Emily (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
iluvroadrunner6) wrote2016-04-26 12:31 pm
iluvroadrunner6) wrote2016-04-26 12:31 pm
Entry tags:
get your words out } { a small wager
Fandom: Original
Title: A Small Wager
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 5,882
Warnings: N/A
Summary: When Kira’s twin brother goes missing after a violent altercation, she and her friends take to the woods again to try and locate him and bring him home.
Notes: The events of this story were dictated based on this poll! Thank you to everyone who voted. I also didn’t think through the fact that no one knows anything about their story but … me so it wound up quite long. Sorry about that. Also to further keep things interesting, I rolled for some of the results! So if it doesn’t end the way you may have expected, that’s why.
“Has anyone seen Asheron?”
It’s a question Kira Casablancas has become accustomed to asking about her twin brother over recent months, ever since they negotiated his freedom from the Empress of the Isles. Asheron had been in captivity since he was a child, taken from his twin sister’s side when the Empress discovered the extent of his prophetic abilities and turned him into her personal oracle. Kira never gave up on trying to find him now, even when he’s simply testing the limits of his newfound freedom, and most of the time, the answer is fine. Still, as she swoops up her long brown hair, revealing the pointed ears that give away her half-Fae heritage, the question is half-annoyance, half-concern because while her brother may not be under the Empress’ control anymore – none of them were – there is still always the chance that she would go against her word and steal him back again, and that isn’t a risk Kira is willing to take.
“He and Malcolm went gambling again,” Rosario Escobar replies as she settles at the breakfast able fingers sliding gently through the long braids in her dark hair, each designating a different advancement in her growth as a Sister of Lorain. The nomadic sisterhood has been taking care of Kira ever since she had lost both her brother and her mother, and Rosario has been practically a sister to her for all of it. This isn’t to say that they got along particularly well most of the time, but their priorities are always along the same lines when it comes to protecting the Sisters and what they stand for. After they rescued her brother from the Empress and received justice for those of their clan that the Imperial Guard had killed, Rosario had stepped in as her grandmother’s successor and was learning the growing pains of her new leadership position, but this early in the morning, she is simply a friend, addressing another friend’s concerns. “It’s still early – I’m sure they’ll stumble in later like they usually do.”
Kira presses her lips together for a moment, hands on her hips firmly as she surveys the families coming in for the morning meal, hoping to see her brother’s face, but by the time everyone is settling in to eat, he is nowhere to be found. “I wish he would just come home at night like he’s supposed to.”
“I’m sure you’re not the only one.” There’s a soft hand that comes to rest against the small of her back, familiar and comforting as she turns to see Allegra Cousland standing next to her. Her long red hair dangles down past the small of her back, framing her green eyes as she places a stack of books down on the table in front of them. Allegra’s been trying to learn as much as she can about their new surroundings outside of the empire, and while many of the locals have been quite helpful in that respect, Kira knows that her lover’s best friend has always been a good book. “I understand why you worry, but Asheron can take care of himself. Tristan and Carver have been helping him in that respect.”
“I don’t doubt that he could handle himself in a bar fight,” Kira sighs as she takes the seat next to Allegra with a slight pout. “I just want him to do as he’s told. And stop gambling what little money we have earned.”
“Don’t you mean what little money you have stolen?” Rosario corrects, giving Kira a slight look in response.
“If I steal it well enough not to get caught, I’d like to believe I have earned it.”
Allegra laughs in response, before shaking her head. “I’m not sure that’s the way the world works, my love. There needs to be a bit more honesty than that.”
Kira grins back at her as she reaches down to pick up a piece of fruit from the table for breakfast. “Fine. Then I wish he wouldn’t gamble away all my hard-stolen money so that I don’t get caught.”
“That is a little more accurate,” Rosario teases, before starting to dig into her breakfast.
The conversation fades away to lighter topics after that, the three women chatting casually between themselves, until there is a rustle from the trees on the edges of the encampment, followed by the thundering sound of footsteps. Both Rosario and Kira are drawn to their feet when a tall, blond man comes stumbling through the trees, beaten and bloody. His eyes find Rosario in the crowd and he almost looks relieved before dropping to his knees in the clearing.
“Ow.”
“Malcolm?” Rosario is moving before he even hits the ground, not getting there in time to keep him from falling, but soon enough to prevent him from collapsing completely. As her arms wrap around his torso, she lets him slump into her before closing her eyes to say a small prayer of healing over him. As she does, the entire crowd can watch as the bleeding stops on his wounds and some of them begin to stitch back together again. The prayer is more of a stop-gap and doesn’t heal him completely, but it’s enough to try and determine what happened before they have to send him back to the healers’ tents.
Kira, however, isn’t patient enough for that. “Where is my brother?”
Malcolm Trevelyan, one of the archers and another person that they freed from the Empress’ hold when they rescued Asheron, looks up at Kira with a heavy sigh, before shaking his head. “I – I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?!”
“I know it’s not the answer you want to hear, but it is the truth.” Malcolm looks up at her pleadingly, almost as though he’s begging her not to wound him any more than he already is. “We were ambushed on our way out of the tavern. I tried to fight them off but there were too many, and they were far more sober than we were.”
Kira presses her lips together, before glancing back towards the woods again to see if he was followed. “Where did you go last night?”
“The Wild Boar. Small little place just outside Riversdale.”
“That’s not far,” Allegra adds, coming up next to Kira and taking her hand. “If we leave now, I may still be able to find a scent.”
“I’ll get him to the medical tent and I’ll join you,” Rosario adds as she gets Malcolm to his feet to lead him towards the leaders. The two women glance back to each other before Allegra straightens with a nod.
“I’ll find Tristan.”
Kira exhales slowly before nodding as well. “I’ll find Seraphina.”
- - - - -
Seraphina and Tristan are not always the easiest to convince to come on a rescue mission, but Tristan at least has her reasons. Leaving her family has always been difficult for her, especially with her children being so young, but it’s the cost of being the strongest warrior in the village. With long dark hair cascading over dark skin, she follows just behind the scent trail that the men who took Asheron left behind, letting Allegra take the lead so that she can follow her werewolf nose towards the retreating party.
“I smell armor and leather,” she says quietly as she goes. “Perhaps a raiding party of some kind? Or a knighthood?”
“What would a knighthood want with an oracle?” Tristan asks in return, adjusting the sword so that it rests better against her back.
“Probably the same thing anyone wants with an oracle,” Seraphina interjects, waving a hand through the hair as she speaks. “To take a look into the crystal ball of their mind and learn the future.”
Seraphina’s Fae heritage always shone brightly no matter where she went. With her gorgeous tan skin, bright piercing eyes, and long raven hair, she is always the most exotic thing in any room and her siren nature has gotten them out of more than a few jams in the past. As she tucks her hair behind one delicately pointed ear, she studies the rest of the group for a moment, before reaching for her bag.
“I wonder if I have the ingredients for a scrying spell,” she sighs. “It might be faster than following a trail.”
