Sapphire lay awake late that night till the night became the deepest shade and the clouds slowly overtook the dark. She heard her father and uncle return about an hour after midnight, their heavy steps and light voices floating towards her from the kitchen below. She did not go down to greet them; she knew her mother would scowl at her, stare at her for the longest time possible and then let her sleep in the next morning. She did not want to get up late. All the game would disappear by the time she got into the forest. Her mother didn't seem to understand that.
She rolled to her side and closed her eyes when she heard footsteps come up the stairs. She knew the tread belonged to her mother and she was right for the door opened a few moments later followed by the gentle sound of her mother shuffling to Cygnus' bed. A few moments later she headed towards Sapphire and bent down, delivering a soft kiss to her hair and rubbing her head. Sapphire smiled, her worries dissipating and she allowed the sweet melody of sleep take her.
She woke up with a start, shivering. Her breath came in heavy gasps, her chest seemed to way down on her and she clawed at her neck that prickled as if a thousand ants had been creeping on it. She was drenched in cold sweat, her hair falling out of the braid she had tied it into the previous night. Her head spun and her ears throbbed as if someone hammered against an invisible membrane that surrounded them.
She shivered again and pulled the blanket to her chin, glaring at a burnt spot on the wool. Her dreams had been full of blood and screams along with the howls of wolves that echoed in her ears till they bled and punctured her sanity. There was also the dark figure she had seen, standing still with the bow raised. The hood of his cloak had been pulled low over his face, only darkness visible in the cavity. She had woken up when he had shot an arrow at her and lowered the bow.
And the bow... what a bow it had been, the likes of which she had never seen in her life; a dark wood laced and adorned with the most exuberant leaves she had seen. Vines swirled around it and dangled like a tassel on one end. It had been much larger than her bow and a thing of such beauty that Sapphire shuddered to think how much it would cost.
Probably more than the cost of their horses and house combined.
The streets echoed with the guttural cries of two roosters and the distant caws of the ravens, signalling the approaching dawn. She rubbed her eyes that burned from the lack of sleep; she realised she had slept for only three hours. She pushed the blanket off her and swung her legs out of the bed; there was no use sleeping then. As her mother had said there was a fair amount of work to deal with. She moved towards the window and moved aside the curtains, allowing the cool wind to flow over her face and into the room.
She always felt that the room smelt of sweat after she woke up. The first rays of the sun peaked out from behind the teeth of the mountains colouring the horizon a brilliant pink. The village was still dark except the light that flickered from the few torches appeared brighter as sunrise approached. A sparrow flew in front of her and she smiled, watching its progress till it disappeared into a nearby pine tree.
Sapphire looked over at Cygnus' bed. The boy was still asleep, hidden beneath his patchwork quilt, only a tuft of his black hair visible at the head of the bed. She observed the slow rise and fall of his chest for a few moments before picking up one of her woollen shawls and draping it around her shoulders. She belted on her stockings, pushed her feet into her wooden slippers and moved out of the room, closing the door softly. The silence in the next room told her that Joseryn and Orion were still asleep. She walked down the wooden staircase, trying not to make any noise and wincing every time a whine of protest came from under her feet. Each creak sounded like a whip crack in the quiet house.
Entering the kitchen she made her way to the counter where the pot of milk lay in a pool of half-frozen water. She poured all of it into a cauldron and put it in the hearth over the weakly burning coals. Knowing that the fire was too weak she shuffled to the larder to get the dry firewood.
By the time she had made porridge and buttered the bread, Cygnus, her mother and father and the rest of the household had risen from bed; they had woken to the shrill crows of one of their roosters. Her father and Cygnus sat on the table eating the thick concoction whereas her uncle Cepheus sharpened a pickaxe in one corner.
"The horses need to be cleaned," Calitha said, putting Cygnus' third slice of bread on his plate and pouring some milk. "Arzon had a cold and I was too scared to give him a bath unless his condition worsened. But he's well now."
"I'll do that Ma," Sapphire said, cleaning the last remnants of her porridge, making a scraping sound as the spoon scratched the muddy bottom of the bowl.
There go the plans for a hunt...
"That'd be a courtesy," her mother said, giving her a kind smile. "I probably won't be home till late in the evening. Lara needs help with her child. Poor thing has an affinity for the cold. And they're reaping the maize today. I have to be there to reap our share."
"I'll be taking the wagon to Dar," Orion said entering the room. "The frame's a bit rickety. It'll give in with another heavy loading."
Sapphire poured her thirty-three year old cousin some of the porridge and a glass of milk. Orion took it with a smile and pushed his black shoulder-length hair behind his ear before he started to eat.
