The Red Keep [3/3]

Though Astrid loved parties, she would have rather spent the night training with the Master. With only one week left, she wanted to spend every waking moment working with him. She sloshed the wine around in her glass, and watched Meggan dance with one of the trainers, whom Astrid knew Meggan liked to spend a lot of time with when Astrid was with the Master. The man- Galus, was a head trainer for the assassins, a little older than them, and he truly liked Meggan. He always found excuses to touch her, always smiled at her, always looked at Meggan like she were the only person in the room.

If Astrid were being honest, she had always thought that Ress Kastur looked at her like that, but then he'd say something to undermine her, or trot along after her brother, and Astrid would scold herself for even entertaining the thought.
Her stomach tightened, recalling the way he'd just walked out of the room the night her brother punished her. She knew deep down that Kastur would have been punished by Rowan also- he was supposed to be her guide to Polis, to keep her in check.

Astrid drained the rest of her wine and someone touched her shoulder. She looked up to see Arsenii standing behind her. She hadn't seen much of him, aside from at dinner, where he'd still glanced at her and given her a few lovely smiles. He offered his hand.
Astrid's face warmed and she shook her head, "I don't know these dances…"
He shrugged, as silent as his father, and his hand remained extended. He raised his brows, live a little, they seemed to say. Astrid gave a dramatic shrug and took his hand, tossing a small smile his way.

Even though she didn't understand the rhythm of the music, or the words that were being sung, Arsenii led her through the dances with ease, each of his movements sure and steady. It was hard to look away- not just from his face, but also from the contentment that radiated from him, and he looked at her so intently she had to wonder why. They danced until well after midnight; wild dances that weren't at all like the waltzes she'd learned in Azgeda. It was lovely and strange, and Astrid wondered as the hours passed that she hadn't strayed into some kind of dream.

When she eventually pulled herself away from the dance-floor, feet hurting, she smiled thankfully at him, and shook her head when he motioned with his arm that he might accompany her. What would he say- that is if he could speak- that the Princess of Azgeda had never been kissed? She'd killed men, but still never kissed anyone. It was ridiculous somehow, something that she should have gotten out of the way at some point, but she'd never been comfortable enough with the right person.

The following morning, when Meggan joined her in their dormitory, she was flushed and looked as though she had spent the night with her companion.
Meggan shot her a fierce glance as she entered the room and Astrid couldn't help but grin at her, "What? I wasn't going to say anything…"
"Good," Megan replied, "I got enough of it from the others while I was walking back here."
Astrid rolled her shoulders and sat up in her bed, "I'm sure Galus will get his fair share of teasing too…"
"No," Meggan barked back, her eyes surprisingly dark, "he won't. They'll congratulate him for a conquest well made."
"Well, it he worth the teasing?" Astrid asked, reaching her arms up to stretch.
"He's an amazing person, and as for a warrior he's taught me far more than I would have learned without him. So they can tease me all they want, but at the end of the day he's the one giving me the extra attention when we train."
This didn't sit well with Astrid, but she chose to keep her mouth shut. She instead stepped out of bed and headed to the water to splash her face awake.
"Besides," Meggan said, glancing sidelong at Astrid, "not all of us can so easily convince the Master to train us."
Astrid stomach twisted a little, was Meggan jealous of that?
Meggan spoke again, sharper than Astrid had ever heard her, "Oh! The noble, clever, beautiful, royal princess from the North has nothing to say?"
Astrid's throat tightened, and she cursed herself for feeling so hurt by the words.

