Chapter 33
Reyson breathed in the almost foreign smell of oak and fresh leaves. It had been so long sense he'd been anywhere near that crisp and clean smell. There was nothing to compare to it. Not the mountain tops or salty sea of Phoenicis. This was his home, an ocean of trees and the softest newly grown grass that whistled against a softly blowing wind.
He used to think that he'd never be able to see his home again, but not only was he standing under its high birch and oak trees but the cicadas hiding under leaves and the decorating petals of lilies sang to him a playful harmony.
Reyson did not disturb them and the rising of their tunes was not a disruption of his languid amble. He knew he only had this night to enjoy the forest. In the morning all would have to leave. The Begnion empress sought to make peace with the herons but it would still be a long time before the rest of the Beorc could accept the herons reclaiming their home. It was safer to remain in Phoenicis for the time being, and Reyson was eager to bring Leanne to their father. But that could wait a day, on that night he just wanted to memorize every sight and sound of his beloved home before he left. The prince didn't know how long it would be until he saw it again.
Reyson made it to a far edge of the forest where the trees in the area began to thin. Finally he came to a clearing with nothing but a meadow of golden grasses and the spotting of clusters of white and yellow tiny flowers that danced in a breeze. The bright full moon was a lamp that allowed Reyson to see clearer than he could on any moonless night.
Tibarn was standing a short way in the distance in front of the only tree in the surrounding area. It was an old maple sycamore tree. It had a shorter trunk that branched quickly into four thick branches with its heavy cluster of green leaves that hung low enough to barely graze against Tibarn's head.
Reyson called out to the king but there was no response. Tibarn held his hand against silky white trunk and traced a faint crack as his lips moved to murmur to the aged tree. "Tibarn?" Reyson asked as he placed a hand gently on his shoulder.
Tibarn jumped and glared through the night at Reyson only to immediately apologize, "You startled me."
"That's a first." Reyson mused quietly.
Tibarn gave a weak smile, but he was too consumed in his thoughts to offer much more. He turned back to the tree as his hand continued tracing phantom trails up and down its broad trunk.
Reyson could see the tension in the hawk's back as he clenched his jaw for a moment. He sniffled and then cleared his throat, "Reyson I just, uh." Tibarn couldn't find the words he needed, there was a rush of memories making it difficult.
The prince put the king at ease and held his palm up to stop the king from stuttering anymore, "You want to be alone." The prince easily guessed. Tibarn sighed guiltily but did not deny the prince's claims.
"Don't worry. It's her tree isn't it? And this is the place-" Reyson paused, not wanting to finish that sentence and the grim truth it held. He glanced down instead at the wide roots that were raised a few inches above the ground and saw a bundle of tulips and roses resting at the sycamores base.
Tibarn saw Reyson's gaze and his eyes fell sadly, "I just wanted to give her some flowers. I didn't get to the last time I was here."
The prince hung his head, the last time they were there was the night of the massacre. He bent over and plucked a white flower with its face turned to the pale glow of the moon. Its petals folded out like a trumpet with the pattern of a light yellow star in the middle that circled its ivory stigma. He placed it on the ground with the rest of the flowers and then heard Tibarn chuckle sadly, "Moonflowers."
Reyson was still looking at the trunk and said a little prayer to himself in memory of all that was lost on that night twenty years ago. "Those were her favorite if I remember correctly."
Tibarn nodded silently, "Yeah they were. I didn't even notice them there." He admitted with an unhappy choked laugh.
The heron stood all the way and gave Tibarn an affectionate pat on the back before leaving the king to his thoughts. He was sure there were many things the king needed to say on his own and Reyson was fine to leave him and wander further into the forest to entertain his own thoughts.
His walk lead to some left over ruins in the middle of a circle formed by oak trees. It was a stone archway with cracks crawling up its sides to reach the top that was carved with images of birch trees. He walked under it and could remember playing tag with his sisters and friends. Laughing until he felt his lungs burst and then Luna would scold him for pushing his young heron body to hard. But He and his sisters hardly listened and even Naesala had been there at that time.
He spread his wings and flew to the top to sit down and just watch the life that had returned. It was the longest stretch of darkened forest shaded by night with streaks of the white lunar light. Moonflowers, chocolate daisies, and evening primroses that sparkled in the night rolled like a sea of glowing waves in the moonshine.
Reyson closed his eyes and let his mind drift only to have his slowly approaching sleep interrupted by a feint whistling that grew louder and louder. He recognized the song as the Galdr of rebirth. He looked down and saw the blue-haired archer from earlier. If he remembered correctly, her name was Ikyna and she was the rather opinionated sister of the mercenary commander.
She continued to whistle and Reyson observed her without a word. Ikyna was taking a casual stroll, a grin still on her tune playing lips. Ikyna hadn't realized anyone was in the forest with her as she spread her arms to the sky. "Good evening Mr. Forest!" she shouted cheerily as she spun.
Her mouth was open to continue her conversation with forest when she let out a small yelp. She teetered as she halted her spin and held her mouth open as she spotted the prince perched on the stone archway. He regarded her passively but said nothing. He wanted, for reasons he couldn't explain, to talk to the girl. He frowned in the darkness and tried to convince himself that it was strictly for observation purposes. He had no real reason to be interested in her, even if she had saved his life or if her hair reminded him of the deepest ocean waves.
"Sorry I didn't see you there." Ikyna said with an embarrassed shrug as she realized she'd been caught doing something shameful. She gave a rushed and awkward bow and then rubbed the back of her head with a chuckle, "Good evening white prince." She paused to tap her lip thoughtfully, "Or is it prince Reyson, or his majesty or-" Ikyna rubbed her hair in embarrassment as she fumbled for the right thing to say.
Reyson did his best to control the snicker threatening to trickle out against his will. He'd searched for a while but Ikyna was proving to be just as straight forward and genuine as he thought when he first met her. It was amusing to watch as he placed his hand over his mouth as casually as he could to cover his grin.
