1.

“You two look like you’ve crawled out of hell. Or maybe got kicked out of there for bad behavior,” said the farmer eyeing them suspiciously while leaning on her fence. Behind her a horse was slowly trudging across a field while pulling a plow, under the careful watch of a young boy that couldn’t be older than ten.

“We don’t want no trouble here,” said the farmer, pushing a stray hair back inside the kerchief on her head. “And no beggars either. We have a hard enough time keeping all of us fed without a halfbreed and a cripple sniffing for scraps.”

“What the fuck did we ever do to you, lady? We came here to buy food, not beg for it. What are you giving us shit for?” Kinari scowled at the farmer through her own shawl. Her leather armor was covered in rags and her mace was hidden in a sack, but she still towered over the woman, and when she took a step forward the farmer walked a few steps away, letting the fence keep her out of Kinari’s reach.

“You two don’t look like you can afford much at all,” she said, taking a few more steps back. Her tanned, weathered face looked like an unhealthy cocktail of anger and fear. Ready to run away, yet glaring daggers at Kinari. “And we don’t want trouble.”

“Neither do we,” said Demian, stepping in and tugging gently at Kinari. “We will pay for the food and be on our way. It will be quick, and you come out of this with some extra coin. Isn’t that a win-win for us all?“

“Sure, if you have any coin,” said the farmer, in a tone that conveyed very well her skepticism over the existence of any coin even near their general vicinity.

Kinari rummaged inside one of the sleeves of her rags, and produced three coins which she slammed on the fence, the metal making a loud sound as it hit the wood. “I got a hundred and fifty dracs here for a bag of corn. And I’m sure that’s more than double what you’ll get selling to your lord, and sure as hell more than you’ll get at the full moon market. If you don’t want it, we’ll take our coin somewhere else.”

The farmer eyed the coins as if they might vanish in a puff of smoke. When they failed to dematerialize, she grunted in defeat and turned around. “Klaus! Hey Klaus!” A gangly young man still in his teens peeked outside a barn that looked run down with age and poverty. “Go get a sack of corn and bring it here! Any corn will do, just get whatever’s easiest. We’ve got paying people here!”

When the young man vanished back inside the barn the farmer turned around and went for the money, only for Kinari to pull it back.

“First you bring the food, then we pay!” She insisted, her tusks giving her clenched teeth the appearance of an angry sneer.

Demian tugged at her. “I’m sure this kind woman will honor our deal. It’s alright, you can let her have the money.”

Kinari frowned at Demian, who of course did not notice her reaction and smiled back at her with his eyes closed. It was not a staring contest Kinari could win, and she shook her head in defeat after a moment and put the three coins on top of a pole on the fence before backing away.

The farmer took the money without comment and the three waited there in awkward silence until the teenager came back with a rough sack full of fresh corn, most of it still in their husks. And when Kinari and Demian took the bag and started walking away, the farmer seemed glad to see them go.

“That woman should have fallen on her bloody knees and thanked us and Ellora’s tits. We just gave her some goodcoin for no extra work on her part!”

“Well, to be fair we do look and smell rather unpleasant,” said Demian when they were far enough away to not be eavesdropped. “She was rude though, I’ll admit it.”

“She didn’t look rich either,” said Kinari. “Dunno why she was shitting on us when her own farm is falling apart and she’s putting her little kids to work.”

“Oh. That sounds rough.” Demian frowned. “Was it that bad?”

“We’re around the farms further away from any main road, which means a lot of these farms are smaller and poorer,” said Kinari. “Also, her man might have been conscripted to fight in the war, maybe. Didn’t see any grown men working, so that might be the case. Would explain the hard times.”

They walked in silence for a bit. The dirt road was fairly straight so Demian did not even need to hold onto Kinari. So the two made their way down the road at an easy pace, before Demian spoke.

“I suppose the war affects everyone, not just the ones fighting.”

“Yeah, sure,” said Kinari. “Nothing we can do though, it’s like the pox. You just try to make it to the next day and pray to Ellora that the war doesn’t come for you. But not all of us are so lucky. Still! You’d think that, after getting screwed over by the world like that, she would show a little kindness to other people down on their luck!”

“It’s the same situation as with the goblins, I suppose,” said Demian with a shrug. “Tough times don’t really teach you kindness and open-mindedness. Kinda the opposite, really.”

