The Eventide Child (7 page)

“Alright, alright ... I look forward to getting to know you,” she finally spoke, gently removing Samar from her person as she breathed out a little sigh. She’d somehow managed to gather quite the band of followers, though she knew none of it had been of her own doing. Her eyes fell upon Cass. The older woman’s messy red hair framed her pale face with those emerald eyes constantly prowling, constantly seeking. It was all because of her.

This one has ambition.

The days passed by like grains of sand passing through the hourglass. Days dragging into weeks and weeks into months as they waited for news about their quest.

Alexandra rushed forward, the dulled blade clutched in her hand as the fiery haired figure elegantly avoided her attack.

“Too obvious,” Cass said, her eyes narrowing as she watched for the riposte. Drawing her practice blade back she parried the quick strike. The sound of metal continued to ring throughout the halls, the two forms dancing back and forth, ebbing and flowing as they avoided or parried the others attack.

“Too slow,” Cass instructed, as she sidestepped Alexandra's lunge. The redhead wrapped an arm around her own, stopping the swing of her sword before suddenly slamming into her shoulder with her own. The force of the blow caused the sword to topple from her hand and clamor on the ground with a terrible racket. Alexandra grunted as Cass swiveled around and brought the sword against her neck.

“Feh ... I yield.”

Cass looked a mixture between pleased and disappointed as she stepped free of their little embrace, a blade slung over her shoulder. Clad only in simple leather armor, Cass had tossed her black cloak and robes away. Likewise, Alexandra was dressed in a similar style of leather armor.

“You’re better than most beginners, love,” Cass said with a grin. “But still not good enough.”

“The journey is going to be dangerous,” Alexandra said. “And I don’t want to find myself faced with murderous priests unable to defend myself again!” She lunged forward, shifting hard to the left as she thrust the sword toward Cass who moved with all the grace of a dancer to avoid the blows. Each step Cass made was calculated, but Alexandra was learning. Her senses were keen and every mistake she had made over the past month was etched into her body with pain and bruises. The clanging of metal upon metal echoed again, the two women parrying and dodging each other in their deadly dance.

In the distance, two sets of eyes watched. She couldn’t quite make it out, but she knew them to be Samar and Titus. They watched with sharp eyes as Alexandra sidestepped a blow from Cass and charged forward again. Her own attack was parried, but she did something Cass didn’t expect. She stepped into the oncoming blow, hand releasing the hilt of her blade as she lunged forward and promptly wrapped her arm around Cass, pulling the woman in close and slamming her shoulder into her target just as the redhead had done to her early. However, Alexandra threw her own little twist into it as she used the momentum to push Cass off balance, her foot hooking Cass’ pulling her down.

“Oi! That’ll get ya killed!” Cass cried even as she went down.

Alexandra placed her boot clad foot on her chest. “I won, didn’t I?”

Cass just furrowed her brow, sighing with a tinge of reluctance, “Aye, ya won.”

Alexandra stepped off her prey and grinned, extending her hand to help Cass up to her feet.

Cass shook her head as Titus and Samar erupted into a howling cheer.

“That’ll do for now,” Cass said, much to her disappointment.

A frown crossed Alexandra's lips as she folded her arms over her chest, though Cass seemed less than amused. “Sore because you lost that one?” she asked, only to receive a short glare from her mentor.

“No. If it had been a real fight you’d have died.”

Not likely.

Cass just lifted an arm, her thumb pointing toward the side of the room where the door had been opened.

Alexandra followed the direction to focus on their howling onlookers, and it was then that she understood the true reason for their pause. “Shall we tend to it, then?” she asked, Cass responding with a nod. Their skin glistened from the workout as they marched across Samar’s courtyard to the two men.

“What’s the report, out with it,” Cass demanded.

“It’s ... not so good.” Samar murmured, a hand making a shaky gesture. They followed Samar from the courtyard and back into the main house, a rolled up bit of parchment clutched betwixt his fingers. “Our agents tell us of changes. They say Tripolis was attacked by a beast and that the city drove it off. They claimed it was a loyalist assassination attempt, to stop peace. They blame this attack on Imperialists. Legions marched from Tripolis. Any who refused to join were subjugated into The Grand Republic of Arkadia.” Samar rolled out a map on a table, and Alexandra watched with interest as Cass shifted her weight from one leg to the other. The map showed the extent of the Empire and Samar drew his finger along a chunk of Greece that denoted where this new Grand Republic was.

“Yea. And they went an’ made peace with the Shahzad right away,” Titus interjected.