"What would you prefer to call me?"
Ikyna's eyes dilated and the prince could see her face darken even in the night, "I don't know." She scuffed her shoes against the grass, "I don't really know how to handle royalty. I don't usually want to give them these silly titles like lord or lady. But I feel like I should with you."
She shrugged at her own explanation, signaling that even she didn't fully understand her reason. "Well I guess I feel that way about King Tibarn too." She added after a beat.
Reyson agreed, "He's certainly earned my respect, I can understand why you'd feel that way." He placed his hands back at his sides and gripped the edge of the archway and leaned forward enough for his face to catch a streak of moonlight. "As for me, Reyson is fine."
Ikyna felt her face warm in the cool night air. "I see." She answered as she found her mouth unable to say any more.
"So," Reyson began, wondering why he felt the need to continue the conversation at all, "do you make it a habit of talking to the forest?"
Ikyna tilted her head and grinned, "I see you caught me doing something embarrassing." She placed her hands behind her back and started strolling around the archway slowly. Her fingers slid across the ancient stone as she circled it, "I don't know if I'd call it a habit. This place is just so beautiful I was just kind of imagining what a forest would be like if it could talk."
"It can talk. I can hear its voice" Reyson said softly to her.
She stopped to stare at him and watched him with widened luminous eyes. Reyson shared her glance and watched as her surprise turned to a smirk, "Are you teasing me Prince Reyson?" She asked while folding her hands over chest and raising a skeptical brow.
"Not at all." He responded seriously.
Ikyna made a 'hmm' noise as she processed the information then she nodded to herself, "Yeah, I didn't peg you for a jokester."
"Oh really?" Reyson asked with intrigue in his voice. He leaned down and looked into her eyes as she looked up into his, "Then what did you peg me for Ikyna?"
Ikyna couldn't see as well as she liked but there was a definite smirk on the prince's face. There was something playful in his expression that she hadn't seen earlier that day when she rescued him. She turned away quickly, trying to gain her composure that was being lost every time that emerald eyed prince looked her way.
But she couldn't hide much from the prince as he read her heart. He could see a mixture of her embarrassment and happiness. She was like an open book, but it wasn't that she hid much from him when they first met. Ikyna had given him an earful and the prince had an inkling that, that was just her personality. A complete straight shooter that wore her feelings on her sleeves.
"I kind of thought you'd be this gentle soft spoken heron." Ikyna admitted and broke Reyson's distracting thoughts. "But you're certainly not that." She added gently with a soft smile.
The sudden tender roll of the archer's voice shocked him. He couldn't understand why she had this obvious affection for him as she spoke without knowing him for more than a day. She really made no attempt to hide her feelings, or maybe she couldn't. "Are you disappointed?" he asked although he knew the answer already.
"Not at all." She said while shaking her head quickly, "I like people who break the molds. Just because everyone says the herons are all meek and docile doesn't mean you have to be."
Reyson laughed to himself. He was definitely not like his other heron brothers and sisters. If they could see him now, with his loud and sometimes brash speech, rather reckless and stupid stunts, they'd probably faint from shock.
He sighed loudly, "That's true, I feel like I've been with Tibarn so long that I'm hardly a heron at all."
"You sure look like a heron." She mumbled sardonically, "But whatever you are seems fine to me." And then she smiled wide enough for her teeth to shine at the prince. Reyson flushed and cleared his throat loudly to break the bonding moment he felt was approaching. He mentally scolded himself.
What was he doing enjoying her company when all he said he would do was observe her? He changed the subject quickly to cling to a shred of his heron dignity. He couldn't believe he was being taken in by a Beorc's smile.
"So," he began, his voice still scratchy from the exaggerated throat clearing he had done, "we were talking about the voice of the forest."
"Oh right." Ikyna said as she clapped her hands together to regain her focus. She'd barely caught herself staring at the prince as she caught his face sitting under the moonshine for a second. His golden hair was catching light like the evening primroses that were blooming under her feet. He was one of those unrealistically pretty men.
He's even prettier than me
She complained in her mind. "So what does the forest sound like? Is it like an old man's voice?"
"Why would it be an old man?" Reyson asked incredulously.
"I don't know." Ikyna laughed at how ridiculous her question sounded when asked back to her, "Because it's old I guess." She lamely reasoned with a shrug and a smile.
Reyson chuckled but quickly caught, "Well, it's not really a voice."
"Then how does the forest talk to you?"
Reyson put his finger to his chin, he'd never really thought of it. Since he was a child it had always been part of the heron way to understand the forest. But it wasn't like there were words that he could specifically distinguish.
"It just kind of does." He started unsurely, "But not like an actual voice, I just know what it's trying to tell me." He groaned as he struggled to explain something that just occurred naturally to him.
"It's okay, I get what you're saying. It must just be a heron thing." Ikyna offered as a conclusive explanation.
"Yes I suppose."
"I get that. I mean not heron things, but Ike and I have twin things you know?"
Reyson's quirked eye was visible even in the night, "Twin things?"
"Yeah." Ikyna began, "But nothing weird like if I pinch myself Ike can feel it or anything. We just kind of get each other even if we don't say anything."
"Well I don't have a twin, but I can read people's emotions and their hearts."
"You what?" Ikyna exclaimed and quickly covered her chest with her hands as if they would protect her feelings. "Were you doing that?" she asked mortified.
Reyson couldn't help but let a short laugh escape as he tilted his head back and looked to the moon. Her response was too funny, "Who knows." He responded ambiguously with a secretive grin.
Ikyna frowned, unsure of what the prince had or hadn't seen. She'd hoped she hadn't thought of anything too embarrassing. It was probably too late to worry at that point. If he'd seen anything it wasn't like she could take it back. "You're very sneaky." She complained childishly.