“Perhaps, but you might need your strength for later,” Rosario reminds her gently. “We don’t know what’s waiting for us in these woods – I don’t think any of us have wandered this far from the camp before.
Seraphina makes a face for a moment, always wanting to take the more expedient route, but for now she will follow Rosario’s lead as they continue to make their way further into the woods. It takes another hour or so before they find their way deep into the Woods of Allon, and Allegra is forced to a stop, her nose wrinkling after a moment in confusion.
“Something’s wrong,” she frowns, before she glances around vehemently. “I just lost the scent.”
“What do you mean?” Kira looks almost alarmed at the prospect, worried that their search for her brother may already be going up in smoke.
“I-I don’t know. It just disappeared.” As Allegra turns to face Kira in concern, her eyes begin to glow gold briefly, a sign that would normally signal the beginning of the change that comes either on a full moon or by her own will. Kira’s eyes widen for a moment, before she takes a step forward.
“Allegra, you need to calm down.”
There’s a brief flash of concern that crosses the other woman’s face, before Allegra cries out in pain, her body doubling forward as she clutches at her head. All eyes turn to the women heading the front of the party and Seraphina begins to cut through them, moving to reach for Kira’s shoulders to pull her away.
“Kira, get back!”
“No, we’ve been working on this.” Allegra’s transformations are one of the rougher points of being a werewolf and finding ways to control them is always tricky. But they have been trying new methods and Kira is certain that they had made progress. “Allegra, you just need to breathe.”
There’s a moment where everything in Allegra stills for a moment, before her arms fall away to her sides and some of the fight leaves her frame. When she looks up at Kira, her eyes are not the gold of a werewolf, but a bright arcane purple.
“Don’t tell me what to do.” The words come out with a rough growl to them and she swings one arm out, backhanding Kira hard into a nearby tree. The blow catches Kira completely by surprise and she tumbles down hard, having the wind knocked out of her with a groan.
Rosario looks completely stunned, but Tristan already is drawing her sword, seeing the bones and muscles begin to shift under Allegra’s skin. The redhead’s purple eyes dance across each of them until they land on Seraphina, and then a smile splits her face that isn’t Allegra’s. It’s far colder than they would expect coming from the quiet bookworm.
“You have brought me such a prize, siren,” she teases as her body continues to transform, her voice growing harsher as time wears on. “Such strength and power. I’m certainly going to have some fun with her.”
Seraphina glances around for a moment, trying to lay eyes on where the source of the power is coming from. “Don’t hurt her! She’s not in control.”
“Her not being in control isn’t going to keep her from hurting us,” Tristan points out, resheathing her sword again as Allegra’s body continues to contort and twist, fur bursting forth from her skin as her hands twist and reshape into claws. “Is there anything we can do to break the mind control?”
“Rosario?” The last time they faced a Fae like this, Rosario was able to break some of the control and allow Tristan and Allegra to be returned to themselves. The priestess glances between Seraphina and Allegra, who is looking more and more like wolf than girl by the second, and she gives a small shrug.
“I can try?”
“Try!” Seraphina replies before taking Kira by the arm and dragging her into the woods. “Try really hard!”
“That’s so helpful!” Rosario shouts after them as Kira and Seraphina head deeper into the woods, eyes peeled for any sign of trouble.
“What are we looking for?” Kira asks, still picking up the sound of murmured prayers and growls coming from the clearing.
“The Fae responsible.” Seraphina glances over her shoulder to the young girl as she does. “We’re the only two who stand a chance of getting out of this without getting our mind messed with it.”
“It took control of a werewolf and forced her to transform. Can it afford to try and mind control more than one of us right now?”
“I’m not taking any chances.” Seraphina pauses a bit of a way into the woods, studying the trees for a moment. “It’s probably using the trees and rocks to camouflage with it’s surroundings. We need to find a way to expose it somehow so we can kill it.”
“Do you know a spell that could help?”
Seraphina pauses, considering for a moment, before her eyes begin to spark with purple arcane energy, skirting over the scene. “I might have something.” She starts to murmur the spell under her breath, but before she can even get the words out, a bolt shoots through the air and lodges itself in her thigh. Seraphina lets off a soft cry of surprise, the power of the spell fizzling out and is quickly replaced with the smell of blood.
Kira’s eyes snap up, looking sharply for where the bolt had come from. It takes her a moment to pick out the shape of the creature through the trees and she draws her daggers quickly, before lobbing them into the air. One cuts through the leaves and branches, missing completely and landing on the other side of the tree. The second, however, finds it’s mark, but not before the Fae can lodge another crossbow bolt, this time in Kira’s shoulder.
The creature drops to the ground, tiny and almost like an ape in form, with overly long arms and short legs that are there simply for balance. It’s pointed Fae ears and intelligent face are a delight from the other horrors that the adventurers have run into in their travels, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t just as dangerous. Kira grits her teeth, looking at the bolt in her shoulder, and eyeing where the dagger has hit it’s mark in the creature, lodged in it’s shoulder just over it’s heart.
“Let her go.”
“The werewolf?” It teases, giving her a wide toothy grin that she had just seen on Allegra’s face, but it feels more natural on this creature’s visage. “Why would I do that? It’s such a useful toy for causing trouble.”
“Because if you don’t, we’ll kill you.”
“If I do, you’ll still kill me anyway. Though honestly, I’d like to see you try when I’m controlling the hand wielding the blade.” He raises his good hand and a splitting pain cuts through Kira’s head, almost like that of a sudden migraine. The halfling screams in pain for a moment, her hands coming up to clutch at her forehead, but her Fae nature, as little as it is, seems to be keeping it at bay for now. That doesn’t mean it hurts any less, however, and that, combined with the pain in her shoulder has her dropping to her knees.
The next thing she’s truly aware of, there’s a crackle of electricity in the air, coming from the more powerful Fae next to her. After a few muttered words, a bolt lightning streaks down from the sky, aimed so deftly as to strike the metal sticking out of the Fae’s chest and use it like a lightning rod to deliver a more powerful blow. The creature seizes suddenly in surprise, jerking back and forth for a moment, before it drops to the ground, completely unconscious.
Seraphina manages to raise herself to her feet more, making her way to Kira’s side as the migraine stops and she rests her head on her shoulder gently. “Better?”
“Much,” Kira glances over at the prone creature. “Is it dead?”
“Nope.” Just to be sure, she makes her way over, retrieving Kira’ cooling dagger from the Fae’s chest, using her gloves to keep the metal from burning her skin. There’s then another a small murmur as she waves a hand and the body promptly bursts into flames beneath her. “Now it is.”
Kira exhales slowly, grateful, before she glances back towards the clearing they had left behind. “Allegra.” She takes off running towards the rest of her party, but when they return, there’s no sign of the werewolf, only Rosario and Tristan, Rosario doing her best to attend to the wounds she received in the fight. “Where is she?”
“You’re shot,” Rosario points out, referring to the crossbow bolt still in Kira’s shoulder. “Let me – ”
“Where is Allegra?”
