KGWrites

Iona

The Steaming Springs, North Road, Barony of Fallham

Iona turned the hilt of the Brightblade over in her hands. It was long, long enough to fit a hand and a half around. It was made of golden metal that, despite how much it had been tossed around the past while, never seemed to lose its shine. Twisting, elegant designs of arching, twisting patterns were carved into its surface. Evellien designs. A single, dark blue sapphire was set into the pommel. As Iona turned it, it caught the light of the fire as it shone in through the small gap of her tent flaps, sending dancing blue patterns across the interior of the tent.

It was beautiful, which somehow made it all the more terrifying to hold.

It’s this little thing, not me, that my people rely on.

It was only with this piece, and the two others, that Draconeus could be killed. That his tyranny over her people could end.

It should feel heavier.

Iona was wrenched from her thoughts by a pack flying through the flap of the tent at high speeds and crashing down with a clatter atop Meghan’s side of the tent. A second later, Alyx appeared, her bedroll and blankets wrapped up in her arms. Saying nothing, she quickly laid them out in the space that normally belonged to Meghan’s equipment before flopping face down onto the bedroll with a muffled groan as if her skeleton had completely given up on holding her body upright.

A confused silence filled the tent for a moment.

“Hello?” Iona eventually asked, uncertainly. Alyx didn’t lift her head from being face down on the bedroll, simply lifting her hand to give a wave in response.

Another moment of silence descended. Iona shifted uncomfortably, uncrossing her legs and sitting up on her knees to regard her friend. Not that there was much to see with Alyx’s face buried in her blankets.

“Shouldn’t you be sharing with James?” Iona asked and Alyx let out a muffled chuckle.

“Trust me, I wouldn’t want to sleep in the same place as him tonight. Just like you probably wouldn’t want to share with Meghan.” She explained. Iona narrowed her eyes in confusion.

“Why wouldn’t I… oh. Oh!” She sat up straighter, her eyes widening. Alyx turned her head to look up at Iona, a wry grin curling her lips. Iona couldn’t help but let out a startled laugh as she searched for what to say.

“Well… I… Finally?” She eventually settled on and Alyx sat up, throwing her hands in the air.

“I know! Took them bloody long enough!” She exclaimed, false annoyance thick in her voice.

Iona glanced down at Alyx’s packed gear. Remembering that Alyx had entered with a frustrated sound, she glanced up at her friend again.

“Really though? You’re alright with this?” She inquired.

Alyx shrugged, a happy smile curling her lips. “Alright with it? I’m happy for them. Especially for James, he’s needed someone like that for a long time.” Alyx glanced over to Meghan’s neatly packed equipment at the side of the tent.

“Just wish they hadn’t waited until I’d already unpacked before doing this. I had to repack everything just to bring it over here.” She muttered. Iona laughed, squeezing Alyx’s shoulder reassuringly.

“I’m certain they’ll be very apologetic for causing you such hardship.” She joked and Alyx snorted, poking her chin forward.

“They should be.” She replied, matching Iona’s tone. Iona patted Alyx’s shoulder again, uncurling herself from her sitting position to stand and approach Meghan’s pack.

“Come on, let’s get them moved in before they get back. Then we can all get the privacy we deserve.”

It took the two of them a short time to move Meghan’s things into James’ tent. Mostly because they spent a while finding wildflowers and laying them atop the blankets they’d laid out. Setting the mood, Alyx had called it. Iona called it one more chance for Alyx to tease her brother, but she was more than happy to go along with it.

A short while later, they both collapsed back into their tent, giggling conspiratorially. Iona quickly sat up and tied closed the door behind them while Alyx lit a small lantern hanging from the pole that crossed the top of the tent, filling the little canvas space with softly flickering candlelight.

They sat back on their bedrolls, still giggling to themselves. Every time that the laughter faded from one of them, the other would resume, creating a circling curse of laughter that refused to die.

Eventually, it faded enough for them to talk again, and Alyx sat back, looking at Iona quizzically.

“How long have you known? About them?” She asked, tilting her head to point through the wall to James’ tent. Iona looked at the canvas ceiling in thought.

“A while now. I think it was when I saw that Meghan was wearing loose enough clothing to show her mage tattoos to James. For her to want to be that comfortable with someone… well, she was never even keen to show them to me, and I was her student in magic. I think I knew then that she liked James.” She said, smiling at the memory. Alyx clicked her tongue, reaching down to pull at the laces fastening her boots.

“I was never sure with Meghan. Hard woman to read if you didn’t know her well. But she came with James to rescue me from Trident. That seemed like a good sign. And as for James…”

It was Iona’s turn to snort out a laugh now. “Oh now, that, was obvious. Every time Meghan walks into a room James looks at her like he’s seen the most precious jewel in the world. It’s actually…”

“Nauseating?” Alyx quipped sarcastically. Iona fixed her with a hard stare.

