After Kaiji left, the weight of her words rested heavily on the court. There were those inclined to mock her fall. Some for the enmity they bore for her city, some for petty malice that enjoyed lording themselves over the weak and low status. But the somber mood of the court of the Great Prince Rasgen, said to both he and Sobella that the slave Kaiji had not spoken for nothing. ‘I am a warning, that anyone can fall.’
Such was the mood, that Prince Rasgen chose to retire for the day, despite the hour. On his arm was Sobella, who did not ask where he led her. She was not surprised however, when it was to the bedchamber.
“I have been where she is… the stars have been very cruel to her. I rose, she fell. She will never get over that, and despite her words, I pity her.” Sobella said as she began to disrobe.
“As do I. She argued loudest for the aid in the servile war, that in the end, saved our city. And yet now she kneels as a slave in the place she saved? Bitter are the decrees of the stars.”
“Agreed, I hope the course of her service doesn’t require us to eventually put her down. I have no wish to kill her atop everything else she’s done.” Sobella replied as she cast off her undergarments and laid herself on the thick, soft bed of the Prince.
“If we must, we make it painless, but… bringing her Mistress into the fold and acquiring her coins will at least grant her favor from her new owner. But if her owner is cruel to her…” The Prince let the statement hang as he cast off the last barrier between his flesh and Sobellas but the space between them.
Then there was no politics, but nor was there the rough passion of recent days, it was a slow, needful coupling done in response to seeing the fruits of a world ended. The stark reminder of the knife’s edge they walked over a pit, where one side lay death, and the other, collars, and lifelong parting. Sobella and Rasgen moaned their longing in the slow, eager devouring through which they fought off the ugly reality of their existence.
And when it was done, they entwined themselves together, the horns of the demon elf left marks where they had scraped against him, and she caressed those tiny wounds with a warm hand, before bringing her lips to kiss away their sting.
Sobella rolled over top of her lover, hovering her face inches over his own. “Promise me, my Prince… that you will not let that happen to me. I can never go back to that… if it is to be, if ever danger comes from which you can’t save me…” She took his hand and placed it over the space that covered her beating heart. “Stab me here, I can’t bear the fall in life, I’d rather fall into my grave.”
Rasgen reached up with the hand on her breast and placed his hand on her cheek, he didn’t answer at first, struggling to think of something comforting to whisper to her as they remained joined together, nothing came to mind. “I… my Sobella… I can’t make that promise… because if such a danger comes, I will have already died standing between you and it. That is the promise I make to you. I know it was strange to see Kaiji like that, but still, why so sombre?”
Sobella laid her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around his body, she turned her head so that her horn rested on his breast, but even without being pressed, she could hear his beating heart. It gave her comfort, and she synced her breathing to his own. “My love, demon-elves are like none of the other races, we have a… sense, for these things, some of us. I am no prophetess but, how do I say this?”
She lingered on her thoughts as his hand ran down her long dark hair. “I… sense a change in the rhythm of things. I sensed it when Prince Sado came to power, and I sensed it again when Lady… I mean, Kaiji, said to us that she ‘believes in her Mistress’. Kaiji in a collar on her knees is no less wise than Kaiji on her feet beside a Prince. Something else is disrupting our world, we either stop it, or join it, but if we bar the way? Kaiji’s fate may be our own. And if that is to be it, I would rather die.”
Prince Rasgen could think of nothing comforting to say to that, and so instead, he held her and watched the day pass by through the window of his rich quarters.
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Prince Isaura sat on her throne in the city of Kai’sen and stared through black eyes at the request from Prince Rasgen. She snapped her head over to her advisor, and her wildly hanging green hair bounced away as she looked up at him. “Is he serious? Is he really serious?” She demanded in an annoyed, imperious voice.
Beside her an old dark elf with his hands folded behind his back, said without looking down at her, “My Prince, I believe he is. Prince Rasgen is a man of… uncouth humor, ribald and even wild. And he’s lecherous, and a bit petty. But…”
“But?” Prince Isaura demanded, narrowing her eyes up at the slender, wrinkled advisor.
“But he’s not a stupid man. And he is not an incompetent Prince. Also, I would point out, my Prince, that he does not think you are stupid either. If he believes it ‘vital’ that we be willing to sell the conquered lands to himself, for reasons he cannot specify? He likely believes it.” Her elderly advisor said in the creaky voice that elves and men had in common in their later years.
Prince Isaura tapped her hand on the armrest of her cherry dark throne. “Maybe burning down all of Komestra was a mistake. We did get a lot of slaves, and that solved the labor shortage… but all that land there is just begging to be fought over. Pas’en can’t defend it on its own, not that much, not alone. Should we be concerned?”
Her advisor stroked the thin white beard that hung from his chin. “My Prince, I think expecting us to agree out of blind faith is unwise. We should demand more information before we agree to sell out our stake in the land our soldiers bled on. Prince Rasgen has never been rash. Bold, but not rash. As a precaution though, we should reach out to the other cities, find out if he’s made similar requests of the rest of the coalition.”
