Private Tales Read between the lines

[Talus]

Talus blinked, caught off guard by the words and shaking his head. "It'll never come to that."

There was a strong confidence in his words to that fact. Talus had no medical background of course, apart from what he'd learned in the Academy anyway, but he did have some good luck. At least that was what it felt like.

After all, only a lucky man could be where he was now.

In the last two years he had gone from being alone and weak to strong and surrounded by family. He had people all over the world that loved him, places he could go to if he needed. What else could he ask for? He had a family, that alone made him lucky.

"Everything will be okay." Talus assured her, softly stroking her hair. "I know it."

He'd seen it.

 

[Zana]

Zana swallowed the lump in her throat. She wanted to believe him, desperately so, but she had never seen twins in her future. What if she lost one? The soothing touches in her hair did nothing to erase the growing sense of fear as it really hit her.

"No, Talus, I need you to promise," her words were frought as she tugged him down onto the bed beside her and gripped his arm tightly. Her whole body was trembling.

"Please. If they ask you. If they ask you and you have to choose, choose our child."

 

[Talus]

Talus frowned, clearly not liking the idea of such a promise. There was little he could do though, denying her would have been cruel, and such a thing was not within his right when it came to Zana.

After a few moments he nodded. "Alright."

The young Dreadlord did not know if he could keep such a promise, though he knew that breaking it would likely be the end. He frowned a moment, banishing the thought and deciding that it would never come to that as long as he lived on this earth.

There was always another way.

He did not yet know what it might be, but that didn't mean it didn't exist.

"I promise." Talus said finally, though he knew in his heart he would never let it come to that. There would always be something else he could do, something to make it better. He knew it.

 

[Zana]

Zana held his gaze for a few moments more and then eventually let go of her vice like grip on his arm. She nodded, more to herself than him, and then tugged him into the bed with her. She was still trembling.

It took some time before Zana finally relaxed against him and managed to take a breath without it shuddering. She could stare down the king of dragons but the very real natural threat of childbirth had rocked her to her very core.

"I want to go home," she knew he had wanted to explore the city but in that moment she wanted nothing more than their cozy cabin and their own things.

 

[Talus]

Talus nodded his head. He had expected as much. Their trip to Alliria hadn't exactly turned out to be what they expected, but not everything would always go as planned. That was something they'd both learned from their time as Dreadlords.

"Okay." He said in simple agreement, stroking her hair.

The young Dreadlord was not going to argue, though he would want to return to this city one day. There was plenty of time for such things in the future, and thus he offered not even a single complaint as he slowly drew away from Zana.

"I'll pack." He told her. "Get the horses ready and inform Zell."

No doubt his friend would be disappointed, but he would understand. "We should be able to reach home by nightfall."

 

[Zana]

Zana was quiet for most of the journey home, locked inside her own nightmares. By the time they reached the cabin there were shadows under her eyes that had nothing to do with lack of sleep but a whole other kind of stress on the body. She didn't ride Zandor hard like she had on the way there and her hand kept flittering to her stomach with a worried twist of her lips.

Fear had her firmly in its clutches.

Despite that, when they arrived home she quietly went about making Talus dinner. It seemed to ease a little of the tension from her shoulders as she kneaded out the pizza dough with the heel of her palm over and over. Grey lay by her feet, looking up at her with concern then to Talus and back.

 

[Talus]

He had finished putting away their things, making sure that it all went where Zana usually liked it to be, and now he found himself back in the Kitchen with his love.

For a few moments Talus watched her, then he slowly came up behind her and touched the small of her back. "Hey you."

Talus said softly as he kissed her cheek.

"I brought something back from Alliria." He said with a smile. "Want to see it?"

 

[Zana]

For a moment Zana simply looked at him as though she couldn't quite remember who he was or where she was. Then, quickly, recognition and realisation flickered across her face. A tiny smile tugged at her lips and she cupped his cheek, forgetting she had flour on her hands and covering his cheek in her white handprint.

