The Squire and the Derelict
By: Caiti
Edited by: Juliette
Chapter 10: Destiny
"A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it."
-Jean de La Fontaine-
Summary: The war with Carthak has begun and Jzet has found that her life has changed drastically: a new knight master, new friends, and new enemies. Meanwhile, a girl seeks revenge against a man who has ruined her life. With the help of unexpected sources, she sets out to kill him one and for all. Sequel to Land Across the Emerald Sea.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Tamora Pierce owns it all. Jean de La Fontaine owns the quote.
Previously: Jacqueline has left Blue Harbor, made a quick stop at the Yamani Islands, and is presently in Carthaki City. She saw Nammir, lost control, and ended up killing a palace guard. Some guards chase after her and nearly kill her when…
Jacqueline thought it must have been a miracle from the god's because without any warning, arrows protruded from the two guard's throats. They both let out gasps of surprise and then fell to the ground, dead.
"Surprised to see me?" A familiar voice drawled.
"You!" Jacqueline growled.
Who saved Jacqueline? Find out now.
May 20th
Carthak City, Carthak
in the fourth year of the reign of King Roald of Conte II and Shinkonami, his Queen
482 H.E. (Human Era)
Jacqueline's eyes opened to bright sunlight. She was in an unfamiliar room with dirt, brown walls. It was mostly a bare room that only contained the bed that she was resting on and a book shelf filled with various scrolls and large tomes. There was a window in the room, though, and the sunlight that was pouring through it was blinding her. She turned her stiff neck away from the light and shielded her eyes with her right hand.
Where I am? She wondered and tried to sit up in her bed. Pain greeted her immediately on the left side of her body in her leg and shoulder. Jacqueline winced and rubbed her sore shoulder.
"Ah… so you are finally awake."
A tall man with thinning black hair entered the room carrying a plate of cracker like bread with cheese on the side. He looked friendly enough, except for the long scar that ran from his right eyebrow down to the middle of his cheek.
Jacqueline kept a wary expression on her face, even though she knew that she probably had nothing to worry about. After all, the man probably had multiple chances to kill her by now, but she continued to watch him carefully anyway.
"Do you want to eat?" He asked Jacqueline, after placing the plate at the end of her bed. He was unaffected by her cold facial expression.
Jacqueline ignored the question, despite her stomachs sharp protests.
"Who are you?" She asked in Carthaki.
The man smiled, revealing several missing teeth.
"My name is Malik Hashimi." He told her. "And this," Malik gestured to the room around her, "is my home."
Jacqueline nodded and studied the man's face for any signs of what he was really thinking of. What did he want from her? Money? Did he want her to be his slave? Jacqueline just knew there had to be an ulterior motive behind all of his hospitality. Malik wanted something from her. She was sure of it.
"How did I get here?" Jacqueline asked. She reached for a cracker and sniffed it.
"I didn't poison it, you know." Malik told her. Jacqueline could tell he was trying hard to hold back his laugher. That annoyed her. She grunted before taking a nibble of the cracker.
"See?"
"Fine, but you still haven't answered my question." Jacqueline told him with irritation, still taking tiny bites of the cracker.
Malik shook his head.
"Your friend warned me you would be like this."
"Like what?" Jacqueline demanded heatedly.
"Sharp tongued, cruel, bloody thirsty, and always looking for a fight," Malik told her, grinning.
"I am not!" Jacqueline cried angrily.
Malik chuckled, which annoyed Jacqueline even more. "Fine, I guess your friend was wrong." He told her, even though the grin was still on his face. "Let us get back to your original question."
"Lets," Jacqueline agreed. Glad that her patience wasn't thinning too fast.
Malik sighed and rubbed his chin.
"Let me see… how you got here… well I was walking home from the markets after purchasing some shafts for my arrows, when I stumbled across your friend. I had my bow strewn across my back for extra protection, so I guess he thought that since I was armed, I would be a perfect person that would help him rescue you from the palace guards." Malik paused to take a bite of a cracker. "Shakith!" He exclaimed, spewing crumbs, to Jacqueline's disgust, all over her bed. "I thought he was lying for sure, when he first explained the entire story. Women in Carthak rarely carry weapons and none are brave enough, or stupid enough, in your case," Jacqueline scowled, "to murder Zulch's own palace guards. I was tempted to tell the lad to scat, but my own curiosity overtook me. Women in combat are a rare sight indeed in this city and I didn't want to miss out. So, I followed him through the streets. Somehow, he knew exactly where you were, even though you had run deep into the city. Finally, we found you in the corner of an alley way. You were injured pretty badly and Zulch's two guards were about to finish you off. That was when your friend and I fired our bows and killed the guards."
