Ashes of Revenge

Richard walked down the street of the Farian Castle village. He was yet again on another mission to find Raven. The good news was he knew where she was.

Opening the door to the pub, he immediately spotted Raven. She was sitting on a stool at the counter with a half-empty pint being grasped in her gloved hands. A black cloak was thrown over her head, but her species was known.

A man was leaning down to her level and saying something to her. Though Richard couldn’t hear what was being said, he knew it was most likely a vulgar insult.

Raven’s grip on the pint increased more and more.

Richard walked up to them, grabbed the man’s hair, and slammed his head against the counter. He threw the man back and sent him tumbling into chairs and tables.

Quickly, he grabbed the back of her collar and dragged her off the stool, nearly sending Raven and her drink toppling to the ground. Before the thought of a pub fight could ensue, the two were outside, and Richard shoved Raven forward.

She spun around and smacked his hand away, stumbling more. “Can’t I have a bloody night out in peace!”

“Not when you sneak out and leave Leroux and me looking for you everywhere.”

“Why can’t I go out and have a drink if I want? I’m the Queen anyway!”

“Then act like it!” Richard looked down at her small frame, and they both tensed. His face softened, not wanting her to think he would hit her. Richard sighed. “You shouldn’t be getting wasted-”

“Look at me!” Raven yelled as she pulled her hood off.

Now, Richard was staring at her half-burned face. The skin had become a light crimson tint that Richard had seen too many times as if blood had stained her skin and refused to come off. Her hair had just begun to grow in healthy.

Richard looked down.

“Look at me!” Raven repeated. He looked up again. “Drinking is the only thing I can do to make me feel better! It’s the only way I can forget about my face being burned off! Or the fact my father tried to kill me! Or about the fact I’m a Mundus that looks like a Monstro and is constantly harassed! I can’t get a bloody drink without drinking someone else’s spit or go out without being called vulgar names!” There was a second of silence as she waited for him to recant. “If I want to get drunk, then I’m bloody going to get drunk, so stop babysitting me.” She threw her hood back over her head and covered her face.

“Give me your hand,” Richard finally said.

“What? Why?”

“Just give me your hand.”

Raven stood there for a second or so as she looked at him. She didn’t know what he was getting at, but the last thing she wanted to do was place her burned hand in his.

Richard outstretched his hand to her, and she stared at it.

“It’s ok.”

Raven didn’t know why, but she slowly extended her hand to his. He gently pulled the glove off. Slowly he began to bring her hand up.

Raven tried to pull away, seeing what he was trying to do, but he held her hand tighter.

“Stop,” Raven said as her voice cracked.

Richard placed a soft kiss on it. He brought their hands down, and Raven didn’t try to move. His free hand reached out to her and slowly pulled back the hood.

Raven turned her face away from him, but his hand gently fell on her burned flesh. She slowly brought herself to look at Richard, and there were tears in her eyes.

“Raven, I don’t care how you look. I truly am sorry about what happened to you and how you’re being treated, but getting drunk isn’t going to help anything.”

“I just . . . I want the pain to go away.”

“You know that will only temporarily help?” She brushed her nose with her free hand, and he read her like a book. “Ok. . . . How about when you go out to drink you bring me, yeah? That way, you won’t be harassed as much, and I can make sure you won’t do anything stupid.” He side smiled and wiped away an unknown shed tear.

“Ok,” Raven finally said.

Richard smiled again, and his hand fell from her face, but her grip on his hand tightened, so he didn’t try to let go.

“I also think you should have another hobby apart from getting drunk.”

Raven faintly laughed. “What do you suggest, sewing?”

“I’m not that boring.” Raven raised an eyebrow. “I was going to suggest fighting. I could teach you how to sword fight, throw daggers, shoot arrows. . . .” Assassination attempts had already occurred, and he wanted to make sure she could hold her own.

“That actually sounds fun.”

Richard’s smile only widened at the aspect of teaching her those things. Herbert had also already been trained by the Knights.

“Deal?” Raven asked.

Richard nodded. “Deal.”

Their already holding hands moved up and down once, resembling a shake.

“Now, let’s go back to the Castle; I’m sure Leroux is worried about you.”

They both began to walk; their hands still grasping each other.

***

The sound of metal on metal pierced the air, and the noise repeated shortly after.

Raven swung her blunt sword again, and Richard blocked her blow.

Leroux sliced his sword at them. Raven ducked while Richard blocked. Using her free hand, Raven pulled out a blunt dagger and swung at Leroux. He barely managed to lunge back.

“Footing,” Richard said.

