The Song of Blood and Bone

Chapter Ten

Everything about the town seemed solemn. Even the small kids passing wore a blank expression, the buildings aren’t much better. Their faded bricks and bare walls look down at everyone with sadness because they once knew freedom. There were no birds chirping cheerfully or even many vendors in the street. In most towns there are thousands of vendors lining the streets just waiting for travelers. Although there were a few no one seemed to be stopping at them. The straight faces on everyone’s faces freaked Aliyah out. Was Lynce so bad that he broke their spirit?

She walked the pace of everyone else with her velvet cloak pulled tight to conceal her weapons. After a minute of wandering the streets she finally decided it was time to ask for help. Everyone would think finding a castle would be easy, but it proved increasingly difficult as Aliyah found herself going in circles.

A man was standing at the door of a building, his clothes and face were covered in soot. Though his bright blue eyes stood out like a sore thumb.

“Excuse me sir, but I’m looking for the castle.” The man looked at Aliyah with blank expression his eyes bloodshot and streaks ran down his face, he had been crying. “Are you Alright?”

“I lost my job. The King seized our tunnels after he heard of our latest loot. I don’t have enough to feed my family through winter. Not with taxes. Anyway just turn left than the first street to you right will lead straight to the draw bridge.” Taxes? Aliyah c****d her head to the side.

“I’m sorry to hear that. I wish I could help in some way.” Aliyah went to walk away but the man grabbed her wrist and put a small knife in her hand.

“Kill him. You get close enough, kill the son of a b***h for taking our true King.” The man’s face now full of rage, but Aliyah’s heart broke.

“Gather your friends that think the same, maybe you can start a revolution.”

“Do not mock our misery!” He growled.

“I’m not.” Aliyah put the knife back in his hand and walked away.

She eventually found the draw bridge and surprisingly Aliyah wasn’t stopped as she walked into the castle. The servants hustled about not looking at anything but the ground. The tapestries on the walls all had the same theme of war and c*****e. And each portrait was of the same man with blonde hair and brown eyes in different poses. Aliyah assumed that was Lynce.

Someone tried to grab Aliyah but she turned and put a knife to their throat. Hayden grabbed her arms and pulled her into a room. She sheathed the knife looked at him with a guilty face.

“What are you doing?” He asked cupping her face in his hands. She looked down at his neck but his mark was gone.

“Where’s your mark?” She felt rage rise in the pit of her stomach, but she couldn’t tell you why.

“I covered it, Lynce cannot know I have you. He will use the bond to break me.” Hayden looked at her with sadness. “What are you doing here?”

“I was just.. I can’t wait to stop him. Especially now after seeing how miserable these people are. Hayden, they are miserable. If I can change that. If I can help these people I want to do it from here. I can get on the inside, I can be here in the heat of it like everyone else has to. You cannot change my mind.”

“Then I will help you,” Hayden brushed off Aliyah’s hood. “What happened to your mate, Lillian?”

“He was killed, because of my anger and hate I trained to be a warrior.”

“How long have you been alive?”

“To long to keep track.”

Hayden nodded. “What’s your name?”

“Lillian. I’m a traveler, I don’t stay in one place.” Aliyah said to Hayden and he nodded. He ushered her to the door and lead her down the halls.

“We’ll see what the king thinks about you.”

After what seemed like years later the got to a room. The room was filled with anything blue. Blue flowers, blue tapestries, blue carpet, even blue candles. Aliyah had no idea how they made blue candles but she turned her head to the man sitting in a big wooden throne. The man from the portraits sat there with a bored expression on his face. His crown sat neatly on his head and his clothes strategically placed. Aliyah approached holding herself high. Lynce raised an eyebrow once he noticed the mating mark.

“And who could you be?” He asked his voice dripping with curiosity.

“Lillian.” Aliyah curtsied the best she could, with mens clothes on it made it somewhat difficult. Lynce flicked his hand for her to get up. He stood up and crossed the space between them.

“And what are you doing showing up with one of my men? One in which has been missing. Did he mark you?”

“My mate died a sixty eight years, three months and five days ago. Murdered by a witch.” Aliyah showed her scar from her fall through the roof. It was a nasty scar perfect for the story she is weaving. “I killed her but not without almost losing my life. I laid in the ruins of our battle for three days before a healer found me. Unfortunately its a time I’ll never forget.”

“Hmm,” Lynce looked her up and down. “And what do you want with my kingdom, Lillian?”

“Its not your kingdom I want. I want a fight, I will be your warrior, your wild card. Tell me would you expect a woman in a ballgown to carry a knife? To kill you? No one does, I can be your wildcard. All I ask is to live here in the castle with unlimited access to your best men, to train of course.”

“Alright, but you will be watched at all times, by Hayden until you’ve proven yourself useful. You’ll have conjoined rooms and guards out front. Do not let her so much as sleep without your approval.”

Hayden grunted. “With all due respect, your majesty, I have not returned for babysitting. I have returned with good news until I ran into this wretch,” Lynce waved his hand for him yo continue. “I ran into Avyil on my hunt for Tomas. We managed to cut down several of his men, he’s left weak and defenseless. Avyil remains there now watching him incase he catches wind of us. You’ve been after him for years and I personally wanted to deliver you the news that he is ready to be eliminated.”

