The Gifted

Chapter Fifteen: Assignment

Raven and I were sitting in my room where she was currently braiding my hair in a traditional Alderian style. We had quickly grown as friends, something I think Flint was displeased with. He said we were a "dangerous combination". I agreed completely.

In the privacy of my room, Raven dropped her language to give me a break and I was immensely thankful. Using it so much was great for practice but I wasn't completely fluent, so it was mentally exhausting at times. Though, it was forcing me to get better.

"How long have you been here? Is it just you?", I asked. When we first met she had mentioned something about a king and I was thoroughly intrigued.

"Almost four months now. And no, I came here with my King as one of his guards to start talks with your rebel council. There have been increased incidents along our borders and your King's soldiers are involved."

Raven being a guard didn't surprise me. She was toned and carried herself with a certain confidence and manner that only strong people seemed to possess.

However, the incidents along the border did surprise me. That could be considered an act of war, so why does the Alderian King not meet with our own to sort out the issue? Why go to the rebels?

I felt Raven pick up another small piece of my hair, twist it, and combine it with the other pieces in the intricate design she was creating. "I think you would love Aldera. It is quite different than here. Gifted are honored and not enslaved to serve anyone. We have a choice."

I smiled at the thought, "That sounds wonderful, but I think you're forgetting that I am ungifted. I don't need to worry about such things."

Raven just hummed in response.

A knock on my door broke the conversation. I got up from my bed Raven and I were sitting on to open it, shaking the braid from my hair as I went. "I was wondering when I was going to see you again." I opened the door farther to allow James to come in. He nodded his head in greeting to Raven, who did the same in return.

"I thought maybe we could have dinner. Catch up on things. I also have something to run by you. A potential job opportunity." If he was trying to grab my interest, he succeeded. I was tired of just sitting around. I had been training with everyone for the past few days but I was ready to do more, especially if it entailed going outside. Somehow this mountain was beginning to feel small, despite its actual size.

"You should go. I'll leave you two alone." Raven said, switching back to Alderian. She got up from the bed, smiled at me in goodbye, and went out the door.

I looked at James flatly, "I swear if she thinks anything is going on between us, you get to explain it to her."

James grimaced at the thought, "Thankfully, I don't think she believes that. Is she still keeping up the pretense of not speaking our language?"

"You knew?"

James smirked, "You forget I'm on the council so I know a few things. The only reason I wasn't involved when you had your meeting with them is because we're family. I can't show favoritism. Bran is going mad though. He's even started gathering books in Alderian to try to teach himself. He's amazingly smart but terrible at languages."

I smiled at that. Every day Raven comes to me with a new story about how Bran has tried to get her to talk with him. Once, he had even tried to draw pictures of what he wanted to talk with her about, but Raven promptly halted that idea when she drew something inappropriate in return. Bran had said she had a rare gift and that's why he was so interested. I wonder what it was?