by Dante Doom
Starting with Elanor, one by one, the Nobles turned their backs on the King and stood silently in their places. Savannah began counting in her head as the Nobles turned. When they got to thirty-five, there was a pause, and five Nobles remained facing the center of the room, but eventually, they too reluctantly turned their backs as Leopold screamed in outrage.
“Any opposed?” the notekeeper called out, but not a sound was made. Nodding his head, the man scribbled something down before calling out, “So say you all.”
As one, the Nobles responded, “So say we all.”
Savannah stared, transfixed, having no idea what had happened or what would happen next. Suddenly, Timon cried out, “Look out!” And she looked up then, startled to see Leopold running toward her, a short sword raised over his head. Time seemed to slow as she watched spittle come out of his mouth, his eyes filled with murderous intent. Suddenly, though, he stopped, frozen in place, the sword still over his head. Blood began to trickle out of his mouth before he dropped the sword and collapsed to his knees. Shaking, Savannah jumped as Timon pulled her back. Only then did she realize that Elanor stood to Leopold’s right, and was now deftly pulling her dagger from where she’d buried it between his ribs. Wiping the blade off on his pants, she casually slipped it back in its sheath.
“You…bitch,” he gasped. Leopold wheezed, gasping for air and holding his side while blood dripped onto the ground.
“You thought you were so smart, but you forgot who was also watching the video,” Elanor whispered as she bent over the King. “Never tell the help that everything they believe is a lie.”
“You... you have no idea what you’ve done…” Leopold gasped as he rolled onto his back, still clutching his side. His royal vestments were getting soaked with blood now, transforming the gold of his robes into a murky brown.
“I know exactly what I’ve done. I’ve won!” Elanor said with a laugh. Leopold glanced over at Savannah with eyes of fury before gasping and falling perfectly still. His eyes rolled back, and he ceased to breathe.
“Did… did you kill the King?” the notekeeper gasped.
“You might want to put that down in the minutes,” Elanor said blandly as she kicked Leopold’s corpse. She strolled over to the throne and sat down.
The nobility was still in a state of shock, but Savannah could see that they were also feeling something else… relieved? She suddenly realized that some of them were smiling over Leopold’s death.
“Undo their chains,” Elanor said. “We have far more important things to worry about.” The guards looked at one another, still unsure of what to do. “Now,” Elanor said more forcefully. One of them stepped over to Savannah and began to uncuff her.
“What are your orders, ma’am?” he asked as the shackles were cast off from Timon and Savannah. She recognized his voice as Reginald, the Captain of the Guard.
“Why listen to me? People, we’re all in dire straits here. The peasantry is going to obliterate us and there’s not a damn thing we can do about it,” Elanor said. “My suggestions would be to go to your homes, cuddle with your loved ones, and drink poison before they can get to you.”
“Nonsense!” Pedro said. “Elanor, you are far too dismal. We can still salvage this, somehow.”
“Salvage this?” the notekeeper echoed. “The King is dead and rule of law is gone. What is left to salvage?”
“Ma’am,” Reginald said as he looked at his men and then back to her. “We are leaving this place.” He turned his attention to the guards. “Loot this building, and let’s get out of here.”
A great majority of guards left with him to sack Leopold’s former home. A few guards stayed behind for a minute or two as if stilled by shock, but once they realized that Elanor had nothing to say to them, they joined in on the looting. The Nobles had all remained standing and were nervously looking at one another as sounds of crashing and things breaking came from the other rooms. The guards weren’t being careful.
Timon looked at Savannah as he rubbed his wrists. “I suppose we should get out of here. They have been sufficiently warned.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Savannah replied as she eyed the exit.
“My advice would be to dress in rags and hop over the wall before the masses come for you,” Timon said to the other Nobles. “Staying put will only end in your deaths.”
