“Does the King know that you are interfering with a public execution?”
“I am his son, and that is good enough! Do not make me repeat myself, or I will see you punished for your defiance. Release the prisoner – now!”
Glanen, who watched this all from far away, felt a rush of warm relief. So his friend did listen to him, after all, and more than that, he chose to spare Aasimah! He watched as his friend was released, watched her back away slowly and look to the prince, confused and a bit frightened. She looked as if she was wondering whether the prince had some other punishment in mind for her, but that was crazy – Adsuni wasn't capable of such cruelty, even if he was a stubborn young man, and at times, a selfish fool.
“It looks like we're not all needed, after all,” he whispered to his group, thankful that there would be no need for any further bloodshed this day. He regretted not stepping in to spare the other prisoner, but he, at least, was guilty. It was not pleasant to watch him die, but Glanen was able to accept his death for what it was – not justice, exactly, but the end of a dangerous enemy.
It looked to Glanen as if things might actually turn out fine.
But the crowd would not be placated so easily. Emboldened by the death of the young traitor, they found within themselves a craving for blood, and they would not be satisfied until another life was taken that day. Soon, a riot broke out, and the commonfolk turned amongst themselves.
“Damn it!” Glanen swore. “And damn them, too! What do these idiots think they're doing?”
“Spoiling for a fight, they are!” Telma growled disapprovingly. “We oughta give 'em a good thrashing, teach 'em not to be so thick!”
“No, I don't want you getting involved,” Glanen protested.
“Don't be thick, boy!” said one of the older men. “Ye brought us out here for a reason, didn't ye? We're gonna settle this, right now!”
“Wait—”
But the people of Dre'shii were a stubborn lot, and they were not about to be talked down. Like Glanen, and like Adsuni, they made their decision. All of them brushed past him without so much as a glance, running headlong into the fight. Glanen, the only person who was adequately armed, rushed after them.
Screams filled the air from all around him. A couple of young men, who had just been beating each other senseless, suddenly found themselves teaming up to take down the bigger, more dangerous foe – but he was a knight, a seasoned warrior, and they were bloodthirsty commonfolk.
Glanen wasted no time in knocking both of them over the head, sending them sprawling to the ground. Glanen started to bend down for them, but he, too, was knocked away, off to the side, and was forced to watch as they were trampled before he could pull them to safety.
All around him, people were fighting. He finally caught up to Telma, who was surprisingly adept at knocking heads together. She must have had plenty of experience dealing with simple brawls back in Dre'shii. A seasoned warrior, she was not, but she was still fairly tough.
He saw a man reach out for the edge of her skirt, and she turned upon him in no time at all. “Don' even think about it, honey!” she growled, punching him in the face and knocking him flat. Glanen would have found the scene comical under different circumstances.
“Have you seen the prince?” he roared over the sounds of the riot carrying on from all sides.
“No!” she shouted back, turning around in time to lash her foot out at another would-be attacker, tumbling another woman to the ground. “You leave all this to us, now!” Telma said, “go find yer friends!”
“I can't do that!”
Telma wouldn't hear another word of it; she shoved him roughly away, pushing him out of the way as more brawlers came at them. Glanen looked around, not believing the sight unfolding before him. His friends were nowhere to be seen.
Chapter 23
Making Amends
∞∞∞
All round them, the commonfolk of Aranaot were fighting. They fought not for justice, nor for any sort of similarly noble cause – they fought simply because they wanted to. Blood-lust had taken over the common people of Dinavhek, and their appetite for violence would not be satiated any time soon.
Children cried out for their parents in the chaos, people that were knocked down in the fighting were trampled by others – both those few people that fled the scene in fear of their safety, and those pursuing them, hungry for more bloodshed.
Adsuni and Aasimah clung to each other, more afraid now than either of them had ever been before. One of the beams from the gallows toppled over as a pair of particularly aggressive men took turns smashing each other into it, and Adsuni rolled himself and Aasimah out of the way, letting it come crashing down right where they'd been kneeling.
“What do we do, now?” Aasimah asked.
Adsuni couldn't hear her over the noise of the fighting, and in the moment, he really didn't care. He just wanted out of the insanity. His eyes darted around, searching for an opening. He thought he caught a glimpse of Glanen somewhere through the twisting and thrashing bodies.
“Go!” he yelled as loudly as he could, pushing her as gently as he could manage.
Aasimah stumbled forward. She gave him an angry glare from over her shoulder, before taking off. The prince had no time to waste; he'd give her a stern talking-to later. He just saved her life and betrayed his country – she should be thankful for that!
He followed after her, darting to the side every so often to avoid getting caught up in the riot. His efforts seemed to be for naught, for he was tackled to the ground by a rowdy commoner.
He brought up his hands to deflect a blow meant for his head – he felt his bones crack as the man's fist came down, felt the pain erupt within his wrists.
The man slammed his fist down again, this time striking Adsuni a bit clumsily on the shoulder before being pulled off of him rather abruptly. No, not pulled – something – someone much smaller crashed into him.
Aasimah!
She came back for him!
Aasimah bent down and grabbed at Adsuni, pulling him up to his feet. “The ground's not going to save you!” she hissed, tugging at him.