“Tell me about it,” grumbled Kinari. “And people just love having someone lower than them to pick on.”

They walked some more in silence while Demian fidgeted idly with his rags, which they had bought from another impoverished farmer for far more than they had been worth.

“So… Not that I’m complaining mind you! But… Are we going to keep dressed in the latest fashion all the way back home while wearing sewer perfume?” He smiled awkwardly, before quickly adding, “not that there’s anything wrong with it! I’d rather smell like a sewer, than like a corpse! But, well… It takes some getting used to?”

He cringed, as if expecting to get reprimanded for this, which left Kinari uncomfortable. She half-suspected he knew the effect his kicked puppy look had on her, but that did not stop it from being effective.

“When moving in the countryside there’s no better disguise than looking like a hobo,” she said. “People don’t even want to be near you, much less look at your face. It’s better than being invisible.”

“Ah. True, I suppose,” said Demian, hanging his head.

“But...” She stopped, trying to find the right words.

“Yes?”

“Well, it’s a silly idea, but maybe...” She trailed off into silence, before sighing.

“Are you trying to tease me by deliberately going quiet after suggesting that there might be a different approach?” Demian frowned. “Because it’s working! Come on, tell me, please?”

“Ugh… Fine!” Kinari threw her hands up in the air, admitting defeat. “We’ve been slumming it long enough. It’s been a few days since we’ve seen even a single random guard. There’s a small city nearby called Khal. We can go there and splurge a little on the public baths.”

“Wait, baths? With hot water? Oh, that sounds good.” Demian smiled and seemed lost on pleasant memories for a moment, before turning quickly in a double take. “Hold on. Public baths?”

The washerwoman stared unimpressed at their pile of rags and Kinari’s leather armor, stained as it was with sewage and mud, sitting in a pile in front of her and said:

“That’s a big job, it is. Going to cost extra.”

“I’m sure you’ve seen worse,” said Kinari. “I’m willing to pay a hundred over the price you told me. If that’s no good, you can give us our clothes back.”

The woman made a face, before conveying with a complicated shrug that she was very dissatisfied with this arrangement, but due to her boundless generosity and Kinari being more trouble than she was worth, she would do the two of them a favor and accept their money. Kinari reached inside a pouch in her belt, the only article of clothing she was still wearing, and produced a few coins which she gave to the woman.

“You know how to wash leather, right?” Asked Kinari, when the woman accepted the coins.

“As you said, I’ve seen worse,” said the woman. She reached behind her and got two pumice stones which she handed over to Kinari. “Don’t come into the bath area until you’re both scrubbed clean. If you’re still dirty they won’t let you in.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Kinari returned to see Demian naked and uncomfortable, rubbing his arms to stop himself from shivering. He looked incredibly short, pale and skinny under his clothes, sticking out like a sore thumb among the tanned skin and strong muscles of farmers and laborers passing by on their way to and from the river or the bath tents. A few gave a curious glance towards the young blind man standing naked next to the public baths, but none approached him. Kinari had checked surreptitiously beforehand, and discovered the town had not heard anything about two fugitives being searched by the army. The town was too small and its burgomaster too corrupt and lazy to care.

“Come on,” she said before taking Demian’s hand and guiding him towards a well-trodden path to the river rustling a few feet away. “We have to scrub ourselves before we jump in a bath.”

She handed him one of the pumice stones, which were relatively soft and riddled with holes, which is why they were used by peasants for scrubbing their bodies when bathing. Demian held it gingerly as if it might explode if handled improperly.

“In the river?” He asked, sounding unsure.

“Yup. Don’t worry, this portion is really shallow and not too fast, so you’re not getting carried downstream.”

“Yes, it would be a shame to ruin my bathing experience by drowning.” Demian sighed. “I thought the whole point of a bath was to get clean without having to jump into cold, running water?”

“Don’t know how it was at that damn - um - at your old place,” said Kinari, after hastily correcting herself. “But here the bathtub is going to be used by a bunch of people, before and after us, so we have to clean ourselves of any filth before we jump in. Come on! You’ll get used to it real quick!.”

“Yes, I suppose a little cold water never killed anyone,” said Demian. “Except by hypothermia, I suppose. Or drowning. Hmm. Bad choice of words, actually.”

They took their first few steps into the river and Demian winced. He heard sounds beyond the rushing of the river, which indeed felt gentle on his feet. There were people chatting here and there, and he heard children crying out and splashing somewhere further off. His expression grew more uncertain.