That only made Reyson smile wider as he looked back at her, "See, not much of a heron."
"A sneaky heron." She said bitterly under her breath but her mood quickly lightened as she saw the prince's smiling face. "You're looking rather smug." She said with a smirk.
Reyson would have liked to pretend he wasn't laughing but the archer really had a way throwing him off his entire plan. From the time she saved him and berated him until now she was surprising him and he found himself enjoying it.
"It's nothing, you're just entertaining."
"I don't know if that's good or bad." She commented but was still looking cheerful.
"It's just different. I don't really talk to humans much." Reyson saw Ikyna flinch at his comment. The word had slipped and he hadn't meant to say anything insensitive. "I'm sorry, I mean Beorc. I'm still not used to that word. Beorc have been my enemies for such a long time. I didn't mean to offend."
Ikyna looked a little shaken but sighed and then flashed the prince as saddened smile, "It's okay. It's not like I don't understand where you're coming from." She pulled on the ends of her hair with a small frown, "What the Beorc did to you, to this forest, if it had been me and my family I wouldn't have been able to forgive them."
Reyson heard a harsh edge to her speech and saw her emotions clouded with a dark memory. Her father was there and a dark knight. He could sense a lot of agony and anger warped even further by a longing for revenge not much different than what he had wanted just earlier that day. He turned away from her as he felt guilty for peering into thoughts and feelings that felt so private. There was much more to this girl then he could account for anymore.
"You don't seem like the type to hold grudges." Reyson said.
Ikyna let out a heavy bitter breath, "I don't think I used to be, but Beorc kind of made me this way."
"Beorc."
"Well not all of them." She stated as a qualifying statement, "But sometimes the things Beorc do is so frustrating. Like the Senator and the Daein army." She made an annoyed growling sound, "I mean how can they attack and kill people with no regrets? You should see what they did to some of the places back home." Ikyna's face was scrunched in a scowl, "And then what they did to this place? I swear the things Beorc do sometimes. We just storm in like we own everything and-" she paused and sharply turned her head to a lining of trees as she frowned.
"What's wrong?" asked at the sudden and abrupt change in Ikyna.
Her face was scrunched as she continued staring into the night covered forest, "I don't know I thought I heard something." She asked and could not mask her own confusion at what she was saying.
"Heard what?" Reyson asked as he turned his head to wind.
"I don't know." She answered with uncertainty. Ikyna couldn't remember what she'd heard but she had a distinct feeling that something was wrong.
The prince tilted his head, "I don't know what you mean, I can't hear anything at all."
"Yeah…me either." Ikyna's voice faltered as she heard her own words and it struck her, what was wrong. She couldn't hear anything, nothing at all.
Her body tensed and she stiffly walked away from the archway and scanned the area apprehensively. "Where are the cicadas? Where are the crickets?" she asked nervously.
Reyson couldn't understand why she sounded worried as she asked the questions but he strained his own ears to answer her. Nothing called to him; his forest had suddenly gone silent like it was dead again. "I don't know." He said in confusion.
"Is everything okay?" he asked as he sensed the archer's uneasiness.
"Stay there." She said without answering his question. Not that she had to, Reyson knew her answer was a yes by her lack of a response. He watched her eyes as they searched the forest. Her playful blue pools were back to the sharp eyes of the killer he had seen earlier.
Ikyna tried to relax her muscles but they were tightened and alert as the prepared for the danger that she knew was there. She was reminded of hunting with her father. He had always told her that the forest can tell you many things if you just listen. Ikyna knew that a quiet forest was never a good sign. If the forest went still, something was there that didn't belong, but she just had to find what it was.
"This forest is more annoying back to life than it was before." Someone grunted behind the sound of a blade hacking through foliage.
"Yeah, n'how did that happ'n anyway?" another voice said with a scratchy laugh.
The first person answered, "Maybe it was the singing."
"Ha, how could singing do n'y this stuff?" scoffed the second man's voice.
Ikyna and Reyson watched as three men emerged from a thick patch of newly grown bushes just as a knife slashed through with a hissing cry. The first was a medium built man wearing a yellow cloak who had a knife dangling from a belt at his side and one in his hand. He was sneering as he turned to a much shorter and stalkier man with short curly brown hair and a bow slung over his shoulder. Lastly a third man came out with a large hammer strapped to his back. His body was covered by a long sleeved black cloak that flared at the bottom. What was uncovered were bundles of hardened muscles and jagged scars. His head was wrapped with white scarf and deep green twisted braids fell from it. He was stoically searching the area without engaging in conversation with his two other companions and was much more of an imposing figure.
He had a stiff expression as his eyes caught Ikyna's. She flinched but then put herself between the intruders and the prince. Ikyna took in the scene, the men were armed and definitely dangerous. She could tell by their ease with their weapons and the fact that two of them hadn't bothered to worry about who else was in the forest with them.
Just the largest man with the hammer was staring Ikyna down silently. Reyson opened his wings to move but Ikyna held up her hand and shook her hand in warning at the bird. Her vision was locked on the bow she knew could bring the prince down with one shot.
"Well look at what we have here." The man with the knives said as he smirked at Ikyna with one hand on his hip as he finally noticed her, "two mighty fine specimens aren't they shooter?" he asked in a raspy voice.
The man with the bow responded with a shrug and looked much less interested than his friend. "Thorne didn't send us out here for Beorc but the bird might be worth something."
"Shoot is you blind man?" the knife wielder said with a filthy glance toward Ikyna, "Boss can keep the Laguz, but I'd take the girl'n for m'self." His coarse voice was southern like Brom's and Ikyna wondered where he came from. In fact Ikyna didn't recognize any flag or armor that the men were wearing. They weren't Begnion, Crimean, or Daein.
"What are you guys up to?" Ikyna asked in a falsely sweet voice. She was outnumbered and had no weapons; she knew her best bet was to form a plan that would get her and the prince out alive.
