The Missing Traveller

“Why couldn’t we’ve just lightened Alister’s hair?”

Ethan rolled his eyes at Mirielle, who was examining her honey blonde hair in front of the mirror in the water room. “In case you forgot, you ain’t made of money any longer. Lightenin’ paste was at least a fifth more, and the barber told Ali it would be even more expensive to make sure it got to the same colour as yours. And it’d be permanent.” He glanced at Alister. “Besides, Ali here would look real ridiculous with reddish blonde hair.”

Mirielle huffed. “At least I’ll actually have defined eyebrows once they’re brown.”

Ethan raised his own eyebrows at Alister and mouthed “women”. Alister chuckled.

It was their last day before going to meet with The Smith and leaving for Deemstun, so Alister and Mirielle decided to heed the gaunt man’s advice to make the two of them appear related. Ethan paid them a visit just before lunch, and seemed delighted he was there to see Mirielle darken her hair with the paste they’d bought.

Alister suppressed a grin and continued to mix the paste with a mortar and pestle as he spoke. “I’d lighten mine if it were more practical. But we can’t let anything draw attention to ourselves, and a man who dyes his hair definitely would.”

Mirielle pouted, and reminded Alister of a child. “Can’t I just use candra?” She took a deep breath in, and as she exhaled, the air around her head seemed to shimmer while her hair darkened to Alister’s colour. It was almost like looking through water, or glass. “How’s this?”

Ethan wrinkled his nose. “It looks weird. There ain’t no way you won’t draw attention to yourself doing that.”

Mirielle breathed slower, and with each exhale, the shimmer faded until it was hardly noticeable.

Alister narrowed his eyes. “It still looks unnatural, though. Like the air above a fire, but…less.” Despite what he said, he couldn’t help but be impressed by her skill. It was rare for Marked to be so talented in more than one aptitude of either sura or candra, but Mirielle cast the illusion as easily as she’d levitated the stone during her argument with Dolton Windsor, and healed his bleeding leg after the Flight of Siben.

Alister set aside the mortar. “It’s done. It’ll last only a month, remember? And it’s the only way we’ll get past the gates at Deemstun without arousing suspicion.” He grinned slightly. “Lark would do it for you, wouldn’t he?”

Mirielle’s lips pressed into a thin line, and her hands balled into fists as the illusion shimmered. For a moment Alister suspected she might slap him; she hadn’t mentioned Lark’s feelings towards her.

She sighed in frustration and the illusion melted away. “Fine! We’ll use the barbaric paste!”

Ethan smirked and passed the mortar from Alister to her. “Barbaric?”

Mirielle shot him an icy glare and snatched the mortar from his hand. “Not another word out of you. Both of you, out.”

From her expression, Alister wasn’t tempted to ignore her demand. Ethan helped him up, and he leaned on his staff as the two of them left the water room.

Ethan pushed Alister out of the room. “Don’t forget to define those eyebrows.” He closed the door just in time for them to hear smashing glass hit the other side.

Ethan laughed. “That women cares too much for appearances.”

“I reckon she’s just nervous.” They wandered back to the living room. “I mean, it’s our last full day in Bastium. I’m jumpy enough without having to leave my home too.”

“I suppose you’d be right. But she ain’t the one with a crazed flier lookin’ to hurt her. So…what do you want to do for half an hour?”

Alister lowered himself onto the floor with a wince, where his pack and belongings were strewn. Ronan was drying off from the rain in Mirielle’s room; so far they’d managed to keep him from the Perigo’s knowledge. “I should probably pack.” He sighed. “Want to help?”

Ethan arched an eyebrow. “Not in the nearest. There’s still work back at the inn to be done, anyhow. And some healers are comin’ by to have a look at my father.”

“Fair enough.” Alister sorted through his things, ignoring the pain that seared through his leg. “Mirielle’s making dinner here for the Perigos tonight. Feel free to come by then.”

“An Al’Silvian woman knows how to cook?” Ethan laughed.

Alister shrugged. “She says her mother insisted she learn.”

