Something wet clung to Nikias's bare wrist. He angled his tanned arm, and through a chink in his glistening silver armor, saw a snowflake had landed there. It was as if the gods themselves were sending him a sign--that it was the perfect time to act.
"Um, General Nikias?" A familiar, quavering voice emanated from behind him. Among the brave he had assembled, there was only one who would be afraid to speak to Nikias. He turned to see Leo, one of his lieutenant's twelve-year-old son. The boy was unnaturally petite, and his jaw seemed oddly delicate. His pastel blue eyes were watery with fear. "Where should I go?"
Nikias raised his eyes to the great walls surrounding Constantinople. "We go up, Leo. Unless you've discovered another way inside?"
Leo paled, and shook his head rapidly. "No, I, um, wasn't sure where I should go while you fight?"
"You will be with us." Nikias wasn't understanding what the boy was missing.
"I have to fight?" Leo whispered.
Nikias rolled his stony gray eyes. "Why else would you be here?" Leo stammered, and Nikias shooed him away. "Unless you plan to have a coherent conversation with me, leave. I have an invasion to plan."
Apparently, Nikias was a hot commodity. One of his soldiers, Ciro, approached him. "We're ready, General." Ciro was even more eager than Nikias to take Constantinople. Nikias suspected that on a certain level, he enjoyed the fighting. Ciro had fought across the world for Justinian, and now he had returned, hoping to overthrow his former leader. "We can begin the assault whenever you're prepared."
"Now." Nikias patted the sword at his side, comforting himself in its presence. He whirled around, and formed behind him was a battalion. "Now!"
With an epic battle cry that would have made Nikias's father proud, the rebels raced toward the wall. The well-trained machine of an army immediately began their attempt over the wall. Stacked on each other's shoulders like circus performers, the soldiers hurled themselves over the wall. Of course, Nikias insisted on being the first one over.
The beautiful port city lay awash in candlelight. Though outside the city, only a few snowflakes fell, the inside was blanketed by a thick layer of heavy snow. The streets were bare, none choosing to brave the freezing city except for Nikias and his rebels. Justinian's palace was not far from where Nikias stood. As his men dropped into the city one by one, Nikias waved the ones already inside of Constantinople forward. "Burn it. Everything but Justinian's castle. He's mine." Nikias glowered at the palace as if it were Justinian himself.
With another chilling war cry, his soldiers began to rush forward into houses. They would start the fires from within. The first house went up in flames, but no one rushed out. Either killed by the fire-starter or not home, Nikias assumed. He waved to Ciro and Ferris, both of whom were obviously hoping to get a chance to attack the palace directly. Cowering behind Ferris was his son, Leo. The boy clutched a dagger, his eyes wide in terror.
"The four of us will storm the palace. We need no more." A devilish grin crossed Ciro's face at the thought.
Hiding was not necessary. The chaos caused by the spattering of fires was enough for the four to slip through the wide streets undetected.
Once outside of the palace, Nikias drew his sword. "Justinian is mine."
Ciro huffed indignantly. "I'd kill him slower."
Nikias didn't acknowledge him. "Let's move." Nikias soon found that would not be so simple. The guards at the door only took a moment to get rid of, but once past them, there were four different hallways. Each was lavishly decorated, with stunning portraits lining the walls.
"Which way is Justinian?" Ferris grumbled. "I just want to kill him and leave."
"Split up." Ciro suggested hopefully. "Maybe I'll get my hands on him."
Nikias was opposed to the idea, but it didn't seem like he had any other viable option. "Alright. Everyone select a hallway. I'll take what's left." Ferris and Ciro almost immediately started running, each in different directions. Leo stayed firmly planted in the spot his father had left him. "Pick, Leo." Nikias had a feeling the boy wasn't going to make his job easy.
"I don't want to do this." Leo's eyes were filled with barely restrained tears.
Nikias cursed under his breath. "There is a very low chance you will find him, but the chance does exist. I can't risk not finding him. Go, or your father might pay the price for your cowardice." It wasn't that Nikias was unable to feel. Rather, he chose not to. It was easier to think of oneself as a collected, heartless killer who fought for the rights of many. It was better than recognizing the pain caused, and human selfishness.
Leo shuddered, but was probably worried what would happen to him if he defied Nikias, and took off in a full sprint down one of the unexplored hallways.
