SciFi and Fantasy Stories: Return to Me: Chapter Three

            The following morning, Analaeia walked to the Wingéd Rider compound to meet Kaelimine.  It was easier to be inconspicuous when she joined him, instead of the other way around.  Fewer townspeople ever made their way down to that end of the city than did ones pass by the Palace. 

            It was a pleasant, mid-autumn morning.  It was early and the grass still dewy, the air warm and moist, a last reminder of a fading summer, yet not quite a premonition of winter.

            Analaeia found Kaelimine waiting at the fence, bent at the half and leaning his arms on it and watching her approach.  Even with the sun at a certain angle which kept her from seeing his exact facial expression, she knew he was smiling, which in turn made a smile spread onto her face.  She quickened her pace. 

            “And where are the other Riders, this morning?” she inquired as she approached; the field was empty. 

            “Day of resting,” Kaelimine said.  “Most of them have gone to their homes, and those who have not are still sleeping.”  He was still leaning on the fence, looking up at her.  She smiled slightly and put a hand on his head, lacing her fingers into his hair.  He sensed something was amiss; she seemed distracted.  “What is it?” he asked quietly. 

            Analaeia furrowed her brow and briefly looked off into the distance.  “Nothing,” she said.  Then, she reconsidered.  “Just Tyaro.  He’s such a bother.  He was acting strangely last night.”

            “This is new?” Kaelimine quipped.  Analaeia smirked and sat on the fence beside him. 

            “More than usual,” she said quietly.  Kaelimine raised his eyes to her, waiting for her to go on.  “No, it’s nothing.  He just mentioned a lot of things last night that were surprising.”

            “For instance?”

            Analaeia looked down at him.  “You.”  Kaelimine frowned.  He could see why that would be disconcerting.  “As detestable as he is, he has never mentioned your name before, in front of me at least.  I’m certain, though, the he has brought you up to my father and my uncle at some point…probably after the incident in the gardens.”

            He looked up at her, furrowing his brow.  Analaeia paused a moment, waiting for him to recollect the event.  “It was raining, do you remember?  From what I recall, you suffered a broken nose from your…gallivanting.”  She smiled.

            Kaelimine chuckled and lowered his head.  “Oh yes.”  He did in fact remember the event, acutely.  Three years earlier, on the eve of his promotion to Captain, he had been invited to the palace to dine with the King.  Naturally, Analaeia was there, and having just jump-started their relationship mere weeks before, the two escaped to the gardens for a youthful, albeit immature, frolic—one that was, however, upon the suggestion of Analaeia.  Unbeknownst to the couple, two palace guards happened upon them and mistook Kaelimine for a vagrant stranger and assumed the worst.  This was also the situation that brought Tyaro into both their lives; Kaelimine was haphazardly brought to the palace prison whereupon Analaeia was forced to explain the situation to Tyaro, and begged him not breathe a word of it to her father.  In the meantime, however, the palace guards—doing what they do best—had broken Kaelimine’s nose in the confusion, though perhaps did a little bit more damage to his pride.  He was indeed hard-pressed to come up with an explanation for the event.

He looked back up at her, smiling.  “That was your fault.” 

            Analaeia gasped in mock horror.  “It was not.” 

            Kaelimine grinned.  “It was.”  Then he attacked, seizing Analaeia under her knees and tipping her backwards over the fencepost, only to catch her and hoist her into his arms.  Analaeia instinctively grabbed for something to keep from falling, and caught Kaelimine’s shirt collar.  She looked up at him and smiled.  There was nothing more in the world she could ask for. 

            She put the thought of Tyaro out of her mind.

~*~

            Two months went by.  And although neither Kaelimine nor Analaeia gave a second thought to the absurdity of it, there was not a word from Tyaro.  He was present at the palace daily, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary, even for him.  The autumn came and left Cairndale, bringing the first snows of the season that fell heavily upon the surrounding woods near the city, but leaving Cairndale the worst for later.

Kaelimine and the Wingéd Riders were preparing for a journey to the neighboring city of Two Rivers for a sort of consortium with the neighboring cities and villages.  King Taemar and his brother Kiirar would be attending.  Kaelimine had planned to send Ti’lan with the rest of the Riders a day ahead of him, and he would stay behind in Cairndale to finish various paperwork and other things that he would need to finish before embarking on the journey, which would take him out of Cairndale for a week. 

            The day before the Riders were set to embark, Analaeia came upon Tyaro in a peculiar situation.  As she descended the stairs into the main hall, she spotted him at the far end of the hall, speaking with a large, brutish man whom she had never seen before.  Immediately upon seeing them, she doubled back and moved back up the steps, in a place so as to not be seen but to hear perfectly. 

            “And the plan is set?  All arrangements have been made?”  Tyaro said.  There was no response, but Analaeia could glean that the man had nodded or otherwise made some similar action.  “Good.  I will be waiting for you near the compound.  They are leaving tomorrow, but he will be staying behind a day.”

            Analaeia furrowed a brow upon hearing his words.  What?  Tyaro’s words made a rock drop into her stomach. 

