landing on her torch.

  ‘Are you okay?’ Ravenna offered her hand to Oriana.

  Oriana ran her hand over her legs, wincing as she touched her right ankle. ‘I think it’s just a sprain. I’ll have to grin and bear it.’

  With Ravenna’s assistance she stood and gingerly put weight on her right foot. Her ankle was weak and throbbed but, determined, she scooped up her torch and nodded at Ravenna.

  In silence Oriana followed Ravenna. The ground was surprisingly level although it was littered with stones and chunks of white chalk from being so far beneath the surface. The tunnel split into two and Ravenna paused for a moment. Shining her torch into the mouth of each, she pointed to the right hand tunnel.

  ‘This one leads to the castle,’ she whispered, ‘the other to the collection, I think.’

  Dropping her torch on the ground, she extinguished it.

  ‘But you won’t be able to see!’ Oriana hissed.

  ‘I will if you keep close behind me. I need to be able to defend us and I can’t if I’m holding a torch.’ Ravenna edged along the tunnel. ‘If I tell you to run, you run and don’t look back.’

  They had made it to the end of the tunnel when Ravenna grabbed the torch from Oriana’s hand and stamped it out also.

  ‘What?’ Oriana whispered. ‘Why did you do that?’

  ‘Someone’s coming!’ Ravenna pointed to a narrow ledge carved out a short distance above their heads. ‘Climb up there and hide.’ She knelt, indicating for Oriana to stand on her leg.

  Oriana grasped the ledge and, with Ravenna’s help, scrambled up onto it. There was not enough height to stand so she had to crouch, and hope she did not tumble forwards.

  ‘Your turn,’ she said, holding a hand down to Ravenna.

  The soldier shook her head. ‘There isn’t the room for two. Just stay still and you won’t be seen. I will try to reach the collection, and surprise whoever is coming. I will make sure they do not follow you.’

  ‘You could be trapped!’ Oriana hissed.

  ‘Goodbye, Oriana,’ Ravenna whispered, breaking into a run. ‘Good luck!’

  Oriana hardly dared to breathe as an impossibly tall man passed through the tunnel. A lantern swung from one of his large hands, in the other he carried a leg of what looked like pork which he was busy stripping with his teeth. At least Oriana hoped it was pork. She waited until the glow from his lantern had disappeared before slipping from the ledge and running up the carved steps. Fortunately, if there had been a wine rack over this entrance to the tunnels, there was not any longer. She stopped, stifling a sob as she passed her parents’ headless bodies.

  The monsters hadn’t even had the decency to bury them. And to think she had been in this very room and not noticed the entrance to the tunnels.

  Stepping around the now gloopy pool of blood, Oriana hurried to the exit. The original door had been replaced and in its place was a metal gate. Tugging on the handle she was dismayed to find it locked. Frustrated, she pulled and pushed but it would not budge.

  ‘Great!’ she said with a huff. ‘I’m stuck down here!’

  ‘Hello?’ a voice called timidly from some distance away. ‘Is there someone there?’

  Oriana held her breath.

  ‘Hello?’

  Oriana recognised the voice. ‘Mairsile, is that you?’

  Footsteps hurried towards her.

  ‘Oriana,’ Mairsile whispered breathlessly. ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘Fetch the key for this gate,’ Oriana whispered back. ‘There’s no time for talking.’

  Mairsile shook her head. ‘No-one has the key apart from Caw.’

  ‘Caw?’

  Mairsile gestured with her hand. ‘Giant man, hardly any hair. Nasty.’

  The man who had passed her in the tunnel.

  ‘Mairsile, can you get to King Hashir?’

  Mairsile nodded. ‘I’m a waitress; I take him food when he needs it.’

  Oriana was not surprised Vilas’ letter concerning Mairsile joining the castle’s school had been ignored. ‘Is Vilas here?’

  Mairsile stared at her feet.

  ‘Mairsile, just tell me!’

  ‘Oh, Oriana, he has a ring around his neck!’

