A/N: OMG!! I'm sooooo sorry this chapter took forever. I think its cause it's one of those necessary but pointless chapters. It's becoming increasingly difficult for me to come up with chapters. This is mostly because I have other things on my mind, but also because I know exactly where this story is going, but I just need to get there, and that's making my life hard. Stupid characters aren't cooperating with me. They want to do it their way. At this rate, I'll never get a noble killed – whoops. Did I say that outloud?
This chapter's pretty pointless, but Darin, Hayden, Roank, and Slyde are in it, so it can't be all that bad.
Note to Karina: I didn't mean to say that wolves are evil and attack people all the time. I understand that they have a great dislike of being around people and tend to avoid them. But it's for the sake of the story. I needed a danger and immortals aren't around. Besides, ever seen 'Le Pact des Loupes' (Or however you spell it. I can't be bothered to look it up) AKA 'Brotherhood of the Wolf'?
And, uh, no vacations until APRIL, when I get to go college visiting and such. And after that… slack time! Yay, end of senior year!
DISCLAIMER: Characters belong to me. Places however are borrowed from the Almighty T.P. :D
Lady Ribyyn of Hadic II: Shadows
Chapter 5 – The Aftermath
Jessa glanced warily over at her foster-sister after her father had shut the door behind him. "Do you think-?"
"No, I don't think he was involved in it," Ribyyn replied before the girl could finish her sentence.
"But you aren't sure?"
"No. I'm not." Ribyyn bit at her lip and stared at the door. A cold look of determination flashed over her face.
"Papa said to stay here," Jessa warned her friend, but by now Ribyyn's mind was set.
"I know," she answered as she pulled on her coat.
"So you can't leave!" the younger girl hissed. "Ribyyn, it's late and there was just a murder in the city. You can't go down there alone in the middle of the night! It's dangerous!"
"How many times have I heard that phrase today?" Ribyyn muttered to herself, ignoring Jessa's warnings as she slipped her boots back on.
"Rib, please! Be reasonable about this…"
"I am being reasonable," Ribyyn said forcefully. "Jess, I have to know if he's connected to this in any way at all."
"And if he is?" Jessa asked but she didn't wait for an answer. "If he is he'll be in trouble. There'll be a fat reward hanging over his head."
"Then I'll just have to get him out of it," Ribyyn answered. She opened the door and turned back towards Jessa. "Don't wait up for me," she said before stepping out and closing the door behind her.
~*~
Darin woke up suddenly when he heard somebody sliding open the window next to his bed. Opening his eyes he saw a small figure slip in as quietly as possible. Once in the room the person turned around and shut the window, latching it closed.
Meanwhile, Darin had slid silently out of bed and picked up the dagger that lay under his pillow. Tiptoeing over to the window he grabbed the intruder roughly around the shoulders, holding their head against his bare chest and laying the blade at their throat.
"Knock much?" he asked in a deep, threatening voice.
"Darin," said a feminine rasp. "Darin, it's me!"
Darin froze and dropped the blade to the floor with a clatter. Releasing his hold on his prisoner he whirled the intruder around and found himself staring into the deep cerulean blue eyes of Ribyyn. Letting out a deep breath he sat down hard. "Mithros, Rib! I could have killed you!"
"I know," she said as she stared down at him.
Darin gasped and glanced up at her. "How can you be so calm about this?"
"Darin, there are more important things going on right now." Her voice was serious, and he could tell that her face was equally so, even with the lack of light.
"What do you mean?" he asked as he watched her walk over towards the bed. She grabbed something that lay at the end and tossed it at him. Realizing that they were his breeches, he hurriedly pulled them on, thankful that the dark hid not only his body, but his deep blush. He saw the flash of white on her face as she grinned.
"I'm going to tell you something," she said as she walked back towards him and then sat down in front of him. "And I want you to listen carefully."
"Alright."
"There was a murder tonight," she said bluntly, "somewhere in this city. I suppose it was in the middle class or above, since Jessa's father got called away to take a look. Now I want you to look me in the eye and tell me truthfully that you know absolutely nothing about it."
"Well, at one point I suppose I did know nothing about it. Now, however-"
"Darin…" Her voice held a note of warning.
Reaching out, Darin gripped her shoulders. "Ribyyn, I had nothing to do with this murder. I swear it." When he saw her eyes fill with relief he regretted what he was going to say next even before he said it. "But-"
"But?" she interrupted. "There's a 'but'?"
He nodded. "I've had word from some close companions of mine that murders have been going on for the past month or so. No violent ones, of course; that would have been noticed by the palace nobles. These 'murders' were mostly sick children or old men and women but they were written off by authorities as old-age, but there's a pattern in the way they're done. If they're in the middle class right now, it won't be long before they reach the nobles' mansions and then the palace."
