Armand had spent the last several days mostly sharpening his sword and staring at the corner of his tent. Not that his sword needed sharpening. At this point all he was doing was wasting the blade. But at least it gave him something to do while he thought about how he'd probably never leave this corner of the caravan again.

He did his best to ignore the sounds of Griffon puttering around outside and concentrated on a corner of the blade that was really sharp enough already, but the shine displeased him. He ran a strip of leather down it and it let out a dull whine. Griffon had kept watch on him like a toddler ever since he'd found out about the party. It wasn't like a little booze ever hurt anyone permanently.

The tent flap rustled but Armand did not turn his head. He stared down at his reflection in the blade without moving.

"You need to stop sulking sometime," Griffon said at his back. Armand grunted in response. Maybe if he didn't talk for long enough he'd be allowed some modicum of respect. Griffon didn't say anything in return and walked out again. He waited for the footsteps to go off a little ways and sheathed his sword. He knew there would be too many eyes to just leave but he could at least get away from the tent for a little while.

As he stepped outside, through the rows of tents strode a woman. She hugged her arms around her waist and made a beeline straight toward him. Armand sighed. What could it possibly be now that Wren's mother felt the need to rub it in? It wasn't like he'd already gotten it enough. He turned and opened the flap of the tent again.

"Wait!" Meria shouted. He turned back and she jogged toward him. He sighed heavily and tried not to look too annoyed.

"What do you want?" he asked. Her eyes were ringed with red and lined with shadows and her hair flew around her face like she'd been up all night and hadn't done it. 

"I need to talk to you," Meria said.

"I'm not interested. Go away," he responded. His chest constricted a bit. She placed a hand upon his shoulder and he wheeled around.

"I told you, I don't--"

"--Wren's missing," Meria said breathlessly, and tears welled up below her eyes. Armand took a moment to digest this statement, then his eyes went wide.

"What do you mean she's missing?" he asked.

"She's gone. We haven't seen her since yesterday." Meria reached her knuckles to her face and pressed them into her lips. Her eyes squeezed shut and she shook her head a few times. "You aren't in trouble, just...please. Tell me where my daughter is."

Cold panic hit Armand like a sack of lead to the face. He nearly dropped his sword and looked around wildly as if by doing so she would suddenly appear, but alas, she did not. She could be anywhere. Killed. Kidnapped and stashed somewhere. 

Meria shook her head and a few tears rolled down her face. "You don't know, do you?"

"No," Armand responded. He couldn't help but think of Wren being shoved into a wagon and carted off somewhere for entertainment. He cringed inwardly and stared back toward the direction of the marketplace. His eyes widened as the realization hit him. There was one person he could ask. One person who had more control over her than anyone else. The question was why? Why would he make her disappear?

Armand didn't care. He turned away from Meria and started walking purposely in the direction of the marketplace. Griffon appeared seemingly out of nowhere, quickly caught up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. Armand's heart rate rose dramatically.

"Where do you think you're going?" Griffon asked as he wheeled him around.

"Leave me alone," Armand snapped as he shrugged it off, but Griffon just grabbed onto the hood of his cloak and stuck him in place. Armand's hands clenched into fists and he grit his teeth together.

"Let. Go."

Griffon shook his head and gestured back toward the guard tents with his hand. "I don't think so. Don't you think you're in enough trouble? I told you not to wander off."

Armand screamed internally and his jaw flexed. Griffon looked down at him with cool, impassive eyes. Armand's face got hot and his breath caught in his throat. They stared each other down for a moment, neither moving, until Armand shrugged the cloak off and left it hanging in Griffon's hands.

"Fine. Have it. Don't follow me."

Armand didn't wait for a response. He could picture the look on Griffon's face plenty fine enough without needing to look at him. Utter disappointment mixed with fury. But he knew his brother wouldn't follow. He had assignments in an hour and as much trouble as Armand might get himself into, skipping assignments would cause Griffon more. He didn't have to think about it for long, though, because his thoughts went immediately back to Wren. He still couldn't figure out why Elyn would do this.

He heard the marketplace before he saw it. It bustled with people dressed in brightly-colored cloaks and teemed with the smell of bread baking and meat drying. He scarcely noticed any of it as he continued on his way, down between the narrow rows of tents that held livestock and into the section where he knew he'd find the jewelry stand. 