“The spell broke,” Tristan speaks up, readjusting her armor so they can keep moving. “She didn’t change back, though, she was too confused. She went off running that way, into the woods.” As Tristan turns and points, the color drains from Seraphina’s face, already paler than she already was from the blood loss.
“There’s a village that way.”
Kira glances between the two of them for a moment, before eyeing the path leading to the town full of innocent people that now has a werewolf running right for it. “Fix me,” she says to Rosario, pushing her shoulder in her direction. “We have to go. Now.”
- - - - -
Allegra’s path through the woods is clear enough to find, with broken branches and trampled plant life clearing the way to a small village tucked into a grove not far from them. Tristan takes the lead again, sword in hand as they charge through the path and into the center of town, and they can already hear the screaming of scared villagers.
“How long do these transformations usually last?”
“Until she collapses from exhaustion?” Kira offers helpfully, keeping her eyes peeled. “I’m fast and the beast knows me at least. Maybe I can draw her away from the people and wear her out in the woods.”
“I don’t think your usual forms of wearing her out is going to work here,” Seraphina fires back and Kira rolls her eyes.
“Now is not the time.”
“It’s also the best shot we have,” Tristan replies. “We’ll protect the villagers. You get to her and get her out of there.”
Kira nods before taking the lead again, charging into the town square where the large shaggy beast was tearing through the small market being held in the center of town. So far there doesn’t seem to be anyone mauled our hurt, but the beast is throwing tables and shredding tents, trying to destroy everything they can. Before this can get worse than it already is, Kira grabs a nearby chair, lifting it and throwing it hard, watching it crack and shatter against the creature’s back. Allegra freezes, before her wolflike features whip around and snarl in the face of whoever dares to interrupt her rampage.
“Hey! Over here!” Kira is quick to draw her focus, before turning on her heel and taking off. “Come and get me!”
Allegra doesn’t even hesitate, wolf claws scraping against the stone path as she takes off after her. Kira doesn’t bother to look back, she just runs, full out back into the woods and through the path Allegra already cleared. She doesn’t stick to a straight line, zigging and zagging through the trees and forcing the wolf to kill it’s speed in order to keep up with her sharp turns. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean the wolf isn’t still fast and before she can dodge her on one particular turn, Allegra reaches out to catch her ankles and Kira goes down, hard.
The wind escapes her lungs and for a moment she can’t breathe, struggling to catch her breath as she feels the ground scrape under her as she’s dragged towards the wolf. Kira struggles for a moment so that she’s rolling up to look at the wolf above her eyes wide with fear because she doesn’t know how much control Allegra has at this point. The wolf’s chest is heaving, but there’s a growl of victory as the wolf’s claws raise in the air.
“Allegra, please!” The words come out in a desperate rush, trying to appear to the girl behind the wolf’s eyes, the one that she loves – the one she knows would never forgive herself if she killed Kira right now. It doesn’t seem to work, but the wolf does slow for a moment, her head cocking to the side curiously. “You don’t want to do this. I know you can control this.”
The wolf, however, doesn’t want to be controlled. It illustrates that with a low snarl, before one arm comes down and slashing at Kira, but the girl is able to quickly roll away to miss the blow, but she isn’t about to give up so easily.
“I know you can do his. Just breathe – just like we practiced. I trust you.”
That particular plea doesn’t go over any better than the first one. The wolf lets out another snarl, before swiping again, and this time she’s too fast for Kira to dodge, bright red lines crossing her shoulder. Kira cries out in pain, the smell of blood filling the air, and one hand comes up on instinct, trying to block the bleeding, but it doesn’t stop the streaks of red from leaking through her fingers. There’s a very real fear creeping into her voice that she won’t be able to talk her out of this, and she very well could die right here.
She would rather die than try and hurt Allegra, but she knows her dying, especially at Allegra’s hands, would hurt her all the same. She needs to try and reach the girl on the other side, and she just doesn’t know how.
“Allegra. Please.” She tries to meet her eyes and hold that gaze. “I love you. Come back to me.”
The wolf snarls, looking confused for a moment, before her gaze almost softens and she pushes up to stumble away, further into the woods but away from the village. A few moments later, there’s the thunder of footsteps as Seraphina and Tristan appear in front of her.
“Kira?”
“I’m fine.” Kira sits up quickly, her arm still holding her bleeding shoulder. Seraphina moves to her side quickly, crouching down and gently pulling her hand away to eye the wound. “I’m fine. It’s just a scratch.”
“That’s so not a scratch,” Seraphina replies before she starts to paw through some of her spell ingredients to find the herbs made for healing. Ever since they learned that Rosario’s divine healing abilities wouldn’t work with Seraphina’s Fae nature, she’s made a point of carrying her own first aid kit if needed. She goes to work wrapping Kira’s shoulder, while Tristan focuses on the matter at hand.
“Where’s Allegra?”
“She went that way.” Kira points back over her shoulder in the direction that the werewolf had headed. “I think she’s coming down.”
Tristan nods as she moves ahead of them to go find Allegra while Seraphina stays to attend to Kira. Eventually the older Fae glances over to her, sharp eyes studying the younger woman’s face for a moment. “That was a pretty big risk.”
“It was worth taking,” Kira replies curtly, not particularly willing to broke any argument to that effect. “Better than her hurting someone else who can’t protect themselves.”
“And how were you protecting yourself, exactly?”
Kira simply gives her another look, when two sets of footsteps start coming back over the ridge to join them. Tristan has her arms around a now-human Allegra, dirty and disheveled but wrapped in Tristan’s cloak.
“I’m so sorry,” are predictably the first words out of her mouth, particularly when she sees Kira. “I was trying so hard – ”
“I know,” Kira replies, getting to her feet and making her way closer, leaning in to give her a gentle kiss. “It’s okay. But I’m also not the only one you have to apologize too.”
“I’m not sure those townspeople are going to be that happy to see me,” Allegra counters, making a face as she leans into Kira’s shoulder. “But I suppose that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t apologize anyway.”
“And you are going to need new clothes.”
Allegra looks down at her bare feet and then sighs heavily. “At least I can pay them handsomely for it.”
As they return to the village, Rosario has been focusing on healing those in the village who need it, though most of the damage had been done to inanimate objects. As Allegra goes to make her apologies and buy herself some new clothes, Rosario heads back to the rest of the group, urgency coloring her features.
“I learned something, about Asheron.”
“What?” Kira frowns, turning on her friend with wide eyes. “What do you mean?”
“The people who took him passed through here. The villagers said that they were the guard of the local king, and they were dragging a man who fits Asheron’s description after him. One of the merchants said that they stopped at his stall for food and when he asked where they were heading, the guard said that the king requested they collect this man to be received as his guest.”
“His guest?” Kira’s heart is pounding in her chest at this point, because this seems so similar to when she first lost her brother all those years ago. “Why would he – ” There’s a pause as she realizes the answer to that question, before running a hand over her face. “ – he was using his abilities to gamble.” Malcolm isn’t here to confirm or deny that sentiment, but Kira doesn’t really need him to. “What do we know about this king?”
