Ambassador Miguel was met with formal greetings all around. The plan was for him to distract the people inside, while Kael and Yarro snuck out back to the warehouse. Ambassador Miguel was quick to talk up the recent commotion at the festival. Something about strict limitations in technological progress being regressive for the economy? Yarro didn't stop to listen.
A few steps behind him, the duo wandered their way to the back, and Kael kept a few feet away to not draw attention. Yarro was impressed at how easy Miguel made all eyes stay on him without even a hint of anxiousness. He was in his element. A few others in the building joined in on the conversation as well, and it quickly turned into a rather loud debate. Apparently a few people followed the beliefs of the Obrarians and thought destruction would follow if they went too far. Yarro couldn't help but momentarily raise an eyebrow.
The duo made it to the back with no one the wiser, and dipped out. Before their eyes laid a small yard filled to the brim with various items of junk value, like rusted tools and broken shelves. Just a few feet away was an innocuous stone shed, about the length of the building and shallow in width. Waiting outside the door was a lone guard. They locked eyes as soon as the duo left the building and had turned around. “Who are you two? What are you doing out here?” The guard stood up straight. Their eyes squinted as they studied each of them.
The duo wasn't expecting any guards on the outside of the warehouse. Yarro attempted to throw the muddy yard water on her. There wasn’t much, but what little there had managed to get on her. Now soaking wet and dirty, the guard cleaned off her face and looked back at them in complete disbelief. They used this time to rush up on her. “What the fu-” Thunk. Kael used a rock to hit her in the forehead with such a force, she collided against the wall. Another thunk as she banged the back of her head against the brick. She slid to the ground with a trail of blood marking the brick wall.
“Help me drag her out of sight.” Yarro grabbed her arms, and Kael grabbed her legs. He couldn’t believe she died just like that. He noticed there was even a dent in her forehead that was gushing thick blood. They managed to waddle their way to behind the warehouse, where she was carefully placed leaning against the wall.
Yarro double checked to make sure no one was watching and snuck inside, as Kael followed close behind. Two men in low light off to the side stood from their chairs. “How did you get in?” Without waiting for an answer, the two guards attacked the duo. One drew a rather old and miskept sword swung away at Kael. Another blew a gust of wind at Yarro.
Kael dodge and ducked the first two strikes, he palmed up the face of his attacker and knocked his chin up. Simultaneously, a sharp jolt of stone rushed up and pierced the man’s stomach. Yarro first planted his feet on the ground to stop the wind from blowing him away. He tried to sense any water nearby, but the only kind pinging on his senses was the dirty water from outside. When the attacker winded up for another attack, Yarro moved his hand up to his face, fully lit on fire. The man couldn’t dodge in time and his face ended up burning. He opened his mouth to scream but Yarro simply burnt his mouth as well and sent flames down his throat. He passed out from the pain. Or maybe he died as well, Yarro couldn’t tell anymore.
“Hopefully there aren’t too many guards in here. All this fighting is starting to take its toll on me.” Kael rubbed his shoulders and moved it around to relax the muscles. Yarro looked around the room. The guards on duty here seemed to have been in the middle of a card game. That explained why they didn’t hear them outside. There were very few light sources, and plenty of boxes with random junk in them. Some opened to reveal toys, books, tools, old creams and lotions. Brooms lay against the wall and in the corner was a broken bookshelf with dusty statues and awards instead of books. On the far side was a door. “Come on.”
On the other side of the door were more enemies to fight. “Oh, this is ridiculous. Just how many of there are you?” Kael groaned. There were two more guards in this area and Yarro wondered just how deep this warehouse went. Where was Seila? Was this another lie from the Emperor?
“Oi, you got a permit?” One of them asked. Both guards held swords on their hips. The one who wasn’t speaking had her hand hover over her sword. Next to him, he could feel Kael tense up his body in preparation for a fight.
Yarro cracked his knuckles. “I’m afraid I don’t.” Shing.
