"I am the best retainer you'll ever have, my lord."
"I'm not so sure about that," Goddard huffs and sits next to Gath even though he's annoyed with him. After a few moments of silently sitting with their arms crossed, Goddard sighs.
"Feeling better kuyash?"
Goddard laughs. "Wow...thanks...I'm the best oribhein you could ever serve because I'll let you get away with things like that. Let's get something to eat."
They walk toward the fire and sit across from Two. "You didn't poison this did you?" Gath asks.
Two nods. "To be sure. Khayal can take a few stomach cramps, the rest of you are done for." He offers the spoon. "Fancy a taste?"
ReplyDelete"After you," Gath says to Goddard with a smile.
ReplyDelete"You taste it! You're supposed to be keeping me safe!"
"But my lord! I can't keep you safe if I'm poisoned!"
"How does that make sense?!"
"It makes perfect sense. How can you not see it with all your infinite wisdom?" Gath takes the spoon and tries it. "Needs more poison."
Two grins, dimples flashing. "I'll remember that next time."
ReplyDelete"Is anyone here not terrible?" Goddard mumbles.
ReplyDelete"My lord Koroush is not. Khayal is not." He grins again. "Maybe you're simply an easy target?"
ReplyDelete"No and no," Goddard says shaking his head. "They have you fooled."
ReplyDelete"The whole world is terrible if you really think about it, kuyash."
"It wasn't," Goddard mumbles. "Nevermind...maybe I'm just in a bad mood because I'm hungry."
Two offers up a bowl of lab stew, thick with onion and vegetables. "I will never believe otherwise. They are sainted by their deeds," he says melodramatically. "
ReplyDelete"Who is?" Aara asks, approaching and tucking per veil into place.
"You are, my goddess," Two answers.
Gath hands the bowl to Goddard and rolls his eyes at Two's calling Aara a goddess before he gets his own bowl.
ReplyDelete"He's delusional," Goddard tells Aara before he begins eating.
She lowers her lashes and looks at Two from the corner of her eye. "If I thought for a moment you meant that, the rest of our day would go quite differently," she says huskily.
ReplyDeleteTwo swallows. "How so?"
Shooting a look at Goddard, she grins behind her veil. "I can twist like a pretzel."
"Mmm hmmm," Goddard chimes in, his mouth full of food.
ReplyDeleteTwo reaches out and rubs her silk scarf between his fingers. "If I believed you were sincere, I'd take you up on that and see how you entrapped your sheik," he murmurs in Arabyan, leaning close. Switching back to reikspeil, he says back and continues. "But I'll settle for kicking your ass again."
ReplyDeleteAara giggles and looks away.
Gath chuckles, noticing how annoyed Goddard is, despite how quiet and calm he may seem.
ReplyDelete"Are you going to eat?" Two asks, pushing a bowl into her hands.
ReplyDeleteShe hands it back. "I ate this morning."
He scowls at her, pushing the bowl on her. "Oh no. I promised Malika Rayya that I'd make you eat normally. So eat."
"I don't feel like it."
"Feel like it."
She tugs at her veil, glaring at him, and plucks a chunk of lamb from the stew and eats it. "Happy now?"
Gath looks at Two and sighs. "It appears you are nothing more than a glorified baby sitter as well."
ReplyDeleteTwo nods. "Someone has to. She's stupid and reckless on her own."
ReplyDelete"Hey!"
"I'm not the one who passed out after their first execution because I fasted for two days before."
"I made it to my rooms!"
"Eat, damn you!"
Pouting, she grubs up a spoon and takes a bite. "This tastes like garbage," she mutters in druhirr.
"Shut up," he orders, his voice calm.
"You don't even know what I said!"
He grins and tugs her scarf. "I know you, Khayal. Eat."
Gath and Goddard both nod at Aara's critique of the food.
ReplyDelete"It's only fair we have something you don't understand since you have something we don't understand," Goddard says before having another spoonful.
Two grins. "Perhaps I learn, eh? Maybe I am a quick study."
ReplyDelete"I'm not teaching you," Aara tells him.
"Why not? I want to be a learned adventurer like you, oh goddess divine."
"Because you're a heretic. And a camel twat."
"This language is not for you Two," Goddard snickers. "Aara was a special case."
ReplyDeleteTwo looks at her adoringly. "Khayal is always a special case."
ReplyDeleteAara sneers at him as she eats. "You are an idiot. Go home."
He laughs, moving closer to her. "And miss out on the chance to see you in action? Never."
"She seems to just take an awful lot of damage," Gath says flatly.
ReplyDelete"But the stories," Two says. It's hard to decide if he's wistful or mocking. "Especially the one in the tower."
ReplyDeleteAara's eyes grow big. "Shut up. Right now."
"Do tell," Gath smiles, leaning in. "Or I could always get kuyash to tell me later."
ReplyDeleteTwo grins. "In one of your cities- Har Ganath or something- she impersonated-"
ReplyDelete"Har Ganeth," she corrects. "And it wasn't exactly an impersonation."
"-a priestess of some kind. Some bloody holiday you all celebrate."
