Sicarius (5 page)

Aida closes her eyes and shakes her head at Ambrose. “What you just did was disgusting and horrible. You truly are emotionless.” 

Ambrose walks up to Aida in anger and points his finger in her face. “I told you to run and hide! If you had listened to the order, you would have never witnessed this.” 

“Without the sword, you would have never won. You are welcome.” Aida crosses her arms, rolls her eyes, and looks away. 

Ambrose’s adrenaline calms, and he begins to slowly breathe. “If you remember, I was made to be emotionless. This is why I do not take your assistance into consideration. Thank you. Another thing to remember, I was raised in war, so this is nothing. But the truth is, you and Gytha have been what people call friends, the only friends I have ever had. Being around you both is changing me and giving me emotion.” 

“I cannot tell from what you did to that man,” Aida states. 

“I am, even if you are not able to tell.” Ambrose wipes the blood off the sword with what remains of Adrian’s robe. “I do not know if it is a good or bad thing. Back when I was emotionless, I would have killed them both, and Reginald would not be a future threat.” 

“Well, in any case, I think it is a good thing. I am sure he will not make the trip.” 

“Never underestimate the Sicarius he could be. Not to change the subject,” Ambrose says as he looks around, “but where is Gytha?” 

Aida points behind her. “Back where I came from. I told her to hide and wait until I returned.” 

Ambrose finds his robe and places it back on. “Then we shall go.” 

“Your robe looks like it has about had it. If you do not mind, you should let me touch it up when we get on the ship. Oh, and I tied my horse to a tree not too far from here. We can ride to Gytha.” 

“Good idea. This will be better than walking.” 

Ambrose hands the sword back to Aida. “I never gave you the proper gratitude. Thank you.” 

The two start to walk back to Aida’s horse. Aida looks at Ambrose. “You are welcome.” 

They finally reach the horse and ride to Gytha’s location. When they reach the position where Gytha was told to hide, Gytha sees them coming. She springs out from hiding and scares the horse Aida and Ambrose are on. Gytha then realizes how they are on the horse. Gytha giggles. “I never knew you were a woman, Ambrose.” 

Ambrose looks at the position he is in. He notices he is holding onto Aida from the rear as woman would do. “Your mom said it was her horse, her rules. I did not want to argue.” 

“Ha-ha! You are a woman, Ambrose,” Gytha teases. 

Ambrose smiles back at Gytha. Aida jumps off the horse and glances around. “Where did you put your horse, Gytha?” 

Gytha looks at her mother with anger and points at some shrubs in the distance. “Over there.” 

Ambrose is not sure how to take Gytha’s reaction and tone toward Aida. “Are you all right?” 

Gytha crosses her arms and stares down her mother. “I have never been better!” 

Aida walks over to the shrub and gets Gytha’s horse. “Ignore her. She’s just a little upset that I left her for a brief moment.” 

Gytha fills with more anger from what her mother just mentioned. Gytha takes a hold of her own midlength black hair and starts to have a panic attack. Suddenly, all of the emotions she has been keeping built up inside of herself burst out. 

“A little! What do you think would have happened to me if you had not returned? I would just continue. Or I would just sit and wait until more men would come and have their way with me until I died. I felt so alone. You left just like Father did. You said the same thing and everything. ‘I will return soon. Be safe.’ Why do you look at me like that when I mention my father? Do not think I don’t know about father’s death. I took that letter and I read it. I did this as we rode throughout this trail as Ambrose was telling us his story. I just didn’t show much emotion. It is just another feeling I must keep inside myself.” 

Aida grabs ahold of Gytha, gives her a tight hug, and starts to cry. “I am sorry. I am sorry for what you have been through. I am sorry for what I put you through. I should be better. No, I will be better. But you must know I was doing what I thought was right.” 

Gytha fills with more rage. “So you are saying us not leaving our home and letting those men do horrible things to me was the right thing?” 

“I am so sorry. We had nowhere to go,” Aida tries to explain to Gytha as she drops to her knees while still holding Gytha and crying. 

Gytha looks deeply into her mother’s eyes, full of hate. “We are going somewhere now, but I know it is no thanks to you. I just know any place would have been better. If it had not been for Ambrose, we would still be there.” 

