Private Tales Read between the lines

[Zana]

Zana's face split into another brilliant smile.

"Yes, basil goes lovely. You do your side, I'll do mine then we sling it in the oven," she pushed a lock of hair back from her face as she set about working on her half of the pizza. The two worked in pleasant silence with one another. Every now and then she glanced over to him and the look of concentration on his face, making a comment about when he probably had enough on his side and then instructed him how to put it in the oven.

It wasn't long before he was taking it back out and setting it down on the new table. Zana came over with a knife and cut the two side apart, sliding her half onto her plate and dividing it in two again. She passed the knife over to him so he could do the same.

"Let's see how good your dinner is compared to your breakfast is huh?" she smiled playfully at him then picked up a slice so he could see how to eat it and took a bite.

 

[Talus]

He smiled at her, watching for a few seconds as she took the piece of pizza and put it in her mouth.

Briefly a flash of something appeared over his eyes. Not a memory, perhaps a vision. He saw himself and Zana. He saw a little girl clutching Zana's leg, their daughter with flowing blonde hair and the eyes of her mother looking up eagerly as she awaited a bite of food that Zana was playfully denying her. As soon as he saw it the vision was gone, and Talus blinked.

Had that been Zana? Her magic? Or just his imagination, a dream that had flickered through his thoughts. Her frowned for a brief moment, smiled, and then reached out towards the pizza.

His own slice as as delicious as he had imagined it to be, though he nearly burned his tongue from the molten cheese. "HOT!"

Talus breathed.

"But good." Though just not as good as Bolognese.

 

[Zana]

Zana started laughing as he burnt himself and half rose out of the seat to cup his cheek across the table and kiss his lips better.

"Will you ever, ever learn to wait a few moments to let it cool down first?" she always blew on her food when she could still see the streams of heat rising from it. Sitting back down she returned to her own half of the pizza with a happy wriggle. It tasted delicious. "Pizza I believe is going to be your signature dish," Zana winked and then blew on her pizza before taking another bite.

"How does it feel eating something you cooked?"

 

[Talus]

"Never." Talus answered in honesty, offering her a bright smirk for a few seconds before he glanced over towards the pizza on the counter with a silently weary expression.

Waiting for food seemed like one for the worst things you could do. It was just si delicious...so good. Why would you ever want to let it sit there and go to waste for even a few seconds.

He smiled for a second, then picked up another piece. "Would you rather..."

The vision flashed through his mind, he didn't see it this time, but remembered as he asked the question.

"Would you rather have a boy or a girl?" He wondered about what he'd seen, what had cast in front of his eyes. The moment had seemed...real. Impossibly so. Yet he did not know how. Zana's magic was cut off.

Wasn't it?

 

[Zana]

Zana blinked at the sudden change in topic.

For a moment she could only stare at him and then a heat rose in her cheeks. She guessed in a way she had thought that what they had discussed in the heat of the moment in the bedroom had almost been a dream. Were they really going to let something so... so terrifying happen? She would of course stop taking the tea as he had requested; it made her feel ill when she took it anyway. But... She bit her lip.

"I don't think I have a preference," she would raise them both the same. "I've had... visions... of our children. I didn't want to say anything because you knowing alters the future, it changes things, but I have seen both. Sometimes one, sometimes multiple," she looked down at the pizza in her hands and then smiled.

"What about you?" her eyes raised to his as she took a bite.

 

[Talus]

He frowned briefly as if not quite sure what to say. There was a moment of hesitation. Talus did not think that Zana would ever draw back from him, never that, but for some reason he felt trepidation.

"I saw her." He said quietly.

They had already known that soemthis her visions would be shared with him. It had happened a dozen times over since they'd been together, more probably. He took another bite, as if the pizza night offer some sort of solace.

After a few seconds he continued.

"Our daughter." He smiled. "She had my hair, your eyes."

The thought made his heart thunder in his chest.

 

[Zana]

Zana froze and then swallowed the mouthful of pizza. Then a smile broke out across her face and she dropped her slice to reach across and take his hands in hers. Indescribable emotions turned her eyes into a storm picture and fell through the bond; excitement, fear, love. She was glad he had seen her too - one of their children. If those lines of future came true that was.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" she bit her lip then after a moment she forgot her food and moved around the table so she could sit herself in his lap.

"I'm really scared. But I'm really excited," she admitted as she rested her forehead against his.

 

[Talus]

"She is." He nodded softly.

There was a spike of fear in him at the idea of having children. There was...what what he felt earlier, and then reality. Would he make a good father? Was he good enough? Could he keep them safe? A thousand thoughts ran through him.

None of them changed his mind.

"Me too." Talus admitted quietly as he wrapped his arms around Zana's mid-section, a breath filling his lungs. "But I want it."

Fingers tightened on her skin. "I want the future with her in it."

 

[Zana]

Zana smiled and kissed his temple.

"I don't know which future holds her but there have been so many faces. She appears... the most often but," a small shrug. She could make a decision tomorrow that changed all of that, that didn't lead to her specifically being born.