Without hesitation, Nikias stalked toward the last one. He was relieved to find it practically empty. There was less chance of someone hearing of his approach if there were no guards to sound the alarm.
He wasn't sure how long he walked. It was somehow surreal, like it could have been an hour or a mere second. Nikias had let his guard down, and he learned to regret it.
A body darted out from behind a statue of a god. Before Nikias had a chance to react, the figure had already tackled him to the ground. His vision turned fuzzy, but once it returned to its normal state, he gasped.
The girl pinning him to the ground, poising a rapier at his throat, was the most beautiful Nikias had ever seen. Her shiny, ebony hair tickled his face, and her eyes were a gorgeous sea foam green. She wasn't wearing any armor, but Nikias took that to mean she was powerful enough not to need it.
"Who are you?" She demanded.
Nikias had fallen back into that dreamlike state. "What did you say?"
She repeated herself, glaring spitefully at him.
"General Nikias. Now who are you?"
That surprised her, but she recovered herself quickly. "That doesn't matter to you. Get up." She yanked his sword away from him.
"Are you going to kill me?" Nikias wondered softly.
"We'll see," She sheathed her rapier, and pointed Nikias's sword at him. "Walk." Nikias wasn't sure what part of his brain had stopped functioning, but he ordered it to start working. He finally began to realize the magnitude of the situation.
"Have you ever heard of Sir Gimme Sword?" As she started to answer, Nikias whipped around. She hadn't been expecting it, which gave him the chance to rip his sword out of her hands. "Well, you have now."
She tried to grip her rapier, but Nikias lunged, managing to catch hold of it before her. Her sparkling eyes were fearful. "Now, what's your name?"
"Anastasia," She mumbled, eyeing her rapier as if there were some way for her to retrieve it.
"Are you one of Justinian's guards?"
"No," Anastasia sighed, anticipating Nikias's next question. "I'm his daughter."
Nikias waited for the punch line, but none came. "Justinian and Theodora don't have a daughter." His eyebrows knitted together.
She forced a smile. "They didn't advertise it so people like you wouldn't come around and try to kill me."
"I don't think I'm going to kill you." Nikias admitted.
"Oh, is that so?" She rolled her eyes. "Let me guess: you want me to lead you to them, and then, as soon as you've killed them, you'll suddenly decide I've witnessed your crime, and that I need to be killed as well."
Actually, the thought had not occurred to Nikias. He wasn't really sure what he was going to do. He couldn't kill Justinian now, because he couldn't bear to break this girl's heart. If he tried to pull a kidnapping stunt, he would be pursued until he was found and murdered. That only left him the option to run, and Nikias was not the kind to run from a fight. So he'd have to pick one and deal with the consequences.
"Walk toward the entrance." Nikias made sure to keep a tight grip on the weapons in case Anastasia tried to take them. "Hurry,"
Nikias retraced his steps to the atrium, where he found Leo and Ciro waiting. "Well, who have we got here?" Ciro bounced to his feet. "Looks like little Anastasia."
Nikias's gaze flitted between Ciro and Anastasia. "You know her?"
Ciro guffawed. "Know her? She usually lives with her grandmother out in the city, and for my first two years in the army, I was her guard." He grinned darkly at her. "You never were nice to me."
"Maybe because you're a horrible person." She snapped.
Ciro shook his head, still laughing. He glanced at Nikias. "You going to kill her anytime soon?"
"Not sure." Nikias nodded in the direction Ferris had disappeared. "I guess Ferris gets Justinian. I'd really been looking forward to it." He groaned.
Anastasia smirked at him. "My father could kill whoever you sent."
"You better get her out of here. A whole mess of guards are probably going to be after Ferris, if he's not dead yet." Ciro suggested lightly. "Wouldn't want little Annie getting rescued, now would we?" He shot her another sarcastic smile.
She offered him nothing more than a disgusted expression. "Come on." Nikias said, pointing his sword toward the door.
When she pushed open the doors leading outside, Anastasia gasped. Even Nikias was surprised at the level of destruction his rebels had caused. He gritted his teeth together, realizing there wasn't going to be an easy way out. Justinian's soldiers lined the walls, crossing that escape route off of Nikias's list. He spotted a few groups of them in the distance, no doubt rushing toward the palace. He certainly didn't have many places to hide.
