Maria gave him a pat on the hand and grinned at him and responded with as much sarcasm as she could muster, “That’s so nice of you! Of course we will!”
As the two of them walked away Maria spoke to her traveling companion, “Now you know something about me. I am all about people having the free will to do what they want with their own bodies and their own lives but,” she looked around at the hooded villagers who were surveying the damage and the corpses of their oppressors and said, “I won’t stand by while someone puts a boot on someone else’s neck.”
She was surprised at her own statement for a moment but she tried not to show it on her face. She had actually done the opposite in her life before this place. The world had been going straight to shit and more and more people had been suffering oppression of increasing violence and brazen tyranny. She had just rolled her shoulders and walked on despite how bad it was getting. Even when they started threatening people like her sister, like herself, like the ones she cared about the most. Her jaw tightened as she turned from Medi and kept walking. She was not sure where that anger and vehement determination to face oppression had come from but it felt right.
A still more distant voice that she tried to ignore admitted, “Could this be what the Dominus did to us?”
Despite her attempts to ignore the voice that sounded like her own it droned on with cold malice that terrified her, “Or maybe it was something else?”
She shook off the strange inward thoughts and took a deep breath. Medi gave her a concerned look but when Maria seemed to recover the two shared a nod before the warrior led the way as the two of them followed their D’Vyre hosts.
The two of them were shown up a stairwell shaped out of the wood to one of the ancient homes hanging amidst the branches far above. The D’Vyre may have long since availed themselves of an interest in living their own lives but they were gracious hosts. They served simple but amazing meals of nuts, berries, and fruits.
The oldest of the villagers, named Rylis, presided over their meal as their host. The typical morose attitude was all but forgotten by the gregarious D’Vyre.
“How long have you found yourself in the company of young Mistress Mediana, Maria?,” he asked as he poured her a mug of juice.
Maria glanced at Medi and gave him a tight smile, “This is my first time. I am learning a lot!”
Rylis reclined in his chair and gave her a shrewd look, “You don’t seem much like the villagers we have encountered before.”
Her smile faded for a moment and she waved a dismissive hand, “I just showed up. Medi and her people took me in. I’m from far to the south!”
Medi gave her a look and sighed as she said, “She’s a simpleton that we are trying our best to train. We don’t want her death on our hands.”
Rylis nodded and sipped from his mug with both hands, “You seem a competent warrior for someone who is just learning Maria.”
Medi added with a nod, “Yes, very quickly.”
Maria gave her a searching look at her emphasis on the word ‘very’ and smiled, “They gave me the best teacher.”
–
The two of them leaned against the railing of the tree house and looked out over the few lights dotting the dying village as night crept on. Medi was the first to speak up, “I am sorry I criticized you for wanting to save these people.”
Maria gave her a sidelong look and shrugged, “It’s clear that this is a tense situation. From what that asshole Lian was saying when you two were trading beads Totomac might have caused some friction.”
After a moment she added, “What was that bead thing about anyway?”
Medi sighed and said, “The two bags represent living and dead. It’s how we keep track of how many L’Virans still dwell here.”
Maria raised an eyebrow and chuckled, “That is dark. Why do you guys need to know that?”
Medi shrugged, “It is something that the Three wish to keep track of.”
Maria nodded and turned her attention back to the forest and the village below. After a minute of silence she asked, “So you really think I am learning quickly?”
Medi shifted her tail weaving behind her in what seemed like agitation as she said, “Faster than anyone I’ve ever met.”
She studied her and asked, “How fast?”
The warrior woman seemed to struggle with the answer, “You have been in perhaps two to three skirmishes and learned from me in three different spars and you are already as good as I was a year ago.”
Maria blinked and her brow furrowed, “It has to be part of this system that I am tied into. It kind of explains why they can send someone who doesn’t know shit about fighting to Eilyth and expect them to get anything done.”
Medi shuffled a foot back and forth over the drop past the railing and asked, “Why did the Slaver really send you here? It was not just to steal the stone. There has to be some larger plan.”
Maria breathed in deeply and closed her eyes, “I don’t know yet. It isn’t good. From what I have been able to gather, Dominus believed that whatever I am here for will help save my world. Beyond that everything is muddy.”
