by Alex Alcasid
“What?” Kae leaned towards Seraphis, sure that she had misheard. “Did you say a slave? And a girl?”
Seraphis’s chuckle was hollow. “Are you surprised at the relation between two women? You’re on the fence about pursuing one yourself, huntress.”
“I didn’t think that royalty — what about the line of succession? Wouldn’t you need to produce heirs?” Kae flailed her arms, confused and astounded. If Seraphis was a princess in love with a slave, then perhaps it was possible that she and Loren… Kae couldn’t hide her smile born from a little spark of hope.
“The subject of heirs is tricky, but in Sagna no one really cares.” Seraphis said. “Remember, the founder of the kingdom was a lunatic. Whatever he said, went. That was a tradition that endured all through to the current generation.”
“I understand.” Kae calmed down a little. Sagna seemed to be such a wild kingdom where the usual rules didn’t apply. Aldoran looked like a rigid monastery by comparison. “So, the slave girl?”
“Her name is Elysia. She was brought to us by a band of raiders: Hamilcar the bandit king and his men. They’re good friends of mine, and so are allied to the Sagnian crown. They brought back tribute to the Red Sisters one day, saying they had raided the Eastern Shores.”
“Eastern Shores?”
“You’ve never heard? Fair enough. Far past the capital of Sagna and Mount Volknar lie the Eastern Shores. White sand and clear, sparkling water stretch as far as the eye can see, disappearing behind the rocky hills and mountains of the north. There is a port town there that accepts trade from all around the world. From Aldoran and Kespia and wherever else. Hamilcar and his band tend not to bother the rich merchants so much, as they’ve long struck an agreement for protection against other bandits once their trade takes them inland. However, the bandits have no such agreement for the fishing villages that dot the Shores.”
Kae nodded, understanding. “They raided one of these villages?”
“Yes. It was a village with no name; they raided it for their silks, fish, women, that sort of thing. They knew of mine and my sister’s…” Seraphis paused, trying to find the right word. “Taste, I suppose. Preference. They singled out a few villagers they had captured and offered them to us.”
“What happened to them?”
Seraphis leaned back, a slight smile on her lips. Her fingers fiddled with the little braids in her hair. “The bandits had them kneel before us, in the throne room. I was standing at my queen’s side, as always, and when I saw her…” she chuckled. “She took my breath away. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She had the most perfect, beautiful, shimmering bronze skin. The instant she looked up at me with those deep, dark eyes, I knew. I knew I wanted to protect her. She shook like a leaf from fear; she had spared me only a second’s glance and refused to look to my sister entirely. Most of the time she knelt there, her eyes were to the ground and she kept her dark, wavy hair over her eyes. She tried to hide but she stood out to me all the more. My dear sister, she took the lot. She thanked the bandits for their gifts and set her new slaves to work doing menial tasks: cleaning the kennels of my hounds, working in the kitchens, nothing important. But Elysia, my Elysia…”
Kae’s eyes were wide and curious, listening to every word Seraphis said. “Did she work in the kennels?”
Seraphis shook her head. “I wouldn’t let her. She was assigned to care for my hounds, but I went to the kennels myself and told her that I didn’t want her shoveling shit all day and smelling of dog. She deserved better than that. So I asked her where she wanted to work instead, as my queen demanded that all of the slaves from the Eastern Shores be busied. She told me, in the shyest voice, that she was a healer. I took her out of the kennels and to the head healer that very second.” She chuckled again, twisting one of the small braids between her fingers. “I visited her often, I brought her gifts, I made sure her forced life within the castle was good, if not enjoyable. She did express interest in a soldier once. I backed off then, her happiness came first. But one night I found her crying, hidden in the gardens.” Seraphis trailed off, and Kae noticed her tap her knife belt. The huntress had an uncomfortable hunch about what happened to the soldier.
“In time, we grew closer. We were happy.” Seraphis continued, and her wistful smile faded. “Until my dear sister caught the two of us in bed.”
Kae’s hand flew to her mouth. “Did…Did Haedria kill her?”
