Arrows Of Change (Book 1)

by Honor Raconteur

  “Dressing up to catch a man’s attention does no’ mean ye catch the right man’s attention.” Remembering a certain incident not too long ago, Riana gripped the bow tightly.

  “Riana.” Ashlynn gripped her shoulders and faced her head on, eyes intense but voice gentle. “Did a man touch you when he shouldn’t have?”

  Riana’s lip lifted in a snarl. “He tried.”

  “Oh? Details, I want details!”

  Just remembering it made her sight go red. “A bit drunk, he be. It be late at night, too. Da went ahead of me to fetch some bread, so I think the blighter thought me fair game as I be alone. He jumped me from the doorway, but I threw him off quick-like with a solid boot to his mid-section that had him gasping for breath. Although he be so drunk that it had no’ kept him down for long.”

  “And what happened to him?”

  “He found it a wee mite hard to come after me again with his hand nailed to a tree.”

  “Good girl.” Ashlynn relaxed her grip although she didn’t step back. “Does Broden know about this?”

  Riana shook her head. “No. I did no’ tell him. After all, I handled it just fine. But I think he guessed.”

  “Well, he’s a good father, so he likely noticed something.” Ashlynn ran a hand over her mouth, looking disturbed. “No wonder he was so desperate to get you out of there, though, if that was starting to happen.”

  “Aye.”

  “I promise you, you won’t be in the same danger here. It’s an unstable city at the moment, but with all of us working to make it safe as we have, I don’t think it’s dangerous. Well, not dangerous enough to keep a woman from being a woman. Buy a dress, Riana. Buy four. You can do that without worrying in Estole.”

  Reassured, Riana ducked her head and smiled. “Aye.”

  Ashlynn’s eyes roved over her from head to toe. “Although a few dresses are the least of what you’ll need. A few hair combs, some slips, court shoes, stockings, purses, at least one good fan—heavens, I really should have taken you shopping earlier! Shame on Ash for blocking me as he did.”

  “Ash blocked ye?” Riana repeated blankly. Why on earth would he?

  “He’s been selfishly hogging you.” Ashlynn gave a pretty pout, looking more amused than peeved. “I’ll smack him for it later. Honestly, men have no idea how much effort a woman puts into looking beautiful. Didn’t it occur to him that there were things you needed?”

  Probably not. Riana hadn’t thought of them either, but in all fairness, the idea of shopping in general was a foreign concept. She found herself quickly getting into the spirit of things, though. “Do ye think that while we shop, we can keep an eye out for things that suit me da?”

  “Oh, certainly,” Ashlynn agreed, bobbing her head. “I generally shop for Ash and Edvard while I’m out. I don’t trust them to shop for themselves. They pick up the closest thing that fits and don’t worry too much if it suits them or not. It’s better if I shop for them. Besides,” Ashlynn rubbed her hands together in open anticipation, “I enjoy it. Now, let’s get started.”

  They barely went a few paces afore Ashlynn added, “Actually, we should talk about something else while we’re out.”

  Oh? “And that be?”

  “Well, we put you and Broden into our rooms as a sort of stop-gap measure. It was never meant to be a permanent solution. Actually, we can have your own suite of rooms set up. It’ll take a little doing, as the only other sets of rooms in our hallway have been used for storage the past ten years, but it’s doable. What do you think? Do you want rooms of your own?”

  A whole suite of rooms for her own? The idea was boggling to her. Most of her life—until she came to Estole—she’d either spent the night out in the woods or in the treehouse that she and her father shared. And it wasn’t more than three rooms in total. They’d always shared a room, as there simply wasn’t the space to have separate bedrooms.

  Not sure how to respond to this, she stared blindly ahead for several long moments before offering, “Never in me life have I had a room of me own.”

  “Truly?” Ashlynn asked in astonishment.

  “Aye. It be why I did no’ think much of it when we be put into yer rooms. I think it be strange to sleep alone…” she trailed off, realizing that even though she said that, a part of her wanted to see what it was like, to have a space that was completely her own.