Malik took a deep breath and continued on with his story. "After that we took you back to my home and hid you in my back room. Zulch's guards were searching for you throughout the city for you and Zulch himself even made an appearance in the city. He rode through the main street offering a reward of one thousand silver nobles. In my opinion, he looked frightened."
Jacqueline began to wonder why her appearance in Carthak City would upset the powerful immortal so much. She only had killed three of his guards. Why would that cause all this panic?
"Why would he be scared?" Jacqueline asked the man curiously.
"Well, Zulch has had a tight hold over Carthak City for the past few years." Malik explained. "Crime is very rare here and if it does occur, it is only a couple of rapes or pick-pocketing. Murders are another case all together. They only happen in this city maybe twice a year. They say if you murder, you'll live not too much longer after the victim. That is how good the guards are here in the city. They sniff you out quickly and you'll be hanging in the gallows by dawn." Jacqueline shuddered. She had seen her own Gift-created identical twin hung in Corus. She could still picture the massive amount of people that gathered to watch her turn blue, suffocate, and then die. It sickened her. "So, I think Zulch thinks someone powerful is here because they had enough skill to evade his men."
"More like a lot of luck actually," Jacqueline said.
"Yes," Malik nodded gravely, "you must be very thankful to have such a good friend, Miss."
Jacqueline was about to open her mouth to protest that she didn't consider her "friend" an actual friend, when he entered the room.
He drawled, "I am sure she is over-flowing with gratitude."
Jacqueline's hazel eyes narrowed at the appearance of the boy. Percival Mitchell Scoggin stood before them, his arms haughtily crossed against his chest. He was a fiery red head with stone hard blue eyes. He was a spoiled brat and his ice cold demeanor made him an unpleasant person to be around. Jacqueline wished it was anyone, but Percival that saved her life. She would have paid one thousand gold nobles just to be as far away from the boy as possible.
"Why are you here?" Jacqueline demanded coldly and sat up in her bed. "And why did you save me?"
Percival rolled his eyes.
"So much for being grateful," He mumbled.
"Oh wait, doesn't grateful mean choke you? Because I'd love to do that right now." Jacqueline retorted, repeating the exact same words he had spoken to her after she had freed him from the slavers back at Blue Harbor.
Percival shook his head. "You really think you're clever, don't you?"
"Actually, I think I am." Jacqueline replied smugly, mimicking the boy by crossing her arms over her chest.
"Yeah, clever enough to get yourself nearly killed." Percival shot back angrily, his arms falling to his sides to spite her. "You aren't immortal, you stupid chit. You just can't murder an innocent palace guard in front of thirty of his companions and not expect to be killed."
"Aw, it actually sounds like you care Percival. How sweet!" Jacqueline said with a fake sugariness in her voice and then sneered at him.
"It's Perry," The red head told her through gritted teeth. "And I don't give a damn about you."
"Then, why would you come all the way to Carthak City? Is it just coincidence we stumbled across each other, Percival?" Jacqueline called him by his first name to annoy him.
Perry growled angrily, but did not answer her questions.
Malik, who was now openly gaping at the two teenagers, spoke;
"I thought you two were friends!"
"Hardly," Jacqueline told him coldly. "I despise Percival with every fiber of my being."
Perry sighed and shook his head.
"I've only seen you a few times chit, but I never cease to be amazed by the depth of your cynicism and callousness." Perry told her with a sneer.
"Gods, I hate you, Percival. I really do." Jacqueline replied. She was very close to getting up out of her bed, injured shoulder and leg, or not, and strangling him. "You're such a stupid, immature, little brat."
He turned towards Malik, "See, what I have to put up with."
Jacqueline began to fume.
"Then don't put up with it, Percival. Leave." Jacqueline told him angrily and pointed towards the door. "I am sure your mummy and daddy miss you so much. They're probably waiting for you at home with a big tray of caviar and a sack of crowns for you to spend at the markets. Don't you miss your money- I mean your family?"
Perry snarled at her.
"You don't know anything about my life." He told her fiercely. "It's not as easy as it looks. At least you have the freedom to run around and fight and be friends with anyone you want. Ma and Dad locked me up, while I had tutors teaching me my numbers and poetry all day. I never got to swim in the ocean or wrestle in the dirt or ride a horse. You got all of that."
Jacqueline threw her head back in bitter laughter. If only he knew who she was and what life she led before her parents had been killed in that fire eight years ago. Then, he wouldn't be the one to talk. Her grandmother, before she died when Jacqueline was seven, had kept her stowed away in the castle every day teaching her to be ladylike, so she could nab a husband. At the castle, Jacqueline was hardly allowed to take a breath of fresh air, except when she snuck out on her old oak tree outside her window. Even when she did manage to escape to her tree, her grandmother always found out. She still had a long scar on her back as a memento of one of her grandmother's harsh beatings.
