A favor.
When they arrived back at his apartment, he pointed to a chair for her to sit in and poured them both a cup of beer. She turned away when he handed her the cup.
“What? What’s wrong with this?”
“I don’t drink beer.” She replied flatly.
Aindreas shrugged, “Well, I tried to be hospitable.” He placed the cup on a small table, sat in a chair across from Trea and took a sip of his drink before addressing her. “Alright then, what’s this all about? What brings you back to the Court after all these years looking to cut my throat?”
“If I was looking to cut your throat I would have done it a long time ago. I certainly wouldn’t have waited all this time.”
“Ok, you don’t want to kill me, that’s a relief.”
“I never said I didn’t want to kill you. I really see no reason why I shouldn’t, but you won’t be very useful to me dead right now.”
Aindreas raised an eyebrow and chuckled, “Now, why would you want to kill me? I thought we were friends.”
Trea’s eyes grew wide, “Why? WHY? You’re kidding right? You abandoned me! What’s worse, you never even bothered to say goodbye. Just up and gone in the few hours I was doing my chores. All you left was a lousy note, and not once did you even attempt to contact me. Your friendship is a lie.”
This time Aindreas looked away. “I guess I deserve your anger then, don’t I. And I guess you deserve an explanation.” Trea opened her mouth to protest, but Aindreas held up his hand to stop her, “No. You do.” He sighed and then took in a deep breath.
“The day I left I was given two choices: I either pack my things and leave right then, or get court-martialed and watch you get sent to a brothel. Word about our relationship had reached the Lieutenant General, he sent an assistant with those two options. I was not to have any contact with you before I left, I took a risk even leaving you that note. You were considered a prisoner of war, you staying in my quarters was illegal. You should have been locked in a cell where they would have interrogated you and then prepared you to be sold as either a slave or a whore. I couldn’t let them do that to you, you had already been through so much. I figured leaving was best.”
“So you couldn’t send a letter or something? The Captain knew where I was.”
“They wouldn’t even let me contact him for over a month. By time I could, the regiment had been sent back out into the field and the Captain had been comatose for sometime. A wall had fallen on him. He died six months later without ever coming to.”
Trea gasped. She hadn’t known about that. During that time she had locked herself in her room above Marco’s pub, refusing everything except the simplest foods to survive. She had been so depressed that she shut out the world around her. Even when she finally came out her room she refused to discuss anything from her time in the Court or the Desert Region. Marco wouldn’t ask, she wouldn’t volunteer.
“I came back two years ago,” Aindreas continued, “I thought about finding you, but I didn’t know where to even start. All the Captain’s personal affects had been taken to a friend, but they wouldn’t tell me who.” He drew in a deep breath, “I figured you had moved on, so I thought it best that I move on too.”
Trea laced her fingers together, put her hands under her chin and closed her eyes. After a while, she spoke, “I came to get you to do me a favor.”
“And if I say no?”
“I wouldn’t suggest you do so.” This made Aindreas look at her curiously. “The King’s only daughter is about the age I was when we first came here to the Court. Being Captain of the Royal Guard, it is your duty to protect her. I doubt the His Majesty would be pleased to hear that his daughter’s close, personal guard has a taste for young girls.”
Aindreas laughed, “Blackmail?”
“I’d like to think of it as a high-pressure incentive to make up for wronging an old friend.”
“But I just told you, it couldn’t have been helped! I couldn’t contact you!”
Trea shrugged, “Explanations are nice, but they don’t heal hurt feelings. Just because I understand the situation doesn’t mean I forgive you.”
Aindreas straightened up, his face became hard and serious. “Well then, what do you need done?”
“Contact the guard in Entara, tell them to drop the warrant and bounty for my arrest.”
“The guard in Entara are not part of the Royal Guard.”
“I know, but they are your subordinates. If war breaks out and there are not enough soldiers in the Royal Guard, you take from the civilian guard. And even as a Captain you out rank all of them by simply having the Royal Guard insignia.”
Aindreas rubbed his face; she was right. He could send a note to them and the warrant and bounty would disappear into thin air. “Why are you wanted anyway?”
“They think I robbed a jewelry store. I was out there doing a job and happened to be nearby when it was robbed. They are trying to pin it on me because I am a foreigner.” It wasn’t a complete lie.
“Job? What job?”
“That’s for me to know. Are you going to do it or not?”
“What have you gotten yourself into Trea? Why are you so cold now? You used to have such warmth and brightness in you.”
“This is what happens when you’ve been abandoned, rejected, and orphaned three times over.”
This stung Aindreas. “Alright. I will send the official letter in the morning.”
“Thank you.” There was no sincerity in her words. They were flat and hung heavy with obligatory politeness. She got up to leave, and Aindreas grabbed her by the arm, she turned to swing and he caught that arm also.
“You’ve gotten faster.” He said, “But it’s better for me to walk you out. An intruder this time of night is not guaranteed safe passage.” He looked into her eyes for a moment, searching for the girl he had known. He so desperately wanted to kiss her, wanted to take her right then and there, but so much time had passed. He knew nothing about the woman who stood in front of him now. Even a kiss could complicate things further. He released her left arm and walked her through the Court and out the main gates. He watched her as the gates closed; not once did she look back towards him.
