Cassandra Pendragon

I had hoped, that my little lapse of judgement would have sped up my recovery, but unfortunately, if anything, it had made things worse. While I could again reach for my core without inviting a migraine, I still felt sick and weak. Consequentially I had to lean heavily on Ahri while I limped out of the room. She had offered to carry me, but my dignity was worth more to me than the extra discomfort and I wasn’t willing to put up with the snide remarks I’d invite if she carried me over a threshold. Plus, I wasn’t going to appear like a damsel in distress saved by a heroine the first time I met with an official. No way in hell I’d willingly deal with that. Having her help me shrug into my clothes and comb out my hair had been bad enough as it was.

What I hadn’t thought of were the stairs. I found out quickly enough that my room was located on the first floor and a wide, oaken staircase, the walls covered with a collection of rather tasteless pictures, a chaotic amalgamate of scenery and act portraits which produced a vibe of failed sophistication, led to the ground floor. Each step felt like I had to scale Mount Doom and when I finally shuffled onto the soft carpet in the entrance hall, I was drenched in sweat and out of breath. So much for first impressions.

We had arrived in an opulently decorated room, opposite a strong, carved double door. To our left, two smaller exits were separated by a life size statue, depicting a human dancer in the midst of a pirouette, her contortion and empty smile forever immortalised in white marble. To our right, a single door stood slightly ajar, two full battle armours, made from darkened steel, keeping their vigil on either side. A small table in the corner displayed a silver platter with several bottles that smelled strongly of liquor and a few comfortable chairs with colourful pillows and the flickering light of candles turned the atmosphere homely, if somewhat clattered, despite the creepy statue.

“Do you need a moment to collect yourself? I can keep them busy,” Ahri whispered in my ear while she gestured towards the half closed door to our right, voices and the enticing smell of a savoury stew wafting through the remaining gap.

“If I can’t sit down soon, I’ll keel over. I think I’d prefer everyone believing we made out on the stairs to that particular outcome.”

“A pity we can’t,” she sighed. As she shook her head regretfully, the light of the candles, still lit in the chandeliers, dancing through her silky mane, I was again struck by how beautiful she actually was. When she ushered me through the door, I curled a tail around her leg and winked at her.

“Next time,” I mouthed and steeled myself for what I expected to be a rather dull and mindless conversation, filled with hidden threats and vague promises. Holy hell, how I hated politics. At least there would be something to eat and if I could still trust my impaired sense of smell, it’d be delicious. Maybe Nero had hired a professional cook? No one could be a complete ass, after all.

As soon as I entered the room I froze and stared at our guest in silence for a full two seconds, barely taking in who else was there. Of all the things… another kitsune!

He was small, even by our standards, but what he lacked in hight, he made up for in girth. I had seen a few of my people before, who had taken too much of a liking to sweets and wine, but that guy had to be related to a manatee. His flabby arms were about as thick as my thighs and his expensive, loosely tailored robes still seemed to stick to him like a second skin. Intelligent, curious eyes sparkled in a bright purple above several chins, the only part of him that was constantly in motion, moving up and down while he chewed on the end of a pipe. His ears, covered in midnight blue fur, twitched form time to time, sending ripples through his long, black hair. He smiled when we entered, his chubby but firm cheeks quivering with the arduous task.

Before I could regain my composure, he heaved himself up from his creaking chair and boomed out, his deep voice ringing through the room: “there you are! What a pleasure! I must say, the stories I’ve already heard, fantastic as they were, don’t even begin to do you justice.” He executed a surprisingly graceful bow, while he added: “pardon me for breaking decorum, but I couldn’t stop myself. Allow me to say how delighted I am to finally meet the two of you in person.”

Shaking off my surprise, I tried to control my breathing and took a couple of steps forward to circumvent the massive table, where my brother, Viyara, Erya, Mephisto, Pete, Xorlosh, Etosh and, to my surprise, Auguros were seated. Each and everyone had a steaming bowl in front of them, while my mum mimed the cute, clueless pet in the background and the girl that had fetched us earlier ladled out more stew. I curtsied elegantly - more or less - and offered my hand to our guest. While he breathed a formal kiss onto the back of it I replied:

“You’re very kind, but please, if you don’t want me to blush and stutter in embarrassment, you’ll have to keep the compliments to a minimum, as much as I enjoy your flattery.” He was ready to protest when I quickly added: “And if you wanted to make me thoroughly comfortable, you would simply call me Cassandra. But I have to admit, you have me at a disadvantage. I’ve never before visited these parts and, please excuse my ignorance, can’t claim to know whom I’m speaking to.”

