by L B Keen
“Open the door!” she yelled over and over, but not one person paid heed to her screams.
Exhausted and frustrated, she turned, and pressing her back to it, she leaned against it, her eyes meeting the ones reflected in the large mirror. Without a word, she pushed off the door and walked over to the mirror. Frantically searching the interior of her room, she spotted a small jar and snatching it up, she threw it with all her might at said mirror.
The shattering sound satisfied her destructive emotions. She stared at the falling pieces as they fell, seeing only her twisted grin reflected back at her. Is this what she wanted? No! She didn’t want any of this. She looked around the marvelous and luxurious room with its gilded walls with gold marbling and the heavy wood cabinets and tables.
Before she realized what she was doing, her hands were tearing at the canopy, tearing the silken cloth apart. The sound urging her own as she broke, ripped and destroyed everything in her room. Her heart racing in her veins pushed her further as she tore at the clothes she wore, ripping the ornaments from her hair and breaking the necklace from around her throat.
In a pile of tears and maniacal laughter, she fell and sat on the floor. Drawing her knees to her chest, she tried to remember anything and everything she’d ever believed in. Where had she gone? The one who’d been sure of her existence, of her purpose… Where had her peaceful days gone?
As she stared into space, she wondered to herself why she always seemed to be betrayed by those who claimed to love her or at least care for her. Red eyes filled with sardonic humor appeared in her mind’s eye, and she couldn’t help but smile.
No, the one who’d claimed to hate her hadn’t once betrayed her. In fact, in truth, he’d been the most honest of all those she’d ever met. Talon had hated her, had despised her, and he had desired her… And he had… loved her?
Leaning forward, she rested her cheek against the top of her knee and closed her eyes as tears continued to fall. The tears she’d sworn she hadn’t any more of. She closed her eyes, choosing to drift to the person she’d been before she’d been forced to remember Talon before she’d been forced to regain her memories of pain and suffering.
In this way, Bird continued her imprisonment. As the days drew on, she grew listless, her eyes losing life as she rejected food, only taking the sweet drink Fi offered her. And every night she dreamt of torture and pain, of dead mothers and laughing demons. Every morning she awoke with a new mark, and though it was clear she was slowly dying, no one knew what to do.
Fi guiltily moved through the dark hallway. Over the days, she’d been handing the special goblet off to the priestess form Octine, she’d begun to feel as if someone was watching her. She had sent a messenger to alert Osis of how she felt, but the woman had merely changed the meeting place.
Now, as she made her way through the maze of hallways towards the back gate that only the dead could leave from, she waited in a dark alcove, her eyes narrowed on the dark space just beyond the gate. Seeing a flicker of light, she quickly moved forward and lowered her head. The black cloak she’d chosen so that she could meld with the dark around floated slightly as she ran.
Stopping just before the exit, she glanced about before she pulled the goblet from inside the cloak and held it out, speaking in the elder tongue of their ancestors. “Verts’nel ayn, yev asel, Osis, yes kartsum yem, vor da Ould lavaguyns dadarets’nel hima.” (Take it, and tell Osis I think it would be best to stop for now.)
A hand reached out as if from the dark. “K’rmuhin ts’ankanum yek’ sharunakel, minch’yev vor princesses harsanekan gishery: Gishery na ktuzhen mi anhajoghut’yun, yev veradardzvum yen palat.” (The priestess wishes for you to continue until the princess’ wedding night. The night before, she will suffer a miscarriage, and be returned to the palace.)
Fi shook her head. “And the king has truly accepted this.” Fi truly felt pity for Kahlia then. She knew not of her own father’s machinations in her life.
As the priestess took the goblet, Fi quickly turned, returning to the palace, not seeing the figure that melted from the shadows.
As another figure stepped from the hidden alcove, Essa met the sharp gaze of Dua, who she’d convinced to join her in her seeking out who was truly cursing Kahlia. “Bring me the priestess, and make sure no one sees you.”
