When the conversation was over, Scorpius waited for the two to go their separate ways and left his hiding place. There was no need to follow Iago as he seemed to be ready to go back to sleep, so he flew in another direction. This side of the city was explored enough, it was doubtful those people in the canteen would be coming up with anything remotely dangerous.
However, the nobles were another story. He had glanced at them on his first scouting and none put him at ease. The Commander was one of the most obvious cases, but the mistress and her retinue were no less dangerous. She was a shaper, after all.
Flying, it took him little time to reach his destination. It was a house opposite the mansion the nobles were occupying. The place was too far to see much but getting closer was too much of a risk. He still enjoyed being alive.
From his position, he could hear enough to understand what was happening inside the mansion. Dinner was being held, and the few surviving nobles were laughing among themselves. One of them raised a toast towards better days. Others cheered in drunken voices, joking that this was a much better life than before. All of their opponents were gone and they could do whatever they wanted.
Another suggested that it was about time they came up with a name for their new empire. It would be in bad taste to keep the old one, after all. They argued for a moment until their slow minds came to a sudden realisation.
“Lady Winteridge!” someone shouted out, their voice sickly sweet. “As a future empress, I’m certain you should be the one to choose the name!”
Then finally, the mistress Commander had mentioned spoke up. “Of course. I shall call it Wintera, the land where all those of noble blood will find their place!”
Her voice was strong and sweet, but something in it made Scorpius instantly dislike her. He couldn’t name it, but he knew she was no good. That sentence alone was more than enough to be certain of that.
The lackeys eagerly accepted her words, following them with loud excitement. None put a question about what would happen to the rest of the people that weren’t of noble blood. Or weren’t human at all.
It was rare for any government to care for other species but most paid at least some mind to them. Not this one, clearly. All they cared were the grand notions of a new country. No one even bothered to point out that there were around ten of them with around five servants and a bit over thirty common folk on the other side of the city. This amount wasn’t enough to populate a city, not even talking about a country or empire.
The crazy talk continued after and Scorpius left, unable to stand it. He was going to go mad if he listened to any more of that nonsense. Never before had he encountered humans so detached from the real world. It was as if they couldn’t see what had happened around them. They lived as if this was still the same capital filled with trade and people ready to do anything to gain their favour.
None of them understood that their riches were going to run out. And soon.
It wasn’t long until the soldiers could no longer find any decent food. So far, the nobles had taken all of it, leaving the trash to the rest of survivors but that wasn’t going to last. Week, maybe two and everything close by would be scavenged. There were people outside the city too, after all.
He wondered whether he should go and look for them, but decided against it. The search might take more than a night and he would have trouble returning. This was dangerous for his person, not forgetting that Iago might wonder where he’d disappeared. It was better to wait and let him decide whether this was necessary or not.
That left the question of what to do now. The night was his domain but he was alone in it. Most people were going to sleep, leaving him with no one to spy on.
But if he didn’t learn anything, find information that would aid his saviour, what was his use? He was nothing more than a needy pet that served no purpose. It would be better if he left and never returned.
No, that wasn’t right. He wasn’t given freedom to leave. If there was nothing to do now, he just had to find something. In this kind of land, every pair of hands could be used for something, and his was as good as any human’s.
On his way back to the tower, a loud clanking sound caught his attention. He shifted his path to two streets over and saw the source of the sound. The female soldier was running with all her might, her breath frosting in the dropping temperature.
Trailing after her, he was certain she was going to the same place as him. He wasn’t sure how she knew where Iago was staying, but there was no one else in that direction. Well, nobles were on a similar path but they were too far for her to run there. Not a chance she would make it.
When she was near the tower, she slowed down and started looking around as if no longer certain of her destination. It was but moments until she gave up and started shouting, “Mister Shaper! Shaper!”
There was a noise from above and Iago leaned through the window, “Can you stop with that ‘Mister Shaper’ thing? Just call me Iago!”
