The Way We Fall

Chapter 50 (Tigris)

"Three dead. Twelve injured. Both of which include women and children." Tigris reported to her father. Silence dawned upon the royal councilroom. The King pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Did anyone see where this creature came from?"

"No," Tigris rechecked the report she'd made, "But based on the path of carnage, it probably came from the forest on the southwest end. It plowed straight through the market in the lower town and was making its way to the castle."

The king frowned, his eyes darting to Verita. Beside her, Roche stood, still speckled with rocks, sand, and small droplets of blood.

"Verita, do you know anything about this creature?"

"No, sire." Verita replied, casting her eyes down, "I must consult my sources."

King Romulus nodded. "Do that, and update me on your findings. Tigris, organise a patrol. I'd like the forest to be searched and knights to be dispatched to the lower town to keep them safe. I'd like a report from the knights who fought the beast, send them over to me."

"Erm... there are none." Tigris replied, shifting on her feet.

Romulus stilled. "Are you telling me that a creature killed three Faultless citizens, and not a single knight tried to fight it?" he asked slowly.

Shame burned within Tigris. She looked down at the list of deceased and injured, and it burned brighter.

"Unfortunately... yes, my lord." Tigris replied, her cheeks burning. Tigris had been training half of them on the other side of the castle. The other half...

"This is disgraceful." Romulus pinched the bridge of his nose, "Where were they?"

"Border patrol was found severely maimed by the creature. Leinos is treating them now. By the looks of it, they were attacked before they could raise the alarm." Tigris answered, bowing her head with respect. Her red hair fell over her eyes, hopefully hiding the way they dimmed. "The rest of the knights learned of the beast only as it approached the castle."

Her father looked like he was getting a migraine. "I expect this security issue to be fixed immediately. And you will face this beast as soon as it shows up again."

"Yes, sire." Tigris agreed, her pride still smarting. She should have been there to help. It shouldn't have fallen on her civilians to protect themselves. What the hell were she and the knights there for if not to protect the defenceless?

The king nodded curtly. "Dismissed."

Tigris spun on her heel, Aodh just a step behind her. His ice blue eyes were inscrutable. Tigris nodded to him.

"Prepare messages for the families of the deceased and have them delivered out with the appropriate compensation." she murmured, "Then come help me train the knights who will help me slay the beast."

Aodh raised an eyebrow. "I'd better be on that team."

"No. You will be busy managing the patrols." Tigris corrected, tracing the hilt of her sword. "This beast is mine to slay."

"As if I'd let you fight it alone." Aodh's voice was teasing in nature, but his eyes gleamed intently. "I'm coming with you."

"Aodh," Tigris sighed, finally stopping her determined strut to face her brother. She grabbed his shoulder roughly. "You know I can handle this, we've gone hunting all the time. Besides, I need your help with the patrols, please. I have something else I need to do."

"And what might that be?" he asked snidely, "It better not be curling your hair or burning your dresses to spite Father."

Tigris frowned at him but let the insult slide. "I'm going to speak to the person who actually fought this beast and get a report."

Aodh blinked. "But no knight fought it."

"Yet someone did." Tigris replied, pointing over her shoulder where she knew Roche was waiting. She smirked as the maid jumped. "Otherwise, Roche wouldn't be standing there. I know for a fact that she alone could face a fearsome creature and survive. So, Roche. Care to enlighten me?"

Roche bit her lip nervously as she skirted closer. She wrung her hands nervously.

"You see... it wasn't a knight." she reasoned, "I don't know anything about her."

"Her?" Aodh repeated. Roche nodded.

"Yep. She's a maid. She used a training sword and fended off the beast. She was amazing."

"A maid?" Aodh repeated with as much incredulity as Tigris felt. "A maid managed to fight off a beast that several knights couldn't?"

"Yep!" Roche was practically bouncing on her feet, her eyes dreamy. "You should have seen her, my lord! She was unstoppable. I noticed that the training sword she used was the one that I personally favour. It's old and it's usually stored in the western garrison. You know, it has quite the fascinating history-"

Roche could go on tangents about the history of objects for hours. Tigris would know. She'd had to listen to the exuberant girl for hours. But they didn't exactly have hours right now.

"That's all very fascinating," Tigris deadpanned, "But where is this maid now?"

"Oh," Roche stopped bouncing and looked a bit sheepish and solemn all at once, "She was injured in the fight. She's being treated in the infirmary by Leinos." Roche glanced down at her hands, seemingly noticing that they were still crusted with blood. Her face paled, and Tigris remembered that her maid was a bit squeamish about such things.

She repressed a sigh. Why she kept Roche around was a mystery. Still, she owed the girl her life.

"Go get yourself cleaned up and then clean the armory. Oh and polish the army's boots." Tigris ordered, "The knights are going to be on patrol soon."

Roche groaned loudly, but trudged off. Hopefully to do her job. Tigris noticed that her maid had a tendency to wander off distracted sometimes.

Roche was not a very good maid.

"You can still fire her, you know?" Aodh whispered, grinning mischievously. Tigris punched him in the arm.

"Then who would you get to clean your chambers? Because my last maid refused to even go in there." she teased, headlocking her brother with ease. He struggled, and Tigris smirked, "Admit it. You're actually starting like Roche."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Aodh sputtered. Tigris managed to ruffle his hair with her knuckles before he managed to squirm out of her grasp and flee.

"Don't forget to organise the patrols!" she called as he ran.

In response, Aodh flashed her the bird once he was a safe distance away.

A/N: I found the most beautiful quote the other day that really reminded me why I love reading and writing so much: Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.

What do you think of it? As always, I'd love to hear any criticism and comments you have, so lmk your thoughts :) Happy reading!