Chapter 9: The Face behind the Mask
Of all the faces that he pictured underneath that mask… hers was not one of them. Alphinaud stared at her, his jaw all but hit the ground, honestly believing that he had hit his head on the run over here and was now seeing things.
"Claire?" he repeated slowly, not sure what else to say at this point as his wife was breathing hard, still holding onto her ribs as she winced in pain.
She looked up and seemed startled that he had said her name… at least until she reached up to touch her face, realizing that her mask was partially destroyed. Upon realizing this, she lowered her head in resignation as her hand dropped uselessly to her side.
"I have to say," she said with her voice now only half muffled due to missing half a mouthpiece, "I didn't expect to see you here tonight. Though, I guess I should have guessed something was wrong when I saw you sleeping in bed and didn't budge an inch as I was getting ready."
Alphinaud could only continue to stare at her, his mind drawing a complete blank as he struggled to comprehend what he was learning here.
Claire… his wife… was the Warrior of Darkness all along? He couldn't believe it…? But… wait… now that he knew the truth and looked back upon her past behavior… suddenly it all made sense! The reason she would be so tired in the morning… the nights that she would be in pain and mysterious injuries…? How she seemed convinced that the Warrior of Darkness would not be able to help them…?
"How…?" he croaked out, dropping to his knees in front of her, just staring as she kept her head turned away from him, as if she could not bear looking at him. "How is this possible? We sleep in the same bed for god's sake?!"
How was she able to get in and out every night? Questions were racing about in his head now that the stunned disbelief cleared away and he wanted answers. He was ready to start asking them but they heard the sounds of yelling in the distance and his stomach dropped when he realized where they were. He bit his lower lip, deciding to hold back on those questions until later, and instead focused on healing her injuries. The way that she hissed in pain when he reached out to touch her side suggested broken ribs and he did his best to heal those. But broken bones were a lot harder for him to treat than open wounds and so the most that he could do was to help numb the pain for a time.
He explained all of this as he let his healing magicks flow across his fingertips and bringing her some relief.
"I know that you have questions," she said, knowing that there was no way that he couldn't have a few hundred at this point. "And we will talk about it. But how about we save that conversation when we are back in our room before Ran'jit catches us?"
He took a deep breath, but he was still frowning heavily at her before he gave a stiff nod.
"But mark my words, we will have a stern talking to when we get back to our room," he scolded as she nodded in agreement and was able to get back up, ignoring any lingering amounts of pain before she grabbed hold of her sword still embedded in the ground and slung it onto her back.
"Then let us hurry," she told him before she took off back through the darkness with him right on her heels. They managed to make it to the entrance of Komra village and Claire had thrown off the remains of her mask before taking her tattered cloak and wrapping it around her face in a makeshift cover before she went to one of the little doors embedded in the mountainside. Alphinaud was still torn between outrage and astonishment before Claire knocked very carefully and in a series of patterns before the door opened.
Alphinaud had seen plenty of Lalafell back in Sharlayan but never one quite like this. Here was a Lalafell dressed in pajamas… with a bearded helm over their head so that he could not see their face. He blinked in confusion as the Lalafell, whom Claire addressed as the Watch Dig Chief, all but jumped out of his skin when he saw the two of them standing there.
"Lahi-bleeding-ho! What are you doing all the way out here this time of night?!" he cried anxiously, looking at Claire up and down as she made sure that her face was still covered.
"Forgive me," she told him, with her mouthpiece damaged she couldn't really hide her voice that well, "But we need to borrow a couple Amaro."
The two then began talking very quickly and quietly to each other as Claire explained the situation and how the army was on their tail. At that, the Watch Dig Chief gasped and quickly led them across the small village to where a few Amaro were waiting in some kind of enclosure. Alphinaud had seen Amaro since coming to Kholusia, a kind of reptilian-bird creature that had roundish bodies covered in grey feathers while the large heads looked up at them with rather soulful eyes, observing them with curiosity as they blinked sleepily.
But these were a lot smaller than the ones that he had seen back at the castle stables. In fact, he didn't think that they could even ride these poor creatures without doing them any harm. Something that the Chief seemed to realize as well.
"Sorry about this, I know that they're small for you," the chief explained mournfully, "Normally, we'd have some of our hoppers help you out, but the damn things are a bit too loud and would surely catch the army's attention from a distance. As such, these little guys won't be large enough to carry you all the way to the castle. But they should be able to fly you back to the ground. From there, you will have to make it back to the castle on foot."
"Don't worry, I understand," the Warrior of Darkness, or he supposed he should use her real name of Claire, nodded to his warning. "We will follow the river and travel down to the ocean. Once there, if fate is kind, we can borrow a boat to carry us the rest of the way."
The Dwarf sighed and shook their head in worry as he said, "You are playing a dangerous game here, lass. If you keep messing around with fire then don't be surprised when you get burned. You best lay low for a time if that stick-in-the-mud General continued to give chase."
"Yes, I know you are right," she nodded gravely, and through the slit in the cloth where Alphinaud could see her eyes, he saw how they looked directly at him before answering, "I think that I may have to do as you bid and return to the shadows for a time."
"Good," the chief said with an approving nod. "It's bad enough that Vauthry is breathing down our necks, I don't want to imagine how bad things would get if you weren't around. Now get going!"
