A: Ch. 5.2

Well, Hilt thought, this could have been worse.

As soon as they entered the castle, Kya was whisked off to her own quarters and Hilt was escorted toward the basement next to the kitchens and, as he learned from the handmaiden leading him, a beautiful hot spring. With a bit of courteous flirting and gracious smiling, Hilt managed to persuade the young girl to take him to a room closer to Kya’s.

‘I’m so worried for her,’ Hilt had told the dewy eyed girl. ‘She’s been through so much.’ With a sparkling tear in his eye and a dramatic attempt to wipe them away, the girl nearly burst into a sympathetic fit herself. The girl even promised to have a bath ready for him as well as a plate of food. How kind.

So instead of the bunkers deep in the castle, Hilt found himself in a handsomely decorated guest room in the northern wing with rich velvet curtains and silk linens. Best of all it was just a dozen steps away from Lieutenant Kya’s room. Unfortunately, by the time Hilt had accepted the room and sent the giddy little serving girl on her way with a kiss upon her hand, Kya had disappeared.

He checked her room (apparently this castle didn’t believe in locks), the kitchens, and the spring, but alas, she was not there. Hilt had picked up a couple of tidbits on his journey, though. The King had fled north, as expected, and had taken the majority of the castle occupants and soldiers with him. According to a few gossiping maids, Kya had managed to send a letter with news of her success and the fat craven fled with his tail between his legs.

Odd, though. Hilt was certain that Kya had not been able to send a letter. She had no opportunity to do so. So who sent this one? It couldn’t have been that idiot boy Cress. That would imply he made it to Marigold and sent a letter to the Capital—which arrived in time for the King to not only leave but be halfway to the fortress by now – all before he and Kya made it to the city. They couldn’t have been traveling that long, could they? Had he lost track of time? No, he was acutely aware of each second with that annoying brat.

To pass the time and hopefully find his dearest Kya, Hilt started wandering about the castle and orienting himself with the layout. It was fairly basic. The castle had four wings which wrapped around what Hilt assumed to be a circular courtyard. The Audience Hall was in back of the castle and was completely open to the pounding waterfalls behind them. Hilt only had a glimpse of it, but the structure was rather impressive, though he imagined most of the council members to be soaked in water before long.

Hilt discovered a drawing room and a formal ballroom, both decorated with the most intricate of details, and even found the dungeons. He couldn’t deny that they were almost laughably terrifying. The cells were chiseled into the outer rim of the stone pedestal that supported the castle. The fourth wall which would have faced the outside was completely removed, leaving a gaping hole to the thundering falls just feet from the prisoners. The noise alone would drive anyone mad (Oddly, Hilt didn’t recall hearing it elsewhere in the castle, including the Audience Hall). Mist and fog rolled into the cells and coated the stone in slick slime which, coupled with the slight angle of the floor, encouraged those trapped inside to slip down and into the falls if they weren’t diligent.

If Elivagar utilized such ingenuity in the war, they may be a formidable opponent. Alas, the minds which built this castle were long gone. Such a shame. He would have loved to see them in battle.

Finally bored, but content that he learned enough of the castle’s layout, Hilt returned back to his room. Pleasantly surprised that the little serving girl kept her word, he quickly bathed and enjoyed the vast array of fruits and breads that were awaiting him. He had to be presentable to the council so he picked through the multiple outfits that had magically appeared in the wardrobe (such thoughtful people, these Elivagans). With his hair combed through and his whiskers shaved off, he looked quite presentable. If only he didn’t have to wear such irritating lenses. Ah, well. Now he just had to find the bloody girl again.

“Kya,” Hilt growled as he knocked on the door. No answer. He rolled his eyes and knocked again. “Kya, I know you’re in there and I am only knocking as a courtesy. You have no locks in this castle and the chair you tried to jam against the door is pathetic.”

He paused, but again, she didn’t respond. Idiot girl. With a slight nudge on his part, Hilt managed to shove the door open. Pleased, he turned to look for the charlatan Lieutenant only for a soft click to twitch at his ears. He looked up in time to see little Kya standing in the middle of the room with a pistol in both hands pointed directly at his heart.

Would she ever learn?

He quickly darted before she had time to fire and as she tried to react to his movement, he charged forward and effortlessly pulled the firearm away. Within moments the gun was tossed away and her arms were painfully pinned behind her back.

“You really should stop trying to kill me, dove. It never ends well for you.”

Kya squealed, still trying to comprehend what had happened. Hilt smirked at her expression.

“Let go of me!” Kya insisted.

“Why? So you can try and stab me with that pathetic little knife you have hidden in your corset? Come now, Kya. I thought we had discussed this.”

It was almost amusing to see her flail about like a chicken with its head cut off.  He couldn’t deny her perseverance, but she lacked the delicacy of any true strategist. He watched as her face paled and saw the gears ticking in her mind.

“Release me.”

“Not until you promise to stop being such a bad little girl.” This time she flushed and tried to kick him between his legs. He easily dodged. “Touchy today, aren’t we?”

Kya glared at him until he finally released her arms. She roughly pulled away, but didn’t seem to know what to do next, so she just stood there with a scowl on her face.

“You can take that knife out now,” Hilt suggested.

Fuming, Kya ripped the small knife from the lining of her corset and slammed it on a nearby table.

“And you can tell me how you obtained that pistol over there.”

Kya’s arms crossed over her chest and she refused to respond.

“I know that your country was the first to invent them, but you lacked the resources to produce them in large enough numbers.” Hilt retrieved the gun and examined in carefully. “This one is old, very old. But the powder is wet; it never would have fired anyway.”

The handle was made of pearlescent opal and engraved with fine gold leaf, neither of which were common materials in the north, at least o his knowledge. Yet he had never seen a design such as this.

“It was a gift,” Kya growled.

“A better gift would have been to teach you how to use it beforehand.” Hilt finally tucked the little firearm in his belt, much to Kya’s fury, and looked her over.

She was dressed in her country’s military uniform and her hair was freshly dyed and combed. Despite her furrowed brow and angry frown, she cleaned up fairly well, if that was at all possible for such ugly people.

“We’re meeting with the council,” Hilt said, picking up a chair which had been knocked over in the scuffle. “One of the servant girls came to tell me a few minutes ago.” His voice was calm and even, it didn’t even hint at Kya’s failed assassination attempt.

“I know,” Kya hissed.

“Then shall we go? I think it rude to keep them waiting. Though, perhaps my customs are different than yours since I think it is quite rude to point a gun at a guest before he even meets his hosts.”

Kya flushed again. It gave her a splotchy and almost diseased look. He couldn’t help but smile at how easy it was to anger her.

“Well, Lieutenant Kya?” he asked with a small smile.

The girl took a deep breath, tilted her head back as if expecting the heavens to open above her, and finally nodded. As they walked through the rich cherry and mahogany hallways she gave the impression to be walking to her execution. 

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