A/N: Hello again. I know it's been a while, but guess what, I'm not
apologizing! Isn't that original?! I'm not apologizing cuz here's the
thing, I'm not writing this for you all, but for me, so if I feel like
taking a break, I will, no questions asked. Though I would definitely like
to thank all my reviewers for their patience and noticeable lack of nasty,
whiny reviews/emails which would have only served to drive me farther away
from this story. And of course a thousand thanks to those who reviewed
chapter 5, Dark Enchantress, cheler, and Fire Pixie. That all said enjoy
the long-coming chapter six!
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Days of journey passed without remarkable event. Xandro slowly stopped moping about his lost Witch, and a few more inns' profit margins increased with the trio's business. When they did decide to bed outdoors, Linnet swore she could hear the howls of wolves drift on the night air. Taren told her she was being paranoid.
"Am I?" Linnet said challengingly, "You don't know, Taren, you didn't see those wolves, you didn't look into their eyes."
Taren tried to stifle an exasperated sigh at his friend's obstinate behavior, "You've never seen a wolf in your life, Lin. How do you know they aren't ALL like that?"
At this Xandro turned from his unpacking to his brother, "She may not have seen one before, Taren, but I have. Those weren't normal wolves, not by a long shot."
"Alright, fine, have it your all's way, we're being followed by supernatural demon wolves who will most likely disembowel us as we sleep." Linnet smiled in satisfaction, glad to have won another argument. Xandro went back to his work and tried to shake off the fog of apprehension that suddenly weighed heavily on him.
- - - (A/N: Stupid ff.net... gotta make little borders... gr.)
The first few fat raindrops went unnoticed by the dozing party, but their followers stung each awake as their numbers increased to sheets of water practically throwing itself from the sky.
"Guess it was inevitable," Taren remarked, the most awake of the three, "Though I suppose it's an improvement to getting disemboweled." Linnet sent him a black look from inside a ball of blankets.
"We should find shelter," Xandro said, already repacking. Taren followed his lead. Linnet pulled the blanket tighter, quite unwilling to move let alone get on her horse. However, a condescending "C'mon, Princess, I'm sure your delicate noble skin wouldn't appreciate a night out in the rain" from Taren quickly got her on her feet and to work.
Minutes later the three were on the road, the horses' hooves making squelching sounds in the mud. All Linnet could think was, Burke better be practicing his groveling if he's going to show any appreciation for all our hard work rescuing the stupid whelp. Over the past few days her motivation in the journey had been taken down quite a few notches. In her memories of Prince Burke she could find no redeeming quality that would be worth saving in him. All she could tell herself was his rescue would be important to the Kingdom, and that was all that mattered. But if it meant more than one soggy, miserable night atop her mare, well, she couldn't be held responsible for her actions upon finding Burke.
"There, a house!" Xandro exclaimed with joy.
Indeed, as Linnet squinted through the wall of water, a light could be seen in the distance. The first bolt of lightning from the burgeoning storm suddenly illuminated a plowed field alongside a quaint farmhouse and large tree. Linnet, on her last legs, spurred her horse into a gallop that brought her to the house's door in moments. She practically fell out of her saddle and quickly set about the task of waking every soul inside by means of pounding on the door.
"Whoa, Lin," Taren said, taking hold of her wrist, "That method won't exactly endear a trio of soggy strangers to whoever lives here, now will it?" He stepped in front of her and rapped gently on the door and, upon hearing footsteps approaching from inside, turned to the wretched sovereign with a blatant "See, now that wasn't so hard was it?" grin.
The door swung open to reveal a not fully conscious man in his nightdress and a lamp, "Yes?" he said warily.
"Ah, my good man," Taren replied brightly, "Terribly sorry to wake you, but us three royal couriers were caught in the storm and were hopin' you'd be so kind as to give some shelter to a few sufferin' souls." A silencing boot atop hers put an end to Linnet's giggles.
The farmer peered at each traveler for a time in silence, deliberating. Taren's merchant-like smile never faltered, even as water dripped down his face, "Well, I don't reckon you all're trouble, but I-"
"Who is it, Amos?" a second semi-conscious voice, this one female, came from inside.
"Royal couriers, need shelter," the man, Amos, said simply.
"Well, what're you waitin' for, their deaths? Let 'em in!" The door opened wider, revealing a small woman cradling a plump baby. Amos cast one more cautious look at the three before moving aside.
