A Tale Of Time

Thirteen

                                                                                                                                                             Age of Ayznver

                                                                                                                                                             Year 750B

                                                                                     ARIANA

He must have been joking.

There was no way he was serious.

I stared at him, waiting for the punchline of the joke. His grey eyes were steady with faux amusement. But I could see the impatience in his eyes. He was genuinely waiting for my answer.

I lowered my head, unable to stop my shoulders from shaking from laughter. Was he serious? Marry him? This traitor?

"And your wife?" I said between raspy laughs.

His tone was curt, "She's been taken care of. She's not a problem."

I looked at him and taught about the way the way he said that. It was ominous like he'd actually harmed her.

"What happened to her?"

He rolled his eyes, barely concealing his impatience, "Why do you worry so much? If you must know, she's dead."

"How?"

"Marrying me would have its advantages." He ignored my question, "The war would end in a win-win conclusion where we avoid more deaths. The people of Ayznver would be happier knowing that there is a legitimate heir on the throne and our sponsors would be satisfied that they would have input in the kingdoms affairs"

It was funny how he could say nonsense and be proud of it. 

"Why would I marry you?"

He stared at me in awe," Did you not hear a word I said? The benefits of marrying me would be plenty. This war-"

"No, no, no, not that. I mean, why should I settle for less when you and I both know that sooner or later the Beserkers will trample on this castle and kill you.?"

A vein popped on his forehead, "I could kill you first."

I knew he could. He could have poisoned the food, signaled for the archers to riddle me full of arrows or even throw a well sharpened butter knife. But I finally had the upper hand in the conversation and I wasn't going to waste it by showing him that I was afraid. 

So I shrugged, "You can. But you'll die anyway and Ayznver can always raise a new leader. There are many candidates, after all and none has to be you."

 He dropped his cutlery with a clang and glared at me from across the table. His voice darkened with barely restrained anger, " I know you think that you're a smart little girl, mouthing off and putting on a brave face. But there are so many things about life that you do not know. "

He was trying to scare me. And he was succeeding. The questions were running at a hundred miles per second in my head, thousands of theories forming. But I couldn't let him see that. I tucked my hands under the table. They were shaking so uncontrollably. I swore.

I can't stay here anymore... he'll tip the scales again.

So I stood, straightening out my trousers, "It's been a pleasant breakfast, Erfjord. But I must be going. I have a war to win. If you'll excuse me-"

His pale face turned red in an instant, " Sit down Ariana"

I ignored him and kept on walking, right past him, holding my head up high while calming my breathing. I needed to get out of here and find Zachary before-

He grabbed my arm in a flash and yanked me back to him. The shock and momentum of the motion made me trip and crash onto the table. The hot sauce for the fish spilled and burned into my back but the adrenaline and the fear mixed kept me from feeling it. Erfjord had risen from his seat and was standing over me, chest heaving with exertion. His entire face rippled with anger and his perfectly coiffed hair was mussed.

"You think you can escape? You think you can walk away?!" He hissed as I sat up, wincing from the burn, "Don't be so naïve! You don't have a choice! You are going to help me remain on the throne!"

My hand found a bread knife laying clean beside an upturned plate and I snatched it, keeping it hidden from view.

"Stand up!"

I struggled a bit, to keep up appearances while sliding the knife down my trousers. His patience must have run out because he dragged me to my feet and pulled me out of the dining room. 

We took the winding stairs, him behind and pushing and me in front, stumbling down at his lack of care. I looked up and spotted a glimpse of silver through the baluster legs above us. There were archers lying in wait for me to run. I couldn't afford to be careless now. The weighty knife laid cool against my bare skin I slumped slightly against him, letting him lead me down towards the light.

We emerged at one of the Eastern balconies.

My heart lifted with the view.

The Palace of Adian was the definition of beauty. As though it was blessed by the gods, the sprawling land covered acre upon acre of fertile earth. I hadn't understood how beautiful the space was at first glance. But this... I could almost imagine the parents I'd never meet standing over the majesty of their kingdom, admiring years and years of carefully cultivated land.

