The Four Realms

Chapter 10: Nicholas

When I entered the shop, I at once noticed the three men huddled over a paper in the corner of the room, they were towering and burly. This was definitely the Winter Kingdom. The shop was lit only by the light of a few dim candles, as they flickered shadows danced across the walls. Augustine explored to the back of the store to collect items. Off the shelves I pulled a blanket and some food before going to Augustine to investigate what she had. Her arms were filled, and she struggled to balance the supplies while bringing it to the front counter. "Do you need help?" I asked. She walked ahead of me, "No... thank you." she huffed. I rolled my eyes; she was so stubborn. As we approached the counter, I noticed in the reflection of the window behind the cashier that the three men were staring us down. I swallowed hard and hurried to hand the cashier the money. We conversed in Ketile and I handed him the coins. Suddenly I heard Augustine shout angrily. "Hey!" I spun around it come face to face with one of the men. He had a long ginger beard and piercing blue eyes. He had placed a large hand on Augustine's shoulder. His companions flanked us and took a step forward. Impulsively I stepped to the side and in front of Augustine shielding her from the view of the men. Silently the ginger man held up a paper with four familiar faces: Cassiopeia Broderick, Hunter Atwell, Augustine Paros and Nicholas Weldervic. The paper had been folded over many times and was yellowing with wear, but you could easily tell that it was us on the page. Under our names read the reward, 100,00 Pecunia, which is the currency of the Winter Kingdom. I clenched my jaw and looked between each of the men, the tensions were high, and I wasn't sure how to get Augustine and me out of this. "Damn they got my hair wrong." I chuckled in Ketile. Ginger beard didn't think I was funny. Suddenly everything went dark as I felt a fist slam into my head and Augustine scream.

My head throbbed painfully as my vision came back patchy, I tried to move my arms but was unable to. I jolted suddenly and wriggled around trying to get free. We were in what seemed to be a backroom of some sort, the smell of mold was nearly unbearable. Augustine and I were sitting back-to-back on two chairs tied together. My wrists were bound by a rope behind my back. "Finally, you are awake." Augustine sighed. "Quiet!" shouted the leader with ginger hair in our native language. "You are the son of the Winter Kingdom! Act like it." he exclaimed. "What is he saying?" asked Augustine. "He said quiet." I responded. "Enough! Silence!" he shouted again. Augustine shrunk back into her chair. "This is you." The leader confirmed pointing to the paper again. I nodded. The other men chuckled, "Drinks on me when we come back." said the shortest man of the group, "We are going to be rich!" he grinned his yellowing teeth showing. "I wouldn't be too sure of that." I stated calmly. I had slipped my hand onto Augustine's waist and pulled her pitifully small dagger from out of its case under her blouse and began to quietly saw at the ropes around my wrists before moving on to Augustine's. She played along perfectly and made no impulsive move when I pulled the ropes away. The leader brought his face close to mine, I wrinkled my nose at the terrible smelling breath. "What exactly do you mean by that?" he spat out every word slowly. We locked eyes for a moment, and I evaluated what move to pull. I jumped up and pulled him into a headlock my arms squeezing tightly to his neck. From the corner of my eye Augustine had pulled out her dagger again and was swiping it at one of the men. They had been taken by surprise and reacted slowly. The leader clawed at my shoulder nearly pulling me off him. Then I threw him against the brick wall, he slumped on the ground. A great force of weight on my shoulders sent me toppling over onto the floor, I rolled over attempting to shake the man off me. He gripped my neck tightly as I tried to wipe away bis hands, I felt a barrage of punches sent to my stomach. I fought to free myself by kicking upward as much as I could, I coughed and tasted blood. Pain wracked my entire body as I struggled to breathe. My vision was shifting in and out of darkness, but I could see a figure standing behind the man holding me down, the pain was becoming intolerable, and I wished darkness would envelop me. All of a sudden, the jabs to my body subsided and I pulled myself up against the wall and away from the man. Augustine stood above the man; her small knife was lodged in the neck of the man. His eyes had closed, and his mouth hung open. Augustine was shaking as she yanked the dagger out of his neck, he fell with a thud to the floor. The dagger dripped with scarlet red blood that glistened in the candlelight. "Thank you." I said as Augustine reached out an arm to help me up. I clutched my rib as pain shot up my back. "Can you stand?" she asked. The adrenaline was still pumping through me, so I nodded. The shortest man who had been so eager to turn them in was beginning to crawl out from the shadows of the room. Before Augustine knew what was happening, he lunged at her from behind and pulled her into a choke hold. She shrieked as he pulled a knife to her throat. The silver blade dug into her skin, nearly cutting it. I froze unsure how to react. "You both listen to me, or I slit her throat, do you understand!" the man shouted at me in the language only he and I would understand. Augustine was breathing heavily, and her eyes were welling with tears. "What did he say!" she screamed. Enraged the man bared his teeth and pushed the knife deeper against her neck drawing a sliver of blood as it dripped down her neck. "Stop, stop, stop, we will go you with you just drop the knife!" I yelled raising my free hand to settle the man, my other hand clutched my side. He looked between Augustine and me wearily and slowly his grip around her loosened and Augustine made her move. She dropped to the ground, pulled out her pocket dagger and plunged it into his chest. He fell backward with one raspy breath. Augustine wiped her forehead with the back of her hand causing blood to smear across it. Despite the searing pain in my ribs, I reached my hand to her forehead and gently wiped away the blood. Her ocean blue eyes locked mine. "We should get out of here." she concurred, "Are you sure you can walk?" I shook my head positively, "I'm fine." I reassured her by walking to the door. With my first step I crumpled over, and Augustine rushed to put my arm over her shoulder. We stumbled out of the building which turned out to be the basement of the shop, Augustine said the shop keeper had been in on it and was the one who tied us up. I told Augustine that it would not be safe to stay anywhere in the town because news in a small Winter Kingdom town spreads fast. We would not have been safe. Reluctantly she agreed and we walked, or should I say staggered through the woods for an hour before much to our luck we stumbled upon a small cabin. The cabin itself was weather-beaten, its wooden planks grayed with age and the roof sagging under a blanket of moss and fallen leaves. Approaching cautiously, we noticed the porch, its floorboards creaking under the weight of neglect. Weeds had claimed the steps, their tendrils snaking through cracks in the wood, reclaiming the structure for nature. The air was stale, carrying a musty scent of decay mingled with pine. The cabin was only one room and furniture, long abandoned and coated in a fine layer of dust, stood as silent witnesses to years gone by. A table, its surface adorned with faded floral patterns, held remnants of what might have once been a simple life: a cracked teacup, a tarnished fork, a worn book with yellowed pages. A little bed sat off to one side with a dingy plaited blanket thrown over it. In the corner, a fireplace lay dormant, its hearth cold and choked with ash. I sat with my back against the side of the bed to weak to pull myself onto it, the sprain was so painful that I felt like my vision may disappear. Augustine sighed as she filed through the cabinets in search of a match. "Ha!" she exclaimed, "Found them! I'm going to get some firewood, I'll me back in a moment." she opened the door to leave. "Wait." I said as she turned expectantly, "It's too dark out." I explained. "It's too cold." she retorted stepping out onto the porch. As I awaited her return with warmth, my body shivered and slipped in and out of consciousness. My head rested against the wooden bed rail as I let myself sink into a deep sleep.

