Seralyse III
They were about a mile outside of town when Wyckham rode up next to her on Julius. She peered at the Warden, leaning slightly over the edge of the caravan as he dug through a saddle bag. Kaden was sitting next to her on the pew. Alisen had insisted on riding with them, rather than in the caravan, making it rather crowded. She leaned more on Kaden, finding him to be far more ideal for such things than the creepy witch.
She heard him coming before he'd come back into view. The large black warhorse made much more noise when it moved than Apple or Pudding and had a distinct trot. She didn't think either of her horses liked the other beast. But that might just have been because she didn't like the other beast all that much. It stole an apple from her once. Took the whole thing right out of her hand when she was arguing with Arestes about the clasps on one of her costumes. Everyone else seemed to find that hilarious. She knew better.
"Oh Sera," Wyckham said as he slowed the horse to match the pace of the caravan. "I found something at the bandit camp I think might be yours. Meant to ask you in town but I forgot I had it."
"Seralyse," she corrected him. He blinked and stared at her, then looked at Kaden. The pirate merely shrugged and smirked back at the other man. She made a mental note to correct him more when he slipped in the diminutive as well.
"Sorry," he apologized quickly. He dug into his saddle bag and produced a small golden bracelet with a surprisingly large pink gemstone set into the middle of it. "You mentioned a stolen bracelet from around here. I wondered if this was it."
"Oh! Pretty!" Alien gushed. She leaned over them to try to grab the bracelet from Wyckham. Kaden raised his brows and stared at the solid golden band almost as if it terrified him. But he was a pirate, and it was valuable, so she figured she may want to remember to lock it away. Not that doing so would stop him.
"It is!" Seralyse exclaimed. "I can't believe they kept it. I thought for sure they'd sell it and I'd never see it again."
"Too fancy. They'd need a bigger town to get a proper amount for it," Wyckham answered. He handed it to Alisen who held it gingerly in her hands for a few moments, examining it before passing it to Seralyse. She hugged it to her chest and smiled before she spent a few moments examining it.
"They at least kept it in nice shape," she said, she thumbed at a blemish before buffing it away with part of her shirt.
"Where did you get that?" Kaden asked. His tone sounded wrong, though, almost accusatory, as he stared at the bracelet. She meant to tell him, but the sentiment behind his words annoyed her so she snapped right back.
"Is that any of your business, pirate?" she countered. He snorted and looked ahead as the caravan followed the path into a forested area. The shade was a welcome change from their usual sunny rides. Normally when the afternoons got too hot she'd slide inside the caravan. A cool afternoon would be a welcome change.
"I suppose not," he answered as he kept peering toward the bracelet in her hands. She noticed and debated asking if he wanted a closer look. But she was still annoyed by his first question so instead she slid it onto her right wrist.
She hadn't worn it daily. Or even all that often. She was smart enough not to flash something quite so ostentatious when out in public without much of an escort. Not that she had that problem now as an angry pirate, witch and warden could make mincemeat of most thugs that would try to rob her, but before that it seemed best to not take any chances. The fit was a little more snug than she remembered but it felt nice to have it on once again.
At least until she noticed Kaden kept staring at it. She thrust her wrist toward him.
"Seriously, it's not that interesting," she said. He took her arm into his hand and peered at it, making sure not to touch the bracelet.
"It's well made," he said. She rolled her eyes at him but didn't pull her arm away from his grip. His hand felt oddly reassuring on her. It was rather bigger than her own, his fingers almost wrapping around her entire arm, and something about it made her feel rather safe.
"Well duh, I wouldn't have been sad about it if it was like my other jewelry," she said.
"Why is that one so much nicer?" Alisen asked, peering over at the bracelet before looking back toward the trees. Seralyse had the distinct impression she forgot she even asked the question but Kaden looked like he was expecting an answer so she answered.
"The other stuff is all costume jewelry," she said. "It's just painted metals and glass or cheap stones. It's not really supposed to do anything other than look pretty."
"That's different from other jewelry, how?" Kaden asked.
"Other jewelry says stuff," Seralyse shrugged as if she thought that was obvious.
"Yes, like, 'look, pretty gems,'" Kaden answered.
"No it says more stuff than that," Seralyse countered.
"Like what?" Kaden asked. At first she thought he had to be teasing him. Everyone knew the importance jewelry could play in life. She stared at him for a moment but he looked earnest.
"What do you think if you see woven gold bracelets on a couple in Lorak?" she asked.
"They're engaged or married," Kaden answered, without the slightest hesitation.
"Thus jewelry says something," Seralyse answered.
"Oh, I thought you meant something deeper than that," Kaden said. Seralyse felt herself frown, as if she'd disappointed him somehow. But that made little sense. Still, he let her arm drop and resumed monitoring the horses as they rode north.
"Sometimes it can be. That was just the obvious example that came to mind," she said. "I think Calabarians use rings more, right?"
"They wealthy ones do," Kaden answered with a shrug of his shoulder as if the thought of owning a ring of any type had never occurred to him.
"See, same thing," Seralyse answered, figuring it was a moot point to point out that typically it was the wealthy who had the jewels in the first place.
"I'd still like to know where you got that thing," he asked. His tone was far less accusatory than the first time he'd asked the question. She debated calling him on it. But the memory of it first being placed on her arm by a clueless boy flooded through her and she felt herself frown. In the end, all she could do was tell the truth.
"It was a gift," she said.
"From who?"
"A suitor from years back," she answered with a dismissive wave of her hand.
"And yet you left to wander the country. Seems like you should have waited until after the wedding."
"Why?"
"You'd have nicer things."
"What's wrong with my things? They got me down to Pelican's Rest just fine and we're getting closer to The Land every day," she retorted defensively, giving him a glare that he didn't bother to meet.
"Nothing. Just saying if a suitor can afford that, they can probably afford say, an armed guard or two for your trip," Kaden answered.
"I don't think he would have let me go."
"Should have just come with. Most wealthy pricks could use a good dose of seeing the actual world."
"I guess. And there wasn't ever going to be a wedding. Our parents didn't agree on the terms," she answered.
"Why not?"
"I don't know. I didn't ask. I think his thought he could do better," she said. She wondered if she should have but it was so long ago and it never seemed like her opinion had mattered one way or the other. Even when she felt like she was being a useless failure she was told not to worry about it as her most important part of any union was between her legs. It took her years before she understood what they were talking about. Which hadn't helped her opinion of herself any.