This fight was a bit more difficult. Was it the enemies’ skill with a sword? Or were he and Kael simply tired from all of the fighting today? Perhaps it was a combination of both. The guards were able to draw blood with a few quick slices Yarro was unable to dodge or block. The cramped room also aided the guards and allowed them to stick close to the duo with their swords. Kael couldn’t stay out of range for long, and had to destroy parts of the building to keep up with his opponent.
Yarro attempted to grip his attacker and burn her, but she was well covered and armored. As the next swipe came down at him, he grabbed the sword and heated it to the point where it began to melt. She tried to yank the sword out and away, and would have succeeded had it not melt around his hand. Yarro yanked the now melted iron towards himself. When she tumbled forward, Yarro clamped his hand over her face, and melted it. She didn’t scream for long. Yarro turned to the other guard. Now it was 2 on 1 and the opponent was adept on his feet.
He threw a few balls of fire. Some hit, but it was deflected off of the armor. The attack did get his attention though. The second the guard need only look away for a moment, Kael reached up at the ceiling and yanked down hard. A spike came down and impaled the guard from the head and went straight down through the spine to the other end and landed on the floor.
The only sounds left were the duo breathing heavily from exhaustion. “How much do you want to bet there’s more guards behind that door?” Kael pointed a wavering finger to the door that led to presumably another room filled with even more guards.
“If there’s any more, I’m just going to light this entire thing on fire,” Yarro growled. He wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“You can do that after we rescue Seila. Ready?” They both took a deep breath and readied themselves.
At first, Yarro couldn’t see anything. There were no light sources like fire or even a window. He lit a small amount of fire in his hand, just enough to see. There was a small gasp and a scramble of bare feet. “Who’s there?” His own voice boomed in an empty room.
“Oh no…” Kael took a few steps toward the corner. More scrambling into the corner as the movement caught his eye. Yarro adjusted the fire to see the corner clearer. And there she was. Seila.
The closer they got, the worse she looked and the more scared she became. From what he could see, Seila was clearly malnourished, as well as dirty and abused. She has plenty of old, dried up, or scabbed wounds. Dried blood around her mouth and still black and blue bruises all over her legs and arms. His heart broke into a million pieces as he looked over her. He could only imagine what they put her through. Just to get to Arnold. For whatever reason. The more he thought of it, the more his feelings turned to rage.
He channeled that energy into the flame in his hand to prevent setting himself on fire. It grew brighter, and stronger, until it was nearly jumping out of his hands. “I’m going to kill him,” was all he could mutter out.
“Stop the fire, you’re scaring her,” Kael gripped his arm, urging him to put his hand down. Yarro blinked and looked to see Seila wasn’t even looking at them. She had buried her face in her arms and her whole body was shaking in fear. He took a deep breath and clenched the fire out. “And your eyes.”
Yarro ignored the last part and took a few steps forward to kneel down in front of the child. “Seila?” After a moment she peaked out from under her arms. “This is Kael. And I’m Yarro. I’m a Demideity. I’m here to help.”
It took a moment, but Seila warily looked at the two of them between her hands and arms. She stared for the longest time, in fact, at Yarro. Presumably because of the eyes. It must have been the most visible in the dark, and also a bit scary. “Really?” She finally spoke, voice hoarse, whether from screaming, crying, or disease, he didn't know.
Yarro nodded. “Your dad sent me to find you. Arnold is your dad’s name, right? He’s really worried about you.”
She seemed to perk up at the mention of her dad and finally put her arms down. “You know my dad? Really?”
Yarro nodded once more and smiled. “Yes! He even asked the Queen herself to find you!” He held out his hand. Seila looked down at the open palm, now free of fire, and back at his eyes. Maybe she was trying to confirm that he was who he said he was. “Let’s go home, OK?” She nodded and finally grabbed his hand, though she was still wary.
Yarro gently and slowly helped her stand up. However when she took a step forward, her legs buckled and she almost face planted on the floor if Yarro had not been there to catch her. Kael stepped in front of her and knelt down, back facing her. “Climb on,” he said.
