Karigan did not see Zachary the next day. In truth, she was not sure if she was happy or disappointed by that. On the one hand, she was still sorting through her feelings and was not sure exactly what to say to him given their conversation the previous night. On the other hand, she knew it would be six months before they would meet again, and she was sure she would miss him terribly. That realization alone should have told her what her answer to him should be, but there were many other considerations as well.
When she returned to her room after a rather long ride to try and take her mind off things, she found a letter waiting for her on her desk. Though she did not recognize the precise handwriting on the front, she had a good guess who left it before even opening it. She smiled slightly as she broke open the wax seal—blue with a terrier. She should have known he would find a solution to her quandary. She read the letter once quickly and then again much more slowly, savoring each word.
Dear Karigan,
By the time you're reading this, I will likely already be on my way back to Hillander. I had considered finding you to deliver it in person, but I thought it might be easier this way given some of the revelations last night. I just want you to know that I was completely earnest in what I said, and I hope you will give it due consideration. I know the next six months will be some of the slowest of my life, but I also know that they will likely be good for both of us. However, for the first time in my life, I find myself eagerly anticipating the next Council meeting.
Yours,
Zachary
After reading it so many times she had committed it to memory, Karigan carefully tucked it away under a couple books in her desk, not wishing anyone to come across it accidentally. She then sat back in her chair and sighed. Zachary was right about one thing—the next six months were going to pass extremely slowly.
True to her word, Captain Mapstone did not give Karigan another message errand for the next four weeks. It did not take long for Karigan to grow quite bored with the relatively slow pace of life at the castle. She agreed to help Mara with some of the books for the Rider Corps, for her experience with her father's finances gave her good background on them. However, that could not completely fill the time, and even long rides with Condor did not suffice to keep her fully occupied, for there were only so many routes she could ride.
Without many other tasks occupying her, she threw herself into her weapons training, and it was not long before Master Gresia took notice. After one session, the kindly arms master stepped up next to Karigan, matching the younger woman's pace as Karigan cooled down after the grueling training. "I'm not sure that this training is suitable for you anymore," Master Gresia remarked. Karigan turned, her eyes widening in shock, wondering what she had done to elicit such a comment. She genuinely enjoyed training with a sword, and she thought she was improving greatly. She could beat just about all the other trainees in her class, and Master Gresia had actually been sparring with her during the last couple sessions after she had dispatched her fellow trainees too quickly. Surely the arms master could not be suggesting now that Karigan was not suited for arms training?
Master Gresia must have seen the shock on Karigan's face, for she quickly clarified her statement. "I just mean that I don't think it is challenging enough. You've progressed quite quickly in a short amount of time, and I suspect if you keep up this pace, you could make master in a couple years."
Karigan's eyes widened. She had not expected that. Becoming a swordmaster was a rare accomplishment, one she never expected she would have a chance to achieve. Master Gresia smiled. "That is something you want, isn't it?"
Karigan stuttered for a moment before managing to form words. "Yes, of course! I just. . .I never really considered it before."
"Well, you should. I think you would do quite well. But I don't think I'm the right person to help you reach that potential. I have another trainer in mind."
"Who?" Karigan tried not to let disappointment creep into her voice. She genuinely enjoyed working with Master Gresia.
"Arms Master Drent. He's the best trainer we have—trains all the Weapons."
"Would he even be willing to train a Green Rider?"
"Let me handle Drent. I think he could be persuaded. Assuming, of course, that you want to go through with the training." Karigan hesitated only slightly before nodding. "Good. I'll talk with Drent and give you more information at your session tomorrow. I'll be sad to see you go, Rider, but I think this will be the best thing for you." Master Gresia clapped a hand on Karigan's shoulder briefly before turning away, heading back for the armory. Karigan slowed to nearly a stop, watching her go while contemplating everything she said.