"What's so funny?" Perry cried, when her bitter laughter continued. "You don't know anything!" He repeated.
Jacqueline finally got control over her emotions and was able to stare at the boy with a stony face.
"You don't even know me." She told him quietly and saw images of her parents, Nammir, Queenscove, and Paul flash in her mind's eye. "You know nothing about me!" Her temper began to rise. "You don't know how much I had to go through just to get to this point, you naïve child." Perry cringed at her words. "So, stop your stupid sob fest and go home. Your face makes me sick."
Perry's shoulders slumped for a moment and for once Jacqueline thought that maybe he wouldn't brush off her insult with his usual ease, but then he stood up straight and tall.
"No," He told her firmly, his chin stuck out defiantly. "I am not going anywhere."
"Excuse me."
Jacqueline turned her head sharply in surprise, making the bones in her stiff neck crack loudly. She had almost forgotten that Malik was still sitting there. He spoke to them in a calm voice.
"I would like you two to stop bickering in my presence." The old man requested. He turned to Jacqueline, who averted her eyes towards the ground. "You fight with him as if he is your mortal enemy and treat him like dirt, even though he just saved your life. And you," He faced Perry, who's cheeks had turned a faint shade of red, "you egg her on and actually enjoy arguing with her. Shame on you!" Malik sighed. "I can not believe I let you two into my home. Tomorrow both of you will leave me to my peace."
Jacqueline watched with a touch of disgrace as the Carthaki man got up and briskly left the room. After he was gone, she twisted around to glare sharply at Perry.
"Thanks a lot Percival," She snapped. "If I go out onto the streets of this city, Zulch's guards will surely find me," She shook her head, "idiot."
Perry ignored her and collapsed into a chair.
"So, what are we going to do?" He asked.
"We?" Jacqueline nearly shouted. "We aren't doing anything. I am going to leave this city then return when everything quiets down. You are going home to Blue Harbor and one day you will thank me for talking some sense into you."
The boy shook his head.
"That's not going to happen." Perry told her stubbornly. "I am sticking with you."
Jacqueline, who was taking a bite of cracker, began to choke. Perry sprang up from the chair, thumped her on the back, and she soon was able to breath properly again.
"See? I saved your life twice. I think that makes me worthy enough to follow you." Perry told her determinedly.
Jacqueline sighed.
"Is that why you are in Carthak City?" She asked. "You followed me here?"
Perry nodded. "I don't exactly like you and I don't even know your name, but I know someone who is going to live a life with more adventure and excitement than most. I wanted that and that is why I followed you."
"You call nearly getting killed every other day exciting?" Jacqueline said with a scowl at the boy's foolishness. "The things I do are dangerous," She thought of the madness that had overtaken her when she spotted Nammir in front of the palace the other day and then added, "and mostly stupid. I wouldn't be doing them either, if things in my life had turned out a little bit different."
Perry shook his head.
"I don't care." He told her.
Jacqueline knew she had to control her quickly rising temper before Malik threw them out on the streets now, instead of tomorrow. It was hard though, when Perry was being a stubborn, insufferable prick.
"Look… I really have no plan." Jacqueline explained to him. "I don't even know what I want to do here." She wasn't about to tell him about her connection with Nammir and that her deepest desire was to kill her Uncle. "I am basically going anywhere my feet take me without any clue of my future. I am a derelict, Perry. I have no home, no future, no money, and no job. You don't want to live like that, especially in a war torn country like this one. So, my advice to you is to head home to Blue Harbor where you belong."
Perry scowled.
"How many times do I have to tell you, chit? I am not going back to Blue Harbor." He said. "There is nothing you can do or say to make me change my mind."
Jacqueline sighed, exasperated. At least she had tried to reason with him.
"Fine, but that doesn't mean you're following me." Jacqueline told him coldly. "I have always been on my own. I don't have traveling companions, especially a foolish, naïve boy like you."
Perry huffed and shook his head.
"You really think you can survive here on your own?" He asked with a roll of his eyes. "You were only in Carthak for twenty minutes before you found trouble. What if trouble finds you again? Who is going to be there to save you?"
"Certainly not you," Jacqueline informed him scornfully.
Malik reentered the room with a frown visible on his face. He ignored the two bickering teenagers and fetched a tome from his bookshelf. After shaking his head at both of them, he departed from the room and left silence behind him.
"You're as stubborn as me." Perry remarked, while breaking the deafening quiet that had befallen the room.
"Just go away." Jacqueline told him icily, not even bothering to meet his eyes. She stared out the window and into the blinding Carthaki sun. She didn't care how much it hurt her eyes; she just couldn't stand to look at the brat anymore.