“Uhm.. Please! You need to come and help Shea!” she shouted out, ignoring his words. Her exhaustion seemed to have caught up with her at that moment, and she doubled with her breath coming in short gasps.
Iago made his way down and waited for the woman to catch her breath, then asked, “What happened? “
“Wounds are opening up on her hands! And face! Something must have gone wrong!”
“But they’re closing, aren’t they?”
“Yeah but… You have to do something!” the woman pleaded. “It has to be so painful for her! I feel sick just seeing them!”
The shaper’s face closed up at those words but his voice was surprisingly gentle. “This is a fight between her and the Energy currents. Neither I, nor you can help her at this time. All we can do is hope and pray for her success.”
“Nothing at all?” the woman cried. The tears and squeaky voice made her look much younger. Scorpius had thought she was past her mid-twenties but now he was having doubts.
To her answer Iago shook his head, and the woman’s cry intensified. But soon she bit her lip and took a deep breath. “What could I do to repay her once she wakes up?”
“Make sure she doesn’t shape for the next week at least, and then don’t put her in situations that requires her to choose between you and her own powers.”
Such swift and direct instructions surprised the woman but she nodded eagerly, eyes shining with determination. “Thank you!” she shouted out and then ran off, presumably to her charge. The clanking of her armour was as loud as before, signalling exactly where she was at any moment.
Scorpius listened to that noise, wanting to know where it would stop. It would be much simpler than having to go on a search the next time he needed to check up on the girl.
It took some time but he was certain he knew where the place was. If he had to guess, it would be one of the more ran down houses at the edge of the city. There was nothing good about those buildings but that they were out of anyone’s path. No one would wander there by accident.
“You still here?” Iago asked and Scorpius flew out of his hiding place. The man smiled at him, then waved towards the tower.
They met up in the room, Scorpius changing into his human form.
“Mind helping me put this room to shape?” Iago asked moving to stand by the table. His eyes, however, were on the broken chair beside it.
“Weren’t you going to rest now? You don’t look like you’ve rested much through the day…”
The shaper chuckled at his words. “It’s from the using of the Energy currents. Time is what is needed for me to rest. In the meantime, I plan to get my place resemble one where someone could actually live.”
There was truth to his sentence when saying this place didn’t look like someone was staying here. Books were strewn all over the floor while the bookcase stood crooked by the wall. Near the window the table stood with glass shards littering it and a chair in pieces underneath. Other wall was empty of any decorations, the last one having a single person bed tucked in a corner. It was the only thing not thickly layered in dust, sand and ashes.
“What would you like me to do?”
“Whatever you feel like doing,” Iago said with a shrug. He sat down on the carpet whose original colour was lost in time, and collected the pieces of the chair. His face scrunched in concentration, eyes fixed on the parts that were no longer the same size and Scorpius decided against asking any more questions.
It wasn’t like it was hard to find something to do in this mess. Wherever he turned, everything needed repairing, cleaning or putting in place. Not the most glorious work but something he could do. Didn’t he think to himself not that long ago that he would do anything to repay his saviour? This could be as good a start as any.
He flew out and after perusing through a couple houses found clothes in a chest. It had been locked once but a fallen beam had cracked one side open, allowing Scorpius to take out everything inside. At some point these might have been someone’s best clothes, reserved for special occasions but in his eyes they were nothing more than cloth with buttons all over it.
There was no one around, so he walked back on foot while removing a hundred or so buttons from each piece of clothing. He guessed it must have been in fashion but he could never figure out why humans cared about such things.
Why at one time plain clothes were all the rage, then bright colours and the next year buttons like these. Wasn’t the choice only between comfort and showing yourself off to the other gender? How did humans find not only a third but a dozen more variations for that choice?
It was unique to their race.
The rest of them, nosferatu, lycantropes and others, never cared about appearance. Or clothes to be more exact. Maybe it was because they had other forms to present? They had a way to show off without resorting to putting cloth on their bodies to enhance it?
