Chapter 17

There was a large crowd gathered near the courtyard, the same one that had been nearly destroyed four years ago.  Everyone’s attention was focused on a group of people in the middle.  Murmurs and whispers spread through the crowd as everyone tried to piece together what they thought was happening.  Even those right at the center of the crowds, the ones closest to what was going on, had trouble describing the exact events that were occurring.

 

The recounts became more and more wild and far-fetched as the word traveled to the edge of the crowd.  Some thought that there was a live, public execution taking place.  Others thought that it was a scuffle caused by two bickering rivals.  There was even someone who said that it was a kidnapping and that the scuffle was due to people trying to stop the kidnapper.

 

Whatever the story was, no matter how strange each one seemed, they all involved the Unlocked.  Her name was unknown, but everyone knew that it was a girl.  The Captain of the Diavian Army himself had confirmed it in a public announcement two years ago.

 

The “Unlocked girl”, everyone called her, simply because they had no idea who she was.

 

And now, even with the skirmish in the middle of the crowd, no one knew.  There were no names being shouted.  If there were names being said, it was too quiet for anyone to hear.  But it was exciting, for the crowd at least.  They’ve never gotten a chance to even see what an Unlocked really was capable of, they never understood the powers and abilities out of fear.  And now, the Unlocked girl was supposedly the reason for a group of soldiers from the Regia to be stationed at the courtyard?

 

Why wouldn’t they want to crowd around, to try and figure out her identity or her reasons for being here themselves?

 

“Everyone clear the area!” someone shouted.  It was followed by the sound of a sword being drawn.  When no one moved a muscle, they shouted, “Now!”

 

The voice was clearer now, and definitely recognizable.  When the soldier who spoke turned around, the crowd was greeted by the blazing, furious eyes of Casmir Lamont.  Not wanting to be the one to anger a member of the Diavian Guard, and the Captain’s son, no less, the crowd dispersed rather quickly, leaving the courtyard silent and empty.

 

I: Amber

 

Amber breathed heavily as she dodged another swing from a nameless soldier.  Her knives flashed silver as she swung and sliced at her opponents, never getting close enough to land a hit, but somehow doing just enough to keep them at bay.  She ducked under a sword that was meant to cut her head off, or at the very least, injure her severely and rolled away.  She managed to cut the soldier’s ankles, but it was only a graze and didn’t draw blood.

 

She couldn’t keep this up for much longer.

 

Her arms were tiring, she was running out of energy while her opponents seemed to be tireless.  There also seemed to be an endless amount of soldiers, crowding around her.  Earlier, they’d practically jumped her, wrestling her to the ground and trying to restrain her arms and legs before she broke free.

 

She weakly blocked another stab and felt her arms tremble with the amount of energy she spent just on keeping the knife from piercing her shoulder.  Someone pushed her from behind, causing her to stumble forward.  Her arms gave away and she bit back a scream as her shoulder was slashed open.

 

Blinking away tears from her vision, she held out a hand in front of her, trying to call upon her powers.  A few green sparks flew from her hand, but nothing else happened.

 

“No,” she whispered, her voice breaking as she fought back a sob.  “No, no, no… just work, damnit!”

 

“Please,” she begged softly to no one.  “Just let me save myself.”  An energy ball weakly sputtered to life in her hand, but she couldn’t do much with it.  It fizzled out a few seconds after she managed to summon it.  “No…”

 

Amber shook her hand, desperately willing the energy to return.  The attacks had stopped for now, but she knew they could start again at any time.  When she failed to summon her powers, she looked up.  The group of people surrounding her were all Regia Liavis soldiers — the citizens had gone after she heard Casmir tell them to leave.  They all looked… smug, happy, delighted that she couldn’t defend herself, that her powers had failed her.  Those who didn’t show those expressions kept their faces neutral.

 

She stared at her hands with horror.  This had never happened before.  She was supposed to be the one in control of her fate, not these people.  She was supposed to be able to defend herself, not be defeated easily after a few minutes.  This was what she was supposed to use her powers for, at least, in the given situation it was the ideal usage.  She even practiced non-stop over the years, but instead of answering her, it remained dormant and unresponsive.

 

“Let me go,” she said softly.  She cried silently, curling up and keeping her head hung to prevent anyone from seeing her tears.  She didn’t want to give them another reason to be smug and shove the situation in her face.  “Please.”

 

“We can’t do that,” someone in the crowd said.

