Chapter Two Yeeran #2
‘Stick to the path,’ the soldier growled, all pleasantries dissipating as his hand hovered over his drum, but Yeeran wasn’t worried. There were conditions in place to ensure her safety–including exchanging her with a senior official.
As long as she held her end of the bargain–namely, not to hurt anyone–then she’d be fine.
The camp got sparser as they reached the end of it. A red flag marked the start of a section of land they had cordoned off as the neutral zone between the elves and fae. Another red flag hung limply in the distance where the fae’s territory began on the edge of the tunnel to Mosima.
It was there that two faeguard stood above a young man marked with the insignia of a general of the elven army.
Malak sat unconcerned on the rocky ground, his ankles crossed in front of him.
He had long blond hair that ran in waves down his back.
His face was boyish, but his eyes were a discerning blue, the lids narrowed as though he were constantly assessing you.
Yeeran didn’t need to use magesight to know the faeguard held the general entrapped in a threaded cage made of their magic.
Malak had once been a soldier in her regiment and Yeeran was impressed he’d been Motogo’s choice for general–probably the only thing Motogo had impressed her with.
Yeeran gave the soldier from Waning a little wave as he stopped on the edge of the elves’ territory, and she continued into the neutral zone.
Malak stood as he saw her approach, the magical cage falling away as he joined her in the neutral zone.
‘Another bad day?’ he said as she drew near.
‘Yes, is there any other?’ Yeeran said.
‘My day was quite pleasant, though I must admit, that brute you brought with you today was very boring. He refused to chat.’
‘They’re not here to chat, Malak. They’re here to ensure my safety.’
‘If we wanted to kill you, we would,’ he said with a laugh which managed to not sound intimidating. That was the thing with Malak–he was so affable, even his threats landed lightly.
‘I saw the new uniform,’ she said.
‘You did, did you? Chieftain Kojo’s doing, he’s more interested in the army’s aesthetics than their strength.’
‘Why would you need strength if this treaty is signed?’ Yeeran asked.
Malak gave her a lopsided grin. ‘You tell me. Do you think the treaty will be signed?’
Yeeran sighed. They had done this dance so many times.
‘I don’t know. I fear Motogo’s lust for revenge sways their hand towards their drum. But war would be detrimental to everyone. I accused them of bad faith.’
Malak whistled low. ‘A bad day indeed.’
‘They will not bend on the fraedia terms. They believe I lie about the fray.’
‘Show them, then. Tell your king and queen to let us into Mosima.’
Yeeran shook her head. Furi would not. Her vitriol towards the elves had only grown more potent over the last few months, and she feared what the queen would do.
‘Then we reach a stalemate,’ Malak said.
Not for the first time, Yeeran felt as though the real negotiations were happening here, between the seams of the fae and elf worlds.
‘I will request an audience again.’
Malak clasped his hands together. ‘That is all you can do.’
‘You’ll report all this back, won’t you?’
Malak shrugged. ‘Just doing my job, Colonel Yeeran.’
‘Ambassador,’ Yeeran corrected him, like she did every time he said it. He didn’t do it with malice; if anything, it reminded her of when she was his colonel.
‘Ambassador,’ he said. His smile was wolfish.
She smiled back. Malak was one of those people that it was impossible not to like.
‘See you in three days?’
‘Same time, same place,’ he replied, like he always did. Like they had a choice. But they were just pawns on a board. Their lives used as collateral for their rulers.
They crossed paths, returning to their respective homes.
Pila, alert Furi that I need to be let through the boundary.
Pila grew distant for a second then she said, Furi is already there.
Yeeran took a deep breath and braced herself for Furi’s wrath.
But if she was truly being honest, she was looking forward to it too. Being the subject of Furi’s emotions, even if it wasn’t love, was exhilarating.
‘Is it possible to ever truly move on from her?’ Yeeran had asked Jay, Furi’s former lover, earlier that day. Yeeran was sitting at Jay’s kitchen table nursing a hot mug of tea.
‘I wouldn’t know. I never really moved on to her,’ Jay said as they righted their healer uniform.
One of the positive changes implemented by Golan and the Free the Light Initiative meant that Lightless healers could now work in Mosima’s hospitals.
Jay had been one of the first to sign up.
‘We were never in love like you were. Only lovers.’
Lovers in love. Is that why it hurts so much?
Jay had opened their home to Yeeran one day when the loneliness had become too much. They had listened attentively, offering advice and a place of solace.
‘She looks at me so passively now, like she looks through me.’
‘A defence mechanism. You know Furi as well as I. She will be hurting too.’
Jay’s words had brought her some strange comfort. At least she and Furi were joined in one thing: pain.
Yeeran was nearing the end of the tunnel now. No matter how hard it is to be around her, I still yearn for it.
A drug, Pila said unhelpfully. She is like your drug.
Yeeran’s steps faltered and she scraped her palm on the tunnel wall as she righted herself.
It was times like these that Yeeran found herself wondering what Pila would be like in her human form, how her inquisitiveness would manifest through expression.
The thought was followed by an overwhelming sense of grief. If Lettle is successful in uncovering the truth, she might be able to undo the magic that keeps Pila in this form. And I will lose her.
As always, Pila was listening to Yeeran’s thoughts.
You will never lose me, Pila said gently. I am who I have always been.
Yeeran sniffed, realising she was crying. She wiped at her eyes.
A pain in my ass? Yeeran said, laughing. Pila huffed out a laugh somewhere in the Royal Woodland.
Yeeran quickened her pace, contemplating what Pila had said.
Was Furi a drug to her?
She saw the outline of Furi at the end of the tunnel and felt her heart begin to race. She pressed her hand to her chest to feel the thrum of her blood pumping beneath her palm.
For a second she imagined her hand was Furi’s and she felt the ghost of the queen’s fingers move up to her clavicle.
How she craved her.
There was no question. Furi was the only drug Yeeran needed.
If only she felt the same.