Uriel
27 years. It had taken me 27 years of ignominy and frustration to feel like myself again. It had been worth it, though.
"Once you've received your share, you'll be marked." The young, pretty guardswoman pointed at a dully glowing crystal in front of several huge, steaming pots. The savoury smell of cooked meat was thick in the air. "Every single one of you will be fed twice a day, but on the Lords' orders touching the crystal more than once. during distribution will earn you a week of unpaid work in the fields. The second offence will put you in jail for a month. We're trying to fill your bellies, not your coffers. I've been working in this town as a mercenary for a while and I know most of you. Don't try to cheat your way around the magic. Don't even think about it. Lord Mephisto himself enchanted the gem." Lord Mephisto? I couldn't suppress a sneer. Grovelling, cowardly rat.
"Vanya," an elderly man on my right in worn out leather armour spoke up, "where did you get so much meat? I didn't see any hunting parties leave for the jungle and…"
"Elias, look around you," a bearded redhead at the woman's side chuckled. "Do you really have to ask? They somehow made it happen and it tastes like the real thing, I can tell you that much."
"Thanks, Will," the blonde muttered angrily. "You're always so reliable. He's still right, though. The food came from the tree. If you don't trust it, nobody will force you take it."
"I didn't say that, did I," the disgruntled grandpa shot back. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, eh?" I didn't need to listen any longer. Food and shelter were guaranteed to keep even the most distrusting locals in line. Aside from those who were still clinging to the old ways of power and cruelty the prospects of Free Land weren't bad at all and even the most stubborn cutthroats would soon either comply or find themselves on the newly erected gallows just outside of town.
The policies the two kitsune brothers had cooked up in their newly constructed town hall weren't shabby and they contained just the right amount of brutality and leniency to facilitate change, even among a population as mistreated, as wary as the inhabitants of Free Land. It was going to take time, though, and the delicate balance within the city currently relied on keeping the subversive elements in check, a feat that had become much easier ever since one of the former Captains, Nightshade, had personally marched a few of his old acquaintances to the scaffold. The Executioner of Free Land they called him now and the image of him raising the still bleeding head of one of his lieutenants, who had been caught selling slaves despite the ban, for the crowd to see wouldn't be forgotten anytime soon.
I was walking through cluttered streets, lost in my own thoughts, until the sounds of hammers hitting wood and nails shook me from my reverie. Just outside the shadow of the gargantuan tree Nightshade had commissioned a church for the Broken Wheel to be built. Surprisingly two different altars were currently being polished outside the skeletal scaffolding and quite a lot of kids were milling about. I knew that most of them actually lived in the oversized cherry tree, but for a while now they had been constantly involved in building the church.
Gold wasn't much of an issue for an immortal and even though the financial elite of Free Land wasn't overly interested in opening their purses, there were currently several construction sites scattered throughout town, paid for by the kitsune. Schools, public wells, bathhouses and barracks were being built and the harbour had not only been restored, but was even being fortified and expanded. A constant stream of goods entered the city, sold by curious merchants who had come running as soon as the rumours about the Free Land rising like the phoenix from its ash had spread.
Usually the more adventurous traders would have tried to leverage their goods to gain concessions, or influence at the very least, but up until now it had been surprisingly quiet and well organised. I had heard rumours that a very influential merchant was acting behind the scenes to keep his colleagues in line, but whether it was true or not I simply couldn't say. I had my own plans and didn't have the time to chase after every ghost story, even though that particular one might have been worth the effort.
With a silent sigh I scanned the crowd until I found the girls I was looking for. Brianna and Kana, two sides of the same coin, two mortals who shone with just a touch of divinity, the reason why there were two altars being prepared for a single church and my ticket to finally glimpse the truth. For nearly three decades I had suffered as a pathetic mortal to answer a single question: what the fuck was actually wrong with my people? Lucifer and Michael bashing their heads in was nothing new, but even though it had been years since I had last had contact with one of my kin, I was decently sure that our current predicament was much more troublesome than a squabble in the sandbox. It felt… different, inevitable almost, considering the plethora of bullshit we had been fed in preparation for the great showdown in the Void. True enough, I had been there, but I hadn't lifted a finger. In contrast to my siblings I actually didn't like being used and the entire setup had smelled like manure from the very beginning. Unfortunately there weren't that many people I could ask in the first place and those few were entirely able to lie to my face or simply tell me to fuck off... or shove their wings up my arse. I wasn't particularly powerful in comparison to my siblings, but I had something going for me that most of them lacked entirely. I wasn't conceited. That notion had been beaten out of me ages ago.
