Private Tales Forastero

[Kishou]

The swordsman suddenly raised his arms as if to surrender. "Okay!" He admitted. "I really want them back." Kishou leaned back against the edge of the back and let out a huffy, puffy sigh. "They were a gift. A one-of-a-kind pair of swords, made specifically for me."

He looked at the water between them. All of Kishou's moving around in the bath had caused small waves.

"Perhaps when all of this is over, we can seek them out."

 

[Amorea Delarosa]

Amore startled slightly, despite his true feelings about the swords being what she expected. Hearing him confirm her suspicions only made their loss sting a bit more for her. It was a weight of debt that set on her shoulders as much as it did on his - but much like he'd said before, there was nothing they could do about it now.

"Then ... we will be sure to use our fortune carefully and save what we can for buying them back." It was not an effort she meant to shirk. Regardless of how things turned out with her own problems, she felt compelled to ensure those swords returned to their rightful owner.

"I suspect we will be well taken care of by the Chairman and his wife during our travels with them. We may have little need to spend anything at all ... as I have sought to secure their favor these last few weeks." Then, a curious thing happened: the Priestess made an expression of wry, mischievous conniving - lips pursing into a droll smirk and eyes drawing casually to the side in his direction. "I think the plan is going well."

 

[Kishou]

"Childs play, indeed," Kishou nervously smiled. Was that a flutter he felt in his heart? She was entirely cute, especially so during rare breaks in character. He realized then he'd probably taken the Priestess a bit too lightly and hadn't ever considered that she had it in her to be so sly.

~~​

At dinner the same night, Kishou took his usual spot beside Amore. The chairman, across from him, had spared him a few glances. The swordsman knew better than to attempt a signal back at him, for he lacked the subtlety for that kind of thing and instead focused on his meal. As always, he was mostly quiet and listened to the others as they spoke. Business, fond memories, recent events, and finally, the festival.

"Sir Kishou!" Kei turned his attention to the swordsman for the first time that evening, "I hear you've become comfortable with your new swords. Are they to your liking?"

"It feels like I'm whole again," Kishou stretched and slapped his left side where he would typically wear the swords. Obviously, he'd left them behind before coming to supper. Glancing between the chairman and Kei, he chuckled. "Like I've been reunited with an old friend or family member."

 

[Amorea Delarosa]

Amore had cosied up to conversation with Lady Himari about the flowers she intended to grow in the local region her husband had just acquired for her. The Priestess was becoming more fluent in conversation now, and more able to follow as other discussions moved at natural pace. Their talk subsided as Kei spoke up, the Master having been rather quiet himself for most of the evening and skimming looks at Amore every so often.

Kishou's response gave Amore pause, but she remained silent and smiled quietly into her tea.

["That is very good to hear,"] Kei nodded, ["a swordsman should never be without a sword, wouldn't you agree Chairman?"]

["I would agree, yes. It is like a painter without a brush, or a singer without a voice, is it not?"]

["Some people learn to sing without their voices,"] Amore offered gently, ["through the art of dance or music."]

Kei smiled broadly, wonderingly at those words, ["Beautifully spoken, Lady Rose."]

["Kishou,"] the Chairman gently cleared his throat, ["I wonder, since you are not presently detained by your work at the Orchid, if I might employ your swords?"]

At this Amore made a noise of discontent.

["Well, unless of course you have made other promises, hm?"] the Chairman offered respectfully, ["I understand you are the Lady Rose's guardian. I would not wish to take you from such a responsibility."]

["The Lady Rose is perfectly safe here at the Orchid now. She goes nowhere without protection,"] Kei asserted himself, ["and I make a solemn vow that no harm shall ever befall her again, not while she is under my care."]

["That is very kind of you both,"] Amore said, ["Kishou is my guardian, but he has also promised me not to take on jobs that would put his life at risk.]

["There's ... not much risk in what I need,"] the Chairman looked to Kishou, ["we are bringing in the first shipments of seeds along the river. I simply need extra eyes to ensure no mishaps. Having his swords at his side will simply be ... extra insurance. Just for a day or two, until the shipments get to their destination."]

 

[Kishou]

Did he need to put it that way? In need of his swords. Really? Kishou flashed a pained smile at the Chairman. Amore, expectedly, was against the notion. The swordsman opened his mouth to speak next, but Kei interjected.

