Mage of Eden

Chapter 28

The dazzling blue sky welcomed her eyes when Jane woke up. What had just happened was a mystery even she couldn't solve. Towards her right was Princess Bridget's worried face and towards her left was Evelyn's a-little-concerned face. She sat up straight in a flash, bewildered.

"Please try to relax Miss Summers, you need all the rest you can get" Princess Bridget coaxed her in a soothing honey sweet voice but she didn't budge. Her frantic eyes were still scanning the room for Haytham and it didn't stop till I saw him sleeping on the cot across the room. Evelyn went by and sat next to him, her hands tenderly stroking his muddy brown hair.

"Is he going to be okay?" Jane asked in a mere whisper to the Princess to which she nodded.

"He's exhausted and knocked out cold. He would recover in a few hours."

"I thought he died- that I killed him" Jane confessed, her hands still shaking as the last thing she remembered was crying out for help. Bridget gently took her shaking hands into her own and smiled at her with warmth.

"He's alive and he will be okay" she said to reassure her.

"What about Alastair?" Jane suddenly jerked as she couldn't find him as she scanned the remaining cots. 

"Don't tell me that he..."

Princess Bridget merely sighed and Jane's eyes grew wide in alarm. 

Had he really died?

Evelyn merely coughed from the other side of the room as she shook her head.

What was that supposed to mean?

She got up from Haytham's side and towered over Jane, her eyes carrying an expression which she couldn't comprehend.

"To be honest, I'm not sure Miss Summers."

"What do you mean?"

"The Rebels managed to put out the fire and chased the attackers away. The Patron had to leave because of all the chaos. We tried to identify most of the dead but Alastair was not one of them."

"So he's alive!" Jane gasped out with a small tingling in her stomach.

Perhaps there's still hope!

"That's what we are hoping for. Perhaps he escaped from them." Bridget added helpfully.

"But that's just an optimist's way of thinking" Evelyn added, her self-assured stance faltering a little as she thought of the horrors lurking in her mind. Unfortunately she had managed to break Jane's thin bubble of hope and she spiralled into despair once again. Bridget nudged Evelyn gently as a universal sign of telling her to just shut up, politely, of course.

Jane rose up and balanced herself after a moment of dizziness. She looked at the Princess and Evelyn in turns and said with all the seriousness she could muster.

"I need to speak with Sir Libengale now"

Evelyn informed her that Sir Libengale will return to camp in two days and then she would be able to meet him. 

"I have to meet him now! Two days is too long. Al might not have two days!" She stomped the ground. Though Al could be one of the best fighters easily, even he shouldn't take his chances. After all Lady Luck is an unpredictable force.

"Please, just wait two days Miss Summers. I'm sure things will be fine." Bridget spoke in her most assuring voice, the most she could muster anyway. Even her never ending optimism was damped by the events which had happened.

Jane was having none of it. She had to move quick if she ever wanted to save him. She had promised to help him but he only ended up in more trouble than ever. Why hadn't she stopped him when she still had the chance? Why did everything turn out to be such an awkward mess? Things were so easy before. She sighed and moved towards the door.

"I need some air."

Two hours later she was trekking through the scorched earth passing the burnt trees. She had decided that it was time she left in search of Alastair and pull him out of whatever mess he was in. She hadn't said her goodbyes to the people of the village or to anyone in particular, even Haytham. She  knew better than anyone to not let Haytham get dragged into this and she knows the skill of the Silent Assassin to be a fool and leave when he's recovered.

Darkness was closing in as the grey clouds and purplish sky carried a sense of foreboding. She had to be strong, for Alastair's sake. Jane spotted a small clearing outside a cave and her mind was immediately searching for signs of life. There was a small stack of dry wood and a curious sack beside a rock covered in foliage. She knew someone had been there just a moment ago and it would be unwise to check out the strange hidden sack. But her curiosity finally won the battle as she made a mad dash through the clearing to the sack and hauled it away. She didn't stop, she couldn't. it's been a long time since she had to travel alone and she didn't realise how safe she felt in the company of those two. Now that she had to fend for herself, fear had crept in like a slow green mist.

Raising her hands she slapped her cheeks. She had to pull it together. Slowly she came to a halt after panting like a beast. No time was wasted as the sack was quickly undone and it's contents poured out. A sharp glint of a ragged but sharp knife caught her eyes first as she hurriedly took it. She didn't really have weapons of her own so this was a good start. After sifting through some herbs which she also pocketed, she found a small parchment of paper bearing half a sign or insignia of some sort on one side. Carefully scrutinizing it, it appeared to be a bird's claw. she turned the paper over and she was surprised to see some writing on it. 

"Little Haven? Black Water? What does this mean?" 

Her eyes kept gazing until it fell on the very last line.

Silver Eyes.