Haven: Chronicles of Warshard (7 page)

“My Lady,” she greeted, her concern for the young queen clear in the set of her brow and flicker of her
eyes.

“Blythe, what did I
miss?”

“Are you sure now is the best
time-”

“Of course. There is no time for pause. I must learn to fight properly before the war comes,” Haven said, unsheathing her
sword.

Blythe hesitated. “Very well.” She motioned to a guard who leaned against the wall. He was a young man with shaggy brown hair and a cocky smile. His grin disappeared the moment he realized Blythe meant him to fight the queen. “Eli, unsheathe your sword. You will be dueling the queen.” All color drained from the young boy’s
face.

“You cannot be serious, Blythe!” he nearly shouted, staring wide eyed at
Haven.

“She is quite serious,” Haven cut in, moving to an empty area of the floor, dropping into her defensive stance. The stance felt off without the protection of her shield, but she had been taught to compensate for the loss. She adjusted her footing. “Get ready,” she commanded, and the boy
obeyed.

Blythe and Malka exchanged a look, backing away from the
two.

“Ready?” Blythe
asked.

“Ready,” they
answered.

“Fight!”

Eli dropped into a familiar offensive stance, holding his sword with the ease of a well-trained soldier. Haven watched carefully, recalling her training. In the case of no shield, her best advantage was her speed. Being small had its advantages. She might lack strength, but if she was quick enough she could easily subdue an opponent. Trying to keep that in mind, Haven dodged Eli’s first blow. Moving quickly, Haven swung in a counter strike. Eli blocked with his sword and pushed her
back.

Haven was knocked off her feet and onto her behind before she knew it. Blinking in surprise, she jumped up. “Continue,” she ordered, swinging at her opponent. Haven could see the boy’s unease, but she was determined to practice as long as she was
able.

“Remember your footing, My Queen,” Blythe called to
her.

Haven nodded and moved her feet. Eli swung again. Haven dodged and went for his torso. The young soldier blocked again, pushing back. This time Haven kept her footing. Turning quickly, she swung her sword like she had been taught. The blow nearly hit, but Eli was faster than she expected. He moved out of the way, her sword swinging clear. Continuing her move, she spun again. Her hit was blocked once
more.

Their routine continued for quite some time; blow after blow, dodge after dodge. Haven was only knocked off her feet a few times when Eli surprised her with his strength. Each time she made note of her mistake and continued. She wouldn’t be swayed so easily. As their fight continued, Eli grew more confident, aware that his opponent wasn’t completely useless. He began to swing faster and harder, surprising her with his speed and accuracy. She struggled to keep up while still keeping her lessons in
mind.

Eli swung for her stomach and she jumped back. Moving quickly, Eli brought his sword down upon her. Before she could think, Haven raised her arm as if she had her shield. Eli must have pulled back at the last second, because she was surprised to find she still had her
arm.

“Haven!” Blythe
gasped.

Pain surged through her skin, muscles and down to her bone. Crying out, Haven collapsed to her knees, cradling her arm. Her sword clanged to the floor. Blood poured from the wound, down her arm and into her lap. It moved across the floor, her sharp breaths the only thing audible throughout the hushed room. Everything seemed to freeze for a moment. All she could see was blood. All she could feel was pain. Haven cried out again and this seemed to return people to their
senses.

Feet flew across the floor and before she knew it, Malka and Lareina were at her side. How the blonde healer darted across the courtyard so fast, she couldn’t be
sure.

“Haven, let me see it,” Lareina pried at Haven’s fingers, but Haven just shook her head. “You’re bleeding a lot. Please let me
see.”

The clang of another sword suddenly brought her out of her daze. Haven looked past Lareina to see Blythe holding Eli by the neck up against the wall. “How dare you harm the queen?” Blythe shouted. Eli spluttered, wide eyed. He didn’t even struggle to be released, only stared at the queen’s bloody
arm.

“I-I-” the boy tried to speak, but Blythe’s hold cut him
off.

“Blythe!” Haven gasped, moving to stand. Pain coursed through her arm once more. “What are you doing? He didn’t mean to strike me!” Panic shot through her. Would Blythe hurt this boy just because he accidentally hurt her? She would heal any minute and be fine by tomorrow. “Blythe, unhand him
this minute
!” When Blythe didn’t release him, she held up her bloody arm. “It’s already healing, see? I’m fine!” Blythe didn’t move. “Release him
now
! That’s an order!” Somehow she knew those words would break through whatever spell her friend was under. After a moment, Blythe let go. Eli slid to the floor, scared but otherwise
breathing.

