The Queen of Hearts

Chapter 4: The Cottage

As Ole Bessy landed and the boarding ramp lowered, Talia welcomed the fresh evening air that rushed in towards her. She breathed it in and allowed the nostalgic smells of hay and lavender to lead her off the ship and out onto a wide, dirt trail. The makeshift road cut straight through an enormous field of golden wheat. The stalks glistened under the setting sun, which was beginning to scorch the sky with a stunning array of orange, red and purple.

Daydra unboarded next, walking up beside her. "The view never gets old, does it?"

She shook her head. "Never."

A whistle sounded behind them as Cayde strolled off the ship, followed by the others. "Well if this ain't the most beautiful piece of land I've ever seen. You're a lucky man."

Daydra grunted. "Better get going before it gets dark."

Cayde squinted his mechanical eyes, unable to follow the trail. "Seems like a long way. Why couldn't we land closer to your place?"

"Because that road doesn't lead to my place."

Cayde looked around, confused, and Talia giggled. She gestured off to the west towards a tree line marking the edge of the woods. "It's that way."

"Clever," said Vespa as she also stepped up to take in the view. "Most who happen upon this place would follow the path and miss your home entirely. Is this how you've kept it safe despite being outside the City walls?"

Daydra eyed her, impressed with her perceptiveness. "Yes, that and a few hundred explosives. It's a minefield out there."

Cayde nodded to himself with wide eyes as he surveyed the golden fields and imagined it all being consumed by fire. "You really like to blow things up."

Daydra shrugged. "When the Fallen are in it, sure. Now come on. Ivy is expecting us and I'd rather not keep her waiting." He began to walk in the direction of the woods and nearly ran over Torres as he walked blindly down the path, nose deep in a book. "By the Light! Someone make sure bookworm here doesn't wander off into the field."

Torres scoffed, glancing up from the pages. "I am a Guardian, my ghost would bring me back."

Daydra rolled his eyes and began walking away. "It's not for you. I won't let one Lightbearer destroy such a beautiful work of nature with his carelessness."

Cayde nudged Shiro. "Should I be concerned that your Warlock was ready to die to continue reading that book?"

Shiro shrugged and began trekking after Daydra. "You signed off on all the crew members. Remember that."

Cayde frowned. "I'd rather not."

Talia laughed and nudged him. "Come on. I think you'll like it at the cottage. It's old but charming, just like you."

He raised a mechanical brow and followed her towards the woods. "I don't know whether to be insulted or flattered."

Vespa followed up behind them, guiding Torres after the group. Before long they entered the woods and found themselves on a small path hidden in the brush. Daydra and Talia knew it well, and led everyone deeper into the trees where the land began to dip and the sound of running water reached their ears.

Before long, they arrived at a beautiful creek with a small stone bridge leading over it. From there, a cobblestone path led to a homely little cottage set against a short cliff. Shiro jogged ahead, impressed. "This is beautiful! And very defensible."

Daydra grunted. "That's why I chose it."

"Papa!"

Everyone looked ahead towards the origin of the new voice and were surprised to find a small boy running out of the cottage towards them. He was no older than five years old, wearing a blue City tunic with hand-sewn trousers. He flew over the bridge straight towards Daydra.

The veteran Hunter chuckled and kneeled to meet the boy, embracing him as he leaped into his arms. "Hey buddy," he said. "My, you seem to get bigger every time I see you."

"I ated a big bug today."

"Really? It wasn't poisonous was it?"

"Mama lookeded and said it was okay."

Daydra raised an eyebrow. "Okay… then good for you buddy." He picked the child up and held him at his side.

Shiro was floored, mouth agape. "You… have a child?"

"Two actually. This little tyke is Fern. His sister Wisteria is inside with their mother. Come on, I'd rather not keep her waiting."

The veteran left everyone at the bridge in shock. Even Torres had stopped reading. He leaned over to Vespa, saying, "I don't think there are any documented children of guardians anywhere. To be honest, I didn't think it was possible."

Shiro jogged after Daydra, looking between him and the child. "Forgive me if this is out of line, sir, but…"

"How do I have kids?" said Daydra.

