Beloved of Ashura: Learning to Fly

"What did you do to her?" he asked, sounding slightly shocked.

"Kept me safe," the savage said in accented Kantari, sounding as if she really was from the homelands. "She did what was necessary." Despite the accent, he recognized the voice.

His attention on the Princess, he missed the little shake of the head made by Rayven. If he noticed the briefest of nods, he had no context to understand it, but Dove stopped speaking and her eyes dropped. She placed the crossbow against the wall and stood waiting.

"She needed a disguise, one that would explain who she is," Rayven explained. "The magic has worked well. No one around here thinks of her as anything other than Dove, the barbarian slave to Rayven."

Jardoon started at the idea of the Princess being a slave and looked more carefully at her. She did indeed bare a slave's brand on her arm. "Magic?" he asked.

"Yes, I am not unskilled and it isn't complicated. I renew it as needed," Rayven said.

He shook his head in wonder. "That will certainly help us to get you back," he said.

"Back?" Dove said. Rayven hadn't had time to say anything yet, and she remained silent as Jardoon responded.

"Yes, your Highness. I am to return you to your royal father," he said, reaching into his pouch and bringing out another letter. "This is for you, from your father the King."

As Dove took it, she gestured for Jardoon to sit in one of the seats before the fire. "Sir, you must be tired from your long journey. Please rest yourself here," Dove told him. Her voice was still that of the savage, but full of the grace of born royalty. Only when he was comfortably seated did she open the sealed letter, and began to read it aloud.

"To my daughter, the Royal Princess Isana, The time of our reunion is at hand. I am pleased to tell you that by the time you are with me, I will have made an agreement that will help us to rout the Usurper, my former Duke, as well as give you a husband of worthy rank. Please accept my Champion Jardoon as my deputy, and know that he speaks as me for the duration of your journey home. Your father, and his Royal Highness Isashar, King of the Kantari and Onjani."

She stopped reading and looked up at Rayven with burning eyes. Despite all their time together, she couldn't read the older woman's face. "She gives me my free choice, once again," she thought, "As always."

Jardoon wondered if he would have to ask for some refreshments. He hadn't eaten or drank since starting off early that morning. He felt the Princess step closer and began to turn his head when she grabbed his hair and pulled it very hard, bending his head back. Shocked beyond belief, he looked up at the savage woman glaring down at him. As the flash of her knife came down across his throat, his eye was absurdly caught by how real the raven-shaped scar on her arm looked.

"I'm sorry, Father. I'm already home, and I have no need of a husband," she hissed as her knife parted his skin and sliced open his throat. The blood sprayed up into Jardoon's sight, which began to fade almost at the same time. He reached up weakly but she batted his hands away. "And there is no one here named Isana, Champion."

She looked up, his blood dripping down her face and met the calm gaze of the other woman. "I am Rayven's Dove, and always will be."

"Yes you are," her Mistress said. Holding out her arms, she sighed as Dove rushed over to hug her. "And you always will be." When her young lover tilted her head up, she gave her the kiss she needed. She heard Dove give a little whimper as her mouth opened up to accept her tongue. Rayven pushed it between her lips and kissed her deeply, pulling her young slave hard against herself.

By the time the kiss ended, the last twitches of the body in the chair had faded away. Rayven looked over at him. "Well, my little Dove. It is time for us to leave. This place isn't safe for us anymore."

"Where will we go, Mistress?" Dove asked in an excited voice. There was no going back now. They were truly united and she would accept whatever destination Rayven chose.

"I think we'll go south and then cross the sea to the Jewel Islands. One more Onjani and one more Kantari there won't be noticed. We can just disappear."

"I've always wanted to go there," Dove said. She slid from the embrace and began to gather the supplies they always kept ready for a quick departure. As she got to the back door, she looked back at Rayven.

"Mistress?" she asked.

"Yes, my little love?" Rayven said, glancing up from where she was already removing the armor from the dead Champion of his Royal Highness Isashar, King of the Kantari and Onjani.

"When we get down south, would you please find someone who can tattoo me for real? I want to look like this for you forever, without magic," she said. Looking down at her arm, she ran her fingers over her scar, feeling the bumps and depressions. She remembered the searing pain from when Rayven pressed the red-hot brand into her. It hurt, but mostly what she recalled was the pride in knowing she endured it for her Mistress. The memory made her squirm a little. "I hope we have a little bit of time before we have to leave," she thought to herself as she looked at the body of her Mistress.

"Yes, my little Dove. If that is what you want, I'll find the right person," Rayven said with a smile. She noticed the look in her eyes and chuckled. "And yes we do, if you are a good little slave." She laughed harder as Dove scurried out, obviously taking her at her word.

Rayven looked over at the little shrine in the corner. "Thank you, Ashura. Thank you for uniting us," she quietly said. For a moment, she thought there was a little pulse of golden light but she couldn't be sure that she hadn't imagined it. With a shake of the head, Rayven went back to the unpleasant but necessary task. As always, she was methodical in doing everything possible to protect her Dove. When they disappeared this time, there would be nothing left behind to provide the slightest clue where to find them.

At the end of this next journey, they would both truly be home.