They both glanced down at their feet before they realized their mistake. Richard swiped his wing against the ground, sending them flat on their backs. They groaned and coughed as the air got knocked out of their lungs. When they opened their eyes, they were staring at the tip of Richard’s sword. Simultaneously, they tapped their hands against the ground, tapping out.

“What’s that, five wins for me and maybe one for you guys?”

“Nobody likes a smart arse, Richard,” Leroux groaned.

“Ha,” Raven said as she leaned her head against the ground.

“Raven, you favor the sword too much. While you’re skilled with it, your strength is in throwing and fighting with daggers. Leroux, you have wings; use them as another set of arms or weapons - you’re faster than most when you fly, so exploit that.”

They both nodded, still lying on the ground. Richard reached down his hands, they grabbed them, and he pulled them to their feet.

“You both have really improved.”

“Who’s improved more?” Leroux asked.

Raven raised an eyebrow, and they stared at Richard.

“You both have improved equally.” His voice faintly cracked.

“That’s his lying voice. He’s lying,” Raven said.

They stared at him more.

“I’m not answering this question.”

“I knew it,” Leroux said, “it’s me.”

“No, it’s me,” Raven shot back.

"Richard, I order you to tell me-"

"That's biased!" Raven interjected.

Richard just stared at them, not believing that Leroux was the Farian King and Raven the Queen.

“I’m telling you-”

“No, I’m telling you,” Raven cut Leroux off.

Richard turned and looked at Christine, who was walking quickly to them. The arguing of the two died down, and their gazes shifted to her as well.

“We’ve just captured a Shifter,” Christine said.

Everyone immediately began to walk towards the dungeon, only stopping to grab their crowns and real swords off a bench. Both Leroux and Raven had the Farian sword: a big blue jewel on the top, and the other colors of the Kingdoms were scattered around the handle.

Leroux couldn’t deny that he was excited to see a Shifter; the only one he had met was the King, and he portrayed the bloodthirsty creature Leroux was told about as a child.

Raven was interested in seeing a Shifter. She had only met the Shifter King as well, but they were both children, and he wasn’t the inhumane things they were depicted as.

Once in the cold basement, Raven had to refrain from gagging. She could still smell the stench of her mum’s corpse; hear her own screams; see them lying on the ground, slowly dying.

Raven breathed out a shaking breath and had to look away from the cages.

“Rae, are you ok?” Leroux asked.

She nodded.

“If you need to leave-”

“I’m ok.” Her hand brushed against the bottom of her nose.

Looking ahead, Raven saw a few Knights crowded around a cell, where the new prisoner was. One of the Knights punched the prisoner as hard as he could in the stomach. Raven twitched, remembering the beatings she had had to endure.

When Leroux and Raven approached, the Knights straightened out and bowed. Looking into the cell, Raven saw the prisoner. The Knights were forcing him to be on his knees, and one of them held a fistful of his dirty blond hair, making him bow his head.

The Shifter’s hands were shackled behind his back, and his clothes were dirty and bloody; however, the common red sash of a toga was missing - any red clothing was missing. Replacing it was a huge stain of blood coating the entire left side of his body, but a wound couldn’t be seen past his torn clothes.

“Stand him up,” Leroux commanded, losing the usual perk he had in his voice.

They roughly stood up the Shifter, earning a groan of pain.

The Shifter’s long, tangled hair fell to his shoulders. Cuts coated his body, looking as if a blade had caused them. His eyes stood out amongst the blood and dirt; the left one was blue, and the other was brown.

The Shifter looked scared. His eyes shifted this way, and that and his breathing was heavy . . . not at all what he should have been.

“I don’t think the guards are needed here,” Raven said.

“Agreed,” Leroux concurred.

“Men,” Richard commented.

The men let him go and left, closing the cell door behind them. Richard remained.

“What are you doing here?” Leroux asked. The Shifter didn’t respond. “What’s your name?”

The Shifter remained silent.

“Do you have a name?” Raven asked.

The Shifter still didn’t speak.

The three turned and looked at one another.

Raven motioned with her head for them to leave, and they did so.

She stopped and looked to the side, finding the ex-King sitting in a cell. He looked up at her, and she down at him. His eyes traveled down to her sword, which used to be his.

Leroux gently pushed Raven forward but stopped. Now, Leroux stared at his pa. Before any of them could get a proper reading of the other, Richard gently pushed both the kids forward.

When they finally made it out, Raven and Leroux walked off to their rooms and closed their doors.

***

Raven sat up with a jolt. Looking around, she reassured herself the fire was only in her dreams. She panted out a breath, and her body slammed back into the bed. Closing her eyes again, the fire flashed itself at her, along with the figure with the weird voice. She threw the covers off her and stood.

