CHAPTER XIV
THE TIES THAT BIND
I only caught two sentences spoken by the brothers last night when we made our way back to our room. The tension between them was severe, so I opted to take a late bath and give them the privacy they needed.
Their grandfather?
Renate’s father?
What in the Old World?
Ancients, if any of Esme’s words were true then Keane and Desmond had more family problems than I ever suspected. How they were going to navigate this was beyond me.
“I need to stay in Woodlands,” Desmond’s deep voice was a whisper from my bath.
“I agree,” was Keane’s only response.
It seemed the Master Informer would stay behind as we continued on our travels back to Gaumond, though the prospect of ever reaching the Warrior capitol was looking farther away with each passing day.
We’d encountered more revelations here than ever anticipated, and we were no closer to the Warrior city than we were on the first day we set off for Woodlands.
Would we ever leave this damn Ancients court?
I needed to be back in Gaumond like my life depended on it.
Needed to be consumed by those black granite buildings that were covered in flames at every corner.
I even longed for the too many halls and staircases of the castle that only confused me, the prospect of finding new areas to explore exciting me.
I craved the court and the pubs and the rowdy patrons that banged their mugs against their tables in pure content as they wished for their nights to never end.
But most of all, I missed the Shadow Oak, and needed to spend my own endless night there, too.
This is everything you’re fighting for in Woodlands, Stormfall had to remind me.
True, I replied with a sigh.
But did I really think something like Warrior could ever come to Woodlands?
Absolutely not.
Or at least not in my lifetime.
We’re now in the courtyard before the residence again, the atmosphere eerily familiar to the last time we were all gathered.
Lady Esme has been changed into a clean dress with her hair washed, the full of it resting in front of her face so as to hide her missing ear.
She holds herself proud just as Carsen did, smiling to herself as Keane announces her crimes with Stormfall on his shoulder.
I stand with the Lords at the front of the group, directly in front of Esme though still within the full crowd.
My own hair is pulled back in a tight knot at the nape of my neck, the same fashion that Gail taught me back in Bardot.
I don’t know why, but the simple hairstyle gives me the strength and determination I need to watch the procession.
Keane begins Death’s Prayer, his eyes narrowed on the woman who doesn’t even blanch. She just remains proud and calm, looking over the village with an evil smirk as if she believes someone is going save her.
Desmond extends his sword to the King when he finishes.
I grimace at the sight and reach down for the larger dagger in my boot, gripping it tightly when Keane doesn’t accept his brother’s gesture.
The King looks down at Esme as he moves to her side, the Master Informer nodding his head in understanding before he re-sheathes his sword.
Keane looms over Esme’s kneeling body, his eyes finally darting to mine as I take a step forward in the crowd.
Lady Esme’s gaze is quick to narrow on the blade in my palm, her face looking a bit surprised before she begins a haunting laugh.
“Of course,” she sneers. “Do your best, Lady Alexis.”
“This is for my parents, Esme,” I tell her quietly, feeling the eyes of the crowd on me, “for the people of Etter who were slaughtered ten years ago. Those you were supposed to look over…”
Esme rolls her eyes and continues laughing.
“For Maude,” I glare at her and take a commanding step forward.
“For Arens,” I whisper in anger.
I swiftly bring my hand up and throw the dagger straight for her laughing gaze, letting all my hate fly with the blade as a loud crack vibrates throughout the meadow.
Esme’s head is violently jolted back against her neck, her body falling behind her on the grass with my dagger embedded firmly between her eyes.
No one in the crowd moves.
No one says a thing.
There’s no murmurs or covered whispers, no surprise at the brutality of my action. Just pure silence.
It was as if Etter itself was hardening, also becoming too familiar with this play.
“To the Discerni of Etter,” Keane’s voice booms over the crowd as he takes a step forward, “we need to talk. Follow me into the residence.”
We stayed in Etter for another three days and nights, the village continuing its steady rebuild with the aid of the King and his brother.
Desmond took the lead alongside Alexander to strengthen the men who relocated here for its defenses, the number of soldiers nearly doubling since we last left.
