All art is at once surface and symbol.
Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril.
Those who read the symbol do so at their peril.
--Oscar Wilde
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The rest of the day was spent in preparation. The first creatures Erin asked to come along were Reshat, Evvey and Tikkcik. The three were elated.
"Yeh know weah comin along! Wouldn't miss it foah th' woalhd!" The wallaby grinned.
"Yeah, it's pretty boring around here. A little excitement, that's what I'm game for!" Added Tikkcik.
"You guys realize, of course, that it's going to be very dangerous." Said Erin slowly.
Reshat nodded. "I do not doubt it. But, to tell you the honest truth, Erin, what have we to lose? Evvey and I have no families, and Tikkcik's, well, sort of disowned him..." He winked at the squirrel. "Danger seems a better choice than whiling away our lives in boredom here at this stuffy castle. I have always wanted to get out and see the world..." The genet's voice trailed away dreamily.
Nearly everyone else in the castle felt the same way.
Within an hour, the number of creatures going along had grown to over fifty. As Sir Kumitan remarked, "We're all bored to death. Eveyone's hankering for a bit of excitement."
"This isn't some kind of picnic, you know," scolded Erin, glancing at the excited crowd of knights, apprentices, soldiers, warriors, and wanna-be's.
The huge cat laughed heartily, nearly knocking Erin over with the sound.
"Little Erin," he said, "to this lot, a chance of getting in a scrap is a picnic."
"I see." Erin rolled her eyes. Well, I suppose there's strength in numbers. She thought doubtfully.
After dinner, most of the inhabitants of the castle retired early. The party was to leave next morning.
* * * *
Lupinithus Phelanit entered his private room and closed the door softly behind him. With a yawn, he flopped on the edge of his bed and sat staring out the small window at nothing in particular. He scratched behind his right ear with a hindpaw. And he began to think.
At first, he hadn't assigned much meaning to Erin's arrival, especially since she had been, at the time, insane. But now, with the knowledge of her connection to Bratis - especially with his recent death - Lupinithus began to think perhaps he should pay closer attention to the young vixen.
The first question was, of course, "How much did she know?" Apparently she knew about who her parents were, and certainly she knew the history of the rebellion. But did she know everything about Bratis' part in it?
Lupinithus closed his eyes. An old memory swam across the back of his mind. The night of the battle. He, Lupinithus, had slipped away from the mob to attend to some... business of his own. He was on his way back, coming down a deserted hallway, when, suddenly, he heard approaching pawsteps. He hid himself in the shadows of an alcove, and watched. In a few moments, a creature, running, flashed by his view. The image of a split second had burned itself in the wolf's mind.
Bratis. A harried-looking Bratis, running full tilt down the hall. Dangling from his jaws, was a blanket-wrapped bundle. An unmistakeable bundle, for Lupinithus recognized the features of the frightened harebabe whose head protruded from the side. The infant prince, Apollo.
Lupinithus had said nothing then, nor ever after. Until Bratis arrived with the young hare at the castle, quite some months ago, Lupinithus had heard nothing of the prince's fate. Even now, he kept his knowledge to himself. It might be useful in the future. For the moment, Apollo's ignorance rendered him harmless.
But what if Erin knew? If Bratis had any wits about him, he would have kept it to himself and assume that the knowledge of his misdeed would die with him. But Bratis, for all that he was a great warrior, had a weakness. That weakness being that he was prone to doubting his own actions and motives, and was notorious for feeling guilty about even minor things. What if, in his guilt, he had informed the young vixen of his foolish act?
What if Erin told Apollo?
Lupinithus growled to himself. Apollo may have been a harmless fool, but Erin could potentially be a threat to Lupinithus' plans. From what he had seen so far, it seemed that her brains were slightly addled, but that didn't mean that she was stupid. Indeed, during their conversation, the wolf had kept a close nose on the vixen, and it seemed that she was nearly as good at reading creatures as he was. She was suspicious and mistrustful of him, which was not a good thing. She would need to be watched.
Indeed, but Lupinithus wasn't about to go traipsing of on a wild goose-chase that could very well end in disaster. He would be more folish than Apollo if he did that. No, Lupinithus would send along a creature who could keep an eye on Erin for him and send back reports by messenger. And while the parties who could possibly interfere with his agenda were away...
Lupinithus let his tongue loll in a smile. He stood and turned three times around on his bed, more out of habit than anything, and lay down. He would be up early and commission his spy before the party left. For now, he would sleep in peace.