Adsuni couldn't even feel his feet hitting the ground as he ran with her. It surprised him just how little he truly felt in the moment. He was in a daze, the only sensation registering in his mind was the blinding pain in wrists from his pathetic attempt at blocking that ruffian's attacks. Come to think of it, his right shoulder did sting, too.
Aasimah...
She went back for him, put herself at risk to save him.
And he almost allowed her to die – to be killed! He stood by and allowed her to be imprisoned. Out of sight and out of mind, and all because of a story about his family's past. The wave of guilt hit him full-force, and Adsuni stopped running the moment they reached a safe distance from the square. They were behind an old, likely abandoned house, not very far away, but just far enough to be relatively safe from the ongoing battle.
Adsuni fell back against a nearby tree, panting. Aasimah moved a few paces away from him, and it was evident to the prince that she did not trust him. He couldn't blame her; she was already hesitant to trust him before, when they first met. How could she ever trust him, now, after everything that happened? He accused her of betrayal, simply because of her blood, something that she had no say in at all, but really, he was the one who betrayed her.
He still couldn't believe it. Any of it.
What kind of man did he become?
“Aasimah, I—”
“Shh!” she whispered, holding her hand up and listening.
Adsuni could not hear anything, but then again, he was human, and she was one of those... He put the thought out of his mind. If she knew anything at all about the beast-folk, she would tell him. After all, she almost died for it.
Soon, he knew what she was hearing – the sound of boots pattering against hardened clay. Aasimah motioned for Adsuni to come over to her spot, behind the house. She could be setting him up for a trap,
perhaps as revenge for what he'd put her through. Adsuni dismissed the thought and went to her side. If he couldn't expect her to ever trust him if he wasn't willing to take a chance on her, as well. It was all or nothing at this point.
They waited anxiously for whomever it was that was following them to round the corner. It was only one person, seemingly – they heard that person stop for a moment. Then, the footsteps grew a bit louder.
The moment their pursuer started to come around, Aasimah launched herself at them. She threw herself on top of the man, bringing him down to the hard ground. She straddled the stranger, her arm bent, pressing into his throat. The man's arms flew out in surrender.
Suddenly, Aasimah scrambled off of him, and Adsuni looked into the eyes of his friend.
“Glanen!”
“You should fire me as your protector, my prince... Aasimah is more than capable. I'm afraid I'm of no use to you anymore!” Glanen said through strained breaths.
“Don't be ridiculous, I'm just glad you're here, and that you're alive! You sneaked out to stop the execution, didn't you?” Adsuni asked, offering Glanen his hand.
Glanen laughed and brushed his hand aside; Adsuni was a twig compared to the knight. If he accepted the prince's hand, he'd only be pulling him down along with him. Though the knight reflected that he would probably enjoy doing that. It would serve him right.
“Aye, my prince. I know I said I would respect your decision, but...” Glanen struggled; he knew he was in the wrong, at least in the eyes of Dinavhene law.
“Don't. You made your own, that's all any of us can do.”
They turned to regard Aasimah, who cautiously stood apart from both of them. She appeared noticeably less suspicious of Glanen, and Adsuni found that he really couldn't hold that against her. Glanen offered his support to her in a time of isolation and great need. Adsuni turned against her, and refused to visit her.
“I thought about leaving you,” she confessed, looking and speaking directly to Adsuni now.
“I suppose it must have felt good to see me get beat up a little, didn't it?” Adsuni asked with a weak smile.
“It did.”
Glanen chuckled and clapped Adsuni on the shoulder – it was supposed to be an affectionate gesture, but it caused Adsuni to double over in pain. The knight looked at him in concern, but Adsuni waved him away.
“I'm – I'm fine,” he tried to assure him. “I think so, anyway.”
“We should go somewhere else,” Glanen said. “It isn't safe to linger here. There's no telling whether the fighting will simmer down, or spread out, and I don't want to stay here and find out.”
“Agreed, let's get out of here while we still can!”
Glanen offered his arm to Adsuni, who gladly accepted it. They began to walk away, but Aasimah stayed put. When they noticed that she was not with them, they stopped and turned around, looking at her expectantly.
“We?” she asked softly, doubt written across her face.
“Do you have somewhere else to go?” Glanen asked.
“No, but... after everything...”
“Aasimah, I – I know there is so much that needs to be said. I know I failed you,” Adsuni admitted. “I should have given you a chance, and I didn't. I'm... this is, I'm afraid, a most inadequate apology, but I truly am sorry. Please, don't put yourself in any more danger. I wouldn't interfere with your execution just to turn you over again.”
She listened to him, which he supposed he should be grateful for, but she did not yet move to follow them.
Adsuni let go of Glanen's arm and limped a bit closer to her, wanting to make his message as clear as possible. He wanted the sincerity of his words to follow her. He wanted her to understand.
“I don't expect you to ever trust me again. Just, please... come with us. For your own sake. You can't survive out here alone, not now.”
She mulled it over. “Where are we going to go?”
