"Sentinel duty?" Orla asked. "Surely, a knight befitting your status should not be relegated to doing such jobs of little substance," she continued in her chatty tone, the intent to flatter. At some point, it almost felt like...flirting.
"I have come here of my own volition," the silver knight said. "I will do as I please. I have not seen your erring man or female servant if that is who you seek."
"Oh, thank you dear silver knight. We most appre-"
"-We will conduct our search elsewhere," interrupted the hooded man. I could differentiate his voice from that of the silver knight even though they had similar pitch.
"A good night to you, Silver knight!" Orla said, accompanied by a low growl of annoyance, probably from the hooded man.
I still lay on the floor, the light from the moon reflecting on the floor at a few paces from me. I began to steady my breath when I heard an icy voice say: "Up. Now."
I willed myself to get up but couldn't. They might still be close by, the hooded man and Orla Spry, I reasoned.
I felt myself pulled roughly to my feet, an arm around my waist. In the moonlight, I could see why the silver knight was a favorite among the ladies, Orla inclusive.
His dark features melted to create a face classically handsome. Roughened, but handsome. His lips twisted slightly as his eyes met mine in the moonlight- the first avenue which we had to properly view each other.
The knight let me go and headed back for the clearing, the small smirk I had seen on his face disappearing. I did not trust myself to come out of the shade of the Volkov- shaped shrub.
"They're gone now. Come out," the silver knight said.
I stepped out of the shadows. I was heading towards the entrance I had come by when I heard his voice.
"What did you steal from her now?" The silver knight asked.
I did not reply.
"Fine. Don't tell me. I do not care. You will be found out one of these days."
I wondered whether to tell the knight what I had just heard tonight. Would it be wise? Would he think I was deluded? A commoner's word was worth nothing, he might not even believe me.
I turned to him gratefully. "Thank you," I said quietly.
A sigh from the knight.
I was heading for the entrance again when his voice reached me. "They will find you if you go that way. You must be going to the servants' quarters. I know a different route."
I was very grateful. I went with him.
I was quiet until we got halfway, my fright still preying on me.
I watched the knight, from his features to his pure silver armor, which seemed to give out a luminescence of its own when it caught the light of the moon. That, if not anything, was a signifier of his rank: the silver of his armor. He must be as highly-placed as Orla said he was. He was quiet as we walked.
I, on the other hand, was becoming more chatty as we neared the servants' quarters. I had to find out more about this knight, I told myself. How many in my shoes got a silver- knight- supervised walk? A lesser like I was, getting an escort from an Elven silver knight.
I watched his hand over the hilt of his sword that dangled over his side.
"What is your name?" I suddenly asked.
"Call me Silver knight, agent of the emperor. The night's blade, swift vengeance, and so forth," the silver knight replied tiredly. "At least that is what the majority of the populace know me by."
I frowned. "Your birth name," I said.
His gaze dropped to me briefly, as though contemplating whether he should reveal such a piece of information to me.
"Thorne," he said. "Rhysand Thorne."
"Oh," I said. "I go by Avril. Avril Landolyn."
"I do not care."
" I thought as much," I replied and I could see the smallest hint of a smile on Rhysand's face.
"Do you stay in the Imperial complex?" I asked then.
"That information is inconsequential," Rhysand replied.
I rolled the words in my head and pretended to think. "Inconse- inconsequent- that means you'll tell me, won't you?"
Rhysand couldn't suppress a grin now. I knew what the word meant. But given the way my life was going, I was going to need friends like him to save me when similar situations such as this occur. It was best to play the ignorant, charming- I hope- damsel in distress.
"I only arrived this evening from a war campaign against the rebels on the island of Pardova. I will leave tomorrow. Is my lady pleased with that knowledge?"
I should have felt flattered by his reference to me as lady; or amused somewhat. But 'rebels' struck at me. Pardova was a small kingdom populated by humans. It occurred to me then that he was just an agent of the emperor after all.
I stayed quiet.
Rhysand watched me for a bit as we walked.
"If it makes it any better, we took more slaves than there were casualties," Rhysand said.
"Slaves," I repeated.
"If they rebel and they are captured, they are slaves by virtue, waiting in the dungeons for allocation," Rhysand said quietly. "Did you not know? For a human, you must have been living under a rock."
"Well I- I used to live in Fae Boulevard earlier," I said. "Not much information reaches me concerning humans."
It seemed like a millennium passed in the silence that followed. Up ahead, I could see the limestone wall of the workers' quarters.
"You should stop here," I told the silver knight. "I don't want to drag too much attention to myself. It is quite easy to misconstrue appearances."
Rhysand did not reply. He only nodded and stopped walking.
I moved on and then stopped. I stood thinking, wondering if I should tell Rhysand what I had learned that night. What if he acted on it and had Orla apprehended? I would be in danger because I was the witness. I didn't know the hooded man. I couldn't recognize or describe him. If Orla were to be taken to the dungeons, he would lurk free and he would come after me.
I shuddered. I turned back to Rhysand. I wasn't going to tell him.
"Will I ever see you again?" I asked.
"What for?"
"Aren't we friends now?"
A sigh. "Get some sleep. Your pursuers are probably still on the prowl, waiting to catch you. I can be seen on the grounds at this time of the night. You are the one who will have explaining to do."
Only the thought of Orla, still out there, waiting to catch me, had me walking as quickly as possible to the back entrance of the workers' quarters.
Phantoms did not claw at me tonight as I lay down to sleep. I saw Rhysand in his silver armor on a white pegasus, his longsword drawn as he saved me from a fire-breathing dragon.