She reached out and put a soft hand on Medi’s shoulder and said, “You don’t have any reason to trust me but I promise you that I will never put my world over yours. Whatever is wrong with Earth, Eilyth should not have to suffer for it to be fixed.”
Medi smiled, a rare expression, and said, “I suppose you put our lives on the line to save the D’Vyre said as much in a different way.”
Maria looked into her eyes and smiled. Was she really into Medi? Was this a thing? Damn right this was a thing. Medi was a fucking badass. Yeah, she wasn’t human but, let's be honest, neither was she anymore. She started to speak but Medi’s eyes widened and she looked away. Maria swore that she could see a blush on her face as she muttered, “Um, we… I should find a place to sleep. We have a long patrol tomorrow.”
Maria watched her hurry off with growing confusion. She turned back to the empty air over the dimming lights of L’Vira, “What the hell is going on?”
–
Maria roused in the dark of the small room she had been provided. The chamber was dark and had no windows. She groaned and went still when she heard movement near her. It sounded like a shift of fabric against fabric.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
She started and pulled herself up to sit against the wall when a voice said, “Miss Rossi?”
Her eyes tried to adjust to the dark but all she could see was a white coat and the outline of a man at the far end of the room. She blinked and shook her head as there was a metallic click and the hum of fluorescent lights surrounded her. Light flickered and filled the chamber.
She was sitting in an office. It was the same office where she had encountered the corpse of Eduardo Santos. Doctor Anton’s office. The man himself, the same that had stood speaking with her mother on her last day at the institute, was sitting behind the desk and tapping a pen on the desktop.
She found that her arms, very human, were bound with soft cuffs on the arms of a wheelchair. She struggled against it and tried to blink away her hazy thoughts and shook her head. The doctor was sitting across from her with a bored expression. He flicked through a pile of paperwork and muttered, “Are you with us yet Maria?”
Blinking several more times she scowled at the man and managed to say, “Oh yeah, I’m here Doc.”
Doctor Anton nodded to someone over her shoulder and she felt strong calloused hands grip her head and pull it back against the board in the back of her chair. She felt more straps being applied and tried futilely to fight against it. Cold plastic pads were then jammed onto her temples. Someone slapped her hard across the face to stop her struggling and applied the rest of the wired pads.
Doctor Anton said, “Well all just want what is the best for you Maria.” After a moment the wheelchair turned toward the wall where a stark white projector screen had been pulled down.
He added coldly, “We are going to show you more images, like last time. We are going to use them to modify your treatment going forward.”
The projector hummed and flickered to life. Her vision began to blur. She tried to make out the image but the more she blinked the more hazy and disjointed it became.
–
A strong hand shook her and she awoke with a start. Medi was looking down at her with concern. She was kneeling next to her cot and had a hand on her shoulder and her forehead. The warrior whispered, “You were talking in your sleep.”
Maria sat up and tried to give a confident smile but it was feeble, “Just a nightmare.”
Medi raised an eyebrow and spoke softly, “The Three say that dreams are gateways to our true desires and fears. Pay heed to them.”
She gave as confident a smile as she could in response and said, “Are we about to leave?”
Medi nodded, her concern still not assuaged. She handed Maria her pack and sighed, “I’ll see you outside. We want to get on the trail before the light touches the forest.”
As the warrior slipped from the room Maria shivered and clasped her shoulders. Her brow furrowed and her visage darkened. That wasn’t real was it? That was a pretty specific nightmare. She shook her head and started to gather her things. Was it possible that someone was fucking with her mind?
It was very possible. Could she trust anything anymore?
She took a breath to steel herself before departing the darkened chamber. Discussions with the D’Vyre were brief. The same elder woman who had healed her the day before practically demanded that Maria take more fruit than she could carry. She chose to acquiesce immediately in memory of her gram who was an atypical Italian in every way except her desire to overfeed every person who set foot in her home.
The two of them traveled a wide route through the ancient forest for the next few days. They trained when they could and Medi told her more and more about the world of Eilyth. She revealed that the Shok were called Blooded, or Noctis Blooded. Myths and legends were somewhat scatter shot with the label for various creatures in the strange world. Her people were very careful with the label but she pointed out that the outsiders sometimes claimed her people were Blooded to lump them in with rampaging monsters like the Shok.
