Back to the present . . .
All of that is to say, three years ago, we took down that general like it was nothing. Reminiscing about that night only makes me nostalgic for the easier times, when we could rely on those closest to us. My fellow soldiers, sworn to protect the crown, are dispersed around the country. Before the coup d’etat, we’d been stationed in different locations to maximize our safety, preparing from all angles of the country. Looking back it was clear that they were just trying to weaken us — separate the highly-trained spies to just buy themselves a little time before we figure out what they are up to. It’s cowardly.
We’d been warned infiltration could happen at any moment, but there was going to be a shift in power, with our King stepping down and the Prince getting married. It was about to be the wedding, and we were all so preoccupied . . . so clueless. Let’s just say, I can imagine the wedding being called off.
No use dwelling on it now. The sun is slowly setting, melting behind the sand dunes, and Omis and I are tired. My father’s collection of desert maps has been helping me locate Scavengers, different communities of people surviving in the desert. The ride to the city of Ilesis is five days leisurely, but I’m making it three. Tonight is my first restful stop, and the last one before I arrive. The country needs me, and I still don’t know who I can trust.
Ilesis is a fairly small country, but the desert divides the south and north ends. The north is where the kingdom lies, and I was stationed in the south before everything happened and communication by our intricate letter system, transported in seconds by Scribes, was shut down by the still unknown infiltrators — likely from the neighboring country of Trenika, but Ilesis is a strong country, and we have many enemies because of it.
The other elite soldiers and I made a pact that, if anything like this ever happened and we weren’t near each other, we would head to the capital city and rendezvous there. Once I get there, I will be facing mayhem, so my last night of some amount of rest and recovery will be spent in a Scavenger village.
“Come on, Omis, we’re almost there,” I say quietly, brushing my fingers through her mane. She gallops along, tired of the sand and the heat.
We enter the village and the smells of campfire and good food fill my senses. I get off Omis and begin to scan the village. The merchants line up, and spices, fabrics, and jewelry line the tables. I walk with Omis towards the center of the village where the chief resides who will get me a place to stay. I am a protector of the crown, and that means something everywhere. Or at least it used to.
I hear chatter and mutters about my presence; people recognize the soldiers for the crown, and by now they have noticed that there is something happening in our country.
“Soldier! What are you doing here?” a man calls out from the sidelines. He faces me, draped in a long coat and flowy pants, the typical desert attire. His hair ends right above his shoulders, and he has the customary Scavenger hand tattoos.
“What is it to you, Scavenger?” I ask, bothered and hungry.
“Well, there’s bad news spreading. We don’t want any trouble here. You must know what it is to survive in the desert,” he responds honestly.
“I want no trouble here. If you wish to help the crown, you will lead me to your chief.”
He looks like he’s about to keep arguing, and start to take out his anger about our country on me, like most people do when given the opportunity, but instead he quiets and nods. “Follow me,” he says.
We trail through market booths, small homes filled with big curious families, who stare as Omis and I walk past their homes. I am exhausted and worried about the future of my country, and the current state of the royals, but I won’t do them any good in this state. This is my next step to get to Ilesis, I have to continue reminding myself.
We take another right, then a left, followed by three more rights, till finally we reach the Chief’s quarters in the center of the Scavenger village.
“Here we are,” the Scavenger man tells me.
“Thank you — ” I pause, waiting for him to say his name.
“Admetus,” he says. An unusual name for a Scavenger.
“Thank you, Admetus.” I say, and he nods solemnly before turning and leaving. I have a feeling it isn’t the last time I will see him, and usually I am right about those sorts of things.
I tie Omis near a well and give her some water before heading inside to face the Chief. I walk up the steps to the entrance. The guards glance at the Royal Emblem embroidered on my cloak and wordlessly let me enter.
Pushing through the curtains, I raise my head to meet the chief, preparing my speech to request staying for the night, but I am too shocked. My eyes widen and I freeze in place.
“Odessa, we’ve been waiting for you.” The words fall from my worst enemy’s lips with a smirk.
