I didn't get any third option opinions! Yeah for me! But now, I feel obligated to mention something. Jenny gave me a wonderful complement, and said she's dying to know how it ends. For those who don't know, 50,000 words translate into (single space, 12 point font) about a hundred pages. And the story isn't even a third done yet. *cough* Sorry Jenny, you're in for a long run.
Review from last week. Martin confronts the idea that he might actually be the prince. I introduced Sona, who explains to Sara what had happened sixteen years before, and Sara gives a brief of Aeternan history and the Seven Founders. Now, it's time to plan plans, and foil a few of them too.
********
“Thanks for your help, Martin,” the instructor said after the class had been dismissed. Don Ander, Luke’s father, splashed water on his face and dried it with a towel. He gave the young spy a piercing stare. “Though you were pushing it a bit. Is something wrong?”
Martin snorted softly, wishing the spying teacher hadn’t been that observant. But he usually did beat Ander in a fist fight; yet another gift from his childhood spent on the streets. He bent over the barrel to splash water on his own face.
He froze. For a moment, it wasn’t his reflection in the water, but of the same mirror-man he had been arguing with the night before. Though the image only stayed a moment and his own reflection staring back at him with wide eyes, there was no doubt of what he saw.
“Great,” he thought, grasping the sides of the barrel. “Now, even when I’m awake…”
“Martin?” Ander asked, frowning. “Are you alright? You just got really pale.”
The spy shook his head. This was not the place to worry about the wrong reflection. The noise and heat of the weapon field crashed on him, making his forming headache hurt even more. If he was going to worry, it would be where no one else could see.
“I think I might be coming down with something,” he told the concerned teacher. A partial truth. The more these strange things had been happening, the more he felt sick. He quickly brought a handful of water to his face and washed the sweat off. Taking the offered towel, he wiped his face. “Sir, if you don’t mind, I’d like to go lie down.”
“My next class will be fine without you,” Ander assured. “Go. Get feeling better.” Martin tried to smile appreciatively, but it felt forced. The teacher saw it. “Get going,” he laughed, shoving him for the door. Martin took the not-so-subtle hint and left. However, after he changed quickly out of his sweaty clothes into his regular ones, he did not make his way to his room.
Wandering around the halls of the Tree, he was careful to use the less trafficked ones. At the moment, he did not want to talk to people. The internal conflicts of his dreams were complicated enough; no doubt the involvement of other people would make it worse. Especially if they knew exactly why he was so troubled.
“Hey,” Thomas’s voice called out from behind and broke his concentration. “Martin! Where have you been all morning?”
Martin paused long enough to look back at his friend, who quickly caught up with him. As usual, Thomas didn’t bother to make himself look presentable.
“I was helping Luke’s dad with his hand combat class,” he replied. Thomas frowned.
“That was over an hour ago.” He gave him a confused look, one Martin knew well enough. Thomas knew something was wrong. “You’ve been wandering around since?”
He shrugged. “Suit doesn’t need me at the moment. I’ve nothing better to do other than write out my report. But until my Order of Silence is lifted, I can’t even do that.”
“Then you haven’t heard?” his friend asked, his expression stunned. “Suit’s called for a meeting of the entire Tree. It’s going to happen at noon. Supposedly to tell us why he’s been in closed conference with the queen, why the princess has been snapping at everyone, and why Sona suddenly has a new project that’s large enough for her to pull at least ten people to it.”
“Sona’s on the…” He gulped. This was not good. The pretty research spy was very good at her job. And considering his own mysterious past, it would only be a matter of time before she would track him down. It was not a comforting thought of having Sona delving into his past when he rather it be kept quiet.
“What’s this all about?” Thomas asked, absently picking at a hole in the cuff of his shirt. “Luke’s bet is that King Jonathan’s still alive. I think it’s all about those kidnappers after the princess. Are you going to clear things up for us?”
Martin shook his head. “No,” he said, “I’d rather let Suit do that ugly business. Come on, we don’t want to miss the announcement.” Even as he started walking for the amp theater, he wished this was all just a big mistake.
