Carmine

The night gripped everything and my eyes couldn't adjust.

Nothing.

Nothing graced my eyes.

My urge to throw up was high. Every second eased my shattered body into a cold embrace that I never imagined. The embrace of death, I did not want to imagine that, never that.

I was able to wrap my hand with a torn portion of my robe. That woman cut a deep path between my middle and ring finger. Half of my left hand could fall off the way it dangled. Thank Ashuor, it was not cut further. Holding it together, the pain was unbearable. I released tears intermittently as if that would ease the pain, but I must bear it.

My breathing kept steady as I pushed down the pain. Nothing echoed or rebounded these walls, except my breathing. It was hoarse and filled with worry. Slowing my movements I tried to calm down, to slow my heavy breaths.

I needed to stay calm! Focus, just hold it in. Hold y—

I doubled over and spewed fluid onto the floor. A gasp escaped me when I fell backward. My hands gripped the stone tiles for dear life as I heaved my neck forward and vomited again a sliver of slim fluid. The slobber graced my lips gingerly.

I clutched my fingers inward, breathed out, and drew my head back in an attempt to ease the pain in my throat. My hand went under my throat, holding it I looked into the dark space and tried to figure out what became of me.

Was I going to die here?

Clearing my now sore throat, I leveled my body. My lower back ached and it became harder to withstand this pain. It was like I was at war with my body.

War? Was that it?

The spear tightened in my grasp.

I swear when I found out who was doing this to me...

But first, I needed out of this place. I gripped the top of my forehead and slid it down in one motion which also meant the sweat and then the grime of my last lunch.

"Ack..." I flashed my hand to get the vomit off. That did not work so I wiped my hand off on the floor which made my hand wet.

God...

I wiped my mouth on my dress skirt and my hand as well. My feet carried me back from the scene of my disgrace. I needed to find my way to safety, but how?

My eyes picked up on nothing.

I said, "Should I scream or, no that will just give me away. Who can I trust in this place if not the priest?"

My breathing got steady. I froze and tried to listen. Nothing, but I heard something far off. Was it steps, no it was softer, longer in range or it just kept going? They must be voices.

I moved forward. The darkness was no friend of mine. I could not make out what was in front of me and hitting my foot against a wall or column was common. At least I assumed it was a wall or column, until I could launch my hands forward to feel the cold stone, I was never sure of the initial collision. It was unnerving and annoying.

This must be the sparsely used part of the temple hence why they did not light many of the candles around here. Maybe this was better, I was not easily caught. It was not likely I would run into anyone through the darkness. They would probably have a torch and I would be alerted to them coming.

Unless monsters were lurking, oh, I really wished I was back home in my bed.

I kept moving forward and kept my yelps of surprise and pain to a minimum. Now I was hearing the occasional noise, I never deciphered it though. My toes bumped against the wall often and decided to silently curse my bad luck. I laid my body against the wall to my right.

My breath hitched when my foot hit something. I steadied. My foot went further left and still hit something.

The… wait...

Shifting my body, I lifted my leg higher and found the tight space of a stairstep.

Guessed I was going up.

The stairway was a steep climb and for some reason, it was getting harder to breathe. But the pressure got worse with the closer walls around me. My chance to escape got fainter and disappeared with each step.

Gritting my teeth, I placed those littering thoughts to the back of my mind, but the walls were weak and they would always come back to the forefront. The pain in my side got worse, so to hell with these steep steps. I lifted my legs way too high as I traveled up this place.

My breath drew in and prevented myself from making a sound. Staying calm was paramount, but even that was working up enough sweat to add to my already drab musty attire.

A louder noise, but I kept walking. I could see the distinct etchings on the walls. Where was that light coming from? I spun around.

The light shined faintly from the far left and further down the stairway. I did not move, but I could see the walls more clearly now thanks to the light. This was a narrow stairway and there were other off-shot paths along the length of it.

I heard the voices without peeking my head around.

It was too low for me to have it deciphered. Was it far away or was it they were whispering? Was someone around the corner? I took a deep breath and slowly pushed my head out. The corridor was narrower and light beamed from the room beyond the corridor.

I stepped towards the opening ever conscious of each sound my body made. From the clinched groans and my obvious pain, to the growl of my now empty stomach, my breath shook with each second.

I was close to death's door.

My mind was on edge. My heart was slowly building. From one corridor to the next, I kept my steps light, and my eyes peeled.

I walked through an open door and came inside of a large room. The stained windows gave no light.

At the center of it were four tables. All were positioned proportionately to each other. It was not caked in dust and looked rather clean.

