12 - Till Death Do Us Apart

24th Year, 5th Month, Summer

So common it was with the clock ever ticking for one’s blood to reach its end. Before time’s march, the temporal were but transient specks, glimpses of potential to be shuttered lest born anew divine. And it was in pursuit of such fleeting flavour that the great beast was fashioned the god of the eternal hunt. Atop his plate, meals of mortals, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters. One by one, he marked them. One by one, he chased them. One by one, he ended them, men and women in turn. For never would he allow the final bite to belong to another.

It was this obstinance by which his throne was built.

It was this obstinance by which his fangs were polished.

It was this obstinance by which he fell from grace.

So sure was his cycle, so bare was his ploy, and so effortless was his capture. For by casting himself as bait, the final scaled buck ensnared the divine with ease. His plan was devious and his tools refined, but the hunter could nary be caged at length. He shattered his bonds and seized his mark’s throat, for it was but hubris to think a god contained.

Yet, so too did the beast find failure.

As he crushed his prey between his jaws, he found in his gut a relic of power untold. With it, his divinity was fractured. Eternity snatched from his grasp, he remained merely as the god of the hunt.

Scriptures of the Savage Gods, Verse 9-2

___

My eleventh obstacle was dismissed more quickly than my tenth. She exploded into a bloody mist as my bare fist found her stomach. It was a foregone conclusion. I had the strength to shatter a mountain, and though built to muscular perfection, my opponent’s body was hardly tougher than stone.

Her return to the void was as instant as the shift in the scenery. The temple vanished. I was left standing on a cliff that overlooked a city I visited many times in the past. But on that particular day, my perspective was fresh. I stood up on the cliff not to appreciate the foreign cuisine and architecture, but to better my understanding of the ongoing battle. The bulk of our soldiers were stuck at the gate. The armies commanded by Lord Pollux and Lord Ephesus were hard at work laying siege to the wall out west.

Our third army was attacking the northern gate. Lord Titus, the cottontail warrior in charge, led not the few thousand elites demanded by the explicit instruction, but a wave of a hundred thousand—all the men at his disposal. Though certainly an impressive display, it was ultimately a waste of lives. The three Sthenian champions who descended from the walls carved through his lines like butter.

Cadrians and Sthenians met in all-out clashes. Warriors and mages of great renown pushed and pulled with all their might. And yet, the battlefield was unchanging. Neither side made much in the way of progress.

The exact scenario I had hoped to create.

In any other circumstance, I would have joined the fray. My role as general was not to sit back and scheme. It was to lead the troops to victory. But on that particular day, I couldn’t afford the risk.

I had to be the one to capture the princess.

That was why she had divulged her safe house.

We were a barbaric people. If I allowed anyone else to take the honour, then my prize would surely be claimed.

The one thing I couldn’t allow.

I could feel my heart pumping as I recognized the possibility, but I calmed myself with a series of deep breaths and stayed where I was. To rush into the city, to make my presence clear, was to run the risk of her relocation.

One, two, three hours passed with my position unchanged. I remained hidden in the foliage atop the precipice until the enemy bells tolled. Their men quickly evacuated the southern wall—the one closest to where I was perched—and moved to reinforce the other two fronts. Only then, after they joined the defence, did I finally embark on my journey.

Using a large shrub as camouflage, I snuck down the side of the cliff and made for the wall. It was a delicate balancing act. I had to move as quickly as I could while making sure the sound barrier stayed intact. The moment I broke it was the moment I drew the guards’ attention. But if I lingered for too long, they would spot me sprinting across the field between the city and its southerly hill.

It only took twenty seconds, but they were the longest twenty seconds of my life. I readied my weapons twice thanks to a guard who nearly turned his head, but thankfully, I was able to bridge the gap unnoticed.

Breaking into the city proved much easier. All I did was slip my combat shovel into the wall and carve out a rectangular entrance. I made sure to catch the stone as it fell before setting it down as tenderly as a newborn calf.

