Unknown Wars Chapter Ten: The Messenger's Whispers

The students returned, and the second half of the class year had begun.

Marie had spent the final days of the break talking with Selenay and her advisers about her homeland, her people and her life. It had been draining, but it was also validating that other people felt the wrongness of it all.

She sat in her classes now, even more focused than before, if that was possible? She felt that her path, wherever it led her was the path of a Herald, and that if she was going to be of any use, she had better learn as fast as she possibly could.

One afternoon after her turn in the sewing room, she was walking into town with another of the older students she had met in her classes. Jeri was a few years younger than Marie, but she was an excellent fighter, and Marie had felt an instant kinship with her. She was noble born, not that it mattered among trainees, and had wondrously dark brown hair that swung freely and straight when she wasn't in the kitchen or at weapons practice. Jeri possessed a mind like a fine jewel; clear, focused, and brilliant.

Marie had met her first in their shared time with Alberich, and then again later in their stratagems and tactics class. Jeri had struck up a conversation with her about a rumor she had heard and they had fallen into a swift commodore. Ever since that day the two were seen in the library, riding, and studying together, if no one knew Marie or Jeri all that well they might assume the two girls were lovers, as many at court had speculated.

Jeri hadn't had many close friends who were also trainees and it was nice for her to meet another girl who was as adept at fighting and tactical skills as she. Plus, once a week they would go into town together as their own tradition of fun.

Today, the air wasn't quite as biting as it had been, and the sun broke out intermittently behind the clouds as if it were playing a round of hide and seek with them. Their Companions walked safely through the ice and snow packed ground where regular horses would be hard pressed not to slip and injure themselves.

Jeri was stealing little glances in Marie's direction. She had been quiet all day, and once again like always after the Yule break Marie was wearing the same shadowy gray wool cloak. Jeri had thought that it was a Solstice gift, but it wasn't new. It's edges were frayed and the ribbon on the interior lining was of special knotted weave, that Jeri had seen once in the shops about five or six years ago but not once since. The coloring of the cloth was the most noticeable in direct sunlight. The entire cloak was a patchwork of oddly shaped bits, of different shades of gray. However, next to each other it was clear that their arrangement was deliberate, and it seemed that the hood was made of the lightest silver gray, while the hemmed edges hung in a thick charcoal drape.

It was no secret to Jeri who had given her this cloak, but she was dying to ask her friend why Herald Alberich had done so?

When they reached the shopping streets, the Companions were left standing at the junction, they were within mind call distance, but they could also watch the streets relatively unnoticed from their station.

Jeri was wearing a rich mauve dyed wool cloak over her herald trainee's uniform, and she looked smart and handsome.

Marie was aware of her prettiness, but she felt somewhat self conscious next to the dark hared beauty at her side. Still, Jeri couldn't help being beautiful any more than Marie could help being intimidating.

Jeri had confided that many of the other students hadn't approached her for this reason.

"You sometimes get this stern look on your face, usually when you're thinking hard about something, but the rest of us think you'll bite our heads off if we disturb you. Not to mention that everyone knows about your spar with Alberich, is it true that you two fought for over ten minutes?" she had said.

And that was the beginning of her friendship with Jeri. Marie knew that there were many things that Jeri wanted to know but wasn't asking. For the entire ride into town today, she had been glancing at her, thinking she couldn't see her do it. The hidden talent of her cloak was that the fabric of the hood, while it kept the moisture out, was as fine as gauze. The dark color of the wool against something solid, like her body, gave the impression to others that the heavy material blocked her sight. While in fact she could she everything from within the hood as though she were looking directly at it. Its second saving grace was that the dark wool protected her eyes from the snow glare.

She followed Jeri into the Smithery Stop, a merchant who worked with the blacksmith's guild. He was pricey but he could find a blacksmith for any job, and he had the savvy business habit of not asking too many questions.

"Ah my most beautiful customers. What will you have me procure for you today, another set of sickle blades?" he asked charmingly.

