Like I promised AccessBlade, but this is bound to leave you with even more questions. Just wait til you see what direction my Muse is taking with this.

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Chapter 10: Slight Change in Plans

x x x

"Beg pardon?" was all that was rattled out of me. This sort of thing doesn't happen to me everyday. "I don't believe I know you."

A thin man with messy red hair was staring into my face as if I were a ghost, freckles stark in a pale face and glasses already starting to fog. The wild look in his gray eyes calmed into surprise and then embarrassment. He let go and stumbled back a few steps. "O-oh! I'm sorry! I th-thought you were s-someone I used to know!" He wrung his hands as he stood in the rain with his head hung low. "I'm t-terribly sorry. But c-could you tell me wh-where you got that b-blastia?"

"Eh? My bodhi blastia?" Again? "My uncle gave it to me. He said it used to belong to my aunt, Sophia." It's a small world, after all. No, I did NOT sing that last part in my head. Looking over the man in front of me, I guesstimated that he was maybe thirtyish years old. I suck at guessing people's ages...

"Her niece then..." This was getting weird...I couldn't even begin to figure out what the look he gave me meant. "Of course...she died years ago. But then why...?" His eyes unfocused a bit, then cleared and fixed on me again. "I'm s-sorry for the misunderstanding, but you're wearing her blastia, and you look like her." That's the first time I heard that. My skepticism must have shown on my face, he gave a quavering laugh. "Just from the back, your hair and the way you carry yourself is rather like her. Together with the blastia and no clear look at your face, it's possible to make such an error."

"Uh huh..." It could have been true. The only people I'd met who'd known her were Ludwig and Arcas and I don't think either of them saw me from behind before talking to me. I realized for the first time that I had no idea what Sophia had looked like.

He was giving me yet another weird look, but it was more calculating this time. "Perhaps you would be more suited to..."

"...More suited to what?"

"Hmm, do you know what your aunt was researching before she died?"

"Uhm, ancient ruins and why the blastia were buried in the first place?"

"That is correct, but there was more to it than that." He paused again, thinking some more. Getting impatient, I turned to walk away.

"If that's all you have to say, I really have to be going. I still have things to do, and then I have to get back to the inn before my friends start to think I've been mugged."

"Wait!" I looked back with a raised eyebrow. "It's not something that can be talked about here or now." Ugh, get on with it! "If you would, please meet me tomorrow morning on the bridge in front of the mansion. There's something I need to tell you about your aunt's findings, a piece of her work that was stolen." Now he'd gotten to the point, he actually turned and left, leaving me standing in the rain blinking at the door he disappeared into.

"Well, hell, now what?" What he had to say wasn't as important to me as it probably would have been if I'd really been born and raised here as Sophia's niece, but I still felt like I couldn't just leave this alone.

I jammed my cold hands into my jacket's pockets and continued my search for a store.

x x x

I returned to the inn carrying a large shopping bag stuffed with my new clothes. Wanting the privacy of a room so I could change out of my wet things I went straight to the desk.

"Excuse me, could you tell me-" before I could ask the attendant if the others had checked in yet, I heard a sharp female voice from the back of the inn.

"You...! Sir, it's the criminal from the wanted poster!" Ahh, I knew exactly what was going on now.

"-umm I think my friends are here already..." I finished lamely. "A black haired man, a pink haired girl, and two kids." Rita would definitely hit me if she heard me now... "Should be talking with those knights."

"Er, yes..." the man tore his eyes away from the door the shout had come from (there weren't any other loud noises from back there, thank goodness) to return his attention to me. "They've already rented two rooms, separate from the knights." He handed over a key, "This is for the room the young ladies are staying in. Though right now they're all talking in one of the knight's rooms..."

I nodded and went to get back in on the story. I should really stop thinking of it as a story...but nearly everything is the same so far.

I pushed the door open just in time to hear Flynn promising Sodia, "-him to the capital and explain the situation. And he will receive his due punishment." Sodia reluctantly lowered the sword she'd been pointing at Yuri, then returned it to its sheath on her belt.