“Are there a lot of people here?” He asked.

“Yep. Apparently market’s coming in a few days, so some people are bathing early to avoid the rush. It’s also a clear day, so that helps.”

“I’m… not used to public bathing,” he said, his voice small and uncomfortable.

“Pfft… Yeah, I can tell,” she scoffed. “Don’t worry, you get used to the cold! Hold up, careful… Alright! This is a good spot!”

She had found a part of the river that was less crowded and the water was now at his hips and slightly above her knees. She then released his hand and lowered herself completely underwater, before coming up with a splash.

Demian was reluctantly convinced to dip into the water as well, and once they were both thoroughly wet they started rubbing their bodies with their pumice stones. A rough and unpleasant sensation for the young noble that left his skin pink and tender from the scrubbing while Kinari happily scraped at her skin with the stone until it was raw, for a few brief seconds at least before it healed. Her muscles almost gleamed as she scrubbed her green, wet skin without any sign of discomfort.

“I hope you don’t take this as a complaint, I ask more out of curiosity than anything, but why weren’t we given sponges?” Asked Demian.

“Sponges?” Kinari let a strangled noise out of her mouth, somewhere between laughing and choking. “Do you have any idea how much sponges even cost?”

“Oh, are they that expensive?”

“Only nobles or rich merchants can afford sponges! Probably cost more than we are carrying right now...” Kinari double-checked that her money-pouch was still attached to her belt, then started the slow process of untangling her braid. “Is that what it was like at your old place, huh? Sponges galore? Beautiful naked women pouring milk on you while you bathe?”

“What?” Demian asked, utterly confused. “We had sponges, yes, but milk? No. Why would we?”

“Huh. That’s no fun,” said Kinari.

“And what would be the benefit of having beautiful naked ladies bathe you anyway?” Asked Demian. “I don’t understand?”

“Well… I just heard stories of nobles… You know… Because guys like looking at pretty…” She looked at Demian, facing her innocently with his blank, unseeing eyes. “Uh, except, I guess, you don’t because… Erm.”

Her explanation melted into awkward silence, like snow under the fire of Demian’s curious, confused smile.

“There was a servant to help me wash though,” explained Demian. “But I can’t remark on their attractiveness and I’m pretty sure they weren’t naked.” He hesitated. “Mostly sure. Again, it’s hard to be certain in my case.”

He gestured toward his eyes and smiled apologetically.

“Forget I said anything,” grumbled Kinari, looking away. Her braid was now finally untangled and she took a deep breath and dipped into the river again, coming out with her hair draped down her face and the sides of her head like some kind of seaweed, which she started working on untangling.

“Careful! Careful!” Shouted an excited voice behind them. It was young, high-pitched and far too excited. “She’s going to eat you if you’re not careful, pale-boy! She’s going to gobble you up!”

Kinari turned and saw three local children some distance away, hooting and laughing at them while splashing in the water.

“Going to crush your bones, skinny boy!”

“Look how much taller she is!”

“Maybe she’s the man and he’s the woman!”

“Fuck off you little brats!” Shouted Kinari, kicking water their way. They just laughed harder at them until she roared and started rushing their way. They quickly swam into the deeper part of the river, still laughing and shouting out insults or jokes while Kinari returned to Demian’s side.

“Don’t get mad?” Begged Demian. “Pretty sure they’re just kids, from the sound of their voices.”

“Yeah, they are… And I’m not going to break their necks or anything,” said Kinari, still glaring in their direction. “But little fucks like that piss me off. After hearing this shit for the millionth time gets old real fast!”

“One thing I miss is how quiet it was when I bathed,” admitted Demian, keeping his voice low. “For nobles bathing is more of a private thing, you see?”

“If you’re washing yourself with some cloth and a pail of water, sure,” said Kinari. “But if you’re really looking to get clean and you’re poor then the public baths are your only option.”

“It’s considered improper for a noble to bathe with someone unless they’re planning on having children together,” said Demian. “Although I suppose servants don’t count. But still, nobles are very keen on preventing bastards from happening. ‘Diluting the blood’ is severely frowned upon.”

He recited those last words as if they were spoken by someone else, and there was a note of sarcasm in his voice. Kinari frowned.

