Fight for the Crown

by Emilie MacCauley

  “Roe?” Lola snaps her fingers.

  “What?” Rowan is thrust back into reality. They all look at her like they’re waiting for her to answer a question, but clearly she wasn’t paying any attention to a single word said.

  “I said,” Solana sighs hating to repeat herself, “It looks like you got no sleep last night. I have a potion you can take that’ll give you energy for the day. You’ll need it if you’re working with Madame Tallulah.”

  “Oh, uh, yeah. That’d be great, thanks,” she picks at her food.

  Shadow is one of the first done with breakfast. He stands to throw out his tray and Rowan joins him even though she isn’t even halfway done. She discards her tray anyways and follows him outside of the tent. Shadow turns to face her knowing she has something to say.

  “Mikah,” she says slowly while she announciates each syllable clearly for him to read.

  “Where did you hear that?” He narrows his eyes.

  “In one of my father’s journals. So, is it true?”

  He exhales. “Yes.”

  “How come you’ve never told anybody? Why go by Shadow?”

  “It’s a long story, Roe,” he rubs at his forehead. “It wasn’t safe to go by our names. My family was highly sought after by Syro’s army after King Bren’s death.”

  “I don’t understand,” she frowns.

  “My father was the general. He was powerful, he was your father’s right hand and Syro wanted all of King Bren’s loyalists dead—to prevent an uprising. My father started Cirvka to make sure everyone who lived in that castle, and would die for King Bren, would have a place to stay. He went by the nickname, The Overseer,” he slumps his shoulders and takes another deep breath, “My name, Mikah, was known as The Sorching King’s godson. There were all types of rumors at that time, too.”

  “Like what?”

  “That since he had no heir—not a lot of people knew Queen Etna was pregnant—that he was going to name me his heir and leave me the throne. There was a bounty on my head for a long time. Can you believe it? King Syro was scared of a two-year-old boy who might have been the heir. He wanted me dead so I wouldn’t grow up with a taste for vengeance.”

  Rowan can’t help but think vengeance might still be on his mind anyways.

  “Can I ask you something else?”

  “Why do I feel like you’re still going to ask even if I say no?”

  “What happened to your sister?” She doesn’t meet his eyes as she asks.

  “She’s still alive, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

  “She is? Well, why haven’t I seen her around?” She stammers.

  “Because she hasn’t moved in the past fifteen years.” She gives him a confused look. He shakes his head fighting with himself whether to tell her or not. “My mother died two years after Melani was born. My father became obsessed with keeping her safe. Unlike me, Melani has only known Cirvka—born and raised here. He didn’t want to risk anything happening to her so he kept her in a secret underground tunnel beneath the camp. Locked away.”

  “And she’s still there?” She gulps.

  Shadow nods and she opens her mouth in disbelief. “She doesn’t know anything but that cage he put her in. I can only visit at certain times...that’s where I was for those four days. Visiting her.”

  “We can’t let this happen!” She says outraged. How could he put his own daughter in a cage? More importantly, how long is he planning to keep her down there?

  “I know. You think I like seeing her down there? I’m powerless. She’s chained by magic and locked with a special key my father wears around his neck.”

  “I’ll get the key,” she nods her head accepting the challenge.

  He grabs her wrists and shakes his head. “No, it’s too dangerous and stupid. It’s around his neck, if he catches you—which he will—he’ll put you down there with her. I’m begging you, Roe, leave this alone and let me handle it.”

  She wants to fight him on this, but she groans and promises she won’t do anything foolish. The promise to him meant nothing as she walks past him and heads over to the headquarters building. She is supposed to meet with Madame Tallulah today, but since The Overseer seems to be pleasant company when she is around, maybe it’ll be her lucky day.

  Her entire life she has felt like she was locked away. Stuck in a rut; waking up in her bedroom, leaving only for meals, going back to her bedroom. Sleep. Repeat. She can’t imagine what it must be like to be in a cell, hardly anyone visits, no sunlight, no freedom, just the same room everyday.

