The Royal Thief

Chapter Thirty-six: the Falls

They changed my profile, and it's the ugliest thing in the world right now, not that any of you care, but I have to rant about it to somebody, because I'm actually furious, and for the first time in my life I think I might have anger issues, because I want to punch someone, specifically the idiot that thought this profile was a good idea, it's actually that awful.

Please excuse me if this chapter is awful. As you can tell, I am not of sound mind right now.

Jan's story has also been posted in Fire and Ashes.

Oh, and that little gem in the media, from Alanna: The First Adventure, is both Morane's life motto and what I keep repeating to myself ever since I logged on and saw the horror that is my profile. 

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The path to the other cave was long, winding all the way around the waterfall cavern. There was a more straightforward route, and I would have taken it had I been alone, but out of courtesy to Luca I didn't mention it. Instead we walked in mostly silence through the dim gloom of the tunnel until it ended in another cave, half as wide with a lower ceiling but a perfectly flat floor. I'd thought it was worth the walk-- a flat surface in a perfectly private place. I turned around to see what he thought of it. He seemed lost in thought, standing in the mouth of the tunnel, hands shoved in his pockets and eyes raised up to the ceiling.

"We're here," I told him, in case he hadn't noticed. This had been my destination all along, though I'd been sidetracked by the waterfall.

"Right," he murmured, still looking up.

"Something wrong?"

"No. No, I was just thinking. It's... strange. How there could be something so huge I somehow never heard of. It's like-- not noticing there's a bear standing in your bedroom."

"Well, you have to remember the bear is underground." I paused for a moment, thinking that was a rather strange sentence. Conversations with Luca always seemed to take an odd, hypothetical turn, sure as conversations with Joshua always turned into shouting matches.

Apparently he thought so too, laughing softly. "I suppose. I suppose it's your business to know all about underground bears."

"Jaden says any smart person knows everything about anything."

His smile suddenly became forced, eyes darkening. "Ah. Jaden. That would be the man you're always with at the match house?"

"Yes," I said slowly. I didn't understand his sudden change in emotion. Had I said something? Only about Jaden. But as I watched, his smile dropped completely and he no longer met my eyes. Turning, he unbuckled his sword belt, set it on the ground. Head bowed, torchlight flashed strangely across his blue eyes, gleamed dully on the ring on his finger. Even something about his movements seemed forced, trying too hard to be casual as he rolled the sleeves of his white shirt up to his elbows. Over it he wore a dark green over-shirt, looser on his frame without the weight of the heavy sword belt.

I was getting tenser with every moment, watching as he found his knives, flicked them around as though testing their weight, still not looking at me.

"You know him well?" He finally asked, eyes still on the ground.

"Very," I answered shortly.

"For a while?"

"Longer than a while."

"For a few years?"

"Almost ten."

"Ah."

I watched a moment longer, his infuriatingly averted eyes, purposefully pretending-- something. That he wasn't not saying something he should be. He was practically oozing disapproval. Resentment boiling over, I asked, trying to keep my voice level, "Do you have a problem with him?"