Lavender & Ice

43. Heartbreak

Kietnan was already awake when he heard the barely audible sound of knocking on his door. It was sometime in the early morning, hours before the sun would rise. Truth be told, he'd hardly slept at all for the past several days, ever since Ashima ran from him.

The knock came again, slightly louder, bringing his thoughts back to the present. He opened the door slightly but quickly opened it wider when he found his brother on the other side.

"Joreth? What is it?"

Joreth swiftly entered the room and closed the door quietly behind him, practically whispering. "Get your jacket and shoes. We're going for a walk." He said as he turned to the hooks beside Kietnan's door, grabbing the first jacket he found. "Here."

Kietnan caught the jacket but otherwise stood frozen. "What is happening? What's wrong?"

"Kahal and Othen have agreed to cover for us if we're not back in time for morning duties. Now let's go. Time is of the essence."

"That's hours from now. Where are you taking me?"

"I'll explain on the way. We must hurry."

When Kietnan still stood there motionless, Joreth sighed. "I'm not going about this very well. Listen, brother... promise you will be quiet, promise you will be calm, and just do as I say. I am going against our king and queen on this, so I'd appreciate your cooperation on not getting us caught."

"You know where she is." Kietnan said in disbelief.

Joreth nodded. "Do you want to see her or not? Let's go-" Before he could finish his sentence, Kietnan had slipped on his shoes and was out the door in only his sleep clothes.

"Do you want to draw attention to yourself?" Joreth complained. "Here, put this on." He held out the jacket he had been holding but his brother kept walking at an overly fast pace. "You don't even know that you're going the wrong direction right now."

Kietnan halted and turned to his brother. "You're right, I apologize." He took the thin cotton jacket and put it on. "Please, lead the way."

Joreth led him down the same stairs he had taken Ashima.

"The old escape tunnel?" Kietnan asked in disbelief. "Do you mean to tell me she's in the cave hideaway?"

"Please be quiet until we're away from the Hall." Joreth looked around them as they exited the stairway and into the exterior tunnel.

A few minutes later, Kietnan spoke up again. "Why are we going so slow?"

"We're quieter this way. We can run when we're further down the tunnel."

"Fine." He drew in a deep breath to calm himself. "Thank you brother. For helping me."

Joreth averted his eyes. "Please don't thank me"

"Of course I am." After a moment of silence he continued. "I can't believe they put her in the cave. Do you know how they found her? Where had she been hiding before then? Is she ok?"

Joreth stopped suddenly and Kietnan stared at him in surprise. "We're at the end of the tunnel, so we'll run from here. So while we can still talk, I must tell you this now before we get to her. I want you to hear it from me."

"What is it?" Joreth noticed Kietnan tense and unconsciously moved to take a defensive stance. He had to fight his instinct to not match the move.

"Five days ago, I was having a lovely evening with my family when Ashima showed up at my door unexpectedly, asking for my help."

Kietnan's fists clenched but he didn't move. "You've known where she was this entire time." He stated, more than asked.

"I expect you to be angry, but I beg of you to let me finish so we can do this quickly."