This is a very short chapter but important, I think.


Chapter 55: Closer to Home

The next morning the competitors awoke to gray skies and the threat of thunderstorms. Tyree was jubilant, hoping that the weather would give him one more reason to leave early before their identities became known. He and Orel had argued about what Orel saw and the conclusions he had come to.

"If you had just seen them together, Tyree," Orel said. "They're different than others we've seen, and it's not an act. Maybe this is our chance to finally clear our names."

Tyree tapped his breast pocket where he kept a letter from their long-dead ancestor.

"Have you forgotten what Ored charged as binding on all his descendants?" he asked angrily, his mouth set in a thin line and his blue eyes flashing, "and have you forgotten all the city rulers who tried to take Aurelan by force? I grant you that the Lady Grace is gracious and kind, but don't think for a minute that she would side with us against Lord Bard. Any one of them would sacrifice us to keep their alliances secure."

Orel fell silent remembering all the men who tried to hurt Aurelan and others like the Master who tried to use them as mercenaries. Aurelan was so eager and innocent at first, and it broke Orel's heart to see her turn into a sad and angry woman. She used to believe in the goodness of people but not anymore.

But our banishment needs to end, he thought. We can't keep living in the wild. She deserves better, much better. He scrunched his lips and narrowed his eyes at the years of care and worry engraved on his brother's face. He deserves better as well. We all do.

Orel straightened up and faced Tyree.

"I want to hear what Aurelan thinks," he said, and he motioned her over to them. Tyree put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye.

"We need to leave, Aurie," Tyree said. "It's too dangerous to stay. I'm more proud of you than I can say, but Lord Bard will seek us out now. Why did you put down Dale, Aurie? You could have left it blank."

Aurelan looked down, her mind swirling with new ideas and her heart with new feelings. She knew that she had risked them all, but as they walked through the newly rebuilt city she felt a yearning to belong, a yearning so strong that she felt compelled to put down their ancestral home.

"I want to come home, Tyree," she said quietly at last. "I'm tired of not belonging anywhere."

Tyree looked at them both and frowned with worry and fear.

"We should never have come," he said nodding decisively. "I know what you feel," he added glancing over at Orel, "what you both feel. It's too tempting to be here, to be so close, but when we're far away, you'll both be glad we escaped."

"Escaped to what, Tyree?" Orel asked as he stepped up to his older brother and family head. "Wandering endlessly so that Aurelan can be killed by orcs or die an old woman in some cave?

Tyree looked at them both and threw up his hands at what had come over them. He looked after them, protected them, and acted as their father. He killed men to save them and would die to keep them safe. In return he expected unquestioning loyalty, and he was shocked by their defiance.

"Are you saying that we should come forward and put our lives in their hands?" he asked incredulously. "Ored gave all his descendants strict instructions not to trust anyone in power, and I think his warning saved us on many occasions."

"That's true, Tyree," she said, "but if we leave now I'll never know if I'm the best and, more important, they'll never know." Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at Tyree's anguished face. "Please Tyree, it means so much to me. Maybe it's foolish, but I need to see them look at me differently for once, and beyond that I want to stop hiding who we are."

Tyree's face softened, and his shoulders slumped. "Isn't it enough for us to know, Aurie?" he asked softly as his thumbs wiped her tears away. "You know how much we love you. I don't know what we'd do if anything happened to you. Do you really think they'll listen to us?"

Aurelan nodded firmly to Tyree's surprise and Orel's joy.

"I don't know about the others," she said, "but Lady Grace will, and I believe she'll help us." Aurelan smiled and face lit with hope, something that Tyree and Orel had not seen for some time. Orel nodded and stood with Aurelan.

"It's time to stop running, Tyree," he said. "Here's where we make our stand."