I don’t know how far we walked but it was obvious how big this palace was when I didn’t recognise any of it. We were walking down a long corridor of open arches on one side that showed the sun was rising in front of us. I must have slept longer than I thought if it was the start of a new day…and what a start this was, I thought bitterly. But then who was this now stepping out from the shadows…
“Ranka.” Sophia hissed the name answering my silent question. With the sun to the back of her she looked quite formidable with the blades at her sides and the large bow at her back. Almost like some warrior elf ready to do battle in the most graceful of ways. She kept her stance at the ready and even with her arms folded you just knew that she could have had an arrow embedded in your skull in a heartbeat if she chose to do so.
“Going somewhere, Saphira?” she asked with deadly calm.
“And what is it to you? I have the right to go where I please in my own home!” Sophia replied in anger.
“But not with the King’s new head concubine you don’t,” Ranka replied cool as a cucumber and I wanted to do a fist pump shouting ‘Boo yeah!’ but thankfully I refrained, thinking it would totally ruin Ranka’s bad ass moment. Sophia looked back at me and snarled as if this was all my fault…which in her mind, then yes, I guess it was.
“This is no business of yours, so leave now before I make you answer for your insolence,” Sophia threatened venomously.
“I answer only to the King of Kings,” Ranka reminded her and this was when Sophia lost her temper.
“Fine! You want her, then take the little whore, for you will soon see what will happen to your King of Kings when he beds her!” The pain of her words was far worse than the pain of her nails digging into my arm as she grabbed me. Or even when she suddenly threw me across the room, causing me to slide sideways the rest of the way to where Ranka stood. I had to say I didn’t really care for the way Ranka chose to prevent me from knocking her over like a pin at a bowling alley when she just calmly placed a foot on my back to stop me.
“Princess,” Ranka said bowing in reply and with an aggravated huff Sophia stormed off having just stamped on my heart.
“I must ask but do you manage to get yourself in this much trouble in your own time?” Ranka questioned as she helped me stagger to my feet. I winced as I straightened up knowing that thanks to my old friend turning new enemy, it had set my healing time back by at least a week.
“You have no idea,” I answered her truthfully as I walked past, knowing it was a good idea to get out of here.
“I thought as much,” she said pushing both blades back in their sheaths at her thighs telling me that she had been expecting a fight…or at least ready for one.
I then held back letting her take the lead as she knew where we were going much better than I.
“So I am going to take a wild stab in the dark and say that the Princess isn’t my biggest fan?” I said as we walked along even more arched sandstone corridors.
“I don’t understand…why would you want to fight in the dark and what has a large fan owned by the Princess got to do with it?” I rolled my eyes before repeating to myself ‘simple thoughts Keira, simple thoughts’.
“What I mean is, the Princess doesn’t like me.”
“I would think that was obvious considering she was just about to have you murdered,” Ranka said bluntly causing me to miss a step.
“She was?” I asked surprised and I didn’t know why. For starters I myself had suspected as much but I guess just hearing it being confirmed by someone else was enough to make it more real. I mean this was Sophia we were talking about here!
“What did you think would happen, that she would merely allow you to just leave the palace?”
“Well, yeah…kind of,” I replied feeling like an idiot but even more so when she said,
“She knows as well as the rest of us do what would happen if you were to leave here a free woman.” I stopped her from walking any further by grabbing her forearm and asked,
“And what is that exactly?”
“You would quickly be declared property of the King and hunted down until found.” Christ, but that did make me sound like a damn pet!
“He would do that?!” I asked in astonishment. Ranka smirked at me as if she found my bewilderment at her King amusing.
“I think it is quickly becoming common knowledge of the obsession that infects the King and come tomorrow night it will be confirmed when he chooses you as his new head concubine in front of the entire kingdom.”
“He is going to do what?!”
“I must say Electus, you do work fast,” she said on a laugh and it was as unnatural to witness as it sounded.
“Well I didn’t intend to, I tried to run remember.” I reminded her of what she obviously already knew. This was when she no longer looked amused and gave me a stern glare.
“Oh save it, I thought it the best thing to do at the time, alright.” I snapped at her and carried on walking.
“Lucky for you I forewarned the King of Stateira’s intentions,” she said not knowing what I had already confessed to Draven but she didn’t need to know that, so instead I asked,
“And what of the Princess…will you tell him of her same intentions also?” She frowned and I knew why as this wasn’t exactly something that could be considered a giddy prospect to look forward to. What would she say, ‘oh yeah, I just caught your sister trying to kill your girlfriend, just thought you should know before that shit gets ugly but hey, good luck with that can of worms your Majesty.’ …uh no, I didn’t think so somehow.
“I am not sure that is wise,” she answered and I had to cough to mask my laugh.
“No, I didn’t think so,” I muttered after she walked past me to lead me down a darker passageway.
“So you said the rest of you?” I asked referring to her earlier comment. She raised an eyebrow at me as we walked side by side and at first I didn’t think she would answer me.