  The room swayed in and out of focus. Oriana grasped the gate bars to steady herself. ‘No,’ she whispered, half to herself, half to Mairsile.

  Mairsile touched Oriana’s hands. ‘Tell me what to do to help.’ She looked up and down the corridor. ‘I should not be down here...if Caw finds me he will kill me.’

  ‘Go to the king and tell him you heard someone shouting down here. Tell him you saw a woman with golden hair.’

  ‘But that will mean he will come down here. You will be trapped!’

  Oriana shook her head. ‘I won’t be, I’m not alone.’ She crossed her fingers, hoping Ravenna had defeated the mighty looking Caw.

  ‘But—’ Mairsile protested.

  ‘No buts.’ Oriana withdrew her sword. ‘This ends now. Tell Hashir exactly what I told you, do not mention my name. Repeat to me what I said. You can’t let him think you already know me.’

  Mairsile nodded although her eyes were moist. ‘I heard shouting. I looked down here and saw a woman with golden hair.’

  ‘Good girl, go on.’

  Oriana watched Mairsile leave and edged towards her parents’ bodies. She hoped no-one had thought to remove their jewellery since she had last been here. Dismayed to find her mother’s pendant missing, Oriana turned to her father. Lifting his left hand she was relieved to find her father’s jewellery intact. She tugged a gold ring from her father’s little finger and pushed it onto the ring finger of her own left hand.

  Hopefully it would work if she could get close enough to Hashir. It had to, it was the only chance she had. Hashir was trained to fight, she, however, knew the basics. To kill him she would have to be close to him, not at swords length. She could not risk missing and ending up with a ring around her own neck but first she must find Ravenna.

  And the giant soldier.

  Now knowing the way, Oriana chose to move along the first tunnel by keeping a hand pressed against the right-hand side of the wall. When the wall bent back on itself she guessed she was in the next tunnel, leading to the rooms where Hashir kept people prisoner. Half way down the tunnel, she found it was easier to see as the room at the end was lit. The clash of blade against blade resonated in the otherwise quiet.

  Ravenna. Oriana swallowed a gulp. And the soldier, Caw.

  The gigantic soldier had his back to Oriana when she edged into the room. She could just make out Ravenna’s head in front of him. The man’s own bony head was red raw in places from where he probably used a blade to shave as close to the skin as possible. It was impossible to tell what colour his hair would be if left to grow as there was not even a shadow of stubble. Through his heavy, woollen tunic strong muscles bulged beneath with his every move.

  Ravenna screamed as Caw raised his sword and plunged it through her shoulder and lifted her up by the throat with his other hand until she was level with his face.

  ‘Woman,’ he snarled, turning the word into
an insult. ‘You were foolish to think you could defeat me, the mighty Caw!’

  Over his shoulder, Ravenna’s eyes slid to Oriana. Oriana held a trembling finger to her lips.

  How could she ever have thought she could be anything more than an annoyance to such a mighty creature? He must be six-and-a-half-feet tall, no, wait...seven-feet tall!

  ‘You are the fool, Caw,’ Ravenna rasped. ‘If you think Hashir will not use you like he uses everyone else.’

  ‘Shut up!’ Caw licked Ravenna’s face. ‘I will peel your skin from you with my teeth while you are still breathing and drink your warm blood from you as you watch.’

  ‘You disgust me!’ Ravenna spat in Caw’s face. ‘You are not a soldier, you are not even an animal—you are nothing more than a monster!’ Screaming, she raised her free arm and grabbed the forefinger of Caw’s hand around her throat and bent it backwards until there was an audible snap.

  Caw released Ravenna, wrenching his blade from her shoulder and she crumpled to the floor, looking pale. Pressing her good hand to her wounded shoulder she reached across the ground for her sword. The sound of metal scraping alerted Caw and, with a roar, he stamped on Ravenna’s blade before she had a chance to lift it. Kicking the sword away, Caw laughed.

  ‘You are a feisty one, I’ll give you that!’ he mocked. ‘It is a shame we won’t be able to play for as long as I would like. It has been some time since I came up against a female as entertaining as you.’ Bending onto one knee he lowered his hulking form over Ravenna, trapping her legs beneath him. He leant towards Ravenna’s face, whispering something Oriana could not hear.

