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Kingdom of Ravens Chapter X • Clemence
Aforetime. Alas… another morn. I am awoken by the sound of gentle knocking on my bedchamber door. My eyes flutter open at the sight of the same old red cloth draping over my tester. “Lady Clemence?” I hear a familiar voice beyond the door, followed by another series of knocks. Groggily, I sit up. “Come in, Lorelle.” The heavily-adorned wooden door creaks open, and Lorelle, one of the manor’s kitchen cooks, enters my private chambers with a tray in between her stubby hands. “Good morn, my lady! Lady Honora had requested to fetch you porridge and warm ale for morgenmete.” “My deepest gratitude, Lor— wait a moment…” Mother never orders any of the servants to bring up food to me, let alone morgenmete. “Why would Mother order you to bring me my morning meal?” I speak, dipping the iron spoon into the bowl of thickened rice. “I’m fully capable of eating in the dining room.” “I believe tha she is aware of that, my lady,” she replies, fidgeting in place as she toys with her apron. “Bu
Kingdom of Ravens Chapter XI • Clemence
Disclaimer: This chapter contains mature scenes. You have been warned. Continuation. Naturally, I am a calm and collected woman. Besides being utterly looked upon for being physically attractive and intelligent, these are a few of the traits I possess that aid me in a lot of situations as a noblewoman. But at this moment, I’m being neither one of those. “I think I’m in love with you, Yelena.” As the words I've said sink into both me and the redheaded servant in front of me, I begin to stutter. Again. “Ah—” I start, panic rising in me as the words pour out. “W-what I am saying is, mayhap it is too soon for me to claim that I am, in actuality, in love! With you! Y-yes, um…! I mean, we had only just met over a sennight ago and I am aware that you are a woman, as am I, and 'tis out of the ordinary that a woman claims to be in love with another woman and h-here I am having you suddenly confess— I mean me! Me, not you— I’m still unable to fully grasp my feelings at the moment and I am
Kingdom of Ravens Chapter XII • Severin
In the present circumstances… “Did you not want this?” I ask the brunette bent over in exhaustion as I view my surroundings, including her, from atop a tree’s bough. “If you want to learn how to fight, you must be prepared for absolutely everything, at all costs.” “But ‘tis unfair that you are using your odd abilities, while I am not even allowed to practice with my blades,” she replies angrily, exasperation evident in her voice. “And get down from thither so I can kick your derriere!” Yesterday, this fit, brown-haired, trousers-wearing woman named Maia pestered me to train her. I had honestly thought she would fall prey to the mind impairment powder’s effects, but she is smarter than she looks, and survived it. Despite refusing her requests, she was relentless and was an absolute pain in the neck. Her one and only goal is to discover the truth of why Eadmond Davidson murdered her mother. She doesn’t seem to be in a rather stable state, however, for she’s claimed that she had only r
Kingdom of Ravens Chapter XIII • Maia
The sweat on my brows. The tension in my shoulders. The daggers in my hands. The mental distress I am currently experiencing. “Severin,” I yell, my voice shaking. “Are you sure we are going to do this? Is this really safe?!” “You were the one who wanted to train with your daggers a while back, and I think you are more than capable!” “You think?!” It has only been a sennight since Severin had first trained me, after practically begging him to, and only then has this cabbage-head decided to spar with me… …with my daggers! I've only learned enough from him to be able to spar with him weaponless! He may be a sly, ill-mannered saddle-goose but I do not want to cause him any harm! “I’m reconsidering everything hither!” “Stop letting your hesitance impede you!” “B-but what if I actually hurt you?!” “Cease all your whats and ifs— just come at me, Maia!” Despite my hesitance and my instructor’s exasperation, I grip the daggers’ hilts in a forward grip. My eyes land on the green-ha
Kingdom of Ravens Chapter XIV • Severin
“How else was I supposed to help her?” I ask myself, annoyance rising as I shake off the hood on my head. It falls down at the back of my neck. “She would not have agreed to have her garse sealed off even if I had asked. She thinks she knows better, leaving it exposed like that…” I am still vexed due to the morn’s events. I make my way back to the dug-out, a large slab of pork resting in one hand, and some carrots in a cloth sack in the other. I refused get any other greens— cabbages, to be exact— to add to today's meal, for it reminds me of my own head. “'Tis Maia’s fault for constantly comparing me to a vegetable. It's not even close to the shade of green my hair actually is! My mother casted a spell on me, and its side effects altered the color. She will never be able to comprehend that if I tell her, though.” Today's raid was successful— too successful, perchance. Compared to the past few days, I needn't use another potion of fog. The village I stole from was not even bustling w
Kingdom of Ravens Chapter XV • Clemence
“Eternal suffering…” I mutter to myself as I pull back the hemp bowstring to nock an arrow. “That is what they all deserve… They will pay for what they did to their own kin.” When I release the bowstring, the arrow flies past my head and into the hay target thirty paces away from me. The arrow lands just slightly off the middle ring. I curse under my breath. I risked my life just to escape the manor. I was hurt, alone, and in a half-naked state. I suffocated the man I was to wed to death beforehand. I jumped across my window, latched onto the old oak tree across it, and climbed down. I knew not where to go, but I had to get out of what was once called my home. Going around the entire manor’s walls was no easy task; I had to ensure that I was not going to be seen or caught, so I took the perilous route— nearer the valley. Right when I went past the forest’s edge, this band of rebels found me, and took me in. If it hadn’t been for the healer they were with, I would have been left to
