Aly's pack had adjusted to the extra work. And the strict no "fun" rule as they called it. It had been two weeks since they last had news of Aly. And that was the day she officially went missing.
Two weeks.
Nawat had called his flock, and the god. Both were looking for Aly. Both were having no luck. Nawat had already attempted to yell at the god, but it was fruitless.
"I have an entire country to look after now, I barely have a moment to myself. But when I do, I look for her. This is a big place Nawat Crow. I am searching. But I know not what to look for. Give me that information and I will try to do more. But I can't promise you much. Such a shame, too, I liked Aly."
Nawat told him to leave after that.
He has a long gash down his right arm now. That would forever be a scar.
Dove was still juggling all the people who were trying to offer advice. She told them all soundly that Aly was not dead. She would not die after a week. But it was ever so slowly becoming a lie.
She wished Aly would send them some sign of her wellness. Not knowing was eating the palace from the inside out. Her advisors were getting more persistent. She finally told Taybur to keep the flow of them to a minimum.
Chenaol was still in the kitchens. And still getting good gossip from the cooking maids. The cooking maids knew what to look for now, and didn't even have to be told. Just a meaningful look from Chenaol and they would search.
She wasn't having any luck either.
Fesgao had been arming the armories and giving flexible orders to his men, and to Nawat's men. They now knew that if they come across Aly, they were to abandon whatever they were doing and get her back to the palace. There was a signal to be used of course, so others could cover them.
But this was only to be done if she was found alive.
If she was found dead they were to post men at her body and continue on.
No matter whose body it was, a body wasn't worth what might be given up if they pulled back for it.
Taybur seemed to be the most untouched higher up. Though those who knew him well knew that he was shaken to the core. He was now the person Aly's pack turned to if they had a problem.
Admittedly, it wasn't often. But it had happened. So it had been decided.
Ysul was really too busy with mages to notice anything within himself. Intelligence was continuously pouring in from every corner of the isles. He was quite positive that he was going to die prematurely of stress.
The other mages that reported to him noticed that he was a bit off. But they never said anything of it. Never cross a deadly mage. And a cross and tired mage as well as deadly was one of the worst people to cross.
The city as a whole was more wary than ever before. They didn't know exactly who was missing, only that it was someone really important to their queen.
If the citizens found her captors before anyone in the castle, they may never even know what they had wanted. There might not even be enough of them left to identify who they were, or even their gender.
Most couldn't wait to get their hands on them.
No one had thought to notify her relatives in Tortall. And they lived, blissfully unaware, that one of their youngest members, was in a life or death situation.
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Aly had not been touched by anyone since her last beating. They were afraid to.
She was their most valuable resource. Even if her information was two weeks old. It wasn't worth the trouble.
A day after the incident, a healer had been called. By then it was clear that if she were not seen to that she would die. The healer came the day after she was called.
Visibly mortified of the conditions she found her patient in.
She had begged for her to be moved to more sanitary quarters, for better clothes, blankets, better food. But all her requests had been denied. She was told just to heal her and heal her quickly. She didn't have to be in perfect health. Just so she wouldn't die.
She had left the day before. The last thing she said to Aly was, "I'm switching sides."
Aly smiled slightly at that, but it faded when she heard the confident footfalls of her tormentor.
He wasn't allowed to touch her, under pain of a beating for himself, but he did question her mercilessly. Questioning every angle of whatever story she gave him.
He got nothing from her.
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Dove entered the meeting room, and slowly shut the door.
"Anything yet?" she asked. It was a quiet plea, which was truly heart wrenching to hear. But no one had anything knew. Just the same whispers about an elite team that had stumbled across a lead.
She slowly turned around. Everyone was already seated, their faces haggard. It had been very hard on all of them. Dove looked by far the best. But she had to be drugged into sleep every night and had to spend hours upon hours with her make up.
She sighed and walked over to her chair. The normal meeting commenced. Mostly the same old news. Barely anything new had been coming in without Aly. The darkings where hit very hard too. They rarely volunteered any information. They barely spoke at all. They only corrected when someone quoted Aly wrong, or did something she wouldn't do.
Their normally warm presences had all but disappeared.
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Trick huddled closer to the beam that ran across the ceiling in Aly's cell. He listened miserably to the sound of Aly's first beating in a week, end. It double-checked with the other darkings.
Yes, he was right, it had been three weeks since Aly and Trick had been captured and brought to wherever they were.
It looked down on Aly again. The beating had ended. Trick watched as the man, Bastard, as trick called him, began to cut Aly's hair. It had grown out to just below her shoulder blades. Bastard cut it very badly, and like a boy's. Barely there at all, but still a little long for a boy.
Bastard laughed and walked away. Trick rolled down to Aly. Usually, she was too out of it to notice him. But this time, she wasn't.
He rolled out on the bench that stuck out from the wall on Aly's right side. "Is Aly all right?" he asked softly.
Aly's head jerked up, and she focused on the small black blob with some difficulty, "Trick?"
"Yes!" Trick squeaked happily, "I Trick. Is Aly all right?"
Aly smiled, her first true, genuine smile, and said, "I'm all right. I'm not dead yet."
Trick rolled over the wall and down Aly's arm. It nestled next to her cheek and rubbed. "Tell Trick what to do."
Aly closed her eyes. She thought for a moment. Trick being here means that she could still know what was going on at the palace, and they could know what was happening here.
She opened her eyes and smiled again. Not a happy smile, but a predatory one. "Tell me what goes on at the palace."