Chapter 22: Purity and Defilement
“For my true name is not Actae, but Claudia. Yes, Nia Ennis. I am she whom the hawk king loved. But my would be executor hesitated, and took pity on me. So I was wounded, yet I kept my life. My husband, so distraught at the prospect of seeing his dead wife, did not bother to look. And so the world thought me dead, as did my husband.”
Nia heard this with great astonishment, as she held the hawkwoman close to her. In truth, she did not know how to even react to this turn of events. She thought best to remain silent.
For Claudia Actae, her confession had been exhausting, and tearful as her face, utterly drenched, had clearly shown.
The hawkwoman was not done, as she spoke, “I told you all this, Nia Ennis, for you are the only one whom I can trust. I have seen brides come and go, they all submitted to his… demands, including your friend Thalya.”
Thalya is not my friend, Nia thought. Yet she let that erroneous little detail slide.
Neither knew what to say, and silence reigned. Silence that Nia broke,
“Have you talked to him about it?”
Claudia looked to Nia with astonishment. “Nia Ennis, I cannot…”
“Why not? Are you afraid he’d finish the job?”
The hawkwoman was silent, before she answered, “In truth, no. My beloved regretted what he had done, that much is clear. And yet, how would he react if he had known that I was alive all this time?”
“I don’t know, Lady Actae,” Nia said. “And I’m not telling you what to do. But I had been truthful with King Horus, and that saved me. Maybe that’s what he respects, more than anything.”
“Hmm,” Actae said, taking a deep breath. “All this is much to consider.” She stood up, then turned to Nia, bowing. “I shall now take my leave. I thank you, Lady Nia.”
And with that, Lady Actae—or rather, Queen Claudia—exited through the double doors, leaving Nia alone once more.
***
Defiled. That’s how Thalya felt at the moment; lying in bed next to Horus in his darkened chambers, she felt disgust, loathing, hatred of anything and anyone she could think of. Including… nay, especially the self.
But she had no choice, so she told herself. If she didn’t submit to King Horus, then she was as good as dead; and he would take what she attempted to deny him anyways.
And yet… that was not the case with Nia. The hawk king simply let her go. Just like that.
How she hated her. It was not fair, simply not fair. That Sethite woman, simply had everything handed to her, Thalya judged. Abel simply chose her, loved her—just like that; but she had done nothing to earn his devotion. None.
The same went with Horus. The hawk king simply let her go—just like that. But she had done nothing to earn his magnanimity. None.
The Kruptosian princess looked to the hawk king, still asleep, probably still drunk with all the wine he drank, the wine she fed him personally.
What followed next was a welcomed interruption of Thalya’s thoughts of seething hatred and self-loathing…
The golden double doors shook open. The sound of which woke Horus from his slumber. Both Thalya and Horus had expected Actae, but instead they saw only two Hawkguards, and their expression was of panic.
“Your Highness,” one hawkguard said. “We are under attack!”
“Attack?” Horus said. “By who?”
Another hawkguard answered, “A huge Dragon Tribe fleet sir. At the head of it, the Avenger of Sevenfold. Emperor Cain has come to attack us, Your Highness.”
Horus frowned, his expression grim. “Actae!” he cried. “Where’s Actae?”
“Lady Actae is missing at the moment,” the first hawkguard said. “We cannot reach her.”
“Then go find her!” Horus snapped. “And get our defenses ready too.”
As Thalya was listening to the conversation, she smirked. She saw her chance now, her opportunity for revenge.
“Wait, my love,” she said to Horus. As she did so, she embraced him with all the affection she could imitate.
“What is it, Princess Thalya?” responded Horus.
Thalya’s smirk turned devilish. “I know who is truly responsible for this attack.”
“Who?”
“Nia Ennis, of course. She is the bride of my father.”
“Nonsense,” Horus said. “Nia Ennis loves Abel Ramsey, I know this to be true.”
“Do you?” responded Thalya. “Or was she simply saying that to manipulate you?”
Horus’ expression turned dark with quiet fury.
Thalya pressed on, “She must have been coordinating with my father somehow.”
In his reason, Horus knew Thalya was speaking absolute lies. Yet with the wine still clouding his reason, his eyes all but blinded, he felt her suggestion to be all too appealing.
Horus said nothing, giving Thalya ample more space to speak,
“Nia Ennis is a traitor, my lord. Give me some hawkguards, I’ll deal with her personally.”
“Yes,” Horus said. “Off with her head!”
Thalya nodded. “Of course, though I have a better idea: have her walk the plank.”