“I-I’m sorry,” Blythe stammered. “I don’t know what came over
me.”

“It’s okay,” Haven soothed, motioning her over. Blythe came to her and Haven enfolded her in her arms. “It’s okay, Blythe. You didn’t mean it. You were just worried for me, but I’m fine. It’s okay, I promise.” She stroked the girl’s hair with her clean hand. The pain was already leaving her, only a dull ache remaining deep in the bone of her
forearm.

After a few moments, Blythe had pulled herself together, thanking her queen and stepping away. She checked on Eli before leaving the room. Haven stared after her, sadness jabbing her heart more painfully than the sword. Lareina came to her side and checked her arm. Using a cloth, she wiped away the blood to reveal a sealed but still healing wound. “Your ability to heal always astonishes me still, My Queen,” she said, staring wide eyed at Haven’s
forearm.

Haven was too distracted to answer, still staring at the archway to the courtyard. It took her a moment for her to return to the present, where she found Malka looking toward the entrance, clearly anxious and uncertain. “Go to her, Malka.” The archer turned to her and gave her a look that said more than words. She was grateful to Haven for understanding and for much more than that. Nodding, Malka took
off.

“You’re okay, My
Lady?”

Haven turned to see Eli standing again. He didn’t look so confident anymore. His face fell, eyebrows pulled together, shame evident in his eyes. Haven smiled and stood, showing him her arm. “I’m fine, Eli. Please do not trouble yourself. It was my mistake,” she said. “I was caught in the moment and forgot I had no shield to stop your blade. No harm
done.”

Eli smiled a little. “I’m glad you’re okay.” Bowing, he took his
leave.

“We should get you to your chambers to clean you up, My Lady,” Lareina said in her usual gentle
tone.

“That sounds wonderful,
Lareina.”

CHAPTER 7

C
limbing the narrow path atop her favorite horse, Haven led Toma to the Calisan meeting place. Not long after the taking of Ryulung, Toma received word to meet the other Royals. As the situation grew more and more bleak, she had to wonder what would come of this meeting. Had Alton been found? Was Dessa still in the safe hands of its
King?

“I believe we are the first to arrive,” Toma called to
her.

“You’re right,” she said, pulling up on Wren’s reigns. He huffed softly in the cool night air before stopping on the small piece of flatland. She didn’t hear the familiar sounds of horses grazing, nor did she see the shrouded shape of Nikolai. “We must be quite
early.”

Haven dismounted, holding tightly onto Wren while she searched for the wooden post Nikolai always tied their horses to. It took a few moments with only the stars to guide her, but once she did, Wren and Toma’s mare were both secured. They grazed quietly while Toma found the tunnel
entrance.

“This way, Lady
Queen.”

“Haven,” she corrected on
instinct.

“Lady Haven,” Toma cleared his throat, bringing a smile to her
face.

Following Toma into the darkness, she felt along the smooth walls, letting her fingers trail over the cold rock. When they rounded a corner, the soft glow of torchlight ahead promised the greater
cavern.

Haven followed in silence, until ominous shadows climbed the walls of the cave. Torchlight flickered throughout the hollow room, illuminating the small council table in their secret meeting place. Stepping out into the room, Haven froze just behind
Toma.

The soft
shing
of Toma’s sword told her he’d withdrawn it from its sheath. “Get back,
Haven!”

“Toma?” she gasped as he pushed her back. “What is
it?”

Peering over his shoulder, all she saw was blood. Red running across the floor. Red soaking the walls. Blood poured from the meeting table, atop which sat a severed
head.

“Nikolai!” she cried, recognizing the face immediately. Though his eyes were gouged and his jaw was broken, she recognized his kind face and tan skin. Inside his open mouth sat something she thought she’d never see again. A red
rose.

Haven backed into the corridor until her heels met rock. The metallic bite to the air assaulted her nostrils, squirming its way down into her stomach. Nausea rose inside her, threatening to make her vomit. Surrounding Nikolai’s head was a halo of roses, their petals mingling with the spray of blood across the floor. The smell of metal was the scent of
blood.

Toma didn’t pause another moment, backing into the tunnel and grabbing Haven’s arm. He pulled her from the tunnel, sword still drawn as he led the
way.

Once they were free of the cavern and the scent of blood, Haven gulped fresh air like water. She doubled over, one hand on her knee, the other on the
mountainside.

“Lady
Queen?”

Haven glanced up to see a white horse and King Evander
dismounting.

“Do not go inside!” she gasped loudly, straightening up. “Do not enter that
place!”

