Private Tales Read between the lines

[Talus]

After the first growl Talus decided it was probably not worth getting his privates cut off just to wake Zana. It was still early morning, and they would have a few hours before they actually needed to leave.

So, as any good man would, Talus went about quickly setting things up for when they would leave. Zana's clothes for the day were put out, their things were packed, one of the fancier pans from the kitchen was set aside for her to take home, and a glass of water was left by her bed.

His duties done, Talus then proceeded to take a bath on his own, lounging in the water and clearing his head while he waited for Zana to coax herself out of bed.

If she still wasn't up by the time he finished that, Talus would then move to the library downstairs in search for something he could actually read.

 

[Zana]

Zana appeared at the door of the bathroom. She had managed to find a robe though it was designed more for a dwarf than a human so was a little shorter than she would have liked. Her hair was a mass of knots on one side and the other her curls were entirely flat. There were deep deep circles under her eyes and she was still covered in smoke and ash.

"I told you not to let me drink," her voice was hoarse and accusatory as she wandered over to the bath, dropped the robe and slowly lowered herself in with a sigh. Everything hurt and she had no idea why. Particularly her chest. She rubbed the heel of her palm over her lungs and then rubbed at her throat. It felt similar to how sore she was after a battle where she had been screaming orders.

"Was I singing...?"

 

[Talus]

Talus gently reached out, wrapping his arms around Zana and gently pulling her into his lap so that he could softly run his fingers over her.

"Only to a Dragon, my love." A gentle smirk touched his features, his lips pressing against her bare shoulders. The night before had certainly been an adventure, something he'd never thought they would have on this trip.

A feast had been expected, but that?

That had been shocking for even him. "What do you remember?"

Talus asked he let his fingers run over her body.

 

[Zana]

Zana went with little protest and passed him the sponge expectantly. She had done it for him the day before she was wanting her repayment now she felt like a herd of elephants had run over her head. A small smile touched her lips as he mentioned the dragon and her mind went to the song she had sung with a content sigh. She was glad she had trusted her instincts, Zana thought as her fingers grazed the circlet that still adorned her bicep.

"I remember the Dragon, sealing the cavern... being thrown on shoulders then there is darkness.... I think I danced... and I remember talking to Thror... and... cards...?" she said the last word with a squint as if she couldn't quite tell whether that had been a dream or not. "I didn't make too much of a fool of myself did I?" she splashed some of the bath water on her face.

 

[Talus]

"No." Talus said as he gently began to scrub her skin with the sponge.

His touch was soft, but his other hand began to roam in places it likely should not have roamed to.

"I think they like you more than they do me." He kissed her shoulder. "There was talk of a statue..."

Talus had made the joke the night before, but he was hoping she didn't remember it in her drunken stupor. His lips trailed to her neck. "Oh and you won yourself a house."

This house.

 

[Zana]

Zana sighed as she leaned back into him, his hand as welcome as the sponge was over her skin. She very much doubted that the dwarfs liked her more than Talus; she remembered Thror's words. They were like a lighthouse in the storm of drunken memories. She had also noted all of the fond looks, the light touches on his arm and the way people had greeted him. That was ... kinship.

Her whole body went as stiff as a rod when he mentioned the statue and she nearly fell of his lap as she spun around.

"A statue?!" she sounded and looked absolutely horrified at the idea, her hands coming to her face in exasperation. Not even the reminder this house was theirs helped. "Talus!" she grabbed his shoulders and shook him a little. "We have to make them stop."

 

[Talus]

A laugh echoed from his lips as she turned around fast enough to make a wind mage jealous. Her hair slapped him in the face slightly, but he was laughing a bit too hard to actually care. "Why!"

He demanded.

"You tamed a Dragon!" It was temporary, five days only, but it had still been tamed. Dragon Forged armor was being crafted, alongside...well that didn't matter much until they left the city. "The first time in six hundred years, my love."

Talus smirked at her, kissing her nose. "You should be proud. You'll name will be inscribed in the legends here."

Zana would feel pride course through their bond. His hand slipped onto her hips, holding her in place as he kissed her.

