Chapter 10: Clem the Fisherman

Reini took a step back after the younger man had released her and looked at him weirdly. Dom noticed the tension building up and quickly interfered. Bending down a few inches to his brother's height, he whispered.

"She got…um…memory loss a few months ago. Scanrans. Best introduce yourself again."

The emerald-eyed man nodded slightly and extended a hand, placing smile on his face.

"I'm Nealen of Queenscove."

"Reini of Scanra."

Neal raised an eyebrow. Confused expressions flashed briefly upon his face and were quickly erased. He slouched against the doorframe and peered at her, in an act of scrutinizing.

"Reini? You don't look like a Reini to me. More like a Keladry."

She rolled her eyes at the comment. Grabbing the door as if it were a weapon, she was about to slam it close when they stopped her.

"Ignore him. He was always like this when you guys hung around."

Trying to bring me back, that's all. I know what you're up to, Queenscove and Masobelle, and I won't fall for it.

Turning to his older brother, Neal decided to ask him something that occurred earlier that day. A very confusing outbreak in the dungeons of the palace. Consisting of two men, a mage and an albino thief. She ignored the part with them describing the albino, but when it turned to the other fugitive, the descriptions sounded very familiar.

"-had blonde hair and brown eyes. Looked sly and pig-headed, the guard described. But, was as dangerous as any other. The thing is, the lock was magic-proof and a mage wouldn't know the art of lock picking would he? When have they started taking the time to learn that piece of trick anyway…"

"Perhaps the two running away wasn't just coincidence. They could've made friends in there, just for the moment and the other would be in the debt of the lock-picker. My guess is that it must've been the albino," Dom suggested.

She stepped closer to the two and listened for a while longer. Then started questioning.

"How'd the mage get in the jail the first place? I saw a person similar to what you described in the palace's gardens last night?"

"Lady Maria spotted him, or rather, heard him (she snorted at Tsair's careless mistake). Took it to Lord Raoul and got him out of the mess. Was suppose to be hung today, too."

"Hung? With no trial?"

"Spy punishment or something. Anyway, why are you so interested all of a sudden."

"He sounds like someone I knew."

"Well, whether if he is, or not. The fact is, he got away. I bet your glad about that, if he's really your friend. Though, I don't know why anyone would associate with them, not that-"

Rei sighed as the emerald-eyed man trailed on, they had no idea.

Tsair managed to turn Clem's hair into black and his own, brown. For being so light-colored would've attracted many eyes to them. And at this moment, it was most definitely unneeded.

They swept through the marketplace, side by side. Tsair following the thief and not noticing how the albino was stuffing a few items now and then into his ragged shirt pocket. They turned into a narrow alley and on the right side of the building, there was a blocked-up door. Except that was what they saw, but when Clem turned the handle, it opened. As the mage went inside, he realized that they were in the back of a fish market. He frowned in distaste as scales and fish guts glued themselves to the sole of his shoes.

"You live here?" asked the mage.

Then, as if answering his question, a fierce screech greeted them. A tall, thin woman approached them, waving a butcher knife. Tsair instinctively raised his hands up in defense, but Clem pushed them down.

"Hello my sweet Rose."

Rose swept back her dark-brown hair and glared fiercely at him.

"Where have you been!"

"Out and around."

"I heard that - what did you do with your hair - some officials had taken up an albino in their dungeon residence, and since you're the only one that is in this part of the city… what did you do to get there?" she asked, her voice suddenly transformed from sharp to soft. Slowly, she resigned to a thick plush chair that was sitting in the corner of the room. It was as if this incident happened daily in the household.

"Trying to earn a living, dear. You and I know that fish doesn't earn us enough these days, especially since the shortage has occurred." He turned to Tsair. "This is my wife, Rose. Rose, this is the mage who I saved gallantly (she smirked) from the dungeons while I was in residence, Tsair."

"Please to meet you," Tsair said politely.

"Ditto."

"He's from Scanra."

"Oh, really?"

Later, after he had been fed and given several warm blankets, he told them all that had passed, since he had gotten here. Leaving out nothing, and including the Lady Knight.

She paced repeatedly around her room, after the had left. Thoughts running freely through her troubled mind. Rubbing her forehead slightly, she groaned. Trust him to mess everything up. Blumber-head. Where is he now? I shouldn't be troubled by him, he got me into this in the first place. Idiot.

She jumped when the door suddenly opened and Neal's face popped in.

"Hey! I could've been changing!"

"Drats. Don't worry, I'll come back later."

"What?!?"

"Okay, you really don't remember me. Or, first, you would've knocked me unconscious, second, you would've kicked me in the shins and throw curses at me while I am running away…."

"I do that?"

"…nevermind."

Reini flipped her hair over her shoulder and glared. She reached for the handle, but the man quickly jerked it away.

"I've come to talk. Meet in the gardens, after you're done pacing around."

Hmm…Neal's getting more involved in this than I expected. Actually, I wasn't going to place him IN this story at all! Shows how much I plan beforehand…

This chapter's boring, but it's just suppose to give you a few ideas at where each person is at right now.

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