"Fine," Perry said gruffly and left the room, while muttering incomprehensible things under his breath.
Jacqueline sighed for what felt like the tenth time that day and leaned back into her pillow to help her relax. She then took a sip of water from the cup that Malik left her, to soothe her throat, which had become raw from arguing with Perry. After doing this, she tried to stretch out her muscles, but they only screeched with soreness. Jacqueline grumbled about her misfortune with injuries, shaded her face from the scorching sun, and then fell back to sleep.
Jacqueline dreamed again about the young Carthaki girl. Jacqueline's mother might have stopped appearing in her dreams, but the small girl did not. Every night Jacqueline was forced to watch the child be whipped by Nammir, while she pleaded Jacqueline to help her. It was sickening, but it only bothered Jacqueline to an extent. Usually, she just pushed it from her head after she woke up and got on with her day without another thought about it.
Someone jarred her from her dream by shaking her roughly around the shoulders. Jacqueline winced at the soreness in her left shoulder and then, springing into action, she whacked her attacker across the face with her right hand, hard.
Jacqueline immediately realized that it was dark out. The Carthaki sun had long since disappeared below the horizon and a sliver of the moon was covered by clouds. Jacqueline's Maroon Gift flared to life, filling the room with a steady glow of light.
She got out of her bed, still wary and saw that Perry laid sprawled out on the floor, a red mark visible on his face. Jacqueline smirked at the boy, who was now moaning.
"What was that for, you crazy woman?" He demanded, as he got up off the floor. He rubbed his cheek that Jacqueline's had punched and was scowling deeply.
"First of all Percival," Perry cringed, "I don't like surprises. Secondly, I don't appreciate being woken up in the middle of the night." She told him tartly and then growled, "This better be good or you'll be sorry you ever laid a finger on me in the first place."
"It is!" Perry insisted. "I swear. Just follow me to the kitchen. Malik is waiting for us."
Jacqueline rose from the bed, her stiff body protesting every effort, and made her way to the kitchen. The old man, Malik, sat there at a table. A large tome was before him and he was reading it, deeply indulged in its contents. After a few moments, Perry cleared his throat and the Carthaki jumped.
"Shakith boy!" He cried, clutching his chest. "You scared me." He then noticed that Jacqueline was standing there and actually grinned.
What happened to throwing me out of your house? Jacqueline wondered, thoroughly confused about what was going on.
"Sit down, both of you." The Carthaki man ordered them and each pulled up a wooden stool. He pointed to a paragraph in the book that was on the table and told her, "Read it."
The Warriors of Free Carthak were a secret society formed after the harsh ruler, Azmin the Terrible, came forcefully to power in the year 202 H.E. (Human Era) when he dishonorably slaughtered Emperor Samad and his family while they slept. Shortly after he began to rule, Emperor Azmin decreed a cruel set of laws upon the commoners and taxed them until they were forced to give up their homes. The Warriors of Free Carthak soon rose up from a secret society to a unified rebellion in 203 H.E. Their leader, Hadi Hashimi led the Warriors of Free Carthak in open combat against Emperor Azmin in the Spring of 203 H.E. and sheltered many families from the Emperor and his men, during that period of time. Unfortunately, Hashimi was killed in a battle during Mid Summer of 204 H.E. and his second in command, Jakil Guata, shortly took over. Guata then led a march of ten thousand men and two hundred women to Carthak City. They wreaked havoc there and captured Emperor Azmin. Emperor Azmin was then tortured in front of a large crowd, had his entrails removed, and then beheaded.
Jacqueline looked up after reading and stared at Malik.
"What does this have to do with anything?" She asked crossly. She couldn't believe Perry and Malik had woken her up to read about this piece of gory history. It meant nothing to her.
Malik cracked another grin. It was almost wild.
"We have thought of a plan." He told her, motioning towards Perry, who was now grinning impishly also.
Impatient, Jacqueline growled, "Well… what is it?"
"You have seen this land, girl. It is destitute with the immortal ruling over it." Malik said and Jacqueline could not help, but to nod in agreement. However crazy the old man, he was right. Carthak had gone to the dogs in the last four years. "Children are starving. Men are begging in the streets. Women are turning towards prostitution. Carthak needs someone to unite the people, so that we can win our country back from Zulch. The King of Thieves, instead of helping the people of Carthak, hides behind his men in a village twenty miles away from here. He watches his people, the commoners, starve and does nothing."
"So…" Perry glanced cautiously at her, even going so far to meet her eyes. "We decided you would be the perfect candidate to form the new Warriors of Free Carthak and liberate the land from the immortal."
Jacqueline felt her eyebrows rise in surprise.