"Either way. It's a fancy gift," he answered. She shrugged her shoulders. It was nice, sure, but it wasn't that nice. At least she didn't think so. She'd seen fancier jewels in shops of some of the bigger cities. At least she assumed.
"I guess so," she answered.
"I've heard pink gemstones are some of the rarest and most expensive in Calabar," he said.
"I can't pretend to know much about gemstones," Seralyse answered.
"My mother's wedding band had a pink sapphire in it, I believe," Wyckham said. "My brothers used to talk about how our father chose it specifically to brag over King Balian."
"It's funny. Every time I hear more about your family I like them less," Kaden said.
"Why would that matter?" Alisen asked, voicing Seralyse's own question as she elbowed Kaden in the ribs. They'd learned one evening that Wyckham's mother died after his birth, she didn't see much point in Kaden needling him about her in any way. To his credit he shut up.
"I think it's because it was allegedly a more valuable stone than whatever was in the Queen's band at the time," Wyckham shrugged. "It was one of the reasons my father used to cite for falling out of favor with the King. Honestly, I suspect no one really cared. I can't imagine caring. But I don't have a wedding ring, a wife, or any experience in court politics."
"I hate to agree with you, but I can't imagine caring either," Kaden said. For a moment he looked like he was going to say more. But he didn't.
"I can," Seralyse answered. She didn't clarify it any further than that, though.
"Anyway," Kaden said after a few moments of silence. "It's the first thing I've seen you have that makes me think you can actually afford me."
"Of course," Seralyse chuckled.
"Hey, you know what I can do with a thousand gold?"
"Scores of prostitutes, most likely," Seralyse countered.
"Do I strike you as the type?"
"You have a penis," Alisen answered.
"Fair point," Kaden laughed. Seralyse thought it was a little unfair. During their entire trip she didn't think Kaden had visited any ladies of the evening, whereas Wyckham and Arestes certainly had. From there the conversation devolved into joking banter. None of them took it too serious.
They stopped at midday to rest the horses and eat. Seralyse wasn't particularly hungry but she ate the jerky Kaden offered to her because it was something to do. She spent a few minutes brushing Pudding before she helped re-hitch the horses to the caravan.
They made slow progress north but there didn't seem much of a reason to hurry. One of the locals had given them directions to a few more towns they could stop by on their way north. Kaden had known all of the towns, which surprised her a little. She'd missed more than half of them on her way down, but the pirate who'd lived in Lorak for the last few years seemed to have as good, if not a better, command of Calabarian geography than even the Warden with them.
Then again, the Warden freely admitted that the maps they were forced to study at the Citadel were often more focused on the Gates and the areas directly surrounding them. The interior of the continent, at least as far as Wardens were concerned, was less crucial than the borders.
Alisen rarely even got the names of the towns right. Even when they were in that town, and once when they were staring at a sign for that town. The worst part was Seralyse didn't think she was doing it intentionally.
Wyckham didn't ride much ahead of them that afternoon. He must not have thought there was much of a reason to scout when they had a better idea of where they were than usual. She spent most of her time debating how to tweak her song about their battle in a way that made it seem less like they were the ones actually there. Although there seemed little need to hide the fact that Warden Abruzzi helped dispatch a creature from the scar.
Well, Kaden did the actual dispatching. Even if he claimed it was Alisen's power that helped him do it. She'd looked skeptical at that. But again, she rarely knew where she was. So maybe that didn't mean anything.
A pained whinny distracted her from her thoughts. Her eyes shot toward Kaden as the caravan started to turn right toward the forest far more rapidly than it should have, the entire thing starting to tilt. She meant to scold him for annoying her horses only to see two arrows sticking out of his ribs as he slumped to the side in obvious pain.
He was trying to right the horses. Her eyes shot up just as she saw a trio of arrows hit Pudding. Two pierced into the horse's neck and one into its flank. Pudding tried to rear while Apple panicked and started to rush the other way. The entire Caravan started to tilt. Alisen gasped and slid off the bench, landing hard on the ground.
She pulled herself to her feet, her left arm hanging limply at her side as an arrow hit the caravan and a score of bandits rushed out from the trees. A bandit rushed her and she threw her right arm forward. A green orb shot from her hand into the bandit. He screamed as his body melted away. The orb fluttered back toward Alisen, sliding into her body and her shoulder snapped itself back into place.
The Warden met a large group of the bandits on Julius. Cutting down a handful as he charged through them. He spun the horse around and rushed back toward them.
Seralyse knew she had to calm Apple and Pudding. Kaden's arms grew limp on the reins so she pulled them from him as another arrow hit the caravan behind her. She yelled at the horses, tugging back, but they continued to veer, turning too sharply and she knew she couldn't stop them.
She watched, helpless, as they weaved through a gap in the trees. She had just enough time to push Kaden off and dive out of the way as the caravan hit the same trees. The pained noise her horses made rang through her head as she saw her home smashed. She looked away from it and rushed toward Kaden. One of the arrows had broken off, only a small protrusion coming from his ribs, the other was still intact.
She tried to pull him to his feet but as she did another arrow hit him in the back of the left shoulder. She felt herself jolt backwards as the tip punctured out toward her and Kaden staggered further against her.
Hesitation, she knew, meant death. So she focused herself back together and pulled him up to his feet. He was too heavy for her to carry but Kin were stronger than the average human and she could support him on his feet without too much strain. She looked back toward her companions and saw they were still fighting the bandits. But that they'd been separated by the mass of them. Wyckham tried to push Julius through the throng of them but he wasn't having much luck.
Five or six of them saw her and started to rush in their direction. She watched two of them reach for arrows as she pulled Kaden into the trees. She heard an arrow impact on one of the trees behind them and figured her best course of action now was to keep away and hope Wyckham and Alisen could handle the group and come help.
She peered back as she continued to drag Kaden through the trees. The bandits were garbed the same way the ones they'd fought off in town had been. She wondered where they were coming from. They'd insisted the camp looked abandoned. But obviously there'd been more of them somewhere. And they'd set up an ambush.
She hoped Bellus was safe. Then again, if they could stop the bandits here the town would be in no danger. They weren't off to a good start though, considering Kaden was moving about as effectively as Shambles and she was separated from Wyckham and Alisen.
