They walked through sterile-looking hallways. No signs, no decorations, no windows, no noises, nothing. The man must have had a set destination since he determinedly guided them through the maze of hallways until they stopped in front of a metal door. It opened and revealed a tiny room in which they entered. Only when Erida noticed a slight pressure on her body, she realized that the room was an elevator. When the door opened again, they found themselves in another hallway. Old-fashioned stonewalls, as Erida knew them from her fortress, formed a high-ceilinged corridor. But in contrast to Erida´s home, everything was well taken care of. There were no holes in the stonework, and the floor was shiny. A mishmash of artifacts lined the hallway. While they passed all kinds of weaponry, busts, and vases a large door came into view, which the man pushed Erida through, followed by Adrestia.

They now stood in a semicircular room, with large windows that almost allowed a 180° view. The room was full of people, who stood together in larger or smaller groups. They seemed just as randomly thrown together as the decorations of the hallway they had just left, Adrestia thought. They largely differed in physical appearance, as well as in clothing. Some wore simple linen gowns; others were covered in chunky furs and boots. Some showcased colorful textiles that flowed around them, and others wore armor. They only thing they had in common was the air of prosperity that surrounded them. Adrestia was glad that they had been cleaned and clothed since arriving here. Erida only felt discomfort. They all looked down on her, as her wheelchair was pushed by them. When she suddenly came to a stop, she was facing a man.

He too was sitting, even though his chair had no wheels on it and was comfortably situated on some steps, so he could overlook the crowd of people. She knew who this man was. She had seen him before on a trip to Dowick with her father. Alfredas looked just as he did on the day of his coronation: Calm and thoughtful. While the crowd had been celebrating around him, he had barely seemed faced by it. Erida had already wondered about this composition as a little girl, and she was still amazed by it now. Both looked the other one in the eyes, waiting for them to say something.

“Hello Erida, I am glad to see you awake,” the king finally broke the silence. “I hoped that my doctors would be able to save you, and they did some splendid work, there I say.” While Erida kept silent Adrestia asked in her place: “What happened to all the other survivors?” “They are attended to in the commoner’s hospital. I do not have the means to provide for everyone.” “And why us?” “I was told that a lord was possibly on its way to Dowick, and indeed, she was identified as one of the survivors,” Alfredas said while nodding towards someone who stood secluded in a corner of the room. It was the messenger. “And what do you want from her?” “Does the lord never speak for herself?”, Alfredas now asked with a somewhat penetrating voice.

Erida felt the pressure as everyone stared at her, waiting. “Adrestia is my confidant. I trust her more than anyone, and she has the right to speak for me.” This maybe stretches the truth a little, Erida thought, but whatever Adrestia has to say can impossibly be worse than what I would tell him. “I too have many consultants, which I regard very highly as you can see,” he made a broad gesture towards the crowd, “but it is my duty as their protector to voice my own opinions. It is what differentiates me from them.” Not Erida, nor Adrestia replied to this. Erida felt the anger within her. What did he know about protecting people? What difficulties did he ever face by sitting on his throne and talking? Had the recent ambush on his subjects not made it obvious that his behavior did not help anyone? “Who where we attacked by?” Alfredas did not answer directly but took his time in considering his answer. “We believe they came from the north. A people that seek to gain land and wealth. It has become a past time of theirs to attack innocent people. Yesterday´s ambush is far from being the only one.”

“So that is why I am here?”, said Erida, who quickly put all the pieces together. “You need the Lords to reassemble to secure your position.” “I need the Lords to reassemble to strengthen Hyhtan and protect its people. Something your father always regarded as a necessity” “And did it do him any good in the end? I will not end like my father.” He seemed hurt by this exclamation. “I never received notice of your father´s passing. I would have liked to show my sympathies,” and then after some silence, “How did he decease?” “He was killed.” Again silence. Erida was surprised to see emotions flash over the king´s face, but when he spoke again, he had regained his collected manner. “I was told that Gol appears deserted. Where are your men?” “They are gone.” “Why?” “Most of them were killed. Some just left.” “You must have experienced bad raiding.” “Two. My father was killed during the second one. The few people that were still in the area at the time thought it better to move somewhere else. There is nothing my state has left.” Erida was sick of their conversation and thought it would speed things up if she just laid down all the facts.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

