Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Wake up already!

What?

Groggily I lift my head and blink and slowly look at the door as what was happening dawned on me.

“Damnit Evander! Never trusting you again.”

You should not have trusted the fool in the first place.

“Bite me.”

I grumble. As I roll myself from the bed the door swings inward and Samira leaned in. She looks as tired as I feel and I’d almost swear she’s more blood on her than when I saw her last.

“Apologies Highness, I’m told you go on duty within the hour?”

I start to nod and freeze.

More blood. Did she just get back from the battlefield?

“Did you get any rest before coming here?”

I’m almost afraid of the answer. Nothing good comes from sleep deprivation.

She straightens and inclines her head. “I appreciate your concern, Highness, however I have trained to act for several days before requiring sleep.”

“So that’s a no?” I ask.

Samira nods and I sigh.

“Fine, fine. Is there time for breakfast before we go or is it an eat and walk kind of day?”

Grumbling I swing the door wide open and trudge my way toward the small dining room, which is less a room and more an alcove with a small table. On said table was a loaf of bread and a bowl of fruits.

Fruits that didn’t look as if they’d been rotting in the slightest. Huh.

She taps her chin, “I believe it to be exactly one of those days highness.”

Figures.

Taking two of the fruits and the bread I toss one to Samira.

“Let’s go.”

“Highness, I don’t reccomend attempting patrol in the nude. I know a woman who insisted that she wanted her tan to be even across her body. So she tried to do her duties in the nude.”

I look down. Huh, I really am in the buff. I don’t remember stripping however. Was it because I went into auto pilot when I walked through the door earlier? I can believe it.

I look at the canine and giant weasel piled on the floor. “One of you go get me some clothes.”

They look at me before curling tighter into balls and attempting to return to sleep. They don’t even bother sending me a single impression either.

Lazy twits.

Then again, I am the one attempting to send one of them to get my clothes… I hardly have room to cast a stone.

Damnit.

“I’ll get those for you Highness.”

Samira starts for the cubbies that hold my clothes and I block her path with an arm.

“Thank you but I’ll get those.”

I grumble and shuffle my way over and set toi dressing myself. I barely get my vest on before I stop however. The clothes, they aren’t my normal clothes. They seem to be softer. Silkier. I wonder why.

The king obviously wants no part of my rising to being his heir, so I hardly think he’d outfit me so well. Running the fabric between my fingers I frown. No, it’s more likely to have come from a green trying to dress the ‘chosen’ in clothes worthy of a goddesses champion.

“Whats the problem highness?”

“I’m wondering who I need to talk to to get my normal clothes back.”

SHe presses one of her fingters to her chin and tilts her head up. “I believe Cinderail is in charge of your wardrobe as she is your commanding officer?”

The door creaks open. Chaos ensues.

I pull my swords from where they hung on the wall and start for the door just behind Samira who’s holding her own sword. Desperation are on their feet growling their challenge even as they send me their impressions.

Familiar but unknown, pack maybe.

The reason why becomes apparent as a green moves into the room and freezes upon seeing us.

“Highness! Lady Prime!” The green breathed in surprise and dropped to her knees and locks her eyes on the stone floor.

“Care to explain who you are and why you are here?”

“I am here as I have a message to deliver from Cinderail to his highness!”

She squeaks, but that doesn’t quite add up considering she was surprised by my presence and when I point it out she squirms.

“The Captain has been sending one of us everyday so that we might learn when Highness is ready to return to duty.”

So, Cinderail has been sending people to find out when I was coming back for the past week and a half? I can’t remember if that’s something she would do.

Samira isn’t quite so easy to convince however.

“You could simply knock to ascertain his presence. So why are you here?”

She squirms harder.

“Well you see, we spotted the green bringing the fresh fruit and bread every morning even if you weren’t here and didn’t want them going to waste…”

Food. She wanted the food.

Turning I toss my swords on to my bedding and gesture at the bowl.

“Help yourself.”

“Highness, may I suggest you put pants on before saying such things?”

Damnit! I’m still not wearing pants!

“Right.”

