The War of Queens

Chapter 11

Asha

 Asha let her fingers run over the golden bar. It was with a pang of regret that she let her fist clench around it. It hardly seemed right that her jaguars should be imprisoned. Still, it was necessary. Or at least it appeared it was.

 All around her, the departure of her army was being prepared. Tonight they would hold a great feast so that the soldiers could say goodbye properly and their efforts be appreciated. There would be a lot of drinking, she knew, and some crying and laughing and dancing. It would be a long night, for sure.

 Anaïs would not be joining. She would be enjoying her long night beneath the stars, reading the omens of her spirits and preparing in her own way for the war that no one could question was coming. Her apprentice, a young girl, not that pretty, but with a wisdom beyond her years, walked around the town, collecting the things her teacher would need that night.

 Asha saw Hiram just as he headed over to her. He smiled in greeting before saying, “All is ready for the departure.”

 “And for the feast?” she inquired. When he nodded, she said, placing her hand more firmly on the large golden cage, “I don’t like the thought of my jaguars being caged.”

 “It was a gift from Caterina. She said it would be necessary. We are going to travel over the ocean, and cats do not like water.” He smiled and cupped her face with his hand. “They will be fine.”

 She pulled away from him and began walking. He quickly caught up with her. “My jaguars are different,” she told him. “They do not mind water. I’ve seen them swim before.”

 “They are majestic creatures,” he agreed with a little frown, “but the ocean is different from the rivers.”

 “Still…” They had entered the forest then, and Asha began looking for her jaguars amongst the trees. Even though they were animals and could not possibly have known what was going on, they sensed the changes and it unnerved them. They lingered around the town, always making sure to stay close to Asha, and one of them, a female named Jura, had been investigating the cages further. There were only two cages, but they were each large enough to fit two jaguars inside.

 “I’m going with you, you know?” Hiram said, more of a statement than anything.

 Her hand sought and found his and she enjoyed the warmth when the curled around each other. “Thank you.”

 They walked together until it began to grow dark, talking and not talking in turn. When they returned, a bonfire in the middle of the town had already been lit and a skin was passing along between them. Asha still did not partake in the drinks, though she smiled as she joined the group and watched Hiram take the skin that was handed to him.

 Being with him had done her more good than it had done him. He was sociable and generally very well liked, while she had always been too shy to participate in such things. With him at her side, she felt more open; she laughed more freely, spoke more loudly.

 It was long into the night and the conversations were getting more and more difficult to follow as the drinks took their toll when a young girl tapped Asha on the should. “The jakeen wishes to see you.”

 Asha frowned, seeing from the corner of her eye how Hiram was watching them intently. It made warmth surge through her still young body and she wished this were not important. “Now?”

 “Yes,” the girl said, looking around anxiously.

 “Where?”

 “She said ‘beneath the stars’.”