My Love

by Sabrina Zbasnik

  Anjali spun in place, prepared to finish this once and for all, but the dwarf was cackling. "So, this is your new play thing?" Tenna tipped her head at the princess who increased her glare as she slid further away. "You always did have a type. Innocent. Pliable. With big, batting eyes, and bright cherry lips."

  "Shut your lying mouth," Anjali snapped, lunging towards Tenna to silence her.

  The dwarf easily skittered back, not about to be waylaid by such a simple attack. "Best be careful there, princess," Tenna turned to the woman who was pawing through her belongings to find something to help. "Or you might find yourself in more than one place."

  Rosie's fingers froze right above a pile of canvas she was about to yank free. "What are you speaking of?"

  "I've been following your kind for days, weeks really. Hiding a few dozen or so barrels of gaatlock is child's play," Tenna laughed before honing her sword right upon Anjali. "Step away from the door, and I won't strike the match."

  "She's lying," Anjali hissed, her eyes narrowing on Tenna. She knew these tricks, even the smoke bomb was something she taught her. You could only lie and bluff your way so many times before you were faced with nothing but the wall and your own skills. On that matter, Tenna didn't stand a chance.

  A warm hand landed upon Anjali's shoulder and gripped tight. She glanced back fast to find Rosie standing close. "We can't take that chance." All the girls standing under a tent of pretend Qunari exploding powder began to cry. It was as if the void itself sundered apart, the souls of the damned left to wail incessantly for their crimes while they trembled in fear.

  "I can stop her now," Anjali twisted in place, wanting to drive her dagger into her friend.

  "Then we all go boom," Tenna unearthed a flint from her belt and moved to strike it as if there was anything to catch a spark near her. But the threat was enough to cause the dithering handmaidens to panic more. "Not one step!" she shouted, watching the girls all dashing about like headless chickens.

  "Anjali," Sapheela's breath wafted against her ear like a summer's breeze, "step back. Please."

  "Smart and pretty. No idea why she'd even suffer a moment with you, Anji," Tenna jerked her sword at the two women while sliding closer to the door. No doubt she thought she had the Princess under her spell, but Anjali's shoulder nearly collapsed from how tight Rosie dug in with her hands. She was mad, they all were.

  Tenna banged on the door with her foot, her sword held out while Anjali glared murder. "Tell them, tell them to let me in, pretty pretty Princess, or hiss, explode -- oh the... What are you all, humans? Oh the humanity."

  "I can end this now," Anjali cursed.

  "Trust me," Rosie whispered behind her, her fingers flexing for another hold. Raising her voice, the princess called to the guards inside. "This is Princess Rosamund. I require counsel with the Queen. Immediately."

  It didn't take long for the doors to shift, the dwarf guards inside foolish enough to not care they were being played. Tenna raised up her hand in a salute of thanks, both women snarling. "Ah, and so you don't follow," she snickered and, launching back her arm, lobbed something round and black through the air.

  Shit! Anjali wrapped her arms around Rosie, tugging the princess tight to her chest when the ceramic grenade shattered upon the ground. Sparks erupted, but puny ones that could only scare and startle those already on high alert. More smoke poured free, but this time Anjali kept her nose and mouth covered, while she attempted to do the same for Rosie.

  "Don't breathe it in. Just hold and wait for it to pass," she shouted, causing herself to take in another dose. Damn, this stuff had better not be poisonous or she was going to kill Tenna extra hard.

  It took a few whips of the wind before the acrid fog finally gave way. There was no explosion. No barrels of powder that caught from the sparks. Nothing but a lot of smoke and no fire. "Are you okay?" Anjali turned to the princess clinging tight to her.

  Rosie's green eyes were red at the edges from the smoke daring to sting something so beautiful. But she waved away the pain and nodded her head against Anjali. Glancing out at her people, the princess asked the same. "Is everyone all right?"

  "My lady!" some of them gasped, struggling to come back from their own near death experience.

  "Why did nothing happen?" another asked, seeming to want to have been blown to tiny pieces and rather sad at the limp outcome.