Karigan agreed to the additional training, and two days later, Master Gresia announced it would be their last session together. "Master Drent says you are to report at seventh hour tomorrow morning." Karigan's eyes widened. She was often still in bed at the seventh hour. Master Gresia obviously saw her expression, for she smiled. "You'll find that Drent likes to keep you on your toes, but he generally has a reason for his actions. Give it a chance." Karigan grumbled a bit, but she had already agreed to train with him and was not the sort to back out of an arrangement, so she did not feel that she had much choice.
Karigan slept through her first alarm the following morning and ended up stumbling out of the barracks at ten til seven, still pulling on her sword belt. Her stomach grumbled, reminding her that oversleeping had cost her breakfast before practice, but she did not have time to worry about that. Even if she ran, she would be hard pressed to make it to the training ring before seventh hour, and she had a feeling Drent was the type of person who would not be happy with tardiness.
Drent was a large, imposing man with long hair and beard that was more gray than brown. He stood at the side of one of the practice rings, two heavily-muscled arms crossed over his broad chest as he frowned in the direction of the castle. Karigan skidded to a halt in front of him just as the first bell tolled to mark the seventh hour. His frown deepened. "G'ladheon?" he questioned. She nodded, sucking in a large breath of air to protesting lungs. "Problems this morning?"
Yes, the problem was the ungodly hour he wanted her to train, but she could not say that. "No, sir," she said quickly.
"Well, we'll consider that a warm-up then. Ten laps."
"Laps?"
Drent's thick eyebrows rose. "Yes, girl, laps. Are you unfamiliar with the term?"
"I just. . . I thought we were going to train with the sword," Karigan finished lamely. She knew it was the wrong thing to say even before Drent shook his head, muttering darkly.
"I can't train a body that's not ready to be trained."
Karigan could not stop herself from sputtering in protest. "But I've been training for months! I'm perfectly ready."
"You haven't been training with me. Now, you can either do ten laps around the practice field and we'll see what sorry skills you might possess or we can end this right here." He met her gaze, challenge in his black eyes. Karigan was not the sort to back down from challenge. Without another word, she turned on her heel and began to run around the practice field.
When Karigan returned to the Rider barracks two hours later, she was drenched with sweat and so tired she was no longer hungry. She just wanted a long, hot bath and then to lay down on her bed and not move for at least a day. Possibly more. But no, she could not lay there longer. Drent had insisted they meet at the same ungodly hour the following morning, insisting that they had much ground to make up. Karigan was seriously considering returning to Master Gresia and begging to train with her again. Of course, that would involve more movement than she could handle at the moment.
A hot bath did help somewhat though Karigan still ached every time she moved. She was just finishing dressing when someone knocked on her door. "Come in!" The door opened to reveal Tegan, a fellow Rider who Karigan had gotten to know fairly well during her time in the Corps. Though a bit more exuberant than Karigan herself, Tegan was serious when it mattered and always ready to lend a listening ear or a lighthearted topic of conversation or anything else one needed. "Have you heard the news?" she questioned, seating herself on the edge of Karigan's bed.
"News?"
"A group of travelers just got here, and Garth says they're traveling under the flag of the Cloud Islands. Rumor is that the king is looking to negotiate a trade contract with them." Karigan's eyes went wide. The merchant in her immediately began to consider what that would mean for Sacoridia. The Cloud Islands were rich in natural resources but low on manpower. Sacoridia, with its rapidly growing populace, was the opposite—Karigan's father had often remarked that trading with them could easily double his profits. With the right contract, Sacoridia would be a leader in commerce.
"We haven't had a contract with them in centuries."
Tegan nodded. "I heard that one of the Sealander kings breached some terms of the original contract so horribly that they refused to even talk to the Sacoridian king for awhile. I don't know what King Amigast did to convince them to come, but I for one am glad."
"Oh? Why?" Karigan did not know why her friend would have an interest in trade.
