Private Tales A New Beginning, A Fresh Start

[Liam Silvern]

Dried bread ration. Dried bread ration. Dried bread ration. Nope. None of this would do for Syrre. Her tastes were refined and even for someone like Liam those rations were utterly tasteless. He would get more flavor out of eating elm bark than this bread. He needed something more flavorful for her.

Ah! Dried fruit rations. It was the last of them too. Liam pulled them out along with a bread ration as his wife spoke to him. He set the fruit next to her on the table. "Slept well enough. How about you Flower?"

Liam sat himself in the other chair and began to bite into the hard tack. Drier than a desert bone, harder than mountain stone, and had as much flavor as cloth. Yup, this was what he had survived on for years. After swallowing he took another bite and glanced over at his love. Pretty as ever even just getting up. Being with her was enough for him. He wouldn't trade little moments like this for anything. He would never tell her that though. She would get too happy and awe at him if he did.

Nerisyrre Silvern

 

[Nerisyrre Silvern]

Syrre smiled when he set down a portion of dried fruits and bread in front of her. "Oh, thank you, love," she said, her hand going to brush against his forearm as he sat down beside her.

"I'm glad. It's nice to have a bed again after the floor of the wagon for so long." She chuckled softly, delicately picking up a sliver of dried apple. "Although, I have to admit that I miss the fresh air of the road. It seems so... stuffy indoors now," she replied, waving her hand as she tried to think of the right word for the feeling. She popped the fruit into her mouth, crunching loudly for several moments while she cradled her face into her other hand and stared into the distance.

"We've come so far. It almost seems unreal. Have you ever been this far from Vel Anir?" she asked softly, blinking her eyes back into focus before turning them toward his. She hadn't asked much of what he'd done to fill their years apart. In return, he knew very little of how she'd spent her time. It was better that way, she thought. There were things she couldn't ask him, and things she hoped he never asked her.

// Liam Silvern //

 

[Liam Silvern]

The hard tack didn't get any better as Liam chewed it. Still dry and hard and tasteless. Was really the point of it. It was hard to get tired of something without a flavor to it. As dry as it was too it wasn't about to go stall. What made it so good for traveling.

Was he focusing too much on the food? Liam knew his mind was on what almost happened earlier. She really did get close there to being in danger. Well she was if danger was having her husband strip her down and do things to her they both wouldn't be sharing with others.

Liam was so caught up in his own mind that Syrre's words were like a sudden clap in a dead silent room. He flinched a bit but quickly was back to reality. What had she said to him? He went over it quickly and got the gist, or he felt he did.

"Aye. Indoors is cramped feeling and can't watch the stars together." Liam said to her then took another bite of his bread. He said between bites, "Not this far away, but been pretty far. Lots of little city states and kingdoms along the coast and between Vel Anir and the desert."

Liam swallowed his food and thought on some of his experiences. He definitely couldn't share those horrors with her yet. It was hard for him to really think about it let alone tell his worrying wife. After a couple of moments he replied somewhat idly, "Did you ever get to go into the elf lands? We never went that way."

Nerisyrre Silvern

 

[Nerisyrre Silvern]

"Oh, the stars," she sighed, turning her head in her palm to gaze longingly at the ceiling. Layers of wood and shingle separated her eyes from the night sky. How many nights they'd laid under that massive sky, pointing out constellations and watching the heavenly bodies wheel over them. She'd felt so small, but it hadn't been so frightening cradled against his side.

She was smiling as he spoke, marveling at the things he might have seen. He'd lived a life of adventure, dangerous as it might be, and had still returned for her. Whatever he had seen or found hadn't compared to her worth, and the sudden realization of that made her heart leap.

But she lowered her eyes when he asked if she'd ever traveled. "No. I've never left the walls of Vel Anir," she confessed, fiddling with her food. She sorted the raisins with the raisins, the apples with the apples...

"It was not conducive to my education," she repeated in a near perfect imitation of her mother. It made her stomach turn. "Wanderlust, they called it. To be well traveled is not a lady's accomplishment, but a man's." She couldn't look at him, instead continued to separate the dried apples and slivers of nuts. They were each cordoned off with thick borders of nothingness, huddled together with their own kind.

When they were children, even young teens, Syrre had often expressed her dreams to see the world she had read about in her books. She had practiced her elven languages, her manners and etiquette, her lore and mythos -- all with the hope of someday seeing the far-off places that only existed in books.

She was glad he had been gone when that wild spirit had been crushed. It had been painful, having such an intrinsic part of her soul pressed like a bloom between the pages of a heavy tome and forgotten there. He had found what remained, but it was merely a silhouette of its former glory.

// Liam Silvern //

 

[Liam Silvern]

To say that Liam's heart stopped and broke upon hearing his wife's words would be an understatement. He felt more as if a part of himself was both missing and twisted at once. She had always spoken before he had to leave about how much she wanted to see of life and the world outside of Vel Anir. It seemed while he got that (although not in any shape or form how she wanted it) she had to stay at home and go through her own personal torment known as noble family duties.

The two of them had never discussed that aspect of their lives, the years apart. Liam had gone through war and all of the horrors being a part of an expansionist vanguard created. He had to do things he wasn't proud of just to survive let alone some sadistic sense of duty. He wondered how his his body wasn't stained red from all the blood he had spilled as well....

Awkward silence would pass between the two. Liam didn't know how much of it had past. All he knew was by the time he was ready to say something his bread was gone. He looked to Nerisyrre Silvern and tried to catch her eyes. Her beautifully mismatched eyes that reminded him of gems both uncut and yet fully polished at the same time. "Goldie, write down everything you want to see and everywhere you want to go. Once you are done with your schooling I promise I will do everything I can so you can experience it all."

