Post by Lady Hammer on May 7, 2007 15:40:06 GMT -5
VIII. The Fair Lady Contract
The fire breather had left them. Or, at least Kedo saw it that way. Her eyes fixed lowly on the hallway in which Aeslyn had deserted them, watching the swallowing emptiness. Terseness she had expected in her sister - in fact, she always expected it - but she never thought she’d be abandoned. Biting her lip, she let a bone-crushing sigh escape her.
“Heywood is stable.” Anna kept the watchman peacefully on the ground, tightening his improvised bandages. Most of the bleeding had stopped, and Phio’s face finally had quit twisting into the frightful expressions he had been making in his dreams.
“That’s good. He should be a little easier to look out for, now. But,” the elf muttered, folding her arms, “I still don’t get it. Any of it.”
“Of what?”
“Of this!” Maravandril yelled, making the thief jump.
“Quiet down. The last thing we need is more crap finding us because of someone’s loud mouth!”
“Then tell me why there’s paintings of my sister in here! How and why do these men know her? It doesn’t make any sense. She lives all the way across the mainland in the Azukas Wood, as the High Priestess Queen. She’s the one who sent me on my trial,” Maravandril explained. Kedo looked up at the elf then, dusting off her trousers and tunic.
“What’s this trial you’re on?” she asked. Sighing, Maravandril eyed the Fair Lady Kardis in the painting.
“When the Princess Maiden becomes Queen, she has to choose one of her sisters to be the next Princess Maiden, and when she has a tough choice to make, she sends them on a trial. The trial is any problem in any area that could benefit from that sister’s help. When the problem has been resolved, and the sister comes back home, the Queen will evaluate the good that each one has done and choose who would be best for the new title.”
“Wow,” Kedo whispered, still staring to the hall Aeslyn had left through. “It sounds like some sisters get the short end of the stick for years…”
“Well,” Maravandril started, biting her nails, “it’s like that. The Queen is chosen when the current one moves on to the council. That happens whenever she pleases, especially when she’s very old. Sometimes, the sisters being chosen for Princess Maiden are still very young. The sister before Kardis was 20, or 5 in your human years.”
“Are they always girls?”
Maravandril glanced dully to Anna. “You all have a lot of questions, don’t you?” she asked. “Royalty is always female. Women are said to be the nurturers of life, while men protect it. Because of this, most males in Azukas are in our army. But, we never attack. We only defend. Azukas is a peaceful place.” Anna rolled her eyes. While she continued scouring the room for valuables, the elf stared to the figure of her sister in the painting. “I never realized how deep this trial ran, sister. What did you mean to happen by this?” She touched her long, slender fingers to the worn canvas, and suddenly, the light drained from the room again.
“What did you do?” Kedo shrieked, kneeling over Phio. However, she was surprised when no shadowlings appeared or attacked. Instead, there was a gentle blue fog hugging the floor.
“Look! The painting is moving again!” Maravandril grasped the edges of the canvas and watched as Kardis, Centa, and Phio stood in a young Vaskio, slaying daemons. The two watchmen held shimmering black blades, and Kardis stood at as much of a distance as possible, firing golden tipped arrows. Suddenly, as Phio’s blade cleaved through the horned purple head of a daemon, the sword fell from his hands and his skin burned a sickening red. Maravandril cringed, pressing her hand to her chest in horror. Centa paid no heed, but rather hacked through the evil in his cries of battle. Writhing in pain, his partner screamed just as loud, his skin steaming and glowing in heat. Quickly, the elven maiden rushed to his side, glancing in disappointment at Centa.
“He’s… he’s a monster…!” Maravandril gasped. And then, the painting returned to normal, displaying the title “Our Fair Lady Kardis”. The elf slowly backed away in shock, her eyes wide. As the darkness grew fainter and the fog lifted, Anna began scouring once again through the gallery, patronizing strange titles on bookshelves and paintings that didn’t belong.
“I don’t think this place serves as just a gallery. There are cookbooks in here and pattern books for sewing. They all have 10 cent tags!”
