A/N: I'm going crazy!!!!!! :D I'm working with too many characters. I think it's time to kill some. :D This is very short I know. But I had to get it out before I lost the idea. Plus it's a snow day so I have some free time!
Henna: thanks for the offer. It was quite sweet, but I wasn't really asking for a new beta. I was just joking around with my current one.
DISCLAIMER: Characters belong to me. Places however are borrowed from the Almighty T.P. :D
Lady Ribyyn of Hadic II: Shadows
Chapter 6 – Visitation Rights
It was late afternoon when Ribyyn returned to the palace. She knew she was in more trouble than she anticipated when she saw the faces of the guards that stood at the palace gates. Both men looked down at her with small, worried frowns.
"Milady," said one. "Milord's been lookin' for ye." Ribyyn didn't stop to answer and didn't look up to meet his eyes. She just walked shamefully past him, keeping her eyes on her feet.
The walk to the Goldanlake's palace suite didn't improve her mood any. Next to her ride away from Hadic and the Scanran raiders, it was one of the longest journeys of her life. Or at least it felt that way. She hadn't wanted to disobey Alden. In fact, she wasn't quite sure why she had done it in the first place. Perhaps Hayden had rubbed off on her a bit more than she thought.
Taking a deep breath, she opened the door to her foster family's rooms. What she expected to see was Lord Alden and Lady Bryttany sitting in the large plush chairs facing the fireplace with their backs to the door. What she did not expect was the rest of the family; Jessa, Orlando, and Karoline. She also did not anticipate finding the king there with his niece.
She stood quietly in the doorway, waiting for somebody to turn around or look up and see her. That somebody was Min. When the princess lifted her head, Ribyyn could see the worried look on her friend's face. She hadn't expected anyone to be truly worried. After all, she'd only gone down to speak to Darin and she'd only stayed so late because she wanted to catch up with Hayden.
Min rose and rushed over to her friend, wrapping her arms around her. Ribyyn stiffened in surprise and returned the hug awkwardly. The heir to the throne pulled away and looked her friend straight in the eye. "We've been so worried," she whispered.
Ribyyn pulled her eyes away from the princess's intense gaze and rested her eyes on her foster family. "I didn't mean to worry you," she said softly. "I only went out to visit some friends in the city and I honestly-"
"You went out, Ribyyn," Alden interrupted her, his voice hard. "You went out, when I specifically told you to stay here."
"I know," she answered weakly. It was useless to argue, she knew that, but it was instinct. "I know you told me not to, but I had to see them. I had to ask. I had to know."
"Know what?" asked Karo innocently. The girl held her rag doll in her lap and there was a doll-sized makeshift bed at her feet. Lady Bryttany rose from the chair and picked up the blankets that lay on the floor.
"Come on, Karo," she said quietly, "time to go take a nap."
"A nap?" the young girl asked, surprised. "I'm too old for-"
"Karoline," her father said harshly, not removing his eyes from Ribyyn. "Room, now. You too Orlando."
"But I-" the boy began.
"Now. And Jessalyn, you go keep an eye on them."
Jessa opened her mouth to protest but thought better of it. Walking towards Karo's room she opened the door and waited for her siblings. Orlando sighed heavily, took his younger sister's hand and dragged her into her room. Jessa closed the door behind them.
"Who did you go to visit, Ribyyn?" Alden asked, his voice monotonous and angry. Ribyyn's eyes flashed and traveled to the king and then to Min. Min's eyes held only sorrow.
"Ribyyn?"
"Friends, sir" she answered, watching her feet once again. Then, in a rare occasion of verbosity, she began to babble. "Only friends, I swear. And we talked, that was all. And when we were done talking it was late, or early, and I was too tired to walk all the way back, and he probably wouldn't have let me walk all the way back alone anyway, so I spent the night there."
"He?" the king asked.
Ribyyn let out a string of silent curses in her mind. She'd forgotten the king was here and listening to everything she said. "M-my brother's friend," she answered awkwardly.
