A/N: For convenience's sake, I am assuming that Corus, Carthak, and where Daine is are all in the same time zone. I refuse to have to meddle with different times of day and interrupt the activities of different characters, and besides, it's sort of feasible if you think about it. However, the weather will differ from hemisphere to hemisphere. (:
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Numair blanched as he saw a terrified Kitten suddenly appear on the floor, two feet from the chair in which he was sitting, waiting for her.
"Kitten – what's wrong?" he asked anxiously, unsettled by her blood red colour.
In response, the dragon let out a stream of whistles, croaks, and high, agitated squawks that could've waken up the dead. Kitten paced the room, her paws pattering against the floor as she ran back and forth. Numair bit his lip; she'd never acted this way before, and the only explanation he could think of was that Daine was in trouble. Standing up, he retrieved a handheld mirror from his bags, still packed and sitting neatly in the corner by the door next to Daine's.
"Why didn't I think of this before," he said to himself, as he envisioned the magic that would allow the mirror to reach the palace in Corus. Touching the smooth glass with one large finger, he sank back down into his chair and waited.
Misty white clouds obscured the surface of the mirror for a moment before clearing to reveal the chambers of Duke Gareth of Naxen the Older. Numair smiled, satisfied.
"Gareth!" he roared into the mirror. "Gareth, it is ridiculously early in the morning and I absolutely know that you must still be in bed, but if you don't get up right this instant, I will murder your son, who is conveniently in the room two doors down from this one. Gareth, you ass, I'm telling you that I will murder your –"
"Master Salmalín," a distinctly irritated voice said from beyond the viewpoint of the mirror, "if you do not cease your bickering, I will find someone you love and slaughter them. What in the name of the gods is the matter?" A face appeared in the mirror, trimmed with greying hair and looking very ruffled.
Numair smiled, but without mirth. "I'm sorry, but it is important; the situation down here requires that I speak to someone. Get me Tkaa."
Duke Gareth sniffed. He had been briefed on the events the day before, and understood the urgency of the state of affairs, but truth be told, he was not a morning person. "One moment, Numair," he said wearily, and trudged out of sight of the mirror.
A few minutes later, Numair heard the basilisk and Gareth conversing as they re-entered the room. Tkaa's face appeared, and Numair heaved a great sigh.
"Tkaa, you have no idea how happy I am that I know you," Numair said gratefully.
"How gracious of you, Master Salmalín," Tkaa murmured dryly. "What can I do for you today?"
"I need you to tell me what Kitten's on about," Numair said.
"Very well," Tkaa agreed, "let me speak to her."
"Kitten," Numair called, "if you would be as so kind to speak to Tkaa?"
Kit's eyes went wide as she rushed over to him as fast as she could, snatching the mirror from him with her forepaws. She proceeded to let loose a most varied dialogue in dragon, pausing occasionally as Tkaa posed questions, and generally being extremely loud. Finally, she let loose one last, saddened whistle, and offered the mirror back to Numair.
Numair sighed. "What went wrong?" he asked Tkaa.
"Many things," the basilisk responded. "Skysong should not have gone to Daine. The journey of a young immortal, unlike the elders, can create a disruption in the flow of time, easily sensed by anyone listening, with the right set of ears, of course. Someone heard her, someone powerful enough to send hordes of immortals after Daine. This is why she is frightened – she felt hatred, and immense power."
"Mithros, Mynoss, and Shakith!" Numair exclaimed. "I'd forgotten that the younger immortals are incapable of such that the elders are. Is she okay? Do they know? And where the hell is she?"
"Skysong warned them before she left," Tkaa assured him, "and Daine and Lisette are in the company of the badger, Broad Foot, and Silver. They will escape."
"You still haven't told me where they are," Numair said, his worry and his fear coming out as anger.
Tkaa took in a heavy breath. "They're in northern Scanra."
Numair's following profane response was heard throughout the palace, startling anyone who wasn't already awake out of their sleep.
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"Get up!" Daine yelled as she entered the cave, not bothering to roll the rock behind back its place. "Get up!"
Lise's eyes flew open at the sound of Daine's distress. "What?" she asked groggily.
Silver opened one lazy eye, staring at his charge. –What's going on?-
The badger and Broad Foot, however, were not so clueless. They rose from their beds and walked solemnly to Daine.
