Children of the Patriarchy - Chapter Two
Chapter Two: The Best View in the City
Chance cursed in a whisper as he tried to squeeze through the gap in the hedges. Thorns and brambles tore at his skin and clothes as he sidled through the bushes. His dark-blue cloak caught several times and had to be gently pulled free so it didn’t tear.
He remembered this being much easier when he was young and smaller. Now practically a man, Chance had grown quite tall and handsome, with a firm jaw and muscular physique from the long hours of combat training with his father.
After arriving in the backyard, Chance shook himself and knocked off the plant parts that still clung to him. The house was dark, but the night outside was well lit with a full moon. He gathered a handful of small stones from the yard and began tossing them softly at an upper window of the house.
Four stones tapped on the glass before a light came on in the room. A moment later, Regina opened the window and poked her head out. Chance waved and whisper-shouted up, “Hey! Sneak out?”
Regina nodded her head. “Sure! Let me go get Reg.” And she disappeared back into the house.
Chance’s mouth went stiff-lipped. He hadn’t planned on inviting Reginald this time. But the two of them went everywhere together, so it only made sense. The light shifted and moved in the house as the two came downstairs. A rear door creaked open and out slunk Reginald and Regina wearing blue cloaks similar to Chance’s.
“So, where are we going tonight? A seedy bar? The theater? Maybe something down by the river?” Regina asked.
“Something like that,” Chance replied. “I was thinking we should go down to the lower city.” Reginald and Regina shared a worried look. “I know what you’re thinking. Crossing the river is a bad idea. But the lower city isn’t really that bad. Plus—” Chance pulled something from inside his cloak.
With a flick of his wrist, the foot and a half (46 centimeters) long black cylinder expanded to about six feet (~2 meters) into a long staff and locked into place. Chance twirled it in a flourish. “Even if we run into trouble, we’re prepared.”
“Coooool,” Regina said, gesturing to hold it. Chance handed it over and she twirled it around in her hands deftly. “Wow, this is super light too.”
“I don’t know about this,” Reginald replied, tapping his right foot anxiously. “Why would we go to one of the most dangerous parts of the city at night by ourselves? Seems like asking for trouble.”
“Look.” Chance rubbed the bridge of his nose. “If you want to stay, feel free. But tonight is a full moon and I’ve never seen it over the river. It’s supposed to be the most beautiful view in the city.”
Reginald pursed his lips. “All this for a view? Count me out.”
Chance tried not to look pleased. “Oh, come on!” Regina chided. “If all three of us go it’ll be safer than just two. Plus, we can try out some of the food in the lower city! I’ll bet they have all sorts of food we don’t get up here.”
Reginald rolled his eyes and let out a barely suppressed groan. “Fine, I guess. If only so you don’t get into too much trouble.”
“Great! Can we go out the gate though? I think I tore my cloak on the way in.”
They gently opened and closed the gate so as to not make too much noise. There were gas lanterns intermittently, but the full moon reflected the silver-blue light of the sun, allowing them to see easily.
The palace complex itself was built into a bend in the river, surrounding it on two sides by the river and the other two by an artificial moat with a single bridge to cross. Since they were underaged, the guards wouldn’t let them pass at night, so they took an alternate route.
Careful and slow, they crept into the palace inside the keep. They had no reason to fear, really. At least two of them had every right to be there. Although, they were unattended youths in the middle of the night. A guard patrolling the torch-lit hallway they walked through stopped them.
“Woah there, Reg, what are you doing out this time of night?” The guard asked from behind them, adjusting his steel cap and shifting in his gambeson. “Does your mother know you are out?”
The three stopped in their tracks. Reginald turned around slowly and put on his best ingratiating smile. “Of course, guard uh . . . uh . . . what was your name again?”
“It’s Luke, my lord . . .”
“Yes, of course! Luke! How could I forget? Must be all those studies clogging up my brain.” Reginald smirked. “We were just on our way to the library to do some studying.”