After a long afternoon of training with the Master, Astrid was exhausted, emotionally more than physically. Meggan's gripe with her had taken it's toll, and she wished that they could take back what had happened. When she went to their dorm to change before supper, Meggan was there with a glass of wine in hand and a sorry look on her face.
"I'm sorry for this morning," Meggan said, glancing at the door as if she expected someone else to be here, "I have lots of friends here, but I consider you a true friend, and I'll be sorry to see you go."
"I still have five days," Astrid said, surprised at the gesture as she took the wine from Meggan's hand. Given how popular Meggan was, it was a little relief to know that she felt connected to their friendship too.
Meggan flicked her eyes to the door again, what was she nervous about?
"Try to remember me fondly won't you?" she asked.
Astrid chuckled, "I'll try."
They raised their glasses, and as Astrid took (what she thought) were two well deserved gulps, she had too thoughts.
The first was that Meggan's eyes had turned the same black as they had been when she'd snapped at her that morning. And the second- which explained the first- was that the wine tasted odd.
But Astrid didn't have time to consider what kind of poison it was before she heard her own goblet clatter to the floor, and the world spun once and went black.

Astrid felt as though a nail were being driven into her head, as she blinked her eyes open. She was tied up on the roof of the fortress, where she trained with the Master, and could see the chaos spreading before her. They were under attack, fires burned everywhere and shouts rang out, along with the clashing of weapons.
"Wakey wakey Princess," Meggan's voice purred out of the darkness, her eyes narrowed at Astrid.
"Wha-what's going on?" Astrid murmured, tugging gently at her hands to see if the ropes were able to be easily slipped, but Meggan knew what she was doing- she had made sure that Astrid's hands wouldn't be accessible to her for this fight. Astrid also noticed the long pair of daggers that were sheathed to Meggan's side, her daggers, Astrid couldn't believe the audacity.
"You really thought you would be able to walk in here, with a pass from your barbarian brother to train with the Master, and then walk away scott-free?" Meggan chuckled, as though she found the idea exceedingly humorous.
"What do you mean?" Astrid strained against the ropes again, the material burning her wrists, though she knew if she could get free, she could have the rope around Meggan's neck in a heartbeat.
With a loud thump, the door to the rooftop opened, and Galus stood staring at the pair.
"It's going well," he smiled broadly at Meggan, "soon we'll have a way out of here and we can take her to a safer location."
"Take me?" Astrid snorted, tilting her head to the side and regarding the trainer as though he were an imbecile, "you won't be taking me anywhere."
"Actually, you are wrong," Galus retorted, "a message has already been sent to your brother asking for ten thousand jewels in ransom, you're not my first hostage."
"And you're not the first arrogant ass I've seen ruin a deal," Astrid snapped back, "you've already admitted that you have no idea what you're doing by only asking for ten thousand."
He blinked at her and she knew that the ropes were not going to give, and so she supposed she had to delay the situations as much as she could.
"You think that's what I'm worth?" she laughed loudly, noticing the scowl on Meggan's face and the calculations in the trainers eyes, "that's nothing to my brother. The daggers that you've borrowed for example, cost five thousand each… frankly I'm insulted…"
"Stop talking!" Meggan shouted in reply, but Astrid was now on a roll, and the voice which her brother had warned her would get her into trouble so many times was now on full power.
"I can tell none of this was your idea," Astrid chuckled, gazing at Meggan as though she were the one tried to a chair in the middle of the freezing desert night, "nobody looks at you and thinks you're clever enough to come up with something like this…. but you do seem like you'd do anything for a bit of male attention…"
Meggan lunged at her, only held back by the man, "Let me go Galus!" she cried.
"You know," Astrid continued baiting, "the doe-eyed, insecure, needs-help-with-her-training type…"
Meggan's face was seething, as Galus stared between the pair of them, as though he actually wanted to let Meggan go and see them fight. He licked his lips and loosened his grip on Meggan, who took half a step forward before he grasped her again.
"We're partners!" Meggan screeched, indicating to herself and Galus.
"Sure," Astrid goaded, "but he calls the shots, from what I see."
"Oh because you're such an independent little Princess," was the reply she got, "what about the men in your life?"
"Where are you pulling that from," Astrid retorted, "I answer to no man."
"Except your brother," Meggan managed to steady herself, sensing she had the upper hand on Astrid and calming enough so that Galus released her gently, "or did you forget that he's the reason you were sent here with a busted face in the first place?!"
"What he did to me is going to look like one of our make-up sessions compared to what he will do to you when he finds out about this half-arsed plan," Astrid laughed in her face, "if he even bothers- now that you've asked for such a pitiful amount, I'm sure he'll think it all one big joke."
The final straw that broke Meggan landed and she lunged at Astrid, aiming to grab her by her hair.