Adrestia, on the other hand, saw how Erida´s bluntness could hurt their position. “That does not mean that Gol is without value, my king. An unprotected area so close to the borderlands could easily be occupied by other people and pose a threat to you.” Alfredas eyed up Adrestia, then rose from his throne and moved through the room to a map of Hyhtan, which was painted on the floor. “I indeed will have to refortify the region.” “Gol belongs to me!” Erida now almost yelled. She was still sitting in her wheelchair in front of the throne, thus there was an awkward distance between the two. “Gol is a part of my kingdom and of utmost importance now. I need capable people which I can trust to lead it.” “You cannot take it from me! Land always falls to the oldest child. It is the law! You cannot flout your laws!” “I would find a solution.” But Alfredas must have noticed the murmur that went through the watching crowd. Even the king had to obey the basic laws. Everything else would be regarded as tyranny. “Of course, you could also pledge your allegiance to me. If I could trust you there would be no reason to fear for the safety of Gol. I would repopulate it under your reign.” Erida knew what this meant, and she had no intention of becoming Alfredas puppet.

Before she could say anything, Adrestia had postured herself behind the wheelchair and rolled Erida towards Alfredas. “I am sure Erida will consider your offer my King. The well being of Gol is important to her, and before losing it, she would surely prefer to reenter the Bond of Lords. Nevertheless, uniting and fortifying the Kingdom will hardly be enough. I saw these intruders slaughter men and women without hesitation. If we want to protect what is ours, we cannot ideally sit and wait for the next attack. We need to act! We need to diminish their numbers and show them that we will not tolerate their violence. We need to revenge what was taken from us.” An elderly man who stood opposite from them now seized the word. “We cannot make an obvious move against the Northerners. Attacking them could ruin any possibility of negotiations and peace. More important, we do not know enough about them. We do not know their force and recourses. It appears quite possible that Hyhtan does not have the manpower to face these people.” “Thank you, Hypnos, but this enough now,” Alfredas silenced him. He had laid his fingertips against one another and stared at Erida and Adrestia. “I will promise that you will keep your position as Lord of Gol and that actions will be taken against the Northerners. We will get our revenge. But you will have to pledge your allegiance to me by becoming part of the Bond of Lords, and you will follow all my commands undisputedly. From this point on, there will be no further negotiations.” Erida caught Adrestia´s pressing look. “I will have to think about it.” “The pledging ceremony of the lords will be tomorrow morning.” “Then I have time till tomorrow.” Alfredas nodded and returned to his throne.

“My king, I lost my family during the raid. Is there any possibility I could bury them?” Alfredas now looked slightly pitiful at Adrestia. “We held a mass ceremony for the victims of the raid. Every custom was considered, but we burned all the bodies afterward. I am sorry."

Back in the elevator, the man who had accompanied them before addressed Erida. “The king might not be hearty, but he truly wants the best for his kingdom. He is not a bad man.” Erida stayed quiet. She had much to consider. “It is your only chance, you know,” this time it was Adrestia. “If you agree to the conditions you will have some leverage. If you don´t you will just be a nobody.” “Will you help me?” “These people killed my family and they will not stop killing. I will help whoever does something against them. And with Alfredas support I might stand a chance”

They walked the same corridors as they did this morning, and the man brought them back into the same room in which they had woken up in. Both moved back into their beds, Erida moaning in pain as her body was moved. “What happened to me?”, she asked after she recovered. “You were infected with rhabdopotio. It is a rare toxin. We assume that your attacker must have had it to his blade. Luckily, he only managed to slightly tear your skin, otherwise, you would have died within minutes. We were able to minimize the damage, it only affected your skin, but the toxin is still in your body and it will take a few more days until it will be fully flushed out.” “How did it affect my skin?” “I believe it would be better for you not to see it,” the man said awkwardly and left the room. “Adrestia, I need to see it,” Erida immediately said. “Are you sure?” “Yes!” Adrestia rose and grabbed a small pair of scissors that laid on a nearby tablet. She quickly cut through Erida´s gown, from the bottom to the top. Slowly, Erida lifted her head to see the disaster. Big patches of fleshy scar tissue ran up and down her body. It looked like her skin had just burned away in random places all over the place.

She fell back into her pillow, and Adrestia threw a cover over her. She had been hurt, and she would carry the marks of it as a reminder of the rest of her life.

She heard the screams of horror ringing in her ears again. She saw the woman without the arms cowering on the ground and Adrestia protecting her; Adrestia with tears rolling down her face. Her father standing in front of her, a spear sticking out of his guts, while a man, covered in blood, hysterically laughed.

Erida knew that she had to do something. She had to make a change.