Under the covers

She was not that lucky for just as she drifted to sleep in her dreams she was thrown back out of bed. She gunned down a corridor with two letters in hand, one she needed to burn and one she needed to hand off to Karigan as quickly as possible. She rounded the corner and collided into a panting Mara, the letters and several other papers floating to the ground. Both women recovered quickly and reached for the same letter.

"Mara, can you find Karigan and have her report to my office immediately? I have an assignment for her."

Just as the Captain was about to take the letter Mara pulled her arm back and began fidgeting with the thing as if it were a security blanket. "That was what I was running to tell you about. Karigan is missing! Drent sent one of his men to hall her off to the training grounds because she was late. She is nowhere to be found; no one had seen her for breakfast or lunch and the stable hands said she had taken Condor out for a ride last night and never returned. The boy said she had no provisions with her at all, not even her saber. Captain, why would Karigan, of all people, go anywhere without her saber!" Laren didn't know but she was going to find out.

She rushed down the hall and threw open the door only to find herself in the council room surrounded by the Lord Governors. Then from behind her she heard a rough, grating voice.

" I understand your concerns but perhaps you can try to understand ours. Karigan G'ladheon is privy to some of the most confidential information in our kingdom. If she has gone rouge it is of the utmost importance that she is discovered and reacquired. If by some chance she has been captured then she may be used by the enemy as well. Either way we need the commoners to know she can not be trusted and they need to be wary." Thomas Mirwell was a slimy little man. If only the king was here back me up, Laren thought. All these years and he is still intent on revenge. Oh yes, Karigan had told her all about the events that led her to becoming a rider. Now in the midst of a real crisis, Thomas made his own agenda clear. Laren suspected that he was trying to ensure the rider wouldn't return at all. Perhaps he figured if word spread that Karigan was dangerous and not to be trusted, she would either hide or be killed by a jittery commoner scared by rumors that Thomas no doubt had already started spreading.

Laren spun around to storm out of the room only to be pushed through another door in her mind feveral days later. He was standing morosely in his study, "My Lord, I understand your concern but you need to get a hold of yourself!"

"Laren can you imagine what could have happened? All they found were her cloths lying in the middle of a field deep in the forest. There were no other tracks and even Condor's prints mysteriously ended there. What am I supposed to do?" exclaimed Zachary.

"I think you mean what are we supposed to do. What you are going to do is pull yourself together. We all need you and if you can't compose yourself, Lord Coutre is going to see right through you. He is going to know you are in love with Karigan and then…"

"How did you know?!"

"You had made it more that obvious even before she went missing. If you can't control your emotions then she won't be safe when she returns, because once Coutre figures it and he feel's Estora's place is threatened, he will align himself with that troublesome Mirwell to see you deemed unfit to rule and have you removed or your power diminished. We must keep the kingdom together at all costs. Estora has been holding things together for you for quite some time. You are lucky that girl is stronger and smarter than she looks. Who knows when Mornhavon will return or what we can or will do about it. You have to see that Karigan is probably on the fringes of something important that we just can't see, and that you need to trust that somehow she is going to pull through and appear in her own time. We have to hold on to that and then do our part." The King nodded in defeat.

Laren heard Estora clear her throat. "Don't worry Captain, I will help him deal with the loss of Karigan. Right now I think you have other things to take care of."

Lauren was dumbfounded, "You mean..."

"I know? I was honest with him about Fryan. Do you really think he would lie to me about Karigan? Beside I know what it's like to lose one's true love. There is still a reason for living but finding it can be hard without one's heart. By the way Captain, I believe Lord D'yer has just returned from the wall and is looking for you." Dismissed, Laren bowed silently and opened the Door to leave as she walked threw the door she found herself flung trough time and space again this time entering her office, to find Alton pacing back and forth in front of her fireplace.

So I had planned to only post this piece but Trina has already cleaned up my mess in the next chapter so I am posting it as well hope you all enjoy and please review I could really use it. Thanks to all of you for your time and to Trina for just being her wonderful self!