Gath frowns. "I will forgive your ignorance...for now..."
ReplyDeleteHe waves an uncaring hand. "Anyway, she kills a few people, goes into your sheik's tower, and does battle against a witch. Nearly kills her, but Aara doesn't die so easily, and takes her head clean off."
ReplyDeleteAs he talks, she pushes her food away and draws her knees to her chest, trying to be as small as possible.
Gath stands up angrily and takes a step toward Two. "Do not be so dismissive, blood bag," he growls. "You have no idea what you are mocking. Shut up now before I remove your tongue and shut you up myself."
ReplyDeleteGoddard gets up quickly and tugs on Gath's arm. "Hey now," he says in druhiir. "He's just a stupid human he doesn't..."
Gath shoves him aside and Goddard hits the ground with a thud.
Aara stands between them, hands up. "He doesn't know," she explains. "Not everything. He can't. Humans don't understand it."
ReplyDelete"Disrespectful worm," he spits in druhiir, looking beyond Aara, still focused on Two.
ReplyDeleteGoddard grabs onto his arm again, digging his claws in this time. "Stop it!" he snaps.
Gath quickly looks at Goddard and they stare daggers at each other. "I don't understand why you're protecting him!?"
"I'm protecting you!" Goddard growls back in druhiir. "If you touch him, they'll go after you."
"I'll kill them all then! For Khaine!"
Two stands, but Aara raises a hand to silence him, eyes never leaving Gath. "If you say another word, Rafiq, I will rip out your tongue myself."
ReplyDeleteAara knows better than to react, so she keeps her face blank and backs away from the fire. Grabbing Two's beard, she pulls hard to lead him out of earshot.
Once Aara and Two step away, Gath storms off with Goddard close at his heels. Once in the tent, Gath kneels and folds his hands in his lap, taking deep breaths.
ReplyDelete"You can't do that!" Goddard gasps. He sits next to Gath and watches him carefully.
"I could. I could take them all down," Gath says between clenched teeth. "And you could. You're a sorcerer."
"But I won't."
"Why!?"
"You can't kill your companions just because they are idiots. And I know, druchii would instantly and always do that. Someone looks at you funny, stab them in the eye, but that's not how this is."
"What are you doing?" Gath grumbles as Goddard scoots closer, wraps his arms around Gath and hugs him around his mid section, pinning his arms down.
"When father found me, I was an angry snapping nauglir too and he just did this to calm me down." Goddard laughs. "It had the same effect one me. It confused me and all I could do was sit still."
"Ow, Aara! That hurts!"
ReplyDeleteAara throws him to the ground, furious. "You are the stupidest, most reckless, faithless person I have ever had the misfortune to know! I told you that in confidence, to be kept between us, and you had no right to shorten it into some mocking little drinking story! Gath could rip you apart without thinking- that's what they do."
He turns ashen, far more afraid of five feet of fury in front of him than he was Gath. "Khayal, I-"
"Stop calling me that!" she shouts. "You could have died just now. And I would have let you. How dare you disrespect me this way? Embarrass me after taking that oath? I should dismiss you myself."
"Let go." Gath pulls an arm free and pushes Goddard away. "You're lucky I don't rip you apart."
ReplyDelete"I'm not lucky. I just understand how druchii think," he shrugs, laying on his back on the floor beside Gath. "Strange huh? How would I know this..." he laughs. "You know I'd just open a portal to another dimension in your chest."
Gath folds his hands in his lap again and closes his eyes.
"Very messy. I can't promise your face will make it out unscathed."
His color returns in a rush. "I took an oath-"
ReplyDelete"And completely disregarded it! Those elves are probably some of the few beings in the world who have any understanding of what I went through. What I did was wrong. Blasphemous. Uzzaya help me, but I did what Goddard asked of me, and even he can't know the weight of it. You do not have the right to make light of it. Our Ustadh would be ashamed."
She runs a hand over her face and takes a deep breath. "You will apologize, assuming Gath doesn't suck the marrow from your bones. And I mean a good apology. After that, you will be silent for the remainder of the day." She sighs, feeling the weight of the world settle on her. "And if you bear any love for me, you will never be so stupid again."
"Aara, I didn't know-"
"No. You didn't. And that's my fault. But you can't understand all of it. I don't want you to."
After a few moments of silent sitting, Gath finally opens his eyes and looks down at Goddard. "I won't threaten to kill him out loud again."
ReplyDelete"That's a start I suppose. Could you possibly be civil around him? Not right now, but after you cool off?"
Gath crosses his arms and looks straight ahead.
"I'll take that as a yes? Remember..." he slaps his hand in the center of Gath's chest. "Tentacles. Could you please laugh even a little? I'm trying really hard."
Disgusted, she waves her hands at him. "Go sit in camp. Don't speak to anyone yet, and wipe that look off your face."
ReplyDeleteHe bows his head and stands, watching her as she walks into the surrounding greenery. She looks as if she's ready to give up, her shoulders slumped and feet kicking the sand. What has she not told me?
"I'm trying as well."
ReplyDelete"Trying not to laugh?" Goddard asks hopeful.
"Trying not to knock your pointy little teeth out."
