Private Tales Homecoming

[Wilhelm Anireth]

"Yes, at least he has his sister back," Wil repeated dryly. He made no further comment, nor no further move. He simply ate the rest of his jerky whilst contemplating his route home. Home. Was it a home? Little more than a servants town created for those who worked inside Althaven and needed to provide it with goods and services. There was little there for him either other than a sense of comfort that he knew it as well as the back of his hand. But now he was... out. His bond fulfilled. Kezzie was home and he could do whatever the fuck he liked.

Maybe he'd go visit this Empire everyone was raging about. He quite liked the sun. Maybe Cortosi. Or Maybe Alliria; he was sure he could make a coin or two there.

 

[Lynus Anireth]

Yes. Getting away from his parents right now was probably a wise thing to do. Their homecoming shouldn't have been this fraught with tension, but his parents were both fools for thinking it would be seamless. The Prince nodded and stood, taking another drink of liquid courage before leaving the table.

"Arryn won't have let him get far." he assured as he settled a hand on the small of Kassandra's back to guide her from the tent and past their mother. Their father was outside, ranting on at Tharis, his personal guard, though he stopped when the guard's throat cleared, and the King turned with a deep frown.

"Where are you going?" the man demanded, a little hesitance in his voice. "I-I'll accompany you." he said and took a step toward them. The King knew well enough that if Lynus had known where his brother and sister were, he'd have left long ago. Now he had them back. He had his horse, he had Arryn, and Lynus could almost see the thought process of it all on his ageing father's features.

"To find Wil. Just the two of us. Its the best chance we have of bringing him home." Lynus answered dryly.

"Home. Yes. Quite right.. I am sure your darling wife will be eager to see you and meet your siblings." he reminded stiffly. A muscle feathered in the Prince's jaw. Somehow he doubted Amelia would be eager to see him, but he wasn't about to run off and leave her there.

"We'll meet you back at the keep. No doubt you have little time to waste here, waiting for us." Lynus remarked, and held out a hand to assist his sister onto her horse.

 

[Arryn Cross]

"So you're just going to abandon her too?" Arryn's brow kicked him as he plucked a strand of dry grass to chew on. "Seems a bit shite, really. All she wants is her family back together, then you go ahead and fuck it up?" he huffed and shook his head.

 

[Kassandra]

Kassandra followed along with Lynus, stopping only to take her mothers hand and softly squeezing the Queen's palm. She whispered something, a thank you, a promise of further conversation. There was more to the words, hidden beneath a tone of calm.

She may have been gone for years, but....but she knew what all of this meant. Lynus' reaction. What he had said. A thousand thoughts were spilling into her head, and she would not deny a single one of them when the time was right for it. Both of her parents would know just how much AlthHaven had changed her. Both King and Queen would find not a kitten, but a lion had returned.

As they moved out into the daylight she blinked a few times, her eyes adjusting to the light.

Lips thinned to a frown as she noticed her father.

For a moment she seemed hesitant, lingering, and then slowly she stepped towards him as well. A small slight seemed to spark through the King's eyes, but before he could speak Kassandra stepped up and gently took his hands in hers.

"I know why you did it." She said softly. "I know why I had to be hidden, but the pain of it...that will remain father. Be patient. Be kind. "

The words lingered, and then she added. "Be the father we need."

Then, without letting the King respond she broke away, following after her elder brother. She grasped Lynus' hand, pulling herself expertly into the saddle of her horse.

 

[Wilhelm Anireth]

Wil shrugged as he checked his horses girth before putting a foot in the stirrup and hoisting himself up.

"My entire life has been for Kezzie's benefit for the last 12 years. I'm sure she can forgive me for wanting to be the master of my own fate now," with a shrug he started his horse off along the riverside at a sedate walk.

"Tell her I'll write."

 

[Lynus Anireth]

In twelve years, Lynus hadn't been able to muster that sort of acceptance of his father's actions. Yes, he understood why they'd sent Kassandra away, rather than send her to the Academy, but it had been the way in which it had been done. It'd been traumatic for all of them, and cutting off his relationship with his siblings entirely was something he simply wasn't able to forgive.

