The Wildest Woods

by S. K Munt

  Martya, Bastien and sixty percent of our population still lived in and loved those rooms, which were rather spectacular, but I was obviously not the only one that craved a haven of my own, because we’d built seventeen little cottages along the lakeside the summer before, and now had a list of requests from fourteen other people that were eager to procure a home of their own. Most of those requests came from families, or would-be families, but some came from individuals that had confessed to me that they were still struggling to adjust to being part of such a tight community, and needed room to breathe- including Sam, whose cottage I visited on a semi-daily basis.

  Not me though- I was happy exactly where I was, and would continue to be content with my lot so long as half of my lot was open to the sky. In fact the only thing that bugged me about my room at all was the fact that the furniture didn’t sit flush against the rounded walls.

  I should have Satan make me some curved furniture, I thought as I passed my bedroom door, but I immediately grimaced. Surely such thoughts were a sign that I was going mad!

  I could have spent hours pacing the terrace and willing myself to calm down, but I heard a shout and twisted around to see that the guards that we kept at the true city grates were waving to people that were obviously rounding the riverbank, and that snapped me out of my shock. I didn’t know how I wanted to greet Cairo, but I did know that I didn’t want him seeing me like that- flushed, my hair lazily knotted and my hands and apron covered with soot- so I ducked through my tower door and made a beeline for my tiny washroom and began stripping off my clothes as I ran the water that we were pumping out of the river. Thank goodness he’d arrived in the middle of the day, when our solar heating system was at its strongest and the least in demand, because I needed a hard, hot shower desperately, especially after trying my hand at soldering again.

  I couldn’t help it though- everybody in the kingdom had to be prepared to lend a hand when one was required, and I’d made it clear from day one that no one would be excluded from grunt work- not even their precious queen. And though I enjoyed my copy-editing job most of the time because I still loved reading, I had to admit that I enjoyed working outside almost as much now. Not just because hard work was cathartic, but because I felt so much more included when I did. Not like a monarch, and not like a delicate woman- but like an equal.

  I could have stayed under that hot water forever, allowing it wash my anxiety out of my muscles, but I’d been looking forward to Cairo’s return all winter and couldn’t bear the thought of wasting a second in his company preparing for him rather than enjoying him, so I made quick work of lathering myself up with my favourite orange blossom soap, and then rinsing it off and rushing back into my bed chamber so that I could rifle through my free-standing wardrobe- which looked somewhat different to how it had five minutes ago. I stiffened after I opened one of the doors to see that my clothes were sitting at a strange angle, then my mouth dropped open when I realised that the inside of the cupboard was now crescent-shaped and that the outside of it was pale grey timber instead of the brown it had been before.

  Huh?!

  I spun around and gasped to see that while I’d been in the shower, all of the furniture that I’d had for two years had been switched out with matching grey pieces that were just curved enough to fit my walls, including my bed, which was now twice as large, circular, and boasting four poles that connected to a canopy! That canopy was draped with gathered, periwinkle silk that matched my new drapes and grey timber poles that had vines crawling up them that exploded with tiny jasmine blossoms, filling the room with their fragrant aroma. The change was so striking that I couldn’t believe I’d made it this far across my room without noticing that it had been turned into a garden of white, lavender and grey! Everything had been dark timber and a deep violet before!

  ‘What in the…?’ I began, and then rolled my eyes and closed my cupboard mirror again, smirking when I saw Satan reflected in there, beaming at me. I groaned and pressed my fingers to my forehead. ‘I used your name in conjunction with my furniture woes, didn’t I?’

  Satan mimed slapping her elbows like a genie, punctuating it with a salacious wink. ‘Ask you shall receive, baby doll, and I love it when you ask for something fun!’ She bit her lip, and I saw immediately how transparent she was- weakened already from the renovating. ‘I was going to give you some wallpaper too, but I ran out of steam. Methinks I need a few more weeks rest before I have another crack at giving you a room that’s befitting for a queen!’

  I snorted. ‘I think you’ve done enough for now. Honestly… I looked around the room again and chuckled to see that there were now small chandeliers hanging from my ceiling that were wrapped up in vines, and a thick green fur rug on my floor that resembled a patch of wild grasses. Where did she dream this stuff up? ‘You’re too much.’

  ‘One of these days you’re just going to say ‘Thank you,’ when I do you a good turn, aren’t you?’ my mother asked, pouting a little.

  ‘As soon as I know that there’s not a giant IOU list accruing because I didn’t read the fine print in the furniture catalogue,’ I confirmed, and she rolled her eyes.

  ‘Some days, I can’t even believe that you’re my daughter.’

  ‘Those are probably the days when I piss off people the least,’ I joked, and then opened the door again. ‘Thank you, now leave me alone! I have-’

  ‘Pirates to fawn all over?’ I heard her tease, but the end of that sentence was so faded that I knew that she was already gone. Shaking my head, I went back to clothes-hunting, hoping that I really wasn’t racking up a cosmic debt with all of the ways that she’d helped me!

  I should have asked what she did with the rest of my furniture, I mused. Someone else could have really used it.

