On a way to run (TOS - 2)

*This is an older version, please check .pdf TOS_part1

"Thanks." I got out with the last of my strength. Broken ribs won't be my only problem. Although what do I really know about it, I'm not even sure how much height I fell from and what a fall like that can do. For the most part, I was given a complete list of the possible consequences of my behaviour beforehand. I might even have a concussion or something. Because that would explain how I managed to convince her to dump the kid. She seemed determined enough to drag him back to Narral even without my consent. So what changed her mind? Certainly not my arguments.

Her arms folded, she stood with her back to me. She was looking at a painting with lots of red and pink, which could have been anything, but I had a hunch. I was kind of glad I didn't know exactly what it was, because if that's what it looks like inside of us, I'm glad I only see what's outside. I've never really enjoyed medicine, quite the opposite. I reached my limit in this area when I learned first aid, makeshift first aid. I wouldn't rely on myself in the event of an injury. Just like now, I couldn't help myself either.

"Emmett . . . in case you were wondering." I said to stop the awkward silence. It didn't sound as good out loud as I'd hoped. It sounded even more awkward than the silence. Where is someone who would give me something for the pain and something to put me to sleep and thereby silence me for the next few hours. In this hole they called the infirmary, only a total nut job would get treated, so they couldn't be busy.

"I know your name." she turned. Blue eyes studied me with amusement. How did she know, I'm pretty sure I didn't mention my name. And what was so funny about it? "You should take the ring off if you don't want the others to know.”

"I didn't know you in Narral were interested in," I bit my lip, painfully enough to beat any other pain for a moment. It didn't work in the slightest. It was a terrible idea to take such a sharp breath. Breathing in general was terrible.

"Are you surprised that we can read a few chronicles and recognize the picture on the ring?" she suddenly looked at me angry again, but she wasn't acting like an angry person. She reached for one of the glasses and calmly took out a lollipop.

"It's not a picture, it's a," the door on the other side interrupted my lecturing. The old woman came in with a big smile written on her wrinkled face. It was probably a good thing, blondie could still hurt me if she got really angry.

It took me a long few minutes to explain to the pleasant-looking old lady what had happened, while leaving out all the important details. But if I knew what was coming next, I'd still be dragging it out. My warning that I was not coping well with the healing of magic passed as quickly as my complaints about the pain itself. Her whole procedure hurt horribly, as if she was breaking my ribs over and over again. At times, even the blondie looked uneasy. And perhaps she was a little worried about me, but only a little, sharing her attention between my pain and other pictures on the walls, along with the lollipop. She may have studied the deployment of important organs so that, at the first opportunity, she could put her new knowledge to a good use.

A good while after the woman left, I was still trying to catch my breath. It was her voice that made me open my eyes, she seemed concerned, even though I didn't even scream through the whole thing. "Will you be all right?"

“Everything’s great.” I lied. I couldn’t convince myself and I surely didn’t convinced her. But it was too late to take it back.

"Yeah, you look like you can barely stand up, but I'm sure you're great." without further comment, she put the lollipop in her mouth to free her hands and help me stand up. She took me away from this awful building. In a stern, unapologetic voice, she announced that she was going to take me to a hotel not far from where we were. I didn't protest, I was approaching a state in which I couldn't care less. The chances of waking up and being surrounded by other Dishonestes increased with each passing step. But I was separated from that very probable future by long and well-earned couple hours of sleep, during which His Majesty could determine what I was worth or if he even wants me back.

A pleasant silence forced me to keep my eyes closed. After everything that's happened over the last day and something, I deserved a little bit of silence. And some peace, too, who knows what's in store for me when I open my eyes. I turned slowly and took a deep breath. The pain had gone somewhere and it didn't seem to me that she was planning on coming back. In the end, the old woman probably really knew what she was doing. I had no choice but to find out where I was and who was there with me. Maybe I didn't deserve a cellmate.