He caught sight of the armory. It was spared from the flames, and therefore about the only place Nikias could make use of. "The armory," He pointed to it. "We're going there."
Nikias realized how quickly he'd be noticed by Justinian's emerging army while holding a sword to Anastasia's back. He threw aside her rapier, and sheathed his own sword. He took a tight hold of her upper arm, and motioned toward the armory. "Let's hurry."
Of course, luck wasn't with Nikias. The armory wasn't far, but a ring of soldiers protected it. His only way in would be to trick them. While he paused to figure out exactly how that would work, one of the guards approached him. "You with the rebels?"
Caught off guard, Nikias stammered, "N-No, I'm not a rebel."
The soldier narrowed his eyes. "Why are you hanging around the armory? We already announced a mandatory evacuation of this sector."
"We, um," Nikias shifted his gaze to Anastasia. "The exit was blocked by the rebels. We're looking for somewhere to hide." The soldier was discreetly reaching back for his sword. The expression playing across Anastasia's face was something between rage and horror, which was probably why.
Nikias was not one to normally experience fear, but the terror that flashed through him was almost painful. He couldn't be caught here. What would the rebels do without him? Even if he managed to escape, after kidnapping Anastasia, Justinian would send an entire army to locate and kill Nikias.
Panic compelled Nikias as he reached out in one, sharp motion to kiss Anastasia. She jerked back reflexively in shock, but Nikias held her close. Her lips tasted like peaches, and were softer than water. Slowly, Anastasia's lips began to move against his. Her beautiful sea foam eyes were wide, staring straight into Nikias's slate colored ones. He loosened his grip on her arm, and gently reached to hold the small of her back. He felt her smile against his lips.
The guard cleared his throat awkwardly. "You may temporarily take cover in the armory."
Nikias pulled away from Anastasia, whose cheeks were a brilliant shade of red. Her grin disappeared, and she looked away from Nikias.
They took cover in the armory, which was somehow colder than outside. Cracks in the ceiling allowed snow to slip through, so it took a while to find a dry corner not stuffed with weaponry.
Without speaking, they crouched under a shelf piled high with shields. It wasn't long before they were shivering, and Nikias was beginning to regret his decision. Anastasia leaned into his side for warmth.
Outside, they could hear the shouts of the army and rebels clashing. "We have to stay here at least until the fighting stops." Nikias whispered, unable to raise his voice.
"You want to be fighting, too." There was no judgment in her voice. "You want to kill my parents."
Nikias leaned back against the wall. "I guess so."
He wasn't sure how long the pair huddled under the shield rack. Long enough for the sun to set and rise again. At some point, Nikias rose to retrieve food from a box of rations across the room.
It surprised him that the sounds of battle hadn't yet faded. They dragged on for days. Occasionally, soldiers would rush into the armory to get more of this or that, but otherwise, Nikias and Anastasia were alone.
Nikias was surprised how much he grew to like Anastasia. Not just for her looks--the original reason he hadn't killed her--but for who she was. He had a hunch that she might be losing a bit of her anger toward him, too.
On a morning that was exactly the same as the last forty or so mornings had been, Anastasia woke Nikias. "Nikias," Her sweet voice was low. "We have to leave."
"Leave?" Nikias groggily rubbed his eyes. "No, No, Anastasia, we don't have to do that."
"I can't look at these weapons anymore. I'm sick of imagining this place burning and us dying. The fighting is always the lightest in the morning. We could leave now."
Nikias's heart wrenched unexpectedly. "I," He paused. "Anastasia, I don't want you to leave. If we leave, we'll--we'll never see each other again. I'm not supposed to know that you exist."
Anastasia bit her lip. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I've spent enough time with you that I feel like I know you better than my parents or anyone else. I trust you, Nikias, and that's all I've got to give. Please trust me too. I don't even want to go back to how my life was. We could go live in one of the suburbs, and no one would ever be the wiser. You're the best friend I have, and I don't know, maybe more. The best we'll ever get is another month together before the rebels run out of supplies."
"They should already be out." Nikias murmured.
"That's what I mean! Please, Nikias, I can't leave if you don't come." She reached a hand out to him. Nikias only hesitated for a moment before taking her hand, and offering her one of his rare, genuine smiles.
