In the Shadows~zayn au~Completed ✅EDITING

~Chapter 56: Ripples~

                  

Double update: you're welcome ;)

AAAAAAND meet King Thomas aka Tom Hardy, one of my all-time favorite actors. You may know him as "Eames" from Inception, "Bane" from The Dark Knight Rises, "Mad Max" from the self titled Fury Road installment, or (my personal favorite and least known) Tommy Riordan from the movie Warrior. All these things are to say, he's a jack of all trades, can play any role and in this case, he's scary, powerful, and has the final say. Enjoy! :) (Edit: he's been in so much more now 😂 I doubt anyone will be confused who he is. If you are, go watch Peaky Blinders, Dunkirk (with Harry too), or This Means War)

The Royal City of Etharia was a severe change in the landscape that appeared about midday. The buildings cut into the landscape abruptly, stark outlines against the grass and sky. The city grew bigger as they approached and Kalysta was surprised by just how bleak everything looked. There was hardly any color to break the harshness of stone and woodwork.

As they approached, a squad of soldiers filed out and surrounded them.

"Stay quiet," Zayn repeated.

A man stepped forward out of the group, hand on the pommel of his sword. "What business brings you here?" he barked forcefully.

"Ambassador Zayn of Mullingar with entourage," Zayn replied with equal venom. "I would meet with your King and as Royalty myself I am wearied by the ill treatment I continue to receive. Take me to your King and be assured that he will hear of this!"

Kalysta was surprised when the man laughed uproariously.

"If you wanted to be coddled you should have gone to Cheshire, not come here. I'll bring you to the palace, but I can't promise that the King will grant you audience."

"It will be seen as a personal affront to my father if he does not grant me one," Zayn hissed.

The scathing look the man returned was more than insubordinate. "Yes, I'm sure it would be."

Something was very off about this situation. Never had she seen anyone so blatantly disregard Zayn's authority and perceived backing from his father.

With a wave of his hand, the man stepped away from them and led the way down the street. When their group made to follow, the soldiers around them formed into two lines on either side of the horses, effectively trapping Kalysta and the others between. The soldiers' movements were regimented and unified. They moved as one entity and it was not only amazing to see, but frightening as well. If the rest of the military worked as seamlessly, there would be quite the reckoning for anyone standing opposite them.

Everywhere she looked, Kalysta saw evidence of how military matters permeated everyday life. There were more blacksmiths, farriers, and weapons shops than there were anything else. Shops selling household wares were few and far between and the items sold were bare of any decoration. It reflected their life styles, apparently, functional and without superficiality.

She also noticed that most women had their hair cut short like the men. It was a strange thing to see. Only a few women had hair past their shoulders.

Everything was different from what she was used to seeing. Some children played in the streets, but they were very young and played obviously military-themed games, swinging sticks at each other and fighting in organized ways that belied their age. There was almost too much to take in all at once.

They turned over their horses at a stable outside the palace before they were escorted inside. To call the building a palace would be generous. It was more of a castle, as regimented and harsh as everything else. There were no lavish items to be seen anywhere.