Why doesn't Riyanna just join in the army in Carthak?

Well, because it just isn't allowed yet. Like the whole Alanna had to hide as a boy to get taken in situation. Kaddar's position as emperor is still shaky. Making a radical change like that is dangerous. In several years, however, it would have been possible. But Riyanna isn't going to be young forever.

Author's Note: Gods, I hate spiders. And my room seems to be infested with them. Ugh. But anyways. I went on a writing rampage last night and was able to finish off a couple chapters. So I've only got three or so more to go. Let's hope that my sudden writing energy lasts enough for me to finish the fic and update regularly. I'm jumping perspectives in this chapter. We get some Lauryn, some Nathan, some Axe, and even some General Aleyn. Yum yum ::insert sarcastic face here::. Danel does appear in this chapter (and he says a grand total of two words). I want to say something else… but then I'd only be ruining the chapter. So… I guess that means I stop. Here. /author's note

28. Contemplation

Nobles' Bane: Chapter 26, three days after Lord Solran's capture

She watched as Travis carefully, gently, brushed his mare. She hadn't tried to hide her presence, and she knew that he had seen her. But he didn't acknowledge her presence quite yet.

He had more patience than she. "Travis?"

"What, Lauryn." He didn't sound very pleased.

"Well, I was wondering, do you mind if you--"

Travis' glare stopped her. She hadn't seen anything so hostile since the last time she had walked by one of the captive nobles last night.

"No," he finally said.

She pretended not to understand. "No, you don't mind?" She started to turn. "Great, I'll just tell the others--"

He took her chin into his right hand. "No, I will not do whatever you were just about to ask me to do."

"But, Travis--"

"There is no way I'm letting you go to Corus by yourself to face General Aleyn and save your friends."

"I'm not going alone. Kenric will be--"

Travis merely gave her a dissatisfied grunt.

"How'd you know what I was about to ask you anyway?" The answer hit her just as she finished asking her question: Kenric. Her eyes narrowed. "He warned you didn't he?"

"Yes, well, it does appear that he may have more sense than you do."

"Well, we need someone to stay behind and watch the damn nobles while we go attack the castle!"

"Have you asked Nathan?"

She sighed. "I would if I could. But Nathan… he isn't in his right mind right now."

Travis turned back to his mare, and, for a moment, she thought the conversation was over. But he spoke.

"Why don't you talk to him before you make that judgment?" he said quietly. He interrupted her before she could object. "You weren't there when we were working together to capture Lord Jaranth's heir. He can be surprisingly focused when he wants to be."

"But what if…" she hesitated.

"You know, Lauryn, Nathan might not be as stuck on revenge as you are. Just ask."

She grimaced. "All right."

She found Nathan sitting on his bedroll; he held his breakfast over his lap. He was looking down at the food, but from the expression on his face, she knew that he wasn't seeing it.

"Nathan," she sat down beside him. "How's breakfast?"

He slowly turned his head to look at her and rewarded her question with a long stare. Then finally, "It's cold." He looked so sad and alone; she didn't know what to do.

Not wanting to meet his miserable gaze, she glanced around. She spotted a blanket nearby, picked it up, and spread it about Nathan's shoulders.

"So what now?" she finally said.

"I don't know," he said softly in reply. Then, "what's the next step of your plan?"

That wasn't really the answer she had been looking for, but seeing as how it was relevant to the situation, she couldn't let the opportunity slip by. "Well, we need to make haste and break into the castle while General Aleyn is still off his mark." She hesitated. "But we need someone to remain here and supervise the watch of the captives."

He silently digested her words. "And you want me to be that someone."

She lowered her gaze.

"I'll do it."

She let out a breath. "Are you sure?"

He shrugged. "No. But I'll do it anyway." He frowned down at his breakfast, as if seeing it for the first time, and then picked it up and put it aside.

She got to her feet, one hand buried in her pocket. "Thanks, Nathan."

He nodded.

She lingered. And, deciding to do it before she lost her nerve, she pulled something out of her pocket and let it flutter down onto Nathan's lap.

