9 September 2008 - Fixed errors
Common, But Still Queen
Chapter 2
I had learnt from a young age to never sleep, not fully anyway. A part of my mind was always alert. My daggers were always within less-than-a-seconds reach. My body tense, ready to spring into action the moment I sensed a threat.
My ears pricked up in my semi-conscious state, picking up the light sound of footsteps approaching my chamber. Instantly, I jumped, landing in a crouch-fighting position on top of my bedding, light from the oil lamps that lit my room reflected off from the daggers I held in my left hand. I could not wield a weapon in my right as a result of the wound I had caused myself by punching the mirror. I waited patiently, breathing slowly, awaiting for the person to make themselves known.
Sure enough, a cloaked figure entered my bedroom. Upon seeing me, they threw the hood of their cloak back, revealing their face.
"Hurisho!" I whispered, anger making itself known in my voice, "I remember mentioning that I would find you." I approached him, my stance wary but I sheathed my dagger as a sign that I would not attack him.
"Well, sorry Princess, but other plans have been made," he retorted slyly.
"What do you mean?" I asked suspiciously. My hands instinctively made their way back to rest on the hilt of my weapon.
"This," he answered.
Immediately, he lunged towards me. On a reflex I dodged, ducking under his body and turning away, pulling my dagger from its sheath.
"I'm sorry Princess but you should give up now, I'm going to win this and you know it," Hurisho snarled, lunging to attack again.
"You don't even have a weapon," I pointed out.
"I don't need one," he retorted. He grabbed my wrist and twisted, forcing me to drop my dagger.
Crying out, I swung down with my bandaged hand, smashing his forearm, compelling him to release my wrist. Hurisho hissed, and sloppily swiped at me. Jumping back, I circled him, looking for an opening. Before I knew it, my back was facing the entrance to my chamber. Hurisho bent down and retrieved my dagger from where he had forced me to drop it.
Swearing, I mentally scolded myself for not retrieving the weapon or at least making it unreachable throughout the fight. Now Hurisho had a weapon, although, as he had said before he didn't need one, but he now had an advantage. Hurisho was bigger and stronger …but I am faster.
Hurisho dodged towards me, swinging the dagger in an arc down. I turned to the side, watching the blade swipe through air. Quickly, I thrust my foot up and outwards, landing a kick in Hurisho's side. Using Hurisho's momentum against him, I forced him down onto the floor.
Hurisho rolled and landed back on his feet, dagger poised, ready to attack, searching rapidly for an opening in my guard. I knew this would be no easy fight.
"Why are you here, Hurisho?" I asked, dodging yet another attack.
Hurisho grunted as I landed another kick, this time in his stomach.
The fight continued. Dodge. Duck. Block. Kick. Duck.
"I need you gone, Princess," he swiped again. This time the weapon hit its target. A spurt of blood shot from a wound appearing in my side.
"What?" I asked; momentarily stunned from the fresh-made wound. My lapse in concentration allowed Hurisho to strike again. A cut in my shoulder now bled freely too.
I shook myself free of any daze and confusion, fully concentrating on the fight that my life was dependent on.
Hurisho snarled as he missed again, "Princess, you will not see the light of tomorrow."
"Why, Hurisho?" I asked.
Kick. Block. Duck. Roll. Punch. Dodge.
"I will not let you leave this fight alive, Princess. I can not have you stop my plans to overthrow your parents' empire!"
"You're the one I was gonna take out?" I asked disbelievingly.
"Not that I'd let you get a chance to do so," Hurisho replied angrily, "I fed you information of a fake profile. I knew you would find me for help. I told you to do so when I left your parents society."
"So those rumours weren't just rumours?"
Hurisho swung fast, I brought my arm up to block but was too slow, and the dagger nicked my face. A salty taste entered my mouth and I recognised it as my own blood. I frowned, wiping the cut just above my lip.
"If they were just rumours, why would I leave the Palace, Princess?"
"I won't let you take apart everything my parents' have worked for!" I cried.
"Your parents don't work hard for anything. They sit on their thrones and wait for their people to bring them everything. Nothing is given back to the people they claim to love so much."