“The castle isn’t too far from here.” She points up over the ridge to where they can see a castle rising in the distance. “Maybe if we move quickly, we’ll be able to cut the guards off before we get there.”
“Then let’s go,” Kira says firmly, turning on her heel to find Allegra. “I’m not losing my brother again.”
- - - - -
It takes them a better part of the day to reach the castle gates, and while a large part of Kira wants to charge in the front door an demand her brother be returned to her, but she also knows that they are exiles in an unfamiliar land. They’re going to need a better strategy than that, but right now she’s too impatient to try and think of one. That’s what her friends are for.
“We could take the diplomatic approach, like we did with the Empress,” Allegra suggests, scanning over her clothes so that she looks a bit more put together. “That worked well last time.”
“That wasn’t really diplomacy so much as threatening her with a werewolf and a life as a creature she feared.” Seraphina pauses for a moment before holding up a finger. “And that did get us exiled from the empire. We could send me in for actual diplomacy.”
“Your diplomacy is persuasion spells,” Rosario points out, before glancing between all of them. “Are any of us actually diplomats?”
“You?” Tristan turns to Rosario. “You’re the leader of the Sisters of Lorain. You live in his country but you’re a sovereign entity in your own right. If anyone can negotiate for Asheron, it’s you.”
“Better than my plan of not negotiating at all,” Kira mutters, before looking over at Rosario again. “Do you think you can do this?”
“I think we can’t afford to take on this king’s army with only the five of us,” Rosario says with a small smile, before reaching out and giving Kira’s shoulder a squeeze. “And if I fail, we’ll do it Allegra or Seraphina’s way. We’ll get Asheron back, Kira.”
Kira glances over at her for a moment, before nodding slowly and getting ready to move forward. “Alright. Let’s do this.”
The king’s palace is fairly simple, compared to the castle of the Empress that they had visited a long time ago. Decked in rich greens and golds, all of the banners bore the seal of King Lorne, someone they had believed to be just, so long as they were flying under his radar. Now things seem to be different, but that isn’t going to stop them from trying. As they reached the front gate of the castle, a pair of guards stop them with a critical look.
“Do you have an appointment?”
“We’re here to see the king,” Rosario begins simply. “I am Mother Rosario Escobar of the Sisters of Lorain, and we believe that he may have … collected one of our number as a mistake. We wish to see that he is returned safely.”
The guards glance between each other for a moment, before one shifts and prepares to leave his post. “Wait here.” As he disappears, Rosario’s gaze glances to the other one, flashing him a small smile.
“If I knew I would be visiting, I would have made an appointment.”
The remaining guard doesn’t seem impressed, but he remains at his post and doesn’t attempt to engage them otherwise. They wait quietly, and a few moments later, the first guard returns, taking a deep breath. “I am to escort you to an audience with the king.”
“Thank you,” Rosario smiles, before gesturing for the rest of the group to follow her and the guard deeper into the palace itself. The simple façade of the castle gives way as they enter to find a much more elegant décor, all leading into the main throne room, where King Lorne, a large and portly man, is found resting on his throne and eyeing them curiously.
“Mother Escobar! What a surprise.” He’s not an unfriendly man, his arms flung wide at her presence. “Welcome, welcome! I have a great appreciation for the Lady Lorain – I was so pleased to hear that her Sisters had made their home here, rather than with the Empress of the Isles.”
“And we are grateful that you have been so welcoming to us,” Rosario begins, her smile remaining in place on her face. “Which is why we found it so surprising when we learned that you may have abducted one of our number.”
“Abducted?” His face falls in confusion for a moment. “I certainly not have abducted any women as of late.”
“Not a woman, your majesty. A man. An oracle, actually – Asheron Casablancas.”
The king’s eyes narrow for a moment, glancing over each of the faces curiously as he does. “Ah-ha. While I will say that I may have acquired myself an oracle, it certainly was not kidnapping. The young Sir Casablancas gambled far more than he had earned to my captain of the guard, who was placing bets on my behalf. Since he did not have the money to return what he owed to me, I felt it was only proper that he provide a small indentured servitude to repay the debt. I did not realize he was under the protection of the sisterhood.”
“So I see.” Rosario can hear the smack of Kira’s forehead hitting her palm, and she sighs, before composing herself again. “Is it possible that this is a debt we can repay on his behalf?”
The king pauses for a moment, eyeing them carefully for a moment, before his smile widens. “I have a better idea. How about we make a wager of our own?”
“A wager?” Rosario glances back to the rest of her party for a moment, before turning back to the king. “What kind of wager?”
“A battle of skills – and wits. Each of your best women against one of my best men. Strength, magic, speed and cleverness. Each bout you win shortens your oracle’s debt by one month. Should you win all of them, he can leave with you today. Sound fair?”
“I’m in,” Tristan grins, already cracking her knuckles as she eyes each of the guards, almost as though she’s wondering which of their faces she’s going to get to beat in. “When do we start?”
“Can I see my brother before we begin?” Kira asks the king pleadingly, wanting to see with her own eyes that Asheron was safe. “I would like to smack him upside the head in person.”
The king laughs jovially, before nodding his agreement. “Of course. Besides it is late, and it seems that you have traveled far. We will begin first thing in the morning. The guards will show you to where you can stay.”
The women nod and begin to follow the guards, while Tristan just continues to grin, bouncing after them as they go. “This should be fun.”
- - - - -
Unfortunately for Asheron, the ladies did not succeed as well as he may have hoped. While Tristan gleefully destroyed her challenger in combat, the rest of the women fell just short of the mark. It all ends peacefully, however, with Asheron accepting his punishment, and the king informing them that they are welcome in his halls any time.
(It’s possible that Seraphina may have even gone so far as to throw her end of the competition because she’s annoyed at Asheron’s behavior, but she would neither confirm nor deny the sentiment when Kira asked.)
All the same, knowing that her brother is safe and is simply dealing with the consequences of his own actions is a much easier burden to bear than not knowing where he is and wondering what had happened to him. At least the king seems like a much more reasonable ruler than the Empress.
That being said, they were given a cart to aid their return to where their commune had made camp and as they head back towards home, Kira nestled safely in the back between Allegra and Rosario, she can’t keep the disappointment off his face.
“It’s only three months, and then the king promised to return him safely.”
“I know,” Kira nods, before making a face. “I’ve just been without him long enough, even if he is an idiot.”
“Who knows,” Rosario smirks. “Maybe this will help him learn to be less of one.”
Seraphina can’t help but comment at that, looking over her shoulder with a frown. “Have you met Asheron? I don’t think it’s possible.”
Kira laughs, before shaking her head. “We can hope, at least.”
The older Fae shrugs. “I’ll be here in the land of realism.”
“Don’t listen to her,” Allegra sighs, before settling in comfortably and resting her head on Kira’s shoulder. “We are allowed to hope. And we can toast to a job well done otherwise.”