*************
When they arrived at the amp theater, nearly all the seats were taken. Thomas glanced over the crowd to find seats for him and Martin. His friend, however, stopped just inside the door and leaned against the frame, his arms folded across his chest. Thomas knew that pose from his friend. He was upset about something. Knowing Suit’s apprentice wouldn’t elaborate on it, he resigned himself to stay at the door for the announcement without an explanation.
Taking another glance down the theater, he saw the stage and named the people sitting on a row of chairs. Suit sat next to Queen Abigail and the two were talking quietly to each other. Princess Sara sat on the other side of the queen, her attention split from throwing annoyed glares at her mother and the questions she was asking Sona, who sat next to her. After Sona sat several of her helpers, including Luke’s twin sister Kriste. He caught Kriste’s eye and waved at her. Her own silent reply was a smirk.
“When are you going to tell Luke about you and his sister?” Martin asked, noticing the exchange.
“When we know it’s not a fling,” he answered promptly. “We’ve only been together for about a month.” Martin snorted softly then returned his intent gaze back at the stage. Not for the first time that day did Thomas wonder what really bothered his friend. It took a lot to upset him; Thomas guessed that was because he had learned to live with death threats that turned into being numb at anything.
A last few people filed into the theater and took seats, though others stood at the back like them. Martin frowned as he scanned the crowd.
“Where is Luke, anyway?”
Thomas snickered. “He’s still on Traffic Duty. People who are working essential jobs are still at their posts. We’ll have to tell him about this later. Then I can collect my prize from him.”
“Neither of you won,” Martin muttered, almost darkly. Thomas was a bit surprised by the tone. He rarely used it; mostly when he grudgingly talked of his life at Loman.
He was about to ask the question he knew he wasn’t going to get answered when Suit stood up and walked to the podium. He tapped the magic on the podium and his voice carried throughout the theater.
“Silence,” he called out. Of course, the entire theater hushed at the command. Satisfied by the full attention he had, Suit placed both hands on the podium edge and scanned the audience before him.
“As several of you may have noticed, our queen and princess are here. The reason is that we will be housing Princess Sara for the time being. Until such time the kidnap threat has pasted. So, I ask all you to be as helpful as you can to the princess to make her time here more tolerable. But that is not why I called this meeting.” Every ear waited for what the Spy Master had to say next. Suit took in a deep breath.
“The Crown Prince of Aeterna is alive,” he announced. Gasped filled the hall. “Quiet!” Suit snapped. Everyone stopped their chatter. Suit glared at them, almost daring them in his stare to speak again. “The Connection of Prince Henry, the proof of his heritage, has been found. Unfortunately, the glove was found in a Venter camp without the prince. The queen has given us charge to find him, whatever it takes. Sona, the one who will be heading this search, will tell you of the details she needs you to fulfill. Sona.”
Stepping away from the podium, the research spy stood and took their attention. She smiled at them. “Thank you, Sir. Now, there is not much I will be requiring from all of you, except those who I have already pulled in to help with my research. However, there will be times when I will have someone go out and search out other information. And also, those of you who meet my wide criteria for the prince will be interviewed.” She glanced to the back of the theater where they were standing and smirked.
“Be prepared for it,” she warned. Thomas had the sneaking suspicion she was directing the comment at Martin. Glancing at his friend, his only response was a snort. “In the mean time, do not try to come to help me unless I call for you. I don’t need troublemakers under my feet. Thank you. Now, I believe Her Majesty has something more to say?” She turned to the queen. The Aeternan ruler nodded and stood.
“Come on,” Martin suddenly said, turning his back on the stage. “Let’s go get some lunch and tell Luke about this.”
Thomas frowned. “Don’t you want to hear what our queen has to say about this?”
Martin glanced back at him over his shoulder. “Do you really want to hear it?”
Thomas stared down at the queen for a moment before agreeing. In his experience, most nobles tended to make speeches just to fill time. Besides, they heard the big announcement. Grabbing a quick lunch for themselves and Luke, they made their way back up to the stables where Luke sat by the door. He looked up from the ledger as they approached.