Her father stretched and covered his mouth to conceal a yawn. His thick beard, peppered with copper, shivered when he exhaled. "Well we're off," he said, getting up and giving his wife a one-armed hug. "The iron's still in the pits."
"Alphard," her mother called, "you're forgetting your cloak again."
Sapphire chuckled. Her father almost always forgot to take his cloak with him and it resulted in Sapphire galloping off towards the mines on her snow white horse to deliver the piece of clothing. Her father took off the cloak that lay over the back of the chair he had been sitting on and gave Sapphire a kiss on her head as he went out.
Cygnus pinched her side as he followed and Sapphire ruffled his hair in return, causing the boy to groan. Cepheus waved them goodbye after thumping Orion on the back so hard that he almost caused his bowl to topple over when his arm slipped. Calitha, fortunately, caught it. Lyra received a pat on the head from her grandfather.
Sapphire shuffled outside, a large pot dangling from her arm, the handle clinking lightly. The sky had lightened considerably but still remained a cold purple mixed with blazing shades of orange. Picking up one of the two shovels that leaned against the wall of the house. She started shovelling the snow into the pot. After the pot was full, she took it to the small barn that had been built at the back of the house.
Two horses had been tethered in the corner, and a mare stood between them, nibbling at the hay surrounding them. A yoke of oxen sat on the other corner, their tails beating at the flies that hovered around them, their mouths working lazily around their regurgitated food. Two hens flapped past her leg and settled on the crates that had been lined against one of the walls.
Sapphire put the pot on top of the coals that burnt outside the window of the stable and returned to the horses. The snow white mare belonged to her, a majestic creature, with its soft mane and beetle eyes that stared at her from under thick white lashes. It had been a present from her father, given to her when she had turned eighteen years of age. In Kapok, it was custom to present a horse to your children once they turned of age. She could only wonder what fortune it must have cost her father to secure such a beauty.
The males belonged to her uncle and Orion. Arzon was a black beauty with a scar that stretched from his ear like a grey bolt of lightning and disappeared into his inky mane. Orion had never told any of them where the horse had gotten the mark. Jay the light brown horse was the oldest horse they had - he had been in the family for twenty years - and belonged to her Uncle.
Sapphire walked up to Aurora, the water simmering lightly behind her, taking out a cube of sugar from the pouch on her waist. It was an occasional treat for the horses. Aurora took it from her hand, exhaling her warm breath onto her hand. She blinked slowly, a gesture Sapphire had come to associate with her gratitude.
"You won't need a sugar lump, would you?" she said, turning her face towards Arzon as she scratched Aurora behind the ear "You'd want Orion to give you one, won't you? Well, you'll have to wait because your master's up in the kitchen having his meal."
Stupid stallion would rather starve than let anyone other than Orion feed him the first bite of the day.
She shook her head. Sapphire found it annoying whereas her mother found it amusing. She sighed. Her mother found most things amusing. A rat ran past her foot and stole a carrot placed in a trough. Sapphire narrowed her eyes. They did need a cat.
The sun rose above the mountains pouring rays of warm sunlight over the village, softening the snow on rooftops. Winter was almost at an end. The chirping of birds sharpened as did the light mooing of cows throughout the village. A loud gong rang through the village, signalling the entry of travellers.
Sapphire joined Orion in the forge after having hunted a litter of rabbits near the Golanda River and sold them to Delster, watching silently as the man polished the pommel of a sword. He lifted his eyes after he had finished, scrutinising the weapon from hilt to tip. She could see the design that had been engraved on the hilt but could not make out what it was because Orion's hands covered the grip. The blade glinted as the fire from the hearth fell across it.
"It's said that they used Draedech in olden days to forge the weapons," he said. "The weapons would last centuries."
Sapphire listened silently, rolling her tongue in her mouth.
"You're the only one I know who doesn't believe in it," Orion said slyly, looking at her from the corner of his eyes, amusement glinting in his black irises.
"Scepticism doesn't mean complete disbelief, dear brother. Our troubles would not exist if Draedech was real, you know," she said, smiling and rocking her stool back and forth.
"It is the reason for our troubles in the first place," Orion said darkly. "Parr practises Dorha Draedech. He relishes it."
"Anyone can do that. The magic of the olden days was nothing like Dorha Draedech. That is dark and evil. Ordinary Draedech was a healing force. They dampened it. It's barely seen these days. It's rare. Hidden under the fear Parr layers down at us."
There was silence for a beat.