  The Overseer is in his office when she arrives, she knocks politely and in a deep gruff voice he bellow, “Come in.” His annoyed expression quickly turns into an amicable smile. “Rowan, what are you doing here?”

  “I read the journals last night and I couldn’t stop thinking about them. I’ve learned so much about them—so much about you.”

  “I’m glad. It’s a shame that you didn’t get to know them like I did.”

  She walks over and stands beside him. He turns in his chair to face her staring up with confusion. “It’s just, I’ve never felt so close to him and I have you to thank for that. Not to mention you’ve given me a family—you’re my godfather. Do you think I could have a hug?”

  The Overseer stands, she barely comes up to his shoulders. She stands on her tippy-goes wrapping her arms around his neck as he wraps his strong arms around her tiny waist. With a little more pressure he could break her in half.

  Her fingers splay out across his neck searching for a necklace chain, but there’s nothing. Either Shadow lied or he’s not wearing it.

  They pull back from the hug. “Thank you for that. Oh, by the way I saw Blade outside in the hallway he was talking to Knot about jumping over the fence again. Should we be worried?”

  “What?” He growls and storms out the door.

  She doesn’t have time to feel sorry for whatever consequence Blade and Knot will be facing. She digs through his drawers quickly not finding a single necklace with a key attached or a key in general. Striding over to the wooden cabinet, she opens the double doors revealing a series of black coats hung. She pushes them around and checks the pockets until she hears something fall and ping against the hard tiled ground.

  The key.

  She puts it in her pocket and quickly shuts the cabinet before sitting in a seat across from his desk. She crosses her legs and waits patiently for The Overseer’s return. Her breathing is erratic from rushing to find the key and also from the adrenaline of snooping and lying.

  “I don’t know where those idiots went, but if they pull a stunt like that I will—” he stops and calms himself down. He walks back over to his chair sitting across from her forcing a smile on his face as he runs his fingers through his greasy hair.

  “I’m sure Shadow will take care of it.”

  “He better. I don’t know how many times the three of them have gotten themselves into trouble over the stupidest things,” he pinches the bridge of his nose.

  “It’s getting late, I have training with Madame Tallulah. I just wanted to stop by to say thank you again for the journals,” she stands brushing her sweaty palms on her pants.

  “Anything you need, Rowan, you can always come to me.”

  She smiles before nodding her head and exiting his office. Her heart is beating so fast as she sprints out of the building and races to find Shadow. If all works as planned they could free her tonight.

  Lunch is starting at the dining tent and she knows she’ll find Shadow there. Racing in, she grabs the key out of her pocket and clutches it in her hand. Sitting next to him he raises an eyebrow at her smirking face and ignores it while he stabs a piece of his food. She grabs his hand forcing him to drop his eating utensils and places the key in the middle of his palm.

  “What in Hellias’ name is this?” He hisses lowly.

  “I think you know what it is,” she squeals happily.

  “Rowan!” He never called her by her full name before. It�
��s always been Roe—that’s her identity at Cirvka. “How did you get this?”

  “It was in his cabinet.”

  His eyes begin to widen. “And you took it? You do realize he’s probably looking for it right now. He’ll know you did it and there is nothing I can do to protect you.”

  “I don’t need your protection,” she puts her hands on her hips. “We have the key, now we go save your sister.”

  He rubs his face harshly with his hands. “It is not that simple,” his index fingers circle around his temples as though he has a headache.

  “Why not? We have the key.”

  “What do we do when we open the cage? We can’t exactly hide her here,” he pulls her close and whispers lowly, “He has eyes everywhere.”

  Shivers run down her spine. The thought of being watched while not knowing is a harrowing yet familiar feeling. She always felt like she was being watched at the castle, and no doubt there are still eyes on her here.

  “Don’t you want to save your sister?” She says sadly.

  “More than anything,” he gets defensive. “You just don’t understand the whole story. You don’t understand what’s at stake.”

