Kingshold

by D P Woolliscroft

  Organizing the districts was going to be a lot of effort, but seemed achievable. Getting the people of each area excited enough to vote was going to be a different challenge. But if they could make a buzz in the next few days, then they’d get the other districts on board.

  They did need another candidate, though. She couldn’t see how they could get people excited with the current options. Hopefully, there would be another entrant to the race.

  Alana walked briskly south from the Royal Oak through the Cherry Tree District. Her planned route took her through Fourwells and the Golden District to the Outer Wall, and then through the Red Gate to the Narrows and home. How would they be able to motivate the people of the city? The town criers would be an excellent way to get the message out, but they didn’t have the coin to be able to do that, and Mareth had made it known he wasn’t exactly approving of their profession. He suggested he could visit each neighborhood to talk or sing, which she knew from this evening would work. But it would take too long, one man to cover the whole city. They needed more Mareths to be effective.

  A hand grabbed her arm and pulled her into a side street from the main thoroughfare. Lost as she was in her thoughts, she’d only been half paying attention to her surroundings.

  “Aren’t you the smart little servant girl,” said the man who held her roughly. His face was in shadows, but he was bigger than her, with calloused hands and a firm grip. “I know someone who will want to talk to you, Alana. Come quietly. Or I’ll make you quiet.”

  The voice sounded familiar. Alana could see the outline of the shoulder-length hair and the full beard, and she realized she had heard his voice earlier that evening. “Win? What are you doing?”

  “Master Win to you, girly. You know an awful lot about the wizard and what people are doing. I don’t think that’s normal for a palace maid. I wonder what else you know. So, you’re going to come with me and talk to a little someone. He’s a very nice man. If you help him, he’ll help you. He’ll get you out of the Narrows, maybe get you a better job once this election is all done with. But if you’re not nice, then he might not be so nice either, if you know what I mean.” Win’s hand moved to Alana’s throat and began to squeeze. “And don’t think the wizard is even going to notice if you disappear. There are plenty of other girls to replace you.”

  Win pushed her back against the wall with the hand around her throat. She couldn’t make a sound, struggling to breathe, so she nodded vigorously as if agreeing with Win.

  “Good, good. We don’t have far to go.” Win took his hand from her throat, and Alana bent over to gulp air down to her lungs.

  “Aarrgh!” screamed Win.

  Alana had straightened and drove a knee into the gonads of the taller man, just the way her dad had taught her. He released his grip on her arm as both of his hands went, by reflex, to cup his balls.

  Alana turned tail and ran. Not back the way she had come, as Win was blocking the exit, but further down the side street. The street should head in the direction of the Lance. She just hoped it wasn’t going to be a dead end.

  “Come back here, girly!” hollered Win. “I’m going to kick you in the cunt when I get you!”

  She ran, but heard his footsteps behind her. He was gaining on her. The street twisted to the left, and then to the right. She could see it opening out onto a larger street up ahead, but now she could hear his heavy breathing right behind her.

  A hand reached out and pulled at her shoulder, spinning her to the ground feet from the open thoroughfare. The man’s body landed heavily on her, driving the wind from her stomach, and a clenched fist hit her above her eye.

  Silly girl.

  She had always thought of herself as street smart, but this was how it would end. She had known men like Win before, who wouldn’t stop hitting a woman once they started.

  So close to the Lance.

  But there probably wouldn’t have been a guard patrol anyway. Another fist struck her cheek, and she was having difficulty seeing, blood flowing from the cut above her eye.

  “Hey, you. You should pick on someone your own size.”

  “Fuck you,” said Win without even looking up. He was snarling into Alana’s face, strings of dribble splattering her cheek.

  And then he was gone. She felt him thrown off her and heard him land with a thud somewhere not too far away. Turning her aching head, she could see three figures silhouetted in the entry to the street.

  “No, thank you. You’re not my type. I suggest you run before I shove your arm up your arse.”

  The blood and the tears made it impossible for Alana to see clearly what was happening, but one of the men, a big man, had moved past her in the direction of where Win had been tossed.