“Oh, good!” he exclaimed, jumping up and grabbing the roll filled with meat and cheese from Martin’s out stretched hand. “Lunch!” He tore a bite out of it, savoring it.
“Skipped breakfast again?” Martin asked, sitting down in his customary chair by the wall, taking a bite of his own sandwich. “You know you shouldn’t do that.”
“I didn’t,” Luke said after he gulped down his bite. “I just get hungry when I’m bored.”
“You’re always hungry,” Thomas teased, sitting down next to his friends. “I’m surprised we haven’t gone through a shortage because of you.”
“Funny,” Luke sneered. After swallowing yet another large mouth full of food, he asked the question they all had that morning. “So, what was the announcement about? Am I right? King Jonathan is alive?”
“Close, but not quite,” Martin said causally. “The crown prince is alive.”
Luke coughed, spewing half chewed food on them. He and Martin ducked to avoid getting hit in the face. “The crown prince?” Luke finally choked. “I thought the Venterans killed him.”
“Apparently not,” Thomas said, flicking a bit of roll of his knee. “They found his Connection in a Venter army.” He turned to Suit’s apprentice. “That is what you found in that camp, right?”
“Something like that,” Martin muttered. Thomas wondered about what he meant when Luke sat back in his chair, thinking.
“Where do you suppose he could be though?” he asked. “I mean, where can a prince hide?” He retuned his chair back to all fours, his eyes wide. “You don’t suppose our prince is in the Venter army, do you?”
“He couldn’t possibly be,” Thomas argued. “You know the story. The Seven Founders attached the Santers to the land. He couldn’t fight against Aeterna if he tried.” Back and forth they argued about where the prince could be, though Martin stayed out of it. Neither he nor Luke tried to include him though. They both knew how he hated talking about family affairs.
“Maybe,” Luke suggested sarcastically, “he grew up on the streets. Like our friend here.” Thomas glanced at Martin, wondering what his reaction to that statement would be. He had been sitting quietly staring off, his elbow on his knee and his face on his hand.
Martin grimaced painfully.
Thomas and Luke exchanged confused looks. This was the first time they ever saw their friend react like that when it came to family matters.
“Martin?” Luke ventured to ask.
“Hum?” Their friend came out of his far distance stare, frowning at them. “What?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he said, sinking lower into his chair. “Not really. I just now know what big event was coming.” He stared back off into the distance. “Though, really, I didn’t want it coming.”
“Liar,” Luke accused. “You’ve been acting a bit off since you came back from the Venter camp.”
“Today you were looking for something to do,” Thomas pointed out. “You usually do that when you don’t want to think about something. What is it? Tell us. Does it have to do with this prince business? Or is it something else entirely?”
Martin glanced at them, his eyes narrowing slightly. He seemed to consider something. Finally, he sighed, thudding his head back against the wall. “I won’t get any rest until I tell you, right?”
“You know us,” Luke snorted. “We’re worried. This is not who you are.”
Martin suddenly laughed, though the sound came out bitter. “Who I am. I’ve been wondering that since…” He sighed deeply. Leaning forward he buried his face in his hands.
“The glove,” he whispered, almost too softly for them to hear. “The Connection that belongs to Prince Henry. I’ve had it since long before I could remember.”
Thomas froze, stunned by what his friend just told them. Exchanging shocked looks with Luke, they turned again to him. “What do you mean?” he said, finally finding his voice. Martin sighed again and sat up to look them in the eyes.
“I didn’t find the glove at the Venter camp,” he confessed. “I’ve had it before I could remember. Back when I lived on the streets of Loman. All I found at the camp was that Inhibitor.” He confessed he had always thought of the glove as his lucky charm. He related his conversation with Piro after he had stolen the Inhibitor from the Venter camp and how the merchant released the magic within it. Then explaining how that night the silver ball and the glove exchanged the magic.
“I never expected my lucky charm could belong to anyone else,” he sighed, leaning back in his chair again. “And now… What am I supposed to think now? Obviously, the glove never belonged to me… But…”
“But what?” Luke asked, leaning forward, his chin resting on his propped up hands. “You said it yourself. You always thought you just found it.”
