“She hasn’t moved from that fountain since I found her.” Lady Aubrey was filled with a most irritating concern. Her red-gloved hands were frantically fidgeting with the edges of her forest-green cloak like a child, and the scornful countenance she gave each of the watchmen she passed seemed to be her new default appearance. “Gods, she must have seen the bodies. No child should ever see such horrific things.”
I saw worse when I was younger. Deputy Athena Marion sighed to herself. Even though the City Watch had no authority or orders to be in the Duke’s manor, she knew it would be herself and Sheriff Redtower who would still get the blame for this. King Sigismund cherished his daughter and last night both she and the King’s cousin were nearly assassinated. The Duke was being intensely looked after, barely conscious. His private guards lay lifeless under a blanket with their throats slit. And this thirteen-year-old girl was the only witness that they had. This is just day-bloody-one, she thought bitterly. She had only been appointed Deputy of the City Watch a moon ago. It was hard not to fear that this would be some ill omen of things to come in her new appointment.
“She told me some ludicrous things,” Lady Aubrey continued stressing, still twisting and wringing the rain from one of her green tartan sleeves. She was the Princess’ most trusted carer and was certainly approaching a motherly age in her fourth decade. Athena had always wondered if Anastasia Aubrey’s maternal care for the Princess stemmed from the Arch-Alchemist’s own inability to procreate. Working in law enforcement so closely to the King’s Council, she found herself learning some interesting facts about the governors of the city. “She must have been so traumatised that she ran into her own imagination,” Lady Aubrey continued to blabber. “Something about demons and…” the Arch-Alchemist stopped herself and gestured in the Princess’ direction.
Athena tried to hide her frustration. She hated talking to minors. She found them difficult and unpredictable, and the Princess was especially challenging to attempt conversation with. Many people amongst the King’s council had whispered and suggested that she was mentally inept - not that they would ever dare utter such musings within earshot of King Sigismund. Nevertheless, the Deputy was left with little choice but to question her. Athena needed a better account of the events than the unconscious pie-shaped Duke gave her. She needed a lead, any sort of trail to follow, but as with most crimes in this city, clues were rarer than Tyrant Lizards. Athena sighed, but begrudgingly accepted the distressed Arch-Alchemist’s order. “Kindly wait here and I will try to speak with her.”
Dawn was soon approaching, yet the moon stubbornly remained watching from above. The rain had simmered since they had found Rosamund Greenfire sitting alone by the garden fountain, half-frozen to death.
There were at least two dozen City Watch guards in soot black armour and kettle hats investigating in and out of the manor and its gardens. The Sheriff was still inspecting the insides of the mansion. They had found queer things there in addition to the slain guardsmen. Most notably, strange blue dust was scattered across the Duke’s bed chambers.
As she headed to the sheepish Princess, Athena overheard three watchmen talking amongst themselves in a circle. “This is bollocks!” one of them grunted in protest, unaware of the Deputy’s presence. “Half the City Watch is here and for what? Two dead guards? It was a mere break-in. We’re all only here because of that spoilt wench-”
“Watch your tongue,” she cut in and was almost delighted in seeing the colour fade from the watchman’s face. “Be grateful the Sheriff -or worse still, Sigismund- wasn’t here to hear that, or you would have probably lost it. The head too, for good measure.”
Malborne roared with laughter. His helmet was crooked above his mail coif and his black goatee always made his genuine laughs and jests look somewhat sinister. Yet despite his flippancy, he had repeatedly proved himself diligent and loyal enough to the watch. “What unlucky timing, lad. Do you need some new breeches?”
“Give me the bag, Malborne,” Athena ordered. She was in a dark mood, darker than usual and did not wish to laugh with anyone. She hated the task that she would be about to undertake.
Lady Aubrey was not wrong. The Princess was still sitting on the edge of the fountain, in between two ghastly monk statues. She was staring into a void of nothingness and looked like a drowned rat. The rain had drained the gold out of her hair and her green and bronze dress was creased and crumpled. How do I do this? Athena questioned herself. The Deputy knelt to her eye level, yet the Princess did not make eye contact back. Her gaze was permanently fixed downwards on her fidgeting hands.