Making her way to a small table, she stared down at the board game - Zahler, she believed it was called. Very quickly, she was becoming very skilled at the game.

Groaning, she turned away from it, not wanting to move another piece. She was more focused on the Shifter, who had been inexplicably stuck in her mind. They hadn’t talked since that first day, and she assumed he was still refusing to do so.

Sighing, she walked out of the room. Walking back down to the cells, she ignored every noise or sight, only stopping when she saw the Shifter.

He was staring at a wall, rocking back and forth. When Raven came into view, he stood up, backing himself into the corner. His blades extended.

Now that he was uncuffed, Raven noticed scars of numbers etched into his forearm. He moved his arm away from her gaze.

“I don’t think you ever gave your name,” Raven said. He just looked at her. “I just want to know your name.” She could tell he was scared and was doing her best to calm him down.

“Why do yeh care?”

Raven faintly smiled at the aspect that he was talking. “Just curious, I guess.” They stared at each other, and Raven raised an eyebrow. “If you won’t give me your name, then I’m just going to call you ‘Shifter’.”

“Colt,” he finally said.

“I’m Raven.” She leaned against the side of the cell. “So what brings a Shifter all the way down here?”

“What brings a Mundus down here?” Raven didn’t expect him to guess her species correctly, but she had to admit it was refreshing.

“Knights. . . . You going to answer my question?”

“I hate my Kingdom.”

“Fair enough.” She looked at the cuts that covered his body. “Your Kingdom do that?” He looked down at his body and then back up.

“More or less. Yer Kingdom do that?” He gestured to her burned face.

“More or less,” she said.

“Raven?” Richard’s voice echoed down to them.

A small smile graced her lips. “You need a haircut,” Raven said as she went to go meet Richard.

“What are you doing down here?” Richard asked.

“Couldn’t sleep.”

They both walked upstairs.

“So, you went down there?”

“There’s only so many nights I can play a board game before I get bored.”

“Nightmares?”

Raven’s hand brushed against her nose. “Yeah . . . It’s tha fire.”

“Ok.” He grabbed her hand. “I’m always awake or willing to be woken, so don’t hesitate. And if I’m not available, I’m sure Bram or Leroux would be.”

“Richard?”

“Yeah?”

“Will you play Zahler with me?”

He smiled warmly and brought her hand to his lips. “Of course.”

***

“It looks good,” Raven said as she stared at Colt’s new haircut that he had given himself. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as sloppy as she thought it would have been. She didn’t even think he would have taken her remark seriously. His hair was cut just above his ears, and now that it didn’t have all the weight on it, loose curls and waves were visible.

Colt was sitting against a wall, ‘sharpening’ his knives. His foot tapped against the ground quickly.

Raven noticed that the numbers on his arm were gone. Now, there were wounds where each number had been, and Raven knew he had done it himself.

“How are your wounds healing?” she asked.

“Why do yeh care?”

“Just making sure you’re not dying. A Shifter is rare around here.”

“They are healin’ fine.” He stood up and leaned against the wall. “So what do I owe tha pleasure of tha Queen visitin’ me?”

“I would like to give you options.” Options I never had.

A small hint of fear crossed his face.

“It’s clear that you’re not working for the Shifter King.” She cleared her throat. “If you want, you can leave . . . or I can give you a position in the Castle . . . or you can stay down here.”

He stared at her, and she could tell every gear was turning in his head.

“What position?” he asked in a faintly quivering voice. He could get the chance to go outside? To no longer be trapped in this dark cage? Maybe that would help with the nightmares. . . .

“Doesn’t matter. Are you good at anything, or is there something you want to do?”

“Weapons,” he murmured. His fingers traced over the fresh wound. “I’m good with weapons.”

Raven nodded and pursed her lips. “I’ll go get someone to release you and find a position.” She began to walk away.

“But just because I wanna stay doesn’t mean I won’t kill yeh.”

She couldn’t tell if it was a joke or not. Looking back into the cell, she smiled. “No, you won’t.”

“An’ why is that?”

“Because I can take you.”

Before he could recant, she was gone.

***

Raven moved a player on the board.

Raven, Leroux, Christine, and Richard were gathered together in the throne room. Disturbing news had been given to them regarding the Monstro Kingdom. Leroux had instructed the Officials to skip the meeting so there wouldn’t be too many opinions.

“So, he gave us an ultimatum for the next signing?” Richard asked.

Leroux nodded as he tossed a few letters onto a table. “Yep, either we join his side or go to war,” Leroux mumbled.

“And what of the Shifter, Telik, and Mundus Kingdoms?” Christine inquired.

