As Dark as the Forest

Chapter 7

Ori

A servant stood in the doorframe. "A correspondence for you, your highness."

"Thank you," Asher said. "Could you do me a favor?" He asked before the servant could scurry away.

"Yes, your highness?"

"Please deliver a message to Cirino that I'd like a word with him some time today."

"Yes, your highness."

When the man had shut the entry chamber's door behind him, Asher sighed. "Sorry for the false alarm. Could have been anyone at that door. Probably best to stay put for now though." He said, reaching up to pat Ori on the head with two fingers.

She wriggled her nose, eager for him to open the letter. Depending on what the letter entailed, she might not be in the clear just yet.

Asher flipped it over and cursed when he saw the seal. A dagger and a raven. Ori cringed. Remo. It wasn't unexpected, but she had been hoping that it wasn't from him.

She tucked her face into Asher's collar, not wanting to look.

"That bastard." Asher muttered. "Says he wants me to help him find 'something very valuable to him, that he's lost.'"

That's one way to put it. Ori thought.

"Ori, Remo is going to have his eyes on me all day. Probably for even longer. It might be best if you meet up with Pit on your own."

He lifted her off his shoulder and held her in his palm. Looking at Asher from the eyes of a mouse was completely disorienting. She didn't want to go off on her own. Not right now. But she needed to. She knew Asher was right. Remo knew that Asher and Ori were close - Remo was the reason they had become such good friends. He was probably hoping that Asher would lead him straight to Ori.

"Also, I'm not sure if I'll ever get used to talking to you in mouse form." He laughed.

Ori nuzzled Asher's cheek in response. Be careful. She wanted to say. She didn't think Remo would go so far as to kill a prince, but then again she didn't know what to expect from Remo latey.

****

Inspired by the cat she'd met the day before, Ori slunk through the Terrendian streets as a sleek grey, green-eyed cat.

Ori had never shifted this many times in such a short period of time, and she couldn't tell if the exhaustion that settled over her like a blanket was from the shifting alone, or a combination of the stress she'd endured since yesterday. She just had to be careful - too much shifting and she'd drain her magic. The balance of allowing the magic well within herself replenish and how frequently she shifted was something she had been practicing - but it was different when there were high stakes involved.

Pit was meeting her at an inn on the southwest side of the city where he kept a room. As a tradesman, Pit had no permanent lodgings. But he spent a lot of time in Terrendia city. Ori had met him a handful of times. Asher trusted Pit with his own secrets. Ori hoped that she could trust him with hers.

Ori took the least direct route possible - which was easy as a cat. She could fit in spaces a human couldn't, expanding her options of shortcuts. The anatomy of cats had always intrigued her, and because of that, cats were one of her favorite animals to shift into. Cats were like liquid in animal form. Silent on their feet, nimble, and cunning. Ori had pages and pages of sketches and notes on cats.

Her heart sank at the thought of all of her sketchbooks and art supplies, tucked away in her little bedroom in Isyrria's suite of rooms. She had her most valuable notebook with her - a leatherbound journal that she'd stolen from a noblewoman's hobby room and used as an easy reference guide for her favorite, most useful creatures to potentially shift into. But for the rest, she was going to have to sneak back in if she didn't want to lose years of research. Gods she'd been stupid to not think that through. Remo was probably throwing them into a fire right this moment.