Ribyyn swallowed hard, attempting to keep her face passive. "What are we going to do?"
"What can we do?" Darin asked her in return. "Ribyyn, quite honestly we can't do anything! You're a noble lady, and even though I know you aren't soft with a weak constitution, that's how you're supposed to act. And I can't do anything because if I get involved they'll blame it on me, and that's honestly the last thing I want right now." His grip on her shoulders tightened. "Ribyyn, promise me you'll not get involved. Promise me."
Ribyyn stared him straight in the eye. "I can't make you that promise," she said softly.
Darin sighed and tugged her into his arms, leaning his head on the top of hers. "Then promise me you won't do anything foolish. Or, at least, nothing foolish without me there, being foolish beside you."
Ribyyn smiled contentedly and closed her eyes. Her full day and night had finally caught up with her and she realized that she was well overdue for bed. "That I can promise," she said with a sigh as she fell asleep, leaning on Darin.
Darin smiled down at Ribyyn as he lifted her up and tucked her into bed. Then, grabbing some extra blankets out of the chest at the foot of his bed, he made a make-shift bedroll. Climbing in, he quickly fell asleep.
~*~
It was late morning when Ribyyn awoke with the sun shining in her eyes. Sighing, she rolled over, only to collapse off the bed in a tangle of sheets. The floor grunted.
Wait…
Opening her eyes she lifted her head up to see that she was sprawled in some fashion on top of Darin's torso. "Rib," he said, trying to catch his breath. "Get off of me please."
"Sorry," she mumbled and rolled off. "Did I wake you?"
"Yeah, you did." He sat up rubbing his side where her elbow had dug into his ribs. "Don't worry. I'm alright."
Ribyyn nodded and glanced around the room. It looked different in broad daylight than it did in the dark and in candle or moonlight, which were the only other times she'd been in the room. It wasn't as large as her room in the palace, but it was by far bigger than the one that she'd had at the Alexzander's home. The bed that she'd slept on was a large four poster one, made out of a beautiful redwood and decorated with intricate carvings. There was a table in one corner, with two large, stuffed, and well-used armchairs, and against the wall there was a giant armoire.
The door leading outside of the bedroom was slightly ajar and lead to the connecting sitting room. Pulling herself up, Ribyyn unwound her legs from the mess of sheets and straightened her skirts, smoothing them down daintily.
Darin made a noise and Ribyyn glanced down at him. His face was contorted in amusement. "When'd you become such a lady, Rib?"
"I've always been a lady," she told him with a glare.
Darin snorted as he pulled himself up off the floor. "If you say so, love. Now, mind leaving for a moment so that I can get dressed? Unless, of course, you would prefer to watch," he suggested. Ribyyn rolled her eyes at his foolishness and shook her head as she stepped out of the room to give the king of thieves some privacy.
"Ribyyn?" said a familiar voice. Looking up, Ribyyn saw Hayden standing in the doorway of another room. A room that, she supposed, was the one he stayed in. He looked different from when she'd last seen him. His hair was longer, and curlier if that was possible. He'd grown about an inch and his face had matured too. It was strange to her; when she'd lived with him she'd never noticed the changes, but after being away from him for nearly two months he looked like a completely different person. "Ribyyn, what are ye doin' 'ere?"
"Well, I was sleeping," she answered. She knew almost immediately after saying it that this was the wrong answer, since Hayden's green eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"Not like that, you twit!" she cried with a laugh, happy to know that his personality hadn't changed at all, even if his looks had. "If you must know he slept on the floor!"
Hayden raised a brow and gave her a suspicious look. "An' where did you sleep?"
"On the bed, of course. Do we have breakfast downstairs?"
"Right," Hayden said, ignoring her question and heading to the door that lead into the hallway. Ribyyn followed him out into the hall and down a flight of nearby stairs. "So what were ye doin' 'ere before ye decided t'," he cleared his throat, "sleep."
Ribyyn rolled her eyes. "I needed to ask Darin a question. And before you ask, it's none of your business."
"I think it is my business 'f it's in the room next door t' me," he said as they entered the kitchen. "Slyde, at least, always 'ad the decency t' warn me 'fore 'e 'ad a girl over fer company."
"Hayden!" Ribyyn cried with surprise. "I don't want to know that! And besides, I already told you-"
Hayden laughed and sat down, pulling Ribyyn down into a chair next to him. "Aw, Rib. I'm just kiddin'. C'mon, I 'aven't seen ye in weeks, months even. Tell me what ye've been up to."
Ribyyn sighed, relaxed in his company once again. Gods, I've missed him, she said to herself as she leaned back in her chair, readying herself for a full day of catching up with one of her closest friends.