Rosario nods in agreement, as the cart continues to roll off into the sunset. “I will drink to that.”
Title: A Small Wager
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 5,882
Warnings: N/A
Summary: When Kira’s twin brother goes missing after a violent altercation, she and her friends take to the woods again to try and locate him and bring him home.
Notes: The events of this story were dictated based on this poll! Thank you to everyone who voted. I also didn’t think through the fact that no one knows anything about their story but … me so it wound up quite long. Sorry about that. Also to further keep things interesting, I rolled for some of the results! So if it doesn’t end the way you may have expected, that’s why.
“Has anyone seen Asheron?”
It’s a question Kira Casablancas has become accustomed to asking about her twin brother over recent months, ever since they negotiated his freedom from the Empress of the Isles. Asheron had been in captivity since he was a child, taken from his twin sister’s side when the Empress discovered the extent of his prophetic abilities and turned him into her personal oracle. Kira never gave up on trying to find him now, even when he’s simply testing the limits of his newfound freedom, and most of the time, the answer is fine. Still, as she swoops up her long brown hair, revealing the pointed ears that give away her half-Fae heritage, the question is half-annoyance, half-concern because while her brother may not be under the Empress’ control anymore – none of them were – there is still always the chance that she would go against her word and steal him back again, and that isn’t a risk Kira is willing to take.
“He and Malcolm went gambling again,” Rosario Escobar replies as she settles at the breakfast able fingers sliding gently through the long braids in her dark hair, each designating a different advancement in her growth as a Sister of Lorain. The nomadic sisterhood has been taking care of Kira ever since she had lost both her brother and her mother, and Rosario has been practically a sister to her for all of it. This isn’t to say that they got along particularly well most of the time, but their priorities are always along the same lines when it comes to protecting the Sisters and what they stand for. After they rescued her brother from the Empress and received justice for those of their clan that the Imperial Guard had killed, Rosario had stepped in as her grandmother’s successor and was learning the growing pains of her new leadership position, but this early in the morning, she is simply a friend, addressing another friend’s concerns. “It’s still early – I’m sure they’ll stumble in later like they usually do.”
Kira presses her lips together for a moment, hands on her hips firmly as she surveys the families coming in for the morning meal, hoping to see her brother’s face, but by the time everyone is settling in to eat, he is nowhere to be found. “I wish he would just come home at night like he’s supposed to.”
“I’m sure you’re not the only one.” There’s a soft hand that comes to rest against the small of her back, familiar and comforting as she turns to see Allegra Cousland standing next to her. Her long red hair dangles down past the small of her back, framing her green eyes as she places a stack of books down on the table in front of them. Allegra’s been trying to learn as much as she can about their new surroundings outside of the empire, and while many of the locals have been quite helpful in that respect, Kira knows that her lover’s best friend has always been a good book. “I understand why you worry, but Asheron can take care of himself. Tristan and Carver have been helping him in that respect.”
“I don’t doubt that he could handle himself in a bar fight,” Kira sighs as she takes the seat next to Allegra with a slight pout. “I just want him to do as he’s told. And stop gambling what little money we have earned.”
“Don’t you mean what little money you have stolen?” Rosario corrects, giving Kira a slight look in response.
“If I steal it well enough not to get caught, I’d like to believe I have earned it.”
Allegra laughs in response, before shaking her head. “I’m not sure that’s the way the world works, my love. There needs to be a bit more honesty than that.”
Kira grins back at her as she reaches down to pick up a piece of fruit from the table for breakfast. “Fine. Then I wish he wouldn’t gamble away all my hard-stolen money so that I don’t get caught.”
“That is a little more accurate,” Rosario teases, before starting to dig into her breakfast.
The conversation fades away to lighter topics after that, the three women chatting casually between themselves, until there is a rustle from the trees on the edges of the encampment, followed by the thundering sound of footsteps. Both Rosario and Kira are drawn to their feet when a tall, blond man comes stumbling through the trees, beaten and bloody. His eyes find Rosario in the crowd and he almost looks relieved before dropping to his knees in the clearing.
“Ow.”
“Malcolm?” Rosario is moving before he even hits the ground, not getting there in time to keep him from falling, but soon enough to prevent him from collapsing completely. As her arms wrap around his torso, she lets him slump into her before closing her eyes to say a small prayer of healing over him. As she does, the entire crowd can watch as the bleeding stops on his wounds and some of them begin to stitch back together again. The prayer is more of a stop-gap and doesn’t heal him completely, but it’s enough to try and determine what happened before they have to send him back to the healers’ tents.
Kira, however, isn’t patient enough for that. “Where is my brother?”
Malcolm Trevelyan, one of the archers and another person that they freed from the Empress’ hold when they rescued Asheron, looks up at Kira with a heavy sigh, before shaking his head. “I – I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?!”
“I know it’s not the answer you want to hear, but it is the truth.” Malcolm looks up at her pleadingly, almost as though he’s begging her not to wound him any more than he already is. “We were ambushed on our way out of the tavern. I tried to fight them off but there were too many, and they were far more sober than we were.”
Kira presses her lips together, before glancing back towards the woods again to see if he was followed. “Where did you go last night?”
“The Wild Boar. Small little place just outside Riversdale.”
“That’s not far,” Allegra adds, coming up next to Kira and taking her hand. “If we leave now, I may still be able to find a scent.”
“I’ll get him to the medical tent and I’ll join you,” Rosario adds as she gets Malcolm to his feet to lead him towards the leaders. The two women glance back to each other before Allegra straightens with a nod.
“I’ll find Tristan.”
Kira exhales slowly before nodding as well. “I’ll find Seraphina.”
Seraphina and Tristan are not always the easiest to convince to come on a rescue mission, but Tristan at least has her reasons. Leaving her family has always been difficult for her, especially with her children being so young, but it’s the cost of being the strongest warrior in the village. With long dark hair cascading over dark skin, she follows just behind the scent trail that the men who took Asheron left behind, letting Allegra take the lead so that she can follow her werewolf nose towards the retreating party.
“I smell armor and leather,” she says quietly as she goes. “Perhaps a raiding party of some kind? Or a knighthood?”
“What would a knighthood want with an oracle?” Tristan asks in return, adjusting the sword so that it rests better against her back.
“Probably the same thing anyone wants with an oracle,” Seraphina interjects, waving a hand through the hair as she speaks. “To take a look into the crystal ball of their mind and learn the future.”
Seraphina’s Fae heritage always shone brightly no matter where she went. With her gorgeous tan skin, bright piercing eyes, and long raven hair, she is always the most exotic thing in any room and her siren nature has gotten them out of more than a few jams in the past. As she tucks her hair behind one delicately pointed ear, she studies the rest of the group for a moment, before reaching for her bag.
“I wonder if I have the ingredients for a scrying spell,” she sighs. “It might be faster than following a trail.”
“Perhaps, but you might need your strength for later,” Rosario reminds her gently. “We don’t know what’s waiting for us in these woods – I don’t think any of us have wandered this far from the camp before.