Kassandra's words had finally rendered the King speechless. He looked genuinely pained by what she said. He had only ever responded to Lynus with anger and impatience and forbade him to speak of it again, until the next time he did, and the next time.. The King watched his daughter with a pleading look of apology, but his brows only furrowed when he settled his gaze on Lynus, realising he'd been watching. Lynus turned away first, pulling himself up into his stallion's saddle and kicking off toward the tree line.

"They teach you compassion and diplomacy at your school too?" he asked with the faintest of smiles as he rode beside his sister. She had the same way about her as their mother did. Wil, however, seemed to have taken after their father and him..

 

[Kassandra]

Kassandra smiled. "In a way, I suppose."

The Professors at Allthhaven had their own ways with things of course. Some of them kind, some of them impatient, but none had been overly concerned with things like kindness and diplomacy. That was a skill Kizzie had picked up from her fellow students.

"Things were very..." She trailed off a moment as they rode. "Different, the students there came from all over."

Kassandra smiled almost fondly. "Some of them were a bit more unusual than we're used to here in Vel Anir. It took me time to..."

Her head shook.

"To see them for what they were, but I learned a lesson or two." Perhaps a bit more than that. "I think I am be-"

Kassandra cut herself off as they found Arryn standing by his lonesome. No sign of Wil save for some tracks set into the mud by the riverside.

 

[Arryn Cross]

"Stalled him a bit.." Arryn called as he pulled himself into his saddle with a huff.. "He won't be too far up the bank."

"Charming fellow, your brother." he offered sarcastically and turned his horse with a click of his tongue.

"Can't wait to see him again.."

 

[Wilhelm Anireth]

"Don't huff at me," Wil muttered beneath his breath to the horses ears in front of him. One only twitched in response but the prince could feel the animals disapproval. "It's my turn to make my own decisions. To forge my own path. I'm sure we'll meet some fine mares along the way, eh boy?" he patted the horses neck with a grin.

They continued along the river until a narrower point where he crossed them over and up the bank. He had no intentions on being followed easily. With any luck they would simply give up and--

A scream echoed from up ahead causing him to rein his horse to a stop. Silence fell and then, there it was a again, a high pitched scream. Wil dove his ankles into his horses flank and they shot up the bank towards the danger.

 

[Lynus Anireth]

Lynus pinched at the bridge of his nose with a gloved finger and thumb. "Well, this is going well." he muttered to himself with a quiet huff. Casting Kassandra an apologetic smile he nodded to her, "We'll find him." he assured, and clicked his tongue with a firmer kick of his heels to up their pace.

 

[Arryn Cross]

Arryn kept an eye on the ground ahead as they rode, and he paused where the tracks stopped before turning his mount and leading them down the embankment and across the shallows in time to hear whatever commotion was happening up ahead.

"I suppose we found him.." he called back, and followed at speed in the young prince's tracks.

 

[Kassandra]

Kassandra frowned at Arryn's comment. "He's had to deal with a lot."

The Princess said softly, her tone tinged with more than a little bit of guilt as. She knew that it was her fault Wil's life had been snatched away from him. He should have grown up in the Palace, here in Vel Anir. He should have been at Lynus' side.

He should have had the life of a Prince.

"He's really not bad, it's just the day is-" As the explanation left her tongue, the scream suddenly echoed outward. Her head shot up almost immediately, panic flickering through her chest as fingers tightened around her reins.

Without a word to Lynus or his Guard, Kassandra kicked her horse.

Quickly the mount broke into a gallop. Charging ahead with reckless abandon towards the sound.

 

[Wilhelm Anireth]

The bandits had chosen their moment well.

The thicket of the forest had not yet begun to thin before the walls of Vel Anir had come into view so the guard who patrolled the battlements would have had no idea a travelling band of wagons holding precious goods was being attacked. The closeness of the trees also made it hard for the wagons to manoeuvre their way to safety as well as to fight back. Really, they were sitting ducks. Or would have been if Will had not happened to be sulking in this general vicinity.

