Chapter 7
Xienorra

Connections are everything. Just as they say, no man was born as an island. You need to plant friends from every corner of the world, so whenever you go, you can harvest some little help or, sometimes, tremendous help. The only key was the love of talking and listening. The more they know about you, the more they think you're trustworthy–even though all those stories were full of lies. Then they would start to spill their interests, clues to their secrets, and their tickling spots–focus on that spot, ask more about those to show you're compatible with each other, and they'll develop a deep connection to you.

What were the examples of these spots? Most rich men love to talk about long-stocked wine, expensive tobacco pipes, horse betting, and casinos. Poor versions were almost identical–beer, paper-rolled tobacco, rooster fight betting, and street night gambling. In short:

Vices.

Xienorra learned this by herself when her brother left him on a cold, starving night. Some girls sell their bodies at this rate, but her brother would be angry if she did that thing. So she needed to be wise, wiser than her foolish brother.

"Foolish brother..." she whispered to herself, remembering her worst nightmare brought by the sleeping flute. Her chest tightened, hands clenching, grinding nails against her palm. She remembered every detail of his brother–stupid brother. Their dream talks while watching the stars, blueprints of innovations to fly, to reach their dead parents in the sky, business plans, trial and error, debts, and death.

Let's play hide and seek, Xienorra, his brother told him inside the abandoned building. Young Xienorra smiled, excited, trying to ignore the tears trying to drop in his brother's eyes full of fear. She went upstairs, hid herself, and waited for him to find her. But he never found her again.

A thin shriek of a bird screeched through the woods. Xienorra tilted her light-tanned face, her narrow blue eyes shining against the moonlight, as she watched an eagle soaring around the brightest moon, despite the mists of the night clouds.

Leaves brushed against each other as the wind blew, and her brown hair scattered in the air, silhouettes of her long thin fibers under the moon. She touched the peak of her bamboo hat to secure it, still watching the skies when the eagle dived swiftly and went out of her vision. A moment ago, as fast as the shadow, the eagle passed through her, dropping a piece of rolled paper and soared high and far until it had gone into her sight.

Xienorra picked up the paper on the dirt. The breeze waved again as she untied the ribbon and unrolled the paper.

There's always room for a second chance, but third is out of option. Our countries are depending on your hands, Xienorra.

Short words, but it stopped her heartbeat for a moment. Xienorra thought deeply. She lacked information. She first needed to know what happened to Efran before she could find a conclusion. She spent all her time sleeping, playing a tragic hide and seek with her brother through her nightmare. She was lucky to have Roh who managed to resist against the Astral spell. Roh protected them in their sleep and beat the flutist through his wits. Though, the bandits still escaped. She tore the message into pieces and started to move.

~

The gentle crackling sounds of the campfire crunching within the song of crickets. Breeze hummed over the rustling leaves lustered by the small flares. Roh's envious eyes were gazing through the white furs of the wolf's head, glinted by amber, brushing through Caesura's hand.

Roh decided to go on his foot, crouching while slowly stepping towards it, hands trying to reach the cute furs while the other hand was gripping an apple. But the wolf quickly confronted him, chest on the ground, lips rose to show its very sharp canine teeth, and snarled against him.

He upped his shoulder, giving Caesura a questioning look, asking why as if experiencing his biggest betrayal.

Caesura looked at him with sympathy and averted to her side. "Dog eater, they hate, they sense," she tried her best to use her broken throat, wasting her soft, beautiful voice.

"But I just want to share my apples," he complained and returned to his seat on the log, crunched against his apple. "You don't want it, then, eat anything else."

"Your flesh, they want to eat."

Roh almost jumped and glanced at the wolf with his widening eyes. The wolf barked, so he averted his eyes.

"My wolf, rude, sorry," Caesura sincerely apologized.

"So, what's the message of this invisible mysterious stranger client mastermind? Did he ask for a refund?" Roh asked as he continued biting the apple once he sensed Xienorra, who just came back. The wolf wore out its anger and slept on Caesura's comforting lap. Effective to calm the wolf.

"Find the rebels' hideout at all costs."

"The Flostanian soldiers were already doing the job. Why do we need to get involved too?"

"We can't trust the Kingdom."

Roh raised his brow. "So he's building his own kingdom? And we're the pioneers of his chess pieces," he stared at the skies and hand like drawing a rainbow in the air, "The Invisible King. It's a good novel title, though."

He continued, mesmerizing the twinkling stars beneath the mists, "There's a saying, to see is to believe. I would rather trust the corrupted kingdom in my sight than an invisible palace. We're just meeting his representative unnamed cute little eagle giving small pieces of paper. I could train an eagle too and give you messages, and then you'll think I'm the invisible king."

"So you're thinking that all my ideas were lame?" Xienorra was already in front of him, silhouetted against the moon, blue eyes staring deadly at him.

Kirovah yanked away, crawling back through his elbow like a flipped spider being frightened away.

"That's not me! I just lost my mind because I have no furs to brush on my skin!"

The wolf growled. Roh rattled.

Xienorra rolled her eyes and sighed. This is nonsense. "Prepare yourself. We're going to get our forger out tonight. I need him tomorrow."

Roh's frightening eyes switched in excitement. "Like a prison break you did to me? That's awesome!"

"Or a military campus break." A familiar soft unmatured boy's voice interrupted. They all looked at the shadow nearing them until the fire lights revealed the Flostanian freckled boy.

Xienorra smirked. "Did you enjoy much your beautiful uniform?"

Efran took time to touch the green scarf, examining the white embroideries of the leaf symbol. The moment he wore it, he felt like it was his at the beginning and just happened to find it finally. The pride that every Razuha soldier wears, boosting their ego, the feeling of their value, position, and power that the ordinary soldiers don't have.

It's hard to remove the scarf, but he did anyway and threw it on the fire. He told himself, I mustn't let myself be devoured by ego, consumed by material things.

Efran really wanted to lie and close his eyes from the moment they saw each other alive. But he knew the need to report what had happened, so he sacrificed and cooperated. When the meeting was over, he gave out his heaviest sigh of relief.

Xienorra stood up, looking at his crew circling around the fire. "I may not know the right plan, but I have an idea where to start."

"Can't we just discuss that tomorrow? I badly need sleep! For Jembahal's sake!"

Zao Xienorra
The Queen of Connections

MVCabusas | The Invisible King