A/N: In case anyone's wondering, if I run into a problem with interpretation of the Cultivation magic, I default to DD rules. So the result of putting a qiankun bag into another qiankun bag is straight from what would happen if you put a Bag of Holding into a Bag of Holding: everything within a 15 ft radius of the Bags must pass a Strength save or be immediately sucked into the Astral Sea. But since the Astral Sea doesn't exist in either MDZS or Valdemar canon, I'm treating it like black , bad news. Do not do.
Chapter summary: In which Lax Xichen finally get to bathe and practice his handstands, Elspeth worries about things, and Herald Dirk might've seen something he shouldn't have and decides to take desperate measures with the dubious help of a pair of innocent royals.
8: Accidental Accomplice Acquired
The early morning air wasn't much to speak of, but it was refreshing and everything Lan Xichen needed. For the first time since he'd arrived in Valdemar, he'd slept through the entire night without a single dream. It was still dark when he left his tent and the sun was only just now peeking over the horizon, coloring the sky a rich pink and orange.
There were benefits to the Lan practice of rising at five in the morning. The quiet, the very few people about, and the serenity of a peaceful bath. He didn't strip down entirely, but he did allow himself to strip off his undershirt. He wore his pants while he washed his hair and as much of his body as he could reach.
Then he'd knelt in the clear, cold water and began gently washing the dust and mud from his white and blue silk robes. He quickly learned that the Lan arm strength might have its advantages in battle, but it also came with its, ah, disadvantages as well. One of them being the care and maintenance of fine silk garments.
After the first tear, Xichen had swallowed back his embarrassment and slowed his hand motions, gentling his touch. He consciously tried to imagine the silk as the delicate porcelain of a fine teacup. It worked, mostly. Unfortunately, not before he managed to tear his white robe twice and his outer blue silk robe once. Thankfully, all the tears were near the bottom hem leaving the sleeves whole. The white robe may not have wide sleeves that lent themselves to being enchanted into qiankun sleeves, but the blue robe did. Since they weren't torn, the qiankun spell should work without incident.
He didn't have any talisman paper, but the wind talisman was a basic one all juniors committed to memory at an early age. Draping the white robe securely from a nearby tree branch, Xichen drew the wind talisman in the air, funneling only as much spiritual power into it as was needed, and activated it. The white robe fluttered in the summoned breeze, drying much quicker than it naturally would.
Pulling it free, Xichen shrugged it on, tying it securely around his waist. Only then did he shed his pants and wash them in the creek while kneeling on a stone. When he was satisfied with his work, he hung up both his undershirt and pants on the same branch and left them there to dry naturally.
The blue robe he laid out on the driest, cleanest rocks he could find. The qiankun bags that held his Clan's treasures sat undisturbed on the grass nearby next to Liebing and Shuoyue. He spread out the first sleeve so he could see the inner lining and examined it closely for any tears. A tear would compromise the qiankun qualities just like any other bag. No one wanted to put something precious in a place they believed secure, only for it to fall out of a small, unnoticed tear. Thankfully, there were none that he could see or feel under his fingers.
He shifted so he knelt comfortably and reached for Shuoyue. Gala's sparkling blue eyes watched him curiously from where she stood drinking the cold water and keeping an eye out for any unexpected visitors. Xichen flashed her a smile as he slid Shuoyue out of its sheath just far enough to bare the blade and sliced his right index and middle fingers on it. Gala froze in surprise while Shuoyue hummed appreciatively under his touch. His spirit sword always enjoyed being useful.
"Don't worry," Xichen said quietly to his Companion. "It will heal quickly. This won't take long anyway."
He received no reply, but he wasn't expecting one. Leaning over the wide blue sleeve, he allowed three drops of his blood to splash onto the damp silk. The red swirled through the protective spells embroidered into the sky blue material and spread spidery veins out along the thin strands of silk.
Then he pressed his nearly healed fingers to his lips, breathed on them, and drew the qiankun spell into the air between himself and the silk. Blue spiritual power trailed his finger's movements, forming the spell's written components. The spell drew on his spiritual power to activate it and his blood to lock the use of the qiankun qualities to him alone. Anything he hid in here would be precious and his alone. He couldn't afford to have anything stolen.
With a forceful push, Xichen slammed his hand into the glowing blue spell, activating it and dispersing the glow. He felt the tell-tale tingle along his senses and knew the enchantment was successfully attached to the sleeve. But just to be sure, he dipped his fingers into the cold water to wash off the blood before grabbing Shuoyue and Liebing and sliding them into the sleeve.
Spiritual power tingled his fingertips as the spiritual items vanished, deconstructed into energy and stored in that not-space, leaving no visible trace of their existence behind. Good, that part worked. Now for the hard part. Xichen reached back into the sleeve and into the not-space, felt the spiritual energy dance with Shuoyue and Liebing's forms, and pulled. The familiar weight of his sword and xiao materialized in his hand and came with him.
He really shouldn't be this proud of himself over something as small as this. He knew how to create qiankun bags and sleeves. He just hadn't needed to do it for years. It was always nice to remind himself that some things never left his memory, even after year of disuse.
Now for the other sleeve. He repeated the process with the other sleeve and, again, it worked successfully. He sat back on his heels and smiled in relief. This would certainly make things a lot easier to deal with. He would sill need to keep the qiankun bags with his Clan's relics tied to his belt because qiankun bags and qiankun sleeves did not mix. But this would allow him more room to store other things like rations, Shuoyue, Liebing, and whatever else he might need.
He should start looking into a larger bag to store his four qiankun bags in. One bag was easier to keep track of and protect than four separate ones. Or… He tilted his head in thought, he might be able to create a qiankun bag with a larger storage capacity. It would take time to find a bag strong enough to handle that level of power, more spiritual power to convert it, and more than a few drops of blood to bind it to him. Not to mention he wasn't sure if the qiankun spell he knew would work on something that size necessarily.
It was certainly worth a try, but he would need to keep an eye on those 'ifs.' He'd also need to cast the spell far enough away from other people or habitable places. Just in case. All juniors were shown what happened when a qiankun spell was botched. The spiritual backlash alone left the cultivator with a nasty headache. But at least it didn't suck everything within a fifteen foot radius, no matter what it was, into a black hole, never to be heard from again.
He reached back and ran his fingers through his quickly drying hair and started brushing it as best he could. It wouldn't be very nice or orderly considering he didn't have a comb or hairbrush like the Valdemarans used, but it was better than nothing. He had to at least try to look decent.
:What was that?:
"Hmm?" Xichen tilted his head to his Companion as he worked out a couple knots. "What was what?" he asked.
Blue eyes flickered between him and the blue silk robe and Xichen smiled in understanding.
"A spell," he replied, grimacing as one particular knot tugged painfully at his scalp. "It uses a combination of my blood and my spiritual power to create a… not-space, I suppose," he explained as best he could. "We use them for storage. Qiankun bags are more common, but many cultivators try to bespell their sleeves to have similar qiankun qualities."
:Qiankun?: Gala repeated, sounding out the foreign word thoughtfully.
