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Chapter 5- The Assassin

“Hello, Xythe,” I said as he limped over to the bars. My guards started to come forward, finally having caught up with me by coming through the main dungeon doors after figuring out where I planned on going, but I held up my hand to stop them, “I’m not here for any kind of gloating that your attempt on my life very clearly did not work... I’m here to ask you why you tried in the first place,” I stated, “I want answers. You said you didn’t have a choice. Who has forced your hand?”

Xythe was still staring, clearly flummoxed at the fact that I was standing before him. Seeing the look in his eyes- confusion, pain, and perhaps a touch of fear- made me want those answers that much more. His hand twitched at his side, and I wondered if he wanted to reach out to touch me, to see if I was real, or if he wanted to try to reach through the bars and try again. He shook his head after a moment, his dirty blonde hair swishing back and forth, though parts of it were caked with blood from his beating. I could distinctly remember when I’d told him he needed a haircut.

I had been sitting by the window in my room, the window open to allow in the warmth of the summer sun while I read a book. He’d come to check on me, to replace the water pitcher in my room. He pushed his hair back from his face with a smirk as he asked what I was reading as it clearly had me so captivated that I had not much touched my water or my lunch that stood nearby. I hadn’t answered him, not wanting him to know I’d been captivated by a romance story, and instead, I pointed out how long his hair had gotten. I pointed out to him that if he didn’t trim it soon, he’d have to start wearing it back like a girl. He gave a laugh then that felt as warm as the sun on my skin.

I shook my head then to focus as Xythe was talking to me, “I,” he started before taking a deep breath, “I don’t remember who hired me,” he said and the guards behind me made it clear how incredulous they found that story to be. Xythe gave them a disparaging look, not exactly wanting the extra company on this conversation, but knew he had no room to demand anything, “Believe me if you will, but all I can tell you is that three years before I came to work for you, we were hired to try and end Galil’s line,” he murmured and he winced a bit as if something had hurt him.

“We?” I raised a brow, and he made a face that said he’d said too much, “Xythe, you’ll be executed for this. This is no time to be hiding more secrets. If there’s someone pulling the puppet strings, now is the time to tell me,” I insisted, putting my hands on the bars. I could feel the hum of the magic that separated the two of us and it prevented me from putting my hands through the openings like there was a solid surface between us. I wasn’t entirely sure why, but the idea that there was someone else involved, someone who had actually hired him, made me feel a little better. Perhaps there was a way to save the boy who’d been my friend the past couple of years, “Why did you confess?”

Xythe looked away after he cast another glance towards the guards, “Which question do you actually want me to answer?”

“Well, I would like you to answer them both. One could save your life.”

Xythe looked at me then, baffled, “I tried to kill you, and you would seek to spare my life?”

He had a good point. Why wasn’t I angrier with him? “What would your death solve, even if I had died?” I gave a small shrug, “To teach a lesson? To whom? Surely not the people who hired you in the first place, who might surely try again, hence why I am here for answers. I cannot get answers from a corpse,” I said, and I decided that surely that was the reason I hoped his life might be spared.

“Alassea....”

“It’s Your Highness to you, scum!” the guard nearest me barked, but I waved my hand. I had given Xythe permission long ago to call me by my first name. Back whenever he had first come to work for me and had been assigned to my care specifically. Xythe had presented himself as someone who was desperate, someone who had come to our city seeing refuge and a way to provide for himself. His story was not terribly different than many servants in the city, people who needed work but could not find work at the forges, bakeries, printing shops, or other various shops throughout the city. My parents had tasked him with my care, though my maids would still handle the more intimate tasks. He had seemed eager to prove himself and was nearly tripping over himself to complete any task that cropped up that he believed he was the one that needed to complete it. But he’d always been kind to me, always had been there to listen to me, and had always offered his own thoughts in return, and had been what I thought was a fantastic companion. I’d come to think of him as my friend.

Perhaps it had simply all been a very long ruse to get me to let my guard down so that he could kill me. He said he’d been hired to end the line three years before we’d even met...

“Fine,” I started talking again since he wasn’t, “Who is the “we” you spoke of?”

Xythe took a deep breath before answering, “The Order of the Black Rose,” in a low voice, “Your father and the council would know who they are. I can’t tell you more than that. It’s a spell that they cast once we leave their compound. We don’t remember anything until another member confirms we’ve completed our task and removes the spell.”

“Why did you turn yourself in then?” I remembered the question, “Why not wait for someone to come remove the spell and return to your order?”

He looked at me a long moment before looking down, “I decided I would rather face punishment for what I’d done than return,” he murmured, shaking his head, “I was never really cut out for being in the Order.”

He didn’t continue so I crossed my arms, “So I’m supposed to believe-”

“-You don’t have to believe anything. Other than I am sorry,” he looked back at me, “I didn’t want to go through with it anymore,” he stepped back from the bars, closing his eyes, “That doesn’t change that I did-”

“-You’re right, it doesn’t. It doesn’t change that you betrayed those years of trust, and if everything was just part of your scheme, all of it a lie so you could get close enough to kill me-”

“-It was.”

His voice had suddenly gone so cold and was so quiet, I almost hadn’t heard him over how loud I’d gotten in my rising fury. Somehow those two words in that tone were like a punch to the stomach and my breath rushed from my lungs. Why were my eyes stinging with tears? Were they tears of anger or tears of sorrow? Perhaps they were both.

“You are a bastard,” I managed to get out, “The lowest of the low. I won’t let you get away with it so easily, I won’t let you just stew here and your punishment be the end of it. This is higher than you, you were hired by someone else, whether you remember who they were or not. Until I know who that is, you owe a debt to me,” I said, trying to get some of that same coldness to my voice that he had, but it didn’t work. My voice was shaking too much from trying to contain my tears. Two years of friendship, a lie. When he was one of the few people that I called a true friend, it hurt to know I was so easily deceived. Had I been so desperate?

Xythe looked at me, his own look was unreadable. It was like he had thrown up a wall to shut me out, to shut out the pain he was causing me, “No offense, your highness. But I owe you nothing,” he murmured, his blue-green eyes not moving from my face. I remembered when I once thought they were the prettiest eyes I’d ever seen on a boy, and how embarrassed he’d been when I told him as much. Now they were like daggers, aiming to cut me more, to make it clear that whatever feelings I had thought there once was between us were a fallacy.

“Wrong. You owe me your life, and I’ll see to it that you pay,” I shoved off the bars. I turned on my heel, turning and starting up the proper stairs out of the dungeon. I’d find out not only who hired him, but who this Order of the Black Rose was. I’d make them rue the day they sent him my way. I wouldn’t let them have the last word in this, and if Xythe’s execution came to pass, they’d get away with it. So I marched up the stairs, out of the dungeon- startling the guards that were at the top who hadn’t seen me go down in the first place- and started towards the council room.

The council room was one floor above the main floor of the castle, two floors above the dungeon. It was strategically placed above the throne room as if to say the Council was above the power of the throne. I walked into the throne room, empty at this time, save for some of the servants cleaning, heading towards the throne at the far enough of the room. While I had put on a dress, I had neglected to put on shoes, so my feet made a quiet slap against the floor and it echoed just a touch in the wide room. Behind the throne, there was a door to a spiral set of stairs that would lead up to the Council’s meeting room. The Council room was not as large as the throne room below, but it was large enough to have a large circular table that seated 14 members, each from different villages and cities in the kingdom. There was no center to the table, leaving it open for members to stand there while presenting their cases or thoughts to one another. There was a gap in the table just wide enough for someone to go through to be able to stand at the center.

When I came into the room, there were already members there, discussing something, though I didn’t care what it was. What I cared about was that my father was sitting in his seat, also strategically placed to be right above the throne itself, and he sat up straight when he saw me walking through the opening in the table towards the center.

“Alassea, you’re supposed to be in your room,” his tone was a mix of gruff with aggravation and confusion. The aggravation was not because I was standing in the room, I assumed, it was because the guards had failed to keep me in said room. Notably, the guards did not follow me into this room. They had no permission to be here.

“Father,” I said shortly, trying to keep my emotions in check. I wouldn’t let these old men think I was just being some emotional woman and dismiss me. One day I would be their queen, and I would be at my father’s seat. I had to put aside how badly I was hurting inside at the fact that the trust I had put into someone had all been a part of his plan, “I believe we should postpone sending Xythe away to Jelewa until we get the answers from him about who all is involved.”

There were grumbles from the men around me as they turned and talked to each other, some snickering at my using this time as a platform and not taking into consideration other matters.

“Hear me out,” I insisted to my father, who honestly seemed to be the only person listening to me, “He says he works for the Order of the Black Rose,” I had never seen my father’s face go so pale.

“All the more reason he ought to be put down,” one of the councilors said, but I did not turn to face him, keeping my eyes on my father.

“The Order? He must be a reject then,” another scoffed, “No offense, my lady, but if he were a member of the Order, you would not be standing here and he would not be in the dungeon.”

How could I argue with them that it was because his heart wasn’t in it? Or because I was blessed with magic that prevented drowning from ever being a way that I could die? Even if he’d lied about not wanting to do it anymore to try and get me to pity him, the latter fact would have made it null and void even if he had been eager to jump at the opportunity to see me dead.

