Cities of Power Ch. 02

They had been travelling over the open plain, taking shelter in the sparse forests in the evenings. The following day Talon gauged the distance to the village he sought to visit, even if only briefly, and pulled his bike into the trees a small distance before the village and due north of the city of Gryphon. Bay and Eddy went through Talon's physical exercises with him, preparing for the worst case scenario, as they had no knowledge of the young air princes' abilities, nor that of the warrior woman he sought to return to her family.

Eventually, they separated out into the forest to find their own inner peace and meditate, Sirrus stayed closer to the bikes, he did not intend to fight anyone tomorrow. His inbred arrogance and foolishness that had been his families down fall told him that his sister would do as she was bid and that there would be no problem or altercation with her, despite Talon's concerns. He did not consider that her decision to run away would have changed her ideas about the duty to the family.

Talon was skirting the village edges when he saw Trix. She was sitting with her back to a tree at the edge of a cleared space behind a house. He guessed it was her home, though he didn't recognise it from his last visit. He stared at her for some time wondering why he was there and what it was about the girl that pulled him to her after so many weeks apart. He moved silently around behind the tree she leant upon, his soft soled boots hiding his movements, softly he murmured her name, staying hidden within the foliage. Trix cocked her head and turned around, finally standing up to peer into the dark shadows of the canopy.

Talon murmured her name again, and she looked nervously at the house before taking a step forward, "Mason, if that is you playing a trick on me..." she said quietly, taking another step into the shadows.

Talon appeared beside her, covering her mouth with his hand and pulling her deeper into the shadows behind the trunk of one of the larger trees. "Do not make a sound," he whispered, and she shook her head, "I won't hurt you, I just have a message from Mica." Trix nodded and relaxed slightly in his tight grip. Talon took his hand from her mouth and fumbled in his pocket while still holding her between the tree and his body, enjoying the feel of her pressed against him.

"Is Mica happy?" Trix asked quietly looking up into Talon's face.

"Yes," Talon smiled, realising she was not scared of him, but rather he had shocked and surprised her with his presence. Any other girl would have screamed as he took his hand away, "He sent short letters and gifts for you and your family."

"Really?" She asked in wonder, then grinned, "He hates to write, he must be missing us as much as we miss him."

"Really," Talon replied with a smile, "Do not give them to your family until tomorrow when I am gone from this place. I do not want your father pursuing me to the gates of Gryphon." Again Talon smiled at her, feeling the effect of her body touching his and of the whisper of her breath on his neck as she looked up at him.

"Are you camping close by tonight? If I left a letter for Mica, here," she indicated the tree they stood against, "Could you come back and get it?"

He surprised himself by lifting his hand to smooth her hair back from her face and whispered, "I would rather come back and see you again."

Trix blushed as he held their faces close together, she could feel his breath caress her cheek, and she couldn't pull her gaze away, "After supper," she said quickly, "I will try to come after supper. Will you take a letter back to Mica for me?"

Talon softly stroked his fingers through her hair as she gazed up at him, and nodded, "Yes," he found his voice gravelly as his heart thumped in his chest, and he pressed her harder against the tree, leaning down to brush his lips over hers.

Lost in the moment, aware of nothing but the man who held her captive in his arms, Trix jumped as she heard her mother's voice from the back of the house, "Trix! Where are you?"

Talon relaxed his hold on her and stepped back as she called, "Just looking for new saplings, mother! I am right here behind my tree!" Impetuously, Trix leant up and kissed the startled Talon, who grabbed her hand and pulled her back into his arms to kiss her harder before letting her go. Trix fled back into her garden, "Gosh, mother, you think there would be bandits this close to our house? I am right here!" Her voice seemed breathy and held a slight tremble, even to her ears.

Talon chuckled to himself as he melted back into the forest, watching her walk towards the house, hiding the small envelopes within the pockets of her coat and following her mother inside. Trix stopped briefly at the doorway, looking back at the forest and touching her lips with soft fingertips before disappearing within. Talon looked at the sun in the sky, the smile still lightening his face and his mood showing his happiness at seeing her again. He had several hours before she would return, and he moved back toward their camp cautiously.