Xichen hummed around the silver pin in his mouth as he began pulling his hair back into a topknot. The literal translation into Valdemaran would be 'universe.' As in universe bag or universe sleeve. Although, he chuckled around the metal pin, you can see how that isn't quite accurate while being completely accurate. He shook his head slowly in amusement as he slipped his guan snugly into place around his topknot. So many words in my language do not have very good translations into Valdemaran.
:Like?: Gala pressed with interest.
Zewu-jun, for example, Xichen answered, plucking the metal pin out of his mouth and slipping into place. "Zewu-jun is a martial title, and is meant to summon a… mood or emotion, I suppose. That is captured in my tongue with ease, but in Valdemaran?" He smiled wryly. "I believe the intended meaning is lost."
"This isn't necessarily a bad thing," he said quickly, hoping to avoid offended his Companion. "Valdemaran is just a very literal language. You say what you mean. Your words are specific, perhaps even overly so. If you wish to invoke a certain emotion or atmosphere, you describe it with your specific, literal words, creating a clear picture. My language is the opposite."
Dropping his hands from his hair, he turned so he knelt facing his Companion. "My language isn't as specific or literal as yours. The meaning of words is determined by how they're written, their context, how they're said, among many other things." He waved his hand. "Zewu-jun translated into your tongue would be Brilliance Overgrowth Lord." He huffed a smile when Gala flickered her ears in amusement. "In my tongue, Zewu-jun means this."
He closed his eyes and envisioned a small, crystal clear pond in the middle of a wooded mountainside, hidden from prying eyes, untouched by mankind. Crickets chirped in the peaceful serenity, reeds grew thick and green along the banks, reaching their feathery leaves into the deeper waters where brightly colors fish swam undisturbed. Fireflies danced lazily between the tree leaves and too close to the mirror smooth surface of the water. Mist swirled just above the surface of the pond, crawling across the moss-covered ground under the shade of the trees with no direction in mind. Moonlight filtered through the branches, scattered by the mist and painting the pond in an ethereal radiance.
This is Zewu-jun, Xichen thought.
For several moments, Gala was silent, her thoughts her own. Then :It's beautiful,: she said finally. :But it feels lonely.:
Startled, Xichen opened his eyes and stared at blue eyes so deep he always felt like drowning in their depths. His smile faded away and he swallowed, pressing his lips together. Ah, she knew him so well.
"So it does," he whispered, dropping his gaze to his lap where his fingers absently toyed with his fingernails. "So it does."
After a moment, he gathered himself with a sigh and smiled up at his Companion. "Be that as it may, it's getting late." He lifted his gaze to the burning sky above. "I need to practice and I'm currently a week behind. Hopefully my muscles won't hate me for this."
Rocking to his feet, Xichen stretched luxuriously, relishing the pops that rolled up his spine. Then he drew Shuoyue and began moving through the Lan Clan sword style stances. He ran through them all five times for good measure, feeling his blood begin to flow freely through his veins. Sufficiently warmed up, he sheathed Shuoyue and touched his drying underclothes. They were still slightly damp, but dry enough to wear without worry.
Undoing his white robe, he pulled on his underclothes and then both his white and blue robes. After tying his belt, he reached both hands to the sky, rocked back into an arch, planted his hands on the ground, and kicked his legs into the air. He would hold this for an hour. It should take a few days for him to work back up to his previous three-hour record. He could probably do it now, but his body had been strained and had gone a week without exercising. He didn't dare push himself that far just yet.
:You are a very, very strange Chosen,: Gala teased, looking at him. Upside down, Gala painted an amusing picture.
Was this what it was like to have a mother present in everyday life? He would never know. But he could imagine.
:Chosen. Chosen, you've got to see this!: The laughter in Gwena's mental voice was a welcome relief from the tension in Elspeth's shoulders after waking up in an odd position. The image that slid into her mind from Gwena, however, did more than release some tension.
There were a lot of things Elspeth expected to see in this tense encampment on a lonely hillside by the Hardorn border. Banners, torches, soldiers, Heralds, Companions, her mother trapped in meetings or on the makeshift practice field between the hill and the border or staring at the horizon as if it had all the answers, Herald Dirk trying to keep himself together, enemies approaching from Hardorn's far-off capitol, or a lone white horse and equally white rider racing across the open plains towards the safety of Valdemar.
She did not expect to see Lan Xichen standing on his hands and drawing designs into the dirt with his fingers while trying to talk around laughter. He was barefoot and his long white and blue robes draped around his head and black hair on the rock he stood- handstood on. He was in the midst of drawing another symbol when he had to stop and laugh so hard he wobbled, catching himself just before he lost his balance.
Elspeth heard a horse whicker from the scene and guessed Lan Xichen's Companion Gala was the one sharing this scene with Gwena. It was adorable and entirely unexpected. Elspeth felt herself smiling and giggling at the scene.
:How long have they been at this?: she asked, a merry smile on her face.
:Going on an hour apparently,: Gwena replied, sounding truly impressed. :As in, Lan Xichen has been standing on his hands practicing what he calls calligraphy for the past hour. Hasn't dropped his stance once. Gala started teasing him about fifteen minutes ago and she's almost certain he's going to- Op! There he goes.:
Sure enough, the mental image of Lan Xichen shifted. One bare foot touched the ground where Lan Xichen's hand was in a smooth arc, then the other foot followed, and Lan Xichen flipped upright. His robes fluttered down around him and he patted them down into organized folds as he turned to Gala, still smiling. He picked up his sword and flute and tucked them into his sleeve where they stayed. Did he have pockets in his sleeves? She wanted!
Then he tied those four odd pouches to his belt and reached out, likely to brush Gala's face. The image faded then and Elspeth was still smiling. That was a treat. She needed the laugh what with dealing with her stressed out mother, a frantic and depressed Dirk, and her own nerves.
:They had a talk last night, but Gala's keeping her mouth shut about it,: Gwena said thoughtfully. :She has permission to share some things, but the rest…: Elspeth got the impressed of a horsy snort. :I can't say I blame her, really. But I am curious.:
:He does sound like an interesting person,: Elspeth agreed. :Very friendly. And kind too,: she added, thinking of Dirk. :I don't know what he did with that flute of his, but it certainly helped Dirk the other day. Do you think he has the Bardic Gift?:
:He doesn't, Chosen: Gwena said seriously. :Whatever that was, it wasn't the Bardic Gift.:
:Whatever that was… You mean it wasn't Empathy?: Elspeth asked in surprise. :Not at all?:
:No. Ahrodie thinks it might have something to do with his instrument. It was glowing when she saw him playing it.:
Elspeth paused, tilting her head in surprised interest. :Glowing? Like magic?:
:Ahrodie thought so, but Gala says otherwise,: Gwena said. :What little Gala is willing to explain is that Lan Xichen calls the power he uses 'spiritual energy.' She was very clear that it wasn't magic at all but something else entirely. Something we've never encountered before.:
Oh dear. That could be a good thing, or a very bad thing. The Companions of Valdemar Chose their Heralds. But those Herald appeared when Valdemar needed them. Certain Gifts, like Firestarting, tended to appear almost always when there was violence of some kind in the near future. Elspeth bit her lip as she thought of Herald Griffon away on his circuit.
