XXXIX. A Certain Death

“What do you hope to accomplish by going there?”

Maleah shrugged and helped Keres wrap a ratty muffler about her face. “You don’t have to go. In fact, I’d rather you didn’t…”

Rassvette folded his arms in his sleeves and tapped his foot impatiently. Maleah was beginning to become more than a little annoyed by his nagging. Her brother was in that forest, and she aimed to kill him, to put an end to this once and for all. Nothing would be gained by running back to Marquez, or anywhere else for that matter.

“And that child?” Rassvette demanded. “Are you just going to drag her with you to go die in some wood?”

Where she should have felt anger, Maleah only felt shame. “I’m not going there to die…”

Keres looked up at Maleah with wide, golden eyes, eyes holding a paradoxical innocence and wisdom beyond her years. She had no idea where the girl came from, and if Keres knew, she was not very forthcoming with that information. The wind howled, carrying the scent of budding trees tricked by yesterday’s fleeting warm spell. Thankfully, the snow was gone, but for the month of Flowersun, there was a depressing lack of flowers. Maleah tightened the belt that would hold the child’s makeshift overcoat in place. She had no intention to see the girl come to harm, if anything, she felt an odd kinship with the strange child.

Zuri whistled as he loaded the last of their gear back into the wagon. “Oi, we’re rollin’.”

“Come with us.” Rassvette pleaded. “You can’t do this alone.”

Maleah stood and closed in on him. “Then you come with me.” She hissed. “I am done running away.”

Rassvette swatted her finger from his face. “Who’s running? What you propose is suicide!”

“I’ve been a passive player in his madness long enough, I am as much a blame as my brother.”

“Hell of a time to gain a sense of responsibility.” Rassvette sneered. “And what of your responsibility to this group? To that child? Do you think they can make the journey back without you?”

Keres tugged at Maleah’s sleeve. “Look M’leah, horses.”

Maleah pulled her arm free of the girl’s tiny grasp. “Yeah, horses.”

“Reconsider it.” Rassvette said with a defeated sigh. “You’re your own woman Maleah, you aren’t your brother and you certainly aren’t responsible for his sins.”

“One, two, three…” Keres pointed in the distance as she counted. “Twenty horses. That’s a squadron, isn’t it?”

“What?” Maleah looked down to the girl and followed her spindly, outstretched hand to see the squad of mounted knights barreling down upon them. “Huh, so it is.”

Rassvette took a step forward and shielded his eyes from the glare with his hand. “That’s an Aes Sidhean battle standard if I’m not mistaken.”

As they approached at full tilt, the squadron broke into two and surrounded Rassvette, Maleah, and the carnie wagon. Maleah slowly bent down and picked up her spear as she hid Keres between Rassvette and herself.

“What are you doing?” Rassvette demanded. “They’re allies.”

The charging cavalry circled in on them like sharks to a bloody seal. As the ring of horses turned to a rotating wall of sharpened steel and muscle, the knights in their silver cuirasses and green puffy sleeves aimed their lances at the trio. Rassvette quickly raised his hands at the imposing sight. Zuri leapt from the wagon with his crossbow, but quickly followed suit, dropping the weapon and raising his hands in reluctant surrender.

The wheel of horse and lance ground to a halt, and the captain trotted forward. He wore a slashed leather buff jerkin with an absurdly high collar, drab green jodhpurs with a silver stripe down the sides, and too frilly cuffs on his sleeves. His beard trimmed into a van dyke, and he had visible difficulty looking down at Maleah with his ridiculous collar.

“State your allegiance and business here.” He demanded as he pointed to the rank on Maleah’s collar with his lance. “You wear the rank of the Black army, but also…the seal of our lady.”

Maleah smacked his lance away with her own, and the knights closed in in unison. Maleah spat at her feet and locked eyes with the pompous captain before her.

“The black army is no more, I serve under General Aichlan and Al-Lady Templeton.”

The captain surreptitiously loosened his collar as he looked her over. “Neither of those esteemed individuals would send a monk, a child, and a boy out into the wilds of Sorn. Why are you here?”

“If you’d get that stick out my face I could answer you.” Maleah spat as she brushed her hair from her face. “My unit was wiped out by Osric, we were attempting to link up with another force, but they too were wiped out.”

