“We might want to go get her now.” Bekah clucked, holding Raven’s boots. “She’s started stripping.”
CHAPTER 18: AN UNBREACHABLE WALL
Once again Sarah found herself at the castle, though actually enjoying herself this time. No trials, no rampaging nut-jobs, and the craters left in the wake of Raven’s release party had been smoothed over nicely.
She and Raven stumbled across Daniel, who was there for a meeting with Elspeth. Raven meandered off somewhere, to cause some sort of havoc Sarah supposed, leaving her and Daniel alone. After a few moments of small talk, Daniel asked if he could take her home after his business was complete. She accepted with a broad smile, becoming more comfortable with the striking young man every time they were together.
Since there was no telling how long Daniel’s meeting with the Duchess would take, Sarah had some time to kill. Finding out what Raven was up to seemed like a good idea at first, but after a few minutes of wandering around the castle, becoming entirely lost in the process, Sarah got one of the butlers to show her where everyone was. Now she found herself following the man up a short flight of stairs. A few smoky blast patterns were the only signs that just two days ago a crazed lunatic had bellowed through these halls, giggling and blowing up nearly everything in sight. Sarah had to appreciate the skill in which the castle workers managed to clean up after one of Raven’s outburst. Of course, she should probably be concerned that they got enough practice to get that good, but that was another problem for another day.
“What are they doing?” Sarah asked the smartly dressed servant as they stopped in front of a heavy iron door. Multiple swords and other weapons were emblazoned on its face and a thick ring hung in the center. He explained that this was the sparring room and that the daughters of Her Grace were expected to train at least three times a week when possible.
Sarah meant to ask what training but forgot that and whatever she was going to tell Raven when the door opened. She was standing on a veranda over looking a stone ring at least fifty feet wide where Raven seemed to be fighting three men. The balcony was cloaked in darkness which was why Sarah jumped when Amanda called out to her.
“Hey Sarah, you come to watch Raven get her butt kicked?”
“Come sit with us.” She heard Liz’s voice. Sarah’s eyes slowly adjusted to the gloom. Liz was sitting with Mandy and Brian and motioning for her to come join them. She took a chair as a maid asked if she wanted anything to drink. Sarah shook her head no and leaned forward to watch the action. Although such a sight would have worried her when she first moved to Valentria, Sarah quickly figured out that if the other Chandlish girls weren’t worried about Raven’s welfare she shouldn’t be either.
Raven swayed unsteadily in the middle of the ring, watching three members of the royal guard approach. The one on her left made the first move and swung a heavy fist at her. She leaned back slightly, feeling the wind of the miss on her chin. Lazily Raven caught the man’s wrist in her left hand and drove the butt of her right palm into his temple. He started to fall but she wasn’t done with him yet. Coiling her body under his and using momentum, she threw him into one of the other men. They landed in a heap and the third guard was on her, swinging wildly trying to use his superior strength to overwhelm the slender redhead. Raven laughed and calmly parried the blows with delicate hand movements. She exerted almost no energy while the guard was soon gasping for breath. In a final, desperate gambit the man let go a huge haymaker that would have knocked her out if it connected. It didn’t and the man left himself wide open. Raven’s boot lashed out quicker than a snake and caught him directly under the chin. Saliva exploded out of his mouth in a fountain as he fell backwards to sprawl unconscious on the floor.
The other two guards managed to untangle themselves but proceeded with a bit more caution. Slowly they circled Raven until one was standing on either side, just out of leg’s reach of the grinning girl. She knew what was coming and they didn’t disappoint. They lunged at her in unison, thinking to catch her in indecision. At the last possible second Raven somersaulted backwards out of harm’s way. The two men met with a bone crunching thud and slid down, their heads propping each other up.
Sarah noticed Raven looked like she was drunk, stumbling and weaving just like the night in Augusta. And, just like that time, a small group of grown men had been knocked out in less than 10 minutes.
“She’s incredible.” Sarah accidently blurted out.
