The Sapphire Tiger

Chapter 7: A new piece on the Board

After a hearty lunch, Lief stood in the courtyard with Snow, showing her some sword techniques she had never heard of and giving her advice on how she stood and how she held her sword. Luke watched from a corridor and grit his teeth, clenching his fists so tightly that his claws dug into his palms, almost making them bleed. Every time he asked to join her or even just tried to talk to her while she was practicing, she made it very clear she wanted to be on her own for that whole hour. But Lief was getting none of that. She was more than happy to have him with her. He understood why, but he hated it. He hated that this human was so much more interesting, so much more experienced and so much smarter than him. He had enough difficulty retaining Snow's attention before but now Lief was here, he didn't stand a chance. He had tried to at least tolerate Lief but it seemed that every moment he saw him with Snow gave him one more reason to hate him. He had practically reached his breaking point. He wanted to stand up to Lief, let him know what he was getting in the way of and assert his dominance over him. Not only would this get the message across to Lief but it would surely make his strength more visible to Snow and maybe even make her more interested in this young wolf warrior and less in this old human barbarian. He hesitate and thought about it for some time but reached his decision after much contemplation. He would challenge Lief to a non-lethal duel. But he wouldn't do it yet. He wanted to wait until his head wasn't clouded with anger. Right now, he was seething as he watched Lief put his hands on Snow to adjust her stance and her grip on the sword's handle. She even seemed to find something he was saying funny at one point or another. Luke decided he couldn't take it any more and stormed off inside, almost hurting his fist as he punched a wall while he walked. 

Sela sat on her throne with the same scorn on her face as usual as her the mysterious cloaked human stood before her, accompanied by General Syrrak.
"You said you had some exciting news, Magus." She said impatiently. "I hope, for your sake, that it is half exciting as you made it sound." 
"Oh trust me, your highness," The hooded man replied. "You're going to love this."
"Yes I'm sure  I will now please get on with it before the excitement kills me." She replied sarcastically, her face as still as stone. 
"Well, it seems that my  hunch was correct, your majesty." He began. "The power demonstrated by the human that Syrrak captured was not his own. It came from that bracelet that was attached to his arm. This also explains why it couldn't be wrenched free of his arm even by your strongest men." The queen raised a single eyebrow.
"Are you telling me that thing is magic, Magus?"
"Indeed I am, my queen." He said with a smile. "The bracelet is known as the Sapphire Tiger. It was made a long, long time ago by human mages to combat the power of its older brother, the Ruby Dragon." For the first time in his time serving Sela, Syrrak saw her don an expression of genuine surprise, her eyes opening more widely than they ever had. 
"Are you telling me there are two of these things?" The Magus nodded. 
"Indeed, my queen. The Ruby Dragon looks just like the Sapphire Tiger, with the exception of being gold rather than silver and being fitted with a ruby rather than a sapphire. This bracelet only bestows its power upon those with wicked intentions and a hunger for power. One of my fellow Magi in the Kingdom of Mau in the eastern land has informed me that a human over there has gone off on a similar rampage to the general brought in and he has confirmed it to be the work of the Ruby Dragon. It is my guess that the Ruby Dragon sensed that its younger sister had bestowed its power upon someone which provoked it to call out to someone itself so that they could continue their ancient rivalry."
"Very interesting indeed." The queen said, rubbing her chin with intrigue. "If this human has been chosen by the Ruby Dragon, I dare say he'll be easier to tempt into being my servant than the blonde one." 
"Do you want us to abandon our pursuit of the blonde one, your excellency?" Syrrak  asked. Sela shook her head. 
"No, I would like them both at my command if possible." She thought to herself for a moment. "General, I want you to stay here and continue to hunt the troublesome blonde but send your most trusted man or woman to the Kingdom of Mau with a reasonably sized patrol to find this other human and deliver him a message from me. Send them to come and see me when you've made your selection." 
"Yes, my queen. I'll start right away." The general replied and made his exit from the throne room.