 

“You’re dangerous, you need to be put somewhere where you can’t hurt anyone,” someone else added.

 

“Where she can’t hurt anyone anymore,” another person said, sounding like they were correcting the two before them.  “Remember when she nearly burned down the city?”

 

“I… haven’t hurt anyone,” Amber whispered.  “I-I wouldn’t hurt anyone.  I just want to live my life, please.”

 

She looked around for Casmir, hoping that she could sway him to help her.  “I-is Casmir there?” she asked.  “He knows I’m not dangerous… you could ask him.”

 

The soldiers started to murmur amongst each other, the sound growing louder and louder until it overwhelmed her.  They also seemed to close in on her, boxing her in until she couldn’t move more than a few steps without bumping into one of them.

 

“Casmir, I’m not dangerous,” Amber muttered.  “Right?  Tell them.  I’m not dangerous.”

 

“Amber!” Through the murmurs, she heard Casmir’s voice.  He was running to her, the soldiers parting to let him through.  “Amber, please, let me explain—”

 

“What’s there to explain?” she asked.  She raised her head and looked at Casmir, not bothering to hide her tear-stained face.  “What did you do?  Tell them I’m not dangerous!”

 

“Yes, I know, but you don’t understand—”

 

“Of course I don’t!” Amber snapped.  She gave up trying to convince the group around her and stormed up to Casmir, causing the other soldiers around them to tense up, some drawing their blades.  He lifted a hand, making them lower their weapons.  That simple action made her temporarily halt in her steps.  He must’ve risen in rank, or they just have a lot of respect for him.

 

She stared him down, never wavering even though every other part of her threatened to collapse from exhaustion.  “And I could never understand, because clearly, I’m not one of you.  I… I just wanted to live a normal life.”  She glared at him, her eyes burning with hatred and anger.  “Is that too hard to understand?”

 

She slumped held onto her injured shoulder when he didn’t respond.  “Let me go home,” she whispered.  “Please, I’ll leave the city for the rest of my life, if that’s what you want.”

 

II: Casmir

 

Casmir was unsure of what to feel as Amber stormed up to him, glaring at him with enough rage and sorrow to make him feel defensive.

 

He let her scream at him, berate him and point out every reason why he should let her go.  Why the soldiers should let her go.  He kept his face neutral, despite wanting to comfort her, but he knew that doing so would reveal too much.  The other soldiers would know he had been helping her.  Or at the very least, they’d know that he had been lying in all the reports he sent to Regia Liavis over the past four years.

 

Amber was still staring at him, her eyes begging him to say something after her outburst.  Her lips quivered, the slight motion alone telling him that she was doing her best to hold back her emotions.

 

“Casmir?”  Amber’s voice sounded hollow.  “I… I’ll leave the city,” she repeated.  “Just say it and I’ll go and we can forget this ever happened.”

 

He saw a stray tear fall from her eyes and she wiped it away.  “You’ll never have to see me again,” she continued, her voice taking on a hint of desperation.  “Just let me live.”

 

I don’t want you to leave, he thought.  You’re my best friend.  I’m so sorry.

 

Amber or Liavis?  The question that had been haunting him for the past years now resurfaced.  And now, he knew the answer.

 

Casmir turned away, walking back through the group.  His fellow soldiers parted to let him through and remained that way, forming a sort of pathway.  When he reached the edge of the courtyard, he exhaled, the action steeling himself in preparation for what he was going to say.

 

“Take her back to Regia Diavum,” he said.  His voice easily carried across the courtyard, filling the silence that had settled in place after Amber’s outburst.  “The ruler will decide what to do with her.”

 

He hated himself for saying that, but selfishly, he knew her fate had already been sealed.

 

He could hear commotion behind him almost immediately after he finished his words.  No doubt Amber was rushing to him, and the soldiers intervened, stopping her before she even managed to reach for her weapons.

 

“CASMIR!” Amber screamed.  “NO, PLEASE, I DIDN’T—”  Her voice cracked as she broke down sobbing before she could finish what she wanted to say.  Then there was a sickening crunch and she fell silent.

 

He turned back around, his face still neutral and expressionless.  He knew what she was going to say: I didn’t do anything wrong.  He also knew that the Regias had ways of twisting words and meanings to benefit them.  Amber saying anything to defend herself would be ignored in the actual trials, solely based on the fact that she was the Unlocked.

