"Of Two Worlds"
Chapter 4
By: Willow Mae

Jemmy blinked stupidly in the darkness of the guest bedroom. When she was more fully awake, she reached up a hand to cover a large yawn and swung her bare feet over the side of the bed. She vaguely remembered being gently laid on the bed and the covers being brought up around her chin. She could only presume that Xathir had taken her home after her trial in the woods. Her face lit into a soft smile as she thought of her friend. He always had taken care of her in the dark hours of the night, when she needed a friend. Gently she reached into the folds of her dress until her fingers grasped the garland. With a heartsick sigh she laid it on the nightstand in the guest room.

Quietly she moved aside the cloth door that led into the sitting room and her own bed where Calandra was still asleep. She listened for a moment to the haggard breathing of the foreign girl and frowned. Reaching into the basket beside the mantelpiece she retrieved some firewood and relit the ashes of yesterday’s fire. Once the fire had caught, Jemmy crossed to her guest.

As she neared the stench of sickness and sweat reached her nose. The light of the fire glowed on Calandra’s pallid, sweaty face. Jemmy frowned again; she didn’t recall her looking so ill the night before. She reached down to pull the covers closer about the sleeping figure. As she moved, her fingers brushed against Calandra’s face. Not only was she covered with sticky sweat, her body simply radiated heat. Jemmy’s frown deepened. Perhaps she should call on Tyrian…she shook her head. It was still too early yet.

Sighing, she took some more wood from the holder and went into her brother’s room. When firelight illuminated the room she chucked at the sight that met her eyes. Bergan was slumped forward in his chair, the book he had been reading open in his lap. He was still in his clothes from the night before and the fabric was rumpled from the long night. On the desk was a half burned candle. With a loving smile on her face, Jemmy retrieved the book from his lap and gently laid it on the table in front of him. She brushed aside a tangled strand of blue-black hair from his face and laid a light kiss on his forehead.

"I knew you wouldn’t listen." She chortled softly. "Rest for a while, you’ll need it. I’m heading down to see Tyrian, I’ll be home later, okay?" she told the sleeping figure. Bergan grunted in response and she smiled again as she took the comforter from his bed and draped it around his shoulders.

Jemmy was taking her cloak from the hanger beside the door when she heard Calandra’s raspy breathing get worse. She cast a concerned look over her shoulder. Deciding to bring some more medicine back from Tyrian’s, she slipped out the door into the cool early morning.

At a brisk pace, Jemmy could reach the city of Kir Aslen in approximately fifteen minutes. Today, the hills surrounding her home and the city were inviting, with their dew-covered grasses sparkling in the sunrise. The soft swish of fabric in the long grasses comforted her as she walked across the rolling hills. As she reached the crest of one such hill, the small city of Kir Aslen came into view.

It was laid out like most other cities in Scathan country. Shaped like a pentagon, it had five entry gates onto the five main roads. Along the roads were all the shops and merchant booths, while at the center where the five roads converged there was a large courtyard, the church, and the police headquarters. Behind the shops in the areas between the major roads there was the residential area, where inns and other such facilities were located. In each sector there was also a station for the sentry guarding the city.

Upon entering the city, she was surrounded by the usual bustle of shops just opening and people making their morning rounds. She walked purposefully down the streets, ignoring merchants singing their wares. The smells of hot food tempted her as she neared the center of the city, and she gave a man a copper for a hot roll stuffed with tender, juicy meats. She munched her breakfast happily as she turned onto one of the other main roads and made her way behind the front stalls towards the permanent stores fixed on the edge of the residential area. Soon she reached her destination, a small house just inside the borders of the residential area. Without bothering to knock, she strode inside.

The sitting room was much nicer than hers at home. The floors were laid with stone instead of dirt, and the walls were white brick instead of adobe. The ceiling was tiled, not thatched and the house itself was relatively large. It was much like the other houses in the city, where people could afford such niceties. Brown eyes flickered through the room quickly. There was no one around, and the room was darker than usual.

Suddenly, she felt a point of cold steel against the back of her neck. Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes went wide. Unsure of what was going on, her muscles tensed in shock.

"Who are you and what do you want?" a coarse voice whispered harshly in her ear. "I have a knife poised to kill, so don’t try anything stupid." It took Jemmy a moment to put together the actions that had just taken place. Her brow furrowed and she looked carefully out the corner of her eye, trying to see her captor clearly to confirm her suspicions.

"Tyrian?" she managed to choke out. The pressure on her neck was eased slightly.

"Jemmy?" her captor asked after a moment. Jemmy heaved a sigh of relief and let her muscles relax. The man behind her sheathed his blade and swung her around the face him. "What the hell were you doing? I could have killed you!" he demanded. His chiseled face of 25 years was etched with anxiety. He was only a few inches shorter than Jemmy herself, with cropped red-blonde hair. He was stocky, but his movements were lithe and practiced.

"You scared me half to death Tyrian!" she cried, placing her hands on her hips defensively. "What were you doing?"

