The Eye of Cyprus

1.2

Lucius covered his arms with long leather gloves. The cloak around his neck brushed with the wind and the red purple color gave him a sense of entitlement he hadn't felt in a long time. His boots were strapped in, and chainmail armor fit tightly around his body. He stared at the mirror with a wide smile. With a bow to himself, he said aloud, "my, aren't you dashing?"

No one paid attention to him but the praise still satisfied him. He was sixteen but with a quest to save Cyprus. The excitement overtook him so much that he didn't think twice about any of the prospective dangers. Taking a short blade and mace, Lucius nearly skipped out of the armory before bumping into the chest of one of the guards. The guard said to him, "you look like a little girl playing with toys."

The man staring down at him was a giant. Almost two heads taller than him, his taller than average height further emphasize Lucius' shorter than average size. The skin around the guard's head was charcoal black. He was short haired, skinny but muscular around the limbs which countered Lucius' scrawny stature. Byzantine chainmail with golden linklings rolled down the man's body. A small round shield covered his arm, and he was armed to the teeth with heavy and light weaponry.

Lucius frowned, "good to see you too, Adam."

Adam was a mercenary for Isaac. An exotic one from the Aksumite kingdom, he was gifted by Saladin as a token gesture for their alliance. Originally, he was part of a mercenary group meant to fend off invaders from the mainland. But three years after they fulfilled their duties and were obliged to leave, Adam stayed behind. He was the only Akusmite man in Cyprus, and had been kept closely by Isaac's side as a hardened, veteran warrior bodyguard.

"I can't say the same," Adam replied. He pointed a finger at Lucius' side. There was a blade dangling from a strap. "You don't know how to tie that around your hip, yet you plan on using it as a weapon? You'd be better off with a rock than a sword you know nothing about."

Lucius waved him off, "nonsense. I'm actually quite the master in swordsmanship. I'm upset you'd underestimate me."

Adam unhooked his own blade. While Adam was typically adorned in golden, byzantine styled chainmail courtesy of Isaac, his swords were steel. Shaped as curved schimnirs, the two blades were the last remnants he kept from his Aksumite homeland. "Show me."

Lucius' eyes bulged. "What?"

"You plan on going to war," Adam clackered his blades together. "Show me you can fight."

Adam swung his blade at Lucius' head. Rather than parry the slash, he reached into the satchel at his hip side. Lucius raised up a palm of pink sand and puffed it into Adam's eyes.

The sand forced lucid images into his mind. Suddenly one Lucius became a dozen Lucius', and he swang at the air unable to touch the true body. "Coward," he grunted while rubbing at his face. "Using your sorcery to avoid a challenge."

Lucius sidestepped Adam and walked passed him. With a smile he said, "to be fair, that sorcery is why Isaac spared me in the first place."

He quickly sprinted away, abandoning Adam to his despair to walk deeper into the dark halls of Isaac's castle.

The hallways weren't as extravagant as the castles of Constantinople were. Whereas the empire's estates were decorated in weapons and artifacts a millennia old, Isaac's home was nearly empty. All the paintings and art were either sold off or taken to his room. It was solemn. To live in such a huge structure but have no one to share it with.

It was why he enjoyed seeing Beatrice so often. He could sneak into her bedchambers whenever he liked, and take her outside to show her whatever she wanted. He opened the door to her bedroom. "Beatrice , I have good news. Your dad isn't going to kill me."

He said it so casually like he never believed it was a factor to begin with. Stepping inside the room, he saw that she wasn't there. He looked around all the decorated silks and jewelry for where she might be. "Beatrice ? Are you mad at me? I promise I won't get caught next time."

Instead of getting an answer from Beatrice , someone leaned by the door side. "She left to hide. The last thing we want is for Crusaders to lay their hands on her." It was Aurea leaning against the door side. Her eyebrows were scrunched, and her arms were crossed with fingertips pressed hard. She was waiting for Lucius' arrival. "This is why I've no faith in you. Cyprus could fall into chaos, and you wanted a fling with my cousin before leaving?"

Lucius waved her off, "you lack faith in everyone."

"Yes, I especially lack faith in you. "

"I just came by to tell her I love her." Aurea snickered. Lucius threw his hands up, "I love her! Why is that so hard to believe?"

"It's hard to believe, because you're you." She stepped closer and pointed down at his chest. "You're a child. Your regard for lives doesn't exist. Adam and Elijah know it, and I know it too. The only reason Isaac sees past that, is because he wants to use your wickedness to his advantage."

Lucius stepped back near the windowsill. "Then that says a lot, doesn't it? That my wickedness saves the day." He pulled out a coin and flipped it in his hands. He took a quick glance before pocketing it again. "This just proves that my whole worldview is right. If it's saved me so far, why should I ever change?"

"God will judge you."

Lucius raised his chin up, "every day, I tell God to strike lightning strike if my sins are wrong. Since it still hasn't happened, he clearly condones it."

Lucius stepped off the window sill. Falling from the third floor, Aurea sprinted over to see if he fell to his death. She looked down only to see Lucius smiling up at her. He landed softly on a bush, safe while gloating his own superiority. He blew a kiss in her direction. He stepped off, and frolicked off to continue on his quest.