Alexander Khri'pher (6)
"Before I was so rudely intereupted," Lorien started with a glance at Trent. "I was about to you tell that it is a pleasure to meet you Sir Alexander." Alexander smiled and shook his head a little. "It's nice to meet you all but please, don't call me 'Sir Alexander'. Just use my first name. I hate all of that formal crap unless I'm in the presence of soeone of higher rank than me." Following that everybody nodded once and Trent looked back at Alexander. "Brother," he said calmly, his voice almost at a whisper. "These people are going to help us in our little escapade but we must plan first. This won't be easy and we can't exactly just go up and knock on the front door expectiong to actually make it to Duthjack." Trent looked back over at the rest of the gang and said, "Come friends, we need to start planning now." As they all started to head towards the stairs for the upper rooms Lutra jumpped up from her seet and snapped, "Wait!" She padded her way over Alexander's side, making a huge show of the ordeal. Trent had to step on Aslan's foot to get him to stop staring at the beutiful fox that he hadn't seen yet untill this moment. She looped her arm around Alexander's and said, "I might be of some assistance. I'm quite formailliar with Duthjack's castle and I have several maps up in my room." Alexander looked down at her and realized that she hadn't been introduced to everybody yet. "That's great," he said as he gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. "Everybody, this is Lutra Shakira." Aslan and Lorien bowed there head in the tradditonal manner and Miraz gave her the same bow that she gave Alexander earlier. "Well then," Trent said quickly, clasping his paws together with a lowd 'clap'. "With Miss. Lutra's help this should be quite easy. Shall We?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Well then," Aslan stated prowdly in the light form the lamp at the center of the table. It was allready well into the night and several maps were spread across about three tables of the tavern's main room. They were taking uo one corner of the room and the rest of the customers were trying their hardest to stay out of the way from that certen corner. Almost a hundred Crumpled up papers were strewn across the floor from attempts at planning their attack and the entire gang was sitting around one table. "That's it. Everything is planned out. Now we just wieght for tomarow's night fall to commense our little plan." Aslan stated prowdly as he tilted back his drink. There was a quick "Here, here!" from everybody as they all titled back a drink in celebration. When Alexander had downed his drink he looked around the table at the little contengent of fighters. Lorien stould up and cleared his throat. "There is only one thing left to do before we can follow through with this," He said lowdly though his throat was a little hoarse. "Don't take it as an offense but we must check to see that everyones ententions are in the proper place." Without waiting fo anybody to consult him he placed his paw over the gem on his staff and muttered a couple of words. "As I point this at each of you it should stay the same color, but if you are a traitor, it will glow bright green, and I pitty the person it is nearest to if it changes because we must kill that person emediatly and without hesitation." As of yet there seemed to be no change in the stone intself but the fur on the back of Alexander's neck stood on end and a shiver ran down his spine, (his incantation indused reaction so that he knew when magic other then his was in the area). Lerion whent on with what he was doing. He pointed the stone at everybody around the table, but when the gem got close to Lutra she shied away, clutching ahold of Alexander's side so titely that her sharp claws almost brpught blood. Alexander grabbed the end of the staff and kept it away from Lutra, intern looking down at her worriedly. "Lutra, is something wrong?" he asked softly, almost to the point that nobody else could hear him. At the sound of Alexander's soft and calming yet deep voice Lutra began to calm down. She looked up at him, her eyes starting to water a little but. "I know it's silly," she said quickly, her voice quivering a little bit. "But I'm afraid of magic. It... it just scares the hell out of me." "Very well," Alexander whispered softly, holding Lutra close to his side to comfort her. He looked up at Lorien and the rest of the table and said, "If she is afraid of magic then there is no use for it. We'll just have to trust her word." He looked back down at Lutra and smiled at her, then sayng, "Lutra, I ask of only one thing... the truth. Are you loyal to us or not?" Lutra nodded her head a little and muttered out a quick, "Yes." "Then it's