The days passed without much excitement and she saw little of Prisca. Finally, the third day after the incident, she saw Kendall heading her way after morning training. Frowning inwardly, she avoided his gaze and tried to walk past him, but felt a firm hand on her shoulder. She looked up and nodded politely. “Good morning, general.”
His expression looked grim. “I would appreciate it if you could accompany me on a short walk, Tarana.”
“Yeah, sure.” She yawned. “What for?”
“It's a matter of some concern,” he explained as they walked. She fell into step next to him as he walked away from the training field, toward the other side of the courtyard. “You see, our relationship with Ralinos is of great importance to us and there have been complaints lately of,” he paused, “altercations between certain members of the army and the citizens of Ralinos. Obviously, we have taken these complaints very seriously and are looking into them. A few nights ago, there are claims that a man was killed near a bar in the outskirts of Ralinos. Several witnesses say they saw a young girl in that area during the time of the murder, so we're checking with all of our younger members of the army to see if they could help us locate this girl. I was hoping you might know something about it. Perhaps you heard one of your friends talking?”
Tarana was silent for a moment. “Well,” she said slowly, “I did hear one of my friends, Prisca, talking about going into town to get a few drinks a couple nights ago...I think it was three nights ago, actually.” She bit her lip. “But I'm sure she wouldn't do anything like that.”
Kendall nodded, his expression grave. “I see. Your company's leader is Roxanne, correct? Thank you very much for your cooperation,” he said. “You have been a great help. You will be present for the Young Soldier's Awards ceremony tomorrow, yes?”
She nodded shortly.
“Good. In light of recent events, we are still reviewing all the new young recruits, yourself included. Don't make any plans for tomorrow.” Turning stiffly on his heels, he headed back toward the stronghold.
Stifling a laugh, Tarana half-smiled at Kendall's back and walked around the yard for a few more moments, waiting until he had gone back inside. She was back in her room much later, when the door was thrown open and Roxanne stormed into the room, looking furious.
“You idiot!” She slammed the door shut behind her. “You absolute idiot! What the hell were you thinking?” She kicked Tarana's armor out of the way with a clatter, then tossed over the end table, cracking one of the legs.
Tarana narrowed her eyes with annoyance. “What the hell is your problem?” She inched away from Roxanne, to the other side of the room against the wall.
“What is my problem? My problem is that you are trying to destroy everything I've ever worked for! My reputation, everything I've worked so hard for, gone in one day because of you! I should have known better than to trust you.” She seethed with anger, her teeth gritted and fists clenched.
Carefully staying out of range of Roxanne's fists, she looked away from her piercing green eyes. “And just what have I done to destroy your life?”
“Well, I wonder,” Roxanne said sarcastically. “I suppose it may have something to do with the fact that General Kendall just asked me if Prisca had gone into town several days ago, to my knowledge. Of course, I explained that she had asked permission to do so and then I find out that she's suspected of killing some man in Ralinos.” Her voice was terribly calm, then erupted in anger. “I have half a mind to turn you in myself! The only thing stopping me is the fact that doing so would only make me look worse.” She slammed a fist against the wall and Tarana winced. “Are you happy with yourself now? You got Prisca kicked out of the army. General Kendall isn't taking any chances so close to the final battle. You are such an idiot!”
“Why do you just assume that I had anything to do with this?” Tarana yelled back. “Kendall asked about Prisca, not me.”
“Because I know you,” Roxanne hissed. “I know Prisca and I know you. Prisca knows how to follow orders, how to stay out of trouble. You, on the other hand,” she took a step toward Tarana, “can't stay out of trouble. I should never have allowed you into the army. Why couldn't you have just stayed with Kirian?”
Tarana crossed her arms and glared fiercely at the wall next to Roxanne, saying nothing. Realizing she wasn't going to receive a reply, Roxanne gave one last kick to the end table, sending it skittering across the floor toward Tarana and then left the room, slamming the door shut behind her.
