no review replies bc i feel very sick but. here. content
"You know," Alexis commented as she plucked the leaf off her apple. "If Herobrine has been looking for an Aether portal and hasn't found it yet, how are we supposed to find one first? He has a decent head start."
"His method doesn't seem to be working for him." Stephen pointed out as he grabbed an apple for himself. "Threatening people and killing them, that is. Maybe just asking would have a better result."
"Right, because going out in the open to interrogate people certainly wouldn't reveal our location." Cafos grumbled, sitting against a tree. He had refused the apple that Alexis had offered him, but now seemed to be reconsidering.
"Not interrogate," Alexis corrected. "Ask. Did you 'interrogate' people when looking for us? Did you interrogate Hugo?" Cafos stared at her, and Stephen supplied,
"The innkeeper."
"Oh. No." Cafos considered this for a moment. "I suppose… I could use my authority as a valkyrie in order to get information."
"But we would have to know who to ask." Stephen mused. "So who would know where an Aether portal was?"
"A valkyrie." Cafos answered. "But it would take a… convincing cover story to explain why we don't know where one is."
"Why don't you know where one is?" Alexis asked. In response, Cafos lifted his good wing.
"We can fly, princess." He said, ignoring the funny look the redhead gave him. "We don't need a portal to travel to the Aether. And I've never left the camp before."
"Unfortunately, your ability to fly is out of commission for the foreseeable future." Stephen frowned at his apple, deep in thought. "Would you be able to carry both of us, even if you could fly?" Cafos gave them an appraising look, one at a time.
"Maybe." He said at last. "Probably not. It's a long way."
"We could say we need to warn Notch about Herobrine." Alexis suggested.
"I'm sure he already knows." Stephen said. "It's his valkyries that are being killed."
"But we have more information."
"Maybe that would work, maybe it wouldn't." Cafos shook his head. "And if it doesn't, word of our location could make it back to Lucius." Stephen grimaced a bit.
"What… well, who else would know?"
"A nobleman might." Cafos mused, now gazing at the apples in Alexis's bucket. "And I would probably be able to exert authority over him - or, at least convince him that I need to know."
"So we find a nobleman. That shouldn't be too difficult, right?" Alexis asked tentatively. Cafos shook his head.
"One lives quite close, if my memory is correct. Lord Giles of Blackhaven."
"Then we pay him a visit." Stephen dragged himself up, stretching and wincing as his joints popped. He was still fatigued from teleporting too much in a short time, but they didn't have the luxury of waiting around. The longer they waited, the more lives his father would take. "Which way?"
"West." Cafos dragged himself upright as well, flinching and tucking his injured wing against his back. "If we start now, we might be there by noon."
"Alright." Stephen offered Alexis a hand and helped her to her feet. "Let's go."
It was, in fact, midmorning when the Blackhaven manor came into view. Apparently Cafos had greatly underestimated the speed at which one could travel on foot, which was understandable since valkyries traveled almost exclusively by air. Stephen was silently glad for this, as it was likely a significant factor in how successful he had been in tracking them down.
The manor was built of a black stone which likely gave the region its name, with blue and white banners flying from the turrets. While it was no castle, it looked reasonably well fortified. A moat ran around the building with a drawbridge over it, and they could see guards dressed in blue patrolling the grounds. Stephen wondered if this was standard fare, or if Lord Giles had reason to believe himself in danger.
"Alright." He said, folding his arms where they stood beneath the trees. "How are we going to approach this?"
"The grounds are guarded, but I'm doubtful that they would stop a valkyrie." Cafos said, his eyes narrowed as he studied the manor. "I'm confident that we could simply walk up and request an audience."
"Well, I'm glad you're confident." Alexis retorted. "But our group consists of two bedraggled ruffians and an injured valkyrie. If I were a lord, that would hardly inspire confidence in me."
"Do you have a better idea?" Cafos snapped back. "If anything, I should think our appearance would spark urgency. As one of Notch's holy warriors, anything that harms me must be an instrument of evil."
"Oh, you're the beacon of good here?"
