A War Of Traitors( ARTK, Book 2)

Chapter 63

Manor 7th, 3329 A.G

  Nara gripped her stomach as she walked, feeling nauseous. She'd made a promise that all of her people would be protected while she lived- and not even two years into her reign, that promise had been broken. To make matters worse, the rape had happened to one of her own councilors. When a servant woke her, a hundred things went through her head.

A siege by one of their countless enemies, a large fight amongst the soldiers- some cultural difference that had finally made someone snap; a fire..... but not this.

Instinctively, she'd reached for the golden-handled dagger on her nightstand. Nara stopped only when she saw the servant girl's face.

"Forgive me, my queen." She said. "There is....."

The girl hesitated. They were not words she wished to speak because of what would certainly follow, but she'd been given a command by the young warrior. Neither her or the queen were people she wished to anger.

"Say it then." Nara yawned, annoyed. "You better have a good reason for waking me."

"Ysmen has been raped." She said so fast Nara could hardly understand her. "I know nothing else but.... the way she walked and the look on her face....they took her to her chambers. We've tried to help..... but she kicked the other servants and the young warrior out immediately."

Nara had pushed past her then, seeing red. Her hair had already tangled during what little sleep she got, and the stone floors were painfully cold against her feet- but she could deal. Her discomfort was nothing compared to what would be done with the rapist.

Ysmen's chambers were small and close to the sickroom- as was tradition in many territories. It took far too long to walk through the main home. When she came around the corner and made immediate eye contact with Maude- her stomach sunk. It didn't matter how good of a warrior she was or how many horrors she'd already seen; someone her age should never have been made to deal with something like that.

"Leave." Nara said firmly. "Try to get some sleep."

Maude opened her mouth and closed it again. Something told her it was not a time to argue, and it was that voice she listened to.

She stepped past Nara, who watched until she was around the corner- out of earshot.

Nara stared at Ysmen's door for over sixty moments. She was not the most comforting presence, but she had to at least try. Otherwise, she did not deserve her crown.

She pushed the door open slowly so as not to startle her, but Ysmen was so focused on dry-scrubbing her skin that she didn't notice the queen come in. Nara sat in front of her and put a hand over the brush. Ysmen tensed.

"I'll have the servants run a warm bath if you wish." She started. "To get...him off of you. Who did this?"

There was no way to soften the question, to make it so the mention of his name wouldn't make her relive the trauma. Nara thought only hours later of how she could have asked Maude- but by then he'd already been dealt with.

"Ysmen-" Nara continued. "I wish to make him pay, but I can only do so if you tell me his name. After that... you have my word that he will pay. I swear it on my dead babe-"

"Mace." She managed to get out. "His name.... was Mace. I knew because I'd... tended to his training injuries before and.... d-do not let him go quickly....."

"I won't." Nara stood. "He'll die tonight- on my dead babe."

She could not use the giants then. They were certainly terrifying enough, but the way they killed was far too quick.

She left then to give Ysmen some space, and to deal with a man she'd never expected to do something like this. It'd taken everything in her not to blink rapidly when Ysmen spoke his name- not because she didn't believe her, but because Mace had hidden who he truly was so well.

Nara turned around the corner and slammed straight into Tuyon's chest. Neither bothered to ask if the other were okay.

  "Is House Tomhend's witch still missing?" The old woman had fled sometime before the walls closed off to avoid tensions, and no one had found or heard of her since.

  "As .... far as I know." Tuyon nodded. "As harsh as this seems right now.... Ysmen is House Tomhend's witch now."

  She couldn't be- not yet anyways.

  "She will.... need some time." Nara replied. "Find a female servant... who's dealt with this before.... to help her. No men."

  Tuyon nodded, nearly as angry as she was.

"Find Mace." Nara continued. "I don't care if it takes ten soldiers or a thousand but it will happen tonight."

  When Nara were younger, the old torture methods had interested her- but she'd never had a good reason to use them before. There were methods that took far longer than others; sitting the person on top of a pyramid structure for days with the point inside of them- but they did not own or have enough time to build one of those. No, they'd have to use one that'd always sounded excruciating to Nara despite how fast it worked.

  "Make sure at least a thousand soldiers from the army are there to witness it." She said. "I will find the bucket, the torch, and the rats."

  Nara had only been in her chambers for a few moments, preparing- when Renard let himself in. He strolled over to her quickly, a type of concern on his face that confused her. She had no idea when it'd happened but for some reason his touch, however innocent- made her heart beat faster.

  "They only told me someone was raped. Not you, right?" She took a few moments to respond, studying his face. "Nara?"

  "No." She shook her head. "Not me."

He sighed with relief, immediately understanding what the bucket and torch on her bed were for.  The rapist would pay, no matter who it'd happened to. If it'd been her....... Gods he'd never let the man die. He'd draw the death out over decades.

  "Who then?" He asked.