Author's note: Yes! Someone actually likes my stories!
Arctic Wolf 18: Thank you so much for reviewing and even putting me on your author alert list! Thank you so much! Heh, you think Bishop is that gory? Well, I suppose it gets worse, so I'll raise my rating. Just to make sure some little kiddies don't find it…but they could anyway. ;) Can you give me a particular area that you were confused by? I want my stories to be as readable as possible, so if you could help me with that, that'd be great. I'm sorry, this chapter isn't going to be very interesting. It's just an explanatory chapter, but I promise that exciting chapters are coming. Thanks so much for reviewing! You're awesome!
Disclaimer: …the usual…
A/n: And now, here's a bit more background! (I think)
…
Later that evening, Gidion carefully approached the door to his master's study, and he quietly opened the door and slid in. What he saw made concern for his master fill his mind. Damion's head was resting on a huge pile of maps, and he was sitting at a desk that was strewn with papers and books. Gidion eyed his master with more concern growing in his eyes.
"My Lord Damion," the manservant cleared his throat.
Damion jerked up and glanced wildly around. When he saw Gidion, his silver eyes calmed and he sat up.
"Yes, Gidion?" he yawned.
"My lord, I believe that I have some good news," Gidion said, and something that might be described as a smile twitched at Gidion's lips.
"Yes?" Damion raised an eyebrow.
"Do you remember the princess?" Gidion asked.
"Of course I remember her," Damion scoffed.
"She ran away from the castle two days ago."
"What? How do you know?" Damion exclaimed, standing up quickly in his excitement and banging his knees on the desk.
"One of our many inside sources reported back just a few minutes ago. Apparently, the castle doesn't even know yet. They might know now, but when my contact left, the castle was oblivious," a small smile tugged at his lips.
"I'm going to need a tracker," Damion excitedly mused.
"Use this one," a voice from the corridor said.
"Ah, Gage. Who's with you?" Damion greeted, stepping around his desk and limping slightly.
"My lord, this is one of the finest trackers in all of Hyrule," the man in the dark cloak announced, stepping aside to reveal Bishop.
"I found him battling the leader of the Rogues. This boy," Bishop cringed at being called a boy, "Killed Skiff easily. Why you're wasting your time with the gangs is beyond me," the dark man muttered.
"Gangs? Please. Those are training groups. They're all competing with each other for the honor of serving me," Damion said and he arched his eyebrow.
"What ever you say," the man muttered.
Damion carefully evaluated Bishop, and Bishop's muscles tensed as Damion's strange silver gaze slid over him.
"No need to be frightened, boy," Lord Damion mused, coming to a decision about him.
"With a recommendation from Gage, you must have some skill. All right, Gage, if you trust this boy, I have a mission for his evaluation," Damion announced, brushing aside some books so he could sit down on his desk.
"Have you seen the Princess of Hyrule?" Damion interrogated Bishop.
"Yes," Bishop icily replied.
"We have a youngster with an attitude," Damion chuckled.
"You're a youngster yourself," Gidion thought.
"The Princess of Hyrule ran away from the castle. I want her. Bring her to me, and you will like the reward," Damion's eyes were almost wild with excitement, "Gage, suit him up. He leaves tomorrow morning. You may not assist him," Damion said before the dark man could interject.
"Now, go. I have work to do," Damion sighed, looking tired again.
The dark man grabbed Bishop's elbow and steered him out of the room. Gidion lingered a bit longer and said, "My lord, you're twenty-four. You're not immortal. Get some sleep."
"I know my limits, Gidion. Go back to torturing your captives," Damion dismissed him with a sweep of his hand. Gidion bowed and left the room.
…
The dark man led Bishop down one hallway and up another; they twisted through so many hallways, Bishop's head was becoming muddled. Shadow was trailing along behind them.
"Don't worry about your wolf. He'll be fine where we left him," the dark man said over his shoulder. He paused in front of a door, and after he opened the door with a ring of keys, he shoved it open.
"Here we are," he announced, leading Bishop into a large kitchen.
He signaled for some refreshments to be brought, and then he led Bishop over to a back table and sat down.
"Weren't you taking a risk saying that I was one of the best trackers of Hyrule?" Bishop asked, slowly settling himself in one of the chairs.
"No. After I evaluated you, I could see that you have the look of an experienced tracker about you. Were you an assassin in the past?" the dark man carefully asked.
"Can we leave the past where it belongs?" Bishop quietly asked.
"Your past a touchy subject? I know what you mean, so forget I said anything," the man shrugged.
After the dark man finished talking and relaxed into his chair, he swept back his forbidding hood. Bishop stifled a gasp.
