Chapter Two
Raliena sat up abruptly and threw her blankets off her body; as if it would rid her of the memory her dream had resurfaced. She stared down at her hands in the dim light. They looked the same as any others would, pale and elegant, absent of calluses, marks or scars.
It was a side effect to the healing ability the Unisayan’s blood had given her. Her body was in a faultless condition, she never got ill, any scratches or cuts she gained healed much faster than ordinary people and all her senses were heightened. Her sight, hearing, smell and taste and her physical strength had improved dramatically over the years since. She could rival the strength of any man in Verxia which she found difficult to hide.
It was how she had been able to ride for so long and travel the great distance to Attashar in such a small amount of time; without either her or Fahge collapsing from exhaustion.
Raliena hid her face in her hands. She had spent much time thinking about the first time she had seen a Unisayan and watched it come alive again beneath her fingertips. She had practiced her new power many times after that on animals and herself, but dared not use it on another human for fear of exposure; until now.
Raliena turned her face to the sky; the obscuring mask that smothered the night had faded to a deep blue, its darkness retreating from the marching sunrise.
Wasting no more time, Raliena wrapped up the thick blankets and tied them together, then yanked the leather saddle bags towards her. Gripping the cold hilt of her sword that had been attached to it, she pulled the silver blade out halfway and watched the clean frost from the grass reflect off its surface.
It looked beautiful, despite its hideous purpose and Raliena couldn’t help but admire in a cruel way how easily such a thin piece of metal could kill a man.
She looked up at Fahge who was staring back at her from the grass he was grazing on and then replaced the sword. It would not be a good idea to enter the castle heavily armed.
Raliena took out her dagger instead and slid the blade down the side of her lined boot, feeling its biting kiss against her fair skin.
Fahge took a step towards Raliena as she stood up and brushed the dust off her dress.
She murmured to him in a soft voice and stroked his silky flank, allowing him to sniff her hair affectionately.
Raliena smiled and attached his saddle to his back, ready to leave as soon as she was finished; keen to get out of the woods and back to Verxia before anyone noticed. She didn’t like being as close as she was to the castle, knowing that Attashar was prone to sending regular patrols into its surrounding woods.
Tying her blonde hair back in a loose bun, in the hope that she would be mistaken for a maid, Raliena made her way to the castle on foot.
The map she had studied of Attashar told her that it had four entrances, two of which led to the living chambers of the nobility. Coming from the direction of the woods meant that she would be led to the servants’ entrance, which was exactly where she wanted to be.
Getting into the castle had been easier than Raliena imagined. There was only one guard on the door to get into the castle grounds who let her through without incident. He looked as if he had been up the whole night shift and waved her through before she had a chance to explain what she was there for.
At first she thought it odd that it had been so uncomplicated to gain entrance, until she saw what was beyond the walls.
This door led straight to the training grounds of Attashar. Raliena had heard that they kept their soldiers close, but she had not expected them to be staying inside the castle grounds. She could see the castle beyond the tents and guards living quarters and would have to walk right past them to reach it. It explained why the small door had been so scarcely guarded and why the soldier had let her through so easily. He probably thought she had been sent for by one of the military men.
Most of the men ignored Raliena as she walked through and tried to keep her head down. She walked quickly so they would not get a good look at her and was soon at the servants’ door to the castle; which was thankfully unguarded.
Now the only thing she had to worry about, was finding the General’s room.
The sun was only just rising, so there were sure to be few people walking the halls. Even so, she checked every corner before she walked down the long and plainly decorated corridors and kept to the shadows as much as possible.
She reached the top of one stairway, thinking that if it was anything like Verxia, the General would be close to the top front of the castle.
Checking to the right of the corridor leading off the stairs, Raliena walked out casually to the left.
Her heart skipped a beat as she almost collided with a young girl carrying a tray of various fruit and a slice of bread.
“Oh, I am sorry.” The girl said in a small voice looking down at the tray.
“No, it was my fault.” Raliena replied.
The girl looked up at Raliena in confusion, as if she had said something to offend her.
“I was not watching where I was going.” The girl said after a short pause. “I was on my way to the General’s room. Not that he can eat at the moment.”
The young girl sounded close to tears.
“I am sure he will get better soon.” Raliena couldn’t help being nice to the young girl who was clearly fond of the General. She had heard of his comely features, but this girl was much too young to be thinking of such things yet.
“But you do not know that, no one does!” The girl replied starting to shake.
“We all need to do what we can in any small way.” Raliena held the girl’s shoulders and looked at her kindly. “Even something as small as an apple given to a starving child can make a difference.” She straightened up again and looked determinedly down the corridor. “You just have to wait for the right kind of person. Willing to save a life, no matter what the cost.”
“The right kind of person?” The girl asked weakly.
Raliena looked at the girl again and couldn’t help but try comfort her, she was only a young maid and she looked exhausted. “They may be closer than you think.”
The girl seemed to consider this for a moment.
“You cannot mean...” She shook her little head in frustration, her long mousy hair flicking around her elbows, and rearranged the fruit on the plate. “I best go.”
Turning around the other side of Raliena, she said. “I am grateful. Not many people talk to me as you did.”
She smiled and hurried away in a seemingly more cheerful mood, leaving Raliena to wonder what she had meant.
Once the girl was round the corner, Raliena hastened after her, keeping her footsteps as quiet as possible.
She waited until she was sure the girl was a safe distance away then turned through the doorway to another staircase. This one was grander than the other and Raliena was sure it would lead to the General’s room. Plus, with the help of the maid, she would be led straight to it.
“Looking for something?”
Raliena froze at the deep voice of someone behind her.
“Or someone?” The voice continued.
