Chapter 11
Sadness prevailed over the sleepy village of Mārin, on every corner there were little candles placed in memorium for those that had fallen. Mothers wept salty tears for their sons that would never again return home. Fathers grieved for their Daughters, no longer would they feel their tiny hands pressed into theirs, or the warmth of their cheek as it hugged them gently. Together they huddled in grief like flocks of seagulls that gathered on a playing field and were cooing in despair.

two figures stood lonely in the familiar but quiet corner of the temple square where 12 hours before bodies lied lifeless as they let go Of their cohesion, dispersing Into the ether like dandelion parasols taking flight. Only a scent of petrichor remained as if something had stirred.

The couple went about quietly in grieving, lighting their candle in requiem for their fallen Comrade. De Bieber.

They stood next to the ornate banners that had been made in solidarity and hung vertically from the white flag poles that read “we shall not be cowed.”Adjacent, the national flag of kalithia, stood a prideful reminder of state, which was a full silver moon and a crescent yellow moon entwined on a deep purple background with four stars.

They were merely keeping themselves to themselves.

Recognizing them, a women said in common tongue “ ere it’s them!” Anonymity was a friend sometimes, but it rarely visited these days. Fearing the worst Ūna reached into her cloak searching for her knife. Kay placed his hand on her shoulder stopped her and quietly said “No!” Into her ear as the two of them exchanged looks.

The mob began to encroach “it is I tell you!” Said the old twisted haggard women. As the rest of the masses came and started to menacingly glare at them.

Whispers and murmurs began to rise from the crowd.

“It’s the one who killed the Tai Tsar and that red Witch! “Said the old woman

And in the next breath, something unbelievable happened the women said, “I’d like to shake the hands of the man, and women who saved our lives just yesternight.” As she shook with tearful emotions and kneeled at their feet.
Likay commanded her “get up, my good woman… there’s no thanks expected this day!”

The crowd continued to circle the two cloaked figures, as the many cheered and started to give applause at first a solitary soul was clapping and then it was joined by more applause in harmony as the clapping got more fervent until it was deafening.

———-
Brownie waded through the farmer’s field at the outskirts of the mārin farming district. She didn’t know where she was going, but she was walking directly through the long lavender wheat, it was coarse and stuck to her clothing. Often tugging at her, much to her annoyance. She pulled her cloak around her more tightly to shield her from discomfort. Brownie wasn’t her jolly self; she was too exhausted to cry anymore, as she reflected on the events of the previous night, it was then she felt the voice she recognized in her head as she looked at the giant avian shadow that was cast upon her in the Martian Dawn.
“Where are you going?” Asked Eulin “I hope you’re not going anywhere alone” he paused “without me?” Brownie did not speak, but he could read her emotions. She was exhausted Poor thing.

Come on I know an old woodcutters cabin at the edge of the woods you can rest there you look like you could use a sleep.
————

In the giant Throne room a world away, a solitary figure stood lowly before an enormous window, bathing in the Martian sunlight that shone into the opulent Grand Hall with its portraited walls and its high ceilings held up by ivory pillars.

The descant figure stood a small crown resting upon her head as an usher dressed in lavish robes summoned the attention of the courtesans; Queen Gaudete stood A slender Woman With platinum blonde hair that in sunlight had a blue tinge.

She was expecting a visit from her Pa ’mina Primavera. The judicial authority over magic in the kingdom of Mercia.

The usher announced an arrival as four strong men carried in a veiled sedan with claret curtains. A slender figure inside opened the drapes to reveal a robed figure that was dark and hard to accurately see, indeed he wore a mask as no one for a decade had seen the primavera’s face. He was a nebulous figure, dressed in robes that were bible black, and they did not lighten in the rays of the sun.
“Tell me some good news primavera,” said the queen her yellow ochre eyes squinted as she asked, “is the murderer, dead!”
“I’m afraid not majesty!” He replied in his strange voice. it was the voice of a man, but it had drawl attached to it and harmonically it vibrated like it had some sort of unnatural hum.

