One week later.
Something always barred her way. Swollen rivers, unwilling accomplices, run-ins with creatures more powerful than she. It was almost too good to be true that the crossing of the river and the entire journey to Basama was spent in casual conversation and the occasional snide remark. Not a thing harbored their passing; not Alex's tendency to sneak away in search of freedom, no shapeshifters taking an unwelcome chuck out of Saiorse's arm, nothing. Still, as they passed through the towering, spiral gates marking the beginning of the city, Saiorse had an uneasy feeling. Years had long passed since Saiorse had ventured so far north, but even so, it was not the place she remembered.
Fear touched every face they passed, bulging eyes behind concave cheeks peered at them as they passed. Saiorse was quite sure she and Alex looked as if they'd come from a different world. Unlike the villagers here, Saiorse and Alex hadn't a smudge of coal or smoke plastered to their cheeks. Conversations stopped and glares sliced through the back of her skull as she trotted their horses at a quick pace, so as to prevent someone from stopping them. They were drawing far too much attention.
Saiorse swiveled in her saddle, pinning a rather nervous Alexander with a desperate stare. Her voice was soft - he had to strain to catch what she was saying. "Where is your father? The sooner we find him the quicker we can leave. This does not seem like a place James LeRoy would occupy."
Alex drew a breath, speaking without looking Saiorse in the eye. "He must be closer to the middle of the city. I was not aware Basama was in this sort of condition."
Saiorse pursed her lips together, trusting his words. "Something is not right here, that is for sure."
Of course, a voice in Alexander's head said. Considering I lied.
Saiorse circled around the city, finding every part of it cornered by a towering obsidian gate. Guards glared at her from every thirty or so feet, their hands resting on their hilts as they eyed every potential target as they walked by, heads down, eyes focused on their feet as if they'd step on the false peace beneath their very heels. Saiorse met the guards' faces dauntlessly, her chin high, her shoulders square. No guardsmen would roll her to her back. Alex, meanwhile, followed Saiorse as closely as he could, his breath heaving in his chest.
She would not find his father here. Unless he was on an expedition with his comrades, he would be in Cecila - hundreds of miles south. It would take them weeks to travel there - and he'd already chewed away precious time. It wouldn't be long before his family would begin to wonder where Saiorse had gone. And if she spoke the truth of the terrible history between herself and his father's afflictions, well, he could only imagine what would occur if word branched out of his constant company of a certain scarred brunette. Alexander had made a mistake.
The guilt of his actions hadn't even surfaced to the front of his thoughts. Saiorse did not necessarily deserve to face death - or so he'd strangely began to think - but there was no way she could face his father's forces on her lonesome. The moment she discovered he'd led her on a wild goose chase was the second she would devote herself entirely to her cause. There would be no joking in a cabin, no more stolen smirks. The truth would ignite the struggles of her control and in them he would most likely find himself perished. He should have taken her to his father immediately. He would have killed her right then and there.
Nearing the end of the gates, Saiorse directed Richard away from the standing guards, kicking him into a swift canter, her eyes set on a cluster of shops not too far off their reach. The moment the horse's legs flexed and his hooves began a frantic tap over the broken cobblestone, the guards to their sides sheathed their swords, leaping in the pathway of Elia and Richard. The horses snorted angrily, stomping their feet as they were forced with glinting steel. The flash of their swords reflected off the brass decorating their obsidian uniforms.
"Walk your horses!" One of them boomed. "It is against the law to trot, canter, or gallop an animal inside the gates." Saiorse looked at him as if he hadn't a brain in his skull. She tore her gaze from face to face, pinching her face as she nodded subtly, snorting as she tightened her grasp over her reins.
"Alright, then," Saiorse mused. "Have it your way, gentlemen."
"What is your name?" One of them demanded stomping forward to reach for Richard's reins. Saiorse squeezed his hide with her heels. Richard - though not too keen on it - backed away from the soldier, bobbing his head up and down. The soldiers followed the first one, rushing in to Saiorse's sides as her shoulders grew tense and her eyes fell under prey of shadow.
"I do not see how any of that is your business," Saiorse snapped. "I am not from Basama, nor was I aware of your newly introduced enforcements."
