Untitled - Chapter 20 - Keep Guessing - Seg.2

{segment 2 of chapter 20 - Garn}1

Not knowing what Avi is thinking is making me uneasy. What does she want to do here, at a training facility? Are we just here because she wants to rebel against the Government? Or is there something I don’t know? Hmm, I’m over thinking things. Maybe she simply wants to get out and do something without being ‘advised’ to do it first. Does it have to be complicated?2

I’ll have to wait and see what happens, and hope that we get out of here in one piece. We head through a steel corridor, coming to multiple crossroads, but Jonn and I don’t hesitate on our course. 3

Avi seems impressed. “How do you know where you’re going?” she asks quietly.4

“We just come here a lot,” Jonn answers on the other side of her.5

Finally we come to a wide set of doors and I step forward to push one. Just as my hand reaches the door, it swings open suddenly.6

“Woah,” I laugh as the broad-shouldered man steps through; the only surprise showing on his face is a slight widening of his eyes. Normally Casanna would show no visible reaction at all, so he must really be shocked. I guess it’s not every day you bump into and Empress. His dark greying hair is pulled back in a thin ponytail and he wears an open black jacket over a khaki singlet and pants. I’m about to greet him, but Avi speaks first.7

“Todere?” she gasps. I blink at her, perplexed. She gapes for a moment before exclaiming, “Oh my god, Todere!” She flings her arms around his neck and he hesitates before calmly embracing her in return. 8

“Todere…?” I murmur in disbelief as she pulls back.9

For a brief moment I have no idea what’s going on, but then I realise. Avi knows Casanna from somewhere. Only, she doesn’t know his real name. There can be only one explanation for this.10

“Todere, how are you?” Avi asks. “It’s been years! What are you d—” She stop mid-sentence she too begins to understand the situation. She stares at him, frozen.11

“Avi…” I say slowly. “This is Casanna. He’s a spy.”12

‘A spy,’ she mouths.13

Jonn glances uncertainly from one person to another. Casanna very nearly smiles. “It’s good to see you again, Avi.”14

“Casanna,” she blinks, finally finding her voice again. I suppose this is just like the time ‘Nragath’ became Garn. “Hello… Casanna.” Avi’s face goes abruptly blank and she holds out a hand. “Nice to meet you.”15

His expression doesn’t change, but I know he’s amused as he shakes her hand, engulfing her slim fingers in his own. “When I saw you on the news, I couldn’t believe it,” he says. “I worried that you might not be able to handle the job.” Casanna, worried? “But I can see that you’ve changed quite a bit since last we met.”16

She smiles awkwardly. “Um… Thankyou, Tod… Casanna, I mean. I’m happy to see that you’re well.”17

“You too.” He looks up from her to me. “And Garn. I didn’t think I’d get another opportunity to see you before Bairoh and I headed out. We’re leaving today.” I nod.18

Jonn speaks up. “I’ve heard of you, though I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Jonn; I’m a soldier. I guard the wall at point 165.”19

“Ah, you have quite a decent regiment, don’t you?” the man says approvingly, shaking his hand. “It’s good to meet you.”20

“I’m surprised you’ve heard of us,” Jonn blinks.21

“You are? Well, I’ve heard quite a few stories about you, in truth.”22

Jonn rolls his eyes. “Oh. I can guess who started those stories.” I can guess as well; it’s probably that Mathieu guy.23

Casanna includes all of us in his gaze. “Needless to say, I’m wondering what the three of you are doing here.”24

Avi smiles. “It’s a training facility, isn’t it? We’re here to train.”25

He stares at her for a moment. “Of… course. Well…” he sighs and crosses his arms. “I suppose you don’t want to draw too much attention to yourselves in the meantime. I was going to head home and help my staff prepare for my mission, but they can handle it. Allow me to run a few laps with you, and we can talk. Jonn, Garn, you can remain on either side of her Highness. I’ll stay in front. Shall we?”26

Without thinking, we all wordlessly obey. Casanna has a way about him; a sense of authority. Although in my case, it’s probably just that he’s been my superior since childhood. We head through the doors and I’m shocked to find the entire indoor stadium packed with soldiers; most of them very young. There are whole regiments jogging around the track along with many others doing exercises in the middle. The four of us stay close so that the view of Avi is obstructed, but I doubt anyone would really notice her in such a large crowd. There are so many more people here since last time.27

“As you can see,” Casanna murmurs, “there aren’t any monitors left to use. But we’re just here to warm up, so it doesn’t matter. Let’s go.” He picks up the pace gradually and we slip into a place on the tracks, beginning our first lap. It’s not long before Avi touches Casanna’s back, and we speed up. She does it again so we go faster. Apparently he knows what she means by a simple tap on the shoulder. For some reason, I find it funny, and can’t help but feel sorry for Jonn, who can see the obvious unspoken connections all three of us have and is in the dark about a lot of things that we know. Surely he can sense that. I wonder what he’s thinking. Glancing briefly at him, I realise that he’s looking at me over Avi’s head questioningly. I shake my head slightly in reply and concentrate on running. Poor Jonn; I hate the feeling of ignorance.28

I’m sure Casanna is uncertain of what he can mention here, too. He knows Avi is an Outsider but has no idea how she became an Empress; he must have a lot of questions. I wonder if he’ll try to get me alone later to demand to know what’s going on. Or maybe he’ll try speaking to Avi; they seem to know each other well.29

As expected, the hulking man before me quickly catches my eye and then tilts his head toward Jonn barely noticeably. When he returns his gaze to me, I shake my head just as imperceptibly. He looks forward again in acceptance. But I know he hasn’t given up. Somehow, he’ll learn the truth before he leaves.30

