“Good evening, gentlemen,” I said on my approach, hoping Naloud wouldn’t give my voice away.
They startled to attention.
“What are you doing here? No one is allowed down here,” one guard spoke. His voice was gruff and worn with age.
“Oh yes, I’m aware of that, but as you probably haven’t heard, the castle is under siege. The king wishes all his men to the gate!” I tried to put as much formality and urgency as to appear official.
“What do you take us for?” the other guard spoke. His voice came off grading and squeaky. Must be just coming into manhood.
I shrugged. “A couple of idiots that are going to lose their heads if you don’t obey his majesty’s orders.”
“Give up, girl. We were already warned of someone planning to try and get us to leave our guard,” the older guard spoke.
“Okay, I will inform his majesty of your denial.” I paused and cocked my head to the side and studied the men for a moment. “You’re going to come off rather incongruous without your heads.”
I stifled a chuckle in response to the wide eyes the guards gave at my words. I walked back to Marren, hidden in the shadows with Lernn.
“Hey, woman, wait!” called the squeaky-voiced guard as both of them ran past us and up the stairs.
I ran to Naloud as soon as their footsteps were far enough in the distance. The floor lay hidden under a thick layer of hay. Naloud slept on top of that with a blanket barely covering her body. Her back faced me with her hair stretching like thin rivers of brown water from her head, over the hay, and to the dirt floor.
“Naloud, are you all right?” My heart drummed frantically against my chest.
No response.
“Naloud?” Marren’s voice echoed off the walls in the same tone he would use when she was younger and had done something incredibly naughty.
She didn’t even shift.
I pulled hard on the door. With a loud clank and crack, it opened. I rushed to her side and took her head into my hands. “She’s so cold!”
I lowered my cheek to her nose to feel her breath.
“She’s barely breathing!”
Tears filled my eyes as I searched for her heartbeat. Only the faintest thump responded to my finger’s pressure.
“They knew!” Lernn said. “We must leave at once!”
“What’s the hurry?” A voice that had once given me nightmares pierced the air. A figure stood in the shadows and approached slowly. He dressed as the king but kept his own voice.
“Jiren, you sorry excuse for a life, I will see you destroyed!” I said through clenched teeth. I teetered dangerously close to losing all control and falling into a dark place of sadness.
His laugh came out dark and sinister. “I have the upper hand against you. Your daughter is dying. Your folly will be paid for, and you will be forced to go back to the immortal realm and remain there peacefully…or die here painfully and slowly.”
“Mighty words for a man too cowardly to face me in his true form,” I said as I stood from my dying daughter’s side. “You have to hide behind a mask. A falsehood.”
A smile played on Jiren’s face. A threatening “come and get me” smile. I growled and started to run for him.
“No, Relena!” Marren’s voice echoed around me as a pair of arms stopped me from seeing Jiren bleed.
“Smart man,” Jiren said after a quick victorious chuckle.
“Am I?” Marren retorted then cocked his head to the side as if he listened to something. “Do you hear that?”
Vibrations surged through the walls, faint shouts and echoes made their way down the stairs. The sound of battle.
Jiren heard it as well. His expression changed from victorious to fierce. His image shifted, faltering, letting a bright purple hew line his appearance. He turned quickly and ran, like the coward he is, up the stairs.
Lernn didn’t wait to run after him.
“Marren, what about Naloud?” I asked before he ran off as well.
“We will come back for her,” his response was soft and soothing, but his eyes held so much more. A need for revenge.
I nodded, running after him up the long winding stairs to the courtyard where battle raged. A battle that quickly became an image of chaos burned into my mind as we pushed through the door. Humans and immoral races fought, swords clanking, voices shouting. Things of nightmares filled my eyes. Bodies were torn and ripped apart. Fire consumed the lush gardens. Screams of terror, pain, and war filled the air mingling with the scent of blood and steel. The fray was disorienting.
But I had a job to do.