Sigmo, Arietes Orbis

    Adrastea kept her hand poised in the air as Daphne's scream echoed in her mind and for a moment she was in a shocked daze. The only thing on her mind had been to kill Hammond and nothing else mattered. Now she looked around at the cause of Daphne's hysterics and saw one of the palace guards, his temple bleeding excessively, holding a knife to Caelum's throat. 

    For the third time Adrastea had forgotten all about the little boy but for the first time she felt a real sensation of remorse surge through her body. What had he done to anyone? Nothing! What kind of  a person would drag a little boy into a war he did not belong in? Then, after a short moment, Adrastea realized that it was truly her fault. All this time Caelum had wanted to come with her, for some strange reason that she did not know, and now she had thoughtlessly led him into a death trap that someone so young should never have to face.

    "Caelum," Adrastea muttered, her grip loosening.

    Hammond breathed hard and ripped his arm away, angrily grabbing the dagger that was still poised in the air.

    "Who is the idiot now?" he asked, spitting with every angry sound.

    Adrastea did not care. She just stared at the forlorn boy in defeat. Hammond had been so close and even though Daphne had asked her not to, Adrastea knew that she would have killed the man. There was no mistaking it.

    Utterly defeated Adrastea gave up without a struggle, subjecting herself to the tight ropes that Hammond bound her hands with. Daphne put up a larger fight, spitting at Hammond with a string of curses that Adrastea heard but did not process, and the two of them were forced to their knees. Hammond then walked over to the palace guard and grabbed Caelum by the collar, shaking the boy around like a rag doll saying, "What great luck you are my boy!"

    That got Adrastea's blood boiling and she looked up at the man with flaming green eyes, the rain covering up the tears of anger and frustration that sprang up in them. 

    "Let go of him!" she shouted, fighting against the ropes. "He has nothing to do with us! You have no right!"

    "No right?" Hammond asked mockingly. "This boy saved my life. I only wish to thank him."

    The sky had turned even darker and now the clouds were almost a slate black, purple streaks of lightning shooting down and striking the ground. As the rain banged heavily on the boardwalk Daphne looked up at the sky, her mind slightly more clear than Adrastea's, and marveled at the spectacular site. Only minutes ago it had blue. The weather most certainly was not nice for the icy wind took care of that, but the sky itself had been blue with not a cloud in site.

    As Hammond shook him the boy clawed and kicked, fighting against the hard grip of the human to get away but to no avail. It was a useless effort.

    "Now," Hammond started again. "Which of you-"

    Suddenly there was a loud twang sound and an arrow sped through the air, burying itself in one of the guard's chest, killing him instantly. Not a second later another one flashed through the air and struck the second guard dead. Hammond looked about in shock and instantly the woods came alive, figures leaping out of every tree within five yard radius.

    One of them jumped out of an oddly placed birch and landed next to Adrastea who looked up is surprise to see the stone face of Miguel, pointing his thin but sharp blade at Hammond.

    "Drop him," Miguel ordered, his voice emotionless and flat but no less commanding.

    Hammond laughed nervously and let go of Caelum's collar, the boy falling to the boardwalk with a loud thump.

    "Move over there," Miguel said, waving his sword at the trunk of fur tree.

    Once again Hammond did as commanded, turning slowly with both hands up and heading across the boardwalk. Once he reached the tree two of the bandits grabbed hold of him roughly and began to hog-tie him to the trunk while two more quickly undid the ropes around Daphne and Adrastea's hands. 

    Both girls instinctively rushed over to Caelum who was so thin and pale he looked like something that had been dragged out of a hole in the ground.

     Miguel watched with a poker face but in his mind he was marveling at the site before and around him. He had seen everything take place and could have sworn that the moment Caelum screamed the storm appeared out of nowhere, and the second Hammond let go the rain subsided to a small drizzle. It seemed unnoticeable to Adrastea and Daphne who had been caught up in the moment, but to those observing it was too strange of a coincidence to let pass by.

    After Caelum was back on his feet Adrastea walked back to Miguel, bowing her head.

    "Thank you, Miguel," she said, the sincerity clear for once.

   Miguel bowed his head in a reply, saying nothing. Adrastea was used to this and paid it no heed, but something that puzzled caused the extent of their conversation.

   "Why did you not kill him?" she asked, a bitter tone in her voice.

   Miguel look at her with his cool black eyes and said in a matter-of-fact tone, "We were instructed not to."

   Adrastea furrowed her brow.

   "By who?"

   "By me," Evert's voice broke in.

   Turning around Adrastea saw the scout captain walking up the boardwalk towards her, his bow ready in one hand and a quiver on his back.

    "Why?" Adrastea asked again.

    "To find him you did wish," Evert replied. "But not for pleasant intent. I could see it in your face you hated him and the only person that I could think of that you would hate so much is the man who murdered your parents."

