Night of a Thousand Lights: A Light In The Darkness

by Jacey Sturch

  He leads me through the dark alleys and streets, until we come to a small park. In the park, near the fence, is a single large oak tree. On the other side of the park is a statue of the former king, King Reynaud.

  Xavier walks towards the oak tree and stares up at the branches that are swaying in the wind. “You know, the very first memory I can remember is standing here. I had snuck out past curfew and came here to be alone. I must have been about six. I was just sitting here when this tree started to glow. Even at that age, I knew what it meant; that a new royal child had just been born. The next day, when news of what the queen had done in the castle forest reached my family, we were all horrified. Even though I was young, I knew then that I needed to help bring down the queen.”

  Xavier pauses, as if to collect himself. He takes a steadying breath and turns to face me again, “My family left the city the next day, hoping that moving to a smaller village would help us to avoid Aetheria’s attention. Now that I am with the resistance and back in the city, I come to this park a lot and remember that night and the light from this tree.”

  He walks towards me and grabs my hand. “Come on. We need to get back. The others are probably waiting on us.” I nod my head and reply, “Of course. Thank you for showing me this place. Now let’s head back.” Xavier leads me by the hand through the shadowy alleys, as we make our way back to the resistance base.

  As we descend the stairs to go back into the residential area, we see something that makes my blood run cold. A royal guard is standing there, staring at us. This isn’t good.

  Chapter 4

  The guard just stares at us in shock. He clearly had not expected to actually find anyone breaking curfew. Xavier seems just as shocked, clearly not expecting to see any royal guards. The guard snaps out of it first, calling out, “Hey you! What are you doing out at this hour?” Xavier turns to me, with a panicked look in his eye. He grabs my hand and whispers, “Run.”

  Xavier takes off running, pulling me behind him. I hear the guard yelling at us to stop, but Xavier doesn’t even stumble. He just keeps running. When there is some distance between us and the guard, Xavier ducks into a small alley. He leads me to a door and ushers me inside. He quickly shuts the door and leads me further into the building, the floorboards creaking as we rush across the floor.

  Xavier and I crouch down behind a counter as we hear the pounding feet of the guard. The guard stops for a moment, and then continues running past the building, and out of ear shot. Xavier and I sit in silence, waiting for what feels like forever.

  After we don’t hear anyone else come by, Xavier relaxes. He turns to face me with a strained grin on his face, “Well, that was fun. I think he is gone, but let’s wait here for a while to be safe. Clarina is going to have my head when she hears about this.” He says this with humor in his voice, trying to lighten the situation. But the strain on his face tells me that he is truly shaken by what just happened.

  Since he clearly doesn’t want to show how shaken he truly is, I switch subjects, giving in to my curiosity about this place. “Xavier, where are we? You ran here like you knew where you were going.”

  I look around the room and can see now that this used to be a tailor’s shop. There are old mannequins displaying clothes, lining the room. There are sewing supplies on a table in the back of the room. There are cobwebs everywhere. This place hasn’t been open in a while.

  “This was Isabelle’s shop. Before she joined the resistance, she was the city’s tailor. But when the queen kept increasing taxes, Isabelle wasn’t able to pay. She was ordered to present herself at the castle soon after she couldn’t pay the taxes. They said that if she couldn’t pay the taxes, then she could work off the debt in the castle.”

  Xavier stands up, walking towards the boarded-up windows, as if he were looking outside. “Instead, Isabelle fled. She had done some work for the resistance before, so she knew how to find us. She joined us, and avoided being taken to the castle. She hasn’t left the headquarters since then. She worries that if she leaves, she will be caught and sent to the castle immediately. Now, this building is empty and she said we could use it if we ever needed to hide. So, it has become a sort of hideout for any of us that are running from the guards.”

  At the mention of the guards, Xavier grows somber again. I walk towards him, placing my hand on his shoulder. He startles, as though he hadn’t heard me approach. “You know Xavier, I think we shocked that guard more than he shocked us. Did you see the look on his face?”