Goddard narrows his eyes. "That's mean. I like my pointy teeth."
Two stands at the edge of the water, trying to get his whirling thoughts under control. Well, if I can't talk... Clearing his mind, he begins to tell the hours.
ReplyDeleteAlone, Aara makes it out of sight before falling down, gasping for breath. Curling into a ball, she clenches her teeth and tries to breathe evenly. Talking about it- hearing about it- that's as bad as remembering it. As if reliving it night after night isn't bad enough.
She squeezes her eyes shut and holds herself as tightly as possible to keep her shivering at bay.
Gath stands and leaves the tent, stretching once he clears the opening. Goddard follows him out and stays close as he wanders closer to the water.
ReplyDelete"Going for another swim?" Goddard asks warily.
"No. The sound of the water is relaxing."
"Good..."
Two hears their footsteps and moves away, unwilling to apologize without Aara there. He moves closer to the roar of the waterfall, hoping to stay out of their way.
ReplyDelete"Are you even afraid of just being on a ship?"
ReplyDeleteGoddard shakes his head. "Just deep water. And bats. I hate those things!"
"Good to know..."
"I know I can trust you to not use these things against me," Goddard mumbles.
"Oh I'd never..."
Aara lays in the shade, out of sight, and waits for the panic to subside. I need to be honest, she thinks. But I can't. She chokes back a sob and tightens her arms around her knees.
ReplyDeleteTwo gives up on his exercise and rubs his sore chin. "That really hurt," he mutters before biting his tongue. Ouch. If she'd ever had to do this she wouldn't make me.
Sethai lands beside Aara and pushes on her face with his head. He makes a soft chirping noise then paces around the top of her head.
ReplyDeleteShe opens her eyes and sees him, then gulps in a breath. "I- I'm fine," she stammers.
ReplyDeleteHe looks up and makes a very loud sound then looks back down at Aara, tilting his head as if listening for someone.
ReplyDelete"No," she whispers, tucking her head down. "Don't call him, Sethai."
ReplyDeleteSethai tilts his head. He climbs onto her back and walks in circles before he finally curls up.
ReplyDeleteWhen it finally passes, she goes limp with exhaustion. Her head aches and her eyes feel scratchy even though she never actually cried. Weakly, she pets Sethai.
ReplyDelete"Thank you. For being here."
He nuzzles her cheek again and looks up for a moment before looking back down at her. Sethai moves his head as if looking at her from as many angles as he can.
ReplyDelete"What is it?"
ReplyDeleteSethai sort of softly nips her nose before flying off.
ReplyDeleteShe smiles, tired, and curls up again. Aara knows from past experience that there is no point in trying to make her way back to camp until she feels stronger.
ReplyDeleteSethai latches onto Goddard's head and chirps.
ReplyDelete"Merciful Morr! Get off!" Goddard yells, trying to peel him off. "What is wrong with you!"
Sethai lands on the ground and walks backward, staring at Goddard.
"You want me to follow you?" Once Goddard stands to follow him, Sethai flies off and lands by Aara again.
"Better go see what's going on," Gath sighs, standing up too.
They both walk over to where Sethai flew.
Covered in dust, Aara is dozing.
ReplyDelete"Get me a stick," Gath snickers.
ReplyDelete"You are not poking her with a stick!" Goddard hisses. He crouches down beside her and rubs her shoulder. "Wake up. Are you alright?"
"No," she mumbles, not opening her eyes.
ReplyDeleteGoddard sighs and moves to pick her up. "Come on we'll put you in your tent. You can't lay on the ground like this. Tiny dragons will eat you and vipers will poke you with sticks."
ReplyDelete"Don't pick me up," she protests. "I'm not a child."
ReplyDelete"You're acting like one," Goddard chuckles, lifting her up.
ReplyDelete"You both are children."
Sighing with resignation, she lets him carry her without fighting over it. "He didn't know," she says softly. "He doesn't know. To him, gods are just ideas, they don't do anything but hear prayers and take blame." Her breath catches, and she squeezes her eyes shut a moment. "In his world they don't reach out and touch you."
ReplyDelete"We know," Goddard whispers. "It's alright. Gath isn't mad anymore right?"
ReplyDeleteGath quietly stares at Goddard with a look that scares him a bit. "Yeah Gath is fine," Goddard croaks. "Did having it brought up trigger something?"
"If he isn't still mad he's a fool, and the one thing I don't believe is that Gath is a fool." When Goddard asks, she nods meekly. "He made it sound so...simple. So easy and unimportant. Like it was just an everyday execution of some criminal." Her voice gets harder. "He made it sound like some story you tell for free drinks."
ReplyDelete"Thank you," Gath groans. "Don't sugar coat things, my lord. No one in their right mind would believe you..."
ReplyDelete"Fine fine," Goddard grumbles. "Two's just stupid, Aara. And you can either explain it to him or make sure the ideas never come into his head again. That'd be up to you."
"He should be made to understand that Khaine is not one to be trifled with. The bloody handed god should be feared. Not reduced to some drunkard's tale. I could teach him..."