“Together?”
“Yes.”
“In the middle of the night?”
“Yes?”
“And dressed like thieves.”
“Yup,” Reg replied, straight-faced. The guard’s face changed to an amused grin.
Chance sighed and pulled out a small coin pouch. He counted out three silver coins into his hand and walked up to Luke. “Here, is this more convincing?”
The guard eyed the coins, then gave a penetrating look to all three teens. “Sure. Good enough for me.” He took the coins and began to walk off.
“And you’ll say you never saw us!?” Reginald called after him.
“Saw who?” The guard replied without breaking his stride.
The three trespassing teens regrouped. “You know . . . I really hope he’s not that easy to bribe if you are an enemy,” Regina said, concerned.
A few minutes later, they found themselves in the cellar and closed the door so they could not be followed. It was very dark, so Chance picked a torch off the wall in the hallway to light their way. Waving the torch in front of them, they found the large wooden beer cask that concealed the entrance to the escape tunnel. All good castles need an escape tunnel.
Together, Chance and Reginald grunted and strained to move the giant wooden cask. But they eventually scooched it slightly so that they could slide in behind the cask and into the tunnel. The tunnel led down and switched back and forth several times until they emerged into a natural cave.
The entrance was heavily obscured by trees and bushes, so they left the torch behind to light their way back later. One by one they sifted through the foliage and appeared near the riverbank. They brushed the leaves and twigs out of their cloaks and approached the large stone bridge a short way away.
Reginald cast a worried look back toward the palace and the large spirally buildings of the upper city where Chance lived above them. “Last chance, Chance, are you sure about this? There is plenty of food and fun on this side of the river you know . . .” Chance rolled his eyes and moved to the walkway of the water lock that served as the barrier between the river and the moat separating the upper city from the palace district. Reginald let out a long sigh and said “Fine, fine,” and skipped slightly in order to catch up. The walkway was very narrow, but Chance and Regina had no problem holding their balance as they crossed. Reginald, however, nearly fell multiple times, only to be caught by the railing, or more often by Regina catching the back of his cloak.
“I always hate this part . . .” Reginald said with a grimace.
“Oh, we know, you tell us every time,” Regina snarked back as they stepped onto the upper city side of the moat.
“Can we please just go to something in the upper city? The lower city is dirty, smelly, and full of criminals.”
“Oh really? Is it full of stereotypes too?” Regina chided.
“You know I am right. I know the stories are intentionally exaggerated. But exaggerated does not mean wholly falsified,” Reginald answered.
“You worry too much Reg. It’ll be fun!” Chance added.
“You worry too little, both of you.”
Chance and Regina both scoffed at this but didn’t pursue it further. They reached the bridge that connected the road in the upper district to the lower district and beyond. The bridge was intricately tiled with differently sized stones that came together in an oddly mismatched pattern from heavy use and centuries of patchwork repairs. Even this late at night, there was still reliable traffic, as it served as the only major crossing to the two major districts that made up the city from the shore.
The bridge wasn’t very long. It rose little more than a few feet and crossed a river that could at best be called a slow stream, as blocked by trash and construction debris as it was. The bridge came down into a cobblestone square. It was lit by gas lanterns like the castle was, but the side streets were not. The buildings on this side of the river were much shorter, with only a few rising above one story tall in contrast to the large arching doorways and intricate stonework of the palace.
There was a sharply defined line between the area of the bridge maintained by the commerce guilds and nobility, compared to the disheveled and ill-maintained roads and alleys that spread out around it. As the group stepped off the privileged promenade of properly prepared parkways, Reginald’s shoe immediately stuck in a pool of what he desperately hoped was only mud. The trio walked into the lower city and began to look around. Shaking off the unidentified brown sludge coating his boots, Reginald said, “This doesn’t look so bad, actually. To hear the headmasters tell it, this place is a slum. But this is just a little different . . .” He sneered a bit, “Save for the acrid smell and the horse scat in the street.” A nearby horse tied in front of a restaurant whinnied as if in protest.