“If he has, Aubin?” Isaura inquired cautiously, leaning slightly closer to him.
“Then we have nothing to fear, but we need to know what has him on edge enough to make such a strange request.” Aubin replied, he twirled his finger absently in the bottom of his beard that hung down close to his waist. As the thin white strand curled around it, he went on with a less than pleasant voice. “If that is the case, he is not likely gearing up for some kind of fight against the entire coalition. But if he has not… then… My Prince I know you wanted to disband the majority of the army and send the militias back to their farms.”
He stopped the sentence cold, Isaura rubbed her forehead while his finger continued to twirl up his beard. “Aubin, you’re suggesting that I keep them on after a major campaign, just because he ‘may’ have some hostility toward us in mind?”
“No, My Prince.” Aubin said calmly, “I tell you if he has sent this to no others, he ‘definitely’ has some hostility toward us in mind, and if we’re not prepared to receive it, we are done for.”
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“Oh.” Isaura trembled in spite of herself, her slender arms folded into her lap. “Fine, I suppose we can hold our military together for another few weeks while we make inquiries. At least Prince Sado is out of the way, if he’d been successful, our labor problem would have become a crisis. I should lay an arrow at whatever monument that is erected for him, after all, his people are turning out to be excellent slaves. And as long as the Tlalmok God-Emperor doesn’t die, and we don’t end up having to provide the tribute for the next one’s coronation, we should be fine.”
“Yes, My Prince. But we should also send a few spies to Pas’en as well, find out what’s stirring there. Better to be informed in advance if some new threat has arisen.” Aubin withdrew his finger and his beard tumbled down to it’s full length just as he fell silent.
Isaura waved a hand away, “See to it then, have Taen travel there as a merchant, allocate the funds needed for a long term stay at the finest hotel in Pas’en, and outfit a small caravan of spices to travel after him. That way this little mission might even turn a profit, even if we learn nothing.”
Aubin’s eyes widened, “You want to send Taen?”
“You said it was important, or close to that, didn’t you?” Isaura asked rhetorically. “Then we won’t waste time on anyone less than the best.”
Aubin bowed deeply. “You can expect Taen to depart today, the caravan, I will have dispatched within three days.”
“You never fail to meet my expectations, Aubin.” She said with a brief onset of warmth and a smile on her youthful face.
“Nor has your family failed to meet my own. Not in almost twelve hundred years of service.” He coughed briefly, and Prince Isaura looked alarmed.
“Please, Aubin… will you finally accept freedom, it kills me to say your years are coming to a close but… if I have to be the one to bury you…” Isaura could not bring herself to finish the sentence.
Aubin however, didn’t need her to. He reached out and touched her hair affectionately, “So many of your ancestors have offered me that, and as I told the first of your line who acquired me, I have no need of that. I want only for things to go on as they are, until my days come to an end. Remove the bronze after my death, and melt it down to use as a plaque to mark the place of my rest. But I’m not dead yet, young Prince. And until I am, here I stand, this I wear, and the burden of guidance, I proudly bear.”
“Aubin… may the stars comfort you when you go to them, a faithful servant, deserving of your rest." Isaura said sincerely, “Alright, go open the door, let the rest of them in, and let’s get this day started.”
Aubin didn’t need to say a word, as he walked across the long hall to open the doors himself.
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Prince Sado was extremely sore. ‘My everything hurts. I have a body and its name is pain.’ He thought to himself, though he said nothing, largely due to the rag stuffed in his mouth. ‘Well, I can rule out Komestran rebels… they wouldn’t treat their Prince like this.’ He tried to look around, but there wasn’t much to be seen other than the thick brush. Occasionally a tree branch would snap back and strike him in the face, but other than a few thin red lines, no damage was done. Still, being draped over the back of some big brute’s saddle was not his idea of a good time.
It was almost eight hours like that, before they stopped. When they approached, he heard the sound of footsteps, then a rough hand grabbed his dark hair and yanked his head up. Prince Sado found himself looking at the man who had knocked him out.
‘You.’ He thought flatly, and evidently seeing the recognition in the Prince’s eyes, the man spoke.
“Hi, my name is Bracer, not that the name will mean anything to you, and not that it matters anyway. Here are the facts, Prince Sado. We took you from the tribute line so that we could deliver you elsewhere, another merchant of the Tlalmok wants to be the one to give you to the God-Emperor. That means alive, you’re worth a fortune. You still get to make your stupid noble sacrifice, you’re just doing it at a different location. If you resist me in any way, this will get very unpleasant for you. Try to escape, try to fight my men, try to foil us in any way, and I’ll cut your tendons so you can’t walk. I’m only saying this much because it is ‘slightly’ easier to move you when you’re cooperative. So ‘if’ you cooperate, I’ll keep you clean, dry, fed, and let you relieve yourself, till we get to the rendezvous point. What do you say?” Bracer asked.