            Just then, Analaeia’s handmaiden and close friend, Laurelin, appeared at the top of the stairs, looking for her.  “Oh, ’Nalie, there you—” but she stopped as Analaeia quickly jumped the two or three steps up to her and put a hand over her mouth to quiet her.  The elf held her hand over her friend’s mouth as she continued to listen, but Tyaro had fallen silent.  Fearing that he had heard Laurelin and thus given her away, Analaeia grabbed Laurelin’s arm and ran down the hall into her chambers. 

            Analaeia bade her friend keep silent for a minute or two.  Then, confident that Tyaro would not be coming after her, she opened the door and peered out. 

            “What is it?”  Laurelin demanded.

            “I just heard Tyaro say something peculiar, is all,” Analaeia said as she looked out the doorway.  “Did you see him?  With that man?”  Laurelin shook her head. 

            Analaeia wasn’t certain what was going on, but she was unnerved by it.  After those two months without a mention of Kaelimine, she was almost certain that Tyaro’s words had been about him, and not in a good way.  For a moment a desperate thought entered her head that he might not be safe, and she knew immediately she had to see him.  Amidst Laurelin’s protestations, Analaeia dashed back into her room, donned a cloak, and then ran down the stairs.

            When she reached the bottom and turned the corner, she collided directly with Tyaro.  Knocked back a few steps and startled, Analaeia quickly tried to get out of his way without speaking to him.  She kept going as if it hadn’t happened.

            “Running off, are you?”  Tyaro said as she made her way to the door.  Analaeia refused to look back, but if she had, she would have seen a decidedly nasty smile on his face.

            Instead she ran directly toward the Wingéd Rider compound.  There were no Riders about, all inside the barracks resting before their day of travel.  Although she rarely if ever simply walked into the compound, the fearful note in her heart bade her do so.  Inside, she was greeted by no one, and went directly for Kaelimine’s office.  The door was ajar and she pushed it open.

            Inside, Kaelimine was sitting behind his desk talking with Ti’lan.  They both turned their heads as the door opened.  Kaelimine stood up, very surprised to see her.  Instantly, though, he could see that something was wrong.

            “Forgive the intrusion,” Analaeia said, more to Ti’lan than to Kaelimine.  Ti’lan rose, also sensing that something was amiss.  He knew Analaeia just as well as Kaelimine did; he had in fact been the one to accidentally introduce the two.  Although his affection for her had not worked out as well as he would have liked in the beginning, the two had still remained friends despite the former awkwardness.

            “I’ll go,” Ti’lan said to Kaelimine, who nodded.  Ti’lan went to exit the room and smiled at Analaeia, even took her hand and squeezed it, warranting a smile from her, before leaving.  Analaeia shut the door.

            “What is it?”  Kaelimine asked quietly.  Analaeia took a moment and pulled in a breath; she suddenly felt very out of place.  Feeling almost as though she had rushed over for nothing, she put her hands to her forehead in frustration.

            “I’m not sure…I feel almost silly now…” she murmured.  Kaelimine furrowed a brow; the hesitation was unlike her.  She crossed the room to his desk, still frustrated. 

            “Something happened,” Kaelimine said to her, trying to glean any bit of information he could.  He sat on the edge of his desk and looked at her.  “Or you would not have come all this way.” 

            Analaeia sighed and stared at the ceiling.  “Tyaro…” she murmured.  Kaelimine rose an eyebrow.  “He said something…I overheard him say something, and it has me worried…I’m frightened.”  She told Kaelimine what she had overheard Tyaro say to the stranger in the hall, and he watched her with an impassive expression on his face.  When she finished, his expression had not changed, but a note of unease had dropped into his heart, and he too was worried.  He thought, for a moment, that she was concerned about his journey to Two Rivers.

            “Are you worried of my leaving?” he asked.  Analaeia shook her head; she had not in truth been apprehensive of Kaelimine’s journey.  “You worry about being left alone with him.”  Analaeia bit her lip and nodded.  She ran her hands through her hair and sighed in frustration.  Kaelimine reached toward her and grasped her around the waist, pulling her to him.  He put his arms around her and rested his head against her chest.  “You’ll be all right,” he said quietly. 

            “He has a plan, something’s going to happen,” Analaeia said as she rested her head against Kaelimine’s.  “Something to do with you.”  Then, she paused and lifted her head, then shook it.  “No…I’m stupid.  He wouldn’t.” 

            Kaelimine looked up at her.  “He wouldn’t,” he said.  Analaeia studied him, and then nodded, confident that he was right.  Nothing would happen.  It couldn’t.  Kaelimine smiled and kissed her lips gently.  “Put it out of your mind.  You can make it home fine?”  Analaeia nodded.  She grinned and squeezed his hand, then kissed him again.

            “Call on me tomorrow,” she said as she went to leave. 

            “Of course.”  He smiled as she left.  As he sat there in silence, it started to fade.  After a few minutes, Ti’lan reentered the room.  Kaelimine shook the unsettling conversation from his mind.  Ti’lan asked if everything was all right.  The Captain rose from the edge of the desk and cleared his throat.  “Yes.”  He crossed the room to the window and looked out.  He was silent.