“So you desert?” The captain demanded, keeping his weapon trained on Maleah.

“No asshole, I’m doing my fucking job.” She pointed north, keeping her burning eyes on the captain. “Osric is in that forest and I aim to kill him!”

After several moments of exchanging sneers and disgusted looks, the captain raised his lance, and his men followed suit. Rassvette breathed a sigh of relief and lowered his hands, as Keres stepped out from between them and looked up at the horse.

“What’s her name?” Keres asked innocently.

The captain pursed his lips in a begrudging smile. “His name is Chartreuse.”

“What the hell kind of name is that for a horse?” Maleah mumbled.

“As for you,” The captain exclaimed loudly, looking down his nose at Maleah, “Lady Templeton has told us to be on the lookout for one matching your description. We shall escort you and your…friends back to the main army.”

“Army?” Maleah asked with the slightest glimmer of hope on her voice. “You mean she’s here?”

“Yes, and we chase the same quarry.

* * *

The afternoon brought with it some much needed warmth as the rickety wagon and its escort of knights finally crossed paths with the main army. Alice was at the head of the massive column of more than ten-thousand men at arms. It had only been a little more than a month since Maleah last saw Alice, but in that short time she appeared to have grown, or at least changed considerably. She still wore the black pinafore over white blouse of the academy, but her box framed glasses and panther skin cloak gave her a certain regal quality Maleah had not previously attributed to the young mage.

She was flanked by Eth, the only one at the front on foot, several dozen Aes Sidhean Knights and Clarissa with her entourage. Maleah’s breath caught in her chest as so many Aes Sidhean knights reminded her of the assault her brother led on that nation so long ago. She clutched her spear in one hand and the reins to the wagon in the other, feeling out of place and oddly vulnerable. However, a smile from Alice brought her back from the nightmare that was her memories, and she relaxed her grip on her weapon.

Maleah drew the carriage to a halt as Alice approached, and dismounted her white and grey gelding with Eth’s help. Alice pushed up her glasses with one hand as she looked over the wagon with an amused glint in her eyes.

“Where did you find this?” She asked.

Maleah jerked her thumb over her shoulder towards the cramped living compartment. “Found some carnies in Auld Ferrons, this is theirs.”

“I see…” Alice paused upon spotting the child perched next to Maleah. “Who’s the child?”

Maleah shrugged. “Found her.”

Alice laughed and folded her arms across her chest. “You’re a strange woman. But tell me, what are you doing out here by yourself? What happened to your men?”

“My brother happened.”

Alice nodded somberly and briefly lowered her eyes. “And Auld Ferrons? How did you come to be there? why were you not with Fiora?”

Maleah averted her gaze to the horizon. “We left when Fiora arrived. Osric is in the north, and I aim to put an end to this. All of it.”

Alice stared Maleah down for several moments. “Well, it seems you are quite the lucky woman.” she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Fiora fell in Auld Ferrons when it was overrun.”

Maleah bowed her head. “I’m sorry…”

Alice folded her arms again and stared at Maleah in silence for several tense moments. “Yes, well you would have only died as well had you stayed. Where is Cookie?”

Her head still bowed, Maleah tightened her grip on the reins as hot tears stung in her eyes. “She…hopefully she is with Fiora.”

Alice nodded slowly. “I see. Well, let us see if we can find you a new mount—“

“No!” Maleah exclaimed, rising up from the driver’s bench. “No, I will go on foot.”

The door on the back of the wagon slammed open, causing some of the knights to spur their mounts forward with weapons drawn to protect Alice. Zuri hopped out first, a solemn scowl on his face, followed by Rassvette, who stretched his back and legs like a cat in the morning sun. Zuri glowered at Alice and her knights before slinging his weapon over his shoulder and helping his sister down from the carriage.

Alice held up her hand, signaling for her soldiers to stand down. “Friends of yours?”

Maleah shrugged. “More or less.”

Alice smirked and shook her head. “Issue a short halt General Eth, I believe Captain Maleah has a story to share.”

