Aurelia turned stiffly towards the Damaris king, keeping her head bowed. He was dressed in extravagant black robes, the crown of moonstone resting upon his head and a silver sword attached at his hip, the picture of power and monarchy.
“You know, I see now what the stories were talking about – your auburn hair, the color of embers.” Dorian chuckled. “You were so filthy yesterday, I wasn’t sure if we had gotten the right girl.” He stepped towards her, tilting his head, his violet eyes boring into her soul. “But now we know for certain, don’t we Ambrose?” He smirked as he made his way down the staircase, nearing the two of them in the middle of the ballroom floor.
Ambrose, Aurelia realized, had stiffened too. “I was just about to drag her with me to town, Dorian. Business awaits.”
Dorian nodded at his brother. “Oh yes, that it does indeed.” He pursed his lips. “I do hope retribution has been paid?”
Ambrose gave a short nod.
A grin overcame Dorian’s face. “Oh, how lovely,” His gaze returned to Aurelia. “It’s always good to learn early on what happens when you disrespect the king.” He winked. “I shall leave you to it. I have a war to win.” He smiled mischievously and strode out of the room, his robes billowing behind him.
The breath that Aurelia had been holding suddenly released and a wave of nausea washed over her. How could he possibly be worse than the terrible stories that were told of him?
“The village?” She said weakly to Ambrose, hurrying out of the room as if the king would trap her in there for staying a second too long.
“Yes,” Ambrose responded quietly, walking in front of her as they exited the castle, through the courtyard, and out of the gate. They didn’t mention their run-in with Dorian, though Aurelia knew it was lingering at the top of both of their minds. How could it not, when Dorian could give the order to dispose of her whenever he felt like it? Even now, Ambrose’s motives confused her, and she watched him as he strode in front of her, his face and thoughts unreadable. She distracted herself from the thought as they arrived at the edge of the main square, standing on the small hill the castle rested upon.
The village was much more active than when she had arrived yesterday – carts of goods were hauled through the main street. The main cobblestone walkway was lined with stalls, people beckoning to each passerby for their beloved salted meats and cheese. The surroundings buildings of the main sqaure were old and run-down, ancient cobblestone and wood buildings scattered around below the castle, all the way down to the docks where Damaris once had boasted of the best trading on the Continent.
While Calathis was the colors of spring, Damaris was dull – the people all dressed in neutral shades of faded brown and green as if the they hadn’t received new clothes in decades. A flash of sadness rang through her as she realized they probably hadn’t – with the tense situations between all of the other kingdoms, she was sure they hadn’t had much of anything at all.
“Shall we?” Ambrose said, pulling her out of her thoughts. She nodded absentmindedly, following him down the hill as he waved warmly to random folks along the street, tightening her cloak around her.
“Ambrose!” A voice called, and Ambrose pulled Aurelia towards one of the stands selling food, this one in particular selling various cheeses.
“Ambrose!” An older man dressed in tattered robes repeated with a grin, walking out of his stall to embrace Ambrose tightly. Aurelia rose her eyebrows in surprise at the familiarity, Ambrose holding the man tightly.
“How’ve you been my dear fellow? Haven’t seen ya in forever! I made your favorites!” The man hobbled over to the back of his stand, rummaging for a moment, before producing a small wheel of cheese and a long cylinder of meat. It was then that he noticed Aurelia standing awkwardly next to Ambrose.
A knowing smile overtook his face. “Now Ambrose, who’s this fine lady?”
Aurelia didn’t give a chance for Ambrose to respond, instead leaning forward and holding out her hand to shake. “Aurelia,” She said kindly, gently squeezing the man’s hand. He seemed so sweet, hard at work to make a living selling various cheeses and meats just to make it through the day, his smile so...genuine. Her chest tightened for a moment before she forced the emotion away.
“Pleasure to meet you, dear. You’re quite a beauty. If only my wife were here to see ya, she would surely adore you.” He said kindly. “Would you like anything?”
Aurelia smiled sadly at the man. “Oh, I’m sorry for your loss, sir,” She said gently. “There’s no need. Ambrose has plenty for the both of us.”
To her shock, he burst out laughing. “No, dear, my wife’s not dead. She’s hunting.”