“Hey, let’s finish cleaning ourselves up and go to the bath tents, yeah?” She suggested, forcing a smile. “Trust me, you’ll love that next part!”

After scrubbing themselves in a cold river and walking out, Kinari holding Demian’s hand and guiding him back up the path, even Kinari was feeling cold now as the breeze cooled their naked bodies. She felt self-conscious now, the taunts ringing in her ears, and felt keenly aware of how different she and Demian looked as she held his hand and guided him. She was a tall, ugly, muscular and brutish half-troll, towering over the pale and slender young noble with a face more feminine than hers. Were people staring at them?

She hurried both of them towards the tents.

Their wait while one of the women running the baths searched for ‘a suitable tent’ was agonizing. Demian’s teeth chattered as he rubbed his arms and cold water dripped from his long hair and chin. She crossed her arms and glowered at anyone that glanced at them. After a few moments, and an angry string of curses from the half-troll, the two were finally directed to a white tent on the far end.

Walking inside the tent was like going into another world. The air inside was not only humid and warm, but also fragrant with herbs and flowers that were put in the bath to improve the smell and soothe the body. Steam rose from a large wooden bathtub in the centre that was large enough for four people to sit in comfortably, but at the moment it was empty. The tub was on top of a layer of loose gravel that prevented the ground surrounding the tub from becoming a muddy mess and there was a stool beside it to help people get into the tub. After guiding the young noble up the stool and into the bathtub Kinari dipped one leg in, then the other with a satisfied hiss, not bothering with the stool herself. The tub was so full that water sploshed outside, dripping on the sides as the two went in.

“Oh yeah, this is what we’re actually paying for!” She said with a smile while slowly sinking her body in the warm water. She could feel the warmth going into her muscles and melting the tension off them like butter. “Careful, by the way. There’s a round part in the middle, don’t touch inside it. That’s where they put the rocks to keep the water warm.”

And indeed, the middle of the bathtub had a ring made of wood and iron, hollow in the middle. Kinari could see a few rocks in there already.

“Alright, I admit it,” said Demian, himself now relaxing his whole body in the tub with only his head above the water. “It takes some getting used to… But this is rather nice.”

“I know, right?” Agreed Kinari. “It’s been a fucking long time for me too.” She let out a content sigh.

“I missed warm baths quite badly for the last week or so, I must admit,” said Demian, his voice small. “All the things that happened the last few days… It’s been hard.”

The two of them went quiet, and Kinari saw how he was trying very hard not to cry. She could see him struggling, taking deep breaths to keep himself calm while his hands balled into tight fists.

“Hey… C’mon, don’t be like that,” she said, her voice also low. She reached her hand to touch his shoulder and comfort him, but hesitated while looking at his naked body, so small and vulnerable in the large tub, and took it back without him noticing. “Just make it one day at a time, ok? Just focus on making it to the next day. And then the one after that. Alright?”

“Yes. Thank you,” he replied, a slight tremble in his voice. “I just… I miss Vladimir. And Abraxas. Even Darius and…”

“Just think about it! Soon you’ll be back in your old home!”

“I know...”

“And then you’ll be able to bathe on your own, or with your pretty servants! With as many sponges as you’d like!” Although she still kept her voice low, she played up the excitement. “A thousand sponges! In your fancy bathtub! With gold trimmings and everything!”

He chuckled. “Sure.”

“And they can pour milk on you! And you can have a hundred pretty naked ladies bathing your body!”

“Well, for now I’ll have to settle for one,” he said while smiling at her.

She froze for a moment, before chuckling awkwardly. “Yeah, right. Funny joke.”

“It wasn’t a joke?” He suggested, frowning. “There is one beautiful lady helping me get clean right now, isn’t there?”

“I… What...? I mean...” Her cheeks were now red, and not only from the heat of the bath, as she sputtered and failed to string words into a coherent response. She froze when she realized how embarrassing she was acting, while Demian smiled in her direction, and then sulked back into the bathtub while feeling self-conscious.

“You do this on purpose, don’t you?” She muttered, eyes narrowing at him.

“Do what?” He asked back, his voice revealing nothing but baffled innocence.

“This!” She hissed back. “Make me look like an idiot by acting innocent while making fun of me! Teasing me!”

“But I’m not - ”

They were interrupted by the flapping of the tent, as someone else came inside. It was a large naked man, auburn hair receding on his forehead and a bushy beard and brows, all wet from bathing in the river. He walked toward the tub, but stopped himself when noticing first Kinari and then Demian. He did not seem pleased.