Solemn vow? What's all this superfluous wording? The lines of Kishou's forced smile fell flat and, for the most fleeting of moments, showed his emotions. Most notably, annoyance. It was quickly rinsed from his features, unlikely caught by the teahouse master or anyone else for that matter, who all were focused on the Priestess at his side.

A comforting hand rose to touch the middle of Amore's back. A quick, piercing glance towards Kei, then back to his companion. "No risk, he says. I'm sure what he truly wants rather than a set of eyes or swords is a pair of strong arms to help lift his seed."

Well, it was half true, anyways. There was little risk in scouting. And if Kishou did happen to come across anything that would necessitate action aside from scouting, he would take it to the police. That was their job.

"It'll give me something to do while you're at your lessons," he said in Common.

 

[Amorea Delarosa]

The hand at her back was ... unexpected and mildly confusing. Kishou used hand signals to lead and guide her when they were on the move, but it wasn't anything needed while sitting at the table. Her mind almost instinctively went we're leaving now but she forced herself to remain as she was, feeling the weight of his hand there. Kei certainly took notice and seemed to back off from the conversation to reconsider his position.

["Well, I meant not to put my request so bluntly as manual labor..."] the Chairman feigned some guilt, ["as you are far above such things. But yes, I have seen the work you have done here in the gardens and around the grounds. One of my men is injured and having you there will certainly speed things along."]

Amore frowned, her silver gaze shifting toward Kishou, "I do not like you leaving," she admitted quietly, "but it will put you in the Chairman's good graces."

So far she had been playing the major game of cards where the Chairman and his wife were concerned. At present, they mostly looked at Kishou as a plus one per his responsibility to her. If Kishou could work his charm and create a kinship with the Chairman, it would only be of use to them.

She nodded finally, ["So long as that's all you need. No danger, Chairman."]

["On my honor, Lady Rose, I promise I have no intention of placing your Guardian in danger,"] the Chairman bowed his head to her, ["and he will be paid more than generously for his time."]

 

[Kishou]

Kishou nonchalantly glanced towards Kei, and having sensed his withdrawal from the immediate conversation, lowered his hand.

"I'm merely grateful for the opportunity to help," Kishou wryly smiled at the Chairman. Then, under the table, Kishou gently tugged on Amore's sleeve. He whispered to her, "I know." Especially given what had just happened. If there was one thing Kishou trusted at least, it was that nothing like it would happen again whether he was there or not. "That's the idea. I promise I'll be back like I never left."

Dinner ended with little else of importance being said. As Kishou and Amore readied for bed and finally laid down, the swordsman was particularly... Aggressive? He'd normally let the Priestess get comfortable against him, and then that would be that, but he was actively cuddling back into her. He hadn't had much sake with his food. He didn't hit his head. He just wanted to.

 

[Amorea Delarosa]

How closely they slept truly varied on the weather, temperature, and state of things in the Teahouse. During the time he had been working as an employee, Kishou had been very distant. Amore was not particularly seeking his attentions, though there were times that being closer to him had provided her comfort beyond just his warmth. Normally she laid at his side with her head resting against his shoulder. On colder nights she may have coiled in a bit closer.

Some mornings she would awake to find an arm or leg or both loosely wrapped around her and Kishou turned into her. Other days he was off on his end of the bedmat.

Regardless, Amore had never thought much on it. Sharing a bedspace with him had become second nature and natural - anymore, it was difficult to sleep without his presence nearby.

So when she made herself comfortable at his side, laying on her back with her head lightly rested against his shoulder and he moved to immediately wrap an arm around her, nuzzling his head up into her neck, she froze. The sensation of his weight over her, even in this small amount, and the way he seemed to cling and squeeze set her heart into a sudden rush of anxious something. She was having a hard time discerning if it was fear or something else entirely.

"Is-" she swallowed, moony gaze staring up at nothing at all, "is everything ok?"

 

[Kishou]

"Idon'tknow," he mumbled into her shoulder, "Everything feels ok. Is everything ok with you?" He was half teasing her in his own way and half just enjoying snuggling into her for once. It filled him with overwhelming warmth. Contentedness. Shouldn't he have done this sooner?

