Arleana's bow (Part 1)

Arleana took the card off the third pile and turned it over. It contained the picture of a blazing fire.

"Well," Arleana looked to Taldir, "What does it mean?"

"Danger." He responded.

"Well, of course there will be danger," Remee said in an aggravated tone, "Why there’s already been danger, for goodness sake."

"I was hoping you would get a card that could explain more. But apparently there will be a great deal of danger seeing as the danger card chose you." said Taldir.

"And what is the fourth card for?" Remee asked still obviously bored with Arleana’s card.

"It is for Sandrey," Taldir said. At the mention of her name Arleana snapped up and watched closely. Taldir made a motion with his hand and the card off the top of the pile flipped over to reveal the same fire, but it had a shackle in the very center.

"The card’s meaning is evident," Taldir said looking at Arleana who was filled with worry for her sister, "She is held prisoner."

"Where?" Arleana asked, "Where is she?!"

"I don’t know yet," Taldir responded rather calmly, "We won’t know until Proteus and Sinope return."

"Who?" Remee asked.

"My messenger birds. They are looking for Sandrey." Taldir explained, "They might not return until morning. I’ve already had two rooms prepared." He led Remee and Arleana through the door on the left side of the little house. Two straw beds were on either side of the room and a mirror was on the farthest wall from the door. Taldir left them to their room for the night and showed Christof to his own.

As night came to its midpoint, Arleana found herself wide awake staring at the partially opened window. The two moons were partly covered by clouds, but never-the-less they shone luminously in the dark sky. There was a movement in the sky. Two small figures emerged into the light of the moon, allowing Arleana to identify them as two large birds. By their figure, Arleana could tell they were not pigeons or crows. Falcons? Maybe. Arleana remembered what Taldir had said: ‘We won’t know until Proteus and Sinope return.’

She got up from her diminutive straw bed and crept silently across the room, careful not to wake Remee who seemed to be enjoying sleeping indoors for a change. The door opened silently and she looked into the living room they had seen for the first time only six hours, or more, ago. The room now looked eerie in the moon light leaking through the windows which were covered with transparent azure colored draperies. In the very corner opposite of her, in a chair by an open window, sat Taldir with a gleaming white falcon perched on his shoulder and an ebony black falcon on his knee. Arleana could hear him whispering, or rather whistling-chirping to his little companions.

"Have they found her?" Arleana asked a little louder than she had intended, but Taldir did not seem surprised, nor did he jump at her remark.

"Seems like they have," Taldir stroked the ebony falcons neck, "Yes, Proteus hear says that he saw a girl who fit your description, though I am not surprised."

"Why are you not surprised?" Arleana asked wondering why he didn’t tell her if he knew.

"Well," he said, still stroking the bird, "You did give me a faint description, and I would not be surprised if they spotted many girls with light colored hair in Sourath."

Arleana felt a tinge of anger. ‘He thinks I am stupid,’ she thought to herself. In truth, how else could she describe Sandrey? Suddenly she remembered the one thing that might make the guess definite, "She was wearing a blue dress, it was torn, and her hair was all knotted."

Taldir looked back to his birds and began to whistle-chirp to them, and they seemed to understand it perfectly. "Sinope says she saw the girl in a castle that was a scarlet color. It was in Sourath."

"Of course," Arleana said softly, "But which one do you suppose it is? There are many in Sourath."

"That is for you to figure out," Taldir said stopping his stroking and looking her right in the face, "I don’t know who kidnapped her. You do. That is how you will know."

"Brigen," Arleana said.

"Then go to his castle," Taldir resumed stroking the birds.

Arleana turned to go back to her room forlornly when she remembered she had the map. Sitting in her assigned bed, Arleana rummaged through her quiver in the darkness. When at last her hand fell upon the paper scroll, she pulled it out and unrolled it. Arleana strained her eyes to read the tiny inscriptions and the figures on the map, but in the end she surrendered to the darkness and sleep. Her map still lay unrolled beside her when she fell asleep.