“That was just a warm up.” Liz smiled. Sarah was too distracted to notice as five more men entered the arena below. “Now you can see her have some fun.”
Sarah watched intently. The five men attacked at once. She thought at first Raven fell but one by one the men flew backwards and as quickly as it started, the fight was over. Raven, never meeting a situation she couldn’t use for self gratification, jogged slowly around the ring, pumping her arms and cheering her own name.
“So that’s when she tries?” Sarah exhaled and realized she’d been holding her breath. “Can anybody beat her?”
Liz, Mandy and Brian exchanged knowing looks. Sarah hadn’t seen anything yet and the Chandlish clan was a family proud of their martial arts abilities. Liz leaned over the guard rail. “Raven, you want to make a bet?”
Raven stopped in the middle of a horribly painful looking celebration dance that involved thrusting her hips in a most unnatural way. With a grin visible all the way to the seats she crowed. “Sure, wanna make it 10-to-1 now?
“Not exactly.” Brian removed his coat and leapt over the railing, landing softly on the hard floor 15 feet below. “If I win, you promise not to eat any sweets for a week.”
“Fine, and if I win you have to call me ‘Your Glorious Highness Super-Cool Chick Branwyen for a week.”
Amanda hollered out, “No magic Raven. You know the rules.”
Raven pouted, letting the fireball hidden behind her back evaporate. With a shrug her jacket fell to the floor. She grabbed her sword from the corner as Brian drew his.
Sarah chewed her lower lip absent mindedly. Raven’s body shimmered under the blazing lights, beads of sweat glistening on her body. Long, graceful muscles tensed and relaxed under flawless skin as the redhead idly swung her sword. The under shirt Raven was wearing barely came to her navel and Sarah noted the flat, taut stomach. Firm, supple…
“They’re not fighting to the death.” Sarah jumped, surprised that someone else was there.
“They’re using real swords but they’ll stop before they really hurt each other.” Liz soothed, completely misreading Sarah’s intent gaze.
Sarah turned her attention back to the fight. It was amazing. One second both fighters were standing still, the next there were two blurs moving around the ring. There was a loud clang as their swords met. The fight was on.
Though she tried to watch each strike, Sarah soon gave up. The two combatants moved faster than her eye could follow. Brian and Raven twisted and dodged each other around the ring for ten minutes. Once Raven wound up on her back but rolled just as Brian’s sword came down. Sparks fell like rain with each attack but neither was giving up. Finally Brian slipped to one knee. Raven, sensing victory, dove for him. Sarah was sure it was over.
Raven froze; the tip of Brian’s sword mere centimeters from her throat. His blade was held beneath his arm pit, the tip pointing behind him. He had tricked her.
“Can I at least have a candy bar before I have to fast for a week?” She pleaded in as pitiable a voice as she could while they climbed the steps to the balcony.
Brian patted her on the shoulder. “Raven, you’re my sister-in-law and I love you dearly. So no, no you can’t.”
Seven long days passed since that fight and Sarah was seriously considering beating up Brian herself if it meant giving Raven something sweet. Just yesterday she found her business partner pressing her nose against the window of the bakery next door to their shop, making cooing noises at the fresh pies set out for display. She couldn’t be sure because of the rain but thoug
ht Raven might have been crying.
“Can I have something now, please? It’s been a week.” Raven’s lower lip was trembling and tears pooled at the corners of big green eyes. The sad puppy face was her absolute best weapon when it came to getting what she wanted. It never failed her before and it wouldn’t now.
Sarah wasn’t moved in the least. “Not until after supper. Brian said that it has to be a full week and that ends at seven p.m. sharp, which is in an hour and a half.”
Raven actually cried. Sarah was resolute. Snuffles climbed into Raven’s lap and licked her face, which cheered her up a little. There was a knock at the door and the other three Chandlish sisters, with Brian, came strolling in as if they owned the place.
“What are y’all doing here?” Sarah asked as Snuffles bounded over to Mandy begging to be petted.
Amanda scratched the hyperactive prairie-thumper behind his ears, “We’ve decided that since Raven has kept her word we’d all go eat at Ma’s Diner tonight. It’s Brian’s treat and there’s a car waiting downstairs.”
