#vaelyn

I'm not loved. I'm tolerated.

A year? No, longer than that, but just barely. Vy hadn’t seen Vaelyn in over a year. Vaelyn been loved, and well-cared for, protected and kept safe, given as much fresh air and sunlight as possible, of course. Bowan had made sure of that. But a child her age needed her mother more than anything.  The Uncrowned had given her explicit orders to keep the girl as a ward of the Council; apparently “hostage” was too strong of a word for them for now. The Hall of Shadows was usually quiet, especially at this hour. It was dark, midnight long since passed and dawn still hours away. Near the end of the side tunnel of the Hall, a wooden door stood. Posted on either side were a pair of Uncrowned agents in black. That was normal. Her coming here was normal. No one had sen her come down here- that much she knew and made absolute sure of. It wasn’t unusual for Bowan to visit, to stand guard, or care for the girl. She wondered faintly if they could hear her thundering heartbeat. The two nodded as she approached, and she returned the familiar, casual gesture, but they made no move to open the door. She held one of the three keys that fit the door’s lock, and she had to use it herself. The Council held the first key. Timira held the third. It wasn’t unusual for either of them to be down here. Reaching into her coat, Bowan went to draw the key from her pocket. The agent’s eyes were on her from behind their masks, she knew. It was an odd hour to visit, but again, odd hours had never stopped her from coming to see Vaelyn before. She hoped they didn’t suspect anything. Jerking not the key, but a knife from her coat, Bowan turned and slammed the blade into the neck of the agent at her right. They surged forwards, caught off-guard, and sagged over. Before they hit the floor, Bowan had already turned to the second guard, who in the split-second since had drawn a razor-sharp kris.    The second guard leapt back out of range to shout a warning down the hall, but as they opened their mouth, the voice came out as a choked gurgle as a throwing dagger pierced their throat. For a moment they groped at the steel jutting from their jugular, blood audibly bubbling in their mouth, before they too landed in a heap on the stone. She hadn’t wanted either of them dead, but they would have immediately attacked an unannounced, masked visitor, and she wasn’t sure she could take them both. It was too risky. No one could know she’d been down here. Wordlessly Bowan unlocked the door, but not before removing both of the dead agents’ Uncrowned insignias for good measure. Only one person ever did that. Eventually the guards’ relief would come down here, but not until dawn. She had time.  Forcing the point of a dagger into the door lock, she jammed and twisted until both the lock and the blade broke. Perfect. Had to look liked a forced entry. Inside the room was small, but clean, and warm. Vaelyn was asleep in the wooden crib at the far wall. Silently, Bowan drew over the sleeping child, pausing for a moment. She loved Vaelyn like her own, but since she had brought the child to the Hall, she could hardly look at her. She had promised Vy she would always protect her daughter, with her life if she had to. And now Vaelyn was here, safe, for now, but under constant guard, held prisoner as bait to capture her mother. That was no life for a child.  Bowan wanted to trust the Council wouldn’t stoop to threatening a girl not yet two years old with the hopes of bringing her mother out of hiding, but they were getting desperate. The Princess couldn’t keep the others at bay forever. She had overheard plans, plans that involved a final attempt to flush Vy out of hiding. Plans that involved Vaelyn. Bowan didn’t like what she heard. Gently, with practiced hands, Bowan wrapped Vaelyn in the blanket she slept in, making sure she was comfortable. The girl stirred slightly, but did not wake. Good. Bowan needed her to be quiet now. She carefully tucked Vaelyn under her coat, out of sight, before pulling up her black hood and scarf. The smart thing to do would have been to follow the Uncrowned’s orders. The punishment of those who were found to have disobeyed or betrayed the Order was nothing short of a painful, torturous death. She had the Cavaliers, the office, her family to keep in mind. All of that was at stake if anyone found out what she did.  But the right thing to do was to fix the mistake they had made. There were more important things going on than using a young, innocent child to get to her mother, even if Vy was a dangerous rogue officer and agent. And if there weren’t, and the victory on Argus promised peace, then at least Bowan could clear her conscience and the others’ by righting this wrong. Dousing the torch that lit the hall and plunging the corridor into darkness, Bowan wound through the sewers until she turned down an unlit, nearly forgotten side tunnel that she knew eventually lead onto the surface streets. Vy wouldn’t forgive her, of course, even after all this. She just hoped the others did. ------------

VAELYN - Stay

Vaelyn Celdarys

Aasimar