Without a word the man turned and left the tent, but they could hear him shouting outside.

“Isn’t there another tent you can give me?”

There was a distant response.

“What do you mean, the rest are full?”

Another indistinct response.

“Why does it have to be me though?”

There was no response this time. Throughout all the shouting Demian and Kinari were silent in the tub, she was glaring outside in the man’s direction while Demian’s expression remained politely curious.

When he walked back into the tent Kinari flashed him an unfriendly smile. “Guess you’re stuck with us,” she said.

“Laugh it up. I don’t care what you think,” he muttered while moving around the tub and climbing in from another side, settling as far as possible from the other two. He did let a content sigh though when the warm water did its work on his own muscles.

“Pardon us, we had no idea someone else was joining us in this bath,” said Demian with a friendly smile as he scooched closer to Kinari, who tensed her body as he approached her. “You can have more room if you wish.”

The man said nothing, looking carefully at Demian first, then at Kinari, while leaning back against the edge of the tub.

“You two together?” He asked at last.

“Yeah, we travel together,” replied Kinari, narrowing her eyes, uncomfortable with the way this conversation was going.

“Well, you’re clearly not from around here,” he said. “So what are you? Entertainers? Beggars?”

“We do odd work here and there. Why are you asking?” Kinari bristled at him, making the man chuckle.

“You can just say you’re beggars. Nothing wrong with that, you know?” He said. “I mean, the woman looks capable enough, but hard to imagine an odd job that a blind boy can do. He looks like he barely even gets any sun!”

Demian did not seem bothered by the man’s comments. “It’s true that I can’t do much,” he said while nodding. “I depend a lot on her to survive. And I’m grateful for that.”

The man looked at them again, deep in thought.

“So you two are lovers then?” He asked.

Their reactions were complete opposites. Kinari jumped back, splashing some water as she said, “I… What? Us? No! Why’d you say that?” and looked at Demian with a flustered expression. Demian’s face went politely blank and he said nothing.

“Riiight,” said the man, a smile creeping on the edges of his face. “Shame. Sounds like a story straight out of a folktale. The blind beauty falling in love with the beast. Hah! Feels like the blind beauty should have been a lady though.”

It was Kinari’s turn to stay silent, but her glare conveyed her feelings better than any words ever could. Demian considered the man’s words, before replying:

“Can I be the beast instead? I think that’s much cooler than being the blind beauty.”

The man threw his head back and laughed. “Are you sure you’re not an entertainer? I can see you as some kind of jester, maybe? You sure do sound like the part.”

“You should see me giving a speech,” replied Demian. “People can’t even look away.”

The man chuckled and even Kinari let out an amused snort. The tension between them was disappearing now, like vapor, rising from the bath.

“So what do you do then?”Kinari asked the other man, looking serious again and narrowing her eyes. They tensed again. The man looked back at Kinari and considered her for a moment, before replying.

“I’m the town’s butcher. And hangman. Name’s Istvan.”

Understanding dawned on Kinari’s face.“Oh. Huh. Sucks to be you, I guess,” she replied. “But now a lot of things make sense.”

“Like why I’m stuck here with you two, for a start,” he replied, a sarcastic smile on his own lips.

Kinari now looked at him with newfound curiosity, while he returned her stare defiantly, as if daring her to pick a fight.

“I’m sorry,” interjected Demian, looking confused. “What does being a hangman have to do with him being here with us?”

Both turned to look at the young, blind man. Kinari softened her stance and her voice as she answered him. “Working as a hangman in a smaller town is rough. You’re killing people that you grew up with, and everyone knows who you are. So people treat hangmen like shit.” She narrowed her eyes, studying the hangman. “Also… Sometimes the town finds a new hangman by - ”

“By pardoning their crimes for as long as they take the job. Yep,” finished the hangman. “I got caught poaching on blue blood lands, so the burgomaster gave me an offer. I could swing from the gallows or I could live on and make other people swing instead. I had a sick mother to take care of, so I chose to live.” He stuck his chin out. “And I don’t ever regret it for a single moment.”

“I wouldn’t either, in your shoes,” said Kinari.

