Yep.
You admit you are crazy?
No! Just that I write fast.
Oh, I always thought you were crazy myself.
Chapter 8
Jarro ducked out the door, and skid to a stop, Edward stood a meter away, surveying the street scape. Jarro tried to breath quietly, across from him the doorman gave him a suspicious glare. Jarro smile maniacally at him, while watching the reflection in the glass doors, Edward started down the steps and turned right. Jarro tailed him down the street walking much like a man stepping on eggs, sliding behind walls, jumping into shops, and basically acting like a lunatic.
Edward walked slowly drinking in the surroundings, smiling contentedly. However, despite the lack of speed, his rambling steps all headed in the same direction. Jarro having got his initial enthusiasm out of his system followed him more carefully. That Edward was familiar with the city he was now certain.
Edward halted abruptly, and Jarro dove behind a handy dustbin, landing knees first into a puddle. Cursing under his breath, he peered around the the edge, Edward was staring back toward him, Jarro pulled him head back abruptly, and waited a few moments before looking again. A leg was just disappearing into the side alley. He scrabbled up, and tripped over the gutter. An old Grycite woman sniffed, and folded her leathery wing primly, two little girls giggled. Jarro nodded an apology toward the lady, and scuttled after into the alley after Edward.
Next thing he knew his face was slammed against a wall and one of arms being twisted in a most unpleasant manner. A low voice growled in his ear,”Make a noise or try to move and I will brake your wrist.”
He tried to moan quietly,”Ow, ok, I'm not going to. Just please stop dislocating my shoulder.”
The presser eased,”So it was you, I thought as much.” Jarro turned his head as much as he could.
“Yes, you often accost people in alleys?”
The mage freed him and gave a bitter laugh, “Of all the times you could have chosen to play at spying.”
He hated it when people refused to get angry, he could deal with shouting, but Edward wasn't acting angry, just...worried. “Um, what are you going to do?”
The mage smiled sourly,”Try and keep you alive despite your best efforts otherwise. I really can't trust you to go back on your own, and I certainly can't leave you here.” He shook his head, “Guess this means I'm bringing you along, first to make you blend in a little, take off that jacket of your and I'll do the rest.”
“B-but-” Jarro stuttered.
“Now!” Edward barked, Jarro bit back farther protests and did as he was told, shrugging off the coat and folding it over his arm. Edward was starting to glow.”Now shut your eyes.”
Darkness filled his vision, fingers dug into his arms and a tingling started around them, and swiftly spread like pins and needles all over his body. He shifted his feet, “Don't move, You will disrupt the spell. I'll try and explain what I am doing. I am here to gain some rather important information from the Minor here, and no, I am not about to tell you what. You will pose as a servant and if we are lucky we might get though this without any blood shed. Oh and try not to freak out when you see your body, it is only an illusion.”
Moments later he was released, Edward collapsed, back to the wall, panting. Jarro moved to see if he was ok, but his legs felt wobbly. He yelped and reached out his hands to catch himself, the skin was rather darker then it was a minute earlier. He stared, then held them both up to his face. As he tensed he felt something scrape the wall behind him, he craned his head around to find that he now had a pair of wings.
“You did you do to me?” To his shame it was almost a shriek.
“I only changed your appearance, in appearance at least you are now Grycite, I can undo it at any time.” Edward straightened his robes.
Jarro still was near panic,”B-but, why?”
“Did you not listen to a word I said? This way is the easiest way. Now stop whining, keep your mouth shut at all times, and follow me closely, I am already late.”
“But-”
The mage held up a finger, ”I'll tell you all the details later, for now come with me,”
Jarro held up his coat wordlessly.
“Just throw it in a corner,when we come back this way, we will get it then.” Edward push himself up and started to walk off, leaving Jarro to stumbling along after him.
They finally stopped outside a door two Grycites every muscle in their body said bodyguard. Jarro, still trembling slightly, watched a complicated set of hand movements between the two parties. At last satisfied, one the guards opened the door and said something in Grycition to Edward . One of the guards entered and the other moved to stand in the door.
