"Dearest Serafina,
I write you this second letter in the hopes of there being many more, yet I labor over each word. Even the first word, 'dearest'. Where is the line between a friendly greeting and presumptuous offense? Whenever I cross it (for I fear I'm certain to as my affection for you grows), I beg your forgiveness. To avoid further breach of decorum in addressing you, I will tell you more about my daily routine here in the camp..."
Finn read through the letter for the tenth time at least as she sat on her bed in the early morning before breakfast. Each of his messages followed the same pattern: an almost stream of consciousness expression of worry and affection followed by an abrupt switch to a simple narrative about his life when he seemed to fear he would scare her by further description of his feelings.
The combination produced a somewhat cathartic and soothing effect in Finn's mind. The confession of his feelings provided direct insight into his soul which sometimes frightened her a little, but the more lengthy and robust portion of the letter portraying his life in the military maintained a friendly tone that set her back at ease. The balance between the two, whether intentional or not, served to let her see more of his personality and get to know him better than she might have even by spending time with him in person. To see the world through his eyes distracted her from her own struggles.
She frowned. She'd read each of his letters many times and had yet to write back to him. Even though she had no way of delivering anything to him as long as he was out investigating the threat, practice writing would be a good thing. He seemed to be skilled at writing and yet expressed struggle in it. She would likely struggle all the more.
Getting out some paper and a pen, she glanced at still-sleeping Mayra and began.
"Roland,"
She couldn't bring herself to write 'dearest' as he had. It seemed brazen for a woman to address a man in that way. She decided to follow the basic pattern of his letters and let him know a little bit of what she was thinking before giving him a narrative of her life.
"You are off searching for my family. I cannot thank you enough for this, though I know you are under orders. I worry for you, for them, for Riley, and for so many others. Please succeed, and come back. My soul hurts to think of any of you being lost or hurt in this conflict. I have now read your letters many times, and it helps to pretend I am with you in your struggles, instead of stuck helplessly in my own.
"I spend my days with the Treasurer in research, after helping Mrs. Sherman in the garden. The exact nature of the research should likely not be written down here, but I look forward to the day when I can tell you all. The time is tedious and my eyes ache at the end of each day of deciphering the words of old texts. I find the hours pass swiftly but fruitlessly as I seek information that may be helpful to the cause of protecting and saving the people. At the end of each day, I return to Dr. Sherman's house and hope word has been received about you and your mission.
"Each day so far I am disappointed. Though you will not see this letter until after your mission is done, I implore you to complete it swiftly. My day begins anew now as Mayra will be stirring soon. Farewell, and be safe.
Serafina"
She signed her full name and sighed. He was one of the only people in the world to call her that. Her father did when he was feeling sentimental (or on the rare occasion she was in trouble), but largely people called her Finn. Folding the letter, she wondered what to do with it. Perhaps if she sealed it and gave it to Mrs. Sherman, there might be a way to send it to a military outpost. Then again, there was no way of predicting where the soldiers would go first when their mission was completed.
If they rescued hostages, would they accompany them to Klain? She hoped this would be the outcome. If it was, there was no sense in sending the letter anywhere; Roland would be back to receive it from her. She smiled at the thought, and put the folded letter under her pillow before preparing herself for the day. Maybe this would be the day she would learn something new.
____________________________
"What do you mean, there was nothing there?"
"I don't know, General. The missive said the village was empty and burned, and no people of any kind were located despite a thorough search and patrol of all the surrounding area." The new keeper of the pigeons bowed in regret over having to deliver such a confusing message. Days had passed since the recruits had left for the village, and this was the first word. It was an unnerving one.
An entire village burned, its people vanished, and no trace of the perpetrators? Having found nothing, Captain Grayson should now be leading the soldiers back towards the training outpost and sending a messenger for a fuller report on the mission and to receive other orders. The General rubbed his forehead in frustration. He had been hoping for the enemy force to be wiped out, the villagers rescued, and the matter resolved. Continued mystery and unrest was not good for the people.