"Ahaha I don't think that's a good idea..."
"He's an idiot, through no fault of his own. I...I didn't know how to impress the severity before, but I think he understands now- at least a little. He doesn't know about the mark, either." She sighs. "When I can stand to look at him again, he's going to apologize."
ReplyDelete"I could show him my marks. Close up..."
ReplyDelete"No...you won't touch him. You will stand there, preferably silently." Goddard ducks into Aara's tent and puts her down.
"Why do you do this?" she asks softly once they're alone. "How do always know when I need you?"
ReplyDeleteHe taps his temple. "Psychic powers. It's my connection to chaos and small white dragons," he chuckles.
ReplyDeleteShe grins. "Spying on me is only half an answer."
ReplyDelete"I don't spy!...well not on purpose anyway."
ReplyDeleteShe chuckles, brushing hair out his eyes. "How have I managed with you so long?" she asks, amusement coloring her voice. "You're vague and avoid questions like a politician. It would be infuriating if it wasn't so endearing."
ReplyDelete"Politician? Must be the druchii in me."
ReplyDeleteShe grins and lets him set her on her feet. Still shaky, but mostly stable, she unwraps her scarf and shakes the dust, twigs and leaves onto Two's bedroll before wrapping it back around and tucking the ends across her face.
ReplyDelete"Why did you start wearing that again? And you can't blame your cheek."
ReplyDelete"A few reasons. Respect for my culture. To move easily through Araby without being accosted or shamed. Pretense. And...I finally understand part of its necessity."
ReplyDelete"And you tell me I'm vague," he chuckles. "Oh well. You should rest. I'll make sure Gath doesn't decide there has to be a blood sacrifice." He kisses her forehead and heads for the exit.
ReplyDelete"You just stop asking before you reach the end," she replies as he goes. Sitting, she pulls out her journal and starts writing.
ReplyDeleteHe sticks his head back in quickly. "Would you even tell me if I kept asking?" Goddard asks raising a brow.
ReplyDelete"It's not in my habit to lie or keep something from you when you ask," she tells him, not looking up from her book. "You're the one afraid of learning answers you won't like."
ReplyDelete"How would you know what I like and don't like?"
ReplyDelete"Because I know you." She looks up and smiles wickedly. "Because you never ask direct questions, or enough to get the whole answer. You rarely ask about anyone, which means you're either afraid of hearing something you won't like, or getting too involved."
ReplyDelete"Maybe it's because I wouldn't answer those same questions and I would be annoyed if it were done to me so I don't do it to you...do you want me to be annoying? I can be annoying..."
ReplyDeleteHer grin holds, and she puts her pencil in her book and lifts her open her hands. "By all means. I am an open book."
ReplyDelete"Then tell me! Everything!" He sits on the floor across from her.
ReplyDelete"I was born to a mother who was a brilliant healer, but had married a man with poor financial sense. I had two sisters and two brothers, all significantly older than me. The girls were so lovely they sat in front of our hut and grounds herbs, hoping some servant of a rich man would see them and report to their master. Though poor, my mother had wealthy clients who paid her well, but my father and his debt drained anything away. Tarik was the oldest boy, and he died in an accident on the dock while working. Ali tried to find work, but I was best put to work as a thief. You knew the highlights of my childhood already. My sisters married and I never saw them again. My father has been dead over a decade and my mother died some years later. Ali married Siba and owns an inn you've been to many times." She looks at him evenly. "Any questions so far?"
ReplyDeleteGoddard frowns. "Tell me why you wear your veil not your whole life story. Not yet anyway. Save that for later."
ReplyDeleteShe laughs. "You did say to tell you everything, but I won't split hairs. In Arabyan culture women are considered emotional and unable to control our expressions. Our beauty, our smiles, our tears, it's all too intimate to share with strangers. They are reserved for our family and close friends- people who want to share in our joy or support us in our sorrow. Also, it keeps us from burdening others with the weight of our emotions." Her hands start to fidget, but she doesn't break eye contact. "I have lost the trick of stoicism in our time together. To burden you with my fears or grief when you're dealing with your own would be to do you a disservice. This is my way of trying to help you." Her hands form mudras, nervousness, truth. "This is also why I try not to bother you with my nightmares or moments of panic."
ReplyDeleteShe untangles her hands and lays them open, palm up. "There is your whole answer."
Goddard stifles a laugh. "If I felt you were a burden, why would I concern myself with you and how you are doing?"
ReplyDelete"That's what I asked, and you avoided." She folds her hands in her lap, and for once they're calm. "You followed me across the sea with only a vague reason as to why. Of course now it seems our fates are entwined again, but that wasn't the case when we left Altdorf. Care to trade a whole, sincere answer for mine?"
ReplyDeleteHe looks down at his hands. "I still...care a great deal about you. I always will. Until the day one of us dies, I have to make sure you are safe. I just have to. Don't think for one second that I hate you. Ever."
ReplyDeleteHer hands clench one another and she feels tears begin to prick her eyes. "That's a fine, whole answer," she says, swallowing hard and blinking.
ReplyDelete"Really? I'm not sure if I made you feel worse or better."