Cautiously picking up the end table, Tarana propped it upright, but the leg immediately broke off, sending it crashing back to the ground. In response, she kicked it, breaking off another leg, then kicked it repeatedly until all three legs lay in pieces. Throwing them at the wall, she felt slightly more satisfied with every crash. Exhausted, she threw herself onto her bed and stared angrily up at the ceiling until it grew too dark to see it anymore. Eventually, she fell asleep, still seething.
Chapter 9
It was only a slight surprise the day of the awards ceremony when Tarana was told privately earlier in the day before it began that she would be the recipient and to dress appropriately. She pulled on her armor without bothering to clean it or fix the dent from being kicked, and finally walked downstairs to the room where the ceremony was being held.
Blue and silver-colored ribbons hung across the ceiling and there were more people present than Tarana would have expected, although Prisca and Roxanne were not so mysteriously absent. Mostly others from the army, there were also a few people from Ralinos sitting in the back of the room.
Tarana sat where instructed, in the first row of seats and waited. When the room finally became quiet, Kendall spoke for a few moments in the front of the room, followed by a couple other people, but Tarana barely listened. Eventually, her name was called and she walked up to the front of the room to be presented with the medal. Kendall handed it to her with a nod and she looked sullenly at him, then out at the audience, and returned to her seat.
As she sat back down and the audience awkwardly began applauding after a short pause, she realized she was probably expected to make a speech. Instead, she slipped out of the room as soon as people began to stand up and managed to avoid any sort of conversation.
Desperate to get out of the stronghold for awhile, she hurried to her room, tossed her armor onto her bed, but left her sword buckled to her belt. Walking quickly downstairs, she hurried out the main doors and followed the path into town. Finally slowing her pace, she walked on the side of the road, under the shade of the squat buildings that lined it.
It was a warm day, only mid afternoon and the sun was blindingly bright in the almost completely cloudless sky. She meandered through town, avoiding eye contact with people and slipping through the side streets where it was less busy. Trying to do anything but think, she didn’t even hear someone else coming down the lonely side street behind her.
“Tarana!”
Tarana groaned and turned slowly to face the approaching figure. “What do you want, Prisca?” she asked tiredly. “Make it quick. I’m not in the mood for your games.
“Oh, this is no game.” Prisca grinned, but her eyes were narrowed. The two girls stood a few steps apart. Tarana’s dark hair hung around her shoulders, the cool breeze blowing a few strands in her face. She shook it back impatiently. Standing several inches taller, Prisca smirked as Tarana reached for her sword. “Feeling threatened, my friend?”
Tarana glared and returned her hand to her side, remaining silent. She noticed several people had stopped to watch the confrontation and recognized three of them as other soldiers in Roxanne's squad. Suddenly, Prisca swung a fist at her head. Taken off-guard, Tarana ducked, but not soon enough. Prisca’s bare fist grazed her forehead. Tarana jumped back, her fists raised. “What the hell was that for?” she yelled, enraged. All three of the soldiers stepped forward.
Prisca smiled victoriously. “You have got to be kidding me, your mom even sends out guards to babysit you?”
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Barely containing her anger, Tarana furiously waved the soldiers away. “I told you before, Roxanne is not my mother.” She turned to the soldiers. “And if you dare interfere, I will personally kill you,” she said through clenched teeth. Reluctantly, they did as they were told, although they were still within a couple steps' reach. Prisca watched the proceedings with a small smile. Infuriated, Tarana stepped toward her, fists still raised.
“You spoiled brat,” Prisca said calmly. “Everyone will be happy when I kill you. We’re tired of you getting special treatment just because you're Roxanne's favorite. Everyone knows I should have gotten that award today. I worked for it and I deserved it and you stole it from me. My life was the army and now I can’t even have that.” Her voice grew louder in anger.
“You’re just jealous,” Tarana said simply. “I can't believe you're so worked up over some stupid award.”