Thank the nine hells no one who’s brave enough to taunt me is here. I could just hear Evander asking me the same question every time he spotted me.

“Vandal! How are you? Traumatized anyone recently?”

As Samira took the greens attention I finished getting myself ready.

On the upside, I’m most definitely awake now.

“Okay,” I start as I face the green again, “you can tell Cinderail that I’m returning to duty today.”

She nods before pausing it and pulls a scroll from the pouch at her side.

“Apologies Highness, we’ve already been informed of your return and Captain Cinderail has sent me with your orders.”

Plucking the scroll from her outstretched hand I unfurled it.

“Looks like patrol duty.”

Samira nods, “Which wall?”

I answer with a shake of my head.

“None, rook city loop.”

She rips the paper from my hands and peers at it herself before sighing in relief. “The Lyomenos loop.”

“Lucky.” The green mutters.

Samira clicks her tongue. “Are you waiting for a response?”

She shakes her head her eyes suddenly wide. “Apologies lady Prime. Excuse me.”

I can’t blame her. The Lyomenos loop is likely the most sought after patrol.

Lyomenos the molten city. The name itself is a misnomer based around the buried geysers and how when the sands surounding them grew low enough they would burst and sends melted silicates into the air to rain down and score who ever happens to be in the area.

Its also my version of a hotsprings town.

“Cinderail is far too good to me.” I announce.

There’s no denying it. It’s almost an unwritten rule that rewards for those of the purple were patrols around Lyomenos just so they’d have access to steam rooms, mineral baths, and even the occasional massage.

Of course what takes them two days by foot wont even take one with what I have planned!

“I’m glad your are accepting the patrol this time, Highness. However its not Cinderail’s seal here, but your royal father’s.”

Hmm? Really? Was this the old mans idea of an apology? If so it left alot to be desired. I’ll accept it but I’m not accepting his pathetic apology.

“After all, even I need a break once in a while.”

“As you say Highness.”

Something about the way she said it however makes me think she’s placating me. Worse, I can believe it.

“Whatever. Can you head to Ryver and see if he has another of the Maeasilm Carapace’s? One that’s larger?”

She blanches, “as you wish Highness. I’ll return shortly.”

As soon as the door closed behind her I turned my attention to Desperation. “You feel up for a run?”

Sleepy, excited, eager.

I shake my head toi clear the canines impressions and look at Tenacity. “I know your nocturnal, you going to be able to come?”

Overly warm, uncomforatable, eager.

“Trying to understand you guys really bites.”

Than cease your attempts at communication, there are far better outlets such as increasing your ability with weaponry so you don’t flail about for a simple strike.

Blinking I turn, looking for something to focus on while conversing with Endurance. Its actually the worst part of it. Sadly there’s nothing so I address an empty section of room.

“You can’t understand them?”

Do I seem a beast to you? Speaking in growls and whimpers.

“Desperation, can you feel endurance?”

The canine cocked his head to the side.

No. Do not want.

“How about Tenacity, can you understand her?”

Desperation barks excitedly.

Affirmative. Yes.

“Huh.”

You can understand it?

Endurance seems to be totally flummoxed by the very idea.

“I can. But you’re right about one thing. I need to train.”

It’s about time you start listening to me.

“Shut up.”

Knock. Knock. Knock.

“Samira, you don’t need to knock just because you left.”

I say as I pull the door open. The only issue with that is that its in no way, Samira standing on the other side.

It’s a green holding on to his knees and breathing hard. “Lady Prime sends this message Highness. I’m taking the Carapace to the southern gate and will await you there. Oh, and please bring the harness.”

I clap the green on the shoulder and utter a grunt of thanks before looking about the room. Where did autopilot me put the harness?

Let’s see, its not in the cubbies filled with clothes, nor is it on the small table or shelves which had several shattered remnants that had to mean something to Vandal, but nothing to me. The only thing remaining on the wall after I’d taken the sword belt down was a coiled length of rope and the long and short spears Vandal himself was so renowned for.

