“I am always one to up the stakes, plus every good army has something held in reserve,” Zephyr replied with a smile. He was relieved to see that his little pep talk had helped. Now all they had to do was make it through the banquet and the ball. A small part of Zephyr prayed that Princess Sasha was late coming home so that Zoey had a moment to adjust and see her mother. Maybe the Gods would answer his prayers this time; lord knows they had ignored him in the past. If it weren’t for Zoey, he would have taken his own life a long time ago, but she gave him something to protect, and he would not fail her now.
Eros smiled as he allowed this interaction between the real Zephyr’s mind and the body he had created as a doppelganger. The prince was flourishing under his protection and Zoey’s love. It made Eros confident that he was leading his charge in the right direction to save this world.
Chapter 8
Sasha and Sara
Sasha spent the better part of the morning trying to convince Sara that she was the princess they had thought died during the early part of the war. It was a tedious task, but if she had to be stuck in her war-torn country, she wanted to do it from her rightful place. This girl had to be the daughter of one of the lords or ladies, her clothes were too new, and she wielded magic as if it was second nature. Only the nobles were tutored in proper spell use so that Sasha couldn’t be far from the truth.
The fact that the girl had not seen her as the rightful heir of this kingdom had made her angry, but she was quick to stow that anger away until it could be used at the proper time. Sara continued to feign disbelief and made Sasha fight through every last bit of her knowledge before she finally relented and agreed to help. Sasha was sure that if she could just get to the palace, she would be welcome with open arms, and led away to safety, away from the monsters that crawled across every part of her homeland.
The girls worked in silence as they rifled through the house for provisions that they stuffed into a makeshift sack that Sara had made from the table cloth. This girl seemed full of wonders, even if she was a lowly noble. Sasha would watch her closely just in case she was some kind of ploy or trap. She had found out little about her other family members, but she believed very little of what the girl had told her so far. She wondered if her mother still lived, or was it Zoey that ruled this broken kingdom now. She had not seen nor thought about Zoey in years, her training in the assassin arts had slowed as she grew, but she was formidable in her own right.
Zoey may never be needed and could be married off if Sasha so wished it. No, this land had to be a dream of some kind, a test put together by the Head Mistress. Sasha knew that bitch was more powerful than she had let on; it was something she could smell. Power was a tasty treat, especially when you knew how to take, and Sasha was well versed. Her lion was restless and craved a run; she would have to decide what exactly Sara was because if she was a friend, she got to live if she was a foe, Sasha planned to eat her. She gained more power when she killed in her lion form; it was a discovery she made young when her little sister Zoey began to surpass her in magic. If she wanted to be a queen one day, she had to show her mother that her power was greater than Zoey’s.
It always came back to Zoey! The day her sister was born was the worst day of her life. It was like the very world had forgotten her with the birth of a new princess. People came from all over the kingdom to ooh and ahh over the new baby but ignored her. They praised the babe’s beauty but left her to wallow. From that day forward, it only got worse, especially when Zoey cried, she had so much power that her tiny infant frame could hurl items about the room when she was upset. Most of the shifters in the clan don’t experience their first shift until there about five, and Zoey was shifting back and forth at six months! Sasha had to learn early how to eat power if she wanted to remain the heir to the throne. Letting her thoughts drift, Sasha walked through the burnt forest around them without a care.
Sara had walked quietly, hoping Sasha would make conversation or at least talk through their awkward silence. She had a limited time to put her through the motions, and the beast princess seemed to be lost in thoughts of her own. She would give vague replies when she was spoken to, but they seemed automatic and rehearsed. It was troublesome at best and annoying at worst. Sara didn’t have all day to figure out how to curtail this awful child’s whims. She decided to try another tactic, “If you’re the princess, how come you are being so nice? Our princess was cruel and cared about nothing but herself.”
“Is that what people thought of me?” Sasha asked her emotions leaking through her words.
“They did. If you hadn’t killed Princess Zoey as a teenager they might have loved you more, but who could forgive such a callous act.” Sara replied, pulling the hood of her cloak low over her face to hide the smirk.
