Mara and Morok

The water is freezing and it seems like I’m being stabbed by a thousand knives. But my fear pushes me forward and I steadily move towards the end of the lake, pulling my sister behind me. When I reach the shore, I haul her onto the hard surface first and crawl after her on all fours.

My fingers are stiff as I strip Anna of her soaked clothing and wrap her into the only dry thing we have left, my cloak. She keeps sobbing, shivering from the cold and the shock. I’m not much help as I’m shivering all over too. But the fear of almost losing my sister is more numbing to me than the cold.

Irina is teaching me not to succumb to fear, to act, no matter what. And I try to heed her now.

“A… nnna… ppput… yourrr… arms… a… rrround my… nnneck.”

I help her onto my back and try to set off towards the temple again. But my legs don’t cooperate, my knees begin to buckle and pain shoots right through me. Anna does what she’s told, for once, and clutches my neck, almost suffocating me.

I manage about five feet but my breath is heavy and wheezing. I’m freezing, my numb fingers can hardly keep Anna in place… but I see Irina rushing towards us and tears start running down my cheeks before I can stop them. My sobs turn to wails, even louder than Anna’s, as I fall into the soft snow and let Irina run the rest of the distance.

5

Yarat. The capital of Araken.

So many years have passed and the landscapes have changed. My memories help me to orientate myself a little and I realize that we are traveling northwards. I see some new villages that have sprung up, a few roads have widened and the outlines of the woods are different to how they used to be. Some places I used to know are just nowhere to be seen. We are moving along this unfamiliar road and I recognize a couple of places, while all the rest are completely new to me. But I’m happy to learn that Araken still exists and Yarat has remained its capital. Even though, when I was alive, I only visited it twice. The first time, all Maras were asked to attend the new king’s coronation and the second time we came to rid the woods from evil.

We, Maras, do not belong to any kingdoms and do not serve any kings. The woods adjoining our temple are considered Maras’ territory and are situated right on the border between two kingdoms: Araken and Serat. An ocean washes the western borders of the countries and on the east a mountain range creates another natural border. No one crosses the mountains and no one comes from the mountains. Maybe the world ends there or just people.

Maras do not take sides or have favorites; we help those who need it. Whether the people of Serat have needed us, or the citizens of Araken, we rush to their aid. But I’m glad it was the Prince of Araken who raised me from the dead. If it had been the heir of Serat, I would have broken his neck before he even breathed a word.

“Your Highness,” I address the prince after a few hours of our monotonous journey, “if you don’t mind me asking, why are you so interested in Maras?”

“Where should I start?” the prince drags out with a smile; he’s probably flattered that I spoke to him first. “My mother died when I was young, just five years after my little sister was born. The king, I mean my father, was not particularly interested in my upbringing and I spent too much time with nurses and my siblings, my little sister and my elder brother Nikolay. My brother loved reading to us and his favorite tales were those of Maras and Moroks.”

“A questionable choice of bedtime stories,” I put in.

“True. That’s what any adult would have thought. But we had a choice between you and goblins.”

“What’s wrong with goblins?” I ask, nonplussed.

“Well, they are awful monsters, for one.”

“They do look weird because of the skulls instead of faces, but they are pretty harmless.” I object.

“You call those thugs harmless?!” Daniel looks at me like I’ve gone mad. “I’ve heard they can be up to ten feet tall; their horns look like tree limbs and their eyes are blood-red.”

“Well, the blood-red eyes are nonsense,” I shrug. “More often than not, they don’t have any, just a bare, animal skull where the face should be.”

“Even better! Empty eye-sockets definitely look more harmless than red eyes,” the prince snorts.

I can’t help but giggle and the sound is strange and unfamiliar. I seem to have forgotten how to laugh and the giggling is strained and a far cry from that beautiful resounding laugh I used to have.

But he’s right. I am used to goblins and knowing that they are just wood spirits protecting animals and plants, I take no notice of their eerie appearance. For common people, they must look sinister.

“Well, I guess they might look a bit fearsome,” I cave.

“A bit?” the prince calls back and his lips break into a smile when he hears me laugh again. “As we’ve agreed on the monstrosity of goblins, I shall continue my story.”

I nod waiting for him to speak.

“My sister didn’t mind either way as all tales were horror stories to her. But as you might have guessed, I am not a fan of huge wood… spirits. So, I chose the tales about you. What can be more fascinating than beautiful girls who bring merciful death?”