“If he is a member of the Order,” another person stated, “That means someone hired him,” they seemed to be thinking the same line I was and I stole a glance in that direction, “And that means the princesses life may very well still be in danger because he didn’t complete the job.”

“But if he were any true professional, he would not have come and confessed!” the scoffing man argued.

“And that’s another thing we ought to be taking the time to figure out,” I turned towards the man now, “Rather than dismiss it, there’s got to be a reason for his actions. If we don’t delay, we won’t know the answers to any questions we may have,” I turned back to my father, “Please! I’m not saying postpone it indefinitely,” I couldn’t ask that- I don’t think anyone would even consider anything I was saying if I did, even if I’d rather he live out the rest of his life and pay for his deed, “Just until we get out answers!”

There was a rumble of conversation before the only Councilor whose name I knew stood up and walked to stand in the circle with me. Edvund pulled two golden cups from his sleeves as he approached me, and I sighed a little knowing what was to come. Edvund was ultimately the one my father relied on when it came to making choices like this. Edvund had a magical ability that allowed him to “weigh” a situation and know what the “just” choice would be. Edvund held up the two cups and they began to emit light as he closed his eyes. I squinted a little as he hadn’t said which had was which decision before he’d started to weigh the options. As he stood there, one of his hands began to lower, which cause discussion around me. What were they even discussing, they didn’t know any better than I did which had was which, or what these weights even meant. I was almost holding my breath as I waited to hear his answer. Once it was clear that the scales were weighed and his hands stopped moving, he opened his eyes and looked towards the king.

“The execution should proceed as planned.”

“Father, listen-”

“No,” Father cut me off and I looked at him, appalled. Surely he saw the madness in this! To leave such important information unanswered! “The execution will continue as planned. You will return to your room, now.”

He didn’t have to tell me twice. If I stood there a moment longer, I’d scream. I threw up my hands as I made my way out of the circle towards the doors that lead out onto the floor we were on. I threw the doors open, “Foolish old men!” I barked in anger as I slammed them shut behind me.

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Chapter 4- The Refusal

I’m not sure how you might have expected my request to go, dear reader, but I can assure you that it did not pan out as I’d hoped.

Instead of being taken to the dungeons where they were holding Xythe, I was escorted to my room. My father absolutely forbade the idea of me going to see him. Clearly, even though he was in a cell, he considered it unsafe for me to be anywhere near him. So instead, I was sent to my room with my maids, confined there until I wasn’t trying to give my would-be assassin a second try.

My maids had scuttered about, more than likely trying their best to look useful more than actually being useful. There wasn’t much to be done that required the number of women currently in my space. They had worked together to bring up water for a bath so that I could clean myself off, and I might have used a little bit of magic to warm up the water as I’d had quite enough cold water for a lifetime. They helped me out of what was left of my dress before leaving me a simple nightgown to wear, something I could put on myself. I got into the bath as they searched for things to do, waving away the ones that wanted to try and help scrub me down. They put in a mixture of herbs and powders of various natures meant to soothe the scratches I had all over me and help me to relax. It took me telling them all that they were dismissed for them to finally give me breathing space.

I sighed as I leaned back against the side of the tub, trying to think about the day’s events. I still felt guilty that Ourri wouldn’t let me reward him for his generosity. It might have just been the right thing to do, but he still didn’t have to do it, and most people would have probably thought to take advantage of the favor the royal family would owe them for saving me. And I had no doubt he would have done anything to protect me had a bandit actually appeared. All I could do was pray now that the goddesses would grant him a safe journey home and a good hunt as a reward.

I took a deep breath, sliding down and dipping my head under the water with the idea of getting lake water and whatever else out of my hair. At first, I was fine, I was keenly aware of where I was, the smell of the water different enough from the lake to keep me clear-headed. But it didn’t stop what was probably inevitable. I got this phantom sensation of a hand on my head, pushing me down, trying to hold me under. I sat from the water quickly as if pushing against the hand to be able to breach the surface, gasping. I looked around, my heart racing in my chest. I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised at such a response, at such fear now. If it weren’t for the fact I was magically blessed, I would have died, weighed down like an anchor to drown in that lake.

I shuddered and suddenly had no desire to be in the tub anymore. I finished cleaning myself quickly before getting out of the water. I pulled on the nightgown before sitting and starting to brush out my hair. I kept my hair just past my shoulders in length, so it wasn’t too hard of a process. My mother wished I’d grow it out longer, but too long of hair became difficult to brush on one’s own and I did not want to have to wait for maids to brush it out all the time. My dark brown hair was rather thick, making this an arduous enough process. Once I brushed my hair out, I grabbed a ribbon and pulled it back out of my way.

First and foremost, I supposed I should get some rest. I wanted to speak to Xythe, yes, but I wasn’t going to be any good to anyone if I was tripping over myself from how exhausted I was physically and mentally. In the morning, I could think of what to do. So for now, I climbed into my bed, under the thick blankets, and allowed the exhaustion to take me.

It was a fitful sleep. It seemed that even though my body had left the lake, my mind had not. In my dreams, I saw Xythe on the boat. He reached out and took my hand, squeezing it as he apologized. His face looked like he was in pain, and I remember being concerned, wondering what he was going on about and what was bothering him. He said that he doesn’t expect me to understand, but it was something that had to be done. Then he grabbed my arms and heaves me, dress and all, out of the boat and into the lake.

I woke up with a start, gasping for air like I was coming up out of the water. I panted a little as I looked around the room. It was about midday from what I could tell and a tray of food had been left on a table in my room. I let out a slow breath, trying to steady my shaking that I just realized was happening. I rubbed my arms, giving one final shudder before I moved to climb out of bed. The warmth of the day kept the stone floor from being too terribly cold, and it kept me from shivering for a different reason. I walked over to the tray, looking over the spread of meats, cheeses, and fruits, and my mind wandered back towards the slums. I wondered how many of them had enough to eat, and if even this much was considered a luxury. I hoped at the very least we didn’t waste what we didn’t eat.

I started to eat as I looked around myself, hugging myself with the arm that wasn’t holding up the piece of venison I was currently eating. I tried to think of what to do with my idle time. My father wasn’t going to let me go about the castle as I pleased right about now, so I was being forced to occupy myself within what was usually a sanctuary. The room was someplace I usually felt safe, the hues of purples and reds hanging about the room, giving it the warmth that the stone walls tended to sap away. They were my favorite colors and I knew they tended to be rather pricey, a fact that at the moment made me feel rather guilty. A waste of money from the treasury for something so useless as a tapestry. But they typically meant to be my refuge and a breath of fresh air, where no one expected anything from me. I could read, write, relax, or even take a nap if I saw fit. Right now, though, it felt suffocating.

I needed to speak to Xythe. I needed him to tell me why he had to kill me, or at least figure out who hired him. They would be a threat even still unless they believed the initial idea that I was dead...but if they were someone amongst the court or Council, they would know the truth soon enough. I thought about his words again, and I rubbed my arms as I could all but feel his grasp there. But he was right. I didn’t understand. He said he didn’t have a choice, but why? Even if he’d been hired, surely he could have just decided to not follow through with it. Unless there was something more important, but if there had been, why had he turned himself in?

The only reason I could think was that it was because I was my father’s only heir. I had a brother once, but he died when he was still young from sickness, and it had broken my parent’s hearts. They’d be especially doting on me ever since, but they didn’t attempt to conceive again as far as I was aware. If I died, it meant the line of succession- Sir Galil’s line- was broken. Without more information from Xythe, I’d likely gotten my answer for why I was targeted. Someone would have had to have hired him, though, because as a servant, he stood to gain nothing from my passing. The Council would simply vote to choose a new line of succession for the throne from the current members, and even if it would no longer be our family, my father would still have a say in the choice and reign until the end of his days.

I stood up and started to pace, grabbing an apple as I did, taking a bite of it. I sighed as I caught sight of myself on a reflective surface, my hair wild and unruly after my rest. I untied the ribbon holding back my hair, taking another bite of the apple before setting it down. I picked up the brush and started to work out the mess, wincing a little at places that had managed to form knots. I tried to think of what to do while I brushed. I had to somehow get down to the dungeon to talk to him, but there was no doubt that there were guards outside my door. My father would have insisted upon it, both to keep me in my room and to keep others out beyond the servants. No matter which way I tried to get down to the dungeon, they would all require me to somehow get out of my room.

How could they expect me to sit here and stew on it and do nothing? Did they think that I would just let it go? They knew me too well to know that I wouldn’t, hence the likelihood of the guards. Why was I, the person he’d tried to kill in a now perceived half-hearted attempt, not allowed to talk to him? They trusted the guards well enough to keep me, the princess, in my room, but not enough to keep a single man in a cell that was barred with metal and magic and locked. That seemed as ridiculous to me.

I stood back up once I’d managed to brush out my hair and tied it back again. If there were guards outside my door, they were just going to have to come with me. I was speaking to him, and that was final. I walked over to my wardrobe, pulling off the nightgown and pulling on a simple red gown with wide sleeves. It was all one piece of fabric so it made it easy to put on alone, and I could tie the ribbons in the front myself to keep it snug and in place as I moved about. I tied them now, pulled my hair out of the dress, and then started out of the room.

