Dawning Skye

125 Stairway Scuffle

***THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS 18+ CONTENT. LANGUAGE, VIOLENCE, BLOOD, GORE. VIEWERS DISCRETION ADVISED***

Skye thought the noise from the arena was going to shatter her eardrums, it was so loud. Tidas stood at the front-center position of the field, away from the course. She couldn’t believe his power, and his speed was beyond rational.

Shasta was sitting on the ground, pouting as she powered down. Her ears were deflated, and her tail laid unmoving; partially curled around her. She sat in a burmese position, but with the balls of her feet together. She huffed her disappointment right as she saw Tidas reach his hand out to her with a smirk.

Flattening her ears, Shasta growled at the prince before accepting his gesture. She knew he didn’t mean it in a malicious way, it was just Tidas being his cocky self. He occasionally reminded her of the children she often played with from the orphanage; stupidly overconfident, but honest.

After his fight with his uncle, the prince had been different. He’d constantly wanted to train, which had started getting on Shasta’s nerves. She loved to fight, but she also loved her cream. Nights were meant for drinking, but Tidas usually delayed her fun with his begging to spar. Since she was the only one crazy enough to fight the prince without hold back, he would often seek her out when Zas wasn’t around.

Shasta saw Tidas as a bratty little brother and best friend. She had told him her past, and her circumstances on how she wound up in Alcon. He’d been one of the few people she’d ever told her whole story to; that was how much she trusted him. It may have only been seven years, but multiple life and death situations tended to make bonds stronger.

Hoisting her to her feet, Tidas kept hold of Shasta’s hand as he lifted them both into the air. The crowds screamed at their camaraderie, and it steadily increased as Zas joined them. All of Alcon loved their top warriors, and they showed it with gusto.

Shasta hated the public affairs that her rank and title required her to be a part of. The only reason she even dealt with it all was because of the prince, Zas, and the parties.. And the chance to see Lawrence again. As much as Shasta hated to admit it, he was the only male she’d ever had feelings for; not that it mattered..

Looking up at the balcony, Shasta thought sadly; “He’s a king, and I’m a Fae.. Stop dreaming! It could never work, anyways..”

.....

Both Zas and Tidas knew of her feelings for Lawrence, but only by observation. They weren’t crazy enough to ask her directly. Even if she did like him, she’d never openly admit it to them. Shasta wasn’t the type to voice her real feelings unless they were surly in nature. She’d been hurt too many times by humans to be completely open, especially about more delicate feelings.

Tidas had hoped she and Skye would get along, but that idea had been shot to hell. Shasta clearly didn’t like her, and Skye was reacting to it. She didn’t like rude behavior, and made no exceptions; much like his father.

Skye decided to make her way to the balcony before the stairways became overcrowded again. Coming back the way she came, the princess almost ran into a man as she headed for the staircase that she’d missed before. His hood was up like hers, so she couldn’t see his face. He was short; close to her height. His shoes were different from most she’d ever seen. They were flat with rounded tips, and didn’t look very thick or comfortable.

The mystery man was going up the stairway with her, towards the balcony. He walked in front of her, separated by only a few steps. As they ascended, Skye couldn’t help but look at his shoes. There was only one other person she’d ever seen wear shoes like that: Genie.

Without thinking on it, Skye asked; “Are ye from Sai, or do ye just like their fashions?”

The man froze, causing Skye to do the same. The stairway wasn’t small, and Skye could’ve easily gone around him. But something about this man was.. off. The princess couldn’t knowingly sense magic yet, but Maevis could. She felt a fairly good amount from him, and didn’t like where the situation was seemingly heading.

The two stood in silence a moment before the man replied in a thick accent; “Yes, I am from Sai.”

The man began his trek up the stairs again, leaving Skye to stand in the stairway. This was the only way to and from, the balcony. Skye didn’t recognize his stature or voice, and she didn’t believe his words. His accent was all wrong, and so was his vibe.

A dire feeling crept into Skye’s gut, prompting her to take off up the stairs after the man. Maevis gripped the princess’ hair to stop herself from falling out of the hood. There weren’t any people around now, but that may not be the case as they hurried up the steps. It was best if the old Fae stayed hidden, or so she tried to.

As Skye made her way up the stairs, the man suddenly came into view. He’d stopped walking; most likely due to hearing Skye’s running. Standing about seven feet from the mysterious man, Skye asked what business he had that was bringing him to the balcony. He slowly turned to face the princess. Making it a point to keep his hood low as he spoke.