Seraphis shook her head slowly. Her fingers traced the dark swirls and burns around her wrists. “Elysia is fine. But that night… The queen flew into such a rage. The stones are still scorched black from her outburst. She nearly set all the furniture on fire tearing Elysia and I apart. After that, she branded me with these, her personal magic shackles. Elysia on the other hand, was elevated in status.”
“What? But I thought she was mad?”
“I thought she was too. But she made Elysia her body slave instead. Elysia now tends to the queen’s every whim. She assists with dressing her, accompanies her everywhere, she warms her bed.” Seraphis’s grip on the handle of her knife tightened till her knuckles turned white and the leather creaked. “My dear sister never lets Elysia out of her sight. I’ve never had a second alone with her since.”
“Does she mistreat her?” Kae said in a small voice.
Seraphis turned her gaze to the huntress, and Kae saw everything she needed to know. The warrior princess’s eyes were sad and haunted, hurt too deeply for words. “My queen tends to burn anyone who displeases her.”
Kae fell into a horrified silence, and Seraphis said no more. The two sat together at the table, their appetites long gone and their food cold. A large white hound’s head nudged Kae’s side. Duro sat patiently beside the huntress, looking up and begging for food. His mouth fell open in a happy pant once he saw Kae’s hand move to her uneaten meat.
“Duro seems to like you.” Seraphis said with a small smile. “He doesn’t usually take kindly to strangers.”
“I like to think I have a way with animals.” Kae giggles and held out her hand to Duro. She held an uneaten chunk of venison, which Duro quickly snapped up. The hound took a second to lick her hand clean. “Is Duro a Beastman?”
“A Beastman? No, of course not. He’s a hound.” Seraphis was taken aback. “Why would he be a Beastman? He looks nothing like Kaiten.”
At the sound of his name, Kaiten stopped his talk with Cassendir about military siege tactics and turned to look at the girls. “Who doesn’t look like me?”
“Duro doesn’t.”
“Well….Yes he doesn’t. Obviously.”
Kae groaned impatiently. “I know he doesn’t! It’s just that Ma’trii is a Beastman too.”
The wolf’s ears perked up, and he slunk towards a corner, ashamed. Kae immediately bit her lip, regretting having mentioned it.
“A Beastman? Ah, he must be a feral.” Kaiten said matter-of-factly as he rose from his chair. The young lion approached the wolf and crouched a respectful distance away so as not to intrude on his space. He began to speak quietly to the wolf, receiving small nods in return.
“Hmm, truly? I’ve never seen a Beastman on four legs. Then again, I’ve so rarely even seen Beastmen.” Seraphis said with a shrugs.
“Do you not have visiting Beastmen in Sagna?” Kae tossed more of her venison to Duro.
“No, my dear sister abhors Beastmen. Our father, Aerius Dagan, had a leopard Beastman as his Warmaster. I grew up with him teaching me how to use the sword.”
“Really? I know Aldoran’s current Warmaster is also a Beastman. Aren’t you the new Warmaster? What happened to the old one?”
“As soon as my sister took the throne, she ordered him turned into a fur rug.”
“Oh.”
Chapter Fifteen
In time, Loren returned from her walk. Frost clung to her hair, and her face was red from the chill wind. She came into the space shivering and clutching the furs and silks closer to her, and crouched beside one of Seraphis’s braziers to wa
rm up. The red headed princess saw her and looked pointedly at Kae. She jerked her head in Loren’s direction, and went to clean up the remains of their dinner and feed both Ma’trii and her own hound.
“Princess?” Kae said, taking the hint and approaching Loren. She sat beside the Aldoran princess by the fire. “What’s on your mind?”
Loren sighed and began to slowly unwrap the silks from her neck. “I don’t know, Kae. Everything. Everything Seraphis said, about Haedria and the dragon magic.”
“Anything specific?”
Loren shook her head. Her mouth opened to say something, but shut it quickly, turned, and buried her face in Kae’s shoulder. Soft, muffled sobs and the erratic heaving of Loren’s chest alerted Kae, who, without thinking, shifted and embraced the princess. Kae held Loren close to her chest, letting her cry as the huntress stroked her hair. “It’s alright. I’m here.”
