"So the rumors were true," I heard the familiarity of her voice from the shadows. She appeared in front of me, though she stayed in the shadows not touched by the light of our fire. I looked up from the dancing flames. Her skin was covered with caked dirt and she seemed a bit slimmer than the last time we spoke. Seems as if neither of us was in the best of shape.
"Seems you managed to slip past even KuRath. It's good to see you alive."
"I'm touched to see that you care about me." I glared at her.
"I do. If you had died I wouldn't have known what to do."
I rolled my eyes at her sarcasm.
"Are you sure you wouldn't be happy if you found me dead?"
If I died I am sure that would be one less problem for her.
She shrugged at me.
Thankfully, she hadn't realized that Kelrith and Palleas were waiting in the other room, or that Bargonaan was right behind her.
Clunk. A quick flick of Bargonaan's hilt brought Beatra to the ground. Bargonaan being the strongest, picked her up like a tankard of mead. Kelrith tied her to the chair and Palleas stripped her of all weapons he could find.
I nodded to Kelrith who held out a small glass bottle under Beatra's nose, containing what he explained as a chemical called Anamoxi, that would immediately wake her. A moan left her lips and her head rolled forward. That was quick. Kelrith sure did know his science.
Beatra looked around groggily. She blinked several times looking from Palleas, to Kelrith, to Bargonaan, and then to me. We watched her try to get up and struggle against the tight ropes. Then she finally realized what had happened.
She chuckled.
"Seems I was set up."
"Seems that way." Palleas smiled. She scowled.
"This doesn't concern you. This business is between myself and Emilea."
"I think it is bigger than that." Kelrith stepped forward.
"Has the King contacted you since the slave trader's camp?" I jumped in. She eyed me and said nothing.
"M'lady asked you a question." Palleas grabbed her chin. "Have you made contact with the King?" She pulled away and spit at him.
"Why you little-"
"Palleas." Bargonaan scolded. Palleas backed down.
"There are ways to make you talk," Kelrith growled.
"Look Beatra, the King came to me. He warned me. He told me to stay away from his son, Prince Andrion." And his master Abernan but I did not feel like going into detail about that. "Why would he warn me? Is he trying to fool me? Is he just messing with my head?"
"Why would I help you? Why do you think I came all this way to find you? It has always been about the mission. Until told otherwise, that isn't going to change. As soon as I get loose, you're mine. You hear me?"
"Unless we kill you first," Palleas said through his teeth.
Kelrith scoffed. He walked over to me.
"We can make her talk. You don't have to put up with this." He pulled out a vial filled with a clear liquid. He had explained earlier about a compound he had bought from a special dealer. It was a highly concentrated dose of distilled druid's mead, which would make her drunk enough to expose even her darkest secrets.
"What makes you think that a little liquid would make my tongue spill. I've been trained to withstand that kind of thing."
"I don't think you understand how powerful this concentration is." Kelrith shook the little bottle.
"I've dealt with and killed far worse than you." A smile snaked across the corner of her mouth.
"Says the one tied up."
It seemed Beatra had already gotten under everyone's skin. That is, all except Bargonaan. He stood in the back watching unphased by Beatra's unwillingness to cooperate. It was to be expected. She was being held captive and her cockiness seemed to fit perfectly with the situation.
Bargonaan walked up to Beatra. We all watched him. His face was serious but not agitated. His composure was calming. Though I wouldn't say I was irritated like Kelrith and Palleas, I was discouraged at her lack of cooperation. I felt a slow-burning anger building in the back of my mind, but I knew that the actions that came with it were not what I wanted. I didn't want to harm anyone anymore. Beatra was my enemy, yes, but she was being coerced to be a part of this war, just as I was.
"I want you to think long and hard about what Emilea is saying. You said you are following the King's orders, right? Well if the King is innocent like Emilea believes, who has been giving you the orders? If the King hasn't, then that changes things." Bargonaan was right. If the King was innocent, who was giving Beatra the orders? That is of course if the King is innocent.
Beatra laughed.
"I have no reason to believe any of this. To be honest I don't care who gave the order. I am still going to follow through."
Bargonaan slammed his fist against the wall causing all of us to jump. He pushed her chair back, letting her body dangle over the fire.
"Bargonaan-"
Bargonaan shot us a warning glare.
Perhaps he was not as composed as I thought.
"You and I both know the only reason you are doing any of this is to protect your brother.
