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 Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 4:23 am
“I’ll come to fetch you, here,” she jumped on a spot of soil that, being a part of some imaginary line, concluded the forest and introduced the bank. The river ran along the horizon as if it would never really be met by the other side. “Well, it’s not much of a lake, but the current is still enough. I get confused sometimes,” she took off her shoes and secured her pants just below her knees, dipping her left toes in the water to test the temperature. “Refreshing. Oh,” she remembered the previous train of thought. “The entrance to the catacombs are somewhere under the water. There’s a whole underground system running underneath Th’ardrod. We pirate have friends who made it liveable there and they offer provide us shelter from whether or when sticky situations arise – in exchange for fresh produce, of course. They’re an odd couple, but they’re generally nice once you accept their ways of doing things. Everyone will be there except those who went to the border to sort out paperwork.” She turned around and held Stacia by her arms. “You have to promise me you’ll never enter it on your own, and never mention this to anyone.”
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Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 4:31 am
Stacia nodded. "I promise. If I can't leave him behind, I may not be able to meet you," she confided. For some reason, something within her stirred to defend him. "He's not all bad, though," she admitted. "Sometimes he's actually quite nice. We just have different ways where we're from." She shrugged. "But I won't tell anyone," she said, returning to topic. "You have my word. I'd better go now before he changes his mind and comes to look for me. Will you be okay out here?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 4:40 am
She nodded, smiling. Then added, "Even if he follows you. He'll just have to learn to adapt. If he's as infatuated with you as he seems to be, then he'll at least try to make an effort." She slid her hands down to Stacia's and gave them a squeeze before letting her go. "See you later."
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Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 5:16 am
She scoffed. "Perhaps." He released her arm and took a step away, placing the mango on the table. "You could at least try to act like I'm your fiance."
"I didn't ask for this!" She plunged her hands into the basin and watched the paint dissolve. He ignored her remark. "Those were As'ardens. You are, of course, aware that they crossed the borders?" Stacia frowned. "We cross borders. Why can't they?"
"It's not the way things are done!" He sat on the bed heavily and watched her as she washed up and packed her school things away, allowing his mind to wander.
He recalled the first time he'd ever seen her. He had come home to surprise his parents and try to talk them out of the arranged marriage; he was a bachelor and didn't want to settle down. Not yet. They were having a party, which was not uncommon. Making sure he wasn't seen, he ascended the stairs to the second floor and leaned over the rail. His parents were speaking to another couple and a beautiful girl. Her parents were saying to her, "...and right now he's away at school studying sorcery, but his professors have only the highest praises for him. Isn't that exciting? Your husband will be so successful!" So, this was his wife, he remembered thinking. His parents beamed, but she looked downright miserable. It was then that he realized he didn't mind. Who could care for the company of other ladies when he was promised the sun? But she wasn't happy. He watched her throughout the party, never once seeing her smile. Still he did not come down the stairs to join his family. As he watched her leave that night, he knew that no matter what, he would do whatever it took to make her smile again.
She dried her hands and sat in the chair across from him, looking at the floor, and stroking the feather of her mask-necklace. "I've packed for you," he told her. She looked up sharply and he pointed to two bags next to him at the end of the bed that she hadn't noticed. "While I'm here, we're to stay together. We need time to bond. I know you don't like me, but you will. We just need more time together." He stood picking up the bags. "The carriage is waiting for us."
Stacia nodded and stood without arguing, thinking it would be that much easier to sneak out than if she had stayed at the school.
* * *
The building was large and ornate, as she expected it to be. She was taken to a room on the third floor. It was large and everything seemed to be gold or ivory. It was too much for her tastes. "Isn't there a smaller room," she asked as he set her bags next to the door. "It's too big for one person."
His lips curled into a slight smile as his brow furrowed in confusion. "But it's not for one person. It's for both of us." Stacia's eyes widened in shock. "Both?"
"Everyone - myself included - thought that perhaps it was best to move the wedding up." Stacia backed away horrified. "But I'm not ready. I thought I had more time."
He smiled sympathetically. "It's alright. You still have the room alone until we are married. That's five days away for you to prepare for the wedding. Most of it's already taken care of. All you really have to do is show up," he joked, but his smile quickly faded. "You will show up, won't you?"
"We'll see," she told him, pushing him from the room and closing the door in his face. She emptied her bags onto the floor frantically, looking for something she could swim in.
