"I guess the truth is that the truth is of complex design."
(Sleeping At Last: Pacific Blues)

The doors had barely clicked shut behind Andor, when Drakon's voice came drawling from the side "Why in such a hurry?"

Andor did not bother to look at him. "I am done. That is all!" he called over his shoulder. His words were clipped, his composure nearly in shreds, but he needed to hold on, keep his calm until he had left the palace behind. Not even the city's relative anonymity could make him feel safe enough to let go all that threatened to suffocate him.

He rushed through the hallways, ignoring the curious stares of guards and servants alike as he passed them. Everything felt so horribly wrong, the threadbare veil of righteousness not nearly enough to conceal the cruelty of his deed. Even the thought of his little brother and his friends could not wash away the guilt that seeped into his heart like venom.

How was he supposed to carry his success like a victory banner, when there was so little honour to be found in tricking an unsusceptible human into freely offering up her life? He felt rather ashamed of his own ability, the daunting ease with which he had completed his task. The words of praise from Xanthos were an unwanted stain he wished to be cleansed of.

"Wait! Don't you want your weapons back?" a familiar voice boomed from behind. Andor stopped dead in his tracks, realising that he was about to storm from the palace without having collected them.

He turned around and the twins approached him, wearing their identical smirks, Andor's bow and quiver tucked under Kando's arm, Roiben casually twirling Andor's knife.

"Yes, of course," Andor said with as much nonchalance as he could muster, preparing himself for yet another trial in this never ending night, but to his surprise they handed him his weapons without another word.

He frowned, his gaze darting from Kando to Roiben, expecting this to be just a new variation of an old trick.

"So, you are just going to give them to me? What happened to you both wanting to have fun?"

Andor took the quiver from Kando, quickly counting the arrows before strapping it to his back.

Roiben shrugged. "I guess we've had our share of fun tonight already."

Andor only managed an attempt at a crooked smile. Perhaps they had indeed gotten tired of their own sport or they pitied him. Either way it did not matter, as long as it meant that he would not be delayed any further.

"And we didn't take any of your arrows." Kando raised his eyebrow.

"I'm just making sure." Andor took his bow and adjusted its fit as he slung it around his shoulder.

"Don't stretch your luck though. We can still change our minds." Roiben dangled Andor's knife out of reach.

"I have no doubt about that," Andor was quick to respond, and even quicker in catching his knife before it would hit the floor when Roiben dropped it without a warning.

It was high time that he got away from them, before they would recover their appetite for making him taste another one of their unsavoury pranks. He stored the knife in his belt and with the briefest of muttered thank-yous he was gone.

Andor left behind the palace grounds, speeding down the narrow and deserted alleys leading towards the southern gate of Valantes, eager to trade the confines of the city for the forest's familiar embrace. The night wind rustled through the branches of Atunar above, the leaved dome painting a flickering web of inky black dots on the stones.

That was when he felt a slight shift in his surroundings. At first it seemed to be only a disturbance in the air, until it became clear that this was no mere bodiless wind. From the corner of his eye he noticed a dark shape flitting through the shadowy alley behind him. Someone was following him, quietly and with persistence, not close enough to be a threat, yet slowly catching up despite Andor's long stride. There were no footsteps to be heard, but he was no fool. A master of stealth himself, he could sense the presence of another being even before it would show itself.

He increased his pace without breaking into a full run, keeping his eyes ahead, his ears intent on picking up anything unusual that might give away the nature of his pursuer. Only the lonely barking of a dog sounded in the distance. The ominous figure melted from one shadow to the next like liquid darkness. It drew closer, invisible eyes boring into his back. Looking over his shoulder he saw fleeting specks of gold dancing through the ink black night. If this was a weapon, he better be prepared.

Andor reached around for his knife, tightening his grip around the hilt as he pulled it out slowly from his belt. His bow would be of no use if it came to an attack, as this was going to be a fight of close combat, something he thoroughly detested. The unbidden image of Gilren flashed through his mind and a sinking feeling settled in his stomach.

Andor slowed his pace, knife levelled in front of him, his eyes scanning every doorway and empty alley around him. All appeared quiet and deserted, but Andor knew very well that ominous silence led more often than not to an unexpected attack. A powerful presence encircled him like a storm cloud and it made his skin prickle in nervous anticipation.

He stopped in his tracks, raising his knife higher, the silvery blade glinting as he turned around slowly. Not far off there was the remote squabble of a couple arguing, the sudden banging of a door putting an end to their bickering. Andor willed himself to remain calm, despite the little hairs on his neck standing on end, and then he finally called into the deceptive emptiness around him.

"Who is there? Show yourself!"

His own echo was the only answer he got, but then Andor could make out the faint rustling of cloth. He whipped around, his knife ready to strike.

"What do you want?"

"A moment of your time," answered a familiar voice and then Serande emerged from the shadows like an angry thunderhead.

"You?" Andor took a step back, letting his knife sink, hoping that the darkness might conceal the embarrassment dawning on his face.

"Yes, me," she said slightly out of breath, crossing her arms in front of her chest. She glowered at him like a mother would at her child that had attempted to slip away from his daily bath. "I have been trying to catch up with you, but you kept running away from me as if you had all the dragons of Kendar breathing down your neck," she chided, eyebrows raised, one foot tapping on the ground. "You were so eager to leave the palace, that I had no choice but to follow you like a thief in the night. And believe me, chasing you through half of Valantes is not my idea of a quiet night. You are much too quick on your feet for a respectable lady like me."

If he had been embarrassed before, now he did feel indeed like a misbehaving child. This whole task had clearly left his nerves more wracked than what he had initially dared to admit to himself. He was beginning to see threats where there obviously were none.

"I-I am sorry," he stuttered, quickly stowing away his knife. "I did not know it was you. I just wanted to get away from-," he broke off. "I just want to go home," he corrected himself, his shoulders sinking.

"I know this is what you want and you shall be able to do so very soon." Serande said, her anger gradually ebbing away. "And I promise not to keep you for long, but there is something of great urgency that I need to converse with you; not here though. I would like you to briefly accompany me to my house."

Andor blinked and looked at her with disbelief. "Now? Can this not wait until tomorrow?" He really wasn't keen on extending his stay in Valantes any longer than necessary.

Her gaze suddenly turned to stone. "No, it cannot."

Andor swallowed his reply and with it the urge to keep arguing.

"Fine," he said, trying to not let his resignation show too much.

"It is not far from here as you know and I will prepare one of my very special teas for you. Does that sound promising enough?" she added on a friendlier note, her golden headdress swaying slightly as she tilted her head.

"Yes, it does." Andor nodded. He didn't really have a choice after all. "Lead the way."