“Not a thing.” The man smiled showing his missing teeth.
Turing to Omar, the guard shook his head. “Sir, this is a bad idea.”
“Go back to Eskorgan; tell my father what I told you.” He stood, gripping the key.
The man spoke, “If you leave now you will get to Burling by morning. Head west and follow the river Thoth.” When the prince was out of view, the elderly man turned the golden guard. “You should let him be young. There is plenty of time to be an adult.”
“With all due respect, but that is the crowned Prince of Eskorgan and he is needed by his kingdom.” Omar stated.
The elderly man smiled, “Oh? Is that so?” his lips thinned. “Well, we wouldn’t want to cause any trouble for him. It’s important for him to reach his destination. Without him, I will not know where that girl is.” Extending his hand, he touched the guard’s forehead. Sliding his fingers down the bridge of his slender nose, grazing over his lips to his chin.
Along the invisible line where the man had touched, the skin cracked. Little red beads seeped through. Omar’s eyes widened, his voice caught in his throat as thick blood foamed from his mouth. Panicking, he grasped at his throat, willing himself to breathe. Hissing and wheezing he took hold of the man in front of him.
“Shhh, it will all be over soon.” The elderly man whispered. “Just let go.” He pushed the guard over sending him crashing to the ground. “Goodnight.”
“Why are we helping the prince again, my lady?” a woman’s voice came from behind a marble column. As she entered the waning sunlight, she removed her feathery hat and scratched at her matted hair.
The elderly man looked to over his shoulders. When he saw that no one had come to investigate the sounds of the dying man. He whispered under his breath in tongues not heard in this city before. The hair on his head transformed from thin and grey to thick and brown, growing longer to reach the small of his back. Brown eyes softened as his body changed from that of a crippled man to a woman, older, but not yet at the twilight of her life. Silver threads danced around her head, nesting onto her forehead, the branches reached out and connecting to complete a circlet crown, a diamond glittered in the center. Black flames engulfed her body for a moment leaving a white bodice smoldering over her shoulders. An ebony lacy dress appeared as the smoke dissolved.
“Are you positive the girl had ears and a tail?” She turned to her companion.
“Yes. Furry ears and a tail, like yours Lady Mairwen.” the woman said.
“Thank you Kaia for pointing that flaw out.” As she spoke, she picked at the skin around her nails, “Now, we know that the boy is going after her, and he has to find a way to Burling. We are helping him get to his location, but once there, where will he go? If only there was a way to find out where he is going.
Kaia turned her head, pinching her chin, “Oh. The key!” she exclaimed. “You charmed the key to show you where he is going.”
“Yes, brilliant girl.” Mairwen smiled. “A simple tracking charm will lead us to the girl.” her breath escaped her lips, “I thought my world was rid of those pests. To find out one still lives, right before our moment of arrival.”
“My lady, if one still lives, the prophecy.” Kaia gulped.
“Do not fret. It will not come to pass.” She smirked. “Come now, we must head back to Iglesia. We will be expecting a guest.”
Chapter Eleven
Intercession
There are rumors about what happened in the north. How many years have passed for those rumors have become a ghost. No one remembers the small town, or the people who lived there. Some say a falling star wasted, others say town folks committed mass suicide to appease the lady of the lands. No one had seen her since the incident. After all, no one had seen or heard from the Iglesian race since that night, as if someone erased them from history.
Before the event, the Iglesian people had a long history as farmers. Visitors to their lands call them gentle people. They had no need to be involved in war. Raising their children, tending to their crops, and dancing under the full moon was better suited to them. Every day, they would share their crops between one another, and would turn down any payment in return. If Gon needed more carrots for his famous stew, then Dyane would be more than happy to share the fruits, or vegetable, of her garden with him.
Their faith ran deep. They believed their oracles breathed life into the words of their Gods. The oracles lived inside the gemstones the church kept locked away. When they had a prophecy to tell, they would glow, speaking the names of the people it wished to speak. Once a prophecy was read, a piece of jewelry was foraged to keep the gemstone. Mostly around the neck.
Few prophecies had been read in their lifetime, and certainly not any that were life changing. One was for a farmer to switch fertilizer to have a better harvest, and another that told a pregnant woman which sex her child would be. That was why, one evening when Delyth and Edwyn were hastily called to the church they did not expect much. Maybe the Gods heard their prayers seeking to have a second child, one that would help entertain their rambunctious daughter.
The lady of the lands had been called kind, giving, and was ever present for her people. She had made time to come and visit her people and to listen to their plights. She enjoyed the dances and played with the children. Some women worked for her as maids and cooks in her home. The children were welcomed to gather in her study where she would regale them with tales of dragons and ogres. They would beg her for more after each story, and she would happily spin another tale. Maybe one about a prince and his princess.
In the north, no one told stories anymore. In fact, no one traversed that far anymore. Warnings of sudden squalls and large creatures that stalk travelers upon entering the Forest of Pan. The forest became the boundary line for anyone who dared to get a closer look at the ruins. When word began to circulate of the strange occurrences, people stopped trying to enter. Many just decided it was better to never know and to avoid death altogether.