As I’d expected, there were guards there, two on either side of the door, and they tried to stop me. They reached to grab my arms, and, though it was perhaps a bit childish, I ducked to avoid their grasp, moving forward, “If your job is to keep me safe, then you’re going to want to stop gawking at your empty hands and come along,” I said, hurrying forward before they could regain themselves and actually catch me.

“Your Highness!” one protested, “Your father forbade you to leave your room today!” they hurried after, bumping into one another at the top of the stairs, the metal of their armor clanking.

“I’m aware!” I said as I kept walking, “However, unless he plans to keep me in there himself, I’m afraid I’m going to have to disobey him this time,” I didn’t slow down, not wanting to back out now that I’d committed to the action. The worst I’d have to deal with was my father being disappointed with me, which was never a pleasant feeling, but I needed these answers.

Knowing that the guards at the top of the stairs of the dungeon would try to stop me as well, I knew I needed to try one of the various hidden paths that I knew of. I took a sharp turn into a hallway and stopped when I found a tapestry of a dragon. Moving it to the side revealed a door, which was luckily still unlocked. It likely wouldn’t be after today. I quickly made my way down, only stopping when I had reached the dungeon below.

Down here, it was unlikely any of the guards were aware that I wasn’t supposed to be down here. They were given their orders for their prisoners and that was all that there was to it. There were a few other prisoners down here, likely thieves or bandits caught and waiting just like Xythe was for their transport to Jelewa.

Jelewa was a place in the north where prisoners of all walks of life and sentences were taken to serve out their time. I’d never been there myself, but I’d heard that the guards there were brutal and the punishments severe. It didn’t sound especially pleasant.

I kept moving through the cells, glancing in each one until I found what I was looking for. He was sitting on the ground, his back to the cell door, staring aimlessly at the stones. The guards here had already given him a beating from the looks of it, teaching him what they thought of his assassination attempt. I stepped up to the bars and cleared my throat. He stiffened, turning to look at which guard had come to give him further abuse but saw me instead. Alarm quickly washed over his expression, as well as shock.

“Alassea!?”

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Chapter 3- The City

Walking with Ourri wasn’t exactly invigorating beyond my thoughts haunting me for not doing enough for my people yet. He was quiet, probably keeping his attention on his surroundings and making sure our luck didn’t run out. There was still a chance a bandit or an animal might come out of the trees and attack us. I suppose I should have been a bit more attentive as well, it wouldn’t do to have my life undone now after already escaping death once tonight. I could just feel the weariness of the evening on my bones and my body was begging to stop, so I focused on the swing of the crossbow, the scuffs and stains on Ourri’s boots, anything but my own misery.

It wasn’t until we reached a clearing in the trees, where a road was, that I saw his shoulders start to actually relax. I hadn’t even realized he’d been tense this whole time, but his shoulders noticeably sagged a little now “This road should lead us back to the city,” he said as he looked back at me.

“I see,” I murmured, taking a deep breath. My feet were sore and I was starting to feel the scratches on my arms and legs from the branches. It hadn’t exactly been an easy path, but an expedient one. At least with the road, there wouldn’t be any more of that, “How much further from the main gate do you believe we are?” I couldn’t help but ask, though it seemed like almost childish impatience all things considered.

Ourri looked up at the sky, squinting, and I realized he was trying to discern the location of the moon and stars through the trees, “I’d say we should be there by daybreak if we keep going. Can you continue?” he looked over at me, the concern not even remotely veiled. I wasn’t exactly bred or raised for such treks, so I imagine it was a surprise I hadn’t requested more stops than I had.

“I do not frankly have a choice,” I murmured before starting to walk down the road, even though everything in me screamed at me to take a rest. He nodded and started to walk by my side, quiet as ever. It did not take long before I looked over at him, somewhat exasperated, “Are you not tired?”

“I am a bit tired, yes. But I am used to walking for long periods of time, usually having to carry or pull an animal alongside me,” he said, “Normally I might have a horse waiting nearby, but I was mostly hoping to get a feel for the game in this area, so I didn’t bring it with me.”

I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful, but I gave a sigh and said, “Well, I suppose I shall just have to be pleased with the small mercy I was given.”

Ourri gave a nod and after a moment, he pulled his crossbow back around. Seeing me eye him in curiosity, he said, “I thought it might be a good idea to be prepared in case a bandit saw fit to take advantage of us using the main road,” he said.

I frowned at the thought. While I hadn’t been privy to the Council meeting on the subject, my father had discussed that the trade from the villages had been slowing down lately. I looked around as I considered it. The path was thoroughly wooded, so it was no wonder that bandits could take advantage of the opportunities to attack the traders. The obvious solution would be to clear out the trees so there would be fewer places for the bandits to hide. It was so rather obvious, I wondered why it had not been done when the road was made. Or was this always just the path of least resistance through the woods?

It was as Ourri said. Just as the day began to peek over the horizon and lighten the sky, I could make out the men standing guard at the front gate. I could have sworn my feet would dislodge themselves from my ankles and leave me to crawl the rest of my way back. The sentries seemed on their guard, watching our approach until I was close enough that one of them could make out who I was.

The man’s jaw seemed to drop, and he turned and hurried over to where a horse was tied up, undoing its restraint and bringing it towards us, “Your Highness!” he said once he had closed the distance, “You’re alive! Please! Take my horse so that you may return and inform the King and Queen,” he said offering his hands to help me step up onto the horse. I took his aid, glad to off of my feet even if there was still the task of riding the beast until I’d gotten back to the castle.

What was more pressing to me was the fact that he had word that I was supposedly dead. Did Xythe truly confess so easily? It was not what I’d expected, I’d expected he might try and flee for his life, or, at the very least, I expected him to lie. Maybe he had, maybe he’d reported it as an accident. I’d have to go and find out.

I gave my thanks to the guard before looking at Ourri, “My good sir,” I started, “Is there truly no reward you seek for the arduous task? Because of me, you have no game to sell in the market today,” I frowned at the fact that I had cost him time and money.

Ourri shook his head, “It is truly alright, Your Highness,” he bowed his head, “It was an honor to be your guide. I hope you recover soon from the... experience you had tonight.”

I gave a nod, “Thank you. At the very least, please allow me to give you a horse to bear you home.”

“If it would please you, then I will accept.”

I smiled a little at his reluctance. He was perhaps the most modest man I’d met. Surrounded by the nobility, perhaps that wasn’t such a surprise. I looked to the guard, “Can you fetch him one of the horses from the stables?” I asked him.

“Of course, Your Highness,” he nodded, “I will see to it.”

“I hope to see you again someday,” I smiled at Ourri, who smiled and nodded in response, before turning the horse and starting through the city.

Just inside the gates looked pleasant enough, first impressions clearly being the reasoning behind the shops and stalls with their brightly colored clothes and baubles lining the road, currently closed in the early hours of the morning, though there were some people preparing for the workday. They looked up to acknowledge who they thought might be a fellow trader or a guard but gave a little start whenever they saw me. I must look quite the frightful mess from the looks on their faces.

Behind the shops and the homes of the shopkeepers were what I had heard referred to as the slums. They were houses that were standing due to the fact they were built of stone and nothing more. The people who lived there could barely afford to live in the city walls, but there were desperate for the protection they felt those walls could bring. Many of those houses were said to be full of multiple families trying to make ends meet and stay within. Did this have to do with the bandits, or were there worse terrors that would drive them inward so?

I shook my head a bit, thinking that this was where we needed to start putting our focus. The walls were built, but if the slums didn’t improve, all it did was create a cage and the problems and unhappiness of the people who bubble and fester like a wound. Father had spoken of trying to improve the area, but speaking accomplished next to nothing if spoken without any actual conviction or thought of action.

The stalls and stands lined the streets for a way, selling all sorts of wares. The wares weren’t just from Charisia and its villages and farms, but there were some from Caradia and Danbu as well. Caradia’s wares were fine metals and jewels that couldn’t be found in our mines, and Danbu brought items of comfort- fine clothes, fabrics, and sometimes bedding for one’s home. Our own stalls offered various kinds of food, depending on which village they came from. Inutore was known for the grains and vegetables they brought in, though I had heard that they were good for hides come the fall months.

As I drew nearer to the castle, the homes would go from those of the ordinary citizens to those of the nobility, the guilds and their members, and the members of the council. The houses with Yraso were all carved of the same stone, built to be of a near-equal size to try and avoid contempt and jealousy over something so simple as the size and outward appearance of someone’s home. However, what was on the interior would be undoubtedly covered in fine fabrics, silks, and filled with furniture and comforts that the people in the slums couldn’t hope to afford. You could tell when you had made the transition because there was always the smell of incense burning in the homes of the guild members closest to the slums as if they could ward away poverty with oils and herbs.

The people that came out here were also shocked to see me, and I wondered if it was because of the horrendous state of my appearance or because of the news that most of them would have heard that I was supposedly dead. They would have heard whatever story that Xythe had come to spin, and I was tempted for half a moment to get down and ask one of them what it was. But I didn’t. I stayed the course and rode on, listening to the horse’s hooves clatter against the cobblestone, eager to be home again.