"Thank you kindly, madam," Taren said, and led the remaining soaked travelers into the dark cottage. There was a moment of silence as the three relished the new and quite cozy warmth with contented smiles.
Linnet turned to the woman, "Thank you so much for letting us impose on you like this, we really... appreciate... it..." Her voice trailed off as she and the woman stared at each other, "Irula?"
The woman blinked and squinted in the limited light of Amos' lamp at Linnet, "Princess?"
Taren practically leapt between the two women, "Oh, I'm terribly sorry, ma'am, this is NOT the Princess. She's simply your common, every-day courier. Ha, she's not even of royal blood in fact-"
Irula turned sharp eyes on the babbling boy, "Don't you lie to me, young sir, I know the Princess when I see her!"
Linnet suddenly beamed widely, "It IS you, Irula! I haven't seen you in ages!" Without further ado she wrapped her arms around the woman, hugging her tightly. After a moment's hesitation Irula returned Linnet's warmth, patting the girl's damp head affectionately. Amos, Taren, and Xandro stood by, wholly dumbfounded.
- - -
"That's quite some tale, young Princess," was Irula's only reply after Linnet's long discourse of their journeys. Amos nodded in agreement and sipped from his cup of tea.
After explaining that Irula had been Linnet's nursemaid and confidante for many years, before leaving the castle to marry Amos, all entered the kitchen and settled around its table. Irula had immediately commanded Linnet to tell her exactly what had brought her to her door in the middle of a storm. Linnet readily complied.
"So we shouldn't be here long, just until the storm ends, I wouldn't want to overstay our welcome."
"Oh, perish the thought, bird-child. We've plenty o' room and food ta' spare," Irula smiled wryly and shifted the sleeping infant to her hip, "That is, as long as you don't mind our simple peasant food."
Linnet faked a melodramatic pout, something she'd perfected watching the flimsy noble ladies at balls she'd been forced to attend, "Oh, I suppose it shall HAVE to do," she said, fluttering her eyelashes prettily. Irula crowed and poured the girl another cup of tea. Linnet peered over the edge of her vessel at the baby, "So, who's this sleeping beauty, Irula?"
Irula looked down at her child, eyes brimming with pride, "This is young Awin, Linnet, the reason we were awake to accept you as well as our fourth child." She glanced at her husband, who wore a similar silly grin as Irula's.
"Fourth," Taren repeated, sounding awed, "That's quite a feat, Mrs. Irula, you have my respect."
"Hasn't been easy," Amos remarked, "But we get by just fine." He placed a loving kiss on Irula's temple.
Irula smiled back at her husband a moment before turning to her three visitors, "Well, I 'spect it'll be high time you got some sleep, this journey of yours sounds nigh exhaustin'." She led them back into the cottage's small sitting room they'd first entered, "Amos and I'll get you some blankets, and we'll see you in the morning."
She did just that, and in seconds, each member of the adventurous party was soundly unconscious.
- - -
Captain Yi Tan of the Kingdom's Guard stood over a small table in his tent, poring over the large map that lay on it, and tried to ignore the raging storm outside. It was difficult, days of scouring the countryside in search of the missing Princess Linnet, even with the fair weather, were beginning to take their toll on him. All he wanted to do was curl up on his cot and sleep in the soft candlelight, but he knew even if he did submit to his desires sleep would not come. He had a mission to fulfill, and as long as the Princess's whereabouts remained unknown, and his superiors continued their raspy breathing down his neck, he couldn't truly rest. That was his gift that would swiftly bring him through the ranks of the Kingdom's Guard; that was his curse that brought him endless troubles at times. This was one of those times.
He barely lifted bleary eyes at the sound of someone opening the tent flap and entering, "The scouts have returned, Captain," reported Sergeant Marko Wells.
"And?" Tan replied, trying not to sound harsh too his fellow officer and friend.
"There's a small farm down the road around twenty leagues from here, could be something. Records say it belongs to a family, and the wife used to work for the castle as Linnet's nursemaid until her marriage."
Tan felt the creaky wheels in his mind start too turn, "Yes, you're right, that does sound like something." He turned a determined face to Marko, "We shall be there by tomorrow evening." Marko smiled back, glad to see his friend acting like himself again, bowed and saluted, and left the tent.
Tan turned back to his map but in a matter of moments fell backwards onto his cot. He knew he had no reason to be so confident about this sketchy lead, but his instincts were buzzing and his brain was telling him he need not torture himself with his maps any longer. All he had to focus on was finding the Princess.
