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Old 07-05-2019, 02:17 AM
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Congratulations, Glory. Glad to see you back!

No problem, Alexa! Sorry it still didn't work.

I love your post, Liri!! Thank you for responding to Haven too! I love the idea of Ansell and Ren's connection, and I don't think it's power playing at all - maybe all Gifted (besides Nyna) with telepathy can do it with people they're particularly close to?



"Let's go!" I said urgently to Ezra, Hanna, and Rhea. Tori's distraction would buy us a few minutes at best. Despite the pang of concern I felt, I couldn't help but smile a little as the large hawk swooped down and began pecking at the cloaked man. He tried to swat her away, waving his arms furiously, but she kept darting just out of reach. Ah, classic Tori.

Once we were behind a thick layer of shrubbery, nearly out of sight of the castle, I glanced back once to see the Tori-hawk flying into a distant third-floor window. I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness. Hopefully she can get back to her post before anyone notices her absence... I felt conflicted. Was I really glad that she was going back to the Dai Li? Why had she decided to join them anyway, when she knew what they were capable of doing to her kind?
But she had helped us escape, and risked her life to do so. I knew, deep down, that Tori wasn't a bad person. Why was she with the Dai Li then?
Could it be that the person she's looking for, the person she's chased for so long, is back there?

I shook off the thoughts as the four of us raced deeper into the trees, trying to stay as quiet as possible. I couldn't afford to be distracted right now. But silently, I made a promise to myself that we would come back for Tori. There was no way to force her to see the light; attempting to do so would only make things worse. But we were not going to give up on her. I was responsible for allowing her to get to where she was right now, and I wouldn't abandon her.
Would it have been better to force her to stay at the Clann, against her will? Did I make the right choice, Luc?

We took a looping, crooked path, jumping over a small stream and once splitting up and then regrouping, all to try and throw the Dai Li off our track as we put as much distance as we could between us and the castle. But I knew Rhea wouldn't be able to keep up the punishing pace for much longer. In the distance, I began to hear the pounding of hoofbeats, and my heart sank. There was no way we'd be able to outrun them now.

"Let's find somewhere to hide!" Ezra called out, having come to the same conclusion. He didn't say what we were all thinking - that we were on the Dai Li's turf, familiar territory to them and not to us. If they did a thorough search, they would have the advantage, especially if they used the Gifted army.
A feeling of dread crept over me as I realized what I might have to suggest. Not that... I'd almost rather walk back and turn myself into the Dai Li then have to return there
An involuntary shiver went through me, and I could almost see the red-orange flames, hungry and reaching, thick gray smoke, billowing into the sky. The crackle and roar like some mighty beast awakened from slumber. Choking on the noxious fumes as strong arms reached around me and pulled me away. No, not me... This was all my fault... We have to go back! The scar on my leg seemed to twinge in phantom pain. I'd never shown it to anyone, refused to speak of that night or let anyone see the memories of it in my mind.

Rhea stumbled and nearly fell, but Ezra caught her by the arm. He slowed to a halt, shaking his head. "We can't keep going like this. We have to find somewhere to hide, hopefully until they stop patrolling this forest."
Guilt shot through me, sharp and piercing. I did know a place, but...
"I'm so sorry," Hanna whispered, echoing my thoughts. "This is all my fault - "
Ezra shook his head. "No, it isn't! It could have been any agent. Things have truly taken a serious turn for the worst if the Dai Li are regularly camping out so close to the Clann. Besides, if we hadn't come here, we would never have known about the collusion with Noorwind. This is huge news for the Clann. And we managed to save Rhea."
"I think there's something over here!" Rhea called out. We all peered through the thick clump of foliage, seeing a small tunnel made by some woodland creature. As the shortest, Rhea had been the only one to spot it, and it would have been hard to notice by anyone standing at normal adult height.
We all had to crawl to make it into the tiny space. It led into a small cave made by some sort of animal, but it was unoccupied at the moment. Using some giant leaves, we swept our tracks away, then used more fallen branches and leaves to disguise the entrance even more.
The small cave was barely big enough for all of us to fit sitting down. Everyone looked tired and miserable. We'd been running for what seemed like hours with no food or water, and Rhea especially didn't look like she could make it any further.
The guilt pierced through me once again. It was partly my fault we were in this mess too, if only I hadn't blown my cover... Not that I knew how the pale, cloaked man had managed to find out. He wasn't a simple Dai Li agent, that much was obvious. Who was he, really?