"One of their main crops is cocoa!" Karigan could not help but chuckle at her friends excitement, and they spent a few pleasant minutes speculating on what might happen to the price of chocolate before Karigan's stomach reminded her she still had not eaten breakfast. Tegan accompanied her to the dining hall, now discussing some of the new Riders as well as recent errands they had ridden. Conscious of Captain Mapstone's request as well as Zachary's own explanations, Karigan had not told any of the other Riders of the assassination attempt or her part in it, so her tales were relatively mundane. That did not seem to bother Tegan, however, who still asked for more details and seemed genuinely interested in those that Karigan gave. She was especially intrigued by Karigan's training with Drent.
"I don't see why," Karigan muttered. "I spent half the session running and the other half having my practice sword slapped out of my hand."
"But he only trains the best!" Karigan simply shrugged.
The next few days passed in much the same way—early morning bouts with Drent and some of his other trainees followed by a bath, breakfast, and some time with Condor. Generally, Karigan tried to spend a bit of time in the afternoon helping out with the Rider accounts, but that still did not fill all the hours in her days. And with Drent's intense method of training, she no longer had the energy for extra sword practice. And so she found herself in the library. She read through a couple fiction books by familiar authors, but they did not hold her attention as well as they once did. She ended up wandering the aisles for awhile, stopping in the history section. Without even really considering what she was looking for, she reached out and selected a book that seemed like it might be interesting. It was on the history of Hillander province with a heavy focus on the Hillander line itself. The subconscious was certainly a funny thing, and it did not take a lot of interpretation to understand what hers was trying to tell her. Still, she hesitated. It could not hurt to learn a bit more before agreeing to anything. With that thought in mind, she grabbed a couple more books from the same section and took them over to a private corner to read.
Karigan had never been a particular fan of history in school, but she found herself fascinated by it now—or at least, fascinated by the history of the current ruling family. She read extensively about Smidhe Hillander, who had united the Sacor Clans more than two hundred years before after Agates Sealander had died without an heir, and she realized that he reminded her quite strongly of Zachary. The books she read described him as quiet but firm, carefully considering his decisions but rarely backing down from them once he made them. It also mentioned that he was a fierce warrior who was often in the front lines with his army that helped to quell the rebellious clans who he could not win over with diplomacy. Even his physical appearance, depicted in full color in many portraits in the books, seemed similar to Zachary's from the fiery hair to the almond eyes. But then, Karigan supposed that was the way with families—King Amigast and Amilton shared similar features, too.
A couple weeks after she began devouring large history texts, Karigan finally admitted to herself that she was interested in pursuing a courtship with the current Lord Hillander. She supposed she should have known that even earlier, for it seemed unlikely for her to spontaneously develop a deep and abiding love of history where none existed before. It took another week to convince herself that there was enough of a chance to make a courtship work that she could agree to it. Sure, she knew the logistics would be complicated and they likely would not see as much of each other as they wanted, but she would not be a Green Rider forever. And when the call did release her, she would not mind settling down in Hillander. It was close enough to Corsa that she would be able to see her family fairly frequently, and she would still have ready access to the sea.
Karigan shook her head, quickly closing the large text she was reading. She was thinking much too far ahead. Marriage was still a long way off—she did not even know if Zachary would want to marry her. Perhaps they would discover they were not suited for each other once they began courting. Unlikely, a voice in her head chided, but she quickly shushed it. Better to consider more pressing details such as how to inform him of her decision—for she was not sure she could wait the four and half months until he returned.
Karigan returned the book to its shelf and left the library. She was not sure exactly where she was going, for there was still a couple hours until supper time, and she did not have any plans for the evening. And so she let her feet wander as her mind did, trying to puzzle out her next course of action in regards to Zachary. She was quite unaware of where she was until a cry suddenly broke her from her musings, and she glanced around in confusion. It took her a moment to place the corridor where she was, for it was not a usual route for her—it was a hallway that ran between some of the royal quarters and the quarters for important visitors. She had traveled it a few times with Zachary, for it led to the kitchen. It seemed that thinking of him had caused her subconscious to retrace the steps of some of their walks. Of course, the realization of where she was did not give her any information about who was screaming or why.