“Hey,” Avi whispers abruptly. “What’s with all the silent conversations?” Jonn and I exchange a cautious look. “I can’t believe you thought I hadn’t noticed! If you’re going to communicate, do so with everyone, alright?”31

Casanna lets out his low, harsh laugh.32

“I’m sorry, your Highness,” Jonn murmurs.33

“Mmm,” I agree with amusement. She scowls at me.34

“You’ve changed so much,” Casanna observes.35

Jonn soon begins to ask the man about his career, and we’re unable to talk about much else. Not that I’m complaining too loudly; I’ve loved Casanna’s stories of his missions since I was a boy. Still, there’s so much to say that I can’t mention because of Jonn’s presence. 36

As if in answer to my thoughts, we’ve only done a few laps when Jonn’s earpiece beeps. “Yes? What is it, Pellor?” he asks. Avi and I watch him with curiosity. “Oh. Yes, I am coming. I’m warming up right now.” He listens for a moment. “Alright, I’ll meet you up there. Tell the General not to start without me.”37

Jonn puts his earpiece away. “I’m sorry to leave so abruptly, but it seems I’m supposed to be with my regiment now.”38

“We’ve done a few laps,” Avi says. “I’m ready to leave too.”39

In answer, Casanna begins to slow down and angle off the track to the door. When we’re finally back out in the hall, Jonn utters a quick goodbye before leaving swiftly. We watch him go for a moment, but I can’t hold my curiosity at bay for long. 40

“So, when did you meet Avi?” I ask Casanna.41

The man gives me a wry look. “Let’s move to someplace more private before settling down for a discussion,” he replies, and begins leading us away through the building, back the way we came. Wordlessly we take the lift up to the fifth floor, where all the classrooms are. They aren’t half as occupied as the rest of the building, and we soon find an empty room illuminated with cold fluorescent lights.42

There’s a computer screen spanning the wall of the front of the room, where all the desks are facing. There are no windows, but the right wall is covered with posters about human anatomy and maps. I walk down the middle aisle of desks, running my hand lightly over the glossy wood. This place brings back memories. I haven’t been here since I was fifteen. Randomly choosing a desk to sit at near the front of the room, I wait for Casanna and Avi to sit down at desk on either side of me. “So?” I ask the man. 43

He pushes his ponytail back over his shoulder. “Oh, I was out on a normal mission, the first time Avalia and I met,” he explains. “My only objective was to go out there and see if there was any suspicious behaviour. I met up with Avi’s gang by chance and stayed with them for a few months. How old were you then?” he asks her.44

“I was about seven,” she replies promptly, shifting forward in her seat. “I remember I turned eight the day before you left saying you were going to try and find your own gang again.”45

“Oh yes,” the man agrees thoughtfully. “And then I came back some years later with the story that I’d found my gang, but then we were defeated and I was one of the only survivors.”46

“You were alone,” Avalia continues for him. “And you knew that your only hope of survival was to find us. You guessed where our travel pattern would lead us and headed for that place. I was fourteen, the second time you visited.”47

“Mmm,” Casanna nods. “I stayed for almost a year, that time.”48

“What was your real reason for coming back?” the woman asks quietly.49

There’s a short silence. “Well, that’s a bit of a story,” he answers. “You see, I was on a different mission when I met up with another spy who was heading home. He was wounded and needed to get to the City immediately, so he informed me that he had suspicions that people in a small gang he’d briefly passed by were planning on invading the Insiders. I pursued this gang immediately. I was very surprised to find that it was you; after all, I couldn’t possibly judge your travelling pattern, because it changed every year. I only thought up that story of my defeated gang when you told me you’d met with some other wounded guy whose gang had just been beaten. I simply built on that lie and pretended he had been from my gang, which was easy, because I knew him in real life.”50

“…He too was a spy?” Avi murmurs in disbelief. “Did that man survive?”51

“No. He never returned to the City.” 52

I take a sober moment to regret this spy’s death. Spies are constantly in danger, so one more death shouldn’t matter… But when you actually hear about a specific case, it seems a waste of life.53

Avi glances from me to Casanna before asking, “Just how many spies are there on the Outside at one given time, for them to be so common?”54

Casanna crosses his arms and shrugs. “Anywhere between six and twelve, which is less than there used to be. We’re a dying breed. And there are thousands of Outsiders.” 55

Avi shakes her head. “Who was it that was planning on trying to get into the City? Please don’t tell me it was my father.”56

Casanna’s eyes soften. When has he ever been soft, in any way? I wonder why these two are so close. “It was your father, along with a dozen others that he’d persuaded. I was reluctant to kill any of your gang, Avi, but I would have if they hadn’t decided against their little plan at the last minute.”57

“But you stayed with them for a year?” I ask, speaking my thoughts aloud. It just seems strange for him to stay that long.58

“I was pretending that I too wanted to go to the City,” he explains, “and originally they were going to leave quite soon. But they pushed it back again and again until finally giving up and only then could I leave.” Leaning back in his seat, he addresses us both. “Now, I believe you two have a story to tell me? I’ve had some time to think about it and I still have no idea how little Avalia could turn into an Empress overnight.”59

There’s a brief silence. “You don’t remember?” I ask quietly. Maybe I should have expected this. Casanna is the sort of person who would investigate the stolen child, and because of this, he probably had his memory erased. Still, the time Avi was stolen was somewhere before I can remember; I found out because a couple of Apprentice spies told me. Surely someone would have told Casanna even after his memory was erased? The man glances at Avi and back at me.60

“Remember what?”61