  Someone’s bound to pick it up outside! Satan chirped in response, and I went to the window, looked out of it and laughed, shaking my head to see that she’d deposited all of it on the castle’s lawn.

  Oh well, waste not, want not.

  25.

  Eden Castle, City Of Arcadia

  Kohén Barachiel

  ‘He speaks the truth, Karol,’ Amelia-Rose suddenly piped up, practically beaming at me now, trading her devout expression for a warm one like she was switching hats instead of personas, ‘and I think that’s plain to see. You knew that enlisting him in the army would be the best way to rehabilitate him and you were right, so stop trying to look for evidence that the devil retains her hold on him, and marvel in how clever you were to think of a way to get him out of her grasp, and of how glorious God’s light is now that it’s shining upon him again!’ the girl sashayed over to the throne and squeezing the king’s shoulders supportively, and much too intimately. He stiffened under her touch, but everyone in the room relaxed to see such a display of affection. ‘These are glad tidings, indeed, aren’t they father?’

  Shepherd Choir stepped forward, smile as warm and lucid as always. ‘They are my child, they are. Pray, you read the second message quickly, King Karol. Your brother has travelled quite a distance from St Miguel and is probably eagerly looking forward to a hot shower, a fine, home-cooked meal and a night in his own bed-’

  ‘Actually, Shepherd Choir, though I thank you for thinking of me, I have decided to spend my furlough in the barracks rather than in Eden,’ I said quickly, and everyone turned back to gape at me again- everyone except Karol who was already unfurling the second scroll while wearing a practiced expression of indifference.

  ‘Again?’ Amelia-Rose looked up, crestfallen. ‘But you stayed there during your last two trips: first because you suspected that you were sick and again because you claimed to have a lot of training to do... What excuse could you have for denying yourself your right to sleep in your own bed this time?’

  I looked at Karol, saw the twitch in his jaw and took it as a cue to proceed. ‘Perhaps it is the amnesia to blame, but the barracks feel more like home to me than the palace does because I have spent more time there. In addition to that, I sti
ll feel undeserving of all of the luxuries that this palace has to offer, and because so many of my comrades are from overseas and have no home to return to here, it only seems fair that I stay with them during the break, especially now that Guardian Forsyth is pre-occupied with family matters.’

  ‘How noble of you, son,’ Shepherd Choir said, but his smile was still fragile.

  ‘It’s not noble, it’s just.’ I cleared my throat. ‘I still refute the ugliest claims against my nature that were made as far as the indentured dark Nephilim was concerned, and my twin assures me that most of them were vile rumours... but it is obvious to me that my spoiled fixation with a dark angel put a lot of lives in danger. So, I will live as a member of the Corps for as long as it takes for my king, and the public that got caught in the crossfire of my enthralment to decide that I have atoned for my sins.’

  Amelia-Rose pouted and turned to look at her father, clearly about to beg him to change my mind, but Karol groaned gently then and so luckily, all eyes turned to him before Amelia-Rose could get her way. I knew what he’d just read, and Malry had warned me that he was likely to lose his temper over the news, but I didn’t dread his imminent explosion because for once, I wasn’t the one responsible for his woes.

  ‘Everybody leave the throne room, please- I have confidential military matters to discuss with Guardian Barachiel only. Matters regarding the co-ordinates of certain enemies, you understand...’ the king announced then, and without so much as squeaking in protest or muttering in disappointment, the room emptied. I turned around to look at Saul-Yin, nodded to her to excuse herself and with a sigh of relief, she turned and slunk back out into the foyer/courtyard, moving as lightly and lithely as a cat and making me wish that I could leave with her. Not that she’d actually abandon me there- odds were that she was just going to wait outside with Theodore now, like the loyal friend that she was.

  Amelia-Rose watched my friend go with a guarded expression as she attempted to wriggle into a sitting position on the armrest of the golden throne, but Karol shot her a loaded look and after expelling a sigh, she curtsied and headed off down the steps as well, looking sorry for herself. However, when she tried to take her father’s arm on her way out, Karol held up his hand and beckoned him closer.

  ‘I’ll have you stay, Shep,’ he said tightly. ‘Not only to disarm gossips about what is about to be discussed later, but for counsel.’

  ‘Of course, son,’ the shepherd said, including me on his warm but sad smile. I knew that he saw the rift between us and hated it, but I also knew that he distrusted me almost as much as Karol did. Apparently he was opposed to the Companion caste as half of the kingdom was, only he despised it for what it did to the girls and not for the way it ‘corrupted’ men like me. The corruption, he believed, was our doing, and I didn’t disagree with him. My shrieking hormones were barely tolerable, but if I had managed it for two years, who was to say that I couldn’t do it for a decade?

  Who was to say that Companions were needed at all, least of all by direct descendants of God?

  ‘This report is from General Alvarez?’ Karol asked as soon as the door had closed behind Amelia-Rose, sitting up and looking up at me as he leaned more over the scroll.

  I nodded. ‘Yes, your highness.’

  ‘How old is it?’

  ‘I picked it up from Rachiel just yesterday.’