"Just doing a little hunting missy." The country man said as he licked his lips.
Ikyna would have shivered in disgust but she settled for a small contemptuous snarl. She flexed her hands as she began to search for anything that could be used as a weapon. The night blanketed forest was covered with the soft grasses and flowers but nothing worth fighting with as far as she could see.
"What are you hunting for?" she began as a stalling tactic with slow sure steps to put herself in a better position for attack. The archer wanted to be able to see all three men clearly. Shooter had his bow armed and stretched out before anyone could answer, "What we're here for isn't any of your concern is it now?"
The raspy voiced man put his hand over the arrow to stop the man from shooting, "Just calm down, you wanna shoot the prize? Thorne ain't gonna take nice to you shoot'n the bird."
Shooter shook off the man's hand with a scowl, "He's trying to make a break for it." He said with a sharp flick of his head toward Reyson.
"So what you's planning to do? Shoot 'em?"
"A downed bird is better than an escaped one." He said threateningly. Reyson flinched and relaxed his body. He was ready to make another run for it; from what he saw Ikyna couldn't fight the men off and he wouldn't be able to help. They had to run and he was just hoping to get Ikyna's attention so they could escape together.
He watched her back straighten and he could see a steady flow of calm emotions running through her. Nowhere did he sense a desire to flee, or perhaps she had made her decision already to fight this out. "Ikyna." He began as an attempt to change her mind.
"Prince Reyson." She said in a steady and firm voice, "Don't move from that spot. I'm going to try to clear a way and make an opening for you to escape."
Reyson was shaking his head frantically as she was speaking; he was adamantly opposed to this dangerous plan. "You can't do that, you have nothing to fight with; they'll tear you apart." Reyson put a hand to his throat and felt the shaking in his vocal cords. He was worried for this girl.
Ikyna looked over her shoulder and flashed a wide but painful smile, "Don't worry white prince, I won't let them hurt you or the forest that you worked so hard to bring back to life." She turned to face the three men who were beginning to fan out in the area, "There may be many people you can't trust, but you can count on me, I promise."
Before Reyson could try to convince her otherwise, Ikyna was already taking steady steps away from the prince.
Shooter and the knife wielder took each side of the man with the hammer who stood with crossed arms and a grim expression. Shooter had his bow down but was still eyeing Reyson, "Hey Wolfe, keep an eye on the bird will you."
Wolfe spat a wad of thick spit into the ground and sneered, "Watch him yourself, I've got something better in my sights."
Ikyna was still calculating her best form of attack while trying to block out the disgusting glances Wolfe was giving her. He was distracting her and she couldn't afford to be any less focused. The odds of her winning this fight were dismal at best.
Three weapons, four if she counted the knives as two. Knives she could handle, she was used to handling knives and could fend them off well enough. The bow would be a little harder. It gave Shooter an advantage and also put the prince in danger. One wrong move and shooter could choose to drop Reyson in simple spite. He could kill her too, if he wanted. Ideally Ikyna figured her best bet was to kill the archer first, but he was furthest from her. Before she had a chance to get near him he could put an arrow through her chest and that would be the end before things got started.
But she wasn't as worried about the archer as she was about the large and broad man standing staunchly with the hammer on his back. Ikyna had heard Boyd complaining about the weight of the dense weapon. It was powerful and could deal a heavy amount of damage, even to heavily armored knights, but its bulk made movement difficult. Ikyna wondered if that would be a problem for that particular man.
He'd been walking around a forest all day probably with that cumbersome weapon on his back but he showed no sign of fatigue nor did he appear to be handicapped by its weight. The other two men posed enough of a threat but the third man was on a different level. There was something much more menacing about him, he had a deadly almost feral presence.
Ikyna knew she would have to save him for last, if she survived that long. "So…" the first man began as he skillfully flipped his knife between his fingers as a game. He took predatory steps towards Ikyna with a confident sneer. "I've got a proposition for you."
Ikyna was still trying to get her bearings, the last thing on her mind was indulging a conversation with the slime ball. "Oh really? What would that be?" She glanced at Reyson whose face was looking paler by the minute. She chuckled bitterly, his expression wasn't giving her any confidence.
"How about," the country man began as he rubbed his filthy hands together, "you's comes with us. The bird gets tucked away nice'n tight with the boss and you's and me..." He shrugged with a smirk as he trailed off that implied much more than he could have ever said.
"I'd rather-" A snap that was familiar to Ikyna's ears popped as the archer released his arrow. Ikyna saw it from only the corner of her eye as it sailed toward her. She ducked to the ground as it whistled past her head and then she grabbed a medium sized flat rock that she chucked reflexively at shooter.
Shooter easily swatted the stone away with his bow and scowled at Ikyna.
"Watch yourself with that one Wolfe, she's a tricky one."
"Is that why you shot at her? Shoot." He said and wicked grin then spat another thick black wad to the Earth, "You could have scratched up that pretty face of hers and that's the best part." Then he gave Ikyna an appraising look of approval, well maybe not the best part."
Shooter covered his face and moaned disapprovingly, "Stop being an idiot before you get your face knocked in Wolfe. You're bad judgment has gotten us into enough trouble."
Wolfe threw his hands up in resignation, "That was just that one time and Boss wasn't too sore at me."
The archer swore under his breath, "Just get done what you're going to do so we can get out of this place. "
"Ain't you mighty bossy today? Why don't you just let me take care of her?" Shooter looked unimpressed and put his bow back over his shoulder. He gave a shrug and rolled his eyes but kept his quick hands away from his weapon.
Wolfe looked back at Ikyna, he was standing only a few inches from her, she hadn't realized how close he'd gotten since she'd been shot at by Shooter. But there he was, smiling with a row of crooked yellow teeth and a nose that was sharp like a beak. He seemed more like a falcon than a 'wolf'.
