Record of Ashes War

Chapter 27 - Heart in the Mind

Emeria huffed out a breath, bending over to relieve her stomach cramps. Her sleeves had rolled down again. She clicked her tongue and shoved them back past her elbow. "Whew," she said, wiping her forehead with the back of her right arm, training weapon in hand. An old soldier, face twisted in a frown, grumbled as he rose to his feet and dusted his rear. He had only himself to blame for tripping over his own feet. He gave a terse bow before stalking off the field.

Emeria stretched out. That was her third win for the day. And some thirty-eight wins in a row in total since she'd arrived at Arcaeus Peak. And zero losses! Except for the duel with Jengard Rask.

That one didn't count. She hadn't started keeping record until after that fight. Obviously.

"Next!" she said, her breath all caught. Observing soldiers mumbled to their adjacent peers, laughing and shoving, making challenges to each other. A good dozen had already lost to her. She kept her sun bright smile as her eyes passed on each and every man around her, all of them avoiding her gaze the moment her eyes met theirs. Her ears caught scraps of conversation.

"Didn't you say you could take her?"

"I was drunk last night you oaf."

"I can't. Wouldn't want to hurt the princess and be jailed."

"Coward!"

"Coming from the man that's already lost to her?"

Emeria resisted the urge to laugh. "Come now! Are—" Are your balls the size of shriveled peas? No. Too vulgar for the heiress apparent. She'd never hear the end of it from Sir Draumen and Duke Serene. "Are you really frightened of poor little me? I do wonder what Lady Sar'tara would say if she could see you lot now."

That seemed to have done the trick, shutting them all up in an instant. Their moods noticeably soured. Worked better than intended… Had she overstepped, or were they just disappointed in themselves? Regardless, a challenger walked into the small chalk marked arena, a one handed wood sword held in his leather gloves. An experienced man, shaved head with grey scruffs around the neck and scars on his arm.

Emeria took her stance. Her cramps gnawed at her sides again. Recently, she'd taken to eating larger portions. It helped with building her strength and stamina. And increased growth elsewhere. While she hadn't gained much in the way of height, she was quite content with the subtle addition of mass to her hip and bosom. Unfortunately, eating brought about pain in her sides when exercising right afterwards.

"Begin!" someone from the sidelines shouted.

The veteran soldier charged and swung in a wide arc. Emeria deflected with her own weapon. Her forearms burned from overuse. She dashed past the soldier, with quick and light steps, backhanding him with her free hand. The taunt worked as she wheeled around to see a burning intensity within his eyes. He came at her again, and this time, Emeria lunged forward too. Faster yet, she struck the soldier's wrist joint. He yelped, fingers loosening around the grip of his weapon. Emeria snapped her hand, striking his sword and disarming him before pointing her wood tip at his neck. And that was her fourth win for the day. Thirty-nine total.

"Bah!" the old soldier said, picking up his sword while massaging his wrist.

And here comes the excuse.

"I'm a spearman. A spearman I say. Not cut out for swords, these hands of mine." He bowed low. "Your royal highness," he said before turning to leave. He paused halfway. "Well, Lady Sar'tara may not be proud of louts like us, but I'm sure she'd be happy to see how far her highness has grown."

Emeria nodded, pulling back the taunt she had prepared for the excuse. The pain in her sides worsened. A break was in order. She wiped her forehead again, airing out her shirt while exhaling through her mouth. The unbuttoned collar was mildly damp with her sweat. She crinkled her nose. A bath was in order too.

"I'll be taking a break," she announced. The crowd around her began clearing. The younger ones among them seemed dejected. A handful of higher status from among them had tried courting her. Foolish, that. Imagine trying to court a girl in a garrison smelling of oiled iron, unwashed shirts, and damp soil of rained upon training fields. They thought they had a chance now that Azurus wasn't following her everywhere. Well, Radis still followed her everywhere, albeit more discreetly. Where is he anyway? Sir Draumen normally was present on days she allowed open challenges.

Emeria placed her wooden sword on a rack with other weapons while unbinding the band that held her hair, letting the golden mass flow freely. She peeled off her sweaty gloves. The skin at the base of her fingers were peeling despite them. Emeria left the sunlit training field and entered into the shadowed corridors of the garrison, each corner hiding a mail armored guard. All of them lowered their heads for her as she passed by, chainmail rustling.