“I killed Zoey? Why?” Sasha asked, confused, and upset. She may hate Zoey with all of her being, but she would never take her sister’s life.
“Rumors said that you found a plan to steal the throne and that your sister was the leader of the group. The peasants believed different; they knew you had set her up. She called for a judgment of arms, and you poisoned your knife, knowing that one cut would be all it took for you to win the fight. She fought bravely, and the one successful blow you landed was her end. Felled by a tiny cut to her cheek.” Sara finished letting anger at Princess Sasha seep into her words.
Sasha gasped her face going a stark white; this is what Nyx had been pushing for; finally, she was getting a genuine reaction.
“I would never cheat in honest combat. Her death was her own fault for being a traitor.” Sasha said, playing the part.
“You are wrong and dishonorable! She would have made a better Queen than you any day!” Sara screamed at Sasha, waiting for her to break. She wanted to see any emotion other than jealousy, Sasha had to be made of more than that. Sasha watched her feet as they continued to walk down the forest-lined road. The charred remains of continuous war in their path. The silence that had fallen between them was deafening. It felt heavy and full of emotion, and that is exactly the way Nyx wanted it. Her Sara disguise was at least hitting a nerve with the princess. She was waiting eagerly for that dam to burst; it would make her spell hold better once it was completed.
It was a daunting task, but Nyx felt it was an important one. This beast princess would rein hell and fire on the people of this world, and they had done nothing to upset the balance that they deserved such punishment.
“You know Princess Zoey was far from perfect; she wasn’t the little princess everyone fell in love with, nor was she innocent. It was all smoke and mirrors, a ploy arranged for my mother’s amusement. Zoey was a trained assassin, everyone knew it, but their precious Princess Zoey could do no wrong!” Sasha hissed after ten full minutes of silence. The trees around them had gone green again, and the carnage seemed to be cleared from the road.
“Guess the peasants had the right of it, because that sure sounds like jealousy to me, your highness. “ Sara quipped, giving a mock bow. She knew she was forcing a line, but she had to know how the Princess would act.
Sasha stopped in her tracks, her body visibly shaking with rage, “You Dare!” she hissed. Her face pulled into an angry grimace, her blues eyes flashing death as she gathered her magic between the palms of her hands.
“Are you going to smite me with that ball of fire, your Highness?” Sara asked her features kept neutral as she stared down the beastly princess.
“I should, ungrateful whelp that you are!” Sasha spat her body twitching with her barely held control.
“I guess you really are our long-dead princess. Only she would kill over a few slighted feelings.”Sara said, her voice sad.
Sasha paused as the rage in her eyes went out like a campfire smothered by a bucket of water.
“Your princess destroyed her own people at a mere whim?”
“She did it the same way you were about to do it. Very few of us would even speak to her for fear of her temper. Where have you been hiding all this ti
me, and why don’t you remember?”Sara asked, hoping the guilt of her past deeds would show her what she was becoming. She had to cool the princess’s temper; she had no desire to burned, even if she could bat the magic away with her own spells.
“I have only just found myself here. I haven’t been hiding anywhere. I don’t even know how I got here in the first place.” Sasha snapped, and just like that, her anger was driving again. Her retort had held so much force her teeth had clanked together at the end of her syllables, and she hadn’t even noticed.
“Your Uncle is going to be livid when he sees you alive; after all, it was one of your tantrums that freed all the monsters you see roaming the land. Are you sure you want to go to the palace?”
A growl left Sasha’s lips as her lion burst from her skin without warning. Sara shrugged. ‘She guessed this conversation was over for now.’ She thought to herself. Sasha’s lion made no move to harm Sara, so the two traveled in companionable silence through the now fully green tree-lined forest road. Nyx knew the princess was fragile, but her disguise as Sara had given her a whole new perspective. She had not counted on the soul of the princess being riddled with jealousy, nor did she think the girl before her held any empathy. That her jealousy stemmed from a hatred of her sister was unexpected indeed. She would have to test this theory.
