Chapter 8: Of Realizations and Untreaded Waters

The nerve of him. For all the wisdom of Delos, Addy could have never predicted just how poorly her dear childhood friend had turned out. How dare he insult her sword fighting skills when he had never even seen her in action!

Was it the lack of an ancient and noble blade, a supposed lack of noble blood, that made Hayden think that it was acceptable to treat her so poorly? She dismissed the thought right away. Whatever Hayden had become in the last few years, she didn't think that he'd stoop so low as to judge someone based on their status.

Still, he was a far cry from the boy she had once known. The boy she had -

Addy was pulled out of her head by a nudge from Lillian. She looked out from under the log where she had been hiding, and bit her lip to hide a gasp. It was Mordan's Watch, a small army of soldiers. There were at least two dozen people wearing black and red cloaks.

She covered her mouth with her hand and let out a silent scream. When that failed to calm her nerves, she sat on her shaking hands, praying to the gods that her friend and ex-friend didn't see how much she was freaking out.

"Commander, I believe that we have found another band of rebels." It was a woman with long black hair flowing loosely from her shoulders, and a sadistic smile. "I will take great pleasure in crushing them."

Addy glanced at the woman with an appraising eye. Something about her was just so... familiar? She was clearly a woman of Mordan, however, and growing up as an Aluran princess she could count the number of people she met from the dark, desolate country on one hand.

"I admire your initiative, Lady Casper," a rumbling voice echoed through the clearing, harsh and low and not at all human.

Yes, that was it. Darrell Casper was the lord that she and Lillian had fought in Casta. This woman must have been some sort of relative, maybe a sister or a cousin. She exchanged a glance with Lillian, and Hayden looked between them with a confused expression.

"Their horses are still here, and the fire appears to be newly lit," the woman said. "Wherever the rebel filth are, they couldn't have gone too far."
Rebel filth. The watchwoman sounded like one of the villains from the fantasy books that Eliza was always reading. Or, had always read. She had no clue what her former friend was doing now.

A horde of Mordan soldiers entered the clearing, swarming the campsite. One of them, a young-looking blonde woman, put out the fire with a murky looking brown liquid that smelled suspiciously like manure. Addy felt bile rise up in her throat at the smell. Hayden made a coughing noise.

The commander eyed Apple with a predatory glint in his eyes that made Addy feel more than a little uncomfortable. "The horses are of no use to us. I think we ought to kill them now."

Addy and Lillian exchanged a desperate glance. They had grown attached to their respective horses, and they were not going to lose them to Mordan's Watch, of all people. They turned to Hayden, their gazes pleading.

He gave them a look as if to say: they're just horses.

In return, Hayden was given a fierce look and his most likely life saving advice was discarded.

Addy turned to Lillian. "You go out into the woods and take the long-range, pick them off one by one. Hayden and I will split them up, each takes half. We aren't letting the Watch win this time."

Lillian nodded and took off into the woods, running sideways down along the camp. Addy heard a thud and a cry of pain as the first arrow hit its mark, and the camp dissolved into commotion, with screaming and trampling as the soldiers tried to figure out what had happened.

She readied herself to take advantage of the distraction and jump into the fray, when a smooth hand reached out and grabbed her sword hand. It was Hayden.

"This is an insane idea," he sounded exasperated, and a little - fearful? Well, their odds weren't exactly amazing, and she couldn't blame him for not wanting to die a brutal death. "Do not do this, Addison."

She grinned at him. "Too late."

Then she charged into the fray.

~~

Five Years Ago - After the 'Incident'

She was running, running, running as the men with swords chased after her. They were leering, reaching outright to grab the bag of gold that she carried on her belt. The rain had soaked her to the bone, and she couldn't help shivering as she prayed to all the gods she knew for someone, anyone to rescue her...

As she turned a corner, the men halted in their tracks. She saw a glimmer of a sword, one that looked strangely familiar. There was a man in a hood, who lunged at the would-be-thieves and disarmed them in the blink of an eye.

