Rihou awoke to a splitting headache, but the fact that he woke at all was enough of a relief for him to ignore the pounding in his head. He had no idea where he was or when it was, though he did know that he was warm, dry, and lying in a bed. He opened his eyes cautiously and there was nothing at all familiar about the room. He didn't have to search for memories of what had happened; they had been engraved inside his soul.
He sat up carefully and pressed a hand to his ribs. They felt sore, but he didn't think they were broken. His tonfa sat on a chair next to the window, and his clothes were draped over the back. He wore a sleeping tunic that hung ridiculously big even on him. He eyed the sleeves as they went past his hands. Who the hell owned this thing? A giant?
The door swung open and he found his answer. The man who leaned in the doorway was probably only five or six years older than Rihou, but he was extremely tall and broad in the shoulder with it. He had to be slightly over six and a half feet tall, and while he wasn't exactly handsome, the rugged lines of his face gave him a lot of appeal. Rihou instantly trusted him, though he wasn't even sure why. "I take it I'm in the land of grizzly men."
The man eyed him and then suddenly laughed. "Okay, I can't take offense at that." He walked inside and sat down on the edge of the bed. His choice of clothes, as much as the sword on his hip, implied he was a swordsman. Most people of similar type weapons wore similar clothing. "Name's Ewan Grizmar. I fished you out of the river. Welcome to the Rebel Fortress in the City-States. You're lucky we don't kill enemies on sight."
"Can we please go back a step?" Rihou asked politely. "I know the City-States and Foresalia aren't exactly the type to have tea together, but I didn't know we were actually enemies."
"Oh, Foresalia declared war on us because we supposedly attacked one of their training camps yesterday and killed everyone. We did no such thing, but the Foresalia monarchy has never been the type to listen to reason. Look at the casual war they held with the former Empire for so long." Ewan crossed his arms. "What's your name?"
"Rihou Royaltine." Rihou closed his eyes. "And yesterday, on my eighteenth birthday, I was supposed to enlist in the Foresalia Army. I reported to the training camp with my best friend, and we didn't like it. We were going to leave when we were attacked by the City-States." His eyes opened, and something painful churned inside the chocolate color. "Or at least, that was what they wanted it to look like. Nick and I recognized the lieutenant and several soldiers and recruits in the guise of the 'enemy.' It was a setup."
Just that short explanation told Ewan many things, some of which he hadn't wanted to know. One, it told him that Rihou was the son of Divan Royaltine. Ewan had fought alongside Divan in the rebellion that Tyrian Donaldson had led. The second thing it told Ewan was connected to the first. Ewan had fought at Tyrian's side because he was a Destined Star, one of the many born solely to protect and love the Kaiten Star. Looking at Rihou, Ewan felt the same way he had felt when he had seen Tyrian for the first time. Instant kinship and love combined with a need to protect.
It wasn't a welcome feeling if only because it meant that what stirred in the City-States and Foresalia was going to be truly, terribly, bad if it called for the presence of a Kaiten Star. Ewan had watched Tyrian suffer deeply, driven time after time to the point of breaking but never able to break and never able to truly heal. He wasn't sure he would be able to handle it a second time. Yet, as he saw the stirring of pain in Rihou's eyes, he knew he would damned well try his hardest. "I knew your father," he said at last. "Fought beside him when he helped Tyrian out. I was in the Liberation Army. He was a good man, Rihou."
"Yeah." Rihou blew out a hard breath. "Since this seems to be a bit of an awkward point, can you tell me if you're going to make me a prisoner or whatever? I'm not dangerous, really. I just want to find Nick and go home. Eventually people will realize that Vandel was insane and that'll be the end."
Eternal optimism and a belief in the good of mankind. Ewan stifled a sigh. The guy was a Kaiten Star all right. That ability to believe in the power of good even when confronted with the truest of evil was a pain in the ass for those who tried to protect him from being hurt either physically or emotionally.
The one consolation that he had was that Rihou appeared to be Tyrian's opposite in some ways. Where there was a bedrock intensity and seriousness about Tyrian, there seemed to be endless spring of liveliness inside Rihou. Ewan could see him laughing his way into hell to kick the devil's ass. Would that cheer make it easier for him to endure? There was no knowing yet. "Eh, you remind me of a friend," he decided. "I'm not in the mood to make you a prisoner. Besides, we wouldn't have anywhere to put you."
"Have you found my friend Nick?"