They trained when they could and Medi taught her the nuances of hunting and tracking in the Timber Expanse. Maria’s own knowledge was already extensive after years spent on trips with her dad to hunt and rough it in upstate New York and later in the desert and mountains of Arizona. In return Maria told Medi as much as she could about Earth and her life before she had come to her world. She still restrained herself from admitting that Alora had admitted she was actually some goddess of Earth. She wasn’t sure Medi was ready to hear that.
They sat around a fire the night before their return to the village and Medi narrowed her eyes at her and muttered, “That is a long word for explorer and treasure hunter.”
Maria returned her narrow eyed stare and grumbled, “I’m not looking for treasure. I look for history.”
The warrior tossed a nut into her mouth with her tail and crunched on it as she responded, “That makes no sense. Do you not have wise people to tell your tales?”
She sighed and gestured at her with a spoon, “Yes, we… sort of do. It’s called the internet. Unfortunately, unlike your Three ours is kind of shitty at keeping track of history. In fact, half of everything it says is a lie.”
Medi’s face scrunched up, “Your wise person is terrible. When ours becomes unreliable and dangerous like yours sounds they…”
“Yeah, I know, they set themselves on fire.”
Medi gave a resolute nod as she asked, “What else can you tell me about your world?”
Maria stared into the writhing flames and said, “It's both a lot like this place and completely different. We don’t have artes and tempering. What you would call our magic is just advanced technology. Motorized vehicles that can travel hundreds of miles in a day. Vehicles that can fly through the sky. Instantly shared knowledge that can be spread all over the globe in moments. Weapons of such terrible power that they could wipe out millions of people in moments and yet,” she paused and sighed before saying, “none of that power is an individual’s power. We measure our strength in how many buttons we can push to do our tasks for us and how comfortable we are in comparison to each other. Sometimes we kill each other to prove it.”
Their eyes met and Medi, seemingly unmoved by the proclamation, said, “I can see how our worlds are not so different.”
Maria sighed and shook her head, “Too true.” She prodded the fire and asked, “So, how long have you been training to be a warrior?”
Medi looked up and seemed to consider the question for a time before saying, “My father started training me two years before I got my marks. I believe I was aged four years.”
Maria’s eyes widened and she whistled softly, “That seems young, but I did not grow up among the grath, so maybe I am wrong.”
The warrior shook her head, her fur covered face and prominent tusks illuminated by the orange flames as she said, “Some learn younger but my father was the greatest warrior of a generation.”
Maria asked, “He forced you to learn early?”
Medi shook her head, “I forced him. I wanted so badly to be like him. I followed him from first light to the dwindling and watched every move he made. I lived and dreamed of being a great warrior. I wanted to protect the village from outsiders like my father, and my grandmother.”
Maria studied her features and asked, “What happened?”
Medi looked to her quickly, her eyes rimmed with moisture, and turned back to the fire before saying, “The invaders made an example of my grandmother. She killed twenty of them, but in the end they took her life to prove they were stronger and our people should bow and serve them.”
She rubbed at her eyes and kicked dirt into the fire as she said, “My father was the one who stole the stone. He was strong but not strong enough to return the stone before it left him too sick to move or think. He was a husk.”
Maria moved to sit closer to her and put a comforting arm around her shoulders. She felt the warrior woman’s tail entwine with hers and she spoke up, “I lost my father too. He was a warrior. A good and principled man. I looked up to him my whole life. He taught me everything I know about fighting and hunting. He hoped I would be a warrior like him.” She rubbed the grath’s shoulder as she continued, “But when the time came I decided I couldn’t serve his masters. He believed that he could still change things. He would always say, ‘If the good soldiers quit then all that will be left are the bad ones.’ I just couldn’t believe I would be able to change anything.”
She stared into the fire as tears ran down her cheeks, “When I told him it felt like I was wounding him. I could see the look in his eyes. I thought he was fucking invincible and when I said I didn’t want to be like him it was like I stabbed him.”
She let out a long breath and said, “Then he got sick. We,” she wiped away her tears, “didn’t really clear the air before he passed away. I told him I loved him and he said the same to me, but when I looked in his eyes I still saw a wounded man…”
“I’m sorry I…,” she was cut off as Medi pressed her body to hers. Her lips sought out hers and they kissed with passionate vigor. Before long the two of them fell off the back of the log descending into giggles, those quickly quashed by continued kisses. The night passed between them and for a moment they forgot their own pain.
