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The barn was loud, it had that barn smell of animals and hay, thick and heavy in the air. It was almost suffocating weaving through the warm bodies. There was a fire, a big fire apparently, Katelyn had been too busy committing treason against O'khasis to actually see the bonfire. But now Meteli stood as nothing more than ash in the distance, plumes of smoke rising against the horizon just a lake stretch away as older guards tried to save what little home they had left.
It was hard to watch. Usually it was Katelyn who was given that task by Zane, burning people’s homes to the ground. She was fire, fire was destructive, it was one of her many tasks. She wondered briefly who he had ordered to set this village ablaze; it would be hard to find someone who was as efficient as her.
People eyed her cautious, faces filled with distrust, anger. They loathed the sight of O’khasis armor, the enemy. And yet the crowd parted in her wake, avoided brushing shoulders, avoiding everything and anything to do with her. Katelyn assumed word got around of her revenge, of her betrayal. It was smart of them to be cautious.
There were burn wounds from the fire, something she was all too familiar with. The elf had requested her aid in the barn, Phoenix Drop had no real medic, they were overwhelmed with all the injuries. The elf had assumed she knew how to handle her way around burns, the wounds that scorched and scarred flesh. She knew enough to help for a bit, or at least until Aphmau requested her guards for the Lord meeting.
Katelyn made sure the woman saw her approach, the one the elf had directed her towards- the one with fire-red hair and eyes like the sea. Cadenza Zvahl, the daughter of the lord of Meteli, the woman whose home was just burned to the ground. Katelyn took great care to not startle her.
Sitting at a lone table away from the crowds, away from the throngs of injured. The light that poured in from the window behind her illuminated her hair like the sun. Those pale blue eyes watched her approach, cautious, just like the rest of the barn, just like she should be.
“Hello,” Katelyn spoke soft and gentle, her voice crept out of her throat smooth. “I’m-”
“Katelyn the Fire Fist.” Cadenda cut her off. She tilted her head as if to get a better look at her, there was no malice in her words, it was nothing but a simple observation. The woman was far from startled. ”I know who you are.”
“Ah.” Katelyn was unsure where to take the conversation now, she had planned pleasantries out on the walk over, Cadenza had skipped many steps in her pre-assigned conversion.
The woman spoke with a sort of dissonance, watching her with eyes of a burning blue, a vengeful blue. “You’re a member of the Jury of Nine.”
Of course she knew who she was. Everyone did. It was a small village, word seemed to get around fast. It’s not everyday someone on the Jury betrays their Lord.
“Technically yes, but I am branded a traitor.” Katelyn felt the need to throw that into the conversation, to make sure Cadenza knew they were on the same side now, they fought for the same things.
Cadenza analyzed her, tracing the sharp lines of her face, the fiery markings of her scar. She seemed to be looking for something, curious. Katelyn could practically hear the other woman's thoughts. No one trusted a traitor.
She spoke after a moment, a deep, ragged sigh leaving her lungs. “Why are you here?”
“They told me you’ve been burned, I thought I could be of assistance.”
Katelyn raised the half-empty med kit she had been handed, its only contents were ointment and bandages, they had run low on supplies, they had sent the Raven to request more from their allies, but help was slow to come.
Her eyes narrowed, vision flitting over the guard's face, tracing the frayed edges of the scar that bloomed over her right side. Katelyn stood almost awkwardly, her arms stiff to her sides as she waited for Cadenza to examine her credentials.
The moment was stretched out into seconds before Cadenza conceded with a dip of her head. “It appears you can.”
She motioned for the chair in front of her. Katelyn took the offer.
“I have medicine,” She set the med kit on the table, unwrapping the leather binds to reveal its contents. “It’s an ointment the elf gave me-”
“Zoey. The elf’s name is Zoey.” Cadenza corrected, she itched a spot on her forearm, just above an angry red burn. “And she already cleaned my wound earlier.”
Katelyn nodded. The burn on her arm wasn’t awful, it would heal without much issues if it was treated properly. “I was told. But it’s blistering, it must be properly bandaged.”
She smiled, something small, something sweet. It made Katelyn's stomach perform somersaults. “Do you always talk like that?”
Katelyn ignored the prying feeling beneath her ribs. “I don’t understand your question.”
Cadenza hummed, that smile stayed firm over her features. It was one of the infectious kinds, the ones that made her want to smile too.
“Careful Lady Katelyn.”
It was Katelyn’s turn to hum.
“You’re smiling.”