Questions he would probably no longer ever get an answer to. With the world ending up like this, the value of one’s appearance had quickly gone down. The survivors in the camp wore whatever fit them, not caring whether it got dirty as long as it could be worn.
Returning to the room, he faced the bookcase. It was mostly intact and there was nothing he could do about the top right side having been smashed inside. Well, he took out the broken pieces and that was that.
From there he continued by cleaning all the dust and glass shards from inside the bookcase. There was enough cloth to wrap his hands fully so it was a simple task. Not one of the shards cut his fingers as he removed them.
Time passed and he went to put all the books inside. They were varying in subjects from romance novels to agricultural advances and ways to recognise other races. That last one he opened and read for some time, chuckling at points. In one chapter about nosferatu it said that they were afraid of old women since their blood made them age faster. Same was for old men but since so few of them reached an elderly age, it was a less tried out and so trusted method.
After that the author of the book went to suggest using water from the temple because nosferatu were demons born from Lady Envy’s jealousy. Apparently, once touched by the water, all evil creatures suffer heavy damage and their skin start to smoke. Soon after that Lady Nature sends someone to destroy that being since they are not natural, not part of the of nature’s cycle of life and death.
This was too much, and Scorpius closed the book, laughing to himself.
He hadn’t heard so much nonsense before. His kind weren’t demons but not being humans they might as well have been creatures of evil. They were treated such, anyway. Still, there were those that didn’t care about established course of conduct.
Iago had moved to kneel on the floor, striking at a nail to connect the pieces of the chair together. At some point he must have left to find the tools or shaped them and was close to finishing his work as a torch burned behind him. That’s from where the light had come. Somehow Scorpius hadn’t paid attention to the fact it was night and he was reading like normal.
But there was another thing he had forgotten too. “Why don’t you just shape to make everything right again?”
The man before him straightened from his work, lowering the hammer in his hand. “Would you set a forest fire to light a pipe?.”
After that cryptic reply he returned to his hammering and Scorpius turned back to the bookcase. There was still a number of books left to be returned to place, most of them requiring a thorough dusting off. It was work that needed little concentration and soon he found his mind drifting away.
By the time it returned, he was done and morning sun painted their room in yellow hues. He stared at that light, wondering where the night had gone. Hadn’t they started late in the evening? There was a lot of time in-between it and morning.
As if sensing his thoughts straying from what they had been doing, Iago stopped too, stretching. He was covered in dust, hands black from the dirt. It seemed like he had been trying to clean the carpet some, all of the glass shards having already been taken out.
“This was some fine work,” Iago said overlooking their achievements.
Scorpius tried seeing that but to him the room was only slightly better. If he hadn’t been here all the time, he would have doubted anyone had worked on this place. Everything was just as dirty, the bookcase crooked with torn books set in lines while the table stood with a chair haphazardly thrown to the side. It was standing on all four legs, though, Scorpius wouldn’t have dared to sit on it.
“Hey!” Iago shouted out, hitting him lightly over the head. “Don’t look down on our work! I can see it in your eyes, don’t lie!”
“But I’ve seen cleaner pigsties…”
“So have I, so have I,” Iago chuckled. “But I’ve lived in worse too. If we clean it up a bit more, this will turn into a cosy place, I assure you.”
“If you say so…” There was doubt in Scorpius’ voices as he answered but he had never worked on a room before. Maybe Iago knew something he didn’t.
“I do,” the shaper said in full confidence, appraising his chosen room. Then he looked down at cloths filled with shards and other trash. “I suppose, I’ll be taking this out now and then go to the canteen. See you in the evening?”
The last sentence was more of a question than a statement and Scorpius was about to nod when his stomach grumbled in protest. It’s been days since the last time he had eaten any real food. This was as good a time as any to ask about his diet. “Would it be possible for me to get some of that breakfast?”
“You eat real food?” Iago asked with interest, tying the cloths and after making sure there were no holes hefting it on his shoulders. After a concurring nod, he smiled. “Sure thing, it’s interesting how long both races have lived together without learning anything about each other. I didn’t even have a thought you required normal food. Sorry about that, should’ve asked.”