He had given a sharp nod before he melted back into the shadows, taking off after the swiftly departing figure in the distance while Essa turned her narrowed eyes on Fi’s back. Many royals knew the elder’s tongue and Essa wondered what Osis had to do with the girl’s cursing of Kahlia. She feared that whatever it was, it would do more harm than good.
Chapter Seven
A mountain stood in the distance, but it was no ordinary mountain. It was in actuality an old volcano that’d been carved into long ago and featured white colored houses. Though it appeared abandoned, the shouts of those who guarded it quickly dispelled one of that belief. And when one realized the mountain was occupied, one also realized that there was a form of bleakness that hung grimly over the place and then one realized they’d arrived at the Black Prisons. A place known for keeping cruel criminals and other black stains of society. It wasn’t too far from Katari, but as it was situated deep in the desert, and one had to climb along the Kush mountain line to arrive there, it was a difficult trip. It had taken them two nights, but Jorin laid flat on the ground and watched as guards moved here and there, his eyes narrowed.
After he and Dubh had spoken with the barman, it hadn’t been difficult to follow the trail of those who’d taken his brother. They’d been seen carrying him to the docks, only they hadn’t taken a large ship. Instead, they’d hired a boatman to traverse a river that led to the port of the prison. Apparently, there was an underwater way that only certain levels of nobleman could use. It was kept secret so that prisoners couldn’t attempt escape, or so that no one would attempt a rescue.
Jorin had insisted on going alone, as he could move faster across land alone. His golden-red eyes could easily see in this darkness. He narrowed his eyes in thought. If his brother were truly being held here, then it would be hard for him to enter. Only those with a royal seal could enter the prisons. Slowly, he crawled backwards. Crawling down the dune, he eventually turned and stood, walking over to his horse.
Did he truly wish to save his brother?
That question continued to bother him. If one had asked him before the ball, he would have said yes. He would leave his brother here and leave him to suffer the similar fate he’d had to suffer. Yet, that revenge wouldn’t be truly as satisfying, as he wouldn’t be able to observe his brother suffering. He would only know that he suffered.
As Jorin tightened the straps on his horse’s reins, he pulled himself up and settled himself into his saddle, and clicking his tongue, turned his mount back towards R’or.
He would think over his choices on his return journey, whether he would save his brother or not, but it was growing exceedingly clear he would much rather damn him with his own hands.
They were chasing him through the hallways, and she couldn’t get away.
Her hands were tied behind her back as they chased her. The “brothers” that her father had introduced her to. She hated them, everything about them. They smelled like her, and he hated her.
As sunlight flickered through the large windows of the mansion, he felt sweat coating his brow as he heard them call his name with a condescending tone of voice.
“Prince Talon! Prince Talon!” Their laughter echoed off the hallways as she quickly ran around the corner, trying to find somewhere to hide. The servants had refused to remove his bondages as they all feared the new queen and her sons. Sons that his father had begotten on her so early they all might as well have had the same mother. So close were his brothers in age to him.
“Found you!”
Her back tensed, and he took in a shaky breath. Turning, she barely dodged the switch that came down, scratching her chin in the process of trying to whack him on the c
heek.
The high pitch laughter after he fell didn’t cause her to cower. Instead, it made her wish to show his anger, and with a shout, she lunged forward with his teeth, tasting the blood of his father’s second bastard.
When a boom of sound jerked him from his memories, heat choked him as he rubbed his chin against the sandy covered floor. He was going to die soon. She was going to die soon. He knew it. She knew it. If only he’d… If only she’d…
The thoughts ended there as he. She? They were once again swallowed by darkness.
When Bird awakened from her dream, she didn’t jerk up in panic. She silently stared up at the newly installed canopy. They had had to hold her down when the servants were called to clean and fix the mess she’d made. She hadn’t wished them to as she’d enjoyed being surrounded by the reflections of her hate and disappointment.
