“And now, we have two options. Either stay in here and avoid contact with the outside world or get out. Preferably tomorrow. If they find us, it won’t take long for them to figure out we’re not actually married,” Kassius said peeking through the door, back into the hallway. He looked back at Alana, his eyes sincere and worried. “Ala, if they will find out, I don’t want to see what they’ll do. Just being a citizen doesn’t make me untouchable. I can go to prison as well.”

Alana scratched her chin. “Let’s plan, Kasha. First, I think we should speak to your grandfather.”

“Now?” Kassius asked, raising an eyebrow. Alana could see his usual attitude. He hated going out far from his land.

“Yes. Let’s look for him,” Alana said.

“We should go tomorrow morning. There’s a curfew going on.”

“If we go in the morning, everybody will see us and ask questions,” Alana said. “It’s better to hide now that the sun is not up.”

“Under the curfew?” he asked.

“Well,” Alana cleared her throat. “I don’t want certain people to find me.”

“What did you do?” Kassius asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Me? Nothing. Well, I just ran away. I think they’re still looking for me. I don’t want them to see me.”

Kassius sighed, then stood up. “Fine. You’re right. We cannot stay. I must go with you,” he said, running toward a table in the corner of the room. There, he grabbed a pot of red ink, sealed with a cork. He opened it and smeared it on his finger.

“Kasha, what are you doing?” Alana asked.

He walked toward her. Alana stepped back, alarmed, but he touched her forehead with the smudged finger, it was wet and warm. He drew a circle.

“Stay still,” he said, sliding his finger slowly and drawing small angles. “I was using this sigil to hide.”

“Oh. I guess it worked then,” Alana muttered.

“Yes. So, let me just...” He walked to a small broken mirror that hung from the wall and drew the magic sign on his own forehead.

“Put this on, the dress will not be enough.” He handed Alana an overshirt made of wool, a scarf, and warm gloves.

“Thanks. I needed this,” she said, as she wore it and then checked her blue cloak. It was still damp.

“I’ll get you something to eat,” Kassius said, getting his bow and arrows ready, and packing the rest in a big leather bag. “Let that thing dry off for a few minutes and let’s get out of here.”

***

When both were ready, Kassius slowly opened the door and peeked outside.

“Let’s go,” he whispered, and they walked out on their tiptoes into a cold and wide atrium guarded by old pillars, next to a series of doors that shielded food cellars and the servant’s quarters. Opposite side of the hallway, in the centre of the building, stood a huge garden of olives and roses that would blossom in the coming spring. “We’re going through the back exit,” Kassius said.

“And then what?” Alana asked.

Then, a door creaked open.

“Who is there?” a voice asked. Alana saw bony hands carrying a terracotta lantern. It soon revealed a man’s wrinkled face and white hair. He seemed scared. “Ah, Master Kassius. What are you doing? Miss Alana?”

Kassius faced the old man and put one finger in front of his face.

“Tyaraz,” he whispered. “We’re going out.”

“Master, but there is a curfew going on.”

“Yes!” Kassius said. “We know. Please ignore us. Do not inquire after us. We must go look for grandfather, he may be in danger.”

“No. Master, I have to protect you. It’s not safe out there.”

“Tyaraz, please. You know what just happened! Grandfather is in danger!”

“And I don’t want to put you in danger.”

Kassius lowered his head.

“What are you going to do then? Send a message to Father?”

“No.”

“I must go,” Kassius insisted.

Tyraz paused. He looked around.

“Be careful,” Tyraz muttered.

“We will be,” Kassius said and walked past him. Alana said goodbye and followed Kassius into the field. She shivered as a cold wind blew through her clothes, seeming to pierce into her bones.

“My gods...” she stuttered.

“Now, let’s just watch out for the soldiers,” Kassius said.

Alana walked behind him, as the moon illumined their path over the grazed fields.

Suddenly, a loud bark was heard.

