Tristan peered through the edge of the forest as Tina saw a village in the distance. They had dashed between trees until they managed to reach this point. Now, Tristan wanted to make sure that the deer like creatures didn’t follow them by making it to the village before they did. Tina didn’t want to think about the possibility if the deer like creatures or the wolf demons made here before they did. She shook her head of those thoughts.
She inhaled, deeply, as she glanced at the darken sky. She smelt the fresh scent that she associated with rain. She heard the rumble of thunder in the distance. She smiled, slightly, as she mused she was going to sleep good tonight. There was something about thunderstorms that lured her to dreamland. She shook her head. She couldn’t be thinking about that right now. Tristan and she was still not safe.
“Come on,” Tristan broke through Tina’s train of thought before he stepped out of the woods. She followed him a couple steps behind. He led the way to the village gate at a hurried pace. Tina forced her legs to move. Soon, she would be in a bed, soon, she kept telling herself.
Sometime during their mad dash through the woods, Tina had lost feeling in her back. She partly grateful for that, but she also worried it meant that there could be something more seriously wrong with her back then the lashings she got. She would worry about that later.
Tristan stopped at a closed gate and banged on the door, loudly. Tina glanced over her shoulder. She tried to use her spiritual sense, but it didn’t want to work. She growled lowly under her breath. She needed to get back into the practice of using her spiritual powers, especially if there was a chance she could run into that wolf demon. Assuming he managed to escape that hell fire of the deer like creature village turned into.
The gate door opened and the gatekeeper, Tina summarized, stuck out his head, asking in a loud nasal tone, “Who goes there?”
“Sir Tristan of the Round Table, Knight of Camelot,” Tristan introduced himself, “My companion and I wish to seek an inn for the night.” The gatekeeper’s eyes shifted between the knight and Tina before he nodded.
“I’m glad you were able to make it before the storm hits,” the gatekeeper said as he stepped back, opening the door for them to slip through before he shut it again, “The messengers have sent word that the storm approaching is a bad one.” Tina ran her gaze over the parts of the enclosed village that she could see through the darkness and the lamp light.
It seemed to be a stereotypical Medieval village. The roads were compacted dirt from the many feet that pounded it together. A stable housing at three to four horses stood on one side of the gate with a wooden house nearby. Smoke rolled from one of the chimneys. However, it was eerily quiet. Tina thought it would have been full of noise, music drifting from a tavern or a bar, but there was nothing.
“The messengers also spread the word about the King’s death,” the gate keeper went on. Tina felt Tristan stiffen. She remembered what the deer like creatures had cheered about earlier, but to hear it from another human being, she could only image what was running through Tristan’s mind.
“Yes,” Tristan replied, “It is a sad day for Camelot.” There was a note of sadness and something else in his voice that Tina wished she could identify, but at the same time, she didn’t want to know.
“Long live the King,” the Gatekeeper said. Tristan repeated the phrase. Tina echoed it. “I know there are some rooms available at the Misty House, but that was a couple hours ago. There are not a lot of rooms open right now, due to the increased travelers, heading to the Castle.” The Gatekeeper went on, “But I am sure if there is no room at the Misty House then someone could point you to an inn that has a room open.”
“Thank you, Gatekeeper,” Tristan said before he walked down the dirt street. Tina followed him. It was not long before Tristan spoke up, “Tina, how are you holding up?”
Tina mused if she should tell him the truth or not. She threw caution to the wind. They had fought together to escape that deer creature village and against the wolf demon. She could trust him, for now, and she told the truth, “I really need to see a doctor.”
“Doctor?” Tristan asked, confusion lacing his voice.
“Healer,” Tina corrected herself, “I don’t know how bad my back is and I fear I might have infection.” She paused as they approached an inn with a sign heading from the door on a flower hanging bars that said ‘Misty House’, “I’m also really tired.” She peered over her shoulder, looking back the way they came. “And hungry.”
“Me too,” Tristan admitted, “Are you comfortable enough to share a room with me?” Tina felt his gaze on her.
“I trust you,” she replied, “And besides, I rather have you at my back then have to fight alone.” She met his gaze. He sent her a smirk which she returned. He entered the inn and held the door open for Tina. She walked through the door, her eyes roaming over the large room.
It reminded Tina of a modern day restaurant dinning room with an open bar. All of the table in Tina’s sight were full. Chatter about the days events bounced off the walls and ceiling. Tristan stepped around Tina, wading through the eating patrons. She followed. She noticed how chatter stopped as she passed the various tables. The Knight stopped at the bar and Tina stepped up by him. She lean her head against his arm as a wave of exhaustion hit her.
“Are you alright?” Tristan asked.