"Yes," Zana let her hand drop and her eyes returned to what she was doing with a slight hint of confusion as though she couldn't remember what she had been planning to make with the dough. "Is it another one of your little trinkets?" Talus had taken to picking up some sort of tat wherever they went. From the Fire Giants Isles he had brought an odd lava lamp that now had pride of place in their living room.

 

[Talus]

He smiled for a few seconds, shaking his head. "This time I'm afraid not."

Though he had one of those tucked away in his pack too. His fingers tightened for just a second, and then from behind the small of his pack he pulled out two small pendants. One was of a ship and the other was of a sea mammal of some sort.

"It's for them." Talus explained. "So we can tell them apart."

If they weren't different genders anyway. "One for each."

 

[Zana]

Zana gently ran her fingers over the pendants, the smile on her face growing. Her eyes lingered on the sea mammal for a moment more and then she raised her eyes to Talus, rocking onto the tips of her toes and giving him a slow and loving kiss. He was breaking through the icy fear bit by bit with his gestures.

"I have got them something to, one moment," she gently pushed him back until he sunk into one of the kitchen chairs and then disappeared into the bedroom where Talus had left her bag. After a moment or two she came back with little baby onesies that seemed impossibly small and she held them up against her stomach.

One read I <3 The Guard and the other The Guard is Life.

 

[Talus]

He smiled. "Well..."

Talus said as he stepped forward and ran his fingers gently over one of the small articles of clothing. The expression on his face was practically beaming, clearly already filled with pride.

"It's hard to argue with something as perfect as that." His hand gently wrapped around the small of her back, pulling into an embrace as he kissed her fiercely. "I love you."

He said softly. "And our children."

His free hand dragged slowly over he belly across her palm.

 

[Zana]

Zana smiled into the kiss as she found herself pulled in flush against him. Her hands were still holding up the two little onesies but she forgot about them as she wrapped her arms about his neck and pressed herself fully against him.

"I love you too," she murmured against his lips when they broke apart. There was a warmth that spread through her that wasn't her own emotions nor Talus' through the bond so she added. "And they do too," in truth she had no idea where the emotions were coming from. They could have been just an illusion brought on by her hormones for all she knew.

Gently she ran her hands, still holding the onesies, down his chest and smiled.

"Everything going to be okay, isn't it?"

 

[Talus]

"It will." There was no hesitation in his answer, not even a second of thought behind it.

Talus knew to his very core that everything would be okay, that they would be happy, that their family would be together. He had seen that vision, and although Zana's visions did not always come true, he was still sure of it.

Perhaps it was fate, or just a foolish young Dreadlord believing what he wanted to believe. "We're going to find the spot for that home too."

He leaned down and softly kissed her again.

"Star designing with more than just a picture." His arms tightened very gently around her, his feet slowly moving as he swayed in a slow dance.

 

[Zana]

Zana nodded in agreement and kissed his nose before rubbing a hand over her stomach.

"I want it to be ready before the children get here, if it's not I... I want to give birth in Karak," where she felt safe. The Cabin provided that for her but it was too small for when the twins arrived. The Mansion in the dwarfish city was both far away from Vel Anir and huge. It would give them time whilst she was weak and they were both adjusting to parenthood to just... breathe. Without the threats of assassins or other Dreadlords.

"Maybe when I get back from this mission we can go hunting for it," her fingers brushed over his cheek. She would have to leave in the morning.

 

[Talus]

Talus nodded his head eagerly in agreement, though he had to hide the slight shirking at the thought of her going out on a mission.

He didn't like the thought, but they had already discussed it a few days back. Talus knew that he couldn't baby her, that he shouldn't do so. It wasn't fair to her, and in truth Zana probably had more ability than he ever did.

At least on widescale missions. "Yes."

He told her softly, deciding not to argue about the mission. Best to let it go.

"We can go right after you get back." He told her with another soft kiss. "Start at the Reach, head north with the portal stones."

