Chapter 12
"Hi," Schehera greeted the first prince of the Kou empire with a smile as if it was just like any other day.
"Hello to you too," he replied lying on his back with the princess sitting on his torso and her grip around his throat as if it was business as usual. "I heard your carriage disappeared on its way back to Huang, rumour has it that you were attacked by bandits. Koumei went looking for you and imagine my surprise when we find the carriage but no Schehera."
"You don't sound surprised," Schehera pointed out.
"No," Kouen admitted. "What I found puzzling was the question of which bandits were stupid enough to attack your carriage, it seemed unlikely that you were dead and even more unlikely that you'd been kidnapped. There were no dead bodies around the carriage either, no signs of fighting as all."
"What'd you do?"
"I asked your brother," he replied, a logical course of action. "He said you were travelling."
"I was," Schehera lowered her head to dodge another fire ball. Where were those things coming from? she wondered. "I was mainly travelling through the western continent, what about you? What have you been up to?"
"War, family business, the usual," Kouen answered. "Sometimes one and the same." A stalactite hanging above them from the ceiling began to loosen from the vibrations and heat. "Koumei was frantic about finding you until he got your letter, how'd you managed to sneak it into his bedroom in the imperial palace of all places? It's in one of the heaviest guarded places in all of Kou, the world maybe."
"I have people," said Schehera. The stalactite lost its grip to the ceiling and began falling towards them, Kouen moved so fluidly and nonchalantly that it was almost as if he didn't notice the impeding danger, he sat up and lifted Schehera in one arm. She let go of his neck but held onto Kouen's collar as he stood up and carried her a few steps avoiding the falling rock formation.
"You've gotten fat," the prince said bluntly.
"It's all muscle," Schehera quickly replied. "That or your just getting weak with your old age." With pleasantries aside the two resumed their usual activity of insulting each other. Kouen let go of her, prepared to dump her onto the ground however she held on to his collar and dragged him down with her, they hit the floor with the full force gravity could provide. When the prince glared at her she smiled. "You were the one who let go," she told him defensively. All that was needed was for him to grab her pigtail for it to become another fight between children, before Kouen could respond the kindergarden teacher arrived.
"Scherhera?" Koumei exclaimed in surprise when he saw her. "What are you doing here?"
"Koumei!" Schehera squealed and raced into her best friend's arms hugging him tightly.
"Suck up," Kouen said quietly as he got back in his feet. Koumei glared at his brother however before he could tell him to stop Schehera snapped back with.
"You're just jealous," she told him. "You're so jealous."
"Am not!"
"Enough!" snapped Koumei, he sighed, these were two of the most intelligent and brilliant individuals he knew, however when they so much as entered a room with each other they turned into squabbling children.
"You're really greedy you know," Schehera told her fiancé as the three of them navigated their way away from whatever was throwing the fireballs. It seemed that majority of the prince's guards had died during the initial assault and they were now separated from the rest of the group. "You already have a djinn, now you want another? Aren't you worried the first one's feelings will be hurt and leave you?" However Sinbad came to mind, guess there would always be someone worse.
"Power is power Schehera, besides what does it matter to you?" asked Kouen. "You're the last person I'd expect to try and conquer a dungeon, poke at it with a stick maybe but not conquer it."
What to do? Schehera didn't know whether to lie or not, however how would she say 'need power to stop dad and then stop you' without appearing like the enemy. She needed the dungeon's strength and needed to reach the treasure room before either of the princes. Kouen aside, she didn't know if she was more of a king candidate than Koumei. She couldn't afford to lose to them, above all she couldn't let Kou get stronger, but what was the point? Even if she had a djinn, so did Kouen, so did Kou… at the end of the day, how would Huang come out the other end the victor? While he never treated her with any of the consideration and care one would expect from a fiancé, Schehera was engaged to Kouen, could she convince him? Did she even want to? With herself now the sole heir, either when she married him would Kou take Huang, or she'd end the engagement when she was crowned queen and he'd just come along and invade the place. At the end of the day it seemed to be a matter of WHEN Kou would take over Huang not if. No, she couldn't think like that, right now, her father came first.