She wondered if she could best Azurus now. Her stamina had greatly improved over the last few months. She wondered where he was also. How he was. Whether he spent nights thinking of her as she did him. Winter was approaching. Her bed would be cold. Her birthday was soon also. Maybe he would surprise her on the day of and appear at the garrison. She relished the thought, imagining his dashing form riding beneath the gates in his dauntless black armor, longsword at his waist.

And I'll be there, leaping into his arms, kissing him before everyone! Maybe it would be night. Maybe the moons would be out, shining down at their blossoming love.

Emeria daydreamt so hard that she really saw Azurus marching down a corridor, fully armored, plates clinking with his heavy steps. Her heart fluttered and her face flushed as the figure approached closer. This was reality. He was really here. He was— oh. It was just Radis. But why was the knight fully armored? "Sir Draumen!" Emeria exclaimed. "Where were you? Did you see me spar? I practically beat everyone in five moves. I should like to spar with you also. Hmm. Do you think I could challenge Lord Serene? I don’t know if it'd be appropriate though. I really—"

Radis stormed past Emeria without a word, face stern and eyes alight with dark emotion. His left hand was wrapped tight around the pommel at his waist. Emeria frowned. Upset or not, he hadn't even acknowledged her presence just then. "Sir Draumen! Sir Draumen?" she called, hands on her hips. But he didn't turn.

***

"And then he just stomped past me as if I wasn't even there!" Emeria explained to Elizia as they climbed a set of twisting stairs, fingers clutched around the skirt of the plain beige gown she'd changed into. They were on their way to answer a summons from the Duke. "He was fully armored too. A mere inch from bumping into me with those hard iron plates."

"Mhm," was all Elizia said, yawning wide and without manners while vertically stretching her arms. "Gah! Why's father calling us so late?" she asked, rubbing her shoulders as they passed by a window.

"No clue. But you can be sure I'll be giving Radis an earful when I see him again. Whatever his reasons for being upset, he, as my guard, almost hurt me."

"Almost," Elizia echoed.

"El, whose side are you on?" Emeria scowled, stopping before Kalin Serene's office. Her scowl deepened as Elizia shrugged with a mischievous smile. She turned the doorknob and entered inside, Emeria trailing.

"Ah, some warmth at last!" Elizia said, crouching before the lit hearth in the room. She yawned again, this time with noise.

Emeria crouched besides her, feeling a bit cold herself. Lord Serene was seated at his desk, peering down at a map with flag markers on it. Jengard Rask was there also, his sheer presence making the office feel cramped.

"Elizia, please cover your mouth when you yawn," Kalin said. "And do so with less noise. No noise preferably."

"Yes father," she said lazily. She walked over to the table, nudging a flowerpot with a glowing blue everflower to better illuminate the map. "What, more Empire cronies?" she asked, looking down at the map.

"Cronies?" Kalin raised an eyebrow. "Mind your speech too. Don't speak like a tired old soldier. You are still a noble la—" he was cut off by another audible yawn from his daughter. The duke's brows furrowed. "Elizia," he said with a raised voice. "Have you been drinking?"

She snorted. "Just a few mugs with my soldiers. I'm not a lightweight like you father." She looked down at the map as Emeria joined her side. "Hold on. This isn't a map of our borders. It’s a map of most of Xenaria. And these flags…"

There were red flags everywhere, marking various points at the map. Small model houses were there also, which Emeria knew was used to mark down unlabelled villages.

"Father, this isn’t to do with that insurrection I've been hearing about is it? Why are there so many flags? Surely there aren't so many of them running around the kingdom."

Neither Kalin nor Rask answered, their expressions blank but speaking volumes. They turned their focus to the map again. To think the duke didn't reprimand his daughter further for drinking… The mood in the room was all wrong. The hearth fire suddenly seemed small and heatless.

"Insurrection?" Emeria asked. She'd heard the word on a few soldiers' mouths, but thought little of it. She felt a bit left out. Heir to the throne, and yet not privy to military information that even low rank soldiers were aware of. "Does Radis know? Does everyone but me know? Where is Radis anyway? He was angry for some reason. Do any of you know why?"

