“A soldier. He made me a handmaiden.”
“No, I heard you. How did it happen?” he asked.
I explained the story to him in short detail; he seemed surprisingly upset, though once I told him that the soldier I’d been given to was Cyric, he relaxed a little. He also found the whole thing hard to believe. He asked a lot of questions about Lox, particularly if Cyric knew him.
“No, I’m sure that he would stay away from him,” I answered.
We had moved out onto the balcony, where Tobias had said it would be safer to talk. It had a roof above it and the sun was high so that the whole thing was in shade. “We’ve seen him before,” I explained.
Tobias tipped his head. “You have?”
I nodded. “In Shaundakul.”
“Lox saw hundreds of captives in Uldin Keep,” Tobias replied. “You might remember him, but I’m certain he wouldn’t recognize you.”
“I think you’re right,” I said, “at least for me. He didn’t seem to remember who I was. But Cyric is different. He got into a fight in front of Lox. He tried to kill him.”
Tobias’s brow went dark. We were both silent a moment, then he said, “Kern said your friend had caused a commotion. That was Cyric?” he checked.
I nodded. “I only have one friend.”
Tobias seemed disturbed. His mood didn’t fit our bright surroundings. I heard the distant cry of men calling to each other below. “Why were you both in Uldin Keep so long after the battle?” Tobias suddenly asked. “You never told me.”
Under his gaze, I inhaled very quickly. I realized that I hadn’t been being wary to keep my identity hidden. Something about Tobias made me forget that I was in danger or a captive at all. But now that the question had been posed, I had an idea of how to use it to my advantage. “Do you know of the dragons?” I asked.
Tobias frowned. “The dragons of Shaundakul?... Of course.”
“Well, we were looking for them,” I said. “We found one, but…” I blinked back the memory of Sarx, mutilated on the forest floor “… she was dead. There were three others besides her. We meant to save them.”
“How did you avoid the initial attack?” Tobias asked.
I felt anxious at being so close to the information I wanted. “We were away from the city that day. Please, Tobias, do you know if they survived?”
“The dragons?” he said.
“Yes, the dragons, that’s who we’ve been speaking of.”
He considered me. His jaw locked. Then he shook his head darkly.
I wanted to pretend that it meant he didn’t know, but it clearly meant the worst. They were dead. Kraehe was dead. I felt my heart give out with grief. I could hardly believe it; I was supposed to feel it when she died. I should have known. And I hadn’t.
“You look the same way you did when I told you the king was dead,” Tobias said.
I blinked and looked away.
“Were you so devoted to Shaundakul?” he asked.
Feeling the danger of the situation, my chest began to rise. I turned on him. “What of you? Living in such a place. Aren’t you loyal to Akadia?”
“I am,” he said.
“And would you cry if your king died?”
His features went very dark. He swallowed and then he looked away.
“Perhaps any good citizen would do so,” I said. “We’ve just found ourselves on opposite sides.”
This seemed to disconcert him. He turned on me. “We’re not enemies, Ellia,” he said. “In fact I think we might be more alike than you could know.”
“No. You’re wrong,” I replied. “I could not remain loyal to a country that destroyed others. A whole race of granted animals,” I said, almost to myself. My vision refocused and I looked at him directly. “I do not understand you,” I said.
And then I turned around, scarcely staving off dark visions of Kraehe’s fall. I was almost through the door when Tobias spoke.
“Wait, Ellia,” he said.
I stayed still for a moment. I didn’t want to speak to him anymore, but there was something in his voice that compelled me to look back.
When I did he was frowning. “I want to tell you something.”
*
CYRIC:
*
I swung my new sword in circles as our trainer cleared the other soldiers for dinner. The sun was beating down and the group seemed happy to head off. We’d certainly done a lot in one day. The big difference between this training and the training I’d done with the other recruits was that now things were done in teams, with our own specific squad. Running drills. Sometimes pairing off. The best part was that everyone wanted to be there, so there weren’t recruits complaining or dragging back and upsetting the sergeants.
A servant came around to collect our swords and I reluctantly gave mine up. I watched the rest of the soldiers head back towards the palace district and I was about to figure out where I could get some dinner when a voice caught my attention.
I looked down the fence beside me and saw Lox only a few yards away, talking to another soldier who stood between us. Though Lox’s expression was casual they seemed to be speaking seriously about Akadia.
“Yes well, the way Commander Tarful would have it,” Lox continued, “we wouldn’t have to concern ourselves with these minor decisions at all. The battles wouldn’t be won in the first place.” He laughed.
The other soldier put on a skeptical frown and countered, “Because of his tactics? Or his resistance to commanding outsiders?... Surely you cannot mean that the strength of the Akadian army rests with the refugees.”
“I mean just what I say,” Lox responded. He held the soldier’s gaze as he turned and looked down past the fence. Even though his eyes weren’t on me, I felt a compulsion to do the same. The area held more training grounds. There was a handful of soldiers still down there. Some in the corner slashing dummies. Some racing over obstacles. Some fighting. The clash of the metal could be heard from here.