But that was not what lifted my spirits. Not even this unearthly beauty could pull my attention away from the sight of the Retrieval Army standing at attention at the front gates of the palace. Rook was atop his horse, bloody but determined. And he wasn't the only one.

Beside him, Garreth sat astride his own Arabian with half ruined armor and a bloodied blade strapped on his back. Edgar stood horseless at Rooks' other side, inflamed with bloodlust. And there were hundred others, broken and bruised but there. At what they knew was the end of this war...

"SOLDIERS!" Erfjord shouted out, gripping me tighter to himself, "STAND DOWN! OR YOU"LL REGRET IT!!"

Normally no one should have been able to hear him (the distance was much too far), but the world was silent for this face-off. Like the gods had pre-ordained this meeting.

Rook, having heard him, looked up and spotted Erfjord and me. His brow furrowed in confusion then his eyes widened and fear painted across his features, "ARIANA!"

The wind carried his voice to me and worry for him filled me too. I couldn't let him carelessly try to save me...

I had to warn them...

"THE ARCHERS ARE HIDDEN..."

Erfjord pushed me down so they couldn't see me and made a quick hand signal.

Like hell on earth, thousands of arrows like rain flew over the sky and at the Retrieval. Rook screamed something; I screamed something else but we were both lost in the volley of even louder screams and cries of death. The soldiers abandoned their horses which neighed in terror and began to take off in different directions.

Erfjord's harsh laugh added insult to the injury of not knowing who had been hurt, and he crouched beside me yanking my hair so I would look at him. His breath smelled of mint and fish, "You thought you could bring me down? Silly girl! Nobody can remove me from my place! Nobody!" he turned my head towards the chaos. To where two died before my eyes. "Look at your army! There they are scattered and dying like flies. Ariana, but you...you can end this. Agree to marry me and everything will be-"

Have you ever had one of those moments when fear of the unknown consumed you with so much intensity that a ray of hope seems almost deceptive? If this was another life, another time, then it would have been difficult to feel with so much certainty that the answer to the problem had come. But this was the world where the Helirean Beserkers lived...

And the Beserkers were the saviors of every war.

It was kind of a standing joke.

The Beserkers were chanting from somewhere around us. What they were saying was gibberish as far as I was concerned but then again most of their war chants were. It was like a call and response like a play between them. And it was enough to distract Erfjord so I yanked out the knife from its place in my trousers and lodged it deep in his side. 

He cried out with anger and released me, falling back stupidly and alternating between touching the handle and leaving it for fear of bleeding out. Without a glance, I used the chance to rise to my feet and run. 

The corridors were maze like but thankfully archer-free. Each turn I took led to a different set of similarly colored corridors. And It did not take long for me to get tired and for dread to set in.

Where am I even going?

I had no time to feel sorry for myself. I had to move.. to make a plan.

I need to find Zachary first. But now how do I find the dungeons?

I could try to find the dwarves but it was all the same problem of not knowing which way to go...

Glass sprayed over me as the window beside me shattered. A heavy rock came through the open space and smashed against the opposite wall, all a precedent for the high pitched cry came soon after.

There was a bit of familiar and raucous chanting again, albeit briefly this time, so I ran towards the window and looked outside. The first thing I noticed were the rose bushes that had been trampled upon. Such beauty should not have been destroyed and I mourned for it despite the joy that our victory was sure coming. 

The half naked, black painted Beserkers were dancing madly around the dead bodies, some even mocking the positions they died in. It was a barbaric practice and almost disgusting. Bile rose to my throat at the scene.

One spotted me and recognition lit in his eyes, "It's the Tahara." 

Others started looking up and raising their weapons in respect. It was strange and I was unsure whether or not to respond, especially after that display. But I was saved when a large hand touched my shoulder.

I turned around in surprise to see Zachary beaming with abandon, " Miss me?" 