Seraphina makes a face for a moment, always wanting to take the more expedient route, but for now she will follow Rosario’s lead as they continue to make their way further into the woods. It takes another hour or so before they find their way deep into the Woods of Allon, and Allegra is forced to a stop, her nose wrinkling after a moment in confusion.
“Something’s wrong,” she frowns, before she glances around vehemently. “I just lost the scent.”
“What do you mean?” Kira looks almost alarmed at the prospect, worried that their search for her brother may already be going up in smoke.
“I-I don’t know. It just disappeared.” As Allegra turns to face Kira in concern, her eyes begin to glow gold briefly, a sign that would normally signal the beginning of the change that comes either on a full moon or by her own will. Kira’s eyes widen for a moment, before she takes a step forward.
“Allegra, you need to calm down.”
There’s a brief flash of concern that crosses the other woman’s face, before Allegra cries out in pain, her body doubling forward as she clutches at her head. All eyes turn to the women heading the front of the party and Seraphina begins to cut through them, moving to reach for Kira’s shoulders to pull her away.
“Kira, get back!”
“No, we’ve been working on this.” Allegra’s transformations are one of the rougher points of being a werewolf and finding ways to control them is always tricky. But they have been trying new methods and Kira is certain that they had made progress. “Allegra, you just need to breathe.”
There’s a moment where everything in Allegra stills for a moment, before her arms fall away to her sides and some of the fight leaves her frame. When she looks up at Kira, her eyes are not the gold of a werewolf, but a bright arcane purple.
“Don’t tell me what to do.” The words come out with a rough growl to them and she swings one arm out, backhanding Kira hard into a nearby tree. The blow catches Kira completely by surprise and she tumbles down hard, having the wind knocked out of her with a groan.
Rosario looks completely stunned, but Tristan already is drawing her sword, seeing the bones and muscles begin to shift under Allegra’s skin. The redhead’s purple eyes dance across each of them until they land on Seraphina, and then a smile splits her face that isn’t Allegra’s. It’s far colder than they would expect coming from the quiet bookworm.
“You have brought me such a prize, siren,” she teases as her body continues to transform, her voice growing harsher as time wears on. “Such strength and power. I’m certainly going to have some fun with her.”
Seraphina glances around for a moment, trying to lay eyes on where the source of the power is coming from. “Don’t hurt her! She’s not in control.”
“Her not being in control isn’t going to keep her from hurting us,” Tristan points out, resheathing her sword again as Allegra’s body continues to contort and twist, fur bursting forth from her skin as her hands twist and reshape into claws. “Is there anything we can do to break the mind control?”
“Rosario?” The last time they faced a Fae like this, Rosario was able to break some of the control and allow Tristan and Allegra to be returned to themselves. The priestess glances between Seraphina and Allegra, who is looking more and more like wolf than girl by the second, and she gives a small shrug.
“I can try?”
“Try!” Seraphina replies before taking Kira by the arm and dragging her into the woods. “Try really hard!”
“That’s so helpful!” Rosario shouts after them as Kira and Seraphina head deeper into the woods, eyes peeled for any sign of trouble.
“What are we looking for?” Kira asks, still picking up the sound of murmured prayers and growls coming from the clearing.
“The Fae responsible.” Seraphina glances over her shoulder to the young girl as she does. “We’re the only two who stand a chance of getting out of this without getting our mind messed with it.”
“It took control of a werewolf and forced her to transform. Can it afford to try and mind control more than one of us right now?”
“I’m not taking any chances.” Seraphina pauses a bit of a way into the woods, studying the trees for a moment. “It’s probably using the trees and rocks to camouflage with it’s surroundings. We need to find a way to expose it somehow so we can kill it.”
“Do you know a spell that could help?”
Seraphina pauses, considering for a moment, before her eyes begin to spark with purple arcane energy, skirting over the scene. “I might have something.” She starts to murmur the spell under her breath, but before she can even get the words out, a bolt shoots through the air and lodges itself in her thigh. Seraphina lets off a soft cry of surprise, the power of the spell fizzling out and is quickly replaced with the smell of blood.
Kira’s eyes snap up, looking sharply for where the bolt had come from. It takes her a moment to pick out the shape of the creature through the trees and she draws her daggers quickly, before lobbing them into the air. One cuts through the leaves and branches, missing completely and landing on the other side of the tree. The second, however, finds it’s mark, but not before the Fae can lodge another crossbow bolt, this time in Kira’s shoulder.
The creature drops to the ground, tiny and almost like an ape in form, with overly long arms and short legs that are there simply for balance. It’s pointed Fae ears and intelligent face are a delight from the other horrors that the adventurers have run into in their travels, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t just as dangerous. Kira grits her teeth, looking at the bolt in her shoulder, and eyeing where the dagger has hit it’s mark in the creature, lodged in it’s shoulder just over it’s heart.
“Let her go.”
“The werewolf?” It teases, giving her a wide toothy grin that she had just seen on Allegra’s face, but it feels more natural on this creature’s visage. “Why would I do that? It’s such a useful toy for causing trouble.”
“Because if you don’t, we’ll kill you.”
“If I do, you’ll still kill me anyway. Though honestly, I’d like to see you try when I’m controlling the hand wielding the blade.” He raises his good hand and a splitting pain cuts through Kira’s head, almost like that of a sudden migraine. The halfling screams in pain for a moment, her hands coming up to clutch at her forehead, but her Fae nature, as little as it is, seems to be keeping it at bay for now. That doesn’t mean it hurts any less, however, and that, combined with the pain in her shoulder has her dropping to her knees.
The next thing she’s truly aware of, there’s a crackle of electricity in the air, coming from the more powerful Fae next to her. After a few muttered words, a bolt lightning streaks down from the sky, aimed so deftly as to strike the metal sticking out of the Fae’s chest and use it like a lightning rod to deliver a more powerful blow. The creature seizes suddenly in surprise, jerking back and forth for a moment, before it drops to the ground, completely unconscious.
Seraphina manages to raise herself to her feet more, making her way to Kira’s side as the migraine stops and she rests her head on her shoulder gently. “Better?”
“Much,” Kira glances over at the prone creature. “Is it dead?”
“Nope.” Just to be sure, she makes her way over, retrieving Kira’ cooling dagger from the Fae’s chest, using her gloves to keep the metal from burning her skin. There’s then another a small murmur as she waves a hand and the body promptly bursts into flames beneath her. “Now it is.”
Kira exhales slowly, grateful, before she glances back towards the clearing they had left behind. “Allegra.” She takes off running towards the rest of her party, but when they return, there’s no sign of the werewolf, only Rosario and Tristan, Rosario doing her best to attend to the wounds she received in the fight. “Where is she?”
“You’re shot,” Rosario points out, referring to the crossbow bolt still in Kira’s shoulder. “Let me – ”
“Where is Allegra?”
