"Name," I repeated, lunging my sword close.
I thought I saw a shift of features in the shadow of his face, and for a moment I wished that I'd moved him closer to the fire before questioning him—so I could at least read something of his expression. I watched his chest start to rise, and his arms strain at his sides, like he wasn't happy about keeping them there. "It's—"
He cut off.
"It's—"
I narrowed.
"It's—"
"Get on with it," I said.
"It's Cole!" he blurted suddenly.
I gave an immediate scoff. "Cole? That's the simplest name I've ever heard. Could you have so much trouble saying it?"
I said this, and felt a sort of rush at my victory for a moment. But the man, he'd gone very still for the first time. He'd gone still and his head was bowed, and his hands were dropped loose to his sides, like he bore a sense of defeat that matched mine of success.
I swallowed, trapped somewhere been narrowing and frowning—from either confusion or guilt. I had trouble keeping my gaze on him. I glanced over the forest. I'd been standing still so long that the cold was beginning to get to me. I thought I heard fireworks in the distance. I remembered the festival, the city.
"Well, Cole, I don't like being followed. And I don't like being spied on either."
He seemed very suddenly to lose his patience. "I told you, I wasn't spying on you, or sneaking up on you. I was trying to find you. Then I saw you practicing here and I..."
Almost as soon as he'd said this, his body craned back. I remained frozen, but my eyes narrowed, and I looked him over again.
"Why?" I asked simply. "Why were you looking for me?"
I waited, displeased with the idea that he might act again. Instead he just lifted his head, so that he must have been studying me. And for some reason, this time, I thought readily of the crown at the top of my head. It took one glance at the man, and his garments, and I was set to move my blade away and sigh. For safety's sake, I only did the latter. "You want to join the war?" I guessed. Though it wasn't much of one, I already felt sure. As the princess, I was one of the main representatives for the force against Akadia, especially with the Byakoans, who so favored dealing with me to dealing with the Yanartians.
He hadn't responded as quickly as I'd expected. But the moment he gave a small nod off, I had to put work into holding back a grimace.
I really had over-reacted. Now I felt a wave of irritation. To forget my duties in Byako, and not guess this was the reason he'd been approaching me, was a stupid mistake, unnecessary. It was likely because I'd been so upset about him interrupting me, but I wouldn't accept that as an excuse now. I couldn't afford such careless oversights. That was all I had; it was what I lived for. I had to do my best, being the best princess I could be, so that when I died, my life would have been something worth offering to the granted. And then, I could be where Cyric was.
But now this Kanthian had gone and disturbed that. I wasn't truly irritated at him, mostly myself. But I wished he'd been quip enough to find someone else to ask about joining the war, and not have interrupted me. Could he not guess that a princess might be too busy to handle, personally each recruit?
I really was grimacing now, while the man, while Cole, was standing still behind my sword. I lowered it and tipped my head up. "Look, I don't know how they do things in Kanth. But following after someone without announcing yourself, isn't considered regular behavior. Not here or on Yanartas." He hardly responded to the removal of my blade. "You should have just explained your intention from the beginning," I added.
He blinked staring at me; I could see it in the small shift of shadow. Then he bowed his head again. "I'm sorry," He broke off like he had planned to say more but stopped. He must have decided against it, because he just repeated. "I'm sorry, princess."
I nodded a few times, sheathing my sword. "So you do know who I am. Well, I'm glad I won't have to bother with further introduction. Though, I can tell you now, I don't have so much trouble as you giving my name." I lifted my brows, looking at him after having taken a few steps to get my body warmed again. "If you want to be a part of the Yanartian force, you'll have to get over that. Names are very important, as are ranks and titles. I'm... well, I would tell you my rank and order, but my position as princess of Shaundakul supersedes it, so I won't bother.
"As for joining the army, you only need to go to the barracks. It's at the west end of Byako, and from there they'll direct you to the Isle." I frowned at him, thinking once again of the ordeal and slip in my record he'd caused. "If you'd have asked around town, you would have been told that."
