Disclaimer: John Flanagan owns R.P
Chapter Two
Halt was in a daze as they rode into town. Heana, since the night before, had refused to say anything else about Evangeline Quest. All she was willing to do was stare at Halt, Will and Horace, her expression inscrutable. Will and Horace tried to fill the silence with their chatter, but soon quieted from the tension in the atmosphere.
With Halt in a trance, none of them knew what was going on nor what to do. He was their leader and guide. Perhaps they should wait till he was better before going on. After all, they were in a different country.
"No," Heana insisted. "We should press forward. I've lived here for most of my life and I'm unwilling to stay in one place for long-Halt can take care of himself. My…connection might not survive if we wait for the old fool to wake up and smell the change." She gave an unseeing Halt a venomous glare.
Will and Horace hesitated, then nodded. This was turning out to be more trouble than it was. Of course, when had their adventures been safe and uneventful? Certainly not since the killing of the Kalkaras.
For several days, they rode on. To Will and Horace's surprise, Heana's mare had no problems keeping up with Tug and Kicker, though one was a Ranger's horse and another a battlehorse. It made both boys, or perhaps men was a better term, curious and impressed. Such horses were rare in the outside world. Whoever Heana was to Halt, she was rich and not afraid to flaunt it. There was more to her than one would expect.
Heana's hatred seemed to stem from more than just Halt. It simply wasn't in the minds of Will and Horace to believe that Halt was the source of all the animosity they were facing. But then, they had always treated Halt as a saint and never thought twice about his commands. Well, after the first few hundred or so.
Fear seemed to be the only thing that linked all the villages they passed together. Flickering gazes, nervous smiles, and an overwhelming tension amongst all the villagers they had met. Despite Horace's many queries, no one dared to speak of what they feared more than death. It was the same with Will, though both men exude friendliness and familiarity at first sight.
Heana snorted. "Men." It was night time. "When will you ever learn?"
Both men lasted a week more before they bombarded Heana for an answer. How Andry and Halt had met.
Not for the first time, Heana sighed. She was, truthfully, quite a beauty, but age had robbed some of it. Seeing horror after horror does that as well, though not as obviously. For the umpteenth time, she wondered what was her purpose in this world, but stifled the musing at the eager looks of the two men. She sipped the honey-laced coffee. Halt laid asleep, not quite out of his catatonic state.
"Andrianna's my older sisterof about five years. Despite the age gap, we were very close. She was one of those women who turned every man's head and caused women to cry in grief at her laughter. I loved her, more than I realized I did. She loved me, but Halt took her away." Sadness threaded her soft voice.
"It was mid-summer. I returned home after a year of etiquette schooling. Andry waited for me at the secret garden hidden in the forest behind our mansion. She wore her favourite dark blue gown, with black lace and cut far too low to be proper. Her hair was tied up with a matching ribbon, showing off that beautiful neck I'd wished I inherited from our deceased mother. A man was with her when I arrived.
"Shorter than average, he carried himself like a king, though he was dressed as a servant. His face was not classically handsome, but carried an enigmatic strength and vitality that took my breath away. His hair was raven-black, with bottomless dark eyes that hid every secret in the world. I was only fifteen, barely a woman, yet I wanted him." Heana sighed wistfully. "Of course, Andry caught him. He is the man you call Halt."
Will and Horace stared, dumbfounded. "What happened?"
"Not long after they met, I learned of Halt's identity and told her. She laughed and whispered that she already knew. They went to spy on Father the very same night; things had progressed to the point where they had to act fast. She pretended to be a dancer. He went in as a waiter. Andry nearly died that same night." She shuddered at the memory.
"It took awhile, before they found enough evidence to incrimminate most of our family. The week after everyone was hanged, they were married. The rest was as Halt had said." Lying, despicable fool. You sent your woman, my sister, to die and Angel to slavery. She's lucky she'd gotten stronger and survived for so long. There were times I'd thought she wouldn't make it. Bishop blood truly runs true in her.
"Who's Evangeline?" Will asked.
Heana was surprised; she'd only said the name once. Bitterness, hatred and anger welled up in her. "Someone Halt is indebted to." For ruining her childhood.
For allowing her the chance to exist.
