164: Royal Scalpel (Maiya) (Patreon)

“You will report to me directly now.” Princess Ira sipped her tea, regarding Maiya with a contemplative gaze.

“I’m… honored, your highness,” Maiya said in a fluster, “but I’m unsure how I can help you achieve your goal. Though I’m alright fighting Ash Beasts, I’m sure you must have plenty of strong warriors already?”

“It is not your current skillset, but rather your mindset I’m interested in.”

My mindset? Not the way I’ve shot up in power?

“Your mindset has forged you into the Handmaiden you are today,” Ira said with a smirk, predicting Maiya’s thoughts. “You work when others rest. You train when others think only of finishing their day’s duties. You go above and beyond at every opportunity, and you learn.”

Hah. You should see my friend…

“I shall groom you personally. Depending on your performance, you’ll be given more responsibility.”

That’s the last thing I need…

“Ah, I should clarify, with this responsibility comes great benefits. You will never want for coin ever again. Within Kin’jal, you’ll be respected by all. You’ll have no end of suitors, but unlike most women, you’ll get to decide who you end up with. Depending on your contributions, a landed Sawai title isn’t out of the question. So? Do you accept?”

— —

Maiya daydreamed of the day she’d met Ira in her chambers. She’d gone in expecting to serve the princess tea, nothing more. She’d left as a confidante and secret operative. Never in her wildest dreams had she guessed she’d play an instrumental role in helping the princess overthrow her father.

And yet, despite all Ira had said, Maiya kept replaying one sentence in particular. ‘You’ll have no end of suitors’. Every time she did, she blushed. There was only one person in all the realms for her. It didn’t matter who came after her—Sawai, military, or commoner. She promised she’d wait, and she intended to do exactly that.

Where are you now, Vir? Are you safe?

Maiya clutched the communications orb nestled within her robe. She knew it was stupid, bringing such a priceless orb on a dangerous mission. Not only because of its coin value, but because losing it would mean losing her only means of communicating with Vir.

Plus, this particular orb was a bit special. An experimental unit that was said to transmit not just voice, but a projection of her face as well. Rani had apparently uncovered the original deep under some mine near Avi, and it had made its way into Kin’jal hands, where they sought to copy it. They’d managed it, albeit with some flaws. Maiya was fine with flaws, if it meant getting to see him.

She’d been hopelessly incapable of leaving it alone. It followed her everywhere, and she even kept it next to her pillow, on the off-chance Vir contacted her in the middle of the night.

He’d only just entered the Ashen Realm. She knew that. She also knew the orb might not even work in the Demon Realm.

It’s so unfair. If only I were stronger, I could’ve followed him into the Ash…

“Ma’am? Something wrong?” Maiya’s Balarian warrior whispered, and only then did Maiya realize she was scowling.

Shaking her head, she forced her mind back on task. This mission came directly from Princess Ira herself; it wasn’t something she could afford to slack off on. Especially when the princess had repeatedly stressed how important it was that none escape.

The mission? Capturing some smugglers. Upon hearing it, Maiya had assumed it was one of the cabals that ran the organized crime rings around Kin’jal. She’d been shocked to discover just how successful and powerful these organizations were. It didn’t seem very Kin’jal to allow such miscreants to roam freely, but that was exactly the reality.

Smugglers operated with the tacit approval of the government. Approval and oversight. Only what Kin’jal allowed out went out, and that went for both information and goods. Of course, they’d never do such a thing out of the good of their hearts—smugglers operated both ways, bringing in as much as they exported. Intelligence, secret documents from other countries, and more. All of which eventually made its way back into the Kin’jal government’s hands, usually via agents and proxies.

So it was with great anticipation that Maiya set out on this mission. Yet, when she learned the details of the ring she’d be apprehending, she couldn’t help but wonder why ordinary Balarian warriors hadn’t been assigned instead. Or better yet, Brotherhood Mercenaries; they always seemed eager for these sorts of missions. They always appreciated a break from fighting Ash Beasts.

For these were no elite smugglers. They were run-of-the-mill, ordinary criminals, looking to make a quick silver. That Maiya and her squad had remained undetected for the better part of a twenty-minute confidential discussion amongst the smugglers in the middle of their den only proved the point.

The smugglers had chosen an ordinary stone house as their base of operations. Located in a common district of Adrisa, Kin’jal’s northernmost fortified city, i\t wasn’t a bad choice. Far better than a dark lair, or an isolated structure in the middle of nowhere. Someone knew what they were doing. The same could not be said for the rest of their cadre.

Thus far, nothing of interest had been said. There was talk of a ‘big haul’ of opiates from Sai, some worried discussions of the feral nature of the recent demon slaves they’d obtained in Matali, and a bit of finger-pointing about the state of their treasury.