She kept dragging him through the trees, pulling him away from the encroaching bandits as she did. But his steps were slowing with each moment. His head lolled to one side and his eyes were barely open. She saw blood pouring from around his wounds and wondered just how long she could keep him moving.
Moments later she had her answer.
He collapsed against her about the same time she made it through the treeline and onto the shore of a rushing river. It was far too wide for her to cross with ease, even if it hadn't been filled with white rapids.
The Kin, in general, were good swimmers. She'd never really inquired about it with Kaden, but she assumed a pirate was probably able to swim, you know, just in case of emergency. She figured anyone that resided in a port town should also be comfortable in water. But humans were dumb and valued dumb things.
Not that it mattered, given the fact that she was still holding him on his feet as his consciousness slipped away. Maybe, just maybe, had she really been determined she could have made it across the river herself. But she knew she wouldn't have been able to do it while carrying him.
She could hear the bandits yelling behind them. Further behind than she would have thought but she'd always been quick on her feet and they were approaching fast. Their voices growing louder, seeming almost gleeful that they'd split the group and trapped them.
Seralyse turned to face the treeline, shifting her smaller body infront of Kaden and wondering what she could do. Two or three she figured she may be able to take. A Kin backed into a corner could be ferocious indeed. And they'd hurt her horsies. And destroyed her home. And hurt her friend.
She let the rage swell in her as they started to emerge from the treeline. But there wasn't three, or even four. There were at least ten. And she knew she couldn't win that fight. But she could just lay down and die. She couldn't just let them win.
She did the only thing she could think of. She grabbed Kaden and jumped into the river.
The water was excruciatingly cold. Her entire body seemed to freeze up for a moment as it rushed around her, above her, suffocating her. It took her a moment to realize she needed to fight it. To pull them both up for air, to kick to paddle to do anything to keep them moving.
She got her arms around him and broke the surface of the water, letting the current pull her away from the bands. Two of them shot arrows at them, but they impacted uselessly into the water nearby. She gasped for air as she kept herself floating, Kaden's head barely above the waterline as the foamy water splashed over his face.
Just keep breathing, she thought at him as if that would have any effect. Whatever you do, just keep breathing. She kicked and she fought and she let the water rush them down stream. She tried to look for anything she could grab on to, to help keep them up, to arrest the momentum, really for anything to get her out of the stupid position she'd thrown herself into.
The flashes she could manage while water splashed in her eyes and enveloped her showed little. She saw the bandits slowly disappearing as the water pulled them away. They weren't brave enough to follow. They likely assumed she'd committed suicide. She knew they weren't wrong.
But that didn't stop her from fighting with all of the energy she had. If she drowned, it wouldn't be because she didn't spend every ounce of effort she had trying to stay above the water.
She didn't know how long she stayed in the water. Her entire body started to shake with the cold until it all just went numb. She saw Kaden's lips start to turn a concerning shade of blue and then finally, the rapids slowed to a point where she could manage them. It took her longer than she would have cared to admit to pull him to the bank of the river.
She lay on the bank, staring up toward the setting sun as she tried to catch her breath. Her entire body, once the feeling returned, ached, the rough spun clothing she'd acquired in Bellus clung to her.
There was no real way for her to know how far the river carried her. She thought they were on the opposite bank of where they started, based on the location of the sun, but with bends and twists she wouldn't have wanted to bet on it. Even now the river curved around them into an almost horseshoe shape judging from what she could see.
They were away from the forest. The area around looked more similar to farmland. A bit away from the river a series of rows of small uniform trees lined the land. She took a deep breath and figured they'd provide some cover if someone came chasing after them. Not much, but some.
She hooked her arms under his and dragged him over toward the little trees. His skin was a pallid gray color, his lips an icy blue and he was shivering almost uncontrollably. She pawed at his wet shirt. She had nothing dry to put him in but she didn't think the damp, chilled clothing would help him. She went to take it off of him but the arrows still in him gave her pause.
She took the knife from his belt and cut the shirt down his body. She pushed him onto his side, shifting behind him to support him as he leaned back toward her and examined the wounds.
There wasn't much blood coming from them, or even around them. She assumed that had to do with their swim. She wasn't much versed with fixing wounds. And she had nothing other than his knife and the clothing on her back. Still, she knew she had to get the arrows out. So she went to work.
It was, to her surprise, easier than she would have thought. The two in his side came out with only the slightest of wiggling on her part. His body tensed as she removed them but he didn't seem to be in much of a position to complain, or even really awake. The wounds bled, the fresh red blood staining her fingers as she worked.
The one in his shoulder was more complicated. It stuck in his flesh as she tried to pull it out. And it seemed to tear more of him away when she pulled. He emitted a pained groan as she tugged on it. It was enough of a sign to give her pause.
It took her a few minutes of working but eventually she came up with an idea that seemed stupid but, what else could she do? She broke off the back of the arrow and pulled the rest of it through the wound.
She sat him up after, thinking it had to be best if he didn't lay on dirt with open wounds. She had nothing to carry water with but knew she had to at least try to clean him. It took her two score of trips to and from the river, cupping the water in his hands, before she decided it was good enough.
It wasn't. She knew that it wasn't. But it didn't matter. Her legs were ready to give out underneath her. She collapsed against him, feeling the cool shiver of his skin as she took his knife and started to cut strips of his shirt. She wrung them out, getting them as dry as she could, before wrapping them around his wounds as best she could.
She didn't know much about healing but she knew a few songs that supposedly helped with it. She sang them quietly as she worked, letting the feel of the music flow through her and letting the power of it fill him.
Her work looked hodgepodge at best but she wasn't sure what else to do. He didn't seem to be bleeding anymore. And he was still breathing. And that seemed like the best she could hope for. She let his body relax back into the ground as her stomach rumbled.
It brought back images of the salted beef she'd mostly ignored just that afternoon. She had no food on her. Even if she had, he probably needed it more than her.
She sighed, closing her eyes to just get a moment of rest. Just a minute or two, that was all she'd need. Then she could get back to figure out how to survive and find her way back to Wyckham and Alisen. She hoped they were alright. That the bandits hadn't made quick work of them. It wouldn't have been easy, she knew. A warden and a witch? They may have even had a chance, especially since the bandits split up.
She woke up when someone tugged hard on her tail. Her entire body rolled as he did it and she squealed in pain as she found herself rolled into the tiny trees.