“This does not please me Primavera, to think that I should live, whilst my king does not, and his murderer parades about brazenly unpunished!” She said with great disdain.” we all know Treason is punishable by Death!”

“Majesty we are close to the justice you seek, we have yet to endure, and surely it will be!”
He said. A shrewd talker was he, a capable manipulator, her husband was too gullible, with his whoring, and worse in his choice of advisors, he believed the primavera’s prophecies of the 15 days or the advent of darkness caused by Jupiter and Venus. The blood sacrifices that were ensured by the Pa ’minas Bureau to appease the gods was severe and terrible, and it was paid by the winette children, was the cost too high a price to pay she asked herself? Is it any wonder that the grand-marshal would try to rise to supplant him, loyal to the countrymen he swore to protect, oh the irony? Alas Li Kay could not be allowed to live he was just too
Dangerous. Even sophistry, could not stop followers of his uniting behind a banner in his name, he would need to be discredited and executed, to show the people how fallible he was.

“Go and try harder! “she said, “and next time I may not be so lenient with my patience!” She added as she dismissed the black amorphous shape that wore its vestments loosely.

A female figure approached the queen; it was the captain of the queens’ guard, an elite guard served by only women, which made it unique as the rest of the armed forces of Mercia, were made up of entirely men.

Min was perhaps too beautiful to appear like a real soldier, who had fought in the front line, knee deep in mud and entrails. However, she was no youngster. a seasoned accomplished
Fighter and bodyguard. But it was unimportant; the everyday people still wagered who was the better sword in the kingdom, who would win in a Duel, between her and Li kay. Many had differences of opinion about the outcome, but all agreed that perhaps Min was the most skillful of the two, always it was li kays cunning that made it too unpredictable to call.

“your majesty it will not be possible for any of our armies to sally forth, parliamentarian forces are stationed at the borders of Karmarthen province and in kalithia province.”

“And!” Said the Queen.
“I’m sorry majesty, but I..I don’t understand!”
“ min we have been together all our lives, our childhoods in Catalunia …but don’t mistake my kindness for weakness!”

“But majesty, you’re not being rational!”

“Dismissed, captain!”
The woman walked away crushed and defeated.

———

Brownie and Eulin trudged on With heavy hearts through the blue poppy fields; they were freshly mown and far-reaching.In the distance, she could see the canopy of the red trees ever encroaching, as she shielded her eyes from the strong glare of the sun. There were birds and other signs of life, Small stout like creatures that pricked up their ears, whilst the odd-looking couple passed nearby.

In the hedgerow, Brownie could hear the faint bustle of crickets as they made their percussive music.

Eulin was hitching a ride as usual on the little sprites shoulder. Brownie uttered not a word but continued to walk like a dejected thing; it almost seemed as if she was unable too as if the tragedy had overpowered her and had stolen her voice, perhaps it had? Or maybe it had been drowned by the raw untethered emotion that had been discharged.

They walked in silence trailing an invisible banner that signaled despair and flapped in the Birdsong of the peaceful morning. Eventually, Eulin pointed with his long bill and said, “there it is yonder!” as he leaped from her shoulder into
The air, he flew over to the area to ensure it was safe.

Before long they found themselves standing before the woodcutter’s station it looked abandoned, Brownie looked upon the little dwelling “is this the place!” She said in a tiny voice
“ it is safe!” Said Eulin reassuringly.” I promise” exchanging glances Brownie nodded and replied,” I believe you!”

The cozy little cabin was no more than a square pile of black, blue stones that had few windows, a chimney and a roof that was built out of some thatched canes.

It stood at the edge of the woodlands, a memento to older times, a simpler way of coexisting with nature. Like something out of an old folktale, Enjoying a vista of tall wyne trees.

There was, what looked like an old hens craw, which had been transformed into some sort of shed to store wood in and keep it dry, there was also a wood chopping station and a well for drawing water by a pump that looked old.

The cabin had a green door that had black galvanized wrought iron gilding which made it look sturdy, it was stiff and took a few forceful shoves to enter into the cabin. Eventually, it moved slowly as Brownie heaved her entire weight up against it.

