by Katie Roman
“What? Kunegunda! Don’t go! Just leave Glenbard!” When his hand found hers in the dark, his warmth flooded her, making her feel oddly safe. “I’ve known you were in trouble since we met, but whatever is wrong, running will solve it.”
“I will,” Aleka promised, “but I have to take care of this first.” Aleka laced her fingers with Jack’s. She would need to leave soon, but she wasn’t quite ready. While she was prepared to face the Admiral, she wasn’t ready for what would happen when she did. Whatever happened would break Deana’s heart. Whatever happened would be bloody. Their clash was inevitable, but Aleka still felt like vomiting.
“Kunegunda…”
“Just hold my hand, Jack.” She leaned against him, letting him wrap an arm around her, pulling her close. He used his free hand to hold hers again. They sat in silence, his warmth providing her strength.
“It’s time for me to go,” she finally said.
“Don’t go. I’ll escort you to the city gates at first light, and then I’ll see you safely from Glenbard.”
She got to her feet, pulling away from him. “You don’t understand.”
He was up in a flash. “I understand desperation, but I can assure you that whatever you’re planning, whoever hurt you to the point of considering murder, isn’t worth bloodshed! Just leave the city!” He grabbed her hand again, holding tightly. His change was remarkable, but it didn’t sway Aleka. She knew what needed to happen.
She pulled her hand away. “Good-bye, Jack.” With those parting words, she left, and he didn’t pursue her. When she heard him move away from the door, she knew he was going straight for the whiskey she’d bought him.
~*~*~
Pacing the graveyard gave Aleka some relief, so she spent the remainder of the night walking back and forth. Even though the sun had set hours ago it was still sweltering, making Aleka sweat and leaving her feeling agitated. If the Admiral didn’t come, her plan was shot. There would be no other chance to exact her revenge on the Admiral, and she would miss her only chance of getting on the Fearless Dawn. As the sun began to crest the horizon, Aleka sat against Halia’s broken tombstone, chewing her nails.
The sound of boots crunching along a dirt path startled Aleka into alertness and she saw a tall figure moving against the darkness in the west. To the east, a patch of gray light appeared over the horizon. Aleka stood, hand on the hilt of her blade.
“It was a surprise to hear from you.” The familiar voice of the Admiral sent chills down Aleka’s spine.
As he drew closer, she could see him more clearly. He lacked his usual crisp gait, instead faltering ever so slightly on the uneven ground. Drunk, Aleka thought. Of course he’s drunk.
“And what a surprise, you didn’t even have the decency to meet me sober,” she said.
Without wanting to appear afraid, Aleka took a step back and put her hands on her hips, hoping she gave off an annoyed air rather than a terrified one. Meeting the Admiral caused her nerves to fray already, but at least without the drink he was only harsh with his words. Drunk, he was unpredictable and violent.
“You’ve finally decided to come back to work,” he said, stopping nearly five feet in front of her.
The fact that he called his house work, instead of home, wasn’t lost on Aleka. She also noted he didn’t mention having her dragged off to the magistrate’s court.
“Why? So Lord Ghilian can have me thrown in the stocks, or worse?”
“I’ll make that nonsense go away. Now come on, come back with me. We’ll resume everything like that unpleasantness never happened.”
Aleka bit down on the inside of her cheek, drawing the metallic tang of blood. Of course, they would all pretend nothing happened. Always and forever. Likely, they would add years to her indentureship as punishment. She would never be free of the Admiral if she went back, and if anyone did bring up the fact that she ran off, it would be referred to as an ‘accident’. Gods, how she hated that word.
“Just another in a long string of unpleasantries we must forget, eh Admiral?” she snarled into the dull gray light of dawn. With each passing moment, he became easier to see. “Or have you put her out of your mind so completely?”
“Don’t talk to me about Halia. I loved her, you know.”
Aleka drew her sword, fueled by a fire that blazed to life at his words. “How dare you! How dare you utter her name and claim love, when if it weren’t for you, my mother would still be alive!”
“It was an accident,” he insisted.
