by Jamie Davis
"Forgot where you were for a second, didn't you? I experienced the same thing when I woke up."
"Yeah, I guess I'm still a little tired."
"Welcome to the life of adventure," Liam said as he peered out the crack in the door of the stable. "Never enough sleep and always pressed to do more with less. Come on, gather your things, we're going to get on the move. Chance, wake up Thad."
"Not me, it's your turn."
"We could have the girl do it instead if you'd like," Liam suggested.
"Never mind, I'll do it. It wouldn't do to go to all that trouble to save her yesterday just to have her die waking a sleeping orc today."
The tall elf walked over to where Thad still slept on the pile of straw bales he'd arranged the night before. Picking up a broken broom handle from the floor, Chance reached out and poked Thad hard on the shoulder once then danced backward as the burly orc dragoon bolted upright on the stack of hay bales with a dagger in each hand, ready for blood.
"Easy friend. It’s nearly dawn. It's time to move."
Thad's tensed shoulders relaxed as soon as he took in the situation and their location. He sheathed his daggers on either hip as he rolled off his makeshift bed to his feet with a smooth grace that didn't fit with his bulky frame.
He sniffed at the air and looked around. "Any food left?"
"You finished everything last night," Liam said with a laugh. "Don't worry, we're headed to the Empress's Rest. Arno will fix you up with a breakfast fit for your appetite."
Thad grumbled something under his breath then turned and grabbed his cloak off the bales of hay. He pulled the black fabric across his shoulders and slid his sword's scabbard into the loop on his belt to hold it in place.
Cari picked up her sword and dagger where they rested next to her and settled her sword's belt diagonally across her torso. Her fingers traced the red ribbon supporting the Empress still woven around the brass buckle in the middle of her chest. Strange how such a simple symbol had caught her up into this whole mess.
"Shouldn't we at least return the tankards to the tavern across the street before we leave?" Cari asked as the group prepared to exit the stable. She'd seen the two crates from their dinner the night before by the door.
"They know where we were staying the night," Rodrigo said. "The tavern owner said he'd send a scullery boy over for the crates in the morning if we stacked them by the door."
"You told them where we were staying?" Liam sounded alarmed.
"I had to tell him something about why I was taking enough food and drink for a small army all by myself."
Chance walked over to the window in the door and peered out into the night while Liam ran to peek out one of the side windows.
"Are we expecting trouble?" Cari asked.
"We're always expecting trouble," Liam said watching Chance as he checked the street outside. "What does your night vision see, Chance?"
"Nothing out there but I can't see the whole street from here. I'm not sure what we're walking into."
"We'll have to risk it. You and Thad go first, then the girl and boy. I'll bring up the rear."
Cari bristled a little at being called "the girl" but she didn't think this was the time to make a point in support of feminism. She readied herself for a fight, just in case their suspicions were right.
It turned out the street was deserted when she stepped outside into the misty early morning grayness. Thad searched the end of the street in one direction while Chance watched the other.
Liam joined them and pointed in the direction Chance watched.
"Take the lead, Chance. Your eyes are better in the dark than ours. Take the shortest route but watch for patrols. It wouldn't do to have to explain why we're all up and about during a burglar's hours."
Chance nodded and started down the street followed by Liam then Cari and Rodrigo. Thad came behind, watching over his shoulder for anyone following them.
It was time to return to the Empress's Rest where Cari's adventure had begun the day before.
Chapter 8
The journey through the city to the Empress's Rest passed without incident for the most part. They did duck into an alley on one occasion and wait in the shadows while a mounted patrol of the Duke's guard went past.
Cari caught sight of the Duke's men from her hiding place behind a stack of crates. They seemed tired and not particularly alert. She suspected they'd been out searching the city all night for the ones who'd killed their fellow guardsmen. That meant they’d be angry and ready for a fight if they ran into anyone they thought had played a part in that battle at the dueling grounds.
The thought brought back the memory of her blade sliding so easily into the chest of the guard she’d fought. Raden was his name. She’d killed him. She remembered the surprised look on his face as he slid backward off her blade to the ground, his life fading away with each passing second. It had been so easy when she thrust her blade through his heart.
Were other hearts broken by his death? Did he have a family or a daughter like herself who'd wonder where her father was and why he didn’t come home last night? Part of her knew she'd been in a fight for her life and he would have killed her without hesitation if given the chance. She’d seen the bodies as proof of his intention. That didn't change the sense of deep, gut-wrenching guilt she suddenly felt over his death. It left a roiling darkness in the pit of her stomach even when she wasn't thinking about it.
She wondered if her father had killed anyone in his time in Fantasma. Certainly he had, given how he'd apparently risen to become a legendary hero in the eyes of the people here. Her hand fell to her belt pouch where her phone, credit chip, and other connections to her home still sat, useless here in this far away land.
A sad smile crossed Cari’s face. She'd reached for her phone because she wanted to text her father and ask him how he dealt with the guilt of killing people. It made her sad she couldn't reach out to him at a moment's notice like she could at home. That sadness quickly faded.
