Songs of fire and light

Chapter 7: the wild robbers

3rd pov

Three figures strode into the forest, a barrier between the harbor and the town it went with and Leon’s castle. Both men, tall or small, obediently followed her without question. Her steps fell steadily and without a doubt. Even as the forest became dark and dense, she moved without fear. Chasing sounds only her sensitive ears hear. 

Akashi ran through the dense woods, up ahead. Hot on the two youngsters’ steps. One normal step for two of their smaller ones. He kept a fair distance. If he desired, he could have gained upon them before entering the forest. 

“Running is futile. Return my property and all will be well.” He called after them, but they refused obedience. Holding the girl’s hand. The boy carried on, completely unaware of a low-hanging branch directly in front. Too occupied, glancing over his shoulder in fear. The branch hit the boy straight in the face as he lost his footing. The girl, too near and fast, ran into her accomplice. 

Power surged through Akashi’s veins, heightening his senses and speed. Both criminals fell. Dread hit him in unusual, sickening waves. Many warriors had found death by his blade. Never with a sense of sorrow or guilt. Neither did it grant any pleasure. His mistress being the only being able to break through the lump of ice that replaced his heart. Yet the sound of buzzing coming near the children set his soul ablaze. High on a different branch hung a misshaped ball of chewed wood, eyed as paper. A wasp nest in its early stages. None the less dangerous. 

Blood pumping through his veins, he picked up his speed as he ran towards them with great agility. In a blink of an eye, he caught them before they hit the moist earth. Hauled them I to his arms, kept close and safe. 

Looking down at them, he spoke in a soft voice. “Not the best of thieves, are yah?” A mock of their clumsiness. High from the roof, he caught the boy lurk from the shadows a few stalls remote. Intrigued, he decided to spring their trap himself. An unexpected turn from the straight and narrow of his daily life. Actual taking note of the swift, not so subtle handy work of the girl during a much too effortless tumble. 

The girl's eyes widened as she noticed their unwanted company. “Wasps!” She screamed at full throttle. Struggle to get away from her capture and the surrounding dangers. 

The nest, disturbed, swung high above ground. Held by a single threat, it fell and spilt open on the same branch that cast this mess in the first place. Afraid, both tightened their arms around the stranger who moments before seemed the enemy. Now whispered comforts. “Don’t be scared. I’ll keep you safe-” a smile showed itself before he continued “-as payment, the return of my stolen goods.” 

The boy glared at the man by those words. The trinket could feed them and the others for many moons. “You…” he started with venom. 

“Please brother, I hate wasps.” The girls terrified plea caught him off-guard and silenced any objecting or insult he might have. 

Being the older one, he bit back his pride. “Fine. Get rid of them already.”

The devious creatures swarmed like a yellow thunder cloud. They buzzed and buzzed, never landing on any of them. 

“Payment first, then the job.” His true nature aroused. He allowed the wasps to swarm around them. Nearer each horrid second. After some hesitation, the payment placed in his hand. Giving the sparkling item a once over, ensuring its state, satisfied he put it back in place. 

“Stay still, or you might get hurt.” He cautioned. Akashi made swift work. One hand pushed his blade forward, found by the other to unsheathe it from its home. The boy embraced the girl, hiding her in his chest. Both closed their eyes. Gusts of wind rushed through the air. Pricking their sensitive skin. The once dreadful sounds of buzzing soon fall dead in the air. 

With swift precision, his blade cut through the air, cleaving the black and yellow pests in half. Too fast for any human eyes belief. Slaughtering every wasp from that best in seconds. Their mutilated bodies fell on the forest ground. The c*****e over, both younglings opened their eyes. Widened in disbelief at the clear air that greeted. 

The girl broke free from her embrace and asked stunned, “How did you do that?”

Sheathing his blade, Akashi replied, “I am a demon out for your souls.” He licked his chapped lips for effect. A single beam of sunlight penetrated the vast ceiling of pine branches, casting a troubling blend of light and shadows across his form. “It would have been a pity would they have maimed you.” A crooked smirk spread. A dreadful aura pestered the air. Tainted by malice and merit. 

As the girl hid behind her brother’s not much vaster frame, he scowled at the stranger and his unusual claim. Even the rulers of these lands, called demon lords, do never devour souls, human or any other. “You’re lying.” He asserted without doubt, yet his heart pumped an odd beat. “Who are you and what do you want? We already gave the trinket back!”

Akashi smiled bittersweet. The boy had seen through his charade. Unlike many before. Most children, even adults, feared him and his bloodthirsty sword. “I am my ladyships shadow, she would be cross with me for allowing such youngling’s harm.” He stepped away from them, left in confusion. “Otherwise, I might have fed you to them myself. As punishment for your petty thievery.”

