The Adventures of Iron Wolves: Book 1 - Alpha
Chapter 1: Guild Territory

A stone circle, so natural in its arrangement, bordered on giving the feeling of unnaturalness. The very air here felt unnatural and heavy, like anticipation or excitement ran rampant in the air. A man sat here staring out to a large stone building sitting nestled into the side of the tall mountain. The size of the building reminded him of a condensed village. The mountain itself rose from the ground like a proud pyramid giving it a sense of mystery and foreboding. He shook. He remembered fervently wishing for King Neflyte to not choose him to come to this hell on earth.

While he had never been here before, he had heard the gossip spread amongst the other message runners. He felt sure that even if the stories were too fantastical to be true that they had to have been based on some sort of truth to even exist. Many stories spoke of the group of people, Group of elves he corrected himself, who lived in that building and none of those stories were very pleasant. The stories spoke of evil folk that could ensnare your emotions with just a glance. They could whisper things in your ears that could slay demons and dragons. He felt very uneasy and nervous about being in a place like this. His heart leaped into his throat when a soft, almost musical voice reached his ears.

“Looks like you’re here to see us,” He turned slowly to see a small girl with long pale blue hair and deep sky blue eyes. She wore a short checked skirt; loose white low-cut top with sleeves that flowed down to her wrists and billowed out delicately like a ceremonial kimono; and knee- high black leather boots with a zipper on the outside of her leg stretching from her ankle to the top of the boot. It was clear, from the look of her, that her clothes didn’t hamper her movement in the slightest.

She leaned over his shoulder, revealing more of her chest, and wrapped her fingers around the scroll. “May I?” she asked, her blue eyes clear and hypnotic.

“Sure,” he replied letting go of the scroll. “May I ask who you are?” He unashamedly dragged his eyes over her body before looking back up to her face. “You aren’t carrying any weaponry…” He knew everyone within this territory had a job of some sort. By decree of its ruler, everyone’s job was to benefit the Iron Wolves and this territory as a whole. Noticing her smile, he gulped. Any thoughts of doing anything to her disappearing from his mind. “But you aren’t carrying any insignia of a mage.” She straightened and turned slightly showing him a small rectangle pouch that sat on her right hip. He nodded and mused to himself while he watched her carefully.

An Alchemist... He watched her warily. I better be careful of her then. She could kill me with some concoction. He wondered at what level she was at. Alchemy... Has its uses in military and technology. Hold on a minute! The Princess is an Alchemist too.

Anima could see the paranoia in his eyes. She kept her composure and opened the scroll as a distraction from him. “I see...” She scanned the scroll, and then fingered the red wax seal at the bottom of the page. “Stykes isn’t going to like this.” Despite the seriousness of her words, a small smile crept over her face at the wax seal.

The wax seal depicted a crescent moon within a diamond border. It brought back many fond memories for her. The man watched her, relaxing at the peaceful expression on her face. He wondered what was on the scroll that produced such a sweet smile. The thoughts of his Princess and her similarities to this Iron Wolves demon before him were pushed away.

Anima snapped her fingers and a female wearing tight grey clothing appeared kneeling at her side. The man stared, his shaking picked up once more.

“Let Stykes know that I’ll be back soon…” She glanced at the man increasing his fear threefold. “And tell him that I’ll be accompanied by someone.”

The female nodded. She stood to give her a small bow. “As you wish Anima,” She leapt and disappeared like smoke. The man blinked and stared at where the female had been. Nothing told him she had been standing there at all in the first place. He stiffly looked back to Anima.

“You’re Anima…” His voice shook with fear. “I should have known.” Anima smiled and with another snap of her fingers another female wearing a rough tan outfit came up with three horses. “You’re the only one of the Iron Wolves known well outside these lands.” Out of all the messengers to leave the Iron Wolves Territory, Anima was not only the most common but also their most memorable.

Anima waved her hand at him. “That aside,” She said as she mounted a beautiful chestnut mare she had fondly named Rainspinner. “You need to come with me.”

The man was stunned. On Rainspinner’s back was only a green woven blanket. Around the edges of the blanket was a vine with crescent shaped leaves picked out in gold thread. The crescent design tickled a memory in the back of his head.

