Ransom

Narissa studied her handiwork with narrowed eyes and pursed lips. The two girls before her stood in stark contrast to each other. One was a pale, thin thing with eyes that saw everything but betrayed nothing. The other was short and slightly plump from her years of plush palace service, her expression betraying her fear and anxiety.

Narissa had gone into a village for supplies the night before, and the three of them had spent half of a day transforming each other. The Delani, who refused to speak or communicate in any way, now wore a thick grey sweater that reached almost to her thighs over thick black leggings. Narissa had used some dye to turn her hair a rusty red color. She hoped the unusual hair color would distract from the even more unusual eyes. Beali’s serving uniform had been replaced with sturdy brown trousers and boots, topped with a light jacket to keep out the cool air. Beali had chopped off Narissa’s own hair to shoulder length, but she hadn’t wasted money on buying herself new clothing. Hers was already nondescript enough.

“It will have to do,” Narissa decided, eyes lingering on the Delani for a moment. The girl’s skin still seemed too pale, her body proportions a little off. And those turquoise eyes…

There was nothing to be done for it. Hopefully, the pale complexion mixed with the thinness would simply indicate malnutrition to a casual observer.

Narissa kept them moving westward. She wanted to get a good distance away from Ranteel before stashing the girls somewhere relatively remote but still close enough to society that they could get food and supplies. Then she would go find Joree.

***

“Highness, you have another one.”

Arellia eyed the paper in Furl’s hand. She slowly shook her head, then took the paper. She didn’t read it.

“Anything new?” she asked.

“Yes, actually,” Furl said. “They are now resorting to threats of physical violence.”

Arellia nodded, unsurprised.

“I’m afraid they will torture her for information. She might reveal state secrets,” Furl said cautiously, trying to appeal to Arellia’s sense of duty. He was far more worried for the girl’s safety, but Arellia wouldn’t respond well to sentiment.

“Areniah doesn’t know enough to be a danger to us,” Arellia said, waving a dismissive hand, the one holding the ransom note.

Furl ground his teeth together, forcing his mouth to stay shut. Arellia was a great ruler and the most powerful Will Master he knew, but she wasn’t particularly good at being, well, human.

“Indeed,” Arellia continued. “She is practically helpless. On her own, she will surely die.”

Furl eyed her, watching her face carefully. She didn’t meet his eyes. She just nodded to herself.

“Yes. That must be hard for you to stand by and consider.” She finally turned to him. In her eyes, he saw…permission.

He smiled, then bowed. “Yes, it is.”

Arellia just nodded, tossing the ransom note to the ground. “Burn that.” She walked out.

Furl bowed as she left. He was still smiling. By not giving him a specific order, she had implied that he was allowed to pursue his own course. She could not, of course, directly endorse the rescue of Areniah. However, she hadn’t forbidden Furl from acting.

He left the letter on the floor for now, and went to find a friend.

***

Narissa led her silent entourage into the small inn. It was more of a barn that had been segregated into ‘rooms’ by thick canvas curtains. There was a main sitting area with several wooden tables that seemed to threaten splinters.

“Hello, good woman,” a tall, thin fellow wearing a wide-brimmed hat greeted. “What can we do for you?”

Narissa gave the man a smile. He wouldn’t be the owner of the establishment, just a servant hired to greet guests and see to their immediate needs. The owners likely lived in the large, stylish home that Narissa had seen about a quarter mile past the barn. Or inn.

“We seek lodging for the night and a meal,” she said. The man nodded.

“We have only two rooms open. Each has one cot only, but we can provide an extra. It won’t be spacious, but two cots will fit.”

“That will be fine,” Narissa said.

“I will show you to your rooms. While you get settled, I will send for that extra cot and a meal.”

“Thank you.”

The two rooms were, fortunately, next to each other. Unfortunately, they were in the back corner, a very poorly lit area. The air smelled slightly stagnant and animal fur littered the floor. Yes, this had certainly once been a barn.

Beali clung to Narissa’s arm as she sat on her cot. Her muscles groaned at the release of tension. She hadn’t realized how tired she was, physically and mentally. Beali sniffled quietly, and Narissa was afraid she would draw unwanted attention.

“Hush, child,” she said softly, patting Beali’s hand. “You are safe. Try to be calm. We have a warm bed and a hot meal coming.”