"Now where were we?" he asked as charming as he could in his scratchy voice. He reached out and twisted her hair between his thumb and index finger, "You won't be any trouble will you?"
Ikyna looked up at him, her blue eyes locked dangerously on him as she schemed. He was close enough to fight on a level playing field even without her weapons. If she could stun him long enough, maybe take one of his knives, she could take him down before the archer had time to kill her. It was just a thought though. There were a lot of variables and ways her plan could go very wrong. But it wasn't like she had many options at the moment.
"Sorry." She began flatly, "I intend to be a whole lot of trouble."
Wolfe's pupils widened a fraction and he made a move to step back but he couldn't avoid Ikyna's upward turned palm as she thrust it into his jaw. Wolfe's head bent back as he groaned and Ikyna silently thanked Yakuzo for teaching her so many new fighting moves. If anyone knew how to fight without weapons, it was a Laguz.
Wolfe stumbled as his hands came loose from Ikyna's hair and she quickly grabbed the back of his head while he was stunned. She pulled his skull down as she brought her knee up in one swift motion knowing that if she hesitated she'd loose her momentum and the fight.
Her knee was set to connect with his head but at the last second Wolfe brought his hand up to cover his face and caught her leg in motion. Ikyna gasped and saw Wolfe's eyes arch smugly as he looked at her through his fingers. He was no longer the one caught off guard, now she was surprised. She saw his free hand reach swiftly for his knife and he pulled it from its sheath with a whine.
Ikyna used the man's thigh to plant her foot as she pushed herself from his grasp and flipped backwards just as slashed quickly with his knife. She heard her shirt tear against the blade but nothing more as her hands planted against the ground and she made another flip to secure herself a decent distance from Wolfe.
She landed on her knees with a snarl raised lip at Wolfe who looked very pleased with himself even as he was rubbing his jaw that was slowly reddening. "Well ain't you slick." He said while tauntingly wagging his finger at her. He turned halfway to Shooter, "You was right there, I gotta keep an eye on this one."
He looked back at Ikyna as she slowly stood. She glanced uneasily at the archer and wondered if he had changed his once passive stance. He made no move to grab his bow, he was barely looking at Wolfe even as he was addressed. That was a relief, it meant that at least for the moment, she could still have a one on one fight. But then she remembered the third man. He was still standing with his arms over his chest. He wasn't looking at her and seemed even less interested than Shooter.
She looked back at Wolfe, he was walking toward her again, still rubbing his chin but he was scowling slightly. Ikyna tensed her body as his expression darkened with each step. "You know I tried to be nice." He opened his mouth wide to stretch his jaw then cracked his neck loudly on each side, "You shouldn't a' done that."
He continued flipping his knives in his hands, "I've killed gals much prettier'n you. Don't think I'll go easy on you."
Ikyna scoffed to mask the trace of panic she felt creeping over her. Wolfe was better than she thought and that meant so were the other two. He held both his knives in front of his chest and assumed an attack stance. Ikyna waited for him to move; it would be stupid to attack first.
Wolfe wasn't the patient type of person, Ikyna didn't need to wait more than a few seconds before she was being charged. She braced her legs as he made a broad swing with his left hand. Ikyna swatted his hand away but the second knife was already barreling towards her face. She bent back as the steel swished over her face. An icy wind followed in its wake and Ikyna managed to grab Wolfe's hand as he passed her nose. She held it and twisted his wrots to free his weapon but he flipped it into his mouth then slashed at her wrists.
He clipped her skin and she bit her tongue hide her yelp as she released him. But she withdrew too slowly and Wolfe caught her savagely by her hair. He yanked it with a growl smothered only by his knife but his wicked grin was still visible.
She was held strongly in his grasp but not immobile. Ikyna kneed Wolfe's exposed stomach and he cried out and his knife fell from his lips. But he didn't release Ikyna's hair; he pulled harder as he growled, "Enough playing."
Ikyna saw him raise his free hand. He turned the knife in his hand as he angled it toward her body. The girl instinctively tightened her stomach and readied for the unavoidable pain that would come soon.
It was agony as the blade sank into her stomach's poor resistance. She gritted her teeth but didn't manage to contain a spray of airy spit from escaping. Her eyes were clenched shut as if blocking her sight could somehow stifle the pain. It didn't, she was in enough pain to make her mind almost blank. But she didn't have that luxury. She shuddered through the hurt and hooked Wolfe's arm around the wrist with her arm. She held him and his knife securely to her body and trapped him.
Wolfe's eyes darted to his caged arm as he watched Ikyna ram her elbow into his elbow joint with a strained grunt. She heard and felt the bone crack and Wolfe cried out as he released her hair and his knife. He teetered backwards as he clutched his now useless arm. Ikyna didn't hesitate. Through an agonized groan she lunged toward Wolfe and thrust the butt of her palm into his nose. The loose cartilage crunched under the pressure and Ikyna squatted to the ground as she swept Wolfe's feet out from under his body. He fell on his back loudly and went still.
Ikyna looked over at the motionless body and waited for him to attack again. He didn't.
Ikyna slowly stood and grimaced as she moved to cover her throbbing stomach with her left arm. She stood over Wolfe and saw his warped nose and vacant open eyes. She peered at his head and saw a slowly forming puddle of blood around the back of his head. Under his bleeding cranium was large edgy stone.
"Pathetic." Ikyna said weakly. After all the talk he'd been slain by falling on a rock. Not that Ikyna couldn't accept the victory no matter the form it came in. She tightened her hand on her abdomen and felt the warm dampness spreading around the knife still lodged into her side. She wanted to pull it out but she was sure it was stopping most of the bleeding; but not all of it. At the rate she was losing blood her survival rate was dwindling further.
She looked at Reyson quickly, needing to assure herself that her reason for fighting was still alive and well. He was standing on the archway now, his eyes were widened and his mouth agape. His finger pointed sharply behind Ikyna as he shouted, "Ikyna, look out!"
