Private Tales Brothels and Broken Things

[Lexi Quinzell]

Before Lexi could say anything Damien began to laugh.

"Handle it well? You're still here aren't you?" he clapped the man on the back and squeezed his shoulder in a friendly fashion. "It's why my sister has ever very rarely been with men, not many men can handle the bruised egos and backs when she throws them into a wall," Lexi was trying not to give away just how close her brother was to the other activities she did with Cassian and took a sip of her wine. Lexi was about to change the subject when she sensed a change come over Cass - his body seemed to tense and when she glanced over to him he looked as though he had seen a ghost.

Their food arrived at that moment. Damien tucked into his food with the same vigour Christopher had at the picnic and he began talking about mindless bits and pieces. Lexi glanced once more to Cassian and mouthed a simple question.

Are you ok? she squeezed his hand.

 

[Cassian]

Cassian stared down at his food, but suddenly felt far too nauseous to eat. He lifted his eyes to Lexi as she mouthed the question and he nodded quickly, attempting to force a smile but it was stiff and didn't meet his eyes. Of all the fucking places he could have run into her, she had to be here today. His palms were clammy and he pulled in a breath in attempt to remain calm.

He couldn't let her ruin this, for him or for Lexi, he had to push it out of his mind. He glanced up again and she was gone. For a moment he wondered if he'd been mistaken, perhaps it had been another woman who looked similar, that was probably the most likely..

Convinced, he looked down again and started eating.. "So you got yourself a lass here?.." he asked Damien, lifting his eyes with a subtle wink to the boy and a wry smirk to Lexi.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

A flicker of worry crossed her face but she couldn't push the matter with her brother there without making the pair of them uncomfortable. So she dropped it though clearly it bothered her to do so and threaded her fingers carefully with his then brought their joined hands underneath the table so she could rest their joined limbs on top of his thigh and squeeze that too. If he needed her she was there.

Damien was oblivious in the way of all young lads to things that required subtlety.

"No," he smiled shyly and then rubbed the back of his neck. "I - er - well the rank gives you a certain sway with the ladies. And I'm only 19, I think I'll just play the field..."

"Play the field?!" Lexi began laughing and her brother went red.

"Well it's a lot easier when you don't have a sister around who flirts with anything in a skirt," he muttered somewhat darkly though he struggled to keep the smile off his face for long.

 

[Cassian]

Lexi knew something was up with him, he was aware, but he squeezed at her hand under the table and gave her a look of reassurance.

Cass laughed as he looked between the two siblings and shrugged "Well, so he should, he's a handsome lad, I'm sure he has plenty girls after him. A griffin knight too.." he shook his head "Lucky bastard." he mused.

"Aye she has a habit of stealin' woman right off our laps. Did the same to me as she did to Kain whilst we were on the road. Then she decided I ent allowed any more women, claimed me for herself.." he grinned at her. "The women will be cryin' for both of us from the Cortosi coast to the Blightlands..."

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Lexi's cheeks were tinged slightly pink from both Damien's comment and Cassian's. It made her realise just how similar the both of them had actually been. Perhaps their two broken halves would make a whole. Her thumb ran over his knuckles as she laughed at his joke. Damien, too, joined in. The rest of the meal as they ate passed in a similar fashion of idle chat and gossip. Lexi filled him in on what had happened with Alec and set his mind to rest that they were both fine, passed on the sad news of the men who had most recently been lost. The White Ravens were a family and though Damien pursued a different path he was still a part of that and they toasted to their lives.

By the time pudding came around they were all more than a little tipsy but in that pleasant way of knowing there would as of yet be no hangover if they drunk water when they got home.

"You guys should come and watch some of our training while you're here, I think you'll get a few ideas and the Griffins are just... something else to watch. We're having a small tournament the day after tomorrow," Lexi glanced at Cassian.

"I'd be up for it if you are?"

 

[Cassian]

He nodded to Lexi and smiled "Aye.. Aye that'd be good lad. Might shove a bet on, make ourselves some coin." he mused and leaned closer to him to lower his tone. "No pressure." he grinned.

