"So," Malik began in his low, rich, slightly scratchy voice as he poured the both of them some tea, "what is it you wanted to speak of so earnestly that it nearly got you killed, marauder?"
"How do you know I was riding in earnest?" Eden asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I heard reports of a rider charging through the sands."
"Conveniently yelling her name out at the top of her lungs?"
"No." Malik replied with a slight chuckle, "There were rumors that you were here."
Though shocked by the claim, Eden didn't show it and instead took a sip of the offered tea as custom demanded, her eyes never leaving the Assassin sitting across from her.
Eden had ridden hard and fast to the only person she thought might help them against the psychotic warlord. And when she had reached the Assassins and demanded to be let in, she knew those could have been the last words she'd ever say. It was only when she had evaded 15 arrows and caught 5, that Malik appeared and ordered to open the gates. A long time ago, she had unexpectedly saved him from a dishonorable stab in the back. In return, Malik had tried to save her from herself. Yet, their evening talks about life would quickly shift to arguments where he would say she was hot blooded and stubborn while she would accuse him of lacking emotion and passion.
But despite their inability to see eye to eye, Eden always respected Malik more than she'd admit. He was one of the Assassins greatest thinkers, yet he wasn't arrogant or self righteous. Thought always came before speech, his words carefully chosen and calm. He treated everyone with the same regard and Eden thought that the Assassins would have become an Order over all others if he was chosen to lead them.
"The Fiori are under siege." Eden said simply cutting to the point.
"Yes, I know." he answered slowly.
"Do you have anything to do with it?"
"Ah, now, marauder, you know us better than that." he chided calmly and then took a sip of his tea, "We are assassins, not warlords."
"But you never liked the Fiori."
"True," he acknowledged, leaning back into a more comfortable position in his chair, "though I assume the feeling is mutual... Why all these questions about the Fiori? Do you now wear a lily around your neck?"
Eden didn't answer and instead battled her own doubts for a few moments over whether this was a good idea at all. Yet, in the end, she realized, she had no real choice.
"I have a name for you." she finally stated calmly.
"Ah..." he replied in understanding, leaning forward to set his tea on the table between them and then leaning back and interlocking his fingers, "So you have come to collect my debt, I see."
"I came to you because I knew you'd listen." Eden admitted honestly and she saw something soften in his eyes, "This can be repayment if you want though I never thought of it as a debt."
He rubbed his short black beard absently as he smiled lightly with a quizzical expression on his face as if he almost didn't believe that what he heard was true.
"Let me hear the name."
"Jonas."
"Jonas? Oh, that is a heavy name..." he noted and fell silent, his dark brown eyes dropping to the floor in thought.
She knew there was a chance for the Assassins to finally handle the scourge that no one had enough wit and insanity to deal with. Jonas kept the different, smaller Orders of the region from killing each other by focusing their attention on not being killed by him. It had worked fine while Jonas kept to small raids and pillaging. But now the warlord was conducting a frontal assault on one of the Orders.
"His loss will upset the balance," Malik argued logically when his eyes returned to Eden's, "This includes the Fiori. Without his threatening presence, what would stop them from attacking us?"
"The Fiori have a new commander... A gentler, wiser one who wants to lead them to the first ways... They wouldn't pose a threat."
"Have you met this commander?" he asked, intrigued.
"I have."
"And you say she is different?"
"She is."
"Describe her to me."
"She is humble and kind... She's a good fighter, but fights only when she has to... and even then she fights to disarm, not to kill. She knows how to listen and is curious of the world and it's workings. And she loves her fellow man, perhaps a little more than she should."
Malik listened with interest and observed a slight glint Eden's eyes had when she described the commander. Anyone else wouldn't have noticed it, but he was a man of great insight and intuition. And though he could never say they were close enough to be friends, that glint in her eye made him smile.
"There has been a change in you, marauder," he said in casual observation, "One I had almost given up on."
"I like being unpredictable," the warrior skirted, "What about Jonas?"
"You are not the same angry warrior that argued with me years ago, but are still guarded as ever." he chuckled slowly, "I will think on the matter."
"I need your answer now." Eden countered, trying to keep the anxiousness from her tone.
"These things take time, marauder, you know that."
"I also know that you've been closely observing Jonas ever since he had his own banner. You already know all you need to know."
"And this new lady commander?"
"I stand by what I said about her."
"And you are also her champion." he judged almost as if he could see the sash that she wasn't wearing, "Perhaps your judgment of her is not all that clear."
"You know me well enough to know the worth of my word." Eden quietly replied, quickly recovering from the surprise of Malik's observation.
The Assassin rubbed his short beard absently. What Eden said was true, he knew that she was a very good judge of character and was a very insightful, strategic thinker when she wasn't angry. But he noticed that even her anger which used to boil at the very surface now seemed to simmer much deeper beneath.
"Why should I help you?"
"For old times' sake?" Eden offered and Malik let out a throaty laugh.
"I'm not an Assassin for my sentimentality, marauder. If I recall, you would have killed any one of us given the chance."
"If I recall, you tried to teach me about things greater than myself."
Malik looked at her long and hard with a knowing gaze that almost made Eden squirm.
"You ask much of me... We keep a balance. Those such as Jonas do not garner our sympathy, but neither do those such as you."
"Such as me?"
"We still strive to free mankind, not evangelize them."
"Ah, how well you know me." Eden replied sarcastically, growing slightly irritated.
