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Old 10-20-2019, 02:57 AM
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Liri Dazzlebeam Liri Dazzlebeam is offline
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Great post Night! You have masterfully steered us towards "that" part!


Ren

Just before we reached the Clann base, Ansell gently shook me awake. As we rode up to the building, we found the entire Council and Nyna waiting for us at the front entrance. I looked over at Talia to see that little Rhea was asleep in her arms.

The Elders spent some time scolding Hanna, until she told them how Ivan had captured her, then Nyna quickly began comforting Hanna. How did she know Ivan? I wondered, but was quickly distracted by the rest of the conversation.

"Nevertheless, due to this excursion, we obtained a crucial piece of information," Elder Clarissa said, her face looking grave, "An alliance between King Adonis and the Queen of Noorwind! This will be a disaster for us, if they succeed in signing a peace treaty."
"We'll need to make plans, send out patrols to monitor the situation, as well as to track the process of their negotiations," Elder Solon declared. "It may be dangerous to try and sneak back into Dai Li territory at the moment, but..."

"They won't keep up this level of security for too long," I assured them all. "For several reasons. The Dai Li won't be able to stop all of their regular activities keep up the border patrols forever. At some point, it'll become clear we must have escaped somehow and are beyond their grasp. And they'll have to make preparations for the arrival of the Noor parley. Plus, Adonis wouldn't want the queen to become suspicious at the military barricade by the border and wonder why he took such drastic measures."
"After all, it'd be pretty shameful to admit he was betrayed by one of his own agents, nearly got assassinated, let a valuable prisoner escape, couldn't keep his own Dai Li under control, and not to mention, lost a major battle to the Clann just days before,"Ansell added, smirking. "All in all, pretty embarrassing."
Nyna nodded thoughtfully. "So we'll wait for them to relax the border security, then send our most discrete agents to try and monitor the situation. And... it may be time to think about getting some allies on our side as well."

"But that's a discussion we'll save for a later time. There's nothing more we can do tonight." Elder Solon stood up. "You must all be exhausted. Get some rest, and we'll resume in the morning."

At that moment, Rhea woke up and looked around groggily.
“Rhea, we are at the Clann base now, your sister is inside.” Talia said, putting her down.
“Really?” Rhea gasped, “Where?”
“Come on,” Talia said with a laugh, leading the girl inside. The rest of us followed, some Clann members coming to take our horses to the stables.

There was a small commotion at the end of the hall, and then Rhea ran and threw herself into the arms of her sister, who had come out of her bedroom to see what was going on.
“Haven!”
“Rhea?” Haven gasped, pulling away so she could look the girl in the face. Rhea buried her face in Haven’s shoulder, her thin frame shaking with sobs.
“It’s you… it’s really you!” Haven hugged her tightly, and murmured things into her sister’s ear.

Nyna spoke up after several minutes. “Haven, you sister’s been through quite the ordeal. I’m sorry to interrupt, but we should get her cleaned up and into bed.”
Haven nodded, pulling away, but Rhea clung to the front of her shirt. “It’s okay,” she comforted the little girl, “Is it okay if she sleeps in my room?”
“Of course! We wouldn’t think to separate the two of you, after everything you’ve been through.” Nyna smiled gently before taking Rhea’s hand and leading her off to the infirmary to treat her various cuts and bruises.

Haven turned to Talia, Ansell, Erza, and I, tears of joy still fresh on her cheeks. “Thank you. I’m so – I’m so grateful for everything you’ve done. For both of us. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you – “ Talia pulled her into a fierce hug at that.
“Hey, don’t mention it – we got to make a scene at Dai Li headquarters that they’re not going to forget anytime soon.” Ansell grinned. “Frankly, I’d do it all over again just for the look on Galy’s face.”
“There’s no need to thank me.” I smiled, warmth filling my chest, “Seeing you reunite with your sister – it’s given me purpose again. I’m going to spend the rest of my life helping to bring families back together, to atone for all the ones I’ve torn apart.”

I was tired, but I wanted to make sure Finn was ok. I headed to the infirmary, and found Nikko still by Finn’s side.
“Hey!” He greeted me with a smile as I sat in the other chair next to the bed. I felt tension melting away when I saw Finn’s chest still rising and falling. He is still alive.
“Hey,” I replied, having assured myself that Finn was still ok.
“Don’t worry, nothing exciting happened while you were gone. The Healers say he should wake soon though, maybe tomorrow.”
I nodded, “Thanks for sitting with him for me.”
“No problem, we all care about him. I assume you are going to stay here?” He asked, and I nodded. “Did you sleep at all?” He asked.
“Yes, I slept on the ride here. I’m ok, you can go get some rest.” I told him.