When Marie had first arrived in Haven she had needed repairs done to her own battle blades, but a blacksmith had suggested new ones, as her own were showing signs of rust spot, which meant that they were already partially rotted on the inside.

With regret she had retired her own blades, but to her amazement the blacksmith had been able to make exact copies of them, complete with the thick hide leather wrappings around the hilts. She had traded a whole strand of Amethyst for his services. Since then she had become known for her favored brand of currency.

Jeri had asked her, how many beads she had with her once after she paid for a small dagger with three of them. Each bead was about the size of the nail of the pinky toe

And was a deep, almost black, flawless purple tone. Marie had them in strings that she explained had been sewn inside her clothing, her bag and her boots.

"You mean that you keep this kind of currency on you all the time?"

"Oh no, not now at least, but I used to."

"Why?"

"Well, you remember when I told you about being captured twice?"

"Yeah" Jeri had been hesitant.

"Two strands of amethyst and my guards were persuaded to look the other way while I climbed out of the wagon and rolled down a muddy hill."

"I can see what you meant by having a good relationship with luck."

"That was the first time, the second time I didn't have opportunity for much of anything."

Her last comment had been muttered and Jeri hadn't heard her, so the conversation was left.

Marie stood in front of the merchant, whose name was Herb Doloven. He was a short man in his fifties whose belly size was the proof of his investments. He had a cheery disposition and was very attentive to detail. Marie would bet her best boots that he knew a lot more than most people gave him credit for. After all the first lesson her father had taught her was never let anyone know how smart you really are.

Jeri was in the corner admiring the smaller lightweight swords, so Marie felt safe that her request wouldn't be overheard. When Jeri was examining craftsmanship it was serious business, to which she gave her whole attention.

Marie pulled a piece of creased parchment out of her breast pocket and unfolded it.

"I need four of these made, exactly to specification, and preferably by the same person. The intricacies of the metalwork may call for a jeweler, but if they ask they may be told they are specialty boxes. I'll be willing to pay up to three times what I've given in the past, although I may need to pay you in installments."

"This will take mastery work, but since I detect an air of secrecy there is one man here in Haven who can do what you ask, but he will want to meet you in person. Will that arrangement be all right with you young Madam?" he asked politely.

Marie was nervous but nodded her consent.

"I can arrange for you to meet him here at the shop, next week at this time perhaps?" he coaxed.

Marie nodded again.

Doloven picked up the paper and reread its contents one more time before stowing it away behind his desk. Marie gave him a small smirk and called to Jeri that when she was done to find her next door.

Jeri gave a sort of vague wave in Marie's direction and went back to balancing the tang of the swords on her wrist.

The shop next door was from one of the Weaver's Guild, except that she didn't carry any of the silks and velvets that the others did. Mrs. Brewster sold finely woven fabrics that would serve the working classes. She had started out with a simple covered wagon cart when she came from Rethwellan, but her prices and her assertiveness for her trade had made her quite wealthy by adhering to the needs of the mass population. Wool, cotton, burlap, canvas, for clothing or for working, if it could be used for labor and craft she carried it. It was her husband that did most of the actual weaving, but very few people knew that.

Marie could spend a whole year's stipend in this shop, so she always made her selections very carefully. Mrs. Brewster, like Doloven knew not to ask her many questions, and that made their business transactions a much easier endeavor. Today she was after a cross weaves fabric that was half wool and half cotton, dyed with the inkiest blacks possible. The fabric was lightweight but its cross weave would make it more resistant to tears.

Marie had been saving her money for this purchase, and ended up buying ten yards. Mrs. Brewster was happy, Marie was happy, and Jeri when she arrived was more curious than ever.

Jeri had always been a curious cat, and she could never wait very long before getting frustrated and blurting her questions, sometimes during the most inappropriate moments…today was no exception.

As the women were headed back to the Palace grounds, a mounted Herald came riding up beside them. Jeri hadn't expected the Herald to slow at their side and so hurled her question loudly to Marie.

"I can't take it anymore! What's going on between you and Herald Alberich?" she almost shouted and giggled at the same time.