"Do not think that simply because you do not see me galloping up and down the length of the Levant that I lead a sheltered, ignorant existence." Malik calmly replied, practically pinning Eden to her chair with his gaze, "I know what this land and everything above and below it carries. Demons, jinn, angels, prophets, witches, shape shifters, watchers,...and those like you... And I despise them all because each in its own way inhibits man's freedom to think and choose for himself."
Eden sat back in her chair. There was a time when she would have grown angry with him and begun to yell enraged arguments like so many times before. Yet now she even surprised herself with her restraint. It was almost funny in a way. She never knew what he saw in her, but when he offered his teachings, she accepted without hesitation. He was a very learned man, knowing several languages and every religious text she could think of. But he also followed the latest discoveries in the sciences and medicine and was an expert in classical philosophy. If men could kill with their mind, Malik would rule the world.
Eden was eager to learn, yet he quickly noticed that she was also eager to outdo everyone. Her lack of patience and humility often quickly lead to a fight, but Eden always returned once she had calmed down and he was always waiting. The warrior wondered whether he knew how much they actually had in common, how many thoughts they shared. Of course he realized, Eden thought, but being overly trusting and open wasn't what had kept him alive so long.
"I see..." Eden replied, a small smile trembling in the corner of her mouth, "So when was the last time I told you what to believe in?"
"Perhaps you do not say the words, but you do the deeds."
"So tell me how is man supposed to exercise his free will if he's enslaved at the start?" Eden asked and recognized that she had his attention with a shift in his posture, "'Those like me', as you so nicely put, protect mankind from evil tricksters precisely so that they can live the life they choose."
"What if evil is what he chooses?"
"Then he doesn't need me to continue with it. But he does need me if he wants to escape it." Eden explained and then paused for a moment, "Whether you believe in God or not, mankind's greatest gift is free will. I couldn't control it even if I wanted to. And you and I both know somewhere deep within ourselves that despite everything we've seen, man isn't inherently evil. And whether someone is good through devout faith or not is none of my concern."
A silence settled between them as the Assassin pondered over her words, happily surprised at the amount of emotional restraint and wisdom Eden had seemed to gain over the years. He also liked to draw out silence when speaking with someone, believing that you could tell a lot about a person in the way they acted when there was nothing being said. Some became agitated and angry, others self conscious, and others bored. But Eden held his gaze, steady and confident. The corners of Malik's eyes wrinkled as he slowly smiled. He had never asked why she had saved his back from being split open, but now saw that the guardian would probably still surprise him more than once.
"Fair enough, marauder." he acknowledged. "We all have our part to play in this life."
"And Jonas?"
"It is done." he decided after a long pause, "Now let us discuss what to do with the rest of his band."
Eden felt a pang of fear shoot through her body along with a heat in her face and as quickly as it appeared, it faded, replaced by the burning sensation in her arm that she knew so well. Malik noticed a strange wave of emotion ripple across Eden's face and observed her closely.
"We have little time." Eden said simply, gripping the chair to hold back from jumping up and racing to Arielle that very second. "We have to go now."
Arielle had paced back and forth for two straight days before finally growing agitated at her lack of action. She gathered her council and they settled, not without argument, on finding out what Jonas wanted from them. Innogen immediately sent out a runner who quickly returned to say that Jonas agreed to talks, but her facial expression betrayed her grave doubts to her commander. Arielle only nodded and didn't dare look at Lillian or Innogen, knowing very well what she would find in their eyes.
The women rode out under a white flag when the time came and stopped at a spot marked by a large rock. The warlord, as anyone with the upper hand, made sure to make them wait a little. Doubt and nerves played in his favor.
Jonas wasn't anything near what Arielle had expected. The violent stories painted a picture of a demonic man who knew no fear, driven by an insatiable hatred. Instead, Jonas trotted up with his two men to the Lady Commander calmly with a relaxed posture. His skin was dark brown, wrinkled, and weather worn and his face was half lost in thick, black brows and a long beard sparsely peppered with gray hairs. His turban and billowing clothes were a single shade of brown that was almost exactly like that of his horse. Jonas said nothing, calmly observing the Fiori with a sharp, frigid stare that Arielle was almost convinced could cut skin. The wind kept kicking up dust into Arielle's face and throat and she wanted to cough, but held it in, determined not to show any type of weakness.
"Well?" Jonas finally asked impatiently, staring practically through the blond.
"I wanted to discuss terms with you." Arielle stated, using her most official voice.
"Terms?" he repeated, the corner of his mouth rising in an arrogant sneer.
"Yes, terms. Let's talk and no one has to die here."
Jonas looked back at his two men and they all broke into a laughter that unnerved the Fiori.
"I don't discuss terms." the raider said flatly when he turned back to Arielle.
"Then what do you want, Jonas?"
The raider took his time answering. He drew in a deep breath and looked up at the highest ramparts of the fortress before him with total disinterest. He ran his hand over his beard once and then turned his cold gaze back to the bard.
"Nothing that you could give me," he replied and then raked his eyes up and down the bard's body, "although..."
Xanthus snorted loudly and began to stamp in irritation. Arielle nervously pulled at his reins to control him and he stopped. A sinking feeling crept up from her stomach as she realized civilized discussion was out of the question, but she still wouldn't give up on the prospect of averting slaughter.
"We will pay you to leave us in peace."
"You don't have that kind of coin." Jonas noted with a short shrug as he remained relaxed and the bard was losing her patience and calm demeanor.