"I guess even with my powers bound that doesn't mean I stop receiving them, just some linked to you are going to come through the bond," she sounded thoughtful as she leaned across the table to snag her slice of pizza back and finish it whilst still sitting on his lap. "You know I've always thought they have come from a... source of some kind. The visions. I wonder if this is a sign they are or whether it is just a certain section in the brain that holds magic and when it's cut off it doesn't necessarily stop it."

 

[Talus]

Talus shrugged. "I do not know, my love."

He tried to sound sympathetic, but the concepts she was talking about were far, far above his head. Talus had always been a simple man. He worked with wood, he fought the enemy, and he kept the woman that he loved safe.

That was what he was made for, what his mind was geared towards.

"I can barely read." He smiled and pressed his lips to her cheek as she slowly chewed her food. "But I'll gladly see any vision with the two of you in it."

If the price for Zana's rest was the fact that he saw their future for a little while? Well then he would take that bargain any day of the week.

 

[Zana]

Zana blinked herself out of her deep thoughts when Talus spoke and a warm smile dimpled her cheeks as she finished chewing. Once she was done she leaned down and with great tenderness and affections pressed her lips to his. Her arms came to rest about his shoulders and her eyes slowly fluttered shut casting long shadows over her face. For once, they didn't have to cover shadows under her eyes.

She drew his hands over her belly once more as she drew back and then settled down to rest her head against his shoulder.

"Let me know if they hurt you though," Zana wouldn't allow him to shoulder that burden.

 

[Talus]

Talus knew in his heart of hearts that he would never have said a word to her even if they did.

She had spent her whole life carrying this weight. Had endured the visions for decades on her own. Even if it meant he was in pain, even if it meant that he would have to shoulder the agony himself, he would do his best never to let her know.

Not while she was at peace. "I love you."

Talus said as he avoided answering her question and simply pressed his lips to hers. He would not lie to her, not to her face.

"And I love the future I've seen." Their daughter, their life together. His hand softly came to a rest on her belly.

 

[Zana]

Zana frowned when he didn't agree to her request but before she could push the matter he took her lips. A soft sigh escaped her. She wouldn't push it but she would keep an eye on it. If it looked as though he was struggling under the weight of them she wouldn't wear these manacles anymore. For now she would hope that the visions that related to him stuck to happier things and not the darker things she had seen.

"Wait till you see how cute Grey's puppies are going to look," she whispered conspiratorially and glanced over to the overgrown mutt who had finished his bowl of food and was now sprawled out on his side trying to digest it all.

"I'm going to write down the instructions for pizza for you so you can practise when I'm away too," perhaps he would get more adventurous. It was a pretty basic recipe that was easy to turn into different things. "So what do you fancy doing this evening, a game, reading on the porch?" her fingers played with his blonde hair.

 

[Talus]

Reading, as he had said, was not always easy for him. At times the letters seemed to jumble and move around. More often than not it was a frustrating experience for him, not one that he tended to enjoy all that much.

As she mentioned it though an idea crept into his mind. "I..."

He frowned for a moment, glancing at her for a few seconds as he drew her just a bit closer to him. Vulnerability floated over the bond for a few seconds. He knew that Zana would never judge him, not in a hundred years, but he couldn't help it.

"Would you read to me?" Talus asked quietly.

Perhaps it would actually let him enjoy it for one.

 

[Zana]

"Of course," warmth spread down the bond as she kissed his nose and snuggled in closer to him for a brief moment before sliding off his lap. She took his hand and slowly pulled him to his feet. Zana stripped of her apron which was covered in sauce and flour, then grabbed a couple slices of chocolate cake and led him outside. Along the way she grabbed a blanket and asked him to pick out a book.

Once they were settled on the porch under the thick woollen blanket Zana took the book from him and replaced it with the chocolate cake.

"Okay... what have you picked?" she snuggled in close to him, draping her legs over his.

 

[Talus]

Choosing a book had been difficult.

Zana had brought over more than a dozen, and most of the volumes were entirely unknown to him. Eventually he had picked out one which seemed to be a collection of stories written by some bard dozens of years ago.

When he opened the book though he recognized one of the stories by name. He could not really remember from where, and he was sure it was not the Academy. "The Sword of the Dragon."

Talus considered the volume for a moment, dragging his fingers over it for a few seconds as he frowned. He tried to search his memories for where he knew the book from. Eventually he shook his head, joining Zana on the porch.

"This one." He said as he offered her the leather bound book, smiling at her as he ran his hands over her legs.

 

[Zana]

"Oh I love this one," Zana sighed and spread the book across their shared lap so he could see the pages too. Her eyes were on the pages but she pressed a kiss to his cheek in an absent minded and loving gesture before taking a bite of the chocolate cake he was holding and delving into the story.

The sun began to set and she had to pause in her story once so they could light the lamps either end of the porch in order for her to continue. It was quite a pretty book with pictures to go along with the words at point but Talus would hardly need them with the way Zana read. She brought the words to life. Every emotion was thick in her voice from the thrill of a young boy going on an adventure to seek the sword guarded by the legendary beast, the the fear when he faced said creature, and the thrill of riding on his back into war.

