Oh yes, I'm alive! And I'm still writing this story. :P My holiday vacation was quite refreshing, but I came out of it with inspiration for another of my stories. This one got pushed to the backburner for a bit while I worked on a different project, but I'm back on it now. This chapter is short and bland, but it's moving things towards the exciting bits, at least.
Pulling Saker into a secluded alcove behind the guard tower, Lyra gave him a hard look. It was a sort of threat that seemed to say he had better not repeat any of what she was about to tell him to anyone. "Merv and One-Eye didn't try to take me to the castle," she began, causing him to loft a brow curiously, "They took me to Reaver. He hired them." The muscles in the man's jaw went slack and he nearly dropped his cigar. He scratched his head and asked, "Did you have to… kill Reaver?" She laughed at the thought and shook her head, guessing that was the only thing Saker could conclude since she was standing before him completely unharmed. "Nah, didn't come to that. He just wanted to make a deal. I didn't even have to thrash him first, unlike what happened with you," the princess grinned.
The mercenary's brows drew together and he took a moment to let what she said sink in. He then shrugged and leaned against the wall, taking a long drag from his cigar. "Alright, so why are you telling me this?" Lyra looked over her shoulder, ensuring Walter was still waiting by the gate, and then turned her attention back to Saker. "Expect an anonymous shipment of weapons later today. Swords, rifles, bombs. You name it. Tell your men I bought them, tell them I stole them or found them, tell them anything but the truth. Understand? Reaver's name can't be connected to it, alright? Give me your word." Narrowing his eyes at the woman, Saker nodded. "You have it," he said, "But a man who won't openly stand by his allies isn't much of an ally. Perhaps you should understand that."
Lyra smirked, turning her back on him. "You just let me worry about the kind of man I'm dealing with. Store the crates when they arrive and don't open them until I return from Aurora. That's an order." "And what if you don't come back? What then," he asked. The princess didn't answer, unwilling to acknowledge that not making it back was a possibility. "Have the men prepared to march on Bowerstone at a moment's notice. Auroran allies or not, we storm the castle the day I return. I've waited long enough to end my brother's reign." Saker didn't press the question and seemed to understand why she chose not to respond to it. However, he caught her shoulder when she tried to leave and turned her sharply to face him. "What exactly is he getting out of it? You've neglected to mention that, Princess."
Sucking in her lower lip, Lyra looked up at Saker in a deceivingly innocent manner. He took his hand from her shoulder and stepped back, knowing her better than that. He still had nine fingers and he preferred it to stay that way. The princess grinned at him and reached up to pinch his cheek lightly. "We don't want to spoil the surprise, now do we? You already know too much as it is. Seal those pretty lips, big boy, and I won't feel it necessary to sew them shut… Hmm," she said, tapping her chin thoughtfully as she turned to leave again, "That would be a fun way to deal with stool pigeons. Probably not as messy as cutting out a tongue and a sight easier, I'd imagine."
Once the woman was well on her way back to Walter, the mercenary leader scowled and punched the wall. How shameful it was to be afraid of a woman not even half his size! But he was afraid and there wasn't a man in the camp who could blame him or boast himself any braver. Saker still didn't like it, though. There was a part of him that hoped, no, prayed that Lyra would not return from Aurora, but there was also a part of him that had grown quite attached to the wayward princess. He had been rather worried when he awoke to the frantic barking of her dog and found it caged and Lyra missing. Even though he didn't much care for taking orders from a female, she had proven herself to be a capable leader and if she took the throne there was little doubt that the Mercenary Camp would flourish due to lax laws. The princess showed little interest in protecting her people, after all.
"Did you say what you needed to? We aren't coming back here again. Not for a good long while, thank heavens," Walter said, joining his protégé as she strolled by on her way towards the exit. "I did. Are you going to ask about it now, or later?" Lyra smirked, patting her leg to signal Boy who was growling viciously at the man who had released him from the cage. Eric was still holding his bitten hand and had his back pressed snuggly against the camp's outer wall, cowering. The collie's demeanor shifted immediately upon his mistress' signal and he bounded after her with tail wagging. A doggie grin was plastered all over his furry face. He seemed nearly as glad to leave the Mercenary Camp behind as the old knight. "Ask about what? You're entitled to your secrets." Walter's response caused Lyra to stall in her tracks. Her brow furrowed slightly as she gave him a sideways glance. He merely shrugged and continued on ahead.
That, thought the princess, was very unlike Walter. She had come to expect him to be suspicious of the relationship she had with Saker. He didn't trust the Mercenary any farther than he could throw him, which due to Saker's unnatural height and muscle mass, wasn't very far at all. Why shouldn't her mentor be curious about their private conversation? Lyra had almost wanted him to ask. It took all the fun out of having a secret with Saker and Reaver if no one was going to question her and give her a chance to lie about it. She gave a small 'hmph' and crossed her arms as they traveled.
In fact, curiosity threatened to drive Walter mad. His jaw went slack several times, on the verge of opening to question the princess on the matter, but he managed to quell the urge. He had come to a decision now that it was clear Lyra was not exactly the saint he had hoped for all these years. She was more than just a rebellious youth, entitled to her trials and errors, and the old knight had decided that to spare himself additional worry-spawned gray hairs, he was better off not knowing the princess' every move. After all, up until she admitted to killing Elliot, he was quite content to go on believing she would never do such a thing despite all the signs that suggested that she was more than capable of it. For now, at least, Walter would continue to shield himself, this time consciously, from Lyra's true nature. It would allow him to hold tightly to the hope that she still had time to change.
Upon reaching the Resistance's headquarters, Lyra and Walter parted ways without so much as a word. The journey from Mist Peak to Bowerstone had been made in silence and not even reaching their destination had loosened their tongues. They each had their own agendas, after all, and needed no further communication on what parts they were to play. Lyra would meet up with Ben and Walter would locate Page. From there, they would acquire a ship and make that dreaded journey to Aurora. Though she admitted to herself that after spending her life in the stuffy castle a trip across open waters to a new land seemed exciting, the princess was unsure of just how thrilling a scorched wasteland could be. Just the thought of hot winds carrying stinging sands made her mouth go dry.
"You know, Swift taught me almost everything I know about being a soldier," Ben said as they moved through the sewer tunnels, "Let's show these bastards how it's done." Lyra frowned to herself, hoping she would not need to speak of Walter so fondly anytime soon. Many things threatened to drive a wedge between them as of late, but she knew that she would be devastated if he was ever taken from her. That was one of the reasons she found working with Ben so uncomfortable. She liked him, really, but he reminded her of the emotional vulnerabilities she tried to keep suppressed. Before she met Swift and Ben, she had never really thought of Walter's mortality and just how close he may be to the end of his life. Her mother and father had been taken too soon and she hated them for it. Would she end up hating Walter too if he died?
And there's chapter 15. I'll admit it got a little sloppy there at the end, but as always, I'm far more focused on future chapters than the ones I should be writing. After the Aurora bit, there's going to be a lot more Reaver and I've already got some pretty cool ideas for a few chapters that I think you all will like. If you like evil monarchs and naughty tycoons!
Anyway, next chapter will pick up right when they commandeer that ship since I don't feel like writing up a bunch of running through back alleys and fighting royal soldiers even though I do enjoy Ben's dialogue. hehe