Chapter 17
We ran out of the cavern screaming. Most of the ravine had been roofed over so it was a long, sun-less, fight. Skyler and Ja` Lynn kept me toward the back so that I could direct the waves. At first it chaffed that I wasn’t able to be on the front line fighting, but soon I had as much as I could handle.
Sasha returned with the Stompers after they finished sealing off the upper vents so I had them go down the wall of the ravine and pick the Imperials off until I gave the word to collapse the ceiling. I had another patrol show up so I sent them to retrieve and replace the ones that were injured and help drag them back to the healers that showed up. I had a Patrol of Blazers show up but I held them in reserve because we were close to the cavern entrance by that time.
Even with the extra Kier that arrived we still slowly gave ground until we were in the cavern. I gave Sasha the go ahead on collapsing the ceiling. The roof of the tunnel came crashing down and half filled the ravine with bodies and debris.
I had the Blazers cover the entrance while everybody took a few minutes to rest. As soon as the first wave was ready I had the Blazers and Stompers clear the path back to the Imperial line. As soon as we got back to fighting I had the Blazers and Stompers cover the top of the ravine so that we weren’t cut off and didn’t have any get behind us. As more people would show up I would create another wave and when we lost enough to injury I would take away a wave until the injured were well enough to fight again.
We kept this pattern up until we pushed all the way to the mouth of the ravine and didn’t find anymore Imperials to fight. We could see what was left of the Imperial army quick-marching in the direction of West Fork. I became aware of a roaring sound around me. It took a few moments to realize it was my people cheering. I soon found myself cheering with them. We did a head count and realized that we didn’t loose a single person in the entire fight. There wasn’t anybody that hadn’t visited the healers at least half a dozen times including me, but all of us had survived.
We made our way back into the city. And found the entire city had lined the streets that led to the Court House. As we passed by the crowd saluted us with a fist over their hearts. We got to the Court House and found Le` Than standing with the aid of two healers.
He saluted us and said, “Because of each of you all those in this city are alive. I am the most healthy of the Clan Heads and the Heirs so I ask you to excuse them for not being here. These healers say that I need to return to my bed so I will just say this, thank you.” Slowly he kneeled and spread his wings then bowed at the waist, letting the tips of his wings touch the ground. We turned back around and saw that the entire city had done the same.
There wasn’t a dry eye among any of us. It takes a great deal for a Kier to bow to anyone. To receive a bow where the wings touch the ground is an honor far greater than any I could imagine. We slowly returned the bow to the city and made our way to our separate destinations. I helped Le` Than stand up and helped him back to his bed.
After getting him situated I asked him, “How many did they kill?”
“At last count there were three Divisions and two Wings dead and another three Divisions recovering. One Division of those recovering requires twenty-four hour watch and they might not make it. We are trying to figure out what that poison is so we can make an antidote for it. Some of the Clan Heads think the price is a bit high for keeping one city.”
“Then they don’t have to come back to this city when they leave. Speaking of which. The Emperor has invited all Clan Heads and Heirs to the Capital in order to work out negotiations. I told him that West Fork would be a better place. Oh, and Solstice is now it’s own Kingdom again. I’m going to have to let Valora know that she can go back to her Kingdom.”
“That’s good to know. I’m sure she will be happy. I do need to rest now, Yari. I’m one of those under twenty-four hour watch.”
“Ok, Le` Than. Get better soon.”
“I will.”
I left him to the care of the healers and went in search of Valora. It took me a while to find her. I tried to sense her but for some reason I couldn’t pick up anything. I finally found her just outside of one of the upper vents. She was looking toward West Fork when I landed next to her. She glanced in my direction then turned back toward the city. I sat down and waited. She remained standing foe a few more minutes then sighed and sat next to me.
She gave me a look then said, “Are you sure you are in the right place? I don’t see a single Kier Sona up here besides you.”
I sighed, “Ok, I deserved that. How long are you going to be mad at me, Grandma?”
She looked at me and I saw a slight bit of shock flicker across her eyes. She sighed, “Well, I had planned on making you feel guilty for a few more days but how can I when you call me Grandma? I guess you should tell me what’s on your mind.”
I smiled, “I don’t even know where to begin. I guess I should start by letting you know that the Emperor released Solstice back to your bloodline.”
“Really? Why did he do that?”
“I made it one of the conditions of his survival.”
“Ha! That’s funny. That’s not the thing that is troubling you though.”
“What can you tell me about Ja` Sair Dr` Ekar?”
“My court Wizard? Not a lot. Why do you want to know about him?”
“Because he is my father.”
“How sure are you in this?”