  Another figure moved close to her and spoke in a kind voice. “Young lady, you’re safe now, but you don’t look well. Is there somewhere we can take you?”

  “The Royal Oak.”

  Chapter 17

  What Would Jyuth Do?

  The floor below her bedroom at the top of the tower was Neenahwi’s workspace, empty like a priest’s prayer cell, straw mat replaced with a soft red velvet cushion in the center of the room. The early morning sun blazed onto her face and arms through one of the two glass windows. She sat cross-legged on the cushion, eyes closed, much as she had done for the past week since her argument with Jyuth, hands in her lap, palms up cradling the red gem while sweat trickled down her forehead.

  She still wasn’t sure what had happened that night on Mount Tiston. Losing control was not something she was used to, but she was at least thankful her subconscious had guided her out of the city. She remembered the waking dream of that evening, so similar to the visions that had troubled her childhood, but also so different. Never before had she seen the demon up close or her parents and Greytooth die, not in real life or dream.

  Since then, she had meditated day and night on gaining control of the demon gem, but the source of power continued to evade her. Her third eye, her magic eye, saw the dark red of the energy source deep inside the gem, but there was still a barrier she couldn’t break through.

  Yesterday, she thought she had a turning point; holding the stone above her heart, she could feel it inside her, but the threads were still elusive as her mind attempted to grasp them. Her failings made her second-guess whether it was right to remove the gem from the ugly ironwork amulet Barak had been wearing, even though it had been a necessity at the time as it would have been too heavy for her to carry in flight for long.

  And now another night had passed without success, the silence beginning to give way to the cacophony of the day.

  Neenahwi opened her eyes and rolled her arms, twisting her body and stretching out the stiff muscles from many hours of sitting.

  “Shit. Another night wasted,” she muttered to herself. “What use is this if I can’t control it?” She gripped the gem tightly in her hand. “WHY WON’T YOU WORK!”

  She threw the red stone, and it hit the wall. A bright flame of pure red jumped from the stone and encompassed her hand. It didn’t burn, just raced from fingertips to shoulder and back. She concentrated and separated her mind in two: one aspect of her mind studied the red flame while the other aspect of her mind reached out to grasp and channel the energy as she’d been taught years ago by Jyuth.

  But then it was gone.

  All that remained were the goose bumps on her arm and a little static electricity arcing between her fingers.

  She let out a deep sigh and walked up the stone staircase to her bedchamber. Collapsing on to the soft feather mattress, she sighed again and lay still until a small furry form leaped onto the bed with her.

  “Tuft. You’ve been gone a long time! I thought you were leaving me, too.” Tuft was a long-haired cat. In his mind, ruler of the neighborhood. The many battles to defend his turf and his harem had left visible scars, and his hair grew in clumps in some places. But he was a good cat. He rubbed himself against Neenahwi’s face and purred loudly.

  “I
missed you, too. When you’re not here, I talk to myself too much. Even though Jyuth says it’s a sign of intelligence. Do you know he’s going to leave us, Tuft? He’s throwing all the cards up in the air, and he’s not even going to stay to see how the hand plays out. Can you believe him?”

  Meow.

  “Of course, everyone needs to get away, Tuft. That would be okay. But he says he’s not coming back this time. It’s my turn to sit at the table.”

  Meow, meow.

  “I’m not whining. I’m processing. There’s a difference.” Neenahwi paused. “Are you ready for the big time, cat?”

  Meow.

  “Yes, yes, you’re already king. So, what would you do? Besides marking your territory, of course. I’m not sure I can be squatting all over the city.” Talking to Tuft was already improving her mood.

  Meow, meow.

  “You’re right. It’s probably better to think like Jyuth. Hmmm. You’re such a smart cat.” Neenahwi reached over and pulled a small dried fish head from the drawer and gave it to the cat. He jumped down to take his prize into the corner while Neenahwi paced. “That’s right. Jyuth wouldn’t just sit to one side to see what hand he gets dealt. He’d be stacking the deck at every opportunity, working out the weaknesses of the other players!”