"Off your horse," the guard instructed, his voice raising over Saiorse's. Her brows raised, her jaw tightening.
"I should absolutely advise you to rethink that order," Saiorse said rather calmly. "You will not like it if I am forced to dismount. That would make me rather unhappy, good sir. And I have been riding for days. The only reason that I will get off this horse is for a bed that is not a rock. This is meant to be my honeymoon and Basama was of the best choice I could ever think of! Here you are, spoiling- unhand me you custard-stuffed prude!"
The struggle, though obviously fake to Alexander, was as amusing as it was exasperating. Saiorse twisted this way and that, her cloak flopping over a few of their heads as they grappled to pry the woman from her place. Saiorse slapped her hands this way and that, certain to smack a good few of them in throat - and eye. Saiorse fell limp in the arms of the man that'd clawed her off, her hands falling to either side as she sobbed dramatically, tossing one of her arms over her eyes as she squealed.
"Oh! Oh, our marriage is simply ruined!" Saiorse gurgled. "What will I tell the ladies back home!? I was meant to be drunk on the balcony of the finest tavern in this BLOODY DUMP."
Alex only stare on, face blank, dead inside. He sighed loudly, dropping his head as he grumbled under his breath. He hoped - for the sake of probably future occurrences - that Saiorse did not act this way when drunk. Though, as he sat there, picturing a slightly impaired vampire with that pompous smirk and offensive humor worsened by the consumption of less than decent alcohol, he figured this fiasco would be a blessing compared to his theoretical picturing.
He pouted his lower lip in thought. Could vampires get drunk? It would certainly be quite a funny sight.
Saiorse continued her whining, squealing at Alexander - or, excuse him, Johnathan, her husband -to rescue her from the hands of the men holding her. Alex only crossed his arm over his chest, leaning back in his saddle. A lingering guard, too small for the helmet over his head looked up to Alexander, his hands dropping from Elia's reins. Alex met his gaze, then they turned back to watch Saiorse fling herself in the dirt with a baffled outcry, clawing at one of their chests as she went. The short guard offered Alex a hand in a hidden order for him to dismount. He did so without argument.
"Forgive me, but. Of all the women in the world, sir," the guardsman muttered. Alex held out his hand with a mock, depressed sigh.
"Have no pity on me, good sir," Alex told him. "I would walk through the hells of fire if only to get that gown off. I do not listen anyway. All I have to say is 'yes, my love' and she believes I am listening."
"Why you would come to Basama for a honeymoon is beyond me," the guard continued, shaking his head. "You must really wish to light whatever love you have in flames."
Alex snorted. "The sparks never started - nor will they ever."
Saiorse's jaw dropped, her act to shoot him a fiery glare. Alex's eyes widened. He lifted his palm, wiggling a few fingers as he waved at her. The guards, happy that she'd halted in her struggles, righted her, though, were stunned as she ripped free of their grasp. Blinking and bewildered, Alex took a step back as Saiorse marched to him, shoving her face into his. She whipped her hand across his cheek so hard his head jerked to the side.
"I never," Saiorse raged, slamming her foot into his. Alex hissed loudly, biting his tongue to keep from crying out. "How dare you speak to me like this, Johnathan!? After all I do for you? Slave away, cook-"
"Ordering our servant to cook?" Alex shot, flailing his hands upward, before letting them smack his sides. He shoved her shoulder with his palm. Saiorse stumbled backward dramatically. The guards looked on in absolute and utter confusion. "You have not cooked me a morsel since your father arranged for us to marry! I do not even believe you know how to boil water, let alone serve me a decent meal."
Saiorse's jaw clenched, before her mouth gaped, her breath rolling from her like a dragon spitting fire. Alex was unsure if he was actually angering her, but the dwindling, mischievous glint in her eyes told him otherwise. She turned away, walked a few paces, then flung back around, her voice high pitched and scratchy like nails on a wooden board.
"Oh, it's always back to the maid, Johnathan," she shrieked, rushing forward to shove her fists into his chest a good few times. She only hit him hard enough to produce a convincing sound. "It sounds a lot to me like you love that unintelligent hen more than me! Why don't you just go off and marry her, then!? Take care of her fifty hell-spawn all on your own, huh?"
