A Tale of Revenge Ch. 15

She could go with Leonid, flee from all of this, from the complications and the memories. And yet somehow that seemed so distant a choice. Without him there she felt her connection to her home, to other people. Disappearing into the sky seemed too fantastical to imagine. Beyond that, she knew he was right, that she needed time to heal, time to face her past. If uncovering the memory upstairs had taught her anything, it was that she could survive it. She was strong enough. They would have time together, eternity even, and he had promised not to leave her.

She looked back at the others. Maybe Serena could teach her how to use magic like she did. It seemed like she'd already started with the others. And what would become of them? No one had homes left to go to. Evo had seen to that with all of them. It seemed unlikely that she would be able to make any of this work, but perhaps it was worth a try, at the very least to prevent what had happened to all of them from happening to anyone else.

Serena approached her, "I know that this is a lot to comprehend all at once, if you choose this path. But I want you to know that I will stay if that is what you ultimately decide."

"Why would you do that?" Anna asked, genuinely surprised. "I am no leader. I'm certainly not a queen. How would I ever manage to take that on?"

The older woman clasped Anna's arms, her smile wide despite everything. "You are capable of great things, Anna. We've seen what you have managed in just a few short days. You may not have been raised to take on this challenge but you certainly have it in you. I, for one, would be happy to be a part of that."

Anna shook her head. "That is just magic and dumb luck. At any point along this journey, I could have made a different choice and ended up in a ditch or enslaved to these men. I almost did just that in this very room. You watched me lose control when Dev died." She felt uneasy with the woman's admiration. It felt undeserved, just as her accomplishments based in magic felt like she had cheated and was unworthy of the credit for their outcomes.

"At any point along your journey you could have chosen a different path, an easier one, filled with riches and power. We have all seen the extent of your magic and yet you have barely tapped into the potential for self-gain. You yourself, not your magic, not your mistakes, have lead you here. Your choices have been based in justice for your family and for us." Her smile widened and a tear joined it on her cheek. "You are good Anna, in your soul, and that is why I will stand by you. I believe that you will seek out the same for your people with the same selflessness that brought you back to free us. I know you doubt yourself, which is good because you have a lot to learn. But you should not doubt that you, Anna—not your power, not your bloodline— are capable of much more than you know."

Anna looked away, uncomfortable with the praise, "I didn't know you were one for speeches, Serena."

The older woman laughed and pulled her into a hug that Anna took a moment to respond to. "I have dreamt of you for a decade, Anna. And having finally met you, I know my dreams were not leading me astray." She released her hold on Anna and stepped back.

The others stood from their places and Wreg was the first to bow, bending a knee and lowering his head. The others followed, each one accepting her as their queen. Anna's face flushed a deep red. Whatever she had expected, this was not it. When Serena let go of her hand to do the same, Anna stopped her, unable to accept her taking a knee for her. "Thank you all, but please get up." As they complied, Anna tried to still the uncomfortable feeling in her chest at the tangible reality of owning her royal heritage. "That is incredibly unsettling. Please never do it again," she muttered, drawing a laugh from the others.

"We need to plan for Rafia's arrival," Wreg said taking a seat. Anna was fast realizing that he was very well capable and liked to take things in hand, not that she minded given the situation. She found herself hoping he might stay as well. "The council doesn't have any idea yet that Rafia is on the move, but they no doubt will hear of it shortly, though with too little time to mount any kind of defense. The king's body is concealed in his bed chambers and I think the only time to reveal it would be during the coup when it can be written off to suicide in the face of defeat." The others took their seats again. This time Anna joined them, sitting close to Serena, as if she could access the other woman's poise just by sheer proximity.

Wreg continued, "Perhaps we need to position ourselves between the chaos that will be behind these walls, and Rafia's force. Waiting for him to take the palace will leave us with limited options. If we appear to him as allies in his takeover, then we are in a much better situation when the dust settles."