  ‘Good.’ Karol rubbed his forehead. ‘It says here that a small settlement of Godless people has been spotted living in the north, and that they appeared to have quite an established village there… but it does not go into much detail about the settlement at all. How is that possible? It’s protocol to collect as much information on enemy camps as possible.’

  ‘Because it was spotted from the air, Sire, by one of Tariel’s pilots on a test flight and their protocol on such missions differs from ours.’

  Karol looked up at me, eyebrows hoisted. ‘Can you or anyone else tell me more than what has been notated here?’

  ‘A little. I spoke to the man that spoke to the pilot mentioned in the report when I was stationed in St Miguel,’ I said quickly, and Karol’s eyes narrowed, signalling that I had his interest. ‘But I’m afraid that there is not a lot more to say than what made it into the report. It was their first test-flight at such a high altitude, and it did not go well. They barely made it over The Sleeping Giant’s ranges before they started to run low on fuel, and the cloud cover over most of the land was as dense from above as it always appears to be from the coast.’

  ‘But he spotted evidence of people living up there somehow?’ He frowned back down at the correspondence. ‘And buildings?’

  ‘Through the fog and snow,’ I confirmed. ‘The pilot cannot be sure if the buildings that he sighted have been constructed in recent years or if they are simply ruins from the time before, because the entire area was covered with ice-’

  ‘They have to be ruins,’ Karol said quickly, and I nodded in agreement.

  ‘I concur. But apparently the pilot saw enough signs of life down there to indicate that they are being used for shelter regardless, so they must be in better condition that most of the other ruins that we’ve come across... and he concluded that the people inhabiting the area obviously intended to stick around for awhile. He spotted fires, some livestock, and what appeared to be areas that had been cleared for either planting, or grazing.’ I nodded towards the paper. ‘He could not even begin to estimate how many people were down there because they looked like blurry ants to him, but he thinks that there were definitely more than twenty of them, at least-’

  ‘Which makes them a colony. An outlaw colony, on Callielian soil.’ The king leaned forward, incensed, and I drew back, startled. ‘How did this happen?’ he demanded, as though it were my doing. ‘I’ve spent thousands of dollars trying to scrape similar camps off the northern coast of Janiel like the barnacles they are, only to learn that I have one setting up next door to us since…’ he squinted down at the paper. ‘When was this sighted again?’

  ‘Back in February,’ I said quickly. ‘The pilot would have mentioned it sooner, but his plane had to make an emergency landing in Yael on its way back to Tariel, and he was stuck there for months while it underwent repairs. Then, after he learned of how many colonies have set themselves up on the islands off the coast of Yael, he decided that the one in the north couldn’t possibly cause us much trouble, given how tiny it was in comparison to the southern ones.’

  ‘I don’t care how big it is,’ the king grumbled, staring wrathfully down at the paper. ‘I’ve spent a lot of time and money working to chase the Godless out of our waters- and I didn’t do that so that they could wash up onto our shores and establish colonies on our damned land instead!’

  ‘Well, technically it’s not sovereign land is it? So it’s not like they’ve breeched your borders or defences, your highness,’ Shepherd Choir said quickly. ‘Besides, I’ve been traveling the world for most of my life and I can tell you, those tiny, isolated colonies tend to get attacked by others like them, or wiped out by a pandemic by the time they’ve managed to grow a crop of lettuce. More often than not, they’re nomadic tribes trying to survive after a shipwreck, and if it’s that small, I doubt they survived the tail-end of the winter, given how brutal the last two winters have been.’

  Karol glanced up at him. ‘You think?’

  ‘It’s a wasteland up there, your highness. It’s one thing for these pirate colonies to thrive in tropical locales… but north of here?’ He shuddered. ‘I doubt that they want to be there any more than you want them to be there, trust me, and if they’ve survived this long, it would be a miracle.’

  ‘That is true…’ Karol sighed and rolled up the paper. ‘Still, I don’t like the idea of a colony of godless setting up anywhere near to us- it makes us look weak, especially considering the fact that they’ve managed to find a way onto a portion of land that we’ve failed to penetrate at all.’ He signalled me forward. ‘I need to send an expedition into the north to find them
. One by ship when one is available, I think, as this mentions that the colony was settled close to the coast, and one by land. They need to be located, assessed and then dealt with accordingly.’

  ‘Dealt with?’ I asked, raising an eyebrow.

  ‘Captured, or exterminated, depending on how hard they resist arrest,’ Karol said quickly, like it was so obvious. ‘If I send word to General Alvarez to get the second division headed for the northern lands by the end of the week, can I trust that you will deliver it for me? I know you’re about to go on furlough, but you still have one day of service left, don’t you? That’s more than enough time for you to ride a message to him in Rachiel.’

  ‘The second division is already on furlough, sire,’ I said quickly, my backside aching at the idea of riding to Arcadia’s new military headquarters and back in under twenty-four hours after just having come from there. ‘They contracted a few cases of a mild pox virus off the coast of Janiel and are being quarantined for the next two weeks. Then, even after they’ve healed, they’re entitled to take their actual month’s rest, which is why the third division’s furlough has been moved forward, so that we can cover them when they’re on leave.’ I pointed to the scroll. ‘It’s all in the report.’