“I’ll not be turnin’ down free food.” Ethan grinned. “See you then.”

He unhooked his coat from the rack by the front door and pulled it over his head, before running out the door into the still pouring rain.

Alister turned back to his belongings, decided against sorting through everything, and packed them into his bag. He put the old book Lark had given him in one of the front pockets when he was finished and went into Mirielle’s room to wait for her. Ronan flew to his arm when he held it up, and he petted the hawk.

“Sorry you’re stuck inside for so long.” The bird grew restless, and after they arrived in Deemstun, they would have to be even more careful. He frowned. Did Lark expect him to continue hiding Ronan? “Maybe it’d be better if you lived on the Mount for a while.”

Alister pulled himself onto the couch, and sighed at the relief of resting his leg. Mirielle changed the dressing earlier, but it hurt just as much as it had the day before. He inched up his pant leg to inspect the bandage; patches of blood stained the cloth.

It was one matter wondering what he’d do with Ronan once they arrived in Deemstun, or once they freed Lark. He’d avoided thinking of the larger problem. What would he and Mirielle do once they arrived in Deemstun? How would they free Lark? What if he was wrong about everything?

The doors opened, and Mirielle stepped out in her woollen dress. Her expression was grim, her hair black on her shoulders, and a handheld mirror between her fingers.

Alister controlled his smile; she might take it for mockery. “It actually looks fine.”

“Fine?” Mirielle’s blue eyes burned. “Fine!”

Alister’s eyebrows shot up. “What? That’s a good thing!”

Mirielle’s laugh held no hint of humour. “Fine isn’t a compliment. Fine is ‘you look okay’. It’s ‘good enough’. ‘Oh, it’ll do’! ‘Average’. Where’s my bracelet?” She pulled the gold bracelet out of her pocket, and spun it in the air.

What’s happening? “Fine means it looks natural enough to be your real hair colour. Yeah, it’s different, but it suits you.”

Mirielle narrowed her eyes at him and examined the ends of her hair in the mirror. “Maybe once it dries it’ll look better.”

“I’m starting to think you just don’t like dark hair.”

Mirielle arched an eyebrow at him.

He met her expression. “It’s only for a month.”

She sighed. “I suppose it can’t be helped.” She sat next to him and held up the mirror. “Do we look related now?”

Alister looked between his healing face and Mirielle’s agitated expression. Their eyes were a contrast of bright blue and light brown, and their features varied enough for cousins. The dark hair helped. “Maybe wear it down when we get there.” He stared at his bruises. They had faded so quickly, and hadn’t pained him since before the Flight of Siben.

“Yes, it’ll help disguise my face shape. Your jaw is a lot sharper than mine.”

Alister’s eyes moved to examine Mirielle as he spoke. “You know…my bruises from Deon Boyce healed quickly.”

She furrowed her eyebrows and took her eyes off of his. “I suppose they did.”

“You healed them, didn’t you?”

Mirielle hesitated. “Yes, I did. You were being all stubborn about racing in the Flight, and you weren’t in a mood that suggested you would take to me healing you. You were terribly unreasonable. But if I hadn’t, then you might not have won.”

Alister laughed. “I’m thankful you did. You know, I thought your hand felt colder than usual.”

They sat in silence for a moment.

“Watch this.” Mirielle hovered her bracelet above her hand and sent it spinning like a top through the air, as if it were as light as a feather.

“Incredible.”

Mirielle twirled her hand, and the bracelet flew back to her wrist. “It’s a full moon tonight. That’s when it’s the easiest to use candra.”

“How can you tell?” The moon’s lighter spot in the fog was even less obvious than the sun’s.

“Oh, back when I performed in Silvian, I’d go to the library twice a year to check when the full moons were, so we could plan the hardest shows around them.” She shrugged. “I suppose I never lost the habit.”

She left soon after to get ingredients for dinner. Alister stayed cooped up inside with Ronan while Emmett and Elisea worked. If Deon Boyce wasn’t a danger, he’d go outside, and make the most of his last day in Bastium. He’d soak in the unique city which was built from the ground up, and watch the cycles and carriages and crowds of people. He’d stare at the wind-chasers in the sky, and the boat riders in the canals.

