KGWrites

Alyx

Palace Gardens, Falcon’s Nest Palace, Kingdom of Aldiron

Alyx hated horses.

She’d learned how to use swords, spears, shields and bows over the last few months. She’d learned palace etiquette, even if she usually ignored it. She’d even learned, through secretive private lessons with a tutor, how to write. But horses were the worst of all.

She looked down at the animal beneath her as its handlers guided it to a stop. It was a stallion, with a rich brown coat and dark black mane and tail. The handlers had described him as “beautiful” and “good-natured.” Alyx could only see the drop from the saddle if she fell, or the kick from the hooves.

The handlers, and her trainer, had told her to relax more in the saddle, that the horse would know if she was tense and worried and would follow on. That hadn’t helped.

Alyx slid stiffly from the saddle, taking a couple of long steps away from the horse before she bent over, rubbing feeling back into her numb legs.

“You’re doing well.” The voice of Violet Hills told her, though Alyx could hear the strain in her voice. She looked up as Violet smoothly dismounted her own horse, stepped up next to the horse’s neck and gently brushed her hand down it.

“Uh-huh. As well as a fish trying to walk.” Alyx replied, sarcasm thick in her voice. Violet gave her a deadpan look.

“To be fair, you started with all the skill of a dead fish trying to walk. At least there’s some life to you now.” Violet retorted and Alyx snorted out a laugh. The last few months, Alyx had come to know Violet quite well. She often attended training or could be found around Iona when Alyx and the other guards were with her. When the discussion of Alyx learning to ride had first been broached, Violet had been quick to volunteer to teach her.

Alyx still wasn’t convinced Violet actually liked her, though she was in a similar boat with Violet. The woman was a good friend to Iona and clearly she supported the princess. But she came from a different world to Alyx, and that was often very clear. There were often inside jokes between Violet and the other ladies of the royal court that Alyx couldn’t follow, and many times wondered if they might be at her expense. Violet dressed well and was always pretty, spending time with handmaidens to get her hair and looks just so. Alyx often just ran a brush through her hair herself and threw on the same dusty outfits from the last day’s training. Despite Alyx’s newfound knowledge of royal etiquette within the palace served her well enough, but next to Violet she often still found herself the poor thief girl from the Winter District.

There was no denying that Alyx held some jealousy towards Violet. She just came from a very different walk of life to Alyx, one that had set her up with beauty and opportunity. And a very close relationship to Iona.

Though that was something Alyx was managing to find herself with more and more the past few months. A few times Iona and Alyx had gone out into the Spring and Summer Districts as just the two of them, letting Iona explore and see the world beyond the palace walls, and every time that happened, Iona seemed to trust Alyx more and more. Most recently, Alyx had been the guard that Iona requested to stay by her side during her visits to the Village to pray. A request that had not sat very well with Sir Junice, her current sworn knight.

Alyx became aware that Violet had spoken to her, but she had gotten so lost in thought that she hadn’t heard her.

“Sorry, what?” She asked, shaking her head to banish the mire of thoughts that had shrouded her. Violet sighed.

“I was asking what’s next for you today? Over to Whiteoak for training?” Violet asked, her voice betraying a slight frustration at repeating herself.

Alyx shook her head, moving over to the side of the stable and reaching down to her equipment where she had left it on a bench, beginning to strap her sword belt back into place.

“Not today. Seems Lady Whiteoak has other duties to attend to. James is helping Lillian with her studies, so I’ve got the rest of the day to myself.” She replied as she finished with her sword and lifted the leather chestpiece of her armour over her head.

This was new, wearing armour all the time and Alyx wasn’t too happy with the way it restricted her motion. But it was lighter armour than the full metal that the other guards wore. Early on in their training, Marius had said that both Cobalts’ skills leaned more towards speed and manoeuvrability than strength in a fight and so the armour they had both been given had been mostly hardened, boiled leather.

“A day to relax then.” Violet said with a smile. “Do try and stay out of trouble.” Alyx gave her a wry grin, fastening the buckles of her armour in place.

“It’s me. Nothing to worry about.”