"Sir?" A voice from the doorway questioned, "Dr. Sherman and his assistant are here to see you." The General waved the messenger out and the new visitors in.
On a regular day he often saw no one at all besides his personal guards and those who attended Council meetings. Since these events began it seemed like he never had a moment to himself.
"General," Dr. Sherman bowed in the traditional greeting as Serafina curtsied. She looked tired. Between worrying over everyone she loved and spending long days with the Treasurer researching in his archives, she slept and ate relatively little. Dark circles were beginning to form under her eyes and her dress fit more loosely than it had before.
"Doctor, welcome. What brings you here? Asking for news once again?" The General gave him a half-smirk.
"Have you had any?" Serafina quickly interjected.
The General studied her patiently, "As a matter of fact, my messenger just left from delivering perplexing news." He rubbed his temples in an effort to make it make sense. Amongst the trainers for the recruits were those experienced in tracking. No one should be able to simply disappear without his soldiers being able to follow, let alone a large group of civilians and enemies.
"Oh?" The doctor tilted his head in question.
"They are all gone--disappeared," The General clarified when shock registered on Finn's face, "Although the village is in ashes as described, the people and the culprits are missing. There is no trace of them whatsoever."
This news was met with a mix of fear and hope. If the villagers were missing, they might still be alive. There was also some amount of relief that the troops had not engaged in a skirmish which could have left them hurt.
"What will happen now?" Asked the doctor.
"The message came by carrier pigeon. The soldiers will return to training until ordered otherwise. I expect a messenger will arrive on horseback with a more thorough report than the bird would carry."
Finn's eyes filled with tears. They were just giving up and going back to training?
The General stood from his desk and walked to the girl. "What would you have me do? Order the men to search the forest indefinitely at the expense of preparing them for a coming war?"
She shook her head, staring at the floor. She didn't know what should be done. The General's face softened.
"We have regular patrols of trained soldiers along the borders. They are not large, but they are mobile. Normally they remain unseen. They have received orders by now to be looking for anything suspicious, including men matching the description of the soldiers you saw, as well as the direction to question local people about unusual activity or sightings."
Finn raised her watery eyes to look at the man and nodded her thanks.
Dr. Sherman cleared his throat, "Although I do come to pester you for updates, we have something more to report today." He gestured for Finn to speak. The girl swallowed and began softly.
"I've been helping the Treasurer try to research. I've been putting all my time into this, but he has other duties to attend to," She allowed herself a small grin as she remembered the studious little man running about trying to get many tasks done at once. "At first I focused on Klain's history books, but most of them are devoted to more recent events and have no mention whatsoever of the Rhone. In fact, I could find no other direct mention of the name anywhere."
"However?" The General doubted she had come to tell him that nothing at all was found. Then again, had he not received a message from his own soldiers this very morning that they had found nothing?
"I had the idea-- that is--" She paused and looked a little helplessly at Dr. Sherman.
"I recently came across a supply of unusual medicinal herbs," The doctor began carefully. "I used them to heal this young lady with miraculous, one might say, magical, results."
"The magical herbs in the Treasurer's history reminded me of them," Finn continued with relief at not having to say anything that might get Dr. Sherman in trouble, "and I started looking in old medical books instead of history. Among the oldest, I found recipes to use herbs for all kinds of medicines, as well as other uses."
"Such as?" The General leaned against the front of his desk and crossed his arms, intrigued. He would ask about Dr. Sherman's strange supply of herbs at a later date. It sounded more like a Peacekeeper matter, anyway.
"Disappearance was one use listed, as well as one for the instant creation of fire. There are others, but the book is very old and difficult to read. I'm familiar with some, but not all, of the herbs in these recipes. I think a few must be quite rare, from the mention of them. I thought you should know that the powers that the Rhone had in the legend seem to be based around these herbs."
The General cut his eyes to the doctor. "The herbs you have been complaining about for months, the missing ones...?"
"Are among those mentioned in the book, yes." Dr. Sherman grimly confirmed.