"I think I bloody will, Mary!" Alexander wailed, trying to think of something that would make him angry enough to bring a red hue to his face. He thought of those tiny fraying strings on fleshly woven blankets that just would not detach. "At least she does not kiss like a half sauteed pig!"
Actual shock fluttered over Saiorse's face, her hand flying to her chest. She muttered under her breath, looking to the left quickly, before back to Alexander. She whispered tautly. "Oh, goodness that actually stung a wee bit." Gathering her senses back once more, Saiorse played on the shock, her other hands racing to cover her face. A mock sob - that sounded more like hysterical laughter made all within a five hundred foot radius cringe. Hands dropping to her sides, Saiorse flung her head back and screamed, her shoulders bouncing as she began to suck in rather grotesque rasps, fresh tears streaming down her face. One by one, the guardsmen backed away, drifting down alleys and around corners to find a corner not occupied by the wailing 'wife'. The second they left, Saiorse clicked her jaw shut. Alex snorted, shaking his head, moving to grab Elia's reins, but Saiorse halted him by his arm, pointing a finger with threatening eyes.
"I will have you know I can cook whatever you damn well desire. Even as a human long ago I could run circles around your pitiful bum." Her nostrils flared, before adding, "And I do not kiss like a pig."
Alex's grin was crooked. "Are you trying to convince yourself, or me, Saiorse?"
Indecision flickered over her eyes, before she seemed to lose any care she may have clung to. Alex wasn't sure what was happening until her hands were on either side of his face and Saiorse pulled her lips to his. She meant it to be brief, only a peck - but, as Alex's hand had shot to grab her shoulder as a protective reflex, his grasp suddenly relaxed. He moved his mouth - only in slight - over hers, testing the way she tasted on his tongue.
He couldn't quite place it.
Abrupt and with a glare, Saiorse yanked her face away from his. They blinked at one another, Alex clearing his throat. Disgruntled, Saiorse turned away sharply.
"Told you," she grumbled. "Now, we must hurry. Finding your father in this place will be like finding a good-hearted woman in a whore house."
Yeah, she did, Alex thought, his finger fighting to flutter to his lip, but he huffed, shaking his head, to follow her lead. Saiorse was already on Richard's saddle, kicking the horse into a not-such-a-trot-but-almost-a-trot-because-viva-la-revolución. Alex followed her, his eyes drifting over the solemn faces they continued to pass. If the guards were willing to pull a woman from her horse just for urging it faster than a measly trot, he didn't want to know what else they would do. Suddenly rather uneasy, Alexander couldn't help but find something terribly wrong.
Another smudgy faced woman walked past, her eyes hitched on a world not their own. She staggered this way and that, her clothes catching on everything she walked by. Alex furrowed his brow. The edges of her shirt and skirt were burnt - holes the size of rocks torn into the weak fabric. Alex looked frantically about them. Every person looked the same. Torn clothes, smoke patched faces, hungry eyes and cheeks. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong.
Alex hadn't the chance to voice his concern as Saiorse turned them into the markets once more, heading straight for the heart of the city. Upon reaching a shared trough, she shoved Richard through a cluster of sickly looking stallions, catching the eye of a man staring a little too closely at her horse. Saiorse glared, slithering from her saddle. They held eye contact until the man seemed to be fully intimidating, slithering back down the road he'd come from. Sighing, Saiorse tied Richard to the post with extra care. If they wanted her horse they would have to saw him free with a knife. Once Elia was tied in a similar fashion, Saiorse walked to Alexander, wrapping her fingers awkwardly around his - she mismatched their fingers, the both of them grunting to each other in rather vulgar manner until Alex grabbed her wrist, lifted it, smacking his palm to hers, and shoved his fingers through hers. Saiorse glared. Alex sighed loudly.
"Is there a reason you must hold your clammy fingers to mine?" Alex grunted.
"We must look as normal as we can," Saiorse growled. "We already do not belong. A young couple strolling along before they settle down - as good of a disguise that we will ever find."
"Honestly," Alex growled. "You do not even know how to hold a hand. Have you been alone all these years? Tell me, am I the only man that has seen you naked? I see right through your plow, Lady Addinell."
Saiorse chortled, scoffing while she shook her head. "Nudity has long lost its momentum over my life, I assure you that."