“Your Highness,” Athena addressed her as delicately as she could attempt, yet it still felt as if she were talking to a wall. “I understand how hard it will be, but could you tell me exactly what you witnessed?”
The Princess did not respond, her eyes still focused somewhere else. Perhaps somewhere safer than this city. New Jade was one of the richest cities in the north, yet if even a heavily guarded Duke and Princess were in danger, who really was safe?
“Please, Your Highness,” Athena implored. “I can’t stop whoever killed those two guards unless you help me.” She waited for an answer or even just for the Princess to look her way, but neither happened. Athena reluctantly reached into the bag. The only piece of evidence the City Watch had managed to obtain was strangely hot and prickly. She had already cut herself twice whilst handling it. She pulled out the demonic mask and presented it in front of the Princess’ field of vision. The Princess screamed.
All the guards turned their heads curiously, watching the scene. “Calm down,” Athena urged, perhaps too assertively. She placed a hand on Rosamund’s shoulder, but the Princess swatted it away and ran. She made it two metres before tripping over her own dress and crashing into a puddle.
Lady Aubrey pushed the Deputy out of the way. The Arch-Alchemist gave a sideways glare and helped Rosamund to her feet. Athena could not help but feel frustrated. Thunder erupted, and rain began to pour heavily once again. She overheard the guards laughing from afar. She turned and gave them a dark look. To her disappointment, she saw that Malborne was chortling amongst them.
“Rosamund, who did the mask belong to?” Lady Aubrey asked, far more sympathetically than Athena could ever attempt. “It’s imperative that you tell us.”
“I don’t know his name!” the Princess finally spoke. Her voice was stuttering and shaky. “The ninja burnt his face! He has a burnt face!”
“You did well, Rosamund,” Lady Aubrey praised warmly before turning back to the Deputy with a scowl. “Now put the bloody mask away. You’ve tortured her enough and you have a suspect.”
“Ninja?” Athena questioned as she put the smiling spiked face back in the ragged sack. She felt the pointed edges prick her finger again, but she no longer cared. “What ‘ninja’ is she talking about, Aubrey?”
“I told you, she was seeing things.” Lady Aubrey wrapped a woollen blanket around the shaken Princess. Her soaked gold dress was now covered in mud and tears.
“I didn’t imagine it!” Rosamund protested. “He was real. He fought the burned man. He was black and blue! His hand lit up and then he dropped some blue dust on the ground, and then he vanished!”
“Is that the blue substance we found littered everywhere in the Duke’s bedroom?” Athena asked Lady Aubrey in irritation. “Whatever your beliefs are, I feel like we should have been informed about this.”
“Well, now you have been,” she muttered. “It’s all nonsense, anyway.”
“When the Duke recovers, we’ll see if his story matches.” Athena looked at Rosamund, who finally acknowledged her existence and met her eyes. “Thank you, Your Highness. This was helpful.” She forced a smile, but the Princess only looked away again.
She returned to Malborne, who was visibly entertained by the whole affair from afar. His smug grin returned above his black goatee. “Does the Princess even walk herself?” He japed. “Or do people carry her around everywhere?”
“Someone tried to kill her, Malborne,” Athena reminded him gravely.
“Aye, supposedly,” he acknowledged somewhere between indifference and scepticism. He then looked the Deputy up and down. “What crawled up your arse this morning?”
“Nothing. Haven’t slept. Bad headache.” Because of the hangover. “Have their bodies taken to the mortuary, inform their families, then burn them.”
“The bodies, or the families?”
“I’m in no mood for this, Malborne.” Athena gazed back towards the manor. She felt her insides shiver. “And tell Aubrey that although I can’t order the Duke to come to my quarters, I would like at least a letter from him detailing his account of the night, the moment he awakens.” Malborne nodded and took his leave.
Athena wished to be free of this place. Something about Duke Hugo’s manor gave her a feeling of pure disquiet. She felt a presence watching yet could not identify what or where from. The sun finally dawned, and it was an assault on her senses and as with most crime scenes the morning after, there was a cold atmosphere of death that no one would want to linger in. She knew this would be a long day, as the hard part was still ahead.
