The stone halls of Wessex Keep were prone to echoing and any noise made in the study had a tendency to end up coming right through Clair's door. She had tried to blot out the noise thus far by closing the door and even covering her head in pillows and blankets, but even at the onset of fall it it just made her head hot and pushed her hair against her face and neck.
She climbed out of the bed, pulling her dressing gown tight around her slender frame. Her skin tensed as her bare feet touched the stone floor. The fire in her room hearth had gone out and the servants had been dismissed for some away time. There was no one there to rekindle it in the night.
All of the keep was filled with frigid air. A draft could be faintly felt coming from distant open window, but the horrible grumbling sound was more of a priority at this point. It vibrated through her very being; she had to put an end to it.
The hollow soreness in her head, a product of the impromptu 'maidens night' that Mae sprung on her at the last minute, wasn't helped any by light and noise. She had the wherewithal to latch the shutters and unfurl the drapes, so that was one half of a problem solved. Clair turned the corner, at the far end of the hall the door to the study stood wide open.
Clair groaned as she neared the room and the sound grew. The cold bit at her skin and she slowed her steps, shuffling to keep her legs warm. "Mae," she said.
There was no reply and when she reached the door to the room she found Mae curled up in the center of the large wooden desk cuddling Bernard, the family dog . One of Mae's pink twin-tails was mashed down against the side of her face. There were two bottles which formerly contained Ram Wine on their sides behind Mae's back. An awful, dry grumbling snoring sound was coming out of Mae's mouth. It opened and shut with each breath she took, seeming to make the sound worse.
"Salutations, Mae!" Clair's normal greeting came out in its chipper, prepackaged form. "Morning's first light has come. It's time to get up and take tea…at least change out of those clothes and remove yourself from Father's desk."
Mae didn't move; the snoring continued.
A decorative weapon's rack stood off to Clair's right, just inside of the door. She reached out, taking a halberd into her hand to feel the wooden shaft, worn smooth from years of use, between her palms. Turning the weapon so that the dull butt of the pole was out in front of her, she jabbed Mae in the back with it.
"Mae, it's time to get up…" Clair said, her tone becoming less cordial.
"Huh? Oh, it's you?" Both Mae and Bernard the dog glanced up at Clair as if she had roused them from some important matter. "How's single life?" Asked Mae.
"Far less restful than I hoped given that I live in this huge manor practically alone," Clair said.
Mae didn't turn to face Clair and extended her arms and legs out until her back arched and let out a small series of pops. "It's for the best you're not alone right now," Mae said as she started to yawn. "Being alone at a time like this could mean you'd get to drinking, and then comes the inevitable moping, and then the crying. And we're not talking dainty, lady-like tears here; ugly, snot-nosed drunk crying."
"My word, you paint such a lovely picture of it all." Clair came to a rest with the butt of the halberd resting on the floor, she only realized it after a few moments. The habits of having a lance of javelin or spear at hand were hard to kill off, though she hadn't much need for a weapon in the years following the war. "Even so, I only had anything to drink last night because you came here with more libations than I thought it possible for a person to carry," said Clair.
Bernard whimpered the moment that Mae moved away from him. She sat up on the edge of the desk facing Clair, crossing her legs and placing one hand on her knee as she did. "Bah, we're practically part of the royal court now. I could get enough booze to burn a city down on short notice."
Mae rubbed the top of Bernard's massive white head for just long enough for the dog to close his eyes in unbridled comfort before she moved to snatch up a nearby bottle. She peered down into the hole of the bottle to see if it contained anything and placed it back on the desk.
"While I greatly appreciate your concern I am in fine spirits. The ending of a marriage need not be fraught with aggression and hatred. We were young and met during an impassioned war effort. Our feelings for each other weren't a lie—some truths just change…over time."
Mae hopped off the desk and Bernard followed. "If you're going drone on like this I'm going to need more liquor," she said striking out into the house.
"Wait. Mae, come back here. Where are you going?" Clair asked.
"House this big must have something: a cellar or secret stash of some sort. Maybe a vineyard that we could turn into more wine…" Mae said as she glanced up and down the hallway in an apparent effort to figure out where she was.