“Sir! Sir!” a young man shouted as he ran into the courtroom. He was dressed in silk, as well, and wore a hat that was shaped somewhat like an onion. Savannah recognized that he was a runner, someone who carried messages across town. “There’s… there’s a force moving towards the second gates. Thousands of them!”
“Thank you, Bergon,” Pedro said. “We best figure out what the plan is, and quickly.”
“She’s a street rat,” the wispy woman said, pointing to Savannah. “She can talk to them!”
“Gee, thanks,” Savannah replied, crossing her arms and glaring at the woman. Would they ever stop referring to her as some sort of vermin?
“She’s right,” Elanor said as Savannah turned to glare at her. “Savannah, they’ll listen to you. Negotiate on our behalf… tell them that we’re willing to talk.”
“No way!” a woman shouted. “They’ll kill her the moment that she says she’s with the Nobles!”
“That’s a risk I’m perfectly willing to take,” Pedro said. “We lost the entire royal army. My personal guard is composed of eight men. They won’t die for me. Not now. You’re all in near the same position.”
“None of our guards will die for us! Not when it would be brazen suicide!” the long-nosed man shouted. “The urchin is the only way.”
Savannah looked at the crowd of Nobles, all of them terrified, and she knew that they were all out of ideas. They had spent so much of their time figuring out how to keep the peasantry out of the city that they had no idea how to escape it. She felt a sick sense of delight at the prospect of watching these Nobles grovel before her, too. All of this had been earned, though; they were about to receive their just rewards for the crimes that they had committed.
She opened her mouth to say, ‘Sucks to be you guys,’ but before she could, Timon grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her away from the crowd. Only then did she realize that he looked as panicked as the rest of the group.
“Ow, hey, easy buddy,” she said, trying to release her arm.
“Savannah… this is really bad,” he hissed.
“Why? I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to take you out of the city with me. My people won’t care about one Silvarspoon surviving.”
“Are you kidding me? Do you really think that an unruly mob of peasants coming into this city is the best idea? Everyone here is going to be killed! My mother and father, torn to pieces. What about my brothers? They won’t be spared, either. You might talk about how much you hate the Barons and the leadership here, but make no mistake, Savannah. We are all human, and you know the madness that lies within their hearts.”
Savannah swallowed at his words. Timon pressed his face closer and continued his speech. “How many peasants and soldiers can you trust not to stuff their pockets with gold and kill anyone in their way? Who will be in charge once all of our blood has been spilled? They will fight with one another for power. The streets will run red with blood, Savannah. Noble, peasant, their blood’s all the same color.”
“Look, Timon, it’s not our problem, okay?”
“But it’s my problem,” Timon replied. “My family. And if… if we’re to be together, then we have to share each other’s problems. That’s the way it is. I’ve been with you every step of the way in this journey, but I saw that smirk on your face. You think that you and I will be safe, and maybe we will, but… I can’t let my family die in here. You’re free to make your own choice here, but I’m staying behind.”
Savannah looked up at Timon, and he flinched at the look of resolve on her face before his eyes creased with worry—she wasn’t sure if it was over his family or her, or both. In th
at moment, her own resolve crumbled. She couldn’t… wouldn’t leave him behind.
Reaching her hand out, she squeezed his arm. “You said you know your way around here; maybe we can figure out some way to smuggle them out. Perhaps there’s another way to escape,” she added more loudly, looking around.
“There’s no way out of this place,” Elanor said from her seat on the throne. “The walls are all far too high to climb over. There’s one point of entry and one alone. Convenient if there were ever a breach in the first wall.”
Savannah glanced at the woman and shook her head. “What can I possibly say to stop them? They want blood, not chatter.”
“I have no idea,” Timon replied. “No one’s going to listen to us, not after everything. They won’t believe that not everyone knew the Grind was a lie. But… Please, Savannah, you’ve got to try.”
Savannah shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself. This was all too much. She’d had no idea what to expect when she’d reset the Grind, but it certainly hadn’t been the Nobles pleading with her for help. Could she really do it? “I know these people well enough,” she said quietly. “Maybe I can get them to see reason.” While she liked the idea of watching Baron Hauss run for his feeble life, huffing and puffing away from mob justice, there were plenty of people within these walls who had never done her any harm.
