The World of Rhune

Mae watched as Klea waited for a moment, her soft black hair swirling in the wind. She emitted the soft sound again, and Mae then froze. A cold feeling racked the guardian’s body, and not from the cold. Another sound, like a warbling, answered. She watched as Klea’s face lit up, and the girl ran forwards. A shadow came to meet her. “Mason, Mason, Mason,” Klea’s voice reached Mae, the crooning love tone seemed to hit Mae harshly, and the guardian had a lapse of breath. “Klea,” Mae looked over to see the shadow take Klea’s hand and kiss it, and Klea’s eyes start to shine. “I missed you, uh, how depressing that fortress can be. I start to think of it as a prison, and all those guardians as wardens, and my sisters spawn of brats. Oh, and then my father—” Klea rambled on, but the shadow, Mason, pressed a finger to her lips. “Shhhh Klea, don’t worry, one day you’ll be free I promise. I don’t care how long I have to work and train I will free you.” Mae stepped closer, and watched as the shadow became a boy before her eyes. A boy she’d seen before. An apprentice of the chief guard. “Mason, I…I hope you do,” Klea squeezed Mason’s hands, and he smiled down upon her. “You look lovely today, especially in the peace of this forest. Your hair and skin and eyes, as dark as the trees that surround us, as white as the snow below us, and as beautiful as the sky above us.” Mason reached up a hand to stroke Klea’s hair, and Klea smiled slightly as he did. A throwing star pierced the tree deeply, slicing the air just before Mason’s hand. Klea screamed, but not loud enough to draw attention to any of the other guardians. That’s how far she’d traveled. Mae sprinted after her star, separating Klea and punching Mason square in the jaw. His head jerked to the side, and Mae kicked his chest. She heard the hiss of air leave his lungs as he stumbled back, but she’d already chopped the side of his neck, immobilizing him. Mae shoved the crying Klea back a good ten feet, restraining her as they both watched Mason fall to his knees, his face bloody from Mae’ s punch to his jaw. “Mason!” Klea shrieked, and tried to hit Mae into releasing her. But Mae was trained, and easily held Klea behind her. The girl was a stick, even more so than the guardian had thought before. “Princess Klea stop now, or I’ll just kill him for violating your space, and enchanting you into liking him. I’m sure your father would within a second’s notice.” Mae’s voice was cold, her breath fogged in the late afternoon light. Her arms were stone about Klea’s arms and chest, and the girl’s sobs did nothing to weaken them. Klea stopped struggling, yet her cries ripped from her chest more violently. “Let me help him! Why isn’t he moving! Mae stop it you witch!” Mae stared straight at the enemy. He was breathing, blood was leaking only from his mouth so it wasn’t serious. “Who are you?” Mae spat at him, she didn’t care what age he was or who he was. He was vermin who’d touched and interacted with her object. “M-M-M-M-ason Akulov, apprentice of Chief Guard Osin!” The boy’s voice was thick with tears, and he tried to stand up. Mae instantly pulled out another star, which would go right through him. The guardian pulled a second from another pocket of her coat, thankful it was so thick that cutting pockets for weapons was easy. Mae realized that may be why her cape was so heavy.

