Viggo took my hand, glowing eyes locked on mine. “No one will die tonight.” He leaned in to brush my cheek with a kiss. “I give you my word.” Then he was gone.
I bit my lip, fear and anxiety frothing within. “Damn him!” I hurried back to the king’s table, wishing Viggo could hear my thoughts as well as everything else. Please, be careful.
I arrived in time to witness Torvald and Kalea ascending the stage. The people stopped whatever they were doing to applaud the royal couple. To their credit, they did a marvelous job promoting that all was well. Kalea stood by her husband, aiming a proud and enamored smile his way. The king peeked at her out of the corner of his eye, a little shy but seemingly happy to be beside her, as he pulled out a roll of parchment from his pocket. The guards stood behind, before, and at either end of the stage, as they had been instructed. I walked around the royal table and made my way through the first few rows of people.
“Good evening, my fellow Holgarians,” the king said. “Welcome to the island’s five hundred and second anniversary!”
More cheers. More applause. I found a spot that gave me a good view of the stage and stayed there to clap.
Torvald held his hand up for silence and received it. “It has been an honor and a joy to grow along with you on our great island. Though Holger has struggled in years past, it thrives today thanks to the efforts of our warriors, our counselors, and you, the people willing to do whatever is necessary to better your community.”
“Let’s not forget our ever humble and caring king,” Kalea chimed in, roping an arm through her husband’s.
The throng cheered again. Torvald smiled, clearly embarrassed. I clapped and lazily ventured across the second row to a new vantage point. All the while, I cast an eye out to the crowds, the buildings surrounding the square, the guards holding their positions. Looking for anything out of the ordinary. Hoping to catch a glimpse of Viggo dragging Rakim out of the square.
“Thank you, my dear,” the king said before returning to his notes. “Tonight we celebrate more than another year since the island’s discovery. We celebrate each other and the accomplishments we’ve made.” There was only the slightest hesitation before he continued. “We celebrate the progress we’ve made overseas, and the hope it brings to future generations. We celebrate the restoration of the southern section, the lumber deliveries, and the new wood-burning stoves installed in each home. We celebrate the advancement of science and technology, and the new doctors graduating from Ishem’s School of Science. We celebrate the new blessings from Dotharr in his anointed warriors.”
Sparse applause followed. I moved onto a third position near the right side of the stage, casually looking over my shoulder at the people and, once again, the buildings. This time, I did see something out of the ordinary. An open window allowed curtains to flutter out in the frigid breeze on the third story of a nearby building. I stepped back, hoping to get a glimpse of whoever was inside. Why would they want to let in the freezing cold air? Why wouldn’t they join the festivities if they lived so close to the square?
I continued in my backwards walk while the king’s speech persisted, my curiosity growing. Inside the room, two people struggled with something that looked suspiciously like a bow. I didn’t think. I ran, shoving people aside.
A shout drew eyes to the building in time to see a body fall from the window. I skidded to a halt, heart stopping for a moment as the body of a man twisted end over end and landed on the cobblestones with a sickening thud.
Panic ensued.
Screams filled the air.
Several ladies to my right fainted.
My blood roared in my ears. It hadn’t been Viggo; the hair on the falling man hadn’t been dark enough. If it wasn’t Viggo, then who could it be? A horde of people crowded around the body before I could reach it. A sudden thought hit me like a thunderclap. No bow had fallen with the body. I looked up at the open window while the people ran in all directions in search of safety. I couldn’t make out the face of the man inside, but I could see the new direction in which his arrow was facing.
I ran for the stage, screaming, “Torvald! Run!”
The king didn’t hesitate to grab his wife and heave her to the back end of the stage. The guards saw the royal couple bolt and dashed after them. The arrow soared over the square and sank through the short curtain adorning the stage. The stage burst into a ball of fire before my eyes. I barely had time to shield my face before the heat and force of the explosion reached me, catapulting me back into the swarms of people.
Sylvi trotted beside me on her chestnut brown horse, anxiously gripping the reins and eyeing the ground below. “Are you sure this is safe, Asta? Oh, whoever thought of riding sidesaddle was an imbecile! I just know I’m going to lose my balance atop this beast and fall.”
“That will be all, Asta,” the general said lazily.
My father laughed his big belly laugh and lifted me up from the ground. “A lady playing in the mud? Your mother will have a fit! Oh, that will be a fun spectacle.” He whisked his little girl into the house, calling, “Auden, my sweet, just look at what Asta has done!”
“There,” my mother said, placing a pearl tiara on the top of my head. “Now you’re perfect.” She smiled at me through the mirror, looking like a queen with her fancy up-do and her diamonds. “Happy birthday, dear.”
“That will be all, Asta,” I whispered to myself in the darkness.
“It was a good book you were reading yesterday,” Kustaav said in his soft, level voice. “I’m sorry if I’m being too forward, but I couldn’t help noticing you in the yard. Not many girls your age like to read, especially historic pieces. It’s something to be admired.”
“Good morning, Miss Asta,” Fiske said with a quick smile and a wink. “You’re looking lovely as ever. Where are you off to today?”
“Asta!” Irma called, abandoning her other friends to race toward me, beaming. “There you are! Are you still coming over to my house for evening tea?”
The sun set over a sea of yellow wheat, swaying in the gentle summer breeze. A girl in a school uniform with her hair in a mess and no shoes on her feet sat in her favorite perch. She plucked a red-gold apple from the branch just above her and took a bite as she watched the sky change colors. There she was hidden. There she was safe. There she could watch the beautiful world around her and be satisfied… for a moment.
A ball of fire burst into being. My beautiful Kenshore burned before my very eyes. Suddenly, I was lost in the crowd, frantically wrestling against people seeking refuge. I caught sight of my family’s carriage, being raided by men with glowing copper eyes. I screamed.
“Will you do me a favor?” the general asked, his voice snaking around my head.
“Will you do me a favor?” I snapped.
The sound of an arrow being released sliced through the air.
I peeled my eyes open. My skin felt leathery, and tight, as if it were stretched over something far too large. My hands were blistered and uncomfortably hot. When I raised them to my face, I saw they were wrapped in bloodstained cloth. I tried to sit up, but every muscle in my body protested. My head pounded to the beat of a wild song. I could only take shallow breaths because of the pain in my chest. I looked around to see I was in a small room with only the bed I laid in and two stools to fill it.