Chapter 6:  Forget The Ultimate Doom Bit

            The soldiers set up camp not more than a few miles from the massacred village.  The smell of smoke made me nauseous and my eyes watered.  It would take another half day before they would be done searching in the village and I knew that they would find nothing.  They must have known that too.

            Sometimes false hope kept us sane.

            Malphas had disappeared hours ago, when the sun was still up, to go see about this prisoner.  Perhaps if the prisoner were lucky he would be killed rather than tortured, I was not going to delude myself, and Malphas would make him wish he were dead.

            Pythia had to be insane to believe that I would come back alive traveling with Malphas…wait that didn’t sound quite right.

            “You should not be wandering, Lady Alouette.”

            I was startled for a moment before I realized who it was that had snuck up behind me.  “Proteus!”

            “I suppose the King left you alone?”  Proteus inquired.

            Why would anyone think that?

            “I guess he has some stuff to deal with, besides I should be okay by myself since all the soldiers have been dealt with.  There’s also all the soldiers that are around to fight, they should take care of any threats.”

            “They did not help you much when you ran out into the middle of battle before we left the palace on our travels,” said the man with a frown.

Maybe the soldiers hadn’t been much help with the exception of Alectorious.  They were outnumbered and unprepared, not to mention the little fact that Malphas didn’t really value my life.  The soldiers weren’t going to bother to save someone that their king would rather have dead.

“Don’t worry about me,” I said to Proteus.  “I’ll be fine.”

Okay, I was still having some of those nightmares, seeing people getting killed can do that to you.  At least Malphas seemed to treat me a bit nicer—actually he was just ignoring me, but I guess that was better than having something broken because I pissed him off.

“Please promise that you will be careful, Lady Alouette.”

Not that I hadn’t been trying.

“Of course, I’m sorry for worrying you,” I said.

He nodded before walking off to one of the temporary tents. 

Could Proteus have had a dream about something bad happening?  Something had to have got him very worried.

There had been something that had been bothering me lately since I had got stuck in the past and it wasn’t directly related to the conflict between the kingdoms.  It had to do with returning home.  No one had even offered to help me get home—understandable with a lot of people around because they didn’t know of my situation—however, what about Pythia?  I thought she of all people would help me get back home.  She must have seen something that she didn’t tell me about.

Mom must have been blaming Dad about my disappearance.  After all, I had gone down to the cellar and disappeared not long after I had met with Dad.  Mom had to be thinking something suspicious was going on.

Something else had been bothering me as well.  Dad had told me that I would get sick if I left the house and Mom had been very stubborn about me leaving the house for a week…so, why wasn’t I sick now?  If what Dad were telling the truth, then wouldn’t I be dying—of illness, not violently—or at least be very ill?  Then why would Mom…?

Nothing made sense at the moment.

“You know, it is not proper for a woman to travel with so many men.”  Said a voice.

I turned around and saw nothing.

It would really suck if I was hearing voices without bodies.  At least with the dead speaking to me, they had some sort of form.

“In here,” the voice called out to me from a tent.

Without thinking I walked into the tent and it took me a few moments to get adjusted to the dark.  The figure slowly became a man—more specifically a soldier—and by the way he was beat up I guessed he was an enemy.  That and the fact that he looked like Malphas had gotten to him. 

He was also locked in some kind of cage, a very small one at that.

“I think I should be going,” I said quickly before making my way out of the tent.

“Keep me company, Lady Alouette, I believe there is much we need to discuss.”

How did he know my name?  I hadn’t been around long enough for people out of Eliphas to hear of me, right?

“How did you know my name?”  I asked slowly.

The man gave me a bloody smile.  “A vision,” he replied.

I cringed.  It wasn’t the smile that had caused my reaction; it was the hidden message behind his answer.  I didn’t doubt that he had killed people for that vision he had, but chances were he didn’t know too much about me…at least I could hope.

“What do you want?”  I hissed, something that I wouldn’t have imagined myself doing until now.

“Just to talk,” The man replied.  “Forgive for not standing in a lady’s presence, however, the circumstances do not allow for such courtesies.”

I glared at him.

“You seem unhappy about something,” he said.

“Something like that,” I replied.  “Actually it’s more like I really don’t like your methods of going about things.  I really don’t get your people.  Why kill someone to receive visions—visions that probably tell you very little, I might add—when you could just ask the dead to guide you to visions.  That way you get a lot more information and you don’t have to go kill people.

“There are really some things I don’t understand about the people here.  I mean, what’s so great about these visions anyway.  Really, visions are more trouble than they are worth.”

“What do you mean when you speak of asking the dead for guidance.”

I rolled my eyes.  “It’s quite obvious that someone who willingly gives information away is going to give you better information than someone who is forced.  Think about it.  If someone is forced to give you information they may leave something out and it will lead to your ultimate doom.”

Pausing, I blinked.  Ultimate doom?  At least I didn’t say untimely death.  It sounded like I was in a damn movie.