The Princess, his mind wandered in a dreamy state of half-sleep, the daughter of the famous Queen Sunyoo of the foreign lands. Foreign lands that are your home, he reminded himself, and don't you forget it. Very few families that had followed the Queen's wedding train had stayed in the Kingdom, finding it far too backwards and lacking in style and color, but the Yi family had for reasons unfathomable to young Tan, only a toddler at the time. Now, on his cot in the middle of a fierce storm as leader of the search party of Kingdom Guards, Tan made a mental note to ask his father why.
About the Princess herself, Tan knew precious little more than most. He knew she was a lovely girl, taking after her radiant mother, from the few times he'd seen her at the balls he'd made appearances at since assuming the rank of captain. Though he knew she'd be much prettier if she smiled once in a while. In fact, the only time he HAD seen her smile (not counting the fake ones she gave her father and any other noble in the castle) was when he was assigned to guard her on her many jaunts into the village with that stable boy. These day trips were common knowledge among the Castle Guard, each and every one had at some time or another been Linnet's shadow, not an entirely enjoyable task, as a younger Private Tan had discovered.
She and the boy had roamed all over the village, all around the market no matter how crowded and dangerous, into neighborhoods no matter how mundane and average, through woods no matter how dark and treacherous. It took all of Tan's minimal training to keep track of her, sometimes losing sight of her bobbing dark head for as long as half an hour before finding it again in a house or by a stream. She seemed to fear nothing, or perhaps she was too naïve to know to be afraid. Tan was reluctant to believe the daughter of the great Sunyoo would apply to that second possibility.
But Tan had not failed, no; he never failed, in any mission in his entire military career. He would not allow it of himself, a rigid code of honor infused in him by his father, a military man in the old kingdom, his whole life. No, I've never failed, he thought with a slightly smug smile, and I won't fail in this. I will bring the Princess home, make no mistake of it. The deeper corners of his mind muttered that he also wouldn't mind seeing that dark head again. An event that would, with any luck, happen as early as the following afternoon.
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A/N: Oh my goodness, look at that! I created another character! I completely didn't mean to do that! That ever happen to any of you? You start out writing a chapter and then it skews WAY off from what you thought would happen into this alternate reality almost? Isn't it cool? Anyways, I kinda like this Tan guy, so there probably shouldn't be as long a wait as last time. Your welcome ^^! Review please!
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Days of journey passed without remarkable event. Xandro slowly stopped moping about his lost Witch, and a few more inns' profit margins increased with the trio's business. When they did decide to bed outdoors, Linnet swore she could hear the howls of wolves drift on the night air. Taren told her she was being paranoid.
"Am I?" Linnet said challengingly, "You don't know, Taren, you didn't see those wolves, you didn't look into their eyes."
Taren tried to stifle an exasperated sigh at his friend's obstinate behavior, "You've never seen a wolf in your life, Lin. How do you know they aren't ALL like that?"
At this Xandro turned from his unpacking to his brother, "She may not have seen one before, Taren, but I have. Those weren't normal wolves, not by a long shot."
"Alright, fine, have it your all's way, we're being followed by supernatural demon wolves who will most likely disembowel us as we sleep." Linnet smiled in satisfaction, glad to have won another argument. Xandro went back to his work and tried to shake off the fog of apprehension that suddenly weighed heavily on him.
- - - (A/N: Stupid ff.net... gotta make little borders... gr.)
The first few fat raindrops went unnoticed by the dozing party, but their followers stung each awake as their numbers increased to sheets of water practically throwing itself from the sky.
"Guess it was inevitable," Taren remarked, the most awake of the three, "Though I suppose it's an improvement to getting disemboweled." Linnet sent him a black look from inside a ball of blankets.
"We should find shelter," Xandro said, already repacking. Taren followed his lead. Linnet pulled the blanket tighter, quite unwilling to move let alone get on her horse. However, a condescending "C'mon, Princess, I'm sure your delicate noble skin wouldn't appreciate a night out in the rain" from Taren quickly got her on her feet and to work.
