“Indigo!” Tessa yelped as she woke up gasping to frigid water drenching her hair.
“You’re just being lazy, and people who don’t work hard have no place in our society.” The little girl hissed spitefully.
“Who told you that?” Tessa asked, still exhausted by a night delivering rations to the prisoners on the south side. She had been imprisoned in the north most area, where the platoons rarely travelled.
“It’s none of your business.” Indigo sniffed, “Get up.” Tessa complied, shaking from the cold. It was past midwinter, but still freezing. But she wasn’t on the streets yet, not since she had joined the rebels.
Pushing aside the child’s unnerving attitude, she twisted her hair up and quickly changed.
“Will you take Indigo and the boys onto the market today, it’s almost the shadow festival and they’ll need new clothes.” Jade tugged at the collar of Russet’s frayed shirt. The boy pulled away and shoved Saffron, starting another fight.
Tessa was sick of babysitting the unruly children, she wanted to do something, but at that moment she had to please Jade.
“Of course, I’ll be back in time to make deliveries.” She said referring to Jade’s washing job. “Indigo, go get your cousins.”
“You still have to earn your place.” The girl muttered before running after her two younger cousins.
“Did you get paid?” Jade asked quietly. Tessa nodded stiffly and handed over the collection of copper crowns. It hurt to let the money go, but once again she found herself with no other alternative. Jade never questioned where the money came from, and Tessa often wondered what Gray’s aunt thought of it. “And Gray?”
“No idea, we didn’t talk.”
That was becoming more and more of a common occurrence. Gray would wake her and they would travel silently through the tunnels before splitting into their separate groups. There Gray would suddenly wake up, playfully mocking his friends and taking control of his platoon.
Afterwards, both of them would be far too exhausted to talk, and they would run back to bed just in time to wake up again. They were together practically all night, but they never exchanged a word.
“I’ll ask him tonight.” Indigo returned with her cousin’s trailing behind her, a petulant expression on her face.
“Why can’t Tessa do the washing and you can come with us?” She whined. “We don’t like her.”
Jade sighed. “Keep them close.” She murmured to Tessa, and the young woman nodded back solemnly, ushering the children out the door.
“I won’t let them out of my sight.”
“You’re lying.” Ross smirked. “Harlow Blind doesn’t exist; he was made up by desperate prisoners.
The grey haired man responded, “Then tell me why people know about him if no one can escape.”
“She escaped.” Matthew muttered, staring distrustfully towards their confiscated weapons. “Besides, what proof do you have that you were ever in the dungeons?” Harlow Blind stood up and rolled up his sleeve, revealing the pale skin on the inside of his forearm. Burned into his flesh was the Queen’s insignia, two intertwining serpents, their bodies grotesquely scared on his arm.
Resa shuddered, her hand moving to her own left arm. She didn’t like to think about her month in the prison, she had barely escaped with her sanity, and she could still hear the despairing wails and smell the stench of death that corresponded with the dank tunnels.
Carefully she pushed aside her shirt and held her arm out beside Harlow’s, the same mark buried in the smooth skin of her arm.
“So you did escape. Some say you got lost in the labyrinth and went mad in the darkness.” Resa said.
Harlow Blind frowned, “Nothing as dramatic as that, but I did live in the dungeons for some time before I found my way out.”
Ross laughed, “Do you seriously believe him? He could be any prisoner- using that name is just a way to trick people into respecting him.”
Resa barely saw him move, but in a second Harlow had twisted Ross’s hand behind his back and flipped him onto his back.
“They do not respect me because of my name, boy. They respect me because I have proved my worth as their leader, something you should remember if you want a place in this city.” Harlow looked back at Resa and Matthew.
“Do you two have any doubts about the legitimacy of my claims?”
They looked at each other.
“No.”
“Not really.”
Resa looked down at Ross who was lying on the ground looking dazed. “Do you want any help?” She asked.
Ross shook his head and got to his feet stiffly, he surveyed Harlow Blind carefully as if he were afraid of being attacked again. Harlow ignored him.
“Now that you know who I am, I’d like to learn more about you.” He glanced around at the busy mess hall, “Somewhere more private.” Harlow added, leading the way to a back door that opened into an alley way. Weaver shut the door behind them and Resa saw Matthew’s hand twitch towards where he usually kept his sword.
Harlow didn’t miss the movement. “Don’t worry, we just want to talk.”
Tessa ran her fingers over the soft, grey fabric being sold on one of the stalls. She had earned more than enough money to make a dress out of it, but by the time she had bought new clothes for the children, there would be none left for her.
For a second she contemplated buying it anyways, but then she imagined the look on Jade’s face, and Indigo’s revenge, and she just sighed and called for Indigo.
She didn’t respond, and when Tessa spun around, the child was nowhere to be found. “Indigo! Stop playing around.” She shouted into the crowd. “Excuse me; have you seen a girl and two younger boys?” She asked a man next to her, he grunted. “They were just here.” She said. He waved in the vague direction of the town square and Tessa pushed off in that direction.
The shadow festival was the celebration of the end of midwinter. People wore masks, some frightening, some beautiful, and the streets were filled with dancing until the morning. It had always been Tessa’s favorite holiday, and this time last year she had taken Molly into the market to buy masks.
