Mithras hissed loudly as Aradia dabbed at a particularly nasty cut on his cheek.
" Sorry," The Princess shrank back instantly.
The friends had carried Mithras into the nearest tent once the guards had moved and trooped back over to their side of the river after they had stood in stunned silence watching as the small procession passed through the camp and into the castle, carrying their friend with them.
Jo was gone.
Aradia started to clean Mithras' wounds once more. Wiping away the combination of dried blood and dirt and goodness knows what else that coated most of his visible skin. He winced and hissed but tried to stay as still as he could. Aradia's face was an example in controlled rage. Her outer persona seemed calm enough but her lilac eyes glittered with rage bubbling away under the surface.
The rest of the group watched on pensively, all bursting with a hundred and one questions but knowing that they should wait until their former tutor was at least a little more comfortable.
Eventually Aradia sat back and wiped her hands on a spare piece of bandage.
" So…" Lucy said after a few very awkward moments had passed. " It's good to see you again…" She smiled as warmly as she could.
" It's good to be seen," Mithras replied, his voice huskier than they remembered it being, his face and body a lot thinner too, but his grey eyes were as sharp and intelligent as ever. " There was a time, not so long ago, that I didn't think I'd ever be seen again…" He smiled, a painful smile full of suppressed anger and dismay. " So, yes…it's good to be seen…"
" Can you tell us what happened…at Vaniria, I mean?" Rosie asked.
Mithras sat back, wincing a little with the movement, and closed his eyes briefly.
" They came in the night, I managed to get the King and Queen into the Great Hall but…he was there…"
" Well, well, well…" Dedra smiled but it was far from a pleasant expression. " Haven't we grown? Life at court must agree with you I think…" He sneered while Mithras' face remained impassive. " What…?" Dedra feigned a look of hurt. " No brotherly embrace for your old friend?" A sandy eyebrow rose on his forehead.
" I'd rather hug a rattlesnake," Mithras said calmly. Dedra laughed, it bounced off the walls loudly…

" We fought, I was trying to keep his attention focused on me so they could escape but…it didn't work…"
Eos lay on the floor, pale and gasping, a large red stain on the front of her gown showing where the sword had pierced her. Marduk was knelt by her side, holding her close as the life flowed from her.
" Marduk and I charged at him, his sword was stuck in his scabbard though…"
There was a groan as Marduk and Dedra collided and Mithras closed his eyes tightly, trying not to see what had just happened in front of him. Slowly, taking deep breaths to try and prevent himself from passing out or vomiting, he opened his eyes. The King and Queen now lay side by side, motionless, their hands reaching out for each other.
Mithras turned his piercing gaze to Aradia. " I did everything I could, I offered my own life but…but he took theirs…I'm so sorry…" He hung his head.
" I know you did..." Aradia said softly, reaching out to lift his chin and look into his sorrowful eyes with her own. " And I'm sure they knew that too…"
" Thank you, your highness," Mithras smiled faintly at the princess.
" And then they brought you here…?" Mark enquired, offering Mithras some water.
" Yes," He nodded and smiled his thanks as he took the cup of water. " For a lovely routine of daily beatings and insults…" He sipped the water. " I only saw Obsequious once…"
" Mithras…I just want us to talk, about many things…" Obsequious purred dangerously. " This has nothing to do with that silly little quest…" His tone was almost reassuring but the glint in his eyes kept Mithras' guard up. " More of a chat…about the past…" Obsequious smirked as he saw even more confusion pour into the face before him. " About old haunts…old friends…" Mithras' eyes narrowed even further. " That type of thing…" Mithras glanced from Obsequious to Dedra and back again, suddenly aware that there was a similar glint in both sets of eyes.
" It's…it's about
her isn't it…"
" Who was he talking about…?" Marius frowned after Mithras had briefly relayed the outline of their conversation.
Mithras looked down at his boots, looking decidedly nervous.
" Julia…"
" Julia?" came the loud and curious response from all sat around him.
