Once, a bridge had crossed the chasm, connecting the northern and southern halves of the island, but it had been intentionally destroyed, more than twenty years ago. Before the Emperor's men had done so, they'd built a house of wood and stone on the northern tip, resting against the side of a hill on a small plateau with an unparalleled view of the sea. They then carried tools, building materials, some animals, seeds, and provisions to the newly built house. Their prisoner and those of her retinue who had volunteered to join her crossed the bridge. Only then was it destroyed, leaving the northern section of the Isle of Ana completely isolated, from land as well as sea.
Lady Alise was now over fifty years old. She had lived on the northern end of the Isle of Ana for nearly half of her life. Two gravestones marked where her gardener and his wife were buried, and only Marlow, her manservant, and Tara, her maid, remained. There were two other smaller houses a few minutes walk from Alise's own house, but only one was occupied. Tara and Marlow weren't married, but they had lived together for the last three years.
Alise stared out to sea, thinking back to the events that had brought her here, as she often did. The wind blew strong in her face, so that her brown dress clung to her slim form and her long dark hair twisted in the ocean breeze, only occasionally flashing a thread of grey.
She knew she would never have survived without those who had volunteered to join her in exile, but even so she'd begged them not to come. They had begged her in return, and in the end Alise couldn't say no. She'd been convicted of treason. They knew a dark fate may await her them at the hands of her brother, back in Seranthia.
More than anything, Alise thought about the son who had been taken from her. He would be a man now, perhaps a farmer or a craftsman — if he'd managed to stay clear of Xenovere's clutches. She didn't expect to ever leave the Isle of Ana, but she would give anything to know about him. Killian had been just a babe when they'd taken him from her, and she had no illusions that he would remember his mother. His infant features had been rounded and immature but Alise knew he would have his father's red hair and penetrating blue eyes. After the death of her husband she had loved the babe more than anything in this life. Now she would never know about the man he'd become.
Alise jumped when she felt a touch at her elbow. Turning, she saw it was Marlow, her manservant. He was old now, and eventually it would be his turn to join the others under the gravestones, far from home, but his eyes were still sharp and he hunched only a little. Alise loved him dearly, and dreaded the day when he would be gone.
"M'lady, my apologies, I didn't mean to startle you."
Alise turned and smiled. "You don't need to apologise. My mind was elsewhere."
"There's a ship."
Alise's eyebrows went up in surprise. "Are you sure?"
"Look." Marlow pointed, and then Alise could see it. It was only a speck on the horizon, but the white triangular shape of a sail was clear, and it grew closer as they watched.
"Four years it's been," Alise said, "and the convicts haven't had a single newcomer. I was beginning to think they'd forgotten about us."
"Who knows what's transpired in the Empire?" Marlow said.
"Not that we'll ever hear anything of it. There's much I would give for some news. Still, it's probably for the best. Better that we forget about them."
Marlow shaded his eyes as he peered at the ship. "I'm not so sure about that, M'lady. Something tells me this isn't another load of prisoners."
~
MARSHAL Beorn scratched at his beard as he saw the craggy Isle of Ana loom larger in his vision. From his approach he could see the chasm that split the island into two halves.
"What a terrible place to live," he muttered.
Beorn sensed movement nearby, as a man dressed in Tingaran purple joined him at the rail. "Murderers, thieves, and rapists, all of them, Marshal," said Lieutenant Trask, the man who led Beorn's escort.
"I'll wager there's more than a few political dissidents. Why didn't anyone tell us about this place?" Beorn asked.
"You didn't ask."
Beorn scowled at the Tingaran lieutenant. "That's not good enough."
Trask shrugged. "They're self-sufficient, and they've been put here for life. Better they spend their days here than fill our jails and take up the time of our courts."
"We have a new Empire now, Lieutenant," Beorn said, "and a new way of ensuring fair trials for all. Lord of the Sky, we don't even have any records on these people!"
Lieutenant Trask shrugged again, and Beorn had to fight an urge to strike the man.
Calming himself, Beorn looked up at the island. "Where will we find Lady Alise?"
"If she's still alive, she'll be on the northern end of the island."
"Lieutenant?"
"What?"
"Are you forgetting how to address your commanding officer?"
Trask grimaced. "She'll be on the northern end of the island, Marshal."
"But the pier is on the southern end, is it not, Lieutenant?"
"Yes, Marshal."
Beorn felt a vein begin to throb in his temple. "So how do you plan to cross the chasm? I can't see a bridge."
"There was a bridge, Marshal, but they destroyed it after the Emperor's sister was exiled." When Beorn didn't say anything, simply regarding the Tingaran with a glare, Trask continued. "They didn't want the convicts crossing to her side, and they wanted to make it hard for her to escape."