Vaehandre: Where The Stars Fall [Under Revision]

Chapter 40: Revelations

The hour was after dusk when the Lord of Rathorn's convoy arrived at the castle. Aiden dismounted his horse and looked over his shoulder. He saw Henry escorting Ingrid toward the castle. He followed shortly after them. The trio reached the hallway on the castle's third floor.

"Dinner should be ready soon, I'll see you then," Aiden said to Henry and Ingrid.

"A bath is ready for you. See you at dinner," Henry said to Ingrid before closing the door.

At the great hall where a table had been set with food and drinks, the three sat together. They were all so hungry that they hardly talked during the meal. After the used plates and utensils were gathered and put away, Aiden said to them, "I know we have much to share. Follow me to the study room.

Walking up a flight of stairs, they reached the second floor of the castle. Aiden, being the last one to enter the study room, turned a key on the door, locking it.

The Lord of Rathorn twisted backward to face them. "What was it about the illness that stood out, Ingrid?"

She made a slight nod. "That what you told us in your letter remains true. The illness is only affecting the likes of man. None of the healers have treated any Elite."

"The illness did start spreading among the houses of man first," Henry put in.

"Even so, with this type of illness, your Elite soldiers on patrol should have been affected. An illness doesn't choose whom to infect. It targets whoever it's exposed to."

Aiden sat down near them. "What if we're immune?"

Ingrid furrowed her brows. "Elite are immune to magic," she murmured. "And the people of man are angry. I've seen some of them gather together, planing something."

"Do you think they plan to stage a coup?"

"Not if they know what they're up against. We outnumber Usarignis 10 soldiers to one," Henry answered.

"It doesn't matter who has the numbers. What they're after is who has the favor of the people. More than half of this city's occupants are man." Aiden paused for a while. "Ursaignis, the little birds, the illness. They're all connected."

Lifting her hand slightly, Ingrid asked, "Spies? What spies?"

"Alard's son, Reeve," Henry replied. "He's just a boy."

Aiden nodded and looked to the side.

After glancing at both Aiden and Hanry, Ingrid questioned, "Who's Alard?"

Henry eyed Aiden.

"He's a man I executed for murdering a fellow Ursaignis. They're a group of hunters. Their sigil is a bear engulfed in flame. And I killed one of their most beloved hunters." Aiden tilted his head. That was 10 days ago. I can only imagine what the boy is going through. Losing both his uncle and father. And now he's spying for whoever is behind all this."

Ingrid shook her head. "Do you think Ursaignis is behind all this?"

"I didn't think they'd willingly harm their own. But considering all the information we've gathered so far ... It can't be them. At best, this is vengeance of sorts for the men they lost."

"And you're forgetting that it was Ursaignis that killed Alard's brother," Henry noted.

"Was he part of their leadership?"

"He was about to be head of the table actually."

Aiden leaned on the armrest of his chair and crooked a brow.

"Elite are immune to curses."

Henry and Aiden brought their attention to Ingrid. The crackling of the fire grew louder as silence rung across the room.

"Dark magic can't affect us," she continued.

"You suspect that a dark sorcerer is involved in all this?"

"But why here, why the people?" Henry asked.

"To turn the people against you. Lord Alistair wasn't wrong when he sent you here to be hidden from powerful people. The thing is dark sorcerers like to be hidden too." She narrowed her eyes on Aiden. "I hear it every now and then. The people are angry, Aiden. And if someone in Ursaignis wants power, they've found someone dangerous to help them. This illness is an opportunity to overthrow you."

The Lord of Rathorn leaned forward.

"When was the last time you greeted the people?" Ingrid said while trying to meet his eyes.

"Last year's tournament. The champion had a chance to face me in a duel. I won and was met with applause from the ... from the Elite." Bringing his hands together, he rested his chin on them. "What is I go down there with the food and water supplies."

Henry glanced over to Ingrid.

She kept her gaze on Aiden. "Well, there's no risk of you getting sick."

"Then it's settled," he replied dismissively.

"But we cannot disregard that Ursaiginis is a threat now. If one of them was willing to kill to gain power whose to say they won't do it again."

"I won't let anything happen to him. That's my job," Henry said, swaying his head from side to side.

After standing up, Aiden glanced at Ingrid and Henry. "I'll see you two in the morning." He unlocks and closes the door.

Ingrid and Henry were left looking at each other.

"I'm worried about him, Henry," she said to him.

"Welcome to the club."

Walking towards a table with stacks of paper and scrolls, she replied, "I'm sure none of this is easy for him either. How is he really?"

"During the first year ... I could hear him crying every now and then. It doesn't happen as much. Not since the fifth execution. He sort of started to drift away emotionally. He commanded more respect as a Lord by doing so, but I have a feeling that something was lost in the process as well. Sometimes I do catch him just staring at the stars whenever I watch the moon and I see a glimpse of his grief again. As a lord, he tries to make the best decisions for the people, but he feels like he has no control over the divide among his people." Henry smiled sideways to try and lighten the mood, but Ingrid looked solemn in her thoughts. Her hand was balled into a fist. "How about you Ingrid?"

"What?" she said sharply.

"I just realized we never really got to talk since you arrived here."

"Well, it's rather difficult to have a decent conversation with death looming all around."

"How are you, my dear sister?"

Ingrid sighed. "Well, I'd like to ask you the same thing."

"I asked first so, and haven't you read my mind by now?"

She scoffed. "I don't mean to you know. All the mind-reading." Fastening her gloves, she continued, "It's too much to know almost everything about someone. It was fun when we were younger, but everyone is so complicated now." After a while, she shrugged. "I should probably get some rest, I'm afraid I've said too much." She stood up.

Henry blocked her path as she took a step forward.

She looked up at him with glossy eyes and he wrapped his arms around her. Patting him on the back, she tore herself away from him. Henry walked beside her and escorted her to her room.