To Paxaria: part 7.0

Review: Ruelle just learned a lot from Altha and this stranger who calls himself The King's Stray. She is drawn to this man who seems to lead a life of mystery and adventure, and she gets the idea in her head to ask him about the Tribute program, to see if there is any possibility of her getting reassigned from her apprenticeship with a physician. After he tells her he thinks she's where she's supposed to be, Ruelle decides she will at least try to switch who she apprentices under, and she desperately appeals to the King's Stray, asking if she can apprentice under him. He turns her down and tells her he doesn't have the authority to do that. The last chapter left off with him departing, leaving Ruelle feeling discouraged. 

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Ruelle watched the King’s Stray until his departing figure was little more than a speck in the distance. Even after he passed out of sight altogether, she stood unmoving for some time, processing everything that had just happened. The only other day in her memory which surpassed this in its starkly contrasting highs and lows was her very first day in Paxaria. Was that really only a couple of days ago? Was all her life here to be like this?

Maybe I’ll just have to keep all my hopes low all the time so the disappointment can never be this painful, she thought.

Sighing, she turned around slowly. Altha would almost certainly be looking for her by now, and besides, Ruelle suddenly realized she was hungry. So she dragged her feet back toward Elfrida’s house.

She hoped to slip through the door unnoticed, as if she had never been gone. The thought of anyone making her tell where she had been or what she had been doing made her want to hide. If nothing else, she dreaded seeing the “I told you so” look Altha was sure to give her if she exposed herself.

But upon entering, Ruelle was relieved that no one acted like they even noticed her absence.

“Mysie is doing much better,” Elfrida said, hurrying to hand Ruelle something to eat and see that she sat down at the table to enjoy it properly.

“Good,” Ruelle responded. That, at least, was a relief.

Glancing across the room, she saw Altha at Mysie’s cot. She appeared to be just finishing up checking on the injured woman’s condition and changing the bandages. Idylette hovered nearby, as always.

Something in Ruelle’s stomach fluttered unpleasantly at the sight of Mysie’s daughter. All morning, Ruelle had banished from her mind any troubling worries about whether Idylette would be angry with her for the duskwither incident. Now she faced the reality that there was more than likely to be a confrontation one way or another before it was time to leave, and she dreaded that.

When she had finished her meal, Ruelle cautiously walked over to Altha.

“How is she doing?” she asked, gesturing toward Mysie.

“As well as can be expected for the serious injury she’s sustained,” Altha said. “I think I feel confident enough about her recovery that we can take our leave tomorrow morning. I will leave care instructions for Elfrida, Idylette, and the local physician. As long as everything keeps going in this direction, Mysie should be able to go home within the next couple of days.”

Ruelle breathed out a silent sigh. Though the morning had brought noticeable improvement in Mysie’s condition and Altha seemed convinced the risk of fatality had passed, Ruelle had still worried that something might go wrong because of her mistake.

“Can I talk to you for a moment?” she asked under her breath, glancing around to make sure Elfrida and Idylette were not listening.

“Of course,” Altha nodded, and drew her aside out of the others’ hearing range.

Ruelle fidgeted with her belt. She was not sure how to start the conversations she wanted to have with her mentor. But she needed to solve some things, so she took a deep breath and ploughed ahead.

“You did get some kind of scroll or parchment from the King’s Stray at the market today, did you not? You insisted you hadn’t hidden it up your sleeve, but I am not convinced that means you don’t have it anywhere. What can you tell me about that? Was it an important message?”

Altha appraised her with analytical eyes for a moment.

“You’re right,” she affirmed at last. “He did give me something. I surreptitiously slipped it into my bag as soon as possible, though.” A twinkle glinted in her eye, and she added, “I have become rather practiced with sly moves like that over the years, you know. Such are the necessary measures to keep information as safe as possible.”

Ruelle felt better at the confirmation that what she saw had been correct, if nothing else.

“But,” Altha continued, “It wasn’t a message.”

“Then what was it?” Ruelle pressed.

Altha seemed like she was going to answer, but then changed her mind about what she was going to say. Tapping a finger to her chin, she said, “Why don’t we put your critical thinking to the test? What else do you think it could have been, based on the things you learned today?”

Dumbfounded, Ruelle stumbled for words, for coherent thoughts. She scrambled back through her memory of the day’s events, closing her eyes to envision everything. Images flashed through her mind of the bright market stalls, the angry woman shouting about her spilled baskets, the glowering face of the roadside thief, the flash of a figure incapacitating the assailant in one dark-cloaked blur, wielding his strange cylindrical weapon . . . .

Suddenly, Ruelle had it.

