Chapter 125: Of Bonds, Broken and Forged (Maiya) (Patreon)

Maiya groaned at the monstrous pile of tomes in front of her. When Princess Ira had said that her chores would be reduced from now on, she’d jumped for joy.

Now, she’d give anything to get those chores back. Anything was better than this.

Once again, she peeked at the Magic Clock in the corner. Still another ten minutes to go.

Of course, it wasn’t as though anyone was forcing her to spend every waking hour of each day sitting in front of her tomes. Except, she didn’t want to disappoint the princess. As childish as it sounded, her determination came neither from a sense of duty, nor from her desire to be useful to Tanya. She just… wanted to impress the princess.

They’d met twice more after her initial meeting, and it was becoming clear that Ira had something very arduous in store for Maiya. Her Highness hadn’t yet revealed what that task would be, but Maiya doubted it’d be anything easy. Nothing that required as much training as she’d had could be easy.

The Children of Ash most closely resemble a religion, albeit a twisted and profane one. These cultists worship a Prana Swarm, said to circle around some long-lost city of the gods deep within the Ash. As one might assume, confirming the existence of such a being has proven both foolhardy and dangerous. The goal of the children is to eventually enter the Ash. Those who do are revered and respected. However, we do know that few who who enter the Ash ever return. Those who do say the very air is poisoned. That an agonizing death is all that awaits us there. Why the Children continue to send their members into that hellish realm is beyond us.

When Princess Ira asked Maiya to expand her worldview, she’d been thrilled. Here lay new, privileged information, and Maiya absorbed it like a sponge. If it made her a more cultured individual, she was all for it.

Except, every tome the princess had given Maiya was on the Children of the Ash. Her father had often warned about the cultists back in the village, but her only experience with them was through Vir. He’d run into one, just before the Hiranyan Knights had arrived, and everything he’d told her about them made her want nothing to do with them.

And yet, she suspected the Children would play a large role in her future. A thought that made her despair.

Ping! The Magic Clock sounded the end of her study session, prompting her to stretch in a very unlady-like fashion. It was a good thing the Head Maid didn’t frequent the royal archives where she currently sat. Only a select few were allowed in here, and no tomes could ever be checked out. The Balarian Royal Guard at the entrance made amply sure of that.

Sadly, if there was one thing Maiya dreaded more than spending hours researching the crazy cult, it was the bitter task she was about to do.

Returning to her quarters—which had been recently upgraded, giving her a two-story room with a beautiful balcony right inside the castle—she threw off her handmaidens’ clothes, tossing them hurriedly onto her bed, and changed into an unassuming Kin’jali robe.

Comfortable, simple, and easy to walk around in, she wished she could wear it all the time. Her royal handmaiden outfit attracted attention and commanded respect wherever she went, but when she wanted to blend in, she owned nothing better than this robe.

The only downside was she had to go the distance on foot; using an Ash’va would attract too much attention for what she was about to do. Distance-wise, her destination in the Southern Quarter wasn’t that far. What ought to have been a fifteen-minute walk instead took over an hour as she navigated the castle walls, then the walls of the Balarian Guard, then the walls of the Royal Quarter.

Walls after walls after walls. Getting around Sonam was beyond infuriating. It was designed that way in case of an invasion, of course, but no general in their right mind would ever consider invading such a fortress, even if it wasn’t the capital of one of the most powerful nations in the Known World.

Would it kill them to just knock a few holes in these walls to make passages? On more than one occasion, she’d wished for magic that could knock down the walls, but she doubted even S Tier magic could pull off such a feat; Sonam’s walls made those of other cities look like toys.

With throbbing feet, she finally made it to the alley in the Southern Quarter that had become familiar to her. Ducking into a trapdoor that led into a cellar, she followed a hallway that led to a dead end, with only a ladder rising to another trapdoor. Knocking thrice, then four times, then thrice again. She waited until the latch on the other side of the door clicked.

Pushing it up, Maiya ascended into a small home with only one other occupant.

“Well? Anything new to report?” Tanya asked.

“Plenty. Just a question of how much I want to tell you,” Maiya retorted.

“You will tell me everything!” Tanya demanded, but her words rang hollow.

Gone were the days where Tanya ruled over her. With Maiya’s station, she could order a dozen Balarian Guard to come and jail her former instructor, and no one would bat an eye.

The only reason she didn’t was because of the debt she felt she owed Riyan. And for the training Tanya gave her… even if most of her advancement was thanks to Vir, and not Tanya.