Turning towards the voice Raliena saw the plump figure of a guard leaning against the wall leading off the stairs a seductive expression on his flushed face, no doubt he had used the same line on every other girl who had walked past.
“I am just on my way to attend the General.” Raliena replied with ease and made to walk up the stairs. She had grown used to turning away the affections of men. Being named Araman had helped her in Verxia where it was considered a great sin, punishable by death, to impure an Araman.
“Why, when you could attend to the best fighter in Attashar?” The guard insisted, standing in Raliena’s way and attempting to show off his nonexistent muscles.
“If you find him, be sure to let me know.” She replied coolly patting him on the arm and trying to get past again.
But he didn’t seem troubled by her insult and grabbed her waist to put her against the wall.
“Playing hard to get, are we?” He breathed on her, his arm in the way of the stairs.
Raliena could smell beer on his breath and realised he wasn’t going to give up easily. She managed to duck under his arm as he closed his eyes and leaned in; not realising in his drunken state that she had moved until his lips touched the cold stone wall.
The guard stared around in confusion then up at where Raliena stood on the stairs.
Not wanting to risk him following her, she said in her most seductive tone, “meet me behind the stables at noon and I shall show you the meaning of ‘playing hard to get’.”
The guard grinned. “I’ll be waiting.” He slurred, stepping towards her.
Raliena almost gagged but turned and started up the carpet lined staircase, almost gasping at the shock of being slapped on the arse as she walked away. Raliena paused mid step to keep herself from punching him then continued up the stairs, fists clenched.
Wondering if he would turn up at the stables, Raliena made her way to the top of the castle. She realised that he was probably too drunk to remember what had just happened. It would just be added to all her other hideous memories that she would rather forget.
At the top of the stairs Raliena checked the hallway again and felt a deep despair at the amount of doors there were. Dark wood set in cold stone with barley any tapestries or markings of any kind. There weren’t even guards on the doors as she had been expecting.
How am I ever going to find him? She thought desperately.
At that moment a door opened half way down the corridor and the girl Raliena had seen earlier stepped out, this time without the food tray.
Fortune was with her and once the girl had gone, Raliena made her way towards the door, keeping close to the wall to avoid being seen.
The door was identical to the others and it was perfectly plausible that the maid could have been visiting someone else, but it was Raliena’s best hope if she was ever going to find and save the General.
After listening at the door for a moment, she slowly opened it. It was well oiled and made no noise as she stepped in and locked it behind her with the small silver key in the lock.
The room was dim and musty. It had a stale smell of sweat and felt incredibly hot. The curtains had been drawn over the large sized windows at the far end.
The four poster bed on the next wall took up most of the space. It was quite a small room, which made Raliena think that this was most likely not the General’s permanent chambers and if it had not been for the tray of fruit and bread on the table next to the bed, then she would have thought she had walked into the wrong room. The food was accompanied by so many different vials and glasses of medicine, in an array of different colours and textures that it was a wonder the General was still alive.
Steadily walking towards the bed, Raliena started to dread what she was going to find and got a sickening feeling in her stomach at what would happen if she couldn’t save him.
She had only ever healed animals before and the occasional cut from a stray branch. She had to keep what she could do from the world for fear that people would all want the same power. And if they found out that it came from the Unisayan’s blood, the butchery of the innocent creatures would not stop.
Raliena pushed the thought from her mind and tried to prepare for the fight against whatever sickness had inhabited the man. She reached the side of the bed and was surprised that the illness hadn’t affected his outer looks and Raliena was loath to admit that she found him rather attractive.
The General had a strong prominent jaw line and his cheekbones were framed by dark hair which stuck to his face from his fever. Other than that he just looked pale and tired and she wondered what colour his eyes were, but despite his looks, she had an uncontrollable dislike towards him, as she had with every other person who intended to hunt a Unisayan.
Nonetheless, she had gone there to save him for the sake of Verxia and had to put her feelings aside for the moment. She would work out how to stop the hunt later.
But death was not the answer.
Firmly sitting on the only available gap next to the General, she gathered her strength and, breathing out carefully, placed both hands on his bare chest.
Feeling his muscles tense below her palms, Raliena tried to stop her hands from slipping off from the dampness of his body, then she closed her eyes from the bright blue glow now emitting from the connection between them.
Concentrating hard, she adjusted herself so that she was kneeling by his side.
The illness was strong and she was surprised at how he had fought it off for this long. She could feel his own strength battling against it.
His chest heaved unexpectedly and she pushed him into the bed, using her body weight to keep him steady.
Focus.
The General flung his arm out without warning, smashing one of the vials holding a thick purple liquid. It ran down the wall and behind the table in a shiny trail, someone would surely have heard it break.
Without thought, Raliena flung her leg over him and held his shuddering chest down, hands firmly in place and burrowed deeper towards the illness. It was like feeling around a familiar place looking for something that didn’t belong there. She found that it was much easier to do on a human than it had been when healing her horse from an infection. Raliena knew this form and its capabilities as well as she knew her own.
Finally, she found the illness deep within him and using the last remaining energy she had, forced it upon the cause till it was gone.
Collapsing beside him, gasping for air, Raliena caught her breath.
That was no ordinary illness, she thought.
The General let out a heavy breath.
Picking herself up Raliena leant over him, eager to see if it had worked, a few blonde curls falling over her shoulder; they had come loose from the bun in the struggle to keep him still.
After a moment of tense anticipation, the General opened his striking blue eyes which were in total unexpected contrast to his dark black hair.
Raliena ashamedly had to admit that he was handsome, but she was just thankful her efforts had not been in vain.
She smiled despite herself and the General weakly smiled back then reached a trembling hand out slowly towards her face...
“General!?”