Yra and the Swordstress

Hi everybody! Sorry for the long delay in getting this chapter out. I only intended this one to be a very short backstory, but things got out of hand. Kyra and the Swordstress is turning into a bona fide epic and one I barely have under control. But its fun to write, so I'll keep writing it! As a minor technical note, in a previous chapter, I called the ruler of Varna by the title 'Grand Duke', but after some thought decided to change the title to 'King' for the sake of clarity. Apologies for the inconsistency. Such is one of the many pitfalls of releasing in chapters as I write... In any case, thank you very much for reading. I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 12. Lady Mirela

Castle Turracher was the largest in the Varna kingdom and one of the few that had never been sacked. Not that it had never been attempted. Its reddish-brown walls retain the scars of the many sieges in its five-hundred-year history. Crumbled towers remain in ruins in places, overtaken by vines and trees, and scorch marks show where fires once raged. Still, with marks of war like a battle-weary veteran, the castle remains as tall as ever, the red and gold flag of the Turracher house fluttering proudly from the top of every tall turret and spire. It was a beautiful castle, and seeing it had always filled Scarlet with awe. Filling her with even more awe was the fact that she could now walk in the hallowed halls of that castle, a slave no longer, but as a lady, drawing bows and curtsies from servants and greetings from nobles as if she were one of them.

Scarlet was first officially introduced to Lady Mirela on a cool summer morning. Her stomach was in a twisted knot. She clenched her hands in tight balls at her sides. She was more nervous now than she ever was in training with Marcus. She was more nervous than the time she stopped the assassin in Rieto. She was nervous because she was about to be presented to Lady Mirela for the first time. The same Lady Mirela that had enraptured her with the most unbelievable blue eyes.

High Councilor Maurin, the Lord Keeper of the Privy Council, stood by Scarlet's side, and they stood in front of the door to Lady Mirela's bedchamber. "Do everything she asks of you, and do it with a smile, but never forget your true purpose for a moment. You are still a servant to the House Turracher, only now you have sworn a blood oath to be Lady Mirela's sword and shield."

For the past few days, the High Councilor had personally attended Scarlet's brisk training in the etiquette of a lady-in-waiting in Duke Eldan's court. Those words were his final instruction before the fateful meeting.

Like the duke, High Councilor Maurin was a serious man with stern eyes, who had a knack for making the Turracher House's servants cower, but who was fair, honorable, and, above all, loyal to his house. Despite his objection to the duke's plan to turn a slave girl into a bodyguard, he took his duty seriously and taught Scarlet as much as possible. Scarlet had come to trust the man over the days and had even developed a fondness for him because of the seriousness with which he executed his assignment.

"Are you ready?"

Scarlet nodded.

"Good, then let us meet the Lady."

The Lord Keeper knocked on Lady Mirela's chamber door. Scarlet's heart clung to the bottom of her throat.

A handmaiden in a tall white hennin, who Scarlet knew was Zephyrina of Rowenhall, opened the door and gave a courteous curtsy to Maurin. She shot a look at Scarlet that was as flat as stone but which Scarlet knew full well meant she felt displeasure in the new arrangement.

"My lady, it is the high councilor. He's with the..."

The girl glanced at Scarlet again, then to the high councilor, who pursed his lips at her as a warning to not say what she was about to say. Scarlet knew the word 'slave' was about to come from the handmaiden's mouth long before her voice faltered. But that did not faze Scarlet. It didn't matter to Scarlet what people called her. The high councilor, on the other hand, took decorum very seriously.

"Lady Scarlet," Maurin finished frostily for the handmaiden, putting emphasis on 'Lady.'

"Zephy, let them in," answered a voice from within the chamber. A voice so much like the song of a bird in a sunny sky that it could only belong to Mirela.

After high councilor Maurin and Scarlet entered the bedchamber, the three handmaids that were in attendance quietly departed the room.

Scarlet held her breath and froze where she stood when she saw the shape of her lady in the tall window. A glimmering sunlight cast a halo around her and caused her velvet viridian dress to shimmer and the wheat golden hair that fell to her waist behind her in thick braids. Mirela held herself with the grace of an imperial swan, hands clasped to her front, her head held high and poised. She seemed as impervious to indignity as a marble statue was to rain.

