by Bri Sailor
He flicked a small square piece of fabric that hung from Ky’s shoulder. She glanced down at the small blue square and looked back up at the man.
“Uhh…” was all she was able to get out.
The higher-ranking soldier grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and shoved her out the door.
“I am so sick of you useless new recruits!” griped the soldier. “If they don’t start training you lot better…bunch of gutless whelps. I’ll be damned if my men act anything like those disgraceful Black Army swine against the Aznurro.”
Ky stumbled a bit and forced herself not to retaliate. Her ears perked at the mention of the Aznurro. The soldier gave her a kick and pointed towards another building.
“Let’s see what the captain has to say about you abandoning your post.”
The warrior hung her head, pretending to be ashamed, and obeyed the guard. The officers’ quarters looked more like a storage barn than anything else. Inside, each of the officers had their own small private room. In the center was a large open room with a large table that had a scale model of the entire city on top of it. An officer wearing a purple silk shirt with a yellow sash was bent over the table and staring intently at some papers in front of him. The guard gave Ky a shove towards the table.
“Captain,” said the officer arrogantly, “We have a deserter on our hands.”
Ky glared at him. “I’m no—’’
The captain didn’t even look up from his work. “I told you not to bother me with such trivial matters. Just throw her in with the rest of the cowards. Sooner or later they will all stand trial…maybe…”
The others didn’t see Ky’s eyes light up.
“The dungeon?” she forced herself to squeak meekly.
The escorting officer grabbed the scruff of her neck again.
“Ha!” he grunted. “You’ll wish you were there once we’re done with you. An example needs to be made of you traitors.”
Ky tensed up and stood her ground, refusing to move.
“While I have done no such thing, it sounds like you have a bit of an epidemic on your hands.” The cocky tone of her voice angered the officers. “Maybe if you actually knew how to run an army instead of licking Horgath’s boots.”
The officer was beside himself. “How dare you!”
The captain looked up from his work and stared Ky down.
“Bold words from someone who isn’t good enough to lick the heel of my boot.” He said through clenched teeth. He eyed her for a moment. His brow furrowed.
“Do I know you, soldier?” he asked.
Ky, with superior confidence, looked him up and down. She didn’t remember him in the least. He stepped closer. He stared into her gray eyes. Suddenly his eyes widened with recognition.
“General?”
The warrior reacted in a split second. She whirled around and landed a solid punch in the officer’s face. As the man reeled from the hit, she pulled the sword from his belt. Before the captain could blink the tip of the sword was at his neck. Ky held her stance as the cold steel of the captain’s sword was pressed against her neck as well. The other officer had stumbled back in a daze and collapsed.
The captain sneered. “I thought I’d heard that you dared to enter the city. You seem to be a glutton for punishment. Wasn’t it enough that you nearly lost your life fighting with the Aznurro? What about when you buried your own men? I count myself lucky that I got out from under your command when I did. I’m surprised Lusha didn’t have you executed then. Do you even remember me?”
Ky’s eyes flashed red at the mention of the witch. She smiled evilly.
“Well I’m glad that at least one of you pathetic fools have finally shown your true allegiance. I had had my suspicions for a time about the loyalty amongst my officers.” She looked him over with disgust. “Obviously you made such an impression on myself that I forgot you so easily. Another nobody desperately clamoring for glory without wanting to do the work yourself. My guess is that your family status is what landed you this soft ‘captain’ position. Most likely a vacancy that warranted the only prerequisite of being a warm body. I was promised my command back. Tell me, captain, what did she promise you? Riches? A promotion?”
“Neither.” He spat. “I just know it’s smarter to become part of the inevitable storm rather than die trying to fight it.”
Ky’s eyes grew wide with anger. “I’d rather die than be under the heel of that witch!”
“Foolish! Why are you here, Ky?” asked the captain loudly. “There’s no tactical advantage to blindly walking into the city like you did. Maybe it’s because you are after a certain someone?”
The warrior’s eyes glowed a soft red. “What do you know of her?”
The man smiled evilly. “Seems I’ve struck a nerve. Let’s just say she may become a useful bargaining chip… or maybe an example to the people of what happens when you try to rebel.”
Ky pressed the point of her sword into his neck.
“Tell me everything you know.” She said as menacingly as possible.
The man laughed. “Let’s just say that since the moment you arrived we’ve been watching you.”
She pressed harder, he grunted in pain and returned the favor.
“I said, tell me what you know…” A small trickle of blood flowed from her neck and she didn’t care.
“You and your friends better enjoy what little life you have left. And as for your someone she will be dealt with soon enough, assuming she hasn’t rotted away from her time in the dungeon.”
Ky didn’t let him finish. With her left hand she grabbed the blade of his sword and pulled him forward, and with her right she cut his throat. The captain gasped and sputtered as he held his neck and slowly sank to the ground. Ky dropped both swords. Bright red blood trickled out of a long laceration from the palm of her left hand. She wrinkled her nose in disgust and ripped off the man’s yellow sash and wrapped it around her hand tightly. Casually stepping over the body she went to inspect the documents on the table.