“Exactly! So, I ordered our agents to dig deeper. It turns out nobody survived the peace summit with the Persians except for one man, who mysteriously fell ill the night of the summit and had to leave the city. A bit of investigation and we find he has ties to the Shahzad,” Samar concluded.

A pity. They could be so much more and they settled for mediocrity.

“A puppet, eh?” Cass said, turning her attention toward Alexandra now. She still didn’t quite understand the workings of everything, but her mysterious voice, and Samar had been doing their best to give her a crash course in politics. The look on Cass’ face seemed to be asking if she understood. She just smiled in silent reply.

“So they’ve set up their own government... This has gone from just claiming a throne to being a rebellion. The people aren’t going to like that.” Alexandra leaned over to examine the map more carefully.

“There are those who will always be loyal,” Cass said. “But a lot of folk saw things they can’t explain, things that haven’t been seen in a long time. They need someone to blame, and the Imperialists are an easy target, unfortunately.”

Alexandra watched as Cass spoke, the other woman pacing back and forth slowly.

“The Eternal Throne doesn’t ... doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to similar incidents. Imperial cultists that worshiped your grandfather as a God committed similar atrocities. Not saying ya need to worry about it, the Imperial cult’s mostly dead. But your forefathers, some of ‘em bought into it. Encouraged it.” Cass finally stopped moving, those emerald eyes falling right upon her once again. The two of them didn’t talk about what had happened on the island. She still hadn’t told Cass the truth she wasn't certain if Cass knew it or if she thought it best not to talk about what she had seen.

They will bend to our will. The puppet is irrelevant. The Quest is what is important.

“Any news on the Regalia? The Quest?” she finally asked, the council looking rather surprised at the sudden change in topic. Titus cleared his throat, shifting on his foot. The other two shot him glances and he finally groaned.

“Right. Here’s the thing, Princess.”

She wanted to stab him in the throat every time he called her Princess.

“I’ve gotten some more men together. Mostly wanderin’ legionnaires what want work and want to serve the cause. Problem is without the Regalia, we’re gonna be short in manpower.” Titus concluded, gesturing to Samar to continue.

“Dearest Cousin!”

Oh how he loved his pleasantries. Samar was nice company, but he assumed their distant relation meant they were to be close. She did not know him, she felt no affection for him, and oft times she wished he would leave her to her musings.

“I’ve plied my craft throughout the Nile, speaking words of sweetness to the merchants that travel up and down the valley. We were able to ascertain several fake Imperial relics, but also some old tomes.” Samar nodded to Cass with a bow.

“Girlie,” Cass said.

She had something of a bond with Cass, the two had spent more time together and endured far more together than she had with the other two. Cass was her teacher, her protector, and in most cases her confidant.

“Right. Those tomes we found were a bit of a chore to translate, but I got ya the best agents the Frumentarii had to offer. Anyways. We have to know where the Regalia were most likely stashed.” Cass planted her hands on the table. She quirked a brow, looking at their expressions.

They’re not telling us something.

“Out with it, then.” Alexandra demanded.

A collective cringe spread across the gathered council. There was an unease, the three murmuring to themselves before they finally resigned. The other two shoved Cass out front. They must have figured that she liked Cass better.

“It’s a bit of a journey away and, well, it’s cursed. Actually, honest to Gods, cursed. People have been trying to get at it for years. They all either die, go mad, or come back maimed.” She bit her lip.

Well, that definitely didn’t sound all that appealing. Cass seemed to agree with her concern, the redhead shooting her a ‘you-don’t-have-to’ glance. They both knew that was a lie, however. She needed the Regalia. There was no other way for her to claim the throne, not with her muddled bloodline and now with this new republic cropping up. She looked up, gauging their thoughts from their appearance.

You two could have a normal life together. Abandon the quest. Abandon the people. Retire to a foreign land.
The voice was always a tempting one. It always offered her a way out, an alternative, a pleasant fantasy alternative to her awful reality. Of course, the fruit of the poisonous tree was tainted. It looked appealing to just give up and surrender, but if she gave up she would be abandoning the people, her friends, and her family. Hells, she didn’t even know if any of them were alive but it steeled her resolve in times like these. Her eyes flickered up, brown eyes catching Cass’ emerald ones briefly. It wasn’t realistic.

“Well, grave robbers don’t have Imperial Blood, do they?” she finally said, her words teeming with false confidence. It was a show of force to keep morale high more than anything, not that they needed to know that. She needed this false courage. If she pretended enough, it might blossom into the real thing. To be certain she had no idea if she really had Imperial blood herself. The priests in the Temple seemed to think so, as did Cass and everyone else gathered. She was still shaky on it.

