Jerrol nodded to himself: straight into the ambush. He shifted, trying to get comfortable. “How are you feeling?”
Alyssa’s shoulders drooped. “I just want to sleep all the time, and I keep seeing things.”
“What things?” She had taken the Guardianship after all. She probably didn’t know.
“You’ll laugh.”
“I see things all the time, so no, I won’t laugh. Let me tell you what I see. You can tell me if you’ve seen it too.” Jerrol gestured at the end of his bed. “I can currently see a small black and brown fluffy creature that looks like a kitten, but has a forked tail and reptilian wings, sitting on the end of my bed staring at me with big green eyes. How about you?”
Alyssa gasped in relief, holding her hands up to her face. “You can see it too? I thought I was going mad! No one else has mentioned it.”
“That’s because they can’t see him; he is an Arifel. A not so mythical creature of the Lady’s. Only the Lady’s Guardians can see him unless the Arifel decides he wants to be seen by others, which doesn’t happen very often.
“And you can see him,” he said, watching her, “because you are currently hosting the Greenswatch Guardianship, which jumped to you when your father died. And I fear it will stay with you, as I am hearing it is unlikely your brother will pick up the mantle and claim the Guardianship, much as Lord Aaron has done.”
Alyssa dropped her hands in shock. “What? How do you know?”
“Well, first because you can see Ari.” Jerrol coaxed the little creature up the bed and scooped him up, dropping him in Alyssa’s hands, where Ari made himself comfortable, crooning gently. Alyssa’s lips quirked up in response as she gently stroked his soft fur in amazement. “He has been watching over you while you have been asleep. And secondly, because I felt it when I touched you.”
“What do you mean, you felt it?”
Jerrol glanced around the infirmary. It was so quiet that Tyrone’s voice filtered in from the corridor. “It’s not common knowledge, and I would prefer to keep it that way,” Jerrol warned, easing himself up on the pillows, “but I am the Lady’s Captain. Apparently, Ari here appeared because she made me her Captain.” The Arifel cheeped in agreement.
Alyssa sat stunned. “B-but, there hasn’t been a Lady’s Captain since the Lady cracked the stone!”
“So I understand, yet here I am.”
Alyssa reached out tentatively and touched his arm; the jolt zinged through her, as it did Jerrol. She petted Ari as he stirred in protest, smiling into his fur. She raised shining eyes. “What am I supposed to do?”
“I’m not sure,” he admitted, “though I would recommend you keep it to yourself for now. Although some of the other Guardianships follow the female line, I’m not aware of a Watch Guardianship ever being passed outside of the male line before. Silene might be a good source of information. She might know more.” He sighed. “I am sorry, Lady Alyssa, but I don’t think you should trust Lord Aaron or your brother with this information, nor anyone else to be honest. If at the Hold confirmation your brother accepts the Lady’s protection, he’ll take up the Guardianship; if not, it will stay with you.”
“Call me, Alyssa, please. I will look after it, don’t you worry about that. Lady is my witness,” she vowed. The Lady’s acknowledgement resonated deep in his bones, and in Alyssa’s, too, judging by her widening eyes.
“Witnessed,” Jerrol said with a wry smile.
The Arifel popped out of sight as Tyrone returned. “You, young lady, back to bed. You’ve been up long enough.” Observing Alyssa’s improved colour, he turned a surprisingly approving gaze on Jerrol. “And you don’t move until I tell you so, not until tomorrow, hear me?” he said with a firm nod.
Jerrol grimaced at Tyrone, but lay back down, feeling the hum of agreement from Zin’talia in the back of his mind. Two nursemaids were ganging up on him! At least she had gotten over her resentment with him for leaving her behind. He drifted off, comforted by her presence.
Jerrol woke early the next day, and after a somewhat heated but low-voiced discussion to avoid waking up Lady Alyssa, he managed to get his clothes back and got dressed. Tyrone, surprised that he had kept Jerrol confined for so long, had given in gracefully. He listed the things he forbade Jerrol to do for the next two days, knowing that it was a hopeless cause. Jerrol airily agreed to all and fled the infirmary.
He was crossing the courtyard as a very weary Captain Bryce and his men trailed in, grubby and exhausted. Even his horse was drooping. Jerrol paused by Bryce’s horse, holding his bridle. “What are you doing here? Didn’t Greenswatch offer their hospitality?”
Bryce looked down at him; the dust and grime coating his face made him look older. “Garrick did, but the young master was not so inclined. He was berating Garrick for not bringing his sister home, and he dispatched us to get her. He would not allow us to stay while his sister was missing.”
Jerrol was horrified. These men had been up for over forty-eight hours straight with little relief from the heart-breaking job of clearing a battlefield of friend and foe alike, only then to travel back from Greenswatch on top of that. “Food or bath first?” he asked.
“Bath,” Bryce grunted as he dismounted with a heartfelt groan. “Though there are some things that you can’t just wash off.”
Jerrol glanced around the courtyard; lads had been roused and were leading off the exhausted horses. Bryce ordered his men to bathe and eat. They were off duty until further notice. The men saluted in relief and dispersed before he could change his mind.
“Go on.” Jerrol jerked his head towards the officer’s barracks and took the reins. “I’ll take your horse. I’ll meet you in the hall.”