“… Adorable.” She concluded and Alyx shrugged.

“Lillian used to say he looked like a lost puppy dog that’s just found someone with food whenever he saw her.” Alyx replied eventually, shaking her head at some memory that Iona wasn’t privy to. But the mention of Lillian, of the Cobalt that Iona had left behind, hung over the princess and she shifted uncomfortably, crawling nervously closer to Alyx.

“Alyx.” She began, her voice barely louder than a whisper. Alyx’s head turned, slightly tilted and her eyebrows furrowing at the change in tone from the princess. “About Lillian. I-.”

“Don’t.” Alyx replied softly, holding a hand up towards Iona. “Please don’t.”

Iona nodded to herself. The confirmation she’d needed had been there, clear as day, on Alyx’s face. Her failure had indeed created the rift between them she’d feared for the past two months.

But still, Alyx had wanted to try being friends. That had to mean she wanted to move on. And Iona couldn’t move past this. She couldn’t leave it in the corner of their friendship, some dark, unaddressed part that neither would acknowledge.

“Every day, it tears at me. That I couldn’t keep her safe. That I failed her. That I failed you.” Iona said, pushing through Alyx’s refusal. She kept her gaze down, looking at her hands as they gripped the blanket in front of her so tightly the knuckles shone white.

There was a sudden shifting of bedroll and blankets as Alyx spun to face Iona, her hand quickly coming over Iona’s and squeezing tight. Iona lifted her eyes in surprise and met with Alyx’s, wide and shining. The bright hazel danced in the candlelight of the lantern. Iona’s breath hitched in her throat and her heart beat so hard she could feel it in her ears.

“I said don’t.” Alyx stated firmly, though her voice held the shake of someone barely keeping a flood of emotions at bay. “Don’t do that. Not for a second.”

Iona lifted her head in surprise, opening her mouth to speak but Alyx continued on.

“It was not your fault. You didn’t fail anyone.” She pressed. “You got separated in the chaos of battle. And that could happen to anyone. Hell, it happened to me and James. He got cut off in the Autumn District and left behind when the gates closed.”

“You told me you fought to get to her. That the Second Legion cut you off, nearly killed you. That’s all I need to know to know you did all you could.”

Iona sat back, confusion darkening her thoughts. She had been so sure that Alyx had been distant with her the first few weeks after the fall of Aldiron because she’d left Lillian behind as the city burned. She tilted her head, a flush of embarrassment colouring her cheeks as she breathed a long sigh of relief. One it felt like she’d been holding since Aldiron.

“I… thought you were angry with me. That you and James hated me for losing her. For leaving her.” Iona admitted after a while, looking away from Alyx. Alyx took a long, deep breath, sniffling slightly like she was still barely holding tears at bay. But her hand never left Iona’s.

“Not me.” She said eventually, though she still didn’t look at Iona directly. “Not for a second.”

Iona relaxed slightly, glancing up to the roof of the tent as if she could thank the sky above for Alyx’s words.

“James neither.” Alyx continued. Iona looked at her, her mouth curling sceptically.

“He could have fooled me.” She muttered, speaking before her brain could tell her not to. When the realisation of what she’d said, and who she’d said it to hit her, Iona froze.

But Alyx simply snorted out a laugh. “I think he’s fooled himself on this one. But no. He doesn’t hate you. He just…” She trailed off, mulling over the right words. “Leaving Lillian behind isn’t something we’d ever normally do. Cobalts look out for each other. It’s been that way since we ended up in Winter. No matter what, we don’t forget about each other.”

Iona lowered her head again. Alyx spoke with conviction. Like this wasn’t just a rule they kept to. This was an oath, as sacred as Iona’s own oath to serve Aldiron. And I made them break it.

Clearly however, Alyx spotted Iona’s ashamed look.

“But right now, the best way for James and me to look out for Lillian is to leave her behind. To go and make sure this mission gets done. And then we’ll save her when you cut the head off that demon bastard.”

Iona laughed, lifting her head to look at Alyx, who flashed her that same cocky smirk she always did. Then the smile faded again slightly.

“It sure as fuck isn’t easy. I think about that girl every single day. And James… it’s worse for him. He had just started to let go of constantly looking out for me, and then he got her. He needs someone to be there to look out for. And right now, the person who needs him most, he can’t be with.” Alyx trailed off, looking out towards James’ tent like she could see her brother in front of her.

“He wakes up from nightmares about it sometimes.” She said sadly. “He thinks I don’t notice, that he doesn’t wake me. It’s easier if he thinks that.”

Then she straightened once more, turning back to face Iona. Though that serious expression remained for just a second.

“If you want to get into it, you should talk to James. I think you’d be surprised what he really thinks. He’s damned impressed with you fighting at Oakworth for one.”