If the King isn't the one threatening you, if the King is innocent, then how do you know that anything said about your brother's protection is true? Whoever is using you, they could have killed him, and you are too stubborn to stop and think about that." Bargonaan yelled at her. He threw her chair back down. Beatra looked as stunned as we were.
We all stood in silence. Bargonaan's anger was a bit terrifying.
"I am going to get a drink," he boomed, then left making sure to slam the door behind him.
"Um." I didn't know what to say.
"A bit shocking, isn't it? Bargonaan rarely gets upset, but when he does he makes it rather clear. He just needs to calm down. I am going to go make sure he doesn't get into a fight with some poor sucker in the bar." Kelrith nodded to Palleas who stayed with me.
I sat down. My legs suddenly seemed very heavy.
The flame in the firepit slowly grew smaller.
"I am going to get some more wood. Are you going to be alright?"
I nodded. This was the plan. They would leave us alone. They believed she would talk if it was just the two of us. From how Kelrith explained the plan earlier, they should be just outside the cabin, overhearing whatever happens.
"Yes, thank you Palleas." I said as we had discussed. He rested a hand on my shoulder, gave me a small smile, then left. They were all much kinder than I deserved.
"I heard about what you did," Beatra spoke once we were alone.
The plan was working.
I looked at her. Was she talking about what I had done in Kalzr?
"Things like that spread like wildfire, as ironic as it sounds." She smirked. "At first, I didn't believe it, but upon seeing you I've changed my mind. I can see it in your eyes."
She could see that I was a killer? From my eyes?
"You don't just move on after you kill a bunch of people. You try and bury it. It haunts you every time you close your eyes. Don't worry, it will get better. And next time you kill it will be easier."
"I don't ever want to kill again."
Beatra scrunched her eyebrows at me.
"You must know that's not a realistic dream, right? You are involved, Emilea. There is no way you will get around this without fighting. Did no one talk to you about sacrifice? This job doesn't come easy. There is a reason women are deterred from entering this profession. It isn't for the faint of heart. Killing people comes with being a fighter."
I looked down. My family warned me against being a fighter. As did Teren. They didn't want me to have this life. I brought this upon myself. Debynn told me things wouldn't be easy. Yet all I could think about was the idea of being glorified as a strong warrior. I just wanted to be strong like my brother Akyto. But I was still far from it.
Beatra sighed.
"You may be right."
"What?"
"I never talk with the King directly. To be frank, I have never even met the King. So he could be innocent, I suppose."
"Did you say you have never spoken with the King?" Bargonann boomed. Kelrith and Palleas followed him in. Beatra scowled realizing they were eavesdropping.
"Come now. Talk to us." Palleas sat down next to me.
"I never got my orders from the King but that's to be expected. I wasn't the best kind of person. I mean I was assigned to pick up a package and kill anyone who came in the way."
"Who did you take orders from? KuRath?"
She nodded with a half shrug.
"Hmm." Bargonaan stroked his whiskery chin.
"KuRath has been trying to get to me since I remember." He also appeared in my dream. The flames reappeared in my mind. "When I was controlled, my body was in this dreaming state. It was like a bad nightmare. People I knew were burning alive and I was-" I paused. My throat felt tight. "I was killing them." I grip my hands together and choked down my words. "KuRath was in that dream. I watched him put the fire in my hand. He told me to drop it and then, having no control over my body, I watched myself set the world on fire. I didn't really think about it till now. He is the King's royal guard. It made sense to believe the King had instructed him to do this but-"
"What if KuRath is working on his own?" Kelrith asked my own question.
"Why would KuRath want to kill me?"
"I'm not here to kill you." We all looked at Beatra. "When you first took the sword you were considered as someone who had to be stopped. You got in the way. Many suffered because that sword slipped through our hands." She nodded with a scowl at the sword that remained tied to my belt. "Once I explained you were Lord Dazaron's daughter I was specifically instructed to take you alive."
"Why would knowing who she is change his orders? Is it because she is a girl?" Palleas asked.
"Ha. Definitely not. He cares little about gender." Beatra waved the idea.
"I am sure it's for more political reasons than that," Kelrith argued.
Being a daughter of Lord Dazaron meant nothing but I was more than that, wasn't I.
"Wait." I looked to Kelrith. "You are right. It is extremely political. I might have forgotten to mention one other thing. I am the King's daughter."
They all looked at me, mouths agape.