"My... my mistake, Sir." she apologized. Then she was all brisk and down to business again, "Witcher, let's have your report." You know, it's like she has a much shorter version of my hairstyle. The braid is even in the same place, and notably longer than the rest of her hair...

"Did I miss something here?" I asked in an aside to Karol.

"Yeah," he whispered back, "that guy over there is Yuri's friend." I knew that. "But he's mad about all the stuff Yuri did and says he's gonna have to punish him!" Knew that too. But I nodded as if it were all news to me and gave him a pat on the shoulder (last minute cover up for the urge to ruffle his hair again).

Witcher had been running through his explanation of how blastia was being used to screw up weather conditions, and heavily implying Magistrate Ragou was the one doing it. Which led to talk about Ragou's hobby of overtaxing people and making desperate citizens try to hunt the monster Ryhbgaro.

Cue the realization that this was related to the hurt couple we'd met who'd had their child taken away.

Yuri excused us from the knights' business and our group left the room.

I waited in the hall for Rita and a deep in thought princess, "Hey Estelle, Rita, the three of us are sharing a room, right?" Estelle blinked and visibly shook herself out of her thoughts.

"Yes, we thought you wouldn't mind, but...did you want your own room?"

I shook my head at the pink haired girl. "Nah, I just wanted to ask if I could have the room to myself for a few minutes." I held up my shopping bag by way of explanation. That was a mistake.

"Oh, Letha, I didn't realize you'd left to get new clothes. If you'd told me I would have gone with you!" She actually started pulling me towards our room. "I can't wait to see what you got."

"Uh, wait, I don't need help..."

"I've never seen anyone dressed like you back in the castle."

"You know, I've been wondering about that too." Rita had actually joined the conversation, a very odd thing since talk about girls clothes seemed too...girly for her. "I can't remember ever seeing any material like this before, and certainly not the style." Oh crap, she's analyzing my fashion. That's both really weird and so going to get me in trouble.

"Uhh, imported stuff. By a designer with weird tastes. Uncle gave it to me as a birthday present."

"Didn't you say your uncle wanted you to be more feminine? Kind of weird for him to buy you something like this." You wear mismatched stockings, how would you know what's weird fashion and what isn't!

"Well, I wouldn't have worn anything else he got me, and would you both please let me change alone!" Rita left the room of her own will after that, but I had to practically shove the princess out the door. "God, I bet Estelle's gonna start pestering me to wear dresses too..."

x x x

Estelle was disappointed in me. Somehow she'd still clung to the hope that I'd bought a dress.

I'd changed into a black shirt with loose sleeves long enough to cover most of my hands. Over it I had a mid-thigh length forest green coat. It had a hood (though I wasn't using it yet) and no sleeves, with carved wooden buttons from the collar to a few inches above my sword and dagger belts.

Black leggings were the closest thing I could find to pants sized for a girl (the only other options being skirts). But the leggings were a little too...formfitting for my tastes. To the bemusement of the shop girl I'd also selected a pair of green shorts from the boy's section which I now wore over them.

The most important pieces were the boots and the gloves. Low brown boots that I'd made the girl prove wouldn't leak. And fingerless gloves of a thin, leather-like material. I wanted to cover up the tattoo, but I hoped my weapons work wouldn't suffer for that.

I don't look like I'm from Earth now, more like an RPG... Success!

Feeling hungry, I went to the inn's common room to see if they were still serving dinner, or if they'd at least let guests use the kitchen. The only other people I recognized there were Flynn and Sodia. When Flynn saw me, he stood and waved for me to come join them at their table.

"You were with Yuri before, right? I am Flynn Scifo. This is Lieutenant Sodia." Flynn held out his hand and I shook it. Sodia only gave me a curt nod. ...You're name always made me think of Sodium Chloride. So, ha! How 'bout that, Miss Salt?

"Letha Vitae, very pleased to meet you." He nodded as if he'd confirmed something.

"Yes, Lady Estellise told me about you as well. I heard you met her and Yuri in the Shaikos Ruins."

"Uh, that's right. From what I gather, we just missed you. Estelle was really worried about you the whole time I've been with them." My tone was accusing, just short of sticking a wagging finger in his face, and Sodia began to frown a little.

