Rise of the Dark Queen

The inn was full tonight, a squad of soldiers patrolling the outskirts has taken up residence here for the night to escape the storm. I wouldn’t mind if this group wasn’t so ill tempered. They’re in a foul mood because of the poor weather and it seems they’ve decided the mood should be shared by all. “Hey wench, hurry up with our food and mead, will you? We haven’t got all night.” One of the soldiers calls out to me. They’re drunk and causing quite a scene in the small space. It’s bad enough dealing with the regular jerks that come in here, last thing I need is to piss off soldiers of the Beast Tamer King’s army. I sighed and plastered on the best placating smile I could muster. “Sorry, I’ll be right there.” I sing as I heft a tray of mead on one arm then a tray of stew in the other. I make my way over and place the drink and food down on the table. “About damn time.” One of the other soldiers mumbles and snatches a mead off the tray before I’ve even had time to pass them out. Outside the wind howls as another flash of lightning streaks across the sky, moments later the deafening boom of thunder rolls over the inn. “Gods damn patrolling in this cursed weather, how much longer will we be stuck in this s**t hole of a village?” One of the soldiers curses and he takes a swig of his drink. “Until the king decrees otherwise.” The leader of their group replies with a scowl. I move to leave as I set the last of the food and drink in front of them and hurry back behind the bar. I can feel the eyes of their leader burning a hole into my back as I retreat. It’s not that I have a problem with soldiers or the kings men, but this lot seems a bit rougher than the usual ones that happen through from time to time. Though it seems lately patrols have picked up in frequency, which is odd for a village on the outskirts of our kingdom. The kingdom of Sarendotha is a bit more wild and vast than the other two kingdoms of the human realm. What else is to be expected of the kingdom belonging to a king with the title beast tamer? There are three kingdoms in the realm of men, the others are Lorscos, a kingdom full of mountains and vast cities built into the mountain sides themselves. It lies to the north of Sarendotha and is ruled by king Killian. And then there is Morrenth, a kingdom by the sea said to be a glittering jewel among the seaside cliffs and rolling planes bordering to the west ruled by king Ayden. Each fierce in its own right, but the true kingdom of darkness and terror is Umbra, kingdom of the night elves. It’s a kingdom of shadow lying to the south, once great and vast, it now lies in scattered chaos, a result of their defeat from the great wars between the realm of elves and men. To the east lies the ruin of the day elves, the total destruction of their kingdom and death of their monarchs the price of siding with the realms of men during the war. Once a kingdom of light and beauty is now a nothing more than a vast and wild land roamed by the lawless and wicked. The surviving light elves took refuge mostly in our kingdom, they tended to keep to the capital. There were also dark elves who escaped as refugees from their own kingdom to avoid the horrors of their vile ruler and tyrant king. It was said the light elves and dark elves once lived in harmony. A balance of power, light and shadows, life and death. Two sides of the same coin, two kingdoms that existed in peace with one another. All that changed when King Vesper took the throne. He was obsessed with power and control, his goal to rule over all the realms and wipe out all the light elves. He was cruel and evil. He disappeared after the his defeat, some say he was killed in battle, but his body was never found. Others say he escaped and was in hiding, biding his time waiting to strike again. My mother used to tell me much about the realms, I often wondered how she knew so much. When I would ask she’d just smile that coy smile of hers and say, “experience, my dear Coralleigha,” whatever that meant… seams the storm has darkened even my mind, days like this I miss her so much it hurts. I still remember her long flowing dark brown wavy hair, how she always smelled of forest and rain, how her sapphire blue eyes would seem to shimmer in the dark. I shared the same hair, same full lips and beautiful curves as her. But where her eyes were a dark blue, mine were a bright gold. We were both on the taller side, she used to say it added to our natural allure. Modest, my mother was not. It’s been 5 years since my mother disappeared, some days it still feels like yesterday, others, another lifetime. I had just turned 16 at the time, life without her was dark and lonely at first. The anguish of not knowing what happened ate at me like a disease. If not for Tiberius I might still be living in the depths of my despair. He’s a cantankerous old man but he was a friend of my mother’s and took it upon himself to look after me after her sudden disappearance. Truth be told I had a soft spot for the old man. He was a softie under all his curses and ill temperament, why else rescue a stray? His description of me, not my own. I shook my head to clear my morose thoughts, hopefully the group of asshole soldiers would be to bed soon. They sat loudly complaining of the weather and their patrol of our s**t village, as they liked to call it, and visibly making our other guests uncomfortable. I sighed internally as they whistled to get my attention as if I were a dog. To hell with the fake smile, I walked over to the table with what I hoped was a neutral expression and not of the irritation I was feeling at their