Heavenly pact

Chapter two

Syria looked up towards the sky. The sun was at it's peak scorching the very ground she walked on. She hurried to the oak tree at the right of the gravel path desperate for shade.

Ever since she had been born, Syria had the gods' favour, or so they called it. But she knew she had no favor from the gods, if she did, her kingdom wouldn't have fallen and her family wouldn't have been slaughtered-or so she believed. And if she did have their favor, it wouldn't be from god Zuda, the god of destruction, for he would have kept it away from her lands. Maybe goddess Tris, the goddess of the wind, for she had been the one who had taken the air out of the Libian soldiers' lungs. Or maybe god Anndah, the god of the fire who had warmed her and lit her path during the night after goddess Tris had freed her. Or maybe god Bonn, the god of guidance and direction, who'd showed her the way to a river when she needed a drink. And also Bria, sister of Tris, who'd purified the water so she could drink it.

Whenever she prayed for their assistance they'd always answer. Serve for right now as she sat on the patched group with her back against the tree, without an idea of where she would go. She tucked a loose curl of her muddy violet hair behind an ear. When last had she had a bath? She'd think about that later, for now she had to find a city and change her appearance. It would be no surprise if Lidian soldiers were out scouting for her at that very moment.

A sense of fear arouse in her at the thought. She rose to her feet in a quick maneuver, her night gown, which was once a silken white dress with golden embroidery designs was now a torn brown stained piece of fabric that fell to her knees.

She wished this all a dream, and that when she woke, she'd find Donavard by her side, waiting for her to wake. A sob tried to force it's way up her throat. She hadn't had a chance to weep for her kingdom's bad fate or the death of her family, but now wasn't the time. She had other important matters to tend to.

" Almighty Bann, shower your kindness upon me, guide me to safety, to the nearest town." she offered a silent prayer to the god of guidance and direction. And for the first time that day, her prayer had been answered. The holy crest -a constellation that took on the image of a compass- of the god aligned the oak trees that stold at the right of the path.

"Thank you." she breathed as she started her trek.

✨

It was nightfall by the time she heard the voices of laughter and music. Her heart leaped with joy. Finally she would have food, and a bath too. She hurriedly took the shabby brown cloak from the ragsack she'd gotten from her previous capturers' wagon, and wore it, putting the hood atop her head to conceal her violet hair.

She continued to follow the sounds of the merry beings till she reached a forest clearing. She saw the entry to a village a couple of feet away and rushed towards it. At the entrance was an arch that said ' welcome to osyn village' . She had never heard of such a place in her twenty one years of living.

She walked into the old town village. There was a guard post at the right that seemed to be deserted, along with all the other buildings and stands she passed by. She continued to follow the sounds till she reached an outdoor courtyard with a bonfire in the middle with women dancing around it. They were about four bar stands with outdoor chairs occupied by drunken men, some of them with women on their laps or dancing unappropriately around them.

"Hello, welcome to osyn. Are you a traveller?", said a girl from a bar stand Syria hadn't noticed she was standing next to. Securing the hood over her head, she walked towards the girl. The girl looked only a few years older than Syria was, with thick black hair and huge breasts. She wore a brown dress with a worn out white apron .

"Yes, I am." Syria said hesitantly. How did the people of this village respond to foreign travellers?

"Then you're in luck!" the girl beemed pointing at a poster stuck to the wood of the stand.

FREE LOUNGING FOR TRAVELLERS AND GUESTS ON THIS MERRY NIGHT

Oh, the gods really did favour her this time. She'd only found a few coppers and a single silver coin in the ragsack. But with free lodging, she could buy food and maybe a dress and some dye too.

"How lucky indeed." she said with a half smile.

" My name's Gracia, what's yours?" the girl -Gracia- asked.

"Hannah." she lied. She couldn't trust anyone to keep her secret. Especially without knowing where she was exactly. "I got a little lost in my way to the west. Would you be as kind as to aquaint me with where we are?" she asked.

" How horrible. Unfortunately, you're quite far from the west, you're in the north-east. The city if Colon is only a few hours away." she placed the glass cup she was holding onto the counter. " This village is a trading post. It also serves as a stop for travellers going to Colon. However did you find yourself all the way here?" Gracia asked.

" Turns out I'm not a good navigator." Syria smiled. " What's the celebration?" she asked before Gracia could ask her any other questions that might expose her identity.

Garcia's face turned rather solemn, " Haven't you heard? The Kingdom of Ribaria has fallen. And the royal family has been slaughtered." she sighed. "They say the king and queen's heads hang at the entrance to the palace."

Syria felt a jolt of pain in her chest. Her parent's were beheaded. And their head's were now hanged on the gates of their own home. How could the Lidians be so cruel?

"And what about the crown prince?" she found herself asking. Her voice firm but surprisingly calm.

"He was taken back to the Lidian kingdom, were he was killed." Gracia seemed sad as she said this. Syria felt as the abyss that had found home into her heart grow ever so slightly. Her family was dead. She had known that, but it still hurt to hear it.

"Is there an inn near by?" she asked instead. But Gracia didn't seem to acknowledge her words as she continued to speak. " People say our forces joined with the south, for a share in their wealth." she paused. " The east has been suffering for a very long time now. The low class have had to survive on bread and porridge for months. Others even die of starvation. The trading has reduced as we are running out of resources." she sighed. " The Galariel family was a very wealthy family with thriving kingdom. The easten citizens held it against them. They believe they deserved that too. Even only a fraction of it. They thought taking down Ribaria was the only way to achieve this." her voice lowed to a whisper, " I feel terrible for the innocent lives that were taken."

Could that be what people thought of her family? Her father had always sent aid when asked for. He made alliances with other kingdoms to promote unity. Her kingdom thrived because of her father's leadership, and the leadership of the kings before him. Everything about there thinking was wrong. If they'd asked her father for help he would have helped them however he could.

" You're from the north aren't you?" Syria asked the girl.

"My mother was a Ribarian, but my father was from the east. He died years back so my mother spent most of her time in the north, her homeland. But I'm glad my mother died before she could see the lands she had loved perish." She looked to the sky before facing Syria. "You must be tired, why don't I escort you to your room? And send food perhaps?"

Syria nodded her approval and the girl led her to an inn made of a kind of wood Syria had never seen in her life. ' By all things grace.' Read the poster hanged above the door.