"M-me?" She spluttered, shocked. "I am Tortallan and a woman. No Carthaki man or woman in a million years would ever unite under me." She couldn't believe her ears. These two were absolute numbskulls. First of all, she was half Tortallan. Tortall was the country Carthak was now openly engaged in warfare. People's sons in this land were dieing at the hand of her former countrymen. Secondly, she was a woman. Women in this country were looked down upon in this country, even more in Tortall. They were constantly hidden behind veils and never wielded weapons. It would be near impossible for her to be accepted in this country. "That is the most ridiculous idea I have ever heard. Are you two mad or were you both drinking something strong when you came up with such a ludicrous plan?"
"Neither," Perry answered her dryly. "You said you needed something to do until you could return to Carthak City. Why not this?"
"I never said anything about risking my life for a bunch of filthy…" She was about to say 'commoners', but stopped herself. Perry and Malik would just question her even more. "Whatever…" She mumbled and then announced, "I'm going back to sleep."
Perry and Malik grabbed both of her arms and yanked her back down, hard, onto her stool. Jacqueline struggled fiercely against their grips, but they held on tight.
"What in Mithros are you two doing?" She cried. "Let me go!"
"Shush!" Malik told her, glancing nervously towards his front door. "Or I will give you up to the palace guards!"
Jacqueline growled, "Are you blackmailing me to comply with your own personal desires, old man?" She was irate and was no longer holding back her emotions. "You have no idea what I could do to you right now. How easily it would be to kill you." She felt Malik's grip on her arm slack in fear. But to be safe her, maroon Gift still itched underneath her skin, ready to be used.
"Don't be foolish." Perry warned her sternly and then drawled, "What we're trying to explain to you is more important than your own selfish desires. So, stop acting like a stupid wench and listen."
Jacqueline snorted at his words and rolled her eyes.
"Yes…" Malik began and both he and Perry removed their hands from her arms. "We know that the reason that you are here involves Lord Nammir of Amar."
Jacqueline felt her fists clench at the sound of her Uncle's name and a cold sweat started to trickle down her forehead. How did they know about Nammir? Had they figured out who she really was?
Apparently the surprise of the mentioning of Nammir was splattered across her face because Perry explained, "You mumble his name a lot in your sleep."
Jacqueline silently cursed.
"What do you want from that noble?" Malik asked. "You tried to get to him at the palace and you obviously dream about him. Who is Lord Nammir to you?"
Jacqueline shook her head. If only they had any idea who her Uncle Nammir was to her. She felt her hands begin to tremble in fury. They had no idea what he did to her.
"We've crossed paths before." Jacqueline said gruffly and then added. "He and I have certain issues to resolve."
"I assume those 'issues' can be only resolved by gutting him with your sword?" Perry asked with one eyebrow raised.
"Yes," Jacqueline mumbled, whipping the sweat that had accumulated on her forehead off. "I still don't see how this has to do with anything-"
"My gods, chit," Perry drawled, cutting her off, "stop whining like an incompetent child. We're trying to get to our point, but you keep interrupting us. So shut your fat gob and listen."
Jacqueline scowled and thought sourly, I wish I could whack him across the face right now. That would show him not to speak to me that way. Despite these thoughts she murmured, "Fine," and sulkily crossed her arms over her chest.
"So… let me go over what we've covered so far." Perry said which made Jacqueline groan loudly. "Silence!" He told her sharply. "First of all, you obviously need to settle some kind of score against Lord Nammir of Amar. You might not know this, but Lord Nammir is Zulch's right hand man and handles the countries affairs."
"'Countries affairs' means everything that isn't military." Malik explained to Jacqueline, who nodded slowly, wondering what Perry's point was.
"Well… wouldn't it just ruin Zulch's military campaign against Tortall if the commoners rebelled?" Perry told her with a smirk. "I am sure lil' Zulchykins wouldn't enjoy that all. In fact, he would be mighty pissed off at your friend Nammir. Besides that, if our little coup is successful enough for us to take over the capital, we could have Nammir's life ended in a very painful way. Wouldn't that be so much easier than just throwing yourself at the palace guards and hoping you'll get lucky enough to get close enough to the bastard to stab him, before being killed yourself?"
Jacqueline considered this for a moment and then stubbornly answered,
"No,"
Perry snorted loudly and replied angrily,
"Why the heck not?"
"It could take years before anyone could gain, not just enough power, but the loyalty of the Carthaki people. As I told you before, it would be especially hard for me. I am a woman and Tortallan. That is the worst combination in the book, Percival." Jacqueline told him tersely. "It would be much easier for me to just wait until Nammir leaves the castle again and then strike."
"So, you can lose your life?" Malik questioned her, looking troubled by her words.
