Bound in Spirals Ch. 15

With a flash of red, the chains holding him there were pulverized, leaving his muzzle undamaged. He shuddered, feeling himself grow aroused at the brief glimpse of ecstasy. She tossed the satchel at his feet.

"Put on this clothing." She said, and he knelt to open the top. Inside were his usual garb, loose red blouse, black pantaloons, and finally, his blood red cloak. "For the duration of your job, you may use magic as needed. Let none be witness to your acts and above all, do not kill the man. Contrary to my associates beliefs, he will be useful under my tutelage. Just as you are, my dear Fifteen. Oh, and you will be a woman."

Mother's delightful smile lit a feeling of pride in Fifteen's stomach. "Of course, mother. Are there any more instructions?" She asked, tucking in her blouse.

"Mm... No, that is all. Use your own judgement for any unpredictable situations. Ah, wait, a few final things." She said, stopping her mid-step. "Be wary of the ace. Do not even get near enough to see her. Watch for a sword captain as well. He could hinder you in your mission. Alright, now you may go."

Mother flourished her robe in a gesture of dismissal. Fifteen turned and with a flicker of red, she walked through the dust that had formerly been the wall of her room, already beginning to run as she stepped into the chill night air encapsulating Stralden.

——Sam——

He looked up into the shadow painted void. He saw the moon rise, and in it he saw himself reflected. Calm surf, rolling and twirling. Gold and silver, swelling and swirling. He reached for the moon, raising a grasping wave. She called to him, her silvery-white face growing brighter. Crashing waves, roiling and thrashing. He climbed desperately, yet he could not touch her.

—

Sam's eyes fluttered slightly, then snapped open suddenly. He let out a slow, shuddering breath. His body hurt. He could feel the quiet throbs of previous injuries. It wasn't sharp pain, more like a deep ache. The memory of pain not far gone. Then he felt his more recent injuries. His side thrummed with a dull pain and his elbow throbbed sharply as if to remind him.

He gritted his teeth and remained still for a long moment. The pain faded slowly as his mind came fully awake. He released his held breath and noticed then that there was an odd weight on his chest. He looked down and saw a round shape underneath the blanket that covered him. He carefully raised his right arm and peeked under.

The sight of blonde ringlets cascading over his chest confused him for a second, then he realized it was Dettella. Then he was even more bewildered. 'What? Why? What...? No. No, Sam. Don't freak out. Just think about it.' He let the blanket fall again and looked around. A wall of gray fur impeded most of his sightline, but he could still see the sunlight streaming through gaping hole in the dome where Letta had entered. 'Ah, I'm still in the arena. Well it seems I survived at least...'

'I survived...' He chuckled dryly, partially of grim humor, partially because his throat and mouth felt as if they'd been packed with cotton. 'I suppose someone must have healed me since there isn't a hole in my side anymore.'

He felt his wry smile fall away to be replaced by a completely hollow expression. He stared sightlessly upward. 'What should I do?' He wondered, turning his gaze inward. His intricate spiraling ocean engulfed him in a cool embrace. He floated at the surface, careful not to let himself sink any further. Above him, he saw Dettella's pool of magic. It seemed so close, yet so far. 'Why didn't I notice her there before?'

He quickly pulled himself away from his magic, not wanting to let it affect his mind if it could. Continuing to lay there, Sam let his thoughts wander. He thought of Dettella mostly, part of him happy that she was close to him, part of him wondering how on earth he'd been so lucky to find her. His thoughts continued past Theodore, Letta, Vielchena, Fenella, then finally the meandering path strayed to his father.

He wondered what his father would think of him then. Would he be proud that Sam had never hurt his stepmother or half-sisters? Would he be upset that he didn't have his ring safely with him? Would he feel shame at seeing how weak he was? Would he be disgusted by how easily he could kill people? The lack of guilt?

Fortunately, that steady downward spiral was intercepted by Letta. 'Pup, why must you always run headfirst into danger? You can hardly walk, and yet you attempt to leap canyons.' Her tone was full of admonishment, yet still held some relief.

'I ended up fine, didn't I?' Sam replied.

'Only because the princess was quick to act. You would be squashed beneath that bug if not for her.'

He felt Dettella's soft cheek against his chest and her loose curls tickling his arm. He stifled a laugh, not wanting to wake her. 'Squashed by a bug. That's funny.'