“The best approach would be to take a small detachment of men and head out,” Titus chimed in.

She turned to him now. “Titus, you don’t have to...” She’d started to speak but he lifted his hand.

“Nonsense, Princess. It’s my duty to serve and die for the Throne. Would like to do my ancestors proud.”

“Samar will aid you in this journey.” The tall man announced, lips curling into a smile as he did so. “It will be an honor to die at your side, cousin!” He said with a loud laugh.

She didn’t intend to die, however, and just shook her head at that.

Cass sighed, circling around the table until the two were side by side. Cass leaned closer until she could feel the warmth of her breath upon her ear.

“Ya don’t have to do this. It’s insanely dangerous. I’ve taught ya all I could in this brief time, but you’re not a fighter. I don’t want you usin’ whatever that was on the mountain."

The concern was touching, really, but Cass drew back before she could reply. She wished she could tell Cass that she wouldn’t use that power but she didn’t know for certain herself if she would. It felt wrong when she had, and Cass seemed to be concerned about it.

“It’s my duty to serve and protect ya, a silly curse won’t keep me from it.”

She fears the power. It is natural to fear that which one cannot comprehend. Trying times are ahead, girl. You will know what to do when the time comes.

“It’s settled then. We’ll begin making preparations for the voyage,” Alexandra announced after several minutes of silence. The crew nodded briefly as she hoisted a knife into the air, promptly jamming it down into the map at the heart of the so-called Arkadian Republic.

For the first time since this little adventure of hers began, she felt as if she might actually be able to complete this silly quest. She might actually be able to get this Regalia, convince the people, and claim the Imperial throne. Sure, doubt beset her mind on all sides and she feared her efforts would be for naught. Still, seeing the faces of her allies staring at her, believing in her, made her believe in herself. If only just a little. It would, however, take time. Time which Alexandra would dedicate to studying beneath Cass.

It would take months before the Expedition would be ready, and until then there was nothing left for Alexandra except learning. A year had already passed since she had first left for Tripolis.

She passed the days and weeks in her studies beneath Cass. The woman told her much of the Empire that was, and of the Empire that could be. She still had questions about Petros but didn’t dare ask Cass to expend the few precious resources they had in the search for the man. There was much for the Shepherd girl to learn locked away inside the large library that Samar held, Cass acting as her faithful tutor throughout. Lessons in sword fighting were supplemented with courtly manners as well as Roman history.

“And the Second Punic War?” Cass snapped,

“It was the war Rome fought against Carthage. Hannibal forced Rome to surrender.” Alexandra beamed.

“That’s right. Hannibal the Conqueror forced the Roman senate to capitulate after waging a long war through Italia. As a result, Rome was forced to pay large tributes to Carthage which fueled Rome to expand into, where?”

“Germania!”

“Very good! The Roman conquest of Germania was long and brutal, but eventually Germania was subjugated into the auspices of the Republic.”

“What about recent history?” Alexandra held a special curiosity toward it. She knew only of the stories that Caius and Petros spoke of, but beyond that her education had been a simple one.

“Well…That gets a little trickier. The Empire was prosperous for a bit, but after Nova Roma was captured by the Shahzad Empire there was a mass rebellion in the west. Since the Imperial family was believed dead, they elected an Emperor of their own and broke off ties with the East,” Cass sighed, brushing dust off a book before dragging it out and tossing it down in front of Alexandra, “I come from a place that was once known as Hibernia, the farthest reach of the old Empire.”  She explained, pointing it out on the map for Alexandra. “The reports are scarce, but they indicate that things have gotten rather backwards in the West. Barbarians eventually turned on the Elector Emperor and sacked Rome. Much has been lost in a series of civil wars spanning the continent as warlords declare themselves King and vie for control. Unfortunately, many of Rome’s great libraries were burned to the ground and much that we take advantage of in the East has been lost to the west. They believe the mighty walls of Rome were constructed with the help of Wizards.”

Alexandra was enthralled by the entirety of what she was hearing. Her hands reached out to grab hold of the old tome, dragging it closer as she thumbed through the pages until a crude drawing of the Emperor was unveiled. Her father, she was told. A tall man with brown skin looking rather regal. It was a simple painting but it somehow managed to convey a sense of magnitude about the man. His face was sullen, obviously prematurely aged with lines of worry about his face.

“You’ve got his eyes.” Cass chimed in.

“I don’t see it.”