“If we encounter any resistance…”
Kael nodded. “I’ll keep her safe, don’t you worry. Just do your thing.” Seila clutch tightly around his neck, and squeezed her eyes shut. "She's trembling," Kael mouthed.
They marched back through the embassy with none the wiser and arrived at the Hirstgate entrance with no resistance from either the city guards or the Obrarian citizens. Ambassador Miguel waited for them with a singular small carriage. His face dropped the moment he saw Seila. “Thank the stars you’re all alright. Oh, you poor thing. There’s food and drink inside, enough for a week. Along with some spare clothes; I had a feeling the little one would need them.”
“Thank you, Miguel. You’ve made this whole situation much more easier than we expected,” Yarro said. He opened the carriage door for Kael to put Seila in. She had fallen asleep on his back on the way over, and was slightly drooling. It was probably the best sleep she has had in a long time. Kael gently, as quietly as he could and without waking her up, placed her laying down on one of the seats of the carriage.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“Truly. We couldn’t have done it without you,” Kael said.
“Arnold and I go way back. Of course I would help him. Also…” Miguel glanced at the carriage where Seila slept and stepped closer to the duo. He whispered, “Lord Chancellor Quince told me there are riots in the capital. Be careful when you get close.”
“A riot? What are they rioting about?” Kael asked.
“I only have one point of view so it isn’t clear. But I know it’s coming from non-elementalists. They have it pretty bad as far as I recall.”
The duo glanced at each other. Both of them remembered their experiences in the southern district when they went searching for the guards. They had encountered numerous antagonizing guards basically stealing from citizens who had no means of fighting back. The duo themselves had fought back those they encountered but it was only a bandage on the wound. And even then they weren't sure they got them all. “Thank you for the warning. We’ll heed it well.” Yarro formally bowed to Miguel.
“Not like they will be able to stop you,” Kael mumbled, as he followed Yarro’s example.
As it was nearing dusk, the two decided to alternate drivers as they drove south. Kael would sleep in the carriage first until the halfway point, at which point they would switch and Yarro would sleep until they clear the forest and enter Listhuanian territory. The carriage came to a rest in an open field not completely far from the forest. The lack of rocking woke Yarro up. Seila still slept peacefully, luckily.
Not wanting to wake her, Yarro carefully snuck out of the carriage and closed the door with the gentlest of force. Outside, Kael was tying the horse down. Even though it was the dead of night, Yarro still built a campfire for the light and warmth. The work was slow, both still tired from the fights earlier and the ride.
Grasshoppers chirped nearby in congruence of the crackling campfire. The two of them collapsed on the ground once the camp was all set up. The tent was ready, and they were both so exhausted, yet at the same time neither wanted to go to sleep just yet. It was the time of the night where it was time to simply unwind. He only wanted to be with Kael for a bit. They were never able to be alone for very long, if at all.
“I hope those riots don’t spook her too much.” He was halfway asleep when Kael spoke, barely above a whisper. His eyes closed for a while, relaxed. Kael snuggled next to him and put his arm under Yarro’s head. He peaked an eye open to see Kael staring up at the night sky that was full of stars and a quarter moon. He adjusted his weight from his head to lean more on the other’s chest. “She’s been through so much.”
“I’ll drive us into the city, while you protect her in the carriage. It’s not much, but my appearance should deter those looking for violence.”
“I don’t think they would know who you are, though,” Kael said.
“They’ll shut up once they see my fire and water.” Yarro yawned. He was more tired than he realized. “It'll be easy to put on a show for them to keep them away from the carriage.” He sat up with a groan and crawled his way into the tent. A moment later he heard Kael crawl in and wrap his arms around his waist.
"Kael? When we were in the run down temple, you said something about blasphemy. What did you mean by that?"
He huffed. "Don't even get me started on that again. Clearly that man had no idea what he was talking about."
"So what were you raised to believe? I never went to church much often, since my mother avoided it, so I don't know what they teach in there. I've always been curious."
"Well, for one there's no secret underground ancient society. If there were, we'd have found it already. The Deities are from the stars, not the ground. How can they hear our prayers or know so much? How can they perform the feats that they do? How do their children become so powerful? They are Deities, so he teaches blasphemy."
