Author Note: Thank you Baxter54132 for reviewing the first chapter.
I still felt really out of the loop as Dirk released her, staring at the blood now staining his left hand. "No, it wasn't. It was foolish. You could have been killed." He shot one glance at me. "And now you've involved your friend as well."
"Well it's not like I could have left her out of it. You would've barged here straight away and told her anyway." Latula resumed wrapping her arm with one free hand, too stubborn to ask for assistance.
"I think I'm missing something here." I interjected, drawing both of their attention abruptly.
Dirk opened his mouth to say something before he was cut off by a familiar sound. My door was subject to abuse yet again as a repetitive pounding sound echoed through my room. I opened it slowly, wondering who else was left.
Of course, it was Meenah. She looked absolutely exhausted as she cast a weary gaze around my small living space. She was slightly out of breath, her hair sticking out in every direction.
"Aranea." She huffed, and I moved aside to let her into the room. My quarters weren't tiny, but four people was still a large group to have in them. "Thank god." Meenah reached towards me with an almost imperceptible motion; one so subtle I nearly missed it. She hesitated in passing by me, putting off dealing with the other two for a moment longer. I couldn't read her expression at the time.
"Princess." Dirk addressed her, bowing forward.
"Strider." Meenah nodded at him once, and he righted himself. "Did you resolve the issue?"
"I was too late." Dirks expression was serious, and he couldn't meet Meenah's gaze. "There was nothing I could do."
"Very well." Meenah took the few steps over to him, her mouth set in a firm line. "You are dismissed Strider. Go ready my 'orse; we will never meet again."
I stared at her in shock; what on earth was she talking about? Ready her horse? Was she leaving? But Dirk didn't question her orders; he simply nodded and vanished into thin air without a trace. I had no idea how he did that; the door didn't even open to facilitate his exit.
I still didn't say anything as Meenah approached Latula. "I have failed as well." Latula murmured, tying the knot on the bandage and rising to her feet.
"It's ok." Meenah smiled grimly, "At least we put up a fight."
"Excuse me," I was done being silent, and I refused to be cut off again. "What's going on? You can't just show up here unannounced and bleed all over my floor without explaining." My cheeks flushed slightly as I looked back and forth between them. Latula met my gaze evenly, but Meenah couldn't bear it and turned to look out the window.
"Meenah didn't want you involved." Latula rose to her feet, swaying slightly. "She hoped to resolve the issue without drawing any attention."
Meenah still wouldn't look me in the eyes.
"Because you're the best at not drawing attention." I scoffed. "Don't lie to me."
"It's not a lie." Latula tried to stretch her right arm, but cringed when she could barely move it.
"You're not much good with a weapon." Meenah finally added. "And that's what this situation needed." She finally looked at me, and her eyes were clouded with worry. "Feferi's been kidnapped, and we were trying to get 'er back." She let out one short bark of laughter. "It didn't work, clearly, and they're going to kill 'er if I don't do something soon." She sighed deeply, exhaustion adding years to her appearance.
I gasped and barely stayed on my feet, leaning against one of the walls. "But how? Doesn't she have a full guard watching her?"
"They killed 'er whole guard except for the Ampora boy. 'e's barely 'anging on." Meenah paced back and forth through the available space, dropping the tale.
"It was the Felt." Latula picked up the story. "All 15 of them. I challenged them, but you can see how well that went." She fingered the hilt of her sword as if remembering the moment.
I gulped. "What are their demands?" I didn't really want to know.
"That Meenah leave Prospit and never return." Latula rubbed one hand across her eyes. "Or else they'll kill Feferi." She took one shuddering breath.
"Who else knows?" Another question I didn't really want answered.
"Just Dirk Strider. He's been looking into the Felt for a long time now, and he found out that they have a spy in the kingdom. You're not gonna like it." Latula looked right at me, judging my reaction. "Sir Scratch hired them for this job. But he has too much clout with the Queen for us to come out with this right now. She would only banish us."
It wasn't that hard to believe, actually. "But wait," I walked over to Meenah's side. "You're not really considering leaving, are you?"
"That's exactly what I'm considering." When Meenah met my gaze, the defiant glint in her eyes had returned. "But you're not coming."
"What!" I exclaimed, "Of course I'm coming." I wouldn't allow my friends to leave me behind.
"No, you're not." Meenah glared at me. "As long as they don't know that you're involved, then you're safer 'ere." She stood up straighter than she had all evening, not prepared to give a centimeter.
"Please," I crossed my arms, "They know I'm your personal advisor; they'll kill me just to minimize the risks." I raised one eyebrow, daring her to argue.
Meenah sighed, losing a few centimeters as all the air drained out of her. "Fine." The corner of her lips tugged upward slightly. "But you'll 'ave to learn to fight."
My heart lifted. "I can handle that." We clasped hands and shook, determined to survive this.