It would seem that her Sara disguise had born fruit earlier than she had planned. Nyx had expected Sasha to be horrified at the thought she might have killed her own sister, but instead, she found the princess justifying her actions and blaming the outcome on the victim. What Nyx didn’t understand was what did Sasha have to be jealous of, she literally had it all. She would inherit the throne, the grandeur, the power, while Zoey would be the beggar princess forever unless Sasha sought to marry her off to some lord.
Sasha’s jealousy was unfounded, Zoey was a victim and a villain all at once in Sasha’s tiny world. Nyx pondered, wiping all of the Princess Sasha’s memories clean and instilling a need to love her sister, might solve the problem. However, it would change her personality so much that Queen Elsie would notice the difference. If the spell she planned to hide in the princess’s mind was ever found, it could have horrific repercussions. Nyx had to stop herself from shaking her head in consternation, lest Sasha notice and begin to wonder what she was up too.
She had to find a way to stop this reality from happening, she wanted to make this dream literally a dream, but her visions of the future showed this landscape if she could not calm the beast in Sasha’s heart now. As a Goddess of the Night, Nyx ruled many things, and the actions of this creature threatened all she loved and held dear. She had to be stopped, but at the moment it seemed impossible. Nyx decided she would travel to the palace with Sasha as Sara to see if there was more to be learned. Even if she spent a few days in this dream, only a few minutes would have passed in the real world, so time wasn’t an issue.
If she could find a way to teach Sasha some empathy between now and the palace, she might change her ways. Nyx knew that temper of hers had to go, and that was something she planned to manipulate with her spell. She was already risking much should the other ruling gods and goddesses of this world find out about her tampering. She was far more infinite than they could ever imagine as Darkness was everywhere, while their gifts only existed in some realms. Nyx would always be a powerful presence as long as the living feared the darkness.
Dropping back a few steps out of Sasha’s view, Sara waved her hand in the air, beginning her spell. Obstacles were needed to teach a lesson, or so she had seen in the many years she had spent in the mortal world. It was how beings discovered their true mettle, or in mortal terms what makes them human. Nyx had an idea, and it just might hit the empathy switch if she was lucky. They walked another hundred feet when a young girl with raven hair burst from the tree-line out onto the road. Her dress was torn and her arms and face littered with scratches she cried, “Run! Dire Wolves, follow me! Run!” The little girl tried to push back into the trees but ended up tripping on the wandering vines that suddenly grew at her feet.
Sara looked at Sasha, amazed that she would trap the child instead of helping her. Those vines were not native to this forest. Therefore Sasha had conjured them.
“What are you doing?” Sarah cried out, dashing towards the child, her knife already drawn.
“Why run?” She said with a smile, “If we give them what they want, they will be too busy eating to chase us.” Sasha shrugged her shoulders as the vines grew thick, holding the child in place like bait, that cried and screamed.
“This isn’t right! She’s a little girl! Her life is precious!” Sara screamed, letting the pure terror she felt fill her words. Even knowing that the girl did not truly live, it bled Nyx’s heart to see a creature so cruel that she would sacrifice an innocent to save herself.
“You sound just like Zoey, pathetic, and weak. It’s better this way; it’s not like we could fight them for her.” Sasha said, her face devoid of emotion.
“Why can’t we defend her? We are both powerful magicals, and dire wolves are easy prey to dispatch, and you know it. So tell me why?” Nyx said, pointing at the vine bound child. She cried harder as we argued all the hope she had of escape bleeding from her tiny body.
“We would be wasting magic we may need for ourselves, Sara. Come along; I don’t plan to watch. It’s too dangerous.” Sasha said as she continued down the road leaving the child behind like an entrée. Nyx watched her go before deciding to defy her. As a Goddess, she could not leave the child to suffer, even if she was made of a magical spell. She had to act to stop it; it was the right thing to do, perhaps she could lead by example. In her Sara disguise, she stood her ground while Sasha bound away in her lion form. Nyx planned even to let one of the imaginary beasts hurt her, maybe Sasha would help her then. She had to learn now, and so far, she was failing this test. Nyx only gave her acolytes one chance to prove themselves to the darkness, and Sasha would get the same allowance.