And now with the impending war against Hardorn…
Elspeth didn't know what to think. Herald Talia had a powerful Gift of Empathy and was a fantastic Queen's Own. But she was gone, captured, and far away. Lan Xichen was also an Empath with a secondary Gift of Tongues. That Gift was incredibly rare in humans. Bard Hyron had been going through his records and songs and couldn't find much on the Gift.
And yet Lan Xichen had it in combination with Empathy. That had to mean something.
Which brought up another interesting puzzle. Where was Lan Xichen from that he had never heard of Valdemar or the Valdemaran language, and Valdemar had never heard of him or his home? It was, she hesitated to admit, suspicious.
:We know he came from the West,: Gwena said. :Gala found him in the Pelagirs.:
The Pelagirs?! There was something beyond the Pelagirs? Oh. The possibilities!
:Calm down, Chosen,: Gwena teased. :Of course there's something beyond the Pelagirs. The world is vast and round. Go far enough West and you'll end up in the East.:
Elspeth flushed. :I know that,: she huffed. :But we know the lands to the East and Lan Xichen said he didn't recognize any of them from the maps. That means there's an entire world beyond the Pelagirs that we don't know about!:
:True,: Gwena admitted, giddy excitement and curiosity underlying her words. :But we should be wary. If we don't know about them, and we can assume they don't know about us, then we could be in for a… politically interesting situation.:
:Like the one we're stuck in right now?: Elspeth mumbled, worried and frustrated.
:Hopefully nothing like this,: Gwena said enthusiastically. :Havens, anything but this.:
:Maybe this is our chance to smooth some things out before that official meeting?: Elspeth asked.
Gwena hummed. :What do you think of him?: she asked suddenly.
Thought of him? Elspeth mulled over her observations. She pulled up every memory and hearsay and impression she had of Lan Xichen and pondered them.
:He's… Well, I don't know much about him yet,: she said quickly, :but from what I've seen he's… friendly and kind. Or maybe not kind so much as cautious? He helped Dirk, but he used his Empathy to do it and Talia never did that. But he still tried to help in his own way.: She bit her lip and frowned. :I don't think he wants conflict, but he never stays anywhere for very long. Like he's afraid of us or something.:
Gwena's mental presence was gentle and supportive, listening and not judging, but also not contributing.
:He also rode the four full days from Haven to get here with his message,: Elspeth added grimly. :He didn't have to do that. He could have found a messenger or a FarSpeaker and had them relay the news, but he didn't. He came himself. That… says a lot about him.:
:Indeed it does, Chosen,: Gwena agreed.. :Although, according to Gala, it took two and a half days. They didn't stop to rest. They rode through the night.:
Elspeth licked her lips and fiddled with her hands as she continued to make her way to the healers' tents. She really should go to the makeshift practice fields where Alberich was training the others, but she was worried about Dirk. Alberich had made it clear that Dirk was never to be left alone.
:That's another thing we can add to the list of things we know about Lan Xichen,: she said. :He didn't have to tell Alberich about Dirk's mental state, but he did. He cares.:
That was unusual, at least for foreigners. Well, in her experience anyway. Which wasn't really saying much in the grand scheme of things. Her experience with foreigners was limited and… biased.
:I believe Hulda was an exception to the rule,: Gwena groused. :That woman would have ruined you. She tried her hardest.:
:She did. She almost succeeded too. I'm glad she failed. But…: But it left a bad taste in her mouth all the same. She fervently hoped all foreigners weren't out to kill her or her mother, but, well, she glanced out in the direction of Hardorn, the facts weren't adding up in her favor.
:Do you think Lan Xichen would be willing to talk to me?: she asked. :My mother's busy pulling what leverage she can to have an army here as quickly as possible. I don't want him to think he's trapped here surrounded by strangers.:
And… Maybe he could help Dirk again. Healer Devan was doing his best to keep the man calm and under strict supervision. But Elspeth had a niggling fear that Dirk would try something drastic soon.
:You might get your chance, Chosen.:
Startled, Elspeth blinked and realized she was standing within sight of the healers' tents and staring directly at Lan Xichen's chest. His odd golden eyes were warm but wide and reflected a surprise similar to her own. One of his hands was raised at chest height as if to ward her off. Havens, she must have almost walked right into him.
Blushing, Elspeth stumbled back. "Oh! I'm so sorry," she gasped, flustered. "I didn't see you there. Er, well, I must not have been paying attention to where I was going."
Instead of being offended, Lan Xichen just smiled, his face softening into a friendly expression that made her blush darker while also soothing her nerves.
"It is well, Princess of Valdemar," he said formally. "No harm was meant and no harm was done. Were you also coming here?" His gaze moved to the row of healers tents before returning to her.
"Ah, yes. And you don't have to call me Princess of Valdemar, you know," she said, offering him a smile of her own. "No one calls me that, not even dignitaries or lords or whatnot. Just Elspeth will do. We're both Heralds, after all."
Curiously, Lan Xichen withdrew his hand and he actually looked embarrassed for a moment before recovering, another smile sliding across his face. "I'm afraid I don't feel comfortable with that. We aren't familiar enough for that yet," he said, sounding genuinely remorseful.
"Familiar?" Elspeth repeated. "What do you mean?"
Lan Xichen hesitated, held his silence while she assumed he spoke to his Companion, then he sighed and his hand dropped to his side.
"I sometimes forget how comfortable you are with casual address here," he said quietly. "What you are suggesting would not be offered to someone like me. We've only known each other for a day, interacted directly for less than that. Addressing you with the level of familiarity you… seem comfortable with is…" He huffed a laugh. "It's strange to me."
"Why?" Elspeth asked, genuinely curious.
Lan Xichen pursed his lips briefly before offering a small smile. "To assume such familiarity so soon is considered rude, very rude. You treat everyone you meet with respect. It is better the err on the side of too much respect, than not enough. Too much tends to earn a gentle correction and a friendly jest. Not enough could be considered a grave insult."
That made sense, but it also didn't. "Oh," was all she could think to say at the moment. "I… guess I never thought about it that way before." She bit her lip. "What would I call you if we were in your homeland?"
"Considering our positions and level of familiarity, Clan Heir Lan or Young Master Lan would be appropriate, I believe." He cocked his head curiously. "Why?"
"Not… Zewu-jun?" Elspeth asked nervously.
His smiled brightened. "Zewu-jun is a title," he explained. "It's appropriate any time."
"So when we were calling you by name yesterday…"
The smile faded somewhat but didn't disappear. "Ah." He ducked his head. "I understand your culture is different from mine," he said, obviously choosing his words with care. "It would be foolish and rude of me to simply assume you know my culture and customs and expect the treatment I am used to. I took no offense."
"But it was offensive," Elspeth pressed, worried.
Lan Xichen shook his head. "As I said, I can't expect you to know something you've never heard before. We are both still learning how to act around one another. Gala helps," he said, nodding to something over his shoulder, "but it is a learning curve."
So, in other words, yes it was offensive, but no, he wasn't holding it against them. That was something, she supposed.
"Zewu-jun, then?" she said hesitantly, studying Lan Xichen's face closely for any sign of offense or annoyance.
He just smiled, eyes warm and welcoming, and nodded. "Princess Elspeth?" he said in the same tone.