“Do you think they just went and bought a bunch of books on clearance to fill the book cases up?” Kedo asked, perusing the shelves as well. The thief nodded.
“A lot of rooms in this place, I think, are like this.” Then, the thief pried the canvas off the wall to reveal a hangar on a peg. A bare hangar.
“What the hell is this?” she asked in disgust, holding it up. “I’m done. Honestly, I’m stumped. These men are too strange, Kedo. Why would you trust your city in the hands of them?”
“Because!” Kedo shouted, pursing her lips. “They’ve been able to protect us, and everyone else in Vaskio trusts them, too, so don’t get on my ass!” Anna ignored her.
“Mar,” she said, turning to the elf, “which direction was your sister aiming her bow in the painting?” Maravandril swallowed hard. When the silence perturbed her enough, she pointed to her left, where there were two other paintings further down the wall. With a grin that so clearly said she was impressed with herself, Anna put her ear against the bare wall by where the picture had been hanging and rapped her fist a few times. Then, proudly, she announced,
“We’ve got another secret door!”
“Anna, maybe we shouldn’t--”
The thief viciously cut the watchwoman off.
“Then what should we do, Kedo? You’re the one who thought we were here for a good reason in the first place . If you want your ARC men, your city, to be any better off, shut up and let’s go!”
She proceeded to kick down the veneer, revealing a room of darkness.
“No… no, why do we have to do this?” Kedo asked, noticeably sweating. “What if this won’t help us? What if the trouble is somewhere else?”
Fiercely, Anna looked her in the eye.
“You know what? I’ve had about enough of you! If you don’t approve, go your own damned way and leave me alone!” Kedo pouted and took a step back, and that’s when Maravandril approached.
“Stop, both of you. This isn’t a joke, and this is nothing to stop and argue about.” Anna glared, but stopped. “Let’s go in already, and put the veneer back up, Anna. I hear something coming.” Not happy with taking commands, the thief nearly bit back, but realized the elf’s point, and she did have the superior senses. And it was pointless stalling because of her own stubbornness. Carefully, she grabbed a side of the veneer and was instantly overwhelmed by the weight. It was always easier to kick down than to put back, for whatever reason. To her surprise, however, the watchwoman came to help her.
Just as the wooden door was fitted into place, loud footsteps plowed down the hallway with a rusty voice chasing after them. The footsteps stopped for just a moment, and everyone could hear heavy panting, and the equally as heavy contemplation of whoever was outside. Then, the running continued, and another set of footsteps followed. Everyone was speechless, tough the same questions were in all of their minds. Except for Bootmann. They all realized this when they heard him messing with something on a back wall, making an incessant squeal.
“Bootm--”
Anna put her hand over the elf’s mouth and approached the asylum patient. He was messing with yet another veneer.
“This place is disgusting. I’m serious, Kedo. I don’t know how anyone can trust these men. There’s just too much going on in this place… too many secrets. Too many… mysteries. What the hell are they trying to hide?”
“Don’t say that, Anna, please! They’re all faithful to this city and they’d give anything to protect it!” Kedo said, her voice about to bring tears. The thief cared little, and mercilessly kicked down the next veneer, startling Bootmann.
“I’m not putting that one back up.”
The next room was the same shape and size as the last, and shrouded in just as much mystery as the rest of the building. A malady of curtains hung, covering every wall, but one curtain caught their attention. Their eyes followed the walls until they met a curtain hanging over nothing, letting a cool, pale blue fog seep in from another room.
“What do you see?” Kedo asked, taking a tentative step forward. “What is there, Mar?”
“Curtains. They’re everywhere! Rip them down!”
The elf herself grabbed a fistful of starchy fabric and ripped it from its wall hanger. Bootmann, Anna, and Kedo all followed suit, and when they began, one thing in particular caught the elf’s eye, sitting on the wall, innocently reflecting the darkness. A mirror that only she could see. Its rim shimmered in the glow of the fog, drawing her in. She couldn’t help but step closer.