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Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 5:46 am
Lavender walked a while into the water, feeling the current tugging at her smooth legs, and then dove into it. She did not swim alone for long until she was lifted out of the water by a pair of strong arms. Ryan lifted her above his head. She squirmed, causing him to drop her into the water again. “Ryan!” she shrieked, gurgling water. He lifted her up again, holding her at arm’s length as if she was a doll or a little child. She wasn’t amused.
“What’s wrong?”
“Put me down.” He did so gently. “Have you ever felt scared on behalf of someone else and, at the same time, feeling a bit pitiful yourself?”
“Come now, Lav. Self-pity won’t bring you anywhere.”
“Be a bit more sensitive, skinhead,” she scowled.
“Skinhead?” He seemed puzzled, but not offended.
“Yes, dolphins are just a bunch of wet skinheads,” she laughed. It wasn’t an insult, but more of a friendly banter – hitting him with something when he unconsciously hurt her feelings.
“And they’re battered an’ rammed, too!” he added, laughing with her. “Why are you sad, then?”
Lavender sobered and her face fell into worry. “What if all the friendships we made, as minstrels, were mere illusions? I mean, we can stimulate the release of dopamine. What if…”
“Is this about your fast, but successful friendship with that other dark-haired lady?”
She nodded, slumping her shoulders.
“Even without your powers, you are a magnetic person. You are down to earth and you welcome people with open arms without judging them. In addition, you look at people as if they are the world to you. Any non-minstrel, who could manage that gaze, would have me mesmerised. I don’t think you have to worry about that. You think too much.” He spoke casually without looking at her, busying himself with the cargo he brought with him; making sure the insulation was thorough.
“The others are on their way, but we can go inside. Oonagh said they’ll be waiting for us after lunch.”
“Then we shouldn’t keep them waiting much longer,” she said and used the floating crate to push herself up into the air for momentum.
“Little dears!” An old woman came to meet them on the porch. The porch was the mouth of a cave that created a bubble of air. She enveloped them each in a large white towel and offered to take the crate from Ryan.
“It’s alright, m’am. It’s good to use the muscles once in a while,” he smiled charmingly at the bony woman.
“Oh,” she giggled bashfully and led them down a long, dark corridor. “Mind your step, lovelies,” she said. “We did some renovations since you last visited us.”
“Marda, is that the As’ardens?” called a male voice from down one of the sideways.
“Yes, dear.”
“Oh!” A thin old man poked his balding head around the corner of a door frame. “Marda, get the lights.” He grabbed Lavender by the wrist – his grip perhaps a bit too firm – and dragged her on after him. “You’ll love this room,” he said with pride. The room they entered was lit with an aquatic-green ambient light coming from all over the place. Strings of pearl-like beads hung from the ceiling. They were glowing too.
“Glow worms!” Ryan explained, setting the crate down to get a better view. He seemed infatuated by the sight of them – completely in his element of strange natural beauty.
“Yes, young man: glow worms. I’ve been collecting them for some time now and they finally took hold of their new habitat. Don’t be too loud, though. You don’t want to scare them.”
They left him there and carried the crate to the kitchen.
“Where is that mother of yours? She told us you had trouble.”
“There were no guards at the border, so we crossed without signing in.”
“Ah,” Marda sighed. “You know, that’s such a silly thing. These, what are they again, dear?”
“Guards.”
“Right, these guards are so irresponsible. No…”
“She means misunderstanding. “
“Yes, and most young’uns don’t respect laws or anything these days. Why, I’ve been to the market just the other day and this lad took my shawl right off my shoulders!”
“That was three years ago, Marda.”
“Really? Time does fly. But you As’arden folk are kind. You have your head in the right place. Tell me, dear, do you still sing? Won’t you teach this old woman to waltz? Do you remember the first time you danced for us? We were utterly taken and you were only twelve!”
“Ten. She was ten.”
“Oh, Fred, let a woman speak!”
“Sorry, my love.” Fredrick unpacked the crate and lit a soy candle to place on the table. It quickly filled the room with a gentle aroma of lotus flowers. He dipped his finger in the molten oil that gathered near the flame and rubbed it into his hands.
“As I was saying…” Marda had already forgotten what they were talking about and grabbed at the next idea. “Tell me, are you married yet?”
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Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 6:13 am
"I just thought I'd go and visit my friends."
"Great. I'll come too," he said, placing the letter on a hall table next to a potted plant. "Oh, no. Don't bother. It'll be really dull. We'll just sit around and talk."
"I insist," he smiled, "I should know some of your friends. We can invite them to the wedding." Stacia grimaced. "I don't really think they'd want to come. We're not close. I'm sure you have a lot to do here, so I won't keep you. I'll just be going." She hurried down the stairs, but as she reached him, he held his arm out, blocking her. "Ani," he said sternly, turning to look at her; she'd forgotten how tall he was, "I'm not letting you roam about in the dark unescorted. I'm coming with you." Stacia hung her head, accepting defeat. She wondered if Lavender would be mad.