I glanced him over, waiting to see if he would argue or agree with this. He said nothing, and he hadn't moved from the edge of the forest. Unconcerned—now that I'd finished my duty—with his presence, and assuming he would soon leave, I turned back to the grove. I was exhausted by the cold, but not yet ready to be back in the city. I walked up to the single torch and lifted my hands to it for warmth. Then I settled onto the slab of rock beside it. It was a rune, and finely cut into a rectangle, but it worked well for a seat.
I pulled my sword across my lap, even sheathed; but I slipped it out a few inches, enough to see a bit of the dark metal. I touched my fingertip to its edge, and thought back where I had been before.
Nain had told me about the dragon, after reports had already come in that Lox now possessed one—that it had been the "monster" he'd first used against Cyric. How many times had I imagined that in my mind? Many times, but I thought it was the least I could do. And I didn't mind so much, thinking how he left after freeing Nain and Tarful, thinking how he must have chosen himself to try and save her. I did not know, even now how long Lox had owned Kraehe, since Uldin Keep, I could only assume. It made sense enough and the reports on the appearance of the dragon. Its black skin, shimmering iridescent. This all confirmed something now very hard to bear.
Hard to bear that I couldn't reach her, hard to bear that I couldn't be sure whether Lox controlled her or not. Hard to bear that I had left her unprotected for so long, even that I had bonded with Luffie. Hard to bear that she'd been the cause of Cyric's death twice over, once when he'd tried to save her, and second when she'd killed him herself.
I could only keep running through guesses of her state now, or what I would do when I finally reached her again, in the spring. Once winter broke, and the pass was clear to Genbu, I would go to ask them for their help. Then we would gather our forces and attack Akadia. For this reason, the cold partly pleased me, because it had almost reached its peak, and that meant the end of uncertainty.
I looked up from my sword, letting my gaze fall on Cole. I'd heard him stepping closer but wasn't quite paying attention in the hopes that he would leave after all. Now, I found, staring at him, that I didn't really care whether he stayed or not. He'd moved up almost beside the fire. But when I lifted my gaze, he flinched back.
I only looked back down at my sword, still fingering it. "Are you going to tell me now that you don't know your way back to the city?"
His voice came out low, and soft, like it had when we'd first begun talking. "Isn't it dangerous for a princess to be out here all by herself?"
My lips inched up, then pulled to a full smile. "You mean in case, she's attacked by strange foreigners." I looked up to meet his gaze. "I can take care of myself. Or did I not prove that?"
"You did," he muttered eventually. He tipped his head. "You're very good. Did you learn on Yanartas?"
"You can't tell if someone's good just by watching them on their own, can you?" I shrugged one shoulder. "But you're right. I am. I learned in part, on Yanartas, in part before."
"Because you're a Warrior," he followed.
I'd gone back to watching my weapon; I looked up.
"I mean, you said before about your rank. And..."
"And I'm well-known for being both. I'm not surprised you're aware."
If I'd had an expression of curiosity; it had been because I was wondering
why he was still here.
I re-sheathed my sword, and dropped my hands back, holding myself up with my arms, and keeping my chin high. "These forms I was doing tonight weren't from Yanartas though. They're Byakoan. They're very difficult."
"I could tell," he agreed. "Even watching you for a moment, you were very impressive. The Byakoans must not be able to do them so well. I mean... I assume they couldn't. You did them very— I mean, you looked..."
My brow was slowly lifting. He cut off and looked to the forest. I nearly laughed. "I think you must not be very fluid with talking, Cole. But I don't mind so much. Everyone around me is generally very well-spoken. I like being the one able to express myself best... Do they not do a lot of talking in Kanth?"
He didn't reply right away. And I wondered if I might prefer to return to Byako now. Finally he shrugged. "I'm not good at very many things."
This made me narrow, almost straightaway. "Well, that's some sort of attitude to have. You must be good at something." He didn't offer any argument, so I suggested, "You spotted the bird, didn't you? You must have fair sight."
He shrugged.
