Song of the Piper

::23:: Two Choices

Music is An Uncertain Present from the Assassin's Creed 3 OST. Play it!

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I spent the next few days in preparation for the trip to Erstürnach. Nothing much really. All I had to do was to be present for the Council meetings every morning, practice my magic in the afternoon, and I was free for the remainder of the day.

Heidi had been assigned as my official escort around Starkfurt. The sight of her ready smiles and burnished hair every day, as well as the quick, amusing tales of the city she grew up in were somewhat comforting to me. She almost made me forget that poor Josef was either being tortured by Lord Himmel, or he was dead.

Almost.

I still couldn't decide which was the worse of his two possible fates.

Even now, as Heidi was happily walking me down a busy street filled with exotic goods and colourful laughter, my thoughts strayed to Heidelberg. It was as though a part of me had rooted itself back there, unwilling to let go, refusing to completely accept that I had made the right decision to run away.

A summer breeze brushed my curls. It should have been a relief in the heat of the day, but I shivered instead. Was my meagre flute enough to keep me anchored? To prevent me from succumbing to Lord Himmel's undeniable charisma?

"Klaudia?" I heard Heidi calling. The usual perky grin on her face was gone; her lips were pressed together in worry. "Are you all right?"

I nodded. "It's nothing. It's just...you know."

She nodded back, the hard line of her mouth softening in sympathy. There were a few instances in the previous days where I was like this: wandering about aimlessly, looking but not really seeing anything, lost and drowning in my worries. She never asked-she didn't need to. The look in her eyes was indicated that she knew, and she understood that it would be futile if she tried to interrogate me for details.

After all, she was a Healer. Dealing with people was part of her expertise. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Lady Anya had specially asked her to keep an eye on me so that I wouldn't do anything silly. Like what though, I couldn't fathom.

"It's time we head back to headquarters anyway," said Heidi, squinting at the sun above head. It would be autumn soon, the season of the harvest. The heat showed no signs of relenting so far though.

"All right," I agreed. I suddenly regretted allowing myself to wallow in my situation-which I had no power to amend at the moment-instead of enjoying Starkfurt, like any regular newcomer to the stronghold.

Heidi took my hand and ducked behind a stall. Its millions of silky ribbons on display looked like coloured streams of water. The owner squawked, but didn't protest any further when she saw the pendant Heidi was wearing around her neck. Five interlocking circles carved onto the silver circular disk-the insignia of the Council. Anyone who had a head on their shoulders knew better than to find fault with the sorcerers directly associated with the Council.

In one smooth motion, Heidi removed the stopper from the water skin slung across her back and manipulated the water inside it, drawing it out till it formed a clear sphere hovering above her palm. With another hand, she gestured towards me.

I whipped my head around, making sure that there were no snoopers nearby. Fortunately, the stall had a large curtain to hide behind. Quickly, I lifted my skirts, leaning my weight on my right leg and sticking the left out towards Heidi. She shaped the water, forming a layer around my bad leg. She breathed towards it; it glowed for a while, before hardening and transforming into a support of sorts.