Instead, he sat up straight enough to practice the arm motions of Eagle in the Hurricane, focusing on the attacking and defending movements of his two staves. Next time he was cornered into a fight, Alister intended to be prepared to defend himself. After he must’ve gone through the form one hundred times, he pulled out his carving knife and engraved patterns into his staves. When he became tired of that, he worked on smoothing out the rough crutch he’d carved out earlier so it wouldn’t tear his skin.

The sky had begun to grow dark when Mirielle arrived, and she enlisted him to stir the sauce as she continued to add chopped vegetables to it. All of his weight rested on his uninjured leg and the crutch as he stood in the kitchen.

She swept the last of the vegetables into the sauce. “Can I trust you with the rice?”

Alister chuckled. “Let’s just continue to assume you’re better at cooking than me. I can keep stirring.”

Elisea arrived from the dressmaker’s just before the rice finished cooking, and Emmett was close behind her. Mirielle insisted they stayed out of the kitchen and sit at the dining table, while Alister made his stunted way around the table on his crutch, setting up the plates and implements.

Mirielle glanced out at the table from the kitchen and sighed, humour in her blue eyes. “That’s not how you set up the table, Alister. Why don’t you go and get the food while I fix it?”

“It’s just fine,” Alister heard Elisea assure her as he went into the kitchen.

“Just fine isn’t good enough for tonight,” Mirielle’s voice answered, and Alister chuckled. ‘Fine’ seemed particularly offensive to Mirielle.

When he returned with the rice, meat, and sauce, even the Perigo’s wooden implements looked fit for a king’s table.

Mirielle set the last plate down. “This is just one way to thank you for being so forgiving and generous to me this last week. And Alister, too. I cannot express how grateful I am to both of you.”

Alister sat and stretched out his leg with relief.

“It was no trouble,” Emmett said, and Mirielle waved a hand.

“I know it was. Let’s eat then, shall we?”

“Shall we give thanks, Elisea?” Elisea nodded at Emmett, and both of them closed their eyes. Mirielle and Alister paused as they muttered a string of unfamiliar words.

Their prayer was interrupted when Ethan burst through the door. “My apologies on my late-comin’!” He hung up his dripping coat and rushed to the empty seat. “Did I miss anything?”

Emmett and Elisea opened their eyes, and Emmett smiled. “Just a prayer of thanks. Now we may eat.”

Ethan’s eyebrow pulled up in amusement as the food was passed around, but he didn’t comment. With the way Mirielle glared at him, she likely would’ve slapped him if he did. They talked and laughed throughout the meal, and became more relaxed as the night grew late.

Ethan was far from his usual self, but Alister reasoned it to his father’s health. Whenever Fillion had a bad day, Ethan grew quieter than usual. He smiled on occasion, but didn’t hold eye contact for over half a second with Alister.

The tension between Elisea and Mirielle was subtler than it had ever been, but Alister and Emmett took turns bringing up another conversation when they fell silent.

Ethan excused himself at the end of the meal, his expression grim. Alister’s brow furrowed as he watched his friend walk down the hallway.

“So you’re leaving Bastium tomorrow?” Emmett asked. “That must be exciting. You mentioned you were headed west?”

“That’s right.” Mirielle’s smile was relaxed. “We’ll stop by in Adelbrook, and maybe get as far as Miradoum.”

Alister kept his face smooth. Deemstun was twice as far from Bastium as Miradoum. “I’m looking forward to seeing the didira from Miradoum.”

Elisea laughed. “Why, there’s some didira right here!” She pulled a fine silver chain off her neck and handed it to him. “The pendant. Emmett got it when he asked to marry me.” She beamed at her husband, who looked back with a surprised smile.

Alister took the necklace and examined the pendant with wide eyes. The deep red, teardrop gemstone was heavier than expected for such a small size. Intricate silver workings held the stone to the chain.