When the last handmaiden departed, Mirela turned to the high councilor and said,

"Please, Lord Maurin, unless you have something else to say, I would like to be alone with my new warden for a moment. There is no need for you to introduce to me someone who has been a member of this house for as long as I can remember."

"Very well, my lady. Then I will take my leave."

He paused as he departed and turned back to Mirela to say, "...please try to understand that your father only means the best."

He spoke to her with the warmth of an uncle. Indeed, he filled that role and, in the absence of a mother who had passed away from consumption long ago, had done much to help raise Mirela.

"Thank you, high councilor," Lady Mirela replied. Her eyes were unblinking. They were stoic yet did not betray the displeasure behind them.

The high councilor bowed his head and left without another word, leaving Scarlet alone with Lady Mirela.

Sparrows fluttered outside the window, chirping as they flew by. The curtains billowed in a stray wind. Lady Mirela turned to face Scarlet.

"My lady," Scarlet greeted with a curtsy.

Lady Mirela's eyes narrowed on her as she studied her up and down. Scarlet gave an awkward smile.

"So, all of Leinyere is out to get me, according to my paranoid father, and you're the one to stop them, are you?"

The curtness of her tone that came spitting out caught Scarlet off-guard.

"Well...," Scarlet started uncomfortably, unsure of how to respond.

"What weapon do you have?"

Scarlet grasped Al'Ranil, which sat in its silver sheathe at her side. Touching the cold metal always gave Scarlet solace. It always instilled confidence. Yet now, in the face of her lady's unexpected venom, she wasn't sure it had the same effect. Lady Mirela remained unimpressed. She rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Do you really believe you can protect me with that? Do you suppose you're going to save me?"

Scarlet let out a nervous laugh. "I swore to be your warden. It is my duty to ensure your safety."

"That is what you think. But you are no warden. You are a bird keeper. And I am a bird in a cage."

Scarlet shifted her feet uncomfortably. Heat rose in her cheeks. She was not one to take such cheek from anyone and do nothing for it. What does this duchess know about cages? Scarlet smiled to mask her growing anger.

"I never heard such a complaint when I stopped the assassin in Rieto with a broken broomstick, your highness," Scarlet replied flatly.

Mirela's eyes narrowed into seething slits. Her hands curled into fists. She breathed in, huffed out harshly, and effected a flash of a smile in return.

"Well, I suppose you expect me to be grateful."

"Your highness, I hold no such expectations. My only concern is my oath to your father, which I fully intend to keep."

Mirela smirked. "Then may you keep your lie of an oath."

The hair on the back of Scarlet's neck rose, and her skin prickled. As a slave, such conversations were always one-sided. There was no arguing. There was no talking back, even to offer a fair defense against such a verbal attack. There had only ever been eyes-down acquiescence. But Scarlet hadn't always been a slave. She had been a noblewoman once, too. A princess, in fact.

"I swore an oath of allegiance to your father. I will go where you go, and I will protect you. If you don't like it. Tough. Cry to your father and see what he says. What's the worst that could happen? They rescind my oath and make me a slave once more? Fine. I've been a slave for most of my life. That is a life I know how to handle. You consider yourself a bird in a cage, do you? You don't even remotely know what it means to live in a cage. Your father had done nothing but treat you with love. You should be grateful for that. Be grateful that you have at least one person in your life who wants only the best for you and has the capacity to give it. Many in this world do not."

Scarlet surprised herself with the sternness of her voice, so much so that after finishing that rant, she gasped and held her mouth. She had just chided the duchess. The duchess! The same that she had secretly and embarrassingly fawned over for so many years.

A hurt grew across the duchess's beautiful face, and suddenly Scarlet wanted to apologize profusely and beg for forgiveness for her impertinence. But the damage has already been done. She had spoken with a sincerity that no apology could mend. So, instead, she doubled down.

"Like it or not, your highness, I'm staying by your side. At least until your father deems my oath fulfilled."

Lady Mirela's face darkened. Her blue eyes were like ice.

"Then I suppose I'll remain in my cage. But don't expect me to be happy about it. I would like to go ride around the estate now. I can do that, can't I? It's the only joy I have left."

"I was instructed to never leave you from my sights outside the castle walls."

"Fine. Then put on your riding clothes."

A fear spidered through Scarlet's body.

"I, uh, don't have any."

"Then I'll have you fitted for one."

"But also...," Scarlet went red in the face. She rubbed her neck bashfully. "...I don't know how to ride a horse."

