Danica replied something sharp to Rei that Seamus couldn't hear, and then proceeded onwards toward the forest, ignoring the captain's caution. The Royal Flight and the Ravens followed close behind, swords held at the ready. And then their eyes fell upon the dying boy who had cried out. Gregory Cobriana lay broken at the base of a tree, his pale skin growing whiter still with blood loss. His cries halted abruptly as he realized who they were, and he shut his eyes, as though resigned to face his death with dignity, and seek no aid from the enemy. Though Gregory must have seen the arrival of his enemy as the arrival of death itself, Danica apparently looked at it quite differently as she knelt beside him and held his hand in her own. Gregory was covered in blood, and his leg was set at an odd angle, as though broken. Seamus knew what would eventually lead to his demise would be the raggedly cut wound on his stomach, oozing blood steadily and soaking the shirt he wore beneath his armor.
The scarlet blood from the serpiente prince stained Danica's light, pure white linen shirt, ruining the cloth, but she seemed not to notice. Seamus watched, disbelieving, as Danica began to sing to the fallen boy with no regard for who he was. Rei was kneeling beside her, apparently as unconcerned as she was.
"End it," the serpent prince choked, pleading with Danica. Even though it was obvious he would die, chances were it would take hours for him to bleed out.
If Gregory was asking for someone to hasten his departure from this world, Seamus would be only too happy to accommodate him. It was the one service he would ever do a snake. Though he felt serpiente undeserving of mercy in any form, Seamus was willing to overlook that particular belief if it meant sinking a blade into snake flesh.
Danica drew a knife from her belt, but Rei shook his head, explaining that she would not be allowed to ease his passing without causing another politics-fueled battle.
Well if she couldn't, Seamus certainly could. "Sir?"
Rei turned his head, acknowledging him.
"Seamus, I believe I gave you and your cousin orders."
"Yes sir, but…"
"Is something wrong, Blacktalon?" Rei's tone was calm and level, but Seamus could sense the annoyance beneath his words. Rei had personally chosen Seamus as his second in command after he had been promoted, but Seamus suspected it had mostly been out of a sense of honor than because he actually liked him. The feeling was mutual; Seamus had never quite gotten over the fact that he had been publicly beaten in a duel against Andreios.
Rei also knew just how conservative the Blacktalon family was, and probably assumed that neither Graeff nor Seamus would tolerate the rather unorthodox events unfolding before them; hence the reason for Seamus and his cousin to be sent back to the Keep before the others.
Seamus wasn't about to let his best friend's murderer enjoy the comfort of Danica's grace when he was the reason for her despair. Seamus opened his mouth to speak, but Rei cut him off sharply.
"Seamus, let it go."
Seamus was about to turn back to Graeff and Xavier's body and carry out what Rei had instructed him to do, but just then he remembered why Xavier was dead in the first place. The reminder was bleeding on the future Tuuli Thea right in front of him, after all. He was remembering his pair-bond, his mother and father, and Harlan Silvermead, who had grown up beside him. All of them had fallen to the filthy serpent's people.
"Andreios, might I have a word with you?"
The crow sighed, glancing back at Danica with concern in his gaze and then turning his attention to Seamus.
"Yes?"
"I cannot stand idly by while a serpent enjoys comforts that should not ever be bestowed upon him. No disrespect to milady," Seamus nodded in her direction, and continued, "But pray tell me, what right does he have to have a friend beside him when Xavier Shardae did not?"
"Look Seamus, I know you've lost a lot to this war; but so have the rest of us. Take a look around you; see it in the eyes of your men. No one wants there to be anymore of this aimless slaughter. I, too, have lost family, so don't make the mistake of thinking that you are alone in your suffering. I know that you lost your mother to a serpent's bite, and that your father is lying in a coma from poison. I have not forgotten Mara, either," Rei said the words gently, knowing the weight they carried. Hardly anyone had spoken Mara's name in front of her former alistair.
"You say you understand my loss, Andreios?" Seamus spoke quietly, feeling a wave of unspeakable sadness wash over him as he repressed the flood of memories the day's carnage and the mention of Mara Shardae's name had brought to the surface. His eyes flicked back to the heir and her stained blouse, knowing how precious she was to Rei, both as ruler and so much more.
"I tell you, you know nothing of loss until you've seen your pair-bond dying at your feet; nothing until you feel her last breath leave her body, and have had her life's blood stain your hands. No matter how often I wash them clean, I still remember everything. I can smell her death around me, can see it, everyday. I pray to wake up, hoping it must be some awful night terror, but then I realize I haven't slept in months. When I do sleep, all I see are the soulless eyes of a cobra. His eyes," Seamus felt himself gesturing as calmly as he could in the direction of the crumpled serpiente prince, and realized his voice had been rising without his noticing. He quickly brought himself under control before stating:
"So you'll forgive me, Andreios, if I feel a little malcontent with our current situation, and have trouble understanding it."
The composed conclusion of his proclamation had also drawn more curious glances. Half of the guard had lowered their eyes, embarrassed for his non-compliance and their own nosiness, some looked sympathetic, and others had held their impassive expressions as was expected of them. Graeff was amongst the last group, and Seamus was grateful for it. It was bad enough that he was shaming himself.