"Fine," she said. He dropped his arm and followed her out into the warm night.
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Posted: Fri Dec 13, 2013 1:51 am
“Of course not, my dear Marda. She is too young for such formalities,” it was one of the non-magick users of As’arden. The lady had long brown hair and a woven circlet with mice tails hanging down near her temples. She was four months pregnant and rested her left hand on her protruding belly. The rest of those who were to stay there that night emerged from behind her: her husband, a bearded man with the mask of a badger, two young chaps that were theirs, and the old lady that took over her stall for her earlier that day.
“Oh, Rose, you are as beautiful as ever!” The two women embraced one another. They were about the same age, but looked ages apart. “I was just asking little Lavvy, here, if she had found someone special yet.”
“Everyone is special,” Lavender answered, trying to exhaust the topic out of the lot before it took a hold.
“You can’t marry everyone, sweetheart. You need only one young man to sweep you off your feet and make you feel like you’ll never need anyone else; like you mean the world to someone. Love is like being free…” Lavender’s mind wandered. Love isn’t that simple. Well, not in contemporary times, anyway.
“Sorry to interrupt, but my friend is waiting for me outside. Would you mind some extra company?”
“Don’t bring Imperials in here,” Marda warned.
“And not them Faerang folk either!” added Fred.
Lavender opted for a fitted black leotard and a thin striped sweater. She folded the sweater into a waterproof bag, along with ankle socks, white woolly legwarmers and a pair of black shoes [link]. With this fastened to her back, she exited the cave and made her way towards where she was to meet Stacia.
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Posted: Fri Dec 13, 2013 2:20 am
"I'm going to be your husband," he reminded her, "You can't get much closer than that. If you just accepted this, you might find that you actually like the idea of marriage - security, social standing, wealth..."
"It's you I don't like," she muttered, turning toward the path. He ignored her. "Why are we out here anyway, stumbling about the woods? The city is the other direction." Stacia squinted in the darkness, straining to see any landmarks she might recognize. "We're going to the lake."
"I wasn't aware of any estates around the lake in this area," came his confused reply. "There aren't any," Stacia told him, finally finding her way and striding with confidence, "We're going swimming." A hand gripped her shoulder and spun her around. "Swimming? In a lake?"
"Yes, swimming in a lake," she retorted. He was silent for a moment, then, "You could catch illness. It's not sanitary."
"Will you stop treating me like a child?"
"Well, someone ought to," he replied. He pushed past her, for once showing his anger. Stacia followed him, bemused. Within moments, all thoughts vanished as she was confronted by the grand sight - a shimmering lake, reflecting the pale moonlight and throwing light everywhere. She smiled. "It's beautiful."
"My thoughts exactly," Tannem replied, only he wasn't looking at the lake. He reached out a hand and stroked her cheek. Her smile faded quickly. With a sigh, he withdrew his hand. That was the first time I've ever seen her smile when she was with me, he realized, and just like that - one touch from me and it's gone.
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Posted: Fri Dec 13, 2013 2:36 am
“Ani?” Lavender gently squeezed out the water from her hair and quickly pulled the dry sweater over her leotard. “Oh, you brought company. That’s fine.” She slipped on her shoes to shield her feet from the riverside pebbles and approached them.
“Well, I’m sure the others won’t mind. Just wait for them to finish catching up and asking awkward questions. How was school?” She kept an eye on Tannem without raising suspicion, analysing his behaviour. Would he cause trouble? Is it safe to lead him to the catacombs? Perhaps not, but it might help him to loosen up and, perhaps, understand her better... And that’s worth the risk, right?
“Just a foreword: don’t be weird.” Lavender laughed, realising the irony. “And nobody can know about this. Understood?” She looked the man in the eye – her eyes were uncharacteristically stern and somewhat defensive.
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Posted: Fri Dec 13, 2013 2:46 am
"School? I didn't get to have my classes the rest of the day," she said, throwing a glare at Tannem and moving a few steps away. "I was surprised by being moved into an estate." Her displeasure was clear. "Sorry," she told Lavender, "I didn't mean to bring him, but he refused to let me out alone." He placed a hand on her shoulder, heavy and protective. "And rightly so. It's dark and being this far from civilization, if something happened to you, it would be perhaps hours before you could get to a hospital. I'd never forgive myself." Stacia tried to shrug his hand off her shoulder, but he pulled her until she was standing with her back against him. She gave up struggling and instead busied herself with imagining his head exploding. "So, do we have to swim very far?"
