by A. J. Ross
The nurse smiled warmly. “Don’t you worry. She’s in good hands. No one will get into this room, unless they’re on the list.”
NINE
The “New Kid”
Braii opened her eyes after feeling a gentle nudge. There was a man with a glass of liquid telling her to drink. She looked around, “Riian,” she called. She didn’t see the boy anywhere. She was no longer under the bridge, and the Fiie was gone too. There was darkness all around her beside the small oil lamp on the floor next to the man. She could hear water dripping nearby, and the air was stale and moist.
The man gently placed his hand on her wound. “Don’t get up,” he said. “Your wound was pretty deep. We wouldn’t want to re-open it just after we got you all stitched up.”
She looked down at her side, slipping her hand into the torn part of her dress where the Kayorian Guard had cut her. There was a clean white bandage wrapped around her waist. She relaxed a little. If whoever found her meant to harm her, they wouldn’t have put such effort into carefully dressing her wound.
“Where am I?” she asked.
“In my house,” the man responded. “I’m Maceik.”
“Maciek, there was a little boy with me. Have you seen him?”
“No,” he replied, “there was no boy. We found a Kayorian child nearby though.”
She sighed with relief, “That’s him. Where is he?”
“He isn’t here. We’ve handed him over to Erwin. I’ll take you to him, but first you need to tell me who you are.”
Despite his cautioning her to lie still, she sat up. “I am Braii, daughter of Grisian past, princess of Graiis.”
Braii followed Maciek through a strange city. There were just a few lights here and there, each struggling to push their weak yellowish glow through the dense darkness. It was a poorly built city from what she could see. Each of the houses were made of mud bricks, with thin slabs of metal for the roof. They walked freely through the city, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of being caged. There was something about the air. It was still. Too still. She looked up, hoping to at least see the reassuring sparkle of the stars in the night sky above her, but there were none. Instead there was a large platform stretched over the city as far as her eyes could see. She was underground.
After she had revealed herself as princess, Maciek was eager to bring her to the man called Erwin, who was apparently trying to lead a rebellion against the Kayorian empire. He was the one who had obtained the Kayorian ship and sent the passengers to Graiis for help. As far as Braii was concerned, he was the one responsible for the impending war.
She was brought into a building, then an office-like room with pictures, blueprints, and maps all over the walls. The room was dimly lit, just like everything else. There was an unkempt desk in the corner covered with the same kind of clutter covering the walls.
A man stood from his chair when they entered. He was tall, blue-eyed, blonde, well-built, and possibly in his mid-30’s. His stone face was strikingly handsome with a five or six-day shadow adding a little rugged to an otherwise boyish face. Certainly not what Braii was expecting from a Rebel leader.
He wore much nicer rags than Maciek, but rags none-the-less. A brown beret, and a simple tan shirt and pants made of hard-looking, uncomfortable, and cheap material. The V-cut collar of his shirt was slightly torn, and she could see the curly light-brown hair on his muscular chest peeking out from the tear.
The cheap, poorly-made attire of those she had come into contact with made her feel uncomfortable in her beautiful silk dress. During her stay at Rahilius’s house, each day the guard would provide her with brand new clothing of the finest quality. Obviously more stolen goods. She had to admit, she had not been ill treated by Rahilius, and he had also prohibited his guards from mistreating her. She was grateful, but it only served to highlight the fact that the people of Kayora barely had any decent clothing, while Rahilius had enough wealth to wrap his prisoners in silk.
“Welcome to Kayora, Princess,” he said. He spoke in a gentle tone, but his voice rumbled from deep in his chest in a way that was reassuringly familiar.
She looked at him squarely in his face. “You have two things that belong to me. The boy, and my weapon. I suggest you give them both to me now, because if I have to obtain them against your will there will be losses . . . on your side.”
The man grinned and his eyes shone with gentle amusement, “Please, calm down.” He sat back down behind the desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out the Fiie. “Is this what you’re looking for? What is this? I’ve been looking at it and still can’t seem to figure out how it works.”