 

The soldiers were nearing him, two of them dragging Amber’s unconscious body between them.  There was a dark red mess of blood and hair near the top of her ear, some of the crimson liquid slowly dripping down her cheek.

 

Casmir resisted the urge to scream at them all for hurting her.  He almost scoffed at the irony of his words.

 

“You didn’t have to injure her,” he said, doing his best to keep his voice neutral.  “The ruler wouldn’t be happy with it.”

 

“They never said anything about—”

 

“They said to bring her back unharmed, should she be captured.”  Casmir shook his head and strode over, using one hand to clean away the blood on Amber’s face.  Then he lifted her, not wanting the others to “accidentally” drop her body off a cliff or something similar.  “There is a pressure point on her neck, on everyone’s neck.  You press it hard enough, and that person will fall unconscious.”

 

He quickly walked ahead before anyone had the chance to comment.

 

It might’ve also been a good thing he was walking at the very front.  No one saw him cradling Amber’s body with a gentleness that was normally absent in the interactions of rivals.  No one heard him whisper a soft apology, or try to tend to her injuries as best as he could.

 

It’s probably a good thing that they assumed he was furious, and that was the reasoning for his silence.

 

III: Amber

 

Amber woke to the sound of a door being slammed, the sound echoing around the room.

 

She sat up, startled, and immediately regretted it.  Her head spun, random ringing sounds bouncing around in her head, forcing her to curl up on the ground.  It wasn’t clear to her how long she laid there, occasionally flinching whenever too loud of a sound reached her ears.  Sometimes she cried, but never really acknowledged it.  She didn’t need anything else to overwhelm her.

 

She missed Drakania.  She missed carving out hundreds of information slabs, or carving drawings for the young dragons in the dragon city.  Even the few brutal training sessions Lapis suggested she take with Zephyr… what she wouldn’t give to do that now.  To jump from one stone outcrop to another, one hand glowing green with that ability she was gifted with.

 

She missed her family, knowing that they only got letters or communication from her when she visited.  And she didn’t visit often out of fear of being captured.  She was supposed to visit them before she was caught, this time for good.

 

Well, it was more like an impromptu visit.  She hadn’t exactly been in the right state of mind when she blindly stumbled past the borders and ran through the city.  It had already been night time, and no one saw her using her powers to release all the emotions that were pent up within her, or so she thought.

 

Eventually she sat up, her hand feeling around, fingers tracing along the stone floor until they hit a metal pole.  She shifted around, managing to stagger to her feet, only to notice that the room was dimly lit, with a torch on the wall above the door and another on the opposite wall.  She could barely see more than a meter in front of her.

 

It did allow her to see that she was in a cell.  There was a bed — the metal pole she touched was one of the legs — and most likely a table somewhere.  She could see that her hands were bandaged, with two sets of blackstone cuffs around her wrists.  The feeling of cloth and some sort of weight around her ankles told her that they were likely cuffed as well.  It didn’t surprise her.

 

She grabbed at her neck, hoping to feel the familiar glassy stone and spherical beads of her necklace and froze.  She was wearing a necklace, just not her own.  It had the slightly rough but also smooth texture of blackstone.  The pieces were cut and polished to resemble her necklace in shape and size, but instead of feeling energy from the arkey flowing through her body, she felt nothing.

 

She felt cold and empty.

 

She was powerless, and this time, she knew she would never get her necklace back.

 

Her head spun again and she quickly sat down on the bed.  Her hand pressed against her forehead and pain shot along her entire arm.  Remembering the shoulder wound she had sustained, Amber removed her coat, wincing as she slid the garment over her injured shoulder.  The sleeve of her shirt had been cut away, and in the dim lighting, she saw bandages and gauze.  With even more care, she removed her coat completely and felt around for more treated injuries.  

 

The only other one she found was a bandage on her head above her ear.  That was where her head had been hurting before.  There were also a few fading scabs and scars, but nothing that worried her as much as the head and shoulders wounds.

 

She was about to look around the cell some more but she heard the door lock click.

 

How long had she been locked in here?

 

Amber’s eyes darted to the door, squinting at the bright torchlight that streamed through the barred windows.

 

“Amber?”

 

She shrieked and backed away, nearly falling off the bed in the process.  Very carefully, she slipped off the bed and crawled into a corner, hoping the darkness hid her from him.  Why was he here?  He shouldn’t be here.  He should be celebrating.  He should be doing literally anything except visiting her.  She didn’t want him here, she wanted him to leave—

 

Casmir shut the door behind him and kept his back turned to her.