  “Then tell me!” She begs. “Let me in! Open up to me, Shadow. When have I ever led you to believe I am untrustworthy. We are friends.”

  “You have no idea, Roe. This isn’t about you, this has nothing to do with our friendship or whether I trust you or not. It has to do with me and my sister,” he stands and turns away leaving his tray of food untouched.

  Lola, Solana, Pepper, and Lottie show up with trays sitting in their usual seats. Pepper is distracted as she looks behind her and asks, “Was that Shadow marching out of here all mad?”

  “Yes,” she sighs and starts picking food off of Solana’s tray.

  “Why?” Pepper asks.

  “Does this have something to do with the reason why you skipped lessons with Madame Tallulah? Where were you?”

  “I just needed a break,” she waves it off. Despite wanting to tell them about Shadow’s sister and the key, she doesn’t feel it’s appropriate. It’s not her place to talk about Shadow’s personal life when he’s already so private.

  “That doesn’t explain why Shadow is mad,” Solana slaps my hand as she reaches for another piece of food. “Get your own tray,” she hisses.

  “I don’t know why Shadow’s mad. Maybe it’s just his face?”

  “Believable,” Lola nods. “But I still think something’s up. You’re acting weird.”

  “No I’m not!” She slams her hands on the table.

  “Definitely acting weird,” Lottie nods in agreement.

  She isn’t going to win this argument, so she lets them have their laughs and tease her for a while longer. Eventually, the subject changes and they slowly forgot about how weird she’s acting or how mad Shadow seemed. Her mind drifts to images of his poor sister alone and cold, locked in a cell. She hopes he will come around and realize trying to break his sister free is better than doing nothing at all.

  All her life she wished for someone to whisk her away like from all the books she’s read. Now that she’s free, she can’t stand hearing of someone else suffering like she did. She’s almost certain his sister dreams of the same things—freedom.

  They have to at least try.

  * * *

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  It’s the middle of the night when Rowan feels something slowly curl around her forearm. She brushes it off thinking it’s a piece of hair tickling her, but it gets tighter around her. Just when she starts to panic a hand covers her mouth. She inhales the familiar scent of mint and recognizes the swirling mist around her arms as Shadow’s shadows.

  He guides them stealthily out of her tent. When he finally lets go of her mouth, she hisses, “What are you doing?”

  “Let’s go get my sister,” he says determined. “Do you have the key?”

  She reaches down her night shirt to pull out the key. She decided to wear it around her neck so it wouldn’t get lost, and to make sure her tent-mates wouldn’t find it and ask questions.

  “Good,” he nods his head. “Follow me and be absolutely quiet.”

  They sneak away from her tent and towards the restricted area of Cirvka. Shadow has his shadows covering both of them so they can blend in with the night atmosphere. Their footsteps are silent as they creep closer to the headquarters building. They enter the building, both careful to not make any noise. Down the dark corridor the last door on the left has four different locks. He wraps his arms around her and in the blink of an eye they’re on the other side of the door. It’s pitch black, neither of them can see what is in front of their faces.

  He is dizzy and weak for a moment, putting his hands on his knees to catch his breath. She goes to ask him if he’s okay, but opts for reaching into the darkness and rubbing his back. That way he knows that she’s there and will stop if he needs a break.

  “I’m fine,” he exhales. His breathing sounds erratic. “This is where you come in,” she hears him grab something. “I have a lantern in my hand, I need you to light it.”

  She takes a deep breath and with the snap of her fingers a tiny flame sits on her fingertips like a candle. She touches her flaming finger to the lantern, lighting it and revealing a cobblestone spiral staircase that seems endless. There are cobwebs everywhere and the silence is almost deafening to her ears.

  “Come on,” Shadow descends down the staircase with the lantern leading the way down.

  She grabs onto the back of his shirt feeling nervous. He looks over his shoulder and gives her a small smile in appreciation. He holds his free hand out for her to hold on to. Gladly, she interlocks her fingers with his.