“Oh! Heywood! Calm down!” Kedo rushed to the watchman’s side as he stirred, but he wrestled her away and attempted to prop himself up.
“Get away… get away from me!”
“Explain these bloodstains. They’ve been everywhere!” the elf suddenly demanded. She could see the man glare at her as he was sitting on the ground, and he refused to answer.
“I agree, Mr. Heywood. Will Vaskio lay safe in ARC’s hands this time?” Kedo’s words shocked Anna the most. However, Phio’s words did not answer their questions.
“Look in the mirror, Maravandril. Your sister sent you here because only you would hear her words.” The elf gritted her teeth.
“Why? Why should your words mean anything to me?”
“How much does your title mean to you? How much does your land mean to you, and how much do you want to care and love it in your own hands? Go to the mirror!” First came Bootmann’s eyes. They always came first. Then came Anna’s, and her gaze, for once, was not patronizing. At last, after a time heavily weighted with contemplation, Kedo stepped aside and offered her the path to the mirror.
Maravandril went. Her strides seemed so much longer, and time seemed so much more drawn out. The mirror reflected her perfect elven face as she neared. And then, it was no longer hers. Waiting within the darkness was Kardis, gazing calmly back at her sister. There was a shimmer in her sapphire eyes.
“Sister!”
Kardis cut her off.
“Justice… or Balance?”
No one else in the room had heard the voice, and she knew it couldn’t have been a serious question. Kardis was notorious for hiding secret meanings and riddles and the true answers within the seams and folds of what she said. Justice or Balance. It seemed so easy, and she didn’t doubt that it actually was. Justice or Balance.
“Both.”
Kardis smiled. She knew Maravandril wouldn’t disappoint her. Suddenly, Maravandril saw a silver-tipped arrow protruding through the mirror, and delicately, she pulled it out, only to see another of her sister’s riddles: the arrow was shaped like a key.
“What the hell is--”
Anna’s words fell short when a loud, high-pitched scream echoed from the next room.
“It’s Aeslyn…!” Kedo said, standing agape. Then, through everything, Phio stood, tore down the last curtain, and ran into the most glorious room that the other four had ever seen.
The fire breather had left them. Or, at least Kedo saw it that way. Her eyes fixed lowly on the hallway in which Aeslyn had deserted them, watching the swallowing emptiness. Terseness she had expected in her sister - in fact, she always expected it - but she never thought she’d be abandoned. Biting her lip, she let a bone-crushing sigh escape her.
“Heywood is stable.” Anna kept the watchman peacefully on the ground, tightening his improvised bandages. Most of the bleeding had stopped, and Phio’s face finally had quit twisting into the frightful expressions he had been making in his dreams.
“That’s good. He should be a little easier to look out for, now. But,” the elf muttered, folding her arms, “I still don’t get it. Any of it.”
“Of what?”
“Of this!” Maravandril yelled, making the thief jump.
“Quiet down. The last thing we need is more crap finding us because of someone’s loud mouth!”
“Then tell me why there’s paintings of my sister in here! How and why do these men know her? It doesn’t make any sense. She lives all the way across the mainland in the Azukas Wood, as the High Priestess Queen. She’s the one who sent me on my trial,” Maravandril explained. Kedo looked up at the elf then, dusting off her trousers and tunic.
“What’s this trial you’re on?” she asked. Sighing, Maravandril eyed the Fair Lady Kardis in the painting.
“When the Princess Maiden becomes Queen, she has to choose one of her sisters to be the next Princess Maiden, and when she has a tough choice to make, she sends them on a trial. The trial is any problem in any area that could benefit from that sister’s help. When the problem has been resolved, and the sister comes back home, the Queen will evaluate the good that each one has done and choose who would be best for the new title.”
“Wow,” Kedo whispered, still staring to the hall Aeslyn had left through. “It sounds like some sisters get the short end of the stick for years…”
“Well,” Maravandril started, biting her nails, “it’s like that. The Queen is chosen when the current one moves on to the council. That happens whenever she pleases, especially when she’s very old. Sometimes, the sisters being chosen for Princess Maiden are still very young. The sister before Kardis was 20, or 5 in your human years.”