She flipped the page just as quickly as she had landed on it. It was still so weird to think about to her. She didn’t want to believe that Petros wasn’t her father. There was much she didn’t understand yet and still she struggled with that the most. Her eyes cast downward, finger tracing the words as she went. The Fall of Nova Roma.

Cass leaned over her shoulder, peering at the page. “Thousands were put to the sword until the streets are said to have run ankle deep with their blood. The holy temples were pulled to the ground and in their place the Shah constructed tributes to himself and his foreign Gods. Thousands more were enslaved. Standard practice for the Shahzad. Every city they conquer it’s the same story. The adult men are usually butchered, the young are enslaved. Crippling tithes force most of the Empire into poverty. Starvation is common.”

“So that’s what’ll happen to Arkadia?”

“Eventually.”

Alexandra sighed. She knew that things weren’t so great outside of Arkadia, but she never knew just how truly bad they were. The plight of the refugees at Tripolis was just one head of a much larger beast. The Tyranny of the Shah would consume everything, if left unchecked. Not even Arkadia would be safe. That, more than any reason, was perhaps why she pressed on. The glory of her bloodline and Empire seemed insignificant compared to her desire to simply protect the home and people she knew. If she could do well alongside that, well, being an Empress didn’t sound so daunting. She rose to her feet and departed to her quarters, bidding Cass a good evening.

The expedition had finally mustered within the courtyard of Samar’s estate beneath the howling wind above. They would be departing soon

The city guard offered little in the way of resistance thanks to the greasing of palms by Samar. Mustering one’s own personal fighting force was apparently something that was usually frowned upon, but Samar assured them they’d have no problem thanks to the liberal application of money in all the right places. The people of the Nile would go on without a care in the world. Meanwhile, Titus had lived up to his word and had assembled a motley crew of Legionnaires who were willing and able to serve their Empire once more. Doubt was obvious on their faces. It was to be expected, she couldn’t hope they’d believe her on word alone. She had to prove herself to them.

“Ahem. Alotta of them were told to expect a small fortune.” Titus mumbled into her ear.

Ah yes, promises of wealth. It was a great motivator for men who had little left after the collapse of the Empire

“And ranks in the Legion,” Titus added.

Alexandra gave a little sigh and turned to face him, his mouth hanging in a wide grin. Right. Promises of wealth and power, it seemed, were to be given out liberally. She perhaps should have known it would take more than just silly reassurances about her identity to gain their loyalty. She wasn’t even certain of it herself.

“Men won’t fight without loyalty,” she said, Titus nodding as Cass stepped up and strapped a belt around her waist.

“Aye. In an ideal world that’ll be true, however, you’re forgettin’ that these lot were tempted into the Legion on promise of fame and fortune to begin with. They’ll follow ya. Belief and loyalty can come later,” Cass muttered from her left. Titus only gave a solemn nod to that as they turned around. Cass helped her up onto her horse, a cloak thrown around her shoulders.

“And Samar?” she asked, turning her attention to Cass who was currently mounting her own horse.

“He’ll have left already, to establish logistics. His specialty, really." Her mentor replied. “Won’t be needin’ the ship, it turns out,” Cass said, the small band of soldiers forming a column as they headed from the city.

It felt strange to her to be in such a position, marching out of the city with a small band of soldiers. It had been years since anyone living in the Nile Valley had actually seen a formation of Imperial Legionnaires and people were peeking their heads out of windows to stare at the sight. It was a sad shadow of the kind of march a true Emperor would have lead. Much like the rest of her “empire.” She made a silent vow to herself that she’d return someday, return and show these people that their lack of faith in the Empire had been misplaced. Hope. She would give them hope. Hope was all she and many others had to cling to, after all.

“It’s a long ride, but Samar went ahead and mapped out the path,” Titus announced as they passed through the city gates.

It was only then that Alexandra could fully see and appreciate the splendor of the massive stone monuments to long dead kings erected in the distance. She gazed around as the wide open expanse of the lush Nile valley lay before them.

“The Regalia is supposedly in Kush,” Cass suddenly spoke, the column slowly marching along the road. “It’ll be a week or two following the Nile, my source said. Samar’ll have camps prepared and waiting for us.” She continued, nodding.

“I appreciate it, truly,” Alexandra said, Cass giving a little chuckle and waving the compliment away.