Shiro nodded apologetically.

The veteran shrugged. "To be honest, I don't know. Perhaps a biological miracle, or a gift from the Traveler. Whatever it is… I'm thankful." He ruffled Ferns hair and the kid laughed in return. "So thankful."

As they reached the door to the cottage, Daydra turned to wait for everyone to catch up. "Perhaps I should warn you… ah, you'll find out shortly."

Cayde looked to Talia. "What does he mean by-"

Talia took his arm. "You might want to move aside."

He allowed her to pull him over just in time. As Daydra opened the door, an entire pan came flying out towards them. It flew straight past where Cayde was standing and clocked Torres square in the forehead instead. The Warlock cried out and reeled back, but Vespa caught him, holding him upright. The pan clattered loudly onto the cobblestone.

"Traveler's Light, woman!" Daydra called into the house. "You scrambled my friend's brain with that throw!"

"Friend?!" a voice responded. A small silhouette appeared in the doorway. She was small but sturdy, with curly red locks and a freckled face. Her amber eyes darted from one Guardian to the next in disbelief. "Daydra, you brought… friends?"

"Yes dear, Talia and I are working a job with these guys and they needed a place to hide and plan."

Ivy stood there motionless for a moment as she processed this information, then her face lit up and she practically jumped with excitement. "Finally! You finally brought people home with you! Oh, thank the Traveler! I was worried you would go another century without making any friends."

Daydra rolled his eyes.

"Oh!" Ivy exclaimed. "Where are my manners? Hello, I'm Ivy," she said, shaking Shiro's hand. "Hello. Hello, I'm Ivy. Hello," she said as she went to every person and shook their hand. When she got to Talia, she hugged her tightly. "Hello dear, so good to see you again! Everyone, come inside! Come, come, I was just making dinner!"

Daydra carried Fern in after her and the rest of the crew followed awkwardly, save for Talia who was very much enjoying the situation. The interior of the cottage was rustic, but homely. It was held up by strong wooden beams with insulated brick. This was further accented with a beautiful array of plants from a variety of species, bringing a sense of nature and life to the space. Through the entry hall Ivy led them, then to the right through an archway into a dining room where a large table waited with open chairs. Except for one. In the chair closest to the far wall, a young girl sat with wide eyes, watching them enter. She was a few years older than Fern, and had red hair just like her mother. She seemed to have been reading a book, but the words on the page were immediately forgotten as strangers entered her home.

"Uh, momma?" the girl said nervously.

Ivy patted her daughter on the head as she passed her on the way to the kitchen. "It's alright Wisteria, they're daddy's friends. Be a dear for me and go get some extra chairs for our guests."

"Yes momma," she said, crawling out of her chair. Her eyes were fixed on the newcomers, but she obeyed her mother all the same.

"Make yourselves comfortable," said Daydra. "We'll begin shortly."

As everyone gathered around the table and began to take seats, Wisteria dragged in some extra chairs. Talia ruffled her hair as she brought the last one. "Thanks Wis."

Wisteria smiled. "You're welcome, Auntie Talia!"

She scampered away, swiping her book off the table to go read in a quieter part of the house. As she went, Torres glanced after her, taking particular note of the book. "Song of Silence by Juniper Gath," he said across the table to Daydra. "One of the few surviving classic novels from the Dark Age. Your child must be quite the intelligent reader."

"She takes after her mother."

"You flatter me!" said Ivy as she waltzed in with a large basket full of bread. "You couldn't have come at a better time. These just came out of the oven earlier this afternoon. Help yourselves while I finish the main course."

"Thank you darling."

Ivy nodded, looking between the crew's faces as she went, still filled with excitement to have so much company.

When she had gone, Daydra lifted Fern up onto his lap who giggled excitedly, just happy to be part of whatever was going on. Then the veteran gestured to Shiro and Cayde, who were sitting next to each other. "Alright exos, out with it. What's the plan? And don't you dare spare a single detail."

They glanced at each other and Cayde shrugged, so Shiro reluctantly held out his hand. His ghost appeared there and raised over the table, projecting a holographic map of the sunken city of Old Chicago. Fern gasped at the impressive image that now covered the dining room table.

