Ashes to Ashes | ✓

5 || Humanity's Gift

When they arrived at the gates to the inner wall, Cinere lifted her right wrist and waved her cuffed bracelet. The air surrounding the gates shimmered slightly, like heat waves rising off the ground during hot summers. Felix held his breath, glancing between Cinere and the two guards on either side of the gate. She seemed unbothered, wearing a confident smile on her face. The two guards exchanged a nod and the gate swung open, inviting Felix and Cinere into the courtyard of the castle. She exchanged a few words with the guards in a language he didn't recognize; the words rolled together, tumbling from their lips faster than Felix could keep up with. One of the guards glanced toward Felix, looking him up and down, before answering Cinere in the same tongue.

Finally, their conversation ended and the guards both returned to their posts with a quick dip of their heads. Cinere gestured to Felix and stepped through the gates. He followed, keeping his gaze focused ahead to avoid looking at the two guards. Their stares drilled into the back of his head as he walked, only vanishing when the gate slammed shut behind him.

He shook his uncertainty away and sped up a bit to walk at her side. One thing at a time. While the shimmering air tugged painfully at his core, his mind feared the blades at the guards' sides more. "What did you tell them?" he asked.

"Hm?" Cinere glanced up at him, bewilderment darkening her eyes. As realization settled in, the flame lit once more. "Oh, you don't speak Nivean, do you?"

"I barely even speak Furvian," he said. Even in the kingdom of Furvus, very few people spoke the language. Those that did were scholars or others who could pay the expenses to be taught by a scholar. It was used only in old texts or legal documents. Most people spoke the common tongue, which was shared between all five kingdoms.

His master knew some Furvian and taught Felix a handful of words and phrases. The old man had never been shy about voicing his thoughts on the system: he thought it was corrupt and would ultimately doom their kingdom to ignorance. As a kid, Felix blindly believed him. Now an adult, he saw the irony in that fact.

Cinere came to a stop, the soles of her sandals clacking against the cobblestone pathway. While she was stopped, he let his gaze drift past her. Much like the city outside the inner wall, it was quiet within the courtyard. Torches lit the gardens, illuminating them in a soft glow. Cobblestone paths spiderwebbed through hedges and flowerbeds, weaving in and around the courtyard all the way back to the palace that looked over where they stood. The stone walls rose up around them, forming a protective rim. Yet Felix's eye was drawn to the flickering lights behind the windows in the castle. Many lights were still on at this hour, and occasionally he caught a figure rushing past the windows that lined the walls.

Where would Aiko be? What would be the quickest way to get to her? What entrances could he sneak through, and where would the quickest exit be when he was done?

Cinere cleared her throat, reminding him of her presence. He jerked his focus back to her and forced himself to meet her eye—though it made his skin prickle with unease each time he did it. Seemingly satisfied, she brought up one of her easy smiles, the ones that sent a shiver down his spine.

"I was just telling the guards that you're my guest," she said. Though her voice carried that soft innocence, there was a certain stress on the word guest that made her blank more obvious. "As long as you're with me, they won't bother you. If you leave my presence though..." She frowned, looking upwards as if thinking. "Ah, yes." With the flame in her eyes burning strong, she dragged her thumb across her throat.

In essence, don't go looking for Princess Aiko. Felix raised his hands innocently, shrugging his shoulders. "I wouldn't dream of it," he mumbled. "I'm here to see what it is you want to show me."