This is how she liked it. Quiet. It gave her time to reflect. Every detail to her plan was important, and she did not want to overlook anything. If even one thing went wrong, it would cascade across all other sectors. Now that she found out about this girl there was a hole in her plan that needed to be patched and quickly.
“Lady Mairwen.” A tender voice entered her solar.
“What can I help you with my dear?” She whispered, her fingers fluttering over the papers on her desk.
“Your riders are on their way to Burling. They will await your instructions outside the city.” Kaia stated. She looked up and smiled at her servant. Only a child when she came to Mairwen, in need of a place to stay and lucky for her, she was in need of some additional help around her estate. She always felt that Kaia was always more of a daughter to her than her chambermaid, but she had multiple uses.
“Wonderful.” Peering up from her desk, she gestured for her to come closer to her. “Come here. I wish to show you something.” She raised her hand above the desk, moving in a circular motion purple wisps of smoke created an oval looking glass.
“What is it my lady?” She asked.
“This is a doorway. It will show us where the key is at all times.” The elder stated. Kaia reached out to touch the mirror, as if it had a mind of its own, it recoiled from her fingertips. “Don’t take it personally. He doesn’t like to be touched.”
“How does it show you where the key is located?” She asked.
“You remember when I told you that all things are living? Well, I lied. A key is not a living thing. It has no heart, no soul. No eyes in which to see. However, we can place a spell on an object to give it the appearance it is alive. It can see around it, smell the air, and taste its surroundings.”
“Once the key is around that girl, it can smell her. The scent will alert us to her. And if it could see her then we will have verification of where she is.” She said. The corners of her mouth slide up towards her eyes as she pla
ced all the pins in their place.
“You are so smart. It is wonderful to have you as my daughter.” Mairwen beamed. “Once we have that girl here I want to make sure she has the finest of rooms available. You know the one. Why don’t you go get it ready for her?”
“We want our guest to be comfortable.” she agreed.
Lady Mairwen wanted what was best, and no one argued against that fact. As long as it benefitted her, she had their best interest at heart.
“Show me where the key is.” She demanded. The glass rippled to life showing the boy. Wind ripped through his hair, his eyes were bloodshot from the sand, and his face showing signs of sand burn. “Poor baby. I should have told him the goggles were in the center caddy.”
“My lady, the key won’t reach Burling until for a few more hours.” A voice echoed from the looking glass. “He hasn’t rested all night.”
“He won’t rest. The boy has a goal, and he won’t stop until he reaches it.” She mused. “If only all of you worked liked that. Alert me when he arrives.”
She left the study, slamming the doors behind her. The sun was setting when they had arrived at the manor, and now the moon danced across the sky. Soon it would set and the new day would break. The manor hummed, it was electric. Excited hushed voices spoke as she passed. Finally, the end was in sight. One war was ending and another would soon begin.
Books were stacked from floor to ceiling in multiple piles across her room. One particular pile leaned to the right, soon it would topple over and they would need to be built up again. She sat in an armchair across from her bed reading a book, handwritten and the binding over stretched. It was a favorite. As she turned the pages, a gentle knock hit her door.
“Enter.” She beckoned. The door opened and Kaia entered the room. “The sun has risen my lady, and the key reached Burling a short while ago. He rested for a few hours, but now the key has switched hands.”
“Explain.” She said.
“Soon after getting to Burling he rested in the car, just outside the city, until daybreak. Upon awakening, he made his way into the city, the key on his person. He came across the others she was with, but she was not there. One child took his anger out on the boy. The key fell from him and this new boy took the key from him.” She explained. “What should we do next, my lady? Should we send in the soldiers?”
Her fingers tapped on her temple. The drumming did not make the news any less difficult to listen to.
“What did this child say to our boy?” She inquired.
“He asked him why he was following them.” Kaia said.
This bit of information was interesting. The boy was following these children to Burling. Lifting her finger from her face.
“No, my dear. This new boy will be of use to us.” She stood and took a deep breath. “Come now, back to my study.” They walked out of the room, the sun shining through the large windows the manor.
“There is still much to do.”
Chapter Twelve
Reunion
Wood flakes dispersed from Adriana’s nails as she crawled over the banister on her way to freedom. If only she could just get to the door in time. But the sound of steel-soled boots told her she did not have that kind of luck.
“You’re going to pay for that.” Owen yelled. His voice was haggard as he vaulted down the stairs. He ripped the broad sword from the kitchen table. The tang clanked as it hit the railing behind him, taking a piece of the wood with him. The knee of his pants had been torn. Underneath a ragged gash seeped blood down his leg and onto his boot.
“If you hadn’t been such a jerk and picked on me, I wouldn’t have cut you!” She said crouching into a defensive stance, shuffling her tiny feet across the floor.
“You shouldn’t make yourself an easy target.” He growled, keeping pace with her as she circled around him.
She knew that the better advantage would be to have the stairs behind her for coverage, but he was not about to let her get around him so easily. The map container sat innocently on the floor next to her. She gripped the end before hurling it in her opponent’s direction. Swinging his sword, the tube broke in half before it reached him.
