The World of Rhune

Mae walked to the mess hall, looking forwards to something in her stomach, and felt good when servants nearly sprinted to get out of her graceful, yet heavy bull-stepped gait as she tore through the halls. “Nice performance, you know that will never work on any of us though, right?” Mae’s mouth turned up slightly. “You never know, I think it will, since it has,” Haazar glared at her, inwardly wishing he’d never brought up the topic. “I had never worked with a girl before, excuse my manliness fair maiden.” Mae’s eyebrows shot up. “Because I am just such a maiden,” she didn’t miss a beat, elbowing him before sending a jab to his gut. Haazar blocked the attack easily, though his hand suffered in consequence. “Yes you are, lady Mae, isn’t that what you were called for the longest time? Lady Mae?” Haazar cut his arm infront of her as a trick but lightly chopped her spine. Mae jerked forwards from the force and smiled ruefully at her friend. “Hate-you,” “I know,” They peeled from the main artery of the halls into the kitchen designed for guards. She liked it here, the men, drinks, food, laughter, and card games. She liked it especially when she whipped the men’s butts off when they didn’t recognize who she was. Being a girl meant she could worm her way out of situations, and into them too. Mae’s mouth sported a ghost of a grin. She was the best knucklebones player of the guardians, who were known for their cunningness at games, so she beat most everyone she played. The men here just didn’t know it. Haazar took the lead of the two of them as they walked through the crowded tables filled with laughing, sour smelling, drunk men who were almost piled on top of each other. Mae loved it. “You know, one of these days everyone’s going to think you’re a man, not a girl, you spend so much time here acting like us.” Haazar commented under his breath, Mae rammed into him, jolting him almost into a fat watch soldier. She laughed to herself and Haazar, smiling as she heard him swear under his breath at the smelly oaf in front of him. “Move out of the way, dope!” he yelled, adding to the noise level in the room. Then the noise cut by half, the man neither moved nor turned around to see his attacker. “Who dare call me an dope?” Mae cringed internally. She hated horrible speech, and this man was obviously a big offender. “I do, who else?” Haazar appeared bored, Mae was becoming slightly too. They had a job to do, but they got a small amount of time to eat, and this guy was taking it up. “Move it, buddy. You’re wasting my time,” Mae nearly growled in accordance to her stomach. The man laughed. “You have a little nursemaid to protect you? You’re a little boy, aren’t you? A page?” the men laughed, but not nearly as loud, since they could see the deadly shapes of Mae and Haazar, half of them knowing Mae’s reputation. Mae whistled lowly, Haazar’s mouth cocked down for a second, but up the next and back to position. She had permission. “Who dares call me a nursemaid?” she corrected his earlier language. “I do, girly, don’t go looking for a fight,” Mae rolled her eyes. She absolutely hated it when she was called a girly. You so just crossed the line, mister. Mae glared at the dope infront of her. “I am looking for a fight ‘cause someone needs to put a fat watch-guard in his place once in a while, right now I’m looking at whipping your ass of that rump of yours, though it wont be a hard target, being so huge.” Mae hissed, refraining from blacking out the guy, in a second she would. She heard a low rumble from the fat man. “Babe, you are so going to regret that,” he turned with a fist raised and almost stopped in shock of the guardian. Mae smiled evily, and the battle took less than ten seconds before the guard fell to the ground. She caught the fist, bashed his nose, and chopped his pressure point making him black-out and fall onto a table, breaking it and spilling the clear and colored spirits that were littered over it, leaking onto him. “Serves you right, oaf. Teach you to mess with a guardian.” Mae stepped on the man along with Haazar, who stepped straight to the front of the line with Mae following. They were served hastily the lamb and bean stew, given a bottle of ale, and even a little cake at the end. Mae and Haazar walked from the polluted room, which was deadly silent. They walked out towards the rooms where the princesses would be in less than an hour. “Couldn’t have done it better myself, including the food by the way.” “You chose pretty much what would happen, I just received the fun of carrying it out,” Mae snapped the metal top off the blue bottle of whiskey and took a sip before recapping it for later. Haazar eyed her with a smile, she shrugged, scooping the thick stew into her mouth, ignoring the burn that swelled her throat at she swallowed the hot food. They walked in silence, they’re capes and boots loud against silent and loud hallways, needing nothing more to that. Zepher walked up to them from the east wing. “His majesty wished for Mae to come. Now,” Zepher turned and started walking to the lighter hallway than the one they were headed, and Mae looked at Haazar for a second before following. He winked at her in reassurance and headed at a faster pace towards the south entry. Mae walked with Zepher, silent and pondering what the king could want with her. It was usually considered a bad thing if you were summoned by the great king himself, normally for a death sentence, and received little reconciliation to the king while you were in his presence. They walked to a dead end, and Zepher walked to the bookshelf that ended the passage. He pulled it aside roughly from the left, and