Private Tales Honour Is Dead

[Odessa Urahil]

"Six months until we wed or six months until I...move to Vel Odren?" She questioned, regretting that she hadn't been clear-headed enough to be present for any of this discussion. She was, at least slightly, relieved that her wedding would be in the shadow of Perri's. Less pressure was on the two Dreadlords thankfully.

She lifted her head, not bothering to swipe the hair from her face. She wasn't looking in his direction anyway. "Have you been informed on the contents of this contract?" She asked, her voice hinting at accusation, though it was still soft and obvious that she was feeling hurt by the ongoing developments. "I have not been included in any of this," due to my refusal to cooperate, "So I am not entirely sure what is expected of me."

Or what might get me out of it.

"How much longer is the ride?" Her mood shifted slightly as the carriage hit a small bump in the road. "Tell me of this girl. You have had the pleasure of beating the shit out of the man I loved, so I would like to hear about the one that has captivated you."

 

[Lachlan Irwin]

Lachlan scowled, lifting eyes of pure irritability to Odessa.

"I had no such pleasure."

Now a dangerous, nefarious smile occupied his lips. "I haven't seen the boy you loved since Graduation when we both made it out of Proctor Salak's test."

He was no true villain, but the way they were introduced to one another surely left that sort of impression with her. An impression that she could not let go of when her own brother was the mastermind to all of this.

 

[Odessa Urahil]

Odessa twisted to look at him, to take in the smile he proudly displayed when speaking of the man she loved. “What?” Her voice was quiet, brows furrowed. “It doesn’t make…then what the fuck happened to him?” She questioned him, interrogating for any answer that might lead to the truth.

“I was told…” She looked back down into her hands. “He was injured. Attacked. I was not permitted to see him, to say goodbye.” The way she’d heard the story made it seem awfully likely that her dear fiancé was the one who had delivered this news, while claiming Rhidian lied about Odessa’s honor.

As if she ever had such a thing.

Her interrogation ended as quickly as it started. She could tell that she was pushing him once again. My, what a short fuse her fiancé had, indeed. Perhaps that would be her way out of this all. Certainly even Felix wouldn’t force her into a dangerous relationship.

Even she could hear the bullshit in her mind. Of course Felix would do that. She was disposable.

“Please. Tell me more about the contract, this woman you love, or a fucking fairy tale. I don’t care. Just talk.”

 

[Lachlan Irwin]

Kress, she was annoying.

That thought kept running in his head the entire night, and even as they parted ways in the early moments of dawn, for they had not slept but spoken about little things and themselves, Lachlan was left wiping his hands down his face as he watched his carriage take Odessa back to her home elsewhere in Vel Anir.

He had not made correspondence to her since his return to Vel Odren. His first priority and task was to tell Heidi that a mistake he had made, one he did painstakingly admit to her and ached seeing her face as he told her the nature of his first meeting with Odessa Urahil, was a mistake that resulted in the arranged union to wed the witch of Vel Anir.

But he didn't call Odessa that in front of Heidi.

Two more days, and she would be here in Vel Odren. He wasn't sure if that was even sufficient time to make arrangements, but he was a Dreadlord, trained to adapt easily. Even his Nana did not make things better by asking him to make preparations by seeing the butcher, the florist, and even the modiste. All things ordered and ready to be delivered to the sprawling manor in which he simply called Nana's house.

 

[Odessa Urahil]

Odessa had grown abnormally quiet- for her- by the time the sun had risen and she was being loaded back up into a carriage. This time, she would spend the journey alone. Talking had been cathartic to some degree, even if it was only her sharing the surface of her life. Most of it, Lachlan had likely known: she had three brothers and a sister. Her father was...there, but not all there. That was why Felix had basically taken over that role. Her mother was dead, though she spared the details that she had been led to believe were true.

She did not speak of Rhidian again.

And she did not speak to Lachlan again after the night they- she- had spent talking. She had assumed he would have sent a letter at the least. The night had ended on a not-at-all hostile note for once, after all. Maybe she should have sent word. In the end, she made no attempt to correspond with him while she awaited the day she was to be shipped off to Vel Odren.

She hadn't been one to collect knick knacks growing up. Her room had always been clutter free, barely more dressed up than a guest room thanks to whomever had been paid to make it look like someone had lived there. What little she did own, clothing and weapons mostly, had been packed into a few small cases and moved to the home's foyer where men began loading them into yet another carriage.

Felix stood in the doorway as Odessa followed her belongings out. He did not hug her. He did not wish her well.

"Don't embarrass the family."

With those words of encouragement, the door was slammed behind her and she was on her way.

 

[Lachlan Irwin]

He knew he had to give Heidi time to adjust, to mull over the truths he had informed her of. Of course, he had alluded to as much on their reunion, but returning to the island, it was the hardest thing to tell an angel of his sins.

And that he was paying for it now...

Preparations were being made, and Lachlan stood by the door to the suite that would belong to Odessa Urahil. This afternoon, she would be on a private ship sailing from Vel Redynne and arriving here to begin their courting.

"Good choice on the floral arrangements, my boy."

At the voice, he turned to the hall behind him, seeing his Nana. She was past sixty, but appeared younger. Sharp. Attentive. Stern.

"Thank you." He couldn't smile, but shrugged a shoulder before letting his shoulders fall and relax. "At least I remembered something from Proctor Urahil's... etiquette lessons..." And just the mere memory made him remember the relation between the Proctor and his wife to be.

His Nana made an appraising sound, calling his gaze back to her face. "Who is escorting her on the ship?"

"Your cousin."

He nodded. "I think all is in order. The stables are sorted also for her horse..." If she had one. If not, purchasing one was no trouble.

 

[Odessa Urahil]

Travel had been...enjoyable. Was that the word? Probably. She rather liked the sliver of time spent alone in a carriage, but the private ship was unexpected. Rather, her companion was unexpected.

She had been leaning against the rail, watching the sea stretch endlessly. Blues and greens shimmered under the morning sun. Her ring made it so that she could taste the salty breeze that teased her hair from its braid. It felt weirdly free. And ironic, considering she was being sent from one owner's hands to the next.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" His voice was smooth and laced with amusement as he approached. She'd seen him a few times over their travels, though like every other person, she had avoided speaking to him. But he was hard to ignore now, tall and well built.

He'd called himself...Irwin....Flynn Irwin? Jasper? Something Irwin. Said he was a cousin of Lachlan's. But he couldn't be more different from him. Personality-wise, that is.

She glanced over her shoulder, inspecting the man who spoke to the silent ghost aboard their ship. He grinned, but it wasn't arrogant. His hair was sandy but much less tidy than his cousin's.

"It is." She turned back to the water. There was nothing more to say to him.

But he persisted. "I'd argue the view right in front of me is even more breathtaking."

Odessa rolled her eyes, but felt herself cracking a smile. "Has that line ever worked for you?" She asked, turning back to face him as he approached and joined her at the railing.

"You'd be surprised," He set his elbows on the rail, relaxed confidence oozing from him. "But I can tell you're not like the others. You've got this...air about you. A girl sharp as a blade and twice as dangerous. And now you're here to play the dutiful fiancée."

Her fingers tightened on the rail and she scowled at him. "It is what it is." She had been telling herself that, trying to make some truth in those words.

"Well, if you ever feel like making things interesting, you know where to find me. " He turned on his heels and left her there to ponder. She dared to glance his way, watching him with nothing more than benign curiosity. Somehow, she found herself able to relax that night and from then on, the future wasn't nearly as unbearable as it had seemed.

She would be arriving any minute, escorted by the only good Irwin she'd ever known, onto her new captor's doorstep.