The Iron Princess

by Niall Teasdale

  She was meditating on what she should do about her Water Form training. Or that was her intention. As she tried to focus her mind on that, however, something else intruded. Suyin was in the audience tonight, standing at the back behind the benches as Jun had been doing on more than a few occasions. Suyin generally did not. She had seemed her usual self, flashing a smile at Ayah and Yaena before entering the enclosure. In her meditative state, Ayah noticed the way Suyin’s shoulders had hunched a little and how she had glanced quickly around. There was a man her eyes had lingered on: not tall but muscled under plain peasant clothing and wearing a knife on his belt which was larger than most. Ayah did not like the man’s eyes. Cold, dark eyes which had followed Suyin into the enclosure.

  Ayah’s mind returned to the world outside as the dance reached its climax. She was breathing harder than usual and there was a sense of alarm hanging in her mind. She glanced around to see Suyin still standing at the back of the enclosure. Merinda and Sona were making eyes at the two men they had picked out for a little extra income. Here, Yaena was also picking someone out, though her signals were more subtle and her target was a woman. The man was not in the audience. Ayah collected her cloak and left the enclosure, but she waited outside until Suyin emerged.

  ‘You want to walk back to our room with me?’ she asked.

  ‘That’s one of the reasons I watched,’ Suyin replied.

  ‘Mm. Let’s go find Nareel.’

  It was as the three of them were turning to go through the door of the boarding house that Ayah spotted the man. He was ten or so paces away, watching them as they walked into the building. Definitely the same man as before and he was definitely watching them and the alarms went off again in Ayah’s brain.

  ‘Did you notice a man following us here?’ Nareel asked before Ayah could say anything. ‘About my height. Brown hair and eyes. Big knife on his belt.’

  ‘I noticed him,’ Ayah said.

  ‘He was outside the Fire Dance circle,’ Suyin added, ‘and I think I saw him and two friends in the Sword Dance circle too.’

  ‘He seemed to be watching Suyin. When I saw him outside the Fire Dance enclosure anyway.’

  Nareel frowned. ‘No idea why, Suyin?’

  ‘Not really,’ Suyin replied, ‘but I didn’t like the way he looked at me.’

  ‘Hm… We should take some precautions tonight.’

