Private Tales Forastero

[Kishou]

Kishou looked up from the text to stare at the Priestess. Was she trying to picture the buildings as they passed? Or perhaps if the skies were clear or not?

“Hm,” he hummed through a small smile, “perhaps we should try Rosemerra’s venison stew, or is that too heavy?”

As the robed woman engrossed him, the Forastero wondered if she remembered what he looked like? When she heard his voice, what image did she paint of him in her mind?

He selfishly wished that she could look at him - see him again.

“I hope we can rest tonight on good news.”

Kishou looked out the lattice screen; the College grew closer and closer as the carriage rocked along the street.

 

[Amorea Delarosa]

"Perhaps," she replied quietly, unable to muster a second polite smile.

Upon arrival to the gates leading into the college district they would find that Ignatius had sent a missive ahead of the carriage for the Maester Kismet. Though Amore had been expected, they'd arrived several days ahead of schedule due to clear roads and good weather. Not wishing to tarry and linger any longer than absolutely necessary, it was a relief to learn the Maester was willing to see her early.

Kishou was not granted passage into the college grounds and was asked to wait behind with the carriage by a smug-looking student who lead Amore off with a hand far lower down her back than Kishou had ever dared. It would be several hours before the Priestess reappeared, lead this time by the Maester Kismet herself. Kismet was a woman of diminutive stature who made the Priestess look quite towering and imposing. At a glance one might guess Kismet to be a partial halfling and, presumably, they'd not be wrong.

There were no bright expressions to encourage any hope of good news. Kismet bid the Priestess goodbye and good luck with a gentle pat to her hand and a solemn shake of her head. She handed Amore off to Kishou and waved them off as they climbed into the carriage.

There were no tears, but it was clear Amore had not gotten the news she'd been hoping for. She was stoically silent on the ride to the Brandywine Inn.

 

[Kishou]

After not being given an actual reason as to why he could not have access to the college grounds, the swordsman found himself growing irritated as his argument was obstinately deflected by the student, and eventually rose to a jealous anger as the same student’s hand nestled in the small of Amore’s back. Kishou watched with folded arms and tightly pressed lips as the pair disappeared, then started pacing by the carriage.

“Where is Mithri now, eh?” he grumbled, then kicked one of the carriage’s wheels before sitting on the step under the door and ignored the driver’s complaints.

He would remember that boyish face.

The swordsman, who would have waited patiently every other time paced by the carriage for some time and eventually settled down and sat against the carriage to read until Amore and Maester Kismet appeared. He met them part way between the carriage and College, where the crimson-haired woman was switched guides in silence.

Kishou didn’t continue to read through the book and instead idly stared at the woman across from him. He wanted to know what exactly was said, but couldn’t bring himself to pry at the woman for information.

Empty words of encouragement would have done nothing now to dispel the woeful silence that hung between them. Truly, all he wished to do was embrace the woman, but he only stared, angry and saddened until they arrived at the inn.

His craving for stew left long ago.

 

[Amorea Delarosa]

"Sacerdotisa!" Mithri was the first to greet them at the front of the Inn, having left them at the Gilded Feather to make preparations at the Inn. She smiled brightly as she stepped forward to take Amore off Kishou's arm, beaming and speaking in clipped Cortosi native. It was obvious she was asking after the results, curious and hopeful, but the silent and short shake of Amore's head quickly dashed her excitement.

"No hay cura aquí," Amore murmured, "no hay cura en ningún lado."

"Oh, my beautiful Lady," Mithri gently brushed wayward locks of scarlet back over Amore's shoulder, "my heart aches for you. I make arrangements to return to Cortos at once, yes? We'll take you back to the Church, back to your home and your people, surround you with warmth and love."

In all her desperation to find her cure, Amore's shattered hopes found some semblance of comfort in the notion of going home. Even if it meant that everything would be different, at least there she would be with those she called family. The Priestess nodded in agreement, "We will depart in the morning. I am tired."

"You must rest, Sacerdotisa," the handmaiden agreed, "come, I take you to your room. Forastero, I show you your room as well. Come."

 

[Kishou]

From both his time spent on the expedition and at the Priestess’ side, he’d learned a fair amount of the Cortosi tongue. Far from fluent of course, but he clearly understood what was said between Amore and the handmaiden.

He’d expected as much, but what took him by surprise was that they would leave for Cortos in the morning. The Forastero was under the impression that, tiring as it may be, they would continue trying to find a solution for Amore.

His ears were deaf to all else.