    Adrastea took no time to admire her old assistant bodyguard's impeccable foresight and simply looked up at him with confused eyes.

    "I still do not understand. Why not kill him?" she asked, the hatred still burning inside of her.

    Evert sighed and scratched the back of his neck. This was proving a lot harder to explain then he had anticipated.

    "The people still think that you killed the king and queen. Prove that you did not he could."

    "Care what the people think I do not," Adrastea said stubbornly.

    "I think you will later on. What happens if you kill him? Right, you fulfill your promise for revenge. But what comes after that? Your whole life you do have, you cannot just throw it away on a whim."

    Adrastea pressed her lips tightly together and stared into the trees. He had a point and she knew it, but that did not change her mind. Of course she never really took the time to think of life after she achieved her goal, but then again it was not something Adrastea worried about anymore. 

    "With everyday comes the possibility of dying, Evert," she said quietly. "I must do things quickly so as not to waste any time."

    "Or comes living. What if you remain a live for many years after this? You will be known as the girl who killed her parents for the rest of your life. It will never leave you alone...Besides, Hammond was only a small pawn. Who do you think hired him?"

    Adrastea stopped there. She had never thought about that. Of course it made perfect sense. Why would Hammond want to kill the king and queen of a more or less harmless kingdom on an island across the ocean? The fact that there was someone else behind it made her even more angry and decidedly more determined to find out who it was. That they could be walking around free of any punishment infuriated her.

    Yet still, her desire to do justice on Hammond lingered inside of her, but it was slowly growing smaller.

    "Who would do that?" Adrastea muttered.

    Now this is where Evert began to feel the dilemma inside of him. Of course who knew who had hired Hammond, almost everyone in Arietes knew deep down that Haldit was the real culprit, but to Adrastea that might prove to be the wrong course of action. But then again, she was the daughter and almost died herself. She deserved to know and was old enough to make her own decisions. Deciding to put his faith in the princess Evert took a deep breath and said, "Your Uncle."

    Adrastea turned her head to look at Evert, a confused expression on her face.

    "But why..." she started, but her sentence trailed off when she realized how much sense that made.

    Haldit wanted the kingdom so he disposed of the king and queen and framed Adrastea, but it was a shaky plan considering he had left her alive.  It was always dangerous to leave people alive that would talk, even if it was not likely that they would or that anyone would believe them. 

    "You see?" Evert said, recognizing the realization in her eyes. "And the whole of it that is not. For the past year people have tried to bring you back, you did say. Why only this past year? Why not when you first went missing?"

    It did strike Adrastea as odd as well, but she was not sure where Evert was leading her.

    "So?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

    "What I am trying to say is that looking for you Haldit is. Not to kill you though. Something from you he does need."

    That struck a cord. With those words Adrastea felt a cold chill run up her spine and she froze, staring off into nothing.

    "Do you know what that could be?" Evert asked.

    Adrastea shook her head. She tried to remember something that would be of use to Haldit both nothing sprang to mind. The whole incident had been erased from her mind for so long that everything a foggy twisted mess inside her head, trying to sort itself out.

    "An idea I have not," Adrastea replied.

    Evert sighed once more in defeat. Wren and him had spent most of the ship ride over trying to figure out what it could but nothing came to mind. In all respects Haldit should have killed Adrastea off long ago before she had the chance to figure things out on her own. So why was he letting her live?

    "We must go," Miguel broke in.

    He had left a man on either side of the road a ways out to spot anyone coming and one of them had returned, saying a couple palace guards were on the way. 

    Evert nodded and turned to Daphne and Caelum.

    "Come, we have to leave," he said urgently.

    Daphne nodded and quickly hoisted Caelum onto her back, disturbed by how easy the maneuver was. Once this was all over she was going to buy him about twenty stuffed sandwiches.

    "Where will we go?" Adrastea asked.

    "They have a hideout near here," Evert explained, motioning towards Miguel and his men who were busy untying Hammond from the tree. "We must hide there until everything else is figured out."

    Not a moment too soon the group headed off into the trees, trudging along silently through the ferns and bushes until they came to a small encampment circling a large fire pit. Most of the tents were of uniform size except for one at the very back with a red scarf tied to a stick in the ground that Adrastea recognized as Abene's.

    "Is Abene here?" she asked, turning to Miguel.

    The man nodded and Adrastea felt her spirits rise. It had only been a half a month or so since she had last seen the bubbly woman, but it seemed so much longer than that. 

    "Go get some sleep," Evert said. "They sent a message to Wren so it will be a while before we can really discuss things."

    Adrastea nodded and quickly ran around the camp to the big tent, the light from inside pouring out through the cracks in the canvas doorway. Daphne tried to keep up but also did not want to wake the sleeping Caelum so more or less she strode along with the intention of going faster, but not actually doing so.

    Adrastea lifted the canvas flap and the second she did a feminine voice rang out "AULE!" and a tall olive skinned woman flew out the door in a flurry of color, her bracelets banging together like chimes. 

