Cassandra Pendragon

Lost in thought, I stared out the window, pressing my forehead against the cold glass. The sun had already crossed its zenith and in the hot afternoon, the few feathery clouds had disappeared. With the brilliant, aquamarine expanse above and the glittering, emerald sea below us, it almost felt like we were gliding through a dream, if it hadn’t been for the constant bickering behind me.

I huffed indignantly. My patience had run out a while ago, somewhere between Sylvia’s up tenths demand for prove, Reia was actually a Pendragon, and my brother’s incredulity, that our mother was willing to accept her husband’s illegitimate child. The girl was treated like a… thing, a nuisance they had to deal with and it made me angry. She deserved better and while I was admittedly miffed, that Erya had taken it upon herself to make the circumstances of her birth known, I was also glad she had. Judging from their reactions now, there was no telling what would have happened, if they had found out by themselves, somewhere down the line. Still, I wasn’t willing to listen any longer, otherwise I’d be tempted to explain, in striking detail, how thoroughly I didn’t agree with their assessment.

“She’s a child, an unknown child who’s got nothing to do with us,” Sylvia said, when I turned around. Her words trailed off, it had been the first time I had moved in a while. A cold smile played around the corners of my mouth, as I slowly made my way over to where Reia was huddled in a chair. I took her hand and propelled her to her feet.

“We’ll join Erya and the others,” I stated. “I’m tired of listening to you compare her life to a threat to your oh so precious power. There’s one thing I’ve got to say, though. Whatever you decide to do, she’s my sister and I’ll always stand by her side. You want prove who she is? How about a lonely, frightened child fighting for her right to lead, to protect her people? Remember, she overcame the Trials, she has proven her worth. More than once.”

“Thank you,” Reia mouthed, but before I could reply, my brother barked:

“What are you saying? Do you expect us to simply welcome a stranger into our family with open arms, no questions asked?” I sighed.

“No, Arthur. I’m saying that she already is a part of my family and if you decide to deny her, you’ll have to deny me, as well. Let me be very clear, if you force me to choose, I won’t side with you. The only reason why I didn’t speak up earlier is, that she hasn’t yet stated clearly what she actually wants.” I squeezed her hand and added: “what do you want?”

She anxiously looked from one to the other, but when I wrapped an arm around her shoulder protectively, she found the courage to say: “I don’t care what I’m called or if I’m a princess or a commoner, but… I don’t want to part with the last members of my family I’ve left. If you,” she indicated Arthur and his wife with a nod, “don’t want me, that’s fine, but please, don’t take Cassy, Mordred and mom from me.” I bit my lip, my eyes stinging.

“That’s never going to happen,” I whispered in her ear, before I added out loud: “did you hear her? Call me naive, but to me, she sounds like the only one who actually understands what matters. Now then, if you’ll excuse us. You coming Ahri?”

“And I was already beginning to worry, you expected me to stay,” she mumbled. With a few strides she reached us and took Reia’s other hand. She caught my brother’s eyes and said: “I pictured our reunion differently. I know you have your responsibilities, but I never thought, the boy, who left because he couldn’t stomach his father’s compromises, would return as a man, who hesitates to embrace a child, only because it might turn out to be inconvenient in the future.”

“That’s not…,” he spluttered but we had already turned around and left. Which of course meant, that we directly ran into the waiting group of soldiers, my brother had ordered from the room.

“Damn it,” I cursed under my breath, when the door clicked shut behind and five faces turned towards us, filled with curiosity.

“I take it, it didn’t go too well,” Corvin asked neutrally.

“Don’t pretend,” I snarled. “You’ve heard every word, haven’t you? It seems like your prayers have been answered, after all. You might still get rid of me, quickly enough.” The infuriating imbecile simply grinned.

“No, I don’t think so. When it comes down to it, neither His Majesty nor his wife would ever turn their backs on their own kin.” He crouched and smiled at Reia. “And you, little princess, are their kin in more ways than one. Give them time. It’s been a nightmarish day and I’m sure the news you’ve brought didn’t make it any better. I’m Corvin. It’s an honour to meet you. Allow me to say, you look just like your mother. She was a remarkable woman.” Reia’s jaw dropped and she whispered:

“Did you know her?”

“Fleetingly. But some of us were quite aware of the former king’s… interests.” He glanced at me and added: “one of the reasons, why Arthur packed his things. We didn’t know there was a child, but…”

“I see,” I said huskily. “Then… he knew. No wonder he couldn’t look her in the eye. I just don’t know, if I want to beat him up even more, right now.”