The voice that answered was not Marie's, nor thankfully was it Alberich's.

"Oh, um, I think I'll catch you later Marie." Said a very awkward voice to Jeri's other shoulder.

Jeri swung her head around and saw Red blushing like a schoolboy and giving Marie a strange look before saluting politely and riding off in another direction.

Marie hung her head and shook it slightly with a strange smile on her face, but when her head came up again she was not smiling at Jeri.

"What do you want to know?" she said curtly.

"Oh I stepped in it big this time, didn't I? I just wanted to know what was up with you wearing the trademark cloak of the Armsmaster?" the tentativeness was back in her voice.

"He gave it to me, the night of Solstice. I thought it was on loan at the time, but he never came to claim it, and he refused it when I tried to return it the first day of lessons."

"Yeah, but what about the other stuff?"

Marie froze, she hadn't told anyone about the kiss or the words they shared in private. Only her Companion was privy to those conversations, and Kantor she supposed. She scrunched her brow in confusion and scrutinized Jeri's expression before asking,

"What other stuff?"

"Herald Alberich watches you."

"That's his job, he needs to be able to spot our weaknesses so can teach us not to have any…"

"No, I don't mean during lessons. Of course he watches us in lessons, but I mean when you two are in the same room, or across the hall from one another. He watches you, like you interest him. Honey, he watches you like I watch that Bard Heron." She said rather bluntly.

Bard Heron was the heart-breaker of Haven, a newly made Bard who possessed the deepest sultry voice in the three Collegiums. Jeri had been nursing a crush on him for a while, so Marie knew exactly what she meant by "watch".

Alberich watched her? Why? Did he think she needed watching? Was there something wrong?

As she tried to figure this news out Jeri was watching her very closely.

"You have the look of someone who knows more than she's saying, are you gonna tell me?"

"You are not to tell anyone what I say next, Herald's Honor Jeri."

"I give my oath as a Herald To Be that what you tell me will not pass these lips without your express permission." She said solemnly.

"We kissed."

"What? When? Was it any good?"

"We kissed, the morning of Solstice, and I don't know about the last, it was different."

"Different from what?"

"Different than kisses from friends and family."

"Wait, are you saying that your first romantic kiss was bestowed on you by our dark and stern Herald Alberich?" Jeri asked wide-eyed.

Marie nodded and hung her head again embarrassed.

"Oh sweetie, I didn't mean to make you feel bad, I just thought a woman like you would have had men in your life before now." She said gently.

Marie didn't say anything she just shook her head.

"Well, if this was your first kiss, then I'll ask this…how did you feel when he kissed you, besides being confused?" she redirected.

"I was surprised, and then it was nice, a little eager maybe, but I felt this flower unfold in my chest, and I just wanted to stay there…forever."

Marie blushed when she caught the smirk on Jeri's face.

"Are you sure you weren't made to be a Bard instead? But I understand what you mean, I remember my first kiss too and it was a lot like that. Then what happened?"

"Nothing, we were called to a meeting with Elcarth, and then that was it. That was the day I learned how to ice skate." She said absently.

"And what about since then, has anything else happened?" Jeri was leaning eagerly across the saddle in Marie's direction.

"No, we talk sometimes, but it all work related. Until you mentioned it I had no idea that he watches me, I don't know what to make of that by the way."

"Huh, darling you have eyes on you all the time. I think there are even one or two Heralds that are sporting serious favors for you. You mean you have no idea how beautiful you are?"

Jeri was astonished. Marie Fox was thin and muscular and sure a little intimidating, but so was Keren, and so was Ylsa. Marie had confidence and fiery red hair that any girl would kill to have naturally. Pale skin and large eyes completed the package where grace and height left off.

"My people favor curvy females." Was all she said in her defense.

"Heralds are not normal people from any creed or preference. The people here are going to value you for your strengths and your smarts, but know this for fact love, you are beautiful and there are many eyes here that have been appreciating it."

"If you say so," Marie conceded, giving Jeri one of her flashy smiles.

