Finally, Mariyah reached the village with the entirety of her group, and the gladiators and quickly landed. She wasted no time after landing and setting the prisoner down, and quickly ran to Peter who was tending to the crops, leaving the others to stay by the outskirts. “Peter,” she called out to get his attention. “We saved Cal!” She looked behind her at the group in the distance. “And a few more..” she said to him. Her voice lowered as he lifted his head to her with a look of disgust. She frowned. “You don’t need to take me back in, but please help these people? Just for a day or two until they’re able to go about on their own?”
“What people?!” he asked, before seeing the others waiting for him. His face quickly grew red and he tossed his shovel down. “You’ve done what?!” he shouted.
“There were others that needed to be saved-” she started.
“NO! MARIYAH! Saving one boy is bad enough, but raiding an entire arena is mad! I will have no part in this!” he shouted, waving his hand off. “Get them away from my village at once!”
“Please.” She looked at him with wide eyes. “They just need time to get well,” she pleaded with him.
“Do not beg me, girl! Get them away from here now!”
Mariyah clasped her hands together. I have no medical supplies. We have food but…that was for Cal and I’s trip. I suppose we could use that for the prisoners instead, but this is too many people for that food to satisfy for long. We could hunt more, but Cal and I are trying to leave soon. My friends just became banished for me and now I leave them with hardly anything? What good was it doing any of this if they’d starve out here? Her mind swarmed with thoughts as she pressed. “There are women and children!” she begged, desperately.
He opened his mouth and she could see the fiery anger that was about to unleash, but something in his eyes froze as he looked at her expression of desperation. He breathed out slowly after a moment, as if to calm himself down. He turned his head towards the wounded group. “The entire king’s army will come after me. I will not let you in my village,” he said quietly.
Mariyah inhaled sharply, his words casting a cloud on her that she did not know how to fight off. She couldn’t be upset with him. It would be dangerous for him to accept them, and she knew it. She began to try and think of other ideas, wondering how she could come up with enough food to feed them all. Maybe this was all a mistake- she didn’t think anything through, she never did. She always acted on her heart, and it seemed to always end poorly. “I understand. I’m sorry for coming to you.” She turned around and began to walk away.
But he turned his head and sighed to himself. “You rescued an entire gladiator arena, Mariyah?”
She didn’t stop walking as she responded, her shoulders low as she continued trying to think of other ideas. “It’s done, and I know what I did. No need to scold me any further for it,” she said in a low voice.
He shook his head, his face struggling to understand her. “What are you getting yourself into, girl?” He huffed out in frustration, loud enough for her to stop and turn around to face him. “Of course, I want these people to be safe and free! But we are in no position to do this. And you are going to be getting more people killed by this. More of MY villagers!”
She bit her lip in silence as he spoke.
“I cannot take part in assisting you or risk my village for the sake of your actions.” After a long pause he lifted his chin. “But I will not search for a thief who steals some of my crops, or any supplies they might need,” he muttered under his breath.
Mariyah watched as he departed from her, standing there in confusion before finally understanding what he meant. Her eyes widened as her face lit up, and she exclaimed, “Thank you so much, Peter!”
She rushed back to the group and pulled aside Cal and Marcy to speak with them quickly. “He won’t allow us to stay...and I understand why. But he will kind of allow us to take supplies. That’s all we need.” She bit her lip nervously. Her friends joined them, leaving the gladiators among themselves as they discussed.
“Well, we still need a place to stay.” Gil crossed his arms.
David shook his head. “Peter won’t allow us back in. He’s right not to, he shouldn’t. We shouldn’t get anyone else in trouble with this beyond ourselves. It was our choice, all of ours.”
Dyelen kicked dirt and mumbled. “Peter’s a coward.”
Mariyah made a noise and gave him a look. “He’s trying to protect your village too.”
She watched as Marcy nodded in agreement and added, “No other village is going to take in this many extra heads, especially them being runaway gladiators. And there’s no point in separating them from us. We’re banished anyway, we may as well work together. We did rescue them after all, we're all a group now. We’ll have to make do out here.” She shrugged. “It won’t be so bad, I guess, as long as we have food and supplies to fix up the wounded. It’ll be just like the village…but without the tents.”
Mariyah gave a slight frown. "I'm sure it'll be temporary. I'd imagine once this all blows over and suspicions are gone, Peter would let us return and the others won't have a hard time finding villages to take them in. But for now, we need our own spot."