“The spell broke,” Tristan speaks up, readjusting her armor so they can keep moving. “She didn’t change back, though, she was too confused. She went off running that way, into the woods.” As Tristan turns and points, the color drains from Seraphina’s face, already paler than she already was from the blood loss.
“There’s a village that way.”
Kira glances between the two of them for a moment, before eyeing the path leading to the town full of innocent people that now has a werewolf running right for it. “Fix me,” she says to Rosario, pushing her shoulder in her direction. “We have to go. Now.”
Allegra’s path through the woods is clear enough to find, with broken branches and trampled plant life clearing the way to a small village tucked into a grove not far from them. Tristan takes the lead again, sword in hand as they charge through the path and into the center of town, and they can already hear the screaming of scared villagers.
“How long do these transformations usually last?”
“Until she collapses from exhaustion?” Kira offers helpfully, keeping her eyes peeled. “I’m fast and the beast knows me at least. Maybe I can draw her away from the people and wear her out in the woods.”
“I don’t think your usual forms of wearing her out is going to work here,” Seraphina fires back and Kira rolls her eyes.
“Now is not the time.”
“It’s also the best shot we have,” Tristan replies. “We’ll protect the villagers. You get to her and get her out of there.”
Kira nods before taking the lead again, charging into the town square where the large shaggy beast was tearing through the small market being held in the center of town. So far there doesn’t seem to be anyone mauled our hurt, but the beast is throwing tables and shredding tents, trying to destroy everything they can. Before this can get worse than it already is, Kira grabs a nearby chair, lifting it and throwing it hard, watching it crack and shatter against the creature’s back. Allegra freezes, before her wolflike features whip around and snarl in the face of whoever dares to interrupt her rampage.
“Hey! Over here!” Kira is quick to draw her focus, before turning on her heel and taking off. “Come and get me!”
Allegra doesn’t even hesitate, wolf claws scraping against the stone path as she takes off after her. Kira doesn’t bother to look back, she just runs, full out back into the woods and through the path Allegra already cleared. She doesn’t stick to a straight line, zigging and zagging through the trees and forcing the wolf to kill it’s speed in order to keep up with her sharp turns. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean the wolf isn’t still fast and before she can dodge her on one particular turn, Allegra reaches out to catch her ankles and Kira goes down, hard.
The wind escapes her lungs and for a moment she can’t breathe, struggling to catch her breath as she feels the ground scrape under her as she’s dragged towards the wolf. Kira struggles for a moment so that she’s rolling up to look at the wolf above her eyes wide with fear because she doesn’t know how much control Allegra has at this point. The wolf’s chest is heaving, but there’s a growl of victory as the wolf’s claws raise in the air.
“Allegra, please!” The words come out in a desperate rush, trying to appear to the girl behind the wolf’s eyes, the one that she loves – the one she knows would never forgive herself if she killed Kira right now. It doesn’t seem to work, but the wolf does slow for a moment, her head cocking to the side curiously. “You don’t want to do this. I know you can control this.”
The wolf, however, doesn’t want to be controlled. It illustrates that with a low snarl, before one arm comes down and slashing at Kira, but the girl is able to quickly roll away to miss the blow, but she isn’t about to give up so easily.
“I know you can do his. Just breathe – just like we practiced. I trust you.”
That particular plea doesn’t go over any better than the first one. The wolf lets out another snarl, before swiping again, and this time she’s too fast for Kira to dodge, bright red lines crossing her shoulder. Kira cries out in pain, the smell of blood filling the air, and one hand comes up on instinct, trying to block the bleeding, but it doesn’t stop the streaks of red from leaking through her fingers. There’s a very real fear creeping into her voice that she won’t be able to talk her out of this, and she very well could die right here.
She would rather die than try and hurt Allegra, but she knows her dying, especially at Allegra’s hands, would hurt her all the same. She needs to try and reach the girl on the other side, and she just doesn’t know how.
“Allegra. Please.” She tries to meet her eyes and hold that gaze. “I love you. Come back to me.”
The wolf snarls, looking confused for a moment, before her gaze almost softens and she pushes up to stumble away, further into the woods but away from the village. A few moments later, there’s the thunder of footsteps as Seraphina and Tristan appear in front of her.
“Kira?”
“I’m fine.” Kira sits up quickly, her arm still holding her bleeding shoulder. Seraphina moves to her side quickly, crouching down and gently pulling her hand away to eye the wound. “I’m fine. It’s just a scratch.”
“That’s so not a scratch,” Seraphina replies before she starts to paw through some of her spell ingredients to find the herbs made for healing. Ever since they learned that Rosario’s divine healing abilities wouldn’t work with Seraphina’s Fae nature, she’s made a point of carrying her own first aid kit if needed. She goes to work wrapping Kira’s shoulder, while Tristan focuses on the matter at hand.
“Where’s Allegra?”
“She went that way.” Kira points back over her shoulder in the direction that the werewolf had headed. “I think she’s coming down.”
Tristan nods as she moves ahead of them to go find Allegra while Seraphina stays to attend to Kira. Eventually the older Fae glances over to her, sharp eyes studying the younger woman’s face for a moment. “That was a pretty big risk.”
“It was worth taking,” Kira replies curtly, not particularly willing to broke any argument to that effect. “Better than her hurting someone else who can’t protect themselves.”
“And how were you protecting yourself, exactly?”
Kira simply gives her another look, when two sets of footsteps start coming back over the ridge to join them. Tristan has her arms around a now-human Allegra, dirty and disheveled but wrapped in Tristan’s cloak.
“I’m so sorry,” are predictably the first words out of her mouth, particularly when she sees Kira. “I was trying so hard – ”
“I know,” Kira replies, getting to her feet and making her way closer, leaning in to give her a gentle kiss. “It’s okay. But I’m also not the only one you have to apologize too.”
“I’m not sure those townspeople are going to be that happy to see me,” Allegra counters, making a face as she leans into Kira’s shoulder. “But I suppose that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t apologize anyway.”
“And you are going to need new clothes.”
Allegra looks down at her bare feet and then sighs heavily. “At least I can pay them handsomely for it.”
As they return to the village, Rosario has been focusing on healing those in the village who need it, though most of the damage had been done to inanimate objects. As Allegra goes to make her apologies and buy herself some new clothes, Rosario heads back to the rest of the group, urgency coloring her features.
“I learned something, about Asheron.”
“What?” Kira frowns, turning on her friend with wide eyes. “What do you mean?”
“The people who took him passed through here. The villagers said that they were the guard of the local king, and they were dragging a man who fits Asheron’s description after him. One of the merchants said that they stopped at his stall for food and when he asked where they were heading, the guard said that the king requested they collect this man to be received as his guest.”
“His guest?” Kira’s heart is pounding in her chest at this point, because this seems so similar to when she first lost her brother all those years ago. “Why would he – ” There’s a pause as she realizes the answer to that question, before running a hand over her face. “ – he was using his abilities to gamble.” Malcolm isn’t here to confirm or deny that sentiment, but Kira doesn’t really need him to. “What do we know about this king?”