She nodded to the female that had appeared. The female brought a very dark brown mare with white spots on her rump to the man and waited. The man eyed the mare carefully. This one had a saddle made of hard black leather and strapped both securely onto its back.

“You need to mount the horse…” Anima said noticing he wasn’t moving. She could tell his attention was no longer on her completely. “Or we will mount you on it by force.” She smiled sending shivers down his spine. “Trust me when I say, it’s less painful if you are cooperative.” The man scrambled up onto the mare and held onto the reins with a white-knuckled grip. Anima waved her hand and two more people on horses joined them. “Let’s go.”

The female, who was previously with Anima, ran through the main entrance towards a large door carved with vines. Her feet merely a blur of undefined colour. She slipped in and up to the dais where a man sat in a high- backed chair.

Another high-backed chair stood next to the chair the man sat in. Upon the chair sat a small and very fluffy toy rabbit whose ears looked chewed and worn. The female gave it a small nod before darting around and crouched down behind this chair to whisper quietly to the man on the adjacent chair.

“Stykes,” The man gave only the smallest sign that he had heard her. “Anima will be here soon with a messenger from the King of Lunarias.”

Stykes nodded and tapped his finger against the arm of the chair. To the congregation in the room, he appeared irritated. The female nodded and disappeared like smoke again

Stykes focused his attention back to the group before him. “So why do I need to care?” He leaned forward giving them the impression that he was tempted by their offer. The impression didn’t last very long. “Your mines aren’t anywhere near the ones owned by my guild. If anything, I am under the impression that you want me to sponsor your mines and put my guild in jeopardy. Prince Oslo would start a war on something that small.” His voice darkened to a dangerous level. “As much as I’d like to stick a needle into that bastard’s ass, I’d rather not have his father’s armies at my doors.”

The door flew open with the force of a blizzard behind it. Anima strode in as calmly as if it was her own bedroom. She now wore her long, slender rapier sitting just under her pouch on her right and a small dagger with the Royal Crest of Lunarias on her left. The dagger’s crest was clear to all who saw her. The Lunarian messenger followed slightly behind her. He bowed reverently to Stykes and stood away from both him and the blacksmiths. Shock still seemed plastered on his face.

Stykes sighed exasperated at the sight. He knew Anima wanted to keep her identity a secret. But, because she wore the crested dagger, it was only a matter of time before someone put two and two together. One glance from her told him she wore it with a purpose today.

“Although… Those mines would give us a good advantage over the armies of Sukonia. We’ll need them because of this.” Anima’s voice was crisp like autumn leaves. She waved the scroll she held at him.

The blacksmiths eyed the dagger before dropping quickly to one knee. Not taking any notice of the kneeling men before her she continued her walk towards the dais.

“Oslo apparently dropped our names to divert attention from his own assassins.” She sounded displeased to everyone in the room. The blacksmiths knew that a displeased royal of any land equalled trouble to those in her presence.

Stykes stepped down and moved to meet her halfway across the hall, hand outstretched for the scroll. His seemingly disrespectful actions produced gasps from the blacksmiths.

“He had the balls to make enemies of our guild?” His eyes scanned the scroll as quickly as Anima’s had earlier. His voice low he added. “Rena gave you my message?” Anima nodded and looked up at Stykes’ face. Stykes took a deep breath and snapped his own fingers.

A man appeared near him. The bright red scarf he wore hung loose and long around his neck, caused everyone’s eyes to look away from him. Anima always had a sneaking suspicion the scarf was elf made due to its ability to force her eyes to look over or away from the man. No human mage made item that she knew of, could hold enough power to do that.

“Guild meeting in four hours for anyone not on guard duty and ask Relo, Henrina, Tilde, Nemia and Ishmael to come see me now.” The man disappeared with a simple nod of his head.

Anima finally looked at the people kneeling before her out of the corner of her eye. “Are they Blacksmiths? They’re from the Cullatish Mountain Range mines? What happened? Did Prince Oslo decide to neglect them again?” Stykes shook his head and then let out a sigh.