Should I take at least one of those? With a chariot type of vehicle there’s a decent chance of it being a good choice. For an instant all I can think about is how awesome I’d look bearing down on my target with one hand on Desperation's leash and the other clutching the long spear and preparing to skewer him.

I shake the image from my mind.

“Focus. Where’s that harness?”

Just to make sure that while half asleep I didn’t just shove it under the clothes I start pulling them out. Nothing.

Wait. Where’s my clothing from the fight? Did someone take them? Maybe when they came in with the bread and fruit?

No. I dismissed the thought with one glance at the animals staring at me. The two of them would have freaked and woken me if anyone came in.

Wait did they know?

I posed the question to the Canine and an overwhelmingly positive impressing fills my brain as he begins bouncing this way and that as he made is way over to the wall and with a small hop pulled down the coiled rope.

“Thats it.”

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Fun. Yes.

The impressions fill my head and I clutch at it.

“Calm down.” I snap.

The effect is immediate and Desperation does just that, even going so far as to lay down on the ground. I spare him a few pats on the head to reassure hiim as I take the rope.

“Come one we’ve got to go.”

Throwing the rope over my shoulder I all but bolt out the door the animals on my heels.

Together the three of us raced down the road.

Sadly in my haste I forgot something, the stables were located near the (look this up!) Which left me far closer to the south gate. Suffice it to say I made it there far and away before Samira.

So I set about tieing the harness.

Again.

“Room for one more your Highness?”

Loooking up from fastening the harness I find Aster standing there looking a little pale and worse for wear.

“You’re supposed to be resting. Beside’s Samira’s coming and I don’t have the room for a third.”

Even the larger carapace were hardly going to be big enough to hold both myself and Samira, there was no way they’d be getting a third on to it. Besides, it would hardly be fair to expect Desperation to pull all three of them.

Actually the dog would probably would go on strike.

“I already ran into Samira, she’s agreed to let me ride with you.”

I counter with a shake of my head. “You need to rest.”

She responds with a thin smile. “I’m coming.”

She’s using a tone I recognize very well, one that promises pain if I don’t give in to what she wants. But unlike in my last life there’s something going for me in this world. I’m a prince.

“Aster, does Rue even know that your—“

Aster grabbed me by the collar of my cloak and hauled me closer until we stand nose to nose.

“I’m coming. Mmm’kay?”

Why does the air feel so cold? Like someone’s walking across my grave? Wait is that the reaper’s shadowy form growing behind her?

Slowly I nod.

The darkness, the cold, the ominous feeling, all of it vanished as if it’d never existed in the first place.

“Good! I haven’t been to Lyomenos in months.”

She let go of my collar and patted it flat before taking a length of the rope and wrapping it about herself.

The female bested you so easily how do you find worth in your pitiful self?

That brought my hackles up.

She’d have gotten her way no matter what I said. It’s not worth the fight.

Pathetic.

Like you could do better!

Indeed I can! There is not—

As soon as he said that I began ignoring the ignorant fool.

For all that I have less than pleasant memories of her, my mother’s lessons remain, and I learned them well. Women are evil, they will lie, cheat, steal, and not feel bad about any of it as long as they get their way. Anyone who said they could get what the woman wanted wasn’t smart enough to realise the fight wasn’t over.

Easier to just give in and give them what they want then put up a fight that’s going nowhere fast.

“So where’s Samira?”

“She’s sighning out one of the Klorian since she’s more comforatable with the idea of that then trying to ride with you.”

A Klorian huh. Lizards the size of small horses, they came from every enviroment the world over, the onces in the swamp lands had the ability to create viscous bubbles on the bottoms of their feet so that they might run across the water.

The ones in the northern rainforests in the Avaian’s territory were lighter and lived in the treetops traversing the forest via webbing.

As for the desert breeds adaptation:

“Don’t those things have a tendency to spontaneously combust?”

“Only their tails and only when they’ve secreted that oil of theirs.”

Technically they needed to secrete the oil and then strike their side where their skin produces some amount of flint like metal.

Somehow I get the feeling I’m still going to end up being lit on fire. Seems like it would fit my luck fairly well.

“At least we can use it to start the fires at night.”