"Do I know you?" She couldn't help but ask.

He lowered his hood, and she wasn't able to hold in her gasp. She knew this man. "Sir Gavril?"

The corner of his mouth twitched upwards, a ghost of a smirk. "Come with me, your highness."

~~

"So, you want to learn how to wield a sword?" Gavril's voice was cool and more than a little bit harsh.

Abigail could vaguely remember him taking a similar tone with her brother, back when he had been the Master-At-Arms in their castle. They had thrown Gavriel a massive retirement party, with the best lemon tarts that she had ever tasted.

She recalled how her brother had somberly thanked Gavril for all that he had taught him, every inch the king he would one day be. Once Jason's light powers manifested, she knew that her brother would be unstoppable.

Even thinking of him made her heart hurt. She had been gone from home for two weeks, and just thinking of what had happened left a hole in her chest. She could never be Abigail Valadon ever again.

Not after what had happened.

"Yes, please - I'll try so hard." Abigail said, feeling decidedly uncomfortable. Her hair itched from the new black dye, and she felt strange not wearing the dresses that she had always favoured.

She needed this, desperately. Without her guards and her family name, she needed a way to defend herself. Even more, she needed a way to defend others, a way to honour the promise she had made in hushed words by her father's bedside.

"Will you?" Gavril asked.

Abigail winced. She knew that he was thinking about all the times that her parents had tried to force her into sword lessons, all the times she had giggled and declined, saying no - she didn't want to ruin her hands, it'd be a waste of time, she was going shopping - a hundred thousand stupid excuses.

Now, the man she had scorned was her only salvation. She wondered if her father was laughing at her from up in the heavens.

"I know that you have no reason to believe me," Abigail said, her voice soft. "I know that for all the time you have known me, I have behaved as an arrogant, spoiled child. And I understand that, if anything, I am the one who owes you a favour, after you saved my life in the rain."

She continued on. "But I made a promise on my father's deathbed to do better, to make him proud of me. To help others in any way that I was able. I know that I don't deserve your help. I am not like my brother, fit to rule a country and deserving of my title. But the people out there, the ones enslaved by Mordan, they need someone to help them. If you don't do it for me, do it for them."

Abigail paused, silently pleading that he didn't turn her away.

Gavril paused for a moment, considering. As Abigail braced herself for rejection, prepared to turn away and find her own way, he spoke. "Fine."

Abigail felt as if her jaw had reached the floor. "In truth?"

Gavril sighed. "In truth, princess, I always thought you were rather naive and yes, a bit spoiled, but I certainly don't believe you did what they say you did. It would be needlessly harsh of me to turn you away now."
He looked her directly in the eye. "I am giving you one chance to prove yourself. You will have to work harder than you have ever had to in your entire life. And I don't want an ounce of complaining from you. Do you understand?"

Abigail was half-taken back by the ferocity of his words, but refused to bend. She stood straighter and looked him the eye. "I do."

Gavril's expression relaxed, and there was almost something comforting about the sight. "Good. We start in the morning."

~~

Addy thought of her old, graying mentor now as she ducked the attack of the nearest Watchman, rolling over and shoving her sword into his ankle. He doubled over, with a cry of pain. She and Hayden had done just what she planned, and split the forces between them, taking roughly ten each.

While the odds weren't great, every so often she would hear another cry of pain and know that another one of Lillian's arrows had found their mark. Six of the watchmen now laid on the ground in varying states of discomfort - since they had not killed anyone, she saw no reason to kill them.

The woman who she presumed was second in command, Lady Casper, came running at, her lips parted in an animalistic grin, sword outstretched. Addy parried her blow and allowed herself to be lost in the dance of swordplay for a few brief seconds. It was intoxicating.

Much to her regret, she had to end things quickly, and - judging by the impressive skill the woman was displaying - in a less than honourable way.

