Seventeen
Despite her extensive lessons on geography and the Five Kingdoms, there wasn't much that Ellegra could remember about the country of Suroya. She remembered the beautiful illustrations of entangled vines and tall grasses and wildflowers, trees that soared higher into the sky than any building ever could. In her head, her mother pointed at pictures in her assigned reading books, gesturing to the hazardous rains the and even more dangerous creatures that ran lived in the jungle. Images of long, thick animals with tusks and horns flashed in her mind, covered by more with long, extending bodies that coiled and wrapped around limbs and could swallow a human whole.
That was what she remembered about Suroya. "The wild heart of the earth," her father called it. She used to stay up late and read stories of the people, the special riders of the large beasts. Pictures of tall bears with tusks growing from their mouths, large cats whose mouths opened wider than anything she'd ever seen, fitting a human's head inside in one bite. The images made her shudder. But what choice did she have? Asaan was no longer safe for them. Prince Arem had been clear. Suroya was the closest and safest choice.
His purse hung heavily on her belt, and although she had been inclined to throw it back at his chest and yell about it, she knew there was no way she and Tamshie could have gotten by without it. The bag of money they'd used to get here had to go to Faine, leaving them without a single senzi in their pockets. The small twinge of gratitude in her chest was right— she should be thankful. But that didn't stop the grief from overcoming her.
For seven days, the three of them wandered the road west, until they'd come across a single tree surviving on a dune. They'd rested there for the remainder of the day until the sun went down, then headed back onto the road and continued the walk to Fort Azra. Now, with the dark walls of the fortress in view, the women collapsed down into the sand on the side of a hill, hidden from the watchtowers by the taller peaks that grew over them in the valley. They passed around the Ellegra's flask, sighing and settling their heads comfortably on the ground. Romi gave the first snore, Tamshie following soon after. Ellegra didn't close her eyes, instead staring up at the stars and counting the balls of glowing fire that flew past.
"Did you make a wish, Ellegra?" Arem folded his arms behind his head and turned to look at her, his eyes glowing a rich chocolate as he watched her. His face bore the evidence that she could no longer tease him for being a child. The thick stubble stretching from the base of his ears that wrapped around his mouth and chin gave his thick jawline a dangerous edge that even she couldn't deny the appeal of.
Ellegra smiled. "Of course I did, but I'm not going to tell you."
"Why not?"
"Because," she teased, "then it won't come true."
Arem turned onto his side, propping his head up with a hand. "I will share mine if you do yours." Ellegra smirked, rolling and watching him expectantly. His gaze dropped to her mouth, her round lips slightly parted and curved as she waited. His skin tingled with warmth. He brought his eyes level to hers again, a look of both seriousness and affection painting his handsome features. "I wished for nothing to change."
She wrinkled her brow. "What do you mean?"
Now his skin burned, perspiration tickling his brow and lip. Oh, why did he say that? "Our fathers have arranged a way to unite our kingdoms. We are to be married on your eighteenth birthday." He paused to watch her face. It gave nothing away, no sign of fear or otherwise, not a dimple of a smile or hesitation. She was frozen in her thoughts, watching him. "Does this make you happy?" His hand reached out and grabbed hers. "I want to make you happy, Ellegra."
Minutes passed. The silence that drew out between them only made his heart race faster and his mouth dry. Then she blinked, clearing the fog from her mind and offering him a reassuring smile. "I am happy, Arem. Any girl would be lucky to marry their best friend." She moved closer, resting her head on his chest and wrapping an arm over his stomach. "I am happy."
"I will keep you that way, then. Happy, safe... loved. I will be Mastran, and you my Mastra, and we will love each other more than the gods ever did. Yes, we will be happy." His arm curled around her shoulders, giving them a tight squeeze before falling to lay in the curve of her waist. He sighed in content. "What was your wish?"
"Hmm? Oh, my wish. It seems silly now." She shook her head.
He shook his arm, prying for her answer. "A future queen's thoughts should never be silly, nor could they ever be. What was it?"
Ellegra swallowed and closed her eyes. "I wished for adventure. I want people to look at me and see someone worth bowing to. I want to be something other than the obedient princess. I wished for something different."
Arem's mouth screwed in thought. "Hmm. That is kind of silly."
A tear slipped from the corner of her eye. Yes, it had been silly, but it had come true. She was on an adventure, only it wasn't the kind she had hoped. She was no longer envisioned as the perfect token of obedience, the picture of purity that every daughter should strive to be. Instead, she was known as the treacherous, rogue princess who had murdered her father and run away, kidnapping a poor, helpless young maid when she escaped the jail cells. Yes, her wish had come true. She'd gotten what she wanted, just not in the way she desired.