"I will go meet him," Anna said. Only realizing afterwards that she had put herself out in front of them again, determined not to abandon them and accepting the responsibility that went with that position. She was scared though, of what that meant, what she would have to do.

Serena squeezed her hand and gave her a knowing smile. "Not alone."

*

Serena, Wreg and Anna entered the temple of all gods as the bells signaled midnight around them. The city was dark and eerily still. The priests and priestesses that normally occupied the temples all day and night were not to be found. The population had been warned of an attack on the capital before the war council had received word. Rafia had given up the element of surprise to protect innocents. But it mattered very little strategically, the council still thought he was days away.

The stillness in the dark made their intruding footsteps echo off the multitude of statues that lined the walls above them. Anna silenced the noise from any prying ears. She reached out with her sight to be sure that the building was empty and nodded at Serena and Wreg, indicating they were alone. The trio settled down to wait.

Anna took the time in the dark to contemplate her choices. She had found choosing to stay something of a relief, the immensity of the universe Leonid had offered her was too vast and she could not face it yet. But choosing to be queen, that in and of itself was immense, on its own mortal level. Could she really do this?

Without magic, Anna never would have heard the approaching pair that made their way into the temple from the far side. They had abandoned their horses far enough away so that no one might notice their surreptitious approach. Anna stiffened, looking at the two at her back, assured that they too were aware of the general's approach.

Two hooded figures appeared within the inner sanctuary and stilled in the great archway that was the only source of light. Anna saw them move to strike a torch, confident the flame would not be seen beyond the windowless room.

"No lights," she said softly, letting the echoes of her voice carry through the round room. The figures stilled. She stepped towards the center of the sanctuary where they could make out her cloaked form in the wisps of moonlight that came from behind them. The taller man approached, his gait confident and steps silent.

"We are here in response to your message. I am General Rafia, and this is Commander Lavis, we have come to speak terms." His voice was steady and deep. With her magic Anna could see his face despite the shadows and judged him a fair specimen of the Far East, given his dark skin and great height. The hair on both sides of his head was shaved in the traditions of the jungle warriors, the crown covered in thick braids that marched back from his forehead to hang behind his shoulders.

"We are here to offer you the palace without hindrance from the wards your king had placed on the grounds with magic," Anna said, watching his face carefully for signs of deceit.

A twitch of his jaw and a flash of frustration he no doubt thought she wouldn't see came across his features. He had suspected, but had no plan for it. "And what is it you ask in return?"

Anna assessed the man before her. "We would know your intentions for the occupants therein and the designs you have on the throne."

"I offer no threat to those who live inside the castle walls, but only for those who would continue to serve this king. His reign must end. The wars he has waged and the methods he has employed are excessive and unfit for this rule and it is destroying our home in this kingdom. We will see him deposed and executed, the main members of his cabinet as well. The prisons must be emptied of his political rivals and corrupt judges weeded out. We seek the restoration of the kingdom." His face was alive and animated in the dark, determination in every expression. Anna didn't sense that he was playing at it either.

"And you will do this by means of a military takeover and placing yourself as a ruler? How can we be assured that these are not simply the tales of a would-be tyrant who knows the art of political rhetoric?" She saw the insult land but Rafia seemed thoughtful rather than perturbed when he responded.

"I cannot prove myself incapable of the future you suggest. I have only my past to recommend my actions, that I have not sought this throne for myself but only when the situation in this land began to teeter on the edge of great disaster. It is my home that has been under attack these many months and I cannot see it continue. The war in the East will ruin us if we do not end it, and the only way to destroy the sickness of the kingdom is to root out its cause. Our monarch is a disease all of us are suffering from." Anna turned and looked at Serena and Wreg who were just beyond her in the dark. They nodded to her, confirming her assessment that the man spoke truthfully. Wreg, in addition to his fire magic, had a knack for smelling a lie.

At her signal Wreg lit the oil lamps that lined the wall all at once, bathing the room in warm light. The commander at the gate jumped. Rafia betrayed his surprise only with a widening of his eyes as he looked from Anna to the pair at her back. Anna pushed back the hood of her heavy cloak, so he might see her face clearly when she spoke.