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
“It’s fine,” Scorpius said with his head down, uncertain why suddenly he felt so happy. So what if the man apologised for not thinking about him? It meant nothing. They were not equals.
“Well, see you!”
He then shifted the weight on his back to a more comfortable position and went down the stairs. The half-jumps were heavy and dangerous sounding from the groaning of the steps but Iago reached the bottom without any incident.
Scorpius in the meantime decided to make a place for himself to sleep. It would have been better had he something to perch on but only the windowsill was serviceable, and he wasn’t sleeping there. His presence was enough danger alone, no need to shout it from the rooftops so that all knew.
In one corner he saw some leftover cloth that hadn’t been used for cleaning. Picking it up, he was surprised by the smooth material. This might not be as bad as he expected. The top of the bookcase was moderately clean so he arranged his new bed carefully, making sure it allowed for an easy crawl to drop down. It was somewhat annoying that he couldn’t just lift off the ground like a bird and fly but at least he could change shape, this way gaining needed height to fly off at any time he wished.
He didn’t envy his kind in the wilds, normal bats that hadn’t their blood tainted by the Energy currents.
In time Iago returned with a plate filled with all kinds of food. He didn’t say how he explained himself to the other survivors and Scorpius didn’t ask. Together they ate quickly, watching the sun rise through the window.
It was beautiful but brought sleepiness and soon the two gave in. Scorpius shifted into a bat and flew up to his new den. The cloth was soft to his touch and he fell asleep in an instant, the sound of footsteps on the street serving as a lullaby.
But the man who they belonged to didn’t share Scorpius’ peaceful thoughts. Alec was off to see Commander and he knew it wasn’t going to be a happy meeting. He considered all the excuses he could use but none of them seemed like enough.
There had been enough time to come up with something but maybe it was just impossible. Was there really anything he could say that would save them from Commander’s wrath? It was a distant hope.
His soldiers thought of him as a hero, someone who could solve all the problems but they were so mistaken. He was nothing but a boot-licker. Every time he went to see Commander his hands shook like meeting a fairytale dragon. At least, those heroes were doing it for a grand purpose, to save a princess.
What was he doing this for, anyway? It was a question he pondered often after having learnt what being a soldier truly meant. Nothing he said ever mattered and whatever he did was never enough. He was supposed to lead his people into death for as little as a pretty dress. Was this what he had always dreamed about?
All too soon the mansion’s roof came into view, and he knew his peace was over. Commander was waiting for him at the gates, a thundering expression on his face. He was then led into a small guardhouse that had been repaired by the soldiers when they were just appointed. It had been their first assignment.
He should have known from it alone how this was going to end.
“What’s this I heard about an unsanctioned expedition?” Commander bellowed the moment they were both inside with doors closed.
The glare he levelled on Alec made him cower, and all his painful attempts at explanations flew away. “I- We- I-.” Commander kept on waiting and he had to stammer out something, even as his last pieces of courage tumbled and shattered on the ground. “It was… We.. The camp needed food!”
“Silence!” Commander roared, slapping Alec so hard he crashed into the doors behind him. “What did I tell you about doing things behind my back, huh?”
Pain clouded Alec’s mind but he knew he had to answer. That was the most important thing. But Commander didn’t wait. He grabbed Alec by his collar, smashing him against the wall with an audible scrunch. “Talk! What did I tell you? Or have you forgotten, you useless dog?”
His mouth was filled with blood and something was floating within it but he didn’t dare to spit it out. “No, no…” he wheezed out with the last of his breath.
This must have reminded Commander that he was close to choking his subordinate and he released his grip. Alec crumbled where he stood, his body refusing to show any kind of resistance against that man. At least now he could clean up his mouth. There was probably a tooth or two in the spit and he wondered how he was going to explain it to his soldiers.
“Talk!”