Kai smirked. "Peter will miss us way too much to not let us back in after a week, you watch."
Rose smiled. “I kind of like the sound of that. A new village.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s what it’s turned into.” Sare looked at Mariyah. “But you’ll be leaving us soon.”
Mariyah tensed but smiled faintly. “Well. I’ll make sure everyone is settled first, of course. I kind of…got you all in this mess anyways.” She rubbed her arm nervously and nodded. “We’ll make this work. We’ll make a new village, like Rose said. And it’ll be okay.”
Sylve scoffed.
Kindrick gave Mariyah a proud smile. “Don’t forget we all agreed to this.”
Mariyah nodded at Kindrick. “Thank you.” She returned a smile and looked around at her friends. “Well, guess we’ll find a new place to make a home. Needs to be somewhere untraveled first. At least until the soldiers stop looking for the prisoners.”
Cal looked at Mariyah. “Let them camp near my hut.”
She lifted her brows. “You’d be okay with that?”
He nodded his head. “Not very big but it gives us something to start with. And it’s untraveled.”
"Are you sure?"
"You saved me. And your friends got banished to help. I'm sure."
“Thank you…so much,” she said with a gleam in her eyes.
The group headed into the forest further after explaining to the gladiators what the plan was. While some refused and wished to try and return to their previous villages, many stayed and joined them at Cal’s camp.
Meanwhile, Mariyah went back to Peter’s village and took some supplies like Peter had hinted at. She came back to Cal’s camp and began distributing food and supplies to those around her. She found Cal with Rose, who had sparked up a conversation with him.
“How did you learn all of these things?” he asked as he sat beside her, tending to someone’s cut shin.
Rose’s soft voice responded, “My mother. She was once a nurse.”
Cal looked at her intently and watched as she used her dress to dab the wounded’s blood. “Kind of you to do.”
Mariyah smiled to herself and handed Rose some supplies. “Here you go. Thank you for your help.” She gave her friend a sweet smile and left the two before joining the others and helping where she could. She was glad Cal was speaking to the others, she wanted him to meet everyone anyway.
She sat by herself for a bit, on the outskirts of the camp, watching everyone talk amongst themselves as the sun set above them. Her gaze moved over each of the faces, her heart sinking at the thought of them in danger. The reality of what she had done began to set in as she watched them. She convinced half of a village to join her in invading the King’s property, along with freeing his prisoners and killing his men. She sighed out, rubbing her face as she closed her eyes. I just plastered bullseye’s on our backs…what have I done?
Cal must have noticed her body language from his seat, because he was standing in front of her when she opened her eyes. She blinked blankly, startled, before smiling. “Oh, hi.”
He sat down beside her on the ground, leaning his back against the tree. “All alone over here.” He watched the group in front of them as she was doing, taking a few glances at her.
“Just thinking.” She pulled her knees up under her chin and rested her cheek against them, giving him a small smile.
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“About?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know.”
He looked at her with a suspicious face and looked behind them. “Wanna step away for a bit?”
She looked around before looking back at him, her heart lifting a bit. She nodded and stood up. He nodded his head in the direction behind them, and she followed as the two walked through the forest for some time. Cal finally spoke, breaking the silence. “I'm still in a bit of surprise at what you did.”
She looked at him and then back at the soil she walked on with a quick laugh. “I know. I am too.” She huffed out a breath before looking up at the sound of running water. She’d never explored this area of the forest, but there had to be a creek closeby. It was dark now, but she didn’t mind. The moon was bright enough to poke through the trees and give them enough light to walk.
She turned to walk towards the sound of flowing water, Cal following behind. “Oh my- look!” she exclaimed, running over to a wide stream. This must be another part of the same one Olly and she would visit, but this area was much wider. The water was lit up in the darkness by the moon. It looked as if it was almost a fluorescent blue. She looked around at the scene, mushrooms and plants all around them glowed against the reflection of the water. “This is so pretty,” she said, breathlessly as she sat down.
He sat beside her after a moment and looked around himself. “I’ve never seen this place at night before.” He watched her as she stared at the water, her shoes poking out of her dress as she stretched her legs out.
“How are you feeling about it all?” Cal asked her.
She exhaled quietly. “Good...I feel good about this...” she said. The water in the creek reflected onto her face.