He walked back to their camp feeling exceedingly happy, despite the danger of seeing her again and what he knew tomorrow would bring. "Meditation does you well," Eddy grunted upon seeing him.

"I like the wilderness, it makes me content," Talon replied, choosing his words carefully, "I am more able to focus on what needs to be done."

Bay sat with them and pulled out a ration pack, "Want to swap?" He asked Talon, who shrugged and tossed over his ration pack. It had been some time since Talon had tried the dried and smoked fish of the Water Clan, and he found it was an interesting, if not wholly pleasant change from the usual packs he ate.

Trix had made sure her mother wanted for nothing before disappearing into her room. She took the three envelopes from her pocket and sorted through them. There was one addressed to Mother, one to Father and one to her. She ripped at the envelope and pulled out the sheet of wrinkled paper. As she did a tiny pink heart shaped pendant fell out, and she smiled at the delicate object. Trix unfurled the letter and began to read,

"Hi Princess,

What an adventure, huh? I hope father wasn't too harsh on you when I left. I miss you all terribly, but I miss Mason more. Can you tell him I love him? Tell him not to be sad, that I am happy, and if I ever have the opportunity, I will send for him. Do not think badly of us. I know father would never approve. He never approved of anything I did anyway. I think Flint and Emery always knew, but they are weirdoes anyway, right? Don't let them pick on him. I have no one else to ask to talk to Mason for me; please try.

Talk to mother about things in your life the way you used to talk to me, she is more understanding than you realise. Be happy, princess. I love you. Mica.

PS. You can trust Talon, he is a pretty good guy, and my friend here in the city."

Trix realised she needed her mother's help if she was going to meet Talon after supper, but she just wasn't sure that it was worth the risk. She looked again at the letters and hid the one for her father beneath her mattress. Placing her own and her mother's letter in her pockets again, she went back out and watched her mother preparing the vegetables for dinner. Trix sat with her mother and took up a paring knife. "When Mica and I were with the Techno's they ate purposely dried up fruit and vegetables in silver packs."

Her mother's head came up, Trix had never wanted to talk about the time she spent with the Techno's, except to reassure them all she was unharmed and untouched by the men. "I think I have heard of that before, a long time ago before I came to this village, I saw a silver pack like that. The fruit was dry but still sweet, right?"

"Yeah," Trix smiled, "I bet Mica is enjoying the food in the city. He always had a massive appetite." Her mother nodded, sadness clouding her features. Trix began again, "There is something I haven't told anyone about," she started nervously, "That I think I would like to share with you."

Opal could see her daughter's nervousness, "You can trust me, I do not share everything with your father. The important things always, but who is to judge what is important," she tried to smile reassuringly.

"Mica told you all his secrets, didn't he?" Trix asked, already knowing the answer from the hint in his letter.

"Not all," Opal looked out of the window into the distance, "but he did confide in me a lot. Things he thought your father wouldn't understand, I think you all underestimate your father at times. He wasn't always so gruff and intolerant. It's just that he lives by a code of conduct that any man would struggle with from time to time, let alone use to lead a village."

They finished preparing the vegetables and Opal set them in a pot of water to wait until they were ready to cook them. "Will you... Would you... Do you think you would like to come and sit under my tree with me for a few minutes?" Trix asked. Once she began to spill her beans to her mother, she didn't want to be interrupted by her father or her brothers.

"Sure," she smiled again and took her daughters hand, "We have plenty of time before we need to start supper, and the other chores can wait." They walked out of the back door towards the tree her daughter loved. Opal shielded her eyes from the early afternoon sun and took her shoes off, "I love the feel of the grass on my bare feet."

Trix smiled, "When I saw Mica last, he gave me something, he made me promise not to give it to father for trade," she looked away, her hand digging at the small patch of dirt in which she had hidden the small rag. "It's a tree seed, I think; he wanted it planted out here so he would always be watching over us."

Opal began to cry softly, she hugged her daughter fiercely and closed her fingers around the small rag and seed. "I don't know what to do with it. I come out and talk to it and hope it will show me when it is ready to go into the ground, but it just sits there like a lump," she looked up at her mother, "Help me, mother, please, for Mica."