"Pity," Alex droned. "I fear my heart is broken."
"Perhaps the housemaid will make you feel better," Saiorse growled accusingly. "I bring you into my fun and games and that is the best you can do?"
"Johnathan!?" Alex barked a little too loudly.
Saiorse stepped outward, swinging about so he was forced to look at her. She narrowed her eyes with concern, lips parting before she spoke. "Mary?" Alex opened his mouth to argue, but as Saiorse tilted her head, eyes as wide as the sun, he gave up. There was no point. They were stuck inside an endless cycle. He would come across a valid point and a damn good one at that. He'd fling it in her direction - but Saiorse would catch it and throw it right back at his face, knocking him flat on the ground until he had the confidence to rise again.
It was vicious really. He was certain he'd be traumatized by the time she left him.
She pulled him onward, making a show of looking at the weaponry for sale. One, two, three booths they passed containing nothing but swords. They drifted across the alleyway, finding a pale-faced, aging woman with tremoring hands offering nothing but onion. Saiorse wouldn't have noticed the necklace of it draped around her neck if Alex hadn't nudged her with a not so subtle nod to the woman's neck. Immediate concern overtook Saiorse, so much so that she dropped her composure, leaning forward as she took a closer look at the woman's hooded, terrified eyes.
"My lady," Saiorse muttered, reaching out for the woman's hand. She shrank away from Saiorse, shaking her head wildly. Saiorse's fingers closed, her face pinched as if her feelings had been hurt. "I am not from here," Saiorse spoke gently, her tone like a lullaby to a crying child. "Will you please tell me what has happened to this lovely city? I am afraid it is not like what I remember it to be."
"Run," the old woman rasped, coughing violently as the effort to speak strained her throat. "Run, far, far away from this place." She got to her feet, her knees wobbling, her skeletal fingers pointing in the direction of the mountain. "Or you will catch the fires of hell."
Saiorse meant to question her further, but something - completely unseen by Alex - rammed into her back so forcefully she was unable to catch herself. The old woman, petrified, ducked behind her own table and teetered down the safety of the shadowed alleys. Saiorse reared about, expecting a guard to have sought trouble once more, but what she found was rather odd - and made her very, very happy.
"Odin's beard," Saiorse squealed, a bright smile spreading over her face as she peered at the woman clinging to her middle (who had her eyes shut with her smile so wide Alex thought it would crack her face). "Oh, Alara! Oh, it is so good to see you, my friend!" Saiorse returned the blonde's hug, only, lifted her from the ground and spun her this way and that, the both of them laughing like little girls.
Alex remained where he stood, no longer shocked by things he didn't understand. God, where was a bar when he needed one? Who was he kidding, he needed to hire a bartender to follow him with a pack full of alcohols and a lofty knowledge of drinks that could make him forget.
Leaping away from Saiorse, the taller woman smiled broadly, clasping her face as she laughed. Saiorse returned the gesture, placing her hands wherever it was she could direct them. Their separation didn't last long, as they crashed together in a hug once more - Alara, wasn't it? - lifting her from the ground in a dizzying spin that left Alex a bit sick to his stomach.
"Where, oh where, has my Saiorse been?" Alara chirped, dropping the woman back on her feet as if it were completely normal to expect someone to land perfectly balanced. Alex peered a bit closer, until he saw the peak of a fang poke from under Alara's lip. His moan went unheard as he buried his face in his hands to scream. "It has been quite a while since I have last seen you! You look," she grasped Saiorse's sides, fanning her fingers over her cloak. She raised a brow. "Good, but, thin. Skipping dinners are we? How dare you let that exquisite figure wither. You promised you would keep it intact for me."
Alex, suddenly rather interested, peeked through two of his fingers. He took his face from his hands, honestly rather dumbfounded. Alara noticed him then, her eyes raking every inch of him in a rather uncomfortable manner. He looked back, brows hidden behind his dark hair.
"Cheating on me, are you?" Alara asked, her voice sounded severely devastated. She only smirked as Alex's eyes widened so much they began to water. She turned her head back with a tsk, puckering her lips. "I always knew you had a soft spot for the weak ones. A human though? Are you so desperate as to steal a little lamb from a dwindling herd? You could have hailed me with a letter, you know. Humans don't have the..." she drew her thumb over Saiorse's bottom lip. "Bite that I do."