The female archer turned just as she heard a string pop for the second time that day. She knew she couldn't fully avoid an injury even as she was turning to avoid the arrow. Ikyna turned her back enough to give the sailing arrowhead a less fatal target. It pierced her left shoulder as she dove for Wolfe's remaining knife and then she sprinted for covering.
Ikyna couldn't decide whether to cradle her shoulder or abdomen as she ran at full speed. She dared to glance behind as Shooter pulled another arrow from his quiver. He didn't look angry or vengeful for his fallen comrade as he aimed at her. There was a focused deadly precision to his stance; he was simply finishing business.
Another arrow whined as it jumped from the bow. Ikyna spun to dodge it and stumbled in pain as it barely grazed her ear. She felt slippery liquid slide down her neck but she caught herself with her hands and crawled desperately through the dirt then to her feet in her mad dash to find coverage from the tall trees.
She leaned heavily against the bark of a savior tree and heaved in pain and exhaustion. She didn't dare to look around, she knew Shooter would be making a calm walk to her as she stood trying desperately to catch her rapidly raging breath.
Ikyna leaned her head against the trunk and cringed as her stomach started to ache and burn. The wound around the knife felt like it was slowly being eaten by fire. She'd never felt a wound like that. She looked down at the knife and saw a heart sinking tint of purple flicker in the moonlight.
"Crap." She hissed through pain clenched teeth. It was a venin knife. It was bad enough to be cut by one but now the poison was seeping into her body and slowly killing her. She closed her eyes tightly in despair knowing that things would still get worse. If the bleeding didn't kill her, she'd lose consciousness from the poison and then die anyway.
The bark on the tree snapped as an arrow struck it. Shooter was trying to drive her from her covering, but she wouldn't make a poor decision like that. She had enough factors working against her as it was.
The ground crunched under Shooter's feet as he approached. Ikyna took a deep breath as a dangerous and crazy plan came to mind. She could hear Yakuzo scolding her for even thinking about going through with her idea. But she didn't have a choice; and if there was anything she was proud of, it was her ability to pull off reckless and poor ideas.
Shooter was in no hurry to catch the female archer. Wolfe, for all his loudness and idiocy had done a good job of weakening the girl. Though for all his talk he should have killed the girl easily in Shooter's opinion. Not that it mattered, she'd been stabbed by a venin knife and she was probably on her last leg of energy and strength.
Picking her off in her weakened state would be simple enough and then he'd catch the heron. Quick and simple, no games or fuss, that was what he preferred. Wolfe was the one who usually made the process so much harder with his tendency to get distracted. If he didn't have to kill the girl he'd have thanked her for getting rid of a pain in his side.
He pulled the bowstring to his chin as he neared the tree Ikyna was hiding behind. Just one shot he thought as he wrapped around the trunk and let the arrow fly. It whizzed past nothing and disappeared into the night. Shooter frowned, no one was hiding behind the tree.
"What in the world?" he complained as he relaxed his bow and turned his neck to look for the missing archer. He was sure he'd seen her run that way but she was gone. A leaf fluttered past his eyes and he tensed and looked up sharply. He saw the girl perched on the branches above him holding Wolfe's knife.
"How?" he began to ask but was cut off as Ikyna jumped from the branches. She tossed the knife as she descended. Shooter stepped back enough to avoid having his chest cut open but the sash of his quiver was not as fortunate. It fell in half and his arrows clattered to the ground.
Shooter held his bow in front of his face by its limbs to block Ikyna as she fell on him. Her knees hit the bow grip and Shooter pushed her off and she hit a tree with a groan. She slid to the ground and before she even had time to worry over her failed plan she felt a string slide over her neck.
Ikyna looked up at Shooter in horror as he used his bow and bowstring to strangle her. He held the bow by its grip and twisted it to tighten the thin silk around Ikyna's throat. She gasped and flailed as she helplessly pulled at the thin wire digging into her skin.
He pulled her up to his face, his expression was flat as he tightened the string. Ikyna gagged against the strong tightening and felt herself slipping into unconsciousness. He'd kill her if she didn't get loose. Her hands dangled at her side as her strength started to slip.
She felt the cool end of the blade at her side and lifted a weak hand to grasp its handle. She started to pull it from her side. It was agonizing but her voice was too far gone to even scream. Finally it dislodged from her side and with the last ounce of energy she could muster she drove it into Shooter's neck.
He gasped than coughed blood into her face as his grip fell from his bow. He stumbled backward and took Ikyna with him. She fell onto his convulsing body with a grunt and rolled off quickly as she threw the bow from her neck.
She rubbed her sore throat and coughed loudly before retching. She heaved heavily for a few agonizing moments and then gave a weary glance toward the male archer. He'd stopped moving and Ikyna assumed he was dead. At least that's what she hoped; she was in no shape to fight him anymore.
Ikyna flopped onto her back and winced as her stomach pain increased with the blood flowing from her body. She gingerly pulled off her vest and tied it around her stomach tightly and hoped to stop some of the bleeding. Although, she wasn't sure how much help it would do at that point.
"Ikyna! Ikyna!"
She heard her name being called frantically by the prince. Ikyna moaned as she slowly stood, every inch of her body throbbed or ached. As she stood she stumbled and barely caught her balance with a tree. She walked slowly from behind the tall birch and followed the sound of Reyson's voice.
"Ikyna! Ik-" Reyson paused when he saw the matted blue hair peaking from behind the tree. Her face was cut and bruised, her shoulder was bleeding, and her vest was tied sloppily around her stomach.
He flew to her in a panic, feeling anxious for the first time for a Beorc. He called her name tensely as he landed in front of her. "White prince." She murmured weakly as she staggered. She started to fall and the prince held his hands out to catch her but she steadied herself and scowled at him. "Don't, I'm fine."