“Forget the ultimate doom bit.  Let’s just say you may die if you rely on the information you forced from someone,” I said.

“What are you going on about?”  Asked the man.

“Alright, think of it this way,” I said slowly.  “If you sacrifice someone for information they really don’t have to tell you anything.  You’ve already killed them and there is really nothing else you can do to them.”

I almost laughed at the confused expression on his face.

What the hell?  I shouldn’t be laughing at someone who kills people as Divination method!  If anything I should be more afraid of this guys than Malphas…then again, this guy was in a cage, while Malphas was roaming around somewhere, scaring the new soldiers.

He still looked confused.

“Forget it,” I muttered.  “I mean, if you’re raised to believe things a certain way some person is not just going to change your mind about some of this stuff.”

“You…intrigue me,” the man eventually said.

Hopefully that was a good thing.

“Same here, I guess…you know, I think I should be going,” I said as I attempted to exit the tent once again.

“Wait,” his voice sounded desperate.

I turned around slowly waiting for him to speak.

“Can you really have visions without sacrificing?” He asked.  “Is such a thing possible?”

“Of course,” I said with a nod.

He nearly hummed as he thought.  It was strange…he was nothing like the monster I pictured these people to be.  He sort of reminded me of Dad when he thought over an idea that was new to him.  I remember that it used to annoy Mom because he tuned at everything else when he was mentally preoccupied.

He stopped humming  “Is our methods any worse than what the kingdom of Eliphas does?”

My eyes widened…just what was he getting at?

“At least Moloch kills for a purpose,” the man sounded scornful.  “Eliphas kills just to kill.  There is not justification in that.”

“There is no justification for killing,” these words coming from an angry voice.

Malphas!

“Strange words for a man such as your self,” the prisoner spat.

Coal black eyes narrowed, “You have no more of a right to tell me they are strange words as I have to say those words.  These words are strange; however, they are true, even if I do not follow them.”

The prisoner’s eye twitched.

Before I could slip out of the tent, Malphas gripped my shoulder in a way that was very painful to me and nearly dragged me outside.  His grip didn’t loosen as we went farther and farther away from the tent, in fact, I was sure that if anything his grip had tightened.

“What did you think you were doing?”  His voice made me wince.

Not good.  I had known it would have only been a matter of time before I pissed him off again, and I had really been trying to avoid any type of confrontation with him.  Everything was much better when he was ignoring me.

“Well?”  His voice cut through my thoughts.

“Um…”

The prisoner had mentioned that perhaps Eliphas was worse since they killed without reason—could those thoughts be justified?  Malphas was killing people for the sake of killing them, at least this other kingdom, Moloch, killed for some kind of purpose.  What was Malphas killing these people for?

Malphas was a monster; even the people who lived in his kingdom knew this.  Would it really be so bad for Moloch to defeat Eliphas?  Surely the new ruler would be more human than the current one and in the end everyone would be happier than they were now.

“Were you conspiring against my kingdom?”  He growled as he shook with unnecessary force.

I gulped, unable to answer.

            “What did you tell him?”  He yelled.

            Yes, Malphas was a monster, but the type of monster he was hurt himself more than others.  Despite his obvious violent tendencies he never sacrificed anyone in his kingdom.  The only reason he was resorting to violence was because he was worried about Eliphas.  He is concerned that I had told the prisoner something that may endanger Eliphas and its people.

            I fought back the urge to run away as he threw me to the ground.

            “It wasn’t my intention to endanger Eliphas in any way,” I said in a voice that sounded nothing like my own.  “I was only discussing the possibility there may be another way for Moloch to get what it wants besides sacrificing countless numbers of people.”

            Malphas looked at me strangely.

            “I’m sorry,” I said sincerely.  “If my conversation in any way endangered your kingdom…I suppose you are willing to do anything to make sure those under your rule are safe.”

            At least he wasn’t trying to kill me…yet.

            Pythia obviously loved her son, and she knew her son was a bad person, but could she at least give me an idea of her son’s intentions.  If I didn’t realize that Malphas was doing all of this for Eliphas, I might have done something very stupid and help Moloch.

            There was still more I needed to know about Moloch before I could do judge the whole situation going on.  Besides, even if Moloch had been the lesser of the two evils I didn’t think that I could betray Pythia and help Moloch.  Pythia had expectations of me.  Not to mention that I needed to get back and continue those Divination lessons.

            Malphas kicked me not so gently in the side.  “Get up.”

            I guess that meant I would live for now.

            He began to walk away, but stopped without turning around.  I could almost imagine him glaring at me, even though I couldn’t see his expression.  No doubt he actually was glaring at me.

            “I will not hesitate to kill you if you betray me,” he said harshly.

            I rubbed at the shoulder he had bruised earlier in his grip.  Not for a moment did I doubt his words.  I wasn’t a part of his kingdom, so he had no qualms about killing me to make sure Eliphas was safe.