 

Yes, Amber thought.  Stay like that, don’t face me.  Or better yet, don’t ever look at me again.

 

“Can I talk to you?” Casmir asked.  He didn’t turn around, though he did move his head so he wasn’t speaking into the door.

 

“No,” Amber said immediately.  “Go away…”  She hated that she didn’t sound as sure as she wanted.

 

“At least let me explain,” he insisted, his tone of voice telling her that he was equally as upset as her.

 

Good, some part of her thought.  Let him suffer for this.  Let him feel what I feel.  All the pain and sorrow and confusion, let him feel it all—

 

“I’m sorry,” he said, breaking through her thoughts.

 

“No you’re not,” she said.  “Why would you be?  You did this!”

 

“I could let you go,” he said, ignoring her words.  “My mother’s part of the Council, she could sway things to play out in your favor.”

 

“Oh, so you’re bribing me—”

 

“Amber, listen.”

 

What remained of Amber’s patience snapped.  “No, Casmir, you listen,” she hissed.  “I don’t care what happens after this as long as you stay out of my way.”  Her voice broke and she struggled to keep her composure.  “You hurt me, Casmir.  You said you’d never tell but you did.”

 

“I had no choice,” he whispered.  “And you’re right, I did hurt you.  But I swear on my life, I didn’t want to.”

 

“You swear on your—but you… you stood there,” she breathed, surprising herself when she didn’t choke on her own words.  “You watched them fight me and then they defeated me and you did nothing.”

 

Amber laughed, but it was forced and it sounded more like hyperventilating.  “What happened to having my back?”

 

“I’ll always have your back,” Casimir's response was just as quick as hers.  “This situation was unexpected.  I didn’t think you’d still be in the city, and the soldier had seen you.  Probably other people too—”

 

Amber shook her head as he spoke, murmuring ‘no’ under her breath.  “I don’t believe you,” she muttered.  “You’re lying.  Nobody saw me, I made sure of that!”

 

“I was told by a soldier that you were in the courtyard!” Casmir snapped.  “And when we got there, you were using your powers!  How was I supposed to deny that when it was happening in front of us!”

 

“Yeah, right.”

 

“A-and…” he sounded a bit guilty as he said this.  “This is what’s expected of me.  It’s my duty.  It’s what my family expects me to do.”  He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply as he said, “If I don’t do this, I’ve been told that my parents might take the brunt of the consequences.  Because to the ruler, it’d be their fault that I wasn’t taught to do what I was supposed to.”

 

“What?”  Amber’s response was nothing more than a breathy whisper.

 

“I don’t want my parents to get hurt,” he muttered.  “I don’t want you to get hurt.  I hate this.  I hate having to choose.”

 

Then she looked up, a phrase that he’d said to her some time ago coming back.  “But you shouldn’t have to choose,” she said with a scarily calm voice before reciting the words from memory.  “Family comes first, always.”  

 

She remembered now.  She had just spent two weeks exploring Drakania and returned to deliver a letter to her family.  She had run into her friends in the courtyard.  He’d said it to her then.

 

“Amber,” Casmir almost pleaded.  He must’ve heard the resignation in her voice.  “It’s more than just family comes first.”

 

It might’ve actually been more than just that phrase but she didn’t care. She should’ve known.  It was stupid… no, it was selfish for her to think her best friend would hesitate at the thought of protecting his parents.  He loves his parents, and she knew he’d do anything to save them.  She nodded, offering him the first smile since they started talking, but it was a sad one.  She didn’t bother trying to hold back her tears, didn’t try to hide her sobs.  It was pointless anyway.

 

At least she got to have fun with him while it lasted.  She recalled traveling through Drakania with him, sparring, or even just talking about random things.  Then there were all the things she learned from Lapis, things she learned about her powers and dragons, even certain topics her father hadn’t mentioned in his traveling journals.  At least she wouldn’t die knowing that she didn’t do something with her life.

 

“Am I gonna die?” she asked, unable to keep the question to herself.  “How long have I been in this cell?”

 

“They hit you pretty badly,” Casmir admitted, guilt evident in his voice.  “We… they had to sedate you in order to treat your injuries.  You kept thrashing around.”

 

“How long have I been here?” she asked again.  She didn’t care about the report he gave of her injuries.  She needed to know how much time had passed.

