Andrea Makes a Break For It
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 7001
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From the attempted assassin's memories, Andrea knew that Frederigo had
been less than
frank with her. He had clearly known that there was a "tax" to be paid by
those who
wished to cross the fens, and that by avoiding it they would become
targets. He must
have been confident that he could deal with whoever came after them. Why
hadn't he
told her any of this, but instead claimed ignorance over the significance
of the
symbols carved on the trees? And what had he meant when he had said: "You
don't know
whose toes you're stepping on, little man." Had he just been referring to
himself,
or did someone else have an interest in her?
Possibly even more worrying was that for the second time she had summoned up considerable magical power not by her own conscious volition. Was she possessed? If so, then by whom - or what? Or, a more comforting idea, had the spirit of Fritha come to her aid from beyond the grave (for several years ago news had come to Croix Keep that the old woman had died)? But there was no use in worrying about it, she realised, since whatever was happening was beyond her control. The moon was still shining brightly, and Andrea knew that if she was ever going to leave Frederigo then she might not get a better chance than this. She decided she would rather take her chances with Astra - if she could find her, which might be easier said than done. Since this was the last night of the full moon, by the time she had tracked Astra down, the princess should be fully human again. Of course, Frederigo would know where she was going, and would probably come after her, but if he did not wake till dawn then she should have a substantial lead. If she could only find Astra before Frederigo could find her, then she would feel much more secure. As quietly as she could, she took some of the waybread from Frederigo's pack where it lay on a tree-root, and put the bread into her own pack. Then she stole away. Two days' experience of the fens had made Andrea almost as adept as Frederigo at following the trail, and the white blazes on the trees showed up clearly enough in the bright moonlight. So she made good progress, for all that she frequently took a nervous look behind her to check that she was not being pursued by Frederigo - or possibly even something worse. As she travelled she wondered, not for the first time, what had happened to her family when Croix Keep had been taken. [1726] Were they imprisoned or, as she feared, dead? Would she ever be able to go back and find out? Also not for the first time, her eyes grew moist.
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JH
1/12/2000 11:48:29 AM
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