Emmett peered at the necklace. “It’s quite warm in here, so it’s red. Once it loses its heat, it goes jet black.”

Mirielle tilted her head. “It’s beautiful.” Alister handed it back to Elisea. “Tell us about when the two of you met?”

Alister pulled himself up with his crutch before they went on. “I might just go check on Ethan.”

It must have been Fillion’s condition that put Ethan in such a dejected mood. Unless he ran into Nellie again. He didn’t have much to say for comfort on either of those topics, but Ethan seemed to feel better after he talked about it either way. Elisea’s voice faded behind him as he walked down the hall to the room where Mirielle stayed. Footsteps shuffled inside, so Alister opened the door.

He froze mid-step when Ethan straightened up from the floor. His expression was one that didn’t expect to be seen.

“What are you…?” Alister trailed off when his eyes caught a gold glimmer at Ethan’s feet. Thirteen gold marks, and a handful of smaller coins, taken out from the bottom drawer of the dresser.

Ethan’s words rushed out, his eyes burning with desperation. “Bane of the blight. It ain’t what it looks like. I was just lookin’ for—”

“I’m not a fool, Ethan.” Alister’s voice lowered. “You’re stealing from us. Just like that boy stole from me.”

His friend stood with a fire in his eyes. “This is different. I ain’t got no choice. My pa will die without the medicine this’ll pay for! He’ll die!” Ethan swept the coins into his arms. “This is life or death we’re talkin’ about!”

Alister slammed his palm into the wall—pain radiated up his arm—and he whipped around to face Ethan again. “And Mirielle and me paying The Smith, that isn’t life or death? You were there, you said he’d come after you as well!”

Ethan’s knuckles were white around the coins. “I’d rather be in prison or some other city than watchin’ my pa die right in front of me! I won’t—I can’t do that! You’ve got to understand, Ali.”

“I haven’t got to understand anything.” He raised his voice. “How could you betray us like this? I thought we were friends.” Ethan opened his mouth to protest, but Alister went on. “You know, I appreciate all the help you’ve been. But I never should’ve trusted a thief.”

His words slashed pain across Ethan’s face and broke through his defensive bravado. He raked his hands through his hair. The coins clattered to the floor. “This is—I’m…” He slumped onto the wall and slid down to the floor, his face buried beneath his hands. “I ain’t got no choice.” His voice trembled. “Do you know how much it burns me to do this? To resort to this? Stealin’ from the first friend I had in years! It’s—it’s pathetic. But I’ve got to keep him alive.” A moan rose from underneath his hands. “I know I said he won’t last long anyway, but…I can’t run that inn just myself, and I can’t afford that medicine. What else was I to do? And—and I weren’t goin’ to take more’n I needed! Just enough to get him by. I’ve got no-one else.”

Alister gritted his teeth in frustration, but he felt his anger melt to be replaced by pity. He took a deep breath. “How much?”

Ethan looked up from his hands, his eyes remorseful. His voice came out a resigned whisper. “As much as I could get.”

So at least he’s being honest now. Alister’s heart pounded, and he pressed his lips together. Ethan was looking out for his family, the only way he saw how. Nothing was more important to him than his father, and that included his friends and his own life. But he could’ve just asked! Alister’s mind screamed. He could’ve asked and I’d have given him all I could!

Whatever happened now, their friendship was over. Ethan chose to do the wrong thing. Does that mean his father doesn’t deserve the chance to live?

Alister’s voice was weary. “Ethan…”

Ethan dropped his head, and his shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry…I’m sorry.”

Alister stepped towards him and gathered the marks into his pockets, the pain of Ethan’s betrayal far greater than the searing through his leg from bending it. He counted out five marks and a half, and, pushing down his indignation, dropped them at Ethan’s feet.

As he turned to leave, Ethan’s shout followed.

“Hey Ali, I—wait, what’re you doin’? What’s this?”

Alister turned back to see his friend scrambling on the ground for the marks, staring up in bewilderment.

“Keep it. We don’t need all the winnings, and you clearly need it more than we do.” Alister walked to the doorway and hesitated. “Now get out of this house.”

