Ariella and the Blood Curse

by Owen Crane

  year you will grow to lean on each other, trust each other and who knows?

  Maybe even love each other.” Karlov laughed again. “That"s about enough of

  that. You"ve got ten minutes until lunch is served in the mess hall. Get to your

  rooms, dump your gear and get to lunch. Any questions?”

  There was silence.

  “Excellent. ” Karlov pointed to the nearest tower. “That"s tower one, our

  tower. Mess hall is in the basement; sleeping quarters are on the floors above

  that. Get to it!”

  “Excuse me.” It was the tall blonde girl. She addressed Karlov in a way that

  Ariella was sure she had addressed many servants in her life.

  Karlov ignored her.

  “I said, “Excuse me.” Her voice got louder.

  “Name?” Karlov"s voice was low, almost a growl.

  The girl looked suddenly flustered. “I am Eugenie Rexsalve”

  “Well Eugenie Rexsalve. You will address me as Sir or Sir Karlov. Is that

  clear?”

  Eugenie went red. “Yes…sir”

  “Excellent. You had a question?”

  “You said „sleeping quarters"?”

  “Your point is?”

  “Girls and boys?” her voice went up an octave

  “Of all the problems you"re going to face this year Eugenie Rexsalve, you"re

  focusing on sleeping arrangements?” Karlov sighed and rolled his eyes. “It"s

  going to be a long year. Relax Eugenie; they are separate quarters for boys and

  girls. Now go, you"ve only got five minutes now and if you"re late they"ll take

  your food to the orphanage.

  That was enough; the Knot broke into a run towards their tower.

  Chapter 8

  The Knot burst through the tower doors sending them banging back on their

  hinges. The tall, muscular Erestian was in the lead. He hesitated for a moment

  in the entrance chamber before spotting the wide spiral staircase on his right and

  diving up it. The other nine sprinted after him, the delicious smells wafting up

  from the basement stairs spurring them on.

  The stairs were wide enough for three people to take at once and led to a

  spacious landing with a lounge area and windows out on to the compound.

  Standing in the middle of the landing was a short, plump lady wearing an apron

  and an infectious smile.

  “Girls landing!” she called. The boys hesitated. “Keep going you lot.” She

  chided, “you"re on the next floor.” The boys bounded out of sight leaving Ariella with four other girls and the smiling lady.

  “Now, aren"t you five a beautiful group of young ladies?” she cooed. “Let

  me see if I can get this right.” She moved forward and examined each of the girls

  with gentle, probing eyes. She stopped in front of the tall blonde girl and looked

  her up and down.

  “I"d say you have Trevena nobility in your blood, it"s obvious isn"t?” she

  turned to the other girls who returned her look with blank expressions. “Yes,

  yes, definitely Trevenan so that would make you Eugenie, am I right?” Eugenie

  smiled and curtsied; she seemed to enjoy being recognised as nobility.

  The plump lady went to the next in line. A girl as tall as Eugenie, with deep

  brown hair pulled back tight and fastened with a simple clasp. It gave her a

  severe look that was intensified by the swirling black tattoo on the edge of her

  left eye. Her eyes were hard and her lip was almost curled in a sneer.

  I don’t think she’s enjoying this game.

  “Ah yes. That"s a look I know, show me your hands dear.”

  The girl hesitated but the plump lady kept smiling. Embarrassed by her

  hesitation she extended her hands, palms up.

  “I thought so. You use a longbow and rather well I"d guess. Theia Silvestris

  from the woodland Kingdom of Darcian.” Theia nodded stiffly but said nothing.

  “It"s simple to guess your name.” The plump lady had stopped in front of the

  girl on Ariella"s left. A head shorter than Ariella, she was slim and petite. Her

  hair was long and raven black, laced with tribal feathers. Her skin was darker

  than the other girls, tanned from a life outdoors. “Esther Carissimi from the

  plains of Erestia and aren"t you a beauty?” Esther blushed.

  “Just two left.”

  For the first time that day Ariella became aware of the girl standing on her

  right. She turned to look at her and her mouth dropped open.

  What? She’s huge! I thought she was a boy. How did I that I miss that?

  The girl was massive, as tall as the Erestian boy in their Knot. Her shoulders

  were broad and her arms were muscled. She was stooped as if she was

  embarrassed by her height. Her auburn brown hair was long, plaited neatly,

  without fuss. She blinked and looked down as the plump lady stood in front of

  her and Ariella.

  The lady reached out and softly took the large girls hands in hers. For a

  moment Ariella saw a look of intense sadness on the ladies face. As quickly as it

  came, it was gone, replaced by the wide smile she had worn the whole time they

  had been with her.

  “Welcome Phoebe Montecorde. It is our great pleasure to have you with us.

  You are going to become an outstanding Guardian.”

  Phoebe’s head lifted and her eyes widened at the lady’s words.

  “So that makes you Ariella Lightharbour, you have the look of your mother.”

  The lady’s smile dropped, just a touch, and her eyes became stern. “Much will

  be demanded of you on this Journey but don’t be afraid. The Light in you is

  greater than any shadow.”

