Secrets

Ali learns a little more about Aris.

It had been about three hours since Aris and I had set off on Alonwyn.  We had been traveling at a fairly leisurely pace; after all, I didn’t want Alonwyn to get winded so quickly. 

            Lynya said, We should rest for a while.  I don’t think Garrick will come after us, but if he does, he’ll have to fight us. 

            I glanced down at her and relayed the information to Aris.  He simply nodded, so I pulled Alonwyn aside and began looking for a covered area.  I found one quickly and Aris helped me set up camp.  He obviously knew what he was doing, so I let him set up the tent.  I started to build a fire, then thought better of it and stopped. 

            Good, remarked Lynya.  Already you know that this is a time where a fire is likely to bring trouble. 

            I smiled.  Thank you.  By the way, Lynya, can Aris hear you? 

            She purred, tail waving.  He can if I want him to.  He hasn’t heard me yet. 

            I nodded. 

            “Princess Ali?”  I turned to look at Aris. 

            “Please don’t call me Princess.  I left to escape all that Princess and Your Majesty nonsense,” I informed him tartly. 

            He grinned at me.  “Well then, Ali, are you going to dig the latrine trench or am I?” 

            I sighed, replying, “I guess I will.  But you’ll owe me.  You have to tell me how you ended up as his prisoner.” 

            Aris only laughed and handed me the shovel I had in my pack.  I walked away from our main campsite so the stench wouldn’t reach us and started digging.  It was fast, easy work for me; I had done it before, but that didn’t make it more enjoyable.  Lynya had apparently decided not to accompany me in my less than pleasant task; she was probably meowing and purring at Aris.  When I finished, I walked back to our little camp.

            Aris was looking at me strangely.  “Your cat just talked to me.” 

            He wanted an explanation.  I stole a glance at Lynya, who was curled up on a tree branch.  She looked remotely amused.  I sat down by the would-be fire and gestured for Aris to join me.  He did so. 

            “Where can I start…?” I mused, “Well, first of all, I know Lynya can ‘talk’, only it’s not really talking.  It’s more of what my father’s mages call ‘mindtalk’, where you can speak directly into a person’s mind.  I only just recently found out she could mindtalk.  In the short time I’ve known that she has that ability, I’ve found that if she says something, it’s a good idea to heed her words.  As you’ve probably figured out, she’s not an ordinary cat, she’s a mage’s familiar, more specifically, my familiar.  I have no idea of the extent of her powers.  Is that enough for you?” 

            Aris was silent for a moment before nodding and saying, “For now, anyway.  Now I guess you want to know about me.” 

            Lynya said, And you’d best tell the truth because she can see deception and lies. 

            I smiled slightly, confirming, and Aris continued, “And I wasn’t planning to lie, thank you very much.  But we’re all entitled to our secrets, so I’ll thank you if you don’t pry into my mind like mages have tried to do.” 

            Before I could so much as open my mouth to protest, he went on, “For as long as I can remember, my family has been part of the Alliance.  As you know, the Alliance operates separately from the King.  He knows we exist, and a representative of the Alliance is always in your palace to advise and to inform him of important happenings within and without the country.  By the same law, a royal representative is always in our headquarters, wherever it may be at the time and informs our leader of the events in the palace and of the decisions of the Council of Elders.” 

            I knew all this.  Between the two representatives, both my father and the Supreme Commander of the Alliance had a constant stream of accurate and current news.  It was an efficient system.  Like Aris had said, the Alliance is independent from the crown, but when the Aestarlin is in danger, both forces work together to create a nearly unstoppable union.

            Aris kept going.  “Supreme Commander Toren happens to be my father.  He wanted me to train as a Knight as he did, but I took after my mother.  My mother was a Rover.” 

            He stopped because I had opened my mouth to ask a question.  “What’s a Rover?  Why haven’t I heard of it before?” 

            His lips curved ever so slightly in a smile; he replied, “Well, the Rover Divisions are a mostly secret group.  They are the eyes of the Alliance, and through the Alliance, the kingdom.  We serve as spies, scouts, and messengers, among other things.  There are eight Rover Divisions.  Each Division is named after an animal: Sphinx, Wolf, Eagle, Falcon, Tiger, Lion, Phoenix, and Dragon.  Each division consists of ten to twelve people and has a leader.  There sometimes is a deputy, but not always.  I belong to the Wolf Division, as my mother did.”  I had noticed that he spoke of his mother in past tense.  He saw me glance at him curiously when he mentioned his mother and stiffened slightly.

            After that, he wouldn’t speak of his mother, and I didn’t press him.  I let him speak, and Lynya was also uncharacteristically silent. 

            “The Wolf Division specializes in central intelligence and scouting.  We do carry messages sometimes, but not often.  And as for the other things we do, you’ll find out later.  When I was captured by Baron Garrick, I was in the middle of a rather important assignment.  I found out some very interesting things about Baron Garrick and his fief.  Of course, when Garrick discovered what I knew, he had me arrested immediately.  My partner, Xander, was also captured.  I don’t know what happened to him, and I’m rather worried about him.” 

            At that, I had an idea.  “Let’s go find him,” I said simply. 

            Aris beamed at me.  “I hoped you would say that, but I don’t know.  It will be dangerous…”  His eyes grew cold and steely with determined resolve.  “But I’m going to find Xan if it kills me.  I promised him I’d escape and find him, and he promised me the same thing before he was taken away.  I promised.”  And the last words were soft, more to himself than me. 

            I responded “Aris, when I left the castle, I wondered how on Earth I would find an adventure.  Lynya told me adventure would find me.  I doubted her then, but she was absolutely right.  I’d like to help Xan and take down Garrick along the way.  And you might appreciate my sword.” 

            Lynya added, And my services may well be needed.

            Aris gazed steadily at us.  “Are you sure?” 

            And I only nodded.  I had said I would go, and go I would.  Besides, I figured I’d get to see the land while helping Aris as much as I would if I wasn’t. 

            Lynya’s tail lashed.  I haven’t had this much fun since my last assignment.  I’m so glad I got to be your familiar.  I grinned at her as I stroked her head. 

            “We should get some rest,” Aris pointed out. 

            I agreed, adding, “I’ll keep watch first.” 

            He nodded gratefully, then said, “I think we should probably go speak to my father.  He is my Supreme Commander.  And I have this feeling that you should meet him.  Right now I think he’s in the Tarqin Base.” 

            Tarqin was a fairly large city found in the Plains.  I hadn’t known that there was an Alliance Headquarters there, but it made sense.  The city was heavily fortified against any sort of attack, be it by land or air. There was also a fort that Father’s soldiers usually occupied.  Tarqin was about a week’s ride, but first we’d need to find Aris a horse.  These were the thoughts that consumed me during my watch.  I waited for the moon to get to a certain angle before waking Aris and proceeding to my bedroll.  Once my head hit the ground, I slept.  I was tired.

 

Author's Note

Constructive criticism and compliments gladly accepted.