Titus had broken away from them and assumed his position at the front of the column of troops, even beginning to lead the men in a marching chant as they proceeded down the road. Cass and Alexandra were safe, positioned optimally in the middle of the formation, so that should anything happen, the men could collapse and surround the two in defensive positions. Not that Alexandra thought Cass needed defending. She was actually pretty sure the woman could take on most Legionnaires she’d met, let alone bandits. She didn’t have such high hopes for herself.

You think too little of your power,
the voice murmured in her head. It was a devil on her shoulder, always tempting her with the power to accomplish her goals. She wondered at what cost she had agreed to use such a power in the first place. Alexandra knew she was trading something for that power, but she knew not what. Cass had said that Old Magic had a way of eating people up, but she didn’t know what that meant. The voice, however, did its best to quiet such thoughts.

Alexandra was particularly amused in her riding at the banter between the Legionnaires regarding their destination. There were many stories about what was waiting them, though none seemed to have substance.

“They say the temple’s cursed, that an entire Legion once tried to claim the regalia only to have their souls sucked out and now they stand as vigilant mindless statues.” One Legionnaire piped up.

“If the whole bloody Legion died then who told the story?” Titus grunted.

“…Yea I s’pose that’s a good point.

“I heard there’s a venomous snake and that the only way to claim the regalia is to let the snake bite you on account of the fact that the Imperial bloodline makes them immune.” Another Legionnaire spoke.

“That’s stupid, Cato.”

“Yea, well, I heard that as he was dying the Emperor cast a dark spell that summoned evil spirits. He bound his entire Praetorian Guard to guard his tomb for all eternity and they kill anyone not of Imperial blood what opens the tomb.”

Hours on march passed by, Alexandra sat atop the horse as they continued on their path, listening to their stories until Titus ultimately forbade the men from telling more absurd stories. The men had changed songs several times on their march, and even Cass and Alexandra had joined in their joyous singing. None of them could really carry a tone and the sound they produced was rather unusual thanks to the addition of Alexandra and Cass’s voice. But after hours on the move, all revelry had left them. Fatigue was definitely starting to settle in with the men, and even she shifted uncomfortably atop her horse. Cass didn’t seem to have such a problem, but Cass was likely used to long rides and harrowing adventures. What a life that woman must have lived, serving as spy and assassin for Emperor’s. Her age hardly showed though Alexandra had ascertained she must be at least thirty-five years of age.

“We’re almost there,” Cass called out, taking notice of her obvious discomfort.

Alexandra gritted her teeth as she straightened in her saddle, giving a defiant huff. Was she so easy to read? Her men endured, and she would endure silently as well. She dismissed the suggestion that she was exhausted and instead urged her horse into a faster trot.

The camp Samar had established was lavish and filled with everything the tired column could hope for, their ranks dispersing into the hastily established palisades. Alexandra gritted her teeth as she dismounted the horse and landed upon the hard ground below. A fire already burned, and the first thing she reached for was the gourd of cold water. Without a pause or concern, she gulped the water down, wetting her parched throat before giving a relieved sigh.

“Drink.” She held the gourd out for Cass who had just dismounted her horse as well. The redhead quickly snatched the gourd as Alexandra gave a shaky step before turning toward Titus.

Titus just grinned as he pulled his helmet off, his large hand clasping her shoulder, giving a jovial laugh. “Not bad for your first march, Princess.”

She smiled as he assigned watch details before allowing the men to fallout and enjoy themselves for the rest of the night. It had been a long day and she was more than a little sore.

“Samar isn’t here,” she said suddenly, realizing that her ‘cousin’ wasn’t actually at the camp, despite having set it up.

“He’s hours ahead of us,” Cass replied, cutting a slice of apple she ate with relish. “He’ll be at the next campsite before we head out in the morning.”

Alexandra gave her a wary look, but her stomach growled at the sight of the apple. Without a word she stole a fresh slice from Cass’ knife and enjoyed the crisp coolness of the fruit, “He’s resting too, right?” she asked.

“Once he sets up the camp, he rests for a bit before headin’ out,” Cass said. ”He left a day or so before us. His Bedouin roots make him perfect for this sorta thing.”

“Bedouin?”

“Aye, they’re desert folk. They don’t really settle down, they wander from place to place livin’ a nomad’s life,” Cass explained as she flicked another apple slice toward her. Alexandra deftly caught it and nibbled as they walked.

“...Until recently, I couldn’t even imagine leaving Arkadia.” She cast her gaze out to the setting sun. “And here I am, leagues away from home. Is home even there anymore, I wonder?”

“From what the reports said, most of the rural countryside went unharmed from the attack,” Cass tried to reassure her as she discarded the apple core, “So it’s more than likely the same as you remember it.”