Prompters' Story

[rix_scaedu]

Here is this month's Prompters' Story.  It leads on from last month's Prompters' Story.

“Why are we sneaking away to the station like this?”  It was so early it was still dark.  The sky above was clear with a few late stars and the eastern sky was beginning to colour.  Mist sat in the dips in the fields.  Both of them were dressed for the early morning chill.  He wore a light coat with a scarf wrapped around his neck below the red hair.  She wore a shawl flicked around her shoulders and unsecured by anything but it’s own weight.

“I don’t want anyone to see us and stop us,” he answered as he set a brisk pace.  “In all the time you were being told you were Karen, you never went further from here than Hainbury or Market Tonbury.  I’m wondering if that was deliberate.”

“Deliberate?”  She had shorter legs than he did so she was having to work harder to keep up.

“Yes,” he looked down at the dark head hurrying along beside him, “I’m wondering if someone doesn’t want you going too far away in case you’re recognised as being not Karen.”

“A deliberate campaign of keeping me misidentified?”  She considered that then said, “So in my real identity I’m a threat to someone?”

“Someone linked to that taint we’ve both noticed,” he agreed, “someone who doesn’t want to be interfered with.  Which is why,” they’d reached the station now and he led the way onto the platform, “We’re buying our tickets from the ticket machine and not the station master.”  He suited his actions to his words and got them both tickets to the city.  “It’s also why we’re going to wait for the train where we can’t be locked in or seen from the road.”

“You think they’d stop us getting on the train or even get us off?”

“Possibly not by force,” he agreed as he led her down the platform away from buildings and the entrance to the platform.  “It could be done by distraction or some other non-violent method, but force is an option.  Here comes the train.”  She followed his gaze up the line to see headlights shining on the rails from beyond the curve.  As the yellow nosed front of the train came into the platform he swore softly.  “George Greenup’s just come onto the other platform – he’s seen us and he’s waving.  If you haven’t seen him, don’t look and just get on the train.  Looks like we might have trouble at the next station.”

“What are we going to do?”  She looked up at him, head cocked to one side.  “Unless there’s someone actually at the next station I doubt anyone could get there in time to board the train, assuming George does call someone about us.  There would be time to intercept us at the next three stations though, and if Hainbury and Market Tonbury mark the limits of the taint’s influence, that’s how far we have to worry about.”

“I have an idea.  We need to move back to the carriage behind us though.”  He took her by the hand and led her through the door into the seating area.  Early morning travellers dozed or read, some even dozed while trying to read, but none of them paid any particular attention to the red haired man and the dark haired woman moving down the aisle.

Neither of them spoke until they reached the vestibule at the far end of the carriage.  “What’s the plan?”  To her eye there was nothing in the vestibule to hide behind or in.  She’d seen bigger built in wardrobes.

“We’re going to hide in plain sight and I’ll need you to stay close to me, close enough you hardly have to straighten your arm to touch me.”  He held her hand tightly.  “For this first part we just need to be in contact to be a unit.”  He began to mutter something in a language she didn’t recognise.

When he finished he whispered, “Quietly now,” and led her through the connecting section and into the next carriage.

No-one seated in their new carriage looked up when they came through the connecting door and no-one looked up when the two of them stepped into one of the two toilet cubicles together.  When she reached for the door to lock it he stopped her.  “We don’t want to give them any reason to think there’s anyone in here.  Leaved the door unlocked.”

“I thought we were supposed to be hiding.”  She was confused.

“We are.  We’ve already started.”  He looked about them.  “These toilets are smaller than I remember them.”  He looked back at her.  “I’m not a mage but like a lot of people I’m capable of learning and doing two or three simple spells.  While I was overseas, while I-.  Well, I learnt how to do a bit of invisibility.  I’ve already put an ignorance and avoidance on us.  Now I’m going to bend the light around us.  We have to be close because I can only cover a small space but we can move as long as we move together.  Okay?”

“How close?”  She looked up at him for an answer, noting that there wasn’t much space between the basin and the bowl.

“Put your arms around me.” He caught her look.  “This is necessary.  Just do it, please.”  When she’d complied he put his arms around her in turn, making sure his hands didn’t land anywhere that might be considered as taking advantage of the situation.  At least if they were knocked from side to side in this space it would be his elbows that took the damage and not hers.