They continued their trek back to the Companion's stables as they noticed that the sun would be leaving the sky very shortly. As Orestes and Jeri's Companion Ferro made themselves comfortable after their tack and road dust and sweat had been removed, the two women found a warm alcove against the back stairs of the Herald's Quarters.

"About Herald Alberich, tread carefully. He's been romantically involved with Herald Myste and while I don't know their understanding, I don't want any one to be hurt over a misunderstanding. I think you two need to talk openly about what may be between you, or not. There's nothing worse than a one-sided love."

Marie digested this; she had spent time with Herald Myste, and liked her immensely. If Alberich were hers, she wouldn't go any further with him. He could be just as confused as she was, and she wouldn't add to that, especially if there was a chance that Myste would be hurt by it.

Marie was nervous abut the word "love", part of her feared it, but she nodded to Jeri's advise and the two talked about the swords Jeri had been so enraptured with during their outing, each preferring to leave the rest where it lay.

…

The deep thick snows had ceased to fall, and the harsher ice winds were changing course, as the coldest part of winter gave way to what some called the bleakest. This transition was called Spring in Valdemar, but with it's freezing rain, and it's overcast days of no sun, and a landscape of frozen mud and old withered dull green grass, it was hard to tell. It was neither cold enough for winter furs, but not warm enough to do without thick hide boots, and wool sweaters under heavy cloaks. The buds on the trees were starting to show on the branches, and so the hope of warmer weather was definitely on its way.

It was two months into this season when she received a small note from Doloven that her order had been completed.

After History class, Marie slipped out of the room and out of the halls before Jeri could find her. She ran to her room and changed into her riding boots and grabbing the warmer wool cloak from her wardrobe.

Her schedule provided her ample time in the afternoons before dinner to go into town for errands. She was in the saddle and trotting down the road toward Haven when her ears picked up the sound of Companion's hoof beats, hoof beats not coming from Orestes. They stopped and turned back to catch a glimpse of a rider approaching, as he neared she saw that it was Red. She smiled and waved to him, expecting him to ride past her, but instead he began to slow his pace when they neared and then stopped along side her.

"I saw you leave, and figured you'd be headed into Haven, do you mind if I ride with you?" he asked cordially.

"No, not at all Red." She said easily, although she hoped this wouldn't put a knot into her plans.

They rode together in a comfortable silence until they were in the thick of Merchant's Row. Here Marie tried to go off her own, by saying,

"Thank you for company, Red, where do you have to go?"

"The Smithery Stop, I requested a couple of throwing knives that are done, and yourself?"

Marie's smile faltered a little,

"I'm going there myself."

"Oh lovely. Shall we?"

He extended his hand to her after she dismounted, and didn't catch the look she was giving Orestes.

He won't know what they are, and he's a Herald luvy, he'll know when to keep his mouth shut if he did.

Okay.

The Smithery Stop was devoid of other shoppers, and Doloven greeted Marie as he always did, making her blush a little.

"My most beautiful customer returns, then you got the note alright? Good, good, I have your order in back, just wait there." He said turning to the door behind the counter.

"Come here often?" Red teased, "He can hardly remember my name half the time. He always refers to me as Herald, sure he knows what I'm here for, but he doesn't greet me like that."

"I ask for hard to find blades, my sickle blades? He found me a blacksmith to make a duplicate pair. It's in his worldly interest to keep me coming back with compliments." She said suavely.

"You're probably right, so what did you order through him this time?"

Marie was saved by Doloven returning with a large wooden box, with brass fittings and latch.

"He made the box special for your items to keep them safe during travel, if you'd like to inspect them?" he gestured to the latch.

"No, I trust the source, inspection will not be necessary, if you will give him his share of this?"

Marie placed a medium sized canvas bag on the counter. Red heard the distinct sound of what might've been marbles sliding around in the bag, but he doubted that marbles would be payment for anything procured in this shop. But Doloven picked it up with a happy grin on his face, as though the bag's contents were the greatest treasure of the world.