"Ouch! Don't do that!" she yelled only to manage to peer behind her and see he was still asleep, clutching her tail in his arms. He'd rolled onto his side, taking her with him. She blinked against the early morning sun.
That was a problem, she thought. She'd only intended to rest for a moment or two, not hours. She didn't feel a whole lot better. Her body still ached and that was only compounded as Kaden rolled over again, sending a jolt of pain through her backside.
She caught herself though, and managed to slip her tail from his grip, glaring at his unconscious form as she massaged away the pain. She peered around the area. The night before she'd thought the little trees looked uniform. Now she was less sure
It looked an awful lot like someone had planted them with uniformity in mind, but that they'd been neglected for years and now other plants were growing and threatening to overrun them.
She pulled herself to her feet and examined the plants. Small grapes grew on them. She plucked a few off and tasted them. They were a bit too sour for her tastes, and the skin to fruit ratio was off, and she didn't remember grapes having quite so many seeds. But again, Calabarian fruit was as weird as Calabarians. And it could have been worse. It could have been lemons.
She kneeled next to him and propped his head up, shaking him by the shoulder to see if he'd wake up. It took a few minutes but his eyes opened very slowly and his head lolled to the side.
"Eat," she ordered, offering the grapes to him. His arms didn't move. She growled and pressed a few of them to his lips. He seemed to figure it out. It took a while to get a handful into him but as he started to eat she thought she saw some of the color returning to him.
He was still cold to the touch and she doubted her tail had served as much of a blanket the night before. But Calabarians did run cooler than Kin. So that shouldn't have surprised her. She tried to remember if she had a gauge for how much cooler but it wasn't like she made a habit of gauging the temperature of Calabarian men.
She scavenged another handful of fruit and spent a moment trying to gauge her own energy reserves. She was tired. But she also didn't think sleeping out on the dirt in the sun would help her a whole lot. And it almost certainly wouldn't help Kaden. She peered toward the north, further into the fields, and wondered just what she should do.
Her goal was always Bazaar. Which was North. But everything she had to her name was further up the river. As were the closest things she had to friends. Should she press on northward or try to backtrack toward the bandits?
Her first thought was to ask for Kaden's opinion. But he was in about as much of a condition to offer it as Shambles was. She sighed and stood, peering around. There were no signs of life around them. She could hear the occasional rustle of animals moving about, and the occasional cry from a bird. But nothing that seemed like people.
She hadn't seen any roads or bridges over the river while they'd swam, for lack of a better word, down it. But she was focused on other things at the same time. So she wasn't even sure if she could cross it if she backtracked. And trying her luck with the rapids again seemed stupid.
She sat back down and peered around the area, formulating plans in her mind as she did. She ate more of the grapes, finding they were growing on her as she lost herself in thought. At least until Kaden rolled onto her tail again. She hissed at him but her annoyance wasn't enough to scare him away from his new pillow.
She let him sleep for a few more minutes after deciding on her course. The only thing that made sense to her was to move back up the river but also a bit inland. Maybe she'd find a road, or a town, or a crossing, or something. And then she could make it back and hopefully find Wyckham and Alisen alive and take stock of what she lost.
She took a few minutes while he didn't seem very interested in moving to examine his wounds. The bandages looked, well, clean enough she thought. She should have probably changed them. But she didn't feel like cannibalizing any more of his clothing to do so.
She hauled him to his feet with a grunt. He sort of managed to stay on them. She frowned at him and slung his arm over her shoulder and started to carry him through the little trees.
It was harder work than she expected. And they moved so slowly. She collapsed after a few hours. He landed on her. Which was annoying. But she threw him off and sat up. She took a moment to make sure she hadn't killed him. He was still breathing, and still not really awake. He muttered something that sounded like 'hungry' but she didn't feel much like deciphering more than that so instead she sat him up and let him rest back into her lap and fed his grapes.
At least until she got annoyed at him. Because feeding him was obnoxious and he should be strong enough to get food into himself. Although he had taken a couple of arrows and dammit, well, she didn't know. She ate more grapes and gave herself twenty minutes to complain in her head before she tried again.
She was exhausted by the time the sun set. She wouldn't have thought that lugging around a Calabarian would be that much harder than performing on stage. But she'd been quite wrong.
He was shivering more than she thought could be healthy once the sun set. She lay next to him and stared up at the stars. His chattering teeth interrupted the otherwise calm evening. She rolled onto her side and tucked her arms under her head as a makeshift pillow. She let her tail slide over him, covering him in as much of a makeshift blanket as she could manage, hoping to provide him with some warmth. She sang softly, a lullaby of sorts as she drifted off to sleep.
Rain woke her.
It may have been the worst thing she could imagine. The skies were dark and the rain fell in sheets on them, making the ground muddy as she rose to her feet. There wasn't anything around that could provide shelter and little reason to stay in the cold rain.
As the day dragged on she watched Kaden lose any color that he'd gained. His body felt icy against hers as she leaned him against her. She kept moving through the rain, wondering if she was killing him.
Lightning started to flash through the sky above them. She grit her teeth and pressed on. She only collapsed into the mud twice while she pressed on. She must have passed out one of the times. As one moment she was walking then the next she was laying in a puddle that certainly hadn't been there moments before.
She hauled herself up to her feet, lifted Kaden, and continued onward. Her second, well, really more like fifth, wind didn't last very long. Everything was growing so dark around her that even with her eyes she was struggling to see anything. She was quite ready to give up.
There was no more point to it. She was almost too tired to move. She couldn't live on grapes. Kaden wasn't going to last through the night at this rate. She needed to duck under a tree and hope the rain stopped and that she could make better progress in the morning.
But she couldn't do that. She couldn't give up on him until it was over. He'd agreed to accompany her and not asked for any advance on payment or anything. He'd been fair, she thought. He'd helped her get out of prison, he'd protected her during performances, he'd stayed in a town where they could have died fighting bandits for no real gain. The least she could do was stay with him to the end.
Then lightning flashed above her and a shape in the distance appeared. It vanished into the darkness almost immediately as she blinked her eyes rapidly, hoping it would reappear. It was slightly off of her path but it was a target. She moved toward it, watching as with each flash of lightning made a building appear.
It looked dark, but everything looked dark in the rain. She pressed them forward toward it. Spurring him on as she felt her muscles weakening with every step. As she grew closer to the building, she felt her heart sink.