Tina nodded, releasing a sigh, “It has been a long few days.” She couldn’t fight the yawn as she opened her mouth. “I’m just tired.”
“How can I help you?” A barmaid approached them, asking as her eyes ran over their dirty forms, but she froze when she spotted Tristan’s chest.
“A room,” Tristan replied, “And send for a healer for the two of us.”
“Alright,” the barmaid turned and shouted over her shoulder, “HEY, MICHEAL! RUN GET SUMIKO. WE GOT A COUPLE THAT NEEDS HER!”
Tina winced at the volume of the barmaid’s yell. Her legs shook, violently, as the adrenaline finally worn off. She blinked as her vision darkened.
“What’s wrong, Michelle,” Micheal walked up and his eyes widened as he spotted Tristan’s chest, listening to the soft chatter from the ones who saw Tina’s back.
Tina whispered, “Tristan,” before her legs gave out. She didn’t remembered if she hit the floor or not.
Tristan heard Tina whisper his name before her legs gave out. He spun on his foot, his arm snaking around Tina’s waist, holding her to him. Her weight against his chest causing it to ache. His breath caught in his throat. His eyes closed as he fought against the pain. He forced himself to exhale and he opened his eyes as Tina’s weight was lifted off of him. He saw a couple men dressed in guards uniforms holding Tina up by her arms and watched one of them ducked, moving her arm over his shoulder before the other guard did the same.
“Michelle, which room?” one of the men asked. Tristan turned his gaze upon the barmaid as she grabbed a key with a piece of wood dangling from it, the number 26 craved on the wood.
“26,” Michelle replied, holding out the key to one of the guards. He took it with his free hand as he held onto Tina’s arm. Together, the guards carried Tina across the room to the stairs at the back of the dinning room. “Go. I will send Sumiko when she arrives to your room, hun.”
Tristan nodded his head in thanks before he rushed after the guards. He heard the barmaid giving out orders for Micheal to send up hot water and clean bandages to room 26. He pound up the stairs, and saw the guards reaching a door at the far end of a hallway. He hurried to catch up.
The guards placed Tina on the double person bed, belly down. One of the guards looked up at Tristan and asked, “What happen?”
“We were caught by a Fawn village,” Tristan explained, walking over to the fireplace where a comfortable looking chair stood, “And they punished her for defiling their sacred lake.”
“Filthy creatures,” the other guards spat, “They all should be destroyed, I say.”
Tristan didn’t say a word as he fell into a chair in front of the fireplace. He knew some people didn’t like the non-humans, but personally, he had mixed feelings about them. He relaxed into the chair as he heard the door close. He blinked his eyes once before they slid shut.
Genesis frowned as he gazed over the remains of what looked like a village. The few standing huts were nothing more then burnt out shells. He spotted a few bodies on the ground, but they were burnt beyond recognition. They would never know who they were.
He shoved his wet hair back out of his face as it rained and lightening flashed. The storm had been a mixed blessing. It managed to put out the roaring blaze that threaten to consume the entire forest, but it also washed away any evidence of the explosive barrels and what had happened in the village.
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He cursed silently as he turned to the company of men he had brought with him. Reno, he managed to spot through the downpour, stood several dozen feet away, holding up his arm, and pointed to something. Three men disappeared to where Reno was pointing at. Another four men ran after the first three holding up large lanterns, a fire blazed within the glass.
A feminine shriek pieced the rain fill night. Genesis took off running in the direction where it came from. He darted between a couple burnt out huts and spotted what caused the scream. It was Doe Fawn.
Her eyes were wide and wild. She struggled against a tree where she was tied. She wore a dress that once was beautiful, but now, it was held burns, revealing her limbs below. He noticed one of her legs held a large bit mark, covering her entire lower leg.
Genesis stared at her, thinking. She had been the one only living Fawn they had been able to find so far. She knew what had happen. He watched as she kicked out with her good leg at one of his men. Her eyes narrowed with anger.
He knew she would need to be questioned. He sighed. There were some days he hated to be a General. He called out, “Take her back to Camelot. Allow a healer to see to her wounds then toss her into the dungeon until morning. I will question her then.”
The doe’s eyes widened and she yelled out, “You monster!” before she increased her struggle. However, Genesis turned away and strolled back toward Reno and repeated his orders to his second.
“Sure thing, boss,” Reno said simply.
“Gather what evidence you can find before heading back to Camelot,” Genesis said, “I going to go ahead and report back to the Ruling Family and the Battle Mage. They will need to know what has happen.”
“Better you then me,” Reno commented.
