Cassandra Pendragon

It was truly remarkable how the company of the ones I cherished blew away my worries. Time ticked by while we fooled around and talked about all the little things that usually never came up but were still unbelievably important, like our favourite colours, my inborn hatred of dresses and my mom’s trouble with adjusting to living on four paws and her ravenous appetite for raw meat. None of us was willing to leave the shelter our stories provided, a sanctuary from the chaos outside the door.

Somewhere between listening to Ahri’s evocative descriptions of the small forest dwelling she grew up in, the nearly imperceptible strain in her voice when she talked about her family lost on everyone but me, and Reia’s enthusiastic tale about all the small marvels she had come across during her quick visit to the market, I realised that this was what had set Ahri and me apart from the other immortals for longer than I could remember. Maybe even before we had taken in a spark of mortality, a spark that had allowed us to live. We didn’t seek power but to protect the ones we loved, we didn’t strive to rule nor to remake the world as we saw fit.

We simply wanted a place in it, a place to live in without fear, a place to call home, not only for us, but for everyone else as well. That was the reason we fought, we struggled and it was worth the blood we shed and the pain we had to endure, at least to me. Briefly I wondered how Mephisto had ended up at our side, but I imagined for him it was much less personal. He was here out of principle and spite, and maybe, just maybe, because even his immortal heart wasn’t comfortable with idly sitting by anymore.

I flinched when someone pinched my side, Reia’s bright eyes sparkling just below my chin.

“You’ve gone awfully quiet. Penny for your thoughts?” I smiled at her and flicked her forehead.

“I do that from time to time,” I replied while she rubbed the spot I had hit. “Gives me an air of mystery and wisdom, don’t you agree?”

“Well, maybe it would, if you were dressed and didn’t have a severe case of bed hair. Seriously, it looks like you haven’t gotten up in days,” she added, laughing.

“Wise ass. But you aren’t wrong. Maybe you could ask my jailers if I’m allowed to go downstairs. I’m still awfully hungry and I wouldn’t mind seeing the others. Where’s Mordred, anyways? I thought he might at least check on me once.”

“Your brother’s got better things to do,” my mom replied. She had managed to learn Viyara’s skill to include everyone present in her telepathy. “He’s sharing a room with Erya. He visited a few times while you were asleep but I imagine they’ve got to make up for lost time while the fey was babysitting your sister.”

“She wasn’t babysitting me,” Reia interjected forcefully. “Honestly she’s dragged us around as much as she looked after us. The woman simply can’t sit still, she’s even worse than Estrella.”

“Or you,” I asked. “Which reminds me, why are you even here? Not that I’m seriously complaining but I left you a task, didn’t I? What on Gaya made you think it’d be a good idea to hide on a ship that was headed for one of the most vile parts of our continent, with your friends in tow?”

“That it was headed for one of the most vile parts of our continent? Also… I didn’t want to stay behind. My whole… family is here and I think I’ve proven that I’m more skilled than the average little girl. And I brought Archy and Estrella along, so I could keep an eye on them. Plus, I’m older than you, Cassy. I simply didn’t want to do as you said,” she added and stuck out her tongue. “It should be the other way around, shouldn’t it?” This time, I pinched her ears, a little more forcefully and even though she spluttered her complaints, she didn’t move away from my touch.

“Tell you what, once you’ve saved me from slavers, an ancient dragon and a curse, I’ll gladly follow your orders, oh wise one.”

“No way, that’s my job,” Ahri chimed in. “But if you truly want Cassy to listen to you, I’ve got an idea or two. She’s easy to bribe. Cuddling works, most of the time, food too, if you have it on hand. I wouldn’t recommend threatening her, though. That usually goes very poorly.”

“Hey, you can’t divulge all my secrets. Besides, you’re no better. I bet if she looked at you with her puppy dog eyes, you wouldn’t manage to say no to anything. But I was actually going somewhere with this, believe it or not. Reia, you do know that we can’t take you with us all the time, right? No, don’t pout. I get it, I really do, but I wasn’t just making things up, when we left you with the dwarfs. I can believe I’m saying this, but… you truly have a responsibility and I need to know that you want just run away, every time you feel like it. You want to be treated like an adult, fine, but then you’ve also got to start acting like one. Which includes not shirking away from your tasks, tedious as they might be.”

“Look who’s talking,” my mom intervened with a barking laugh. “I’ve never even heard of a princess who’s been hiding away more than you when it comes to anything political.”