I lay in a dark room, the light from the street trying desperately to get here, but the obstacle in the form of thick curtains was too much for it. Not only did it not illuminate things in the room, but I couldn't find out where I was. I looked around slowly, it might have been the same room the blondie had brought me to yesterday, and it might have been a different room altogether

I convinced myself that if something as simple as breathing was painfless, it would probably be the case with the rest of simple activities. And with the weight of my new determination, I sat down. To my surprise, I found myself still dressed. I don't know why I was surprised in the first place, but I just was. I stood up and unthinkingly opened the curtains. The view from the window was no doubt shocking and all-telling. All I could see was the gray, stone wall of the building next door. I looked at the room, at least, much brighter now. It was definitely the same room as yesterday. I remembered the modern white walls with the big coloured paintings and the black carpet on the ground. The bed was big enough for two, but blondie settled for a sofa and used my jacket instead of a blanket. She seemed rather endearing and harmless, when I thought of the fact that her job was to find and kill mages, such as innocent children. She didn't look like it was her intention to drag me to Narral as a substitute for the boy. In fact, something like that would probably be against their rules, she'd have to be ordered to find me first. Or something like that, so what the hell was she after? She was one of the Dishonests, we had been through that, and I offered to take her away. What the hell was I doing? Just because she blinked at me with those blue eyes I went completely mad. I should think about what I'm going to do next before coming up with another similarly idiotic idea. I headed for the bathroom, the only other room. The tall mirror confirmed what I was thinking anyway, making me look as awful as I felt. Maybe a little worse. Most of the bruises disappeared with the other injuries, and all that was left were my stupid ideas.

Instead of hot water, I turned the faucet cold, needing to wake up and get back to reality. And very quickly. I left with a clear plan and have yet to meet a single one of its points. There's nothing waiting for me in Athran, in fact, all over this continent. That's just a fact I'm not going to change. But what about her? I did not witness any of her wrongdoing. She attacked me, just like I attacked her, and then she helped me. Could I have just let her go? What am I supposed to do?

I stopped the water and dried myself. The most important part of looking like me again was taking care of my hair. Without magic they always fell down so annoyingly, but with a little care they looked perfect, standing in a high wave, gravity notwithstanding. I pulled on my T-shirt and pants and walked out of the bathroom, back to her. She was really smart, she put me to bed and took all three of my daggers in the process. So she had all my weapons with her, and I could only rely on my own skills. If she tries anything, I can just disappear and leave her here. It's a simple plan, I can dissapear anywhere, she can't. And I'll get new weapons later.

"Are you feeling better?" she said softly. She was no longer lying down, but she was sitting up, completely relaxed. I didn't want to wake her, somehow I didn't realize what I was doing with the curtains.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I owe you, well... my life." I laughed nervously. The cold shower was useless, it was always her eyes that got me, that made me sound like an idiot. Maybe it wasn't just the eyes, I was attracted to everything about her. And I was beginning to suspect why, she was the exact opposite of the reason that got me this far. The exact opposite of everything I've tried to leave.

"What are you doing here?" her obnoxious, haughty tone worked better than ice water.

"What do you mean, what am I doing here? You brought me here." maybe I should have been quiet and just disappeared. She doesn't seem thrilled that I woke her up. I was so used to getting up in the middle of the night that I completely forgot that anyone else would mind. Although technically it was morning and time to wake up. So she couldn't be that angry.

"What are you doing here, on the border between my country and Zessia? Why does Crown Prince of Athran care about insignificant mages in Narral and helps them escape?" she elaborated on her question. And that it turned out to be one hell of a question.

"Oh, you mean this." my eyes scanned the room, there must have been something to drink in one of the lockers. The little one across from her looked promising. "Actually, I'm not the crown prince, my father doesn't age, or he’s really close to it, and the title would suggest that I'm ready to succeed him, which I'm not, so..." her bored expression suggested that she wasn't interested in that part one bit. "I'm just here, it's a long story." I summed up on my way to the locker, smiled at a couple of tall bottles, and took two out. They looked like one of those overly complicated attempts at something special.

Long stems of herbs, leaves, or flowers that I usually couldn't name floated in the transparent liquid, giving the liquid both aroma and flavour. They were often supposed to have some added value that made you feel like you were actually doing something good for your own body, even if it was a horrible lie. And, as was customary here, there were also a few small bugs in the bottle. Once the cork is taken out and the liquid is set in motion, these little bugs release the colour and complement the flavour with colour explosion. I always thought it would be awfully gross without the colour, but I found it rather cute that way.

