White Thorn | On Hold

The Riddle

North is what you seek,

For the girl you keep,

Has many secrets to hold,

So discover the truth and what's been untold,

Then you'll be able to find,

The tale which should be burnt into your mind,

Underneath the lion's head it waits,

Waiting for the yellow flames it hates.

Arya read over the words again, confusion written across her face as she glanced over the strange riddle she'd found. It bore the mark the Old Monk had worn on the back of his coat. That was enough of a reason for her to read it, and the contents had her perplexed.

"A prophecy or something?" She tilted her head. Magic existed, so why couldn't prophecies? "I suppose I'll ask Blaine when he gets back..." She mumbled, resisting the urge to slam her forehead into the nearest wall. She was frustrated. She didn't like being in the dark about things, and there was too much about the Fae world she didn't understand. Like how the Old Monk fit into everything. There were too many pieces of the puzzle, and not enough clues on how to piece them all together. It made her head spin, just thinking about it. "I'll have to get Flynn or Lydia to tell me more..." She decided, her mind oddly numb as she spun around in the office chair, failing to see the white coated figure slipping into the room.

"About what exactly?" Blaine's voice made her jump, a small girly scream escaping her lips as she stared between the guy and the open window he'd climbed through. It had been shut before. Of that she was sure.

Which meant only one thing.

The esteemed Commander of the White Division was well versed with breaking and entering.

A fact Arya soon stored away in her mind for later use as she struggled to regain her calm demeanour she'd had plenty of practice in using.

"H-Ho-How?!" She stuttered, staring at him curiously. "We're on the third floor!"

"I have thorns." He said, like it explained everything.

It hadn't.

"You can use them to climb?" Her eyes narrowed, curiosity scrawled across her face. The ones Velvet had shown her hadn't looked incredibly strong – at least not enough to support a person's bodyweight.

"Yep." He nodded, pausing when he saw what she had picked up. "Going through my stuff?" One eyebrow rose. "Honestly, you're in enough trouble as it is..."

"You left me in here. Alone. Unsupervised. What did you think was going to happen?"

"You were going to sit quietly and wait?"

"Sorry to disappoint."

"You don't need to worry about it. I was kinda expecting it after everything Flynn's told me about you." Blaine said, quickly slipping the slip of paper inside his white coat, removing his silver armband as he slumped into his office chair.

"Flynn talks about me?"

"You act exactly like his brother... used to. It's not really shocking that he's formed an attachment to you." He closed his eyes. "Just make sure he differentiates between you and him... he's not over Fiannan's death... especially due to his cousin's involvement..." He sat up sharply, realising how much he'd just said. "Now, enough about that, let's get down to business."

"What business?" She tilted her head, innocence plastered across her face.

"Don't play dumb." He scowled. "I'm talking about all those classes you've been skipping."

"I was searching for something... important..."

"Someone?" Blaine arched an eyebrow, not fooled in the slightest. "Look, I get you're worried about her. Everyone is-"

"That's a load of rubbish. Haven't you heard the things that Loxian guy has been saying?!" She scowled. "He's saying she's the one who tried to kill me! That she's the one who's doing it all..."

"His suspicions aren't groundless."

"Boohoo."

"But that doesn't mean he's ignoring the chance Velvet could just be a victim in all of this."

"Sure he is."

"Grow up, would you?"

"Hmm, how about no?"

"I'm going to hit you in a minute." Blaine muttered.

"Child abuse."

"For the love of all that's holy..."

"You can't win." Arya smirked, and he was seriously considering putting her in a headlock if only to shut her up for a few minutes.

He dismissed the thought soon after, though. It wouldn't be right for him – a leader of the Disciplinary Committee – to act like that. So instead of giving in to the temptation, he settled for rolling his eyes at her antics. "Arya, please." He sighed, rubbing his temples. "Honestly, I don't know how Flynn puts up with you..."

"Because he appreciates my awesomeness."

Blaine simply rolled his eyes again, pulling out a silvery slip of paper Arya had come to recognise far too well. "It's not a warning this time." He said, sliding it across the desk towards her. "You've got detention tomorrow after classes. Your buddies will be there too, so you might as well go along."

"Oh, I'll consider it..." Her expression darkened, her eyes narrowed on him. "If you tell me why Velvet's name is on the back of that riddle..."