:I wish you were close enough to hear me Lyren! I could really use some help over here!: I "thought" out, with a twinge of irony. Of course she couldn't really hear me, but I found myself wishing she were here. The person who knew the Dai Li and their territory best... Not to mention one of the smartest, most capable people I know.
:Ansell?!: I nearly jumped in surprise, crashing into the low ceiling of the cave.
:Lyren?! You can hear me? How?!: I "thought" back, half expecting her voice to have been a hallucination.
:I… don’t know…. I have never heard anyone that far away before! I don’t know if even Nyna have hear from that far away!: Came her reply, sounding amazed
:Well, we will have to figure this out later, we don’t have time now. Since you can hear me, come quick with help! My cover has been blown, and I have the entire Dai Li army after me...:
:What?! How did you manage that?!:
Now her tone was distinctly startled. :Never mind, you can explain later. I’ll get Talia and we will meet you with reinforcements. Keep heading this way as much as you can, and keep me updated about where you are. Did you find Hanna?:
:Yes, and Rhea too.:
:Rhea? You found her?!: I could feel her exhale with relief, :Ok, I am on my way. Be careful!:
:I will.: I replied, then added, :Please hurry… I think I really managed to make them mad this time…:
:More angry than you already make them on a daily basis? I’m impressed!:
:Oh shut up,: I retorted, smiling a bit, then abruptly turned serious. :Hurry Lyren, the girl has been through enough already.:
:I’ll be there as soon as I can.: I promised.

I opened my eyes and looked at the others, a grin already on my face. "You'll never believe what just happened...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~

"I'm telling you, she'll be here," I insisted as we crawled out of the tunnel the next morning.
Hanna and Ezra still gave me skeptical looks. "Nyna's tested the range of telepathic abilities," Hanna reminded me - again. "At most, they can reach over a couple of miles, and even then, the signal won't be strong enough to hold a full conversation."
I shrugged. "Well, I know what I heard. Maybe the two of us just invented a new ability! I mean, is it so unbelievable that a girl would want to cross the infinite reaches of time and space in order to speak to me?"
Ezra rolled his eyes at this, while Hanna seemed to suppress a snort.
"I believe you, Ansell," Rhea pipped up in her small voice.
"That's because you haven't properly met him yet," Ezra muttered.
I put a hand over my heart in mock horror. "Ouch, Ezra! I thought we were best friends!"
He looked back at me, deadpan. "You're doing a great job in sounding totally trustworthy and not at all delusional, you know."

The joking immediately died away as we heard the distant sounds of galloping hoofbeats, steadily growing closer. Without a word, we began moving faster, still trying to be as quiet as possible in the dense undergrowth. We'd long lost any hope of gaining a head start, so our only option now was to try and sneak past the patrols - and hopefully Lyren would bring help soon.
There is another place...
The nagging voice in my head was back again. If Lyren didn't come, I promised myself. I wasn't so cowardly that I'd put the others in mortal peril rather than face the fortress of my past. But despite my joking, I knew what I had heard. It was her voice in my head. Every telepath's "voice" was distinct from all others, carrying a trace of their very essence, unique as the pattern of lines on a person's flesh. Somehow, Lyren had heard me, and she would come.
Suddenly, before anyone could react, a hooded Dai Li agent on horseback thundered out of the trees to the left of us. He snatched up Rhea in one hand and yanked her onto his horse. She screamed in terror, thrashing in his grip.

Ezra, Hanna and I immediately gave chase, but there was no way we would be able to catch him, not on foot. Ahead of us, Rhea's screams abruptly cut off. We skidded to a halt just in time to see a large stone levitated off the ground and flew right at the cloaked man, hitting him hard on the shoulder. He dropped Rhea and fell off his horse into the bushes. An invisible force caught her before she hit the ground, setting her down gently.
The three of us caught up just as a small group of riders came into view from the opposite direction. Riding at the front were two familiar figures, one with braided brown hair and a bow at the ready, the other with long golden hair and a determined expression.
I had never been so relieved to see anyone in all my life.