"Sylphs, dryads and all of the other creatures the bards mention are the purest form of Draedech."
"And they don't exist. So much for our troubles."
She saw Orion smirk lightly, the twist of his lips hidden by the scruff on his face. "Well, then let's make a wager on it. Ten Birals?"
"You know what Joseryn and Ma say about wagers."
"I don't remember you being such a sour sport."
Sapphire shrugged. Orion grinned.
"Well, that's settled. You'll owe me ten Birals whenever you come face to face with one of the bard's creations. If you live to tell the tale, that is."
Sapphire gave an undignified snort before silence enveloped them again. The fire of the torch reared then diminished again.
"Take this," Orion pushed the newly fashioned sword's hilt under her nose after some time. "Let's spar."
Sapphire frowned at the weapon, "You should hand it to the one you made it for."
"I just want to see if it's made well. I think I went wrong with it somewhere."
She rolled her eyes; there was no way Orion could go wrong while crafting a weapon, specifically a sword. The man was a master of his art. Sapphire cleaned her hands on her tunic before taking the weapon. The grip was cool, the metal's chill seeping into her bones. It felt airy in her hands, lighter than any other sword she had handled; it merely felt like an extension of her arm. She swung it in a circle at her side and looked at Orion who stood a few feet away from her, Bear in his hands.
With a yell, Sapphire advanced, lifting the sword high above her head with both hands and slashing through the air at Orion who blocked her attack with a lazy flick of his hand. He turned quickly, jabbing the point of his sword at her. She had barely blocked it when he slid past beneath her blade and swung at her legs. Sapphire jumped and dodged, swinging her sword once again.
Orion was an expert swordsman. His skill was unmatched. It would be a shame if he wasn't flawless after all the training he had received for ten years as a Nightwalker in Gurdam. The two swords clashed again, sparks flying, the owners leaping side to side in an attempt to disarm the other. Sapphire felt her blood boiling; despite sparring with Orion being her favourite pastime, she always had difficulty disarming him. She was not an expert warrior when it came to swords; she had never owned one, as a matter of fact. She felt a lot more comfortable with her bow and daggers.
She tried to attack Orion once more and found herself blocked. She growled at Orion's complacent smile that showed off all his teeth.
"Look at your opponent's eyes. Notice the pattern in their attacks. Study their movements," he said, deflecting another attack.
"I'm more occupied trying to dodge your blade."
"You need to concentrate," Orion shook his head, throwing his sleek hair out of his eyes. "Come on! It's been years! Give me something good to parry."
The one thing she loathed sometimes was how Orion knew how to push her buttons till she exploded with irritation and annoyance. She lunged again, swiping the blade rapidly through the air at the offending weapon. A blow came at Sapphire and before she had the time to realize that Orion had moved, it had struck and she howled as the guard of Bear struck her finger. She kept holding on to the hilt but Bear circled beneath her blade and within seconds, Orion had managed to twist the blade out of her hand and sent it clattering to the floor.
"You need to practise more," Orion said, picking up the fallen sword. Sapphire noticed the design on the hilt to be a phoenix.
"I like my bow and daggers, she replied, wiping the small beads of sweat that had begun to run down her forehead. Her cheeks felt warm.
"They don't come in handy when a maggot-riddled fool comes close enough."
"My -"
She was cut off as a loud voice rang over their courtyard, grave and fearful. A few minutes later Jacinth, one of the miners, stumbled into the forge, hands on his knees, chest heaving and face blotched red with perspiration, a single smear of mud across his cheeks. His hair was dishevelled and matted with sweat, his tunic dark in places where the beads of moisture had seeped into the green cloth.
"Orion...." he panted, his head bowed down to his chest as he tried to catch his breath. "Your father... he needs you...Take your horse. Hurry! There's...trouble at...the mines."
"What's happened?" Orion said placing down Bear and retrieving its sheath.
"Parr...Your father will explain."
Orion's face had hardened into a cold mask of fury mingled with a minute amount of shock and confusion at the King's name, his black eyes turning into a never-ending abyss. Sapphire felt dread creep at her skin and chill her blood as Orion rushed out. Arzon galloped out of the barn moments later, his black coat rippling as he put the strength of his muscles into his legs.
Joseryn ran out of the house just as the horse disappeared round a turn into the mountains. The dull sounds of two shots echoed throughout the village and for the first time, Sapphire flinched at the sound.
"What happened?" she inquired in alarm as Sapphire led Jacinth to the kitchen to pour him some water. "Is everything alright? Why's Orion running off as if there are hounds at his back?"