“Their mines are failing…” Anima said slowly. Her eyes carefully read Stykes’ expression like a book. “Do we have the money to allow them into the guild?” Stykes shook his head again and his expression now indicating to the persistent problem they had. “What are they offering?”

“They want an Alchemist to replace a new strain of Sakura ore and they will give us 50% of what they replace,” He said with a sigh. “If there is no Sakura ore in those mines then they want to join our guild’s merchant sector.”

“What does Oslo even want with Sakura Ore?” Anima asked incredulously. “Aside from trade that is.”

“He’s decided to build an army of Gun Mages in an attempt to combat our own,” Stykes replied tiredly. “He doesn’t realise that it takes years for a Gun Mage to be competent in using Sakura Bullets.”

“What he doesn’t know is to our benefit,” Anima said softly.

Stykes’ eyes were crinkled around the edges. She knew that he was too young, merely eighteen years old, to have so many. She pressed a finger between his eyebrows.

“You’re too young to have wrinkles, so what’s got you so stressed this time?” she asked trying to lighten his mood with her tone.

“The fact that they came to me instead of to any other kingdom closer to the Cullatish Mountains.” Looking up to the door, he noticed the guild members he had summoned waiting patiently. “You might not see the problem I’m having with this but…” He paused at Anima’s raised hand.

“I see it too,” She said with a hidden smile. “If I couldn’t I’d worry why I’m your second in command.”

Stykes turned and dismissed their visitors into Ishmael’s care. He walked leading the way up to the dais. He clapped his hands sharply signalling for servants to add more chairs near the two high-backed chairs.

Anima followed suit. She removed her dagger and placed it on the table. Their court stared at her with the same level of shock the Lunarian messenger hand. Stykes closed his eyes to deflect any stares directed his way. She finally revealed her identity to them. Although I’m surprised they haven’t worked it out on their own before now. He opened his eyes and said softly. “Just like my secret, I want this to just be between who is here now.”

They nodded. Anima pretended to not be paying much attention by adjusting the positioning of her rabbit. She finally decided to wedge the rabbit between herself and the arm of the chair. Stykes could only just see its ears sticking up over the arm of the chair.

Once the shock had settled, it didn’t take long for Anima and Stykes to present the various prospects to their court.

“It’s not ideal.” Anima said softly, running her finger along her unsheathed rapier. The delicate carvings along the blade sparked memories in Stykes that he didn’t recognise or even cared to recall properly. “But it’s the current situation we are in.” Anima’s eyes sparkled a little in the light.

“I can send my spies out to see what else we can replace out,” Tilde, their ninja spymaster offered. “I can’t promise much though. I’ve lost a fair few spies from my ranks to Sukonian Assassins.”

Stykes held out his hand to Anima, who placed a scroll and one of her specially made self-inking quills in his hand. He wrote, in his very precise handwriting, an order for Tilde on it. Beside him, Anima held a red candle over the scroll. The wax fell to form a little pool at the bottom of the page. She blew the candle out and handed him a small metal stick. Stykes pressed the stick onto the wax, leaving a wolf head impression on the cooling wax. He handed it to Tilde, watching while she read the scroll’s contents before rolling it up.

“They won’t like me ordering them around.” She said softly, her grey-green eyes reflecting the light in the room.

“Stealth is their specialty,” Stykes replied taking another scroll from Anima. “They aren’t earning their keep at the moment so servicing you will be good for now.” Then as a secondary thought, he added “If Hawkeye doesn’t like it, tell him Anima will be on his tail faster than a ninja.”

Anima smothered a smile at this. She and Hawkeye always butted heads and she always left those as the victor. Tilde got up, bowed, and left to arrange her spy network.

“Speaking of Hawkeye,” Relo piped up, her heavy one- piece gown barely moved while she spoke. The tapered point of her hood which curled down and around one of the chair legs shifted to form a small coil on the floor. “He left me a message for you. He said it wasn’t urgent so I didn’t bring it to you sooner.” She moved to hand the scroll to Stykes and jumped in surprise when Anima took it.

