The Witch's Retribution

Chapter 3

Lily strode into Eldon's chambers, still wearing her armor though her gauntlets had been lost somewhere near the arena. Without them, the silver ring glittered on her left hand for all to see. Her shoulder throbbed with each hurried breath as she strode over to the injured knight lying on one of the freshly made cots. The white sheets were stained red as the physician worked at the wounds, bits of flesh torn away from a charcoal arm by what appeared to be from the teeth of some great beast.

Dark hair, the color of ebony in summer, hung in a matted mess around a face stained with the red dust of Pierake and the sweat of battle. "A woman knight." Lily breathed. With all the dark glares she had received for her own knighthood, it was surprising and relieving to see another woman traveling down the same path.

"In Pierake, everyone is a warrior." Eldon replied, smearing a putrid smelling green paste along the jagged wounds.

"Too bad it cannot be like that everywhere."

"Times are changing," Eldon glanced up at Lily, "although not all will be pleased with the changes."

Lily didn't meet her uncle's eyes, but instead, continued to stare down at the Pierake knight and the grievous injuries. "What type of beast could do this? I've never seen anything like it."

"I have once before, when I was just a tiny thing, barely old enough to leave my mother's skirts." Eldon said. "I still lived in Railark, of course, as a prince. One of our knights ventured too close to Pierake's borders, claimed to have seen a vicious beast with teeth like swords and three times the size of a horse. Everyone believed him to be mad, but the wounds were similar to these here, so perhaps not as mad as we thought. A serpent-like creature with a thousand legs." He shook his head. "Sounds like something a child would dream up."

A low groan jerked their attentions back to the injured knight whose golden eyes began to blink open. The luminous eyes were a curious trait known only to a select few from Pierake though few were born into that kingdom with magic in their veins. The knight's hand seemed to go instinctively to her thigh though what she searched for no longer rested there.

"I must speak with Lily Emerick. It is of vital importance." The knight's silky voice nearly masked the tiniest hint of a rough accent like rocks breaking above the surface of a flowing stream, and her eyes jumped from Lily to Eldon with near frantic imploring.

"I am Lily Emerick."

Lily fought not to flinch when the knight's bloodstained hands grabbed hers in a painful grip of coarse fingers and sharp nails. "Pierake has been attacked."

Eldon paused when he made to calm the knight, his own hands stained with her blood as her injured limb was jerked from his careful ministrations. "It's alright now. Just lie back down." He told the knight though Lily could see the tense worry on his face.

"No!" The knight jerked away again. "I was told to bring reinforcements. We must depart immediately."

Lily clasped the dark hands between her own to stop the nails from digging farther into her skin. "I understand, but you will be no good to anyone if you do not rest. I will gather our reinforcements; do not worry."

The knight's golden eyes searched Lily's before sliding away in weary acceptance. "Thank you." The words were soft, forced, and Lily knew how much it cost the other knight to lie back onto the cot and allow Eldon to finish his work.

Eldon met Lily's eyes, and she nodded, "I'll go find Liam."

***

"Xan, have you seen Lily?" Liam asked, startling his servant who stood near Liam's tent, seemingly lost in thought. There were numerous tents around them, a myriad of colors, set up for the participating knights. The tournament would last the week, and until then, the castle would remain alive with the collective excitement of visiting knights and servants.

"What?" Xan blinked at him. "Uh, n-no. Not recently...Sire." He added that last word of respect after a hasty glance at the visiting knights passing by them.

Liam would have to be a fool not to be aware of the dangerous glares his servant had been receiving. Already, the prince had been approached by many of the visiting lords who felt the need to comment on Xan's lack of respect and obedience. He had seen how those lords' servants had acted, terrified and completely deferential, and just the thought of having Xan behave that way, of having Xan fear him, did not sit right with Liam at all.

"Are you alright?" Liam asked, watching the servant fidget and glance around as if he feared someone was watching them. The servant had seemed fine earlier in the day, endlessly chattering about the tournament and which knight he thought would win each match. Liam had had to remind Xan numerous times that the servant was meant to be working rather than spectating.

"I'm fine, Sire."

Liam grabbed the servant's arm, startling him, and dragged him into his tent. "Now, the truth." He demanded.

Xan let out an explosive breath and jerked his arm away. "I saw one of my old masters, watching from the stands. Just scared me a bit is all." He rubbed his bare arms, the thick white scars covering his right peeking out from between tanned fingers.

"Did he speak to you?" Liam asked.

There was a slight hesitation before Xan shook his head. "No. Can I go now? I have lots of work to finish."

"You work for me."

"Yes, and if I don't finish, I'll have to listen to you complain." Xan gave a cheeky smile before darting from the tent.

The flap of the tent was soon lifted by another tanned hand, and for a moment, Liam suspected Xan had returned until Lily entered. She was breathing hard, sweat dripping down her face and still wearing her armor despite the heat from the summer sun. Her auburn hair hung around her face in a tangled mess, and in her eyes sparked the silver magic that Liam had finally grown accustomed to.

He smiled. "Come here. You should get out of your armor."

She moved closer to him, her brows furrowed with confusion even as she let him start to pull off the heavy plated armor. "Has no one told you?" She murmured, wincing when Liam passed a hand over her right shoulder.

He spied a dark bruise peeking out from the collar and sleeve of her gray tunic as he finally liberated her of her armor. Her silver locket hung around her neck, still charred with painful memories. "Told me what?" He tilted her arm to better see the large bruise.

Lily turned, careful not to jerk her arm from his hands. "A knight from Pierake has arrived, badly injured. She claims the kingdom has been attacked though she hasn't said by what."

"Didn't you ask?" Liam questioned, turning his attention from the bruise to Lily who now wore an annoyed glare.

"Did you miss the part where I said she is badly injured? I couldn't exactly ask too much of her when she was falling unconscious!"

"Alright." Liam held up a placating hand, releasing her arm. "What does she want us to do? Send reinforcements?"

"Yes." Lily's fingers tightened into fists. "Are you saying you won't?"

"It isn't my decision; I'm not the king," he said, placing her armor onto the table behind them, "but I don't feel it would be a good idea. I'm sure my father would agree."

"They're our allies!"

"And we also don't know what has happened. We could be walking into a trap. Do you want to send our knights to their deaths?"

"We don't know it will be their deaths!"

"We don't know it won't be!" Liam turned to face her. "That kingdom itself is deadly enough without us going in unprepared."

Lily seemed unable to continue the argument, silver sparks darting along her fingers, her shoulders shaking with anger. "Fine!" She hissed and spun around, storming from the tent before Liam could even hope to call her back.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Liam hadn't meant to anger her though it was hard not to at times. He was just trying to be logical. A part of him wanted to run after her and better explain his reasoning, but for once, he didn't care if she understood or not. Let her stew in her anger if she wished. It was imperative that the king be told of this first before any decisions were made. Mercuri still belonged to his father. Lily would just have to accept that.