-Broad Foot and I must leave you now,- the badger said gently. –You'll have to manage with Silver.-
"Why?" Daine asked angrily.
Broad Foot issued a duckmole sigh. –Rules, Daine,- he replied, -rules. Mithros allowed one of us to continue the journey with you back home, and Silver will go with you.-
-Silver wears my claw for a reason,- the badger explained. –He is more mobile than either of us, and his opinion will carry more weight in council should anything happen. Old White and Night Black are very highly respected, and they will vouch for you and their pup, because you helped Brokefang and his pack those years ago.-
Daine sighed, knelt, and patted the badger and the duckmole softly on their heads. "Keep in touch, won't you?"
Each dipped their heads in acknowledgement. The badger looked at Silver for a moment, and the claw around the wolf's neck glowed faintly for a moment. –Good luck,- the badger and Broad Foot said simultaneously, and in a flare of silver light, they were gone.
"If we're done with the goodbyes," Lise said tartly, her voice strained, "can we please leave? I feel the minds of twenty men, and they're all bent on murder."
"Men?" Daine asked. "Your range must be farther than mine, because – in the name of the Goddess," she breathed suddenly, "there are a lot more than just twenty men."
Silver swore. –I feel it too,- he said grimly. –Well? What are we waiting for?-
.::.
"Are you kidding me," Kaddar exploded.
The young emperor was at the end of his line. In the space of a few hours between his getting out of bed and noon, he'd received close to hundred letters protesting the presence of the Tortallan delegation. The Wildmage had run off to declare war against Carthak and assist the rebel groups, they claimed. The emperor had to see that the Tortallans were expelled from the empire!
"Your Imperial Majesty," the messenger said tremulously, "I am merely doing the wishes of he who sent me." He was not used to seeing the emperor in such a state, especially in one where his language had deteriorated to such a colloquial condition. He wasn't even used to being in the presence of the emperor.
Kaddar fought his swelling rage as he clenched his fists. Don't slay the messenger, he thought fiercely to himself. Gritting his teeth together, he fought to keep his anger under control. "Yes," he said graciously, disguising his displeasure and regaining his composure, "I well understand that what he wishes may differ far from what you have in mind. Thank you for coming here. Your loyalty is to be commended. Good man."
"Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty," the man said falteringly, as he swept a bow, trembling, and ushered he as quickly from the throne room as he could.
The Carthaki emperor sat and fumed on his throne. Knowing that he would need some time following the messenger's presence to calm himself down, he'd ordered everyone normally present in the throne room to leave before he'd entered. How dare they accuse Tortall of sending traitors to Carthak, he thought viciously as he slammed a fist down onto the throne armrest. How they dared to accuse his own blood relation, and Daine! Daine, that lovely young lady – how her eyes captivated him, Kaddar remembered dreamily. A pity her teacher was so protective of the girl, he mused regretfully.
And these nobles dare speak against the two most significant women in his life! He loved Daine, by the gods, and his cousin was like an assurance to him that not all his family was insane, as Ozorne had been. Lisette was so civilized, so kind and cultured.
"By the Hag," Kaddar muttered violently, "I swear I will set them straight, and I swear I will find out what happened to those two if it's the last thing I ever do." He rose from his throne, curling his fingers around and crushing the message that he'd just received. "And I refuse to pay heed to any of these ridiculous aristocratic popinjays."
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CrAzYhOrSeGiRl88: Hehe, great that you're alive (:
Canadian Powerpuff: Thanks! This one was sort of longer, but there's lots of things happening now, so chapters are probably gonna start being more pages.
Eyrnwen: Haha, at least it's a healthy addiction (:
gossiptalk: Thank you! I had a chance to read your story, and all I have to say is that you should space out your paragraphs; when each person speaks, it should be in a new paragraph, and so forth. The developing plot is great, and it really puts a new spin into the world of Tortall.
anonymous: I'm glad you think so, thanks!
Amanda: I tried =P
radcliffe-is-mine: Uh oh, I'm scared now (:
nikki: Aw thanks lol keep reading okay?
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And here comes the load of crazy plot that our characters have to endure (: Keep reviewing guys, and I hope to have another couple chapters out by next week.
