Chapter Twenty Six
Kassen and Raliena took the reins off the horses and let them go in the forest, to find their way home, deciding they were close enough to Verxia to walk, and it was much safer on foot.
They didn’t know what to expect when they reached the brow of the hill that overlooked the town, but were not surprised by what they saw.
In the centre of the town Lishini’s men were gathering people from their houses and holding them in big wooden cages that had been built by the very people imprisoned in them.
Kassen had heard about them from visitors to Attashar. The army brought all the materials with them, carrying them by hand to build the troops muscles on the journey and teach them discipline.
“We need to get into one of those cages.” Raliena said.
Kassen agreed and they headed back to the forest to disguise themselves. Raliena tied her hair in her scarf and pulled her hood up as far as it would go. Both of them rubbed dirt on their clothes and faces and rubbed red berries on themselves to look like blood. Raliena gave Kassen her sword. Lishini’s men would certainly take it from them but she hoped they would get it back once they figured out a plan.
When that was done they made their way down the hill towards the town. Less worried about being seen now they wanted to be captured, but still trying to appear cautious, as one of the town’s people might do.
It didn’t take long for someone to find them.
“Where ya think ya goin’?” One of the three men that found them said in a thick west accent, grabbing Raliena’s arm as she feigned struggling.
“Pretty gal ya got.” Another one said who had hold of Kassen by the arms while the third removed the sword from him, he had pretended to try remove from its sheath when they caught them.
“Don’t you touch her!” Kassen growled and struggled more forcefully than he should have against the man holding him. The third punched him hard in the stomach.
Raliena stayed quiet for the moment trying to gauge the situation. They could easily take the three of them, but that would defeat the purpose of what they were trying to do.
The first man who still had hold of her tried to touch her face and she pulled it away from him, her hair would reveal her if Dergen had told them anything about her. The man yanked her arm again roughly and she whimpered.
“What’s matter gal. Ya no like it tough?” The man held her tighter with his arm across her front and pulled her head to one side then smiled sickeningly smug at Kassen as he kissed her neck.
Raliena gave Kassen a warning look and placed her hand on the man’s arm.
“Argh!” He yelled letting her go. “Little phond bit me!” He cursed in his language holding his arm. His companions laughed at him and he back handed Raliena across the face. She cried out and put herself on the floor as if it had hurt her.
Kassen reacted to her distress and pulled himself free from his captor, turning to punch the man hard in the stomach and then knee him in the face. Before he could turn on the others, the larger, silent man had him by the throat and threw him to the ground, and then the three of them kicked him repeatedly.
Raliena could do nothing but watch as he became as bloodied and beaten as when she had rescued him.
The large man was the one that stopped the abuse and pulled Kassen to his feet. He handed Raliena to the man that Kassen had punched and took the General himself.
They found their way to the main street and saw more people being dragged out of a tavern where they had been hiding. It was burned behind them to draw anyone still hiding, out. They were all pushed into a line and made to march two by two towards the cages.
The men that were holding them shoved them somewhere in the line and chatted with the other group of Lishini’s men. Raliena was glad to see her sword passed to a man carrying a pile of them away. It would be easier to find if it was being kept with the other weapons.
“What did you do to that man?” Kassen whispered when no one was watching. “Your mouth was nowhere near him.”
“I hurt his skin where I touched it.” Raliena explained quietly. “It is the opposite of me healing someone except it is not as powerful. I have not used it enough for it to grow. Now give me your hand.”
Kassen took her outstretched hand and put them both in the pocket of his borrowed coat, keeping his head down like she did.
“That was not as smooth as we planned.” Raliena muttered.
“I was acting as any concerned husband would.” Kassen replied coolly. “They were tormenting you.”
“I can handle myself, and it did not hurt. You should know that.”
They were quiet again as they plodded along behind the other captives.
Once the guards had locked them inside the wooden cages and wondered away, Raliena lifted up her head lowering her hood enough for a golden lock of hair to fall from it, and her face to be revealed in the moonlight.
“Lady Araman!” A man exclaimed.
“Hush.” Raliena said holding a finger to her lips and looking around to see if any of the guardsmen had heard. “Is the King with you?”
“He was.” Replied a woman on the floor, a badly beaten man in her lap.
“Baynil?” Raliena exclaimed and knelt down beside the man, only just recognising the King beneath his broken features and mud stained clothes.