Aleka wanted to throw herself at the Admiral and run the blade through his chest, but Jack had warned her that her temper would be her undoing if she wasn’t careful. From the Admiral’s posture, his hand on his blade, his feet moved apart into a defensive stance, he was ready for her. She held her ground, breathing in deep. She would need to use her anger as a weapon, letting it fuel her actions, not drive them.
“Submit to justice,” she said with a deadly calm. “Draw your sword.”
“You must have gone stark raving mad living on the streets!” he exclaimed. Still, he moved his hand to the hilt of his naval saber.
“Blood for blood. The gods demand it. Draw. Your. Blade.”
“What would Halia say if she could see you right now?”
Those words pushed Aleka over the edge. She screamed into the dawn air and brought her sword up to attack.
Their blades clashed together, the sound of metal clanging against metal ringing out. Aleka took up the offensive, making the Admiral defend himself against her wild and hard blows. There was no way she could ever beat him, not with barely two days of training. She knew that, but she also knew he didn’t expect much out of her, so she would have to use it to her advantage.
She left herself open on her left side and the Admiral struck. If he had wanted her dead, it would have been easy to slice her open. Instead, he nicked her arm. Aleka sucked in a breath and moved out of his range, already feeling warm blood dripping down her arm. She circled around the back of Halia’s tombstone, using it to shield herself.
“Stop this foolishness right now!” the Admiral snapped. His drunken rage was coming out, and Aleka could see him clearer with each moment. His nose was red from the drink and his eyes were wild and bloodshot.
“You murdered her!” Aleka yelled. “You murdered her, and because of your rank and title, even managed to get away with it! Your horrible mother wouldn’t even let me see her as she died, and then you buried her without me! Against the demands of our gods, you buried her! Even in death, you disgraced her. And now you tell me to stop my foolishness? I’ll drive this sword through my own heart before I ever heed commands from the likes of you again!”
The Admiral stalked back and forth in front of the gravestone, his blade at the ready. “You’re nothing more than a miserable ingrate, Aleka. You were given all the benefits of a child of noble birth, and yet you insult my family at every turn.”
“Don’t you dare confuse the situation, Admiral. I was given only what my mother’s hard work could buy for me. She worked as a dutiful servant for the grandparents of her child. We were given only what was deemed appropriate for a bastard-born child and her mother.”
They drew together again, swords clashing, sparks flying out from the force. Aleka kept up her assault, knowing if he got on the offensive, she was dead. She jumped back as he wildly swung at her right side and barely missed the sting of his blade. Again, she put the grave between them.
“Why did you do it?” she asked. “What could my mother have possibly done that was so terrible she had to die? She had nothing but respect for your family.”
The Admiral stood back, panting. The early day was already hot, and both were sweating profusely. Aleka wiped her brow and gently touched her wounded arm while she had a moment. The wound had already started to clot.
“Why did you do it?” she repeated when he remained silent.
“I told you, it was an accident. We were arguing and she tried to claw at me, so I grabbed her knife�
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“No one needs to die because of an argument! What could have been so important – that anger inducing – you had to kill her?”
“You!” he exploded. “What else? I insisted we send you to work as a court musician, where you would make better coin, but your mother wanted you to make the decision for yourself. She flew into a rage when I informed her that you would be sent to the palace in Ursana when you were eighteen.”
Aleka’s heart nearly popped from her chest, it beat so hard. “That? She died for that?” Her voice came out as a strained whisper. The man who could only ever sneer at her playing had actually killed her mother over her becoming a court musician? It was all so stupid. A foolish argument, one any set of parents would have over their child’s future, and Halia died because of it. Aleka couldn’t contain her anger any longer, her abject fury at knowing her mother died for such a pointless argument.
“Blood for blood!” Aleka screamed.
She propelled herself over the top of the grave, catching the Admiral by surprise. He caught her sword arm, twisting her wrist until the sword fell into the dirt. Aleka used her free hand to reach for her belt, grabbing a small knife she’d taken from Madam Alise’s kitchen as she left, and drove the blade into the Admiral’s side.
