Shatter Like Glass-Cinderella Retold

Party Thirty-One

Ashen tore her gaze from Veran's severed head and the arrowhead painted above it. Careful not to step on any of the guards' bodies, she marched towards the ladder. All she could think of was her brother, her father, and their empty cells. She needed to find them before things got worse.

"Where are you going now?" Peder asked, somewhat impatiently. The sound of footsteps behind her indicated her was following her yet again. She scowled but didn't glance back at him.

"Why do you even care?"

"I thought that, if we are going to stop the Kingslayers, we ought to share information."

"To bloody hell with the Kingslayers; they're not my responsibility," Ashen told him. "My responsibility is to rescue my father and to make sure my brother doesn't do anything like this again."

She didn't know what that actually entailed. Ashen didn't want to kill her brother, but something had to be done about him. Perhaps she could overpower him and lock him in The Jolly Roger's brig. George wouldn't like it. Neither would she, honestly. Even so, it might be the only way to avoid having to end his life.

"Finding the Kingslayers might be the best way to find him," Peder reasoned. Ashen turned back just long enough to glare at him before stepping onto the first ladder rung. Not speaking, she climbed the entire way up and pulled herself onto the deck. Peder came along just behind her.

Once they were both on the main, she exclaimed, "Can you just stay out of this? I can't afford to think about the Kingslayers or how to stop them. The only thing I need to be thinking about is getting my father and my crew away from this place before everything dissolves into chaos. At least Selanca will be able to become queen, but how long until people decide they'd rather kill all the monarchs rather than just the corrupt ones? They've already killed Natalya. I refuse to allow my family and crew to become mixed up in this."

"They already are. Your brother is one of them."

"I know!" She swore and made for the ramp off the ship. "Why can't you just leave me alone? What does it matter to you if I fight the Kingslayers or not?"

Peder put his hand on his sword. "The Viridian guards—my guards—were completely unaware the nobility had been poisoned until it was too late. The Azurian and Siennian guards were completely inept at preventing the Kingslayers' attack on King Nikolai, the princesses, and the king and queen of East Sienna. You, on the other hand, managed to infiltrate my brother's engagement ball and kill him, a fairly decent swordsman. You also managed to hold me off and wound me on multiple occasions.

"I am not so foolish as to think I can stop the Kingslayers on my own. If you were in my position, who would you rather work with, guards who have already failed, or an accomplished fighter?"

Ashen didn't reply. Instead, she stared at him, eyes narrowed.

Peder sighed. "I understand that your family is your highest priority, though I do hope that you will share any information you receive about them. Even if you have no intention of stopping them, I do."

"I won't hold anything back," Ashen promised. "And I won't get in your way if you don't get in mine."

The Head of Guard nodded. Ashen promptly turned away, heading down the ramp and onto the docks. As she walked, her eyes peered up and down the street. She didn't know what she was expecting. It wasn't as though her brother or father was going to be strolling about. Would the two of them be together? No, Markael was likely with the Kingslayers. George would never side with them. They might have taken him prisoner. But why would they bother?

Whether they had George or not, Peder had been right; finding them might lead her to Markael. Where might they have gone? Surely, they hadn't left the kingdom yet. Markael's ship had been sunk, but the Kingslayers might have one of their own. If they did escape, they could attack several other royal families before she managed to stop them.