by Shannon Lamb
She rummaged through the drawers of the golden dresser, admiring her hazy reflection in a rare moment of vanity. In the top drawer, wrapped in a thin sheet of cellophane was a thick wooden brush, a small bristled stick, and a soft tube of cinnamon paste sealed with wax.
“Awesome!” It had been far too long since Marie had been able to properly brush her teeth or her hair. Her greasy, overworked fingers served as poor replacements.
She spent hours brushing the thick knots from her hair and chipping away at the dull veneer of plaque that coated her once pearly whites. By the time she’d finished, the sun had melted into the horizon and a chill washed over the land, wafting in through the open window and tickling her bare skin.
She jumped onto the bed and swaddled herself in the silk sheets. She briskly rubbed her palms over her arms in an attempt to smooth out the goose bumps with the warming friction.
Sick and tired of being stuck in a state of dishabille and freezing her arse off, she clumsily stalked over to the window to retrieve her damp dress. She outstretched her arms and stumbled over the raised edge of the carpet, lurching forward as she lost her footing.
The next moment seemed to happen in slow motion. The dress slipped over the edge and eddied to the ground as she slammed her hands down on the windowpane to stop herself from falling.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Marie repeatedly smashed her face into the wall. She had nothing else to wear. “Oh god. What am I going to do?”
She grimaced as several potential solutions ran through her head, all of which were humiliating. Just then, a scraggly man walked past her dress. Desperate, she decided to try to get his attention.
“Excuse me! Sir?” Marie tried to conceal that fact that she was only wearing a towel. Merely calling out to a stranger from her hotel room window looked bad enough as it is. The man stopped dead in his tracks and gave her a puzzled look. “There’s a dress in the puddle by your feet. It’s mine. I left it in the window to dry, and it fell. Crazy, right?” she laughed uncomfortably. “Is there any chance you’d be willing to bring it up to me? It’s all I have,” her last words were a mistake, apparently. The man began sprinting down the street, cradling her dress and exuberating a loud, lecherous laugh that rang through the alleys and drew unwanted attention to her plight. “Great. Just freakin’ great! What am I supposed to do now?” she whimpered, trying not to panic. She desperately wished she was sober for all of this.
“Excuse me, Miss?” a vendor from across the street approached the building. “If you want, I could sell you a dress and bring it up to you,” the man pointed to a nearby selection of one-size-fits-all dresses.
“Really? That would be amazing! Please, any dress will do! I’m in room number five. Thank you so, so much!”
A few minutes later, Marie heard a soft knock on the door. She wrapped a bed sheet around herself and opened the door a crack. She slid her arm through the narrow space and blindly groped for the dress.
“Payment first, please,” the man took a step back.
“I don’t actually have money on me…” The man heaved an exasperated sigh and began walking away before she could finish. “No, no, no! Stop, please! I can pay you! Hear me out! Please!” He turned and gave her an irritated look. “I have a friend downstairs in the pub. He has money. If you give me the dress, I can go downstairs and find him.”
“Are you trying to steal from me, Miss? You’re not very sly.”
“Of course not! I can give you something for collateral! Will that work?” Marie let the door swing open to show that she wasn’t lying. Her makeshift linen toga seemed to convince him.
“Collateral first, and I go with you downstairs,” the man held out his hand expectantly.
“You drive a hard bargain,” she scowled. “Fine! Take my shoes. I can’t go anywhere without them anyway,” she sighed.
The vendor watched Marie very closely as she crossed the room. When he noticed the royal seal peeking through her bag as she rifled through her things, he immediately dropped to his knees and began sobbing into the tapestry.
Just when I thought things couldn’t get any more awkward, Marie cautiously took a step back.
“Please, Miss! Spare me! Gouge my eyes! Cut my tongue out, if you must! But please, spare my life! I have a family! My dear children would be lost without their Papa!” The man tried to kiss her feet, but she jerked her foot away, involuntarily pushing him back and bolstering his fear.
“Why would I do any of those things?” she shrieked.