  Xavier cracks a smile, seeming to relax again. “I think you are right, Leora. It took him a while to actually start chasing us too.” We both laugh, thinking of the startled guard.

  We wait for a few more minutes, and when we don’t hear anyone walking by, Xavier walks towards the exit. “Come on Leora. I don’t think any guards are nearby, and we really do need to get back now.” We quietly open the door, listening carefully for any signs that someone is nearby. When we still don’t hear anything, we leave the old shop and walk back towards the base. Just to be safe, Xavier takes a longer route with many twists and turns, to make sure we aren’t being followed.

  Eventually, we arrive back at the cellar doors that lead into the headquarters. When we walk into the main room, Clarina is standing there in the amber torchlight. “Where have you two been? It definitely doesn’t take that long to get to the Stansfield house and back. Was there trouble?”

  Xavier almost looks nervous to tell Clarina, “Well, I wanted to show Leora some of the other parts in town. And on our way back we were spotted by a guard. We gave him the slip and hid in Isabelle’s shop.” Clarina just shakes her head and walks towards the meeting room. “Well come on then. We have all been waiting for you two so we could start the meeting.”

  We follow Clarina into the meeting room, where Willem, Raina, Isabelle, and Geron wait. Willem acknowledges us as we enter, “Good, now that everyone is here. We can begin.” First, Xavier goes over all of his plans for upcoming supply raids. Then the others talk about what supplies we are running low on and need to look for.

  Finally, Raina interjects, “Now that Leora is with us. I think now is the time to take more direct action against the queen. Hurting her supply chain is all well and good, but that won’t get her off the throne.” There is some mumbling among the group, and several people look weary, as though they have heard this conversation several times before.

  Geron sighs, “Raina, we have discussed this already. We don’t have any kind of plan for defeating the queen. Even with Leora here, we need to have a detailed plan. We can’t just rush into this.”

  Raina doesn’t drop the issue, continuing to push her argument, “I know we can’t rush into it, but we need to start coming up with a plan. I know we don’t have enough people to launch a full attack on the castle. What if we tried to find more allies or use a more covert tactic to remove the queen?” Hearing Raina say that sparks an idea.

  I step closer to the table, “If I may, I might have an idea.” Willem nods his head and gestures for me to continue. I point out our neighboring country to the north, Haelind. “The people in Haelind are said to be extraordinary warriors. If I went and spoke with them, they may lend us aid in a battle against the queen.” Everyone pauses and thinks about it.

  Clarina is the first to speak up, “Yes, that could work. Haelind used to be very good allies with Asinia before the queen isolated us. They may still help us.” Everyone begins to get excited, but Geron speaks up again, “Yes, but even if they help us, we will still be outnumbered and out matched. We would be facing the entire royal guard.”

  I interject again, “Well, what if a full-scale battle was just a backup plan. We could try what Raina suggested and use more covert means of removing the queen. What about poison?”

  Xavier sighs, “That could work, but there is a problem. The queen removed all books about botany and plants to prevent anyone from learning too much about poisons. I don’t know of any that will actually kill someone. The ones I kno
w just make a person sick. And I don’t know anyone else here that knows about poisons.”

  I point out the empire at our southern border. “The Maudan empire is known for having knowledge on every subject. I am sure that they would know about what we need.”

  Isabelle looks at me in thinly veiled disbelief, “Even if you convinced Haelind to help us and then went to Maudan and got the information about a poison to use, you would still have to get the poison and get close enough to poison the queen. How would you do that?”

  Everyone looks thoughtful, trying to think of any way to complete this plan. I have no idea how I could get that close to the queen. All of this hinges on whether a poison that potent exists. I don’t want to give everyone false hope or waste resources on a trip that might not yield any results.