“I know! What choice did I have?” Istvan nodded at her. “And my sentence was just delayed, not pardoned. So if the burgomaster changes his mind, or if I get too old or too sick to do my job? Then they’ll carry out their sentence and I'll still swing from that rope, same as before. So I can’t refuse, can I? Either I make people take the short drop with the quick stop or they’ll make me take it myself.”

There was a short pause, after his monologue. His frustration was clear in his face and his voice, his bushy brows furrowed as he stared at nowhere in particular.

“That sounds grim,” commented Demian.

“Well, I’m still living, aren’t I?” Istvan shrugged. “Life goes on. What else can I do?”

“Hmm,” Kinari nodded. “Yeah, you have to keep on living. How else are you going to outlive your enemies?”

The hangman laughed again. “Yeah, if I keep doing this there’s a good chance I’ll live to see the crummy old blue blood bite the dust, eh?”

“Something to look forward to.” Said Kinari with a grin on her own.

“Hah, sure is!”

Istvan looked away for a moment, as the conversation gave way to silence. They could still hear the bustle of the common baths around them, but it was muffled by the tent and felt distant from their own, private world, where it was warm and comfortable.

“Sometimes...” Muttered Istvan. “Sometimes I wish those Gronaw crazies would come here and do the same thing they did back in their land, you know? Kick all those nobles out of their thrones and show them what it means to get kicked in the teeth, for once. Can you imagine that? Wiping them all out and start a clean slate! No nobles and no gods!”

There was an awkward pause, before Kinari chuckled.

“Wait! Hold up, are you telling me you’re a Gronawist revolutionary?”

The other man shrugged. “Me? Nah… Not much of a revolution to join around here, is there? Folk in this town are sheep. Nothing more than wishful thinking. None in these lands got the guts to give blue bloods the shove like folk did up north. But you can’t deny that if we didn’t have those bloodsucking nobles and their bloody ‘Gifts’ keeping us down in the dirt all the time our lives would be a thousand time better! Can you imagine how we would be? Working and fighting, not for a jumped-up fuck that can spit fire out of his arse, but for ourselves?”

Kinari shot Demian a conflicted glance. His expression was thoughtful and attentive, but otherwise hard to parse.

“People say that kind of stuff all the time,” she said. “But you can’t really rebel against people that can kill you with a touch. Or people that have an army. That never ends well.” She shook her head.

“Yeah, well… Can’t stop a man from dreaming,” said Istvan with a sigh.

A fully-clothed woman entered their tent, and their conversation stopped in its tracks. Kinari watched as she carried a large wooden bucket close to the bathtub and, carefully using a pair of iron tongs, took a few smoking stones from it and placed them in the hollow part in the middle. All felt the water grow warmer with every rock.

“Oh, is there someone else joining us here?” Asked Demian, while moving even closer to Kinari to make room. He pressed his hips against hers and their legs touched, to which she jerked back in surprise.

“Nah, just the bath worker bringing hot stones to keep the bath warm,” said the hangman. The woman finished her task without a word and walked out, while Kinari scooched a little away from Demian. Istvan watched all of that happen with a knowing grin.

“I’m sorry,” said Istvan, after a quiet pause. “For making a fuss about the bath. I thought they were… Well, I thought they were putting me with bad folk. But you two are actually alright.”

“Hmmph,” grunted Kinari. She still did not smile or seem happy, but after a pause she relented. “Sure, apology accepted.”

“I’m sure it was a shock for everyone involved,” said Demian with a diplomatic smile. “But I’m glad we had the chance to make a better second impression.”

Istvar shrugged. “Guess us outcasts have to stick together, right?”

“Sounds wise,” said Demian. “Life can be very difficult without any friends.”

“You got that right,” replied the other man with a gruff nod. “Don’t know what drove you two to help each other, but it’s a damn good thing. Don’t let the world take it away from you.”

“Thank you,” replied Demian with a smile. “We won’t.”

After their clothes were washed, they had been put to dry in a nearby pasture, under the sun. After being directed to it, and spending a few more coins, now Kinari and demian waited for their clothes to dry more while wearing each a white tunic made of simple, cheap fabric. The sun also helped themselves dry while they lay on the grass beside each other.

“Don’t take seriously what the hangman was saying about Gronaw and the revolution,” said Kinari in a low voice, after checking nobody was nearby to eavesdrop on them. “People say that kind of stuff all the time. It’s just talk.”

Demian considered this for a moment. “Do people really joke about starting a new revolution that often?”

