Title: Tapestry of Challenges
Chapter: 1 - Battling Death
Author: Kitty
"..." Talk
'...' Thought
italic Dream
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or creatures from Tamora Pierce's books, however, I do own those I have made up for this story. I also own the plot. If you want to use names of my characters or any ideas based from my story, get permission first.
Summary: A new time is upon the kingdom of Tortall; a young woman who has gone against the rules of being a noble woman is in power with no suitor by her side. The age of darkness has begun to fade, but conspiracies are being born. Can Kalasin trust anyone but herself, or is everyone deceiving her?
Roald of Conté narrowed deep blue eyes at a figure in the distance. It was rough sees, a time for traveling ships to be cautious, but the figure which he assumed to be a ship was closing the large space between the two vessels quite quickly.
Shinkokami of the Yamani Islands walked up next to her newly betrothed husband. Shinko smiled up at the man beside her, her dark eyes twinkling. Though their marriage had been arranged, they found deep feelings for one another in the time spent together. The marriage posed as a treaty between the Islands and Tortall, but since the devastating times that crashed upon all kingdoms, a treaty was no longer needed.
Shinko's family and friends were destroyed as raiders attacked the islands, and no help could come to them. Due to this, it was Shinko's duty to restore the Yamani islands to they way things were before the attacks, and as her husband, Roald had insisted on coming with her, helping out in any way he could.
Seeing the troubled look upon her love's face, she looked out to sea, her eyes sight resting on the nearing ship. "Roald, what's wrong?" she asked, confused by his emotions.
Roald glanced down at Shinko, his arm slipping around her waist before he went back to studying the ship. "Do you see that ship out there?"
Shinko nodded.
"The build of it is different from Tortall's ships, and it's going fast for being on rough sees. The captain should be more cautious in this type of weather."
"It's no Yamani boat either, Roald. It's too large, and the wood is not the kind we use," the female muttered, her voice soft. About to explain more differences between her people's boats, and the vessel they saw, a gasp slipped from her lips. A blush crawled along her cheeks as she whipped out her fan to hide her face. It was disgraceful to show emotions, or so the Yamanis believed.
Roald looked down at the petite woman, holding her close. "What is it, Shinko?"
"Roald, look at their flag! It bares the insignia pirate raiders use!"
Roald pushed his black hair away from his face and focused on the flag. Sure enough, Shinko was right. "Stay here," he told her as he slipped his arm from around her. Turning on his heel, he took off at a run, calling for the captain.
Shinkokami did as she was told, though she wished she could have gone with him. Her hands were growing sweaty from being nervous, and small beads of perspiration clung to her body though the sea gave off a wonderful breeze. Swiftly, the ship approached their own, dirty looking men grinning and hollering at those on deck. The sun bounced off of metal weapons that the men grasped or had hanging at their side. Slowly, the female backed away from the side of the ship, her eyes wide with terror.
A callused hand raked through wavy auburn locks that crowned a lightly freckled, tan face. Brilliant blue eyes set under heavy brows gazed tiredly ahead as the party trudged onward in the day's heat. Merric of Hollyrose, newly appointed the Queen's Guard, took a swig from his flask as his sight rested upon Kalasin of Conté, the throne of Tortall's only heir and ruler left alive.
The Conté family had been destroyed in the second Immortal's War save for Kalasin and Roald. Roald chose to give up his title as the new king of Tortall and help his wife, Shinkokami, preserve what was left of the Yamani Islands. Roald's choice left Tortall in Kalasin's stead. Unfortunately, pirates ambushed them. Nothing was left from the battle save for some broken wood planks.
To honor her family's deaths, Kalasin wore an ebon ensemble every day, and she would continue to do so until the time of mourning was over. Today the female wore a silk charcoal-colored gown that clung to her every curve, including the small lump that was her belly. She wore her hair up in a horse's tail, her headdress pinned into her locks.
She was parading through the market strip of Corus to show not only herself to the public, but her new bodyguard. She had to make sure things continued to be rebuilt so her people would not grow more discouraged than they already were. Along the way to Corus, Kalasin encountered families in the process of repairing their homes, or tending to the few animals they had left. Multiple times, to her guards' disapproval, she stopped to help out, surprising those who saw her doing physical labor. It was unladylike, and though her work was appreciated, or so she hoped, she was always shooed off after a few moments.