“Unless it’s urgent,” Anima said tapping the scroll against her leg. “We’ll deal with it later.” She gave Stykes a very sharp look. “We have more pressing matters to deal with.” She glanced to Henrina and softened. “The Treasury has anything to add?”

Stykes snatched the scroll out of her grasp. “You know what Hawkeye is like. He says it’s unimportant but it might be the most important thing to our conversation.”

He pulled open the scroll before Anima could say anything against him. His eyes scanning it before handing it over to Anima. She shot him a sharp glance before reading the scroll out to the rest.

“Prince Oslo is planning a surprise attack on the eastern barrier. He plans for it to coincide with an attack from Solaris at our southern borders. He has men in Solaris sowing lies in hopes that Kopra will start a war so that he can start his.”

Anima crumpled the scroll in her hands. The only sign she showed that she was bothered by this revelation was her biting her bottom lip hard. She looked at Henrina again and asked, “Does the Treasury have anything to add to his… fiasco?”

“Our funds this month are low,” She said looking into the large leather bound ledger she carried. “Sakura Ore; that we now use for magical arrows, Gun Mage bullets and dagger blades; as well as other mined metal ores is low this month. We have Alchemists, who are specialized in sensing Sakura Ore, hunting for more deposits in Wolf Mountain. Otherwise we’ll need our Mages to cast a revival spell on the Mountain. It’ll severely weaken them”

“Which won’t be good for our current predicament,” Anima mused writing down carefully something she had thought of. Stykes eyed her notebook and saw the words: ‘Mage recovery time = 3 days’. He looked up and down the page she was on before noticing she was looking at him. Her expression gave him the impression of a cat with its fur on end. With a cough, he looked away and towards Henrina, Relo and Nemia. Anima gave a satisfied smile at him, poked his cheek to make sure he stayed facing away from her notebook, and then went back to her writing.

“We might as well get the mages to revive the mountain,” Nemia said to no one in particular. Her blind eyes closed seeing only the images of future events. Her head turned towards the direction she believed Stykes was. “The Alchemists won’t feel anything. Sakura ores are there but too deep within the mountain.” Stykes took this information in his stride and glanced at Anima again.

Anima’s expression was unreadable. “Then…” She said not looking up from her notes. “We’ll need to rearrange our forces.” She flicked back through her notebook to the complete list of members within the guild. “Because we have the villages within the corner points of the barrier walls, we can place our forces there and let them guard both village and half of the wall on either side of the town.” She pulled out a scrap of paper and rearranged their fighting forces. “Leaving out the Assassination Sector and the Mage Sector, we have to divide Knight and Hunting Sectors amongst five villages.”

“Four villages,” Stykes corrected looking down at the large list of the members from the two sectors she had mentioned. “It’s actually four villages.”

“Five,” Anima argued and pulled out a map from inside her book. “There’s the four that indicate the four outermost points of our territory. Then, there’s the village that protects our Headquarters from any invading armies.”

She looked at him with clouded eyes. “Unless you want to have Didea Village free of fighters, meaning we’re open to attack, then by all means order the remaining forces to divide themselves amongst the four Villages.” He met her eyes and knew that she was right. He ruffled her hair causing her to yelp in surprise.

“You’re right,” In the middle of writing another order, he paused and looked at her. “How are we going to divide them?”

Relo and Henrina leaned over to look at the map. The countries of Lunarias, Solaris, Baddis, Sukonia, Ryas and Kenkay touched the borders of the Iron Wolves.

“This is going to take some careful planning,” Anima said softly. “We almost always have Sukonia at our borders so maybe…”

“Fate and our Paladin Order should be in Castus Village,” Stykes replied suddenly, stabbing his finger on the mark that signified the village. “With Ursula’s Snipers on the walls to the left and Verse, with our Hunters, on the walls to the right.”

Relo took the map and placed small pins into it, silver for Hunting and bronze for Knights. “Then, we should have Syn and the Gun Mages on the walls facing Lunarias since they are our least threat.” Anima and Stykes nodded in agreement. Relo placed a silver pin on the wall between Hasta and Paetus Villages.

“Kay should be stationed at Paetus Village,” Henrina said, her eyes on the map. “Her multi-skilled Barbarians will be able to handle Prince Oslo if he marches at us.”

