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 Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2017 11:49 pm
Rogue - Journal entry 4
More Trouble Life after marriage did not seem to be much different from life before marriage. The main change was sharing a bed with Quintli every night. Constynce had not shared a bed since she had snuck in with her parents at night as a youngling. Having a body snoring next to her, feeling his warmth and the shift of the bed when he turned in his sleep.. it was a change indeed. It was enough to make her have trouble sleeping herself. She couldn’t help lying there at night, watching the outline of her husband’s body by the moonlight. Quintli was truly her husband now, and it still did not seem real.
Some time had passed since she had first gotten a peek at that note, her suspicions growing with time. It made accepting the marriage that much harder to do, knowing that something deep inside of her did not trust this man.
Speaking of... Licking her lips nervously, Constynce carefully pushed herself up from the bed and out from under the covers. She poked her head out the bedroom door and looked around. Anyone guarding the home would be at the perimeter or down at the base of the tree, not lurking in the hall... Her bare feet crept through the hall toward the office, a key in hand already. The lock turning seemed to echo through the hall, but no one came running...
She slipped into the office and closed the door behind herself. If she could find another document with that seal, or even the same document... or something that might prove he was innocent and that she had read that last note wrong. But there were so many papers to look through!
She chewed her lip, feeling her feet start to go cold. It had been a while since she had seen Tryston. Their last meeting had been before the wedding. Was he even still in the village, or in Tale? Was he still trying to find the truth? Perhaps he had found the truth, and that was why he remained gone. Surely he would have stopped to tell her before going back to Zena.. right? If something bad had happened to him... She did not want to think about it.
Either way.. she needed to know for her own peace of mind. She could not keep sleeping with and standing and eating with a man she suspected to have had a hand in the attack in those mountains. She needed to know.
Resolving herself, she stepped over to the desk to light a candle and started shuffling through the files of papers. At least everything was in neat piles... Most of it was related to the village workings though. Transmissions with neighboring villages about various trade deals and the like. One large file even held the agreements Quintli and his father had worked out with her grandfather, listing out the aid that was being sent to her home village. It looked like much had already been sent out!
Her eyes watered slightly as she put the paper down. Quintli was a man of his word...
Constynce straightened the papers, but paused at the sight of a thin folder at the bottom of the stack she had just gone through. Despite the thin wrapping, it was marked with a seal. That seal.. and it had been broken already. She pulled the folder out and opened it quickly, pulling out a few sheets of paper. As she read, her hands started to shake. Any relief she had dared to feel was suddenly shattered, and she dropped the papers with a gasp.
It was all there... Mention of the original contract requesting the attack in the mountains... A complaint about the lack of proper delivery... Assurances that power in Zena would go to a man with the name from the note she had seen... A deal to strengthen Zena and Tale’s trades together...
Constynce held her hands to her chest, trying to keep herself from hyperventilating. Quintli had signed some of these papers. It was essentially a death contract! Quintli had gotten her into the herbal shop though. He’d gotten her Kass, and helped expand the garden as she requested, and sent the aid to her family, and... he had married her. Kissed her. Touched her. How could he have planned such an atrocity that she could have died in?! Was she supposed to have died in that fight? What about the promise to her village? How would that have been of any benefit to him before the wedding? What would be the point of getting her killed? Why?!
Also.. what was stopping him from ordering another attack that she didn’t survive this time? It had been weeks since the wedding. Things had settled down, and Quintli was officially in charge of the village, including her home village.
After a few minutes, she got her panicked breath under control and tucked the papers away, hiding them back under the stack. With her mind in a fog of confusion and hurt, she locked the office back up and headed for the bedroom. Quintli’s sleeping form had not moved at all while she had been gone. She couldn’t just run off into the night though. She could not return to her grandparents. She absolutely could not endanger more loved ones.
Swallowing hard, she climbed back into the bed and turned her back to her husband. Her gaze shifted to look out the window at the moonlight gently sweeping into the room.