“It’s…It’s too much.” Loren managed to say between sobs. “What have I gotten myself into? I just wanted to cure my mother.”
“I know, I know. And you’re a good person for it. We can always just go back home.” Kae said softly.
Loren paused at Kae’s words, before shaking her head. She spoke into Kae’s leathers, breathing in the huntress’s scent with every halting breath. “We can’t go back now. We’re already halfway, Seraphis needs our help…”
Kae was taken aback. “Even after she killed Gattur and skinned him, kidnapped your friend, destabilized the region, you’re still going to help her?”
“You know her hands are forced, Kae. No one deserves that to happen to them. And…” Loren took in a shaking breath, attempting to steel herself. “Haedria still has the antidote. I can’t give up till I have that.”
“Stubborn and headstrong as always, my princess.” Kae said with a soft chuckle.
With her face hidden, Loren’s expression grew confused. She was certain she heard Kae correctly, but it was too early to let her heart leap. The huntress’s arms around her were comforting, and her scent and warmth were familiar. Within a few minutes of sitting beside the fire in Kae’s comforting embrace, Loren’s problems felt farther away and easier to manage. Loren’s breathing evened out and slowed, and she rested her head against her shoulder.
“Kae?” Loren muttered, drifting off to sleep.
“Yes, princess?”
“You’ll come with me right? To Sagna?”
“Of course I will, I promised you that back at the inn didn’t I?”
Loren’s eyes fluttered closed. Kae watched her and noticed for the first time how long the princess’s lashes were. “Will you come home with me?”
Kae’s heart skipped a beat. She smiled down at Loren, not even sure if she could hear her. “I will. I’ll go wherever you want me to.”
An hour later, Seraphis found the two of them huddled together by the wall, the flicking light of the flames casting dancing shadows on their faces. Kae had a slight smile on her face as she slept, and though Loren’s face was bowed and hidden, a peek of their two hands clasped together showed from under the pile of Loren’s furs. Seraphis smiled and chuckled to herself as she watched them, their breaths slow and in sync. She sadly rubbed the markings on her wrist and turned away.
“That’s how it starts.”
The next morning, Loren woke to Cassendir shaking her. His face was so closed to her’s, brows knitted in concern. “Loren! Loren, wake up.” He said, over and over.
“Cassendir? What is it? What’s wrong?” Loren said groggily, alarm rapidly waking up. She straightened up, eyes darting around the room. It was much colder than the night before, with all but a couple of the copper braziers out. Kaiten was rummaging through a rucksack, but Seraphis and Duro were gone.
“Seraphis left without a word.”
“What? Where did she go?”
“There’s only one place she would go at this point, Loren.” Kaiten said from the table. He looked up from the rucksack and sighed. “Back to Sagna. At least she left the rest of the deer for us.”
“And we’re all alive, remember that.” Cassendir chimed in. “She could have slit all out throats and have been done with it. What do we do now?”
“I say let her run off to tell her master all about us, and let’s go home.” Kaiten huffed. “Haedria might send a whole army up to finish me off after she finds out Seraphis didn’t kill me like planned. And she knows you’re here too, Loren. If we’re overrun now, that’s two heirs put to death at once. This side of the Kilrough Mountains would be easy conquest.”
“No,” Loren said, disentangling herself from the pile of furs and standing. “I trust Seraphis. I know it sounds strange, you don’t have to look at me like that Kaiten. But she waited here for a week, with you alive, to ask for help.”
“Yes, and what if she was saying things like that to appeal to your good nature, Loren? What if all this is a trap? She killed my father! She took me away and let my kingdom fall into the hands of a traitorous bull! I have not had even a second to grieve for him!” Katien shot back, baring his teeth.
Loren approached Kaiten and stood her ground. “I understand that Kaiten. My mother is dying, and the Red Sisters are to blame. That’s why I’m all the way out here. There’s nothing left to do but hope and try, Kaiten. Please.”
