Cloak of Darkness (The Destroyer-Blessed Saga Book 1)

by Sara E. Tonissen

  The more daring servants pulled and pushed against the thin body surrounded by the mass of guards that openly moved away so that their lesser comrades would get their chance at showing their hatred. Hands gripped at the form beneath the tattered clothes, shaking the girl beneath so that their anger could be felt. Feet found their way into the woman’s path, kicking out in hopes of tripping her.

  The progression was slow going, but no one was going to miss the chance to send their menace off without a proper farewell. Even the guards waited with patience as each person made their jab at the woman walking through their ranks.

  The merciful sent their own prayers to the Maker, asking that the girl might receive some compassion from their fair queen. No one dared to come forward to show Red that mercy, though. But they still resumed in their silent prayers despite knowing that they would never be heard over the death wishes and curses that bounced off the glittering palace walls.

  ~~~

  Red might have given up, but she would never give in.

  Rotten tomatoes and other unknown foods had been thrown her way. Citizens had easily met their target at almost every throw. Spit wads had landed on her face and dripped down her skin, cleaning away the dirt and grime that rested there. Death wishes and open threats had been flung across open clearings and dropped from the rooftops. But the guards kept their orders to bring her in alive, despite the shoves and tripping they let slip through their lines.

  No amount of torment or threats could compare to the knowledge that Red would spend the rest of her pitiful life rotting in the depths of the palace dungeons or hanging in the gallows.

  So, without a care in the world, Red gave up.

  Her feet stopped moving, the guards barking at her to walk before they threw her the rest of the way. Her arms went limp in the unbreaking grips that encircled her limbs. Her mind went blank as she stopped thinking of retorts and curses of her own that could rival those from the crowds. Her emotions dulled, nothing but boredom making its way to her features.

  Even her magic stilled. Not even a simmer of the dark beast within her could be felt under her skin as it tried to process how its vessel could give up so easily.

  Not even awe made it past the dullness that had washed over Red as she was shoved through the sparkling palace’s shimmering interior. Red was guilty and everybody knew that there would be no chance for her to plead otherwise. Nothing she could say would change the decision that Queen Snow White had likely made while Red had been paraded through Peragon. Her luck with the Kingdom Rogues would not come a second time, leaving her to a fate that she had literally fallen into.

  No one would come to save her. But Red did not care.

  Unlike her, the guards did care what happened during her execution sentence. The party halted before the throne room’s broad doors to clean the muck and gore off their armor. The soldiers stomped their boots against the floor, sending the dirt raining down onto the shining tiles. Any rotten food was scraped away, and Red cringed when she watched a few of the men lick their dirty fingers clean.

  It was a miracle that their hasty cleaning actually made a difference in their tarnished appearances. Unfortunately, their armor was still dull, with dents and missing pieces to complete the look.

  Red merely wiped the spit from her face onto her equally filthy cloak, deeming herself presentable enough before she was ushered into Queen Snow White’s throne room. In a final act of defiance, she threw her hood over her head, pleased when the guards took no notice of her small movement.

  Her weapons and satchel had been stripped from her during her arrest. Her pockets had been emptied—every inch of her person checked for hidden tricks. Red’s cape was the only thing that was left to represent Cathal’s red-cloaked menace.

  Red had not bothered to take in the shining halls that she had been pushed through, but from the look of the throne room, she knew that they were just as magnificent. Pearl pillars wrapped around the entire room with guards standing at attention at each one. The servants were close behind, lining the walls adorned with strings of the richest jewels and tapestries woven from the finest fabric found throughout all seven kingdoms.

  Everything encircling the throne was stunning; even the servants and guards exuded a poise that could not be matched anywhere else. The throne itself was raised on a dais, two dozen guards in formation at the bottom. Their swords were held in defensive positions creating the illusion of burning blades from the sunlight that shone in through the floor to ceiling windows that looked out over the city.

  Every councilwoman that served the queen had risen when the grand doors opened, their bodies swaying to an unheard song. The twelve women wore intricately designed ball gowns, each one different from the others, yet similar in many ways. Simple tiaras sat atop their perfectly made hair; the jewels small but dazzling. Their faithful husbands remained in their seats, leaving their wives to dance alone in anticipation for what would take place during the trial.

  When Red finally peered at the two thrones, her eyes widened as she tried to take in the beauty and confidence before her. She quickly cast her gaze downward, but the image of the queen and her son would not leave her vision. She had held her head high in the masses of crowds, but Red knew that being directly disrespectful to Airaldan’s queen would only make her trial worse.

  Even more regal than the stories proclaimed, Snow White kept her face in the expression of a bored schoolgirl. Not a twitch in her jaw or the clench of her milky white fingers would give away any surprise from her.

  While the queen embodied a patient and noble leader, Prince Sampson embodied a rather large child. His pale hands clenched the arms of his chair, his body practically falling out of his seat as he tried to get any solid glimpse of Red through the cage of guards surrounding him and his mother.

  His sapphire blue tunic made his alabaster skin nearly glow, the sharp edges of his face cutting at the fabric that clung to his slim body. Intricate whorls of diamond thread sweeping across his shoulders and encircling his wrists were the only soft beauty about him. But his handsome face still struck Red with unease in her stomach.

  Red was brought before the line of gleaming guards, her own dropping her to her knees where she continued to fall into a sitting position. The grime that covered her dirtied the tiles, making her feel as if she were a naughty child smearing food across the floor. Red held in her laugh as she glanced back at the steady trail of dirt and sludge that she had created while being dragged throughout the pristine palace.

  The defensive stances of the queen’s personal guards angled down, each blade ready to slice into her body like a stick of butter.

  The twelve councilwomen slowly sank back into their chairs, waiting for their queen to begin the court speech about honor and justice. The sound of shifting fabric continued after they were perched on the edge of their straight-backed seats, their feet still dancing around them in excitement.

  The entire room held their breath, Red included, as they waited for Queen Snow White to begin her punishment, but the queen just watched Red.

  Once Red felt that she had been fully scrutinized by Snow White’s burning gaze she stated, “Are you going to sentence me soon or not? The sun is quite blinding in here.”

  “Shut your foul mouth, girl,” spat the leader of the city. His metal plated boot kicked out, making its mark in Red’s side. Her body hunched forward at the impact of the heavy foot in her ribs. “You do not speak to Her Royal Majesty in that tone or manner again, or I’ll let the servants cut out your tongue and parade it around the city for everyone to enjoy.”

  “Soldier, you do not have the authority to threaten the prisoner with whom you took your time bringing to me. That is my court’s and my job,” Queen Snow White commented, her expression turning to steel as she looked over the filthy guards. Her nose was turned down at them—as if she could smell the stench that lingered over them from her seat.

  “I would also watch your own actions because I heard the news of her capt
ure over two hours ago and have been waiting here since. You might have brought in my menace, but that does not mean that your job is safe.”

  Red’s hard breathing hitched in her throat at the news of how much of the day had already passed. Her breathing was barely steady as she smirked at the ground upon hearing about a possible firing after her sentence. She just hoped that she would be able to witness the look on the head soldier's face when his tarnished honor was stripped from him.

  “I apologize for the long wait, Your Majesty, but my men and I had trouble breaking through the crowds. We thought it would be a good boost of morale for the citizens to see that their menace had been caught by the guards that protect them every day,” the lead soldier stated, bowing deeply at the waist, never breaking his eye contact with the queen.

  The surrounding soldiers followed their leader’s suit, bowing deeply as if showing their subpar manners would somehow make up for their mistake.

  When they were once again in upright positions, they straightened their backs as much as they could in their cumbersome armor, eyes downcast as they tried to avoid the wrathful stare of Queen Snow White.

  “Apologies do not return my wasted time to me,” the queen retorted, her gaze peering into the scared eyes of the guards. Her thin hands gestured toward Red’s small figure seated on the floor. “Shall we return to our business? Where is Estra Ayrith? I do remember asking for her to be brought to me as well.”

  Trying to get back on the queen’s good side, the lead guard assured, “You are correct in your perfect memory, Your Majesty. However, when we went to Ayrith’s shop, she had been stabbed and killed by the hand of the menace. We caught the girl when she was trying to make her escape from the crime scene.”

  “Very well, soldier, you and your men are dismissed for now. Continue with your duties. I would hate for the ruffians to take over my city because there was a lack of guards. You will be called upon if you are needed for any further questioning.”

  The queen’s words held strongly onto the disappointment in her eyes. Her gaze never left the guards as they hastily made their bows and vacated the room. All too soon the room was empty of their city filth, leaving the queen’s killer gaze to fall on Red.

  Even with her head bent toward the ground, and her eyes avoiding any type of contact, Red could feel the full power of the queen’s glare boring into her.