  It’s now or never, Oriana told herself.

  Edging forwards she took care to not put her heels down and give herself away, the boots were flat but the heels were made from wood. Her breathing sounded heavy to her own ears and fear made her tremble. She froze as Caw slightly moved his head, terrified he had heard her approach.

  No, he hadn’t. He didn’t know she was there.

  Not daring to blink, Oriana snuck up behind Caw.

  ‘You taste delicious!’ Caw licked Ravenna’s cheek again and moved his mouth downwards.

  ‘And your breath reeks!’ Ravenna countered, although her voice was weak. ‘Have you ever cleaned those tombstones in your mouth?’

  Behind Caw, Oriana raised her blade to chest height. Holding the blade’s handle with both hands she struck at Caw, driving the sword into his back with such force she crashed into him, the butt of the handle winding her.

  With a terrible roar Caw released Ravenna and sprang up, knocking Oriana over. His huge arms grappled to try and remove the sword from his back but he could not quite reach.

  ‘You!’ he gurgled, advancing menacingly at Oriana. ‘You attack me? You, the princess in peasant trousers? You will pay for this!’

  ‘No!’ Ravenna cried, grasping her own sword. ‘It’s not just her who attacks you, we both do!’ With a cry, she jumped in the air and drove her blade upwards into Caw’s muscular neck.

  Caw grasped at the tip of the blade protruding under his chin. He opened his mouth but instead of sound, blood poured out. For a moment he wobbled before crashing to the ground with an almighty thud, his thick set legs twitching slightly.

  ‘Ravenna!’ Oriana hurried to the soldier’s side.

  Ravenna, slumped in a heap on the ground, smiled weakly. ‘One monster down, one to go.’ Her eyelids fluttered. ‘I will be fine, I just need to rest and to stitch myself up.’

  Chapter Thirteen

  Oriana

  ‘Princess Oriana,’ a silky voice from behind Oriana interrupted her as she pressed a wad of material she had torn from Caw’s trousers against Ravenna’s wound. ‘Well, well, what a pleasant surprise it is to see you. You are more beautiful each time we meet.’

  Placing Ravenna’s hand against the material, Oriana stood and slowly turned around. There was no mistaking the voice. Just knowing it was him was enough to make her blood boil.

  There was he, talking to her as if they were old friends—no, as if they had once been lovers. The thought repulsed her.

  He was still as beautiful as she’d thought him when she had encountered him in the castle the first time. His blond hair was a shade darker than hers, his face still as handsome but this time she could see something else. Something she had missed before.

  The monster inside the beautiful cage.

  ‘Hashir.’ Oriana nodded.

  ‘You killed my most powerful soldier.’ Hashir smiled, displaying the gap between his two front teeth.

  Oriana eyed the metal disc in Hashir’s hand. ‘There’s no need for a ring,’ she said, holding up her hands. ‘I am unarmed.’

  Hashir smirked. ‘I will check if you don’t mind.’

  Oriana forced herself to keep still as Hashir ran his hands over her body, deliberately taking his time.

  ‘You are not dressed like a princess,’ he mused.

  ‘Would you rather I took the trousers off?’ Oriana asked, feigning coyness.

  Hashir ran a finger across Oriana’s thighs, pressing his fingertip briefly against the inside of the top of her thigh. Oriana stiffened. Grinding her teeth, she forced herself not to move.

  With a sly smile, Hashir said, ‘I would prefer you to take the trousers off very much. Although they are tight enough I don’t need to use much imagination to know what you look like.’ He licked his lips, his eyes roving downwards. ‘It is refreshing to see a princess with a sense of humour. The princesses I have encountered were rather insipid. They were beautiful, yes, but of no interest beyond their princess status.’

  Ravenna spoke up from where she lay slumped on the floor. ‘Oriana is a princess who will be queen...you should treat her with the respect she deserves.’

