by Talia Haze
“You go before me,” whispered Angel, slinking around. “I will watch for him.” We nodded as Saramine stepped across the bridge.
“Saramine is coming, coming nice and near! My nature is kind, so there is nothing to fear,” Saramine chanted as she walked over the bridge.
The voice exclaimed, surprised. “Continue, please.” Saramine stopped in the dead of the bridge, looked around for the master of the voice before continuing to the other side. I walked over next.
“Gabriella,” I stated. The voice was silent as I made it to the other side.
“My name’s Sean.”
“Ryan here.”
Angel didn’t say anything as she made her way across the bridge. The voice wasn’t pleased and demanded twice that she state her name. When she still didn’t reply, it roared into the sky, making everyone reach for weapons…except my sister. I looked to Saramine, confused. Angel always kept her hands near her daggers, now, they hung idly.
She stopped and stood defiantly in the center of the bridge.
“What authority do you have to give me an order?” she said in the sternest voice I had ever heard. The voice gasped in surprise.
“None, Robin,” he answered. “I ask you now as the guardian of the eighth key.”
“Come. Out.”
I paused. Why was that scene so familiar? Which fairy tale was it? Sean’s face strained too. What was strange about the voice? Or about the speech? Memories of our first challenge dashed through my mind.
“I told you, the three bears are coming home. There were only two trolls chasing that girl. You will learn to be observant. Add it up; one girl, two trolls…trick. Besides, only the trolls call the archers Robin. That was the girl’s biggest mistake.
“Another mistake made,” I whispered.
“The Three Billy Goats Gruff!” Sean cried out.
“Angel, there’s a troll under the bridge!” we said in unison.
Angel didn’t even bother to reach for her daggers. A massive troll jumped onto the bridge, blocking her path to us. His roar shattered the air and the bridge violently swayed back and forth. Ryan and Sean started, but paused in confused terror. Angel stood simply with her hands on her hips.
“I have missed you, Aira.” The troll licked his fangs.
“Depash.” Angel spat at the troll’s feet. The troll hung his head.
“Apo. Wae-a mae, Aira?”
Angel responded with silence. The troll shifted nervously and looked over his shoulder towards us.
“Aibe, Saramine.” Saramine spat on the ground in the troll’s direction. Her response was more out of custom than anger – she lacked Angel’s hostility.
“Who is that?” Sean whispered, leaning towards her. She just shook her head.
“Aira, I have been trapped here since the end of the war. I have been given the key; command me to go with you.”
“Why should I not just take it?” Angel’s voice was cold. His response was quick. I blinked and Angel lay on her back, the troll leaning over her, sharp claws to her neck. Ryan and Sean jumped forward, but Saramine gripped their wrists.
“Kill me, Depash. Hali,” Angel challenged. “Finish what you have started.”
The troll roared and slammed the bridge, making the whole thing sway. With a whish, he turned to human form. Could trolls be dimorphic too? He looked about sixteen and stood two heads taller than Sean, with thick red hair and deep set, dark eyes.
Angel stood and brushed herself off, muttering, “Why restrain now?”
“Aira, do not torture me with these words! I am sorry!”
Angel scoffed and pushed past him towards us, but he grabbed her wrist, pulling her back before him. “Na-izik! I have spent every waking moment regretting my decision…every moment thinking of you.”
“I wish you would have thought of me when it mattered.” I never heard Angel sound so sarcastic before.
“That is…that is unfair, Aira!” The boy grabbed his shaggy hair, trying to keep his voice from breaking. Angel stood tiptoe to scowl in his face.
“Do not speak to me of fairness! You have betrayed me, you have betrayed Saramine and you have betrayed the Inzi! Do not speak to me about fairness! You know the law; yet see how I do not attack you! Be grateful for my unfairness. Without it, Saramine and I would be wiping your blood from our daggers…!”