Before she returned to her carriage, Lady Aubrey’s grating voice called her back again like a nagging vulture. The Arch-Alchemist had Rosamund around her arm, mute and sombre. “You are to take the Princess back to the palace yourself,” she ordered. “Sheriff Redtower is remaining here to ensure all evidence is collected. The Duke’s guards were meant to escort her home before they were… Just get her to the palace safely.”
“I will be returning there myself and with no other men, My Lady,” the Deputy answered with icy stiff courtesy. Athena addressed her dutifully and truthfully, although it was also the truth that she simply did not want to do it.
“Well, you’re still better than most of the incompetent dullards that work under you.” The Arch-Alchemist knelt in front of Rosamund and talked to her with jarringly more etiquette than she had ever given to Athena during her whole career. “You are to go with the Deputy, she’ll take you home. Daylight is arriving. No one can hurt you.”
In this city, anything can happen. Athena Marion had been a watchwoman for over a decade, and she was one of the first. Trying to stay honourable to the law had taken a toll on her. She had only recently entered her third decade, but she felt as if she was in her fifth. Everyone above her station gave her scrutiny for stepping out of line and everyone below her thought she was weak and lacking authority. Still, as a new Deputy of the City Watch, she hoped to fare better than the last who was hanged for corruption. Taking bribes from crime lords to be precise and even getting himself involved in their drug trafficking rings.
Before her recent promotion, Athena had spent most of her time retrieving bodies from lakes and gutters. She knew where they came from. They were people who once crossed a Gargoyle that sat atop a tower of crime and corruption, extorting, and terrorising the people of the Shards so much that no one would utter a word to the City Watch. A Gargoyle she had feared as a child. Yet even now, when she was in a position of power to go after him, she found herself blocked at every turn. Mysteriously destroyed evidence, victims recanting their statements, and the King’s strange indifference on the matter.
She rode her carriage through the streets. The rain had eased up, and the sky was a bright twilight which coated the surrounding buildings and towers in a golden gleam. The dawning sun was rising above the city skyline by the time she reached Stone Sparkles, by far the wealthiest borough in the whole of New Jade City. She looked out to see merchants yelling at noblemen and noblewomen, waving vegetables in the air, and haggling with their hands just as much as their words. Bards and minstrels were playing swift, sweet music, but no one was dancing. Mansions and manors could be seen on both sides of the horizon with vibrant green hedge sculptures of gods, horses and lions guarding them. Even the terraced apartments were colourful, to say the least, with russet, golden and crimson walls and stained-glass windows. It was excessive to the point of appearing gaudy.
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Athena noticed a blind beggar in the street lying against a pillar, reaching her hands out to noblemen who took no more notice of her than they did the peasants that were pushing carts of butchered, foul, fish-smelling meat through the densely populated streets.
Beggars would often flock from the poorer boroughs to Stone Sparkles at sunrise because they knew this was where the deepest pouches were to be found, even if the borough was not made of generous men. It did not stop the pickpockets. Athena had learned that over a hundred gold pieces a day would be stolen from nobles in Stone Sparkles. She had even overheard murmurings of a Thieves Guild operating under the city, yet Athena took no notice of it. An old wives’ tale, nothing more. But now there were even talks of ninjas in the city. The tales only became stranger.
Throughout the cold journey and through a splitting headache, she lamented over what the Princess had said. The child had a wild imagination, but what bothered her was the evidence. There was a blue dust scattered around both the garden and the Duke’s lavish bedchambers. What disturbed her the most was the way in which the Duke’s guards were executed. The coroner on the scene had surmised that the cuts across their throats were dealt with a curved dagger. A dagger that was favoured in Arkovia. The thought of the Princess then reminded her of King Sigismund Greenfire and the bollocking he was sure to give her.
“Deputy Marion.” She heard the meek voice come from inside the carriage.
“Yes, Your Highness?” Athena answered in forced etiquette.
“Do you believe me?” the timid, stuttering voice asked.
“Yes, Your Highness,” she lied. “I believe you.”
As the carriage drew nearer to the palace and its gardens, autumn trees started appearing amid the white marble-tiled pavements, sprinkling the streets with leaves of amber and red. “I’ve never seen trees outside the city before,” the Princess bizarrely commented from out of nowhere. “I’ve always wanted to.”