Something wet clung to Nikias's bare wrist. He angled his tanned arm, and through a chink in his glistening silver armor, saw a snowflake had landed there. It was as if the gods themselves were sending him a sign--that it was the perfect time to act.
"Um, General Nikias?" A familiar, quavering voice emanated from behind him. Among the brave he had assembled, there was only one who would be afraid to speak to Nikias. He turned to see Leo, one of his lieutenant's twelve-year-old son. The boy was unnaturally petite, and his jaw seemed oddly delicate. His pastel blue eyes were watery with fear. "Where should I go?"
Nikias raised his eyes to the great walls surrounding Constantinople. "We go up, Leo. Unless you've discovered another way inside?"
Leo paled, and shook his head rapidly. "No, I, um, wasn't sure where I should go while you fight?"
"You will be with us." Nikias wasn't understanding what the boy was missing.
"I have to fight?" Leo whispered.
Nikias rolled his stony gray eyes. "Why else would you be here?" Leo stammered, and Nikias shooed him away. "Unless you plan to have a coherent conversation with me, leave. I have an invasion to plan."
Apparently, Nikias was a hot commodity. One of his soldiers, Ciro, approached him. "We're ready, General." Ciro was even more eager than Nikias to take Constantinople. Nikias suspected that on a certain level, he enjoyed the fighting. Ciro had fought across the world for Justinian, and now he had returned, hoping to overthrow his former leader. "We can begin the assault whenever you're prepared."
"Now." Nikias patted the sword at his side, comforting himself in its presence. He whirled around, and formed behind him was a battalion. "Now!"
With an epic battle cry that would have made Nikias's father proud, the rebels raced toward the wall. The well-trained machine of an army immediately began their attempt over the wall. Stacked on each other's shoulders like circus performers, the soldiers hurled themselves over the wall. Of course, Nikias insisted on being the first one over.
The beautiful port city lay awash in candlelight. Though outside the city, only a few snowflakes fell, the inside was blanketed by a thick layer of heavy snow. The streets were bare, none choosing to brave the freezing city except for Nikias and his rebels. Justinian's palace was not far from where Nikias stood. As his men dropped into the city one by one, Nikias waved the ones already inside of Constantinople forward. "Burn it. Everything but Justinian's castle. He's mine." Nikias glowered at the palace as if it were Justinian himself.
With another chilling war cry, his soldiers began to rush forward into houses. They would start the fires from within. The first house went up in flames, but no one rushed out. Either killed by the fire-starter or not home, Nikias assumed. He waved to Ciro and Ferris, both of whom were obviously hoping to get a chance to attack the palace directly. Cowering behind Ferris was his son, Leo. The boy clutched a dagger, his eyes wide in terror.
"The four of us will storm the palace. We need no more." A devilish grin crossed Ciro's face at the thought.
Hiding was not necessary. The chaos caused by the spattering of fires was enough for the four to slip through the wide streets undetected.
Once outside of the palace, Nikias drew his sword. "Justinian is mine."
Ciro huffed indignantly. "I'd kill him slower."
Nikias didn't acknowledge him. "Let's move." Nikias soon found that would not be so simple. The guards at the door only took a moment to get rid of, but once past them, there were four different hallways. Each was lavishly decorated, with stunning portraits lining the walls.
"Which way is Justinian?" Ferris grumbled. "I just want to kill him and leave."
"Split up." Ciro suggested hopefully. "Maybe I'll get my hands on him."
Nikias was opposed to the idea, but it didn't seem like he had any other viable option. "Alright. Everyone select a hallway. I'll take what's left." Ferris and Ciro almost immediately started running, each in different directions. Leo stayed firmly planted in the spot his father had left him. "Pick, Leo." Nikias had a feeling the boy wasn't going to make his job easy.
"I don't want to do this." Leo's eyes were filled with barely restrained tears.
Nikias cursed under his breath. "There is a very low chance you will find him, but the chance does exist. I can't risk not finding him. Go, or your father might pay the price for your cowardice." It wasn't that Nikias was unable to feel. Rather, he chose not to. It was easier to think of oneself as a collected, heartless killer who fought for the rights of many. It was better than recognizing the pain caused, and human selfishness.
Leo shuddered, but was probably worried what would happen to him if he defied Nikias, and took off in a full sprint down one of the unexplored hallways.