 

[Zana]

Zana nearly throttled him when he laughed but settled for shaking him a little harder with a small whine.

"Because...!" Statues were for heroes not for Dreadlords who had taken a sip of ale and had gotten too cocky. Yesterday could have ended a lot differently because of her folly. She should have known better. The idea her name would be committed to the legends only made her more anxious, though the pride she felt coming through the bond made her heart ache. That, she realised, was all she needed as a reward.

She sighed as he silenced her with a kiss.

"I only copied what I read in an old book once," it had been a tattered thing, she couldn't even remember why she had picked it up. "Statues are for more important people. Seeing you so happy after was all the payment I needed - and hearing Voruk blub like a baby," she smirked.

 

[Talus]

He smirked at her, gently brushing his lips over hers. "Zana."

His voice was firm, not stern, not harsh, but firm.

"It doesn't matter where you got it." Talus spoke in that same tone, his thumbs slowly stroking over her skin within the waters. He wanted her to understand, to see the significance of what she had done. "You did it. Something that no one in six hundred years could do. Something I couldn't do."

He pulled her just a bit closer to himself, his skin pressing against hers. "You did something amazing, and these people want to honor it, you."

Through the bond she would feel his pride, his love.

"You deserve it." He kissed her. "You deserve every little bit of this."

He kissed her again.

 

[Zana]

Zana.

Her eyes closed as his lips brushed across her lips. Her name from his lips always sent shivers down her spine, it was like he pulled at her very soul making it hard not to listen to what he had to say. If she looked at it from a detached perspective she could see the merit to his words but the difference was was that Zana didn't want the attention.

She made a grumbling noise in the back of her throat as he pulled her closer, though she did accept the kisses graciously.

"Fine, but can't they do it in another way?" she was thinking of the large statues they had passed on their way in and swallowed a lump in her throat at the idea of her face among them. "Like a Song? That would be far more fitting."

 

[Talus]

He kissed her nose. "I'll convince Thror of a Mosaic."

The Dwarves did sing, but most of their music was either tantalizingly despairing or uproariously loud. There was no inbetween, and he very much doubted that this would fall into either of those occasions. He could at least curtail a statue though.

He passed the sponge gently over her back, scrubbing her softly.

"Would that do it for you a bit more?" Talus asked, his voice turning into a tease. "The Brave Dreadlord, facing down the King of Dragons."

His lips passed onto her neck. "Certainly does it for me."

Talus whispered in her ear.

 

[Zana]

Zana's wrinkled her nose and resisted the urge to sneeze.

The idea of a Mosaic was in no way any better than a statue in her mind but at least it would have to be inside somewhere and not at the entrance. She gave a pleasant sigh as he ran the sponge over her back and then rested her cheek against his shoulder. As her chest rose and fell her breath would tickle his neck.

His words made her huff out a husky laugh.

"You're the only reason I offered to do it," to ease the pain he felt every time he heard the story. She could still remember the look on his face and the feeling through the bond. It had made her feel physically ill. Zana gently pressed a kiss to his throat. "I would sing to a thousand dragons so you didn't look that upset again."

 

[Talus]

He felt his heart pang in his chest. "I don't think you know how amazing you are."

Talus whispered quietly.

"How much I love you." He couldn't keep his hands to himself anymore, the sponge was dropped, and slowly he pulled her closer to himself. They were pressed hard against one another now, his lips trailing over hers.

Love and adoration flew through the bond like never before, pouring through him.

"How much I want to be with you." He continued. "How much I never want to lose you."

It had been a fear the night before, a terror in his heart. The Dragon had nearly burned, and Talus had felt a spark of anguish at even the thought.

 

[Zana]

The pang echoed in her own down the bond and she sat up so she could see his face as he continued speaking.

"Talus..." her voice was full of emotion as his lips brushed against hers. She gently nipped at his lower lip. People had thought her powerful, impossible, awe-inspiring, but it had never been for good reasons. It had been based solely on her powers and the destruction she had wrought. But now she could feel it down the bond she knew it was nothing similar in his mind.