They yelled at each other in Inzi for a moment. Saramine was the only one who could understand and shuddered at certain phrases. Suddenly, the two stopped and went silent. A tear went down the boy’s cheek and he lowered his voice. “I have prayed so long for the chance to see you again and make this right.” He reached to Angel’s face, but she slapped his arm away.
“Na-izik. Na-izik iamo. If you want to come with me, maynep. But you will first let me see key. The moment we reach Agyra, you will part with us and I never want to see you again…”
“Aira…”
“Ever.”
The boy nodded sadly and showed an (8) key that was around his neck and under his shirt. Angel spun on her heels and stomped across the bridge, the boy following sulkily.
“Ma-hali,” Angel snapped at us as she passed.
“Or! Or,” Ryan replied, “you can first tell us what the dumplings is going on, then…?”
Angel didn’t even look over her shoulder or pause. “Tapo,” she answered in a low hiss. We followed some ways behind her in silent shock. How did Angel know a troll? Why didn’t he kill her, why didn’t she kill him? They sure seemed like they wanted to kill each other. Weren’t all trolls bad? All the other ones we met certainly were. What was so different about this one?
Chapter Nine
Scratched, but Unbreakable
Connie huffed indignantly. Saramine walked slowly, trying to ignore our stares. “Saramine, speak!”
Saramine sighed and talked with a lowered voice. Angel had stomped far ahead; she wouldn’t have heard Saramine anyway. “Several years ago, when Aira first came to Nyora, she was saved by a boy from our tribe. He was a village-spy…part of a group of non-native-looking Inzi who stayed within the village walls to learn news of the ambassador. The two were inseparable. It was simply just made to be. Seven months ago, they planned to marry…”
I nearly choked as Saramine continued. Marry? Was Angel not the same age as I? Who was that troll who aged my sister?
“…It was the night before a major attack, a few weeks before you came, that he took Aira to see the sunset by the lake. He told me I had to come too. He told her how much he loved her, no matter what. I asked him what he meant, just as several of the ambassador’s men came out. They captured us, and we were sentenced to death.”
“So why is Angel so mad at him?” I asked. “What did he do wrong?”
Saramine stared reproachfully at me, tears clouding her beautiful eyes. “He traded us to the ambassador. He had been caught. He feared torture as a spy, but instead of facing it, or taking the kela, he exchanged our heads for his.”
“Dumplings.”
“On the stage, he confessed one more thing to her. That he was dimorphic like me, but a troll. She told him everything in her life, things she did not even tell me. But he hid one secret, one so important…she cried before the ambassador. But she was not crying because she was going to die. She was crying because she loved him…deeply and truly. And he lied to her and betrayed her. He did not love her back.”
“Poor Angel,” I breathed.
“That is not all. She stretched the truth a little when you came. Her cottage was not given to her. He and Aira worked on it together, fixing it for years. In any case, were it not for Are’An, we would have been executed, and the war would have been lost. Depash vanished when the final battle broke out…”
“…and you never saw him again, until now,” I concluded. What a sad tale. My poor sister! And she never said a word. Why would she carry all of that on herself? I felt I always learned something new about my wonderful twin.
Connie was appalled. “What a terrible thin
g to do to…anyone! Especially to your love? How could anyone…”
“Do you not think I know that?”
We spun around. I forgot Depash walked just behind us, quietly listening. “Do you not suppose that the thought of my actions has tormented me these many weeks?”
“Torment...? You’re the lad who traded her!” Ryan argued. He quickly lowered his voice, looking forward. Angel had maintained the distance between us and didn’t hear his outburst. “If she were your intended, how could something like that to her? How? Are you not to be a man, then, and protect her?”
“I am to be a man!” Depash’s eyes glowed green as he glared at Ryan. “I just wasn’t when it mattered.” Depash looked away. “I would have been tortured. I thought Angel would have been simply executed quickly. I panicked. I wavered. The rack has a way of making even the bravest warrior lose courage. I pray you never have to make the choice.”
Ryan’s fists bunched as his side. I thought he would hit him, but no. He just stalked off, walking hunched several paces ahead of us, but still several behind Angel. “I tell you already what mine would be, lad.”