Most of the papers were nothing important; daily reports, new guard training, supply lists. Ky threw them across the room. Nothing. She looked around the room for anything else. In a fit of rage she kicked over the table. Papers and pieces of the model city exploded everywhere. Continuing her rampage she began kicking in the doors to the officers’ rooms and rifling through everything. Her searching yielded no results. She let out a frustrated yell and punched through a door. After a minute she pulled herself together and calmed down enough to slip out of the quarters unnoticed. Once she was in the clear she slipped down the alley where the unconscious guard was still laying. She quickly stripped out of her stolen uniform and back into her clothes. Using the burlap she tucked the uniform inside and slipped off into the crowd.
#
Ehren walked silently through the streets. His simple clothes allowed him to blend in. Going out into the city unarmed didn’t sit well with him so he hid two daggers in his boots. He was kicking himself that he hadn’t gone with his sister. After so many years of watching over her he found it hard to let go. Since the battle at Stone Shield, Atreyis had surprised him not only with her skill in fighting, but that she didn’t need to protection that he thought and was told she needed. At least she would be marginally safer sitting watching the palace than roaming the streets as he was. Lost in his thoughts he wasn’t paying attention and walked right into a guard.
“Watch where you’re going, peasant!” the guard shoved Ehren hard.
The prince stumbled a bit and looked the man square in the eye. The guard didn’t back down and instead, shoved the butt end of his pear into the prince’s stomach. The blow knocked the wind out of him and he fell to his knee.
“What are you looking at, peasant?” yelled the guard.
Ehren clenched his fists but resisted the urge to fight back. The last thing he needed to do was draw attention to himself. The guard kicked him.
“What’s the matter, boy? You deaf?”
Ehren focused on the ground and feigned fear. One of the other guards in the squad laughed.
“Looks like you scared him mute!”
The first guard smiled cruelly and walked away. The humiliated prince stayed down until they were out of sight. Those around him who had frozen in place from fear slowly came back to life. Ehren stood up and brushed himself off and continued on his way. He was in shock that those guards were allowed to get away with such actions. Those men behaved more like Black Army soldiers than proper guards if any of the guards back home had tried that….
“They need to be stopped.” He muttered to himself.
Anger bubbled below his skin. He fought with himself. Ky had allow for this to happen. Who she had shown herself to be conflicted with her past. He felt torn, he wanted to hate her, but she had more than proven herself to be against Lusha and surprisingly trustworthy despite her past. Eventually his mind wandered back to the task at hand. So far his scouting hadn’t turned up anything useful. The guards always traveled in squadrons of four or six and outside of a few small weapons stores and barracks, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But that was the problem. The hairs raised on the back of his neck and arms. It was all too ordinary. If this Horgath was such an evil dictator and coward, the prince figured that the place would be crawling with guards and soldiers armed to the teeth, something like what they witnessed when they first arrived in the city. That scout that had run off was still nagging in the back of his mind. Certainly Horgath was more than aware of their presence in the city, especially if Ky had been a familiar countenance for as long as she said. He scratched his head. If Horgath were truly aware that would mean at any time they could be attacked, be it at the inn or even now in the streets. His heart stopped and his stomach dropped. In a fit of paranoia he slipped into an alley, his eyes darting around his surroundings. There was no one but citizens milling about. A nervous energy bubbled inside. Once he finished with his scouting he would pay a small visit to a blacksmith and procure some new weaponry. If there was going to be an attack, they wouldn’t go down without a fight, Goddess knows that they wouldn’t be taken alive in the first place.
Chapter 8
Atreyis silently walked through the streets. She had opted out of her dark colors and traded them in for a linen shirt and brown trousers in an attempted to look more like a local. So far no one seemed to pay her much attention. She began to relax some as she made her way to the palace. Ky seemed to have overestimated the level of danger present. The princess’ mind wandered as she meandered through the city. She wondered what this Iyara was like. Images of a portly, matronly older woman serving large tankards of ale flashed in her mind. Judging by the state of the tavern Atreyis figured that Iyara was possibly quite the ruffian. She probably also had graying hair, rough hands, and a tough-as-nails attitude ready to throw out any brawlers on spot. Iyara would have to be pretty tough to handle the likes of Ky. Atreyis smiled to herself, her mental description of the tavern owner bore some resemblance to her own grandmother.
Milla had been a fair and kind ruler in her day, but refused to be trifled with. She maintained strong diplomatic relations with the other kingdoms but cultivated a strong military. Toran had always told a young Atreyis how much she reminded him of his mother in her younger days. Atreyis remembered laughing when Milla regaled her with stories of how she harassed her son when he began building Stone Shield.
“The Aznurro are a proud people with no match in military might.” the old queen puffed out her chest with pride. “To cower behind stone and rock while refusing to stomp out evil is a disgrace. Prophecy or not. Hiding will not stop this war from coming to our lands.”
