Ravensdagger_Princess

Chapter Four

There was another new person in the spire.It had been some time since she’d had anything to do but wander the halls and sometimes visit the library. For all that Salem’s collection of books was vast the subject matter was often dull. Genealogies and histories of a past she had no connection to were not much to her liking.So she stood up from her place next to the pool of darkness in the basement and started making her way up the stairs. At least the constant walking was getting her in shape. Whatever lingering pain she had felt before was gone now. She was like a taut spring, ready to jump into action at a moment’s notice.If only there was something to jump into.She was going to have to talk to Salem about it.The man was kneeling in the throne room, near the place where Cinder had rested just a few days ago. He was bowing forwards, head almost on the ground while Salem took her place on her throne.Akelarre slid into the room with only the gentle murmur of her robes shifting to signal her presence, but that was enough for the man.He jumped to his feet and moved backwards, placing himself between Salem and Akelarre, both hands raised in what she recognized as a fighting stance. He was huge. A slab of meat with shoulders twice as broad as Akelarre’s, and he towered above her even from across the room. “My queen, is this young woman an intruder?”“If I were an intruder I would not last very long, I think,” she said.“Perhaps you are right. I’m afraid that that is not enough for me to dismiss you as a threat.”“Hazel,” Salem said. Her voice was even and measured. If it were not for all the time she spent speaking to the queen of the Grimm then perhaps Akelarre wouldn’t have noticed the edge of amusement in her tone. “She is a guest. Please treat her with respect.”The man, Hazel, stood a little taller and ran a hand through his coarse beard. “Of course, my queen. Forgive me,” he said. His eyes narrowed as she moved out of the shadow of the doorway and into the red lantern light of the throne room. Then they widened.“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Hazel,” she said.“My lady Salem,” he said. “Do you perhaps have a daughter?”“She is not my child,” Salem said, though there wasn’t any accusation in the words, just a statement of fact. “Akelarre is a... surprise. An enemy of an old foe who resurfaced, quite literally, just recently. She had been in my care ever since.” Salem leaned back into her throne before gesturing Akelarre closer. “Come. I have been meaning to give you something, Akelarre, and with Hazel here there is no better time.”Curiosity pushing her forwards. She walked over to where Salem was waiting, then sat on the arm of the throne when Salem patted it. She looked down when the woman started to peel the robe from off her back.The warm air of the room brushed over her naked chest but she felt no discomfort. Hazel averted his gaze politely. “What did you want to give me?” she asked Salem. Perhaps it was a new robe?A pair of Grimm Seers flew into the room, their tentacles wrapped around an oblong black object. “I have been considering giving you something like this for some time,” Salem said. “Do not think that I did not notice your wandering. I suspect that you will soon extend your explorations to beyond the Spire. It would not do for you to do so with only one arm.”The Seers stopped next to Salem and Akelarre was able to make out the object in their grip. It was, as Salem had said, an arm. Pitch black with a bony elbow, forearm shaped like bones with a gap between them, and fingers that ended in claws of the same bone-like material that she recognized from so many Grimm.“It’s very pretty,” Akelarre said.Salem made a noise at the back of her throat, her happy sound. “Thank you,” she said as she took hold of the arm with the ease of someone lifting a stick. She pressed it against Akelarre’s stump, the shadowy flesh flowing over the girl's severed elbow, halfway up to her shoulder. “This will hurt,” she warned.Akelarre just nodded.Salem was right; it hurt quite a bit, like someone had dunked her arm in acid. Her spine stiffened and she gasped before feeling a most particular sensation along her side, as though she had a limb that had fallen asleep and was regaining its circulation with agonizing slowness.Then she felt it bite into her. Pure hate for every living soul. Without thought or reason. It hated her, and it wanted to consume her, to burn her soul out and make her body its puppet. The arm on the end of her stump writhed, becoming more monstrous, the palm snapping around to face her as a single eye opened on its palm, a white mask surfacing around it.It wasn't part of her swarm, she couldn't control it that way. But it was a part of her now, she could feel it and the danger it posed. So Akelarre did what came naturally. She leaned on it. Her memories were murky, but the weight of them was undiminished. Pain, sacrifice and control. Millions at her command. Her will rolled over the Grimm attached to her body like a boulder rolling over a bug.An instant later the arm snapped into a human shape. A perfect mirror of her real one. One white, one black. She moved her new arm, inspecting the bone-tipped fingers then moving the hand to grip the empty air. She turned it over and with a push of intent, white bone plates surfaced out of the black, forming an insectile carapace, while the nails lengthened and thickened into rending claws.Releasing the change and letting it go back to normal, she looked over to Salem. “Thank you.”Salem nodded. “You are welcome, of course. Did you wish to try your luck against Hazel? He is a very capable fighter. He won’t injure you, right, Hazel?”“No ma’am.” His gaze locked onto Akelarre’s. “I would be honoured to teach you how to better defend yourself.” His smile grew a little more eager when Akelarre jumped off the throne’s arm and moved towards him.This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.