Kingdom of Ravens Chapter XVI • Maia
“Let us go.” “Huh?” I ask, confused. I’m in the middle of cleaning my daggers with a spare cloth when Severin comes out of the pit house donning his hood. “To where?” “To the second village I stole from,” he replies, throwing me my shoulder cape. “Come on, now. No time to dawdle.” That is rather odd, but I shall go with it. As I return the daggers to their rightful place, I wear the belt around my waist and follow the cabbage-headed man into the forest. It has been two days since my accidental poisoning. If not for the elixir he claims he “made with ease and not at all panicked whilst making it”, I would have succumbed to the poison’s effects, and lost my life. What was strange about the entire occurrence was he expected me to feel pain, since he mentioned that the poison should have attacked my heart… But I felt completely fine afterwards, not even weak! He also babbled about seeing a demon in his sleep, but I believed he must have had a nightmare, in fear that he could have end
Kingdom of Ravens Chapter XVII • Severin
Oh, off with my head. For the next few days we have been training, after I had taught Maia how to thieve— well, something like that, I came to realize that I’ve been stealing glances at her, especially when she is minding her own business. I sincerely hope that she doesn’t think that I’m being an absolutely despicable and perverted dalcop, but there’s something about her that is… appealing to me, aside from her physical appearance. I’ve started noticing the tiniest of details about her. For instance, she beholds views and gazes at objects that pique her interests, or “are pleasing to her eyes”, as she claims. When she recently suggested buying goods with the large amount of money she stole, I watched her bite her lip and stare longingly at a miscellany of blankets, sheets, and clothes made of either wool or linen hung about outside a merchant’s house. I insisted that she could buy one of the items she wanted if she deemed it necessary, and the smile on her face was beyond compare. S
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- Kingdom of Ravens
Chapter XLIII • Maia
“Valiant of these two, I must say… ‘tis a shame they wasted their skills in thiev’ng; they could have done much more if they worked for the lord.” I am awakened by the sounds of roistering men. When I open my eyes, everything seems as if it is spinning. I find myself on a cold, damp, stone floor, barely recognizing my surroundings due to the dimness of the space. Ugh, everything is spinning and my bloody head hurts… I jolt upright when it all comes back to me— Nicolaus leading The Order to the pit house, watching him destroy the seal of protection, and us getting apprehended by Davidson’s men. Panicked at the memory of the knights breaking into the pit house, I begin scrambling off of the floor. I wince in pain when I feel a large, painful bump on the back of my head. It hurts more when I touch it… I must’ve been knocked unconscious. As I look around, my eyes adjusting to the dimness, I come to a realization that I am in a dungeon with two helmetless armored men, drinking to th
- Kingdom of Ravens
Chapter XLII • Severin
After a quiet— well, mayhap not so quiet— afternoon, the brunette still wonders why her so-called ‘childhood friend’ acted the way he did, challenging me as if t’was the bloody solution to her refusing to return home with him. “I understand that he could have been perturbed by what has been happening lately in Augborough, I really do,” the brunette states whilst she ravels out the knots in her hair with her fingers. “But was it necessary for him to start a fight with you like that out of nowhere? He has never acted like this before!” I watch her grab her ivory comb from atop her bedroll, jabbering about the earlier occurrences as she vigorously combs through her brown tresses with it. I fear that she may hurt herself with how forceful she is being with her hair… “I mean, he was never— ow— one to force me to do something if it was not— ow— in his favor, but it was as if he was a completely different person! The man knows me well enough that when I decide on something, be it well-thou
- Kingdom of Ravens
Chapter XLI • Maia
Continuation. “S-such a surprise, my friend,” I utter, faking a grin as the blonde happily throws his arms around my shoulders and wrapping me in a rather tight embrace. He is practically crying at the sight of me. “I have found you! By the gods, you do not know how long I’ve been searching for you, Maia,” he replies, sighing in relief whilst he pats the back of my head fondly. “It has been too long; you have not returned home yet, and Wyatt and I have been so, so worried about you…” When he mentions my uncle, I gently push him away by his shoulders to keep him at arm’s length. I am finally able to get a good look at him from head to toe: his blonde hair is more unkempt than usual, there are dark circles resting beneath his tired blue eyes, his clothes are slightly ragged and torn, mayhap from all the travelling he has done, and he seems… lankier, as if he has not been eating nor sleeping properly lately. “You look like you’ve gone through one of the hells and back,” I tell him, w
- Kingdom of Ravens
Chapter XL • Severin
