Kalie Rana

Behind the armored raven knight, the remnants of the nature majin’s vines were being fought back simultaneously by both the ever growing group of knights as well as Festril’s emphatic playing. Within moments the street became filled by at least fifty knights; it was obvious that the battle was decided. The vines growth ceased their ever pressing crawl, and the street was quiet of spells.

“I didn’t hear you arrive,” I said, taken aback by the imposing man.

“I will take that as high praise, your highness.” The man gave nothing away through his expressionless helmet, and his serene stillness. If he hadn’t spoken, I would’ve thought that he was an extremely convincing armor mannequin. However, what wasn’t obvious on the outside, was obvious once I set my sight on him. There was no movement around him in the immaterium. Mundanes were veritable factories of raw mana, and it was easy to sense the flow of raw mana out of them when they were exhausted, but this man was completely devoid of anything. Meaning, that either I was right in my initial guess that he was some sort of mannequin, or more likely he was another powerful majin.

“How did you know who I am?” I asked. While we weren’t dressed exactly like peasants, none of us were particularly dressed how our station would demand, and yet, the knight didn’t hesitate to address me by my title.

“We were informed,” he said, turning and gesturing towards a shaken but safe looking Maria, still speaking with a soldier beyond the carnage on the other end of the street.

“What happened to her?”

“She doesn’t really know. She was blinded and spirited away by an unknown man. When she could see again, she was standing in front of the guard house. It was because of her and her information that we were able to mobilize so quickly.”

“Did she say who took her?”

Or how? Or when?

“Only that she was blinded Your Highness, and that we would need to act quickly or else many would die.” The knight’s attention snapped over my shoulder. His hand laid on the hilt of the sword at his hip, but his stoic demeanor remained otherwise.

“My Lord.” Out of breath from her fight, Leanne quickly fell to her knee upon seeing the man. “Thank you so much for blessing us with your presence.”

Good god, just who is this? I assumed since all the other knights were wearing bird reminiscent armor, that this dude was just like a captain or something.

“Of course. There’s no way that something like this could happen in Cartigia and it would go out of my notice. Raise yourself, tell me all that has transpired here.” Regal and imposing, I felt more like I was speaking with my father the King than a soldier of the alliance. Whoever the man before me was, both he and Leanne felt as if he required no introduction. Whether that was the norm or on account of the situation, I didn’t know.

“Of course my Lord. This was an unprovoked attack on Lady Rana, Lady Illiu, and of course Her ladyship Cynthia Jesop, Cordillera of the Jesop Dukedom,” Leanne spoke Cynthia’s title with such spiteful pride aimed at the unconscious man behind her I was surprised it didn’t literally precede her spitting on the man. “I believe that it was a pair of majin working in tandem to pull off this attack. A nature majin was attacking as well as this one.”

“We’ve dealt with that worm already. By the time we caught them, their spell had already been put in place. I’m sorry about that.”

“It’s not us you should be concerned about,” I said, breaking my silence. “The people who are lying dead on this street are the ones who require an apology. Their families should have justice. And, most importantly there were three majin. The two we have already dealt with, and an light instrumentalier called Valier.”

“A light majin? That could be quite dangerous. Are you sure?” The knight asked.

“He is very skilled and I doubt that there would be. I cannot say for certain whether he took part in this attack, but he approached me before. And I’m almost certain it was he who took and blinded Maria.”

“I see.” The knight turned to face another soldier who had been waiting behind him. “Please, send word to White-Rock palace. Lord Erinraus will be interested in discussing these matters further. Will you allow me to accompany you there?”

***

Leaving the market street by carriage while everyone else was carried off by stretcher or worse, by corpse cart, was unsettling to say the least. It was a twisting grinding feeling made worse by the fact that it was our fault that all these people were injured and killed.

Our return to White-Rock palace was a swift one. The carriage that we were placed in felt off from the moment that I sat in it, but once we started to move, I immediately realized why. Ingrained into the black wood of the carriage itself, I could sense wind spirits, lightening the carriage and thus the load of the horses pulling it. To them, the work probably felt like they were pulling only a person or two.

Across from me, and beside the shaken but stoic Maria, sat Cynthia. Cynthia, who was scratch free, was being comforted by Leanne who had only moments before we left for the palace been getting medical attention. The duchess-to-be was obviously not one for the battlefield and it showed. At least whoever assigned Leanne to her was thinking ahead.

Beside me, Festril in contrast was positively buzzing with energy. The red gems of her irises seemed to be undulating with the passing light.

“That was exceptional wasn’t it?”

“I don’t know about that Festril, there were many who were injured,” I said, in a futile attempt to dump some cold reality on her parade.

“And those sins have and will be paid for. With that dealt with, can we not reveal a little in the thrill of the fight? Never in my life have I ever seen nature majic like that! It is exhilarating to combat a foe so foreign to yourself. Have you ever had a chance Lady Rana?”

“Have I fought a majin before? Yes. Back in my home of Cerith, my grandmother taught me as well as several other majin.”