" What on earth was he doing talking about her?" Lina demanded.
" Does he know what happened to her…?" asked Aradia.
" Yes and no…" Mithras shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position to sit in. Once he'd finished fidgeting he looked over the intrigued group before him. " But before I go on…What do you all know of her…?"
" Well, Jo had this dream and it was about Aradia and this Ju, I mean Julia, when they were younger…" Bertrande explained quickly.
" You were in it too, Mithras!" Interjected Martin.
" And it was the day of the attack of Aesina by all accounts…" continued Bertrande. " And Jo's dream seemed to indicate that maybe she'd escaped…"
" Then when we were in Crystallia, some of my friends and family let slip about an old legend…" Lina continued from where Bertrande left off. " A legend stating that a second heir in Aesina would rule Vaniria and that such an heir would have been kept secret…"
" Anyway, Jo put two and two together-" Simon added. " As I would suspect she almost always does," Jerest muttered with a wink.
" And figured out that maybe this Julia was in fact the second heir…"
" And that if she was alive somewhere then maybe we could find her and…I dunno…rally all the people against Obsequious, or something…" Amos finished.
There was a pause while Mithras digested all that he had been told, with a familiar twinkle in his eyes.
" So, you know that here was a child called Julia, who grew up alongside Aradia who might have been the second heir to Aesina and, as a result of their being no direct heir's of Vaniria, consequently the heir to Vaniria…"
The friends nodded their agreement.
" Well, that certainly makes my task a little simpler…" Mithras took a deep breath, signalling that what he had to say was still going to take some explanation.
He looked around at the hopeful faces around him and sighed.
" First things first, Julia was, I mean is the heir to Vaniria…"
There was an explosion of noise in the tent. Whoops and shouts of joy and exclamations of 'Oh yeah!' and 'I knew it!' rang in the air.
" Hang on…did you just say she is the heir…?" Glyndwr's dark eyebrows knitted together in thought. " You mean to tell us…she's alive somewhere…?"
" In a way, yes," Mithras answered after a moment's thought.
" Are you going to give us any straight answers at any point in the near future…?" Rosie grinned, in spite of the situation.
The tutor smiled back.
" Sorry, it's just I've spent so long making sure the truth was concealed that…well…I'll try to be more open with you…" He sighed. " On the day of the attack in Aesina, Aradia and I escaped to the North to Vaniria where we grew up…Julia was taken West, to be hidden in the Blue Woods, the kingdom had allies there that would ensure she was concealed until she was of an age where she could be given the responsibilities that she was born to have and be able to defend them and herself…" Mithras paused.
" But I'm guessing something happened in the woods…" prompted Marius.
" A small band of Incubus' troops had spotted the group as they fled Aesina and followed them. They hadn't taken any real protection with them and the group was soon split up when the troops attacked. Julia ran through the woods, trying to find someplace to hide…when she tripped and fell, striking her head on a stone in a clearing…"
" Oh no…" Jenny murmured quietly to herself, squeezing Amos' hand in her own.
" She stumbled on a little, but she was badly hurt. Some Meanders found her and then…and then, so it is said, the first Gyratory appeared and she…well, the Meanders took her through it…"
" So where did they go…?" Simon asked, eyes wide like a child listening to a particularly riveting bedtime story.
" I don't know," Mithras shrugged honestly. " No one does…"
" But, if you don't know where they went, how come you think she's still alive…?" Martin asked, bemused.
" Well, I can only tell you what I was told but…it was believed that some part of her remained, caught in the Gyratory, waiting for her to return when her country needed her the most…"
" Then she has…?" Amos offered, hopefully.
" Kind of…what the Gyratory was really waiting for was for someone to pass through with the same kinds of qualities that made Julia who she was…"
" So the real Julia didn't survive the Gyratory…?" Aradia bit her lip slightly.
" To be completely honest, I don't know…" Mithras shrugged. " But I like to think she simply was taken to a place from where she couldn't return, a happy, peaceful place…" He gave the princess a comforting smile.
