Zarsha looked up at her guardian hopefully, her tummy rumbling loudly.
"Go ahead little monkey, but don't eat all of them."
Krista watched the interchange between the man and the girl and relaxed inwardly. There were all kinds of sick depravity in bountiful supply in the world, but the relationship she witnessed was that of the innocence between a father and his daughter . Zarsha took her hand and Krista turned and left the room with the little girl by her side, as she grappled with the fact that the unnerving stranger was a close relation of Sebastian's.
I swallowed as the vision from the past turned and left the room with Zarsha. I turned back to Sebastian wandering what he must be thinking about my ogling of what was obviously his slave or servant at best.
His face showed no reaction at all, at least on the surface. My face colored at the thought of what he might be thinking of me. Maybe he had missed it all, but I doubted it.
"Now then Roric fill me in on your journey."
I told him everything leaving nothing out. A servant brought refreshments in during my recital of the recent events. Throughout my telling of the events Sebastian sat back in his chair listening, appearing to be in deep thought with his hands folded in front of him. He hadn't interrupted me with questions throughout my whole recital. I sat back in my chair waiting for him to comment on what I had said.
There was a long pause and then he broke the silence, "The book getting out and seeing the light of day is a regrettable occurrence, but life is often filled with such unavoidable circumstances that one simply has to deal with. Don't feel bad about it Roric. It's my experience that problems of the moment can often prove useful later on in the completion of a greater purpose. The key is to adapt with the situation and remain fluid."
"What does that mean in this situation, Sir?" I asked not sure what he meant by being fluid.
Sebastian smiled and perched his fingers together again. "I don't know yet. You see that's the challenge. I'm afraid the consequences, whatever they may be, that the release of the book will result in, will have to be overlooked for now as we have more pressing concerns to deal with. Roric it's good that you came. The threat to the Valley Lands from this proposed invasion is greater than we had at first imagined. You see Roric there's something else more valuable than the knowledge that you destroyed that they want, something that they're willing to sacrifice everything for and now it's within their grasp."