Cassandra Pendragon
I was as partial to flattery as the next girl but the way she buttered us up over the next 20 minutes had me worried I might just slip and fall flat on my ass as soon as I’d try to get up from my chair. At least I wasn’t blushing, the exaggerated compliments I had heard in court had still been worse by a landslide, but I couldn’t say I particularly enjoyed our conversation. Don’t get me wrong, she was a gracious host and never even put a single toe across the line but her subtle submissiveness and insinuated admiration reminded me of how I had felt when I had attended formal banquets as a princess and, as you might imagine, that grated on my nerves like the proverbial sledgehammer.
After the umpteenth iteration of how blessed she felt that we’d honour her with our presence I had finally had enough and slowly but surely brought the conversation to a close while I deliberately ignored Ahri’s widening smirk. She knew exactly what had me riled up and apparently my plight wasn’t something to be taken seriously. Figures. I couldn’t even fault her, excessive niceties were in no way comparable to the atrocious welcome I had already been getting used to in Free Land, but that didn’t mean I had to like it either. Seriously, was it too much to ask to meet someone normal, once in a while? The wine had been delicious, though.
Sighing, I downed the last mouthful and forcefully put down my glass. The resulting click interrupted her longwinded flattery and she even blinked I surprise when I got to my feet.
“I fear we’ve trespassed on your hospitality long enough,” I explained. “It’s truly been a pleasure but the night is growing older by the second and we still have much to accomplish. We’ll hopefully have the chance to continue where we’ve left off, once we aren’t as pressed for time, but until then, I fear we must bid you good night.” She was taken aback by my sudden interruption but her impeccable manners wouldn’t allow her to voice her surprise.
“Of course. Anytime you please you’re more than welcome here.” She gracefully rose from her chair and bowed again. “Before you set off, there is one last thing. My son has taken a liking to your sister. Pray tell, would you mind if he imposed on you and visited, once in a while?” My mood brightened considerably when I pictured Reia’s reaction and since the little demon had thoroughly earned it I answered with a blossoming smile:
“Of course not. Any member of your family is always welcome.” She returned my smile with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes.
“In that case, I might accompany him. I’d very much like to get to know you better.” Bollocks. Should have seen it coming… my expression might have become a little strained but I still managed to replied with some form of dignity:
“I’ll be looking forward to it, Fira. Once again, thank you for your hospitality.” I was already halfway across the room when I added softly: “there’s no need to see us out, I’ll close the gate behind us. Good night.”
Once the door slammed shut behind Ahri’s back I exhaled deeply and massaged my temples, savouring the myriad of smells, wafting through the garden. I was really looking forward to what was to come. No formalities, no decorum and, if I was really lucky, a chance to take out my frustration on someone who had thoroughly earned it. From the cursory glance I had managed, the scroll contained quite a few names and it stood to reason that at least a few of them wouldn’t cooperate willingly. The more the merrier, I was tempted to utter, but I didn’t mean to jinx it.
A warm hand pressed gently against the small of my back and I felt Ahri’s tails caress my middle. “Was it that bad,” she whispered as we made our way over the marble slabs.
“Probably not,” I mumbled defeatedly, “but we have precious little time as it is and I don’t plan to waste it on people I don’t genuinely care for. I mean… what has she been blabbering on about for the last 20 minutes? A few sentences would have been enough…” her warm breath tickled my neck when she chuckled.
“You know, sometimes you’re threateningly perceptive but then again… when you’re moody you’re just a child. There weren’t many wasted sentences in her tirade. If you had bothered to truly listen, you would have gained quite a bit of information.”
“Really? Pray tell, what did I miss?”
“How about: especially the guild heads can’t compete with your generosity. They have always had influence and money to spare, but they never bothered to do as much for this town in my lifetime as you did in a single night. Or the kindness and loyalty you’ve shown… if the Ironhands had even a fraction of your integrity we could only thank the heavens.” Once she had pointed it out, it seemed obvious enough but I was still mulish and shrugged nonchalantly.
“So? More pointless flattery.” She rolled her eyes and lightly smacked my behind.