‘Tryston.. Help me..’ (( word count: 923 = 3 points ))
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Posted: Sun Jun 11, 2017 7:02 pm
Rogue - Journal entry 5
Time To Run A few days had passed since she had returned to Quintli’s office. Constynce had forced herself to go back in and nab the documents she had found. The first time she had seen them had been terrifying, too terrifying to remember to take the papers as evidence, and every attempt after had fallen prey to cold feet; but she was supposed to get this information to Tryston. She had promised him... She would put the papers by the tree where they had last met... He would check every day... But she hadn’t seen him in so long. What if he was actually gone?
No. No, he wouldn’t do that. Not again.
With each day that passed, Constynce found it harder and harder to hold herself together. She was frightened, and was having trouble hiding it. When would Quintli notice the documents were missing? What if he found out before Tryston returned? What.. what would Quintli do?
When the day came, Constynce was actually starting to feel a little calmer again. There had been no sign of Quintli noticing anything. There was no ruckus, no scene, no suspicious movements... Maybe she could relax a little bit? Maybe he had put it away with the idea of never looking at it again? Maybe she was going to be fine until Tryston returned? She could let herself relax.. just the tiniest bit.. right?
It was a relief to be down in her garden, tending to some herbs while the sun set for the evening. She always found a bit of peace there. It was hard to believe that the peace would be shattered within a few breaths...
“Constynce.”
Though her husband’s voice still gave her a bit of a start, she managed to look back at him with a calm smile. “Yes? What is.. it?” Her brow knit when she saw the two men flanking Quintli, all three figures looking shadowed with the low sun shining through the trees at their backs. Instantly on edge, Constynce stood and brushed her hands together. “Quintli? Are you-?” She gasped sharply when a strong hand grabbed her arm, and the four of them walked to the surrounding tree line. “Quintli, where-?”
“You could not just be the good little wife, could you?” Quintli asked stiffly. “Why did you have to go snooping into what was none of your business? I was willing to try working it out. The marriage was useful.” He sighed heavily and pushed her at one of the other men. “I am not a terrible man, Constynce. I keep my promises, and your village will prosper. However, I must ensure the success of my home as well. If that means a few.. less than desirable dealings with those high and mighty Zenans, then so be it. My father made this village comfortable, but I will make it prosper, and you will not interfere. I wish you could have been at my side for it all.” Quintli leaned in and pressed a kiss to his wife’s cheek. “For what it is worth, I am sorry.”
Constynce felt her stomach go cold, and she looked around quickly. Her garden was already secluded from the town, and now they were beyond the back border. “Quintli?” Her legs felt like jelly, and her heart was thudding in her chest. “Don’t...”
Quintli looked at his companion and gave a nod. “As you can see, we have escorted my wife to the woods, where she is going off on a simple little herb hunt, as she has requested. Let us hope that she returns safely, under the dependable charge of her fine escort.”
Watching Quintli and one man turn away and head back toward the village while she was pulled the opposite way, Constynce felt the panic rise. She wasn’t a fighter. She could barely even keep upright as she was dragged further into the woods. She knew that she should scream, run, bite, do something, but managed nothing more than a few squeaks of fear while dragging her heels.
The mantra echoing through her head had her paralyzed. She was going to die...
~~To be continued~~X (( word count: 685 = 2 pnts ))
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Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2017 6:10 pm
Rogue- Growth Quest Solo
Artisan At least no one she cared for had died this time...
That was one of the few thoughts sustaining Constynce during such a turbulent time. Once again, her life was in a state of upheaval, and she was, also once again, on her way to Zena. ..Okay, well, one random person had probably died, but the man had been about to kill her! Constynce did not feel at all remorseful for.. well, she was only a little remorseful for the loss. A life gone once again because of her...
She laid there on the ground without any cover and pushed a strand of hair from her face. They were in Sauti now, and she found that there was little she had missed about the overheated territory from her last visits. How was one to sleep in such heat? Even the ground was hot from the daytime sun, the heat seeping through the blanket from the hard ground, and it was well into the night by now! It was a spindly little clutch of trees they had found to take shelter in for the night, and she was starting to wish she was a bit more nocturnal to handle nighttime walking. As it was, she was cranky and sullen and brooding from the various events flashing through her mind and heart, and the heat did nothing to ease the raging river of thoughts.