At the mention of their children, Yarro brought up his palm. Even when it wasn't handling fire, it still felt warmer than it had been all his life. He still found it strange, in a way. One moment, he could only control water. The next, he was burning up because he had awakened as a Fire Demideity. He liked the power it brought. He liked not needing to carry a waterskin all the time. But he had to be careful with his outbursts, or he'd burn up. Literally. Which was hard for him, being a natural Water Elementalist, as it meant he was used to being open with his emotions in most situations. In a way, Yarro felt like he lost a piece of himself to gain something more powerful.
"One thing that isn't brought up, however, is the technology. The Obrarians follow the same Deities as we do and yet, they don't experience the same downfalls as Listhua has. If Lwain wasn't lying, there is no one without an element. But they don't have things like muskets. I wonder if it's worth it…"
"There has to be a fine line to walk when it comes to it. Humans are always looking for ways to make their lives easier, which is fine. But it can't be at the expense of the world around us."
"How does one experiment on such technology without harming the world?"
Yarro yawned again. "No clue. That seems like a question for the Deities."
Even in his tiredness, Yarro's thoughts drifted to his family. No way they would be able to protect themselves against a rioat as they are now. They had no combat training, except his mother. With her disability, she wouldn't be able to protect both of his sibling, even with her experience as Guard Captain. He would need to check on them first chance he got. Then he remembered the Fire Deity's promise. That should he need help, he could always pray to them. It was worth a shot, to see if their word was true. And they said they still loved his mother. If they would listen to any prayer, it should be this one.
So he shot a quick prayer, asking them to look after and protect his family, before drifting off to sleep.
Sometime during the night, Yarro had found a third, smaller, person by the name of Seila had entered their tent. He had awoken to her sleeping in the corner of Kael’s side all curled up under the shared blanket. He must have been extremely tired if he had forgotten she was still in the carriage.
Over the next few days, Seila seemed to come out of her shell a bit more, though still quiet. They found a small creek where they were able to give her some privacy so she could clean herself off and give her the fresh clothes that the Ambassador had given them. Kael was especially helpful one night at dinner. He was being gentle with her, and gave her some of his food, and even cut up some meat that was too big for her. It was at this moment that he knew. Eeverything had finally clicked. Yarro had thought the words before, but it wasn't unti now that he fully understood the meaning.
Why did he wait so long to come to terms with his feelings? He could have enjoyed this blissful moment earlier. He could have reveled in these amorous heart flutters longer. But, why keep thinking of the past when the love of his life was right in front of him? “Kael?”
Kael looked up from Seila and turned to him. “Hm?”
His heart raced. His mouth turned dry in an excuse not to say it, but his mind was made up. “... I love you.”
Kael stopped and stared at him. The first time he spoke the words out loud. Yarro couldn’t tell if Kael was blushing or not due to the illumination of the fire. He smiled though. “I love you too.” He leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek, which Seila giggled at. Once again Yarro had forgotten all about her in the moment. He would need to work on that for the future.
The carriage arrived at Rylin early in the morning. It was silent until they entered the eastern gate. As Yarro pulled the carriage closer, the shouting grew louder, and they saw the debris that was piled on the sides of the street. The duo warned Seila beforehand, but he was still worried how she was handling the situation. The crowds became more dense, with many that carried signs about injustice. They largely ignored the carriage, thankfully. When they got close to the castle, the crowds were so dense they couldn’t even move forward. There were constant boos and shouting. Torches ready to burn anything to the ground.
Yarro could try urging the horse forward, but it would risk setting the carriage on fire, or straight up being destroyed. If they went on foot, they would risk being separated or injured. He sighed. After their “adventures” in the southern district, it was obvious that violence would come quickly no matter the path they took. Yarro decided to push forward in the carriage. They can always leave it if it gets dangerous, and it wasn't their carriage anyways.