Anger replaced it. Her father hid all of this from her, making her find it on her own, forcing her to stumble around this world on her own without knowing the rules. He and her mom were as responsible for Raden’s death at her hands as she was. Cari missed her family even though she usually felt distant and disconnected from them at home. That said, she wasn't quite ready to forgive them yet.
Her parents put her through years of therapy, making her doubt her own memories. At times, just talking with the therapist made her feel like she was crazy. Those memories had been so real that when she was told they were only her imagination, she doubted her sanity and her connection to any reality. She struggled to wrap her head around why her parents would have let their daughter go through that hardship knowing that she was right all along.
She had to force down the fresh surge of anger welling up from deep inside her. There was no point in getting angry now. Her parents weren't here. They had gone away for the weekend leaving her alone as usual. Cari wondered what they would think when they found her missing, gone without a trace. Would her father come looking for her here in Fantasma? She hoped he would so she could confront him somewhere he wouldn't be able to brush off her accusations of abuse and neglect when she was younger.
"You look preoccupied by something," Rodrigo said, interrupting her train of thought.
Cari looked up from staring down at her feet as they walked along. She was so lost in her thoughts, she hadn’t even realized they’d started moving again. Liam and Chance had moved ahead a few yards and Thad was still well behind them watching for anyone following them. She and Rodrigo had some privacy for the time being.
"I was just thinking about my family. They'll be wondering where I am and when I'm coming home. I wish there were a way to contact them and let them know I'm alright."
"I suppose we could hire a courier or messenger if it was that important to you to reach them."
"That isn't really an option. They're too far away in a - call it a distant la
nd." Cari had to catch herself before she revealed too much. She wasn't sure she wanted all the attention her true identity would bring.
"It can't be so far away," Rodrigo said. "You made it here after all."
"You'd be surprised."
"At least you have a family at home. All I have left is my Uncle Shawn. I don't know him all that well. He's been here commanding a company of the Empress's personal guards in the Dragoons since before I was born but he'd come visit my father from time to time on the farm. He always seemed larger than real life in some ways. My father didn't see him that way. Dad resented my uncle’s freedom to travel and see the world in the uniform of the Dragoons. I guess he just saw a big brother who left the family estates and his responsibilities behind for a life of adventure."
Cari nodded. Her father had apparently done that when she was little. She could imagine how that would have felt if she'd been old enough to remembered any of it.
"Have you talked to your uncle much since you came to the city?"
"Only once before yesterday when I went to him about your duel. He told me the first time to go back home and rebuild the farm, to find a wife and settle down far away from what he called the mess of the Empire."
"You decided to stay, anyway. Why?"
"I put that life behind me. I've heard the rumors about who's behind the raiders hitting the coast. If the dragoons are standing against the Duke of Charon and his attempts to usurp the Crystal Throne, then I’m with them in that quest. If my uncle won't let me officially join the Dragoons, then I'll find an option allowing me to help in another way, like when I fetched help for you."
"Thank you for that, by the way," Cari said. "I don't know how I would have gotten myself out of there if you hadn't fetched Liam and the others."
"I'm glad I was able to find them in time. Uncle Shawn wasn't sure where the three of them were and I had to do some quick searching of pubs and taverns."
"They do seem a bit rough around the edges to be royal body guards. I wouldn't have guessed that was their job from looking at them."
Rodrigo snorted a laugh.
"I got the sense from the way my uncle talked about these three they were both the best and worst of his men. I think it is what makes the Dragoons so effective. They take their job and oaths seriously and not the pomp and circumstance of the position. It's what makes them so annoying to the other nobles. They don't care about rank and privilege. All that matters is the protection of the Empress. It is said they’ve been like that since all the way back when Prince Hal transformed them from a simple household guard to the unorthodox unit they are today."
Cari shrugged off the reference to her father again. He seemed to come up in conversations a lot. It irked her. She decided to change the subject.
"Where I come from, we don't have Empresses or nobility."
"How strange," Rodrigo said. "How in the world does anything get done. Who rules over your land."
"We elect ordinary citizens to gather together and govern us. One of these elected citizens is called the President. They act as our central leader. The President works together with the other elected officials to create and pass laws."
"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. I can't imagine anything useful gets accomplished."
"Sometimes you're right, but for the most part it works."
They stopped their conversation as ahead of them, Liam and Chance stopped at the corner and waited for the rest of the group to catch up. Cari and Rodrigo joined them, followed a few seconds later by Thad.
"No one is following us," the orc said.
"Good," Liam said. He hooked a thumb over his shoulder. "The inn is around this corner. Chance had a look around and there doesn't appear to be anyone watching the entrance so we should be able to get in without any trouble. The early morning market vendors are already setting up their stalls so there are a few people in the street already."
Chance nodded and continued the plan.
"I'll go first and pass by the inn just to be sure there isn't a trap set up for us. Then Liam and I will find places to watch from across the street while Cari and Rodrigo head inside. The three of us will join you once the coast is clear."
Cari didn't see anything wrong with the plan and apparently, neither did Rodrigo. They both agreed and Chance left around the corner, followed ten seconds later by Liam. Cari moved up to the corner of the stone building and peeked around the side to watch Liam walking along the street, staying to one side. Liam moved to the far side of the small square and stopped just past the inn's entrance. He looked left and then right before meeting Cari's eyes and nodding once.
"Let's go."
Cari stepped out and Rodrigo followed right behind her. They walked across the street and through the door to the Empress's Rest without incident. They’d made it and she let out a deep sigh of relief as they entered the deserted common room.
It took a moment for Cari’s eyes to adjust. There was a fire burning in the fireplace and she heard voices coming from behind the bar in the direction of the kitchen. The staff was up and getting the morning meal together for the inn's guests.
"About time you showed up, Rod."
Cari tensed at the sudden realization there was someone else there. Then a man stepped from the shadows on the far side of the room. He smoked a pipe, the gray haze from the bowl obscuring his face as he puffed away after speaking. He paused and pointed at her with the pipe's stem.
"Is this your friend who got into trouble with the Duke's thugs? I didn't chalk you up as one to get caught up in trouble just because a pretty girl is involved. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised."
"Uncle Shawn, this is Cari, and I didn't get caught up in anything. The Duke’s men accosted her. It was they who forced her to defend herself."
"That may be what you saw happen but that's not what the Duke said in the Privy council last night. He said his men were set upon by common thieves pretending support for the Empress as an excuse to rob them. Luckily, no-one got a good description of any of you. I managed to point out that any brigand could have dressed up in Dragoon colors and started the fight."
Rodrigo's uncle looked past them at the door to the street.
"Where're the rest of them? I assume based on the Duke’s account of the fight you found the three idiots I sent you out to find?"
"We're right behind you, Cap'n," Liam said.
Liam, Chance and Thad stepped out of the Inn's back hallway into the common room.
It startled both Rodrigo and Cari but the captain just smiled.
"I hope you made sure no one was watching the inn?"
"No one is watching the inn, at least, not anymore," Thad said, sporting a vicious grin.
Captain Shawn pointed at a long table with benches on either side.
"Good. Sit down. I told Arno to bring out breakfast as soon as it was ready. He knows I'm expecting friends."
Cari followed Rodrigo's lead and moved up to take a place on the bench opposite the dragoon captain, Liam, and Thad. Chance came around and sat next to Rodrigo.
"I would have thought you'd have encouraged this young lady to leave the city," Shawn said, “perhaps with my wayward nephew?"
"It was discussed while we hid out last night," Liam said. "They both are a bit stubborn about staying and helping out, despite my efforts to convince them otherwise."
"Chance, can't you magic her to want to leave or something? If she remains in the city, it will cause more trouble."
Cari bristled at being talked over and around.
"I have my own voice and can answer for myself. If you have a problem with me staying in the city, take it up with me."
"Ah ha! So, you have some spunk to go along with the pretty face."
"I'm pretty good with my sword, too, if you'd like to give it a go."
Shawn's face darkened at her challenge. Chance slapped a hand down on the table, distracting everyone from the escalating situation.
"She has a role to play in the curr
ent troubles now, Captain. I've determined she may be useful in what we have to do to ensure the Empress's safety and continued rule."
Shawn leaned back and considered what Chance said while taking a few puffs on his pipe.
"Magic elf intuition, I suppose?"
"Something like that."
"Well, of the three of you, you've never lied to me yet. But if you involve her in this, she's your responsibility, all of you."
"I can take care of myself," Cari said again.
"Yes, and that's why my three wayward soldiers here had to come and rescue you last night and kill a squad of the Duke's finest in the process. Do me a favor. At least take a hint from my nephew there and keep silent unless you have something useful to add to the conversation. I’ll take your word for it that you know how to fight. If that wasn’t the case, Chance here wouldn't vouch for you. Now, show me you know how to listen and follow instructions, too."
Before Cari could respond with another quip, Liam held up a hand and asked, "You act like there's something you need us to do. What is it?"
"That idiot Timron finally surfaced again, thank the gods. I was beginning to think he was going to turn up dead like the rest of the Imperial family."
"Where is he?"
"He's here in the city. My contact spotted him entering Seraphina's place yesterday. They're watching the place and will trail him if he leaves but they're not up to protecting him if real trouble comes."
"You want us to pick him up for you?" Liam asked.
"No, I want you to trail him and try to figure out if anyone is plotting to kill him. When you find them, stop the plotters and find out who sent them. If we're going to stop the Duke, we need hard evidence he's behind the deaths of the Empress's family. Without it, we dare not confront him directly. He holds too much sway over the rest of the council."
"Timron knows us, Captain," Chance said. "If he spots us, he'll bolt and go back into hiding. How are we supposed to protect —," he trailed off and turned to look at Rodrigo and Cari. "Unless — we had someone else he didn’t know tail the young prince.”
