The Stains of the Crown

Chapter One

Trigger warnings: Mild violence.

I frown up at the sky as rain pours down. It was late summer by now, and the weather was normally warm and sunny, but the past week had been nothing but rain. What had started off as a light drizzle had quickly turned into a downpour, soaking me to the bone. The thunder booms loudly enough to resonate in my chest.

"Echo, what are you doing out here?" Delilah shouts over the rain. "Go get in your tent."

"Someone's coming."

"What are you talking about? No one's stupid enough to travel in this rain!" I hum, looking at the road. Seconds later, a horse rounds the bend, running at full speed. The road, which at this point was only mud and puddles, isn't solid enough to support the turn at such speed. The horse's legs slide out from under it, sending both the horse and the rider to the ground.

"Stay here." Delilah nods as I sprint towards the rider, my gun ready in my hand. The man groans, trying to pull his leg out from under the horse. His armor, while now coated with mud, shows the emblem of the Adrunait kingdom. I aim my gun at his head, cocking it. He holds his hands up.

"I come in peace!" His horse stands, taking off running. The man's leg was buried deep in the mud, deep enough he wouldn't be able to pull it out on his own.

"Who are you and what do you want?"

"I'm Queen Amira's messenger. I have a letter from her for your leader."

"Grab it slowly. Any sudden movements and you won't like the consequences." He slowly reaches into a leather bag at his side, his hands shaking. He pulls a letter out, carefully stretching to hand it to me. I grab it. "I'll be right back. You stay here. If you are who you say you are, we'll help you out. If you're not-"

"You can't just leave me here!" I quirk an eyebrow at him, turning around and walking back to camp. I walk into one of the smaller tents. Dalla raises her eyebrows at my rain-covered body, taking the letter from me.

"Why were you out in the rain?" I shiver.

"I could hear the messenger coming."

"How could you possibly hear that over this rain?"

"You know I don't have an answer to that. I don't know why you ask. Anyways, the messenger is stuck in the mud, so you should probably read that." She gives a little half-laugh, like she always did when I would deliver messages, even though usually, messengers just had guns aimed at them rather than actually being trapped. She reads the letter quickly before handing it back to me.

"Let's go help him. We can pack up and move out once he's gone." After we pull him out and watch him turn past the bend again, I quickly inform the others about our new assignment. They all get to work taking down tents and loading supplies. I get my tent down quickly. I look around after loading it onto Sterling. I see El, our newest recruit, struggling to pull the stakes out of the ground.

"Let me help." He looks up at me.

"You're Dalla's second, aren't you?"

"I am." I was surprised he had to ask. He'd been with us for a while, and this wasn't the first interaction we'd had.

"But you're Kypture." I take a deep breath, trying to cool my sudden anger.

"Yes, I am."

"That's really cool." I raise my eyebrow as I untie the rope.

"Why's that?"

"I've never heard of a Kypture in any type of power. I mean, I've heard of Kapsti in power of course, but not Kypture. And they're really the same thing." I sigh.