Courage to Love Again, and Wisdom to Know What to Fight.

[Knight Kat]

[align=center]Bad Dream

 

Kiht Jakkya walked along the red carpet in Hunstings. Her pace was fast as she clenched and unclenched her fists. Her stride was unrelenting; she was on a mission. It was time to see Roen.

 

She arrived at the Sultansworn prison. There was a female Paladin guarding the door. The Paladin had read hair, and was a Hyur, but her face was not familiar. She regarded Kiht with a cold gaze. "Who goes there?" She asked. It was odd to Kiht, her voice sounded like Natalie's voice. However, this woman was certainly not the Miqo'te Seeker named Natalie.

 

"I am Kiht. I have come to see Roen." Kiht said in a nervous tone.

 

The female Paladin leaned in, and stared Kiht right in the eyes. "You're too late princess. Roen is being prepared for execution."

 

Kiht's eyes went wide in shock. She did not stop to consider if she should ask questions, she just turned and bolted down the Hustings corridor. The corridor seemed to go on for far longer than she remembered. Kiht ran and ran, but the corridor did not seem like it was going to end.

 

Suddenly, she came to an exit, turned the corner without slowing and bolted out down a flight of stairs. Kiht was not sure how, but she remembered where prisoners were executed in Ul'dah. Somewhere along her travels, she must have heard about it. Kiht rushed straight to the site just outside the city.

 

In a sandy clearing, there was a platform and three nooses set up; ready for use. A ring of Sultansworn surrounded the platform as a crowd of spectators stood just beyond the reach of the Paladins.

 

Kiht came to a sliding stop as she got close enough to recognize three individuals up on the platform with hands tied behind their backs. The three people were very familiar to her. A Hyur man named Osric, a Seeker male named Kage and a Hyur woman named Roen.

 

"No...." Kiht muttered in denial.

 

She quickly paced to the ring of Sultansworn guards. Up on the platform a man in a black robe began speaking to the crowd.

 

"Osric Melkire, charged with treason against the Sultana and facial hair, is hereby sentenced to hang by the neck until dead. Effective immediately. " The man announced.

 

"Hells! I grew it bloody back!" Osric protested.

 

"Kage Kiryuu, charged with treason against the Brass Blades and Lalafell kind, is hereby sentenced to hang by the neck until dead. Effective immediately." The man announced.

 

Kage swallows hard then continues to bear a nervous expression on his face while he sweats.

 

"Roen Deneith, charged with being extremely unlucky, and always in the wrong place at the wrong time, is hereby sentenced to hang by the neck until dead. Effective immediately." The man announced.

 

Roen just nodded.

 

"Any last words?" The robed man asked the three "convicts" on the platform.

 

"Wait!" Kiht cried out in protest. "Roen is not guilty of anything! I would be surprised if she has ever willingly hurt a Marmmot! What kind of charges are those?!"

 

Almost in reflex, Kiht tried to step past the Sultansworn guards. One of the guards stepped up and blocked her path. "Miss, I am going to have to ask you to step back." He said to Kiht as he held his shield up in front of himself. Kiht kept her gaze fixed on the three people, but took two paces back in line with the silent crowd.

 

"Hey Kiht." A familiar male voice said to her. Kiht turned to regard the man. It was Xydane. He wore his Warrior armor and held his large axe with one arm; leaning it on his shoulder.

 

"Xydane?!" Kiht asked in surprise.

 

"Yeah, I'm going to rescue these three. " He replied in a casual manner.

 

"....I do not think you should say that in front of the Sultansworn guards." Kiht warned him; her eyes still wide in surprise to see him there.

 

"Nah, I can take em." He said in a casual tone. "However, I'm first going to get some popcorn." He said as he began to walk off.

 

"But, but, but.... They are going to execute them now!" Kiht replied.

 

"Don't worry, I am going to eat some popcorn then rescue them right in the nick of time. Just watch." He said in a confident tone.

 

Kiht huffed then turned back to the platform. The robed man repeated his question "Last words?"

 

"Can someone scratch my nose? It itches like Hells." Osric stated.

 

"I do this so that I can look at my face in the mirror without shame." Kage stated.

 

"I still trust the Sultansworn." Roen stated.

 

Another man stepped up onto the platform, and began to put the nooses on each person's neck.