Claire moved to one of the two larger Amaro and bent down low over the creature, hanging onto its neck as the creature took off. If things weren't so serious then it may look funny as the poor beast struggled to keep itself airborne with such a large passenger, but it was in the air and flapping its wings furiously before it sunk beneath the cliffs.
"Well? What are you waiting for?" the chief snapped up at him, knocking Alphinaud out of his stunned state. "I rather you not be around here either should the General come marching by! Go on! Get!"
And with surprising force, the Dig Site Chief gave him a push behind the legs, causing Alphinaud to stumble and fall forward onto the little Amaro. The creature let out a cry and took off with Alphinaud crying out in fear and gripping the neck so tightly that he feared accidently choking the poor thing. But the beast ran on ahead as he clung on with as much space as he could before they went running straight off the ledge. Their descent wasn't a smooth one… it was jerky and he feared that he would slip off at any moment as he gripped on tightly with his arms and legs like how a little monkey would probably hang on to its parent. It was really more of a slow fall as they descended down the side of the cliff, and he chanced to look up, gasping at the stars that were poking through small patches of sky. They were fading slightly as the pitch black became more of a dark shade of indigo and slowly grew to a lighter shade the more that one looked to the horizon. Dawn was starting to approach and would be here in just a couple hours.
Hopefully, that would be enough to get them back into bed before things got even worse. He was tense and stressed out the entire ride down, promising to return here when he next had a chance and to reward this Amaro with a treat should he make it back to the ground in one piece.
Perhaps the gods heard his prayer—or the Amaro itself—for soon enough the beast lumbered forward and landed with a clumsy jolt, knocking him to the ground and causing Alphinaud to bang his knees when he rolled off. He was shaking as he laid down, his heart beating so painfully that he could swear that it was about to burst from his chest. He breathed in hard, never happier to feel dirt on his face than he was right now.
"Not much of a flyer?"
His head jerked up at the sound of her voice and he saw Claire standing there as she was fishing in her pocket and pulled out a few small blocks of food and she was feeding the two Amaro as a way of thanking them.
"N-No, just afraid of falling," he wheezed, pushing himself up to his sore knees before Claire sent the two Amaro back up the cliff.
"Sorry about that, if we had larger sized Amaro, it would have been easier but we must continue on foot the rest of the way back," she said as she took his hand and pulled him up. "We don't have time to stick around here."
"But how do we get back with the army…?" he asked anxiously as she put a finger up to her ear and he heard the ring of a linkpearl from here as
"Yes, it's me," she said to whoever was on the other end. "I'm afraid I'm making a hasty retreat back to the castle right now. Ran'jit returned a lot earlier than we thought." She fell silent as she listened to the other end before answering, "No, I was able to get away in time but I need to have someone ready to let us in when we get back. Yes, I said 'we'. I'll explain later. I just need to have someone ready to open the door for us and to let me into the tower with the key. Again, I will explain later."
She then hung up before shaking her head and rubbing her eyes tiredly.
"I'm in for such a telling off when I get back," she grumbled before looking around the landscape to try and figure out where they were. "Right, we must be near the Greely Bridge… so if we follow the river, we can take the route to the sea… and let the currents carry us the rest of the way to Eulmore."
"W-Wait! You mean jump into the ocean?!" he gasped out as he looked to the river near them and could see chunks of ice actually sticking to the rocks. "We'll freeze!"
"It's not deep," she reassured him, "It'll barely come up to our knees. And we have to keep out of sight. We can then borrow a boat when we get to the ocean. Come on!"
She then jumped down and like she said, it was very shallow and she was running through the obviously cold water, keeping herself close to the walls to allow the shadows to cloak her. He knew that should anyone look down, unless they had perfect vision and could see in the dark, they would never notice her there. Dreading what he had to do, but knowing that he couldn't afford to be choosy right now, he followed and hit the water with a splash. It was even colder than he thought it would be and he let out a loud cry of pain at the sensation of burning cold touching his skin. Still he made himself give case after Claire, who waited for him to catch up.
"This way," she said as she took his hand in hers and pulled him along after her as they continued to creep along. "We still have some time and hopefully Ran'jit will be busy at the top of the cliff for a little longer. But what I want to know is how you got out here? I could have sworn I left you sleeping back in our room?"
"I used a glamour," he wheeze, shivering as the cold clung to him and every step felt like knives digging into his body. Claire noticed this and quickly fished something out from a little pouch she kept at her side on her belt.
"Ah, that explains it," she said in understanding and even a little impressed before she pressed another fire crystal into his hands. "Here, this will help. Just bear with the pain a little while and we'll be able to warm up when we're back in the tower."
"But I still want answers," he reminded her as they continued down south. He didn't know these lands nearly as well as she obviously did and so he was just left with trusting her not to get them lost. "How can you be here? You were the Warrior of Darkness all along?"
"For the most part," she shrugged. "Sometimes Thancred has to masquerade as me… but otherwise, yes. But now is not the time. I promise to answer your questions after we get out of here. If we want to escape this night without having it end with being punished or imprisoned—then we can't afford to waste a second."
He hated that she was right, but he was burning with a desire to learn more as his mind was trying to wrap around how this was all possible. Just where did she find the time to do all this? How could she be sneaking out at night to help people when they were sharing the same bedroom?!