Her father…Schehera stopped in her tracks, she thought about her brother, how much she loved him, how much he loved their country, how that very country turned its back on him. She hadn't cried since she found out that he had died. She didn't feel anything because she was still in shock, jumping head first into a dungeon certainly made light work of that barrier.
The sudden realisation of her situation was overwhelming, her brother was dead, Scheneizel was dead, her only sibling was gone… Schehera let out a sob, tears she couldn't stop began falling from her eyes, it hurt, her chest hurt so much. She was scared, she was frightened, she was angry, she was frustrated and she was sad, she missed him so much…
"Schehera?" asked a surprised Koumei. Schehera tried to explain the reason behind her tears, she didn't want him to think of her as any more of a mad woman than he already probably did, but her voice was stuck in her throat, she couldn't speak. It felt like someone had grabbed her chest and squeezed, like someone had stabbed her multiple times in the abdomon. Her knees gave way and she fell to the stone floor, she didn't care that they were in danger, the sorrowed ached throughout her body, it was like nothing mattered, her body refused to move, it refused to do anything but cry and mourn.
"Stop it," Schehera told herself between sobs. "Pull it together, stop it, stop it, stop it." Koumei stood paralysed, in the second he took to recover from not knowing what to do Kouen was already kneeling beside her and wrapping his arms around her shaking body.
"It's okay," he told her quietly, carefully picking her up in his arms. She had gotten heavier during her travels, however despite his joke from before she was still so light that he could carry her with one arm, but there was more to her now at the very least. Growing up every time she visited Kou she was always terrifyingly thin, due to stress and anxiety she never had much of an appetite and struggled to keep food down. Kouen suspected that she was making herself sick on purpose as a coping mechanism, to feel some sense of control over her life but like everything else he noticed, such as the bruises on her body, he never said anything. It wasn't his place, there was nothing he could do about it, he was in a similar situation himself so he understood that pity would only make her angry. However it almost became a mission for Koumei to feed and fatten her up as much as possible during her visits. While Kouen would make fun of his brother's nagging and mothering nature deep down he was glad, he doubted she would respond as well if it was him shovelling food onto her plate, no doubt she'd throw it back at him. Schehera wrapped her arms around his neck and held onto him tightly, her tears dampening his robes. "I got you," he assured her. "It's okay." But it wasn't…
Kouen carried his fiancé in his arms as they continued to go deeper and deeper into the heart of the dungeon. She had calmed down enough to stop trembling however she had buried her face into his chest, refusing to come out. Despite their bickering the two actually got along quite well, perhaps even better than others, she was perhaps the only one who was willing or able to challenge him and like they say, fighting brought people closer? Koumei was the younger brother, he had a duty to obey, one which Schehera did not, at least not until they were married and even then it was unlikely.
After a while Kouen said. "You want to get over yourself any time soon?" He asked. "Your heavy and my arms are getting tired."
"Piss off," Koumei heard Schehera whisper, however she motioned for Kouen to put her down.
"What happened?" Koumei asked when he did, Schehera focused on her best friend with a resigned look in her eyes. "Schehera?"
"My brother's dead," she replied calmly. "My father had him executed on the grounds of treason… what's that?" Her attention had been diverted by a small sprout growing out if the ground. "How cute," Schehera remarked crouching down and poking at it with a stick.
"Oh, I see...wait, what!?" exclaimed Koumei. "What happened?" He demanded. Schehera ignored him and continued to admire the small plant, meanwhile Kouen's mind was already turning with scenarios. "Schehera!" said Koumei firmly. "What happened?" Schehera sighed and proceeded to tell them everything she knew, from what Charon had told her to what she saw herself proper up on a spike on the capital wall. "Maybe it was-" Koumei began to say, trying to comfort her however his brother glared and shook his head, they both knew she wasn't mistaken in what she saw, trying to suggest otherwise would be pointless.
"Is that why you're here then?" asked Kouen. "You want to use the djinn's power to stop your father?" Schehera didn't reply and just nodded. "We'll I can't allow that to happen, we didn't journey all this way to have it taken by you."
Schehera smiled up at him. "I had a feeling you'd say that, which is why I'll respond with, let the best royal win."
