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Not one vision had come to me since we’d started our trek, and I had no idea what that meant, either. Maybe I would be powerless in the ritual, and then I could go back home with my family.
A simple life. It was all that I wanted.
My first views of Hawkseye rocked on the horizon as I rode my horse slowly behind Mama’s. Jayne rode behind Papa, who followed me. Every so often, he moaned. He told us his head was killing him, but I couldn’t pretend I was surprised. If we were home, Mama would have fixed his pain with herbs, but she made no move to do so now. I wondered if she’d left her herbs behind at home or if she punished him by allowing him to hurt.
I sort of wished it was the second reason, but it was more likely the first.
I thought about his pain and whether or not she had the herbs as we approached Hawkseye. I’d never seen so many buildings, so I probably gaped like a fool. But how could I not be awed, when I had to tilt my head to even see them fully?
“Those are all buildings from before. Obviously, we can’t build them that high anymore,” my father said, his voice rough. I glanced at him, surprised because he had to know what I was wondering while looking at the structures. He hadn’t spoken all day, so it surprised me more than it might have under other circumstances. “The structures on the outskirts of town are what they’ve done since they started rebuilding. When I was a boy, when we would come for training, we tried to climb to the top of the skyscrapers. It was like a challenge over who could get to the top.”
His voice sounded almost wistful, so I turned slightly to regard him. “I didn’t realize you were here so much.” I knew the Barons’ sons trained with the Judge, because Walter would go someday.
But my father never spoke about that time.
“I was. A lot.” He cleared his throat. “Thought I would be a Warrior. That obviously didn’t work out, and it was all for the better. Let’s go. Hurry along. We don’t want to keep people waiting.”
I doubted very much that anyone waited for me, per se. I was a noble daughter of a Baron whose holdings weren’t anywhere near the Judge’s, and everyone knew, the closer one lived to Hawkseye, the better. Sure, they would be thrilled to learn about me when they realized I had power, but until then, no one would expect great things from me.
“We have to drop the girls at the sorting house,” my mother called back over her shoulder to us. “Don’t forget, girls, that some of the servants are there for testing, too. Be nice to them. Think of your mother being one of them.”
The poor royalty. Everyone at Hawkseye would call our city- state Bellswhick, but those of us who lived there never did. It wasn’t grand enough to bother with a name, and my mother’s home had been impoverished. She wasn’t a peasant, but she wasn’t wealthy, either. Sometimes they didn’t have running water when she was growing up. Marrying my father really improved her circumstances, and if Jayne and I didn’t get sent off with the Warriors, then we might get to improve it even further.
My dream was to wed a quiet nobleman with holdings slightly larger than my father’s, preferably less than half a day’s drive from my home.
Not that I knew of anyone like that. And not that we ever really got a chance to meet anyone outside of our city state. There might not be anyone anywhere around us, for all I knew.
I followed my mother into the city and tried to take in the houses we passed without seeming to gawk. Grand facades faced the street, each home seeming more huge and imposing than the last. Then again, the grand road leading into town needed to inspire fear in our enemies and keep the monsters at bay.
From what I understood, it did both.
Red roofs and brown houses. They almost all looked very similar to one another, with only small differences that spoke of their owners. Lawn decorations here, perhaps a flag or banner at the next one, but each house shared plaques near the front doors, perhaps family crests? I knew our family had one, but it was just a horse with a sword. These were very elaborate, breathtaking art in some cases, ornate and delicate in their intricacy on others.
Our conversation from minutes ago echoed through my mind. If my father had ended up becoming one of the Judge’s Warriors, I never would’ve existed. The Warriors could—and did…eventually—have children, but it was later. It certainly wouldn’t have been when he met my mother. Warriors had wives given to them after the ritual with no choice in the matter. How and why? Well, no one would tell me, so I didn’t understand it, either. If they were so important to everyone—and they supposedly were—then why wouldn’t the Judge let them pick their own spouses? If the woman could get stuck with bad men, they could equally end up with some woman they hated.
The rain started again, and I winced, pulling my cloak tighter around me. Everything was always so freezing cold and wet. It made more sense to stay home.
My mother abruptly stopped her horse and lowered her head. What was she doing?
That was when I saw them. Four Warriors headed our way through the sheets of pouring rain. It was polite to show deference to them when they passed, since they kept the entire country safe, hence my mother lowering her head in reverence. I couldn’t see Jayne, but I knew she likely already lowered her eyes, too.
I didn’t want to bow my head when they approached. I wanted to look at them, to see their faces. Despite the urge, I knew I would never hear the end of it, so I dropped my gaze to the ground. I managed to steal one quick glance at them, though. They were an older group, which kind of surprised me. I’d heard most of the warriors there for their pairing were younger, but any of the crews could be called in at any time, per the Judge’s discretion. Did he call them back to observe the ritual or take part in the events?
There were four of them. I didn’t know their names, so I based all my opinions on snap judgements. They all wore the same crest, but that was also common for Warriors. The ones I had seen from my basement once wore crests of green. These men wore black and gold with a crest shaped like a large bird.
The one in the front secured his black hair in a low ponytail. His long face was marred by a scar on his left cheek where he’d been struck at some point. Behind him, two warriors rode side-by-side. The blonde to the left shared the long face of the dark-haired leader, so I wondered if they might be related. Next to him, a brown-haired Warrior smiled absently, his round face overall more pleasant looking than the other two men. The redhead brought up the rear, his spiky hair drawing attention to the oval of his handsome face.
Shock almost threw me off my horse when they stopped next to us, and my heart raced so loud I could hear my pulse beating in my ears. The one in front spoke to my father.
“Craig!” He sounded pleasant, maybe even surprised. “It’s been a very long time since we’ve seen you. What brings you to Hawkseye? I thought you were nicely ensconced, happy running your city-state.”
My father started and stopped talking twice before he got his words out. Is he nervous? “Truett, good to see you. Yes, it’s been a long time. I’m here because the Judge called for the daughters of the royal line to come be tested. Since I have two daughters of age, we answered the call.”
“I see.” He looked over us and then back at his crew. “I suppose I should have realized that. We have a son who will take his place as a warrior today. I knew our children were around the same age, and, yes, now I see them. I suppose I don’t normally observe people or things I don’t have to kill.”
The other three laughed.
My own lips twitched, but I stopped myself from laughing, keeping it to a smirk that hopefully no one would notice, because my head remained lowered.