“Put it on the table,” she commanded.
He shook his head, “Not until you tell me how it works.”
Braii bit her tongue. She was not used to being challenged. “It’s a biological weapon, and it only works if it finds the holder of sufficient intelligence.”
She heard Maciek chuckle behind her, and Erwin frowned. He put the Fiie on the table and pushed it in her direction. She picked it up and extracted it. Both men jumped from the sound, and then marveled at the transparent blade coming from the handle. All that could be seen was the faint outline of one side of the blade shimmering under the dim lights. She spun it around so they could see it fully.
“Incredible,” Erwin mumbled under his breath.
“Indeed,” she replied, retracting the blade. “And now, the boy.”
Erwin led her out of his house to a different building nearby. Once inside, he led her down a short dark corridor, and down a flight of stairs. He opened the door to a small space with what looked like some sort of prison. There were four cells on each side. Braii felt anger building within her as he stopped in front of the first cell on the left side. She peered between the bars, and in the far back corner of the cell, Riian was lying in a ball with his face to the wall.
“Open this door now,” she turned to Erwin.
Riian heard her voice and sprang to his feet. He ran to her and reached his hand through the bars.
Erwin signaled to the guard to unlock the door. Riian ran to Braii and wrapped his arms around her legs, holding her as tight as he could.
“It’s okay,” she said, as she stroked the back of his head. “We’re okay now.”
She turned to Erwin, “Why would you lock a child in a cage?”
“He’s Kayorian,” he answered without hesitation. “I don’t know what it’s like on Graiis princess, but here, Kayorians are the enemy. They cannot be trusted. They even use the children as spies.” He spat his last words directly at Riian, who cringed and squeezed Braii even tighter.
“Well, not this one,” she said. “I was a prisoner in Rahilius' house, and he saved me. He is mine, and under my protection.”
Erwin nodded. “Okay princess. Let’s make a deal. I will allow you to keep that thing here, in exchange for information. War with Graiis is inevitable. Maybe we can support the Griician war effort, and help to fight for humanities freedom here on Kayora.”
“Let’s get a couple of things straight first,” she said authoritatively. “He’s not a thing, his name is Riian. My name is not princess, it’s Braii. And yes, I will help you in any way I can because at the end of the day, the Grii will win this war. The Kayorian armies are more numerous, but the Griician army is mighty. Is there a place where Riian and I can stay here? And is it possible for me to send a message to Graiis?”
“One thing at a time prin-, Braii. I have a place here where you and Riian can stay. Why don’t I get you both settled in first? We’ll have a bite to eat, and then you and I can get down to business.”
Braii felt herself lowering her defenses. This rebel leader Erwin was transparent. It was clear his only goal was to protect his people from Rahilius. Protecting them meant supporting the Grii, and that meant they were on the same side.
They went back to his house, and he took her to a room about the size of her cell in Rahilius dungeon. She smirked to herself thinking of the irony. She as
ked for another bed or small cot be put in the room for Riian, and Erwin agreed. He showed her to another room with a stove, buckets, a sink, and a tub.
“You can bathe here,” he said.
She nodded, “Thank you. Is there a seamstress? My dress . . .” She grabbed the material where she had been cut by the guard. It was stiff and crusted with dried blood.
“You’ve been injured,” he said as if he were noticing for the first time. He touched her side and she instinctively backed away from him. His touch reminded her of Lincoln. She felt pain in her heart as she realized she may never see him again.
Erwin watched her closely. “I’m sorry about the tense introduction,” he said softly, mistaking her reaction for animosity toward him from their earlier meeting. “But I want you to know you can trust me. Having you here means a lot to us and to the effort. You’re safe here. I’ll find you some clothes. Why don’t you get cleaned up? We’ll have dinner in an hour or so.”