He flipped open the tent flap and nearly toppled a box lined with rings inlaid with precious stones as he stormed inside. He wheeled his eyes around until they locked on the back of a head covered in a loose wave of unkempt black hair. Armand trudged up to him and grabbed him by the back of the neck. Elyn nearly took a necklace stand with him as he spun around.

"Where is she?" Armand demanded as he pinned the smaller boy to a nearby table by the neck. Elyn locked his cool, dark eyes on Armand, grabbed his hand, and pried the fingers loose from his collar. There was a stiff silence in the air for what felt like an eternity as Elyn stepped away and leaned against one of the tent posts.

"Don't touch me again," Elyn said.

Armand's heart raced and his breath came in shallow gasps. His hands shook and he reached out for Elyn again. The boy ducked out of the way and leaned against the counter. 

"Tell me what you did with her!"

Elyn raised an eyebrow and folded his arms. Armand wanted to wipe the smug look off his face and shove it down his throat.

"I haven't seen her, either. I have stuff to do," Elyn replied cooly. He turned his back to Armand, who lunged for him across the counter and dug his fingers into Elyn's arm. The kid should know better not to ever turn your back on someone with a weapon.

"I said, don't touch me," Elyn said. He winced a bit and tried to jerk his arm away, but Armand held fast and pushed him up against the countertop. His teeth clenched together so hard they hurt.

"Tell me where she is now," Armand spat. Elyn turned his head and used his other hand to pull at Armand's fingers. Armand did not loosen his grip on Elyn's arm.

"I told you, I have no idea," Elyn replied while fixing him with a stare completely devoid of any emotion whatsoever. Armand's shoulders sank and he released the boy's arm. Elyn rubbed it and pulled the fabric of his shirt back down into place. Armand didn't know what to say. He was positive Elyn would know. Why else would she run off?

"Did it ever occur to you that if she wanted you to know where she is, she would have told you?" Elyn asked. A cold, prickly feeling ran down Armand's throat and into his stomach. Why wouldn't she tell him? He thought back to their most recent conversation. She couldn't have been that mad...he hadn't even really meant it. Armand let out a deep sigh. He shook his head.

"No," he admitted. He picked absently at the cuticle on one of his thumbs. Elyn gave him an impassive look and scanned him for a moment before he shuffled back behind the counter. He picked up the necklace stand Armand had upended and began to place the ribbons of gold chain back onto it.

"You can leave any time now," Elyn said after what felt like eons went by in silence. Armand didn't need to be told twice. He turned and walked out of the tent and back into the marketplace, which somehow had gotten quieter while he was inside. The voices merchants shouting their wares seemed to ebb and flow through his ears like a stiff breeze. The clatter of carts and chaos of human bodies pressed against one another bled together until all he could hear was white noise.

He folded his arms and began walking in the direction of the guard tents. He couldn't say why, but everything seemed dimmer. The afternoon sun wasn't so hot or bright. Birds that usually floated through the air chasing each other seemed to stand still as they flew. Even the cacti and patches of scrub brush that popped up every few feet seemed less vibrant and alive.

 When he got back to the guard tent Griffon already stood outside their tent, waiting for him. Armand didn't look up. 

"We need to talk. Again."

"Leave me alone," Armand replied. He shoved his brother aside and crawled in. Griffon followed and put a hand on his shoulder. Armand resisted the temptation to smack him."You need to stop doing this."Armand let out a sarcastic laugh and settled into the corner of the tent. He fished his whetstone out of a pocket and began to go to work on the blade again.

"I'm serious," Griffon said.

"I know," Armand responded. "I don't give a shit anymore."

Griffon shook his head and put it into his hands. He ran his palms across his forehead and down his cheeks, as if he were just wiping his face after waking up from a long nap.

"I'm disappointed in you," Griffon said after a few seconds. Armand's eyes flickered a bit, then he returned to the sword as if he hadn't heard. At this point, he couldn't be surprised or even angry. It wasn't like everything he ever did or said wasn't a disappointment. Just tally this into the long line of things he'd already done.

Griffon didn't say anything else. Eventually he left the tent and Armand stopped working on the blade. He crawled into his pile of blankets and shut his eyes, even though he really didn't intend on sleeping at all. Maybe, in some faraway place, things were different. Maybe there he wouldn't make so many mistakes. 

It killed him inside.  

    ---

Armand is pretty worried. Should he taken it out on Elyn like he did, or should Elyn have just told him where she is? Things are getting pretty tense!