  Picking up a pen and parchment from her desk, she quickly scribbled out four notes, sealing them with wax and her sigil of an arrow’s fletching. Down the steps of her house and into the street, she found two street children, familiar faces who she sometimes fed but was wary of accidentally adopting.

  “Jill, Gill, I want you to do some work for me today. You deliver these letters for me and wait for a reply. Two each. Do that for me, and I’ll give you both a silver. For each letter.”

  The children’s dirty faces broke into big smiles, and they rushed to hug Neenahwi, and then, before she could respond, they both ran away, letters in hand.

  “Ms. Neenahwi Wolfclaw, my lord,” said the overly starched secretary as Neenahwi was escorted into the grand office, flanked by two bristling guards.

  “Please, take a seat,” said Lord Eden from behind the desk, still yet to look up and greet his guest. Smooth and shiny, he reminded her of a slippery eel and had remarked as such to Jyuth last time they had met. Her father had warned her it was important to be able to tell an eel from a snake.

  Eden continued to scratch at a piece of paper with his pen before drying the writing with sawdust and shaking it loose onto the floor. “Have we met before?” he asked. Hardly welcoming. “How should I address you?”

  Deep breath. Focus. No need to be afraid of an old, white man. He’s just another demon.

  “Good morning, Lord Eden. Yes, we’ve met once or twice before. I was apprentice to Jyuth. I’m sure you remember him,” she said and smiled excessively. “And King Rudolph always used to call me Lady Neenahwi.”

  “Lady? Are you noble born?” Eden looked visibly affronted.

  “I was the daughter of the chieftain of my tribe and would have been chief myself in time. And I’m the adopted daughter of Lord Jyuth.”

  “Yes…. Ms. Wolfclaw it is then. And how may I help you today?”

  Neenahwi was sure he wouldn’t have helped his own mother out of a bathtub, let alone anyone else.

  “I’m trying to work out how to cast my vote, and I don’t know where to start,” said Neenahwi, deciding to play up to his expectations about her. “Why should I vote for you, Lord Eden?”

  “Ah, you have a pyxie. Why didn’t anyone say? Well, let me assure you I’m the ideal person to be lord protector and guide this realm into a new golden age. I’ve always loved Kingshold, but it’s become so squalid, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. I can hardly bear to spend time here, if I’m honest. We need to make Kingshold the shining jewel of the world it once was.”

  “It sounds fantastic, my lord,” fawned Neenahwi. “How will you do that?”

  “Well, we must build new strong walls around the city! We need to have monuments to our achievements! We need to explore this Wild Continent, too, and see what riches await us. We need to demonstrate kingly power in the world.”

  “I thought we didn’t have a king anymore. Hasn’t the monarchy been dissolved?” reminded Neenahwi.

  Eden cleared his throat. “Er, yes, of course. I meant we need to show the power of Kingshold and expand Edland. Do you know one in two foreigners would like to be an Edlander? We shouldn’t deny them the privilege.”

  “I don’t know your sources, Lord Eden, but I think that means they’d like to live here in Edland.”

  “What? No! Too many bloody foreigners here already. Present company excepted, of course, heh. No, they can be part of Edland, staying where they are. We can bring civilization to them, and they can pay taxes to build our walls.”

  “What a fascinating outlook you have, my lord.” Neenahwi made to stand up, considered reaching over to shake Eden’s hand, but thought better of it because the gesture might not be reciprocated. “You’ve helped me a great deal and can be confident in my decision.”

  “Wonderful, Ms. Wolfclaw. You won’t be sorry. Good day.”

  “Lady Neenahwi, how nice of you to join me today.” A lady of advancing years stood to shake her hand in greeting and ushered her to an armchair, tea arrayed for them at a table between their two chairs. Once a beauty, now she reminded Neenahwi of a long-thorned, yellow rose, petals starting to grey.

  “Lady Kingsley, you honor me. It’s a pleasure to meet you finally,” said Neenahwi.

