That Nagging Feeling

4

The fight was occurring in the next chamber. This Verus was a skilled fighter, but had obviously only trained with the Legions and hadn't yet seen enough wars to develop his own skill set for singles combat. Alex left her relation at the entrance and darted forward to balance out the odds in his favor. Two of the enemies were killed before any of the fighters noticed she was there, and the final two joined them on the ground only moments later; one sliding off of the sword Verus was holding, and the other sliding off of Alex's jian.

        "Is that all of them?" Alex asked quietly, keeping her voice well below a volume that would carry throughout the tunnels.

        "Yes," Verus struggled to swallow his pride that an elderly woman had just surpassed his own skill as he looked at the bodies. Alex knelt down and used one of the men's tunics to clean her blade and then sheathed the jian as she stood. She felt a small smile pull at her lips that he was reluctant to give back the sword and also obviously feeling too inadequate to ask to keep the beautiful blade. Adellexia seemed about to say something encouraging, but instead tucked her bottom lip between her teeth and looked at the ground just in front of her feet.

        "Clean the blade before the blood dries and polishing becomes a chore," Alex nodded to her sword, making the decision for him, and then turned to face Adellexia. Before she could ask the young woman what was going on and who had just been killed, what sounded like a small battle clanged and yelled through the tunnels from the cave entrance. Alex frowned sharply at Verus. "You said this was all of them," she accused.

        "All that were in here, yes," he replied, quickly coming to his feet and tightening his grip on the sword he'd just been wiping off. Alex scoffed a sigh at him and drew her jian again.

        "Come along, girl," she growled.

        "But, the torches," Adellexia hesitantly replied. Alex glanced at the few that were still burning, either having been dropped or sitting up in the proper holders. All the things that were visible in this chamber, aside from the three of them, were stone, dirt, or dead.

        "And what, exactly, are you expecting they'll damage?" Alex asked with a glare.

        "Mind how you speak to –"

        Alex interrupted his reprimand with a backhanded slap across his face with her free hand. His good eye was wide and startled when he straightened and looked at her again.

        "Do not take that tone with me, boy," she threatened.

        His anger rose, and then was buried under a dropped glare and shoulders hunching from ... subservience? That was something she'd never expected, not from someone who looked so much like her brother. She shook her head, reminding herself that this wasn't her Verus, not his child or grandchild. This Verus was three hundred years removed from anyone she knew. She frowned at him. The bowed head and shoulders didn't suit him at all. She was going to have to see about fixing that later.

        "Respectful apologies," he stated, his teeth obviously clamped together, the words smooth only because of practice.

        "Come along, both of you," Alex stated, turning on her heel and stalking up out of the chamber. They followed, Adellexia in the middle so that Verus was protecting her from behind.

        The sounds of the fighting had reduced to scuffles when Alex rounded the final turning and could clearly see the overcast daylight outside. She'd left a sunny day behind. The rain of the now was just starting, and suited the funeral better. The people outside were just as busy as her own family would be, but the men here were all either fighting, surrendering, or being forced into submission, whereas her family would be setting up for the feast. Alex stopped and glanced back over her shoulder to where Adellexia was trying to walk and figure out something to say to Verus, and he was trying to not stare at her walking in front of him.