“Outlandish princesses?”

Daniel waves my taunt away and continues with the story.

“I wasn’t wrong. I listened, enraptured, to every story. I was totally fascinated by them! I asked my brother to tell me the same stories again and again and I never got tired of them. Brother had not expected such a reaction though, otherwise he might have kept the stories to himself. The most popular one, apparently, was where Mara Silvia defeated two demons on her own to protect a group of innocent children.”

Silvia. I’ve heard the story, too, even though it happened long before I was born. Everyone’s heard it. Demons are huge monsters and you’re lucky if you can beat one, but two…

“To be honest,” Daniel goes on, “the stories that I loved the most were the ones about you and your sisters. I truly admired the last Maras and your bravery in the face of what happened to your sister Anna.”

My cheerfulness is gone like it was never there. That’s what my sister’s name does to me.

“There’s nothing to admire, Your Highness,” I say drily, “there is nothing romantic about death.”

“Well, it may be small consolation, but then I believe you would agree that walking the earth again is quite an improvement on lying in it.”

I turn my head a little to catch a glimpse of Morok, who’s following us at a respectful distance. He’s sitting very straight on his black steed and looks straight ahead. He doesn’t fidget or look around. He positively looks like a statue.

I lean sideways, a bit closer to Daniel so that my voice doesn’t carry.

“Your Highness, how come a Shadow’s servant is helping the Crown?”

“It is said that Moroks appear where and when they are needed, so it is useless to seek them out,” the prince answers mysteriously. “After Maras were gone, common people had it particularly bad and they hoped that Moroks would step in to do Maras’ job. But they just vanished. Some people say they left because of you, but no one knows the real reason.” Now Daniel leans towards me. “You can’t really ask them, can you. Moroks are not really big on conversation.”

I try to stifle a giggle and just nod in agreement.

“Some say that Moroks are people too and they need to pay for their food. And who can pay more than the king himself?”

“Morok is working for you for gold?” The idea seems ridiculous at first, but come to think of it, I can remember occasional stories about Moroks running errands for the Crown and not out of the goodness of their hearts. Maras see taking gold for their work as unbecoming. We’ve never asked for pay, people used to make offerings of their own volition.

“They are sometimes called hired shadows now,” Daniel’s voice is no more than a whisper. “Some people say that times have changed and the Shadow has lost the last shreds of its dignity.”

I keep silent and contemplate his words.

“The Shadow’s never had dignity.” The flat but loud voice from behind startles us both. Morok must have come closer during my conversation with Daniel and overheard part of it, if not the whole thing.

He says no more but for a while. And Daniel keeps silent, too. I pull myself together and decide to ask him the last questions that have been on my mind since I was raised from the dead.

“Does Serat still exist?”

“Unfortunately, it does.”

“Who is ruling it now?”

“The younger son of the late king Aleksey, Severin Lasnetsov.” The prince looks almost pensive now. “Actually, it should have been the eldest son, his name escapes me, but he died when he was still a child.”

“What are the relationships between the kingdoms?”

Daniel cocks his head a little and gives me a searching look. I tried to keep my voice steady while asking the question but I’m not so stupid as to believe he won’t suspect the reason for my curiosity.

“Araken and Serat are at war. After what they did, my ancestors had no choice. At the beginning, it was a full-fledged war, but now it has turned into a protracted conflict. There are occasional clashes on the border but no real battles. However, we keep a close eye on the enemy and shoot on sight whenever anyone crosses the border from Serat.”

I can only nod as my voice fails me. I grit my teeth and tighten my grip on the reins. My leather gloves creak in protest.

“Not to worry, my dear Agatha. One day, we will wipe Serat from the face of the earth. I will not rest easy till I do. And when I do it…” the prince waits for me to look up at him, “…it will be for you.”

6

“Anna, that is a pretty dress but it won’t do for training. You should wear trousers and a shirt.”

It’s not the first time I have to tell my little sister off for wearing the wrong outfit for her training. She hates working out. I’m not a big fan of running, push-ups and pull-ups myself, but it’s part of our job. Our duty is not only to worship and serve Morana, but also to look beautiful in our scarlet cloaks. Strangely enough, our looks play an important role, too, and there is a host of rules we must obey. But be that as it may, I still believe that our ability to kill evil spirits remains our main asset. Yes, we can see and sever threads of life but to be able to get to them we must fight, and for that we need training, just like common people.

