To Virdon's relief, Laisa didn't seem annoyed to see him again so soon. She just raised a brow at him when she opened the door. "Is your head aching again?"
"No." He attempted a smile. "The pain has moved, for some reason, it's sitting here now..." He poked his thumb against his breastbone. "I wanted to apologize."
And he also wanted to kiss her again. Virdon fought down a stab of guilt - he was widowed, even if he didn't feel that way, he wouldn't break a promise this time...
Not that it made a difference anymore, with that trail of broken promises in his wake.
"Oh." She seemed to be taken aback for a moment. "Well, chest pain could be something serious. Maybe you should come in and let me have a closer look at that..." She opened the door wider and smiled mischievously at him.
Her playful mood gave way to seriousness as soon as they were back in the herb room, though. She let him kiss her; but when he began to trail his kisses down her neck, she tensed. "As much as I enjoy your apology... we need to talk about Dehni."
Virdon paused, his face still buried in the crook of her neck. He sighed against her skin; she had changed her soap, or whatever she used as a perfume, to some woody, slightly bitter note... completely different from the flowery sweetness that had choked him the previous night. "I'd rather not," he murmured against her skin and smiled when his breath made her shiver.
She stepped back, breaking the contact. "I'd rather do something else, too," she admitted in a husky voice. "But if you're serious about that apology, you'll go to their inn and apologize to him, too."
Virdon huffed a humorless laugh, and turned away. "And what should I apologize for? For almost drowning, or for losing my memory... or do you think I faked that?"
"No, of course I don't think you faked it." Laisa walked around him so she could look into his eyes. "But you've recovered your memories since then, and Dehni suspected that you were remembering more than you admitted even before last night. You can't just pretend to them that you're still completely unaware that you're... you again."
Virdon clenched his fists in helpless frustration. "Laisa, we already talked about all that! I told you why I need to stay Taris and... and besides, I have other things to worry about. Ennis was abducted last night, from his own room!" He shook his head. "If I only had been there..."
Laisa gaped at him. "What do you mean, Master Ennis was abducted?"
"They claim he ran away." Virdon started to pace. "Apparently it's something he's done before, when things got too rough for him to handle. But his telescope is missing, too, and he hates the thing! I told Zatis, but he didn't believe me..."
Galen had seemed to believe him, but he hadn't returned, and after a while, Virdon had been too antsy to stay in Ennis' room and wait for him any longer. No matter if Galen believed him, or if Voltis believed Galen, nobody would bother with inviting a human to join the search, and if the choice was between sitting on Ennis' bed and twiddling his thumbs, or getting some fresh air and talking this over with a fellow human...
... normally, that fellow human would've been Burke.
But even if there hadn't been that little explanation in the way of how he wasn't Taris anymore, and how long he'd known, and why he hadn't said anything before... Virdon doubted that Burke would've lent him a sympathetic ear in this particular matter. The major had become more and more hostile towards apes in general, which was understandable after what they had gone through, but now he also didn't seem to care about the apes' age anymore, which was... worrying.
If he decided to keep his Taris identity, Virdon wouldn't have the opportunity to talk about that with him anymore, either.
I'll deal with that later. After Ennis is safely back home.
"Do you have any other proof save that tele... thing, that he was taken against his will?" Laisa asked hesitantly.
Virdon whipped his head around. "So you think I'm just a hysterical slave, too?"
"No!" She reached out and caught his arm to stop his pacing. "I trust your judgment, Alan. If you say he didn't run away, then he didn't. But... but surely the chief and Privat Zatis, and, and the guard are all looking for Master Ennis, aren't they?"
Virdon scoffed. "They're looking in all the wrong places. Ennis isn't hiding somewhere in the mountains! He's probably not even in this prefecture anymore. And as long as they all cling to that notion that he just ran away in some bout of teenager rage, they'll just lose precious time!"
Voltis must've made a lot of enemies - it just came with the territory. The human house servants had been whispering about a band of rogue apes trawling the prefectures, killing every human they caught, even attacking whole human villages... even attacking any ape who took care of humans. Apparently, Galen's predecessor had died in such an attack.
Maybe some disgruntled prefect had thought it was time to put a bit more pressure on the district chief, before their prefecture was completely ruined by... what were they called...? Koba's Army. Galen had just raised his brows when Virdon had mentioned that possibility, but hadn't said anything.
Or maybe Ennis had been abducted by one of those Kobavasa - to put pressure on his father not to persecute them too vigorously. In which case, there was no way of knowing if they would be content just to sit and wait for Voltis' reaction. Maybe they'd want to forestall any rash reactions by sending him a warning...
Neither of these theories explained the missing telescope, though. No, Ennis' mother was still the most likely candidate.
"This was my fault," Virdon murmured. "I should've stayed put... even if that would've meant sleeping outside the door. At least that way, nobody would've been able to sneak in and steal him from his own bed."
"And maybe they would've just killed you so you couldn't raise the alarm!" Laisa snapped. "I'm glad you weren't there, Alan - you're not Master Ennis' bodyguard. It's not your place to protect him from attacks like this one."
