The Wielder and the Source

Chapter 31

Kitaya exited the castle grounds through the west gate where she met Rehema and Ade. The protestors marched around the castle walls their stomps and shouts filling the morning air.

"Anything to report?" Rehema asked over the noise.

"The King seems utterly unphased, his charge however was adamant about them not coming here, got quite loud at the table." Kitaya paced in front of them. "We'll need to break her. Mentally, I mean. I think if we—"

Ade scoffed. "That's it? We've been marching for hours. These people want action not a princess throwing a tantrum."

She sighed. "They're under the crown's protection. Laying a finger on them would be akin to treason. And I already said we're not barbarians, Ade. We protest peacefully or not at all. I don't want Kon in shambles when the Ravinians leave."

He exhaled. "Fine." And sauntered off into the crowd. Kitaya watched his back and shook her head. There were others that thought like him, wanting to drive the Ravinians out of Kon by force. She thought she'd made their goals clear, but for some, walking and shouting would ever be enough.

Rehema laid a hand on her shoulder. "Pay him no mind, my lady. I think everyone is a little hot and tired by now. We should convene in the marketplace to rest and refuel, so by afternoon we'll have our strength."

Kitaya gave a nod. She was tired, herself and they needed to regroup. According to what she'd gleaned from castle and market gossip, something was happening near the west gate. "Tell everyone to disperse."

***

Hours later Kitaya led the crowd to the west gate and took in the scene. The royals sat on the city's outer wall, flanked by guards and Lyberra. She spotted Chaga amongst their ranks, his golden fur bright and glossy. The breach was clogged with Konian soldiers flitting here and there like busy worker bees.

Flyers lined the inner wall, their colourful, ceremonial garb giving them the appearance of jewels in the savanna sun. A Lyberra demonstration. Normally the queen would ask Kitaya to arrange such things, since no one could command the skies quite like her.

"Where shall we set up, my lady?" Rehema asked, fanning herself with a fan made from thin strips of wood. Even in the blistering, midday heat she had the poise and decorum of an aristocrat.

Kitaya bit down on her thumbnail. No doubt Eriani had instructed the soldiers to clog the breach so they couldn't march outside the gates and they couldn't access the top of the walls without going through there. "Along the inner wall. Make sure everyone has enough water."

"Of course. Oh, and the Archivist said to meet him at the night market."

Kitaya gave a nod and squeezed her way through the throngs of people into a market alleyway. The night market, as Rehema had called it, was a two story wood and stone structure that turned into a lively party after dark. Food, music and wares filled the place in a way the sun couldn't, along with crowds of people from near and far that came to enjoy Kon's night life. But now it stood empty, save the lone man who stood on its second-floor balcony.

"We meet again, lady Kitaya," Samiel said as she came up the steps. He nodded to the crowds of people lining up alongside the inner wall. "Quite spectacular what you've done here today. I doubt even Eriani thought you could gather such a crowd."

She leaned against the guardrail, her cheeks burning a little. "It wasn't all me. Rehema and the other vendors gathered the people."

"Ah, but they rallied under you, did they not?" Samiel appraised her ensemble. "And whose idea was it to transform you into our beloved third ruler."

"That was all me." A horn blared in the distance, drawing Kitaya's attention to the flyers gathered on the wall. Lyberra flew in from both directions and their riders dove from the wall like swans to meet them. She rolled her eyes and stifled the yawn crawling up her throat. Amateur nonsense.

"Not impressed my lady?" Samiel asked. "Or do you wish to be up there as well?"

"And embarrass myself with those baby maneuvers? I could fly like that blindfolded and hogtied." She held a hand up against the glare of the sun and frowned when ten flyers broke off from the formation and flew west. Perhaps she'd spoken too quickly, and they were setting up an advanced maneuver.

"I take it that is not your doing." Samiel guided her attention to the edges of the outer wall, where thick shadows pooled like water.

Kitaya squinted. No, not shadows. People. Hundreds of them. A second horn blared, different this time. It carried the primal edge of a battle cry. Pandemonium erupted on the outer wall as a horde of figures cloaked in black converged on the royals. Even from her vantage point, Kitaya could see their faces tinged red with war paint. But she moved her eyes quickly back to the flyers. The ten who broken off from the pack circled back over the river.

She traced the pattern of their flight, and her heart rattled in her chest. The cyclone flight formation. "Oh no..."

[A/N]: I apologise, but I'm going to have to break this chapter into two parts. I haven't been feeling well at all this week, and this is as much as I could edit while feeling like utter garbage. I'll release the other half of this chapter some time during this week. Thanks for understanding.

~Tempest