“Are they always girls?”
Maravandril glanced dully to Anna. “You all have a lot of questions, don’t you?” she asked. “Royalty is always female. Women are said to be the nurturers of life, while men protect it. Because of this, most males in Azukas are in our army. But, we never attack. We only defend. Azukas is a peaceful place.” Anna rolled her eyes. While she continued scouring the room for valuables, the elf stared to the figure of her sister in the painting. “I never realized how deep this trial ran, sister. What did you mean to happen by this?” She touched her long, slender fingers to the worn canvas, and suddenly, the light drained from the room again.
“What did you do?” Kedo shrieked, kneeling over Phio. However, she was surprised when no shadowlings appeared or attacked. Instead, there was a gentle blue fog hugging the floor.
“Look! The painting is moving again!” Maravandril grasped the edges of the canvas and watched as Kardis, Centa, and Phio stood in a young Vaskio, slaying daemons. The two watchmen held shimmering black blades, and Kardis stood at as much of a distance as possible, firing golden tipped arrows. Suddenly, as Phio’s blade cleaved through the horned purple head of a daemon, the sword fell from his hands and his skin burned a sickening red. Maravandril cringed, pressing her hand to her chest in horror. Centa paid no heed, but rather hacked through the evil in his cries of battle. Writhing in pain, his partner screamed just as loud, his skin steaming and glowing in heat. Quickly, the elven maiden rushed to his side, glancing in disappointment at Centa.
“He’s… he’s a monster…!” Maravandril gasped. And then, the painting returned to normal, displaying the title “Our Fair Lady Kardis”. The elf slowly backed away in shock, her eyes wide. As the darkness grew fainter and the fog lifted, Anna began scouring once again through the gallery, patronizing strange titles on bookshelves and paintings that didn’t belong.
“I don’t think this place serves as just a gallery. There are cookbooks in here and pattern books for sewing. They all have 10 cent tags!”
“Do you think they just went and bought a bunch of books on clearance to fill the book cases up?” Kedo asked, perusing the shelves as well. The thief nodded.
“A lot of rooms in this place, I think, are like this.” Then, the thief pried the canvas off the wall to reveal a hangar on a peg. A bare hangar.
“What the hell is this?” she asked in disgust, holding it up. “I’m done. Honestly, I’m stumped. These men are too strange, Kedo. Why would you trust your city in the hands of them?”
“Because!” Kedo shouted, pursing her lips. “They’ve been able to protect us, and everyone else in Vaskio trusts them, too, so don’t get on my ass!” Anna ignored her.
“Mar,” she said, turning to the elf, “which direction was your sister aiming her bow in the painting?” Maravandril swallowed hard. When the silence perturbed her enough, she pointed to her left, where there were two other paintings further down the wall. With a grin that so clearly said she was impressed with herself, Anna put her ear against the bare wall by where the picture had been hanging and rapped her fist a few times. Then, proudly, she announced,
“We’ve got another secret door!”
“Anna, maybe we shouldn’t--”
The thief viciously cut the watchwoman off.
“Then what should we do, Kedo? You’re the one who thought we were here for a good reason in the first place . If you want your ARC men, your city, to be any better off, shut up and let’s go!”
She proceeded to kick down the veneer, revealing a room of darkness.
“No… no, why do we have to do this?” Kedo asked, noticeably sweating. “What if this won’t help us? What if the trouble is somewhere else?”
Fiercely, Anna looked her in the eye.
“You know what? I’ve had about enough of you! If you don’t approve, go your own damned way and leave me alone!” Kedo pouted and took a step back, and that’s when Maravandril approached.
“Stop, both of you. This isn’t a joke, and this is nothing to stop and argue about.” Anna glared, but stopped. “Let’s go in already, and put the veneer back up, Anna. I hear something coming.” Not happy with taking commands, the thief nearly bit back, but realized the elf’s point, and she did have the superior senses. And it was pointless stalling because of her own stubbornness. Carefully, she grabbed a side of the veneer and was instantly overwhelmed by the weight. It was always easier to kick down than to put back, for whatever reason. To her surprise, however, the watchwoman came to help her.