The pounding of hooves made the Bandits glance their way though the initial concern wore off when they saw it was a lone horseman.

That was until the nearest tree wrapped a branch around one of their necks and yanked them from their horse.

 

[Lynus Anireth]

Lynus swore as Kassandra forged ahead and snapped his reins, his mount tearing up the damp ground as he thundered after her. He heard the raised voices ahead, the anger in them unable to drown out the panic at whatever was going on.

"Wil!" he called out, should any think him alone. Lynus drew his blade, but as they arrived at the scene it, their attention was drawn to what everyone else was looking at; the man dangling from a tree branch.

The bolt of a crossbow was fired, aimed for the young prince..

 

[Arryn Cross]

The guardsman had his arrow nocked them moment they arrived, and the same second the bolt was released, Arryn loosed and sent the arrow straight through the neck of the one who'd fired it.

 

[Kassandra]

Panic almost immediately flickered through Kassandra's heart. Her chest tightening as she saw a bolt fly towards her brother.

She froze. A breath pulling into her lungs as she suddenly seized up. All thought of magic washing from her head as she saw what might very well be her brothers death. Something of a warning croaked out from her throat, but by then it was already too late. Her breath caught in her chest.

Then Arryn shot his arrow.

The two projectiles collided amazingly in mid-air, and an almost instant strike of relief rushed through her.

Lynus shouted, and some of the bandits shouted back. Though she couldn't quite make out what they were saying. The words snapped Kizzie back to reality, and from her pocket she pulled a disc of colored glass. Her hand whipped forward, the disc shattering into a thousand pieces.

Her fingers curled, and the pieces surrounded Wil in an instant. Hovering around him like a protective shield.

 

[Wilhelm Anireth]

Why did family always ruin what little fun he found for himself?

Cursing when he heard Lynus shout, Wil released the tantalising, addictive magic he was given by the ring upon his finger. The tree didn't let go of the bandit but it did stop moving, meaning the man became locked in place by the branch giving Wil the freedom to focus on the others. Not noticing how close he had come to death Wil dismounted and entered the fray on foot, sweeping up with his blade whilst removing a dagger at his belt. There was not a grace and finesse to it the like of which he would have learnt if he had stayed, but a brutal power. Every move had a point and each one flowed to the next with quick succession. Blow after blow hammered down upon the man he faced until he drove his dagger between the mans ribs and was on to the next one.

At least, as much as he could with floating glass surrounding him.

"Go away, I've got this Kassandra!" he shouted over the noise of men dying.

 

[Lynus Anireth]

Lynus remained mounted on horseback, his hand raising toward Arryn to halt him as he was about to fire another arrow. The guard paused immediately, settling a quizzical look on the Prince..

"He wants to handle this himself, so let him. Fire only if necessary..." he frowned, watching the magic his sister wielded, now far more sophisticated a thing than it had been all those years ago..

"Kassandra - let him be." he called out. If he wanted to run head on into an outnumbered fight to prove something then he'd be afforded the opportunity to prove it.

 

[Kassandra]

Confusion and indignation snapped over Kizzie's features, her lips opening as she was about to shout at Wil. Preparing to call him an sheep-brained lummox and verbally yank him back from the danger.

Yet before she could Lynus cut in.

His voice broke through the din of combat, the spiral of emotions that had sent into Kassandra. Her head turned, lashing as she heard her elder brother. For a moment she was about to yell at him too, insist that he step forward and stop Wil.

It was the expression on his face that stopped her.

Calm, stoic, in command.

It reminded her that she was no longer the Eldest sibling. No longer the one who 'had' to take the responsibility or keep everything the way it should be. Suddenly, she couldn't help but feel small.

Her fingers flickered, drawing back as though she were controlling a puppet on strings. The glass around Wilhelm suddenly folded away from him, drawing back like a shroud and darting through the air. Reforming into glass disc which came to hover at Kassandra's side.