* * *

As the sun set over the city of Marquez -painting the half sky with brilliant oranges and reds, and the other with dulcet violet hues- Ashe watched the distant mountain range with a sense of unease. Her opulent chambers suddenly felt barren and confining. Taryn and Madden had underplayed many of the ordeals they suffered in their retelling, undoubtedly for her benefit. However, it was not what they told her that was concerning, it was what they left out. Aichlan was often rash and single minded, but he would not just jump through some random portal to gods knew where, as Taryn had suggested; at least, she hoped he wouldn’t have. Their inability to go into much detail led her to believe he had been taken, possibly by force. Then there was Donough and Enyo, neither of them would have allowed him to make such a decision, let alone join him.

She sighed and turned away from the unsettling view. The snows had begun to retreat from the city streets and green was returning to the surrounding landscape, but storms still raged over those cursed mountains. If he had died on that mountain, she would never forgive him. Neither would she forgive the boy king and his wretched wife for sending him on such a journey. Ashe shuddered at the thought, and clutched her cloak to her chest. The way that Hratchouhi had described the meeting still struck her as surreal. While those that plotted against the throne undoubtedly deserved the axe for their crimes, the amount of joy Aislyn took in exacting her revenge was troubling to say the least. Going so far as to serve lunch to the shocked and stunned survivors still covered in the blood of the slain was a level of vindictiveness Ashe could not even begin to comprehend. If it were a one on one engagement, she held no doubts that she could take Aislyn if the need arose, but the woman wielded a power of a different sort. Fear was her weapon, and one which she wielded with casual ease.

Ashe felt eyes watching her, and suddenly looked up to see Taryn peeking in from the doorway. She had a concerned look on her face, leaning on a crutch for support, her leg splinted and bandaged. The healers had been working on her near constantly since she got back, but none possessed the abilities to mend broken bones in a single session like Clarissa did.

“Didn’t ye hear me knock?”

Ashe smiled softly and shook her head. “Sorry, I’ve been lost in thought. Please, come in and have a seat.”

Taryn shoved the door open and hobbled into the room before it closed behind her. In addition to the shattered bones in her foot and leg, she had been shot in the side by some sort of magic bolt, and lost her left kidney entirely. The healers had done their best to mend the wound, but she was left with a scar like the sun's corona from the bolt. Assuming the clerics could heal her bones properly before they began to fuse on their own, she would need to walk with a cane for the rest of her life. Her fighting days were over.

“Where’s Madden?”

Taryn waved off Ashe’s assistance and sat down on the settee with a groan. “Fetchin’ a healer, I nearly burnt out another one.”

“How do ye feel?” Ashe asked as she sat down across from the archer. “Ye aren’t in any pain are ye?”

“Nah, did ya know poppy milk can make ye feel so wonderfully numb?”

“Yes, I was aware…” Ashe said with a nervous smile. “Just, try nae ta take too much of it, yeah?”

“I’ll be fine,” Taryn said sleepily as she waved a limp hand, “Madden’ll take care o’ it. He takes care o’ everything.”

Ashe sat back on the sofa and crossed her leg over the other. “Have ye spoken with Aislyn or Odell? Ye know, since…”

“What? Since the crazy cunt went and killed everyone? No, can’t say I have. Nor do I wanna.” Taryn yawned and rubbed her eye. “She sent me a letter though, offerin’ me a position in her court, I wanna tell her ta fuck off, but also wanna keep me head; not sure how ta go about that one.”

“I can relate…”

“But enough of all that, how’s the wee lil’ one doin’?”

“Sleeping, being as precious as ever.” Ashe forced a smile and glanced towards the bedroom. He’s nae a fussy one, that Aelfric, I wonder who he takes after.”

Taryn sighed and looked dreamily towards the bedroom. “Ah, I hope mine are so easy goin’.”

“Oh?” Ashe tried in vain to hide her shock at such a statement. “Are ye expectin’?”

Taryn non-chalantly shook her head. “No, but I'm gonna have Madden ask me ta marry him, then we’ll get a farm in the Aes Sidhe hills. We’ll have a whole clan.”

Ashe smiled wryly. “How much poppy milk have ye had dear?”

“Just enough.” Taryn replied cryptically as her head lolled back with a sleep grin. “Life’s just too short, ya know? I don’t want to miss any more than I already have.”

The was a rapid knock at the door and it swung open as Madden burst through, ushering a very frightened nun forward with urgency, blissfully ignorant to the effect his imposing size had on others. The nun bowed once and muttered either a plea or an apology before kneeling by Taryn’s side to perform a healing.