  “Riana,” Ashlynn’s voice was shaking in amusement, “that expression on your face tells me that you want a room of your own, though. If nothing else, than for the novelty of the experience. Shall I have a word with Miss Hailey and have her start clearing out that room?”

  “There be no rush to it,” Riana hastily assured her. “I do no’ mind being where I am. But, well, aye. I suppose I would like to try it.”

  “Then I’ll ask her to work on it.”

  As they walked toward Main Square, Ashlynn pointed things out to her, like the best places to grab a quick snack, or cut through alleys that were good shortcuts. If a guardsman passed them, she stopped them and introduced Riana. In the space between one street and the next, Riana met at least fifteen people, and her head spun with names and faces. It was all a bit much to take in, but she found herself smiling in the sheer joy of it.

  The amulet around Ashlynn’s neck came alive with a panicked voice, “Sheriff? Sherriff!”

  Ashlynn stopped dead in her tracks and picked up the necklace, demanding tersely, “I hear you, what is it?”

  “We’ve got a riot on our hands. It’s quickly gotten out of our control. They’re starting to set the posting board on fire.”

  “Where?”

  “Main Square.”

  Ashlynn swore and took off so quickly her boots squeaked. “What started it?”

  “We’re not sure. Someone was reading the martial laws out loud—I think it was for the people that can’t read—and then all of a sudden, there was a lot of shouting in that direction. By the time I could muscle my way over there, it was already getting out of hand. Now it’s bad enough that they’re not only destroying things, they’re hurting each other.”

  Riana’s stomach filled with a sick sensation even as she easily kept pace with Ashlynn.

  “Put a defensive ring around the area, keep it from spreading,” Ashlynn ordered in clipped tones. “Ring the bell and call for reinforcements. Can anyone put that fire out?”

  “We can’t get close enough to it.”

  Riana swore aloud. They could not afford having a fire spread through the city.

  Ducking around a wagon, Ashlynn lost her speed temporarily, but picked it up again as they crossed the street. People recognized the Sheriff of Estole and got out of her way as fast as possible. As they ran, Riana saw that guards were gathering ahead of them, keeping people at bay. Were they already at Main Square?

  Ashlynn skidded to a halt at the ring of guardsmen long enough to glance back at Riana and say, “Shoot, but don’t kill, and guard my back.”

  “Got it.” Riana yanked the tie on her belt quiver and loosed the arrows, grabbing three and twirling them into her hand, ready to fire at will.

  “The first thing I’ve got to deal with is that fire,” Ashlynn said to herself. “Tant!”

  A short, stocky young man that seemed to be of an age with them turned about, dark eyes looking a little panicked. “Yes, Sherriff?”

  “Give me a boost.” Ashlynn cupped her hands together in illustration. “I can’t see enough over this crowd to tell what’s burning. I’ve got to put it out first, before it takes down the whole city.”

  Tant was already moving as she explained, bending one knee and offering her his hands as a support. Ashlynn took the hands, gripping them firmly, then put her boot on his upper thigh and boosting herself up.

  Guessing what she would do next, Riana put a steadying hand on her waist so that Ashlynn could free up a hand. She would need at least one to do any spellwork with. Ashlynn nodded absent thanks to both of them even as she weaved a magical path in the air. With a shar
p word, a gust of wind flew past them, and the thick smoke that had been billowing over their heads died down to mere tendrils.

  Riana breathed a little easier seeing that. At least the place wouldn’t be in danger of coming down around their ears.

  Tant let Ashlynn down easy. “Sheriff, what do we do?”

  “How far spread is this?” she asked.

  “Just Main Square.”

  Ashlynn rolled her eyes to the heavens and repeated, “Just Main Square, he says.”

  “Large area?” Riana asked Tant timidly.

  “It’s not small,” he answered grimly. “And right now, it’s packed with people. This is the height of the day for shopping.”

  “How many guardsmen do we have right now?”

  “Thirty or so, I think.”

  “Thirty.” Ashlynn bit on her bottom lip, thinking hard. “Alright. Five of you hold your position and don’t let anyone through. Mark, Seth, Konrath, you come with me. We’re going to push these people up against a wall and force them to stand down. If anyone resists you, break an arm, but otherwise try not to hurt them. Clear?”