"I heard a person come in. I went to investigate because I thought it was an intruder." He looked her over. "Instead, it was you."

"Don’t sound so excited to see me." Jemmy replied dryly. Tyrian closed his emerald eyes and sighed.

"It’s not that. It just scared me to think that I could have hurt you."

"I’m touched." Jemmy smiled. "Anyway, now that that scare is over, I came in to get some more herbs from you. Hope you don’t mind."

"Of course not." He replied, leading her into his workroom. It was a small space, with a long wooden table and tall shelves along the wall. The ceiling overhead had a variety of drying herbs hanging from the rafters. On the shelves a vide variety of labeled bottles stood. The table sported oils, candles, and scraps of cloth, as well as a mortar and pestle. Tyrian turned to Jemmy. "You’ve been coming down more frequently lately. Is something wrong with your brother?"

Jemmy shook her head. "We have a guest who has become rather ill, I’m afraid."

"I see." Tyrian replied, no hint in his voice about what he was thinking. "Well, what are the symptoms? I’ll see what I have." Jemmy’s mind flickered back to Calandra that morning.

"Raspy breathing, sweating, loss of coloring…" Jemmy ticked off on her fingers what she had observed. Tyrian listened for a moment, then turned to his herbs and began to mutter.

"Sounds like a fever of sorts…" he took the appropriate jars down and began to mix things together with quick, fluid movements. Jemmy watched him, fascinated, until she remembered something.

"Oh, and I’m going to need some more of that ointment for open wounds." Tyrian stopped for a moment and looked over his shoulder at her. Green eyes narrowed quizzically.

"You were just down here a few days ago for that. You can’t mean you’ve used it all already." The tips of Jemmy’s ears began to turn pink.

"Actually…" Tyrian sighed.

"All right, I’ll make you another batch. Just remember that you have to use it carefully! It doesn’t take very much to heal a small cut." Jemmy shrugged sheepishly and said something quietly.

"I know that. But it does take more for larger wounds." She spoke under her breath; softly enough that Tyrian wouldn’t hear her. He still had his back turned to her, but his looked at her out of the corner of his eyes at her comment. He didn’t reply, deciding that not to ask what she meant if she wouldn’t tell him freely.

"Is that all you needed?" he handed her the bottles. She took them carefully, then glared at him.

"What’s with being so formal with me today?" she demanded, her brown eyes flashing.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about." He retorted. Jemmy crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"You’re keeping something from me." She said. It wasn’t a question.

"No, I’m not." He denied. Jemmy shrugged.

"If you say so." She wanted to believe him, even if something was nagging her about the way he was acting today. She decided to change the subject. "Do you mind if I stay for a while? Bergan was up late last night, and he’ll probably sleep in late today."

"What of your guest?" he inquired. Jemmy thought for a moment.

"I’m sure she’ll be fine if she wakes up before Bergan does." She decided.

"Ah."

"I’m sorry, did I interrupt something important?" Jemmy asked, suddenly aware of how preoccupied the healer seemed. Tyrian shook his head.

"No, I’ve just been busy."

"Oh, I see." Jemmy started to head towards the back of the house. She had intended to go to the sitting parlor Tyrian had reserved for relatives of patients who were more seriously ill. It was the usual place that they talked, because it was so pleasant and helped to ease the worry of anxious friends and family. Jemmy just liked the look of the place. On the table in the room was a stack of papers, rolled together. Curious, she leaned forward to look closer. Before she could piece together what the images on the pages meant, they were snatched away by Tyrian’s quick hands.

"Here, let me clear those away for you." He said quickly, rolling the sheets back up and taking them from the room. He returned moments later and took a seat next to Jemmy, offering her one of the snacks on the counter that were saved for hungry patients.

"No thanks, I just ate. Hey, what were those papers? They looked like blueprints or something." She asked.

"Oh those? They’re nothing, just a project I was working on before you came."

"Oh, I see. Well, I was talking to Mrs. Palm a few days ago when I came down last. You know how she likes to go on and on, I really didn’t have the energy to talk to her. But I needed some food and I hadn’t heard any of the gossip around town lately, so who better to see, right? Anyway, she was more than willing to stop and chat for a while, a long while, if you know what I mean, but she told me some interesting things." Tyrian sighed inwardly. As much as he enjoyed Jemmy’s company, she had a knack of chattering almost as much as Mrs. Palm could. He couldn’t think of an excuse for himself so he sat back in his chair to listen to whatever Jemmy wanted to tell him. He let his mind wander while he listened with half an ear to her. He took one of the crackers on the table and began to eat it slowly.

"Anyway, she actually had some interesting news for me. Apparently, the prince is going on a procession though the kingdom. You know, to get acquainted with the land he’ll be ruling in a few years, that sort of thing. He’s supposed to be stopping here in Kir Aslen in a few days. Isn’t that amazing? They’re coming through from Minnaya on their way down to Dharinar. They have all the major officials with them too, it’s going to be a huge celebration." The cracker Tyrian was chewing suddenly lodged itself in the back of his throat. He coughed violently to keep himself from choking on his cracker.