  "I told you it was a lie," Anjali hissed. She moved to release Rosie and chase after Tenna, but the princess kept her hands wrapped around Anjali's back. In the moment of fear where Tenna may have been right and they faced an end, she didn't even notice Rosie curled around her too.

  "Have a bit of faith," Rosamund pursed her lips and ever so slightly brushed her cheek against the bottom of Anjali's jaw. It was subtle enough by the low light no one could have noticed save the woman left gobsmacked at such a sentimental moment. Stepping away, Rosie turned to whatever she was reaching for. When she spun back, she lifted her prize, the pink hue glowing by torchlight, "And bring your blades. We're going to need them to stop Tenna."

  By the time they got inside, they found two guards left moaning. She must be in a hurry if she wasn't taking the time to kill. "There!" Anjali jabbed a finger at a dark figure racing deeper into the under-city. Tenna didn't even glance up at her, the dwarf facing a choice before her. Turn right and she'd be on the path towards the Queen, left and...

  "She's going after her siblings," Rosie cried, rising from one of the guards she attempted to staunch the bleeding for. "We must stop her."

  Why? Her taking out her brother was as much a way to get in as a warning to Anjali to stay out of it. But all she really wanted was to finish off her mother. Or was it the entire family the whole time? How far gone was the dwarf?

  "I'm on it," Anjali shouted, rising up taller and beginning to run down the steep incline.

  "As am I," the Princess' voice reverberated against the walls so fiercely, Anjali froze and spun around.

  "Sapheela, please, don't..."

  "This is my matter as much as it is yours," Rosie waved her unsheathed sword before herself, lining it up for a strike. "She did threaten my ladies in waiting."

  Anjali stared daggers at the woman -- barely taller than a bintu tree but as unmovable as a mountain. She should insist Rosamund return to her people, leave it up to the assassins, remain safe. But Tenna could weasel out somehow, come after Rosie. As long as she was with Anjali she could protect her.

  Which is all you want.

  Which is why you never left.

  "Very well, who am I to argue with royalty? Since my head is yet attached to my neck, I clearly don't have much practice." She reached up to take Rosie's hand. It was a breath before the princess slipped her fingers in with Anjali's, their palms locking tight, when the assassin tugged her down into the deep together.

  Dwarves were flinging themselves out of the way, not all of them fighters, while the mad one swung her sword with impunity. Tenna cared nothing for who was caught in the blast just so long as she got her vengeance. "There!" Rosie called, pointing towards an open door at the end of the hall. The unhooded assassin spun back a moment and caught sight of Anjali standing a long run from stopping her. She touched her blade to her head for a laugh and salute, then moved to yank back the door.

  Metal sliced through the air right above Tenna's head. She dodged just in time for someone's sword to miss decapitating her. Fingers falling off the door, Tenna vanished deeper into the room while that Knight slipped into view. Anjali's jaw dropped and she stared at Rosie.

  "I suspected she'd make a play tonight and took precautions," she explained with a shrug. "But Daryan may not be able to hold her off forever. We need to stop her now."

  Nodding quickly, and unable to hide the swell of admiration for the curvy woman beside her, Anjali took off into a long run towards the waring Knight and Assassin. By the time Anjali slid in, Daryan was trying to overwhelm Tenna by using the proper etiquette of dueling. It'd probably work on someone like
baby Knight, but there was no such thing as fighting dirty for assassins. Any move counted as long as you survived and your target died.

  "Look out," Anjali shouted, but too late as Tenna stumbled to a knee. It appeared as if she was done, her remaining brothers and sisters all huddled around the edges of the bed filled rooms and peeking down in horror at their murderous sibling. A smile lifted upon the black sheep's lips, and she lashed a rock right up into Daryan's face. It struck her nose hard, the Knight flinching and tumbling back from the blood pooling on her hand.

  "Maker take you!" Daryan cursed, when Tenna slashed through the air.

  "I do not answer to your Maker, nor any other god you choose to throw around. I am of the stone, as we all are, as we all should be!"

  Giving no shits about the rules of combat, Anjali pivoted on her foot to slide a dagger right in and disrupt Tenna's attacks. The dwarf cracked her face to the side and smiled, "Anji. So nice of you to join me. Wasn't expecting the big one here. Deep roads ain't really their style."

