Braelyn dozed off as soon as darkness touched the sky. Aine glares at the Moon as if it is at fault for her current state of boredom and lack of answers. It may well be- the Moon God is responsible for all that is dark, sinful and bad on Earth. Aine wonders if Braelyn is simply pretending to sleep so she does not have to deal with her line of questioning; it is odd that a lady's maid who is used to working well into the night suddenly falls asleep as soon as the sun sets.

Their carriage jerks to a stop, and the volume of the men's voices outside increases, as does Aine's guard. They have not travelled long enough to have arrived at Vulstis Keep. She listens out for any signs of swords clashing or flesh ripping. Any signs that an outside threat is attacking the procession. Instead, she tunes into unwarranted complaints about boils on armoured feet and whines of desperation about visiting brothels. Wrinkling her nose in distaste at the soldiers' conversations, she surmises this stop must have been planned.

As torches and hearths are lit, the jutted, deep grey basalt silhouette of Aine's childhood home reveals itself. Coimeach Pass (pronounced Koy-meek). Aine hollows her cheeks in anger. King Min has made this a stop on purpose; whether it is to soften her up or test her patience, she does not know. What she does know, though, is that Coimeach Pass is but a skeleton of what it once was. Not waiting for one of the good-for-nothing Vulstis soldiers to give her the all-clear, Aine bursts through the carriage door and stomps up the winding cobbled pathway now overwhelmed with weeds and thistly bushes. Aine's aggressive exit effectively wakes Braelyn up, who is now hopelessly calling after her.

Fighting off one final persistent branch of thorns, Aine Sampson now faces off with the grand entrance to Coimeach Pass and, by extension, the aftermath of her father becoming the King of Nocriam. The Sampson family banners that had once hung proudly are flung disgraced, defaced and disregarded on the boggy floor. They have been maliciously burnt, dragged through the mud and painted vividly with the word 'TRAITORS'. The rest of the castle seems to have suffered similar treatment, much of the walls sporting signs of charring and the same word being painted repeatedly like an incantation. Eyes darting to the watch tower and spotting the King's fox being flown; it is almost as if Min Yoongi is signing his name on this destruction.

The Sampsons were the first family to follow Lord Vulstis to Patrinis after he had fled in fear. They served him loyally, so he returned the favour by rewarding them with a title, a place in his royal court and Coimeach Pass, the southern-most castle in Vulstis, which acts as a stronghold against Nocriam. If you want to get to Vulstis Keep, you have to get through Coimeach Pass first. Without the Sampsons and the ransacking it has suffered, it is essentially useless now. King Min may miss King Caylus more than he wishes to admit.

"It is odd how quickly anger morphs into regret," states a cold yet smoothly articulated voice.

Aine does not have to turn around to know who it is. His voice alone chills her down to her very core.

"I sincerely hope you're talking about yourself." Aine snaps back, seething. Her eyes have not left the fox sigil bearing down at her from atop the watch tower.

"Of course I am. It is human nature to feel that way. The people of Vulstis felt the same anger you feel towards me towards you and your father. So they did this in my name, thinking they were doing me a favour. They felt regret once they found out I was disappointed because it meant we no longer had a stronghold against Nocriam. I wonder, do you regret being angry at me knowing now that I was not to blame for all this?" As he poses this question, a small, condescending smile plays on King Min's lips.

Aine glances at him, decoding his words. There's an ulterior motive: whatever she answers here determines King Min's future actions. He's trying to feel her out. And trying to psych her out, he seemingly disapproved of that glare she had sent into his carriage before leaving Nocriam.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"No, I do not. Because I have a lot more to be angry at you for than the destruction of your own lands by your own people." Aine lays out, narrowing her eyes at him.

That flicks the switch. Aine sees the King Min she knows once more. His face morphs into nonchalance, but the flames from the flickering torches make it seem much more sinister. He's like a Weeping Angel, harmless at first glimpse, just a simple statue, but lower your guard, and he becomes a demon ready to feed on your soul.

"Oh?" he coos eerily.

Aine cannot make him hate her as she has been because he will stop believing she is a Goddess, and she will lose the chance to take advantage of him for the sake of Nocriam. At the same time, if she plays too much into the Goddess role, she will become his doll to manipulate and use however he wants. In this situation it is take advantage or be taken advantage of. Aine must find a balance between playing the Goddess role and being herself, and she knows the answer lies in how Goddess Aine maimed King Ailill Olom. However, at this moment, as King Min's coal-like eyes continue to bore into her, awaiting a response, she panics and retreats.

"Must a Goddess speak all her truths to a mere mortal?" Aine chastises.

He quirks a satisfied brow at that, but Aine walks off before he can say anything else. She has a destination in mind: the armoury. The Vulstis procession is preoccupied with setting up camp outside Coimeach Pass, as the castle is uninhabitable. Now that King Min had already bothered her for the night, she gathered that the only person out looking for her would be Braelyn. Besides, the armoury is a secluded room around the back of the castle, so it is doubtful anyone would have wandered that far.

As expected, Aine comes across no one on her way to the armoury. The door is completely gone, likely from the people's siege after she and her father took off, and she only hopes they left something behind she could use. All the large pieces of weaponry and armour are either destroyed or missing from their places, which is to be expected. But there, in the corner, lies a bow and arrows, seemingly too common and insignificant enough to destroy. Aine would never miss her weapon of choice, even when everything in the room is coated in coal dust and cobwebs. Scooping up the bow as if it is her best friend, she grins maniacally.

"Perfect."

Stalking back through the long, boggy grass, Aine surveys the camp from a small distance. The King's tent is distinguishable from miles away with its grandeur, but the complete lack of guards surrounding its perimeter is a tell-tale sign that King Min is not currently in there. Aine crouches down, spotting a convenient silver birch tree just outside the tent entrance. Its trunk is her target. She swiftly looses two arrows from her bow into its trunk, landing perfectly next to one another. She smirks at her skill.

Now, it is a waiting game.

After what seems like an age, King Min's platinum blonde hair comes into view, flanked by half a dozen guards and Advisor Hwang. Aine draws her arrow back, exhaling deeply as she hyper-fixates on the space between her arrow, King Min's face, and the silver birch trunk. Time slows as everything aligns, and Aine lets the arrow fly. It goes whizzing past King Min's face, fluttering his long hair, missing the bridge of his nose by half an inch before lodging itself in the tree alongside the other two arrows. Everyone seems stunned for a second.

The guards jump into action, unsheathing their swords and turning every which way in search of the arrow's source.

Aine emerges from the grass, brazen and smirking. King Min and his flank whirl around to glower at her, and she spots the slightest crack in his resolve. It disappears as soon as it appears, though.

"No need for the theatrics. It's not my fault you walked straight in front of my target. Did you not see the other two arrows? Now I have to go and find another target..." Aine announces exasperatedly, flaunting her bow.

King Min takes no time to strut into his tent. Aine's smirk grows. This is her warning; it looks like it's been heard loud and clear. Now the cold king thinks that Aine is the Goddess, but she will not be so to the extent that she's at his and Vulstis's every beck and call without the fear that he will end up like King Ailill Olom.

"M'lady! W-where...w-what-" an out-of-breath Braelyn finally locates Aine and latches onto her arm, stressed eyes darting between the bow and arrows.

"Let's just say I gave the King of Vulstis a bit of a fright." Aine grins innocently as if she has just pulled off a childish prank.

✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