“When not in front of a noble? Sure,” said Kinari with a shrug. “But it’s just complaining. Don’t want you being scared or anything.”

“Most nobles I know are scared of the Gronawists,” said Demian. “But they don’t admit it, even to themselves. Which I always found odd. They talk about how the nobles in Gronaw were weak and let themselves get destroyed. How in a few years enough the revolutionaries will devolve into anarchy and be re-conquered eventually. Some nobles I talked to were even looking forward to fighting and conquering them, as a chance to increase their lands! A new land to make theirs, you know? I...” the blind noble hesitated. “I’m not sure how much of this is denial, but they don’t want to see peasants as any kind of threat. An annoyance, maybe but not as a legitimate threat. They say it is impossible for peasants to defeat those Chosen by Ellora.”

“And they’re right,” said Kinari. “Whenever the peasants try to rise up against the nobles, they get fingerbanged so hard they’re walking funny for the rest of their lives. And by that, I mean the ones that survive are walking funny because they lost their fucking leg.” Kinari made a disgusted noise and closed her eyes, trying to not remember certain memories that stubbornly returned to her when this topic appeared. “Although I heard rumors that the Gronawists created some kind of weapon that could… Kill nobles? Or fight them on even footing. Something like that.”

“We’ve heard the same rumors, but nothing concrete,” said Demian. “And right now most nobles are more focused on the war between the two kingdoms than some distant revolutionaries so… They get ignored.”

“You disagree with that?” Asked Kinari, trying to hide the curiosity in her tone of voice, unsuccessfully. “You think Gronaw is dangerous?”

Demian chewed on the question for a moment before replying, “I’m not sure if a revolution is going to happen here… But even if it doesn’t, having people under your rule be unhappy, to have them hate you and fear you is… Dangerous. And easily exploited by your enemies.”

“Huh, sounds smart I guess.” Kinari let out a small chuckle. “True, you’re actually, like... A ruler. It’s easy to forget, when we’re on the run like this.”

“Well, I’m a prince, really. Not even first in line” said Demian with a modest smile, wiggling his toes on the grass. “Not much ruling for me in the future, I’m afraid. But I was taught and trained for it… Just in case my youngest sibling dies first. Standard procedure.” He shrugged.

“Oh, I see.” Kinari mulled over this, before realizing something and asking, “hold on! Younger? I thought the crown went from oldest to youngest?”

“Well, usually, yes,” replied Demian with an awkward smile. “But, uhh… They sometimes skip people. Like when someone is born without the Gift of the Royal Voice. Or, say, when they have… Defects. Things that prevent them from fighting or ruling.”

He turned his face toward her and wriggled his brows while opening his eyes, milky white as always.

“Oh. Wait, really? Because you’re blind?!” Asked Kinari.

“The crown always goes to the most suitable heir, as decided by the current ruler, or in this case, regent. And disabilities are seen as a mark of Ellora’s disapproval. You know… ‘We are all born with what we deserve, according to Ellora’s will’ and all that.”

“Oh. That really fucking sucks!” Said Kinari, anger flaring on her face, before being replaced with uncertainty. “But hey! At least you don’t have to deal with the hassle of ruling stuff, right? So I guess there’s a positive side to that.”

“True.”

Another awkward pause.

“So,” said Kinari. “What about your younger sibling, the one who’s going to be king. You think he’s going to do a good job?”

Demian opened his mouth, searching for the right words, then closed it. He opened and closed his mouth again, hesitant, jaws clenched shut and lips curled in a snarl. “I th-I… I think,” he stuttered, and stopped. His hands trembled slightly.

Then he stopped, and took a deep breath. His body seemed to relax, releasing the tension building up within as he turned towards her. He was struggling to keep his expression calm.

“He’s not a nice person.”

There was a small pause.

“Oh,” said Kinari, slightly taken aback at his sudden bluntness.

His expression trembled, then curled into the most hateful glare she had ever seen from him.

“He’s a fucking monster.” Said Demian, his words dripping with such venom he almost hissed them out, his lips curling in disgust. The polite smile was decidedly gone this time.

He didn’t add to that or say anything else, his expression slowly melting back into a more quiet anger. There was a moment where all they heard was the distant sound of birds and the hum of the nearby town. Demian made no effort to break the silence.

“Well… Shit.” said Kinari, summing up her feelings about the situation.