He let the matter drop though, just gripping her hand tighter as she led him through the chilly waters.
Eventually, the two of them were able to get back to gravelly beach and to a point that they could just make out the city in the distance. But he knew that it would still take a long time by foot to make it there—even by carriage it would take at least a full hour…?
But Claire certainly did have friends all over. For she was able to led him to a small shack near the shore, where a Hrothgar, or Ronso as they are called in these lands, worked as a fisherman. Claire quietly explained that she and her 'friend' were trying to get to the city to escape from the General, and he was more than happy to help them out. He took them to the shore where a few boats were beached and told them that these were destined for driftwood anyway and that they could have one. Alphinaud had never been in a boat this small, but Claire thanked her friend for his aid as she pushed Alphinaud to get in. Before she followed, however, she did pass a small pouch that had some rare herbs in it to her friend.
"Gathered from the Greatwood," she explained, "I know how much you enjoy thyme and rosemary?"
He let out a loud laugh and clapped her on the shoulder as he said, "You know me well, lass. You just be careful. The army sounds like they're flocking to the cliffs right now so the way open should be pretty clear to the city, but still… be careful."
She nodded as she pushed the worn-out looking boat so that the waves caught it and they were leaving shore behind. He was trembling the entire time as his fingers clung to each side of the boat so hard that his knuckles were white in the dark. Claire noticed as well after they pushed off from shore and riding the currents under the cover of darkness.
"Do you need another fire crystal?" she asked him worriedly as she pulled out a paddle and began to steer the boat as they left land behind them. "I'd give you another, but we can't risk being seen."
"N-No, that's not it," he choked, his entire body so tense that he felt like a board that could snap in half at any moment. "I… well…?"
"What?"
"I guess this isn't a good time to tell you that I… can't swim…?" he squeaked out, half terrified of her reaction.
She didn't say anything but he could have sworn he heard an exasperated sigh at that.
"You know the movements, don't you?" she asked and he nodded, thinking back to the many hours he spent trying to learn to swim with his grandfather doing his best to teach him. His sister took to the water like a… well, a fish to water. But no matter how much he tried, his confidence faltered whenever he felt his feet leave the bottom and he would sink like a stone.
"I won't let you sink then," Claire said and his head jerked up to stare at her when he realized that he had spoken out loud. "Don't worry. If we play this right, then we won't need to worry about swimming. I don't want to have to take a dive if we don't have to. Let us just stay calm."
He nodded in agreement, thinking more and more longingly of the warm bed that was waiting for him back at the castle and trusted her to get them there. He didn't dare release his grip though on the sides of the boat as they moved slowly along, trying to stay close enough to shore as to keep an eye on things but also to hopefully stay far enough away that if there was anyone walking around, then they wouldn't notice them.
It was so quiet that every time he heard the water lapping against the little wooden boat, he was convinced that someone back in the city could hear them approaching. His mind was playing tricks on him as well such as whenever he looked at the ripples around them from the soft waves he thought that he could see something just beneath the surface, ready to grab him and pull him down into the dark depths. His entire body felt so tightly coiled together that he believed that he was about to burst apart at any moment. But thankfully, they didn't see anyone else about them either out here on the water or on the shoreline. All the while the distant city lights grew brighter and his ears could soon pick up on the obnoxious music that kept him up more often than not. He slowly began to relax at this point, feeling hopeful that they were going to make it back and be able to slip through the city with little problems.
But as fate loves to remind him… he wasn't in charge of such things.
Without warning, he heard a loud bang from shore and he let out a cry of shock when something landed hard not to far away and water erupted around them, drenching them with cold and almost causing their boat to turn over.
"What in the…?" he cried before looking about wildly before he spotted it from the air. Slowly rising from the ground on the shore was on of Eulmore's balloon-like airships. And as he looked to it, he could see the tiny glint of some kind of fire before Claire cursed.
"They got a cannon?!" she cried in outrage. "Since when did they have cannons on board? Those ships are supposed to be for passengers only!"
"I guess you must be the exception!" he reminded her as another cannonball came flying at them. He screamed again as Claire forced his head down and they clung to the bottom of the boat as the ball just narrowly missed them but the bang was loud enough to make his head ring and even more water was splashed everywhere. They were taking on water fast and he was honestly amazed that they hadn't sunk yet but with just one more cannonball…?
"We have no choice! We gotta dive if we want to get out of firing range!" she yelled so that her voice cut through the ringing in his ears.
"But I'll still just sink!" he shouted back in terror as more fire rained down around them.
She then grabbed hold of his hands and swore, "I told you! I won't let you sink!"
Hearing the conviction in her words… the seriousness of the tone… he realized that he believed her and nodded as she wrapped an arm around his waist and commanded, "Hold your breath."
He breathed in and out a few times before taking a big gasp and they dove into the sea just before another cannonball fell.
It was even colder than he thought it would be so that his entire body felt that someone had thrown him upon a burning pyre. He couldn't see anything but darkens all around and he clung on tightly to his wife as he felt himself being pulled through the water. He wasn't sure how she could move with him as a literal dead weight, but she was moving hard and fast as if she had sprouted fins. He just clamped a hand over his mouth as bubbles escaped and he felt the shockwaves of the water around him from the cannonballs that were still being fired at them. Just when he felt that his lungs were going to pop, his head broke the surface of the water and he gasped out desperately before he heard Claire's voice in his buzzing ears, "Take a breath and we'll dive again."