Then Cayde stood, pointing at the north quadrant of the City. "Our target is fortified here, in a massive Fallen-crafted industrial complex spanning several blocks in every direction." He then held out his own hand, summoning forth Sundance. The ghost floated off to the side and projected a second image in the air of a mean looking Fallen captain with cybernetic enhancements dominating the right side of his head. Fern's eyes went wide at the image, and he began to cry, fleeing from his father's lap and nearly falling off the chair.

"Whoa there slugger," said Daydra.

Talia got up to meet Fern around the other side of the table. She knelt and opened her arms to him. He ran right to her, crying in fear. "There, there," she said, picking him up and rocking him back and forth. "I know, that's such a scary monster. It's okay."

She stood up while rocking him, and began to sing. "There once were three knights on their way to slay a dragon. What brave and noble heroes were they."

Fern clinged to her, but his crying began to slow.

"The first was tall and had a powerful swing, but the dragon's hide was tougher. The second was short and quick on the draw, but the dragon's claws were faster."

Fern stopped crying and continued to listen to her sweet, alluring voice.

"The last knight was just your average man, but he held an amazing secret. His wits were unmatched throughout the land. He outsmarted the dragon, and won his battle. A legend he would be 'till the end."

Fern smiled and laughed.

"There's that cute smile I love! Come on, let's see if your mom needs help." She turned her head to the group. "I'll be right back."

Daydra nodded. "Thank you Talia." He turned back to the table and was surprised to see everyone's mouths hanging open. "What's wrong with all of you?"

Shiro rubbed the back of his neck. "She uh… has quite the voice doesn't she."

Vespa sighed. "I have never heard such beautiful singing."

Cayde just sat there, his eyes distant. Stunned in silence for perhaps the first time in his life.

Daydra raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yes… she is quite good. Sings to my children often. Helps them calm down or sleep. I am thankful for it."

Even Torres seemed to be surprised. "Such… resonance. She would do well on a stage I think."

Shiro nudged Cayde, snapping him out of his state of shock. "Dude, you really fumbled with this one."

Cayde's head whipped around. "What?"

Just then, Talia returned. "Sorry about that, he's helping mom out with dinner now. Sometimes our work is a little scary to him." She sat down and looked around the table. What are you all staring at?"

"Anyway," Daydra cut in. "Let's get back on track. Please give us the rundown on our target."

"His name is Talsiks," Cayde continued slowly at first, eyeing Talia. "From the intel we managed to gather, he was an Archon in training within the House of Devils, learning to maintain and repair Servitors. As you may know, becoming an Archon is one of the highest honors a Fallen warrior can achieve due to the godlike status they give Servitors. Unfortunately for Talsiks, his technological ideas and innovations were unorthodox, and the Devils banished him for heresy. From there he was picked up by the House of Kings. This house continues to be the most secretive and elusive, but every once in a while we come across some of their lower operatives. Thanks to Shiro's exemplary field work, we have confirmed that a large detachment of Kings have joined Talsiks in this compound to help him build a new, harrowing technology: High Velocity Shields." He nods to Sundance, who projects a new image of the tank with a strange, twisted generator on its back. It is surrounded by a white, ethereal energy shield.

Daydra leans forward in his chair, setting Fern down next to him. "Hey buddy, why don't you go help your mom?"

"Okay…" the child said softly. He waddled into the kitchen, occasionally glancing back at the scary images.

When he had gone, Daydra folded his hands and took a long, hard look at the walker. Then he grabbed some bread from the basket nearby and took a big bite. "I really hate those damned things," he said between crunchy chews.

Cayde nodded. "They're extra problematic with that shield making them near invincible."

"But not completely?" Vespa chimed in.

"No, not completely."

Daydra smirked. "Low velocity projectiles can penetrate the shield. That's why you recruited Talia."

Cayde nodded and looked to Talia, who was sitting on the other side of him. Her eyes were fixed on the walker. "I can do it," she said. "I just need the right angle."