Opal wiped her eyes, "It is a very rare seed, and we probably could have gotten a very good trade for it," then she looked into her daughter's eyes, "but you did the right thing, the right thing for Mica and us. Come with me," she held out her hand and Trix took it. Together they returned to the kitchen, Opal took a small broken bowl and lined it with wet mushy paper, then sprinkled a small amount of dirt before putting the seed inside and repeating the process. She then placed it on the window sill in the afternoon sunlight. "The men never come into the kitchen," she winked, "and it will sprout there, I am sure."

Trix shoved her hands into her pockets and considered her mother as she touched the envelopes. "There is more, isn't there?" Opal asked. Trix looked furtively at the door that led to the forge and back at her mother before nodding. "Tell you what," her mother said realising her daughter's reticence to speak about the things she held secret and how much she wanted to share them, finally, with her mother. "Why don't we see if your father is done fixing Shaylee's pan and we can walk down and see what sort of pie she has made today to go with our vegetables."

Trix grinned widely, she loved the rare times when they could afford pie from Shaylee's kitchen, and she followed her mother through to the forge. Shaylee and her husband had run away from Pegasus many years ago with eggs ready to hatch hidden in their clothing. They had managed to save most of the eggs and tended them like expectant mothers until their little flock was born. They had nurtured and protected them from the over hungry villagers and eventually had provided eggs, if not meat to the town. Through the many years between they had raised enough birds to begin being able to sell the meat as well in small amounts, but it was the pies Shaylee made that gave her the fame she so richly deserved. She traded eggs and chicken for small amounts of goat or pork and kept a kitchen garden for vegetables.

Trix and Opal arrived at the shop to the mouth watering smells of Shaylee's cooking, and the plump woman greeted them with cheery smiles and gratitude for her pan, offering to make them a fresh pie if they had time to wait. "Perfect," Opal said, "We were going to visit the Sanctum anyway." Though the village had no priest of the Faith, they had built a sanctum for people who needed solace in time of need, or if any visiting priest requested shelter. It was regarded to all within the village as blessed ground.

Shaylee nodded, "We all miss Mica's laugh. Come back when you are ready, dearies." Then she turned and let the women go.

They sat side by side in the Sanctum, Trix looked up at her mother and took her hand. "Mother, I need you to swear to me in this place that you won't tell father what I am about to say or show you until I speak to him tomorrow night, during Faith and Thankfulness night."

"Trix, this is a holy place," Opal began to protest, but stopped and nodded, seeing the importance of the moment in her daughter's eyes, "I swear."

Trix took the crumpled envelope from her pocket and handed it her mother, "It's from Mica."

Opal looked bewildered and started to ask, "When? How? Why didn't you give it to me sooner?"

Trix said nothing for a few moments, taking her own letter from her pocket and tipping the pink pendant into her hand, "I only just received them, there is one for father too, but I gave my word not to tell him until tomorrow evening."

"To who, Trix? Who would you promise such a thing to?" Opal was aghast and unbelieving as she looked at the letter in her hand.

"Read it. I am sure Mica will explain," she moved away from her mother to another seat and opened her own letter to reread it. Opal opened the envelope, and an oval locket spilt into her hand, its face mounted with a thin blue, green sliver of an opal, she opened it and saw a sketched likeness of Mica within and began to cry softly again. She opened her letter and read, looking up at her daughter from time to time. Mica had described his sister as the bravest, kindest, smartest woman he ever knew, and berated his mother for letting Spar keep her locked up like a princess in a tower. He explained his happiness in the city and his new friendships; he urged her to trust Talon, as he had urged Trix to do the same.

When she finally put it down, she looked at Trix who was studying her carefully. "You swore," Trix reminded her, "Just twenty-four hours, that's all."

Opal whispered, unsure if she wanted the answer, "There's more, isn't there," Trix nodded and returned to her mother's side.

She placed her pendant beside her mothers, "He sent us a piece of him to remind us he is thinking of us," she smiled, "If you help me, we could send letters of our own back to him, but it has to be this evening or not at all."