Curious now, Karigan followed the sound, turning down one of the side corridors that led closer to the royal apartments. It did not take her long to locate the room from which the sounds emanated, and she paused outside it, listening, unsure if she should intervene. However, after only a few seconds, she heard words that made up her mind. "No, please, no!" a young female voice cried. "Don't! Please! I'm begging you!" Drawing the saber Drent had insisted she always wear, Karigan pushed the door open, her eyes quickly scanning the room. What she saw made bile rise in her throat. A young girl crouched on the floor a few feet away, her shirt hanging in tatters from her upper body and her skirt pushed around her ankles. She was bleeding from multiple places, and there were dark patches of skin that Karigan was sure would turn into full-fledged bruises soon enough. The girl was sobbing violently and still pleading with the man who stood above her.
Karigan glanced briefly at the man, just long enough to see he was much older than the girl, likely a few years Karigan's senior, and he looked down at the girl as if she were worth nothing. Rage rose in Karigan's chest, and she lunged forward, her saber raised. "Get away from her!" she called, enforcing her words by pushing herself between the two people. She felt the girls' hands grab the bottom of her coat, and she shifted slightly, ensuring she had fully blocked the victim. Only then did she look up at the man she had confronted.
It was Amilton. Shock and rage warred on his face as he stared at the two women in front of him. Automatically, Karigan's eyes flicked down to see if he was armed, and she could not stop the blush that formed on her cheeks when she realized there was nowhere for him to carry a sword—for he wore no belt or pants, just his smallclothes. Rage quickly overcame embarrassment, however, as her conscious mind reminded her just what she had interrupted. Karigan did not care if he was the crown prince—no human being should treat another as he had been treating the young girl still cowering behind her. "Get out of here," she commanded, trying to put as much steel into her voice as she could manage.
"Or what?" Amilton sneered, seeming to overcome his shock.
"Or I'll make you!" Karigan lowered the blade closer to him.
"Do you know who I am?"
"Oh, I know exactly who you are." Karigan's eyes glinted dangerously. Amilton must have sensed that she was not going to back down from her position, for he finally relented. With one last sneer, he turned toward the door, pulling his pants up as he walked away.
"Rest assured, Greenie, your Captain will be hearing about this."
"Yes, she most certainly will," Karigan agreed. With that, Amilton tugged the door open, letting it slam shut behind him. Karigan let out a long breath, turning to the girl who was still sobbing on the floor. Now that the adrenaline rush was over, she began to wonder just what she was thinking and what she was going to do next.
After some internal debate, Karigan realized there was only one real course of action. She wished Zachary was still at the castle, for she was sure he would be able to help her figure out her next steps, but with him back at Hillander, there was only one person Karigan knew would be able to handle the situation. Decision made, she pulled off her Green Rider coat and used it to cover the girl as best as she could before leading her from the room. The young girl gave no protest, instead following meekly as Karigan led her through some of the lesser-used corridors Zachary had shown her, hoping to avoid other people. Karigan imagined the girl was going into shock, but she did not have time to do anything about that at the moment. She needed to get them both somewhere safe and make sure they had a plan before Amilton tried to retaliate. For Karigan was sure that he would.
Fortunately, they reached a door to the gardens without meeting anyone, and Karigan quickly crossed them to the Rider barracks. Since it was still early in the evening, no one was yet in the Common Room for which she was grateful. She ushered the girl down the hallway toward Captain Mapstone's office. The door was closed, and Karigan knocked, praying the Rider Captain would answer.
"Yes?" Captain Mapstone called.
"It's Karigan. I need to talk." Something about Karigan's tone must have helped Captain Mapstone realize the urgency of the situation, for she opened the door immediately. When she saw the girl still huddled next to Karigan, her eyes went wide, and she quickly ushered them inside. It did not take long for Karigan to relate what she had seen, and she saw the frown lines in Captain Mapstone's face deepen as she did so. Once Karigan had finished, she turned to the young girl.
"Do you need to see a mender?" she questioned. The girl shook her head, her eyes still focused on the floor. Captain Mapstone nodded, looking back to Karigan. Silence descended over them for a few seconds before Captain Mapstone finally spoke again. "Is there someone who you would feel safe with, someone we could take you to?"
