Rise of Heroes

Chapter 25 - Cold Welcome

Isabelle grabbed a handful of her skirts as she continued up the swaying staircase and before she could reach the end of it, Simon was already there, offering her a hand. His expression was wary as she joined him on the deck, holding onto his hand for balance. She could see the sailors running around barefooted, pushing their way through the small crowd that had formed on the deck and grumbling quietly. All of the Anamirian soldiers were standing in anticipation, but even their new, polished armor seemed dull and colorless under the thick, gray clouds covering the sky. Most of the soldiers were clinging to the ship’s railings for support while others were stoically standing in the middle of the deck, pretending they could handle the wild swaying of the boat.

The captain had personally come to inform her that the ship was minutes away from the shore before he had gone back up to keep an eye on his sailors. Isabelle was suspecting the others were getting ready too, especially Elaine, so she decided to head up first. The cabins were small enough as it was, Elaine’s ladies could handle their lady’s preparations by themselves.

Isabelle took a few steps forward, stopping by the mast of the ship and locking her eyes on the land they were all waiting and yet dreading to reach. There was a group of people already waiting for them at the harbor, and her eyes widened as she distinguished some of the faces.

“Is this…?” she asked hesitantly, still not sure if her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her.

“Yes.” Simon nodded. Isabelle turned to look at him. There was something in his eyes she couldn’t understand, but it made her uneasy. Simon wasn’t the type of person who would go around smiling and laughing without worry, but the years they had spent together had taught her to differentiate one frown from another.

“She is a woman,” Isabelle said, shaking her head in disbelief. A gust of wind suddenly blew in their direction and the girl raised her hands to keep her hair out of her face. Her eyes drifted to the sky, which seemed to be growing darker by the minute. Ever since they neared Roder’s territory, they hadn’t seen the sun show up behind the clouds, and in that moment, she really wished the bright sunlight would pierce through the blanket of clouds above and disperse them along with her growing uneasiness.

“A storm is coming,” she muttered, rubbing her shoulder to brush away the unexpected chills that spread through her body.

“Let’s hope it’s just a storm,” Simon replied, as if to himself. Isabelle gave him a confused look, but then her attention turned to Captain Emory, who was just offering Elaine a hand as she wobbled on her way up the stairs. She had gathered a handful of her long navy blue skirts in her hand, using the other one to lean on the wall. A cloak was covering her thin shoulders, and even though she couldn’t see it from her spot, Isabelle was sure the golden emblem of their house was burning heavily on her sister’s back. Isabelle had worn the same type of cloak every time she visited Keldar ⁠— to show her affiliation and to proudly announce her country’s arrival.

“Lady Elaine, I was just going to send someone to get you. We have arrived,” Captain Emory said with his cheerful voice, but Isabelle noticed he didn’t look as relaxed and delighted as he sounded. His eyes kept darting toward the gloomy sky and the dark forest in the distance, which only made her even more anxious.

The last time she talked to the Captain they had had a very peculiar conversation about legends and stories of monsters and sorcerers which, according to some people, still existed in the lands of Roder. He kept repeating that he didn’t believe in such gibberish, yet he kept unwittingly touching the necklace with the symbol of the god of luck that was hanging around his neck.

“Excellent,” Elaine replied with a wide smile, but as she turned toward her sister, her expression changed drastically. “I can’t do it. Please, take me back home!”

With a rather abrupt movement, the ship came to a halt when the sailors dropped the anchor and started dousing the sails. Two of them jumped on the dock and helped the men waiting for them there to lower a thick wooden ramp. When they finished with their task, the sailors lined up with Captain Emory standing proudly in front of them. They bid their farewells, and when the Captain finally bowed down for the last time, his men followed his example at once.

“Are you ready?” Isabelle asked her sister as she took Simon’s hand, who helped her down the ramp. Elaine shook her head, glancing toward the group that was patiently waiting for them on the other end of the dock. Isabelle gave her a faint smile, glancing at Elaine’s ladies, who were trailing behind her, eyes darting in all directions. Lord Frendy had already disembarked, waiting impatiently with his two aides and half a dozen soldiers. “Me neither. Let’s go.”

The moment they approached the Roderians, the group straightened up, saluting them in perfect unison. Their movements were so sharp and identical that they made the soldiers behind the girls look around awkwardly while flashing their new uniforms. The Roderian group all wore light, black, abraded armor that seemed brand new and overused at the same time. All of them were equipped with short bows and two swords or axes in an easy-to-draw position.

“Welcome to Roder.” The woman in the front took a step forward, stopping right in front of the newcomers and giving them an appraising look. She was the same height as Lord Frendy, which wasn’t that impressive since he wasn’t that tall, but she was still towering over Elaine and her ladies. Her expression wasn’t friendly either, although not quite hostile. Her dark eyes stopped first on Isabelle, then on Elaine, as if she was trying to decide which one of them was the future queen of Roder. “My name is Tamara Driennon, First Commander of the Black Army and sworn Protector of the Realm. On behalf of His Majesty The King, I welcome you to our country. Your arrival brings joy and happiness to all of our family and our people.”

Isabelle stared at her with a straight face, trying to keep her laughter down as those warm words left the lips of a person with such a cold expression. She glanced at Elaine, who was staring with eyes full of awe, completely forgetting about her role. Since she was the betrothed of Prince Jaden, she was supposed to greet the envoy first, but seeing her state, Isabelle plastered a smile on her face and curtsied.

