Chapter Sixty-Two: On the Topics of Vitus and Aurelia

They left as soon as it had fallen dark. Petro, now reunited with his horse, rode back towards the border. Marcus, the Florae, Mulberry, and the baby went in the opposite direction, downriver, towards the capital. Mulberry could see that Marcus was doubtful about this decision, but Salix insisted that when they reached the capital, they would find safety among the members of her order. They travelled at night and hid during the day, the baby crying constantly in the cold dark of the evening. Still, that was better than to have her crying during the day, when they huddled in bracken or under the low branches of young pine trees, trying to stay dry and out of the rain. Occasionally, they spent the night in a disreputable, ramshackle, but warm, inn. It was at one such inn that Marcus and Mulberry sat by the fire, talking softly while Aurelia slept on Mulberry's lap. The Florae had disappeared, up to bed, perhaps, and Mulberry was surprised by how comfortable she felt with Marcus. They had somehow fallen back into their old routines, as if the awkward marriage proposal had never happened. Mulberry was glad, and Marcus seemed almost happy, sitting with her and with the baby. As they talked, Tsuga rejoined them, her face serious in the flickering firelight of the taproom.

“Salix – Senior Salix is upstairs, crying,” Tsuga said, “Because of this. The pigeon brought it. I'm not – I'm not sure what to do.”

Tsuga held a small, well-folded scrap of papyrus in her hand, the seal nearly melted beyond recognition. Without looking at Marcus, her eyes on the floor, she thrust the scrap of paper into his hand, then sat down on one of the tap benches, hard. Marcus fingered the warm, well-worn paper. The wax seal was the same temperature as his fingers, and slightly gummy. He looked at it, thoughtful, and realised with some shock that it bore the imperial sigil - the dragon, the sword, and the rose.

Marcus took the paper thoughtfully, turning it over in his hands. He noted the heavy cream paper. He took in the formal seal. This letter looked to Marcus like the letter his commander had presented him with only a few days after he had found Aurelia and met Mulberry. It looked like the letter that had announce Gaius' death. Marcus frowned, and, holding his breath, opened the letter.

He scanned it quickly, asking, "Do you know of anyone named 'Vitus', Mul?"

Mulberry shook her head, but then paused. "I don't him, but isn't that what Salix calls her fiancé? Vitus?"

Marcus sighed. "No wonder she's upset. He's missing. Probably dead."

                                                                                        ~*~

At midnight, when Aurelia was fast asleep and Tsuga had gone back upstairs to console Salix, Marcus and Mulberry still sat together by the fire.

"So. He's – was? – her fiancé?" Marcus asked, breaking what had been a long silence.

"Yes," Mulberry nodded. "I'm sure you've heard her speak of him."

"She seemed really fond of him," Marcus agreed. His heart ached a little to think of it. Ever since Mulberry had refused his awkward proposal, he had reflected on how much he himself was fond of Mulberry. It had hurt when she had been avoiding him. He knew for certain that it would have been nice to have Mulberry talk about him the way Salix had talked about the fiancé she had just lost. Marcus poked a stick into the fire, stirring it around awkwardly. That poor girl.

"What exactly happened?" Mulberry asked, shocking Marcus from his reverie.

"He disappeared. From that letter, it actually - it actually sounds like he was murdered. Or assassinated. Someone lured him out into the countryside and he disappeared. They've found no sign of him, but there's a deep gorge nearby. The letter made it sound like they're pretty sure he's dead. And the letter says that he was going out to meet his fiancée."

“Salix wouldn't kill her fiancé! She loves - loved - him!" Mulberry protested.

"Of course she wouldn't kill him! Besides, she was with us, or recovering in the capital – Petro said he and Flora Tsuga visited her everyday. I think Salix's fiancé was lured there to be killed by someone who wants to get to Salix, or the Florae in general."

"A traitor? An enemy of the state?" Mulberry asked, curious.

"Yeah. A traitor. Like the men dressed as guards who might be out there trying to find and kill our Aurelia."

"Wait, you think this has something to do - to do with us? That Salix's fiancé has disappeared because she's here with ?"

Marcus shrugged. "Well, I'm not sure," he said carefully. "They maybe want to get back at the Florae, or the Emperor, or the senate. But . . . I don't know what we're caught up in, and I don't know who's involved, but . . . whoever they are, they could be trying to get to us.

As they talked, Salix came and sat herself by the fire, Tsuga quick on her heels. For a long time Salix was quiet, but then she took a deep breath and began to speak.

"It's more important than ever to get to the capital, now," she began, "it's the only way to protect the baby. There are things going on here that are bigger than you imagine, Marcus Marius."

Marcus shrugged, "I've imagined some pretty big things, Flora Salix."

"Something as big as this not being foreign spies as imperial guards, but the real thing?"

"Why would real guards want to hurt a helpless baby? Or kill your fiancé?"

Salix's face grew hard with anger.

"I don't want to believe Vitus is dead, but if he is, he was killed as a message. A message to me. Whoever's out there after you, they know who I am, and they know who Flora Tsuga is, and they know we're charged with protecting you."

"And senior Salix didn't tell you everything," Tsuga added quietly. "She didn't tell you who assigned us to your case."

Marcus blinked, "Well, who did, then?"

Tsuga looked to Salix, who nodded.

Tsuga then took a deep breath, which caught in her throat before she spoke.

"Flora Salix was approached by the highest ranking of our Superiors, the head of our order. Flora Cicuta. And she informed Salix - " she looked again for Salix's approval, but Salix nodded once again, "That this assignment had come down from, well, the Emperor himself."

Mulberry, who had been sitting quietly thus far, gasped. The imperial Emperor had power of life and death over his subjects, or at least, that was the rumour she had heard when she still lived amongst her own people. Why would he be interested in the little drama of their lives?

Marcus, apparently, was thinking the same thing. "What does the Emperor care about me? About my daughter? I wasn't even a very soldier, and Aurelia's just a baby. Just a baby who was a foreigner until I found her and she became mine. It doesn't make any sense that he's even heard of us."

Tsuga did not know how to answer this, but Salix tossed her head, her curls swirling about her head. In disgust, she said, "Isn't it obvious, Marcus Marius? There is something odd about that baby."

Marcus glared at Salix, but Tsuga quickly said, in soothing tones, "She doesn't mean there's anything with Aurelia, Marcus Marius. She just means that Aurelia must have been from important people. You said so yourself, Petro told me."