“Tambor is useful for far more than that.”

I turn towards Samira when a descending shadow catches my attention. It strikes the sand with a near silent ‘thunk’ sending me jumping backwards. About to snarl at Samira I realize just what she’d thrown in front of me.

A carapace, and a fairly massive one at that. By the looks of it I could use it to nap and the only thing that’d be hanging over would be by feet.

“He said it's one of the largest he’s ever seen and asks that you not use it as a shield.”

“Why would I use it as a shield?”

She shrugs. “I’m not really sure.”

“Okay.”

Dropping the topic I look at Desperation and point in front of the makeshift sled. “Here.”

The dog chuffs but does as its told. Taking up the rope I look over at Samira and grin. “You might want to get started if you want any chance of keeping up.”

She rolls her eyes. “Not going to happen, Highness. I think you’ll find that we will all be keeping a similar pace to best do the job.”

I hold in my snort and nod. “Of course.”

I understand where she’s coming from, really and truly, but nothing ever happens in Lyomenos. At most there’s a few bandits but considering the differences in numbers such groups never last long.

So even if the trip was made for the purposes of patrol it was going to be if not pleasant, acceptably calm. If she wants to be the beetle in someones soup that’s her choice. There’s nothing that's going to keep me from enjoying myself on the trip.

I deserve it after all.

Stepping into the carapace I wait as Aster steps in behind me and lashes herself to me.

“Hold on.”

I whisper, but it's not quite enough and Samira cocks her head to the side and gives me a hard look.

[Full speed ahead!]

“Highness—“

But she’s too late. Sand kicks up into the air all around us as Desperation bounds forward as fast as he can manage, which despite how tired the creature must be and the fact its carrying more than before, was still very fast.

“Catch me if you can, Samira!”

I holler over my shoulder.

“Highness! Get back here!”

***

“She’s still not fallen behind.”

“Really?” I ask surprised. Samira has been trailing for the last hour but nothing Desperation did has managed to shake her. To say its a touch aggravating would be a gross oversimplification.

“How?”

Aster didn’t answer, though I’m guessing thats probably because she shrugged or something.

“You know I can’t hear your brain rattling around in your skull.”

“A good thing to else my brain would be as solid as a rock.”

She says this like she’s currently capable.

Coming from the one that couldn’t even slow a few rabbits.

How long are you going to continue this? You’ve already shown an inability to get rid of me and I grow tired of this flimsy thing you mistake for an existance.

Endurance. I am god.

God. My creator. How clever.

Aster pokes me in the back of the head. “Hey are you listening?”

“Kind of. Endurance is currently running his mouth and being a general pain.”

“Glad to know some things have managed to stay the same.”

I snort.

Hear that? Even your old master found you to be a nuisance.

My prince found that girl you speak with to be, how did he put it? ‘Just another piece in a failing system.’

Sounds about right.

Yet I’m here and he’s not.

You will not disparage my lord just because he’s fallen!

Actually I believe that I do. I kinda hate the guy after all. Its why no matter what happened he was going to kick the bucket.

And here I thought you worth something.

A single member of the living is more valuable than a hundred dead.

He doesn’t respond.

“There it is!”

Aster shoves her arm into my face and points into the distance.

There it is, indeed. A tower near identical to the chess piece the cities were designated for raising itself against the horizon.

“If you look that way you’ll see “Lux””

The way she says it reminds me of a tour guide and there’s o way to keep my laughter in.

To top it off she’s right. I can see the barest hint of the tower in the distance.

I could even almost hear the nextt words coming out of her mouth. Annd if you look behind you, you’ll see the wishing tower jutting into the sky framed by the uneven mountains that stood beside the city. Yadda yadda yadda.

She shifts.

“Highness, why did you do it?”

The softness of her voice tells me exactly what she’s asking about. I cock my head to look over my shoulder.

“Do what?”

She clutches tighter at my arm obviously seeing through my feeble attempt to bypass the conversation.

“Highness.”

I respond with a sigh.

“Your stabilizer failed. Did you think I was just going to let you die?”

“But you could have.”

