The Avenging Angel: Ch.1

The two swords came together with a loud clash that echoed throughout the training room. Saraphina desperately hoped that her training session with Jophiel would end soon; she wasn’t sure how much longer she could endure. Her leathery combat clothes clung to her sticky, sweaty body, and the muscles along her arms were beginning to cramp with fatigue. Daggers she could handle excellently, but swords were a new territory for her, much heavier and longer than a dagger; Saraphina was having trouble adjusting to the new weapon.

Her arm wavered, and the sword dipped in response. Jophiel, whose gaze latched onto hers with the look of a lion who had spotted an injured gazelle, offered a quick half-apologetic-half-teasing smirk before he hooked his blade around hers and jerked back. Saraphina, who was exhausted at this point, didn’t even bother to fix her grip on her weapon, and it went skittering across the floor as Jophiel disarmed her.

“That was pathetic.” Jophiel stated, though if his aim was to anger the female, he would have to try much harder. Saraphina had moved towards the wall, and was now sitting at its base, her legs pulled up to her chest.

“Hey!” Saraphina complained as she unlatched the buckle that secured the gloves around her hands. “I wasn’t that bad.” She finished, throwing one of the leather gloves at the male that now stood in front of her.

Jophiel smiled and sat down beside her. “Nah, I’m just messing with you. You did much better than yesterday’s session. You just need to get more muscle in these measly things,” he squeezed her upper arm, “so that you’ll have more endurance in combat while wielding a sword.” The instructor told her. She replied with a groan.

“Why can’t I just use my daggers?” Saraphina continued to complain. “I work so much better with them, and they can slit someone’s throat just as easily as a sword could.”

Her father, who was also the king, had only agreed to let her train in combat for self-defense purposes, though she would have no trouble with killing people. She had once asked her father, Tabbris, if a female in the Kingdom could ever become an assassin, or something along those lines, and she wasn’t sure if it was because the idea was so absurd, or if he understood where she was going with it, but he was very stern as he told her that it was strictly a man’s job.

Jophiel gave her a pointed look, but his smile didn’t falter. “You know why. If you—“ He began explaining, though she cut him off, her voice imitating the tone of a male’s. He was certain that she was mocking him.

“If you enter combat with someone who’s skilled with a sword, it will be hard to approach him if all you are equipped with is a dagger. Blah Blah Blah.” She rolled her eyes as she recited some of what Jophiel had told her during some other lesson. “Whatever,” Saraphina huffed, and then grinned. “If I meet someone with a sword, I’ll just have Vasuki eat them.”

Vasuki was Saraphina’s large, dragon-like companion. With a maw full of large sharp teeth, rows of sharp spines along his back, sharp claws found on all four feet, a tail heavily tipped with spikes, and thick skin that proved heavy to penetrate, the dragon was well suited for battle. The dragon also had sturdy wings that were attached to his forelimbs, and had the ability to breathe fire, so it was not uncommon to find tendrils of smoke exiting the beast’s nostrils as he exhaled.

Jophiel shook his head again, a quiet chuckle escaping his parted lips. “You can’t just send your dragon on people when you can’t handle your own issues. Besides, the people are at peace with the dragons, and you don’t want to go around upsetting what we’ve created.”

Saraphina glanced up at Jophiel, a soft smile shaping her lips, though her gaze held a wicked gleam. “I think a trip to my room is in order.” She suppressed an internal giggle. Good luck to the first guy who ever thought she was inviting him to sleep with her. Vasuki was often contained in her room, and any guy who replied yes to that phrase was on a suicide mission.

It was Jophiel’s turn to roll his eyes.  “I’d rather not get eaten alive or burned to a crisp, thank you very much, but I do think it’s about time to retreat,” he said as he glanced at the clock that decorated the wall. “We’ve got about five minutes ‘till dinner.”

