Empire of Sand

When morning broke, rousing William was like uprooting an oak tree. He’d spent the better part of the night snoring, but I had resisted the urge to throw a rock at him because the sound kept the predators away. Upon waking, he stumbled around the camp, scratching his head and smacking his lips like a drunkard as I packed away my bedroll and saw to Birdie’s needs. I knew there was water nearby, and I smelled dreadful. I needed a bath before we got to Tristan. The locals were kinder to tired travelers than they were to vagabonds.

“Are you going to do anything useful, or are you going to continue milling about like a blind horse?”

William blinked and stared at me for a moment before remembering himself.

“Y-Yes, I’m sorry. Let me, erm—I’ve got a bit of business I need to—”

I smothered a smile.

“Go on, then. I won’t look at you.”

He cleared his voice and ducked into the forest to relieve himself. While he was away, I fed and watered his horse and brushed her coat with wormwood to keep the flies away. My companion emerged a minute later, smoothing his hair with his hands and doing his best to make himself presentable.

“Are you ready to go, then, Your Highness?” I teased.

William froze and blinked up at me. My smile melted from my face at his panicked expression as suspicion clawed its way through me.

“Yes, y-yes, I’m ready,” he stuttered. He packed his things in silence, and I busied myself with Birdie while I contemplated his queer reaction. Did he think I was so uneducated and classless that I wouldn’t distinguish him from royalty? I swallowed my pride. The man had come from wealth. He smelled like coin. Of course he did.

“I was only joking,” I told him. “I may be poor and from the outer regions, but I am not so ignorant that I would mistake you for royalty,” I retorted.

“Of course not. I suppose I was surprised, is all.”

I grunted in response and mounted Birdie, annoyed already. My stomach grumbled and my canteen needed refilling. I knew the river was not far away, and my skin crawled in anticipation of a proper bath. My savagery would flabbergast William, but he would just have to console himself. The people of the outer regions were not accustomed to servants and rose petal baths in fine ceramic basins.

_#_

After a half a day of riding, we reached Crystal River. The river was serene in some parts and grew tumultuous closer to Tristan. I told William we needed to stop and water the horses, and as they drank from the cool water, I filled our canteens with the swiftly moving river water. It felt blissful as it kissed my hands, and I shivered. I still had dirt granules in my hair and a fine layer of dust coated every other part of me.

“I’m going to get a bath,” I announced. William’s eyes grew large, and he paused, holding his horse’s bridle.

“You— You mean you’re—”

I nodded, impatient.

“Yes, I know it’s savage, but not everyone was born to privilege. All of us, however, enjoy being clean, wealthy, or not. So, if you’ll kindly excuse me . . .”

I stomped a few feet away and then got a wicked idea. How amusing it would be to offend his fine sensibilities even further. Facing away from him, I lifted my arms and tugged the first layer of my tunic off, tossing it aside. The first layer provided me warmth against the cool wind, but the day had grown warm, and I no longer needed it. The layer below was sleeveless, stopping just above my shoulders and tapering down past my waist, where it disappeared under my pants.

I glanced back at him and laughed. He was immobile as a statue, his horse’s bridle clutched tight in his right hand and his eyes unnaturally rounded.

“You aren’t going to—”

“I’m not going to—what, William?”

I was delighted in this little game I was playing. If he was going to assume I was a poor savage from the outlying regions, then I would use his prejudices against him.

“I don’t know how the pedigree does it,” I told him silkily, “but we savages like to bathe with no clothes on.”

I stopped inches from him, close enough to feel his hot breath on my chest. He gulped, and I bit back laughter as his hands trembled.

“I— You— It isn’t—”

I held a finger to his lips and gave him the best approximation of a seductive smolder I could summon. He paled and drew in a deep, ragged breath through his nose, causing the nostrils to flare. He had perspiration around his hairline, and he trembled like a cornered fox. Unable to contain myself any longer, I collapsed in a fit of raucous laughter while he watched in silence.

“You looked like you were going to faint!” I shrieked, doubling over.

He withdrew a small rag from his breastbone pocket and mopped his face with it.

“That wasn’t funny,” he chided.

“It was delightful,” I contradicted. I straightened and put my hands on my hips.

“Now go see to the horses. I’m going to go this way. I’ll only be a few minutes,” I said, waving him off. He turned abruptly and made his way in the other direction, and I snickered and went to mine.

The water was blissful and cool. I sank beneath it, feeling its frigid fingers wrap around me, purging me of the dirt and dust I’d accumulated. The rocks gave me a grip as I worked to maintain my foothold. The flow was not as rapid here as it would be farther west, but it was good enough to fill our canteens with.

By this time tomorrow, we would arrive in Tristan and part ways. William would continue with his business of finding his cousin and I would enlist in the Emperor’s Trials. Mayven said the contestants trained for two weeks, fighting several smaller battles until the selection committee narrowed it down to ten contestants. Then the Emperor himself would watch, along with the residents and traders of Tristan. The last stage of the Trials comprised three days and endless matches among the final ten. On the last day, the remaining two fought, and the victor was declared.

Strange to think that in a little over two weeks, I could either be the most revered guard in the Emperor’s army, or dead. The comparison made me laugh.

I think dead is the more likely outcome, I told myself.

I washed quickly and scampered up the riverbank, dressing in the clean tunic and trousers I’d brought. I scrubbed the old pair in the river water, though I wouldn’t have time to let them dry properly in the sun. Carrying the wet garments in my arm, I traipsed through the moist river sand back to where I’d left William and the horses.

He waited for me on the banks with dripping hair and clean skin. He’d also taken advantage of the river and bathed, changing into a clean pair of clothes. The water droplets in his hair glistened in the sun, making him sparkle like gems. Though I’d doubted his story, I hadn’t pressed him for details. Of the two of us, he was the more vulnerable because he had more to lose.

“Are you ready?”

He nodded and got to his feet, gathering his clothes, which he’d draped over a long tree branch to dry.

“Maybe we’ll find that cousin of yours,” I said, as we mounted our horses.

“Maybe,” he said. Though he didn’t sound happy at the prospect.