Chapter 8: Meeting King Duncan
Raven's POV:
I stared at Seth blankly, then offered my excuse.
"I'm injured," I said triumphantly. Seth eyed me.
"How far are you going to take this?" He asked. I crossed my arms across my chest.
"Pretty far," I said, taking pride in my stubbornness.
"Guess I'll have to go get Halt . . ." Seth said, standing up. Something told me that that would NOT be good. I lurched out of bed, grabbing the bedpost for balance.
"I'm up, I'm up!" I protested. Seth paused by the door.
"I'll send my cousin down here to help you freshened up. She wanted to meet you anyway," he said and disappeared, closing the door behind him. His cousin?! If I knew my history (and I did) that would be Princess Cassandra. I shrugged. It is what it is. I moved to the closets, intent on picking out the plainest, most comfortable things they called dresses. I tossed each one onto my bed, not liking any. Then I realized I hadn't heard the thump of one of the dresses hitting my bed. I turned, and found a girl standing by my bed, holding the dress up in front of her.
"This one won't do, would it?" She asked. I smiled slightly.
"No, it wouldn't. Who are you?" I asked as I took in her auburn hair and striking blue-green eyes.
"Some call me Evanlyn," she replied. I looked her up and down, then grinned.
"You're sure you're not Princess Cassandra? Seth said he was sending his cousin down here." I said. She stared at me, then sighed.
"How did you figure that out?" She asked.
"Well, for one, the way you dress. Two, you knew what I was doing. Three, you obviously know Seth; you didn't tell me to call him 'Prince Seth' like the servants would have. Four, you confirmed my suspicions by saying 'how did you figure that out?'" I answered. She gave me a withering look, and I remained unwithered.
"Well," she began. "I figured you wouldn't like any of these dresses, so I brought one for you. Meanwhile, you should bathe, and then we can bandage your wound." I noted that Cassandra had changed the subject rather quickly. I bathed and reluctantly let her clean my wound. She told me to close my eyes, and slipped the dress over my head and adjusted it in several places.
"Ok, open your eyes!" She said happily. I complied, and studied my self in the mirror. I was wearing a dark purple dress with long sleeves that fanned out at the ends. In the front, it came down to my knees, while in the back it came down to my ankles.
"The bottom is designed for an archer," she explained. I had a silver belt across my lower rib cage. It served two purposes; it held the bandages in place, and helped the beautiful dress flatter my slim frame. My black hair, now past shoulder length, I noted, was braided into a crown my head.
"Wow," I breathed.
"You're actually quite pretty," Cassandra told me. She showed me to her fathers study, where I was told to wait outside. Several minutes later a person, Halt, (I could tell by the way he walked) approached me. Halt stood for a while, staring at me.
"Can I help you?" I asked looking up at him.
"Yes," he replied. "This, this Arratay, what was he like?"
"Honestly, he was my best friend. He was funny at times. I could tell he was troubled about something, though. He could be very distant at times." I cast a sidelong glance at Halt. "He . . . he named me."
"He named you Raven?" Halt asked.
"No, he named me Gale. My parents hadn't named me yet, so he did," I said softly. Halt looked at me, a brief look of sorrow, regret, and . . . surprise? He backed away slowly, then turned, and walked away briskly. Shortly after, I was summoned into King Duncan's study. I licked my lips nervously, and opened my mouth to speak, but King Duncan beat me to it.
"Raven . . ." He began, and paused.
"Gale," I offered hastily. "Raven Gale."
"That's what you told Sir Horace, but Ranger Halt believes differently."
"Halt believes a lot of things differently, my lord." King Duncan looked down at his papers.
"I have reason to believe that I have an enemy at my doorstep."
"That's right. They've been hiding in Celtica. But, now they have all their Soldiers from over seas, and it is only a matter of time before they strike."
"Who are they?" I had been expecting this, and told him the same thing I told Seth, about the Red Soldiers, and myself.
"I see. Would you join me for dinner? We can talk more then." He said. I inclined my head.
"Of course, my lord," I said silkily. "I'll see you then." I turned and left the room. Halt avoided me the rest of the day, which was odd. Several hours passed, which I spent in my room thinking, and I was summoned to supper. My hands grew clammy, and my nerves were screaming at me. Something was wrong, I could sense.
Authors note: 'Nother chapter! Another one should be up Thursday.
Willow Treaty: Unfortunately, I can't get lettuce to fight with carrots, and aliens don't fit in the RA world.
Are there any other ideas as to Arratay's true identity? Some of you are getting close . . .