“Forastero?” Mithri called to him again. She and Amore had already taken a few steps ahead.

“Hm? Ah,” he followed them into the inn, eyes downcast.

He spent the rest of the afternoon and part of the evening engrossed in the book, and he was surprised to learn that through the author’s travels, he discovered one of the markers on the portal stones took him to a foreign land. The description given was shocking to Kishou- the mage had discovered the Forastero’s homeland.

A dangerous idea began to form in the swordsman’s mind.

 

[Amorea Delarosa]

The evening crept in quietly with a sunset of blazing orange. Mithri brought food to both rooms, Rosemerra's venison stew with fresh bread. Seemed Amore had taken an opportunity, at some point in time within the last month, to impress upon Mithri how important it was to respect those guests under their care. Kishou may have been traveling as Amore's companion and personal guard, but he was also a guest.

A guest who needed to be reminded of boundaries, but a guest nevertheless, Mithri agreed.

By the time Kishou had reached the end of his desire to stay in and read, Amore had picked very little at the meal and taken a seat near the window. She couldn't see out it, but she could still hear the sounds of the city beyond and smell the scents of the evening air. Through the open door to her room, he might catch a glimpse of Mithri quietly brushing and plaiting the Priestess' long red hair, humming a soft tune.

 

[Kishou]

Leaving the book behind, Kishou exited into the hall. The swordsman tread lightly over the wooden floor and would have passed the Priestess' room without a second thought hadn't he heard Mithri's humming. He peeked in, gently nudging the door in with a finger, and looked past the handmaiden at Amore.

Her hair had always been at the forefront of her beauty. Carefully kept and styled in a tastefully simple fashion, when Kishou did not focus on her lovely features, he instead found himself lost staring at her hair. In that moment, his gut twisted in jealousy and chest seized in nostalgic longing as he remembered the subtle smell of sweat and shampoo, but more importantly, the weight of her head against his shoulder.

The Forastero knew what returning to Cortos meant. The search for a treatment and their time together would come to an end. He would likely never see the Priestess again.

"Forastero!" a voice called to the swordsman as he descended a set of stairs to the inn's foyer. A bar and tables filled the room, and patrons filled the bar and tables. At one of the tables, all of the guards drank together. One of them had called to the swordsman. "Up so late? Acompáñenos!"

As always, he politely rejected the invitation and instead stepped into the street. A warm evening breeze and the smell of an oncoming rain greeted him, and he aimlessly wandered through the street.

Absorbed in his idle strolling, Kishou unwittingly bumped into a young man as he exited a nearby tavern. The man stumbled back and was caught by two friends that accompanied him for a night of drinking.

"Oh! I'm terribly so-"

"My days, would it do you any harm to watch where you step?" the young man, now upright, angrily interrupted Kishou's apology. The two locked eyes and immediately recognized the other. While the taller and older man found himself at a loss for words, the student-mage was not.

"You," he exclaimed and turned to his friends, "This's him! That lad in a dress I told you about." When he faced Kishou once again, that same smug expression from when he walked off with Amore painted his face. The student, in an exaggerated motion, leaned and searched around either side of Kishou for something that obviously was not there. "Where's that woman? Blind, with the red hair? Right beauty she was."

He snorted and twisted back to look at his friends again. "A riiiight beauty. Say, why don' you introduce me-" he began to face Kishou again, though as he turned, a fist lashed out and struck the drunken boy's mouth.

"Oi!" one of his friends shouted as the student staggered back into his arms. Kishou, swiftly and without a word, beat the three students down in the street. They were drunk and slow, and Kishou suffered not a scratch saved for bruised and bloodied knuckles.

____________​

By the time Kishou returned to the Brandywine Inn, the foyer was empty, and the only dancing done was by the candle flames lighting up the room. The swordsman's feet dragged across the bare floor and up the stairs. The hall to his room seemed impossibly long. No small amount of shame weighed down on his shoulders, each step becoming increasingly difficult.

 

[Amorea Delarosa]

Door cracked, she'd heard him returning from what had been quite the late evening. Sitting awake from fever brought on by the gryphon's blood, Amore had thought, briefly, to call for him. She'd come to recognize the sounds of his movement and the peculiar, soft patter of his sandals during their time together. Didn't need to see to know he was in the hall.

