The meeting room, as they called it, was at the very back of the inn. Aurelie had been there once before to investigate. The corners of the walls were covered with webs, and the table so dusty that she hadn't even realized that the map of Highfire was carved into the wood.
Now, of course, floating bubbles of light hovered all around the room, and it had finally been dusted. Kirin sat at the head of a very large table with Orken and Daerious on either side of him.
"I have been sketching the plans of the castle, but I have to do it piece by piece. The gods alone know what will happen if they catch me in the King's private library," Kirin said and the others nodded. "We'd need that for an ambush, doesn't much help that I'm the only one with knowledge of all the entrances and exits."
Aurelie took a seat beside Daerious. They looked up briefly. Kirin squinted, wondering what she was doing at the adult table, no doubt. She took no notice of him. That door was open for a good half hour before she found the courage to step inside and be a part of the conversation. There was no way she was leaving now.
"Right," Orken said, leaned back on the chair and rested his arms on his belly, "and how long will that take?"
Kirin puffed out a large breath, his lips vibrating. "About a month, possibly more. There are so many crucial passages and secret doors that even I haven't explored yet."
"That's good enough. Will give us sufficient time to study it, and pass it on to the others," Daerious said and sat up straight.
"Who else is there?" Aurelie raised a brow. They wouldn't be attacking the castle alone, that she was aware of. There was no way that they were stupid enough to take on the King and his army with fifty people, but other allies had never before been mentioned.
Orken rubbed at the corners of his mouth with his thumb and index finger. "There's Sasha's sister in the far south. They've formed a village, a couple of thousand men there. Mad Entho's family has been against the Royals for centuries. I'd bet he's dying to gather his men and attack the castle. And, that sister of his owes me." Orken stood, and walked behind his chair. "Then we'd better find out where we stand with the wood's men and their queen." He leaned against the chair and looked at Kirin. "Who else?"
Aurelie cut in before Kirin could answer. "If they're against the Royals, won't they be against me?"
Orken nodded. "Indeed, but they'll stick to the lesser evil for now."
Aurelie flinched. The thought of anyone thinking that she was evil caused much more discomfort than she thought. It was silly to expect every man who agreed to fight with her would like her, but evil seemed too harsh a word.
"Evil..." she tested the word on her tongue. At first, it was revenge that drove her, but now it was her people. Something that became more apparent every single day.
Daerious laid a hand on her back. "There will always be those who hate you because you have more than they do. In Entho's case, he'll assume you have more without double-checking because your title is, princess and his is master."
Aurelie caught Kirin rolling his eyes. "Let's get back on track, shall we?" he said. "Or shall we rather make a list of all the people that may not like our lovely princess instead?"
She felt the need to stand, and storm out of the room. His irritation hit her like ice-cold water. Why was he acting like this?
"No, Kirin please do go on about the plans that mean absolutely nothing at this very moment, and that will only be ready in a month or so. The issue is so pressing, I can't believe that I opened my pretty little mouth and uttered a word." Aurelie tapped her fingers on the table. "It's just that..." she smiled like an innocent maiden, "not all of us are as experienced with being hated."
Kirin snorted and leaned his head back to stare at the ceiling. Even that irritated her. The dragon magic inside her was too eager to raise her rage. She had to keep her temper in check. The others did not fathom what it took to control emotions when a flaming beast roared inside, tempting her to let it out. They did not set alight when a tough situation presented itself, not literally. Closing her flaming eyes, she waited until the heat faded, and the fire in them had completely extinguished.
Kirin shifted, but she did not look up to see where to. She hoped it wasn't to leave. His presence, as sadistic as it might have been to admit, delighted her. If she made him enough to leave, he wouldn't show himself at the inn for several days. Traveling from the castle to the inn was too much of a risk. Sometimes, they wouldn't see him for days.
Orken coughed to break the silence. "So," he turned to Kirin, "who else can we rely on?" He was acting very much unlike himself that evening. She felt quite intimidated by Orken. The last time they spoke, he sounded like an experienced warrior, and she a little girl.
"No one," Kirin replied. "I'm not sure we can even rely on those you've mentioned. They're all willing now, but wait till the war finally breaks out. Then you'll see most running to Redayrah."
"So that's all we've got to work with?" Daerious asked. "Will that be nearly enough?"
Kirin shook his head. "No," he untied the strings of his cloak, and tied them again, "we'll have to send Aurelie to roam the villages and turn the men."
Aurelie glanced up. That was the first she's heard of it. "What do you mean turn the men?"
Kirin bared his teeth in a wide, frightening grin. "Well, with your womanhood, of course!"
Daerious turned away from Aurelie, but she could still see his back shake as he laughed. She folded her arms around herself and looked to Orken for a better explanation.
"Dimwits!" Orken exclaimed, shaking his head but maintaining a smirk that led Kirin and Daerious to laugh louder. "You'll have to prepare a speech and gather the villagers. Tell them that you'll fight for them, that sort of thing."
Aurelie nodded. "Yes," she said, "that I'm aware of. But we don't have anything to offer them. No food, no drink. Besides, the towns are filled with guards."
Sometimes, she thought that they all took her for a fool. There were stretches where she was one... But being taken seriously at the damn inn was something of an achievement. Anytime anyone but Sasha gave her an answer, she had to examine the phrase for any sort of daftness disguised as wit.