I don’t care…
Apartments went from stone to wood, to marble as they approached closer to the Jade Palace. As the streets became richer, Athena felt that she could rest easier.
The carriage waited outside two iron gates that stood fifteen feet tall. A palace guard in a black and jade green helmet appeared over the towering marble wall. “State your business,” he bellowed.
Does he not see who I am? Athena thought in irritation. She had only been a deputy for a day, yet the lack of respect still irked her. The Deputy’s official silver armour stood out from the common watchman’s soot-black set. “I have the Princess with me. Open the bloody door!”
From above, the palace guard appeared incredulous. He was holding a spear not dissimilar to the ones the Duke’s guards possessed before their throats were cut deep. His squint faded and his suspicious eyes widened as he began to recognise the Deputy’s very peeved face.
“Forgive me, Deputy, for I did not see you,” he said in a shaky voice. “My humblest apologies.” Moments later, a clanking sound could be heard from behind as the palace doors began to open with a curdling screech. The carriage left Stone Sparkles and went into the gardens surrounding the Jade Palace. Next to the marble pathways were lush green gardens and fountains. Marble and jade-encrusted statues of giant-scaled fish and mermaids were spraying water that sparkled like luminous diamonds.
On the other side was the labyrinth. A hedge maze that spread out over five miles wide. In the heart of the maze was a fountain with jade stones at the bottom that would make the water glow a beautiful emerald light. Athena remembered a story the Jade Herald ran about Rosamund Greenfire becoming lost in the labyrinth for half a day, spending the whole time screaming for a guard. The palace stood tall at the city’s edge, overlooking the whole Stone Sparkles borough. White marble walls fortified the building with jade pillars and arches. At the very top, a crystallised jade dome and towers sparkled. King Sigismund Greenfire had always been determined to keep his daughter in a fairy tale. Until last night, at least he was doing a decent enough job.
The carriage stopped outside the palace doors, where Athena was met by two guardsmen in dark steel armour with green flames encrusted across their breastplates. “Evening, Deputy,” one of them greeted glumly. “What is your business?”
“Dark tidings, unfortunately,” she said, dreading what Sigismund Greenfire’s reaction would be when he learnt that his daughter was moments away from a blade’s kiss. Athena knocked on the carriage door and Rosamund briskly burst out and walked ahead without saying a word and leaving a muddy trail behind.
“What happened to her?” one guardsman asked with just a slight grain of concern.
“Assassination attempt.” Before they could ask further questions, Athena followed the Princess through the palace doors and ascended the spiralling staircase. Despite being the richest, strongest, and most opulent building in the entire city, Athena felt a chill down her spine as she navigated the stairs and hallways. There was an eerie silence in the Jade Palace that made it feel like walking through an abandoned castle. Athena reached the doors to the King’s council chambers, where she found Rosamund standing in front of the palace guard. He looked down at the soaked and muddy girl and smiled. “Hello, Your Highness. Been out on an adventure, have you?”
The Princess’ lip quivered. She burst into tears and rushed through the doors. The guard gave the Deputy a bewildered look. Athena did not bother to explain. She followed Rosamund through the doors, hoping to instead explain herself to the King what happened before the Princess could blurt it all out nonsensically and get her into some very deep horseshit.
King Sigismund Greenfire sat at the end of the council table, a beast of mahogany that stretched to the length of a fallen sequoia tree. The King was studying a map of the city with poor boroughs such as the Shards, Drakelyn, and Dorchester highlighted in red. King Sigismund wore a jade green crown which weighed down on his long, weary face. He was in his fifth decade, yet only looked like he was in his fourth with a long golden mane of curly draped from down from his crown. His beard was braided, and he wore a green and black doublet with a green tartan cloak fastened with a jade broch bearing the flaming jade bear emblem of Greenfire.
Before he had a chance to say anything, Rosamund had already clapped her arms around him like a vulture’s talon and did not let go. The other Royalists that were sitting around the bronze council table looked on in confusion.
