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Hunter pulls his hood up over his head, encasing his face in darkness as he slips through the manor bathed in fresh morning light. He stops outside of Gethin's room and pushes. A disgruntled frown grows on his face. He turns the door handle but it jolts to a halt before it can completely rotate. Hunter glances up and down the hall and kneels down. Hopefully this lock will not be as complicated as the locks in the dungeons. He fiddles around and hears a little click. He takes another quick look down the hall and listens out for footsteps. No one is nearby. He turns the handle and this time he is able to slip within. He locks it behind him in case anyone decides they need to test the doors.
Then he stands up and looks around the room. The curtains are open and as much as Hunter wants to close them, he cannot. It may just raise the alert if someone knew they were previously open and see they are not from outside. He will just have to avoid allowing his figure to be seen. He moves over to the chest of drawers and pulls them all out. He places them all on the bed. Rummaging through, he finds nothing of any interest. Just clothes and a few trinkets. Hunter sighs after checking the sixth draw.
This is getting him nowhere.
Surely Gavriel could have asked around. He could have asked so many more questions without seeming suspicious. And yet he asked Hunter to do it. Told Hunter he must. Surely, he thinks, he could have looked through his own brother's possessions; he would have noticed anything out of place. Hunter does not even know what he should be looking for. There is not going to be a sign that reads evidence, whether towards a guilty or innocent verdict.
The clothes are no longer folded neatly but crumpled and thrust back into the drawers. Hunter knows he should clear up his presence but he is tired and highly irritated. He kneels by the drawers and looks inside the hollow wooden frame, now empty of its purpose. A bound leather book is right at the back and Hunter stretches his arm in and retrieves it. Turning it over in his hands there is nothing unusual about it. It looks like any other book. But it was hidden. That is strange.
To hide it the drawers must have been pulled out. This is not somewhere most would think to look. Hunter only did so that he was thorough. He weighs it in his hand, his lips thinning out as he presses them together. Half of him did not wish to find anything. Half of him thinks that Gethin is guilty. Half of him knows that he is innocent. All of him wants him to be guilty. If Gethin is guilty then Logan is completely safe. If he is not...
If he is not guilty then Logan could be at risk.
It would be all Hunter's fault.
Hunter's arguing mind has him completely and utterly occupied, his back to the door. He does not hear someone kneel down and pick the lock. He does not hear them succeed, much quicker than he did. The door slowly opens. Then it closes, not making a sound. Then the door is once again locked. The open window is noted and avoided.
Hunter thumbs the pages and closes his eyes, a long sigh falling from his mouth. Finally deciding he flips open the first page and sees messy slanted writing. There is a date at the top. It dates back several years. Hunter flips through until he reaches one dating back a month. It has been written hastily and it only gets worse down the page. Hunter groans and considers whether he really needs to decipher it. He could just hand it over to Gavriel. He could take it from there. However, he would always be wondering. Could he really trust Gavriel to do the right thing? He could need this as assurance.
Hunter slips it into his cloak and turns. He frowns. Something does not seem right. His eyes drift across the room. Nothing has been moved. But yet his gut warns him that something has changed. The door is shut and Hunter quickly checks it. Still locked. His skin prickles. Now he is sure he is being watched. His hand slips inside his cloak and hovers over his favourite dagger. Sharp, deadly and extremely thin it is. They would not feel it going in but the moment he withdrew it they would suffer. He hesitates. What if it is just one of the maids?
He shakes his head and searches for the eyes he feels clinging to his cloak. A maid would not be quiet. A maid would not sneak in and hide. Someone else is here. They are an expert.
He curses at himself. This is his fault. He should have been more aware.
Nothing happens. Hunter crosses the room and lifts up a drawer. Time passes and he places each one back in its place. He is beginning to doubt himself. Maybe being in the Ricell lands is making him paranoid. Always feeling the need to watch ones back, it is growing tiring. Hunter relaxes as he checks behind all of the picture frames. Even under the bed is clear. Ten minutes later and he has run out of places to check.
Then the curtain twitches.
What should he do? They have hidden and watched him. He should find out. But that could mean they see his face. Now they do not know who he is, only that he searched the room. Did they see him take the book? Should he risk them seeing his face? Can he risk them recognising his voice?
The choice is taken away from him. Out from the curtain steps a man matching him in height and broadness. Hunter bows his head, hiding his face and the man's chest rumbles with laughter. Hunter's eyes flick up but his head stays down. The light cannot touch his face. The man steps forward, blocking some of the light from the window. His face is just as dark as Hunter's. "Raise your head boy." The stranger orders in a deep voice.
