Hiding the Whole Truth

Macha woke up and saw Freyr sitting up in bed next to her. His hair appeared slightly tousled, but the change made him appear sexier than usual. Freyr usually looked collected and he never had a hair out of place. He ate a bagel with one hand while reading some documents with his other. Freyr's eyes seemed healed, and they were alone in his room.

Macha's slight movement cause Freyr to glance over to her. His eyes held so much warmth when he looked at her that she could feel his love emanating from them. Macha sat up and blinked her eyes before her mind caught up to her surroundings. She gave a small smile, "Morning. I'm glad they were able to heal your face. Can you see normally?" She worried that there would be permanent damage.

Freyr leaned over to pick up a breakfast plate for Macha. He had instructed the servants to bring a second breakfast for her. Freyr usually ate in the dining room, but he did not want to wake Macha this morning by getting out of bed and getting ready. He handed her the plate and replied, "I'm fine. The doctors were able to undo the damage. The only thing I lost out on was sleep."

Macha took a bite out of the bagel Freyr gave her. She remembered that Tyr and the Captain of the Guard, Sierra, went to investigate Ivan. Macha looked at Freyr and asked, "What did Tyr and Sierra find out? Was it Ivan?" She had conflicting feelings about Ivan. He seemed like a nice person every time she talked to him, but everyone told him otherwise. Macha remembered seeing the hand on the ground in front of him, but when she looked at him, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Freyr was unsure how to answer Macha's question. He took a sip of his orange juice to stall. "All the evidence we have pointed to Ivan being the culprit." Freyr paused, "Sierra reported that Ivan attacked them. We are currently trying to track Ivan down, but we cannot find him." He did not want to mention Tyr and hoped Macha would not ask.

Macha nodded her head. It relieved her that they figured out who the attacker was. Macha wanted to go home to relax. The night had been stressful, and she missed the comfort of being home. "Where's Tyr? I'd like to go home and get some rest."

Freyr's blue eyes widened a bit. Tyr was still missing, and he did not want to alarm Macha. "Remember, Tyr said to stay with me. He is not in the palace right now and it would be safer if you stayed here. Ivan cannot wander about in the palace now that the masquerade is over." Freyr knew he did not tell Macha the whole truth, but he believed his cousin was still alive. Telling Macha that Tyr had been injured and missing would only make her upset. The deception caused him to experience a wave of guilt. He hated to hoodwink the woman he loved, but he did not want her to leave while Ivan was still on the prowl.

Macha stared at Freyr. She felt like something seemed wrong with the way he looked. It surprised her that Tyr was not around, but there was nothing she could do about it. Macha shrugged, "If he isn't around, then I must impose on your hospitality a bit longer. You're right, I should stay safe for now." Macha did not mind Freyr's company, so the news of having to stay at the palace did not upset her greatly.

It relieved Freyr that Macha did not inquire about Tyr's whereabouts. He would not have been able to lie blatantly to her. He tried to find a way to distract her while she stayed with him. "Macha, could I hire you to do a job for me while the whole Ivan thing is being sorted out?"

Macha had just stuffed the last bit of her bagel into her mouth, her mouth was full when she answered, "You don't have to hire me," she swallowed the bagel, "I'm imposing on you. I'll do it for free to pull my weight. What do you need?"

"I cannot let you do me a favor for free, so I will gift you some clothes. It will be summer soon and I can tell my tailor to make you a summer wardrobe. You can also use the clothes while you are here waiting for Tyr." Freyr considered the many tasks he lacked the time to complete and picked one. "I need someone to help me plan a park for an outer sector in the city. The citizens at the edge of Marseille live in terrible conditions. I wanted to make a park for them where they can relax." Freyr thought this was a good idea. It had been something he put off for years because he did not have the time to devote to it.

Macha loved the idea of creating a park in for the poorer area of the city. She remembered the day she first came to Marseille. She was horrified at the shanty town that greeted her upon her arrival. If Freyr wanted to improve the area, even by a little, then she wanted to help. "I'd love to do that. Hopefully, I can create something that will help the community. I haven't done anything like this before though," she warned. Despite her willingness, she knew she lacked experience. Macha worried that despite her good intentions, she would make something terrible.

Freyr got out of bed to get dressed. "Do not worry about it. I shall have you work with a park planner and the two of you can plan it out together." Freyr unbuttoned his top and waited for Macha to leave. She showed no intention of moving. Freyr coughed, "Uh... I need to change my clothes. Can you wait outside? I will tell the servants to make a room for you and call the park planner after I change."

Macha blushed at her insensitivity. She thought Freyr was only changing his shirt, so she did not feel the need to move. She grew up in Hawai'i and seeing people shirtless was common. Macha apologized, "Sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," diverting her eyes, she scurried out of the room.

****

Tyr spent the rest of the night healing. It was late when he got back and the guild medics worked until dawn. After everyone left his room, he slept before going back out to search for Ivan. Tyr wanted to make sure he fully rested before tracking down Ivan and dealing with him.

When Tyr woke up, it was nighttime. It surprised him that he slept for so long. Tyr went to the kitchen and ate a container of leftovers that Macha had made two nights ago. Looking over to Aži he said, "You better eat something. I want to track Ivan down."

Hearing Tyr's plan, Aži opened his small fridge and ate a dead mouse. He knew it would probably be a long night if they would search Marseille for one man.

On the way out of the guild, Tyr stopped by the storage building. This was where they put special equipment used for missions. Many of the items here had specific uses and could not be used all the time. The receptionist, who had been relaxing, jumped up and greeted Tyr.

The man had been reading a book with his feet up on the desk. "Captain Tyr, what can I do for you?" the man squeaked. He did not expect to see the captain tonight and was unaware of any upcoming missions.

Tyr motioned for the man to sit down. "Sit. I'll get it myself." Tyr did not want to waste time explaining what he needed. Every moment Ivan was on the loose was another moment Macha's life would be in danger.

Tyr made his way to the third floor and walked to the back of the building. He remembered getting the Stone of Tracking a long time ago. It was a gift given to him by his father when he started the guild. His father slipped it to Tyr behind their mother's back and whispered that he hoped Tyr would always find what he sought.

The thought of his father caused a lump in Tyr's throat and he gave a sad smile. Swallowing his grief he found the small black box that he was looking for. He carefully opened the box. In it was a translucent orange stone in the shape of an oval. Tyr took it out of the box and put the stone in his pocket.

On his way out he stopped on the second floor and picked a white figurine from a shelf. The figure was shaped like a hippogryph and had many runes carved around it. Tyr needed mobility and speed for this task, so he did not want to use his usual mount. He did not use the hippogryph on missions usually because it used a lot of magic to summon and it could not carry heavy loads.

Tyr walked out into the night and lifted the hippogryph's figurine into the night sky. White light flowed around it and the runes glowed. The air coalesced in front of him and a spectral-like hippogryph took shape. The hippogryph never solidified, but remained incorporeal, its body never touching the ground.

Tyr swung himself into the saddle and flew off into the night. Tyr's eyes were full of focus and determination. Before he searched for Ivan, he needed to go to Ivan's house to pick up something.