“So, where is this view you promised us?” Regina asked.
“Down by the river, but the moon is still low, let’s explore a bit.”
Together they walked along the darkened streets past houses and closed shops. “What is that smell?” Regina asked.
“I told you, horse scat.”
“No, not that.” She took a big sniff. “Smell that? Fishy, with just a hint of spicy?”
Chance sniffed too. “Yeah, I smell that, it smells good! What is it do you think?”
“Let’s go find out!” Regina exclaimed excitedly and ran off around a corner. Chance chased after her with Reginald following behind.
“I still only smell horse poo . . .” Reginald complained again.
A couple of wrong turns later, they found the source of the seductive smell. It was a short one-story building that glowed from the light inside. A small hum of people talking could be heard from outside. Regina and Reginald put up their cloak hoods to conceal their unmistakable two-toned hair.
The errant teens opened the door. A wave of smell flowed over and around them into the street, causing the mouths of the trio, the idle man on the other side of the street, and curiously, the unconscious drunkard passed out in the alley around the corner to instinctively salivate. The smell was earthy and rich, with just a hint of fish in it. All the patrons were eating some variation of the same dish. It was rice with a few strips of fish laid on top with a thick brown sauce. “Excuse me, sir,” Regina asked the man sitting alone near the door. “What type of food is that?”
The man looked up with a bit of fish hanging from his mouth that he slurped up quickly. “Mmm. Ish cralled . . .” He swallowed. “It’s called sabine, it’s a Jeranese dish. You’ve never had it?”
Regina shook her head. “Never even heard of it. Is it good?”
“Well, I’m eating it, so it can’t be that bad, right?” The man smiled. “Say, beautiful, how bout I buy you some and we have a chat?”
Regina blushed slightly and Chance bristled. “Thanks, but I think we’ll get our own . . .” The man simply shrugged and went back to his food. The restaurant wasn’t overly crowded, so the three walked up to the counter. The Jeranese man behind the counter turned to them and said something in a language they didn’t understand.
“Excuse me?” Reginald asked.
“Order?” the Jeranese man asked with a thick accent. Foreigners were not terribly uncommon in Rashil. Though few rose as high as needed to cross paths with the nobility. The Patriarchy’s occupation of Jeranin, among many other occupations, caused a large amount of immigration to the empire. Sometimes by choice. Other times, not so much. “Well, we haven’t been here before. What do you recommend?”
“This is a sabine shop.”
“Yes, we saw, but I wondered if you had anything . . . else?”
“This is a sabine shop,” he repeated.
“Right, well, we’ll have three.”
“Red or brown sauce?”
“Um, brown I guess?” Reginald took out his coin pouch and pulled out the requested payment for the food.
“Very good, have a seat.”
The three turned and found a table near the corner. Watching the crowd, they observed small games of chance happening at most tables. Chance wondered if any of them were magically inclined, but their current location indicated their common station, so this was likely not the case. The three chatted and waited for a few minutes before the food came out. A woman who looked to be a local brought them three steaming bowls from the back and put them on the table.
“Thanks!” Regina said with a smile and immediately took a large bite. Chance followed suit. Reginald sniffed it a bit and then took a nibble. A harmonizing hum came from the group.
“This is pretty good. The sauce is . . . creamy and salty? Goes well with the fish,” Chance remarked.
“Agreed! A bit slimy, but quite satisfying,” Regina added.
Reginald’s wrinkled his nose in displeasure. “I don’t like it,” Reginald added with a sharp frown.
“Of course you don’t. You don’t like anything with flavor,” Regina replied, sticking her tongue out. They ate the rest of their food in silence. Reginald only had a few more bites before giving up. After finishing, they stacked their bowls and meandered out the way they came.
