Summary;
A noble, Sierra, finds herself as an escaped slave and mixing with the lower class of Arrenai after her hometown Otorro is downed in a brief feud with neighbouring land Shadur. As she struggles to find sense of the madness ensuing, another threat looms on the horizon as Arrenai and Shadur battle it out for supremacy and power - something which makes the lands petty troubles of war and peace pale in significance. Can the world work together to meet this threat, or will they turn on each other like they have for years?
The summary is a bit loose at the moment as I haven't exactly mapped out all the possible turning points of this story. I also know I need to edit this a lot, but I'm just releasing the rough drafts first in case any one wants a read xD Constructive criticism is appreciated.
The sun was setting as Sierra left Kevin at the entrance to the underground. He looked at her, grinning. Sierra questioned him with his eyes, then groaned when he brought out two slightly melted sweets. “Brian told you no stealing, Kevin,” she warned him, but took a sweet out of his hand. He shrugged. “It was easy, and I wanted to thank you again. We got into a few scrapes today didn’t we?” he opened his sweet and put it in his mouth, savouring the lemony flavour. Sierra snorted. “You can say that again. Next time, we’ll have to be more careful. I wonder if Brian knows about our encounter with the wolves…” she trailed off, frowning. Kevin straightened. “If he does I’ll just tell him we were minding our own business. I’ll think of something.” Sierra laughed then. “I know Kev. You’d better go now, you want me to walk you to Brian’s room?” she asked him. Kevin shrugged. “I’ll be ok, really. See you around sometime!” he briefly grasped her hand before going inside the passage. Sierra sighed and left the building, and started to walk back to the alehouse. She wondered if the man who had saved them would be there again tonight. She smiled to herself as she wondered how Edward or Rachael would react. The familiar sight of the alehouse quickened her step.
Entering the alehouse, it was crowded as usual and already full of drunk laughter. She pushed her way to the counter at the back, seeing Rachael busy serving a customer. Glancing at Edward, he too was busy gambling away money with a few men at a table by the fire. Not wanting to disturb either of them, Sierra grabbed a mug of ale from the counter and took a long sip, then looked around the room.
It was full alright, and everyone seemed to be having a good time. Sierra fiddled around with her shawl before turning around again. “Looking for someone?” a voice said beside her. She turned, and did a double take as she realized it was the man she and Kevin had encountered earlier in the day, and the same man that everyone had been gossiping about. He was now sitting next to her, with a mug of ale in his hand. “Well, yes, but they’re kind of busy at the moment,” she admitted, glancing at the man, then her mug. He had taken off his cloak, and she could see him clearly now. Definitely not from Arrenai, she thought. “Ah.” Was all he replied in return, and they both drank in silence for a few minutes. Sierra decided to break the silence by saying “You’re not from Arrenai are you?” It was the only thing she could think of saying, but realized he must have been asked that more than a dozen times now. It was also such an obvious question; she couldn’t help feeling like an idiot for saying something so senseless. The man seemed amused though, and a faint smile touched his lips.
“I guess it must be the clothes huh?” Sierra smothered a laugh when he said that. “I am from Tamalin, just west of Arrenai, past the mountains.” He said, confirming Rachael’s suspicion. “What’s a Tamalese like you doing in Arrenai?” Sierra questioned, increasingly curious. The man shrugged. “Just decided to have a look what’s over here.” He took a sip of ale and set the mug down again. Sierra furrowed her brow. “Well it’s an awful long way to travel, especially over the mountains!” she looked at him and narrowed her eyes. The man turned and met hers, and suddenly broke into a smile. “Well, I guess if you must know, I’m doing a bit of business with the smugglers. You must know of them” he remarked, and turned back to his drink. Sierra nodded slowly, taking it all in. “What is your business with them, if you don’t mind me asking?” she asked.
“Nothing you’d be interested in.” he glanced at her then looked away. Sierra took that as a ‘mind your own business’ reply. “Sorry.” She muttered, knowing well most trades done underground were secret. The man smiled wryly, then asked suddenly “I’m sorry, my manners seems to have escaped me. What is your name?” Sierra stared at him and said finally “Sierra. Yours?” He nodded. “Gareth. It is an honour,” he said, and rose to his feet. Sierra was still trying to take the moment all in. She couldn’t believe someone was talking to her – a slum dweller of all people, and asking her name! She sat, glued to her seat while he drained the ale from his mug. “I’ve actually been looking for someone to show me around the city. I’m interested in the going ons here and wondered if maybe you might like to show me? A person like you would know this place better than any one else, especially if I’m doing business with the smugglers.” He said, still standing. He was looking at her intently, waiting for her answer. Sierra struggled to grapple what he had just asked her. “I’d take it as payment for saving you and your friend earlier,” he joked, half laughing. Sierra looked at him and nodded slowly. “Ok...I guess I could show you. But it depends what you would like to see,” she said, questioning him. He shrugged. “Wherever you can take me. I would appreciate it a lot. As I said before, I’m interested in what’s happening here, not just in the upper classes.” He looked at her again. “I appreciate this Sierra. Maybe we can start our tour tomorrow?” He grinned and Sierra nodded again. “Alright then, well I’d better get some sleep. It was nice talking to you, Sierra.” He bowed his head slightly and walked towards the door at the side of the room. Sierra could only stare back in disbelief.