“Yes, Commander!” he shouted out, pushing himself up. The sound was decently normal meaning it wasn’t any of the front teeth. Good, easier to hide. “You have said that soldiers have to follow the orders of their superiors. Not a single one can be dismissed, similarly not a single action can be taken that was not given as an order from a higher officer.”
The answer brought a toothy grin to Commander’s face. He enjoyed ruling over others so much, being the only soldier that had survived. It was one of his first actions to recruit a ragtag group of youngsters to serve as his makeshift soldiers. They adored him, after all. Who wouldn’t such an imposing man that knew everything that was to know about war and battle?
Alec despised him from the bottom of his heart, but not more than himself. He had dreamt of being a soldier, lamenting his fate of being born in the lower classes. His fate was to be a shoemaker, not a glorious fighter of justice that saved princesses and protected people from monsters.
Where was that fate now? He would cry tears of joy if someone returned him to that time. Those days when all he had to deal with was his mother’s complaints and father’s annoyance at how talentless he was.
“Good, good! That’s right!” Commander laughed, hitting the pummel of his sword in joy before his eyes darkened. “So, why did you not follow it?”
As he asked that the man took a step forward and Alec instinctively covered his head with his hands. He heard mocking laugher, but it meant nothing in comparison. Pride, self-respect - he had forgotten what those meant weeks ago. Surviving was all that mattered. Hugh, Lyra, Malek, Grey, Tyr, Denni and especially young Quir won’t make it without him.
None of them deserved to know the true side of Commander. They still believed in the goodness of what they were doing; it was better that way. Destruction of their homes, losing of families and friends were enough already. How much more suffering could they take before breaking apart?
He didn’t want to know and that’s why he was going to live. No matter what he had to push through, he was going to survive. That’s what mattered.
“What are you spacing out for, you shitty dog?” Commander roared, grabbing Alec and once more throwing him to the other side of the room. This time it was with even more force, and he was sure some bones got broken. He was nothing but a fragile doll in this man’s presence. No defence was possible.
“Know your place, you piece of trash! I saved you from death, picking your pitiful form from the sands and is this how you repay me? If not for me, you’d be long dead!”
Alec drew himself closer, pushing himself to stand again. It hurt, all his bones ached but Commander didn’t accept weakness. The longer he stayed down, the more beaten up he would get. “I’m eternally thankful to you for that. I owe my life to your kindness!”
“Like hell you are! What was that expedition then?” the man growled but something stopped him from hitting Alec again. Instead he took a step back and glaring threw a sentence that made Alec’s blood run cold. “Another indiscretion and I’m getting rid of all that disrespectful lot, got it? There are plenty of other idiots that will serve me, and with more loyalty.”
“Please no!” Alec begged, falling on his knees. It no longer mattered that this was not an action Commander would approve. “Please! Don’t touch them! They haven’t done anything!”
“Anything?” Commander asked in a bellow, turning around quick as a flash. “Another word and I’ll go cut them to pieces right now!”
Commander was always good at doing what he said so Alec didn’t dare to open his mouth again. His people, how could he protect them from this monster? It seemed impossible. He was but a normal person. What could he do?
Before leaving through the door, Commander stopped and turned to regard his second in command. “On the next expedition your soldiers will get nothing from what we bring back. Understood?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Good, good,” he laughed and left, throwing the doors shut behind him. They closed with an ear-splitting noise and Alec was left on his own.
He tried to get up and leave, but his body refused. Only then he noticed that he was shaking all over, his mind in tatters. It was over… Over… He had made it through.
Yet the realisation didn’t bring relief along with it. That man… That man was too much. He couldn’t do anything against him while he held all of their lives in his hands. It was frustrating.
Fury ran down his cheeks in watery droplets as he sat with his head bowed and hands clenched into fists. He was just so powerless, a weakling. Someone else could have found a way out of this. Someone else could protect the survivors. Those people didn’t deserve to live under that monster.
But anger was futile. Same as frustration and fury. He was weak and that was that. It would be good enough if he gave the people another day to live in their ignorant peace. That was what mattered. At least another day. He could give them that, couldn’t he?