“Well, that was an . . . interesting digestion digression. Can we go home now?” Reginald complained again.
“Not yet, we need to go back down by the river. Come on,” Chance answered, and they went off down the twisting streets. A short time later, they heard shouting from around a corner. Chance gestured for them to stop and poked his head around the corner.
The alley next to them had three adult men standing around a teenage girl about their age. “You know this will go easier for you if you just give it up,” said one of the men.
“Yeah, little girl, you don’t want us to have to take it from you,” said one of the comically villainous thugs.
The girl clutched a small purse to her chest. “Please . . .” she pleaded. “It’s all I have for this week. My brother went hungry yesterday already.”
“See the problem is . . .” the lead thug said, “we need to eat too. And we eat way more than some scrawny kid.” He sneered in contempt, “Or some scrap of a girl for that matter.”
“Hey!” Chance called out without thinking, “What do you think you’re doing?” He stepped out from around the corner to confront the men with the absurd bravado belonging only to the very young or the very stupid. The men turned, and an amused look came over the leader.
“This ain’t none of your business kid. Just walk away.”
“Afraid I can’t do that,” Chance replied, producing his collapsible staff from his cloak and concealing it behind his arm. Regina stepped out from around the corner, and Reginald didn’t move but peered around from the corner, giving great emotional support.
“I told you there would be criminals!” Reginald said in a whisper. Regina and Chance heard this, but chose not to acknowledge it.
The men pounded their fists into their hands. “Looks like someone needs a lesson in proper etiquette.”
“Yeah, teach him a lesson, boss!” one man jeered while grabbing the girl by the shoulder to manhandle her some more.
“Mimsy, hush. Let me take care of this.” The leader stepped up as if to swing his fist at Chance. Lightning-fast, the staff was out and flying straight at the thug’s face. He deftly dodged to the left, grabbed the staff, and pulled it, tipping Chance off-balance. As he tumbled, he tingled with a profound sense of—
déjà vu
“Mimsy, hush. Let me take care of this.” The leader stepped up as if to swing his fist at Chance. Lightning-fast, the staff was out and flying straight to the left of the thug’s face. He tried to dodge, but ended up leaning straight into the blow and was sent reeling to the floor, clutching his bloodied face.
The lead thug released a torrent of blood-muffled curses from the ground. “He moves fast! Get him!” The second thug pulled a knife from his belt and charged. The lead thug rolled on the floor and backed further away.
Regina cried out in warning as the knife swung in at Chance. He swung the staff to block, but the thug was too quick and got inside his guard. The knife bit into his side, and blood gushed from the wound. Chance screamed in pain.
déjà vu
Regina cried out in warning as the knife swung in at Chance. He swung the staff close to block the blow. He warded off the first swing with the staff, but the thugs’ backswing cut into Chance’s arms. He cursed.
déjà vu
Regina cried out in warning as the knife swung in at Chance. He hopped back out of the range of the swing and then thrust his staff forward, striking the knife-wielding thug. He struck true and hit the thug square in the windpipe. He dropped his knife immediately; it hit the floor with a ringing clang, and he clutched his throat, going to the ground.
“Enough!” The thug leader yelled, standing up and pulling a flintlock pistol from his belt. The whole alley froze as he leveled it at Chance. As he fired, the air between them took on a faint shimmering smoothness to it. The bullet traveled through space and veered hard off-course, landing inside the wall of a nearby house.
The lead thug stood there gobsmacked, holding the smoking gun. Regina had her hand held forward, palm open, in intense concentration maintaining the field before dropping her arm and letting it dissipate. As she rushed forward to raise her magical shield, the hood of her cloak fell down, revealing her long braided two-toned auburn-blond hair.
“Oh, f—” the thug cursed. “They’re highborn! Cheese it!” The leader turned to flee and shoved the girl they failed to mug to the ground as he ran. The thug that had been hit in the throat still rolled on the ground, gasping for air, and the one called Mimsy ran off in a different direction.