“My kind has been warned to stay away from you.” Now hearing this did surprise me. It almost felt like history repeating itself, only in reverse. In fact, the similarities were mounting if not just working at a much faster rate. Which had me wondering how Draven would have reacted taking away the Western ways of the world I grew up in. Because Draven as the King was only ever used to being obeyed by both his own kind and mine, so this very much included me and what he expected of me.
I remember him telling me about how he wanted to claim me without a second thought when we first met. I laughed saying how I wished he would have, but looking back how would that really have gone down? Meeting a stranger in the woods and then being taken by him back to his castle without any say. Well, in my heart I knew that no matter how handsome he was or how swept up I was by him, in the end it was all about free will. And even though now I wasn’t afraid of Draven back in my own time, back when we first met I had been, if only for a short time, just as I was now because it was the unpredictability of it all. He was the same man as much as he wasn’t, just as Sophia was the same loving girl as much as she was the utter bitch in this time. The difference was simple…I just didn’t know them and they didn’t yet know me.
And even though it wasn’t just all about time, it certainly had its part to play. Even when I think back to how much I myself had changed in just a few years then what would a few thousand years have done to me?
“This doesn’t surprise you?” Ranka asked when obviously trying to read what I was thinking and getting nowhere.
“No, he did something similar back in my time,” I told her and she nodded looking thoughtful.
“So what now?” I asked when I still had no clue as to where she was taking me.
“I have arranged for some private quarters for you until the King decides for himself what he has in mind for you as he will agree that the harem is no longer safe for you.” I frowned wondering what Draven would do when he went back to his room and found me gone.
“Okay, not that I am complaining
about being let out of the Spa from Hell but I am not sure the King is going to be too happy when he finds me gone.” I told her, ignoring her confused look about the ‘Spa from Hell’ bit.
“After I have escorted you to your new room I will go in search of the King and tell him that your safety was compromised. He will decide what is to be done after the choosing.” I wanted to roll my eyes at the barbaric event that would essentially be a King choosing his new girlfriend from a line of dressed up cattle…did I sound bitter much?
I decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth and just keep quiet and go with the flow. After all, I was going to get my own room and no longer be surrounded by an army of beauticians who wanted to scrub my skin off and call it therapy.
“I have picked out one servant for you and guards I trust who will stand outside your door at all times,” she told me as we finally approached a door that I was happy to report wasn’t too far from her own quarters.
“And I am only a few doors away, one scream and I will hear you.” Well one look at this warrior woman who had thankfully appointed herself my personal bodyguard and I can honestly say I felt more at ease.
“Thank you, Ranka,” I told her sincerely because I honestly knew that I wouldn’t have made it this far without her.
“It is my honour to do so and the will of the Gods,” she answered bowing and as much as I blushed I was just happy that she hadn’t called me Electus. She was about to walk away when I shouted out after her, knowing this was one of my only chances to ask,
“Ranka wait, I have to ask…any news of my friends?” I knew how vulnerable I sounded when asking this but I didn’t care. I was so worried about them that with everything going on in my own time here I could only hope that theirs was far less dangerous…in other words they didn’t have half as many people trying to kill them!
She gave me a sad smile that unfortunately gave me my answer before she voiced it and not surprising it wasn’t the one I had been hoping for.
“I am afraid not…but do not fear for I will not give up.” I gave her a smile that I didn’t feel and opened the door to my new room.
“Don’t give up hope…Electus.” I nodded, closed the door and groaned at hearing that damned name again. I certainly didn’t feel like any Chosen One, not here in this world that was for sure. Look what had happened so far, it just seemed as if I had needed saving at every turn, but what about my friends? Who was out there saving them? I couldn’t bear to think about it, for if anything happened to them then I would never forgive myself. Speaking of which, I looked up to see another friend of mine who I had no doubt got into a whole world of trouble…
“Farrin?!”
An hour later and I was close to falling asleep I was that tired. After seeing Farrin waiting for me in my room she quickly explained that Ranka had intervened before any blame could be directed her way, which we were both thankful for. Ranka then thought it best to appoint Farrin as my servant considering she had gained both our trust with what she had done for me when trying to escape. She hadn’t ratted me out but instead remained silent, even in the face of receiving punishment for doing so. Well I knew how that felt, so the respect I had for her definitely doubled.
“You didn’t have to do that for me, you don’t owe me anything.” I said to her when she told me how she was about to be whipped herself if Ranka hadn’t stopped it. She just looked away as if searching for reasons she couldn’t explain in words.
“You did it for your sister didn’t you?” I asked causing her to jolt as though I had electrocuted her with a live wire or something. Did the memory of it all still affect her so?
“What do you mean…I…”
“Farrin, it’s okay, I understand. I have a sister too and there isn’t much I wouldn’t do for her. So I get why you are helping me…the way you couldn’t help your sister.” I added this last part in a quieter voice as I knew it must have been such a painful subject to speak of for her.
This was when her face changed and softened in understanding, no longer looking as though she was ready to bolt for the door. I was surprised that she would rather run from me than talk about this but then on the other hand it wasn’t as if we knew each other very well yet.
