Remember... Ch. 02

"Hi Mari," Andrew greeted her from his chair.

Ignoring the greeting, the girl put down the basket, and hunched over, trying to catch her breath from what seemed like a long run. "Care..." she began. "Care to help?" She asked, nudging the basket in Andrew's direction.

"Oh, sorry! Of course!" Andrew jumped up, and crossed the short distance between them to take the basket from her. It was unexpectedly heavy. Holding out his free hand, he offered it to her. To his surprise, she not only took it but also wrapped her arms around his neck.

They had never been very close, physically at least. Sure, they conversed just fine (in fact, famously so), but it had never progressed to anything more. Beyond the formalities of hand kissing, and on rare occasions, a dance, the most that they had ever done was to hold hands at thatevent, when she seemed to have been glued to him. Although she did not seemed to be disturbed by the scenes there, if she was interested, she hid it well. Needless to say, she had never hugged him like this. Unsure of what to do, Andrew simply stood there.

"Ah. Em," he tried to find something to say, but the words just wouldn't come to him.

"I'm tired," she answered his unspoken question. "I crafted a lot of complicated spells today for an exam. Probably shouldn't have jumped here," she explained in between breaths, resting her head on his shoulder.

Andrew just nodded. He noted that her hair was a bright crimson today, which was perhaps the most normal color he had ever seen on her. In any case, it looked better than that lime green from last time. He also noted with some confusion as to why he had just noticed something so blatantly obvious (perhaps the novelty of the always changing hair color had worn off after the first dozen or so times he's met her), or why he's thinking about her hair color when she is now closer to him than she's ever been before. He then realized his mind was racing. He tried to focus. It didn't seem to work.

Slowly, her breathing calmed. After what seemed like minutes, Andrew felt her shift, as if she was nuzzling against his neck. "Em. Mari?"

Almost immediately, she straightened up and took a step back from him. Her hands did not leave his. "Thank you. I feel better now."

"You're welcome," he smiled. His mind no longer raced. "Shall we eat?"

She nodded and helped him take out all the food that she had brought, most of which she had made herself. When Andrew bit into the first piece of dumpling, he moaned as his tongue caressed the soft, succulent fillings inside. "Oh spirits, why hadn't I asked you to cook for me sooner? This tastes amazing!" he exclaimed as he stuffed another into his mouth.

"Of course it is! I studied under the Society's best chiefs and we have the best chiefs in the world."

"What? The Society doesn't train chiefs," Andrew frowned with his mouth full of food.

"Not directly, no; but since our potion specialists have to spend so much time in the kitchen creating potions, they relax and kill time by perfecting their culinary skills as they wait for their potions to finish brewing. You won't find better chiefs anywhere else."

"Well, I'm sure the headmaster of Ambrosia Culinary School would beg to differ."

Mari rolled her eyes. "Oh please. Gerhardt Norn is a Society alum. I heard he wasn't even particularly good at it either," she scoffed.

Andrew finally paused from eating, raised an eyebrow, shrugged, then went back to stuffing his face. He really didn't have enough brain power to think about the implications of that statement at the same time as what he should eat next.

"Slow down. You're going to choke on something," the redhead frowned. "Are you really this hungry?"

"Why wawent roring..."

"And don't talk with your mouth full!"

He sighed and swallowed before speaking again. "I wasn't during the meeting. I guess I forgot about it. But now that there's such delicious food here, I realized that, yeah, I'm freaking famished."

"Who were you meeting?" She asked, finally stabbing a dumpling with a fork for herself.

"Drows. About some border issues. Can't say much about it."

"Drows? Well that explains it. Men..." She shook her head, finally taking a bite of her own food.

"I wasn't..." he paused, pursing his lips to contemplate the truthfulness of his statement, "entirely... distracted by her."

"Right. Because you were entirely distracted by her tits."

"I can't help it if the only things she's wearing were like basically 2 cloth straps and her heels!"

She blinked. "Wow. That's... She looked that perfect, huh?"

Andrew shrugged offhandedly. "You could pull it off too, you know."

Mari blushed, but quickly recovered, shooting him a frown. Andrew was too busy eating to notice any of that.

"So do you know when Mark's coming back?" she changed the topic.

"Any day now, actually. He should..."