Minutes later the three were on the road, the horses' hooves making squelching sounds in the mud. All Linnet could think was, Burke better be practicing his groveling if he's going to show any appreciation for all our hard work rescuing the stupid whelp. Over the past few days her motivation in the journey had been taken down quite a few notches. In her memories of Prince Burke she could find no redeeming quality that would be worth saving in him. All she could tell herself was his rescue would be important to the Kingdom, and that was all that mattered. But if it meant more than one soggy, miserable night atop her mare, well, she couldn't be held responsible for her actions upon finding Burke.
"There, a house!" Xandro exclaimed with joy.
Indeed, as Linnet squinted through the wall of water, a light could be seen in the distance. The first bolt of lightning from the burgeoning storm suddenly illuminated a plowed field alongside a quaint farmhouse and large tree. Linnet, on her last legs, spurred her horse into a gallop that brought her to the house's door in moments. She practically fell out of her saddle and quickly set about the task of waking every soul inside by means of pounding on the door.
"Whoa, Lin," Taren said, taking hold of her wrist, "That method won't exactly endear a trio of soggy strangers to whoever lives here, now will it?" He stepped in front of her and rapped gently on the door and, upon hearing footsteps approaching from inside, turned to the wretched sovereign with a blatant "See, now that wasn't so hard was it?" grin.
The door swung open to reveal a not fully conscious man in his nightdress and a lamp, "Yes?" he said warily.
"Ah, my good man," Taren replied brightly, "Terribly sorry to wake you, but us three royal couriers were caught in the storm and were hopin' you'd be so kind as to give some shelter to a few sufferin' souls." A silencing boot atop hers put an end to Linnet's giggles.
The farmer peered at each traveler for a time in silence, deliberating. Taren's merchant-like smile never faltered, even as water dripped down his face, "Well, I don't reckon you all're trouble, but I-"
"Who is it, Amos?" a second semi-conscious voice, this one female, came from inside.
"Royal couriers, need shelter," the man, Amos, said simply.
"Well, what're you waitin' for, their deaths? Let 'em in!" The door opened wider, revealing a small woman cradling a plump baby. Amos cast one more cautious look at the three before moving aside.
"Thank you kindly, madam," Taren said, and led the remaining soaked travelers into the dark cottage. There was a moment of silence as the three relished the new and quite cozy warmth with contented smiles.
Linnet turned to the woman, "Thank you so much for letting us impose on you like this, we really... appreciate... it..." Her voice trailed off as she and the woman stared at each other, "Irula?"
The woman blinked and squinted in the limited light of Amos' lamp at Linnet, "Princess?"
Taren practically leapt between the two women, "Oh, I'm terribly sorry, ma'am, this is NOT the Princess. She's simply your common, every-day courier. Ha, she's not even of royal blood in fact-"
Irula turned sharp eyes on the babbling boy, "Don't you lie to me, young sir, I know the Princess when I see her!"
Linnet suddenly beamed widely, "It IS you, Irula! I haven't seen you in ages!" Without further ado she wrapped her arms around the woman, hugging her tightly. After a moment's hesitation Irula returned Linnet's warmth, patting the girl's damp head affectionately. Amos, Taren, and Xandro stood by, wholly dumbfounded.
- - -
"That's quite some tale, young Princess," was Irula's only reply after Linnet's long discourse of their journeys. Amos nodded in agreement and sipped from his cup of tea.
After explaining that Irula had been Linnet's nursemaid and confidante for many years, before leaving the castle to marry Amos, all entered the kitchen and settled around its table. Irula had immediately commanded Linnet to tell her exactly what had brought her to her door in the middle of a storm. Linnet readily complied.
"So we shouldn't be here long, just until the storm ends, I wouldn't want to overstay our welcome."
"Oh, perish the thought, bird-child. We've plenty o' room and food ta' spare," Irula smiled wryly and shifted the sleeping infant to her hip, "That is, as long as you don't mind our simple peasant food."
Linnet faked a melodramatic pout, something she'd perfected watching the flimsy noble ladies at balls she'd been forced to attend, "Oh, I suppose it shall HAVE to do," she said, fluttering her eyelashes prettily. Irula crowed and poured the girl another cup of tea. Linnet peered over the edge of her vessel at the baby, "So, who's this sleeping beauty, Irula?"
Irula looked down at her child, eyes brimming with pride, "This is young Awin, Linnet, the reason we were awake to accept you as well as our fourth child." She glanced at her husband, who wore a similar silly grin as Irula's.
"Fourth," Taren repeated, sounding awed, "That's quite a feat, Mrs. Irula, you have my respect."