“It’s a map, isn’t it?” she guessed, her eyes flying open as she made the connection.

Altha’s pleased smile was confirmation.

“Yes, indeed.”

Ruelle’s own face beamed, and she felt an unexpected warm rush of gratification as she realized that, for the first time, Altha was proud of her.

“What is it a map of? Am I allowed to look at it?” she asked.

Altha thought for a moment.

“You may look at it,” she finally said. “And I presume you will be curious to know its significance as well.”

She smiled, almost as if she could relate, but added, “That is something that might have to wait a while, though. There is an important matter we need to see to first, and then you will be permitted to know more.”

“What’s the important thing we have to do?” Ruelle asked as Altha retrieved the bag where the map was hidden away.

“You will see before long,” Altha said, and that was it.

Ruelle leaned closer to watch Altha unroll the parchment and reveal its secret complexities.

“This is the first chance I’ve gotten to look at it myself,” Altha told her.

Ruelle followed eagerly when Altha stepped closer to an open window for better lighting.

There was something about maps that had always enthralled her. While she often felt a little overwhelmed by the more detailed ones, she was also fascinated by the way everything could be laid out in such a structured way. Roads no longer looked abstract when she could trace them to their end, landmarks stood in exact locations, and all of it could be seen as if from a bird’s eye view. Things made sense when she looked at a map.

And yet this one held secrets. Altha had essentially said so herself.

Scanning the paper, Ruelle searched for clues. But she did not know exactly what she was looking for, and there were so many lines and so much tiny writing that she felt confused almost right away.

“This is quite a large-scale map, isn’t it?” she asked, squinting as she traced a line with her finger. The labels all looked and sounded foreign to her.

“Yes, it is,” Altha said. “It is a general sketch showing a large part of Paxaria. We are about right here.”

She pointed with her finger to a spot on the map, and Ruelle’s eyes followed.

“It is harder to pinpoint this exact village because this map only shows the labels of more prominent locations,” she explained. “But this is approximately where we are.”

Ruelle studied the page with interest.

That’s when she noticed an anomaly.

“Why is there an ‘x’ over here?” she asked, pointing out a spot not far from their current location on the map.

Altha hesitated.

“It is a location significant for the King’s Stray,” she said carefully. “He has several areas marked. This is not the only one.”

Ruelle leaned in, examining it closely. Just as Altha had said, there were indeed a few more similar marks in other locations. But it all still seemed ambiguous to Ruelle no matter how hard she looked.

“So am I allowed to know what these marks are about?” she ventured, straightening to look at her mentor, even though she didn’t figure the answer would be yes.

Just as she had guessed, Altha shook her head.

“Not now. Maybe later.”

Altha rolled the map back up, and Ruelle let out a disappointed sigh.

“You will be able to know more things in time,” Altha reminded her.

Still, Ruelle did not feel encouraged. There was so much of this in her life since coming to Paxaria, so much seeing and hearing only bits and pieces of things that sounded very exciting, but then being cut off from finding out the best details.

“I have one other question,” Ruelle said as Altha put away her bag. Hesitant though she was, she had to get one more problem solved.

“Do you think Idylette is angry with me?” she asked quietly, glancing around the room to make sure no one was near enough to be listening. “I’ve been worrying about that ever since she found out what happened.”

Altha contemplated for a moment, then said “I have not heard her express any sentiment like that, but of course we may not see everything she feels.”

Ruelle nodded, understanding, but not nearer to a definitive answer or a solution.

“I just don’t know if I am supposed to do anything. I really do feel bad about my mistake with the duskwither, but I don’t know if Idylette holds animosity toward me about it. And since I can’t tell what she’s thinking, I always feel nervous when she’s around because I’m afraid she might decide to lash out at me.”

“Hm,” Altha hummed thoughtfully. “Well, why don’t you approach her first? When we’ve made a mistake where other people are involved, it is good to take responsibility for our fault and try to make amends as soon as possible, especially if we can’t tell how much the error may have hurt them. Better to remove the possibility of long-term, unspoken grudges which could have been resolved early.”

Ruelle nodded again. Altha did have a worthwhile point. But it was daunting to think of actually carrying out the action she suggested.

“It may frighten you,” Altha said, perhaps perceiving Ruelle’s conflicted state of mind. “But the brave never run from their duty. And trust me, even when I have made serious mistakes of my own, I’ve found it best to take responsibility right away. The sooner I do, the sooner things are mended – at least as far as I have any control over anything.”

Ruelle swallowed nervously, as if she could gulp away her fears as well. But she knew Altha was probably right about this.

“Thanks,” she said quietly after a long moment. “I’ll think about that.”

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