The Panther ~Ch.9
by Pinkpanther
Disclaimer: Anything that you might recognize from the Tortall books belongs toTamora Pierce. The events and characters in this story are purely fictional and are not based on any real-life events or people. The new characters however are mine so please do NOT use without my permission.
Enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The healer passed his hand over Roald's body again. "Nothing too serious. There are numerous contusions on his upper and lower appendages, a possible...."
"Speak Common!" they chorused.
"Err, bruises, cuts, maybe a concussion. Torn ligaments, muscles."
Prince Roald groaned as he tried to sit up. "I think I hit some low branches."
"That explains it." the healer replied briskly. "Now, I can heal some of these. However, you're obviously exhausted and not in optimal mental condition. It might be best to allow the body time to rest itself before we began healing the worse injuries. In other words, you need rest."
"Duke Baird, Lord Edmund, Lady Lilian, may I speak to the knights and his Highness privately for a moment." Sir Myles stated this rather than asked, in a very firm tone.
"Certainly." replied the Duke, with a bow. The three left the private sick room, closing the door behind them.
"Duke Baird, my lady, please excuse me. I have urgent business to attend to." spoke Lord Edmund.
"Certainly, darling. I'll see you later then." Lilian replied with a weak and watery smile.
Noticing this, the duke spoke "My lady, are you feeling alright?"
"Thank you very much but I am feeling rather faint. I think that I'll go back to my room now. So much excitement in one day, one hardly knows what to do." She curtsyed and left the wing.
As the Duke headed towards the small office in the back, he didn't seem to notice that for someone with urgent business, Edmund wasn't in a hurry to leave the hospital wing. In fact, he was standing right in front of the door to the room they had just left.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the three left the room, Myles locked the door. Putting his fingers to his lips to signal silence, he prowled around the room. Not satisfied, he took from his belt pouch some sparkling powder and sprinkled it in front of the door, the windows, the servants' hidden entrance, a mouse hole in the wall. With a snap of his fingers and a spoken word "activate!", a flash of light sprang up and immeditately died away, leaving the room entirely devoid of sound from the outside.
"It's safe to talk now." assured Sir Myles.
"Sir Myles. What is going on here? What happened today?" demanded Kel, in a tone of voice very different from her usual calmness.
"Don't touch that!" he directed this at Cleon, who was reaching out to touch the powder. Cleon pulled back his hand guiltily. "This powder forms a security ward. Anyone listening in will only hear a very boring 'how are you feeling' talk. Now, what I say now you will tell to no one. Remember the conversation we had a while ago? Well this seems to be the first attack they've planned. I certainly didn't expect something so serious. It could be just a low-ranking agent trying to prove himself."
Gasps all around. "You mean this was a deliberate murder attempt?!" Roald choked.
"I'm not sure. The problem is I don't have enough evidence to say who the agent is, if this was deliberate or if this really was just the horse."
"Oh my." was all Kel could say.
"Which brings me to my next point. The Panther is here and active. Another round of gasps However, I require help from all of you. You are to make especial note of any unusual or suspicious activity. Report to me whenever this happens. " They nodded.
"In the meantime, all of you, especially Roald, I need you to act as if this was just the horse and nothing serious. This is crucial!"
"We understand." they replied.
"Good. Roald, I'll inform Their Majesties, the Champion and all the other necessary people. If anyone asks, this meeting did not take place. Do not discuss this amongst yourselves without wards up. Alright?" They all agreed and Myles waved his hand in a pattern to dispel his wards. Immediately, sounds of birds and other signs of life flooded the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lord Edmund crept away from the door with a frown on his face. All they had talked about was how bad this bruise looked, where Roald could get Kel's healing balm from, if his eyes were focused.
As Lord Edmund left the hospital wing, he failed to notice the thoughtful pair of eyes following him, observing his every move.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"There. He's sleeping now." whispered Duke Baird as he led Kel, Cleon and Neal out of the room. It had been about half an hour since Edmund had "left". Sir Myles had left a minute ago.
"Will he be alright?"
"Yes, a little rest and he'll be fine." Frowning he studied the three knights. "In all this excitement, I seem to have forgotten my other three patients. You Kel, have a bruised rib, you're wheezing,.....".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lady Lilian tiredly reached her rooms. Her normally pristine clothes were drooping and bedraggled. Pulling a key from a satin ribbon around her neck she unlocked the door to her suite. Opening the door, she whispered something to deactivate the wards. The door clicked shut behind her and all was quiet in the hall.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sir Myles sat in a garden deep in thought. He felt a little nudge at his foot. Looking down, he saw a sleek black cat with amber eyes peering up at him, a piece of parchment sealed with a paw print tied around its neck. "Why hello there!" he greeted softly, bending down to untie the parchment.
Opening it, he saw three words.
"I'm on it."
Looking back up, he saw that the cat had disappeared.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To all my reviewers, thank you!