“As sure as I can be with a Power Sink. Is there any way that one of those tests can lie?”
“No. There isn’t. That is why it was used back in the day to determine legitimacy in the Royal Bloodlines. More then one civil war has been prevented that way. I don’t get it though. How can he be your father? He doesn’t even show up at all in your mother’s Memory Stone.”
“He is a Time Spinner. He has a way of blocking the stone so that it doesn’t record him.”
“Well, that’s news to me. Like I said, I don’t know much about him, but if he is still the same kind of man he was when I ruled Solstice then he is a good person. He was very private and seemed to be searching for something. I don’t know what it was or if he found it, but he was the reason that I made it out of that castle alive.”
“That’s good to know. I’m still trying to decide if I am going to trust him or not. There have been too many things lately that aren’t what I thought they were. I’m afraid that if too many more things turn out to be something else I’m going to be a paranoid as you.”
She gave me a look and I laughed, “It was a joke. On a more serious note, when are you going to talk to Le` Than? You two have a lot of history that needs to be straightened out.”
She sighed, “I know. It has been a long time since I even thought about him. I know that he is on a very close watch and I keep meaning to get down there to see him, but I don’t know if it will be a good thing or not. What if I talk to him and I become the reason he doesn’t make it? What if I go down there and I become the reason he does make it? Which one do I really want to be? Le` Than has been my reason to live for a long time. At first it was because I loved him. Then he left and it was so that I could get revenge on him. Now? I just don’t know.”
“I’m sorry, Grandma. You’ll figure it out though. I’m sure of it.”
She smiled at me and put her arm around me. We watched the sun set then got up and went inside. I was greeted by Skyler and Sasha. Sasha looked at Valora and said, “Hi, Grandma. I hate to pull her away, but Yarianna is going to relax for a bit now.”
Valora smiled, “By all means. Tie her up if you need to. She can be stubborn about things like this.”
Skyler laughed, “Tell me about it. I don’t think I’ve seen her relax in the entire time I’ve known her.”
I looked at the three of them, “I’m standing right here you know. I think I am very capable of relaxing without help.”
The three of them looked at me then back at each other. Sasha continued as if I hadn’t spoken. “I agree, Skyler. I’ve see drawn bowstrings more relaxed then she is.”
Valora laughed, “That is a rather accurate description. Well, I don’t want to stand in the way. You all have fun.”
Skyler and Sasha both said, “We will.”
I looked at the three of them, “Don’t I get a vote in this?”
All three of them said, “No.”
Valora walked off and Skyler and Sasha each took an arm and started leading me toward my living quarters. We got there and Skyler waited in my front room while Sasha drug me to the bathing room. Sasha looked me up and down then said, “Shift out of that armor and strip. Your going to take a bath first.”
I looked down, “Why?”
“Yarianna, you have been fighting and training in those same clothes for nearly two months and it had been at least that long before you were injured enough to have to change your clothes. If you don’t do it yourself I will sink your feet into the floor and do it for you. Now strip.”
I shifted my armor out and noticed that my white undershirt wasn’t so white anymore. I shrugged and finished peeling off the rest of my clothes. I soon found myself sitting in a bath tub with attendants scrubbing dirt off of my body and out of my hair. At first I was uncomfortable because I was perfectly capable of washing myself, but when I tried to protest Sasha just ignored me. I tried to do it myself but I got my hand slapped so I leaned back and just let them wash me.
I will have you know that I did not enjoy it in the least. As if I wasn’t perfectly capable of washing myself. That was not a sigh of comfort. It was exasperation at the indignity of, mmmm fingernails on the scalp feels sooo gooood, someone else washing me. Imagine the insult. Treating me like, where are you going? No, I think my hair still has dirt in it. Was it again. Mmmm feels sooo gooood. Treating me like a little girl that can’t bathe herself. What? I was not snoring. I was trying to clear my nose.
After that horrendous bath I was forced to let the girls dress me. I tried to do it myself, but got my hand slapped again. I tried to draw the line when Sasha started fussing with my hair and brought out the make-up. Can you believe that she actually pulled out some rope? I asked her where we were going since she was going to get me all dolled up and she smiled and said, “Nowhere. You’re a girl and for now the battle is over so you are going to look like a girl no matter where you are.”
I gave her a shocked look, “I’m a girl!? Really? And all this time I thought I was a boy. Gee golly, I sure am glad you’re here to let me know these things. Ouch! What the hell?”
“Gee, I’m so sorry. Your hair is just so tangled. You really do need to start taking care of it better.”
I glared at her reflection in the mirror, “You can take the halo off now. It is starting to dig into your horns.”