I was ready to spring into action, just in case I was unlucky enough to find a guard on the other side. But there was no such soldier. The streets were strikingly empty, perhaps courtesy of the evacuation conducted last week. From what our intelligence officers had discovered, most of the city’s commonfolk had been sent eastward, out into the sea aboard a fleet of giant boats.

Hence my southerly approach.

Inside the city, I didn’t have to worry quite as much about being spotted. Though lamias were short—the average height was just shy of a meter and a half—most one-story buildings stood over ten meters high. The locals loved their tall ceilings; the average length was about seven meters, and they liked to stand on the tips of their tails when they stretched.

Still, I advanced with utmost caution. I carefully navigated the alleyways, calling the map from memory as I made my way to the castle.

Sthenia’s crowning jewel was of a peculiar construction. The building bore a pentagonal shape and the theme was consistent throughout. Each corner was marked with a five-sided tower named after the gemstone leveraged in its construction. And at the center, sprouting right from the castle’s core, was yet another five-sided prism.

It was the only tower that lacked a precious ornament.

The tallest tower.

The ivory tower.

My final destination.

I could feel my future self gulping. I swallowed my spit, clenched my fists, and drew closer with every step. Compared to the outermost bulwark, the castle was closely guarded. Full units of soldiers wandered the ramparts together, spreading just thin enough that it would be difficult to silence them all in one fell swoop.

Three such groups patrolled each area; even if I were lucky enough to remove one quietly, I would still be putting myself on a timer. Sneaking past them without resorting to violence was an endeavour and a half. There were too many pit vipers among the royal guard for any straightforward approach to go undetected. They were sure to spot me if I drew too close. Hence the shovel I had in hand.

After taking a moment to confirm that I had arrived at the designated location, I stuck the tool into the ground and quickly got to work. The city sat on top of a thick slab of magically-generated rock. It took a few minutes to get through all thirty meters, but I eventually dug my way into the layer of sand beneath it.

From there, reaching my destination became a simple task. I tunnelled for exactly twelve hundred shovel lengths with a compass in hand, marking each with an additional incision before digging towards the sky. When I broke through the city’s foundation again, I found myself only slightly off from the intended destination. Rather than arriving in front of the ivory tower, I had ended up directly inside it.

The soldiers standing guard were just as surprised as I was. They scrambled to get into position while I spun my shovel into my hands and held it like a spear.

“Virillius?” A familiar voice stopped me right before I charged. Turning in its direction, I found one of the unit’s commanders, a green-scaled snake dressed up like a fortress of iron. “Virillius Augustus? Is that you?” She shifted her visor to reveal a familiar face. Green eyes were common among lamias, but few were quite as sparkly as those of the princess’ guard.

“Yes. It is.” I removed my own helmet as well, and showed my sweaty, unpresentable face.

“Oh, thank goodness.” Raising a hand, Esmeralda set the remaining soldiers at ease and broke half the circular formation.

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The other half followed suit soon after, when a lamia dressed in a rose-gold cataphract repeated the same motion whilst removing the chainmail veil that sat atop her face. She too was familiar, for Camellia was chief amongst the princess’ guards.

“We’ve been expecting you,” she said. “The princess is waiting on the top floor.”

I took a deep breath. “Where’s the queen?”

“She’s yet to return from the battlefield,” said Esmeralda.

“I see.”

I materialized my wings, but Camellia grabbed me by the wrist before I could take off.

“Wait.”

“What?”

She paused for a few seconds before biting her lower lip. “You smell awful. Don’t tell me you’re going to the princess like that.”

I shrugged. “It’s armour. Not much I can do when I’ve been sitting in it and sweating all day.”

“Take this.” She handed me a bottle, only to sigh when I looked at it, confused. “It’s a floral perfume. It won’t… fix you, but it’ll make you a little more presentable at least.”