The girl nodded, wetting her lips before saying in a voice barely above a whisper, "My father." Captain Mapstone gave another nod.
"Would you be comfortable if Karigan here took you back to him?"
"Yes."
"Okay. I need to speak with the king as soon as possible. Karigan-" Captain Mapstone broke off, looking over at the girl who was still trembling. Karigan heard the unspoken words easily enough. "Be careful. You don't know if he'll come back." She nodded, showing she understood, before placing a gentle arm around the girl and leading her out of the room.
"You're going to have to direct me," Karigan said. "What part of the castle do you live in?"
"I don't live here. We're just visiting." Karigan felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Surely not. Even if Amilton had no morals, surely he had enough sense not to do anything to anger a potentially lucrative trade partner.
But then Karigan remembered some of the things that Zachary had mentioned about Amilton, and she realized that he likely did not have that sense. Or, at least, not sense enough to overcome his belief that he was better than everyone around him and could therefore do what he wanted. "Are you with the Cloud Island delegation?" Karigan asked gently. The girl nodded, and the sinking feeling settled in the pit of Karigan's stomach. She did not envy Captain Mapstone's position right now.
Karigan led the girl toward the area of the castle where the delegation was staying. She nodded to a few people passing, but fortunately, none stopped to inquire about the girl. When they reached the guest corridor, it did not take long for a couple of the women to spot them. Their brows furrowed. "Elli?" one asked. "What's wrong, dear? Have you been crying?"
The question set off a new wave of tears, leaving two confused women staring at Karigan for an explanation. Karigan knew she owed them something, but she also knew that she could not possibly reveal Amilton's part in it, not yet. She was sure it would come out soon enough, but it was not her job to see that it did. Instead, she gave a somewhat halting version of what had occurred, avoiding naming the attacker at all. She saw the looks of horror settling on the women's faces, and she quickly assured them that she had intervened before the act had been completed. They questioned her about the attacker, but she managed to put them off with a vague assertion that she "could not really say" and had informed her captain who was dealing with the matter. They did not particularly like that answer, but Karigan refused to give them another, and they eventually accepted the girls' pleas that she just wanted to go back to her room. One of the women did turn to thank Karigan as they walked away, but it was perfunctory, and Karigan waved them off. She returned to her room completely exhausted. She did not even want to eat supper anymore. Instead, she gathered her night clothes and headed for the bathing chambers which, given the early hour, were blissfully empty.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard she scrubbed, she could not erase the images of what she had seen. She returned to her room still feeling frustrated, angry, and—though it was minor and hard to identify at first—a bit scared. She had never had to draw her sword against anyone outside of the practice ring before. And she certainly had not expected her first face off to be with the Prince of Sacoridia. With a sigh, she grabbed a book from her shelf, but in surprisingly little time, she found herself drifting off to sleep instead.
Karigan awoke the next morning to a loud knocking on her door. She blinked at the clock, noting that it was earlier that she had been waking up even for her early morning bouts with Drent. Confused and a bit disoriented, she stumbled to the door only to find a Green Foot runner standing on the other side. "The king and Captain Mapstone asked me to find you and tell you that you're needed in the King's study." Karigan startled for a moment, wondering what could be so urgent to summon her at the current ungodly hour before the events of the previous night came back to her. She swallowed hard.
"Right away, I assume?" she clarified, mostly succeeding in keeping the waver from her voice.
"Yes, Rider, that's what they said."
She nodded. "I will dress as quickly as I can and go right there." The boy nodded, leaving. She shut the door and quickly grabbed her uniform, figuring it would not hurt to appear the part of an unimpeachable Green Rider for the upcoming conversation. Or, at least, she hoped that was what her uniform would convey. In truth, she was not sure if anything would help her with the conversation, but she knew she needed to have it.
