In the absence of Lyla and Sir Blaxton, who had been her constant riding companions, loneliness struck Agatha rather profoundly for the next few days. The infirmary guards who rode with her were no good when it came to conversation, and Agatha tried to strike up several, unsuccessful ones with them for an hour on the first day before giving it up as a bad job. She found that out of the six men who rode with her, two younger ones named Kane and Rowan were slightly more inclined to talk than the rest, but when Agatha asked them about their homes, they fell uncomfortably silent, as though she had asked a deeply personal question.
The Disputed Corridor was around three days' ride away from the Forgers' mountain, and during the evenings, Agatha entertained herself by sitting beside the campfire in front of her tent and staring into its depths, acutely missing her friend. During this time, she started taking a closer look at the men at the head of the Army. Orion rode at the lead, followed by Sir Alexander, who was subsequently followed by two Major Generals. Agatha had never talked to them, but she was fairly certain that the man with yellow thatched hair and a square face was called Godwin Ashdown and the younger, darker one was called Hervey Wood.
On the third evening of their journey Orion joined her beside the campfire. Agatha looked askance at him, then went back to her meditation, determined to ignore him as he had been ignoring her. They sat in a strangely companionable silence for a long time, then Agatha decided to break it.
"I visited Grandmeister Eustace before setting out. His retainer said you had sent for me."
"How did you see him?" Orion asked softly, throwing her a sideways glance.
"Not good," Agatha admitted. "He has an uncommon affliction, where his body's infection-fighting cells are attacking his internal organs. A purging spell did not work, naturally, so I healed the affected organs and left him to recuperate. But his affliction will come back again, and there will be a time when the vessel will be too weak to withstand a healing spell."
"How long does he have?" Orion asked without inflection.
"Six months at most," Agatha murmured morosely.
Orion nodded. "Thank you," he said quietly.
"I wonder how it feels," Agatha continued softly, watching Orion's face carefully.
"How what feels?" He asked absentmindedly.
"To have your son die before you."
Orion raised his eyes and glanced about them, checking for bystanders or potential eavesdroppers. There were none. It was late, and most men had retired to the comfort of their tents. Then he dropped his gaze towards Agatha and said coolly, "it is depraved to take advantage of a senile man."
"I didn't have to ask him," Agatha shrugged. "There were other... indicators."
When Orion did not answer, Agatha pressed on, "so how did this happen? Did he leave with you after Penelope's death and then when he was sufficiently trained to control his magic, returned to Rubenstraad under an assumed identity?"
Orion stared at her speculatively. "You should not meddle in affairs that are none of your concern."
Agatha fell silent. After a while, Orion rose abruptly and scooped her up in his arms. Agatha gasped at the sudden movement, then seized the front of his shirt to balance herself. Orion carried her into his tent and threw her onto his bed. Agatha scrambled to a sitting position and backed away into the farthest end of the bed, putting as much distance between them as possible under the circumstances. Orion closed the flap of the tent tightly and sat at the other end of the bed.
"What else do you know?" He asked, his voice even. Agatha fidgeted nervously, regretting her decision to speak earlier.
"Look, I didn't tell anyone about anything--" she began, but was cut off by Orion.
"What. Do. You. Know."
"I just know that Eustace is your second son, that is all," Agatha said, "I swear that is all I know because you just confirmed it. It was mere speculation before that."
"Agatha."
Agatha took a deep breath, willing herself to stop shivering. Orion stared at her with a predatory look in his pale blue eyes, his hair coming loose from the ponytail at the back of his neck, and he looked distinctly dangerous and ruthless, capable of every single atrocity she had imagined him to be.
"Eustace came back, but he sought vengeance on the men who were responsible for his mother's death. He lay on wait, not daring to do anything that would attract attention. When the consumption epidemic struck, he put a deadly, slow acting curse on the people responsible for his mother's death, one that mimics the effects of that affliction. Mages are neither aware of this curse nor can they perform it, only those who can possess magic can cast it.
"Consumption is an affliction of the poor and the malnourished, usually affecting the residents of crowded slums and underfed children. It is not likely for any of the nobles to have caught it, least of all King Norman, who was in robust health at the time. But such is the superstition and fear surrounding the disease that no one questioned it, and Eustace stayed unnoticed.
"But, many years later, Prince Elrond suspected of the part that Eustace played in his father's death. Perhaps he confided in you. You staged an assassination attack on Prince Elrond, because historically, you are a man who stays loyal to his family. To escape suspicion, you pretended to be hurt by the same assassination attempt. But Prince Elrond was murdered with a crossbow, and by your description, someone shot at you too. Surely an assassin from the Vandan kingdom would know enough about Dragon Riders to know that it is impossible to kill one with a mortal weapon like a crossbow?
"But again, no one questioned the sequence of events, because this assassination was well placed, at the wake of a victory by Lohenstraad over Vandan. Additionally, not many people in Lohenstraad are acquainted with the Dragon Rider's healing powers, owing to the fiercely private nature of the only Dragon Rider in the realm."
Orion's face grew stonier with every sentence she uttered. When she was finished, he said nothing for a while. Agatha glanced at the doorway again, considering running for her life. But she sat still, rendered motionless with fear.
"You'll never be able to prove any of your statements. And without that... they are mere speculations."