I can understand my sister though, I loved pretty dresses too. I used to try to make myself more beautiful, wanted to draw admiring glances of both men and women, like the ones they cast at my sister now whenever we enter a town or a village. But soon enough, I abandoned those attempts and started dedicating more time to mastering the art of swordplay. So, my go-to outfit became figure-hugging trousers and shirts and caftans the color of blood. These are normally men’s clothes, but a few sisters dress in a similar fashion, as it is more convenient for horseback-riding and for battle. The temple keepers sew more feminine fits for us so that we can wear them both at work and at court, if need be.

“What help will your sword be if you get entangled in your own skirt?”

I’m chiding her right out in a light temple hall, where any Mara can see us, or hear us for that matter because I’m making no effort to keep my voice low. Though my loud tirades may also be the reason other sisters prefer to steer clear of this particular hall. When I turned fifteen, other Maras re-assigned me the task of looking after Anna as they were eager to create the best possible conditions for her, the ones none of us could have. I’ve always been nice to my baby sister, tried to protect her from any harm. I thought the transition to the life of a Mara was hard on her.

Anna is slim and delicate and every time she’d told me she has trouble breathing after a few minutes of running or that she can’t lift a sword (though she is pretty good with stilettoes, fighting knives with long thin blades), I’ve believed her. When she came up with a hundred excuses for missing training and swore that she’d never do it again, I believed her.

I believed everything she told me before I realized she was taking advantage of me.

My little sister knows she has a pretty face and those big eyes you can’t say no to, so she very quickly learnt how to make the most of it by manipulating people and always getting her way. Even the eldest and strictest of sisters melt before her. I suspect they see a daughter in her rather than a younger sister. I know that Anna does not have ill intentions though, she’s just being selfish. She doesn’t want to do things she doesn’t like.

In a month, Anna will turn seventeen. Her theoretical knowledge is excellent and she’s diligent when it comes to study, but she still can’t hold her own in a fight. And part of that is my fault, I’ve been too lenient with her. So, I have dug myself into a hole, which almost consumed me half a year ago.

On that day, four sisters including me and Anna, were sent to one of the lakes to deal with the souls of drowned men. A few people from the nearby village thought they’d seen dead people walking near the lake. We found four of them.

These souls are disgusting but they aren’t as quick as the ghouls in the woods around the lakes. Nevertheless, even souls were too quick for Anna. Years of training didn’t help much and she was standing there brandishing her sword without touching the dead. It was a sheer stroke of luck that I noticed just as a soul almost seized her. What I needed to do was to chop off its head but there was no time, so I just pushed Anna out of the way throwing myself in her stead. The creature sank its rotten teeth into my arm and dragged me off into the water. If it hadn’t been for sister Yana, who saved me, I would have drowned.

Since that day, I’ve tried to be stricter with Anna: I’ve told her off more and indulged her less. I sigh every time Irina teases me for having turned grumpy and cranky. I don’t enjoy lecturing my sister but I don’t have much choice.

She continues staring at the stone floor, sheepishly fidgeting with the long sleeve of her crimson dress and black corset. I refuse to be swayed by that innocent pose.

“Anna!”

“Sister,” she answers obediently, lifting up her sky-blue eyes to me. But as soon as she realizes her charms aren’t working, she drops all pretense. “Come on, you know I’m not cut out for this! It’s not that I don’t try! I’ve memorized every evil spirit and how to kill it!”

“I know but…”

“It’s when it comes to weapons… I just… can’t! I’m not as strong as you. I’d love to be… but I can’t!”

“You know very well I don’t have any special talent. It’s the result of regular training and hard work.”

Anna falls silent, she has nothing to say to that. And it’s not the first time we’ve had this talk either. I take in a deep breath and let it out, trying not to give in to anger. It works. I take my sister by the shoulders and make her look me in the eye.

“Anna, I love you and I know you. If I could, I would send you home right now, I would spare you this fate. But I can’t…”

The corners of her mouth turn down. She knows it but can’t accept it. She’s still clinging to a childish hope that I can somehow save her from this life. But I can’t, no one can.

“Other sisters see I can’t keep you in check. I am sure it won’t be long till they re-assign your training to someone else. Do you really want that?”

“I don’t.”

“Then you will go change and come back for training.” I nod.

“Okay. Sorry, it won’t happen again.”