"I've lost enough because of him and his brother already." Jacqueline told the old man, not even bothering to remove the bitterness in her voice. "I would die a satisfied woman, if he died alongside me."
Perry shook his head.
"My gods, chit, you are so incredibly morbid!" He hissed. "Don't you see the adventure and the glory that results from my and Malik's plan? Even if you lost your life in the process, at least you wouldn't shame your ancestors and die like a complete fool."
Jacqueline sighed. She was tired and her muscles still ached.
"I'll think about it." She told them and rose up from her chair. This time they did not stop her. "Goodnight Malik," She bowed her head towards the Carthaki man and then faced the bratty boy. "Your lordship, Percival,"
"Your sarcasm is wasted on me, chit." Perry informed her sourly.
Jacqueline ignored him.
"I would wish you a goodnight if I knew your name, Miss." Malik told her.
Jacqueline decided that she was going to continue to use her alias from Blue Harbor. It would be much easier for her to remember the name 'Rose' as she was used to having Paul and Trick call her by that name. She hoped that adjusting to having everyone else call her that wouldn't be too difficult.
"It's Rose, sir." Jacqueline said.
"Then goodnight Rose,"
It was hardly a 'goodnight' for Jacqueline. The moment her eyes closed for the second time that night, she returned to the dream that had been plaguing her for the last two weeks.
It started off the same, but the regular scourging scene faded away until it left her at the gates of a riverside town. The town was deserted. Windows and doors were boarded up. The docks contained no ships. All that was there was the wind, picking up sand and dust, and throwing it against the empty buildings.
A hand grasped her shoulder, causing Jacqueline to jump in surprise and spin around.
A plain looking Carthaki woman with wavy, chestnut colored hair stood behind her. She was dressed in a light sun dress and a wicker basket tucked under her arm. Inside the basket was a pile of dead flowers.
"Who are you?" Jacqueline asked roughly.
She did not answer the question and instead picked up one of the brown flowers from the basket.
"You forget your mother's words so quickly Jacqueline of Blue Harbor." The woman told her in a voice that did not sound human. It was too pure, too numbing.
"I'm sorry?"
The woman laughed. It was a barking laugh that sent shivers up Jacqueline's spine.
"Stop with this charade of stupidity, Jacqueline of Blue Harbor." The woman advised her sternly. "The path she spoke of that you must take is right in front of your nose. It is so easy for you to grasp now, but your own selfish heart makes you pull away from it."
"What path?"
The dead flower suddenly became dust in the woman's hand.
"The one to light, dear girl!" The woman cried with frustration. "You are not dense, Jacqueline of Blue Harbor. You are quite sensible when you want to be. So either take the path that the boy, Perry, and the man, Malik, have laid in front of you or else…"
Jacqueline felt her insides clench. Was this woman threatening her? She was just a figment in her dream. She could not scare Jacqueline into doing anything. She wasn't even real! And yet… she knew so much about her...
"Or else what?" Jacqueline asked warily.
"I will make sure that you never see your parents in the Peaceful Realms."
Jacqueline felt numb for a mere second. The woman knew where to hit where it would hurt her the most. After the numbness that seemed to take control of her brain dissipated, Jacqueline began to wonder about the amount of power this woman really wielded. Was she a goddess? Did she have the power to take away her parents from her in exchange for a damning eternity?
"I thought the gods did not force their wishes down upon us mortals?" Jacqueline argued. "Don't I have free will to do what I want? Besides, that plan that Perry and Malik devised is ridiculous. It's not even worth any of my time or my energy. I'll be killed, before I can even gain an ounce of respect or power."
"You'll have the gods on your side Jacqueline of Blue Harbor." The woman told her. Her voice was now becoming strained, as if she was holding back a part of herself. "Ganiel, the dream god, might have all his coppers in Squire Jzet of Queenscove's basket, but the rest of us need a little more insurance in case his plan fails. The Fitrakis are powerful immortals, especially Zulch. It will be difficult for one girl to defeat him. Even if her country succeeds in reaching Carthak's shores, it will still be a challenge to penetrate the capital." The goddess smiled down at her. To Jacqueline, though, the smile did not reach her eyes. "That is where you come in." Jacqueline gulped. She did not like where this conversation was going. "If you form the Free Warriors of Carthak, it will be easier for the Tortallans to weaken the Carthaki military and thus, eliminate that cursed immortal once and for all."
"The Tortallans are greedy. They would claim all the glory for themselves and leave the Carthaki people out for dry." Jacqueline told her icily.
"Oh, so you do care about someone besides yourself." There was a twinkle of amusement behind the woman's bright blue eyes.
Jacqueline scowled.
"I don't give a damn about any of them." She informed the goddess.