They finished their meals and Cassian felt pleasantly full and once again at ease having brushed off his earlier panic as paranoia. The sun had set, leaving the lamps to illuminate the city with a charming, smoky glow and the warm air was graced by a mild and comforting breeze.

"I think I'd retire here.. Given the choice.." he smiled down at Lexi after they'd bid Damien a good night and made their arrangements to meet up with him again. His arm slipped around her shoulder and he pressed a kiss down atop her head, clearly in a good mood as they wandered through the square back toward the townhouse.

Life was good, he decided. Everything was perfect, he thought. All until..

"Cassian?..."

The voice behind them was the soft, musical cadence of an exceedingly beautiful gypsy woman, ringlets of dark chestnut hair framed her delicate features as they expressed disbelief, and her bright green eyes stared between the couple. Cassian froze, and turned slowly to stare back at her, a rush of nausea washing over him and he paled as he had at dinner..

"Alana.."

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

It was one of the best evenings she had had in a long time. Damien had secretly given Lexi their signature hand gesture which indicated he approved before he left and her heart felt light. As long as those two got along she could deal with anything else. His comment got a happy sigh out of her as she lazily slid her arm about his lower back so they could walk comfortably this close to one another.

"Me too," even their ban on women doing magic didn't concern her too much. If she had chosen to retire - had even had the chance to - she would probably never want to touch a spell again. Maybe she would take up some sort of hobby that didn't involve killing. Like... knitting... or sewing. She was about to voice such hilarious thoughts when she felt him stiffen as a woman called his name. Lexi's eyes drifted from one to the other. She noticed Cassian's pale face, the woman's gypsy looks.

Her brain slowly began to put things together.

Slowly she turned her face towards him and pressed a reassuring kiss to the side of his neck then decided to play ignorant.

"I didn't realise you had friends in the city too."

 

[Cassian]

Years had passed, and though he had no love left for the woman, seeing her stood in front of him conjured a plethora of emotions and sent him right back to the rage he'd felt the last time he'd looked at that face.. "I don't.." he answered dryly and dipped his chin with the intention of turning to leave.

Alana's brow lifted as she let her venomous gaze wander over Lexi as she kissed at Cassian's neck and she gave a melodically chuckle as she looked between the pair. She was trying to be sweet, but Cassian knew better. "Please, Cassian. I'm his wife, dear, and you are?"

"Ex. Ex wife." Cassian interjected before Lexi had a chance to respond.

"Hm.. I am still Alana Hart." she stepped forward and held a hand out toward Lexi with a warm smile on her lips. "And you are?.." she repeated.

Cassian seethed and his jaw clenched. He didn't want to do this here, now, he didn't want to do this ever. His words remained locked behind his teeth and he gripped at Lexi's shoulder and leaned close to her ear to press a kiss to her head "Let's go, lass.."

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Lexi had never felt him so tense before nor so angry. Even when he had broken Kain's jaw he had possessed none of the blinding hatred she saw on his face right now. She felt him turning to leave and her hand slid down to his to turn after him. This was his past, she wouldn't force him to face it.

Still it really stung to hear her call herself his wife.

Warily she looked down at the hand being presented to her. She wished she had her armour or even her robes on. That was what she always wore when she faced an enemy. Even still in the middle of the street she was hard pressed to not return the gesture without causing too much of a scene and she slowly reached out to shake it. Firmly. Probably a little too firmly.

"Alexandria Quinzell," it took effort not to add on her titles. "It was nice meeting you," she dragged her hand back as Cassian pressed a kiss to her head and nudged her towards leaving.

 

[Cassian]

Cassian grit his teeth as Lexi shook the woman's hand. She shouldn't have had to, and Alana was still as manipulative and sickly sweet as she'd always been. He'd fallen for it once, and hindsight was a torturous thing.