“But?”
She stayed silent for a few seconds. “I don’t know…” She rubbed her arms. “I think I just made a mistake. A big one too.” She lifted her brow and shook her head. “I should have rescued just you. That’s what I meant to do. But here I am with a group of escaped prisoners and my friends who I dragged into this too. Soliath won’t let this go unpunished. The second they find us, we’re all dead.” She bit her lip and ran her hands through her hair, tugging at it in frustration. “I really messed up.” She groaned out. “But I just couldn’t leave them there, I couldn’t.” She looked over at him. “Be honest with me. Do you find what I did stupid?”
Cal watched her crumble in front of him as he shook his head. “No, Mariyah. Definitely not stupid. I think it was bold of you, but not stupid.”
She frowned and looked out into the water again. “Well I feel it.”
He leaned forward to look at her, making sure she looked at him. “You did what you thought was best in the moment, and it by no means was a bad decision. You saved me which I’m forever going to be grateful for, Mariyah. You raided an arena to save me.” He paused for a moment, clearing his throat. “The others would have been killed either way. You didn’t endanger them any more than the danger they were in before. They were going to be dragged out of their cells and forced to fight for the entertainment of Naturals. You saved them, and it was no mistake, no matter how scary it may be now.”
She nodded, trying to accept his words. “Thank you.” She leaned back on her hands and looked over at him with a small sarcastic smile. “Guess we’ll just live as a group of fugitives!”
He gave her a look, before letting out a small laugh. “Guess so.”
She nudged his knee with hers. “Oh? A rare Cal laugh!”
He gave her a look and looked away.
She opened her mouth in surprise as she sat up. “I could fly them all over the water to Chaiaysa. That could work.”
He smirked and shook his head, amused. “Didn't you go over this with Peter? I doubt no soldiers would notice a large animal flying taking tens of trips carrying people. You'd most definitely get shot down.”
She sighed and leaned her head back. A frog leaped into the stream, making a funny sound. She giggled, tossing in a rock before looking at Cal again, her face growing serious as realization hit her. “I need to take you overseas before anything else. I can’t stay myself, but I can take you. And I'll return once things here are taken care of.”
He furrowed his brow. “What? No, don’t worry about that now.”
“No, Cal, I was supposed to take us both. Now we’re here.” She shook her head. “I can take you now, I can. And I’ll come join you once I’m sure the others are safe.” But her eyes fell to the ground as she wondered to herself.
“I’ll wait then.”
“No, let me take you.”
He looked at her with serious eyes. “No. I’ll wait till you’re ready. You can’t change my mind.”
She grunted in defeat and watched him for a moment once he looked away. His dark hair and light skin against the stream’s reflection was a pretty sight. He had such dark eyes, but something about him was not as dark as the rest of his aura. It began to dawn on her how much she liked being around him. If she hadn’t taken him from the arena, she would have been devastated once again. He didn't deserve any harm, no harm at all. She looked up through the trees, the two sitting in silence for a bit before they returned to camp.
In the castle…
Soliath stood in his bedroom, staring out his tower window with his hands behind his back. His body was tense, his jaw stiff and hands clenched tightly. He breathed in and exhaled slowly as he looked out below him. His kingdom. His people. His rule. He looped a finger in his collar and tugged at it slightly to allow him to take a deeper and tired breath.
A knock from his door interrupted his gaze.
“Your majesty, a word?” one of his guards called out.
“Enter,” Soliath said, turning from the window and walking towards the door as one of his right hand guards entered. “What is it, Borth?” he asked the tall and broad shouldered man.
The burly guard took a deep gulp before speaking. His eyes remained at the king’s feet. “A gladiator arena has been raided.”
Soliath's face grew still as he narrowed his eyes, the entire room suddenly felt heavy. “Raided?”
“Yes, sir.” He forced out more details he knew the king would not wish to hear. “A group of Shifters performed the raid. The entire group of gladiator prisoners escaped.” He still stared at the ground as he spoke.
For a long moment, Soliath remained silent. Finally, he spoke. “Was it the girl?”
He nodded his head. “Would you like us to find her, sir? Our men can track the group’s trail. We suspect they traveled through the forest. We can kill her on sight, your majesty-”
“Fetch me Jutlin, please.”
He nodded and soon returned with the king’s advisor.
“Have you heard of this matter?” Soliath asked him as Jutlin entered.