"What happened to all of what you brought?"
"Well, there were four of us."
"Genny had a whole sip of wine before she retired to one of the guest rooms," said Clair.
"True. But Faye hit the bottle hard. She started to drink and got all worked up because Alm is married and she's going to, quote, be alone forever." Mae opened one of the doors in the hallway and poked her head inside. "I left her in the parlor—really didn't feel like dragging her all of the way to one of your bedrooms," she said, her voice echoing through the empty room.
Clair glanced down the hall at her side and then back at Mae. "Did you check on her? Is she even breathing anymore? Asked Clair, grabbing Mae's shoulder and pulling her until they were facing each other.
"I was passed out, duh," Mae said shrugging Clair's hand off of her shoulder. "Well, let's go check on her, I guess." Mae folded her arms and rolled her eyes, moving so that her twin tails swayed side to side.
With Clair in the lead, the two of them set off through the house toward the central entry hall. The main parlor, which Clair supposed that Mae spoke of, stood behind a set of double doors overlooking the balcony. Clair jogged as she rounded the first corner into the center of the house; she clutched the bottom of her dressing gown in hand to give her legs more freedom. Under normal circumstances sleep attire was not to be worn around guests, but she was worried about what a depressed, lovesick Faye might do.
They dashed through the double doors with such sound, that Clair thought she might have broken the hinges. The halberd dropped from her hand and only now did she realize that she had still been carrying it. Faye sat on the red crushed velvet sofa, her pale slender legs tucked up under her body. She wore the same outfit from the night before, albeit a little more disheveled and was holding a book in leather bound book in between her hands. Her dirty blonde hair hung around her shoulders with the bottom of the strands crimped slightly; it appeared that she had lost her ribbons somewhere in the night.
Bernard charged between Mae and Clair and nosed his way into Faye's lap letting out a high pitched whine. She giggled, setting her book aside and reaching down to pet the dog's head. "Okay, boy," she said before giving Clair and Mae an easy smile. "You two looked so serious there for a second. Is something the matter?"
Clair ran her fingers through her hair, suddenly feeling very under dressed and tired again. "No. No, I was just coming to check on you." She held the dressing gown to her skin as she bent down to retrieve the halberd.
"Checking on me by bursting the doors down with a weapon in your hand?" Faye asked, Clair supposed it was the kind of question that one wasn't meant to answer.
"I know what they say about me," Faye began. "I know what everyone thinks. I had to beg the boys to bring me with them when they left our village and I'm just some lovesick bumpkin who never belonged on a battlefield…" Though she was still smiling, her eyes glistened with tears. Her head began to slump to the side.
Mae was the first to approach her. "Come on, we don't say that about you," she said. "First of all, you're an accomplished sword fighter now and you've learned your way around a bow from what they tell me. I—we wanted you to come to this because it has to get lonely in that small town and you never come to visit us at court."
Faye stared very intently at something in corner of the room opposite of them. Bernard took this as an opportunity to put his big front paws in her lap and lick the side of her face. "I doubt Queen Anthiese wants me moping the halls of the castle," she said. "I'm not looking to bring anyone down or win pity," Faye added.
"We're not trying to say you're pitiful—we're just…well I wanted everyone to just come over here and support Clair in her time of need and bond," Mae said.
"And while I thank you I am not really in need at this time," said Clair.
Mae stiffened up, walking to the center of the parlor. "Here's an idea, why don't we all do something together?" Mae said.
"If by something you mean copious amounts of drinking, I'll pass," said Clair. "How are you seemingly completely free of bottle-ache?" Clair asked looking to Faye.
Faye shrugged. "Maybe I didn't have as much as you?"
"Girl, you drank enough booze to kill Duma," Mae said.
A blank expression flashed across Faye's face. "Did I have a lot."
"Anyway," said Mae. "The thing I was going to suggest we do together is a trip, of sorts. Celica asked a favor of me."
"Her Highness asked you to do something for her? What?" Asked Clair.