I rode the horse up as close to the castle as I could, which was all the way up to the stone steps that lead up to the large wooden double doors that were opening because of the guards that waited there. I got down from the horse with a little difficulty, a guard hurrying over, his armor clanging a bit as he assisted me down and took the horse from me. I started up those steps and into the castle, not delaying even though my feet and legs were begging me to slow down, were sluggish with the effort despite my trying to move them faster. I traversed the twists and turns of the halls, my bare feet making a slap against the stone that echoed, even with the scuffling of servants who were trying to see to my injuries, see to my clothes, see to my needs, no matter how much I tried to shoo them away. All of that could wait!

It took time and a bit of effort to make my way up the stairs towards the northwestern corner of the castle where my parent’s bed-chamber was set. I hoped they would still be here due to the hour or because of Xythe’s news driving them to their room for comfort from their sorrows. I threw the door open, finding myself more winded now than the entirety of the trek through the woods. You would think traversing those halls on a normal basis would leave one in a bit better shape.

They were sitting on a bench in the room, holding each other. My mother was in tears, I’d heard her crying from the hallway, reverberating off the stones. My father was trying to look like he himself wasn’t also in tears, trying to be strong and comforting for her. His head snapped my way, ready to rage at and dismiss whichever fool dare invade their moment of grief, but he stopped, the air dying in his throat as he saw me before him.

“Alassea?” he questioned and my mother lifted her head, gasping.

She didn’t question if it was real, she leaped up, crying my name, “Alassea!” she hurried across the room from the bench, swooping like a bird through the air- not a woman in the folds of much fabric and under the weight of many priceless gems and jewels that were encrusted into the fabrics and the metals about her neck. How she survived under the weight of it all, I don’t rightly know. She pulled me close, not seeming to care about how dirty or smelly that I was at that moment, though I felt bad considering her own dress would be ruined. What a waste of the effort that went into making it. Surely she’d have it all reused for some other purpose. But that was neither here nor there. Besides the guilt of the dress, I felt relief at feeling her touch, of the smell of the perfumes she doted about her neck. I wrapped my arms around her, as best I could, and started to cry myself.

It seemed to take this long for all those feelings about what I’d been through to catch up to me, the pain and fear. I cried in my mother’s arms as she held me so tight I knew the gems on her dress were going to leave marks, but I didn’t care. I had survived and made it back to them. My eyes stung with tears that did not wish to stop as I felt my father’s arms wrap around us as well. Their warmth was like an anchor, reminding me that I really was alive.

“My darling girl!” My mother crooned and after a moment she held me back by my shoulders, then put her hands to my cheeks, cupping my face, “That damnable boy,” her face went from the relief and joy of seeing me to her anger as she recalled the reason for all this, “He told that he’d....” her voice hitched again as she must have also recalled the feeling of when he’d told them, “We thought we’d never see you again,” she managed to even out her emotions enough to speak again, “It is truly a face of Muiyondra and the goddesses that you’re here before us,” she leaned in and kissed my forehead.

“I have no doubt of that, Mother,” I murmured, my own voice still a bit uneven from crying, “The goddesses truly saw fit to allow us to be reunited,” I could feel the tears bubbling up again as I put my hands on hers, clutching to them, and she held fast to my own. How very close I’d been to never get to see them again, to leaving them childless and grieving. After the loss of my brother when I was younger, I thought I’d sworn to never leave them so sad again, but their tear-stained cheeks proved that I’d been a dragon’s breath away from failing. I’d been so foolish and reckless. But that recklessness persisted even still because I had questions that needed answering, “Where is he?” I asked.

“In the dungeon,” My father said, “He will stay there until the end of the month when the jailers from Jelewa come. Then he will be taken away and his punishment doled out there,” he murmured, not saying what it was to avoid bespoiling our delicacies no doubt.

“Then I have a request, and you might not like it,” I had a feeling they weren’t going to understand the request as I didn’t half understand it myself, “I need to talk to Xythe.”

[sanasspace]

Chapter 2- The Hunter

I had just decided to turn to try and hide when a voice called out to me, “Wait! I mean you no harm!”

Well, it wasn’t Xythe’s voice, I knew that much. However, it was a male’s voice. He emerged from the trees, and I almost gave a sigh of relief, my muscles releasing their tension ever so slightly. He was about the most ordinary man I’d ever had the pleasure of running into.

He stood several inches taller than I, having rather messy brown hair, brown eyes, and sported the tan of a man who spent his days in the field and forest. That latter part was possibly why he was now carrying a crossbow, leaving me somewhat unsure of my luck at that moment. His face seemed kind enough, but I would have never guessed from Xythe’s face either that he was the type of person to betray his friends and drown them. This man did not wear exceptionally fine garments, not someone from the capital or a trader hunting for sport. He was wearing a dark green tunic, a brown vest that looked aged, brown pants, and boots that looked almost twice as worse as the vest. Was he a bandit perhaps? One could never be too sure.

His eyes were looking me over, his brows drawing down in a look of confusion as he saw the state of my dress then he looked back up to my face, and he looked, from what I could tell, exceptionally concerned. “Your highness?” he sounded confused, probably trying to discern not only why I was there but what had happened to me, “Are you alright? What are you doing out here?” he looked around, looking for my escorts or noticing the lack thereof. He seemed to remember something at that moment and started to bow but I waved my hands to stop him.

I found myself in a bit of an off situation. Normally I would openly admit to what had happened to me, why should I lie? But here I was, a girl, alone, already worse for wear, at his mercy. He could do whatever he wanted and no one would be the wiser. But I was dreadful at lying, especially on the spot. I wasn’t really sure why I never gained a knack for it, probably because I never had the need to, but there were always situations where one might want to hedge the truth until their opponent is better known, right? I looked at this supposedly concerned hunter and opted... for trust.

“I had the unfortunate luck of someone trying to drown me, good sir, but the luck of the gods to survive it,” I explained. He looked shocked and then...angry? “You know who I am, an unfortunate result of my status, I’m sure, but can I have the pleasure of knowing your name?” I asked.

He gave a nod, seeming to remember himself again, “Right, of course,” he wasn’t used to dealing with nobility, I had to guess, much less someone such as myself, “My name is Ourri. I’m a hunter out of Inutore,” he made a sweep of his arm in the direction of the village, but my focus was on the crossbow he shifted in his hands to do so. He realized my focus and held up a free hand before securing the crossbow to a strap that went around his midsection onto his back, letting it hang behind him. Even though there had been no bolt on it, I was still wary of the weapon in the hands of a man I just met the night another man tried to kill me, “My apologies,” he said, and I assumed he meant for still wielding the crossbow during our conversation, “I had been heading towards the far side of the lake to hunt. Do you need assistance, Your Highness?” he asked.

I found myself doubting my ability to read people, not that I had ever been particularly sure I was blessed with the ability, to begin with. I tried to judge the person before me, who seemed to have honestly good intentions. Surely if he were some bandit, he would have loaded a bolt on that crossbow and aimed it at me with threats of violence. If he were working with Xythe, there might not have been threats at all, and he could have finished the job. He genuinely seemed concerned with my state of affairs. I couldn’t very well spend the rest of my life doubting every person who came my way, but I felt tonight some caution was not only overdue but completely warranted. He didn’t seem to mind the amount of time it took me to make my choices either, that or it wasn’t taking me entirely as long as I thought it was.

“Yes,” I decided, “If you would be so kind, I need to return to the city. However, I am woefully unprepared at this moment to be wandering about in the wilderness, as I’m sure you can tell for yourself,” I said as I motioned down at my tattered dress and bare feet, “Would you mind terribly helping me find my way back? I’ll reward you handsomely for your efforts,” I said as I walked a bit closer towards him, keeping a fair distance between us all the same.

“The reward isn’t necessary,” he said, shaking his head, “It would be a civic duty and an honor,” he turned slightly, not turning his back to me completely just yet, “It is a bit of a long walk back towards the front gate, but if you’re up for it, we can start right away. Or perhaps you would like to dry off and warm up first? I could start a fire for you.”

“No,” I shook my head, “While I may be out of my element entirely, I do believe the best choice is for us to start back immediately. After all, I’ve an assassin to capture and question,” I nodded forwards for him to lead the way. One would assume to just follow the wall of the city, but there were paths through the trees if one knew them. Xythe had known one that the horses could follow. Even if he’d left my horse, I doubt I could manage to find the exact path back. A folly on behalf. Perhaps I should start accompanying the hunting party out after this, though the idea would likely give my mother a heart attack.

“As you wish,” he said before turning and starting into the brush.

I followed after him, thinking of the many reasons he might be helping me. He had said it would be a civic duty and an honor, so was it simply a matter of loyalty to the crown? I decided to test that theory as I made sure to watch my step, “Your loyalty is noted,” I said, “Surely there’s something I could give you as a reward?”

“Your Highness, while I am loyal to the crown, this a matter of doing what’s right,” Ourri said, glancing back at me, “You are in need of assistance, and I am capable of giving it,” he said with a shrug, “It does not matter that you are a princess or that you are a woman and I am a man,” he turned back ahead as he kept walking, “All that matters is helping someone when you are able.”

I considered his words and his sense of right and wrong, his sense of altruism. I decided rather than question it, I would count on it, as it really was my best bet of making it through the woods and back home safely. Especially since it seemed to mean that he would keep that crossbow aimed at other things and not me. It seemed the dragon’s grace was still working in my favor as they’d blessed me with this hunter who’d come to my aid. Even if Ourri insisted he didn’t want a reward, I would make sure he got something befitting his efforts.

