~ Aalaeyah777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiVKJIdSNGQ
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His confidence amused me. But what amused me more was the doubt I could see slowly begin to cross his features as he realised that his win wouldn’t be as easy as he thought. I needed money to complete my mission and I was beginning to run out so I thought I’d challenge a few men to arm wrestles to make some easy money. This brute of a man though was as much for my entertainment as the money. I couldn’t wait to watch him lose.
We’d been locked in this arm wrestle, neither of us moving for five minutes now and sweat was beginning to bead on his forehead and his arm was beginning to shake. His smug smile was slipping and I smiled serenely at him adding a small burst of energy to push his hand towards the table quickly before letting him bring our clasped hands upright again. I laughed at the look of shock on his face as he again focused on getting my hand to the table. I let him push my hand down nearly all the way, watching as a look of triumph slowly began to cross his features. I sent a burst of power through my arm and slammed his hand against the table. His look of shock quickly turned to one of rage as he jumped up, his chair falling backwards as he did.
“You cheated! There is no way you could win against me!” I simply shrugged, smirking up at him.
“Are you backing down from the bet? Are you such a coward?” I challenged. I knew it would make him angrier, but I wasn’t afraid of him. He growled and I anticipated the dagger, moving swiftly away as he lunged at me. The smug smile that once occupied his face now occupied mine.
“Gentlemen,” I cried, gaining the attention of all the men in the tavern, “This man is a bet whore who cannot pay his rent! Head my warnings! He has half the brains of a monkey and the wit of ale dregs!”
I anticipated his every move and deftly leapt onto the table as his punch met with nothing and he fell forward. His embarrassment from my speech and his missed hits making him increasingly livid. I leapt over the tables, adding a burst of power to each jump making me hover in the air for a fraction of a second longer than needed. The excitement sent adrenaline coursing through my veins, increasing my Potestatem with every breath.
Potestatem. Power. It’s like a drug. The rush of adrenaline it brings. The adrenaline that then enhances it. It is a never-ending loop and it is very easy to become addicted. Too easy to let it consume you. And without the proper training it will. I’ve seen it happen too many times. But I was trained by the best, the King’s own right-hand man. My father had worked for the King for as long as I could remember. He was his main adviser and a trusted friend. Not only that but every soldier was trained by my father to use and control their Potestatem with the utmost precision and control. Myself included, although I’m no soldier. I am however, a spy.
I looked to my target – the reason I was at this particular tavern – to gauge his reaction and we locked eyes for a brief moment before I made a split second decision and leapt to his table. He reached his hand up to me and I politely took it, allowing him to assist me down. I played my part, acting the shy and vulnerable girl he expected all the while the adrenaline and Potestatem was pulsing through my veins and I became too caught up in it to take much notice of what was happening around me.777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZp5tlcMOIJ
The loud turning over of tables shook me from my daze and I turned to him, realising he was collecting my winnings from previous bets that had yet to pay up. Although I was shocked by his kindness I allowed myself a brief moment of gratitude and smiled up at him.
“Thanks Will-“ I gasped, realising my mistake too late and prayed to the Gods that he thought nothing of it. My cheeks would be red from the adrenaline rush – I knew that – and I hoped he would think it merely a blush from a shy girl. Maybe my slip wouldn’t be so bad if I could play it off as such. After all, it was the character I had chosen for tonight. My wide blue eyes and delicate features gave me a look of innocence that was vital to this role.
“You’re no rat-bag on the city streets. Who are you?” He asked, raising his eyebrows at me in curiosity as the barmaid brought over his tankard filled with my winnings. I scooped the coins into my pocket before winking at him and weaving away through the crowd and out the door.
Looking over my shoulder to make sure he hadn’t followed me I ran off down the street just in case he decided to. Certain he hadn’t followed me, I snuck into a side alleyway and leant back against the wall taking a deep breath to try and calm myself. Quickly looking around me to make sure no one was watching, and doing as my father taught me I focused on my breathing to relax my Potestatem. I let the glamour that had concealed my true identity all day fall away and I sighed in exhaustion. The past months adventures and using my Potestatem every day to conceal my identity was beginning to catch up to me and exhaustion was setting in. I needed a day to rest, a day without using my Potestatem to fully recuperate. But first, there was one more thing I needed to do.