The wolves burst through the tree line and surround the vine bound child and Sarah, their maws dripping with thick drops of saliva as they snarled and growled. Their eyes glinted red, and they took running nips at Sara and the little girl. Sara gazed down the road to see Sasha in her lion form lazing in the dirt like a lazy cow; her head cocked in puzzlement. Nyx almost missed a wolf attack because she was so unprepared for what she was seeing from the princess. Why would Sara’s actions puzzle, Sasha? Shaking her head, she turned and cast a shield spell as she pushed the wolves back. Her shield kept them at bay as she conjured a light knife and sliced through Sasha’s vines like butter. Once she had the child free, she put her to sleep and wrapped her in a shield of her own. It would be easier to fight if she knew the girl was safe. She dropped her shield and danced through the wolves like lightning. She left one scant opening that allowed the alpha to take her down, as he bit into her arm. It hurt, but in dreamland, it was only half as painful.
She lay on the ground pushing at the beast, trying to get it to let go of her arm. It only tightens its grip no matter how hard she hit it. She had let her conjured weapon fall away when she took the attack, hoping Sasha would save the day. To her surprise, it was the little girl that saved her. In the middle of fighting the wolves, Sarah had let go of her sleeping spell, and the child had woken up. She fired a huge bolt of ice that pierced the alpha’s skin and nailed his corpse to the tree behind her.
In the distance, Sara could hear a faint clapping, “Now that was entertaining. Do you have any more tricks up your sleeve, witch?” Sasha called from a distance laughing with glee.
That sealed the decision for Nyx; she would spend only as long as it took to make their first camp, and then she would disappear. She was going to force empathy into this beast’s head; it was obvious that was the only way she was going to get it, as she had none herself. Nyx wondered if the creature even knew how to love? She had to do something, or the world of WereKin would perish.
Her arm bleeding and her body sore Nyx let t
he little girl help her dress her wounds before she disappeared into the forest again. The little girl was brave and kind; it was what she had hoped to teach the lioness in front of her. She had failed in that endeavor, but Nyx could at least temper the beast. Darkness knew no defeat, and it’s Goddess would not lose either.
Chapter 9
Court Arrivals
The carriage ride had lightened Zoey’s spirit considerably, once Zephyr had made it clear that her choice still belonged to her, the relief she felt was indescribable. It was as if the anger in her chest had evaporated, leaving her whole and confident once more. Doubt was foreign to Zoey, and the little she had felt had caused her great emotional pain. It was a sensation she hoped never to repeat. Zephyr and Zoey played a series of Checkers, each winning and losing a few games. They were currently tied due to their sneakiness and prowess in stealth. Each had, of course, cheated to win the games in which they had achieved triumph. Two trained assassins trained in sleight of hand, and it was never a doubt that they would try all their tricks when trying to best one and other.
Zephyr was glad he was able to lift Zoey’s spirits, She had been crashing badly emotionally, and he needed her mind logical if they were to complete this mission successfully. When they entered the village surrounding the palace, Zoey’s bright green eyes remained glued to the window. Hundreds of new structures had towered in what was once a small struggling city. There were new theaters, libraries, and temples. The newer temples were to gods and goddesses; she didn’t even recognize and felt off to her. The atmosphere around the new temples made her skin crawl as they passed in the carriage.
Gone were the old hut and tinned roofed shacks that used to house the poor and in their place stood sprawling mansions that reached high into the sky, though not higher than the palace. The apartments of those housed within were separated by numbered dwellings, giving each peasant a place to call their own. To Zoey, it was as if her home had changed and grown just as she had changed and grown. With the Celebration Ball a few days away, Zoey grew excited at the prospect of inspecting how her old home had changed.
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