Tales of Cadence/Chapter V

Elsynne felt her heart stop. “Raven...left? You mean...”

Skylar nodded gravely. “I went out to the town and looked for him, and when I couldn’t find him I decided to ask the guards if they had seen him. They said they saw a kid fitting his description leaving very early this morning, long before the sun had risen.”

Elsynne sat down, feeling as if someone had punched her in the stomach. “I thought he would wait for us... But he lied, didn’t he?”

“He wasn’t very subtle yesterday.” Skylar pointed out. “He went to sleep earlier so he could leave long before we were awake.”

“I should have stopped him.”

“It couldn’t be helped. I took it all with a grain of salt because I thought he just wanted time to brood by himself, but...”

Elsynne tightened her fists and stood up. “Raven was going to Itona, wasn’t he? I’m going to go there and look for him.”

Skylar raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? Do you even know the way?”

“If I follow the main road, I can get to Adair, right? And after that-“

“Don’t forget about the monsters and dragonlings. They’ll prove to be a problem as well.”

She lowered her head. “That’s right, I forgot...” She stopped, trailing off for a moment. “But I still have to try.”

“Why are you so bent on finding him?” Skylar asked, tilting his head to the side. “What sort of connection do you to have?”

Elsynne looked at him warily. His question was offhand and casual, as if he honestly didn’t care at all.

“Well, Elsynne?” he prodded her again.

“I just have to find him,” she replied, deftly avoiding his question. “But Skylar... I have a feeling you already know, don’t you...?”

He smiled. “Maybe I do.”

Raven felt as if he had been running for ages, but refused to allow himself to stop for even a short break. He had finally escaped from both Elsynne and Skylar the day before and had not stopped even in Adair. He knew that the others didn’t know about his shortcut to Itona...yet. He prayed that he would be long gone before they found out.

Elsynne’s revelation had unexpectedly shaken him, along with Skylar’s constantly bipolar personality. He had a feeling that both of them were hiding something – perhaps not deep, sinister secrets, but secrets deep-rooted enough to get not only them in trouble, but him as well.

What was Elsynne searching for that could ‘save her life’? And more importantly, what exactly was threatening her?

*‘The dragonlings,’* he decided. He knew that the race of artificial hybrids were capable of killing humans with ease, but they seldom traveled in packs and only confronted a group of humans if they were being threatened. He convinced himself that the dragonlings wouldn’t have attacked them if Elsynne hadn’t been there.

And, in turn, they would not have met Skylar, the Keeper. Raven felt his stomach clench uncomfortably every time he thought about the elf.

Elves very rarely left their clans and the southern half of Austror, so why was Skylar out on the human’s half? Was it simply because he was having a ‘training session’ with Glacier?

Raven’s mind began to spin as he ran over every single possibility in his mind. It could all be true, but then again, everything could be a coincidence.

Everything had happened purely by chance; if someone else had found Elsynne on the road, she would be following them. If the dragonlings had encountered another group out on the plains, they would have attacked them, too. So, Skylar had a personality issue and spoke with enormous beasts; it could have been anyone, right?

Raven wasn’t so sure.

He promised himself that he wouldn’t stop in his flight until he finally reached the kingdom of Itona, which was beginning to look more and more like a haven with each passing moment.

The days passed slowly, and the air began to thicken with frost. There were no trees on the open plains that could help Raven discern if a new season was truly approaching; he wouldn’t know until he was back in civilization. Almost every day he ran into several groups of monsters – nothing major or terribly difficult to fend off, to his relief – and at night, when the sun had disappeared, he caught glimpses of dragonling packs running across the plains.

No doubt searching for Elsynne, he decided, crouching lower as the scattered groups ran in the direction of Adair and Birchmoor. He had not seen either Elsynne or Skylar on the entire journey; he had expected them to catch him before he even made it halfway to the kingdom.

As he drew closer to his goal, the packs thinned out until he couldn’t see anymore dragonlings. Although the threat was gone, he still wondered what all of them were doing on Austror.

 And finally, after what felt like weeks of constant running, he made it to Itona. The city was completely surrounded by thick, white stone walls topped by watchtowers. Even on the other side of the fortress-like walls, Raven could see the rooftops of buildings and houses. If he tilted his head back at the right angle, he could make out the spires of the castle in the distance, in the northern district of the city.

*‘My own personal hell on earth,’* he mused as he passed the massive city gates. The gates were only drawn in the daytime, allowing tourists and citizens to pass with ease. At night, the iron gates closed and were heavily guarded by the soldiers from the castle.