  “Please, sit. Can I offer you tea?” She poured the tea herself into delicate teacups. “How is Lord Jyuth? I haven’t seen him for a long time. He and my great-grandfather were quite close, you know, when he was chancellor for King Dumar. I’d see him at court when I was a child, and he’d make coins appear from thin air. Wonderful. Of course, he hasn’t aged a day, has he, dear?”

  “I’m sure he hasn’t, my lady.”

  “Now, I believe you wanted to talk to me about your vote.” The old woman’s eyes bore into Neenahwi’s face, the steely gaze matched by the color of her eyes. “It’s time we women cleaned up this mess made by men. There has been a long history of queens in Edland, you know, but there hasn’t been a lady on the privy council for more than a hundred years. And just look at what a mess everything has become! We need to clean house, young lady.”

  “I can only agree with you, Lady Kingsley.” Neenahwi liked this stiff old woman so far. She could tell she didn’t suffer fools, and she rather agreed the men had made a pig’s ear of most things. “Where would you begin the scrubbing?”

  “Isn’t it obvious? Merchants!” Neenahwi sank a little in her seat. Not the response she was expecting. “This city, this country has become enamored with profit. The merchants and the bankers wield all the power. The former treasurer was a merchant! Talk about letting the fox into the hen house,” Lady Kingsley tutted and shook her head. “Nobles were put on this land by Arloth to rule, but that’s being taken away, eroded like the cliffs, financiers washing away the rocks and taking power for themselves. And many of the profiteers are foreigners! We must arrest the tide, young lady, before we find the foundations washed out from under us.”

  Neenahwi took a sip of her tea, sweet chamomile, to let the old lady continue. All expectations this woman knew what she was talking about were now gone.

  “So, we must take back the royal orders that have devolved the marketplaces. We can have good men and women appointed by me to run those institutions. And we must build alliances with countries similar to ours. Pienza has a grand tradition of nobility and chivalry, and so, we must shift our gaze north from the trading cities to those where we share a mutual heritage. Together, we can form a bulwark against the darkness of incivility.”

  “That’s a…very interesting perspective. One I must consider further. Don’t you think that trade has increased the wealth of Edland?”

  “Yes, you’re right; it has! That’s the problem. We have peasants leaving the estates to come
to the cities. They were happy before, my dear, not having to worry about their future. For an honest day’s work, they had protection by their lord, and they had the festival holidays to relax. This is a rot inside Edland that needs to be removed.”

  “I’m sure you’re right, Lady Kingsley. Thank you again for your time. I must be away; one appointment after another. I’m sure you can relate.”

  “Yes, dear. Thank you for coming by, and I hope I can count on your support. I sense a smart head on those shoulders. I’ll need women like you in the future. I hope you remember that.”

  “My lady,” said Neenahwi as she shook Lady Kingsley’s hand in farewell. “Everything you have said I have committed to memory.”

  “Neenahwi, it’s wonderful to see you! Come and see this.”

  Neenahwi disengaged from the strong hug and allowed herself to be led by Uthridge over to a table longer and wider than two grown men. A model of the lands around the Arz Sea depicted in miniature.

  The lord general had been one of the first people she’d met when Jyuth brought her and her brother to the palace thirteen years ago. He was a major then, and he spent a lot of time with her and her little brother, showing them the city, helping them both to hone their skills with bow and blade. At the time they’d thought of Uncle Uthridge as a great friend, even though his real reason for spending so much time with them was to protect them from a possible reprisal. And more than likely to try to worm any information out of them about Llewdon and his forces.

  “It’s a lovely model, Uncle; very realistic.”

  “It’s precisely to scale girl!” He beamed, proud of the craftsmanship. “But that’s not what I mean. This is what I worry about at night. Look how Pyrfew is circling us.”

  Neenahwi studied the map. The Empire of Pyrfew at the center bottom of the table stretched up close to Redsmoke on the west of the Jeweled Continent and the border of the Green Desert to the east. There was a great expanse of sea to the west of Edland before a new land mass perched on the edge of the table. What these people called the Wild Continent, but what she knew as home. And this land, too, was colored a bright scarlet like Pyrfew.