Alana's soft smile faltered as she felt her hand crush under Lexi's grip and she cleared her throat and pulled her hand back to massage at her knuckles. "A pleasure." she answered, though her tone was no longer as silky and betrayed something more malicious, a tone that Cassian had taken lashes of a hundred times over.

A male voice spoke after they'd turned to leave, and Cassian's heart felt as though it'd stopped. "There you are. I told you not to wander.". A cold sweat seemed to erupt from nowhere on his skin...No. He looked down at Lexi with a frown "Just go, lass. I'll meet you back at the house." he told her quietly. He didn't want to ruin things for her, he didn't want her to see him being verbally torn to shreds before beating the shit out of his own father, nor did he want her to become the target of his forked tongue.

"Look who I ran into, Jon.." Alana perked up. Cassian frowned as he turned back. Jon? Jonathan Hart went by his title, rank and full name, or sir. Never Jon. His eyes fell to Alana's hand that snaked through his father's arm to loop around it and he looked between the pair in crushing disbelief.

"Cassian." the man spoke after a pregnant silence that he used to stare coldly over him and Lexi.. "Figured you'd be in a gutter somewhere.". The man's words were a dagger to the gut. How true that had been.. Cassian couldn't find his words and the man's scowl bore into him.

"You fucking bastard.." he laughed under his breath finally as he stared between the two.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

There was something satisfying about making the woman's honeyed voice sour. She knew he was hurting and angry from running in to her but she could fix that pain back at the house. Her hand slid into his and she tried to tug him on. But the man's voice had made him even more tense. There was a flicker of... of fear? She turned back towards him and then her eyes skated past him to the man who had come to stand next to Alana. The family resemblance was hard to miss.

Yet he told her to go.

She didn't get a chance to protest or say something else before Alana spoke and slipped her arm through his in an overly familiar way. Lexi felt a little ill but she could only imagine how Cassian felt to see it.

"Cass..." her voice was soft and tender, her spare hand coming up to rest on his chest in the hopes to turn him away from the nightmare of his father and ex-wife. But his fathers comment was a further slap and she felt the love of her life go rigid as if someone had shoved a white hot poker down his back.

"Cass let's go they're not worth it," they weren't from what he had already told her. In fact, they most likely deserved one another.

 

[Cassian]

The older man's lips curled gestured a hand toward Lexi "Aye, son.. Go on and do as you're told." he quipped and let his eyes wander over her. Cassian couldn't process this, it had to be some sort of nightmare that he couldn't wake up from.

"I'm not your fucking son.." Cassian answered with a pointed finger at the man.. "I hope you enjoy her before she fucks her way higher up the ranks.." he looked over Alana with a shake of his head before turning away with Lexi and rubbing at the tension in the back of his neck. His rage felt like it was physically burning in his chest and through every tightening muscle in his body.

“Go on lad. Run from your problems as usual. Crawl back into your bottle and rot. It’s all you deserve..” the man spit at the ground. Cassian felt sick with rage, the same rage he’d felt the last time he’d seen his father, when he’d pounded his fists into his face until it was mulch.

“Lex just go.” he told her as he stopped again, his tone firmer this time.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Lexi thought for a moment how satisfying it would be to throw the other man into a wall as his eyes roved her body. The look she gave him could have peeled flesh from bone but she wanted to get Cassian out of here before he did something he would later drink to forget. The short moment of relief when he did turn and begin to take steps to follow her was dashed at the other mans words.

"Cass..." she could feel the energy building up inside of him. The anger, the hurt. But when he told her to go she set her jaw and folded her arms stubbornly over her chest. She might not have been in the robes but the look was pure stubborn Commander not about to leave one of her men alone to fight a foe.

"I'm not going," her tone was firm but then her face softened a little. "But I won't stand in your way," it had to be his choice. Like she had had to deal with her demons he would have to deal with his in his own way. She took his jacket from him and then gave a small flourish as she stepped out of his way.

 

[Cassian]

The man was goading him, he wanted him to react, he knew how difficult Cassian found it to resist the temptation of caving his skull in. Cassian looked down at Lexi as she refused to leave and he reached a hand to her face.