Marie was wearing a satisfied smirk as she cradled the case under her arm. Red paid for his knives in coin, and they left the shop.

"So, are you going to show me what you got?" he teased.

"Not here, in the middle of the street, I'm not." She countered.

Red smiled.

The ride home was consumed by Red asking her how her classed were, and reminiscing on his part on how he felt while he was taking classes as a boy. By the time they reached Companion's Field Red had forgotten to ask about the case, Marie had hidden it beneath her cloak before it could occur to him to ask. She parted from his company and quickly strode to her room, where she sat in front of the brick wall to the left of her fireplace.

Some of the stones near the base were loose and behind them was a cavernous space to the left of the smoke shaft. When three stones were dislodged she placed the whole case, unopened in the space, and replaced the stones.

A quick wash and fresh change of clothing later and she was rushing down the hallways to make it to dinner on time.

Half way there a familiar sound stopped her dead in her tracks. A soft whispering that would be mistaken, for the wind coming through a slightly cracked window, by anyone else was coming from the rafters above her head. Knowing better than to look, she slunk into the shadows until anyone walking by wouldn't be able to distinguish her from stone.

The whispers fell from their high-pitched hissing, to a soft, hushed, flow of air, like wind in the trees in summer.

The creaking of the heavy wood beams above her head confirmed his location, and with practiced muscles and agility, Marie grabbed the thin edges of the stone, wall behind her and began to raise herself up the side of the wall. When she reached the rafters she swung herself up and came to balance on a beam no wider than the sole of her boot. Only then did she raise her head to gaze into the eyes of the messenger.

Sharp blue eyes met hers and they held a kindness she had feared she might never see again. Had her mind not been so focused on the fact that she was three men's height in the air she may have lost her balance from the shock of who she perceived was before her.

Marie longed to touch her friend, to be sure he was real, but the sound of voices stopped her. The two of them remained crouched near the roof, surrounded in darkness, as the voices came nearer. Marie recognized the voices as Herald Alberich and Herald Myste, and lowered her right hand that had been hovering in the air, in a slow motion indicating that they were not a danger.

Marie wished with all her heart that she were somewhere else, if Myste and Alberich were going to have a private conversation; it was the last thing she wanted to hear. Eaves dropping, literally was not on her top of her "things to occupy spare time with" list. She tried to run through a vocabulary list in her head to block out what they were saying, but when she heard her name it became impossible not to listen.

"Alberich, we've known each other for some time, and I know you better than most. We've been drifting for some time now, and like you I have been looking elsewhere for a while. If you are interested in Marie Fox, tell her. I'll not be hurt. I'll be happy for you, if you'll be happy for me."

"Of course I am."

"Friends never stop being friends Alberich."

"I do not know what we are, the fox girl and I."

"She isn't so much a girl, as a warrior woman."

Alberich didn't say anything else, and Myste headed for her rooms, as Alberich leaned against the wall. Marie saw him look straight in their direction, but she knew that not even he could see through the shadows to their hiding place. After a few moments he headed back down the hallway from whence he came, and when his footsteps were far enough away, Marie looked once again to her compatriot.

The words that escaped his mouth were not Valdemarian words; nor Karsian, nor Hardornian, nor the tongues of Rethwellan; they were Clan-speech.

"Do not be shocked Lady," he said soft as a mouse. "More of us in Haven there are, and we have found our Lady General amongst the White Riders. We will wait your words. Take this and we shall speak again."

A small bundle of cloth and the crisp sound of parchments rubbing together came from within it. She accepted them and stuck them securely into her waist, before addressing him.

"You made it safely?" she asked.

"As safe as any of us have ever been Lady." He said darkly, but his voice changed in his next comment,

"The dark haired man, he watches you often, he was in the streets today watching, but he doesn't know that we watch him as we watch you. You are safe?"

"I am safe."

"Then I must go, be well Lady, we will wait for your words." He said reverently.