"Hey." Stephen interrupted their fight, giving Alexis a meaningful look. She was being unusually hostile. "Let's give it a shot, alright? Worst case, he refuses to see us."
"No, worst case he rats us out to Lucius." Alexis crosses her arms.
"He most likely doesn't know Lucius exists. Secret camp, remember?"
"If anyone were in league with a band of murderous valkyries, it would be this man." Alexis said bluntly. "And don't argue with me!" She spun to glare at Cafos, who had opened his mouth to speak. "They've tried to kill me twice, and you were one of those!"
"Wait, Alexis, why this man?" Stephen cut in. The redhead tensed.
"Well… look at this place." She gestured to the manor. "It gives me a bad feeling."
"You're judging the Lord based on his architecture?" Cafos asked flatly.
"Alexis, what's the matter?" Stephen softened his voice, trying to put his friend at ease. "Even with Cafos injured, I can still fight if things go badly."
"I think we should go somewhere else." She said stubbornly. "We're not going to find anything here."
"I'm not hunting down another nobleman, on foot, because you're scared of a building." Cafos turned on his heel, starting to move out of the trees.
"Cafos!" The urgency in Alexis's voice gave him pause, and he stopped. Stephen looked at her incredulously, and found that the irritation on her face had given way to panic. "Don't." She said, and Stephen took her hand, pulling her down to sit with him on the ground.
"Tell us what's wrong." He urged her as Cafos reluctantly retraced his steps. Alex flushed, her gaze lowering to the ground. "Do you know this man?" Stephen prompted.
"No." Alexis shook her head. "Not really." Stephen waited, and she finally went on. "Y-you asked me if I wondered where I came from, and I said I didn't, because I know." She nodded toward the manor. "I came from there."
"As a servant?" Cafos asked.
"No." Alexis scowled at him. "Lord Giles is my father."
Stephen's jaw dropped, and he hurriedly closed it. She was noble? But she- he had assumed she was an orphan, same as him, but she had never really told him so. She had only told him she raised herself, ever since she was small. If she was by herself, and yet knew of her origins, that meant…
"You were abandoned?" He asked softly. Alexis laughed, a derisive sound.
"Kicked out." She corrected. "I was five."
"Why?" Cafos asked incredulously. Stephen gestured for him to shut up.
"Because." She gestured to Stephen. "I have no powers. My father is one of the most powerful warriors in the kingdom, and I inherited none of his abilities." She sniffled, crossing her arms. "And therefore seen as a useless mouth to feed."
"So he threw you out." Stephen finished, his voice disbelieving. It seemed every day he learned anew just how cruel this world could be. To disown one's own child to fend for herself, because she was an ordinary child… it was all but a death sentence. Her survival was nothing short of miraculous.
Alexis hugged her arms to her chest, glaring down at the leaves on the forest floor. "Do you get it now?" She muttered, her voice audibly strained. "Why I want to g-go somewhere else?" Tears spilled down her face, and Stephen reached out to drag her into his arms.
Cafos was quiet as Alexis buried her face in Stephen's shoulder, the latter patting her back gently as she cried herself out. Stephen was somewhat unsettled by her reaction, a harsh contrast to the sassy and cheerful persona she most commonly put forth. It wasn't that he couldn't sympathize, though. Both of them had been raised without a father, but Stephen could barely fathom the pain of having a parent turn him away.
"Why didn't you mention this?" Cafos asked when her sobs began to quiet. "When I first brought him up?" His voice was low, but not unkind.
"D-didn't remember th' name." She hiccuped. "Just… this place." Cafos nodded silently and didn't question her further,
Finally, Alexis stopped crying, and she wiped off her face as she wriggled her way out of Stephen's arms.
"We can go in." She mumbled, looking embarrassed. "It's fine."
"Are you sure?" Cafos asked before Stephen could speak. The redhead shot him a dirty look.
"I won't freak out again, if that's what you're asking."
"It isn't."
"If you're sure you're alright with it, let's go." Stephen said. He studied her face carefully, heart sinking a bit as she masked the pain in her eyes.
"Yeah." She pushed herself up, drying her eyes a final time. "Let's go."