"Come Jon, he's not worth our time.." Alana laughed under her breath. "He's nothing but a drunk, he's pathetic."

Cassian's fist tightened by his side as she repeated the words she'd said to him all those years ago. Salt in the wound. He glanced up at the keep and the griffin knights that circled high above it. They'd end up spending their time in a cell if he reacted the way he wanted to but as he stared at down at Lexi he let out a breath and pulled her into a deep kiss.

He chose.

"Not tonight..Let's go.." he rumbled at her, and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He could feel the two pairs of eyes burning into his back.

"Did he tell you he killed his brother?!" Jon called out as they walked, Cassian hesitated for a moment and felt his chest ache, but he refused to turn back.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

She could taste every bit of rage and hurt and betrayal in his kiss but his love and devotion shone through like a light in the dark. Lexi ended up on the tips of her toes as she withstood the storm of his emotions and pulled him close. Magic was frowned upon in Oban but she wanted nothing more than to do something horrible to the pair for making him feel like this.

When they parted she nodded to his words and pride shone in her eyes for him. Such pride. Even a week ago he would have swung for his father and asked questions later. He would have gone drinking and thrown himself into another pit of despair before crawling back to her and finally talking things through. He had come so far.

Which was why when Jon called out after them it was Lexi's temper that frayed.

"Only a bad Commander blames his men for the loss of a soldier."

 

[Cassian]

His arm tightened around Lexi's shoulders as she bit back and he leaned down to press a firm kiss against her head.

"They got the wrong fucking son!"

Guilt, waves of it drowned him as the man's words echoed in his mind. Thoughts of his brother's last moments came rushing back and he ached for the numbness he so often found at the bottom of a bottle.

Cassian swallowed back so many thoughts he thought he might throw up. But he couldn't let his past back in, he couldn't allow it to ruin this for her. If she hadn't been at his side he'd have taken the bait, but she helped some part of him think clearly, think of consequence, and he didn't want her to see him lose control. She'd helped him come this far, whether she knew it or not.. He wouldn't throw it in her face.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Lexi's temper snapped.

"Oh no he did not," she muttered under her breath as she stopped and turned back towards the pair. It only took her three quick steps before she was in front of the man and had him by the throat and off the floor, her eyes blazing in their anger.

"You have no son, you lost that right years ago," there was a start from the people around them who were witnessing it but none of them dared come any closer as her grip tightened on his windpipe. "Cassian is a greater man than you will ever be now why don't you crawl back into whatever little hole you dragged yourself out of and do the rest of us Commanders a favour and stay there. You give leadership a bad name," she spat and then threw him like a ragdoll into the gutter.

 

[Cassian]

Cassian tried to grab hold of her but it was too late, she was already in front of him and had him lifted from the ground. All he could do for a brief moment was watch in bewildered amusement before he jogged over seeing that Alana was fumbling in her boot for something. The moment the dagger was drawn, Cassian gripped the woman's arm and took a hard slap to the face which he blinked at. She glared at him, and then reached her hand to soothe at the sting she'd left behind, trying to manipulate him.

"Give it a fucking rest Alana." he growled and twisted her arm to make her drop the blade. He shoved her and picked up the weapon. She looked between him and Lexi and turned on her heels to run off.

"Lex.." he murmured, just before she threw him and he watched his father flail through the air and land amongst the crates and barrels. He laughed under his breath and reached for her face. "Gods I fucking love you." he smiled. "I'm sorry about this.." his head shook.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

It would have been a very bad idea for someone to have tried to stab her in that moment she was so angry. The distinct disapproval of magic would have done nothing to stop her using it on that wretch of a woman. For a moment all she could do was look at his father in the gutter, daring him to get up so she could throw a punch at him instead, when Cassian's touch on her arm finally seemed to register. As he tugged her round towards him she let out a breath through clenched teeth.