It wasn't in good shape. She wasn't sure what she'd expected. Some minor lordling maybe that would at least give them a dry place to sleep that night. Even if she hadn't had any coins on her.
But what she saw was a ruin. Black stains spread up the stones on the outside, seeming almost to flicker to the roof. It was intact, at least over most of the building.
It was huge, she realized as they inched closer. Three stories and sprawling. But a good two-thirds of the roof had collapsed onto the top level, and most of the windows were broken. They approached from the back of the building, she saw no entrance.
"Come on Kaden," she whispered, spurring herself on as much as him. "We're almost there. It should at least be dry. And maybe warm." Her feet sank into the mud as she walked, each step growing progressively more difficult. She dragged him through it, along the side of the building, and felt herself groan.
It seemed to stretch out forever. The house was far too big. The solid stone wall loomed to her side as she pulled them forward. Plants grew up the side of it, overgrowing from the gardens. She suspected they'd been well manicured at some point but now it was chaos. It offered some minor protection from the blowing rain, but not much. It didn't matter much, the rain had already matted her hair to her. She brushed the wet strands from her face and kept marching on.
It gave her a small measure of relief that the building was obviously abandoned. No one could live in this. Parts of it looked ready to collapse. It has obviously stood for many years in this condition. Maybe it was a small mercy. Maybe Kaden just needed some rest to recover. There was fruit nearby. She might be able to hunt. There might be a village. If it was safe she could leave him and explore to find bandages or something. Maybe some of the furnishings would still be intact. Was it too much too ask for old moth-eaten sheets she could repurpose into cleanish bandages?
She let the thoughts fill her mind as they turned the corner. An overgrown path greeted them, leading up to and circling around a large ornate door. It had seen better days, and much like the wall had plants growing over it. The windows on the front of the home were mostly intact, some sharp edges of glass sticking from the broken ones. She'd never seen such an elaborate home in Calabar. It dwarfed even the fanciest inns she'd performed at on her way down. She pulled him toward the door, hoping she could get it open. Or at least find a rock and try to climb through a window.
She walked to the door, an elaborate overhang shielding her from the weather. She took a deep breath and shifted so Kaden leaned against her as she held her hand to try the door. Before she could touch it a voice boomed in her head.
"Trespassers are not allowed in this hall," it yelled. Seralyse froze and looked around. There was no sign of a speaker. She thought he had to imagine it. She ignored it, feeling like a stupid little girl for imagining it and reached again for the door. Before she could touch a body floated through it.
"I said, trespassers are not allowed in this hall," it repeated. Quieter, but with more force. She froze and stared at the floating white apparition. It looked like a man, white vapors emanating off of it. In life, it may have had a pristine uniform on, most of it seemed scorched now. The eyes were sunken and lifeless, and the lips didn't quite match the words when they moved.
It should have scared her, she knew. Ghosts were terrifying creatures of pure hate. They were known to attack and kill on site. As a whole, in any area where they were reported, people avoided them. Wardens and Volkar, and even some of the more magically talented Sirens could banish them. But she'd heard it was immensely difficult without properly enchanted weapons.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly, tears forming in her eyes out of pure frustration. Why? Why did it have to be haunted? Why couldn't she just have one win! Kaden was going to die and there was nothing she could do about it.
"Begone, girl," the ghost ordered. Seralyse looked up at it. Something rang false in her head. Ghosts were known more for attacking than offering chances. She set her jaw and figured if she was going to die here, she may as well argue with the thing.
"I can't," she said.
"We have ways of making you," the ghost hissed. Three more appeared from the walls. Two women and a man, all looking various degrees of awful. If she had to guess she'd have assumed fire had killed them as burned and scorched marks marred the translucent flesh.
"If I leave my friend dies," she shot back. "Please, let us in. Just let me get him warm and dry. We'll leave at first light, I promise."
"None may enter," the main ghost said. But one of the women, the younger looking of the two, looked at him, then back at Seralyse and Kaden and whispered.
"Albert?"
The main ghost ignored her. The younger female floated out of the house and circled them. Seralyse tried to ignore it, even as she felt the icy chill of the creature's ectoplasm near her. At any rate it looked more closely at Kaden than it did her. Hopefully it could tell how much danger he was in.
"What's one night?" Seralyse argued. "I'm a Siren. I can perform to pay for it? Is there a song you like?"
"He's branded," the ghost said, excitement spilling from her voice as she spoke.
"Lie," the ghost hissed. Seralyse winced against his words, wondering how he could tell she was fibbing so easily. No one else ever questioned her facade.
"Albert!" the small female yelled as she floated back around them. The main ghost turned to look at her. The woman just pointed at them and Albert turned back. He examined them for a few moments in silence. His brows raised but he said nothing. Instead, he shook his head, sadly.
"None may enter this home without the permission of the Lord or his Lady," Albert said. Seralyse could have sworn there was a tinge of sadness in his voice. The girl rolled her ghostly eyes and tilted her head, almost encouragingly she thought, at her.
"Can I speak to one of them?" Seralyse asked. "I'm sure we can come up with something."
"No," Albert said, as if his word was final.
"They never claimed the house," the female ghost said, her tone sad. Seralyse found herself wondering if that meant they were stuck like this, waiting to serve people who would never come.
"So there's no one?" Seralyse asked. Finding herself even more confused and more annoyed. If there wasn't anyone then just let her in!
"They will come," Albert said with growing confidence and narrowed eyes. The other ghost didn't seem to believe him. There was some quietly mumbling from them before Albert added, with a glare, "We will have our Lord and Lady."
The ghosts continued to grumble. The other male one ducked back into the house, seeming bored by the exchange. She thought he was disinterested in her presence but a few more started to appear. Until at least ten were floating around them, all of them examining her. She found herself rather uncomfortable and wished Kaden was coherent enough to say something. She squeezed his hand, wondering if she would have any support. And then as if on cue, he lifted his head, peered around for a moment before his eyes settled back on her and his body drooped. But he spoke.
"Mine," he mumbled, collapsing some against her. She thought she saw the ghosts freeze for a fraction of a second, but she had to have imagined it. His hand tightened on hers, his chill, damp skin seeming to drain the warmth from her. She shivered and squeezed his hand back. The ghosts fluttered around them and an idea struck her.