She smiled and nodded. Relieved they were both on somewhat equal footing, she glanced over at the tent she knew Herald Dirk was being kept in. "Would you like to visit Dirk with me?" she asked.
"If that is acceptable," Lan Xichen said, falling into step beside her.
"So," she began, "if Clan Heir is your title, how is Zewu-jun also your title? Is that like a position in court or military or something?
"It is a martial title, yes, but it isn't a rank, if that's what you mean," Lan Xichen explained, reaching out to hold the tent flap aside for her. "Martial titles are given to you by others, they are earned and describe a person. Zewu-jun is my martial title. Chifeng-zun is another martial title."
"What does it- they mean?" she asked, scanning the large tent for her friend. Her eyes settled on the distraught man in the corner and she made her way over, Lan Xichen by her side.
When he laughed, Elspeth couldn't help but look at her companion in surprise.
"Forgive me," Lan Xichen said, a fond smile on his face. "It is just that my Companion and I had a similar discussion earlier this morning." When they were within a few feet of Herald Dirk, Lan Xichen's smile faded. "I'll explain later."
Nodding in understanding, Elspeth approached her old friend and teacher, kneeling on the ground so she could look up in Dirk's face. His dirty blond bangs hung over his eyes, shading his face from the light and hiding the despair so clearly written there.
"Dirk?" she called gently. Tawny brown eyes shifted to her and Elspeth grimaced.
:Gwena, he looks awful,: she whispered.
:I'm not surprised, Chosen,: her Companion replied gently.
Surreptitiously, Elspeth glanced up at Lan Xichen over her shoulder. The man's odd golden eyes were fixed on Herald Dirk and his smile was all but gone. When he knelt by her side, Elspeth openly looked at him. Herald Dirk had enough energy to raise his head and look at the two of them in tired confusion.
For a moment, it looked like Lan Xichen was going to reach out to Dirk but caught himself at the last minute. His fingers curled up and vanished in the depths of his long blue sleeve. "You have not slept well," was all he said.
Dirk huffed what might have been a laugh had he been in a better mood. "Is it that obvious?"
Elspeth rested a hand on Dirk's shoulder and felt the loss of her best friend wash over her once more. It was always there now, but the intensity came and went like the tides of Lake Evendim.
"We'll get her back, Dirk," she said fiercely. "I swear it. We'll get her back and she'll be fine."
Next to her, Lan Xichen lowered his gaze and Elspeth felt her heart falter. Oh. Lan Xichen didn't think Talia would be alright. He probably didn't think they could get her back at all. Elspeth swallowed thickly, refusing to let her doubts rule her. They would get Talia back and she would be okay. Nothing else was acceptable.
They just had to come with how to do it.
"May I play for you?"
Play? Surprised and confused by the offer, Elspeth turned to Lan Xichen who was gazing at Dirk. No. He was looking at Dirk's shirt, and he didn't seem to like what he saw. Elspeth glanced at Dirk's shirt and saw nothing wrong with it, just unblemished Heraldic Whites.
"What- What do you mean?" Dirk asked, just as confused as Elspeth.
Lan Xichen's hand disappeared in his blue sleeve, reappearing a second later with that long, blue-white flute. Where on earth had that been? Elspeth remembered seeing him tuck it away in the memory Gwena shared with her, but she'd assumed he'd put it in a hidden pocket or something and dropped it off at his tent. A flute that long -oh! And his sword too!- were too large to hide without some folds or imprints or something to give away their presence. Those sleeves were big but not that big.
"My Clan practices musical cultivation," Lan Xichen, oblivious to Elspeth's curiosity. "I know many songs of healing. Each one heals in a different way. If you would allow me, I can try to sooth your mind."
Dirk chuckled dryly. "I didn't know you have the Bardic Gift too."
Lan Xichen frowned, his lips forming the words 'Bardic Gift' silently. "I do not believe I have that Gift," he said. "But then, I'm not exactly sure what that is," he added with a wry smile that quickly faded to something softer and quieter. "I do believe my music will help. You cannot stay like this. It will destroy you."
Dirk's shoulder shook, with either laughter or quiet sobs Elspeth wasn't sure. "Depression has a way of doing that," Dirk said. He swallowed thickly. "How did… How did you know… that Talia was my… was my…"
"Your soulmate?" Lan Xichen lowered his flute and extended his hand, palm up. "I felt it. The bond between souls, the Lifebond as you call it, is like a bright thread woven of spiritual energy that binds two or more souls together. It cannot be broken save by rejection or death. If you can still feel the bond, then I might be able to show you how to feel the bond. If you let me."
Something like hope sparkled to life in Herald Dirk's brown eyes. His lips parted as if to speak, but no words escaped. His gaze dropped to Lan Xichen's open hand and, slowly, he reached out and placed his own hand on the open palm.
The flute vanished back into the billowing blue sleeve -Elspeth really needed to figure out how he did that- and Lan Xichen covered Dirk's hand with both of his own. Turning Dirk's hand over, Lan Xichen placed two fingers over Elspeth's teacher's pulse.
"Can you feel what I'm doing?" Lan Xichen asked.
Frowning, Dirk shook his head.
"Try meditating while I work," Lan Xichen suggested. "That often helps focus the mind. You may not be able to sense the energy I move, but you might be able to sense your own lifebond that binds you to Herald Talia."
Meditate? Did he mean trancing? Well, it was worth a shot. She wasn't the best at that, but she could try.
"Could I try too?" she asked, drawing Lan Xichen's warm gaze. "Please?"
Lan Xichen turned to Dirk. "It is your choice."
"Elspeth is my student," Dirk said after a moment. "I don't mind if she watches."
With a gentle smile, Lan Xichen nodded. "Then let me know when you're ready."
Elspeth adjusted her position so she sat cross-legged on the ground and focused on her breathing. She could do this. She could do this.
It took more effort than Dirk would ever care to admit to settle into a typical observation trance, but he finally managed it. When he did, he tapped Lan Xichen's hand with his fingers. He expected to see the flow of channel energy that all Gifts looked and felt like.
He was wrong.
The energy that flowed from Lan Xichen's fingertips into his wrist was not the same energy as a Gift. Dirk wasn't even sure if he knew what to call it. It glimmered a faint gold with veins of wispy blue swirling through it like threads. It flowed through Dirk's wrist, up his arm, and spread through his body using pathways Dirk had never even known existed. They were like channels, but longer, thinner, and spread throughout the body like the vast network of blood vessels.
The blue-gold energy flowed like a steady stream until it pooled in an area just below his sternum. It felt… good. It felt pure like fresh, icy water from snowmelt. It washed through him, cleansing him, and removing clogs of… gunk, for lack of a better word, as it went.
"Herald Talia."
Why would Lan Xich-
Oh!
Something deep inside of him stirred at the name, sparkling and tingling much like the energy Lan Xichen was funneling into him. It wasn't the same, but it was similar. It clenched his heart and tugged at his soul. No, it was latched onto his soul like a fishing hook but much, much sturdier. It resisted any efforts to move it, not that Lan Xichen tried. The blue-gold energy simply flowed around it, brushing it tenderly with the benign skill of a Healer-Adept's fingers.
