Betrayed

The sky darkens as thunder rumbles behind the layers of rolling clouds. Wind howls past, causing my two braids to fly and whip in my face. The trees sway, their leaves rustling. 

On the ground it's relatively the same, more or less.

Silver clashes against silver, both seeking blood. Men fall and shouts fill the air, screams drowning them out. Roars of victory and cries of pain are both evident. But those sounds fade to the background, and the pounding of my heart is all I can hear. Its pulse engulfs me, threatening to drag me under.

I stumble away from the battle, hands clutching at my right side. Blood seeps through the black fabric and it stains my hands red. It drags small rivers across my wrist and onto my fingers that are covered in dirt. My body hurts, it’s weak, but I know that collapsing in the middle of the battlefield means being trampled to death. The wind pushes me forward, toward the forest. To sanctuary.

Glancing back, I see absolute chaos. A crowd of people fighting, clamoring for victory. Red pools onto the grass and bodies lay on the ground. 

The battlefield is a clearing in the middle of a forest. We intercepted the enemy in the middle of their invasion. It was a good thing that we found out about it as soon as we did. It gave us a chance to launch a counterattack.

I can see the forest ahead, looking more inviting than ever. The moment my feet touch the ground beneath the trees my knees give out, my side screaming with pain. The ground meets me, hard on my head. I can only feel pain. The fire. 

I’d snuck into the back lines, finding the battle commander. I was looking for the Leader, but the leader was well guarded.

The battle commander was a tall man, gray eyes full of determination. However, the sunken bags under his eyes, his gaunt cheeks, and a few day’s old scruff made it clear that he was tired. Tired commanders are easy to kill. Slow reflexes, no energy, no fight.

It was easy to melt into the cover of shadows and to sink my knife into his throat. A choked cry barely let his lips before he collapsed, dead. Eyes blank.

Of course, when his allies realized what happened, a hundred swords were headed my way. Sharp in all their glory, threatening to shred me into a million pieces.

I barely made it out alive. Maybe it was because it was complete chaos, half of them shouting for the commander, the other half seeking my blood. Or maybe because my allies attacked them.

Whatever it was, I am grateful.

Now the pounding of my heart combines with the pulsing pain from my head. Explosions in the midst of the racing fire from the rest of my body. Black spots dot my vision and I squeeze my eyes shut, unwilling to be drawn away so easily. Please, no. Being unconscious was as good as being dead.

“Kat?” a voice calls out to me. A face appears at the edge of my vision.

“Anna,” I manage to croak out, still keeping my eyes shut, willing the black spots to go away.

Annalise swears. “How did you end up like this?” she mutters. “Nevermind. Come on, stay with me.”

A scream pierces through the air, slicing through the blanket of sound from the battle. My eyes snap open.

Micaela.

My sister’s head whips to the direction of the battle. Her mouth drops.

“Wha-What’s happening?” I struggle to push myself up. 

“Don’t look.” She lays a hand on me. More people arrive, healers I think, but I can no longer be sure.

I shrug her off and turn to the battle once more, my body protesting, the pain racing everywhere. I can barely out the shape of her on the ground in the midst of the people. Micaela’s uniform is covered in dirt and blood, brown hair wild. 

She was the one who made me laugh whenever I was sad, who fought beside me and talked with me late into the night. She’s my closest friend.

The last thing I see is Jasper, the crown prince, the one we are fighting for, holding the sword that is buried in her stomach.

The last thing I feel is the kiss of a raindrop, cold on my nose.

Then the darkness takes over.

***

I stare at the white wall in front of me. This room is devoid of colour, though I’m not sure what I was expecting. White walls, white bed sheets, white curtains. The castle infirmary is a dreary place.

Beds sit in neat rows, separated by curtains. I can’t see the wounded beside me, but I can definitely hear their moans of pain. The scent of blood never quite fades. It lingers in the roots of the room, its furniture, its air, its people. Always combined with the smell of medicine.

The curtain to my left parts and Annalise walks in. “Hey,” she says. She has a white blouse and trousers on. Some people say we look alike, same dark hair, brown eyes, nose decorated with a smattering of freckles. Then again, she is my sister.

Annalise isn’t old enough to go on the front lines, so she spends her time at the back. An excellent sniper and healer from what I hear. It was a wonder that she found me in the forest. 

“Hi.”

“How are you feeling?” she pulls out a stool from under my bed that I didn’t even know was there. She moves to sit  on it, her eyes full of concern.

“Fine,” I shrug. “As well as someone with a few stab wounds could be. I mean, I got to go out earlier. Cured some of the boredom.”

“How was it?” she moves to braid my hair, and I let her. When they dealt with my wounds, they took off my black Assassin uniform and replaced it with a simple hospital gown. Before I went out, I put on the simple clothes left for me. I never bothered with my hair, but Annalise did.

I shrug again. “It was whatever. Got to take a quick stroll through the garden before Jasper was murdered and now I’m stuck here again. Well, apparently I pulled some stitches at my side during a walk, so I had to get that patched up.”

Annalise turns my head around and looks at me closely. “You don’t seem at all sad about your crown prince getting murdered.” 

Well, yeah. I decide not to say that out loud.

“I mean, wasn’t he a traitor?”

Annalise stops braiding. “What do you mean?”

I twist to look at her. All at once, I feel the anger that I’ve been trying so desperately to bury, explode. “Didn’t he stab Micaela? You were there. You saw. You told me not to look.” I try to keep my voice leveled, steady.

“No, Katya,” Annalise turns my head back around and resumes braiding. “It was the enemy. They stabbed her. He was only there for the last moments.”

“Why would he hold if he wasn’t the one who put it in?”

“Katya, I know she was your best friend but trust me on this. The other healers saw this happen too. Jasper can’t be a traitor. You know how much he has done for us.” She finishes her braiding. I don’t turn to face her. I can’t.

Was that true? Did he not kill Micaela? The knowledge of Jasper killing Micaela had been in my mind for the past days when I sat in the infirmary and did nothing. The weight it carried crushed me. Was I wrong? Did I worry for nothing? The thoughts spin around in my head, making me more confused as the minutes pass.

But I know Annalise wouldn’t lie to me. The anger fades. Just a little bit.

And the small part of my mind knows that she’s right. Jasper didn’t kill Micaela.

“Well,” I say in a small voice, the anger being drained. I clear my throat. “How was he killed?” 

Annalise sighs. “A knife wound. They slashed his neck. A servant found him at the West End of the castle. His body was still warm. We think it was an Enemy Assassin.”

I nod and now I face her. “Right. Did they find anything? Any clues?”

“No,” Annalise looks troubled. “It was on the second floor and near a window, so we think that the Assassin jumped out. They are probably long gone by now.”

I pull my knees to my chest, wincing at the soreness. A silence falls over us.

I will never see Micaela again. I will never hear her laugh again, never hear her speak again. I thought I had avenged her.

I thought we had been betrayed.

But in reality, it was I who betrayed the kingdom by killing their crown prince.