 

"Please!" Kiht shouted. "What is wrong with the Ul'dahn justice system?!"

 

"Miss, I am going to have to ask you again to step back." The guard commanded to Kiht.

 

Kiht surveyed her surroundings and took note that she had not moved any closer. "I am no closer than the rest of the crowd!" She replied as anger started to build in her tone. Her tail started lashing as the fur on it stood on end.

 

"No, I mean step back to the Shroud, Miss. You don't belong here." The guard stated.

 

"You heard him, Kiht." A male voice purred. "Time to go home."

 

Kiht looked to regard the new voice. It was C'kayah. He stood with a glass of wine in his hand, and a smirk on his face.

 

"C'kayah! There must be something you can do."

 

"Why would I do anything, Kiht?" C'kayah purred. "Executions are fun." He said in an enthusiastic tone.

 

Kiht began to look around in panic. "Wait!" She said as tears began to well in her eyes. "At least let me say goodbye." Her voice cracked.

 

"Step back to the Shroud, Miss." The guard repeated.

 

The robed man on the platform began to recite a prayer to the Twelve. He recited short lines about each of the twelve Gods in reverse order. When he got to the verse about Menphina, time nearly froze. Suddenly the crowd was gone. Day became night, and only one Sultansworn remained between Kiht and the platform.

 

"After this sun, Menphina, grant us the courage to love again. After this sun, Halone, grant us the wisdom to know what to fight for." The Robed man said in a slow-motion voice.

 

Kiht's sadness was replaced by determination. She solidified her stance; ready for battle. She reached for her lance on her back, but it was not there. Odd. She did not even have a bow and arrows. She reached down to her belt. Her hunting knife, it was still with her. She pulled it from its sheath, and took her family-taught knife-fighting stance. Her ears pined back as an expression of feral anger grew on her face.

 

She could not take down a Paladin with her knife, but she was not even going to think about that. A strong breeze blew as time went back into normal speed. The Paladin in front of her was suddenly a female Hyur with red hair, and an unfamiliar face. She waited with her shield up and her sword out in a battle-ready stance, but her expression was neutral as she watched Kiht.

 

"They are not all the same, Kiht." Roen said right as the robed man made his way to the lever that would open the trapdoors under the three 'convicts'.

 

Kiht charged and leaped into the air; ready to bring everything she had down on the Paladin. However, time froze again. The Paladin had not moved at all, and Kiht was trapped in mid-air while holding her knife over her head.

 

"Kiht?" A calm male voice asked.

 

Kiht was not able to move her body no matter how hard she tried, but her eyes were still mobile. She moved them to regard a figure that was suddenly standing next to the Paladin. It was a Duskwight Elezen. Not just any Duskwight; it was Enju. He calmly regarded Kiht while she was frozen in mid-air. He slowly shook his head.

 

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Kiht gasped as she sat up in her bed. It was a bad dream. She surveyed her surroundings. After a few moments, she realized that the only part of the dream that was real was Enju's voice. Her linkpearl was still in her ear, and she felt the light buzz from the active aether within it. Enju's voice over the linkpearl had awoken her from her dream.

 

Moments later, after a short conversation with the Enju, she made her way outside to the yard of the Morbolvine Clan estate to get much-needed fresh air. It was afternoon; a bit early for her to be awake, but there was no way she could go back to sleep.

 

Kiht let her gaze drift to the Moogle mailbox. The latch was up, the Clan had new mail. She made her way to the mailbox with a groggy stride. A letter from a contact. She opened it, and inside was a folded-up flier. Kiht slowly read it. It was from Ul'dah.

 

All people who had been forced to aid Jin'li; or otherwise, forced to wear the collar were now pardoned from criminal charges. Kiht's eyes grew wide, and she had to read the flier a second time to confirm. She folded the flier back up, and slipped it in her shirt. A few suns earlier, she was told by Cy'xanne that a Sultansworn named Crofte was looking for her. It was time for Kiht to find this Crofte. She had seen the woman from a distance before, but never met her. However, Kiht would try this Roen's way. She would go unarmed. It was time to take that risk for her friend.

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((Note: the only character I own in this post is Kiht Jakkya. All other characters are simply dream representations of characters Kiht knows. Their personalities and character viewpoints in this post may not be accurate as they are skewed by interpretation in Kiht's dreaming mind.))