The First thing Brownie noticed inside, was there was no electricity, the innards of the cabin were covered in cobwebs, and the smell of spoilt food lingered, she put her index and middle finger under her nostrils to subdue noxious odors.

At her feet, she saw that fine blades of red grass had begun to pierce its way between the seams of grout in the tiled flooring, as the wild began to reclaim its territory.

Following an airing and a brief dusting, all the smells had been chased out; Brownie began to look around with curious eyes.

The interior layout was cozy, a single room that comprised a kitchen, sitting room and sleeping facility’s all in one.

There was some type of graffiti written in ink on the chimney breast of the fireplace; Brownie had no idea what it said, perhaps it was just some type of art mural? Did Martians endow their living spaces with blessings, she asked herself?

A fire was already set, it just needed lighting, and on the mantelpiece, there appeared to be matches and a note of instructions that were also In Meese.

Brownie blew the dust off the matches and drew the lever that opened the flue; she worked out from the handwritten diagrams that was what she was supposed to do.

Striking the first match, she attempted to light the wood and turf that sat on the rough stone hearth. The match burnt itself out as a plume of smoke meandered through the atmosphere, it was too wet, she needed an ignition source. What could she use? She opened her book bag to check if there was anything suitable.

Brownie Inspected the contents; the mysterious key was there, it sparkled in the subdued sunlight inside the cabin that shone through the smeared windows. The little Sprite took it out and placed the ribbon around her neck and tucked it
Underneath her garments,

As she continued to inventories her bag, she found that her Birthday presents were also there, but the Crumpled weathered note was gone, she double checked and then triple checked, but it was definitely lost. She sighed with a heavy heart. The mystery of why she came here to this time and place was even more impossible to answer now?

She took out the gifts, one by one recounting the happy memories she had attached to them. First was the feather, one of Eulin’s tail feathers, she put it in her hair… faithful Eulin, he had never let her down, next was the musical box that Bieber had brought her she opened it, and it played its sad melody once again. Which made her melancholy.

Then there was Kay’s journal; it occurred to her she could use some of the pages as kindling to start the fire, she thought. She opened the book and caressed the pages, the paper was rough and coarse, as if it were homemade .she saw the art, there were etchings of a woman & child about 5 years old at a guess, posing in an entwined portrait, with Ribbons in their hair , perhaps it was Kays wife and Daughter, she thought to herself, both mother and child were very beautiful. The girl looked familiar, was it just a family resemblance, she dismissed it out of hand and put it down to fatigue and being overly tired.

A strange thing …She noticed that a page had been ripped out she ran her finger over the indentations in the paper, she was curious as to what it was. Pulling open the hearth and fetching out the ash pan she took a hand full of soot and rubbed it into the paper; it started to reveal another drawing, it appeared to be a young girl wearing a mask, it fact Brownie recognized it from her dream, an epiphany. Was the girl from her dream and kays daughter one in the same??? What happened to her? Why was he crying that day in the garden, the silk handkerchief it all started to make sense.

Later the twosome settled for the night Brownie was exhausted.

She sat up in bed, and Eulin nestled in the corner of the bedspread, soft rain was falling outside it was refreshing, hearing the pitter patter of the rain on the roof, it helped her to feel comfortable, it helped her sleep.

“You don’t really talk in your sleep, do you?” she asked Eulin “because that would be weird!”
She tied her hair up in ponytail
Eulin shook his head. She finally put the black
Knife Vixen under her mattress,
“ I wonder where they are?”
“Who!”
“kay & Bieber!”
Eulin spoke, “sad to say Bieber is now passed – she’s free !”
“I hope so!” She paused for a moment “free I mean!”
“ kay is fine -you shouldn’t worry about him!”
“I know more lives than a cat!”
“ Eulin!” She said on a cryptic note “thank you!” She wanted to add something but just said
“Goodnight!” Instead
As she turned over and closed her eyes, she wondered what the mural said, it was six words, A house is a home!” She thought not, as she slipped into unconsciousness.

