I do not own the Inheritance series. All ideas contained in this story are NOT original.
Insight
"Tell me what you know."
"So demanding; no manners to speak of…"
"I'm tired of your secrecy."
"I'm tired of your insistent nagging!"
"Then, tell me something I can use."
"Stop asking so much, and maybe I will."
"You're impossible."
"Thank you."
They had been traveling for three days and had made good time. Great time, actually. The Shade had run beside the mare, never tiring out from fatigue, and he had even bested the horse. The poor thing just couldn't keep up. Around noon on the second day, Varsius had produced a sprig of oak leaves and olives that he guaranteed would increase the mar's speed without causing her any damage. He had informed Daramay that "time was of the essence," but he would not explain why. He had thwarted all of her attempts to gain insight into his cause for bringing her along with him, and now she was just about fed up with it.
"Varsius, I am not a fool, so don't tread on me as if I were one," Daramay said as they sat eating lunch on the open plain. "If you don't give me something substantial, I'm turning back."
"Do you think that is wise?" he asked, raising his head slowly to meet her gaze.
"Probably not, but neither is it wise to keep traveling with a stranger into the wilderness," she replied. He smiled wickedly, showing teeth that reminded her of jagged rocks in the riverbed.
"Tonight," he said, and his tone was final.
Don't anger him, Orium cautioned. We're still not sure of his motives.
I know that, Daramay said with a touch of impatience. I also know that we need to know what the general claim is--what's his story.
Yes, that's true, but not at the cost of a possible conflict. We need to keep his cooperation in order to reach the capital.
Orium, I'm not an idiot. I can handle the situation just fine, Daramay snapped. Besides, I think my perspective of the scene is a little clearer than yours is. Do you know what I mean?
There was a pause, and in that few seconds, she felt anger breech their connection for the first time. Then, Orium was gone from her mind without a word. When she tried to reach out to him, she encountered an icy barrier and was left floating out in the emptiness between them. He had blocked her off.
Just great, she thought bitterly. This is the last thing I need right now.
Orium didn't talk to her for the rest of the day.
The smell of meat roasting over the fire tuned Daramay's stomach, and so Varsius took his meal and made his own fire some thirty yards away. She could see him just fine, and, though he was a Shade, she though he probably couldn't see her quite as well. Taking care to keep one eye on him at all times, Daramay reached over and opened the pack. A very disgruntled dragon came tumbling out.
She handed him a piece of cooked rabbit, which she had stolen from Varsius the night before, and watched the fire as he ate. She could hear him munching on the bones. After a few minutes, the noises ceased, and when she looked down, she saw that Orium had crawled back inside his pack. This both angered and hurt her. She thought it was childish of him to hold a grudge, but then again, it had been a childish comment that she had made.
A little while later, Varsius returned and sat facing her across the fire. Night had fallen, turning the reflected firelight in his eyes into blazing lanterns. He only stared at her, his eyes boring into her, but she would not look away. It was difficult. Those eyes held a look of madness.
"My employer is a senator on the Chief Council, serving in Ilirea," he began, his eyes never wavering from her face. "He has great plans for Alagaesia, and of those particular plans I cannot speak, for it is not my place. The Senator wishes to speak of them to you, in person. He would also like you to serve as one of his advocates."
"What?!" Daramay had been expecting many things, but not this. "He wants me to support him in front of the Council? He doesn't even know me! Advocates have to be chosen carefully, and they must be approved of by a vote of Council. Besides, why does he need an advocate? A senator only takes an advocate when he wants to join the Chief Council or—"
"—Or when he's trying to pass an amendment?" Varsius interjected. A slight smile lit the corners of his lips. "Yes. You see, Daramay, you are of great importance to my employer. He would like you to secure his passing of an amendment, and with its success, he could make a powerful ally to the elves. The Senator is a worthy man. Of that, I am certain."
"One question," Daramay said, taking a deep breath. "Out of so many possibilities, why would he choose a stranger, and, better yet, an elf to be his advocate? In other words, why me?"
"Of that, I am also not allowed to speak," Varsius answered. "You will know in due time. The Chief Council will be meeting in a matter of days, and I would like to get you to the capital as soon as possible. The Senator awaits anxiously, and I would not keep him waiting long. I hope to have eased your mind." He stared at her expectantly.
"For now," she muttered.
"Then I believe I shall turn in. Pleasant dreams, my dear." With that, he lay down, rolled over, and was still.
Daramay sat for some time after, thinking of everything and nothing at all. She thought of the Senator, a man who she imagined as short, rather stocky, and bald, of home and how worried her father would be when she had not returned by the end of the this week, of her mother, who had always guided her through tough decisions, but who could that no longer.
Her head ached, and her heart was troubled. She reached out for comfort, and then she remembered that Orium wasn't speaking to her. Tired and unhappy, Daramay turned over and tried to go to sleep. It never came. It was a long and lonely night.
A/N: Daramay's back...aren't you excited?