Maiya shook her head; she’d come here today not to report on Princess Ira’s secrets as she’d always done, but for something else.

“She’s having me research the Children of Ash,” Maiya said, observing Tanya’s reaction.

“The Children, is it?” Tanya said. “Puzzling. But I’m sure General Savar will wish to learn more.”

“There,” Maiya said, pointing at the other woman. “That’s it, isn’t it? The past few times we’ve met like this, I always thought there was something off. Tanya, you’re unable to contact Riyan, aren’t you?”

The woman in black leathers narrowed her eyes. “I do not know why you would think that, but I assure you, you are—”

“See, if you really had been in touch with him, you’d have scoffed at me and hurled some insult. Something like ‘please. Your pathetic attempts to foul our plans are merely that. Pathetic.’ Thing is, I know you haven’t heard a word from him lately.”

“Oh? And pray tell how you know this?”

“Tell me. Have you been back to Riyan’s house?”

“Of course. Several times, in fact.”

Maiya grinned at the woman and crossed her arms.

Tanya gave Maiya a death glare, but when she refused to wither, the woman finally relented. “What do you know?”

“Tanya, Riyan’s abode burned to the ground. Dunes filled it in so you can’t even tell there was a home there anymore. I flew there, saw it myself. Ah, right. I have an Acira now. I can fly places,” she added, rubbing salt into Tanya’s wounds.

The commander did her best to hide her surprise, but Maiya had been trained to detect such things.

“He’s gone, Tanya. Princess Mina finally did him in.”

“We do not know that,” Tanya said, her desperation finally leaking onto her face.

Maiya continued her assault. “Bet your communication orb isn’t working either, is it?”

“How did you…”

“How did I know? I’ve got my ways. Maybe I can’t sneak around as well as Vir can, but Riyan taught me himself, remember? You didn’t think I’d check your possessions?”

“That’s…”

The two fell silent for a moment.

“Say… isn’t this all useless now? My espionage. Me coming here, feeding you information. What are you even going to do with it? In the first place, you were operating under Riyan’s orders, weren’t you? With him gone, what’s the point? What’s the point of any of this?” Maiya said, gesturing to the home.

“No. No, you must continue to—”

“Go look for him,” Maiya said, cutting her off. “It’s what you want to do, isn’t it? Staying in this place is a hazard to you, and I’m also taking a great risk spying for you. Let’s just end the farce and each go our separate ways.”

“I… what will you do? If I leave?”

Tanya’s question came as a shock to Maiya. She’d planned to give the woman an ultimatum today. To break away from the chains that had bound her until now. She hadn’t really thought about what came after.

What should she do? Her role as handmaiden was a voluntary one—she could walk away from the job anytime she liked. Maybe she’d burn some bridges with the Kin’jal, but it wasn’t like anyone was forcing her to stay. Not anymore.

As she reflected on her current situation, she came to realize that it wasn’t that bad. In fact, she’d achieved nearly all of her childhood goals.

“Y’know? For the longest time, I just wanted to move to a big city. To be a somebody. To be wealthy. To be someone significant, doing meaningful things. I… well, it’s hard work, and I dunno if I like where the princess is going with the Children of the Ash, but I think I’m happy here. I really do.”

“I figured as much,” Tanya said, smiling wryly. “When I said that this job had everything you ever wanted, I said it only partially to coerce you. So you’ll become a true agent of Kin’jal. An agent of our enemy.”

“Honestly? If Ira’s the sort of person I think she is, I don’t know if Kin’jal will be Hiranya’s enemy for long. There are… things. Things I haven’t told you, Tanya. But if they go Ira’s way, Kin’jal could be a very different place soon. A better place, I think.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Tanya said with a scoff. “So…”

“So…”

“This is it, then.”

Emotional moments weren’t a strong suit for either of them, but Tanya seemed especially bad at it.

“It is,” Maiya replied stiffly.

“Goodbye.”

“Goodbye,” Maiya replied softly. “And Tanya? Thanks. For training me. I… can’t say I like you. But, well… I’m grateful for some of the stuff you’ve done.”

Tanya nodded. “Now go.”

Maiya turned and left through the hatch through which she came.

I’m probably never going to see her again, huh?

The thought brought her down. But then it was gone. Because her next task was a far more enjoyable one. Her next Acira time slot was in just a few hours. And with it, she would fly to Zorin. To Vir.

Just wait, Vir. We’ll be together again. Just a little longer.

With a deep breath, she set out.