  Minutes pass before they reach the last step but to both of them it feels like hours. At the bottom there is another long, dark corridor. Shadow holds up the lantern, the light doesn’t even reach the end of the corridor. She stays close behind him as he starts walking. They stop midway down the hallway. To the left there is a tiny cage, built like a dungeon with bars and a locked door. The tiny, frail girl inside has chains around her legs that are attached to the stone wall.

  She looks up into the light, her eyes squinted. Instinctively, she puts her hand in front of her eyes to shield the too-bright light. “Mikah?” Her voice rings with innocence and is laced with a hint of fear.

  Shadow puts down the lantern and kneels on the cold dirt ground. “I’m here, Melani.”

  “Is it time for your visit already? I missed you,” she crawls to the bar and reaches out for him. He grabs his sister’s hand and holds it tight.

  “We’re here to help you.”

  Melani looks up at Rowan and crawls back to the wall. “Who is she?” She draws her legs up to her body and buries her face in her knees.

  “It’s okay, Mel. She is a friend. Don’t you know I won’t let anyone hurt you?”

  Melani nods her head.

  He looks up at Rowan and she knows what he wants—the key. She takes it off from around her neck and places it in his hand. He stands anxiously and unlocks the door. It opens and he uses the same key to unlock her chains.

  “Mikah…” She says warily. The chains fall from her ankles. The skin there is red and bruised.

  “Don’t worry,” he calms her and picks her up.

  “Mikah, you can’t do this. Dad will be angry! He’ll punish you,” she starts to cry and fight in her brother’s grip.

  “I don’t care anymore Mel, I hate seeing you down here.”

  “No!” She starts to scream as soon as he walks through the threshold officially releasing her from her prison. She buries her head in the crook of Shadow’s neck.

  “She doesn’t remember the outside world,” he whispers to Rowan. She realizes that if all she knew was this cage, she too would be scared of the unfamiliar outside world. “Grab the lantern,” he instructs Rowan and this time she leads the way up the stairs as he carries his trembling sister.

  “I need you to be as quiet as
possible for me. Can you do that, Mel?” he asks.

  “Yes,” Mel says with her head still plastered in his chest.

  Rowan turns around to nod her head at Shadow who didn’t hear his sister’s response. He nods his head back and they continue.

  At first this seemed like a good idea for Rowan, but now her stomach is twisting with thoughts of their consequences. Shadow is right, she doesn’t know the whole story and now she’s scared about what will come next. Would The Overseer put all three of them in the cells where no one would ever find them?

  Would he even go as far as to kill them?

  She starts worrying about how they never came up with a plan of what to do after they freed her. Where would she stay and how long before someone finds out she’s missing from her cell?

  When they reach the top of the stairs, he grabs the lantern and blows it out. Blinding darkness fills their eyes again until shadows curl around her and he winnows the three of them on the other side of the door.

  Her heart rate accelerates with the thought of getting caught. She remembers that Knot said The Overseer lives in this building. If he came out into this hallway, he’d see them all and surely punish them on the spot.

  Shadow leads them outside and puts distance between them and the headquarters. When it’s safe enough to talk and come up with a plan, he starts to put his sister down. She opens her wide blue eyes and shrieks at the sight of the green grass below her. She scrambles for her brother practically jumping into his arms.

  “Shh, it’s alright. It won’t hurt you. Nothing will hurt you,” he starts to gently set her down again and she lets him.

  Melani is similar to her brother in many ways, it’s not hard to tell that they are siblings with their monolid eyes and dark hair. Her hair is just as long as the dirty cream colored nightgown that touches her mid calf. Unlike Shadow’s wavy hair, hers is in tight spiral curls. Her skin is ghastly white from lack of sun which is unlike the tanned color of both her father and brother’s skin tone. She’s incredibly skinny, her legs wobble like they don’t have enough strength to hold her up. The metal collar around her neck looks loose around her too slender neck. Rowan also notices her collar bone sticking out prominently. She’s sure her ribs are sticking out beneath her nightgown, too. It’s clear she is starving and malnourished.