Fifteen minutes after she had awoken, she was knocking on the King's study door, an impressive feat that Karigan would have been proud of under other circumstances. Captain Mapstone bade her to enter, and she stepped inside quickly, bowing immediately to the king. When she straightened, she noted that he looked tired. His face was gaunt with dark circles under his eyes. Karigan frowned slightly. She had only seen him a handful of times, for generally Mara or Captain Mapstone gave her assignments, but she did not remember him looking quite so weary on those occasions. She wondered if her news had affected him more than she had thought it would—from Zachary's description, she had assumed he would dismiss it outright. "You called for me, Sire, Captain?" she said. She glanced over at Captain Mapstone and saw her lips compressed into a thin line. She looked angry. That did not bode well.
"Yes, Rider. Your Captain and I have just been discussing what you thought you saw last night."
"Thought I saw?" Karigan knew some of the outrage she felt crept into her tone when she saw the Captain's silent rebuke out of the corner of her eye. As best as she could, she reined in the anger. "I assure you, Sire, I reported the events accurately to Captain Mapstone."
"Of course." Disbelief still colored the king's tone, and Karigan tried valiantly to ignore it. "And the girl?"
"Was a member of the Cloud Island delegation. I brought her back there last night."
Both people looked at her sharply, and Karigan winced. In hindsight, she probably should have shared that detail with Captain Mapstone sooner. "You did not inform me of that last night," the captain told her, her tone harsher than Karigan had ever heard it.
"I did not know it until she directed me where to take her, and then. . . honestly, I was still a bit shaken from events and went to bed early." That was the truth at least. Unfortunately, it did not soften the angry looks she was receiving. "I am sorry, Captain. I realize now I should have informed you sooner."
"Did you tell anyone from the delegation what you saw?" Captain Mapstone questioned.
"I gave only vague details," Karigan answered. "I did not name any person or give a description. I merely explained what I had interrupted as I needed to explain the girls' distressed state. However, I am sure once she calms down, she will probably be able to identify her attacker quite readily, especially since I mentioned his name to you yesterday in her presence before I realized who she was. Regardless, it's not as if he's unknown to them."
"We don't know that," the King said sharply, and Karigan got the impression he was trying to convince himself more than her. She simply remained silent, knowing that nothing she might say would help her case.
"Do you know who the girl was?" Captain Mapstone questioned.
"I never got a name, but she was young, probably thirteen or fourteen. There can't be that many girls of that age in the delegation, surely." The Captain and King exchanged a look, and Karigan suspected they knew who the girl was. She considered asking but doubted they would tell her. It did not particularly matter anyway. She wanted to put the whole affair behind her.
"Do you have anything else to add?" the King questioned.
"Nothing that I did not already tell Captain Mapstone."
"Very well. Captain Mapstone and I have already talked, and she assures me that this is out of the ordinary behavior for you and that you have been under a great deal of stress so there will be no punishment though she has promised to talk about a Rider's duties with the entire Corps. We want to ensure that we do not have a repeat of your behavior in the future." He exchanged a harsh look with Captain Mapstone who had schooled her features in a neutral expression and merely nodded in response. Karigan, however, had not Captain Mapstone's experience in court and could not control her outrage.
"My behavior? What about Amilton's behavior? What's being done to ensure there is not a repeat of that behavior in the future?"
"Rider G'ladheon, that's enough," Captain Mapstone said sharply. Karigan looked over to see her eyes narrowed as she shook her head in warning. Karigan was still quivering with rage, however, and she was not sure how much longer she could control it. Captain Mapstone obviously realized this as well, for she quickly said, "Rider G'ladheon, I don't want to hear any more from you. We will address your behavior later. Right now, return to the barracks and await my orders." Karigan bit her lip so hard she tasted blood before giving a salute—almost mockingly, something the Captain obviously realized given her raised eyebrows—and a perfunctory bow to the king before storming out the door. She did not return to the barracks. She knew that Captain Mapstone could punish her quite severely for such disobedience, but she had a feeling her superior was not as angry with Karigan herself as she seemed. Regardless, Karigan had too much pent up rage to sit idly in her room. Instead, she turned to the stables. A nice long ride with Condor never failed to help calm her.