But she didn't make a sound.

~~~

Silence followed the Priestess like a heavy raincloud the next morning. They were moving early and following a short breakfast, had packed up the carriage to leave for the portal stone. Within two weeks she would be home to Cortos and learning of the fate the Church had in store for her future. That left her will a short two weeks of the Forastero's continued presence until he, too, would find himself reassigned to another chapter of his life. A part of her (much larger part than she'd dare admit) was already mourning the loss of his companionship. She'd grown quite fond of the man.

As they set off from the eastern outer gates of the city she shifted in her seat, listening to the sounds of sea birds beyond the lattice window and the voices of the various sailors on their ships at port. The Cairou river was a massive thing and she recalled it with fading clarity from her visit here as a student those many years ago.

"I heard you returning last night," Amore broke her silence finally, voice quiet, "your footsteps in the hall seemed ... heavy." He might hear the hint of concern.

"Is everything alright?"

 

[Kishou]

The ever-talkative Forastero silently perused the book, but the constant rocking in the carriage made it hard to focus on the words. Eventually, and with a slight headache, he closed the book and instead chose to watch as the outside world passed through the lattice screen. He let his hands rest in his lap, his knuckles aching from the previous night. Kishou vainly attempted to not anguish over the sudden cessation of their search for a cure, but the Priestess' voice, soft and soothing as it was, pulled his focus from their passing surroundings.

"I hope that I did not disturb you," he spoke gently. "I..." he rubbed his sore knuckles, which screamed at him in response, "am well now." He lied.

As he set his eyes on Amore, a small, sad smile drew across his face.

"Do you want this? To go home."

 

[Amorea Delarosa]

"You didn't," she shook her head, "I was already awake."

She didn't feel the need to elaborate, especially not with that follow up question of his. Did she want this? The query felt loaded and the lump forming in her throat was of no help. The Priestess schooled her gaze to remain as it was, staring just past Kishou somewhere into the corner of the carriage to his right.

"Yes," Amore replied quietly, "I want to be where I am needed, where I can fulfill my vows and oaths to the Radiant Father. I have spent a great deal of time seeking help for myself, it is time that I return to help others ... even if that no longer means doing so in the same manner as before."

 

[Kishou]

Vows and oaths. Amore would undoubtedly fulfill her vows and oaths if she returned, but the Forastero believed, to the bottom of his heart, that she would never find fulfillment in life. He held his knuckles tighter now, fighting the urge to question her faith and decisions. He half-lost that fight.

"What if you could do more? You- you are a woman that glowed with excitement when telling me about the paintings of beautiful sceneries by Master Leonardi, or when you spoke about seeing foreign lands. You travel so much, and the way you spoke about wanting to see more... the way you were resolved to see more... the elven kingdoms, cities in the sand."

The young woman across from him had shared so much to him during their travels. Small things; things she found beauty in, things that brought her joy and made her smile, places she wanted to go and see. Kishou always considered Amore to be beautiful, but never more so than when she spoke about her interests, speaking of things that the church did not teach her, but that she found to love of her own volition.

"There is so much of the world you have yet to see, things you have yet to do. Do you truly want to return to Cortos, or is it that you fear to betray the expectations set upon you?"

 

[Amorea Delarosa]

His words caught the Priestess off-guard. No one spoke to her like that, not ever. Amore found herself caught between feeling offended and chastised and wasn't sure where to land. What Kishou said was true, there were many things left in this life she dreamt of doing, of seeing. But she was resolved to one simple fact-

The shock of her expression slowly folded to a careworn smile, silvered gaze drifting down, "My life is not my own," she admitted to him, "it belongs to the Church, to the people who took me in and raised me, taught me everything I know. To live selfishly when there are so many others in need I cannot abide. I owe my life to the faith. I must return to Cortos as I am bid."

 

[Kishou]

Frankly, the swordsman was stunned at how willing the Priestess was to claim her life as something that wasn't her own. It angered and confused him, and he could think of several arguments against it, but he remained silent for a moment. He frowned at Amore, and after a while, finally spoke.

"The dreams you spoke about to me are far from selfish," he paused, silently considering his next words. "It is easy to give your life to the Church, but I believe that if you return to Cortos now, your flame will never burn again."

Kishou looked at her downcast, pale eyes. "I believe you will regret it. Very much."

 

[Amorea Delarosa]

She remained silent for several long, drawn out minutes after he finished speaking. Lips pressed together with enough tension that the red paled to a shade of pink. How dare he? How dare he presume to know what she would or would not regret. How dare he think he understood what her faith meant to her when he, a man of no home or people or family, could hardly speak of his own. And perhaps that was where the line lay between them. Kishou was very much still a Forastero, a nonbeliever.