Kouen reached for his sword to use his metal vessel, it didn't matter that she was a friend or his fiancé, right now her actions went against his country's prerogative and he had to stop her. Koumei reached for his own, however before either of them even reacted Schehera had already moved. Her reflexes and physical ability were by far superior compared to either of theirs, she grabbed Koumei's fan from his hand and yanked Kouen's sword from his belt before they could use their metal vessels, without them they were just ordinary men and ordinary men she could easily beat.
"Damn it," Kouen cursed. He tried to activate his abilities from a distance however unlike Schehera, neither of them were aware that they had to be in physical contact with their metal vessel to invoke it, during her travels Sinbad had somehow lost his and as a result none of his household members could use their abilities either.
"Sorry gentlemen," she said with a smile. "All's fair in love and war, and I needed to even the playing field." She threw the two metal vessels above their heads where they became caught in the cracks within the carved stone walls. "Should take you two a little while to fetch those, a little longer if Koumei decides to help."
"Schehera!" Kouen growled, glaring at the princess. Schehera met his glare with an intensity that made even the first prince falter, her smile had disappeared and her beautiful face held eyes that looked to belong to someone else, someone who had lived a million years.
"I won't say I'm sorry," she told them. "Because I don't believe I've done anything that needs to be forgiven. I am fighting to protect my world, just as you're fighting to protect yours. There is no right or wrong here, just victors." With that she turned and left, moving deeper and deeper into the dungeon, leaving the princes to retrieve their metal vessels.
Schehera ran as fast as she could, she needed to hurry, it wouldn't take them long to climb the walls and retrieve their weapons so every second counted, if she could just reach that treasury room before them then the djinn would be hers. Power would be hers, power… the word rang in her ears, yes, power, that was why she was here. That was why she just abandoned her fiancé and her best friend, for something as frivolous as power…
She needed power to stop her father, but beyond that, what good was it? To stop Kou? To protect Huang? She had a duty to her people to free them from her father, but beyond that there was nothing… Her running slowed to a jog, she didn't ask for help from Koumei because she knew it came at a price and that price was Huang itself, she didn't want help, she didn't want saving, but it wasn't HER that needed saving it was her people, her country, her lands… Even if she stopped her father, even if she managed to stop Kou's invasion, they would come back and try again and again and again. She could fend them off now with the djinn's power but not forever, it was Kouen after all. He said the same things that she heard Sinbad say, to change the world, for a better future, words like that had no meaning to Schehera, she was far too concerned with the costs that arouse in the present as a result. What use would a better future be if there was no one to live in it? Rather than focusing on how to change what would happen, why not focus on now? Why not try to change what was happening now? Schehera knew she was guilty of it as well, waiting for Kouen, waiting for someone else to change her life. No more, in this moment she was focused on now, she was focused on what she could do to change her world now. But was what she doing now the right thing?
She knew Kouen wouldn't budge, Kou had their eyes set on Huang, her brother knew it, her brother also knew it would be impossible to stop, he intended to integrate Huang into the Kou empire and live as a son-in-law of the Ren royal family. Schehera believed herself to be nowhere near as intelligent as her brother, if he saw no hope, how could she? After all no matter how fond of her Kouen was, no matter how much Koumei loved her, they was ambition and driven, she could see what Huang would mean to their future plans, she understood it and she hated herself for it. Why couldn't she be ignorant of their thought processes and fight the battle blind? It would be so much easier… She knew and understood how much of an impact Huang could have on the Kou empire, the small tiny nation was wealthy, with skilled artisans and above all due to its natural terrain it would be a perfect place to land an attack to the rest of the east, Balbadd in particular. Her jogging slowed further, she could see the treasure room doors right before her. All she had to do was run towards them.