"Fine, you're not fine." He cried out in exasperation. "You're bleeding profusely and you can hardly stand!" he protested as he reached for her again. Ikyna brushed his hand away and limped passed him. Her eyes were set on the third man now, she knew there was no time to rest.
"What are you doing?" Reyson asked as he followed her.
Ikyna's voice was hoarse as she spoke, "You need to run away."
Reyson started to shake his head. "No, I can't. I'm not leaving you here alone." His eyes darted towards the third man. He hadn't moved from his spot but was pulling his hammer off calmly, preparing himself for a fight.
"I'm just giving you a head start." She said and then let out a trail of rasping coughs. She covered her mouth but when she took her hand back it was smattered with blood. Ikyna tried to hide it quickly but Reyson saw it.
"No we need to go together. It's just one guy we can make a break for it." He pleaded.
Ikyna shook her head as she gave a small feeble smile. "Don't worry about it. I'll just stall him while you make a break for camp. You have to find king Tibarn or my brother. I can catch up with you guys after." Her breathing rattled as she finished speaking and the prince could see perspiration collecting on her forehead.
"Ikyna."
"Just go." She said with as much firmness as she could manage. It was a pathetic attempt at showing force and it failed. Reyson made no indication that he was going anywhere. His gaze was fixated on her as his brow folded into a frown.
Ikyna sighed, feeling more precious drops of energy passing away, "Look that guy has a huge hammer. I can dodge anything he can throw at me." She turned to the prince and tried to smile again. Her lips only quivered but didn't cooperate as she wanted them to. It looked more like an unsure mouth shrug but it was all she could muster.
"Fine." Reyson said as he spread his wings. "But you'll definitely come once you've stalled him?"
Ikyna gave a stiff and tired nod.
Reyson looked from Ikyna to the large man nervously. He was still unsure of what the right choice was. But the longer he waited the more blood he was sure Ikyna would lose and lower hers and his chances of escape were. He'd have to trust her. She'd managed to survive so far so he forced himself to have faith in her words. As he turned to flee he struggled to avoid reading her heart. If she was lying he didn't want to know. He wanted to believe that she really would be following behind him.
But as he flew off and watched her figure shrink from his sight and the man's drawing closer to her he knew he'd regret his choice.
Ikyna waited until she couldn't hear the sound of retreating wings before she gave into her exhaustion. She crumbled to her knees with a groan and clutched her pained and burning stomach. It was very warm and damp under the cloth and even if she didn't know how much blood was lost she could feel its effects. Her vision blurred suddenly and she felt her body sway lethargically from side to side.
She dropped her hands to steady herself and then her stomach curled with nausea. Was that the pain or the poison taking its effect? Ikyna had no clue but it wouldn't matter for long. Her vision was getting cloudier no matter how hard she tried to focus and her fingers were starting to numb.
She watched with her last shreds of alertness as the man with the hammer made even and unhurried steps toward her. He twirled the hammer deftly in his hands with ease making the weapon appear deceptively light.
Ikyna raised her head to meet his flat gaze. His face was expressionless as he looked at her and let the hammer dangle from his hand. "You lied." He said in heavy deep voice.
Ikyna was still breathing heavily as she responded, "What?"
"To the heron. He would have stayed and put himself in danger so you lied and said you'd stall me and then follow after he was safe."
Ikyna hesitated before speaking again, she didn't know how the man had heard her conversation with the prince from the distance he was. "I don't know what you mean." She said through a very audible wince, "That's exactly what I plan to do."
"You're a terrible liar."
Ikyna smirked despite the bleak situation "Yeah, that's one of my more endearing qualities."
He was right. There was no way she could do anything but what she was doing. All she could do was kneel on the ground and hope she could keep the man talking long enough. Her body was shot and the poison had taken its toll; she wouldn't be following after the prince.
He tilted his head slowly to the side, regarding her with steady wandering glances. He was a massive man when Ikyna saw him up close. Even larger than he appeared when she first saw him. But he was at ease in his broad and toned body. A comfort that came from familiarity with battles. "I see." He responded distantly. Then after a short pause, "Why did you protect him?"
Ikyna raised a curious eyebrow but said nothing. "Why would a Beorc risk her life to save that of Laguz?" he looked down at her and there was clear confusion written on his face.
"I don't save Beorc or Laguz. I just help good people." She responded simply.
He paused and looked thoughtfully for a beat then murmured, "Good people." He frowned as the words rolled from his mouth and another question appeared on his face. Then he raised the hammer and held its head to Ikyna's face. "There are none like that among Laguz." He pulled the hammer back and prepared to swing it, "But I shall remember your poetic notion after you're dead."
)(
"Tibarn! Ulki! Janaff!" Reyson hacked through bushes as he flew as fast as his wings could carry him through the forest. He snagged his cloths on branches and ran into low hanging clusters of leaves but he didn't stop. If he was going to help Ikyna he would have to race against the short amount of time she had left.
He shouted again for his hawk friends to come to his aid. Or, not his, but for the Beorc girl who nearly lost her limbs to protect him. "Tibarn! Ulki! Ja-"
"Your majesty!" Ulki nearly flew into the prince but stopped in time as he bowed quickly. He searched the prince frantically for any scars but the heron looked fine other than the fact that his cloths were a little torn. "What's wrong?" he asked in confusion at the prince's near hysteric state.
"I need help; it's the girl Ikyna!"
Ulki frowned in confusion but before he could ask Janaff and king Tibarn, with Leanne on his back, flew to meet them. The king and Janaff looked stressed as they too began scanning the prince for sign of harm.
(Big brother are you alright? Why were you shouting?)
"Yes I'm fine Leanne." He said hurriedly, not wanting to waste any more time or concern on himself. "But Ikyna isn't. She's being attacked and you have to help her. If you don't-" the heron's voice peaked as he rapidly spoke and the king put his hands on the flustered bird's shoulders.