At that moment, Astrid threw herself back in the chair, the weight of the girls combined enough to snap the back and allow Astrid to wriggle her still bound hands free before Galus and Meggan had even known what was happening.
"You bitch!" Meggan shouted, but Astrid had already grabbed a piece of the broken chair and slammed it into Meggan's thigh. She let out a cry, and Astrid used the opportunity to seize one of her daggers. But now Galus was running at her, Astrid backed as quickly as she could towards the edge of the rooftop, using the blade to unbind her hands and then pointed the dagger at his face.
"How many of you are working together to get a share of this ten thousand jewels?" Astrid asked, still able to hear the commotion between the assassins loyal to the Master who must be fighting Galus' own small recruits.
"Enough to get three out of here and to a safer location," he snarled.
"Please call them off," Astrid asked, her dagger lowering to his chest. Please don't make me kill you, was what she truly meant to say.
As Galus lunged at her, the door to the rooftop flew open again, and the Master and Arsenii stood, watching the pair. Astrid side-stepped, like a snake. Galus was fast, but she had to be faster, one strike was all it would take, just like the asp.

"You want to know what the Master taught me during all those lessons?" she asked to Meggan, who was pulled to her feet and disarmed by the Master himself.
"This," Astrid twisted, slamming her shoulder into Galus' torso. They collided with a jarring thud, and while Galus' weapon cut into Astrid's neck she twisted so that he were near the edge of the rooftop. He lost his balance and teetered back, and Astrid hit his finger with her dagger so hard his sword dropped to the ground.
In a flash, like a snake turning in on itself, Astrid pinned Galus face down on the roof, his face hanging over the edge so that he was looking down on his own recuits surrendering to the assassins. Astrid pressed her dagger into the back of his neck now.

She hadn't realised how silent the fortress was until she was kneeling there, one knee holding Galus down and the other braced on the floor. Blood seeped from where her dagger tip rested on Galus' tanned neck, and Astrid pushed harder until he sucked in a breath, closing his eyes. Astrid remembered to breath as a familiar hand fell on her shoulder, though this time it was bloodied from combat. Arsenii and a group of assassins surrounded them and chained Galus' hands together, tugging him away to the cells beneath the fortress with Meggan.

Still silent, Arsenii took her hand and led her to his chamber. They set each other's wounds and he stroked her wrists, now bruised from the rope. Astrid blinked at his gentle face and reached up to touch his own bruises, but they never kissed. Astrid did not mind the silence, but soon there was a knock on the door and a call that the Master would see her. Arsenii gave her shoulder a soft pat, and stared as she left.

Astrid entered his chamber, and sat down when motioned on an ornately carved wooden chare, watching the Master as he stared out of the window at the sky. She nearly fell on her face when he began talking.
"I am glad you did not kill either of them," he stated, his voice raw and accent thick with the rolling sounds of a language she had never heard before, "I have been wondering when they would both decide their fate."
He walked to a latch-work cupboard and pulled from it a letter. By the time he turned to her, Astrid managed a small smile.
"When you give this to your brother, hold you head high."
She took the letter, her recommendation. She couldn't help herself but to ask, "How is it that you are speaking to me now? I thought your vow of silence was eternal?"
"As far as I recall I've never taken a vow of silence, though the world seems to think so," he chuckled, "and there are some times when words are necessary."
She nodded, trying her best to hide her surprise when he added, "Also tell your brother that in the Red Desert, we do not abuse our family."
Astrid nodded slowly, and looked to the open window and the world beyond. For the first time in a long while she heard the sound of the Northern wind, calling her home. And she was not afraid.