Saraphina nodded, pushed herself up, and started towards the door. She glanced back at Jophiel as she reached the doors.  “I’ll see you in five minutes then.” She smiled and disappeared into the hallway.
                                                                   * * *
Saraphina closed her bedroom door behind her and peeled off her combat gear as she crossed the room to her closet. It was generally a large room, as it had to house Vasuki, and its walls were quite large as they stretched upward, allowing Vasuki flying space. She glanced up at the ceiling, a small window of glass allowing her a peek at the sky above. She’d wanted the entire ceiling to be glass, but she was advised against it; they didn’t want the entire ceiling to be shattered if they were attacked by the Rebels. Saraphina watched as the clouds rolled on ahead for a moment before continuing to the closet, where she picked out a vibrant blue dress. Blue always seemed to be her color; most of her dresses were blue, and if she wasn’t in a dress, then she preferred blue jeans. You never found her without the teal colored stone that was set into a choker necklace, and she always wore matching teal earrings.

Tugging on the dress, she fussed with the single strap that wrapped around her upper arm rather than her shoulder, and then she tugged a comb through the mess of tawny tangles that was her hair. She glanced in the mirror and decided she was presentable, pausing once to turn and crane her neck to glimpse her back in the mirror, making sure that the dress covered the majority of her back.
Glancing at the clock, she realized that she still had a minute before she was needed in the dining room. She sat on the bed and reached a hand down until it met the smooth scales of Vasuki’s neck. Vasuki responded with a noise somewhat resembling that of a cat’s purr, and Saraphina smirked. “I know, you missed me. You couldn’t last five minutes without me.” She teased the beast. Vasuki snorted, sending out a puff of smoke. “Hey,” She said, mocking anger at the dragon, “do you know how hard it is to wash the smell of smoke out?” Saraphina was rewarded with another puff of smoke directed at her, and she huffed at the dragon. “Whatever, big boy. I’m needed for dinner. I’ll be back later,” she told her pet, then ran for the door before he could cover her in more smoky tendrils.
                                                                  * * *
Saraphina nudged open the set of doors that led to the dining room. What lay ahead was an elongated, magnificently carved mahogany table, with a set of matching chairs lined up along it’s sides. As the doors came to a stop with a soft clang, every head in the room turned to regard her with curious eyes.

“Good evening, Saraphina,” her father was the first to speak. “I hope you have not lost your appetite, as the chefs had prepared an excellent meal for tonight.”

Saraphina nodded and made her way to her awaiting chair. Situating herself on the seat between her father and Jophiel, she tossed a glance towards the center of the table where, indeed, an excellent-looking meal sat undisturbed.

“You’re thirty seconds late,” a side at her voice spoke. Her elbow abruptly jutted out, connecting lightly with Jophiel’s ribcage. She was rewarded with a quiet “oompf”, and a smirk tugged at her lips.

The food was dispensed among the bodies that sat at the table; most of them were advisers of the king, or at least held a job of importance.  They ate their meal in silence; a bit of small talk was exchanged between persons, but otherwise it remained somewhat quiet, which struck Saraphina as odd. Usually, if nothing important was to be discussed, then she would have been allowed to take her food elsewhere, and if this was supposed to be some kind of father-daughter bonding thing, why wasn't her father speaking?

As the dinner came to an end, and her father’s advisers were dismissed, Saraphina made to clear her plate away, but was halted when her father laid his hand gently upon her arm.

“Stay a minute, please. I have a subject of importance I must discuss with you. You may as well stick behind too, Jophiel,” the king added as the boy made to exit the room. Jophiel nodded and re-took his seat beside Saraphina as King Tabbris glanced around; making sure that everyone else had departed from the room, he spoke.

“I have discussed with my advisors and informants, and we believe it is best if I go Out. The Rebels have become more daring in their plans, and we believe it will be best to discuss new Terms with them—a peace treaty, of sorts.” The king spoke purposefully as he informed the two, then fell silent while he waited for their reactions.