I rubbed my arms. I didn’t feel as angry as Ryan was…should I? I just felt a mixture of sadness and gratitude. How close I had been to never seeing my sister again! I knew she fought in war, I knew she had chosen the losing side, and I knew she had seen terrible evil. But…I didn’t know she had been captured. I didn’t know she was to be executed. I didn’t know that the war was almost lost. How many of her scars were a result of his treachery? And she never said a word. Why didn’t she say just a word?
My face always gave me away. Depash studied my expression, and his grew even more sullen. “I know what I have done. And I mourn it every day.”
I didn’t know how to respond. Depash slowed his pace, looking shamefully at the ground.
We walked silently for another hour or so before stopping at a steady stream. The sun hung low through the trees, but Angel seemed intent to press on for as long as she could. Sean and Ryan talked in low voices far upstream while Connie and Saramine sat silently on rocks near the edge. Depash had brought so much tension to our already anxious party. How awkward for everyone! No one knew how to react.
Depash wouldn’t make it better. I shifted as he slowly inched his way towards Angel. “Aira, I wanted to tell you,” he dared. Angel simply turned away from him. “I made it up in my mind to tell you. I just…I thought I would lose you. When they captured me…tanga, Aira, I never planned to go through with it.”
“You planned it well enough to trick me.”
Depash nodded slowly. “They knew my secret…I just…fear made me lose all reason, Aira. Since I was to lose you either way, I chose to lose you without you ever knowing. I did not know Vincent would have me change.”
“You are a coward, Depash.”
“I was a fool! Aira, I am a fool…begging for your forgiveness.”
That would be too easy. I scanned my sister’s face. For once, I could read what those solemn expressions meant.
“You are a coward, Depash,” she repeated between clenched teeth. “You are a traitor; a betrayer of trust and you do not deserve forgiveness.”
Depash hung his head, but Angel stood before him in a fury. “You could have told me! If you were in such a situation, you could have said something. We could have made a plan, or a trick…we had done it before!” Angel spun away, breathing heavily. I clutched my skirt. “You led me away without so much as a word! Why did you not tell me? Why would you say nothing before handing me over to my enemy?” Angel angrily hit his chest before falling to the ground in tears. Now, all attention was drawn. Even the boys upstream turned.
Go to her, go to your sister. But I didn’t. I couldn’t. What could I do? What words could I say? Angel never cried…not once. She contained all her anger, all her fear, all her hurt insider her, until she could contain no more. I never felt so uncertain…just like she feared after Saramine’s fall. She feared if she broke, we wouldn’t know what to do and we didn’t. How does one comfort someone so strong? How does one comfort a warrior? A chief?
Depash would try. He gently pulled my sobbing sister to her feet and to his chest. “I am sorry,” he soothed. “I am even more sorry that there is nothing I can do to take away your pain…that I am the one who caused it. I betrayed you. I should not have done it in the first place, even if I did tell you. I counseled and meditated for capture…just…when the time came, I could not do it.” He pulled Angel away and looked at her. “But what of me? Do you regret only my sins, or do you regret me as a troll?”
Angel uselessly wiped her tears. “I regret loving you.”
Angel shook her hand, freeing herself from his grasp, stalking away from him. “That is enough rest. Ma-hali!”
I rushed to catch up to her. I hadn’t the slightest what to do. For so long she was my comfort, my security and strength. How could I even begin to be that for her?
I grabbed her hand and relaxed when she squeezed. “Angel...I am so sorry…I never even knew.”
“I never wanted anyone to know,” Angel responded. She tried to remain stern, but her small voice quavered. “It is shameful…”
“Shameful?” I didn’t understand. “How is it shameful to fall in love?”
Angel looked away from me. “I am a warrior. I let my feelings blind me to his treachery. I let my trust of him deafen my ears to my enemies. I let ‘love’ weaken me. I would have been warier had I not been so blind.”