  Ayah let out a breath she had not really realised she was holding and the others looked at her. She waved their looks away and started for the stairs. ‘I’m just glad Nareel thinks we should be careful. I was afraid I was getting paranoid.’

  ~~~

  The three men were taking a risk, but the pay-out would be a good one. Still, they did their best to stay silent as they made their way along the corridors of the boarding house to the room they were fairly sure was the one they wanted. One of them settled onto one knee and removed a few iron tools from a pocket. He listened at the door for a few seconds, nodded, and then went to work on the lock. It took only a few seconds to open the simple mechanism, then he eased the door open as quietly as possible and the three men entered the room.

  Three beds and three heads on pillows. One man moved to each bed, their leader taking the one where thick, black hair largely covered the pillow, obscuring the face of their target. The other two drew daggers. The leader could not quite resist saying something as he reached down toward Suyin’s face. ‘Now then, Princess,’ he began.

  Suyin’s sword swung out from under the blankets, slashing across the man’s thigh. He let out a shriek of pain and staggered back as she threw back her sheets. Across the room, Ayah threw aside her own blankets, startling her assailant, and then her sword was stabbing out and into the man’s chest. He let out a cough, blood flecking his lips, and went down. Nareel burst from under her covers, her hand catching the wrist the man was holding his knife in. He tried to break free, but Nareel was having none of that. She locked his arm painfully and held him there.

  The leader was grabbing for his knife, but Suyin was there, slashing her sword across his stomach. He stepped back just in time but that put him right where Ayah’s blade was: she stabbed her sword into his side. He got his knife free, but his hands were shaking and he backed up into the corridor.

  ‘Run,’ Ayah suggested. ‘You might make it out before one of our friends beats you senseless.’

  ‘Drop the knife,’ Nareel said to her captive, ‘and you can make a run for it too.’

  ‘If we see any of you again,’ Ayah added, ‘the whole circus will be there to take you apart.’

  There was the clatter of a knife falling to the floor and Nareel let go of the man’s arm. There was already noise in the corridor outside. Whether the two men escaped was a matter of luck.

  Ayah glanced at Suyin. ‘Princess?’

  Suyin looked back. ‘I… I don’t–’

  ‘We’ll talk about it later. What do we do about this one?’ Ayah poked her first victim with a toe. ‘He’s bleeding all over the floor.’

  ‘We’ll wait for Taravel to come up,’ Nareel replied. ‘I’d imagine he’ll want to call the city’s watchmen. It’s going to be a late night.’

  ‘Yes,’ Ayah agreed. Her eyes lifted to Suyin again. ‘And in the morning, we talk.’

  26th Day, First Marita.

  Suyin was looking distinctly sorry for herself. The watchmen who had come to investigate had not been much of a problem – aside from taking a long time to get there, they had not kept the girls up for too long – but Taravel had asked a number of pointed questions which Ayah and Nareel were glad they did not know the answers to since neither really wanted to lie to their boss. Suyin, it seemed, did not have a problem with that.

  Ayah doubted that the lying was the cause of the kicked-puppy look on Suyin’s face as she sat huddled on her bed with her two friends standing over her. Rather, it was the fact that she was going to have to tell the truth. Or, being charitable, the fact that her secrets had put her friends in danger.

  ‘Okay, “Princess,”’ Ayah said, stressing the title, ‘who are you? Who are you really?’

  ‘There is only one princess that I know of,’ Nareel said before Suyin could answer. ‘Only one family has had the arrogance to consider themselves so far above everyone else.’

  Suyin gave a mocking little laugh. ‘Arrogant. Yes, that describes Siyu perfectly.’

  Ayah sagged, sighing softly. ‘You’re–’

  ‘Sying,’ Suyin said. ‘The Iron Princess. The daughter of Emperor Siyu. Flower of the Empire of Iron.’ Her voice became more mocking as it went on.

  ‘What are you doing in a circus?’

  ‘I’d have thought that was obvious. I’m hiding. Siyu is a monster. A deluded monster. He believes that the entire world would benefit from falling under the auspices of the Empire of Iron. He considers himself a simple man of the people with the laudable task of improving the life of everyone in the world. Anyone who doesn’t understand that is clearly deluded and must be swept aside. He will use any means to do so.’

  ‘I’ve heard about his methods,’ Ayah said grimly. ‘So, you decided to run away and join the circus from some sense of moral indignation?’

  Suyin shrank a little. ‘Well, he decided that he wanted to cement ties with one of the most powerful families in Astollar. To do that, he began arrangements to have me married to that family’s patriarch. The man is fifteen Great Years older than me and weighs over two hundred and fifty stones! That made the decision, and the escape, easy. Taravel was visiting Astollar while I was there to meet my prospective husband and every young noblewoman is expected to be able to perform the Sword Dance. Taravel needed a dancer.’

