Prince Mazin made a line in the damp grass below. A line of brown dead grass amongst the less than lush yellow. He paced back and forth within the cramped space of a grove, safe from the drizzle at night. The freeing pleasure of the last shadow jump long forgotten now Mei set the plan in motion.
A few adjustments along the way until Mei departed for her potential doom. Alone with Tigers. Numbered only a hundred of their party. The rest a mix of Lions, who were the majority, Lynxes and others. She would summon the rest of them and then he would see her again. An endless number of Tigers wishing for his end.
He paced after a moment’s consideration, much to Shadow’s amusement. Despite the drizzle, it was a clear night, though it forced them to remain in complete darkness, lest they give away their presence. Mei needed no more reason for them to turn against her. The presence of Lions in the shadows would all but guarantee her doom.
What made it as excruciating was the ignorance on his part. Nothing she might say to her Tigers. How she would sway them against their mad Emperor. Knowing made no difference, or aid her. It was a selfish thought.
Mazin tugged at his armour and adjusted his haloed helm mid stride. He drew his khopesh and studied the blade, reminding himself of its weight, then sheathing it again. It left a bitter taste on his tongue, but he needed it now.
“Prince, you exert yourself needlessly,” Nu muttered, fighting off a yawn.
“Would you be calm if someone you lo… cared for walked to the executioner’s block and bared their neck?”
“I have unfortunately not known love or been lucky enough to love another.”
“I did not say love,” Mazin whispered.
“Forgive my boldness.”
“I am sorry Nu, everyone deserves love.”
“I’ve learned to live without it so far.”
“May it soon end,” Mazin smiled at her and she bowed. “Did you know your parents, or any siblings, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“I heard many things once. Bana’Parvat is all that matters now. It was there where they left me and there where I learned everything.”
“They abandoned you?”
“It felt that way.”
Mazin would have pressed on, despite her reluctance, but movement dragged him eastwards. Nu turned in the same direction. A rumbling of swift movement that tensed his arm. Soon after, a Lion rushed towards them with news.
“Another party of dark Tamers rode by in the east, Prince,” he muttered. “I believe they are Panthers this time.”
“How many?”
“Less than one hundred, Prince, though the exact number is unknown.”
That was near four hundred since they arrived in their hiding place. First came Jaguars. Then a scattering of Tigers. Now Panthers. It was a strange turn of events. Mass desertions and stagnated attacks. Yet the emperor remained, and most of his Tigers. He didn't believe Bil'Faridh was safe until he saw it.
“Prince, I ask again, allow some of us to follow so that we might learn if it is truly desertion, or something worse.”
“What is your name?”
“Sokar, Prince.”
An old name. From the Age of Founding. It didn’t suit the man. Sokar was stout with a broken nose. He kept no weapons other than his throwing knives of many shapes and sizes. Some miniature axes, but there was nothing incapable about him.
“Fine, but only five of you. Pick them yourself and all of you must return, please.”
“Thank you, Prince, we will not fail you.” Sokar bowed and rushed away.
Nu’s attention was on him once more, prideful.
“They would not have stopped.”
“This is no accusation, Prince.”
“It is not my duty. I am not the crowned prince.”
“Any Prince must lead. Your brother will not do everything once he ascends.”
“My duty is to serve the pharaoh.”
“To lead is to serve, prince, and it suits you well.”
Mazin grunted, discomforted by the prickling sweat beading down his back. His attention turned back towards Mei, restless. He paced, and the grass suffered again.
An age passed until he stopped. This time by a Tiger.
Ju marched north from the darkness of night with her silver-streaked dark Bagha beside her. Fully armoured in sturdy, script strengthened lamellar, with her mask-less helm hanging from her waist. Her bone-coloured bow remained in her hand and a quiver stuffed with arrows.
A small sigh of relief escaped him.
“Prince, select one other, and come.”
“Wait, only two of us?”
“It was what she could manage amongst the Tigers who would hear her. She dares not push for more until she wins more of their trust.”
Ju was anxious, and her speech rushed, which forced him to bite his tongue. There were many more questions he needed answering. Instead, he glanced at Nu and they followed Ju out of their hiding place.
Shadow was a comforting, hulking mass of darkness beside him. The walk towards the emperor’s siege camp took another age. Lights stretched away from them. Both Ju and Nu shared in his anxiety, which worsened his own. His legs threatened to buckle, and he feared standing still. He soon dug a hand into Shadow’s mane for stability.
There was a buzz on the borders of the emperor’s camp. Indecipherable at first, then came words. All of them repeated the same thing, ‘the emperor’s daughter.’
The collective tension in the camp engulfed them as they approached the staked border, where a pair of Tigers stood guard. They nodded at Ju as they arrived, and parted with their black striped, orange Tamed Bagha. The beast’s golden eyes lingered on him. So did the Tamers, though there was more venom in their eyes.
It forced them off of the road because of the tight path opened for them. But instead of grass, they strode on its muddy remnants. Only soil, whatever grass there was, faded away by weeks of marching boots and paws, siege engines as well.