“I’m sorry but it is still painful,” she said looking away once more, as though she couldn’t look at me because I reminded her too much of that horrible time. I reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze before saying,
“I understand and if you ever need to talk about it then I want you to know that I am here for you.” Once again she looked at me in disbelief, as though she couldn’t believe I was being this nice to her, which had me wondering how many harem bitches she had to deal with on a daily basis.
“You are too kind.”
“Not at all, it’s just us good girls have got to stick together that’s all,” I told her laughing and wondering what Pip would have said to that.
“You should get some rest, that’s the third time you have yawned,” she said nodding when my brain yet again needed the extra oxygen.
“I guess you’re right, a nap wouldn’t hurt but then again neither would some food, I am starving.” As soon as I said this I felt guilty as Farrin suddenly jumped up and said,
“But of course! I will get you some food, for I do not want to disappoint Ranka and fall short in my duties.”
“No Farrin I didn’t mean…” I started to say but she was out of the door before I could finish. I shrugged my shoulders knowing that there would be just another thing I would be apologising for when she got back but until then a nap didn’t sound like a bad idea. I could barely keep my eyes open and no wonder for what a night I had been through.
“Good job, Keira,” I said to myself as I pulled myself up to walk to the bed like a zombie saying to hell with brains, I need a nap!
I don’t know how long it was before I heard the door opening but if felt as if I had only been passed out for a few minutes. Had Farrin come back that quickly with food? I smiled just about to label her an angel when I rolled over and that nickname died as quickly as I was about to. For I was right in one sense, Farrin had come back into the room but it wasn’t with food to feed me but instead it was with a knife…
To kill me.
“But why?” I asked utterly stunned at the sight of her now stood over my bed holding the killer blade with both hands directly over my pounding heart.
To which she simply answered…
“As I said, you are too kind.”
Chapter 50
Now That’s What I Call a Friend
I could barely believe my eyes, to the point where I thought I could still be dreaming. I blinked twice but no, the sight of Farrin holding a deadly looking blade over me was still there to be seen.
“I don’t understand?” I said frowning, but when she started smiling I knew this went a lot deeper than just simply being ordered to kill someone she didn’t want to.
“And you were never supposed to. Say hello to the others I sent there before you!” she said raising up her arms and I got ready to roll at just the right moment but in the end I didn’t need to.
“Hey bitch, your date’s here!” A familiar voice shouted making Farrin turn her head just in time for a gold bowl from the dried fruit to connect with her face. She screamed just as her nose exploded inwards before falling backwards away from the bed.
“Was it just me or did that sound exactly like hitting a dinner gong?”
“PIP!” I shouted launching myself off the bed and into her arms.
“Oh thank God!” I said holding onto her so tight I was most likely suffocating her.
“Well to be fair on all Imps, God didn’t really have much to do with it, but I get what you’re trying to say…how you doing my Tootiepop?”
“How am I doing…? How am I doing…? Pip, I don’t think I have ever been happier since before I arrived in this Hellhole!” I said holding her back at arm’s length to look at her. She gave me an awesome grin before moaning from the gr
ound drew our attention away from our happy re-union.
“There are always those who just want to spoil the moment,” Pip said to me before walking over first to pick up the fallen knife and then to the fallen servant girl. Pip looked down at the blade in her hand before getting down on one knee.
“Pip.” I said her name in warning but she raised the back of her hand, gave me the peace sign and said,
“No worries Toots, I’ve got this.” Then she grabbed Farrin’s hair and lifted her head up so that she could deliver a hammering punch across her face. Just as she did this the door burst open and Ranka, quickly assessing the scene. completely got the wrong idea.
“Get away from her!” Ranka roared at Pip before launching herself at my friend, thinking that she was the one who had come here to kill me. And to give her some credit, it did in fact look that way, considering she had just seen my servant getting knocked out by a girl who was dressed as an Arabian ninja with a knife in her hand.
“Ranka, no!” I shouted but neither could hear me over the racket they both made as they instantly started fighting. Then when the guards who had been stationed outside my room appeared, I quickly decided it was best to put myself between them and the two girls having at it, before Pip was quickly outnumbered.
“No, don’t! She wasn’t the one trying to kill me, it was my servant!” I told them before they could simply push me out of the way as they were no doubt about to. Thankfully the one who looked in charge held up his hand telling the others to hold back as he took in the bloody scene.
Now that I had that under control I turned my attention back to the other two fighting it out and was at least happy to see neither looked too worse for wear yet, with all limbs still intact…but for how much longer was anyone’s guess.
They both looked pretty evenly matched that was for sure but at any minute one of them could gain the upper hand and do some real damage. Ranka had already disarmed Pip of her borrowed knife and was just about to use her own, attacking Pip with her curved blades. She slashed out at her torso, but Pip skilfully jumped back in time and ducked as the second blade came at her from above. She twisted her body around on one foot so that she could kick out with the other, hitting Ranka’s weapon straight from her hand and propelling it through the air. It whizzed passed me, missing me by inches and I turned my face in time to see it embed itself into a wooden carving of a naked man landing right between his legs. I heard the guards wincing behind me and as Ranka got Pip in a head lock, she still had time to look up at me and say,