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

The next morning, Nikko came back with some breakfast for us to share.
“Rumors are spreading like wildfire,” The prince told me, “They are saying you all had to fight your way past the whole Dai Li and Gifted armies to escape, and Ansell was feeding the rumors.”
“Of course he is,” I replied with a laugh, “He tends do do that.”
“Yeah, he told one little boy that you all had to battle ‘at least three entire squadrons of elite agents, including Captain Galadriel herself. And, let’s not mention, they had to battle their way out of the grand Council room, where all of the Dai Li were gathered! Ezra even threw a knife right at the King.’”
“Well, the grand Council room and Ezra throwing a knife at the King… that part is true. And fighting Galadriel, true. Three entire squadrons… maybe… I wasn’t counting.” I laughed.
“They are also saying that my fa- King Adonis, is considering a peace treaty with Queen Adaria of Noorwind. Is that true?” Nik asked, worry in his eyes.
“Unfortunately, yes. That is true,” I replied, “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. He.. well, you know how he is. Anyways, I almost forgot, Nyna told me she wants you to be in their Council meeting as soon as you finish eating. I will stay here with Finn.” Nikko informed me. I nodded, finished eating, stroked Finn’s hair, then left for the meeting.

It was impossible not to notice the stares on me as I walked through the main hall towards the Council meeting. I tried to ignore the discomfort it gave me, and walked quickly through the halls, at last reaching the council room where everyone else was waiting for me to arrive.
“Thanks for coming.” Nyna smiled at all of us. “The Council and I debated late into last night, and we came up with a proposal. We’re going to send our own treaty delegation, to the kingdom of Cerrawen.”
There was a pause as we all digested this. “I think it’s a good idea,” Talia said at last. “Cerrawen has always been known to be sympathetic to the Gifted. In fact, the reason they sealed their borders and cut off trade with Alagaesia was because of King Adonis’s aggressive plans for the Gifted in our country. If we let them know there are factions in Alagaesia that appose the King and seek to create a better world for Gifted and non-Gifted alike, they might be persuaded to help us.”
“There’s no guarantee that they’ll be sympathetic to our efforts,” Elder Pierce grumbled. “And it’s not certain whether or not they’ll be willing to oppose King Adonis directly. They might not even believe us – all the stories about Alagaesia talk about how much we fear and hate the Gifted, and the King even imprisons them.”
“Always the ray of sunshine, aren’t you, Elder?” Ansell teased, “I thought this was your plan!” Elder Pierce shot Ansell an icy glare, which Ansell ignored and then he continued in a more serious tone. “Whether or not they agree to help us, I agree with Talia. It’s well worth a shot. If they do decide to join us, it might be just the thing to turn the tide for us. We should send a delegation of both Clann agents and Gifted, to show them that we really do stand for a united world.”
Nyna smiled, evidently glad to have their support. I stayed silent, still not feeling like I belonged in this room after everything I had done.

“Then it’s settled.” Elder Solon folded his arms across his chest and sat back. “In other news – according to our spies at the border, a ship from Noorwind has just arrived on our shores. The negotiations with King Adonis will take place in three days, but it’s likely they’ve sent a scouting party ahead to gather information about Alagaesia and ensure the safety of Queen Adalia’s delegation before she arrives herself. We were considering sending out a patrol to meet with this scouting party, gather what intel we can, maybe even reach a negotiation of our own before they can meet with the King. However… we would have to cross Dai Li territory in order to reach the Noor scouts, and after what happened just yesterday…”
“I can go.” I quickly spoke up without hesitation, knowing that this was something I could actually help with. Everyone turned to face me. “I was one of the top-ranked agents, and I know the territory far better than most of the Dai Li. I know a few secluded routes to the Noor border that are known to very few people. Plus, most of the Dai Li army will still be gathered around the Capitol, since they don’t know for sure yet that we’ve escaped.”
“That’s true,” Nyna said thoughtfully.
“It can’t be too many of us though, a large patrol may attract suspicion.” I continued, turning to face Ansell, with just a moment of hesitation before I asked, “Ansell, will you come with me?”
:If it’ll bring back any painful memories… you don’t have to,: I “sent” him, softly and a bit hesitantly.
“Absolutely.” He responded with a grin, letting me know he was ok, and I let out a soft exhale of relief. “It’ll be a special trip, just the two of us! Of course, you might not be able to enjoy the scenic view, with me around to capture all your attention.” I laughed at that, and at Elder Pierce’s glare of annoyance at Ansell taking things lightly. I knew that Ansell was taking all of this seriously though.