"Did you say palace officials? Like the guards and judges and such?" he wheezed out, managing to keep his voice calm.

"Yeah, it’s a spectacular show. Everyone’s dressed up, I’m sure its going to be absolutely beautiful." Jemmy bubbled. "I’m going to try and wrestle Bergan down here to watch with me. He doesn’t socialize enough. Are you going to watch the procession?"

"No," He said quickly. "I don’t think it would be wise."

"Why is that? You seem anxious. Was it something I said?" Tyrian swallowed and shook his head slowly.

"No, nothing like that. " he covered smoothly. "I just have a backup of work to do."

"Uh-huh." Jemmy shot him a look of disbelief, but said nothing more on the matter.

"I wonder why they’re coming to Kir Aslen," Tyrian mused. "The city is so small and out of the way."

It’s not that small anymore." Jemmy pointed out. "It’s grown quite a bit since you moved here last season, or hadn’t you noticed?" Tyrian shrugged nonchalantly.

"I haven’t paid much attention. I came here in the first place because it was small and out of the way, I suppose it never occurred to me that it might grow."

"Too preoccupied with healing people to notice the world around you? That’s just the sort of thing I can see you doing."

"Well, that and other things." Tyrian shrugged again, smiling. Jemmy was ignoring him, a glazed look on her face.

"I wonder what he looks like. I hear he’s supposed to be very handsome, but everyone has to say that I guess, to be polite. Still, I hope he’s cute." Here she giggled, and Tyrian looked at her.

"What are you talking about?"

"That prince, of course!" she exclaimed letting the dreamy look come across her face again. "I hope he’s good-looking…"

Tyrian watched her dream-glazed face for a moment and started to laugh. "Of course you’d think about that," he chided her. Jemmy grabbed one of the throw pillows beside her and used it to fit their name—she tossed it at his head. Her aim was good, but Tyrian was quick and grabbed the pillow from the air before it could hit him.

"Tsk, tsk," he scolded her, shaking the pillow playfully at her face. "If I’m being attacked in my own home, I may just have to ask you to leave."

"Am I to take that as a subtle hint?" Jemmy shot back.

"Well, not necessarily." Tyrian shrugged and put the pillow down.

"All right then." Jemmy thought for a moment, then looked out the window and squinted at the sun. "It’s getting late anyway, Bergan will be awake by now and I should go see how everything’s going." She stood and began to head out the front door.

"See you later Tyrian!" she called happily with a wave of her hand. Tyrian smiled and waved back. When she had left, he retrieved the papers that he had been looking at before she arrived and began to memorize the blueprints quickly. He had a lot of planning to do before the procession arrived.

***

Deep in the crowded streets of Minnaya, two shadowed figures met.

"You wanted to see me, my lord?"

"Yes. Be ready to move out tonight."

"Move out? What are you talking about?"

"We’re leaving the procession and going on ahead. I’m tired of this pointless show. I want to meet my future subjects, not dazzle them with the wealth of the kingdom. They know about that already. I want to be able to help them more personally, but I haven’t been able to leave the palace until now. With the procession going on, I’m not getting anything done that I wanted to accomplish. So we’re moving on ahead tonight, just the two of us, and the procession will catch up later."

"I’m sorry, your highness, but I’m sure people would be worried if the prince just left halfway through the procession. It’s a wild idea, but it’s just not practical. You must be kept safe."

Frown.

"You’re right, of course. I hate that."

"Then you’ll stay and give up this crazy idea?"

"What do you think? Now, don’t look at me like that."

"You’re being stupid."

"I could arrest you for treason for saying that."

Laugh. "You wouldn’t though."

"True. Can I use it as blackmail to make you come with me?"

"No."

"You’re too stubborn. Where’s your sense of adventure?"

"Hidden behind my sense of duty."

"Ha. It figures." Pause. "I could order you to accompany me."

"Yes, you could."

"And you would have to obey."

"I would indeed."

Sigh. "And you know that I would never do that. Fine then."

"My lord, won’t you just come back to camp? The procession will stay here for a few more days before heading to the next town."

"I’ll write a note. No one will argue if the Captain of the Guard is with me. Your reputation is famous!"

"Don’t try flattery, your highness."

"It works too well on you, I know. Heh. Then think of it this way. It will be the last adventure we can go on together before our positions completely control us."

Silence.

"It’s the last time we can attempt to fulfill those crazy dreams we had as kids. Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor, and she’s visiting us now."

More silence. Then—

"When do you want the horses ready?"

Grin. "I knew I could persuade you!"

"Don’t gloat about it..."

"All right then. I’ll see you this evening then, and we’ll head on alone. Right now, I have to do some shopping."

"Shopping, your highness?"

"Well, we’re going in disguise, so we need the right outfits, don’t we? I think I remember your clothing size…I’ll bring your things to your tent later."

"If I may say so, your highness is wacked."

"I know! That’s what makes me so loveable. Remember, don’t tell anyone about this. I’ll leave a note so no one gets worried. Until tonight, my friend."

"Until tonight."