"She wants me to take a small contingent to the East…over the sea to secure trade with the Askian Empire. Something about metal they have access to…" Mae said.
"What, pray tell, caused them to select you?" Clair asked folding her arms over her chest.
"Celica trusts me. We grew up together. I'm calm under pressure. I'm cool as hell. Take your pick," Mae said resting her knuckles on her hips. "I'm inviting you because you need to get out of this drafty manor," she said pointing to Clair. "And you because you're pining over a boy who chose his love when they were kids…who also happens to be king of everything over here. You can't stop thinking about him because he practically owns your whole existence."
Faye blinked, as if the words hit her like a gust of wind.
"Understood. And why are you bringing Genny?" Asked Clair.
"Because she's my side-kick. Also, we're going to find her a nice, muscly armed farm boy her own age that she can get into…or that can get into her, which ever," Mae said.
Faye slapped her hands to her mouth, but was otherwise stunned into silence.
"Oh! Mae you're incorrigible!" Clair said turning her back on the both of them.
Mae stepped around to Clair's side, poking her head out into Clair's field of view. "I'm going to assume that means gross or something, so thank you," Mae gave a little giggle. "But I'm picking you three and since I'm a representative of High Queen Anthiese…refusing me is like refusing Celica," she said the words 'High Queen Anthiese' in a booming voice. "So, ha, you have to do what I ask!"
Faye started for the door of the room. "I'll go fetch, Genny."
Clair bathed and prepared herself for the day ahead. She dressed in a faded teal tunic with gold embroidery and gray tights. Her hair was still damp, so she pulled it through a tie only halfway so that a little loop of blonde hair bounced behind her whenever she moved. She took her tea on the veranda overlooking the Zofian countryside as she did most mornings.
The land was a sea of grass billowing in the wind like waves near the shore. The continent directly after the war seemed permanently scarred, but the rivers silver with sunlight forking through fields like veins showed the renewed vitality of Valentia.
Peace that had seemed like an impossibility when she was a child had come to pass before she was even midway through her twenties. It had been nearly three years since she had picked up a lance. Though she still enjoyed to ride, she and Gray had decided that there was some value to her putting aside such things and preparing for motherhood. She wondered if it had ever been a decision that she had come to.
The person who longed for the sedentary domesticity that was expected of a lady of her stature felt like someone else that had invaded her body. Her mouth had said the words and she had thoughts of joy over the idea of a child kicking inside her belly, how could what she wanted feel so abysmal to her now.
Clair thought of the Rigelian witches and how they had everything that made them themselves hollowed out. It wasn't some dark ritual or Gray's doing. She did it to herself. That was the world wanted from her, that was the woman he grew to love. They wanted different things and what he wanted wasn't the real her. Something the King said he was nothing more than a boy from Ram Village stuck with her: "I like you the way you are. You're proud, overbearing, and don't give a damn what people think of you."
It's funny how words spoken before she and Gray were even close ended their marriage four years later. Though her marriage hadn't been bad; they had parted on amiable terms, they just weren't right together.
A small fist wrapped nervously at the huge door to her bedchamber. Genny, she figured. "Come in," Clair said turning so that she was facing the doors that led back inside from the balcony, her chair screeching as the metal legs slide over the stonework of the floor.
Genny poked her head in, her mop of red, messy curls bouncing as she came into view. "Good morning," she started. "They tell me we're going somewhere?"
Clair sighed. "Yes. Mae has decided to hold us hostage with a request from the Queen herself."
"Oh, Celica wanted us to go?" Asked Genny.
"Not necessarily. She asked Mae to take someone with her," said Clair. "Mae chose us."
Slowly Genny edged through the crack in the door until most of her body was visible through the tiny opening. "That's good though. I mean, I'm just happy to be going somewhere—it'll give me something new to write about," said Genny.
Genny had chronicled a romanticized version of the Uniting War into a book that told of a beautiful princess hidden away from the world and dashing prince who fell in love as kids. There were battles with pirates on the high seas and foul magicians who worshipped the dark dragon, and Clair's character was an adequate stand-in for the real thing…if she did say so herself.