 

“A week.”

 

To her credit, she didn’t cry, but she did stare up at him with disbelief.

 

A week.  She had been here for a week.

 

She had been alone, unconscious or awake and crying, for a week.

 

IV: Casmir

 

Casmir sat on the bed, making sure his back was to Amber.  When she started crying, he didn’t dare leave the cell, knowing that her mental state would crumble even more.  Despite her insisting that she wanted him to leave, he knew from experience that she wanted him to stay.

 

So he stayed, knowing that his presence was enough.  He didn’t need to coddle her, or fuss over her.  He just had to listen to her.  She would talk when she was ready.

 

“I…” Amber started.  Casmir heard something behind him and felt the small cot dip.  Amber had come out of hiding wherever she was.  “I’ve been here a week?” she asked.

 

Casmir made a point to stare at the ground even though he wasn’t facing her.  “Yeah,” he said.  “After I convinced the healers to at least treat your wounds and patch you up, they told me to ‘bring her to the dungeons before we change our minds’.  I think they secretly wanted to kill you.”

 

Amber only scoffed at his words.  “Everyone wants to kill me,” she muttered.  “They’d just have to get in line.  I’d kill myself before they got to me though.  I wouldn’t let them get me.”

 

“I didn’t want to do this,” Casmir pleaded.  Taking a chance, he reached back, hoping she’d take his hand like she had so many times before when she was upset.  To his surprise, he felt her fingers brush against his before they pulled away.  “Please believe me.”

 

He turned around, catching her gaze at the same time and she looked away.  “Amber…”

 

“Why are you still here?” she asked, her voice watery and broken.  “I wanted you gone the minute you stepped through that door.”  Seeing his downcast expression, she looked away.

 

“I thought… I-I would’ve assumed you would be celebrating.  With everyone who wanted me gone.”  Amber let out a shaky sigh.  “You seemed pretty… detached and nonchalant when I was… you know.”

 

“If they’d known that I was lying in all those reports,” Casmir muttered, letting his eyes wander around the cell.  “They would’ve killed us both.  At least if one of us were alive—”

 

“Then we still stand a chance of getting out of this situation?” Amber offered.  She managed to compose herself somewhat and shifted to sit cross-legged on the cot.

 

Casmir turned around fully and faced her, giving her a weak smile.  “Yeah.”

 

“Don’t waste time on that,” Amber said.  She sounded more defeated than ever.  “It’s not gonna work, even with your mother as the head of the Council.”

 

“Amber, don’t say that,” he pleaded, hesitantly reaching out to her.  She didn’t flinch or move away and let him gently rest his hands on her shoulder.  “I already hurt you so much, I-I want to at least try to make it up to you, please.”

 

At his words, Amber whimpered and buried her face in his shoulder.  She didn’t cry at all.  It was more like a silent breakdown, different from her outburst in the courtyard before her capture.  She was tired of pretending to hate him — she could never hate him — but she wasn’t ready to forgive him yet.

 

In truth, she wasn’t really sure if she should forgive him at all.

 

She felt Casmir move his hands from her shoulder to cradle her head.  The gesture was almost hesitant, uncertain, as if he was scared she would push him away or hide.  She leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder as she stared blankly ahead, her vision blurry with all the tears she refused to let fall.

 

It was pointless, for the moment she closed her eyes, her walls came crashing down.  Just for a moment, she let herself grieve with her best friend.  A single teardrop fell from her eyes and she exhaled shakily as another tear fell, then another, and another.  She didn’t bother wiping them away.

 

“Amber,” she heard Casmir ask.  His voice sounded distorted and far away.  “Are you mad at me?”

 

Amber thought about the question.  The answer should be simple, right?  He betrayed her, hurt her, and now she might never see daylight again.  She was trapped in this cell because of him.  Her life was over, and it was likely she would die soon.  It made sense that she should be mad at him… but she wasn’t.

 

“I’m…” Amber moved her head back so she was facing Casmir, but didn’t make eye contact with him.  “I’m disappointed.”

 

Somehow that was worse.  For both of them.

 

Then she moved her gaze to Casmir’s, noticing his own misty eyes and downcast expression.  For a moment, all her pain and sadness was gone and it was replaced by worry and concern for her best friend.  That feeling faded away relatively quickly and she was miserable and upset at him again.  

 

“And you have every right to be,” he said softly.