What was she to do? There was no point in fighting, no point at all, it was inevitable… Inevitable, Kouen would inevitably get what he wanted, what Kou wanted… Kouen, did Kouen know? A thought suddenly occurred to her, did he know? Did he know that she knew his grand plan? That she knew how futile fighting would be for her? How hopeless her situation was, did he know that she understood her current position? Despite his attitude towards her, Kouen never once treated her as an idiot, he knew she was intelligent and well read, they shared their love for knowledge and along with Koumei spent numerous nights pouring over books and the wealth of information they possessed. He also knew she was short tempered, that she could be reckless and that she was fickle, could this come across as short sighted? That she could be so blinded by anger and grief that she wouldn't understand the consequences of her actions? If so then there was hope after all, for her people and for herself as well. There was a way out of this marriage, there was a way for her to protect her people, but not her country…no matter, she never really liked being a princess anyway. She would be free, she could return to Sinbad, travelling recklessly around the world.
A smile spread across her lips, she stopped, she stopped running. She never wanted the djinn's power for herself, she didn't need it, she didn't want to change the world, to become king. To her, it was a tool, one that she could use to get what she wanted, however it wasn't the only way. Her own pride blinded her, she didn't want to go to Koumei for help but the one to pay the price wasn't her, it was her country, and it was a price that needed to be invested for the future. If Schehera wanted any kind of hope for her people she needed to stop running.
Kouen was furious as he ran down the stone pathway towards the treasure room doors after having to retrieve his metal vessels from the crack in the ceiling, it wasn't the fact that Schehera managed to get the upper hand on him but the fact that he had let his guard down to allow for it to happen that upset him. While he trusted his fiancé the two of them were royalty from neighbouring countries and as a result their fundamental nature was to protect their own nation, he had a responsibility and a duty to his people that preceded his own personal feelings yet he allowed them to cloud his judgement, and to make matters worse, she didn't. Schehera, the princess who spent the last year and a half running around doing whatever she wanted, was able to separate her personal attachments and her duty in a situation where he couldn't. THAT pissed him off more than anything else.
Koumei was more worried about what would happen between his brother and best friend when they DID catch up to her, like Kouen he wasn't upset at what Schehera had done, he too was royalty after all. As a prince he was entitled to a life of privilege and luxury, his own personal feelings were of no matter. His father was Emperor, as such, he had to obey. If he had a choice he would had volunteered himself to be engaged to the princess of Huang instead of his brother who already had someone he cared for. If he had a choice he would stop his father's intentions of invading Huang and he would spend his days pouring over books instead of running around chasing dungeons. He had no choice, and neither did Schehera. This wasn't personal, however no doubt that wouldn't stop the two of them from trying to kill each other.
"Do you think Prince Scheneizel was executed because of his meeting with you a couple of weeks ago," Koumei asked.
"Most likely," replied Kouen. "We're not the reason he's dead Koumei. He approached us, it was his plan not ours, he dies as the result of his own actions. And no," he added knowing what was going through his brother's mind. "She doesn't blame us. You heard her, as she described what was going on, she was resolved, she intends to stop the man who killed her brother."
"He's her father, her king," Koumei pointed out.
"So?"
"There's only one way to stop him."
"Indeed, what is your point?"
"Schehera, despite what he's done, she loves him, he's her father after all. I don't think she'll be able to kill him no matter how insane the man might be."
"Schehera might not be able to kill him, but the princess of Huang will, she has no choice."
"You're highness!" the two stopped to see a dozen or so of their solders trapped and held down by some large plant with vines. The thing treated the men like playthings, picking them up and tossing them around.
"That's new," Koumei commented, suddenly recalling Schehera and her interaction with a small plant very similar to the monstrosity that held their men hostage. He wondered if she notice and stop the same thing happening to them? "We have to help them," he said to his brother's exasperated expression.
"I know," Kouen growled as he drew his sword.
When they finally managed to free their men and reach the treasure room doors, to their surprise they were still closed and Schehera sat in front of them. Kouen immediately drew his sword and pointed it at the princess, the soldiers followed suit, those who still had a sword at the very least.
"That was quick," she remarked lightly. "I take it you lifted Koumei on your shoulders to get them down? Or did you toss rocks to dislodge them? Do tell, I'm honestly curious."
"What are you doing Schehera?" Kouen demanded. It made no sense, why hadn't she gone in? Why was she outside waiting for them? What was her plan?
