A Solution Through Shadows Chapter VI

The girl stepped into the light, her pale face difficult to contrast with the long, brilliant blonde hair crowning the head, and a set of dark eyes studying him, head to toe.

Her chemise kept Oren’s attention to her bare feet or her thin lips, but what he made out in the one look over her slender figure were accentuated features he had no doubt were capable of turning heads on a whim. She stood tall, further displaying herself in what Oren thought to be a sign of control.

“How did you get in here?” the girl asked in a steady tone, tracing her hand across the desk as she neared Oren, who tightened the hold on the sword and backed away.

Oren said nothing, turning his eyes to the left of the girl’s face.

“I can call the guards?” She pressed, a grin gracing her face as she paused a foot away from the man. “I’m sure they’d love to have some entertainment tonight.”

“Would it matter?” Oren rolled his eyes, dropping his voice to a lower tone, stopping at the edge of the desk. “You’ve caught the thief, now he needs to change his plans.”

“Then how about I offer you more time to think in exchange for the information I want.” The girl proceeded to sit in one of the silver-studded chairs, sitting back with a leg crossed over the other.

Oren pursed his lips at the way Rey’s daughter stalled him. He glanced outside, where a quila passed the window in another lap before sighing and turned back to the noble.

“You’ve caught the rat,” Oren relented. “So, I’ll humor you for the time bein’; ask away.”

“How did you get in here?” the girl asked again.

“Scaled the wall.”

“During the day?”

“Tonight,” Oren said in a tense manner. “I picked up this contract earlier in the day. Apparently, they’ve been wantin’ to sneak in for a while.”

“Impressive,” the girl muttered, resting her chin on a hand as her eyes continued to look Oren over. “The quila don’t tend to let an oversight pass. I’m certain they would’ve seen or heard you once.”

“They did,”

“And you still managed to get through? Either they’ve grown lazy, or you’re a patient man watching the guard rotation before making a move. Then you found the lattice by my bedroom window and slipped through.”

“Your father did make the entrance too easy,” Oren said in a condescending tone as he thought of how the window slid up. “He really shouldn’t oil them so often.”

“Easy; perhaps you’re right,” the girl admitted. “But such so, you forgot to shut my window when you came through.”

Oren bowed his head, retracing his thoughts, and bit his tongue.

“Indeed, I did,” he muttered. “I suppose that was the reason you decided to come scout around.”

“Father’s treasures are locked in one room where he was certain a thief would be inclined to go,” the girl continued, glancing off to the side. “The valuables in here aren’t entirely significant, but it seems tonight is a special case.”

“I dare say an underestimation on your father’s part,” Oren noted as he glared to the door and wondered if he would be able to break through the front.

“You noticed me in the corner, didn’t you?” Oren asked the pondering girl.

“On a hunch,” the girl admitted. “Before then, I suspected something went awry in the garden. Rocks disturbed the guard, which they presumed to be rats, but I leaned over the rail in time to catch sight of your figure roll for the building instead. I grew curious about whether you would be successful in infiltrating the manor when many others have failed. So curious, in fact, I opted out of eating dessert.”

A sudden voice crack had Oren pull his head back to the girl’s pouting face, thinking she had sounded dismayed by what she had done.

“Given you would have been in the treasury by then, and too close to my room to hide in that corner from the time it would have taken, my presumptions directed my attention to the shadow you hid in.

“I couldn’t see you. But in my racing thoughts, I deduced a scenario you would’ve made from the time I spotted you in the garden.”

Oren scoffed in the girl’s lengthy description of his actions. “Smart girl. To think, I’d been given the illusion all the daughters of merchants did was stand around, bein’ pretty.”

“Some fit your description.” The girl scowled. “But I’m the daughter of the most powerful man in Caladh.”

“Certainly, a rare cut of the stone,” Oren said. “For both girls your age and even in your own family.”

The girl shifted in her seat, Oren noticing the torn expression on her face.

“You suspected somethin’ from the beginnin’,” Oren pressed. “Had three clues to work with, and proved yourself correct. But instead of bringin’ attention to the matter, you confronted a thief capable of anythin’, includin’ murder. And you didn’t brin’ guards with you.”

The girl got up from her seat and stepped close to Oren’s obscured face, the man smelling a flowery perfume, but he turned his head to avoid the stare.

“All I have to do is scream.”

“You’re right,” Oren whispered, daring to look back into the girl’s eyes. “But your father would have probably done what you didn’t if he were in your skin. And if I managed to evade the quila before. What’s to say I can’t escape in the same way?”

“Like you can do that,” the girl pressed, getting closer to Oren’s face. “Only the Andubhar was capable of such a thing. And he’s been dead for six years.”

Oren forced himself to chuckle, and the girl leaned away. “Who do you think I am?” He growled.

Brow twitching, the girl shook her head. “The Andubhar wouldn’t have gotten caught. Not even after a blunder.”

“The times have changed,” Oren pointed out, slipping the sword through his hand to rest standing by the desk. “It doesn’t matter whether you caught me. I’m still gettin’ out.”

“You’d have to knock me out, first,” the girl said, shifting her weight. “Or kill me.”

