A Fleeting Eternity - Chapter Ten

Ky hid her face behind the horse’s head, grateful to be short enough to take cover behind him. Her breath caught in her chest, making her head feel light. Her mind buzzed with the possibilities of how this situation could play out – and nearly every scenario ended with a short drop and quick stop at the gallows.

Alcan always had grand ideas about how the world should be, and then fooled himself into believing that’s how the world actually was. He talked about his “promotion” to the palace as the greatest thing that could have happened to him – rather than acknowledging that he was a slave that got shuffled from one position to another that was more convenient for Makata.

He might truly believe that Makata wouldn’t care about her deception, but that didn’t mean that was true. She’d heard far too many whispers in the palace kitchens about legal cases brought before Makata to believe the best of that man – he would always, and only, look out for his own best interests. And protecting a girl who disobeyed a direct order of entering his harem wouldn’t be at the top of the list of things he cared about.

Ky kept her gaze focused on the ground in front of her, doing her best to force herself to keep breathing, even as she listened to Borrond wandering around barking orders to his soldiers. All it would take was a single glance at the wrong angle, and her death warrant was as good as signed. Her best chance of survival at this point was to be as still as possible and hope that she didn’t draw attention to herself.

Aleth and Makata came walking out of the palace laughing with each other. The sound turned Ky’s stomach. How could they be so jolly and nonchalant, as if Aleth hadn’t just stripped every last bit of dignity from her? Ky took a deep breath, putting her hand on the horse’s neck to keep him from prancing.

“Ky,” Aleth stopped at the end of the platform, reaching his hand down to motion towards her. “Come up here.”

Ky looked up as Tadaaki walked around the end of the carriage and reached for the reins. With a silent sigh she handed them over and then climbed up to be on the same level as Aleth and Makata, keeping her gaze studiously fixed on the ground.

“Sire, your generosity knows no bounds,” Aleth said, turning his attention back on Makata. “You astonish me each and every time I visit you.”

The back of Ky’s neck prickled with anticipation, focus torn between the men in front of her and trying to track where Borrond was, further away on the platform. It was hard to tell which man posed the greatest threat to her just then.

“Out with it, Aleth,” Makata laughed. “Your words cannot flatter me any further than your service already has.”

“I am both humbled and honored to hear that my services have been satisfactory, sire,” Aleth said, bowing slightly. “I was hoping that I may be so bold as to ask of a favor from your majesty.”

“Name it and it’s yours.”

“This is the boy I asked to try out, sire.” Aleth’s arm suddenly wrapped around Ky’s shoulders, pulling her close to his body and yanking her attention fully back to this situation. She tensed, breath catching once more, wishing with everything in her that she could elbow him in the side and run away. Tears pricked at her eyes, body feeling as if it was about to lock up as her mind replayed him pressing her against the wall.

“And how’d you find him?”

A fresh wave of nausea struck her as she processed what he meant. Not only wouldn’t Makata be a sympathetic listener if Ky tried to go to him for help – he had given his blessing for Aleth to do what he wished to her.

“Oh, it was thoroughly satisfying,” Aleth said. “So much so that I’d like to take him with me, if I may.”

A surge of panic washed over Ky.

Just when she hoped this nightmare was about to finish its course, when he left to return to wherever it was that he’d come from, he had to make it even worse. This was worse than the thought of him exposing her secret to the king. That way would almost certainly mean death, or at the very least being returned to the king’s harem – but either would be better than being solely at Aleth’s mercy.

Makata scoffed. “I’ll never see what you see in the scrawny ones.”

“I know,” Aleth answered. He stroked Ky’s face, sending a shiver down her spine. “But I’m rather fond of him, nonetheless.”

“Alright.” Makata shrugged, turning his gaze on Ky. “Boy.”

Dread settled over Ky’s entire body. She reluctantly looked up. “Sir?”

Makata looked at her for a long moment, eyes narrowing suspiciously. The silence was agonizing, tension growing with each moment. Between Aleth’s arm still wrapped around her shoulders, holding her close, and Makata’s critical gaze staring straight through her, she thought she finally had a small concept of what hell must feel like.

“Have we met?”

“No, sir,” Ky lied quickly.

“You look familiar.”

“I bring your horses out sometimes, sir,” Ky answered hastily, wishing for nothing more than to melt into the cracks beneath her feet. “That’s it, sir.”

“Mm… okay. Go get your belongings together and come back here, quickly.”

“Yes, sir,” Ky answered miserably. She turned and stepped off the platform, the tears finally spilling from her brimming eyes the moment her back was turned.

She sprinted to the stables, sobbing as she reluctantly began to collect her things, desperately trying to think of a way to avoid having to go with Aleth. The clearest option would be to tell Makata the truth, but even that in itself was risky.

If the harem was anything like what she’d experienced this morning at Aleth’s hand, she wanted nothing to do with it. She’d gladly take a date with the executioner over finding herself forced into another man’s bed even a single time more. She could lay bare the details of her prolonged game in his castle, and try to provoke him enough in the process to ensure that she got hanged for it.

Or she could try to make a run for it, though she doubted she would get far. Aleth had Makata on his side, and they could easily send a squadron of soldiers to look for her. She didn’t have a new disguise on her side this time.