As soon as he had gone upstairs for the night, Edward slapped Sierra on the back and jumped into the seat beside her, his eyes laughing. “Gods Sierra, of all the people who you could talk to here, its him,” he jerked his thumb in the direction of the door. Sierra laughed at his merriment. “His name is Gareth, apparently. He actually saved me and Kevin today from the wolves,” she explained. Edward looked at her sharply. “What were you doing there?” he demanded, with an edge in his voice. Sierra looked away, unable to hold his fierce stare. “We just wandered around and got lost…anyway he saved us from these three men and brought us back to the marketplace.”
“I see…and what was he doing there?” Sierra shrugged. “I don’t know, I didn’t ask. I was just grateful he as there at the right time,” she joked. Edward looked at her, his face still serious. “Be careful next time Sierra! No one’s always going to be around to save you,” he said, sounding annoyed. Sierra sighed. “Well I’m ok now aren’t I!? I’ll be careful next time, I promise.” She looked at her half empty mug. Edward stared at her, this time a slight amusement in his voice. “So what were you doing talking to him then?” Sierra smiled. “He wants me to show him around the city from the ‘eyes of a lower class subject like me’.” Edward let out a laugh as Sierra continued. “He’s from Tamalin and apparently is doing business with the smugglers. He wants to get to know the place better I suppose. Maybe he’s planning on doing business with them frequently?” she pondered this, swirling the contents of her mug on the table. Edward considered this, his right eyebrow raised. “Tamalin eh? That’s quite far away isn’t it? I doubt he would be doing business with them frequently unless he’s planning on moving here or something!” he laughed again, considering the possibility. “And why would he come here particularly to trade with the smugglers? It must be something important,” he stated at last, going over the facts in his head. Sierra shrugged. “Well I don’t know. It’s his business. I should get some sleep…Goodnight Edward,” she said, rising from the chair. He nodded. “Sleep well Sierra,” he said, smiling. She turned and made her way to the door, not seeing Edward’s deep frown of thought as he sat back down, pondering what he had just learnt about the man named Gareth.
V.
Sierra awoke the next morning, eager to learn more about Gareth. She had gone over where she would take him that day last night, and wondered what he really wanted to know about Arrenai. Going downstairs, she found Rachael already in the alehouse, wiping dishes and chattering to a man wearing a black cloak and familiar red sash. Rachael was smiling endlessly, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him. Sierra coughed and the two turned to see her walk into the room. “Good morning Sierra,” Gareth smiled at her. Rachael stared at her. “Morning, Gareth, Rachael,” she replied back, feeling a bit out of place. “You two have met?” she asked, slightly thrown off. Sierra nodded and Gareth laughed softly. “Yes, I got her out of a little situation yesterday. Are you ready to go Sierra?” he questioned, looking at her. Sierra nodded and headed for the door. Rachael stared at them as they both made the way for the door. “It was nice meeting you Rachael,” he smiled at her warmly before holding the door open for Sierra. Sierra smothered a laugh as she saw Rachael’s jaw agape.
Gareth walked beside her, and dug in his pockets for some money. “Want something to eat first, Sierra?” Sierra looked up at him, and nodded. “We can get food at the market down there.” As they made their way down to the stalls, they realized they hadn’t started as early as they thought. Already people were shopping around, and most stalls were already open. Stopping by a stall, Gareth bought two fresh sweet buns which Sierra savoured in her mouth. “Thank you for the food,” Sierra said suddenly, half way through eating her bun. “My manners seem to have escaped me as well,” she half joked. Gareth let out a small chuckle. “Well I appreciate you showing me around. I didn’t think you would accept,” he said, finishing his bun. “Why is that?” she asked, gulping down the last bite of her food. He shrugged. “I thought you might have been a bit, well, suspicious of me.” He eyed her carefully, as if hinting for her to say something back. Sierra looked down, but decided not to say anything. “Shall we start the tour?” she said brightly.
Walking through the maze of streets outside the market square was somewhat more complicated than getting there. At every corner there were twists and turns that took a good memory to remember. Sierra brought Gareth around the Northern, Eastern and Western part of Arrenai – where most of the slum dwellers lived. The gangs in the east and west had made a truce with Brian not too long ago, and Sierra was thankful.
