6

Titania comes down from the ceiling, covers Foralena's mouth with one hand and connects a kick behind her leg joint. She restrains Foralena shriek of pain with her fingers, and forces the princess knees. With her free hand Titania unsheathes one of her curved swords and lays it across the princess's throat, being a mute and fatal threat to keep her silent. Titania releases the princess's mouth, pulls down the bandages on her head and faces Raudo. She doesn't need to see the knight's face to catch his panic."Raudo Strongchest... Do you remember me?" Titania asks.The fright slowly fades from Raudo's posture, though he remains hunched under intense regret."I know who you are, ghost's past. You don't need to threaten an innocent... I am the only one guilty""If you really were the only guilty, we would have seen each other's faces long ago. Or do you think I let you play the honorable knight out of taste or sympathy? Do you think that letting me live, instead of slaughtering me and the rest of my family, grants you a precious place in my memories? You did not commit an act of mercy, knight. You made a mistake"Incomprehension and fear shine inside Foralena's eyes."What she mean, Raudo?" asks the princess in a broken voice.Raudo keeps silent, the slit of his helmet is just a shadowy line. Titania narrows her eyes and gives a half-smile devoid of humor."Of course you hid the past. Who would take you in knowing you were a monster to be sold to the highest bidder? You, and the other nine, or rather, you and the piper... Those are the ones left to pay for the blood spilled. Or maybe I'm missing one I'm not counting?"No movement or noise emerges from the knight's armor. Titania sharpens her sword a little more against Foralena's throat, making the princess cry and drawing a tiny line from where thin red threads slide and stain the collar of her dress."R-Raudo..."The knight clenches his fist, takes a step forward and leans forward, barely holding back the impulse to jump, and Titania notices it."Interesting... This girl is very precious to you""Her life in your hands is the only thing keeping you unharmed, child!" Raudo shouts, a blizzard erupts and stirs the flames of the candelabra on the table."Well, that's just what I wanted to see... The fury, the violence, the monster. Don't disappoint me now, Raudo Strongchest. I wish to savor this revenge thoroughly, drop by drop. But before I end your miserable life, I need you to reveal a secret..." A fierce impatience seeps into Titania's usually calm tone, as she points an accusing finger at Raudo. "Who hired you?"Raudo's posture becomes more tempered again, he straightens his back and a long sigh escapes from the helmet."Even if I wanted to, I can't tell you a name.... My lips are sealed""Really? Perhaps I should cut off the princess's head and thereby also seal her lips forever"The princess shudders under Titania's grip. Raudo stands still with a murky aura hovering around him."Hundredhearts are... Individuals of terrifying talents" he says, looking up at the ceiling, then returns his weary gaze to Titania. "Even with that threat, I can't give oy a name or a motive. The moon could fall tomorrow, and I still wouldn't tell you"Titania bites her lip, because she knows Raudo is telling the truth. It was the same with the rest of her fellow slaughterers, who no matter what threat or what kind of torture Titania accosted them with, no mention of the mastermind of the genocide escaped amidst the desperate screams and curses. She could get out the names of their companions, their locations, even their dirtiest regrets, but she never got the name of the one who ordered the extermination of the clan.Titania tightens the hilt of her sword until her fingers turn pale. The only thing she wants is to cause immense pain to the knight."Then vanish your armor, Raudo! Let yourself be killed, and I will spare the life of the princess!""Do you promise?"Titania nods. Foralena opens her mouth to stop Raudo's sacrifice, but he shuts her up with a shout."Princess, trust me! Your safety is my priority. Just ask the gods to forgive me"No sooner said than a momentary glow envelops Raudo. The man is left with his body uncovered. Titania wastes no time, throws the princess aside and runs towards Raudo, splashes the pool of blood that divides them and launches a thrust towards the warrior's heart.Half a second before the tip of the sword touches Raudo, the glow covers him and the armor reappears. The blade crashes, cracks and bursts, leaving Titania with an empty hilt, her arm trembling with pain followed by a deep numbness. Titania drops the hilt, clutches her numb arm, and watches as Raudo points his fist at her."The princess is what remains of the Fernard lineage... I am the only one capable of defending her from this changing world, even if it costs me my honor!"The fist descends at breakneck speed. The shadows pull Titania, first backwards and then upwards, evading the gauntlet that seconds later sinks into the ground. Raudo raises his head and his gaze falls on Titania. Then the