“I thought he said it was a stupid idea?” Iona asked, now completely confused.

Alyx laughed at her confusion. “It was.” She confirmed. “But James and I have seen a lot of people in our time that would have stayed away. Chosen their own safety. Especially rich nobles from the upper districts and the palace. But not you. You didn’t even fucking hesitate. You ran in like a damned hero from a storybook.”

“It was bloody stupid. But James loves his stories. Especially the heroes. I think it helped him see we were backing the right horse.” Alyx explained and Iona nodded in understanding. She even felt herself blush slightly. A hero? Me?

They sat quietly for a moment, each pondering their own part of the conversation. Then Alyx chuckled quietly to herself and shook her head. Iona turned, looking for an explanation.

“You thought I hated you this whole time.” Alyx began. “And here I am, thinking how much you must hate me.”

Now it was Iona’s turn to sit up straight, shaking her head rapidly in denial.

“Hate you? Why?” She asked and Alyx drew back in surprise. Clearly she hadn’t expected confusion to greet her.

“After Aldiron, in the vaults. I held you back, separated you from your father. I tore him away from you.” Alyx explained, her voice low and quiet. Ashamed.

Iona didn’t need reminded of that night. The memory was as vivid now as if it was playing out before her eyes. Her father pressing the hilt into her hands, kissing her forehead as he had done when she was a child, and turning to nod to Alyx behind her. She remembered Alyx’s arms wrapping around her waist, lifting her off the ground and dragging her away. She remembered the desperate screaming, sobbing and thrashing she had done in an attempt to escape as the heavy stone door of the Evellien vault closed her father away from her forever.

“If it had been me. If it had been James staying and me being dragged away.” Alyx looked into Iona’s eyes and Iona saw a certain sadness within Alyx’s own eyes. “I don’t think I ever could forgive the person that held me back.”

Iona chewed at her lip a moment, thinking of the right words. She didn’t know what they were, not exactly. But she knew she had one thing she needed to say.

“No.”

Alyx sat back, perplexed at Iona’s response.

“I didn’t know what to feel about it. I still don’t really.” Iona began, still chewing over the words. “But I know that what happened… it wasn’t you who caused it. Not you grabbing me, or James closing the door. Or even my father staying behind. All of it happened because there was no other way.”

Iona looked away from Alyx, out through the door of the tent. Her gaze grew distant and hazy, as if she could see all the way back to that vault.

“If my father hadn’t stayed to face him, then Draconeus would have battered down the vault door to reach us. If James hadn’t closed the door, then he’d have kept throwing magic at us until Meghan couldn’t hold him back any longer. And if you hadn’t held me back, then I’d have charged in, like I always do, and I’d have died there. Foolishly fighting for nothing.”

She turned back to Alyx and smiled.

“You saved my life Alyx. I could never hate you for that. No matter how it hurts.”

Alyx let out a long sigh. Tension seemed to leak from her and Iona suddenly realised how tightly Alyx had been holding herself since entering the tent. She’s been worried about that this whole time.

“Well…” Alyx breathed. “…Good.”

Iona laughed and soon, Alyx joined in. For a while the earlier giggling fit returned to the two women before eventually settling once more. The strange unspoken tension that seemed to fill the tent had entirely faded and the air between them felt lighter, freer.

“Can we make a deal?” Iona asked and Alyx tilted her head, cocking a curious eyebrow.

“If this whole ‘try and be friends’ thing is going to work with us. Can we maybe try just… talking to each other about what’s bothering us next time?” Iona suggested and Alyx smirked. She gave a solid nod.

“I think I can get behind that, yeah.” She agreed.

Iona smiled and settled back, pulling one of her fur blankets from over her bedroll and wrapping it around her shoulders.

A soft thud drew her attention downwards and both women looked to see the gilded hilt of the Brightblade had fallen between them. It must have been wrapped up in the blanket from when I was holding it earlier, Iona realised.

Alyx reached out and lifted it, turning the hilt over in her palm. She scoffed.

“Gilded stick with Evellien carvings. You know, every time I find my life changing, there’s something with this look to blame for it.” She muttered to herself. Iona tilted her head, waiting for an explanation, but none came. Instead, Alyx held out the hilt to Iona again.

“So, Fallham, wherever the fuck the ‘Throne’ piece is, kill the demon, put you on the throne and then… what?” She asked. Iona sucked her teeth in thought, she hadn’t considered a future beyond putting the Brightblade through Draconeus’ heart. She hadn’t seen a point.

“I… don’t know…” She admitted. “I suppose I’ll need a coronation at some point, can’t go around being a princess forever.”

“Oi, Winter District kid here remember? The fuck’s a ‘correlation’?” Alyx asked and Iona put her hand over her mouth, stifling a laugh.

