The riots that happened on the night the king died were nothing compared to the ones that raged that night. Everywhere we turned there were Common Army soldiers fending back the forces of the workers and citizen who turned on them with a single word from their Vigilant Men friends. Barricades and crudely built fortress grew from nothing into masses that blocked roads and armored buildings. The Common Army took to holing up and trying to hide, while the Vigilant Men went freely from house to house, gathering up their army with the simple uniform of a white rose.
Ferdinand and I tried to stay in the shadows, hoping no one would see us, but dressed in a shift that closely resembled the Common Army's uniform, and Ferdinand dressed in a very over exaggerated replica of the king's rich clothing, we were not exactly the easiest to blend. Whenever we passed anyone on the street, they would invariably turn and yell, chasing us with fists or rocks or anything else they could find. Thankfully, Ferdinand and I were in perfect health, and the workers and citizens that joined the Vigilant Men were more starved than anything else. If we could keep the lead for long enough, the worker would flag until he gave up with a barrage of curses at our backs.
When we passed by a simple launderers on one of the streets, Ferdinand picked up a loose cobblestone from the road and threw it through the side window of the shop. I felt sickened that we were damaging some innocents' property, but the sound of the Vigilant Men and Common Army's fights were growing closer to us. Ferdinand climbed through, quietly wincing as the glass bit into his knees and palms, leaving streaks of blood on the fabric of his clothes and on the lintel. He reached back for me, and I took his hand. My palm slid against his, the blood warm and sticky against my skin. I looked to him, but he didn't seem very concerned with the pain, so I didn't say anything.
In the back of the store were piles of clothes that were meant to be washed. They were sorted and tagged, awaiting a staff that might never return. Ferdinand tossed them into the air as he rooted around for anything that might be suitable. He came up with a pair of blue trousers and a long coat for me, and a rough shirt of green material that he swapped out his king's jacket and silk shirt for. Even at a time like this, and half freezing in my costume, I still flushed as he pulled his shirt over his head to reveal his bare chest. I quickly looked away, focusing on fumbling my new trousers on under my dress. They fit loose and baggy, the waist sliding at every opportunity. Ferdinand, seeing my trouble, held me still while he ripped a strip from the hem of my dress and threaded it through the loops on my trousers until they were snug around my waist.
Ferdinand pulled away to slip on his shirt and I rubbed at the small spot where I could still feel where his fingers had touched the bare skin of my stomach. I shook my head and pulled on the long coat, which didn't entirely cover the white shift, but disguised enough of it that it no longer looked Common Army. Ferdinand wore a pair of trouser with a stripe of black velvet down the sides of the pants, but his shirt and a shabby coat managed to make him look more of the working class. He tousled his hair out of its well-oiled style and into one that looked like he had just woken up. We had no hats to cover our hair and warm our ears, but it couldn't be helped.
In our new apparel, we crept back out of the launderers, and into the streets. Ferdinand pulled me close once again, his arm gently stroking my arm. I didn't know if it was to calm himself down, or if he wanted to comfort me, but I felt a little warmer at any rate.
The Vigilant Men bothered us less, but we still did not tarry in the streets, or near anyone who was outside. We stuck to the sides of the walkways, pressed nearly to touching the walls of the shops and then row houses. If anyone still lived in the middle-class housing here, they were all locked away and hoping that the fighting would fall to one or the other of the two sides.
Ferdinand dropped his chin to the top of my head, looking to all the world as if he were just a boy snuggling with his sweetheart. But really he whispered into my hair, covering his lips so others could not see what he said.
"We'll try and get to my parent's house," he said. "They live at Palatial Path, but they might still be there if they were able to keep Doctor Alkaev's political favor. My father was always one for picking men with ambition to back, and even with royal blood, I think he might have escaped the initial purge. We need to hurry due to this Vigilant Men development. I don't think they will let the nobles stay in their houses for any longer than they can gather guns to force them out."
Ferdinand kept his eyes on the street, constantly scanning to make sure that no one could surprise us by coming out of an alley or a building. His profile cut sharply against the glow of lonely fires set in the abandoned rooms of middle-class homes. I suppose I should have guessed that he was of noble blood. His carriage was aristocratic, and he had been trained from childhood in dance. It still felt strange to think of him as anything but someone of the same social standing as myself and the corps girls.
"Your father is a noble?" I asked, my hand slacking around his waist. He tightened his grip to keep me close, watching a man with a rifle cross the street and disappear around a corner.