ReplyDelete"Better," she tells him. "In Altdorf I was certain you'd hate me forever. Then at the palace I thought you just didn't care about me at all- even less when you brought Gath along."
ReplyDelete"I wouldn't be here in this sandy place if I didn't care. And I helped Gath. I didn't want to see one of my own rot in a cage. He wasn't some replacement for you."
ReplyDelete"That's why I was so confused. Your actions and your presence were contradictory." She grins behind her veil. "And your tendency to vagueness."
ReplyDeleteGoddard shrugs. "I never said I was good at all this social stuff or communicating."
ReplyDelete"No, you haven't," she laughs. "Does my veil bother you?"
ReplyDelete"That thing has always bothered me," he chuckles. "It's like torture. All it lets anyone see is your eyes."
ReplyDeleteShe laughs with him. "My eyes are my best feature. And you already know what I look like."
ReplyDelete"So? What if I covered myself up? How'd you feel about that?"
ReplyDeleteShe gives a pointed look to his robes and wrappings. "You do." She shrugs. "Maybe I'll leave it off in the Empire. But, for now, there's no sense in acting brazen when we could encounter someone here."
ReplyDelete"I wrap my arms because it'd make you sad to see what I do to myself," he admits. "And encounter who?"
ReplyDelete"I know anyway. I was always amazed that you managed to not get me in your sleep. But if it bothers you so much, I will take it off once we leave Araby."
ReplyDelete"No no you can do whatever you want. I just wanted to know why. I think that was bothering me the most."
ReplyDelete"Now you know. I may not wear it as often once we part ways with the acolytes, but in the desert I like not having sand in my hair and face." She reaches out and squeezes his hand. "This helped, thank you. But I need to find Two and assure him that I won't let Gath eat his soul."
ReplyDelete"I'm glad I could help, instead of making you feel awful," he laughs. "If you need Sethai to help you find him in whatever hole he may be hiding in, just call for him. He's good at hide and seek apparently."
ReplyDelete"He always seems to know where I am." She sets her journal aside and gets to her feet. "I'm just glad to know where I stand now." She leans down and kisses the top of his head before leaving him sitting in her tent.
ReplyDeleteGoddard leaves the tent behind Aara and quickly finds Gath. "I see there's no blood."
ReplyDelete"Sadly," Gath mumbles.
"Thank you for that," she says in passing.
ReplyDeleteShe finds Two near the waterfall, sulking. "Are you all right?" she asks. When he turns to look at her, she sighs. "You can speak."
"Four, I had no idea it was so important, I would never-"
"You did know it was horrific," she cuts in. "You knew it was a nightmare. And you belittled my actions, and Gath's god, to look as if you know me so well. I told you almost everything about Death Night, not to brag, but to show you what my life has been. You will learn, soon enough, what it is to be more afraid of shadows than men and monsters."
He hangs his head. "I am sorry."
"Don't tell me. Go tell Gath, then make yourself scarce around him. And Two, try to stop letting your mouth outrun you. I'm trying to show them that you're a good person. Quit making me a liar."
"Too bad there isn't anything to hunt," Goddard sighs. "That might be interesting."
ReplyDelete"Maybe."
"There probably aren't any fish in that water either so we couldn't go fishing."
He nods. "I will do my best, Four."
ReplyDeleteHe can see her eyes crinkle in a smile. "Come on, let's go clear the air."
He follows her to where the elves sit, trying to find the words that will convey his apology and not get him killed.
"Gath, Two has something to say, if you'll hear it," she says, hands on near hips and glaring at Two.
"I'll have to hear it. I can't plug my ears up." Gath crosses his arms and narrows his eyes at Two. "I'll be listening extra carefully for sincerity and not just fear that one of us or both of us will rip you apart."
ReplyDeleteAara nods and gestures to Two. "Knowing the circumstances, I didn't understand the weight the tale carried," he begins. "Nor was insult my intention. I have mocked something I don't truly understand, and belittled the experience and sacrifice of someone I care for. I am deeply sorry."
ReplyDeleteAara nods at his contrition. "Very well, now go and be silent."
"Sounds like it was more an apology to you, but at least he looks miserable," Gath mumbles.
ReplyDeleteAara watches as Two walks off. "I imagine he has about as much practice as you do," she responds. "I don't think he meant me. His sister was one of the slaves we freed. Which is why he should have known better. But I doubt it will happen again," she adds cheerfully.
ReplyDelete"It'd better not."
ReplyDelete"But but, even if it did, there will be calm civil discussion. Right?"
Gath shrugs.
Her eyes narrow a little, but she shrugs. "To promote goodwill between the two of you, I'll make sure he finances you a night of drinking," she tells Gath.
ReplyDeleteGath rubs his hands together. "I accept."
ReplyDelete"That was easy..." Goddard chuckles.
She snickers. "Death and drinking are the two things you have in common. It'll be interesti to watch," she adds.
ReplyDelete"Don't let him drink or it'll go in a strange direction," Gath says motioning toward Goddard.
ReplyDeleteGoddard puffs his cheeks. "Oh shut up about that already..."