"Theses doors, if I open theses doors, power is within my reach. I'd have the ability to stop my father, to protect my people." She looked up at the large double doors, they were beautiful, like the rest of the temple-like dungeon, stone and carved with script and stunning imagery. They scared her. " I need strength in order to stop my father… what do I do? What would you do?" she asked them, her voice meek.
"If you're asking if I'm hurt at what you've done, I'm not," Koumei quickly replied. "It was nothing personal, I understand that, WE understand that."
"I don't really care," said Kouen. "A good punch to that smug mug of yours and I'm all good."
"Of course you don't care, you have no heart," Schehera pointed out.
"And you have no soul," said Kouen, despite their exchange his face remained practically expressionless. "You should have entered those doors when you had the chance," he said raising his sword. "I will cut you down if I must, hope you understand, nothing personal."
"Of course," Schehera assured him, she had long prepared herself for the fact that one of them night not make it out if this dungeon alive. The soldiers began moving forward, standing between the princess and the two princes with their weapon's drawn.
"Brother," Koumei pleaded. "Please stop." Kouen ignored him. Schehera didn't move from her spot, instead she raised a hand at the on coming soldiers and those at the front were pushed back by an invisible force. Using his sword Kouen sliced through the intense presseure before it reached him.
"Ki manipulation," he commented. "A trick you learnt at Kou I believe, however if memory serves it was never strong enough to forced a platoon of men back, you've been training."
"So have you, cutting through it like butter, I was confident that I could make you take a step back at the very least," Schehera replied.
"Schehera," Koumei cautioned, picking a fight and posturing was one thing, however if things went too far he knew that his brother would respond in kind.
"There's a reason why I did't go inside," said Schehera calmly. "You're right Kouen, I'm the last person to try and conquer a dungeon, to seek power, why? I don't want it," she told them. Schehera looked down as tears watered her eyes, she gripped her fists, holding something in one hand. The confident facade that she covered herself with was cracking.
"What are you trying to say Schehera?" asked Koumei.
"I'm saying what's the point!?" Schehera shouted, her voice breaking. "I am angry, so angry right now, at my father, at my country! But above all my brother for leaving me behind! I want power, I want the strength to put an end to my father's reign! I want to crush my enemies and I want to destroy those who have wronged me! But what's the point?" Tears trickled down her cheek. "What's the point when all it will lead to is more anger and hatred? I loved my brother but I am a selfish person, always have, always will be. I won't let his death destroy what makes me me, I won't let it change who I am! I will stay true to myself. This ends with me," she looked Kouen in the eyes. "Take it, all of it, the djinn, Huang, I don't want it. Any of it." she wiped her tears with her sleeve. "What's wrong with simply wanting to be happy?"
"You're giving Huang to me?" Kouen asked, Schehera laughed.
"Of course that's all you heard," she said with a smile, looking at Koumei she added. "Not without conditions, you'll write the peace treaty for me won't you? And not completely screw my people over?"
"You'll GIVE it to me?" Kouen repeated. "Now how do you plan on doing that?"
"Once my father is gone I'll be queen," said Schehera calmly. Koumei's jaw dropped, gone? Did she understand the implications of what she just said? Her father was king, abdication did not exist in Huang, there was only one way she would take over, and that was through her father's death.
"What if I say no?" Kouen asked. Koumei quickly turned to his brother's direction, no? There was no reason for it, so why? He recognised the look in the crown prince's eyes, excitement. He was testing her, pushing her to her limits, he wanted to see what she had planned. The bloody adrenaline junkie! Koumei always suspected that his competitiveness with Schehera wasn't rooted in hate or anger, it never made sense why he was so antagonistic towards her from the very beginning yet looking at his brother now, how did he not see it? It was fascination, her every action, her every decision interested him. Kouen had a love for solving puzzles and there was no greater mystery to him than Schehera herself.
Schehera smiled a teary eyed smile, and held up what she was holding in her hand, it was the end of a piece of rope and a small metal contraption filled with liquid. "Do you know what this is?" she asked. The prince's eyes followed the bit of string up along the walls, ceiling and across the ground between the soldiers and the princess, there was some type of dark powder spilling from some sections and a distinct odour. "This bit of tubing has a little something known as gunpowder inside of it," she informed them. "I picked it up while in Reim, fascinating substance, when I set it on fire I can produce a controlled explosion that will bring the ceiling and walls down." The smile vanished. "You two are clever boys, no doubt you'll survive it, your men however," she eyed the solders. "Not so lucky. If you say no, I'll collapse this tunnel and enter that treasure room alone. I don't want power, but I'll take what I need to survive."