This was the lifebond. Havens. This was the lifebond.
The immensity of what he was witnessing struck Dirk with the weight of a mountain. The lifebond he suspected was there, feared was there, wanted to be there, was actually there! Right there! He could almost touch it, like one could almost touch the ghostly swirls of fog or mist. There and real and demanding, but intangible and irreplaceable.
Tracing the blue-gold energy back to Lan Xichen's fingers, Dirk blinked. The vast network of vessels that were in Dirk's own body were reflected in Lan Xichen's too. He could see them glimmering up the man's arm and across his torso, neck, face, his entire body. But where Dirk's vessels were thin and narrow and the flow was slower, the opposite was true of Lan Xichen's.
His body positively glowed! It was almost blinding. Dirk didn't know how he'd missed it all at first. He must have been more focused on his own body than he'd originally thought. Because Lan Xichen's body was like a star. Blue so icy pure as to be almost white flowed through Lan Xichen's vessel network fast, pure, and powerful.
And there, just under his sternum, was an orb of pulsing gold energy. It was unlike anything Dirk had ever seen before. The blue-white energy flowed from the golden sphere, out through the vessel network, then returned to swirl in the molten gold, only to flow back out again. Like a heart pumping blood through blood vessels. It was heartachingly beautiful and sang of life and something unattainable.
Looking back down at his own chest, Dirk saw nothing like it. Where there should have been a small, golden orb, there was just emptiness. It… was almost sad.
Wait. What was that?
Shadows rippled across his Heraldic Whites as if the glow of Lan Xichen's energy vessels was actually visible in the waking world and not just in this mental trance. The shadows were intangible and melted away like black mist. It was disturbing to look at. Something deep inside of him balked at them, flinching away from them. It was a base reaction that spoke of a soul-deep fear he couldn't explain.
"You see it too then," Lan Xichen's voice filtered to him like a ripple on a smooth surface. "I wasn't sure if you could even in meditation."
"What is it?" Dirk gasped, the words tumbling out of his mouth like smoke, rough and barely audible yet trying to convey so much in such few words.
"Resentful energy," Lan Xichen replied. "It is a natural phenomenon. But it is also deadly. By Guanyin's mercy, there isn't much here. But it is still potent and will still kill you if left unattended. Do you see where it stems from?"
Where it stems from? Dirk frowned and followed the shadowy energy back through his clothes into some of his energy vessels and back… to the lifebond.
"Your lifebond is strained," Lan Xichen explained patiently, his voice calm and gentle. "It isn't broken, but I would guess it has been rejected for a long time. Long enough for the bond to fray and tear allowing the resentful energy to take root."
Blue-gold energy swept through the shadowed energy vessels, crushing the misty shadows back but not removing them entirely. "This is an old wound, perhaps years old," Lan Xichen continued. "If left like this, it will kill you. It may take time, but it will kill you. Or you will kill yourself."
The certainty with which Lan Xichen spoke those words held the same grim finality as the Death Bell's toll. How did he know? How did he know?
Following the blue-gold back through his energy vessels into Lan Xichen's bright, stronger network, Dirk searched. He had an idea of what he was looking for, but he had only seen it like this one time and only with Lan Xichen's help. Yet, after several seconds of searching and parsing out different strands and flows of energy, Dirk found it.
There, nestled close to that brilliant golden orb, so small Dirk almost missed it in the brilliance, was a small ball of green-gold thread that pulsed with life. The thread was small and fine, but Dirk knew that breaking it would be nigh impossible. Several of the threads fed into the golden orb while the rest spread out like a spider's web, clinging to Lan Xichen's self.
A lifebond. So Lan Xichen had his own lifebond. He knew. He understood.
He tried to move his hand from Lan Xichen's, wanting to reach up and touch his own chest where he knew his lifebond to be when the grip on his hand tightened.
"Do not!"
Dirk froze at the sharp warning that tinged those simple words.
"Let me pull my energy back first," Lan Xichen whispered, sounding stressed. His hands gripped Dirk's in an unyielding hold as the blue-gold energy retreated through Dirk's energy vessels, down through his arm, out through his wrist, and back into Lan Xichen where pale fingers touched his pulse. Only then did Lan Xichen allow him to pull back.
Dirk let his trance drop and sat back, awed by what he'd seen. Elspeth sat on the ground with wide eyes and a confused frown on her face. Ever the teacher, Dirk shoved his pain aside for the moment to focus on what he'd seen, what he'd learned.
"What was that?" he asked eagerly, resting his elbows on his knees and studying Lan Xichen with the rapt interest of a student.
Lan Xichen smiled. "You'll have to be more specific."
Imp. That was definitely a tease. Alright fine. He'd struggle to find the right words.
"The…" He gestured to the now invisible network of vessels he'd seen in his trance. Come to think of it, he tried trancing once more and-
Nothing. There was nothing. His entire body was dark except for the his own Mind-Gift channels he knew well. The energy vessel network that glowed with Lan Xichen's blue-gold energy was completely gone. So was the shadowy resentful energy too, come to think of it. Oh dear.
"I can't see them anymore," he murmured.
"I never saw anything at all," Elspeth admitted shyly, a faint flush in her cheeks.
"I don't think you can see spiritual energy unless aided by one who can. But I believe what you are referring to is your meridians," Lan Xichen said simply, a small smile tugging at his lips. "They exist in every person, they just aren't always used. Your meridians are clearer than the average person, but you don't use them often enough for it to make much of a difference. Your Qi moves, but with much of the same limitations as a civilian."
"But you use them," Dirk said, seeking confirmation. "The meridians, I mean."
Lan Xichen's smile widened. "Frequently." He shifted to a crosslegged pose, his back straight and his hands resting on either knee with his sleeves swept out by his sides. "I have to in order to move my Qi at will. Without my meridians clear and smooth, my Qi could…" he fumbled for a moment before saying, "get stuck, I suppose. That could prove fatal in a night-hunt."
"Qi." Dirk sounded out the unfamiliar word thoughtfully. "Is that what you call the energy you were using?'
"No," Lan Xichen said, shaking his head, "and yes. Qi is the energy that exists in all things, living and not. By moving the Qi within us, we can increase our vitality, speed, strength, and many other things. Without Qi, cultivation is impossible."
"Cultivation of what?"
The smile shifted to something easy and patient. Soft golden eyes, that Dirk now recognized were more amber than the pure gold of that orb in Lan Xichen's gut, sparkled merrily.
"Energy," Lan Xichen said. "What is your Gift, Herald Dirk?"
"Fetching."
Lan Xichen hummed. "The movement of objects from one place to another with your mind, correct?" At Dirk's nod, Lan Xichen pressed his lips together. "And where does the energy needed to perform such a feat come from?"
"From myself."
"Only yourself?"
Dirk frowned. "Yes. Where else would it come from?"
This time, Lan Xichen frowned, then he smiled incredulously and hummed. "And therein lies the true difference between a Herald and a Cultivator. From what I have observed, Heralds utilize their own energy for their specific Gifts. Cultivators like myself draw in the ambient spiritual energy of the world, merge and control it with our own Qi until it becomes a part of us, and then we redirect it according to our needs."
"I've… honestly never heard of that before," Dirk said slowly.
