Of course, I won't get back to you right away, because I'm leaving early tomorrow to go on a family vacation until, like, the 18th of August. So -- yeah.
Great, that's all taken care of. Now you can read! =)
Tarnessa looked around for Blackthorn, but he was nowhere in sight, he'd been taken away by the basilisks - she felt her hands being tied swiftly behind her back and then her feet were being locked in, too - she was hoisted up onto a rough cot in the air - smirking hazel eyes were looking into her own again - something was bleeding on her left leg -
Tarnessa sat up very fast, making her head hurt. "Did I fall asleep, Blackthorn?" she asked. She looked down. Blackthorn was pecking at her leg!
~WAKE UP!~ was his only reply. ~The men are coming! Run!! Can you take us anywhere? Make no sound!~
I don't know, she answered as she dashed, head still aching. Is there a Word for that? She darted around trees, and whispered the Words that would make her invisible and soundless. She stopped to catch her breath, vowing never to let down her guard like that again. One sigh of relief she'd allowed herself, and she was asleep and dreaming of her capture. Disgraceful!
Her thoughts traveled back to Chiron, the mage who had taught her all she knew of how to control her powers, and the blacksmith who'd posed as her father, Tarn. For the first time, she wondered if she'd be forced to give up her father's name. She didn't want to - she rather liked it. Tarnessa. It sounded brave - and daring - and her father was both. He was also happy, and funny, and loved her very much. She blinked back tears. What would the king be like?
You're never going to get to the King, she told herself sternly. Remember the Goddess.
She did remember ... it felt like yesterday ... the night she'd been given her instructions for what to do ...
The Goddess had appeared to her in a dream ... but she knew Her message was real. She'd been wearing a silvery-green dress, no jewelry, and seemed to have a strange, glowing white light around her. She approached Tarnessa, and met her eyes with her huge, mystic ones.
"Do not let them take you back home, Tarnessa. Do not let them take your father's name. Just run east, always east, into the forest. When you are far enough east - you will know what you have to do. Know where you are. I will be watching."
And she had disappeared, but Tarnessa had not forgotten a word of her orders, even if the vision got blurry after awhile.
"We makin' a run for it, Yif?" a squeaky voice inquired.
"No," Yifan Tayner answered firmly, crashing through the underbrush. "We're waiting until Aiyaliah deals with Lord Raxley. AND checking the woods for our Princess. Now be quiet. Silent."
"Lord Raxley?" one of the other men gasped, obviously scared. "He knows we're here?"
"Not if I have anything to say about it," replied Yifan. "Don't worry. You're only to look for Tarnessa. Now get going, all of you! Spread out and make as little sound as possible."
Chiron knocked softly on the thick wooden door of the cottage, at the far west end of Village Road. Smoke poured out of the chimney, and it was obvious that the blacksmith Tarn had to work in the broiling heat even inside on this beautiful summer day. An aging yet sturdy young man answered the door, pushing threads of graying hair out of his eyes with blackened, callused hands.
"Chiron!" he exploded, surprised. "What brings you here? It isn't Tarnessa -"
"Yes, in fact," the mage told him softly. "Hello, Tarn. Some disconcerting information has just come to my attention. It appears Lord Raxley is searching for her - extensively."
"What does Raxley care about my daughter?" Tarn inquired angrily, while gesturing for Chiron to enter. The men sat on a small couch in the middle of the tiny room just inside the house. "He's got no business with her. And what if they catch her? Didn't you say something about Mithros - the Goddess -"
"The Goddess has sent her on some sort of mission, as I gather," Chiron told him grimly. "If the progress of that mission is disturbed, it could lead to - terrible consequences."
"Yet everybody wants her, it seems," remarked Tarn, frustrated. "I know she's the lost Princess, and all, but how many could have figured that out? It's not like - Yifan," he said suddenly. Chiron's face changed abruptly into a look of concern.
"Tayner? He's just an outlaw - or something. What did he want with you?"
"He asked about Tarnessa," the blacksmith said carefully. Chiron put his head in his hands.
"It's over," he announced, his voice slightly muffled. "It's up to Tarnessa now."
Duke Naryl of Aidar stooped to exit the leader's tent, but quickly snapped back, breathing hard.
"Lord Raxley's on the warpath," he reported, before Aiyaliah could say something sharp to him about being startled.
"Lord -"
"The Lord of this fief," he explained, as if she were a child. He just couldn't resist. She glowered. "Fief Baartil."
"I know that!" she informed him crossly. "What's he doing mad at us?"
"He was leading the search for Tarnessa before you came," Naryl told her, amusement dancing in his eyes now. Yifan had told him everything about the search for her when he'd first gotten here. "Not because she was the lost Princess, though. She pretended to be the daughter of a blacksmith, until Yifan found her out by talking to her father. No, Raxley's looking for her for certain - uh - other reasons." He couldn't hold back a grin, but Aiyaliah frowned and grunted.
"Stupid reasons, if you ask me," she muttered, but Lord Raxley burst into the tent just then, flanked by two guards.
"What is this madness?" he screamed at the pair of them. "With all due respect, Aiyaliah, why do you think you can just burst into my fief and capture my girl?"
"We haven't found her yet, and she's by no means yours. She belongs, if you wish to use such a vulgar term," her eyes flashed as she spoke now, "to the King and Queen, as she is their daughter. You've no right to lead soldiers anywhere near here, unless you're helping us. We also have no intent of capture, Raxley."
Duke Naryl had to have considerable respect for Aiyaliah's large amount of sternness at that moment; Lord Raxley backed down almost as quickly as they guessed he fired up, even though she'd made no reference to his Lordship in her little lecture. She wanted to make it clear that she was the Knight Commander here, and just because she was a woman was no reason to yell and scream. She knew discipline.
"What do you want me to do then, Aiyaliah?"
"Lady Aiyaliah, if you please," she corrected icily. He might stand for improper etiquette, but she had the authority to do that, and he didn't. "Return to your castle. You may be informed when the Princess is found."
"PRINCESS?" he exclaimed. "Nobody told me that! She's a blacksmith's daughter! She -"
"- is a princess," Aiyaliah finished. "Go." Sulkily, he stalked out, beckoning to his guards to come. His departure created a fresh breeze in the tent, which was extremely welcome. He trudged back to the castle with a deep frown on his face.
"My part in this is not over yet, Aiyaliah," he whispered darkly, so that even his guards couldn't hear. "I will have her. No Goddess, and no Knight Commander, will stop me."