BY ORDER OF TINESA
Compendium – Story 2
By Andrew Hawnt
The girl in grey and
red leather armour was shoved through the thick doors, stumbling as
they parted and unable to right herself with her hands tied behind
her back. She fell to her knees, knocking dust into her own face. It
stung her eyes, ad it took a few moments of blinking tears away to
clear her vision.
The two huge men
that had dragged her here grabbed under her arms and lifted her,
pulling her further into the middle of the rough establishment. Mugs
of beer were put back on tables. Wary eyes took in the sight of the
girl they'd been waiting for. Many fingers secretly went towards the
handles of concealed blades. Too many stories had been told about the
girl. Stories of blood and vengeance.
The two thugs that
had dumped her in the small hall of the Weary Hermit went back
to the doors, locked them tightly and guarded them from the inside.
Regulars dotted around the pub moved from battered chairs and locks
shutters into place over the windows.
There would be no
way out of this one.
Gavick placed the
mug he had been filling for a customer on his bar and stepped out
from behind it, stuffing thick hands in the pockets of his stained
apron as he regarded her.
“Hello, Princess
Tinesa,” he said with a grin made if blackened teeth and festering
gums. “You're a long way from Farria, aren't yer?”
The girl held his
gaze. “Gavick Leatherwing, you are hereby sentenced to death for
the crime of conspiring to murder your king and queen.”
Gavick laughed
heartily, and mugs of beer were raised high in celebration and
laughter for a moment.
“Yeah, and now that tasty morsel of truth
will never be heard outside of this stinking, rotten pub.
“How does
that feel for yer, eh?”
Tinesa looked around
at the drunken throng that filled the place to capacity. Filthy,
cackling lunatics laughed with disdain, foam from their beer slopping
from their chins. Strangers hung at the edges of the place, faces
cloaked by the dark of hoods, but she could feel their gaze burning
into her.
“Gavick
Leatherwing,” Tinesa said again, forcing any fear out of her voice.
“you are sentenced to death for conspiring to murder your king and
queen.”
Gavick reached
behind the bar and pulled out a previously concealed cleaver,
oversized, rusted and chipped, but still completely capable of
dismembering her. “Come on then, right here and right now. In front
of all these good people who aren't at all a bunch of psychopaths,
murderers and rogues. That sum you up, lads?”
A huge cheer rose
up, followed by the sound of beer mugs being drained and slammed back
onto the rough tables.
“Cut her free and
arm her,” Gavick said, stretching his shoulders and warming up with
some swipes at nothing.
The thugs cut her
hands free and handed her the ornately inscribed sword that had been
at her side since she was a child. Now a young woman, its heft gave
Tinesa no trouble at all.
“I hope you know
what you're getting yourself into,” she said darkly. “I'm no meek
child.”
Gavick stomped
closer. “No, you're a pathetic slip of a girl who thinks that her
status makes her a soldier. We was just doin' a job. It would've paid
bloody well, too. Then you and your guardsmen came and spoiled all
the fun. Well, they ain't here now. You are. I had my men take you in
secret, but people will know soon enough. My customers here are gonna
watch me take your head off your shoulders. Let's see how your
parents take that, eh?”
Tinesa breathed deep
a adopted a readied stance.
“Look at her,”
Gavick laughed. “All rage and no finesse. You gotta live it, girl.
You gotta breathe it before you can fight well.”
He hit Tinesa across
the jaw with the handle of his weapon. She looked back and spat blood
in his face. Just a small lip wound, but enough to be directed at
Gavick.
She returned the
blow, catching him off guard and cracking his nose. The brute of a
man didn't flinch as blood erupted over his mouth and down his apron.
Gavick lunged at
her, but she moved to the side and used his weight against him,
kicking at his passing shin and toppling the huge man to the ground.
Gasps and entertained cheers rose up around them as he pushed himself
back up on arms thick with muscle. He brought his blade around and
swiped, eager to split the girl's head in half.
Tinesa blocked it
with her royal blade, superior metals withstanding the blow while
Gavick's rusted monstrosity snapped in half, the top end clattering
to the ground beside Tinesa.
Gavick grunted,
tossed the hilt of his broken cleaver aside and grabbed at the girl's
throat before she could bring the blade around to attack. He
squeezed. She dropped her weapon to fight off his hands to no avail.
“You may have
royal blood, but you're no queen,” Gavick spat, spraying her with
gobbets of blood.
“You're a spoilt brat who needs to be taught a
lesson. You see these people? These are my people. This is my
kingdom. Most of these lot would follow me into oblivion itself.”
“And the others?”
Tinesa gasped.
“Eh?” Gavick
grunted.
Tinesa kicked out,
catching Gavick between the legs. He fell to his knees, releasing his
grasp on her so he could grab his beaten crotch.
“Kill the little
witch,” Gavick barked at his customers. Tinesa could see the faces
of wanted men and women beneath the hoods of those that surrounded
her. Each of them was revealing a knife, a sword, a club, an axe.
Each of them would leave their mark on her.
If she grabbed for
her sword they would be on her. She stood unarmed.
“A princess, yes,”
she snarled at the bulky mass of Gavick as he stood and pulled a
jagged dagger from his belt. “But I am other things, too. A
student. An artist. A thinker... and a budding tactician.”
Tinesa drew herself
to her full height, such as it was. “To arms!”
“By order of
Tinesa!” came the chorus of voices from the edges of the pub. Hoods
were flung back. Cloaks were cast aside. Gleaming armour and even
more gleaming swords were revealed from beneath the stink of filthy
cloth.
The thugs turned in
horror, quickly realising they were outnumbered.
“The strangers...”
Gavick sneered through gritted teeth. “The Order themselves.”
“Allowing myself
to be captured so I could find your lair would have been stupid.
Allowing myself to be captured when I had already found your lair?
Less stupid.”
Tinesa knelt and
retrieved her sword. “Guards, if any of these men move, take off
their heads. They must watch and understand that this is the last day
their crimes will be feared in this kingdom.”
“Aye,” came
multiple answers.
Tinesa muttered a
blessing to her sword's blade, then looked to Gavick with cold eyes.
“For my mother and
father. They could not come personally due to the wounds you
inflicted, but I could. Know this, Gavick Leatherwing. Know you were
bested by a child.”
She ran him through
at the stomach, then jerked her blade upwards until it emerged
through his jaw. His eyes widened manically as thick fingers fought
to contain the raging spill of human offal that cascaded from the
wound.
Tinesa went to one
knee, blessing her sword again. She held Gavick's gaze as he fell,
and would hold it until all life faded.
The last sound he
heard was the weapons of his army falling to the ground.
===
© Andrew Hawnt 2020
About Compendium 2020:
Compendium 2020 is a
project from author Andrew Hawnt and consists of 52 weekly stories
encompassing science fiction, fantasy and horror. They are a mix of
short stories and flash fiction, 100% original and written throughout
2020. Why is he doing this? To keep the words flowing. To keep the
ideas coming. To see how far he can explore the worlds that live in
his head.
About Andrew Hawnt:
You can find Andrew on
Facebook at facebook.com/andrewhawntauthor and on Twitter and
Instagram as @andrewhawnt. Formerly a musician and DJ, Andrew is
known for his books, comic book writing, music journalism and more,
including fiction in Doctor Who Adventures, the Judge Dredd Megazine
and others. Look out for his film work soon.
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