With a small grunt of irritation, she turned onto her side to try another position to get comfortable. Lack of success was about to push her over the boundary of angry, but she took a long breath and let her eyes lift in order to look at the shadows to one side. She could not see him, but she knew that Tryston kept watch, hidden in the shadows from all eyes. He was another thought that kept her from going over the edge. They were traveling through the heat of Sauti. They were on their way to Zena in order to find safety. She was not here alone...
Besides, what was the alternative? She would have been back in Tale, comfortably ignorant of the underhanded nature of her husband. She would have been blissfully oblivious while tending to the herbal shop and spending time in her lovely garden. She would have been uncomfortably content at night as she slept at the man’s side. There was a chance that she would not be anywhere right now if it had not been for Tryston. Would she have died in the mountains? Would her husband have already decided she was not worth the cover? Would her village still be safe?
Green eyes staring into the shadows, Constynce tried to console herself silently. Yes, she could be in a much worse situation right now. Her village was probably safer in this position, and she had Tryston again, and-
Her cheeks flushed brightly. To be so comforted by Tryston’s presence felt disturbing.. and yet utterly natural at the same time. He had saved her life at least twice now, so of course she was grateful. However, she could not deny that it felt like something more as well. Tryston was always professional to the point of being aloof, but that day in the woods when he had revealed himself to her as alive again, he had distinctly pulled her in for a kiss.. and she had not been able to get that moment out of her mind. Much had happened since then. She was free of her marriage now.
Oh, she knew her grandmother would have a fit. Here she was, thinking about another man so soon after becoming an ‘ex-wife’ to Quintli. Yes, she had been sad and scared and utterly overwhelmed at first, but now a poignant acceptance was settling over her. She thought she should be mourning the loss of a stable living more. Surely she needed more time to adjust to the latest twist life had thrown her? Surely there was more healing to be done?
Yet, she could not deny how much comfort she found in Trsyton’s presence. It was not just a matter of feeling safe, either. She was just comfortable with him. After all the time they had spent together on their initial trip after he had first picked her up from her grandparents’ home, Tryston felt like an old friend. Even after his apparent rebirth, her contentment felt familiar and warm. Sure, the man had changed a bit, physically and mentally, going through his own betrayals, but his heart was the same in her eyes. He was still honorable and true and kind...
Her heart felt as though it was the one changing. It had to close just enough to keep from breaking into pieces after the treachery she had survived. It needed to strengthen just enough in order to survive the rapid transformation of her life. While those parts closed off, other parts opened. She had to become adaptable to the changing locations. She had to be patient with the journey. She had to remember that she was not the only one in pain... And, she had to get tougher if she was to change her life further. She had no intention of hiding in Zena forever. Tryston was seeking to find the darkness hidden within the brotherhood and smite the core, and she wanted to help.
Constynce was not a fighter though. She did not deal with stratagem, stealth, or battles. The sneaking around her ex had been hard enough! She would have to find her own way to help the causes. Regain the honor of the brotherhood, find the source in the Zenan council, and end Quintli’s rule as chief in the village. The tasks ahead were daunting and frightening to one who spent her years talking to plants and growing life and generally avoiding conflict. She would have to find her own path. Considering everything that Tryston had done for her, she felt that she would be in his debt for a long time to come. Helping in whatever way she could would be the only way to even scratch at the surface of that debt. She owed the ice man everything.
She could not spend any more time bemoaning her losses. She missed her big tintural, but was determined to have the quiet beast at her side again. She missed her garden and her soft bed and the fine meals and the shop. Those were less certain to be returned, but they could also be replaced. Things still grew in Zena, and she could make a bed, and there was food to be found. The shop... she could earn coin on the side by selling privately perhaps?
Yes, once she thought about it, there was much that she could do. She just needed to think about the future rather than the past.
Constynce rolled onto her back and looked up at the stars above. That was one nice thing about Sauti. The stars were clearly visible and lovely.
(( Word count: 1,168 ))
Conclusion: Constynce is moving to Zena, leaving much behind. From here, now that there is no doubt about her ex-husband’s underhanded actions, she is determined to help find a way to bring the man down from his powerful seat. She used to be content enough to let things be, but now she sees that a more active role is required in order to see the necessary changes happen.
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