"Looks like you could use some help," Talia called out, smiling.
"Talia!" Hanna called out in both relief and excitement. She turned to me. "So you really were serious... You managed to contact each other from this far away." There was a note of incredulity in her voice, mixed with awe.
"Gifts really are incredible," Ezra marveled. "I wonder if we'll ever discover all that they're capable of."
Rhea shrank away at the sight of Ren, no doubt remembering her from her Dai Li days. I put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "It's okay. She's one of us now."
Lyren met all of our gazes squarely, raising her chin. "I've spent too much time tearing families apart. If there's a chance that I can help bring some back together again - " Her gaze fell on Rhea. " - then I will do whatever it takes." Her voice was full of conviction and determination.
"No time to chat. We have to get going!" one of the agents behind her exclaimed urgently.
Quickly, the four of us leaped astride the horses, and set off at a hard gallop. I found myself riding with Lyren, while Talia hugged Rhea close to her. Ezra and Hanna rode with two other members of the team.

"How's Finn doing?" I asked quietly.
"He'll be okay," Lyren answered, and I could hear the relief in her voice. "He's sleeping now, but the healers have told me that he's going to be just fine."
"And... Haven?" I asked cautiously.
She hesitated. "She and Talia had a talk. She feels horrible about what she did, but I've told her that Finn will be okay. We decided to give her some space for the time being." Softly, Lyren added, "I can understand what she's feeling right now. She's going to have to live with what she did, and it won't be easy... but she'll learn from it. I'm just glad that we'll be able to bring her sister back to her."

I didn't think there was anyone in the world who could look more bright and beautiful than Lyren did in that moment. That she had not only managed to pull herself out of that terrible place, but could find the compassion to reach a grieving, confused young girl in her darkest moment...
"You really are amazing, Lyren," I murmured, so softly that no one else could have overheard.

I couldn't see her expression from where I sat, behind her on the horse. But before she could respond, her body suddenly stiffened.
"What? What's wrong?" I asked, instantly on high alert.
"I can feel it... They have other telepaths," Lyren raised her voice so that the others could hear. "It's the Gifted army! The Dai Li have sent them to the border."
Everyone froze in their tracks.
"We won't be able to sneak past them," I said slowly, speaking what everyone else was thinking. "They'll be using them to find our thought waves."
"They've never deployed so many Gifted before," Lyren said, a note of worry in her voice.
I smiled tightly. "Wow, Galy and the troops are pulling out all the stops. Are they really so determined to keep me around? I'm flattered."

"What are we going to do?" Rhea whispered. I could see that she was trembling uncontrollably. Talia pulled her close into a comforting embrace. "We can't get out of the Capitol, and sooner or later, one of their patrols will find us."
I took a deep breath, squashing down the mounting dread. I really don't have a choice now, do I? "I... know a place where we can go."
Ren turned to me in surprise. Hanna and Rhea looked equally confused, but I could tell from the looks on their faces that Talia and Ezra understood.
"Are you sure, Ans?" Ezra asked hesitantly.
"Well, anyone else have a better suggestion?" I forced a cheerful tone. "Besides, it seems like a lovely day for a family reunion, doesn't it?"
At this, the others looked even more baffled. :Ansell? What are you talking about?: Lyren's telepathic "voice" asked, equal parts concern and befuddlement.
The last thing I wanted to do just then was to explain... everything. I knew that I wouldn't be able to avoid them for long, those inevitable questions. But now right now.
Not when I'm about to face... him... again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~

The trees began to thin out. We had left the sounds of the Dai Li patrols behind hours ago. No reason for them to come this way - this was miles away from any path out of the Capitol.
Finally, the soaring iron gates were in view. The guards at the front immediately stood to attention, weapons drawn. I slid off the horse and walked up to them.
They relaxed when they saw me, sliding into smiles of familiarity. "Welcome back, young master," one said, sliding into a bow.
I nodded at them without speaking as the gates opened before us.
"Is this..." Lyren whispered as we walked through the immaculately cut hedges and perfect flowerbeds, up the long drive to the massive oak doors. I knew that she would have heard of this place, and its inhabitants.
"Lord Gervais's estate." I finally turned to face all of them, my expression twisting into a humorless smile. "The home of my father."