“Please, don’t,” Corvin muttered resignedly. “That’d put us in an impossible situation and there are better ways to spend your time. Why don’t we visit your young charges? They’ve been clamouring to see all of you, ever since they’ve heard you were on board. I’m sure meeting them will also lift your spirits.” I was convinced, he was mainly trying to avoid a conversation about Reia’s mom, but whether intentional or not, he immediately diverted her attention.

“Please,” Reia squealed, her eyes lighting up with glee. “It’s been so long…”

“A handful of days,” I commented drily.

“But so much has happened! I’ve got so much to tell them.”

“Fine, but you’ll have to promise, that you won’t try to entice them into joining us. I’ve already got my hands full with you and your two loyal followers. You don’t need a larger entourage.”

“Whatever you say. Can we please go? Now? At least, they’ll be happy to see me.” She was still smiling, but her words hit me like the proverbial truck. Gods, I shouldn’t have brought her along.

“Of course. Where are they, anyways?”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“Also with the dwarfs,” the redhead, Diane, replied. “Usually, it’s a bit difficult to get from one ship to the other, mid flight. Could you carry us? We can’t fly on our own.”

“Maybe, but you wouldn’t enjoy the experience. It’d be much easier and infinitely more comfortable, if Viyara was going to carry you. I’ll ask her, give me a moment.”

The dragoness wasn’t difficult to convince, she was already getting bored. Apparently, staring at the sluggish flow of energy within a hunk of rock didn’t hold much appeal. A few minutes later, a fresh breeze was ruffling my hair as I soared through the sky, a golden behemoth at my side. Corvin and his troupe, who were huddle together upon her back, didn’t seem overly happy. A seat on a serpentine creature with fangs, longer than your arm, could have that particular effect. A wry grin tugged on the corner of my mouth, when I imagined how they’d react, should she suddenly turn around and blow a bit of smoke into their faces, maybe accompanied by a low roar.

“Do you want me to,” she immediately asked, but I declined regretfully. It wouldn’t be worth it. My reaction hadn’t gone unnoticed, though, and the warm bundle in my arms squirmed. I had insisted on carrying Reia myself, partly because I didn’t want her to be stuck with a bunch of strangers, but mainly because I wanted an excuse to hold her for a while.

“You’re grinning,” she stated and wriggled around until she could face me. “So… I guess you aren’t mad at me?”

“Mad? Why ever would I be mad? Especially at you?”

“Because… everything was settled and then, as soon as they came to know who I am, it all started again. I never wanted… I didn’t think you’d have to… I’m sorry, Cassy,” she ended subduedly. “I’m only causing trouble, ever since we’ve met.” Damn it. First, it had been myself, then Ahri and now even the little troublemaker was starting to doubt herself. A spark of anger ignited in my chest, when I recalled what she had been forced to listen to. No wonder she was rattled. If she had inherited my temper, she would probably already have told Arthur and his wife to go to hell. Or attempted to smack them into next week. I squeezed her gently.

“Don’t ever apologise again for who you are. Reia… there’s so much I’d like to say right now, but I think most of it you already know. But I’ve never told you this: meeting you, getting to know you… it has made everything bearable and even worthwhile. If anything good has come from the fall of Boseiju, it’s been you and her,” I explained, my gaze fixed on Ahri’s burning wings. “I wouldn’t trade either of you for the world. I don’t care what it means or how it might be seen, but Ahri and I will always be there for you. Don’t ever forget that and don’t apologise. You’re more than a title and I pity the fools who can’t see it. For as long as we live, you’ll always have a home, you’ll always have a family. No one is ever going to take that from either you or us.” She trembled as she tried to suppress her tears, but when I wrapped my tails around her legs and pulled her closer, she willingly snuggled into me. “You’ll never be alone, little one,” I whispered.

The silence, settling between us, wasn’t heavy. We enjoyed each other’s company, quietly gliding through the sky, savouring the few minutes between heaven and earth, but it didn’t take long for the peace to be shattered. Faint voices reached my ears and when I raised my head, I saw the large, fortified, dwarven vessel looming in front of us. A behemoth of steal and seasoned oak, it was far bulkier than the kitsune ships. On deck, not only the children we had saved but also the short and burly crew awaited out arrival. They waved and cheered, a much warmer welcome than my own flesh and blood had provided. A funny thing, that. We were stuck with our relatives from the very beginning to the end, but our family we could ultimately choose ourselves and mine didn’t have tails, for the most part.

