Chloë (9 page)

The
sun had finally set on a very long and refreshing day for Chloë.  After
almost losing her lunch on several rides, viewing the aquarium, the zoo, and
finally an art museum,  Chloë had as much excitement, education, and culture
as she could stand for one day.  In the midst of it all, she had finally
started to forget about the desperate reasons for being in the city and was
just enjoying herself and her company.  The reality of it all didn’t start
to return to her until they ate a quiet supper.  Then they carefully made
their way to the monorail, and started the slow journey to the end of their
day’s trek.

Chloë
stared nervously out the window.  Part of her was terribly excited at the
thought that Anna was still alive and would soon get proper care.  Another
part was nervous that this was all just a heart wrenching ploy for some
lowlifes to try and make some quick cash, and Anna was, in fact, already
dead.  She had almost washed her mind clear of Anna’s death previously, and
the thought of having to relive all those emotions wore on her heavily. 

Chloë
and Heather soon found themselves one switch of the monorail from their
destination.  It was dark out, street lamps notwithstanding, and the
darkness seemed to permeate Chloë’s very being.  Dread, however, was going
to have to fight in order to take over; Heather made sure of that.  Now
more than ever, Chloë relished Heather’s bouncy personality, boundless
optimism, and giddy perspective of the world.  Heather sensed Chloë’s concern,
so she stayed close and tried to distract her with chit-chat.  But
something, or rather
someone,
suddenly caught Chloë’s eye and panic
started to set in.

“We
have company,” murmured Chloë as she nodded to a man of barely twenty ahead of
them.  His soft golden fur and white throat made him look common enough,
but Chloë recognized him immediately.

“One
of the guys back from Edmundshire?” asked Heather.

Chloë
shook her head.  “Worse—one of the agents to the palace guards.”

Heather
shook her head.  “No, I think that is
better
.  He should be
professional at least.”   Suddenly Heather’s mind shifted two gears.
“Unless… do you think he is the type to turn on your father for profit?”

Chloë
shook her head.  “No.  He was very loyal.  To a fault.”

“Then
let’s go see what he is doing here,” suggested Heather with a grin.

“Do
you think that is wise?”

“Better
an enemy you know of than someone lurking in the shadows.  Does he have a
name?”

Chloë
wanted to argue with that logic, but it didn’t matter.   Heather was
already in motion.  “Raymond,” she offered as she hurried to catch up.

Raymond
turned and made eye contact just as the pair started to close.  His fur
immediately stood on end, and he tried to wave them away.  “You need to
get out of here, my lady.  There are people hunting for you here,” he
hissed in Chloë’s native tongue.

Chloë
nodded, “We know.   Do you know the Old Tongue or Gamehra?”

“Gamehra
I know well, my lady,” he replied shifting languages.  “Your father misses
you terribly, but that discussion is for tomorrow.  Tonight you are in
danger; people here are looking for you.  Why did you ever come to this
horrible side of town?”

“I
was told they were holding Anna, and that she was badly injured.  If I
paid them off, they’d let Anna go, and I could get her to a local
hospital.  Do you know anything of this?”

“No,
my lady.  But my best guess is even if they do have Anna, injured or
otherwise, they will try to capture you as well.”

“That
is what I said,” interrupted Heather with a grin.  “And why is it so much
better that Chloë is with you than them?  Aren’t your orders to bring
Chloë back to the palace?”

Raymond
nodded, “Young ma’am…”

“Her
name is Heather.  She is the daughter of the Baron of Threedales in the
Highlands, and my friend.”

“My
apologies, Lady Heather.  My orders are to try to
persuade
Lady
Chloë to return.  In no way am I to use force or subterfuge.  If my
lady charge were to speak against me at her return, it would be…”

“Fatal?”
asked Heather with a grin.  “And feel free to just call me Heather. 
I prefer that.  While my father, Llewellyn Silverglade of house Stratford,
is the baron, even he does not take to the excessive use of titles.”

