Riley was granted an immediate audience with the General, as it was assumed he had an urgent message about another attack. It would have been unusual to send a corporal with lesser news, especially a recruit who had yet to complete his first year.
Reaching the General's office, he entered and saluted the man seated at the large desk. Papers and books were spread out before him, and he looked wearily up at Riley.
"Yes, soldier?" He blinked slowly, as if preparing for terrible news.
"Sir," He glanced back at the exiting guard who had shown him in. "I'm Corporal Riley. I have a confidential report to make."
The General rapped his knuckles twice on the desk, and the guard closed the door so that the two were alone.
"Proceed, soldier." The General said, a little impatiently.
Riley pulled the papers Roland had given him out of his bag.
"I have here statistics and intelligence on the movements and capabilities of the Rhone, as well as definitive proof that there is a traitor within Klain's government." Riley had no real desire to try and build up to the shocking announcement. There was no way to soften the blow or phrase it more gently. If he had started into his story instead of getting to the point, it's likely the General would have become irritated with him.
He stood still, waiting for a strong reaction, one way or another. The General simply stared at him for a few silent moments.
"Explain," He said at last. Riley swallowed.
"I was on guard duty, and saw a Rhone soldier sneaking towards the camp to spy," He began. "I grabbed him from behind, but when I removed the covering on his face, it was Roland, my fellow recruit who had been dragged away by Rhone's wolves and presumed dead after that attack."
The General sat up straighter, "Roland, adoptive son of Dr. Sherman?"
Riley nodded, "He survived and was taken captive. Though I'm told it is a very long story, the Rhone believe he is the long-stolen son of their crown prince." He dreaded this part a little. He didn't want Roland to be painted as some sort of spy or traitor. The General looked... completely nonplussed. As if he'd already known this somehow. The older man waved a hand for Riley to continue.
"He was able to get this to me," Riley held out the papers. "They are communications from the Provider to Rhone, in his writing. It should definitively prove he has been cooperating with the enemy. Roland wrote on the back notes about Rhone's numbers and other information of strategic importance. He risked his life to help Klain. I urged him to escape back to us, but he thought he might be able to help the captives, or convince the crown prince to delay or even abandon the idea of war."
The General's eyes had closed after he glanced at the papers. Riley lapsed into silence, waiting to be asked for more information or told what to do. He wasn't extremely well versed in how to interact with someone so far above his rank.
"One less." The General whispered.
"Sir?"
"One less death against my conscience. One less life for me to be responsible for having ended." The General opened his eyes, and Riley was shocked to see that they were damp. "Corporal Riley, you said?"
"Yes, sir." Riley did not expect for his name to be recognized, though the General had said it as if it were familiar.
"Serafina's friend? The son of Ashmayne?" The General leaned forward.
"Uh, yes sir."
"I have learned of you. Where did I..." He opened a drawer and drew out a book that looked like a journal. "Here it is. I let Serafina read this, but as it more directly concerns you and your friend Roland, I think you deserve to see it as well. I'm given to understand you don't know much of your father and what a hero he was."
The General drew out a few pages of paper stuck within the journal and handed them to Riley. He sat there silently as Riley read quickly through them, eyes widening as he read the story of his parents, an infant Roland, and a failed assassination attempt of the previous General.
"Thank you, Sir. I did not know. At least, not all of it." Riley said at last, handing the papers back across.
"I must thank you, since I cannot thank your father and mother for their service." The General smiled a little flatly.
"My mother is held by the Rhone, along with my younger brothers." Riley replied, and the General's face darkened.
"I will try to rescue all from their imprisonment." The leader promised, the weight of it clearly hanging heavily upon him.
"Speaking of imprisonment, you spoke of Serafina a moment ago. Is there any way to get her out of jail?" Riley assumed The General would be at least as informed as Ashley in the goings on of the City's peacekeeping forces.
The General's eyebrows rose. "Jail?"
Well, maybe not.
"Finn and my sister Mayra are in jail, at the Provider's request, held by the peacekeeping forces. He's accused them of harassment or something. Is there anything you can do?" Riley pleaded.
"It is not the practice of Klain for one branch to interfere with another's work," The Generals' eyebrows came together. "Perhaps the best way forward is to expose the Provider for the traitor he is, and then the charges should be dropped with no credible complainant."
Riley relaxed slightly.
"I will have to think on the best way to do this. The vote against him will need to be unanimous. This cannot be something I rush into and fail at. Please come back tomorrow after I've had time to consider."
"Is there any way I could visit them in jail? I'm not familiar with Klain's ways, entirely." Riley was eager to see them both with his own eyes.
"Yes, yes, of course. They'll have visiting hours, but you can inquire about that. Please get any information Serafina has and report to me about it. She might be persecuted because she's found out more than we know about the traitor. The girl has a knack for getting into situations, it seems." The General seemed about to smile despite the gravity of the whole situation.
"She definitely does," Riley agreed, chuckling in spite of himself. "It's something of a problem."
"Does she seek out the problems, or do they find her?" The General asked with curiosity.
"They find her, but then she runs straight at them like a lunatic." Riley grinned, and the General nodded.
"Keep me apprised. You're dismissed until tomorrow."
Riley saluted and left the room, relieved that the meeting had gone so well. Roland was believed and not under suspicion, the General would work on taking down the traitor, and hopefully Finn and Mayra could be released.
He took a deep breath as he reached the outside, and asked the guard directions to the jail. He wished he knew Klain a little better than he did, but there was no use pretending he knew where he was going.
The street lamps were burning as brightly as they could but an autumn fog was creeping through the streets. It gave an eerie sort of chill to the air as Riley walked, and he went a little faster on his way. Having reached the jail, he inquired as to visiting hours. The peacekeeping officer at the entrance looked at him like he was crazy, for it was by now fairly late into the night.
"Come back in the morning," was the only reply, with no specific hour attached to the instruction. Riley shrugged, and headed back to the barracks where he would spend the night. He wished he hadn't dropped off the horse on his way to see the General; he would have liked to not walk all over the city at night.
When he had almost reached the men's barracks, a hand shot out of the darkness and grabbed hold of his arm, pulling him into an alleyway.
"We have to stop meeting like this," He gave Ashley a lopsided smile, "You're going to give me an entirely wrong impression about what you want from me."
She turned bright red, "Hush! I just wanted to know how the meeting went, and if you can get Mayra and Finn free! I'm completely miserable about them being in jail, especially since it's my fault." Ashley's anxious face lent credence to her statement.
"Don't worry, I'm working on it, and so is the General. There's no need to assault me in a dark alley as if you're not an engaged woman. Hey, did I tell you earlier I know who your fiancé is?" Riley remembered what Roland had told him, and couldn't resist teasing Ashley about the man she'd never met but was desperate to keep away from.
"What?" Ashley's eyes narrowed as she looked at Riley.
"His name's Duncan, crown prince of Rhone. You're going to be a princess! Oh, and Roland's stepmother, too. You like kids, right?"