I put my hand to my chest and sighed with relief, "Thank the gods. I thought something had happened to you! You said ten minutes-" 

"My apologies Tahara. I found myself saddled with some... new responsibilities." 

Confused, I looked around him to see the two dwarfs from earlier, standing at the edge of the corridor and  staring with their wide eyes at me.

I frowned, "Really?"

One of the two -the shorter one if there was something like that- blinked apologetically at me and began to shout, "We...We're so sorry, our... our Queen. You see... see the wicked man... he forced us-"

"Yes, forced us!" The other chipped in, half-mad with fear.

"Yes... he made us do it. We would never oppose your reign."

"Never!"

"And the kind mister here told us how wrong we were."

"Very wrong."

"That we would be treated better under the Taah... the Taah...who?"

"The Tahjan." Zachary added.

The shorter one snapped his fingers, "Of course! The Tahjan!"

Their passionate display didn't move me in the slightest. But I understood their plight. And I didn't have time to psychoanalyze them.

So I waved them away and turned to Zachary, "We need to find a way out of here-"

Suddenly, a loud crash reverberated through the castle. The fear of what it might be spurred Zachary and I into motion, down the corridors towards the sound.

It was just the Beserkers being crazy.

Zachary arrived first and stood still, half-heaving from the run and half-chuckling from the fear of things. Then he called them to order as soon as I reached the foyer, 'Men! Stop... Kyan... Stop breaking the vases!"

They stood at attention at the sound of their Commander's voice and began to chant again. All the chanting was giving me a headache. How did they even learn these chants? Was there a school for them over there in Helirix?

Zachary laughed like they'd said some thing funny, "Thank you. But it's important that we find the Erfjord man as soon as we can."

They replied with a loud cry.

"He's tall. Really tall and thin with grey eyes and-"

Pain like I'd never felt before exploded through my side and I cried out with the shock of it. It was almost ironic that I would die here after all this...  with a wound in the same place as Erfjord.

It's an arrow.

I knew it with everything within me. I'd been so careless as to think that Erfjord would've removed all his archers...

I had been so naïve...

Zachary was shouting something but I couldn't make out what it was... the Beserkers were in an uproar... and the world was tilting... over and over and over...

Till it was gone.

I WOKE up with the name 'Vael' on my lips. I'd been having a dream about him. But then I'd so many dreams about him, like memories crystallized in singular moments. I couldn't always remember the details like the dream I'd just had... but even if I couldn't...

The memories were clear as crystal.

I ran through the forest, breathless but exhilarated by the prospect of seeing him again. I could remember the look on his face the last time, when I said had to leave.

He'd been sad.

He'd wanted me to stay.

Red bloomed on my cheeks as I pushed aside the low branches that hung over the familiar path till I reached the huge sequoia tree.

Our tree.

He was already there, sharpening his blade with a whetstone. Upon seeing him, I skidded abruptly and stumbled over his knapsack, crashing, unceremoniously, to the leaf-littered ground.

Vael looked up in shock but settled into a sweet smile, "Running to see me, Ria?"

I looked up and my heart hammered at the sight of him. He looked fresh, clean and so regal that it was hard to think of him as my wild forest friend.

"Hi, Vael." My voice was embarrassingly breathless.

His smile turned downright mischievous and her rose to his full, protecting height, twirling the now sharp blade between two nimble fingers, "Ready for another adventure?"

My heart constricted with missing him.

BANG!

The sound of jubilant drums broke my reverie and pulled me back into the present. I was lying on a king-sized bed in a strange, plush room with walls and floors the color of blood. Everywhere was impeccably cleaned and a single candle laid on the bedside table, dimly illuminating the massive. I immediately tried to sit up.

But the pain was fiery in its instruction to take it easy.

I fell back into the bed and groaned.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

"ALL-"

BANG!

"HAIL-"

BANG

"THE TAHJAN!"

I sat up again, despite the pain.