“The Shifter and Mundus Kingdoms will follow whatever the Monstros do, and the Teliks. . .” Leroux shrugged. “They’ll probably be dragged into the side with the most trade.”

“So, whoever has the strongest villages.”

“We can’t fight them,” Richard commented.

“We can destroy their villages, though, or at least what makes it a village,” Raven said as she snagged another player. Everyone turned and looked at her. “We may not have the manpower to attack the Kingdoms, but we can weaken them without them knowing.”

“You mean we send a few men to spy?” Richard asked.

“Essentially” - she snagged another piece - “if we can destroy the main points of a village, like crops or Markets, then the people will be forced to move towards the Castle or to the next village. The population will begin to increase; food will lessen, and send the Kingdoms into troubled times. When this happens, the Telik Kingdom will stay allied with the people who have the most money - the Kingdoms without destroyed villages or overpopulation - because they have the biggest market.”

“We also need to focus on our Kingdom,” Leroux said. “Our villages are weaker than we can afford, and Monstros constantly invade them.” Erik had allowed the Kingdom to go into such a disastrous state that Leroux had been trying to fix it since he ascended, but hadn't even scratched the surface.

“Then we start with our villages, learn what’s wrong and fix the problem. We can also exterminate the Monstro problem.” Raven finally abandoned her game.

“This could work if they were to send a letter back to the Castle, addressing the problems, and in return, the Castle sends in support to fix it. I know a messenger that could be a part of the group,” Christine chimed in. “The villagers wouldn’t be able to know that the men are from the Castle though, they would turn on them.”

The room fell silent, and every wing twitched.

“Who would we send?” Leroux asked.

“I was thinking me,” Raven said. Everyone turned and looked at her. “As you said, I know how the politics of the Kingdoms work, so I’ll know the easiest way to fix the problems, and since it’s my plan, I’ll know what to do.”

“But you don’t blend in,” Leroux said. “Your accent is too proper, and you wouldn’t know the first thing about being a peasant.”

“I know some people who do, though.”

“Who?” Richard asked.

“The Shifter and Bram.”

“I’m ok with Bram but the Shifter? You can’t be serious?”

“He knows how things work out there.”

“We can’t just force the boy to join you,” Christine said.

“Then we won’t force him; we’ll give him a choice. If he wants to help us, then he can. If not, then he can leave or stay.” Raven began to flip a player in her hand. “I’ve already offered to let him go, but he would’ve had nothing. At least he can gain some footing.”

“Richard?” Christine said. “What’s your opinion on this?”

Richard stared off into the distance and sighed. “I want in.”

“What?” everyone asked.

“If we are going to be raiding villages, then you’re going to need someone with military experience. I also believe that if we save the Castle village for last, we could find a way to take the crown. Eliminate any chance of retaliation.”

“You don’t have to go,” Raven said.

“I want to.” He had ordered too many of his men to their deaths at the border. He had watched too many of his companions - his friends - be ripped apart for no reason in particular. Truth be told, he was tired of fighting and getting nothing accomplished; he needed change, and if that was in the form of destroying the Monstro Kingdom, then he was more than happy to oblige.

Leroux and Christine nodded.

“Are you sure you want to go, Raven?” Leroux asked.

“I’m positive.”

“This is either the most stupid thing we will ever do or the most brilliant,” Leroux said with a smile.

“There’s only one way to find out,” Raven said.

“You do realize that this plan could take years?” Christine asked. “We have no idea how long fixing our villages will take or how fast the other Kingdoms will impose war upon us. If you get to the Monstro village, you could be waiting for months to determine if you should even attack them. They resign the Peace Treaty every four years. That gives you around three years to fix everything.”

“Sounds like fun,” Raven said with a crooked smile.

Christine nodded. “Ok, if this is really what you want, then go get the boy.”

Richard and Raven stood up and walked outside. Walking across the light green grass of the courtyard, they spotted Colt sitting in the weapons barrack - made up of light wood - counting arrows.

“Hey,” Raven said.

Colt looked up and immediately stood when he saw Richard. Nearly tripping over his seat and the discarded arrows, he backed up.

“We’re going to need to ask a favor of you,” Raven asked.

“What’s tha favor?” Colt’s voice was shaking.

“We need to essentially learn how to be peasants.”

“Why?”

“To put it bluntly, we are becoming peasants to help our Kingdom and destroy the others.” There was a pause. “You would help us, and at any point, you could leave. Or you can stay here. You’ll get the full contract if you accept.”

Silence fell over everyone.

“I’ll help yeh . . . on one condition.”

Raven gestured for him to continue.