  ~~~

  Queen Snow White remembered countless instances that had genuinely surprised her throughout her life. Magic mirrors, seven dwarves who gladly welcomed her into their home, poisoned apples, even narrowly escaping death. But nothing surprised her more than the sight of the girl who had terrorized Cathal’s citizens seated delicately on her throne room floor.

  Snow White looked down at her menace, noting the dirty, torn tunic and the pathetic bundle of rags that she deemed to be a cloak. Tomato sludge and spit coated the torn fabric that she protectively wrapped around her small body. Her features were hidden underneath her bowed head. Only her golden brown hair was visible beneath the hood that cast a shadow over her face.

  The queen desperately wanted to see the girl’s face, to trace anything in her eyes that would tell her why she had done such horrible things to her guards. To her people. Her guards kept her away from the living threat, though, and she kept as much of her curiosity hidden as possible as she asked, “Who are you?”

  Every guard encircling the thrones shifted as one, their blades shifting closer to Red Riding Hood as a small scoff escaped the menace’s lips.

  “You already know that answer.”

  The small accent that made its way through Red’s swagger rang through the queen’s ears. Her mind searched through each kingdom’s native language. Her fingers tapped lightly on her throne as she tried to regain the position of power that had been stripped away from her in little more than a sentence.

  “You are Red Riding Hood,” Queen Snow White calmly responded. “You have terrorized my city for several weeks now, and from my court’s research, you have moved throughout every kingdom with the same job for some time now. And if my ears do not deceive me, you are originally from Perancis, yes?”