One crow in particular, Slaade, was staring at Seamus with something akin to astonishment in his gaze. The crow cleared his throat, nodding before saying "Aye, I don't understand this madness either sir. Why can't we just leave him to die? It'd be better than he deserves."
"Because," Danica began, rising to her feet, cold anger in her eyes. Apparently Seamus and Rei's dispute had been loud enough for the princess to hear his words despite his wish for privacy.
"Because hatred like you are displaying now is the reason this war continues. For vengeance, for selfishness, and for this pointless bigotry we have for one another. That's enough from you, Seamus." In spite of her shortness of temper, Seamus could hear the weariness behind Danica's words, and it affected him strongly enough that he held his tongue.
Who was he to increase the burden on the soon-to-be Tuuli Thea?
"Yes milady. I am sorry for my poor conduct." He ducked his head apologetically, turning back to the body of the deceased avian royal and Graeff, hearing Rei exhale heavily in relief behind him.
"Slaade, go with the Blacktalons, please."
"But sir I…"
"Slaade, with me, please," Seamus called over his shoulder.
Seamus had his back to the rest of the Flight, and did not see the commander of the Royal Flight's eyes linger on Danica as the three guards walked away, reflecting on the raven's words and feeling unable to deny the truth of them.
Together the two Blacktalons maneuvered Xavier on to a stretcher; Seamus tried not to look into the hawk's face as he did so, knowing it would only serve to exacerbate the gnawing pain in his chest; another casualty of a useless war dead on his watch. How many more would there be?
It was a long walk to the Keep, and it was passed mostly in silence, broken only by Graeff when he asked quietly "How are you holding up?"
"I fear the sleepless nights are catching up with me. I've not been myself lately," Seamus said.
"So I've noticed," Graeff replied. It was true enough; neither of the two ravens had even come close to disobeying orders, even if Graeff was a bit more relaxed about rules than his cousin. Indeed, following orders was what had kept Seamus' mind intact after Mara's death, if intact was what one would call it.
"Maybe you can get some rest at the Keep."
"Perhaps," Seamus nodded, but deep down he knew sleep would continue to evade him after today.
Finally they reached the gates of Hawk's Keep, and they were greeted by a swarm of new recruits eager for news of the skirmish and anxious to be the first to congratulate Xavier on the slaying of more serpents. Instead, their eyes fell upon the stiff corpse of the young monarch. They stopped in their tracks, horror struck.
"What happened?" cried a young sparrow, all thoughts of reserve gone from her mind after seeing another beloved hawk son dead at the hands of the enemy.
"Cobra ambush," Graeff swallowed and looked away, and Seamus felt pity for his innocent relative, knowing that his view of "the glory of war" was forever shattered by the harshness of reality.
Seamus cleared his throat, stating in a strong, clear voice that carried, "Xavier has fallen and taken the brother of the Diente, Gregory Cobriana, with him. He died in combat, a soldier's death befitting a hawk of his stature."
The recruits around them parted, making a path for Slaade, Seamus, and Graeff and the grim cargo they carried. The three guardsmen had to carry the body of Xavier up the hill and steps that led to the court, through the busiest courtyard of the Market.
As they passed, activity came to a halt. People stopped talking mid-sentence, and children looked to their shocked parents for comfort, wondering why the world had suddenly stopped. There were cries of grief and denial, but no tears were shed by the avians. It would have disgraced the memory of their prince.
Seamus tried not to look at the faces of those he passed, friends and acquaintances both, but among the onlookers he recognized Harper, a crow he had known since they were both hatchlings, and Erica Silvermead, whose family had been close to the Blacktalons for generations. Erica's face revealed none of the emotions she felt, but Seamus knew she must be reliving the day her brother Harlan had died in the same manner. The only difference was Seamus had not been the one to bring home his body.
Seamus, Graeff, and their crow companion finally reached the top of the steps, where the Tuuli Thea, Nacola Shardae, stood. They saluted their queen and waited for her to respond.
Nacola appeared to have been chiseled from marble; as flawless and coldly beautiful as her daughter. Nacola's flaxen hair was lifted gently in the breeze as her golden hawk's eyes fixed on the guards. Her mouth did not as much as twitch as she took in the body of her last son on the stretcher.
"Take him inside," she ordered, in a voice that did not waver.
"Yes milady," Seamus jerked his head in the direction of the hall, and the other two followed him inside, where once again they were met with silence and stares until a piercing cry of a crow in anguish broke the eerie stillness.
In a flutter of ebony wings, a porcelain-white skinned girl with tumbling waves of black hair materialized in front of them, her blue eyes wide. Seamus held her back with one arm, feeling the pain in his heart growing as he watched her struggle against him.
"Where is my alistair?" she demanded, trying to get past Seamus' protective hold.
"Please, Alisal, get yourself under control…"
"Xavier! Xavier!"
The crow rammed into Seamus, trying to get to the dead man on the stretcher that Slaade and Graeff held. Finally she managed to get around his outstretched arms.
Slaade and Graeff glanced at Seamus, seeking permission. He gave a sigh of assent, preparing himself.
"Oh…" she whispered her face suddenly stony, as the two guards laid the stretcher down.
On bended knee, she stroked the fair hair from Xavier's face, her shaking hands not hesitating to touch the bloodied wounds that marked his skin and body as she crooned his name over and over to herself in an empty sort of droning.
"Xavier… Xavier…"