“Then who at Hasta Village and the wall facing Solaris?” Stykes asked, more to himself than anyone else.

“If we place Mur and the Knights at Clavus Village, she can get aid from either side.” Anima replied blinking slowly then leaning back into her chair. “That’ll leave Noira and her mixed battalion in Hasta Village and Alisa’s Archers between them.” She watched Relo place the pins into position. “I really hate using lesser classes in defence but we have no choice.”

“But we haven’t allocated anyone to Didea Village,” Stykes looked at the silver and bronze pattern along the borders on the map. “Everyone’s been allocated.”

Anima placed a gold headed pin on Didea Village. “It will be the military central,” Anima replied with a smile.

“The personal armies of Kuros and Lina will be located there along with runners who will send military orders to the four villages.” Stykes sighed and wrote the orders to Kuros, Lina, and the Mage Sector on three separate scrolls, handed one each to Relo, Henrina and Nemia, then sent them on their way.

“So then why are I the Guild Master and not you?” Stykes asked once they were alone. Anima could tell he was in one of his depressed moods. He looked at her with tired eyes, his shoulders drooped giving off an aura of sadness. “You seem to know more than I do.”

“Because you won your position through your strength and ability to lead,” Anima replied sheathing her sword and moving to sit in front of him. “They know and respect you as their leader.” Her hands cupped his head, making him look directly into her eyes.

“I have knowledge, not strength. I complement your strength with my knowledge but with kingdoms always at our borders, it’s best that you’re Guild Master and not me.” She planted a firm but passionate kiss on his unsuspecting lips. Pulling away, she realized he had his arms wrapped around her. “I don’t like when you get upset like this. I don’t mean to override your position.”

“I know,” he whispered and kissed her back, pulling her closer until she was pressed hard against his body. They lost themselves in the kiss they shared before hearing someone clear their throat behind them.

Stykes opened one eye and looked at a man wearing bright gold-wash chain mail and a red cape with gold trim. He stood with a hand over his mouth and one eye shut trying to avoid seeing the scene before him. Stykes gave a wink that spoke volumes. The man saluted then left the room.

Stykes turned his attention back to Anima. He held her close now in a hug. Resting his cheek against her head, he could see from that angle something dark on the skin of her back. Slowly, almost uncertainly, he moved his hand up her back towards the dark spot. Hooking two fingers into her top he could feel the dark spot was scar tissue.

“Think carefully before you do anything,” Anima warned causing him to jump and stare down at her. “I’m a Princess and Heir to the Lunarian Throne. There are things you want that I can’t do yet.”

Stykes pulled away from her and stood the respectable and appropriate distance from someone of her stature. He swept his hands out wide and bowed. His eyes not breaking their lock on her own.

“Forgive my rudeness,” He lowered his head into a more formal bow. “By your leave your Highness.”

He stood again to take one last look at her before turning to briskly walk out of the room. His heart now burning with the knowledge that she has started to cry because of him.

The next day, Stykes made his way through the streets of Didea Village. The village was busy with many sounds and people walking over the beaten dirt road. His ears twitched to the sounds of people bartering in the market place, to the crackle of pork skin being roasted in a nearby cottage, and to the laughter of children in the streets. He continued on towards the Military Building that sat nestled in the wall surrounding the village. People greeted him as he passed. One small girl ran to him, popped an apple into the pocket of his knee-length, sleeveless jacket, and then ran away. He looked towards the retreating girl and continued on with a smile.

He turned, feeling silly for wanting to do so without a good reason, to see the girl peeking out at him from behind her mother’s skirts. The woman laughed, her ears telling Stykes she was human. She looked up and noticed Stykes watching them.

“It’s a good morning to be out, isn’t it?” She called to him with a small curtsy. The small pouch on her hip bouncing. “I thought Hana would do well with a bit of sunlight.” She came closer to him.

Stykes nodded and replied. “All young flowers need sunlight.” He knelt down until he was eye level with Hana. “Thank you for the apple. I’ll give you a present too.”