'It is far from funny. You are not allowed to be outside my sight anymore.' She said, completely serious.

'...Well, I'll have to be out of your sight sometimes. You can't just follow me into buildings.' He paused, 'Well, you could... but I don't think we'll be welcome for very long that way.'

'I will let you figure it out. As long as I can see you, I do not care if you go into buildings. No buildings I cannot break into, however.' She said.

'Alright, that sounds perfectly reasonable.' He waited for her respond again, but she was silent. 'I wasn't serious! Did you really think that I would be fine with that?!'

The argwolf lifted her head and looked down at him with her best approximation of a disapproving frown. 'I will not be convinced otherwise, Samson. You cannot be trusted to take care of yourself.'

He let out an exasperated sigh. 'How about after I train more with Darrel? If I become strong enough?'

'...We will see.' She replied, letting her head fall back to her outstretched paws.

'Well... What if I somehow made our bind stronger or something? What if I could make it so you knew what was happening to me all the time?' Sam said, his mind already trying to come up with a way to do it, despite his near nonexistent knowledge of magic.

'There is no such thing that I know of.' She answered.

'Just because you haven't heard of it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Besides, you lived in a forest alone for like 200 years. You're the equivalent of someone who went into a coma for 30 years and expects technology to just take a break while you're gone.'

Letta huffed loudly. 'New magic is rare. It will not change so drastically in 200 years. Even Everen, who was considered a genius, only made one discovery in her lifetime and it was an accident. You are intelligent enough for a man, but not a genius.'

'She killed a queen and expected to get away with it. I'd rather not have my intelligence be compared to someone as crazy as that. Compare me to someone normal.' He said with a huff of his own.

'Everen was not crazy. She was trying to fulfill a prophecy. She was trying to get herself hanged.' Letta replied. 'She should have lived, if only it had worked. If the—'

Sam's eyes widened and he nearly jumped up before realizing Dettella was still there. 'Wait, wait, wait! Repeat that!'

'...She should have lived, if only it had worked?' She repeated, shifting her head to look at him with her bottomless black eyes, bright spirals still flickering distantly in them.

'No, no! The other part!' He said intensely.

'Everen was not crazy. She was trying to fulfill a prophecy. She was trying to get herself hanged. Is that what you want?'

'Tell me everything you know about the prophecy! Quickly!'

'...I do not have much knowledge on it. Everen only told me what she thought I needed to know.'

'Doesn't matter, just tell me!' He gestured for her to hurry with his free right hand.

'Well, it was called "The Hanged Woman". Everen told me it says that if someone kills a white and black queen and is hanged, they will receive great power. Something about influence and inherent magic.'

'Damn...' He thought, feeling disappointed. 'Not much more than I already know. Well, if Everen knew of it, then it must be recorded somewhere. I might still be able to find out more. Maybe Dettella knows about it. Should I tell her? I could just pretend I heard mention of it and that I became interested...'

'Sam, what are you thinking?' Letta asked, looking at him curiously.

'Hm? Ah, I was just wondering which queen Everen killed.' He replied quickly.

'She killed the queen.'

'...I don't get the implication.'

'She killed the great queen. The one that ruled over all human countries for nearly 800 years. She was the queen that commanded queens.' Letta said with heavy significance. 'The Empress. All of the first queens were originally birthed from her.'

"She lived eight centuries?!" Sam exclaimed aloud, unable to keep his shock at bay.

'More than that. That is just how long she ruled. It is suspected that she was around 100 years old already when she came into power.' The argwolf answered.

'Christ... Even for this world, that's a really long time. How the hell did Everen manage to get close to this lady, let alone manage to kill her?'

'Towards the end, the great queen was supposedly deeply entrenched in insanity. She became obsessed with creating "beautiful" things and spent all of her time growing flowers.' She explained. 'Before Everen was hanged, before she released me, she managed to tell me that it had been pitiful to see.'

'...How did y—' Sam began to ask, but stopped as Dettella shifted.

"Samson...?" She slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes. She looked around groggily. "Where...?"

"We're still in the arena." He answered. "I just woke up."

He rolled his shoulders, feeling them scrape against the rough stone. 'Odd how even the most uncomfortable places become comfortable when you're exhausted.' He noted.

"Did I sleep here?" Her eyes quickly became more alert even as she asked.

"Seems like it." He said.