"And what things do they do in Kanth? You know it's not very far from my land, Shaundakul. Don't they have trees there? Are you good at climbing?"
He thought longer this time, but it ended in the same routine.
I waved an arm. "See there. And you've come to join the war. Can't you fight?"
He shrugged again. This time I watched the lift of his shoulders and imagined he had a solid form beneath his robes. He was, perhaps a little short, but that may have been his demeanor more than anything. I looked over his hands. And this caused me pause. I wished then, that he was even closer to the fire; but from what I could tell, they looked rough. Too rough, like they were scarred over. I brought my gaze back up to him, and this time—for the first time—I caught sight of his eyes. They were orange, but I thought that would have been because of the fire; I could still make out their expression. Sad, and even strained. They didn't catch the light well. Especially around the center, they were almost absorbing it.
A gripping sensation wrenched around my heart, and I couldn't help but frown. Even though I was already looking at him, I blinked a few times to bring his full figure back into focus, then I tipped my head up. "You know it's not going to be easy get to Yanartas right now because of the festival ending. You probably picked the worst time to join."
He stared at me a little. Then his gaze shifted and he shrugged. "I have to go. I'll find a way." He had his hands inside his pockets now—even though I hadn't noticed when he'd put them there. Sometime after I'd seen their scars I supposed. I wondered if he'd caught me watching; and it only solidified my decision.
"Well, then maybe I can help you more than I said before."
CYRIC:
I'd never been on a boat before. Really I hadn't. —Let alone a boat on an ocean.
I personally found it lot like flying. Not as frightening, but still that disconcerting feeling that I wasn't in control of myself. The surface beneath you moved for one—even in a ferry as large as ours, which I knew for a fact was one of the biggest. It had multiple decks, along with inner cabins. Somehow its crew was made up of only three, but there were five times that many on the ship altogether.
Another negative factor was that you couldn't quite get a handle on where everyone else was: when you would run into them, how to avoid one or make sure to stay close to another. I stood against the side-rail at the left of the boat. The sky was silver, but bright, which made the ocean seem even darker than it really was, and periodically the boat rocked enough to splash sea water over the sides.
But this new ocean experience, disconcerting or not, wasn't even in the running for matters to pull my attention. That space fell... one, to Lucian Denathar, who had a habit of not staying put in one place for long—on top of an uncanny talent for resembling his twin brother, whose face I'd gotten so used to seeing in nightmares, that it was hard to convince myself that I wasn't dreaming now.
Two, the sheer number of warriors, all there to pledge themselves against Akadia. Maybe I wasn't an Akadian lieutenant anymore—of course I wasn't—but that still didn't make it seem like the most stable position to be surrounded by dozens of men that would have, only weeks ago, been jockeying for the chance to do me in.
Three, there was a princess on this ship. The same princess that had gotten me on it only a day after meeting me. And I couldn't stop staring at that princess. But that princess thought I was a Kanthian. And that princess thought my name was Cole.
She was standing only few feet down the siding from me now, with her elbows on the railing, and—even if I'd wanted to be away from her—I wouldn't have been able to. Even with the other concerns of the ship, I was completely consumed with watching her. She wore her Warrior's uniform, which began from the bottom with small, riding boots, then leather leggings that hugged tight up to her hips. A belt, fit with weapons and things. A single sword. Then there was her leather top, which stopped somewhere near the base of her neck. Her arms were covered with white cloth that fell loose down to her wrists, shifting with the wind. Her hair was braided back into one simple, very long piece, less bright than it was in summer. And on the top of her head was a turquoise crown that matched her eyes.
She mostly stared at the sea, but just now she was talking with a crewman on the other side of her. I listened, trying to make her voice out as words and not just a sound that sent me into a state of euphoria. It looked like they were about done, when a woman approached from her other side, coming between us. She had black hair, and wore Warrior's garb like Ellia, except that hers was dark and instead of a sword at her belt, she had one strapped to her back. Though I hadn't met her, I'd seen her around Lucian Denathar enough to tell that they were close. And this on its own was enough to make me glad for her existence.