"Then cut it short." she challenged me in that icy voice. I handed her one of the bottles and sat on the sofa with the other. As far away from her as possible. She kind of freaked me out when she was acting so cold. On the other hand, the chance to kill me had already been missed, so that was probably not the point.

"Well, the short version is that, like a complete idiot, I got caught up in something that's none of my business." I took the cork out of the bottle, the blue and purple started leaking, as I was slowly twirling the bottle to bring the colours together slightly, but they didn't mixed completely. I've always enjoyed watching it. I was also waiting for the bugs to settle on the bottom, I didn't feel like drinking them, that was a bit much even for me. I finally took a sip, only to find that it was an outrageously thick slush that tasted like alcohol more than anything, despite smelling good.

"Hmp..."

That was her whole reaction? She'll just blow away, put the bottle away as if I'd handed her the poison and watched me with those blue eyes. Well, that's perfect. I'm a real jerk. What am I even doing? "That's it?"

"Well, I'm sorry I don't believe it. You're telling me you took time off from sitting in Athran to save some kid." she laughed contemptuously. The frog didn't believe me. "You don't strike me as someone from the royal family. And certainly not as someone who's supposed to lead an army."

"And what did you expect me to have official credentials from my father so I could leave. That I would have an army of guards and servants behind me? It's just a title, and it doesn't mean anything." I had to drink again the foul slush they passed off as edible alcohol. Drinking in the South wasn't bad for the most part, with how many gallons went to one Immortal it makes perfect sense. So they've probably been too busy lately with their Legacy and the perpetual fighting to ensure proper drinking in all the establishments. "You're not behaving as I'd expect, either."

"And how am I supposed to behave?" she turned to me with her whole body and bent over as she did so. 'Should I try to kill you, just because you're a mage?"

"Well, why not? What difference does it make to you?" she was being so patronizing. She was so provocative. "As far as I'm concerned, you might as well give me back to His Majesty. I'm sure he'll be very happy to have me back under his influence." he'll be able to go on with his plans and manage my life. As always. Everything will be perfect then. Just as he wishes.

"I'm not authorized, we're not in Narral territory.“

Authorized? She didn't need anything like that. "Dishonest commanders don't follow any of those rules."

A crooked smile swept through her face, clearly impressed by my knowledge of some of the rules of their insane order. "Well, maybe I should give you back to your father after all. Narral has a very good relationship with him, and this would certainly make it stronger." she sounded completely calm. It's like I'm a commodity that needs to go somewhere.

"It's up to you, I can't avoid my father's influence anywhere anyway."

"Is that why you don't want to go back?" she asked after a moment of silence. She must have thought the question through when she put it like that with her eyes on me.

"No," I said. Of all the questions, this one really caught her. "I don't want to go back because there's nothing to go back to. I have no desire to build a dynasty and consolidate our power. I'm tired of risking my life for people who don't give a shit. And I have enough orders that don't lead to anything." it was the sad truth, there was no one here waiting for me. "You don't seem in a hurry to get back, either."

"My feelings don't matter, I have no choice. I have to go back and report and keep doing what I'm doing." she paused. She didn't want to go back, that much was clear."I can keep you out of the report if you want."

Did she mean it or make fun of me? Some of her reports didn't interest me in a bit. "I'm not on the run or hiding. I don't care if I'm in a report. I’ve made a decision, it’s a crime, you know?" she turned to me, surprised. Did she think I was running? But before the chime? I didn't do anything, I just ran out of patience with how things turned out at home. "What I said before is true. You don't have to go back. I'll make sure no one's looking for you." I wanted to help her. Being alone wasn't worth much, and she looked like she could use someone. Like me, she had nowhere to go and nothing to go back to. And maybe that’s why I was so attracted to her.

"Why would you help me? My job is to kill mages. Your people," when she said it out loud like that, it didn't sound very good. There was a killer lurking beneath those long hairs and behind those blue eyes. That wasn't news to me, but there was just something about her. I didn't want to leave her here, and I didn't want her to go back to her job.

