Aie! Chapter 21 already? What is the world coming to…
Why doesn't Roald just throw the ring into the volcano?
Even if he did, the original copy is still out there.
Ryker! Ryker! (Yes, I know. That wasn't quite a question)
I seem to have stumbled on a few more Ryker fans. *smile* is it comforting to say that Ryker still has an important part left in the fic? He just won't come up until later.
Oh no! Will Alanna eat Kaprice?
*laughs* I hope not. That would be the ending of my story.
21. An Explanation
Kaprice couldn't think. The noise in the tent was so horrendously loud; she didn't know how the others could bear it. She and Roald stood in the midst of a rather loud meeting of knights, mages, and officers of the army.
"--she almost killed Alanna!"
"And she could have killed any of the other mages!"
"But she didn't! She didn't kill anybody!"
"Only because we got lucky!"
"Don't be a gullible fool; we can't trust her!"
Kaprice sighed, her head on her hands. Roald stood tensely beside her, his hand tightly on her shoulder.
I wish I was outside…
The world flashed blindingly silver. And when Kaprice could see again, she indeed found herself and Roald standing outside.
Uh-oh…
Roald sighed. "You did it again."
She gave him a helpless look of apology. "I didn't mean--"
"I know. But you will have to try to convince that to the others."
Cries of shock and fear arose from the tent they were standing in front of. And in the next few moments, everyone who had been inside the tent rushed out.
And the noise the crowd bought with them almost made her wish she was back inside the tent again.
"Enough!"
The command came from a tall man in armor. Most immediately obeyed, falling into silence. Those who continued to talk received a baleful glare.
When it was silent, the man turned to Kaprice. "Explain yourself, lady. Why do you insist on these petty magic tricks?"
Kaprice fought the flush that spread across her cheeks. "Please accept my apology. I did not mean to… It was just so loud inside the tent; I wanted to be outside where it was a tad quieter."
He raised an amused eyebrow. "We were too loud for you?"
Kaprice shrugged. "People are not so loud where I come from. The only time you hear such noise is when all the tribal women are squabbling over the same young man." Her tone of voice made it explicit that her opinion of these squabbling young women was not very high.
A lean, blonde man with glittering blue eyes laughed, and Alanna let out a small chuckle.
"She nearly killed you, if in fact you forgot." someone reminded Alanna.
Alanna winced, glancing down at her damaged ankle. "No, I didn't forget." She turned to Kaprice. "Care to explain just what you were doing?"
"I…I had to stop you."
"Oh? And why's that?"
"You were aiding the fire, feeding it your power," Kaprice said quietly.
"Oh?" Alanna said again, her face unreadable. "And how would you know this?"
She looked the lady squarely in the eye. "I just do."
That caused quite a rumble among the others.
"You saw for yourself Kaprice's power," Numair said, his voice only loud enough to be heard over the others. "No ordinary mortal can have a silver Gift. She has the hands of a god, if not more than one, on her."
"Yes, but which god? What if she was sent here by the god of chaos?"
The voice that spoke was so unfriendly that Kaprice had to fight back a flinch.
"Why would the god of chaos send her? Someone who looks just like the Great Mother Goddess?" Alanna pointed out.
"It could be a trick to lure us in."
The argument continued; Kaprice sighed, giving Roald a side-long glance. "And Daine and Numair said that I would be welcome here," she said sardonically.
Roald, who had been watching the on-going conversation with an intense gaze, turned to look at Kaprice. "You will be. They just need to know that they can trust you, that's all."
Kaprice shook her head. "After that mistake with Alanna, how could any of them trust me?"
The grip on her shoulder tightened. "I will help."
She turned to glance at him, startled. "What?" She realized that she had spoken too loudly: Lady Alanna turned to gaze at her confusedly.
"I was just saying--" Alanna began.
But Kaprice was not paying attention to Alanna. She was busy staring at Roald.
"Roald, no--"
Roald reached up and determinedly grasped his medallion in his hand.
Gasps echoed throughout the crowd.
"Roald?" Alanna said, in shock.
Roald gave the woman a grim smile. "Hello, Alanna."
"What are you…what are you doing here?" she gasped out. "I thought you were sick? Back in Corus?"
"I am," Roald said with a nod.
"Roald," Kaprice hissed quietly, "what are you doing?"
"Helping you, of course."
Of course.
He turned back to Alanna. "Everything Kaprice has told you is true. She has come from the future to help."
"And how would you know this?" someone sputtered.
"Well, I've come from the future too."
Kaprice put her head in her hands as the others burst out with questions and exclamations of shock and disbelief. This was not going well.