“You are very tall,” she said matter-of-factly. “And you seem strong. Fighting you would be difficult.”He nodded once. “You have already learned one of the most important lessons of combat, it seems; knowing when to cut your losses. If my queen wishes for me to teach you, then I suspect it will be a very interesting endeavor.”“Indeed,” Salem said. “Akelarre here seems to have grown weary of my company. Some training would serve as both entertainment and to help her improve her fighting abilities, if she ever needs them. But that will be for another time. Hazel, please take the night to prepare for Akelarre’s training regimen.”He bowed at the waist to Salem, then did the same to Akelarre, though not nearly as deeply. “Of course, ma’am. Miss Akelarre, it was a pleasure meeting you. I look forward to working together.” With a snap of heel on heel he turned around and walked towards the exit.Akelarre eyed him as he moved away, then turned back towards Salem when he was gone. “You said I could go out exploring?” she said.“You are not beholden to me,” Salem replied. “Come. Dinner will be served soon.” She began to walk towards the back of the room where a smaller doorway led into one of the many maze-like corridors of the Spire.Akelarre followed behind her and soon caught up enough to walk by Salem’s side. “Thanks for the arm,” she said as she looked down at the new limb. Her fingers felt a little stiff, but also much stronger than her natural arm. It was going to take some getting used to.“You thanked me already.”Akelarre looked up to her, then back down. “Thanks anyway.”Salem didn’t say anything, but there was an air of self-satisfaction to her as she walked into the dining room and marched to the far end of the massive table that took up a disproportionate amount of space in the room. She sat at the head of the table, then gestured at the far end where another place setting waited.Akelarre looked at the empty plate and utensils that were obviously meant for her, then all the way across to where Salem was sitting. She let a few of her bugs slip out from her robes and hair and from the ceiling where they always waited.One of Salem’s eyebrows perked as the creatures pulled the plates and forks and knives along, scraping them on the marble slab until they were placed just to her right. Akelarre pulled the seat next to Salem back and sat down.Salem’s eyebrow remained where it was, almost hidden in her hairline as Akelarre shuffled in her seat and wondered if she did something wrong. Then Salem relaxed and clapped her hands lightly.“I hope you don’t mind, but the meal tonight is nothing too terribly complicated,” she said as a group of Seers slipped into the room carrying trays covered with silver domes.One of the Seers places a tray before Akalarre’s setting and pulled the bell away to reveal a sort of meaty pasta dish covered in a layer of golden-brown cheese.There was no waiting or signal. Salem dug into her meal with careful motions and Akelarre did the same. “So,” Salem said as she swirled a crystal cup full of crimson-red wine. “What are your intentions for the near future?”Akelarre didn’t have to think on it for very long. “I would like to explore around the Spire a little. Maybe see places where there are humans?” She knew that there were still pockets of civilization around. Salem goal wasn’t the destruction of all life, so she allowed small settlements to grow and flourish for a time before letting her Grimm remove them. Like a gardener pruning a lawn.“Hm.” Salem said as she took another bite. “There are nomadic tribes that travel close to the Land of Darkness. They are a cunning bunch, tough and generally generous with those they encounter in need of aid. I have used them before. When resources grow scarce they can become desperate. They make for good followers. A few settlements still exist near the shores. Though those are mostly made up of... well I suppose you would call them cultists.”“Are there any cities around?” Akelarre asked.“None very close. Crucible, the content on which we are, is isolated from most of the inhabited world. The nearest large settlement would be... Patch, to the south-east. You would need to travel across a great distance by sea to reach it,” she said before turning to one of her Seers. “Fetch me a map.”The Grimm bobbed once before turning and moving out of the room. “I don’t think I can travel far over water,” Akelarre said. “I’ll need to make bigger fliers.”“I’ll let you ride atop a Leviathan if you wish. My Grimm will do you no harm. The only danger you may face will be natural and on account of humanity.”Akelarre nodded. She could feel a smile tugging at her lips at the idea of moving around and exploring the world at large. “And if I return, will there still be a place for me here?” Akelarre bit her lip, but stopped as soon as she saw Salem’s eyes straying to them.Salem paused with her fork raised, then lowered it to her plate. She looked up, red eyes meeting red for a long moment. The queen of the Grimm was the first to break the eye contact. “These past few months with you have been quite enjoyable; though you have been a quiet presence you were not an unwelcome one. It feels, perhaps unfairly, as though I have a daughter again.”A weight settled into Akelarre’s stomach and she floundered, uncertain of what to do at that. Slowly, carefully, she reached out and touched the hand Salem wasn’t using, cool fingers wrapping around cool skin. “I don’t think I’ve had a mother in a long time,” Akelarre said. “But, but if I did, I hope she would have been like you. I’m pretty sure you’re not my mother, but if you want to be... a friend, then I would really like that.” She grinned at Salem.The woman returned the grin with a demure smile. “I suspect that I would enjoy that.”