"I'm a Lady." She paused and took a deep breath. "He's a Lord" she lied. This time Albert didn't refute her, which gave her some pause. "We claim this home." A few of the ghosts seemed excited by her words. Some shot back into the house, even more emerged from it and watched. But Albert only shook his ghostly head.
"You are not bound," Albert said. There was some jeering from the ghosts and Seralyse did her best to sound important.
"Is that a problem?" she asked, trying to sound as haughty as she could manage, lessons from her youth filtering back with surprising ease.
"This home is not for degenerate dalliances," Albert said, matching her tone. "It was built to honor a great Queen and will always uphold her standard. It must be properly claimed by a proper Lord and his proper Lady." She saw at least one of the other ghosts roll her eyes but did her best to not do so as well.
"You are the Butler, are you not?" she asked, giving him a sneer. She thought the ghosts must have been old servants in the house. But she didn't have enough experience with Calabarian estates to know for sure.
"I am," Albert responded.
"Well then you should be able to fix that," she snapped at him with the petulant annoyance she'd heard from other Lords who didn't get their way. He grit his teeth but didn't argue with her. Calabarian Butlers sometimes had that training, she knew. In case guests found themselves in a compromising position that could have consequences in about nine months.
She peered around. It was a gambit, she knew. But what did it matter if she did it with Kaden? Her father would be angry, sure. But there wasn't another living soul around them. No one would ever have to know. And if it saved him? Well, she could play along.
"Of course I can. I've been doing this since before you-" he started.
"Then do it," Seralyse interrupted him. She entwined her fingers with Kaden's and held up their hands. Kaden wobbled a bit on his legs but the ghost approached her. His ghostly hands floated and covered their joined fists.
"You," he started and looked at her.
"Seralyse," she answered. He looked skeptical but continued.
"Agree to become the wife of-"
"Kaden," she said. Again, Albert looked skeptical. He took a deep breath and shook his head as the other ghosts swarmed around him.
"Do you, Seralyse, agree to become bound to Kaden. To be his confidant in all things, to protect him and his with your very soul, and to do your diligence to extend his bloodline, his life, into future generations?" Albert asked.
Calabarian vows were dumb, Seralyse thought.
"I do so agree," Seralyse said mechanically, childhood days of practicing those words flashing to her head.
"And you, Kaden, agree to protect Seralyse from all that would do her harm and cherish her as part of your own home?" Albert said.
So dumb, Seralyse thought again.
"Yes," Kaden answered. Followed by a mumbled something that sounded a lot like 'mine'. She rolled her eyes but figured a pirate may not know the proper expected language. And he was injured.
"Then I bind thee man and wife, Lord and Lady," Albert answered. It all felt so anticlimactic to Seralyse. And then she felt a coolness wrap around her wrist. Ghostly bindings weaved around where they held hands, wrapping their wrists together.
It was a Calabarian tradition, she knew. The couples stayed bound like that, a show for the wedding feast, until they retired for the evening and undid the bindings themselves. But these were ethereal and hummed with a distinct feeling of magic. She pressed her lips together. She should have assumed the ghosts would have some sort of power. And she hadn't expected something so noticeable as they gleamed in the darkness.
But that was a problem for later. And she knew a witch who seemed to enjoy magical puzzles. Hopefully they were safe. Now she needed to get him inside and get him warm. Of course, if he died the bindings would almost certainly vanish. And she may still have claim to the house.
She pushed that thought from her head. While the manor was huge, it was a ruin. And she had no use for it. And it wasn't hers, no matter what the ghosts thought.
Albert floated back through the door as the other ghosts milled around them. The door opened and she carried Kaden through it. Inside was, well, better than she expected.
Half of it was garbage, charred and destroyed, some walls even looked melted. But other parts look restored. She saw two ghosts working on one of the staircases and wondered if that was what they did. It would make some sense, she thought.
She wanted to ask Alisen. The necromancer knew about things like ghosts. She suspected that they were still working at their jobs, as spirits often did that if there was a strong enough binding. But she'd never heard of this many ghosts in one area. And the work seemed very slow.
"How can we serve you, my Lord?" the ghost asked Kaden. Kaden responded by sagging against her. Seralyse glared at Albert.
"My husband was wounded by three arrows two days ago near the river," Seralyse said, she stumbled over the second word but got the sentence out. Albert looked alarmed.
"Miscreants near the river?"
"We were well up river. It carried us down here. I took the arrows out and cleaned the wounds as best I can but he needs care. Can you clear-," she would have kept talking but the ghosts were already moving. Two of them lifted Kaden away from her. She tried to hold on, then remembered they were bound and figured she didn't have much of a choice. But as soon as they pulled him, the binding on her wrists merely grew, the ghostly length of fabric stretching without any concern. She watched it for a few moments intrigued by the magic.
"We shall take care of him," Albert said. He floated after Kaden and the other ghosts, down a hall and out of her sight. She made to follow him but the young female ghost from before floated before her.
"Hello. I'm Rina," she said. Seralyse tilted her eyes at the ghost. There was something familiar about her. But she'd seen so many familiar faces in Calabar it didn't bother her that much. They all looked pretty much alike.
"Hi," she answered, dumbly, because it seemed like the ghost was waiting for a response.
"I am the head Lady's Maid so as the new Lady of the Manor I will always be at your service," she answered. Seralyse thought she looked kind of young for that position. She couldn't have been much older than herself. Well, she corrected herself, she hadn't been much older than she was now when she'd died. She assumed ghosts didn't age. Although maybe they did? Another question for the Necromancer, she thought.
"Okay," Seralyse said. She made her way around the ghost, hoping to chase after Kaden, but Rina interrupted her.
"I don't intend to be rude but you are quite the mess," Rina said, trying to sound diplomatic. Seralyse looked down at herself. She was caked in mud, her feet particularly bad. One ghost was already cleaning up her first footprints.
"I'm fine," she said.
"Surely you don't want to look like that on your wedding night?" Rina sounded aghast. Seralyse didn't see much of a problem with it. If some dirt scared off a suitor he didn't deserve her anyway. And she was more worried about Kaden making it to morning without any extra activity.
Not that she wanted to do that with him.
She wondered why it felt like she was trying to convince herself that was the truth.
"I want to make sure Kaden is okay," she said.
"He'll be fine," Rina said, reassuringly. "Old Morris is an excellent healer. And you did so well getting him here."