While Snow was taking a bath, Lief remained on the grass in the courtyard, sitting alone and relaxing under the warm sunlight. He was deep in thought until he was interrupted by two chattering voices coming from around the corner. Two young rabbits who looked to be a romantic couple were walking arm in arm, the female carrying a basket of food. The two were clearly intent on enjoying their lunch on the grass but stopped in their tracks as they saw Lief, a look of surprise and worry on their faces. There was plenty of room in the courtyard for them as well as the human but that didn't seem to matter to the young couple. They looked at Lief as though he were going to eat them. 
"Oh, I'm sorry. We'll...we'll find somewhere else." The female said and before Lief could even open his mouth to tell them they were more than welcome, they had already scurried off around the corner from which they came. Lief sighed as he continued to sit alone. It was bad enough that he'd just spoiled a young couple's picnic, but he was just as saddened to know that 'normal' people avoided him like a plague. He soon smiled and even giggled quietly to himself. 
"Nidela and the guys were right about me. I really am a changed man. Was a time I'd ruin a person's entire life in a single afternoon and think nothing of it. But nowadays, I can't even scare off a happy couple without feeling bad about it." He sighed and lay on his back, closing his eyes as the sun beamed down on him. "At least one of us managed to grow up."

Lief had began to doze off into a nap until a shadow loomed over him. He opened his eyes as he was lightly poked in the chest by something long and blunt to see one of the castle's guards, a male leopard looking down at him, spear in hand. Lief was soon on his feet, expecting to be scolded and shooed off inside so that others could enjoy the sunlight without having to look at him. 
"Have I done something wrong, sir?" He asked politely. The guard's face remained still as stone.
"Well that remains to be seen." He replied.
"Oh, have I been accused of something?" He asked.
"Well, it's no secret that the queen is after you. We all know that but one of the castle's residents came back from the town with a wanted poster on it. Are you aware of the crimes you're wanted for?"
Lief was rather annoyed that someone had come back with one of the posters, especially since most of them had either been disposed of or defaced by the good people of the town. But he kept his cool. 
"No, I've not seen the posters myself so I've no idea what lies the queen has fabricated about me." He answered.
"Right, well you're wanted for some pretty despicable things. I know that the queen often makes up charges for people she is after but if I find out you assaulted and took advantage of defenseless women, I won't turn you in to the queen, I'll deal with you myself." His voice had turned into a growl by the end of his threat. Lief was now even more annoyed. It was bad enough that the queen was accusing him of doing such things but it was quite another that some people seemed to be taking them somewhat seriously. Even when he was a bandit he never did anything more than kill and pillage. The only times a female satisfied his lust was completely consensual.
"I can assure you, her claims are completely fictional. She isn't even aware of the things I did as a bandit. I've never been a wanted man. She's only claiming what she does so that people will be more inclined to turn me in so that she has an exotic new pet." He defended. The guard stared him in the eyes and seemed to realize that Lief wasn't lying. Lady Moss clearly only hired people who were not only good at keeping the peace but were very observant and good at reading people.  A moment later he nodded. 
"I see. You seem like you're being honest and, if I'm honest myself, Lady Moss trusts you and that's good enough for me."
"Oh well, thank you sir. Is there anything else?" Lief asked.
"Actually there is," The guard began. "Someone else came to the castle gates with one of your posters in hand. Said you knew each other. A female while tiger. Very tall, very muscled. Sound familiar?" Lief shook his head.
"No. I've never met anyone like that. I mean, it could be someone I 'spent the night' with once. But I've done that with more women than I can count over the years." 
"Lovely." The guard said sarcastically through a look of mild disgust. "I guessed as much. She was very clearly a bounty hunter. Cheeky bitch even tried to bribe the guards on duty at the front gate." 
"I wonder how she found out where to find me?" Lief wondered aloud.
"She probably bribed someone who saw you with Snow. But either way, you'd best watch yourself. This woman looked serious and I bet my boots that she isn't the only one out for the bounty on your head." The guard then took his leave, leaving Lief to wonder about what the next few days would bring. He hoped that he had heard the last of this feline bounty hunter.