Princess of Shadows

Part 1, The Phoenix - Chapter 5: A History Lesson

"Oh, hello there, dear girl. It's good to see you again." Selwyn greeted quietly, after letting Aithne into his cluttered chambers. A sleeping child of no more than eight lay on one the stretchers on the other side of the room and a young woman, his mother, knelt on the floor beside him, dabing his forehead with a damp cloth. "What ails you? Is it your hands? I have a salve for infection if you - " 

"No, they're fine. I am here on other business." Aithne interrupted the man's mumbling.

"Right, right, I see. Well, come in, come in. So what can I do for you, dear?"

"Well, this morning I was doing some light reading in the library and I came across a term that I hadn't heard of before. But I couldn't find mention of it anywhere else. I was hoping you could help me." she finished quietly, eyeing the woman by the stretcher. Selwyn followed her gaze and excused them, ushering her outside the door.

"What is this term?" he questioned in a mere whisper once the door was closed and they were standing on the other side of the corridor. The long stone hall was empty, save the Orlv banners that hung at regular intervals on the wall and occasional iron brackets, holding torches that would be alight as soon as darkness fell.

"Shadowlord."

The physician's eyes darkened and his jaw tightened as if he was clenching his teeth. Then suddenly his features softened and he forced a smile, "I must say, an interesting term, but I have never heard the likes of it before. I'm sorry I cannot help you." And with that he turned his back to her, dismissing the possibility of further discussion.

Aithne mentally swore, and then, "I know you know what I'm talking about, and I'm not leaving until you tell me." Her voice rang out as clear as a bell down the hall, and Selwyn quickly turned back to her, his eyes filled with the anger of a man consumed by fear.

"Have you any discretion?" he hissed.

Aithne smiled triumphantly, "So you do know what I'm talking about then?"

The physician gave her a deadly look before whispering, "The shadows are dark forces, and not to be meddled with lightly." Then suddenly there was a change in Selwyn's facial expression, and wariness dawned on his feature, "You were not doing light reading, then."

"No I was not." Aithne agreed.

The old man sighed and leant against the stone wall for support, resting his face in his hands. As if reaching a decision, Selwyn looked up with a look of determination of his face, "I'll make you a deal then; a question for a question. If I give you a decent answer to your question... you'll give me a decent answer to mine."

The man's slight change in demeanour hadn't gone unnoticed and Aithne could no longer see him as a harmless fool. This man was clever. Very clever. And for the first time, she wondered if she had trusted her find with the wrong person. But it was too late to turn back now. Besides, from the look in Selwyn's eyes, she could tell that he was no friend of the Shadowlord.

"What could you possibly gain from me?" Aithne question carefully, unsure if she should take the deal. She wanted, no, she needed, to find out about the 'Shadowlord', but she had to consider her's and ultimately Saraid's safety. That was her first responsibility.

To Aithne's surprise Selwyn laughed. It was a hollow sound, full of amusement, but not happiness. "You do not deceive me, girl. We both know that you are not what you pretend to be."

Aithne was silent. Her complex little mind assessing every possible outcome at every possible angle. If worst came to worst, she could manoeuvre around the question with a few clever words, but it would be hard, this man was cleverer than he pretended to be. Finally, Aithne sighed, "Fine. Deal."