"I know you can," said Daydra. "I've seen you make tougher shots than that. However," he turned to Cayde, "the problem I'm having with this is how well guarded this walker, and by proxy, Talsiks, will be. What is our entry plan?"

"I'm so glad you asked!" Cayde returned to the map and gestured to a massive swamp to the east of the city where many of the streets were flooded or destroyed. "Our scans show this area is devoid of enemy activity. We will land our ship in the swamp and make our way into the city following these roads."

This time Talia spoke up as her eyes followed Cayde's finger. "Will there not be Fallen patrols?"

"Oh most definitely," Cayde admitted, "but our reconnaissance shows that they don't go within several miles of the swamp. We don't know why, but that gives us a chance to enter the city without much resistance and establish a forward operating base."

"Very strange," said Daydra. He looked hard at the swamp.

Talia watched him curiously, as if she could see gears turning in his head. "What is it?"

"It's just… I've never known the Fallen to leave an area untouched that they could loot or conquer. We should be wary of this swamp. Perhaps it is not what it seems."

"Agreed," said Vespa. "I love a fight as much as the next gal but I also like knowing what I'm fighting."

"Well," said Cayde, "if it makes you guys feel any better, we will be landing at the edge of the swamp here, on the other side of this lake." He pointed to a murky lake that separated the floodlands from the rest of the swamp. "Puts us in direct reach of cover in the form of ruined buildings, and far from the bulk of the marshes."

Daydra nodded. "That will do. What about the forward operating base? Have we scouted a location for this?"

"Yes!" Shiro cut in. "I found an excellent vantage spot here." He pointed to a smaller skyscraper on the east side of the city that was practically crumbling. "It looks rough but the thirtieth floor is stable and the structure is outside of the Fallen's patrol perimeter. I've already left stashes of equipment to help make it operational when we arrive."

Daydra leaned back in his chair, thinking hard for a moment and nodding to himself. "I guess that just leaves me with one question."

"How do we get into the complex?" Torres asked, to the surprise of everyone. Talia looked over and saw an intense amount of focus in his eyes. When it came to the important things, it seemed, Torres knew how to put a book down.

Daydra also raised an eyebrow at him, then shrugged. "What he said."

"That was the trickier part of the plan," Cayde admitted. "Since Shiro was almost caught last time, their compound is sure to be under some kind of extra protection, which meant we needed to find an alternative, more obscure way inside. So, we hit up the old town hall and thankfully, we found this." He reached into his satchel and pulled out a carefully folded sheet of paper, which he unfurled for all to see on the table. It looked like Old Chicago, but with intersecting lines running through it from every end.

Daydra laughed out loud. "Sewers?! By the Light, just my luck. A dark, enclosed, underground tunnel is our way in? How do we know they haven't secured that too?"

"We don't, but we traced a path to the back of the compound, and if we pair that with a pretty explosive distraction at the front entrance…"

"...they may leave it unprotected. Huh," said Daydra, propping his feet up onto the table,"that's actually a decent plan."

Cayde raised a mechanical brow. "Uh, thanks, I guess?"

Just then, Ivy came back with Fern at her heels. "Alright everyone, stew's ready! Come help yourselves!" She frowned when she saw Daydra and slapped him upside the head. "No feet on the table! How many times do I have to tell you?!"

Daydra rubbed the back of his head and returned his feet under the table where they belonged. "Yes dear."

Talia chuckled and tugged Cayde's arm. "Come on, Ivy's cooking is to die for. I bet it's even better than that ramen you like so much."

Cayde scoffed as he stood and followed her towards the kitchen. "That's a bold claim. I'll be the judge of that."

Shiro also got up for food out of respect for his hosts, shortly followed by the rest of the crew and their ghosts. Only Daydra remained sitting at the table, deep in thought. He listened to the commotion and laughter behind him, and cracked a smile. Perhaps he should do this kind of thing more often. Still, something ate at him. Perhaps he still feared being part of a team again. Or perhaps, it was something darker. His mind wandered back to the image of the empty swamp. There was something unnatural about it. He could not place what it was, "but," he said to himself, "I'm afraid we're going to find out."