“You see the men sparring in the middle?” Lox asked. The soldier nodded, but Lox hadn’t waited to go on. “One of them is from Akadia. One from Birmha. And another from Taelp. I’m sure you’re aware of the popular opinion of these races. Akadians—well of course they’re the best swordsmen. And Birmians are strong, solid fighters, from all the hot days plowing in the fields. Taelps on the other hand are said to be weak, scrawny, incapable of anything but inventing trinkets….”
“I do know all this, Commander,” the soldier commented. “I don’t see what it proves.”
Lox went on undaunted, even wearing a confident smile. “Pay attention and you’ll notice that they’re fighting two on one.”
I already had noticed. The man fighting against the two others had rich, tanned skin, and while he was smaller and thinner than the other two, he was holding them off with seeming ease. He wielded two weapons. He kept a pace of defense and offense that the others obviously weren’t able to detect.
“The Taelpian is fighting the others?” the soldier beside Lox said with surprise.
“‘Fighting?’” Lox repeated. “I’d say that’s a generous way put it in regards to the Akadian and Birmian.”
In perfect timing with Lox’s words, the Taelpian twisted his body and disarmed both the others at once. Their weapons flew off a good distance. The Taelpian held his swords to their necks and laughed.
Lox wore a smile, but it quickly fell to a cold sneer. “Sersk, Palum, some others in the council…. they’ve lived so long judging from the same perspectives set out by the granted keepers that they are blind to the power to be found in the other races. Greatness is not an attribute in any one sect or nation. Whatever country wishes to be the greatest, must find and enlist the greatest men of each nation. Then neither their heritage, nor their country, nor their age, not even their name should matter. All that matters is how strong they are, and they should be accepted and honored in Akadia.” Lox scoffed. “Not scorned as Tarful would have it.”
The soldier didn’t
seem to have a reply.
I kept my gaze hard below, trying not to think about Lox’s words too hard. It was almost impossible to believe that a Commander could have such an opinion. Not when all my life I had been placed according to nothing more or less than my heritage, my name. I’d accepted that was the way things were. I’d accepted that I deserved to have them that way. It just wasn’t possible.
Somehow without me noticing, Lox came to stand right beside me. The soldier he had spoken to was gone.
“I watched you train today, Cyric,” he said.
I tried to regain control of myself, swallowing in the process; I kept hearing him say the words from before so that I couldn’t think of what to say myself.
“You did well,” he added. His eyes widened slightly, but not with surprise, or any sort of uncertainty, almost with approval—at least that was what it felt like. I could really only guess, I’d never been looked at like that before. I just knew that I liked it.
“I told you I was good at training,” I said.
“Good at training, good at racing. It seems that you have many skills. Were you only a regular soldier in Shaundakul?”
I nodded and shrugged by way of answer.
Lox scoffed. “Leave it to philosophers to neglect their greatest assets. I imagine you’re finding Akadia more appreciative of your talents? How did you like your prize?”
My brows lifted a little; I wouldn’t have been comfortable talking about the subject, even if I weren’t able to because it was Ellia. “The room was nice.” I half-smiled. “A lot better than the one I’m in now.”
“Really?” said Lox. “Then you wouldn’t be opposed to going back there?”
My brows dropped. “I was told I could only stay one night.”
Lox made a face. “Under normal circumstances, but as a Commander I can give away whatever room I like.”
Now that Ellia had entered my mind, I was suddenly nervous that this had something to do with her. Did Lox remember her from the forest? Could he have guessed that she was the Princess? Or was there another reason he was doing this?
When he didn’t explain further, I went on. “Why would you do that?” I asked.
He held my gaze, his eyes narrowing a little, then he half-turned away from me. “Do you know where your handmaiden is now, Cyric?” he asked.
I felt daunting in my chest, but spoke casually. “Back at my room.”
Lox shook his head. “It seems she’s taken to visiting a certain captain of the Akadian army by the name of Tobias. I believe it started before you received her and I thought it might stop, but it’s been reported to me that she’s with him already, today.”
“What?” I said, more to myself than Lox. I could hardly help it. I immediately regretted my outburst and tried to straighten my features.
“It’s understandable that you’re upset. It’s against the laws of Akadia to entertain another soldier’s handmaiden without their express permission, but I’m afraid it gets worse than that...”
My mind had been darting off to what form I was going to use to kill Ellia, but his final words refocused my attention.
“We should find somewhere else to talk,” he said. Then he turned slightly and gestured for me to follow. As we both walked towards the city he put his hand on my shoulder.
#
I marched up the steps of the barracks. Every soldier that I passed on the way, every one I had yet, gave me strange looks—probably because of my rapid pace, but maybe because they thought someone of my level shouldn’t be there. I didn’t care either way. I followed the directions given to me by one of the street guards and I was almost to the correct door. I was on the third floor. Sunlight streamed in through windows to my right. It was quieter on this level.
I stepped up to the door. I thought about listening, but my hand started pounding on its own. By the time he answered, my skin was running hot.
“Can I help you?” Tobias asked me. It was definitely the same captain I’d remembered, wearing white and gold armor, with neat, short hair.