Raven was gone in a flash, scattering the small gathering at the door. Before Sarah could say yes or no to the offer for dinner, a car door slammed. The sound of squealing tires drew everyone over to a window.
Brian, Mandy, Liz and Bekah laughed loudly. When Sarah wanted to know what was so funny, Bekah refrained from giggling long enough to observe, “That’s not our car.”
Sitting in the middle of the group, beside Liz, Sarah looked around at the interior of the restaurant. A man finishing a cup of coffee at the long counter was the only other patron beside their group. There was a window to the kitchen where a cook wearing a grimy shirt sweated over a stove. Ceiling fans turned slowly overhead.
There was a little surprise when the driver pulled into the gravel covered lot. Sarah thought that a small, country restaurant wasn’t the type of place where nobility normally dined but everybody seemed to have eaten here many times before. Bekah said she and Sis ate here at least twice a month if not more, and the other two usually joined. It was Raven who pointed out that Jimmy, the bouncer from The Equinox, was Ma’s grandson.
After using her roll to sop up the last of the gravy, Sarah admitted that it was good food. It wasn’t like the exquisite meals she had at the castle but very filling and quite tasty. She could see coming out here again.
“I can’t believe y’all made me wait.” Raven burped softly after finishing off her second boysenberry pie. Not her second slice, Sarah noted while trying to figure out how Raven stayed so thin, but the second whole pie.
“We didn’t make you wait; we stopped you from committing a felony.” Brian pointed out.
“He didn’t seem to mind giving me a ride.”
Liz shook her head, “He was crying and begging you not to kill him when we pulled you out.” Sarah snorted into her coffee.
Ma, as the old lady waiting on them insisted on being called, asked if anybody wanted dessert as she cleared the plates off the table. Everybody, including Raven, ordered blueberry pie.
“And wrap up one to go, please!” Raven shouted at the woman’s retreating back before turning to Bekah. “I need to go powder my nose. You coming, Sis?”
Bekah pushed her chair back from the table and accompanied Raven. A moment later Sarah got up and followed but when she got to the bathroom it was empty. Being only two stalls big, it wasn’t hard to check.
After finishing, Sarah noticed that Raven and Bekah weren’t sitting at the table despite dessert having been delivered. Confused, and slightly frightened about what those two were conspiring, she asked Ma if she had seen them.
“Those two are probably hiding money and refilling the battery again.” The old woman smiled. The cragged lines suggested Ma was about mid-60s but there was a youthful energy in her eyes.
“What do you mean?” Sarah was more confused but less worried now.
The woman pointed to a picture hanging on the wall behind her. It showed an average looking man wearing a Valentria Royal Guard’s uniform. He had jet black hair and was smiling through the years.
“That’s my youngest boy, Tommy.” Ma reached out and brushed the picture lovingly. “He was so proud the day he joined the guard, and we were too.”
The story promised to be long but Sarah waited patiently. There was sadness in the old woman’s eyes but also a fierce pride. “Tommy was given the duty to watch over Ladies Raven and Bekah that day. It was supposed to be an easy assignment because he had a family of his own and Valentria wasn’t at war. It came as a shock, and still is truth be told.”
Ma looked like she was going to start crying and Sarah instinctively patted her reassuringly on the shoulder. “You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to.”
The old woman shook her head, “No, that’d make it sound like I’m ashamed of him.” She collected herself, “They, Ladies Raven and Bekah, were out exploring when something attacked. He died protecting them from whatever it was.”
“Those poor little girls though, it terrified them. Rumor has it that they locked themselves away for a week, only came out for the funeral. They’d always been tight but that just made ‘em all the tighter. Can’t nobody get a word out of ‘em about what happened that day.”