Until a soft silky voice cut any tension held. “Akashi, never speak lies in my presence. You know how much I detest such foolishness.” From the shrubs a tall, slender figure emerged. Nenyalisei. Akashi gave her a curt bow, a glare directed at who followed. Ryujin and Licht. Her features hidden beneath her hood, she spoke calm and measured words, “Are you hungry?” She invited from nowhere. 

“Uh…?” Was all they could muster, due disbelief. “I haven’t been asked that in a long while.” The boy muttered. The youths eyed each other warily, before protests of empty bellies retorts instead. 

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Without pause, the woman left, her three male companions near hand. After she gave them a knowing grin. Guess my stay here might become somewhat delightful. 

‘Come along Licht. A proper prince should provide for their subjects. Guide us to a nice place for lunch.’ Her voice rang inside the boy’s head. Without a second wasted, the prince took the lead, a silent agree. 

Both criminal youths stayed behind. Doubt troubled their minds. Is she serious? This must be some kind of trap! The boy debated with himself. His stomach growled again, louder this time. It had been such a long time since their last meal. An apple, stolen from a carless market seller. After an hour run, exhausted from the chase from a handful of soldiers. He took one bite for himself and offered the rest to his sister. 

A tug on his sleeve drew him from one trouble in another. “Brother, so hungry.” His sister stated with wet eyes. With a groan, he took her hand, and together chased after the woman and her entourage. 

After a short walk, they arrived at a small diner, fixed on the edge of the forest. A few yards away from the city. An overweight elderly man stepped out, a large smile placed on his wrinkled face. “My prince, welcome. It has been a while since your last visit.” The man bowed, only focused on the royal blood. Before a swift glance at the eastern fallen prince, “Lord Ryujin, welcome back.” He spoke loud and clearly before adding a hushed end. “It has only been a few hours since you and your gang left after an evening drink.” 

Ryujin shook his head, caused a glance at Nenya for a reaction, and turned back to the man. “My dear Pietro, please do not indulge the lady with matters she should not know.” He urged politely in a secretive voice. “Now let us enter and prepare a  feast of your best fabrications, for the kings honored guest.” 

The man called Pietro, owner and cook of this fine establishment looks astound by his own mistake. To ignore, overlook a guest from his king is a mistake large as any other petty crime. “My lady, forgive me. I am Pietro, this is my pub. Please, come in. Be welcome and I’ll prepare in your honor my finest dishes.” Putting on his best managed smile, he bowed over again, hoping she would not tell of his blunder. For the prince of fools, also known for his vindictive rage. Earning himself the title of demon king. “And for your companion, naturally.” He added only now taken notice of Akashi, placed behind her as a shadow.

Nenya opened her mouth to speak, when the well boned man raised his voice. Angered by what his sights caught slip from behind his honored guests. Two filthy youngsters, siblings, that often scavenge  his trash. Or attempt to pickpocket any patrons. “You there, begone!” Anger bled across his smile. Stumping over towards them in anger. Raising his hand, he offered the boy a slap if not another took his first.

With a side glance he met the strongest of eyes, bright green, near glowing, narrowed on his hand. “It is pathetic when a man your size must hit a child, not of his own. What gives you the right, I ask?” Akashi pried with cold eyes. As more force found the mans wrist. 

The man bit back a yelp, fearful his bones might break. “They are thieves. They cause nothing but trouble. Vermin, they are, the lot of them!” Pietro spit venomous. Not holding back. “They hide deep within the forest and make anyone their mark, rich or poor, they care not. Thieving from hard, working men. They should be dealt with.” He threw an accusing glare at Ryujin. “Yet somehow they get away with anything!”

The accused simply shrugged his shoulders, nothing to offer in his defense. On a few occasions he had led them go unchallenged. For a warrior as he, raise a hand against a starved child would be an insult to his name. An ill example before his fallen comrades that fought the odds. in a fight to change the lands and bring peace and wealth for all. Harm a child, simple for trying to stop his hunger. or his companions would be dishonor the name samurai. Never would i fall so low nor allow my men such disgrace. 

“Silence!” A high voice intervened before he could defend his actions or lack of. All gazed at its source, Licht stood straight and proud. As a prince should. “My fathers honored guest invited them. As did I. You will receive and treat them with respect. Or feel my father’s retribution.” Pietro pulled his arm from the slacking grasp and bowed in alarm. “Now, vanish in your kitchen and do not return without your finest delicacies.” 

“Y-Yes, your highness.” The man stuttered, trudging back inside, trying not to trip by his own disobedient feet. 

The company of five gathered inside the pub. Seated together at one big table in the large dark area. Those windows could use a wash. Nenya looked at the interior with disgust. Dust enriched most items present for the worse. For a place favored by royals, this eyed more a dump. She’d hate a visit of the worst. Pushing back her own disgust, shared with her shadow, she faced the two anonymous siblings. 

