An: One chapter after this to go! sigh tis sad, yar. OK enough with the piratey-ness and onto the story! Review!
Torrigan sat, fidgeting with anxiety, in the gardens surrounding the palace. Where was she? She was supposed to meet him here a full…3 minutes ago! He heard slow, deliberate footsteps approaching. Torrigan sat a little straighter, stretching his hearing to try and determine who the footsteps belonged too. They were too heavy to be Sabriel's and yet they lacked the characteristic metal clink of the palace guards.
"Rogir!" Torrigan yelled in surprise as he ran to greet his half brother, nearly tripping himself in his haste. The two embraced swiftly then held each other at arms length to examine the work of time. Rogir, if it was at all possible, seemed to have grown far more handsome but the carefree smile was still there. There was something else there, something hidden deep down…something screaming of wrongness. Torrigan was so overjoyed to see his brother again that he did not even notice.
"You old dog! Why didn't you tell me you were coming back to the palace?" Torrigan demanded grinning widely.
"And the ruin the surprise? Please dear brother, do not tell me you have forgotten that much about me already!" said Rogir with a look of mock hurt on his face. The brothers laughed heartily and sat down on the bench to catch up on old times.
Several hours later Torrigan and Rogirrek were strolling down the stone halls of the palace when Torrigan remembered his original reason for being in the gardens.
"I was supposed to meet Sabriel!" he said lightly smacking his forehead. Rogir smiled at his brother's absent-mindedness, but something stirred behind his dark eyes.
"She's back here is she? Last I heard she was tracking some Mordicant up near the Clayr's Glacier. Shall we go find her then?" Torrigan nodded and suggested they try the library, where Sabriel usually spent her time, pouring over maps and researching the Kingdom.
As they entered, the musty yet comforting smell of dusty volumes reached their noses. It was so over powering that one immediately felt the urge to sneeze. The two men quickly suppressed this and began their silent search. They passed row upon row of towering shelves all stuffed full with leather bound tomes from subjects such as swordplay to how to properly tend one's garden to Charter magic.
As expected Sabriel was found pouring over a map with a book on Charter magic laid open at one corner. Mogget lay curled up at the opposite corner, one eye rested lazily on the Abhorsen's face, screwed up in concentration. She was so deep in thought that when Torrigan cleared his throat she jumped nearly a meter in the air.
"Oh! Torrigan, you startled me," she said, slightly scolding, before turning her attention back to the map. Torrigan frowned a little; this was odd Sabriel normally would've greeted Rogir as well.
"Where were you this morning? I did not see you in the gardens."
"Yes well, I saw Rogir heading there and figured the two of you would like time to catch up." She said, not making eye contact with either of the two men. Again with the strange behaviour.
"Are you not even going to say hello to him?" Torrigan asked, annoyance had crept its way into his voice.
"I did." She replied shortly, not looking up from the map. A deep frown had slithered onto Torrigan's features and a look of curious anger gleamed in his eyes. He huffed in frustration and stormed out of the library.
"What is wrong with her! I mean she could not even pay us the courtesy of looking at us when she spoke?" he fumed as he strode hurriedly to the Practice Courts, hoping to blow off some steam, "just staring at that stupid map, she's probably been to all those places any way and I could have been with her but…" he stopped himself before he went too far. Rogir thankfully did not say a word but only kept the pace.
Dinner that evening held a light, practically giddy mood. Jesters were juggling knives or telling the most outrageous jokes, a minstrel masterfully strummed the lute as nobles laughed and talked as they nibbled at the delicacies of the Kingdom. Like that night so long ago, when Sabriel and Torrigan first met, vibrant and fragrant flowers tastefully adorned the graceful arches and long tables.
Torrigan sat at his brother's right hand, thoroughly enjoying himself. One tiny thing was tugging at the back of his mind though, Sabriel's strange behaviour. Why had she acted so cool towards him? Was it something he had said? Torrigan's attention was quickly ripped away from his inner reverie when King Corrigan stood up, his golden goblet raised.