He did what he was commanded and soon they were under once again. He kept his eyes closed for the most part as he wanted to scream out in pain from the icy waters, but he kept going at it, only opening his eyes when they surfaced for air. Every time they did this, they were somewhere completely different; but he saw how the city grew larger and larger each time while the sounds of cannonballs falling were quickly fading.
He tried to help so that she wasn't just lugging him around pointlessly. But when he instinctively thrust out his foot to try his footing, only to be met with empty space, fear doubled in his heart and he floundered until her strong hands made sure to grip him tightly to steady him. When he got a look at her face, he saw no signs of pity or annoyance, just pure concentration as she focused on getting them through this.
This kept up for some time but just when he thought that he couldn't take it another second, his head burst through the water for at least the dozenth time and he realized that they were within distance of shore. Soon, he finally felt rock scraping his heel when they drew closer and he was able to cough up the salty water from his lungs as beautiful relief flooded his body.
He felt his fear subside the moment that he felt stable ground beneath him and he was able to stand when the arms that held him suddenly gave way and Claire collapsed. He reached out and caught her, helping her to stand as she slowly made her way out of the sea, this time being mostly supported by him. She was breathing hard and he realized just how must effort had to go to getting him out of that situation. She was so exhausted and out of breath that she could barely stand and he knew that he had to take over for at least a moment. She let out a startled cry of surprise as he bent over and scooped her up into his arms, carrying her bridal style from the sea and directly to the shore as he listened to her wheeze even more than him.
"I guess… you really can't swim," she panted into his ear and he felt an odd shiver going through his body at that though he just chalked it up to the bone-chilling air.
"I-I did w-w-warn you," he stuttered through trembling lips before he was able to heave her up onto the beach outside the city with the castle just in sights.
"We are going to have to fix that," she decided firmly, leaning her head against his shoulder. "As soon as summer comes again, I will be teaching you to swim."
"We'll talk about it," he agreed as he looked around, trying to figure out what to do now.
"Keep going," she wheezed, "It won't take Ran'jit long to realize that the attack didn't work. He'll be back to the castle in no time."
"But how will we…?" he began anxiously as she pulled the makeshift mask off her face and he could see her smiling faintly.
"Just go to the south side of the castle wall," she commanded, "You'll see."
He didn't know what she had planned, but he did what she told him as he took charge of carrying her this time around up the dunes and more to the frost covered lands of Kholusia. He was still shivering and soaked… with only the feeble fire of the fire crystal keeping him sane at this point. But if they didn't change soon, they would surely catch their death of cold.
But Claire seemed almost unnaturally calm as she directed him further up the hills and more to the side of where the castle was standing.
"By now, most people in the city will be too drunk or exhausted to notice us," she reassured him, her breathing returning to normal and he felt her shivering as well. "Meaning that only the guards will be on watch, but even then they'll likely still be tired around this time. We should be able to slip inside through a very special entrance. I have a friend waiting for us."
"Who?" he asked but she just gave him a mysterious smile as she continued to direct him. He didn't argue or question it any further before they finally returned to the walls of the castle, and she asked to be let down. He set her upon the ground and she swayed slightly, where he had to help support her until she found her footing. Now that he was able to see her in the faint light appearing over the ocean's horizon, revealing a rather cloudy morning, he could see how tired she looked and how worn she had become.
"Is this usually what you do at night?" he asked her in amazement.
"No, it's not usually that stressful," she reassured him, "But there are some nights where it's even worse. You should have seen the bad night I had when Ran'jit almost captured me in Lakeland. That was a stressful time if ever there was one."
He was suddenly dying to hear that story, but she just took him by the wrist and led him along the castle, looking for something. Alphinaud was just about to ask if she was looking for another hole in the wall to magically appear like back at the cliffs when… one did.
A large brick off the side of the wall that overlooked the ocean on the cliff suddenly was pulled inwards to reveal an opening for them.
"In here, my lady," said a familiar voice and Claire immediately approached it as the voice went on, "I had Y'shtola watching from the upper windows and she informed me when you arrived. Are you alright?"
"I've been better," she replied tiredly as she was able to pull herself into the hole and dropped right into the courtyard on the other side. "Had a very eventful night. Though I suspect I'm in for a telling off later."
"What do you…? Alphinaud?!"
Alphinaud had stuck his head through the opening to see who she was talking to and there, of all people, was the sight of the blue-haired guard that he met when he first arrived.
"K-Kai-Shirr?" he croaked out, his eyes bulging out at the sight of the guard there helping them up.
"Alphinaud?" he gasped again, looking just as astonished, if not more, at the sight of him coming in through the wall with Claire. "Wait… what?"
"Explain to you later," Claire repeated urgently as she turned and pulled Alphinaud through behind her. "Is the way to the tower cleared?"
"Ah, yeah… something burned up a statue last night so the guards are now trying to figure that out, so there were only the two guards at the foot of the tower who were left to watch things in this part of the castle. I made up an excuse for those two to go and warm themselves up real quick and I would watch their post for a little while. But they will be back at any moment. Come on, I got the key and I'll lock you in."
She nodded and the two followed after Kai-Shirr, who led them across the empty courtyard to the tower, which was, indeed, devoid of guards.