Opal drew a deep breath and put a hand on her breast, "You must promise me, swear as I did, that you are in no danger."

The image of Talon, tall, dark and brooding formed in her mind, and Trix nodded, "I swear."

"Then tell me all of it, quickly, we won't have much time," Opal said uncertainly.

Trix told her story of the meeting with Talon that morning, and promise to meet him again rather than just leave letters. She pleaded for her mothers help to be able to meet with Talon one last time.

The two women picked up the pie from Shaylee and all but ran home. Leaving the pie to keep warm on the oven top, they prepared the vegetables and placed them in the oven, and then each went to compose a letter before the men came in for supper. Opal visited the room Mica had shared with Cobalt and took the small soft leather rolled case that held the jeweller's tools Spar had crafted for his son himself. Taking it to Trix's room, she rolled it out and placed both their return letters atop the delicate tools and rolled it back up.

The women then laughed hysterically as Opal and Trix forced the leather roll into the bottom of her bra, making her small cleavage appear more generous than even Opal's was. "Change your shirt to one of your brothers hand-me-down's, that should disguise it a little, then come down for supper, your father will be in at any minute."

The pie was superb, and not having to cook a large meal themselves had allowed the women the time they needed to make plans. As the supper finished, and the men started to move from the table, Opal uncharacteristically spoke up. "With all of the walking out you men have had Trix doing of late, I think it is time she and I had a talk about women's business." Spar grunted, but she continued doggedly, "It is a full moon tonight, so she and I will spend some time under that tree she loves so much, and you will be able to see us out there and hear us should we shout."

Trix had rolled her eyes and complained, softly, "But, mother..." as she had rehearsed.

Spar had immediately frowned at her, "Mind your mother, and do as she says!" he growled as if on cue. "Cobalt, you can stay with me on the porch tonight. You two clowns can go," he dismissed the twins, reasserting his control over the family as he grumbled under his breath about "secret women's business."

Talon saw them coming toward the tree, "Shit! She was supposed to be alone," he mumbled to himself and prepared to leave.

The older woman stood with her back to the house, shielding Trix's movements as she walked into the shadowy trees. "I don't know who you are," the soft voice carried into the trees, "but thank you," she paused, "for the letter, for the friendship you have shown my son, and for not harming my daughter."

Talon lowered himself to the ground from the tree Trix had been standing beside. "That was unexpected," he whispered, as she jumped and turned to smile at him. His thumb traced over her smile gently, and he smiled in return.

"It was the only way I could make it here," she explained as she unbuttoned the shirt she was wearing.

Talon tried to pull his eyes away from her hands, but he was spell bound as her bra and torso came into view. She was speaking as he stared at her small breasts that peeked out from the fabric, "Mother knows, she has agreed not to say anything until I give father the letter tomorrow night." Talon nodded, at a loss for words as he dragged his eyes up to her face momentarily. Talon's eyes dropped again; he watched Trix reach inside her bra and pull out the case holding their letters with Mica's tools.

"You should have told me where you were hiding that, I would have gotten it for you," Talon smirked and trailed a finger down her neck and between her breasts to the base of her bra. He took the rolled leather from her hands, pushing it deep into his pocket. Trix blushed deeply and began to redo the buttons on her shirt quickly. Talon reached forward again and trailed a finger down the side of her neck and into the still open part of the shirt. He smiled, watching the goose bumps rise on her flesh and pulled her to him, moving her to stand with her back against the tree. He kissed her then, softly, but as it lengthened the kiss became deeper and needier, his hands travelled down the sides of her body as he pressed her against the tree.

"Will you come back?" Trix asked breathlessly, and he pulled his head back to look at her.

"I have this mission to complete, it may take a little while," he murmured and found himself happy at the look of disappointment in her eyes. "Would you like me to come back? When and if I can? Come back for you?" He asked in return.

"Yes," she whispered, "I would." Trix nodded and looked up into his face, showing the truth of her words.

He bent down to kiss her softly, sweetly, savouring her taste and smiled. "Then you can be sure of it, but it may take a little time. Wait for me," his eyes scanned her face, and his hand stroked her hair back from her eyes. "If you wait for me, I will come."