Chapter VII
Names and Leashes
Living in the shining castle took some getting use to for Saber. He was used to sneaking around places like this, not strolling around them without a care in the world. It had been a week since he and the captain had been transferred to the sleepy town and he had marked every escape route he could think of. Every door, every window, every possible place he or someone like him could hide or enter from. Ebony on the other hand felt right at home with her new surroundings.
She had taken to ordering the troops as a fish takes to swimming. Because of her stern attitude and need for perfection, the morale of the men was starting to waver as they soon started to realize that the easy life they’d enjoyed was long behind them. Saber pitied them really, he’d pity almost anyone who had to take orders from that woman. Whenever he left to go into town, Ebony or one of the guards went with him. He doubted that Ebony told the guards anything about his true identity or his real mission.
In their and the town folk’s eyes he was just someone from Canterlot assigned to assist Twilight with her royal duties. Thanks to his years spent with assassins he’d become quite the adept liar and his story was solid thanks to a few forged documents and a good story. With those papers, his alibi was sealed. However, the farm girl still held some skepticism in her eyes and it felt like she was trying to glare a hole through him every time she came to the castle to visit the Princess.
Twilight, kept her distance for the most part from him as she was still unsure whether or not she could trust him. He honestly couldn’t care less about her opinion of him, but her disdain was present in the air around her whenever they crossed paths. Ebony’s mood had not improved much either. The soldiers’ disorganization and lax behavior irritated her to no end.
However, Ebony’s new duties allowed Saber to focus more on his own training and work his way through the vast amount of books in the library. He started with where he left off in Canterlot, mostly reading medical journals and herb books. It was good to brush up on certain bits of information that he’d forgotten while he was in captivity. He was halfway through an urban herbs journal when the library doors slammed open and Saber heard a familiar pair of boots against the crystal floor.
“There you are.” Ebony said as she approached the man. He turned to her and put a finger on his lips as he made a ‘shh’ sound.
“We’re in a library.” He stated as he turned back to his book. She snarled and took it from his hands. “I wasn’t finished with that.”
“Your equipment is here.” His eyes widened and he stood up before he followed Ebony through the castle. Several of the guards stiffened as they saw them make their way towards them. He eyed their stiffness and the nervous looks on their faces.
“You certainly know how to make your presence known Ebby.” The captain grunted at the pet name he’d taken to call her. She didn’t let her irritation show, but it certainly got under her skin. Saber turned his head to see Twilight approaching them. Her curiosity got the better of her and she followed the two. They entered an empty room with a hard wooden table in the center.
On the table, there was a heap of familiar items, his equipment. Saber felt a joy he almost forgotten as he approached the pile of clothing and metal. “What the hell have you people been doing with my things?” He glared at them as if they’d just purposely spilled their wine on a new, expensive shirt.
“They came all the way from Purgatory, the things that weren’t melted down anyway.” His heart seized and he started sifting through the bits of cloth and metal. He found a familiar sword handle and relaxed. He pulled the blade from it’s sheath and the guard got ready to fight if need be. Saber ignored her as he examined the blade.
It was not fancy by any means, it was a dull grey color and had a simple leather grip and a piece of curved metal would shield his fingers. The blade itself was odd, it was neither a long sword nor a saber, but it did have a slight curve to the bulky top part of the blade. He gave it a few practice swings and he smiled. Hello my old friend. He thought to himself as he carefully slid the blade into it’s simple leather sheath and strapped the leather belt across his chest so the handle was over his right shoulder. He looked back at the rest of his equipment; several different throwing knives, two curved hunting knives that rested on the back of his waist, a silver vambrace that went on his right arm and a matching one for his left.
Unfortunately, his custom leather armor was damaged and he would need to find a replacement. The same for his dark brown cloak that had all sorts of secret pockets and had kept him warm and unseen many times when he performed his bloody deeds. He kicked off the black boots he’d been wearing and put on his old leather ones. Nothing fits better than a broken in boot.
As he rifled through the worn cloak’s pockets, he felt something familiar between his fingers. He pulled out a metal chain and hung it around his neck. Hanging from the chain was a small metal sword with wings coming from the hilt. In the hilts center a dark green emerald was set. As he turned towards the door he saw Ebony with her hand extended.