When she was finally done she turned the final page and smiled.

"The end."

 

[Talus]

Talus let out a contented sigh, smiling as Zana closed the book and snuggled herself up just a little bit closer to him.

"Thank you." He said softly.

Not being able to read as well as others had always been one of those things that Talus had had to hide back the Academy. He was an excellent swordsmen, a good tactician, but when it came to reading...he fell far short of many of the other apprentices at the academy.

The lack of ability had always frustrated him, and thus reading had always been something to earn his ire instead of joy. "I appreciate it."

Having Zana read the story took away the frustration, the anger he felt at not being able to do it better. Instead of being upset, Talus found himself relaxed.

 

[Zana]

"Any time," Zana wound her fingers through his and then brought his hand up to her lips so she could kiss it. She had felt the shame and there had been a few times where she had given him something to read that he had dismissed or brushed aside that had confused her. She hadn't understood until Ashur had given her the file Luana had on him and she had seen how he lagged behind.

"You know... one of the best ways to learn is to have someone read things so you can follow the words..." she didn't want to push him but she did want him to be able to enjoy books. There were so many she thought he would like. "It's not the way they teach at the Academy but you're not the only Dreadlord I've come across whose struggled," there had been a girl with so much energy that she had struggled to read too, her mind couldn't hold the story for long enough.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of."

 

[Talus]

He frowned for a second. "Maybe."

Shame, unfortunately, had been beaten into him. Even admitting there was a problem to most other Dreadlords would have been seen as a weakness. It wasn't that way with Zana, never would be, but it was true with others.

Talus trusted Zana, more than he trusted anyone else in this world. If she said that it would help, then he believed that it would.

"I'll try it." He said softly. Sometimes it was more difficult to admit there was a problem than to live with it. "I hid it well enough for a while, but part of me was always paranoid everyone knew..."

Talus clenched the fingers of his free hand. "Figured the only reason the Proctors never cared was because I could beat most of them with a sword."

Not all Dreadlords had to be smart.

 

[Zana]

"Talus," Zana clambered into his lap, her knees braced either side of his hips as she ran her fingers gently down his cheeks then cupped them. A warm smile turned her pale green eyes into a deeper shade like a lead caught in direct sunlight. "You," she kissed him once. "Are an incredible person," she punctuated each word with another fleeting kiss before smiling at him once more.

"I struggle with numbers," appallingly so. "I can't even balance a book - not without it taking me hours. I learn all the right things and for an hour I understand then it just... goes," she kissed his nose. "But I think you would enjoy reading to our child at night, that's only why I offer."

 

[Talus]

He smiled at the thought. "I would enjoy that."

The idea of reading to their daughter made his heart ache. It was a future that he wanted, no, it the future that he wanted. His hands slowly slid up and down her thighs as he looked up at her, a smile touching his lips.

A deep breath filled his lungs, and he reached up to gently run his knuckles over her cheek.

"I'm not sure I can help you remember." He said in regards to her own small flaw. "But I can promise to do all the math around the house."

It was something he'd gotten surprisingly good at with woodworking, though nothing as advanced as some of the scholars of course.

 

[Zana]

Zana's smile answered his own. She was glad to feel the shame melt away to be replaced with something like nervous excitement at the future. As long as she breathed she would ensure he never felt inferior for something as small as not being able to read as well as others. He was perfect to her. Her lips brushed across his and her smile spread into a grin.

"Gonna be the man around the house huh?" her eyes followed the way her hands rubbed down his shoulders then back up into his hair before returning to his glacial blue hues. "Take care of me and all the finances?" she stole his answer with her kiss before he could open his mouth to speak.

"I can get behind this," this time her smile dimpled her cheeks. Maths was witchcraft anyway.

 

[Talus]

His arms slowly wrapped around her, drawing Zana into himself. "Of course I will."

He said quietly.

"Though I'm going to point out that technically only one of us won a mansion with more Gold than all of Vel Anir in it." Talus smirked at the reminder of Karak. The insane amounts of wealth within the Manor had stunned them both. They could sell a tenth of what was in there and buy a castle wherever they pleased.

Fingers slipped beneath the hem of her shirt, gently playing over her skin.

"As long as I breath." He whispered quietly. "I'll always take care of you."

Mansion, cabin, or a cave. Talus would always fine someplace for them to be happy. Money or no.

 

[Zana]

"I know you will," Zana rested her forehead against his and closed her eyes. It was a deep feeling of truth through the bond. She could sense how far he would go, how little he cared about everything else when it came to their happiness. In a way she felt a little guilty she had stolen his passion for herself when it was that passion and drive that had made him choose the Guard and condemn the whole system.

It was why she had agreed to help him. The world deserved his fire, she couldn't hoard it.

"But..." she said slyly. "I think... it's best if you leave the dragon taming to me whilst you do the book balancing."