“Yeah, but then the horns flair out and it is so unattractive. That halo is the best horn scrunchy ever.”
She finished dressing me up and doing my hair then led me out to the main room. Mary Ann was there along with Skyler, Valora, Ja` Sair, Le` Than, Ja` Lynn, and Anna Marie. I saw that Mary Ann had brought several board games and was trying to explain the rules to one of them to everybody else.
Sasha looked at everybody then said, “This is a stress free evening everybody. You are all here because you can’t seem to relax without help. I have left strict orders with my girls that if any one of us starts stressing about anything they are to hang us up-side down from the ceiling until we can behave. If the offender continues to stress they are then to be tortured by feathers until they wet themselves. A picture will be taken and laughter will abound throughout the city. Do I make myself clear?”
I smiled, “Do you include yourself in this mess?”
“Yes. I also need to relax a bit.”
I looked at Skyler and grinned, “He he… Begin operation ‘Stress Sasha.’ I want to see her pee her pants.”
She punched me in the arm as everybody laughed. We settled down with everybody else and discussed the rules of the board game. The attendants kept a constant flow of refreshments going and soon we were too involved in the game to worry about too much.
It was getting brighter outside of my window by the time I started getting yawning. Skyler started heading out so I grabbed his arm and looked at everybody, “You all have fun. Eat my food. Drink my alcohol. I am out.” I led him to my bedroom and smiled, “I would really like for you to hold me while I fall asleep, Skyler. It would do me a world of good.”
He smiled back, “The benefit will be mutual Yari.”
We both laid down and our arms went around each other. Our lips met and the rest of the world went away for a few moments. I snuggled up to him as close as I could get and sighed. I don’t remember actually falling asleep, but it was the best sleep I think I have ever had.
I woke up the next morning feeling warm and safe. Skyler was already awake and watching me. He smiled, “Afternoon.”
I picked my head up and looked out the window, “So it is.”
I laid my head back down on his arm. He put his other arm around me and kissed me. After some time we broke the kiss and got out of bed. I made my way into the dining area and found a breakfast laid out on the table. We started eating and Le` Than came in. He grabbed a tray and piled up a breakfast for two. I looked at him and he shrugged, “Valora always did like breakfast in bed even if it was afternoon when she woke up.”
I shook my head and smiled. It seemed like him and Valora finally made up. A short time later Ja` Lynn came in followed a bit too close for coincidence by Mary Ann. I noticed that Mary Ann had a particular glow about her and she just happened to glance at Ja` Lynn a bit too often. I caught her eye and gave her a look that said we needed to talk later. She blushed and nodded and I went back to eating. Ja` Sair and Anna Marie walked in and sat down to eat. Sasha stumbled in and poured herself a large mug of coffee.
We all mutually decided that last night’s stress free time would extend into tomorrow. I sent Skyler off to entertain himself and corned Mary Ann. I took her arm and pulled her into my bedroom then shut the door. I plopped on my bed and looked at her, “Ok, spill. What happened last night between you and Ja` Lynn?”
She blushed, “Well, You and Skyler went to bed and we all joked a bit about that. Then everybody else started drifting to separate rooms and Ja` Lynn and I were still sitting up talking. I think he said something about how attractive he found me but the next thing I remember we were kissing. I don’t remember how we got to the bedroom.” She smiled, “He kissed me on my neck and I felt his teeth drag against my skin. I thought I would die on the spot.”
She drifted off a bit with a smile on her face. I prompted her, “And?”
She shook her head slightly, “And what?”
“Well, did you?”
She turned red, “Yes. We did. Several times.”
“How was it?”
She smiled, “Definitely something I am going to be doing with him again. Sooner rather then later.”
I grinned, “Good for you. I’m glad you found somebody your are comfortable with.”
“Me too. So did you and Skyler yet?”
“No. Not yet. I fell asleep last night. I wanted to though.”
“You will when the time is right.”
“Yeah. Anyway, what do you think of my city?”
“I like it down here. Any chance of getting citizenship now that you are no longer part of the Empire?”
“I think we can work something out. I will have to talk it over with Le` Than”
“That conversation will be short. ‘Le` Than, your going to give my friend citizenship right?’ ‘Why of course I will because if I don’t said friend will tell Valora on me.’”
I laughed, “ ‘Grandma! Le` Than won’t make my friend a citizen.’ ‘Tell him if he wants to keep his anatomy intact he will.’”
We both laughed until our sides ached. We went back in to the main room and spent the rest of the day being lazy. I have to admit that Sasha was right. I did need to relax a bit more. It was a good thing I did because it would be a while before I had the time to relax like that again.