He bit his finger drawing blood and, before the woman could say anything, placed a small spot of blood between Hana’s eyebrows. He closed his eyes and prayed softly. Hana swayed and fell to one knee. Her eyes calm with an eternal quality. Stykes opened his eyes again. The woman watched worriedly before a small smile began to appear around her lips.

“When you have time,” Stykes said to her softly. “Go see Anima. She’ll have something for you.”

Hana laughed in delight and the woman smiled nervously. She turned to her mother and asked excitedly. “Can I go now?” The woman nodded and they watched Hana run off.

“Hawkeye told me what you’re capable of,” the woman said shakily. “But it feels quite strange regardless to experience it.”

“Never fear Gabrielle,” Stykes replied with a laugh. He got up and patted her shoulder. “Hawkeye would murder me, no matter who I am, if anything happened to his daughter.” Stykes waved goodbye to her and continued on.

Anima sat on the small couch in her private laboratory. Her eyes focused on the blackboard before her. Equations covered the blackboard in various colours. Those same colours her hair, cheeks and hands. Getting up, she made small adjustments before dropping back down onto the couch again. She was so lost in thought, she didn’t hear the knock on at the door. The knock sounded again, louder this time. Anima turned her head towards the door.

A visitor? If it were Stykes, he wouldn’t wait for me to answer. The knock sounded again and Anima strode to the door and opened it a little too forcefully. A small girl, barely six, looked up at her. A red mark stood out on her forehead like an out-of-place bindi. Anima sighed and took the girl’s wrist, dragging her inside and to the couch hard enough that the momentum caused the girl to sit with a thump.

“Did Stykes tell you the extent of the gift he gave you?” Anima asked trying to keep her angry tone out of her voice.

“All he told me,” she said quivering slightly. “Is to come see you.” The girl keep her eyes locked on Anima’s eyes. “Is there something wrong?”

Anima could see the deep intelligence in the girl’s eyes. “Your name?” Her tone less angry than before.

“Hana,” she replied now giving Anima a curious look. “I’m the daughter of Hawkeye and Gabrielle.”

Anima nodded, now understanding how deep Hana’s intelligence ran. She thought for a bit before saying. “Do you want to be my apprentice?”

Hana gasped. Within the Iron Wolves, Anima was the best practicing Alchemist. She knew even her mother didn’t come close to her skill. It was considered the highest praise if Anima deemed you good enough to be her apprentice.

“I would be honoured,” Hana replied relieved at the warm smile now gracing Anima’s face. “Thankyou so much!”

Anima waved a hand at her and laughed. “Remember to thank Stykes too. He’s the one who sent you to me in the first place.”

Stepping into the side door, Stykes came face to face with the man who had come to see him in the Headquarters. “You’ve disentangled yourself from Anima,”

The man said with mock surprise. “I had a feeling we would have had to pull you two apart with a steel bar.”

Noticing Stykes’ now no nonsense expression, he continued. “All our forces are in position. I’ve spared some men to escort the mages out to revive Wolf Mountain.” His smile turned playful again and he leaned towards Stykes to nudge his ribs. “Soooo,” he said slyly. “Did you get some?” Stykes gave him a look that one wore when things didn’t go the way they wanted and stepping outside to deflect any more questions from the curious captain. A blue glow rose from the ground to surround the mountain behind the village.

“Kuros?” The man stepped to his side looking up at the mountain. “How long did it take to get them into position?”

“Not long,” Kuros replied keeping his eyes on Stykes. “You don’t need to worry on that now. It’s almost nightfall…” He placed a hand carefully on Stykes’ forearm before adding. “Did you want to stay the night in the barracks?” Stykes nodded and let Kuros lead him back towards the Military Building tucked in the wall.

Anima paced the floor of her bedroom. Stykes had not returned to Headquarters after their talk in the hall two nights ago. Did I insult him when I refused? A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

“Anima?” The door opened slowly without waiting for her reply. A distinct red scarf caught, then diverted, her attention. “Noira is asking if you can get to Hasta Village as soon as possible. She says there’s a situation brewing out of control and since I can’t replace Stykes...” He trailed off at Anima’s scowl.