Amore could not fault him for his transgressions against that which he did not know.

"What bothers you more," her voice had dropped to something just above a whisper, "that I will never see again or that once we return you will never see me again?"

 

[Kishou]

Kishou leaned back into his seat and let a long, deep breath out through his nose. His silence was painfully long, but he did not spend that time deciding on an answer; that had come the moment she posed the question. The silence was an answer in itself.

He wanted to be there when she could see the world again. Moreso than that, he selfishly wanted Amore to realize her dreams, with him at her side as he had been over the last several months. Whether it was out of pride or fear of what she would say to him, Kishou kept that to himself. He kept many words to himself, and in the silence that hung between them only resolved himself to the dangerous thoughts that had circulated in his mind over the last several hours.

Sometime later, with the suffocating atmosphere still lingering in the carriage, Kishou finally looked back to the woman across from him.

"I said some unnecessary things," the Forastero finally said, "I apologize."

 

[Amorea Delarosa]

Amore felt, for the briefest of moments, thankful for the fact that she need not make eye contact with the man nor see what expressions might've been on his face. The certainty of many emotions was a strong one and she considered herself lucky she was well-schooled on diplomacy and keeping face. Something about his silence was unnerving, rattling the woman's heart that sat so steadily on a foundation of faith for so many years.

Did she want to know his answer? She suspected she knew it, but without any words to affirm her suspicions she could only go by intuition.

The Priestess gently cleared her throat, nodding curtly in response to the man. Perhaps silence, on top of everything else, was the best choice moving forward. The less opportunity given to say unnecessary things, the better for everyone in question. Two days travel to the Portal Stone wasn't that long, and to speak with the man only when needed wouldn't prove too difficult. They'd shared extended silences before, now would be no different.

Only it was different and she didn't know why.



"We're just a few hours away from the Portal Stone, Priestess," Mithri said to her as she helped pack their things away back into the carriage. They'd found an Inn on the road to stay at over night, taking the option of comfort while they still could. Their destination would see them several days travel without such luxuries and while the Priestess was not without a sense of adventure or willing to camp in a tent, it was much more effort on everyone's part.

"Come now, let me help you inside. The step's just there before you, M'Lady," Mithri smiled as she helped Amore up into the carriagehouse, "I've just need to pay the Innkeep. The guards are getting their horses ready. We'll be set to leave momentarily."

"Thank you, Mithri."

 

[Kishou]

The uncomfortable, unnatural weight of Kishou's two swords was a testament to the amount of time that had passed since he last wore the daisho. They had been unnecessary, given the guards and his constant presence around the Priestess. It would have been preferable to carry his plan out overnight, but Mithri had curtly shooed him away from Amore's room when he'd asked to "speak" with her.

She is tired, Forastero. You should rest as well, Forastero.

With everyone in separate areas and preparing for travel, it would be the best opportunity for him to act. He had started with the carriage driver, the man that carried a portal key bought from Elbion, and knocked him unconscious and left him bound and gagged in his room. It wouldn't be long until the other guards noticed his absence. Kishou packed his belongings (there weren't many) into the saddlebags of one of the horses. The carriage would have been too slow, and the guards likely would catch up to them if he were to take it.

That, and he didn't know how to drive it properly.

"Not riding with La Dama, eh, Forastero?" one of the guards in the stables remarked.

"There's a first time for everything," another added.

Kishou was guiding his horse by the reins out of the stables at that point. He looked back with a small smile. "No, I am."

The stables, conveniently Kishou, had only one set of large doors.

Kishou was the first to exit the stables, with a guard and his horse close behind. Before the guard could exit, the Forastero turned and, before the man could react, drew the shorter of his two swords from its sheath and struck the man across the jaw with the pommel. The swordsman wasn't so much fast as he was deliberate in his actions, but he did possess considerable arm strength. The blow, as sudden as it was, was enough to knock the guard unconscious, and he slumped to the dirt below. The guards farther back began to shout, alarmed and confused.

Kishou, not wasting a single moment, swung the large doors shut and barred them with a metal rod. He bent both ends of the rod, greatly straining himself to do so.

The commotion within the stables was audible; men shouted over each other as they tried to force their way through the barred doors slamming into them after a three-count.

It wouldn't give him much of a head start, but every second was precious.