Latula put one hand on top of ours. "I'm in too. After all, they're probably looking for me right now to finish the job."
"Are you sure you can turn your back on the kingdom you swore fealty to?" Meenah was dead serious.
"I swore fealty to you." Latula mirrored her expression. "Wherever you go, I follow."
"Very well." We all looked down at our entwined fingers as Meenah spoke. "We'll all go. But don't let me 'ear any complaining along the way!"
When Meenah released us, I quickly gathered a few of my things into a bag. The books were replaceable, so I left them. Most of my clothes stayed behind as well.
After a few minutes, the three of us snuck through the castle. We crept down the hallways until we made it outside to the stable. Dirk Strider was already there waiting for us, and he didn't seem surprised to see me with the group. He had even prepared three horses instead of one.
He handed Meenah the reigns of the three horses. "Nobody will miss these three." He bowed, deeper than the time before. "I wish you luck on your journey. May we meet again." Then he glanced over at Latula and I, smirking at us. "Be careful."
I couldn't think of anything to say as he brushed past us into the night. Meenah handed me the reigns of one of the horses, and I held it cautiously. I didn't have a horse of my own, and was generally unfamiliar with the horses in the stables. But I could ride well enough on a tame horse, and hadn't fallen off one as of yet.
Latula's horse was her personal stallion, Horuss. She raised him from a colt and he was extremely loyal. If we left him behind, he would never accept a new rider. Meenah rode her personal horse as well, though I didn't know his name.
All three horses' saddlebags were filled with non-perishable food and a couple blankets, along with enough water to last a few days.
We climbed onto them and set off, walking as to not attract unwanted attention. When we reached the gate, they let us out without question. They didn't have the authority to keep Meenah in the city anyway.
As we rode east, I forced myself to cast aside my regrets. I never said goodbye to Vriska or Terezi; hopefully those kids would be okay without me. I went back to live with family. I never got married. But if doing this would save young Feferi, then it was worth it.
A lone wolf howled as our horses galloped off into the night, my whole world changing in an instant.
After a few hours of riding east, we found the small town of Lofaf. It was governed by a representative from Prospit, but he mostly worked independently from our government. Latula was friends with him before he became their leader, and she was confident he would give us shelter.
This turned out to be true, since when we knocked on his door he welcomed us in easily. He seemed particularly worried about Latula's arm, but she managed to shake him off.
He introduced himself as Kankri, and he told us that as long as we found a way to fit in the town, nobody would ever suspect we were here. We also would need to split up, since if we stayed together would be easier to recognize. He owned a lot of property in and near the town, and had some he could sell us really inexpensively. We bought three pieces of property from him, all in different parts of town.
Latula moved out west of town, living on a farm. Meenah went east, doing the same thing. I ended up owning an inn right in the center of town. It already had eight rooms and a stable behind it, so I didn't have to do many renovations.
Most people who visited the town didn't stay overnight, so I didn't see a lot of business and I had vacancies almost every night. But it was just the right amount of work for me, and it kept me occupied.
I still saw Latula and Meenah occasionally, but we mostly stayed apart. Latula settled down and got married, but Meenah and I never did. I didn't get close to anybody in town, and in return they weren't terribly interested in me.
In my free time, I read through any old legislation the town had. I also wrote a few potential laws, just in case we ever went back. I couldn't let my mind get rusty.
My life passed uneventfully until the day an armored knight strolled into my inn. He looked young; surely less than 20. On his hip he carried a decorated hilt I once saw on the belt of Dirk Strider. His armor wasn't anything extraordinary, except for a set of armored glasses that obscured his eyes from view.
He looked around cautiously, and I took care not to let him see me watching him. It didn't matter, since he ended up approaching my counter anyway.
He introduced himself as Dave Strider, and I recognized the surname. He must have been related to Dirk; the hair color certainly matched.
When he presented me a note from Kankri, I wasn't sure what to think. The note said to put the boy up as long as he needed to be here, and that Kankri would cover the expenses. It also said that he was searching for a witch, and didn't suspect Meenah's presence in the town. Because, honestly, even if he noticed me it wouldn't be a big deal. Meenah was the only member of our group that would cause any stir with her discovery.
I was polite to the boy, though I wanted him to leave desperately. Especially after I told him where Meenah lived. The longer he stayed the larger threat he became.
The same day I told him about Meenah, she visited me at the inn. She agreed with Kankri that he wasn't much of a threat, but didn't think we should let him stay in town for too much longer. She suggested having Latula kill him, but I vetoed that idea. We ended up deciding that we could probably talk him out of his witch hunt if we had to, despite the fact that Kankri had summoned him here in the first place. If not, Latula killing him was always a good plan B.
But after a week he stormed in and grabbed his bags, dripping some blood on my floor before vanishing into the night.
One week after he left, he returned.
Continued in Subterfuge
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