One Day More - a Sartorias-deles fanfic

Chapter 25

Although they tried to keep the assassination attempt secret, word spread quickly in Remalna-city.  Soon, discussion of the thwarted attack was all Iris heard in the capital as she wandered the streets.  With no destination in mind, Iris was able to focus on her thoughts versus her steps.  She had also been in Remalna-city long enough now that Iris knew most of its main intersections and thoroughfares.  The townspeople's voices varied in volume.  Some were at their full volumes, while others whispered into each other's ears, covering their mouths.  Somehow, they must have drawn association between the plot and Iris, for she felt more than saw more stares than usual.

An old man with a hunchback crept forward on his cane with the speed of molasses in her direction.  Iris stepped out of his way as he grew closer, but instead of passing as she expected, the elderly man stopped before her and took her hand.  He laid a kiss with his wrinkled lips on her knuckles then patted her hand while still holding it.  Although his aged face looked tired, his green eyes sparkled with life.  They almost looked out of place among his features.  His smile, though—bright and genuine—melted Iris's heart, and she could not help but smile back.

"Thank you for what you have done, my lady," he said.

"Whatever for?" Iris returned his smile.

"For reporting what you heard.  Much of Remalna-city's population is too young to remember the reign of the Merindars, but I do.  King Vidanric and Queen Meliara took this country out of darkness and into the light.  If anything had happened to either of them, we would have plunged back into the shadows, back into chaos.  We owe you much."

Iris felt her face heat with a blush.  She shook her head. "I only did what anyone would have done if they were placed in my position."

"It wasn't anyone, though, it was you." He patted her hand once more. "There are some here who still support the Merindars, although in secret.  I fear if the wrong person had overheard, nothing would have come of it."

Iris curtsied and tipped her head out of respect. "I am your servant."

"No, my lady." The man bowed low over Iris's hand, and she knew he had no malicious intentions in the action.  His respect was genuine.  Iris's face felt like it was on fire, and the back of her neck prickled.  People were watching them now. "It is I who am your servant."

Iris hoped he could not see the tension in her shoulders as she nodded and withdrew from the man.  She had gained the favor of not only Alaraec and Enda but of the townspeople, as well.  Her parents' plan was working, and Iris's stomach twisted with dread.  Bile actually rose up in her throat, and she had to slip into a side alley to retch, though her heaves came up dry.  She put a hand on her abdomen and leaned against a wall until she regained her composure.

Humidity hung in the air like a blanket, and Iris had to wipe sweat from her brow.  It would rain today; the dark clouds overhead warned of that.  Iris could not remember the last time water had soaked the ground—certainly not since she had come to Remalna-city.  Recounting overheard conversations, the region was currently under drought conditions.  Although the rain would send everyone indoors, it would be a welcome change of weather.  A rumble of thunder in the distance was a further omen.  If she did not want to be soaked to the skin, Iris knew she needed to get indoors.  She had already faced one life-threatening illness these past months; she had no interest in another.  And this one, she could have avoided.

Iris took a back path to the royal residence, waved to the guard on duty, and went to the servants' entrance through which Alaraec often led her.  To her surprise, however, a guard stood in her path in front of the hidden door.  A faint glimmer caught Iris's attention, and her eyes flicked toward it.  A long, bloodred mark seemed to glow on the stone.  She had put it there.  Iris's steps faltered, but she continued onward, unable to get the mark from her mind's eye.  That was her blood on the wall.  She had given her father the quill after the encounter with Alaraec, and Iris did not know what Cetus had done with it afterward.  Probably disposed of it to eliminate the evidence of their treachery.