rude self importance. “Yes did you need something?” I said trying my best not to let my growing frustration show. “Yeah, my men and I were just wondering how much it’d be to have you for the night, maybe you could give us a discount for the group, hmm?” The leader asked with a leering expression on his face as he very clearly stared at my breasts instead of my face. They all broke into raucous laughter. Ugh, these guys were disgusting. I let my disgust show on my face as I replied, “this is not a brothel, if you want that kind of accommodation you can go elsewhere, now if you’ll excuse me, I have to see to my other customers.” I turned abruptly to leave but as fast as a whip the leader lashed out and grabbed my wrist roughly turning me back around. This was going downhill fast. I’m no helpless maid but there are 10 of them and one of me, and in a realm ruled by men, it’s their word to the king against mine if things go sideways. Not the kind of trouble I want to be dealing with. He tightened his already bruising grip as he hissed, “ so you think you’re too good for us b***h? We are soldiers of the king and you should show us the respect we deserve.” I was seething inside, of course these assholes thought their position of power entitled them to taking whatever they pleased. No wonder this group was assigned out to the ends of the kingdom, no doubt punishment for being troublemakers. It seems the lesson sought by giving them a shitty assignment was not learned. The wind battered hard against the door, it’s howls turning louder and more ominous, the flickering shadows from the lamplight seemed to grow, I stared hatefully into the eyes of the man latched to my wrist. Just then a crack of lightning and a boom of thunder struck so loud and so close the soldiers all jumped, the man holding me dropping my wrist in the process. I took the opportunity to hastily retreat to the kitchen. As I entered the doorway, I leaned against the wall and took a shaky breath. I pressed my hand to my chest, my heart beat wildly inside. I needed to calm down, no good would come of getting into a verbal match with men who liked to abuse their authority. I also had a sneaking suspicion verbal would turn physical if I allowed the situation to escalate. I took a deep steadying breath and closed my eyes. I listed to the rain pound outside and the wind beat against the walls, I felt my ire dissipate with each draw of air I took into my lungs. It always grated on me to watch the strong try to take advantage of the weak. It got me into some sticky situations, but I’ve never been one to stand by and watch others bully those who couldn’t defend themselves. These men were trouble and the sooner they left this area the better. “Aye! The guests aren’t gonna serve themselves wattarya doin back here girl?” Tiberius called with a gruff voice of impatience. I groaned opening my eyes and pushing off of the wall. I look up at his tall bulky frame. He’s a grizzled man with dark hair turned mostly white with age and grey stubble shadowing his wide jaw and and a large scar bisected across his face. It’s a stark reminder of the brutal war that once ravaged this land. I absentmindedly rubbed at my wrist, his eyes narrowed as he caught the movement, he stepped towards me and pulled the long sleeve of my dress up my arm to expose my wrist. He let out a huff of anger as he saw the bruises already forming on my pale skin. I gently pulled away, pulling my sleeve down and dropping my arm to my side. “Coralleigha,” he growled my name, “One of those sorry excuses of a soldier do this to ya?” “Yeah,” I sighed, “they wanted services our establishment doesn’t offer, didn’t like when I told them I wasn’t on the menu and to take their business elsewhere if that’s what they were after.” He tisked, “Men had more manners when I did my time in the army. Ever since the war between the realms ended they’ve been gettin’ lax with their trainin’ and discipline. The king outta cut fools like that loose. Used to be a soldier had honor, seems like they send the rabble out here to patrol these parts these days.” His expression twisted with disgust as he shook his head. “Seems to me they send more and more patrols with each passing moon cycle. Probably has to do with the growing disappearances in the area.” I muse. I think again of my mother and her own disappearance. It’s not a totally uncommon thing, out here on the edge of the wilds, but as of late it seems to be becoming a regular occurrence. I suppress a shiver and wince as I think of what it could all mean. “Do you think this could be the work of the night elves?” I ask timidly, looking up to meet his gaze. “If it is, then those assholes out there givin’ ya a hard time are the least of our worries.” He scowled as his gaze became unfocused, seemingly lost to an unpleasant memory. A moment later he shook his head and moved swiftly to the back stairs of the kitchen that led to our private quarters and ascended them. He returned a moment later attaching his sword from his military days to his belt. I arched a brow at him staring pointedly with a question in my gaze. “Like hell Imma let some young ruffians barely off the teat put their hands on a lady, even if she is a stray.” See, a total softie… I rolled my eyes at his clumsy attempt at covering up his overprotectiveness. He may have been an older man, but apparently, he was something of a legend from the Great War. He gained quite the reward for his extensive service during that time, which he promptly used to retire and open the only inn with stables in this area. Apparently all he wanted from retirement was to earn