" So, if she hasn't come back then who has…?" Mark frowned.
" Well, the legend you were told of when you arrived spoke of strangers carrying a wounded friend…a wounded friend with very specific attributes…" Mithras spoke slowly and carefully. " The friend would have courage and honesty, compassion and, perhaps more tellingly, a head wound like the one Julia had when she vanished through the Gyratory…"
" You mean…it's Jo…?" Lina exclaimed.
" But that's ridiculous…Jo hurt her head when she hit her head in the Garden of Gethsemane…she had it before she entered the Gyratory…" Jenny reasoned. " Surely it was just coincidence…"
" Perhaps…but haven't you noticed certain things about Jo that have become more obvious as her time here has passed…?" Mithras asked knowingly. " Her dreams…? Which sound more like memories when you think about it…"
" She has known a lot of things without any reasoning behind them…" Lucy admitted quietly.
" Like that hidden chamber in Aesina…" Simon recalled.
" Yeah, Aradia, you both remembered that at the same…" Martin started but stopped as he saw the first sparkles of tears forming in Aradia's eyes.
" Are you telling me that Jo is my sister…?" Aradia asked Mithras, her voice slightly shaky.
" Kind of," Mithras replied slowly. " She has within her the essence of the girl who was your sister…but she is not the same person…"
" Is this why Obsequious wanted Jo…does he know who she once was?" Mark demanded.
" I believe so," came the sad response.
" But what does he want with her…? Surely he must realise she will have gone in there with no crystals…what can he gain by taking her from us…?" Lucy shook her head in confusion.
" He has gained a bargaining position he didn't have before…" Mithras admitted. " But I think it may be something more serious than simply that…"
" Like what…?" pressed Marius.
" Well, Ju, or should I say Jo, is the rightful heir to Vaniria…if he were to marry her then…"
" Then he would be a rightful ruler by marriage…" Lina said slowly and with every word there was more dread in her voice.
" And no matter what we did with the crystals, he would still rule the kingdom…which is all he ever wanted. Power, and lots of it!" Mithras finished.
The tent went silent.
" Does that mean Aitor knew who she was…?" Martin asked after a minute or two.
" Who's Aitor…?" Mithras frowned slightly.
" He was that man on the bridge, who handed you over…"
"Aitor?" Mithras eyes widened. " That's not his name…"
" Well, we'd guessed that much, him being a spy and all," Lina frowned.
" You mean, you don't know who he really was…?" Mithras' mouth fell open in surprise.
" Should we…?" Aradia asked, washing her hands.
" That was…I mean…" Mithras swallowed, trying to regain his composure. " It's Dedra."
" Dedra…?" Aradia repeated then her eyes widened. " Dedra?"
" Where do I know that name…?" wondered Bertrande aloud.
" Wasn't he the other name in Jo's dream…?" Marius suggested.
" He was another of our childhood friends, yes," Mithras admitted coldly.
" And all this time I never realised…" Aradia stood up and kicked out at one of the packs lying on the ground. " God, I'm so stupid…!"
" No, you're not," Mithras soothed. " It's been a great many years since you saw each other…and his job was to make sure you never recognised him…"
" So, what do we do now…?" Jerest asked once it was clear no one else was going to speak.
" First of all, there is something one of us is going to have to do. Who's…who's going to tell Guillaume all this…?" Rosie asked cautiously. The Artigatian hadn't followed them into the tent, staying by the river instead.
" I will," Aradia replied almost instantly. " It should be me…"
She turned to leave but someone stood in her way. It was Glyndwr.
Without a word he took her into his arms and embraced her tightly, kissing her forehead as she hugged him back.
" Everything will be alright…I promise…" He whispered as he stepped back and let his hands and arms slip away from her.
" I hope so…" She said shakily with the weakest of smiles on her lips.
With that the princess walked out of the tent and headed down towards the river.