On one side was Viscount Reynard Woodard, who looked at the Deputy with disdain and derision. If his face was not a permanent frown, he might have been handsome with his long dark hair that stuck by him in middle age and his resplendent fashion. His doublet was black with golden patterns threaded throughout. Ruffs had lost their popularity amongst the New Jade nobility, yet Reynard Woodard somehow made it work for him. He was a cousin to King Sigismund and originally a count before stepping down voluntarily to a lower position so that his children could occupy more land and power. He claimed that he had grown weary of the responsibilities, but Athena was sceptical.
Sat adjacent was one of his brood, Lord Julian Reeve, a renowned lawyer, landlord, and pompous noble. He had changed his name to prove that he could accomplish success without the weight of the Woodard title, instead opting to work his way up into the council through the art of lying and two-faced deception. Athena had never been keen on him during her time as a beat-watch woman. She had lost count of the number of arrests she had lost thanks to the smug lord. Julian had once been a prudent lawyer, able to spot even the slightest of technicalities and managed to drop the charges against many guilty men. The lawyer-turned-lord stroked his forked beard in curiosity at the soaked Princess.
Then there was Countess Elizabeth Woodard, who now held the courtly title instead of her father. Most men at court agreed on her radiance but sadly she agreed as well, making her think herself more of a goddess than a person. Her gleaming white hair with dark streaks was done in a giant beehive and her scarlet dress ensured that, even in a throne room containing both a King and a Princess, all eyes would be on her.
Next to her was the unfortunate Duchess Ada Barlet, the Duke’s significant other and oldest of the council members. A bony hand appeared from the drooping sleeve of her robe to pick up a goblet which appeared tremulous in her hand. Her hair was brown, flecked with shades of grey and her face was pointy and weary. It was about to become wearier. “Have you heard?” the Deputy asked the Duchess.
Ada Barlet nodded gravely. “Your Sheriff sent me a bird. I thank Pax that he is still alive.”
“He is being well looked after,” the Deputy reassured.
“Ada has told me everything as well,” King Sigismund Greenfire said soberly. He gazed down at his daughter who still had not let go and was getting his doublet drenched. “Are you all right?” he asked her soothingly. Rosamund’s face was hidden away, nudged inside the King’s bosom. Her head meekly moved from side to side. He looked back at the Deputy. “The letter said the attacker was masked.”
“We have the mask in question,” Athena responded proudly. “Your daughter even saw the perpetrator’s face. His face was burnt, making him easier to identify.”
“Burnt by the ninja!” Rosamund’s claim echoed across the throne room.
King Sigismund raised an eyebrow under his heavy jade crown. “Did I hear that correctly, Deputy?”
“He stopped the demon!” Rosamund continued to blurt out before Athena had a chance to better explain the case.
Countess Woodard broke out in haughty laughter. “Sounds like the Arch-Alchemist has been reading the Princess too many ghost stories or perhaps feeding her Purestar.” Her white beehive tilted as she lowered her gaze at the Princess. “Your Highness, I cherish your daughter almost as much as you do, but I believe we need to hear the Duke’s side of the tale before we can make any rash judgements.”
“I’m not lying,” Rosamund yelled back at the Countess with a frown that matched her father’s.
King Sigismund gently removed his heavy crown and placed it on the mahogany table. He sighed solemnly. Before he could say anything, the doors screeched open again. All eyes turned over and when Athena Marion turned around, she saw a ghost…
His face looked older but still familiar, even with the long black hair and bifocals. He wore a green doublet and long brown boots that went up to his knees. He held half a dozen rolls of parchments under his arm and his hair was tied into a ponytail. It was the same, dorky face that vanished years ago. He looked at Athena and appeared flabbergasted. He was just as surprised to see her in the throne room and wearing silver armour. When he motioned to say something, he tripped on one of the marble tiles and the parchments went flying.
“Hideo?” Athena questioned in disbelief. “What are you doing here?”
The dead man was still scrambling for all the parchments on the floor, much to Countess Elizabeth’s and even Viscount Reynard Woodard’s amusement. The King delicately pushed Rosamund away and stood from his seat. “Ah, it seems you are already acquainted with our new alchemist.” Sigismund appeared grateful for the distraction.