walked into the now continuing passage. Mae pulled it shut behind her. “Zepher, what does his majesty King Vladimir wish?” Mae asked, but without letting her worry flow into her words. Zepher shrugged, a common thing among the guardians. “He asked for you to be taken to him earlier, and repeated his request to come into existence sooner than it had been planned to take forth. So you were summoned. I heard you beat up a guard though, Mae. You know being a guardian means being the better person,” he lectured her like a teacher would a student. She rolled her eyes. “Haazar picked it, and when I was insulted, well, the guard needed a lesson. He was fat anyways, needed a bit more exercise if you ask me.” Zepher snorted, and turned his neck to looked down and behind at her. “Little warrior, aren’t you?” Mae kicked his knees, making them buckle for a second before he regained his earlier composure. “You betcha,” They didn’t speak after that and came to a great mahogany lined room with many books, scrolls, inkwells, and fireplaces. A few portraits of the king, his daughters, and the deceased queen decorated the walls, drawing your eyes from the dark wood that plated the large walls. “Guardian Mae, finally,” The king sat by a fireplace with a thick scroll unrolled over the floor and upon his lap, the ink glowing faintly in the firelight. “Your majesty, sir,” Mae bowed, but stood her ground. “Yes, yes, Guardian, come where I can speak to you. A corner will do me no good, and you none either.” Mae stepped into sight of the king, still several paces back. The king pursed his lips and flicked his hand to a chair across from him. Mae walked quickly to the chair, but remained standing, the fire blazing and she could feel it through her cloak. The king smiled at her silent and ominous tone and behavior, but started his thought. “Now Guardian Mae, you have experience in traveling to countries, correct? I have a job that requires that experience which none of our guardians seem to have here. They’ve all been trained on Folic soil, but you’ve been to other countries, correct?” Had Mae not been trained, she would have cracked a grin at the king as he rolled his r’s as he spoke the word ‘correct’. “Yes, sire. I have lived here, Cancri, and a slight bit of Icladia. I’ve traveled through little of Ralea, no where else.” Mae though of her heritage. Her mother had been of Cancri, and her father of Folic. She had met her father on a trading trip, and he took her back with him to Folic to live the life of a poorer, but happy, merchant. Mae smiled, she’d spent many a time in Cancri, visiting relatives and her mother when she left to take care of her sick father of the guard, who died months later. Her mother had then returned in depression, having now lost both her parents, leaving her near useless. Her father had tried to nurse her to health, took her and the family to Icladia for her mother’s health. But her mother had died in the hospital of Icladia, when she was nine. Mae’s throat welled slightly, but thickened more as she thought of her father’s death from being beaten by bandits on the way to Cretia wharf. Mae had then been taken care of by her eldest brother, at age thirteen, and became more of a tomboy, and a skilled fighter. After a year her brother sent to her to a city near by with a friend to find work when he could no longer afford to take care of her, and pow. She was discovered by a monk, taken into the training facility, and now was a skilled guardian. “Good, good.” The king said, snapping the usually aware guardian back into perspective. “Well then, I want you to go to hated Ralea’s country as a guard to Lady Asilla of Burk, a young dame who is of Folic lines but lives in Sien-ra. You may keep your name an style, but your clothing will change slightly. You’re the sole keeper of the girl, and she is to come back to Folic after. Never-the-less, you shall go by Dras-Tier on horseback, and a boat shall take you from there. You will have a coach to help you seem Sien-ranese for the wedding you are to attend.” The king took a breath, and Mae soaked in the mission as fast as possible, allowing no thoughts to cloud her understanding. “I want every bit of information you can find on every noble attending. Including the king and queen, blast those monarchs they’ve been more trouble than their worth.” The king ripped the parchment scroll slightly, gnashing his teeth in frustration. “Find me the information, you are excused from your duties as protecting my ducks for a month. You are to be in Ralea in two week’s time. No later, Mae. Understood?” the king breathed deeply and scooted his throne farther from the fire. “Smash it down! Damn fire is too hot. Going to burn my beard off, it will.” A maid ran and stomped the fire down with her waxy shoe and poured a slight bit of sweet-smelling water onto it to dampen the fumes that would come from water hitting fire. Mae bowed, “May it be as thus wishes, majesty. Is any other to come? To receive travel information and to catch twice as much information?” Mae hoped to have a companion. Travel was so annoying without a travel-mate, as her brother called it. The king stroked his beard thoughtfully. “Maybe, Guardian Mae, maybe. Not a bad idea, and I know just who, but I would need another day to conference with my advisors. Ah, you will leave the day after next, in the meantime packing in your spare time and watching my girls all the rest. I will alert you when it is your time to leave, though now is your time just to exit my chambers. Thank-you, Mae Freer, Guardian of Klea, Ivy, and Beoa.” “Your majesty,” Mae left immediately, the mission heavy on her tough shoulders.