Meryem meandered through the east garden as if she had no purpose. But in reality, she had an objective. Renier - Master Orhan, she corrected herself - most mornings could be found sipping tea, reading on a bench under a large fig tree toward the back next to the large fountain. She assumed he found the water sounds soothing.
She spotted her quarry after passing a thick copse of brightly colored Oleanders and nonchalantly made her way toward him. A slight autumn breeze ruffled her red locks, and strands of hair formed a veil across her face. Momentarily blinded, she faltered in her steps, and a soft, lilting chuckle escaped her lips. Renier looked up from his tome with curiosity, taking the opportunity to sip his tea.
The silver embroidery on her azure salwar glistened in the morning sunlight as she took the final steps to Renier. His current guise was far from the golden-haired, blue-eyed boy she had seen in his portrait. The girl in her couldn’t help but wonder about his true semblance beneath this disguise, and her heart rate quickened. She no longer felt as much aversion to her master’s suggestion. As she drew closer, the scent of his tea mingled with the garden’s floral aroma, snapping her back to the present. Concentrate, she reminded herself, the mission is what matters.
“Master Orhan, may I join you?” She said softly with uncharacteristic girlish demure.
“Meryem Hanim, please,” he answered while staring and pointing at the bench on the other side of the table. “May I pour you some tea?”
Meryem hesitated, finding it odd that a second, empty cup was waiting. Have I been anticipated?
“That would be wonderful, Master Orhan.” She paused while he poured. Then, with a mischievous smile, “Have you raided any other Prince’s abodes?”
“None, Meryem Hanim. But I will inform you should the need arise. A good lookout is hard to find,” he countered, returning the smile.
“How are Skandar’s studies coming along?” He added quickly.
Changing the subject, are we? Don’t worry, I’ll get what I want out of you, yet. “He’s doing wonderfully,” she saw his eyes narrowing, “truly applies himself,” she quickly added, unable to meet his gaze.
Renier brought his hand to his jaw, thumb and forefinger stroking his chin. After a brief silence, he answered, “Meryem Hanim, I’m sure you’re doing your best for the boy. I know it will take time.”
“If I could only spend more time here,” she commented, “but the ride every day from the inn…” She didn’t finish the sentence purposefully, waiting to see if he would draw the right conclusion.
Then, to her delight, Renier swallowed the bait, “Perhaps you and your uncle could stay here while he completes his business?”
Involuntarily, her smile widened, and her eyes brightened. The briefest of smirks crossed his lips. Have I been anticipated? She wondered again.
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Skandar knew he should be paying attention, but the more he looked at her, the more his adolescent hormones made him daydream about the red-headed beauty. He would be a great warrior and come find her in his shiny armor and a huge black stallion. The picture of holding her in his imagined well-muscled arms brought a giddy smile to his face.
“… Emîr-i a’zam, Hüdavendigâr, Padishah, Sultânü’s-selâtîn, Melikü’l-mülûk Murad I is the current ruler of the empire having inherited the title from his father Orhan Ghazi,” Meryem’s lecture brought him back, just as she finished. If it wasn’t for his infatuation he would have long ago left for the training field.
“Do you have any questions, Skandar?”
“No, Hanımefendi. I will read further tonight before evening prayer.” He said, his gaze firmly on the wall, unable to look at her directly for various reasons.
“How has your sword practice progressed?”
“Great! Hanımefendi, I’m now able to get through the whole practice without mistakes,” a huge prideful grin on his face.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“Your Master teaches you well,” she commented.
“When he’s here, Hanımefendi. Most of the time he’s gone. I haven’t seen him in three days,” He answered as if in a trance.
“I’m sure he’ll be back soon enough to continue your instruction.”
“He’ll be gone for a week—“ he blurted out before stopping himself. I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone about his absence.
Meryem had a lovely smile.
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It was late evening when the ship docked in Mağusa and he disembarked. An unusually large crescent moon hung in the sky. The streets were silent as he made his way to the Inn the captain had recommended.
Tomorrow he would present the recommendation letter Mustafa Pasha gave him, join the Merchant’s Guild, and trade the Silk he had purchased from the Prince’s caravan. The first part of his plan was falling into place.
The whistling of six infused crossbow bolts broke the silence. On instinct, weaves of kinediscs materialized and intercepted them. The cracking sound of their shafts echoed off the walls. One bolt broke through the shield with a boom and embedded in his shoulder. The burning poison it delivered almost made him pass out. Its acrid smell mixed with the coppery scent of blood.
He umbraskimmed to a shadow and remained phased as three figures covered in black dropped smoothly onto the street in front of where he had been. Their eery shadows were cast onto the cobblestone by the moon.