“I know,” Martin said, glancing away to his left. “But… when the magic was exchanged, I touched the glove, and I started having nightmares.”
“We’ve all had nightmares,” Thomas assured him. “You’re probably just having a reaction to the magic. I bet you can go to the queen and explain all this. She’ll help you.”
“I can’t,” Martin scoffed, his face becoming pained again. “In my nightmares, I keep finding myself staring at a reflection that doesn’t belong to me.”
“Why can’t you tell the queen?” Luke began to ask when Martin stood abruptly and started to pace.
“Because this image keeps telling me that I’m the prince!” He laughed again, though there was no mirth in it. “It’s ridiculous thinking that I could be… Look at me! Do I look like a noble? And every time I try arguing with the image, he just tells me the same thing. That I’m the prince and that I’d better accept it as fact or regret it.”
“Sit down,” Luke suggested, “before you start yelling.” Martin snorted at the remark, but sat down. “Now,” he went on, “I have a question. Do you believe this… wrong reflection is telling you the truth? Do you honestly believe that you could be the prince?”
Martin took in a deep breath. “That is what’s troubling me. I don’t know. The image said things… About clues that went unnoticed for years. I don’t know if I am the prince, but there’s a possibility that I could be.”
Thomas sat back in his chair with a tired sigh. This was serious. Martin was logical, he knew the difference between the impossible and possible. If he even acknowledged this possibility, he was probably right about it.
“What are you going to do?” he asked, after they all let the revelation sink in.
Martin frowned then narrowed his eyes. “Nothing,” he declared, sitting up, his face determined. “I’m not going to do anything until I know more. I need evidence one way or the other. Until then, I’m not telling them and I want you to promise that you won’t say anything either.”
“But Martin,” Luke protested, standing. “If you could be…”
“I know it’s dangerous,” Martin rebutted, also standing. “But do you realize what they’d do to me if I told them this?” Thomas scoffed quietly. He knew what would happen.
“They take you to Nacre,” he answered, shaking his head. “And if you aren’t the prince…” He sighed. “Your reputation would be destroyed. Everything you’ve worked for would be demolished.”
“That’s right,” Martin said, though still staring at Luke. “Everything I’ve worked for would be for nothing. Now, do I have your promise or not?”
Thomas immediately brushed his fingers across his forehead, a gesture of his promise. Luke continued to stare at Martin until finally he copied his gesture. Their friend gave a satisfied snort.
“We need evidence,” he said again.
“And how do you plan to get that evidence?” Luke asked, folding his arms. Now Luke was aggravated.
The door of the stable slammed and Kriste came striding up to them. Thomas quickly covered his smile at the sight of her. She had the same straw colored hair and blue eyes as her twin, but there the similarities ended. Unlike her tall brother, she was short, with just enough plump to fill her figure. She also didn’t get in as many pranks.
“Martin,” she said, though giving him a discrete wink. “You’re wanted. Sona wants to hear firsthand account about your mission in the Venter camp.”
“There’s your answer, friend,” Martin said, smirking. “I’ll see you guys later.” Kriste frowned at them but shrugged and followed Martin out of the stable. Thomas shook his head. He doubted Martin would act troubled now. He had a plan and a way to pull it off.
**********
“We’ll focus on all those who are in Aeterna first,” Sona delegated to her staff after the meeting of the Tree. “According to Her Majesty, the prince would have been drawn back here. His Connection may have been suppressed, but he is still linked with this land. He wouldn’t feel secure anyplace else.”
Giving the staff her list of things to look for in the records, males sixteen to twenty who hand no records before they were one, she set them to the task. Satisfied as the other research spies began dividing up the work, she turned to address the queen.
“We’ll find him, Your Majesty,” Sona assured her.
“I have no doubt you will,” Queen Abigail said with a small smile. Behind her mother, Princess Sara only rolled her eyes. Sona quickly hid a smile of her own. The princess had insisted on helping on the research team. Thankfully, the queen agreed.
“Since your team is already working on the task of shifting through records,” Suit said, “What will you be working on?”