“I’ll keep your blades until you need them.” He rolled his eyes at her.
“Sure, real smart, have me guard the Princess’s life with just my fists, that’ll work real well against armed opponents.” Ebony’s amber eyes stayed the same and he reluctantly unhitched the sheathed blade from his back and held it out. She quickly grabbed it from his hands and he scowled as if she’d just slapped her. “Careful, that’s a lady you’re holding, not some hunk of cheap iron you swing around blindly.” He stated in a serious tone.
“A lady?” Twilight said with a raised eyebrow.
“Of course.” He pointed to the blade. “That is Celaena and she’s saved my life many times.” Ebony put her hand on the handle. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” She ignored him and pulled, yet the blade wouldn’t budge.
She tried harder yet the sword remained sheathed. Ebony felt a stinging sensation in her hand and she yelped as the sword clattered to the floor. Saber just stared at her as she rubbed her hand.
That was pretty cute. He shook the thought from his head as he walked over and picked up Celaena. “I warned you not to try it.” Ebony pulled her black blade from it’s sheath and pointed it at him.
“What the hell was that just now?” Her hand was still numb and it showed as her sword was shaking slightly.
“A precaution so that she can never be used to hurt me.” He said as he hitched the sword to his back. “Regardless, I’m keeping her with me and the only way you’re changing that is by prying her from my cold dead hands.” His tone was serious and his eyes seemed to freeze everything in the room.
“That can be arranged.” Ebony hissed. Determined to diffuse the tension, Twilight stepped forwards.
“He needs some way to defend himself Captain and it’s impossible for him to cause me any harm or else that spell will activate correct?” Ebony looked at Twilight and gave a nod. “So then there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Finally, a voice of reason.” Saber stated. The captain sighed and sheathed her blade. “Have you named it?” she looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He sighed and pointed to he sword. “All great swords have names. Solaris has Sunbreaker and Artemis has Nightshade.” He’d heard the guards discussing them while he was in the white castle.
“A sword is just a tool.” She stated.
“So you’re saying the sword Celestia gave you is like all the rest of the swords here and should be treated as such?” He said with a grin. Ebony felt ice in her spine as she put her hand on the panther head pommel. She looked down at the blade and the thought of naming it had crossed her mind once or twice.
“I’ll give it some thought.” He smiled and stretched his back before they left the room. It felt good to have his equipment back although the loss of his cloak was unfortunate, but he figured he could get a replacement in time. He went back to his room and closed the door before taking his equipment off. Had she been more thorough, Ebony might have noticed all the little compartments inside his gear.
He pulled open the flat of his left boot to show a few different sized lock picks wrapped in some cloth. He did the same with his right and pulled out a few small tools one would use to fix eye glasses with. He laid the small instruments out before he removed his gauntlets and set them on the wooden desk. He removed the armored top and a patch of leather to show a complex series of gears and springs like a pocket watch would have.
He started to take the pieces a part carefully and inspected them like a jeweler would his wares. The whole process of taking apart, inspecting and reassembling the mechanism took close to two hours. He wiped his brow as he heard a knock on the door. He covered the item with a piece of cloth and walked to the door. He opened it to see Twilight. “Can I help you Princess?” Saber asked as he leaned against the doorframe.
“Where have you been? I haven’t seen you since you got your equipment.” She said as she walked into his room.
“I’ve been looking all of it over making sure it all still works and fits properly.” He said as he leaned on the edge of his bed.
“Works?” He walked over to his desk and put the reassembled gauntlet back on to his right arm. He moved his wrist and a long double edged blade shot out from the top of the gauntlet. She was startled by how quickly the blade came from the object, yet she couldn’t help but marvel at it. “Fascinating,”
“Yes, I’m quite fond of them myself.” He said as he jerked his wrist a second time and the blade receded back into the gauntlet.
“How does it work?” Saber uncovered the other gauntlet that was still in pieces.
“A series of gears, screws and springs.” He said as he started putting it back together. Twilight watched as he methodically reassembled the hidden blade. She watched him intensely and she could almost see the gears in his mind turning. How many times had he disassembled and reassembled these weapons to remember where every screw and spring fit into?
“Did you make these?” He shook his head.