“Don’t move, better yet lay right back down in the snow out of reach of anything. It’ll help your face anyways, and I’m not done with you, scum.” Mae narrowed her eyes, her voice cracking like a whip, purposely striking fear into Mason’s heart. Exactly how she wanted it. “Why are you here with Klea?” Mae took a step to completely hide Klea from view. “Because…because…I…” “Speak up now!” “Because I love her!” The boy shrieked, and Mae knew he was a boy, not close to a man. She saw as blood mixed with tears as the liquids dropped from his face. “Klea your father is going to kill you, then go through with it on him.” Mae sighed, she was okay with death, it was a Guardian’s friend in life, because it rid him or her of enemies. “No, no, no, no, no!” Klea yelled and tried to fight Mae again. The small princess, no matter what age though, never touch the Guardian. “Mae let me go!” Mae almost felt like laughing; like she’d let the princess go. If she weren’t the princess of her king, she might have slapped the girl into a stupor. Klea kept yelling in Mae’s ear as the guardian judged the boy, whether he was a serious flight risk and whether she’d need to execute another nerve jab. He was still crying in the snow, but Mae knew it really wasn’t because of the pain. She’d watched the apprentices spar and fight in the courtyard everyday whether it was a blizzard or not. When it was a blizzard the masters seemed to be happy, to train their apprentices in conditions that (if they finish their training) they will fight in. Mae could just see the shame in his eyes, how his poor pride had taken a tip. Mae pulled Klea to the nearest tree, and pulled rope from her belt. Klea immediately screamed, and Mae knew Mason’s eyes would be drained of anything but the knowledge of what Mae was going to do. The guardian wanted to smile, fear was good for people, she’d had good doses of fear from the academy, and sadly Haazar and Zepher. “Klea, Klea!” Mason called, and she heard a shift, Mae immediately threw another star in his direction, shutting him up as it cut a foot above his head. Mason let out a small whimper, and laid back down. Mae tied a slip-knot around the tree, and Klea’s cheeks and nose streamed again. Mae breathed calmly, it was the best way to find the perfect solution. She tied a square not, forming a loop when a random bird went off, but then quickly shut up. Klea glanced up in the direction, but Mae stayed focused, her mind reeling. Why a bird? Always a bird, never some stupid squirrel, just a bird. Mae smiled, she’d heard that bird before. It was a clever call, one that was easy to copy without much difficulty. It was also Haazar’s call, which she’d heard too many times. Mae made a sound randomly, “La, la, luh la,” It seemed to reverberate against the silent forest, and then the knot was done. Mae grabbed Klea’s wrists, and slid the two loops around her wrist. Klea seemed shocked that she was the one being imprisoned, and pulled at the rope behind her back. They instantly tightened, but Mae knew knots. She’d set a safety so they couldn’t exactly bite into her wrists. Klea started to protest again, but Mae forced the girl to sit into the crux of the tree, protecting the girl from the side and back. Mae was temped to force her to face the tree, but she didn’t. Klea could watch for anything herself, and she’d see what was happening to Mason as part of the punishment. Mae pulled on the last slip knot, tightening it beyond human hands, and heard another yell from Klea. At this rate I’m just going to gag the princess to save the precious hearing I have left Mae heard the slice of a branch, and a thump behind her. She turned around to Mason in a nasty head, calf, and arm lock, while being shoved into the snow by Haazar’s body mass. “Mae who the hell is this?” The guardian had his dagger pressed against the boy’s neck, and Klea watched as he nicked him as a warning, but in one of the only spots in the neck that wouldn’t cut a major artery. “And this is?” Haazar’s voice was without its normal (for a guardian) happy undertone, and Mae would have been shocked if it had been there. Klea was (had) been in danger, and it was their sole job to protect her from that possibility. “Akulov, apprentice to Chief Guard, which is why he had access to the Blackened Forest.” Mae said, walking over to the frigid apprentice. She quickly bound his hands, feet, and then tied them by a length together so he couldn’t walk. “Uh, Gods I knew this was coming, but I’d really hoped not to see someone die already over love.” Haazar said love like it was a stupid concept, like Mae’s sister-in-law would while wiggling her fingers like magic, “You get Klea, I’ll get this mongrel.” Haazar grabbed the length tying Mason’s hands and feet together, and then the boy’s waist and started off on the direct path to the castle. Mae sighed and grabbed Klea’s bindings, simply slashing the rope but keeping her wrist guards in tact. “C’mon, Princess. I’ll unbind the rest when we get close, I don’t really want any chance of you hurting yourself,” Mae led Klea forward, the girl’s pale face red now from the streaming of tears, shock, and heat from struggling. “Mae, why can’t you let him go? He hasn’t done anything…wrong,” Klea persuaded, but Mae ignored her. It seemed almost too easy to ignore the princess. “ Princess Klea, he’s committed a very foul crime, and is easily punishable by death. You’d best hope that he’ll just be beat and removed quickly from the castle,” Mae didn’t really feel like cutting anything out. How could Princess Klea think she could hide something like that? But Mae kept her thoughts to herself, especially about how Mason will just be turned out to the cold without anything but the clothes on his back, perhaps a dagger. The apprentice would probably die within a couple days, the cold getting to him before thirst or hunger.

Mae and Klea caught up to Zepher and Mason within a hundred yards of the cold patio. Mae sliced the hide-skin rope around the princess’ wrist, and kept her out of the way of Mason’s eyes. They reached a guardian before they reached the porch, Dion. He glanced at them worriedly, seeing Mason’s face with dried blood smeared from hitting the snow so many times, and the red-faced Klea being led and purposely cut off. The guardian whistled, high and sharp, cutting through the silence. Mae watched as Haazar smoothly dropped the apprentice into a snow bluff that had gathered on the porch, right as Zepher’s feet. Zepher didn’t speak. He was taking in the information, piecing things together for himself. Mae quickly escorted Klea to where the rest of the girls were being held together defensively, due to the high whistle heard earlier. She turned and watched as Haazar left Mason, and stepped back into the formation of guardians. Zepher stepped forward menacingly, besides being a guardian Zepher wasn’t in charge of the princess’ guardians for nothing. He always had a menacing air about him, having the gift to communicate easily, even for a guardian, with his eyes. The communication included fear, and not to mention all guardians were muscle packed, tall, and their black capes imposed the idea even more. “Who’s this?” Zepher’s voice was quiet with authority, yet it rang out upon all the walls. “Mason Akulov, apprentice of the Chief Guard.” Mae responded, Haazar didn’t know the boy’s exact name and standings. “As I thought, well, Viece please escort this apprentice to a holding chamber, and report to the Chief Guard about their apprentice’s, er, actions. Klea you will be locked in your room, with an extra guardian. One inside, one out. I will take first watch, Mae you will have first with me, then Haazar and I. Mae will receive the next guardian, or guardians.” Zepher turned on his heel, and motioned for the princesses to come inside. They filled in, a guardian upon the side as Ivy and Beoa scrambled in, half terrified out of their mind. Klea was sobbing again, after hearing the mild version of her punishment, even more about his. “Mason, no, no! Don’t, don’t hurt him! Guardian Zepher I command that you not hurt him! I com—command it!” Zepher didn’t look at Klea, but his eyes flashed the answer. That’s not for you to decide anymore.