"Did you tell him to bring me anything back from... from wherever he went?" She cut in with a grin.

"Um. No, actually. It's not safe for my brothers when other people, even you, to know where -"

"What do you mean?" She frowned.

"Well, last time when Jaraad got you that wand you instantly knew he went to Hek."

"It's not my fault he got me the Daedalus Wand. It's illegal to sell it pretty much anywhere, except for Hek," she protested.

"Well, the time before when Chris got you the necklace, you guessed right away he went to Mamet."

"Every third bead on that was made of bear tooth, so I thought either Mamet or one of the Orc tribes; and I thought Mamet was more likely."

"Well, the time before that with Chris -"

"Ok, I get it. I'm sorry. I'll stop guessing?"

"No, that's not the point," Andrew frowned. "Look, up until last year, when I told you who they were, only my family knew. Any sort of information that may be linked to their identity, or location, or anything, is dangerous. I'm sorry, but their safety comes first."

Mari sighed in resignation. "I understand."

"But don't be sad! You didn't let me finish! Mark wrote that he's bringing you something that he wants you to look at. A puzzle of sorts, from what I can gather. He said he'll treat you to lunch one day."

"Oh! Why didn't you tell me sooner? You know I love puzzles! If I get to choose where we eat, then I'll accept it as a suitable substitute for the gift."

"I believe we have ourselves a deal," Andrew grinned.

+-+-+-+-+-

It was late morning when Mark finally reached one of Astrin's eastern gates. He did not recognize the guard captain there... one promoted to the rank during his absence, no doubt. Regardless, the guards waved him through with only a cursory glance at his credentials. Within half an hour, he was sitting down at his favorite tavern.

Oh I've missed this!Mark thought as he chugged down the remaining ale.It feels so good to be back!

He looked around the tavern and smiled again, seeing some familiar faces but even more people that he had never seen before. That was the way of the Jita district, where shops open and close seemingly at the toss of the coin and whole buildings can be torn down and rebuilt in less than a month. Fortunately, The Citadel has been here for dozens of years and served well as a hangout for Mark and his brothers.

Soon, the barmaid brought him another mug. "This one's on the house," she said with a smile, nodding towards Citadel's proprietor.

Mark grinned at the elderly woman, and raised his mug in thanks. Just as he set his ale down on the bar, he felt a presence behind him.

"It's not even noon yet, and you're hitting the booze already?" The man said.

"Hey Jaraad!" Mark jumped up and embraced his brother.

"Nice to have you back in one piece," Jaraad grinned.

"Thanks. It's good to be back home. Can't wait to sleep in my own bed."

Jaraad laughed again. "Yeah, I know the feeling! It's those little things that makes you miss home the most."

"How's Andrew and Chris?"

"They're good, but Andrew's been pretty busy lately: something's going on in Mamet. He hasn't been seeing Mari as much as when you were here but that's also because she's busy all the time as well. Chris is Chris. During a big dinner last week, he somehow managed to dilute Andrew's wine with large amounts of grape juice."

"Uh..." Mark's eyes went wide.

"Oh don't worry, the guest had a separate drink, so he didn't get any of that, but Andrew had to keep a straight face though the whole night."

"Fuuuuuuuuck..." Mark half laughed half groaned, covering his face with his hands. "Andrew must've been pissed."

"Why am I pissed, now?" Another voice asked from behind them.

"Probably something I did," replied another.

Mark spun around and embraced the two newcomers. "Andrew! Chris! What are you guys doing here? Don't you have... important meetings to attend to?"

"In a bit. Jaraad told me that you just got back, so I thought I'd drop by for a bit," Andrew grinned, holding up the necklace that they use to communicate with. He wore a simple disguise of a wig and beard, which was enough to fool the people who have never gotten a good look at him up close. No longer in his regal clothes, instead, his appearance matched that of Jaraad, wearing a simple tunic and pants, looking like one of the merchants of the nearby Jita market. "So why am I pissed again?"

"I was telling him about the grape juice incident," Jaraad chuckled.

"Oh yeah, that. That wasn't even the worst thing he's done while you were gone," Andrew sighed. "Last month, he nailed all the chairs in the dining room to the floor, a little ways back from the table, so everyone had to sit at the edge of their chairs and lean forward when they ate. Thank the spirits it wasn't a dinner with any dignitaries or the like. We did have to replace all the chairs and parts of the floor, though."