“Truly? That’s wonderful,” Festril said, wistfully watching the noble quarter pass us by out the window. After a moment of calm she exploded with energy again, “would you do me the honor of sparring with me Lady Rana? I would love for the chance to see what you can do.”

“I think that—” I stopped myself, seeing Maria’s intense gaze. “Maybe. As long as those back at the White Palace don’t see to our confinement.”

“Do you truly think that they will confine us after that? It wasn’t our fault at all!” Festril’s indignity was completely appropriate. Although I had no issue speaking out against any sort of punishment for the two of them, I couldn’t help but feel like it was in a way my fault. An attack on consorts to the king was one thing, but Valier being amongst them meant it was personal.

“Of course there will be punishments. And I will see to it that the punishments fall squarely on the shoulders of those of us who insisted that we leave the palace.” Cynthia took enough time away from being whispered to by Leanne to snap at the two of us.

“How dense is that brain of yours?” Festril said, jumping at the opportunity to argue. “There’s no way that’s any of our faults! They attacked us for no reason. If anything, the White Raven and his people are the ones who are most responsible for this attack. The city watch couldn’t be bothered to keep out those ruffians, then of course it’s their fault. Why should we be forced to be confined for weeks on end without seeing so much as beyond the courtyards and garden’s walls?”

“Because, that is our place in this world. We are to be protected. Jewels and gems to be lavished over.” Again, although Cynthia spoke with conviction, I couldn’t help but feel like her words were in part to convince herself, as much as she wanted to convince the two of us.

“That may be your place, but it is not mine, or ours,” Festril said, glancing my way. “I am one of the few of my people who have the ability to stave off the heat of the great desert. I am one of the even more few who have the vitality that remains to do so. I am no gem, if I were, then I would have nothing more to offer than to be sold.”

“Of course you would say that,” Cynthia said, rolling her eyes. “You have so little clue what your place is here, that you would go galavanting around without consideration of what it meant for those that you laid waste to. What about you Lady Rana? You’ve travelled this far, seen more of this world than either of us in the process I’d wager. What do you think?”

“In a way Lady Jesop is correct, I’m sorry to admit,” I said, finding it hard to meet Festril’s burning gaze.

“Of course I’m correct.”

“I don’t agree with you, mind you. I believe that in this world, there are many—too many—who think like you. I am no jewel either, but against my will, I’ve been called as such by more than one of you mainlanders. Although Festril is right as well, I’ve been brought here to be sold in a way, as all three of us have. But it is my duty to my people to do so. And if this is the only way that I can ensure the people of Cerith thrive into the future, then so be it.”

“You understand!” Cynthia’s eyes lit up, and for the first time since we met, she finally smiled the sort of beaming, ear to ear smile that her smile lines foreshadowed. Grabbing my hands she squeezed them surprisingly tightly. “You get it! Finally! Someone else gets it. Being here is the best possible thing that we can do as the women we are. There is no better choice than to be here.”

“I don’t know if I agree with that though. For me, staying in Cerith would mean that we were forgotten by the people of the mainland. Trade is essential for our survival, and staying outside of the mire of politics that is the mainland, we would be dooming us all. However, I don’t think that this is the only way forward.”

“What would you suggest then? To be like her,” Cynthia said looking to Festril, “and bumble about spouting nonsense about power and strength while ignoring the subtleties that we are given through our birthright? There are many things that can be achieved by majic, but the hearts and minds of those that we rule over cannot be swayed by majic alone. Power is important, but wit and charm are a hundred times so. Now ask yourself, who is the most powerful man in the world? Who is it—that if charmed—would become the one absolute key to the survival of any nation he so chose to protect? The Lord White Raven.”

“But what if he’s not the sort of man who can be charmed by wit? What if he’s the sort of man that the rumors say he is? What then? What would you do if there were no feminine wiles that he saw fit to fall prey to?” I asked.

“Then he will be charmed by Lady Illiu or yourself, and then the people of Jesop will be doomed. But, I’d wager that the likelihood of that is quite low. Why else would he reach out to me and no other of the eligible ladies of the mainland, instead bringing the pair of you outsiders here instead.”

“I’ll forgive that attack on my wit, but I think I understand what you mean at the end of the day. I don’t agree, but I can let that slide for now. Right now, I think it’s important that I say this before we speak with anyone else from the palace,” I said, drawing the attention of all four women in the carriage. “I will be taking responsibility for the attack today.”

“In Leona’s name! Why in the world would you do that?” Festril asked.

“I don’t know enough to explain everything right now, but—”

“Of course you should, if it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have been there,” Cynthia interjected in her usual mean-girl fashion.

“I have good reason to believe that it was my fault that we were targeted. I cannot say anymore right now, but I suspect that the truth will stand by my decision. Even if that means that they’ll send me back to Cerith immediately.”

“Well whomever they decide to trot out to suss out the truth us and those scoundrels will no doubt be happy that you’ve planned to make their job easier.” While Cynthia maintained her haughty disposition, I couldn’t help but notice just the barest hints of disappointment in her voice.