Anima clipped her rapier and crested dagger to her belt before coming to the door with a nod. “Thank you Dusk.” He stood aside to let her pass. He could sense her emotions were a mix of worry and anger. He knew the latter was due to his careless words.

She made her way down the spiral staircase, more than once wishing she could of just dove from the window and fly down to the ground. Her strides widening as she crossed the floor to the central staircase, down the stairs, and out into the courtyard.

The guild was incredibly quiet for the time of day. Despite this, the air popped and fizzed with tension like a boiling pot of hot water. She knew war was imminent.

In the stables, she saddled Rainspinner. “Girl,” she said stroking the chestnut’s graceful neck. “I need you to run fast today. We need to get to Hasta Village.” Rainspinner neighed and shook her head confidently at Anima. “Good! I knew I could count on you.”

She mounted Rainspinner and pulled the reins causing Rainspinner to rear up before she flicked them sending Rainspinner into a dead run.

Stykes and Kuros sat perched on the wall near the Military Building. Pain still lanced through Stykes’ chest clearly not wanting to release its hold on him. Kuros opened his mouth to say something but decided to look up at the horizon before them instead. He could sense Stykes’ emotions weren’t yet stable enough to talk to him about what happened between him and Anima. A small figure rode up towards them. His mouth widened to a smile when he saw the light blue hair rippling behind the figure.

“You have a visitor,” He pointed towards the figure, his smile fading as she approached. Her eyes displayed her seriousness and slight fear. “This looks serious.”

“Stykes!” Anima called pulling on the reins to stop Rainspinner just in front of Stykes. “Solaris is on our borders. Kopra said that we stole the crown.” The confused expression Stykes wore made her slow down. “I was called to the Hasta Village by Noira. The King of Solaris, King Kopra, told her that we have 24 hours to give him the assassin that murdered his family or he will…” She gulped her hands tight on the reins. “He will take over our land and kill us all off.” Stykes raised an eyebrow. He had heard this threat countless times from the Sukonian Kingdom but it coming from Solaris did surprise him a little. “His army is massive, Stykes. I could count at least 12 legions of 3000 soldiers.”

Stykes’ head reeled at the numbers she said. “Why does he think we’re hiding the assassin…?” He saw the expression Anima wore telling him he already knew the answer. “Prince Oslo…” Anima nodded and slid off her mare to stand in front of Stykes. “Have you done anything about it yet?”

Anima’s slight smile at his assumption on her personality only lasting for a few seconds before she spoke. “I told everyone to hold their positions. I figured that this was what Hawkeye was talking about. Prince Oslo is trying to weaken our defences on the walls so he can break through while we are occupied. Since we have 24 hours, I got Nana to send one of her messenger doves to King Neflyte asking for aid. I don’t know if we’ll get it or not but I’m hoping they’ll send some. Especially after knowing the numbers Kopra has at his command.”

“I want you to go to him personally,” Stykes said placing a hand on her shoulder. His eyes rested on the crested dagger at her waist. “Your... good relations... with him will make his decision easier.” He left his additional thought tucked away in his mind.

“You want me safe and out of the way,” Anima said slowly frowning. “You know you won’t be able to keep me safe forever. I maybe weak physically but I’m an Alchemist. You’re going to need my expertise if the armies are at the walls.”

“You’ll be back before then,” Stykes said sounding confident. Internally he cringed; he didn’t want to see her hurt. His own Oracle ability had continuously, whenever he relaxed, showed him an image of her crumpled on the floor with a dagger buried in her back up to the hilt. The crest on the hilt was always fuzzy no matter how much he concentrated on it.

Anima stared at him suspiciously before mounting Rainspinner again. Rainspinner danced lightly while Anima spoke. “I also owe you a thankyou for sending Hana to me.” She wheeled Rainspinner around, flicked the reins, and set off back towards Hasta Village. Anima’s hair fanned out and Stykes could see the tips of the dark spot on her back peeking over the neckline of her top. He stared at it until Anima was a small speck in the distance.

After a few days of riding at a fast but comfortable pace, Anima clattered into the palace courtyard. She leapt off Rainspinner, thrust the reins into the hands of a startled stable hand, and strode quickly into the palace without so much as pausing to see Rainspinner sit down stubbornly on the ground.