“What are you talking about, Lady Queen? What has happened?” Evander approached, glancing from her to Toma, who was still composing himself by his mare. Evander helped Haven across the flatland to her own horse. She leaned heavily against Wren like he could hold up the world. “Tell me what’s
happened.”

“Nikolai,” she shook her head. She had been trying to push the image from her mind. All it conjured was the bile in her stomach. Haven took another breath and told herself she could not vomit in front of this king. “He’s
dead.”

“
What
?” Evander gasped. “How can that
be?”

Haven simply shook her head. “The
roses.”

“Roses?”

“The man on the pike. He had a rose in his
mouth.”

Evander nodded in understand, though he frowned deeply, his gaze drawn to the cavern entrance. “This must be Kadia’s
doing.”

“We can’t be sure of that,” Toma said as joined them, slouched, but
composed.

“Who else would kill
Nikolai?”

Haven pretended not to notice the catch in the elderly king’s
voice.

“I don’t know,” Toma
admitted.

While the three took a few moments of silence for their fallen comrade, Emeril soon arrived. Toma quickly explained and before they could recover from the incident once again, Evander led them away. Mounting their horses, the king, queen, prince, and their guards and advisers fled down the mountain. There was no talk about continuing with their meeting until the Wakefin envoy met the group at the base of the mountain. They explained quickly, knowing that if this was the work of Kadia, the evil queen could still be nearby – or, at least, her
men.

Toma offered to move the meeting, as if a change of scenery would help Haven forget Nikolai’s mangled head. She agreed, and soon the party set off for
Rythern.

In a small abandoned mill near the Calisan border, the Royals found a safe place to meet. The mill was quiet, the air stale and damp, but it would do. Emeril and one of his guards pulled a table to the center of the dust-laden floor, while Evander’s guards set up enough seats for the meeting. Their group seemed much smaller than usual, even though they were only absent
one.

King Alton of Eris was still missing, a fact which Evander confirmed once they had all settled. The loss was like the shadows on the wall, speaking of dark things to come. King Corrin had sent an adviser in his stead, whom they had encountered on the short journey to the mill. The retaking of Wakefin was far too recent, leaving two large personalities absent this
night.

Haven couldn’t help the sense of foreboding deep in her
stomach.

“I think we ought to start this night anew. Well met, Lord Prince, Lady Queen,” King Evander began, his eyes settling on Alton’s empty seat before moving to the newcomer. “And you, adviser. What can we call
you?”

“Well met, Lord King,” the man said, a short fellow with graying orange hair. “You may call me
Del.”

They greeted each other appropriately before silence took over. It was hard to know where to begin when so much had gone
wrong.

“If it is alright, I would like to begin.” All eyes fell on the newcomer,
Del.

Evander nodded and motioned for him to
proceed.

Taking a deep breath, Del began. “King Corrin wishes that I explain to you what his spies have seen,” he swallowed audibly. “These things I only tell you because my king demands it. During the taking of Eris, there were finally reliable eyes to tell the tale of the battle.” Del launched into a long story of shadows turning into soldiers. These creatures slayed soldier after soldier, taking each small village effortlessly. They pillaged and ransacked their way to the capital of Ryulung before decimating Alton’s castle, led all the while by evil Queen Kadia. This truly was the most disturbing of news. Often, monarchs stood back in their castles and waited for their armies to conquer. In this case, the insane queen was leading her army of darkness through the lands, watching as each village was taken. It was a brash move, and surely could only mean the worst. Del went on to describe the size of these armies, fluxing anywhere between hundreds for a small village, to thousands at the castle. It seemed Kadia could somehow manipulate them, creating more or less as she
pleased.

“This has to be some sort of trick,” Emeril
gasped.

“Or black magic,” Evander
agreed.

Haven sat quietly, taking it in. If she were a normal girl, she’d have to agree with them. It had to be a ludicrous trick, well planned and executed on Kadia’s part. But Haven wasn’t a normal girl. Her fight with Eli had proved it once again. Even though she had been gravely injured, in minutes her wound was nearly healed. By nightfall, it was only a scar. By the time of the meeting, not even the scar remained. If she could heal at such an insane rate, who was to say that someone else couldn’t manipulate shadows. She had to at least consider the
possibility.

“We don’t know how she does it,” Del continued, “But it is nearly impossible to get to her through those armies. Many of Alton’s warriors
tried.”