“Not again, Arcturus,” Kassius shook his head. Alana sighed. “Come on,” Kassius said. “Let’s get out of here quick, Ala.”

But they heard a foreign voice ring through the field.

“Damned be that animal,” it said.

“Let’s go,” Kassius grabbed Alana’s gloved hand, and they rushed together toward the iron fence.

And the voices behind them continued.

“You, son of a blade, I can’t sleep with this animal making all that noise. Put it out of its misery.”

“What?” asked the other soldier.

“Are you deaf? Kill the damn thing.”

“Oh. Sure,” the other voice responded.

Kassius stopped abruptly and stared at Alana. She blinked in surprise.

“Kassius are you thinking of...”

Kassius looked ahead at the fence, and swallowed.

“Alright, boy,” the voice behind the villa said. They could hear the soldier walking through the field, his boots and armour clanking. Arcturus barked loudly. “I’m sorry I have to do this to you.”

Alana grasped Kassius’ hand tightly.

“Alana I cannot let this happen,” he said, cold breath escaping as a cloud of smoke.

“Neither can I,” Alana said, and she turned around and ran toward the barn.

“Alana, no!” Kassius cried behind her back.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

The sound of the soldier’s movement stopped abruptly.

“What was that? Did you hear it?” the soldier said to his comrade, who was not yet to be seen. Alana strode quickly to the other side of the barn and faced the soldiers. It was the one who had been at the gate, and another, younger one.

“You!” the soldier said.

“No, you!” Alana blurted. “I could hear you threatening to kill our dog. What kind of a man are you, killing a defenceless animal?”

“Does that thing look defenceless to you?”

He illumined the barn and the fence where Arcturus flashed his sharp teeth, like razors, his blue eyes shining and narrow, menacingly.

“Come on! It’s just a dog. He’s kind. Barking dogs don’t bite.” Alana knelt beside the fence. “Clam down, Arcturus, calm.”

The dog slowly relaxed its muscles, its tail was still up, expectantly. It lifted its head slowly as Alana put her hand through. Arcturus approached her hand swiftly, licking it.

“Come on, boy,” she said, stroking Arcturus’s head with her fingertips, and then petting its neck. The soldier took a step back, easing the tension. “You know what?” Alana stood up. “I’m gonna take him with me, he will sleep with us.

The soldier frowned then turned back as Alana opened the gate and the dog jumped out. Alana hugged its huge neck and petted its head.

“Time to go,” she said, and she walked out of the barn. She stopped cold as Kassius was standing firm and a soldier was standing by his side, lantern in hand and a spear pointing toward Kassius’ back.

“What is this?” Alana asked, her stomach turning.

“Where were you two going?”

“We overheard your conversation and stepped out to defend our dog,” she said, as she held onto Arcturus’s spiked collar.

“Well, it looks like you were going hunting,” the soldier pointed to the ground. Kassius’ travel bag on the floor, its contents emptied nearby, including Kassius’ folded bow and a quiver full of arrows. “Again. Let me ask you. Don’t you know there is a curfew going on?”

“We… just...” Kassius was as pale as the moon.

“You tell me, big mouthed blondie. What were you two planning to do?” the soldier asked, looking at Alana and brushing the tip of his spear against Kassius’ back.

“Well, you can’t accuse us of being outside after dark, because we weren’t,” Alana said, when Arcturus’ mood tensed up again, and he flashed his teeth and stood defensively. She held onto the collar.

“Don’t fool around. Do you think I’m stupid?” the soldier growled.

“What is going on in here?” The first soldier approached from behind.

Arcturus barked aggressively and tensed his muscles.

“Please...” Alana grasped the collar, but Arcturus pulled her forward, gnashing his teeth. Alana felt she was losing balance. “We did not mean any harm.”