The horses moved on slower than before, nervous from all the shouting. More than once Yarro had to stop and calm them enough to keep going. He hoped Seila was doing alright. The walkway that led to the stairs were so densely packed with people, even with the horse trying to make way, it eventually wasn’t possible to get any closer. Yarro jumped down from the driver’s seat. They will just have to come back for it when it wasn’t so crazy, if it was still there. He knocked on the door. “Come on.”
Kael opened the door, with Seila right behind him. She looked absolutely terrified, and clutchied onto his pant leg to the point where her knuckles turned white. Deciding it would be too dangerous for her to walk on her own, Kael picked her up and held her close. She hugged him tightly, her eyes darting all around. "Don't worry, Seila. I won't let anything happen to us." She didn't even spare Kael a glance, so neither knew if she heard or not.
Yarro led the way and attempted to carve a path through the midst of a riot. Some looked at him unfavorably for shoving them. Some even pushed back, but none picked a fight. By the time they were halfway to the steps, Yarro was getting frustrated and angry. He wanted to show them his elements so they would stop being annoying. However, these people were tired of the abuse and exhausted of not being heard. Bringing any violence to these people, if only to get them to move, would be the spark that sets the fire. He couldn't be the one responsible, and he didn't want to hurt these people anymore than they've suffered.
Finally they made it to the top of the castle steps, where a line of guards that held up their shields stood between them and the castle. All he had to do was show the badge he was given. Lucky for him and Kael that the Queen never took them back. The guards moved aside, and they were all swarmed around by the rioters. They had little trouble keeping the crowd back after letting them in, though.
On the inside was another row of guards poised at the ready. “Where is the Secretary of State?” Yarro asked. These guards looked ready to deny them but another spoke up from across the room.
“Follow me,” Guard Captain Lisa appeared off to the side. She had her stern working face on. Her whole posture was rigid and ready to jump into combat should the rioters breach the front doors.”Is that Seila?”
Kael nodded. “She’s terrified right now. We want to bring her to her father first, before we report to Queen Illa.”
Guard Captain Lisa turned to Seila with a soft smile on her face. “Outside is really scary right now, right?” Seila nodded. “Don’t worry. Your father is safe here, and so are you. He’ll be very happy to see you.”
Seila burried her head in Kael's neck. Lisa then led them down through a series of hallways and stairs. Down in some cellar, deep under the castle, and guarded heavily. Past the door, many of the folks in the castle waited in safety. Yarro didn’t recognize any of them, and the Queen and her husband were noticeably absent.
“Seila?” A man spoke out. Arnold made his way to the front of the crow. Shock and surprised whispers rippled through the crowd, with Arnold looking the most surprised of them all. The moment he saw Seila cowering in Kael’s arms, he rushed over. Seila immediately started to wiggle free and the minute Kael let her down, she ran and jumped into her dad’s arms. Arnold wrapped her into a bear hug and scooped her into his arms. “Oh, thank the stars you’re OK!” Arnold said between planting kisses all over her face and head.
Finally Arnold stood up, with Seila still tightly wrapped around his body. “I can’t thank you two enough. You went out and finally found my daughter while the Queen did nothing.”
Yarro gently guided Arnold a few feet away from the rest of the crowd staring at them. He dropped his voice to a whisper, afraid of being heard. “It was King Wen.”
“What?”
“Yes. The Obrarian King had nothing to do with it. He helped locate her, but we found her in a shed behind the Listhuanean Embassy.”
“In the dark. Injured and starving. We tried our best to clean her up and gave her some food on the way over here,” Kael said.
Arnold looked in horror between the two of them, then at Seila. She was still rather skinny, with faded bruises and bags under her eyes. His face turned from disbelief to anger. Yarro spoke before he could utter something treasonous. “I’ll make him pay. You can count on me.”
Arnold sighed in relief. “Thank you, Demideity Yarro. You have my support, with whatever you’re about to do. Just let me know what to do.” He pulled Seila back into a hug and disappeared into the crowd.
Yarro turned to the Guard Captain. She must have overheard, since she looked quite angry as well. “Take me to the Queen and King.”