“Do you think I've never killed another mage? Don't be like a little kid. We both probably killed more people than we should have. It's not what you do, I don't need to know. You look like someone who's had enough of this place, just like me." I could invite her to join me, I figured I liked the idea. She looks pretty interesting, and I need a distraction. “Listen to me, I don't know where I'm going, I have no plan, I want to travel and I could use someone who knows how to take care of herself. I don't care about your work as much as I don’t care about your past, don't ask me about mine, and we can just disappear together. The world is big enough. And when you get tired of it, you just walk away. It's that simple."

"And who's like a child now? You can't just offer this to somebody. I have responsibilities."

"And yet I offer it to you. I'm still Steeles. I can do anything. Even turn childish suggestions into reality." I gathered myself from the sofa and reached out to her. "What do you say?"

"That you're crazy."

"That part is obvious, here." I took out my freedom ticket and put it on the table. "Pier Seven. I sail at three. It's up to you." I leaned over to her. So close that I could smell her floral perfume, it smelled like roses. I took my jacket back. I quickly found the shoes and put them on. "Any chance you'll give me my weapons back?"

“Are you going somewhere you're going to need them?" she asked with a slight smile. She looked beautiful. I gave her that smile back and got out of that room before I got any more embarrassed or offered her any more crap. I liked the idea of being joined. The idea thehat she would join in.

"So, why do you need a new ticket? What happened to the old one?" he asked suspiciously. Of all their family, he was the only one who wasn't trying to steer me back north. Who knows why, he didn't mind me making my own decisions and acting like my own person.

"Isn't it enough as a reason that I just don't have the first one anymore?" I returned his questions with another question.

"You know," he laughed softly, handing me a glass of something that smelled infinitely better compared to the slush in the hotel and sat across from me. His style continued to amaze me, even in this hole he had a beautiful apartment with all the golden geometric details they had built up as a family. "I honestly don't care in the slightest. How many of those tickets you want and who you give them to is ultimately your business. I trust you enough, to question that. Just don't mention that I gave them to you before," he paused, taking a quick sip. His feigned looseness was gone.

Somehow I didn't think we'd get to her so quickly. Why does that surprise me? Of course we'll always go back to her. Even my thoughts can't get rid of her. They've got me totally screwed. “Ans?" I finished for him. The name's not poisonous or anything. On the contrary, it's perfect. "We broke up, Jim, she's not dead, although… you never know with her." I laughed and took a sip, too. It was easier to drown those thoughts in something. The otherworldly fine whiskey merely brought me back to everything I'd left behind. I have to get off this continent. It'll be easier to get away from her. It has to be

"I'm sorry, I just," he waved, as if it were no big deal, and produced another ticket. "Three in the afternoon, Pier Seven. The captain has prepared a room for you with everything you'll need."

"Thanks," I said, packing up a piece of paper and examining Damien. He looked exactly the same. Even after years of knowing each other, he hasn't changed. He still looked good, with the same seemingly carefree smile on his lips that always gave him away. He merely traded in a perfectly fitted suit for a looser, but no less ornate shirt.

"She left the continent a few days ago and headed west. So you might as well head south." he refilled the glasses and gave me a long look with those brown eyes. A little brighter than hers. "Edgar stopped by yesterday."

"Here?" surprised, I put down my drink, which kept returning me to Parlasse. We all spent so many evenings there, together, so long ago, it seemed like a different life.

"No, not here." he smiled. He was preparing to share with me what he had talked about with my father. "He asked me about what happened in Narral."

"Well," I had to laugh. Even Damien, with all his information, could not answer that. I was there, and even I don't know what exactly happened. From a simple visit, it quickly shifted to helping mages across borders and international scandal.

"Don't bother. I know you don't care, but no one can link you to it. I took care of it before Edgar came." he bragged about it as if it were some kind of giant feat. I didn't ask him to.

"If you know I don't care, then why do you bother?" the moment I said it out loud, it hit me. It didn't matter much to him either. "You were ordered to."

"No... she asked me to."

"And you obeyed her." as always. She had every right to ask him, and she drove me crazy with it. On the one hand, she didn't care, and on the other, she cared about everything.

