Chaser of Faith

“Oh come on,” I moaned, exasperated.

The sign in front of me read “Creii Nivet Herith artev Sithen.” Directly underneath, written in English: “Royal Capitol Herith of Sithen.”

I leaned into the white marbled wall in front of the city and banged my forehead against it, letting out a drawn-out groan of frustration.

I was in Sithen. I was in Herith. I was in the west. I was nowhere near Beythas.

It took me a day and a half to reach this place. I had thought it was odd that it took me so long to fly here, when it took Adriel a single night to get from Beythas to Vix. But it made sense-

I wasn't flying back to Beythas. I was flying to Herith.

“The fork in the road,” I whispered to myself. I had taken the wrong turn. “Why would they have those signs written only in Nythen?” I exclaimed to no one, waving my hands desperately. I turned from the wall, leaning my shoulder into it and tucking my wings into my back. A couple of yellow-skinned women dressed in black cloaks leaving the city looked at me with judgement in their eyes. I plopped my face into my hands with a sigh of annoyance. I dragged my fingers down my face, pulling at my dirty, sweaty skin.

I dragged a clawed hand through my greasy hair, trying to detangle it and smooth down the stray hairs around my face. I dug into my bag, finding my dictionary and assessing how many coins I still had. Only 100 hass left. I sighed again and looked around me.

The city of Herith was a diamond compared to Beythas. In front of me was a grand sign welcoming people to the city, made of a sort of marbled stone. The message was set in a golden plaque layed into the stone.

The city itself was bright and clean. The dirt path in the woods turned to a sparkling white stone road. The buildings were not packed tightly together like in Beythas, and neither were the people. There were far less people here in comparison. It was also much quieter and more peaceful.

I walked to the stone path and looked at the people nearest to me. Most of the men and women here had yellow skin. Some had pale white skin or tanned brown skin. Most looked at me with fear when they weren’t avoiding my eye contact.

I bit my lip nervously. Suddenly it felt too quiet here. I felt my wings curl further into my back. I felt like I was guilty of a crime that I hadn’t committed. I cleared my throat and held on tighter to my dictionary. I looked up a couple words that I would need and headed towards the nearest woman I could find.

“Roaati ko,” I started. Excuse me. The short woman had silver hair and pale yellow skin. Her eyes were completely white. She looked very much like the old man from the sword shop. She looked at me with confusion and fear. “Sav rith kolet bet es eto sav topar kolet dae Sanen.” I am not from here and I do not speak Sanen well. She held up a hand waving at me.

“Kol,” she urged. “Kol, biente geera.” No, young lady. “Taiir,” she said with wide eyes. I didn’t know what that meant. I shook my head giving her a confused look. I swallowed and looked down at my dictionary, searching desperately for the word she said. “Taiir,” she repeated again. I looked back up to her just as she was walking away. I stared after her desperately. I looked around again at the people around me. They were avoiding me, all of them. There was a wide circle of space between myself and them. I felt tears start to pool in the corners of my eyes. I blinked furiously, clearing my throat.

I looked down at my dictionary again. I had said everything right. I didn’t say anything rude. Why did she act that way? Why were they all acting that way? I couldn’t find the word she had repeated. I still didn’t know what that meant. Didn’t anyone speak English around here? I repeated the word in my head over and over, staring at the people around me.

I started walking down the road, reading all the signs on the stores that lined the road. Very few words were familiar to me. As I travelled further, a large white mansion came into view. It was surrounded by a bright green lawn but had no barrier between the building and the city. It must have been four stories tall and a half mile long. I dropped my jaw at the site of it. That must have been where the king lived.

What was his name again? Similar to Sithen. Sitan? Shiren? No… Simon. King Simon.

King Simon was the youngest of his brothers. Unmarried, supposedly a fair ruler, and apparently he lived very well. That was really all I could remember from what Adriel and Nicholas had told me.

Nicholas…

I wondered how he was doing. If he had found shelter. If he had found food. If he was still alive. I also wondered where Adriel was. He couldn’t have returned to Beythas. I wondered if Rahmiel had hunted him down. He was his keeper, after all…

I suddenly realized the irony of my being there. This was where I had wanted to be. This was the city I had decided to escape to once I left Beythas. Where Remy was heading when I met him. I suddenly couldn’t believe that I was there.

“What are the odds,” I said to myself, shaking my head and staring at the mansion. I had made my way a bit closer, lost in its grandness. I stood a few feet away from the lawn, drinking in the scene before me. I let out a breath, turning and continuing down the road.