“But of course, forgive me. I’m Tharos, Tharos of the Dawn Fleet, here to convey my master’s, Captain Dawn’s, sincerest welcome…”

“Enough already with the niceties,” Xorlosh’s sonorous bass cut him short. “Tharos, Ahri, Cassandra,” he said while gesturing at each of us respectively. “We’re all honoured and could you now please sit down so we can have a bite to eat? I’ve been stuck on a diet of ship biscuits for the last days and if I have to stare at me stew for much longer, I won’t be able to contain meself. Good to see you again, lassie. You don’t look half as bad as I expected,” he added with a wink.

I bit back a grin and with another small bow for Tharos and a wave for Xorlosh, I settled down between Ahri and Viyara. The dragoness greeted me with a bright smile and her small hand quickly covered mine while I took my seat. “Thank you, again,” she mouthed. I wrapped a tail around her leg under the table and squeezed her hand before my attention returned to the food.

Up close the delicious smell from the bowl in front of me was nearly unbearable and when my stomach rumbled loudly again, I was throughly grateful for Xorlosh’s intervention. It had been quite a while since I had felt truly famished, not having to eat had helped, but when I slowly chewed through the first mouthful of potatoes and something that tasted almost like lamb with a hint of garlic and pepper, undiluted bliss nearly elicited a soft moan form me.

I didn’t care much for the platitudes that were exchanged between bites, busying myself with devouring my meal and casting barely veiled glances at Tharos and my brother. My mum had told me that him and the elves were still recuperating and since Astra and Aspera would have been here, if they had been able to, I surmised that I wasn’t the one off the worst, at least mentally. It didn’t really surprise me, after all I had more experience than I had ever wanted to gain when it came to being tortured or helpless. Both wouldn’t make it onto anyone’s bucket list and what Nero had done to them was more than I cared to imagine. Thankfully he hadn’t crippled them…

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Mordred appeared pale in the grey lights that filtered in through the high windows on the southern side of the room. Dark red circles under his eyes, almost like wounds, contrasted with his white, puffy skin and his normally impeccable posture had given way to an exhausted slouch. He twitched nervously, never remaining still or at ease and from time to time, I saw his gaze roam over the windows and door, as if to make sure he wasn’t locked up. Pity and anger welled up within me, but I knew my brother wouldn’t appreciate the former and there wasn’t much point to the latter, I had already made sure of that. Still, my first impulse was to hug and comfort him and if we had been alone, I would have given in, even though I was decently convinced he wouldn’t have had patience for either. At least when it came from me. Where the fey was concerned, though… the two of them relaxed visibly every time their eyes met and I began to wonder if they had already left the it’s-only-fun-and-games stage of their relationship behind. I seriously hoped so, they both deserved something more meaningful to heal their wounds.

Tharos on the other hand seemed perfectly at east, exchanging flirtatious, superficial remarks with Erya, when he wasn’t busy emptying his bowl as if he hadn’t had anything decent to eat in days or laughing wholeheartedly at one of Xorlosh’s grunted comments. An air of confidence surrounded him like a tangible halo, but his aura wasn’t intimidating but rather reassuring, like the presence of a powerful, wealthy uncle who had only your best interest at heart. I almost snorted into my meal. If he was the generous, benevolent kind, I was a sheltered, timid princess.

I tried to breath in his scent but I could barely identify the fragrant oils he used, never mind anything more substantial. Sighing, I wondered if I could now try to wish away my ailments but I wasn’t willing to risk it, for the time being. The short bout I had had to suffer through upstairs had been enough to become a little more careful. If I wasn’t forced to speed things up, I’d just wait until I felt better.

While I swallowed the last morsel of meat, my attention returned to the conversation, which had taken a turn towards why the kitsune was actually here, now that Tharos and Xorlosh had lit their pipes.

“Not that I’m surprise to find a henchman of the captains on our doorstep,” the dwarf said, “but you have to admit, it’s somewhat strange that you popped in shortly after Tom left. Did you lurk in the shadows until he walked out the door?”

“No, no, nothing as sinister as that,” Tharos replied, grinning. “I simply had one of my guys trail him for the last days. Now, don’t get your beard in a knot, but I think it goes without saying that there isn’t much love lost between us and the guilds and he’s… more dangerous than you think. I only wanted to make sure that we could talk without any unnecessary animosity.”

“And that we wouldn’t immediately call you out, should you strain the truth a little, eh?”