"Well, that's new," Mark blinked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, it was so much harder for me!" Chris complained. "I was the one that had to nail twenty chairs down to the floor without anyone noticing."

Mark laughed. "I don't know why you go through all that trouble..."

"I'm just practicing my skills for legitimate uses."

"Right. Because we all need to nail twenty chairs down without anyone noticing one day," Jaraad rolled his eyes.

The proprietor of The Citadel saw Andrew walk in, and approached the group. She was old enough to be their grandmother but other than her graying hair, she radiated the energy of someone decades younger.

"Boys, it's so good to see y'all again," the older woman smiled.

"Hi Miss Nyx," Andrew replied, echoed by the other three, and embraced her. "Sorry about not being able to come in lately, but 'business' has been -"

"Don't you apologize, now. I know just how busy it can be. Your gran'ma was probably the busiest person I've ever known," she patted the younger man's shoulder. "But I am so glad to see you, again. Now come along, a corner table has just opened up. It'll be more private for your conversation."

"Thanks, Miss Nyx."

After they had sat down, the maid brought over some drinks and food for all of them.

"So how was your trip?" Andrew asked.

"Eventful. Almost died at one point, but the dig team got what they were there for."

"Woah, what?" A look of concern appeared on Andrew's face.

"I'm ok! I'm still here, aren't I?" Mark laughed. "Elven healing magic is pretty amazing, though."

"Be careful, Mark. You're always so reckless when you go on trips," Jaraad said.

"Yeah, I would hate to have permanent twelve hour shifts," Chris smiled.

"Thanks for your concern, Chris."

"Anytime!"

The four chatted, catching up on the last four months that Mark had been away: The recalling of another ambassador from one of Mamet Empire's many Houses (likely to be relocated to some salt mine somewhere for something that they, or someone in their family did); the arrival of the elven princess Allura (apparently here to build good relations between the Kingdoms, but thus far, has met with Andrew only once); the Society of Magic had another animal incident (resulting in the release of thousands of chinchillas into the streets of Astrin, although this time it was contained much quicker than Day of Ferrets incident two years ago); and many others. After a length of time that felt not nearly long enough, clock towers around the city began to ring, announcing Two o'clock.

"Well, we have to go. Got a meeting soon," Andrew announced as he stood up. "Welcome back, Mark. See you tomorrow afternoon."

"Yeah, get some rest. I'll have Andrew's schedule delivered to your place tonight," Chris added, "but you don't have to do anything other than your shift until next week."

"That's my cue too," Jaraad said, getting up as well. "Gotta get ready for my shift. Nice to have you back, Mark. Get rested. We'll catch up soon."

-+-+-+-+-+

After almost an hour of soaking in the large granite bath, Mark finally pulled himself out of the tub. The water was starting to get cold but he enjoyed it anyways, even after his hands got pruney. He dried and wrapped himself in a large towel, enjoying these little things that he had missed for so long.

Falling onto his bed, he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Mark dreamed.

Ching...

It sounded like a bell. Or maybe a chime.

"Wake up," a female voiced called out to him.

Ching...

It was a little louder now. He looked around, still not seeing the source of the sound.

"You said you'll find me."

Ching...

"Find... who?" he asked the voice.

"You promised."

Ching...

"Promised... what?"

"To find me again."

Ching...

He turned around. He thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye.

"So wake up. Find me like you promised."

Ching...

"Who are you? Are you..." he struggled to think of someone's name, and found that he didn't know anyone's name.

He heard a soft laughter.

Ching...

He turned around again, faster this time. He saw a streak of green flash by.

More laughter.

Ching...

He turn around one more time, as fast as he could move.

He felt himself falling, but as he fell, he saw it... a wind chime?

"Oof!" Mark grunted as he landed on the floor next to his bed, the eighth toll of the clock tower still echoing through the streets.

The dream was fading already. He frowned. He could never remember any of his dreams. But this time, he did remember the last thing he saw. A wind chime. Just like the earrings Amanda wore.

"Amanda..." he mumbled to himself, "What have you been up to?"