"So I've been told," Lan Xichen said, smiling crookedly. "Gala had to explain to me how your Heraldic Gifts work. Understand, where I come from, Cultivation is the only way to gain and use power remotely similar to your Heraldic Gifts. I am the only one I have ever heard of who had a power different from cultivation. I would not have thought it separate from my cultivation at all, except that my Gift existed before I ever developed my golden core. So I knew it was different."
"Is that what that was?" Dirk gasped, sitting up in excited interest. "The golden orb in your-"
Lan Xichen pulled his hands back into his lap and clasped them together, his now somber amber eyes studying him closely. "It is. Even Gala didn't know what I was talking about until I allowed her to look through my eyes."
"Your Companion couldn't sense it?" Elspeth gasped. "At all?"
Energy Companions couldn't detect. Havens.
Black hair shifted as Lan Xichen shook his head. "She did not even know what I was talking about until she saw. I explained as best I could later, but…" He smiled ruefully and shrugged. "She is more familiar with the energy that flows through your Dragon Lines and Vortexes. That energy, my people only touch in desperate situations."
"Dragon Lines?" Elspeth murmured. Then her eyebrows jumped to her hairline in surprise. "Ley-Lines, you mean? Ley-Lines and Nodes?"
"If that is what you call them here, then yes," their guest said, nodding. "We have them where I live, but the Jianghu as a whole typically avoid using them. It's simply too dangerous."
"Djang… who?" Elspeth flushed as she sounded out the foreign word. She knew she'd gotten it wrong. She wasn't sure about the exact sounds that made up the word.
Thankfully, Lan Xichen didn't seem offended. His smile widened as he turned to her. "Jianghu," he repeated slowly.
Elspeth repeated the word at the same, slow speed. There were more syllables in there. She'd thought she'd heard them before, but hearing the word spoken slower like this, it was much clearer. It still took her several tries to get it right. Well, as close as she could anyway.
"Jianghu. What does that mean?" she asked.
"Literally, it means 'rivers and lakes,'" Lan Xichen replied. "Although it's often used to refer to the…"
He stopped, blinked, then frowned. His head tilted slightly to the side and his eyes glazed slightly as he spoke to his Companion. Elspeth and Dirk waited patiently, knowing full well they both made similar expressions when speaking to Gwena and Ahrodie respectively.
Then Lan Xichen blinked and he stared thoughtfully at Elspeth for a moment. "I suppose," he said slowly, "you could call the land I come from Jianghu."
Elspeth frowned. "Not Gusu?"
"Gusu is my Clan's territory and it is where I am from," Lan Xichen countered. "But Jianghu refers to the entire…" He gestured with one of his hands as if to encompassing something. "It could be used to refer to the land, all of the Clan territories, the people in them, the Cultivation Clans themselves, the martial artists associated and not associated with the Clans, everything. Sort of."
"So Jianghu would be the Kingdom," Elspeth said, attempting to phrase it correctly, "and Gusu would be… a territory or holding, I guess, under a lord, or Clan," she nodded to Lan Xichen, "within Jianghu?"
But Lan Xichen was already shaking his head. "No. If I understand your definition of 'kingdom' right, then Gusu would be the kingdom and Jianghu would be," he tapped the ground they sat on, "the land. Jianghu has no ruler. I doubt it ever could have a single ruler. It simply is."
:Havens,: Ahrodie whispered in Dirk's mind where she'd been listening in, echoing her Herald's sudden understanding. :We misunderstood. Bright Lady have mercy, no wonder he wants to go back so badly. This might be a bigger political mess than we ever expected.:
:Has something like this ever happened before?: Dirk asked urgently.
:No, brother,: his Companion said firmly. :Foreigners are sometimes Chosen, yes. But a Crown Prince? Never. Damn. I have to tell the others. This needs careful handling.:
:Wait until we're done here, then,: Dirk suggested, watching the cogs turn in Elspeth's head as she too came to the same conclusion both Dirk and Ahrodie did. :The more information we have, the clearer the picture and the better we can deal with this.:
:True enough,: Ahrodie agreed. :Ooh, I'm going to have a word with Gala when we're through here.:
:She may not have known, sister,: Dirk said wearily. :He doesn't act like.. well, you know.:
:No,: Ahrodie admitted reluctantly. :He really doesn't.:
"Havens!" Elspeth cried.
And now Elspeth got it.
"You're a Crown Prince!" she gasped.
For his part, Lan Xichen was sitting still, a patient smile on his face with amber eyes warm and friendly. But that creeping urge to relax and not panic was definitely not coming from Dirk.
:It seems he doesn't want to draw too much attention to his position,: Dirk wondered, trying to shrug off the Lan Xichen's subtle Empathic nudges.
:Can you blame him?: Ahrodie replied, the dryness in her voice belayed the worry there. :Just a couple days ago, Elspeth would have been in his position in Hardorn with Crown Prince, now King Ancar. Imagine how disastrous that would have been? Perfect political blackmail.:
Dirk drew a long, deep breath and let it out in a measured sigh. Havens, this really wasn't going to be easy.
"We do not have that title, but yes, I believe that would be the equivalent rank," Lan Xichen said simply.
"Why didn't you say so earlier?" the princess asked and Dirk sighed.
"From what I heard, he did," Dirk said. He looked at Lan Xichen and raised an eyebrow. "Clan Heir Lan Xichen."
Lan Xichen hummed an affirmative, his smile slightly amused. "Though, it seems Zewu-jun is indeed easier for Valdemarans to pronounce."
"Zewu-Jun," Dirk repeated. "We misunderstood your title. To us, 'Clan Heir' is more akin to something you'd expect to here in reference to a lord or noble and less with the monarchy. Does each Clan rule its own territory?"
"The Clans don't rule, per se, but they are the highest authority in the territory," Lan Xichen explained. "The Clan Leader is in charge of their entire Clan, Cultivators and civilians both, and responsible for everything that happens in their territory. The Clan Heir is the successor of the Clan Leader. The Elders are to be respected and do have some say in how the Clan is run or the actions the Clan Leader and Clan Heir make, but the Clan Leader can dismiss their votes should he wish to."
"And the current Clan Leader is your father?" Dirk asked. "Or mother?"
Lan Xichen smiled and oh. Well, that expression was… a lot to unpack.
"My mother is dead. Qingheng-jun, my father, is the current Clan Leader," Lan Xichen said. "But as he is in seclusion, my uncle Lan Qiren is the Acting Clan Leader as he shall remain until Qingheng-jun either comes out of his seclusion or dies."
"And every Clan is that way?" Elspeth asked. "How many are there?"
"Many," the young prince said, smiling warmly. "Though the largest and most powerful are the Five Major Clans: the Gusu Lan Clan, the Qinghe Nie Clan, the Yunmeng Jiang Clan, the Lanling Jin Clan, and the Qishan Wen Clan."
"Huh." Dirk rubbed his chin. "So the Lan Clan controls the Gusu territory, the Nie Clan controls the Qinghe territory, and so on?" Lan Xichen nodded and Dirk shook his head. "And you have no Mind-Gifts at all there? None?"
"None that I am aware of," Lan Xichen said.
"Is anyone else aware of your Gift?"