The fat fox folded his hands above his heart, looking hurt. “I would never, especially since the quiet one over there, Pete, wasn’t it, could just as well tell you when I’m lying. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pretending we don’t have a serious interest in what your merry circus might decide to do next, but I’m not here to cause you any trouble. I value my hide more than you think I do. I just wanted to feel the waters, get to know you all, and maybe sniff out if there’s common ground for us to work together in the future, that’s it. After all, I think our goals might be more similar than you already know. Which brings me to a question I’m just desperate to ask: why are you still here? I, of course, already heard about your tussle with the pirates, a thorn in our eyes as well. Forgive me for assuming, but I thought we might be able to help each other out.”

“Quid pro quo,” I quietly interjected and when everybody’s head turned to me, I elaborated: “please, forgive me for being blunt, but I don’t think I have it in me right now, to wrap my words in colourful innuendos. You’re here to collect information, a sensible thing to do, given what little you know, but I’m not willing to spoon feed you who we are and what we want without getting anything in return. Frankly, I don’t trust you much and I don’t imagine that it’s any different the other way around. So, why not try for an honest approach. What do you want to know and what are you willing to offer in return?” He looked at me strangely, as if I had just been promoted from a pretty face to someone actually worth his while. Interesting, that meant, he didn’t know who exactly had killed Nero, only that it was one of us. Or I was simply mistaken.

Auguros’ laughter caught me by surprise, a deep, soothing sound, like the wind blowing through an ancient forest, and when we looked at him, he quickly raised his hands:

“Sorry, I just thought this whole discussion became a lot more interesting. I wasn’t very keen on deciphering every second word and a bit of honesty might actually be refreshing, for a change.”

Tharos smiled magnanimously and saluted the fey with his pipe. “You know, why ever not. I already told you what I want, I want to know as much about you all as you’re willing to share. As for what I’m willing to give… how about a quick peek behind the curtain, a dip in the well? You’ve mentioned before, that most of you have never been here, but still you linger… even after the flashy ruckus you caused. That tells me you expect to gain something from staying. While I’m not sure what it might be, I’m willing to bet that you could use as much information about the workings of this city as you can possibly get and I imagine that you wouldn’t turn down the chance to make influential friends around here, either. Very influential indeed.”

“But why would we need you and the ones you speak for,” I asked. “You know we are not without connections, you even took the precaution of making sure Tom wasn’t here when you came knocking on our door. Speaking of conclusions, that tells me something about how valuable he and his network might turn out to be and if I was willing to guess, I’d say that most of what you’re offering isn’t something worth bargaining for.” He surprise me when he didn’t try to deny it.

“You’re right, of course, partly, at least. While I freely admit that nearly everything I’m willing to divulge can be obtained through other channels, you have to keep in mind what’s happening in the city, at this very moment. New alliances are being forged, enemies turn into friends and friends become enemies. Now, the captains have never seen a reason to get involved with the guilds, we had an understanding with the mask… and others, after all. But, as you might imagine, that has changed. Turmoil and chaos aren’t profitable and while we have looked the other way for quite some time, we won’t do so anymore. It’s time the guilds were brought back into the fold, for better or for worse, it’s time to clean house and return order to our backyard.”

“Are you making us choose,” I all but whispered, a hint of suppressed anger thrumming in my voice. “Did you come here to ascertain how close of a bond we’ve already forged with Tom?”

“Partly, I don’t know how much you’ve already found out about your friend, but his ambitions and ours aren’t compatible. I don’t expect you to offer up his head on a silver platter, that would be naive, at least right now, but I do want to show you another way. Whatever it is you’re trying to accomplish, you must have realised that it would be much easier to do so, if the city were organised and you had the backing of its leaders. And as a small token of my goodwill, why don’t you ask him if he knows who watched you through your window, earlier today, when next you meet with him? I’m convinced his answer will either surprise you or he’s going to lie to your face.”

“I don’t appreciate being manipulated. If there’s something you want us to know, tell us, but don’t try to sow mistrust between us. You won’t enjoy walking down that road, I can guarantee it.”

“Oh my, beautiful, clever and dangerous. You’re not looking for a husband, are you? No, I thought not. Fine, your oh so trustworthy ally is, at this very moment, out and about trying to sell your blood for the support of a guild that even we wouldn’t dare touch. You can either take my word for it or you can wait until you have proof, but it might be too late, by then.”

“Who,” Ahri inquired. “Who could pose a threat that you couldn’t eradicate?” He sighed, deeply.

“I wonder, during your travels or studies, have you ever heard of vampires?”