“Blind? Angel, why would you need to be wary of someone you’re about to marry?”
Angel choked back a sob and grabbed my hand tighter. “I know, Gabby. And that is why I am so ashamed. I fell in love with him. I chose him. And he made me the fool. How easily he traded my life for his! What is wrong with me, that he could throw away all those years? What is wrong with me that I cannot be loved in return?”
I didn’t know what to say. I could feel her heart breaking. Angel had never been so vulnerable with me, and I had no answer. I suddenly felt a lot younger than my twin sister.
She traveled the lands by herself, grew up in tribes, lived in trees, fought in war, led a nation, was nearly executed, ran her own household, battled off trolls, protected her friends, watched a dear one nearly die…and had fallen in love. Even when so many terrible situations arose, she came through unbreakable. Scratched, but unbreakable.
I had to start giving her more respect. She had been the chief of an entire people, and though I felt that was no excuse for her dictatorial ways, she had earned the right to be respected. She was big sister to all of us, even with Connie four years her senior. She was always the one to give orders, and always the one to check with when unsure. She was the one we depended on for survival.
“I love you,” I finally said. That was all I could say. Angel smiled lightly and leaned into me. “And I truly mean it. I don’t know what it’s like to fall in love, Angel, but I do know it’s nothing to be ashamed about. So, you chose the wrong one. Maybe it was all to make way for the right one.”
“But will the right one choose me?” Angel asked in a weak voice. I smiled and wrapped my arms around her.
“Certainly! In time, sister, in time! And he will be willing to lay down his life for you! Just wait; he is too!”
Angel finally smiled.
“Now heed this,” another voice broke in. Everyone spun around to face the stone man standing nearly hidden by a large shrub.
“Stony!” announced Ryan.
“You will come to a small field. Enter the barn and do be kind.” Stony disappeared.
“Who was that man?” Depash was startled.
“He says he is our guide,” Connie answered. “He refuses to tell us anything more.” She groaned, irritated. “The man will not even give us his proper name and has been reduced to bearing the nickname of Stony that was placed upon him.”
Chapter Ten
The Final Keys
The sun faded behind the horizon as we turned the b
end. Ahead, the trees opened into a small field where a low, wooden barn sat unlit in the center.
“Hello?”
The barn door opened with a creak. With no response, we followed Angel inside. We ducked as we went inside, and Depash was forced to walk hunched as not hit his head. The barn stretched out of the reach of Ryan’s lantern, so we walked slowly.
“There,” Sean suddenly whispered.
I squinted, and ahead could make out a small silhouette rocking side to side on a bale of straw. It had to be a girl, but the whole scene sent shivers down my back. Ryan held his lantern high and the girl stopped rocking. We paused, unsure what to do. She was no larger than Angel, but still so intimidating. After a second that felt like an hour, she continued her quick rocking. The others relaxed, but I still felt stiff. I couldn’t think of what tale it was; I was so frightened that I felt disoriented.
I took a deep breath. Stony said to be kind.
The barn roof raised into a stone alcove and Depash could stand freely. As Ryan neared with the light, the girl’s features became more distinguishable. She looked older than Connie, her pale cheeks brown from dirt, and her clothes ragged from wear. She watched us as we approached, but didn’t speak, her dewy eyes still wet and her chapped lips curved into a frown. She appeared faded, almost gray. Her yellow hair was plaited up in a bonnet and only revealed when a strand came loose and fell across her cheek.
We kept our distance. Angel’s hand rested near her side. Saramine took a deep breath and walked forward, a huge smile on her face. “Good evening! I am Saramine…” Saramine’s face suddenly twisted up, but she caught herself and forced a smile. I gave Angel a quick look. “How are you?”
“Sad,” the girl replied simply. “I have lost the blood.”
Unsettling. All looked to Angel at this response, whose fake smile wavered. Her hands shook at her side. Sean stepped closer.
“The blood?” he repeated. His face twisted up too. “What do you mean by that?”