“Considering we offer it would be acceptable to introduce one selves.” 

The eldest grumpled. “Says the one with her hood still on.”

“Hey,” Licht slammed his hands on the table, sliding back the stool with a squeak as he stood up. “You’re the criminals here. So answers Neny’s question! Or ill have my father’s guards clear the entire forest of you and your thieving chums.”

“Licht, calm down.” A gentle hand lay on his shoulder, a soft voirel,  a bare whisper urged his anger down. When seated once more, she gave him an approving smile. 

“The boy is right, show some respect to your elders.” Another voice pipped up. One laced with malice. A voice suited for an elf called shadow. 

The boy bit back his annoyance. “My name is Monty, and this is my sisters Minnie.”

“Hi…” Minnie’s voice sounded frail and broken. She waved her small hand, uncertain of her actions. How should she behave when in company of royal and elves? Since young she heard tales from her mother of elves and their beauty. Their enchanted forests full wonder. The elegant manners they moved. Even in battle. 

She dreamed of meeting elves, even after her brothers bluntness broke that fantasy. When he told her, no elves lived anywhere outside the west. After the great war that shook the world, elves, hobbits and dwarves moved away from these lands. Abandoning the world of men. Ever since men found themselves plagued by war, famine and disease. Only a few insignificant villages of none human exist. Hidden. 

Both elves present, we’re flawless creatures. High cheekbones, skin soft as fresh blossoms in the spring. They seemed so frail, as if sculpted from porcelain by the kids themselves. Which according to her mother’s tales, they were. 

Minnie’s hollowed cheeks, due hunger, blushed a deep pink when met by a pair of eyes from beneath a hood. Startled, she swiftly diverted her eyes. Feeling ashamed that a vile, lower being such as her would dare take a glance at such purity. A soft smile greeted her when she dared another glance. 

“Where are your parents?” Ryujin questioned. 

Monty shifted his gaze down. Finding the muddy floor vastly more interesting than his current company. “They got sick, we couldn’t afford a doctor, and they died. The landlord kick us out the day after. We had nowhere to go…” Words fade away, afraid he gave too much away. He could not betray his friends, his companions, their newly made family. 

“And that’s when the wild robbers took you in.” Another male voice interrupted. All eyes fell on the door. Where a broad silhouette stood. With confidence, he approached the table. As he called out towards the owner. “Pietro, my usual and put theirs along with mine.” Leon swiped a stool from a different table and claimed his place beside his spirit. 

His voice fell faint, only for their ears. “Did you miss me, my lovely sprite?” Ending his seductiveness with his signature smile. One he used on Licht’s mother and many of his harem. Which counted once beyond a dozen. A number he himself does not know, or cares for. Mistresses are not uncommon amongst royalty and nobles. Instead, they find the more the higher their prestige. “For a recluse, you sure made quite a lot of friends in one afternoon.”

Akashi rolled his eyes at the prince of foolishness, honor his epithet. 

“So, tell what’s  going on?” Leon inquired. 

A loud groan emerged from his son’s lips, resting his head in his hands. “This supposed to be an outing for me and Nenya, how did it end like this. It’s not fair,…”

“Well…” Ryujin started only to find his interruption interrupted by a heavenly voice. 

“Do not act coy. When trailing us the entire time.” Nenya spoke.  

Instead of anger, as both familiars, expected, the fool burst out in laughter. “So, you knew the entire time. I should’ve expected as much.” His words laced in bitterness by his own failure. He hoped to view her from a safe distance and find a path into her heart. For a moment when Akashi showed himself, he had wondered if this was the man she spoke of. Her beloved. But he found their bond more than one of a royal and their most trusted guard. It left him wonder where this beloved was. Would he even be alive or a mere imaginative for his flirtations end? 

His attention shifted back at the two thieves, slumped down in their seats. Frightened for his wrath. “Do not worry. I am not fond of imprisoning children over trifle matters.” A slight smile shared. “So, has Jane’s cuisine enriched somewhat over the years?” Both childish gazes widened by the drop of a familiar name, slip from a high ranked man. 

Minnie was first the break the silence. “How do you know Jane?” An elbow to the ribs from her dear brother held her from speaking further. 

“Fear not. Jane and i are old friends. It was i who granted them the name the wild Robbers.” The prince of fools retorted gruffly. “Now, what’s taking our dinner so long?” His eyes scanned the place in search of the overweight pub owner. 

 Plump rosy lips curved down. “Who are the wild robbers and Jane? And why are they robbing people with their rulers consent?” One of her fingers tapped against the wooden table. “What a pathetic demon king you are. I see no cause for such a title.” A sneer at his manly pride, witnessed by vessel, subjects, strangers and his own flesh and blood.