“Yes, I hate to see my best second in commander lose his head because he pissed off the Warrior Queen,” Genesis agreed. He smirked when Reno gulped. He knew how Reno felt about the Warrior Queen. He felt the same way. He knew after meeting with the Ruling Family, he would need a drink.
Tina’s eye snapped open, widely, as she tried to remember what happen. Covers blocked most of her vision, but what she could see beyond them, she saw she was in a bedroom. She didn’t hear anything, but crackling of a fire nearby, out of her sight. She turned her head and saw a closed door. She spread her senses out and found Tristan a few feet away from her feet. There was a stronger presences hurrying down a hallway and a loud, sharp knock brought the peaceful silence in the room.
Tina tried to speak, but her throat felt like it was clogged with something. She cleared it and spoke, “Come in,” as loudly as she could. At first, she didn’t think the person on the other side heard her. She was about to try again when the door opened.
A old woman with silver hair up in a no-sense bun stepped in. She wore Japanese style clothing of a priestess. She pinned Tina with her blue eyes as she assessed the damage from afar.
“Hello, Are you a healer?” Tina raised her hand up and waved in a greeting. The woman nodded in reply. Tina went on, “Could you please heal my back?”
The woman didn’t say a word, but she nodded before she walked over, followed by a boy in his mid teens. She sat on the edge of the bed while the teenager stood nearby. The woman spoke in a language Tina hadn’t heard in several years, not since she spent in Japan, “Introduce us, Hojo and ask how she got injured.”
The teen spoke up the moment after the older woman finished, “Hello, My name is Hojo and this is Sumiko. She is a master healer and I am her apprentice. How did you get these injuries?”
“I’m Tina,” the red head introduced herself, deciding to keep the fact she understood Sumiko hidden for now, before she answered, “I got punished for not knowing something.” She paused, “My friend and I were capture by a group of deer like creatures -”
“Fawns,” Tristan’s voice rang out. There was a sound of a chair moving.
“Yes - Fawns and they didn’t like the fact I took a bath in their sacred lake so they decided to punish me by whipping me,” Tina explained, “However, I didn’t know the lake was sacred to them. I tried to explain that to them, but they ignored me.”
The Healer nodded in understanding and grabbed a rag. Tina knew what the woman was going to do before she explained what she was going to do and the teenager translated. The healer was going to wash Tina’s back. Tina’s breath picked up as she watched the rag disappeared from the corner of her vision and touched her back. It felt like lava poured into her opened cuts. She turned her head, burying it into the comforter and a scream worked its way out of her throat.
Genesis dismounted his horse and handed off the reins to a stable boy before he rushed through the courtyard. He wanted to change out of his wet clothes before he saw the Ruling Family. He silently cursed the Battle Mage as he hurried through the halls. When the Battle Mage first approached him and Reno about the explosion, Merlin had said he needed to report this to the Ruling Family in case this was an attempt from an enemy, even though, they had no evidence to prove that.
He stormed into his room and shut the door behind him. He quickly changed and tried to rub dry his hair before he tossed the towel aside and hurried back through the halls. In hindsight, he should have check to see if the Ruling Family was still awake, but it didn’t matter when he spotted Merlin strolling toward him as the bells rung out, announcing it was ten o’clock.
“Uh, Genesis,” Merlin greeted the red head General, pausing in his stroll, “Are you planning to report about that explosion?” He turned and walked with the Warrior.
“Yes, Lord Mage,” Genesis replied in an even tone. He was not looking for to this conversation. He originally planned for Reno to give the report over the Missing Black Powder Barrels, but the remains of a Fawn village suggested that Reno was not the best person to give this report. “I managed some new evidence in our missing barrels.”
“Oh?” Merlin questioned, raising his eyebrow at him. Genesis didn’t explained further as they walked.
“Where is the Ruling Family,” He, however, asked. He hoped they weren’t already asleep, yet. He knew the four Drake Queens were preparing the King’s body for burial as it was tradition for the Ruling Family.
“In the King’s chambers,” Merlin answered, “Finishing preparations on the King’s body for the funeral.”
Genesis nodded and changed his path for the King’s Chambers. He wondered if the older Queens would show up for the funeral as well. If they did, it meant more security detail for them. On the other hand, it was already rumored for them to have passed on. He rubbed his face.
The last time a King died, 10 years ago when he was 16 and just entered the King’s army, he knew the oldest of the Queens had attended the funeral, but afterwords, she left the castle, traveling to a relatives estate to live out her days. He knew there had been a private funeral for the Queen six years ago for her, and the Ruling Family had been invited to attend, but they didn’t go personally, sending the Prince as a representative of the Family.
Genesis briefly wondered if the four Drake Queens would do the same. The Warrior Queen most definite would not. She was too invested in the military might of the Kingdom. However, Queens Vivien, Clarine, and Kalliope would be free to do so if they wished too.