They all observed a moment of silence for the fallen soldiers, for Alton’s loss and for Nikolai. Even though the Eris king was not present, it was the respectful thing to do. After the moment had passed Haven exchanged a look with her adviser. This was good intelligence on Corrin’s part, but it did nothing to help their cause. It was finally time to voice her opinion to the
others.

“I think it is nearly time to make a decision, Lord King, Lord Prince.” She looked at each of them. Emeril gave her a curious look and the others let their attention rest on her. Haven felt the weight of their gazes, but continued. “I do not wish to put my people at risk, as I’m sure neither of you do.” They nodded. “Then we have to decide. Fight or flight. With Eris under siege so soon after Wakefin, we can only assume Kadia’s mission is to take all of our kingdoms. It’s only a matter of time before one of us is next.” Haven paused, letting her words sink in. She had a long conversation with Toma about this decision. It didn’t need to be made this instant, but it would soon have to be. Haven, Emeril, and Evander would have to decide whether to join this fight and bring the war to Kadia’s door. Or they would have to
run.

“Where could we run to?” Del asked. “With that many people? We’d be mad to try and flee into the
mountains.”

“I will not have my people live in those mountains,” Haven
snapped.

“Then
where?”

Evander interrupted. “The only place we can go.” All eyes fell on the elderly king. He was the oldest of the group, even with Toma present. Surely he was also the wisest.
“Seaburn.”

“You cannot be serious!” Del
gasped.

Evander turned his harsh gaze on the adviser. “It is the only place we can escape to. We could go across the sea, or under it. We could regroup and take our people to Seaburn. They would be safe
there.”

“The Seaburn armies,” Emeril breathed. “We could ask for the council’s help. Maybe they will lend their armies to us. I’ve heard incredible things of their prowess. Surely we could take on Kadia with their
aid.”

Haven couldn’t help but smile. Though getting their people to Seaburn could prove quite dangerous, she was glad they were at least considering it an option. “Surely we could,” she
agreed.

“Then a decision must be made soon, by our entire council. We must decide to stay or go.” Evander looked at each of them, long and hard. He knew as well as they this was not an easy decision to make. The journey to Seaburn would be long and hard, but it would be worth it if they could save even a portion of their people. If they stayed and fought, the outcome could be good or bad. Either they would fight and win, or if the stories were true of Kadia, they would lose and their people would fall under Kadia’s reign. Haven shivered at the thought. She could never let that
happen.

“We will decide in a week’s time,” Evander continued, sitting back in his chair. “Please take your time to think through your decision.” He paused. “Now, what news is there of King
Alton?”

All eyes turned to Del, seemingly the master of spies, he would be the only one with this information. “I don’t know,” he began, avoiding their gazes. “The spies have searched and searched, but he is nowhere to be
found.”

“What of his children, his wife?” Haven
asked.

Del met her eyes finally, but the look in them was dismay. Sadness engulfed his features, tears sprung to his eyes. Haven’s own eyes widened and she fought back the water that filled them. “No, you can’t mean...” Haven trailed off, her hand covering her mouth. Del shook his head. “They were so young.” Haven murmured through her fingers. It was common knowledge, the heirs in each kingdom. Alton had three sons and a beautiful wife. His boys ranged in age from eight to sixteen. They were all so young. She couldn’t imagine what monsters would take their
lives.

“Blue skies embrace them,” Evander
murmured.

A common saying to the departed of the six kingdoms, each of them murmured the
same.

“Keep searching for King Alton,” Evander continued after a long pause. “If he is alive there could still be hope for Eris.” Del nodded. “In the meantime, I assume you have both shared my concerns for food among the kingdoms.” Haven and Emeril exchanged a look. “Of course you have. With Eris’ farmlands up in flames we certainly need a plan for the
winter.”

“Yes we do,” Haven began. “I’ve been working on a plan with my
advisers.”

“Please,
speak.”

Haven motioned for Toma to join her in the explanation. “Well we don’t have much, but if Wakefin stays in the hands of Corrin, surely fishing will resume shortly,” she said, looking at
Del.

“If things keep going well, then yes,” he
agreed.

“The fields will be cultivated soon in Rythern, as I imagine they will be in Calisa and Salander.” Both kings nodded. “Then we must ration what we have for now, use our cattle as needed and hope for the
best.”

Toma added, “We’d also like each kingdom to set up teams to fish in the rivers as much as
possible.”

“Yes,” Haven agreed. “And Emeril, if you can send boats off the southern coast, I’m sure they could fish in those waters.” Emeril agreed. “Then that’s really all we have to go on unfortunately. My advisers have been working out a plan for rationing in our own city, but we wouldn’t want to impose upon your own
decisions.”