It's not your place to think, Taris...
Not his place to protect, either. Just to... play fetch and be cuddled, apparently.
You'll be a boy an' his dog, Al. That's beneath you!
Some of his thoughts must've shown on his face, because Laisa drew back a bit to study his face. "Do you suspect someone in particular?"
"The missing telescope makes me think his mother took him," Virdon said. "I was there when she gave it to Ennis as a birthday present. She was very intent that he appreciate it. She wouldn't have left it behind. It must've been expensive, too."
"But why would she abduct her own child? After all this time..."
"You never stop missing your child." The ache in his chest was real, this time.
"What are you going to do now?"
His laugh sounded bitter even to his own ears. "What could I do? I wish I could go searching for him myself, but... They won't let me. I'd have to ask permission, and they'll just say I'm chasing one of my... my 'wild stories'."
And if he left without asking permission, a patrol would soon find him and drag him back to Voltis' estate. Virdon had no idea what the consequences of his disobedience would be - a stern talking-to? Arrest?
... the whip?
"I could go in your stead," Laisa suggested. "As a healer, I can visit another prefecture without having to ask permission of my master. I could ask around-"
"No!" Virdon thought his heart would stop. "It's too dangerous! You've heard about the Kobavasa, they'd snatch you from the road and kill you like a, a... No, you stay here, you hear me, Laisa? Right here, inside these city walls, where you're safe!"
She frowned at him. "I've been traveling the district all summer, Alan. Long before you turned up to protect me."
He clenched his teeth so hard that his jaw hurt. "Don't mock me. I've already learned that it's not my place to protect anyone."
Laisa grabbed him by the collar and pulled his face down to hers. "Stop talking this nonsense," she said sternly. "You're stubborn like a mule, but you're a good man." She kissed him, long and deep, to drive her point home.
"Promise that you won't endanger yourself because of me," Virdon murmured when she released him.
"I promise." She smiled up at him. "Though you must admit that it's a good plan - if Chief Voltis had an actual eye witness, someone who had seen Master Ennis in Sultok with his mother..."
"It would still be just the word of a human," Virdon reminded her.
Laisa shook her head. "The Chief loves his son, and he wants him back just as much as his mother did. Believe me, Alan, in this case, he would take the word of a human seriously."
"Well, alright, it is a good plan," Virdon admitted, and couldn't help but smile when she beamed with pride. He gently traced her lip with his thumb. "I still don't want you to go. It's too dangerous."
Laisa sighed. "I guess we'll need to put our faith in Chief Voltis then." She raised herself on tiptoes to kiss him again. "He'll figure it out, eventually."
Virdon closed his eyes to better focus on her kiss, trying to let the sensation drown out his own guilt over his absence that night, trying to put his faith in Voltis' ability to put two and two together.
It wasn't his place to worry, after all.
When Burke showed up at the healer's house to return the basket and the empty bottles - to his surprise, the humans did take care to collect them and return them to their doctor, a habit that the late Dr. Ropal had probably beaten into them - the door didn't open. After knocking and calling for the third time, Burke tried the handle and found that Laisa had locked up.
That was pretty unusual - she'd have people coming to buy herbs all day long, and it was only early afternoon. After Galen had returned from his appointment with 'Taris', he had ordered Burke to immediately hitch up the horses for a quick doctor round through the villages near Chubla; they had skipped lunch, and now Burke was feeling hungry and cranky, and not inclined to waste his time at Laisa's doorstep. The healer had probably locked the door just for him, for that little debate at sunrise.
He was still trying to decide whether he should just leave the basket outside her door, or pick the lock and deposit the bottles in the hall so that no passing human could help themselves to a free bottle, when an old woman poked her head out of the window of the neighbouring house and croaked, "She's not in there."
"Yeah, no shit," Burke muttered. Aloud, he said, "You know when she'll come back? This is her stuff, an' I don't fancy hauling it around all day."
"Not for a few days," the woman said. "She told me she's visiting some relatives who have fallen ill, in Sultok. We'll have to go to Lovits with our troubles, and have him pray for us."
"Good luck with that," Burke murmured, and turned to leave. He'd have to take the damn bottles back to the inn now, and stash them somewhere - probably in his own room, he couldn't imagine that Galen would allow him to pile up trash in his room - and Cesar only knew how many more empty bottles would join that first basket before the damn woman returned.
His mood plummeted even further when he ran into Virdon at the ghetto's gate. "You're outta luck, bud," he growled as he shoved past him. "Your girl is out to visit some relatives, nobody knows when she'll be back."
He suddenly found himself grabbed by the arm and flung against the barricade. "Hey," he protested. "Careful, man! That's glass in there!"
Virdon's face was tense, his eyes a pale blue boring into Burke. "What did you say? Where did she go? When?"
Burke felt his irritation shoot up like a jet of flame. "Why the hell should I tell you anything, stranger?"
Virdon didn't seem to listen to him, although his fist was still crumpling his shirt. "She can't have left longer than two hours ago," he muttered. "I went back to the estate at about noon..."