"Not yet, but if he went into the river with you, we should find him soon." He got to his feet. "Get dressed and come have some food. You're probably famished. The shirt's mine, so just leave it on the bed."
Rihou eyed the sleeves as they fell past his hands again. "I couldn't tell, you being so small and miniscule. I don't know how you don't get lost in a crowd."
Ewan snorted as he went out the door. "I'm going to like you, Rihou."
With a little grin, Rihou wasted no time in getting up and getting dressed. His head still pounded like a drum, though it diminished the longer he was awake. It was made even better when he walked out of the room and a woman going past handed him a cup of tea. "Herbal," she said over her shoulder. "Should get rid of any lingering effects. No more swimming in torrents."
"I'll try my best." He gratefully drank the tea and walked over to the edge of the railing. The second floor of the fortress was defined by rooms and a single walkway. The center area opened to see the floor below. He spotted all manner of people of all races; no one was in uniform, yet they were still clearly united.
He felt strangely more at home here than he had in Vella. He could only blame Ewan. Meeting him had been exactly like meeting Tyce, Orpheus, and Raine. That instant kinship. Something about the situation, and something Ewan had said, tickled at his mind, but he didn't bother to examine it too closely. What would be, would be.
The tea cleared up his headache enough that he was feeling relatively normal by the time he got downstairs. A man stood behind a counter serving up breakfast, and he winked when he saw Rihou. "Here you go." He handed over a plate. "I'm the Storekeeper around here, but I help out where needed. Name's Xander."
Rihou smiled. It was there again, that feeling of kinship. He was beginning to enjoy it. Certainly if it hadn't been for Naomi and Nick, he would have felt very alone in his town. "Rihou. Thanks, Xander." He took the plate over to Ewan and sat down across from him. "Thanks again for not taking me prisoner. I like this more than crusts of bread and water."
Ewan studied him in bemused fascination. "Does anything throw you off stride?"
"Chickens."
"Chickens." A brow arched over brown eyes.
"Yep." Rihou took a bite of his food. "See, when I was five or so, there was a rancher coming through the town. His wagon upended, and all of his chickens got out. They were in no mood to play nice with unfortunate, curious little boys who had wandered close. I and Nick found ourselves chased up some trees until Naomi scared them off. To this day, I still wince when I see them. If I look gleeful when eating cooked chicken, you know why."
"Just like the vegetables," Ewan murmured.
"Pardon?"
"Thinking of the friend you remind me of. He has a strange phobia too." Ewan lifted his coffee cup in a light salute. "So tell me about you. Where you're from, and so on. I got to admit, I was pretty impressed when I saw the weapon you use. I've heard of tonfa, but never actually met anyone who uses them."
"I'm from Vella. You know a lot of the other details since you knew my dad. I've been using tonfa since I was old enough to start training. I saw them in a book and I was really interested. Dad got me a pair and I really took to it. They suit me, you know?" His gaze lowered. "I need to go home, Ewan. My sister and adopted parents must be worried as hell about me and Nick. And there's someone else. Someone I made a promise to."
"We'll talk about that when we've found your friend." Ewan sat back in his chair. "Why don't I tell you about what's going on with us, since a Rebel Fortress in the middle of a country not in need of a rebellion is a bit out of place."
"Sure."
"The City-States of Arinsberg are so named because each city, small to big, serves as its own state. There's no one leader over everyone. Arinsberg is the name of the former monarchy, sort of a tip of the hat to what was a good dynasty but ended up being unneeded. In the current situation, there's no capitol to claim and conquer the country with. You have to take all the cities. Well, as nice as that is, it also means that the cities are of the opinion that as long as they survive, they don't care what happens to the others."
"I think I'd miss a monarchy with that attitude."
"Tell me. Anyway, I and my best friend Kyle Raitels got out here a year ago and saw that things were going to hell pretty fast. We were trying to rally the people to work together just in case Foresalia turned this way now that Taron is off limits. With open war being called, now we're needed more than ever. Too many people will die unless we can get some sort of harmony going."
Rihou studied him and then grinned. "And you were bored without a war to fight."
"Maybe. Just a bit." He glanced up as he heard a commotion near the door. "Wonder what happened."
The answer came as a blond swordsman and a fortress guard walked into the entry with a young man braced between them. Though drenched and bedraggled, Rihou instantly recognized his friend. "Nick!" He leapt to his feet and rushed across the room. "Is he okay?" he asked the blond urgently.