Saiorse leaned close, her words hot air over Alara's mouth. "He only wishes, love." Alex's hands shot outward, before they clapped to his sides. From her arms, Saiorse stepped, approaching the doe-faced Alex. She ushered him forward until he came to tower over the round-faced woman before him. Her brilliant, silver eyes held streaks of brown. They were intriguing. She moved to offer him a handshake, but slipped it upward to his face, middle finger pressed to his nose. Saiorse snickered from where she stood, hand covering her mouth as she laughed. Sighing, Alexander decided he would stay silent unless spoken to.
And even then...
"This is Alara Varue," Saiorse explained. Alara curtsied. "She.. ah, nursed me back to health when I was ill."
"She means when your father tried to kill her with an arr-"
"I- I know. Trust me, that's all I've heard."
"Arrow. Right in the chest."
"Okay, yes, I understand-"
"In the chest. With poison. Poison."
"I am. Well aware, my lady."
Saiorse scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "You never call me that."
Alex shot her an exasperated, very frustrated scowl. The women only laughed at his expense. Sighing, he threw his hands in the air. Turning away, Alara draped an arm around Saiorse's waist, tugging her around the same bend the older woman had disappeared behind. Alex follow stiffly, casting a sideways glance over his shoulder at the horses.
He met the gaze of a scruffy-faced guard. The younger man he'd conversated with. Alex paused, holding his breath. Rushing children blocked his view momentarily - but it was enough time for the man to vanish. That could not be could. Turning, Alex raced after Alara and Saiorse, not wishing to be kept in the company of solitude.
"What is happening in this town?" Saiorse demanded, suddenly serious. Alara snorted, giving Saiorse a dull, almost disappointed look.
"You can not make the conclusion yourself?" She asked. "Onion and kale necklaces everywhere, torn clothing, smoke covered faces? The guards, the gates, the abomination of ungodly rules I am frisked for breaking every day..."
Realization paled Saiorse's cheeks. "Oh no."
Alara grinned brightly, poking her nose. "There she is!"
"Oh god, no," Saiorse groaned loudly. Alex thought she sounded almost annoyed. "I thought we had banished the entirety of them to the mountainsides! We even made a pact to keep humans from Belvar Pass! So they could feed!"
"There is no haggling with moraless beasts, pumpkin," she tossed a glare over her head. "Or men." Alex stuck out his tongue. Alara pulled Saiorse around a very unsafe-looking bend, before yanking of a patch of wood. The vampire ducked inside the dark hole without trouble, scaling what sounded like steps at a blinding pace. Alex hesitated, looking to Alara with growing fury.
"I cannot see," he snapped.
Alara gave him a very false sweet grin. "Oh, no." Demeanor suddenly changing, Alara's fingers shot forward to curve into Alex's shirt, yanking him against her so she could snarl in his ear. To her disappointment he was no longer surprised when fangs were in his face for reasons unbeknownst to him. "She's mine, human. Do not get any ideas. Whatever she ahs you around for certainly is not for her pleasure. Hurt her and I will hurt you in places you do not know exist, okay? Alright, good, I am glad we had this discussion. Now find your way down you worthless quim." With that, Alara was gone.
Alex wanted very badly to prove to her that he could find his way on his own, but that was abundantly impossible. Much to his distaste, Saiorse was waiting for him about six steps down, where, on the fourth, he had nearly slipped. Saiorse caught him quickly and guided him down, ignoring his grumpy hissing.
When a torch was lit and Alex found a rather gloomy tunnel stretching before him, he decided that, perhaps, having her at his side wasn't such a bad thing. Subconsciously his hand reached for hers. He let her twine her fingers with his however she pleased. He liked the sheer difference of it.
"Mind the rats," Alara warned. "We have not sent the hounds down here to kill them."
"Oh, please, tell me you have not boughten Hellhounds," Saiorse sighed.
Alara hissed under her breath. "Oh, dear, I have said far too much."
Saiorse groaned. "Those are illegal and you are very well aware of that. That is a level three offense, Alara. You could be punished heavily. The smelly idiots are not worth such trouble. What will you do when it grows? There are no buildings big enough to contain a wild Hellhound."
