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    5
    No Reason to Worry

    Hours ticked by as Aiden and I both flew and everything that I found familiar to me faded into the distance. My wings ached! Never before had I ever had reason to fly so far! But I forced myself to continue flying even though I felt that soon I would reach my limit. I allowed myself to glide on the breeze when I could. We had traveled the first small bit on foot to make sure that we wouldn’t be seen. Now that I thought on it, walking would be wonderful right now…

    “Lady Catriona, are you alright?” Aiden said from ahead of me. I looked up from my thoughts to see that he had stopped in front of me a good ways. Had I honestly fallen that far behind?

    “I-I’m okay.” I said breathlessly as I finally caught up to him.

    He frowned at me. “I think it’s safe to take a break now. We can take a small one next to the riverside and follow the river the rest of the way to arrowhead on foot. Once we‘re there it‘ll be safer to rest.” he offered.

    I hovered where I was. “Sounds like a wonderful idea.” I replied before I made my careful landing. No more scrapped hands and knees for me. I was through with that.

    Aiden landed neatly nearby with a landing that I would have surely never accomplished. He had waited for me to land and then folded his hawk-like wings and went into a steep dive. He caught himself at the last possible second with a flourish of feathers as he unfurled his wings to catch the air and slow his descent to nearly a stop before his feet ever touched the ground… and after such a long flight! I was momentarily jealous.

    But that didn’t matter now, I needed water and a break!

    I knelt down next to the calm clear water of the river, drinking from my hands. It was so refreshing! Never in my life had I been so thankful for something so commonplace. And the forest around us, it seemed so peaceful…

    I nearly hated it.

    Everything in my life, everything I knew, all of it had changed in the matter of a few hours. How could something go on unaffected? I wish I was so unfazed as the forest. I leaned against a tree to finally rest my weary body. A short rest, then moving again… then sleep.

    Aiden waited until I was through before taking a drink himself. He had been silent most of the way here and even before that. Now that I thought on it… what was he even thinking about right now? He couldn’t have been entirely happy with this. Who would be? It didn’t cross my mind that I might have been staring at him while I thought.

    He looked back at me over his shoulder after a moment. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Is there, um… something wrong?”

    “What?” And then I went red. I hadn’t meant to stare! “Oh, no! N-nothing’s wrong I just…”

    He didn’t look entirely enthused as I stammered. He probably thought I was very strange by now.

    “I-I was thinking and just happened to be looking that way, I wasn’t staring at you or anything!” Ugh, how embarrassing! I always did this when I felt awkward in any way. The rambling about everything and yet nothing all at once. “I-I was um.. Just thinking that, uh, I should…. A-apologize.”

    He quirked an eyebrow at me. “Apologize for what?”

    “For you getting dragged into this mess.” I said with a sigh.

    He cracked a small smile and I watched him turn back to the water. What did he think was so funny? He shook his head, before getting up from the riverside and taking a seat close by. “You worry too much.”

    “What do you mean?”

    “It’s not a bother, right now it’s my duty to get you to Archosaur. No use in worrying about it.”

    “I suppose you’re right…” I said slowly.

    “Besides, I’ve never been to Archosaur but I’ve heard it’s amazing.”

    I frowned a little. “So, nothing you heard is even bothering you? At all?”

    There was a silence and his carefree air seemed to fade some. He let out a heavy sigh, as if he really hadn’t wanted to think on it. Maybe I shouldn’t have brought it up. Perhaps I was being selfish? A little jealous that he seemed so nonchalant.

    “It’s not that it doesn’t bother me.” he said finally, breaking the depressing silence. “Deep down I guess it bothers me a lot to know that someone so trusted could…” His sentence died off as he noted my worsening expression. He continued to his next thought. “But why worry about what you can’t change? I can’t change what happened in the past, the only thing I can do now is help the future.”

    How true. “Yeah… You’re right.” I said softly. “I guess I’m just shaken up and tired.”

    “You’ll be fine. It’s understandable why you’d be upset. I don’t blame you for it.” he said, getting to his feet. He brushed himself off and offered me a hand. “But if you’re feeling better now we should get going. We need to get to Arrowhead so we can rest and I can get a map. I think it would help if we knew which way we were going.”

    I hesitantly allowed him to help me up. “Yeah, I’m fine to walk now. Thanks” I did feel much better after that short rest and some water. At least now my heart didn’t feel like it was just going to quit on me and my breathing had returned to normal. I was tired but he was right. Once at Arrowhead manor I could pass out and sleep for as long as I needed to.

    ******************************************


    Cale sat in his study, scribbling down an order furiously. No matter how much he tried he couldn’t get it out of his head. All the guilt. He had killed the Elder, Edyta. He hadn’t meant for it to happen that way! He was just going to leave her there! Her death would have been her own fault for meddling with the way things were; for bringing that grandchild of hers back to life when she knew that her actions could bring about catastrophe! If she hadn’t tried to attack him then her blood wouldn’t be on his hands!

    “So, the old bird’s dead is she? And no one ever found that pretty little granddaughter of hers?” A voice stated from his door.

    The priest nearly jumped out of his skin. He knew that voice, that disturbing half-whisper tone. “That would be none of your business. You’ve been paid, why are you still here?” he all but snapped.

    The silver haired man held up his hands in his defense. “Trust me, there’s no need to be defensive. I just stopped by to see if there was anyone else you would want taken down.”

    “I don’t need anyone else disposed of. I have things under control.”

    “Oh, but Lady Catriona’s still out there isn’t she?”

    The priest didn’t respond, only continued to scrawl out his order. It was an order that would be carried out by soldiers at the city of plume.

    The assassin leaned over his shoulder. He scanned the page and his silver eyebrows went up. “How very underhanded of you.” he commented. “I’m impressed.”

    “Shut up and leave!” Cale growled, getting to his feet.

    The assassin took a few steps back. “Fine, fine. I was only going to offer you a deal. A two for one, seeing as how you’ve framed one of your own soldiers for the elder’s untimely death. It would certainly take any suspicions away from yourself and further incriminate your scapegoat.”

    The didn’t answer for a while. A way for all suspicion to be taken care of? How?

    “But of course since you don’t want to hear it I guess I’ll be leaving now.”

    “No, wait.”

    “Yes?”

    The priest hesitated, his gaze resting on the floor in front of him before he finally made up his mind. “What is it you’re offering to do?”

    A wicked smile drew it’s way across the assassin’s features. He had gotten what he wanted. “I’ll take care of both of them. I’ll take care of your scapegoat and bring proof of his death back here so that you can ‘reward’ me and the people can rest easy knowing that this criminal has been taken care of. As for the lady, I’ll take care of her free of charge.”

    The priest looked to him. It was then that he took note of a burn mark, one that went up the side of the assassin’s face and part of his neck. It wasn’t very big, but he knew what it was from. “You hate Catriona don’t you. She fought back.”

    The assassin ignored his comment. “Do we have a deal?” he demanded. His change in tone said it all. Catriona had been the one to give him that injury and he wasn’t happy about it.

    “Yes… Yes we do. But only if you make it to them both before my soldiers do.” The priest replied. “I hope you will, that sentry with her probably knows too much by now.”

    The assassin turned to leave. “Oh trust me. I can find them. No reason to worry.”

    CHAPTER 6