(A/N: Wow… I'm so sorry that it took even longer than usual to update this! Hopefully I will be able to update again at least sometime within the month! Lol… wow…)
Chapter Six: A Secret Message
-The Next Morning-
I fiddled with a quill that was on a desk in my new room, thinking over what I was supposed to do. Next on the list: make friends with Daystar and steal the sword. Well, not really, of course… but how was I supposed to pretend to steal a sword? You couldn't steal it, and yet not steal it, could you?
I sighed—I was as good as dead. There was no way anyone could pull this off—let alone me! I had messed up almost everything in my life so far, and probably wouldn't start getting things right now.
There was a knock on my door, and I jumped about a mile high. Then I reasoned that it was probably Daystar checking up on me. Good, I could use this time to become friends with him. I started to go over to the door to open it for him, but it opened before I even got to it.
A medium-sized man with black hair walked in, smiling at me. I had no clue who he was, so I gave him a weak smile back, wondering what he wanted. He bowed politely, and I bowed back, just barely keeping my balance.
"Hello! My name is Telemain." he announced, eyes sparkling. "I heard that Shiara's cousin was visiting, and I just couldn't help but stop by. After all, Shiara is a close friend of mine. I am the resident magician, in case you were wondering."
I had been. The man seemed really friendly, but as soon as he started off about me being Shiara's cousin I winced. Brilliant—what if he started talking about Shiara? I didn't know anything about her! That would be a dead giveaway. Suddenly I realized that he was still talking. "What?" I asked, feeling my face become warm.
He paused, then said, "I said, I was wondering if you would like to hear about what I've been researching lately—" (I really didn't care much, but he continued before I could say so) "You see, I've been studying coded messages."
I forced a smile. Goodie…I was about to get a lecture, I could tell. Telemain, however, was just staring at me with a slightly worried look on his face. After a moment, he said, "Hmm…you phased out again, didn't you?" I was about to say no, but he hurried on. "I said, I've been studying coded messages."
Then it clicked. He wasn't here to lecture me—he was here to give me a secret message! Jeez, I was slow sometimes. "Really? Funny, I've always been really interested in them! Could you tell me about what you've learned?"
Telemain looked relieved. Apparently, I wasn't quite as stupid as he thought I would be. Or, worse—I wasn't quite as stupid as he heard that I was. "Of course! I'd love to." And then he started to ramble about something that I didn't understand. I was about to tell him that, when suddenly I realized that I didn't have to understand it. He was emphasizing certain words… those were the ones I was supposed to pick out. I started to listen intently. When I realized that this was going to be rather long, I interrupted and asked if I could take notes. When he said yes, I began to write down the words he was emphasizing, hoping that the wizards didn't see what I was writing.
"Coded messages are a variety of communication used when you don't want an individual to comprehend what you are stating. For instance: If you go beyond adversary defenses to steal information, and you inscribe a message to your side, you will require it to be in code. Codes are reminiscent to the blade of a double-edged sword—they function well whilst employed correctly, but if a personage deciphers them, you are subsequently pressed into an appalling dilemma. I will share the personal experience I have with this. Perhaps another day you may possibly find it helpful. One occasion whilst I was in warfare with the wizards a long time ago, my commanding officer asked me if I was ready to sneak into their encampment and pilfer their strategies. It was an enormous situation, and I was thrilled. I thought, "What an honor it is to be an undercover agent for my side. Perhaps I have even advanced a level!" So, of course, I accepted. When I was operating as an emissary, I exposed a prototype of a novel weapon that they were going to use. I thought, "This willbe important information for my side. I shall send them a coded message to fool the wizards." Anyway, I wrote a code but someone deciphered it and I got caught. Luckily I escaped later. You may have to make a choice of which code to use later on in your life, but don't worry about it. You will know which it is when you see it. However, I must take my leave at the moment, the king wishes to have a word with me. Perhaps I'll get a chance to talk with you shortly. Good day!"
xxxxx
Zielin stared at Telemain through the mirror. The other wizards who were there (there were always some wizards watching Samiel at all times) were staring as well…the ones that were still awake.
"My god that man can ramble!" Zielin said at length. "I get the feeling that Samiel is lucky that he got called away. He probably would have gone on like that until the next meal!"
Rynid stared at the piece of paper he had clutched in one hand, eyes narrowed. He was apart from the other wizards, in a shadowy corner. When he heard Telemain begin to talk, he had picked up on something strange about the way he had been speaking. Now, as he stared down at the paper, he knew he had been right. It had been a message… which meant that Samiel had betrayed them! How? And when?
"Sir," he began, walking up to Zielin, "I think there is something you should see…"
"Not now, Rynid." the head wizard told him irritably, "I have other things to accomplish. You, you, and you," he pointed out three wizards, "Stay here and watch Samiel. I'll be back in a little bit."
Rynid glanced back down at the paper, and then pocketed it. Well then, if Zielin wouldn't listen to him… he would have to do something about it himself!
xxxxx
The next time there was a knock on my door, it really was Daystar. I must admit, I was completely pleased… I was worried that Telemain had come back to finish the job he had started: to talk my ears off. If I hadn't known that it were a secret message, I probably would have made up an excuse to leave the moment he started talking.
Daystar smiled politely at me as he entered. "Hey Samiel… we figured you might be lonely, so we decided to drop by for a chat."
We?
I felt my face drop and just barely restrained a groan as Shiara came in behind him. Instead, I forced a grin that I knew probably looked fake. "Uh… great. So, er, what are we going to talk about?"
"How about dragons?" Shiara asked, an evil smirk stealing across her face, "I've always been fascinated about dragons. Their sharp teeth, razor-like claws, their ability to burn traitors to a crisp…"
Daystar discreetly stepped on Shiara's foot, and she stopped. "Or," he said, "We could talk about something else."
I hoped that the relief didn't show on my face. "Y-yes… preferably something else. Something, uh, less vicious. How about… I don't know," I racked my brain for the least violent thing that I could think of. "How about birds, or rabbits…"
"Queen Cimorene knew a rabbit once," Shiara interrupted, "His name was Killer…"
"Or not." I added hastily.
Daystar sent a pointed glare at Shiara, who just smiled innocently back at him. "Maybe we can talk about swords," he suggested, "Do you have any interest in swords?"
I was about to say no, I didn't have any interest in swords at all, and actually I wouldn't mind never seeing any weapon at all ever again…when I realized what he was implicating. "Oh! Um, sure! I love swords."
"That's great! My father has an armory full of them—most of them ceremonial, you understand—if you want to go and take a look at them."
I nodded vigorously. Thank you, Daystar, for making my life just a little bit easier.
Not a lot easier, of course… I still had to steal a fake sword, take it to the wizards, pretend that I was pretending to tell the king that the dragons stole the sword, and then start a war that wasn't really a war.
No problem. No problem at all.
(A/N: Please tell me what you think:)
Hilary