I rounded a corner and made sure I was alone before I conjured a creaky, old cart filled with jerky, fruits and bread from thin air. With a twist of my awareness I changed my appearance until I resembled an old, stopped, human lady somewhere in her sixties. I might not have been able to rival my kin when it came to combat, but my disguises had always been in a league of their own. Aside from Lucifer and maybe Michael, in case he actually payed attention, none of them had ever been able to look behind the veil, so to say. I adjusted my posture, leaned heavily on the smooth, worn out grips of my cart and plodded towards the construction side, a silly, toothless grin plastered to my face.
"Lunch," I screamed in a raspy, broken voice when I neared the low wall they used to cordon off the premises of the church to be. "Ol' Tif has brought enough to even fill the stomachs of you ravenous rascals." A warm breeze carried a thick cloud of smoke from the ships' furnaces in the harbour over and made me cough wretchedly. My disguises were good enough to even convince my core that I was actually having trouble breathing. Small hands reached out and gently patted my back while I heard a youthful voice close by:
"We told you'll you don't have to come here every day. We can just as well come to your stall." Slender arms held me upright as a wet cloth touched my cheeks and the fit finally subsided. When I had blinked my tears away, I could make out the blurry outline of a tall girl in front of me and the shadow of a second woman who was still supporting me from behind.
"You'd forget me in a heartbeat, if I didn't visit you every day," I coughed and gently squeezed the hands around my middle. "I'm fine now. Thank you, Brianna." I fiddled with my decidedly empty pockets to produce a wrapped piece of dried honey. "That's for you two," I whispered hoarsely. "Don't show it around. I don't have more." Neither of them moved, but the one behind me leaned in closer.
"We can't…," she mumbled, "look, we're grateful for everything you've done, but we can't keep troubling you. Your cough is getting worse by the day." Hopefully. It was on purpose, after all. "You should really take better care of yourself. Come on, lean on me. We've got a few bags of wool over there. You can rest in the shade while we tell the others. They'll be delighted. We've been here since before dawn."
"And that's why I can't rest," I chuckled feebly as I allowed them to lead me deeper into the tumultuous construction site. "If even you youngster work from sunup to sundown, us old gremlins at least have to make sure you've got something to fill your bellies with." More quietly I added: "ever since I've lost my Johnathan you're the only ones I can look after. What am I good for, if I can't even keep the sweetest girls in town fed?" Yeah, yeah, I was lying through my teeth and it actually sucked, but there was no quicker way to a decent human's heart than pity and good food and I really needed their trust.
Kana clicked her tongue before she replied: "what are you good for? Mel… you make everyone smile. That's more than enough… just look around." Every worker we passed took a moment to raise a hand in greeting or shout a rough welcome. The younger ones even dropped their tools on the spot and quickly rushed over to either help push my cart or add a few extras to the growing collection of local delicacies. A veritable throng soon formed around us and the air was filled with way too many questions to answer them properly:
"You're pale, Mel. Did you sleep well? Have you tried the tea I gave you? That's actual beef jerky. Where did you get it? How's the new door? Harold said they finished with your home yesterday. Me da has some leftover down. Wanna have 'em? No need ter pay." The barrage went on and on while I was shuffled past the newly laid foundations, a few half finished walls and the massive timbers that would one day carry the entire roof, until we found a surprisingly clean and tidy spot in the shadow of a huge pink shower tree. The clamorous crowd immediately turned a workbench into an improvised table and a few logs into haphazardly arranged seats while Brianna sat me down on a soft heap that smelled like an entire flock of sheep.
Her sunny smile wavered slightly when she grabbed my wrists and felt the thin skin stretch over brittle bones. "You've lost weight again," she attested quietly. "Are you sure I can't take you up the tree? They would set you right in a jiffy, you know. Greta has never turned anyone sick away."
