The night had fallen thick and low over the camp, the kind of silence that usually hums just before a storm. Aeryn sat by the fire, her eyes glistening, staring straight into the fire, its golden tongue flickering against her armor, the soft crackle of wood a thin comfort. Around her, ten young girls; her recruits; moved between the tents. Some cleaned plates; others tended the horses. Their faces were etched with soot, hunger, and a newer, harder resolve.
For nearly two months, Aeryn had walked this wilder path, seeking the unwanted. Most of her girls were orphans, branded by their own people as cursed, unnatural, or impure. They carried scars invisible to the eye, reflections of Aeryn's own ruin, now pieced together into a shared purpose. Word from the capital was sparse, but she trusted Vienna's regency and Sasha's quiet watchfulness. Her path had led her further from civilization, but her purpose grew sharper with every sunrise.
She leaned forward, eyes half-closed, when a faint sound drifted across the forest's edge. It started low; shouting, crying; then rose into unmistakable panic.
Aeryn's head snapped up.
Sakina looked up from where she sat sharpening her blade. "What is it?"
Aeryn didn't answer. She was already on her feet, pulling her dark cloak around her shoulders and striding toward her horse. The firelight caught the flash of her rings and the cold, unblinking steadiness in her eyes.
She mounted quickly. "Stay here if you must."
But Sakina was already following, cursing softly as she grabbed her sword and swung into her own saddle.
The cries grew louder as they rode; rough voices, angry ones, punctuated by curses and the sound of someone being struck. The forest opened into a small clearing where torches burned in crude circles. A dozen villagers had gathered, their faces twisted in fear and fury.
"Stop!" Aeryn's voice cut through the noise like steel through cloth.
The crowd turned, startled. The sight of a woman who looked nothing less than a noble, with a strong martial bearing, astride her warhorse, silenced them in an instant. The hate in their eyes didn't fade; it merely shifted, now uncertain where to point.
Aeryn dismounted, boots crunching against gravel as she walked forward, her gaze going straight to the center of the mob.
Two girls sat huddled on the ground; thin, barefoot, and trembling. Their arms clung desperately around each other, cheeks streaked with dirt and tears.
Aeryn's chest tightened. "What are you doing?" she demanded.
An old man stepped forward, holding a stick slick with mud. "We're cleansing the village," he said, his voice shaking with pride and urgency. "These are devil's carnations! They bring disease and ruin! We must get rid of them soon!"
Aeryn stared at him. "Devil's carnations?"
He spat to the side. "Twins! Born of the same womb! Bad omens! They bring plague, misfortune, death to every hearth they touch! We would have drowned them at birth if we knew their damn mother!"
Aeryn's voice went cold. "And for that, you strike them?"
The villagers began murmuring, feeding on each other's madness.
Behind Aeryn, Sakina's jaw clenched. She watched her Queen's fists curl tight at her sides. Aeryn's breath came shallow, almost trembling; of course not with fear, but with recognition and zeal.
Twins. Of the same womb. Of the same blood.
Her mind spun back to the vision of the trinity, to the echoes of her ancestors, to the patterns of fate she was desperate to rewrite.
Her voice broke through the chaos. "Don't touch them!"
A man scoffed. "You don't understand… go your way back to where you have come from! another woman to tell us what to do!"
"Don't touch them!" Her voice rose, carrying the force of command that cracked the night apart. She raised her hand.
That was when Sakina stepped forward instantly, coming in front of aeryn, "no my queen!" she pleaded silently; then she drew her blade with a smooth, ringing sound. The torchlight caught the steel and set it gleaming.
"Mind your words, you peasants!" Sakina snapped, her voice echoing off the trees. "You stand before Her Royal Highness; the Queen of this realm! You dare raise your voices before her?"
Aeryn calmed down. And the mob broke. Some fell to their knees; others turned their eyes away, trembling. "Forgive us your royal highness! We didn't know!" some of them said in unison.
Aeryn ignoring them, walked to the twins, kneeling before them. The younger one looked up first, her green eyes wide with terror. The older girl trembled but held her gaze; defiant even through fear, holding her sister even tighter.
Aeryn's hand hovered, then gently touched the older girl's shoulder. "You are safe now," she said softly. "I won't hurt you or your sister."
The girl's lips trembled. "They said we were cursed."
"No," Aeryn whispered, her voice barely more than a breath. "You are blessed."
As the crowd dispersed under Sakina's sharp command, Aeryn stood again, her cloak brushing against the dirt. She turned to the nearest guard who had arrived from the camp. "Prepare food and blankets. They will stay with us."
The man hesitated. "Majesty, they are; "
"They are mine now." Her tone left no room for argument.
The guard bowed quickly and hurried away.
As the twins were led toward the warm firelight, Aeryn lingered in the clearing. Her gaze drifted upward, toward the black canopy of trees and the faint glimmer of stars.
Each step of her journey, she realized, was carving something deeper within her. Her compassion was not gentle anymore; it was forged from fury. Her mercy was a weapon. And the world, in all its cruelty, would soon learn that she was not gathering girls to nurture innocence.
She was building a storm.
And tonight, it had just found two new daughters.
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