"A toast to the return of my son, Prince Rogir, may he decide that his traveling boots are far too worn to leave Belisaere until we are sick of his company!" there was a roar of laughter and a cheer of "Prince Rogir" as goblets were raised and sipped from.
Laughing Torrigan took in the people around him. There was the lovely Lady Silvia batting her long eyelashes and young Lord Maren who had recently inherited his father's land and title. Further down his table the dowager, Lady Quinta Del Rosa was trying to begin a conversation with a certain darkly beautiful Abhorsen who merely stared out into space, a slight frown on her features. Torrigan made a mental note to ask her about this after the feast before Rogir pulled him back.
"What girl are you staring at Nagirrot?" Rogir said, laughing and clamping a large hand on Torrigan's shoulder while staring down Torrigan's view path. "Ahhh, why did I not see this before?" Torrigan was going to suggest that perhaps it was because he was never at the palace but decided against stating the obvious. "So the Abhorsen has caught your eye has she? Do you remember when you two first met? Did she first steal your heart when she agreed to play Knights?" he chuckled slightly.
"I do not know if this is the wisest choice Torrigan," Rogir said quietly, his tone deadly serious and persuasive. Torrigan looked over at his brother, slightly shocked, this was a side of him Torrigan had never seen. Rogir quickly put on his characteristic self assured smile, "do you if she even feels the same?" Torrigan did not answer and they passed the rest of the evening talking to everyone, except each other.
When the feast had ended and everyone had waddled off to their beds, their stomachs overloaded with food, Torrigan slipped down to Sabriel's chambers.
"Sabriel?" he whispered, knocking gently on her door. He slowly opened the door to prevent it from creaking loudly. He tiptoed over to her four poster bed and drew back the heavy black velvet curtains only to find that she was not lying there. He looked curiously around and saw her pale face lit by the soft glow of the fire.
"Hello Torrigan," she said softly, not taking her eyes away from the flickering flames, Mogget curled on the top of the large crimson chair, "I thought you might come tonight."
"Yes well," he cleared his throat nervously, "I do have a few things I would like to ask you about today." When she did not answer he continued, "Well about Rogir mostly. I thought you would be happy to see him, I mean he has been away for so long this time. But you were icier towards him than when you are in Death! Why?"
Sabriel sighed and turned to face him. "Torrigan, have you noticed anything about your brother? Anything different perhaps?" Torrigan thought hard for a moment, there was that moment at dinner when Rogir did not seem like himself, but time changes a man. Overall he was still the same charming, charismatic Kerrigor.
"Not really."
"Then I take it you did not sense the Free Magic that surrounds him," Torrigan stopped and looked incredulously at Sabriel, he felt like he had just been punched in the stomach and completely winded. A look of deep sadness entered her eyes. "There is something not right about Rogir any more Torrigan. I think he's been fooling around with Free Magic. You know Rogir; he was always attracted to power."
"Are you trying to say Rogir's evil now!" Torrigan felt his temper rising, what did she know about Rogir? "Rogir's the smartest man I know, he would never fool around with such dangerous magic! Not when he knows that the whole Kingdom will be depending on him when the King dies."
"Torrigan, please, listen to me," Sabriel said, trying a soothing tone, but she could not keep the worry out of her voice nor the desperation to make him understand. "I think the Rogir we knew is gone. The reason I was so cool today in the map room was because of the Free Magic I sensed, can you not smell it whenever he breathes?" Torrigan stubbornly replied to the negative and rudely suggested that Sabriel go to the Healers to get her head examined as he scowled deeply.
"You are just too stubborn you might be wrong about your hero!" Sabriel's patience has snapped, "Why can you not see Rogir is no longer the little boy we used to play Knights with? He is no longer even the good man we knew! He has been tainted!"
"Following him were you? Did he write you and fill you in on his every move!"
"You are so infuriating sometimes! How can you not see the clearest thing in all the Charter?" With a furious growl Torrigan stormed out of the room. Sabriel nearly screamed in frustration and started packing.