She blinked one. Twice. Acknowledgement flooded her senses.
She could feel her face burn, blushing something deep and red. She was, wasn’t she. When had she started smiling?
Cadenza winked, holding a finger to her lips. “Don’t worry. I won't tell.”
She raised her injured arm towards the embarrassed guard that had been staring for far too long. Katelyn cleared her throat, swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and took her wrist in her calloused, armored hands.
The enormity of her affections for a woman she had just met left her reeling, it was startling.
They were silent for a while, the noise of the barn blanketing them in a warmth of some kind, Katelyn couldn’t quite place what the feeling was. She wrapped Cadenza’s forearm with gauze and bandages laced with ointment and pretended as if she didn’t feel her staring. Feel the woman's eyes on her, feel herself flushing under the attention.
“You’re beautiful.”
She faltered, the wrap falling loose between her fingers. She had never had someone compliment her so openly- it made her insides squirm, her heart skip something fierce.
Katelyn dipped her head down, avoiding Cadenza’s face, eyes to the table and the arm hovering above.
“I’m- unsure how to respond to that.” She started wrapping Cadenza’s wrist again, acting as though she had never faltered. Katelyn had never taken compliments well, they always made her dizzy.
Cadenza continued, leaning her head down to meet Katelyn’s eye. “When I heard about you, I wasn’t picturing… you.”
She tried her best to collect herself, she was embarrassed that her voice almost shook. Maybe she was imagining things. “Who did you picture?”
“I’m not sure.” Her voice was light, soft and sweet. “But it wasn’t you.”
Cadenza had this brightness to her, something so genuine it made Katelyn wonder if she could ever live up to the version of herself in the woman's head. She must be picturing someone just as bright. Something Katelyn feared she would never have.
Katelyn hummed again, short and low. She didn’t know what to say, she was out of her depth, she felt like she was drowning around this woman.
“I guess I thought you’d be older.” Cadenza had taken her silence as a sign to continue. Cadenza was more talkative than Katelyn imagined. She wasn't anything like Katelyn had pictured either. “I’ve heard about some of the things Jury members do, the things you’ve done, and I don’t know- I thought you’d be more like Zane, more angry.”
Cadenza should loathe her, if she’s heard anything of the things she’s done, the mountains of bodies under her fire, the sins the weight of her armor carried- she should despise her. But she still smiled at her, still let her tend to her wounds, still tilted her head to get a better look at the scar adorning her face. Still waited for her to catch her bearings.
Cadenza reminded her of the bar keep from Scalewind, the one who offered her a free drink whenever she was in town. The woman with pink hair and a smile that was just as bright as the one in front of her. Cadenza had the same teasing mirth behind her eyes, the same curiosity.
“Don’t let this cool demeanor fool you.” Katelyn let herself slip into a lighter tone, a teasing tone. When was the last time she had done that? “I promise I’m just as angry as you're envisioning.”
Cadenza clicked her tongue, Katelyn's words had almost pulled a laugh out of her. Almost. “You work for O’khasis, I hear those soldiers are built on spite.”
“That’s an accurate assessment.” Katelyn knew what she wanted to ask. What she was really wanting to hear.
“Why did you desert?”
There it was.
“It’s just as you said, O'khasis guards are built on spite.” Katelyn paused. She weighed the words through her head a few times before settling on the simple answer, the truth. “I’ve been angry at the world for a long time, I’m always angry, It’s a selfish trait of mine. I’ve never liked Zane, we’ve never really gotten along, but now he’s gone too far. He killed my best friend, murdered him for having a heart of gold. That is something I cannot forgive.”
“If he hadn’t killed Jeffory the Golden Heart, would you still be here?” She wasn’t mean about it, condescending like the werewolf merchant had been. No. She was kind. Far kinder than she should have been.
Katelyn knew the answer, Cadenza did too.
“I’m not sure.” And yet Katelyn lied anyway. “I told you, I’m here for selfish reasons. My intentions are not pure of heart, they’re not nobel. I wish to kill Zane Ro’Meave, and if my actions of vengeance get people hurt, then so be it.”
Cadenza was quiet for a moment, let the words sink into the commotion around them. Katelyn wished it were a little quieter, something with just the two of them. Somewhere she could spill her heart out to the woman she had barely known for an hour. Maybe it hadn’t even been that long. It felt like years.
“Thank you for being honest, I appreciate it.”
Maybe it was just who Cadenza was; someone whose kindness was so incorrigible it made Katelyn imagine they weren’t strangers.