Ambrose still sits on the horse patiently to let the girls get this inevitable conversation out of their system. Ambrose notices Aida stops holding Gytha; she stands up, wipes her eyes, and looks at him knowing they must keep moving. She looks back at Gytha and straightens her clothes to prepare herself with a reality slap of words she must give Gytha. “Gytha, you’re right. As you get older, you might hate me. I hope one day you will forgive me and understand. For now, I guess all I can do is say sorry and keep moving forward. I feel bad enough. Anyway, we are going to the land of Pacem. Ambrose tells me there is no war there. It’s a small island, and this is where you can choose to forgive or hate. Until then, we must move for our safety.” 

Gytha looks away from her mother. “Let us go then.” Holding her tongue and grinding her teeth, Gytha walks up to the horse Ambrose is still on. “I will be riding with you, Ambrose. I do not want anything to do with my mother at this moment.” 

Aida looks down in sorrow and takes a deep breath. She straightens back up, jumps on Gytha’s horse, and looks at Ambrose. “Lead the way.” 

Chapter VII 

The three finally arrive at the dock. Gytha looks on in amusement at the countless ships and how large they are. This will be the first time Gytha will travel on water. 

There are many men on the deck of every ship. These men are in charge of prepping the ship for sailing. As these men prep the ships, many yell at each other as sailors will do. Led by Ambrose, Ms. White and Gytha walk up onto a ship holding their horses. 

Ambrose salutes the sun. “We barely made it. It is almost sunset. If we had not made it, we would have had to wait another five days.” 

“Thank God we made it in time,” said Aida. 

Ambrose hands his horse to Aida. “Yes, thank God. Now wait here.” 

He walks up to one of the ship’s men. The two girls nod their heads showing they understand what Ambrose is doing. The girls notice that Ambrose moves his robe to show the man the emblem on his armor. “Follow me,” the girls hear the man say to Ambrose. 

The girls see Ambrose follow the man. Ambrose and the man head toward the bow of the ship, leaving the girls at the entrance. The girls see Ambrose shake hands and carry on a conversation with the captain. The girls notice Ambrose is done with the conversation shortly after shaking hands and is walking their way. 

Aida hands back the horses to Ambrose, curious of their situation. “Is everything okay?” 

Aida’s question sparks Gytha’s interest. “What did you two talk about?” 

“Yes, everything is fine.” Ambrose places his hand over his shoulder. “I knew keeping this emblem on would come in handy. Well, I first asked if this ship is to sail to the land of Pacem. They said yes. I then showed him my armor, told him I was a solider of Fraudule, and we have business to attend to in Pacem. Followed by this, I told him he is to take us there, no questions asked. The last thing I said was to give us one of the finest rooms on the ship.” 

“So what did he say when you said it like that, so demanding?” asks Gytha. 

“Fraudule controls this dock. You would be a fool to deny a soldier.” Ambrose examines the ship as he stands next to the girls by the entrance. “Saying this leads me to ask you both if I have told you before about war not going to reach there or ever will.” 

Aida nods. “You told me this before.”  

“What is the reason for the war not reaching there, Ambrose? You never told me, or maybe I do not remember. He-he.” 

“I will tell you, but first, you must know that the night before Everett’s men attacked us, I told your mother about Pacem. I told her about some people that owe me their lives. I saved them from a burning house.” 

“That is right,” Aida agrees. 

“Yes.” The girls follow as Ambrose walks to the middle of the deck to have a better view of the ship. “I feel more comfortable around you two to say that the fire was by me.” Ambrose makes sure he is at a far enough distance from any of the sailors to hear his voice. “They were royalty, and the king thought of them as a future threat. The mission was so small I was sent alone. I snuck up to their farm undetected. This was easy on my part because they have no guards at their farm. Everyone’s neighbor is considered to be the guard of one another, even royalty. This place has little to no violence. After I found myself next to their house, I barricaded them unknowing. There was no escape. After this, I set the farm on fire.” 

“You were so evil.” Gytha covers her mouth. 

“I know. I still show a lot of evil, but like I said before, you two are changing me each day.” Ambrose smiles. 

Gytha closes her eyes with cockiness. “Yeah, we are pretty good people.” 