“Wow.” Raeph appeared in the doorway, leaning against the frame.
“It just continues to get worse. Lovely,” Marie said as she buried her face in the sheet.
“Granted, you in a towel leaves much to be desired, but to actually bring a man to tears? Color me impressed.” Raeph whistled. “Care to explain?”
“I came upstairs to sell the Miss a dress. I did not know she was a royal!” the vendor stammered.
“Great Lucidus! We’re trying to keep a low profile, Marie!”
“I didn’t tell him anything!”
“It’s true, Sirs. She did not identify herself as such, which is why I was so confused. Not that I blame the wonderful Miss, of course. It’s entirely my fault! I noticed the royal crest, n-not that I was snooping! I assure you, Miss, it was an accident. Please, I have a family,” the vendor rambled.
“What’s your name?” The man flinched when Raeph gently touched his shoulder.
“Noki, Sirs,” he bowed, uncertain if Raeph was a royal as well.
“You’re not in trouble, Noki. Besides, I think seeing her half-naked is punishment enough,” Raeph nudged the poor, frazzled vender, making him jump. “How much does the dress cost?” Raeph removed the coin purse from his belt.
“Normally, five pieces. But is free for royals, of course!” Noki bowed before Marie for the umpteenth time, making this the most uncomfortable exchange of her life.
“Nonsense! All the more reason for her to pay,” Raeph joked as he dropped fifteen coins into Noki’s shaking hands.
“You gave me too much, Sirs.”
“The extra ten pieces are for your discretion. We don’t need it circulating around town that someone of her caliber is staying in the area. However, if you do find that you have loose lips, I’ll have no trouble hunting you down and cutting them off of your face,” Raeph threatened with a sinister grin.
“Noki is as silent as the grave, Sirs, and has no desire to be in one! Thank you!” Noki handed Raeph the dress and scampered off with one last bow.
“How do you get yourself into these messes?” Marie ignored Raeph’s hearty laugh and held her hand out for the dress, which had the fashion appeal of a potato sack. “I bet you’re eager to get out of that bed sheet,” he teased playfully, holding the dress just out of her reach.
“I beg your pardon!” Alex charged into the room. He was livid. “What in Lucidus’ name is going on here?” Blue and silver flames danced around his pupils, trapped within the confines of his irises like caged beasts.
“It’s a long story,” Marie buried her face in her hands. Who else was going to join this exhibit where she was the main piece on display?
“You’re not going to believe me, but it’s not what it looks like,” Raeph sighed.
“What it looks like, to me, is that you failed to protect her, just as I had anticipated!”
“What?” Raeph growled. “She got herself into this mess! I was just trying to help!”
“Then explain to me why I saw some pervert running down the street with this!” Alex held up Marie’s muddied dress.
“I’ll be more than happy to supervise her while she’s taking a bath, if that’s what you want,” Raeph smirked.
“You should be burned blind for seeing someone of her status in such a compromising position, and castigated for your blasphemous implications!” Alex shoved Raeph.
“I’ve seen her half-naked twice now. That pretty much did the trick,” Raeph returned Alex’s sh
ove with a gentle nudge.
Marie felt inclined to stop the two of them before their squabbling turned into a fist fight, though she didn’t mind if Alex got a punch in after Raeph’s merciless teasing. Knowing it would escalate far beyond that, she decided to intervene.
“Stop fighting!” Marie threw her arms up in the air, and all hell broke loose.
Marie’s towel – loosely knotted and tucked into her armpit – slid several inches down her torso before she managed to clinch it closed at her waist. Raeph and Alex’s attention was immediately drawn to her bare breasts, now at full attention due to the chill that hung thick in the air.
The room fell uncomfortably silent, but Raeph’s perverse rumination was deafening; blaringly obvious by the slump of his shoulders and the glaze of his eyes. Without thinking, Alex slapped his hands over Marie’s breasts to protect her from the soldier’s wild imagination, forgetting his own altogether.
“GET OUT!” Marie cried.