Sorry I haven't updated, I've been really busy for the past few months. By the way, does anyone know how I can get a good beta-reader? Anyway, helpful comments, suggestions are always appreciated....Please Review!
by Pinkpanther
Disclaimer: Anything that you might recognize from the Tortall books belongs toTamora Pierce. The events and characters in this story are purely fictional and are not based on any real-life events or people. The new characters however are mine so please do NOT use without my permission.
Enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The healer passed his hand over Roald's body again. "Nothing too serious. There are numerous contusions on his upper and lower appendages, a possible...."
"Speak Common!" they chorused.
"Err, bruises, cuts, maybe a concussion. Torn ligaments, muscles."
Prince Roald groaned as he tried to sit up. "I think I hit some low branches."
"That explains it." the healer replied briskly. "Now, I can heal some of these. However, you're obviously exhausted and not in optimal mental condition. It might be best to allow the body time to rest itself before we began healing the worse injuries. In other words, you need rest."
"Duke Baird, Lord Edmund, Lady Lilian, may I speak to the knights and his Highness privately for a moment." Sir Myles stated this rather than asked, in a very firm tone.
"Certainly." replied the Duke, with a bow. The three left the private sick room, closing the door behind them.
"Duke Baird, my lady, please excuse me. I have urgent business to attend to." spoke Lord Edmund.
"Certainly, darling. I'll see you later then." Lilian replied with a weak and watery smile.
Noticing this, the duke spoke "My lady, are you feeling alright?"
"Thank you very much but I am feeling rather faint. I think that I'll go back to my room now. So much excitement in one day, one hardly knows what to do." She curtsyed and left the wing.
As the Duke headed towards the small office in the back, he didn't seem to notice that for someone with urgent business, Edmund wasn't in a hurry to leave the hospital wing. In fact, he was standing right in front of the door to the room they had just left.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the three left the room, Myles locked the door. Putting his fingers to his lips to signal silence, he prowled around the room. Not satisfied, he took from his belt pouch some sparkling powder and sprinkled it in front of the door, the windows, the servants' hidden entrance, a mouse hole in the wall. With a snap of his fingers and a spoken word "activate!", a flash of light sprang up and immeditately died away, leaving the room entirely devoid of sound from the outside.
"It's safe to talk now." assured Sir Myles.
"Sir Myles. What is going on here? What happened today?" demanded Kel, in a tone of voice very different from her usual calmness.
"Don't touch that!" he directed this at Cleon, who was reaching out to touch the powder. Cleon pulled back his hand guiltily. "This powder forms a security ward. Anyone listening in will only hear a very boring 'how are you feeling' talk. Now, what I say now you will tell to no one. Remember the conversation we had a while ago? Well this seems to be the first attack they've planned. I certainly didn't expect something so serious. It could be just a low-ranking agent trying to prove himself."
Gasps all around. "You mean this was a deliberate murder attempt?!" Roald choked.
"I'm not sure. The problem is I don't have enough evidence to say who the agent is, if this was deliberate or if this really was just the horse."
"Oh my." was all Kel could say.
"Which brings me to my next point. The Panther is here and active. Another round of gasps However, I require help from all of you. You are to make especial note of any unusual or suspicious activity. Report to me whenever this happens. " They nodded.
"In the meantime, all of you, especially Roald, I need you to act as if this was just the horse and nothing serious. This is crucial!"
"We understand." they replied.
"Good. Roald, I'll inform Their Majesties, the Champion and all the other necessary people. If anyone asks, this meeting did not take place. Do not discuss this amongst yourselves without wards up. Alright?" They all agreed and Myles waved his hand in a pattern to dispel his wards. Immediately, sounds of birds and other signs of life flooded the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lord Edmund crept away from the door with a frown on his face. All they had talked about was how bad this bruise looked, where Roald could get Kel's healing balm from, if his eyes were focused.
As Lord Edmund left the hospital wing, he failed to notice the thoughtful pair of eyes following him, observing his every move.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"There. He's sleeping now." whispered Duke Baird as he led Kel, Cleon and Neal out of the room. It had been about half an hour since Edmund had "left". Sir Myles had left a minute ago.
"Will he be alright?"
"Yes, a little rest and he'll be fine." Frowning he studied the three knights. "In all this excitement, I seem to have forgotten my other three patients. You Kel, have a bruised rib, you're wheezing,.....".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lady Lilian tiredly reached her rooms. Her normally pristine clothes were drooping and bedraggled. Pulling a key from a satin ribbon around her neck she unlocked the door to her suite. Opening the door, she whispered something to deactivate the wards. The door clicked shut behind her and all was quiet in the hall.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sir Myles sat in a garden deep in thought. He felt a little nudge at his foot. Looking down, he saw a sleek black cat with amber eyes peering up at him, a piece of parchment sealed with a paw print tied around its neck. "Why hello there!" he greeted softly, bending down to untie the parchment.
Opening it, he saw three words.
"I'm on it."
Looking back up, he saw that the cat had disappeared.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To all my reviewers, thank you!
Sorry I haven't updated, I've been really busy for the past few months. By the way, does anyone know how I can get a good beta-reader? Anyway, helpful comments, suggestions are always appreciated....Please Review!