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."
"I do not wish to hold this information over your head in exchange for a favor," Agatha said quickly. "I was just curious, so I asked people more about you, and things started to fall into place. That is all there is to it. I wouldn't even have told you all of this. Please, Orion let us just forget we ever had this conversation."
Orion considered her for a few seconds, then broke eye contact and stared despondently at the only lantern hanging near the doorway of the tent.
"I tried so hard to let you go," he said with a bitter half smile.
"Because I am a Hartelle?" The question fell out of Agatha's lips before she could reel it.
"What? No, you foolish girl," Orion said with tender incredulity as he stretched his hand out towards her. Agatha considered it for a few moments, then put her hand in his. Orion's reactions continued to surprise her, but not nearly as much as her own. Orion pulled her closer, his eyes dark in the soft light of the lantern. Agatha, deserting all modesty and good sense that she had inculcated in her from childhood, climbed on to Orion's lap and put her arms around his neck. Orion intertwined his fingers into her hair and pulled her closer for a searing, lingering kiss. His lips were hard and warm, pulling apart her remaining barriers and drawing her out for his perusal, reminding her inexorably of the pleasures that lay beyond the strictures of propriety.
Agatha broke the kiss and breathed, "then why?"
Orion pushed her back into the bed and hovered over her with one hand by her face. With the other, he proceeded to unbutton her shirt. He answered only after he had undone the last button.
"One day, you'll know," he responded quietly, moving her shirt to expose her torso. Agatha bit her lip and reached out tentatively, finally allowing herself to touch his face like she had always wanted to. She ran her fingers across his jaw, tracing the shape of his face. Orion stared at her with an unfathomable expression.
"So, did you decide to break off your engagement?" he asked lightly, reaching behind her to unclasp the hooks of her breastband. Agatha raised her torso from the bed to assist him and answered, "I think that ship has sailed a long time ago, Orion."
Orion tugged her breastband away and stared at the beautiful, creamy mounds of her breasts. They rose and fell in rhythm of Agatha's erratic breaths and his breeches started to feel uncomfortably tight. When he touched one dusky red areola with his thumb, she sighed, her full lips parting slightly. Orion smiled and rolled a hard, taut bud under his thumb, feeling a dark satisfaction as her breath hitched from his ministrations.
"When did you change your mind?" He asked idly, brushing his palm over her breasts and down along the hard, rigid planes of abdominal muscles, the likes of which he had never seen in a woman before. Admittedly, he had not been with many women in his lifetime, but he had always thought of them as fragile, breakable creatures. The girl lying under him was anything but, both in physique and temperament. And Orion wanted her like he had never wanted anyone.
"About five minutes ago," Agatha whispered desperately. Orion chuckled, and with it, he suddenly looked ten years younger. "You should laugh more," Agatha whispered, cradling his face in her hands again. Orion considered this suggestion with an unconscious smile as he pulled her breeches off from her. Her boots followed, and for a few moments, Orion knelt by the foot of the bed, admiring her exquisite body in the dim light. Despite the rippling muscles along her abdomen, her hips flared out femininely. A furrow ran along the outer side of her thigh and down along the side of her calves. Agatha swiveled her legs over to one side, feeling self-conscious from Orion's inspection.
"What?" she propped herself up on her elbows and frowned at him.
Orion shook his head and wrenched her legs open. He trailed his fingers down her inner thighs, watching her face carefully. Agatha bit her lip and fell back into the pillows, her eyes glazed with lust. His introspective fingers stopped right next to her mound, his thumb tracing careless circles at the junction of her inner thighs and lips.
"Should I be aware of any hidden mason jars?" He enquired, his eyes twinkling.