  ‘The last rumour I heard,’ Nareel said, ‘was that you’d been kidnapped by agents from Istollam.’

  ‘Siyu will probably spread any rumour he can think of to hide the truth, but that one is likely a not-so-subtle way to give him an excuse to go to war. He has Garia City. He wants Istollam, I have no doubt.’

/>   ‘And now you’re here,’ Ayah said, ‘and someone recognised you. Do you know who they are?’

  ‘No. Really, I don’t. There’s, um, quite a big reward for finding me. I expect they were common, if observant, bounty hunters. They weren’t any of Siyu’s spies. Those are trained better.’

  ‘You think he has spies in this city?’

  ‘Siyu has spies everywhere. I grew my hair longer and I wear it differently. I’m living as a peasant! I never thought anyone would look twice at me or recognise me if they did.’

  ‘Surprise! They did.’ Ayah turned her head to Nareel. ‘What do you think?’

  ‘I think,’ Nareel began and then paused. ‘If they were not agents of the Empire, it seems unlikely that those men will share their discovery. They will likely wait for another chance to capture you. If your secret is uncovered, the authorities here are unlikely to believe that the circus was unaware of your real identity. It would cause trouble for Herra Taravel. If we can keep you hidden for another month, we will travel to the City of the North and we can re-evaluate your situation there.’

  Ayah nodded. ‘That sounds… as good as it gets. We keep your secret until then, Princess Sying.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Suyin said, ‘but don’t call me that. I gave up that name when I ran. I don’t want to be the Iron Princess.’

  Nareel shrugged. ‘We are what we are. Changing a name does not change our nature. However, my loyalty is to my friend Suyin, not to a princess of the Empire of Iron. Suyin you will remain.’

  ‘We keep it secret then,’ Ayah said. ‘Let’s just hope that your father doesn’t know you’re here or we’ll have the entire Imperial Army on the doorstep. He’s put a lot of effort into finding his lost daughter.’

  ‘Siyu doesn’t care about me,’ Suyin replied. ‘All he cares about is that one of his plans has been thwarted. He cares that a bargaining chip has been removed from his arsenal. Nothing more.’

  The Iron City, 28th Day, First Marita.

  Colonel Tingzhe sat in what was known as the Council Chamber surrounded by generals. He had been seated there for half the morning and now they were working into the afternoon. He had said very little because there was currently very little for him to say, but he knew he would be called upon to speak eventually. So, he sat at the long table made from local redwood and carefully inlaid with white to form patterns along the edges. The room was big and high up in the enormous structure which was the Imperial Palace. Accessed by a single staircase and with no other rooms above it or on its floor, the Council Chamber was next to impossible to spy upon. It was bare-walled and lightly furnished for that reason: limited decoration gave nowhere for spies to hide.

  The generals were not overly fond of the colonel. Despite being of lesser rank, Tingzhe was listened to because he knew things the others did not. Even his own general, General Kang, was considered less important than Tingzhe. Tingzhe enjoyed the reversal, but he also ensured that he had complete dossiers on all the generals, just in case.

  Their numbers were diminished at the moment anyway and that always made them a little nervous. General Si, commander of the Fifth Army, was in Garia City currently. That was where his command actually was – the Fifth Army was an occupation force – but he spent as much time as possible kissing imperial rear at home. He had been needed in Garia City, however, and the reason for that was the reason General Guang was missing. If anyone was higher in the hierarchy than Tingzhe, it was Guang, commander of the Third Army. The Third Army was the Empire’s invasion force.

  Tingzhe’s attention shifted to the man at the very head of the table. Emperor Siyu was a strangely charismatic man. He was tall, over eighteen hands in height, and moderately handsome. His body was good, fit and muscled beyond what one might expect from the ruler of a civilised nation. Despite never having fought a battle in his life, Siyu was a skilled warrior, thoroughly capable of defending himself with a sword. Tingzhe happened to know that his emperor was also skilled in Fire Form, which was something not generally mentioned in public. He also had quick wits, a nasty temper, and a tendency to eliminate his enemies in as permanent a manner as possible.

  Siyu sat at the head of the table, apparently ignoring the reports from his generals. He wore a simple robe of purple fabric rather than the more elaborate togas the generals wore. He viewed himself as a man of the people, not prone to the whims of fashion. It was a point of view that Tingzhe considered laughable. Obviously, he did not laugh about it anywhere near Siyu.

  ‘Colonel Tingzhe,’ Siyu said in his soft voice, ‘does the Office of Military Intelligence have any news worthy of my attention?’