The Tigers staring at him and Nu were not Tamers, but their disdainful scents overpowered. He wished for a mask for his ruby eye again. Whispers surged from those who thought he wouldn’t hear. Tamers dotted the dense crowd. Many mounted up, sitting high above everyone else, watching the strangers in their midst.
Shadow growled aloud whenever anger sparked amongst the Tigers, and it dissipated. Most rested their hands on their sheathed weapons, some cowered in fear. Everything rested on a knife's edge, waiting for the smallest nudge to slip.
Thankfully, that never occurred, and they came across a clearing, free from the cramped path the watching Tigers forced them through. A large space in the centre of the camp ringed by more Tamers.
“Bow,” Shadow urged him.
“What?”
“Bow when you stand before the princess, give her control in the eyes of the others.”
Lan was the first he saw. Her snarling expression fixed on all the Tigers she glared at, daring any of them to harm the princess. Mei stood behind her, radiant in a grey dress glittered with onyx jewels. Lips painted scarlet red, her raven black hair cascaded down, with a ruby and onyx jewelled circlet of pristine steel sitting above her brow. A web of crystals draped the top of her head, sparkling with rubies and onyx gems.
Mei faced him when the mutters of her appearance and magnificent beauty mingled with his arrival. She revealed her entire face, even the jagged black scars on the left side. A quick smile, and all thoughts of panic and anxiety washed away from him. Strength returned to his legs he and wanted to hold her.
Shadow nudged him when he neared and he dropped to his knees, whipping off his helm and letting his long curls flow down to his neck.
“Princess,” he greeted. He caught her by surprise when he went down, but kept his gaze low. The Tigers gasped in clumps, and the buzzing chatter shifted towards her supposed power.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“Rise, Prince Mazin,” she spoke, loud enough for others to hear. “As promised, the prince answered my call.”
The commotion continued amongst the watching Tamers. A masked Tiger caught Mazin’s eye ahead, his horned helm under his arm, with a snarling demonic mask of all black. He alone appeared unmoved; his eyes narrowed as they jumped from himself to the Princess.
“I have done all you asked, revealed the Lions who rode with me, and the prince that leads them. Yet you all force yourselves to obey a man who has long since abandoned his senses in this siege, since my mother’s death.”
There was no reply to her words.
“You tell me of the demise of Jian the Dark, the Tiger who you all truly followed, yet here you stand, hoping beyond hope the emperor awakens from this cruelty he forces upon you all.”
Mazin turned towards Mei at the mention of Jian.
Dead, how?
“You ask a lot of us. To go against duty and commit treason?”
“General Zhao, your Tigers already desert your camp in droves. The emperor locks himself away in his tent, answering to no one. When does he answer to his duty to this clan, to all of you? The emperor serves in leadership!”
Much of the disdain and confusion shifted amongst the surrounding Tigers. They were passive, curious, or convinced, but a few of them turned to Mei’s side. It hinged on this General Zhao, who remained passive.
“Perhaps it is time you all forced the emperor out of his secluded selfishness to answer for his crimes against you.”
Silence followed Mei’s words again, but she waited, allowing the Tigers to stew. More shifted towards agreement.
“If you wish it, I will face him for you.”
They left General Zhao with no choice, though he remained passive. Many agreed about the emperor. A wave of pressure against him, until he finally grumbled and turned into the crowd, forcing his way towards the towering tent in the centre of their camp.
Mei turned towards Mazin and he noticed her shoulders lower before she beamed at him. He stepped closer, but not too much, fearing the reaction of the Tigers.
“You look well.”
“As do you, magnificent.”
“Mm,” she tried to play it off, though not even her sun-darkened face hid her blushes.
They wished to say more to each other. He saw it in her grey eyes. She bit her lip when she turned away, and he took that moment to gaze upon the capital further south. Other than the ruined walls of the lynx district, barely any damage was done. The odd building in the lynx and jaguar district suffered closest to the gates, but the night-time darkness masked everything else.
Bil’Faridh seemed so different from here, since his escape from it. He didn't look back. It felt like years ago now, but was glad he didn’t. Even now its beauty drew him in, the chaotic amalgamation of all the clans coming together into one grand unified city.
“Soon you will see your family,” Mei said.
“A timely arrival on your part.”
She hummed again, and his attention turned to the tiger district to the east. Where Panthers congregated before the open gates, lining into the city. Their siege camp abandoned; their tents left behind. There were palace guard amongst the district soldiers ushering in the Panthers.
“Quickly boy!”
Mazin jumped.
He danced around to find the beast after hearing Pride's voice.
“What’s wrong?” Mei asked.
“Nothing, I think.”
Commotion brewed amongst the Tamers as a strange scent attacked his nose. Happiness, grief, anger, frustration and emptiness all at once, altogether, mingled into a peculiar concoction. Then it was all gone. Many of the Tamers were afraid of the emperor.
Stains and creases ruined Jun Da’s robes, dragging along the muddy ground, sagging off his lean figure. Strength remained, despite his erratic appearance. A guandao poked over his shoulder, the blade sheathed in leather. His dark hair tied in an untidy topknot atop his head, with strands splayed over his face. Snow white sideburns on a taut, near gaunt, and sharp face. Mazin spied a storm in the emperor’s grey eyes, compared to the calm, emotional grey in Mei.
