Dragon's Fire

Her last adventure drew her closer to home than she had been in years, and that was when she started hearing rumors of her brothers demise'. David had apparently been extremely mad about Rynnas disa'ppearance and the deaths of those three men that night, and he had continued to search for her for years. One fateful night, he had gathered up a posse to hunt her down, but instead ran into a gang of bandits. His men all dead, David was taken as a hostage to be ransomed back to his family. He didn't cooperate, however, and one of the bandits was forced to shoot him to prevent his escape, killing him in the process. Talon wasn't upset when she heard the news, but decided she needed to check it out anyway.

Thus it was that she had spent the past several days checking the news around her hometown. All of the townsfolk said the David was dead, and that Mikhail was in charge of the house, although rumor had it that Eliza was actually in charge at Mikhail's request. Mikhail and Eliza had apparently been looking for Rynna, although not for the same reason as David had been. They simply wanted to welcome her back into her family. Talon hoped it was true, and as she knocked on the door to her home, she prayed they wouldn't turn her away.

After a quick glance around, to make sure there was no one on the street to notice and before the door opened, Talon waved her hand in front of her face, casting a quick glamorie that restored her appearance to normal.

The door opened, and Talon could see that the years had not treated her mother well. Eliza looked much older than Talon remembered. Eliza looked at Talon for a few seconds in disbelief.

"Maurynna! What are you doing here?" her mother exclaimed.

They went into the house, and Talon looked around. Nothing much had changed since she left so many years ago.

"We're just about to have lunch. You will join us, won't you?" Eliza looked hopeful.

"Who?"

"Just your brother and I." Eliza explained, "we're the only ones here now, except for a few servants."

"Ok, I haven't had lunch yet, anyway." Talon followed her mother to the dining room, where her brother was seated with his back to the door.

"Mik, look who's here," Eliza announced as they entered the room.

Mikhail turned around, and as soon as he saw who it was, he jumped up to embrace his sister.

"Rynna, what are you doing here? Where have you been? We've missed you so much!" Mikhail exclaimed as he hugged her. He led her to a seat at the table, and then sat back down himself.

"So, dear, what have you been doing? How have you been? Have you met anyone? Have you been happy? Are you coming back home now?" Eliza seemed eager to know everything about her daughter's life for the past five years.

"Oh, just wandering around, exploring the world."

"Come on, Rynna," Mikhail pleaded. "You have to have done something more specific than that. Where have you been staying?"

"Nope, that's about as specific as it's been. I've been getting along alright. How about you?" Talon tried to change the subject.

"We've been fine, dear. But I want to know all about your recent life. You haven't been getting into trouble, have you?" Eliza didn't seem to want to let anything get in the way of finding out how her daughter had been.

"Trouble? Why do you ask?" Talon asked quickly.

"Oh, I just know how your adventuring streak works. It invariably leads you to trouble of some kind."

"No, no trouble. I've just been wandering around, minding my own business," Talon stated, hoping that her mother would quit with all the questions even for a minute.

"Where did you go, after your brother falsely accused you of killing those three men? And why did you come back now?" Eliza looked upset at the memory of David's statements.

"For one thing, Mother, I did kill those three men that night. It was in self-defense, but their blood is on my hands."

"Oh, I see." Eliza paled slightly at the idea that her daughter really was a killer, as her son had claimed.

"And I'm only here to let you know that I'm safe, that David's men didn't find me, and that I probably won't be able to come home again." Talon flinched slightly at the thought of how she phrased that last sentence, knowing it would cause even more questions.

"Won't be able to? What do you mean, Rynna?" Mikhail looked confused. "Is something wrong that we should know about?"

"I just mean that I'm planning on going to some of the farther countries, and won't be back this way for quite some time, that's all." Talon hoped that explanation would satisfy them, but she didn't think it would.

"Well, at least say you'll stay for a few days, before you leave? It can't be that urgent, can it?" Eliza asked.

"I'm sorry, Mother, but no, I can't. After lunch, I must go see the King, and then I'll be leaving town again, before it's too late." Talon knew she shouldn't have said that as soon as it left her mouth.

"Too late? What do you mean by that. You'd think you were wanted or something." Mikhail joked, laughing. Then he looked at Talon's face, and realized how close to the truth that statement actually was. "Rynna, what have you done that you don't want us to know? We won't turn you in, we promise."

"I... I... I can't tell you. I'm sorry." She got up and ran out of the room.