Clair took a sip of tea and rose from her chair. "I think this trip could be fun. It'll be nice to see some of the country without having to kill my way across it and we'll get to go to a place I've never been before."
"While you're gone who will take care of Bernard? We could bring him with us." Genny suggested.
"He's an old man now," Clair said through a smile. "One of the servants is here and will watch the manor. He loves her more than me anyway."
"Oh." Genny shoulders slumped slightly, though she smiled. "Well I'm sure he'll be fine."
"He always has in the past. He's set in his ways—wouldn't like the travel much," Clair said.
"You know, if you don't want to go Mae and the rest of us it's okay," Genny said. "I'm sure Mae won't mind."
Clair closed her eyes. "I kind of feel like we have to go. I mean, it's clear why she being like this. I don't want to abandon her, regardless of how much she tries to cover up her feelings." She took a long sip from her tea and turned to look out across the vast Valentian countryside.
"Okay. Mae wants to leave by morning. Can you be ready?" Asked Genny.
Clair nodded. "Of course. I'll have my things prepared."
Genny stood silently near the open door, Clair could sense the words on the young girl's lips, but she was confident nothing would come out. When the air was too tense for it to be bearable, Genny let out a long sigh and turned to leave.
It was just as well, Clair wasn't sure it was her place to say anything. Mae had done nothing but be in her business since Gray left—she didn't want to turn around and do that right back. In truth she thought this trip might give her a chance to try her hand at being back out there. For the years after she became a Sky Knight she hardly called a single place home, the changing to being back at the manor had been jarring. She figured that the change to being on the road again and handling a weapon would be just a jarring.
It was best to ease into it.
The sturdy oak table flipped onto its with the sound of shattering glass as the priceless tea set that had been in Clair's family longer than she or her parents had been alive crashed to the floor. Through the door that lead into the entry hall, Clair could see Mae and Faye ducked down behind the table. Genny's back was pressed into a huge round obelisk off to the side of the doorway.
Clair ducked back into the hallway as an arrow struck the inside of the doorframe with another hitting the wall across from the open door. She couldn't see who was firing at her, there was too much going on in the room and it was rather large. Sunlight coming through the center and bouncing off the marble floor marred any chance she had of spotting the culprits.
She clenched her fist around the sword that she had grabbed from the weapon rack in the study and bent her arm to ready the shield up near her chest. "Why is someone shooting arrows in my manor?"
"Do you mean Faye?" Asked Mae.
When Clair peeked through the door Faye sprung up from behind the cover of the table and fired a shot from a bow. Clair recognized it as her father's. It seemed that everyone was just taking liberties with her home.
"No, I mean the people shooting at us!" Clair said.
"Oh. We're not sure," said Genny.
Clair leaned out into the doorway to try and get a look. Another volley of arrows peppered the wall, narrowly missing her. She tucked herself into cover again. "Oh salutations, Clair, we're a band of arrow slinging brigands who have come to galavant through your manor for no reason what so ever," she said putting on a mocking tone.
Faye returned fire at their enemies. "They're some kind of…bandage assassins?" Faye said, but it was more of a question.
"Bandage…assassins?" Clair tried to look again, but more arrows pounded into the wall across from her. She took this opportunity to dash into the room with her buckler held up to guard her face and chest. She crouched to slide into the space next to Mae and Faye, stopping against the hardwood of the table.
It dawned on Clair that there was a thin layer of water on the floor, though she didn't know where this had come from or who put it there. She was about to ask when Mae spoke up.
"Wait, what are you holding there?" Asked Mae looking over at her as more arrows peppered the other side of the table.
"I beg your pardon?" Asked Clair.
"I mean, the sword and shield. Are you even spec'd for a sword and shield?" Mae asked.
"I went to the premiere Zofian Military Academy; I can use a sword," said Clair.
"Oh, Lady Clair, you finally made it into the room," Genny mused over the din.
"Yeah, but she's got a sword," Faye said.
"Why do you have a sword?" yelled Genny.
Clair bolted up from behind cover. "Because I can use a bloody sword just fine—it just isn't practical on the back of a Pegasus!" She held her shield up just in time to deflect a volley of arrows.
