Crimson Guard

by Rebecca Challoner

  I made a sharp turn into the closest alleyway, dust and rocks spaying as my shoes skidded with the abrupt movement. Scraping my hand against the solid wall of the building, I pushed myself forward into the shadowed alleyway, the dim light illuminating the contents lining the alley.

  Washing lines filled the overhead space, ropes drooping from the weight of white cotton bedsheets and worker's clothing. The fabrics swayed gently in the faint breeze, parting to show two exits at the end of the small street. A perfect way for me to lose those who hunted me.

  I hurled every scrap of energy I had into running, dodging and weaved my way through trousers, dresses, shirts, and ropes, hoping they would slow the soldiers down.

  Whilst sprinting, I shifted my face to one of my usual facades, an unremarkable face with freckles dotted across the bridge of my upturned nose, a slight overbite with hazel eyes and mousy brown hair. I could only hope they would not recognise me, that they would assume I was someone else.

  But to do that, I needed to get rid of this damn dress.

  I darted through another line of laundry, snatching a plain brown gown, hoping that I lost the soldiers soon so I could quickly don on this new disguise and escape notice.

  But I could hear them cursing behind me, making my heart thrum even faster as I tried not to let panic consume me.

  I dared a glance over my shoulder, finding two hulking soldiers on my trail. But thankfully, they were being slowed down by the clothing lines, which seemed to bend and shift into their way as a strong breeze tunneled down the alleyway.

  Sweating, I reminded myself I only had to get out of their sight long enough to change into the drab brown one in my hand. Then I could blend in with my surroundings and lose them or trick them if I had too.

  As I neared the end of the alleyway toward the two exits, I put on a new burst of speed. Choosing the path on instinct, I turned left and this time prepared myself for the side of my shoes against the ground, using the momentum to put more distance between the faint sounds of soldiers and me.

  I ran with all the speed I could muster, the wind whistling in my ears, the blur of brick and street lights flashing in and out of my vision. I took every possible curve and bend, occasionally darting my gaze back behind me.

  Unfortunately, there weren't any clothing lines in this street, taking away any advantage I may have gained beforehand. And with the fair coverage of light within the street, I was exposed. As soon as the soldiers made it out of the maze of fabrics, they would see me.

  So I concentrated on my surroundings, eyes flicking for another shadowed alleyway entrance. But too quickly the faint sound of the soldiers reached me, their steps light-footed by detectable. They were getting closer. The world a blur again as I lunged into a run, I managed to capture a glimpse of a shaded alcove which the soldiers may miss.

  Using the last of my energy I darted right into the opening, plunging into the dense shadows that stole my ability to see for a moment. But I continued my sprint, only to smash into a solid brick wall, hard enough that I fell back and slammed onto my behind. I blinked, stunned for a moment before realising I had taken a dead end.

  Springing onto my feet, I circled around, eyes darting to every blackened corner until I saw an old wooden door, barely visible in the night.

  Before I knew what I was doing, I burst my way through it, the wooden surface spearing splinters into my fingers and threw myself against the door to close it behind me, hoping that the soldiers hadn't seen me yet.

  I spun around to see a terrified woman clutching a baby to her chest whilst looking at me with large frightened eyes.

  "Help me. Please. They are coming for me," I panted in desperation.

  Her face leached of colour at my words, the terror in them. She took in my appearance and darted a look at the door again, clutching her baby tighter against herself.

  "I can pay you, a silver coin! Please." I stumbled towards her.

  At the offer of money, she snapped to attention, casting on last soulful glance down to her child before pulling me toward a bedroom. It was small, bare with a small double bed and a single chair with clothes piles on top of it.

  I nearly wept in relief as she whispered, "Stay in here." Before quickly scurrying away and shut the door to the bedroom.

  As soon as the door clicked shut, I quickly stripped off Jaeda's dress and stuffed it under the covers of the bed and put on the dress I grabbed from the clothing line. It was a little tight, probably made for someone younger and less endowed then Jaeda so I shifted my body shape, flattening my breast and morphing my form to a more slender adolescent shape.

  Panic buzzed through my mind as I tried smoothing down my hair and mopped up the sweat from my face and neck with the lining of my dress. It wasn't supposed to go like this, how could it go so wrong.

  I paced, trying to calm down and steady my breathing. If they found me then nothing would look more suspicious than a panting girl with a flushed face who looked like she had run for miles.

  I had managed to find some resemblance of calm, the buzzing in my ears dulling until I heard the door of the woman's home slam open and a parade of footsteps storm in the home.

  "Where is she?!" A deep masculine voice exclaimed.

  "Who? I-I don't know who you're talking about?!" The woman stuttered in panic, the baby wailing at the sudden noise.