“After the leader! We can still catch them!” Chance shouted as he broke into a run after him. Regina looked to Reginald, then to the girl, then to Chance running away.
“Check on the girl!” She yelled back to Reginald who had now entered the walkway between buildings as well. She took off at a run after Chance and hoped that Reginald would listen. She thought she heard him protest as she ran off, but she paid no mind.
Following Chance was difficult, as he had a lead on Regina and the streets were narrow with frequent junctions. A short distance away, she came upon Chance standing in the middle of an intersection, breathing heavily.
“Did you lose him?” she asked, also out of breath.
He nodded. “Yes—” he said, panting. “Yeah—I think so.” He stomped his feet in frustration. “I thought I had him! He must have gone left at that last crossing.”
“Did you have to use any luck back there?” Regina asked.
“Yeah, I got stabbed.” She gasped in shock and covered her mouth. “I know right? Hurt like crazy.” He smiled. “Don’t worry about me though, I’m just glad you were there to save me from getting shot.”
Regina quickly calmed after mentally processing that her friend was fine, despite having been stabbed. The male magical aspect to use stored luck to undo even the most serious of blows so long as the death was not instantaneous was instinct for Chance. But easy to forget if you are a woman. Even a noble one. They do not ever see the events prior to the spell and only see the final result. At this reminder, Regina was quite glad that it was not her up front. “Well, if I don’t pull you out of the fire when you do something stupid like charge three armed men by yourself, who will?” She smiled back. “Come on, let’s head back. Reginald is probably worried sick.”
They walked together in silence, trying to find their way back. They came to a dead end that faced the river. The silver light of the moon was partially obscured by the spires of the palace and reflected in the river.
“Wow, it’s beautiful,” Regina remarked.
“Yes, it sure is.” He turned to face her. “Not even the most beautiful thing here though.”
“Well, I don’t think it’s the most beautiful view in the city, but it certainly is up there.” She looked at him and saw the way he looked at her. “Oh—Oh you meant . . .” She flushed red, gripped her braid gently, and scrunched up her shoulders as if trying to hide. The dark hid her expression, but her body language did not and it gave Chance a big, goofy smile.
“You’re very cute when you’re flustered,” Chance said, which of course made it even harder to hide her embarrassed blushing. He drew close to her and she looked up at him with large violet eyes. Her lips parted slightly. He took a chance. He pressed his lips to hers in a firm, but gentle kiss. She pulled back and touched her lips lightly. Panic welled in him for a second. Then for one glorious, brief, eternal second. She kissed back.
“What the hell are you two doing?!?” Reginald called from behind them.
“SHIT!” Chance cried.
déjà vu
He drew close to her and she looked up at him with large violet eyes. Her lips parted slightly. He chickened out. He pulled away and looked to the river. Regina looked at him, disappointed, but let him slide away from her.
“What the hell are you two doing?!?” Reginald called from behind them.
“I, uh—nothing?” Chance replied. “What are you doing?”
“Looking for you two! Are you crazy!? Starting a fight with three armed men and then chasing after one of them with a GUN?”
“Hey, we got it handled, didn’t we?” Regina replied.
“That’s not the pertinent detail. You almost got shot! Or worse, got Regina shot. I mean what even was your plan? Were you going to arrest him and take him to the magistrate or just beat him senseless?”
Chance shrugged. “I mean, I hadn’t really gotten that far. Though beating senseless does seem like a good start for the likes of them.”
Reginald pursed his lips at this, disliking his friend’s perceived bloodlust, but tried to put it out of his mind. Taking a deep breath, he said, “Fine, whatever. I am glad you had your little adventure. But now, please, can we go home? I’ve had enough excitement for at least a week and a half.”
“Yeah. Let’s go. I think we’re done here,” Chance said with just a twinge of regret in his voice.