“It’s settled then. Ren and Ansell will leave in the morning. Take the rest of the evening to rest and pack. The Council and I will reach out to King Arwin and Queen Elyssandra of Cerrawen in the morning to enquire about an alliance.” Nyna stated, dismissing us all.

I immediately returned to the infirmary to check on Finn. Nikko smiled at me, then asked if I could tell him anything from the meeting. I told him that we were looking for allies and that Ansell and I would be heading out in the morning to scout the Noor border. We were discussing the wild rumors that just kept on growing, when suddenly Finn took in a sharp breath.

My eyes flew to his face, and watched his green eyes open. I gasped, then shook Nikko’s arm. The prince ran out of the room to find a Healer, quickly returning with Healers in tow - Nyna being one of them.
“Hey Finn, welcome back,” I said with a smile.
“R-Ren…?” He said weakly.
“Yes, ke’chara, I’m here.” I soothed him.
“What… happened..?” He asked, then started to sit up abruptly, fear on his face.
I gently held him down, “Whoa there, don’t sit up just yet. You’re safe, I promise. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Finn, what do you remember about what happened?” Nyna asked gently.
“Ha-Haven… she was so angry… I couldn’t… she… I went flying into the wall.. Then everything went dark.” He was shaking, his eyes were darting around at everyone in the room, and I kept a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
:Nyna, can you check his head? I don’t want him to sit up if he shouldn’t yet, but he needs more comfort than just my hand on his shoulder: I asked, and she nodded, closing her eyes briefly.
:His head is healed already, the coma gave it time to heal. He can sit up: came her response.

“Come here, ke’chara,” I said softly, pulling Finn into my lap and hugging him close. Just then, Ansell opened the door, having heard Finn was awake.
:Hey, how is he?: Ansell asked.
:He is scared, but his injuries are all healed: I replied, and Ansell nodded.
:He might be a bit frightened and jumpy for a while, but he will get through this. He has a lot of people who care about him: Ansell replied.
: I feel bad leaving in the morning…:
: Don’t worry, Talia and Nyna will look after him. They are good at that. And I bet Nikko will stay with him too:


He was right. But it didn’t make it any easier.
“You should all get some rest.” Nyna’s voice brought me back to the conversation occurring in the room. “And no need to stay here anymore, Finn is healed of any injuries.”
“Finn can stay with me,” I said, when he tensed at her words, gripping my wrist. “It’s ok, I’ve got you.” I murmured into his hair, hugging him.
“Of course, he shouldn’t be alone right now.” Nyna agreed.
:Nikko, Nyna, promise you will both look after him when I leave tomorrow?: I asked, sending the question to both of them. Nikko’s eyes widened a bit in startlement at my “words” in his mind, but then he nodded and mouthed ‘of course.’
: Of course, we will all take good care of him: Nyna promised. I nodded at them both gratefully, then led Finn into the hallway, where Ansell still waited.

“Hey there, kiddo.” Ansell said with a warm smile. Finn smiled a bit at him, but was still glued to my side. “How you feeling?”
“Ok, I guess. But I am scared.” He replied, looking down at the last words.
“That is nothing to be ashamed of, and completely understandable. I get scared sometimes too! But you are a pretty brave kid, probably braver than me! In no time at all this will all just be a distant memory.” Ansell replied, getting a smile out of Finn again.
“Come on, let’s get you to bed,” I said, and the three of us walked down the hall - carefully avoiding the place the incident had occurred.

When we reached my room, we said goodnight to Ansell.
:See you in the morning: I sent, and he nodded, then left with a wave. I already had a bag packed, I always had a bag ready in case I needed it, so I didn’t need to worry about packing for tomorrow. I tucked Finn into bed, running my fingers through his soft, brown hair until he fell asleep, singing a lullaby softly - one I hadn’t sung since… since Skyf was still here.
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