~*~
In Port Caynn:
There was a loud, pounding knock on his door. Roank rolled over and landed on the floor with an audible 'thump'. The banging continued.
"I'm comin'!" he cried out hoarsely. Glancing outside as he grabbed a pair of breeches that lay on the end of the bed he saw that the sun was high in the sky. He'd slept in; it was past noon.
Whoever was at the door was very anxious to speak to him. Roank had only managed to put one leg in the breeches when the knocking commenced again.
"Argh," Roank growled to himself and muttered something rude about impatient folks as he pulled the breeches on the rest of the way and went to answer the door. Slyde stood there, his hand raised to knock again. "What is it?"
Slyde looked grim. "Evan's downstairs. Says there's something ye should know." Evan, whose real name was Evangeline, though she'd stab anybody who even attempted to use that name on her, was their messenger. She'd been in Corus just yesterday.
Roank sighed. "I'll be right down."
Slyde nodded and went downstairs to wait. Making his way over to the table where their messenger was reclining with her eyes closed, he grabbed a pitcher of water and a glass. He plopped down into a seat across from the young woman, no more than a girl really, and poured her a drink.
"Thanks," she whispered quietly before gulping the water down. "Is he comin' soon?"
Slyde nodded as he examined her. She was tired; he'd be able to tell that if he was blind. But there was something else in her pale green eyes, a sort of haunted look. She'd seen something she shouldn't have, and then rode three hours to reach Port Caynn. Her blonde hair was dirty and sweat plastered it to her head.
Roank had arrived by the time Slyde was done with his assessment of the messenger. "So?" he asked, his voice still rough from sleep. "What's so important that ye made a midnight ride out here from Corus?"
Evan fiddled with her glass. "Ye'r not gonna like it," she said with a sigh. "But it's important." She glanced up at the two men, "I was watchin' Ribyyn last night, like ye told me to. I still say that one of these days I'm gonna get caught, and the two of ye will be in more trouble than it's worth, but it's yer hangin'." Refilling the glass, she took another sip before continuing. "So I was watchin' the girl all night, followin' her from the woods t' the library an' such. She got back t' th' rooms real late an' that lord started yellin' at 'em an'-"
"Evie," Roank said softly, using a forbidden nickname. Forbidden to anyone that wasn't Roank. "I really hate to interrupt, but could you just get to the point?"
"I am gettin' t' the point," she snapped though her voice was still soft. "Have some patience will ye?" Sighing deeply she continued, "So th' lord is yellin' at 'em but then th' king comes in an' says there's been this murder in th' lower business district, just outta the slums."
"What do ye mean murder?" Slyde asked. "We've been getting those letters from Darin about all those folks in the slums dyin' but he never mentioned it being murder."
"Aye, I've heard about that too," Evan added. "An' it's written off as sickness or old age, but some of 'em are too suspicious. There was a lass that died a couple weeks ago, and she was right healthy. T'was her younger sister who was sick. That looks like a murder to me."
"Didn't that get reported to th' nobles up on th' hill?" questioned Roank.
"Nay, girl was an orphan and about twelve. Th' place where she lived was involved with things like poppy and such, an' th' ladies that ran th' joint didn't wanna be shut down, so they never told."
"But perhaps the girl," Slyde began but stopped when Evan shook her head.
"Th' healer at th' orphanage said there wasn't a trace a poppy in her."
"So it's murder?" Slyde asked softly.
Evan nodded. "I left after that, I had to go see what happened. It was awful, blood everywhere. Th' couple's mouths were open like they was in th' middle of screamin'." She paused in thought, "But th' folks down there were sayin' that th' couple had child, a girl, an' she wasn't there."
"So a murder and a kidnapping."
"Seems so, though she mighta run away after seein' what was happenin' to her folks." She looked up at the two men. "I think that girl that died in th' orphanage a couple weeks back was a mistake. I don't think whoever murdered her meant t' do it. There's somethin' in common with all those who've died, but I can't put my finger on it. I don't have enough information just yet."
"Well, don't give yourself a headache," Roank told her. "Go upstairs and get some sleep."
Evan nodded in thanks and walked slowly up the stairs. When she was out of sight Roank turned to his second in command. "Slyde," he said, his face grim, "I think it's time we take a trip to Corus t' visit yer brother."
A/N: FINALLY! I'm DONE! GAGH!!!!! R/R and you get a cookie. Oh! And cookies for all those who've R/R before. Bry, if you beta maybe I'll be motivated enough to fix all my mistakes this time. But like you've said, you're a slacker beta who only needs to actually beta something occasionally. Sorta like my babysitting jobs.