Nevertheless

by Ailisa Madrone

  "Navi, wait." Amongst all the people he heard her well enough to stop walking. He turned back, but she was too distant for him to hear her from there. Then Mabel walked up to him, people coming and going, in and out of her way while she pulled the horse.

  She stopped in front of him, holding the reins firmly to keep the horse still, patting his long brown mane. "Your soldiers hate me."

  Navi smiled and the gesture did not suit the grave look on his face. "Of course they hate you. What did you expect? You fooled a soldier, and you infiltrated in my troop on a journey that you might not have come back. It was suicide what you did in Turilessa, and Behrooz could have killed you. He could have us all killed."

  "Wouldn't you have done the same?"

  Navi arched a cynical eyebrow. "Which part?"

  "Behrooz's women," She said. "You would have done the same thing if you saw what that man was doing to them, you would lose your mind and you wouldn't think about the consequences, as I didn't. There are thousands of people in the world, and only few of them see an impunity going on and do something about it. Isn't that a shame?"

  "No, this is living. It is not up to me to save the world, neither it is to you. All I can do is protect my city and the people who I love, and that is enough."

  "You're going to need help then. And if you're not getting it the right way, maybe you should try another way. The bounty hunters have suggested joining the army, and I have to agree with them that fifty extra people may give us some advantage, or even more than that; I do not know exactly how many they are. They're asking for three weights of gold in exchange."

  Navi's jaw tightened. "How can you suggest me to open the doors of my city to those men? They have been banned, and they won't come back. And if that were possible, if I agreed with that, what do you think would happen when people found out that they would no longer be safe?"

  "They have not been banned because they are outlaws; they were condemned because their crime was to be cowards."

  "Really? Look at your face and say that again. All of these women will be at the mercy of these men, and I do not have enough soldiers to fight a war and contain them all at the same time. They may have been out of here like normal men, Mabel, but they won't be back the same way."

  "Shai and his men aren't like the others."

  "I can't trust the judgment of someone who would have gone with them, can I?"

  "Well, to get to the point where we can call someone a friend, we must have trusted them at some point." Mabel let out the horse's reins for a while, getting closer to him. "You have no choice. Everyone is saying no to you."

  "I'm not going to discuss it with you."

  "Why not?"

  And Navi started laughing desperately.

  "In the first place," He raised his thumb. "You aren't part of my army, so I don't have to talk about it with you. Secondly," He stressed, showing the index finger. "You aren't allowed to act inquisitively to the crown's heir this way. You are just a simple girl, for God's sake; you're not a master of war that I should be giving any explanation to. This has to end."

  "And how exactly do you plan to do that?"

  "I've done it. You are already out of the army, and now you need to stay away from the castle." He said. "And you must stay away from me."

  Through gritted teeth, she growled: "Why are you doing this?"

  Navi shook his head up and down repeated times. "You're a plague, and everything that you touch, you corrupt it. I can't let the most important things to me be destroyed by you."

  If I am a plague, then you're a lying pig. But Mabel shouldn't say these things to a prince. There was a law that the crown could never be challenged. She could have been arrested, and depending on the person offended, she could have been hanged at the public square, serving as a warning. She didn't want to be a warning.

  They kept looking at each other; Mabel's head was held high and Navi looking defiantly at her. She was the one who dodged her eyes first, because his eyes were too incisive to fight back for too long. Come on, he was a prince, and princes do not falter. And she was just a peasant, and peasants weren't born to fight anyone.

  "I imagine that I am not allowed to raise my eyes at you either. Don't be surprised if I talk to "Your Highness" looking at my feet from now on; I don't want to take the risk of being stuck in some cold dungeon in the castle."

  "You know that's not what I meant."

  Mabel gave three steps back, increasing the distance between them. "You're not going to reconsider about the army, but what about the kitchen?"

  Navi blinked, without flinching. "The kitchen is part of the army from what I know."

  "What am I going to do now?"

  "I won't leave you helpless." Navi didn't look at her. "I'm thinking about another job that you can do."

  "It's not about that. I thought I had made it clear to you."

  "Sorry, Mabel, but I'm just protecting you. My father made me promise that I'd take care of you, and that's what I am doing."

  "This is a little weird coming from someone who doesn't have the habit of keeping their word."

  "Some promises simply can't be broken. Whether you like it or not, I have been responsible for you ever since you came in that hall. And you like it or not, I will ensure that you stay out of trouble, even if you hate me for it. Even if I disappoint you." He took his horse by the bridle, leading it on the way to the castle.

  XVII

  "She rides thousands of kilometers towards

  the war she must honor."

  The Ballad of Mulan

  ◊

  "At some things the prince was good at keeping his promises," Mabel had to admit while she saw Amir at her front door in the morning, ready to take her to her new job. Amir was the king's official servant, but it looked like he served Navi as well.

  Mabel had no idea of the kind of work that Navi had arranged, but it was definitely nothing related to the kitchen or to weapons; a fully domestic job that didn't offer any risk to her or anyone else. From all that she could have imagined, she would have never thought about tailoring.

