Rise of the Harlequin by Roberto Ricci

Author:Roberto Ricci [Ricci, Roberto]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Young Adult, Fantasy
ISBN: 9781502766243
Google: auI8uAEACAAJ
Goodreads: 23985111
Publisher: Createspace Independent Pub
Published: 2014-10-07T23:00:00+00:00

24. The Twin Cities

The next morning, a loud, clanging sound startled me from my slumber. A sword and a shield had been thrown at my feet by a Red Parabathai who apparently wasn’t too eager to come near me.

I looked for Cestia, but she was no longer beside me – she was dressed, with her silver mask in place, and already riding her white stallion. “Now that the Harlequin is done with his beauty sleep, we are leaving,” she said. “Get ready.” She gave this as an order, but I smiled, for the tone of her voice was softer — a wonderful reminder of how things had changed between us. With the new dawn, I felt an unexpected warmth come over me. I felt as if the gods would always be at my side from now on. I was joyful.

There were twenty-four Parabathai in all and they made two lines, the female to the left and the male to then right. I dressed quickly, splashed water on my face and saddled up my horse. I urged her over to where Cestia was.

“Where are we going?” I asked cheerfully. “To Doryca?”

“As I told you yesterday, Doryca and Crodya are close to each other. So we shall speak with both Yellow and Orange.”

Her mask prevented me from seeing her face, so I had no clue as to her thoughts, but now I detected a slight tension in her voice.

“Is everything all right?”

“Yes!” she was quick to say. Too quick.

After our kiss in the night, we slept innocently in each other’s arms. Had I still done something to offend her? Or, more likely (I told myself) it was the events of the last few days catching up to her. Why was she suddenly acting so reserved? Perhaps it is a female thing, I thought.

We galloped side by side not saying anything for quite a while.

“I’ve been thinking about your Parabathai soldiers,” I spoke at last. “It doesn’t make sense to have them as escorts.”

“And why is that?” she said, her voice gelid.

“Well, when push comes to shove, whom will your warriors defend — their lover or you?”

“I can take care of myself,” she said, dismissingly. She moved up ahead and I spurred my horse to catch up with her.

“Are you sure everything is all right?” I asked again.

No response.

“Is something the matter?”

Her mask then turned to face me. “Is something the matter? Everything is the matter!” she burst out. “My reign is finished, my nation hates me and …I even disobeyed the Collective Laws!”

“When did you disobey the Collective Laws?” I asked naively.

“You! Us!” she snapped. “Chromes of different colors cannot stay together. It is wrong!”

“But I am not a chrome,” I said smilingly. “I am a Harlequin!”

“Yes, you are Asheva!” she replied. “You are a Black chrome! You told me yourself, remember?”

I nodded. “I also told you that it was your father that revealed to me that the chrome is a lie. That we are not different and I showed you the Scopium to prove it.

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