A: Ch. 6.1

Chapter VI

“How close he has come to your host.”

“Thousands have tried, all have failed.”

“Shame the war is lost in those walls. Such a spectacular battle it was.”

“So you have mentioned.”

“Those four were too temperamental. Destroying the whole castle over a little feud.”

“It was much more than a feud, you know that. The entire human race was threatened to be exterminated. This was a compromise with the Watchers.”

“A boring compromise.”

“Are you at least intrigued by this one, brother?”

“Yes. I shall have to test him.”

“It’s just Lieutenant Kya, Master Silae. Call off the archers!”

Kya stared in disbelief as her dear old friend gingerly shuffled along the bridge, a torch in one hand and short-sword in the other. Somehow he even had a breastplate strapped around him. It was much too small and would really be quite useless against any attack. But it was Cress! Her dearest little Cress. He survived! Not only had General Hilt been telling the truth, but Cress had managed to travel all the way back to the Capital on his own!

“Dearest Kya,” Master Silae cried, hobbling from the castle. “Young Sir Cress here has had the most magnificent of tales. Please, come in from the rain. We have much to discuss.”

Kya felt her heart lift and her spirits grow. Her fingertips tingled and her eyes began to water. She looked back at her little Cress, ready to fling her arms around him and praise the Spirits above, when her smile faltered.

Cress was staring at the drenched man beside her.

Even in the foggy shroud of mist, Kya was sure he recognized the General.  The eyes may be a different color and his clothes different than his purple armor, but there would be no mistaking it. Especially since Hilt had told her how often Cress would sit in his prison cage and talk to him. Cress likely had those features memorized.

Kya glanced over at Hilt. He was… grinning? It was like a wolf locking onto his prey. She could have sworn she saw him lick his lips. Alarmed, she dropped her arrow and ran over to Cress.

“Cress, listen to me, you have to understand—“

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Cress hissed at her.

Kya winced at his words, but kept her face bright as she could hear the guards approaching from behind.

“The plan has changed—“ she whispered.

“You are with the bloody General, Kya. Silae told me—“

“Lieutenant Kya, we have been so worried. First you locked yourself away and then disappeared without a trace. We had feared the worst, especially when Cress here told us that the Third General was on his way to the Capital! He spoke of some terrible beast and waking each morn to a fallen comrade. Please, though,” Master Silae said, looking feeble and weak, “we must go inside. My old bones do not tolerate the cold night as they used to.”

Kya turned and gave an alarming look to Hilt. He was still grinning and his hand was still upon his sword. She tried to ignore the piercing stare and walked the remainder of the bridge beside Cress.

The lad was clutching at Kya’s hand, his own hot and sweaty with a slight tremble. She could tell he was desperate to talk with her, but none of them could with Silae and so may guards shadowing their steps.

“If I may be so bold,” Hilt said suddenly as they all filtered into the entrance hall. “Lady Kya here has had a terrible time out in the rain. She is cold, wet, and in need of a warm meal. If I heard you correctly, you all wish to speak of some General ready to attack? I may not know many things about war, my good Master, but I do know when a lady requires a bit of rest. Such talks may fluster her delicate mind and send her into a fit.”

Kya flung around, ready to slap Hilt.

“Ah, see? Her face has flushed crimson already,” Hilt said sympathetically. “I would be honored to show her to her quarters while we set up a more formal meeting. Or perhaps this can even wait until morn?”

Kya clenched her fists and ground her teeth together. Fucking Hilt. What was he playing at?

“I think I can take her to her room,” Cress boldly said. He stepped in front of Kya so that he was nose to nose with the General. Well, it was more nose to chest. Cress was only a few inches taller than Kya…

He hardly looked threatening. To Kya, he would always be that little boy, running along behind her as she chased after frogs in the garden, his pants falling off his backside. Perhaps a few weeks in the wilderness allowed him to gather some courage. The Cress she knew would never stand up to anyone, let alone a man he knew to be a General of Nibheis.

“I’m sorry,” Hilt said, stepping back and sweeping into a bow. “I don’t believe we’ve met. My name is Damien. I rescued Lady Kya here in Vawl during an attack. I’ve grown quite fond of her and the Council has since appointed me her protector while she remains in the Capital.”

No they didn’t! Kya was fuming with anger again. Instead of making another fuss – thus proving Hilt’s point of her being so ‘fragile’—she turned back to Master Silae.

“Master, I have been worried sick for Cress’s wellbeing and I am quite anxious to speak with him again. So much has happened since we last met and it would mean the world to me if we could speak for just a few moments before the council convened.”

Besides, it was the middle of the night. What was the likelihood that the council would rise from their slumber to listen to ‘Sir’ Cress? He had obviously spooked someone, though, since the rest of the royal guard had been positioned for an attack.  What all had Cress told them?