Stage four Ebon. How had they evaded his senses? No time to delve into mysteries. He entered dagraha and skimmed behind one of the attackers, Ayg’s infused sword in his right hand. The swing shattered the Ebon’s shield with a deafening boom. His stroke followed through looking to end his opponent, but the man’s quick reflexes allowed him to sidestep the killing blow.
Meanwhile, thanks to his dagraha mental palace, the other Ebon were occupied by a barrage of etherbolts.
Evading his opponent's counterattack, he thought, This Ebon was a dangerous fighter. A quick fierce battle ensued. The Ebon's own infused weapons held against the mighty sword. Renier’s arm vibrated with each blow as his years of training took over and he drove the Ebon back into a corner. Seconds later, Ayg’s sword found an opening and the Ebon fell.
He continued to distract the other two with etherbolts when a presence entered his awareness. A dark ominous figure slowly walked towards them. His Mu energy signature pressed down on all of them. Even in dragaha, the large man seemed to move at normal speed. It must be a stage five Ebon. His thoughts of easily dispatching the attackers disappeared. He was wounded and outnumbered. There were buildings and people all around. He could take care of the leader, but it would not be stealthy. The city might not survive the devastation. The best course was to flee.
The barrage of etherbolts he fired at the new assailant simply shattered. Time for a headache. He constructed a thirty-two-unit etherbolt and launched it at the leader. The impact was deafening as the Ebon’s shield absorbed the huge amount of energy and blasted its owner back ten meters crashing through a brick wall. That should buy me a little time.
He umbraskimmed into a shadow on the roof and started his stealthy retreat thankful for Ayg’s many gifts. On the fourth skim, his phasing abruptly stopped and he fell to his knees.
His arm was now numb. With all his concentration he pushed the bolt the rest of the way through. The excruciating pain made him black out momentarily. As best he could he weaved a quick astralmend to close the hole and clear his head.
But time was against him. It took all his concentration to weave kinedisc to stop the bolts the pursuing Ebons fired. No other choice but to stand and fight.
He did a complete astralmend - his body slowly restoring itself. Thirty seconds till they reached him. He started the weave. Twenty seconds. The temperature started to drop. Ten seconds. He pushed 523 units of Mu energy - the full amount a stage five could wield - and released the Ice Cyclone. Everything in its path disappeared. Three dome roofs fell before Renier could assert control and direct the force upward. The wind and ice picked up the pursuing Ebon like they were sticks and carried them out to sea.
The cries of the wounded could be heard. From his vantage point, he could see people coming out of their houses. Shouts for help littered the night.
Grief-stricken at the catastrophe he had caused, Renier skimmed to the site of the first collapse. One older man lay dead, a woman lay by his side barely breathing. Her forehead was bleeding and part of her femur poked through the skin, a stream of blood shot out with each heartbeat. He set the bone and weaved a full astralmend. Then he took out of his ring a bag with a thousand gold and put it next to her. Tears ran down his cheeks. “The heaviest price of war is seldom paid by warriors,” the Keeper’s words always came back to haunt him.
He healed everyone he found. His Mu energy talismans were almost totally depleted. His head pounded from the exertion. Outside of the Ebon, only one person had died. A thousand gold wasn’t enough, he knew, but it was something for the family.
By the time he reached the Inn, he was exhausted and his head felt like it was about to split. I should have concentrated on my advancement. I shouldn’t have left until I was at stage five. I should have been more vigilant. The “I should haves” plagued his night.
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The chirping of crickets and the hooting of an occasional owl were the only things that broke the silence that night. Meryem slipped out of her room onto the dimly lit corridor. The light of the crescent moon painted shadows on the walls.
Although she thought there was no one around, her training made her move silently toward the large door at the end of the passage.
Two days of work had found success and she had been able to steal the key held by Leyla… the gardener. That was another mystery she had to solve. Why would the gardener have a key to his bedroom? She was good-looking, but Renier didn’t seem the type. At least with her, he hadn’t shown any interest and she was definitely better-looking than Leyla.
She reached the door and used the key. The sound of the tumblers clicking seemed like gongs to her straining ears.
Inside everything was dark. The only light coming from a slightly open window.
Her first objective was the large bookshelf. Surely if he had secrets they were there. She pulled out a small talisman she kept around her neck and after she pressed it with thumb and forefinger it started to emit a soft glow.
Slowly, she reached to take one of the books when the strong hand of a man grabbed her arm.
“Meryem, Hanim, is this the intimate moment you talked about?” Amusement in his voice.
Panic-stricken she was silent for an eternity. She was caught. The concern on her face was quickly masked by calculated calm. Her breath hitched, a sharp intake that was almost inaudible. In one desperate fluid motion, she spun around. Her hand, almost trembling, reached up to clasp the back of Renier's neck, pulling him closer with a feigned sense of urgency. Their lips met. Her eyes closed, not in passion, but to hide the whirlwind of thoughts racing through her mind.