A few minutes later, Alyx emerged from the stables and walked herself further down towards an open patch of grass in the palace gardens. Her armour was now fully in place, a strong leather sleeveless chestpiece protecting her torso while her grey tunic covered her arms. Her shoulders bore small, fitted pauldrons and her wrists were protected by leather vambraces that still allowed her hands full freedom without being trapped in gloves or gauntlets. Her legs remained mostly unprotected in her dark trousers besides boiled leather greaves fastened across the front of her shins, allowing her full movement. Marius kept telling her to wear a helmet, but Alyx found it only restricted her vision, and she preferred to be able to keep a full watch on her surroundings. Fastened at her side was a hand and a half sword, a straight sword that Alyx could use in either one or two hands as needed. On her other side were two small throwing hatchets. In her left hand she carried a thick, bundled pack.

To look in a mirror now, Alyx would find herself almost an entirely different woman than the blood and soot stained one that had first met King Samuel in the palace dungeons. Her figure was fuller, and her skin had picked up some colour again, the benefits of regular meals. Her hair was clean and wavy, no longer tangled and cut with a knife. Instead, it now fell down to her shoulders and Alyx found it unbelievably soft. Often though, on days like today, she had taken to pulling it back into a loose bun at the back of her head, to keep it out of the way. Alyx often found herself admiring the change, smiling at her reflection. She felt good, healthy, even pretty on the few occasions she’d had to wear dresses and fine clothes. Notably though, she felt like a woman, not some dirt caked street rat. And that was almost an entirely new feeling for Alyx.

She liked it. She liked it a lot.

Reaching the edge of the open green field, Alyx came to a stop. At the field’s centre was a group of figures. One fully armoured young man who even at this range Alyx could tell was Sir Junice. Another was an older man, hunched slightly and wearing a leather cap and who was holding a wooden box that Alyx could see had an open cage door on one side. The last figure was unmistakable, with her burning orange hair flowing loose in the wind, almost blending with the oranges and reds on the leaves of the trees around them, Iona stood in the centre of the field, her head tilted up towards the sky.

Looking up Alyx couldn’t see what Iona was looking at. Just blue sky with occasional wisp of white clouds. Then Iona moved suddenly, her right hand stretching out, showing it was in a thick leather glove and she put her left hand up to her lips, letting out a loud sharp whistle.

For a second, nothing happened. And then a dark speck appeared amidst the blue sky, high above them. It hovered in place for a second and then let out a long shrill cry and dived downwards. The speck moved fast, faster almost than Alyx could follow, diving down almost vertically to the edge of the open space, becoming clearer and clearer until Alyx could make out that it was a bird. Then, just as it passed the tops of the trees, the bird spread its wings and levelled its flight, flying low to the ground before swooping upwards, slowing itself with a few powerful wing flaps and coming to rest on Iona’s gloved hand, bright yellow taloned feet gripping on to her curled fingers.

It had all happened in seconds, and Alyx had to take a few blinks as she registered the speed and accuracy with which the bird had found its way to Iona. Now understanding what she’d seen, Alyx started forwards towards Iona and the others.

“That’s impressive.” She said when she reached them, making Junice jump. He hadn’t seen her approaching and glared at her as she arrived. Alyx didn’t bow as she came to a stop next to him, etiquette lessons be damned. Iona didn’t initially react more than a smile, gently reaching out her hand to guide the bird into the cage held by the old man, her other hand stroking the bird’s feathers as she did so.

“He is. This is Zephyr. He’s a Peregrine Falcon, the fastest birds in the world.” She replied softly, still smiling affectionately at the bird as the cage door closed, even reaching her fingers through the gaps to continue petting him.

Alyx had heard that Iona had a soft spot for her family’s symbol animal and that she enjoyed training them, but she’d never seen it firsthand before now. It was different, seeing Iona speaking gently and softly with the bird when Alyx was used to loud bravado from her during training.