I landed lightly, Ahri at my side, while kitsune and dwarfs thronged tightly around us, making space for Viyara’s bulk. I let go of Reia and she was immediately surrounded by a sea of twitching ears and multicoloured hair, her friends falling over themselves to be the first to hug her. Smiling, I tried to shuffle out of the way, but before I had taken more than a step, Ahri and I were swallowed by the giggling tide as well. Small hands pushed us along and a veritable flood of questions, more than I could hope to understand, crashed into us.

“Where have you been? Why aren’t Archy and Estrella with you? Where did you get that scar…” on and on it went, like an avalanche, and neither Ahri, nor Reia, nor myself managed to get a single word in. A smile here, a pat on the head there was pretty much all we could do. We were entirely swamped, until one of the dwarfs, an exceptionally small one, who barely reached my waist, bellowed loudly:

“Oi, ye rascals! Git over here! Give ‘em gals a chance to breath. That’s a lad.” With a few affectionate shoves and less affectionate pinches, where they were needed, he whipped them in line and shook my hand, grinning. “‘S a pleasure to meet yah again, Your Highness. Now, before we get all chummy up here, Erya wants to see yah below deck. She’s found somethin’ strange. If it’s all the same to yah, we’d be happy, if yah could have a look, now. None of us want t’ be sittin’ on a strange artefact, which could explode at any mo’.”

“Sure, I’ll see what I can do.” I exchanged a quick glance with Ahri. She shrugged, indicating she’d stay up here. With her, Reia and Viyara, who hadn’t changed back, yet, and was already being used as a glittering climbing frame, I wouldn’t be missed.

While Reia sat down between Viyara’s paws and began telling her story, the other kids forming a surprisingly quiet ring around her, I snuck away from my guards and through a heavy door into the ship. A flight of stairs and the, by now, homely smell of seasoned wood and smoke greeted me. The murmured conversation behind me was cut off, when the door clicked shut and it took my eyes a moment to adjust to the dim, flickering light, provided by the low hanging oil lamps.

I had never been inside the cargo hold, but I knew the access was on the second level and probably easily reachable from the main corridor. Also, if I concentrated, I could just about hear Erya’s voice, muffled and distorted, but loudly enough to pinpoint her location. I descended the stairs and followed the wide passage, inclining my head, every time I met a dwarf. Most of them were busy, quickly dodging around me, their arms full of hawsers, metal, bundles of sailing cloth and nails. A few mumbled a greeting, but most only smiled in passing. Maybe the ship had been damaged in the skirmish.

It didn’t take me long to reach another fortified door, made from heavy, studded oak. It hadn’t been closed properly and a reddish shimmer escaped through the remaining gap. I pushed it open with one hand, the ancient wood coarse against my skin. It creaked loudly, a cloud of dust billowing from the hinges, and the voices on the other side fell silent. I stumbled into an enormous, windowless room. It wasn’t illuminated by burning oil but rather an eclectic variety of crystals, some set into metal casings, some simply placed on barrels.

The floor was covered with bundles and boxes, heaps of cloth and metal ingots, stacked up against the walls. There were finished weapons, spare parts for the ship, dented armours and row upon row of quivers, filled to the brink with metal bolts, some of them engraved with runes, some plain and simple. Near the centre, nestled onto a pile of linen, the six stones were glowing slightly, the sparks of Erya’s magic still dancing across their surfaces. Close by, Aurelia, Erya and Morgan had put their heads together until I had disturbed them.

“Cassy,” the former fey queen greeted me, “just in time. I thought you might flee, the first chance you’d get. Did you introduce your sister,” she added with a nonchalant grin.

“You didn’t leave me much of a choice,” I replied stiffly and closed the door. “My mom is still trying to talk some sense into my brother. Somehow, he and his wife didn’t appreciate the surprise. Is there a reason, why you divulged Reia’s identity or were you simply bored?”

“A bit of both. I was bored, but I mainly did it, because I know you. You’d have chickened out and never mentioned who she is. And then… well, I’m sure you can imagine how well it’d have worked out, if the two of them had come across the truth some other way.” In a more serious tone she continued: “I know people, Cassy, and your relatives aren’t half bad. They’ll come around. Just… give them a few days to get used to the insanity you… we call everyday life.”

“One of my newly acquired security guards said pretty much the same thing. I can’t do much about it, anyways, that ship has sailed. Now then, why did you call me down here? I hope we’re not in mortal peril, are we?” They glanced at each other, more hesitantly than I would have liked.