“She’s told us where to go first and what to expect, seemingly without uttering a single word about politics or misdeeds.” In that case I hoped she had listened because I hadn’t. “Maybe you should take it as a lesson in subtlety, darling. She even went a step further. Want to hazard a guess what I’m referring to?” I was fidgeting with the heavy bolt which bought me a few seconds. When the gate opened creakily I replied:
“The whole charade. Why would she bother hiding and veiling her words in easily missed innuendos? Either she thinks there’s a chance we might be… interrogated and rat her out, which is quite unlikely, considering what she herself knows and what her husband has told me, or she thinks there’s someone in her home who might.” I paused, looking back at the mansion, a pitch black blot in front of the rising moon. “Should we return?” She shook her magnificent head and explained:
“If she had known who it was she’d already have dealt with them herself. I think that’s what she’s mainly been trying to tell us. She’s asking us to find the… how did you put it, rat.”
“Quite the task in a pristine town like this,” I huffed and closed the heavy, wooden gate. “Did she at least drop another useful hint I missed?”
“I think so. She never used the word loyalty except when she talked about the Ironhands. That’s probably where she expects the culprit to hide. Unfortunately I didn’t dare ask who they are and I’ve never heard of them before. Judging from their name I’d say they’re smiths of some sort or the other, but that’s just a guess.”
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“Or hangmen, torturers, assassins, carpenters, masons… Ironhands could mean a damned lot of things.” I had already produced the scroll Fira had given us and the torn parchment Alassara and Serena had painstakingly put together. “Let’s see,” I mumbled while I quickly skimmed through the list of names. “Ironhands… there they are. Would you look at that, it’s not that far from here. Hmm, Serena even added a short description. Listen: an old family that dates back to the earliest years of Free Land. Weapon smiths and… slave traders. They were close with Captain Blackthorn and ran the arena in his name. Since your brothers liberated the slaves they’ve been looking for fighters. Rumour has it they’ve upped their game to blackmail since no one willingly fights in the pits. They’ve probably sent an emissary to the gathering but their patriarch has always valued his privacy. They’re rich, well connected, ruthless and probably spitting mad. There’s also a decent chance that they’ve hidden their most valuable slaves when your family barged through the door. If they rub you the wrong way, nobody will shed a single tear for them.” Without realising I had begun to smile again, but judging from Ahri’s expression it wasn’t an inviting or even nice expression. “This night might yet turn out to be fun.” I felt her sigh as she disentangled her tails form around my waist.
“I wouldn’t bank on it. They have to know that we’d come knocking on their door, sooner rather than later. I’m sure they have all kinds of nasty surprises in store for us. Provided they really are the heartless tyrants they’re made out to be. Maybe we should come up with an idea or two before we waltz in?”
“Are you worried? They’re human for crying out loud. What do you expect them to do? Knock us unconscious with their smell?” She smacked my rump again, less gently this time.
“Think, Cassy. What do you expect them to do, considering everything they must have heard about us… or rather you. How about human shields? If they really kept back their most valuable slaves who’s to say they didn’t hide them elsewhere as a bargaining chip? It’s even probable, seeing as they can’t expect to keep them for long ” Gods damned cowardice but I couldn’t refute her logic. I could, however, imagine a different scenario.
“Maybe we should head to the harbour first,” I mused. “Chances are that they’ll at least try to secure their assets and that would mean getting them some place safe. Hell, maybe they’re even trying to flee themselves.”
“Let them,” Ahri retorted. “I wouldn’t worry about the ones who are trying to run. Why would we? Good riddance. No… the problem lies with the ones who aren’t willing to give up their power. Those we’ll have to deal with.”
“You’re right. On both accounts. So… any bright ideas? We could just break in the front door and repay them for every dead hostage. An eye for an eye.” By now we had reached a small square where the Main Street, coming from the harbour, split into three smaller ones, leading deeper into the maze of rundown buildings. Empty taverns lined the deserted streets and the dark windows stared blindly into the night. Almost everyone had followed my invitation and the city laid in silence, like a ghost town.
“True, but I’d rather avoid any sacrifices. You don’t happen to have learned a scrying spell or two, yet?” I shook my head regretfully and focused on my hearing for a moment. Scurrying rats and a few, distant heartbeats but there weren’t more than 5 people close by.
“No… and they’re also not that easy to understand in their entirety so I won’t be able to come up with something on the spot. We could ask granny for help, though.”