Now she was chasing after a vindictive seven year old and her two gullible cousins. She had almost given up hope of finding them when she heard a high pitched laugh from behind a stall selling sweet pastries. She snuck around the side and came back with fistfuls of Russet’s and Saffron’s shirts as the boys struggled to escape, their faces flushed as they giggled.
“Nice try Indigo.” She said as the girl stalked out from her hiding place.
“I’m telling Jade you lost track of us.”
“Fine, then I’ll spend the money on sweet cakes instead of on your clothes.” Tessa dropped Saffron and Russet with a warning glare and took out her purse.
“You wouldn’t dare.” Indigo hissed.
“Oh I would.” Tessa threatened back. The stared at each other for a few moments before Indigo looked away, her blonde hair floating angelically around her face as the wind blew. Looks could be deceiving.
“Who’s that?” Saffron questioned, his voice tinged with awe. Tessa glanced back to see what he was talking about and suddenly couldn’t seem to breath. She grabbed the two boys’ hands and pulled them back against the cart, putting as much distance between them and the procession as possible. All around her others were doing the same. They were too afraid to stay, but incapable of running away.
Dressed in a gown of pure white satin stitched with rubies at her throat was the Queen. Her silvery hair was piled on top of her head and her crown lay daintily on her forehead. She looked regal, but utterly terrifying. Tessa wasn’t watching her though because striding beside her, as equally chilling as his aunt, was Cain.
With him watchfully scanning the crowd, they didn’t need the protection of a few dozen soldiers, but they were there anyways. For a second, Cain’s gaze ran over Tessa, but he didn’t even give her a second look.
The pressure on her chest only eased after the procession had passed, and that was when she noticed that she was holding the boys’ hands far too tightly. Gingerly, she let them go, letting them complain about the marks on their fingers. For a moment she imagined running after them and fighting her way to Cain, but then she remembered his blank, dark stare and pressed her nails into her palms to stop herself from actually doing it.
“I want to buy a dress like hers.” Indigo intoned haughtily. In a louder voice, like a shard of glass, the girl continued, “Stop crying Tessa, it’s so unattractive.” But for once, Tessa didn’t care about Indigo’s taunts. She tapped on her chest to see if it was hollow, and when she did, the sound echoed in the empty chasm of her chest.
Matthew didn’t like being defenseless. Normally, even without a weapon, he could formulate an escape route, or plan an effective attack. However, even with an extra fighter, he doubted their abilities to survive if Harlow decided he no longer cared about their cause.
Even so, he placed himself between weaver and Resa, just in case their conversation went sour.
“I’m Resa, this is Matthew and Ross.” Resa introduced them. Harlow glanced at him, and in the alley Matthew felt a twinge of unease under the older man’s scrutiny.
“Why are the three of you trying to overthrow the Glacies monarchy?” He asked flatly.
“Does it matter?” Ross asked tightly. Matthew shared the sentiment, but he didn’t think it was smart to antagonize the man who held all the power here in the King’s City.
“Circumstance.” Resa inserted, shooting Ross a warning look. “Once Marty decodes the book, we can find the book and Cain will have the power to kill the queen.”
“No, that isn’t what’s going to happen.” Harlow said, shifting his weight. Matthew tensed, he could probably reach Weaver’s sword if he tried, but he wondered how fast she could steal it back. Ross looked like he was thinking something similar, but Resa still looked calm, and Matthew had come to trust her instincts. She was almost always right.
“Why?” she asked conversationally.
“Because we’re coming with you.” Harlow said. Weaver made a sound at the back of her throat and glowered at Harlow, but she didn’t protest.
“Two extra travelers will hardly make a difference; we can travel just as efficiently on our own.” Resa replied.
Harlow laughed. “Not just us, the rebel army, we’ll leave just enough to hold the south end here, and the rest will march on your Capitol. They won’t know what hit them.”
Matthew and Ross exchanged a look. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.” Matthew said.
“We already have Cain, once he in capitates the queen; it’s only a matter of time before he assumes the throne.” Resa added. Harlow laughed and rubbed his stubbled chin.
“Weaver here prides herself in having a vast network of spies who update us on the goings on in other kingdoms.” Weaver looked uncomfortable at the sudden attention. “They cover the southern kingdoms and the borders to the uncharted lands, but most are focused on Glacies, for obvious reasons. And recently one of the spies posted in your very own castle has alerted us to a peculiar piece of information that might hinder your plan.”
“What are you trying to say?” Ross injected.
“Cain gave himself up.”
“What?” Matthew asked.
“But why would he do that?” Resa said, her voice catching. Matthew stared at her, he felt the faintest twinge of jealousy at her reaction, although he knew it was completely irrational.
Finally Weaver spoke up. “Why does anyone do anything? For love.”
Sorry this took so long to upload, I promise to be faster next time. I'm building up to a big plot piece involving Cain and Tessa. Or possessed Cain...
Whay did you think? Are you excited for the shadow festival? I am.:)
Thanks for reading! Please comment and vote, I really like feedback.