Sweat dripped down Katrina’s face as she went through her forms for what seemed the hundredth time. She had made herself scarce since the incident with Alektor. Doing what she could to get out of the palace and train in some of the many sparring fields House Ignos had on the grounds beside it. She looked up through several strands of hair at her opponent. Demessa breathed heavily but held her practice blade at the ready. Katrina steadied herself and focused on her with the intent to kill.

“Again!” a voice called from beside them. The referee of their little match was a royal guard named Vericia, of house Terois. She had fought Katrina before Demessa, and was still nursing multiple bruises.

Katrina dashed forward, swinging her blade horizontally to the right. Demessa blocked the strike while spinning in the opposite direction of Katrina’s swing. Katrina gave a bit extra in her legs, and pressed forward, completely dodging the counter swing that would have taken her in the back of her head. Spinning on her heel and reversing her momentum, she again lunged for Demessa. This time she focused on quick swings of her blade, forcing Demessa to meet her head on. Katrina growled as she landed blow after blow on her blade, seeing the Dae girl straining with every counter. She increased her speed and intensity, attempting to overpower her.

Demessa feigned a block but spun to dodge an overhead strike, bringing her sword around again to hit the back of Katrina’s neck. Katrina used the momentum of her strike to fall into a roll, just missing Demessa’s blade by mere inches. Again, she was on her feet and whirled to lock eyes with the Dae. After a moment, Katrina found herself on the defensive as Demessa lunged, this time toward her. Their weapons met with a loud crack, and again, they were slashing and stabbing at one another, Katrina trying to land a killing blow against the stubbornly skilled Rexun warrior. Finally, Demessa feinted a diagonal swing but turned into a forward thrust. Katrina saw the move too late, but lifted her leg to catch the blade between her thigh and calf. Then, with a quick strike, landed a sound blow right on Demessa’s forehead.

Demessa let out a grunt as she fell backwards into the sand below.

“Well done.” Vericia said, clapping her hands together. “Masterful, Spirit-Sent! Just masterful.”

“Damn…” Demessa groaned as she covered her wounded head.

Katrina let out a whoop of celebration, then walked over to help her vanquished opponent back to her feet. Demessa cursed as she took her hand and stood.

“Nice one there, you almost had me.” Katrina said, feeling a slight pang of guilt after seeing a large lump on Demessa’s forehead beginning to form.

“You Humans are ridiculous,” Demessa chuckled. “You just weren’t getting tired. I had to try and outmaneuver you, but you’re so damn fast.”

Katrina laughed, and accepted a water skin from Vericia, and drank deeply from it. “You want to go again, Vericia?”

“Oh no!” The guard said, “I need at least a day or two to recover from the beatings I received. You’re far beyond my skill. I thought Demessa would have you though. She’s one of our best swordsmen.”

“Oh please.” Demessa said, “I’m not half as good as that. The best swordsmen we have protect the High King. Now, THOSE Dae,” She pointed a finger at Katrina. “They would have YOU on your backside faster than you could blink.”

“Or Lord Turak!” Vericia said, “He’s supposed to be the best there is with a blade.”

Katrina looked at her. “Turak.” She said aloud but thought for a moment. “What about Alektor?”

Demessa paused, holding a cool waterskin to her wounded head. “The High King… I don’t think I’ve ever seen him with a blade more than a handful of times. And that was only when he trained with King Reku.”

The name caused her to tense involuntarily. There was a rumor that he was actually on his way to Vul De Rah. Katrina was still preparing herself for that possibility, unsure of how she was going to react if she actually came face to face with him. She clenched her jaw, suppressing the urge to attempt to kill him. That was still a good possibility. But after the long hours spent talking about him with Demessa, the rage she had felt toward the man had waned somewhat. She battled internally with herself, reliving the moment Agron was cut down by Oros’ corpse. An act that Robert was apparently directly responsible for.

“Ladies.” A familiar voice called, knocking Katrina out of her thoughts. She looked up to see Lord Turak, one of the very subjects of their conversation. Katrina sneered at him, but quickly regained her composure, her face falling into something resembling a disinterested stare.