Laughing, Aara pats Goddard cheek. "Oh, I'm aware," she says knowingly. "I've had many a laugh out of him being drunk."
ReplyDelete"Ugh I just act a little silly. It's not that strange or funny..."
ReplyDeleteShe shoots him a wicked look. "You get more than silly," she tells him. "There was more than reason I kept knives on me when you drank."
ReplyDelete"Was it to stab him in case he got too grabby, or was it because he begged you to cut him?" Gath snickers.
ReplyDelete"Shhhh!"
She laughs huskily. "I may have left a few scars of my own on him."
ReplyDeleteGoddard bites his lip and heads toward his tent.
ReplyDelete"You're very good at making him leave. Sadly, I do not have the same skill."
She watches him, curious. "Practice," she says. "He's spent almost as much time running from me as he has toward me." She shrugs. "My own fault, I suppose."
ReplyDeleteShe looks at him out of the corner of her eye. "Can I ask you about those?" She asks, nodding toward his hands.
"Yes. What would you like to know about them?"
ReplyDelete"Did you do them yourself, or did they just...show up?"
ReplyDelete"I did them myself. Khaine has not yet noticed me."
ReplyDelete"He's a god of battle, right? Surely he will, after all your achievements."
ReplyDelete"To my delusional kin, Khaine is merely someone to worship before battle. A simple god of war. To the druchii, he is more. He is the lord of murder. Every day is a fight for your life and the weak will be thrown into the blood cauldron which his brides bathe in for his blessing."
ReplyDeleteHe crosses his arms. "I am extremely disappointed and slightly impressed that you somehow got his attention. A small soft human."
She looks down at the tattoos on her hands. "The events of Death Night were my first acts of freedom," she offers. "But I don't regret having done it."
ReplyDelete"He sees something in you. That's the only reason I see you a step above every other human."
ReplyDelete"I do believe that was some kind of compliment," she laughs. "I suppose that makes sense. Killing is the only thing I really know how to do."
ReplyDelete"I suppose when you live for but a blink in time, when you devote yourself to something, it means you've devoted all of yourself."
ReplyDeleteShe nods. "I started training at eleven; it's been my life for...fourteen years. I know it doesn't seem like much to you, but you get the idea. How long were you in the fighting pits?"
ReplyDelete"30 years. But that was more of a set back than anything."
ReplyDelete"A set back?" She shakes her head. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to pepper you with questions."
ReplyDelete"That was 30 years of being a slave," he hisses. "I see that as a set back from what I was doing before."
ReplyDeleteShe nods. "Thank you for sharing that with me. I don't like to talk about Khaine with Goddard."
ReplyDelete"Why? He is an elf after all."
ReplyDeleteShe shrugs. "I'm not sure. Those days were stressful for him, and my mind was unraveling. He practically pieced me back together. I don't want him to worry now."
ReplyDelete"He'd probably have some idiotic asur view of the whole thing. If he had any other view besides that of an elf, I'd be disappointed. The least he could do was remember our gods and goddesses and not completely replace them with those inferior human deities. You don't see him as a druchii then do you? Or even just an elf..."
ReplyDelete"I just see...Goddard. I know what he is, but he acts so different from the other druchii I've come in contact with- except once. That was when I realized that he does have a bloodlust, stronger than mine, more...feral."
ReplyDelete"Really? How so? I didn't think he could be anything but pathetic."
ReplyDelete"You haven't seen anything from him yet. Not really. The shipwreck he mentioned? He raised that ship from the ocean floor and magically crewed it with the druchii who'd died there. We sailed on it for some time. That was where he gave me these," she raises the hem of her scarf to show him the three scars running down her neck, ear to collarbone. "We were playing, lighthearted teasing, and the spirits were calling for blood, begging for it. I cut him, and something changed on his face. It was frightening, and I'm pretty hard to scare these days. He gave me two sets of these before telling me he wanted to rip me apart."
ReplyDeleteGath quietly contemplates what she says for a moment before speaking. "Sounds like very powerful magic. I see why he acts like a fool. The kuyash is hiding."
ReplyDelete"There are other instances, but I'm not sure they're mine to tell. But rest assured, your lord isn't some pitiful magician with parlor tricks up his sleeve. He's druchii, even if he wants to ignore it."
ReplyDelete"He is a pitiful scrawny sorry specimen of an elf, but he has the mind of a sorcerer. It was easy for me to see this. The fact that the dwarf seems to care so little for our race and our magic is laughable. One day it will save him, if it hasn't already, or it will kill him. Hopefully the latter."
ReplyDeleteShe chuckles. "He wouldn't be the first dwarf to laugh, or to come up missing for it."
ReplyDeleteGath furrows his brow and speaks softly. "Has my lord ever...summoned anything accidentally? What has happened to him when his magics twist free from him?"
ReplyDeleteShe thinks back, trying to remember years of magic and combat. "Accidently? Not to my knowledge. As far as his magic backfiring, it varies. He may go blind, deaf, or both. It may cost him blood, or even his power for a short time. You needn't worry about his talking in his sleep, if that's what you're getting at. Just wake him up, soothe him, and it'll be fine."