He started. "What--"

She took a step back, getting out of Nathan's reach. "Take it back, Nathan."

His jaw clenched with sudden anger. "I don't want it. I gave it to you--"

"But it was never mine to claim," she replied. "Never mine to accept. It's yours. And hers."

He looked bewildered. "Hers?"

"Hers." She quickly turned and strode away.

~*~*~

Nathan

What in Mithros' name is she talking about?

He watched her walk away and disappear conveniently behind a huddle of boys.

Men, he quickly corrected himself. After all, hadn't they helped in containing the nobles? But it was hard to think of Caleb and his companions as more than overgrown boys.

When Lauryn disappeared, she left his eyes with nothing else to stare at.

Except what lay in his lap.

A gray sash.

The gray sash.

A feeling of disgust overcame him. He didn't want it. Why did she…

But it was never mien to claim. Never mine to accept. It's yours. And hers.

By the 'her,' she could only be referring to Clarine. Who else was significant enough? But why…

^^^^flashback^^^^

"Stop running away from your past, Nathan. Stop being ashamed. Your past has made you the man you are now. And I wouldn't love you if you were anybody else."

"You love me?" he had gaped at her.

She laughed softly, and her green eyes twinkled. "Isn't it obvious?"

^^^^

She had been the first to ever openly accept his past since he had cut himself off from it.

He looked down at the sash again, and this time he wasn't repulsed. Lauryn was right, damn her. The sash… it represented his past.

And he had offered his past, with his heart, to Clarine.

He felt the terrible sadness that had maneuvered itself in and around his heart ease just a little. Enough for a small smile to touch his face.

Clarine had always brought out the best in him. Lauryn, on the other hand, had always brought out the worst.

He wasn't bitter about that realization any more. One needs that balance, to be able to see both sides of the same coin…

And only a fool would appreciate one and ignore the other.

Slowly, awkwardly, he wrapped the gray sash around his waist. He saw a few odd looks that were turned his way by the others in the encampment, but he ignored them.

He would wear the sash, he decided. He would wear it in memory of her.

~*~*~

General Aleyn

It was cold here. And dark.

And, most importantly, silent.

The cold never penetrated his coat; the dark didn't disturb him in the least since he knew his way by heart. But the somber silence was almost shocking in its refreshness.

He took a deep breath as he counted: twenty-seven steps to reach the bottom. To reach the door.

The knob felt strangely moist against his palm; he hesitated, letting the cold from the metal permeate his fingertips. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a single key and fitting it into the knob. Then, with a vicious twist, he pushed the door open. A familiar creaking noise reverberated in his ears.

Then he stood still, recalling the latest events.

He had sat beside the puppet, King Duane when the first courier had arrived.

"Your highness, I have been sent to tell you: My Lord Mornth has gone missing."

Duane had tensed visibly beside him, a weakness that made Aleyn grimace. "Missing? How?"

But the courier hadn't known. And, in the following days, more couriers had arrived. Lord Tallun and Lord Kimset: also missing. No one knew what happened to them; rumors ran rampant. They ran off to conspire together against the king… they had been wiped off the land by an angry god's wrath…

And then the fourth courier had arrived from the fief belonging to Lord Akiren. Invaders had infiltrated the castle, leaving only once they had the lord under their charge. Akiren had been taken as hostage.

It was unfortunate that Lord Jaranth had decided to take residency at the castle for the past month. His endless inquiries, his utter panic at hearing that his heir had also been taken hostage… Aleyn almost wished that Lord Jaranth, too, had been taken.

Frenzied actions had also taken place among his soldiers and knights. Those who had been most passionate with their protests had been sent back to their original fiefs. The others remained, but they were also discontent, constantly whispering their dissent to one another when they thought that Aleyn wasn't looking.

But he was. And he had heard their muted grumblings.

It was that last member of Nobles' Bane; it had to be. No one else would dare defy him this way.

It was clever, what the miscreant had done, and if he wasn't the one on the bad end of the situation, he might have felt some admiration. But at the moment, all he could feel was a smoldering anger.