“I’ve already created a list of young men who live here that meets my requirements,” she explained. “I’m going to interview them. Kriste’s begun gathering them.”
“And I’ve brought the first one!” Kriste laughed, throwing the doors open. Behind her, Martin frowned at the declaration.
“I thought I was brought to talk about the mission,” he wondered aloud.
“That too,” Sona replied, smiling at him. He was only acting surprised; he was too smart to not know he would be suspected. Though, taking a good look at his average build and height, dark hair, and hazel eyes, she thought he had nothing to worry about. Yes, they didn’t know much about his background, but he did not look like he belonged to any noble family.
“Wait,” Sara piped up, her head whipping around to look at Suit’s apprentice, “what do you mean? Martin’s on that list of yours?”
The queen also gave Martin a calculating look, measuring him up as the first young man she meet she knew who could be the prince. The spy took the stares, standing at a military stance. He was used to being under such sanction. As she knew, he had spent his life proving to others he was of worth.
“There I go again,” she thought, shaking her head. It had only been in the last year since she began to notice Martin. It had been after the war started, she had seen how much he worked to end the war, not even taking a vacation and taking all the assignments he could. More and more, his reports crossed her desk and she realized she wanted to know more of the man behind the adventures she read.
“Yes,” she finally answered Sara’s question. “He’s on the list.” Martin only rolled his eyes.
“Shall we get this over with?” he asked. “I’ve got to actually write my report, now that my silence has been lifted.”
“This way,” she said, motioning to a side room where they could hold the interview in private. She curtsied to the queen. “If you would like, I hope you’d join us.”
“Of course I’ll join,” Queen Abigail said, still measuring Martin with firm eyes. “I wish to know all those who could be with my son.” Martin groaned but followed them into the room. Inside was a table and chairs. The queen sat down and Sona next to her, facing the door. Beneath the table, she pulled out the files she had acquired early in the morning.
“Alright, Martin,” she said as he closed the door and sat opposite of her from the table. “Let’s get the more recent events out of the way. Tell us about your mission into the Venter camp.”
“It was like any other retrieval mission,” he replied, leaning back in his chair. He described his infiltration, the theft, and his conversation with Piro about the Inhibitor.
“You didn’t show this merchant the glove?” the queen asked, rubbing her upper lip in thought.
“Honestly,” he said, half smiling, “I thought the glove was a mistake. It looked normal to me. The Inhibitor was the thing I didn’t recognize.” He concluded his tale by mentioning he returned by merchant caravan. “As I said. It was like any other retrieval mission.”
“Yes,” Sona replied with a chuckle, “but the results are different. Now, we need to talk about you.” Martin let out an exasperated sigh, glancing away from them.
“I don’t like talking about it.”
“We know,” Sona assured him, trying to use her most soothing voice. “But it must be done.” She pulled out his official Aeternan record. “You first came to Aeterna when you were about ten, correct?”
“About that age,” he agreed, still not looking them.
“Before that, you lived at Loman,” Sona went on, flipping through the papers. “At least, that is where General Fred Chief found you. Trying to steal food from the Aeterna Embassy there.”
Martin laughed at the memory. “Yes, that’s where he found me.” He finally lifted his head and met their eyes. “He’s the one who offered me a life here. Needless to say, but I accepted his offer.”
“You’re records are very clear from that point on.” Sona placed the papers down and propped her elbows on the table, her chin resting on her clasped hands. “What isn’t clear is your life at Loman. The records are vague, to say the least.” She was exaggerating; his records before he met General Chief were nonexistent. Even the early reports of him, there were rarely any mention of his life before.
“I was a street urchin,” he mumbled. “Of course I didn’t have records.”
“A street urchin?” the queen asked, frowning. Leaning forward only slightly, her commanding presence seemed to press on the spy. “You’re meaning to say you grew up without parents?”
“I don’t even know who they are,” he told her, matching the queen’s resolved attitude. “From what I heard from those who lived there, they died in a fire during a raid. I was left on my own. I didn’t even have a name until I was four or five.”