    "Hello Abene," Adrastea greeted as the woman flung her arms around the girl. "How have you been?"

    "Oh it has just been terrible without you!" Abene exclaimed, waving her hands about. Have I ever told you how difficult it is to have fun with my brothers?"

    "Many times," Adrastea replied, a slight smile tipping the corners of her mouth.

   "Oh, it is ridiculous! They-" Abene started but stopped when she laid her black eyes on Daphne. "Who is this?"

    "This is Daphne," Adrastea introduced them. "Daphne this is Abene. She is the sister of Miguel and Didac Pavia."

    Abene ran over to Daphne and almost gave her a giant hug before she saw the sleeping boy on her back.

    "Oh the poor bambino!" she exclaimed. "Come, bring him in. He must be so tired to sleep like that!"

    Daphne entered the tent as Abene ushered her in, holding the canvas flap open with one arm and waving the other about in the air.

     "You can put him on the bed," she said, entering with Adrastea.

     Daphne sat down on the edge and carefully pulled Caelum's arms away from her neck and laid him down on the feather mattress, throwing a wool blanket over him after making sure it would not be too warm.

     "Oh you girls must be so tired as well," Abene said, hurrying over to one of the tent that had a big wooden chest. "I shall fix you up something nice to eat and then you can go to sleep."

     Adrastea and Daphne exchanged amused glances and thanked Abene pleasantly, each taking a seat at the table in the middle of the tent. It was no lie that they were both hungry and any food sounded good to them, but the tortillas and beans that Abene mixed up for them along with the fried and seasoned vegetables seemed a little extravagant, and that was not counting the two glasses of wine that were placed in front of both girls.

    "There is nothing better to put one to sleep than a glass of wine," Abene laughed, pouring both of them a glass. "Now I shall leave you to eat. I must speak with my brother."

    And with that she was out of the tent and away with the blink of an eye. After she had left Daphne leaned back in her chair and took a deep breath, flowing a curl out of her breath.

    "My goodness!" she laughed. 

    A ghost of a smile appeared on Adrastea's face but she was too deep in thought to really notice anything going on. What Evert said made a lot of sense and since then she had spent every minute trying to recall what had happened that night. She remembered going down the stairs and into the hall of the king and queen's royal chambers. She remembered hearing shouts and then tiptoeing to the door where she peaked in through the keyhole. The queen was going through the desk while the king was arguing with someone. There was a man in the room with a dagger, her dagger, he was going to kill them but had not done it yet. Why not?

    "Why did he wait?" Adrastea muttered.

    "Hmm?" Daphne looked up from her food with raised eyebrows.

    "Why did he wait to kill them? Why not wait till they were asleep and do it then? It would have been far easier."

    "What?"

    Then it hit her. 

    "He needed the paper!" Adrastea exclaimed, standing abruptly and knocking her chair over.

    "What?" Daphne asked again, utterly confused.

    "Hammond did not kill my parents in there sleep. He was talking with my father about something. I clearly remember mother saying that she would never tell. My Uncle wanted the throne but killing off the king and queen would not be enough. Teo would get the throne in three years and if was killed then I would get it. Of course he could have killed both of us but then there would be no one to pin the blame on...But why not kill Teo and leave me?..." 

    Adrastea began to pace, one hand on her chin in a thoughtful manner. Daphne watched patiently as the princess continued to walk back and forth, occasionally shaking her head and mentally starting over. 

    Then she stopped.

    "The paper," Adrastea whispered.

   "The what?"

   "The paper!" she repeated, slamming her palm onto her forehead. "How could I have forgotten!"

    "Forgotten what?" Daphne asked, still confused.

   "Before my mother died she hid a paper behind a loose brick in the fireplace. That must be what my Uncle is looking for. He must think that I know where it is that's why he's been keeping me alive!" Adrastea explained. "Come on!"

    "Well shouldn't we tell Evert?" Daphne asked, getting up.

    Adrastea stopped by the door and paused in her mad dash.

    "No," she shook her head. "He needs rest and I do not wish to bother him until I know."

   With that she left the tent and Daphne followed, the two girls skirting the camp quietly and heading off down the road towards Ellestar.

        Meanwhile in camp Wren came riding up to the fireplace at a hard gallop, jumping off the horse before it had even come to a stop.

    "Where are the girls?" he asked breathlessly.

    "In the tent they are, why?" Evert replied, standing up from his dinner. 

    "That human Daphne," Wren breathed heavily. "Recognize her I thought I did. Back before I left for Satis I was keeping a close eye on Haldit with my son. Both him and I saw Daphne speaking with Haldit many times. I cannot understand why I did not recognize her before."

    Evert wasted no time and jumped over the bench he was sitting on, running over to the tent and tearing the flap off the door only to see Caelum sleeping soundly on the feather mattress and the empty dishes lying on the table.