"Jonas, I don't know what you want with us." Arielle finally blurted out with a loud breath, "but we're still willing to talk. I think you should listen."
Any good humor left in the three men quickly drained from their faces and Jonas ground his teeth together with such gathering anger that Arielle could almost hear it.
"Little girls don't tell me what to do."
"If you attack us," Arielle continued, trying to counter her growing panic with brashness, "then we won't surrender to you. You'll have to fight us for every scrap of space."
"I'm not afraid of a bunch of women."
"You should be."
Suddenly, Jonas grabbed Xanthus' reins and the horse snorted loudly as Arielle's heart shot up into her throat and threatened to jump out.
"Now I'm not gonna smack you off your horse only because I'm a gentleman," he sneered, practically seething through his teeth, "but you try to threaten me again, you little whore, and I'll gut you like a pig."
The bard would have swallowed, but both her mouth and throat were dry. A thousand doubts raced through her mind all followed by Eden's warning to stay away from Jonas. Now she briefly wondered if it was too late to admit she was wrong without losing her life. Yet she also felt the presence of the Fiori beside her and at her back. They stood by her decision, no matter which she would now make. If they attacked, they would fight for her. If Jonas killed her, they would avenge her. No matter what she did in that moment, the Fiori would be there.
Arielle wanted to curse herself. She wanted to curse her naivety, her belief in the inherent good of man, her desire to change things, to make them better without spilling blood. The farther she drifted away from her sheltered existence and into Eden's world, the better she understood Eden's anger and distrust. Did everything always have to end in violence? Was there no other way to fight for the greater good besides prying it from someone's dead hands? The edge of her mouth twitched upward for a moment as she imagined Eden shaking her head with amusement. Even now, with Lillian firmly on her right and Innogen practically growling on her left, Arielle only wanted peace. But even peace, she knew, sometimes came with a price.
"Let go." Arielle said firmly, trying to keep her voice even as her hand unconsciously slid down to her stomach and rested on the dagger Eden gave her.
Jonas's ever watchful eyes noticed the motion. He glanced at the dagger and a sneer crossed his face. And then, like a bolt out of the blue, he backhanded the Lady Commander, getting a yelp out of Arielle, a gasp out of Lillian, and a unsheathed sword from Innogen.
"You think that showing me that you're Eden's wench is gonna scare me?" he jeered at the bard who was holding her left cheek with one hand, "It's that bitch I came for. You're all just pig shit in the way."
Xanthus roared loudly when Arielle suddenly grabbed the reins and yanked them out of his hands with a force that even surprised the raider. An abrupt anger was set ablaze within her with his hatred for Eden and contempt for the Fiori. Jonas watched her carefully from under his dark, bushy brows. He would probably agree with anyone who called him crazy, but he wasn't stupid. He saw the fire in the Lady Commander's eyes and couldn't help but notice that it reminded him somewhat of the fire he had seen in Eden's on the day they fought. But this was just a dumb kid.
"Tell Eden to come crawling out of her stinking hole," he snarled, his dark eyes twinkling with a sense of victory, "Only a coward hides behind a drove of women... But don't think I'll hesitate to trample right over all of you to get to her."
He yanked his reins violently, turning and galloping off with his men before Arielle had a chance to reply. She watched the raiders race back toward their army, leaving a thick cloud of dust behind them. Arielle felt lost and empty. The good will of man that she believed in so deeply had just been trampled beneath Jonas's hooves without as much as a glance. If it came to a battle, she would fight in it along with her warriors, but her mind was still nearly tripping over itself trying to find a less violent solution. If only her throbbing cheek would stop scrambling her thoughts.
"Lady Commander?" Lillian said quietly, turning towards her silent commander who was starting straight out into the desert.
Both Lillian and Innogen knew the Fiori were in grave trouble and doubted whether Arielle could get them out of it or if Eden would save them. The Grand Master doubted Eden would make it back in time while Innogen still harbored a notion that Eden had either left them to their fate or joined the stronger side. The warlord had struck Arielle and she had done nothing, a fact that unnerved her two advisers and made them wonder if Arielle wasn't weak after all.
"Tell the Fiori there will be no terms." Arielle stated plainly, her eyes not moving from the horizon.
"Right away." Lillian replied and quickly turned back to their gates.
. . . . . . . . . .
Back in the room, all the Fiori had already gathered and followed their commander with anxious eyes as she slowly sat on her throne. The quiet drew on long enough for some of the warriors to doubt that Arielle was even paying attention. The bard chewed her bottom lip and stared at the floor with great intensity as if she was trying to solve some riddle in her head. A loud cough brought her mind back to her Order and she looked up. The Fiori were all looking at her, waiting, an ocean of nearly every single emotion that Arielle could name. They knew that there was no negotiating with Jonas and that he was out for rivers of blood. And even Arielle could feel the suspicion hanging in the air that it was Eden he wanted. She realized that she was teetering on the edge of panic and revolt with a bloodthirsty army camped right outside her walls.
Her fingers absently picked at the throne's arm rests as she tried to find the right words. Their food stocks were starting run low and there was constantly a risk of Jonas discovering their water supply and poisoning it. The warlord had all the time in the world to wait; the Fiori didn't. Yet every time the thought of surrender entered her head, she batted it away angrily, determined not to give up. Eden's words echoed in her head- Remember you are the commander and none other.
"Jonas doesn't want to talk," Arielle said slowly after taking a deep breath, "He wants blood."
"Ours? Why?" one of the warriors asked.