She saw sympathy in his eyes as they passed by hungry beggars on the street, and sick children on the side of the road. Once, he even stopped by one of them and placed a hand on a little boy’s forehead. Sierra frowned and stared in wonder as to why he would bother stopping and trying to make a boy feel better. He seemed to feel better after though, and his eyes shone brighter as Gareth stood up. Sierra looked back at the boy. Unless she was mistaken, all Gareth had done was touch the boy’s forehead. Could he be using magic? Magic in Arrenai was strictly prohibited due to the uncertainties of using magic, as well as the risks of using it. Sierra continued to frown at Gareth, who was now walking a bit ahead of her. She hurried to catch up, thoughts swirling through her head. He had touched her yesterday, and instantly felt better after. Sierra tried to shake the feeling of unease off her as they both continued down the street in silence.
“I guess you want to see the underground passages now?” Sierra asked suddenly. Gareth looked at her, his eyes guarded. “If you don’t mind I would love to see it. I went down there a few days ago to deal with some traders, but I didn’t really have a look around.” He laughed a bit then. Sierra nodded. “The passages are strictly secret. I don’t know if I should let you in…” she trailed off, not wanting to upset him. Gareth shrugged. “It doesn’t matter then. I’ll be going down there later anyway; I have one more deal to make.” Sierra looked back at him in surprise. “Just one more? I thought you were staying here a few months?” Gareth stared back at her, a questioning look in his eyes. “Where did you hear that?” “Oh I don’t know, I just heard it from someone…” she gestured with her hands. He raised an eyebrow but didn’t question her further, then sighed. “I am staying here for a few months. My trades here will only take a few weeks and I planned to stay longer to see the Kykaros festival. Though I don’t think that is possible now, as a close friend of mine back in Tamalin is now ill,” he said slowly. Sierra creased her brow. “Oh…I’m sorry. You wanted to see the Kykaros festival? The exhibiton of duels and crafts from the Warrior’s guild?” She shook her head. Typical Tamalin, she thought. They were always obsessed with fighting and combat. Gareth read her face and chuckled. “I’m interested in how you people fight here. It must be much different from us in Tamalin,” he grinned.
Sierra, still shaking her head, led Gareth back to the market square. “I’m sorry I can’t take you underground. And I would show you the South but I really shouldn’t…after yesterday especially.” Gareth nodded his head in agreement and glanced at her. “You’ve shown me a lot today though, especially how the lower classes live.” He said quickly. “I already explored most of the south yesterday anyway,” he said, and smirked at her. Sierra felt her face flush, and she looked away. The sun was already low in the west, and the weather was instantly a few degrees colder. Sierra rubbed her hands on her arms in an attempt to get warmer. Gareth glanced at her, and began taking out a few coins out of his pocket again. Sierra noticed this, and let out a small laugh. “You shouldn’t throw around your money to strangers, especially slum dwellers Gareth,” she said quietly, shaking her head. Gareth looked at her, amused. “And why not?” Sierra looked away. “I haven’t seen anyone like you care so much about people in the lower class,” she said back. “That doesn’t answer my question much, Sierra.” He said back, half smiling. “Get some warmer clothes at least,” he persuaded her, pushing a few coins in her hand. She stared at them, realizing that was how much she could have stolen in maybe two weeks. Sierra looked back up to give it back to him, but he stepped away. “Thanks for the tour today Sierra – it’s shown me a lot about this city,” he said, saluting to her before turning away. Sierra called back “It’s not all like you expected is it?” and gripped the coins tightly in her hands. She didn’t get an answer.
Sierra hurried to find a store selling clothes before they closed for the night. Rushing past surprised people, she went to the nearest tailor to buy more comfortable clothes using the money Gareth had just given her. Quickly choosing a plain coloured shirt, burgundy trousers and a woolen shawl, she paid the shopkeeper then changed in a small room in the store. The shopkeeper looked at Sierra questioningly when the coins came out, but said nothing. The clothes were definitely warmer than her previous ones, and warmer as well. For a slum dweller like Sierra, the clothes allowed her ease of movement and comfort – something which noble girls would hardly experience in winter. Girls were usually expected to dress in dresses and rarely wore trousers, and this proved painful as Sierra remembered when she was a girl in Otorro. She grinned to herself at the thought of wearing trousers underneath her dresses when she was twelve, and when her mother had found out. The shawl wrapped around her head gave people the only indication she was a girl. On the streets, a lot of the girls she met had disguised themselves as boys to avoid the leering advances of strangers. Sierra had tried the tactic once, but found it hadn’t worked out at all. She just acted too much like a girl, from her life before she began living in the slums, and instead drew more attention to her.
After discarding of her old pair of clothes, Sierra wrapped her shawl around her neck, indulging in its warmth. Coming across Edwards alehouse, she stepped through and began surveying the room. There were the regulars in one corner, talking amongst themselves. Rachael was sitting with the same man Sierra had seen her with two days before, and Edward was nowhere in sight. Neither was Gareth, who she expected to find. Sierra shrugged and sat down on an empty chair with a sigh. It had been a long day, and for once in a long time she felt comfortable. After gesturing a maid to bring her a mug of ale, she leant her head in her hands. So much had happened in the past few days it was hard to digest. She felt content though, and somewhat happy. Life definitely was looking better.