Silent Tears

^ONE YEAR LATER^

ANDRA

Andra caught herself staring vacantly into the bucket of soapy water.

The scrub-brush was in her hand, pressed to the wooden floor, but she was frozen in place.

She willed herself back to action. ~How long have I been like this?~

The other servants around her were chatting as they worked, passing the time.

They knew not to include Andra in their conversations. She wouldn’t respond.

It wasn’t something she decided, her silence. It simply happened, falling over her like a dark blanket.

Her mother had been right.

Andra was a dragon, but not the beautiful and majestic kind… She was a wild rogue, and her fiery voice had reigned down death and destruction on those she loved.

It took her mother: loving, hard-working, and undeserving of her tragic fate.

After Andra had watched her mother’s body drop and go still, the fire inside her had died.

She spent her days fulfilling her duties, willing the flames inside her to continue dying.

Andra wished to waste away until her body turned into ash.

“Soon it will be blueberry season,” someone said over Andra’s shoulder, “and then we’ll have so many, there will be pies left over for us after the Judge’s lot has their fill.”

Andra turned to glance at the young elf. She had light, curly hair, and she didn’t wear a collar.

Elves were known for their strong connections to the natural world. Just thinking about berries made the girl smile, and Andra envied the brightness in her eyes.

Andra heard footsteps behind her, and the others went silent.

It was like a shadow had been cast over them, and Andra knew it could only mean one thing.

“Andra,” the sharp voice called.

She turned to see Ledo leaning against the doorway, picking his fingernails with a blade.

Andra rose to her feet. The other girls kept their eyes down. They never looked directly at her, nor said anything, but Andra could feel their pity.

Ledo turned and traveled down the corridor. Andra followed after him, her footsteps silent on the stone floor.

Outside the window, the sun was beginning to set.

Andra’s workday was complete, but her duties were far from over.

Ledo ascended the main staircase. Andra walked on, taking the narrow, winding steps for servants.

And then, alone, she walked the corridor to Ledo’s quarters.

He was waiting for Andra by the door, and when she entered, he closed it behind them.

Without looking at her, he began to undress. The familiar numb sensation settled in the bottom of her stomach.

When this had started, Andra had felt anxious—like a caged animal.

Eventually, that thing inside her had died too. Now, Andra felt nothing at all when she was in Ledo’s room, even when she felt pain.

He pulled off his shirt with a swift, harsh movement. Everything Ledo did was violent.

As she took off her own dress, and then her undergarments, Andra felt as though she was undressing someone else’s body.

She felt like her body was not her own. Not something that felt pain, or pleasure. Something to be thrown to the side…or out with the waste.

Andra was facing away from Ledo when she felt his hands on her waist.

He was neither rough nor gentle as he steered her toward the bed.

When Andra’s back hit the sheets, she closed her eyes.

Even when it was over, she didn’t open them again.

She let herself drop off into a silent, dreamless sleep.

***

Andra was woken hours later by a thump and a distant scream.

It cut through her subconscious, and she bolted upright.

Beside her, Ledo stirred, but not to the point of waking.

She rose and dressed quickly, listening as footsteps raced through the halls outside the bedroom.

Andra exited and drew the door closed behind her. She waited for a moment, listening.

When a servant rounded the corner, racing toward her, Andra knew that something was wrong.

“Run!” he shouted, charging past. “There are murderers in the manor!”

KAEL

Stealth.

Silence.

The only thing on Kael’s mind was the mission:

~Find him. Take him. Escape into the night.~

Kael held the hilt of his sword as he prowled the hall. He rounded the corner, traveling on light feet toward the doorway on the left.

A shriek rose from the stairwell, and Kael winced. It had taken him longer than planned to find Ledo’s quarters.

Kael could only hope the Chief Judge’s son was still asleep.

The door was unlocked, which was a good sign. He pushed it open and stepped into the lavish chamber.

Through the mask that covered everything but his eyes, Kael saw the bed was vacant—only rumpled sheets remained. Kael quickly surveyed the room, but he saw no signs of life.

Heavy drapes were pulled closed over the windows.

