Ashes of Revenge -
Chapter 17: Home at Last
Colt could only do so much sharpening of his already sharp knives, and Raven could only do so much shifting and rearranging on Herbert before she ran out of positions. Richard was perfectly content.
Looking to the side, Raven saw Death riding his horse - comprised of bones, black liquid dripping around them. He was perched on the saddle as he looked around.
“We are almost in the Kingdom, my dear.” Raven breathed in deeply. “Aren’t you excited?!” he exclaimed. “This is thrilling!” He leaped off his horse and landed in a crouched position in front of Raven. He leaned down and gently grabbed her chin, feeling her muscles twitch and tense from the small contact as he brushed his thumb over her textured skin. She moved away from his grasp, pretending to stretch once more.
“Cheer up, my dear!” Death pushed himself away and floated down to the back of Richard’s horse. “You’re back home!” He outstretched his arms and motioned around as he smiled.
Raven couldn’t believe how much she hated Death.
She didn’t know it was possible to hate someone this much.
She didn’t know how it was physically or emotionally possible to hate someone this much!
“But in all seriousness.” Death’s smile disappeared, and he squatted down. “Remember our deal. If you break it, I will hurt your friends.” He leaned himself against Richard’s wings and traced his finger along the top of one.
He smiled.
Raven gave the faintest of nods so as not to allow Richard or Colt to see it. All she wanted to do was scream at Death not to touch Richard.
The smile widened, seeing the mixture of fear and hate coming from her from his simplistic gesture to the Farian. Death lightly slapped her cheek. “Very good, my dear.” He rose again and hopped back onto his horse. “Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go prepare.” Sitting back down on the saddle, he grabbed the reins, and his horse ran forward and into a tree, disappearing.
Raven reached into her side saddle and pulled out a hot bottle of Birra that she still had from the Monstro villages. Taking a giant swig of it, she cringed at the burning sensation, nearly vomiting.
Colt reached over and grabbed the bottle from her. The liquid ran down his throat and immediately tried to climb back up, making him cough and gag. He gestured for Richard to take it, who shook his head as his face scrunched up at the terrible memory of the bitterness.
Raven pushed the cork back into place and dropped it into the side bag, her favorite of the bags.
Looking up and shoving aside the pain, Raven saw the end of the tree line, meaning they were reaching the village. Not just any town, the one in which the Mundus Castle was located. So many emotions were running through her body that she couldn’t decipher all of them. Instead, she decided to pinpoint one - anger.
Her hands tightened around the reins until they were shaking, and her raw hand was stinging. Bile began to rise in her throat at the thought of what the Mundus King had done.
Colt made his knives retract into his skin again and began to run his fingers through his hair. With his old Kingdom neighboring this one, he knew what the majority of Mundus’ thought about the bloodthirsty disgusting creatures known as Shifters. Grabbing his hood, Colt threw it over his head and covered the rest of his body, making sure the silver lines were hidden.
Richard’s wings went back to the original form, and he did the same with his cloak. He pulled down his sleeves and made sure no markings were even close to being seen.
Raven placed her cloak over her head, knowing she didn’t look like she belonged in the Kingdom.
Everyone in the group sighed collectively, and as the heavy breath left them, their monotone, serious sides took over.
They were nothing more than nameless, faceless peasants.
Nearing the end of the tree line, they saw the disturbed commonness that every Kingdom had: death. A woman hung from her neck by a rope, gleaming bloody knives hanging next to her torn apart hands and feet. A sign hung around her reading KILLER. On the opposite side of the path was a well-dressed man hanging by his neck with a torn and dirty purple robe loosely swaying in the faint breeze. Long, deep gashes were against his palms - proof he was a Telik. A sign hung around him, mockingly saying GODLIKE GLUTTON.
Passing the bodies, they entered mass chaos. The Market and village were as busy as ever. Despite this, though, people still stopped and bowed to Dara and Victor, a few pleas and begs resonating from the masses, but the noise was still too much to reach the two Royals. The trio had expected some form of violence or vulgarness from the crowd for how they were living, but none of that was happening.
The small group began to separate themselves from the Royal one.
“Where will you stay?” Dara’s voice rang out.
They all turned their horses around as confusion ran across their faces.
“An Inn or Tavern.” Raven shrugged.
“Why not the Castle?” Dara gave a warm smile.
Silence.
“We’re goin’ to talk about it,” Raven said.
