Court of Snakes: This Desert Cage

Infiltration - Segeno | August of the Third Year

Parisa climbed to the top of the jeweler's with ease to find Terran there, shuffling his cards anxiously, and The King, who looked out over the Atsa district. The moon hung full and huge over the city and cast its silver light upon all it touched. The walls of the city rose to keep the terrors of the desert at bay. Parisa could not see the desert from the short rooftop, but she knew it was there. She could only imagine what sorts of creatures stalked the lands. If there were so many monsters in the walls, what kinds lay outside?

As soon as she approached, Terran put his cards into his pocket. He wore the robes he had worn at the masquerade, and brand new, glorious armor. His eyes met hers and she got goosebumps.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

She adjusted her Elite armor and replied, "As ready as I'll ever be."

"You two be careful," The King advised. "If it gets too dicey, just use cards and go. It's not worth it if you're going to die. Your number one priority is to make it back to me alive."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Terran saluted. Parisa watched the two of them look at each other for a long while until The King pulled Terran into a tight hug. They embraced there on the roof and Terran held still, stiff for a while, until he folded into the embrace. The King placed his hand on the back of Terran's head.

After a long moment, The King stepped back and wiped his eye quickly, hiding something, and coughed. "Go on."

Terran and Parisa began to run toward the palace, silent as thieves as they went. Parisa knew The King had good reason to be nervous. Every guard in the city was looking for her, but they were not looking for Terran La'Hall. Everyone thought Terran was dead.

"Hey... a question," Parisa dared to whisper as they stopped on a roof before the palace walls, which were intimidating and tall in the night. "How do you plan on getting through here?"

"I was hoping you'd know the way," he whispered back.

"There's a blind spot near the back that leads into the servant's quarters on the second floor. But... we'll have to scale the wall. There are no trees tall enough to—"

"There's always a way."

Parisa dropped from the Naa'a rooftop and ducked behind a tree as a guard passed. "Follow me," she commanded.

She dashed off and Terran followed close behind. A southern wall encased a small garden below the second floor of the palace. Two guards had their backs turned to the area and when Parisa and Terran got close enough to the spot, they were lost completely behind the wall. Parisa signaled to Terran to circle around, and before he could blink, she had crept into the garden. Terran turned a corner and the two of them grabbed the guards by the throat. Terran pressed down into his neck, covering his mouth to prevent screaming, until he fell still.

As soon as the guards fell silent, Parisa put her foot into the sill of one of the glass windows on the side of the tower. She was about to attempt to scale it when Terran held up his hand. "Wait. Don't forget you have the cards. There are easier ways up."

Parisa reached into her bag and pulled out a card with a woman surrounded by wheat on it. When the card melted into her skin, which turned crystalline blue like a star, she waited. Nothing seemed different save her hand. Hear heart jumped into her throat as the time passed. "What do I do?" she whispered.

"Which card did you draw?" he replied, keeping his eyes peeled for more guards.

"The Empress."

"Put your hand to the ground."

Parisa did as she was told, and the grass began to grow so violently that it created a pillar and pushed her up to the balcony on the second floor. As soon as she stepped onto solid ground, the blue of her skin faded, and the pillar withered. She looked down to see if Terran had followed, and he was already on his way up.