"Hasn't been easy," Amos remarked, "But we get by just fine." He placed a loving kiss on Irula's temple.
Irula smiled back at her husband a moment before turning to her three visitors, "Well, I 'spect it'll be high time you got some sleep, this journey of yours sounds nigh exhaustin'." She led them back into the cottage's small sitting room they'd first entered, "Amos and I'll get you some blankets, and we'll see you in the morning."
She did just that, and in seconds, each member of the adventurous party was soundly unconscious.
- - -
Captain Yi Tan of the Kingdom's Guard stood over a small table in his tent, poring over the large map that lay on it, and tried to ignore the raging storm outside. It was difficult, days of scouring the countryside in search of the missing Princess Linnet, even with the fair weather, were beginning to take their toll on him. All he wanted to do was curl up on his cot and sleep in the soft candlelight, but he knew even if he did submit to his desires sleep would not come. He had a mission to fulfill, and as long as the Princess's whereabouts remained unknown, and his superiors continued their raspy breathing down his neck, he couldn't truly rest. That was his gift that would swiftly bring him through the ranks of the Kingdom's Guard; that was his curse that brought him endless troubles at times. This was one of those times.
He barely lifted bleary eyes at the sound of someone opening the tent flap and entering, "The scouts have returned, Captain," reported Sergeant Marko Wells.
"And?" Tan replied, trying not to sound harsh too his fellow officer and friend.
"There's a small farm down the road around twenty leagues from here, could be something. Records say it belongs to a family, and the wife used to work for the castle as Linnet's nursemaid until her marriage."
Tan felt the creaky wheels in his mind start too turn, "Yes, you're right, that does sound like something." He turned a determined face to Marko, "We shall be there by tomorrow evening." Marko smiled back, glad to see his friend acting like himself again, bowed and saluted, and left the tent.
Tan turned back to his map but in a matter of moments fell backwards onto his cot. He knew he had no reason to be so confident about this sketchy lead, but his instincts were buzzing and his brain was telling him he need not torture himself with his maps any longer. All he had to focus on was finding the Princess.
The Princess, his mind wandered in a dreamy state of half-sleep, the daughter of the famous Queen Sunyoo of the foreign lands. Foreign lands that are your home, he reminded himself, and don't you forget it. Very few families that had followed the Queen's wedding train had stayed in the Kingdom, finding it far too backwards and lacking in style and color, but the Yi family had for reasons unfathomable to young Tan, only a toddler at the time. Now, on his cot in the middle of a fierce storm as leader of the search party of Kingdom Guards, Tan made a mental note to ask his father why.
About the Princess herself, Tan knew precious little more than most. He knew she was a lovely girl, taking after her radiant mother, from the few times he'd seen her at the balls he'd made appearances at since assuming the rank of captain. Though he knew she'd be much prettier if she smiled once in a while. In fact, the only time he HAD seen her smile (not counting the fake ones she gave her father and any other noble in the castle) was when he was assigned to guard her on her many jaunts into the village with that stable boy. These day trips were common knowledge among the Castle Guard, each and every one had at some time or another been Linnet's shadow, not an entirely enjoyable task, as a younger Private Tan had discovered.
She and the boy had roamed all over the village, all around the market no matter how crowded and dangerous, into neighborhoods no matter how mundane and average, through woods no matter how dark and treacherous. It took all of Tan's minimal training to keep track of her, sometimes losing sight of her bobbing dark head for as long as half an hour before finding it again in a house or by a stream. She seemed to fear nothing, or perhaps she was too naïve to know to be afraid. Tan was reluctant to believe the daughter of the great Sunyoo would apply to that second possibility.
But Tan had not failed, no; he never failed, in any mission in his entire military career. He would not allow it of himself, a rigid code of honor infused in him by his father, a military man in the old kingdom, his whole life. No, I've never failed, he thought with a slightly smug smile, and I won't fail in this. I will bring the Princess home, make no mistake of it. The deeper corners of his mind muttered that he also wouldn't mind seeing that dark head again. An event that would, with any luck, happen as early as the following afternoon.
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A/N: Oh my goodness, look at that! I created another character! I completely didn't mean to do that! That ever happen to any of you? You start out writing a chapter and then it skews WAY off from what you thought would happen into this alternate reality almost? Isn't it cool? Anyways, I kinda like this Tan guy, so there probably shouldn't be as long a wait as last time. Your welcome ^^! Review please!