¤ Lies

‘What are you going back to Victoria for, anyway?’ Wayne asked, the two of them dangling their feet as they sat on the roof of the cabin.

‘I’m accompanying Silver to Ellinia. That lady’s an Adventurer Librarian on a Project.’ Jaysen grinned. ‘Cool, isn’t it?’

‘Ha, I knew you had an ulterior motive.’ Wayne laughed. ‘How’s stalking the girl so far?’

‘You are the one with the brain in need of a wash, Wayne, my man.’ Jaysen gave Wayne a withering look. ‘What about you and Alessa?’

‘Nothing much. Alessa just got bored of Ossyria, and wanted a change of scenery.’ Wayne shrugged. ‘Would be fun, I guess, going back to Kerning and scaring all the little ones with stories of the evil Lava Dungeons.’

Jaysen smacked himself on the head. ‘Ah, that reminds me. I have to get back to the Dark Lord too.’

‘Why?’

‘He telling me that I’m training too slowly the last time I went back, and commanded me to report to him every time I return to Victoria.’ Jaysen said sheepishly. ‘I’ve been trying to put off returning to Victoria for quite a while.’

‘That’s gotta be painful.’ Wayne said sympathetically. The Dark Lord, despite his peculiar habits, was known to be quite strict on the matter of the progress of the thieves under him. ‘But anything for your lady love, isn’t it?’ He flashed Jaysen a playful grin.

‘I don’t recall ever teasing you so mercilessly when you confessed your love for Alessa.’ Jaysen groaned, burying his face in his hands.

‘You’ve got a bad memory, dude.’ Wayne grinned even wider. ‘Anyways, speaking of Alessa, I think I ought to go look for her. See you around.’ With a final smack to Jaysen’s back, Wayne hopped off the cabin roof.

Jaysen dangled his feet for a moment longer, looking out at the fluffy white clouds that seemed to spread like a carpet all before the ship, reflecting the rosy rays of early morning sunshine. He watched as a female wizard in red Moonlight robes emerged from the cabin and made her way to the front of the ship, wondering idly about the look of sardonic amusement on her face.

Then he stretched slowly and said, ‘You can come out now, Alessa. I think he’s gone quite far.’

‘You always were the sharp one, Jaysen.’ The assassin’s voice came from behind the ship’s mast, before the rest of her appeared out of thin air in a soft puff of displaced air as she dispelled her Darksight.

‘You and I know full well that no one could ever outwit you, my fox.’ Jaysen replied lazily, his eyes still fixed on the expanse of clouds that stretched to the horizon. ‘Are you glad that I kept to our story?’

‘I knew you would never wish to hurt your friend in any way, Jaysen.’ Jaysen felt Alessa move up and settle down next to him on the cabin roof, soundless and graceful as the creature that he named her after. ‘I’m just surprised you could… lie so convincingly.’ She moved to lay a hand on Jaysen’s arm.

Jaysen politely shifted away, leaving Alessa’s hand to fall in midair. ‘What can I say. I’m good at a lot of things.’

Alessa laughed, her long russet red fringe falling to a side of her lovely face as she did so. ‘I ought to know that. I really enjoyed the two weeks when we were together, you know.’

‘So did I, Alessa.’ He finally made direct eye contact with Alessa’s hazel eyes. ‘But that’s over. I’m not one of the pining boys that you always seem to have in tow, smitten by your beauty. Not that I’m saying they shouldn’t be,’ Jaysen shrugged. ‘If anything, I only hope that I made the right decision not telling Wayne about the truth.’ His eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

Alessa did not look away from the intensity of Jaysen’s light blue stare. ‘You did. Wayne is the best person I have ever met, cliché as it sounds, and I do not regret what I had to do to get close to him.’

‘That’s good.’ Jaysen gave her a thin smile, not a trace of humour in his face for once. ‘Just make sure you don’t hurt Wayne like you did me, else you’ll have me to reckon with.’ His fingers rested gently and meaningfully on the golden Serpent dagger sheathed at his side.