settled, she's with us," Alexander said calmly, scanning over the people at the table. "Does anyone have a problem with this?" As Lorien tried to protest Bree stood up and stopped him. "I trust Miss. Lutra's word as a respectable ladie and as Alexander's mistress. If someone is unwise enough to betray the person that loves them as much as Alexander loves her, then that person should rot in hell. With that said Miss. Lutra, we will take your word but the moment you betray us, I promise that if it is my power at that time, I will not hesitate to kill you and I hope everybody else here would do the same if I can't, even Alexander. Is that understood?" "Thank you miss. Aravis," Lutra said, now very calm though she was still clinging to Alexander's side. "I understand completely and agree with your ententions." That was the end of it all, and everybody then whent to chatting amungst themsleves. Aslan looked around the table and as his keen eyes rested upon Lutra he couldn't help but think that he saw a very unsetling and mischevious smile on her muzzle. 'Something isn't right here,' he thought to himself as everybody around him whent without noticing what he had. 'She's got to be using him.' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ About two hours later everybody had decided it was time to get some rest, for tomarow was sure to be quite the trying day. As everybody got up from the table to go upstairs Aslan pulled Alexander off to the side. "Alexander," he started in a low whisper, then looking around the room to make sure nobody else was listening to them. "There's something about that fox of your's, something that just gives me a weird feeling. I don't truly believe that she can be trusted." Alexander's smile faided quickly from his muzzle as he listened to his new comrade, his mind pondering the fact that Lutra had almost refused to be tested for her loyalty. After a short moment of silence and great consideration, Alexander made up his mind that the one he loved wouldn't betray him. He placed his paw on the lion's shoulder and said, "Aslan, I understand that you're woried but Lutra wouldn't do that to me. You sense something in her that is evil, but I too sense something in her. Just by looking into her eyes I sense nothing but good, I sense copmasion, and I sense love." Alexander glanced to the side as Trent walked up to him. "Is there something I can help you with Brother?" he asked politely as Trent leaned up against the table closest to them. "Yes, actually," Trent answered quickly with a touch of worry in his voice. "You can tell me what the hell has happened to you." "What are you talking about Trent?" Alexander asked inocentley, his ears flattening agaisnt his head. "What makes you think that something has happened to me?" Trent shook his head and laughed under his breath. "Isn't it obcious Alex?" he said after regaining his composure. "For one your grammer is way to damn good for you to be the Alexander that I knew. Second, even if you were in the right frame of mind, you wouldn't have fallen in love that quickly. And last but not least, you wouldn't have let Lutra get away with not proving her loyalty, weather you loved her or not. She could very well be playing that 'I'm afraid of magic' bullshit and at the same time be playing the sympathy card she got when you supposedley fell in love with her, using you to keep her from getting caught. If it isn't true I'm sorry but you have to admit that it would be a perfect plan." Alexander closed his eyes in thought for a moment. He knew that anyone could do that kind of thing but he didn't want to believe that she actually was. "I'm sorry to question you Trent, but I must ask for proof of your findings." "You need proof from me?" Trent asked, a little angry that Alexander wouldn't trust his closest friend's instinct. Trent did realize, though, that if under some spell Alexander might not be thinking straight so he calmed himself before finishing. "Fine, I got proof. When I was talking to her this morning, she said that she only didn't like magic, but only in it's dangerous or harmfull form, yet when I threw that fire ball at Florien she didn't even flinch. If you ask me, that's just straight up crap. Now, if you look at the way she reacted to Florien's simple 'detection' incantation, she should have ran for her life when I attacked Florien. You can't tell me that there isn't something wrong with that." 'He may have a point,' Alexander thought to himself for a moment, pondering on the fact that she may very well be a traitor. 