  A chorus of assents answered her.

  “Let’s try this first.” Ashlynn pointed at her own throat, and her next words boomed like a thunderclap. “EVERYONE IN THE SQUARE! THIS IS SHERIFF FALLBRIGHT. GET ON YOUR KNEES IMMEDIATELY, AND PUT YOUR HANDS ON TOP OF YOUR HEAD. I REPEAT, GET ON YOUR KNEES IMMEDIATELY, AND PUT YOUR HANDS ON YOUR HEAD.”

  Ashlynn gave them a full thirty seconds before she said, “They’ve had their chance, let’s go.”

  They pushed through the guards and Riana could finally see what they were truly dealing with. It made her heart sink. Saying that people were ‘harming each other’ was a mild way to phrase it. People openly attacked each other, screaming, cursing, swinging fists. None of them were truly armed, so Riana had hopes that no one had died yet, but it was not a pretty sight.

  It was a madhouse of limbs and heads and bodies all tangled in with each other. It was hard to discern one person from the next. People were shouting, cursing, wailing, pleading, and the voices rose and fell like an approaching thunderstorm, the sound blasting her ears. She tried to pick out individual words, understand at least some of what they were saying, but couldn’t.

  Riana felt like she had waded into a sea of rage, and it made her heart leap into her throat even as her stomach rolled and knotted. Never in her life had she seen this many people crowded together at once—that alone was nerve-wracking—but the way they pressed against each other and shoved at one another made her instincts jangle in warning. If she came too close, there would be no buffer between her and that enraged mass.

  The guards formed a wedge shape with Ashlynn at the point, and then tackled the first person in front of them, catching brawlers and forcing them to the ground. When they were down, Ashlynn would speak some sort of spell, which bound their hands to the cobblestone. The guards worked quickly, seamlessly, but Riana could tell that even at this pace it would take most of the day to subdue the crowd.

  Riana couldn’t simply let them fight alone. And simply standing here wouldn’t calm this mob either. Taking in a deep breath for courage, she ignored the way her heartbeat pounded in her ears, and turned to step just outside of the wedge, focusing on the people the guards couldn’t readily lay hands on. In this thick press of bodies, it took careful aim on her part, but she went for the people that were near buildings. She shot arrows that caught the edge of their clothes, nailing them to the wood. If that wasn’t possible, she would shoot a warning arrow between two fighters, forcing them to flinch and back away from each other.

  From across the square, a voice she knew well boomed out, “KNEEL ON THE GROUND NOW, OR YOUR LIFE IS FORFEIT!”

  This threat worked where Ashlynn’s words hadn’t. People started kneeling quickly, afraid of the anger that rang in their ears. Edvard had arrived. He must be with Ash to be able to shout that loudly, which meant that her da was likely here as well. Riana felt beyond relieved, but didn’t let it distract her. She focused on the people that weren’t obeying, firing arrows that would subdue, or pin them to something. A few she actually wounded by aiming at their arms. She had no choice on some of them—it was either hurt them, or watch them fatally hurt someone else.

  The time passed quickly for her, living moment to moment as she was, but the sun had moved to stand high in the sky by the time that they had everyone sitting quietly on the ground; or quietly bleeding somewhere, as the case might be. She and Ashlynn stood back to back, looking at the damage done, and Riana couldn’t help but wince. The glass windows of every shop were broken out, the main posting board in the center of the square was nothing more than charcoal, and the whole square was covered with people.

  “What happened?” she asked faintly, overwhelmed.

  “I want to know that too.” Ashlynn turned to the nearest person and kicked them in the leg, none too gently. “You. What started this?”

  “There was a man near the board reading the martial laws out loud,” the man answered with a nervous look up at the wizard. “But he was reading them wrong. Adding in words, taking out words, making them sound different. A few of us tried to correct him, but then there were others that said he was right and we weren’t, and the new king was worse than the old one we’d left, and…well…”

  “And a fight broke out, and it somehow escalated to this madness?” Ashlynn bit off, looking ready to lynch someone.

  He nodded miserably.

