I think I'm almost finished with this fanfic. There should be fewer chapters ahead than behind.
Mars, you might be the only person still reading this fic. Thanks so much for the insightful and encouraging reviews. I'm really glad you liked the last two chapters and I hope you enjoy this one as well.
At first King Albert showed no signs of having been poisoned. The day finished and the next began. It was time to set the board for the match with Sandora. The vanguard rode out under the royal standard, the soldiers' armor shining with the reflection of the morning sun. These two-hundred knights would meet with the men gathered by the lords Galand and Sylder. The threefold force would then seek to regain territory that had recently been lost. Because Doel had not had much time to assemble a large garrison, they believed retaking the area would be a straightforward affair. I knew otherwise.
Few townspeople had come to watch them leave. The nation was war-weary and had seen too many marches to remain awestruck by the pageantry of gleaming armor, sharpened weapons, and powerful horses. Most of the well-wishers were probably relatives and close friends of the departing soldiers. Some were starry-eyed adolescents who yearned for the day when they too would march for the Duchy of Basil. The remaining audience likely comprised those who hoped to see a different sort of spectacle.
The blood from Kelosh's execution still wetted the ground not far from where I stood with the other members of the war council. Several commoners stared at us as though they expected another of Doel's men to be exposed before their eyes. Finding one spy is much like finding a single louse in one's hair – there are surely more waiting for discovery.
Even the remaining knights darted occasional glances in our direction. Sir Lavitz kept looking back at us. If he had been another man his look would have been one of open suspicion; if I had been anyone else, a trickle of sweat might have rolled between my shoulder blades, but I believed his attention was focused elsewhere.
I moved closer to the object of his gaze, "Is the captain of the First Knighthood disquieted by this campaign, Your Majesty?"
"Lavitz is never afraid of battles," he answered, "He worries for me."
"Forgive me, Sire, but you do look pale today," I said softly, "It must be difficult to find out that your suspicious were correct; a trusted adviser did betray your confidence."
His eyes drifted to the building which stood above the courtyard where Kelosh had been slain. It had once been the home of a notable Serdian family, but after the war had killed the last heiress the home was converted into a prison for highborn war criminals. The steepled roof hailed from earlier architectural traditions and more peaceful eras. The king looked at it for a long time before he blinked his mind back to our conversation.
"It sometimes seems I was birthed for turmoil, and raised in betrayal." He shook his head and turned his hazel gaze back to me. "My family has already taught me much about trust." His voice was as hard as his knights' shields.
The next time that Lavitz looked back, his green eyes seemed to study the shadow beneath my hood.
We watched more of the procession before the king added. "But that is not why –" He broke off his sentence with another shake of his head as though clearing his spirit. "I think it may be wise for me to retire early today… very early, he whispered.
I knew then that the poison was working. His mind would soon be pliable and his lips yielding.
"Perhaps now that the soldiers have departed I might walk with you to your chambers where you can rest."
"Yes." He wiped a hand across his eyes. "I think I will leave now. My castellan can greet the Tiberoan emissaries in my stead and my generals are more than capable of reviewing the battle plans without me this evening. But you needn't trouble yourself. Enjoy this day."
"Your Grace, you once accompanied me to my room, please permit me to show you the same courtesy."
He nodded his consent and we walked away under an emerald gaze.
Given my company, the guardsmen did not stop us at the base of the high tower nor did the stewards question my presence in the outer chambers. As we proceeded, the surroundings became more luxurious than the rest of the castle, as befit the royal apartments. Earthy greens and lush browns enveloped the foyer of the inner quarters. It was there that the king first tried to entertain me, but he soon felt the effects of the drug more acutely. When I urged him to retreat to his bedroom he obeyed and did not object when I entered with him. A part of my mind grew wary at the ease at which I was able to subject the king to my questioning. The other part anticipated the fruition of my plan. Doel's potion seemed like to do its job and I might learn the location of the gem, retrieve it, and also gain possession of the Moon Child in perhaps a matter of a days. An orb made from chips of the unsetting moon's surface weighed heavy in my pocket.