Cold greys narrowed on her frame. “What would a hermit spirit know of the truths of this world?” He growled. Woman are only adequate for a good f**k. Met by her kissable lips curve into a wicked smile. Before without warning he flew back against the wall. Down onto a table, too worn out to hold such massive weight. 

She cast the driest look she could muster towards the struggling man on the floor. Her voice filled with derision. “You truly are one foolish demon, remain there, silent.” She taunted icily. Back at the group, still seated at the same table. “Now, about this Jane and the wild robbers. They’re a gang of orphaned thieving children to whom the government turns the other way for.” 

Leon smirked, approaching them with pleasure steps. “Precisely, my ferocious sprite.”

Without granting him a glance, she scowled. “I do not appreciate the titles you grant me.”

He stepped near, sensing a shift in the air. Is this her magic? Or something else? The warmth seeped away from the room, and slowly from his flesh beneath his leather clothes. His skin chilled more at each step he took, closer towards the spirit he desired so much. A forbidden fruit, send to him by the gods. “You do not like anything, it would seem. Precious spirit.” He murmured. 

Facing of the freezing cold, he reached a calloused hand out towards her. 

“Call me that once more and face the true extent of my fury. I am your elder by many centuries. Have beheld beyond anything you ever will. So has my shadow.”

“Nennialine.” He rasped. Any other present long forgotten and ignored. “That is your name. I know, my son told me. A name I shall treasure for eternity, but i will not use it if that same respect when unreturned. I am a warrior of royal blood. Men call me the demon king of hell, I earned that liberty with blood of my own and those loyal to me.” His hands inched closer. When. A swift wind stops him dead in his tracks. Not of magic or Nenya’s doing. 

A sword cut through the cold air, held at his throat. The beating of his heart drums through the light metal instrument of death. One so light, carved with precision, that one can only notice when too late. Elven make. 

Akashi’s gauged the fool. Fixed upon that fragile line of life, his artery. A small delicate cut and the demon king would truly abide hell. Leon’s breath caught in his throat, unmoving where the blade rested. 

“As long as i life, no man, elf, or other shall lay an unwanted hand upon my lady.” Akashi grinned wolfish. He warned, destined for their ears. “If a man, beside her beloved, touch her in any improper manner she would fade. Her soul would die, slow or fast and soon her body follows. Much as any elf would.” 

That shook the arrogant royal. Haven seen it noted somewhere written in his books long ago. Pushed aside as nonsense. Now it left his mind in doubt. Is he telling the truth? It lying for my retreat? Where is this beloved? He cannot be him, or is he?

“Akashi, stand down. Leave the fool to his misery. Of that I Am certain he owns plenty.” She remarked before tilting her head. Her tyrian purple eyes connected with his.

‘Akashi is not my beloved. Where and whoever he is are neither your concern. Unlike him i see what you truly want.’ Her voice echoed through his mind. Leave him frozen, unmoved by the time Akashi reclaimed his seat and their food arrived. ‘I have seen the truths of your mind and these lands.’ Nenya broke free, taking the diversion with ease. 

Another gazed at their ruler in wonder. 

“Fine, lets eat.” He sighed in resignation. 

Dished and tableware shifted around. Silencing the growls of hunger. Ryunosuke gave the sulking princeling a playful slap on the shoulder. Held back from eating, a deep scowl on his face. Eyes of hatred traveled across all companions. “What’s up with you?” His boisterous voice rang loud over the room. Ignored by all, at a swift note. 

“You bastards ruined it all.” Licht sulked, sagging deeper in his own misery. “She’s my friend, this was our day and now it’s ruined.”

Any complaints were waved away by the cheerful man. “So, she will be here tomorrow still. And of more days to come, you will have your time.”

Without zest, the grumbling boy took a spoonful of pudding and stuffed his mouth full. 

Life filled the room again. The half-starved siblings stuffed their faces with anything their dirty hands could grab. Leon barely managed a bite. He took notice that his female companion’s gaze drift towards the window. Darkness loomed in its view when observed through her knowing sight. Whilst to any other, the spring sun shone down upon the barren lands. Farmlands left barren even during the warmth of summer. 

It was an unnerving sight. To see such vast lands, vital for survival, left war stricken. She could smell the decay of war anywhere she went upon these lands. As did many other, cursed by the cost of war. 

“It must be hard,” he drew her attention. Only hers. “Seeing, knowing things no other can. Being different than other elflings.” 

Not many elves are endowed with magic such as hers. Close tied with nature, they van not wield the whims of nature in such manners as he witnessed her perform. 

Her gaze fell back beyond the fields where a deeper darkness lay. Growing in the North. “It did once upon a time.” Her reply whispered, her voice quieted and lost. A voice of a young woman as youthfull as she appeared. If not younger, lost alone in the world.