Hunter scoffs loudly. "You really expect me to take orders from someone I do not know?" He matches the depth of his voice. The corners of the man's lips curl upwards in amusement.
"I did not think you took orders from those you knew." He replies easily and steps forward again. Hunter smartly moves back. If he is starting to discern the man's features, the man can discern his. The words melt into his brain and he chews on his cheek. That statement insinuated the man already knows his identity. "Hunter." The man pronounces his name softly. Hunter jerks his head up and the man grins large.
"Who are you?" Hunter growls, his hand resting on the dagger's handle.
"My name is Orion." The man answers and rubs his chin. He then walks over to the window and the light flows onto him. Hunter frowns and hurriedly steps back towards the door. "I would not suggest that you run." He leans against the wall as he notices Hunter's action. Hunter lays his free hand on the door. His heart pounds heavily in his chest. He needs time to think. He needs time to understand.
"Why not?" Hunter quickly asks, his hand turning the handle.
"There are men outside who would gladly lock you up in the dungeons, so far below that no one will ever find you." He speaks as if he is discussing something pleasant like the weather. Hunter's hand slips from the door. The man smirks. "So Hunter, how did you get in the mess of working for Gavriel Ricell?"
"I do not work for him." Hunter says as he considers how he will exit the room. He does not want to kill but he cannot allow anyone to know he was here. His thoughts pass clearly across his face as he forgets to keep it low. Orion raises his thick dark brows.
"Do not lie, boy. It does not become you." Hunter chuckles and flips his hood down. Orion tries not to think about how both of them look like a mirror image of the other. Each and every one of their features is the same. Their colouring does not differ and neither do their jaw lines. Perfect replicas. Orion does acknowledge however that his face is a little older; it carries more of life's troubles.
"I do not lie." He stresses. "We have an agreement." He sighs before running his hand through his hair. "I did not care for your name, who are you and what do you want?" Orion smiles and looks outside. He suddenly moves backwards and grimaces. Hunter laughs and Orion glances at him. "Not a welcome guest then."
"I am assisting Lord Gethin." Orion finally replies, ignoring Hunter's gleeful observation. "Then I saw you snooping around and thought I should see what you find."
"Nothing. I found nothing." Hunter reiterates. Orion laughs and Hunter pulls a face.
"Why are you searching his room? Are you looking for evidence towards his guilt?" He asks and watches Hunter's expressions to gather the more important information there. His eyes shift and he tenses his jaw. The action is so similar that Orion coughs. Hunter frowns, his persona changing into one of someone who is in control. Orion had thrown him off but Hunter knows he holds a lot of power in what he knows.
"I do not hear any movement outside." He comments blasé. "I should check that they are still conscious." He turns his back to Orion and pulls open the door. A blade slams into the wood above his head. He looks over his shoulder and Orion grins. He tosses two more blades in his hands, ready to throw them. Hunter shuts the door softly. No one is standing guard outside. It is just the two of them.
"My aim was a little off then; do not give me reason to perfect it." Orion threatens lightly. "Answer my questions or die before you can escape from this room."
"Anything you want." Hunter produces a mocking bow. He lifts his head and quick as lightning he tosses a dagger and it skims past Orion's ear. A thin trail of blood drips from the slight cut. Hunter tosses another dagger in the air and expertly catches it by the handle before tossing it up again. "But my aim does not need to be perfected."
Orion holds his blades still and studies Hunter. Hunter studies him back. It is a strange experience for the both of them. Hunter almost feels as if he has cut his own ear and is gazing into a mirror. Even their clothing does not differ much. "Gethin did not poison Gavriel. I can vouch for him. I was watching him far too closely."
"Gavriel does not believe he did. He wants to know whether he poisoned Lord Kier." Hunter finally says with a sigh.
Orion tuts and shakes his head. "Lord Kier was not poisoned the same way Gavriel was. They reacted far too differently. That poison would have quickly killed Kier."
"Will you let me leave or..." Hunter licks his lips and gestures to his copy's ear. Orion chuckles and reaches up and winces as his fingers come away wet.
"As I see it we are not on opposite sides." Orion slips his blades back into his belt around his waist. After a few long moments Hunter does the same, warily watching Orion. "I think you should come with me and speak with Gethin. You may find it interesting."
Hunter nods. "We are not at the moment but we may be soon. I will come with you but if I sense anything like an ambush; I will not go easy."
"Whatever you wish boy."
Another mid week update, I hope you enjoyed it! So we finally know the identity of the man who is assisting Gethin. What do you think to Orion? Do you think he can be trusted?