Lady Casper took advantage of her moment of hesitation and made a shallow cut on Addy's thigh, pressing deeper with a wicked twitch of her lips. Addy knew what she was doing, she had seen it done before. This was the sort of woman who didn't care about winning the battle - she had likely joined Mordan's Watch to inflict as much suffering as possible.

Acting on pure instinct, Addy grabbed the whisky bottle and smashed it over the Lady's head, resisting the urge to apologize out loud as she fell like a stone to the ground. She hoped that she hadn't killed her. Despite the fact she was a Watchwoman, killing someone who hadn't done something truly reprehensible seemed... wrong.

Two more came running towards her, weapons in hand, ready to avenge their fallen leader. Addy pushed through the pain in her leg and hobbled on. She disarmed one quickly, kicking him to the ground.

The other's sword came dangerously close to cutting off her ear, and Addy breathed a sigh of relief when an arrow hit the woman's leg with a soft thud. Thank the gods for Lillian. She took advantage of the weakness and kicked the woman to the ground. Finally, her portion of the camp was clear.

She turned around and saw Hayden, still mid-battle with the commander. Their swords were locked, and her ally had his eyes closed - which seemed a poor battle strategy to her - and arm outstretched. What was he doing?

A few seconds later, she got her answer. The whisky from the bottle flew through the air, forming a whip made of liquid that flew into Hayden's waiting hand. In the briefest of motions, he swung it down. The commander shrieked in pain as a red welt appeared on his face, and after one more strike, he slumped against a tree, groaning softly.

Addy had nearly forgotten, after all these years. Hayden had water magic. In the noble families of Perrnath, water magic ran rampant, and a large portion of their population possessed it to a lesser degree. It was the same in Mordan with darkness magic, Giana with nature magic, and Alura with light magic.

Hayden sheathed his sword, a triumphant grin on his face. He turned to her, surveying the people with injuries of varying severity. "It seems I judged you too harshly," he said. "You didn't do half bad."

Addy smiled, recognizing the teasing in his voice for what it was - an olive branch. "Half bad? I finished before you, don't forget."

"But I managed to escape unscathed," he said, gesturing towards her injuries.

"Well, not all of us have water magic."

Hayden smiled, but his face fell abruptly. "Listen, it was unfair of me to be so harsh with you. Regardless if you're capable or not-"

"Which I am," Addy interjected.

"Which you are," he agreed. "I was going through... some things, but I shouldn't have taken out my anger on you. I hope you can forgive me." He held out his hand.

In all honesty, his apologizing was more than Addy had ever expected. "I forgive, your highness." Referring to him in such a formal light seemed strange, after everything.

He rolled his eyes skyward, like the use of his title was the most morally reprehensible thing that he had ever heard. "Call me Hayden."

Lillian emerged from the trees, eyes aglow. "We did it!" She stopped outright, noticing the change in atmosphere and smiling brightly. "Finally. It took you two idiots long enough to realize that you're basically the same person and get along."

Lillian gestured towards the people withering on the ground. "Why don't we tie them up and get out of here, as soon as possible."
Addy agreed with the sentiment. It felt almost as if she was in the presence of darkness. "Agreed."

After tying up their enemies and getting her leg patched up by Lillian, the three were off on horseback, flying through the dirt-packed road at a breakneck pace, trying to put the campfire behind them.

Addy grinned. She loved the feeling of the wind in her hair, of it blowing freely down her back. She turned to Hayden. "Are you ready to admit that I was right about the horses?"

"Don't push your luck," Hayden said, but he was smiling too.

For the first time, Addy truly felt like she was part of a team. 

~~

Hope you liked this chapter - Hayden and Addy finally move past their little feud. The part with Gavril was interesting to write, since he's such a cool and collected character and the only one who knows the truth about Addy. He'll appear again. 

Next chapter, we head to Lunaris and deal with an unusual problem. See you next week!