“Thank you,” Timon whispered as he hugged her tightly. “You could run from this, but instead you choose to stay with me. I’ll never forget this kindness.”
“Hey, it’s what couples do, right? We deal with each other’s problems,” Savannah said with a forced laugh. It was weird thinking of herself as being in a relationship, but she liked the idea.
“Watch what you say to them,” Timon said as he grabbed Savannah by the shoulders. “They’ll murder you if they catch wind of your allegiance.”
“Relax, Silvarspoon,” Savannah said, smiling back at him. “I’ve got this.”
He met her eyes, hesitating. “On second thought, let me come with you,” he replied.
“Really, I’ve got it. If anything, your presence will probably provoke them more. Hang back here and try to find places to hide,” Savannah said as she pushed his hands from her arms. “I’ll return soon enough.”
Savannah turned around and promptly walked away from the terrified group of Nobles, feeling all of their eyes on her back as she walked. The pressure was mounting, and everything was riding on her ability to convince a murderous mob not to extract long overdue vengeance.
What the hell was she going to say?
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Savannah walked towards the large steel gate leading to the Outer Circle with her heart in her throat as she considered the prospect of standing before several hundred angry citizens, all of them crying out for blood. A few guards were standing by the wall, waiting. She could remember the words of one of the angered men in the Grind. He’d said that he would open the door from the inside. No doubt these four men were waiting for the signal.
“What are you looking at?” one of the guards asked as he sneered at her. He was standing against the wall, next to the controls to raise the gate, while another stood on the other side of the gate. The other two had their guns out and were sitting on the ground, cleaning their weapons with filthy rags.
“Nothing,” Savannah said. She took a deep breath and walked up to the heavy gate. “May I leave?”
“Oh ho ho,” the guard replied with a laugh. “No one’s leaving this place. You sit tight. I know you’re not one of them. You dress too poorly to be a Noble. You’ll be safe enough.”
Perhaps this was the key to slowing the assault down. If she could dissuade these four, the revolutionaries wouldn’t be able to get in. That steel door could withstand any kind of attack, guaranteed.
“Listen, whatever you’re thinking, it’s a really bad idea to open these gates,” Savannah said. “A lot of people are going to be hurt unnecessarily.”
“Unnecessarily?” The guard sounded incredulous as he spat on the ground. “Miss, I’ve been kicked around long enough. Me and my family have lived for these wretched Nobles far too long. My wife got sick with an ailment—nothing serious, but the House lord freaked the hell out. Threw her out of here, for fear of his getting ill, too. I wanted to go with her, to take care of her, but my kids were in the clutches of that bastard. He told me that if I even thought about abandoning my duties, he’d make sure my children would starve on the streets. Never saw her again. And now he’s going to get what’s coming to him.”
“Look, I’m not saying that they aren’t assholes,” Savannah promised. “I’m saying that maybe we need to think twice before we let an entire mob of people filled with hatred enter this place. Mob violence isn’t going to help anyone.”
“But it’s gonna feel so good,” the guard replied with a laugh. “I can’t wait to get my hands on that bastard, and I’m going to skin him alive.”
Savannah grimaced. It was clear that this man had no interest in mercy whatsoever. She didn’t know if she could blame him for his anger, either. He had endured a cruel thing. Her mind flashed to the images of Baron Hauss so inappropriately touching her mother. Why was she sticking her neck out for these people again?
“A lot of people are going to die,” Savannah told him simply. “The Nobles have guns. The rioters don’t.”
“Ha, like guns are gonna matter when a human wave comes crashing through these gates. Face it, kiddo, this was over before it began. Now, you can sit here with me and avoid the violence, or you can scram. Either way, this gate is opening.”
