An Unstable Relationship

Chapter Nine Part One

Fox  ^
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(Alyss' POV)

       It was only another hour of the quiet ride before Will and Alyss began to see the countryside turn into town. 

       "We're coming into the outer edges of Riverton."  Will said a little obviously.

       Alyss only hummed in response and kept her eyes on the road.  Riverton looked to be a good-sized town, people were bustling around shops and homes.  They must not have any fear of Jacob here, Alyss thought.  Riverton might be too big of a village for a group of bandits to take on, plus Baron Scully could not look like he was helping the rogues.  This village might be the only safe one in all of Trelleth. 

       As they moved farther into the heart of the town, she and Will watched Castle Trelleth emerge.  Short and squat, it sat dully overlooking Riverton.  It was built in a simple square manner with none of the usual grace wielded by Araluen castles.  Trelleth certainly could not rival Castle Araluen or even Castle Gorlan. 

       Alyss passed a glance to her ranger.  He was surveying the village as he rode, looking for something.  Without much warning, he turned Tug into a side alley between buildings and dismounted.  She followed suit.

       "Alright, I think I've figured out what we should do."  He told her.

       "Go ahead."

       "We're going to split up, Alyss." 

       She opened her mouth to protest but was stopped.

       "Just trust me here.  It'll be more suspicious if the both of us are poking around here and asking questions.  But if just you, a sweet, innocent looking girl, were to go and ask around nobody would think twice.  You could pretend to be a traveler or that you have family who lives here; with your acting skills, anything would be believable." 

       Alyss nodded her head in thanks.

       "But where are you going, Will?" 

       "I'm going up to Castle Trelleth to see if I can get anything out of this Baron.  It will only be for an hour or two and then we can regroup and continue on."

       "It's a good plan."  Alyss conceded.  "I just never like the idea of splitting up." 

       Will cupped her face in his hand and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. 

       "Trust me, my dear, I never like splitting up with you either."  He turned and swung back up to Tug again.  "But sometimes it has to be done.  I'll meet you back here in two hours.  Be careful, be safe, and take this just in case."  Will handed his saxe knife down to her, blew her another kiss, and trotted Tug out of the alley and toward the castle.

       Alyss turned her head and followed him with her eyes.  It took a moment for her to realize that she was a lone girl with a ranger horse and a very large knife in a  fairly visible alleyway and she began to move again.  The courier slipped the saxe into a hidden fold of her dress.  Since she had gotten involved with rangers, Alyss had made sure that all of her clothing had room for a knife; she often was asked to go into dangerous areas and she was not stupid. 

       Great, he's gone.  Fox murmured.

       "Who?  Will or Tug?"  She asked in response. 

       Tug, duh.  Fox informed her.  He's very annoying and he's always talking about apples. 

       Alyss let out a little giggle and stroked the opinionated mare's nose.