The Unknown Thief

Part 15

Chapter 15

Aubrey lay there, attempting to keep her eyes open as Daisy bounced beneath her.  Never had her energy drained this much when she healed.  Nathaniel’s cut must have been deeper than they both thought.  She just wished she could do something other than ride helplessly on Daisy.  She should be standing next to them, ready to fight whatever tried to hinder their journey.

“Alin,” she called out, and in only minutes, the man was standing next to Daisy.

“What?” he asked, looking up at her.

Aubrey thought about her next words.  “You heard what that woman said?”

“Yes,” he answered in a timid voice.

“What do you make of it?”

Alin let out a sigh.  “It is something that I already knew. I have the potential to become what she said, but I do not have the desire.  I need both in order to be a full powered soothsayer.”

“Why would you not want to be powerful?”

He shrugged and glanced away from her.  “Power is not always a good thing.  With it comes difficulties I will never have if I choose to keep my soothsaying to the animals.”

Aubrey thought of his words.  He was right.  Power could destroy a person if they did not know how to handle it.  If they were reckless, or even did not know how to control it, their power would take over.  They would become an empty shell.  She would not let that happen to her.  Once she gained hers back, she was going to be the same.  She would not let it change her; she would not let it overtake her as it had done to others.

“I envy you,” she mumbled.

He glanced over at her in surprise.  “What about me could cause your envy?  You have everything you could ever dream of having.  A simple wish and you could attain anything.  Tell me, what do you envy?”

“Your freedom,” she answered without hesitation.  It was the truth.  She would never be able to have the freedom Alin had.  Even now, she knew that her father’s men were attempting to track her.  Her father may not have known she knew, but the man had been sending guards after her since the first time she journeyed away from home.

She was his only girl.  To him, she was meant to be home, dealing with the same things her mother had dealt with, but that still did not stop him from teaching her the skills she owned today.  It was her father who had taught her to fight; it was he who told her how to walk silently and how to pick a lock.  Without him, she would never be able to do the things she did today. 

Her mother had taught her many a things too.  She would never be able to change her appearance as such if it were not for her mother’s demand for Aubrey to know of different cultures.  Aubrey would never be able to evade questions if it were not for her mother’s work on the skill.  While her father had taught her the offensive side of life, her mother had made sure, she could defend herself just as well.

She thought of the last person in her family, Ainsely.  What had he taught her?  She was sure she could eventually think of something, but at that moment, nothing flew through her mind.  She missed her brother so much, wanted him at her side, but she could not afford to ask of such things.  What if her brother were harmed while on one of her journeys?  She would be to blame.  It would be her fault that her brother would get hurt, just as it was her fault that Nathaniel had gotten hurt.

“How can we break the bond?” she asked, hoping one would have an answer.

Alin let out a sigh.  “You know there are only three ways.  One, you kill the one who placed the spell, two, you kill one of those who are bonded, or three, you let it run its course.  As soon as it thinks it have fulfilled the reason it was placed there, it will leave on its own.”

“I say the last choice would be for the best,” Nathaniel said, talking for the first time they had begun walking towards the next village.

She nodded.  “That is the only choice.  I will not allow Cora or Nate to die.”

“Why am I always the one to die?” Nathaniel mumbled.  “There are people who would kill you in order to free me.”

Aubrey shook her head at him, even if he could not see the motion. “Your father wanted something similar to this not long ago.  He would smile, nod, and thank the earth that you were finally settled with one of his choice.  Your mother, she would think of you.  She would ask your father to reconsider, but in her mind, she already knows me.  Your mother and I spent some time together.  Deep down, she wants the two of us to marry.  It would not only bind the two strongest families in the world, but it would also give her the daughter she never had.”

There was silence, and Aubrey wanted to take back her speech about his family.  She had not meant to tell him that she had met them.  She had met his brothers who were all different ages, sizes, and personalities.  His mother had the kindest eyes, and the woman reminded her of her own mother with the way she gazed at her children with fierce protectiveness in her eyes.  His father was a different from her own.  The man showed affection to everyone in public while hers left such things away from prying eyes.  It was better that way, in her mind.  If others could find any weakness in her father, they would use it to attempt to destroy him.  Nathaniel’s father was playing a dangerous game, and she had promised to help him in any way she could.

“You met my family?  I knew you had spoken to my father; Ainsely told me as much.  I did not know that you had spent time with the rest of them.”

“I have, and they love you.”

He let out a disbelieving sound.  “I am sure some of them do, but there are few of my brothers that do not wish for me to be anywhere near the throne.”

“You are the oldest?”

He shrugged.  “No, but the oldest does not wish to take over.  He has other things he wants for his life.”

“You will become king by default?” she asked, not liking the way he nodded in answer.

“I will be the only king who has never been recognized by their own land.”

She glanced down at the ground beneath her.  Suddenly feeling stronger, she sat up and looked closely at Nathaniel.  “My land recognizes you.  This is where you belong.”

“I cannot rule my land while on yours.”

“Think about that,” she whispered.

She leaned back onto Daisy, letting Nathaniel think of his own words.  She wanted him to realize what he had just said.  If she told him, he would not accept it.  If he figured it out on his own, he may be reluctant, but he would believe.  That was all she wanted, was for him to believe in himself.

“How much further?” she asked Alin.

He looked up at her.  “Just a moment more.  We are close to the village, but do not forget which one it is that we will be visiting.”

She nodded.  “I remember.  I just wonder if I should use the same disguise as the last time I visted or create a new one?”

Alin sent her a large smile.  “Keep Annie; everyone loved her.”

She smiled back at him as Nathaniel’s next words echoed between them.  “Who is Annie?”

Alin glanced over at him.  “Believe me, you will be pleasantly surprised.”