She threw open the doors to the throne room, scaring everyone but the two on the dais. They looked at her for a second before the man on the throne dismissed everyone so he could focus his attention on Anima.

“What do I owe your loud entrance?” he asked her. His navy blue eyes gentle despite his formal tone.

Anima took the hint and bowed low. “The Iron Wolves request military aid from Lunarias.”

The woman standing next to the man leaned over and whispered in his ear before moving back to watch Anima once more.

“What happened?” The man motioned to her to come closer. “I know Stykes probably sent you, and I applaud his decision, but I can’t send aid unless I know what happened.”

Anima quickly recounted the events of the past few days, leaving out the part where Stykes invited her to his bed and her refusing him. Neflyte nodded, his mind reading between the many lines.

Anima paced, her mind working at a faster pace than her feet, in front of Neflyte’s throne. “What I don’t understand is why Prince Oslo is blaming us for everything. He’s blamed us for killing King Kopra’s family, stealing the Sakura ore from the Cullatish Mountains, and…” She took a breath, grateful for the King’s patience with her. “And, to top it all off, he’s spreading to the other kingdoms that we killed your daughter.” Her sky blue eyes met his deep navy eyes. “I don’t like being pronounced dead when I’m clearly not.”

“I know,” Neflyte said in fatherly tones. “I can aid the Iron Wolves but my own forces are less than half the force that Kopra is planning to trample you all with.” He looked at Anima carefully. “Unless you want to try getting help from Baddis as well. You can try as an Ambassador for Lunarias or as Co-leader for the Iron Wolves. You don’t need me to tell you what is advantageous for you.” Crystal, his court Oracle, leaned across to whisper something in his ear. He nodded solemnly before looking back to Anima.

Anima cringed at the thought of her royal clothing. I was hoping not to wear THAT again. She walked back down the hall, her demeanour taking on her alternate identity as the royal daughter of Lunarias. She stepped purposefully into her old room, changed into a pale blue gown, then looked at herself into the full length mirror. I can’t believe I’m doing this. She lifted her gold circlet and rested it onto her head, a white crystal drop sat and swayed over the middle of her forehead whenever she moved. Opening her jewellery box, she clipped a pair of white crystal drops to her ears and a gold necklace that held a white drop just above the top of her breastbone.

“I always wondered what drove you to stay with Stykes instead of me,” A voice said softly from the door.

Unsurprised at this unexpected intrusion, Anima looked in the mirror to see a man standing behind her. His soft tan shirt and heavy brown breeches made his black gauntlets look out of place. He picked up Anima’s crested dagger and clipped it to his belt.

“You look really beautiful you know.” His eyes held hers showing nothing but sincerity.

“Father asked you to escort me?” Anima asked pulling on a pair of small white gloves and stepping into clear crystal, heeled slippers. “As much as I would like an escort,” She picked up her rapier and unsheathed it half way to look at the crescent moon indentation in the hilt. “I’ll be fine on my own.”

The man placed a hand on her rapier and took it out of her hands. “As a royal Princess, it’s not ladylike to carry a weapon when you have your guards.” He adjusted her circlet until it sat properly. “You need to hold yourself properly. Being with that wild man instead of here where you should be…”

“Enough Rue!” Anima snapped and turned to face him, her hair flying like miniature whips snapping across his face. “Stykes is a good man. He doesn’t have any prejudice views about anything!” She poked his chest hard with her finger. “And he doesn’t treat me like a porcelain doll either.”

Rue gave her a smile making the hairs on her body rise. “You sure?” His voice forcing her to remember why Stykes had sent her here in the first place. “I’m certain that he does treat you special even if it doesn’t seem like it.” He touched her face gently and drew close to her.

Anima stepped back, gave him a formal curtsy, then spoke in even tones. “We will travel through the Territory of the Iron Wolves to get to Baddis. I don’t want to risk getting caught in the cross fire between Solaris and the Iron Wolves.” She stepped away further turning to look out the window. “I don’t think I need to tell you that it’s not advantageous for you to come close to me like that.”