Janus calmly let the guards lead them to the throne room. He smiled reassuringly at Guran, his youngest. "I'm sure this is just all a misunderstanding, son."
"Wh-What if it's not. What if he truly believes that we're traitors?" Guran asks fearfully.
"If I know my old friend, he will listen to reason and give us a fair trial."
"I hope so," Jarod murmurs softly as they enter the throne room.
"Hush now." Janus steps up to the throne first.
"We've brought them, sir. Each one to be tried for the crime of treachery," explains the guard, his spear still at Janus's back.
The king just stares at him in disbelief. "Janus, you would betray me?".
"I have not. I don't know what lies you've heard, who's told you them, or why. But I assure you, on my honor, and on the vow we made in our younger days, that none of us have betrayed you. My lord, my king, and my friend."
"Silence!" the adviser snarls. "The only lies being told are those out of your mouth, traitor."
Janus calmly looks at him. "I am not a traitor. If you're the one making those charges, then you've either got the wrong one, or are the traitor yourself," he returns softly, voice betraying nothing.
The adviser strikes him across the face. "How dare you address me as such, peasant! You are nothing but a traitor, and should meet a traitors death peasant scum.
"You keep calling me a traitor, but like the fool you are, you've failed to show any such proof of it.
"Tylon, bring it here." The adviser motions to a young mage, who seems very reluctant.
The mage brings up a spear with the rebellion alliance symbol on it. The adviser takes it and presents it to the king. "This was found in the accused's room, under a floorboard beneath his bed."
The king takes it and inspects it, instantly suspicious. "Take him to my private chamber. I will speak with him alone," he orders sternly. The guards bow and do, making sure Janus is chained securely.
Once they're in the privacy of the room and the king has made sure no one's listening, he turns to Janus. "I know this doesn't belong to you. Tylon would have told me soon as they found it, if it did. But, in order to keep you and your kin safe, until the time is right to say you are innocent, I have no choice. You and your brigade will be kept in the dungeon until I'm able to make you... disappear, shall we say."
Janus nods. "No disagreement there."
"Your brigade will have to split up afterward, to minimize the chances of every one of you being hunted down. You will understand very soon that it is him against the rebellion, not me."
"Very well."
"Now to go out and pass sentence..." he mutters softly.
Janus nods. "I understand."
He calls the guards in and goes back out. "I am, ready to pass sentence." He says, voice loud enough to silence the entire room.
"I have decided that they are guilty. Place them in the dungeon until I decide a suitable punishment for each one, as each one will be different than the other. Only what I say will happen to them; make sure no one else tries to fool you into thinking otherwise," he adds, glaring directly at his adviser.
"As you wish, Your Majesty." He backs away, knowing that look all too well.
The guards nod and drag them down to the dungeon.
"Everyone okay?" Eya pants when they stop to catch their breath near sunset.
The others just nod, since she was the first to get her breath back.
She looks at Thyre. "You okay, bro?" she asks, seeing he's having a hard time catching his breath.
He straightens up. "I'm fine. It's just been a while since I've run like that."
Kylee smiles at him. "They didn't follow us."
"Indeed they didn't. Now to find a place to set up camp."
"Aye, and for that, we will have to split up," Findan adds firmly.
Eya frowns. "I don't like that idea. Especially with the rumors of this place."
Thyre sighs. "How about we stay in hearing range of each other."
"That'd be a bit hard considering where we are," Findan warns, eyes darting around nervously.
"Ba, we'll be fine."
Eya sighs. "Must you be so contrary, brother?"
"Only with your group, sister dearest," he teases.
She sighs. "Still, I think it's best if we find a place to stay and hide together instead of splitting up."
"How about there?" Findan asks, pointing to some rocks that overlay each other to make something very similar to a large, one-room cave.
"That'll do. Thank you, Findan."
"No problem. No fires, though. We don't want to attract whoever lives here to our position."
"Sounds reasonable." Eya sees Thyre sitting down, eyes closed, leaning against one of the walls of the cave. "Brother?" she queries, worried.
"Hmm? Sorry, I'm just tired is all." He pokes an eye open to look at her.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
"You're not trying to hide anything from me, are you?"
"No, sis," he grumbles, meeting her eyes.
"Very well. Get some rest. Findan will take first watch. Thyre, you'll take last."
"Fine by me," both agree, and Findan settles into his watch while the others go to bed.
Findan looks over all of them. 'How long will it take him to find us and end us?' he thinks. 'Though I sense, one may not be with with us long enough to find out if that one doesn't let on about their wound.'
After several hours he hears something nearby, and wakes the other three.
"Hmm... What is it?" Eya mumbles sleepily.
"Yeah, I highly doubt it's time for our watches," Thyre yawns.
"Hush, all of you; someone's near."
All three get quiet at that, and Thyre's hand slowly slides down to his sword hilt. Kaylee shakes her head at him and points to the woods. "That way," she murmurs softly.
He turns in that direction, hand still on his sword.
"D-Don't," she whispers, slowly, silently sitting down, since their backs are to her.
"What do you mean, don't?"
"S-Something's... n-not... right..."
He sighs in frustration, then senses the aura of someone or something very powerful nearby, and looks around warily. "Who is it, Kaylee?"
"S-Some.. s-someone... y-you c-can't... c-can't f-fight with... with w-weapons..." she whispers nervously, lying down carefully.
"Then what are we going to do?"
"I-I-I d-don't kn-know..." she whimpers, trembling.
"Are you all right?" Findan asks worriedly.