Mirela gave Scarlet a long and perplexed look, then she doubled over in a fit of cackles. She shook her head and wiped tears from her eyes. "The noble knight can't even ride a horse," she choked.

She straightened up, cleared her throat, and with a smile still wide, said, "Then I suppose I'll have to teach you."

***

At the stables, songbirds sang songs that echoed through the sun-filled edges of the woods. The last of the morning mist had just lifted from the surrounding wheat fields. Scarlet recognized the sounds of Warblers and Tanagers. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to tell which one she was looking at if she saw one, but she knew by the time of year it was and the time of day that these were the birds that she heard now; their names she gleaned from the older slaves during their foraging excursions for mushrooms and forest herbs. She knew it was important to pay attention to the sounds of the songbirds, as much as it is important to pay attention to all the sights and sounds, and hues of one's surroundings. Marcus had trained her to keep her senses attuned to the world around her and to constantly appraise her senses for even the slightest changes. For example, should the birds suddenly stop singing, that would be a cause for concern. That could mean a foul plan was afoot. But now, their songs conveyed a sense of peace. The only cause for concern for Scarlet now was the prospect of riding a horse for the first time.

Before coming to the stable, Lady Mirela's dresser had fitted Scarlet with leather riding pants and a light riding blouse.

A stableboy brought out two rather large horses, a chestnut mare and a black stallion, and began to saddle and bridle them.

Mirela watched the growing terror on Scarlet's face with pleasure.

"As long as you are confident, they will remain calm," Lady Mirela said smoothly. "They take to their rider's mood and character."

Lady Mirela led the black horse to Scarlet by the reins. The horse snorted, then whinnied loudly, startling Scarlet and causing her to stumble backward into a tree. It stamped its hooves and widened its eyes with apprehension. Scarlet had always been unnerved by the wide eyes of terrified horses.

Lady Mirela giggled. "Relax, my noble knight. This is Alexander. He was one of father's war horses once. Except he wasn't very good at war, so he is my baby now. He is a gentle soul."

She put her cheek against the stallion's muzzle and rubbed his jaw. That seemed to calm him, but Scarlet remained anxious.

"Now put your foot in the stirrup, and I'll help you up," said Lady Mirela.

Scarlet gulped. She looked all around as if to look for a possible exit. Of course, she knew that one did not exist, so she put her foot into the stirrup, keeping her eyes nervously fixed on Alexander's eye. The eyes of a horse always seemed very cold and dead to her.

"Now up you get, and swing your free leg over the saddle.

Scarlet hesitated to step up onto the stirrup. Alexander was tall, and she was afraid once she lost contact with the ground, he would bolt and carry her off, dragging her with her foot caught in the stirrup. She had seen that happen once to a squire.

Seeming to sense her hesitation, Mirela put her hands on Scarlet's waist and hoisted her up.

Scarlet uttered a small cry from the shock of feeling her lady's hands gripping her waist assertively.

But Mirela didn't give her much time to think about what was happening. She pushed up on Scarlet's waist to propel her up Alexander's side.

"Swing your leg over and put your other foot into the stirrup!" She barked.

Breathing hard, Scarlet did as she was told. Alexander snorted and flicked his ears as if to congratulate her for completing the task or mock her for being so fearful of such an easy feat.

"Now, just stay right there and don't do anything."

And Mirela effortlessly hopped up onto her mare. "Her name is Walnut," Mirela said, patting Walnut's neck.

"She's beautiful," said Scarlet.

Lady Mirela flicked the reins gently to coax Walnut into a clopping stride towards the forest trail.

"Come along now. Let's not waste the day."

Scarlet had no clue how to give Alexander any commands. She fretted. "Um, your highness!" she called out. But before she could say anything else, Alexander jumped into a quick gait to fall in behind Walnut without Scarlet doing anything except clutching the reins tightly and crying out in fear.

"Alexander knows when his rider does not know how to ride," Lady Mirela said, glancing over her shoulder. "He knows to follow my lead." Then a mischievous smirk grew on her lips. She whipped her reins and kicked her stirrups. Walnut bolted into a gallop. Alexander followed suit, nearly tossing Scarlet off. But Scarlet gripped the reins tightly and clenched her thighs tightly against his sides. She cried out frightfully as they built up speed, and the forest became a green blur.