And then, Alana let go. The dog rushed toward one of the soldiers, as a white lion hunting a mountain goat, and leaped over him. Arcturus was a war dog and knew how to do kill. It bit him furiously in the neck as the soldier sorely struggled to get the dog over him. His pleas became wailing and then gasps for air.

“By Saturn’s beard. Stop!” Kassius said, trying to get a hold of Arcturus’s collar.

Alana looked to the side, and the other soldier was preparing his sword and aiming it at Arcturus’s body. He pranced forward. Alana instinctively stepped in between him and the dog, with her arms stretched out.

“Leave it,” she said, lifting her chin.

The furious biting stopped abruptly, and Kassius managed to get the dog away from the soldier.

“Caius, are you alright?” The standing soldier pushed Alana and Kassius away, kneeling in front of the body, as Kassius held onto the dog once again.

“My gods! What have you done to him!”

It bit exactly where blood flowed in the neck. The man agonized, eyes open, blood staining his side and the grass. He soon died.

Alana and Kassius looked at each other. The dog, once again, broke loose, and the soldier turned around; he drew his sword and swung it against Arcturus. Arcturus dodged quickly and bit the soldier in the leg.

“Arcturus, stop it now!” Kassius said. “Stop!” he ordered, and the dog finally let go. The soldier stood up, gasping.

“I’m really sorry,” Kassius said, lifting his arms.

“You’re sorry. You’ll be sorry in Hades! I’ll kill your damn dog and you!” the soldier snapped and lunged forward at Kassius with his sword. Kassius tried to evade, but the sword pierced through his shoulder.

Arcturus jumped up and bit the soldier’s leg again. He smote him with the sword, and Arcturus crawled back, moaning like a lost puppy.

“You’re dead!” The soldier jumped toward Kassius, sword forward, ready to stab him in the stomach.

The soldier suddenly stopped, quickly opening his mouth and gasping for air, as Alana removed the small knife from his back.

The soldier fell to his knees, then collapsed face down.

She bent down, hands on her knees, panting with her eyes wide opened. Arcturus approached her, moaning and licking her bloodied fingers.

“By the Morningstar… What… What have I done?” she said. Her hands started to tremble, and the knife dropped.

“Alana,” Kassius muttered, his eyes wide open, staring at her, then swallowed.

She shook her head. Kassius was even paler than before, then he fixed his eyes on the bodies on the floor. Blood still dripped from his shoulder.

“Kassius, let’s go!” she said, untying her scarf. Kassius blinked many times and seemed to finally wake up from his shock.

“A… Ala… You killed him.”

“I...” Alana felt for a second that those words carried the biggest weight in the world. She stepped back and looked into the stars above.

“Caius? What’s going on!” She heard an Itruschian man behind the fence, and she turned, startled.

Suddenly, Kassius grabbed her hand and pulled her. They both ran with all their strength, Arcturus following them closely. Kassius walked to the fence and pushed one of the iron bars. A secret passage. It gave in easily, and he crawled outside, pressing down on his shoulder with his right arm. Alana followed, and both rushed into a dark alley. They stopped at the edge of the street, where Alana looked back. They glanced at the fenced property, where a third soldier ran through the field and knelt at the two fallen soldiers’ sides.

“Oh, gods!” Kassius said. “Let’s get out of here.”

Suddenly, Arcturus rushed forward, opening his mouth and letting out a bark.

“Hold it, boy, hold it,” Kassius knelt beside Arcturus, holding his mouth.

The soldier looked at the darkness, where the sound was coming from.

Alana and Kassius looked at each other.

“Alana… I trained him to run into the forest when hunting...”

“To run? Kassius, you’ll be sending him to his death. Keep him with us.”

“Alana. We may die if they find us.”

“Let’s just go, and let’s release him whenever it’s safe.”

“The whole army will be on our heels. Ala, we just killed a man.”

“Kassius. I did. You’re innocent.”

“No. We were both there, I cannot just...”

“We can also pretend I’m kidnapping you.”

“No. Alana, I don’t want to put you at risk.”