Before, he would be mindful of how he touched her. When was it appropriate to put his hand on her? Where was it appropriate to touch her to guide her as they walked? He did promise to respect her vows. Of all the promises he's made, that was the one he was guaranteed to keep. But, he was still respecting her vows. It just felt that the line between what was and was not acceptable wasn't clearly drawn anymore. They'd bathed together. He had seen her, but not all of her. They shared a bed many times. Held each other many times. He felt no guilt about cozying up to her as he did.

"Am I bothering you?"

 

[Amorea Delarosa]

What trickle of edging fear from the sensation against her neck, threatening to unleash a PTSD attack was suddenly quashed by the words falling flush against her skin in his breath. Blazing suns, it was a permeating warmth like a hot bath, but a hundred thousand times more inviting. She had felt the breath of others against her skin before, but never before had she wanted to wrap herself in it.

The squeeze of his arm and hand nearly made her shiver.

"I - yes," she said with a flutter of her eyelids to blink away the invisible blaze of unbidden want for him to pull her closer, "I mean, no. I - uhm," if he could see in the dark he would have seen the furious shade of red growing in her cheeks, "you're not bothering me. I'm just not ahm, used to you being so close."

She willed her heart to stop beating quite so thunderously. Why? Why was he suddenly so close?

"I'm ok," Amore said after a moment, turning her head into his hair and quietly breathing in his scent and out a sigh, "it's nice."

 

[Kishou]

"Isn't it just?" He purred. "I need to savor this, since I'll be without you for a couple days." After a momentary silence fell between them, his breathing fell in rhythm with hers. "Could you? Get used to it?"

 

[Amorea Delarosa]

The idea of Kishou leaving still did not sit well with her, but Amore maintained any further complaints against the notion behind a level self discipline. She'd grown terribly accustomed to his presence - so much so that she felt out of balance without it. It was unbecoming of a Priestess of the Solar Choir, who was raised to live independently of orthodox social norms.

Such closeness being one of them. What they were doing was strictly forbidden and if her High Priest ever found out ... it was very likely Kishou might lose his life. Blasphemy against the standard of their God, affections before marriage, and with a man who held no value toward such a union. At least, no value to the church or Cortos. But Kishou held a great deal of value to Amore in all the non essential ways.

It felt strange, finding such deep comfort in something that was so reprehensibly against her religious and moral code. The frown forming on Amore's lips was one of someone caught in place darkness and sin that felt curiously illuminated and natural.

"Yes," she said at length, "I believe so." She felt her smile return all on its own and nuzzled gently into his hair.

She shifted slightly under him, drawing the arm beneath him upwards from under his weight to fold over his shoulder and around his neck where her fingers could gently comb over his scalp. The Priestess warmed beneath him and the flush of her face grow in intensity.

 

[Kishou]

"Me, too."

It must have been a spell. Nothing else could explain how Kishou fell asleep so quickly. The swordsman tightly snuggled himself into her embrace and was quickly lulled to sleep by her growing warmth.

Though a repeat offender of it, Kishou didn't sleep in the following morning and stealthily slipped from under the Priestess' grasp, careful not to stir her peaceful slumber. He dressed for practicality, wearing dull-colored clothes that would be suited for his task outside of the city.

He sat cross-legged next to Amore and watched her for a short while. Then, a soft, longing smile washed over his features, and he tenderly brushed a loose crimson lock out of her face with the back of his forefinger.

"I'll be back soon," he said to the slumbering Priestess and left to find the Chairman.

When she would wake up, she'd find that in her hand, where she may have expected to find her companion, was instead his mother's necklace.

~~​

"How surprising," Was what the Chairman said to Kishou as the latter greeted him. "It's rare to see you up and about so early."

"I intend to complete this quickly so I may return to Amore's side."

Is that so, the Chairman's expression said. They walked and talked, and the Chairman supplied Kishou with the reports from the previous scout, a map of the area, and a hat to wear during his traveling. With that, the swordsman left Kozai.

Panic brewed within the White Orchid Teahouse. Kishou would not return until early on the fifth day after his departure.

 

[Amorea Delarosa]

There was, perhaps, only a few specific parties that had grown to panic when the Dragon did not return within the two days that had been promised. Amore disliked living in what ifs, but it could not be helped that she would seek out the Chairman on the morning of the third day to ascertain the whereabouts of her companion. The Chairman assured her all was well, and that the shipment must have hit a snag. Perhaps a wagon broke down, or rains further south may have washed out one of the roads. These were common things in this area.