"You're sorry? You were going to be all mature and I just threw my future father-in-law in a gutter," she had to laugh as he cupped her face and she brought her hands up over his, stroking her thumb over his knuckles. "Come on, let's go before I get my whole army into a political incident with the Anirian or Obarian Guard," she grimaced and took his hand to begin walking away.

 

[Cassian]

Cassian half frowned, half grinned at her and in that moment the love he felt for her made him feel physically weak. "Don't.. Don't call him that. I don't have a father." he rumbled, and nodded at her as she took his hand to leave.

"Dedrick!! Fucking bring them to me!!"

Cassian looked back to see a few of the Anirian men helping his father up out of the gutter, Alana by his side and pointing toward him and Lexi. There were six in total, and Cassian paled slightly.. They weren't a force to be fucked with.

"Run.." He told her, and gripped her hand tightly as he took off into a sprint.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

"No, you don't," and she kissed him again with a smile, happy that he didn't seem to be too upset about her resulting to violence on their date night. She caught the sounds of the man shouting at the same time Cassian did but instead of paling like Cassian did she actually began to laugh at the ludicrous nature of it all.

Her laughter only grew worse when he grabbed her hand and took off with her through the streets. Despite being in heels she kept up surprisingly well, casting her eyes over her shoulder every now and then to see if they were still following.

She was beginning to get flashbacks to when her and Damien had run through the streets after stealing a spiced hot cake from the butchers. The memory was the only reason she remembered the alleyway that was coming up and very quickly she tugged him down it before the others rounded the corner and saw where they went. She pressed him flush up against the wall, panting, eyes on the entrance of the alleyway.

 

[Cassian]

He was glad she was finding all of this so amusing, but as he slammed against the wall of the alleyway and panted for breath, so did he. He laughed as quietly as he could and pressed back into the shadow to wait. The men darted past, and he could hear Dedrick's voice booming out demands about finding them. His heart was racing, but he wasn't sure if it was from running or from looking at her, flushed and dressed like that, the woman who'd just thrown his own father like a sack of potatoes.

The look he gave her was a heady mix of adoration and sheer animalistic hunger and he pinned her to the wall with his body and gripped at her face as he claimed her mouth and neck beneath his lips. "Lex.." he breathed, entirely disregarding the fact that they had Anirian soldiers currently scouring the streets for them. He wanted her here and now, and gods help any who got in his way.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Her face had been turned towards the entrance as she waited to see if they were safe to move on and so she had not had much warning. She felt him shift and then he slammed her up against the wall opposite. There was a muffled noise of exclamation as his hands grabbed at her like a man drowning and kissed her. She sunk into it and soon her own hunger met his like a starving wolf. Her hands slid to his hips and pulled him closer, breathing hitching as he broke contact to trail a path of fire over her neck and exposed shoulders. Her name from his lips felt like a question which she answered by looping her arms about his neck and jumping to wrap her legs about his waist.

Now her lips were free she too nipped at his jaw and his neck, her hands sliding back down his body to rip open his shirt. Buttons scattered on the cobbled floor but she gave a groan of satisfaction as her hands slid over his exposed torso. She took a moment simply to stare then as her eyes roved back up to his, heart hammering inside of her chest, she bit down on her lower lip, put her hands back in his hair and pulled him back down into a kiss.

 

[Cassian]

He spared not a single thought for yet another ruined shirt. He had plenty more, and all that was on his mind right now was sheer carnal desire. His lungs were starved for air as the pair stared into each other's souls for a moment, but the look on her face only spurred him on further and he growled as she gripped his hair.. Gods she was amazing. He needed her, now, and he thanked the gods that she chose to wear that dress....

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Lexi was never going to not wear a dress again.

She was surprised the Anirian's didn't find them - in fact, she was pretty impressed nobody stuck their head around the alley. Maybe Oban was not as uptight as she thought and they were used to ignoring those kinds of noises. She felt positively woozy as he finally let her legs touch down once more and after taking one step she put a hand on the wall to steady herself.

She felt like jelly.

"Remind me... to throw people you hate more often."