Shocked, he stepped back, holding his side. It wasn’t enough to kill, but it did surprise him. He looked at his bloody hand.
She gleefully noted the red liquid, viewing it like a badge. Even if he killed Aleka, he would still have the wound she gave him. Hopefully a scar too, to remind him of this moment.
“You ungrateful bitch! My family gave you everything!” he raged, swinging wildly for her.
Aleka jumped to the side, but he caught her thigh with his blade. It stung, and though her leg was slower now, adrenaline continued to push her forward. When he tried to swing again, Aleka ducked the blow, using Halia’s grave as a buffer. The Admiral drove forward, trying to come over the rubble that remained of the gravestone. Aleka jumped to the side again, this time grabbing her dropped sword and raising it in enough time to parry his next assault. Their swords met with a clang that reverberated throughout the cemetery.
Aleka went on the offensive again, driving him away from Halia’s grave, forcing him to block her wild, unpredictable moves. He charged her, driving his elbow into her stomach, knocking all the wind from her. She staggered back, dropping her sword again and clutching her stomach.
“Stop this nonsense! Your mother never would have wanted you acting like this.” He was close still, but didn’t attack. “I’ll drag you back to the stocks by your hair, if I have to! You’re obviously too feral to be of any use to anyone.”
Aleka darted in and used her small knife to slice the Admiral’s sword hand. As he yelped and dropped his sword, she slammed her small knife through the tendons in his hand, withdrawing it quickly and moving back a few steps. Blood dripped into the dirt as he clutched his wounded hand.
“You bastard,” Aleka seethed. “Halia deserves justice.” She slowly drew closer.
“You want to know what my mother said her last words were?” He sneered at her like he had some great secret he would forever hold over her. Aleka saw only malice in his expression. “She said Halia wanted you –”
But the Admiral never finished his sentence. He would speak no more, because with those words, Aleka slammed her small knife into his throat. She’d moved quick, quicker than she ever thought she could. She left the knife where it was as he staggered back, making a terrible gurgling sound, clawing at his throat. He fell backwards into the dirt, twitching as he quickly bled out into the grass.
Aleka’s hands shook as she watched him die, golden light of the rising sun bathing his body until he slowly stopped twitching. She turned her head and vomited onto the grass, feeling the bile burn her throat and nose. Blood for blood. It was what she wanted, but this justice only left her feeling hollow.
She wiped her mouth, and with shaking hands, dug through his velvet coin pouch. His naval seal was within, right where Aleka knew she’d find it. He always carried it with him, along with the special wax he used. The wax was red, with blue streaking through it, making it harder to forge an official seal. Aleka pocketed it and all his coin.
For a few minutes, she sat in the dirt next to his body. He stared up sightlessly at the sky as the sun climbed higher. Aleka told herself he deserved to die, that the gods demanded it, but she didn’t feel any better having been the one to kill him.
Before it got too late, Aleka got up. She needed to change, hide her bloody clothes, and bandage her arm and leg before someone came by and found her. When his body was discovered, the bells of Glenbard would toll, honoring his passing. Deana would immediately know who killed him, and the manhunt would begin in earnest for Aleka. She would have to steer clear of Glenbard for a while, if not forever.
There was work to be done before she met up with Blackstone again, and Aleka left the graveyard without a backward glance at the Admiral’s body. He was behind her now. The day dawned, and Aleka was ready to meet it.
Epilogue
The bells at the temple of Kamaria rang out the death knell of a hero. A crowd formed near the temples to see the Admiral’s body roll by. His body was found by a gravedigger, who told the guards and anyone else who would listen. News spread all over Glenbard that Admiral Ghilian was dead, murdered in the cemetery, though no one could say who had done it.
Aleka stood with the crowd, watching the Admiral’s cloth-draped body get wheeled by in a horse drawn cart. People whispered what a travesty it was that such a hero was dead. “He was so young,” some said. “His wife just gave birth, poor woman,” others whispered, their heads drawn together. “I hope they hang the bastard responsible,” was the favored response.