“And I don’t want to risk you.”

“I’ll be fine. I’m a citizen.”

“But if you’re a traitor, you may suffer even a worse fate than I. Kasha. Let’s just be together. Let’s be strong.”

Kassius stood up.

“I am sorry, but we must. Come on, boy,” he said, calling Arcturus to his side.

They walked stealthily through the round houses. Alana could still hear snoring soldiers and occasionally weeping and wailing.

They crossed the narrow rocky paths where drowsy guards patrolled through the night. They walked in stealth, then pressed their backs against the walls to avoid being seen. When they reached the edge of the forest, Kassius sent Arcturus into the woods. Alana prayed for the dog to be safe, and soon, they rushed up the hill until they could see Elder Aranus’ small rock hut. A light still shone through the rocky windows, and the grey smoke from the chimney still escaped shyly.

“It’s up there…” Kassius whispered through his teeth.

Alana fixed her eyes on the door. Although it was dark, she could see a vague human shadow posted nearby.

“And it’s guarded,” Alana said, then turned back to face Kassius. “What should we do?” she asked, expecting an answer.

“Well, you’re the creative one,” Kassius muttered.

“Let me think,” she said, scratching her chin. “We can’t pretend to be beggars and just walk in, can we? I mean, let’s get closer and see whether it’s one guard or more. We can maybe take him down.”

Kassius took a deep breath and nodded. He took the carbon pen from his bag and started marking a sigil on his hands; a serpentine letter, and some elastic signs.

“What is this one for?” Alana asked.

“Not be heard, and not to be followed.”

Alana cleared her throat.

“Kassius, with all due respect, are you sure you are doing them right?”

“What do you mean?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I mean,” she tried to choose her words carefully, but there was no other way to say it. “I think they’re not working.”

“What do you mean they’re not working?”

“Well, you didn’t exactly pass unnoticed. Someone caught you.”

“Alana, they work, the sigils work,” he stated, raising his voice.

“But, you saw...”

“They work, okay? You just have to believe in them. Don’t break our astral connection or they will not work any more.

Alana clanked her teeth. She knew from his tone of voice she could not change his mind about it at that time. Maybe he would see for himself.

“Sure, sure. I believe you,” Alana said. “Sorry, I just... thought, maybe you can correct them or something.” He did put a lot of importance on those things. She could not complain that they wasted her time or anything, but they did not seem to be that useful either.

“Correct them? Alana, I’ve been studying this my whole life.”

“It’s alright, draw it on me. It’s fine, let’s just get done with this before the guard sees us.”

***

The young soldier sat with his back toward the door, his eyes shut, his head tilting back and forth, as if between the world of the vigilant and that of the dreaming. Alana stopped behind a tree, from where she could see both the side view of the house and the soldier’s position. Kassius kept walking backwards up the hill, circling around the house. She paused for an instant. From there, above the boulder and at the top of the hill, she could see her own home. The roof was completely gone except for the concrete ring that surrounded the chimney and the furnace’s exhaust tube, and no light shone on the inside. She felt a deep sorrow fill her chest and stared at the ground for an instant.

When she looked back up, Kassius was peeking from the other side of Aranus’ house, making a face.

Alana nodded and went on with the plan, crouching steadily, stepping on her tiptoes, as she approached the snoring soldier with her scarf in hand. She leaned her back on the wall, ready to continue. Then, both her and Kassius could see each other again, a few feet away from the soldier, and they approached slowly, one on each side, until they stood right behind him.

What an exciting moment! Alana grasped the scarf tightly, ready to use it. How she wished Gitara was there to see how stealth and jumpscaring people had become useful in a life or death situation.

She took one more step with the side of her foot, careful not to make a sound.

And a branch broke under her boot. She shut her eyes.

The soldier woke up, stiffening his body, looking around and grasping the hilt of his sword.

“Hey!” he screamed in the stillness of the night.