"Not ours precisely. He thinks Eden is here." Arielle clarified which sent a murmur through the room.
"But she's not here. He knows that now, doesn't he?"
"I didn't have a chance to tell him." Arielle admitted.
"We should send a rider. Tell him that Eden isn't here. Then maybe he'll leave us alone and go looking for what he's really after." an archer suggested and was met with several approving hums.
"Listen to yourselves!" Arielle interjected loudly and abruptly, her posture stiffening with her frustration, "You're talking about the warrior who fought with you against Shula. And now you want to throw her to the dogs? If it wasn't for her, we would have been taken over and rotting in the ground by now."
"If it wasn't for Eden, Jonas wouldn't have come here in the first place." Innogen countered quietly, but firmly.
Arielle's head snapped to the side to look at her Weapons Master in a mixture of astonishment and hurt. Fighting a warlord was hard enough, but fighting with her own Order was beginning to be more than she could bear. There were moments when Arielle began to regret that she had ever saved Yasmine from Shula's crushing blow.
"Well I'm beginning to wonder," Arielle said more quietly though with a rumbling growl in her tone, "how Jonas found this hidden fortress so easily. And how he thought that Eden was here among those who claim to keep our secrets to the grave."
Innogen's eyes flashed at the insinuation and Arielle turned back to the rest of the warriors who were also annoyed with the comment.
"She's not one of us." one of the warriors complained.
"She is my champion!" Arielle insisted and abruptly slammed her fist against the arm rest, "And she'll be protected by this Order."
"It's one champion against an entire Order." one warrior near the front murmured.
"No..." Arielle started, slowly rising from her seat as she clenched her fists, "That's an entire Order against me... If you want Eden handed over to Jonas then you have to challenge me first."
Low, anxious murmurs fluttered among the warriors as they all looked at their commander. Lillian stood close enough to see the lightning flashing in her eyes, the knuckles in her clenched fists turning white, and the angry, red mark below her eye from where Jonas had struck her. This was a much different Arielle than the one she had met and for a few moments she didn't know whether to be proud or afraid.
"Well?!" Arielle shouted, "Are you all only strong in words?"
Lillian quickly saw the shift in a few of the warriors and the danger it carried. Without another thought, she bounded up the few steps between her and Arielle and stood between her commander and the Fiori.
"This is madness." Lillian whispered only to Arielle.
"I won't listen to this kind of talk!" Arielle continued to bellow, "Who will fight me for a chance to let my champion die?!"
The bard almost felt as if she had lost control of herself. But the moment she thought she might burst into raging flame, her anger dissipated and she heard her own words echoing through the great room. She was shocked at herself; was she yelling, threatening, picking a fight? Was this how she wanted to rule? No, but it wasn't a point of order or tactic that was being challenged- it was Eden. The blond took a deep breath to steady herself on weakening legs. She simply had to protect Eden; it was an impulse greater than anything she had ever known.
A few of the Fiori began to slowly make their way up to the Lady Commander, growling under their breath and Arielle looked on in growing horror as her challenge was about to be accepted. And if faced with a fight, she would stand her ground, but being the one who had started it was against her very nature and made her slightly ill.
"Whoever touches the Lady Commander will taste my sword!" Lillian announced, unsheathing her blade halfway to show she was serious.
The approaching warriors stopped. Their eyes roamed between Arielle and Lillian as they tried to decide between the two.
"Withdraw." Innogen suddenly ordered, making their minds up for them and in the corner of her eye she caught Lillian turn to look at her in surprise, "The war is outside."
The warriors grumbled under their breath, slowly retreated, and then turned to leave the room. Slowly, one after another, the rest of the Fiori followed their example and soon the room was empty save Arielle and half her council. A loud breath escaped Lillian as she sheathed her sword and turned to look at Arielle. The Lady Commander was no longer the enraged woman who almost looked larger than life, but more like a bard who seemed very troubled with what she had just seen.
"Arielle-"
"You claim to take women from all walks of life," Arielle now whispered so quietly that Lillian could barely hear, "and yet there seems to be one woman who is so disgusting to you all that you would gladly let her die to save your skins."
"Arielle, you know that it's not as simple as that." Lillian tried to soothe, reaching out to gently grasp the bard's arm.
"Don't." Arielle said in a cracking whisper, making Lillian's hand freeze before it touched her, "This Order makes me sick. I make myself sick."
Lillian said nothing as she watched the Lady Commander slowly make her way down the steps and through the hall. The Grand Master's heart went out the young woman knowing well some of the burden she carried. She had never asked where Eden had gone and why exactly. But she could clearly see that Eden's absence was beginning to take a toll on the blond woman. Her insecurities floated closer to the surface, making her doubt herself in almost every situation. It wasn't something that everyone could see, but it was enough to make Lillian worry if Arielle would be able to carry her burden without cracking beneath it.
"Why did you do that?" Lillian asked her friend when she heard her take a few steps closer.
"Do what?" Innogen replied, her eyes still trailing the saddened bard.
"Tell them to withdraw."
"Think of me what you want," Innogen replied with a bit of a shrug as she turned to look at Lillian, "but the war really is outside.