  Ashlynn blew out a disgusted breath. “Ignorance always breeds madness and violence. We’ve got to do something about this.” Turning, she pointed to a woman that was crouched nearby. “You. Did the fight start out near you for the same reason?”

  The woman shook her head miserably. “My husband was arguing with one of the guards about the housing deeds. Our deed is for a family house, but we have seven children. The house is too small. I was wrapped up in that argument and wasn’t paying attention. I can’t tell you how it started.”

  The man sitting behind her timidly raised his voice and offered, “It was the bit about the Bindings being reinstated at the end of the month that started people fighting.”

  Riana and Ashlynn shared a startled look. What?!

  “The Bindings aren’t going to be reinstated!” Edvard denied hotly. He might have been ten feet away, but he could clearly still hear from there. Raising his voice to a thunderous level, he repeated himself, “THE BINDINGS WILL NEVER BE A PART OF ESTOLE LAW! Do you understand me? The martial law is also temporary until we can write new ones!” When he got no response except confused looks, his brows slammed together in a fierce frown. “Answer me!”

  People quickly nodded or spoke quick words of reassurance.

  Riana felt a headache brewing. Just how had the Bindings come into play into all of this? Had this riot been a case of three different arguments all breaking out in the same place, at the same time?

  Ashlynn turned back to the first man she had questioned. “Can you describe this man to me?”

  “He was too far away for me to get a clear look. I think he was a farmer or something. He dressed like one.”

  Ash and Broden weaved their way toward them, stepping over bodies when needed. Riana waved a reassuring hand at her da, telling him silently she was fine. And she was. Heartsick at what had happened, dangerously low on arrows, but fine.

  Her wizard, of course, didn’t understand such signals and so demanded of her, “Are you alright? Ashlynn, Riana?”

  “Fine,” Ashlynn groused. “I hate people more now than I did this morning, but other than that, fine.”

  Ash blew out a relieved breath, slumping forward for a moment. “We saw what was happening from the window and got down here as fast as we could. I’m glad you got it contained before it spread to the whole city. But the question is now, what do we do with them?”

  “Hard labor and fines for all of them,” Edvard answered, coming up to join them. “Some of them were simply caught in this
madness, and those you can let go. But the rest get hard labor and fines.”

  Ashlynn’s mouth peeled back in a particularly evil smile. “Understood, sire. I have just the job for them.”

  “Garbage duty?” Broden guessed dryly.

  Her smile widened. “You amazing man. You read minds, now?”

  “Do no’ need to with ye, lass. It be clear enough on yer face.” Broden looked around him for a long moment, turning in every direction to see it all. “I will stay and help ye sort it all out.”

  Riana couldn’t help but bemoan, “I suppose the shopping will have to wait.”

  Ashlynn turned to her, eyes narrowing in renewed anger. “That’s right. We were about to have some fun and shop for a few hours. Macha take them! How dare they ruin my plans! The punishment just doubled because of that.”

  “Ashlynn!” Ash objected, spluttering.

  “What?”

  “You can’t do that!”

  “Why not?”

  “Isn’t that an abuse of authority?” he beseeched her, trying to get his twin to see reason. “Edvard, help me out here.”

  Edvard regarded Ash in surprise. “You think I can reason with her when she gets in that mood of hers?”

  Ashlynn turned to Riana with an arched brow. “Well, what do you think?”

  Riana’s mouth flattened. Now that she thought of it, the whole situation was making her angry as well. “I be with ye.”

  Satisfied, Ashlynn turned back to the men. “There you have it.”

  Ash threw his hands into the air. “I give up. I’ll start over on the northern side. Try not to let your anger get the better of you, sis.”

  Not fazed by his words, Ashlynn turned to the man she had questioned earlier and said mockingly sweet, “The punishment for angering a wizard is either dismemberment or a month of cleaning the city garbage bins. Which do you prefer?”

  Chapter Eleven

  Riana sat on her rooftop perch and watched the city lights go out one by one as people turned in for the night. Oh, the streets lights were still lit—and having street lamps at all was an odd thing for her—but the windows in the homes and businesses were going dark in quick succession. Then again, it was near the witching hour, so anyone sensible should be in bed by this point.