“Lord Turak!” Varicia said, bringing her fist across her chest in a salute.

Demessa did the same, but with much less enthusiasm.

“It’s good to see you all in the practice field.” Turak nodded toward Demessa. “I haven’t seen you here in quite some time. He looked closer at her, obviously inspecting her swollen wound. “I see you’ve been taught a few new things.” He glanced at Katrina and smiled. “I take it this was your doing?”

“What is it, Turak?” Katrina asked, a bit of her annoyance coming out. “We were just finishing up and about to head back to clean up.

“Save the barbed tongue for Reku, Katrina.” Turak shot back, “He’ll be here within the hour.”

The words brought Katrina’s thoughts to a halt, and she widened her eyes in surprise. “He’s what?”

“He’s almost here.” Turak said, his grin widening. “High King Alektor has asked me to bring you to the throne room where we are to receive him.”

Katrina panicked. Unsure of how to proceed. “I don’t—”

“Don’t worry about it,” Demessa said, grabbing her by the arm and starting to drag her toward the baths. “Lord Turak, we’ll bathe quickly and be on our way.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Katrina took deep breaths, the cacophony of emotions she felt battling for control within her mind. Ok, he’s here. Now what? She thought, doing her best to stoke the flames of her hatred, and keep them alive. He’s a traitor; he’s a monster for what he did. You swore you’d kill him. Delmos… Delmos is counting on you. All of Lokkadonia is counting on you.

“Katrina.” Demessa said, bringing her from her daze. “We don’t have much time to prepare.” She gestured her toward a bath. “We talked about this, remember?” Demessa’s eyes looked pleading. “You promised you would at least hear him out.”

“What?” Katrina spat. “I know what I said. I’m not going to kill him… at least not in the throne room with everyone there.” She huffed, and quickly disrobed, stepping into the bath. “I promised that I would hear him out, Demessa. But there’s a lot he has to answer for.”

~

Katrina finished her bath and donned her finest attire. A black Lokkadonian squires’ cloak, combat leathers beneath, and a bone breastplate.

By the time she and Demessa both entered the throne room, there were already hundreds of nobles and warriors lining both sides of the entrance. Demessa waded through the crowd and stepped up the stairs toward Alektor, sitting on Agron’s old throne. The sight sickened Katrina. And flashes of the chaotic battle within this room played in her mind. Alektor himself was dressed in a fine gray cloak, with gold thread embroidering the edges. He had a larger crown on his head than usual, and sat with an unreadable look on his face.

“Your Highness.” Demessa said, bowing her head to the High King. “May I present, Lady Katrina, as requested.”

Alektor nodded at her, then brought his gaze to meet Katrina’s. She tried not to react. Only narrowing her eyes at him. Without a word, he motioned with his hand for them to approach, and Demessa led them both to stand to the left side of the throne. After several more minutes of waiting, the large doors of the entrance slid open soundlessly. And an unrecognizable Robert strode in, flanked by a finely dressed Dae woman with brilliant red eyes, and a dozen warriors, all but one, clad in the deep yellow of the Visgo. Katrina studied him as he entered, hearing the royal ward announce him.

“His highness, King Reku, of house Roh. King of Visgo, and Spirit-Sent.” She heard him say. Then followed with, “Queen Athica, of house Krat. Queen of Visgo, and mate of the Spirit-Sent!”

Katrina studied Athica more closely now. She had heard a bit about Robert’s new wife; none of it flattering. Demessa had a very strong opinion of the Dae. Often having to reel herself back in, after a tirade. But Athica was every bit as beautiful as people said. Her ornate pearl white hair was done up, with golden clips and decorations holding it in place. With her pale-yellow skin and vibrant red eyes, her beauty was fully encapsulated. Sheesh, Rob. She thought. With that she focused on him.

Robert’s face looked alien to her. His features hard and confident. He wore a darker yellow than the others, with silver thread designs around his cloak, and even a small bone crown on his head. At about halfway to the throne, his eyes fell on her, and she saw in the briefest moment his shock and hesitation. He made his way to the base of the stairs, and he and Athica bowed their heads to Alektor. The High King stood in response and began making his way down the stairs toward them, taking his time with each step. When he approached him, Robert lifted his head, and the two embraced, bringing a thunderous reaction of cheers and celebration from the crowd of nobles. Releasing Robert, he then took Athica’s hand, gently kissing it. Katrina winced as they turned to wave at the crowd and waited for the cheering to die down. After a time, Alektor motioned for them to stop.