  “I am from wherever you want me to be from,” Red answered, her accent changing from the clipped, musical tones from Seadell to the hard, stretched syllables from Weznik with each word. Her words were also laced with copious amounts of sarcasm, intermingled with horribly suppressed disdain that made the queen clench the arms of her throne in annoyance.

  “I will not be mocked by you, girl. I would suggest that you talk to me with respect and drop the tone. This is your trial after all.”

  “Of course, Your Majesty. I would hate to receive a harsher punishment because of my mouth.”

  The girl’s head slightly tilted upward at the snarkiness of her retort, her features exposed enough so that Queen Snow White could make out the smirk on her face.

  The queen was about ready to sentence Red then and there when Prince Sampson leaned forward, speaking the question that every person in the room was too afraid to ask. “Who sent you to terrorize the people in my kingdom?”

  Snow White’s heart swelled with pride at his boldness, but it sank as she registered the desperation and fear in his voice.

  “First of all, Airaldan is not your kingdom yet, prince. Second, what makes you assume that I did not do this of my own free will? And finally, if your guards weren’t so nosy, I never would have ended up terrorizing your precious kingdom in the first place. However, I needed to find someone, and she just so happened to be holding her business in your very sparkly city.”

  “You mean you needed to find Estra Ayrith so you could kill her,” Snow White intervened, her hand reaching out to quiet her son. “You must not be the best assassin that we all assumed you to be if you were caught so easily, especially when you could have simply poisoned the woman.”

  “You would know a lot about being poisoned, right?”

  The court had remained silent throughout their exchange of banter, their feet sliding over the cool floor in an intricate seated waltz of excitement. But their movements stilled as they gasped at the brashness of Red’s statement.

  “I can see that you like to play games,” Queen Snow White blandly commented, trying to regain the control that only continued to slip from her grasp. “I can easily play along with you.”

  Red shifted slightly to the left, her ear exposed so that she could hear the queen’s next words better.

  “A question with a truthful answer, and I will give you extra time in the dungeons before your inevitable execution.”

  The court erupted into chaos, their outrage ringing through the throne room. The queen merely flicked her hand at their jabbering, sending out her demand for silence as she watched Red’s head nod.

  Once.

  Twice.

  “Lovely,” Snow White exclaimed sarcastically. “Now that we are at an agreement, why did you come to my kingdom?”

  “I came to kill Estra Ayrith and anyone who got in my way.”

  Queen Snow White’s mind immediately traveled to the six guards who had died protecting her kingdom. Each of their families had been fairly compensated for the loss of their sons, but the queen knew that no amount of money could replace a loved one.

  The loss of her beloved king taught her as much—his untimely death greeting him in the third year of the war with a stress induced heart attack. The loss left Snow White to rule Airaldan alone while she was still trying to raise and teach her son to become the next great ruler.

  She would never forgive herself from not seeing the signs in her husband, and looking upon the girl before her, she knew that there was no forgiveness left in her heart. The families of the six men that had been abruptly stolen from them would surely agree with her.

  The twelve council members waited for their queen to continue with the questioning, but their urging eyes could not meet the blank stare of their ruler.

  Red noticed this, shaking her head as she tentatively c
ontinued, “I did not want to or mean to kill those six guards, but they figured out who I was at the Rotten Apple tavern. The potion I created to deal with them was only meant to disorient them… Not kill them.

  “Again, my only objective was to kill Estra Ayrith, but I was to use any means necessary to get to her. I never wanted to kill those guards. And I never wanted to kill Estra Ayrith,” Red breathed out, choking on Estra’s name.

  “Not wanting but still committing the act makes you no less of a killer,” the queen seethed, her hands trembling as she rose and turned toward her court. “This young woman has taken the lives of countless citizens, some of our own and others throughout the rest of the seven kingdoms. I am seeking the wisdom that the twelve of you present to decide what we should do with Red Riding Hood.”

  The eldest of the twelve women rose almost immediately with the grace of one-hundred ballerinas, replying, “We have come to a unanimous decision that Red Riding Hood deserves a public hanging. The citizens of Airaldan should be reassured that they can sleep soundly knowing that their menace has been ripped from the intricate threads of society forever.”

  The queen nodded, her nerves calming as she turned to look at the reaction from Red.

  Snow White watched as the tension left her menace’s body at the mention of a quick death. Her anger hitched in her throat as she realized that the girl had wished for such a death. An easier, merciful death in the eyes of the law.

  Queen Snow White lifted her trailing skirts, slowly descending from her dais and moving through the guards that parted like the sea for their queen. The queen wanted to see the face of the woman that had changed her life in only a few days. She wanted to see the face of the killer who would no longer be able to terrorize Airaldan’s people after her trip to the gallows in the early light of the next morning.

  Red tried to shy away from the queen as she moved closer to her position, but the royal guards moved to hold her in place, eliminating any threat to their queen.

  Sampson shouted his protests. He tried to push his way through the unmovable line of guards that forced him back, but his efforts were useless. If the queen’s plans went amiss, those guards would do everything in their power to protect their prince.