A million questions raced through Saraphina’s mind, though she finally acknowledged the topic she was most confused about. “I understand, but why does this involve us?”

“This concerns you, as I would like you to accompany me. We will have an escort of highly trained, trusted, and respected guards, and I believe it would be safe enough for you to tag along. I believe that, with the guards, the low-laying Rebels will have nothing to do with us. When we near the Rebel’s leader is when I will begin to question our safety, though at that point, you will wait behind in the carriage with two other guards. I know you have been training in self-defense, and therefore I trust that you will be able to defend yourself adequately. You can bring Vasuki along as well.” The king finished speaking to his daughter, and his gaze flicked up to meet that of the boys. “And you have been training her in self-defense, so I believe that you will be able to handle yourself just fine. That will leave four people, including the two of you, that know combat, along with a well-trained dragon.” The King seemed pleased with his plan as he finished. “Any questions?” He asked, though was rewarded with two small “no’s”. “Alright then. Details have already been figured out; we’ll be leaving tomorrow.” Leaving it at that, King Tabbris turned and retreated out the door; Saraphina and Jophiel followed him after a moment, entering the hallway.

Saraphina and Jophiel paused, turning to face each other. The corner of Saraphina’s mouth tugged up as she offered Jophiel a sort of half-smile, a dimple appearing in her right cheek, though Jophiel didn’t seem as excited.

“I’m finally going Out.” Saraphina said excitedly, though her tone almost held a note of disbelief. “I mean, I've been out of the castle before to visit villages and such, and I’ve been at the Wall, I've just never been outside of the Wall.” She was now talking rapidly, as if to herself. “I wonder what it’s like out there… do you think it’ll be heavily wooded? Or maybe it’s really open… like a grassy meadow—”

“Sara,” Jophiel cut her off, frowning slightly. “This isn’t some vacation trip, you understand? The Rebels are what they are because they don’t like this society that we’ve created, and that means they don’t like people who represent the society, which means they don’t like your father, and they probably wouldn't be too happy to see your face either. I mean, for God’s sake, you got this—” he lifted his hand to her face, resting a finger on her temple where the smooth skin of a noticeable scar started at a point just above her eye, and stretched down her face, ending just above her upper lip. A second scar mirrored the first one on the other eye. ”—and this—“ he shifted his hand so that it rested on her right shoulder, where another large, noticeable scar was found, “—and this—“ finally, he lifted his hand again, bringing it towards her neck as he hooked a finger around the choker necklace she always wore and tugged it down, revealing the last of the noticeable scars that ran across her throat, “—just from ‘visiting unfriendly villages.’” He used air quotes as he spoke the last words, recalling what she’d told him when he’d later found her covered in blood. “I have a feeling that Rebels, depending on their ranking, will be more dangerous than whatever villages you've visited.”
Saraphina rolled her eyes, her voice adopting a soothing tone. “Everything’s going to be fine.” She reassured Jophiel. “I’m much more trained in the art of combat than I was when I sustained those… injuries, and we’ll have Vasuki with us. He’s also well trained—practically indestructible. There’s hardly any dragons outside of the wall, so I don’t think the Rebels will know the dragon anatomy well—at least not well enough to know how to get past his protective plates.”

Reluctantly, Jophiel shook his head. “No, I suppose not…” he admitted, “But I’m sure that the Rebels have their own beasts that we know nothing about, and—"

“You worry too much,” Saraphina cut him off, and left it at that as she turned away from him and bounded towards her room.
                                                                       * * *
“Vasuki!” She exclaimed the beast’s name gleefully as she entered the room. The dragon lifted its head, its dark scarlet eyes regarding the female curiously as she scurried over to the alarm clock that sat on the bed-side table.  She tugged off the dress, slipped into night clothes, then perched herself on the bed, draping an arm down to pet the dragon’s smooth scales. “This is it, Suki. We’re finally going Out.”