Kyle Raitels stared at him for several moments and then looked at Ewan. His friend nodded slightly. Unhappy for many of the same reasons Ewan had been, Kyle said, "He's half-drowned, but we fished him out. He should be fine in not long a time. The Healers fixed you up pretty good, and you were in worse shape."
Rihou let out the breath he had been holding. Losing Nick would have been more than even he could handle. He watched as the guards and a Healer moved Nick upstairs and then turned to Kyle. "Thank you," he said simply.
The gut punch of emotion was familiar to Kyle, though not entirely welcome. He sighed deeply. Things were going to be very, very bad and no doubt very, very quickly. "You're welcome. I'm Kyle Raitels."
"Rihou Royaltine." He smiled, liking how much an opposite Kyle was to Ewan. He was much more average in height, only an inch taller than Rihou, and he had a much more refined appearance that made him more handsome, though not necessarily more attractive, than his friend. He was also a swordsman, and the sword on his hip had engraving near the hilt on the blade. "Your sword is named?" he asked curiously.
"Mm. I'm from a Commune of Soldiers in Taron."
"Oh! I know of them." Few didn't know of the Commune of Soldiers. They turned out some of the best warriors in the world, and their swordsmen were considered the elite of the elite. There was supposedly some story about the main Commune almost being wiped out years before, but Rihou didn't know the details. "What's it named?"
A shadow of sadness came and went from Kyle's blue eyes. "Ophelia." He glanced down in surprise as Rihou's hand lightly touched his arm in support. Kyle had never thought to meet someone he loved as much as he loved Tyrian. In all ways but blood, Tyrian was his brother. But Rihou . . . Rihou was just as easy to love. Kyle could honestly say he wasn't sure which of the two he loved more. It was a slightly surreal feeling. "I'm fine," he said. "I've had three years to move on."
They walked over to Ewan, and Kyle sat down with a sigh. Ewan handed him a cup of coffee and said, "I told Rihou we didn't have room for prisoners."
"I told you we needed that dungeon, but, no, you never listen to me." Kyle hooked an arm over the back of his chair as Rihou sat down as well. "So how did you and your friend end up in the river anyway, Rihou?"
Rihou recounted the events and added, "I really want to go home. Nick and I need to tell our family that we're okay." At the lifted brows, he explained, "I and Naomi were fifteen when Dad died. Nick's family adopted us. So he and I were best friends for ten years and have been brothers for the last three. Naomi's less than a year older than I am, so we're the same age for two months of the year."
"Love's thicker than blood," Ewan said.
"Tyrian-ism?" Kyle asked curiously.
"Cassie-ism, actually." Ewan sighed deeply. "Kyle, we need to take him home. We both know it. Vella's not that far from where we are. Few days to the river and then a few north from there. Once he's home, he can tell everyone what really happened. End of problem."
Kyle didn't believe it any more than Ewan did, but he nodded. Sometimes keeping their Kaiten safe and happy meant letting him believe in happy endings until it was too late. Still, he couldn't help but be curious about the order of events. Where was Rihou's Kentei Star? That one person who could keep him from breaking when no one else could. Rihou was on a direct collision course with Destiny's plans, and that meant he would need his Kentei sooner rather than later. Tyrian hadn't survived without Cassie, even from the very beginning.
"Why don't you head up to sit with Nick?" Ewan offered Rihou.
"Sure. Thanks."
Ewan watched him walk away and his smile faded. His hands tightened around his glass. "The minute I fished him out," he said quietly, "I just had this feeling. When he opened his eyes, it felt like looking into Tyrian's eyes again. Then he said his name." He gave a rough laugh. "And detailed a scenario not dissimilar from Tyrian's. That sudden severance from being a child to being an adult. I knew." He cursed softly. "I don't like this. If only because it means things are going to get ugly."
"They were already going to be ugly." Kyle let out a soft breath. "If it wasn't for Rihou, there'd be no hope at all."
Rihou stayed by Nick's side for the rest of the day and for most the night, just in case he woke up. Near midnight, Xander stuck his head in to check on him and saw him sleeping in the chair. He retrieved a blanket to make sure he stayed warm. There was just something about Rihou that made it impossible not to love him and want him safe.
It was after dawn when Nick woke. Rihou had already woken and he got to his feet to see his friend better. "Nick?"
"Ugh." Nick threw his arm over his eyes. "Not so loud. My head is killing me."