Master Kei was taking full advantage of this Kishou-free time to find plenty of excuses to spend it with Amore. On the afternoon of the third day, Kei casually brought up a curiosity about her and Kishou.

["I asked when you first arrived to my teahouse if you two were ... together. Kishou informed you were not but that he was your guardian. Circumstances being what they are, I wonder if he was telling the truth?"]

Amore found the question rather odd given the Master disliked asking things twice, ["Circumstances?"]

Kei gave a half-hearted laugh of disbelief, ["My dear Lady Rose ... you must know how it looks from the outside, hm? You spend nearly all your time together and you share a bed. That is, frankly, unheard of for an unmarried couple. Is this something of your culture, that women lay with men before marriage?"]

["How dare you,"] Amore snapped at the man, feeling a heated anger rise in her blood. She could not see that candles and lights within the immediate vicinity gave a virulent flicker in kind, ["Kishou is my dear friend and closest confidant. We have traveled together for nearly two years and he has proven himself to be a greater man than most any other could hope to be. He stays by my side because he has made me a promise, to protect me and to discover a cure for my ailment. I do not lay with him. I do not lay with any man."]

["I ... meant no offense, Lady Rose. I merely wish to untangle these curiosities of mine about your ...foreign ways. They deeply intrigue me. Do you mean to say you ... prefer women?"]

Amore raised her brows at that question, flummoxed by it and laughing at the absurdity, ["You misunderstand me, good Master. Where I come from, I am a Priestess of my church. I live by a strict moral code within my faith and have taken vows of ..."] she did not know the word in his language, ["vows to lay with no man lest the Church finds a suitable match that I should marry."]

["You are ... celibate?"] Kei blinked, astonished, ["Forgive me, you must understand how difficult it is to believe you remain with your honor."]

["Why is that so difficult to believe?"]

["Do you not realize how beautiful you are? How strange and enchanting? By the Gods, fair Rose, if you only tried you could easily entrance any man you wished. You did not even have to try, and yet I find myself drawn to your beauty and charm like a bee to a flower."]

Ahh, so that's what it was.

["You are not the first to make such confessions to me, Master Kei. I am certain that you will not be the last. I am flattered, truly, but my heart belongs with my faith and the Church, as does my honor."] Why is it that she had said that last part a thousand times before and this was the first time she did not feel the belief of it swell within her chest? Why, this time, did it feel hollow of truth?

Amore did not sleep well that night. When Kishou did not return on the fourth day she did not sleep at all. She'd visited with the Chairman before the evening, imploring him to send a scout to ascertain the reason behind Kishou's late return. Her room that night was terribly cold, big, and empty. She took to prayer and meditation when sleep refused to find her. His mother's necklace had found a temporary home around her neck since the morning she awoke to discover it in her hand. The weight of it was undeniable.


Kishou's arrival at dawn stirred the dogs who in turn stirred the posted guards from their usual rounds. A whistle sounded for an intruder and he found himself briefly apprehended until they realized who he was.

["Call Master Kei and Mameha!"]

 

[Kishou]

When the Dragon returned to the White Orchid, he was in a state none would ever imagine possible. He was covered in scrapes, bruises, and minor cuts. His outfit was tattered, as he'd ripped it apart here and there to use as emergency bandaging to staunch the bleeding from two gruesome, deep cuts over his right calf and stomach.

Kishou was a ghastly figure as he wandered onto the teahouse's premises, hobbling on his one good leg and dragging the other limply behind him. Dazed and running on mere fumes, he walked in a straight path, and even as the guards emerged and ordered him to stop, he did not halt but instead drew his sword. In his other hand, he gripped a burlap sack that dripped with blood.

They subdued him without difficulty, knocking the bloodied sword from his weak grip and restraining his arms. They recognized him almost immediately, and as one guard shouted for Mameha and Kei, Kishou finally collapsed.

 

[Amorea Delarosa]

The sudden flurry of activity was not to be missed. People were yelling, calling for Kei and Mameha, calling for the healer. There was movement outside her slat wall door of servants running by. Amore caught the frantic words of the Dragon is back and suddenly withdrew from her meditations with an instant onset of nausea.