I glanced up and realized that following the walls of the city would have been more difficult than I surmised that it would be. While the walls were taller than the woods themselves, tall enough to keep people from scaling them should they be denied entry through the gates, the tops of the trees wove together thickly making it hard to see. Indeed, it was dark save for the patches of moonlight that broke through the trees. I looked towards Liam, who seemed sure-footed as he headed through the trees, knowing exactly where he was going.

As we continued, my mind began to wander since it didn’t need to focus terribly on the trek ahead of us. It took a fair amount of time to get out this way on horseback, and I remember asking Xythe what must have been a thousand times how much further we had to go. I was a fool for not realizing it sooner, realizing that he was leading me to what was clearly a precarious and dangerous situation for myself. I began to wonder what I would do when I saw him again because I was sure I would see him again. But how does one face down a person they thought was their friend after that person tries to take their life? I felt my heart ache at that thought, at the fact that no matter what happened I had lost someone dear to me.

Then other thoughts began to permeate and dominate my focus. I had almost died. Had I lived a life worth remembering? Worth mourning? Worth saving? I frowned a bit as I realized that I really hadn’t done much to contribute to my kingdom and its people. I was supposed to be queen someday, but so far, I’d done nothing to deserve that title, and if I were to continue on as I had been, it was likely I would have been some pawn for The Council to control. Sure my parents had made sure I knew the basics of the kingdom such as where the different cities and villages were, what the staple crops were in what areas, what trade cities had the trade routes and stuff of that nature. But what did I know about being a ruler? I didn’t know the finer details of politics because I had never been allowed to sit in on Council meetings, which also meant I didn’t know the current relations between the cities that the Council members represented. What excuse did I have? If I wanted to be a ruler of merit and prove I was serious, I should have forced my way in so that I could learn how things were properly done. There were things I could do for my people as well, things I should have been doing for them.

I looked at Ourri’s back as I thought, what could I do to guide my people through the woods as he was doing for me? What could I do to earn their loyalty and be a worthy successor of Sir Galil’s legacy? I would get my answer sooner rather than later, dear reader.

As I watched Ourri, a thought occurred to me, “Ourri,” he looked over his shoulder at me, “Inutore’s a day’s ride away. Why hunt here?” I raised a brow. Why hadn’t that thought occurred to me sooner? Oh right, the crossbow that hung on his back now had stolen my attention from that fact when he’d told me earlier.

Ourri cleared his throat and I could swear I saw his cheeks actually turn a shade of pink, “Well, normally, I wouldn’t,” he said, “But the game north of the lake is fabled for its size and difficulty. I was merely trying to see if the stories were true and perhaps catch something to sell in the city,” he explained. A completely normal and satisfactory reason for a hunter, I supposed. He looked at me a moment longer before asking, “If it’s alright, can I ask how you ended up so far away unattended.....Your Highness?” the title was an afterthought, a remembrance of who he was talking to other than just some stranger he’d found lost.

I sighed a bit, both at the question and at my growing weariness of trekking through the trees. How far had we gone while I was lost in my thoughts? My body was starting to catch up on everything it had been through, but we had a ways to go yet. As for the question, he was probably going to be the first of many who would ask me that, as it was a very good question. I guess I should be relieved if people asked it since it likely meant I didn’t present myself as the kind of idiot who would normally fall into such precarious situations. “I wasn’t unattended when I came out here. It was the person who attended me who tried to put an end to my life,” I hated saying the words out loud. That ache in my chest returned. I had trusted Xythe with my life. I had trusted him enough to abandon the guards that would usually attend me, especially at an event such as the one I was dressed for, the guards that would have never allowed me to end up as I had.

“Well, that being said, I’m honored that you saw fit to trust me,” Ourri said as he looked back at me again, and I felt a strange bubble of feeling inside me at the look on his face. Pity. He pitied me. I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about being pitied, though the immediate reaction was feeling shame. Why was that? Because of letting myself be tricked or because I had made myself look so weak as to be pitied?

“I don’t know if it’s trusting you, sir Ourri, or if I trust that if you wanted me dead, I would have been so before I realized you were ever there.”

“That would be true if I were some bandit. I thank Iara that that was not your fate,” he said, turning ahead and continuing to walk.

“Now if only Jirys would stop being so mischievous in the first place, Iara would stop having to save me.”

The twin goddesses Iara and Jirys. They were credited with the formation of our country, worshipped throughout the entirety of the kingdom of Charisia and the Empire of Caradia. Iara was seen as the peaceful twin, one that wanted to bring peace and happiness to their followers. Jirys was seen as a trickster and one that would punish those who did evil things or were disrespectful towards the goddesses. I said a silent prayer to them both, thanking them for their guidance and mercy, even if I wasn’t entirely sure it wasn’t the dragon’s grace. I thought it would safe to give them thanks anyway, lest Jirys seek to punish me for being ungrateful.

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Chapter 1- The Princess

He’d really done it. He’d tried to kill me.

I stood on the shore of the lake, staring up at the dark, rough, grey stone walls that surrounded the city I knew as home. My breath came in pants as my hair, gown, and body dripped and sagged under the weight of the water it had soaked up when someone I’d trusted as my friend and companion tried to drown me.

I know that there are more than two sides to every story, and in some stories, you’re the antagonist rather than the protagonist, but I couldn’t fathom how I’d ended up the antagonist of Xythe’s story. Or at least an antagonist worthy of being killed.

But I should start at the beginning. My name is Princess Alassea of Charisia, daughter of King Bhenar and Queen Rohesia. That name might not mean much to you yet, we’re only just being introduced; however, the fact I am a princess should be a fact worth noting.

The city I called home, Yraso, was the capital of the Kingdom of Charisia. It was a small kingdom that had only been a kingdom of its own since the years of my great-grandfather. When I was just a child, there were still places of these great walls that had yet to be completed, though they now loomed over me. It originally had started as several smaller independent cities and villages that came together in the hopes of the strength of numbers to protect their people from the various evils of the world. In my great-grandfather’s day, a council had been formed of the different mayors and governors of those cities and villages so that each had a voice and a chance to contribute to the decisions. They pooled together their resources and power to create Charisia and the charter to become a kingdom separate from that of the Empire of Caradia. Once they’d staked their claim, they decided they needed to have a singular person at the head of the council that could lead them and have the final word in decisions. It was my great-grandfather Galnil.

Galnil had been a formidable man from what I’d seen in paintings- tall, handsome, and imposing- and I’d heard tales of how he was a master of the sword and of the spell. How he would shake his head at me to know I’d let myself be led outside of the city walls, unarmed and unattended. I bet a man like him would have never been caught so off guard and unaware.

The person I’d followed out here, however, had been a servant that I’d come to trust. He’d served at my side for over two years, and in the time he’d done plenty to gain my trust and become a confidant for me. Xythe had been a kind person from the moment I’d met him. Our servants were all people who had come from families that couldn’t afford to live in the city any other way and were usually desperate to curry favor so that they could stay. Xythe had claimed that his family had died in his passage to Yraso, attacked by bandits, and he’d come to the city in hopes of finding the safety of its walls and a future. I wasn’t sure how he’d ended serving me, specifically, but I’d tried my best, as I did with most of the servants, to treat them with the dignity of a normal person, like we were equals, because what was different about us other than our titles and lots in life? Who would I be to try and lord that over them?

Ever since he’d started working for me, never once had Xythe done anything that would betray my trust. Why would I have assumed he would start now, tonight? Perhaps he’d always bore ill will towards me and put on a good show all this time in the hopes of committing the act he did that night.

I could still barely grasp it, even with the burn of my lungs and the weight of my gown as proof. I could still feel his hand on my head, pushing down with everything he was worth, just long enough until the folds of my gown had soaked through, weighing me down like an anchor and dragging me under the water.

I put my hand to the top of my head absently before I looked down at myself. I had torn the dress once I realized I was still amongst the living, shedding off layers of fabric and silks and baubles until I could swim back to the surface. Now it hung limply, looking quite like someone had attacked it with rusty sheers, leaving my legs exposed from the knees down. It still felt heavy, like a reminder of the fact it would have been my death sentence if Sir Galnil’s line was one so easily dispatched.

I mentioned before that Sir Galnil had been known to be a master of spells, and a part of that was because our family was magically blessed. Our powers could surpass that of your everyday mage, enough power to protect our city and its people, and it was part of the reason Galnil had been chosen in the first place. Our family line, however, was not just talented, however. We had been given the blessing from the first dragon to walk the world that could control water, Muiyondra. This blessing had been from long before even Galnil’s time, but it had passed through the generations, even to me it seemed. While it wasn’t like I could call on and speak to Muiyondra, I don’t believe the dragon showed themselves to mortals anymore, it did make trying to drown me a rather futile effort.

My lungs ached nonetheless because adjusting to being able to breathe under the water took a frame of mind I hadn’t been in when I first started to struggle against my attacker. In fact, I had almost forgotten it save for when the darkness had started to close in on me, both from sinking deeper into the lake that had been chosen for my fate and from not being able to breathe. I lifted my hands to find them shaking, no doubt from the rush of panic and fear that had completely consumed me as I thrashed about trying to save myself. I’d almost died. Had I forgotten the dragon’s blessing a moment longer, it would have been a waste, and the line of Sir Galnil the Great would have died out with my stupidly overtrusting self.