"My brother, Lan Wangji."
"No one else?"
"None."
Dirk crossed his arms in thought. "What about mages? Do you have any mages there?"
Amber eyes darkened and his smile became a tad bit tense before the emotion vanished behind a simple, serene expression. "Magic is forbidden."
Oh. "Does Mind-Magic count?" Dirk asked warily.
Lan Xichen said, his simple mile never fading. "I never asked. Though, I would hope not. My Empathy does not require the touch of a Dragon Line or," he nodded to Elspeth, "a Ley-Line. It is merely there, always. It takes no energy to use. It simply is."
Okay, that explained a little bit while simultaneously creating a lot more unanswered question. And judging by that politically perfect mask Lan Xichen was wearing right now, Dirk wouldn't be getting those answers any time soon.
"Is there a reason why magic is forbidden?" he hedged, hoping for just a little bit of information. Something to start working from. Anything to distract him from Talia's awful situation. Who knows, it might give him an idea of how to rescue her.
Mask firmly in place, Lan Xichen tilted his head in what could be seen as a nod. "It killed anyone who attempted to use it."
And that was one hell of an explanation. Alright, point taken. No more questions about that for now. Time for a peacemaker.
"Is that offer to play for me still open?" he asked cautiously.
Instantly, the mask slipped away and Lan Xichen's smile gentled. "It is."
"Would you mind if I- we watched you?" he corrected hurriedly at Elspeth's eager expression. "And by watch I mean, would you allow us to watch you use your Qi or spiritual power?"
A slight edge returned to his smile once more. "Perhaps next time."
Okay. Dirk was missing something and he wasn't really sure what it was, but he wasn't going to push.
"Alright. Is the flute the only instrument you play?" he asked, seeking a safer subject.
The edge vanished from the smile as quickly as it had appeared. "No. I also play the guqin. I believe you would call it a… zither?"
The prince reached for one of the four little bags hanging from his belt, opening one and pinching his fingers into it. Dirk furrowed his brow in confusion. He couldn't think of any instrument, let alone a zither, that was small enough to fit in a bag that-
What in the Bright Lady's name?
An equally stunned silence rang through his bond with Ahrodie as Dirk stared at what simply could not be. It couldn't be, but it was because he was looking at it. Which was impossible. There was no way something that large could fit in a bag that small. How… How on earth…?
:She knew!: Ahrodie gasped. :She knew and she never said a word!:
Unless she didn't think she would need to. Dirk glanced down at Lan Xichen's sleeve where his long flute had been removed and replaced. There wasn't a single tell-tale wrinkle in either of those sleeves that revealed a hidden anything. The blue silk was draped over Lan Xichen's thighs, laying flat and undisturbed on the over his robes and the ground.
:Oh,: Ahrodie breathed. :Hmm. I'll see what I can find.:
The first few strings Lan Xichen plucked thrummed the beginnings of a tune that rang in the soft murmuring of the tent. It took as few minutes for Dirk to allow himself to relax into the sounds, but when he did he found himself wondering why. It didn't feel like he was being influenced but he couldn't be sure. And he wouldn't watch because he'd didn't have Lan Xichen's permission.
Besides, what harm could relaxing to music do? He was in the Healers' tent with a handful of Healers coming in and out, another patient lying nearby with a sprained ankle from running straight into a pothole in the road, Lan Xichen who was busy playing said music, and Elspeth. He wasn't alone. Relaxing here wouldn't be a problem. He tended to have a clearer head when he was relaxed anyway.
But just in case…
"Are you using your Empathy with this?" he asked.
Lan Xichen lifted his head from the strings of the zither and opened amber eyes. The smile he offered was small and perhaps a bit sheepish, but not threatening. Then amber eyes returned to the strings and Dirk fell silent.
Eventually, he let himself lay back on his bed and stare at the roof of the tent. Talia wasn't here. Kris was dead and Talia was gone. Dirk had no idea what horrors Talia must be suffering. His imagination was not place to be, and yet that's where he found himself.
Then, just as the sadness and heartbreak threatened to crest and bring him to tears, it ebbed back to a tolerable level. Ah, that was definitely Lan Xichen's Empathy at work. It was slightly intimidating, to be honest. Knowing an Empath like Lan Xichen or Talia was capable of influencing another's emotions as well as just sensing them was one thing. Actually experiencing it was entirely different.
Talia made a point to try and keep her Empathy to passive detection only. Lan Xichen apparently was not in that habit. If he wasn't careful, that could backfire. He probably got away with it in Jianghu or Gusu because no one else could sense him doing it. But in Valdemar, Gifts could be sensed. Empathy might be more subtle than a Gift like Mindspeech, but its affects could be felt if you were aware enough to look for it.
Empathy was a rare Gift for Heralds although fairly common in Healers. People trusted Healers though. How better to explain to a Healer what you where feeling, when, how, and why than for the Healer to feel with you? But a Herald with Empathy? Talia had suffered quite a bit of criticism over the years due to her Gift and her age, even after she became the Queen's Own.
Lan Xichen was a foreign Crown Prince. Dirk could just imagine the possible scenarios where an Empathic Gift like his could be useful in such a position. Convince other politicians to see things his way, draw a wary suspect into confessing to a crime, learning and using emotional connections to benefit himself and wreak havoc on political enemies, the list was endless.
He sincerely hoped Lan Xichen wasn't that kind of person. But Dirk wasn't a prince. He could sympathize with Princess Elspeth because he knew her well. But Lan Xichen was a wild card and Herald Dirk wasn't sure what to do about it.
Apparently, neither did Ahrodie which didn't bode well either. Ack, sometimes Dirk wished he could just Fetch his worries from his mind and into the gutter. He could Fetch objects and small living things like squirrels or whatnot if he put his mind to it and young Herald Trainee Christa had proven it was possible to Fetch living people, rest her soul. So why could he Fetch… thoughts…
Herald Trainee Christa could Fetch living people, he thought with a burst of hope and adrenaline. She could Fetch people over and over and did so until the burning roof of the building she was in collapsed on top of her, killing her. If she could do it, Dirk could too. The only problem was the distance and the location. He didn't know where Talia was exactly. He could assume she was in the Hardorn capitol city, but that was still an entire city miles away.
He would need a FarSeer to try and locate Talia. Then he could follow the mental path and try Fetching his love that way. It would be extremely dangerous and, if he didn't have enough energy, it would kill him. It wasn't a question of 'if.'
Empaths were known to help bolster other Gifts.
Without thinking, Dirk turned his head to his left and found himself meeting twin pools of amber that burned with wary focus. The young prince could probably sense Dirk's emotional state right now if the furrow between Lan Xichen's eyebrows and slight frown were anything to go by.
Dirk licked his lips and thought fast. Technically, he had the tools he needed to pull off this crazy scheme. Theoretically, it could be done. Practically, it had been done on a much smaller scale. Talia was worth it. She was worth everything.
"I have an idea," he said, feeling a feverish excitement tingle his fingers and race against his heart. "I think I can save Talia."
Shock flickered in the young prince's eyes but his hands continued to pluck the zither strings with the expertise of a well-trained musician who knew his music by muscle memory. Elspeth, however, had nothing to distract her from Dirk's words and instantly whirled to him.