"An illusion. He has to be an illusion!" someone cried.
Numair shook his head. "Not an illusion. Or a simulacrum either. He is real. Without a doubt." Kaprice saw the black fire in the palm of his hands again; he must have been examining Roald with his power.
Alanna's amethyst gaze narrowed as she glanced at Kaprice and Roald. "You two have a lot of explaining to do."
~*~*~*~
"So the Goddess sent Kaprice here to change the past," Alanna said musingly.
It was the first time since they had begun telling their story that someone else had spoken. After Roald had appeared, Alanna had commanded the two of them back into the tent to tell their story. And she had also added that if any others attempted to speak or interrupt, she would personally tie their tongue into several knots.
Alanna shook her head and sighed. "I don't know what to think."
"You don't need to think," Kaprice said quietly, "only believe."
Alanna gazed at her sharply. "You seem a bit young to do such a big job," she observed.
"And you seem a bit short to actually be the famed Lioness."
Alanna laughed. "Point taken."
There was a short pause.
"There is one other thing," Kaprice said.
"What's that?"
"Roald. Prince Roald, the one who seems ill."
"Seems?" Numair said with a frown.
"Seems," Kaprice said firmly. "He is only in a deep sleep. He will awaken again, once this Roald," she glanced at Roald briefly, "is gone."
"You're sure of this?" Numair questioned.
She nodded. "A person does not belong in two places at the same time. Roald's arrival has disrupted the natural order. Things will return back to normal after Roald and I leave here."
Numair contemplated her words for a moment. Then he nodded at Kaprice. "I will alert the king of your news later. He will be…glad to hear it."
"So what do we do now?" the tall man that Kaprice had learned was called Sir Raoul said. He gazed at Kaprice expectantly.
"I don't know," she admitted.
She thought that her answer would make him upset, maybe even angry, but he only nodded cordially at her. He turned to Alanna. "There is little over an hour left until sunset. I will go see the men and make sure they're ready for the night." With a tired sigh, he exited the tent.
Alanna turned her bright gaze back to Kaprice. "Once anything comes to mind, alert me." She stood up and stretched. Others followed suit, flexing their cramped muscles.
She waited until most of the others had left before speaking again. "The gods have placed their hands on you." Alanna smiled a rueful smile. "And I don't envy you for it. But if you are worthy of the gods' faith, then you are most certainly worthy of mine. Good luck." Without waiting for a reply, Alanna limped out of the tent, favoring her burnt ankle.
Numair was the last to leave; he spoke to them first. "Roald, you said that it was the ring that kept you nearly immortal. Would you mind if I examined it?"
"Of course not--" Roald began.
"No," Kaprice said harshly.
She blinked in surprise, shaking her head. "Numair, I'm sorry; I don't know what came over me. But I cannot allow you to touch the ring with your magic."
Numair waited for her to explain patiently, his dark eyes fixed on her face.
"Roald only inherited this ring after the mage died. Well, the mage isn't dead yet. The ring's other self is still out there, still on the mage. Each time it or it's counterpart, the pit of Demon's Hill, is touched with magic, it gets stronger. Right now it is weak, but the touch of your strong magic will be noted. The mage will notice the change in his ring, for any change in Roald's ring will change the mage's."
Numair looked thoughtful about her words. "So the ring and the pit get stronger by others' magics. We'll have to make sure we're more careful." Then he frowned, struck by a sudden thought. "But what about the men who come from within the pit? The fire specters? Are we allowed to touch them with our magic?"
Kaprice waited, but no answer came to her. She gave him an apologetic shrug. "I'm sorry, but I don't know."
Numair waved a dismissive hand. "Don't apologize. Magic is limited; your Sight can only See so much at a certain time." He broodingly turned and wandered out of the tent.
Roald turned to look at her. "See, that wasn't so bad, was it?"
"I guess not," she admitted. "Thank you for helping me."
He just laughed off her thanks and pulled her close. "Don't tell me that you just expected me to stand by and watch as they decided your fate."
"Well, I--" she began uncertainly.
"Oh, Kaprice," Roald said with a sigh. "Have a little more faith in me, will you?"
She leaned up to press a kiss to his cheek. "I will try."
~*~*~
A.N.- So here's another random question for you, courtesy of bored.com
Which is Worse?
1. Having a dream you are eating chocolate ice cream in the nude
OR
2. Waking up from the dream with a spoon in your butt.
*grin* that took me a couple of moments to figure out, cuz I was spacing out and only skimming it. But then I went back and had to read it again. It's disgusting, but it's funny too. *grin*