Atreyis’ heart ached. She missed her grandmother terribly. She was the only one who never believed that she was weaker due to her circumstances at birth.
“You are stronger than they could ever imagine, Atreyis. You did not die. You lived.”
Her words echoed in Atreyis’ mind. The princess soon found herself in the large town square in front of the palace. A statue of the dragon Morlex was sitting with its wings spread wide, perched on top of a fountain in the very center. Behind it loomed the impressive palace that formerly housed the royal family of the Quinmor. Stretched between the front gate of the palace and the fountain was an intricate garden of decorated pillars, trimmed hedges, and exotic flowers. People were gathered in clusters throughout the square, squadrons of guards six strong patrolled their predetermined routes. Atreyis found a solitary stone bench and sat down. She relaxed a bit as she scanned her surroundings.
One thing was for sure, they wouldn’t be able to go through the front gate. Even now in the sunny daylight hours it was closed tight and heavily guarded. Along the sand colored palisades were dozens of soldiers at their posts. A group of guards passed by her. She stared off into the blue sky pretending to be deep in thought. After they passed she returned her gaze to the palace. Another group of guards was making its way towards the main gate. They stopped a moment and patiently waited for the gate to open and allow them in.
“Odd.” Thought Atreyis. “It’s not even time to change posts.”
She waited to see if any more came out. After almost an hour of no activity the princess gave up. She decided to explore some more. It didn’t do any good to just stare at a wall when what really needed to be seen was the hidden palace behind it. The princess made her way towards the bazaar, making note of the guards and soldiers she saw.
The bazaar was filled with bright colors and the roar of the crowd. Various delicious smells permeated the air. Atreyis felt a sudden pang of homesickness. She refused to acknowledge it and attributed the sudden wrenching to her nerves. The princess fiddled with her coin purse in her pocket. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a strange man sitting outside a doorway smoking a long, thin wooden pipe. He was bare from the waist up and covered in markings. Her curiosity piqued, she walked towards him, the intricate patterns and designs of his tattoos became clearer. He looked up from his pipe and smiled at her.
“Like what you see?” he asked softly.
Atreyis’ face burned and a nervous sweat began to drip down her back.
“Did they hurt?” her voice cracked and more heat rushed to her face.
The man chuckled warmly. “It’s a commitment. That much I’ll say.”
“How much?” she squeaked.
The man stood up and gestured to the open doorway. “We can discuss if you like.”
Atreyis’ abdomen clenched and a bolt of anxiety went straight through her stomach. This wasn’t the first time she had stepped foot in a place like this, but maybe this would be the first time she would follow through. She nodded nervously and stepped inside. A long table about two feet off of the ground stood in the center of the room. It was covered in pillows and a thick blanket. Next to it sat a small well-worn stool. The entire roof was a skylight and allowed plentiful sunlight in. The man sat down on the stool and gestured to the table. Atreyis’ legs threatened to give out as she shakily lowered herself. She gripped the edge of the table tightly in an effort to quell the earthquake inside. The tattooed man took a slow, long drag from his pipe.
“So, what do you want?”
Atreyis cleared her throat. “What do you suggest?”
The man waved her off. “I do not make suggestions.”
The princess’ heart was pounding in her ears. She stared hard at the floor and thought a moment.
“Wings.” She said softly but definitively. “I want wings. Large, magnificent wings.”
The man arched an eyebrow and took another drag. “I will step out for a moment. Take off your shirt and lay on the table. I shall give you wings deserving of a goddess.”
Atreyis chewed her lip. “Not a goddess. A dragon.”
The man stroked his chin and nodded before stepped into a back room. The princess looked around to make sure she was alone. Her whole body shook as she carefully removed her shirt and wrap, making sure only her bare back was revealed. Keeping her f
ront covered with her shirt she laid on the warm table and tried to relax in the heat of the sun’s rays. Her stomach clenched and her face felt hot again.
“What am I doing?” she whispered to herself.
The whole situation had her feeling completely out of body, as if someone else was in control while she watched from a safe distance, arguing with herself.
Why am I doing this? Is it just a rebellion thing? No, I’ve wanted to do this for a while. But why?
You just want to be like Ky.
I do not! This is for me! I have wanted wings since I was a little girl.
Keep telling yourself that. It doesn’t mean you have to do this.
Yes, I do. I want to.
It’s going to hurt. A lot.
I am well aware of that.
You should just stop now, it’s not too late!
No! I’ve made my decision!
After a few more tense minutes the tattooed man returned with a small portable stand. Atreyis studied its contents. There were five long, thin bamboo sticks arranged by size, a clay bowl filled with black ink, a clean piece of cloth, some sort of handle, and a very sharp knife. He sat down next to her and opened a box on the tray. Taking his pipe, he filled it with the herbal mixture from the box. Lighting it, he passed it to the shaky princess.