She whipped her body around so that her back was to them, and wrapped herself tightly in the sheet. They were out of the room before she’d finished screaming. She followed closely on their heels, slamming the door closed and locking it as soon as they’d crossed the threshold.
“Man,” Raeph whistled. “You’re in so much trouble!”
“It was an accident!” Alex stammered. “I was only trying to protect her from your prurience!”
“Oh yeah? You’re the pervert who grabbed her,” Raeph playfully jostled Alex.
“It wasn’t like that! I could never think of her romantically!” It was a lie, one that Marie had overheard and took offense to. Alex was only digging himself in deeper the more he spoke. “I have a private matter I need to discuss with her. It’s the reason I came up here. Go to the pub and keep an eye on Cerin!” Alex ordered in an imperious tone.
“Fine,” Raeph rolled his eyes. Alex had no authority over him. “But before I go, let me give you some friendly advice.” Apparently it was Alex’s turn to roll his eyes. “You need to stop being so overprotective. I understand why you are. I know your story, man. Fallon told me all about it. You were born to protect her, yet forced to keep yourself hidden from her since birth. You feel the need to make up for all the things you couldn’t protect her from. I get it.” Raeph took Alex’s silence as confirmation, not that he needed it. “She doesn’t know that.” She did now. The men weren’t nearly as discreet or soft-voiced as they seemed to think. “Take a step back. Ease up a bit. It’ll be better for both of you.”
Alex crossed his arms over his chest and turned away. What was often meant to come off as dark and brooding made him look petty, more than anything. With a shrug of his shoulders, Raeph left Alex alone to stew in his thoughts.
“Marie?” Alex rapped on the door. No answer. “Marie? May I please come in?” Still no answer.
Alex let out a loud, prolonged exhale as he leaned back against the door, letting his full weight settle onto it. He relaxed his body and slid his back down the door until his tailbone hit the floor. He waited for what felt like an eternity before Marie approached the door.
“You can come in on one condition,” Alex sprung to his feet, relieved to finally hear her voice. “We don’t talk about what just happened to anyone, including each other, EVER.” She was still mortified, as was he.
“Absolutely!” Marie opened the door, self-consciously crossing her arms over her chest. She was dressed now, but she still felt naked under the weight of his focus. Alex lingered outside, sheepishly avoiding eye contact.
“Are you going to come in, or not?” she fidgeted nervously.
Alex slumped his shoulders forward and dragged his feet across the threshold. He looked so different than the proud man that usually stood before her, with his chest puffed out and head held high. She tucked herself into a corner of the room and impatiently waited for him to break the uncomfortable silence.
“I need to discuss something with you.” Marie felt a burst of relief when he finally spoke. “When I was downstairs at the pub, I overheard some men saying some troubling things. Honestly, I’m not sure whether or not I should tell you what they said.”
“You kind of have to now,” she snorted.
“It has to do with your dream.” Marie’s heart sank. “Not many know of Cayden’s involvement, but it’s a well-known fact that Tajana was the daughter of a rebel. She’d been missing for years, but no one knew where she was. Until now, that is. Because Tajana was a rebel, Cailene is pinning the fire on her people. She thinks they found out where Tajana was and burned down Marcel’s room as a warning, killing Tajana on accident. She considers it a first and final strike. A declaration of war,” he concluded morosely.
Alex watched Marie carefully as he monitored her body language. She seemed to be either processing the news very well, or not at all.
“Not only did I kill a girl, I started a war?” she sank onto the bed beside Alex. She felt sick to her stomach.
“Not necessarily,” Alex’s words were followed by a silence that spoke the truth, despite his attempt to comfort her.
“Care to elaborate?” she snapped.
“If she could find the rebels easily, she would have done so already,” he bit his tongue and forced a smile.
“What are you not telling me?” Marie was more perceptive than he gave her credit for.
“She’s now more determined than ever to find them, and she has her ways of doing so,” he purposely kept his answers short and vague.
“Can you please stop being so cryptic and tell me exactly what’s going to happen?” Her patience was wearing thin.