"Er…" Rask began. Emeria waited for more. He didn't continue.

"I-are you serious? Am I the only one here that doesn't know anything?" she cried, fists balled. "Am I not worth sharing things with? I'm the heir Flaming apparent! I have a right to know! Why is everyone leaving me out?" Emeria felt a lump in her throat. Wasn't this supposed to be her second home? This kind of treatment was unfair. "Aren't I allowed to share everyone's burdens? Where's Azurus? You know don't you? The three of you know, I'll bet. But you just won't tell me."

"I only found out where he was a few days ago," Elizia mumbled, as if that absolved her of fault.

"A few days? And you didn't share it with me?"

Lord Serene sighed. "Your highness is right. We've been keeping things from you because we didn't want to burden you with this knowledge. But as Xenaria's sole heir, you've the right to know."

Rask nodded, agreeing. "Sheltering Emeria will only hamper her ability to rule as queen one day."

"Then explain everything from the bottom," Emeria demanded. "Start with Azurus."

"Regarding the boy, his original mission was one of secrecy," Lord Serene explained. "Now, not so much… He should be south of Heira right now, if you're wondering. He's chasing after a group of insurrectionists of well…" He rubbed his temples. There were dark spots beneath his eyes. "These rebels just appeared out of thin air, organized and striking with clear directions within the last two cycles. Sir Draumen's sister was apparently among them. We received a missive from your mother this morning. Azurus, commanding a contingent of the royal guard, hung Lady Roxanne Draumen for treason. And Radis has now left his duty it seems. He's gone from the garrison. He doesn't believe his sister would ever betray the crown. Someone else will be chosen to be the captain of your highness' guard for the time being."

Emeria blinked. She stared down at the table. "South of Heira," she muttered, touching the map with her fingertips. "Azurus ordered the death of Lady Draumen? No. That can't be right. He wouldn't. That isn't him. He wouldn't command the deaths of a woman regardless of what they've done. And… just no. Didn't Lady Draumen have two children? Radis told me so. Azurus would have thought of all that. It just doesn't make sense."

"It doesn't, but it’s the word that we received," Kalin said. "Roxanne commanded farmers and villagers to kill and pillage while flying the banners of a burning lotus. Villagers that the knights had little choice but to put to the sword. We've all known the boy for years, Emma. I know he isn't the type, but this isn't something simple anymore. If something isn't done, this could escalate into a civil war beyond repair. I think Azurus understands that. He's certainly smart enough to. Thus, he's removing people in positions of leadership within the rebels."

"Or he's upset at having to have killed manipulated farmers and killed the responsible party out of anger," Elizia said. "Emma and I spent the most time around him, father. Azurus is as kind as they come. It would only make sense to arrest Roxanne and take her back to the capital."

"Yes," Emeria agreed, trying to process everything she'd just heard. "I don’t believe it myself that Radis' sister would betray the crown. And my Azurus wouldn't order her killed even if she did. He's returning to the capital right? Then I should return as—"

"Absolutely not!" the duke cut in. "These rebels are everywhere. The roads are not safe to travel right now."

Emeria wanted to protest but she glanced at the map again. Flag markers littered Xenaria as crumbs litter an emptied plate. This many rebel groups and the Kalin Serene is only now hearing of this? She wanted to speak to Azurus. He couldn't have changed this much in a few months. Emeria was certain this was a mistake. An error in the reports. But the reports were from her mother, to whom Azurus reported directly.

Emeria rubbed her arms. The logs within the hearth still burned. The cold she felt did not come from outside, but from a foreboding feeling in her chest. "I-I think I need to rest," she stuttered. "Too many duels and all. Have a headache. I'm going to go sleep," Maybe if she curled up beneath a blanket, the cold within would leave.

Emeria hurried out of the room, grateful that no one commented on her pitiful excuse. Pitiful… Was that why information was kept from her? Was she too pitiful? Too fragile of mind? That couldn't be allowed. Not when she would inherit the throne. But just now. Just this once, she wanted to hide in her bed and imagine Azurus was right there with her, broad chest pressed against her back, warm breath grazing on her neck, arms wrapped around her, sheltering her from the dark.