He left her and Riian alone. Riian stood nervously in the center of the room waiting for permission to do something. Anything.
“You can sit on the bed,” she said. “I’m going to take a bath, then we'll have lunch.”
Riian panicked. “What if the man with the yellow hair comes back.”
She sighed, “Listen, I know he was mean to you at first, but he won’t be mean to you, ever again. We’re together now, and I won’t let him be mean to you. You’ve seen what I can do to Kayorians,” she chuckled, “What is one man? Just sit for a moment and relax. I’m going to have a bath, then we can eat. Are you hungry?”
He nodded as he climbed into the bed.
She heated the water until it was warm enough. It had a brownish tint to it, so she decided it was best not to soak her whole body in it, at least not until her wound healed up. She took her dress off and began to wash herself.
She heard a gentle knock at the door and Erwin’s voice on the other side of it, “Here are your clothes.”
“Thanks,” she called.
As she washed herself, she tried to wrap her mind around the current situation. So far away from her home, and with little hope of returning. If Rahilius hadn’t taken her, by this time she would have been married. She wondered what had happened to Lincoln. He must have been devastated to learn of her abduction. She thought about Kiina and the Fiie army, curious as to who ruled over Graiis now. Wondering who would lead the battle against Rahilius, and whether or not someone was searching for her. They probably thought she was dead. If she could just find a way to communicate with someone on Graiis.
She picked up her torn bloody dress and sighed. So much had happened over the past two days. She had actually used the Fiie to Kill several Kayorians, and the most disturbing part was how easy it had been. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. When she was young, Kiina would tell her stories of war on far off planets. To Braii, they were all just fairytales. Beautiful stories of loyalty and valor in worlds more complex than she would never know.
Obviously her world had changed. She found herself on a faraway planet with seven dead Kayorians under her belt. She thought about how she felt as she fought. There was excitement, fury, obligation, and dominance, but there had been no fear. What did that mean? A part of her was proud to have proven herself to be capable in the way of the Grii. They were all warriors, and she had just fought, and won a war of her own.
She cracked the door and picked up the clothing Erwin had left for her. It was a dress, made of much softer material than he had been wearing. Instead of the brown or Gray everyone else had, the material was a dull yellow, like it had been dyed many years ago. Despite the faded color, the dress looked like it had never been worn. She touched the clothing affectionately wondering where he had gotten it. His obvious attempt to recognize her status made her feel both entitled, yet humbly grateful.
She sat at a table with Riian, Erwin, and three others. Erwin introduced them as Lola, Herman, and Pyotr. Pyotr’s hair was almost silver. He wore round glasses, which complimented his chiseled face, and his build was similar to Erwin’s, only a bit thinner. Herman was completely bald. He was muscular, but had a round face, and was missing a finger on his left hand. They all appeared to be around the same age as Erwin.
Braii was mostly silent as she ate, but she listened carefully to the exchange between her newfound rebel friends. They spoke to and about her as if she were a long-searched-for, missing piece of a puzzle none of them knew how to put together. Well, with the exception of Lola, a busty and brash woman. She would spurt out the first thing that came to her mind as if it were absolute truth, and acknowledge no alternative. She was neither intimidated by the men, nor captivated by the princess.
When Erwin talked about Braii’s weapon, the men marveled, and Lola snarled.
“We have no idea how to use their weapons,” she said. “And we don’t need them. This is our fight. What we need is better training, and to bring more people into our cause.”
Erwin spoke, “I think she would be instrumental in that way. The people need something to give them courage and hope.”
“I don’t know what you’re seeing when you look at her, Erwin, but I don’t see courage or hope. I see a little girl who’s away from her daddy’s palace for the first time in her life, and has no idea what her next move is.” She looked at Braii, “No offense.”
Braii was confused. Why would someone make a statement filled with truth, in that tone of voice, and then seem angered by it? Was she attempting to disrespect her? She felt overwhelmed by the barrage of emotion coming from every direction. She wished she could interact with them one by one. People were much easier to understand that way. Before she knew it, they were all arguing. Their voices were raised and their words were filled with hostility.