"You can't get rid of me that easy," her knuckles ran down his cheek as she sought to reassure the spike of pain and panic. "And I feel the same," she sighed and let her hand uncurl to cup his neck, rubbing her thumb over the skin. "I wish we could stay here forever," live their own life. Thror she was sure would be thrilled to have them as members of his kingdom. Perhaps she would even be able to talk with the Dragon again and ease the hurt she had felt in his heart.

 

[Talus]

"Just say the words." Talus wanted her to.

He wanted her to tell him that they could say. That they could just ignore the world. That every little thing back home either didn't matter or just wasn't their concern anymore.

Talus ached, he agonized to hear those words.

"I know we can't." He whispered softly. "But just say the words."

Talus leaned kissed her. "I would bring the whole world to it's knees if it meant staying here with you."

 

[Zana]

"I can't," Zana would indeed sing to a thousand dragons for him but lie?

"I could never lie to you Talus," she whispered as her hands came to frame his face and cradle it. The pain was a gaping wound in her heart that she couldn't do this one thing for him though it was what he - what they - wanted more than anything. When he leaned forward to kiss her she met him halfway and poured her apology into the moment. She asked for his forgiveness.

"But when it is over... at least we know we have a home far away from all the noise," her forehead rested against his. "I'm a fighter not a politician. Once we bring it down I am leaving; I will have played my part."

 

[Talus]

The pain was like a lance through his heart, but he knew why it had to be. Knew that it would come. His fingers tightened on her, his eyes welled with tears, but he nodded his head.

A part of him had thought he could never feel so torn, that he couldn't have ever been ripped to pieces in such a way. Yet here he was. He wanted so desperately to be with her, to ignore the world, but both of them had the duty of a city on their shoulders.

They knew it. They knew they had to do it, but the pain did not ease.

"When its over." He whispered softly in agreement. "We have our home."

He felt almost a physical pain at having to admit she was right. "Until then..."

Talus trailed off.

"We have each other." It would be enough. She would always be enough. "Eight days."

The longest they would ever be apart. The promise they had made. The one he would keep always. "A promise I will always keep."

His lips pressed against her in a desperate plea.

 

[Zana]

"My Darling, please don't cry," Zana shifted how she was sat so she could better hold him. The tears she saw made a lump form in her throat and for a brief moment she regretted not lying. She regretted not giving him a little bit of peace for a while longer. She set aside her own worries and pain to push the love she felt for him down the bond, a sense of calm. When his desperate lips claimed her own she gave him everything she had to try and ease those fears. Fingers trailed down his cheek and neck then down his arms in slow patterns.

"It's going to be ok," she murmured when they parted. "It will never be as long as that and then there is this bond, we'll be together even when apart," Zana tried to make her smile reassuring. What an odd phenomenon comforting someone, and yet she wanted to. She wanted nothing more than to take away the pain.

"You're never going to be alone, Talus. Not again. I promise you."

 

[Talus]

Talus slowly breathed in, his fingers resting on her, the steady feeling of calm through the bond being the only thing he could cling to.

He knew that every word she said was the truth, knew that she meant it all to her very core. A smile touched his lips, though it was a weak one. Zana was right. She was right about it all. The Bond was their link. They did not know how far it would go, what it would do when they were apart, but it was there.

Her words strung a cord through him a slow roll of emotion that he pulled back into himself as he took a deep breath. She was right. He was not alone. He was not without her.

Never would be. "I love you."

Talus said softly. The only words he could think to say.

 

[Zana]

She felt him slowly calm down from the knife's edge and gently pressed a kiss to his nose then both cheeks before finally brushing her lips against his.

"I love you too," Zana cupped his cheek one last time before she reluctantly let him go. She was aware they needed to get moving soon and she still wanted to see the market he had mentioned the day before. Once she was sure the ash and soot was actually gone she attempted to get out of the bathtub gracefully, half stumbled and managed to catch herself in time before bundling a towel about her.

"I think I'm still a little drunk..." a soft laugh.

 

[Talus]

Talus followed her out of the tub with a smirk. "Dwarven ale will do that for you."

Toweling himself off the Dreadlord quickly rushed over to the clothes he had laid out for himself earlier, pulling on his more usual fare of clothing as he smiled over towards Zana.