I began my questioning with the most basic of rhetorical inquiries. "What ails Your Highness?"
"Even kings are mortal."
"Such are all humans."
"Of late it makes me wish not to be." He disappeared behind his empty eyes.
I cast about the room for inspiration. A smaller version of the family portrait I'd seen outside of Noish's chambers rested on an impressive oaken wardrobe.
"It is said that some of your ancestors were not."
"Some are believed to have been sirens and mermen," He answered slowly.
I wondered if finding the gem might possibly be as simple as diving into some sacred lake or other.
"Those are pleasing tales," I said. A slight upturn of one side of his lips showed that my double meaning was understood. "But it often seems that even the humblest of fables have a grain of truth." I spoke gently as though telling a child's bedtime story. Beneath my cloak, my hands glided over the glass vial. I wanted to give him a little bit more of the potion, but I dared not risk an overdose. "Is it not said that the transformation was made possible by a magical item?"
I watched him stare at me with a dull, inebriated expression.
"Sire?"
He did not respond.
I approached his seat and raised my voice, "Your Majesty?"
He blinked once and stared through me with a blank, unseeing expression.
"This is a very warm morning for the season." King Albert said, a few minutes later.
He was resisting the potion, but a fever would weaken him. If everything continued in my favor, he would tell me the location of at least one of the moon artifacts. If I were very lucky he might even know something of the others.
When the king stood up, I hoped he meant to lie on his bed. Instead, he asked, "Do you not wish to remove that hood?" As he loosened the trappings on his cape he added, "Surely, you must feel this heat."
I might have told him of my feelings if only I knew whether he would forget this conversation. Instead I said, "Your Highness, you were speaking with me about a certain magical item. Perhaps it was a gem of some sort?"
"No, I don't-" The king frowned before saying, "I mean to say that I am sorry for having kept you here for so long."
"It is no trouble," I interjected. "I'm very interested in hearing more."
"Go and take advantage of this day, Councilor," he insisted. "Busier times are soon upon us."
When the tower door closed behind me I breathed a sigh of frustration. My first interrogation had been led me nowhere so I considered where my time would be spent best. His Majesty was right; I had a free day. There would be no more counselling yet, but the troops were expected to arrive quickly, though their destination would have more finality than most expected. Soon I would spend many days advising the war court. Until that time, there was little for me to do in Basil.
The clear, sunny outdoors did not reflect my mood. Nor did it hint of the massacre that would soon occur. Still, I did take advantage of it by strolling through fields and woods lushened by the rain. My fingers plucked at the greenery as I drew literally and figuratively closer to Sandora.
While the castle slept I conferred with Doel's Great Commander, who was to enforce the Sandoran ruler's part of our bargain.
Seles had no walls nor fortresses. Though it was a part of Basil, the village had long expressed neutrality in the war. That night the townspeople learned that their disinterest in war did not prevent war from taking an interest in them.
The troop swept into the village smashing doors, burning stables, and shattering lives. Initially, I stood by a building marked "Post" and watched while the men made sport of their work. The upper half of one side of the wall was dedicated to announcements. Advertisements urged proud warriors to compete in Lohan's Hero Competition or encouraged young people to meet for a formal dance. I knew the people of Seles would not enjoy such carefree pursuits again. Near my hip, I felt the Dragon Buster vibrate like a living thing. I knew it wanted to be used.
A side door burst open and a woman pulled a young girl by the hand as they tried to run from the chaos. In bare-feet and bedclothes the postmaster's family never made it to the woods that might have hidden them from danger. Two torch-bearing soldiers used their war-horses to herd the pair back towards the commander. He stood inside of the only undamaged barn and there presided over a group of women. The captives ranged from grandmothers to toddling children, which was slightly irritating. I had told them find the "young women," not suckling babes and toothless oldsters. But it was no matter so long as none escaped.