"Good, they aren't back yet. I'll lock you both in, but you should know that we got a message from Ran'jit not even an hour ago. He'll be back before sunrise…? We'll be cutting it close," he informed them axniously
"Don't worry," Claire said firmly as they ran up the spiral staircase. "If the Warrior of Darkness has been seen on the island then he will probably have another lockdown activated."
"Lockdown?" Alphinaud wheezed, having never run so much as he did this last night.
"It means that everyone will be required to remain inside as they search the island for the Warrior of Darkness or any of her allies," Kai-Shirr explained as they travelled upwards. "But even then, I think that Ran'jit will be coming to check on you, my lady. He has grown more suspicious than ever in thinking that you are in league with the Warrior of Darkness."
"But with us locked in the room then he can't find any reason to want to blame us for anything," Claire reminded him as Alphinaud mentally cursed these stairs once again. He was so tired that he was close to dropping here and now.
"We both know that he doesn't need it," Kai-Shirr snapped back. "He just needs an excuse to punish you and then you'll be dragged back to Vauthry."
"Right, now that he's back I think that I'm going to be stuck visiting Uncle again a lot more often," Claire grumbled.
They finally reached the top as Kai-Shirr fumbled with the key for a moment and unlocked the door. The two slipped inside and Alphinaud let out a sigh of relief even as Claire immediately went to the closet before they heard the door shut.
"What now?" Alphinaud asked as he heard the small click of the lock on the outside and Kai-Shirr's running footsteps as he raced back to the bottom of the stairs. "A servant will surely be here any moment and what if it's Ran'jit?!"
He looked down at himself to see that he was a real mess. His clothes were dirty and still soaked from his swim and he smelled strongly of salt water. Claire was hardly looking any better as she went to the closet and slid her sword inside. Alphinaud watched in amazement as a compartment opened up in the back just wide enough for her to slide the sword inside and then slide it closed before she grabbed a nightdress and retreated to the bathroom.
"Grab some night clothes and hurry," she told him as Alphinaud blinked and then ran to the closet as well. He ran his hand over the back of the wall, realizing that it had slid into place so perfectly that one would never know it was there unless they knew what to look for! By the gods, she knew what she was doing!
He shook himself awake when he heard water running and he grabbed the closest pair of pajamas and ran in as Claire was running a bath.
"But we don't have time…?" he began before she shushed at him and commanded instead, "Ran'jit will likely report to Uncle first before making the rounds. We have a little bit of time so let us not waste a second."
"But…?" he began before, to his shock, she began to heave her dark clothes off.
He could only stare like an idiot as she stripped down to her small clothes in front of him before reaching for a part of the brick in the bathroom wall that he never noticed before. But she was able to pull out a stone, once again, fitting so seamlessly into the wall it that you would never know it was there. The stone was hallow inside and she shoved the clothes into the hiding hole before she turned her back to him and removed her clothes completely. Alphinaud felt his face burning as he finally had the sense to look away, but gods… he wasn't sure what he was supposed to expect.
Despite the fact that they had been married for almost four months now, they had always respected each other's space, never once intruding against their own set rules so this was the first time he had ever see her… like this. WIth not an inch of her body covered and his cheeks were burning so hot that it was a wonder that he didn't burst into flames—in fact, he didn't even feel the cold anymore.
He was able to see her long legs to the curves of the soft hourglass shape… and he was completely taken in by her form. She then crossed her arms over her chest, turning her back to him as she glared at him from over her shoulder and snapped, "Hurry and change, we're gonna have to share."
It took him a moment to realize what she was talking about. The bath was large enough so that they could sit in comfortably side by side and she quickly got in one side of the large tub and began to wash all the dirt and salt from her body, her back still to him.
"Modesty is not something we can afford right now if you want to avoid punishment!" she snapped, though her own cheeks were red as a beet.
He had to but slap himself to snap out of his dazed state before he knew she was right. So, while she was busy cleaning herself off, he quickly stripped down as well, his face all but one big sunburn as he left his clothes on the floor.
He got in just behind her, his back to her and he washed faster than he ever had in his life as he just barely felt her brushing up against his own skin.
Thankfully, she seemed just as ready as he was to get this over with for she told him not to look as she quickly got out and he could hear her change as he finished washing out his long hair. By the time that he was ready to get out as well, she was already in her nightgown and had already shoved their dirty and wet clothes into the hallow stone.
She quickly left the room to give him privacy, still moving fast as if she did this every morning—which she probably did now that he thought of it—and he was still trying to grasp the strange butterflies that were fluttering in his stomach as well as the strange heat that seemed to rush through him.
It was the quickest bath in history though so they didn't have to sit in that uncomfortable atmosphere for long. He quickly washed himself off, and let the water drain as he dried himself off. Just as he finished changing, Claire came back with a bag of crystals.
"Don't hang anything else wet up," she told him, "Just shove them into the stone and we'll fetch them later. If Ran'jit sees it, he may get suspicious. If he asks, just tell him that the towels are still in the laundry. Quickly, dry off everything on the floor."
He did what he was told and soon the bathroom was dry and everything wet was shoved into the hallow stone and slid back into place, matching the wall once again.
"Our hair?" he pointed out, but she quickly had that under control as she handed him a fire shard and a wind crystal.