  It might have been better for her to work in the field; she was a peasant girl, after all, or even at the castle, as Navi mentioned something like that once. But it looks like he wanted to give her a better job than working in the field, and the idea of her working in the castle apparently was no longer in his mind.

  "It's not going to work." Mabel said to Amir, when they stopped by the door of the village's tailoring. "I'm terrible with needles, and I can barely stay still in one place. I hate indoors environment; it makes me sick. I'm not suited to this job, Amir."

  "That's what won't work. I'm just a servant. You can see me doing services for two of the most important people of Navon, but I’m not the one you should be complaining with." And with a disdainful look, he knocked on the door.

  The door opened abruptly and showed a woman who, no matter how hard she tried, wouldn't abandon the taciturn and greedy expression in her face. Mabel did not like her from the moment she opened that door and looked at her like she was nothing, and then, noticing that the royal servant was there, she faked a smile in an attempt to look pleasant and gentle. "Well, that's the lovely girl the prince asked me to offer a job to?"

  Mabel didn't want to be right about that woman. She didn't like being right about someone. The woman was very rigorous; sometimes Mabel was politely obliged to get there early or stay after hours, even if the woman wasn't there to assist her at work. Later, Mabel simply realized she was being exploited. In the course of time, all the effort the woman was making to pretend she was benevolent has ended. From encouraging Mabel with words of "it's not that hard," she began to yell at her "you little stupid" every time the girl had made a mistake, and Mabel wished it didn't happen that often.

  The woman approached her and take the dress out of Mabel's hands when the girl missed a seam, hurting her to the point of making cuts on her finger, then she threw the dress back in her face as if the girl was worthle
ss. "Now I know why they sent you here. It turned out that you were useless at the castle."

  "I'm not useless."

  "Are you sure? Because if the prince wants to help you that much, tell me why the hell you're not working in the castle now?" The woman cried out against her face, blinking angrily. "Why?!"

  If Martha were a man, Mabel would have knocked her down on the ground. But she never hit a woman before, and she wasn't sure she could do it. She was afraid they would break on her hands like a crystal, and women weren't made to be broken.

  Navi must have hated her so much for choosing that woman to offer her a job. Well, Mabel just wasn't depressed and feeling miserable because she didn't have time for that. Just like old times, she was training all the time. By the time she left the sun was already gone, and after she would eat her dinner and go to bed. That is how she lived every day.

  Darice didn't use to enjoy the fact that Mabel and her father would fight each other; she used to say that it caused her some kind of distress and, why not, disappointment, once her daughter was doing an activity that wasn't meant for a girl. Because of that, when it was time for the training of the day Amyntas and Mabel would go as far as possible from home. He had made a straw man for Mabel to use it as target when he wasn't able to go training with her. She only used it three times though; her father never missed more than that. The straw man was still there when she needed it.

  Mabel wasn't eating well. Although she could buy good things with her salary, she couldn't make good food out of it. To make up for it, she has been going to the village tavern. A family tavern wasn't like the travelers' taverns. The village's men would go to the tavern to have a drink and get away from their wives at home, very different from those men on the road to Turilessa.

  When her and her father would go over there, it was what could be called a family activity. When Mabel's mother got jealous of them being so close, she wouldn't cook for them, and she got used to going to the tavern after food. But Mabel and her father loved Darice with all their heart, no matter what she did to them in return. So now, Mabel's parents left her and she was still alive. That's the thing about life: there's always someone who survives.

  As it seemed, that day had been the last time Mabel saw Navi. He was from royalty, and they wouldn't bump into each other casually. Mabel wasn't really trying to find him, but sometimes she thought this wasn't how it was supposed to end.

  XVIII

  "She crosses the mountains like

  an eagle on heights."

  The Ballad of Mulan

  ◊

  Mabel was polishing her father's sword as a knight getting ready for battle, as if she was going to use it anytime, taking care of the sword with more dedication than the best of warriors. She inherited the care her father had with the sword, with the old armor, the horse; with everything that belonged to her father once.

  The cold and empty silence in Mabel's small house was filled up with three firm knocks on the door. When the door was opened, Mabel didn't recognize the person standing on the outside. It was a little boy, with dirty cheeks and clothes, bare feet, and the appearance of someone who had been deceived many times, making him not trust people easily.

  "I have a message for you." The boy said, noticing her suspicious look.

  Mabel's forehead wrinkled. "From who?"

  "He said his name was Shai." And those grimy hands delivered her a note.

  It's about the alliance you guys are looking for. Maybe I can help you with that. Come find me at the portal of Navon by sunset. After that, I will be gone.

  - Shai

  Mabel's eyes moved away suddenly from the paper to the boy. "Are you sure he asked you to give this to me?"

  "The man said: ''Mabel, daughter of the last commander.'' I met some ladies on the way here, and they said that the only daughter of the last commander lives in this house." His finger rose to point the house in front of him. "I think that's you."