“Ha-ha! Well, back to the story. Back to when I caught the farm on fire, I did not know the feeling or where it came from, but I started to fill with guilt. I ran back into the fire to release them. I took them both out of the flames, and before they could see who I was and what I was wearing, they told me they owed me their lives. Before they could take it back, I told them that I will be back with a favor one day. We then made the deal. Back then, the guilt was an emotion I could not understand—but now I know. It was my mother trying to get ahold of me. I know this now because of you, Aida.” Ambrose looks into her eyes and smiles from comfort. “Anyways, missions went by, and I kept on doing such things—trying to stay away from doing harsh deeds, not showing the king. I did this until thoughts of my mother consumed me. The day I left, I found your husband.” Ambrose looks away from them both and bows his head. 

“This is where the letter came from,” Gytha says the obvious. 

“Yes, but I still do not understand why the king thought of them to be a threat. The land is so small their army would never stand a chance.” Ambrose looks back at the girls with a muddled look. “I knew once I said the only two royalty are dead, King Oswald will never look there again.” Ambrose locates the place to put the horses. “I told the king I was successful. Ever since then, the king has never turned his view to this place.” He grasps the horse’s leashes tight and starts to walk in that direction with the girls following. 

Aida rolls her eyes. “I guess that makes sense why they owe you their lives.” 

Gytha, distracted, watches the sailors toughing ropes to set the sails and yell that they are taking off. “That king sounds like he has a lot of problems. Kind of like our king.” 

“Yes, our king, King Cynric—or like you put it, Ambrose, I have no king. The king of Incontinence has problems as well. It is like he cannot help but want more power. I guess that’s what you get when you have so much power, you want more. Well at least our king does not lie to us. Everything so far adds up to be the truth, I think. Hmm.” Aida places her hand on her chin to think. 

Ambrose places the horses in two different horse cages. “Let us get out of these men’s way and go have a look at our room. These men will look after the horses from here.” Ambrose starts to walk toward the room with the girls fallowing. 

Their room is in the upper deck of the ship. It is the captain’s room. The three head to the room, and Ambrose notices that all the men that work the ship are uneasy from their presence. Ambrose understands this is because of the orders he gave and the men having no choice but to follow. The three walk in the room. Ambrose closes and locks the door at a fast pace without showing the girls. 

Aida notices that the sun has gone down and only shows a little light. Aida lights a candle. While the room is lit, Gytha sees how big and comfortable the bed looks. She runs and jumps onto it. Ambrose notices there is only one bed but a chair in a corner. “There are two of you and only one of me. Therefore, I will sleep here. You two can have the bed.” Ambrose points to the chair. 

Aida walks to the bed and hands one of the quilts that were on the bed to Ambrose. “Well, at least have one of these, and give me your robe.” 

Ambrose exchanges the robe for the quilt. “Here. Thank you for the repair. I was in need of a quick stich.” 

“It is nothing. No need for a thank-you.” Aida opens the top door of many chests and closets in the room. “I am happy to do this for a friend. But do not thank me yet. I still have to find a needle and thread.” 

Ambrose sits and studies the layout of the room. “I’m sure there are some in this room. After all, this is the captain’s room, and he must always keep his uniform in the best shape.” 

Gytha recognizes how uncomfortable the chair is that Ambrose sits in. “Are you sure you do not need a bed?” 

Ambrose stands to walk to the window to look into the night at the ocean. “I was trained to sleep in tight and uneasy spots. This is nice compared to other places I slept so do not worry.” 

Aida is still looking around the room for a needle and thread. She stops for a second to look at Ambrose. “I am sure one of the men on the ship could give you a hammock to sleep on.” 

“We should not bother any of the men anymore.” Ambrose rocks and catches his balance from the ship leaving the dock. “They already do not care for us. I do not want us to be tossed overboard.” 

Gytha rolls her eyes. “Yeah, right. I saw you fight. You killed a man twice your size. You fight almost as well as my dad. You could take them all on without even getting a scratch.” 

“You might be right. Although, as funny as it sounds, my being an assassin and all, I look to violence as my last resort.” 

“My father would have said the same thing. Not the assassin part though. I miss him. You know, you kind of remind me of him.” Gytha smiles, holding on to hide her grief. 

Ambrose turns back to the chair in the corner and heads to it, hiding his face while trying to think of something. “I, uh—” 

“Found some!” Aida quickly changes the conversation and starts to repair Ambrose’s robe. “Well, I see we are moving. How long will it take for us to get there?” Aida walks to the bed to sit and begins to sew. 

Ambrose lets out a sigh of relief. “When we wake, we should be there.” 

Gytha is surprised. “Not far at all. I was expecting a week or longer.” 

“Nope, only a day’s travel. It is not too far off this shore.” 