“What is the meaning of this treachery?” Many of the Tigers knelt as Jun growled at them.
His face coloured when his eyes fell on Mei. The storm in his cloudy eyes cleared and a sparkle of joy twinkled within. A soft gasp escaped his lips, and he quivered. The colour drained from his face after a blink. Jun’s lips twitched and his nose flared. When he clenched his fists, Mazin’s hand landed on his khopesh.
“No… no, no, no, no, no, no!”
“Dada,” Mei whispered, weeping.
“No! You’re dead. Lijuan is dead, a ghost!”
Lan fingered the hilt of her katana, poised and ready as he was.
“No, I won’t do it, I won’t do it!” Jun battered his head with his fists, his eyes shut and still leaking. “Begone Witch!”
Lan rushed ahead of Mei with her katana in both hands. Mazin joined her at her side and took the first lightning strike from Jun. His arm shuddered as he rolled away to soften the blow, while Lan deflected with equal difficulty.
Mazin charged the emperor as more of Mei’s Tigers shielded her. He stepped out of the way of the leather sheath flung at him, and his khopesh pinged when it met the blacksteel guandao blade. Lan harassed his left, while Mazin attacked the right, but soon they back-pedalled. Jun Da was a wild whirlwind, dealing with himself and Lan with unquestionable ease. So fast he was that Mazin hardly felt the blood streaming from his face. From right next to the bridge of his nose, along his cheek bone until his right ear.
Before the emperor’s efforts embarrassed them, Tigers swarmed him. From behind and the front, his own, who finally became Mei’s.
“No! You won’t trick me again, Witch! I’ll kill you, not…”
They gagged and held him down while he tossed soldiers aside with his erratic strength. They dragged him away, squirming, moaning, kicking and groaning.
Nu rushed to his side, clutching his haloed helm, while Lan rushed to console the still sobbing princess. Despite the air of despair shared by all, Mei succeeded.
Mazin approached Mei with a cloth to stifle the bleeding on his cheek and she dived into his chest.
“I’m sorry,” she quivered.
Her embrace was all the healing he needed, and he forgot about his stinging cheek.
“We must go, answer the call of your mother’s Sinha.”
Shadow forced him to end their embrace, and Mei frowned up at him.
“I must go Mei. I’m sorry, there’s trouble that calls me to the capital.”
“Go, we have all the time now,” she sniffed with a weak smile.
Mazin turned towards Lan, who had her own gushing stream of blood on her left forearm.
“Look after her,” he muttered, and Lan nodded.
“Where the fuck have you been?”
Zaki’s tone was of rage filled joy, which confused him as he dismounted from Shadow’s back. Nu a shadow close behind. They embraced, and Zaki groaned in pain when they parted. He couldn’t imagine Zaki in such a state, yet his brother stood before him, riddled with scorch marks and gaunt. Wrinkled flesh, and bald.
“Dealing with the emperor,” Mazin muttered, still applying pressure to his cheek.
Pride appeared behind him, and Shadow nuzzled with Dawn nearby. Panthers still shuffled into the city.
“Where’s every…”
“They took Ma!”
“Who did?”
“The chief and some of his dark Tamers, the Panthers, spoke of his plans to kidnap her for ransom.”
“We must go, boys!” Pride spoke to both of them, and the panic took Mazin aback.
“Da is acting the fool, the kumkani is wavering and everything is a damned mess.”
“What happened with the kumkani?”
“Not now! We waste time,” Pride rushed again, padding towards the northeast.
“Prince, those Panthers that rode by us and Sokar wished to scout, perhaps,”
“Yes, yes, we muster the Lions, Nu,” Mazin scrambled atop Shadow, then glanced back at Zaki, wincing and clutching his left hand, which was missing a finger.
“I’m fine,” he growled. He had katanas on his waist. “Go, I need Jazmin, I’ve exerted myself. I’ll catch up. Don’t be late again!”
“Will you be…”
“Go!”
Pride was already off ahead, and Shadow sped to follow him.
“Nu,” Mazin shouted. “Tell Mei I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to her, then fetch the other Lions!”
“It will be done, Prince.”
Nu broke off and rode towards the Tigers once again. Mazin turned ahead and fixed his attention on Pride’s golden gaze, staring down at him.
“What happened?”
“She is a bargaining tool. I was told to keep my distance when they took her.”
“Is she alive?”
“For now,” Pride’s fear spurred Shadow into a lightning speed.
I could have prevented this, you fucking fool!
“Do not despair, you did not know.” Shadow comforted, without a hint of the exertion in his voice.
“There was time, I could have,”
“You made a choice. It is done. You have made another choice. It is not over. There is still the present.”
Mazin clenched his fist all the same, donning his helm before it flew off of his waist. Pride, a hulking mass of ochre, gold fur, led the way before a wave of blackness and endless ruby red eyes blinked behind him to join the rush.
He listened to Shadow’s advice. Ignored what was, dismissed what might be. His mind emptied, his cheek stung in the slicing wind, torn open anew. The pain faded. All that mattered was Ma and Chief Mandla.