"I see..." Despite Dettella's calm tone, her cheeks were flushed pink and she wouldn't meet his eye. She stood hurriedly, "Well, I really must go prepare for the day ahead. Many important things to do..."

She started walking briskly toward one of the exits and was nearly there already before Sam could manage to get a word out. "Wait!" He called, getting to his feet quickly. "Can we talk later?! Alone?!"

"Of course!" She said, glancing back briefly. "We'll talk at lunch!"

Then she was gone, leaving Sam and Letta alone in the arena.

'She was very embarrassed.' The argwolf said.

'Thanks, I wasn't certain what her rushed exit and red cheeks meant.' He replied dryly.

'Well, I can never be sure. You have a tendency to be blind when it suits you.' She countered.

'Whatever. I'm going to go find Darrel, you just stay here for now.' Sam said, giving a nonchalant wave without looking back.

Letta ignored this, following him toward the main entrance. She had to duck low, but she managed to get through the large doors without too much trouble. Sam squinted against the harsh sunlight beating down on the massive city, raising a shading hand.

'Where the hell are we?' He asked his familiar, though it was mostly to himself.

'We are in Geylin.'

'Okay, that was only funny the first time. Seriously, where are we?' He turned in a circle, looking for anything to indicate where he was. The queen's tower, being relatively symmetrical, was no help.

'As a general rule, I do not pay attention to cities. Particularly when I rush into one when a pup gets himself into trouble.'

'How'd you manage that anyways? The walls around this place are enormous.'

'I went around.'

'Ah, well anyway, I suppose we'll go back to the tower for now. I can just figure it out from there.' Sam said, starting to walk in that direction. 'Wanna give me a ride?'

'Not especially.'

'Oh, I just figured I'd be safer up there. None of the elves would be able to reach me.' He grinned.

'None will be able reach you from the ground either, but nice try.' She replied, sounding amused as she looked down at him.

He sighed, looking at the distant tower distastefully. 'I'm getting too used to being pampered. I need to do stuff myself more often. Ah, I know! I'll make lunch for Dettella! I'm brilliant!'

'That is a good idea, indeed. Males bring food to the female to show their hunting skill. The princess will definitely be impressed, even though you can only hunt plants.' Letta explained.

'...Was that a compliment or an insult?' He asked, glancing up at her.

'Yes.'

After that, they walked in silence for a while. Sam looked around at the violently bright signs advertising a variety of businesses, all written in blocky elvish letters. He saw several healers in just a few minutes of walking, along with cobblers, tailors, blacksmiths, goldsmiths, leatherworkers, and he even saw a manicurist of all things.

Each of the wooden buildings were lavishly decorated in order to attract wealthy customers, but under all of the paint, flowers, and signs, the buildings themselves were uniform in design. Two stories, four tall, front facing windows, and butterfly style roofs made from a glossy material unknown to Sam.

"One of the queens seems to have had some sort of obsession with contemporary design." He said aloud to Letta.

'What do you mean?' She asked, raising a canine eyebrow at him.

'Never mind,' He said, waving off the question with a chuckle.

'Why do you laugh? Was it a joke?'

'No, I just think it's funny when you imitate human expressions.' He replied, then frowned, looking around. 'Does it seem eerily quiet to you?'

'Hm? No, there are noises all around us.' Her ears shifted back and forth as she listened.

'I mean, I haven't seen anyone around since we came out here. Not even a flapping cloak around a corner or a pair of eyes in the window. Doesn't it seem a little odd?' He asked, looking through the windows of a bakery for any sign of life.

'They are all hiding because I am here.' Letta said in a satisfied tone, grinning widely at him.

'I'm pretty sure if that were the case we'd have a few gawkers at least.'

'I think you overestimate their courage.' She said.

'I think you underestimate their curiosity.' He said, then continued teasingly, 'Besides, you're just a giant puppy, who could be scared of that face?'

Letta assumed the position of a playful dog, letting her tongue loll out and wagging her massive tail excitedly. Then she sprung forward, giving Sam a big slobbery swipe with her tongue.

"Ack! Letta!" Sam cried, wiping his face frantically as he stumbled backward.

'Mm. Salty.' Letta trotted ahead, smacking her lips loudly.

'Great! Now I'm gonna have to take a bath!' He said indignantly.

'You needed one anyway.' She replied, huffing out her attempt at a snicker.