"Your brother was rather young when he left the palace," the king replied.
Ribyyn shook her head. "He's from Hadic, Your Majesty."
"But, according to all reports, everyone in Hadic died. With the single exception of you, of course."
"He wasn't there at the time. He was visiting an uncle here in the city," she told him. It wasn't the truth, and he probably knew that, but she was not about to pour out the entire story to the king. Even Glynice Alexzander didn't know the full story, and she'd helped raise Ribyyn.
"I see," the king said with a nod. The room was silent as everyone watched Ribyyn with interest.
"There was a reason I told you not to go down to the city, you know that." Alden's voice was less harsh now. "And you know that because you disobeyed me you're going to have to be punished." Ribyyn nodded, and waited for it. She didn't like the idea of extra etiquette lessons or extra needlepoint lessons, but she knew they were well deserved. And at worse, she'd be restricted to the palace grounds for a week. She'd gone nearly two weeks without seeing Darin and two months without seeing Hayden. She could last a week. "I think," Alden continued, "that the situation being what it is, the best punishment would be restriction to the palace grounds and extra lessons to keep you busy."
She smiled to herself. As usual.
"Until further notice," he said.
Ribyyn could feel her jaw drop. "Further notice? What does that mean?"
"It means, Rib," Lord Alden said as he walked towards her and kneeled down so that he was at the same height as her, "that you can't go off the palace grounds until I deem it safe enough." He held up a hand as she tried to speak. "And, I don't want to hear of your friends coming here to visit you, though I know that seems unlikely right now. And I don't want them sending letters to you. You are to have no contact with them, is that understood?"
Ribyyn's eyes flashed with anger, "But why?"
"Because they're suspects, Ribyyn. They're suspects in this murder and the murders that have been taking place all over the city. It's not safe."
"Suspects?" she hissed. "But they didn't do anything! Darin told me they didn't do anything! He didn't even know!"
"Ribyyn," Alden closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "You aren't making this any easier on me, Rib. I don't want to do this to you, but it's for your own good."
A tear ran down her cheek and she wiped at it furiously. "But it's not fair," she insisted. "They haven't done anything wrong. They would never hurt somebody like that. Not ever!"
Alden's eyes opened and he saw a few more tears that fell from her eyes. "Maybe they wouldn't, but Ribyyn, I don't know that. I can't know that. Not for sure. So until we find the man, or woman, who's been committing these horrible murders, you are not to contact them. Do you understand?" His voice had gone from hard and angry to soft and sorrowful, and Ribyyn couldn't stand it. Her tears began to flow freely down her cheeks.
"Ribyyn?" Alden asked as he wiped her cheeks with his large callused fingers. "Do you understand why I need you to do this for me?"
She shook her head. The only thought that registered was that she wasn't allowed to even write to Darin or Hayden. She could have gotten over not seeing them, but to have no contact whatsoever was just too much. She'd known Darin since childhood and Hayden was like a brother. They wouldn't hurt a fly unless they had reason to.
She sniffed and, pulling away from Alden, wiped her eyes. "I'm tired," she hiccupped. "I'm going to go lie down."
Alden nodded and stood to watch her go. As she closed the door behind her, he sighed and turned to his fiancée and the king. "I hope this was the right thing to do. I pray to Mithros that she doesn't get the idea in her head to run off in the middle of the night."
The king nodded in agreement, "I'm doubling up the guards that have night watch. I'll tell them that they should keep a look out for people leaving the palace in the middle of the night as well as entering. You've done the right thing my friend. When this is all over she'll forgive you."
A/N: OY! THE DRAMA! And look! Done in one morning! Yes, I know it's much shorter than most of my chapters, but this seemed like this part could do well in a stand alone chapter. Plus, it's only been a few days since my last update so that's alright then. I'll try to update soon, but, well, weekends are the only free time I have. That's when I put down on paper what I think up in my head when I zone out in Stat class. I swear I could write full chapters weekly in that class if I didn't sit in the front row.