“Hey! Get off that statue.” The Queen shook her fist in the direction of courtyard. Several children hung off a statue of a man wearing a loincloth, wrapped in a lion’s skin, and holding a sword high.
The children giggled and scattered as soon as they heard the Queen’s voice. The Queen didn’t chase after them, but she shook her head. Layla offered her a half smile.
“They didn’t damage it,” Layla said.
“They should have more respect for the Amir. Didn’t their parents teach them anything?”
“I think they do it just for your attention. They know when you spot them, you’ll yell,” Layla said.
A devilish glint danced in the Queen’s eyes. “Oh, really? I guess that easily explains the both of you.”
Layla grunted and shoved the laughing Queen. They continued walking. Nakia looked back long enough to see the children returning to the courtyard and that they didn’t return to the statue.
The trio descended to lower levels of the palace where there were no windows and the heat of the day was left behind, as if they were falling away from the world itself. They didn’t stop until they were in the belly of the palace, but it felt like the Netherworld. Nakia wrapped her arms around herself as sunlight faded and was replaced by the glow of luminescent fish. At the top and bottom of the walls were glimmering fish, swimming a long, narrow aquarium running the length of the wall and illuminating the long corridor. In her country, glowing insects or simple fire lit dark rooms. She had never seen fish do this, never heard of fish doing this. Is this devils’ magic?
She suspected the barbarians had demon magic. But, she didn’t believe it was in the fish. It was somewhere. There were too many things off with these people for demons not to be at play.
“All right, Princess, I hope you’re ready for your daily beat down.” A predatory grin oozed onto the Queen’s face as they stepped into an empty hall. There was no furniture and the walls were barren. The floor was covered in sand.
Nakia pressed herself against the wall, as if trying to meld with it. She wasn’t sure what to expect. If the sisters planned to do something to her, no one would know. They were practically in another world. Not that it mattered, considering the Queen could have done whatever she wanted above ground. Still, Nakia tried to stay out of the way.
The Queen and Layla went to the middle of the room. Their eyes locked and suddenly the air was charged, popping with energy. Nakia’s hair frizzed a little and electricity from around the room danced down her skin. She could feel power radiating from the sisters. It seemed they could bring it down by staring at each other. They tossed off their outer robes, gems and jewels jingling as they hit the floor. Nakia thought the room rumbled as the cloth landed in a heap and her nerves twitched as the noise echoed off the bare walls.
“I don’t know about these delusions you’re always having, sister.” Layla snickered as she plucked off her rings. She pulled strips of cloth from behind her back and wrapped them around her hands.
“Oh, really? Don’t you know the light cuts through the dark?” the Queen said as she slid the many bangles off her wrists. Plucking off her diadem, which looked like golden feathers dotted with sapphires, she spun it on her finger before casting it aside as if it were meaningless.
“Last I checked, darkness banishes the light.” Layla took off earrings.
The Queen chortled. “I’m sorry, but have you ever noticed a shadow in the presence of the sun?”
Layla sneered. “You’re not the sun.”
“No, I’m worse.”
Layla gasped. “Blasphemy!” She giggled.
“I think my father will forgive me. He always told me shoot for the stars and burn the sky while I was at it.”
“Burn the sky, really?” Layla scoffed and hid her face in her palm briefly.
“I get it done while you hide in the shadows. After all, which one of us cuts the sky?”
“Blah, blah, blah.” Layla made mocking hand movements.
The sisters stripped down to their undergarments, a band of cloth across their breasts and small loincloths around their hips. Their muscular arms and torsos were covered in tattoos. Nakia balked at the idea of women having tattoos, but seeing the size of their muscles made her think they might not be women. Maybe these barbarians were demons.
“When is that spouse of yours expecting you back?” the Queen asked.
Layla rolled her head. “We agreed to have evening meal together.”
The Queen’s eyes danced with demonic mirth. “Yeah, well, I hope he expects you with bruises.”
Layla snorted. “You’re just lucky Adira’s free now, so the kingdom won’t go under while you’re in bed for days thanks to me.”
Nakia didn’t understand what was happening. It looked like the sisters—a Queen and a Princess—were about to fight. This made no sense since they were royalty and women—two reasons why they should never be near a battle, yet they went to war. Why fight each other? The whole thing made even less sense when the two ran at each other, making tight fists like this was a true battle.
And, then, they were fighting. Going after each other as if they were bitter enemies, as if the only way out of the room was to take off the other’s head. Nakia’s heartbeat increased and she tried to press herself closer to the wall, not sure what to expect. Why did the Queen tell me to come? If these sisters, who seemed so close upstairs, might kill each other down here, what would the survivor do to me?
Nakia’s eyes could hardly follow the movements of their bodies, the punches, kicks, dips, and dodges. She had never seen anything like it. It was almost like a dance, until one of them struck the other and knocked her back. The sound of the blows, a sickening crunch or an obscene slam, echoed through the room. Nakia flinched with each sound and her stomach twisted. The fight went on and on. Nakia’s legs grew weak and she slid to the floor, back still against the wall. It was hard to breathe, the air hot and heavy, choking her.