Aurelia’s cheeks turned pink and Ambrose turned to face her, a smile forming upon his lips. “You see, we’re really not that sexist here. On the contrary, really.” Aurelia gave him a cold look but couldn’t stop a smile from forming on her own face, too.
“Thank you, mister—“
“Oh, yes, I’m such a klutz. I’m Callum, dear. Wife’s Gisele. Feel free to stop by later! She’d love to meet ya!” The man said with a grin, gesturing proudly to his stall.
Ambrose shook his hand. “Thank you for the cheese and meat, Callum. You know yours is my favorite. We’ve got to get to work, but it’s always such a joy to see you,” Ambrose told him as they made their exit. Callum beamed at Ambrose’s words and waved to them until they were out of sight, farther along main street.
“Their son was a friend of mine,” Ambrose said before Aurelia could make a comment. “He…died. I promised him I would take care of them. So I check in, make sure they have enough to live comfortably. The kindest people I’ve ever known. They would give me their last meal if it meant I would be able to survive another day.”
Aurelia nodded. “They are good people.”
Ambrose looked over to Aurelia, his face pained. “It’s okay,” She continued. “I understand.”
They had reached the end of main street, the rest of the road crumbling into gravel and leading into the endless snowy landscape, pine trees littering the horizon. He stopped suddenly and turned to her, a serious look overcoming his sadness. “Aurelia, they are all good people.” He gestured to the people that were strolling the streets.
“They are the kindest humans I have ever met. They have withstood endless droughts of food and supplies and hateful attacks from the other kingdoms because of Dorian’s actions. They have learned how to hunt, to fish, to go searching for berries all to put food on the table for the night when they used to flourish with foods of foreign lands. We are a shadow of the greatness we were.” He paused.
“And yet…even despite the terrible circumstances, they find joy, they find light. Still, they love. They are more than good people. They are resilient, and they are the most admirable people I have ever known.”
Aurelia stood in silence, nodding. “I can see,” She said quietly. That was where the Council had gotten it wrong – they were good people, led by a bad leader. The entire kingdom should have never been blamed.
Ambrose shook his head roughly. “No. No one sees. These people have struggled more than they have ever deserved, and they will continue to.” He sighed, and they began walking into the wilderness, the village getting lost behind them.
Silence fell between the two as the weight of Ambrose’s words hung between them. They strolled through the pine trees as they became denser, now deep in the winter forest of Damaris and all Aurelia could hear was the high whistle of the wind. She made a mental note of the direction they were taking – if there was a patrol every hour, she had little time to escape Damaris lands, most especially if they came this far through the forest. It left little room to avoid being discovered.
They arrived at a clearing of trees that opened a pathway to the cliffs that ran along the edge of the Damaris kingdom, the sound of the waves crashing against the cliffs growing louder with each step. Standing at the edge, Aurelia could just barely make out the beach down below where long rows of docks floated, where there once used to be a busy tradespost with boats of foreign lands.
Ambrose stood next to her, the two of them watching the receding waves. “They will continue to struggle.” Ambrose said softly breaking the silence. “They are starving. We are shells of what we once were – a tradespost known across the Continent for treasures from foreign lands, for welcoming people from all walks of life.”
He motioned to the abandoned docks below them, swaying in the choppy sea. “Damaris…” He paused. “Damaris, despite what you must believe, is so much more than a place to study lunar magic. It is a place of riding horses along the beach, of bonfires roasting fresh meat and goods, a place that welcomes all and of those that share everything they have with the less fortunate.”
Aurelia sighed and turned to face him, pulling the hood of her cloak around her head to shield her from the gusts of wind, the salty, winter air biting at her cheeks.
“You have to see, Aurelia,” Ambrose continued. “You care of your people. See how I care of mine. Please—“ His eyes suddenly widened as he focused on something behind her and before she could register what was happening, he tackled her to the ground.
“What the hell--” Aurelia started before a low growl broke the whistling of the wind. Ambrose rolled off of her and slowly unsheathed the sword strapped to his side, luring whatever was behind Aurelia’s head towards the woods. She took that opportunity to get to her feet and face what was behind her, expecting a rabid beast – but it was a wild boar.