Katelyn didn’t have an answer, something kind enough to say to her. So she stayed silent, letting the talk of the people around them fill their conversation.
“Well if we win- when we win.” She corrected herself swiftly. She was confident, just like all the others seemed to. It was admirable, if not stupid. “They’ll probably plan a big party, it’s what Phoenix Drop does, they love to celebrate the little things.”
“I’ve never been to a party.” It felt strange to admit, it wasn’t anything Katelyn had ever really thought about. “There’s not much to celebrate in the Jury.”
Cadenza smiled again. Katelyn didn’t think she’d ever get used to how pretty it was. “Well then for your sake I hope we win.”
She finished wrapping Cadenza’s arm, folding the bandages under themselves to secure them in place. Katelyn tried to picture the barn lit up with lights and bursting with life and music, people dancing and drinking and celebrating. Something from the stories she used to read when she was young, of people living and loving each other. How desperately she wished to see it, to be there. It felt strange to wish for something so simple, to miss something she never had.
Cadenza rubbed the bandages, running her fingers over the spot where Katelyn had so delicately bound her wound. “Thank you.”
“Of course.” Of course she would do it again. Katelyn thinks she would do just about anything if Cadenza asked her to.
She pulled her out of thought. “When all this is over I should make you a dress.”
That was- unexpected. Katelyn crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. She needed some air, somewhere away from the other woman. It had become far too warm in the barn. “I don’t wear dresses.”
“You’ll look lovely.” The woman already seemed set in her words.
Katelyn was still reeling from her comment earlier. To Cadenza, she was beautiful. “You seem to think I already do.”
She laughed, it was something short and light, stunningly beautiful, like a birdsong. She peered at her through squinted eyes and a smile dancing on her face. How she dared to call Katelyn beautiful when she stood here with the warmth of the sun, Katelyn would never know.
“I’m a seamstress- '' Cadenza said it with a bright smile, illuminated perfectly by the setting sun behind her. She really was…. gorgeous, so so gorgeous. Her fire-red and ginger hair almost glowing in the dying sun, her blue eyes reminiscent of the distant horizon where the sea met the sky. “And if a pretty guard such as yourself could spare her own time to let me practice my craft by making her a dress, I would be grateful.”
Katelyn was almost starstruck by her raw beauty, it was unnerving. No one had thought to warn her the heir to Meteli would be this captivating. “I know what you’re doing.”
Her blue eyes gleamed with a sort of revelment, a galliardise. “Is it working?”
“Perhaps.”
There was a prickling heat that traveled up her neck- a foreign and curious feeling.
Of course it didn’t go unnoticed. “Is Katelyn the Fire Fist embarrassed?”
“No.” Katelyn wasn’t sure what else to say, how to defend herself to this type of attack. So she resorted back to the basics, deny, deny, deny.
Cadenza didn’t believe a word of it.
She smiled, tilting her head again, setting her chin in her hands. She had a smug look about her, something teasing. “You’re looking a little red, Lady Katelyn. Don’t tell me you’re falling for me?”
“Don’t flatter yourself Miss. Zvahl.” Katelyn smiled too, letting disport shroud her words.
If the words offended her, she didn’t show it.
“After this is all over, what will you do?”
It caught her off guard. But then again, a lot of things Cadenza had said seemed to do that. Katelyn hadn’t really thought about it yet. She wasn’t one to think too far ahead, to let herself imagine the things that might never be.
“Well, I can’t go back to O'khasis,” Katelyn looked to the entrance of the barn, the more open sections, where Aphmau’s more recognizable guards were weaving through the crowd. It was easier to talk about things when she wasn't looking at Cadenza. “I aided the enemy, disobeyed direct orders from my superior, participating in in-fighting amongst other members of the Jury, and killed the guards aboard my ship. I am branded a traitor to the highest caliber. What they did to Jeffory will seem like child's play if we lose and I am taken in for judgment.”
Cadenza’s voice pulled her back to their table, back to her warm and curious smile. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“I’ve sworn my sword to Lord Aphmau, to her alliance.” I felt odd to say, she barely knew these people, but she didn’t really know what else Cadenza was asking for, what else she wanted to know. “So I guess I’ll stick around here.”
They had all been nice enough, everyone here seemed to be relatively nice. It was a nice place, Katelyn didn’t usually trust places like this, but everyone seemed so stupidly genuine it was almost charming. She could almost picture a little life here, if she really thought about it. Not that she ever really would- to her dreaming of futures she might never see felt foolish, and Katelyn the Fire Fist was no fool.