“He seems to like you.” She observed, coming around to look into the cage. The falcon’s plumage was two-tone, with dark steel grey feathers on his back, wings and head, while his belly and the underside of his wings were nearly white. His eyes were deep black with yellow edges, a yellow that continued over part of his beak and legs. The beak and talons looked sharper than Alyx’s sword and Alyx instantly understood the need for the glove. She also understood that she definitely wouldn’t be in any hurry to do as Iona was and put her fingers into the cage.

“Hmm, I worked to raise and train him from very soon after he was born. He thinks I’m his mummy. Don’t you?” Iona explained, her voice turning gooey and sweet as she gently scratched the back of the falcon’s head. He let out a soft chirping sound that sounded almost like laughter to Alyx who also laughed slightly in surprise at Iona’s voice.

Removing her fingers from the cage, Iona straightened up, taking off the glove and placing it on top of the cage. Then she smiled at the old man holding the cage.

“Thank you, hopefully I’ll be able to continue with him tomorrow, if the weather holds.” She said, her voice returning to its normal firmness. The man bowed his head, already backing slowly away from Iona.

“Of course, your majesty, as you say.” He said, before turning on his heel and moving away. Iona watched the cage leave, smiling at the falcon inside before she turned her head to Alyx.

“How was riding?” She asked and Alyx smiled thinly, one hand scratching at the back of her head.

“I still think Violet, and my horse for that matter, think I’m an idiot. But I didn’t fall off, so overall? Successful.” She replied and Iona laughed.

“Good. Just you wait, we’ll having you riding the lists yet. Won’t be long before you can unhorse Sir Junice with a lance.” She told Alyx, gesturing to the knight next to her, who stood straighter, his features forming into a frown that told Alyx he hadn’t found Iona’s joke nearly as funny as she had.

“Your majesty. The tournament jousts are kept separate for knights and lowborn. I’m afraid Miss Cobalt and I would need to ride different lists.” He said stiffly, making sure to emphasise the word “Miss” as if reminding Alyx that she wasn’t a highborn knight would somehow reinforce him as her better. He glared at her, and she glared right back. Next to Alyx though, Iona laughed softly and dismissively.

“Ah of course, how silly of me. I’d forgotten. Of course we can’t have knights riding against those who aren’t knights. That just wouldn’t be proper. I mean, it’d almost be like a real battle.” She said, her tone naïve and youthful, like she was completely unaware of the scathing strike against Junice’s inexperience as a warrior she’d just made. Of course, Alyx and likely Junice too, knew that it was a façade, that Iona had carefully picked out exactly the words she’d just used. But neither would address it, Junice because he wouldn’t dare question his princess, and Alyx because it was absolutely hilarious. Iona turned back to Alyx as if nothing had happened.

“So, no more lessons the rest of today?” She asked and Alyx nodded.

“Free day now.” She replied, hefting the bag in her other hand. “Though I’ve got a few ideas on what I can do.” She put a strained emphasis on “I”, letting it linger as a more implied “we”.

Iona took a second but eventually a smile of understanding began to creep across her face.

“Well Miss Cobalt, I also find myself without any plans for today, and nothing needed from me until later. Perhaps you’d find it agreeable to walk a while, I can tell you more about the falcons and Zephyr if you’d like?” She said, grinning at Alyx with mischief sparkling in her eyes. Alyx returned the look.

“I think I’d enjoy that.” She replied, smiling genuinely at Iona. Then she let her eyes shift slightly, in the direction of Sir Junice. Iona winked at her.

“Oh, Sir Junice, you’ve spent far long enough hearing all about me and my birds this morning. Go take some time for yourself. I’m in perfectly safe hands.” She said as if she’d only just remembered that he was still there. Junice shifted his hands behind his back, puffing out his chest like a preening peacock.

“Your majesty, my instructions are perfectly clear. I am never to leave you unguarded at any times.” He objected, listing off the order like he’d drilled it into his brain to be as dogmatic as possible.

“Good thing she won’t be unguarded then.” Alyx retorted, straightening up as tall as she could, which was still a good deal shorter than the heavily armoured Junice. “Unless you’ve forgotten I’m also assigned to her guard. It’s my job to ensure no harm comes to the princess, the same as yours.” Junice visibly angered, looking ready to argue back against her when Iona spoke up suddenly.