“Yeah. I’m looking for my handmaiden. Where is she?”
It didn’t take a long glance inside to tell that his room was even bigger than the one that I had stayed in the night before, but if I was accurate there were only a handful of captains in the Akadian army—and second to the Commanders, they were the highest ranking.
“Oh,” he said with recognition. I looked at him and he adapted a smile. “You’re Cyric. I didn’t recognize you with your… armor.”
I narrowed and cocked my head. “How do you know me?”
“We have a mutual friend. Come in.” He backed up. I followed warily.
“Mutual friend?” I repeated, irritated at what I already knew I was about to hear.
“Ellia,” he confirmed with a smile.
My jaw locked. “Is she here?” I asked.
He hesitated. “Yes. She’s outside.”
I didn’t care enough about him to say anything more. I walked where he’d gestured, out onto a balcony. She was standing to the right, leaning out over a wall. She’d changed into a light blue robe that made her seem for a moment too innocent to be angry with, but that didn’t last.
“So much for staying in the common room,” I said.
She turned around, and then she grew a smile that really did make her seem too innocent. “Cyric. You’re done already?”
Before I could answer, her eyes shifted behind me.
She narrowed, then looked back at me. “How did you get here?”
“I got a better question,” I started.
She bit her lip.
“Before you say anything,” Tobias interrupted, coming up beside me. “You should know it’s my fault she’s stayed so long. I’m afraid I’ve kept her talking.” He said all this with a smile.
I considered him.
I thought about Lox and everything he’d just told me about Tobias. He was dangerous. He had ideas opposed to the direction Akadia was headed, and he’d been known to lead others along the line. That part was my concern—especially since the ideas Lox said he played with hit on Ellia’s weak points. I didn’t need someone else coming in and validating any of her crazy plans.
“What about?” I asked Tobias.
He searched my eyes and then he smiled. “Our kingdoms. Granted animals.”
“Well, that’s her favorite subject,” I drawled.
“Cyric, he’s seen chimera!” Ellia exclaimed suddenly.
I glanced outside the balcony.
“Don’t worry, no one can hear us here,” Tobias said. I looked at him. “Not that… talk of chimera is any sort of treason.” He smiled.
I thought about asking him what he was doing with Ellia, but decided I could get the answers I wanted from her. I smiled back at him, then nodded to Ellia. “You ready?”
“We don’t have to leave yet,” she said. “I’d like you to speak more with Tobias, Cyric. He’s very different from the other Akadians.”
My gaze slid to Tobias just as he looked to Ellia. I caught sight of some concern on his features, but he quickly readjusted. “Actually, Ellia, I have some things to see to.”
She frowned; he went on.
“But if you’d like, there’s a party this evening at the barracks. There aren’t many people coming; just a few of the other squadrons and mine.” He turned to me. “Of course you’re invited too, Cyric.”
I said, “We’ll think about it,” at the same time Ellia said, “Of course!”
“We’ll think about it,” I restated, then I nodded to Ellia again and started to walk inside. I assumed she’d immediately follow, but she didn’t. I heard her speaking softly to Tobias.
“We’ll probably be there.”
“I hope so,” he replied.
There was pause, then she said, “Tobias, thank you for allowing me to come. And… for everything.”
He didn’t say anything. I glanced back in time to see him nodding towards me. “You should go. You’re friend’s
waiting.”
She smiled. I looked away.
He said goodbye to me before we left and told us that the party was in two hours. In the hall Ellia began by walking beside and a little behind me. It didn’t take long for her to speak. “Are you angry?” she asked.
I answered her with a short glare. We reached the stairs. She started in with a defense, but I put a hand up. “We’ll talk about it back at the room.”
“But I don’t want to go back there; I was there for most of the day.”
“It’s not that one,” I said dismissively.
She narrowed in confusion.
She was wearing the same expression as we entered the room we’d slept in last night. My clothes and hers were piled next to the door. There was also a sword there, but otherwise the place looked the same as it had this morning.
“Why are we back here?” she asked.
I closed the door behind us, then I picked up the sword. I tested it. Unless you were on duty or of higher rank, you weren’t supposed to get a weapon. It was small, but strong. I set it back down.
“Why? Are you complaining?” I asked. “You’d rather be in the tiny room?”
“I’m not complaining,” she said. “I just asked why we were here.”
“Yeah, but you said it with that tone.”
“I did not…. It just seems strange…”
I tossed a hand out in acknowledgement of my accurate guess.
She narrowed. “I’m trying to be careful.”
“Oh. Careful?” I tested slowly.
She bit her lip.
“You think befriending a captain is the way to do that?”
She cocked her head. “You haven’t let me explain. He’s helped me.”
“Did you tell him who you are, Ellia?”
“Of course not.”
I walked over to the bed to sit down. When I looked back at her she was wearing a thoughtful expression that made me darken.
“…But I think that it would be safe if we decided to,” she went on. “I think he could help us.”
I put my hands on the sides of my head, and then I started laughing. “Ugh, Ellia, you’re so stupid, it’s not even worth arguing with you.”
“What did you say?” she asked.
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