Back in my room at the Inn I moved the small dresser in front of the door, just to ensure I had no unwelcome visitors while I did what I needed to.
Closing my eyes I focused on my breathing, making my breaths deep and even, I slowly calmed my mind. I then shifted my focus to my father, picturing him as vividly as I remembered him – his short white beard and long hair, his wide smile and pointed nose and the crows feet around his wide grey eyes.
“Paterque exaudi vocatus,” Father hear my call, I whispered as I carefully reached out my Potestatem, using my words and my mind to direct it to him. It was a technique my father and I had spent nearly a year practicing before perfecting and it was something only we had seemed to master, though many had tried. “Paterque exaudi vocatus. Paterque exaudi vocatus.” I chanted softly. Finally, I felt his mind open up to me.
“Annysia, where are you?” I smiled to myself at his name for me. ‘Annysia’. It meant ‘Little Angel’ in Faylinn – our native tongue. “You’re mission is done, why haven’t you returned home? Tell me you’re coming home,” Although his voice was only inside my mind, I could still hear the frantic worry in his tone.777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡciAUPbtpTH
“Father, I can’t, not yet.” I hoped he could feel my excitement.
“No Annysia, you cannot stay there any longer, it’s not safe for you. What if you are discovered? What happens then? What am I–“ I interrupted before he could finish, my excitement taking over.
“Father, please. You don’t understand. I found him.” I could feel his shock in my mind, he knew exactly who I was talking about but he said nothing, “I found him father, it’s him. He's the one.”
His shock reverberated through my mind but it was short lived.
“What do you mean you’ve found him? You’re mission was to gather intel, to see if they were expecting an attack, to find their weakest ports! You were not given permission to travel all the way to Mercisea without me by your side so you could go gallivanting across the countryside!” My father was furious, that much I could tell. But I knew it wasn’t because I’d disobeyed – although I’m sure that was a contributor to his rage – but because he wasn’t around to protect me. He’d seen first hand what they do to Fae in this land – and anyone who associates with them. “I’ve been worried sick about you Annysia and now you tell me that you haven’t returned home at the agreed time without any word as to your safety or whereabouts because you’ve found a lover?” This time it was my shock that simmered in our minds. I thought that he’d understood, but somehow he’d misinterpreted.
“Father, no. I haven’t found a lover. That’s not what I’ve been doing.”777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI3u34BuasE
“Then what have you been doing? Who have you found?”
“Father, I’ve been searching for the man you’ve told me stories of for most of my life; the man who murdered mother. And I’ve found him.” My admission was met with silence; I had no clue what he was thinking but I could feel his anger bubbling under the surface and I knew he was fighting it down.
“You get home right away Aalaeyah.” His use of my birth name instead of ‘Annysia’ demonstrated just how mad he was. “Your mission is finished, you did your job now get home. That’s an order.”
“But father –“
“No Aalaeyah, we’ll discuss this when you get home.” His tone was curt and it frustrated me that he wouldn’t even listen.
“But I also have a lead on the Black Crow!” I blurted, even though I didn’t really, at least, nothing we didn’t already know. But I was desperate to get more information on the man who killed my mother. My father had never mentioned a name in his stories – even he didn’t know exactly who killed her – but I was certain that I had found the man responsible. He fit the descriptions, the stories – it felt right, I couldn’t let this go. “Please father, let me stay just a little longer, let me follow up on this lead. This could be exactly what our King needs to win this war before it even begins.”777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWxrXjMf7L5
“Upon your return we shall discuss it and see if it is worth pursuing, if it is we’ll send out more suitable investigators. I expect you back in five days Aalaeyah.” And with that our connection was lost.
I knew that if I wasn’t back in five days my father would send someone after me, but I couldn’t return home, not yet. I still had unfinished business to attend to. I had approximately ten days before my father’s men arrived, meaning I needed a plan. And fast.
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