“Alyx is correct Junice. She’s assigned to my personal protection. On my father’s orders. I’d suggest you take the rest of the day to yourself to come to terms with that before you do anything to embarrass yourself.” She snapped, her voice firm and rich with disapproval. Junice instantly took a step back, shock clear on his face. Then he lowered his head.

“Of course, your majesty. Forgive me.” He said, his voice low. Then he turned his head to Alyx. “My apologies Miss Cobalt.” But from the look he was giving her, Alyx could see that those apologies were far from genuine. She pushed down the urge to snap at him. She’d already gotten what she wanted anyway.

“It’s alright Sir Junice, I understand its quite the adjustment to make.” She replied, hoping she sounded genuine even as the words rang hollow in her mouth. You wouldn’t survive half the adjustments I’ve made in my life.

Junice nodded and bowed to Iona. He didn’t seem willing to risk speaking and embarrassing himself further. She returned the gesture with a smile and wave of her hand, dismissing him. Still looking somewhat dejected, Junice turned on his heel and marched stiffly away. It wasn’t until he left their sight that Alyx let herself relax, sagging and letting out a long breath.

“I’m sorry about him.” Iona told her and Alyx shrugged.

“Eh, don’t worry. He’s a hot air bag and he thinks I’m here to stand on his toes. That’s his problem, not yours. I’m not about to let it ruin the day.” She replied. She lifted the bag into view again and Iona eyed it with curiosity.

“You have an idea?” Iona asked, putting words to what Alyx had implied earlier. Alyx nodded.

“You’ve been busy making quiet little remarks about seeing the lower districts again. And I’m not keen on facing your father when you decide to sneak away there. He brought me in to protect you when you do exactly that. So…” She opened the bag, letting Iona see that it contained her suit of leather armour from the training yard at the Whiteoak estate, along with a sheathed shortsword.

“I figured that maybe I don’t give you a chance to sneak away from me. That maybe you’d like to go down there this afternoon. I can show you around a bit. Maybe we can even get some lunch at one of my favourite little food carts, if they’re still around. No extra guards, just you and me. And I promise not to keep it all formal, no calling you ‘Princess’ or ‘Your majesty’ every three seconds.”

Alyx watched Iona freeze up, staring into the bag as she took in Alyx’s words. Then Iona began to smile, looking up to Alyx questioningly.

“You really want to do that? Let me sneak out? Won’t you get in trouble for it?” She asked. Her concern pleasantly surprised Alyx, but she shook her head.

“I’m pretty sure this is the exact thing your father put me on your guard to do. And we only need to worry about getting in trouble if we cause it. But still, wear your fucking armour Princess, or there’s no deal.” Alyx told her, a stern look in her eyes. Winter’s still not always the nicest place, I’m not taking chances.

It seemed Iona didn’t need to be told twice.

The Winter District, Kingdom of Aldiron – Four Hours Later

Despite the warmth of the day, the Winter District’s streets were as mud caked as ever, only now Alyx noticed it far more than she used to. Her clothes before had been stiff and rough with so much mud that the new mud barely registered to her, now she could feel the cold already sneaking in at her toes.

Still though, she couldn’t help but smile as she led Iona through the winding warren of the Winter District’s streets. Already the two of them had managed to find a streetside puppet performance depicting some ancient legend of Elves and Demons. Alyx hadn’t really paid it much attention, it was for little children to watch with their parents. But Iona had stopped to watch and had smiled and laughed along with the small gathered crowd, so Alyx had stood by, letting the Princess relax.

Afterwards, the two of them had moved on to the food cart Alyx had spoken about. The food was nothing special, at least not compared to the palace food. But for most of Alyx’s life, it had been the stuff of dreams. A thick, fat sausage rammed into a slightly two small bun that dripped with grease. It was probably ridiculously unhealthy, and the source of the meat was dubious at best. But Alyx had never cared, it was hot and tasted good. And from the look she’d given it after her first bite, Iona certainly hadn’t minded either.