The days seemed to stretch on infinitely for the bard. Lillian watched at the life seemed to drain out of Arielle as she began to almost shrivel into herself. There were nights when the Grand Master would awaken in the night and hear Arielle shouting in the nightmares that had appeared ever since Eden had left. Shouts would soon stop and turn into quiet sobs while Lillian would hover outside her commander's door, debating whether to enter and never deciding on it. She had never seen anyone miss someone that much and it made her wonder how strong the bond between the bard and the warrior must be. The most courage Lillian could build up was to ask Arielle if everything was alright. But the answer was always the same- a weak smile and a nod. The woman who was cheerful and friendly towards most was now quiet and reserved and keeping everyone at a distance. Red rimmed eyes with dark circles underneath and paling skin were there for all to see, but everyone pretended they saw nothing.
Arielle found herself hanging between waiting for Jonas to attack them and for Eden to return with something that would save them all. The bard went over all the things that had happened and all the conversations she had had over and over. Perhaps there was a missing piece somewhere. Maybe there was something she had overlooked. And all that buzzing in her head led her to the strange idea to visit Shula. The ex commander was, after all, one of the Fiori. Maybe there was something Shula knew or hid that would be their savior.
As the bard made her way down to the dungeons, she hoped that the time Shula had spent locked away would calm her down and give her time to think and reflect upon her actions. Arielle had always thought that people don't do bad things because they want to, but only because they are misguided and everyone should be given a second chance. When she knocked against the heavy doors for the guard, she decided that Shula deserved the same opportunity as everyone else.
A young guard with a spear opened the doors and hesitantly led Arielle to Shula's cell.
"Hello, Shula." the bard said evenly.
"Well if it isn't the storyteller turned conqueror," Shula replied, sauntering her way across her cell with a sneer across her face, "To what do I owe this displeasure?"
"I wanted to talk to you." the bard answered, determined not to let Shula crawl under her skin.
"Talk? What is there to talk about? You're here either to set me free or let me die."
"You're wrong. I wanted to talk to you as the former Lady Commander."
Shula's sneer was forgotten as she looked at the blond with both curiosity and confusion. Her head tilted slightly to the side as she tried to decipher the real reason Arielle had come to see her. A few moments later, the dungeon came to life with the sound of Shula's loud laugh bouncing off the walls.
"You think I'll help you find a way out of this siege!" she cried in amusement, nearly folding in two in laughter and taking a while to regain her breath and composure, "Oh, you truly are entertaining, bard."
"You once led these warriors," Arielle said, trying to appeal to any humanity left in the woman and ignoring her own hurt pride, "Can you really tell me that you don't care if they die?"
"Warriors? Do we have any warriors here? Because all I see is blubbering fools with their heads in the clouds and their hearts on their sleeves." Shula explained and then pressed her forehead against the bars as she wrapped her hands around them, "Disease is all I see, disease that should be flushed out with sword and fire. And you are the greatest blight of them all."
"You are speaking the Lady Commander, witch!" the guard chastised loudly and brandished her spear threateningly.
"It's alright." Arielle calmed and spared the spear a glance, "There's no need for that... What is your name?"
"Avah, my lady." the guard answered briskly, standing at attention.
Arielle smiled at the guard who was so young that the bard had to bite her tongue to not ask her her age.
"Leave us for a while, Avah." Arielle said gently.
"My lady?" the guard questioned, throwing Shula nervous glances.
The bard simply nodded that it was alright. Avah cautiously moved away, never taking her eyes off Shula and then turned to leave through the dungeon door, leaving it ajar behind her.
"Are we going to brush each other's hair now and talk about love?" Shula mocked.
"Are you that heartless?" Arielle questioned quietly, "Does nothing matter to you?"
"Heartless..." Shula chuckled and shook her head, "You think that caring about something makes you soft and timid. Yet it doesn't. It's the difficult decisions, the sacrifices I made that showed how much I truly cared. And you dare to question my heart while you sit pointlessly, whimpering behind the walls?"
"I don't want anyone to needlessly die. That doesn't make me a coward."
"You think that your overinflated reverence for life makes you special. It makes you weak. I'm not heartless, I'm only true to myself and the world. People are doomed to fight and die in the battles they start in the chaos they're surrounded by."
"But chaos doesn't rule the world."
"Doesn't it? Just look at the history of this very Order. There were rules, a certain structure and vision. And once the founder died, chaos ensued. Because everyone has their own ideas and desires and only a very few can control them. It would be very simple to just follow the rules and live in peace and order, but why would we do that if there's a chance we could break the rules and achieve something more for ourselves? There is no greater good; there is only the stronger good. Your battle is one of a mouse against a lion."
"Jacob wrestled with an angel and God blessed him." Arielle observed quietly.
"And David defeated Goliath." Shula added with a shrug of her shoulders, "And now what do we have for that? Look around you- war, disease, destruction, instability. It doesn't seem like much of a blessing."
"And so we should turn to knives and swords because we think we have a better idea? If violence was the answer for every question, God would have created us with weapons... There is always a choice."
"But choices are rarely equal to each other." Shula countered, "You're too weak stomached to command or even truly live. We are born in blood and pain and the only way we ever truly live is in blood and pain. Notions of peace and love are only thought up by those who are too weak to take part in the reality of life and so they rot away in jealousy."
Arielle hung her head quietly. The truth in Shula's words echoed in her head and made her wonder if everything she had done up to that point was a mistake. She remembered when Eden told her that she and Shula had more in common than Arielle knew. The bard wondered for a moment if that was true, would Eden simply charge head on into her enemy and solve the problem by drowning it in blood. Perhaps, she thought, there was a day Eden would do just that. Yet, in the end, the warrior had chosen redemption over retaliation.
"I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourself and help your fellow warriors." Arielle said slowly, turning her gaze back up to Shula.