"Because there are hounds at his back," the words rolled off her tongue with venom and spite, her voice shaking with her suppressed anger. "Parr's here. His men are at least."
Joseryn swore and Sapphire flinched. Joseryn rarely cursed.
"What does that rabbit dung want from us? Hasn't that Soul-Ripper had enough from the rest of the blasted nation?"
She dropped into one of the kitchen chairs and looked into thin space.
Harfen Parr, the source of their misery, the covetous king, the Soul-Ripper monarch, had been ruling Falargimea for eighteen years. His voracious hunger for wealth had burnt Falargimea from the inside, spreading anarchy and dispute. Men starved to death and mothers sold their children for merely a few pieces of copper. The King's men raided the villages, pillaging through their stocks leaving the land barren and reaping blood and death. All the while, his Court flourished, growing on the expanse of bloodied ground like leeches.
Sapphire remembered the first time the blue-cloaked men had marched into Kapok. She had been five, then and it was the oldest thing she could remember. The soldiers had rounded the women and children, forced them on their knees and pulled the men towards the streets. They had forced a strange liquor down each of the villagers' throats and left with a warning Sapphire did not recall. Her mother had told her later that it was a test for Draedech. That someone had been guilty of practising.
She still harboured a hatred and fear of Parr's men.
Kapok had survived only through its unity and bravery in the hour of darkness. Trust had always been like steel among the villagers... They were the mountain men who had survived as the earth shook with tremors and released its monsters.
"Well, it's time we pray," Jacinth said, putting down the glass. "We're getting our fate sealed."
"Don't run all the way back to the mines," Sapphire said as he got up to leave. "Take Jay. Anyhow, Uncle Cepheus or Pa might need him."
Sapphire sat down beside Joseryn after he had left, both women lost in their own thoughts as silence enveloped them.
If Parr had demanded the mines...
What else could he need? There was only one source for the villagers to live upon and for Parr to expand his riches. If they handed the mines over, then it would be the end of their small village. They'd starve to death and would be taken by the Vakhor, the spawns of evil that bred on misery, fear and vice. The creatures of the dark would salvage and burn them. They had already taken over Isitalin, Smarni, Gurdam and their neighbouring villages and cities. A constant dark lingered over those places.
As evening fell upon the village, Sapphire could feel the change in the atmosphere of the valley. Silence covered them completely as they sat in the kitchen, waiting. Her mother had clutched her chest and fallen into a chair with her hands in her head when they had told her about the developments.
The usual shouts of children were absent as were the bells of the storytellers. Mothers had locked their houses after news of the arrival of Soul-Ripper's men had spread throughout the village. Leif, their chief, had sent two Nightwalkers ordering people to lock up their homes and farms and asked for all able-bodied men to report to the mines. Nightwalkers had been stationed at the start and end of each street.
The night deepened. Orion, Cygnus and the two elders of the house had not returned despite the lateness of the hour. Joseryn had taken Lyra to bed and returned to the kitchen after an hour, settling herself beside the hearth, eyes cold with fear. Her mother sat on the table, her head bowed in prayer, Sapphire sat beside Joseryn, her strung bow in her hand, her fingers working up and down its limb in a hypnotic rhythm. Her fear increased with each passing moment that the men remained away. Parr's men were notorious for being violent.
Her heart fluttered with fear, her eyes snapped to the window and door nervously every few seconds. Twice she had seen a shadow outside the curtain-covered window. It only turned out to be the Nightwalkers, patrolling the streets. They weren't Nightwalkers trained by the crown. These were the few villagers who knew how to hold their own in a fight.
The sand in the hourglass trickled slowly down, its whisper being the only sound. They couldn't even afford to buy a clock. Where would they go if Parr claimed Kapok for his own? Near midnight the sky became laden with grey heavy clouds. A gale blew, whipping trees off their roots.
An hour after midnight, the men had still not returned. Sapphire's eyes hurt for sleep but she could not let herself be taken by the blissful rest; her mind kept her awake. Joseryn had her head against the wall, eyes closed. Sapphire would have thought she was asleep if it had not been for the constant flicker of her eyelids. Sapphire kept muttering under her breath, praying they were safe. They had to be.
A loud sound made them start as someone started pounding on the door heavily. Joseryn leapt up, her hand flying for the dagger on a stone shelf above the hearth and she extended her arm, ready to fling it at the smallest notice. Her mother looked at them and headed for the door as Sapphire quietly shuffled to stand on the staircase. If it was intruders, then they would have to get through her to get to Lyra. None of them would go down without a fight. She nocked an arrow, ready to shoot the people outside.
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