"Why would you possibly think--" Silver was cut off as Conall began running with his thoughts.
"Is it Beatrice from down the road? I always knew she had a soft spot for you."
"No."
"Caliope doesn't make sense, and Julie has been trying to catch your eye for far too long. Unless you two have been secretly seeing each other for a long time!" The mayor scratched his chin.
"Conall, stop. It isn't anyone you have mentioned."
"Oh Silver! I don't care who she is as long as she makes you happy. Wait until I tell Katherine! She will be overjoyed to know you will finally be properly taken care of." Conall clapped his hands together, fully ready to put his particular talent of news-spreading into action.
"You can't tell anyone anything. There isn't even anything to tell!" Silver suddenly felt like crawling in a hole.
"You, uh, already admitted that someone was inside." The mayor smacked his lips.
"He has got you there," a feminine voice called from beyond the door in a pleasing lilt.
Silver turned inside and glared at the woman who was kneeling by the fire. "Whose side are you on?!"
Sage shrugged and smiled sweetly, the soft purple glow from her upraised hood catching the hint of mischief in her eyes.
"A woman confirmed!" Conall was practically giddy with excitement. "I knew you had it in you, Silver."
"Please leave us in peace, mayor. And don't tell anyone about what you think you witnessed." The Guardian's voice held a distinct edge that Conall was clearly missing.
The rotund man continued to gab, "I mean don't get me wrong. I love Sage, and I really wish that you two would have worked out..."
Silver clamped his hand across the man's mouth. "For the love of the Fates, if you value your life, stop talking..."
The frustrated Guardian was very close to hoisting the man up by the collar and escorting him down the street. If Conall finished that sentence, then both he and Silver would likely be in trouble. There would be no good way to un-dig that hole.
"May as well let the mayor in," the woman called to Silver. "He is making more of scene out there then he can in here."
The mayor pushed Silver's hand away. "The lady makes a valid point," Conall said with a wink.
Conceding, Silver heaved a heavy sigh. "Here we go..."
Conall paraded proudly into the room, ready to be the first witness to possibly the most juicy gossip in Rynnlee's history. However, his confident stride was stopped short as he looked down at the woman by the fireplace. Her back was to him as she tended the breakfast.
Her slim build was not like any of the village women that Conall had suspected. Yet her calm and confident demeanor told him that she was quite comfortable in Silver's home.
The mayor's face contorted in confusion. "Who are you?"
The female Guardian hummed softly. "Really, Conall, has it been so long that you cannot recognize me?"
Standing, Sage turned around and let the hood fall from her face. Her silver eyes sparkled with amusement.
"Sage? Sage!" Conall was truly at a loss for any other word.
"I am a little disappointed, mayor, that you value Silver's happiness over my own. I thought we were closer than that." Sage threw her hand onto one hip and narrowed her gaze.
"I, uh, I would never want to sacrifice you...But Silver deserves to have some happiness. Not that you don't. Uh, what I meant to say was that you both deserve happiness...even if it isn't together..." Conall tried to salvage his words, but the more he spoke the worse things became. He finally trailed off into an uncomfortable silence.
Sage glared at him for a long time before bursting out in a musical laugh. "I want Silver to be happy too, you fool. I will not fault you for wanting the same. But if I catch you trying to push him into some other woman's arms again, it will not go well for you."
Her sugary sweet tone was punctuated by a flash of her eyes. Conall unconsciously shivered.
"Noted." He looked at Silver, who was rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. Conall's fear shifted back again to amusement. "Wait a second! You just woke up, but Sage was already here?! Silver!"
"It's not what you think! Nothing happened!" Silver was quick to defend himself.
"Well, something happened." Sage said with a wink. Although she could not see it, the woman knew how badly she had made the other Guardian blush.
Silver's cracking voice confirmed her suspicions. "Nothing romantic happened!"
"Nothing?" the mayor tapped his chin incredulously.
"Well, wait...I don't have to answer that! Sage came here on business." Silver grasped for words.
"I'm sure she did," Conall's smile was so big it nearly split his face in two.
Silver growled, "Get your mind out of the gutter, Conall! Ugh, are you trying to ruin Sage's reputation?"
"I love that you think I had a reputation that could be ruined." The woman laughed and sat down casually in the chair closest to the fireplace. Although Sage had never had a relationship with anyone else in the town, her flirtatious nature had birthed many rumors.
Silver opened his mouth to talk about defending her honor, but knew the gallant gesture would fall on deaf ears. He sighed. "This is not an argument I can win. It is best if I just show you what we have been working on, mayor."
The two men headed over to the table where a dense pile of papers were stacked in weird combinations.
"Borit's papers?" the mayor furrowed his brow.
Nodding, Silver picked up two sheets and held them up to the window. The morning sunlight was streaming in much brighter than the fire ever could, causing a much clearer picture than the night before. Overlapped, the two papers aligned to complete each other, revealing a string of ancient runes.
"Brilliant!" Conall said. "How did you ever think of it?"
"Sage did." Silver tilted his head toward the brunette.
The lovely female pulled the pot from the fire and brought it over to the table. Lifting the lid, the smell of perfectly baked bread filled the room.
"That is not exactly true, dear," Sage corrected him. "I was merely familiar with the method. Besfort is quite good at making these kinds of ciphers. Either he stole the tactic from King Willric or the king stole it from him. Either way, it did not take me long to realize that you only gave me half of what I needed."
"I admit it looks complete, but it still looks like nonsense." Conall studied the paper carefully.
"It is an ancient tongue. I only recognize pieces from what Hanna showed me when I became a Guardian. Thankfully our dear school teacher had already given me a book to help translate. We spent most of the night beginning to decipher the message from Willric." Silver motioned to a book from the town's growing library. "It is slow going, but thanks to Besfort we have a starting point."
"Besfort is a clever man." Sage nodded her agreement. He was the head of the rebellion in Lakyle for a reason.
"Should I be jealous?" Silver asked, amused.
"No more than I should be of your palace girl," The lady rolled her eyes.
"You mean Silver's sister? Why would you be jealous of her?" Conall watched as his friend palmed his face with his shoulders slumped.
"You found your sister?!" Sage's interest was piqued.
"It was one of the things I was hoping to discuss over breakfast. Speaking of breakfast…" Silver jerked his head towards the door for Conall to see.
The mayor cleared his throat. "Thank you for the offer. I would love to join you!" He pulled out a chair to sit at the table.
Just then there was a knock at the door.
"This place is becoming busier than the town square," Silver muttered. "Who is it?!"
"Corey, sir! I am looking for Mayor Conall. His wife is waiting for him at the inn so the painting can begin."
"I'm not here," Conall whispered.
"He said he's right here, Corey! I'll send him right out." Silver called loudly.
"That was cold Guardian," Conall moaned.
"Don't tell anyone you saw Sage," Silver warned him.
"I won't." Conall tipped the brim of his hat sadly and headed out the door.
"You think he will keep the secret?" Sage asked him.
"He knows better than to risk our safety by leaking that information… at least until tomorrow. We should at least be able to squeeze in a quiet breakfast where we can talk about absolutely anything." Silver held out the chair for Sage to settle at the table.
"Good." The woman batted her eyes at the man as he sat across from her. "Because I want to hear everything, starting with this sister of yours! How did you find her? What does she look like?...."