Blayre dreamed she was slogging through a pit of mud, while a pack of Lady Marianna's prized hounds gave chase. Every movement was painfully slow and she was sinking lower and lower - knee deep, hip deep, waist deep, shoulders, neck... She couldn't move, couldn't breathe and the dogs were yapping at her. Which was strange - when she stopped panicking long enough to think about it - because dogs hated her stepmother.
Suddenly she was burning up, and when she cleared the caked mud away from her vision, Blayre opened her eyes to see a dragon leaning over her, its exhaled breath scalding her. It's scales were an iridescent blue and teal, like the ocean under a clear blue sky. It's eyes glimmered like two star sapphires.
The dragon reached down and delicately picked her up by her tunic, pulling her from the mud. Suddenly there were the shouts of people all around her. Like a crowd yelling and pushing and shoving their way through. Perhaps they are trying to free me from the dragon, she thought. Though the dragon only seemed to be helping her, and when she twisted herself around to get a glimpse, she could see no one.
The dragon was gathering itself, coiled muscles vibrating and wings twitching in preparation to take off in flight when suddenly her eyes flew open and the dream was cut short.
****
A strange woman was peering over her, heavy lidded eyes filled with concern. "Oh!" She exclaimed. "You're awake!"
"I..." Blayre coughed, her throat dry and cracked. "Am."
The woman scurried a few feet away, her back turned to Blayre who could barely make out her stocky form through blurred vision.
"Where...am... I?" Blayre ground out, eyes gradually focusing on her surroundings. Canvas walls surrounded her and mage-light orbs small enough to hold in one hand gave off a warm bright glow, illuminating the space.
"Here. Drink this and then talk." The woman held a glass of cool liquid to Blayre's lips and Blayre almost obliged until the memory of what had happened before she woke up struck her with sudden clarity.
Panic set in, as she recalled the damp cloth. The drugged cloth that had covered her face before she lost consciousness. "No..." Blayre said, struggling to sit up in bed and pulling her legs up, scurrying back like a crab. Twelve hells, someone had kidnapped her.
The woman looked startled. "You should really drink some water, you've been asleep for nearly two days, you must be parched. When Caval brought you here..."
"Caval?" Blayre froze. "He did this?"
The woman had the decency to look uncomfortable as she said, "Trust me, I am not trying to poison you. No one would bring you here alive if they wanted you dead. He is the one who helped you."
Blayre said nothing, instead fixing the woman with a glare.
"I will go get him." The woman sighed. "Please, drink though?" She took a sip of the water herself to prove it was safe, then held it out to Blayre again. Reluctantly, Blayre accepted, glaring over the rim of the pewter mug as the woman just about sprinted out of the stone-walled room, apparently to fetch Caval.
Caval. Moon and Sun what had he done?
Blayre sucked down the water despite herself - and it did taste like water, and only water. She set the pewter cup down gently on the table beside the cot she was on and slowly began to move stiff muscles and joints to get herself out of bed. Once off the cot she scanned the room for her boots - she was still fully clothed - though missing a few things since she had gone out to investigate in the middle of the night. Though she had had the wherewithal to strap on her knives before going out into the dark.
Her boots were missing. That would make running out of here a bit difficult. That and the fact that she had no clue where she was. She huffed, pressing a hand to her forehead which ached. She felt the gentle touch of Caval's magic before he entered the space. Intentionally warning her of his approach.
"Ah, awake I see?"
The sorcerer looked haggard, and not nearly as clean and put together as he always had been in the capital. His clothes were even simpler than the embroidered tunics that he had been wearing for most of the journey into the mountains, and dark circles rimmed his eyes.
Blayre just stared.
"You should probably stay in bed for a bit. Mara is getting you some food and..."
"I'm fine." Blayre snapped, ducking under the cot to see if her boots had been tucked underneath. "Where are my shoes?"
"Um, I'm not sure." He ran a hand over his close-cropped hair. The eloquence was missing from his speech, and he sounded almost as tired and groggy as Blayre felt. "Blayre, do you remember any of what happened?"
"You mean anything about you kidnapping me? Where is this? Where are we? The 'rebel's lair'?" She snapped. Finally spying her boots in dimly lit corner of the room, she pounced on them. "And how far do I have to go to get back to the halfway house?"
"Blayre." His tone grew serious. "I don't think you should go back. Not right now. Not any time soon." Maybe not ever. His eyes seemed to convey.
"And why not?" She was seated in an undignified tangle of limbs on the hard stone floor of the room, struggling to shove her right foot into her boot.
"Blayre, I know you don't remember much, if anything, but I saved you from being kidnapped. And yes, this is the 'rebel's lair', so to speak. It was the only place I could think to bring you once I took down the men who were actually trying to kidnap you."
Her heart was thudding so hard that she could feel it in her head and in her trembling hands. "Well who are they?" Blayre demanded.