Edward whispered, lips barely moving, “Sit near the wall no matter what they say avoid eye contact , and on no account speak. Sure you look like a servant but if you at any point open your mouth and say something best you can hope for is that they kill you quickly.” Jarro nodded his ascent. “In that case good luck.” after flashing him a reassuring smile, Edward followed the other guard into the house.
The third Minister shuffled over to a wall and let himself fall onto it, something, better let unnamed, squished as he sat on it. The only man left sniggered something at him as he scraped it off.
Jarro growled, the sniggering stopped, a shadow stepped between him and the sun, the man snarled out a few words. Jarro crouched, uncertain and lowered his eyes trying to remember what Edward had told him to do. The guard repented himself, Jarro glanced up, the bodyguard was drawing back a fist like a couple of bricks. Jarro threw himself sideways, ducking away. The guard merely smiled cracked his knuckles, a couple of people leaned over the edge of flat topped roof.
Jarro wondered vaguely whether paper work was better than getting shot at in an alley. He sighed, maybe if he made enough noise he could get Edward back out here, he would know how to fix this...
Edward was sitting cross-legged deep in conversation with the district Minor when the commotion outside filtered though to him, even then it was a few seconds before the significance of it dawned on him.
Excusing himself he dashed outside where he was in time to see Jarro get knocked unconscious by a wood club to the back of his head, as he fell the spell faded. Jarro, once again human, lay awkwardly, the crowed around him stood stunned for the moment.
Edward cussed venomously aloud, hurrying toward him, a few heads turned toward him. He had little if any medical knowledge but there more blood then he liked. from behind him the Minor Hepin clicked his tongue.
“Who is that man?”
“He...he is...” Edward was momentarily lost for an explanation.
“His appearance was your doing?.”
“Yes...I was, a little concerned so I, uhh, cast an illusion so he would blend in.”
“He isn't blending in now, so kindly stop dodging the question and tell me who he is.”
“He's the Third Minister from Brilsion.”
“Really? You do move in high circles, what's he doing here?”
“I-I-” I need to get Jarro out of here now, Edward decided, before anything worse happened. As a rule he disliked lying but he couldn't see any other way, “I recruited him.”
“Excellent, you are efficient, getting information as it happens, eh?.”
“Thank you, now would you mind if I left while he is still in one piece?”
“Certainly not, I hope to see you again, bid a fond hello to the Major when you see him in the capital.”
The mage nodded in accent, and hoisted the limp Jarro over his shoulder. The people around him parted, with many a hostile glare. Edward firmly ignored them all and started his way back to what he thought of as safe ground.
When Jarro woke the first thing he noticed was pain, throbbing though his head like someone opened his head and was sandpapering his brain. The next was the movement, for a brief moment the image of a ship flash though his mind, but this was quickly discarded. He was being carried awkwardly over someone's shoulder he decided.
The person was growling under his breath,”Sit still and be unobtrusive I told him, don't annoy anyone, and what does the idiot do? He starts a fight. Typical!” Through his pounding head Jarro identified the irritated voice as that of Edward. He cracked his eyes open and the sight of ground moving past giddily greeted them, his hands, he was glad to see, were once again there normal colour.
He moaned and shut his eyes again. The mage stopped, and slid him off his shoulders until Jarro was sitting, back was against the wall. Edward shook him, and pried a reluctant eye lid open. Someone must have turned the sun up, the light jabbing into his brain couldn't be the same as the one which shone earlier in the day. Content that he was concious Edward let him close it again.
“Are you alright? That was quite some bang to the side of your head, thankfully it seems to have stopped bleeding. Do you think you can walk at all? I don't think I can carry you any farther.”
Jarro ran his tongue around his mouth, trying to wet it enough to talk.
Edward continued, ”You were knocked out by the guards, not sure what you did but what ever it was kept you alive.” He chuckled and Jarro felt him sitting next to him.”You certainly gained a reputation from that.”
Jarro coughed and in a horse voice asked,”I'm human again?”
Edward shifted,”The spell failed soon as you were knocked out.”