“Hope?” Kaiten spat the word, but Loren didn’t flinch. The edges of her irises were tinged with gold. “Those two want blood on the sands and you want me to hope? To keep faith in, what, the goodness of humanity?”
“Yes. I do. At the very least I want you to be mature as if fitting for a king.” Loren said steadily. More of her eyes took on the glittering gold. “Remember, Kaiten. You’re the king now. If you want to wage war, then by all means. But you know the power of Sagna, you’ve seen it firsthand. You know they plan to destabilize the region, possibly even shake the two of us as allies. We must band together on this in order to defeat the Red Sisters.”
“And what do you plan to do? You, without an army?” Kaiten growled. “If you walk in there, into the heart of Sagna with all their soldiers and hounds, and Haedria’s own magic, what will you do then?”
Loren’s eyes glittered in the flickering firelight from the braziers. The air seemed to grow hotter. “I will do what I must, when the need and opportunity arises. We cannot afford to waste time on reinforcements.”
Kaiten was silent. He glared long and hard at his friend, a growl rising in his throat. His sharp amber eyes remained locked on Loren’s dragon gold ones while behind her, Kae rose and stretched. The huntress yawned loudly, seemingly oblivious to the tension in the air.
“Good morning, Kae.” Cassendir muttered dryly. His eyes darted between the two young royals. Violence between them could erupt at any moment and here was Kae, yawning.
“Morning Cassendir.” Kae said, running a hand through her hair. She stooped and scooped up the furs she and Loren were wearing and went to get her pack. “I don’t know what you two are arguing about. Seems all the same to me.”
“Kae…” Loren started, breaking eye contact with Kaiten.
“I know, I know, you’re going to say this isn’t the right time.” Kae chuckled as she wrapped some furs around herself and slung her pack over her shoulder. Ma’trii took up position beside her, head tilted and confused. “But like I said, its all the same and pretty simple.”
“What are you on about?” Kaiten demanded.
“We can’t get anything done while we’re up here in the middle of nowhere, freezing our asses off.” Kae explained. She busied herself with putting on her knife belt and checking the arrows in her quiver. “Loren, if Kaiten doesn’t want to cooperate, lets just go.”
“Just go?” Loren repeated. Kae handed her some furs which she hesitantly wrapped around herself.
“Sure. If he doesn’t want to come with us, he can go back to Rhodia by himself.” The huntress glanced at Kaiten and smirked. “The fastest path is through the Plaguelands, just so you know.”
Loren caught on, nodding. Sh
e picked up her pack, checking if she had left anything else behind. “You know what, you’re right Kae. We’re wasting time. If we leave now, Ma’trii might be able to pick up Seraphis’s trail and find us a safe path out of the north and to the other edge of the Kilrough Mountains. Cassendir, could you light some torches?”
The three of them worked quickly to pack up their meager camp, with Kaiten flustered and sputtering in protest. Bags were packed and the remains of the deer were divided among the three of them. Ma’trii helped with the traveling preparations by retrieving any small items that had been left on the table or floors.
“Hey!” Kaiten said eventually. “You can’t just leave me here!”
“Well, you don’t want to come with us to Sagna, right? It will take too long if we go back through the Plaguelands to bring you to Rhodia, and honestly I’m never going back there again.” Kae said with a smile. “You’re perfectly free to travel back to your kingdom, your highness.” Beside her, Ma’trii snickered.
“Gods above, Ma’trii. Not you too.” Kaiten sighed, defeated. “Fine!”
“Fine what?”
“Fine, I’ll go with you. At least past the north and as close to the nearest Beastman garrison as possible. There should be one stationed at Hardwick, the city on the far side of the Imperial Highway.” Kaiten said.
Kae looked to Loren, who simply shrugged. “If we’re going to Sagna, we would have to pass through Hardwick anyway, then take the eastern side of the Imperial Highway towards Mount Volknar. Or go off the beaten path and risk running into the bandits that Seraphis mentioned. It would be faster, but certainly more dangerous.” Loren looked to Kaiten and smiled. The gold was gone from her eyes as she calmed down. “You are very welcome to join us for now.”