Prince Sado stared at him in utter hatred as recognition dawned, ‘Smugglers!’
Bracer yanked again, harder, “Well?!” He demanded through gritted teeth.
After a moment of reluctance, Sado slowly nodded.
“Good man.” Bracer said mockingly and patted the Prince on his left cheek.
“Alright, Beren, get him taken care of, I’ll send my toys to clean him up. Don’t unchain or unbind him more than you’ve got to, but if he resists, snap his ankles.” Bracer said congenially, and the big bear of a man that sat in front of Prince Sado dismounted with a barely human grunt.
A handful of minutes later he was sitting tied to a tree while a white haired girl with a blank face, held out bread to his mouth, which he bit into slowly. He tried to smile in gratitude, but it wasn’t hard to see why she didn’t respond.
The same was true for the twin sister that was wiping his sweat away with a rag and a bucket of water hauled from a small creek that he could hear nearby, but not see.
“Can you speak?” He asked. They didn’t answer.
“My name is Sado. I’m a Prince.” He said softly to the pitiable creatures.
They said nothing, they didn’t even respond to him, they just mechanically cleaned and fed him, and walked away from him when they were done. Not a bruise was hidden, and it clearly showed what kind of man ‘Bracer’ was. ‘Of all the things…’ Prince Sado mentally chomped at the bit, and simply sat and waited.
That night, he learned the two girls were not mute, when he heard one cry out, and then their wordless screaming started.
For three and a half straight days it went like that, moving through the woods, slowly, steadily, and definitely avoiding pursuit. Each time the collared girls approached, it reminded him of the simple wooden machines whose arms were used to lift great weights onto high walls. A mindless motion and nothing more. They never spoke, not even to each other, not that he heard.
The rest of the bandits refused to speak to him either, though he often reflected, ‘I’m fine with that, what could I ever say, to a smuggler? Other than to curse them as a blight, that is.’
Finally, much to his relief, they moved back onto the road a few hours before dawn. Once again flopped over the back of a saddle, wrapped up so thoroughly in brown rope that he looked more like a log than a man, all he could do was wait.
Wait, and look back, which is why he was the only one to see what he did.
A piece of night’s tapestry, which moved on its own.
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...Hours earlier…
“Alright, they’re on the way to us now, and I’ll be straight with you. You are outnumbered. If you try to fight this like some duel of honor, you will fight bravely, and die not only quickly, but stupidly. Did I buy stupid slaves? I hope not.” She let her golden eyes rake over them as they shook their heads.
She let her left hand point out over their ranks, stretched out like death selecting its victim. Or a goddess selecting someone for a cause. “You’ve eaten well, and you’ve worked hard. Follow the intended plan, and you may survive. Fight hard, and you preserve the lives of your fellows. The heart of every fight has this single truth… once you’re in it, you’re not there for politics. You’re not there for gold. You’re not there for a god or a star or a cause. You swing your sword and draw your bow for the sake of your brothers and sisters in arms. Don’t fight for me, don’t fight for your stars or your legacy or the Prince they bring to you. Fight for each other, do that, and who sheds their blood together is bonded forever.”
“I’m going out ahead, I’ll whittle their numbers down without being seen, but when the battle is joined, look for me among the dead, and you will know your Captain, your Mistress, has not abandoned you.” Nua said and drew her cloak around her and pulled the hood up. She took the tight veil that was sewn into the right side, and drew it over the left and hooked it into place so that her face was now almost completely hidden except for her eyes.
“Now take position, and prepare to fight!” She shouted, and they ran to their respective positions. Archers laid out arrows in their hidden blinds, and Yorig took up his position near the center of the village of the dead, taking on his role as ‘bait’.
Nua however, kept going well past the northern border of the village proper, darting into the woods in the darkness she moved with the smoothness of wind over water, stirring up almost nothing, her feet neither slipping nor tripping as she closed the distance to her prey.
She saw them quickly enough, two men on horseback, one with a cargo on the back that could only be Prince Sado. The other appeared to have a small girl in a sack hanging from the side of his horse. ‘OK that’s profoundly unpleasant.’ She thought as she suppressed her sense of disgust and transformed it into killing hunger.
‘Are you ready, Yersin?’ She asked her gem companion.
‘Very. Now, feed me.’ he replied in a voice that was clearly full of joy at being able to fulfill the very purpose of its making.
She crept along until she found a good spot, they were clumped, but every now and then, one of them would step off the road to relieve himself.
[Stealth][Soundless] [Agility Boost]She drew her knife and held it out in front of her. [Paralyze]
She then stepped out into the road, following behind, and as soon as one fell back, and was a little ways from his comrades, she dashed up behind him silent as the grave, and cut his throat, pulling him back so he wouldn’t make noise falling into the brush, she crouched low and followed in the shadow of the trees to wait for the next one.
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