“Not helping,” I growled. “Like, not at all. Besides, I’ve always done my part, haven’t I? I might have cursed a little and made a fuss, but I never left you hanging, not even once.”

“Not even when you skewered a petitioner in the middle of court? Or when you sulked for a week because I made you wear a dress? Or when…” I raised my hands in defeat.

“Alright, maybe I overdid it, once or twice. You know what, you explain to her why she can’t always do what she wants.”

“Why should I? I already failed miserably with you, so go ahead, teach me how it’s done, oh wise one.”

“You know, I’d really appreciate it, if you weren’t acting like I wasn’t here,” Reia mumbled. “My mother,” she paused, a shadow rising behind her eyes but before any of us could react, she hurriedly pushed on: “she always made deals with me. Like, I got to learn a spell of my choosing for every month I did my chores without complaining.” I wriggled my tails from under the blanket and gingerly wrapped them around her. While she relaxed against me and my mum rubbed her cheek against hers, a soft purr rumbling through her body, I whispered:

“That doesn’t sound half bad, little one. What do you propose?” She sniffled, once, her hands compulsively buried in my mother’s fur, but her voice remained steady when she replied:

“How about this: I’ll do whatever you tell me to, but for every order I follow, I get one question. You’ll all answer truthfully and not try to trick or deceive me.”

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“We wouldn’t do that, anyways,” Ahri replied. “What do you get out of it?” Reia laughed at her, and even though it sounded a little strained, it felt honest.

“Really now… let’s see, tell me, how did the two of you meet for the first time? And I mean truly the first time, how did you fall in love and what exactly are you?” “I…I,” my fiancee stuttered.

“That’s what I thought. So, what do you say? Think you can live with that?”

“What happens if we can’t answer, or simply don’t want to?” My mum inquired

“Nothing, much, but I won’t do as I’m told,” the little vixen replied with a bright smile.

“I think that could work,” I said slowly. “With a few exceptions. First,” I indicated Ahri and myself, “our past is off limits. I don’t mind you asking but I won’t be coerced into answering. Same goes for spells and rituals. Second, and I hope you know this already, if we’re in any immediate danger, you WILL do as you’re told, without a discussion. And third, you’re not going to use this deal as an excuse to manipulate us by, let’s say… prodding for the things you know we don’t want to talk about and bringing them up every time you don’t feel like listening.” She pursued her lips in thought and her resemblance to my father whenever he had gotten lost in his work was striking enough that I couldn’t imagine how I hadn’t seen it sooner. Without the female softness to her features and a darker fur, she would be his spitting image, like the backside of a coin.

For a moment, a wave of grief and, as much as I hated to admit it, anger, surged through me. I missed him, but every time I looked into Reia’s eye, I couldn’t help but remember what her birth meant. I wouldn’t take it out on the girl, no way in hell, but I really wanted to smack my dad seven ways to Sunday. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen, ever, and I had to be careful to not fall into the same pit I had feared my mother might tumble into. If I allowed the misdeeds of a dead man to define who he was for me, I would never again be able to remember him the way I wanted to. Crap, life could really be difficult.

“And you’re not going for repetitions,” my mom added and plucked me out of my thoughts. “You won’t pose the same question twice. If we can agree on that, I think it’ll be fine with me.”

“Spoil sport,” Reia mumbled under her breath. “Alright… so, what do you want me to do?” I laughed softly, even though I imagined it sounded a little strained.

“I guess the better question would be: what do you want to know? If there’s something on your mind, just tell us. You can still ask, can you not, even without any leverage.” She bit her lip, her gaze travelling between us and then, it spilled out of her in one uninterrupted rush:

“Everything, I’m not stupid, I’ve already pieced together a few things, you’re older than you should be, you know more, than you should, and don’t even get me started on the things you’ve done, the transformations, the spells, your friends, nothing makes sense, I don’t even know where to begin, but for now, please, just tell me, are you gods? Like the ones they taught us about back home? Am I living in one of the ancient stories? Is there actually some kind of truth to the legends?” I blinked, caught completely off guard. And then I had to laugh from the bottom of my heart.

“Don’t let Mephisto hear that, he would box your ears for that particular comparison,” I pressed out, hardly able to breath. For a second I didn’t know myself where my mirth was coming from but then it dawned on me. I had been so busy doubting us, our abilities and our chances in a world that seemed dead set on throwing everything it had in our way, that I had never truly paused to think about what we had actually achieved and how it must appear to someone from the outside. First and foremost, we were still alive and that wasn’t a mean feat, not at all.