"We will lower the spell on the palace and allow you and your men to enter. If you have lied, and there is killing of innocents or other criminal acts, we will be forced to act in a less delicate manner." Anna spoke softly but fixed the man's warm brown eyes with her darker ones.

He nodded, "You will not have to. My men know they fight for the people."

Anna gave him a sharp look. "I find your words well-rehearsed. Are you an actor as well as a general?" She was still suspicious of him; his words seemed too good.

He gave her a smile. "I would make a poor player, my thoughts are often too dour for entertainment." He looked at her uneasily, a look she was familiar with since she gained her magic. "How is it that magic became so commonplace in the castle wall that there are three of you here? I was aware the king had employed but one sorcerer who many rumored to be a fraud."

Anna looked over her shoulder at Serena who lowered her chin in consent. "There are more of us. And it is that sorcerer, with the consent of his king, who brought us all here in chains. We have turned the tables on him and he will be dealt with."

Rafia's face grew dark with anger at the mention of their enslavement. "You do not have to deal with that man if you do not wish. He is an offence to this kingdom and will be put to death by the government once installed."

"No," Serena said gently from over Anna's shoulder. "This is a matter we must deal with sooner than you can be prevailed upon to perform it."

Anna turned to her, surprised the woman had not accepted the offer and saved herself the pain of taking another's life. "You needn't take this on yourself. There is no reason for you to blacken your soul by killing him if it can be done through righteous channels."

Serena gave her a sad smile. "This is not a matter that can wait. Many of us have been enslaved to him for years and we will not risk it ever happening to ourselves or someone else again. I will not abdicate this task to anyone else."

Wreg agreed, "This is for us to see through." He looked at Rafia, "I'm sure you can honor that."

Rafia's gaze had not left Serena's face since she had finished speaking, but he nodded to Wreg's words, his braids swaying with the motion. "I understand."

Anna took a deep breath. This was not something she relished doing but it was necessary. She turned back to Rafia. "There is one more thing."

"Just one?" he said, a smile touched his eyes though not his mouth.

Her own lips twitched slightly. "For now." She took a breath. "I made my way here in order to seek justice for those who destroyed my village, only to discover that they had acted on behalf of their king." Rafia's face lost its smile. "The reason the king had for sending his men to commit this barbarism was an attempt to rid this world of my family's line," she paused, "the Royal line."

Realization dawned on Rafia, "The exiled princess?"

She nodded. "My great grandmother. Though I was not aware of the story or my lineage until a few days ago, I am ready to accept the mantle of queen in this land." She paused, seeing that Rafia was assessing her in the same way she had him in the dark during her questioning. She wondered if he could see how terrified she was, how unsure and unready she felt to take this on. "I seek justice and will use this position to ensure it."

After a moment of his eyes searching her own, she watched as he considered her story and finally came to his conclusion. He took to his knee and bowed his head, "Your highness," he murmured, accepting her as his queen. His captain did the same behind him.

"For the love of—" Anna started, her face instantly hot. "Please get up." When they complied, she turned her back muttering under her breath about the futility of bowing and how idiotic the custom was, shooting Serena and Wreg glares as they grinned at her. "First royal decree is going to be a ban on bowing," she said as she stomped past them. Serena laughed and went to follow her with Wreg.

"Tomorrow we strike the palace," Rafia called after her.

"The barriers will offer no resistance," Wreg said as they left together.

When the three of them returned to the palace Serena and Wreg, with Anna's help, changed the ebb and flow of the net that covered the palace walls. When the spells against invasions were dismantled or disabled to their satisfaction, they returned to the tower. The sound of violence sent them scrambling into the workroom only to find that Innis was systematically destroying a heavy table inlaid with different types of wood, inserting his power into the wood and exploding it outwards in bursts of dust and splinters.

Anna leapt towards the boy who was sobbing as he worked his way through the wood, but Serena caught her before she could stop him and shook her head.