I finally stepped forward from where I’d been standing this whole while, recollecting facts and reliving my moment of almost demise, my legs shaking as well as I stepped over rocks and through the mud until I made my way out of the lake completely and sat down on a fallen log by the shore. The walls were close enough to tower over me, but not close enough that anyone would have really been able to witness what just occurred. He’d really done a swell job picking out the spot, too far in either direction and a sentry tower would have been able to see the ordeal. Had anyone heard her splashing about? Had she actually managed to scream, or had that been in her head?

To try and quell my shaking, I tried to assess the facts as I knew them- it was easier to do than to continue to speculate on just how close to death’s door I’d been. Xythe had said I was the only one, that I was the sole target, but he didn’t say why it had to be me. Had I somehow offended him? Was I just that bad at reading people that I never realized his contempt for me? Or was he hired? If that was the case, the bigger problem was knowing who hired him and why. The only way I’d ever get any answers was to confront the person who’d attacked me in the first place.

Surely by now, the castle was in sheer pandemonium trying to figure out where she was. She had slipped away during a dinner with the council’s families and some of the representatives from the neighboring villages that were a part of Charisia but hadn’t been folded into Yraso when it formed. I’d been wearing a gown befitting that of a princess- layers thick velvety red fabrics with ornate trims and metal and jewels decorating the bodice. The metals and jewels probably in and of themselves weren’t that heavy, but I removed them anyways in my attempt to swim to the surface, wanting nothing to slow my progress. The thickness of the fabrics and the layers of them had been the real problem, plus the bodice was so tight I could barely breathe normally much less when water was rushing into my lungs.

I shook out my hands as I thought some more, trying to force them to stop shaking so I could move, so I could find a way back into the city proper. It was dark out, and there were surely unsavory folks about, besides my would-be killer. Would he return to the city and feign innocence? Would he run away? Did he lie and perhaps was now trying to attack my family as well? All questions and no answers, and it’d stay that way so long as I sitting there.

As a princess, I suppose it made some sense that I would have some enemies simply by being me, but I couldn’t think of which council family would stand to gain anything from it. A majority of the council still believed that our family was the one to lead the people, mostly because of our magical prowess and the fact we’d had mostly peace in our time save for the bandits and their ilk. There were things that needed improvement, certainly, but enough for someone to try and drown her? And it wasn’t as if killing her guaranteed any other family the chance to rule anyways, it would have to be a council decision, and the people themselves would have a chance to have a say on something so large a matter at the heir. My grandfather King Deverick had given the people power when it came to council decisions that would affect the populace as a whole.

I sighed once I’d quelled the shaking to some extent and gotten back to my feet. I had lost my shoes at some point, probably when she was thrashing about trying not to die. I looked around, realizing that the horses that Xythe and I had ridden out here were no longer there. Of course not. I’d come out this far with him on horseback with no guards because I trusted him and because he’d said he had something important to show me. It was something important alright, traitor.

I patted my cheeks, trying to get my focus in on the bigger picture. I needed to get home, address the elephant in the room that was the attempt on my life. My parents weren’t half so foolish to ever end up alone in a situation as I had, but there was no way they could be on their guard with every single person all of the time. There was always someone to trust enough to let down your guard around. What if I didn’t go home and warn them of this treachery and something happened to my parents, would the kingdom be plunged into chaos? It was just barely starting to stand on its own, establishing trade with Caradia and Danbu, the countries that surrounded us to the east and west. It would be a disservice to do nothing and potentially allow it to fall in its infancy.

As the heir to the throne, it was my responsibility to stop such things, right? To do so, I needed to catch Xythe, question him, and find out why this had happened.

I had just steeled up my nerves enough to turn and start walking when I heard a noise in the trees up ahead of me. I stiffened, panic rushing through my veins. Was it Xythe? Did he realize that his attempt had failed and he’d come back to finish the job? Well, I couldn’t just let him walk all over me a second time! Worse yet, was it some kind of beast of the woods coming to make a meal of me. That would be my luck, wouldn’t it? My pulse pounded in my ears as I was struggling on what to do just as the source of the noise came my way...

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Prompt #17- Destruct

Synelia gripped the handle of the staff with which she was training and struck out, striking the dummy across the head. She did this a few more times, her focus honed in on what she was doing, striking as hard as she could, leaving marks across the wooden head even though there was no blade on the staff. She shook her hands out after a doing this to her satisfaction, getting out the tension from her system.

Since coming here, she'd yet to make much progress on her mission and she hadn't much found a purpose for herself. Sure she'd done some simple merc work, but what kind of purpose was that?

She sighed aloud, realizing she shouldn't complain, many people made a... respectable... living doing mercenary work, and it wasn't like she exactly had a track record to convince people to hire her on for anything more substantial. Being a part of the Garlean military for over a decade would do little to convince people she was exactly trustworthy.

But she hadn't expected there to be little to no evidence of a Saewynn Provost anywhere. Her mother and father had once been generals for the Ala Mhigan forces, as she'd ascertained from diaries of her mothers that she'd found buried in the basement of her father's home, probably hidden from him from the start hence why'd he'd never found them to get rid of them. Her father was wont to destruct anything that went against his desires or narrative.

She supposed she should head to Ala Mhigo itself to look for answers, or perhaps even the place known as Little Ala Mhigo in Thanalan, but something kept her from going. She'd passed through places that could have gotten her there faster on her way here to Limsa, but there was almost a fear of going and confronting the people she'd helped fight against all those years....a guilt she wasn't ready to confront.

She sighed, shaking her head before gripping the staff again and striking out so hard she knocked the head off the dummy, earning a disproving look from the guard standing nearby that was letting people use them. She cleared her throat, set the staff down against a nearby wall and started to walk away.

Perhaps...no, not perhaps, but rather for sure.... she hadn't found her answers yet because she was too afraid to face what she'd done... It wasn't just things her father tended to ruin...but lives as well...

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Prompt #16- Crane

Ruven sat at the upstairs table of his home, enjoying a cup of tea and tart when a couple of local children came hurrying inside. News of his little toy shop and bakery opening up had spread a bit around the Lavender Beds and every once and awhile, some one would pop in interested. While the Lavender Beds might have been meant for Adventurer's and the like, it certainly had its fair share of visitors nonetheless and Adventurer's families.

Now, why would someone such as Ruven have a dainty little toy shop and bakery someone might wonder. He certainly didn't look like he even fit in sitting there in his somewhat grungy attire, hair a ruffled mess, glass eye exposed as he'd taken his eye patch off for a time (though he rushed to put it back on so as to not startle the poor kids), and wearing his darker colors as he was wont to do. But he had a reason for wanting to see the joy on their faces as they explored the shop, their parents catching up and apologizing to him with a slight double take. He'd caught them off guard.

Ruven's own childhood had been full of misery and turmoil, a part of him wanted to make sure that other children didn't experience what he had. Having been forced into a labor camp and then into the military by the Empire in the occupied areas of Ala Mhigo, he'd earned a fair number of scars for no other reason that trying to defy his fate. It took some doing and some time, but eventually he did manage to escape it, got to experience as a teenager what it was like to have friends and allies, but as an adult he found himself with the strong desires to keep other children from ever having to experience those nightmares he once went through.

The children went over to the counter, craning their necks to see the sweets that stood on display, and Ruven stood helping them to get the ones they wants down, thanking their parents as they paid and watching them leave with smiles on their faces. He didn't feel it was too much to want that sort of happy time for other families, was it? He took a deep breath as he took his seat again.

He normally wouldn't be spending his time so idly, but working with the Garden again had him sometimes twiddling his thumbs as he waited for them to be called on missions. That and no one had come seeking his employment for mercenary work recently either. Perhaps the toy store was a bit too strong of a front? He had a bar space down below for his clients, but he wondered if they'd gotten the wrong idea. He'd have to reach out to his connections and make sure people were aware he was still available. He had a retainer on hand, he'd just make them run the store while he was out.

He tapped his finger on the side of his tea cup before standing, "Maybe I ought to move the sweets to a lower shelf for them to be able to see them better," he murmured

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Prompt #11: Preaching to the Choir

"Boss, you really ought to take a break," a Roegadyn male calls up to Yasukage as he looks over various papers from their previous missions, making sure that nothing was missing so that he could file it all away and be done with it before their next.

"I can take a break when I'm finished, Rhylharr," he replied.

"Shoulda known better than to try and get him to put those papers down, Rhyl," Raelthota laughed from her own seat, drinking some water after training, "He's always been that way!"

"I know, but for once, you could leave it until later, come on to the Coin and Coffer!" Rhylharr came over towards the banister, looking up at Yasukage.

"You know the paperwork needs to be completed. Go on without me."

"He's not the type for bars anyways," A Lalafel woman spoke up as she walked up the stairs to where he was, "That's for the rest of you lot," she sniffed a bit.

"You and Awayuki go to a different place, but it's still a tavern nonetheless, so don't act so smug," a Lalafel male retorted, sharpening his daggers.

"You mind your business, Mujen!" she huffed, stomping her foot and smoothing out her dress a moment after like she couldn't believe she'd let herself get worked up.