New barracks and small homes were built to accommodate them and their families, with most of the faces hardened but friendly at the same time.
Word was still traveling throughout Knowledge and Warrior of the prior living arrangements in Etter, and with it brought a fresh influx of men who believed in fighting for the dignity of all.
Keane was busy following the Discerni of the village day in and day out.
He offered amnesty to those who wanted to leave again, allowing them to travel to another city within Woodlands without any repercussions.
To my surprise, no one chose to do so. What was left of the original Discerni of Etter were mainly woman, children, Duhni and the men that laid down their arms in our first visit.
Both brothers and Heysan continued to question the young Woodlands girl, Alyson, at different intervals of the day.
They held true to their sentiment that they would draw out her pain for a while, chipping away at her hardened demeanor to learn just exactly how she came to possess it.
They learned more on the man name Callous, one of the members of the group fashioning themselves as The Argents.
Apparently, Callous was the muscle and the Desmond equivalent of the Woodlands group, networking his own Discerni spies to aid their cause.
No visits were made to the green agate mine after Esme’s death, prompting Keane and Desmond to remove their hidden eyes and fully begin their own small trade for the benefit of the village.
Whatever the Kaven, Carsen and Esme were up to with the stone went unsolved, a problem to tackle for another day.
They were a simple three days that washed over Etter without any big surprises.
No one from the surrounding cities chose to visit and there was no retaliation for the slaughter of Esme.
Everything was just quiet until the last day, with the people finally willing to celebrate the life of the elder Discerni woman who fought alongside the humans.
Death’s Bonfire for Maude began at the sun’s noon apex in the middle of the town square.
The full of the village was in attendance, as well as a few of the quieter Discerni who lived above.
Most of them brought their families with them, making the effort to integrate their children with the humans, and though hard glances were still passed their way, it was a small start to thawing out relations.
Stefan also chose to open up his restructured pub to everyone in attendance, with a name now affixed to the top of the door, Old Maude’s.
Keane sat at a table outside that pub for a good portion of the night, at one point even conversing with the man and daughter who walked out of their home the night of Etter’s revelation.
Their faces were fuller and their clothes were no longer tattered.
They looked happy, as did the rest of the village, for the first time since we arrived.
“News will travel of you if it hasn’t already, Lady Alexis…”
Lord Crisjan moves to my side as I stare at Keane from afar.
He’s holding that little girl under her arms now, throwing her in the air as her laughter fills the deepening sky around us.
It’s a beautiful sound, as is the genuine chuckle that falls from Keane’s lips, the full sight of it calling forth my summoning as my desire flushes for the King.
Keane catches the feeling instantly, turning his sparkling brown eyes on me from the table as he points out Stormfall on my shoulder to the girl. I wave to her with a smile and turn to Crisjan, the Lord greeting me with features of deep consideration.
“And what will the news say, Lord Crisjan?”
Crisjan eyes me in heavy thought, his face creased in a new frown.
“That a human woman killed a Discerni for all to see with a green agate blade, openly breaking the Old World Rule… That the elemental air is awake and thriving and that it’s being wielded by the same woman.
A human, I don’t think that I need to remind you, whose people are banned from practicing magic, another Old World Rule. ”
And so it begins.
There is no keeping the secret any longer.
Soon, the news will leave Disce and make its way to the other three Kingdoms.
Will there be an uproar from the collective of the Old World? Will the Kingdoms demand that steps be taken against my actions? Am I ready for that? Is Keane? Pyre will certainly hold steadfast at our side, but what of Aireal and Livyatan?
And what of the people of Disce? Will they hear the news and embrace the change? Warrior would, and I knew Knowledge could be swayed, but would more Discerni flock to Woodlands, searching for a safe-haven to retain their traditional ways?
My curious thoughts make my eyes flick back on the King, watching as he gives me a small nod, also paying attention to Crisjan from afar.
“What’s going on, Alexis?” the Knowledge Lord reaches for my hands, “how did this come to be? Are you okay? Was something done to you?”
“Oh, Crisjan,” I squeeze his hands tight and shake my head, “nothing was done to me.”
Well… I guess that isn’t entirely true.