“You’ve done a lot for people you barely know.” Cadenza almost sounded sympathetic, as if she understood the guards' plight.
“I’m taking a risk, I’m hoping it’s the right risk.” Everything action she had taken recently seemed to be soaked in blood, everything she did was just for the chance at a revenge. Phoenix Drop should be far more weary of her presence, they shouldn’t have let someone like her into their walls.
But oh was she glad they had. She was glad they were stupid enough to trust a traitor, someone who would so quickly betray their own. If they hadn’t she wouldn’t be here talking to Cadenza, the girl with the prettiest smile she had ever seen.
Cadenza flashed that pretty smile again, it was something small. "Well, since you’re here to stay- when all this is over we should get a drink.”
She spoke with an almost shyness, as if scared for Katelyn’s reaction, for her answer. She was glad to see the other women just as embarrassed as she felt. Katelyn realized that Cadenza was even more beautiful on the inside than she was on the outside. What a rare thing. A rare and beautiful thing.
“I'd.. like that.” Katelyn was barely aware of how hard she had swallowed. She licked her lips, her mouth had gone dry. “Cadenza, I-”
“Katelyn!”
Katelyn sighed, clenching her jaw. She didn't have to turn around to know Laurance and Dante had spotted her. Clearly it was time for their input for the Lord meeting. Katelyn elected to ignore them. She never pulled her eyes away from Cadenza.
The red-head brushed her hair out of her face, “I’m sorry I kept you for so long, I know you have other places to be.”
Katelyn was flustered and may have felt delirious, it was an odd feeling.
“I know it’s a little selfish,” Cadenza looked to the side, to where Laurance and Dante were probably making their way towards them. “But I don’t want you to go.”
“It isn't selfish. I wanted to stay,” Katelyn reassures her.
She shook her head, “I know you have work to do.”
“I liked talking to you. You’re-” Katelyn tried to string together an explanation but found that it was difficult when she was still looking for one herself. Interestingly, when backed into a corner, Katelyn’s flight or fight response often resulted in unfiltered candidness. “You’re wonderful.”
“Uhm,” Cadenza looked pleasantly confused. “Thank you?”
“I-”
Katelyn didn’t really know….. she what exactly?
She was sitting across from Cadenza, a woman she barely knew in a crowded barn. Watching her pull her fire-red curls that never seemed to stay in place back behind her ear. Cadenza is looking at her expectantly, and Katelyn knows she’s staring, that she’s been staring, and for a moment she thinks she’s brave enough to say it.
“Katelyn!”
“Aphmau’s ready for us, Lady Katelyn!”
Katelyn turned her head, seeing two of Phoenix Drops guards standing a few paces away, flagging her down.
“Katelyn! Let’s go!”
Laurance was beckoning to her as if she was a child misbehaving at the market, or a pet that had wandered off too far. He had become far too comfortable referring to her without her titles since her betrayal of O'khasis.
Apparently they were “friends” now. Which Katelyn thought to be rather silly, they had only known each other for a few weeks, and they were enemies until a few days ago.
She rolled her eyes and turned back to Cadenza, who was smiling at the interaction, blue eyes bright with humor. Katelyn could hear the other Phoenix Drop guards bickering a ways behind her, she hoped the situation wasn’t too serious that it couldn’t wait a moment more.
“Sorry about my brother.” Cadenza waved at the guards behind Katelyn.
Katelyn glanced back to make sure they were both on the same page, only to see Dante lifted his hand to wave back and Laurance slapping it back down. Their armor clinked together for a moment above the noise of the barn.
“He's your brother?” Katelyn waved back at Dante too, the young guard seemed to beam at the acknowledgement.
“Laurance.” She corrected it seamlessly.
Katelyn hummed.
“Yeah. Well we’re not like, really siblings.” Cadenza had stopped waving, still staring off at her brother and his friend. “We were both adopted by Hayden and Joh- it’s a rather long story.”
“I see.” Katelyn was watching the way Cadenza pulled her hair behind her ear absentmindedly, it glowed in the dying sun. “Maybe after I get back from this meeting you can tell me about it?”
She smiled, “Do you have any brothers- or, siblings?”
Katelyn avoided conversations about her own family under any and all circumstances. “I'm under an oath by the Lord of O'khasis, I'm not permitted to talk about my past relations.”
“I thought you renounced that position?” Cadenza smirked something vague, as if she wasn’t quite sure if Katelyn was joking or not.