"So you say…" The goddess smiled again, which only irritated Jacqueline more.
Jacqueline put her hands on her hips.
"What do you want from me?" She demanded.
"To lead my mother's people back to prosperity." The goddess told her and then sighed. "I am not one that plays by the rules, Jacqueline of Blue Harbor." She picked up another dead flower and it turned to dust in her fingers. "The rules that the Mother and Mithros set up, I ignore. You will do my bidding, girl."
"What if I don't want to?" Jacqueline snapped. Nervousness rose up in her stomach. She did not like the threat that was implied the goddess' words.
Without warning, pain exploded in her head and made her drop to her knees. She writhed in the dirt in anguish for a few seconds and then, suddenly, it disappeared completely.
"You are insubordinate, Jacqueline of Blue Harbor. I will not put up with it." The goddess informed her crisply. Her voice was so harsh and loud that Jacqueline yelped and held her hands over her ears.
"I-I'll pray to Mithros and tell him what you've done." Jacqueline panted, rising up from the dirt, only to find the same burst of pain engulf her body. This time the pain was more powerful. She fell to the ground again and screamed in agony.
"Do that, and I will kill you." The goddess told her darkly. Her bright blue eyes had turned to hard black rocks, with red around the edges. "Do not underestimate the powers of gods and goddesses Jacqueline of Blue Harbor." Jacqueline opened her mouth to speak, but an invisible hand slapped her across the face with such brute force that she laid in the dirt once more. "When you wake up, you will tell Perry and Malik that you will lead the Warriors of Free Carthak and then follow their instructions. They will tell you what you need to do next." Suddenly, it seemed like a dark shadow cast across the goddess's face. "If you don't…" She picked up a dead flower from the basket which immediately turned to dust and the wind picked it up, blowing the debris into Jacqueline's face. "I will make you into dust, just like this flower."
Jacqueline felt the fear consume her body. How could the gods let such a monster walk amongst them? She didn't even know what goddess this woman was. She knew the wicked woman was not the Great Mother Goddess; at was for certain. There was nothing 'motherly' about her, instead brutality was her nature.
"Before you go…" Jacqueline's weak voice said. "Who is your mother? I don't even know what goddess you are."
The goddess looked clearly insulted. Red seemed to empower her pupils. Jacqueline braced herself for another slap or pain.
She received it. An invisible foot collided with her ribs. She gasped in pain and saw tiny red and white lights cloud her vision.
"You don't even know which goddess presides over this land?" The goddess roared.
The goddess was no longer the plain Carthaki woman that she had first met. Now, her hair had transformed from a shade of brown to black as night and it was curly, held in a high bun on the top of her head. Her eyes were now completely red and demonic. She no longer wore a sundress, either, instead a blood red gown. The appearances of the tattoos on her arms were the most disturbing. There was a snake on each arm and they seemed to crawl beneath her skin.
Jacqueline had never seen such a beautiful, but cold and evil creature. She knew that fear should have gripped her heart and paralyzed her, but it didn't, instead she mumbled,
"No need to get so angry about it."
She immediately regretted her words. Pain engulfed her body again and she didn't even resist the urge to scream. It was like fire was consuming her body.
"The Graveyard Hag is the goddess of the Carthaki people, you stupid chit!" The goddess cried. "I am her daughter, Chiwa, Princess of Death and Harbinger of Suffering." There was a rumble in her voice that shook the land around her. "Do not underestimate me, Jacqueline of Blue Harbor! I will know if you defy me!"
Suddenly, Jacqueline was released from her dream and gasped, as her eyelids fluttered opened. To her discomfort, Perry and Malik were both standing next to her bed, their faces filled with worry.
"What in Mithros's name happened to you?" Perry demanded. "We tried to wake you, but you wouldn't even rouse." He suddenly shivered, even though the room temperature had to be over eight degrees. "Why were you screaming? It was so loud Malik had to put a silencing spell on the room."
Jacqueline winced in pain, as she tried to inhale.
"I think I broke a rib." She told them, her face scrunched up in her anguish. Her rib wasn't the only thing hurting her at the moment.
"In your sleep?" Perry cried. "How is that possible?"
"The gods interfered, didn't they Rose?" Malik whispered softly and touched the scar on his face. He made it look like an absentminded gesture, but Jacqueline began to wonder how he really received it.
She decided to pretend that she did not hear Malik's last question and announced, almost cringing, "I have decided to try and resurrect the Warriors of Free Carthak." And then added in a mumble, "Gods help me,"
The next week was spent with Malik who was educating Jacqueline on how to achieve her task, that to her, seemed impossible.
There was just so much to do in a short period of time. So much that Malik demanded of her. She began to doubt her own abilities and wondered if it would just be easier to let Chiwa just kill her. She stayed strong, though, with her desire to bring an end to Nammir fueling her.