Without hesitation, Nikias stalked toward the last one. He was relieved to find it practically empty. There was less chance of someone hearing of his approach if there were no guards to sound the alarm.
He wasn't sure how long he walked. It was somehow surreal, like it could have been an hour or a mere second. Nikias had let his guard down, and he learned to regret it.
A body darted out from behind a statue of a god. Before Nikias had a chance to react, the figure had already tackled him to the ground. His vision turned fuzzy, but once it returned to its normal state, he gasped.
The girl pinning him to the ground, poising a rapier at his throat, was the most beautiful Nikias had ever seen. Her shiny, ebony hair tickled his face, and her eyes were a gorgeous sea foam green. She wasn't wearing any armor, but Nikias took that to mean she was powerful enough not to need it.
"Who are you?" She demanded.
Nikias had fallen back into that dreamlike state. "What did you say?"
She repeated herself, glaring spitefully at him.
"General Nikias. Now who are you?"
That surprised her, but she recovered herself quickly. "That doesn't matter to you. Get up." She yanked his sword away from him.
"Are you going to kill me?" Nikias wondered softly.
"We'll see," She sheathed her rapier, and pointed Nikias's sword at him. "Walk." Nikias wasn't sure what part of his brain had stopped functioning, but he ordered it to start working. He finally began to realize the magnitude of the situation.
"Have you ever heard of Sir Gimme Sword?" As she started to answer, Nikias whipped around. She hadn't been expecting it, which gave him the chance to rip his sword out of her hands. "Well, you have now."
She tried to grip her rapier, but Nikias lunged, managing to catch hold of it before her. Her sparkling eyes were fearful. "Now, what's your name?"
"Anastasia," She mumbled, eyeing her rapier as if there were some way for her to retrieve it.
"Are you one of Justinian's guards?"
"No," Anastasia sighed, anticipating Nikias's next question. "I'm his daughter."
Nikias waited for the punch line, but none came. "Justinian and Theodora don't have a daughter." His eyebrows knitted together.
She forced a smile. "They didn't advertise it so people like you wouldn't come around and try to kill me."
"I don't think I'm going to kill you." Nikias admitted.
"Oh, is that so?" She rolled her eyes. "Let me guess: you want me to lead you to them, and then, as soon as you've killed them, you'll suddenly decide I've witnessed your crime, and that I need to be killed as well."
Actually, the thought had not occurred to Nikias. He wasn't really sure what he was going to do. He couldn't kill Justinian now, because he couldn't bear to break this girl's heart. If he tried to pull a kidnapping stunt, he would be pursued until he was found and murdered. That only left him the option to run, and Nikias was not the kind to run from a fight. So he'd have to pick one and deal with the consequences.
"Walk toward the entrance." Nikias made sure to keep a tight grip on the weapons in case Anastasia tried to take them. "Hurry,"
Nikias retraced his steps to the atrium, where he found Leo and Ciro waiting. "Well, who have we got here?" Ciro bounced to his feet. "Looks like little Anastasia."
Nikias's gaze flitted between Ciro and Anastasia. "You know her?"
Ciro guffawed. "Know her? She usually lives with her grandmother out in the city, and for my first two years in the army, I was her guard." He grinned darkly at her. "You never were nice to me."
"Maybe because you're a horrible person." She snapped.
Ciro shook his head, still laughing. He glanced at Nikias. "You going to kill her anytime soon?"
"Not sure." Nikias nodded in the direction Ferris had disappeared. "I guess Ferris gets Justinian. I'd really been looking forward to it." He groaned.
Anastasia smirked at him. "My father could kill whoever you sent."
"You better get her out of here. A whole mess of guards are probably going to be after Ferris, if he's not dead yet." Ciro suggested lightly. "Wouldn't want little Annie getting rescued, now would we?" He shot her another sarcastic smile.
She offered him nothing more than a disgusted expression. "Come on." Nikias said, pointing his sword toward the door.
When she pushed open the doors leading outside, Anastasia gasped. Even Nikias was surprised at the level of destruction his rebels had caused. He gritted his teeth together, realizing there wasn't going to be an easy way out. Justinian's soldiers lined the walls, crossing that escape route off of Nikias's list. He spotted a few groups of them in the distance, no doubt rushing toward the palace. He certainly didn't have many places to hide.