 

[Wilhelm Anireth]

Wil grunted when the pieces of glass finally vanished allowing him more freedom to move. Yanking his dagger from the ribs of the man he had just killed he stepped on to the next Bandit. The others staying back made the remaining Bandits cast doubtful looks amongst one another; a single lad - and a young one at that - didn't look on the surface to be a threat. But if the others didn't feel as though they had to get involved, did that mean there was more to him than met the eye. They licked their lips and tested the weight of their weapons then, almost in union, they threw them to the ground.

Wil cursed beneath his breath. He itched to fight, to take their lives right then and there, to sate the pounding anger he felt, but he wouldn't kill a man who was unarmed. Instead he grabbed some rope.

"Put your hands behind your backs," he muttered gruffly and dutifully begun to bind their wrists.

 

[Lynus Anireth]

Lynus' jaw tightened as he watched the display, his gaze narrowing on the men as they considered their options and decided upon apparent surrender. His attention moved to Wil again, his brother clearly upset at the outcome and yet the lad had the honour at least, not to fell an unarmed man.

Arryn's arrow remained nocked and aimed as Wil approached, should any of the men make any sudden movements, they'd hit the ground before they could blink.

"Congratulations.." Lynus muttered dryly as he slipped from his saddle, his eyes flicking upward at the man suspended from the tree.

"Shame you aren't staying.. You'd likely have enjoyed the tournaments. Might've taken a title or two from me, even..With some more training.." his shoulders shrugged as he walked slowly toward the carriage to open it.

 

[Kassandra]

Kizzie couldn't help the knot of feelings that formed in her stomach when she watched Wil.

Was this new? Was it because they had come home? Or had he always had this streak of...anger. Concern flickered over her features and she couldn't help but bite the inside of her lip. She glanced over at Lynus, the lines in his face.

After a moment her gaze shied away, turning towards the ground as her older brother spoke.

She kept her lips shut as she looked back up at Wil.

There was nothing she could say to help the situation, nothing that she could add. All Kassandra could do was hope that Wil would take the small branch Lynus had offered.

 

[Wilhelm Anireth]

Wil decided to set the small olive branch on fire by ignoring it.

When he was finished binding the Bandits that remained he passed the end rope to Arryn - he assumed Lynus' second could handle dragging them back - then walked back to his own horse. Or tried to. Once the carriage was open a woman and her family spilled out and stumbling she rushed to the younger prince.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you Si--" she only them seemed to realise who had opened the door. "Your Highness," she dropped into a curtsey and the others who had tumbled out of the carriage with her followed suit. Wil slowly continued the rest of his way back to his horse once they were distracted, casting Kezzie a brief glance before grimacing.

"Quit looking at me like you don't know me, Kez," he muttered.

 

[Lynus Anireth]

Lynus sighed, his shoulders falling as he was ignored entirely. He didn't want to know him, and he suppose he understood, as much as the thought pained him. Arryn looked like he was currently fighting the impulse to knock the young prince on his ass, but after a quick glance from Lynus, the guard muttered to himself and turned to get on with the task of getting the arrested men slung over his horse.

Kassandra knew him best, and Lynus looked to his sister with a quirk of his brow. He was done intervening at the risk of making things worse than he had done already.

 

[Kassandra]

Kassandra bit her lower lip for a brief moment.

She was between admonishing him and telling him everything would be okay, but in that moment she knew that neither would be of any sort of help. So instead she smile put on a smile, the expression light and warm. "I don't know what you mean."

The guilt she had always felt weighed heavy in that moment, but she continued.

"I was just...I'm just..." She trailed off and let out a loud sigh. "I don't know."

Kassandra breathed, glancing at Lynus and then back towards Willhelm. "I don't know how to handle any of this."

She admitted, deciding that perhaps some open honesty was what this family actually needed. No more masks, no more hiding, no more just assuming things. Simple and honest truth. She had absolutely no idea what to do in that moment. How she could make things better, how things would be 'solved' or brought 'right'.

Perhaps there wasn't a way in that moment, but admitting to it seemed better than further denial.