He pulled his horse up to the carriage and partly climbed into it.

"I am going to ask for your forgiveness now," he said before Amore could question anything. "We are leaving."

 

[Amorea Delarosa]

From the carriage the ruckus of the barn was a muffled sort of sound. Just loud enough to be heard but not necessarily understood. Amore shifted in her seat as she heard someone approaching from outside, a horse nickering anxiously and stamping its feet as they came to a stop just beyond the carriage door. The door swung open, squeaking as it always did, and she felt the weight of the person outside as they stepped up to lean in.

Had he never spoken she would have caught his familiar scent moments later. The Priestess startled if only for the suddenness of his voice.

"Forgiveness?" she asked curiously, moonlit eyes blinking in thought. They were leaving, of course. What did he mean? "Is something wrong?"

Were there bandits? Was that the cause of the distant ruckus?

 

[Kishou]

She looked in his direction. Blinked, curious of what was happening. Innocently, even. The swordsman swallowed back his hesitation and reached out, carefully touching her elbow.

“The guards believe that it is a band of tribal sand elves from the south. They will take the carriage away from the inn, we will go to the portal stone.” His fingers wrapped around her arm with a firm gentleness. “Please, we must leave quickly.”

Without giving her much time to think through his lie, he pulled at her arm hoping she would rise with his urging.

 

[Amorea Delarosa]

Frowning, Amore hesitated for a moment, straining against his grip. This ... wasn't protocol. Far from it, but she could no longer rely on her own senses to detect and see what was happening. She had to rely on those she trusted and, thus far, Kishou had given her no reason not to trust him. The Priestess offered him a nod, not wishing to put anyone in danger due to her negligence, and allowed the man to pull her from her seat and out of the carriage.

Her shoes had not a chance to touch the ground as Kishou quickly took her by the waist just at the steps of the carriage and hoisted her up onto the horse to sit across its withers just before the saddle. She teetered briefly, hands moving to grip at its mane as the Forastero moved to climb into the saddle behind her.

A woman yelled from the Inn and Amore's head snapped around towards the sound, "Mithri?"

"Priestess! No!" Mithri burst through the front gate just as Kishou kicked the horse into a hurried run.

"Mithri! Kishou what are you doing? We can't leave her!"

 

[Kishou]

“Hyah!”

He did not look back at the sound of the handmaiden’s cry. Mithri gave futile chase to the two as the horse galloped away from the inn, away from imaginary sand elves, and towards the portal stone. Mithri would find the barred doors, and with the innkeeper’s help, they would free the guards and they would pursue the Forastero.

If they realized what happened, where Kishou was going, he and the Priestess would be thousands of leagues away before they could even think of catching up.

The swordsman remained silent until Mithri’s cries were far beyond earshot.

“There are no elves. We are not going to Cortos.”

 

[Amorea Delarosa]

Eyes widening in shock at the confession, the Priestess' immediate reaction was to lash out and free herself. But she couldn't see, couldn't tell where their steed presently carried them at break-neck speeds, couldn't gauge a safe exit for herself. She hadn't her weapons, her strength, or her vision. All she was with her was a dawning sense of betrayal and a flickering flame of anger that felt primed to blaze.

So instead she clung to the horse's mane, eyes pinched shut tightly against the wind in her face.

Why did betrayal feel like poison in her gut?

 

[Kishou]

Amore’s silence made the Forastero want to shrink away to nothingness. He did not regret taking the Priestess away, but he did regret lying to her. He swallowed his regret back, heavy as it was, and it sunk into his stomach like a rock.

Lips pressed in a thin line, Kishou couldn’t bring himself to even utter an apology. Shame prevented the man from saying a single word for hours until the portal stone came into view.

They rode up on the stone, and he slowed the horse and brought it to a stop.

“Okay,” he finally spoke, more to himself than Amore, and not-so-expertly dismounted the horse.

He pulled the reins and led the horse around the stone until he found the rune he had committed to memory- the one that would take them to Oborozukiyo-shima, his homeland.

The swordsman let out a deep, heavy sigh and turned to look up at Amore.

“The portal key. Please.”

 

[Amorea Delarosa]

Crouched in discomfort for an unfortunate journey over several hours balanced precariously on the horse's withers, Amore shifted stiffly as Kishou dismounted. The horse was panting, sweat slicked across its neck and sides. She could feel it breathing beneath her and imagined the fervent roar of wind through its lungs to be the building heat of anger in her own.

When Kishou asked for the key she frowned, pushing against the horse's neck to sit more upright, as if the added few inches might gain her something over the man.

"No."

 

[Kishou]

Kishou’s lips scrunched into a tight frown and he softly snorted.

“Can you just- I will get it one way or another, so please give me the key.”

He, at all costs, wanted to avoid taking the key from her.

“I am sorry that I lied. I am taking you to my homeland. We will fix your sight. The key. Please.”