  Who the heck is this, how does she know my mother and what I am supposed to do

  with a comment like that? Light and shadow? All I can think about right now is food.

  Can we talk about that?

  Nobody spoke for a moment as the silence hung in the room. Eugenie

  shifted her feet and gave a cough.

  “Yes dear?” The lady asked

  “Our rooms?” Eugenie asked.

  “Not rooms dear, room.”

  Eugenie looked confused.

  “There’s only one room,” the lady explained, “you will be staying together for the year.”

  Before Eugenie could protest the sound of heavy footsteps came down from

  the upper staircase and the five boys came bursting onto their landing and flew

  down the stairs.

  The girls hesitated, looking at the plump lady.

  “It’s lovely to meet you all. My name is Yvette.”

  The girls kept staring, unsure of their next move.

  Yvette kept smiling. “How about you drop your bags here and go and get

  some lunch?”

  Ariella didn’t need anymore permission and neither did the others. They

  dropped their bags against the curved landing wall and took off down the stairs

  guided by the smells from the kitchen below.

  The dining room was a large circular space with a massive oval table in the

  middle. There must have been space for more than twenty people around it.

  There was a fireplace at the far end surrounded by clusters of arm chairs.

  Despite being underground the room was bright and airy with a comfortable

  feel.

  The beautiful smell that had drawn Ariella and the others had come from the

  table, laden with food. There was all manner of roasted meats, steaming

  vegetables smothered in butter and piles of every sort of potato roasted, mash
ed,

  fried and baked. The boys were already seated and tucking into the mountains

  of food. At the far end of the oval table was Karlov tearing off chunks of meat

  from a large chicken leg. The girls descended on the food without a word.

  After a while Karlov broke the silence. “Listen up everyone.” He paused as

  the sounds of eating died away. “Straight after lunch we"re off to the

  Quartermaster to get your gear, then to the Master of Arms for weapons. After

  that I get to see why you got selected to come on The Journey. Impress me.” He

  pushed back his chair and left the table, pausing at the staircase. “Meet me

  outside when you"re done.” A mischievous smiled spread across his face.

  “You"ve got one minute.”

  There was a moment of stillness then brief pandemonium as the last

  mouthfuls of food were shovelled in and bread rolls shoved into pockets for

  later. Then they made a mad dash back up the stairs and out of the door. Karlov

  was already outside, standing in the courtyard talking with another Guardian.

  The Knot gathered together but Karlov ignored them as he and the other

  Guardian set off for the gates.

  Ariella watched as Karlov left them and looked past him to see where he was

  going. Standing at the gate, with his arms folded, waiting for Karlov, was Micah.

  What’s he doing here? Has he come to see me? Maybe he wants to say goodbye

  properly?

  She started to blush and took a few steps away from the Knot towards

  Micah. He and Karlov had their heads close together; they seemed to be talking

  intently. As she took a few more steps they stopped talking and looked in her

  direction, their faces were dark and tense. Karlov turned back to Micah and

  shook his hand then started walking back towards Ariella. She tried to catch

  Micah’s eye but he had already begun walking away.

  “Everything okay?” she asked.

  Karlov stopped and stared at her, waiting.

  “Sorry, sir. Its everything okay, sir?”

  Karlov still had the dark look on his face. “Get back with your Knot Ariella.”

  He strode past her to where the Knot was gathered, Ariella following behind.

  What’s Micah told him that’s made him go off like that?

  She looked back towards the gate to see if Micah had come back but there

  was no sign of him.

  “Follow me,” barked Karlov. The Knot followed without a word.

  Karlov led them across the courtyard to the building on the right and to the

  first of several doors along the ground floor. The wooden door had a large letter

  ‘Q’ marked in its centre. One of the other Knots was leaving and each of the

  Sojourners carried a large sack. Inside was a large area tiled with stone. At the

  far end was a large stone counter, and behind it was a Guardian with a bored

  look on his face.

  “You"re late Karlov”

  Karlov ignored him, speaking to the Knot. “This is the Quartermaster’s, here

  you"ll get your clothes for the next twelve months. The clothes are designed for

  functionality and specifically for working in Trevena.” He eyed Eugenie. “They

  are not designed for fashion so nobody mention anything about how they don"t

  match your eye colour, hair colour or anything else. Is that clear?” The Knot

  nodded as one. “Then get to it. Meet me outside when you"re done” Karlov

  slammed the door when he left.

  Indio broke the silence. “Someone forgot to drink their happy juice at

  lunch.”

  “I wonder what"s put him in a foul mood.” It was the boy from Darcian,

  Jaron Asheart. He was taller than Ariella with short, chestnut hair and bright

  blue eyes. He looked over at Ariella. “Did he say anything to you?”

  She shook her head. “He just told me to get back to the Knot”

  Indio chipped in. “Do you know who he was talking to at the gate?”

  “Yeah, his name is Micah. He"s a palace guard from Lightharbour. He was

  here escorting me.”