“Ok, Fernando will stay behind, and if you decide to stay at the Castle, you can.”
They turned their horses around.
“What do we think?” Raven asked.
“I just want a decent room,” Colt remarked.
Raven turned her attention to Richard, hoping for some sense.
He was silent for a few seconds, observing the town. “This is a prime location. If we’re in tha Castle, it’ll make a lot of things easier.” He cleared his throat in preparation for the option he was about to give her. “But, it’s up to yeh.” Since the cave, she had seemed different, and he feared forcing her into her old home would break her even more.
She looked around and observed the poor peasants that begged outside of every main building. The buildings were old and dirty, and the Nobles were nowhere to be seen, no doubt in the richer, cleaner Market. Crops and spices filled various stores, but no one seemed to be buying them. Rundown houses outlined the Market, dirt paths leading to different sections of the village. One path ran down to the ports, one of her favorite places to go to when she was younger; now, only a few ships were in the harbor. Stretching for miles outside the houses were plots of land that housed various crops.
That wonderful combination of earth and salt Raven loved as a kid was gone, now the air seemed more fowl and less . . . alive? Magical? It was as if the same dagger that had pierced the Monstro Kingdom was slowly digging into the Mundus one.
Raven sighed, knowing they wanted to sleep in a decent bed instead of the rundown peasant town she was staring at now. They had been through so much that they at least deserved that. Truth be told, no matter how much she wanted to avoid the Castle and the King, she knew the group would have the best vantage point from the inside. Besides, she had to stay in the Castle to fulfill the deal.
“Fine, we can stay at tha Castle,” Raven murmured.
They all nodded and turned their horses around to find Fernando where they had left him. They rode up to him, and he raised an eyebrow.
“Ok,” Raven’s voice was monotone. “We’ll stay in tha Castle.”
Fernando observed the group as a small frown came across his face. They seemed unhappy and anxious. He expected Raven to be happier that she was home, instead, she looked miserable. “Follow me.”
Raven stared ahead with her dark brown dead set eyes, focusing on nothing but the Castle. She reached into her bag and pulled out the bottle of alcohol again. Despite knowing it would probably burn a hole in her throat, she drank, trying - hoping - it would loosen her up.
They all rode in silence and watched as they came to the first bridge leading to the Castle - made out of cobblestone with a fine layer of moss overlaying it. It was wide enough to allow two carriages to pass at the same time, and it hovered above a stream of water.
Once across the bridge, they were met with another Market, more luxurious than the first. The entire Center was surrounded by a cobblestone wall with moss and vines layering it, protecting the rich from the harsh sun.
Past the Noble Markets were the beautiful, clean Noble houses - a mixture of cobblestone and straight light wood, ascending two or three stories.
The path continued before it changed into that of a dark brown wooden drawbridge over a stream. A courtyard was past the drawbridge, surrounded by a cobblestone defensive wall; on top of it, the Knights could walk and patrol the area. Bulges of structures came out from the sidewalls and into the field, creating things such as stables, training facilities, the Knights’ quarters, and a structure leading down to the dungeon. In the back of the yard was the massive, luxurious cobblestone Castle with a green and gold flag blowing in the wind, the silver thread in the dagger shimmering in the light.
Knights were in the field training while servants were attending to the gardens and other facilities.
The group all turned to the stables, and Colt, Raven, and Richard could feel as multitudes of eyes loomed upon them. They all knew no Knight would come to them simply because Fernando was with them.
Stable boys ran up and grabbed the horses’ reins and led them to the stables where much stronger, more well-groomed stallions were.
Hopping off the horses, they all petted them goodbye and gave the stable boys a death stare. The boys knew that if anything were to happen to the stallions, they would be dead within the hour.
The group walked away, through the courtyard, and finally to the main doors, where two Knights were stationed. When they saw Fernando, they opened the heavy wood, not questioning his strange guests.
Raven’s dirty boots stepped onto the clean cobblestone floor, and she couldn’t believe nor comprehend that she was back in the Castle - her old home. A place she never thought, or wanted, to see again. She looked around for a second and instantly noticed the absence of her mother’s painting in the hallways. Instead, it was replaced by Dara, Victor, and the King.
Raven faintly tilted her head to the side as they passed the painting. It was weird to see a new family replacing the old one. Granted, she hadn’t expected anything less from the King, but the feeling was still odd.
Raven quickly brushed her hand against her nose. “I take it tha King gave away my bedroom.” It wasn’t a question because Raven knew he did. But to Fernando, it sounded like one.