Unlike Estershore, the streets of Itona were narrow and felt more like alleys because of the towering buildings. Between the streets were plazas that led into the four respective districts; north, east, south, and west. People frequently found themselves lost in the labyrinth-like streets and often wandered until they worked up the nerve to ask a guard for directions.

Raven, however, moved through the sprawling city with ease. Even after having been gone for three years, the layout of his old home had been embedded into his mind like a hot brand on skin. It was second nature to him by now.

The plaza leading into the northern district’s streets was always crowded because it functioned as the heart of the city. The people of each district seemed to mix together; the merchants from west, the tourists and middle-class citizens from the south, the lower-class citizens from the east, and the wealthy upper-class and nobles from the north. Here, the boundary line between classes seemed to melt as each citizen spoke freely with one another.

A massive fountain in the middle of the plaza acted as a meeting place for many people in Itona. As Raven leaned against the cool stone fountain, he saw several couples greet each other and move away in larger groups. His entire body felt tense as his eyes swept over the crowded plaza; he recognized a few people, but fortunately, none recognized him.

“...Edward.”

Raven instinctively felt his fist clench; he had thought too soon. He turned and saw a young noble standing nearby, one hand touching the hilt of the magnificent, elaborately decorated sword at his waist. His dark, feathery hair fell neatly around his serious, cold eyes. The noble wore a tunic bearing the crest of the royal family; a blade surrounded by vines of thorns. Raven instantly recognized it as the Sendemere crest, a symbol he had bore for almost fifteen years.

“I’m not here to bargain with you, Lukas,” Raven said testily, “I came here on a job request from the royal guard.”

“I know. I was the one who sent the summons to Joseph. I specifically asked that he send you, but be discreet about it.”

Raven narrowed his eyes. Had Joseph truly believed that he had been summoned to Itona by his older brother to make amends?

“Please, Edward-“

“Don’t call me that!”

“...Raven,” Lukas amended before continuing, “our parents want to speak with you but have not been able to find you for three years.”

“I don’t care.”

“I know you don’t, but it’s crucial,” his brother insisted, his tone almost pleading. “What happened three years ago was just an accident. We know enough about the situation now that it can be fully explained to you.”

Raven flinched inwardly and glared. “That doesn’t matter to me anymore.”

“If it doesn’t, then why do you keep avoiding Itona? And your family?”

Raven fell silent and avoided his brother’s gaze.

“Don’t you want to understand what happened that day?”

“No. It’s part of the past, and I don’t want to remember it,” Raven replied bitterly. “Why do you keep bringing it up?! It’s not important how it happened, but rather the fact that it did happen!”

Lukas frowned. “You’re wrong. If you completely understood what took place that day, you would know why we need you to come home.”

“No.”

“Please, just come back to the castle with me to speak with Father...and Mother. They have been eager to see you again.”

“If I come just to speak with them, they’ll get me to rejoin the courts, won’t they?

This time, Lukas was silent and kept his gaze carefully neutral. That was all the confirmation that Raven needed.

“I’m not going.”

“Edward, this is important.”

“I don’t care, I’m not going!”

Lukas sighed and turned to the crowd, motioning towards a group of soldiers. They approached them without speaking.

“If you insist on being this way, then I can have you arrested and taken to our parents,” he said.

Raven tensed and smirked, hoping his charade was enough to convince his brother that he wasn’t afraid. “I’d like to see you try.”

Lukas turned back to the guards, and in that moment, Raven took off into the crowd. He pushed his way through the thick groups of people, his heart racing as he heard the sound of metal armor clanking behind him. The royal guard was right behind him, following him as he made his escape.

The thin, ill-kept road into the east district was unoccupied. Raven ran into the narrow alley-like street, pushing past the few people that he encountered there. He had gotten a fairly safe distance from the guards; the sounds of their armor were fading, and the throngs of people were hopefully slowing them down.

Raven navigated awkwardly through the streets, silently cursing himself for having chosen to escape into a district he was unfamiliar with. The nobles very rarely traveled into the eastern district because it was where the lower class lived; Raven had been one of the many that had never been there before.

A few small children watched in confusion as he raced by, searching in vain for a safe place that he could hide in until the guards and his brother gave up the search. Finally, he managed to locate a tall, seemingly abandoned theatre in one of the deepest corners of the district.

Raven slipped into the quiet building, looking back to make sure the guards hadn’t pursued him. He looked up the alley, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw that none had followed him.

“I may climb perhaps to no great heights, but I will climb alone.”