"I am sorry for causing her concern, but I'm also glad that she found friends that care for her enough to scold me." I coughed a little and looked away.

"Well, alright then. Not like I was blaming you, it was just..." I trailed off, not knowing what I meant to say. Sitting at a table with Flynn felt surprisingly uncomfortable, especially with the Fangirl there. It helped a little when a waitress brought over three plates of food.

"What do you plan to do now?" Oh, now even Flynn is asking questions...did Yuri talk with him about me or something? Or do all these justice-loving types think I'm suspicious on their own? Dinner seemed to be some type of beef with potatoes. Reminded me of the pot roast Dad made. I'm not fond of red meat, but I was hungry.

"How do you mean?"

"Lady Estelle has fulfilled her goal for leaving the castle, and Yuri..." he hesitated, and I noticed he'd put a disturbingly large amount of pepper on his food...

"It's okay, I get you now. You're asking if I'm going to leave on my own, or with Estelle," Flynn nodded slightly, "or with Yuri when he goes after that blastia thief." Seeing the stunned look that last part got me I smiled. "You're going to punish him, right? But you want to let him go, at least long enough to let him do what he needs to."

"What makes you say that?" It was pretty great not being the one forced to stall with that question for once.

I shrugged and speared a piece of potato with my fork. "I'm getting that vibe from you." Chewed the potato, and swallowed before continuing. "I remember reading in a book once, 'the law is not meant to be a rigid and unbending, but should be flexible and able to adapt with the times.' You seem like the type who would adapt laws to new ideas rather than let old ones continue once they were no longer just." Actually I took the liberty of adjusting the real quote, I couldn't remember who said it but it was about the US Constitution being elastic as opposed to a straight jacket. I got an "A" on that essay.

"Yuri doesn't mean any injustice, and while good intentions don't make a man innocent, they should be kept in mind when judging him." Even Alexei...he had once been a man with good intentions, and I couldn't hate him the way I knew everyone else would once his true colors were revealed. I felt sorry for him...

Sodia was glaring at me. Maybe because of the way I presumed to know her superior officer so well when I'd only just met him. Or maybe because it sounded like I was saying the law the knights upheld wasn't just anymore. I shrugged again, and told her, "That's just what I think though. I never had much of a head for politics and law. Instead I'd rather decide what's right and wrong in a situation when I'm dealing with it."

"Laws should adapt..." Flynn repeated to himself. Woah, did that really leave an impact on him? "But the law is necessary to maintain the peace. If we aren't firm and punish those who break the law, then worse crimes will be committed by criminals who believe the law isn't strong enough to stop them."

"Mmm, true..." How did I get to talking philosophy with Flynn and Sodia? "I haven't actually answered your first question yet, have I? About what I plan to do?"

He laughed a little, "Yes, I'd nearly forgotten I'd asked."

"Well, my answer is I want to help Yuri. If he'll let me come." At his doubtful expression I added, "Assuming, of course, that my hunch is right and you let him go for now. Though I suppose even if you lock him up I can try to find the thief on my own. I'd probably have less luck though." Well, I knew where we would eventually find the blastia, but there was no way I could get it back from Barbos without Yuri. And I wanted into that crazy tower for a look around.

Sodia couldn't keep it in any longer. "How can you condone that-that criminal?"

"Even good people do bad things, and make the wrong choices sometimes. Human nature is to err, and to learn from our mistakes. You shouldn't judge a man only for one action he's ever done. Though it sounds like it might be a bit more than one in Yuri's case..."

Feeling I'd had enough, I placed my silverware on my plate and stood up. "I'll hope you'll excuse me. It was good talking with you both, but I need to go to sleep early tonight."

"Yes, it was interesting to hear your views on the matter." Flynn was polite, but Sodia was quietly fuming in her seat.

I returned to my room, hoping that if I went to sleep right away I'd wake up before everyone else. I had a meeting in the morning.

x x x

Waking up early is not easy for me. As a result, I was restless all night long trying not to fall too deep asleep. Being so poorly rested and having to stand in the rain waiting for someone was a poor way to start a busy day.

I was standing on the bridge, watching the river flow by. If that weirdo didn't have anything worthwhile to tell me, I was gonna push him over into the water... When he did show up he already looked like a drowned rat, so that prospect sadly became less satisfying to fantasize about.