Prisca swore viciously and swung at Tarana again, but this time she was ready. Side-stepping the punch, she grabbed Prisca’s wrist and using her momentum, drove Prisca to the ground. Rolling to her feet, Prisca whirled toward her and punched again. Deflecting the blow with her arm, she kicked out at Prisca, catching her in the stomach. Prisca immediately doubled over, the breath wheezing from her lungs. Seeing her opportunity, Tarana used all of her force to elbow Prisca in the side of her head.
Thrown to the ground, Prisca was knocked nearly senseless. Catching her breath, she grinned up at Tarana, laughing. Driven even further into her fury, Tarana finally drew her sword, pointing its sharp tip at Prisca’s fallen body. The soldiers watching immediately rushed forward, but Tarana slashed at them, dangerously close to their faces. They reluctantly drew back once again, shouting at Tarana.
“Looks like I win,” Prisca giggled, squinting her gray eyes at the overhead sun.
“Can’t you just admit defeat?” Tarana growled, prodding Prisca’s exposed neck with the sword.
Prisca closed her eyes, sighing. “Poor, stupid girl. You really don’t get it, do you? I've already won.”
Anger coursed through Tarana’s body. Dimly aware of the crowd’s yelling, Tarana thrust downward, piercing Prisca’s throat. Red blood spilled out, flowing onto the street and pooling in the cracks and notches. Arching her back, Prisca opened her eyes wide and gasped for air, a gurgling noise escaping her throat.
With a feeling of release, Tarana wiped the sword off on her leather boot and sheathed it. She glanced up from Prisca’s dying body to a scene of shocked faces. When they met Tarana’s cold stare, the onlookers quickly backed away and continued on their way. She became aware of the stinging pain of a wound. Reaching up to feel her forehead, she felt the sticky wetness of blood. Deciding it didn't feel serious, she shrugged it off.
The three soldiers ran up to her. “Tarana, are you alright?” one of them asked worriedly. She dully wondered if he was worried for her or for himself. She decided on the latter.
“I think you should sit down. You don't look well.” Another of the soldiers put a hand on her shoulder. She realized dully that he was correct; she did not feel well at all. Her head hummed with pain and her stomach felt queasy. To the soldier's evident surprise, she allowed them to lead her over to the curb of the street. Sitting down suddenly, Tarana groaned and closed her eyes. The sun seemed horrendously bright and hot. Her face was damp with sweat and the cool breeze made her shiver uncontrollably.
One of the soldiers kneeled down. “What’s wrong?”
“I…don’t know.” Tarana groaned again. The wound on her forehead was throbbing with pain. The man stood back up and looked uneasily at his comrades.
“Tarana,” he said slowly, “is that your only wound?” She only managed a nod. The guards exchanged glances and one hurried back over to Prisca’s body. He returned a moment later and said something she could not understand. She opened her eyes to see what the problem was. Everything looked gray; she could barely see the soldiers soundlessly gesturing frantically at each other. Sighing, she closed her eyes and toppled over.
“We’ve got to do something!” one of the soldiers yelled, glancing over at the now-unconscious Tarana.
Two of the guards puzzled over the ring Prisca had been wearing on her middle finger. Sloppily made, the metal ring had no design or detail. It was a simple strand of gray metal with several sharp shards on the top. One of the guards held the ring up to his eye and immediately pulled it away, eyes watering. “What in the world…that thing smells horrid!” He blinked rapidly, his eyes stinging. “Is this some sort of magic?”
The other soldier shook his head. “I think it's poison.” Taking the ring, he held it well away from his face. “See this?” He pointed at the sharp side of the ring where a milky substance stained the metal shards. “That's got to be poison.”
The soldier kneeling next to Tarana glared at the others. “That’s all well and good, but what are we going to do? You do realize that Roxanne will kill us all if we let Tarana die while in our care, don’t you? And that's if General Kendall doesn't get to us first for not stopping this.”
“Well, what can we do?” The soldier holding the ring shook his head. “It's bad enough that we let the fight go that far. And now Prisca's dead and Tarana's probably on her way as well? I never wanted any part of this.”
