Astra Absconds
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 47091
|
Astra decided that this was a chance that she could not afford to pass up.
Hesht seemed like a good lad, and having a guide who knew the country
would be very useful. It would also be a big plus not to have to sleep
rough. Most importantly of all, if the village had reported her arrival to
the authorities in Polabi, as Hesht's message implied that they might,
then she needed to move on without delay.
She hoped that she had done enough work for Shirini this morning to repay her debt to the village. She would have liked to take her leave of Shirini properly, but in the circumstances it seemed unwise to let her know that she was going. If her departure wasn't discovered till the morning, then she ought to have enough of a head start not to need to worry about the possibility of pursuit. So she waited till she heard Shirini go to bed, delayed another quarter of an hour or so, and then left her bedroom, trying to make no noise. In the main room, she lit a candle. She found a scrap of parchment, a quill pen and some ink, and wrote a hurried message: Shirini,
Astra She put the note where Shirini would be sure to find it, extinguished the candle, and then left the house as quietly as she could. Then she made her way to the Western Bridge. My unintended "nap" was very fortunate, she reflected. I don't feel the least bit sleepy. Given the lateness of the hour, she did not expect to run into anyone. In a village like this, people went to bed early, so there was little risk that she would be seen. She reached the bridge safely. Hesht was not yet there, and she hoped that she would not have to wait too long. He had not specified a time in his note. Not that the villagers seemed to have any way of keeping time at all accurately in any case. Back home, the palace had a few grandfather clocks, but they were very expensive, so she hadn't been surprised not to see any in the village, though she knew that Gilder had at least one. Meanwhile Doazda had finished his business with Granny, and then went back to the bakery to meet Hesht as they had arranged. He noticed that the lad seemed very agitated. "How did you get on?" he asked. "Is the young lady coming with you?" "I d-don't know. Shirini was there, so I c-couldn't get to t-talk to Astra. But I m-managed to push a note under her door. It said that, if she w-wants to come, she should meet me at the Western B-bridge t-tonight. But after that, I went to p-pick up the delivery, and it was g-g-g-gone! Somebody had been scything the vines, and they m-must have discovered the hiding p-place. So w-what am I to d-do now?"
|
JH
11/21/2004 2:40:12 AM
Extending Enabled
24900583 episodes viewed since 9/30/2002 1:22:06 PM.