When I opened my eyes, Augustine was knelt in front of me snapping her fingers. She sighed in relief when I swatted away her hands. "Are you alright?" she asked me again. "I'm fine." I told her. "See you keep saying that, but you aren't actually fine." she said ironically. "Then don't ask." I snapped. At once I felt bad, the pain was making my temper short. She threw her hands up defensively, "Sorry." A pile of leaves and wood and been made in the center of the room. Augustine was piling up pieces of wood in the fire pit. With the flick of her wrist the tip of the match between her fingers ignited in bright orange flames. She brought the flame towards the fireplace and slowly the fire grew as it enveloped the dry leaves and eventually the logs. I adjusted myself to sit closer to the warm flame and Augustine perched beside me with a wet cloth in hand. "What's that?" I scowled ducking away from her hands as she went to wipe away the dried blood on my face. "My word Nicholas stop moving." she said angrily. I winced as I let her wipe the blood off my jaw, too weak to resist her gentle touch. "Are you quite finished yet?" I grumbled. "Nearly." she replied, getting to her feet and pulling the floral tablecloth off the table. With one quick motion she ripped in fabric into a long band before resuming her seat beside me. "Take off your shirt." she said plainly. "What!" I asked, "I'm not taking my shirt off." "Your ribs are bruised how else will they heal. Look around I don't see any healers, do you?" she argued. "Fine." I grunted, pulling my shirt upwards. I sucked in a breath as pain struck me hard and I lowered my arms in defeat. Augustine sat back on her ankles with her arms crossed, a smug look playing across her face. "Do you need assistance?" she asked. I glared at her and lifted my arms reluctantly. She chuckled to herself and delicately pulled my undershirt over my head and placed it on the floor beside us. I stiffened my back as her cold hands brushed across my chest to wrap the cloth around my bruised body. "Did it really have to be floral?" I asked to distract my thoughts from the stifling pain that racked my body. "Obviously, I mean it was that or Tafida and I thought flowers suited you better." she joked. I watched as her red lips formed a smile. She finished by tying a small knot on my side before replacing my shirt and nestling down next to me. We sat in silence as the flickering red tendrils lashed at the air. My eyes became droopy as the day's events caught up to me. Augustine's head had tilted and now rested on my head, despite my dislike for her I lacked the strength to move and decided in front of the warmth of the fire was where we would sleep.