Flight of the Five Swans

Fate Chapter 35

Raia was still knitting when Soran's guards arrived to fetch her the following morning just after dawn. Her eyes were bleary from lack of sleep, and her fingers were cramped and tired from the frantic pace that she had kept throughout the night. She could have kissed Soran for fetching her knitting for her the previous evening; thanks to him, Raia had been able to knit all through the night, and now the final shawl was so close to being done. Three, four more rows at the most.

Raia spared a quick glance up at the door when it was opened from the outside. She could not help a sigh of relief when she saw that Soran had not accompanied his men to escort her from her room. While she was convinced that Soran would recognize the significance of her knitting and put a stop to her actions, she highly doubted that any of his men would be aware of what the shawls were intended for. It provided her with a couple more minutes at least to finally finish what she had started so many weeks—so many months—before.

Raia made no argument as she was led from her room. Nor did she openly attempt to stall their progress as they walked towards the entrance hall of the Ithcarian palace, where she assumed that Soran was waiting for them. She was afraid that, were she to make too big of a scene and delay the group of them through the halls, the soldiers might cotton on and rush them all the more. Or Soran himself might get impatient and come to find them. Either way, Raia would lose what little chance she had to knit the last bit of the final shawl. She kept her eyes firmly fixed on her task, though a sense of panic slowly built in her chest as they neared their final destination.

Just three more rows.

A figure stood waiting in the shadows of the entrance hall. Raia's heart sank. She positioned her hands in a fruitless attempt to cover her knitting, her needles still moving frantically.

Then the figure moved, and she let out her breath in a rush. It was Ayden waiting for them, not Soran. There was still time.

Ayden stepped towards her, and she could not resist a quick glance at his face. Then her eyes dropped back to her work. The disappointment, the pain, in his expression was nearly too much for her to bear. She knew that their short conversation the night before had not gone as Ayden had hoped—to say nothing of the entire situation they found themselves in. Yet still the visual proof of his disappointment felt almost like a physical blow.

"My mother extends her goodbyes." He spoke softly, his voice slightly stiff. Raia flinched at his tone, so unfamiliar to what she was used to hearing in their interactions. Perhaps he saw—and understood—her reaction, for his voice had lost some of its coldness when he next spoke.

"She regrets not being able to wish you farewell in person, but she wants you to know that you are welcome to write or to visit again should you so desire."

Raia's eyesight blurred slightly at a sudden onset of tears. She, too, wished that she could bid the Ithcarian queen farewell in person, but she knew that Soran's guards would never hear of making a detour, however short it may be. And as soon as they reached the palace courtyard, Soran would whisk her—and her swan sisters—back to Deturus. Then he would use them to lure in the final sister, and drain them all. Any thought of escape would be next to impossible.

Unless she finished the shawls.

Two more rows.

Raia nodded silently at Ayden's statement, though she did not meet his eyes again. She could almost feel the surprise at her reaction—or lack thereof. Yet he did not speak a word, merely following behind as the guards propelled her forward towards the entryway doors once more.