by James Hunt
A breathless moment later a shadow flew overhead. Niyana quickly looked up to see her another of her worst fears come to life. She had thought that with what she had just faced her nerves would have steeled themselves, and she could handle any scope of danger still left to face. Yet her heart pounded in her chest, and the warmth drained from her cheeks when she saw the Lunarin atop that flying lizard as it circled. Sky Riders had come!
The steel blue drake flapped its wings once, alighted in the air, and came to a quiet landing on the roof of the building beside them. The roof tile crunched and broke under its weight, but it settled in calmly. Its rider, clad in white dyed leather armor with silver plates of metal attached over the torso, arms, and hips, looked down at her unconcernedly through the goggled face of his white leather mask. Where there was one, there were many, many more. This was not a polite visitation.
"Princess Niyana," the rider spoke in greeting. His hands never left the reigns that guided the harness over the drake's head horns. His posture was nonthreatening, but she knew better, the Sky Riders were not a force that dispensed pleasantries. Every word they uttered was an undeniable expectation of obedience if not obsequiousness, and to deny them was to invite their decisive wrath.
"Aye," She said breathlessly and went to one knee before the Royal Military. Dekarsil felt light in her hands, and she laid the back of the blade against her shoulder and released its handle to place her fist to the earth in obedience.
"Huanguard Rad," The Rider declared.
"At your service..." Rad grunted out in pain. But did not go to one knee. "This is indeed her." he said as if to confirm the Rider's assertion as to Niyana's identity. Clumsy boot falls came from behind her, and Niyana dared to look over her shoulder to Kalek. Gods he looked a mess. Limping, bloody, war torn Kalek came to stand behind his Queen and clumsily went to the ground just as she had done. His face was deathly pale, and she could feel that his death was upon him if he did not receive healing soon.
Niyana's heart began to race with all the implications of this meeting. They knew of Rad? He had said he had had contact with her brother, did he call them? Were she and her people in danger now because of him? Dekarsil grew heavy against her shoulder and she bit her lip to distract her from such terrible thoughts long enough to push them all down into the farthest reaches of her mind. The Rider was not speaking.
"Lord Knight, explain thyself!" The Rider commanded. Kalek almost faltered, and his body listed ever so sightly. Niyana's skin went cold, and her heart hardened. Had someone told them about Kalek and her? It was a death sentence for Kalek within Lunar, but out here a secret could be kept.
"I have none," he said blearily. "I serve the Princess."
"Thine life is forfeit." The Rider proclaimed. The cold left her, and a burning fury rose to take its place. But still she said nothing.
"Perhaps..." Rad began. The Rider slowly turned his head to regard the man. "He is uncertain as to 'Thine Grace's' loyalty." Rad said coldly. "This Lord Knight, who has dedicated his life to honor and duty, is too minor a pawn to understand the complexities of the workings of Royalty. So thus found himself unable to deny a Princess in need." Niyana's temper mellowed, and while the Rider consider Rad's words, she broke propriety and placed her hands on Vale's back and shoulders. There was a bad cut on his back, but it was the small nick to his inner thigh that was quickly spilling his blood away. It was no small expenditure of magic to seal off the cut artery and stave off his imminent demise, but it would take more to get him on his feet and battle ready. If she did that... it would be seen as an act of defiance as if she intended to make one of her wounded troops ready to fight.
"Thine Grace has had the privilege of not needing to know thine enemy before eradicating them." Rad continued. He paused to spit some of the well chewed leaf from his mouth and bite off more of his cord. "The Princess has returned from the depths of hell after discovering a sinister relationship between Zecair and these humans. She sought allies to immediately destroy them, as time was too valuable a resource. Her prompt decisiveness requires certain improprieties in order to remove variables from a success prediction."
"Thine mind is an abomination." The Rider sighed again, distastefully. "Ever sharp, ever cutting. Such logic in a human is unspeakable. I would accuse thee of shape-changing had you not the stink of humanity." That comment struck Niyana, and she eyed Rad coldly and suspiciously. Was this the Mischievous in disguise? No.. his arrogance was diffidently Rad's.
"I would ask your intentions Sky Rider," Niyana practically demanded as she rose to her feet. Dekarsil was planted tip first into the ground and she placed her hands calmly over the pommel. She heard a barely audible 'Tsk.' from Rad followed by a thud as Kalek collapsed forward. Niyana affixed the rider with an emotionless stare.
"They came to destroy this place" Rad coughed into his fist, first to break the silence and then continued. "Or did you bring me the antidote?" He said with a disturbing change to politeness towards the Rider.
"I know not of what you speak," The Rider said dismissively and turned to look towards Niyana. "His majesty mentioned no such bargain"
"Then he is a fool." Rad said. His words cut through the air and made all of the elves turn to glare at him. "And you are a fool to come here without it." Niyana's awestruck expression almost made his lip curl into a slight smile. She instinctively wanted to throttle the man.