Marie watched the glistening of his eyes disappear into the further reaches of the blackness, and knew that if she felt for him now she would find only where he had been. It was a stealth tactic that she herself had taught him, and countless others…invisibility was more about tricking the eyes, and using fear and swift movements to one's advantage.

She waited a few more minutes and descended from the rafters landing soundlessly on the floor. She brushed the dust off her clothing, not that it would show on trainee's grey, and instead of going to dinner she went straight back to her room.

She closed the door snugly, and sat against it on the floor, where she opened the small cloth bundle. As she expected there were letters, all of them written in code, from the various "Eyes of the Clan". She counted the notes there were three in all. She sighed it would take her some time to translate these, but there was no time better than now. She made a fire and set some water for tea, while she cleared her desk of her schoolwork.

The writing codes depended on the person writing them, all together there were fourteen different codes to follow. Marie picked up the one that looked like it had been written with the most haste. It was a short message, written in a hexagonal form, so that every word of the sentence was scribed exactly sixty degrees to the left of the previous word. The marks were little better than chicken scratches to begin with, and once the word order was achieved the actual symbols had to be deciphered.

Marie's father had been brilliantly intelligent, and had created the written code language himself, with an alphabet of over three hundred letters. Each of those symbol's meanings were subject to change depending on the word that came directly before or after it. This was done so that even if somehow an eye were forced to translate using the basic alphabet, the true message would still be unknown to the reader. Misdirection was complicated, but a necessary element to their ways.

Two candle marks later; Marie beheld the first of three messages,

"Lady Fox Lives, in the star city, many know she is there. The eye in the dark is fallen, the eye of the blue is lost, and a red shadow follows our feet." She intoned, in her dwindling firelight. The translation was fairly simple but disturbing. They knew she was alive here in Haven, but there were others who might be aligned with Karse who knew she was here too. That explained why her eyes would be watching Alberich watch her, they feared he was loyal to his motherland. Still there could be others she couldn't't see that she would need to be ready for.

One of their spies in the capital city of Rethwellan was dead. If they couldn't't know for certain they would have said lost, like they had for the spy in Hardorn, "the eye in the blue".

The note was written by her father's best friend who was in his grandfatherly years, but he still moved easily, and as an old man no one would care about he saw much that others would miss. He was an avid musician and played the wandering Bard in his travels, giving him a certain amount of ambiguity.

The last line froze her blood a little. A red shadow meant that the Sun Priests were calling their demons on her people's tracks. The demons attack in the shadows of night, and leave a trail of blood in the dawn.

She rubbed her eyes, and although she was tired, she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep if she didn't know the rest of the information.

She made more herbal tea, and stoked her fire before returning to her task at her desk.

The second and third messages were written by the same hand, in an octagonal, diagonal form, and whose words filled the whole page. Marie did her best, but at the end of the week, and at the end of her busy day, she fell asleep on the surface of the desk her head cradled on top of her folded arms.

The dawn light woke her and she rose disoriented, she hadn't remembered getting into bed? Then she looked back at her pillow, and saw a small note.

"You missed dinner, I was worried, don't work so hard. – Jeri" she read aloud. She glanced over at her desk and saw that Jeri hadn't touched anything; she had simply put her friend to bed. Marie wondered how tired she must've been not to feel Jeri's ministrations?

Shaking her head, she stretched and after her morning wash and new clothes she resumed her seat at the desk. When she had fallen asleep, she had almost finished the second letter.

A short time later she was reading the translation over when a firm single knock, that meant Alberich was at her door, brought her head up. She turned the knob allowing the door to hang loosely in the frame, but she was in no mood to receive him fully.

The door unlatched and swung softly inward where Alberich found Marie sitting at her desk her head leaning into her pitched hands bent over a mess of strewn papers covered in symbols and others in rewritten sentences, some of which made no sense.

He walked in and shut the door behind him, but was surprised when she neither turned or acknowledged that he was there. He laid a hand on her shoulder, and without saying anything she handed him a piece of parchment that bore her handwriting, over her shoulder. She continued to stare at the wall above her desk, although he could feel her trembling beneath his hand.