“I did. But I have to keep up some of my secrets.” Katelyn winked, or at least she tried her best to mimic what Cadenza had thrown her way earlier. She had never really winked at anyone before, the action felt foreign to her.
If Cadenza was put off by it she didn’t show it, only smiling that same bright smile. “Oh really?”
“Yeah,” Katelyn put on the best performance she could muster- which unfortunately equated into something that sounded satirical. “I'm the mysterious newcomer thought to be the enemy from a faraway land.”
Cadenza laughed. She threw her head back and laughed and Katelyn had never heard anything prettier in her life. She thought, for just a moment, that she would kill to hear it again.
She used the back of her hand to wipe away the tears that had started at the corners of her eyes, a large smile still adorning her features. “You're rather dramatic for a guard, Lady Katelyn.”
“I don’t get that very often.” Katelyn laughed quietly, it was breathier than Cadenza’s, quieter. But she hadn’t laughed in years, she had almost forgotten what her own sounded like.
She heard footsteps behind her, stomping more like it. Metal against the hard wood of the barn floor, and then there was a hand slammed against the top of the table.
Laurence glared at her through the brown hair that fell like a curtain around his face. “Stop. Ignoring. Me.” He put a pause between every word for dramatic affect, voice clipped high and angry.
“We’ve been yelling at you for like….” Dante huffed, throwing his hands in the air. “I don’t know the exact time but it’s been a while.”
Cadenza snorted, trying her best to hide her smile behind her hands. “I guess all the guards of Phoenix Drop are like this.”
Her brother rolled his eyes. “Like what?”
“Dramatic.”
Laurance raised a hand to mimic his sister like a sock puppet.
Katelyn nodded to the younger guard, the one she had just equipped with new swords from her personal forge. “What did you two need?”
“Aphmau called for all her guards to join her at the barracks.” Dante cleared his throat, hitting Laurance’s shoulder in an attempt to collect him from mocking his sister and focus on their initial task. It was easy to roped into a conversation with Cadenza, her humor was infectious. “She’s discussing civilian evacuation.”
She got to her feet. Her armor creaked as she stood. “Well then we better get going.”
“That’s what we were trying to tell you earlier.” Laurance pointed out, jokingly poking the spot between her collarbones.
Katelyn raised her hands in mock defense, she motioned for Laurance to proceed. “My apologies, lead the way.“ Her tone was all humor and wit, only a trace of sincerity to be found.
Cadenza ran her tongue over her bottom lip, grabbing Katelyn’s wrist before she had the chance to walk away. She loosened her grip as Katelyn’s eyes doubled in surprise, face blooming with something flushed and embarrassed.
“I’ll see you later, yeah?” She sounded so worried, the air grew in an almost-tension- she was rubbing soft shapes into Katelyn’s armored wrists with her thumbs.
The way Cadenza was looking at her made her stomach drop, she was just so, so wonderful.
“Yeah.” Katelyn sounded out of breath, swallowing something hard in her throat. “Yeah I’ll see you.”
Cadenza seemed satisfied enough, flashing another quick smile as she let her hand drop from Katelyn’s wrist. “Good.”
It knocked the wind out of Katelyn’s lungs. It wasn’t exactly a promise. But it felt like one. It sure sounded like one too.
A strong hand gripped her upper arm, dragging her away from the woman at the table. Dante scrambled behind them after a quick goodbye to Cadenza.
Laurance scoffed into her ear as they weaved through the crowded barn. “You’re unbelievable, you know that.”
Katelyn shrugged, she understood the implications- and under normal circumstances she would be utterly embarrassed at her actions and blatant disregard to a Lord's call to arms. But Cadenza had been lovely enough for it to almost have been worth it.
“Y'know we're in the middle of a war right?” His voice was clipped tight, letting go of her arm and pushing her forwards, making sure she was in front of him so she couldn’t wander off again.
Serious wasn’t a good look on Laurance. “I'm aware.”
He pushed on her upper back, guiding her out of the barn. “So stop flirting with my sister!”
She almost laughed. Almost. Katelyn looked back over her shoulder for a second before they left through the mouth of the barn, and for just a moment, as she tilted her head above the crowd, above Laurance still ushering her to their meeting- she caught a glimpse of fire-red and orange hair, of a bright smile.
She liked this woman she barely knew far too much. She liked her, Katelyn was sure of it. She was afraid to think of a stronger word just yet. Katelyn didn’t mind it all that much, the affections growing in her chest; although she’d put off saying it all for much later though- perhaps after they won, then she’d have all the time in the world to tell her.