"Huanguard Rad," The Rider spoke quickly but exasperatedly. "You are badly wounded, alone, and presumably suffering from some side effect of whatever drug you are eating. Your reputation is the only reason I will give you the opportunity to apologize appropriately before I order your demise." The Rider raised a hand. Fog coiled around it and condensed until a long spear made of ice grew out of the air into his palm in a few short moments.
"The antidote... for the silver serpent venom your assassin coated her arrows with." Rad stated. His left side slowly shifted backwards as he changed how he carried his weight. Niyana suddenly understood what he was talking about, and the events that happened weeks ago suddenly focused into her mind as a web of intrigue became visible all throughout them. The poison arrow Rad was shot with - the troop of Yvarna that found them so suddenly after their escape - the Rider's presence. They were after Rad! She bit her lower lip in self anger as she realized that they were not here for her. If she had stayed below a little longer they wouldn't have cared to look for her. But that thought then turned to her soldiers, and she realized that they would not be spared if the Sky Riders were here to destroy this place. No, too many had already died today. No more. Not for her. She could save them. Her shoulders squared with the task before her. Her jaw set with her decided course of action. With a steadying breath she resigned herself to her defeat. The reign of the Rebel Queen had been a short one. But it had been glorious. She had even killed a demon.
"If I surrender to you," She said, breaking the tension growing between them. "Will you depart here immediately and leave those that still live alone? Will you spare them to their current fate and not seal it?" She hefted Dekarsil up into her hands, laying the blade into her palm and the handle into the other, offering it up as a sign of surrender. If this was the end, she would act a Queen, and spare those who paid their loyalty to her - and not damn them to death by acting the rebellious little girl who hated to loose.
"Princess Niyana," the rider said curtly. There was the slightest bit of deference in his voice. "It should be mentioned that we were also instructed that should we find you still alive, we were to eliminate anyone protecting you, or hiding you. I would consider such an objective unnecessary if you returned peacefully. Your noble actions are, admittedly surprising, and are contrary to our understanding of your nature." The ice spear in his hand lowered, but remained at the ready. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kalek pick himself back up.
"Will you lend them aid? There are many injured." She attempted to bargain.
"Such a suggestion is unwise." He said without another thought. "
We would have difficulty telling ally from foe considering the numerous sides in this fight. Which humans should we help? And which Zecairins should we kill..."
His threat was clearly heard.
Niyana turned to stand before Kalek. She knelt, placed a hand on his shoulder and looked straight into his eyes. She searched him, but she found he was shut off from her. Apparently he was already preparing for the worst. He would not share one last moment of joining. He would not say goodbye.
"Do not forget me," she whispered almost inaudibly. But he gave no response - no faint smile, no sparkle of promise in his eyes, no straightening of the shoulders. There was only cold, soldier-like stoicism. "Promise me." She commanded as she rose. Kalek remained silent in the face of all, and that action was also a silent denunciation of the Princess.
Niyana trembled as she backed away, shaken, but regained her cool as she approached the Rider. With easy grace, she leapt, caught hold of the edge of the roof with her free hand, and swung herself up. He moved to sit back on his seat and made room for her in front. She climbed into the saddle, the blue drake stayed still despite the added weight, and she placed Dekarsil securely in her lap. The Rider placed his arms around her and on the reigns. As the drake reared back into its hind legs and tested its wings once before launching, Kalek looked up. He watched his Commander, his Queen, his lover, and soul-joined friend as she was about to leave forever. Even if fate allowed him to return home to Lunar soon, his station would never allow him to see the Princess again.
'Do not forget me...' her voice resonated in his mind. She had said it knowing they would not meet again. But to Kalek, as his mind digested all that had happened to her, a dark thought entered his mind - that Princess Niyana knew she was going to her end. It was the worst goodbye in the history of all tales ever told. But those were the truly honest ones. Real love was never convenient nor fair. He could not bring himself to grieve for her. Not when so much pain already weighed heavily on his heart. So many dead. So many loves lost today, new and old, with his parents among them. He, despite his pain, was the luckier of his brethren and his new dark skinned friends. He couldn't bring himself to grieve when she was, for the moment, still alive and well.
But it still broken him into pieces.
"Rider, I have one question. " Rad said politely before the drake took to the sky. "Do you plan to leave me here alive?" There was a pause that turned into a long silence. Then the Rider smirked.
"I did not," He admitted. "Your order is destroyed, and you are but one man. The Princess has also negotiated for your safety. However the king was explicit in this one task." He flung the ice spear before he finished the sentence. Niyana heart skipped a beat, but she saw Rad sidestep it casually, cursing something silently to himself. The drake jerked suddenly, spasmed, and fell over dead. Niyana saw the fetching of two arrows sticking from its eyes as she tumbled forward with it, spilling down onto the dirt below. A cacophony of roars filled the sky as the other Sky Riders reacted to this treachery and dove in to attack. Rad had his foot on the Rider's throat before he could rise.