Relief flashed through her but was quickly replaced with dread. It wasn’t just any wild boar – it was three times as large as a regular pig and its fangs stuck out of its mouth menacingly, big enough to slice Aurelia’s body in half in seconds.
Without hesitation, she summoned her magic, lighting a circle of fire around the creature. Ambrose looked up in surprise and watched as she created vines filled with thorns to stick the boar to the ground, its loud squeals getting louder in agony as they made their way up all four legs. A low growl escaped from its throat and it suddenly charged, breaking free of the thorns and running through the fire, straight to Aurelia at a superhuman speed.
Aurelia froze to the spot in fear when something suddenly rammed into her. She flew to the side, slamming into the ground, but nothing was there. She opened her eyes to see the snowy sky above her and looked over to find Ambrose now underneath the boar, its fang piercing through his right arm as it grunted in delight.
“Ambrose!” She gasped, jump up and running to grab the sword he had dropped. Though he was not her friend, she couldn’t risk the only person that had promised her safety. She ran to his aid, plunging the sword deep into the boar’s back. The boar squealed angrily, trying to fight off her attack, and she plunged it into its body again, watching as it whimpered and gasped for breath before finally going still.
Aurelia stood above Ambrose breathing heavily, the boar’s blood splattered across her face. His long hair made a halo around his head, and his face was scrunched in pain. She bent down to him and examined his wound, wincing at the depth at which the fang had pierced into his skin.
“I’m sorry about this,” She said quickly before pulling out the fang and applying pressure, blood oozing out of where Aurelia’s hands rested.
Ambrose moaned in pain and Aurelia tightened her grip on his arm, trying to hold the pressure to keep the blood from escaping. He was pale and considering the size of the boar’s fangs, she wasn’t surprised at how large the wound was in his arm. After a moment’s hesitation, she gently summoned her magic to work its way through his body, stitching itself together, taking away the pain.
Ambrose sighed in relief as his pain slowly went away, opening his eyes to see that what was a gaping hole was now a small cut, a fraction of what it had been moments before.
Aurelia turned to him, her eyes wide. “You saved me,” She said softly, looking down at him, her eyes blazing with intensity. “You could have let the boar hit me, but you didn’t. I am your sworn enemy. The princess of the kingdom that is soon going to wage war on everyone you find beloved, yet you saved me. Why?”
Snowflakes began to fall from the sky, leaving speckles of white in their hair as Ambrose looked over to her.
“I need your help.” He said honestly before he coughed, forcing himself to sit up. “I can’t be the only one that knows the truth – of lunar magic, of the people, of Damaris. I don’t want to be the only one in history that sees the beauty before its too late.” He coughed again, his grey eyes staring deeply into her own. “I need you to see, to understand, and to tell the others. So that everyone can know the truth. So that there might be hope for peace, one day. They’ll believe you. You’re the heir to Calathis. You...you’re the only hope I have left.”
Aurelia paused for a moment and considered what he was saying. He was a man that truly loved his people – and was trying to do something, anything that might save them from the brutality of war. Yet, his brother was the most deadly ruler they had seen in decades. What he was asking for was a dream. And that was the thing about dreams – they hardly mimicked reality.
Aurelia sighed. “There is not going to be peace anytime soon with your brother ruling Damaris, Ambrose.”
Ambrose shook his head. “But if people knew the truth, of his capabilities…” His eyes filled with sadness. “I’m trying to save my people. You must see. They are worth saving.”
Aurelia met his gaze once more and in that moment, she understood. She saw him, saw the realness of his words, of his desperation. Of his humanity.
“Okay,” Aurelia said gently. “Okay,” She repeated as they got to their feet, brushing off the snow. His words revertebrated through her mind, and her thoughts rested upon her supposed task. To do what he asked, she would have to be alive. Cooperating with him, no matter who he was, could save her life, and many innocent lives of others, too.
They slowly began walking back towards the castle, the bloodstains covering their clothing cutting their afternoon short, their patrol finished. “So I suppose you are going to wait to kill me until I’ve convinced everyone to save your people?”
Ambrose stopped and gave her a look. “Come on, Aurelia.”
She stopped and turned towards him, her eyebrows raised as the snow fell faster around them. “I would never hurt you.” He said slowly. “I can promise that.”
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