They’d spent some time wandering the streets, with Alyx telling Iona stories about her life with James in the District, though she tried to lighten the more tragic details. After a while Alyx had come to notice a growing thirst, and so had started guiding them through the District towards the one place she was absolutely certain of some passable ale.

“Alyx?” Iona spoke suddenly as they walked. Alyx turned to look at her, finding Iona looking half at her and half at the ground, her hair falling across her freckled face. “Thank you for today.”

Alyx had to turn away from Iona and look ahead up the street to hide the blush that she felt build as Iona thanked her. It took a moment before she trusted her voice to speak without cracking.

“You’re welcome. And hey, it’s not over yet. You’ve had a Winter District meal, but that’s not complete without an Oasis ale.” She told Iona, looking back to give the Princess an excited grin. They’d reached the outside of the square of buildings that made up the Oasis, and Alyx was dying to get her hands on a mug of strong ale. Palace wine was good, but it didn’t hold a candle to the bitter bite of what Sigmund kept in his tavern.

Hurrying ahead of Iona, Alyx circled the buildings to reach the main gate to the square, only to slow to a stop as she reached it.

Instead of being thrown wide open, encouraging people to come inside and rest, the gate was sat only slightly ajar. And instead of the loud thrum of bustling people within, only silence came from within that little gap.

Alyx’s stomach dropped and her hand moved to grip the hilt of her sword in the scabbard. She looked back at Iona, whose smile had also disappeared from her face. The Princess had taken the lead from Alyx and also had placed her hand on the shortsword that Alyx had brought her.

Leave, some sensible part of Alyx’s mind begged, leave and get back to safety.

And yet, as Alyx looked back from Iona to the monstrously silent door, she knew that she would never listen to that sensible voice.

I have to know. I have to see.

Motioning Iona to stay close to her, Alyx stepped into the Oasis.

It was like stepping into a nightmare.

Soot and ash blackened the ground inside, soaked and blended with the churned earth. Charred beams and carts littered the ground before the burned out husks of the various storefronts that had once framed the space. Rats scurried across the ground, searching for some new bit of cover to hide beneath.

Alyx had expected it to smell. Perhaps it was worse that it didn’t.

In fact, it was like all her senses were deadened within this space. There was no smell at all. All colour seemed to have been drained, replaced with dull grey ash. There wasn’t even any sound.

Alyx felt numb, like walking through a dream. There but not there. Everywhere she looked, she saw memories in the carnage. A bench where once she’d sat as a little girl, playing with a wooden horse while James haggled over a loaf of bread was now snapped in two, half rotted and sunk into the mud. The shop that she’d bought her first dagger from was an empty, black void. The stone walled home at the far side of the square where Sigmund had…

Sigmund.

Alyx came to a full stop, like every muscle in her body had turned to ice. Eyes wide and mouth agape, staring at the horror before her.

There, at the foot of the steps leading to his home, was Sigmund. The master of the Oasis was little more than a skeleton now, with only a few rotting scraps of flesh still clinging to the bones and some rags that had once been his clothes still around the ribs and legs.

Sigmund had been lifted entirely off the ground. The skull’s mouth hung open in an endless scream. A long thin spear had been driven down into the ground beneath him, the tip impaled through the ribs, holding him up.

No, not just one tip, Alyx realised with revulsion. Three sharpened tips were driven into Sigmund’s body.

A Trident.

The silence shattered suddenly as a deep, rumbling laugh began from behind Alyx and Iona, making them both spin on the spot. But Alyx’s blood was already ice cold in her veins and she could feel her heartbeat hammering so hard it felt like it was behind her eyes.

She knew that voice.

And sure enough, standing between them and the gate, with three of his men in front of him, laughing, was the Tyrant of Winter himself.

Spyder Xeros.

“Look at this lads.” Spyder laughed to his men, lifting that terrible steel mace into view and pointing it at Alyx. “We’ve caught ourselves a street rat in our little Oasis.” Then the mace shifted slightly to point towards Iona. Alyx felt rage begin to build within her chest. “And a lost little bird. You’re a long way from your nest down here, little falcon.”

Iona didn’t respond, instead she stepped closer to Alyx. Moving slightly behind her, giving Alyx a small amount of relief. Alyx gripped her sword, desperately hoping that Spyder and his men couldn’t see her shaking.