  Just as I am about to abandon the idea completely, Riana looks up. “What about using one of the acquisitions?” Everyone pauses, thinking about the suggestion.

  The queen will often send the royal guard to villages around Asinia to gather more people to serve her in the castle in what are called the acquisitions. “If Leora was able to slip into a village and get selected to serve in the castle, that would give her the chance to get close to the queen!”

  Willem speaks up, “That is way too risky. What if she gets caught? Then she would be executed and we wouldn’t have anyone to take over the throne.”

  Geron leaps up from his seat, “I agree. It is still too risky to act against the queen. I think we should continue doing what we have been, interrupting the queen’s supply chain.” Raina jumps up, “Are you suggesting we don’t do anything out of fear something will go wrong? We will never get anywhere if we don’t act directly.”

  The conversation quickly devolves into an argument. Trying to salvage this meeting, I get between Geron and Raina. “Everyone, please. This doesn’t solve anything. I think the poison plan is a good plan. But there could be some problems, so it is important to have a back-up plan in place. Here is what we will do.” I once again point to Haelind on the map. “I will go to Haelind first and secure their support.”

  Moving south, I point to Maudan. “Then I will go to Maudan to get the information we need. Once that is done, I will obtain the poison and let myself be selected to work in the palace. I will keep in constant contact with you through messengers in other towns around Asinia. In case the poisoning fails or I am caught, the rest of you, along with the Haelind warriors, will be waiting nearby to try a direct attack. I am willing to accept the risks with this plan. We have to do something. Does anyone still object?”

  Nobody says anything. Even Geron remains silent, despite the fact that he doesn’t look happy. “Excellent. Then I will begin preparations to leave for Haelind at once.

  Most of the group disperses from the room, going back to the main room. Geron and Raina stay behind. Geron approaches with a pleading look on his face, “Leora, this is madness. There are a hundred ways this plan can fail. I don’t like the idea of you traveling everywhere all by yourself. It would be better if you stay here, while someone else goes to Haelind in your place.”

  “Geron, with all due respect, I did not spend my life preparing to join the resistance, only to sit in the headquarters while everyone else will fight in my stead. If it bothers you that much, I will find someone to travel with me, but I am going to Haelind as soon as possible.”

  Raina immediately steps forward, “I will be glad to go with you, Leora.” “Perfect, we can leave as soon as we have the supplies gathered. I will speak with Clarina about food supplies, if you will speak with Willem about our weapons and armor.”

  Raina nods and leaves to go speak with Willem. As I turn to leave, Geron stops me one more time. “I still think this whole plan is foolish, but I can see there is no changing your mind on this.” Geron leaves the room, looking frustrated that I didn’t take his advice to stay in at the base.

  I leave the room as well, and seek out Clarina to ask about food supplies. I find her in the storage room taking inventory of the food supplies. “Hello Clarina. I need to speak with you about getting food supplies for the journey to Haelind. I will need enough food for both Raina and me. She will be coming with me.”

  She turns away from the shelf of food she is inspecting, “Of course. I already started planning that. It should take you about ten days to reach the capital of Haelind. I’ll pack you enough dried meat and fruit to last you until you arrive, and there is plenty of game between here and Haelind, so you should be well supplied. I can have everything packed for you by morning.”

  “Thank you, please let me know when everything is ready.” She nods and immediately starts gathering food and placing them in two sacks. I go back into the main room and spot Raina emerging from Willem’s smithing room. She spots me as well and crosses the room quickly. “Willem said that he should be able to have everything ready for us by the morning. What about Clarina?” I smile at Raina. “She said the same thing, she will have everything packed for us by morning.”

  We plan to leave early tomorrow morning and then we go our separate ways to rest for the night. I go to the sleep quarters and try to sleep, but end up just tossing and turning, unable to get to sleep. I rise from my bedroll, hoping that stretching my legs will allow me to get some sleep.