"Keep your brassiere out of a twist," Alara grumbled. "They are only puppies."
"More than one!?" Saiorse wailed.
Alara whimpered. "Gorey was lonely! How was I supposed to keep the thing company if I was too busy warding off a giant lizard? I am only one woman, Saiorse Aiorsy," Alara droned on. Alex chuckled at her name calling, silencing himself immediately when Saiorse's grasp ventured from a gentle touch to a painful vice.
"And you thought Mary was bad," Alex grunted.
Upon reaching the end of one of the corridors, Alara made a swift right, quickening her pace as if in excitement. Her smile hidden by the darkness around them, she clasped a long handle, yanking on it until a set of doors Alex hadn't expected to find peeled open. The room was surprising bright, blinding the man momentarily until his eyes adjusted. Inside, he found a cluster of mostly men, along with a woman or two, who seemed almost unexcited to see Alara. Though, as the blonde stepped out of the way and Saiorse let go of Alex's hand to step into the light, over half of them leapt from their chairs. Bowls were spilled, jaws dropped, someone even screamed.
"I told you I did not lie about Lady Addinell!" Alara shrieked, voice laced with her own triumph. "I deliver to thee my proof as you have been oh, so patiently waiting for."
Saiorse stepped in front of her, a close-lipped, warm grin spreading over her face. "Hello, my friends," she greeted them. "It has been far too long."
Alex watched from a distance as all at once, they swarmed forward. He tensed, his hand falling to the hilt of his dagger, but the sheer joy adn excitement that touched every single one of their faces made his hand drift away. He tilted his head, watching as Saiorse was swept into the grasp of all of them for a good while.
It was only when the crowd parted, giving way to a very tall, very serious looking redheaded woman, did the chatter halt. Her eyes - surprising a brighter shade of silver than even Saiorse's - scored Saiorse where she stood. The brunette sucked in a sharp breath, holding it so long Alex was frightened that she'd forgotten how to breathe. The woman walked forward, the red river that reached her rear floating as she approached. Saiorse did not hide - she met her gaze evenly. As an equal, Saiorse realized.
The woman looked to Saiorse's cloak, reaching rather matter-of-factly to the button that held it closed. Saiorse did not move as it fell from her shoulders. Several of them gasped as part of her scar was visible. The redhead seemed unaffected. She shut her eyes then, bowing her head slowly as if in acknowledgment, before the woman swept into a bow. Like a wave, the entirety of the room did the same - shocking Saiorse (surprisingly enough) far more than it did Alex. At least until Alara slammed her fist into his gut, forcing him to double over.
"Do not bow to me, Isabella," Saiorse said softly. "I have not done a single thing to deserve such respect."
The woman righted, tilting her head. The rest of the room followed, all eyes focused on the encounter before them. "Have you not?" She motioned to Saiorse's scar. "You have taken far more pain than any of us combined." She looked around her, then rolled her eyes back to Saiorse without moving her head. "What is it that brings you to Basama?" She lifted her gaze, lip wrinkling. "With a human no less."
Alex felt rather offended, but decided better than to comment. He only dropped his gaze away, focusing on Alara's rather ugly shoes. His mother would have not let her in his home with those dreadful things attached to her feet.
Saiorse spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. "I am hunting for James LeRoy. I will find him and confront him for what he's done." She opened her mouth to continue, but stopped, swiveling to look at Alex, who still stood in the doorframe. Her brows furrowed, her chest flaring. Why did she feel bad for the hurt that crossed her face. "This man- Johnathan - has told me he knows where James is. I have recruited his assistance."
Alara growled under her breath. Alexander wondered if she saw past the lie Saiorse told. Though, more importantly, if the way Isabella narrowed her eyes meant she saw it as well. Saiorse stood strong however, sweeping her hands out as if in a motion to conclude her story. Isabella shrugged, placing her hand to Saiorse's shoulder.
"Bring that poor excuse of a man to his knees with all your might, Lady Addinell," she told her. "I would offer my clan's assistance, however, we are quite occupied here."
"As I would understand," Saiorse nodded. "It is not easy to kill a dragon."
Dragon? Oh Gods above.
Alex slumped against the wall. Here we go again.