Alyss' Return: She Lives

Chapter Six: Horace And Cassandra

Cassandra and Horace sat in the living room, trying to have a calm conversation about what happened with their daughter, Princess Madelyn.

"Can you believe her, Horace? She wants to be a Ranger!" Cassandra cried. Horace only grinned at his wife's reaction. He knew that his daughter wanted adventure, and he knew that a Ranger's life was full of it. He knew it was inevitable that Maddie would be attracted to the life of a Ranger like a duck to water.

"Horace!" Cassandra cried, interrupting her husband's thought. "Huh?" He asked no one in particular.

Cassandra slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand. "Horace, can you believe her?" She asked. Horace was about to answer when there was knock on the door. Cassandra squinted her eyes at her husband. We'll talk later. They seemed to say. Horace merely shrugged. "Come in." He called.

The door opened to admit Gilan. "I have some unbelievable news for you both." He said grinning cheerfully.

Cassandra and Horace exchanged a glance before Horace rose an eyebrow at Gilan.

"Horace, try doing that without raising the other eyebrow with it." Gilan said jokingly. But Horace apparently didn't see the joke in the words, as he sniffed and shook his head.

Cassandra made the same move and managed to pull it off better than Horace. "What is it, Gilan?" She asked.

"As I said, you won't believe what I'm about to tell you." He said. "It's about Will."

"What happened? Did he find a gorgeous young woman and fall hopelessly in love?" Horace asked. Gilan grinned. He knew Horace these days and that the knight had a tendency to ask things that seemed completely unbelievable. "Actually, that's exactly what happened." He said.

Cassandra and Horace had been smiling at the unbelievable question. Now, their smiles turned to a look of utter disbelief. "What?" They asked in unison. Gilan grinned. "Halt told me everything at the annual gathering before you arrived. Will's hopelessly in love with a young woman named Catherine Altright. She's originally from Anselm, but I heard that her employer was sending her to Redmont. In fact, she's probably already there."

"Anselm?" Horace asked. "I thought that place gave him nightmares."

Gilan grinned at him. "Well, now Anselm seems to be giving him daydreams." He said.

"Describe her." Cassandra said.

Gilan leaned forward. "Pitch black hair, silver-gray eyes and seemingly perfect skin. She has the grace of a swan and her voice is like stilled water. If you go to Redmont, I'm pretty sure you can see her there. Just make sure you put up an act of visiting either Halt or your daughter." He said.

Cassandra gaped while Horace whistled at Gilan's description of the girl that Will was supposedly in love with. Horace leaned toward Gilan. "You're sure of this?" He asked.

Gilan nodded. "One hundred percent." He replied.

Horace leaned back in his chair. "Well, I know where we're going." He said.

"Same. We'll act like we're visiting Maddie and take a look at this Catherine." Cassandra agreed.

Gilan grinned as he clapped his hands together. "Great! I received word from Halt that she's working for Jenny. So make sure you find an opportunity to go to the Heaped Platter and see both Jenny and Catherine." He said.

Horace and Cassandra nodded.

All three of them stood and shook hands and exchanged farewells. "Send me a letter when you're in Redmont." Gilan told them. The two nodded and waited until Gilan shut the door and they heard his footsteps recede. Then the ran to their room and began packing the things they needed for the trip to Redmont.
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Horace and Cassandra rode into Redmont while every passerby stared in awe at the two.