Two Fae Youngsters

Chapter 8

Sorry people for the late update. I was working on the other fanfic (Dark and Light.) and it takes me forever to write the first chapter.
    This might have some extra typos as I haven't read it even once. Now I won't delay any further. Hope you enjoy this.

  "Is today's training also going to be as futile as yesterday?" Rowan asked while rolling his eyes. A week had passed since their encounter with the skinwalkers and still Aelin was her usual stubborn self . 
"I don't do it on purpose you bastard" returned Aelin with a smirk. 
Before Rowan could say something Malakai walked up to them.
"Found another body by the stream at the north western bank to be precise,  thought you would like to know, prince besides Gavriel isn't available. " said Malakai and left.
Malakai knew it wasn't Rowan's place to investigate,  he probably was just attempting to save Aelin still he had a point,  Rowan shouldn't be sitting on his ass while Gavriel was missing. 
" I am going to check the scene. As it is, training is nothing but a waste of time. You might as well put yourself to some use by helping in the kitchen. " Rowan said.
"Hey " Aelin protested. " You can't just leave me here also as far as I recall this was Gavriel's duty."
"Can't you see, he might be in trouble."
"He's Gavriel, Rowan . One of the most powerful fae in existence. What could possibly hurt him. He probably got tired of us and went back to Doranelle." Aelin muttered .
"Last I checked I had authority over you and not the reverse so please for your own sake. Back. Off."Rowan growled 
" Maybe you need me. I doubt you have ever been to any investigations before. Warriors generally don't do this stuff. I might come in handy with it. I was an assassin after all." Proposed Aelin. And with that they launched into another wordless conversation.

So much concern out of nowhere princess? Tired of being the Scullery Maid?

Shut up. People are dying

He almost wanted to taunt her about being an assassin and killing people herself. Then again she was right. No matter how unfortunate it was Rowan had to concede into taking her along. 
   As always Aelin refused to shift so it took all of eternity to cover a few miles. On reaching the riverside Rowan wished that Aelin had been ten times slower than she had been because the sight which they beheld was horrendous. 
    At the edge of the river was a demi fae or more like the husk of one . Only sign of injury was a nosebleed but his face was leached out of colour, his body light enough to sway with the wind. The unearthly reek in the air wasn't washed away despite the fast wind and river current. Rowan was tempted to turn around,  puke and run as fast as he could, the only thing that held him in place was the princess… no not princess, an assassin. 
   Her eyes searching the place for evidence— taking in every detail while one of her hands covered her nose and mouth, apparently the smell was too strong for even human senses to bear. It took him a moment to comprehend that Aelin was no longer looking at the body instead she was glaring at him.
Stop gawking, prince before I rip your eyeballs out of the sockets . Haul your ass up here.

What am I even supposed to do?

Says the person who was coming here alone. Duh. I thought you had more common sense than that.Observe.
 
   Rowan didn't reply,  he was seriously embarrassed now. First gaping then arguing,  had Gavriel been here he would have given Rowan some good beating for being such a jerk. Instead of thinking about it Rowan closed in and followed Aelin's lead . 
"Rowan" Aelin said." Do you know how to read old language?"
"Yeah but how is it of any relevance now?" 
"Come over and look for yourself. " Rowan moved around to face Aelin and found her crouched with a piece of paper in her hand. He started shaking, before even looking at it he knew what it meant still he took it from Aelin hoping that he would be wrong. 
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R.W. today I am setting out to hunt the creatures causing all this . It is the creature from the barrows except there are more of its kind. If you are reading this you know what it means . Run to my chamber , you'll find the clues but don't involve Maeve as she wouldn't risk anything for demi faes. Hope you wouldn't leave them helpless son.
2/5
G.
                             

Rowan read the letter out loud. Son!?!? Celaena knew that Rowan and Gavriel are close but son… it explained Rowan's visible distress . The note was clear enough for Celaena to connect the dots. Despite Rowan's reaction she asked, "How can we be sure it is Gavriel?"
"He taught me how to slip notes before being captured. He had 3 simple rules 

Format:

 details about enemy —> Plan —> date

No names only initials 

Old language only.

The content is the same but I was instructed to report any such thing to Lorcan immediately, now that Maeve is to be left out, he isn't an option. " Rowan replied. He buried his head in his palms and sat there for a while. 
"We will figure something out , prince. First let's go to Gavriel's room but before that let's burn this body."
"Aelin,  the letter is dated 2 /5, that is a week ago, we can't waste any more time."
" I am not leaving it to rot here. Would you want someone else to witness this terrible site?"
Rowan shook his head in response and waited till Celaena could start a fire. They waited till nothing but ash remained. 
   For the first time Celaena felt ashamed of her inability to shift. Every second was important and in such a situation  her mortal slowness was delaying them by hours. No wonder how much she hated Maeve or Gavriel or Rowan , no one deserved to die at the hands of something so horrible. 
    Though covered in sweat neither of them cared to hit the baths instead they ran to Gavriel's room.  To Celaena's surprise the room was well organized. A four poster bed was lying in the center, one of the corners housed a table and a chair with a window beside while the other corner was occupied by a dresser and closet. Celaena was expecting a room littered with maps and other proofs but now there was nothing to look at. Rowan walked up to the closet and opened one of the doors revealing a whole spider web of locations with notes sticking out of each red cross. Obviously he knew where to look .
"Gavriel couldn't figure out their location, these notes are just a brief description of each scene." Rowan remarked.
"May I?" Had the situation been any different Celaena would have expected a good fight and a lecture on prying but now, Rowan  moved aside in response. 
Celaena and Rowan analyzed each and every detail and were most likely starting the map for the better part of an hour. 
"The assassin is sending a message,Rowan." Celaena pointed out . The puzzled look on his face made Celaena continue. " By no means are the murders being committed on site , some one's dumping the bodies on river banks ."
" Why would anyone do that?"
"There can be two reasons either to send a message or to distract us from their original location or maybe both." Celaena explained. 
"What are we supposed to do now ? The possibility of Cadre coming to our aid is eliminated. We practically have no point to start and Gavriel is gone."
"We wait. All the targets were demi faes. The killer has no interest in pure breeds besides it would know better than to waste someone like Gavriel instead of using him as leverage. It can demand the whole fortress and Maeve would surrender them in a blink and you know it deep down."
Despite the anger , Rowan couldn't counter Celaena . 
"Are we supposed to rely on the killer's sense alone? " shouted Rowan in response. 
" Do you have any better ideas? " Rowan's lips were pressed in a tight line. " Look , Rowan I understand that you are worried about him but we are out of options, the only thing we have over those shitty creatures is the element of surprise. The last thing we want to do is lose it because of our stupidity.  I hate to admit this but we both know it would turn us into husk even before we have the time to even raise our swords. Let's first figure out what we are up against , what are its weaknesses then plan something. We are in it together and we will find a way out." 
"WE ? There is no WE.  You don't give a damn about Gavriel or anyone. All you care about is your answers . You just need someone to fill your void of loneliness. Accept that you are alone and let me be on my own, now get the hell out of here. I will do whatever I see fit and it sure wouldn't be listening to a selfish little bitch like you." Rowan responded.
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Aelin left the room with tears. Rowan suddenly felt a pang of guilt. She had been helping him out throughout the day and he had acted like a dick in return. But the thought of leaving Gavriel in such a mess, freaked him out. Owing to his rage now he had two problems, finding Gavriel and facing a shattered Aelin. She was the only person in years who saw him without resent or expectations and now he probably had lost that too.