Riding did calm her slightly though she was still fuming when she re-entered the Rider barracks. Captain Mapstone's office door was open, and she had obviously been waiting for Karigan to return, for she called her name as soon as Karigan stepped into the hall. Reluctantly, Karigan stepped into the open doorway. "I think it's high time you took another message errand," Captain Mapstone remarked, scrutinizing Karigan closely. "You've been cooped up far too long, and I can tell you're getting restless."
Karigan bit her lip to keep from reminding the Captain that it had been her idea to keep Karigan at the castle. "I would be happy with another errand," Karigan said simply. Captain Mapstone nodded.
"Good. I picked up a few messages from the King today. A couple for Lord Coutre that aren't urgent, one going to Selium, and a more urgent one bound for Lord Hillander, and-"
"I'll take the Hillander one," Karigan interrupted quickly. Captain Mapstone's eyebrows rose at her vehemence, and she quickly added, "You mentioned it was urgent?" After a few seconds of scrutiny, the Captain nodded.
"It is the most urgent of the messages I was given. But we have a number of Riders present, so if you want to take another one-"
"No, the Hillander one is fine." If Karigan had not been so eager to see Zachary, she might have questioned Captain Mapstone's accommodating words. Though the Captain did try to give Riders a bit of say in their errands when she could, she usually did not give them quite so many choices.
"In that case, you should go see Quartermaster Renckle immediately. If you could leave this afternoon, that would be ideal, but tomorrow morning would suffice if he cannot get you outfitted so quickly."
"Of course." Karigan turned to leave, but Captain Mapstone called her back.
"And Karigan?" Karigan whirled to face her once more. "I know it likely does not need saying, but I'm going to say it anyway. What happened today cannot happen again. You need to remember that we are in service to the King."
"I know."
"I can't have a Rider who cannot control her temper."
"I know."
"Good. I'm not going to say any more on the subject. I ask that you don't let me regret that decision."
Karigan stared at the Captain for a moment, a bit shocked by the lack of punishment. It seemed almost as if Captain Mapstone silently condoned her actions, but that could not be right. She reported to the King, and as such, she had to be loyal first to him. But there was a glint in her eye which Karigan could not interpret. Instead, she simply said, "Of course not, Captain. I'll return as soon as I talk with the Quartermaster to retrieve the letter and any further instructions."
"Good." With that, Captain Mapstone turned back to the papers at her desk and Karigan left the room.
Quartermaster Renckle informed her there was simply no way she could be ready to leave by that afternoon, news she immediately relayed to Captain Mapstone. The captain nodded, obviously having somewhat expected his response, and told her that she could leave first thing in the morning instead. She handed Karigan the letter and suggested she get some rest. Having never been much of a daytime napper, however, Karigan instead spent a good deal of time prepping Condor and then wandered the castle aimlessly for awhile, pondering what she would tell Zachary when she saw him again.
The dinner bell startled Karigan from her reverie some time later, and she quickly turned and headed to the mess hall. Even if she could not sleep during the day, she could at least try to get to bed early. Mara joined her soon after she sat down. "I heard you're taking the Hillander errand," she remarked. Karigan glanced up at her friend, wondering if she suspected anything, but Mara's face was devoid of suspicion. Karigan nodded.
"Captain Mapstone said it was urgent."
"Have you ever been?" Mara seemed genuinely curious, so Karigan answered honestly, hoping that no one could hear her heart beating wildly.
"No. My father's trade routes all ran in the opposite direction, and I could go to Selium without crossing through the province, so I've never had a reason. And all my errands in the Corps so far have been to the north."
"It's beautiful there. There's just something about the coast. . ."
Karigan agreed, and they started swapping stories of their time near the coast. As the mess hall began to empty, Karigan said goodbye to Mara, knowing she would need to ride early the following morning. She still was not exactly sure what she wanted to say to Zachary when she saw him, but she still had a few days riding before she would see him. It should be plenty of time.