She waited for Ellia to finish with the crewman, then nudged Ellia's arm. "You were right about the southerner. He joined because of Karatel. He said he has hopes of invading it. How did you know?"
Ellia looked up at her, blinking, and I envied the girl's nearness. "You mean the one from Parivil?"
The girl tipped her head. "I think so. With yellowish skin?"
Ellia nodded. "Yes. That's because... one of Cheng's men told me something about their country. In Parivil they don't have granted animals, and I guess they even have a sort of pride over it. At the same time they consider kingdoms like Akadia, that do have granted animals, responsible to watch over those that don't. For them it's the worst form of offense that a kingdom with granted would attack one without."
"Ah," the girl replied. "So since Karatel has no granted animals?..."
"I assumed that's why he was here," Ellia finished. She shrugged. "I wasn't certain."
"But of course you were right," the girl said, nudging her arm again. "I don't see how you keep all the names straight—let alone their beliefs and animals, and so on."
Ellia smiled a little and looked out at the water. Obviously this girl didn't know, but I for one was aware that Ellia had learned these countries, their names, and their animals long ago. The information on them, maybe, was new.... I didn't like that they were having a conversation over something so trivial. There were so many things that I would have preferred to hear Ellia talking about; so many things I didn't know.
"Speaking of recruits," the girl broached, "Lucian told me you jumped one ahead of line. Isn't he?..." The girl tipped her head my way, and if I'd been smart I would have stopped staring, but I couldn't help but watch Ellia's reaction. Her gaze flicked to me a moment, then she gave the girl a confirming shrug.
"Why is his face covered and everything?" she asked.
Ellia jerked her head. "Estrid, he's right there. You know he can hear you?"
The girl shrugged, frowning at me.
Ellia sighed then she gestured past the girl towards me. "Estrid, this is Cole. Cole, this is Estrid Larke. She's from Karatel. And before she makes me tel
l you, she's also a captain."
Estrid gave me a wave. I bowed my head to her, mostly preoccupied by Ellia's attention. She continued to point at me. "Cole is from Kanth, Estrid. That's why he wears those robes. They're very important to their culture." Ellia said all this pointedly, then she looked at me, "All Kanthians wear them, right? Not just the men?"
Her gaze held steady. For what must have been at least a minute, I was just staring at her eyes, trying to think past them. Then I realized she was still waiting for me, and nodded. "Yes." I tried to think of more to add but couldn't. "Right."
Estrid raised a brow. "All the time then? Don't you get hot?"
"Estrid," Ellia chastised.
Estrid held her hands up. "What? I'm just curious. Didn't you think of it?"
Ellia shook her head disapprovingly.
"Fine, then. I won't ask again. Sorry, um... sorry," she repeated, leading me to guess that she'd already forgotten my name. Then she gave Ellia a wave. "I'll see you closer in. Lucian's calling for me."
She danced off and I turned my head to watch her—curious because I hadn't heard anyone call her name. I thought maybe he'd waved her over, but when she joined him, tugging at his arm, he was facing away and he even jumped in surprise. Just the sight of his back made me swallow, so I didn't watch to confirm the oddity; I turned back to the ocean.
"You're not deaf," said Ellia. My gaze quickly switched to her. "He didn't really call for her. Estrid and Lucian are both Warriors, so they're bonded to chimera. Their chimera have... well, their chimera are a couple, so they're connected to each other's minds now. Sometimes Lucian will tell his chimera Arrin something, and then Arrin will tell Tris, Estrid's chimera and so on. It can get confusing, but it's pretty common among the Warriors. And it can be very useful in battle."
Ellia looked like she was waiting for a response from me, so I nodded. Then she turned back to watch the water. I didn't mind so much; I just went back to staring at her. She appeared so peaceful now, but then that had been exactly what I'd thought when I'd been watching her in the forest outside of Byako. Then before I'd even realized she was headed my direction, she'd pointed her sword and shouted at me. "Do you think I came here to be followed?"
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