Adsuni looked to Glanen, for it he was the one who suggested finding a new place to stay. The knight put on an uneasy grin and bade them to follow him. Though she trailed far behind, Aasimah did indeed choose to go with them.
For now.
***
Erthe was a large, peaceful village, not too far from Dre'shii. And, like Dre'shii, it was once part of the Elven portion of Dinavhek, before the Divide. Erthe, too, had endured its share of hardship over the years, and fell victim to multiple raids of late. Such raids were, fortunately, significantly less destructive than the raid of Dre'shii, and inhabitants of the two villages were more than willing to give aid to each other in times of need.
Telma herself gave Glanen directions to the village, kindly letting him know that his own kindness and generosity in Dre'shii was well known even in Erthe. He and his friends would find shelter there.
Indeed, they were greeted warmly upon entry. All of them were taken to the local healer, had their wounds tended to, and were given fresh food and water. When asked about Dre'shii, Glanen reluctantly informed them that some of its inhabitants came with him to Aranaot to rescue Aasimah, and that they were lost in the chaos. He knew not where any of them were, or whether they escaped.
Strangely, the people he spoke with were not too worried; if Telma was leading them, they said, then the people of Dre'shii would not be taken down easily.
Remembering the sight of Telma bringing down so many of the ruffians, rushing straight through the mob without a care to her own safety, Glanen couldn't truly disagree. Still, he felt guilty for taking a risk on little Raisa's mother. He hoped dearly that she would make it back in one piece. He insisted, once his friends were seen to, that he go back.
The patriarch wasn't having any of it.
“Don't be daft, lad. There's nothin' to go back to, right now. You just get on and rest now,” said the leader, a kindly old man who Glanen suspected must have had some dwarf in him. He was small and stocky, with a great, flowing beard, and fierce reddish brown eyes. Younger though he may be, Glanen would certainly not want to find himself facing off against this one in a fight!
After he had some time to rest, and get some food in his stomach, Glanen decided to check on his friends. The healer's home seemed larger than it appeared on the outside, and for a moment, he wasn't sure which room his friends were in. He stopped short of opening the door to the second room he checked, and pressed his ear against the door. They were definitely in there, and by the sound of it, they were having an uncomfortable conversation.
Glanen sighed. Perhaps he'd just leave them be.
Adsuni propped himself up on the cot and scooted back a bit, so that he was sitting up with his back against the wall. Treating his shoulder and wrists wasn't an easy or pleasant experience – for him, and for the healers. If he thought he was in pain before, he was in for a nasty shock when they went about setting his shoulder. He didn't know it was possible to vomit from sheer pain alone, but he found that out the hard way, too.
He almost expected Aasimah to take some measure of enjoyment out of his misery, but she did not crack a single smirk, neither did she tease him. He was thankful for that. He would have deserved it, but she was a better person than he gave her credit for.
A better person than he.
Aasimah's own injuries were mild surface wounds. She required no major treatment, only food, water, and rest.
The prince shuddered when he thought about the very real probability that he would have lost her, if he hadn't stopped the execution in time. He took too long to arrive, and he felt immensely guilty when he thought about all the violence that came after. If he'd just gotten there sooner, maybe spared that first prisoner and postponed his execution, the crowd wouldn't have gotten so out of control. The people Glanen brought along would not have been put in harm's way.
Adsuni thought back to what Glanen told him earlier, about the other prisoners. Were they going to be executed, too, at some point? He couldn't imagine why – a few elderly peasants, and a little boy! The idea was outrageous, and yet, they
were willing to kill Aasimah without so much as a trial. The prince realized, too, that he was going to have to have a very difficult talk with his father, for there was no one else who could have issued that order.
The prince looked through the window of their room, watching the people of Erthe go about their day to day business. The sun was setting now. Children were being ushered back to their homes, sheep and cattle were being rounded up, and farmers were starting to leave their fields, content with the day's harvest. Adsuni supposed their lives were more simple than his, but definitely more difficult in terms of physical strain.
He couldn't imagine spending his days toiling in the brutal sun, plowing fields and tending to livestock, from sunrise to sunset. He would admit, however, that the thought was strangely appealing to him, even if there were no possibility of him ever having such a life.
No, his own life path was quite literally set in the stone walls of that Dinavhene palace. He wasn't looking forward to returning to it, either. He committed treason in freeing Aasimah, and inciting the riot. There was no way his father would simply let him off with a mild punishment this time.
All of that, for a servant.
For a monster – the same one his father warned him about only a day ago.
Said monster was also looking out the window, mainly to avoid having to look at him. She was sitting up on her own cot, a few paces away from his. She, too, was reflecting upon something, probably wondering whether she could trust him or not. Maybe she was regretting her choice to turn back for him.
“Why did you come back for me?” Adsuni asked, breaking the unbearable silence between them.
“I don't know.”
“Aasimah, I've spent enough time with you to know that you're lying. Please.”
She turned away from the window, but did not look at him. Instead, she stared down at her lap, twisting her fingers around the thin blanket she had covering her legs. “Would you believe me if I said it was instinct that made me go back for you?”
“Yes, I would. I do,” Adsuni corrected, truly believing her.
Dinavhek- The Fall Page 26