ReplyDelete"It's not only his sleep talking. You're all very lucky he's only temporarily affected himself with his magic. It could be much worse."
ReplyDeleteShe nods. "He has. From what little he's told me about magic, it could go very badly."
ReplyDelete"I'm surprised any of the humans they teach in the Empire survive. They can be quiet annoying."
ReplyDelete"You aren't kidding," she mutters, thinking of the coward Rieker.
ReplyDelete"He's limiting himself by only sticking to that one kind of magic...it makes no sense."
ReplyDeleteShe shrugs. "I'm sure it makes sense to him."
ReplyDelete"Or maybe...he only uses that one kind to further his charade...yes yes..."
ReplyDeleteShe laughs. "He's not a demon."
ReplyDeleteShe notices the sun is starting to set, and looks for Two to return soon.
"He may be the vessel for one. That is not unheard of." Assuming it may be time to prepare dinner soon, Gath bids Aara farewell and goes to find Goddard.
ReplyDelete"My lord?" he slowly enters the tent, hoping he didn't disturb some sort of magical ritual.
Goddard quickly pulls up his robes over his shoulders and drops a bloody dagger. "Dammit," he groans.
"It would appear you have a problem."
Goddard snatches up the dagger and cleans the blade on the dark robes before tucking it away. "The only problem is, it's not the same when I do it anymore."
"I see. Well we should go get ready for dinner. I don't need to throw you into the water to clean you off do I?"
"No!" Goddard says quickly. "I'm fine. Merciful Morr no...what is wrong with you..."
Aara finds Two sitting on a rock looking out over the water. Sitting next to him, they watch the sun set in silence. After a moment, he puts an arm around her shoulders and she leans into him.
ReplyDelete"Once, not long after meeting Goddard, I had to be silent an entire day," she tells him. "To contemplate my actions and learn the consequence of words. It was infuriating," she laughs. "I barely spoke reikspeil and couldn't write more than a word or two. Goddard had to try and guess what I meant all day."
He grunts, tightening his arm on her.
She smiles, leaning into his embrace and yawns. "This stop hasn't exactly been restful."
As the sun dips behind the horizon, Two takes a deep breath, free to speak at last. But instead, he turns and wraps his other arm around her, hugging her tightly. You have no idea how good it feels to be hugged, she thinks as he kisses the top of her head through her scarf. I miss being touched.
"Let's get some dinner."
"With as much as you seem to bleed, I'm surprised you don't do any blood magic...or do you..."
ReplyDelete"I don't. I just...Sometimes you need to just feel. I don't feel relieved or alive anymore. I just feel like a dagger is cutting me."
Gath raises a brow. "Because it is..."
Goddard laughs and shakes his head. "Is this what having a nauglir feels like?"
"Feeling numb seems like it would be beneficial in battle. Feeling a blade digging into you can slow you down sometimes."
Aara and Two walk back to camp, arm in arm. He still doesn't say anything, but instead acts very attentive towards her: setting a pot to boil for tea, making sure she doesn't need or want anything before preparing her meal. He even brings her journal to her so she can write while he works.
ReplyDeleteThey walk back to the camp and sit by the fire. "How come you aren't useful like Two?" Goddard asks Gath as he watches how Two tends to Aara even without speaking.
ReplyDeleteGath opens his mouth to speak and Goddard stops him, realizing his answer may just be something to insult Two. "Never mind."
Aara doesn't look up from the sketch she's making of Gath in his fury earlier. "I'm not sure I like it. It makes me feel..." she switches to reikspeil when she can't find the druhir word, "uh, useless."
ReplyDelete"It's supposed to make you feel like you're in charge. It's also nice to get something in return for all the help you've given and a rest from all the battles you've fought and..."
ReplyDelete"Maybe when I see all of these things you speak of my lord, I'll make you tea."
"Maybe." She laughs, covering it with a cough. "I just feel lazy." She beckons to Two. "Stop hovering, just sit down," she laughs. To her relief, he does.
ReplyDelete"It's not lazy. It's relaxing. It's being pampered," Goddard chuckles.
ReplyDelete"I'm not any good at it."
ReplyDelete"You seemed good at it at the spas and baths."
ReplyDeleteShe frowns at him behind her veil. "That's different."
ReplyDelete"Only a little," he smiles.
ReplyDeleteAs the evening wears on, Aara and Two squabble over how little she eats, with him breaking his silence to tell her to stop being a shit and eat. After, she makes her tea, adding a large dose of her sleeping herb.
ReplyDeleteIt isn't long before she's curled up against Two, drowsy and content while he reads to her in Arabyan.
Gath puts his hands behind his head and uses Goddard's leg as a pillow.
ReplyDelete"When my leg goes numb, you're not going to like how I wake you up."
Gath yawns and ignores him as if he were sleeping. Goddard mumbles a curse in druhiir and looks up at the stars. "The celestial wizards probably picked the most beautiful magic to study."
Two points out a constellation with the arm not cradling Aara. "That one Al-Aqrab," he says. "The Scorpion. It's one of our myths."