            Then, “Kael?” 

            “She’s upset over Tyaro.  Seems she overheard him mention something about a “plan”.  She thinks he’s out to kill me.  It’s…”

            “Absurd.”

            “Exactly.” 

            Ti’lan frowned, trying to wrap his brain around the bizarre situation.  He thought a moment, and then voiced the obvious:  “Why would Tyaro want to kill you?” 

            In truth, Kaelimine was hard pressed to find an answer.  He shook his head.  “I have no idea.  I know he fancies Analaeia, but I can hardly think he would be stupid enough to consider killing me.  Not as the advisor to the King.  He’s too close to the Royal Family, Analaeia included.  Someone would find out,” Kaelimine sighed.  He was more worried by the fact that Analaeia was upset by it than the fact that Tyaro may be out to kill him.  It didn’t make much sense. 

            “I’m sure it’s nothing,” Ti’lan said.  Kaelimine looked at his friend and nodded. 

            He put the thought of Tyaro out of his mind.

~*~

            Analaeia trudged back to the palace not quite certain what she was feeling.  On the one hand, she was certain that what she had heard Tyaro say was about Kaelimine.  On the other hand though, she figured perhaps she had overreacted once she realized that he had never actually said anything about killing anybody.  Nonetheless, it still bothered her, but she was confident that it was nothing.  It couldn’t be. 

            As she started up the steps of the palace, twilight was starting to descend, and a few vagrant snowflakes accompanied it.  They floated to the earth lazily, without a purpose.  She vaguely wished she could feel the same. 

            When she stepped inside, she met her father, who was crossing the hall.  “My dear,” he said, a touch of worry in his voice.  “Tyaro said you’d run out.  Is everything all right?” 

            Analaeia wished he had not spoken the man’s name.  Hearing it spoken aloud put more doubt into her heart.  She refrained from frowning.  “Yes.  I needed some air, is all,” she murmured quietly. 

            Kiirar smiled at his daughter.  “He has promised to look after you while we are away.”  He leaned in and embraced her, kissing her cheek.  As he did, Analaeia rolled her eyes up in repressed annoyance.  The last thing I need, she mused.  “I promise, you’ll hardly have even realized we’ve gone.” 

            “I’ll be fine,” she said as she pulled away from her father.  “Without Tyaro.” 

            As she spoke his name, he appeared.  She looked over her father’s shoulder and saw him standing at the end of the hall complacently, hands folded into his robes.  She shivered.  Quickly, she kissed her father’s cheek and skirted around him, then dashed up the stairs to get Tyaro out of her sight as quickly as possible. 

            She stayed in her chambers for the next several hours, left alone with her thoughts.  Laurelin came and went several times and provided a useful distraction, but each time she left it was of the same result.  As the night hours fell and darkness crept over Cairndale, Analaeia tried to sleep, but found it would not come.  She was too frustrated and upset by Tyaro, and worried also about Kaelimine, though she knew not why.

            At some early hour of the morning, sometime after midnight, Analaeia rose and exited her room and padded down to the main hall for some air.  She stood in the main hall: wide, empty, and dark, and felt the presence of someone.  She turned and could see no one, even in the light flooding in from the windows.  She pulled in a deep breath and tried to listen.  There was nothing.  Only silence, and the sound of her own breathing.  She was scaring herself.  She looked back to the window.  Nothing, only darkness.

            When she turned around, Tyaro was standing beside her. 

            Analaeia’s heart jumped up into her throat.  She brought a hand up to her mouth to keep from screaming in fright as she stumbled back several steps.  Tyaro didn’t move.

            “Out of bed, so late?”  he said quietly.

            “Why do you do that?”  Analaeia whispered angrily.  “What do you want from me?” 

            “I believe I’ve made that answer quite clear several times, Lady,” Tyaro replied calmly.  Analaeia growled in response.

            “Leave me alone, Tyaro.  I beg of you, leave me alone.  I do not yearn your heart, and I never will.  I wish only that you go away,” she snarled, her voice barely a whisper.  Tyaro was silent for a while.  Attempting to calm her pounding heart, Analaeia placed a hand over her chest and turned away, pulling in a deep, calming breath.  Then she paused and added, “And I beg that you leave the Captain alone as well.” 

            “The Captain, is it?”  Tyaro sneered.  “So ceremonial, so formal.  You speak as though you hardly know him.”

            “I wish that he remain that way to you,” Analaeia said, her back turned to the man.  “He is nothing more to you than the Captain, and shall remain so.”  Then, without another word, she started to head for the stairs to return to her room.  Tyaro watched her. 

            As she touched the first step, he said, “Speaking of the Captain…”  Analaeia paused.  “I think you’ll want to take a good look at him, the next time you see him.  For formality’s sake.”    Analaeia turned.  A violent shudder ran down her spine.  In the darkness, she saw Tyaro smile at her.  “Good night, Lady.” 

            A sudden intense fear gripped Analaeia and she turned and did not hesitate to run up the stairs.  She had to get away from him or he would drive her mad.  He seemed positively intent on driving her mad. 

            She could not, as much as she tried, put the thought of Tyaro out of her mind.