He caught sight of the armory. It was spared from the flames, and therefore about the only place Nikias could make use of. "The armory," He pointed to it. "We're going there."
Nikias realized how quickly he'd be noticed by Justinian's emerging army while holding a sword to Anastasia's back. He threw aside her rapier, and sheathed his own sword. He took a tight hold of her upper arm, and motioned toward the armory. "Let's hurry."
Of course, luck wasn't with Nikias. The armory wasn't far, but a ring of soldiers protected it. His only way in would be to trick them. While he paused to figure out exactly how that would work, one of the guards approached him. "You with the rebels?"
Caught off guard, Nikias stammered, "N-No, I'm not a rebel."
The soldier narrowed his eyes. "Why are you hanging around the armory? We already announced a mandatory evacuation of this sector."
"We, um," Nikias shifted his gaze to Anastasia. "The exit was blocked by the rebels. We're looking for somewhere to hide." The soldier was discreetly reaching back for his sword. The expression playing across Anastasia's face was something between rage and horror, which was probably why.
Nikias was not one to normally experience fear, but the terror that flashed through him was almost painful. He couldn't be caught here. What would the rebels do without him? Even if he managed to escape, after kidnapping Anastasia, Justinian would send an entire army to locate and kill Nikias.
Panic compelled Nikias as he reached out in one, sharp motion to kiss Anastasia. She jerked back reflexively in shock, but Nikias held her close. Her lips tasted like peaches, and were softer than water. Slowly, Anastasia's lips began to move against his. Her beautiful sea foam eyes were wide, staring straight into Nikias's slate colored ones. He loosened his grip on her arm, and gently reached to hold the small of her back. He felt her smile against his lips.
The guard cleared his throat awkwardly. "You may temporarily take cover in the armory."
Nikias pulled away from Anastasia, whose cheeks were a brilliant shade of red. Her grin disappeared, and she looked away from Nikias.
They took cover in the armory, which was somehow colder than outside. Cracks in the ceiling allowed snow to slip through, so it took a while to find a dry corner not stuffed with weaponry.
Without speaking, they crouched under a shelf piled high with shields. It wasn't long before they were shivering, and Nikias was beginning to regret his decision. Anastasia leaned into his side for warmth.
Outside, they could hear the shouts of the army and rebels clashing. "We have to stay here at least until the fighting stops." Nikias whispered, unable to raise his voice.
"You want to be fighting, too." There was no judgment in her voice. "You want to kill my parents."
Nikias leaned back against the wall. "I guess so."
He wasn't sure how long the pair huddled under the shield rack. Long enough for the sun to set and rise again. At some point, Nikias rose to retrieve food from a box of rations across the room.
It surprised him that the sounds of battle hadn't yet faded. They dragged on for days. Occasionally, soldiers would rush into the armory to get more of this or that, but otherwise, Nikias and Anastasia were alone.
Nikias was surprised how much he grew to like Anastasia. Not just for her looks--the original reason he hadn't killed her--but for who she was. He had a hunch that she might be losing a bit of her anger toward him, too.
On a morning that was exactly the same as the last forty or so mornings had been, Anastasia woke Nikias. "Nikias," Her sweet voice was low. "We have to leave."
"Leave?" Nikias groggily rubbed his eyes. "No, No, Anastasia, we don't have to do that."
"I can't look at these weapons anymore. I'm sick of imagining this place burning and us dying. The fighting is always the lightest in the morning. We could leave now."
Nikias's heart wrenched unexpectedly. "I," He paused. "Anastasia, I don't want you to leave. If we leave, we'll--we'll never see each other again. I'm not supposed to know that you exist."
Anastasia bit her lip. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I've spent enough time with you that I feel like I know you better than my parents or anyone else. I trust you, Nikias, and that's all I've got to give. Please trust me too. I don't even want to go back to how my life was. We could go live in one of the suburbs, and no one would ever be the wiser. You're the best friend I have, and I don't know, maybe more. The best we'll ever get is another month together before the rebels run out of supplies."
"They should already be out." Nikias murmured.
"That's what I mean! Please, Nikias, I can't leave if you don't come." She reached a hand out to him. Nikias only hesitated for a moment before taking her hand, and offering her one of his rare, genuine smiles.
"I'll follow you wherever you go."