 

[Zana]

Zana nodded in agreement and finally, the bad thoughts began to leave her. The darker visions were rare and far between when it came to their children; it seemed that fate had a whole other important destiny for their family line. If she worried over the one out of hundred bad visions instead of enjoying the other 99 good ones then she would drive herself insane. So for the rest of the evening she cooked and let Talus talk her through his designs and ideas more, offering a suggestion here and there.

When they eventually made love and went to sleep, Zana was content and happy with her life and the path on which it was going.

It was all too soon the cruel morning broke across the land and she found herself armouring up. She was to meet Blackforge on the edges of the city in a few hours and she wanted to be prepared. Once more she checked Zandor before swinging onto his back and tucking the helmet over the pommel of her saddle. Zana leant down and kissed Talus goodbye, promising to return soon, the turned her horse back towards the city and set off.

She made good time despite keeping Zandor to a trot or walk for most of the journey, not wanting him to get tired before the day ahead. It wasn't long before the city came into sharp focus along with Blackforge and his army waiting just beyond the looming walls.

"General," Zana inclined her head politely as she trotted the pretty dun gelding up over to the man in charge. Grey slunk at the horses heels, tall enough now to almost reach the sole of her boot on horseback. A few men and horses shifted uneasily.

 

[Talus]

Three men in particular stood with Blackforge, separated from the rest of the forces just outside of Vel Anir.

This mission would take a special sort of skill, and the General had chosen specifically these men to serve alongside himself and Zana. Each of them wore heavy armor, blackened with strange runes that seemed embedded with the steel itself.

"Zana." The General nodded his head in greeting.

The three men behind him shot off short salutes to the woman, bowing their heads and slamming fists to their chests. Blackforge smiled for a brief moment, but said nothing else as he motioned towards her horse with a smile.

"'Fraid you'll have to leave him behind." His head shook. "Won't be fast enough for this mission."

Blackforge glanced towards his soldiers, as if they knew something that the Dreadlord didn't just yet.

 

[Zana]

It was a hard thing to restore the cold facade of the Dreadlords especially after the last few days Zana had had. Perhaps that was why there was a very uncharacteristic narrowing of her eyes for a split second. Zander snorted at the challenge and pawed the Earth beneath his hoof. She wrestled with the decision for a second more and then swung herself out of the saddle. She murmured a soft word on the horses ear, hand rubbing down his neck beneath his mane. The horse didn't look entirely happy and nosed at his mistress as she took her pack from his saddle, but once she was done the horse sullenly began to trot off back towards the Luana barracks.

Grey stayed firmly by Zana's side.

"Is there any further information I need to know for the mission? Talus was sketchy on the details."

 

[Talus]

Blackforge motioned for the soldiers and Zana to follow after him. Strangely enough their armor made no noise as they moved, even though there should have been a clatter if metallic plates. The General did not seem to even take note, hefting a massive half moon ax over his shoulder as he moved towards another end of the barrack.

"We'll be going to Kylsith." He explained.

The city itself was not too well known, at least not as much as it used to be. Three hundred years ago a Master of Elbion had split from the College and taken with him a handful of students. Together they had formed a Cabal and taken over a town. That town eventually grew into a city, and that city had grown into a small Kingdom.

Two hundred years ago they had marched forth from their kingdom and began a conquest of surrounding lands with an army of undead. A coaltion of Vel Anir and Elbion had sundered their forces and for the last few centuries or so Kyslith had remained quiet.

"There are rumors that the new Arch-Lector has some...plans." He explained as he stepped up to a strangely tall barn. "The Houses aren't interested, but I am. Kyslith sits to the east, and I prefer to take care of a problem before it becomes too large to deal with on my own."

Blackforge threw open the door to the barn, revealing the inside. Almost instantly four massive manticores raised their lion like head, glancing up at the strangers with an idle curiosity.

At the same time a loud 'hoot' echoed from the top of the barn, and if she looked up Zana would see a massive owl perched upon a large beam.

 

[Zana]

Grey snarled.