  "Put it down, Tenna. Step back. You're out numbered," Anjali hissed, the dwarf shrinking deeper into the room while her sword remained raised.

  "Maybe so," she nodded her head around at the dwarves who'd been attempting to sleep. Every eye narrowed at their long lost sister returned to them, every hand twitched to find a weapon. Survival came in many forms.

  "I see you brought your little princess too," Tenna tsked, "Not smart Anji."

  "Why?" she stepped closer, prepared to knock her out with her blade. Slice her hamstrings to force her into place. Anything to end this once and for all. She'd crossed countries, lost months of her life, and it all hinged on this one moment. Forget your hope that you could save her, finish it now.

  "Because," Tenna laughed and drew back her sword, but not to swing.

  Oh shit! Anjali recognized she was about to throw it the moment the blade left her fingers. She whipped her head back to find Rosamund right in its path. Leaping without thinking, Anjali dove right for Rosie's stomach. Her shoulder bashed into that soft curve she'd cupped with her palm while they pretended to sleep next to each other. A few brief moments of normalcy wrapped in bliss. A farce but a kind one. The force bashed breath from Sapheela's body, a gasp breaking as the pair shattered to the ground beside a bedpost.

  With Rosie safe in her hands, Anjali whipped her head back to try and finish off Tenna, and the dwarf wasn't where she left her. Tenna slid past the door with a smile on her face not even looking at where her sword landed. Her eyes darted over to Anjali scrabbling to get to her feet, then she winked. Which was when the entire wall exploded.

  "Fuck!" Anjali cursed, debris raining against her body, dust clogging into her already battered lungs, while she tried to curl Rosie safe under her. A ringing knocked through her ears causing all sound to vanish in an instant, but she could feel her love trying to scramble out of Anjali's tight grip.

  Rosie's face, streaked in dust and tears bobbed in Anjali's sight. Her mouth was moving but she couldn't make out any of the words -- only the unending ringing banging inside her brain. Whatever had Rosie stirred up, she kept jabbing at the door Tenna escaped through. Anjali was supposed to be listening, or understanding, probably looking, but she refused to turn from her Sapheela. It was so close, if they'd fallen backwards the doorway would have collapsed right onto Rosie, perhaps them both.

  Cupping a hand against Rosie's chalked up cheek, Anjali's lips fell slack. The touch caused the princess to stop speaking, her emerald eyes softening from the hard glare of the trap. Caring not a whit for the dwarves surrounding them, Anjali drew her tight and planted a kiss to the impassioned mouth she nearly lost. At that moment, the ringing pierced apart by voices.

  "Shit, we're trapped!"

  Anjali slid away from the beautiful princess to eye up that where once there was a door a wall now stood. "How in the blighted hell did she...?"

  "Lyrium sand," one of the dwarves explained, "must have hidden it there and knew disturbing it enough would cause a cave in."

  "It could have killed her!" Anjali thundered, struggling to rise up to her knees. "Killed us all."

  "At this point, I doubt she cares much of anything but her plan," Rosie seemed strangely calm for being locked in with no easy means of escape while the killer was on the loose.

  "She's going for her mother. We have to warn the Queen," Anjali turned to the dwarves who were famous for their digging. "Come on, don't you want to save your mother? Get that door apart!"

  A few stepped forward, their hands struggling to pry apart the rocks at the top. It was slow going and while they'd eventually be free, it gave Tenna more than enough time to finish off her mother. Probably even for her to escape. She had no intentions of sacrificing herself for her vengeance, and set this whole thing up to trap Anjali and anyone else coming for her.

  "Damn it!" Anjali punched a fist into the rocks causing them to shudder a bit but remain obstinately in the way.

  A hand landed on her shoulder and she turned to look down at Rosie. The princess with soft, pink lips smiled a moment before turning to shout, "Myra?"

  What? But that's...

  One of the blankets thrown over a bed lifted to reveal the blonde visage of the bastard daughter. Anjali stared down at Rosie in shock. She expected this? Put not only Ser Daryan in here but her mage sister as well? Maker, she was never playing chess against the princess that was for certain.