Here we go.
All of that is to say, three years ago, we took down that general like it was nothing. Reminiscing about that night only makes me nostalgic for the easier times, when we could rely on those closest to us. My fellow soldiers, sworn to protect the crown, are dispersed around the country. Before the coup d’etat, we’d been stationed in different locations to maximize our safety, preparing from all angles of the country. Looking back it was clear that they were just trying to weaken us — separate the highly-trained spies to just buy themselves a little time before we figure out what they are up to. It’s cowardly.
We’d been warned infiltration could happen at any moment, but there was going to be a shift in power, with our King stepping down and the Prince getting married. It was about to be the wedding, and we were all so preoccupied . . . so clueless. Let’s just say, I can imagine the wedding being called off.
No use dwelling on it now. The sun is slowly setting, melting behind the sand dunes, and Omis and I are tired. My father’s collection of desert maps has been helping me locate Scavengers, different communities of people surviving in the desert. The ride to the city of Ilesis is five days leisurely, but I’m making it three. Tonight is my first restful stop, and the last one before I arrive. The country needs me, and I still don’t know who I can trust.
Ilesis is a fairly small country, but the desert divides the south and north ends. The north is where the kingdom lies, and I was stationed in the south before everything happened and communication by our intricate letter system, transported in seconds by Scribes, was shut down by the still unknown infiltrators — likely from the neighboring country of Trenika, but Ilesis is a strong country, and we have many enemies because of it.
The other elite soldiers and I made a pact that, if anything like this ever happened and we weren’t near each other, we would head to the capital city and rendezvous there. Once I get there, I will be facing mayhem, so my last night of some amount of rest and recovery will be spent in a Scavenger village.
“Come on, Omis, we’re almost there,” I say quietly, brushing my fingers through her mane. She gallops along, tired of the sand and the heat.
We enter the village and the smells of campfire and good food fill my senses. I get off Omis and begin to scan the village. The merchants line up, and spices, fabrics, and jewelry line the tables. I walk with Omis towards the center of the village where the chief resides who will get me a place to stay. I am a protector of the crown, and that means something everywhere. Or at least it used to.
I hear chatter and mutters about my presence; people recognize the soldiers for the crown, and by now they have noticed that there is something happening in our country.
“Soldier! What are you doing here?” a man calls out from the sidelines. He faces me, draped in a long coat and flowy pants, the typical desert attire. His hair ends right above his shoulders, and he has the customary Scavenger hand tattoos.
“What is it to you, Scavenger?” I ask, bothered and hungry.
“Well, there’s bad news spreading. We don’t want any trouble here. You must know what it is to survive in the desert,” he responds honestly.
“I want no trouble here. If you wish to help the crown, you will lead me to your chief.”
He looks like he’s about to keep arguing, and start to take out his anger about our country on me, like most people do when given the opportunity, but instead he quiets and nods. “Follow me,” he says.
We trail through market booths, small homes filled with big curious families, who stare as Omis and I walk past their homes. I am exhausted and worried about the future of my country, and the current state of the royals, but I won’t do them any good in this state. This is my next step to get to Ilesis, I have to continue reminding myself.
We take another right, then a left, followed by three more rights, till finally we reach the Chief’s quarters in the center of the Scavenger village.
“Here we are,” the Scavenger man tells me.
“Thank you — ” I pause, waiting for him to say his name.
“Admetus,” he says. An unusual name for a Scavenger.
“Thank you, Admetus.” I say, and he nods solemnly before turning and leaving. I have a feeling it isn’t the last time I will see him, and usually I am right about those sorts of things.
I tie Omis near a well and give her some water before heading inside to face the Chief. I walk up the steps to the entrance. The guards glance at the Royal Emblem embroidered on my cloak and wordlessly let me enter.
Pushing through the curtains, I raise my head to meet the chief, preparing my speech to request staying for the night, but I am too shocked. My eyes widen and I freeze in place.
“Odessa, we’ve been waiting for you.” The words fall from my worst enemy’s lips with a smirk.
Here we go.