“
Llewellyn
Silverglade…,
” Raymond spoke with a faint breath.  His fur stood on
end, and the color faded from his nose and paws.

“Yes,”
began Chloë.  “Ivy Stratford, First Mother of the house, has offered me
sanctuary and I intend to use it.  Do you wish to argue the point with her
husband?”  Chloë took some pleasure in watching Raymond squirm, but was a
little surprised that Llewellyn’s reputation had preceded them so well.

“Is
he here?” whispered Raymond.

“Maybe…
maybe not,” replied Heather.  “The question is, what are you going to
do?  Do you wish to accompany us?”

Raymond’s
professionalism caught back up with him.  “As an agent of your father, my
first and primary duty is to insure Lady Chloë’s safety.  If I cannot
dissuade you from your present course, then I am compelled to stand by you to
the best of my abilities.”

“There
we have it then,” beamed Heather.  “Shall we continue?  The clock is
rolling.”

Raymond
nodded to Chloë, and the three of them made their way to the monorail station
lobby.  Heather walked up to one of the lockers and with a quick type on
the combination lock, opened it and removed a case.

“Whee! 
Kind of heavy!” laughed Heather.

“Do
you wish me to carry it for you, Lady Heather?”

“And
what was wrong with just plain ‘Heather’?” she asked as she blew a raspberry.

“The
last thing I want to do is insult your father…”

Heather
laughed. “Okay, if you want to carry it, that would be nice.   Just
don’t lose it, drop it, or ever let it out of your sight.”

Raymond
nodded and took the case from Heather.  “So I assume I am now carrying the
ransom money?  That should make me the first target of an assassin’s
bullet.”

“Ew! 
Do you want me to take it back?” asked Heather.

“No,
Heather, this is part of my job.”

Heather
grinned at Chloë. “Okay, he’s not as cute as Tobias, but he isn’t bad…”

Raymond’s
fur briefly stood on end.  “Then back to the monorail, my ladies.  We
have a rendezvous to keep.”

Raymond
sat attentively across from Heather and Chloë in the monorail car.  It was
very late, and most of the commuters at this point were people who had been
enjoying the evening a little too much.  The closer to their stop they
got, the rougher the individuals that inhabited the train.  Chloë,
however, felt quite safe with Heather at her side and Raymond across from her;
the locals weren’t likely to cause trouble.  Well, at least not for very
long.

Heather
was curled up next to the window asleep.  Chloë knew she should try and
get some rest as well; they had been moving since four in the morning, and she
was desperately tired.  But nervous anticipation was edging out the very
thought of fear.  Chloë took some amusement as Raymond cautiously reached
out and lightly touched Heather’s arm.  Heather, for her part, grumbled
lightly and rolled over in her chair.

“Checking
to see if she is real?” asked Chloë with a bit of a giggle.

“Is
she really the daughter of Llewellyn Silverglade?” asked Raymond.

Chloë
nodded.  “Lean elegant man, coat much like mine, with a light and even
voice.  Very polite and friendly, but not in a formal way.  Does that
sound like him?”

Raymond
nodded. “From the videos I’ve seen and from the documents I have read, yes.”

“What
makes him so special?”

Raymond
offered a feeble laugh.  “He and his brother, along with those monstrous
Shukurae, all but ended the civil war, but not like you would have imagined.”

“Go
on…”

Raymond
nodded.  “The civil war had reached a desperate level, so desperate that
all sides finally realized that if some accommodation could not be reached,
genocide, by accident or design, was the likely next step.  So a cease
fire was called and troops from outside were brought in to stand between the
great warring houses.  While leaders and diplomats talked and bickered,
various troops on both sides grew impatient and started testing these peace
keepers.  It was small actions at first, but they soon grew larger. 
Yet every time some incursion struck the peace keepers, they struck back,
viciously and efficiently.  Everyone that challenged these people, quite
simply, died.  Soon, while politicians had their own petty arguments, they
let the field commanders continue to prod and poke these interlopers. 
Both sides were jockeying for position, waiting for a hole in the lines so they
could overrun their counterparts.  Eventually, the armies of the great
houses found themselves united against a common enemy: the peacekeepers. 
In the middle of the night, with tacit approval from their leaders, both sides
struck in unison.  It was a blood bath.  A horribly one-sided blood
bath.  But it wasn’t the peace keepers that were in trouble; it was the
great armies.  They outnumbered the peace keepers well better than ten to
one, and it was this foolish sense of superiority that was the great armies’
downfall.”