Beali nodded once, trying to put on a brave face. She mostly succeeded in stifling her sniffles, but her hand still clutched Narissa.

The Delani stood in the corner of the room, watching them with eerie dispassion. She didn’t seem worried, curious, or even thoughtful. She just observed silently, more like a tree or a rock than a person.

“You can sit if you would like,” Narissa offered, forcing a smile. “There isn’t much room on the cot, but you will fit.”

If the girl understood, she gave no indication. In fact, she didn’t seem to respond in any way. No body movement, no eye contact, no change in facial expression.

“Ladies?” a voice asked from outside their ‘wall’. “Your dinner is ready.”

Narissa sprung to her feet, gladly rushing past the Delani and her uncanny eyes. She could feel them on her back as moved out of the room, taking Beali’s hand to make the girl’s clinginess look more natural.

A man wearing typical worker clothes waited for them outside the curtain, smiling warmly. He looked to be about Joree’s age. Narissa felt her heart twist at the thought, but forced a smile in return.

“Follow me, friends,” the youth said, giving a half bow. He led them to the decaying tables Narissa had seen earlier. A few people now sat at them eating meals of their own. One of the larger tables was set with a stack of wooden plates along with three large bowls. The bowls contained fresh red roots, boiled eggs, and fluffy biscuits. Not much of a dinner, but Narissa’s grumbling stomach made it seem like a feast.

To her surprise, it was the Delani that moved first. She immediately strode forward and seated herself at the table, ignoring the splintery surface, and started filling a plate with militaristic efficiency. Narissa smiled, gesturing for Beali to do the same.

The Delani ate with surprising gusto, finishing off a full plate before Narissa had even eaten half of hers. Beali was barely eating anything, mostly just rolling her egg around on the plate and occasionally nibbling on her biscuit. As the Delani filled a second plate, Narissa noticed that same young man leading three new people towards the dining area. The area had quickly grown crowded as people started to smell the biscuits and see the food. The only remaining spot was at the end of Narissa’s table.

“Excuse me,” the young servant asked, smiling apologetically. “Do you mind terribly if these folks join your table?”

“Not at all,” Narissa replied, gesturing to the empty seats.

“Much obliged, good woman,” the oldest of the group, a tall man with stark white hair and blue eyes, said. He was accompanied by two younger companions, a woman in her mid-twenties and a boy who couldn’t be older than eighteen. The girl sat down without preamble, a relaxed, almost languid smile on her face. The boy waited for the older man to sit before following suit, looking unsure.

“What brings you to this fine establishment?” the older man asked.

Narissa smiled politely. “I generally like to start with introductions.”

He chuckled. “Right, of course. I suppose I’ve picked up some rather bad habits over the past several years. My name is Sackrin Mandol. These are my children, Jistan and Karrin.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Narissa said. “I am Narissa Glade. This is Beali and…Lanae.” She hesitated for a brief, panicked moment, realizing she didn’t know the Delani’s name. She said the first one that came to mind. The Delani glanced sideways at her, mouth full of an entire egg, but then continued chewing. It was the closest thing to a response Narissa had seen from the girl.

“It seems unusual for a group of three women to be alone at a place like this,” Sackrin pointed out. Narissa cocked an eyebrow at him. He slapped his forehead. “My apologies, friend. I really have lost my sense of propriety it seems.”

“Don’t pretend you ever had one of those,” his daughter, Karrin, said, gesturing towards him with a roll.

“It is alright,” Narissa said. “I am not offended.”

“Regardless, I now feel obliged to make restitution,” Sackrin said, raising a finger. “Thus, I shall divulge our story without requiring you to make the proper subtle indications that you would like to know more.”

Narissa found herself laughing at that. Even Beali cracked a smile. The Delani just shoved an entire biscuit into her mouth.

“We were with the Highness’s entourage, traveling from Ranteel. We received word that Ranteel was under siege by the Kritons. We have been sent out as messengers to gather more support for her small standing army in order to retake it.”

Narissa nodded. That made sense. The standing military force was relatively weak, mostly made up of the Highness’s personal guard and several battalions of on-call warriors. However, the law stipulated that the Highness could call upon the people to enhance the army at any moment. That particular clause had never before been used.