“So tell us more about the group you come from, to pass the time.” Gytha hugs her knees, rocking back and forth while looking at Ambrose with suspense. “What’s it called? The Scarus?” 

“The Sicarius,” Aida said, correcting her daughter. 

Gytha squints at her mother, still mad. “Yes. The Sicarius.” 

“Oh. Okay. Well, I guess I can tell you what the group of Sicarius was made for since I already told you almost everything else.” 

Gytha intertwines her fingers and places them under her chin. “All right!” 

“It is quite easy to explain why we were, or the group, was made. The grandfather of the king of Fraudule needed men to go kill important people in different places where an invasion would take too much time and effort and would be too loud.” Ambrose situates himself in the chair. “With so much noise, the single enemy the king was after would hear the invasion and already be gone. So the king decided to make a group of highly skilled men to move in a small group, to move as one, swiftly, quietly, to attack with accuracy, and never fail.” 

“Wow. So you must have many good stories to tell. My father told the best stories, and they all were real too.” 

“Sadly, they all are war stories that deal with death and pain.” 

Not being able to sit still from the excitement, Gytha lies on her stomach and faces Ambrose. “Excellent. Can you tell me?” 

“I will, but only if your mom says it’s okay.” Ambrose looks at Aida, trying to settle the mother-daughter feud. 

Gytha gives her mother a mean look. “She does not matter. I will make all my decisions from now on.” 

“I am not your father or ever will be, but since I am taking you and your mother to the land of Pacem, you both will stop this.” Ambrose looks at the two girls and stands. “I do not care if you understand your mother or not. I do not care if you are beating yourself up from your daughter not forgiving you. You two might have it rough now, but you two are alive. That is all that matters. Your lives. Now you two will move on. Am I understood?” 

The two girls look at each other and then at Ambrose to nod their heads in understanding. When Ambrose turns to situate his body in the chair once again, Gytha pokes her tongue at Ambrose as children will do at their parents after a lecture. “Well, is it okay for Ambrose to tell me?” 

Aida stops sewing and places the robe on her lap. “Now you are going to have a long day ahead of you. It is best if you get some good rest tonight. That goes for me as well.” 

“Okay.” Gytha rolls over facing the wall in the fetal position, upset. 

Aida covers up Gytha and herself. “If you will, Ambrose, blow out the candle.” 

Ambrose walks over to the candle. “Good night, you two.” 

“Good night.” Aida yawns and tosses Ambrose his repaired robe. 

“Good night, Ambrose. I’m glad I got to meet you and become your friend,” Gytha said, still facing the wall. 

“As am I.” Ambrose blows out the candle, looking at his robe with joy. 

The next morning, they arrive in the land of Pacem as Ambrose promised. The three walk out the room, and Gytha stretches, embracing the morning sun. As they walk the deck to gather their horses, the sailors stare the three down in disgust. Ambrose unlocks the two cages, not making any eye contact and trying to avoid an unnecessary fight. He hands one of the horses to Aida. 

They walk off the ship, and Aida and Ambrose climb on the horses. Gytha chooses to ride with her mother. After much rest, Gytha is beginning to forgive her mother and understand. They ride into the depths of the island. Ambrose is filled with hope and relaxes his defenses. Ambrose knows there is no threat at this island. 

Gytha looks at Ambrose. “I know we are on an island, so the ride will not be long, but I just cannot help asking how long this ride will take?” 

“You might know this is an island, but do not let it fool you. It is quite big. They actually have their own army as I told you two before. This island consists of several villages. There is a main village where the king and queen stay on their farm. This is where you two will be staying. This ride will take an hour or so.” 

Aida’s mouth drops open in surprise. “You never said we would stay with royalty.” She then glances at Ambrose, trying to concentrate on riding and the conversation. “And they live on a farm?” 

“I did not think it mattered. They are just as ordinary as you two and I. No need to try to impress. This island or land is very strange but good. No one is more wealthy than the next person. Everybody is equal. They just need two people, out of them all, who are kind and fair. These people are to keep order. It just happens that out of all the people, they chose two elderly farmers with no children, that all know of their hospitality.” Ambrose smiles with the sunlight hitting his face as they trot without a care to their destination. 

“This place is nice, and the people you speak of must be. If a place as nice as this picked them out of all the people to rule, they must be marvelous. We are going to like this place.” Aida looks around to admire her tropical forest surroundings.