"Ah… kitsune and dryads and angels and dragons… I'm too old." I put a gnarly hand on her cheek before I added: "I've lived a long and full life. Some things are only beautiful because they come to an end. But you… tell me what you've seen. Tell me what makes you smile like that every day." I coughed again and squeezed her fingers. "In return I'll tell you another story."
"I'd rather you simply got over your pride and asked for help," she pouted and fell down at my side with a huff. "And smiling isn't difficult. You should try it yourself every once in a while." I granted her a lopsided, toothless smirk and a wink.
"I'll keep it in mind, but I'm afraid most people wouldn't even see the difference. I'm neither young nor pretty… I'd probably just waste the effort. Go on, get yourself a few bites before we talk your entire break away. I'm not going anywhere."
"Promise," she asked half seriously without the faintest idea of the predicament she put me in. Instead of a reply I chuckled dryly and pinched her thigh.
"Go, now. Otherwise the meat will be gone and that'd be a shame. Growing girls need just as much proper food as working men." She laughed and shook her head, but obediently got to her feet. With a few steps she joined the line in front of the improvised table. I was just about to make myself comfortable when her ebony haired best friend slumped into her place, accompanied by a whiff of jerky, cheese and just a hint of unspent magic. Kana had filled a wooden plate to the brim and offered half of it to me wordlessly.
I granted her an appreciative smile and reached for a piece of goat cheese. While I carefully chewed the first, savoury bite I made a show of looking her up and down repeatedly. "Where are your wings," I finally asked. "One day they're there and the next they're gone. You didn't have them removed, did you?"
"Course not," she mumbled through a mouthful of fig. "Sera, the…," I knew exactly why she hesitated. It wasn't common knowledge, that both kitsune with silver tails could turn into dragonesses. Well, Lucifer wasn't a real dragon, but his avatar looked close enough to the real thing. Not that Tifania, the old, widowed, dorky lady would know anything about it in the first place, so I simply tilted my head to the side and feigned confusion. "I guess you wouldn't know much about her," she continued, "but she's one of the kitsune. Maybe you've seen her from afar, she's hard to miss. Has nine tails and all. Anyways, she's really good with body enchantments and she taught me how to hide my wings. It's a real hassle walking down a clogged street with two sails on your back." I nodded along and stole a few deep red cherries from her plate, while a good natured scuffle broke out over the last slice of jerky just a few steps away. A tired sigh escaped me when a sandal whizzed past my ear.
"Didn't you… I thought Cassandra was the only kitsune you know well," I asked and tried my best to ignore the almost indecent moans one of the workers uttered while his friend held him down with a laugh and continuously flicked his ear.
"True, but I'm getting to know more of them with every day and they aren't as difficult to get along with as you might expect. They're pretty… human, if you can overlook their beauty and magic. Besides, getting a hold of Cassy right now is almost impossible. I've heard she's been around a few times in the last week, but I haven't seen her and every time I ask I only get blank stares in response."
"One amazing friend you have there," I wheezed and allowed another cough to shake me. When she reached for her handkerchief and a can of water I shook my head. "I'll be fine, give me a moment," I croaked.
"If you say so… and she is a good friend. Neither Brianna nor I could ever have listened to your stories, if it hadn't been for her." As if a sudden idea had struck she added: "even if you don't want to go near the tree, I'm sure I'll be able to persuade her to meet you some place else. She'll definitely make you see sense…"
"That'd be the day," Brianna huffed when she returned with a similarly stuffed plate. "But contradicting her is pretty difficult. She might even get through your thick, ancient skull." With a quick movement she grabbed a coarse hide from an unused pile close by and settled down "You'd do us a favour," she continued quietly. "We don't want to watch you choke every time you so much as move your legs."
"Why would the princess of an exotic race ever want to meet me," I replied hoarsely. "I'm just a boring, old…
"You'd be surprised," Kana interrupted me. "Besides, what do you stand to lose? If you don't like her, you can just walk away. Despite the rumours, she's never raised her hand against someone who didn't threaten her or her friends. She'd never hurt you." I wasn't as convinced, but then again this was what I had been waiting for. Almost. I hesitated a moment longer before I said:
"Fine. But I do have a condition. It might sound stupid, but otherwise I won't agree."