Lynce smiled a devilish smile. “Very good news indeed. Send a few dozen men, have them bring me his head. As for you, I’ve given you your task. Take her to the training room on the east end, there no one will see our new wild card in action. The royal guard will alert you when your rooms are set up. When she’s in her room report to me every detail of her training.” Lynce dismissed them.

They left. As soon as no one was around Hayden pulled her into a room. The room appeared to be a training room. A rack of several different weapons lay in the middle of the room two different mats lay next to them. And a giant bucket of water was mounted to the wall.

Aliyah started to freak out, she could feel herself shake and her breathing change. Hayden grabbed her by the shoulders. “You need to control it. Control the thoughts in your head. They’re all rushing you at once. Imagine them as a nice soothing wave that crashes onto a beach. On the beach Lith, Avyil, you and I are all on the beach looking into the ocean laughing at a joke.” Aliyah began to calm down and her mind began to quiet down.

“I..” Aliyah kissed Hayden hard and deep. Her heart began to calm and she pulled away. “Why are you my comfort?”

“We should train. Before someone comes in.”

Hayden grabbed a bow and quiver. He set it next to Aliyah and put the quiver next to her and pointed to the targets she didn’t see before. Aliyah took the bow.

“You want to-“ Aliyah put a hand up and took an arrow. She knocked the arrow and aimed. With a deep breath she took the shot and hit bullseye. Hayden applauded from the side of her.

“My father taught me very young.”

“Can you throw knives with the same accuracy?” Hayden c****d an eyebrow and crossed him arms.

“I can try, I haven’t before.”

“Its almost the same thing as shooting a bow, except not really.”

Aliyah looked at him sideways and grabbed 6 of the throwing knives. She went with her gut and used the same stance she would if she was fighting. She took a deep breath and felt the weight of the knife in her palm. She pulled her hand back and launched it forward with as much power as she could. Her knife sunk into the green part of the target.

“Try again.” So she did. After the third time of retrieving her knives she started to get annoyed. “Try again.”

“What am I doing wrong?”

“You’re over complicating it. You’re throwing with to much power and not enough wrist movement. With a bow it does not matter if you pull the string back far as long as you are steady and aim well you’ll do good,” Aliyah snickered, obviously he didn’t know how much elegance, using a bow, it took. “You need to use your wrist just as much as you need to aim.” He advised ignoring Aliyah. “Like this.” He showed her a wrist movement and he nodded his head for her to try.

After trying a few more times, with a little more success, Aliyah started to get more confident. She threw the sixth knife and it sunk into the red. A high pitched squeal escape from Aliyah as she jumped up and down. All the way to the target and back she did a happy dance. Hayden rolled his eyes but took the rest of the knives. They continued to throw knives until Aliyah felt confident in the way they felt and how it felt throwing them.

“Sword fighting?” Aliyah groaned. As Hayden handed her a dull sword. The blade was still sharp enough to cut but not enough to seriously injure.

She took her fighting stance and then attacked. Hayden easily dodges her attacks. She noticed as she pushed harder his stance began to break. Putting all of her strength in her next attacks she waited till the perfect moment. With a swift kick of her leg Hayden fell. His sword clattered to the ground and she raised her sword to his neck.

“Your rooms are ready.” Someone said from behind them. They both turned but the man was already gone.

“How are we supposed to get to our rooms if he just left?”

“I don’t know, Lillian. Despite what you might think im not a super genius.

Aliyah rolled her eyes and held out a hand, Hayden took it and got up. “Should we find them?”

“I suppose.” Hayden shrugged his shoulders.

The walker out of the training room turning right. They walked for quite some time before they asked a guard. Aliyah opted to ask a guard after walking in on two servants getting hot, but Hayden called her a wuss. He decided to ask when his eyes got heavy. They were brought to their rooms, both entered the different doors.

A massive bed with gold curtains falling perfectly sat directly in the middle of the back wall. To the left was a giant book case with a few books but it also had some paper and a few other items. On the left wall there was a door that had no lock, classy. On the right side of the bed was a night table and a lantern. On the right wall there was a bathroom as well as a wardrobe. She walked to the wardrobe and found slacks and shirts. Aliyah went in the bathroom and noticed a closet with beautiful dresses of every design. She found some silky night gowns and put one on, seeing as how it was her only option. The dress came just above her mid thigh and the neck of the dress dipped down low enough to see her breasts. She didn’t like the nightgown, but all of the others were the same.

There was a knock on the side door. “Come in.”

“I wanted to say goodnight.” Hayden said standing there, she could see little of his room through the door.

“Come look at this.” He crossed the space between them but stopped when he saw her. His face turned beat red and he slowly inched towards her. His bare chest covered with goosebumps.

“What is it?”

She pointed towards the dresses. “They’re all so elegant.”

“Beautiful dresses for an elegant queen more like.” He whispered in her ear. She blushed at feeling his presence. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck softly. She moaned soft at his kisses and touch sending him into a state of desire. He spun her to face him. She slipped off her panties and he slipped down his pants. He lifted him onto her and slammed himself deep and hard into her. She stifled a cry because she knew she had to be quiet. Her whole body burning as if she was on fire. As she felt herself get closer to her climax she put her head in his shoulder. Just on time her body released and he was shortly behind her. Hayden kissed her deeply while he finished. She got down from him putting her panties back on.