There was a shop down the road whose sign read “Baz eto Getsteth” meaning “Food and Drink.” My stomach growled, on cue. I hadn’t eaten since the night before- only able to eat the fruit left over from Eae’s basket. I headed over to the building, glancing through the front window and making sure it was open before pulling on the bronze door knob.

There were two people eating at a small wooden table on the other side of the room. They didn’t look up from their food when I walked in, which I was thankful for. There was only one person working at the counter. She had pale skin- nearly stark white- with long white hair. She was tall and skinny, covered in a loose-fitting black dress. She focused her attention on writing in a journal in front of her and also did not look up as I walked in. I swallowed nervously and walked to the counter.

“Roaati ko,” I began quietly. My nerves had suddenly gotten the better of me. The girl finished her sentence and dropped her pen into the journal, closing it quickly. She snapped her attention to me, and when she took in my appearance her large black eyes widened. Her eyebrows disappeared under her straight sharp bangs. “Oh please don’t be afraid,” I moaned quietly. I held my hands up, trying to make her understand. “S-Sav rith d-desha,” I stuttered, letting her know I was lost, nearly forgetting how to speak Sanen. “Um… Jo topar Engeren mye?” I asked, praying she spoke English. She opened her mouth slowly.

“I do,” she answered, nodding cautiously. “Why you are here?” She asked with a heavy accent. She spoke carefully and slowly, and emphasized her syllables, adding more than there needed to be.

“I-I’m hungry,” I replied with an embarrassed shrug. “I have money,” I said quickly, reaching into my pocket and showing her my coins. “I’m hungry,” I repeated.

“What you do here?” She asked again. I looked at her, exhausted and confused.

“What do you mean?”

“Why a Nythiat come to Herith?” I shook my head, closing my eyes.

“No, I’m not a Nythiat,” I said, looking at her desperately. “I got lost. I’m just trying to get back to Beythas,” I told her, trying to make her understand. A flag suddenly went up in my head. “Wait… Why would a Nythiat not come to Herith?” She lowered her eyebrows, leaning into me.

“Taiir will find you.” My blood ran cold at the mention of that word again.

“Taiir? Who is Taiir?” She shook her head, licking her lips and squinting her eyes. It seemed as if she was trying to find the right words.

“No ‘who is.’ Taiir… are police. The Enforcers.” I frowned, taking in a few breaths.

“The Enforcers?”

“You passed King? Passed palace? They know you are here. Nythiat not welcome today.” I felt dizzy with hunger and anxiety.

“I don’t understand.” I held out a couple coins to her. “Please,” I begged. “What can I buy with this?” She eyed up my hand and slowly put her hand next to mine. I dropped the money into her hand, letting out a sigh of relief. She put the coins in a basket on a table behind her after counting them out, and found some fruit and bread for me. She wrapped the food in a large cloth napkin- almost like a towel- and handed the bundle to me.

“Go pass palace. Road to woods between red shops. Road to Beythas.” I let out another breath, holding the bundle to my chest tightly.

“Talas yovet. Thank you. Thank you.” I turned and headed out the door again, ignoring the stares from the couple on the other side of the room. I stuffed my food into my bag, power-walking down the road again. I came upon the palace again, not looking at it as I passed. I didn’t understand all of what she meant, but I did understand one thing- I was not welcome here.

People continued to keep their distance from me, but I wasn’t focusing on that anymore. I searched for the red buildings, unsuccessful. I walked for a while, still not seeing any red buildings. Had I gone the wrong way? Had I misunderstood her? Had she told me the wrong information?

I shook out my hands, stretching my fingers, and rubbed the heel of my hand over my eye. I turned sharply and ran into someone.

“Oh!” I cried out. “I’m sorry- I mean- Um, sav, um, sav votor,” I said, completely embarrassed. The man in front of me was giant- about two feet taller than me, at least. He had dark skin and bright blue eyes. He wore a black shirt and black pants. Around his left bicep, he wore a gold band. “Sav votor,” I repeated. The man said nothing.

I tried to get around him, but he stepped in my way. I looked up at him, trying not to show him my fear. “Move,” I said tightly. He blinked at me and reached out for me. I moved backward, stumbling when I backed into something. I gasped and spun around, moving to the side. I had backed into another man, in the same uniform as the first guy. I took more steps away from them, turning to run. I flapped my wings, ready to kick off the ground.

