Forty-Six ◑ The Sword

"No!" Lucille and Dimitri yelled simultaneously, but Keiran didn't stop even as the elderly man turned around and saw them.

Lucille and Dimitri kept yelling, *"No!"*. The elderly man yelped, scrambled back, and joined them with his own scream. Keiran, on the other hand, laughed and swept the stick across the air.

She closed her eyes, waiting for the smacking sound of the wooden stick hitting one's head.

However, it didn't come.

There was only strange swishing. She opened her eyes, and greeting her was the sight of Keiran using the stick to snatch the hanging clothes off their lines.

And the poor old man was watching in horror as Keiran gathered them all.

"Let's bail!" he snapped at Lucille and Dimitri once he was done. He threw the stick into the stream scooped up all the clothes into his arms, and elbowed them both. "What are you waiting for? Do you want this man to call for help?"

That got them going.

With Keiran in the lead, they tracked the length of the stream farther into the forest, close to the mainland. Only when they pit a good distance from the man's hut did they stop and catch their breaths.

"Now let's put these bad boys to use," Keiran said proudly as they waded into a nook with towering rocks. He tossed them each a tunic and a cloak, then he immediately began to unbutton his shirt and pull down his pants.

Lucille wouldn't have minded him stripping since they were in a hurry, but he turned out to be completely naked under those outer garments, treating her to a view of his broad chest, his tone stomach, and his—

"For fuck's sake," Dimitri mumbled, covering her eyes with his hand.

This intervention was necessary and she was very thankful, but Dimitri's touch made her heart stumble. She couldn't help thinking of what he'd said last night, before he'd fallen asleep.

*"Because I love you."*

Now she was burning with curiosity again. What was that supposed to mean?

Lucille stepped back, only to collide against his solid body. She let out a very embarrassing gasp. She raised her hand to touch his hand, and maybe conjure enough courage to ask, but that was when he released her.

"Safe to look now." He smiled, taking the box from her and handing it to Keiran. "Let's get changed."

****

Lucille wanted to think that the marketplace was better than the forest, but the pungent air said otherwise.

The entire cramped lane of stalls and posts were full of sweaty, dirty bodies rubbing against each other in a slow-moving line. She, Dimitri, and Keiran were huddled close together, trying to navigate their way around the sea of people who didn't know the existence of deodorant.

She thought that the three of them would stand out since they were wearing matching hooded cloaks, but no. They blended right in.

She wasn't sure she liked blending in, not when the marketplace was in the state of ruin and the people looked emaciated and neglected.

This became more obvious as they moved around the stalls, trying to discover a way to sneak some food, the sorry state of the place and its inhabitants. Everything looked different from her memory.

The buildings around them were chipped, weather-beaten, and nearly dilapidated. There were no plants, no flowers. The assortment of food laid out in the stalls didn't look fresh nor were they in abundance. The royal palace, which was more visible from here, gave off the same defeated atmosphere.

Overall, the place looked poor and desperate.

"What happened to this place?" she asked Dimitri as they swerved into an alley, only to find more vendors. "Why is it like this?"

"This is after your time," he said simply. "Less than a decade, if I remember it right. This is the result of your husband's decisions in warfare and trade—poverty."

That explained the young warriors, the black-clad thugs lurking around in the streets. The state was nearly broke, with all its men lost in war and the economy suffering from trade. It was surprising that the place hadn't gotten pillaged yet.

Lucille's mouth tightened. "So he didn't die after I almost did? He lived on after I was gone?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but Keiran wedged himself between them and stated, "Thou shall not spill any more clues, dear brother. I know we're in deep shit right now, but she still has to figure stuff on her own."

Then, he flashed a pointed look at her. "Stop asking questions. You caused enough damage already."

"Don't talk to her like that," Dimitri said coldly.

Keiran paused like he was getting ready to say something heavy, but the warning look in his brother's eyes made him stop. He just turned around, started walking, and casually snatched a piece of bread from a stall.

His hand had been so quick and so smooth that Lucille could hardly believe he'd done it.

"Did he. . . ?" Her question sputtered to a stop when she caught sight of Dimitri doing the same to a fruit stand. "What are you guys doing?"

"Making breakfast," Keiran answered casually, patting the little pocket in his cloak. "You have to pitch in, princess. We don't know how long we'd be here."

As though to confirm that, Dimitri reached over to a stall of dried berries and grabbed a whole bag in a seamless motion. Lucille was impressed. And quite horrified.

She'd done a lot of crimes in her entire existence, but stealing in an unknown place with unknown people made her extremely nervous.

Still, she waded into the crowd, trying to time her strategy. She reached out to take a fruit from the stand, but her glimmering bracelet caught the light and caused the vendor to turn abruptly.

So did the other locals surrounding the shop.

All of them adopted outraged expressions all at once. Lucille was frozen in her spot, unsure of what to do now. The position of her hand, the guilty look on her face, and her quick retreat were dead giveaways.

"Thief!" the vendor hissed, and simultaneously, the locals attacked.

Panic crept up her throat. She tried to blend back into the crowd, but it was too late. The people were quick to pull her closer to them, and their speed prevented Dimitri and Keiran from interfering.

But of course, the twins wouldn't back down.

Keiran inserted himself between the growing mob and Lucille, but the sheer number of people overpowered him immediately.

"No!" he yelled, trying to push the older women away from her as they began clawing at her cloak. But with one hand occupied with the golden box, he couldn't do much. "Hey, back off, you stupid hags!"

None of them relented. Their sharp, dirty nails dug into Lucille's arms, which she raised to shield herself, bringing forth a wave of stinging pain. They were particularly focused on her head, for some reason, reaching from under the cloak. Some strands of her hair were pulled, her long tunic underneath now crumpled and her skin smarting from assault.

Nothing hurt more than the fear and the shame, though.

"Back off!" Dimitri ordered, and when they only attacked more aggressively, he drew his sword and drove them back.

He took her by the arm and tried to steer her away, but that was when the thugs noticed him.

They took one look at his weapon and charged.

The nearest three pulled out their own swords and charged at Dimitri, who effortlessly parried their blows. Four more thugs join in, and now the whole street was in chaos.

The clang of metal and muffled cries fill the air. Lucille didn't know where to go. She felt so stupid, so helpless, so useless. She stayed close to Keiran, who just snatched someone's spear and was helping his brother fight while protecting the box. Dimitri was still occupied, jabbing and slashing at their enemies but not really hurting them.

And perhaps that was his mistake.

Because as he shoved back a thug to keep him out of real danger, another thug snuck in behind him and thrust his sword forward.

Right through Dimitri's back.