“Speakin’ o’ the devil,” Ashe said, eager to change the subject, “good tae see dragon’s and crazy lights from the sky cain’t keep ye down fer long lad.”

Madden shuddered and offered a toothy grin. “Don’t remind me miss. How’re ya holdin’ up Taryn? Need me ta get ye anythin’?”

Taryn smiled, her eyes half closed. “It’s all better now that yer here darlin’.”

Madden frowned and took her limp hand in his own. “Poppy milk again?”

Ashe nodded. “Aye.”

The young nun began to glow as she embraced the light, gently massaging Taryn’s bound and bandaged foot. Madden crossed the room towards the decanter and poured himself a glass of wine, downing it in a single gulp.

“I saw her highness in the halls earlier.” Madden wiped his mouth on his sleeve and poured another glass. “I think she was coming this way.”

Taryn swatted weakly at the air. “Ah, fuck ‘er.”

“Daen’t let her hear ye say that love.” Ashe warned.

Madden stared into the cup, dwarfed by his massive, trembling hands. “I ne’er knew the lass had it in her…”

“I been tellin’ ye from the start.” Taryn grunted as she sunk into the seat. “All I know is that if she hurts that boy in any way-“

“I wouldn’t dream of such a thing.”

Madden reflexively crushed the glass in his hands in fright, spilling red wine and blood on the marble floor. The nun abruptly ceased her healing with a startled squeak, bowing to Aislyn who stood in the doorway. the Queen’s black, long waisted bodice and narrow, crimson mantua was fitting of a woman who so ruthlessly dispatched her enemies. Despite the tales she had heard, Ashe was not afraid in the young woman’s presence. While she certainly would have done things differently, there was little pity in her heart for the craven’s that thought to rob the young queen of her birthright.

Aislyn smiled and closed the door behind her as silently as she had opened it. “Nor would I do anything to harm the close friends and defenders of one whom I so love.”

She cast a gentle gaze to Madden and Taryn, her tone carried the not so subtle subtext of relax. Madden returned her smile with a sheepish grin before quickly averting his gaze and mopped up the mess with a handkerchief.

Aislyn smiled as she appeared to glide across the floor. “Ashe, I’ve news you may enjoy.”

Ashe scooted over and allowed Aislyn to sit beside her. “Nae tryin’ tae be rude, but there would only be one bit o’ news I’d like tae hear.”

Aislyn lowered her gaze and took Ashe’s hand in her own. “I can relate with that sentiment.”

Ashe had the urge to stroke the girls face and offer her a hug, but restrained herself. She couldn’t be sure if it was because she was a mother now, or if she had simply grown fond of this motley crew of weirdos. Despite Aislyn’s flaws and more unsavory tendencies, she seemed to have a good heart, and Ashe could genuinely tell she saw them as friends.

“I have ordered a detachment back into the mountains to search for him.” Aislyn said as she squeezed Ashe’s hand.

“He’s not there.” Taryn slurred as the nun removed her splint. “He’s in that elf wood.”

“Did ye actually see him go through this portal?”

“It was quick.” Madden replied quickly, wrapping his hand in a cloth napkin. “He jumped in right after them.”

“After who?” Ashe asked, shifting her annoyance to Madden. “She said he went in on his own. Who was he chasing?”

Madden guiltily avoided her demanding gaze as Taryn looked away, biting her trembling lip. Ashe knew now without a doubt that they were hiding something from her. If Aichlan had died, they would have told her, but if he went off to certain death, or been taken. The father of her son had a tenuous grasp on life, she knew this, but it was so easy to forget as for all intents and purposes, he was alive. Would the gods recant their mercy so late in the proverbial game? Or worse…

Ashe inhaled a sharp and painful breath, fighting the anxiety that gripped her. “Osric…”

“We don’ know for sure…” Madden offered in his attempt at a conciliatory tone. “But Donough and Enyo went right after him, those two are an army in their own right.”

“Nae against that monster they aren’t.” Ashe said flatly. “Why did ye hide this from me? Did ye think it would spare me?”

“We just need to have faith.” Aislyn said, breaking the ensuing silence. “If anyone—”

Ashe snatched her hand from Aislyn’s. “Do ye think I daen’t know that? I also know….” Ashe stared down at her hands as tears spilled from her eyes and blurred her vision. “That beast’ll kill him…”