"Like this," she said and she used the two combined together in a way that he had never seen. She was using the wind crystal to blow a small wind around the warmth of the fire shard and into her face to dry her hair at a fast pace. He did what she was doing and he sighed in relief at the warmth that seemed to enter his body that he had been missing all night. In fact, he was so comfortable at that moment that he wanted to fall asleep right then and there. But once his hair was dried, she snatched the crystals away from him and pushed him out of the room, eyeing everything around her to make sure that nothing was out of place.
"Get into bed," she whispered urgently, "And you might want to get rid of your friend."
He wondered what she was talking about until he saw the bed and his glamour still there waiting for them.
"Oh, right!" he said as he dispelled the glamour and the pillows had reappeared.
"I'll need to remember that trick," she said as she shoved the crystals underneath her pillow and quickly moved the other cushions around, even setting some on the floor to make it look like someone may have accidently rolled over to knock them down. In other words, looking like the bed had been occupied all night.
They both jumped in and got under the covers, even removing the wall of pillows that was usually stacked between them and he laid down, his heart still hammering with dread.
"Just lay down, calm yourself, and stay still," she whispered as she pulled the blanket up around them and shut her eyes. "Just try to relax and be outraged should he come into the room.
He felt his hands shaking slightly, still frightened at the thought of being discovered and punished. But as he listened to her calm breaths, he began to try and match them… in… and out… in… and out… he suddenly felt his heart rate calm down and his breathing deepened.
He cuddled in closer to her, still a bit cold and shivering, but despite all the dread, he was warm and comfortable enough that the exhaustion was finally catching up. He gripped her hand and held it tightly to his chest as he moved the other arm to wrap around her—perhaps similar to how a child would hug their stuffed teddy when frightened. If she was upset or surprised by this, she didn't say a word, she let him do what he wanted as she moved in closer, resting her head against his chest and they both let out a lot of tension at the thought that they had made it back in time.
At some point, he could imagine that he may have fallen asleep, but it didn't last long. He could hear faint banging noises and then a loud BOOM and he shot up as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on top of him—half convinced that they were being fired at with cannonballs again. He looked around in wild confusion and spotted that the door to had been thrown open and Ran'jit was there, with an even angrier look on his face than usual.
"Where were you both last night?!" he demanded furiously.
Alphinaud was too stunned to speak, just staring stupidly as Claire threw a furious pillow at Ran'jit, who batted it away before he glared at her.
Claire rubbed her face with a tired hand, looking so convincing that she had just woken up that he almost forgot that she had been running around in the dark all night. He just felt his hands gripping the blanket tightly, feeling oddly ill as she snapped, "We were sleeping until about ten seconds ago! Do you know how early it is?!"
Though he knew that she knew how early it was, she was pulling off the act remarkably well when looked to the window to see how most of the sky was now a dark blue and only the tiniest strand of dawn was poking out past the window.
"Do you know how early it is?" she demanded hotly. "What is this, Ran'jit? I thought that you wouldn't be back until tomorrow to torment us."
"We got back earlier than we thought," he grumbled and Alphinaud could see his narrow eyes looking about the room, as if determined to spot something that wasn't supposed to be here. "And what would you know? We return to these shores only to discover the Warrior of Darkness was here as well?"
"Well, what happened?" Claire demanded, "Did you finally capture them? That better be why you're here if not to brag about your great victory?"
It was a good thing that Alphinaud was so nervous about being caught otherwise he would have laughed. But he didn't think that they needed to throw any more fuel on the fire that was Ran'jit's obvious anger.
Ran'jit stalked about the room, still searching for anything that he could see as suspicious. He even poked his head inside the bathroom, but obviously not able to find anything out of place that would give them away.
"What are you looking for? Isn't it enough that I barely get any privacy anymore?" Claire demanded, always becoming sharp-tongue when faced with a hated foe.
"When we got back, we found the Warrior of Darkness and one of their many correspondents upon the shore," he explained, standing in front of the bed with his arms behind him at attention. "We were even able to fire upon them from the shoreline at one point when we realized that they had escaped off the cliffs."
"And…?" Claire asked grumpily.
"Where were you last night?" he repeated in a threatening way as Claire glared back with what looked like loathing. Alphinaud looked from one to the other, almost expecting them to tear the other into pieces like rabid dogs.
"Again, I was here," Claire answered back with no trace of uncertainty. "You can ask the guards, I hadn't left the tower all night. I can't leave here with so many eyes everywhere! You know this, Ran'jit. You're the one who insisted on keeping me imprisoned here! What is the problem?"
His eyes narrowed dangerously before shifting his glare to Alphinaud and asked, "Is this true?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah," he said with a nod and inwardly cringed by how frightened his voice was. "She was with me all night."
"Why do you look so pale?" Ran'jit asked suspiciously and Alphinaud did his best to bite back the inner voice in his head yelling at him.
"He's been feeling unwell for the last couple days because of the weather," Claire said, tossing her hair over her shoulder, which was suddenly looking like proper bedhead. "Of course he's feeling sick right now. Even had to come up to bed early yesterday. Again, you can ask the guards, Ran'jit. Just what are you hoping to find?"
Ran'jit glared at the two of them, his sharp eyes narrowed as if he were trying to frighten them into telling the truth. Alphinaud looked up, still feeling like he was about to be sick as he looked back, hoping that the excuse of his sudden illness would help in this case.