One lit candle and a ham?

It looked like roasted meat. It was on flat bread; commonly called a trencher. I stopped moving instantly. At the end was a door peeking out from under a dim torch held high.

A clank piqued my interest. I moved away from the light. The shadows of the wall sheltered me. I looked around. My heart pounded hard. Sweat slid down my face unabated. Distant, I could not see too far ahead of me. The clacking sound of metal against brick drew my interest to the right. Another door became clear to me. An armored man stepped out of it. Following behind him was a woman. She was holding another trencher. On this were an animal hide bowl and sharpened instruments for the task of eating.

His eyes did not look in my direction as he moved to the one with his plate. The woman swiftly swirled around him and laid the trencher down. He said something to her. She whispered and nodded as she shifted on her legs.

This servant was dressed in a loose blue shirt with a white flap down the middle of the dress line. On the flap was the emblem of the Faith of Erot. The man smirked as if some joke was said. He grabbed a piece of the meat and started munching on it.

I was finding it hard to hold my breath for much longer than a few seconds. It would not have been hard for him to have seen me. All he had to do was turn his head, and look for more than a second into the darkness that held me safe.

Then, his back was to me.

I should have left the room instead of staying. Foolish, I admitted that. If I slipped out of the darkness, I would definitely be seen.

My breath caught frantically in my throat. It was uncomfortable to breathe in this manner. The sound of my dripping sweat sounded too loud.

I needed to strike first.

No, that was stupid. I barely fought on equal grounds as it was. I did not know how to fight, plus this was a man. Was I a fool? Maybe, yet, had much of a choice?

His armor was chainmail, and under that was a coat jacket. I wonder how thick it was. Would my spear pierce it if it came to that? His arms were solidly covered from the shoulder to the hands in thick metal. No blind spots, the same thing with the legs. I had to hit the neck or face. The jacket ended just at the top of his chest and I was short though.

That was a hard height to reach. An ax hunched on his side. A bow and arrow slung over his back. He was well-armed to kill me.

Another man entered from that same door. My heart beat faster. My eyes closed tight in frustration.

This couldn't get worse right?

"Odeth, Nex was saying they say a priest died," the new soldier said.

I stiffened.

Odeth, the one I assumed was eating. He did not look up. The new man made a lazy shrug. "Said the Princess daughter of the dead King of Ascus was responsible."

Now Odeth looked up, his face rather shocked. "How the hel—hold on I thought he had no children? So wait who was that boy calling himself King?"

"She is the true born. That boy named Adu is a bastard," the new soldier said.

"Ah, that explains why Little Aica and Steam defected from Ascus."

"Like those two would follow a random bastard child," the new soldier asserted.

"It will be another bloody bath to the throne as usual."

"Ascus is kind of infamous for it," the soldier replied.

No, we were not. We unfortunately—disagreed often.

"Morbidly sad for him, ah?" Odeth laughed. He quickly quieted down. "Corona told you that?"

"Nah, Nex heard about her visiting and saw her himself in the palace. Though if she ended up here..."

Odeth snorted. "Corona playing God again..."

"God is closer than she believes."

"Tired of that woman acting like she is God's favorite. Kello has to put up with her dung. To hell with her an—"

The new soldier tapped his pauldron and shushed him. "Be calm, the walls have ears, my brother."

So had I.

The new soldier gave the girl a wary glance. She said something I could not hear. The men burst out laughing.

Odeth makes a fanning motion with his hand. "Calm down, I am sure everything will be fine. Everybody talks dung about Corona." He laughs some more. With a hoarse attempt at a whisper, he said, "Kello said God talks dung about her too." He looked up at his soldier friend. "So we should look for thiiiis-"

"Carmine," the soldier replied.

"Carmine, nice name. I will join up with you guys when I am done."

The soldier left the room saying, "The rest of us will go out and search."

My thoughts drifted towards Little Aica and Steam. Those regions were the southern parts of Ascus. In those sand-drenched, hard lands the culture was different from the rest of Ascus. From what I remembered they had a lot more loyalty to the crown than other parts. If I went back I could count on them to side with me, but I needed to return. I needed to escape here first.

Some time passed. Hoping this man would finish his meal was one thing. Now, he entertained the woman in delightful conversation.

What the hell was wrong with this oaf. He had a duty! Here he was chasing tail!

I almost groaned, but I kept myself silent.

She said something and turned away. Those eyes and her body stopped on me. Her eyes were still and staring directly at me.