Malik kept her so busy that she hardly had time to rest. He made her read up on the history of Carthak, he taught her words and hand signals members of the Carthaki Rogue used, and he even educated her on what desert plants would keep her alive for a few days, if she needed it.
"How do you know so much about the Rogue?" Jacqueline asked one night after they finished learning the Rogue hand signal for 'mage'.
Malik sighed.
"I was once in the Rogue myself, as a lad." He told her. Jacqueline could hear the bitterness that cloaked his voice. "I actually rose all the way to the top. I was the King, but I found myself fearing for my own life. I trusted no one, afraid they would strike me down at any second in their quest for power. So, like a coward, I ran away one night. I changed my name and my appearance. I took up healing at a local infirmary and lived my life in fear. I was afraid the Rogue would come for me, but they never did."
It looked painful for the old man to talk about it. His face was scrunched up and it looked like tears might escape his eyes at any moment.
"I'm sorry." Jacqueline murmured.
"Don't be sorry, girl." The old man told her wearily, collecting himself. "I lived a better life, once I was clean. A life that was filled with caution and fear, but still, it was a life. It was better than dieing before I could turn twenty."
Jacqueline nodded. "Do I need to be the Rogue to gain the loyalty of these people?" She asked quietly. "Is that why you are teaching me so much about them?"
Malik didn't look at her and instead, kept his eyes glued to the table. "I am afraid so." He said. "It is the only way for you to succeed. The people look up to the Rogue and wouldn't dare question your mission, if you were in charge."
Jacqueline sighed. She'd suspected for the last few days that being the Rogue was the only way for her to gain authority, loyalty, and power. Being in the Rogue was tricky and dangerous business. It was another weight she had to add to her shoulders.
"I will try my best, then." Jacqueline mumbled, with a sigh of her own.
Perry and Jacqueline departed from Carthak City a week later in the dead of night. It was a sorrowful good bye between the two teenagers and Malik. He had been good to them, taught them everything they needed to know to survive in this strange and foreign land, and he'd saved Jacqueline's life. She wished that the old man could come with them, but he told them that they needed someone that they could trust residing in Carthak City.
"May all gods watch over you, Rose." Malik hugged her good bye.
Not all the gods, Jacqueline thought with a cringe, as Chiwa's face formed in her mind's eye. She would give up anything so that Chiwa would watch anyone, but her. She knew that was not the case, though. That the goddess was probably observing her right now, waiting to find any reason to inflict more pain down upon her.
"Remember everything I taught you." He told them. "And please try to refrain from bickering the whole way there. I wouldn't be pleased to find out you two killed each other in a duel, before you could even reach Azania."
Azania was their destination. It was the small town where the Court of the Rogue currently resided. There, Jacqueline's real struggles would begin.
"We won't." Perry promised, though the mischievous smirk on his face told Jacqueline that she would probably have many arguments with the younger boy and not just on the way there.
"Farewell, and good luck,"
Jacqueline and Perry turned and waved good bye to the old man, both knowing that there was a possibility that they would never see him again.
"Stay safe Malik." Jacqueline called, while readjusting the knapsack on her shoulders. The straps of the knapsack felt strange on top of her brand new tunic, which was knee length and forest green colored. What was even stranger was that she no longer wore boots, but instead straw sandals.
"So this is it." Perry said after Carthak City was out of their sight. His eyes were fixed on the horizon. "It is finally time for us to set out on the path the gods intended us to walk, when we were just tiny babes."
"So, you believe in destiny?" Jacqueline asked her new traveling companion.
"Yes," He nodded slowly, "yes I do. Every man, or woman in your case, I believe has his or her own destiny." Perry told her. "The only imperative, though, is to follow it and to accept it, no matter where it leads him or her."
Jacqueline nodded, sighed, and then looked up at the desert sky. Tiny stars sparkled above her, lighting the dirt road that seemed never ending to her.
The time for her to either accept her destiny or die trying to following it had come.
FYI- Chiwa is the African word for "Death"
I appologize once again for the lateness of this chapter. I've just had so much in my life going on. Junior Prom, my birthday, AP exams, Finals, End of the year projects, Soccer, and Track. So yeah. sorry.
But on a happier note, I would like to thank my faithful reviewers: 0Rosina0, BACswimma, egret, nativewildmage, Uncertian Destiny, stoictimer, On top of cloud 9, Erytha, danishgirl, jesi ki kage, princess-eli
you guys are amazing!!
Next chapter should be up soon. I am almost done with it. Since I haven't updated in a while I will tell you guys one thing. Jonathan lovers will like this chapter a lot.
Bye for now,
Caiti and Juliette