“No, but I have modified them a bit. Pieces break and need to be replaced.” He said as he finished the other mechanism. The one he finished had the blade come out from the underside of the gauntlet. Twilight looked at the knives and then to the sword before she spoke up.
“What,” She bit her lip as she forced the words out as if she were trying to throw up her lunch. “what is it like to kill a man?” For a long while the room was quiet. Saber’s usual silver tongue had turned to rust in his mouth and he looked down at his right hand. Thankfully the silence was shattered by the sound of the door opening.
Ebony was about to say something to Saber but then saw Twilight and her posture stiffened.
“Princess, I wasn’t expecting to see you here.” She stated calmly.
“Nor I you, did you need something with Saber?” Ebony shifted her gaze to the white haired man.
“Making sure I’m behaving myself Ebby?” He said as he took off the bracers.
“Making sure you weren’t up to anything.” She narrowed her eyes on the man.
“You are quite paranoid. You know that right?” He said as he sat on the edge of his bed. “So did you need something or is this just a way for you to kill time when you’re not torturing me or the other guards?”
“I do not torture my men.”
“From what I’ve seen you’re quite the slave driver.” He said as he leaned back.
“I’m sure you know what that feels like.” His eyed narrowed and the air became tense between them.
“You should get a hold on that tongue of yours before someone plucks it out.” He hissed. A vein pressed against the skin on Ebony’s forehead and her hand gripped her sword. Saber noticed this and smirked. “Always quick to draw your blade, but I doubt someone like you has ever really used it.”
“What?”
“I’m saying that you’ve never been in a real fight.” He crossed his arms and shrugged. “What’s to be expected from a pampered canterlot kitten like yourself?” There was the sound of metal cutting through air as Ebony’s blade shot from it’s sheath and was heading straight for Saber’s neck. The blade came to halt as the edge touched his flesh. Saber remained completely still and didn’t flinch, even when he felt a small bead of blood trickle along his neck.
“Captain, stand down! That’s an order!” Twilight yelled as she narrowed her eyes on Ebony. The captain was fuming but she tightly gripped her rage and sheathed the blade. “You should not act so rashly.”
“Yes Princess,” Ebony said through grit teeth. Twilight then turned to the white haired man.
“And you should not purposely antagonize her.” He simply shrugged.
“What will I do for fun then?” Twilight let out an angry huff of air and held up her right hand clenched into a fist. On the back a red symbol glowed. “What’s that for?”
“Sit and be quiet.” Saber was about to comment, but he found that his voice had left him and he started to panic. He felt as if some giant had wrapped their hand around his neck and stolen his voice. The next thing he felt was a crushing weight on his shoulders and he felt his backside slam against the stone hard floor. He’d curse if he was able to, so he instead gave the two women a dark glare. “After you told me about your area of expertise, I wrote a letter to Princess Celestia on the matter.” Twilight said in tone that was filled to the brim with authority.
“She sent me this command spell that is connected to that circle around your neck.” His pupils shrank in understanding. “I wanted to refrain from using this, but it appears I have no choice to if I expect you to behave.” She dropped to one knee so they were at eye level. “You will cease antagonizing or goading of any kind toward Captain Northwind, understand?”
She snapped her fingers and Saber coughed as he felt the use of his voice return to him. Saber looked at her with narrowed angry eyes, but Twilight just showed him the command seal again and he bit back the rather offensive curse that was bubbling up inside.
“Yes, Princess.” He said venomously. The mark on Twilight’s hand vanished and the weight that had been keeping him down seemed to vanish. Twilight stood back up straight and walked out the door. Ebony just stared at him with a blank expression on her face, but Sabe saw the amusement in her golden eyes.
“This must be quite amusing to you.” He said as he stood up and glared.
“You brought this on yourself.” She said as she walked to the doorway. She turned to face him just as she put her hand on the door to close it. “Dogs who can’t listen get put on a tight leash.” She slammed the door closed and walked away. He made an obscene gesture with his hand and walked into the bathroom to look at the cut on his neck. He wet his hand in the sink and wiped the blood away to see that the wound was already closed.
He smiled to himself and washed the dried blood from his skin. Twilight had just made a grave mistake, she told him where she stood. She holds the leash, and I am the slave. He thought as he got back to work on the gauntlet.