“That’s a relief,” Narissa said. “We ourselves are refugees, caught outside of Ranteel when the siege took place. We have been moving westward to find some of my relatives to stay with. Perhaps that will not be necessary for long.”

“Yeah, Arellia will have the Kritons whipped into shape within the month,” Karrin said, taking a large, crunching bite of red root.

“That is the hope,” Sackrin agreed.

“Is the Highness herself returning?” Narissa asked.

“Yes,” Sackrin replied. “She wouldn’t leave something like this to lesser beings.” His lips twitched up in a smile at that last comment. Narissa couldn’t help but notice how casually these people spoke of the Highness. She supposed perhaps they knew her fairly well, seeing as they were part of her inner circle. However, Arellia didn’t seem the type to allow anyone too close. That could, of course, just be a front, the face Arellia put on for the public.

Sackrin tapped a finger against the table as a young woman walked by with glasses of water and a refill on biscuits. “You say you are from Ranteel?” he mused. “I don’t recognize any of you.”

“It is a rather large city,” Narissa said, amused.

“Yes, but I recognize your last name. I feel like I should know you.”

“Glade is not a particularly uncommon last name,” she pointed out.

“It’s the last name of the kid that brought us that interesting cargo and then ditched a few weeks back,” Karrin said.

Sackrin nodded. “Ah, yes. That’s right.”

Narissa suddenly felt cold. It’s just a coincidence, she told herself firmly. Joree wouldn’t have found people like this and then simply run away. It wouldn’t make sense. Then again, he hadn’t given her details on where he had been, how he had found the Delani, or where Aniah had gone…

“What is this?” she asked, as casually as possible.

“Nothing,” Sackrin said. “We probably shouldn’t have even brought it up.”

“Oh.” She tried to act like she didn’t care, even though she felt like grabbing the man by the shoulders and shaking him until he talked.

The Delani abruptly stood and walked away. At first Narissa was alarmed, but the girl just strode into her room, letting the curtain fall closed behind her.

“Excuse her,” Narissa said, sighing. “She’s…overtaxed.”

“No worries,” Sackrin said.

“That girl has the right idea,” Karrin said, letting out an enormous yawn. “I think I’ll take her cue. I’m halfway to being a wraith.”

The boy-Narissa already couldn’t remember his name-looked up at her flatly and spoke for the first time. “How does being tired make you an evil demon from another realm?”

“Because they are dead,” she said. “That’s the half that I am. Not the evil part.”

He snorted but didn’t respond.

“We should all get some rest. We must be moving on soon.” Sackrin stood, nodding towards Narissa and Beali in turn. “Thank you for sharing your table with us.”

***

Two days earlier

Jistan blinked bleary eyes, squinting in the dark morning. The sun had not even begun to rise. Why had Sackrin woken him so early? And why only him and Karrin?

“You’d better have a good reason for this, Daddy dear,” Karrin said. Her short hair was sticking straight off her head in several places and she wore a thick night robe over her clothing.

“I do,” Sackrin said. He looked like an immaculate General, only he wasn’t wearing his uniform coat. Instead, he wore a plain black jacket that buttoned up the front over some grey travel pants. Jistan found that odd. He hadn’t seen his father out of uniform since joining the army.

“Care to share?” Karrin prompted, arms folded petulantly as they followed Sackrin to the western edge of camp.

“We have been given a special task,” Sackrin said, not breaking stride. “It is unknown to any except for a very select few, so you will tell no one. Understood?”

Jistan felt a little lurch in his stomach at that. He was already part of a secret army fighting a secret war. Now he was being sent on a secret mission, one he couldn’t even reveal to said secret army.

“Yeah, yeah, sure. Fate of the world and all that. What I’m worried about is why I’m not in bed right now.” Karrin’s words made Jistan smile despite his worries.

Sackrin ignored her snappishness. “The Heir is in danger. She has been captured and held for ransom by the Kritons. We have been sent to find her and rescue her if possible.”

“Ransom?” Karrin sounded confused. “But that doesn’t make sense. Kritose already holds Ranteel. Couldn’t they just have taken from the treasury at Ranteel and then run before Arellia could return?”

Sackrin was quiet for a moment. “Not all bargains are about money,” he finally said, voice soft. “I don’t know all of the details, but we are treading very dangerous waters. Be alert, and be prepared for anything.”