As the days of her imprisonment drifted on, she’d thought of destroying it once more, but due to her lost appetite, she hadn’t the energy to do such a thing. She contemplated even now if it was worth her getting up now. Lethargic, she lifted her arm and marks of all sorts crisscrossed it. Lifting her other hand, she gently pressed it against it and winced at the pain there.
It was odd. She felt the pain was her due. It comforted her somehow. She was slowly growing to enjoy the dreams she was having. Macabre though they were, it was the one moment where she shared in someone’s suffering rather than being alone in her own.
When the door opened, she lifted herself up, only to see it was Fi. The girl had lost a lot of her brightness, but Bird could only blame herself for Fi’s loss of cheer, as she wasn’t much in the mood for talking. Still, she’d also come to notice that Fi seemed worried over something. A crease always appeared to be settled upon her brow.
“Fi?” she called to her. Fi turned from the tray she’d sat on the new table they’d brought her after she’d tossed her old one over the balcony.
“Is there something wrong? You seem troubled.”
The girl stared at her silently for a moment before she frantically shook her head. “No! No, princess, I-I’m just worried for you. Your father is still very angry,” Fi added mournfully.
Bird leaned back against the piles of pillows and smiled sadly. “I am not the least surprised. I have challenged his authority and called him a coward to his face.” She tilted her head, her tone amused. “Still, I would not forsake a single word of it.”
“Oh,” was all Fi had said before she returned her attention to the tray. Bird let her. After all, there wasn’t anything else to say. She wouldn’t retract her words, even those spoken in anger. She would kill herself before she was forced to marry any of those he’d invited here.
The silence grew as Bird was drawn deeper into her dark thoughts. Fi approached her with a goblet of sweetened wine as it was the only thing she could drink easily. Her nausea would only allow her to drink wine, and she’d been unable to rid herself of it so far.
As her hand reached out, taking the goblet, the door slammed open, startling her. She paused in drinking to find Essa standing in the doorway. Essa frantically searched the interior before her eyes landed on Bird and sharpened on the drink in her hand.
Pointing at Bird, she yelled, “Don’t drink it!” before she ran over and jerked the goblet from Bird’s hand. Tossing it to the ground, her eyes flashed as she shouted a Katari command and the goblet lit on fire, melting in an instant into the floor.
Everyone aside for Essa stared at it in shock before Fi suddenly bolted for the door. But, before she could reach it, she cried out when Dua appeared, blocking her path. She fell backwards. Falling to the floor, she quickly came to her knees, her head bowed as the flat of her hands pressed into the floor. “Forgive me!” she cried out, frantically.
Essa’s angry eyes glared down at her. “It seems you know you should beg!”
Confused, Bird arose from her bed, barely noticing when Dua motioned for two men who brought in another woman before quickly shutting the door behind them.
“What is going on?” Bird asked as she came to Essa’s side. She glanced down at Fi before meeting Essa’s angry stare. “Why must she beg for mercy? What has she done wrong?”
Instead of answering her, Essa spoke towards Fi’s bowed head. “Your mistress has asked you a question. You will answer it.”
Shivering, Fi’s eyes shifted rapidly as her mouth worked, but the words would not escape.
Bird was growing colder and colder, her fear of what Fi would reveal filling her with dread.
“Will you not speak?!” Essa demanded sharply, her voice hard and filled with command. Bird had never heard it from her before and it crackled with authority. “Do I have need to take an arm and leg before you confess your crimes, servant?”
“Curse!” Fi blurted, jerking her head up, her eyes brimming with tears as she swallowed. “I-I was ordered to curse you! Please forgive me!” she cried, as she lowered her head once more, pressing it to the floor. “I was ordered to do it. I beg your mercy!”
“Mercy?” Bird repeated, blinking, her expression blank as she lifted her gaze away from the crying and pleading Fi to the woman who was held limply between the two soldiers. “And she, was she also a part of this?”
Essa nodded, giving the priestess a disgusted look. “She cleansed the goblet so that it would not corrode from the magic that was being spelled into it.”