Sona sat up at the information. Settling back in her chair, she let out a slow breath. “Then how did you get an Aeternan name?”
Martin barked a half-hearted laugh. “A kind soul who used to take me in when it rained gave me the name. I don’t even know the lady’s name, but she would show a bit of kindness to all the street urchins. Unfortunately, she could only take in so many; she’d stuff the house when it rained though. She said I was resilient, like Aeternans. She named me Martin, after the philosopher of the Seven Founders, hoping it would give me an edge in the position I had on the streets.”
“What happened to this woman?” the queen asked, the firmness in her eyes softening after what they heard.
“She died when I was about six.” Briefly, his expression showed the sorrow he felt at her fate. Shaking his head, he forced a smile. “With so many kids in her house, it was only a matter of time before she caught a disease. And I was left on my own until Fred caught me. And that about sums up my childhood. Anything else?”
Sona was a bit surprised by the abrupt end he brought to the conversation, but reasoned it was about time. Throughout the interview, he folded his arms and his posture became more defensive. Clearly, he did not wish to discuss his street days further. She couldn’t blame him; not after hearing the tone in his voice.
“Not now,” she said, placing his papers back into his folder. “But don’t be surprised if we have more questions.”
“People are never done with questions,” he said, standing. He bowed to the queen. “With your permission?”
“You are excused,” the queen acknowledged, nodding her head in agreement and also standing. Sona quickly stood and followed them back into the records room. Her staff was moving among the selves of files, pulling down the records they needed.
“Seems Kriste hasn’t found Denny yet,” she mussed, glancing around.
“Denny?” Martin asked, frowning. “I thought he was a slave in Venter before he escaped here. He’s records should be clear.”
“Clearer than yours, yes.” Sona sighed. “But that doesn’t mean much. We have to look at everyone.”
“Why?” Martin asked. He held up a hand before she could answer. “Never mind, I think I know.” He watched a moment while her staff went about their work, his frown now considering. “Do you know why the prince was kidnapped?”
The queen was the one to answer. “Terk was bitter that he lost the war,” she said resentfully. She shook silently with anger. “He wanted to strike at us where it hurt.”
“I’m not so sure,” the spy replied. “The prince wasn’t held for ransom. In fact, they went through a lot of trouble to make it seem he had died. Why?”
“That’s an answer we’d all like to know,” Suit muttered darkly, joining them. He gave his apprentice a stern look. “And where’s that report of yours?”
“I’m off to get that done right now.” Martin turned to go then noticed the princess. Sara had been sitting quietly at one of the tables, a pile of files already before her. However, she ignored the records, but kept staring at him.
“Seems my daughter has taken an interest in you, Martin,” Abigail said, trying to stifle her laugh. “She’s never known what’s it like to have an older sibling.”
“Is that so?” the spy muttered. Without warning, he strolled over to the princess’s table, planted both hands on the tabletop, and stared down at the princess. Sara shook slightly by the sudden approach, but stared back. Neither exchanged words. It only took a few moments before Sara quailed under his gaze. Martin smiled slowly.
“You blinked.”
Shoving off the tabletop, he walked away, humming a nameless tune. Startled by the sudden declaration, Sara stared after him, confused about what had happened.
Abigail was also staring at the retreating spy’s back, her own expression not so much as confused as it was awed. Suit whistled low.
“I’ve never been on the receiving end of Martin’s stare,” the Spy Master muttered. “But I never want to. He’s going to make an impressive commander one day. With that stare of his, people will obey.”
Sona found herself agreeing. Glancing at Martin as he left the room, she knew what they did not name in his stare. Determination. That was what most found so unsettling about that look in his eyes. It was the look of a man determined to do what was necessary to reach his end goal. It was the reason why he was Suit’s apprentice, it was the reason why he had earned the respect from older spies, and it was the reason why she found him most interesting.
**********
And so begins the conflict among themselves. They (the queen, spy master, the rest of Aeterna for that matter) are trying to find the prince, while Martin is determined to have evidence before helping them. Next week will bring the introduction of a new character, and a very important one in Martin's life. Fred Cheif.