'I was about to go train with Darrel! I could have waited until afterward.' He sighed. 'Ah, whatever, I'll take two baths. I need to make up for about a week of not bathing anyway. Hey, do you think I should keep my stubble or should I shave? I'm not sure what Dettella likes...'

'The hairier the better.' Letta said, sniffing around the street casually.

'...I should probably ask someone else.' He scratched the back of his head. 'Let's hurry, it's really chilly out here. No thanks to you and your slobbery tongue.'

'Agreed. There are some elves in this area that are starting to feel emboldened by something.' She said, her ears flicking about. 'For your sake, I will not provoke them.'

'How kind of you. Does that mean I get a ride now?' Sam asked.

'Yes, I will allow it. Do you want to go fast?'

The excitement in her tone gave him pause. '...Er, yeah sure.'

Sam felt closer to death during that ride than he'd ever felt before. When she said fast, she meant really really fast. He'd had to bind himself to her back to keep from falling off, but as promised, Letta got them to the base of the tower quickly. Though the queen's guardsmen didn't seem particularly happy about her vaulting the wall. Fortunately, she managed not to break anything, or they might have been in actual trouble.

The half-elf, half-human guard approached him as he dismounted, looking cautiously up at Letta. Sam's legs trembled, nearly collapsing beneath him as he dropped to the stone courtyard.

"Uh, sorry about any trouble that might have caused." Sam said apologetically. "She's a little unpredictable at times..."

"Ah, yes... The queen said to expect..." The man said, giving Letta an apprehensive glance. Sam noted how heavily accented his words were, pronouncing his 't-h' sounds the same way he said 'v'. "...We are allowing this, but please use gate next time. The people are very scared after last fight of night. We try to stop panic, but it is delicate business."

"Of course..." He replied, feeling ashamed for not considering it. "I will be more careful from now on."

"It is fine. You save many people. For that, you have the respect." The man replied, giving Sam a nod. "You moved like animal. It is amazing."

"Ah, thanks..." He paused. "What do you mean by I 'moved like an animal'?"

The man scratched his cheek, looking thoughtful for a moment. When he spoke, he sounded it as though unsure he was saying it right. "Like... You move very fast, very natural grace? Not very trained, but..." He made a circular gesture with his hand, frowning as he looked for the right word. "Like... Like big wolf moves. Like it is born with know how."

Letta huffed as though affronted. 'You move like a newborn, not like me. I fight like I was born to, because I was born to.'

'Yes, yes. You're much more majestic and powerful than I am. I can only hope to have a sliver of your strength oh great, celestial being.' Sam shot back.

'Save your flattery for the princess. I already know all of that.'

"I can't say I understand exactly... but thank you for the praise." Sam said, turning back to the man. "Oh, by the way, what's your name? I'm Samson." He continued, holding out his right hand.

The man took it firmly. "I am Tillefor. It is good to know you, Samson." He replied.

Sam took a step back and glanced up at Letta. "Well, I have to go get myself cleaned up. It was nice to meet you." He said, raising a hand in farewell as he began to make his way to the massive tower's grand doorway.

He quickened his stride a little, feeling awkward about his hasty exit. 'Letta, please stay outside. I think you would probably fit in there, but I don't think you could without breaking anything worth more than both our lives.'

'No. I told you earlier. I will not allow it.' She replied tersely. 'Either I am going in, or you are staying out.'

'Look, I understand you're worried for me, but I can't have you starting to set all these restrictions. I am an adult, and I can take care of myself for a little while at least.' He said, climbing the broad staircase to the wide open doors.

'You are not an adult, you are a pup masquerading as one. You have shown time after time that you clearly cannot keep yourself safe. Thus, I must be there to protect you.'

'Okay, how about this then. I'll make sure to run away from any fights that happen to cross my path. Will that make you happy?' He asked, stopping at the tower's threshold.

'No. There are always fights that are unavoidable. Around you, it seems even more common than otherwise.'

Sam combed his hair back with a hand, sighing wearily. 'What if I keep Darrel with me? Or Vielchena?'

Letta was silent for a moment, thinking. '...I suppose.'

Emboldened by her acquiescence, he continued. 'It'd just be for the queen's tower. When I go anywhere else I'll follow your rules. Besides, you'll be nearby now. I'll still be able to talk to you, so you'd still be able to help if something actually happened. It's not like you're stuck outside the city like the times before. You could probably—'