(A/N The chapter's named so boringly because today's lack of creativity)

Chapter 31: Eridiah's Misson

"Wake up." the man, Lorea had slowly begun to call him Rodrian, said.

"Dad?" she mumbled. In the light, he almost looked as her Dad.

"No," he replied, "Rodrian." He took her hand and helped her up, very gently. They were in an other alleyway, a slightly narrower and somehow brighter one. Rodrian picked up his cloak, and laid it upon his horse's back. He patted the horses head, then lifted Lorea up.

"Are we going to go by horse?" she asked.

"No." Rodrian answered, "But we're not far away from where we are going."

"Oh."

Rodrian took his niece to a place he knew pretty well. He had lived there for a while. Before he had became a rebel, when he had first came back to the Eastern Snowplains. It was a nice house. Rather low, but still wide. Many windows, and one big, deeply blue door at the front. The house was white-washed, as most houses in the Eastern Snowplains. He rang the door-bell at the front, and waited for Sophie Rosser to open. Sophie Rosser was the owner of the house, or 'hotel' as she herself called it, a bit jokingly. But it wasn't Sophie who opend the door. It was a tall, thin woman with straight, grey hair and hazel-brown eyes. Rodrian blinked shocked. "Sophie?" he wondered.

"Sophie is not here anymore." the woman said, in latin, "I own this place now. Was it something you wanted?"

"I need a place for this child to live." Rodrian replied. The woman's gaze fell onto little Lorea, and a smile flickered across her face. A rather friendly smile, Rodrian noticed. "If it's not too much to ask for." he added.

"I'm sure we could find a place for this little darling." said the woman.

"I am willing to pay-" Rodrian begun, but the woman cut him of.

"Oh, we can discuss that inside." the woman wavered of Rodrian's comment wit ha gesture that reminded Rodrian strictly of his mother. Not at all in a bad way. The woman stepped aside, allowing Rodrian and his niece to step inside the house. It was a whole lot different from what Rodrian remembered. When Sophie had owned the place, it had all been slightly messy- in a cosy way. Now, it was all very clean.
"I had to clean the whole place up completely," the woman said, "That woman- Sophie, wasn't it?- had no sense in order whatsoever.

"Ah." Rodrian replied. He kind of had liked the place when Sophie had owned it. It had been cosy, and, more importantly, it had looked as though somebody lived there. Now, it reminded Rodrian a little bit of a dollhouse. Clean, neat and tidy. "Let's get into the sittingroom," the woman continude, "Mister... er?"

"Rodrian." came Rodrian's reply, and he immediatley bit his toungue. He couldn't tell anyone his real name.

"Do you got any lastname?" the woman asked. Rodrian had to think really quickly now.

"Gates." he answered, "Rodrian Gates."

"Rodrian Gates," the woman said, "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Amanda Wilmot." Rodrian supressed a sigh of relief. Amanda didn't seem to be very sucpicious. She guided them to the sittingroom. Amanda settled down in an armchair, and Rodrian and Lorea in a couch. "You wanted a room for the little one, right?" Amanda asked.

"Yes, a room would be nice," Rodrian answered. "And... hm, well somebody who's looking after her."

He could hear Lorea whimper, but silenced her by stroking her head gently. "Where are you going to live yourself?" Amanda wondered.

"I already have a home of my own." Rodrian replied, "But, well, I don't think that a child should live in a place like that."

"Oh?"

"I live in the... well, not-so-nice parts of the port." Rodrian lied, "I would like to move somewhere more apropriate, but I just cannot do that for the moment."

"Ah," said Amanda, "I see."

Rodrian scratched the back of his head. "However, Lorea here would need a room, perhaps some clothes and-"

"I'll get her what she needs." Amanda promised.

"I will pay you back, of course." Rodrian said.

"Of course," Amanda replied. "Speaking of; has she brought anything from... er, home?"

"No." Rodrian looked at Lorea, "No, there is not." "Why's that?" Amanda wondered, tilting her head to the left while studying Lorea's face. Before Lorea even got to open her mouth, Rodrian answered.