'Can the girl I truly love actually do this to me though,' "Alright," Alexander finally said, making the decision that he couldn't take the chance of Trent and Aslan being right. "What do I do if, may the gods forbid, you guys are right. Is there some way I can make sure she doesn't get to me before tomarow night, not to mention the fact that if she does, she knows our plans?" Trent gathered up a couple of the maps and looked back at Alexander. "You just go up to bed before she gets back from the shower room. You check every area of that room, starting with the desk and so on. If you find something that proves she is agaisnt us, inform us all. Aslan and I will make another plan to use that she doesn't know about." Aslan reached up and patted Alexander on the shoulder to comfort him. "Don't worry Alexander, if she is against us, she willl get her punishment in due time, both for missleading all of us and for missleading your heart. The good will prevail, I promise you that." Alexander simply nodded and headed up stairs as Aslan and Trent sat down to come up with a new plan. When Alexander got to his room he noticed Lutra wasn't there yet, and he made the asumption that he had some time to look for evidence, not in the hope of finding something and proving her guilty, but in hope of not finding anything and proving that the one he loved was inocent. The first thing he checked was the desk. He opened the top drawr only to find roles of parchment and a few quills but when he opened the second drawr his heart sank as far as it would go. 'Trent, why do you always have to be right?' he thought sillently before noticing the door of the room was opening. Lutra walked into the room, only wearing a simple silk robe, still drying off her head fur, to see Alexander leaning over the desk with something in his paw that she couldn't quite make out. After she closed the dorr she started to walk towards as she asked, "Alex, baby, is something wrong?" With a loud roar that seemed to shake the building and one swift motoin, Alexander unsheathed the dagger in his paw and through it at the ground in front of Lutra. "YOU TELL ME IF SOMETHING'S WRONG YOU LYING BITCH!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. As Lutra looked down at the dagger that was marked with a red 'X', Alexander lowered his voice to a soft whisper. "Not only did I trust you, but I fell in love with you. Why did you betray me like this. You made me think you were against Duthjack but you were working for him all along, not to mechin that your job was to kill me, probably with that dagger at your feet." Lutra turned around quickly as she heard foot steps coming from the hallway and she locked the door. "Look, Alexander, you have to understand," She said as she reached down and picked up the dagger. "You have no idea how much it hurt me to do this, especially using a potion to make you fall in love with me. I did that so you would trust me. When you were fighting those knights I slipped it into your drink. That's what made you so grogy." There was a series of knocks on the door and then came Trent's voice. "Alex, are you alright in there?!" "There's no way out Lutra," Alexander stated calmly as he reached for his sword that was beside the bed. "I'm at the window and the others are at the door. Just give yourself up and make your death easy." Lutra grasped the dagger tightly and placed it against the palm of her other paw and in one motion sliced her paw, spattering the dagger with her blood. She then through it to the ground and looked back up at Alexander. Take that as an apoligie, and I gauentie that it is sencere. I'm sorry but I must go." She put her paws together, muttered a few words, slammed her paws against the floor and she dissapered in a cloud of smoke. Just then Aslan came bursting into the room, axe ready in his paws. He lost his way in the smoke for a moment but it disipated quickly and Aslan was left standing in the middle of the room almost dumbfounded at what was going on. "Where did that bitch go?!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, spinning the entire way around in search of his target. Alexander leaned up against the desk and re-sheathed his sword, placing it against the bed once more. "She's gone Aslan, she used a transportation spell." "That's pretty damn high rank magic for a young fox who's afraid of magic," Trent said as he walked into the room just after Lorien and Miraz. "Not even I can do that... and what do we have hear?" He leaned over and plucked the dagger from the ground where Lutra had left it. Alexander walked up to Trent, grabbed the dagger and sheathed it. "She said it was her 'apolligie' for betraying me. Heh, if she thinks she can pull that 'i'm truly sorry' bullshit after what she did to me she's horribly mistakin." He handed the blade to Bree who had just walked into the room. "Use this blade to keep your promise, Bree. Break her heart like she has broken mine."
Copyright © 2004 Draco Streaver |