‘Jaysen, Jaysen, ever the protective and self-sacrificing friend. And I thought I was cliché.’ Alessa laughed, her voice low and languid. ‘But just answer me one question, to boost my ego, if you like.’

‘What is it?’

‘Did you love me then?’

‘Love? Perhaps a little. I was most definitely attracted.’ Jaysen’s thin smile never wavered. ‘But if you were looking to add onto the list of hearts you broke, you’re looking in the wrong place. It is not important right now, is it? Wayne is the one that really loves you now.’

‘And this fox will never let herself forget how lucky she is, not for one living moment.’ Alessa reached out, and turned Jaysen’s face to hers with a caressing hand. She leant in, and brushed her lips on Jaysen’s cheek.

‘For luck, dear Jaysen. And thank you.’

¤ Thus Far

After a few minutes of furious scribbling and several references to Salmer’s journal, Silver had a list of names scrawled on a page of her journal. She went through them now, running her pen past the names of Aurora, Salmer, Verchiel, Hedwig, Spiruna, Ferra, Zereff, Wing, and after some thought, added King Kranz’s name to the bottom of the list.

All names. Suddenly, Silver was reminded of that strange feeling of déjà vu she felt when she handed Ida the whisper mirror. Who had she told that same instruction too? …Just remember my name, and perhaps we’ll speak again…?

Then, the bizarre dream that she had the previous night came flooding back into her mind, with a clarity that startled Silver. The dark room, the faceless presence, the strange scenes through two bright windows! And, most curious of all, if she had remembered correctly, she had seen Kranz’s fairy court and Verchiel!

And there was yet another name. Looking down at the list before her, Silver lifted her pen hesitatingly, (It is but a dream! A little voice in her head nagged at her.) and slowly wrote one last name: Maldrich.

Moving further down the page, she began to write, squinting a little in the weak light given off by the lamp on the cabin’s wall.

So far, Aurora’s story seems to include an ever-widening net of people. Without Salmer’s journal to aid me further at the present moment, only the most tenuous of links between Aurora and all these people could be made. Salmer and Aurora’s relationship, of course, is rather obvious as adopted siblings. Kranz, Verchiel and Hedwig are also linked rather clearly as the royal Fairy family.

What remains uncertain is the relationship between the Fairy royalty and Aurora. Is it hate, love, or neither? Hate is entirely possible, since Hedwig, currently Regent of Orbis, is hell bent on stopping this Project to seek out the truth of Aurora’s tale. Could the rumors that Salmer mentioned about Aurora resembling a lost fairy from the Orbis court be accurate?

And on the matter of Maldrich. I have vaguely heard of his name, in connection to the recently discovered monster named Zakum that resides deep in the Lava Dungeons of El Nath. I have no idea why I am adding him to the list, or why I am finding this name important to my Project. A hunch? Or perhaps I am reading too much into my dreams…

Whatever the case, I hope that while waiting for the book to be repaired, I can find some useful information in the Library. Surely some records of the Academy, or Kranz’s rule of Orbis would be in a book or scroll somewhere. I must also find out the mechanism of the spell that renders Aurora’s name unspeakable from Grendel.

Running her left hand through her silver curls, Silver sighed. Too much of her Project still depended on assumptions, and she desperately needed cold hard facts. How she wished the ship would quickly arrive at Ellinia!

Yet, another part of her wished that she could stay away from Ellinia for a longer time. After what had happened there… Silver frowned down at her journal, forcing herself to think away from all the images flooding through her mind, moving behind the wall she had long built around that particular memory to keep it from needling at her. I mustn’t lose focus on the Project. I can handle this. Besides, what are the chances he will be there too? Adventurer Librarians are always on the move…

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Links to previous chapters:
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Urgh. Don’t kill me for the crappy chapter. I’ve gone through it a billion times and I still can’t make it more interesting, short of stuffing in a typical ‘YARGH BALROG ONBOARD! LET THE HERO KICK BALROG ARSE’ scene. Don’t set dogs after my Hamster Army. Please?

Here’s some Pecan Cookies to make up for the rubbish ^^