Something felt wrong.

Get towels and the medicine!

More gauze!

["Amo,"] Una was at her bedroom door and Amore nearly leapt to her feet at the sound of her voice.

["Una-"] she hushed anxiously, ["...what is it?"]

["Kishou is back,"] the girl stepped inside and quickly took Amore's hand to lead her out of the room and down the hall.

Amore didn't ask why the girl's hand gripped her own so tensely, or what the chaotic energy and yelling about the grounds meant. She could sense the trouble on the air instinctively and followed her gut to let the young girl lead her to where she needed to be: at Kishou's side.

 

[Kishou]

A table had been brought out to where Kishou collapsed. Moving him in the state he was in was out of the question, at least until the healer said otherwise.

"Careful, careful!" As they lifted the swordsman onto the table.

"Where is that Choubei?!"

"They had to fetch him from his home!"

They could do little but await Choubei, the healer. They were accustomed to little injuries. Scrapes, bruises, small cuts. Trips and falls. But, this? None in the Teahouse, save the headman of the workers, Tenza, had ever seen such grievous wounds. Even the old veteran was at a loss.

Choubei arrived dressed in his bedwear, carrying a kit of supplies. Behind him, the guards sent to fetch him entered with their arms just as full.

"Space!" He scurried around, setting his tools out as he assessed Kishou, "Give me space! You - go boil more water - and by the Gods, I need more light!" The healer's expression turned grim as he undressed Kishou's wounds and began his work. Nevertheless, he remained vocal, calling for nearby hands to hand him what tools and medicines he needed.

To the side, one of the guards gave Kei the bloodied sack that Kishou held as he'd returned. It was small, something to be worn on the waist, and as the young master teased it open, he recoiled and swore. Several ears, the proof that the Chairman had requested, sat inside.

"I thought he was helping with the shipment," Mameha whispered to Kei. She held her sleeve up to her nose and averted her gaze from the sack's contents.

"So did I," He replied and looked at the faces around him. "The Rose?"

Mameha shook her head and shrugged. As if on queue, Una and Amore entered.

 

[Amorea Delarosa]

Una lead Amore as close to where Kishou was being tended as she could, but the crowd that had formed in the halls leading there were near impassable. The young girl had a tight grip on Amore's hand as she tried to yell for them to clear the way and press through. Amore could not help her, without her sight it was impossible to know a better way or what their challenge truly was.

Then a loud voice rang out over the frantic murmurs of curiosity and concern. Kei, a man who rarely raised his voice or spoke strongly out of emotion, stilled the people with one loud, single word.

["QUIET!"] the man stepped through the doors, arms raised as he look around, ["Everyone please return to your rooms or your tasks. That is an order!"]

There was hushed dissent but it worked and slowly the bodies thinned out enough for Una to tug Amore forward.

["Lady Rose!"] Kei greeted her with a pale face, ["Thank goodness. I meant to find you-"]

["What has happened?"] Amore did not let him finish, ["Where is Kishou?!"]

["Come,"] Kei shooed away Una and took Amore's hand from her, ["you must come with me."]

He lead her down the hall to the infirmary where their on-hand Doctor tended to all manner of ailments of the staff. There on the raised table was Kishou's motionless form covered in blood-stained gauze and bandages.

["I have done all that I can,"] said the Doctor, ["he is gravely wounded and has lost a lot of blood. I do not know magic and can do nothing more for him."]

 

[Kishou]

The short man was wiping his hands with a damp cloth. Under his nails. Between his fingers.

"By all means, it's a miracle that he is alive. His wounds had begun to fester. His stomach, deeply cut. Should he have strained it further-" The doctor made a spilling motion with his hands near his stomach. "That leg of his... The muscle has been deeply cut. With rest, he will be able to walk in it with no problem. But, without any proper healing art, it won't fully heal."

Kei stood, arms folded, jaw clenched.

"They found a map with his possessions. It seems he had been in the hills nearby." Looking back at Kishou, then to the pair, Choubei shook his head. "I don't know what could possess a man to walk that distance in such a state, but if the Dragon is that spirited a man, I'm sure that his life will be in no further danger."

He could do little more than offer comforting words, and he didn't dare warn the Rose to prepare for the worst. Finally, with a polite bow, the doctor left the two alone with the unconscious swordsman.

