The Exiled Gem

Broken Promises

Alexandra did know Aunt Sabel.

For all the self-centered woman she was, she'd try to escape. The throne had been passed, she hadn't succeeded in anything other than starting a full fledged war.

Which also implied that she would definitely stay out of the war. If Nicholas saw her, or Fannel did, or Liam, or Alexandra, or Austin - she would be finished. And anyhow, in the war - there was possibility of some harm coming her way. Aunt Sabel, would definitely not want the harm.

So the war was not where Aunt Sabel was. To one side, was the Palace: unquestionable. To another side was a dead end: useless. And to the third was the moat: impossible.

The only possible option was the southern belt of thick forest. Montrosky had been carved out of a forest - this one Southern belt, was extremely dense, rocky and deceptive. Everybody had decided it was safe to stay out of it.

And needless to say, it was uninhabited.

Alexandra shook her head slightly. If the Aunt wasn't here; she could be nowhere on earth. 'Come on, Mercury. One last time.' She urged, stroking the horse gently. It seemed to be aligned to her thoughts and emotions. It seemed to realize her pent up excitement.

Mercury took her across the rows of surrounding men. Alexandra was pretty sure she didn't want to go into another woods. Woods - seemed to be where all the unusual things happened. And instinctively, because she felt threatened, Alexandra's hand reached her sheath - for Moira.

It was not there.

Alexandra closed her hand around the empty scabbard and cursed. She was riding into a forest - which could lead to anywhere. She hadn't had anything to eat for more than twenty four hours. Not even a drop of water. And now, she was going into what could be her death unarmed.

'Don't think about it,' she advised herself. But the fact was too terrible to get her mind off - a seemingly final, deciding day. And she didn't have Moira? And let alone Moira; she had NO weapon?!

Silly woman, see the ground! Mind snarled.

Alexandra snapped out of her cloud of thoughts. She pulled Mercury to a halt - right at the entrance of the Forest.

Down?

Alexandra leapt off the black horse - on the ground, dusty and almost indiscernible from the rocky, sandy earth - was a thin, black fragment of a cloak.

With some difficulty, she wrung it out of the soil and dusted it. Definitely it was the Aunt's blindfold. Which she had tossed here.

And if Alexandra stared harder, if she concentrated - amongst the shiny crystals of sand, there were a few green particles. The trail. But it wouldn't combine with sand until it was violently trampled.

Alexandra picked up a fistful of Ethorian soil and let it fall from the gaps between her fingers. The spy in her knew to recognize smaller details. The sun wasn't harsh enough to heat the land. But the sand in front of her, seemed warmer than the sand elsewhere.

Aunt Sabel, for her part, was no more than a walking skeleton. Alexandra was pretty sure she didn't weigh more than a ten year old. She could neither violently trample the trail, nor could she run in such a frenzy that the sand would heat up.

Aunt Sabel surely had a horse. And the sand was still warm - which meant she wasn't far away.

Alexandra turned to Mercury. The horse was quietly munching on some nearby grass. She wished she could munch on grass - there would be no need for extravagant meals, then.