The third soldier stepped threateningly toward him. “Well you seem rather cheerful to throw away your life.”
The soldier scoffed. “Are you kidding? I’m not sticking around here to be at the mercy of Captain Roxanne.” He threw the ring to the ground. “I’m out of here. I didn't join the army just to babysit some kid. You guys can stay if you want, but I’m rather fond of my life.” Turning, he strode away, merging with the crowd.
The two men looked at each other uncertainly. One reached down and touched Tarana's neck, feeling for a pulse. He shrugged after a moment and stood up. “Well I’m not going to stick around and get blamed for this mess,” he finally muttered. “If she's not already dead, she will be soon.” He strode quickly away, not looking back.
The last soldier stood for a moment longer. Noticing that her chest no longer appeared to be rising and falling with each breath, he knelt down and touched her forehead. The wound had stopped bleeding, although it was still wet with fresh blood. Biting his lip and looking in the direction the other two soldiers had gone, he sprang to his feet and sprinted in the opposite direction, toward the stronghold.
Tarana felt herself falling. She gazed around at the darkness surrounding her, seeing nothing. The air felt stuffy and warm as she tumbled down toward her fate. Her eyes wide, a dim glow became slowly visible around her. As the light became brighter, the feeling of falling disappeared. She quickly stood up and found herself in the middle of a grassy, sunny courtyard with young boys running around her, their mouths soundlessly opening with shouts and yells, but the courtyard remained eerily silent.
The place looked slightly familiar, but she had no idea why. Paths paved in smooth pebbles wound their way around the small buildings lining the courtyard. A few older men walked in groups in and out of the buildings, glancing over at the younger boys occasionally and smiling.
Growing increasingly confused as no one seemed to notice her standing by herself, she noticed a small blossoming tree standing off to the side, partially leaning over the buildings. When a breeze ruffled the leaves, it sent lavender-colored petals swirling through the complex of buildings.
Walking hesitantly toward the tree, she noticed an old man sitting at the base of the trunk, his face more wrinkled than any she had ever seen before. As he glanced up at her, startled, she saw he had pale blue eyes, almost silver in color, which stared out from under the folds of wrinkled skin. He stood more quickly than she had imagined possible for a man of his age and his white eyebrows curled downward in anger.
“You should not be here,” he said forcefully and she found that she could hear his voice quite clearly as it echoed across the otherwise silent courtyard.
Tarana blinked. “But I-
”
“Leave. Now.” He grabbed hold of her shoulder and spun her around.
She attempted to pull away from his grasp, but found herself unable to. She squirmed uncomfortably and he tightened his grip. “I don't understand!” she cried out.
Without answering, he shoved her down into a stream that had not been there only a moment before. The shallow water swallowed up her body as she frantically thrashed around. Although she could no longer feel the man's hand on her shoulder, she could not figure out which way was up. Everything around her was blue. With a sudden realization, she realized it was not the murky blue of water, but the clear blue of sky.
Blinking, she found herself staring up at the sky overhead. She gasped for breath. The ground beneath her was rough and uncomfortable. She heard a screech and laughter. Something thudded painfully against her shoulder, in the same spot the man had gripped it moments earlier. Rolling her head over, she saw several children, one of whom had apparently just kicked her. She groaned, her entire body aching. The children screeched again and scattered, running away.
Rolling over, Aurora vomited on the street, her head swimming. She slowly raised herself to her feet, stumbling as the world appeared to lurch before her. She braced herself against a nearby building, her hand clutching the wall. As her vision calmed, she slowly stepped over Prisca’s lifeless body and began walking back to the stronghold.
The moment Tarana entered the building, she knew something was amiss. People stared at her as she passed by and edged out of her way. Wondering just how terrible she looked, she glared and trudged up to her room, throwing open the door. To her surprise, Roxanne was already in there, gazing out the window. She spun around when she heard Tarana walk in, looking furious at the interruption. When she saw who it was, her mouth dropped open. Tarana noticed with amusement that it was the first time she had ever seen Roxanne so shocked.
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