Raven nearly let out a yelp; he didn’t know anyone else was in the building. He quickly ran the length of the dark, cobwebbed hallway and found himself in a shabby, dimly lit theatre. Paint was peeling from the walls, and the wooden stage itself seemed to be sagging. Two girls stood onstage, reciting lines from yellowed scripts. A group of costumed women sat in the tattered red seats, watching the rehearsal with mild interest. Raven slipped into one of the rickety chairs in the back of the room and reclined, taking care not to let the women below notice him.

“Uhm...” One of the performers – from Raven’s vantage point, she looked like a teenage girl wearing a wide-rimmed crimson hat and ornate outfit – fumbled uselessly through the script. “Uh, perish the Universe, provided I have my revenge...”

The other girl shook her head. “Wrong line, Felix. Try again.”

“I-I am going to be a storm-a flame-“

“Still wrong.”

Raven rolled his eyes and snickered. ‘Wow, she’s horrible...’

“Uhm...what page are we on, again?”

The woman crumpled up her script and tossed it into the audience. “I’ve had it! Felix doesn’t have a clue!”

One of the women in the audience sighed. “Give him a break, he’s just a kid.”

Raven choked on laughter and nearly fell from the seat. *‘Wait...that’s a boy?!’*

 Felix laughed nervously and pulled at the feather on his wide-rimmed hat. “I’m sorry... Please, let me give it another try! I know I can get it right!”

The girl onstage huffed and picked up her script. “Fine, then. Get it right this time!”

“I’m not used to playing a male lead... You usually make me one of the girls...”

Again, Raven fought hard to suppress a laugh.

Felix quickly flipped through his script, cleared his throat, and began to recite. “To defend thine family, thine sword I take-“

“ARGH!” the girl furiously shook her head and pulled at her short hair. “I give up! You can’t act!”

He gave her a sheepish smile. “Uhm... ‘I defend thine...’ No, that’s not right. Eheh, I’m not so good at performing, but it’s something I’d like to be good at...one day. I hope...”

The girls watching crooned, “Oh, he’s so cute when he smiles like that...”

Raven couldn’t help it anymore. He doubled over, clutching his stomach as he laughed. The women and girls turned around, their faces etched with surprise as they saw him kneeling on the floor, still laughing uncontrollably.

Then, all at once the theatre broke out into an uproar of yells.

“What’s that *boy* like that doing here?!”

“What’s he laughing at?”

“How’d he get in here!”

The banter continued until the theatre group’s leader stood and clapped her hands together loudly. “Girls!”

They instantly quieted, but continued to send Raven dark glances as he rubbed tears from his eyes.

“You there, kid. What are you doing in a place like this?”

Raven pushed himself up, supporting his weight by leaning against the back of a seat. “I was...trying to get away from someone.”

The woman arched an eyebrow. “The royal guard?”

“More or less.”

Felix jumped off the stage. “Why’re you running from the guard? Are you a criminal?”

Raven nervously pulled at a lock of his black hair. “Not per se... Well... No.”

“Then why else would they be after you...?”

“Long story.”

One of the girls waved her hand. “Well, whatever. Just get out of here, we’re trying to rehearse our play.”

“Rehearse a play? Looked more like a clown act to me...”

“You little brat!”

Felix smiled coyly, placing a hand on the hilt of the decorative rapier at his waist. “Sounds like fun, being chased around...”

“Yeah, well, it’s not. Go back to your ‘rehearsal’, I’ll just hang out in here, if you don’t mind,” Raven replied as he sank back into the chair.

“You can’t just waltz in here and expect to hide out! We won’t be held responsible if you’re caught!” the girls protested.

“The guards could be here any minute!” another said, groaning.

“Aw, let him stay for a while, Celine. The guards never come in here. No one really takes an interest in our theatre...” Felix insisted. The girls melted again as he smiled.

Raven put his hand to his forehead. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take...”

Celine put a finger to her chin and circled around Raven, giving him a once-over before nodding in satisfaction.

“Well, he could never pass for a woman,” she decided, smiling as the girls giggled. “But he would make a handsome prince, wouldn’t he?”

Raven winced, wondering if her guess was mere coincidence. Celine leaned forward and whispered, “Don’t worry.”

“Worry about what?” he asked as she drew back.

Celine winked and motioned to Felix. “Bring out a few costumes, won’t you? We’ll give these soldiers a show they won’t soon forget!”

Raven felt a sinking feeling in his stomach as Felix nodded enthusiastically and jumped onstage, tripping and falling as his foot caught on a loose floorboard. He knew this wasn’t going to end well at all.