Katsumi wandered lazily through the halls of Castle Sirene, taking in every sight and ingraining the memory. The Durvinna soldiers weren’t particularly cruel, and there were a lot less of them than she had expected for an invasion like this; they clearly had better things to do than to stop and detain a now modestly dressed woman of little import, or so they thought. That was all fine and dandy as far as Katsumi was concerned since it made her job a lot easier; she was still a spy after all.
Her strolls led through the main hall, the ballroom, and eventually to the throne room. She tried her best to eavesdrop on whatever they were planning, but not much was forthcoming. Whoever this guy in charge was, he was very cautious and only spoke in ambiguity. As far as Katsumi knew, the king of Durvinna was nowhere to be found. She had heard no news of a death in the Durvinna royal family, but she also hadn’t heard from her contacts out west in a great long while.
Still, she had gained some important info, much of which she had to infer, but fit the discussions she overheard: the princess escaped and they are pursuing her, they only intend to fortify and occupy the castle town (evidently this was not to be a thorough conquest), the western mountains were blocked, and they were developing a new weapon based on the cannons developed here in Sirene.
There were still many questions to be answered, but Katsumi had spent far too long and gained too little; it was time to go. She planned one last stroll past the throne room before she would use the secret tunnel that she had discovered a few days after the invasion. Maybe a stop through the kitchens first to get some needed provisions; she was tired of having nothing but rationed bread and cheese and fish.
“... solving our problem in the mountains. All I need is a liaison that won’t be torched on sight.” The leader’s voice rang loud and clear, which seemed odd to Katsumi, as every time before he was somewhat muffled by the closed doors. Now one of the doors was ever so slightly ajar and his voice boomed unimpeded. She slowed her pace. “There is one in the castle right now that could fix everything. Ms. Ishigaru! Please, come in.”
She stopped mid stride and cursed under her breath. I got sloppy. What was I thinking, coming here so often? She steeled herself and gracefully pushed open the doors to the throne room. In only moments, she had taken in her surroundings: two exits out the back of the throne room, a large stained glass window on the eastern wall that could be broken in a pinch, and ten heavily armored soldiers standing ready to fight, spears pointed toward her. Then she saw him, the crown prince of Durvinna, Iwan Almatorva. His black cape hung loosely behind him as his steely gaze narrowed down at her. That would explain how she had been found out, the boy was always more clever than she wanted anyone in power to be.
“Thank you. I was worried I would have to hunt you down. But, you’re still the most sensible spy in the business.” Iwan said, hands gesturing with every sentence. How irritating.
“Save your compliments, Your Highness. Why have you called me?” Katsumi said, as icy as she could without being outright defiant.
“As you wish. But it’s ‘Your Majesty’ now, or you can just call me Iwan, or Bastard. I don’t really care which.” Iwan said, amusement plain in his tone. He had her trapped, and he knew it. “As I was saying, I have need of your services, spy.”
Your Majesty, eh? So something did happen to the old king. One mystery solved, perhaps I can tease a few more. “I have no services to offer you, boy. I do not work for you.”
“Oh, I know. But I’m prepared to pay handsomely for this one time job. You see, I’ve recently come into a bit of extra coin, and it’s high time I got some loose ends tied up.” This might prove more dangerous than it’s worth.
“And what could I possibly accomplish that his kingly-ness can’t?”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“Simple. I need you to clear the northern pass.”
“Clear it of what, exactly?” She said, giving her best patronizing smile.
“A creature of magic and destruction. One that has bested every team I have sent to deal with it.”
He’s goading me. But why? What leverage could he possibly have? “I think I’ll pass. I don’t deal with magic. Bad luck.”
“You and I both know that’s a lie, milady.” Iwan said. He hung his head and sighed deeply, his black bangs covering a part of his face. Katsumi took this opportunity to put her hand into her dress pocket and put a hand on one of her daggers. “I’ve done my research on you and I can think of no one better qualified for this task.”
“Even if what you say is true, I don’t see how I can help.” Katsumi said.
“Oh, I think you do.” He said, more to himself it seemed. “Or is there some other reason why the crest of your family is a dragon?”
Katsumi frowned and narrowed her eyes at the boy. He couldn’t possibly know, could he? If he does know, father needs to hear about it immediately. She looked around again. The guards were too close and the room and halls were too small to make a quick exit. There would also be too many witnesses, and that more than anything kept Katsumi from doing anything rash. This all gave her the impression that he had been planning this for a while and that maybe she was the ultimate goal of this little invasion of theirs.
“What do you think you know of my family?” She demanded, anger lacing the words, not all of it forced.
“Enough to know that you would rather I keep quiet and leave you all in peace.” He said, not noticing, or at least not acknowledging the threat in Katsumi’s words. They locked eyes, Katsumi not hiding her anger. Meanwhile Iwan’s black eyes shined with confidence, the kind of confidence that comes from practicing swinging a sword thousands of times. But there was something else. Anticipation? Challenge? He has one last card to play.
Katsumi began opening up the power that lay within her, letting it reach for the stones in the floor beneath her feet. “I don’t believe you. If you did know, you wouldn’t be approaching me like this.”
Iwan gave a sinister laugh and looked away, towards the western wall, staring at something unseen very far away. When he looked back at her, he radiated challenge and his smile sent a chill down her spine into the earth, which trembled as she did. “The young boy I have in my custody has been very forthcoming with information. Poor Kiichi thinks his family has all but forgotten him.”
Katsumi withdrew her dagger, and all the guards took a step closer to her, spear tips threatening to end her in an instant. She ignored them all and stared searing hatred at the man behind them. “Where’s my brother? What have you done to him?!”
“Me? I’ve done nothing. In fact, he’s quite comfortable. Safe too… for now.”
That was all Katsumi needed to hear. She focused her power into the stones and pushed. The stone cracked and the whole palace shook as Katsumi went soaring through the throne room and out the stained glass window. Secret passage be damned, no time for subtlety. She went flying through the window over thirty feet above the ground. She called to the earth and the power within urged the earth to obey. As she came down the ground softened and rose to catch her, like an ocean current, and she sank into the earth as the shock of it was dispersed, before quickly springing back to motion.
A quick search of the surrounding area and she found a guard on horseback staring befuddled at what he saw. Taking advantage of his confusion, she gathered power again and lept straight at the guard, kicking him off the horse and sending him rolling in the dirt for another fifteen feet.
She grabbed the reins tight, the horse trying to break free in a panic, before finally breaking out into a gallop heading north, away from Castle Sirene. She would likely drive the horse to death, but that didn’t matter. She had a lot of ground to cover and not a lot of time. She had to warn her family and that meant heading to Meja, and the one man who could help her. She really didn’t want to see him again anytime soon, but Henry would at least be able to help her find her brother, and right now she would do anything to save her family, no matter how much she would regret owing him a favor later.