"You think-" Elspeth's eyes widened and sparkled with tears of joy and hope. "How? Dirk, tell me how. What do you need?"
The princess got up on her knees and leaned against Dirk's bed so their faces were a mere foot apart. Her excitement was infectious and Dirk felt his own spirits rise as hers did. The dampening effect of Lan Xichen's Empathy didn't happen like he thought it would and amber eyes remain locked on his face, silent and wary but listening.
Good.
"I think I might be able to Fetch her," Dirk confessed, keeping his voice low enough to only be heard by the three of them.
Amber eyes narrowed and pale fingers continued to carry the zither's tune while Elspeth was practically vibrating with excitement.
"I'll need somewhere quiet," Dirk said, running through the list verbally. "Somewhere where no one can disturb me. I can afford to break my concentration once I start."
Elspeth bit her lip and sat back, her eyes flickering side to side as she ran through options in her mind. Then her eyes stilled, widened, and she looked up. "My tent," she said quickly. "It's at the back of the camp. My mother's been busy trying to gather the army and plan a defense for when Ancar shows up, because we know he will."
Dirk nodded. Even if Ancar didn't show up himself, he would at least send a proxy.
"Can you guarantee we'd be left alone?" Dirk asked. "I mean it. Once I start, I won't be able to stop until I either have her or…" He gulped.
Elspeth grimaced and a single tear escaped her water eyes, but she nodded. "I promise," she swore. "I'll make sure of it myself." She pressed her hand to her chin as her thoughts raced. "I can use my FarSight. We have a rough idea of where she is. I might be able to see her."
"If you can, I'll follow your thread and Fetch her," Dirk said, taking Elspeth's hand.
Talia meant the world to both of them in different ways. Dirk loved Talia with all his heart and soul. He would do anything for her. He'd believed fully that Talia hadn't been in love with him, but had loved Herald Kris instead. He knew that to be false now, but it was too late. Too late for his friend Kris and too late to save Talia before this mess. He refused to be too late to save her life now.
Elspeth's friendship with Talia was years in the making and built on trust, respect, and the knowledge that the Queen's Own had practically saved the princess' life. Had Talia not freed Elspeth from her maid Hulda's grasp, the princess would have easily ended up dead and definitely wouldn't have been Chosen. If Elspeth hadn't been Chosen, then she never would have been allowed to inherit the throne of Valdemar.
Talia bound them together with bonds of love and friendship that Dirk and Elspeth were helpless to ignore. This was something they could do, something they could at least try. Neither of them would accept failure. Failure meant death which was unforgivable for everyone.
And Lan Xichen continued to watch them in silence, his fingers dancing across the strings with practiced ease. Dirk didn't really know the man, didn't truly trust him completely. He knew the young prince kept secrets. But he cared enough to come back again and again to soothe Dirk's pain and anguish, to prove to Dirk that the lifebond was there, to encourage him to have hope. Maybe…
Maybe.
"It's an awfully long way though," Elspeth whispered, her hope wavering as the facts began to filter into her mind. "The amount of strength required for this, I…" She bit her lip.
"I know," Dirk said quickly. He couldn't lose Elspeth's support now. Call him selfish, but he needed the princess's help. "It's not the distance that worries me though. It's the weight."
"The weight?"
He shook his head. "I've never Fetched anything as big as a full grown person before," he confessed. "I've never even tried. Gods, I've never tried Fetching anything inanimate close to that size let alone something living that size." He clutched Elspeth's hand and rolled so he could lean on his arm and look at her directly. "But I have to try. She's my…" He swallowed. "She's my lifebonded. I love her. I have to try."
Elspeth shook as she tried to fight her sobs of hope and heartbreak. "I have good range with my FarSight," she said. "I know I'm not Kris," her voice broke at the name. "I know I'm not him and working with a Herald you haven't worked with before can be difficult. But I'm willing to try."
Dirk couldn't help it. He hugged her. It might be enough. It just might be enough. They could do this. They could. They had to.
"I will not claim to understand all that you've said."
The unexpected voice startled both of them from the embrace. They turned to Lan Xichen who still sat with the zither in his lap, fingers plucking a tune that calmed the spirit and cleared the mind, and eyes gazing at them with a forlorn expression.
"But I believe I am correct in guessing you don't want anyone else to know what it is you're planning," he said, his soft voice giving a weight to his words.
"You can't tell," Elspeth whimpered, breaking away from Dirk and scrambling to Lan Xichen. She caught his hands in hers, pulling them from the strings and silencing the music. "Please, you can't tell. My mother would never allow it. No one would. But we have to try. Please, she's my best friend. I can't sit by and do nothing. It might not work but-" She sobbed freely, leaning into Lan Xichen's chest. "Please don't tell anyone. Please."
Dirk didn't have the Gift of Empathy, but he had two perfectly good eyes. He watched as conflicting emotions warred across Lan Xichen's face. The worry for their health, the confusion of someone who didn't fully understand what was going on or how they planned to pull off such a hair-brained scheme, the hesitation of getting himself involved in something like this, and the displeasure of any of them deliberately putting themselves in such a dangerous situation.
It wasn't in Lan Xichen's face so much as his eyes. His eyes did nothing to hide the fear and worry he felt. With his hands caught in Elspeth's own, Lan Xichen could do nothing but sit stiffly while the princess sobbed into the blue silk on his chest. The zither in his lap tilted up by the angle of Elspeth's body, squished between the two of them in a no doubt uncomfortable way.
"Please," Dirk begged, drawing Lan Xichen's wary gaze. "She's my lifebonded. Wouldn't you do the same for yours?"
Lan Xichen froze, shock reflecting in wide amber eyes. His mouth slammed shut and his shoulders tensed as he stared at Dirk as if he had all the answers. But there was also fear in those eyes. Fear of Dirk. What? Why?
A moment, two, three.
Lan Xichen's shoulders slumped and his expression fell. He tried to speak but closed his mouth when no sound came out. He freed one of his hands from Elspeth's grasp and worked the zither free from his lap before wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. He looked nervous and uncomfortable and vulnerable.
"Very well," he said softly. "I won't tell. You have my word. On one condition."
Elspeth sat up and stared at him, her tear streaked face earnest. "Anything. Name it."
He sighed wearily. "You both stay here for the day," he said, his gaze shifting between Elspeth and Dirk. "You stay, you rest, you eat, and you listen to my music. You can try tonight when the sun begins to set."
Elspeth blinked, but nodded firmly. "But," she wiped her face with her free hand, "why listen to your music?"
"Because it will clear your mind and calm your emotions," Lan Xichen replied, resting his free hand on the zither by his side. "If you're going to attempt this, then you can't afford distractions. I'll do my best to give you what you need to focus."
"And you won't tell?" Elspeth begged, hope in her watery eyes.
"I'll stay with you when you make your attempt to be sure no one comes," the young prince promised. "If I need to, I'll give you some of my strength because neither of you are allowed to die."
He said the last looking directly at Dirk. Message received loud and clear.
"We won't."
He couldn't promise it. He couldn't guarantee it. But he did anyway. It was all he could give. He had an idea, he had help, he had hope.
This could work.