She'd never understood it before, but right then, she finally knew what her mother was trying to tell her when she said, "Be careful what you wish for."
❂
Fort Azra was nothing compared to Shuvask or any other city back home. People bustled about the streets and rushed to and from shops and houses, apartments and taverns. Surrounded by the great stone wall and the tall wooden gates, the citizens rushed about with smiles on their dirty faces, perfectly secure within in the walls. But what she'd never seen before was the many guards as they approached one of the gates. They stood tall, the proper police of the palace. They never changed stoic expressions, holding tall staffs, clad in metal armor and lethal weapons. Above, archers with their crossbows whipped into the motion with every person that approached their fellow men below. Their arrows beamed in the sun's harsh glare.
Tamshie and Romi clung to each other, their hands squeezing the other's tighter and tighter with every step they took towards the intimidating gate and the equally as threatening soldiers. Ellegra held her nerves in check just below her stomach, fighting the war to keep them subdued as long as she could to get them into the fort. Her lips parted under her kerchief, and she was even more grateful for the cloth to hide her face and her jumping anxiety.
The leading guard's eyes flicked over her face, his eyes cold and dark in a way only Asaani people could harbor. But then they fell on the sword at her hip, and his body tensed, moving into her path. The gate descended with razor-sharp teeth from over their heads, slamming shut just behind the man. "Stop!" he ordered. Behind her, she heard Tamshie's sharp intake of breath, silently praying for them to keep their mouths shut. Romi had gone ashen, her pallor foreign even to fellow Khalysrians.
Ellegra bowed her head, dropping onto her knees and sitting on her heels in the traditional way. Romi and Tamshie followed suit. "Hello, sirs," she said, her Asaani crisp and sharp, perhaps even better than his.
He waved them to their feet. "What is your business inside the walls of Azra?"
"I've come to deliver a client's ware, sir." She unbuckled the belt from her waist and wrapped the straps around the scabbard. "My husband is a blacksmith, and we deliver our products ourselves."
The guard didn't seem completely swayed, but his eyes paid more attention to the blade than the women. "Blacksmith, you say? From where?"
Ellegra swallowed. "From Shuvask. We just moved there this year, in fact."
"And your business here is with whom?"
Tamshie stepped forward, capturing the man's attention. "A Reza Yuri, sir. His address was listed in our ledgers as here in Fort Azra," she said with a bow, catching Ellegra's angry eyes. "He is a most impatient man, but we offer our services even to the most drunk of men."
Ellegra's lips quirked into a smile. "Yes, he has quite the temper. My husband almost had to use force to get him out of his shop. It is dangerous to be back there when he works. So hot, it is."
"Where is your husband, ma'am?" His gaze swept back to Ellegra.
"Back in Shuvask, sir. He had other orders to fulfill, one by Prince Arem himself."
"Oh, what a lovely man," Tamshie remarked from behind her. Ellegra jabbed her elbow back into her stomach.
"Oh, yes, quite—"
"Let me see your faces."
Ellegra's heart fell into her toes. She felt Romi go still, Tamshie's body suddenly rigid. Quick! her mind screamed at her. Do something! She could sense the archers above getting ready to loose their arrows. Her fingers burned with a familiar itch, her muscles twitching with a need to protect herself. "I'm afraid I cannot, sir."
His body turned slightly away from her, his hand moving to his sword's hilt. "Show me your faces, now!"
"But sir," Tamshie interrupted, moving in front of Ellegra. "She cannot! Even if she would like to, her husband forbids it. You see, when we were younger, we had a run in with a pack of slave traders. She fell off the back of one of their horses. It trampled her and nearly killed her. The physician did everything he could to stitch her up, but the accident has left her face horribly disfigured." Ellegra opened her mouth to retort a defense, but this time it was Tamshie's elbow digging into her side. She closed her mouth and lowered her head. "Her husband does not like to cause other people discomfort. He is a very kind man, our brother-in-law. He has taken my sister and me in until we find husbands of our own." Her eyes pleaded with him. Her hands clasped in front of her face. "Please, sir. It is your eyes I am trying to spare."
The guard swallowed hard, slitting his eyes at the three of them. He paused over Romi and glared at her. "And this one? What is wrong with her?"
"She is mute, sir. She has not spoken since we were taken."
He nodded, giving a grunt of what appeared to be approval. "I apologize for your misfortunes." He turned and looked up, waving his hand. "Raise the gate!"
Relief flooded through the three of them. They bowed at the waist, smiling their thanks and passing under the mouth of teeth that swallowed them and closed after they walked inside. Tamshie and Romi giggled, and even Ellegra couldn't hold back the giddy laughter that left her dry lips.