Ran'jit seemed to believe it though for he just gave them both a nasty look before he commanded, "Everything is to be on lockdown until further notice. We are searching the waters around the shoreline to determine if the Warrior of Darkness's corpse can be found. You both are to remain in here for the time being. I'll have a servant bring up breakfast for you later. I will fetch you myself once we complete our search. Is that clear?"
"Good, now get out," Claire said before flopping down and pulling the covers back up. Alphinaud did the same, mostly because he feared that his obvious discomfort would give them away if left in the open any longer and pulled the blanket up over his head, silently praying to the gods for mercy.
He didn't know if it was because they were convincing enough—or rather Claire was convincing enough—or Ran'jit felt that he was wasting his time but he did end up leaving. But not before slamming the door on his way out and locking it behind him again.
Once Alphinaud heard him leave he let out a sigh of relief. He almost couldn't believe it… they had pulled it off! They would live to see another day… but…? He looked at her from under the blanket, seeing her green eyes glint slightly as he whispered, "Does he know…?"
"I think he suspects," she whispered back, now sounding as tired as he felt at that moment. "But he hasn't any real proof. I think that he thinks that he will catch me at it sooner or later."
Both of them seemed to relish in the thought that they had managed to avoid any future trouble for the time being, but now that they had time to really think it over… they both realized that there were still plenty to talk about. He looked at her before he pulled the blanket off their heads and sat up as she watched him with a look of resignation.
"So… can I please get an explanation?" he asked her as she looked up at him wearily. She sighed and rolled over onto her back as she stared at the ceiling with a thoughtful expression.
"Yes… yes of course," she sighed. "Now that you know the truth… you might as well hear the whole story."
She slowly sat up before moving carefully so that she was facing him, her head looking to the fireplace to where the dead embers remained as cold as outside. Alphinaud saw goosebumps on her arms and he got up to light the fire for them. Claire remained silent as he waited for her to try and figure out how to explain this all as he carefully loaded a few logs into the grate and snatched the flint off the mantle to light it. It took him a few tries to get enough sparks to cause the dry timber to catch fire.
But the time that he had finished, she finally spoke.
"It started almost four years ago," she confessed softly and he slowly turned to the bed as she was gripping the blanket with pale hands. "You weren't here during those years… where the people were still suffering from decades of harm done by the sin eaters. The people were starving and one could not take a step outside without fear of being devoured by a stray eater. I remained imprisoned inside the palace and could only watch as uncle continued to suck the life out of a dying land… like a tick growing fat on a creature that was nothing but skin and bones. He was only making it worse as time went by."
She looked up sadly and went on, "It got to be too much. I couldn't take it. So I… I proposed that we help the people here…? But Thancred and Y'shtola were against it at first because they knew that I would be punished by uncle. But I just couldn't take it anymore. So we came up with another solution."
"You became the Warrior of Darkness," he guessed and she shrugged at that.
"It didn't start off that way," she confessed sadly. "I just wanted to help the people of Kholusia. It was too painful to just sit back and watch the people live in fear and starvation day in and day out."
She turned her head to look out the window before adding, "You know the parties that happen in the city every night? All that food doesn't come from nowhere. Vauthry taxes the heart and soul out of the people. If you can't pay with gil then you pay with just about anything else. The people were struggling and if something wasn't done soon then these lands were sure to perish. So… with Thancred teaching me the ways of stealth and Y'shtola teaching me more and more about different forms of magic, I would sneak out at night to slay a few sin eaters here and there. Just to make things easier on the people. Eventually, more of the servants found out about what I was doing and offered to help out."
"How many of the staff and guards know the truth?" he asked in amazement.
"About a dozen people in the castle," she confessed. "Apart from Y'shtola, Thancred, Ryne, Tataru, Kai-Shirr…? There are several others who keep an ear out for any news all across Norvrandt. As time went on, others joined us and I learned more ways to battle the sin eaters including how to use a Greatsword. It's the most effective way to slay sin eaters but very cumbersome if you ask me."
"So you just started off with helping people by slaying the eaters you came across?" he repeated as he sat down at the edge of the bed to stare.
"At first," she confirmed. "But soon, I found other ways to help out. I started sneaking out gil and food from Eulmore and delivered them to villages who were on the brink of starvation. I learned ways of healing through magic and alchemy… so I was able to treat those who were sick and hurt. Eventually, word spread to the rest of Norvrandt and I was almost compelled to venture out to help them as well. Such as guiding lost souls out of the Fae Kingdom of Il Mheg, disarming lost secrets in the Ra'tika Greatwood…? And the list goes on and on. Soon I was able to meet many people all across the land and they offered their support and more continued to join us. So we have friends all over the continent."
"Wow," he whispered in awe. Alphinaud had heard of this before… that these lands had suffered for decades, close to a century, and it wasn't until the last couple years did Norvrandt finally start to recover to a point that the people could optimistically look to the future.
He then remembered that night where he witnessed Claire and Ryne being confronted by Ran'jit as he demanded she go through with the wedding. How Ryne had spoken up and said that everyone knew that the Warrior of Darkness had been the one to bring prosperity back to these lands.
To think that one person could…?
