Building a Kingdom and Conquering the World

The Shadow Guard gasped, blood spurting from her mouth as the blade sank deep into her chest. The man grinned and twisted the hilt before savagely kicking the body aside to free his sword. The Shadow Guard collapsed to the floor, lifeless, her eyes staring hollowly to Xena.

"No!" Xena shouted, not out of fear, but fury. She charged forward, her twin daggers slicing through the air with a sharp whistle.

The leader reacted instantly. He spun on his heel, blocking the first strike with his curved sword. Before the second dagger could reach him, his other hand shot out and grabbed Xena by the throat. With a grunt, he hurled her across the room. Her body slammed into a shelf filled with liquor bottles, sending dozens crashing to the floor. Glass shattered. Alcohol spilled.

Behind him, Leier was already moving. She darted in like a wolf on the hunt, holding her dagger in a reversed grip. She aimed low, slashing at the man's ankle, but he jumped back with ease. Without hesitation, she used the spin from her miss to launch a sweeping kick, trying to take his legs out from under him. He leapt again, but Leier had predicted that.

Her leg swung up like a crescent moon, aiming for his head.

This time, he was a second too slow.

But just as Leier's foot neared his face, she felt his hand clamp around her ankle. He had caught her in mid-air.

And, just like Xena, she was thrown aside like a ragdoll.

Her body crashed onto the bed with a heavy thud. Pain exploded through her ribs, something cracked. The two women already on the bed shrieked in terror and curled up tightly as Leier landed beside them, coughing blood, barely able to move.

The man stood tall, calm and collected. He dusted off his shirt as if all of it had been no more than a warm-up.

"A Second-Stage and a Fourth-Stage" he muttered, eyes locked on Leier. He stepped toward the bed, his curved blade still in hand. "So, who sent you? The Second Prince? Or maybe one of those spoiled dukes in the Inner District?"

Leier didn't answer. She could barely breathe. Her hand clutched her side, blood staining her lips with every shaky exhale.

"If you tell me," he continued, grinning as he drew closer, "maybe I will give you a quick death. After we have our fun, of course."

His eyes crawled over her body. Slow. Disgusting. Leier felt a new wave of anger pushing against the pain.

"Maybe I will take that last pretty eye of yours," he sneered. "See what it feels like in my hand."

"He's Fifth-Stage" - Leier realized, trying to keep from coughing again. "I misjudged the situation"

She turned her head. Xena was still alive, pushing herself up slowly, blood running down her temple, some sharp glasses had cut her.

The man took another step, now only a few feet away from Leier, close enough to strike.

"So?" he asked, smile widening into madness. "What do you say?"

Leier didn't answer. She just shouted:

"Xena! Plan B!"

Xena's eyes widened. She glanced once at the body of their fallen comrade, then turned and, almost unconsciously, sprinted out the door.

"Oh? Where do you think you are going?" the man growled, his gaze snapping away from Leier and following Xena's escape.

But in that brief moment of distraction, he heard a soft sound, something small rolling across the floor.

He turned back quickly.

Only the two frightened women remained, and rolling beside the bed, a small glowing object. A bead, no bigger than a seed, pulsed with a bright blue light.

Leier was gone.

"What the hell is this?" he muttered, curiosity and greed flashing in his eyes as he bent down to pick it up. It looked like a gem. Maybe magic. Maybe valuable.

But as soon as his fingers brushed it, the air changed.

The Mana around him pulled toward the bead in a sudden surge.

"Shit!" he shouted.

He flung it away, toward the bed, landing between the two women, just as it began to pulse faster and brighter. He turned to run.

But he was too late.

The bead exploded with light, blinding and violent, swallowing the entire room in a wave of burning blue that swallowed not only the room, but the whole mansion. For a moment, it was as if a second sun had appeared in the Outer District. The ground trembled, and shockwaves spread through the city of Askiv, shaking buildings and rattling windows.

Leier and Xena had moved quickly. They ran through the hidden corridors and dove into the sewers just in time, taking cover as the blast roared above them. The tunnel shook violently, but thankfully, it held together. The workers who had helped carry the grain had already left, avoiding the worst.

"Captain, are you alright?" Xena asked, her voice strained as she knelt beside Leier, blood still dripping from a gash on her forehead.

Leier coughed, struggling to breathe. She accepted Xena's help to stand, her body trembling.

"Let's head back to base," Leier said between breaths. "The plan has changed."

She had miscalculated.

She hadn't expected the leader to be so strong. Because of that mistake, she had been forced to use one of the Torch Tree Seeds, specially stabilized by Luna so they could be used outside the are of influence of the Frozen Forest. Even so, being far from their original habitat and from the cold had weakened the seed's power. Only a quarter of its full potential had been unleashed.

If it had been whole, half of Askiv could have been destroyed… not just the mansion.

But after what she'd seen, Leier wasn't willing to take any more chances. Her original strategy, controlling the city from the shadows, through the underground, was no longer a choice.

She would need a new plan. And she already knew what to do. A plan B. Henry always said that one should have the plan B of a plan B. Always ready for things to go awry, luckily, things never went wrong with the king.

"I need rest," she said quietly, leaning against the wall for support. "Send some of our sisters to the Second Prince. As messengers."

Xena nodded, listening carefully.

"Tell him we will open a way through the walls for his forces," Leier continued. "Also… get a message to our sisters inside the Inner District. Let them know plans have changed. Deliver two of the Seeds to them. Tell them to prepare for new orders."

She coughed again, harder this time. When she pulled her hand away, it was stained red. Blood streaked her pale fingers and smeared her silver hair.

"There will be chaos in the coming days… tell everyone to lay low."

As if those final words drained the last of her strength, Leier's body went limp. She collapsed in Xena's arms, unconscious.

-x-

Far away, beyond the Mehis Mountains, in the western lands, Henry stood still beside Eleanor. They were searching for the mythical fire, capable of healing her injuries.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. A soft glow pulsed from beneath his cloak as he reached into his robes and pulled out a sheet of thin parchment, the Whispering Parchment. Its letters shifted in the dim light, bringing news from afar.

Leier had fallen unconscious.

Eleanor looked at him, sensing something had changed.

"Did something happen?" she asked.

Henry paused. His face remained calm, but his voice seemed to carry a low tone.

"Nothing," he replied quietly, slipping the parchment back inside his robes. "Let's keep moving."

But his eyes remained fixed for a second longer, as if the weight of distant events pressed down on his mind. He had to find a way to go south. He had to find a companion that could guide this Princess for that.

Luna.