“Yes.” There was a long pause. “It now belongs to Victor.”
The halls were longer than she remembered, and after several twists and turns, she began to get dizzy.
Finally, Fernando’s pace slowed, and he stopped next to a door. “Raven, this will be your room.”
Raven nodded as she looked at the dark brown wooden door. It was a rather strange feeling to be staring at ‘regular’ wood instead of the Monstro Kingdom's deadwood or the light wood of the Farian Kingdom. She didn’t know whether or not she liked or hated the feeling.
When Raven’s eyes finally left the door, she watched as Richard and Colt walked into their rooms.
Fernando looked at Raven and opened his mouth to speak. She slammed the door shut, stopping Fernando from saying or doing anything.
Fernando’s mouth remained faintly open, but the rest of his body deflated. He took his knuckle and knocked on the door, knowing Raven wouldn’t answer. “I’ll. . .” he lost his train of thought for a second. “I’ll send a servant to you and your friends’ rooms.” His hand fell from the door, and he took one last look at it before he walked away.
Raven stared at the door as she heard his armor grow more and more silent. Suddenly, her hand slammed against the wood, and she cursed as loud as she wanted. More profanities flowed out of her mouth as she punched the door again. Everything seemed to be crashing into her, and this was the only way she could think of to cope.
Pushing herself away, she looked over her room as she tried to control her breathing. A door was to the left, which led to the washroom. A small cobblestone fireplace with neat stacks of wood on either side of it rested against the right wall. Various other furniture was scattered around the room. An opening to the right led to the bedroom. Of course, the theme was that of green.
A small knock on the wood made Raven turn around. The door slowly opened, and a small girl peeked her head in. Raven knew from her slightly dirty green jasper dress and messy brown hair that she was a servant.
“Miss,” the girl asked, “Captain Fernando has asked me to attend to your needs. May I enter?” The girl’s accent was a poor imitation of a proper one. Raven knew the servants inadvertently picked up on small touches of the richer one.
“I don’t need a servant. Yeh can leave.”
“I’m sorry, Miss, but I was given specific instructions to attend to your needs.”
Raven sighed heavily and motioned with her head for the girl to enter.
The girl looked to be around Raven’s age, maybe slightly younger. Her glossed over eyes were a light yellowish-brown quartz, and freckles resided on her face.
“What’s yer name?” Raven asked.
“My name is Ida, Miss.”
Raven could feel Ida’s eyes looking at her burned skin. She turned her face away and looked at the door of the washroom.
“Is there anything you will be needing, Miss?” Ida asked. Raven remained silent. “Perhaps I could start a fire? Or draw you a bath?”
Raven had to admit a bath sounded nice. Really nice. A nod of her head sprung Ida into action. The girl walked into the washroom, and Raven looked through the door.
The bathtub was sunken into the white marble ground - shining specks of emerald throughout it. Ida began to move the bronze pump next to the tub up and down. Water flowed out of the nozzle and into the white vat. A mirror in a gold frame hung on a wall. A small wall jutted out in the corner, sectioning off the loo.
Turning away from the washroom, Raven slowly walked to the bed. Green fabric hung from four wooden posts in each corner. She took off her glove and ran her recently burned hand over the cover, seeing if the numb fingers could pick up the faintly raised golden swirls. She relaxed when she felt the slight change and rise of the design.
“Miss?” Ida said. Raven turned around with a raised eyebrow. “The bath is ready.”
Raven strode to the door.
“I will go and retrieve clothes for you.” Ida began to leave.
“Oy?” Raven said. Ida quickly turned around. “Go to my horse at tha stables an’ get my clothes out of tha bag. Call his name, Herbert, and he’ll react. Also, if yeh get other clothes, I want ’em to look like tha ones I have now.” Ida looked Raven over before she nodded and walked out of the room.
Raven stayed where she was for a second. Her eyes glanced at the fireplace, and she wanted to check something but didn’t want to get caught by Ida. She decided to take a bath first and do what she wanted at midnight.
Walking into the bathroom, she closed the door and stripped off her clothes. Her foot entered into the water, and soon her body followed. Water surrounded her body and seemed to massage her tight muscles and aching bones. It had been so long since she had taken a bath in clean water that she found herself actually relaxing, a weird feeling. Her head leaned against the edge, and she closed her eyes.
If one good thing came from Raven being back home, it was this.
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