Silae gave a knowing nod to Kya, his old eyes sparkling in the candlelight. “Of course. With all the commotion we’ve had tonight, we could all use a rest. I am pleased to see you up and about and no worse for wear, Lieutenant. I shall call for a meeting of the Council tomorrow morn. You may,” he glanced at the two men, still staring each other down, “choose whomever you like to escort you.”

With that, Master Silae slowly shuffled through the halls and back to the small room assigned to him. The guards, no longer under supervision, began to slowly disperse. Some went back to their post while others talked of going to a bar or tavern. Even more decided to give up and turn in for the night.

Soon, the room was barren save for Kya, Hilt and Cress.

“What have you done?” Cress barked.

Kya winced. “Please. Not here. The walls have eyes and ears.”

“I thought you were dead, Kya.” Cress was fuming, and his stumpy legs refused to move.

“Cress, please,” she begged.

“Let the quivering wart be,” Hilt sighed, looking bored. “All he is going to do is berate you. Though it seems he has grown a pair on his little journey.” Hilt turned to flash his wicked grin at the lad again. “Were you surprised to see me, little pig?”

Cress flushed and his eyes began to water. He tried to wipe them away, but Hilt was already laughing at him.

“Stop it, both of you.” Kya couldn’t believe this. She was babysitting these two as if they were children! How had this situation even happened? How could she be scolding the Third General and consoling her childhood friend in the same room? And this room was exposed. They had to get away.

“How could you do this to Elivagar?” Cress hissed, fat tears rolling down his cheeks.

“Cress, please, we have to keep moving.”

“Yes, we do, or is that still too hard for those poor feet of yours? Amazing that you carried such girth around and failed to work off any of it. Did you have a plump Cornish Hen and gravy every night?”

“Damien,” Kya growled, giving him a vicious glare. “As much as I appreciate your thoughtfulness in this tiring time, I do believe that Cress is capable of returning me to my room. I am sure that you are tired as well, so until tomorrow, goodnight.”

Hilt glowered at Kya, and he looked ready to say something, when he suddenly seemed to think better of it. “As you wish, Lieutenant.” His voice was pleasant and kind, unlike anything she’d ever heard from him.

The General swept into another perfect bow, spun on his heel, and walked away. That was much too easy. What had Kya done wrong?

“Kya,” Cress whimpered. His face was splotchy, his nose was running, and his knees were trembling. It was almost too pathetic for her to bear.

“Come along,” Kya said softly, walking him through the deserted hallways and into her cozy room.

As soon as her door clicked closed, Cress turned to glare at her.

“How could you bring him here?”

“It was in the original plan, wasn’t it?” Kya offered, trying to sound apologetic.

“As the General! What is this about ‘Damien’ and what happened to Vawl? What have you done, Kya?”

What had she done? It wasn’t until now that she realized she had truly failed. The others fell with the highest honor their kingdom could offer, but she took the coward’s route out. Is this what her father would have expected of her?

She slumped down on her bed, staring forlornly at the happily crackling flames in the fireplace. “I did not make it to the Capital in time,” she said simply. “General Noden caught up with me in Vawl. He massacred the town. He then forced me to be his guide up to the Fortress in the far north while he was under the guise of ‘Damien’.”

“And you agreed to this?” Cress asked, aghast.

“I had no choice.”

“There is always a choice.”

Was there? She couldn’t even remember making the decision to follow him. It all just… happened.

“Master Silae thought I was crazy,” Cress grumbled. “I came charging in like a bat out of hell screaming of the Third General making his way to destroy the city. I told them that I believed you dead, that the mission failed, and that the General had slaughtered my troops and I was the only one to escape.”

“And they believed you?”

“They thought I had gone mad, but I had worried Silae enough to rouse all the guards. He then told me of your return, but our stories didn’t match. He obviously thought I was too rattled to be thinking straight.” A shiver went down the man’s spine. “Kya, that General. Something is wrong with him.”

“Of course, he’s a bloodthirsty southerner.”

Cress shook his head, his eyes wide and his face surprisingly gaunt. He looked like he had seen a ghost. “No, Kya, that general. He’s a monster. I saw it with my own eyes. In the middle of the night, he would break from the chains and—“

“You don’t have to say anymore,” Kya whimpered. Her stomach turned thinking about the savagery Hilt had displayed in Vawl. She could only imagine he was just as creative when with Cress. “I know what he’s capable of.”

Cress shook his head. “Then how can you walk down the same halls with him? How could you go out with him, with no guards to protect you? When Master Silae told me you had left for a ride, I only assumed that the General had been waiting for such a time to tear you apart!”

“Why would he do that?”

The man blinked, his mouth hanging open. “You drugged him, carried him as a prisoner through the north, and then stole his horse.”