Jutlin sighed and used a hand to slick back his smooth gray hair. “I have been informed. What are you thinking?”
“I want her dead. I want her dead now.”
“I suspected you’d say that.”
The king clenched his jaw, staring intently at his advisor. “And why does it sound like you disagree?”
“I think we are in a predicament and if not handled perfectly, we could face a large problem.”
Soliath turned to his window once again, his face twitching with irritation. “Stop making excuses for her life. It was one raid. We kill her off and end it all here. Crush any hope that was sparked.”
Jutlin nodded his head and took a seat at Soliath’s desk, resting his elbow on his knee in thought. “I want that as well. But you must remember, Shifters have the upper hand. If they get the slightest idea to fight us, to dare start a war, we will lose. We will, Soliath. We don’t have lions and tigers on our side. We have men with swords and wooden arrows.”
The king listened carefully and allowed him to continue.
“I’m not making excuses, my king. I’m reminding you that angering the Shifters enough to blind them of their fear will get us all killed. Fear is the only weapon we have that can stand against their abilities.”
“So let us kill her off then! Before she sprouts any more hope and bravery-”
“That sir, is the problem. She has already sprouted enough to start disturbance and ideas of rebellion about the Shifters.” Jutlin looked at Borth. “How large was the group that rescued the prisoners?”
“About twenty. Maybe more.”
Jutlin glanced at the king. “That is not small, my king.” He put a finger to his lips and looked at Borth again. “Has word gotten to the kingdom? Have the citizens heard of this gladiator escape?”
The soldier nodded. “It’s been talked about all evening, sir- talk of locking their doors at night now, and remaining indoors as much as possible. Many fear to come out knowing there’s fighters on the loose. They’re waiting to hear from the king.”
Soliath clenched his fist angrily. “All because of one girl with a stupid naive mind.”
“We can easily go kill her, sir. I’ve already spoken with other soldiers. It would be no problem once we find her,” Borth suggested. "We'll use our hound Shifters."
Jutlin interjected. “No. If the kingdom is talking about it, Shifter villages are surely speaking about it as well. Yet instead of fear, they may be feeling bravery. We cannot kill her now.”
Soliath puffed out loudly. “Jutlin, I want her gone!”
He shook his head. “You kill the first Shifter to successfully fight back and pull a stunt on us, sparking bravery in these people, their bravery will turn to anger and it will be directed towards you and the entire kingdom. We must scare her. We must visibly scare her, run her off, which will then break the hope and bravery of the others. When they see that it was a mistake to be brave, to be hopeful, they will never try again.”
“Killing her now is what needs to be done!” Soliath shouted.
“Kill her if you desire it so much! But I know you have not gone mad. You know how fragile this wall you have built up is. You know how long it took to separate them from us in a way where they did not spark up riots and fights. And you wish to kill her because of some anger and pride. To cause an entire animalistic riot because of pride!”
The king tightened his jaw.
“Killing her now will trigger the entire kind of Shifters to retaliate, Soliath! Unless you want an entire army of wild beasts leaping over your walls and slaughtering your kingdom, we must play this game much smarter than your blind hatred. Or I can promise you, you will be dying by the hands of an animal.” Jutlin’s dark eyes stared into Soliath’s black ones, slowly seeing Soliath understand. “They have hope now. Do not move on them while they’re growing confident. Scare her in front of them first. Break her in front of her people, and show them what happens when you step up. She will flee, and they will return to the state they were in.”
Soliath shook his head, clenching his fists tightly. “How do I scare her? How do I break her?”
“I don’t think you need me to answer that for you. She’s a fragile young girl. Threaten her, let her know exactly what we plan to do if she causes one more issue. Tell her how we will break her. And all senses of rebellion or bravery will die. Her willing surrender will extinguish the flame of hope and retaliation, rather than her unjust death igniting it.”
Soliath looked at Jutlin. “They will never dare to hope again.”
Jutlin nodded once.
The king rubbed his chin with his hand and looked at Borth. “Bring her in. I will not kill her, but I want to speak with her. I will warn her of what her actions will be causing. There is a chance that I can end this all now without infuriating a population of beasts. If she lacks fear, I will give it to her. I will give her fear. I pray she is smart enough to listen. She has bitten off more than she can chew, and I can show her that. Maybe we will not need to break her after all.”