"If I refused, she'd find someone else. You know that."he explained it to me like he was talking to a little kid. Of course she'd find someone else. She cared so much about me that she couldn't let me make a mistake, but not so much that she would stop me herself. "I don't know what happened between you two, Emmett. I haven't asked her and I’m not asking you, but you know damn well she won't let you out of her sight. You can hide from Edgar, but not from us." and there was their famous condescension. No one can hide from the Immortals, no one can talk them back and shit like that.

"I'd be happy to take my chances."I retorted. Damien didn't want to get me to the North, he was too over the top for that and yet he keeps me from just disappearing. A beautifully impasse. It's time for me to evaporate, literally. "Give my regards to Jon and the third one.”

"Emmett," his brisk nod made me stop on the way to the door. "I can see what you're thinking. You should probably know that the south is your best chance. Everyone's pulling back here, my people will wrap up within a week at the latest, and neither will Edgar have time for nonsense." I had to look at him again, the carefree smile was gone, for good.

"Are you planning on a full-scale war?" even as I was leaving, everyone was reassuring me that there would be no such thing. On the contrary, they were about to announce that things had calmed down.

"It's probably nothing big." he added rather unconvincingly.

"You almost calmed me down." I was overwhelmed by the urge to come back. I should have done it, but I didn't.

Instead, I walked straight into the harbour, boarded the largest ship on Pier Seven, had the captain greet me and let him show me around his ship. It was exactly the same as any other ship I'd ever been on – big from the outside and tiny from the inside – but I kept it to myself. I nodded admiringly and let him flaunt every insignificant idiocy. I wasn't going to turn an overgrown captain and his entire crew against me. In case things got out of control and I needed the help of one of them. Plus, the guy was so damn proud of his job. I was quite envious of it, it seemed horribly straightforward, spending whole life on a boat and going back and forth, over and over, but it seemed to fill him. He knew exactly what he wanted to do for the rest of his life and he was younger than me. Obviously I made a mistake somewhere and skipped some very important decision in my own life.

The only good thing about the whole ship was the fact that my stuff was already there waiting for me. I was finally able to change and re-arm myself. Not that I needed to, it just made me feel somehow more safe and ready for what was in front of me. At least I was hoping I was ready for some of it. I mean, how one can prepare for anything without a proper plan. The first time travelling like this worked for me, I just got on the first ship in the harbour and disappeared. Back when no one gave a damn about me. And then, she came along, and everything I knew changed.

I went back on board, to the busiest place on the whole colossus. Dozens of people ran back and forth with giant white boxes, each decorated with gold lettering in the old language. They were so large that only their legs could be seen from the men in dark uniforms. They kept bringing new and new on board, and all those boxes were disappearing into the bowels of the ship. There couldn't have been room for many more, but they wouldn't stop. Men continued to carry new boxes aboard the ship. And it just kept swallowing them.

I couldn't stand to watch it any longer empty-handed, I'd rather smoke. I'd never been scared on a boat, but this scared the hell out of me. No one needs those supplies for a journey lasting a few days, especially with only a few passengers here. Damien mentioned that the main reason for the trip was to transport goods that can't get through the portals. He didn't mention that there was so much of the stuff or what it was. If I had to guess, and that I really wanted to guess, I'd bet on something that's commonly considered illegal, even in the hands of the Heirs. And because it was something from our continent, sent to the southern one, it must have had something to do with magic. People there have not learned to use such a valuable energy source effectively. I looked at the boxes again, sure I knew what was inside and why they were so big. It sent shivers down my spine, if only because of how many boxes it was.

"For such a big ship, there are a few passengers here, don't you think." her cold voice jolted me from my thoughts on another hypocritical piece of the Hale's.

"It's not exactly a cruise ship." I said with a smile. She was here, I turned around, and blonde was really there. She looked different than I expected, exposing incredibly long legs in a short skirt. I couldn't claim that I didn't want to spend more time alone with her and with her help, leaving everything and everyone else behind.

"No, it's not," she seemed nervous, reaching out to me. "My name is Catarina, in case you're wondering."