  I watched with wide frightened eyes as the door to the bedroom crashed open. The two hulking soldiers who were on my trail the whole time burst into the room, spilling over the entrance and sweeping their gazes over the contents of the room before locking onto me.

  Each soldier was wearing leather armor with swirling crimson patterning across the chest. A dagger and longsword dangled from their waists, threatening in their display.

  I let out a little shriek and stumbled onto the bed, making sure they wouldn't see the hidden dress. I stretched my eyes wide, feigning terror, but I wasn't far off the feeling.

  Both males were tall, around six foot but one was broad and muscular and the other had a slender swimmers build. The smaller male stepped forward and gazed into my eyes. I felt a faint disturbance in the air and I had to hold my breath. These soldiers had magic, and by the look of their armor, I could only guess they were members of Volorn's Crimson Guard.

  The soldier studied me, his head slightly tilted as if confused. I studied him back, taking in his long black hair which had been slicked back, his ocean blue eyes focused on my face and the slight stubble on his face making him look more masculine, dangerous.

  The other soldier stepped forward, his hand clapping the other male on the back. This soldier looked older, a full beard the colour of wheat, a bald head, and a thick scar across his cheekbone made him look menacing.

  "Do you see anything?" His voice a low grumble.

  The other guard continued to gaze at me in a way that made me uneasy and my mind raced with ways to escape before they could catch me.

  "How old are you, girl?" The soldier with ocean blue eyes asked.

  I stared at him, confused and worried before stammering out, "Thirt-Thirteen sir."

  That was usually the age I went by when wearing this face and with my adjustments to my body when slipping on the dress, I could get away with being much younger than I was now.

  He watched me a bit longer before turning to the other guard, gruffly stating, "She isn't in here."

  The other man uttered a curse before they strode out of the room. I didn't dare breath a sigh of relief as I stumbled out to hear what they said to the woman.

  They hovered over the woman, a surprisingly respectable distance away even if their tones were hard as they questioned, "Has anyone entered your home today? A woman?"

  "N-No." The poor woman stuttered out, clearly terrified as she rocked her weeping baby.

  The more muscular man looked to the ocean blue eyes guard as if looking for confirmation before asking more kindly, "If you see a woman with golden brown hair, green eyes, roughly in her thirties. Around
five foot five and looks strikingly like Madam Wildecrest, then please tell General Volorn. You'll be handsomely rewarded."

  She vigorously nodded her head which seemed to satisfy them. They both uttered soft apologies for the disturbance and places a copper in her hand before they strode out of the house, closing the door behind them.

  I leaned against the doorway and tried to get the breath back into my lungs. I thought I was caught and the relief I felt made my legs feel like jelly. That was way too close.

  "Thank you, for helping me" I murmured to the woman, hoping not to scare her.

  She nodded, bouncing her baby in her arms as if to soothe it even though the baby it had now calmed. The woman seemed to be in her late twenties but life had not been fair to her. She was gaunt in the face with tired bags under her eyes. Her blonde hair was twisted into a knot on the top of her head and threads of hair slipped out of the knot, making her look unkempt and stressed.

  Her home had only bare essentials, a fireplace, a cooking pot, a small bench for her seating area, a bed and a chair.

  "You're welcome."

  And yet, even though this woman had little she still helped me. The kindness of a stranger who had so little to give warmed me and I gave her a grateful smile.

  I straightened up and dipped my hand to the holster and grabbing a gold coin. Palming it, I walked over to her, reached out and closed it in her hand.

  "Here. Have this for helping me. For you and your baby."

  She was still shaking, clearly still afraid of me and the danger I brought to her home. I couldn't blame her and gratefully muttered a soft, "Thank you."

  I couldn't stand the idea of keeping the stranger in danger. For all I knew, the soldiers could track me back to here, so I needed to go as soon as possible.

  I opened the front door and popped my head outside, searching the alley for any sign of movement but thankfully found none.

  Turning back to face the woman, I said, "Thank you again. Sorry for the trouble I brought to your home."

  "Good luck." She softly replied. I dipped my head again in thanks and stepped back out into the alleyway.

  I kept darting my head around whilst slowly making my way home, searching for any sign of danger but found the street quiet in the night.

  Letting out a sigh of relief, I relaxed and made my way toward the main street again.

  I did it! I thought to myself, I managed to lose the soldiers, get the shielding stones (and a little extra coin for myself) all without getting cau-

  My internal monologue abruptly cut off as a hand darted out of the darkness and gripped my mouth before yanking me back against a hard body. I struggled, kicking and elbowing as hard as I could, hoping to get loose.

  Another solid arm restrained me against the middle and a familiar voice murmured in my ear, "I would stop resisting if I were you. I wouldn't like to harm you...Jaeda, or who else should I call you?"

  General Volorn.