How many times have I heard that?

“You promise?”

“I promise,” she mumbles and gives me a hug.

I hug her back, stroking her back and a wave of her jet-black hair. Suddenly, I take a step back.

“Anna, where did you get this dress?”

She looks agitated and I don’t like it. I hold her by the shoulders and she tries to escape my grip but I’m stronger, so she yields.

“Anna,” I repeat sternly.

“I’ve bought it,” she says uncertainly.

“We don’t have this kind of money! What is that? Serat silk?” I gasp feeling her sleeve. “It must have cost a fortune!”

She seizes the opportunity and breaks free. She runs a few feet and turns back to me.

“Don’t be mad, Agatha. It’s just a gift.” She tries on that sheepish grin of hers again but I know better. This is too big.

“Who is rich enough to give you such a gift?” I ask her.

“It… it doesn’t matter…”

“Yes, it does!” I run up to her and grasp her elbow so that she can’t escape again. She’s still shorter and thinner than me but she runs faster. It’s a pity she does it in all the wrong situations.

“Was it a man?”

She bites her lower lip and this childish habit gives her away.

“You didn’t! He… How… How could you…” I struggle to get the words out, incredulous, unable to calm myself this time.

I look around to make sure there are no witnesses and drag her into the nearest room. She doesn’t resist and obediently shuffles behind me, lifting the skirt of her dress, which tangles around her feet. I double check the room is empty and lock it from the inside. The place is dark and dusty but I couldn’t care less. I put my hands on my hips and turn to Anna, cutting her off from the door too, just in case.

“Who is he?!”

Anna refuses to look at me again and dusts off her sleeve instead.

“His name is Arian, he’s the Prince of Serat.”

The breath I was unconsciously holding escapes in an exasperated sigh.

“Anna, you know it will never lead to anything! And a prince…”

“I know I’ll have no husband!” she snaps suddenly.

I am speechless for a moment. It’s the first time she has dared to speak to me like that. I didn’t even know she could. She notices my confusion and her boldness is gone. Her shoulders sink and she lowers her head again.

“I know,” she repeats, “but why is it so wrong that I want a little bit of love? It’s not forbidden, is it?”

“It’s not that, Anna. He’s a prince. The path of politics is paved with razor-sharp knives. If someone learns about you, you could be in danger. If the king decides, for instance, that a Mara is not worthy of his son and your affair is tarnishing the Crown…”

I suddenly feel exhausted and sink into a wooden chair. It’s beautifully carved, but blanketed in dust. Anna comes up to me and I take her hands in mine.

“I’m only nineteen, sister. I can try to protect you from evil spirits lurking in the woods and under the water, but I can’t protect you from political intrigues, let alone a broken heart. And if you love him, your heart will break. It will break the moment you’ll have to part. Does he love you?”

“Yes,” she says with a serious expression on still a child’s face.

“And do you?”

“I love him, too.”

“Oh, Anna…”

She smiles at me and starts stroking my hair, not as shiny as hers but just as black.

“Don’t worry about me, Agatha. I have never been so happy! If you could just see his smile… it’s so charming. And his hair is like gold, and when you feel it, it’s even softer than Serat silk! I’ve never seen anyone so handsome…”

A dreamy smile is playing on her lips, but my smile is rueful. I don’t know what I’m feeling anymore. I’m angry with her and I worry like crazy, but maybe I’m also jealous. Everything seems to just fall into her lap. She will even know love, however fleeting, and I’ve only been loved by my parents and have already forgotten how it feels.

“Alright, sister, so be it. I won’t interfere with your happiness or try to talk you out of this madness. It’s beyond my powers.”

Anna is beside herself with joy. If I wasn’t holding her hands, she would start twirling. But I give her hands a squeeze to get her attention back.

“But I want you to introduce me to him.”

“You won’t go threatening him or anything, will you?”

“Maybe just a little,” I say with a straight face and she believes me and shoots me a frightened look. I let out a laugh but then put on a serious expression again.

“There’s one more condition.”

“Oh no…” she moans.

“I’ll keep silent and won’t tell the sisters anything as long as you start working hard. I want you to get really serious about your training.”

She knows it’s a trap. She’s breathing noisily and tries to find a way out. But there’s none, so I try not to look too smug.

“Okay, okay, I promise,” she finally gives up.

“He must be really handsome.” I laugh and dodge when her hand lashes out at me.