"You're not one to give redemption away so save it for yourself. You're the one who will be the death of us all."
"I will not back down from this fight!" Arielle stated adamantly, "I'll do right by my sisters!"
"I see you're honorable. How... useless." Shula snickered and then turned an enraged glare at the bard, "You have no idea what you've begun and are in the middle of. You think that your whispered prayers and noble ideals will save you against forces so far superior to you. Surrender, bard. Surrender to the fact that you are out matched in every sense. You weren't chosen to lead, but stumbled upon it by accident."
"And you led a revolt!"
"Because I was the stronger good! Can't you see that? You are in no position to lead us and you are absolutely no match for the warlord waiting outside our walls." Shula explained loudly and then paused, taking a deep breath and lowering her voice, "Surrender... God wouldn't think any less of you."
"What?" Arielle asked in surprise, blinking twice at the fiery-haired prisoner.
"God would not be angry with you if you relinquished your powers to someone better than you. It would be the smartest thing to do for the entire Order."
"Do you really think so?"
"I do." Shula assured her calmly, "It would be an act of great love and mercy to give the Fiori a victory even if it wouldn't be remembered in your name."
It had been a constant idea that clamored around Arielle's head ever since she had heard that they were under siege and even more so when Eden left. She was fully aware of the fact that she wasn't the best warrior, commander, or strategist among them. And sometimes the bard wanted to simply tear the lily of the valley from around her neck and shove it into someone else's hands. Yet the thing that kept her back every time was the fact that Yasmine chose her with her dying breath. Whether she had been ready for it or not, Arielle had been chosen and no one else.
"I should give command to someone better than me... even my rival... Is that what you would do if you were me?"
"Yes." Shula answered, almost unable to fight back an urge to lick her lips as she stared hungrily at the bard.
"I see..." Arielle said softly, nodding once slowly, "Then you are very much someone I would never want to be."
"You pathetic little whore! You could never even reach the soles of my boots!" Shula snarled against the bars of her cell.
"I'm the Lady Commander of this Order and you will refer to me as such." Arielle ordered, an angry flush rising in her cheeks, "Guard!"
"Pomp and praise make you no one in particular." Shula continued to yell, "We'll meet again some day on the other side, storyteller."
"I doubt that." Arielle said evenly, turning to leave as the young guard came dashing in with her spear ready.
"I don't. Because you will die, storyteller! You, your demon champion, and all the rest of us!"
Arielle was no longer listening as she moved through the thick door, the young guard right behind her.
"Lady Commander, a word?" Avah asked.
"Of course."
"I just want you to know, my lady, that though I might stand here and guard Shula, I don't agree with her. I fought against her when you appeared."
"Thank you."
"And," Avah continued quickly, "I know that you'll lead us out of this mess."
"Not everyone shares your view." Arielle admitted sadly.
"No... only the ones who matter."
Arielle looked into light brown, slightly hooded eyes which reflected back nothing but confidence in the bard. It brought Eden to her mind with such a vengeance that she could almost physically feel the pain of her absence. She dropped her gaze a little and noticed the clasp in the shape of a rider on the young guard's cloak as it briefly glinted in the light and she had the strange impression that she had seen it somewhere before.
"I see the rings under your eyes, my lady. You've grown pale and unhappy." Avah noted gently, tearing the bard from her thoughts.
Arielle said nothing and simply stared at the ground, not noticing the young guard observing her. In truth, the weight of the Order now on her shoulders was dragging her down and crushing her into the ground. Disputes, unrest, and even sieges were nothing compared to the utter terror she felt when faced with the prospect of sending her warriors out into battle. She didn't want anyone to lose their life because of her word. Frustration and self disgust raised their ugly heads when she realized how naive she had been thinking that if she turned the Fiori back to peace then peace would settle around them. Despite everything she believed in, she had now found herself smack in the middle of Eden's world. And Eden was only God knows where.
The soft pressure of the young guard's hand on her shoulder made Arielle look at her.
"I'm sure you'll think of something, Lady Commander." she said with a gentle smile.
"I wish I was that certain." Arielle replied with a heavy sigh, "I don't know as much about war as Innogen or Eden do."
"Perhaps, but you are surely wiser." Avah noted confidently, "Where is Eden? I haven't seen your champion for a while."
"I wish I knew..."
"Did she go back for help? Is an army coming back with her? Or did she run away? Maybe she did really leave us here to die?"
"What?"
The guard sensed she had gone too far with her questions and quickly removed her hand and took a small step backwards with a bow.
"Forgive me, Lady Commander, I let my tongue run away with me." the young woman explained hastily, "I'm sure that Eden knows what she is doing. And that we are safe under your command."
"Thank you." the bard responded with a short nod and then turned to leave with a strange, uncomfortable feeling crawling across her skin.
"I don't know what to do..." Arielle whispered.
Unable to sleep after another nightmare, she sat in a chair beside her large window, her legs drawn up and her cheek resting on the knees she had wrapped her arms around. The night would have been beautiful if Arielle's heart hadn't been too heavy to notice and enjoy it. She gazed up at the heavens wondering where Eden was, what she was doing, and if she was safe. And if Eden came back, would she bring some kind of miracle with her?
"Our reserves are starting to dwindle... The Fiori are anxious..." Arielle continued hoping that maybe something heavenly would hear her, "If I attack and try to lift the siege, I might lead my sisters to slaughter... If I simply wait for Eden, I might starve us all to death..."
There was no answer, the hanging silence a crushing blow to her fragile resolve.