“Anyhow, they did come out of hiding and one day they showed up here. When they left I found a thousand gullions on the table. I made ‘em take it back because I’m not a beggar. But then they showed up again and this time there was money stuffed into the register. They swore up and down it wasn’t them that done it and eventually they just wore me down. Now they come in every so often, leave enough money for taxes and a little extra then fill the batteries in back. They hide it so I don’t say nothing to ‘em. Sweetest girls ever, helping me out though I never did blame ‘em for what happened.”
“Nobody ever told you what killed your son?” Sarah silently reproached herself for such a rude question.
“No. The official report was that it was a wild dog what killed my Tommy but I’ve never seen a dog that could kill a man who had a sword. And it tore him up so bad we had to have a closed casket. I didn’t get to say goodbye to my baby.”
Tears trickled through the latticework of wrinkles and her hand shook as she reached for the picture again. Raven and Bekah appeared as if by magic and wrapped her in a tight hug. Sarah stepped back.
“We’re so sorry, Ma.” They said as one.
Ma hugged back just as hard and told them in a voice cracking with emotions, “Nothing for you two to be sorry for. I’m proud of him and I’m proud of both of you.”
The three women huddled together as Sarah snuck unnoticed back to the table where Brian was busy boasting that he was the best swordsman ever. Liz gently reminded him about Stephen.
“Nah, he was once but now he’s too old.” Brian laughed while Mandy poked him playfully.
“I’ll just tell him you said that.” Sarah said then grinned into her plate. Already the depressing conversation with Ma was fading in the pleasure of fun company.
Mandy nodded enthusiastically, “I’ll back her up!”
“Yeah, me too!” Liz supported the idea. Mandy gave her a high five.
“If you want to get him hurt, then you just tell him that.” Brian’s chest puffed out and the girls dissolved into giggles. Sarah liked Brian. He was overly arrogant and cocky but funny and it was obvious he was a big softy. All one had to do was watch him with Mandy; he couldn’t keep his eyes off of her.
It must be nice to be that in love, Sarah thought as Raven sat down beside her. She glanced at the redhead whose eyes were still swollen but the familiar grin was back in place. Sarah gave Raven’s hand a reassuring squeeze which Raven returned warmly. Liz noticed the two of them but didn’t say anything. Instead she asked Brian exactly why he thought he was the greatest thing ever.
“I’ve got the richest and most beautiful women in the world hanging on my every word. Obviously I am the greatest thing ever or you wouldn’t be here.” Brian haughtily presented
his profile.
Bekah sipped her coffee, “We’re not ‘hanging’ on your every word. We’re laughing at you, not with you.”
“Oh poo.” Mandy snickered, “You’re just jealous because I got him first.”
“It’s not jealousy, little sister.” Raven mumbled around a mouthful of pie. Sarah just knew a smart remark was coming, “More of a pity thing really.”
“I’ve got a great man!” Mandy was playfully pouting now and turned to the oldest sister for help. “Tell them Liz.”
“She has a great man everybody. She just better hope Brian doesn’t find out about him.”
The merriment continued through out the night.
Sarah finished getting ready for bed and her hair hung in damp ringlets down to her shoulders. She knocked on the doorway to Raven’s room. “Can I ask you two something?” Bekah was spending the night since she didn’t have to work in the morning.
“What is it, Lil’bit?” Raven sat on the floor beside the bed. Bekah leaned over her shoulder looking at a clothes catalog. They were laughing and mimicking the expressions of the models.
Sarah decided that the direct approach was the best option. “It was Malleus that killed Ma’s son, wasn’t it?”
The warm and cheerful atmosphere died with the question, replaced by a frigid silence. Raven stood and marched to the door, staring Sarah directly in the eye for a tense moment, breathing deeply through her nose.
Sarah shivered under the stern gaze. There was a jagged wound hidden beneath Raven’s bluster and laughter. The shimmering emeralds that she had grown accustomed to were dark and guarded.
“Yes.” As the door shut in her face, for the first time Sarah truly felt the wall Raven and Bekah constructed to keep people out of their world. It might not have been physical but it was as cold and hard as any steel.
CHAPTER 19: PUMPKINS AT A PARTY
WINDOWS: A BROKEN FAIRY TALE Page 19