His accent was thick and unfamiliar; “I have business with the kings. I am a diplomat for Sai. And you are?”

Skye glared at the man as she replied; “Sai has no diplomat in Alcon currently.. I’ll ask ye again; what business do ye have being on this stairway?!”

The man tilted his head slightly; “And how would you know that? Who are you?”

“Don’t tell him! You need to flee, lass! I got a bad feeling about this,” Maevis whispered into the princess’ ear.

“Answer My question first.”

The man stared at Skye a moment before he stated one word; “Muerte..”

Skye barely had time to react as the man flung open his cloak, and several knives flew at her head. She dodged by simultaneously crouching down and making a tiny rock wall between them. Some of the knives hit the stone, and some flew past above her head.

Maevis was pleasantly surprised by her friend’s reaction ; “Good Defense, lass! Be careful, he’s a Manic! He’ll have plenty more weapons on him, I guarantee it!”

“What the Bloody Hell?!” Skye looked down at her dress; “That Bastard! He ripped me dress! Of all the days! Ok.. NOW IMA PISSED!”

Skye’s magic surged with her ire. The man stopped attacking to run up the stairs, but she wasn’t about to let him get away. Skye used her magic to try and drive spikes through him. She focused on the couple stairs ahead of him, and launched spikes from there. He had dodged, but barely, and not without taking a gash to the shoulder.

The mystery man looked at the spikes, his arm, then the princess. His face was still hidden, but Skye and Maevis could feel his animosity. Blood dripped down his arm as he stood deathly still..

In a flash, he was ripping away his cloak, revealing a small arsenal strapped to his body. He was shorter than average, but was muscular and intimidating. Veins bulged from his olive toned skin on his neck and forehead. He somewhat looked like he could’ve been from Sai, but didn’t. His facial structure was similar to Genie’s, but there was something off about his aura.

Anyone Skye had ever met from Sai had a serene vibe to them, even their warriors. The way he stood and carried himself, his voice, the word he’d used; too many things didn’t add up. Maevis knew where he was from as soon as he’d let that word slip earlier, but now wasn’t the time to chat about it.

With no movement from the man, several of his weapons began to detach from him and float in the air. All pointed at Skye. His face was plain except for a large scar that ran from near his nose, curved up, and ended near the edge of his cheekbone. He would’ve blended into the background of almost any setting.

‘Oh shit! He’s a bloody assassin!’ the thought made Skye’s insides wrench; ‘He said he had business with both kings.. Does that mean he was going to kill both Magnus and Lawrence?! That bastard! Over me dead body! No One threatens me family!”

Skye blocked a swarm of ninja stars as she tried to smash him between two large chunks of wall. She’d used her magic to create massive blocks and spikes to skewer or smush him with, but he evaded. They slowly moved upwards as they battled. Skye could hear Magnus’ voice over the speakers, making his announcements. It was a little distracting, which the assassin noticed and used to his advantage.

Right as the king said her name, Skye’s eyes shifted past the assassin, to the light cast by the entrance to the balcony. He saw an opening and decided to take it. Pulling a small, round green object from his vest; the assassin pulled a pin from it, and gently tossed it at the princess. The moment it left his hand, he started running up the stairs like the devil was after him.

Before Skye could flinch, Maevis flew out from her hair and yelled; “Toss it back! NOW! IT’S A BOMB!”

Skye’s heart pounded in her chest as the world seemed to slow. She stared at the tiny green object as her mind raced. A picture from one of her father’s military tomes popped into her head. The item was called a grenade, and it was a small, but deadly bomb.

All the noise from the arena melted away. Reality moved at a snail’s pace as she bent to scoop up the rolling explosive. Skye wound up her arm, and chucked it at the assassin with her full force.

Maevis had been building her magic since the beginning of the confrontation. She sent a surge of it ahead of the assassin, and created a fortified wall in the entryway to the balcony. He nearly smacked into it as he reached the top of the stairs. He immediately whipped about, but it was too late.

Shock and dread covered his face as the grenade bounced against his leg, then rolled down several steps. It stopped nearly halfway between the two. He looked up to catch a glimpse of Skye waving and smiling as a wall went up between them; protecting the woman. The assassin swallowed hard as he looked back down.. Just in time to see the blinding light from the bomb as it exploded.