Scarlet tried vainly to stop Alexander or at least slow him down, but she didn't know any of the commands. She only vaguely remembered that the reins were involved. She tried what came naturally to her and yanked back to get Alexander to stop, but in response, Alexander shook his head, snorted, and pushed himself into an even faster gallop, pulling up alongside Walnut and Mirela. Walnut, in turn, galloped even faster as if they were in a race, and Lady Mirela laughed gleefully while Scarlet clung on for dear life.

Before long, the forest trail came to an end. They broke onto a wide, hilly pasture, and the horses slowed into a brisk canter.

Lady Mirela brought them to a stop at the crest of the grassy hill, where before them was a vast view of the jagged snow-capped Dragon's Spine to the south, and before the mountains, the glistening ribbon of the Elmina river snaking through the gentle foothills. Scarlet had lived in this kingdom for over a decade, and only on a handful of occasions had she had the privilege of seeing its breathtaking landscape. It never failed to fill her with awe. She couldn't help but smile broadly now, even if the ride to this serene place had scared her half to death.

"You see, Alexander knows exactly what to do."

"I was completely helpless."

"But you can't deny you had fun."

"All the same, I'd rather not put myself at the whim of a horse."

"I cannot believe you have never ridden a horse."

"What use to a slave is a horse?" Scarlet said.

"What use to a slave is a sword?" Lady Mirela rebutted.

The memory of the Golden Kestrels at the riverside flashed through Scarlet's mind, and her face grew hot again, but she forced calm into herself, knowing that as cheeky as the duchess could be, the smile on her face meant that it was only a playful jab. It was better to take it in stride.

"In any case, I would be grateful to learn some of the basics," Scarlet said.

"Even an idiot can learn to ride. Don't yank on the reins. To move forward, squeeze your legs against his sides. Give a gentle kick if he doesn't cooperate."

Lady Mirela demonstrated by doing just as she said with Walnut.

"Then, to stop, simply press your heels into the stirrup and close your hands with the reins."

She brought Walnut to a stop to demonstrate.

Scarlet gave it a try. She squeezed her legs and was elated when Alexander responded by walking forwards. But in her excitement, she inadvertently kicked her stirrups hard against Alexander's sides, launching him into a gallop.

"Oh no!" Scarlet cried meekly. She clung onto Alexander's neck, which slapped her face as hard as the flat of one of Marcus's wooden practice swords with every leaping stride.

She tried pressing her heel down into her stirrups to stop him, but he wouldn't stop. He just kept going.

Lady Mirela rode Walnut skillfully alongside and grabbed Alexander's reins, and with both horses' reins in her hand, she yanked on them, causing them both to come to an abrupt stop. Scarlet flew off her horse to land on the hillside.

"Scarlet!" Lady Mirela cried. She jumped off her horse, ran to Scarlet, and plopped down on the grass beside her.

"Are you ok?"

After shaking off the daze, Scarlet sat up. She spat out a dry straw and brushed off her blouse. The grass was thick, so the landing was soft. As dramatic as the fall might have looked and as rattled as she was, she felt no lasting injury.

"I'm ok, I think. Thank you for stopping the damn horse."

Lady Mirela breathed a sigh of relief and then began to laugh hard.

"What's so funny?" Scarlet asked, chuckling.

When Mirela stopped to breathe, she said, "I just pictured myself explaining to my father that I had just killed my knight!" Then she burst into another fit of laughter, and Scarlet laughed too.

After regaining her courage, Scarlet mounted Alexander again. Above all else, persistence was the most important trait of a fighter, as Marcus had taught her. So, she was going to be persistent. The prospect of riding Alexander still gave her much reluctance, but riding was important to her lady, so it was important for her to learn to do it.

After the scare, Mirela became more patient with her instruction. Scarlet listened carefully and, before long, got the basics down fairly well. Her confidence grew, and soon, she was comfortable pushing Alexander into a canter. He really was a gentle horse and took to Scarlet well.

After an hour of deliberate practice, she became quite comfortable in the saddle, and after another hour, she was able to gallop alongside Mirela. They rode down to the river valley and rested in the heat on a grassy bank in the shady bowers of a weeping willow where the river was wide and flowed gently. It surprised Scarlet to learn that as far as they had ridden into the countryside, they were still within the boundaries of the Turracher estate. It seemed like an entire country in itself. What utter nonsense for Mirela to consider herself a bird in a cage.