“What the fuck have you done?” She snarled at him, rage boiling her voice. Spyder just shrugged.

“After your last meeting with me, I entered into an arrangement with Sigmund and the Oasis. Simple deal really, we got coin from him, and I didn’t split his skull like a rotten egg. Seemed only fair after what happened.” He told him and Alyx scoffed.

“Oh, you mean when I crushed your balls like fucking grapes? Can you walk properly yet or do you still need people to carry your fat arse everywhere?” She spat. Spyder’s mouth twitched in rage, but he bit back whatever response he had.

“Yes well, it worked well. I got coin, he kept breathing. Then some known associates of his burned down a tavern, even killed some of my people. And well, business is business, he would have to make up that loss to me.” Spyder lifted his arms to gesture to the Oasis square around them.

“I asked him for a tavern, in exchange for the one I’d lost. He said he only had one. I told him that was his problem. It was that, or I’d do to him the same as his friends did to me. He still refused, and I’m a man of my word. So, I kept to my word and just as was done to me, I burned down his tavern and killed some of his people. It’s not my fault the man was stupid enough to try and fight.”

Alyx tasted vomit in her throat. She’d done this. When she’d fought off the thugs in the tavern, the day that she and James’ lives had changed. She’d killed Spyder’s men, it had been her plan to set the fire in the tavern. This is my fault. Sigmund, I’m so sorry.

She stood completely still, her breathing coming fast and shallow, her vision fading to a grey tunnel. She knew she had to move, to respond to Spyder, to find a way to safety. But she couldn’t.

And then she felt Iona’s hand grip her shoulder and squeeze.

And suddenly, Alyx Cobalt was back in the present, glaring across the ruined yard at Spyder Xeros, boiling hatred burning in her eyes.

“I should have crushed your fucking skull.” She growled. Spyder grinned, a hungry wolf closing in for the kill.

“Take them both. Try not to damage the Princess, the ransom her father will pay is better if she’s unspoiled. Fuck up Cobalt as much as you want, but keep her alive, we’ve got some business to attend to.” Spyder told his men, tilting his head towards the two of them.

His men surged forwards like a tide, bloodlust clear on their faces. Spyder remained where he was, content to let them do the killing today.

Alyx took a long deep breath and didn’t move. She could hear Commander Marius’ voice at the back of her mind. Your ground is where you stand, hold it well, let the enemy come to you.

Behind her, she heard a quick, rasping hiss as Iona drew her shortsword from the scabbard, dropping into a fighting stance.

The men were closing in now. Alyx could see the light dance off the metal on the clubs and blades that they carried.

Ten paces away.

Nine.

Eight.

Alyx’s left hand lashed out, sending a hatchet from her belt spinning through the air at the leading man. It hit him full in the face, turning his blonde hair a deep red as the axe embedded itself into his forehead. He lurched forwards another step, as if he hadn’t noticed the hit, before his legs gave out and he slammed down into the dirt.

The sudden death of their ally caused the pace of the others to falter, and they slowed to move around his body.

Which was exactly what Alyx had been hoping for.

With a scream of primal, unrestrained, rage Alyx leapt forwards to meet them, her sword leaping from its scabbard into her hand. She brought it around in a quick, one-handed cut that lanced through the air towards the chest of both men. It was a clumsy, loose attack, Alyx knew, and she knew that Marius and Haster would have chastised her for it.

If she’d been using it to attack.

Instead, it forced her foes to both leap backwards, away from her. Which pushed them both back into a thin strip of earth between two burned out tables. They collided with each other and stumbled, unable to both easily fit in the space side by side. Shifting to line up so only one of them could face her at a time, they backed away quickly.

Alyx moved to follow, a grim smile on her face. For Sigmund. But the wet mud betrayed her and her leg slid forwards, causing her to drop to one knee.

Reacting quickly, she lifted her sword above her head, one hand bracing the flat side of the blade in a defensive move that Haster had taught her.

One that saved her life as she felt the sword shudder in her grip as it blocked the incoming blow from the front man’s club. She made a mental note to thank Haster later.