"That was the first thing Evo made him do when he collared him over a year ago, take apart the table and put it back together over and over again until Innis stopped fighting. The table was made by his father and was ostensibly the excuse Evo made for visiting the man and kidnapping his son." Serena looked at the boy as he pulverized the remnants of the table until they were dust beneath his feet. "Evo's men killed his parents when they left, so that no one would come looking for him and Evo used the table to taunt Innis whenever the boy got too resistant." Tears gathered in her green eyes. "We will all need to free ourselves somehow. Allow him to go about it his own way."

Anna nodded, understanding, but she wished she could offer Innis some comfort all the same.

"Why is he still out there Serena?" Innis screamed, his voice hoarse from crying. "Why is he still out there drinking wine and laughing with the council? All the while I'm here cleaning his charts and destroying all his evil spells." He took a gasping breath through his tears. "How can you just let him walk around as if everything is fine?" Serena went to the boy and wrapped her arms around him, sinking to the floor as he collapsed into tears in her embrace.

She whispered soothing things in his ear as she rocked him, his cries gradually subsiding. Rosli approached Anna and Wreg, her eyes red from crying. "He's going to be okay. He just started talking about going home and he realized there's nowhere to go." She said this like someone who understood more than most.

"I'm sorry for what Evo did to you all," Anna said quietly. "He will not be a problem for much longer."

"No, he won't," Serena said from her place on the floor. "Given the timeline of Rafia's coup, I think now is as good a time as any." Anna watched with her sight as Serena tugged on the spell that connected her to Evo's collar. "The wartime council is meeting in the main keep. Evo will not be missed until it is too late."

Serena gathered herself, her face grim and determined. She dusted the wood fragments from her dress and walked towards the door, chin high and eyes set. The others moved to let her pass, all of them various shades of grateful and uneasy. Marek seemed the most hesitant. His nature as a healer made him wary of choices like this one but he knew it was necessary nonetheless.

"Look to the south if you wish to see it done," Serena said, her voice low but hardly soft. And she was gone.

Marek seated himself quickly, denying any desire to witness the act by pointedly ignoring all of the tower's windows. Rosli went to take Innis's hand and held it. Alona and Ian both went to the southern window, their faces set.

Anna hesitated, part of her wanted to be with them during this moment, but she still felt like an intruder. She had not truly been under his spell, and while she had suffered it had been a matter of days, not years. She didn't know if she had a right to be among them, to seek the same comfort in his death that they would. Anna looked around and considered her position. She had just accepted the responsibility of queen and she was already pulling away from those she would rule. She saw Alona and Ian tense at what they saw and she went to them.

Far below she could see Serena standing in the southern yard, waiting. Her sight showed her the magical bond that connected her to Evo, and she saw him fighting it to no avail. It served him right. Ian looked nervous, and fidgeted next to her. Alona was intent on the scene below.

Anna looked up at the man next to her. "It's alright, Ian. He can't fight her off. He won't get away."

Ian gave her a half-hearted smile. "It's not that," he said softly. He looked back as Evo appeared at the far end of the yard and made his way towards Serena. "It's difficult to watch what is happening to him and not feel it as well. I want him gone but the fear, the pain of the spell, it's hard to wish it on anyone."

Anna considered him. "Did the spell hurt you?" Her experience felt more distant from theirs with every passing moment.

Ian nodded, looking back as Serena and Evo mounted the walkway up to the southern wall. That part of the fortifications had been built into the walls of the cliffs above the river, and overlooked the steep fall down towards the water. It was no wonder she'd chosen it.

"It's not pain like you'd imagine it," he spoke softly, still looking out, though his eyes were unfocused. "It's almost the opposite of what you experience as a person inhabiting your own skin. It takes away sensations, control, everything that makes you who you are except for your mind. It leaves you stranded in a sea of numbness, of nothing. After sometime that begins to hurt, as if your mind could create sensations where there weren't any."