The Way We Fall

Chapter 29 (Roche)

There wasn't any time to think. She'd been near the doorway, putting away Verita's records when she'd felt Luctus' inkblood stir. She only had seconds to jump out of the room, right behind the thick wooden doors when his second command exploded out in a shockwave. The walls seemed to shield her from the incantation. Roche peeked her head back into the room. Everyone was moving in slow motion. She could see Tigris' hand curling around her dagger, too slow.

"Ocwelan!"

The inkblood pulsed with vicious, lethal intent. Roche could feel the Luctus' determination for a death tucked into the incantation. She wasn't aware she was running until she was halfway across the room. The inkblood thickened into an arrow.

Luctus smirked and flicked his fingers. Roche raced forwards, reaching for the inkblood within her. She looped it around the arrow, slowing it down for a second.

Then, she was leaping through the air, crashing into the target. They were a tangle of limbs and fine fabric as Roche tackled the princess off the dais. They went rolling to the side, the inkblood arrow crashing into the dais where Tigris had stood.

The dais exploded into a million fragments. Roche couldn't move as she and Tigris rolled to a stop.

The explosion seemed to have stunned Luctus into releasing his inkblood, and suddenly time was moving normally again. Roche was on top of the princess, nose to nose. She felt Tigris inhale, flabbergasted.

"You... saved me." Tigris muttered incredulously. Roche gaped back at her, just as surprised. There was an enraged snarl. Tigris squirmed. "Get off!" she shouted, shoving Roche off roughly and jumping to her feet. She pulled her gun out of her holster as the guards struggled to hold down Luctus.

BOOM!

Tigris lowered her gun. Aodh was already there, his gun pressed to Luctus' temple. A bloody hole had surfaced on the other side of the man's temple. Luctus didn't even have the chance to fight back. He slumped to the side, his eyes already vacant.

Roche fought back a gag.

The king had been thrown off his throne from the explosion. His crown was lopsided on his head, but he didn't seem to care as he raced towards Tigris.

"Tigris!" he shouted, panicked. He grabbed his daughter's arms. "Are you hurt?"

"No," Tigris sounded stunned, "I'm fine, father."

The king's eyes drifted to Roche, who tried to blend into the shadows. The king's ice blue eyes were wide. His chest heaved with emotion.

"You saved my daughter's life." he said, almost reverently. Roche blinked, wishing she knew how to use her inkblood to disappear. She squirmed under his intense, almost reverent gaze.

"Uh," she said dumbly. The king smiled widely, an eerie expression on his face.

"You must be rewarded!" he decided. Murmur broke out among the gathered nobles. Tigris' cheeks were flushed a bright red. Roche felt her face burn as well. An inkblood had just been killed. She really didn't want any extra attention right now.

"N-no, that's quite alright! I don't need a reward!" she stammered, but the king clapped her on the back, hard enough to make her stagger.

"Nonsense! You require something truly special. The highest honour I can bestow you. You shall be Tigris' handmaiden!"

"What?!" Tigris shouted, looking red enough to pass as a tomato, "Father! I don't need a handmaiden!"

"You need one, and it will be an honour for this girl to be promoted to such a revered role!" the king insisted, pushing the two girls together. Tigris took one glance at Roche and rolled her eyes haughtily. Roche felt like she'd been smacked upside on the head and then tossed down a mountain. Seriously? She was going to serve Tigris.