"Her parents- my brother and his wife- died in a fyre." he answered, "Lorea lived in an inn for a while, but they mistreated her so I took her away from there."

"Poor little one!" Amanda grasped Lorea's hand. Rodrian leant over to Amanda and bit his lip as though he didn't klnow if he really should say what he was going to say. At last, he said; "Her parents were murdered," he whispered, so low that Lorea wouldn't hear. "I would prefer you to not use her real name." Amanda grew paler and paler with each word. "Oh dear."
Rodrian nodded. "Yes indeed." he said. Amanda gave Lorea's hand a tight squeeze and then let it go.

"I will take good care of your niece, mr. Gates." she replied.

"Thank you." Rodrian smiled faintly, "Thank you very much."

Rodrian spent the next hour with his niece, but then: he had to leave. He really didn't want to, but he had to. It would seem sucpicious if Rodrian spent much time away the day Lorea dissapeard from the rebel's grasp. He hugged her, and told her that he would be back as soon as possible. Still, Lorea didn't want to be left alone. The week in miss Lynn's basement had traumatized her quite a bit. Nobody- nobody- had ever treated her like miss Lynn and some rebels had. She liked Amanda, though. Amanda was one of these people who just were kind, without having any reasons to be kind at all. As soon as Rodrian had dissapeard- which he did as quick as he had arrived- Lorea learnt that she was probably going to get along with Amanda quite well.

Joseph and Cashmére wasn't handling the loss of their child well at all. But who could blame them? Joseph couldn't sleep at night anymore, and Cashmére never stopped crying. The royal guards had been sent out to search for Lorea, but they could not find her anywhere. After weeks of not knowing where her little daughter was, Cashmére did something extreme: she asked Eridiah Beth for help.

Ever since Joseph's and Cashmére's wedding, Eridiah Beth had been locked up in the prison laying underneath Ambrosia. Tantibus had "left him there to rot", since he could not come up with any worse punishment. Cashmére hoped that he would be easy to make do her biddings.

It was five o'clock in the evening when Cashmére entered the corridor to the very isolated cell where Eridiah was kept. She felt very uneasy being down there. It was darke and cold, and she hadn't told anyone about where she was going. She shivered when she thought of what Eridiah could do to her, but then she reminded herseld of what state the hideous rebel-leader probably was in, which was a bit encouraging to her. Cashmére pushed the heavy door to his cell open. She almost shivered again; now, the only thing that separated her from the man were metalbars. "Hello?" she called. She could barely see anyone; only a pile of dirty clothes lying in a corner. The pile moved, and Cashmére supressed a scream. A face looked up at her; a face in need of shaving. It's eyes glared at her.

"Whaddaya want?" the voice belonging to the face muttered sleepily. Cashmére sighed. Where to begin.

"I... want to find my daughter." she said. The little, watery eyes stared into her own eyes.

"So?" Eridiah hissed.

"She's kidnapped," Cashmére continude, "By your rebels. I want her back." She was talking in a way that probably was hard to understand, she knew that.

"And you want me to get her back to you?" the man chuckled, "What, exactley, makes you think I'm capable of that?"

"You are one of their leaders." Cashmére replied. The man gritted his teeth.

"I'm in a bloody prison, you blasted idiot." said Eridiah, "I can't do anything."

"I would let you free, of course." Cashmére snapped, "And I would let you be free if you gave me my daughter back."

"Let's say that I didn't find her..?"

"Then, you will die." Cashmére replied. Eridiah smiled again.

"I'm starting to like you." he said. Cashmére wrinkled her nose at him.

"It's not a matter of who you like and dislike." she hissed.

"Of course." Eridiah snorted. "However... So, you want me to go back to the rebels, get your little girl back, leave her back to you and then... I'm free?"

"Yes." Cashmére said, "But only if you bring her back to me; alive."

Eridiah smired at Cashmére.

"Deal." he said.

(A/N Yeah, well there's the chapter. You might wonder why Rodrian left Lorea with Amanda, and didn't leave her to her parents, but that will probably be explained.)