I lightly squeezed open the bottle’s cap and gave it a bit of a whiff. It seemed pleasant enough, so I removed a glove and rubbed it all over the inside of my armour. The scent grew even more intense as the oil seeped into the metal. The men would probably be making fun of me for weeks, but I would much rather that than have Violet reel back because I reeked.

“Thanks,” I said, as I threw my helmet back over my head. I returned the bottle, flapped my wings again, and started climbing the stepless, vertical corridor. It didn’t take long to reach my destination. My heart pounding away, I practically burst through the tiny door and squeezed my way into the penthouse.

From inside the uppermost floor, it was almost impossible to tell that we were inside of a wartime shelter. It was decorated like an ordinary master bedroom. She had a magnificent mattress with an accompanying silk canopy and a full set of dressers and drawers. The only giveaway, the only sign that it wasn't exactly her usual bedroom was the corner where the servants were keeping their things.

Violet, however, was nowhere to be seen. I scanned the room in a panic, my stomach immediately dropping at the thought that I might have missed my window. It must’ve shown on my face, as a giggle soon echoed through the room.

I breathed a sigh as I walked over to its source and threw open the wardrobe’s doors. There, I found her, stifling her laughter between her fingers whilst tucked away beneath a pile of blankets.

“What are you doing?”

“Hiding,” she said, matter-of-factly.

“Not sure you’re doing too good of a job of it when you’re laughing like that.”

“I would’ve been fine if it was anyone else. I only started laughing because of you, Buckethead. You look ridiculous.” She pressed two hands on my abdomen and gently pushed me back to give herself a little more space.

“This is a traditional helm made fro—”

A gasp escaped my lips when she emerged from her hiding place.

She was beautiful. Even more so than she always was. The light makeup she wore only accented her beauty, highlighting her eyes and lips in a way that took my breath away. I was almost as complimentary as her simple white dress. There were only a few frills on the bottom, but somehow, it reminded me of the sort of dress that one would wear on their wedding day. I knew it was by design; she was far too clever not to have noticed when she picked it out. And that was all the more reason that I felt my heart wrenching.

We wouldn’t—couldn’t—have a ceremony. Not with the way our tale unfolded. Even if I took her as my wife, she was still a captive noncombatant. The people would only frown at such a waste of money; it would create grudges among the gentry and further the difficulty of incorporating her into Cadrian society.

It didn’t help that the war was lost so readily.

If the Sthenians had proven as longtime rivals, like the thorae who had joined our ranks before them, our people might have been more inclined to accept them as our equals. But as it stood, they were seen as a nation of fools. A nation crushed underfoot in a month by its own, undeserved ambition.

“Are you just going to sit there and stare, or are you going to get off your butt and bust up the tower?” Her lips were twisted into a bit of a pout.

“Get off my butt and do what?” I scratched the back of my head.

“Bust up the tower.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because I said so.” She slithered over to her bedside and flipped open the notebook sitting on top of the pillow. “You see, it says right here in my diary. ‘The terrifying barbarian split the tower in two with a single blow. I dashed for the stairs and screamed for my guards, but he far outpaced them. He grabbed me by the throat, nearly strangling me when I struggled to escape from his mountainous fingers. I cried and begged, but there was nothing I could do to stop him from taking me.’”

I lightly massaged the bridge of my nose and breathed a tired sigh.

“Why?”

“To protect my guards.” She looked up at me. “I knew they would let you by. Even if Sthenia falls, such a crime would not be so easily forgiven. Even now, their punishment is likely to be harsh. For allowing my capture, they’ll be removed from their positions at least. I’d like to give them another chance at life, when all’s said and done.”

“Alright, fine. But did you really have to write me in the way you did?”

“Of course. I do have to pretend to be chaste. I am a princess, after all.”

“So you’re aware you’re pretending...” Breathing a sigh, I ripped open one of my thumbs and drew it in an arc. The blood I spilled formed a blade that cleaved the room in two. Naturally, the ceiling did not survive the event, but I flapped my wings and blasted the rubble away before it could cause any harm.

