Ember Reconciles

by DustineSkywalker

Oh, Morbin's dead? You think your problems are solved? Tough. That's not how wars work. There's still blood and sweat and grit and work to be done, and you'd better bet it's going to be a fun ride. (It's the royal family, what do you expect?) Note: Yeah. I'm aware Picket lost his arm. It's called being lazy.

11. Sight

Laycie was still awake when her father came back to camp. Her sight long gone, she could hear their footsteps and feel the vibrations in the ground.

"Back early." She commented, gently running a finger down the hilt of her long-curved dagger. Her father grunted and went into the tent, obviously not interested in a conversation. "Hmm. Went badly, did it?" She asked her uncle.

"He didn't go in." Stoner replied, pacing the ground. "But yes, it isn't going well."

"It's war. War rarely goes well." Laycie said. Stoner made a non-committal sound, and then sat down heavily.

"An old doe died." He said. "Of heart attack, in the middle of a private meeting. I saw them carry the body out." Laycie made no comment. "She was a Drekker." Stoner sighed. "And, I think, a seer. Just based on what she said….." He shuddered. His voice dropped to a whisper. "We need to leave. We need to leave soon. Flint is worse again-if he gets any nearer to that blade things could go badly."

"What about that princeling? The one who used it?" She sensed Stoner pause, contemplating that.

"I don't know. He doesn't seem that affected. Not yet, at least."

"He will be." Laycie muttered. "If what I keep seeing at night has any precedence. We must stay until I can be certain that history won't repeat."

"The question is, which history." Stoner said. Laycie did not reply. She could hear her father moving around inside the tent, mumbling things to himself.

"He needs time." She whispered.

"He's had that. Hundreds of years of time. He hasn't been right since Fay died." Laycie sighed.

"That was so long ago. I can hardly remember her."

"I know. But Flint does." Stoner let out a weary sigh. "He remembers too much, that's the problem." Laycie nodded.

"Then we must help him forget. I am going to go to the palace-I want to get a feel for the place."

"Do you need someone to go with you?"

"No. I can find my way." She picked up her staff and sheathed her knife. "I will be back before moon-set."

"Understood." Laycie took a step forward, her staff steadying and tracing the ground in front of her. She breathed in the cold night air, felt the snow crunch below her feet. This was her world now-a world made up of smell and feel and sense, but not sight. She had been denied sight long ago, but she still remembered the sharp blue of the spring sky and the bright colors of the flowers. Tears formed, but she stepped onward.