Liam smiled a bit weakly. "We can even start with the elven lands." Silently in his head he added, so they can gloat over me and pull some sense of higher morality because I use to serve the Anirian army.

 

[Nerisyrre Silvern]

He didn't reply, and Syrre couldn't blame him for his silence. She'd been honest, and couldn't have backed up a falsehood so great if he'd pressed her for further information. Further, she'd not wanted to lie to him. Her life without him had not been sunshine and roses, no matter how much he thought it had been. Sure, she'd lived in the lap of luxury, a silver spoon sticking out of her mouth and surrounded by as much material wealth as she could have ever wanted for.

But she hadn't been happy, and it has been far from easy. Her position in Anirian society came at a high cost: her independence. It had taken years for her parents to press it out of her, but she'd ironed out under the pressure eventually.

She didn't try to fill the silence. After a minute or two, she'd finally finished sorting the dried fruits and nuts but was no longer interested in eating but popped a dried cherry into her mouth anyway. Liam still hadn't said anything, and she was too nervous to look at him. Would he think differently of her if he knew she didn't quite aspire to the same dreams as she once had? She had come here with him on this adventure more because it had made him happy to do so, not for her own sake.

But when he spoke, she looked up at him with eyes that glistened in the low light of the lantern. Her mouth quivered and she struggled to school her face into a watery smile.

"Thank you, Liam." There was an intimacy in the way she said his name. Her hand reached out and took his and her smile grew more genuine. "I look forward to it."

He was too good for her. Syrre leaned toward him, the fingers of her free hand brushing his jaw as she pressed her lips against his. Her kiss lingered for a moment, and when she withdrew she wiped away a few great tears. She turned back to her food and picked up a few pieces of various fruits and set them in front of him.

"That tack might be filling, but it's like eating dust." She didn't want to talk about how awful her life had been without him. It had been difficult, but it was over now.

// Liam Silvern //

 

[Liam Silvern]

Liam just listened and watched as his wife.... Well his wife was being herself. The intimacy in which she said his name, the way she kissed him, and then placed some of her food in front of him with a witty remark. She was the only thing that kept him sane and whole and human. All the horrors. All the pain. All of his life was worth having her in it with him right now.

With bit of a smile Liam said, "They call me Malachite for a reason Flower. A stone eating dust is normal." He placed one of his hands over her own and squeezed gently. Idly began to eat the fruit now in front of him. It tasted bitter and sour to him compared to how sweet his wife was.

His entire body and mind felt exhausted still. Liam was well aware of how much strain travel had on a person. It was a familiar feeling by this point. A yawn escaped him and some involuntary stretching. It was bed time again. "Heading back to bed love." A leaning kiss was placed on her lips and then he went and did exactly what he said he was.

Nerisyrre Silvern

 

[Nerisyrre Silvern]

She giggled at his joke, shaking her head. It restored a bit more normalcy to the room.

"You're no stone," she remarked. He was a bird -- her watchful protector, buoyant on the drafts, graceful and thoughtful. She'd never told him the nickname didn't come from the Malachite others called him.

Finishing her fruit, she nodded and smiled into his brief kiss as he rose to go to bed. "Good night, love. I'll be along shortly."

Syrre cleaned the crumbs off of the table and withdrew her comb from among her things. Returning to the vanity, she began taking down her hair with a patient, expert hand. It was something she had done every evening of their journey, regardless of how tired she was. Taking her time, she undid the crown of braids and combed through her hair. Long and thick, it fell in waves that hung past the seat if her chair. In the low light if the lamp it was a deep orange, like marigolds.

It was peaceful, the regularity of her comb strokes only ceasing when she reached for her new brush. With a loving hand, she used it to brush her waves into a silky sheen, humming quietly to herself and feeling herself growing tired once more. In her years alone, the routine of hair care had been her escape as much as her garden.

When she was finished, she plaited it into a single long braid which she pulled over her shoulder as she set the comb and brush aside. Extinguishing the lamp, she rose to dress down. She had assumed Kite was asleep, the whole process taking well past the half hour mark. Unfastening her dress, she peeled it off, folded it carefully, and put it away. It was chilly in just her shift, and she pranced over to the bed with hurried, quiet steps.

Trying not to disturb Liam, she carefully turned back the quilt and snuggled in. He was always so warm when he slept, a fair counter to her tendency to be chilly. With a contented sigh, she wriggled up closer to him.

// Liam Silvern //

 

[Liam Silvern]

"Stone is used to build and to destroy Flower. I've done both." Liam responded under his breath to himself. It wasn't for her to hear. He knew it would just cause her to be sad if she heard it. But he couldn't keep from saying it. He had done some unforgivable things in the past. There was no wiping it away or making up for it. He just had to live with it till death came for him.

Laying in bed Liam tried to not think about terrible things. He tried to focus on positive things. Things like Syrre and their marriage and now this city. Vel Anir was a grand sight and intimately familiar for them both, but it also was a symbol of their suffering. Serving her army and dealing with her nobility had bled Liam of his humanity. He didn't even want to think of what it had done to Nerisyrre Silvern while he was gone. She wouldn't talk about it. He didn't blame her. He didn't talk about his time either. No, he just needed to focus on the happy things since they reunited....

Liam had dozed off. He hadn't even realized sleep had taken him until he felt his wife get into the bed with him and snuggle up next to him. He wrapped his arms around her instinctively and pulled her in close. Her scent was so familiar now and a comfort after so long on the road. There was an uneasiness in him that he hadn't realized was there until it was now gone. She did that for him all the time. Quickly he drifted back to sleep. The morning would be a new day for them. A new day for them to begin their new life.