Warriors of Kagolania

"Get up! Wake up!" The voice sounded distant. Kalena realized that she wasn't dreaming until Galaspiael pulled the covers off her.

"What do you mean?" She muttered.

"Someone is here and they want to kill us!"

"No one is here. Go back to sleep!" she replied, "It was just a dream."

"No!" He stared at her. "We have to run! Please!"

It seemed he wasn't going to let go. Kalena, still convinced that he imagined it, sighed heavily.

He grabbed her hand for the first time. His three fingers tightened around her wrist. His whole body was trembling.

"I don't want to go back there," he whispered and began to repeat it like in a trance. Kalena quickly packed their things into two bundles and put on her shoes. Then she heard heavy footsteps upstairs.

"I didn't imagine this!" Galaspiael stepped close to her and huddled. "I didn't imagine it!"

"I believe you. Follow me," she instructed, "as quickly and as quietly as possible."

With her heart pounding hard, Kalena opened the door and went out into the dark corridor. Galaspiael followed her, leaning against the wall from time to time.

"How can you be sure that they are looking for us?" She whispered to him when they were on the first floor. "Did they say anything about the mine?"

He nodded, and then a door slammed upstairs and she heard a few Madegaldian curses.

"They're the guards," he whispered.

"Someone must have led them after us. Quickly!"

Kalena thought about Nana and felt overwhelming terror. She hoped they wouldn't meet her. Now, without power, she wouldn't have had the slightest chance in combat.

They managed to go outside, and just then they heard the guards scream behind them.

"Hold on tight!" She ordered after Galaspiael got on his horse. "Follow me all the time. I will try to lose them, but I don't want to risk separation."

They moved on. The Galaspiael was surprisingly good at riding, even as fast as Kalena. She kept turning around, trying to make the most complicated route possible. Unsuccessfully. The guards kept following them until one of them almost caught up with her. She heard the whistle of a saber close to her head. She took out a shen and cut the clothesline that hung between the two houses. They gained a few seconds of advantage, and as they passed the temple of fire, their chasers turned into the wrong alley.

They drove out of town, and after two hours, they stopped to take a rest. However then moved on quickly, because Kalena feared the guards might find them and Galaspiael couldn't sleep anyway.

"If I'm not wrong, the village where Shiga and Shimo live is right in front of us," she said when the sun starting to rise "These are the people who helped me when I got lost. Shimo got out of the mine just like you."

"He wouldn't let anyone out," Galaspiael replied softly.

"I don't want to. I'm afraid that he will beat me," he confessed, "everyone in the mine..."

"But you're not in the mine anymore," she interrupted, "and he's harmless."

Galaspiael didn't answer.

When they arrived Kalena couldn't find the house where Shiga had led her despite looking carefully.

"Impossible. I got lost again! What other skill did Wan-Shi take from me apart from enchanting?!" She broke off as Galaspiael cringed and nodded.

"We have to ask someone, people will guide us for sure. I think the directions just got it wrong. The house should be on the other side of the village."

She dismounted when she noticed an older man walking towards them. When he saw her, he slowly turned around, but she caught up with him.

"Excuse me, do you know where Shiga and Shimo live?"

At first, the hostile face of the old man brightened as she spoke the two names.

"I knew, of course, I did. When they were kids, we played almost every day."

"No," she interrupted, "I meant where they were." Where is their home? She repeated louder.

"Shimo was always the smallest, he did not grow at all." He paused and pushed the gray hair out of his face. "Why are you asking about them?"

"I need to ask them for help, where do they live?"

"They are dead," the man replied calmly. "They've both been dead for seventy-five years. There is no home either. It has burned down, with them inside."

It has burned out. At first, she didn't want to believe it. She has spoken to ghosts many times, but she would not have imagined that the two brothers would turn out to be ghosts as well. They were too real, and so was their home. She remembered perfectly well what it looked like, remembered the smell inside, and the wooden door.

She jumped suddenly as the caller grabbed her hand. She looked deep into his pale blue eyes, not knowing what to say. But he was the first to speak:

"Please, if you've seen them, get out of here. Leave them alone."

*

"Aymon, don't change your plans now. The revolution starts soon, you must be ready," argued Mizar.

This silence is concerning. You didn't notice? Even the Golden Guard is not following us lately. They used to chase anyone who crossed the city gates and looked a little suspicious, but now?" Aymon nodded. "Samin does it on purpose. He discovered the plot but refuses to attack Yagn-Sho directly. He will set a snare into which we will enter ourselves."

I'm glad that everything is going well. It is a sign that our ancestors are in favor of us and also demand justice."

"But now there are hardly any difficulties," he explained, "at all! I could enter the palace courtyard without weapons, and they would open the gates for me! I won't be surprised if everything collapses in the middle of a revolution!"

"What could go wrong? Samin is completely alone, locked in the palace. The Madegaldian army is busy conquering Sekania. You were supposed to ask Her Majesty if Samin is still planning an alliance with the Emperor, have you done that?"

"I didn't get a reply."

"Maybe there is no one to pass it on to?" Mizar remained positive. "Or your letter didn't reach her?"

"That's why I think we should check it out! I should if I want to be king. I can't endanger people and sit here alone."

"Of course you can! These will be your subjects. Brother, if you want information about Samin's actions, I'll get it," he offered, seeing Aymon's disapproving look. "If you think this silence should worry us, you shouldn't take any chances. You are the only person worthy of the crown, without you, this whole plan will make no sense."

"Kalena still hasn't given any sign?" He suddenly changed the subject.

"Since Seth mentioned her in his letter to Jin-Si, nothing is known. Do you hope Galaspiael will return after all?

"It's a shame to say, but I hope she won't succeed," he confessed, "I don't want him to come back, and that's the reason I didn't go looking for him. I know what you think about me now, I think about myself the same way. I hope that in the afterlife I will be able to ask His Majesty for forgiveness ..."

"I'll take my friends and we'll leave today," Mizar promised. "Where we should go to? To the palace or a higher circle?"

"Go to the palace, but don't be fooled. Be more vigilant than usual and take at most two people. Larger groups attract attention easily. First of all, check if the queen is safe and make sure she knows about our actions."

"Of course." The boy got up and started to leave, but suddenly turned away. "I'm not going to judge you. I don't know if Kalena would go to save him if she had a chance to become queen. I don't know if I would have... probably not."

Aymon didn't answer. Mizar started towards the pavilion leading to the stables and the exit gate. In the hallway, he immediately ran into Zarkin.

"I'd come with you if I could see," he said before Mizar could approach him.

"Have you been standing here for a long time?" He asked, looking reluctantly at the blind boy.

"I'm waiting for Mei to come back with the ingredients I told her to get," he replied calmly. "I can't help that my senses sharpened. If I wanted to eavesdrop, I'd stand in front of the door, and I didn't. I just hear a lot more now."

"If you also saw, I would start to be afraid of you. Now it's more like… "Mizar reached out to pat Zarkin on the head. The blonde grabbed her quickly.

"I can still poison you, so stop it. Good luck to you, Prince Mizar. May you come back safe from your mission. The laxative will be ready soon, and I need to test it on someone."

"You can test it yourself." Mizar smiled. "I'd like to lose my eyesight too if I got a woman like Mei in return. If we could exchange..."

"If there was such a possibility..." Zarkin shook his head, "I certainly wouldn't agree."