"I am Rad the Lion, Father of the Huanguard, the General of Zecair also known as The Killer." He proclaimed smugly. "...and Princess Niyana belongs to me."
*****
Epilogue
"Are you alone my child? Would you like some company? I am here for you. I will always be here for you." She said in a soothing voice. "You are not alone. Never alone. I am here. Let me console you, let me warm you. There, there. I can make the pain go away. I will embrace you, I will wrap you in warmth and happiness, and you will never be sad again."
"No."
"Oh, my poor child. Do not be angry with me. I am here for you. I will keep you company. I will keep you warm. Just open your arms, and allow me to hold you. It's all right. All this sadness will pass, you will see. I will make it all better. Here, let me hold you in my arms."
"No."
"But why child? Are you afraid of me? I am your mother! I am not going to hurt you. I just want to make you feel better, to make you feel loved. Which you are. You are so loved. I am here, you are not alone. Let me hold you. I will keep you safe, I will take away the sadness and-"
"No."
"I know you are upset. But do not be upset with me. I just want to help you-."
"no."
"Is it because of those elves? Are you afraid of them? Was it the bad man? The bad man that hurt you? He is gone now my child. See? He is gone there before you! He won't hurt you or anyone again. Let me hold you, you won't have to see him again. I promise you."
"no."
"Now child, you are making me sad. I only want to keep you company. Do you think those elves will keep you company instead? They would hurt you. They would hurt you worse than the bad man did. None of them are your friends. I am your only friend. Wouldn't you like to go with me outside and play? We don't have to play with them, we can play by ourselves. Isn't that a fun idea?"
"No."
"I suppose we could play with them if you wanted. Mother is here, and I will protect you from the other elves if you want. I can keep them from hurting you. I will always be here to protect you. If that is your wish, let us go and play with them. Let us go and play with the elves"
"No."
"Why not child? Do you not want to have fun? Are you still sad? Wouldn't playing with them make you happy and not sad?"
"No."
"You miss him don't you? The brave boy that helped you. You want him back don't you? I am so sorry my daughter. He was a good boy. Let me hold you and I will make you feel better."
"No."
"No? Do you want to see him again? I know how we can see him again. One of the elves knows how. She can teach you the secret if you want. Don't worry, Mother will be there to protect you, and keep you warm. The elves can't hurt you if Mother is here. And I am here. I will keep you company and we will go ask the Elf Woman how to see your boy again. Would you like that? Would you like to see him again."
"No."
"Are you playing a game with me? Always saying 'No!'. I do not mind this game. You can say no all you like, you will not hurt my feelings. I will always be here with you. Would you let me hold you? You can say no to me all you want, just let me hold you so I can know you're safe. I only want to make you feel better, I know you are so lonely now. But I am here. I am here to keep you company and to help you. Let me hold you now, my child, let me-"
"No. No. No."
"You are a stubborn one you are. But I do not mind. I know it is only the sadness making you speak in such a way. That man was so terrible. I understand. I am not angry with you. I will still keep you company. If you do not go outside. The bad men on dragons will hurt the elves! They will hurt them badly. The elves might die. You should take me with you. We can help them all. We can keep them safe. Take me with you please? We can save the elves from the bad men on dragons! Then we can ask the nice elf lady if she will help find your boy. Its not too late you know. We can still find him, we can still see him, the elf lady will show us the way."
"No."
"But why child? Why do you push me away? No one else is here to keep you company. Don't you want my company? Don't you want your mother?"
"no."
"You make me sad child. Is that what you want? To make your mother sad? Fine I will leave you be. I will leave you alone to the darkness. When you are scared, you will call for me, and I will still be here waiting because I love you, and I will come help you be strong. We will save the elves from the bad men, and we will see your boy again. Where are you going child? That old man cannot hurt you anymore. You stopped him. You stopped him good. Fire? Oh, child you should not play with fire. It is a dangerous thing. See? You have set the bad man on fire now. He cannot feel the pain anymore, but it will smell bad in here now and you do not want that, do you? Let mother keep you warm. This will not keep you warm, it will only make this room smell terrible. Why do you watch him burn? He will not get up again, child. He cannot harm you. You do no
t need to worry. Look away child, do not watch such a terrible thing. He was not a good man, he does not deserve your attention like this. Look away child-"
"no."
"Oh my precious child. Have it your way. It does not bother me if you watch him burn. I was only thinking of you. But what will you do now? He is burned and you are alone. There are friends outside we could meet. We could save them from the bad men. Will you go? Will you let mother take you outside to make new friends?"