For a moment, silence reigned as Bird processed the information she’d been given. She slowly turned away from those in the room, her eyes staring out towards the sky. How tired she was growing of betrayal.
Her memory was soon growing only filled with it. The third prince: “Love?” Fitzwilliam scoffed. “For a mere damphir? Brother, do I appear to have common taste to you?”
Her mother: “Everything, I’ve hidden everything from you.” She leaned down, pressing her forehead against Bird’s. “This was my only way of keeping you safe. Forgive me, my love, forgive me.”
Talon: “I swear upon my noble name, Talon of Britannia, that I will never approach you again. Not in this lifetime or the next.”
And even her father: “Princess Kahlia of Katari, daughter of Priestess of Osis, order of Octin, blood line of Breshari, you will hear my command, given to me by the bloodline of R’or. You will marry a man of my choosing, and you will bring peace to Katari by doing so. Till such time, you are to be confined to your chambers. So, it shall be, and so it will be.”
As those memories rose, she felt herself become swept away by its tide. Bird felt herself wobble.
“Kahlia!”
“Princess—”
“I am fine!” she snapped, jerking a hand up, and instead, she reached out, placing her hand against the wall for support. “Who? Who is it that has commanded you to do such a thing?” She half-turned, her saddened eyes staring down at Fi’s bowed head.
Fi, who could feel the weight of her stare, slowly raised her head. Lifting fully, she pressed her hands together before her. Tears fell as her dark brown eyes turned purple, a rose-purple. “Your majesty, please, d-do not make me speak the name,” she pleaded, rubbing her hands together. “Please, your majesty, do not make me.”
At the end of her patience, Bird pushed away from the wall and snatched Fi up by her collar. “SPEAK THE NAME! SAY IT! WHO?!”
The younger girl burst into tears as she shook her head, pressing her lips together stubbornly.
Bird’s eyes narrowed and she frantically searched around for something to force Fi to talk. Spotting the bread knife on the tray, she threw Fi to the ground. Moving over to it, she grabbed it up, and marching back over, she knelt before the crying girl. Grabbing Fi by the collar of her gown once more, she pressed the tip of the knife to Fi’s eye, causing the girl to widen them both in horror.
“You won’t tell me even if I was to remove one of your eyes?” Bird asked cruelly, her voice a lowered whisper. “I’ve no use for servants who do not wish to obey their mistress.” She drew her hand back.
Fi rel
eased a scream, pulling at her hold. “Osis! Your mother commanded me!”
The knife stilled in the air as Bird stared into her terrified eyes. Her body froze, her brow creased. “What did you say?”
“First Consort Osis, she commanded me!” Fi screamed again as she pulled at Bird’s hold of her, her wide eyes still focused on the knife that still hung in the air. “Sh-she sought to hide your condition for as long as was necessary. She wished me to keep it still… I only did as she commanded me to. If I had not, she would have harmed my mother! Please…”
Bird’s hands opened against her own will, as the hand holding the knife fell to her side, letting the knife itself slip from her fingers and clatter to the floor.
“My mother?” she repeated like a lost child. “My mother commanded you to poison me?”
“Kahlia?” Essa called. Coming forward, she rested her hands on her cousin’s arms. Her cousin’s voice held a wealth of confusion, pain and hurt that called to the healer within her. Bird didn’t pull away from her cousin’s touch. She instead sought it, allowing herself to lean slightly against her.
Bird’s eyes shifted as she searched her memory for a moment where, a second where her mother hinted, or even alluded to the possibility that she was pregnant. As she thought harder and harder, she could see the sheer hate in her mother’s gaze when she mentioned Talon, the hate her previous self hadn’t understood, and later hadn’t thought to ask after her memories had been returned.
“I would do anything to protect you.” Her mother had said those words, and it seemed she would even poison her own daughter in order to protect her.
Feeling faint, Bird closed her eyes and stepped back into Essa’s hold. She didn’t wish to see Fi or hear the girls weeping any longer. “Take her away.”