Horus looked to Thalya, his expression confused. “The punishment of traitors? Very well.” Then he turned towards the hawkguards. “You two, you’re going with Lady Thalya to arrest Nia Ennis. Do as she says, all of them. That is an order.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” both hawkguards said.
***
The woman formerly known as Queen Claudia of Ra looked down from above to see the entire city she once ruled alongside her husband. Even after her supposed death, she was able to get herself back into the good graces of King Horus under the name of Lady Actae; and the hawk king, perhaps having known on some level who she really was, had given her a lot of leeways, a lot of power. And she carried out everything all in service of her beloved husband—the man that she could never hate despite everything.
The cloudy skies were nothing short of liberating, and looking at the city from above, to see all the citizens going about their daily lives… it gave perspective. The Hawk Tribe valued understanding, truth. Palace intrigue, the sort that turned her husband from the just man loved by his people to a paranoid person feared by anyone close to him was a corruption, not the essence of the Hawk Tribe. Even now, the common people still loved King Horus, for he ruled over them with justice, despite his inability to maintain his own household.
And perhaps… Actae herself had played a part in all this. For she could have told the truth from the very beginning. Instead, she allowed her husband to wallow in grief and anger, and in that anger he indulged in the worst of his passions. All because she was afraid of what would be done to her had she told the truth.
Finally, Queen Claudia Actae had made her decision; Nia Ennis was absolutely correct. It was time for her to come clean.
Yet it was not to be just yet. Actae’s eyes widened as she saw from below—quite a distance from the Floating City but too close for comfort—a fleet of airships in black and red, and at the center the largest of them all—surely the carrier known as the Avenger of Sevenfold.
Actae flew back in the direction of the Royal Palace, quick as she could.
***
It happened so quickly for Nia. The double door, usually opened methodically and with care, was broken open as if trying to catch whoever was inside by surprise. Thalya stepped confidently flanked by two hawkguards, and she looked at her rival with obvious contempt.
“Sethite woman,” Thalya said. “You stand accused of treason and have been found guilty. By the order of King Horus of Ra, your punishment is death.”
Nia’s eyes widened. “What? This is a joke, right?”
Thalya responded with a gesture, and the hawkmen lunged at Nia with a speed that Nia could not react to in time.
“Hey,” Nia cried. “L-let go of me!”
As Nia was being dragged away to what may well be certain death, she thought of her beloved.
Abel, please hurry up.
***
The Battle of Ra had begun, and the black, bulky Cainite airships had begun launching their cannon fire against the sleek and golden Hawk Fleet. The Hawk Fleet, with the advantage of numbers and planes began their swarm, but Cainite airships with their firepower dropped many hawk vessels and even flying warriors deep down to the ground below.
The Avenger of Sevenfold showed its seven cannons, six smaller cannons circling around one large cannon protruding like giant pipes ready to unleash the laser-fires of Cain.
The burst of seven was of utter devastation, and took out a hawk capital ship with a single sevenfold shot.
Yet the Hawk Fleet maintained their numerical superiority, and the greatest of morale motivator: the need to defend one’s home.
At the margins of the battle, the Star Surfer remained distinct from the other Cainite vessels. Their mission had been set: to infiltrate the Floating City of Ra from below, from the lower docks, where the hawk airships were stored when at peace.
Captain Abel Ramsey, at the foyer of the Star Surfer, was ready to enter into the airlock. A UEC-standard battle armor, or at least as close to one as he could make with Cainite technology, had been equipped on his person. On his back was the jetpack-esque wings of fire, the gift of flight from Emperor Cain.
Abel knew battle was upon him, but his communicator beeped.
“Yo, Abe,” Rick called. “I got something major on screen. Come to the control room now.”
“Can’t you just tell me what it is?”
“No, you really want to have a look.”
***
Nia looked down to the clouds below, and immediately looked back up; her heart had been beating rapidly for the last few minutes. Her feet stood on a narrow plank; her legs began shaking, Nia felt lightheaded, she wanted to just pass out, but she knew she couldn’t afford to.
Thalya’s voice cried from behind, “Well, Sethite woman? Jump!”
But Nia turned around, looked at Thalya straight in the face, and shook her head. “I will not.”
“Then I’ll make you,” Thalya cried.
Breaking from the flying hawkguards next to her, Thalya rushed at Nia, and with a rough push, she shoved Nia overboard.
Nia screamed, her feminine cry heard by the clouds as she was falling down from what seemed to be the highest of altitude.
And above, right on the planks, Thalya looked down as she forced a smirk. Yet her feeling was not so much of triumph but exhaustion.
It was finally over. Victory at last. Victory over Nia Ennis of Earth.
To be continued…
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Let the war begin.