Her eyes met Riian’s. He had sunk in his chair and was no longer eating. Her eyes moved over until they met Erwins.
Taking her cue, he interrupted the argument, “Alright, we have guests. Let’s change the subject for now, and we’ll talk about this later.”
The table fell silent and everyone resumed eating.
“So,” Pyotr broke the silence, “How did you escape from Rahilus’s house anyway?”
All eyes focused on Braii. She placed her fork on the table and looked at Pyotr with her wide, sparkling, almond-shaped eyes and said, “I killed the guards.”
Silence. They all stared at her, leaning forward in their chairs, waiting for her to elaborate. Instead, she picked up her fork and resumed eating.
Again, Pyotr broke the silence, “How many?”
Riian popped up in his seat and shouted “Six.”
The men chuckled as Riian managed to lighten the tension with his innocent enthusiasm. Braii looked directly at her adopted son and smiled, “Seven,” she said with a wink. “I got one on my first day.”
He beamed.
“So that cut in your side,” Erwin asked, “was earned?”
She nodded, “That one was faster than I was expecting. The last two, I was exhausted so I sent them back into the house. If they would cooperate, there would be no need for further bloodshed.”
“You’re a warrior,” Erwin said.
She nodded, “All Grii are warriors.”
“But you’re not Grii,” Lola said coldly, shooting her a sideways glance.
“No, I’m not. But I am a warrior,” she said. “And do you know what I know?” Her eyes landed right on Lola, and her left eyebrow rose slightly as she spoke, “I know that none of you have ever seen battle. Your simple and baseless arguments . . . Your unintelligent assessments of the situation . . . Your willingness to charge into this fight without knowing whether or not you have even a small chance of winning.”
Hours later Erwin sat in his office with Herman and Pyotr. Lola had gone home to her family for the evening, and Braii had gone to her room with Riian.
“What do you think of the princess?” Erwin asked.
“She’s definitely lethal,” Pyotr said.
“Also beautiful,” Herman said, looking straight at Erwin.
He sighed. The old ‘she’s single, you’re single’ routine was becoming the story of his life. It had only been three years since he lost his wife to one of the many diseases affecting the human population on Kayora. He had vowed to devote the rest of his life to creating a better world for all mankind.
“Do you think we can use her?” he asked, refocusing the conversation. “Do you think she's the thing we’ve all been waiting for to happen? I mean, she can give us valuable information and help us organize ourselves to fight the Kayorian army.”
“Well,” Herman said, “It depends on where this battle will take place. If it's on Graiis, or maybe on Ash, none of us will ever see it.”
Erwin leaned back in his chair. “On the other hand, if the Kayorians go to battle, it would be easier for us to stage a coup on this planet in their absence.”
“True,” said Pyotr, “But don’t forget, Rahilius owns the people’s souls. They won’t rise against him. And then, you have the Nephilim policing the people and spreading misinformation. We would never succeed in a takeover in our current state. That’s the biggest problem. Too many slaves are devoted to their masters despite being treated as cattle.”
Erwin nodded in agreement. He was thoughtful, “I’ll give it to Rahilius, he was clever to create this group. He knew all he needed was a few. Treat just a few with decency. Give them the occasional seat at your table, and paint them as examples of what humans can achieve if they accept and submit themselves to the rules of Kayorian society. He knew this would divide us, and they could be used as weapons to interfere with the efforts of any humans with the courage to stand up for justice.
I agree it’s going to be difficult. If we take this planet when the Kayorian armies leave, we’re in essence declaring ourselves the voice of all humanity on this planet. I think it’s reasonable to expect some resistance. Nevertheless, this is what we’re going to do. In the meantime, carry on your efforts to rally support. Time is of the essence. If the war is fought off planet, we need to be ready to take control of this one.”