I turned away before I could see any of their reactions. We walked all the way up to the enormous oak doors, which swung open before us. Two servants greeted us with smiles and bows, setting everyone up on the plush sofas with trays of food set before them. Rhea curled up in a corner armchair and was asleep in minutes.

Finally, I couldn't delay it any longer. I owned them some sort of explanation, at least.
I turned to Hanna and Lyren. "Talia and Ezra already know this. Basically, the short version is: my father was a high-ranking member of the King's council. He used to be a commander of the Dai Li. When I was five years old, my mother had a Gifted child. Adonis gave Father a choice - my sister or his wealth, his power, and his place among the Dai Li. He chose the latter."
Meira... the name echoed through my mind. The baby sister I had never gotten to know. I didn't even know what she had looked like... I had been too young to remember. Sometimes, when I lay awake at night, I wondered what she would have been like. Gentle and soft-spoken like Mom? Determined and fiercely driven like Lucien? Would we have been close?
I didn't meet Lyren's gaze, but I knew that she must be remembering the stories that she'd heard at the Dai Li. A high-ranking member of the King's council having a Gifted child was a huge disgrace, a scandal that would be spoken about for years. Father had publicly spoken out against my sister, denouncing both her and my mother for bearing him such a child. Meira had been torn from Mom's arms and sent to the barracks, to be trained as a soldier as soon as she could walk. And Mom... she was permanently banished from the Capitol and my father's household, stripped of her name and titles. Lucien and I may have been permitted to stay, had we renounced our ties to Mom and cut off all contact with her. Of course, neither of us would think of considering such a thing.
It was why Iolanthe had protected Nik's secret so carefully, why she was willing to turn traitor against her own husband to protect him. She knew, from the stories of my family, that both her life and her son's would be torn apart by the truth.

Being woken in the middle of the night by a firm, insistent shake.
"Come on, Ansell. I don't have time to explain right now, but you need to get up. We have to go, quickly," Lucien whispered as he pulled me out of bed.
"What's going on? Where's Dad?" I asked as we ran down the stairs, still in our pajamas. Confusion and the first hints of terror were breaking through the haze of sleep.
A shadow passed over Luc's face, and he seemed to struggle for a minute before his resolve hardened. "Father... won't be coming with us."
I wanted to ask why. I didn't understand... What was happening? But one look at Mom's face made the words dry up on my tongue. She was weeping openly, her face blotched and red, long brown hair a tangled mess around her shoulders. Her entire frame was shaking with the force of her sobs, and she looked hardly able to stand. Lucien put his arm around her, supporting her as we set off at a dead sprint to the carriage waiting in the back of the property. The entire journey was made in pitch darkness, with only the sounds of Mom's muffled wails in between the shake and rattle of the wagon's motion.
It would be years before I saw that house, and my father, again. Years before I learned the full truth about what had happened...


"He regretted it later." My voice sounded distant and remote even to my own ears, like an impartial narrator simply dictating these events. "He would eventually contact the Clann, offering up information and aid from his time on the King's council. He was demoted after the scandal, of course, but was still well respected among the Dai Li and had many connections."
Which was why all of Ren and Galy's complaints and petitions for me to be removed from the Dai Li were ignored. My father was there, though I had never visited or spoken to him throughout all my time at the Dai Li. I could always feel his presence, behind the scenes, pulling the strings. What he always excelled at.
I knew Lyren had to be putting the pieces together by now. Few would have spoke of Lord Gervais's younger son, the toddler constantly chasing behind his older brother. Ansell was not an uncommon name, and I'd been using my mother's last name at both the Clann and the Dai Li, so it wasn't surprising that none had thought to make this connection. Most people would have just remembered the golden son, his talented and charismatic heir...
"Lucien Gervais?" Hanna spoke up then, sounding hesitant. "So is he..."
I nodded. "He's my older brother."
"He never told us about..." she trailed off, seeming uncertain on how to approach the topic.
"I told him not to. At the time, I had no intention of joining the Clann, and I didn't want anyone there to know about me." I didn't clarify as to why. Why I wanted my own brother to hide my existence, and why we'd gone our separate ways all those years ago. What I had been doing at the time, and why I still hadn't told most of the Clann who my brother had been.
They deserved the truth, the full truth - especially Lyren, after everything she had revealed to me. But I just couldn't say it. Either out loud or telepathically. The memories felt like poison, locked within that mental barrier, behind the walls of grief - and shame.
Neither Hanna nor Ren tried to press the matter any further. "I'm sorry," Hanna said after a moment, her face soft with genuine sympathy.
Having grown up in the Clann, she would have known Luc, as they all did. Had they been close? My brother got along well with almost anyone, though it was Talia and her team that he had trained with, fought beside, and forged the strongest bond with. Sometimes I wondered how often his memory caused them to cut me just a little more slack than they should have for my behavior.
And of course, she must have known about his death... though the details of that night had always been shrouded in mystery. Only a select few knew the truth.
I shook my head. "I'm not the one you should be sorry for." My voice came out flat. "You don't know all that I've done."