Savannah looked at the other three men. They were inattentive and bored. Most likely, they had been sitting here for hours, waiting for the forces to arrive. Would she have time to run back and ask the Nobles to send soldiers to help? That would be the best course of action, assuming the soldiers would help at this point since they all had to know about the Grind by now. And, of course, they could feel just the same as these men in front of her.
“Hello,” the guard said as he placed his eyes against a peephole by the door. “Looks like they’re about here.”
Savannah took advantage of his distraction. She rushed forward and grabbed at the rifle that he had let droop in his left hand. He turned around and swung his arm out, though, backhanding her across the face and dropping her to the ground.
“Ahhhh,” she groaned as she writhed on the ground in pain. This hurt way worse than getting hit in the Grind.
“Come on, kid,” the guard said. “Don’t die over some silvarspoons. Petes, Jenks, Miles—get up. Time to get this show on the road.”
Savannah slowly climbed to her feet as the guards set about opening the gate. A dozen more men were emerging from alleys surrounding the gate. Even if she had grabbed the gun, they could have quickly gunned her down.
The gate began to creek as the chains pulled it upwards. Savannah could see the light beginning to come from beneath it. The sun had started to set, and the walls were so high around Verre that there was far too much shade for her liking. She squinted as her eyes adjusted to the sun as the gate continued to rise high in the air. In the distance, she could see people marching towards the city.
“Oh yes, this is going to be amazing,” the guard cackled. A few of the others were laughing, as well.
Since the gate was up, the guards were ignoring her, so she took a deep breath, rubbed her cheek, and stepped out into the Outerlands, a realm that she was all too familiar with. She would meet the mob head-on and do what she could to get them to stand down. This was the only way.
She moved much faster than the mob. Trying to get a headcount, she guessed that there were around two hundred people marching side by side in two straight lines, and toward the back, some were pulling carts and wagons loaded with who knew what. Savannah had expected that there would be a lot more of them, actually; maybe word hadn’t gotten around to every village yet. Or, perhaps they weren’t rebelling at all. But those thoughts quickly vanished
as she drew closer to them. They were wielding scythes, pitchforks, hammers, and sickles. Some even had swords. This wasn’t a good sign.
“Hold up!” Savannah said as she waved at the army. She recognized one of the men in the front—his name was Herb, and he was the Elder from her village. She remembered sitting in his living room, playing with toys while her father talked with the man. Maybe he would listen to reason.
“Savannah?” Herb asked as the group approached her and began to break apart in order to set up camp. “Is that you? What are you doing over here?”
“Herb, what’s going on?” Savannah asked. She noticed that there weren’t nearly as many people as she had thought there would be.
“Ah, well, young lady, we are preparing to lay siege to this city,” Herb said. The small army had finished their march and she could see that they were beginning to pitch tents. A few were unloading crates from the backs of supply wagons. “We’re a little early to the party.”
“Siege?” Savannah repeated.
“Well, as it turns out, the whole ranking system we’ve followed was a pack of lies. Or maybe that’s a lie, too,” Herb said. “Either way, we’ve had enough of the unfair treatment and we’re ready to start a new era.”
“Yeah, an era where we get to live in that big ole city!” someone from the crowd shouted. Many of the peasants sat down under the newly erected tents, taking a break from their long march. As she walked closer, Savannah recognized a few of them.
“Who’s organizing this whole thing?” she asked as she sat down across from Herb. Everyone seemed so casual, she wasn’t sure what to do.
“A few of the Elders have met up in the Grind to coordinate amongst each village. We’ve got to play it safe. According to some intelligence… there are certain countermeasures inside of the city. Countermeasures that could be serious trouble for everyone.”
“Countermeasures?” Savannah repeated. The Nobles hadn’t said anything about that.
“I’m not sure what these things are, but I do know that they could potentially derail us if we aren’t careful. A lot of people could die if we do this wrong. Plus, we need to make sure this isn’t some kind of frenzied looting. Careful and calm is our goal.”