The Sanctuary

CHAPTER NINE

“He isn’t saying a single word,” Jonrick muttered as he blocked one of my parrays. I kept my focus on his movements, as he nearly effortlessly spun his sword around and lunged forward with an attack that had me reacting a second too late. I cursed inwardly, as I felt sweat begin to drip down the sides of my face. He had to have some sort of a weak spot.

“The Riders want to kill him. He knows too much.”

A pain in my arm. He had nicked me.

“Alaya!” Jonrick said, surprised. He dropped his sword and hurried towards me, examining the cut on my arm.  I pulled away, hastily.

“It’s fine,” I muttered, raising my sword without flinching. “Are we going to duel?”

Jonrick shook his head, running a hand through his hair. “What is going on, Alaya?” he asked, quietly. “After pulling the most riskiest move you could possibly make, you’re just so…” he fought for the right word, “detached.”

I leaned back and gazed at him. “It’s possible I am just waiting for Madame Widow to come back and tell me to get out of the Sanctuary for bringing such a risk into our home.”

The seriousness of my words made him pause.

“She wouldn’t, Alaya.”

“She could.”

“You were trying to save Kat, everyone knows that-“

“Do they, Jonrick?” I asked, bitterly. “Is that why I’m acting like a servant to a Farsay?”

Jonrick paused. “You were the one to bring him here, so it makes sense for you to take care of-“

“Take care of him? Take care of a Farsay?” I snapped, incredulously. “You and I both know he’s not getting out of this alive. Even if he is of valuable blood, you’re right. He knows we’re underground. There wouldn’t be much time before the King’s Army is upon us.” Suddenly, I felt dizzy and I knelt to the ground, cradling my head. Jonrick dropped his sword with a clatter, and knelt down beside me.

“Alaya…” he started to say, but I shook my head.

“This is my fault,” I said. “You can say it.”

“I’m not going to say that,” Jonrick replied firmly.

My hands turned into fists. Jonrick sighed, and patted my shoulder lightly. “I better go,” he said quietly. “The Riders have a mission tonight.”

“Tonight?” I questioned.

Jonrick looked down. “I cannot say, Alaya,” he said. “The Riders-“

“They do not want me to know,” I finished for him. Glaring into space, I pounded the ground with my fist. “I am such a fool. I should have found a way to attack all three of them, killed him on the spot, done something, anything!” I got to my feet hastily and stormed out of the room. Jonrick called after me but I kept walking, as far away as I could get.

I could barely breathe. I never felt so stifled, so confused, so trapped. I hated the Farsays, I hated the King,

I hated that prisoner.

Moments later, I found myself a little more than surprised to be at the doorstep of the prison room.  I glared at it furiously, wanting to go in and pound the prisoner into confessing who he was.

I opened the door without thinking and stalked in, a fierce irritation propelling me to the same stupidity that caused me to kidnap him in the first place.

“You filthy Farsay,” I snarled. The prisoner looked up as I stormed in.

I hit him in the face, hard.

His face whipped back and slowly turned to face me again.

I hit him again.

With a roar, he was on his feet pushing me away from him with such force, I went flying back. I was up, screaming back at him, no discernible words coming out of my mouth.

I was breathing hard, my fists clenched so hard that my fingernails were digging into my palms deep enough to draw blood. I was shaking.

“You are despicable,” I seethed. It was all the words I could choke out even though I had many more. It was all I could manage and I put all my feelings into those words like I thought they could hurt him somehow.

He wiped some blood that was trickling down from his temple and looked at me, wordless. “You and your kind won’t win this war,” He said quietly. “Even if you Forbiddens kill me down here, there’s nothing to change that fact.”

I was seeing red, and nothing was calming me down. Why do you want us dead? I wanted to scream it out as if screaming it would make him answer truthfully. Why is this happening to us?

What did we ever do to you?

“Even if we lose, I promise I’m going to take down every single Farsay that I possibly can,” I promised, shakily. “You will regret ever hurting us. I will avenge my father-“

“What do you think, Forbidden?” The prisoner suddenly said, his voice sharp. “Your father was the only one hurt?” He began to walk closer to me, the clink of the iron chain echoing with each step he took.

He stopped as far as he could get with that chain and gave me such a fierce look, some of my anger ebbed away in surprise.

“Your kind killed my mother.”

I blinked.

“You think your kind is innocent? You want to portray us as the villains in your convoluted story of good versus evil?” He laughed, dryly. A mocking laugh that made my blood go cold.

“Not true,” I said, quietly. “We would never-“ And in my mind, I saw the arrows flying down on the soldiers in the forest. I saw the dead piling up. I saw the solider in front of me racing into the foray to save his fallen comrades, and the arrows begin again, targeting his defenseless form.

Seek revenge.

“My mother died in her bed, by the hands of a Forbidden. So before you get on your high horse, think about it. We’re both stuck in this war for revenge. How far will that go?” He said quietly, staring at me with his dark blue eyes.

I was wordless.

I wanted him to explain, I wanted to prove him wrong. But the surety in his expression was unnerving.

Was it true?

He shook his head at me, and turned away. He settled back into his corner of the room, tucking the chain around his ankle to a more comfortable position around his body. I felt like a fish out of water, gaping with my jaw slack.

I should go, I thought numbly. I should leave right now.

I finally got my limbs to move. I turned stiffly around to walk out, but his next words stopped me in my tracks.

“I’m sorry…for what they did to your father.”