"You wouldn't dare," Kouen pointed out. Schehera hated war, she hated fighting, she just said it herself, she'd never intentionally harm anyone, she was kind, she was soft, at least that was what he though. Not the princess in front of him right now, she was resolved, determined. Prepared to pierce a blade through her own father if the situation demanded it.
"Try me," she replied. They stared each other down, Kouen with his icy cold glare, Schehera counted with a confident smirk, things would escalate and no doubt get bloody, that was until Koumei intervened.
"Enough!" the prince's voice startled the two of them. "You two, honestly… there are people's lives at stake yet here you are playing a game of chicken!? You childish imbeciles."
"Childish?" echoed Kouen.
"Don't lump me in with that chinless baboon," Schehera immediately snapped back.
"You two are the EXACT same!" said Koumei, gravely offending both of them. "You're proud and you're short sighted." He turned to his brother. "We can have Huang without a war, yet you refuse because SHE suggested it and you didn't have to bleed or fight for it."
"Now listen here-"
"You!" Koumei cut his brother off and focused on Schehera who jumped. "You're so determined to not let go of the upper hand that you're threatening to blow me up along with my brother!"
"Technically you'd be crushed by falling debris-"
"I'd still get hurt, same thing!" snapped Koumei. Schehera bit down on her lower lip and nodded.
"I guess…"
"You two can go at each other's throat all you want, you haven't change in 15 years and I don't expect you two to, HOWEVER don't endanger MY life and the life of OTHERS in your games! Got it!?"
"Yes sire," the crown prince and princess replied in unison, the two met each other's eyes like children enduring a scolding from their parents.
"Now put down the rope of gun powder," Koumei demanded. "I'll draw up the damn peace treat myself for you if it makes you feel any better." Schehera lit up at the news (a poor choice of words), no doubt her best friend would write it in Kou's favour however she trusted him to be fair to her people.
"Putting the exploding tubing down right now," Schehera said with a smile as she laid the rope and lighter on the ground.
"Sword, sheath, now," Koumei said to Koumei who did as he was told as well.
"Now what?" asked Schehera.
"Now we go inside," replied Kouen stepping over the rope and strolling past Schehera to push the treasure room doors opened. The treasure room was exactly as the name described it, from gold coins to pearl necklaces and other valuables, it filled the room from ground to the enormous ceiling with mountains upon mountains of treasure.
"Which one is the djinn?" asked Koumei.
Kouen held up his sword, a light shone from the hilt and pointed to silver necklace with sapphires the same shade as Schehera's eyes, the moment the crown prince touched it the necklace glowed and smoke bellowed from the piece of jewellery.
"Who seeks to become king?" a female voice asked. A beautiful woman with long feathery hair and pointed ears appeared, her eyes carried a trace of sorrow about her, and the large and very ornate headdress resembling the sun framed her face. She was also adorned with several necklaces, however aside from her jewellery, Schehera couldn't help but notice that she was completely naked. "My name is Phenex, the djinn of healing."
"I am Ren Kouen, first prince of the Kou empire, I seek to become king," said Kouen stepping forward. The djinn's eyes scanned the room, looking from the soldiers to Koumei, Schehera and finally Kouen himself.
Schehera said nothing and did her best to hide behind Koumei and out of sight, however Phenex noticed her and smiled down at the princess. "Fear not, I will not choose you to become my king vessel," she assured her. "If I were another djinn, I would pick you over Kouen. You radiate life and joy however my abilities are not campatible with you, rather than healing others you should heal yourself first. Your heart has been subjected to so much hurt that you see the pains of this broken world as a given. You need to understand that you are no monster, just a victim of your circumstances. You have what it takes to be an incredible ruler my dear, deny it all you will, however power seeks those worthy to wield it and it will seek you."