  Oriana glanced briefly at Ravenna. ‘It’s okay,’ she soothed. ‘You don’t need to defend me from King Hashir, does she, Sire?’ She smiled, peering up at the young king through her eyelashes.

  ‘She does not.’ Hashir did not even spare a glance in Ravenna’s direction. ‘I had heard you had fallen for Vilas’ charms, Princess, is it true? Do you favour a soldier over a king?’ Hashir stroked Oriana’s hair, running strands through his fingers. ‘Do you favour the man I sent to bring you to me over me?’

  ‘Vilas is not as charming as he seems,’ Oriana lied.

  Hashir twisted Oriana’s hair around his fingers. ‘So, you deny having been seduced by him and spending a night in bed with my commander?’

  ‘Of course. I am a princess, I am of royal blood. I would not waste my time on such a man.’

  ‘And Vilas, he was not seduced by your beauty?’

  ‘If it weren’t for you I would not even speak to him.’ The words hurt Oriana’s throat on the way out. ‘He repulses me; I cannot bear to look at him with his...his...disfigurement. I don’t who will ever find him remotely attractive now. He is ruined.’

  Hashir’s breath was hot against Oriana’s face as he pulled her close to him by her hair. His lips radiated like fire upon hers. She raised her left hand, turned her father’s ring inwards, and grasped the back of Hashir’s neck. He pulled away in surprise.

  ‘What the hell?’ he asked, his words beginning to slur. Touching the back of his neck he dropped to his knees. ‘What have you done to me?’

  ‘Princess!’ Ravenna, bleeding profusely, dragged herself across the floor towards Oriana and Hashir. Reaching for her sword, she collapsed.

  ‘It’s alright, Ravenna.’ Oriana gestured to the other woman. ‘I don’t need your help, just rest and save your energy.’

  ‘But—’ Ravenna protested, although her voice was low and her eyelids fluttered. She opened her mouth to speak but her head lolled and she was silent.

  ‘Ravenna!’ Oriana flew to her side and pressed her head close to the soldier’s mouth.

  Still alive, just unconscious.

  ‘You...,’ Hashir swayed forwards and then backwards, his eyes rolling to expose the whites. ‘What have you done?’
r />   Oriana held up her hand and carefully removed the ring. The front of it was now gone, embedded in Hashir’s neck. ‘This ring belonged to my father. It held a tiny drop of water from The Pool of Youth in The Gloomy Cavern.’

  Hashir swayed once more before falling, rigid, to the ground.

  Oriana watched, a rush of guilty pleasure making her smile.

  Was it wrong to derive so much joy from someone else’s suffering?

  Hashir began to foam at the mouth. He tried to speak but no sound came out. His eyes blazed as he struggled to focus on Oriana, leaving her in no doubt that if he could, he would kill her.

  ‘But the name belies the toxicity of the water,’ Oriana continued. ‘Once in the bloodstream it stops the person from ageing another day. The problem is it locks them in their own bodies. They never age but they never die. You will be conscious but you will never speak or move again.’ Holding up her pendant, she tapped it. ‘This, on the other hand, holds water from The Gloomy Cavern’s Pool of Health. A sip of this could reverse the water I injected you with but I won’t be offering it to you. Whoever drinks from The Pool of Health will remain forever young but, unlike water from The Pool of Youth, the benefits are greater as the water ensures life. One sip for you would reverse the effects of the water from The Pool of Youth, two sips would, well, I won’t tell you what two sips will would do, that would be just plain mean.’

  Twisting the eyelet of the pendant, she released the body of it from the chain. There was not much in the pendant so she would have to be careful she did not drink all of it. The liquid was surprisingly sweet and warm as it slipped down her throat. Twisting the pendant back into place she shook it, relieved to hear the sloshing of liquid still inside.

  Pushing Caw’s body over she felt in his pockets until she found the golden key Karima had spoken of. Hashir’s eyes followed her every move as she picked up the disc he had discarded. By now, he was flat on his back and had stopped foaming at the mouth. Using the sole of her boot she wiped the foam from his lips, relishing the look of pain in his eyes.