ReplyDeleteGoddard nods. "Aara told me about that years ago. How he fell in love with a bird and his bitterness became his sting and the pincers were to protect his heart. Then she sniffed me," he laughs softly.
ReplyDeleteHe chuckles. "She did that to me once. She must have been eleven or twelve." He looks down at her, making sure she's sound asleep. "She probably left out something. She doesn't like to give away too much, too soon." Two sighs, shifting her so that she's more comfortable. "I can hardly get her to tell me anything anymore. Not that I blame her after today, but I'm worried. How long has she been drugging herself to sleep?"
ReplyDelete"i'm not sure, but if she needs it, she needs it. I've been experimenting with things to help me sleep but I'm not sure it's the best idea for me. She may simply have nightmares. I'm not sure what happening to me."
ReplyDeleteHe nods. "It's nightmares. Some are worse than others. She talks in her sleep, too. Not something I understand, but it's like what you three use. Except not." He sighs and looks at Goddard helplessly. "What's happened to her? I swore an oath to protect her, but I don't know how. Tell me what she won't," he pleads. "Starting with what 'auto' means in your tongue?"
ReplyDeleteGoddard closes his eyes and sighs. "Otto. He was my father. I'm not sure what his real name was, but he chose Otto so it would be easier for the humans of the Empire to refer to him."
ReplyDelete"Was?" An idea dawns on his face. "Was she unable to protect him? Is that why she talks to him in her sleep?"
ReplyDeleteAs if hearing them talking about her, she shifts and mumbles incoherently in her sleep. Two looks down at her wonderingly. "I don't understand. Why wouldn't she use the Terminus for her charge?"
"The whole situation is too much to try and explain but, in order to save me and essentially the planet, she had to...had to," he buries his face in his arm. "I'm sorry," he mumbles.
ReplyDeleteTwo unwraps the scarf from her and hands it to him. "No, sheik, do not apologize for grief. It is I who is sorry. To lose a parent must feel a little like dying. For it to be her...this is why your relationship has been broken."
ReplyDelete"Yes. I didn't react well to the news and I regret the things I said to her in my rage and sorrow," he sighs. "I felt like I had lost my whole world. He was all I had for sixty or so years."
ReplyDeleteHe nods. "It is understandable, my friend. There are some things that no one can accept easily. If it is any comfort, she would not have given him anything but honor. But I understand so much about the two of you now," he says.
ReplyDelete"Time will heal the pain from the loss. I have to keep remembering that. I won't feel like this for the rest of my life. That's a long time to dwell on something like this."
ReplyDelete"It is a hard question to someone who isn't Mashi, but does she have his name?"
ReplyDeleteGoddard's face goes from looking sad to looking cold and angry. He looks down and grits his teeth. "I hope not," he almost whispers.
ReplyDeleteTwo raises a hand, making a mudra for peace. "Let me tell you why I ask. For Aara, to nOT take his name means two things. One, that she could never accept absolution from the sainted lady she follows. Peace will not come easily, if ever."
ReplyDeleteGoddard's shoulders and ears drop and he takes a deep breath. "That was something I yelled at her about. I asked if it matter if it was his real name or not. Maybe asked is too nice a word for what I did."
ReplyDeleteAara snuggles closer, making a small sound, and Two strokes her hair soothingly. "You would not be the first. The second thing is this: she acknowledges that her debt and responsibility to your father is greater than her pride. The common people have forgotten what the tattoos mean, but we were trained in the old ways. Names are collected in homage of their deaths, to remind us that though we take life, we are in debt to those we kill. The only way to pay that debt is to remember them, to be a reminder to others.
ReplyDelete"For her, it is a more personal debt, not to be shared." Two gathers her up in his arms and stands. "She probably wouldn't tell you even if you knew what to ask, but in this situation, you should know."
Goddard tries to shift his leg and he wonders if Gath is actually asleep or pretending just to bother him.
ReplyDeleteWhen Aara nuzzles Two's neck, she grimaces and mutters in her sleep. "Translate?" Two asks, raising an eyebrow.
ReplyDelete"She must think you're me," he snickers. "Though I'm a little insulted. She said you stink."
ReplyDeleteHe chuckles. "She would know. She's the one who sniffs people."
ReplyDelete"She told me I smelled like fresh turned earth. I like the smell so I took it as a compliment."
ReplyDelete"Knowing her she meant it as one." He ducks into the tent to lay her down and grab his sword, then goes back out. "I love her, but she's a strange one. Death marked her as his own the moment she opened her eyes," he laughs as he sits to sharpen his sword.
ReplyDelete"Strange how death was the biggest thing we had in common. In short, I mostly practice the spells from the amethyst winds. Death. I won't bore you with details unless you are truly curious."
ReplyDeleteTwo chuckles. "Strange? Not at all. It must have come easily, caring for one another. Did she fight it, make you admit it first?" He laughs again. "She fought our Ustadh so hard, she never gave him anything he didn't have to pry out of her."
ReplyDeleteGoddard chuckles. "I was always very...persistent with things. Not so much now."
ReplyDelete"You don't usually come across someone who is as...into death as you are. Have you ever been to the Empire? Altdorf?"