  It was about an alliance, or at least a solution about it, so Mabel thought she should go talk to the prince. However, she couldn't talk to him. She couldn't even see him. Navi told the guards to block her entrance into the castle, and they wouldn't let her in even if she said it was a very urgent matter.

  "Do you know the reason for that?" Mabel asked, staring at the Royal Guard looking surprised. "I mean, the prince must have given a reason, right?"

  "No, he just said you are not allowed to get in the castle, and that was all. Maybe you did something wrong."

  "I…" So that was what Navi meant when he said that had to stop. Treating her like a criminal though? Was that the only effective way he found to keep her away from him? "I don't believe it."

  "If you want to leave the prince a message, I can deliver it to him."

  Mabel shook her head. "It doesn't matter anymore."

  "And yet you came all the way here, didn't you? I can get someone to send him a message, and the prince decides to talk to you or not. He may have changed his mind."

  "Thank you, but I have no time." Mabel was still shaking her head. "I can't wait for him."

  She had to hear what Shai had to say, and she knew how reckless that was, but she had no choice. If she didn't meet up with him, she would never find out what he had to say that was so important.

  Shai was exactly where he said he'd be. He waited leaning back on a tree, with no sign of hurry and insecurity, like he was despising an opponent who dared to approach. He looked harmless, except for the knives distributed along his waist and boots. However, Mabel knew who he was and what he did, and all that tranquility didn't really cause effect on her.

  "You came alone."

  "The letter didn't say anything about coming accompanied."

  Shai nodded his head. "Yes, but we will need the prince. I was hoping you would bring him here, although I hadn't suggested anything like it."

  "Well, it wasn't for not trying, but the prince had forbidden me to talk to him. So, I'm sorry, I couldn't get him to come."

  Shai looked at her from bottom to top. "What have you done for the prince not wanting to see you again?"

  "Nothing, I think over time he is tired of me. I can't talk to him, but you could. Sorry, I forgot. You are an exiled, and you are forbidden to get in the castle just like me. This means that we are... what, trapped in this situation?"

  "Not really," Shai said, shaking his head. "I think you'll be enough for it."

  "Will I?"

  He nodded, moving away from the tree. "I want to show you something."

  "Hold on. You can't come here and expect me to follow you around. I almost did it once, but I won't do that again." Her feet didn't make a move. "Not until you tell me what it is, of course."

  "If you come with me, you will see."

  Mabel looked at him seriously. "You know I can't just go with you."

  "Yes, and that's why I'm going to tell you what we're going to see. Somewhere," He moved closer to her. "There will be a meeting, where the outlaws will leave aside their disagreements in order to come together and protect Navon."

  "How do you know that?"

  His face showed a modestly convinced smile. "I'm a mercenary. I know everything."

  "Why are you telling me this?" Her eyes had a curiosity look. "Why are you going to show me?"

  "I'm giving you something better than just a few men. Those men in Tenerife were considering fighting Tzara alone, but it won't work. Two forces together are better than one. I want to take you to them and show to both sides that it is possible to do it."

  These men wanted to unite against Balthasar, and it was the same thing Navi was looking for. But unlike the prince would take decisions alone, these men were thinking together. Not that the prince's idea to look for strong alliances was bad; Navi was right to want to make an alliance with kingdoms as strong as his. But that minority of men shouldn't be ignored, even though they weren't nobles as the soldiers he wanted to be part of his army. They could still do big things together.

  "It's a g
reat idea, Shai, it really is, but the general won't agree with that."

  "We don't know that. We didn't ask him yet."

  "Actually, I asked him, and he said no. I tried to talk to him, and it didn't work. Navi won't hear us. He despises the idea of having relationship with anyone else out there, and he hates all of you with all his heart, so it's never going to happen. Sorry about that."

  "Well, so this is why you are here. You can convince him to do it. I saw you two at the tavern, and I saw something between you two. I have an intuition about things, and I'm never wrong. I wouldn't be suggesting that if I wasn't sure it would work."

  Some people say that there are people with sensitive ears; noises, wind and thunder would always tell them something. They pay attention to the smallest of signs around them. "The weakest the signal, the bigger the feeling", They usually say. Would Shai be one of those people?

  "I also have intuition about things, and I don't think you're right about that." Mabel said. "I had made an agreement with the prince, and ever since he has turned my life into hell. Recently, he kicked me out of the army and gave me the worst job I could ever have, so he decreed me as an enemy of the throne. Finally, he said I was a plague and I should stay away from him. Can you believe it?"

  "Things are not looking good for you."

  "Definitely, so I can't believe you came here with this idea to use me to blackmail him."

  Shai raised his finger at her, moving it from one side to the other. "No, I came here with the idea of talking to the prince, but as it's not possible, I had to think of something else."

  "I feel offended now."

  "But obviously you have a choice, and you can go back to the worst job of your life or come with me instead." As she did not reply, he turned his back and moved away from her. "The meeting will take place at dusk, up north, at the mountainous region of Tenerife. We have to leave now if we don't want to be late."