"But then… why didn't you tell me the truth?" he asked and she looked down again as he added, "How were you able to sneak out every night?"
"I used lavender incense," she muttered shyly. "It helps to not only induce a deeper sleep, but it also was helpful in covering up the smell of blood whenever I returned. I would do my best to heal my own injuries before returning as to not worry you, but healing takes time and I often don't have a lot of aether left by the time I get back. Especially since I use up so much energy running around all night. Usually I don't have enough to completely close my wounds so I just… hide it until I recover enough aether?"
Alphinaud shook his head at this, unable to believe it. To think that the truth had been right under his nose all this time and he had been so blind?! He wasn't sure how he should feel. He thought that he should at least by angry for her deception… so he had to ask, "Why did you hide it from me?"
Claire didn't answer at first as she moved out of bed to stare out the window, where he was left completely at a loss to what must be going on inside her head right now.
"I didn't want to get you involved in my battles," she confessed. "I wasn't sure if I could trust you completely. But more than anything, I was afraid of how I would look to you. I can't imagine that many would be happy to discover… that I am a wanted criminal in these lands. You are already here against your will because of me and I feared that you would suffer by knowing the truth… but know that I have been searching for a way to free us from my uncle's control. Thancred had been able to discover some more information about the chokers and has been following some leads. He is supposed to be returning soon to tell us what he had discovered and I am eager to hear his report. Oh, he's going to be so mad at me…?"
"Thancred didn't want you to tell me either?" he guessed and she nodded.
"I hated lying to you," she whispered. "But I truly did fear what would happen if you did find out. I knew that I couldn't keep this secret from you forever… to be honest, I'm amazed I was able to keep such a secret for so long…?"
"I can't believe how clueless I've been to not have seen the truth," Alphinaud whispered, amazed of himself, not in a good way, and just ran a hand across his face in exhaustion.
The two stayed silent for a time, not able to really look at the other nor to think of anything that could be said… what do you say in a time like this? Eventually though, Claire turned away as she faced the window, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders before asking in a shaky voice, "You… you aren't… gonna tell anyone, will you?"
Alphinaud blinked at that before asking, "Why would I ever tell anyone?"
She raised her head, her back still to him, and it seemed to take her a moment to comprehend his words as he said, "I mean… it's like this. I'm not pleased at all that you kept this secret from me, but I'm more upset with myself for not figuring it out myself sooner. I get why you did it… and I find it incredible that you have been able to do all this on your own."
He then got up and approached her as he took her hand in his own as he reassured her, "I won't tell anyone. I swear. You have my word."
At his words, she raised her head slightly so that he could see her face. Her eyes were hidden by the shadows of her bangs, but he could see a faint blush across her cheeks before she laughed, wiping at her eyes as her face seemed to let go of some kind of unexpected pressure on her soul.
"I was so worried that you would be repulsed by this… other side of me," she acknowledged, beaming a smile at him. "To hear that you aren't… it is such a relief."
He smiled back as she drew closer. He was surprised by this until she stood upon her tippy toes and planted a kiss on his cheek. He felt himself glowing red at that as she drew back and whispered, "Thank you."
"Your welcome," he answered back, not realizing that he was still holding her hand. "But… what do we do now?"
"We can discuss that with the others," she reassured him tiredly. "The entire castle is on lockdown and so I doubt that I will be needed outside tonight. So let us just sleep for now. We could use it."
He nodded, suddenly remembering how worn out he was as they returned to bed. They were both so tired that they didn't bother with the pillows between them and just laid back down as they had done earlier. She was asleep as soon as she laid her head down and her soft breaths filled the room as he laid down next to her. He gently pulled the blanket up to cover her, making sure she was warm, his fingers brushing against her shoulder to the locks of hair that slipped through his fingers like the softest of silks.
To think that she had been carrying such a heavy burden on her own all this time? He was honestly blown away by her strength of will and he wanted to know more. Last night, though he would be embarrassed to admit it, she had shown him a world that he didn't believe existed outside the realm of stories; one of danger and justice against a foe that seemed currently untouchable.
He had only had a tiny taste of that world but he felt a craving to know more. To help in any way that he could even if it wasn't a world that he knew he belonged in. He also wanted to help support her and care for her wounds in any way that he could so that the people could see the freedom that they deserved from this tyranny. He would speak to her more after they rested.
But as he looked at her face, he thought of how he had seen her… all of her… just a short while ago. He gulped as he felt an odd shiver going through his entire body and did his best to cast such a thought from his mind. Though he suspected that would be an experience that would remain engrained in his memory forever.
He gave his head a hard shake at that, forcibly dispelling such thoughts before he pulled his hands away from her and shut his eyes. Focusing upon his own breathing until he was able to stray back into the world of sleep.
Had he not been close to panicking over the thought of being caught by Ran'jit earlier, he may have realized it a lot sooner… for after he got into the tub with her…?
He had grown… hard.
(So they had done it! they made it back by the skin of their teeth and will live to see another day without being horrible tortured by Vauthry. But there is still a lot that needs to be discussed. Especially now that Alphy is in on the secret. Not to mention the reactions to Thancred, Ryne, Y'sthola…? That will be fun to explain. And yes, Alphinaud was certainly drawn to her in such a state, both inside the castle and outside upon the field of battle. Only question is how long will it take for him to realize this?)