Now that they were in Corus, she stopped to converse with the merchants as well as those who were there to make purchases. Merric let out a groan as she stopped yet again to buy some sweets for a child who stood staring into the window, admiring the variety of goods. The child was obviously too poor to buy some for himself.
'She's making herself an easy target,' he thought as he followed behind her. The first assassination attempt was to occur today. His azure eyes scanned the area before him; he had to be prepared to fake being unable to reach Kalasin in order to protect her. It wasn't that he wanted her dead, in fact, he liked her quite a bit. He was just doing what he had to in order to keep his lands and family safe from Cyril, a power-hungry, well-to-do man.
There, weaving throughout the crowd were the men who would carry out the murder. Merric glanced at Kalasin. Had she noticed them yet? No, she was too busy visiting with yet another vendor. Sighing, he began to back away from her to prepare for the attack. Another look at Kalasin pained him. If he allowed the assassination to occur, he would be helping the murder of not one, but two beings. Could he do that? He had become a knight to defend the helpless, not murder those who were innocent. But did he really have a choice now that Cyril was his enemy?
Shinko screamed when someone grabbed her. Turning to face her captor, she whipped out her fan and used its razor sharp edges to slit the enemy's throat. Small droplets of blood formed along the wound's opening. The man who had grabbed her let go, roaring with anger. As soon as he lost his grip on her, Shinko took off, raising the skirts of her kimono so her strides would be longer.
Roald stopped in the doorway of the captain's cabin. "Traitor!" he screamed as the captain ran one of the crewmembers through.
The captain settled his gaze on Roald, and ran after him. "Tortall is finished, as are you," he muttered, his sword raised.
Roald blocked the attack with his own sword, the clash of metal creating the tiniest of sparks. Remembering the years he spent training to be a knight, Roald took a step back and raised his leg. His foot made contact with the man's groin, causing him to double over and drop his weapon. Using another maneuver taught by the Shang Warriors, Roald was able to knock the man unconscious.
Hearing Shinko's scream, Roald's heart pounded. Swiftly, he made his way back onto the deck, slicing at those men who were foolish enough to get in his way. Blood now decorated his clothing. The specks that covered his skin were nearly dry, some pieces flaking off as he moved.
Shinko picked up her pace when she saw Roald emerge onto the deck. As she approached her husband, one of her slippers fell from her foot, causing the female to fall ungracefully to the ground.
Roald held out his hand as a pirate kneeled over Shinko. A beam of blue light flew from his palm and into the man's chest. The impact threw him off of the female as Roald went to his wife's side. "We have to get off of this ship!"
"There is no where to run to. Roald, they're too strong!"
Pulling the woman up, Roald frowned. Gripping her hand firmly, he pulled her up onto her feet and began to run with her to the other side of the ship. An eruption of flames appeared where they had been standing. Blazebalm, a jelly-like substance that turns to flame when a magical word is spoken, had been used to start the ship and its passengers on fire. The air soon reeked of burnt flesh, and shouts and screams reached the man and woman's ears.
"R-Roald, what's going to happen to us?"
Roald opened his mouth to tell her they would be fine when more explosions caused him to pull Shinkokami close to him. He felt himself flying through the air before he was surrounded by a cold darkness.
An arrow sped by, grazing Kalasin's cheek. Her eyes widened as she raised her fingers to cover the fine slit on her face. More arrows flew into the air, coming down upon the soldiers who tried to surround the female as well as merchants and purchasers alike. Everyone ran screaming, shoving one another. Fights broke out amongst shouting matches.
Kalasin felt herself being pulled aside as a dagger lodged itself into the wooden bars holding up a merchant's stall. Looking at her savior, she ended up face to face with Merric.
Merric pulled her along with him, mounting up onto her horse and raising her up into the saddle in front of him. Kicking the animal's haunches, they rode off down the road, the mare stepping on anyone that was in her way. Looking over his shoulder, he saw they lost the murderers in the crowd, and thus the first assassination attempt was spoiled.
"He did what!" Cyril cried out in fury. He shoved the dishes off of the table they sat on. Glass flew in every direction, and metal created a loud clang as it made contact with the floor. "That traitor will pay! Send men out to the nearest village in Hollyrose. Make sure they burn it to the ground, and leave none alive. I will not have him turning his back on me!"