He took the parchment and sat on the corner of her bed to read it,

The clans are lost, the borders of Rethwellan closed off by the red shadows. They knew where we would go. We must find the Lady. She went north to find the Lost Lord. In the city of stars we will find her. New darkness in Karse, old darkness coming back from the fallen land, many of the eyes are lost, or fallen. The dark men are seeking the Lady, for she knows all, and they want what she knows. Wolves follow Foxes, Crows and Red Feet have fallen, been taken, and changed. The eyes are gathering in the star city, all will be by Longest Day.

Alberich read the paper many times, trying to put it together in his mind. Marie was rising from her chair now, but she went to her fire and poked it with her iron rod until the flames were leaping high again, then she began to speak.

"It means that the bond between the clans that I told you about is over. The White Crows and Red Wanderers, who were headed for Rethwellan were intercepted by Karse before they could get there. Some died, some are captured, and some have traded information for I'm sure what they supposed would be release. I wonder if they were surprised when they were executed?" she said sarcastically.

"The ones remaining know that I went north to Valdemar, so it's likely that Karse knows that I'm here too. I know things, therefore I am a threat to them, and so they will seek me, even here in Haven." She finished.

"Haven is the 'city of stars?'"Alberich questioned.

"Yes. Haven, like Heaven, and Heaven is the sea of stars." She confirmed.

"Who wrote this?"

"One of the clan eyes."

"Who are they?"

"Spies, assassins, highly trained runners." She answered deftly.

Alberich nodded, and Marie who had finally raised her eyes to look at him, knew that he had been waiting for her to confirm his own theory.

"And the darkness and the red shadows?"

Marie paused then.

"The red shadows are demons brought by the Sun Priests to rid their world of nuisances. They come at night, kill and destroy everyone, and leave only bloodstains. The darkness is old tactics reborn in their strategies. They will send assassins, to kill me and then those I love most dearly."

She spoke without inflection, worry or emotion. Her eyes stared at him steadily, and she hadn't blinked once.

Alberich knew she was scared regardless of how strong she looked. He rose and went to her, as he had before he stood before her, looking into her eyes with that same intensity he had before.

"You are not alone in this, you are a Herald, we will help you."

"I've put you all in danger, that could have been avoided if I hadn't come here."

"But it would have not ridden yourself of the danger, so it would have helped nothing." Alberich said sternly.

"But you would not be affected." She said softly.

"And I would have been a worse man for it."

Marie and Alberich were inches from each other, but neither moved, they simply stared at each other for what seemed like ages.

"Do I have your permission to share this information with those who should know?" he intoned.

"Thank you, yes you have it." She said a little sadly.

Alberich took her left hand in his right and brought it to his lips, his eyes never leaving hers. She smiled at him, and his chest clenched a little.

Marie could feel her unsaid words buzzing in her head, and she couldn't't stop herself from murmuring,

"I don't know how to interpret this."

It was all she could come up with that would make an ounce of sense.

But it seemed to make perfect sense to Alberich, so much that he was a little taken aback. She wasn't saying that she was confused about his intentions, or his boundaries or morals. No she really didn't know how to think of the situation growing between them, because she had never been in a situation like this.

The realization that she might be a virgin, was perplexing as well as awing. She wasn't innocent to the world, yet she was innocent to the ways of lovers? She knew about sex and babies as a Caretaker, but she didn't know about love? To be sure, she knew of family and community love, and the love of brothers in arms, but that she was saying that she had no experience as a lover was like a bucket of ice over his head.

Marie had been watching his reaction, and was nervous to see shock there. He hid it well, but the still nature of his eyes gave him away to her. She half expected him leave the room right then and there, but he didn't. He jarred himself out of his thoughts, and took her head in both his hands, and kissed her left eyelid, gently running his thumb over her jaw line, before nodding in her direction and leaving the room with the translations in hand.

….

A/N: Okay, I know I'm stringing you along, but I promise that the next chapter will explain more about Marie and Alberich…patience patience.