“Oh… right.” Kya flushed and looked down at her hands. That hadn’t even been that long ago. Did she forget so easily?

“And then for me to see you standing beside him, I only assumed he had some sort of trance of spell over you. You nocked an arrow and pointed it at my breast!” Cress looked heartbroken as he rubbed at his pudgy eyes with his short little fingers.

Had she really been ready to take down her own army? But she had only thought… What had she thought? If the Council somehow knew about Hilt’s identity they would have killed him and left her untouched. So why had she drawn her arrow?

“You know there is no magic, Cress,” Kya cooed, trying to console him. “He just… He can be very persuasive.”

“Yes, especially when he has his teeth ripping out a man’s neck while you sleep beside him.” Cress was shaking, be it from fear or anger, she could not tell.

Kya, however, was confused. “What are you talking about?”

Cress stared at her. “Kya, he’s a monster.”

This didn’t help her confusion. Of course he was a monster. He destroyed an entire village because they were in his way. But she had never seen any cannibalism.

“I think you are tired, Cress. We both need rest. Come to me early tomorrow and we shall coalesce our two stories.”

“You haven’t seen it yet, have you?” Cress asked. He was perfectly still, as if suddenly made from stone.

“Seen what? Cress, you’re worrying me. Perhaps Master Silae can get you some Poppy Serum and you can sleep peacefully tonight.”

“I cannot sleep when I know that beast is sleeping in the same castle!” Cress declared, his voice echoing off the high ceiling.

He wasn’t just in the same castle, he was right next—oh Spirits. Kya groaned and buried her head in her hands. No wonder Hilt was so easy to send off. He knew that he was in a room just across the hall from hers. It would be easy for him to eavesdrop.

Disgusted that she hadn’t realized this earlier, she hopped from her bed and hurried to the door. She flung it open, prepared to scold Hilt, only to find an empty hallway. Perhaps she was wrong.

“Cress, you should go. It’s late and tomorrow will be scabrous as is. I’d rather not be worrying about… well, everything. Please, Cress, my oldest friend. Right now I just need to be alone.”

Cress stared at her, his shoulders slumped and his heart defeated. “Don’t trust him, Kya,” he told her. “Promise me that you won’t.”

“I promise, Cress.” She worried that if she didn’t agree, he would never leave her room.

With that the plump little man scuffled across her room and into the hall. As soon as she was alone, Kya collapsed in her bed, fully clothed and still damp from the rain, and fell asleep.

“I spare your life and this is how you repay me?” Hilt glowered over the little brat of a man as he stepped from Kya’s quarters.

The boy yelped and Hilt quickly wrapped his fingers round his throat, effectively silencing him. Kya would have to learn how to be more careful. Such an idiot woman she was. But first, he had this worm to deal with.

“If you had a lick of sense, you would keep your mouth shut about what you saw that night, Sir Cress,” Hilt whispered. He stroked the boy’s fat cheek, noting just the slightest stubble of facial hair. He chuckled. These northerners couldn’t even grow a proper beard!

The lad began to quiver and shake. His heart was thundering so fast that Hilt’s began to match it, though his from anticipation and excitement. Oh, how he missed this; the smell of fear, the delicate string of life held between his fingers. It was better than a good lay. He snickered as the boy began to cry again.

“Lieutenant Kya and I have made an agreement of sorts. She understands her role, and I know mine. I will not have you interfering with that. Am I understood?”

The boy tried to choke out an answer, but resorted to just nodding.

Well, he should at least have some fun with him since he couldn’t satiate his need. “Do you know how I persuaded her?” Hilt taunted, reminding him that he had heard their entire conversation. He leaned in so he could whisper in the little pig’s ear. “Do you know how I broke her?” Cress was trembling under his grasp. “Women are like putty if you know where to… touch. But for her, it’s more like where to… nip.”

Cress started to struggle against Hilt, sputtering incoherent words.

“I should have killed you when I had the chance,” Hilt spat. “I decided against it simply because you gave me such valuable information. That’s all people are good for, anyway. If they don’t have information I want or it’s not what I want to hear, they are better off dead. It’s a shame though. I’ve never had someone as fat as you.”

Hilt grinned as the boy whimpered, clawing at his hand. Pathetic.

“I do not want to see you speaking with Kya again. She still has some use to me, while you do not. Remember that next time.”

Hilt grunted and tossed the boy away. Gasping for air he stumbled to the ground. His face was purple and his pants had grown wet. The pasty pissed himself!

“I shall see you tomorrow, Sir Cress. Have a peaceful night’s sleep.”

Hilt turned and walked across the hall to his pleasant room. Without so much as a glance back at the cowering craven, he entered his room and prepared for what was sure to be an interesting day.

Ready for more?

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