And so the story continues…
Day 31: “True, but she also might have information you don’t want getting out,” Christopher said.
“True, but she also might have information you don’t want getting out,” Christopher said.
“Like what?” Marcus countered. Christopher shrugged.
“How would I know your secrets?”
Marcus sighed. “Even if I had secrets, she wouldn’t know them. I was friends with her family, but not one of the inner circle. I knew her but we weren’t close. Certainly not close enough to share secrets.”
“So you say,” Christopher replied with a shrug.
“If I was close enough to share secrets with the family, I would have been executed when the first orders came down,” Marcus pointed out.
“Well, that is true,” Christopher conceded. “Still, she isn’t here.”
“Maybe you aren’t as charming as you think,” Marcus said.
“Meaning?”
“Meaning that she didn’t have to see you as working with me to simply not like you enough to show up tonight. She could just not be interested in you. Or at least more worried for herself than interested in you.”
“Well, I suppose that can be true,” Christopher admitted. “Do you think she is packing and getting ready to go home?” He asked. “After all you did give her the pardon and tell her that all of her family lands and property were being restored to her. Maybe she was so delighted that she began preparing her luggage for her trip home?”
Marcus sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “Possibly,” he said. “I knew her somewhat before and then I would have possibly been able to guess her reactions. I don’t know any more.”
“She has changed?”
Marcus shook his head. “The girl I knew would not have been able to stay ahead of the hunters, especially not for so long. The fact that she did was a surprise, not just for me but for those who knew her far better. Most assumed she would be captured within the month. There was even a betting pool among her friends. No one thought she could survive on her own.”
“She has hidden skills then,” Christopher said. “How did she manage to stay ahead of the Hunters?”
Marcus shook his head. “No one knows. We managed to piece together that in each of the three cities we fund her prior, she visited the archives which was how we knew to look here.”
“Do you know what she was looking for?” Christopher asked.
“Something to clear her name presumably,” Marcus said. “Any time we searched to see what she looked into, we came up with a blank. She managed to hold on to some sort of charm that made her searches untraceable…”
The images began to fade and Anna was glad to let the conversation go as it had given her much to think about. She cleaned up from her scrying and put her items away. There was still daylight and she was hoping to get to higher ground and the shelter of the rocky overhangs before nightfall. She stood and as she continued her walk, Anna divided her attention between the broken roadbed and the scraps of information she gleaned.
She spared herself a short moment of satisfaction for her ability to conceal her searches. The spell was one she learned after she ran and was pleased it worked. There were other bits of information that were less pleasing to hear.
Ten til Midnight 