Silverleaf

Saliva splattered against the lush green rug walked upon by only the highest of nobility and power. The glob stretched a few short steps from Her Majesty’s overflowing furs of minx and bear.

Taiga pushed back his friend, digging his boots into the rug and forcing Mouse away from her. Mouse’s strength faltered beneath Taiga’s, though Mouse could easily overpower him.

“You bitch, how fucking dare you.” A growl rumbled through Mouse, escaping through clenched teeth. “Try saying that again—”

“Mouse,” Taiga snapped. His friend hesitated. “Stop.”

His glare flicked to Taiga. Purple whirled in his eyes, glistening outward. “Did you hear her? This piece of—”

“Mouse.”

Mouse tensed, visibly forcing his anger down. Taiga lowered his tone, “calm down.”

“I won’t do it. Fuck her.” Mouse’s eyes darted towards their queen, whom Taiga hadn’t dared look at. If their heads were meant to stay upon their shoulders by the meeting's end, it would only happen with Mouse’s calming.

“You are knights of Lanria, are you not?” The queen’s words echoed through an otherwise silent hall. The audience chamber had emptied at Taiga and Mouse’s summons, with only Queen Nolara remaining.

“Not by choice.” Mouse bared his teeth at her. Taiga hardened his grip, and when Mouse flicked his eyes to him, Taiga held his glare. Mouse slumped his shoulders in compliance, stepping back and glancing to the floor.

Queen Nolara wasn’t known to overlook such disrespect. For now, it appeared unminded. Taiga did mind, however, considering neither of them could live without a head. He reached out, grabbing Mouse’s arm, and pulled it until Mouse knelt in submission. Mouse clicked his tongue, but obeyed. Taiga bent a knee beside him, bowing his own head low.

“While we are your knights, Your Majesty, we will dare ask why you’d have us commit such forbidden atrocities?” Taiga bit down much he wanted to add, if only to simmer Mouse’s mood.

She stirred, and Taiga ventured a glance up. Fur and silk draped over the queen and spilled over her throne made of an Ancient Tree. She hinted a smile towards him, and a shiver of heat coursed through him. Taiga smothered it, but not before his mind spoke for him, “you would have us wander through the corrupted lands, slaughtering the Guardian Spirits which purify the land we cannot live upon? The only beings maintaining humans’ way of life?”

“I would.” She spoke without a hint of doubt. Her voice echoed through the vaulted glass dome above their heads. Queen Nolara lowered her eyes to he and Mouse, her thinned smile widening.

“Considering the… numerous incidents you both have caused us over the years,” her voice hinted towards disdain before regaining its regal elegance, “I believe it is time for repayment of my grace towards you. Despite this, you still demand a reason from your queen?” Her pale lips curled, adorned with three green gemstones just below her bottom lip; a mark of her regency.

Taiga paused. Without a doubt, she had granted them ‘grace’. Being alive was evidence of this. But it had not been given without cause. “I do. While you have our gratitude and loyalty, the magnitude of this mission does warrant a reason.”

She held her smile, watching them silently for what seemed an eternity before speaking, “there have been sightings of the Guardians Spirits attacking my people.”

Mouse stilled beside Taiga, and they caught each other’s glances. While the Guardian Spirits were whimsical creatures, they had never been known to attack humans, no matter how foolish their actions. To venture out of their territory, out of the corrupted lands they fed from, to attack humans? This was an impossibility for any Guardians Taiga had ever come across.

The queen paused, eyes following he and Mouse’s reactions. “We know not the cause,” she waited for their attention to shift back to her, “but the Guardians that once purified the land are now rotting the earth and spreading corruption in their wake. I suspect a sickness of a sort, some internal cause for such a change in a number of them.”

“Liar!”

Mouse rose, his hands clenched into fists and eyes locked to the queen’s. She did not ignore his lack of respect this time. The Queen rose to her feet, her furs tumbling around her.

“Do not mistake my benevolence for foolery.” Her voice boomed over his, despite the thin body yielding it.

Her words only furthered Mouse’s temper. His shoulders arched, teeth bared, his chest expanding from a deep, seething breath. Taiga leapt up, pivoted between them, and broke Mouse’s sharp gaze on the queen. He placed his hands on Mouse’s shoulders and squeezed enough to draw back his focus. “Stop. I will handle it. Step out.”

“She’s lying! You know it as well as I. Guardians aren’t capable of—”

“Step out.” Taiga’s voice, though quieter than Mouse’s, stopped the outburst in its tracks. He blinked at Taiga, purple anger breathing out through every breath. A moment, two, went by while he stared at Taiga. As Mouse’s eyes relaxed, so did his demeanor.

Taiga repeated, “step out.” Mouse glanced between Taiga and the queen, jaw clenched, before he turned and walked out of the audience hall without another word.

Queen Nolara glowered until the door shut. “I did not give permission to leave. It seems you both think me a mockery?” While her voice was even and calm, a sharpened blade nestled beneath it.

“I do not, Your Majesty. I humbly believe his nature is not for that of the high court. Please forgive any impudence, but I can speak for the two of us, if it pleases you.” Taiga dropped back down to one knee, and focused her attention from the door Mouse left through. She did not seat herself, but allowed it.

