Tigris couldn't believe her luck. Roche was standing in her chambers at sunrise, her eyes heavily shadowed with mud clinging to her short hair. The words coming out of her mouth were just as outrageous.
"Slow down," Tigris grumbled, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Her sword was just out of reach, courtesy of Roche's new protocol for waking her up.
Roche was practically bouncing, which Tigris somehow found more unbelievable.
"What don't you get about this, my lady?" Roche exclaimed, moving to Tigris' closet. She pulled out Tigris' riding leathers, "I've told you everything. You've got one more chance."
Tigris stared at her. "So Tarak found you in the forest and told you this, of all people?"
Roche scowled at her, tossing Tigris' leather corset to the ground. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth."
"I will if the horse is yours," Tigris grumbled, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She ran a hand down her face, still trying to escape the lure of sleep, "So will this test be something like the others?"
Roche's exuberance faltered. "It will most likely be the most trying of the tests. And the most dangerous."
This was just getting better and better. Tigris rose, brushing her teeth quickly. Roche entered the washroom afterwards to apply her usual lotions and balms to Tigris' skin with her usual, eerie concentration.
"Are you going to do the test?" Roche asked quietly, "You know, you don't have to."
"I must," Tigris resolved. She glanced towards the door to her chambers. How many people were struggling beyond that door because of her actions, because of her pride?
Roche stepped back with a sad smile. "You're a good woman, Tigris. You're learning to listen as much as you talk." A hint of mischief flickered across her face, "It's a wonder, I didn't think you were capable of learning anything with that ego of yours taking up all the space in your brain."
Tigris rolled her eyes. It was too early to fight Roche. "And I'm surprised your mouth hasn't landed you in the dungeons yet."
"As you recall, it has. Multiple times." Roche recalled dryly, pulling back to grab Tigris' clothes.
"Well somehow, I don't think you've learned your lesson. Maybe you need another day spent there." Tigris teased. Roche shuddered, her fingers brushing Tigris' bare back as she slipped a flowy, tan blouse over Tigris' shoulders. Her touch made Tigris' flesh tingle, and Roche flashed her a wry grin.
"Yeah, well, then I wouldn't be able to come with you." Roche muttered under her breath.
Tigris turned away so that Roche wouldn't see her face. She couldn't bring Roche with her to the test if it was as dangerous as the maid claimed. The curse on the kingdom was Tigris' fault, not Roche's. She couldn't let her gentle maid risk herself for Tigris' mistake.
"Tigris?" Roche's voice filtered through the air softly with concern. She handed Tigris her trousers, face pinched as she read Tigris' expression with disconcerting ease. "I will be coming with you, right?"
"You can't," Tigris told her, tugging on her pants, "You're needed here."
Roche stepped closer. Her face was uncharacteristically serious in a way that made Tigris' chest tighten. "You might need me," Roche said urgently.
Tigris grabbed her shoulders. "I won't. The curse on the kingdom is my doing, and I will be the one to lift it. If I die trying, I need you to tell Aodh and Finn what happened, can you do that?"
Roche's face was wan. She shook her head violently. "You're mad, Aodh would kill me."
"Well, then I guess you'll see me soon." Tigris replied, with a twist of her chest. There was a good chance this was the last time she'd be in the castle. She realised, with a painful tug of her heart, that she wanted to say goodbye to her brothers and father. She couldn't. If they had any inkling of her plan, they'd come with her.
She couldn't risk any more lives for her mistake.
Roche's eyes were wide and horrified. She stepped after Tigris. "I'm coming with you, you royal brat." Roche said insistently, "You'll need me."
"And what do you have to offer, Roche?" Tigris asked sarcastically, her eyes raking over Roche's thin, lanky form. Roche pressed her lips together, and Tigris felt a stab of pity for her exhausted maid. Roche had been guarding her secrets for the past few days and- even if she would never admit it aloud- providing guidance. She'd been an invaluable help to the kingdom and an incredibly loyal maid.
Tigris stepped closer, gripping Roche's shoulders. "Look, I need you here. Finn and Aodh will need your help."
"You're not going to die, Tigris." Roche said seriously. Tigris couldn't believe the words. She knew Roche would never let her go alone, though, if she didn't believe it.
"Maybe," Tigris conceded, "But I'm not risking you. You're needed here."
"I'm coming with you." Roche insisted stubbornly. Tigris glanced out her window, watching the sun crawl across the sky. She was running out of time.
"You're not." Tigris adjusted her belt, "I'm really sorry about this."
Roche's brows furrowed, "Wh-"
Tigris lunged, seizing Roche's wrists and pinning them behind her back. Roche bucked and thrashed weakly, seeming unwilling to fight her lady. Tigris leaned closer to Roche's ear, a tremble running through her when her lips brushed against Roche's ear.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, using a sash to tie the maid's hands tightly together, pinned above her bedpost. Roche heaved a breath to shout, but Tigris gagged her with her nightshirt.
Roche's eyes bulged out of their sockets as she screamed against her gag. Tigris tied it off, her stomach lurching with a mix of guilt and remorse at the betrayal in Roche's eyes.
"It's alright. You can wash it afterwards, Roche." Tigris teased, trying to loosen the lump in her throat. Roche stared back at her, utterly unamused. Tigris stepped back, hovering in the doorway, "Take care of Aodh and Finn for me."
She stepped out, locking the door behind her, muting Roche's muffled cry. Tigris heaved a breath, slipping the keys under the door, out of reach from Roche. She didn't let her composure slip, not even when she heard a thump behind the door followed by a barely audible screech.
Roche was persistent, she'd give her that.