  I struggled harder to be released but an odd sensation rippled through me. My skin seemed to distort, changing through colours before coming to a pale ivory tone. My hair flickered between shades and length before settling to a soft wave of amber that fell down to the base of my spine. My body morphed again, filling out from the lean form I had adjusted to, to a more womanly shape, that was still lean and slender, but no longer a body of an adolescent.

  I felt my eyes widen as shock, panic, and confusion flooded my system, making me light-headed. What has happened to me? What is going on?

  "There we are. And who am I speaking to?" Volorn darkly demanded.

  He moved his hand from my mouth before spinning me around to face him and gripping both of my arms to my body to immobilise me. His striking face emotionless, even if his voice growled in anger.

  "What have you done to me?!" I shot back in fear.

  "I don't think you're in a position to ask questions here Mimic. I will only ask you one more time. Who are you?" He reiterated the question with a tightening of his hands, making me wince in pain.

  My mind span with indecision of what to do or say to get me out of this situation. I tried rallying the spark of power within me but felt like it was smothered, unreachable. What had he done to me?

  Confusion mixed with fear until only one thought repeated in a loop within me. Escape.

  I abruptly raised my knee, aiming for the sensitive area between his legs. But he was expecting the clumsy action and easily dodged out of the way. I didn't have a moment to recenter my balance before he smashed me against the wall hard enough to see stars.

  Dazed, I blinked rapidly before him, trying to get my bearings.

  "How have you not been discovered? You should have been sent for testing years ago." He plunged ahead with his questioning, not noticing or not caring about my stunned state.

  I stubbornly kept quiet, glaring at his stoney facade.

  "Right," He sighed as though he found me tedious before roughly pulling me away.

  Not one to go down without a fight, I threw myself against him, letting my arms fly. I managed to land a glancing blow and internally I cheered at the small victory.

  However, it only served to annoy him. Before I knew it, a fist flew toward my jaw, so quick I didn't even see it. But I felt the agonising pain it delivered, followed by complete darkness.

  Chapter 4

  I slowly regained consciousness to a throbbing jaw that traveled up to my cheekbone and a low murmur of voices. Confusion swamped me as I listened to the grumbling, unrecognisable tones.

  Where was I?

  I started to open my eyes, bracing myself for a piercing light but some internal instinct begged me to keep them shut. To listen.

  "...she was found with coin and shielding charms from the Wildecrest household in a holster...." A distant voice rumbled in disapproval, too far away for me to hear all of the sentence.

  A different voice filtered into my hearing, another masculine vibration, "...Wildecrest wants her imprisoned immediately..."

  At the name, the past evening came roaring back to me. The heist, the unexpected appearance, being exposed and my mad dash to find safety.

  I cursed myself for getting caught, even though I shouldn't have since it was General Volorn who managed to trap me. As a highly trained soldier, as well as a cerulean, I only had a meager chance of escaping his eagle eye. Unfortunately, luck wasn't on my side today.

  I strained to hear any more conversations between the unknown men, barely hearing the whispered words, "...we have no choice..." before booted feet thumped on wood floor, trailing away from my prone state.

  I blinked my eyes open, taking my full of my surroundings whilst it was safe to do so but stayed laying on my back in case the voices returned.

  I was lying on a cot in a small compact room that barely seemed big enough to fit two people in. From my reclining vantage point, I could make out that the walls were painted a soft eggshell, which was worn and dirty after years of neglect.

  A single, small window lit up the room with the moonlights beam. It illuminated a candle that rested on the windowsill and its small burning flame flickered to a small breeze that the old window allowed to swish through minuscule space.

  The room would have seemed old, uncared for if it wasn't for the soft bed beneath me. The pristine white linens glowed like a fluorescent ghost in the soft candlelight, and the soft mattress was stuffed with wool rather than the usual straw I was used to.

  A small scuff sounded beside me and I snapped my gaze towards the sound, finding movement within the shadowed corner.

  A man lay sprawled in a chair beside the bed, his golden hair in disarray as though he had been sweeping his hand through it. A frown etched into his face as if something greatly puzzled and frustrated him.

  General Volorn, I realised with rising panic.

  He was wearing the same clothes from the Wildecrest home, telling me not a lot had time had passed since our encounter, except now they were creased and rumpled.

  I shifte
d my eyes as the door to the room swung open, revealing another form I vaguely recognised. It took me a moment to place him, but I soon identified him as the soldier with ocean blue eyes from the woman's home.

  His leather armor seemed to mold to him like a second skin, showing off an impressive physique. He stood at over six feet tall but he looked taller from my horizontal view. A single strand of black hair had fallen to the front of his face and he slowly lifted his hand, sleeking it back whilst watching his general with a troubled expression.

  I waited for them to move, to call on the fact I was awake and in their custody. But they seemed to be musing over something, completely in their own world.