  “I"d like to get to know that guard. Did you see him?” Eugenie asked to

  know no one in particular. “He"s gorgeous.”

  Ariella felt a wave of jealousy wash over her. Unfortunately, Theia saw it in

  her face.

  “Look!” she pointed “Ariella doesn"t like that Eugenie, I think she has eyes

  on her guard.” The two girls laughed together as Ariella"s jealousy turned to

  anger and her fists clenched. Before she could react she felt a gentle hand on her

  shoulder. She turned and saw Phoebe shake her head with a kind look in her

  eyes.

  “Ooo, the giant"s got involved now,” taunted Theia. “Maybe she likes your

  guard too.”

  Eugenie laughed “Her? Don"t be ridiculous, look at her, she"s a freak.”

  Indio and Jaron both bristled at that comment.

  “Shut up, Eugenie.” said Indio

  “Or what?” Eugenie"s eyes narrowed as she stared at Indio. The tension

  threatened to bubble over.

  “When you"ve quite finished!” It was the bored looking Guardian behind the

  counter. “First day and you"re ready to attack each other. It"s going to be a long

  year,” he sighed.

  Phoebe’s hand was still on Ariella"s shoulder and she walked them both to

  the counter, turning their backs on the others.

  The Guardian looked up at Phoebe, unfazed by her size. He walked through

  the doorway behind the counter and came back moments later with a large sack,

  tied at the top with thick string.

  “This should do for you.” He handed her the sack and then sized up Ariella

  before disappearing again, coming back with a similar sack. “Next!” he called

  Within a few minutes, all ten had their sacks and were standing out in the

  courtyard again with Karlov, who still wasn"t smiling.

  “This way, and keep up.”

  Karlov led them through the second door in the long stone building. A pair

  of cross swords was marked on the door. Indio smiled. It was another large

  room, similar to the previous one, but this one had no counter. This room had

  racks, lots of racks. Racks on every wall and many more self standing racks filled

  the floor. On each of the racks were weapons, weapons of every shape, size and

  description. Long bows, shorts bows and crossbows. Curved scimitars and thin

  rapiers were lined up alongside giant broadswords. Maces and morning stars

  hung opposite all manner of axes, daggers and knives.

  Joachim, the tall Erestian cracked his knuckles and smiled. It was the first

  time Ariella had seen any emotion from him.

  Indio slapped Jaron and the back and grinned. “This is more like it.” He

  had just started moving towards a rack filled with battle axes when the door at

  the back of the room opened and in walked Lalea.

  “Step back, Indio.” She commanded. Stepping into the middle of the room

  she addressed the Knot. “As you know, I am Lalea Onderskat and I serve as

  Assistant Master of Arms. Before we begin, let me go through the rules. ”

  Indio rolled his eyes as Jaron pulled him back from the axes.

  “Rule number one. First year Sojourners are not allowed weapons inside the

  compound unless they"re in training.” She locked eyes with each of the ten as she

  spoke. “Rule two. Weapons are to be collected prior to training and returned
>
  following training. Rule 3. Regardless of previous experience you will learn to

  use each of the weapons in this room.”

  She let her words sink in before she continued. “Karlov, it"s over to you.”

  He nodded. “Right. Everyone grab a weapon. Your own choice and let"s

  see if you can handle it.”

  Indio let out a whoop of joy, winked at Jaron and dove straight for the axe

  rack. Within moments he was swinging a huge double bladed battle axe through

  the air. Jaron stepped past him towards the bows were Theia had already picked

  out a stunning looking longbow and was testing the string.

  Ariella stood back, watching the others. Joachim moved over to the curved

  cavalry sabres and was examining them closely. Eugenie was looking through

  the array of long swords while Phoebe shuffled over to the axe rack by Indio.

  Ariella gasped as she watched Esther practicing with a long bladed spear,

  spinning it through her hands and behind her back. She noticed Ariella

  watching her, and stopped, embarrassed.

  “That was amazing!” Ariella called over to her.

  Esther blushed, “Thank you” she replied, replacing the spear.

  “What about you princess, not joining in?” Eleazar"s voice startled her. She

  spun round and watched him as he flicked a long bladed dagger into the air and

  caught it by its tip.

  “Go and bug someone else”

  “But why? It"s so much fun bugging you.” Eleazar laughed as he made the

  dagger dance through his fingers.

  Ariella walked away from him towards the huge rack of swords. Felix was

  there as well. He seemed flustered.

  “Are you alright?” she asked

  “What? Oh, yes, well, no, not really. I"ve never been that good at the

  weapons side of things. I tend to get myself all mixed up, if you know what I

  mean.”

  Ariella nodded, not having a clue what he meant but thought it was easier

  just to agree with him.

  Ariella scanned along the rack of swords until she found what she was

  looking for, a light, thin, long bladed rapier. It was the type that her Father and

  Hakeem had taught her how to use.

  Karlov raised his voice. “Time’s up. Grab your weapons and come with me,

  let’s see if you can fight.”

  She grabbed the rapier and followed the others out into the courtyard.

  Chapter 9