Disclaimer: Okay, you know what, this is the last one for this: I own nothing that is recognizable (i.e. anything in any of the books). Jarred, Piper, and all my original characters are mine, though. As is the plot. And the cover. End of story, moving on.
A/N: My apologies for the really long wait. This was one of the more difficult chapters for me to write, like chapter sixteen (for the same reason – I tend to struggle with Beka's point of view for Piper's Rain, for some absurd reason). I got stuck, had to get unstuck, and just plugged along at a slow pace. But, it's done now, and hopefully, I'll be able to make some faster progress on it in the near future. And for those of you who read Bright Eyes, I'll have an update done soon, I've just got a really important project to do for my dad, so I have to get that done first.

From the journal of Rebakah Cooper
Provost's Guardswoman
In Scanra

May 28, 267

I am beyond frustrated. Out of all the possible places for that bloody cove to go, he's gone to the castle. That can mean one of two things. Either he has the protection of the lord of the fief (and possibly his orders came from that lord), or he's hiding there for some reason or another. I can't possibly think of what a Scanran nobleman would want with Kindan of Haryse. That doesn't make very much sense. Kindan stayed out of most of the affairs of the King's court. He was a knight, but he preferred to do what the common knights did, like Sabine, instead of what some of the more haughty knights. He didn't pick fights, and he was very kind from my limited acquaintance with him.

I don't know what it means, but it has to mean something. Nobles don't generally act unless there's something in it for them. Not all of them do, but most. There are some that are different, Sabine and Lord Gershom coming to mind in particular. Breno and his brothers were counterfeiting to help Ralon plot to seize the throne, for example. At this point we can only wonder.

It's been five days since Jarred disappeared, and there isn't much to go on there either. The trail was cold by the time it was light enough to see the area where he'd been captured, by the look of it. I can only hope that he's safe, even though there is still a war going on in my head half the time. I know he can take care of himself, and he will find his way back. I know he will.

Right now we have very little to go on, but I'm just itching to get up to that castle and have a look there. I keep getting the feeling that there's something up there that I need to know, something important.

The castle itself is made of a dusky grey stone. It has three towers, the two closest to us are turrets, the other looks like a rook in a game of chess.

There is an outside wall of the same stone as the castle, and just beyond that is the stable. The wall itself is at least thirty feet high, and the wrought iron gate as the front entrance to the castle.

That castle has a sinister feel to it, as if there is something utterly wrong about it. I don't know how to describe it, but I feel like there's something evil there, and that it's watching us.

I have to stop writing now. The fire's about to go out and Jewel's dead asleep already.

May 29, 267

Still no news of Jarred or the cove we're chasing, but something interesting happened. Rinny and I were out in the forest this morning just before dawn, when we heard something nearby. We both froze, listening intently. A twig snapped and Rinny about jumped out of her skin. We waited but nothing happened. The only sound around us was of the crickets chirping their own rhythm.

I relaxed a little, turning on the spot to look for any possible motion or dark shapes in the trees. My eyes caught on a slight outline against a tree about ten feet from us. Very carefully, I backed up so that I wasn't in the line of sight of whatever it was and started creeping towards it. Rinny started to do the same, but all of a sudden, the outline moved.

I could hear the soft creak of a supple bow as its string was pulled back. I froze, trying to see with the barest hint of the sunrise just barely visible through the trees. The faintest outline of what looked like a longbow was visible against the shadows of the tree. It was aimed at Rinny.

After another moment frozen, I started to move again. I wasn't a foot from the tree the archer was standing behind when I heard the creak of another bow being drawn. A quick glance to my left showed me that there was another archer who now had their bow trained on me.

"What's going on?" Rinny hissed.

"Don't know," I murmured, trying not to let our foes hear me too easily.

The one with the bow trained on me hesitated, then called out to the other in another language – one I understood. Scanran. And it was obvious to me that it was a mot speaking.

"Who are they?" She asked. There was a sigh from the other tree before the other person responded.

"I don't know. You ask them since you're so smart and decided to talk," the other replied. That one was obviously a mot, too, from the sound of her voice. The mot who had her bow trained on me shifted, seeming to glare at her companion. She switched to heavily accented Common when she spoke the next time.

"Who're you?" She asked. Her r's were harsh, just like Breno's had been when he'd spoken at Port Caynn. The only Scanrans who I have met who did not have an accent, or had the barest trace of one, were Aniki, Rosto, and Kora. Rosto had a trace of an accent when he said certain words at first, but it was never noticeable. He spoke like a true Tortallan after his first year or so in Tortall (for the most part). The only reason I think I ever even noticed it was because he talked to me so much. And when he was overly tired, it would be there, even if he didn't speak with it normally.