"Yes. A baron ," he said. "But I don't think talking about my eventual titles is the best idea right now."
Baron Ferdinand? It sounded almost comically. And even though the world was crashing down around us, and we might be shot and killed at any moment, I fought to hold back a smile. Ferdinand saw my mouth twitching and coughed to hide his own laugh.
"Come on, we should be quiet," he said, kissing the top of my hair and casually moving me into the shadows as a crowd of white rosed men and women cast us a suspicious bundle of looks.
We walked all the way through the center of town, past the building that had been the end of the first Vigiant Men uprising. It stood now, swathed over with golden banners and white roses stuck to the walls. The doors had been torn off, and now the insides were appropriated to a sort of ration dispensary and armory. From the street we could see into the gutted interior where tables seating men with important looking papers saw the people that stood in a queue that stretched into the roads surrounding the city center. We didn't wait. Whatever they were giving to the people, they would also expect an allegiance to the Vigilant Men. I didn't think I could wear a white rose. I shivered at even the thought.
Ferdinand's parent's house was very near the palace, and we got as close as we could. The streets were mostly empty until we came upon the first few houses where the very wealthy and noble lived. There, the road was barricaded strongly and men patrolling the top only shouted at us to keep our distance or be shot. Ferdinand took no chances and promptly removed us to a side road.
"My parents are still about a half mile from even that barricade. If they don't let us through, we'll be stuck out here when night falls."
I rubbed my hands together, blowing on my red fingertips to try and dispel the numbness that had took up permanent residence. "Maybe we should go back to the company housing? The girls will have gone back to at least fetch their things, and we could get warmer clothes," I said. I had a nice fur in my closet and a pair of woolen stockings that couldn't have sounded more like a dream than they did right then. Mr. Lennox had a few coats that I knew Ferdinand could fit.
But Ferdinand shook his head. "The Vigilant Men were not happy about the money being spent on the ballet. They think Mr. Lennox talked his way into the funds that could have been used to buy more guns and ammo, or to feed the still starving workers," he said. "So they will be right there at your apartment, going through all your belongings and destroying anything that they think might be of use to Lennox."
I thought of my room being ransacked by Matveev and his sullen friends, and I felt a little sick. It sounded silly to be upset over them ripping the covers from my bed and burning my clothes on the street, but I couldn't help but think of that place as my one safe area. And now it was no longer.
"What do we do then? It's going to keep snowing, and we're barely dressed for even autumn," I said, tugging on the thin piece of material between myself and the winter air. Ferdinand's was even thinner and he shivered while he crossed his arms and looked up at the sky. It was now a darken gray, and headed into the black of night. Our time was running out.
"Maybe my old ballet master from the Rumonin National will take us in," he finally said. "I'm not entirely sure where he lives, but I think it might be down by where the company housed the students. It's a long shot, but at least worth the try."
"As long as we're moving and not turning into frozen statues here," I said, my teeth chattering.
We joined back together, this time for warmth more than for a pretense. I hugged him to my side and he wrapped his arm around my shoulders. It was only a little added warmth, but it was welcome.
We spent the next hour dodging around growing crowds of Vigilant Men, traversing back to the middle-class section of town, and then heading into the area of factories and disheveled row-houses. While it was nowhere near the kind of poverty where I had grown up with Mr. Lennox, it was still not the best of neighborhoods. Members of the Vigilant Men loitered in the streets, smoking and telling tales of the skirmishes they had gotten into with the Common Army. Even as the sun set and night fell, the sounds of guns still rang out at the two sides fought over who would control the city.
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Thank so much for reading, everyone! I'm so excited that so many of you are still hanging around to hear Nadia and Ferdinand's story! You guys are the greatest, and I really appreciate every comment, vote, and follow that you give me! As soon as I find time, I will be replying to all the new comments!
IMPORTANT UPDATE: I recently started college, and unfortunately it has me absolutely SLAMMED with studying. I don't have much time to write or prepare the chapters for release. :( So, that means that I will be bumping down The Price to UPDATES ONLY EVERY OTHER WEEK. It sucks, but I honestly don't want to put the story on hold. Once every other week seemed the better option. I hope you guys will understand, and I'll be back to updating more regularly once I find my stride with studying and homework.
UPDATE OF UPDATE: Done with the semester, and updates are back to once a week! :)