"Slow down Reyson. What are you talking about?"
Reyson shook his. There wasn't time to slow down, in fact they needed to speed up if they were going to save Ikyna's life. "Three men attacked Ikyna and I in the forest. She fought two of them off but she was hurt Tibarn, badly, and if you don't help her she'll die."
Tibarn's expression turned grave. He wasn't in the habit of helping Beorc, but anyone who put their life on the line for the prince was well worth protecting. And from what the king had heard, Ikyna had done just that earlier that day. The king already owed her a debt that he would not let go unpaid.
"Ulki, stay here and watch Leanne. Janaff you come with me to find Ikyna."
"Yes your majesty." Both hawks said in firm voices.
"Which way is she?" Tibarn asked as urgency set into his voice. As Reyson began to point he heard a high roar sounding through the forest. As he turned to its source he saw Yakuzo in a dead sprint running past him and the hawks.
"Yakuzo wait!" Next Ike came charging through the forest. He froze when he saw the slightly battered prince and hawks. He opened his mouth to speak but Reyson cut him off knowing that Yakuzo was no doubt heading toward Ikyna. "Ikyna's in trouble." The prince said.
Ike's face hardened with both anger and fear. He knew when he saw Yakuzo dashing through the forest his sister was involved. But if the prince was looking that worried he could only imagine the trouble Ikyna was in at the moment.
"Follow him!" Reyson managed to call out as scarlet fur vanished into the tree filled backdrop.
Reyson felt like an eternity passed as he flew with Janaff and Tibarn. The hawk king had picked up Ike to speed up their pursuit of the red feline.
"It's just beyond there." Reyson said as he pointed ahead. The hawks burst through into the clearing and watched in horror as the hammer came swinging into Ikyna.
Ike screamed as he saw his sister's body knocked into a tree as the hammer made its deadly contact. Her body flattened against the bark then slid slowly to the ground. "Ikyna!" he yelled as he jumped from Tibarn's back and ran to his sister.
He arrived shortly after Yakuzo who was nervously sniffing Ikyna, fear marred his feral features. Ike threw his sword to the side and knelt by his sister, "Sis! Sis!" he scooped her bloodied body into his arms and continued calling her name desperately.
Reyson tried to fly to the girl, a wave of heavy guilt pressed down on him as he feared that he had been too late to save her. Tibarn grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back while shaking his head firmly, "Stay with Janaff." He warned as he eyed the man with the hammer. He shifted into his hawk form before flying to check on Ikyna.
Ike was still gently shaking her and insistently calling his sister's name. Yakuzo looked on helplessly, a pitiful mournful sound escaped his maw. Finally Ikyna's lids fluttered then opened slowly and she groaned weakly.
"By the goddess Ikyna." Ike said with relieved sigh. She looked around but didn't move, "Hey big bro, I'm so glad you made it. What's with the worried face?" and then she had the nerve to smile at him as if nothing unpleasant had happened.
"What do you mean? Someone just crushed you with a hammer." He complained.
"Don't worry." She choked, "I blocked the brunt of it with my arm so it wasn't so bad." Ike dared to look at his sister's arm and it was a broken mangled mess that made his stomach churn. He looked back at his sister and saw her eyes closing again. "No, stay awake, don't go to sleep on me." He said in panic knowing that if she fell asleep she might not wake up again.
Yakuzo was still watching her nervously when his ears twitched and turned to the man approaching with a hammer. He was impassively watching as Yakuzo turned and opened his mouth wide and revealed his fangs with an angry hiss.
Ike pulled his sister into his chest and shot an icy glare at the man, an anger stirring in his chest because of the man he knew had attacked Ikyna. Before he could act on his fury Yakuzo crouched the launched himself into the air with his claws spread.
The hammer wielder made a swift and easy movement to avoid the Yakuzo but his curved nails snagged the white wrap and pulled it off as he landed and growled again. Green braids shook free and fell onto his broad shoulder. He turned his head slowly to look at Yakuzo but did nothing more.
Yakuzo's ears flattened against his head when he looked at the emerald haired man. Amongst the thick tendrils of hair two rounded ears twitched and turned toward distant sounds.
"A lion?" Yakuzo growled at his countryman in disgust.
"Ike!" Tibarn landed next to the commander and his fading sister. "How is she?" he asked while still watching the green lion.
Ike looked at his sister and watched as her cloths soaked up more blood and her body began to shake from shock. "Not good." He observed as he put his hand to her forehead and felt it starting to burn with fever.
"We need to get her to one of your Beorc clerics."
Ike nodded. As much as he wanted to kill the lion for hurting his sister, if he could get to him before Yakuzo at least, Ikyna needed attention as soon as possible. "Janaff will take you and your sister to safety." He turned his head and opened his wings, "And you won't be getting in their way will you?" he asked with no intent to hide the obvious threat toward the lion.
The lion looked unimpressed as he looked from Laguz to Beorc. He strapped the hammer to his back then easily leapt to a branch twenty feet above the ground. He gave one last glance at the group below and then, without another word, jumped swiftly from tree to tree before disappearing from view.
"Get back here!" Yakuzo shouted as he started to give chase.
"Yakuzo give it up. Helping Ikyna comes first." Ike shouted and froze the Laguz mid stride. Yakuzo turned from searching for the lion and looking at Ike. He reluctantly gave up the chase to look after his friend.
Ike scooped his sister into his arm as she gasped through her painful injuries. He watched her eyes completely shut and she went still. Ike's heart froze and for a moment a morbid dread filled him. He stared at her chest with flickering eyes until he was its weak rising and falling. Ikyna was bad off but there was a chance to save her. Though, that was only if he could get her to Rhys or Mist on time.
"Hang on Ikyna, just hang on."
Yeah sorry, I still don't like cliff hangers but there you have it. Next chapter will be out soon so it shouldn't be too bad of a wait. Right? Right?
PG