"There was little to go on. I suspect the Crown. But..." He shrugged, "I can't be certain. They did know that you couldn't be affected by magic though, if they chose to take you down with a sleeping tonic rather than a spell."
And whatever it was had knocked her out hard apparently. "Did they think I was a giant?" She asked incredulously.
Caval shrugged again, but his mouth twitched at the corner in what could have been amusement. "I think they were more concerned with keeping you out long enough to get you off the mountain and away from your friends."
Blayre let out a huff of air. "Are you sure it's the Crown? Could it have been the same people responsible for trying to attack Rory?"
"Blayre," Caval sighed and stared up to the ceiling as if the words that were escaping him could be found up there. "It might not be the Crown - well not the actual ruler. Not Queen Briannon. But it could be those who want power. Those who are close enough to influence her. You have protected Duke Rorrick on multiple occasions. I figured out what you are, what you can do. Who is to say someone else hasn't?" He raised his eyebrows at her, "Does anyone else know?"
"A small handful of people." Blayre mumbled. Would Ripley have thrown her under the bus? Nuala?
"What of Lonan? You seemed - threatened - by him at the coronation."
"He acted like he might suspect something. But didn't say anything outright." She grasped the edge of the cot to pull herself up, gritting her teeth at the stiffness in her joints from lying for so long without movement. She dusted off her leggings, turning to face Caval fully. "It seems too obvious, though I guess it's possible." But in her experience, what was most obvious was not usually the answer. Especially if someone was clever enough to divert attention elsewhere.
Blayre sat in contemplation for a moment longer, "Caval,"
He had been staring, unseeing into a corner of the room, but perked up at the sound of her voice. "Hm?" He asked.
She realized she was still seated undignified on the floor. But had no desire to get up. "I'm sorry that I blamed you. But why bring me here? Why not just take care of the bastards and then continue on with our plans?"
"Because it's not safe." Caval's reply was instant. "They would try again, and this is the only place where the people will protect you without question."
"This isn't where I'm supposed to be though, Fletcher and Ainslee..." Suddenly she thought of them "They're okay right? Do they even know that I'm gone?" She was on her feet instantly, and striding across the room toward the dark opening that she assumed was the entrance to whatever this structure was. So much for apologizing.
Caval grabbed her shirtsleeve, stalling her. "They are safe. They are fine. As far as I know. They don't know where you are though."
"And what are they supposed to think!?" Blayre demanded, her voice nearly a screech. "That we ran away together... Oh. This is exactly what you wanted all along. You wanted to leave them behind so we could research the caverns and not have to report back to the Crown."
"I would think that after an attempted kidnapping by the Crown, you wouldn't want to be sharing information with them."
"You can't prove that it was the Crown. We can't prove it was anyone since the blasted man vanished into thin air!" She snapped her fingers for emphasis.
"Blayre," Caval's expression was like a stone. "You are tired."
She was tired. She was so tired. And the usual calmness with which she carried herself was missing. She was physically drained and her mind was whirring. It was wrong of Caval to just bring her here, without her knowledge. Not that she could have agreed or objected anyway. She sighed loudly, blowing a strand of hair from her face.
"Okay. Let me... just let me think for a moment."
Caval nodded slowly, as though afraid actual speech might provoke her again. He returned to the chair he had been seated in and she took the one next to him. It was wooden and uncomfortable. She wondered how someone like him - someone who had been given all the luxuries available in Emares, could possibly find this more appealing.
She supposed that some people would go to great lengths if it meant freedom. Just as some would go to great lengths if it meant they could continue to live in comfort. And luxury. I'm glad, she thought, releasing a breath and eyeing her friend, that he seems to be one of the former.
"I'm not sure that I want to stay here permanently. I think once we've done our research, I will need to go back."
Caval's face fell.
"And what of you?" she prompted. "I know that you have been a part of this, but were you truly ready to be here for good? To never return to the capital? I assume you were acting as an informant?"
Caval nodded, "You are correct, on most accounts." He leaned forward in his chair, burying his face in his hands. "I should go back, after this." He said to her. "But I don't think you should."
"You can't go back without me and not expect questions. They'll tear you apart!" Rory might tear him apart. Blayre thought briefly. Or would he not care about the girl who had torn his heart from his chest and stomped on it in order to walk away?
Then again, Ainslee and Fletcher were probably the better bet for coming after her.
"It will be fine." Caval said calmly.
"When do we leave for the caverns, and how far are they?" Blayre inquired. If she could get to the caverns, do the research necessary, and leave for Mountainvale again with or without Caval, everything would be fine. It would be fine.
"I'm not sure the precise distance, but I think these maps can get us fairly close. Once we're close enough, that's where you come in." Caval said.
"And what am I supposed to do if your map is inaccurate?"
"It's inaccurate because someone made it intentionally so. They only wanted us to get so far. To protect the caverns."
"Okayyyy." Blayre dragged out the last syllable. "And what am I supposed to do? What purpose do I serve?"
"You, my dear Seeker, are going to hunt magic."