She doesn't answer, just curls up into a ball, crying.
"Kaylee? Kaylee!" Thyre whispers, dropping his weapons and running to her side, concern etched on his face as he pulls her close. "Kaylee, talk to me. What's wrong?"
"D-Don't... t-touch... s-s-side..." she whimpers, unable to uncurl from the pain.
"Easy, Kaylee, easy. Let me see it."'
She whimpers, obeying, as the owner of that aura draws closer. Thyre ignores it, stunned at the depth of the wound. "Kaylee..." he whispers.
She shudders in pain. "Sorry didn't tell. Wasn't... time..."
"Even when we made camp?"
"Too... tired. And... worried... for you. "
"I was just tired, is all, Kaylee. Just tired. Why worry about me?"
"C-Cause I care for you."
Just then a black-haired man appears right next to Thyre. "Your group looks like It's had a rough time."
"We have. Who are you?" Thyre asks warily, shielding Kaylee as best he can in that position.
"I am Rommel, student of Rolan. She's in bad shape."
"Give us one reason to trust you."
"Because if you don't, she doesn't have a chance."
They exchange glances. "Very well," Eya agrees reluctantly. "Let him work, Thyre."
Thyre reluctantly slides Kaylee back so Rommel can get to the wound.
He gently removes the arrow then uses his healer's staff on the wound. The wound closes under his magic, and Kaylee sighs in relief as the pain fades.
"There you go, little missy. But you really should've told them sooner."
"I know, I know. We heard rumors that you teacher killed intruders, not help them."
"He's very territorial, yes. Doesn't mean his students have to be. Or that he has to know about it."
"Actually, I followed you, sensing that something from my past was coming here." An older man with long, graying-black hair looks over Thyre with odd golden eyes. "You're the spitting image of your grandfather, Manion." He turns to Eya. "And you, little missy, are the spitting image of my daughter, Liela. To think, my daughter's grandchildren would find me after I went into my hermitage, picking only a select few to be my students, killing or altering the memories of the rest to keep my home and its occupants safe." A large elk snorts nearby. "Yes, yes, I know you don't like strangers a bit."
Ignoring the elk, Eya eyes the elder, who must be Rolan, to judge from Rommel's deference to him. "Relative or not, you know our grandparents' names and you ain't killed us yet. Doesn't mean we like you all the sudden."
He chuckles. "Indeed you don't, and don't expect me to trust you either."
"I don't, Rolan. But I owe your student one for healing one of my team, and he trusts you. That's about the only reason you and me ain't fighting yet."
He chuckles. "Indeed, and you're too close to the elk's calf for her liking."
"I heard her." Eya glances at the elk. "My apologies, ma'am. I have no intentions toward you or your lass." She nods to the calf. "She can come to you, or you go to her, if you're meaning to leave the immediate area."
The calf prances over to her mama nervously. Mama elk nuzzles her to reassure her, then nudges her back into the woods. She obeys, knowing she'll be safe there, and the two of them disappear into the woods.
Eya smiles. "She'll grow up strong like her mama. So you protect the animals from hunters, huh."
"Among other things, yes."
"I see. I saw some wyvern nests along the way, too. And Thyre, back away from those rocks before the mama eats you," she adds, hearing her angry growls.
"What's so special about the dumb rocks?" he grumbles, obeying.
"They're not all rocks. Some of them are wyvern eggs."
"Oh..." He backs away immediately. "Nice wyvern, see, I'm backing off, I'm backing off."
Rolan chirrups to her, and she huffs, glaring at Thyre. Rolan glances at Thyre. "A little further. She's very specific about how close she'll let an outsider get to her nest before she eats them. You're only still alive because you didn't know it was a nest."
He backs off a good bit more as one of the eggs starts to hatch. The mama then glares at Rolan. "Alright, we're off. Congratulations on their hatching," Rolan covers quickly, shooing the others back a lot further. "If you'll allow these fellows a few minutes to pack up, we needn't even come back here."
She growls and nuzzles the cracking egg. Rolan glances at the others. "Do it now if you want to keep anything at all from the camp, and make it fast."
They nod and do quickly, keeping an eye on the wyverns watching them. One of the younger teens approaches Thyre, nudging him playfully.
Thyre looks at one of the bigger ones, unsure. "Is it okay?" he asks softly.
The teen's mama rolls her eyes, landing beside the hatchlings' mother, and pushes her son towards Thyre. "She'd be glad if you took him, since you're his and he's yours," Eya and Rolan translate at the same time.
"I'm... his?" Then he sees a mark on the wyvern's leg, matching one on the back and palm of his left hand. "Hey... We've met before, haven't we, fellow. I helped you get back to your mama when you were a hatchling."
The teen nods, holding up the marked leg to where he can reach it easily.
He gently touches their marks together. "There's a good boy."
'We really do need to go now, though, friend. My aunt's starting to lose her patience,' the wyvern teen's voice explains in Thyre's head.
"Ah, gotcha." He picks up his weapons and pack. "I take it she don't like strangers."
'Not a bit.'
"Gotcha. Is this the same aunt that was your age when I returned you, and she tried to eat me because she thought I stole you?"
'Yep. Only now she has her own first eggs to worry about.'
Everyone makes sure they have only their stuff and leave the rocky area, heading back towards Rolan's home. The first-time-mama wyvern nuzzles each of her hatchlings as they poke their heads out of their shells for the first time. They lean into it, resting a moment before going back to squirming out of their shells. "There's my good babies," she murmurs peacefully, relieved to have the strangers gone.