Anger ran through my veins, blinding my rational thinking. I took the offensive in the fight, no longer just blocking. I swung madly with my fists, throwing in a kick every so often. Hurisho barely had time to block each attack as my ferocity increased. I landed one punch, and then another, soon Hurisho was no longer blocking any attacks. I jumped and turned, swinging my leg out, colliding my foot into Hurisho's face. The dagger was dropped and Hurisho landed, sprawled out on the pavement of my chamber. I reclaimed the dagger, holding it in my left hand. I ignored the sharp twinges of pain in my side and shoulder where blood ran freely from each wound, mixing in the sand. Blood from the cut on my face dripped onto my neck and stained my already dirty clothes.
I crouched over Hurisho, dagger pressed to his neck.
"Give me one reason why I should keep you alive," I muttered.
Hurisho coughed and laughed, "Because you're not one to kill, Yukia. You're too innocent and naïve."
I smirked, "Wrong," I said simply.
I slashed my old mentors' throat.
I stood and wiped the blood off the blade using Hurisho's cloak. I sheathed the weapon and gazed upon the corpse that now resided on my chambers floor.
"I guess the student surpassed the teacher," I muttered.
Frowning, I realised I could not remove the corpse from my room without waking anyone, and since the Palace and its Court is always populated, someone is bound to see. I thought briefly on taking it through the other entrance to my room, but decided to leave it till morning and even if I did remove the body from my chambers, the people Hurisho was working with would obviously know that their boss is missing.
Maybe I'm in too deep…
Sighing, I covered the body with a dirty sheet from my bedding and rested, waiting til morning before deciding what to do about the body.
The screams of my mother woke me in the morning. I jumped to my feet, fully alert. Noticing that nothing too severe was occurring, I relaxed; frowning as masses of people crowded around their Queen. I couldn't help but think back to what Hurisho had said the night before, when I had killed him.
Your parents don't work hard for anything. They sit on their thrones and wait for their people to bring them everything. Nothing is given back to the people they claim to love so much.
Maybe he was right…
Shaking the corruptive thought from my head, I walked slowly towards the crowd, trying to decide the best way to explain what had happened.
"What is the meaning of this?" my Mother shrieked as she caught sight of me.
The crowd instantly shifted, allowing me to approach my mother.
"Can I talk to you and Father in private?" I asked.
The Queen sighed, "I suppose."
I paced in front of my parents as they sat in two high chairs placed next to each other in their throne room. Everyone was forbidden to enter and guards were posted at every entrance to the room to stop anyone listening in as I told my story.
At first, my parents were sceptical, and I couldn't blame them; there was a dead man in my royal chamber. Then, as I explained about Hurisho's plan to overthrow their empire, they were angry. They were also angry as I told them about my plan to eliminate the threat without their knowing. My parents adopted worried expressions as I told them of the fight; their expressions changed to relief as I explained I had won.
"Yukia, we are very disappointed in you," my Father spoke, "your Mother and I are the ones who deal with threats to the empire. We are also hurt that you would lie to us about your whereabouts. But, we thank you and are proud of how you fought, and how you held your ground in the face of your opponent."
I bowed, "thank you, Father."
My parents nodded and I left; I was hungry so I was going to go eat.
I walked swiftly back to my room, noting that Hurisho's body had already been moved. I donned my brown, dirty cloak and hooked my veil into place. I then proceeded to the back of my room, heading for an exit. Previously hidden behind the (now cracked and broken) mirror, was a tunnel. It was quite visible now that the mirror was broken and I sighed, knowing I would have to find something to hide the secret passageway.
I quickly ducked into the tunnel, running along it, crouched down low, my back just brushing the ceiling as I ran. The tunnel was mostly straight, until it reached the end where it started to slope up gradually and I arrived in the sunlight, behind the Palace, hidden behind a conveniently placed cart.
I rose, and quickly lobbed my way up onto the roof of a nearby building. In the early morning light under the Saudi Arabic sun I could see clearly to the horizon. I made my way over the rooftops to the marketplace, where stalls were being set up at an alarmingly fast rate.
I casually walked around the market place, looking for a stall with products on display that appealed to me. I soon spotted one; the small stall had many foods on display. I made my way over to the stall; instantly, the man behind it started talking.
"Anything that catches your eye, miss?" he asked.
"Looking," I replied, eyes scanning the various foods.