Kael watched them as he approached the bed and touched the sheets. Warm. So the Chief Judge’s son was certainly near…

“Coward.”

Kael spun around to see Ledo across the chamber, swaggering toward him in his night clothes. There was a haunting smile on his face.

“What do you want here, rebel scum? Me?”

Kael began to unsheathe his sword. The plan was falling apart, and it was up to Kael to put it back together.

But the look in Ledo’s eyes told Kael there was something unhinged in his mind. He wasn’t going to make this easy.

The rare metal of Kael’s sword glinted red in the candlelight.

Ledo laughed as he pulled a dagger from behind his back.

Kael was a skilled and confident fighter, but this fight would be different from most. He had to spare Ledo’s life.

Ledo charged, thrusting his dagger at Kael’s stomach. Kael easily deflected the advance with his broad sword.

“If you comply, I won’t harm you,” Kael said calmly.

Kael knew they needed to move quickly. His compatriots were keeping the guards busy, but it could only work for so long.

Ledo came forward, his stance wide and confident.

In response to Kael’s offer, he spat on him.

The saliva landed on Kael’s shirt. Anger wound up in Kael like a serpent. With one more provocation, he would strike.

Kael had already hated Ledo before this mission. The Chief Judge’s son represented everything he and the Freemen stood against.

And Ledo had proven to be even worse than Kael had thought. His blood boiled dangerously.

The mission depended on taking the Judge’s son alive, but time was running out.

When Ledo charged him once more, yelling as he wielded his lethal weapon, Kael did what he had to do.

He plunged his sword into Ledo’s stomach. The blade cut through muscle and flesh, soaking Kael’s hand in blood.

“Damn you to hell,” Kael whispered as he drew back his sword. Ledo collapsed onto the ground with one final groan.

Kael stared at the dead man, bleeding at his feet.

He struggled to catch his breath and absorb the reality of the situation.

It wasn’t the first time Kael had killed a man. He wouldn’t lose sleep over the fact that Ledo would no longer be part of this world.

But he had failed to fulfill his mission…and for that, there would be consequences.

Sheathing his sword, he bolted for the door.

The consequences could be considered later.

Because he needed to get out of the manor. ~Now~.

Kael opened the door and fled into the hall. Once he reached the stairwell, he pulled off his pesky mask.

He was nearly free…

ANDRA

Andra was crammed into a small alcove by the main stairway, waiting for the chaos to pass.

She heard the rattle of metal against metal and her heart climbed in her throat, banging against her leather collar.

The guards.

They were more frightening to Andra than any intruder. She wished with all her might that they would pass by her hiding spot…

In a rush of footfalls, the group of guards ran past her.

“Hey!” A man stuck his head into her corner and yelled over the din. “Return to your quarters ~now~.”

A moment later, he was gone, following after his comrades.

Andra gulped. She knew they wouldn’t be so forgiving on their way back.

She stumbled into the corridor and sprinted toward the servant’s staircase. She began running up toward her quarters.

As she reached the landing, Andra practically collided with a figure dressed in black bearing a red broadsword.

The next thing she knew, his hand was clasped over her mouth.

He was strong, that much was obvious.

The man glared down at her with eyes as cold as metal. But something about his gaze was calming, like she could feel its steely coolness on her skin.

“If you scream, I’ll kill you,” he whispered, though his voice cracked.

He took her with him into the corridor toward an open window.

“Climb down,” he instructed.

A rope hung down into the darkness. He pushed her forward, and Andra sat on the windowsill.

She felt an unsettling sense of calm—or maybe she was simply numb.

She stared down into the night. The ground was three stories below her.

There was no way she would survive the fall.

~Do I want to move from one slave master to the next?~

~No.~

~For once in my life, I want to be free.~

So Andra jumped.

She fell backward, staring up at the bright window as it drew away from her.

Andra knew these were her final moments, and she felt calm. No one could hurt her anymore.

But then the window was obscured by the silhouette of a large wing.

The last thing Andra felt was a warmth like fire pressing against her mind, and the last thing she heard was the rush of wind.

And then everything went black.