“Coronation.” She corrected. “It’s the official ceremony of crowning. Normally it’s the previous ruler passing the crown to their successor, or the priests of The Village doing it if the last ruler’s dead. It officially makes me queen, not princess.”

“Wait.” Alyx interrupted, holding up her hand to stop Iona. “You’re not queen already. I thought that once the king…”

She trailed off, unwilling to voice the end of the sentence. But Iona only shook her head.

“Nope, don’t become queen until the Gods give me the go ahead. Or at least until their priests do.” Then Iona narrowed her eyes as she remembered something. “So when James and Darrin have been calling me ‘Princess’ the last while…”

“I honestly thought they were just being pricks.” Alyx confirmed, a slightly embarrassed smile playing at her lips. Iona laughed.

“Never change Alyx.” She ordered and Alyx gave a mocking salute.

“As my princess commands. I shall remain an ignorant idiot for all my days.” She joked.

Then she looked serious again. “Okay so, you put the crown on proper and become queen. After that?”

Iona let out a long breath. “Start playing the game of politics and nobles. Like my father used to.” She hazarded with a shrug. “I’ve really not considered it.”

“Bit more fighting to do I’d guess.” Alyx responded. “Doubt it all ends with Draconeus dying and then all his soldiers just fucking keel over.”

Iona scoffed. “Can you imagine? That’d certainly put a convenient tidy end to things.” She waved away the silly notion. “No, you’re right, we’d need to put down any remnant of Draconeus’ demons and Accursed. And put Violet on her father’s seat once we deal with him and his treasonous legion.”

Alyx nodded, something feathering in her jaw that told Iona that she wouldn’t object to being present for that.

“After that? I have no idea.” Iona admitted.

Alyx shrugged. “That’s fair. It’s… a lot already.”

Iona hummed in agreement, then she turned to Alyx. “What about you?” She asked, busying her hands by working to untie her hair from the tail it was in. A small flock of butterflies took off in her chest as she noticed Alyx run her tongue across her lips as Iona’s flaming hair fell loose around her shoulders. Iona quickly locked them away.

“Up until about an hour ago, I thought I knew.” Alyx replied, glancing towards the tent door. “Now though?” She shrugged.

“All up in the air, I guess. Get back to Aldiron, hug Lillian, kill any leftover bastards and make sure you all are safe. That’s about all I’ve got so far.”

“No thoughts for afterwards?” Iona asked. Alyx sighed, her gaze moving over to the packed lute leaned against her pack.

“I don’t know.” She sighed. “Darrin, he… he offered me a place on his ship. Sailing with his crew. After it’s all done.”

It was like Iona had been dunked in a pool of ice-cold water. Her heart ached at the image of a ship sailing away, carrying Alyx from port and out of her life. And yet, Alyx had put a stop to those thoughts, had set the boundary of just being friends, no matter how much Iona pined for more. And a true friend knew when to support, even if it hurt.

“That’s amazing.” Iona responded, smiling and praying that the smile reached her eyes too. “It’s certainly an adventure.”

“Yeah…” Alyx said uncertainly.

“But you’re not sure.” Iona surmised. Alyx nodded.

“All my life, I’ve had my family with me. People to look out for and who look out for me. Who depend on me.” She turned to look at Iona and clicked her tongue. “Hell, I’ve sworn an oath to always protect you as well. I can’t just go running off into adventure.”

Iona sat forwards. Surety set strong in her chest. This time, she didn’t need to hide her feelings. This time, she knew what her friend needed to hear, not what she wanted to say.

“Fuck oaths!” She retorted forcefully and Alyx spluttered in shock.

“I mean it.” Iona continued. “I’ve spent my life watching people tie themselves in knots over damned oaths and never just do what would make them happy. And I will not have that happen to you. Not in a thousand lifetimes.”

“I’m not going to tell you what to do Alyx, that’s not for me to do, princess or not. But take it from someone who has always gone for what she wanted to do, not what other people wanted her to do. Do something for yourself, for your happiness. The rest of us will sort ourselves out, and we’ll be here for you, whatever you choose.”

It was only when Iona felt the tickle of Alyx breath on her cheek that she realised how close she had gotten to the woman as she had spoken. Blushing slightly, she pulled back.

But Alyx’s arms were suddenly around her shoulders, hugging her tight to her.

“Thank you.” Came Alyx’s muffled voice from against her chest. Iona hugged her back.

“Anytime.” She replied before the two pulled away, returning to sitting on their blankets.

They sat together for a while longer, enjoying one another’s company, telling stories of past adventures in the city and of favourite memories. Until eventually they heard footsteps approaching the camp and the quiet giggle of Meghan Whiteoak matching the warm low chuckle of James Cobalt. At which point princess and royal guard barely held back another round of uncontrollable laughter before letting the lantern die and darkness fill the sleepy campsite.