Genesis and Merlin reached the King’s chambers and Merlin paused, briefly as he knocked on the door. They waited for the ‘Come in’ before Merlin opened the door and they walked inside.
Queen Kalliope approached them. Her eyes were red and puffy, but her face held a tired expression. She spoke up, “Are you here to report on that explosion in the Dead End Forest, General?”
“Yes, my lady,” Genesis bowed as he replied, “I have just returned with some news about what happen.”
The youngest queen nodded and turned around, waving her hand to Merlin and Genesis. The red head followed her back into the bedchamber of the King. His eyes darted toward the Queen Mother, Clarine.
Clarine didn’t wear one of her fancy dressed, but a simple gray dress with short shelves. Genesis noticed there were a few spots where the fabric was darker then the rest of the dress. Her arms, however, made Genesis blushed slightly. They were bare from the upper arm down. He never seen any of the women from the Ruling Family with their arms bare. When he did see that, it was usually from one of the Pleasure Women down in the Red Light District.
He glanced at Vivien. She wore a dress similar to Clarine, including the fact the dress had short shelves. He felt heat raise in his cheeks. He fought back the blush and tried to school his face into a stoic expression. His eyes darted to Belladonna who dressed like the other two Queens. Her upper arms were toned.
‘Think about that,’ Genesis thought, ‘That woman can punch you hard enough to knock you out.’ He had seen the Warrior Queen punch one of the soldiers who tried to downgrade her one time and she knocked him out cold. Most of the soldiers gave her space when she was around.
A loud giggle broke through the silence as Merlin and Genesis came to a stop, several feet in front of the Queens. The General’s eyes darted over to see the Black Mage, Morgana, sitting in a chair, looking like she could pass out at any moment. Her eyes twinkled at him with a knowing glint as an amused smirk appeared on her face. Genesis let out a soft sigh, knowing he had been caught, staring at the Queens’ bare arms. He felt like he was a little boy again and his mother caught him, stealing a cookie before dinner was ready.
“What is so funny, Black Mage,” Belladonna hissed, standing by the foot of the bed.
“The General is not used to see your bare arms, Queen Belladonna,” Morgana replied. Genesis blinked as he watched the three Queens turned a faint red in embarrassment.
Queen Kalliope let out a soft giggle at her older counterparts before she turned to Genesis and questioned, “What did you find in the Dead End Forest?”
“A burnt Fawn Village,” Genesis replied.
“What!?” Queen Belladonna shouted. Her eyes flashed angrily as her face turned a bright red. “How dare those filthy creatures make a village so close to our Castle?” She glared at Genesis, “Were there any survivors?”
“Just one, my lady,” Genesis replied, “I have already ordered the Fawn to treated and be put in the dungeons until after the Funeral.” He watched as Queen Belladonna nodded in approval. “Reno is bringing the Fawn back to Camelot after he finishes gathering any evidence that has not been washed away.”
“What caused the explosion?” Queen Clarine asked.
“Black Powder Barrels,” Genesis stated in an even tone. He knew Belladonna would yelled again. He was not disappointed as she stormed over to him, demanding that he explain how the ‘filthy deer creatures’ managed to get black powder. “A couple days ago, we noticed a shipment of Black Powder Barrels had gone missing. Reno, Axel, and I had tried to re-trace the route the shipment took, but we didn’t find anything out of the normal. We had planned to go back out to search more until we heard the news of the King’s illness then death.” He took a breath. “I made the decision to keep the knowledge to myself and planned to inform the Ruling Family after the funeral. I didn’t want to cause the Ruling Family more stress during this time of grieving. My deepest apologizes, my queen.” He bowed his head to the Warrior Queen as he waited for his punishment.
“Thank you for telling us, General Genesis,” Queen Kalliope spoke before Queen Belladonna did, “While we appreciate your consideration of our time of grieving, next time, please inform us before it is too late.”
“As you wish, my lady,” Genesis said.
“Once the funeral is over,” Queen Kalliope continued, “I think it would be best if you took a week off, but stay in Camelot.”
Genesis tried to hid his wince. A week without pay. It will cause a dent in his savings. He had been trying to save up to buy a small house for himself and eventually settled down before his grandmother could find him a match against his will. At least, it was not worst, like lashings. He said, “I will do as you wish, your highness.”
“You are dismissed, General,” the youngest Queen said before she turned away from him. He bowed to the Ruling Family before he twisted on his heel and headed out of the King’s Chamber.
Genesis headed back to the Courtyard and waited for Reno to return with the Fawn. He knew they would have to discuss what would happen during the week Genesis was forced to take off.