"Stop," Zana's voice was a lethal calm and the direwolf quietened instantly at her command, though he did press himself a little more protectively against her side. She resisted the urge to run a hand through his fur and instead kept her attention on the General as he spoke. Unlike before, her face was unreadable this time. The whole thing made her a little uneasy to say the least; she had only a scattering of knowledge on the city because it had been quiet for so long. It was just a footnote in history now.

Her fingers curled around the rim of her helmet.

"I see. Which of my skills is it you are hoping to utilise?" there was a wariness to her tone. Of course, he knew about her ability to see the future but she was confident the other men didn't.

 

[Talus]

"Two fold." He said, motioning for the owl up top.

The beast looked down for a moment, then slowly hopped down onto the ground. It towered over the four humans, wings flapping for just a brief second as it settled itself on the ground and began to march forward. Blackforge reached up, scruffling it's neck gently with a smile.

"It is very likely the arch-lector is surrounded by undead." That was usual for Kyslith. "Clearing them out swiftly will be best for us. They tend to fight in numbers instead of skill."

Quantity over quality. "I also figured your other gifts may come in handy for the cities intentions."

He shrugged not detailing out what exactly he meant.

"The new Arch-Lector is...mysterious. Even your Houses spies were not able to tell us much." He left out the obvious 'presuming they told us everything', not wanting to insult Zana.

As they spoke the four soldiers set about readying two of the four manticores for their journey.

 

[Zana]

Zana's eyes ran over the owl with a hint of boredom even if internally she felt no such thing. Her love of animals was a secret thing and no matter how much she wanted to ask a million questions and run her own fingers over the owls feathers, she turned her attention back to the matter at hand.

"The undead should be no problem," her fingers flexed in her gauntleted hand and the purple energy ran across the metal in a wave. It had not been many moons ago she had helped Talus' and the Guard against another undead army, though that had been with the might of the cavalry behind her. "As for the other matter I shall do my best," a small incline of her head.

"You intend for me to ride one of these...?" her eyes flickered to the manticore. "What about the rest of the army?"

 

[Talus]

"No you'll be with me on Vella here." He patted the owl's neck. "She's less temperamental."

Manticore were not generally seen as...well pliable. It took months for them to adjust to a rider, and longer still to train them to do anything of use. The Guard had worked hard to make sure these worked well with their Riders.

Yet there was a reason only four were in this stable. They had a tendency to...lash out, if not treated properly. "This is the army."

Blackforge said as he gestured to the six of them.

"Four Blackguard, myself, and a Dreadlord." He smiled. "Should be more than enough for one Arch-Lector."

A loud boisterous laugh escaped him. "At least if they don't pick us out of the sky."

 

[Zana]

Zana stared at the man for a long moment with those pale green eyes.

Blackforge had a reputation even amongst the Dreadlords for being a little... reckless. There had been several comments amongst the ranks that the man had enough arrogance to be a Dreadlord and lucky enough to be a leprechaun. She had always had a certain amount of respect for the feats he seemed able to pull off with a handful of people but now she was finding herself included in that number she found that respect turning to dread.

It took all of her willpower not to run a protective hand over her stomach.

"As you wish," Zana glanced down to Grey and ran a hand through his thick coat. "Home," she ordered, firmly. The Direwolf looked at her, head tilting to the side with a low whine. But when she didn't back down he tucked his tail between his legs and loped off. With that done she turned back to Blackforge and the owl and followed his instructions on how to mount.

Please stay at bay morning sickness.

 

[Talus]

The massive owl was about as gentle as a giant beast could be. It lowered a wing, and in short order both Blackforge and Zana found themselves perched upon a large saddle that had clearly been strapped to the creatures earlier.

The General's massive ax was secured in a holster above the owls neck, and the Blackguard below settled onto their manticores.

It was certainly an odd sight as the three creatures trotted out into the field with their riders, but no one within the Guard Complex even seemed to give them a second glance. "Ever flown before?"

Blackforge asked, his hands flexing on the saddle.

"It's not always an easy experience for folk." He patted the owl on the side of the head, and then suddenly without Zana having time to answer the great beast simply sprung into the air and flapped it's great wings to push them into the sky.