The elven embassy was located on the north-western side of the elven district, across the district from Mark's home. The neighborhood's architecture has obvious elven influences, with elegant curves replacing the sharp corners and edges found on most other buildings found in Astrin. Elven dwellings in the kingdom of Mise have lasted through thousands of years of use and the elements had worn down the roughness of the original stones. The buildings in Astrin are not nearly as old but were built with the antiquated appearance to resemble their counterparts found in the elves' homeland.

The embassy was nicknamed the White Keep, since it resembled a much smaller version of the keep of the Grand Castle in Luminaire. The distinctive alabaster spire rose towards the sky like a giant, elongated teardrop. A wall surrounded the building, patrolled by elven guards, shielding its inhabitants from prying eyes.

Mark sat down on a bench, across the plaza in front of the embassy's main gate, and waited. There were many people sitting around, on the grass and on benches. A flock of pigeons wandered around, their heads bobbing back and forth. Occasionally someone would throw some bread towards them and Mark laughed inwardly as he watched them scramble for the crumbs. There were several cafés located around the plaza, all full with people having their breakfast. Thinking about breakfast, Mark's stomach growled, reminding him that he has yet to eat anything today.

Just as the bell tower announced eight thirty, the gates to the embassy opened and Captain Lena Banks walked out. Mark thought about catching up to her to talk, but quickly decided against it. She might slap him again.Another day, when we have more time to talk,Mark thought.

A few minutes later, the gates opened again, and several elven women walked out. Amongst them, a familiar looking elf girl, with two elven women by her side.

Her long blonde hair was tied back in a pony tail, although a few unruly strands hung along the side of her face. With the sleeve of her grey shirt, she wiped away the sweat on her forehead, her face glowing from the recent training. While her short green skirt only went down to mid thigh, tight black leggings and a pair of thin leather boots covered every inch of her toned legs. He imagined how they'd look without those leggings.

Amanda started walking west-wards, while the two elves followed her close behind. They were constantly alert, watching for any signs of danger.

Mark smiled, and walked towards her.It's been four months. Would she recognize me?He thought.

Walking at a leisurely pace, she was probably exhausted after her training. At this speed, he would catch up to her in a block or two.Maybe I should surprise her... Although her guardians might not find that too humorous,he mused.

She stopped and turned around to say something to the two elves behind her. Mark couldn't quite make out what she was saying at this distance but after a few seconds, as she was about to turn back and start walking again, she glanced in his direction. Their eyes met. Mark smiled at her. Amanda stared at him for a moment, her expressing quickly changing from confusion to surprise to happiness all within the span of a second. To the confusion of her guards, she began to quickly walk, and then run towards him.

"Mark!" She shouted as she leaped into his arms.

Mark almost lost his balance, twirling her around him. "Nice to see you too, Amanda," he laughed. "I told you I would find you."

The two elves caught up to her, with looks of concern on their faces. "My lady," one said with a cough.

She reluctantly unhooked her arms from Mark's neck and stepped back, blushing slightly. "Ah, this is Mark," she said, gesturing with her arm. "He helped me obtain new escorts after the incident in Carrou forest. Mark, this is Linae and Ellisa. They are my guardians."

The two elves bowed slightly. "So you are Mark! Our lady has said many good things about you," Linae smiled. "Thank you for arranging the escorts for our lady, Mr..."

"Raven. Mark Raven."

"Ah, thank you, Mr. Raven. We were quite surprised to see our lady arrive here with a group of Rancerian riders."

"It was no problem. The Crielere outpost's commander is an acquaintance of mine. He owed me a couple favors. And besides, I didn't think it was safe for such a beautiful lady to be traveling alone."

"That was very considerate of you. Oh, and when you see him, please give our thanks to your friend the hunter who helped our lady in the forest."

Without missing a beat, Mark nodded. "Of course. He is a bit of a recluse, and hard to track down, but I will tell him when I see him again."

Amanda held his hand and started walking, pulling him along. "Come on," she said, looking at him with a smile.

Mark shrugged and followed her, while her two guards followed close behind.

"How did you know I was here?" she asked.

"I asked around at the barracks for Captain Banks, and they said she was training a particularly troublesome elven girl here at your embassy."

"They did not say that! Lena... I mean Captain Banks loves me!"

"Maybe they did, maybe they didn't," Mark laughed. "Anyways, they said that she was training some elves here. Apparently other women decided to join you in training with her?"