The vigilante had forced him into a position that would necessitate negotiations. The other members of Nobles' Bane for the nobles. And the soldiers and knights… they wouldn't let Aleyn risk the nobles. The men whom they had owed their first allegiance… and who handled their payroll.

Clever.

With a severe grunt, he hit the stone wall with his fist. The pain that spread from his bleeding knuckles was immediate, but his anger was stronger.

During the last few days, he had been able to appease his anger by playing with his captives. But no longer. He wanted that last member. And he was going to get him.

The two members that he had now no longer mattered. They were broken, crushed under the power of his anger and derision. If Duane wanted to exchange them for his nobles, fine. What Aleyn wanted was the greater prize.

The third vigilante.

Aleyn was going to break him, just as he had done with the others.

With a nod, he reached behind him and closed the door, pocketing the key. He strode further into his dungeon's darkness, a jaunty quirk in his step.

And the twist that came to his lips was too cruel to be called a smile.

~*~*~

Axe

He stiffened immediately, knowing what those footsteps meant.

General Aleyn was approaching the cell.

Moving quietly, Axe positioned himself so that he sat squat in the middle of the cell, back toward the farthest corner and the man who huddled, sleeping their restlessly.

Danel…

There was no need to pretend to be asleep, it would have been a waste of effort since the General knew he was already awake, and he wouldn't have been able to block Danel from the bastard's view in a sleeping position.

The General spoke. "How fares your companion?" His smile was triumphant, and his tone was gloating.

Axe answered the question only because he knew that punishment awaited the man who ignored the General. "He fares as well as one can expect."

General Aleyn's eyes narrowed as he studied Axe with suspicion. But Axe wasn't worried. As of late, he had observed General Aleyn whenever he graced the dungeon with his presence and was able to come up with a clear conclusion: The General was bored. Danel's and his own torture no longer amused him. The knowledge brought a tiny bit of a relief to the sickness in his heart.

"I don't believe he'll be taking part in any more of your oh-so-daring rescues as a band of vigilantes now, don't you agree?"

"I don't suppose he will…"

General Aleyn waited for Axe to finish.

"…my lord," Axe said through clenched teeth.

The General saw the discontent look on Axe and gave him a satisfied smile before turning and leaving the dungeon, an almost cocky lift in his step.

Once he heard the dungeon door clink shut, he sat back and released the despairing groan he had held back earlier because of the General's appearance. As he bowed his head in his grimy hands, he heard a shift of noise from behind him.

When Axe heard the single word that Danel murmured in his sleep, he reached out to the younger man. He placed a hand gently on Danel's forehead, cautiously maneuvering his body so that he did not disturb the ruined mess that made up both of the other man's lower limbs and single upper limb. The stench of flesh, sweat, and blood made Axe's head ache, but he gathered enough energy to concentrate with his Gift.

"Sleep, Danel. Sleep."

For the millionth and one time, Axe regretted that he wasn't a healer. He couldn't mend the feet and left hand that General Aleyn had crushed with a device he called the Screw. A cruel apparatus that had the ability to mash Danel's agile limbs into pulp. Without a healer's touch, Danel, nimble, acrobatic Danel, was going to remain a cripple for the rest of his life… whatever remained of it, that is.

Sleep was the only thing that Axe was able to offer Danel, and it hurt him to acknowledge that fact.

"Vistra," Danel mumbled again. Even in his sleep, his expression was etched with pain.

"Shhh. She's coming. She's on her way," Axe said, not for the first time that day.

As Danel once again became still, Axe wondered if she really was going to come. Of course he wanted to be rescued: no sane man would ever want to be in General Aleyn's clutches, but, at the same time, he was afraid.

Bold, tempermental, not-as-tough-as-she-makes-herself-appear-to-be Vistra. If she knew what was good for her, she would stay far, far away from here.

But at the same time…

Axe shook his head and sat back, willing himself not to think about it too much. It just bought him headaches after all…

Vistra, where are you?