The Fires of Esus - Ranger's Apprentice

Chapter 21: A Bit Mad

Alyss froze.

How does he know?

I haven't told anyone aside from our friends, and they would never have shared that without asking Will or I first. So if no one told the King... then how did he find out?

As soon as she blinked, she began walking again at a smooth pace. Her face was locked in a cold mask, giving nothing away, just how she liked it. Halt noticed her hesitation and kept in step with her the entire time. His face was also perfectly blank, even a bit hostile in his typical gruff style, but she could feel his tension. He didn't like the King's comment just as much as she did.

The King smiled the entire time, a cool sly grin that never met his eyes.

She knelt down in front of him and held out her hand for him to shake. Instead, he lowered his head and gave her a surprisingly gentle kiss on the top of her hand. She swallowed hard, and removed it from his grip as quickly as she could. Halt didn't offer his hand to shake, only bowing slightly and then standing straight, looking down at the King over his nose.

It wasn't often Halt was able to look down on someone. He was going to savor this moment until it ended. Every last drop.

"Well now," the King began, quirking his head to one side. "Aren't you going to ask me how I knew about your pregnancy?"

Resisting the urge to wipe her hand on her skirt, Alyss didn't let her face change even slightly. "I assumed you wouldn't want to reveal your secrets, or the identity of your informant, whichever it is."

"Oh, come now, do you really think I'm that tight-lipped, or that I have spies in your castle? I told Ranger Will all about the druids, magic, and all sorts of other crazy things. You think I wouldn't tell you such a trivial detail? And my entourage doesn't have enough people in it to create a spy network large enough cover all of you. It's impossible."

Alyss raised one eyebrow. "If you're willing to tell, then I'll hear it."

His smile grew wider, and his eyes glowed strangely. They drew Alyss in, and at the same time made her want to turn tail and run. It was a sensation Will had warned them about, something to do with his strange eyes. She lowered her own to his chin and decided to keep her gaze there for the rest of the meeting.

"I am a Seer, Lady Alyss. I can see images of the future, some possibilities. One of the visions I saw had you in it, and you were pregnant."

She shook her head slightly. "But that doesn't make sense. Your images don't come with dates and times, how did you know it was right now?"

"You look the same age as you did in my vision. Simple enough. The real question is... who's the father?" He began pacing around her in a circle. This man had a strange tendency to pry into people's lives that he knew nothing about. He had done it to Will, and now he was doing it to her. Alyss might have felt threatened, except for the fact that she could clearly see he was unarmed, and her saber was still sheathed and ready under a fold of her dress. And he happened to be several feet shorter than her.

Halt twitched ever so slightly, and the gleam of his saxe knife glinted from under a fold of his cloak. Alyss flashed him a quick reassuring smile. I'm fine so far.

He nodded once, but didn't look comforted in the slightest. He stood rigid, his eyes narrowed on the King.

After the long silence, the King tried again. "I can't see anyone else in the visions I had, just you and your child. So who is it? Is it someone I know, someone I've met? A Baron, or a nobleman? Or some random farm boy who you happened to have a little fun with--"