knight transforms into a blur that disappears to the right...Titania gasps as she feels a murderous pressure behind her. Her insides jolt with a new heartbeat and the shadows now push her forward, evading the hand sweep that nearly tears her in half.With her shoulder Titania pushes the wooden door and steps out of the library. The sound of her hurried footsteps echo against the rock. She hears an explosion, and discovers Raudo coming from a cloud of splinters and gray rock. Titania slips her hand to the belt, pulls out three throwing daggers, and in one motion hurls them at Raudo. The throwing daggers whistle, and upon impact with the silver armor they explode without leaving the slightest scratch.Ahead in the hallway are a handful of deserting soldiers who, taking advantage of the uprisings in the kingdom, were carrying expensive furniture and sacks with gold and gems, obtained from the residual royal coffers. Titania passes like a ghost among them, they do not even notice her. The one they do see arriving is Raudo. The surprised face of the first deserter collides with Raudo's breastplate, his face tears without understanding what happened and then the rest of him turns into shreds. The same happens to the next, and the next, and the next....The most skilled soldier among the deserters reacts and avoids death by dropping the silverware and leaping backwards. He lands, the soldier's mark glows on his neck, his muscles swell, the fear vanishes. He throws a fist hard enough to make Raudo slow down and decide to respond.The soldier's fist impacts with Raudo's palm. The knight locks his fingers and twists his wrist, tearing the skin and splintering the bone until it bursts. The soldier screams, then falls silent as Raudo chokes him and tears his jaw by plunging the wrenched arm into his mouth.Titania jumps out a window located at the next junction in the corridor. She lands with a twist on the side of the sloping ceiling of the throne room. She gets up, continues running to the front edge, and jumps again, this time landing on the bridge that connects to the castle entrance.A group of elders and children, who were awaiting Xar's victorious return, are startled to see her fall. Those who know the details of the conspiracy more closely are stunned to discover that the assassin hired by Xar is actually a puny teenager.Titania ignores the surprised looks, shakes her arm, and her countenance relaxes when she can wiggle the fingers again. She was planning to push her way through the villagers, but when a silver meteorite hits the stone bridge and sinks it, sending muddy water splashing down, the villagers flee screaming and clear the way."Damn it..." Titania hunches over as she suffers a spike of pain in her chest, she feels as if several pairs of hands want to tear her apart from the inside. Only hatred keeps those rotten fingers at bay. "Do you think you can go out and rest in peace? Do you think you can beat me? Never!"Titania asks her aunt and her dead family members for strength. She hits herself in the chest and sets off, zigzagging like a crow between the houses as she imagines that this would reduce Raudo's initiative, but the sudden collapse of a hut a few streets back makes her realize how wrong she is. Raudo's angry roars approach, calling out to her and demanding that she face him.The hundredheart jumps into a house. The owner, an old man with big ears and pitted teeth, was just waking up and lighting a candle to find out the reason for the commotion, when he is speechless when he sees Raudo destroying his window to get inside. The girl remains hidden behind the old man's back, wanting to gain time to think and locate herself in the village.The instinct of preservation, cultivated by years of survival and facing dangers, forces Titania to crouch. Raudo's arm reaches across the old man's chest and back, combing the young woman's hair. Titania jumps with her legs spread, the arm crosses again now at stomach level. Titania lands and backs away. The knight dispatches the old man with a kick in the side that crashes the corpse against a rusty stove."You talk so much about honor, and you mercilessly murder innocent people! But I'm not surprised" exclaims Titania walking backwards, until her back crashes against the door blocked by a wooden plank, a plank that she removes without ceasing to face the knight."Innocents? There are no innocents here! They all conspired to betray the king! That a common assassin like you defends them is proof that they are unsalvageable scum""The only common murderer here is you!""The gods blessed me with the knight's mark! Do you think your immature judgment is superior to heaven's, you stupid girl?!""If the gods bless people like you, I'd rather believe only in myself!"Raudo roars and pounces again. Titania steps out and moves away from the wood before it collapses under the knight's force.Titania continues to retreat and Raudo continues to lunge, taking the fight to the shadow cast by the statue of Fernard the Enlightened, right to the deepest part of the quagmire.