The city poured people from every door and corner and drained them into one street before trickling into more avenues and roads. People darted in front of and behind them, some remarking at their observant pace for being too slow and grumbling nasty swears at them. Buildings towered above them. Clothes hung on wires between buildings, drying in the sun.
Ellegra's eyes landed on a tavern. Her knees nearly buckled right then and there, looking at the sign. Cross Traveler's Bed & Breakfast. Tamshie and Romi followed her line of sight and nearly screamed at the relief bursting from their pores. "Ladies," said Ellegra, "I believe we have a place to sleep."
They casually strode through the door, taking in the sight of a mostly full dining area and a bar that ran the length of the room. Men and women ate over large plates of roasts and potatoes, bowls of peaches and dates, drinks of rum and ale, wine for the women and cider for the children that giggled and ran about. The atmosphere was warm and friendly as they settled at a table. It felt like home.
A barmaid with a round stomach and puffy cheeks smudged with flour smiled down at them as she passed. Her eyes nailed to Ellegra as she backpedalled to be heard. "Oh, hon, there's no need to wear a thing like that," she said heartily, pointing at the wrap covering half Ellegra's face. "The sand stays outside, and the only thing you'll catch in the face is a dishrag if you're not looking." She laughed.
"Oh, it's alright," Ellegra said. "My husband says I should keep it on." Her eyes switched towards Tamshie, narrowing into playful slits. "Apparently I'm 'horribly disfigured.'"
Tamshie's face deepened in several shades of red. Romi stifled a spurt of laughter, coughing to clear her throat and dropping her eyes to the floor, lips screwed and pursed to prevent a smile from taking shape. "A tragic accident," Tamshie said, hardly recovered from her giggling. She leaned forward and laced her fingers together, setting her elbows on the table. "What do you recommend for weary travelers?"
Romi inched deeper into the conversation. The woman stepped towards the table tapping her chin. "For three ladies such as yourselves, I'd say... mishkin kabobs or a nice putsch curry sauce with rice." She glanced around to see if anyone was looking before crouching down to whisper, "We don't sell these
ourselves, but there's a bakery a few miles into the city that makes the most delicious cream rolls and bread cakes. Best thing you will ever taste within these walls." She winked and stood straight. "So, what'll it be, ladies?" The three of them exchanged glances. They grinned.
❂
They lay in bed hours later, their stomachs still full from their meal that afternoon. This time, there was no guilt lingering in Ellegra's stomach. The purse Arem had been kind enough to give them was filled with nearly a hundred senzis. It was more than enough to dine and buy a room for the three of them for the night. They needed to get to Suroya, now more than ever. Arem's warning wasn't an empty threat. By the end of the week, news of the banished princess will have reached Fort Azra, and the guards at the gate would become suspicious of the three female visitors on "business" inside the walls, the one place said to be impenetrable by enemy fire. Yet here I am, she thought, and the words made her cringe.
She didn't want to be an enemy. She didn't want to be on the lonely side, apart from her best friend and her family— the ones that loved her, at least. She couldn't be happier to be away from Cilas, but not like this. It should be him on the run for what he did, not me.
Ellegra stared at the ceiling, trapped in the memory of the first time she had ever encountered people who didn't like her. She'd never been exposed to such feelings of hate against the Mannox rule. People openly opposing her family's reign was rare— the kingdom was prosperous, the people thriving and the land flourishing. The balance remained equal, and twice a month the queen went to the villages and cities, seeing them one by one to learn of civil and agricultural disputes, like every queen before her. It wasn't until she was nine that she learned not everyone loved her.
She and Baz sat on the banks of the Lurois River, tentatively pressing their booted toes to the frozen lake. Baz stepped on first, shaking his legs to test the strength of the ice before holding his hands out to her. "There's nothing to be scared of," he told her, their fingers brushing as she stretched out to him. "Hold my hand."
Her knees trembled as she stepped onto the ice, her feet barely leaving the slick surface. She shuffled her way to him until his hand wrapped around hers and he pulled her towards him. Her feet skated over the surface. Adjusting to the wobbly feelings, Ellegra grinned. They began to dance laughing as he spun her and whisked her out and brought her back in. "Ready to let go?" he asked. "Or are you still scared?"
It had been asked out of innocence, but Ellegra narrowed her eyes at him and lifted her chin defiantly. "I am not scared," she said sternly. Her fingers left his, and she was alone, drifting over the curtain of frozen water and twirling. Her legs quaked when she stepped, taking cautious steps as she moved farther away from him. She pushed her left leg off the ground behind her, lifting it into the air as well as her arms. Baz stared at her in awe. "See? I'm not sc—"
Something wrenched on her sleeve and pulled her down, landing on the ice with a loud crack. Her balance tipped and her world tilted. Baz shouted something, but she couldn't hear anything above the sound of her head hitting the ice and the ear-splitting sound of something shattering raging in her ears. Her eyes blurred and barely focused on the outline of an arrow shaft sticking out of the ice near her hand, her robes nailed under it. The ice shifted color beneath her to a dark red.