"Why leave me alone with this?... I'm just too tired, too lost... Please, bring her back to me... I need her help, her strength..." the bard pleaded to the sky as silent tears ran down her cheeks, "Why is no one listening? Why won't you help me?"
Arielle pulled the dagger Eden had left her off the window sill and turned it around slowly in her slightly trembling hands.
"Why did you leave me here?... Why did you go without telling me?... Do you still not trust me?... Do you not... really love me?... I can't do this alone. It's not who I am or what I believe in... Why did you let me think I could do this myself?!" Arielle shouted at the end and hurled the dagger into the opposite wall.
Only a few moments passed before Arielle heard a loud knock on the door and the Grand Master letting herself in.
"I heard a noise. Are you alright?" Lillian asked, looking around the room for signs of any danger.
"I'm just a storyteller..." Arielle whispered painfully, "I'll lead us to slaughter..."
Lillian nodded in silent understanding. She approached the bard who was looking at her as if she might have some kind of magic solution that would make all the danger and discord just go away.
"No, Arielle... you'll lead them to war. They're all a part of this Order and knew the risks and responsibilities the minute they became a part of us." Lillian countered and then reached for the bard's hand and held it in her own, "You'll lead us because you are our commander. And we'll follow you because we know you have our well being at heart... If you take us to battle, I'll be right beside you."
Arielle looked up into the Grand Master's eyes, expecting to find anxious doubt, but instead found solid trust. She smiled and then completely surprised the Grand Master by leaning in and hugging her tightly.
"Thank you." Arielle whispered and Lillian found herself tongue tied and awkwardly, at least at first, hugged her commander back.
The next day, the Fiori were all in a fever. In the breakfast hall, Arielle had stood and announced to prepare for battle; the warriors were to mobilize to try to lift the siege. The energy threatened to burst through the walls as the Fiori hurried around the entire fortress, either arming themselves as the attack force or as those few who stayed behind in defense. Arielle's council barked orders left and right and the blond couldn't cease to be amazed at the frenzy her simple statement had started.
Once her warriors were ready and standing in formation behind the gate, Arielle gave an uplifting speech that she couldn't later remember because of her nervousness. She silently prayed to every holy being that she wasn't making the biggest mistake of her life. She then turned around, put on her helmet, called for the gates to be opened, and led her warriors out to meet Jonas.
. . . . . . . . . .
When Eden and the Assassins reached a low cliff from which they could see the fortress, the Fiori had started their planned attack and Jonas was waiting for them. Eden and Malik scanned the area silently and soon Eden pointed to the main target and he nodded. He turned to whisper something to an Assassin with a covered face, who then nodded once and galloped off, along the cliff.
"Have you told Arielle about me?" Malik suddenly asked, giving a hand signal to his comrades to begin their planned assault.
"I think I mentioned you... once."
"Well, then let us see what you said." he said with a rare boyish grin.
The Assassins soon stealthily joined in, wreaking havoc and utter mayhem. His men broke their formations and began to panic as they were attacked from the front and their flanks. The Fiori quickly noticed the change in events and reacted immediately, the warriors who had been waiting in reserve charging out onto the battlefield. It was hard to pick out who was friend or foe among the huge mix of warriors who all now seemed to be fighting to simply survive.
Eden kept her eye out for the bard, though secretly hoping that she wouldn't be foolish enough to come running out into the middle of the battle just to be with her. From the corner of her eye, she noticed one of the raiders trying to pull Innogen off her horse. He was a large man who had caught her with his poleaxe and after a few tugs sent her to the ground. The Weapons Master rolled away, but had the wind knocked out of her and couldn't get up. She looked up, pulling her sword up to block the overpowering swing she knew he would be driving at her and was waiting for the crash of weapons and the taste of her own blood as she closed her eyes and braced herself. She heard the crash, but nothing else.
She opened her eyes to see Eden in front of her, on one knee, blocking the poleaxe with her shield. The raider pulled back with a swing and brought his weapon over his head to crush her in a downward cut. Eden saw the danger and suddenly surged upwards, catching his arm with her shield and interrupting his swing enough to thrust her sword straight through his neck. He fell with a gurgle, grabbing his throat in vain and Eden turned to the still shocked Weapons Master.
"Careful." Eden commented shortly and a tiny twitch of her head as if she was shrugging her shoulders and then flew back into battle.
A few moments later, Eden's sensitive hearing caught a shout go out above the roar of the battle that Jonas was dead. Her trained eye soon saw the beginnings of what she had suspected. The raiders were strong only with the legend of Jonas behind them. Without the warlord, they were just another band of men. The fight was no longer to defend their positions, but to hack their way out alive. Eden changed direction and began to make her way to where she thought Arielle would be. And then she was stopped.
The speed of the small bolt slammed through Eden's chainmail and into her neck. She spun around, looking for the shooter and only caught a glimpse of flurry of a tunic. She set off after it only to slow down after a few steps. Her breathing grew labored, her body began to tremble. She began to lose her hold on her sword and dropped her shield as her muscles lost their tension and began to relax. She slid to her knees and the sounds around her turned into echoes. She felt the small bolt, confused as to whether it was what was making her feel so strange. It had wounded her, but not deep enough to kill. And then she was suddenly lying on the ground looking up at the sky. Her mind protested, trying to tell her to get up, but her muscles wouldn't listen. Through sheer will, she tried to pull the bolt out, but only tore off a feather. She looked at it with blurring vision and then a chill of realization crawled down her spine and made her want to vomit. Her mind screamed out for Arielle, but her mouth didn't utter a sound. Her body slowly grew limp as her lungs refused her and her consciousness slowly followed, her last thought being of Arielle, the happy, laughing, blond bard. You've set her free. It's enough... Isn't it?
