Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 249

Chapter 249: We’ve met before
Mia blinked and opened her eyes to look at Gary. He stared at her, open-mouthed.

“Could you repeat that?” He asked slowly, putting down the plate of food.

“Martin. You were here with him, weren’t you?” Mia searched Gary’s eyes. It was so long ago, so vague. The name rang a bell, but there could be more than one person with such a name.

Still, to be here at the cave? It couldn’t be a coincidence.

“How do you know about Martin?” Gary’s eyes narrowed. “Did he give you the map?”

Ford shifted uncomfortably, but Mia ignored him.

“So it was you,” She squinted, trying to make the face in front of her make sense of the darkness of her memories.

None of the faces of her captors were clear in her mind. The names filtered through the darkness as they’d spoken to one another, but there were very few images in that part of her mental history.

Gary met her stare, drawing back from her warily. There was something familiar in his eyes, and Mia nodded.

“You… helped,” She blinked. The edges of the memory were strange. Her father and uncle discussing what had happened. “You, and… Frank. You helped Uncle Trace and Aunt Anaisa talk Martin into releasing us.”

The man’s face changed. A flinch? A twinge of anger, or of regret?

“Your Aunt and Uncle…” He looked down. “You were one of the hostages inside the cave. It was not a map that brought you here at all, was it?”

“No,” Mia confirmed, looking at him intently. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking. He wouldn’t meet her eyes anymore. Shame from imprisoning a child? That would be an incredibly apt reaction.

“I cannot change the past,” He finally responded, looking at her.

“I don’t remember all of it,” She confessed. “That is the real reason I’m here. I need inside so that I can remember, and move on.”

Confusion, followed by a measure of relief, passed across Gary’s face.

“Not revenge, then.” He said quietly.

“No,” She sighed, breaking off her intense look at the man. Ford, near her, wore an unreadable expression. He gripped his plate loosely, as if prepared to throw it at Gary if need be.

What a disheartening reaction. Was he still so distrusting of the stranger, despite the fact that Mia had just revealed that the stranger had worked towards her freedom so long ago?

“Can you… help me?” Mia looked at him beseechingly. “Anything you remember about my time in the cave. I need to remember.”

Gary hesitated, shifting and looking away.

“I… I was here, years ago. Not all that long, of course. After the war. They told me I was to guard dangerous insurgents. Martin had been here longest, and was the most trusted. Some others brought you and your family in as prisoners. The rest is as you said.”

He stood and paced a few steps, then turned back and pointed at Ford.

“There were no Foundrel prisoners. Who is this and why is he with you?”

Mia straightened her back. “This is my friend, Ford.”

“I can speak for myself,” Ford cut in.

“I’d rather hear it from her,” Gary kept his eyes on Mia. She shifted a little uncomfortably.

“I didn’t want to come alone,” She said truthfully. “My family did not want me to come…”

“So they’re not with you?” Gary looked around suddenly, and Mia grew nervous. She didn’t like the idea of telling this man any more about them, or that they had followed her.

“Why don’t you like the idea of meeting them again?” Ford put down his plate. “After all, it sounds as though you had a hand in freeing them. Shouldn’t you be glad to see the people you helped?”

“I was also their guard. Keeping them prisoner.” Gary sneered. “I don’t expect any gratitude from anyone after that. Would you?”

Ford seemed unconvinced. Mia wondered why he was so combative with Gary. Did he simply not like the man? Ford had gotten along with her family all right, perhaps he normally had trouble meeting new people and behaving politely.

“You want in the cave for power,” Ford stated rather than asked. “Why didn’t you get it before, those years ago?”

Gary chewed the inside of his cheek, but Mia tilted her head curiously. It was a valid question, she thought.

“The Boss only allowed very specific, trusted people to get powers. Martin was one of them. I, unfortunately, was not. After several years of trying to make it on my own, I decided life would be easier if I had magic after all. So I came back here, and started digging the entrance open. It’s taken me forever, but I’m almost through. Quite the coincidence you two should show up when I’m only days away from finishing.” Gary’s eyes narrowed.

“Indeed,” Mia said softly. She couldn’t argue with that.

“You’ve been digging for years on the hope that you might get a useful magic power?” Ford asked skeptically. “With no guarantees it will be anything more than the ability to juggle cats or cook perfectly shaped dumplings?”

Ford clearly didn’t like the man, and Mia didn’t know exactly how to get them to make peace.

“If you truly want something, you will not be afraid to work for it,” Gary bristled visibly at Ford’s criticism. “You’ll do everything in your power to get what you want, no matter what is in your way, no matter how large the task, whether a mountain of rock or crowds of people stand between you and your goals. Maybe you Foundrel brats don’t know what that might be like.”

Ford frowned, and Mia brushed off her skirt and stood.

“We don’t need to argue about this,” She said brightly. “Now that we know we’ve met before, I think, perhaps, we can trust each other enough to all dig into the cave together? Surely some company after so long alone would be welcome, wouldn’t it, Gary?”