They’d find her before she could make it out of the city. And even if, by some miracle, she did manage to slip away – where would she go? She didn’t have any resources, and the Mountains were a long way to make it by herself, without any food.

She knelt and got the extra pair of trousers and extra tunic she had in the corner, then looked at the Holy Book longingly, wishing she’d made it further through her copying than she had. If she was to forced into Aleth’s service she definitely wanted a copy of the Book with her – but stealing was wrong, and it didn’t belong to her. She sighed and put it back in the corner, hoping Alcan would think to come retrieve it before anyone else could discover it.

Ky wrapped the copies she’d made of some of the passages of the Book in the middle of her wad of clothes and tied them into a bundle, then stood up and hesitated at the door of the stall. She could walk back to the courtyard – the good, obedient little servant boy who does as he’s told. Or she could try her luck, gambling with her life that she’d be able to pull off an attempted escape.

She had to try.

Ky took a deep breath and turned towards the left, away from the end of the stable that led to the courtyard. She tucked the bundle under her arm and walked quickly, hoping that she’d get away before anyone happened to see her. She stepped out into the sunlight, and felt her stomach lurch as she saw Tadaaki standing just outside.

He was one of the largest men Ky had ever seen in her life – towering head and shoulders above most men, never mind Ky’s small frame. A drab gray tunic was stretched tight across his chest and shoulders, clearly showing his defined muscles. His face was harsh as he looked down at her.

She scrambled away from him, turning to run towards the path that led to the gate out of the palace grounds. She landed one – two – three solid lunges, and then his meaty hand clamped down on her right arm. A moment later he wrenched her arm behind her back, making a sharp pain stab through her shoulder.

“Ow, ow, ow!” Ky howled, trying to twist out of his grasp. He pulled her hand even closer to her head, making her bend forward in an attempt to relieve the pressure building in her shoulder. She jerked on her arm, but stopped struggling as she realized that fighting him only hurt her worse. “Let me go!”

“I can’t do that, little one.” His voice was deep and rich. “Stop fighting me, now.”

She sighed, letting her shoulders slump as she stared straight at the ground beneath her, arm still held at the awkward angle behind her back. “Fine.”

He paused for a long moment, as if daring her to renew the struggle, but she remained still. He grabbed the scruff of her neck with his other hand and then released her arm as he pulled her around to face him. Ky started into his dark brown eyes, the same color as his weathered skin, wishing she could find even a trace of mercy within them.

“Please don’t do this.”

To her surprise, a hint of compassion softened his critical glare. “I don’t have a choice in this matter. My orders were to stop you if you tried to make a run for it.”

“Alright. Well, you’ve stopped me – now let me go.”

Tadaaki snorted.

“Okay, how about this,” Ky pleaded, as he pushed her towards the corner of the stable. “You could come with me. I know a way out of the city – we could go together.”

It was a lie – she didn’t have the first clue how she was going to get herself out of the city, much less bring a man twice her size with her. But it was worth a shot. If he was also afraid of Aleth, perhaps she could find an ally in him after all.

“Aleth would find us both.” He shook his head. “And then things truly would be bad for us. You’d do well to learn quickly not to underestimate or disrespect him. Things will only get worse for you until you show him the respect he desires.”

“No, things will get worse if you force me to go with him.” Ky dug her feet into the ground beneath them in a futile attempt to slow the inevitable.

Tadaaki stopped just before they rounded the corner of the stable. “Aleth told me privately he expected you would try to run – he didn’t tell the king, as far as I’m aware. If I drag you back to the courtyard, Makata will know, and you may get punished before you come away with us. Will you walk with me, or must I force you?”

Ky took a shuddering breath, considering her options. If she was to fess up to her disobedience to the king, it would certainly be better received if it wasn’t on the heels of her disobeying by trying to run away. “I’ll go.”

“Good.” Tadaaki ripped the bundle out of Ky’s hands, giving her a gentle push forward. “Then I’ll pretend as if I came to help you with your things.”

Ky sighed, but nodded and reluctantly walked next to him back to the courtyard, defeated. Her feet suddenly weighed a thousand pounds each.

“Looks like you have what you need,” Makata said to Aleth.

“Indeed,” Aleth answered. “Thank you, sire, for your astonishing hospitality.”

Ky stared at the ground in front of her. Aleth’s boots appeared in her line of vision, and then his fingers curled under her chin and pressed, hard, forcing her to look up to meet his gaze. He looked at her coldly, voice quiet as he spoke. “A bit of a round-about way back to the courtyard.”

She swallowed hard. The accusation was clear – Tadaaki didn’t have to tattle for it to be apparent had had transpired. Aleth took his hand away and gestured at the open door of the carriage. “In.”

Ky took a shaky breath. It was now or never.

She glanced at the soldier standing nearby, wondering if she’d be able to get the dagger out of his belt and into Aleth’s chest before anyone could stop her. That would take care of two problems at once – getting Aleth the recompense he deserved, and ensuring she’d end the day going to be with Mama in the afterlife.

Ky looked back at Makata. “Sire, I—”

“What makes you think you may address the king?” Aleth snarled, stepping between her and Makata. “If he wanted to hear from you, he’d have asked. Get in my carriage now.”