Every now and then, they stopped fighting, as if stopping was scheduled for that moment. They went to the fountain in the corner to drink water and pour it on themselves, and then they went back to their battle. They didn’t look in Nakia’s direction and she was glad. The lack of attention didn’t make it any easier to breathe. Her heart rate never settled.
It seemed like a fight between beasts, predators fighting for territory, monsters fighting for everything. The occasional battle cry seemed like a roar and made her flinch each time. She didn’t see an end in sight and wasn’t sure how much time passed before they finally began to tire.
“Good thing…good thing…we’re only here for the winter. You need the practice.” The Queen panted, hunched over with her arms barely up. Her body was soaked with sweat, making her muscles gleam in the artificial light.
Layla let out a long breath. Her body bent awkwardly to the right and she looked like she was about to fall over rather than attack again. “Please…you’d be…you’d be fat and drunk by summer if it wasn’t for me.”
The Queen laughed, but it sounded like coughing. “I’ve got Adira. She does everything you do.”
Layla let loose a loud wheeze that could have been a snort. “Yeah, but she isn’t you.”
The Queen wiped sweat dripping from her forehead. “Bath?”
Layla inhaled deeply, arching her back. “Probably need to get home. I do have a spouse to eat dinner with.”
The Queen rolled her eyes. “And yet you claim to be me. I’d never abandon you for a spouse.”
“Maybe because you’d never be able to keep a spouse. You’d have to marry a rabid possum filled with the most toxic magic and possessed by the darkest gods to survive a marriage.”
The Queen grunted and turned to Nakia. “Well, to the bath with us.” She threw a hand up for dramatic flair.
Nakia wasn’t sure what that meant. Are baths the same here? Why would she need me? The Queen had relinquished her duties to the tired General, so she and her sister could attempt to destroy each other.
None of this was expected. What could happen in the baths? She almost asked, but closed her mouth just in time, certain she would dislike the response.
The Queen and Layla redressed, putting on everything except their jewelry. They punched each other in the shoulder before leaving through doors at opposite ends of the room. Nakia followed the Queen. They wandered through a corridor with battle scenes on the walls. The air became thick and moist. Sweet smells from incense wafted to her nose. They came to a room with a bath the size of a small pond.
The Queen stripped off her clothing once more and left her jewelry with the discarded outfit. Servants rushed in and collected her things. One stayed and kneeled by a low platform the Queen eased down on. The servant scrubbed the Queen, rubbed her down with oil, and massaged her muscles. Her body was covered in scars and tattoos, but the servant didn’t pause at any of them.
How is this normal for them? Women shouldn’t have scars and tattoos and fight. How can they not understand that?
Once the servant was done, the Queen jumped into the water. “Oh, yeah.” The Queen sighed and turned to Nakia. “Do you swim?”
Nakia blinked. “Swim?”
“Yeah. It’s rare to find people that do. Do you?”
Nakia shook her head. There was no need to know how to swim, or so she was told. She had never been in water past her waist. She watched the Queen of these barbarians move around the water like she was a fish. Obviously, someone thought the Queen needed to know. Her sister probably knew as well.
“There’s a shallow end.” The Queen nodded to the end of the pool where Nakia stood. “They have baths where you’re from, yes?”
Nakia nodded, moving to put her feet in the water. Gasping, she immediately yanked her feet out. The Queen snickered and Nakia glared at her.
“I like the heat. So, they have baths, but you don’t swim. I don’t understand that,” the Queen said.
She acts like I’m the backwards one. “Our baths aren’t very deep.”
The Queen hummed and dived under the water. She came back up and floated on her back, her breasts just above the water like two islands. The Queen’s eyes locked on the concave ceiling, which sparkled and reflected the waves of the bath. The room seemed to ripple because of it. It was an interesting effect.
“That wouldn’t be much fun,” the Queen muttered. “Your people seem dull. Do you spar?”
“Spar?” The word was foreign to Nakia’s tongue.
“What me and Princess just did.”
Nakia snorted. “Dance around and try to kill each other? Not likely. We have grander pursuits. Studying the skies, producing plays and poetry, advancing medicine and mechanics.” Not that she expected a barbarian to grasp concepts of astrology, art, or technology.
“And what do you know of mechanics?”
Nakia lifted her chin at the challenge. “I know we have great engineers in my homeland. There are great thinkers everywhere. Our libraries overflow with evidence of their minds. What do you have like that?”
The Queen hummed again and went underwater for a long time. For a moment, Nakia thought the Queen drowned and she might be able to go home. The water even settled, but then the Queen broke the surface and regarded Nakia with a tilt of her head.
“Maybe…” The Queen didn’t complete that thought or maybe she didn’t have a response to Nakia’s statement. She probably didn’t know what Nakia meant by any of academics Nakia listed.
There was silence except for the swishing of the water as the Queen swam. Time went by, but eventually servants came to fetch the Queen for the night meal. Nakia was expected to pour wine once again, which she did, and then she was dismissed, free to return to her rooms.