Right now, she needed to get back on her feet.

With a grunt, she strained and threw her hands upwards, twisting her shoulders as she did so. The sudden movement threw her attacker’s weapon arm backwards and he stumbled, giving Alyx just enough space to come back to her feet.

But his weapon was smaller and lighter than her sword. And in close quarters like this, that would matter a lot.

As Alyx regained her footing, the man swung again. This time the attack was aimed at Alyx’s wrists, looking to shatter them and make her drop her sword. Alyx barely had time to shift her arms, feeling the rush of air as the attack missed by a hair.

Backpedalling, Alyx put distance between her and her opponent, just as she’d been taught. Bringing her sword back into both hands she brought the blade up between the two of them, ready to react as needed.

Their struggle had move them into a more open area of the yard, and now they were on a less chaotic footing. Slowly, Alyx’s opponent began to circle her, bringing his club up into one hand and lifting the other to show he held a curved dagger in a reverse grip. He grinned wolfishly and Alyx cocked her eyebrow with a smirk.

Early in her lessons, Alyx had asked Marius about using a weapon in each hand and he’d scoffed. Some very, very skilled warriors can use two. But most can’t. If you try and swing two swords, you’re constantly distracted by what your other hand is doing. And in a fight, distracted is dead.

Somehow, Alyx doubted that this man was one of the very skilled warriors Marius had referred to.

Sure enough, he leapt forwards at Alyx, his left hand flashing with a swing of the knife, and his right lagging very far behind with the club. It left an open gap along his chest.

He may as well have written Alyx an invitation.

Shuffling her feet quickly, Alyx moved away from the swinging blade and brought her own sword upwards in a quick thrust.

The sword struck upwards and bit deep into the soft flesh beneath her opponent’s ribs, making him screech in pain.

Alyx braced her forearm against his chest and pushed, hauling him off the blade and slamming him down into the dirt where he lay screaming and writhing in pain. He wasn’t dead yet, but he would be soon enough. He wasn’t Alyx’s problem anymore.

Which just left one more.

Spinning quickly, Alyx found the last thug.

Just as Iona’s blade slipped in beneath his armpit, emerging like a bloody mountain peak from the plain of his back.

With a quick twist, Iona pulled her blade free and looked over to Alyx, giving her a quick nod.

Which is when Alyx spotted the others.

Two more thugs were creeping through the shadows at the side of the yard. Alyx quickly recognised the woman with the snake like face from the brawl at the tavern, right as she lifted a crossbow and took aim at Iona’s back.

Alyx swore and dived forwards, throwing her arm out to Iona. She made contact and shoved hard.

With a cry of surprise, Iona stumbled away from Alyx, right as Snake Face loosed her bolt.

Alyx felt her left arm windmill around wildly before she felt any pain. Looking down at it she saw that the crossbow bolt was embedded in her shoulder, blood already beginning to leak from the wound.

A small part of her mind, unbothered by the injury, thought how lucky she was to be wearing the leather pauldron, which had slowed the bolt and stopped it from sinking very deep.

Most of her though, mind and body, screamed as pain tore through her left side. Her arm fell limp to her side, dropping from the hilt of her sword.

All of which meant she was woefully unprepared as the second thug collided with her, sending her stumbling backwards. Some miracle meant she was able to keep her feet as her attacker stood up in front of her, brandishing a dagger.

Alyx blinked twice and tried to lift her sword. But instead, she swayed unsteadily as pain racked through her body again. She knew she had to… do something. A dark tunnel started to close at the edges of her vision.

Somewhere, far away, Alyx heard someone call her name. A soft voice. A kind voice, but one full of fear. She knew that voice from somewhere. If she could just place it….

Iona.

Colour leapt back to Alyx’s vision and her world came back into sharp focus as she whipped her head up. She could see Iona dashing towards her across the yard, her orange hair flowing around her. But between them stood Spyder’s man, his dagger held in an outstretched hand before him.

He was too close.

Any of Alyx’s trainers would have told her to back away, to get enough distance to get her sword up and resume the duel properly. It might expose her to an attack, but it would let her get a chance to fight again.