I looked over, half expecting a nod, or perhaps some sort of approval. All I got, however, was a bit of a pout.

“You weren’t supposed to destroy the flowers.” Her eyes were on one of the vases in the corner of the room. Judging from the thorns that adorned the stems, it had likely held a bouquet of roses.

“Tell me that first next time.” I retrieved them from the corner and scanned the room. The petals were gone, scattered by the same precaution that destroyed the overhead rubble. Even if they were still present, I didn’t exactly have the ability to see them regrown. But by calling the blood I’d scattered around the room, I was able to form a series of false petals. “Need anything else, Princess?”

“Yes, actually.” She walked over to the edge of the building and pointed at the spot right beside her. “Come here and face me.”

“So demanding.”

“I was under the impression that that was why you loved me.”

“That doesn’t mean you needed to say it out loud.”

“Stop complaining and get over here.” She waited for me to obey before continuing. “Now get that stupid bucket off your head, close your eyes, and don’t move a muscle.”

“Why?”

“Because I have a surprise for you. Keep asking questions and I’ll file for divorce.”

“We aren’t even married yet!”

“What did I just say about complaining?”

“Alright, alright. I get it already. Stop pinching me.” I closed my eyes and did my best to relax.

My heart pounded as I waited, thumping in anticipation. I was half expecting her to kiss me—all the more reason for my chest to become a drum—but it didn’t seem to happen no matter how long I waited. I raised my ears overhead and listened as closely as I could. But even then, there was nothing. Nothing but a faint rustling that I could only barely detect. It almost sounded like she was going through her wardrobe. My curiosity was practically killing me.

“Don’t even think about opening your eyes,” she said, right as I thought about opening my eyes.

“I’m not.”

“Liar.”

About a minute later, a faint clinking was added to the mix. And then, finally, a physical sensation. It was my hand and not my lips like I was expecting. She slid something onto my finger and placed something else around the back of my neck.

I could feel her breathing in my face, adding to the anticipation. But it never happened. She pinched my nose instead and giggled before whispering in my ears.

“Did that get your heart pumping?”

“A little.” I felt like I was going to jump out of my skin, but I bit my lips, took a breath, and managed to keep myself from reacting.

“Liar,” she said, with a laugh. “It’s so loud I can hear it through your armour.” She pressed a hand against my chest. “And feel it too.”

“Yeah, right. My breastplate is five centimetres thick. There’s no way you cou—”

Suddenly, a soft sensation.

A gentle, stifling something against my lips. Soft and just a tiny bit moist. Warm, and yet, somehow cold. Her temperature was barely above the room’s ambient.

“I can,” she said. “And it just sped up again.”

She had already backed off by the time I opened my eyes. There was a faint blush on her face, presented alongside a shy, teasing smile, hidden behind a floral shield. The combination was so lovely that I felt like I could have stared forever.

“The necklace is something I found in a store the other day. It’s one of Krebb’s charms, meant to ward off any curses that come your way.”

I had nearly forgotten about the accessory. It and everything else had been wiped cleanly from my mind.

“The ring, I’d like it if you treated it as your wedding ring. I had one of the jewellers in town fashion it from one of my scales. I had him make the other out of one of the antlers you shed last year.” She flashed the band upon her own finger. Surely enough, it was made of a darkened bone.

I tried opening my mouth, but no words would come. My tongue was every bit as stuck as my brain. I almost couldn’t believe that it was happening.

Somehow fantasy had become reality.

And it was with that conclusion that I was whisked back to the present, ripped from the realm of delusion where pipe dreams could come to be, and placed back in a world where the future I wanted was still so far away.

I knew I was meant to be angry. I was supposed to be in the middle of resenting the goddess and resisting her influence, but the emotions that my future self held still lingered within my chest. And there, they stayed, even as my ankles were wrapped in a set of greaves.