"Swim," he interjected. "You were serious? Lakes aren't sanitary. You'll catch illness. Then we'd have to risk the chance that you won't be well in a week for our wedding. We'd have to push it back," he told Stacia, trying to persuade her.
"Bonus, then," she said, finally forcing his hand off.
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Posted: Fri Dec 13, 2013 2:57 am
“A hospital? Who needs a hospital when everything you need is around you? Oh, that reminds me. It would probably be best if you don’t mention that you’re Imperials.
So, do we have to swim very far… “A bit, but it’s not so bad. The water is quite refreshing and the current isn’t that strong.”
“Unsanitary?” Lavender mumbled, feeling somewhat offended by his remark. “Lakes, especially one that is actually just a very large, still river, are not unsanitary. The city is unsanitary.” She motioned them to follow her, but stopped just before the water’s edge. “Sorcerers control the substance of things, don’t they? Do you think,” her voice trailed off and she hesitated. “Do you think we could walk on water?”
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Posted: Fri Dec 13, 2013 3:06 am
Stacia removed her jacket and stowed it in the roots of the tree. "I prefer to swim," she told him, wading into the edge of the water. She knew that if she entered it this way, she could still swim while they walked. To her surprise, Tannem was glowering. "Avoid a swim? Have it your way then," he snapped angrily. He removed his vest and tossed it on top of her jacket, then his tie, and began unbuttoning his shirt. When that, too was tossed aside, he unclipped the small, gold serpent adornment from his belt. It snaked up his arm and formed into a mask on his face. He, too waded into the water, stopping next to Stacia. He turned back to Lavender, "If you would be so kind as to lead the way..."
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Posted: Fri Dec 13, 2013 3:20 am
“Aww,” Lavender complained, but seemed amused at his sudden submission and went to pick up their clothes, stuffing the items in the bag. She looked around for any other signs that they may have left behind. When she was satisfied, she walked into the clear water. The gravity lessened as they reached a depth in which they could no longer touch the ground. Underwater, everything seemed lighter. There were faint ambient noises as if someone was singing somewhere. They neared the mouth of the cave. Lavender held out her hand with her thumb pointing upwards, then made for the surface.
“You might want to take a deep breath and stay very close.”
She swam down deeper this time, leading them through under a gigantic boulder. Five minutes passed until they finally reached the end and entered the porch.
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Posted: Fri Dec 13, 2013 3:27 am
Stacia emerged, dripping yet somehow still warm. She sat on the ground for a moment adjusting to the gravity. She looked around, eyes wide with amazement. The water glittered off the cave walls, making everything seem mystical. She smiled once more. "It's lovely here," she said in hushed tones. Tannem heaved himself out of the water and stood, offering his hand. Stacia was so distracted that she took it without really thinking. He held it gently, wanting to hold her hand for as long as possible. She didn't notice and continued to gaze all around her in awe as she followed Lavender down the hall. "This is incredible," she whispered to her friend, "How did you ever manage to find this?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 13, 2013 3:44 am
“My mother met the couple a long time ago. They reclined from society and made this their getaway. It’s actually a catacomb.” She said this in the most casual way as if the presence of the dead would not be seen as disturbing at all. She led them into the living area. A large hand snatched her into the kitchen while another covered her mouth, but that did not stop her from producing a surprised little shriek. He released her.
“Ryan!” she slapped him on the arm and he laughed.
“Hey, it’s that pretty girl from the market,” he exclaimed, delighted. “And her friend. Hi, I’m Ryan,” he held out his hand to shake Tannem’s in a rather professional, but friendly manner. “Do you appreciate art, sir? Good! Sit here.” He pushed the man onto a three-legged stool and started painting on his bare back as if he had his brushes and pallet on him all this time. The design was intricate and snake-inspired. Ryan was quick about it as he was sure Tannem would not appreciate the breach of personal space. However, he still managed to work his magic into it if only just enough to prepare him for the rest of the lot.
“There,” he said and examined his work. “What do you think?” The patterns stretched over his upper back, into his neck and over his right shoulder, drawing out to his collar bone. It was flattering and glowed in the dark.
“Uh… Ryan, how did you get the paint to glow?”
“Glow worm excretions,” he smiled, proud as ever.
“You mean, glow worm poop?”
“No, it’s different. Slightly, but different nonetheless. Who’s next?” He glanced at Stacia, expecting her to give him a canvas.
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