The butler entered the room just then and bowed. "His Lordship is ready to see you now."
I got up abruptly. "I'll speak to him. All of you, just ask the staff if you need anything."
I could sense that someone had gotten up to follow me. Once we were out of earshot of the others, I turned to Talia, unable to meet her gaze.
I swallowed. "Talia, I'm so sor - "
She pulled me into a tight hug. "I told you four years ago. Never apologize to me again. You have nothing to be sorry for. Lucien never blamed you for what happened, and neither do I."
Unable to speak past the sudden lump in my throat, I nodded against her shoulder.
"You were just trying to figure things out," she whispered. "We all know you never meant for things to get so out of control. You did what you could at the time."
"I know I should tell them everything. The whole truth. Hanna, Ren, the team, and Haven, too, they deserve it... I know they do, but I just - can't."
Talia shook her head. "Do it when you're ready, and only when you are. They will understand."
Nodding, I pulled away and turned to face the door to Father's office. "Thank you, Talia." Somehow, her words had given me a renewed sense of determination.
Lucien's last request to her had been to look out for me, and that she always had. She had been my rock, time and time again, over the past three years. And Ezra had been my light. The two of them had pulled me out of these dark places so many times over the years. They were my closest friends, my family, and there were no words in this world or the next that could express my gratitude for the two of them.
And I was going to make sure they, and Lyren, Hanna and Rhea as well, made it out of this place.

"Father," was my only greeting as I stepped inside the spacious room, paneled in a dark mahogany wood.
"Hello, son." As usual, he couldn't quite meet my gaze, instead staring off at a spot on the wall just over my right shoulder. "I heard that you caused quite a commotion. They even deployed the Gifted army."
As usual, the ghosts that the two of us shared felt so palpable that I could almost see them materializing in the air between us. Mom. Meira.
And of course, Lucien.
"I apologize for that. The situation spiraled out of control," my voice sounded strained and formal even to my own ears. "We will require safe passage out of the Capitol."
Father nodded. "I can arrange that for you, as far as the town of Telenoria."
"That would be sufficient. Thank you." I turned to leave, before he could say anything else.
Not that I really thought he would. Perhaps it would always be like this between the two of us. Some things in this world were too badly shattered to ever salvage.

The entire ride back to Telenoria was spent in a darkened carriage, heavy blinds drawn over the windows. The guards at the border didn't question a personal carriage of one of the King's former councilmen, and we made it out of the Capitol with no further complications. I don't think any of us breathed easy, however, until the familiar thatched roofs and tall spiers of Telenoria were finally in view.
I hopped out of the carriage first and spun around to the others, my usual careless grin already plastered back on. "I thought that would never end! Seriously, being a nobleman and all, you'd think he could afford more comfortable cushions. Or at least some travel-time entertainment? These Dai Li always have such dour taste in interior design." I stretched, putting aside everything that had happened in the Capitol - for now. For now, I was only going to be the Ansell Vaile that they had all known at the Clann. Being so close to home felt like a weight being lifted off my shoulders, and it was much easier to suppress the dark cloud that had seemed to hang over everything for the past day and a half.
"Well, we'd better get back there before they send out any more rescue parties, eh?" I smirked.


(Liri, I hope you don't mind that I changed the "at the palace" line!

Let me know if you're all okay with how your characters were used. Sorry for taking us all on a rather large tangent!)
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