Why had the Queen dragged me along for the sparring with her sister? Why drag me to the bath? None of it made sense and she couldn’t piece any of it together once she was alone in her room. The more she reviewed the day, the less sense it made.
“I don’t understand,” she muttered to the air. Is the Queen toying with me? Purposely trying to confuse me? She didn’t have much time to think about it. Just as her body alerted her to hunger that had been there all day, there was a knock at her door.
Nakia’s meal was delivered to her right on time. The spread wasn’t as impressive as for the Queen, but there were some foods Nakia recognized, things she could eat without forcing it down. Who bothered to ensure I have food I know? Like many of her other questions of the day, she didn’t have any answers. She didn’t ponder it, just enjoying the small comfort.
***
Another day and more administrative work that Ashni wished to avoid. She had help now, so things would go faster and she’d be able to do some fun things during the day.
“We have a problem,” Adira announced, holding up a paper for Ashni to see. It was hard to do since Ashni was on the throne and Adira was ten feet away from her, sitting at the foot of the dais.
“My eyes are good, but not that good. Care to read it to me, General?” Ashni raised her cup, signaling for Nakia to pour her more wine. Nakia did so immediately and Ashni smiled to herself. It didn’t take long to train her.
Adira grumbled under her breath, but waved the document around some. A servant came over, took the paper, and delivered it to Ashni as Ashni rolled her eyes.
Ashni snorted. “Is everyone around here lazy in the winter? Next thing I know, you and Princess will start hibernating.”
Adira gave her a flat look. “Really? You’re questioning my work ethic? You, the person who has abandoned work for the past week to play with her sister and left the kingdom to me?”
“Blah, blah, blah.” Ashni read the document. A scowl sliced its way across her face and an ungodly noise ripped its way from her throat. “Call in the eighth feathered squad right now!”
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Nakia jump. She realized Nakia had never heard her raise her voice. She’s not important. She turned her attention back to the document. She was going to have to kill at least one person by tomorrow. Nakia probably had never seen that before, either. Well, time for her to see other aspects of Ashni’s personality.
“You don’t want the captain in here as well?” Adira asked.
“After I get the full story from the eighth. Then, I’m shoving the Ivory Claw in his belly,” Ashni replied, smacking the pillow underneath her. Nakia jumped again.
Things calmed down as Ashni waited for the group to arrive. When the eighth squad filtered into the throne room, she stared down at them while Adira stood off to the side. Adira shoved the top ranked member of the squad to the front.
“Tell her,” Adira barked, motioning to Ashni.
Ashni glowered down at them. “Is it true? Have none of you received a share of this year’s campaign?”
The soldiers looked at each other, but the one Adira pushed forward spoke. He looked directly at Ashni with a solid gaze. “None, Highness.”
“Why did you wait so long to report this?” Ashni wanted to groan, but controlled herself. It wouldn’t do to lose herself in front of people who had to follow her into battle in a few months.
“It was reported earlier, Highness, but…”
Ashni sighed. “The correspondence went to the Regent instead of me.” This was a huge screw up in communications. Something this stupid could give her a headache when she had the time to think about it.
“Yes, Highness.”
“Of course. This is perfect. Just perfect.” Ashni pinched the bridge of her nose. “Okay…” She turned to Adira. “We need the books and we need this bastard right now. If not sooner.”
Within minutes, the captain was before her, but in Ashni’s opinion even that took too long. He dared to march in with his head held high and he was in full uniform. His yellow cape fluttered behind him, calling her to strip him of all this ornamentation.
“Highness,” he greeted her with a raised fist.
A sneer refused to leave her face and she was tempted to storm off the throne, get in his face, and ru
in him. But, there would be time for that later. For now, business. She would have to do this right, as she didn’t want his family later claiming he was the one who was wronged and dishonored.
“Captain Pavit, your squad claims that they haven’t received payment or shares from this year’s campaign. What happened?” Ashni inquired. What happened was this Captain got fancy new boots, a new horse, and was probably buying new slaves and adding to his manor house with money that was supposed to pay her soldiers. She wanted to feel his blood on her hands.
Pavit simpered at her. This bastard thought he could charm his way out of this. She hated him even more and was tempted to throw one of her hidden knives at him. She took a calming breath and focused on him with an overly sweet smile. We will have justice soon enough.
“Your Highness, I assure you, everything was divided properly. I think my squad is just bothered by the fact that we got such a small share compared to others,” he said. He lied to her. To her face yet.
“Really? Because I’ve got this inventory…” She held up the paper. “Looks pretty close to what everyone else got.” She made sure everyone understood how booty was divided so that everything was as fair as possible. Of course, humans were greedy creatures, no matter what. She tended to bet her troops were greedy for honor and glory, but over the years, a few surprised her.
He flinched. It was small, but enough for her. “Forgive me, Highness. I assumed others received more as the haul is usually so much larger. Either way, my troops received their share.”
“But, not according to this…” She held up another document with the list of things the soldiers all claimed to receive. There were many missing items and she was willing to bet he had them.
His throat moved as he swallowed hard. “They’re lying.”
Warrior Class - Sky Cutter Page 8