Just as the wooden door was fitted into place, loud footsteps plowed down the hallway with a rusty voice chasing after them. The footsteps stopped for just a moment, and everyone could hear heavy panting, and the equally as heavy contemplation of whoever was outside. Then, the running continued, and another set of footsteps followed. Everyone was speechless, tough the same questions were in all of their minds. Except for Bootmann. They all realized this when they heard him messing with something on a back wall, making an incessant squeal.
“Bootm--”
Anna put her hand over the elf’s mouth and approached the asylum patient. He was messing with yet another veneer.
“This place is disgusting. I’m serious, Kedo. I don’t know how anyone can trust these men. There’s just too much going on in this place… too many secrets. Too many… mysteries. What the hell are they trying to hide?”
“Don’t say that, Anna, please! They’re all faithful to this city and they’d give anything to protect it!” Kedo said, her voice about to bring tears. The thief cared little, and mercilessly kicked down the next veneer, startling Bootmann.
“I’m not putting that one back up.”
The next room was the same shape and size as the last, and shrouded in just as much mystery as the rest of the building. A malady of curtains hung, covering every wall, but one curtain caught their attention. Their eyes followed the walls until they met a curtain hanging over nothing, letting a cool, pale blue fog seep in from another room.
“What do you see?” Kedo asked, taking a tentative step forward. “What is there, Mar?”
“Curtains. They’re everywhere! Rip them down!”
The elf herself grabbed a fistful of starchy fabric and ripped it from its wall hanger. Bootmann, Anna, and Kedo all followed suit, and when they began, one thing in particular caught the elf’s eye, sitting on the wall, innocently reflecting the darkness. A mirror that only she could see. Its rim shimmered in the glow of the fog, drawing her in. She couldn’t help but step closer.
“Oh! Heywood! Calm down!” Kedo rushed to the watchman’s side as he stirred, but he wrestled her away and attempted to prop himself up.
“Get away… get away from me!”
“Explain these bloodstains. They’ve been everywhere!” the elf suddenly demanded. She could see the man glare at her as he was sitting on the ground, and he refused to answer.
“I agree, Mr. Heywood. Will Vaskio lay safe in ARC’s hands this time?” Kedo’s words shocked Anna the most. However, Phio’s words did not answer their questions.
“Look in the mirror, Maravandril. Your sister sent you here because only you would hear her words.” The elf gritted her teeth.
“Why? Why should your words mean anything to me?”
“How much does your title mean to you? How much does your land mean to you, and how much do you want to care and love it in your own hands? Go to the mirror!” First came Bootmann’s eyes. They always came first. Then came Anna’s, and her gaze, for once, was not patronizing. At last, after a time heavily weighted with contemplation, Kedo stepped aside and offered her the path to the mirror.
Maravandril went. Her strides seemed so much longer, and time seemed so much more drawn out. The mirror reflected her perfect elven face as she neared. And then, it was no longer hers. Waiting within the darkness was Kardis, gazing calmly back at her sister. There was a shimmer in her sapphire eyes.
“Sister!”
Kardis cut her off.
“Justice… or Balance?”
No one else in the room had heard the voice, and she knew it couldn’t have been a serious question. Kardis was notorious for hiding secret meanings and riddles and the true answers within the seams and folds of what she said. Justice or Balance. It seemed so easy, and she didn’t doubt that it actually was. Justice or Balance.
“Both.”
Kardis smiled. She knew Maravandril wouldn’t disappoint her. Suddenly, Maravandril saw a silver-tipped arrow protruding through the mirror, and delicately, she pulled it out, only to see another of her sister’s riddles: the arrow was shaped like a key.
“What the hell is--”
Anna’s words fell short when a loud, high-pitched scream echoed from the next room.
“It’s Aeslyn…!” Kedo said, standing agape. Then, through everything, Phio stood, tore down the last curtain, and ran into the most glorious room that the other four had ever seen.