Arielle made her way through the remnants of the battle with Lillian close beside her. She finally stopped on the far end of the battlefield when she reached a group of her own warriors mixed with the Assassins whom she recognized from the stories she had heard. Something was wrong. It was too quiet, too still, and a feeling of utter dread snaked its way up Arielle's spine. She vaulted herself forward, tearing at the people in her way and pushing them to the side until she suddenly stopped at the sight of her champion lying on the ground, motionless.
No one said a word as Malik somehow recognized the young Lady Commander and took a few, silent steps towards her, handing her a bloody bolt. The breath seemed to escape her lungs as Arielle recognized the dark feathers at the end. Her eyes caught Malik's, asking a question she never wanted to ask nor hear the answer to. The silence that seemed to drown out the last sounds of battle grew heavier as the Assassin simply looked down over at Eden's body.
He watched the young woman slowly slide down to her knees beside the fallen warrior with such a forlorn look on her face that it touched his heart.
"Eden?... Eden please... please don't..." Arielle whispered as she stroked the warrior's face with one hand, trying hard not to fall apart into all the pieces she now wanted to become.
"I'm sorry..." Lillian whispered.
Arielle turned and looked up at her as if she couldn't understand what Lillian was sorry about. Finally, the Grand Master could no longer hold that shattered gaze and looked away across the sand as Arielle turned back to Eden.
"He was supposed to be my demon, not yours..." Arielle reminded the warrior as her hand now unconsciously roamed to the small, round wound in her neck and rested there for a moment.
"She felt nothing, fajr." Malik tried to comfort.
The bard didn't hear him. She didn't hear anything except for the now painful beating of her own heart and her own mind screaming for Eden to open her eyes. The whole time she had worried how to save her sisters. Now they were safe, but the most important thing in her life was gone.
"Please don't leave me. You promised me you'd stay." Arielle now cried over Eden's body, "It's not your time... You still have so much to teach me... I still have so much to tell you... We didn't have enough time... It wasn't close to enough..."
She gathered and cradled the warrior's body, still warm and soft to the touch. No one spoke a word, feeling that it would be an intrusion on Arielle's grief. It was only when the bard didn't have the strength to cry anymore, did Lillian kneel down to embrace her as Innogen slowly pulled the body from her hands. Malik took a step forward and silently crouched and scooped up the warrior's body. Without a word passing between them, Innogen nodded at the Assassin and he followed her back to their fortress.
Arielle spent the rest of the day and a good part of the night in a small, dark room, keeping vigil over Eden's body. Malik, Innogen, and Lillian kept vigil over the Lady Commander. Arielle hadn't uttered a word or even moved a muscle since Eden was placed there. She wouldn't let them clean, touch, or arrange the warrior in any way. The bard simply stood there, looking down at Eden, wondering how things could have gone so wrong. Each time the reality of Eden's death tried to pry its way into Arielle's mind, she would fling it back out, convincing herself that Eden was just sleeping. If she waited long enough, an angel would appear and command Eden to awaken and everything would be right with the world again.
"Arielle," Lillian started gently, "We'll need to bury her soon..."
Arielle fought back a violent sob, whimpers and coughs escaping her throat instead.
"She wanted me to take her home..." Arielle forced out of her throat.
"It's too far, fajr." Malik noted quietly.
"That's true..." Lillian agreed.
Arielle only gave a silent nod, constantly teetering between falling apart completely and doing right by the guardian warrior.
"Could she... Could I bury her... here?" Arielle asked Lillian, her shaking tone almost asking for permission she realized she shouldn't need.
"She can't be buried among the Fiori." Innogen abruptly stated, "She isn't one of us. It's against the rules."
"What?... Rules?..." Arielle asked barely above a whisper, not even looking at Innogen.
"They are what keep us together and make us who we are." Innogen replied softly in defense.
"Rules..." Arielle repeated, shaking her head with disbelief and turning her broken gaze at the Weapons Master, "Do you know why I let you keep your title?... I thought you finally understood something after being locked up in that library, reading of peace and friendship... My mistake... because now I'm standing here over Eden's body... the body of my champion, my... best friend... and you're telling me that she should have died somewhere else..."
"Arielle, we'll give Eden a warrior's funeral." Lillian suddenly interrupted, seeing the Lady Commander angry, sorrow stricken, and frail all at the same time and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"I didn't plan this! This wasn't what I wanted!" Arielle now rambled loudly, shaking and turning to Lillian to finally crumble under her friendly touch, "This wasn't the way this was supposed to end."
Lillian hushed her sobs as Arielle seemed to almost spill into her arms, not caring who saw and what they might think of her. Rocking her slowly, Lillian's mind frantically searched for a solution. She threw a chastising glance at Innogen who quickly turned on her heel and walked off, suddenly feeling a growing disgust with herself.
"We'll think of something, Arielle... Don't cry..." Lillian tried to soothe.
But it only made the bard cry harder, reminding her of certain warrior who would have said the exact same thing.
Author's Note: Thank you everyone for your reviews! They really keep me going and always brighten what's often a mediocre day.
Tomorrow, the 19th, is my birthday. So this chapter is my birthday present to all of you :) I hope you enjoy it.