Mae fired a series of fireballs at a target on the other side of the room and was rewarded by a shrill yelp as one of the attackers was hit.
"Why aren't you using your lightning magic?" Asked Clair. "Aren't you always going on about how you're out here to 'zap fools'?" Asked Clair.
Pushing her hands against the rug under them so that the fibers of the carpet made a wet squish noise. "Did you notice the floor is wet? These assholes used some kind of water moment the second they got in here, so unless you want me to shock all of us, I'd advise against that."
Faye plucked and arrow up off of the ground and pulled it back at a crooked angle, firing it so that it curved around to hit on of their attackers that was behind cover. "They used some kind of wet floor spell to wet the floor—almost like they knew what they were dealing with when they got here."
"Wet floor spell?" Clair asked.
"Faye doesn't know the first thing about magic," Mae said, shaking her head with her eyes closed.
Genny was the next to hit her mark; one of the enemies sprouted out from behind cover to take its shot and she blasted it with a wave of holy energy that sent it flying back against the side of the staircase.
"They're trying to reach higher ground so they can rain down on us," Faye said, studying their movements through a slit between the table and the large cabinet next to it.
"They shall not. This is my abode and it is mine to watch over, since Clive decided to move on…" Clair trailed off, reaching up with her sword hand to brush a tendril of hair out of her face. "I will need you all to distract them, I'm going over there."
Faye and Mae's eyes met and they nodded in near unison. Genny called out from her spot a little ways up behind the column. "I'm ready!"
With a rigorous energy she had thought diminished, Clair sprung up over the top of the makeshift cover they had been behind. She tucked her arms behind the shield with the sword poking up from behind it as she charged them. Fire balls and blips of magic whizzed past her along with arrows as she ran. Their opposition seemed to have no idea who to target and the problem became more abundant when Genny conjured spectral soldiers into being right alongside Clair.
Blood tore through Clair's veins charged across the room vaulting over furniture. There was a rush of excitement that she realized nothing else bought her. People had wanted to tell her that when she married she would find new ways to entertain herself—she was sure that they had meant lovemaking, but even that was bland in comparison to combat.
The culprits of the attack were—bandage assassins, so that wasn't an exaggeration. They were little more than gnarled forms with ragged clothes and little quivers slung over their shoulders. Their faces were shrouded in cloaks, but Clair could see through the slow-motion haze of adrenaline that there were even bandages covering their necks and arms and the bits of their person that showed through the rips in their clothes.
As the nearest of them took aim at her, she bounded into the air and pulled her legs up under her body. Tucked into a small ball like this, the shield was almost enough to cover all of her and she crashed into her attackers chest knocking him to the floor.
She caught herself before she fell with him, driving the sword down into his chest to dispatch of him before blocking another one of their arrows with the buckler. Another of the things turned toward her, it's movements quivering and slow. She put it down with a massive blow to the chest with her blade.
Behind her something moaned softly and she turned back in time to see another bandage assassins lumbering toward her. Clair didn't have time to recover and attack before two of Faye's arrows ripped into the side of its skull. When another appeared Mae set it ablaze and sent it tumbling to the floor. Even on fire or hacked up or with an arrow through the head they continued to move, but they didn't make a sound.
Clair had never seen something like it before. In all of the battles of the war when someone was gravely injured they still made noise so long as they were capable. These people didn't even seem to be particularly bothered by the fact that they were hurt. They just kept trying to get back onto their feet, even the burning one. The behavior made no sense…if they were human, but if they were Terrors.
Terrors were something so sparse at this point that she hadn't laid eyes on one in years. Surely they never ventured this close to civilization, even out here away from the capitol.
With a precise thrust, Clair stabbed one of the creatures through the neck right where the spine should have been. It ceased moving immediately and went limp.
"Okay," said Mae looking at all of them in turn. "What the fuck are these things?"
Clair pressed her foot against the forehead of the creature next to her, using her shoe to hold the thing in place while she pulled her sword free. "A sign that we might need to accelerate our travel plans," Clair said.