It was a challenge to push himself upwards and stagger out of the guardhouse. No one came to meet him but that was normal, and good. He would have trouble explaining his appearance to anyone he knew.
In one of the ruins he found a basin with water and a semi-clean towel he’d left a week ago. It seemed servants still didn’t leave the main house and people from the camp didn’t come this far. There was still a clear distinction between the two groups in the city, and it wasn’t going to be repaired any time soon. Never probably if Commander and his Mistress had a say in it.
That was good enough for him, and he focused on cleaning himself up. Blood had dried out and now came off in sand like substance, painting the basin’s water pink. He wondered where he was going to get more clean water, but pushed that thought away.
He had survived this time. It was the most important part. Next time will have to worry about itself, he had different things to consider now. Like what to do about his clothes, for example. They had patches of red, and tears where he had hit a sharp corner of some cabinet.
There was a spare in his chest, but because everyone was staying in a single giant hall, it was impossible to get to it without notice. He would have to go searching through the ruins. Not something he looked forward to but the only solution.
After cleaning up, he went to do just that and in time found a serviceable outfit. It was dark blue with a hundred decorative buttons which he tore away so that it looked more common. Some of the survivors enjoyed dressing up in rich clothes they found, but to him the dress up made him feel even more of a phony than he already was.
Losing all the buttons and having threads sticking out, the outfit was something he could have worn at home. Not that he would have had such rich material but whatever. Few of the commoner things had survived the destruction, being in the open and not protected like the items of nobles.
On his way back to the camp, he decided to first visit Denni. She had to be near her new friend, worrying about her life without a moment’s rest. It was noble of her to feel guilty over it but the other shaper had been right, this was all Alec’s fault.
He should have been able to control his people, protect them from themselves. If he couldn’t do even that, then what was the purpose of his life? Why had he survived all that destruction than no one he ever cared or knew had?
“Hey..” Denni murmured upon noticing him, her voice a shadow of its former light-hearted self. This was his doing too. Another stone on his shoulders.
“How is she?” he asked sitting down beside her on the steps to the house.
“I can no longer stand being there... Those wounds... They’re getting worse and worse! What if they don’t heal next time?”
“He said they will.”
Denni jumped from her sitting place, her shoulder length curls bouncing with their owner. “What does he know? How can we trust him? He hasn’t visited her once!”
It was a bit too much of an accusation, there having passed only a single night since Shea sat down to meditate. But Denni’s worry had its reasons. He had been inside for a bit and the sight had made him sick to the stomach. Deep gashes opened on her arms and pain twisted the girl’s features but she kept her teeth clenched, eyes closed. Not a sound to be heard.
“He’s the only one who knows. Besides, you’ve heard how she defends him. There must be a reason behind it.”
“Besides infatuation for her saviour?” Denni asked with a glare in the general direction of the city.
Alec choked a laugh, not expecting such a direct statement. “Maybe but I talked with him yesterday. He seemed genuinely worried about her well-being. His lack of presence here might be because he feels guilty having let her go alone with us.”
“You think so?” his soldier asked with her mouth staying open in surprise.
He nodded, not wanting to lie aloud. The man had been annoyed but not overly concerned. No, that was wrong. He didn’t seem to care at all, like it was a toss of a coin whether Shea lived or died and he wasn’t the one throwing it.
It was better if Denni wasn’t aware of that.
She smiled after hearing his lies and happily plopped down beside him. “I’m glad to hear that. Maybe he’s not as bad as I thought. Thanks, Leader!”
‘’No problem,” he answered, raising his eyes up at the sky.
His side ached where he’d been slammed into the wall, and there were bruises all over his body but none of it mattered. He’d calmed Denni’s worries and that was the important part. In this twisted world, making another’s life easier was the pinnacle of achievement.
Good enough. He was doing good enough.
***
Author's Note:
Hope you enjoyed this chapter ^^
Comments, opinions and reviews are very welcome!