The man's hair was cut so close to his head, that Bishop couldn't determine whether the man's hair color was light brown, blonde, or white. The man's eyes were blood red, and his Elven features were hard. Some small, silver hoops hung from each ear, and the tips of his ears were sharply pointed. A large scar ran down the right side of his face, but what interested Bishop the most was the man's eyes. When closely observed, one could see that his eyes changed color. The main color was red, but flecks of other colors could be seen mingling with the red.
Laughing slightly at Bishop's surprise, he said, "Yes, my features are unordinary."
Still stunned, Bishop managed to stammer, "How did you get your hair cut so closely?"
"My secret. Name's Gage, by the way," the man extended a gloved hand.
Bishop shook the extended hand and began to slowly eat the food that had been brought.
"I can tell that you're interested in my eyes, so I'll enlighten you. There are only a few of my people left. I am one of the disappearing Majiks," Gage told Bishop, leaning back and studying his reaction.
"You're one of the Majiks?" Bishop asked in surprise.
"Apparently you know of us," Gage mused as he arched an eyebrow.
Bishop quickly glanced down. "I've heard of and studied all of the ancient tribes of Hyrule."
"Ah. And now you want to know if I possess the Magic," Gage sighed, and Bishop glanced up in surprise at hearing his unasked question, "Yes, I do."
"I never thought that I'd ever actually have the privilege of meeting one of the Majiks," Bishop said in awe.
"Hm, you…" Gage trailed off.
Bishop raised his eyebrows, and Gage studied him. Bishop felt uncomfortable under Gage's cold stare, and he fought to keep from squirming in his seat.
"Never mind," Gage shook his head and returned to his meal.
After Gage had eaten a few more bites, he set his eating utensil down and cleared his throat.
"Now, I'm supposed to brief you. As you know, the princess ran away from the castle a few days ago," he said, taking a quick swig from his mug, "My contact told me that she was headed toward the Dark Forest. You're familiar with that particular forest, correct?"
"Yes," Bishop mumbled.
"Good. This mission has no due date, but the sooner that you complete it, the better. And after you complete the mission, you'll like the reward. Trust me," Gage told him, scooping up a few more bites of his food.
"You're not allowed to come with me, but what about my wolf?" Bishop asked.
"Your wolf will be allowed to accompany you," Gage nodded, shoving his empty tray away and signaling for it to be picked up.
After a silent servant cleared the table, Gage leaned his elbows on the table and spoke in a low tone, "When you return from your mission, do not return to the fortress. Find me behind the fortress. We have some talking to do. Maybe even an exchange."
Gage leaned back in his chair and said in a normal tone, "You're going to need your rest if you're leaving at sunrise. I'll show you a place to sleep. Follow me," he stood and motioned for Bishop to do the same.
"Shadow," he sharply called.
The small boy emerged from where he had been lurking by the door and stood at attention.
"Make sure that Bishop's wolf gets fed and watered. They have a long journey tomorrow," he commanded.
The small boy bowed and left. Then, Bishop turned to Gage with a curious look in his eyes.
As if Gage could read his mind, Gage answered Bishop's unasked question. "No, he's not my slave. His father owed the Leader a lot of money, but before he could pay it off, he died. So, I took his son in to pay off his father's debts. He has long since paid them off, but after I told him that he was free, he refused to leave," Gage explained while he led Bishop down another hallway.
If Bishop had observed Gage closely, he would've noticed pain hiding in his eyes.
"Here," Gage opened a door and Bishop walked into the small room. It looked like a cell.
"When you're ready to leave in the morning, softly knock on the door six times. I'll let you out," Gage informed him, closing the door and locking it.
Left alone in the dark, Bishop groped around in the dark, but he growled an oath when something sharp and pointed rammed into his lower torso area. He quickly sank to the floor and began utter a few choice words. He reached over and punched a narrow part of the offending object.
"Stupid piece of-" Bishop was silenced when something hit him on the head.
"What the?" he though, feeling for it.
After that, his hands closed around an object that felt like a candle, and he remembered something.
"I'm such an idiot," Bishop muttered, shaking his head in irritation.
Bishop concentrated for a few seconds, and flame burst from his open hand. Not wishing that his magic be discovered, he used the flame to light the small candle, and then he let the fire go out. Then he glanced up and looked at the offending object; it was a small table. An irritated look covered his face as he picked up the candle and placed it on the table. For the first time, Bishop glanced around his cell, and although it was small, it was clean.
"Nice of them," Bishop said dryly.
A small cot was shoved against the wall, and a small waterspout came out of the wall and emptied into a small grate on the floor. Bishop assumed that the small grate was a makeshift privy. The table that he walked into was beside the bed. He pulled himself up and sank down onto the cot; he swung his legs up onto the cot and tried to get comfortable. Much to his surprise, the cot was very comfortable, and he was asleep in seconds.
A/n: I hope that this chapter didn't bore you to death. Please review, and exciting chapters will follow!