"It seems," Kei cleared his throat, "We were both fooled."

 

[Amorea Delarosa]

Amore was in a cold and stunned silence, feeling the frigid creep of tempered anger work its way into her veins. It sliced along through the pain she felt in knowing her closest friend had met such a fate - away from her, exactly where she had never wanted him to be.

["Please, take me to him,"] the Rose quietly bade the Teahouse Master, who obliged her and lead her over to Kishou's side, placing her hand upon his own where it lay at his side.

["I will send out urgent word for the Healer to return as quickly as possible. It may ... take a few days."] Kei said as he stood beside her.

["I wish to speak with the Chairman at his earliest convenience."]

The tone of the Rose's voice was enough to cause Kei's frown to twitch, but he nodded, ["I will deliver this request. Let me know if you need anything else."]

And then Kei was gone and Amore was left to the silence of her companion's shallow breathing. The Priestess gripped his hand gently at first, felt a sob of despair and frustration shake her lungs, and squeezed his hand in the unspoken need of him to pull through.

 

[Kishou]

Kishou laid there for some time, his shallow breathing maintaining its slow rhythm. Only after several pained hours of waiting did he stir. His eyes weakly fluttered open to the ceiling, and his hand moved against the weight of Amore's. The Dragon attempted to sit up, but he could hardly raise his shoulders off of the table, and he groaned.

The swordsman squeezed the Priestess' hand and turned his head towards her.

"Amore," he whispered.

 

[Amorea Delarosa]

Without being able to see where his wounds were, Amore dared not touch the man anywhere else but his unbandaged hand. Standing there, all sense of time left her as she sunk into a meditative prayer - but try as she might she could not find herself in a state of clear thoughts and no emotion as she had often employed before. Her ability to detach herself from the subject of her prayers had withered over the months spent traveling at his side.

Now all she could do was feel the ache of her heart and the pang of need that she had so often overlooked within her gathered faithfuls at service.

When Kishou opened his eyes and looked toward her he would find her face once again streaked by tears. Closed as her eyes were in prayer, they slivered open at the squeeze on her fingers, "Kishou..." The air in her lungs caught in shock at the sound of his voice, "You're awake!"

Her free hand shakily, gingerly felt up the length of his arm to his shoulder, neck, and then head where it ever so gently cupped the side of his face, "By the Light ... " and it was with great relief and overwhelming sense of sadness for what could have been that she abandoned his hand and leaned down to carefully embrace his face with her own hands on either side, pressing her forehead against his, "I thought...I'd lost you."

 

[Kishou]

A faint, rueful smirk grew across Kishou's face. He'd made her cry. Again.

"I can't be killed so easily," He muttered. Though he wished to raise his hand and in some way return her embrace, he possessed no strength to do so. Instead, a deep warmth that wasn't his own began to spread over his face like a blanket being carefully laid over him.

"The stars spoke to me," He said, closing his eyes. Kishou remembered the scenery in front of him as he'd emerged from the forest. He remembered looking up at a starry night sky. Of course, they didn't speak to him. He had simply been dazed and anemic. "They said... They said you were waiting for me. So, I followed the stars."

The swordsman sighed and tilted his head into hers—anything to get closer.

 

[Amorea Delarosa]

A breathless, exasperated laugh fell from Amore's lips and over his face beneath her, her hands wishing so deeply to embrace him but finding themselves locked in place out of fear of causing him more pain, "Silly..." she shook her head, wanting to tell him that the stars didn't talk. Amore couldn't bring herself to say it.

"Then I will thank the stars tonight for returning you to me," she shifted over him and carefully lifted her head to plant a kiss over his temple. It radiated a soothing warmth that eased his pain in a way that the Doctor's herbs could not.

"Rest, now," her fingers carefully brushed over his hair as she stood up from him, "you're safe."

 

[Kishou]

Were he not so weak in body and mind, he may have thought more about her kiss, but instead let its warmth expand within him and soothe his pain. Magic had very little to do with the strengthening of his heartbeat and fluttering warmth that rose from his chest into his cheeks.

"Don't go," his hand reached out to grab her sleeve, but his fingers only brushed the hem. "I won't... Ever leave your side... Again..."

A bit too soothing, perhaps, as the swordsman fell soundly asleep in just moments.