{-Allyna-}

She wondered if Rennyn realized exactly how close she was. Probably not—he barely seemed to notice the friends that were right beside him. Despite all the surrounding circumstances, though, she couldn’t get herself to leave him alone. After all, she was his older sister. It was her job to keep an eye on him. Now if only he’d have enough self-preservation instincts to stay out of trouble, before anyone had to do something forceful.

It didn’t matter—at least, that’s what she told herself. They’d cross that bridge when they got there. And there was always the option of trying to alter things just enough to try to nudge him in the right direction.

Allyna wandered a nearby city, somewhere it seemed Rennyn had been in recently. She didn’t expect to see him; she liked to stay one step behind him, and observe from a distance. But she still asked around, just to be sure.

“Five kids, huh?” The first person she posed the question to—an older man—considered it for a while before giving a true answer. “Yeah, I talked to them yesterday. Well, three of them, but they otherwise seem to match that description you gave.”

“What did you talk to them about, if you don’t mind me asking?” Allyna prompted.

“They were asking around about Lady Mira. Can’t really tell you why, though. They said they were travelers looking to see her for themselves, but I can spot a lie when I see one. Or a partial lie, anyway. They were here for something else, and I really don’t want to know what it was…”

“I’m sure they’ll sort it out. They’re… a lot more reliable than they look.”

“You seem rather confident.”

“One of them’s my brother and I’ve worked with the others on occasion. And trust me, I’m not just lying to make you feel better.” She waited a moment, then asked, “Did you see where they went after you talked?”

He shook his head. “They left and went back to the entrance of town, I think, but I’m not sure where they went after that. I did tell them I’d heard that Lady Mira was heading back to the capital, though they could’ve decided to ask around a few other towns instead.”

“Thanks, I’ll try to see if anyone knows for sure. There’s just one more thing I’d like to ask—have you heard or seen anyone named Viragi near here?”

“I’ve heard of him a couple of times, but I was never too close to him. You’ll have better luck talking to Cettia—she lives right over there. Though, it sounds like she’d had some annoying visitors earlier, so I don’t know how willing she’d be to accept more strangers into her home at the moment.”

“Annoying visitors?”

“Mhm. From what she said about them, they almost sounded like the other two people you were talking about. She went on and on about how rude they were, how they accused that old friend of hers of stuff they had no right to say. Didn’t even eat any of her biscuits and, can I tell you, those are some of the best things you’re going to find on this side of the allied nations.”

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There were several things Allyna could’ve said to that but, in the end, the only thing she could do was think, Rennyn, what the hell do you think you’re doing?

Still, she shook her head, and offered a fake smile. “Thanks for all the information. I just need to find the others, but Viragi’s still someone I should keep an eye out for, so I wanted an idea of where all of them were. I’ll go and ask around for the others, then I’ll be out of your way.”

“I hope you find who you’re looking for. Good luck on whatever you need!”

Then she walked around and started to get a better idea of where they might’ve gone; she wasn’t going to get anything done just by sitting there, after all.

…

They definitely went back to the capital, that much was certain. She didn’t know where Viragi or the others were, which was a bit of a problem—she didn’t want to be seen with them—but that just had to be worked around.

Allyna figured that, with no other leads, she’d head to the inn the five of them had been staying at. She was almost certain they were out somewhere else—it was far too early for them to be calling it a day—but still, she approached with caution. She didn’t want to run into Rennyn, not really. That wasn’t too contradictory, was it? To want to know where her brother was, and to try what she could to keep him safe, but not actually wanting to see him…

She didn’t think either of them would like to admit what they saw in the other.

She walked up to the innkeeper and asked them the same questions she’d asked the others. After being given a wary look, she added on her reasoning, too, and that seemed to make them willing to talk.

“Yeah, they’ve been staying here for a while,” the innkeeper remarked. “They’re out right now, though. One of my kids mentioned they might’ve heard them talk about going to the castle for something. If you’re family, and those kids are allowed in, I don’t see why you can’t explain it to the guards at least—can’t guarantee they’ll let you in, but it’s worth a shot.”

“I’m… not looking to meet up with them face-to-face, I just wanted to know where they were. Do you think they’re going to come back here at the end of the day?”

“I’d say there’s a pretty good chance of it. They made sure to reserve the two rooms they’ve been staying in, and no one’s come by to cancel it. I doubt anyone within the castle is going to let them stay there, at least, regardless of what business they have.”

“Then do you think you could hold onto something for me, and give it to them when they get here?”

“We’re not a delivery service, you know. Why can’t you just keep them to yourself until you can see them again?”

“Because it needs to get to them, and I don’t know if I’m going to be in a spot to give it to them again. Believe me, if I could do this without trusting someone else, then I would, but that’s not an option in our situation.”

Well, that was a partial truth. Allyna really wouldn’t had trusted someone else to do it if she wasn’t capable of doing it herself. The lie was within the fact that, well… she really could do it by herself. She just didn’t want to. But it was a strong enough desire that she was willing to make a couple of half-truths to keep it from happening.

After a few moments, the innkeeper sighed.

“You’re not going to be getting me, my kids, or my business into any trouble, are you?”

“If anything, this is going to keep trouble from happening.”

“I suppose I’m just going to have to take your word for it, though, aren’t I?”

Allyna nodded.

“Fine. Give me what you want to send to them, and I’ll get one of my kids to put it in one of the rooms they reserved. I’m not moving it if they don’t come back to claim it, though, so whatever you have in there better not be anything best kept between you.”

“Thanks.”