“When we get to my Kingdom” - his eyes turned two different shades of silver - “we destroy it an’ I get to do whatever I want to a select few people.”

“Deal,” Raven said.

Richard motioned for Colt to follow, and the three made their way across the huge field and back to the massive, luxurious white Castle.

When they finally made it back to where Leroux and Christine were, Raven sat back down. Bram was next to Christine, and a broad, loving smile was on his face at the opportunity he had just accepted.

“Colt’s in.”

Leroux nodded to the two men. Bram nodded back while Colt stared at him.

“When can you leave?” Leroux asked.

“Within the week,” Richard said. “I can ask a few men to volunteer to come with us.”

“I only ask one thing,” Raven said. Now all eyes were on her. She was holding the most significant player in her hand, but it was for the opposing side. She knew revenge could eat a person alive, but revenge had made Raven - she had nothing to lose. “I get to kill the Mundus King.”

***

Colt sat up with a jolt and breathed out deeply. His knives were out, and he was ready to kill anyone in his sight. Breathing in deeply, he closed his eyes and laid back down, only seeing blood and feeling his airway filling with the ivory tasting liquid.

Stumbling out of bed, his breathing picked up.

He needed fresh air!

He needed space!

He needed-

Colt tumbled through the open door and face planted into the soft grass. Gripping the sod with his hands, he closed his eyes and breathed in the sweet scent it had to offer. His curled up body twitched once or twice before he was fully in the present.

He was in the Farian Kingdom.

Raven and Richard were in the room he had just been in.

The rest of the men were scattered around the town.

They had been there for months.

This was the second village.

It had an abundant more issues than the first.

He was here to help.

To fix it.

Pushing out a breath of relief, he stood and brushed himself off. Cursing, he began to walk away with no intent to come back, but he stopped. These people were the only ones that had ever been nice to him. While he helped them fit in, they weren’t using him. They never watched him if he wandered away or took the money he stole. They actually treated him like one of them.

Cursing again, he turned around, quickly jumping back when he saw he was face to face with a pale Raven.

“What tha bloody hell are yeh doin’ up?” Colt asked.

“I had a nightmare, went to go get a drink.” Her accent was coming along nicely; it almost sounded natural. She walked past him and towards a pub. “Leavin’?”

“Thinkin’ about it.”

“As we said, yeh can leave anytime yeh want.” She continued to walk. “Tha old man will miss yeh, but good luck.”

He grabbed her arm and spun her around. She looked up at him, and his fingers slowly fell.

“What makes yeh different from oll tha other Queens and Kings? Why are yeh like this?”

“Yer askin’ this question again?” she amusingly asked.

“Yeah.”

Her tongue clicked in her mouth. “If I tell yeh, will yeh stop buggin’ me?” He nodded. “My dad was tha Mundus King. He willingly sent me to my death in tha Farian Kingdom. For months I was starved an’ oll that other fun stuff.” Her hand brushed against her nose. “I want revenge on him. I want to take his life away from him like tha way he took away mine.” Colt stared at her cold eyes. “Satisfied?” She began to walk away.

“My scars are from tha Gioco.”

Raven paused and turned around. “What?”

“Tha Shifter Kingdom is a lawless Kingdom.” His jaw tightened. “For amusement for tha King, we have somethin’ called Gioco. We are forced to fight one another, and tha winner is tha one that survives. . . . That’s how I got tha scars.”

“An’ tha numbers?”

He paused for a second while his fingers naturally ran over the wounds on his forearm. “It was a brand.”

Raven opened her mouth to say something but stopped. He could tell she almost said something related to the topic but changed her mind; however, he wouldn’t push it.

“Why are yeh tellin’ me this?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Yeh want yer dad dead. I want my Kingdom destroyed. Seems relevant.”

Raven smiled and amusingly breathed out. “Here.” She threw something at Colt, and he caught it. It was a blue ring.

“What’s this?”

“Tha Farian Official ring. Yeh have been an Official for a while, but I had to wait for tha Messenger to bring it.” She shrugged. “It’s somethin’ to remember us by. That an’ it’ll fetch a nice price if yeh sell it.”

Colt laughed slightly before he tucked the ring away. “I didn’t know I was special.”

“Yer not, Richard has one too; it’s hangin’ around his neck.”

Colt smiled.

Raven used her pointer finger to turn her Farian King ring on her thumb. “Are yeh leavin’ or no?”

Colt looked down at her and smirked. “Nah, I think gettin’ drunk sounds better than wanderin’ around. That an’ someone has to protect yeh.”

Their smiles widened. They walked off to the pub, where they would start one of many group blackouts.

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