enough money to live as far away from the castle at the center of our kingdom. “Don’t be starting fights you can’t win you old buffoon,” I said shaking my head. “I ain’t fightin’ no one little girl, just gonna give them a friendly reminder not to go touchin’ my staff and causin’ a problem in my place.” He stated with a look of dark amusement on his face. I followed behind him as he stalked out of the kitchen into the dining room. The soldiers visibly stiffened as he approached their table. As the leader turned to see who was approaching behind him his face visibly paled when he saw Tiberius. “Why hello there gents,” he said with a sneer, “you lot are patrolling awfully far from the capital and having a tough time of it from what I can see. Seems like a s**t assignment for soldiers of the beast tamer King.” He said with a dangerous edge to his voice. “Names Tiberius, I’m sure you’ve heard a thing or two about me judging from the looks on your faces.” They grew increasingly uneasy at hearing his name. War legend indeed. I watched with my arms crossed, waiting for all the false bravado they had earlier when they thought they were dealing with a hapless girl. It seems to have evaporated into the dark night. The leader cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably in his seat, “It, ah, seems there was a bit of a misunderstanding… my men and I were only speaking in jest, we meant no harm.” He sputtered weakly. Tiberius narrowed his eyes, glancing around at their table. “Well I’m glad it was a misunderstanding, cuz I’d hate to have to send word to my old friend general Stryker if there was a real problem here.” He stated, his voice dropping to an icy chill. No matter his age the man was intimidating. His hand rested on the pommel of his sword, the threat clear in his stance and demeanor. “We were just heading to our rooms now, we apologize for any offense.” One of the other soldiers stated weakly, swallowing hard. The others nodded their agreement and slowly began to stand and head toward the stairs that led to the rooms on the upper floor. The leader stood, glowering but remaining silent following his retreating men to their rooms. Wise choice, Tiberius was a legend among the army, and if that wasn’t enough, the threat of talking to general Stryker was enough to instill the fear of the gods into the men. He was feared to almost mythical proportions amongst his men. With good reason I hear. Second to none in combat, there were even whispers of him not even being human. It seems the old man knew what buttons to push to scare off those jerks. The other patrons visibly relaxed, the heavy atmosphere dissipating with the soldiers now gone and put into their place. I let out a long breath, silently thanking the gods that the man I worked for was one scary bastard. Tiberius turned to me, “well what ya standin’ around for get back to work girl.” He turned abruptly and went back to the kitchen. I shook my head, a small smile playing on my lips. I dove back into serving mead and stew. Never a dull moment around here. Sleep eluded me as I lay in my bed listening to the storm continue to rage. My thoughts roiled over what happened earlier and why more and more people were going missing. To say it was worrisome was an understatement, I could feel an unnatural darkness creeping on the edges of our village, something big was on the horizon of our kingdoms, I could feel it. The storm finally subsided into a steady rain, and I let the soft sounds of the drops on the roof lull me to sleep. I awoke with a start, sitting straight up in my bed. The rain continued to drop softly, it seems the worst of the storm had passed. I squinted into the darkness of my small room, it was still gloomy and grey out despite it being the dawn hours. There was a stillness in the air, a feeling of foreboding settled into the pit of my stomach. I got out of bed and began to get ready for the day, trying to shove aside my morose feelings. I slipped into a dark green long sleeved linen dress and laced the bodice. I braided my thick locks into a lose braid that covered my ears and went midway down my back. I then slipped into light weight lace up boots I wore when working in the dining area. It didn’t matter much what shoes I wore anyways, no one could see them under my dress. I sighed then went downstairs to start serving breakfast to weary travelers preparing to brave the rain now that the storm let up. Hopefully the soldiers wouldn’t be a problem this morning. I was granted respite this morning, it seems the effect of last nights words was here to stay, breakfast service passed in blessed quiet and the inn emptied out, rude soldiers included. Praise the gods. I quickly cleaned the dinning hall then grabbed a thick black cloak with a hood to wear out into the rain. I needed to check the stables and make sure everything was in order and well stocked. “Checking the stables girl?” Tiberius’s rough voice called to me as I made my way through the kitchen to the back door that lead to the path that would take me to the stables. He didn’t look up from the dishes he was washing. “Yes,” I called as I opened the door to peer out into gloomy day, “the rain seems to be here to stay, may as well get my chores out of the way and warm myself up afterwards.” I pulled my hood up and stepped into the muddy path, closing the door behind me. I was almost to the stables when I heard the sound of a twig breaking to the side of me. I froze, swinging my head in the direction of the sound. I peered into a small grove of trees that seemed to be wreathed in shadows. Something or someone was there, watching me.