***

            I sat alone in a tent, rubbing an ointment that smelled heavily of menthol into my bruised shoulder.

            Did Malphas forget his strength at times or was he just a sadistic individual who wanted nothing more than to make my life a living hell.  If that was what he was after, he was doing a good job.

            The smell of the ointment tickled at my nose in an unpleasant way.

            Couldn’t Malphas have bruised my leg or hand?  I never thought that robes would make it so difficult to get access to my injuries.  The robes needed zippers or something.  They were too thick and they were a pain to take off.  As much as I enjoyed my freedom of not wearing the robe, I would much rather has something more than underclothes on.

            I jumped and pulled my robe to me as someone ran into my tent.

            “Forgive me, Lady Alouette,” said Alectorius as he quickly turned his back to me before he continued.  “King Malphas has requested that we depart from camp as soon as possible and he wanted me to inform you that since your ridding it inadequate for such a journey that you will be riding with him.”

            So soon—did they already take care of the prisoner?

            I grabbed a sheet and wrapped it around me before saying, “You can turn around.  I’m decent.”

              “If that will be all, Lady Alouette, I will take my leave.  I have to prepare for the journey ahead.”

            “Yeah, sure.”  I said, half paying attention to his Alectorius’ exit.

            Malphas offering to ride with me certainly was not the act of kindness it would at first seem.  It was true that I hadn’t had much experience riding horses and it would be a lot quicker for me to ride with him.  He could also watch to me and wait for the moment I did something stupid enough for him to kill me.

            Oh, well.  I probably shouldn’t worry about that too much.  I should probably get dressed before someone else comes in.

            Before I could get dressed someone stomped into the tent.

            “Are you ready yet?”  Malphas demanded.

            I wanted to scream in frustration at the moment.  He could at least have waited a few minutes before walking in one me.  The world wanted to humiliate me for some reason.

            “Alectorius just came in…just wait a few moments and I’ll be out,” I sighed.

            He stood there and glared at me.

            “Could you just get out, I would like to keep my modesty.”

            “It is nothing I have not seen before,” he scoffed.  “I would think that I have seen much better.”

            Asshole.

            “Get out!”  I screamed.  “Damn it!  Can’t you just spend one moment giving me a break?  Is it really necessary to annoy me this much?  You have to have something better to do.”

            He pushed me onto the cot and I nearly toppled off of it.  I barely managed to grab the sheet around me and stay balanced.

            “You have no right to talk to me in such a manner,” he growled.

            A moment later he was looming over me and I was certain he was going to strangle me to death.  There was no doubt he was going to make my death slow and very painful.  I would have screamed, but I knew it wouldn’t do much good.  Like anyone was going to stop Malphas.

            I heard footsteps and someone clear their throat.  “Forgive me, your majesty.  I do not mean to intrude; however I believe that it is time for us to depart.  If you feel a need to delay because you currently occupied, I am sure I can arrange—”

            “That will not be necessary.”  Malphas interrupted.  “Be ready to leave in five minutes.

            I could have almost laughed at the expression on the face of the soldier.  It looked as if he wanted to ask:  that quick?  He must have gotten the wrong idea when he walked in on us and I really wanted to correct the soldier’s assumption, but maybe I could just sneak out.

            The soldier left and Malphas turned to glare at me.  “Do not bother trying to run off.  Hurry and get dressed.”  He said before he stalked out of the tent.

            Now, I could look forward with riding with him for hours after such a confrontation.  Hopefully he would just ignore me the whole journey, but somehow I knew I was not going to be so lucky.

***

            “How are you fairing?”  Asked Proteus who was following behind Malphas.

            Actually, I wasn’t doing that well.  It was difficult to stay on the back of horse without latching on to Malphas like my life depended on it.  Funny thing about that was he would probably kill me if I grabbed on to him.  There were several other places I would rather be than sharing a horse with Malphas.

            “Pretty well…” I said with a frown.

            Malphas wasn’t even being considerate.  I was almost certain that he was going out of his way to make this trip as unpleasant for me as he could.  Oh, hell!  I was damn certain that he was going out of his way to make me miserable.

            “Word has it that you were caught with the King in an compromising situation, perhaps the King is warming up to you?”  He whispered.

            What was he on?  The only way Malphas would warm up to anything would be to set him on fire.

            Of course Malphas wouldn’t deny anything if someone actually had the courage to ask him about it.  He may not care about my reputation, but I didn’t want to be labeled as a whore.

            “So is what the other soldiers are saying true?” Proteus asked.

            “No!”

            A moment later I had realized that Malphas had stopped and everyone was staring at me—in Malphas’ case, glaring.  I tried to say something, but nothing came out, although I pretty sure I was blushing.  I could feel the blood rushing to my face…not that I didn’t look stupid enough already.

            “Is there a problem?”  Malphas asked in a tone reflecting that he couldn’t care less about any problem of mine.  He was just trying to embarrass me.

            “Not at all,” I grumbled.

            I had to learn to ride a horse properly and quick.