Warrior's Heart (Book 1 of The Warrior Chronicles)

Chapter 27

The Warrior Castle sparkled orange under the low sun, the crystal walls making it hard to look upon. Leyla told herself that it was the brightness that made her eyes sting as she breathed in the familiar scents of the place she grew up; horses, earth and a the perpetually cool breeze from Dead Man's Mountain. Everything was just as she remembered it and yet nothing would ever be the same again. She was no longer Leyla of the House of Kings Wards. She was no longer a Lieutenant of the Warrior army. To the people who lived in this kingdom, she was only a guest, and one that would not stay long.

"You okay, La-la?" Michael asked quietly.

Leyla's eyes shot to the seat across from her where Delphine was sleeping, her head bouncing gently with the rocking of the carriage. These past three days, Leyla had come to like the quiet Lady, despite her endless lectures on manners and dress. Although 18, the girl had never stepped a foot outside of the Land of Light, so was understandably nervous about their journey. Very nervous.

"I'm fine." Leyla replied in Asch. "Pay more attention to Delphine. She is easily excited and will soon be surrounded by Warriors twice her height."

"You're always concerned with everyone but yourself," Michael grumbled. Then he turned in his seat, having caught sight of the castle door. "After everything you told me about this place, I can't believe I finally get to see it."

The delight on Michael's face reminded Leyla of their time on Asch. Things seemed to have been a lot less complicated there. "This is a military castle, not Jara's Water Island. Keep your wits about you."

Michael arched a brow, "You're always ruining my fun."

The carriage came to a stop at a line of Warriors who deliberately blocked their way. They will have spotted them a long time ago, Leyla knew. By now, the King would have been notified and whoever was in charge of Inner Keep security would have placed extra soldiers in defensive positions. Not long ago, she would have been the one making those arrangements...

"Remember, leave the talking to me. You just focus on what you came here to do." Michael winked. Then he opened the door of the carriage and stepped out.

It went against every instinct in her body to allow Michael to face Warriors by himself, but she knew no harm would come to him. A messenger had been sent ahead, so their arrival was expected. As far as the Warriors were concerned, Michael was a royal emissary who had come to oversee the planting of the precious fruit trees. The Warriors out there would know well, the severe consequence of harming a hair on his head.

"Have we arrived?" Delphine asked, rubbing her eyes. Hearing the tinge of nerves in the girls voice, Leyla sighed. Why had the Leader insisted on this particular Lady travelling with them when she was so timid? Surely there would have been others who could educate her on all the ridiculous Land of Light etiquette.

"We will be inside the keep soon," Leyla spoke in as soothing a tone as she could muster. "Don't be afraid, the Warrior Kingdom is a place of law and order. I will not let anything happen to you."

The girl's shoulders were still as stiff as ever, but she nodded and there was gratitude in her eyes. Delphine was one of very few who knew the truth about who Leyla used to be. Almost everyone else in the Land of Light believed her to be the daughter of a Light alchemist who had spent many years on the outskirts of the Four Kingdoms, collecting materials. The story the Leader had spread said that Lady Alessa and her parents liven in a small outpost, until both of her parents were killed by Bone Eaters. Giving her imaginary parents a gruesome death, she was told, would ensure that no one broached the topic.

Lies. Secrets. It seemed common in the Land of Light. So common, that Leyla wondered how anyone kept track of them all.

"Pleasant people!" Michael grinned as he climbed back into the carriage. "Apparently the Princess is waiting to greet us at the gate."

Leyla looked out the window as they proceeded past the line of Warriors on their way through the castle walls. She recognised most of them from the third-year recruits class; had trained many of them herself. For her that was many years ago. For them only a few weeks had passed.

Trying not to let her mind get caught up on thoughts of time and dimensions, Leyla focused her attention the courtyard. The first hundred or so trees had been planted in lines that led to the gates of the inner keep. To her untrained eye, the saplings looked like any other, but Michael had explained that they were in fact grown from seeds created by Light Alchemists. Their roots did not absorb water and minerals from the ground. Instead, their barks absorbed elements from the air, mixing them inside their stems to produce whatever the plant needed. The strange trees would produce fruits year after year without fail, but their seeds could not regenerate.

Beyond the saplings, the soldiers barracks and stables all looked exactly as they had before. Leyla's eyes wondered to the royal stables. Her legs tensed with the sudden desire to run out and check if Tia was still clearing out stalls there. She shouldn't be. Lady Isabelle had promised to take care of the little girl and Leyla wanted to believe she had kept her word. But trusting was not something she was good at, as Michael repeatedly told her. Little did he know, that he was probably the only person, in any dimension, that she truly did trust.

"Get ready, Lady Delphine, we've arrived." Leyla said, as the carriage slowed to stopped a second time.

Delphine put her hand out as if to touch her arm, then thought better of it. "Please don't forget, you must take smaller steps while walking. You must not look overlong into mens eyes. And you must execute your greetings in the way of Light royalty."

"Alright," Leyla nodded. "And you remember, no matter how intimidating the Warriors may look, they will not hurt you."

"Now that that's settled, come on Alessa, I want to see where you used to live!" Michael pulled at her arm, impatiently.

"Curator, please address the Consort as Lady Alessa and refrain from touching her," Delphine frowned.

Michael's eyes narrowed, "Can you give it a rest already, Lady Delphine?"

Leyla ignored the ensuing bickering, her pulse rising as the carriage door was opened by one of their guards. Here we go. Remembering the cumbersome dress, she held up the skirts of her silk dress as she stepped out onto grey gravel.

The sound of clashing swords travelled through the gaps in the keep walls. Overhead, a Roka bird shrieked as it drew large circles in the sky. This was Warrior land.

Melancholy clawed at her throat as she took a deep breath. T

hroughout her life amongst the Warriors, she had tried to gain acceptance, to belong. She had always thought her mixed-blood status made her an outsider, but in so many ways, she had belonged. She trained with Warriors, ate with Warriors, lived among Warriors, fought beside Warriors...only now, standing here in her white dress and fake name, did she understand what being an outsider truly felt like.

"Welcome!" The royal steward rushed forward while signalling two Warriors to escort their Light Guards to the barracks. Leyla's eyes were drawn behind him to where Princess Mira had appeared at the door, wearing her usual frills and looking non-to-impressed for having to go so far for guests. Her royal guards were lined up beside her, their hands on the hilts of their sheathed swords.

For a moment, doubt over whether or not she would be recognised took hold, but as Leyla's gaze connected with the head guard Katuna's, the blank look she received reassured her.

"Welcome to the Warrior Kingdom," the steward repeated, addressing them in Light language: "Please, let me introduce her Highness, Princess Mira of the Warrior Kingdom. When she heard of the arrival of emissaries from the Land of Light, she wanted to welcome you personally."