"Don't patronize me," she growled. Rina cowered away from her.
"I just meant I don't think I could have carried him from the river," Rina said. "And if I'm being honest, my Lady, you kind of smell like fetid water and dirt. What harm is there in a nice bath?"
Seralyse wanted to glare at the woman. And not only because a part of her doubted that ghosts had much of a sense of smell. She wondered if she should start writing down her list of ghost questions to ask Alisen. She watched as two of the ghosts, dressed as hunters, disappeared through one of the walls and wondered if food may even be on the table. Her stomach rumbled. And a bath might be nice.
"Follow me," Rina said after a moment and floated ahead of her. She took off her boots, figuring she didn't need to make more work for the ghosts and obliged. The floor was rough, but she'd walked on worse.
Rina led her through a few separate halls. She pointed out a couple of important sitting rooms and dining areas as she did, as well as the Lady's personal study for all her business. Seralyse rolled her eyes thinking that it was barely big enough to house all of the instruments she wanted to someday own, much less for her to effectively practice performing in, but didn't voice the complaint as she doubted she'd ever use the room.
There was no order to the destruction of the house. Some of the rooms looked collapsed and completely abandoned, others were gilded and golden with obvious splendor. It shocked her that they hadn't been pillaged by someone. But the ghosts may have taken care of that. The ghosts had to have discovered a way to restore the building because she couldn't come up with a way that the destruction could be so random.
Eventually she entered another room where two more young female ghosts were waiting for her next to a large, steaming copper bathtub.
"You can leave," she said immediately. The ghosts ignored her and in a moment she found her clothing being peeled off her. She tried to fight them but her limbs merely sank through them, sending a chill through her body. When they finished stripping her she made for the tub but they stopped her, dipping washcloths into the warm water and moving to scrub her. She growled as they scraped the mud off of her.
It was even less effective than her flailing limbs had been.
"We don't want to get mud in the tub," Rina said, knowingly. Seralyse growled at her some more, not caring at all about mud in her bath. But she let them. At least until one produced a razor and moved toward where some had caked into her striping of fur.
"No," she ordered, sternly, as the ghost backed away. She stepped away from them, ignoring their protests, and sank into the tub.
Her tired muscles immediately relaxed. She sighed and thought about closing her eyes. But the one ghost still had a razor and she didn't want to wake up sheared because Calabarians weren't used to a bit of fur. She'd gone through that before. It itched something fierce when it grew back. And it wasn't like there was a lot of it! She was far more skin than fur. Hell, for all she knew, they'd think the tail was excessive and go looking for an axe.
After a moment, though, that ghost dropped the razor and picked up some bathing oils. She floated over to the tub and poured them in.
Seralyse growled louder as soon as they hit the water and the scents spread toward her. The girl stopped and looked alarmed.
"I'm sorry! Is something the matter?"
"I don't like lemon," she said.
"I'm sorry!" the ghostly girl said, her voice small. Rina gave her a reproachful look from behind the other ghosts. It actually made her feel bad. She sighed.
"It's fine. You didn't know," she said.
"We'll get rid of it all immediately," the ghost answered.
"No," Seralyse said. "Don't be wasteful. Kaden may like it."
"Yes my Lady," the ghost said. "Is there anything we can get you?"
"I just want to relax," Seralyse said, hoping it would make the ghosts leave. It didn't. They didn't even give her much space. Instead they floated around the tub and stared at her. So she ignored them. She wondered if the fact that she was nude should bother her but they weren't, well, actually alive, so. She decided to ponder it while she closed her eyes.
She must have dozed off. They were adding more warm water to the tub to keep the temperature when she opened her eyes. And a second copper tub had appeared next to hers. She felt the binding on her wrist shift and saw it start to shrink into itself. She sat up in the tub and watched as the ghost brought Kaden in.
The first thing she noticed was they'd cut his hair. She peered down at herself. She still had all of her fur, the small bits of pink contrasting with the creamy skin around her ribs, thighs and between her legs. She looked back up at him. The length of his hair was now near his eyes, close to where he'd worn it when they'd first met. He hadn't bothered cutting it on the road like Wyckham and Arestes had. Instead he'd merely tied it back when it had grown too long.
He was also naked, and they'd scrubbed him some as well. She could see angry red spots near his ribs from where the arrows hit. But they looked better than before. And he looked to have a little more color. And had his abs always looked that toned?
Wait, what did that have to do with his wounds? She frowned to herself and counted off the months in her head. It wasn't close to her moon yet. She shook the thought from her head. He wasn't bad to look at. But she didn't get that great of a look as they lowered him into the tub next to hers.
She watched them work, feeling oddly interested in it all, and rather like a voyeur. As they cleaned him the bathing attending girl asked if she wanted her hair washed. The thought of lemon scented hair made her twitch but it did feel rather ragged and dirty. Sera just nodded to let her, her gaze focused on Kaden in his tub while she tried her best to not breathe in the scent of the demonic fruit.
Kaden lolled in the tub, his eyes fluttering open for a moment before closing as he relaxed in the water. The ghosts scrubbed at him, being careful around his wounds, even the ones that weren't fresh.
"Is he going to be okay?" she asked.
"Morris said he should be fine if he wakes up," one of the ghosts answered. She found she didn't much like the thought of others touching him, and didn't care if they were male or female. But she didn't think voicing that among the ghosts was going to solve any of her problems.
She also didn't like the fact that the ghost had answered her question with an if.
"Where is this Morris? I would like to speak with him?"
"For what purpose, My Lady?" a male ghost who was loitering near the entrance of the room, and not looking at her, answered.
"What does that matter?" she growled, getting quite annoyed with these ghostly servants. She wondered how Calabarian women put up with it. "I am the Lady of the Manor!"
"Do you understand physiology?" the ghost asked.
"Of course," Seralyse lied.
"You are hungry and tired, my Lady. Your Lord Husband is recovering. The details can wait until the morning," Rina answered. She glared at the male ghost in a way that made him flee the room.
"I need to know," Seralyse growled. The ghost washing her hair paused for a moment but Rina nodded and she continued.
"He's right there, my Lady," Rina said, gesturing to Kaden's tub. "You can see he's already getting color back. It's commendable how worried you are but you need rest too."
She said it in an annoyingly motherly voice. And deep down Seralyse knew she was right. But it still annoyed her to be talked to like that. But she had to wonder if she was just being particularly difficult because of the last few days. She sighed and dunked her head under the water, away from the ghost, before rising to her feet in the tub and getting out.