Shaking my head I cut her off. “I knew nothing was going to happen to me. And let me remind you, I am not a sage, a chosen one, or anything else.”

She laughs, “that’s a losing propostion right there, at least until you tell us how you seem to be doing so much.”

Yes, because telling you I created you and your entire world and thus know the ins and outs of the smaller details that nine-tenths of the world’s forgotten, would get me less attention.

“I just have a different way of looking at things.”

Aster snorts, its obvious she doesn’t believe me but she doesn’t press.

“Thank you.” She quietly adds.

It’s my turn to shrug. “I never considered doing anything less.”

The winds which had geen growing steadily warmer over the course of the cruise became stiflings hot rather than warm and filled with granules of sand.

Exhaustian. Hunger. Sleep. Food. Hunger.

“We’re slowing,” Aster notes.

I nod and point at Desperation. “He’s exhausted and over heating.”

Leaning off to the left she points at a heft dune that case a wide shadow across the ground. “Go there.”

Desperation hardly needs any encouragement to turn toward the shade.

By the time we slid to a stop on glance back the way we’d come showed just how quickly Samira was bridging the gap. She’d be caught up in just a few minutes.

Desperation drops to the sand panting as he rolled over on to his stomach revealing a large patch of pearly skin. Both heaads grouwled as they work themself into the sand.

Hunger. Pleasure. Relief.

Desperation whines. As I start fishing about the pouches at my side because I know there’s got to be some kind of dried meat there somewhere. I know I added it! Looking up I find that I can’t quite seem to pull my attention from Samira.

“She’s really fast.”

“Mmm,” Aster agree’s. “Does it look like she’s holding a spear to you?”

“It does.” Looking around I can’t seem to find her target.

“Desperation we need to move.”

The dog doesn’t seem to care one wit about what I’ve said right up until it catches my eye and all the sudden I feel sick to my stomach.

He rolls to his feet but its already far too late. Two large scorpions, each equal to Desperation in size rip their way from the dune, their tails and piners at the ready. Their three tails waver back and forth as they skitter closer their pincers opened wide to grab whatever threat might be foolish enough to venture to near.

“Reeee” tenacity squealsas she barrels out of the sand beneath one of the scorpions and latches on to one of its legs.

“Highness you need to get down!:” Saira yells.

She doesn’t need to tell me twice and latching on the the harness I throw myself from the skimmer into the snad as the spear passes through the air my head just happened to occupy not more than a moment before..

Samira spear bit deep into the creature carapace just off its face and its a bad wound but not one that’ll stop it.

“Ree!” Tenacity howls as she digs her claws into its hardened skin and begins to shred the meat. Anything I could have said vanished as the ferret bored into the scorpion and began tearing free it's chunks of flesh and sadly it projected ints impressions.

Delicious meat, blood, hungry.

“Disgusting.” I grumbled as the impaled scorpion moves to tower above me. The tails on either of its sides curved toward the center, toward me as the central one twitches as if it were attached to him by a livewire.

“Don’t just lay there!” Samira yells.

Easier said than done considering a person is lashed to my back!

“Highness you need to get off!”

Damnit!

“I’m working on it!”

“Just roll to the side!”

Aster exclaimed not that she lets me make the move myself. She wraps her arms around my middle and bam! We’re in motion. Then we’re separated.

Flipping myself over I start to pull my sword from my side and pause as Aster descends from above the maeasilm her sword carving through it in gouts of pus yellow blood.

It falls to the ground, dead.

Samira narrows her eyes as she turns to me. The spear dissolves in her hands and she takes a breath.

“What is wrong with you! One moment, you seem to have textbook knowledge about topics originating even in the Gerosin’s kingdom! The next you don’t even know the common feeding practices of the maeasilm?!”

I start to tell her that the attack patterns were a minor notation at best and freeze. My mouth closes with an audible click and I look to the ground. A child in the midst of a scolding.

“In fairness I didn’t remember either and I’ve done this route before.”

Samira looks even more furious as she rounds on Aster. “You! You should have cut the harness immediately! You could have gotten his highness killed!”