“My brother, Reku has returned to us, with the Queen no less! Though their visit will be brief, he brings good tidings from the South.” Alektor took a step away from Robert, and motioned for him to continue.

“I have returned, to bring assurance of Visgo’s continued support to our High King, and the war effort against the Torre’!” Robert said.

“Now let us allow our guests to rest!” Alektor said, “They’ve been traveling for many days and could use a good bath!”

The crowd laughed. But almost immediately the large doors of the throne room swung open again and the Royal guard began ushering them out in an orderly fashion.

Katrina saw Alektor and Robert at the base of the stairs, talking to each other in hushed tones while the room was cleared, and Robert glanced over his shoulder at her, holding her gaze for several moments before looking back to Alektor.

Katrina took deep breaths, calming herself in preparation for what would surely be a difficult conversation.

As the doors closed with the final trickle of nobles, Alektor and Robert turned and made their way up the stairs.

“Kat.” Robert nodded, coming to a stop before her.

Katrina’s mind boiled at the casual greeting. And again, flashes of Agron’s severed head rolling on the floor crossed her vision. She held it in, only sneering at him.

“So…” He continued, his gaze distant and cold. “I heard you were—”

“Enough.” Katrina said, closing her eyes for a moment. “I don’t have anything to say to you. Everything you did… here in this room.”

“Kat, I—” He started, but was quickly cut off again.

“I was here, Rob.” When your abomination cut off Agron’s head. When this whole place erupted into chaos.” She held his gaze, not letting him look away. “You destroyed everything we worked so hard for here.”

Robert was silent then, and she could see the turmoil in his eyes as the words she said began to sink in.

Katrina scoffed. “I swore I would kill you if we ever crossed paths again.” Her eyes flicked to Alektor, then to the plethora of royal guards no more than a swords length away from him. Then to Athica. “But I made a promise to someone, to hear you out.”

Robert's eyes darted to Demessa, who stood next to her. Katrina turned to see barely restrained happiness in the Dae woman. The sight deflated her rage, and Katrina let out a sigh.

“Kat.” Robert said, his voice sounding more confident. “I want you to know… I didn’t mean to hurt you. I didn’t want… I’m sorry. For everything that’s happened to you. But I don’t regret freeing the Doulos. And I don’t regret taking a stance against the Torre’. You may not know it now or be too blinded by your anger at me. But those bastards… what they did to me. What they were going to do to you and Dan.”

Part of her, deep within, knew that what he was saying made sense. But the sight of those she cared for, all the Dae who she had laughed and lived with for over a year, dead and broken on the ground. She couldn’t bring herself to do it. She couldn’t let herself forget. She stole a glance at Demessa, who nodded to her slowly, then continued. “I’ve heard your say…”

“No, you haven’t.” He stepped closer, looking directly into her eyes. “I just wanted to go home, Kat. And you belittled me, called me a coward basically to my face. Well, I went to the spirit forest; at least I tried to do something about it. While you and Dan were so caught up in this fantasy. What did you think was going to happen? My introduction in this world was being picked apart by those sons of bitches and then being thrown into the deepest darkest pit you can fucking imagine. But I survived.” His eyes hardened, and the uncertainty and regret she saw in them mere moments ago vanished. “I crawled out of that fucking hole and told this world they couldn’t have me.” He stepped back and held his hand out to his sides. “I did what I felt was right, and what I thought I had to do. If you can’t bring yourself to forgive me for that, then good luck.”

“Lets… Take a moment to cool our heads.” Alektor said, finally inserting himself into the conversation. “We aren’t going to get anywhere, standing here in the throne room. Let’s move to a more comfortable setting.”

Katrina was stunned at Robert’s sudden change in demeanor. She realized she had been holding her breath, and let it out slowly. She nodded and Alektor led them out of the throne room and toward the Palace study.