Tigris stalked down the hall, nodding to the guards she passed. Their faces were haggard after days of patrolling the upper and lower towns. This curse had weighed on them heavily.
Tigris would not fail them again. She'd do whatever it took, or die trying.
She made it to Finn's room and knocked on the door. Her brother's voice carried through the thick wood.
"Go away, Aodh! This door isn't opening for you!"
"It's me," Tigris hissed. The door whipped open, and Finn was standing there, looking absolutely exhausted. Atop his shoulders, Orpheus sat, tugging at the prince's chocolate curls with fascination.
"Where have you been? And where's Roche?" he asked rapidly, pushing his glasses up his nose. His eyes were red and heavily shadowed. He glared at Tigris fiercely. "I've had to distract Aodh five times already."
Tigris stared at him, her youngest brother, in all his furious and terrified glory. She drank in the sight of him for a moment, committing the moment to memory. Then, she rushed forward, looping him into a tight hug, something they hadn't done in a long time.
The irritation immediately drained out of Finn's lean frame as he leaned into the embrace.
"Tigris?" he asked, absolutely confused, "What happened?"
Tigris leaned back, her eyes burning. She fought to keep her face neutral. "Nothing," she lied, "I'm here to take Orpheus back to Tarak."
Finn's eyes lit up for a moment, but he squashed his elation in an instant. He narrowed his eyes at her face, like he was looking for something.
"Roche promised me that she'd be the one to take him," he said slowly. Tigris nodded.
"She sent me to grab him, she's busy fixing up the horses."
Finn didn't look convinced, but he didn't protest as Tigris looped her arms under Orpheus and gently arranged him in her arms. The scribe didn't protest, he merely snuggled into her arms. He kind of looked like how Finn had when he was a kid.
"Do you remember when you were four and made me carry you back from the training grounds like this?" Tigris asked her brother lowly.
Finn's cheeks reddened instantly. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Tigris chuckled, letting the memory warm her. "Of course you don't."
She looked at him then, really looked. He wasn't the tiny baby he'd been that day her mother had died in front of her. He wasn't the timid little boy who begged Tigris to tell him stories and would hide in the library away from their father debating with the court. And he certainly wasn't the little boy who Tigris and Aodh would stay up all night watching as their father descended into grief.
No, Finn was a grown man now. More than that, he was a fine leader. He was precisely what the kingdom needed with his intellect and sense of justice. Together, he and Aodh would carry on with the kingdom.
Tigris found that she had no regrets leaving him behind. She hoped he would realise that.
"Goodbye, Finn." Tigris murmured, shifting Orpheus with one arm to cover him with a cloak. She turned, feeling Finn's worried forest green eyes on her back.
"Bye, Tigris," Finn whispered back, "Come home safe."
Tigris didn't reply.
Orpheus was an odd child. He sat ramrod straight on the horse, not fidgeting or babbling like most children- and Roche- tended to do. Instead, he would gaze ahead with those eerie bronze eyes and point in a random direction every so often. Tigris merely hoped that he actually had gotten directions from Tarak and wasn't just playing some kind of game with her.
Her worries were proven to be unnecessary a few minutes later when the forest thinned out. Tigris figured they'd been heading north for a while now, towards the snow capped mountains. The thin air was colder, and the ground was covered in snow that her horse struggled to trudge through.
Tigris tightened her cloak around her chest and made sure Orpheus' was clasped on tight. Trees melted into hardened, cracked ground. After a few hours of riding, she could make out the majestic backdrop of pale mountains in the distance. At their base was a large tunnel.
They were halfway across the snowy plain when Orpheus held out both of his tiny hands, nearly toppling off the horse. Tigris tugged the reins with one hand, her reflexes catching him on instinct with the other.
"Woah there, little one," Tigris murmured, hauling him back onto the horse. Again, he sagged to the side, his hands fisting the rich cloth of Tigris' sleeve. She took the hint and drew the horse to a stop.
"Are we supposed to go on foot from here?" she asked. Orpheus nodded, peering at her with those eerily wide eyes. Tigris hopped off the horse, taking a moment to gain her footing on the icy ground before helping the scribe down. She could see why they needed to go on foot, the ice here was thin. Each step made spidery cracks go through the top layers, throwing snow into the air. Her horse's weight surely would have sent them plunging into icy depths.
She was careful with her steps, her gaze drawn to the tunneled mountains up ahead. As she approached, she could see that this side of the mountains seemed to be in the shadows, shielded from the warmth of the sun. The mountains seemed to curl in on itself, the scraggly rockface angular and precise. As she approached, she realised that careful cuts and been carved into this side of the mountain. She could see large turrets, a stone balcony, hell, even stone sculptures of guardian animals, all painstakingly carved into the weathered rock. Such a thing seemed impossible. The sight was magnificent.
"It's... a castle." she stated dumbly. Orpheus raised a brow from within the folds of his cloak as if to say, no shit. Tigris chuckled.
"Alright, you little smart mouth. Where to next?"
"Where else?" another voice cut through the frigid air. Tigris spun around, setting Orpheus on the ground and drawing her sword in one smooth motion. A figure melted from the pale stone, their mended dark green cloak speckled with snowflakes.
Tigris lowered her sword. "Tarak?" she asked, "Where's the test? How do I complete it?"
The inkblood smiled. "The test begins now."
Tigris blinked, and suddenly he was beside her, his calloused hand pressing against her temple.
"Hyunid." he whispered, sludgy inkblood pouring from his fingertips. It coated Tigris' eyes, dragging her into an endless slumber.
A/N: Lol I can just picture Roche being tied up with the ultimate grumpy face.
Anyway, what do you think will happen to Tigris? And do you think Roche will stay tied up?
As always, happy reading!