“On behalf of our father, His Majesty Andreas Niabard, I, Isabelle Niabard, thank you for the warm welcome,” she said and noticed with the corner of her eye as Elaine flinched. “We all hope that the reason for our arrival will bring both kingdoms good fortune and prosperity. Anamir had always considered Roder a friend.” She smiled at The Commander, ignoring the scowl forming on the other woman’s face, then gestured toward her sister. “Allow me to introduce to you my sister, Elaine. I believe she is the reason for our joyful visit.”

“Welcome, Your Grace,” the Commander said with the same cold expression and unforgiving tone, and Elaine’s face turned even paler.

“I… I… Thank you. I’m happy to be here,” Elaine said in a small voice, glancing at Isabelle in panic. Lord Frendy cleared his throat and hurried to introduce himself to Tamara, receiving the same chilly treatment and eventually stepping back and murmuring to himself.

“It looks like it’s going to rain. Are we riding?” Isabelle asked, drawing the attention back to her.

Tamara shook her head. “We have a carriage waiting for you.”

“Oh, how thoughtful. Thank you,” Isabelle said, but by then The Commander was already turning and walking away. The group of Roderians parted to let them through, a few of them rushing to fetch extra horses for Simon and the other soldiers. Lord Frendy continued to grumble about having to ride in that horrible weather and how he would probably get drenched on the way, but quickly shut up when he noticed Isabelle watching him. He forced a smile, bowing his head before turning and mounting the horse he had been given.

When the girls reached the carriage, The Commander was already standing next to its open door with the coachman waiting patiently beside her. Isabelle let her sister and her ladies go in first, glancing between the coachman and the other Roderians that were quietly taking their places. It occurred to her then that most of them were extremely young ⁠— the coachman himself probably wasn’t much older than her. Yet there was no hesitation in his movements and when he offered her his hand, she noticed there was an old, hideous scar running across his face.

He didn’t appear to be wearing armor, but judging by the bulge on his shoulders and chest, he was at least wearing a metal vest underneath his vest. A broad sword as long as her arm was hanging from his hip.

It didn’t worry her that for some reason even the coachman needed a weapon. What worried her was that he moved as if the weapon was part of him, a dangerous force that he knew how to wield. All the Roderians had those looks on their faces and all of them seemed to walk with a hand constantly hovering over the hilt as if expecting to need them at any moment.

Before closing the door, Tamara gave them one last stern look.

“I apologize in advance if your ride is not very enjoyable. We’ll try to reach the castle before the storm hits us.” Before anyone could say anything, she shut the door in their faces and walked away. The four girls remained quiet for a while, exchanging awkward glances and listening to the Commander shouting orders.

“She is scary,” Melina whispered, hugging herself. “And what’s with that weather? Is it always like this here?”

“I’m getting the feeling that she doesn’t like us much,” Elaine mumbled, hitching her finger on the curtains and trying to look outside. She frowned, leaning closer to the thick, worn-out cloth and scratching it with her finger. “Why are the curtains nailed to the wood?”

“Forget that!” Cara hissed, leaning closer to the others. “How can you explain her armor? She is a woman!”

Isabelle kept to herself as they continued discussing The Commander and the other soldiers, looking around instead. The carriage looked quite old ⁠— there were still some stains over the seats, although it did look like someone had recently tried to clean them up; the fretwork had faded and lost its original form, but what had remained suggested that the carriage used to be richly decorated. Still, it looked as if it hadn’t been used at all for years, maybe even decades.

“I can’t believe I froze! There goes my first good impression!” Elaine sighed and bumped her head in the back of the carriage. Her ladies tried to console her as the carriage finally moved forward with a jerk.

Elaine was in her full right to be nervous and overthinking every word and action she had made or would make. Isabelle had felt the same the last time she went on an official visit to her future husband’s kingdom. She just hoped her sister’s visit would end happier than her own. Even if the only positive thing that could come from a union with Roder was Elaine’s happiness, then Isabelle was content with that.

“What do you think, Izzy?” Elaine asked, taking her out of her reverie. Isabelle turned, completely oblivious to the topic of the conversation. The three other girls stared at her expectantly.

She was just going to ask what they were talking about when someone outside shouted in alarm. Despite them all being silent, the words were hard to hear, but the panic in the voice was more than evident.

“What is happening?” Malina whispered and tried to peek through the curtains, but to no avail. The carriage’s speed had hastened, and they were all bouncing in their seats, barely staying in them.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Elaine whimpered while her fingers searched for something to grab on. Isabelle growled in irritation, pushing the small door to her side and ducking her head out to have a look. Even before she could get a chance to show her nose out, Simon came into view, obscuring everything with his broad shoulders and giant horse.

“Your Highness, get back inside!” His expression startled her with its sharpness, while his eyes barely stopped on her for more than a second. “Close that door and stay quiet! We may need to pick up the pace a little.”

“If we go any faster, the carriage is going to roll over! Simon, what is happening?” Isabelle insisted, but his face grew darker. She was just about to order him to answer her, something she rarely did out of respect for him, when she met his gaze. If she hadn’t spent years learning to read people in an instant, she might have missed the way his eyes darted to all sides. She might have missed the sweat forming on her Guardian’s brow or how his hand squeezing the hilt of his sword. But she didn’t miss it.

“With all due respect, Your Highness, shut the damn door and stay put!” he said through gritted teeth, placing his hand on the door and slamming it in her face.