The man left as another customer appeared at the stall. Straight-away, the man was talking again, complimenting the customer and trying to sell his produce. Noticing his lack of attention towards me, I quickly swiped the nearest piece of bread and a fruit. Speedily, I tucked them away into your cloak. The other customer left, having bought their food. His previous customer gone, the man attended to me:
"Found what you are looking for?" he asked politely.
"No," I replied, hands holding my stolen food in my cloak pockets.
The man nodded, "perhaps I can be of assistance?" he offered.
"No," I walked away, but not too fast so as not to attract attention.
Far enough away from the stall, I ducked into a small niche beside a stand and withdrew my hands, along with my stolen prize. Greedily, I broke the bread, biting into it, loving the feeling of my empty stomach filling. I bit into the fruit, a juicy apple. The succulent juices entered my mouth and I swallowed, savouring the taste.
"THIEF!" Someone yelled.
I looked up, my hands immediately replacing the part-eaten food into my cloak pockets.
"THIEF!" the call went again.
I rose, scanning the street for the source of the call. A little further down the street, I saw a small, nimble, underweight boy sprinting my way. An athletic, older man chased him.
I deduced that the boy was not a very accomplished stealer and had been caught red-handed. The boy dashed past me; I noted that he was of a young age. Thinking briefly, I decided to help him escape; I was technically a Princess, and therefore required to help my People.
I gave chase of the boy, seemingly helping the shop owner catch a streetrat. Following him, I saw him turn down a shadowed alleyway. I shook my head as I ran; I knew it was a dead end. Sure enough, when I turned into the alleyway, the boy was still there, looking at a sand wall, distressed.
"Boy, I will help you," I said, grabbing his hand.
"Don't need help from no one," he replied harshly.
"Follow me or you'll be killed," I ordered.
"Do what I like," he retorted.
"It's the death of you then."
My cloak billowed around me as I turned to leave.
"You really get me out of here?" he asked suspiciously.
I nodded, "Quick. We are running out of time."
Grabbing the boy's hand, I led him towards a lower wall in the alleyway. Instructing him on what to do, I boosted the boy onto the roof. I hurriedly followed suit, jumping and pulling myself onto the roof.
"Quiet," I whispered.
"He went down here!" I heard a man shout, and peeking over the edge I saw the shop owner as well as five other men run into the alleyway.
"Where'd he go?" one asked.
I withdrew from the edge of the building, hoping they didn't see me.
"Maybe he's on the roof," suggested someone.
"Quick, let's get up there!"
"We're going," I whispered to the young boy. Taking his hand again, I pulled him along the rooftop.
"There he goes!" A man yelled behind us.
I risked a short look behind to see a grown man running to catch up to me and the boy on the roof. The other men on the ground were soon vaulted onto the roof and they gave chase as well.
I helped the boy down a small wall and then boosted him back up onto the next roof, which was higher. Another look back showed me that the men were catching up. I needed to think of something, and fast.
"What's your age?" I asked, sprinting along the flat of a roof.
"Nine," the boy replied, breathing deeply.
They might take pity on him, since he's so young…
I shook my head; the way the men were chasing us suggested that they wanted blood.
"Here," I said, dropping the boy down off the roof. I jumped down, landing in a crouched position before springing up again, "Try to lose them in the crowd," I ordered, heading for the nearest populated store.
As soon as I entered a crowded area, I let the boy go, pushing him away from me, deliberately separating myself from him. He threw me a confused look but I shook your head, "No." I left him, sprinting through the crowd, causing the people to disperse around me.
"Stop that thief!" A man shouted.
"He went that way!" Another called.
I looked over my shoulder, and saw the crowd still separated, allowing the group of men to chase after me. I smiled, my distraction had worked…but now the men were after me.
Oh great!
I turned back around, preparing to make another quick dash for the roofs to get away but found my way blocked. Three Royal Guards stood in my way, swords out, ready to capture the thief. These were not the Royal Guards of my Palace, but were the Guards of the King and his Queen. I stopped dead in my tracks, accepting defeat. In a practised move, one Guard stepped forward and clasped my hands behind my back, tying them in place with a piece of rope.
"Is this your thief?" the Guard asked of the shop owner and the group of five men with him.
Roughly, the Guard forced my head up, and pulled my veil off, revealing my face to the men.
The man shook his head, "No. But she helped him escape."
"Helping a thief escape," the Guard mused, "We will need to take her to see the King."
With that, I was forcefully dragged to my feet and pushed forward, heading towards the real palace.