“The castle isn’t too far from here.” She points up over the ridge to where they can see a castle rising in the distance. “Maybe if we move quickly, we’ll be able to cut the guards off before we get there.”
“Then let’s go,” Kira says firmly, turning on her heel to find Allegra. “I’m not losing my brother again.”
It takes them a better part of the day to reach the castle gates, and while a large part of Kira wants to charge in the front door an demand her brother be returned to her, but she also knows that they are exiles in an unfamiliar land. They’re going to need a better strategy than that, but right now she’s too impatient to try and think of one. That’s what her friends are for.
“We could take the diplomatic approach, like we did with the Empress,” Allegra suggests, scanning over her clothes so that she looks a bit more put together. “That worked well last time.”
“That wasn’t really diplomacy so much as threatening her with a werewolf and a life as a creature she feared.” Seraphina pauses for a moment before holding up a finger. “And that did get us exiled from the empire. We could send me in for actual diplomacy.”
“Your diplomacy is persuasion spells,” Rosario points out, before glancing between all of them. “Are any of us actually diplomats?”
“You?” Tristan turns to Rosario. “You’re the leader of the Sisters of Lorain. You live in his country but you’re a sovereign entity in your own right. If anyone can negotiate for Asheron, it’s you.”
“Better than my plan of not negotiating at all,” Kira mutters, before looking over at Rosario again. “Do you think you can do this?”
“I think we can’t afford to take on this king’s army with only the five of us,” Rosario says with a small smile, before reaching out and giving Kira’s shoulder a squeeze. “And if I fail, we’ll do it Allegra or Seraphina’s way. We’ll get Asheron back, Kira.”
Kira glances over at her for a moment, before nodding slowly and getting ready to move forward. “Alright. Let’s do this.”
The king’s palace is fairly simple, compared to the castle of the Empress that they had visited a long time ago. Decked in rich greens and golds, all of the banners bore the seal of King Lorne, someone they had believed to be just, so long as they were flying under his radar. Now things seem to be different, but that isn’t going to stop them from trying. As they reached the front gate of the castle, a pair of guards stop them with a critical look.
“Do you have an appointment?”
“We’re here to see the king,” Rosario begins simply. “I am Mother Rosario Escobar of the Sisters of Lorain, and we believe that he may have … collected one of our number as a mistake. We wish to see that he is returned safely.”
The guards glance between each other for a moment, before one shifts and prepares to leave his post. “Wait here.” As he disappears, Rosario’s gaze glances to the other one, flashing him a small smile.
“If I knew I would be visiting, I would have made an appointment.”
The remaining guard doesn’t seem impressed, but he remains at his post and doesn’t attempt to engage them otherwise. They wait quietly, and a few moments later, the first guard returns, taking a deep breath. “I am to escort you to an audience with the king.”
“Thank you,” Rosario smiles, before gesturing for the rest of the group to follow her and the guard deeper into the palace itself. The simple façade of the castle gives way as they enter to find a much more elegant décor, all leading into the main throne room, where King Lorne, a large and portly man, is found resting on his throne and eyeing them curiously.
“Mother Escobar! What a surprise.” He’s not an unfriendly man, his arms flung wide at her presence. “Welcome, welcome! I have a great appreciation for the Lady Lorain – I was so pleased to hear that her Sisters had made their home here, rather than with the Empress of the Isles.”
“And we are grateful that you have been so welcoming to us,” Rosario begins, her smile remaining in place on her face. “Which is why we found it so surprising when we learned that you may have abducted one of our number.”
“Abducted?” His face falls in confusion for a moment. “I certainly not have abducted any women as of late.”
“Not a woman, your majesty. A man. An oracle, actually – Asheron Casablancas.”
The king’s eyes narrow for a moment, glancing over each of the faces curiously as he does. “Ah-ha. While I will say that I may have acquired myself an oracle, it certainly was not kidnapping. The young Sir Casablancas gambled far more than he had earned to my captain of the guard, who was placing bets on my behalf. Since he did not have the money to return what he owed to me, I felt it was only proper that he provide a small indentured servitude to repay the debt. I did not realize he was under the protection of the sisterhood.”
“So I see.” Rosario can hear the smack of Kira’s forehead hitting her palm, and she sighs, before composing herself again. “Is it possible that this is a debt we can repay on his behalf?”
The king pauses for a moment, eyeing them carefully for a moment, before his smile widens. “I have a better idea. How about we make a wager of our own?”
“A wager?” Rosario glances back to the rest of her party for a moment, before turning back to the king. “What kind of wager?”
“A battle of skills – and wits. Each of your best women against one of my best men. Strength, magic, speed and cleverness. Each bout you win shortens your oracle’s debt by one month. Should you win all of them, he can leave with you today. Sound fair?”
“I’m in,” Tristan grins, already cracking her knuckles as she eyes each of the guards, almost as though she’s wondering which of their faces she’s going to get to beat in. “When do we start?”
“Can I see my brother before we begin?” Kira asks the king pleadingly, wanting to see with her own eyes that Asheron was safe. “I would like to smack him upside the head in person.”
The king laughs jovially, before nodding his agreement. “Of course. Besides it is late, and it seems that you have traveled far. We will begin first thing in the morning. The guards will show you to where you can stay.”
The women nod and begin to follow the guards, while Tristan just continues to grin, bouncing after them as they go. “This should be fun.”
Unfortunately for Asheron, the ladies did not succeed as well as he may have hoped. While Tristan gleefully destroyed her challenger in combat, the rest of the women fell just short of the mark. It all ends peacefully, however, with Asheron accepting his punishment, and the king informing them that they are welcome in his halls any time.
(It’s possible that Seraphina may have even gone so far as to throw her end of the competition because she’s annoyed at Asheron’s behavior, but she would neither confirm nor deny the sentiment when Kira asked.)
All the same, knowing that her brother is safe and is simply dealing with the consequences of his own actions is a much easier burden to bear than not knowing where he is and wondering what had happened to him. At least the king seems like a much more reasonable ruler than the Empress.
That being said, they were given a cart to aid their return to where their commune had made camp and as they head back towards home, Kira nestled safely in the back between Allegra and Rosario, she can’t keep the disappointment off his face.
“It’s only three months, and then the king promised to return him safely.”
“I know,” Kira nods, before making a face. “I’ve just been without him long enough, even if he is an idiot.”
“Who knows,” Rosario smirks. “Maybe this will help him learn to be less of one.”
Seraphina can’t help but comment at that, looking over her shoulder with a frown. “Have you met Asheron? I don’t think it’s possible.”
Kira laughs, before shaking her head. “We can hope, at least.”
The older Fae shrugs. “I’ll be here in the land of realism.”
“Don’t listen to her,” Allegra sighs, before settling in comfortably and resting her head on Kira’s shoulder. “We are allowed to hope. And we can toast to a job well done otherwise.”
Rosario nods in agreement, as the cart continues to roll off into the sunset. “I will drink to that.”