“What she’s trying to say when she’s not busy choking,” Ahri intervened, through a small lipped smile, “is no, we are not. I guess, if you want to reference the old stories, you could call us half breeds, but we’re not really descendants of some deity, we’re just not… completely mortal.”

Reia’s eyes went wide and she whispered: “so it’s true, you really are…” she turned towards my mum. “You as well,” she all but whispered.

“Not quite, and neither was your father. What they are, it’s not tied to their blood, I’m sorry, child.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Reia quickly clarified, her hands stretched out in denial. “I… maybe I was hoping, that… it doesn’t matter.” Her ears dropped and I could practically see her mood swing. “I just thought… how am I supposed to stay with you, if all I have is my magic? Won’t you just leave me behind, sooner or later,” she asked through trembling lips.

“No,” I replied firmly, all mirth forgotten. “That’s never going to happen, you’re ours, as much as we are yours, I promise.” Ahri flinched, her body going rigid as she watched me intently, worry clearly visible in the pinch of her multicoloured eyes. For a moment, I simply felt confused. That had been a promise I’d make again in a heartbeat and then it hit me, quite literally. My core reacted, bands of energy spread through my body and while the silvery glow from my skin intensified and the transcendent forces settled in around my centre, pain exploded throughout my entire being. With a strangled groan, I collapsed while whatever little strength I had left evaporated in the fire I felt rushing through my veins. Soft hands reached out for me and I heard different voices I couldn’t quite place shout my name, but it didn’t matter. I couldn’t concentrate as a widening chasm opened within my mind and I tumbled straight down a long tunnel, agony the only real thing in the world. By the Great Fox, I was a bloody moron and I just didn’t learn. At least I was starting to get used to it.

For a while, I was again caught between tendrils of ravaging flames while transcendent forces burned through my clogged up meridians, scraping them clean. An apt metaphor, since that was pretty much exactly how it felt. Tiny specks of light danced in the chaos before my eyes, a crushing tide rumbled in my ears and every breath seemed to fill my lungs with suffocating darkness. Icy spikes, bitter and barbed, pierced my nerves wherever the searing flames petered out. Sweat started to form a sticky layer on my brow and I couldn’t stop shivering, caught between unbearable heat and deadly cold.

I was dimly aware that Ahri unceremoniously shooed everyone else form the room, decisively silencing their complaints and questions, before she laid down next to me and pulled my head into her lap. Her tails circled around my middle and her warmth slowly spread through me, keeping the darkness at bay. A few more tormented minutes passed by before I felt the surge gradually subside, leaving behind nothing but the tingling of my overstimulated nerves.

“Ouch,” I uttered. “That sucked.” With a considerable effort I pried my eyes open and smiled at her beautiful face crookedly. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to collapse on you again, but I got to admit, opening my eyes like this, it’s nearly worth it.” She cocked an eyebrow.

“Only nearly? Oh my, and here I was, imagining that you simply wanted to have me all to yourself.” I chuckled and regretted it almost immediately. My body wasn’t yet up to tasks more challenging than simply breathing and even that was more arduous than I would have liked.

“Don’t make me laugh, it hurts. But if you feel like it, you’re very welcome to kiss me. I can’t lift my head right now…”

“I’m not sure you deserve it, I can’t reward you for your thoughtlessness, now, can I,” she replied but her smile took the edge off her words. When I pouted, she hastily added: “But if you insist…”

A few seconds later I was feeling much better already, but I wasn’t convinced that it had anything to do with my improved condition. Not that I particularly cared, for as long as I could remain in her arms, her tails holding me in a caressing embrace.

It wasn’t until someone knocked on the door gently that our lips parted. “Come in,” Ahri called in a slightly throaty voice, her cheeks flushed. A young, petite girl in an apron I hadn’t seen before hesitantly pushed open the door. She stared at her feet timidly, unwilling to look at us directly.

“Lady Cassandra, Lady Ahri, the Lady Viyara has sent me, there’s an envoy from the seven overlords downstairs and if you’re feeling up to it, they would appreciate your presence. I… I was also told that there’d be a warm meal on the table, if… if you didn’t dawdle longer than necessary.” With a visible effort she raised her head, her auburn locks framing a pale but pretty face with large, dark eyes. “What do you want me to tell them?”

Her nervousness was endearing but I didn’t want to make the situation any more difficult for her, so I bit my tongue and simply answered: “we’ll be down in a few minutes. Thanks for telling us.”