Suddenly my wings were bound together. I couldn’t move them. I winced as some feathers were pulled out. I continued to run until the same thing happened to my legs. A wire dug into my knees and I squeaked in pain. I tripped over my feet, falling forward. I held my hands out in front of me and landed on my knees and my palms. I grunted, feeling the stone scrape my skin. I turned back to the men who were a few feet away from me. I reached for my sword and removed it from its holster. One man kicked it out of my hand, knocking his heavy boot against my fingers, causing me to cry out. The other man picked it up and tucked it under his arm. They said nothing, but hoisted me up together. I struggled against them, swearing at them.

“Stop it, let me go,” I growled. I looked at the people around me. They made no move to help me. Most of them didn’t even look at me. “What the fuck is going on?” I shouted. They carried me by my arms, letting my feet drag along the road. Both of my shoes fell off and I let out a cry of frustration, struggling harder. They barely noticed. Before I knew it, I was looking down at grass. I furrowed my eyebrows, looking up in disbelief.

We were on the lawn of the palace, heading to the front door.

“What are you doing? Where are you taking me? I didn’t do anything!” My fear grew. I didn’t want to go to the palace. I wanted to leave and go home.

Are they the Enforcers?

“I’m not an angel!” I shouted. “Sav rith kolet co Nythiat!” They didn’t stop. My feet were dragging across stone again and I tried to keep them off the ground, putting more of my weight on the men. It made no difference to them. I struggled to keep up as they started up the stairs. I wound up hopping with their strides. I let out another groan. “Sav. Rith. Kolet. Co. Nythiat.” I repeated with each jump.

The door opened before we reached it. Inside, the first thing I saw was a giant chandelier that lit up the whole room, which was about as big as my house was. There were two staircases in front of me, wrapping up to the second floor. To the sides were more giant rooms. I was in awe of the spectacular view. It looked like it belonged on Earth. I was so shocked to see a mansion like this on this planet. It was clear to see how different the kings were. Though… I didn’t believe the rumor that Nicholas had told me that King Simon was a just ruler. Right then, I definitely felt the opposite.

I was afraid of why they took me. I was afraid of where they were taking me. I was afraid of what they were going to do to me.

We stood in the foyer. Just standing there.

“Well what are you waiting for?” I finally asked forcefully after a few moments.

“They’re waiting for me,” a smooth voice chimed from the top of the stairs. I quickly looked up to where the voice was coming from, clenching my jaw and narrowing my eyes.

The young man at the top of the stairs had olive skin and grand white wings. He wore a black long-sleeved shirt and black pants. I noticed the same gold cuff around his bicep that the men who took me wore. He also wore a glittering gold crown.

It was King Simon himself.

The two men let me go and bowed to their king. They turned to the right and started to leave.

“Oet, oet,” Simon said quickly. I didn’t know what that meant but the men stopped when he said it. “Remove the bindings. She is not my prisoner.”

“Vo, Xesand,” the men chanted together. I narrowed my eyes at him, twisting my mouth with confusion. He smiled at me as he continued down the stairs gracefully.

He was very young, which surprised me- he looked like he was around my age. Ymet was so old and so cruel. How could these two men be related?

“Why am I here then? If I’m not your prisoner?” I accused as the men cut off the wire that bound my legs and wings. When they fell off, I stretched my wings out. One man took my bag quickly before I could stop him. He searched in it and held onto it. Simon reached the bottom of the stairs, still looking at me with a smile.

“I just wanted to meet you,” he answered defensively.

The man with my sword and bag held them out in front of him, presenting them to Simon. I tried to grab my sword but the other Enforcer slapped my hand away. Simon made a motion with his hand and the man tucked my sword under his arm again and roughly clutched my bag in his hand. They both left, closing the door behind them. The door on the other side of us closed as well. I looked around nervously. We were alone now. And I felt so naked without my sword.

“Oh I knew it,” he boasted excitedly. “I knew you weren’t an angel!”

“What?” I asked flatly.

“There was something different I saw. You have the wings of an angel but the blood of… something else. And you speak English! Marvelous!” My stomach turned when he mentioned my blood. I was so sick of it.

“What makes you think that that is any of your business?” My voice was getting loud. I felt my face heat up with anger. He continued to smile.

“Well I am the King.” I scoffed.

“A king.” His grin faltered a moment, but remained.

“You were drawn here,” he insisted. “You were drawn here for a reason. I saw you watching my home. I saw you and I knew.” I shook my head, blinking.

“Knew what?” He took my hand and I was too alarmed to pull away.

“You are my wife.”