"Ellegra!" Her father's scream drifted inside her head. Hands clawed at the ice a few feet away. "Ellegra, come this way!"
"Ellegra!" Baz threw his hand out, pointing at something over her head. "Father, look out!" He darted and dropped to his knees. He skidded several feet before crashing into Ellegra. The cracking sound grew louder, and then she was submerged in a world of ice-cold pain.
Ellegra shivered now, her thoughts bombarded by the image of Baz's mouth opening and releasing bubbles of air from above her. Red had streamed around her, and for a moment the sky above looked stained in blood. Then her eyes had closed, and the next thing she knew she was sitting in a stranger's home curled by a fire, people standing around. Baz's hand never left hers. From the moment of the attack to the second they returned home, his fingers were locked with hers.
Her heart gave a sudden tug, pulling several tears from her eyes. Her nose burned as she tried to swallow them away, but they kept coming. Silently, they streaked down her cheeks and seeped into the wooden floor beneath her head. Her back cried out in stiff creaks as she turned onto her side and curled her arms under her head. She sighed, blinking and tilting her head back to glance up at the beds on either side of her. In front of her, Romi lay face-down, her face slightly turned to the side. Her dark brown hair rippled in matted knots in her face and on the gray pillow. A steady leak of drool collected on the sheets near her open mouth, little snores escaping as she breathed. Tamshie lay similar to Ellegra, body curled tightly with her arms padded together to form a pillow. Her face looked calm, about as peaceful as the first night they'd first slept in Shuvask.
Tamshie gave a light moan, shifting in the dark. "So," she whispered hoarsely, still half asleep. "What's on the agenda now?"
Ellegra sighed. "Honestly, Tam, I don't know. We can't stay here, that's for sure. Tomorrow we'll buy what we need for the walk to the shore and passage to Suroya, and maybe settle further inland in case there are border patrols. I'm not familiar with the country; my father wasn't close in relations with their order, so I doubt they'll welcome us if they know who we are." Welcome me, she corrected mentally, her body caving even more. "I don't know. I guess we just... keep going. We don't stop."
"What about the islands?" she asked, and her tone led Ellegra to believe she'd been thinking if for more than the length of their conversation. "What are they like?"
Ellegra thought back to her father pointing to the map of the great globe. Five kingdoms, with Cureldin sharing a border with Asaan and a strip of land with Khalysria. Suroya was a lone continent, but its close proximity to Asaan's shores made it easy to access without papers. The kingdom of Neumani lingered up North, a quiet, icy island just west of Khalysria. Not much news came from there. They were ruled by a strict queen who destroyed any idea of freedom when she rose to the throne after a mutiny against their king. That was over two hundred years ago, but Neumani was still quiet. Cureldin barely had trade relations with them. Their queen ruled through isolationism and had cut the kingdom off from the rest of the world.
The Sincitar Islands were used as a trading pass, a lone group of islands in the middle of the Primek Sea that all nations used for trade and the occasional meeting for peace conventions. Her father saw no reason to visit the islands. The land was governed by the people with separate legations for each country's trades, which made it tricky to stay invisible with so many valuable things in one place.
"The Sincitar Islands are just used as national trading ports. With the amount of security there to protect the resources— the naval warships, the foot patrols— we wouldn't even last an hour there before someone spotted us. It's too risky." She shook her head decisively. "No, we'll go to Suroya. We'll catch a ferry and buy passage."
"We don't have papers."
"Suroyan laws don't require papers. It was established during the Neumanian civil war and used as a refuge continent. People running from Queen Gilessa's reign crawled to its shores. It is an elected nation now. Three Houses rule and one heir from each house enters an election to determine which house will be crowned Exec. It's a limited democracy. Suroya in the Neumanian tongue means 'shared land', in this case the Houses share authority every decade."
Tamshie paused to process it all. "So we go there. Then what?"
"We lay low for as long as we can. We keep our heads down, find jobs. If it comes to it, we can go to the Islands."
"And if that fails?"
Ellegra sighed. "Then we set sail to discover a new land, Tamshie. I don't know."
"What about Khalysria?"
"No." Ellegra's hands fisted, her body cringing at the word. "We will not go to Khalysria unless we are more desperate than a man in hell begging for water."
Tamshie nodded, recognizing the princess's firm tone. "Okay."
That was the end of it, but she knew Tamshie still had second thoughts about Suroya. It wasn't guaranteed that their hopping would be sanctioned for long, but Ellegra was willing to take that risk. Anything is better than being near Cilas. He couldn't get her halfway across the globe.