House of Winter

Chapter 26, Part 1

ARI

It was dark when she heard Tai's boots crunching on the pebbles and shells on the beach. His back was to the suns, so that he glowed with a halo of gold in the evening light. The Lothern sky was red and gold behind him. His men were dressed in the red of their army uniform, but Tai wore only black, except for a circlet of gold just below his hair line.

Around her, the refugees of the camp were trembling. They were silent, except for the hacking cough of one of the older men. Ari sat with a few of the younger women, with her head down. She knew Tai would recognise her, but she wanted to remain inconspicuous for as long as possible.

"My Vastien friends," Tai said, in a dark drawl of the Starg language. "Welcome to the Fire Lands."

Ari felt a shiver go down her spine at Tai's voice. She wasn't the only one - the refugees closest to her seemed to huddle closer together, terrified of Tai's voice. The woman beside Ari was trembling. These people had never met Tai, but no Vastien island had been untouched by the horrors of the Fire War, and they knew that Tai could be capable of everything his father was.

"My name is Taikku Tsukasai, the Crown Prince of the Fire Lands. Let me tell you a story." He stopped short of the lines of Vastien refugees, and his lip curled at the sight of their dirty clothes, and the sound of coughing.

"I went to Lombardia to protect my sister's honour before her marriage to Prince Raphael. While I was there I witnessed the terrible treatment of Vastiens by Lombardians. It is unfathomably cruel how the Lombardians treat Vastiens as second class citizens. As a child I learned of the Ocean Age, when Vastiens ruled the lands and the seas. But now, you're forced to beg for refuge in the Fire Lands." His gaze wandered over to the coughing man, and he glared at him, but the cough persisted.

Tai turned and continued pacing in front of the refugees, his boots crunching across sand and stones.

"The Lombardians have no respect for you, let alone love for you. A few weeks ago, at the Midwinter Championships, I witnessed the Vastien's attempt to stand up against the Lombardians. But it was led by the wrong man. Pythos Savvas attacked the kinncharging arena, and one his girls, Ariane Domez, killed the Prince Raphael. It was a despicable tragedy. And it was felt especially by my sister, who was heartbroken at the death of her beloved."

The crumbling ruins of some abandoned village were just down the beach from where Tai stood. Somewhere in there, Sanna was waiting, and listening to every word.

"My sister grieves for her prince, but to tell you the truth, I have no love for Lombardia. But I must make it clear: I have no love for the actions of Pythos Savvas or Ariane Domez. These are violent extremists who have conned a peaceful people into war. You are not like them. You do not want war."

Ari noticed the way a few of the younger refugees seemed to be intrigued by his words. They were drawn in by the confident way he spoke. They agreed with his statements. Ari clenched her fists to her side and kept her head down.

"I have heard that Ariane Domez is in this camp," Tai said. "Make no mistake. She will be found, and she will be punished for her crimes against the Lombardian prince... and against the Vastien people. For she truly has committed a crime against you, by leading your people into war."

Ari bit her lip.

"But I intend to be reasonable. If you give her up to me willingly, I will remember it. If I am the one who returns Ariane Domez to Lombardia, then the Lombardians will be indebted to me. I shall demand fairer treatment of Vastiens. One day, I will be the Emperor of the Fire Lands. I would like to extend my hand of friendship to Vastier, but only if you will give Ariane Domez to me."