That same day… Who, in all the heavens above and the hells below, was that blonde bastard?! He not only almost ruined today’s plans— he put Maia’s life in danger, as well! Unable to suppress my anger down at the man who called out the brunette’s name out in public, I furiously undo my cloak and throw it at my bed upon our return to the dug-out. “My deepest apologies, Severin,” I hear her speaking from behind me as she closes off the entrance, cutting off the cold wind from outside when she secures its ends to the weights. “I know you’re angry—” Angry?! I am bloody incensed! I need not think about using my abilities to end that man! “—But I did not expect to see my childhood friend in the same village, either!” “That was him? We could have died by The Order’s hands back in that village, and it would have been all his fault,” I reply snappishly, turning to find her slowly doffing her shoulder cape. I calm down a wee bit when I see the brunette’s contrite expression. Taking a d
- Kingdom of Ravens
Chapter XXXIX • Nicolaus
Ever since I left the central village, all that has been on my mind is looking for her. I am distressed, exhausted, and beginning to feel like this long, long search for my beloved friend is becoming futile. The look on Eustace’s face as he and the other victims were set alight has been burned into my mind, haunting me even while I sleep… A few nights ago, I screamed myself awake after seeing the skin on the frail boy's face melt away like a lit tallow candle, only to realize t’was all an awful dream, and I may or may not have disturbed some of the guests in the neighboring inn chambers. Wyatt was devastated when we watched him struggle amid the rising flames; I can only imagine how Maia would have felt if she saw him roast to death… Gods, it was terrible. The Davidsons are terrible! I am really wishing that Maia could end them off faster, but with the current situation, I’m more afraid for her and her life… I do not even remember how long I’ve been travelling— going through Au
- Kingdom of Ravens
Chapter XXXVIII • Clemence
Never have I ever imagined that I would be this beaten and battered after the organization’s so-called “annual tradition” … I thought I was going to die in The Pit. As I drag myself to my rightful tent in another part of the resting area, which is right next to this small fissure up on the scraggy wall in one of the cavern chambers, exhaustion practically washes over me like the water from a waterfall flowing over my head. I need to get out of these damned clothes… Squeezing the remaining water out of my hair and the ends of my garments, I make it to my leather-lined tent, strip myself down of my water-drenched clothes, and wring some more liquid out of it. I take off my shoes as well and set them aside. “Cold… cold… 'tis so damn cold,” I grumble, shuddering as I peek out of the tent’s flaps before throwing my drenched, lacerated clothing off to the side of the cavern. I can feel myself shivering down to my bones. “I can practically freeze my bosoms off…” I light the remaining cand
- Kingdom of Ravens
Chapter XXXVII • Severin
“And that is another one,” I mutter to myself, cautiously pouring the hot concoction into yet another vial. This batch filled fewer bottles compared to the first batch I made. “That makes… eight, nine, ten… eleven, all in all. Hm, will this be enough, though?” “Severin, we are making those for emergency escapes,” Maia says, interrupting my chain of thought. “Not dazing the entire borough. That is more than enough, o’ magical man-witch.” I look up and scrunch my nose at her teasing, putting down the pot to seal the bottle in my hand with its cork. “Firstly, I have told you countless times now: I am a conjuror, not a witch! There is a difference.” “I wonder where you learned that term from.” “Secondly, you can never be too prepared for anything and everything. How is the map of the manor going, dagger-lady?” She ignores my attempt at teasing her back and instead scribbles something down, eyes flicking from one part of the hand-drawn map to another. Well, that was embarrassing… “Ma
- Kingdom of Ravens
Chapter XXXVI • Clemence
“Now is not the time to be indulging in horseplay, old man,” I state as I continue following an excited Daw down deeper into the caverns of the hideout. The path seems to only be accessible through the training grounds, though I must admit that I have never noticed its entrance the entire time I have been in this organization. “I could have been using this time to improve my aim instead of... whatever this is you are doing. Where are you taking me?” “Today is an important day, Clemence,” he replies, raising the oil lamp he is holding to light our way through yet another maze of tunnels. There are torches hung about on the walls, some of which are already lit. “I am about to show you an Unkindness tradition that goes back.” A tradition? “So, is that why nobody was lounging about in the common and dining area? There is this celebration going on?” “Hm, something similar to that.” “It makes sense. Well, t’was odd for me because that place is usually bustling with the young ones and th
- Kingdom of Ravens
Chapter XXXV • Severin
Ingenuity is the one thing I thought Eadmond Davidson would at least have, as the commencing Lord of Augborough… because he seemed like he had the potential to be different from his predecessors. But never would I have thought that he would be just as cruel, merciless, and insensitive as his coxcomb father Edgar. The brunette and I were able to follow my sister’s murderer and his wee army of men to one of the villages we had continually stolen from in the past— and the very one that we had not yet given a share of stolen goods from the manor since we decided to begin observing the nobles’ next moves. This was supposed to be the next place we would give the stolen food stocks to. “‘Tis a good thing I got to you in time,” Maia whispers as we hide beyond the density of the forest’s edge, observing the men in armor announce their arrival and the reason why they arrived in the first place. “We would never have known where my father's right-hand man will start this ‘hunt’. He does not see