  As I walk into the now dark main room, I shiver from the chill. Without the warmth of the people and torches, this room is cold. As I venture further into the room, I notice out of the corner of my eye, that the room isn’t entirely dark. The door to the blacksmith area stands open, a warm light is pouring out of the room.

  I approach the door, and see Willem hard at work sharpening Raina’s sword. Willem doesn’t hear me enter the room, and startles when he sees me standing nearby. “Sorry Willem. Didn’t mean to intrude.” He smiles at me, pausing in his work. “It is quite all right, Leora. What are you still doing up?”

  “I can’t sleep. I suppose I am just restless.” Willem chuckles quietly, “It is normal to be restless before you leave to do something this important. What always helps me is imagining the landscape of where I am going. Focusing on imagining those little details always puts me right to sleep.”

  For a while we sit in companionable silence. I just sit there and watch as Willem continues with his work. “Willem, can I ask you something?” Willem pauses in his work and looks at me, gesturing for me to continue, before returning his focus to the sword in front of him. “Why was Geron so against this plan? Against taking direct action against the queen? Did something happen?”

  Willem pauses, as though startled by the question. He sighs and turns away, placing the sword he was working on back on a table behind him. “It would make sense that you don’t know. It happened before you were born.” “What happened before I was born?” Willem turns back around, looking more tired than he had all night. “Geron is against it because the last time someone took direct action against the queen, his whole family was killed.”

  Chapter 5

  I stand frozen in shock. “What do you mean his whole family was killed? What happened?” Willem stares into the fires of the forge, as though he is looking into the past. “Geron is originally from a town called Shroudwell.” I don’t remember any town by that name. “I have never heard of Shroudwell.”

  Willem continues the story, as though I never said anything, a haunted look on his face. “When the queen first enacted her cruel policies, Shroudwell stood up to her. They organized a militia of sorts, to guard their walls and keep the royal guards out of the town. Instead of trying to get into the town, the queen ordered that all of the town’s residents be kept in the town walls. Once the residents were trapped, she ordered the town to be burned to the ground. With everyone still inside. They covered boulders with oil and lit them ablaze. The boulders were launched using catapults into the town. Most of the town was still made of wood at the time. It burned easily.”

  I can’t keep the look of horror from my face. How had I never heard of this? “Geron’s family
was able to break a portion of the town wall big enough for Geron to squeeze through, where there were no royal guards. He ran into the woods, expecting his family to follow behind him. Nobody else was able to get out in time. He watched his entire town, his family, everything, go up in smoke. He was only ten when it happened.”

  I stand there in horror. “No wonder he is so against this plan. If I was in his position, I would be nervous about going against the queen again.” Willem looks away from the fire, and smiles wearily. “He will come around. He didn’t even like doing the supply raids when he first joined us here. It will just take some time.”

  I stand there for what feels like forever, still in shock from the brutality of what the queen had done. I know hearing this kind of thing shouldn’t shock me anymore, I’ve heard of her cruelty all my life. And yet, every time I hear a new story of an atrocity that she has committed, it still shocks me to my core. Willem looks up at me when he notices I haven’t moved in a while. “Is there anything else I can help you with Leora?”

  That shocks me from my stupor and I quickly reply, “No, thank you Willem. I’m going to try going back to sleep. Good night.” I rush from the room, hearing Willem call “Good night,” after me.

  I return to the sleeping quarters and try sleeping once more. I toss and turn for several minutes, before finally I am granted sleep. It is not restful sleep, however. I am haunted by the images of all the queen has hurt, asking why I didn’t save them. I try to escape, but they chase me, demanding to know why I didn’t save them, with a look of complete hatred in their eyes. Just as they catch up with me, I wake with a start, realizing it was just a nightmare.

  Eventually, I am able to fall into a dreamless sleep. It feels like I haven’t slept at all, when Raina wakes me. “Come Leora. It is time to go, everything has been prepared.” I emerge from the sleeping quarters to see that the other resistance leaders have come to see us off.