"I'm terribly sorry for calling you out with such weather, Miss Letha, but this really can't wait."

His words made me bite back the irritated words I'd had ready and I could only stare at him. "How did you know my name?"

"Oh, Sophia used to tell me about you when she was still alive, she was very proud of her adorable niece."

Lies lies lies LIES! Sophia didn't have a niece to talk about before she'd died! This man had somehow found my name (oh, God, was he stalking me?) and was using that to try and trick me!

Or, chimed in an insidious part of my mind, Ludwig is the one who lied to you. You only have his word that he and Sophia had no other family. Perhaps they really did have a niece, and he named you after her. Just a possibility...

Ugh, for once I hated the "writer's sense" I'd been cultivating by trying to predict the outcomes of books. But really, there wasn't a reason for Ludwig to tell his whole life story to a strange girl who'd shown up out of nowhere. And if it was true and he hadn't told me, that didn't have any terrible meanings, right?

And just because it's possible isn't proof. This man here could just be lying. I'd believe that for now. I knew and trusted Ludwig, but this man was a stranger...

"Is something wrong?"

I shook my head and kicked my thoughts back into the present. "Ah, no, I was just thinking about how I didn't have much time to know Aunt Sophia."

The red head nodded, "Yes, it was very tragic." He fiddled with his glasses a bit. "I'm sorry, I just realized you must be surprised that I know you when I haven't even told you my name. I am Alastor Todhunter." I shook the hand he offered, for forms sake.

"Well, Mr. Todhunter-"

"Please, Alastor is fine."

"-Alastor, what was that about my aunt's research being stolen?"

"Ah, yes, well the thing is, Sophia once discovered a book in Aspio's library that she believed referenced the location of a yet undiscovered ancient ruin. The book seems to have been lost in a fire however." He took his glasses off to clean them before continuing. "I met her when I was a boy, and she told me she'd found the location after months of searching. But the notes she'd taken of her initial exploration were stolen soon after and she died before finding the ruins again."

"So why bring it up now?" I sneezed. When would he get to the point?

"Because now I've recently confirmed that the notes are in the Magistrate's mansion. He may not have been responsible for the theft, but they are in his possession now. Sophia's notes on the city of the winged people."

Ahhh, snap. Winged people? Really? "Winged people? What do you mean?"

"From what Sophia told me, it was a city that worshiped beautiful winged beings hundreds of years ago. The tapestries and murals she told me about depicted them as being like humans with colorful wings of light."

...Okay, there were a few things that could be about. First, it was a city that worshiped Entelexeia in a convincing human shape. Second, Terca Lumireis actually had religions that believed in Angels. Third, and maybe on a related note, this was some weird crossover with Tales of Symphonia and those were Cruxis Angels. Or...

The last possibility was that the people of Sophia's city had worshiped Fairies.

"So what do you want me to do about it? It's not like I can ask Ragou to hand them over. For him to even consider giving the research notes back, I'd have to offer him more money than I've seen in my life."

"I'm aware of the futility of bargaining for the notes. That's why I was going to suggest that Sophia's niece..."reclaim" them on her own."

I stared at Alastor. And stared some more. "You want me to go in and steal them? Why me?"

"I am hardly suitable for the task, and I do not trust any hired help to return the notes if they realize how much they are truly worth." Then he gestured at me. "But you are her own family. Who would have more right to the research than you? Even if you choose not to let me see the notes, I will be satisfied that they have been returned to their rightful place rather than left to molder in the possession of one who does not understand their value." Alastor bowed, "I wish you luck, Miss Letha," and started walking away across the bridge.

Just like the day before, I was left staring after him before I could even think of what to say.

"Aw, crap, I can't ignore the possibility that this is related to fairies..."

So I started making plans to break into Ragou's mansion.

x x x

Holy cripes, it's harder to write Flynn than to write Yuri! (That does not sound right)

Letha is deep sometimes. It might seem like the talk about law with Flynn was random, but I have a reason why...

Apparently Todhunter is an Old English name that means fox-hunter. Random name generator ftw.