But, despite months of training, Alyx still didn’t just fight like a soldier.

Sometimes, you needed to fight like a street rat.

Stepping forwards, Alyx moved fast, not giving her opponent time to get his dagger back into position. She ducked around to the left, coming up next to his elbow. Her left hand still hung down uselessly, but her forehead still worked.

Snapping her head forwards, Alyx felt the man’s nose break and he stumbled backwards. His boot caught on something behind him and he fell, but his other hand rushed up to grab Alyx by the shoulder and she was pulled with him.

They landed with a thud that jarred up Alyx’s chest. But she moved quickly.

As her opponent’s hands struggled beneath her. Alyx brought her sword around, pressing the blade to his throat and whipping it across, opening a scarlet river across his neck that poured blood. The man gargled and spat blood in a fountain, and then with a final spasm, fell still.

Sucking in deep breaths, Alyx managed to move, getting one foot under herself and using her sword to push herself to her feet.

It was only when she straightened that she felt the knife sticking into her chest.

Looking down she saw the man’s dagger, sunk halfway up the blade in a gap between her leather armour plates.

Damn, she thought, he moved faster than I thought.

Alyx blinked in confusion, not quite registering the blade in her chest. It doesn’t feel like I thought getting stabbed would.

It tingled and felt burning hot. But pain seemed an afterthought, like her body had forgotten she was supposed to be feeling it.

Swaying on her feet, Alyx forced herself to look up. Her head felt heavy. But she needed to see where Snake Face was. Where Spyder was. Where Iona was.

Snake Face was the only one she could see however, and try as she might, Alyx couldn’t seem to turn her head to look for the others. Snake Face was looking at Alyx from behind the crossbow in her hands, which she’d clearly managed to reload while Alyx had fought her ally. Everything slowed to a snail’s pace.

Move.

I’m so tired.

Move!

I just need to rest.

Fucking move Cobalt!

And then something moved, but it wasn’t Alyx.

The air rippled, like water when a stone is dropped into it. For a split second, everything stood still.

And then Snake Face flew off her feet and through the air as if she was a thrown rag doll. She didn’t even have time to scream before she collided with the wall of one of the buildings headfirst and crumpled with the crunch of breaking bones.

Alyx blinked slowly in confusion and finally found the strength to turn her head.

Iona stood next to her at the centre of a tiny hurricane. Small pieces of wood and debris spun through the air. Her hair whipped around her head like she was on fire as she reached out her right hand, palm outstretched, towards where Snake Face had been standing. Her face was one of deep, rage fuelled, concentration.

“Don’t fucking touch her!” She snarled at the broken body.

From elsewhere in the yard, Alyx heard Spyder’s voice.

“Fucking Princess is a fucking witch!” He said, seemingly to himself. Alyx turned to face him, lifting her sword weakly to point at him. But he was already backing out of the door, his men beaten and now faced with far more than he bargained for.

“We’ll see each other again Cobalt. We’ll get what’s owed to us!” He yelled out as he disappeared from sight. Alyx smiled grimly, feeling a trickle of blood run out of her mouth.

“I’m looking forward to it already.” She said, though her voice barely carried above a whisper. Then she turned to Iona, wanting to ask what the hell had just happened, when she heard a metallic clatter on the ground next to her.

Looking down, she saw her sword had dropped into the mud. That’s careless, she thought numbly. Can’t just leave swords lying around like that.

Stiffly, Alyx bent down to pick it up again. And as she did so, her legs gave way and she splashed down to her knees in the mud, already beginning to fall backwards.

Arms caught her and held her in place. She blinked once and her vision cleared for just a second, letting her see Iona’s green eyes as the Princess held her up.

“Hey, I’ve got you. Stay awake Alyx, stay with me.” Iona’s voice seemed to come from miles away, muffled and slipping to the quiet.

Despite Iona’s words, Alyx’s vision began fading in at the edges. She didn’t think she’d ever felt so tired before. Just a little sleep.

As she drifted away, Alyx could only think one thing.

Sigmund, forgive me.