The Final Redemption by Michael Manning (little red riding hood ebook free .txt) 📕

they’re alive andhiding. If it’s the former, there’s nothing we can do, and if it’sthe latter we’ll never find them, but we don’t have to, YourHighness,” said Cyhan.

Ariadne had gotten an inkling of hismeaning already. “You imply that they will find us?”

The old veteran nodded. “They will bewatching, and there are three high priority places to observe inthis area, the gate-keep in Lancaster, the gate-keep in Arundel,and possibly Castle Cameron itself.”

“No one finds a Prathion, if theydon’t wish to be found,” said Elaine Prathion from beside him. Shewas leaning in close to his ear.

The older veteran didn’t flinch,instead he gave Elaine a bored stare.

Ariadne looked sharply at Cyhan,sensing a ruse. “Your logic is too perfect. It has the ring ofsomething crafted to explain facts that are already known. You knewElaine was here. Do you care to explain?”

“Begging your pardon, Highness, Iwould rather not,” replied the heavyset warrior. It wasuncharacteristic of him to show such reluctance.

“For what reason?” asked thePrincess.

“It would be embarrassing.”

She was taken aback, as was everyoneelse. It was unheard of for the taciturn knight to showembarrassment of any sort. “For you?” she questioned.

Cyhan cast his eyes downward, “No,Your Highness, for you and the other ladies present.”

Penny was thinking hard as he spokeand her mind, with some help from her enhanced senses, had givenher cause for suspicion.

“Do explain anyway, Sir Cyhan,”commanded Ariadne.

Taking a deep breath Cyhan began hisexplanation. “As you are aware, those of us with the earth-bond arepossessed of more acute senses, as well as strength and speed. Inparticular, my nose is several times more sensitive than a normalman’s nose. It still isn’t nearly as good as a hound’s, but it doesprovide a lot of information.”

Ariadne frowned, “You’re saying youidentified her merely by her scent?”

“No, Your Highness. I could never makesuch a bold claim, but we have been traveling together for quite afew hours and not long ago I caught the scent of a woman whom Iknew was not one of the ladies in our group,” answered Cyhancarefully.

Penny’s suspicion was confirmed now,both by his words and her own nose.

“You could tell us apart so simply?”questioned the Princess.

Cyhan shook his head negatively, “No,Your Highness, but at certain times women are given to differentodors. I already knew that this was not your time, nor that of anyof the other…”

“Enough!” interrupted Penny, hoping tosave him from a more complete explanation, but Ariadne had alreadycaught on to his meaning, and her cheeks were turning a deep shadeof red.

Nodding her head vigorously Ariadneagreed, “Thank you, Sir Cyhan. That will be sufficient.”

Her discomfort and the awkward silencethat followed were broken suddenly when Elise Thornbear began tochuckle, and soon the rest of the women were laughing. The men inthe group joined in cautiously, except for Cyhan, who kept hisstern demeanor. Rose was the only woman to abstain from the mirth.She knew that even a simple laugh would only lead to a newoutpouring of tears.

Conall Illeniel was still confused,and he tugged on his mother’s sleeve. “Momma, I don’t understand.Why is everyone laughing?”

“Me either,” agreed Gram.

Penny stopped laughing for a moment tostare at the children in dismay. She had no idea what to answer,not just because of the nature of the question, but also becauseeveryone in the group was watching with intense curiosity to seewhat her answer might be. She looked at Moira Centyr forideas.

The former lady of stone shrugged,“How should I know what to say?”

Lady Rose’s shell finally cracked, andshe began to cackle in a manner most unladylike. Her usual laughterwas far more composed, but this was the sudden and slightlyhysterical laughter of a woman under too much stress for far toolong. The others joined her for a few minutes, until the inevitablehappened and her emotions shifted. Her sobbing laughter then becamesomething more sorrowful.

Rose’s mother-in-law led her asidewhile the others watched helplessly. Many of their eyes were dampas well. Grieving is always a painful thing, in that nothing can bedone for it. It is an illness that cannot be cured, merelyshared.

Elaine witnessed the entire cycle ofevents without understanding the cause, but her intuition wasworking full time. “I’m certain you all have a lot of questions forme, but I can tell there are many things I need to hear from you aswell,” she suggested.

Ariadne undertook the task of relayingthe news from the capital, though her voice failed her when shebegan to relate the tale of her father and mother. The Countesstook over for her then, though she suffered a similar problem whenthe story of Sir Dorian’s end came. At the end, it was left toCyhan to finish their tale.

Elaine Prathion took a small amount oftime to assimilate what she had just learned. She wasunderstandably distraught at much of the news, particularly thatwhich concerned the King and Queen, as well as the news of Dorian’sdeath. When she finally was ready to reciprocate with her ownstory, she looked regretful.

“I had hoped your news would be betterthan mine,” began Elaine, “for I fear my news will not cheer you.On the same day that Tremont murdered our sovereign, Lancaster wentup in flames.”

She took a deep breath and thencontinued, “My father and I were in Arundel, and George was inCameron, so we didn’t witness any of the events there directly.There weren’t many survivors, and those who did emerge were mostlyservants who lived outside of the keep itself. From what we can puttogether, it seems that several groups were involved. A number ofmen were guesting with Roland under the pretense of being an envoyfrom King Nicholas in Gododdin.”

Elaine closed her eyes. “Those whopretended at nobility were inside, while their retainers barricadedthe main doors to the keep from the outside. Those inside set fireto the interior and we think they died along with the rest of theoccupants. Some of the bodies we found belonged to those who threwthemselves from the towers and upper windows indesperation.”

The Princess could wait no longer.“And my brother?”

The wizard looked at the ground,unwilling to meet her gaze. “We have found no sign of him, and wecan only believe that he died with the others when the castleburned. Please forgive me,