  "Yeah, yeah," Myra said, struggling to her feet. "Waiting for your word while shit exploded was really not fun, by the way. Get off, Rin!" She tried to shove away one of the dwarves left standing near the back with hands wrapped tight around a pillow in shock.

  "Can you break this?" Rosamund asked.

  Her sister paused before the workers barely making a dent in the wall. "I can break anything," she said, "trick is doing it without killing us all in the process."

  "Yes, I'd prefer to avoid dying today if it's all the same," Anjali muttered. She wasn't terrified of all magics the way some thedosians were, but Myra unnerved her. There was a power there that was uncontrolled, almost wild, and it seemed doubtful the girl barely had a handle on it most times.

  The sister stuck her tongue out a moment, her freckled cheeks puckering to emphasize her annoyance, before she turned to face the wall. No fire lifted on her fingers, for which Anjali was grateful. Their air was already low. But Myra formed a fist with her hand and ever so lightly bounced it into the rocks.

  Every breath in the room held, eyes watching as the girl barely punched the wall. When she pulled it back, Anjali glared up at her, "Was that it?"

  "Nah," Myra shook her head and the pressure of the room inverted straight towards her fist. Anjali had to grip onto the beds to keep from tumbling towards the mage's fingers as the girl made another go at punching towards the rocks. This time they exploded outward, boulders bouncing nearly a hundred feet or more down the roads.

  "That was it," the girl snickered even while she gasped in a breath and moved to shake off her power. She was about to laugh at Anjali when the room's ceiling began to crack, ready to shatter over them. "Uh, we might want to move, all of us."

  Anjali escaped first, Rosie hot on her heels. Myra remained back, guiding the dwarves she must have spent a few hours with while hiding under the covers. A few she nodded her head at as if this was all perfectly normal. It was obvious the others wanted to stay to help and make certain no one was injured in all the attacks, but there wasn't time.

  Hopping forward, Anjali reached for her dagger only to remember she dropped them both when rescuing Rosie. It didn't matter. She'd stop Tenna with her bare hands if need be. Breaking into a jog, then run, Anjali whipped past runes, statues, torches, all of it fading to a blur while she could see her prey in her mind's eye.

  "Tenna!" Anjali shouted, giving away her position. She needed to find her, fast. Rattle her.

  Turning to the right to follow the corridor, she spotted her once friend standing right outside the last door. It looked impen
etrable, bearing a golden lock nearly the size of Anjali's head which was what Tenna had her hands inside. The dwarf didn't turn away, didn't care that the assassin was advancing for her. Catch up, grab her, pull her from this madness and finally talk some sense into her.

  It could still work.

  Anjali struggled to assure herself while she watched Tenna with her tongue slightly out as she worked the lock. She looked as if they were on any regular old job, her dwarven companion perched on her knees jabbing at the tumblers while silently cursing up a storm. Anjali once found it cute, now it made her guts roil. She couldn't let her win.

  Suddenly, Tenna stood up and -- shit -- yanked open the door. Anjali was a good fifty feet away. She couldn't make it. She had to make it. If she'd brought her damn dagger she could have thrown it at the dwarf. Damn it all!

  A single ice-blue eye darted up to Anjali's steaming face, and a smile broke upon Tenna's lips. She was so close, the breath hitching in her cramping chest, she could just...

  The door slammed, Anjali's hands both banging right into it to stop her from plowing into it. No! No, no, no! She cursed herself for being slow while grabbing onto the handle and yanking with all her might. "Damn you, Tenna!" she shouted, her fists pounding into the door in the hope she might warn the Queen of the danger coming. "Don't do this! Stop before you regret it. Please!"

  Behind her, Anjali could hear footsteps struggling to catch up with her lanky run. One voice in particular caught her attention, "What's happened?"

  "We're too late," she gasped, wanting to run as far from her failure as she could. But Anjali remained rooted on the spot when Rosie gripped onto her shoulder.

  "We can still try. Someone, get this door open before your Queen perishes."

  "Ma'am," a dwarf wheezed through the dust cluttering the air. "That door can't be opened except by a key."

  Rosie turned from staring at the impenetrable door to glare at the dwarf, "Then bloody well find a way, and fast." The dwarf yelped, all of them hefting up axes and attempting to chop their way through the door.