Perhaps it was better not to know that it said, “beware A Wyrzel Walks these woods!”

————

They stood at the entrance to the villa.

It was a fine autumn morning, and the sun shone its nurturing rays down through the tall wyne trees onto the red lawn of the garden.

The snowberries were late this season, such a little detail, a subtle way of distraction, but a good grounding in the small print of the broader brushstrokes of country life.

A party of two stood in the center of the courtyard; it had the look of going away, saying farewell, in the otherwise picturesque scene that wouldn’t be out of place on a greeting card.

The male figure spoke, “ my I didn’t recognize you with your clothes on!” The woman cringed “I mean sorry, in your dress!” He took a deep breath “I mean looking like that!”
The woman wore a dress for the first time, the kind of elegant dress that was befitting of such a red jewel.
With a sash that signified, that she was of some importance.

Now duty had been served it was time for ūna and kay to part ways. It seemed an age away from Tempest retreats, and somehow everything looked, at last, to be coming full circle. The birds had congregated on the garden wall. It appeared today that their song was different as if their brother had gone and the symphony was lacking without him.

However, For the first time in over a decade, kay felt … free …it was something he had longed for, but now he had it, he felt a great sense of anti-climax. He’d been so long indoctrinated in so many different systems; Kay was left to wonder what his purpose was anymore, perhaps he would go traveling he thought see the city of Florence one last time.

“It’s been!” Ūna paused trying to find the right words,” it’s ok!” Kay uttered knowing that she could not. “it’s a shame, I couldn’t have had more time with the Sprite!”
“Yes indeed, she was a rare treasure” Kay responded, “I even began to think about her like a!?” He felt the words bulge in his throat. He knew what he wanted to say but there was something in the way pushing back, ūna raised her eyebrows, and continued her deliberation wearing her metaphorical Pa ‘mina hat, “I looked over her room, there was nothing to prove that she was ever here, but!” She hesitated,” there was this one thing!?” She held a crumpled piece of parchment in her hand, it was neatly folded, and she held it between her index and middle finger, as she
Passed it over to kay. The smell of her perfume wafted, it was pleasant and agreeable. The small note was a list of names, six names at the top it read Li Kay . There was other writing, the like that kay had never laid eyes on before it was angular and written horizontally, was it read left to right he wondered?

“Be careful; it could be an assassins list!” He nodded,
She reached into a cloth satchel that was hitched over her left shoulder and ran left to right.

Opening the flap she took out a small black doll that was made from what looked like leather rags, it was an effigy. “isn’t that illegal” Kay asked? She looked at him with piercing eyes and a hint of a dirty smile “not when it’s for self-defense, well, maybe!!! Just a little!” As she signaled how little it would be with her thumb and index finger.

They stood there in silence as they looked across the short distance at one another, space, invisible, it moved and buckled and was filled with energy, that was ever perpetuating.

“the doll is made of some of the materials I found at Biebers murder scene! “She said as the wind ruffled her scarlet hair.

“ a nasty business!” He said as he controlled his emotions, in truth he was frightened too, secretly he felt the rage, and it burned him inside like a fierce inferno that was born in hell itself.

A young gentleman approached the iron gates of the villa, he was a scrawny lad, he stood in the shadow cast by the gates, in his hand he had a scroll, he said, “ excuse me sir, Pa ‘ mina, but both of your presences has been requested by the mayor !”

The young man was no more than 22 seasons of age, he wore the clothes of a young diplomat, but the lilt of his voice seemed to suggest that he was indeed a commoner.

he looked through the railings of the tall gates like he was a convict.
Kay placed his palm on his chest and asked, “my presence ??????” Looking shocked.
The young herald looked at his papers “Y… Yes, sir! It says Li kay & L. Li ūna !!!” He stuttered.
ūna replied, “I am, paschėlle ūna!” The messenger replied, “oh I’m sorry it must have been a clerical mistake. “

“Anyway, you’re to come right away to the mayor’s mansion!”