I hesitated before replying, wondering if I should go ahead and tell the truth or not. If they weren't friendly and they found out who we were, then it could mean trouble, but then again, if they were friendly, we might get a little help, or at least some information.

"Rebakah Cooper and Arina Jewel of Tortall," I said. Silence greeted my words. No one said anything for a long moment. "If you're not going to shoot us, I would suggest that you put those bows away before someone gets hurt," I went on in Scanran. The mot close to me about dropped her bow with surprise.

"You speak Scanran?" She asked in the aforesaid language.

"Fluently," I responded. I heard the creaks of the bows as the two of them relaxed their bows. The sun, getting ever higher, began to peak into the light tree-cover.

"Why are you here? The way you were talking before sounded like you weren't Scanran," she said.

"We're not. We're Tortallan, but I speak Scanran." I didn't realize it at the time, but I'd partially slipped into my Dog brain. My shyness didn't come as it usually does. "We're just here because we need to be," I added in response to her previous question.

"So, you're not guards sent to arrest us?" I frowned at that question.

"No. Why?" I asked in turn.

"There are guards sent from the castle sometimes, to stop the villagers from hunting in the forest on the lord's lands. He don't like people in 'his forest,'" she said. "He's a murdering, power-hungry tyrant who ain't even in his right mind," she added under her breath, thinking that I couldn't hear her. Her sister heard her, too.

"Veya! Hush! For all you know, they could be guards sent here to trick us into thinking that we're safe!" I shot a glance at the other mot, whose face was partially lit by some of the muted light filtering in through the trees.

"We're not from the castle," I told her quietly in Scanran. "We're from Corus, we're Dogs." That seemed to shut her up. Silence hung heavily in the air for a few moments. Then, the mot who was more open with his – Veya, as her sister had called her – spoke up.

"Why don't we go back to our house?" She asks softly. I glanced at Rinny for a split second before nodding an affirmative. We followed them through the forest, along a small river that ran to the west of the small camp Rinny and I have set up.

At that point, I could see that both of them were blond, though the Veya's sister, whose name I still didn't know, had darker blond hair. It wasn't as dark as mine though. Veya's was a lighter, a nice golden blond that was very pretty. Veya's hair reminded me a bit of Aniki, and how much I miss my friends. And Rosto. When Veya glance back at me and Rinny to make sure that we were following, I noted that her eyes were light green and that she had a button nose. Her sister didn't look back at us the whole time as we made our way to their house.

Their home was a small cottage halfway between the forest and the village. It is also made of stone, but a nicer light brown stone instead of what the castle is made of. Rosto always told me that it was stone and metal that were prevalent in Scanra, that the land wasn't very good for crops.

The cottage was obviously well taken care of; there was clear glass in the windows, and under it, a beautifully cultivated little garden. Roses of yellow and light pink and beautiful white lilies magnificently showed off their blossoms to anyone who was willing to look. They reminded me of those little Yamini roses Tunstall grows in the window box in a way. A few different types of herbs in the garden as well, but I did not stop to identify them. I caught sight of what looked like ivy climbing up the front of the stone.

Veya and her sister led us into the cottage; both of them put their bows down as they entered. They spoke quietly in Scanran before Veya's sister moved over to the cabinets and started pulling things down. After just a moment, Veya walked back over to us, pulling her quiver off as she moved.

"You'll have to forgive Andara," she said in Common. "She hasn't been good with people since our sister, Oraia, was killed working for the fief's lord," she continued softly. Rinny frowned at her.

"What happened?" She asked. Veya shrugged.

"We don't really know. He had her killed for whatever reason suited him. I don't pretend to understand him…it still hurts, though."

I nodded, knowing exactly how she feels. Losing someone you love, that you are close to, is hard. I've been through that before. I never want to go there again.

"I've heard stories from the castle," Veya said, bringing my attention back to her from my thoughts. "They say that he's mad for revenge…that he has people who have done something he didn't like, or wronged him imprisoned in his dungeons. One of the guards told me that one of the prisoners has been there for almost twenty years," she said. "They say that not even the Patsov himself could get out of there if he tried…"

A/N: I know, I'm bad for leaving you there. Maybe I'll make another attempt at Beka's point of view in a few chapters… Don't forget to review!

Posted 11/16/08