“Are you, too, under the presumption that I lie?”

“No, your majesty. Even half-truths become full when spoken by your tongue.”

She let out a laugh, and sat back upon her throne. She flicked her silver hair behind her shoulders, and pulled a minx fur over her shoulders and arms.

“Our priority must be the people of Lanria. I, too, wish for an outcome that does not require the sacrifice of our land’s protectors. But time is of the essence. The longer we linger on possibilities, the more lives are taken by corruption. Am I understood?”

His eyes dropped to the floor, lingering only a moment on the wooden throne. “However, we—”

“You do not have permission to speak beyond a yes or no. This is no longer a conversation.”

Taiga bit back. It was good he’d sent Mouse out. A ‘yes’ would suffice, he supposed. But the deaths of the Guardians were not such a light matter that could be dismissed with a nod.

And for Mouse, raised by a Guardian Spirit, such an agreement would be betrayal.

“No.”

He didn’t venture towards the queen’s eyes. But he knew she likely weighed the use of his life in the silence. Taiga held worth. Worth enough, at least, for this.

“Then you propose an alternative?” The chuckle in her voice froze him. Did she offer conversation now? He’d take the bait.

“A reason. If we find out the cause for the corruption of ancient beings such as the Guardian Spirits, we could find a cure.”

Stale air hung between them. Taiga studied the woven fibers of her rug, roots spreading their branches into a grand tapestry. A show of pride to any nobel of her court invited to Her Majesty’s audience. Hopefully, Mouse’s spit hadn’t stained that pride.

“Do you take me,” she paused, a balance of regality and playfulness in her tone. One difficult to predict, “for an idiot ruler?”

“I do not.”

“Then are you so foolish to think I would not have sought such a possibility?” A trick question.

“I am not.” He raised his eyes to hers. When they locked gazes, the green stones above her brow arched as she smiled.

“Then I am rash, and willingly put the future of our land into jeopardy?”

“You are a wise ruler which—”

“Yes, yes, who speaks only truth and am most benevolent. Your flattery does satisfy every time we meet.” She waved the conversation away, though her smile remained. “We have tried. The Gale Order and my own advisors are investigating. However, we’ve come to understand the monumental loss of life cannot be weighed against the time it takes to find the solution.”

He said nothing. They no longer carried a conversation. Her tone shifted to one of dominance and order, not of play and tolerance. He would not make the mistake twice.

“The decision we’ve come to is to prioritize our people. Lanrians are not to be sacrificed while we twiddle our thumbs in hope of a ‘cure’ announcing itself. We will consider the damages done as you and,” she paused before waving it off, “the other one complete the mission given to you. You both will find and kill any Guardian Spirit showing signs of corruption. That is all.”

Taiga tightened his jaw. Time. They needed time.

He ventured, “none have successfully slain a Guardian, Your Majesty. How shall we—”

“Only because none have tried.” She dismissed his words as if spoken by a child. “And you… are known for the impossible, yes?” The green of her eyes almost glowed from the slits they watched him from. Taiga hardened his heart before he spoke what he’d regret.

She awaited a challenge from him, but instead of speaking, he bit down. She spoke instead, “due to the nature of this mission, I expect secrecy. You say it is forbidden. I, and my advisors, are inclined to agree. None shall know of this order, and it surely will not have come from the Kingdom of Lanria. From this point on, you will no longer be knights of Lanria.”

Time.

“If I may be so bold, Your Majesty—”

“You may not.”

“Then I will.” He swallowed before taking a breath, steadying it before speaking more. He met her darkened eyes. “I’d like to make a pact, of a sort.”

“A deal?” The foreign word on her tongue made her cackle. At least his head hadn’t rolled yet.

“Mouse and I will find the cause of the Guardian Spirits’ corruption, and stop it.”

Her smile slipped into a frown. “We’ve already discussed this.”

“If we come across a Guardian already corrupted, we will slay it before it takes any more lives. We will agree to this mission, on the condition that you allow us to investigate this matter ourselves.”

She weighed this, her thin smile returning. “And if you don’t find this cure?”

“We,” he knew the words, but they refused to come forth. He breathed in, and forced the words out with his breath, “will kill every Guardian Spirit in Lanria if we must.”

“You think you can find this cure of yours?”

“As you said yourself, Your Majesty. We are known for the impossible.”

She tapped a finger to her lips, hiding any shift in her expression. “And what do you wish for in return? If you find the cause and manage a solution?”

He considered his words. Queen Nolara was not known for her well-treatment of non-humans nor those of other kingdoms. If she willingly slayed such ancient and precious beings as Guardian Spirits from impatience, she would likely do so again in the future. “The Guardian Spirits who roam Lanrian lands will be protected for the rest of your reign.”

The queen stilled, a crease forming between her brow. She tapped a bony finger against the armrest of her throne. “I do not stand to lose in this sort of wager?”

“But I have much to gain.”

Another cackle, softening into a sigh. “A deal, then. I will hold you to your end of it.” She waved him off, allowing his exit.

He bowed. “I’d expect nothing less.”