"Fine," she said. "It can wait until morning."
The ghosts surrounded her in an instant, towels coming out and drying her. They did fine on her skin but they fluffed her hair and tail in a way that would take her ages to comb away. She meant to scold them but then remembered this wasn't her life. And that if all went well she'd be leaving with Kaden in the morning.
A moment later Rina approached her, holding up a translucent purple nightgown. Seralyse only raised her eyebrows at the ghost.
"I can't wear that. My clothing is fine," she said.
"Your clothing is going into the fireplace if I get my way," Rina scoffed.
"Better not," Seralyse growled. Rina rolled her eyes.
"What's wrong with a traditional Calabarian nightgown?" Rina asked.
"Nothing," Seralyse said. She made a point to wag her tail. "Except that I'm not Calabarian."
"It'll be fine," Rina said. She and two of the other ghosts pulled the gown over her head. It fit surprisingly well, except where it billowed out around her tail. She shifted uncomfortably and glared at the ghosts as she attempted to snake her tail around her waist with her hands. But Rina merely floated behind her and picked up the razor from before. She measured carefully and made two quick cuts into the gown. After a moment the ghost managed to thread her tail through the gown.
It wasn't the most comfortable thing she'd ever worn. But it would work for something tailored at the last minute. She'd worn many more annoying dresses in her life. She wasn't going to admit that to the ghosts though.
"Is there food?" she asked.
"No," Rina frowned. "But there will be come morning. There is little need for us to eat."
"I see," she said. She peered at Kaden in the tub. His eyes were sort of open but slightly dazed as he looked at her. She wondered if he'd been awake while they dried and dressed her. She blushed at the thought as a feeling of something far from embarrassment filled her.
"Is there a livable bedroom?" she asked, sighing and figuring she could at least sleep and then deal with the hunger in the morning.
"Of course," Rina seemed aghast at the thought of there not being one. "The Master was the first room we restored after we regained ourselves."
"Tell me about that?" Seralyse asked. The ghost shook her head.
"It is a long story, my Lady. And perhaps one that we can't do justice tonight," Rina answered. "And I'm sure your Lord Husband will be interested as well in the morning."
"Fine," Seralyse sighed, knowing prying wasn't going to help but feeling annoyed by their constant brushing her off. Didn't they know she was the one in charge? She felt her shoulders slump some. Rina led her out of the bathroom and through the house. They took a circuitous route to the bedroom, Seralyse thought. As Rina seemed more interested in showing her what they'd done with the house, what rooms were usable and what weren't, and everything in between.
Rina talked to her like she should be taking notes of all of the information. But Seralyse mostly ignored the ghost. Finding she didn't care if only half of the bedrooms were livable, or what parts of the third floor still had a roof, or what the ghosts should work on next.
It may have just been because she was tired, or because she didn't care given that the house didn't matter to her at all. She did her best to not disappoint the maid. The ghost at least seemed excited to talk about it. At least until an older looking ghost interrupted them. She introduced herself as Agatha the head Housekeeper and told Rina that the Lady of the Manor was needed in her bedchamber.
That gave her pause. Why would she be needed there? Unless Kaden had recovered and figured out their ruse? That would have been remarkably quick. She ignored Agatha's quip about the impropriety of walking about without a robe on and let Rina show her to the bedroom.
The ghost hadn't been kidding either. They'd restored it masterfully. It was filled with dark wood, a fire blazing in the fireplace, and an assortment of chests and dressers all abound. There was even a massive balcony off of one wall. She peered out the windows into the dark rain, imagining the fields she'd trekked through down below.
A large, canopied bed took up most of the room. The curtains were pulled back and Kaden was laying on the bed. They'd grabbed him in an orange robe. She peered down at him, then at her wrist and followed the thread to his. As she stepped toward the bed it shrank. Something about watching the magic amused her so she stepped away from the bed, then back, then away, until giggles overcame her.
Part of her was glad Alisen wasn't present to study it. Probably right to the point of figuring out how to make it disappear. And given that it was used for a wedding ritual, she had a fairly solid idea of what would make it disappear.
"Kaden?" she asked. He didn't look awake. He made no response. She watched him for a few moments as he rolled onto his side, his arms wrapping around himself. He was starting to shiver again. Personally she thought the room was too warm with the fireplace roaring. She walked over toward the doors to the balcony and opened them slightly, letting a bit of the evening air in.
She walked back to the bed, blowing out a couple of the candles on her way. There was no real reason to do anything other than sleep. Hopefully, she thought, in the morning he'd improve and this whole sad affair would be behind her.
She pulled the covers back as much as she could with him on them, then figured it would be rude to make him sleep above them and rolled him onto that half of the bed and repeated the process.
The blankets were surprisingly soft and clean. Only making her more interested in just how the ghosts managed it. She lay on her side, looking at Kaden in the darkness and wondering if she'd made a stupid decision in coming here. Her eyes shifted down toward her wrist. And then back toward Kaden.
It wouldn't have been the worst thing, she thought, if there was some sort of power behind the ghost's binding. If all of this was real. They had, after all, said the words. But did it matter? She didn't think so. It wasn't real if they didn't want it to be real. It was an act, right?
Right, Kaden? She asked into the darkness. He didn't respond with more than the chattering of his teeth. He probably had a fever. She knew that could follow injuries. And that the body would sometimes react like that.
But knowing that didn't matter. She still wanted him to feel better, to feel warm, safe, and happy. He deserved some form of comfort. And she couldn't give him any of that.
Well maybe she could do some of it. She shifted closer to him in the bed. His body was still cold, even with the warm robe. She chuckled a little to herself as she slid up behind him. They'd put him in a much less revealing outfit than her. Because of course they had. She just hoped there was more clothing in one of the chests. Maybe she should have checked?
Oh well, she thought, it could wait until morning. She slid an arm around his waist and pressed her body into his back. Kin were, after all, warmer than Calabarians. And if he needed rest then she could at least try to warm him up and make him comfortable. Any other problems could wait for dawn.
Author's note: As always thanks for reading and reviewing I do appreciate all of the support I receive. If you wish to support me further I am available on PAT RE ON at TE7writes. There are ten additional chapters of this story there currently and the remaining chapters of CTS. Thanks again for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter!