6. Five Year Plan
FIVE YEAR PLAN
“Are you sure this will be good for you?” Jarrick asked.
Aaryn hesitated as the prince spoke, but her hand was already outstretched.
“The curiosity is keeping me up at night.”
After the… interview—interrogation, a voice within her tried to argue—the prince had mentioned checking Thea’s dormitory for clues, and Aaryn had insisted she join.
The prince agreed so easily Aaryn almost felt guilty for demanding so.
But then Thea's dormitory door loomed before her, and Aaryn briefly hoped all the answers to the questions she had would be answered beyond it.
“Alright then,” Jarrick said, and nodded his approval.
Aaryn pushed the door open. The meager space had two of everything. Beds, desks, wardrobes. The left one was tidy, made neatly, and a few pairs of boots were stored aside the wardrobe. The desk was clean, only a few papers marring its surface.
On the right side, it was… barren. The bed had already been stripped clean.
“The servants came to collect the bed linens, and we’ve already been through her desk and wardrobe, but there was nothing of note.”
What did they expect, a journal of Thea’s five-year plan?
“She’s smarter than that,” Aaryn murmured. “Am I allowed to touch?” she asked.
“Yes, of course,” Jarrick said.
Aaryn stepped forward and walked to her desk. Is this where Thea penned the note to her, sending her away while her dragon was taken? Is this where she wrote her excuse for an apology? It was still burning a hole in her pocket, just like the bitterness threatened to burn in her chest.
“Would you… like a moment to yourself?” Jarrick asked.
Only when Aaryn glanced over at him did she realize her vision was blurry from tears. She cleared her throat and nodded. “That’s very kind of you. Yes.”
Jarrick nodded solemnly and stepped outside the room. While he didn’t close the door completely, they shut it enough to offer her privacy, and she shook her head, annoyed by her show of weakness.
She exhaled a shaky breath and went to the wardrobe first. It opened with a creak and inside were only a few pieces. She supposed Thea was most often wearing the Guard’s garb, but the few pairs of pants and shirts were sad, even for someone of her status. They didn’t even smell like her.
Frustrated with herself for harboring hope, she checked the pockets, and of course found nothing.
The desk was next, and Aaryn pulled open the drawers. A few pieces of blank parchment were all that awaited her.
There was no art. No family depictions, like the one framed above the left bed. No dresses or accessories or even a damned hair tie.
It was as if Thea never existed. As if she was a figment of Aaryn’s imagination.
The search was short, because there was nothing to find.
“You truly found nothing of note in the initial search?” Aaryn asked, pulling the door open.
Jarrick answered, “Nothing. Why?”
Aaryn—couldn’t. It was too much. Seeing Thea’s room—the emptiness of it; the undeniable, physical proof that she had never intended on staying, that she’d had ulterior motives.
Aaryn felt so stupid.
Jarrick took one glance at her and waved the other guard away. “You look like you need to retire for the day. I can escort you back to your room and—“
“Actually,” Aaryn finally spoke up, “I’d rather not be secluded in my room. Am I allowed to leave the castle grounds?”
Jarrick’s brow furrowed. “Yes; you are not a prisoner, Aaryn.”
“I think I’d like to take one of the horses out. Clear my mind with the fresh air.”
“Would you like company?” Jarrick asked.
Aaryn managed a gentle smile, a twinge of something prickly bristling through her. “I’d like the time to myself, actually. But thank you for the kind offer.”
“Of course, Tethered Aaryn,” he said, with a polite nod.
The use of her formal title—which felt wrong now that she didn’t have a dragon to accompany it—felt pointed coming from him. Had she upset the prince by declining his offer?
The feeling of wrong-footedness persisted as they parted ways. He headed off in the opposite direction with his knights to do something princely, she was sure.
Aaryn headed for the stables, since she had time to waste.
It wasn’t as if she had a dragon’s scales to brush now, did she? She supposed she wouldn't be trimming Starspark's talons. And she didn’t exactly relish the idea of sitting in her room alone.
The stable hand offered her a chestnut beauty and a satchel full of oats, apples, and a canteen of water, though she promised she'd only be a short while.
Aaryn let her thoughts wander as the horse trotted slowly through the fields.
What would happen in the months to come? Without a dragon, Aaryn didn’t belong with the Tethered any longer. She couldn’t do her duty to the crown, couldn’t earn her place in the castle.
Would she be retired? Like the Tethered who had—skies forbid—lost their dragons to battle?
It was never discussed amongst the other keepers, what happened… after. All Aaryn knew was that they no longer lived in the castle. She didn’t even know if they were still alive. Could the grief of their broken tether hurt them?
Aaryn didn’t want to find out. She shivered at just the idea.
The sun was strong and warm and bright, chasing her shiver away, though a distant fear remained. If she didn't have a dragon to care for, would they send her off to live with her mother? What of her stipend?
Three years was not enough to overwrite a childhood of hunger. She’d saved most of her allowance over the years. Perhaps her mother had been saving what Aaryn sent her, too. If she was told to leave the castle, would her mother make room for her?
…Maybe Aaryn should pay her a visit. She had a horse. Her cottage wasn’t very far.
And who wouldn’t want a hug from their mother after what Aaryn had been through?
Mind made up, she directed the horse onto a more well-worn path, and trotted on. Cobbled roads and passing carriages were traded for dirt trails and small homes that grew closer together the further out she went.
It was a far cry from where she’d grown up, which was even further. The cottage came into view, small but lovely, with blooming flowers and trees surrounding it. It looked… like a dream, compared to where they’d come from.
She tied the horse to a nearby tree, gave him water and oats to make sure he was alright, and maybe stalled a little. By the time she turned, her mother was standing on the small porch, staring.
A smile tugged at her lips just at the sight of her mom. It’d been… months, really.
“You don’t write, you just drop in?” she asked, in that shrill voice that beckoned a homesick ache in her chest.
Aaryn did write, actually, though it wasn’t much more than hope you’re well when she sent her money.
“Surprise,” Aaryn tried.
“Well, come on in. I’ll put on tea.”
The taste of that acrid tea from earlier still coated her palate, so she agreed eagerly, and stepped inside.
The place was well decorated, with comfy chairs around a hearth, a small kitchen, and doors that led to the bedroom. Practically lavish.
“How’re things in the depths of Evergale?” her mother asked.
Aaryn was glad she was distracted with the kettle instead of studying her face. She decided to be honest. “Not great,” she answered.
“What? Why?” Gladys spun on her heel. “Is everything alright?”
Tears welled in Aaryn’s eyes, and her voice came out shaky. “Starspark's gone.”
“What?” she gasped, stepping forward, the kettle forgotten.
She dashed her tears away before they escaped down her cheeks and nodded. “A guard I was close with. She blew a hole in the castle wall and flew with him off into the night!”
“There was an attack on the castle?” she asked, eyes wide. “How am I just now hearing about this?”
Aaryn didn't even get a chance to answer.
“So what does this mean for you? Is that why you’re here? Have they removed you from the castle?” She jerked her head toward the window as if to see if Aaryn had brought any bags on her horse.
“No, no, Mama, slow down. Nothing like that. I was out for a ride and felt like seeing you, is all.”
She released a sigh, and sank down into one of the chairs by the hearth. “Blessed Hoard, you scared me!”
Knowing her mother would never finish making the tea, Aaryn crossed the room to fill the kettle and place it, then searched for the honey.
“Are they giving you another job at the castle then? To earn your keep?”
Aaryn paused. “Not yet. I don’t know what’s next. Just today I was interviewed by an investigator who’s looking into it all.”
“Wow, an investigator. Fancy castle business, that. Did you have anything to add to their investigation?”
“Not really,” Aaryn said. “Some gossip. They asked me about the guard that did it, but I’m beginning to suspect everything was a lie.”
“A guard? Is this—no, Aaryn,” her mother gasped. “This surely isn’t the same guard you told me about a few months ago, is it? What’s the name—Theo?”
“Thea,” she corrected.
“Oh, Aaryn,” she hissed. “What did you do?”
Aaryn snapped her head up. “Me?”
“Yes! How could you jeopardize our lives like this?” Her steps were quick as she crossed the room, bumping Aaryn out of the way. Aaryn studied her mother, trying to make sense of the accusation in her tone.
“What did I do?” she echoed.
“Obviously, you befriended a traitor to the crown! And gave them access to your dragon. What were you thinking?”
Aaryn blinked, reeling, as her mother readied the tea, the ceramic clacking pointedly. She wasn't wrong, technically, but it… hurt.
“I didn’t know what her true motives were, Mama,” she defended. “How could I?”
As if Aaryn could have possibly known that the woman she had a crush on was a secret dragon stealer!
“You should’ve been looking harder. Us women, we have a sense for this kind of thing, you know. How else do you think I figured out your father was sleeping with half the village?”
Aaryn could not wrap her head around how she was to blame for this, exactly. Was there something she had missed in Thea? Something she should’ve seen had she not been looking through the eyes of someone with affections?