The dead man jumped up to his feet with his parchments back under his arm. “We grew up together, Your Highness,” the dead man said with an awkward smile. It was not reassuring, but strange. Athena had never recalled a moment in their childhoods where Hideo Horio had ever smiled. The dead man gave out his green-gloved hand for her to shake. She reluctantly accepted it, unsure if this was some sick trick. “It’s good to see you again, Athena,” he said timidly.
“Deputy Marion, now.” Her reply was icy and without pleasantness.
The dead man, clearly receiving the message nodded and went to take a seat at the council table. “I’m afraid the Arch-Alchemist is running late due to some unpleasant circumstances” Sigismund Greenfire informed the dead man with courteous sorrow. “But I trust you can make a start on your own? She told me that you were a marvel at your craft. We could use that more than ever with the troublesome news coming from the Shards.”
“You humble me, Your Highness,” the dead man said whilst pushing his bifocals further up his pointed nose. “You can’t fight disease with swords. You have to rely on the weapons of science.”
“How poetic,” Countess Elizabeth Woodard once again said haughtily with the mask of a smile, “What university did you attend?”
Athena wondered if Hideo could tell that the Countess was patronising him, but he responded to her with polite courtesy regardless. “I taught myself, My Lady. Back in Arkovia.”
The Countess scoffed. “I was not aware they even had the concept of alchemy there,” she said incredulously and with a tinge of superiority. “I hear it is a barbaric wasteland.”
Hideo smiled. “Well do forgive me for saying, My Lady, but I believe the heralds and the papers tend to exaggerate about the country. I’m sure even the darkest underworld has untouched places of beauty there somewhere.” The dead man said the words with a strange charm Athena had never seen in him before.
Elizabeth Woodard’s cheeks went to a shade of red and she raised a golden goblet. “Well…to our new Arkovian alchemist,” she toasted.
“Let us hope he is competent enough,” said Viscount Reynard Woodard with far less etiquette. He raised his goblet in the air mechanically and appeared most unimpressed with the Arkovian alchemist.
The dead man gave an awkward grin. “I shall try not to disappoint.”
Athena felt her stomach churn. Her fists tightened, and she ground her teeth in order to repress her fury. A person from her childhood whom she thought dead for over a decade turns up without explanation or acknowledgement of disappearance. To add further insult, he takes a seat next to the New Jade elite and acts as if nothing is amiss. “Your Highness,” she addressed King Sigismund with bitter courtesy. “May I be granted permission to leave and continue my investigation?”
“You may,” Sigismund Greenfire said with a commanding dignity. “See to it that the Duke is heavily guarded, and the Duchess should also receive an escort home.”
“I don’t need one,” Duchess Ada Barlet stubbornly proclaimed.
“It is not a request,” Sigismund said. “This would-be assassin is still at large and until Captain Marion apprehends him you are to be just as well-guarded as your husband.”
The Duchess opened her mouth to say something but instead opted to remain silent. She sat back in her chair indignantly. The Countess, finally acknowledging the Deputy’s existence, raised her goblet with a smug, indiscernible look that was most vexing to its receiver. Lord Julian Reeve stroked his forked beard and studied Athena. “Happy hunting, Deputy.” She bowed and took her leave.
She was about to reach her carriage before a voice called out through the wind from behind. She saw Rosamund Greenfire standing there fiddling with her necklace in her hands. Without a word she walked up to the Deputy and hugged her. Athena did not reciprocate it, her hands raised in the air, not knowing exactly what to do.
“Thank you for believing me,” she said.
Athena thought Rosamund had been lying to her this whole time, yet she kept picturing the blue dust scattered around the Duke's bedchamber and the guards whose throats had been slit by an Arkovian blade. Two dead guards, a traumatised child, and claims of mystical assassins. Athena was expecting an ill-omen on her first case as Deputy. She did not expect three of the bastards.
Before takin the reigns, Athena entered the carriage’s interior that the Princess had occupied prior. The Deputy was relieved to see that the Princess did not accidently stumble upon it with her inane curiosity. She retrieved the small pouch from the side compartment. She loosened the lacing and tapped the opening over her palm and forefinger. Purple dust sprinkled onto her coarse skin.
She snorted the dust. Then she returned to her duties.