“Well,” Oren caught the front of the girl’s chemise and brought a hand over her mouth, pulling her into his spot and pressed her between the desk and his body, dagger poised over her throat. The girl’s eyes widened, and her body stiffened against Oren but didn’t struggle in his hold.

“With a mind such as yours, I don’t want to murder someone who doesn’t deserve it,” Oren whispered into her ear. “Even if you are one screech away from potentially ruinin’ my plans. Your father, on the other hand, I wouldn’t hesitate killin’ for what he’s done to me.”

“Better get in line.”

Oren perked his eyes to the muffled girl gazing towards a corner. He pulled the weapon from her neck, finding no motion to rebel.

“Not too fond of your own father, either,” Oren said, forcing his tone and keeping his body pressed against her. “Maybe you’re not interested in capturin’ me, so long as I play this game right.”

“Don’t think I won’t.” The girl shot a glare from the corner of her eye. “All I’ve wanted is his acceptance as an equal. Not in the way he treats his business partners. If I do this for him—”

“You’ll still be nothin’ more than a pawn for his plans,” Oren finished with a bitter tone. “Ready to be exploited for his whims. You don’t want that.”

The girl’s face softened a little. “Do you know what it’s like? To say those words … I suppose you’re a cut of a different stone, too. Maybe the same one you claim I’m cut from.”

Oren grimaced, becoming too aware of their close proximity, and stepped away from the girl, her curious gaze turning to him. He regarded the knife in his hands and tucked it into his belt, looking away.

“All too well,” he admitted.

The girl stepped away to study Oren again, relaxing her brow. “This isn’t what you wanted to do. And you had an out, it’s why the Andubhar’s been dead for six years. But something forces you to return.”

Oren grew uncomfortable, watching the girl scratch her chin in a lengthy silence.

“It makes sense.” She lowered her hand, a smile beginning to form. “This is for someone you care for. Who’s gotten sick from the plague, and you need the herbs to help them recover. But Father—” She faltered, the smile turning into a frown

Even with his black clothing and shadows masking his body, Oren squirmed under the gaze of the noble’s deduction of his intentions.

“And now we’re a little too intimate with each other than I would have cared for.” Oren forced his voice even lower. “Yet, in this steppin’ around of identities, I’m still stuck in the same place since you’ve found me. I don’t have much time left. If you truly spite your father, help me. Otherwise, call your guard so that I can figure my way out of this mess.”

The girl averted her gaze, appearing stung by what Oren had said.

“I’m sorry,” Oren sighed in frustration. “The way these events have unfolded, I didn’t want to … consider murder. I’m just tryin’ to accomplish my task.”

“You’ll face death when you’re caught,” the girl whispered, looking to Oren with a worried expression. “And Father will find out who's done it.”

“I don’t care,” Oren said, grimacing as Jaye’s dismayed face flashed in his mind, touching his chest where the pendant nestled. “I’m not afraid of your father. I’m not afraid of the Vanguard, the King’s Will, nor Caladh. I’ll accept whatever consequences come my way. I’ve been ready for them for six years.”

Oren exhaled his pent up breath, thinking to the tired smile Jaye gave him when they reminisced their days of the past.

“Do they really mean that much to you?” the girl asked, clenching onto the sides of her chemise.

“Yeah,” Oren bowed his head in defeat. “She does.”

She didn’t say anything for a while, and neither did Oren.

“Do you trust me to get you out of here?”

Oren turned to the girl’s face, stony with a furrowed brow.

“Can’t really say I do or don’t,” he admitted with a shrug. “After all this talk and my own pleas, I doubt you would be able to help me.”

“Well … take a chance with me,” the girl said as she moved to the door, Oren watching her as she peeked out into the hall.

“It sounds as if my family remain downstairs,” she observed, turning back to Oren. “There’s a means of escape we keep hidden from most people’s knowledge. It will lead to the Housing District, by one of the family’s banks.”

“On a street leadin’ into the Minin’ District,” Oren recalled.

“The passage is hidden by the staircase,” the girl continued. “But we must hurry. Anyone can venture up here, then you’ll be fleeing from more than just the guard.”

Oren hesitated by the girl’s insistence, but taking another glance at the quila, he knew how more difficult escaping the manor could be if he attempted the challenge.

“This may strain our relationship if you prove yourself a liar,” Oren noted as he grabbed the sword, and stepped up to follow the girl.

She smirked back at the thief, leading the way through the bright hall, sticking close to the wall as Oren did, at a slower pace.

“Here.” She breathed out, gesturing to a shelf lined with books.

“Don’t suppose I’d just be able to slip through a slight openin’?” Oren asked as she reached around for something.

“I’m coming with you.”

“No,” Oren tried to cut the thought from the girl’s mind, but she gave him an expectant look.

“I’m trying to cover our tracks, especially at the end of the passage where the exit is locked,” she said.

The shelf’s back popped open, letting loose a cold breeze from within as the noble pulled on the heavy door with a constipated face to reveal the dark corridor.

Oren peered down the dark pathway, then turned to the girl’s hesitant expression on her face, and he couldn’t help but smirk.

“Havin’ second thoughts?”

The girl pursed her lips and grabbed his tunic, dragging him into the secret path, and closed the door behind them, meeting the pitched black unknown.