"We'll head to the market." He told her. "I have to pick up something from Vorak's forge too, but that shouldn't take more than a few seconds."

At least he hoped so. "After that...we should probably get going."

The idea of leaving was painful, but he knew they had to.

 

[Zana]

Zana was a lot slower in getting ready as she tried to focus on the whole not throwing up aspect of the growing hangover. She hadn't failed to notice he had laid out the black and orange lingerie he had been talking about the day before and shook her head with a quiet huff of laughter before pulling her breeches and shirt on and dumping it back in her bag for later.

"Bolgrid said I had to stop by his forge too, he was shouting about how he had won the right to make my blade in the bet," Zana hadn't entirely understood why this was so important but she had been deep into her second mug of ale at that point and had thought she could actually hear colours. When she was ready she slung her bag over her shoulder and followed him out to saddle up Zandor.

It seemed her gifts had already started to arrive.

Zandor was stood decked in the most beautiful saddle and bridal Zana had ever seen. For a moment all she could do was stand dumbstruck as the Dun Gelding threw his mane back and pranced on the spot as if he was showing off his new getup.

"How..." her breath left her in a rush as she stepped towards him and ran her fingers over the fine gold bridal inlaid with jewels. The saddle was a rich leather stitched with the same gold and jewels. It was probably worth more than her entire townhouse. Grey was sat at the horses side and gave a sharp bark for her attention then proudly showed off his own collar.

Tears welled in her eyes, the emotions were just too much.

 

[Talus]

"Tame one Dragon and you're set for life." Talus said with a small laugh as he saw both the saddle and the collar around Grey's neck.

Both of them were worth more money than either he or Zana would ever have seen in their lives. The craftsmanship was utterly impeccable, as one could expect from the dwarves, and Talus couldn't help but marvel alongside Zana.

He smiled, reaching out a hand and wrapping it around her own with a gentle squeeze. "I think you may have more coming."

The young Dreadlord said as he nodded his head towards what appeared to be a large crowd of people standing just in the square ahead. Most of them did not hold boxes or jewelry, but rather flowers and their petals.

As Talus lead Zana forward, ensuring she grabbed Zandor's reigns along the way, thousands upon thousands of flowers were thrown into the air. The crowd parted to allow them passage, and a rain of petals descended as cheers began anew.

 

[Zana]

The Dreadlord wiped the tears from her cheeks as Talus took her hand and led her down the street. She did nearly forget to take the reins but Zandor followed her until Talus nudged her into remembering. Zana was simply overwhelmed. She had been given muted praise in the past for a job well done on the odd occasion when she had gone above and beyond her station and even that had stirred feelings in her, but this... this was beyond anything she could have ever dreamed of receiving. Her heart ached as she realised a little bit more just what it had meant to these people what she had done.

"It's too much," she choked on the lump in her throat as a petal caught in her hair within her peripheral vision and she plucked it free. At this rate she was going to have a breakdown in the middle of the street. It was pushing her far beyond the limits of her comfort zone and her hand tightened on his for a brief moment.

"I just wanted some shampoo," a bubble of almost hysterical laughter escaped her as she wiped at another tear.

 

[Talus]

Talus let out a laugh. "I think we can manage some Shampoo."

His words barely rang out over the noise of the crowd. People were roaring, cheering, throwing more of the flowered petals. The significance of the gesture was not lost on Talus. Flowers did not grow naturally beneath the mountains.

These people had left Karak this morning, perhaps the night before, and gathered what they now threw just for this. For Zana.

He squeezed her hand, smiling at her and trying to send a connection of reassurance through their bond. As they moved the crowd eventually split into smaller and smaller pieces, the cheering dying down as the moment was allowed to pass.

Zana and Talus moved out from the manor district and into the City proper.

Even as they headed into the markets though people still stopped and bowed, asked for a shake of the hand, sung the praises of what she had done.

The Market itself was massive. A huge open square in the middle of the city with dozens upon dozens of stalls, each one offering their wares. There were a surprising amount of people already about, especially given that Talus had personally seen half of them passed out on the floor the night before.