The Tahjan was here?  But that meant... How long had I been asleep? Was the war over? An arrow had pierced me...

Zachary? Rook? Garreth? And Erfjord...?

I needed to find out.

High on the adrenaline of this new mission, I ignored the protests from my body and forced myself to my feet. I was still in my underwear and a long white bandage had been wrapped around my waist. That meant that I had been treated. If there was time to treat me and put me in bed so efficiently... not to mention the Tahjan being here...

The war was over.

We'd won.

Relief forced me to my knees, despite my burning curiosity about the persistent screams from downstairs. I needed this moment to appreciate this realization. I needed this...

Mother... Father...

Are you watching?

"ALL. HAIL. THE. TAHJAN!!"

The Tahjan... my soon-to-be husband. I needed to see him. To confirm who he was with my own eyes. To discredit the chance that he was Vael.

To face my fate.

I scrambled to my feet and yanked off the silk sheets from the bed, ignoring the pain, and wrapped it around my body. When I was fully covered, I bolted out of the room, following the sounds of adoration, down and down the unfamiliar winding corridors till...

THE FOYER was filled.

The Ayznverean soldiers were huddled together at one corner of the cavernous room, staring at the commotion in complete awe. I looked also: the Helireans had formed a line on either side, slamming their weapons on the floor in succession while screaming with glee. The war drums were at their peak now, furiously inflaming the crowd with their music.

And finally...

A company of old men- ten in all- walked proudly into the foyer through the portcullis. All were silent and serious. But there was individuality to them also. Some were filled with curiosity, some disgust and others thinly veiled indifference.

The ten men formed lines -five aside- like the soldiers had and kept their hands behind their hands and their heads bowed. The discipline in this kingdom was almost scary...

And then I heard his footsteps.

The world had fallen silent as the Tahjan of Helirix came through the open gates. He was cloaked in the fur of a silver wolf and wore sturdy but properly made boots. His head was jet black and messy and the crown of Helirix- shaped like crisscrossed thorns - sat atop his head like it was born to be there.

And he was young.

Too young to wield such power.

"Bless you." He said, slowly but clearly, like he could not understand the possibility of not being listened to.

This was a man used to power.

I craned my head from my place at the landing of the east staircase to see his face but his eyes were away from mine and trained on Zachary, who had positioned himself by the right. When he spoke his voice was ice cold, "Where is the princess?"

Zachary -him I could see- lowered his eyes, "She was injured in battle."

The Tahjan folded his arms, "Really?"

Zachary stepped back and some of the elders snickered. I wondered what the dynamic between them was. Was Zachary more disliked than I'd thought?

"My apologies, Tahjan."

"Is she alive?"

His voice was so emotionless. Like nothing could touch him. Like nothing but his word was law.

I was instantly scared. How could I hope to co-exist with this man?

"Yes. It was not a fatal wound."

It sure felt like it with all the throbbing at my side.

The Tahjan sighed and looked away, dismissing Zachary, before turning to his people. "We shall rest in this place for now."

They slammed their weapons against the ground once to signify affirmation.

One of the sleazy looking elders frowned but turned a sycophantic smile at the Tahjan, "I think we should avoid staying here too long, Stellan. It's a place that has been inhabited by the dead. The priestess will frown on this..."

Stellan wasn't paying attention; he was looking around. At the castle and everything around like he could commit it to memory. His gaze was so particular that I wasn't shocked that it landed on me.

They widened, then softened slightly.

No...

I slipped and fell on the landing, the horror and dread filling my system. It can't be...

I had already known...

I can't accept it...

That Vael was too regal to be a commoner.

The elder that was speaking no longer had Vael's attention. Only me. No one else but me.

And I hated it.

Because I didn't know who this person before me was.

"Vael..." I whispered and because he had always been so observant, he smiled at my shock...

It was a familiar smile...

An off-shoot of his mischievous smile.

"Princess...?" He called out, like it was just the both of us in the room, "Won't you come down?"