"The papers will still be there another time," A Miqo'te spoke up and the Hyur woman to her right nodded agreement before the both of them hugged onto the Raen male, one around his neck and the other around his waist, making him jump and drop his papers, "C'mon! We'll even help tomorrow, promise!" she giggled a bit as they let go and moved back, having accomplished their goal of getting him to put the papers down.

"I never took you two to be a part of the group to be so determined to get me to "relax more"," Yasukage looked at them, "V'nbolo and Cecily," he sighed a bit and shook his head, "But you're all preaching to the choir," he said as he picked the papers back up, "I would like to relax more and go out with you all more, but these papers are almost completed. Go out ahead of me and I will catch up before even Hastaloeya catches a buzz."

There was a bit of laughter on the other Roegadyn's expense before the bulk of the group started out, leaving an Raen female and the Lalafel woman from before, "Sir, if you'd ever like a quieter evening, you are free to join the two of us in Vesper Bay," Awayuki, the Raen, said.

"Maybe next time I'll come with you and Kelmomo," Yasukage smiled at them, "But for today, it seems I shall be going to the Coffer," he said before looking back down. He could see them look at each other out of the corner of his eye, then bow, and head out as well, leaving him there alone.

He sighed in a bit of relief at the quiet after having spent a majority of the day with the lot of them. Between their mission dealing with a small batch of bandits recently and then training with them today, it seemed he'd had no separation from the lot of them lately. He was glad for the slight reprieve even if he did plan to rejoin them. He set the papers down for a moment and thought, were they preaching to the choir? He'd learned his work ethic from Amaelia when it came to paperwork, maybe he really could learn to take a break more often.., he looked back at the paper, judged how close to completion it was... and then stood and started out of the squad room. Maybe he could still catch up to them.

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Prompt #9: Friable

Rhysln walked through The Mist, making her way back towards the Gardens. She'd managed to delegate some of her workloads to her father and even her sister, allowing her to make it back to the Gardens in time for class the other day, though the fight with the ogre had gone about as well as everything had for her since she'd come to the Garden. She was beginning to realize all her years of private tutoring hadn't prepared her for execution in the field at all.

Every time Rhysln had tried to fight or spar using her magic in any event since coming here, it was as if she'd never cast a spell in her life. She was weak and couldn't land a hit on a target if she tried. It was frustrating, and it was a rude awakening. It made her question her enrollment and her abilities almost every time.

But even now, she shook her head, stopping as she walked and patted her cheeks. Her resolve couldn't be as friable as the sand on the beach of the residential district. She had to keep trying, keep pushing.

"It's like I said for the tournament," She murmured to herself as she clenched her hands into fists, "This is to carve my path, my future. Only I have the right and ability to set my path," she said simply, nodding her head as if agreeing with someone in a conversation, even though that conversation was simply with herself.

She looked up at the school as she could see it from where she was and took a deep breath in, letting it out slowly, "We just need more practice," She said, "So more practice we will get," she trudged forwards, pulling her staff from her back and clutching it between her hands.

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Prompt #8: Adroit

Ruven stood in the training yard at the Garden, twirling his training daggers somewhat carelessly as his mind wandered, thinking back over his conversation with Amaelia, talking about his father. She hadn't gone into a lot of detail, probably not wanting to give him a big head by comparing him to his father, but he hadn't had a chance to really know him growing up.

He'd been whisked away when his mother passed away, his father away on some mission for the Resistance. He'd been a foolish lad who thought he could take on a group of imperial guards and he was lucky they thought to give him a better use than decide to kill him outright.

Unfortunately for them, he'd eventually use what they thought him against them and with the help of a fellow rogue by the name of Fjola, he was able to take out the guards he travelled with and escape their clutches. She'd been the one to suggest he enroll in a place like the Garden (though he never was exactly sure why he'd chosen this place out of all of them), and now he felt he was quite a deal more clever than he'd ever been before.

No, not just clever, what was a word Amaelia would use for it....adroit? Was that the right word? It was a bit of an odd sounding word in and of itself, but he was fairly certain it was a word that meant clever.

He chuckled to himself as he caught the dagger by the handle before flinging the dagger, half heartedly really at the dummy watching it bounce off the head of it, "Boom, headshot," he muttered to himself, smirking and making a dramatic fist pump. He walked over and picked up the dagger from where it landed.

He definitely had learned a great deal since he'd come to the Garden and not just in the ways of battle and strategies, but also in how to open up to people, to trust people to have his back, and to even entertain the idea of true friendships.

But he couldn't hide under the umbrella of SeeD forever. One day, he wanted to step into the shadows and become a proper merc, establish a reputation for himself though perhaps with his line of work not having a reputation was just as good. He put his hand to his chin, then smirked, "Now that's a question for someone truly adroit isn't it?" he chuckled before turning to start properly training.

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Prompt #7: Speculate

Sakura sighed heavily as she sat down at a table in the Carline Canopy. She'd spent a good portion of her day asking around to travelers coming into the area if they'd met anyone by the name of Yasukage on their travels. She didn't know what her brother looked like anymore, as it had been over a decade since she'd seen him, but alas, it seemed without more of a lead, she was doomed to never be able to find him.

All she had to go on was that he was a Raen like herself and probably had similar red or pink hair. So far, no one had reported meeting such a man and she could only speculate as to what could have possibly happened to her brother in the years since his kidnapping.

She'd been left for dead along side her parents, who had both unfortunately passed away, and he'd been taken, though she never could figure out why. Just unfortunate turn of events? Wrong place, wrong time? She'd managed to stowaway on a ship and make it this far when she was a child, meeting up in Ul'Dah with a woman named Astrid who'd taken good care of her and helped her to be more familiar with the area and to get on her feet, directing her to the gladiator's guild.

But all this time had passed since then and she hadn't found hide nor hair of her brother. It really made her wonder, and sometimes those wonderings and speculations about what had happened to him weren't pleasant thoughts.

She shook her head and stood up from her chair so fast that it caused some people to turn and look at her in surprise. She clutched her hands into fists as her side as she gave got a determined look to her face, "No!" she said out loud, "I have to believe he's alright! I just haven't looked in the right places yet. I haven't looked outside Gridania in a while. I should get leave and try to go to Ul'Dah again and look there, start from the top!" she said to herself, but remembered her duty to the Garden as well. She took a deep breath, "They can do without me for a little while, right?" she murmured to herself before starting quickly back out of the canopy and towards the Adder's Nest.

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Prompt #6: Avatar

Mylia sat in the school longue, stirring her spoon around idly in her bowl of soup as she thought. Since she'd been there, she'd only won a single spar against someone, with the first time being an ass whooping by one of the SeeD members, a commander no less. But it hadn't upset her, she hadn't really expected to win, but she was proud of having gotten in a blow at least before he handed her her ass.

People like him, and people like Vumera, to her were avatars of strength. Not just because they were physically strong, but they were mentally and emotionally strong as well, having endured more than they cared to share. It wasn't like either of them had ever told her that they weren't sharing something, but it just was a way that they carried themselves. Like there was something on their shoulders that the rest of the world just couldn't see.

She wondered if they ever trusted anyone enough to share those burdens, or if a part of their strength came from only relying on themselves in the end. Because ultimately, she remembered a crew member saying once that al you have is yourself to rely on. Even with friends and comrades, if you don't believe in yourself, aren't sure of yourself, then you can't succeed.

She idolized people like Arcavius (the SeeD member who beat her) and Vumera (her ex-first mate who'd all but been a surrogate mother upon The Burning Rose). She wanted to be as strong as them, to be able to stand on her own two feet confidently and know that when push comes to shove, she wouldn't budge. To her, that's what strength meant. It might be a bit idealistic, maybe even a bit naive, but finding the strength to stand that tall meant having the strength to know what it takes to get there.

"I wonder if I just asked if either of them would tell me what it took to get that strong," she mused aloud before setting her spoon down. She lifted the bowl and drank out of it, not entirely sure why she'd been bothering with the spoon in the first place. She set her bowl down once she'd drained it of its contents before standing up from the table and taking the tray back towards the kitchen.

"For now, I guess I'll just focus on the strength I do know," she said to herself, clenching a fist and boxing at the air, "It'll have to do," she said before dropping her fists, resting her hands on her sides. Would that strength be enough?

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Prompt #5: Do you remember? (Extra Credit)

Amaelia sat at her desk, pouring over the papers Cardief had given her to sort through, trying to establish a timeline from the various documents. She took her glasses off for a moment, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"Don't forget to take a break every once and awhile," she looked up to see Ruven standing in her door frame. Sneaky rogue, when did he get there? "Sorry, you were quite enraptured in the work, I didn't want to interrupt, but you've clear been at it for a good while, so it couldn't hurt to take a break."

Normally she might tell him off and for him to mind his own business but his words struct a cord in the back of her mind. Half the reason she put up with him coming round every time he'd been on a mission for SeeD was because he reminded her of someone. Someone who no longer was.

Rirek had been a quirky fellow who never seemed to care much how cold Amaelia was towards him, he kept coming back 'round anyways. He for some reason was always concerned about her, catching her usually in studies or working away like she was now. He'd say something similar to her, telling her to remember to take a break, that the papers would still be there even she looked away for a little while.

"Hey, staring at me like that makes me think you're about to freeze me over," Ruven interjected her thoughts and made her blink. She then noticed the tear on his somewhat bloodied pants and a bandage.

