The Truth Over The Wall

Chapter 29(Part 1)

"Alistair?" Hanalea stepped through a thick and unwieldy patch of bushes, she grimaced, "Lady Amara?"

She bit down on her lower lip and tried again, "Amara?"

Dominic and his squadron used to do a patrol of the villages around Tafah on a monthly basis, and now as the commander of an army he could designate a different team to do a sweep each month; though he always led them, saying it was his initiative and he ought to see it through.

What surprised Hanalea was when he asked if she would like to join them this time.

"You said you wanted a more active role fighting for your people," Dominic reminded her, "Hanalea these are witch that are actually evil. There isn't a better channel for your vehemence; if you want to beat the witch. You'll be stopping them before they even have a chance to hurt anyone."

These witches purposefully left their compounds in Tafah, and Derker and made their way about these villages, collecting innocent children, using them for their own means and then discarding them as soon as they saw fit.

It made Hanalea's blood boil and her eyes see red. She wanted to take up her sword and hack away at them until there was nothing left! She wanted to-

Hanalea broke that stream of thought with a startled intake of breath. Rage, violence and an ever consuming bitterness had become second nature to her.

Worse, they had become part of her nature; a second skin: An armor.

She knew this was true because the moment Dominic suggested it she could not wait to be gone. To hunt them all down and end them.

That way, a voice said, You can avoid seeing Alistair altogether. And so Dominic was not nearly as surprised as Hanalea when she said, "I'm sorry. I can't."

After the initial bout of surprise passed Dominic's expression quirked up inquisitively. Feeling even a bit amusedly taken aback now, though he did not say anything about it. Eventually Hanalea sighed as she explained,

"I know how to fight witches," She shrugged at Dominic, "And I know how to hate them; I'm very good at it. What I've yet to learn is to see them as anything other than evil.

"I need to learn how to do that," She told Dominic nodding her head in firm determination, "And soon. Otherwise I'll lose my friend and risk you losing yours. I need to fix this, now."

Dominic started to smile as he nodded, "Of course." He started to walk away but turned back at the last second and told her, "Just give him a chance. Let him say his piece...and hear him out. Try not to say anything in between however much you might be tempted to."

Hanalea smiled at him, amused, "Speaking from personal experience?"

Dominic ran a hand through his hair sheepishly as he admitted, "Definitely."

Well, she was here now. Hanalea put her hands on her hips – one hand gripping Claire's journal – and looked about, exhaling a frustrated huff.

"Why haven't I found them already?" She muttered to herself, "I go in any further and I risk walking straight into Tafah..."

Would that be such a bad thing...? A voice suggested persuasively. I could just find Fiona and-

No! Hanalea snapped and stomped her foot on the ground simultaneously. I promised both Allis and Dominic I'd stay away.

She tried to calm these impulses by thinking of all the reasons it was a bad idea. If she did, in fact, walk into Fiona's stronghold by herself, she was more than likely to get herself killed.