One hand travels to the emitter on her ear and she looks away. “It won't happen again, Lady Prime.”

Okay, making her feel bad about that? Yeah, no.

“Hey! I’m alive. It’s fine!

She shakes her head. “Your Highness may not be crown prince but you are the one chosen by the goddess! You’re irreplaceable!”

Wow talk about pressure.

“Look lets just go okay? I don’t feel like resting much anymore.”

Samira shakes her head. “Afraid your friend is no shape to travel just yet. Maybe if you hadn’t been playing about.”

Desperation is in fact still asleep, feet still raised into the air. Dead to the world. Only the steady up and down of its stomach gave proof he still lived.

“So we get to sit near the bloody maeasilm, yay.” Aster grumbles as she drops into the sand.

“Afraid so. Just make sure you use the time to eat some of your rations. We’ve still a ways before we arrive.”

Nodding I pull a piece of jerkied meat from my pouch.

Delicious, satisfaction, tired, safe.

Tenacity’s impressions hit me like a ton of bricks and with it a taste that I can only describe as stagnant water mixed with hot sauce and burnt rubber.

Only the years of lancing boils keeps me from losing the contents of my stomach, but its still a close thing. I shove the jerky away.

Tenacity pops her head from the scorpion and closes her eyes apparently having decided it was the perfect place to sleep.

Annoying ferret.

The yellowish blood leaks out from beneath her teeth hand hangs there like snot from a childs nose, stretching and shrinking with each breath.

Disgusting.

***

An hour later midday came and chased away the shade.

“Its time to go,” I grumble and pull the cloth back about my face and nudge Desperation with my foot.

The canine groans and one pair of its eyes open locking on to me before it pushes itself to its feet though the other head remained slack. Behind it trails the cruiser.

“Wake up Tenacity.”

It chuffs but makes its way toward its compatriot though I’ve a feeling its more interested in the dead arachnid that had already begun to fester.

“Samira” I start turning to my bodyguard. “If we take up your earlier pace how long would it take to arrive?”

She looks into the distance, at the tower in the distance. “An hour and a half perhaps.”

I nod. “Saddle up then, its time we get going.”

“You say that but the Twanlad is gorging itself.”

Following Aster’s finger I find both heads were now awake and busy tearing great chunks from the fallen predator.

[Enough, get over here.]

He pauses to rip one last chunk from the scorpion and makes his way over to me.

“Don’t be surprised if you start getting sick.”

Though I say that my attention is focused solely on Tenacity who remained asleep. “You could have at least woken her up.”

Desperation looks away and chuffs.

Great now the dog’s moody.

[Wake up!]

I send the message, the equivilant of a yell directly to it and leaps up ready to defend itself, or it would have had it not left itself inside the arthopod. Instead it falls from the opening it made and lands on the ground with a sickening ‘splat’.

Every bit of it was covered in the bile like blood.

It scramble to its feet searching for the threat before turning to me.

Annoyance. Aggravation.

“Yeah, yeah, be annoyed but it’s time to go.”

It squeaks and begins digging itself into the sand.

Stepping into the cruiser I look at Aster and Samira.

“You ready?”

Aster shoves a hand into the air as she steps into the cruiser behind me. Her free arm makes its way around my waist. “Lets go!”

She cheers.

“I’ll set the pace.” Samira says before I can be sucked into Aster’s enthusiasm. In all fairness it probably would have.

“Just don’t go to slow lady Prime! I need some rest and relaxation!”

Aster responded.

“Didn’t you get one of the trips just a few months back?”

“Huh?”

She asked pretending not to hear me.

With a roll of my eyes I resign myyself to just ignoring what she said and focusing on what was happening. It was a time to relax.

That feeling lasted all of thirty minutes and that way being generous. But as we top a dune that looks down on the city proper any hope of relaxing vanishes like mist in well, the desert.

Bodies lay scattered across the open space.

Vapiric Hares. Dozens of them! They were supposed to have run off. Not found another settlement to feast on!

“Samira.”

“Yes highness.”

With a flick of her reigns her pace doubles.

[Go.]