Chapter Five

She was ready. Or as ready as she thought she could be.Akelarre had taken a few days to prepare her first excursion out of the Grimmlands and towards civilisation. She had underestimated how much work it would be, but not too badly.The time was spent talking to Salem, who seemed more open about the dangers of the world beyond her immediate domain, or training with Hazel, who mostly allowed her to use him as a very large punching bag to practice on while giving her some pointers.He was a surprisingly gentle coach for someone so intimidatingly large.Then Salem had taken her aside to find her something appropriate to wear when near civilisation. She did not enjoy being used as a living doll for Salem, who forced her to try on hundreds of dresses and uniforms and gowns, some of which looked to be hundreds of years old.She endured it though, because for a moment Salem’s face relaxed and there was even a small smile at the corners of the queen’s lips as she pushed Akelarre into another outfit.She did come across the idea of making her own costume out of Grimm spider silk, but the project was moving too slowly for her tastes. She left some Grimm spiders spooling silk and picked a more practical outfit, much to Salem’s disapproval.Simple black pants, a crisp blouse that flared out at the cuffs and hem, and a cloak with a hood deep enough to cover her features. It would do.Salem insisted that she also bring a long black scarf and some leather gloves to further conceal her identity and to keep warm if the temperature dropped.Other than that, her time had been spent a little more productively than before as she created more Grimm arthropods, focusing on those that could keep up with her Alpha Lancer mount.All that preparation was for the moment when she stepped out of the front gate of the Spire and found herself pulling down her scarf to breath in the morning air of the outside world for the first time in her living memory.“Akelarre,” a familiar voice said from behind her.She paused and turned around. The queen stood tall and proud by the gates of her castle, though for all that her features were stern and regal, there was an edge of worry in her gaze.“Did you come to say goodbye?” she asked.“I came to make sure you would return,” Salem said.Akelarre nodded. It was an easy promise to make. “I will.”Salem approached her, and for a moment she thought the woman might hug her, but Salem just brought a hand up and placed it upon Akelarre’s head. “You recall what I told you about the Auras hunters use to combat my Grimm?” she asked.“I do.”Salem’s hands moved, one going to her shoulders to hold her in place, the other flat on her chest right above her beating heart. Every Grimm across the broken plains stilled and grew quiet. The wind stopped. The world hushed.Salem nodded, then, with a deep breath, she intoned, “Through defeat, immortality; through persistence, victory. And through victory the chains of gods shall break. We are the will of the world. Infinite in potential and unbound by fleeting humanity, I liberate your soul, and by my hand free thee.”Warmth, not painful or fleeting, but a constant heartbeat-thrum of gentle warmth, coursed through her body and filled her mind with a gentle caress. She felt lighter, stronger. She felt as though anything were possible even as the words Salem had spoken resonated within her.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.She looked down at her one true hand, felt the aura of strength still and passive but present just under the surface, and looked up once more. “Thank you,” she said.Salem looked away. “I merely wish for you to be safe. It would be unfair of me to request a promise of you and not make it so that you can accomplish it. I wish you well on your travels, Akalerre.”Akelarre took a step forward, cutting the distance between them to nothing until she was pressed up against Salem, then she wrapped her arms around the queen of the Grimm and held her tight. “Thank you.” Salem was a little wide-eyed when she let go and pulled back. “Taylor,” she said.“Pardon?”“My name. I remember it, I think. It’s Taylor.”Salem’s gaze softened from obsidian to marble. “No. You will always be Akelarre here.”She smiled at the queen, took a few steps back, then called upon one of her bigger Grimm insects to land near her. It was only the work of a moment to hop onto her Alpha Lancer’s back and hang onto its simplistic saddle. “I’ll see you soon,” she said as the massive insect kicked off.She almost didn’t hear Salem’s goodbye.

* * *

She watched Akelarre, Taylor, fly away until all that was left was a few specks of the girl-child’s massive swarm buzzing towards the horizon.And even when she finally lost sight of her, the warmth of the younger girl’s body pressed against hers was still like a searing needle pressed against her soul.“Come back,” she ordered the morning sky. “Come back alive.”

* * *

Seeing the Grimmlands from high above had been interesting for a few moments. The ground around Salem’s Spire was mostly flat but farther out the ground turned craggy and massive pillars of stone that stretched across the landscape like the ribs of a gigantic beast.If she thought the travelling would be amusing then she was quickly robbed of the idea. Yes, seeing new sights was entertaining, but no more so than looking at the images in one of Salem’s books.Her imagination, the frigid air and the constant thumm of her Lancer’s wings were the only things keeping her company.It took less than an hour for her to begin reconsidering the voyage.She could have turned around, returned to Salem’s side and continued with her days filled with quiet meditation, long hours of experimentation with her Grimm and deep conversations with Salem, but that felt like giving up.Her memories were still fuzzy, still a garbled mess, but for all that she knew that she was not the sort of woman to give up so easily.The divide between the Land of Darkness and the ocean was as sudden as a drop off the edge of a cliff.The rocky soil below was traded for churning waters, then, when she flew deeper away towards the horizon even that was replaced by soothing blue as far as her eyes could see.Sometimes the form of a Leviathan or other aquatic Grimm would move under the waves, or she would see some of the more natural creatures native to Remnant moving in great schools near the surface.She leaned into her Alpha Lancer’s back and closed her eyes. It was warm.She still had a ways to go.