Aleka just watched silently as the cart rolled by. She could see the outline of a human underneath the shroud, the brownish-red of dried blood seeping through where she stabbed him. He had to die, she thought. It was the only way to get justice for Halia. She thought of Deana, hoping someday she could forgive her. Not that they would ever see each other again.
She turned away from the procession, exited the crowd, and headed to the Gilded Lily. Her leg and arm hurt, but she’d live. The wounds had already stopped bleeding by the time she left the cemetery. She used clean areas of her shirt and wrapped them after changing into clothes taken from someone’s wash line in the early morning.
She hobbled up to the Gilded Lily, finding Madam Alise herself greeting her. “I saw you slowly making your way up the road. Come inside, get some food and rest.”
“You’re being awfully kind.” Aleka followed Alise as she led them to the same room where she had conducted her meeting with Blackstone. She found the pirate waiting for her.
“Thank you, Alise.”
Alise nodded to Captain Blackstone and left them alone. Aleka sat at the table, stretching her leg fully in front of her. He sat with his hands folded on the table in front of him. Not wanting to mince words, she retrieved the seal and wax from her belt purse and held it up.
“So the death knell for Admiral Ghilian is your doing. That’s good to know. You’re more useful than I imagined.” He reached for the seal, but Aleka drew it out of his reach.
“Do I have your word I’ll be taken onto the Fearless Dawn?”
“Was my word not good enough the other day? Or have you already forgotten?”
“I’m just looking out for myself.” She toyed with the seal, feeling the cool brass between her fingers.
“I could just stab you and take it, since you think so little of me.” There was a twinkle in his eyes as he spoke, though his mouth was a tight line.
Aleka laughed, feeling that if she didn’t, she would just cry. “I very obviously need to leave Glenbard, and I’d rather not do it in a pine box.”
Blackstone laughed and smacked his hand on the table. “We had a deal, Miss Lansa, and I mean to honor it. We’ll eat and then I’ll take you to the Fearless Dawn, not a pi
ne box. I’m not in the habit of lying to young women so they murder my opponent. Though, perhaps I should start.” He laughed a great belly laugh, although Aleka failed to see the humor in it.
She stiffened at hearing the word murder. The truth of it was, she did commit murder. There was no other way around it. Perhaps she was no better than the Admiral, after all. It was not a comforting thought. She passed Blackstone the seal and wax.
“There’s one more thing. I shout my orders, and ‘Kunegunda’ is a mouth full. Do you go by anything else? My boys are a bit thick tongued, and the name of Nareroc’s most famous queen is not easy for those imbeciles.”
Aleka touched her egret necklace. It seemed wrong to doctor Queen Kunegunda’s name, but the Queen wasn’t a murderer. Aleka ceased to fashion herself after her heroine the moment she drove the knife into the Admiral’s throat. “I suppose you can call me Kay, if it makes things easier.”
“Short and to the point. I like it, Kay.” He didn’t smile this time, but reached across the table and held out his hand for Aleka. Hesitantly, she reached across and shook his hand, but he didn’t withdraw right away. “Everyone has their secrets, Kay, but we cannot allow them to rule us.” His hand tightened around hers meaningfully. “I’m taking you on because you have proven you can be valuable, but I will not allow any of your ghosts to haunt you while you’re on my crew. I protect my own, and in return, I expect fierce loyalty from you. Whoever you were in Glenbard is gone, understand?”
Aleka swallowed hard and nodded. “Trust me, the girl I was is as dead as Admiral Ghilian. I’m like a fine hound…treat me well, and you’ll have my loyalty forever. Mistreat me, and I’ll rip your throat out.”
A smile spread across Captain Blackstone’s face. He shook her hand once more and let it drop. “Queen Bitch, indeed. Welcome to the crew of the Fearless Dawn.”
About the author:
Raised in the suburbs of Chicago, Katie Roman has been many things. Student, band geek, dog sitter, history major, and consummate tea drinker, but above all things she’s been a writer.