"We'll go around in taverns, clear them and give you center stage. Word will travel fast. Sasha's sister has plenty of room in Halbrook to settle the men that will fight for you. For now, we just need to prepare them. We have things to offer, for one, a leader that won't kill them."
"But, I will kill them." Aurelie felt all eyes focus on her. It seemed unfair that she was the face of the movement. A leader that won't kill them. The phrase rang false. Of course, she wouldn't do it if she had an option, but she didn't. As much as she was giving orders, she was taking them, and no matter which way she looked at it, both orders were going to send good men to their death. However, Orken wasn't going to be the one to blame if all their efforts failed. It would be her head on a stake. The fault was not theirs, but rather that of her blood. "They will fight, and die for me."
"Don't be so dramatic," Daerious said.
"Ha!" Aurelie lowered her head into her palms. "If any situation requires drama..."
"Look," Kirin said. "People need to know that they are standing behind someone. Whether you're ready for it or not, we need to use your name as motivation. A rebellion sounds far more dangerous than a siege. This way the royals remain Dranoirs, and that's been a name the people trusted until now. Give them a trusty name with a different face, and they'll follow you everywhere."
Aurelie smirked. "A trusty name?" she asked. "We've killed half the witches, consumed all the dragons--"
"See," Kirin said. "You say that it's 'we', but it isn't. Your hands aren't soaked. You're the mysterious princess that's been stolen. They tell tales about you, celebrate your birthday, about a hundred girls run to the castle claiming that they're you each month. That's why we have an advantage."
"As for the dragons," Orken chipped in, "if Lucian Dranoir didn't consume their magic, our people would have never won the Icelands war. No one could have foreseen that they'd die because of it."
"We didn't really win though, did we?" Daerious asked. "King Lucian just separated us."
"Separated?" Orken roared. "He bloody changed the seasons to keep them on their side, boy!" He slapped his hand on the table and pointed a finger toward Daerious. "Of course, we won! And for a simple wizard to have enough power to consume the magic of six dragons..." He turned his head sideways and raised his brows. "Just the fact that he thought about it makes him a brilliant man. You, youngsters, have no concept of pride. So hear me now," he tapped his index finger on the table, "Lucian Dranoir was someone to be proud of."
A dragon's flesh was said to cure any injury or disease when consumed. They had been hunted for centuries, and as the population grew in Highfire, more and more flesh was needed. The King's Counsel created a sanctuary for the dragons, in the mountains just south of the castle. Only six remained in Highfire when they finally captured and brought the dragons there. The Council even trained special guards to look after and defend them.
The location of the cave was carved into the table they sat at. It was marked by a dragon skeleton, in the position of slumber. "I sometimes wonder why he had to consume them all," Aurelie said, coming out of a sort of dream-like state. She did not look at any of them; her eyes had been focused on the cave.
"Do you have any idea how much magic is required to freeze all that land, and then on top of that to create a different realm so that nobody could ever discover how he did it, but his kin?" Orken asked, still outraged, only now by her too. "He extracted the magic of one at first, and then when he saw that he was still too weak, he came for another."
"An everlasting winter, with a temperature that freezes a Highfirian in place within seconds, is a tad much." Aurelie sat back in her chair and moved it closer to the table. The conversation was depressing her. The history of her bloodline went from one madman to another. She hoped that she wouldn't be next.
"They were the invaders," Orken said sternly, "not us."
"Speaking about invasions," Kirin yawned and continued to speak, "I think there might be an army for us in Redayrah. For a price, of course."
"The Morels?" Orken asked, relaxing his posture.
"Yes." Kirin nodded. "They're a terrible bunch, but they have men to rent."
"What do we even have to offer?" Aurelie asked. All they had was a tiny garden and the inn.
Kirin shrugged. "Nothing now, but if they assure our victory, plenty."
Orken grunted in approval. "We have a crown to offer."
"Yes, I suppose that will be exactly what Nicolai asks for." Kirin glanced Aurelie's way, caught her staring back, and looked away.
"My crown?"
"Your hand." Kirin wiped at his eyes â anything to avoid her disapproving look.
Aurelie kept her eyes firmly on him. If he was already thinking of giving her away to some stranger, the least he could do was look her in the eye while he said it. "I'm not marrying some mongrel from Redayrah." The very thought made her feel woozy.
A faint smile appeared on Kirin's lips before he straightened his features. "There are ways to end a marriage."
"Not a royal one."
"Still ways," Kirin said. "Some women prefer poison, I've heard."
"Gods," Aurelie said and stood from the table. "So, you're past planning my wedding and onto murdering my husband. Lovely."
"Whatever it takes."
Now it was Aurelie who smiled. "I'll be up in my room. Let me know when you start naming my children."
"Ugh," Orken grunted. "We won't let it go that far, Princess. Those Redayrans are filthy things. No honor, only gold."
Aurelie paused at the door. "My savior," she said to Orken and walked out.
The whole thing was distasteful. A war, a wedding, and a murder. Somehow, in the months she spent at the inn, her character had hardened so much that the talks about murder and marriage didn't bother her at all. There was still a glimmer of guilt inside her, but that faded as soon as a man with a basket of tomatoes rushed past her toward the kitchen. And just like that, her thoughts moved past that of what was to become of her life to what she would have for dinner.