“Ho-how did you explain that?”Silence answered him.”What did you do?”
At last the mage replied uneasy,“Um, well, it was a bit tricky but nothing you need to worry about.”
“What you say to them?”he pried his eye open again.
“Don't concern yourself with it.” Edward avoided eye contact.
“...If you say so.” The mage gave his a surprised glance, but Jarro felt in no condition to argue the point, he was too busy trying not to vomit everywhere, ”Lets just get back to the embassy.”
“You think you can walk?”
“No, but I don't want to stay here any longer then needed.” he finally worked out where they were, the orange jacket was defiant clue,”Can you pass me my coat please?”
The trip back seem ten times longer, Jarro's arm hung over the mage's shoulder, while the other supported his waist. Still nauseous and now dizzy too he was ready to drop long before they got back.
The doorman gave them an odd look, as he let them in.
“Where you taking me?”Jarro asked blearily.
“Your secretary, she can clean your head up.”
“Retin?” Oh no..he forget about her after seeing Edward sneaking out, “She will kill me!”
“Good, that means you won't do such a daft thing again.”Edward said unfeelingly.
“What did you do to him?”Retin appeared like a ghost stepping though a wall.
“Nothing it's all his own fault, which he will now spend spend some time trying to dissuade you of.” Edward told her.
She hauled Jarro off the mage and started to walk him toward the lift. The many protests from the minister were ignored completely. Edward nodded, satisfied, the young idiot was in good hands now, and was unlikely to escape them any time soon.
He walked toward the bar, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Just make contact with his friend in the Reformers, easy. But that stupid boy had made what should have been easy the exact opposite.
Edward entered the dinning area, and headed over to the bar. He glanced over the menu before ordering a lemonade. Technically he was over the drinking age but few bartenders saw it his way. It was by far easier just to accept it, and to stick to lemonade.
Lucuse was playing the piano over the other side of the room, Senic perched on a high stool, legs crossed, sipping something out of a glass.
Edward watched a woman prowled over and slide down beside the changer. She was young, her skin tanned from sun, long golden hair flowed down her back, a pale green dress set off her forest green eyes. Her fingers joining his increasing the complexity of the song. A sly smile challenged him to match her. He ascent with a grin.
Edwards looked back at his drink, sugar was hard to get here and drink was sour for lack of it, he had asked more out of habit then any real desire to drink it. It was an hour or so later that the clicking of shoes came to his ears, and Jarro came into his vision and spotting him dropped on to the other chair. He leaned back and closed him eyes for a moment. A bandage was tied around his head, hair sticking though and around it.
“I finally got away from the harpy, what are you drinking?”without waiting for an answer he picked up the glass, sniffed it, sipped it gingerly, and made a face, it was more then a little warm by this time.”Needs more sugar.”
“I know.” The mage said distantly, he watched with surprise the antics of Jarro, most people treated him with disdain, respect, or a with a touch of fear. But not, apparently, Jarro, he was sitting there, stealing his drink for goodness sake. He had been certain that as soon as the shock wore off he would finally listen to what his secretary kept telling him and say away.
Jarro still looked pale, and Edward doubted whether he would be able to get back to his room alone, though Miss. Berlia would be happy to drag him back when she found him.
Jarro took another mouth full,”It grows on you though,” he held up the glass before his eyes and swirled the liquid in it.”Like mould round a drain.” The whole man was a puzzle,”Mm, it was ok I guess.” His eyes moved from the glass and focussed on Edward, “Those people who you were seeing, they were part of the Reformers yes?”
Edward winced, “You guessed huh?”
“Hard not no really.”
“I guess.”
“So what are you doing here?”
“Just here helping, the King told me to use my connection to help in the negotiations.”
Well that was part of it, but by no means all, Jarro was certain of it. However right now the mage was tight lipped and his head was still throbbing. He tipped back his head and downed the last of the drink. “Could you get something more interesting next time?”
“Oh yes, I shall certainly take your views on drink into consideration next time I buy one.” Edward resorted to sarcasm, it work just how he expected.
“Thanks!”it was completely ignored.
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