Then he brought his face close to Burke's, his gaze clear and cold with no trace of the slightly addled Taris in it anymore. "Because she might be in danger, and I don't think you'd play with an innocent's life just to spite me."
Burke snorted. "Sure she's in danger. She's a human, it's our default way of life here."
He saw a muscle tick in Virdon's jaw as his former commander clenched his teeth. "You're out in the prefectures every day," Virdon growled. "Don't tell me you haven't heard of the Kobavasa."
Burke shrugged. "They've been here long before you an' I showed up, an' your healer had to deal with that fact all summer. Don't know why you think anything has changed, jus' because you have the hots for her."
Virdon's gaze flickered for a moment. He moistened his lips. "I think she got herself in danger on purpose this time. Because of me. So yes, something has changed, and I'm responsible, and... come on, you don't have a feud with her!"
Burke held his gaze for a moment... but it was true. He actually didn't have anything against Virdon's girlfriend. "She went to Sultok," he said. "At least that's what her neighbour told me."
Virdon released him with a curse. "Sultok! That's Aboro's prefecture!"
Burke raised his brows. "And...?"
Virdon flicked him an incredulous look, then seemed to remember that as 'Dr. Kova's' orderly, Burke had probably been out of town for the better part of the day. "Chief Voltis' son was abducted last night, by his own mother, it seems - and she lives with Aboro. I... I had mentioned that to Laisa, and she had offered to travel to his prefecture to find out more..."
"Goddammit, Al!" Burke couldn't believe his ears.
"I told her not to go!" Virdon threw up his arms in despair. "I told her it's too dangerous!"
"What else did you tell her that made her think she'd have to go to Aboro for you?" Burke said, stunned.
"Nothing..." Virdon raked both hands through his hair. "Just that I should've stayed in the mansion that night, that I could've prevented it..."
"Yeah, or maybe that kidnapper just would've shot you," Burke said dryly. "Stop pacing, Al, the guard over there is gettin' twitchy."
Virdon let his hands drop with a sigh. He didn't correct Burke's use of his old name, which either meant that the bastard had regained his full mental capacity, but hadn't bothered to let any of them know about that little fact, or that he was too distraught about his girlfriend to care about Burke's needling.
"I need to stop her," Virdon muttered. "Get her back to Chubla... she's on foot, but she has a head start of several hours." He was staring into space, reviewing an invisible map in his mind. "A man on horseback could easily catch up to her..."
"Good luck finding a horse, or an ape who'd allow you to ride one," Burke scoffed. "That reminds me, you'd need your master's permission to leave town for your little rescue mission. And since your master got nabbed by the bogeyape, I guess your next contact is his father. I'd heat up the popcorn, if the damn monkeys still had it..."
Virdon paused to stare at him. "Enjoying yourself, are you?"
"I jus' enjoy watching you settle into your new life as a monkey's slave, Taris," Burke said with a sardonic smile. "'Course you can't remember what it was like before, when we never asked permission from Za... Mila and Kova for anything. They didn't exactly treat us as equals, but at least they tried really hard to treat us as people. But hey, this is what you wanted - enjoy." He turned to go.
"Danny..."
He walked on, not looking back.
"She might die. Is your anger really worth sacrificing her life?"
Burke paused, head pounding. He only turned back to Virdon when he was sure he wouldn't punch his friend's stupid, worried face.
"What do you want from me, huh?" he snarled. "Spit it out. Ask me."
"I need a horse," Virdon said tersely. "As you pointed out, it'd be difficult to get one from anyone else. I ask you to lend me one of your horses, so I can catch up with Laisa before one of the Kobavasa does."
Burke regarded him for a moment. "Suppose I give you a horse - doesn't mean you'll get permission from your master."
Virdon smiled faintly. "Chief Voltis has more important things on his mind right now. I wouldn't steal his time with... unimportant human business."
Burke scratched his ear. "You'd go without permission? You'd get the whip for that."
Virdon shrugged and avoided his gaze. "That's not your problem, though."
"True."
They stood there for a moment, the only humans not hurrying along on some errand. Burke saw Virdon's jaw work.
"Will you give me a horse?"
"No."
Burke vaguely gestured at him. "You're an eye-catcher, with your hair and eyes." And that limp that was also still there, although only faintly visible now, and invisible once he was on horseback - but if he did get into an ambush, the leg might give out at the worst moment.
'sides, I doubt your little master wants a bloody mess on his rug, after they've given you that beating for running away.
Virdon swallowed hard. "I... see. Well... thank you for hearing me out, at least." He slowly turned away, still looking stunned.
"I'm gonna get her, you idiot." Burke shook his head when Virdon turned back to stare at him in disbelief. "Did you really think I'd let some monkeys kill a human just to see you squirm?"
"I... I..." Virdon turned up his palms. "Thank you."
Burke turned to go. "'m not doing this for you."
"I know..."
Burke didn't slow his step, didn't look back.
Didn't dare to.