Odeth got up, smirking. "Come on now lass, your chastity is but...a small thing. Entertaining in the body is as natural as breathing. A lovely exercise in the groping arms of Erot our savior and God."

A lovely poem for a fool, but I sweated.

She was looking directly at me. This woman was stupefied as her gaze held mine.

Damnation!

I was mentally shouting at this idiot staring at me. It was too late as Odeth slowed his movements. His arms relaxed as his face twisted from joy to concern. "What—"

I jumped up.

"Are—" His head turned.

I swerved around the first table. Gripped the spear tight, I whirled my right arm back.

The woman screamed. Jumping to the side, she fell over a chair. The man swung completely around as my spear spun and sliced across his lower jaw. Blood sprayed onto me. Then it came, a heavy backhand.

I was thrown hard onto the ground. My head throbbed with an intense burst. I pushed myself up, yet a pain pierced my ankles. My head hits the ground as my body was drawn across the floor. He lifted my waist off the ground as my left leg dangled.

My right leg tightened within the grasp of his gauntlet and my modesty became revealed as the dress peeled downward. I gasped. My head rebounded, for high levels of pain throbbed in every corner. As my eyes met his cold dead stare, his other hand held the bottom of his jaw. Blood seeped through his gauntlet and down his neck.

"You snake! The hell do you think you are?!" he sneered. His grip tightened. I winced.

I saw the spear, but it was a good distance away, on the floor. Rolling my leg, I clocked his neck with the bottom of my foot. He released me and dropped headfirst. My body twirled and contorted when it hit face down.

I got up and felt a sharp pain in my shoulder. My stomach wound ached. I pushed all the pain to the back of my mind and surged forward. As soon as I grabbed the spear, my leg got drawn again.

With a heavy thud, my body dropped hard to the ground as the back of his ax slapped into my chest.

The air and my sanity left me when I hit the floor again. My head spun from the turmoil.

He dropped my leg and moved forward eyes rife with anger, ax in hand. "Put it down or I will rip off your arms lass!"

He looked down at me. His chest heaved slowly. The cut under his cheek was long, but it did not look deep. My heartbeat slowed while my legs buckled with fright. My gaze blurred. A distant and sickening emotion gripped me.

I was already dead either way, right? My eyes squinted at him, so I moved my left hand behind my back to level it off the floor. That eased the small pain in my upper back. With my right, I laid the spear down. My hand loosened off it. Fingers too, yet I smiled innocently.

"Carmine, right? You are one dangerous woman. Just like all the Asconians I met. Bloody evil people."

Leaning forward, I spat on the ground to the left. I used my index finger to slide the spear behind me.

His gauntlet smacked me upside the left of my forehead. "Uncouth noble wrench, think you are better me?!"

My head seared like a million hells.

He snatched the side of the dress in a grip on my neck. It eased the biting sting of the pointed steel. I was lifted. But my left hand already gripped the end of the spear.

He said, "Can't escape now." A devilish smile greeted my stoic frown. I breathed out, calmed myself, and flipped the spear in my hand.

My left hand swung it from behind and the spearhead slices upside the top of his head.

Ashuor's mercy, I always kept missing!

He cried out as I hit the ground unceremoniously. The soldier fell on the table and toppled it over. The spear rebounded into a corner.

He and I traded glances. Our eyes met on what was between us, the ax. He lunged forward. My foot came first hitting him perfectly in the face. I shot onto my legs and swept up the ax. My other hand clutched the handle as I threw my body forward in a mighty attack. I swung hitting him wide into the left of his head.

He rolled and screamed. I ran up and swung my arms wide and over him. I rammed it hard onto his head.

Blood splattered all over as his body twisted. His gasps and my annoyed groans at my blood-stained dress pushed me close to vomiting. I turned my gaze away. There was too much blood, and even now my throat filled with bile. Shaking my head, I averted my eyes.

I threw the ax onto his body. "Asconians are not evil, we're just born tough, fool." That was what ten years of being treated as a peasant afforded me at least. I was no weakling noble who cried a river.

"I will survive this. But for that I need..." I said.

My hand took up the spear and I lifted it in her face. She was on the ground hunched up next to a chair. Cowering, she shivered like a freezing child. She looked young, younger than me.

"Show me your wrists," I said.

She had not moved. I swung the wooden part of the spear hard into her shoulder. She yelped.

I asked with more seriousness. "Wrists!"

She showed them. Both back and front, she was no slave. Good, she was useful. She coiled up.

I must be a frightening figure, but I needed her cooperation even if I forced it out of her. "You are coming with me."