Accustomed

by Kyra Gregory

  Sybelle scoffed as she shook her head in disbelief, “And what is it you propose?”

  King Alessio licked his smiling lips, “Divide the land, half for yourself and half for me,” he said.

  Sybelle looked to Deros, as though to see if she’d heard correctly before laughing at the proposal, a chuckle threatening Deros’s stone cold features also. “That’s absurd,” she stated, finally, when she was able to contain herself.

  “It certainly is not,” King Alessio scoffed in return, looking her up and down as though she was beneath the remark that fell from her lips.

  “It is,” Sybelle reiterated, “because when I came to you for help, as the treaty suggests that I should, you offered none.” She advanced slightly on King Alessio, much to Deros’s immediate concern as he followed her before the Azura guards could even withdraw their weapons. “You have a wonderful island,” she said, her voice low and dark, “filled with fertile land that bears wealth of food and iron, facilities and ports for fruitful trade. I must warn you, King Alessio, don’t overreach by attempting to take the mainland.”

  “I’ll take nothing,” King Alessio said, smirking darkly, “because you will give it to me.”

  Sybelle laughed, leaning into him for her hot breath to touch his cheek, “I find that hard to believe,” she said. She turned away and returned to Deros’s side. Promptly, the gate opened and her guards shuffled her inside.

  Behind her, King Alessio shouted, “I’ll be waiting here for your reply.”

  “You already have it,” Sybelle retorted as the gate started to go down with her on the other side.

  “You will change your mind,” King Alessio said, standing tall and resolute, his smile arrogant upon his lips, “and I’ll be here when you do.”

  The wooden doors slammed shut and, unseen by her enemy, Sybelle huffed, stomping away from the gate with fury to rival an enraged bull, getting into her carriage and making herself comfortable for the five hour journey back to the Capital. Nobody dared question her. None of the guards thought it wise to even utter a word in her presence and Deros allowed the silence to linger, leaving her ample opportunity to vent and scream if need be.

  She stormed her way through the palace doors after throwing them open with little help from the guards. As they returned, Deros filled Ewin in, their voices nothing more than mumbles behind her.

  Ewin, either courageous or stupid in Deros’s eyes, was the first to address Sybelle again. “Will you not reconsider giving them some of Evrad? Perhaps you could negotiate to give them less than half.”

  “I won’t even give them a rock in Evrad,” Sybelle retorted, her jaw tense. “Not unless I thought to smash King Alessio’s head with it.”

  “I hardly think that will help us avoid a war,” Ewin retorted, standing uncertainly in front of her, shifting as she sat in her throne and scrutinised him with an icy glare. “We must think of what’s best for our people and if that means giving them some of Evrad then should we not at least consider it?”

  “I’ve considered it,” Sybelle said, her words prompt. “And I’ve decided against it,” she added. “Giving them any part of Evrad would reward cowardice and I cannot have that.”

  Ewin scoffed in disbelief, shaking his head, “Would you not rather reward cowardice than have your kingdoms levelled by the enemy?”

  “They won’t succeed in levelling our kingdoms,” Sybelle said, sipping honeyed water to clear her hoarse throat. “You must trust me on this,” she said, mustering her best smile towards Ewin. “We will persevere. You needn’t worry,” she said.

  Ewin’s shoulders slackened and he stared at her. His brows were furrowed together and his lips were pressed into a tight line. He looked at her, thinking that maybe she knew something that he didn’t.

  She only smiled at him, finding his confusion both entertaining and endearing. “Leave it up to me,” Sybelle reiterated.

  Ewin bowed his head, defeated by her words. He asked, obediently, “Do you require anything of me?”

  She shook her head, propping her chin on the palm of her hand, “Not for the moment,” she said. “I would have you return to the new recruits and see to it that they are being prepared.”

  “Of course, your Majesty,” he said, bowing once more before leaving.

  Deros swayed where he stood, hiding his smirk as best he could. “He is fearful,” he remarked. “He doesn’t know for certain if you have anything planned, and what it may be even if you do,” he said.

  “He needn’t know for the moment,” Sybelle said, her smile growing as Deros approached her and seated himself upon the steps leading up to the thrones.

  “And me? Do you think I should know or not?”

  Sybelle shrugged her shoulders indifferently, casting her gaze to the ceiling, “There’s nothing for you to know, not for now,” she said. Her mind was consumed with thoughts. Her actions in the past, actions that she’d set in motion and actions that had yet to be determined all ran through her mind, each one placed beside the fearful existence that Azura’s presence on her doorstep had threatened her with. She opened her eyes, casting her gaze towards the one man that made her rush of thoughts disappear and her heart race like that of the young girl that she was.

  Deros nodded, hanging his head with a smirk tugging at his lips, “I thought as much,” he said. That smirk, that casual and content reply, was so endearing to her it caused fluttering in the depths of her stomach.

  Sybelle got off her throne and approached him, seating herself beside him on the step. She placed her head gently on his shoulder and shut her eyes, revelling in the warmth and peace he provided her with. People searched their entire lives for a shred of happiness within their tiresome existence, she thought, and, how could it be possible that, through all this grief, war and blood, she’d found her own? He slipped his arm across her back, stroking her bare shoulder lightly with his thumb in silence as he waited with utmost patience for her next move.

  CHAPTER 5

  GYLES STOMPED THROUGH the dusty, soot-covered grounds of Evrad, minding each and every step that he took while hardly ever taking his eyes off his surroundings. The Evradians huffed and puffed as they went into their third week of sorting through the piles of rubble and dust that had become their homes, businesses and belongings. The smell of burnt wood still hung strongly in the air as it clouded with debris. A young woman, perhaps only slightly younger than Gyles, sorted through planks of wood that once sheltered their home into two piles, sussing out as best as possible what was salvageable and what wasn’t. After every few planks, she would stop to prop her hands on her hips and huff, eyeing the two piles with diminishing hope before she squinted through the fog-filled path to find her children.

  Children, amongst some elderly, had been tasked with sweeping up the black soot as best as possible, deluding themselves into thinking that perhaps, someday, they would once again see the pearly grey colour that was once their cobble-stoned path.

  Although he wanted nothing more than to hang his head and gain as little attention as possible as an outsider within a very tense village, he found it difficult to tear his eyes away from the struggle and the hardship he’d had a hand in. The country couldn’t look more dead and more alive in a single instant. While the trees had burnt to nothing more than crispy black soot along the ground, bare of any leaves or flowers and very few birds, all the members of families were out and about, all pitching in to put as much of their home, or that of their neighbours, back together as well as they could. Men were quick to the aid of the elderly and of the women, many with their infant children strapped to their chests or backs, and the humble smiles that the women shared with one another were more than the necessary payment required for providing assistance.

  He made his way up to the castle gates where he, reluctantly, showed off the letter that Deros had scripted before he left. He didn’t want to have to use it but, after seeing the state of Evrad, he was even more certain that it would take a fair amount of time to find Dreyn
y’s brother—if he was blessed with the ability to find him at all—and he knew he would need somewhere to stay. After all, he wasn’t quite ready to rely on Evrad’s hospitality towards people who had burnt their kingdom to the ground.

  “Master Errer,” a voice called, loudly. Gyles shot his attention down the cold, poorly-lit corridor, finding the voice belonged to a young man in the dark green uniform of Evrad. That said, his shirt was untucked, his jacket was open and his shirt undone at the top, looking very scruffy for a man who must have been of a relatively high position. “We’ve been expecting you,” he said, bowing slightly. “I’m Lukas,” he introduced.

  Gyles cocked his head to one side, asking, “You were expecting me?”

  “A messenger from Lionessa was sent, informing us of your visit.” He tucked his hand into his pocket, taking out an open letter that was marked for all residents there, while the other was sealed and addressed to Gyles. He snatched the letter off him, eyeing him suspiciously as he ripped the wax seal on the envelope and unfolded the page, dropping his sack of belongings onto the ground.

  The letter was in Sybelle’s elegant script, one he was familiar with. When her father was alive, he wasn’t keen on Sybelle being so friendly with a guard, no doubt fearful of what could come of such friendship, and the two of them exchanged plenty of letters in an attempt to keep in touch.

  He’d parted Lionessa with confidence, having been sure to leave when all had been settled on the Evrad front. There was nothing more for him there, for the moment, and no reason, other than friendship and security, to put off leaving in search of Dreyny’s brother any longer. Apparently, there had been. Sybelle told him, delicately at that, and with a calm that was new for her, that Azura had landed on their coast a short while after his departure. He swallowed thickly, his mind racing to imagine what had happened to her in Lionessa in the time he’d spent taking the scenic route to the Evradian castle. How long ago had this letter been sent, he wondered, and what had transpired since it had been written until now?

  Though his sense of duty had his nerves on edge and he was ready to pick up his belongings and sprint all the way back to Lionessa, Sybelle warned him not to return. She was adamant that he continue his search but she asked if he would maintain Evrad, and put into action all that she required of him from there until she could make allowance for Deros to return and take his place. Gyles scoffed. Why would she even need to ask? She knew, no doubt, that even at opposite ends of the world he would still do whatever it was that she required of him.

  “You’ve been told to take my instruction, I imagine?” Gyles asked Lukas, scanning the last bit of the letter before tucking it into his breast pocket.

  Lukas shifted, briefly pursing his lips together as he placed his hands behind his back, “Yes, Sir,” he replied.

  Gyles inhaled deeply, casting a brief look around the barren corridors, also recalling the state of the villages that he’d trekked through. “Good,” he said, “because we must begin immediately.”

  “What has happened?” Lukas asked, marching alongside him as he made his way down the hall. Gyles ignored him, swinging his belongings by his side as he made his way to the Evradian throne room in hopes of finding anything of reference there. Within seconds, his back was slammed against the wall, his head colliding with a painting that fell to the ground. In front of him, Lukas held him tightly by the collar of his jacket, his powerful jaw even more tense as he bared his gritted teeth. The look in his eyes betrayed him. He looked racked with nerves, completely and utterly shaken for a man who had an unspeakable advantage over the newcomer. “I’ve accepted our new position,” he whispered, his voice shaking, “perhaps I’m the only one to have even truly done so, but I won’t accept being kept in darkness if I’m to do your bidding.”

  It didn’t take very long for the realisation to hit Gyles. Though it should have been easy to see, he was far too blinded by his own concerns and frustrations to realise immediately that he was in completely different territory, in a place where people would not be so comfortable with his abrupt departures or private thoughts. In the past, he would escape from his superiors, Sybelle included, and bury himself in the very depths of his complex thoughts until he could make sense of them and return to them with a well-thought plan. There was no way that his actions would be so easily accepted like that for as long as he was here. He was in the presence of strangers, and he was a stranger to them, and he certainly wouldn’t be capable of winning their trust, or their loyalty, if he acted the way he did in Lionessa.

  He shrugged out of Lukas’ hold, exhaling softly, “I understand,” he clarified. He shifted on the spot and nodded, agreeing with him. “Azura have appeared on the coast of Lionessa,” he said. “And I, along with Queen Sybelle, doubt they intend on being friendly,” he continued, scooping up the sack of belongings from the ground. “I’ve been tasked with assisting her from Evrad, including putting your country back in order.”

  “How do you propose you do that?” Lukas asked. Somewhat defiantly, he eyed him up and down as if to say Gyles was just one man with not enough power to do such a thing.

  “For the moment, it may mean Evrad bending over backwards to accommodate Lionessa’s necessities,” he replied.

  Lukas licked his lips, exhaling heavily, “The people aren’t going to like that,” he said.

  “It’s in their interest to like it,” Gyles said. “Lionessa has an impeccable defence and army capable of fighting Azura—Evrad does not. What Evrad does have is the ability to assist Queen Sybelle in ascertaining Azura doesn’t make any advances across the mainland to either of our countries.”

  “Will assisting Queen Sybelle in this win her favour towards us?”

  Gyles glanced over, his brows furrowed together in a mixture of confusion and anger, asking, “You think Queen Sybelle wanted any of this for Evrad?” He shook his head, scoffing, “She never wished for any of this, never wished for any of this despair to befall your people, or ours for that matter. She holds no contempt towards Evrad, only towards your King and Prince, and she won’t allow any harm to come to it for as long as she is in control.”

  Lukas nodded, understanding. “That’s what is meant by helping her being in our interest,” he said. “She will care for us for as long as we care for her.”

  Gyles came to a stop, turning towards the man to speak sincerely. “Neither you, nor your people, need have fear towards her reign over Evrad,” he said. “Fear towards the reign of Azura over you? Now, that is a different story entirely,” he added. “Azura makes slaves of their people; they are happy with it because it’s all they know. Your people know better and will find living under King Alessio and Queen Merra a very harsh reality.”

  Lukas pursed his lips together and his gaze flickered about their surroundings with unease. “What may I do for you?” he asked, looking back at him with determination.

  Gyles huffed, looking around just the same, “Point me in the direction of your former General’s chambers,” he replied. “I would see if he has any information of use before I go about formulating my own.”

  Lukas immediately took him down the long corridors of the Evrad palace, leading him to a room that was immaculately kept. Books lined the wall-to-wall shelves, along with leather binders that kept together many pieces of parchment relating to different parts of the castle and kingdom, including their stock of supplies and the number of men they had recruited as of late. Of course, those numbers were of less use than the ones that he was already looking for. He’d set out looking through them with something clear in his mind but he did his best to skim through other pages at a slower speed, never revealing to the stranger who stood a few paces behind him, wandering around the room, what it was that he was searching for. He looked like he could be trusted, he thought, but it would be too much too soon.

  “On the subject of the former General,” Lukas began, running his hand across the surface of Deros’s desk, “Is it true about him?”

  “Is what true?
” Gyles asked, off-handedly, flipping through another leather journal while dropping himself unceremoniously into a cushioned chair.

  “Is it true he’s gained Queen Sybelle’s favour with his betrayal against Evrad?”

  Gyles stilled under the man’s curious and inquisitive stare, biting the inside of his cheek as he thought. “What makes you ask such a thing?”

  “You said yourself earlier,” he replied, his voice shaking slightly. “You said that she only held contempt towards our King and Prince,” he said, “nothing about the General who conspired to steal her brother from her.”

  Gyles hung his head, turning back to the text, “Queen Sybelle’s thoughts and feelings are her own,” he said. “It would appear she’s forgiven him for some of his actions but, if I were him, I wouldn’t cross her after such an offence,” he added.

  Lukas inched towards him, shifting with a growing uncertainty, “Have you known the Queen long?”

  “Most of my life,” Gyles replied, without giving his answer much thought.

  “Do you consider her...a merciful woman?” His voice was lower this time, more unsettled than full of resolve as it was earlier.

  Gyles glanced up from his book, inspecting the man’s unease. His hand on the desk appeared to tremble and his eyes glistened in the dimly-lit room. “She’s a tender-hearted woman, but she’s become a Queen who’s capable of putting such tenderness aside if it suits her and her people.”

  Lukas nodded slowly, licking his lips as he thought. He paused for a moment, as though debating his words, “And would we be considered as such now? Would us in Evrad be considered her people?”

  Gyles leaned forward in his seat, his elbows digging into his thighs as he closed his finger in the journal and gave the man his undivided attention. “I would suppose so,” he replied, softly. His brows furrowed, making his confusion and curiosity clear, “Why do you ask, Lukas?”