The Damned Princess

Chapter 11

"Just tell me honestly, did you kill this man?" Tari asked exasperated.

"No, the chair killed him. The chair is made from wood which comes from the ground. The ground is part of nature. He died of natural causes." Tari was not impressed.

"Did you have to kill him like...that?" She gestured down at the corpse, guts spilling out of the deep cut Lyria had dealt to his stomach with the edge of a chair leg. They had reached the port of Seona which, according to a elderly merchant, was a day's ride from Orynth. Except they didn't have horses, nor the money to keep Val's ship moored in the docks. Although, Lyria suspected the pirate was just unwilling to part with the hefty price that the harbour master had demanded. Pirates, she rolled her eyes.

Her and four men from the bar had started up a game of cards. A minute in she had realised that they were cheating. Terribly. Having spent time with her mother and her Aunt Lysandra playing cards, where they were both constant cheaters, it was easy to spot the slight of hand. Lyria wasn't one to judge as she herself was cheating as well. It was when one of them declared that she wasn't playing fairly, after she had annihilated them in another round that she got pissed. Apparently her response of:

"It's not my fault you're all shit cheaters." Accompanied with her laying down her fifth winning hand wasn't the right thing to do. One man passed out at the sight of the money he had just lost, another had frozen, but the last two had leapt across the table at her (like some savages) and drawn their daggers. They were little more than kitchen knives and Lyria had no trouble dodging. It wasn't entirely her fault that one man went careening into a chair, breaking it and giving her a perfect weapon. Three minutes later there was a dead body and she had won two hundred silvers. All in all a good evening. Unfortunately, Tari seemed to disagree for some reason.

"Could you not have killed them with a little more kindness?" Lyria stared at her.

"Did you just say, kill them...with kindness?" Tari nodded as Lyria spoke slowly, humour filling her tone.

"How in the world does someone kill with kindness?" Her friend cringed slightly and backtracked.

"I just mean kill them quickly, with no pain. You know?" Lyria lounged back in her chair, amused.

"Whatever do you mean with quickly? A knife to the throat? Or perhaps a decapitation would be best, it would certainly be fast. Althoughhhh," She drew out the word, humour dancing in her eyes at Tari's green face, "I'm not sure if I would be able to cut through all that bone, maybe a stab to the heart would be better. What do you think?" The dark haired women frowned and whacked Lyria with an empty mug.

"Hey!" Lyria protested, rubbing the sore spot on her head, though her grin remained.

"Stop teasing! You bloody well know what I meant." Lyria smirked as Tari stormed out, and called after her, loud enough for the bar to hear.

"Thank you so much for your advice on how to behead someone!" A few people gasped and heads turned in bewilderment. Tari whirled around and then stuck up a vulgar hand gesture.

"Love you too!" The woman rolled her eyes half heartedly but amusement was plain on her face. Lyria winked at her.

She scooped up the winnings, dumped them in her coat - along with the purses of the three men, she avoided the dead body not wanting to stain her shoes. Waving to the gaping and pale bartender she made her way out the now silent inn. She debated paying for the damage and her drinks but decided one of her opponents could. Oh wait they couldn't because she had taken their money. Laughing to herself Lyria stepped out the door, barely noticing as a woman leapt out the way, watching with wide eyes as she exited.

On her way back to the boat, she stopped next to a stall which was being packed away. It was filled with weapons ranging from a petit stealth dagger to a double handled broad sword. Most were common but her gaze caught on one towards the end of the display.

"Ah you have good taste." The merchant noticed her stare and brought out the sword for her viewing. A ruby the size of an egg gleamed in its hilt. It looked so familiar...

"Forged by the ancient fae.," He claimed his packing away forgotten, replaced by the anticipation of more money.

"How much?"

"Five gold." Her gaze snapped up to the man. That was the equivalent to what she had won that night and some.

"That's ridiculous, I could go to the forges in Doranelle myself and have one made for less." The seller was not deterred.

"Yes but this sword belonged to a legend, you are familliar with the Great Queen and Savior Aelin Galanthynius, yes?" Lyria stilled, she was pretty sure her heart skipped a beat. The man noticed her reaction and carried on, obviously pleased with himself.

"It belonged to none other than her, lost in the Tridal Wars-" Lyria cut him off as he began to rant.

"How did you get this?" Her words were sharp as the blade before her. The merchant went a little pale at the thunderous expression on her face but continued.

"I bought it off another merchant a year ago. Now, will you be purchasing? I promise it will serve you well." Lyria blocked him out as he went on another tangent about how it would bring her glory. This was Goldryn, her mother's sword. This was the closest she had been to her mum since she had fallen into the portal. Tears welled in her eyes and the ruby gleamed in the faint light as if sensing her thoughts.

"I'll take it." She said finally, voice soft. She handed the man two gold which he took with a frown.

"You're mistaken, this sword is worth at least four gold."

"And that dagger please." Lyria slid the sword into her belt and picked up a long dagger from the table. She sent a spear of her power into the man's mind and he relaxed.

"Of course, anything else?" Lyria didn't even hear him as she rested her hand against the gem, as she had seen her mother do so many times. The stone warmed under her palm.

She barely noticed the man talking as she blindly started towards the dock, the sword a comforting with at her side. This was definitely a sign, she decided.

She was so close.