“I’d rather not. She might eat them before we get the chance to ask a single question. Besides… they’ll need her in the Garden more than we do, don’t you agree?” I puffed up my cheeks but they deflated quickly enough.
“Probably. We really should learn some spells, shouldn’t we? Brute force can only get you so far.”
“Why do you sound like you just unravelled an unfathomable mystery? Still… I don’t see either of us suddenly having an epiphany and as much as I’m tempted to simply burn down everything in our way, that’s not going to help, either. We could split up, though. One goes knocking on the door and the other hides. Depending on what they have to say we can go from there.” I tilted my head to the side.
“Not the worst idea. Better than anything I can come up with on the spot. I’m faster than you, I think. Does that mean you’ll do the talking and I’ll do the hiding?”
“Fine with me. I’m also not as… popular, I hope. I can’t hide my tails but I could just as well be one of Arthur’s soldiers.” Fat chance. One glance at her and nobody would take her for anything but what she truly was and it wasn’t even my love for her talking. True, I didn’t much care about her looks but objectively she’d still make any deity I could imagine appear like an ugly duckling.
“If you say so,” I smirked. “Come on then, it’s not far. Best if we don’t fly, especially if you really want to try that preposterous charade.”
“A nighttime stroll with my sweetheart,” she sighed contently with only a minuscule trace of sarcasm in her voice. “Whatever else could I wish for?” She intertwined our fingers and sauntered off, pulling me along.
“A better venue,” I mumbled and absentmindedly kicked a curious rat away. The poor rodent was apparently more brave than clever. “Your company makes up for a lot of things, darling, but I’d still prefer a beach. Or a forest.”
“No beaches on this world,” she replied and shook her head sadly. “At least not on this continent. Did you even realise you used a different language because there is no word for beach?”
“I didn’t. Maybe we should start speaking French or English, anyways. I’m a bit rusty but it’d still be fun.”
“Seven and already forgetful…” I silenced her with a quick kiss and complained:
“Why do you always have to make fun of me? Sometimes I feel less like your lover and more like… your child or sister,” I pouted. She only arched an eyebrow.
“But you are, are you not?” When she saw my expression darken she quickly pulled me in and made sure I wouldn’t run away with the wrong idea stuck in my head.
“There, that should make it clear,” she whispered breathlessly against my lips a few moments later. “But you have to admit, you enjoy it, don’t you? There aren’t that many people left who even dare take the Mickey out of you. Come to think of it, it’s just your family and Erya. Viyara wouldn’t mind but that’s not who she is. I can’t even remember her cracking a joke. Not even once. The poor girl is really uptight.”
“I guess that happens when you see your family getting slaughtered directly in front of you. Considering where she’s coming from she’s holding up admirably well. Aurelia might also be a huge part of it.”
“And you. Her falling for you has kept her sane, I think. Do you know if she’s gotten over it, yet?”
“No… I mean I don’t know. But the closer the two of them get the less worried I am. I… truth be told I don’t think she’ll ever forget but she’ll move on.”
“Let’s hope so. I’m not going to share.” She paused, her gaze travelling to the shining carpet of silver and black above us. “Do you remember their names,” she suddenly asked.
“Some. But I don’t know where they are. I don’t even know where we are. We could be anywhere close to the centre. I guess we’ll have to find out.”
“Something to look forward to. Cassy… I’m only going to ask once. Michael has been toiling away for aeons, a few hundred years would hardly make a difference. Once Amon is dead and Amazeroth… whatever you’ll do to him, do you want to take a… break? Just live, explore this world, before we reach for the stars?” I didn’t have to think twice.
“Very much so. But I’m afraid we won’t have that much of a choice. Up until now we’ve played our roles in an intricately orchestrated act, but once it’s over… I fear the cosmos won’t wait for us to be ready. When the curtain falls another one will be raised. If we get the chance… I’d love to spend a few centuries with you without anything to drag us along. If I could, I’d forget it all and return my wings. Growing old with you, raising a family, building a home… that’s what I long for but it’s not our lot. Funny, isn’t it? Most people would kill to become what we are but once you’re there… the grass always seems greener on the other side. A pity we don’t know until we live it.”