"Wait," I pulled out the lunar orb. "I will test them here." The younger one seemed the more likely candidate so I approached her first. The mother sprang between us shouting, "Don't touch her!" she batted at me with fleshy fists and I had to resist using the Dragon Buster. Instead, I lashed the woman's face with my hand and she fell to the ground. The child wailed incoherently and moved toward her mother. I stepped over the woman and grabbed the girl. Holding her forearm, I tried to place the orb in front of her head. She squirmed and clawed at my glove. I squeezed until I felt the bone just begin to splinter. The girl froze long enough for me to see that the orb did not react to her presence. I let go of the girl and used the orb on the mother, but its cool, metal surface remained dark.
"Neither of them is the one." I told the waiting soldiers.
"Then what do we do with them?" The older of the two asked.
"Whatever you like."
I left them and joined the Great Commander. By the size of the town I guessed that the soldiers had probably captured all of the females. The old magic would soon reveal the vessel of the Moon. As I silently considered which of them to test, my cloak billowed like one of the many smoke clouds rising from the ruins of the village houses. The women shrank away as though they hoped the shadows could hide them from me. Some of them tried to resist, but I subdued them all. None of them triggered a reaction from the orb.
"How many women did your men kill tonight, Commander?"
"We have spared all of them, just as the orders dictated." His voice was flat to the point of almost sounding bored. He might have shown more emotion if he had known how close he was to meeting the ancient sword.
I eyed the cadets who guarded the captives with him. A steel-eyed teenager who resembled the commander avoided looking at me. I wondered if he was a nephew or younger cousin of the man. If that was the case, threatening him might encourage the commander to tell me if his soldiers had taken a few living spoils.
"Where are the others?" I pressed.
"They were all gathered for you. There are no others," the Commander insisted.
Holding a blade to his kin's throat might get me answers, but I would risk having to kill the entire troop if they turned on me. And then how would I find out where they had taken the woman I wanted? Thankfully the teen relieved me of having to decide.
He cleared his throat awkwardly and said, "Sir, a couple of the officers were still… processing the mayor and his family."
"Show me to them." I ordered the boy.
He headed toward the mayor's house. Once I distinguished it from among the other homes I left the humans behind and reached it with a speed they could not match. I paused to take in the scene. The building had not yet been damaged, but the residents were less fortunate. A soldier had fashioned a crude litter from pieces of rubble and was using it to drag the prone form of a woman's body around the side of the house, away from his comrades' eyes. Two charred, human-sized figures lay near the pallet. One of them began to move. It, for gender was no longer distinguishable, struggled toward the girl reaching out with its remaining fingers. The soldier kicked the dying person out of his way and started to fumble with the young woman's clothes. In an instant I moved behind the man and threw him against a wall so swiftly that he never glimpsed me before losing consciousness.
Touching the girl's warm cheek reassured me that she was still alive. I pushed her head upright and held the orb over her forehead. It hummed in my hand and pure light poured upward. The beam parted the skies and rose to the full moon.
So it was her. I hadn't bothered to scrutinize her features at first, but now I looked and I realized why the soldier had wanted her. she was a comely human, slender and young. I wondered if she had ever seemed extraordinary before this night. Had those corpses known she was different? Did her family guess at her uniqueness?
The Commander and his cadet arrived and stood nearby.
"I have what I need. Destroy the village, Commander."
"And the women in the stable?"
"Torch all of the buildings."
"Is this really necessary?"
Seeing his hesitance, I added, "It is his majesty, Emperor Doel's command. Take that girl into custody." I was not entirely certain that the Great Commander would obey my orders. He was a different breed entirely. After a long paused he relayed the order to his men.
Screams rose and buildings fell, but I barely noticed. I had found the Moon Child.
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