"I've been told that's a common side effect of near drowning." Rihou sat on the side of the bed. "So it would seem that some interesting things are happening . . ."
Ten minutes later, Nick's head hurt for an entire different reason. He cautiously sat up and raked a hand through his messy hair. "I knew I didn't like Vandel but I wasn't expecting him to be that insane, and to brainwash all those new recruits! I'd love to think that he was being used by the City-States, but I trust your instincts. If you believe in this Ewan, then that's good enough."
"They said they'll take us home so we can explain. Mostly I'm worried about Naomi and Elissa." Rihou frowned. "If they're told that we're dead, they're going to be devastated." He winced. "Naomi might murder someone if she even gets a whiff of the idea that Vandel is behind these things."
Nick winced as well. "And get herself into trouble at the same time. Right. Home we go, and fast." He rolled out of bed and got dressed in his freshly cleaned and mended clothes. His staff stood by the door and he equipped it on his back. "I can't believe this is all happening."
The main area looked very slow for being early in the morning, but Ewan and Kyle were there with Xander. The Storekeeper slash cook was stuffing two packs with food. Ewan spotted the two coming down the stairs and smiled. "Hey, welcome back to the living, Nick! I'm Ewan Grizmar. This is Kyle Raitels. Kyle's the one who fished your ass out of the river."
"Thanks," Nick told Kyle.
"I could hardly just walk past and leave you there." Kyle smiled. "Ewan and I have survived our share of bad stuff in our lives, and we understand the will to live." Sensing the question, he offered, "I'm twenty-two, Ewan is twenty-four."
Nick had thought they were older than that because they seemed very mature, yet Rihou wasn't surprised. He just seemed to understand them instinctively and know things about them without asking. It happened that way with Naomi too; he didn't mind it or find it odd. "I guess we're leaving soon?" he asked.
"The sooner the better," Kyle confirmed. The Lightning Relic on his hand flickered in the light as he ran a hand through his hair. It was long enough to frame his face, and he needed a cut before Ewan harassed him again. Tyrian had a ponytail, and it looked great, but Kyle didn't want his own. "We're going to cut to the northeast to the town of Erube. It's right on the river border, so if we cross over, we're in Foresalia, and not far from where the 'attack' happened. It's a short jaunt up to Vella from there."
"We really got swept down that river, didn't we?" Rihou said.
"Yeah, we're not quite clear on how you did it either. You passed right under Riverbaynk, literally!" Ewan shook his head. "It's the next city to the south and sits mostly on a bridge over the river. You had to go underneath it before getting to where we found you."
"Talent," Rihou told him. "That, and there's so much hot air in Nick's head that he no doubt floated."
"Hey, you're the one who was saying he wanted to jump in the river because of Elissa. I'm just saying . . ."
Kyle grinned. "You know, if you'd never told me you weren't brothers by blood, I wouldn't have guessed." He didn't bother to ask who Elissa was. He had a feeling he would be meeting her soon enough. There was usually only one reason someone would want to jump in a cold river because of another person, and if that was this case, then there was only one person Elissa could be.
Nick and Rihou exchanged a smile. They forgot a lot of the time, too.
The four of them hit the road within a short time thereafter. It proved to be a learning experience for all of them. Nick and Rihou were both very impressed with Kyle and Ewan's skill with swords, and the two older males were equally impressed with Rihou and Nick. The blond fought nearly as well with a staff as Tyrian, and Rihou was simply amazing. He belonged on a battlefield, and without even thinking about it, he instinctively fell into leading any fights with monsters that they encountered.
It took five days to get back onto Foresalia's soil, and they stayed off the roads. Ewan and Kyle were impossible to identify as being from the City-States, and at worst, they could say they were visitors from Taron. Rihou and Nick were very identifiable, and Rihou's gut told everyone to stay off the roads.
It didn't take long before they finally figured out what kept tripping Rihou's sixth sense. Ewan spotted a poster tacked to a tree and went to grab it. When he brought it to the others, his brown eyes had lightened with temper. "Kyle, I'm feeling this odd déjà vu."
Kyle snatched the poster from his hand. It showed, very clearly, the images of Rihou and Nick with the word WANTED emblazoned across the top. "'Wanted as traitors to Foresalia.' Something tells me that Vandel is telling everyone that you two were involved in the attack."
"Oh, that's just great!" Rihou blew out a hard breath. "I'm kicking his ass when I find him. I want it known now." He glanced down through the trees toward the lights that represented Vella. It was midmorning and people were already well about their normal lives. "We need to see what is being said and make sure our family is okay."