“You’ve never liked me. But it’s not my fault that I was brought here so maybe you should just learn to deal with it.” She said.
“Dad wants me to toughen you up, and that’s what I’m doing. You deal with it.” Owen pulled back his weapon ready to strike. “I’ve been training longer than you and I can kick Aaron’s ass.”
“Oh please. Everyone knows he lets you beat him to make you feel better about yourself.” Adriana retorted. He charged forward, yelling as he ran, his voice escaping his tight throat. The cords of his neck tightened and bulged, he was ready to swing his blade down, to make the final blow to show her who ran this house when their dad wasn’t home. To teach her the lesson of bending the knee to the oldest, to him.
As his blade descended, she jumped into the air, dodging the sword, using the wall behind her to propel herself forward and land upon his shoulders.
“Get off of me.” He demanded, reaching for her leg he pulled her down. The ground quaked as her body slammed against the floor.
“That hurt, you jerk.” She groaned.
“Not as much as this,” he muttered. A broadsword is normally held with two hands, but Owen had trained for years to hold it with one hand. He placed the grip in his right hand, slamming his foot down on her leg to keep her from moving; he dragged the point across her abdomen. A searing scream of pain escaped her pink lips. Her hands flying over the cut as her blood dripped out and onto the carpet.
“Don’t worry, it’s not deep. You’ll live.” He said. The sword dropped to the floor. “You need to understand that we are thieves in this family. If you get hurt on the job, it is expected that you will walk it off. You need to learn to walk this off.”
“What in the hells did you do?” Braian stuttered.
“We were sparing; she stabbed me in the leg. I taught her a lesson.” he explained.
Lifting her up from the floor, he glared in his brother’s direction, “This wasn’t a lesson for you to teach.” As he walked away, he screamed out to Phoebe. “Phoebe, get the kit, they have been at it again.”
Owen looked down at the floor; finding drops of blood, Adriana’s blood on his shoes. All his life he was taught to be a good soldier. This was what good soldiers did. They taught the difficult lessons that no one wanted to teach. Before a mare can be trained, you must break her. His father told him so. She needed to be protected, but how could he protect someone who would not listen?
He wiped the blood from his shoe. Tomorrow he would start again. This time he would give her the win.
* * *
That morning, he felt like it was his birthday. He pulled open the curtains letting in the rising sun through the crystal window. A round of groans roared from the still bodies in the beds as the sun his companions.
“Wake up sleepy heads.” Owen announced, pulling his shirt over his head. “Get up so we can go enjoy breakfast and I can show you around my birthplace.” More groans answered him. “Come on. We don’t get this chance very often; we should take advantage of this.”
“What if someone sees you?” Phoebe asked sitting up in bed. Her hair tossed to one side. “You’ll get arrested and I doubt Adriana would get you out of jail.” She pointed to the lump in the bed next to her.
“Do not bring me into this.” She groaned, throwing the comforter over her head.
“Well, we know very well you would not.” She said.
“Ladies,” Owen smiled. “Look, if we see those pesky signs we will tear them up. No harm done.”
“Fine, but if you get caught, it is not our problem.” Phoebe chastised him, pointing to everyone in the room.
“Glad you can see it my way.” The fyssh whispered.
“I don’t think it’s a new development.” a muffled voice said.
After a few turns in
the room’s only bathroom and arguing over the hot water, three of them were ready to go. Their fourth, stayed in bed, saying she had no need to go sightseeing. Especially in a place where the “jerk was born.”
Braian leaned over her and placed his hand on what he believed to be her shoulder.
“Are you sure you won’t join us?” He asked.
Peeking from underneath the blanket, her blue eyes met violet, “Yes, I will catch up later. Maybe.”
“Come on, there is so much to see.” Owen called. He grabbed Phoebe’s arm pulling her away from the room with Braian in tow.
Breakfast was freshly baked bread, honey and a white ginger tea. They had found a quiet area by the water to eat. The honey melted on the warm bread, causing their fingers to become sticky.
“Whenever I would come back, I would eat breakfast here every morning and watch the waves ebb and flow. Sometimes I would sit here all day.” He said running his fingers through the sand. It was soft as it slid over his hands and through his fingers.
Phoebe sat beside him, trying to keep her hair behind her ears as the wind played through her tresses.
“This place is so beautiful. It feels so peaceful here.” She smiled. “Maybe if you weren’t a wanted man, we could settle down here one day.”
He scoffed, “I can get my name cleared. Pay them well enough and they’ll forget it ever happened.”
“I guess you’ll have to get rich.” She teased pushing on his shoulder.
“Yeah. I don’t have a plan for that yet. I guess we’ll have to figure something out.” He said, “Where’s Braian?”
“He wandered off. You know how he is. He worries too much about Adriana, and she doesn’t worry about anyone.” She shrugged.
“That is my fault. I think I pushed her too hard.” He whispered.
His companion smiled and hugged him, cradling his body in her arms, “You were hard on all of us, mostly her, but all of us.”
“Aaron said I had to be hard on all of you, but she needed it the most. I was rough when I could have just been stern. I was harsh when I did not need to be. Adriana learned to hate me, and she then learned to hate Braian because of it.” He explained.
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