The mayoral mansion was bustling with delegates.

Inside people socialized …important people, experts in every field. Opinionated members of the aristocracy, some served a purpose, some were merely born into privilege.

Outside people relished at the statues that stood stately in the grounds. It showed virgins in silk flowing garments blowing into long trumpets as they raised a flag attached to a lance.

Inside There were handmaidens in court fashion; some were waiting on the guests, others were lounging on the furniture frivolously flirting. They were young adolescents eager and enthusiastic to fulfill the desires of the guests, they wore the latest fabrics all the way from Catalunia, there were succulent delicacy’s from the furthest reaches of Georgia, it was opulence and extravagance, and it was absolutely sickening.

The young man escorted them to a stateroom it was filled up with people sitting around sipping moonflower cider, from tall flutes.

The mayor sat at the head of the table. He began to speak to the congregation.He was a short man with blue hair, not the kind of blue that was sincere, but a fake blue that seemed to be the latest fashion, perhaps it was to show his public that he was progressive and had his finger on the pulse, He wore a singular lens over his left eye. His eyes were bright and amber coloured.

He began “I have gathered you here because we shall all have to help if we are to live through this current crisis!”

He called to the young herald “vee vee; please take the minutes!”

A slender gentleman who looked a bit fishlike spoke, “There is only one course of action left to us!” As he clutched his lapels, the mayor pointed at him and said, “you have the floor, sir!” As he nodded for the hearing to commence.

The man thanked the mayor he spoke: “it’s clear, that our enemies will return, and when they do, they’ll target our young, and old… we have to evacuate our people!” There were Yells of here, here. And tuts of disagreement

Kay was sitting listening as he sat low on his chair with his boots resting on the drawing room table …
And his fingers spread as if he were in pensive contemplation.
One of the men looked at kay his face was really red, and seemed to be getting redder and redder, angry he looked like he’d been drinking hot sauce “ it’s true about what they say about you, your mad, bad and very dangerous to know!”.

The mayor interjected, “ Err I have asked Li kay to be here, he has a certain expertise on these matters!”

Interruptions seemed to be all the rage
Before anyone could answer or speak the mob heckled or shouted down as frustration threatened to spill over.
Another man spoke, “ evacuation is not the answer!” We have to fortify the village!”

Ūna looked bored stiff she even looked like she might have been nodding off, the bickering continued as to what they should do “we should stay, and fight said one!” “We should run and live to fight another day said another!”

A man stood up and was rowing “what do you propose to do he said to the panel of people that seemed to have question after question but no answers, “how can we hold the village!”

Likay was sitting studying the names on Brownies list when he began to speak “I could!” He said without making eye contact

“ don’t be silly they have a whole garrison!” Said one of the men !”

“Oh, they have more than that!” Replied the grand marshal “but I could hold this place, with six good soldiers .”

There was an audible gasp, the people in the crowd were stunned by kays statement.

The crowd began to belittle him.
But he continued “you have little other choice, cut down on the road, or stay and get cut down here!” He paused “or buy me some time and …!” He looked at the note reading the names” allow me to bring in my people! You’ve got nothing to lose!”

After the meeting had concluded, ūna sat with Kay drinking fine liquors, “so!” she said “the note it’s a list of people that you know ??”

“Yes, !” he replied, “some won’t be easy to get, I’ll have to get the big moor first …tum jai, the others they’ve scattered I heard, but I think we can find them!” She looked down the list of names she read Li Min “isn’t that your x wife, how on earth, do you even propose to talk to her?” She asked earnestly?

kay took out the silk handkerchief that was tucked into his sash belt “he looked at it and said, “I think there is a way of speaking to her!”

“ well,” she said slightly Intoxicated “you’re a braver man than me!” She giggled

Ūna took a big sip “you’ll have to visit me sometime, and tell me how it goes, at witchaven !”
She took another sip of dandelion wine, it tasted delectable, “why!” Asked kay “yours is the last name on the list Li ūna.”

She spat out her drink in shock.

End of act 1.