"The best thing is for me and Ewan to go into town and ask around. Where do you two live?" Kyle asked.
"On the outskirts. We should be okay to sneak in. I'm positive that Naomi and Uncle Daniel and Aunt Helena will believe in us. We'll head to our home and then meet up with you back here. Oh, and if you see the caravan, try to tell them I'm okay. Elissa is the older of the two bards. I need to talk to her too."
Somehow, neither Kyle nor Ewan knew it would be as easy as they made it out to be. Rather than dwell on it, they headed for the road and went into town. People were curiously quiet, but, then again, there were many soldiers walking around. It was certainly clear that the town stood behind Rihou and Nick. No one was being very forthcoming with any information. Ewan spotted an older man with blond hair arguing loudly with a soldier, and would have put money on him being the aforementioned Uncle Daniel. He looked how Nick would look in roughly thirty years.
At the same time, Rihou and Nick made their way around to the back of town where their home resided. There were no soldiers in sight thankfully, and they crept out of the woods and into the house through the backdoor.
They found Naomi pacing through the living area with clear agitation. Her eyes looked slightly puffy and red as if she had been crying a lot, and it broke Rihou's heart. He edged into the living room. "Psst!"
She swung around and her eyes went wide. "Rihou!" She leapt and tackled him straight onto the floor. Fiercely she gave him a shake. "You scared me!" she shouted at him. She doubled over and dropped her head on his shoulder. "I thought you were dead!" she half-sobbed.
He carefully sat up, not entirely sure she wouldn't start shaking him again. Sure, he was bigger than she was, but she was really strong. "We came home as fast as we could," he told her. "You're not going to believe what has been happening."
Unfortunately, Naomi, after hearing the story, did believe him. She didn't want to, but she did. He just didn't lie. He couldn't lie. He had a great way of hiding his real emotions behind his cheerful front, but he just couldn't lie. What he said was always what he knew to be the truth.
She sat on the floor beside her brothers and buried her face in her up-drawn knees. "Vandel is running around town too," she said in a low voice. "He kept coming by, kept trying to harass me into telling him something, but there was nothing I could tell him. He heard that Elissa knew you, and was probably going to harass her, but he got conned into helping Raine practice. He was the first person for the day."
"What did she hit?" Nick asked.
"It wasn't what she hit so much as what she almost hit that made him decide to leave the caravan alone." She found herself smiling when both winced. "Orpheus also set his hat on fire. Elissa was very apologetic. You know how those training things can happen." Her smile faded and she sighed deeply. "What do we do? How can we clear your names? Do you think that Dad's reputation will help?"
The front door suddenly slammed open and soldiers poured into the area. The three siblings scrambled to their feet but they didn't bother to go for their weapons. There were too many already aimed at them. Vandel walked in with a smug smirk on his face that made Rihou want to rearrange his features. "I figured if we watched this place, eventually you two would come back. You're under arrest as traitors to the kingdom."
"Under arrest for what? Not rolling over and dying when you pretended to be from the City-States and attacked the camp?" Rihou retorted sharply. He saw several soldiers look at Vandel warily and lifted his chin. "Didn't they know that part?" A touch of coolness entered his voice. "Your lieutenant led the false attack on the camp just to start a war. It was just his folly that he tried to get rid of me and Nick by attacking us rather than letting us leave."
"Shut your mouth, Royaltine! Why would anyone listen to a traitor? Your father must be turning in his grave!" Vandel made a gesture and several soldiers leapt forward to tie up everyone's hands. "All three of you are to be executed for treason. Two for the act of it, and the third for condoning it! The sentence, as ordered by Prince Sarcon Malady, is to be carried out immediately. You've got an hour left to live, kids. You should never have come home."
Rihou's eyes met his, and a chill went down Vandel's back. "Killing us won't solve your problems," Rihou said in a hard voice. "In the end, your own greed will kill you." It was a voice that neither Nick nor Naomi had heard before, and it startled them both. They felt it then, that there was an iron will inside Rihou. He would not bend. He would not break.
"Get them out!" Vandel barked. He refused to be intimidated or made to back down. Still, as the three were escorted out, he couldn't fight the chills roughening his skin. Something about Rihou was different. He couldn't even put his finger on it, but somehow, he feared it.
©Stacy J. Garrett. Do not reprint or redistribute without permission.
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