  ‘Nothing earth-shattering, your Imperial Majesty,’ Tingzhe replied. ‘Intelligence suggests that Istollam remains entirely unaware of the movements of our fleet. Their intelligence network is, frankly, pitiful.’

  ‘Not unpleasant news.’

  ‘No, not at all.’

  ‘What of the flower?’

  ‘I don’t have positive confirmation, but the schedule places the flower in position by now.’

  Siyu gave a nod, a smile touching his lips. ‘You’ll ensure that no harm comes to that particular bloom.’

  ‘My people already have their orders, your Imperial Majesty.’

  ‘Good. Now Guang just has to do what he does best.’

  Imperial Fleet, 30th Day, First Marita.

  Xian stood at the bow of an Imperial Navy warship. It was a large vessel with seventy men in the crew, many of them oarsmen, and seventy more in the form of soldiers being transported. There were over two hundred similar vessels in the fleet behind the one she was on along with around eighty light galleys transporting provisions, horses, and weapons. The longships did not rely on their oars alone for propulsion: they had large, square sails which were in full use now thanks to a trailing and quite strong wind.

  They were maybe a week away from Istollam at the rate they were going. Leaving the Iron City three weeks ago, they had followed the coast north until they knew they would hit the land on the other side of the Eastern Sea. Then they had swung south and west around the hook of the Great Sand, and northward again along the coast to Garia City. There they had stopped for a day to pick up supplies and some extra logistics galleys. And to drop off a general who needed to spend some time with his troops. Now they were going north, hugging the coast as they headed for Istollam and hoping that the Western Ocean would remain calm.

  Well, Xian was hoping for the opposite but not exactly expecting the weather to intervene. She had been aboard the flagship of the fleet the entire time, but not a single person had a clue she was there. In spirit form, she watched the sailors and sat in on meetings where General Guang went over and over the plans for the siege which undoubtedly lay ahead of them.

  By now, Ayah would likely be in Istollam. She would be trapped in the city with an army outside the gates. The problem was that warning her would likely do no good. Ayah was the kind of girl who would want to do something rather than run away. She would have made friends by now and she would be reluctant to leave them. And Xian had encountered the leaders of Istollam before. They were not the kind of people to do anything until there was a clear and obvious threat. Usually, the threat needed to be to their wallets. They would not authorise military expenditure until the Imperial Army was already besieging the city. No, there had to be another way of–

  Xian’s thoughts were cut off by a deafening explosion of sound, a thunderbolt out of a cloudless sky. She turned toward the sound and was in time to see the ruins of a galley sinking beneath the waves while bits of the shattered vessel fell as burning debris over a wide area. The devastation was complete and amazing. Xian had never seen anything capable of causing that kind of destruction.

  Thunder Water. That was what they had called the stuff that ship had been carrying. Xian had heard it mentioned more than once. A fluid created by alchemists in the Iron City, it was said to be incredibly powerful and it appeared that there had been no exaggeration. However, t
he sailors had spoken of it as though it was very dangerous, sensitive to flame and shock. Some accident had happened aboard that ship. Perhaps a barrel had fallen or a flame got too close and the result had been catastrophic. Xian had no doubt that this Thunder Water could do a lot of damage to Istollam’s walls. And there were three more ships carrying the stuff in the fleet.

  Istollam, 32nd Day, First Marita.

  Avoona appearing at the pastry stand was an unusual sight: she had shown no signs of liking the pastries so far. She also looked worried, which made Ayah frown.

  ‘Avoona? What’s up?’ Ayah asked. It seemed like the thing to say.

  Avoona’s gaze swept around and then she leaned closer. ‘I just had something of a disturbing casting.’

  ‘Oh?’

  ‘A woman came in. The wife of one of the city watchmen. She was looking for news that she would get pregnant some time soon.’

  ‘Isn’t that half your business?’

  ‘Two-fifths,’ Avoona replied with a flicker of a grin. ‘She paid for a full reading. I told her that she would soon bear a son.’

  ‘That… doesn’t sound disturbing.’

  ‘No. I didn’t lie to her, you understand? I wouldn’t lie about a true casting.’

  Ayah frowned at the fortune teller, taking stock. ‘You didn’t lie, but you didn’t tell her the whole truth either.’

  ‘The coins suggested misfortune in her near future with better things ahead. I believe she will lose her husband. Soon. Perhaps before the end of the month.’

  ‘That’s terrible. You were right not to tell her. Uh, but why are you telling me?’

  ‘Because…’ Avoona trailed off, frowning. ‘Because I felt as though I had to. Something bad is coming, Ayah, and somehow it will affect you.’

  Ayah winced. ‘That’s not really very useful, Avoona.’

  Avoona gave a shrug and leaned back. ‘I’m only a fortune teller. If you want perfect predictions of the future, you’ll need to find a spirit to talk to.’