“Can you heal him?” Kassen whispered so only she could hear.
“Not if he is already dead.” She whispered back feeling tears well in her eyes as she checked his pulse for some small sign he was still in this world, but the woman was right, he was gone.
“Dergen told him everything and took great pleasure in making him suffer for it. He didn’t think an apology would be enough to make up for how he treated you General. He was so blinded by Dergen’s influence, as we all were.”
“Except Sa Raliena. She always suspected the advisor, we all saw it.” The first man piped in again, standing close to where people were now starting to huddle around the King’s body.
“It did not help me save him.” Raliena murmured to herself. Kassen placed a supporting hand on her shoulder then covered the King with his cloak.
“The fact that you are alive is more than enough hope for us.” A man lying close to them said, he had a cloak covering his legs and Raliena could only just recognise him under the layer of blood as General Samde. In fact this cage seemed to be where they had put most of the guards from Verxia; what little they had.
“The King said something else before he died.” The woman still holding Baynil said. Raliena looked up at her properly and through the dirt on her face recognised her as the Lady Nanerter, suddenly looking haggard and so much older, so unlike her usual pretentious self.
“He named you his successor.” Nanerter finished.
Raliena judged that by the reaction of the group, they had already heard this news and accepted it, but it was not for her to simply take on the role.
“I do not deserve to be your ruler.” Raliena looked away from their faces. It was because of her that this had happened. Dergen did not want the Kingdom, he wanted her, but this was the only way to get it.
“We can think of no one we would rather rule us, Lady Araman.” General Samde spoke again and the people around her nodded.
“But an Araman has no experience in ruling, and no right to either.”
“It is not because you are an Araman that we wish for you to take the throne, but because you are the most suitable person to do so.” One of the serving men said. “You are kind and generous, no other noble would take the time to learn our names or help around the castle.”
“You knew?” Raliena asked surprised.
“Of course we knew.” A woman next to her answered, she had a deep cut to her head that was slowly leaking blood into her eye. “You’re not exactly unrecognisable, even wearing a hair cloth.”
Raliena smi
led at them all. Most had some sort of injury. Some more severe than others, and she could heal them all if she wished to.
“Is this what you want?” Raliena asked them. They all nodded and murmured their consent. Raliena looked at Kassen who smiled and nodded encouragement, sensing what she planned to do.
“Very well.” Raliena looked back at General Samde. “If I am to do this, then you need to know what I am. A Queen should not keep things from her people.”
Raliena shuffled over to the General.
“May I?” She asked.
Samde nodded but whispered, “I think I’m far too gone to be of any use to you.”
Raliena smiled kindly and pulled the cloak away that had been resting on his legs. Raliena could barely see the damage done through all the blood that was still trying to seep from the wound. She was surprised he was not yelling out in agony.
“I cannot walk or even move my legs. They had to drag me in here along with most of my men.” Samde said solemnly.
“I can heal you.”
“It is not possible.” Samde shook his head.
“Give me your hand and I will show you what is and is not possible.”
General Samde hesitated for a moment while everyone in the cage watched with curiosity, then he gently placed his hand in hers.
Raliena closed her eyes in silent prayer that they would not be afraid of her, and let her hand gently glow as she healed the General, who closed his eyes also at the warmth and returning strength.
When Raliena had finished she took her hand away and everyone stared at the healed skin where the wound once was and watched as Samde moved his legs and got up from the floor strong again.
“This is why Dergen has done this. He wants me.” Raliena looked into each awed and confused face of the people, who may one day be her people. “I am the cause of this, and I will understand if you wish to hand me over. Or you can fight with me. I can heal you all and get you out and we can rid ourselves of Lishini’s men, and the traitor Dergen. It is your decision to make. Not mine.”
Everyone looked at each other, waiting for some form of confirmation that they would be doing the right thing. Eventually it was a young girl who held her hand out to Raliena. Raliena smiled at her and the girl smiled back, then the Araman reached out her hand to her and held it gently. A man on the other side of Raliena did the same and she reached out her other hand.
The first man she spoke to place a hand on her shoulder, and soon everyone was holding onto her arms or shoulders, and then joined hands with each other too. Kassen grinned at Raliena who smiled weakly back, then closed her eyes and began to heal everyone who was connected in the circle.
Kassen grabbed someone’s cloak and covered Raliena over, as her whole body began to glow.