So why…

“Ye, about that,” a smuggler said, responding to his partner in crime. “Got somethin’ especially juicy. Like, the kinda thing that can put us on the map, if ya catch my meanin’.”

“The grak’s that supposed to mean? You got a new customer? Some hotshot?”

“Nah. Even better. Info, straight from Sonam. From the castle.”

Maiya’s attention, which had threatened to wander off to thoughts of Vir, immediately snapped back. Her squad of six—all handpicked by her and tempered  by countless encounters at the Ash Wall—likewise stiffened, priming themselves for action. The smugglers’ next words would either spell their doom or… Well, either way, the only way they were leaving this hideout was in shackles.

“Got some news about Princess Ira.”

For a moment, there was silence. Then the room filled with sounds of their reactions. One smuggler scoffed, shaking his head. Another laughed, while yet another looked at his partner-in-crime with a look of pity.

“Princess Ira’s bedridden. Might just fall over and die any day now. Everyone knows that. What did you find out? That she likes stuff bears or something?”

Maiya cocked a brow at the smuggler’s oddly apt remark. Princess Ira did love her stuffed toys, to a nearly unhealthy degree.

“That’s exactly it. Info comes from an informant in the castle. Someone close to the princess herself. Turns out that’s all a lie. Seems she’s planning on overthrowing the Imperator. This is big, guys. I’m talkin’ seric big.”

Okay, yep. Chalk up another point for the princess, Maiya thought. If the princess knew of this clan, it meant she knew the identity of this informant as well. Or at least, suspected.

The laughter abruptly ended as his coworkers mulled over the meaning of his words. “Who’s your informant?”

“You think I’d give up someone so important? Forget it.”

“How do we know they’re solid?”

“They’re seric. I vouch for them myself.”

Maiya was no longer listening. A quick series of hand signals to her squad primed them for action. Then, with a deep breath, Maiya stood from her hiding spot and approached the unsuspecting men.

“Guys, can you imagine how much the Altani will pay for this?”

“Yeah, they they would, wouldn’t they? If they believed you. Which they won’t,” Maiya said, casually twirling a dagger in her hand.

“Who goes there!” a smuggler shouted, backing away from Maiya. “How’d you get in here? Guards!”

“They’re a bit preoccupied, I’m afraid,” Maiya said, slowly approaching the terrified smugglers with a look of absolute superiority plastered over her face. “Y’know, being dead, and all?”

An act, of course, though not too far off from the truth. These smugglers might have a lesser Mejai Sorcar among them, but what of it?

“Your dealings have not gone unnoticed by the lords of this empire. Your operation, and your lives, end here.”

To her amusement, a couple of smugglers actually laughed.

“Is that right? Tell us, who will mete this justice upon us? You? A little girl? Alone?”

“If I needed help to crush the likes of you, I’d have to kill myself in shame, after.”

To no one’s surprise, the smugglers all drew concealed daggers. The nearest two, confident in their victory, rushed her with the poorest form Maiya had ever witnessed.

Moving slightly to avoid the smugglers’ blows, Maiya grabbed his wrist and arm and twisted, eliciting a shriek of agony from the man as his weapon clattered to the ground.

His friend, who’d recovered from his missed strike and was coming in for another, never got the chance. Maiya unleashed a kick at his ribcage right as he swung.

His arm couldn’t compete with the longer reach of Maiya’s leg, and his dagger hit nothing but air. Maiya’s armored boot landed, cracking ribs and sending the man to the ground in agony.

“I thought you said you were alone!” another smuggler shrieked, finding himself beset by her Balarian warriors.

“Pretty sure I never said that. Did I say that?”

“No, ma’am.”

Her warriors forced two more smugglers to their knees, holding their necks to spearpoint while they bound and gagged them.

The last one ran, but he didn’t make it far; Maiya had blocked all the exits, after all.

“Y’know, if we didn’t want you alive, you’d all have been dead before you ever saw any of us. Consider yourselves lucky.”

A thrown dagger impaled the running man’s hand, sending him crumpling to the ground, whimpering like a baby.

“At least, I think you’re lucky. To be honest, I have no idea what they’ll do to you.”

Maiya couldn’t care less if they lost digits; these sorry brigands had earned whatever punishment was in store for them.

Even now, her hand moved to the orb in her robe, yearning for Vir to make contact. Another, larger part, wished he’d take his time. When they spoke again, she wanted to show off how much she’d improved.

For the first time in her life, she was on par with Vir’s strength. For the first time, they’d stood together as equals. There was no way she’d let him leave her in the dust again. Taking down small-time criminals simply wasn’t going to cut it. She needed more. A lot more.

Maya sighed, cursing her friend’s ambition, despite having the same feelings herself.

Suppose I oughta ask the princess if I can solo Ash Beasts in my free time.

Be it Balar five hundred or a thousand, when he returned, Maiya fully intended on greeting her precious friend with power no less than his own.