He strode down the doorway as fast as he could with his crutch, and Elisea met him at the entrance to the dining room. “What happened? We heard a noise, and—”

Ethan squeezed past them, eyes down, and rushed out the front door into the pouring rain, his coat still hung up by the door.

Elisea’s eyebrows drew up in alarm. “Is he alright?”

“He’s fine.” Alister raised his voice to carry to the dining room. “May I speak with you, Mirielle?”

Elisea watched as Mirielle followed Alister down the hallway. Alister looked down at her until she ducked back into the room.

“What happened?”

“I gave Ethan five and a half marks.” She opened her mouth to protest. “Without the coin to pay for his father’s medicine, he’ll die. I realise this leaves us with practically nothing to give the Perigos, but…” Alister tightened his jaw. “Ethan was desperate.”

Mirielle stared at him for a moment. “I understand. I just feel awful about Elisea and Emmett…” She slipped the bracelet off her wrist and spun it around in the air with candra, like she so often did when stressed.

Alister watched her spin the bracelet. How can we repay the Perigos? Mirielle didn’t have access to much coin anymore, and the only other contribution she could make was…

“You’re Marked.”.

Mirielle caught the bracelet and sighed. “Yes, I’ve realised this, believe it or not.”

“Why don’t you heal Elisea so they can have children?”

Mirielle laughed. “Are you joking? I could barely put a scab over your leg, and that was an injury I could see with my eyes.”

“And sense.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, and sense. But healing something so deep in the body…and I don’t even know the first thing about why a woman might be barren. The only frame of reference I’d have for what the organs inside should look like is myself. And who knows, maybe I’m barren, too! There’re countless factors that go into a healthy person. It’s not always obvious.”

“But what if it is? What if you could do it? Isn’t it worth trying, tonight of all nights? Look at what you can do without even paying attention!”

Her eyes followed his to the spinning bracelet, and a smile pulled at her lips.

Not half an hour later, Mirielle was placing one hand on Elisea’s lower stomach, and another on her own. They were on the Perigo’s back porch, where the rain had stopped at last, so Mirielle could draw on the moon’s power for candra. Emmett watched with a guarded expression, and Alister nodded at Mirielle.

She wrung her hands. “I know I’ve already said it, but I might not be able to do anything to help.”

Elisea sighed, frustrated. “Yes, yes, we won’t get our hopes up. Would you please try?”

Mirielle closed her eyes, as still as a statue for a full minute. All but her pulled their coats tighter as a winter breeze chilled them.

Emmett opened his mouth to speak, but Alister pressed his finger to his own lips. Elisea watched Mirielle’s expressionless face.

“Scars,” Mirielle whispered. “There’s scarring on the inside. As far as I can tell, that’s the only thing different between us.” She took her hand away from her own stomach, pulled her skirt back up from her hips, and placed her hand on Elisea’s stomach. Mirielle took a slow, deep breath in, held it for a moment, and exhaled just as slowly.

“It’s warm,” Elisea murmured.

All eyes were fixed on Mirielle as she took twelve more breaths, just as slow as the first. Elisea winced and squeezed Emmett’s hand. Mirielle took her hands off Elisea’s skin.

She opened her eyes and smiled slightly. “I think…I think I’ve done it.” Mirielle went to stand up, but Alister put a hand on her shoulder.

“I’m not having you pass out again.”

Elisea’s eyes lit with a hope Alister hadn’t seen before. “You did it? You got rid of the scars?”

Mirielle gave a weary nod. “If that’s what was causing you to be barren, then I think you’re healed. Keep in mind there could be other factors, but…”

Elisea flung her hands around Mirielle. “Thank you. Thank you.” Her voice broke. “Thank you.”

Mirielle smiled and returned the hug. “Any time.”

Emmett’s eyes were wide. “So…we can have children?”

“There was nothing else I noticed.”

Elisea pulled away with a huge smile, and embraced her husband, whose misty eyes fixed on hers. “We cannot thank you enough, even for trying.”