The Rogue Lady

Chapter Sixteen (E R I C ' S P O V)

Again, any mistakes, let me know =) Map in the external link.  And if you have any questions about the Bandits , feel free to ask me, because I do realize that I might not have explained a lot about them. (And yes, I did just copy this from the previous chapter =D)

Enjoy.

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     As much as I wanted to ask Svana a couple of question, right now appeared to not the best time. She was annoyed and tired, and, in addition to that, she had been on her toes all evening; that much was evident. She unquestionably had prevented the Bandits from killing Darrick and two of her archers, Alex and Bram, that night. The three had been joking all night, much to Svana’s despair and to the Bandits’ frustration, and had eventually, though not voluntarily, insulted some of the Bandits. Svana had had to put them back in their place before they were beheaded. Surprisingly, the archers had listened immediately, and Darrick had followed their lead. It had kept everyone alive and earned Svana some respect from the Bandits.

     But right now, she probably wanted to sleep. I knew I wanted to. But Alex was still probing her with questions, seconded by the others. I felt the magic she had in her veins turning to something aggressive, before it calmed down only to boil up again. It was a never-ending circle that had started about an hour ago. The others were oblivious to it though, and I wondered just how long Svana would let them go on like this before she exploded. Only Tom was quiet, sitting on the furs the Bandits had led out for us as beds. He was staring into the flames, ignoring the questions completely like he couldn’t care less about Svana’s secrets. That must have been part of the reason why she got along with him rather well.

     When her magic got to an even higher temperature than before, threatening to boil over, I decided it was time to do something. I mumbled the spell into the blanket; the effects were almost instant. Within a few seconds her archers fell asleep along with Darrick. Tom must have noticed that the tent had gone strangely quiet because he looked my way and gave me a curt nod. Svana noticed too, however she needed a little longer to calm down. She took deep and calming breaths in the hope of getting her magic under control. Whatever she was doing worked wonders; the magic was down to the normal levels in only a few minutes, and carried more calming energy now instead of anger.

     “Thank you,” she mumbled into the darkness eventually.

     “No problem.”

     “Tom?” He only made a little noise to let her know he had heard her. “Is there anything you can tell them that will keep them from asking all those questions?”

     “I’m not sure. I can try but honestly, you should have guarded that secret of yours better.” He sounded distant, like he was thinking about something entirely different. That was probably why it came out quite rude. It didn’t sound like him.

     Still, Svana had not been in her best mood and faster than I could react or Tom could have seen it coming; she had picked up a pebble and thrown it at his head. It hit him on the shoulder and his reaction was instant, a hand shooting up to the spot where he was hit and he gawked at Svana. “It is your fault they know about it in the first place!” She huffed and rolled onto her side. She didn’t say another word and soon enough she must have fallen asleep because her breathing evened out.

     I had no idea what she had been referring to, and although I was tempted to ask Tom, I doubted he would tell me. Svana was like the kind of person you wanted to like you. Not the type you wanted mad at you for whatever reason. Or maybe she wasn’t that type of person at all but it was the feeling you got around her, once you saw her wielding her blades. Tom looked at her shape under the cover for a long while, maybe thinking things over before he too lay down on his furs and turned his back to the fire. I didn’t know how long it took before he fell asleep, probably not that long. I was the only one left awake in the tent. Like I was on the lookout or something.