"What happened this time?" she put her glasses back on and looked back at the papers in front of her.

"Ah, just a bug bite," Ruven waved his hand, "I'll be good as new in no time, and this one won't even leave a scar!" he chuckled a bit.

"You ought to pay better attention to your surroundings when you're out on the field."

"Eh, maybe," he just smirked and didn't bother to try and argue with it. Either because he agreed or just didn't see the point. It was quiet for a moment before he asked, "So what were you thinking about just now?"

Amaelia gave a sigh, realizing he wasn't going to leave her in peace until he was satisfied she'd taken a sufficient break. He really was related... She looked up at him, closing the folder and her notes for now and leaned on her desk, "Do you remember your father?" she asked him.

Ruven seemed a bit puzzled. He'd been all but raised as a child soldier under the iron fist of the Empire before someone managed to get him out, though who he'd never confessed or admitted that information. He shook his head, "I'm afraid I don't," he said, "Did you know him?"

Ruven was one of the few aware of her situation, so she nodded, "I did. You're a lot like him, and I'm not sure how much of that fact is a good thing," she mused but Ruven gave a childish, lopsided grin.

"So I get my charisma honest-"

"If you want to call it that."

"-that's good to know!" he chuckled, nodding his head, "So you were remembering him?"

"Too soon to forget the likes of someone like Rirek Voss," she murmured, looking towards the window, "Even if I still don't know exactly what happened to him." Knowing what Ruven went through, it was unlikely Rirek was still alive. There was no way he'd have left his son to go through that.

"Don't go forgetting me just because I'm off on some adventure, Mae," Rirek had said the last time she'd seen him, long before he'd sired Ruven, "I'll be heartbroken if you greet me with a "who are you" again," he'd chuckled.

"Are they fond memories?" Ruven asked, bringing her back to the present again. Amaelia was quiet before nodding and he smiled again, "Man, getting you to smile is hard," he chuckled, "You don't even smile when remembering good things."

Amaelia's lip twitched into a bit of a smirk at that, "You seem to forget that I've told you I like to keep such emotions private," she said, "Between the two of us, you really ought to be the one with the better memory." She was teasing.

Ruven put his hand to his chest, acting shocked at the fact she was teasing him, earning an eye roll from her, "C'mon on, Mae," he said, earning a reaction of her brows shooting up at being called the same thing his father had once called her, "Let's go get some tea and snacks. Then I'll leave you alone to get back to your work."

Amaelia tapped her pen for a moment before setting it down and standing, "Fine," she murmured and started out of the room with him.

At one time she'd been afraid she would forget Rirek, after he'd been gone for so long, but here was his son, practically a copy of him, personality wise anyways. At least now if he did ever show back up and ask "Do you remember?" she could say "Yes." She smiled softly to herself behind Ruven's back as she followed him at the thought.

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Prompt #4- Baleful

Synelia stode through Limsa Lominsa, her head on a swivel as she walked. She wasn't quite used to being able to walk about so freely, not having orders sending her to and fro, but here she stood.

In the back of her mind, it was impossible to rid herself of the panic of retribution for leaving as she had, without warning or permission. Not just from the commanders and higher ups from the Garlean military ranks that she'd abandoned, but from her father as well.

Once an Ala Mhigan general, he became a turn coat and served the Garleans instead, leading to countless being injured or killed. Her mother had managed to escape and it was her that Synelia had left in hopes of finding. She wanted to question her; why didn't she stay loyal to her father knowing the potential consequences, and why hadn't she taken Synelia with her when she left? The man had taken his anger and frustration out on Synelia, making it to where until she was a grown woman, she never once imagined the possibility of stepping so far out of line as she had.

She could see those baleful eyes in her mind's eye now, staring her down as he would raise his fist...

She shook her head quickly, shaking the thought away. He wouldn't come so far after her, especially with things the way that they were on the front lines, he was too busy serving his new masters. She swallowed back her fears and focused on looking around again. She had no idea how to even start looking for her mother, but before that, she needed to find some way to support herself here. Mercenary work would be the easiest thing, but that required she approach people.

Hence why she was walking towards the Drowning Wench when she'd stopped to think. Pushing those eyes out of her mind, she continued forwards, embracing the fact that the dark days could be completely behind her if she just let herself be free of them. Here, she had a shot at something new. Approaching the barkeep, she focused on what the future could bring and what kind of future she wanted for herself.

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Prompt #3: Scale

Rhysln sat at her desk, pinching the bridge of her nose. Papers stood stacked in front of her, shipping manifests from her father's company that she'd been studying to get a better understanding of some of the goings-on of his business so that if and when she was to take it over she would be able to do all that would be required of her.

She'd been preparing for that eventual take over most of her life, as she was her father's oldest, and never before had she ever voiced any complaints about this. She accepted her fate to some extent, even if a part of her still wished she had tried to fight it a bit more. Her younger sister, Nautica, had free reign to do as she pleased and often insisted that Rhysln do the same.

"If only it were that simple," she murmured to herself. She set the papers to the side before standing and walking away from the desk, going to look out the window, a window that faced into the Beds, towards other homes. She found herself idly wondering what sort of lives they led, what sort of things they were experiencing. Were they good and happy things? She hoped so. Why? She didn't know any of them. But that didn't stop her from hoping nonetheless.

"May the scales be ever tipped in your favor," she murmured to herself, looking at the house across the way. It wasn't that they weren't tipped in hers, she could hardly complain about the life she had, it just wasn't necessarily a life she wanted. But that was why she had joined the Gardens, wasn't it? In hopes of forging a path for herself, in tipping the scales a bit to give her more control over what time she had.

"Sister," she jumped a little, having been in her thoughts, when she turned and looked at Nautica standing in the door, carrying a tray with tea and snacks on it, "You keep staring at other people's home and you're going to start giving them a bad impression of you- as if you're some kind of stalker."

Rhysln blinked at the observation before giving a small laugh, "I guess you might be right," she said as she turned away and walked over, taking the tray, "Will you join me? I need a break."

Nautica smiled at her, her freckled cheeks dimpling a little, "But of course."

No, she really couldn't complain about the way the scales were set. And yet...

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Prompt #2: Aberrant

"Well, chalk that one up to one more wound."

Ruven grunted as he pulled himself up off the ground, kicking the banemite's now limp stinger away from him. He'd let his guard down while out in the Shroud and the blasted creature had managed to run up on him. He easily dispatched it once it had gotten on him, but not before it bit him.

He looked at the bite on his leg and sighed a bit, "Ruined my damn pants too." He looked around, grounding himself in the moment again before starting to walk back towards Gridania, not wanting to waste his aether on such a short trip. Well, at least he'd have more time to think, even if the thoughts would be mildly interrupted by the throbbing and aching of his leg. Finding some aid would be a good idea, but it wasn't a horrible wound, nothing he'd bleed out from between here and there.

"I can hear it now from the ice queen," He sighed, "What kind of rogue can I call myself if some oversized bug managed to get its teeth into me," he shook his head. Amaelia was never exactly the cheeriest of people, but her disappointment was always palpable whenever he got into situations she thought were clearly avoidable. Which this one was, to be fair. He usually ended up in those situations because of his aberrant choices during a mission while trying to devise a way to accomplish whatever tasks lay before him. It wasn't as if his choices sided on reckless, but they weren't always wholly thought out before he acted on them. He usually thought he was having a stroke of genius! And he got the task done too, on top of that, so what if he ended up with a few extra bumps and bruises along the way? He certainly didn't mind.

For instance! When it came to gathering intel once, he was supposed to just eavesdrop on a fellow, but the guy was in a bar, it was the perfect opportunity to interact with him and just get the information from his free following lips. Who wouldn't continue to drink if they're in the presence of good company and good conversation? And he did it without ever actually blowing his cover! If you give a fake name while being a fake person, then the cover is doubly thick! Right? Anyways, Amaelia had not at all found that idea enlightened, and he though she might freeze him over in an instant, even though he had gotten the information she was after. Ah well.

For now, he just had to limp his way back, and report in on his most recent escapade. He had been sent out to sabotage a transport of goods by some other employer and had decided while on the mission that he didn't all together like the plan. The plan involved killing the drivers of the transport and destroying the goods, but that was simply overkill. Setting the whole of the transport on fire would destroyed the goods just as well, and there wasn't any unnecessary deaths. He wasn't sure if the employer would be too pleased at them still being alive, but as long as he got paid, he could handle a bit of disappointment.

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Prompt #1: Foster

Mylia stood on the shores of the mist, hands on her side as she faced the open water, listening as the waves washed up and away, over and over. Her red hair stuck a bit to her forehead with the salty spray, but she never seemed to mind it much.

Normally she might not be lazing about but training, but on such a bright and clear day, she found her mind just wandering away as she thought about her experiences here of late. Being at Eorzea Garden had certainly started something new for her, a new focus in life, a new set of relationships, relationships she hoped to foster and grow into something strong and true.

She'd met a handful of people through classes, trips out into the Shroud, sparring, and training. She knew some already considered themselves her friend, but she wanted to continue to get to know them and become true friends that they could rely on.

For now, she took a deep breath, turned, and started to jog down the beach, heading back towards the campus, figuring if she wanted to be someone they could rely on, she should train and become strong enough to have their backs no matter what.