“The
peace keepers counter-attacked…”

Raymond
nodded, “There were two brothers: Llewellyn and Penn Silverglade.  Each
was at the front of the two lines and they destroyed all comers.  They did
some fantastic things: an EMP burst of some type fried all the electronics on
all the vehicles and gunships.  Craft just plummeted from the sky as all
systems failed, and then, then blood started to flow as they fought through the
forests.”

“Forests? 
I thought all those battles were in urban areas?”

Raymond
laughed.  “They
were
urban, until the Silverglades got a hold of
them.  The Park of Reconciliation, you’ve been there, tall trees and
luscious gardens.  They
made
those trees that night.  And no,
I have no idea how.”

“Forest
Wall,” said Heather sleepily.  “That is what it is called.  The
humans theorize that the EMP burst is a side effect of two pocket dimensions
rubbing next to each other.  The trees are an artifact from the Guardians
of the Highlands as they dissipate any remaining energy in a protective and
constructive manner: reforestation.”  Heather yawned as she stretched, “At
least that is the best-standing theory.  So the two armies got trashed and
thrashed and they finally realized that it was in everyone’s best interest to
stop the fighting once and for all.  I still think it is funny that my dad
and uncle got written into the treaty.”  Heather giggled lightly. 
“Hands of Kali, wasn’t it?  What a silly name… Dad hates it.”

Raymond
just stared at Heather in shock.

“What? 
Can’t you sleep with your ears still going?” asked Heather with a serious grin.

Raymond
quickly recovered.  “Yes, Lady Heather, I can shallow sleep like
that.  I just didn’t expect you to do that.”

“Stranger
in a strange town?  You bet I am!” laughed Heather.  “I do hope none
of your family was mixed up in all of that.”

Raymond
nodded politely.  “I lost two uncles that night.”

Heather
frowned, well, mostly.  “Ack!  I’m very sorry for that.”

Raymond
shook his head.  “No need for you to apologize.  The very idea of
trying to overrun the peace keepers was ill-conceived and ran counter to the
whole wisdom and reason of why they were brought there.  Both sides had
requested
peace keepers; to then turn on them was… well, to be blunt, cowardly and
stupid.”

Heather
nodded.  “You are a professional.  I appreciate that.  Still,
sorry about your uncles.”

Raymond
nodded.  “Thank you.  How does your father remember that night?”

Heather
shuddered.  “That was the beginning of the end for his time in the
service.  Second Mother said he used to have nightmares about it all up
until I was about five or so.”

Raymond
nodded.  “Part of me is glad to know that he had nightmares.  It lets
me know that behind all the stories, the tales, and the legends, there was a
man just fighting to stay alive and protect his friends.  It makes him
seem far less sinister.”

 Chloë
shook her head.  “That just all sounds so far removed from the Llewellyn I
met.”

“He
works hard to make it that way.  Speaking of working hard, you two have
been paying attention to the people in this car, yes?” asked Heather.

“The
two individuals at the far end?  Yes, ma’am.  I’ve been observing
them.  I just did not want to alarm Chloë.”

Chloë’s
fur suddenly stood on end and Heather laughed.  “That is why he didn’t
tell you!”

“Don’t
worry, Lady Chloë, they primarily appear to be riff-raff and not organized
thugs.”

“Then
what do they want?” asked Chloë nervously.

“They
are probably trying to buy a date for the night,” offered Heather with a
knowing grin.

Chloë
shuddered.  “Okay, you two were right: I really didn’t want to know what
is going on.”