“Quinque’s rule spans the entire Iunctus Galaxy, which includes hundreds of planets. Cailene will most assuredly send soldiers to each planet and collect the people that reside there. She will torture them in ways I refuse to speak out loud, just to find a clue as to where the rebels are,” Alex clenched his fists.
“So, basically, I’m responsible for torturing trillions of people? Oh, that’s much better!”
“It probably won’t come to that,” Alex cooed. “It won’t take long for the rebels to catch wind of what Cailene is doing. The whole reason for their existence is to promote justice and peace among the people. If their remaining secret is causing people to suffer, they’ll turn themselves in,” his words were meant to be encouraging, but they were anything but. All possible outcomes were terrible, and the situation was entirely Marie’s fault. “You’re not to blame,” she convulsed as he softly traced the line of her jaw. Now was not the time. Alex seemed to be able to read her thoughts and insecurities most of the time, but there were moments like now when he seemed daft. How could a man be so insightful, yet so oblivious?
Marie was suddenly aware that they were no longer alone when a large shadow befell them. The dark thoughts encompassed in its depths made the uneasiness in the room palpable, thickening the air like a dense fog.
Cayden’s large form took up the entire doorway. The raging emotions evident in the hard lines of his face transferred to her sullen demeanor, dragging her down lower than she thought possible.
“Iloria,” Cayden whispered. “Johanna!” his deafening bellow amplified the tension in the room. “We must go to Quinque at once!”
Cayden trampled through the room at dizzying speeds while Fallon trailed behind him at the pace of a death march. She dragged herself to the open window and took several deep breaths in an attempt to relax herself. Cayden’s betrayal was a loss of its own unto her.
Cayden was her source of strength, and he was crumbling right before her eyes. She was beginning to disconnect from everything she knew. A woman so solidly grounded in her beliefs, now nothing but a husk of raw emotion, brimming with endless questions.
“Cayden,” Alex sighed softly, as if he knew his impending words would disappoint. “I understand how you feel, but,” he was cut off by the sound of wood splitting as Cayden drove his balled fist into the wall.
“You have no idea how I’m feeling!”
“I’ve already lost Tajana,” Cayden shook his head, fighting the violent upsurge of tears. “I cannot lose Johanna and Iloria too!” he kept his head down as he pulled his bloodied fist from the wall. He felt strangely comforted by the fresh lines of blood slicing across his knuckles, pulsing with painful energy. “I know it’s foolish, but I cannot simply leave my family to die.” Fallon visibly shuttered when he’d uttered the word family.
“Cayden,” Alex began.
“Just let him go,” Fallon said in a dry, unfeeling tone.
“Fallon!” She cut Alex a sharp glare that stopped his words short.
“From this moment onward, you are on temporary leave. You may go to Quinque.” A hush fell over the room.
“I meant for us all to go! I cannot leave you on this most important quest. I’m your protector, Fallon.” The sentiment was genuine, but his words fell on deaf ears.
While he cared deeply for Fallon, he knew she could protect herself. He couldn’t let Johanna suffer the same tragic fate as her sister, but he was bound to Fallon by blood. Situations such as these were the reason the Umbra were forbidden to fall in love. Their attention should never be divided, and their loyalty should lie with their creator alone.
“Ha,” Fallon’s eyes glossed over as she cast them to the side. “You will not go as an officer of the court, or have any association with Milités until you return. This suicide mission is of your own volition. I will not have my soldiers marching off to slaughter and dying in your selfish wake,” she sneered. “You are hereby officially relieved of your post and commanded to take a leave of absence for as long as is required.” Cayden flashed Fallon an apologetic look, and sprinted past her. “Soldier!” His feet abruptly stopped just before the threshold, but he kept his back to Fallon. He was unable to face the hurt look in her eyes a second time. “After we locate Laylia, we will return to Milités to strategize and make preparations. I expect to see you there when I return,” she whispered. Cayden nodded sharply, and swiftly melted into the shadows.