silverchain.

chapter five: even wise men have their foolish days

"Any second now," Karis said breathlessly, eyes fixed on the entrance to town. It was nearly impossible, thanks to a hill that had sprouted after the Golden Sun event, to see any further along the road to Kalay than a few feet, but the Jupiter Adept was keeping her vision trained on those few feet. After all, Matthew, fearless leader extraordinaire and, for all practical purposes, Karis' brother, would be arriving any second. She looked at the young man next to her with a sunny smile. "I can't wait to see the look on his face when he finds out that you're here."

Amiti smiled back gently, not appearing concerned about the arrival of someone that a less confident suitor would suppose to be a rival. He knew Matthew well, and could see that the Venus Adept had only platonic feelings for Karis...although the young king hoped fervently that his big-brother instincts would not work against Karis' prospective husband in this case. Of course, all of this was quite unknown to the cheery young woman currently tapping both boot-clad feet in impatience. She glanced at him again with a small, secret smile, and Amiti, focused on something just barely beyond the horizon didn't seem to notice.

"Look." He stretched out an arm, and Karis followed it with her eyes. Emerging over the hill were two heads covered in spiky blond hair. With a whoop, the Wind Adept waved her arms wildly at the returning heroes, then, as Matthew's eyes lit up with recognition and he began to wave back, increasing his pace, her hand slipped down to Amiti's and pulled him with her, breaking into a run as she rushed to greet their companion.

Forsaking the young man's hand, she immediately tackled Matthew, who looked at Amiti with a slightly bemused expression from Karis' arms. When she released him, the two young men shook hands and familiarly but briefly hugged. "I wasn't expecting to see you here, Amiti!" he exclaimed, clearly pleased, but then corrected himself. "I mean...King Amiti." His brow furrowed slightly, and he nodded with respect in the same manner that Amiti usually did.

The Mercury Adept laughed good-naturedly. "I believe that we traveled together quite long enough to forgo the formalities, don't you agree?" Looking slightly relieved, Matthew smiled his assent.

"Tyrell should be coming in a few days, we passed them on the road," he said, and Karis smiled.

"It's like a reunion, isn't it? We should go on another adventure," she teased. Matthew sighed and pretended to wipe sweat off of his brow.

"Well, while you two have been relaxing, I have been on an adventure, and I'm not in a hurry to leave again. I need my beauty sleep." The young man winked, obviously feeling much more calm now that he was no longer under constant threat of death.

Amiti felt a little out of place as Karis cooed, "Aw, is the poor baby tired?" as she pinched Matthew's cheek. This resulted in a mostly-gentle fight between the two, which the young king watched with a mixture of apprehension, amusement, and embarrassment. In his mind, he was also trying to formulate an excuse if Matthew happened to ask him the reason for his visit. As any good leader, he could completely see through a lie...in fact, Amiti mused, he would make quite a good monarch. The truth would have to do.

"Well, hello," a deep voice said from behind them. Turning, the three friends faced Isaac, whose eyes were glinting. Karis hugged him affectionately, and the man glanced at Amiti.

"Oh, this is Amiti," Karis explained with a gesture. "King of Ayuthay. He helped us..."

"Yes, I know who he is, I was just surprised to see him here. You look just like Matthew described." Holding out a callused hand, he shook the young king's, inclining his head with respect at the same moment. "It's a pleasure to have you here, Amiti. How long will you be staying in Kalay?"

"As long as I need to," he replied cordially. "I will be staying in an inn, so there should be no probl—"

"Isaac," Jenna broke in, approaching the scene and embracing her husband, "I offered for Amiti to stay with me while you two were gone. I didn't think that it would be any trouble to have him continue to stay with us."

"No, of course not," Isaac said, kissing her on the forehead. This display of intimacy made Karis flush slightly, and she began speaking quietly to Matthew. Amiti, however, kept his attention on Isaac and Jenna, trying to form an opinion of the older hero.

"Where is Ivan, by the way?" The blond man looked around, and Jenna sighed.

"He's decided to go off to...well, I'll tell you later." She glanced uneasily at the three young adults before continuing, "I think he's planning to leave now that you've arrived."

"Isaac!" The Jupiter Adept approached him, and the two men smiled and hugged like they were brothers. "How are you? Did you find anything of interest?"

"Oh, quite a few things you should probably put in that book of yours," Isaac replied vaguely. "What's this I hear about you going off for a trip? You should have done so earlier, you could have come with Matthew and myself."

"It concerns a completely different matter," Ivan said in an equally subversive manner. "By the way, has A been mentioned?"

Surprise was evident in Isaac's eyes. "She didn't tell you?" he asked, with a momentary glance at Karis. Ivan's gaze hardened.

"No. She didn't."

"Well, maybe if you'd told her more she would have known to!" Jenna snapped, and the two men looked completely shocked. Tossing her hair, the woman continued in a lower tone, "You know very well how she is. And you, Ivan, need to listen better. She did in fact mention...A...was behind the whole thing, but you were too wrapped up in your ridiculous analysis of the past! We need to think about the future. That would be them. If all they know of what we did comes from history books, how can we expect them to continue in this path? We've committed for life, but they haven't, and they deserve all of the information."

After a momentary silence, Isaac said, "You're completely right, Jenna, and I'm sorry that I didn't see that sooner. I have been telling him some of what we're working on, but I know that he's likely to think he needs to bear the whole burden. He won't tell them."

"When I return," Ivan continued, in the same vein, "I'll tell her about A. I have a suspicion regarding him, and...honestly, if it is true, I doubt even he himself would know about it. And Jenna, I would appreciate it if you wouldn't be so negative regarding my studies. They have helped us a great deal, and are the reason that I noticed the connection to A."

Isaac looked mildly confused while Jenna hissed in reply, "You mean your paranoid suspicion."

"It's perfectly legitimate and informed," Ivan argued, lavender eyes flashing with a rarely-seen fire.

"Is your response to it?" she asked with evident venom.

"Fighting over this won't help," Isaac interrupted calmly. "When Ivan and Garet return, we can have a proper discussion. In the meantime, we need to try our best to be rational about this whole convoluted situation. All right?"

The other two Adepts nodded slowly. "I will be voyaging with Piers," Ivan added grudgingly, "I believe that N knows as much as he does, although I am not positive about R. Has anybody contacted our Water Adept friend?"

Isaac, shaking his head, opened his mouth to reply, but Jenna said, "Yes. She requested that he and Kraden discuss the matter with her directly after the Grave Eclipse ended." While she certainly appeared more calm, long fingernails were jabbed into her skin as she crossed her arms, and a slight spark was visible in her eye.

"Well, I should go," Ivan said loudly, reaching behind him for his luggage. Karis hugged him fiercely, followed by Jenna, Isaac, and Matthew. Amiti bowed and extended a hand that the older man shook, but Ivan did not make eye contact.

After the scholar had disappeared behind the hill, Isaac clapped his hands. "I believe that it's about time for a meal. Did you go to that little restaurant that you like yesterday?" he asked, turning to Jenna.

"Yeah. There's no need to go eat away from home two days in a row, especially after you've been gone. I can fix something." A slightly melancholic look crossed her face for an instant, but as soon as it began to concern Amiti, it had disappeared. Isaac frowned.

"I don't want you to have to cook right when I get home," he said softly. "I could do something...after spending so long in that cabin, I'm not a half bad cook."

Isaac raised his shoulders to shrug, and Karis smiled at the resemblance to Matthew, who behind them muttered, "He's not half good, either." Amiti suppressed a smile.

"I insist," the woman said, smiling in a more genuine way. "Leave it to me."

They did.