Fable - Ask Terse Words

[Edric]

Edric continued to stare out over the wall, his gaze fixed on the flickering flames in the distance.

A frown touched his lips for a brief moment as he vaguely heard someone call to them. For a moment it seemed as though he wasn't going to budge, his stance remaining firm. One of the soldiers seemed to clear his throat, awkwardly shifting in his mail.

The Initiate glanced over at him, and then finally turned to follow after Eleanor.

"No offense to either of you, but I hope Vel Anir sent more than just two Dreadlords."​

Edric heard the Captain speak just as he fell into step behind Eleanor. His face didn't change much as the man looked back, almost as if searching for something. "We were told not to speak to anyone but the governor."

He responded flatly.

"Fair enough, just...tell me. Was all that chaos down there you?"​

"Mostly her." Edric replied plainly, the Captain chuckling slightly.

"Well, good. Might delay their attack a day or two at least."​

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor had quickly learned that whenever someone said no offense that offense was about to follow. At least these two Dreadlords did more than any of you have, she thought to herself. She decided to keep her mouth shut since they may be stuck here for a little bit.

She looked back at Edric and smiled when he gave her the majority of the credit for the chaos they have reeked together. She was, honestly, surprised by his words. He had done a good bit of the killing along side her so she wouldn't say it was mostly her.

They continued to walk in silence for a good while until they reached a large wooden door. The Captain slipped into the room and returned a few minutes later to usher the two Initiates into the Governors office.

 

[Edric]

The governor looked about as disheveled as anyone that Edric had seen on the wall.

She was Anirian, that much was clear from her golden hair and blue eyes. Yet she carried the same gauntness that her soldiers did, much of the depth having gone out of her face. She looked at the two Initiates for just one glance, and then sighed.

"You're not Dreadlords."​

Edric opened his mouth to object.

"You're too young. I've met enough of your sort to know."​

She waved a hand dismissively, as though she didn't much care for any sort of argument. With a creak she sat herself down in an old wooden chair behind her desk. "We're Initiates."

There wasn't any point in lying.

"More expendable." He said with a shrug. "We were sent through with this message."

Edric said as he pulled the scroll from his pack. "And on the way happened to...run into some trouble in the enemy camp. Including their General."

The woman reached over the desk, grabbing the scroll and raising an eyebrow at the two Initiates.

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor watched the governor pick up the scroll and start to read it. The Initiate didn’t like her already. She was so ready to dismiss them and Ella had already thought of multiple ways to kill the woman in the minute they had been in the office.

At least she seemed a little more interested in them once Edric had mentioned their little run in with the General. The woman took her sweet time reading the scroll and Ella found herself standing with her arms crossed.

Ella looked over at Edric trying to figure out how he was feeling right now. She was curious if he was as irritated as she was with the governors attitude.

 

[Edric]

If Edric was the slightest bit annoyed, he didn’t show it.

In the Academy it was often assumed that Edric wasn’t the smartest of Initiates, and in a way that was true. When it came to tests or academia, he had never much cared. Instead he’d prided himself on battle, winning on the sparring field and bettering himself in the eyes of the Proctors where it mattered most.

It was there that he had learned to wear his mask. With the others he showed his arrogance, his defiance, but with those that stood above him? With Proctors, Nobles, and those who outranked him?

Edric knew better.

He kept his face impassive. A stoic statue as the Governor read through the scroll that had been handed to her. He didn’t even blink when the woman suddenly burst out in incredulity.

“TWO WEEKS!?”​

The woman asked, apparently utterly abhorred. Her head shot up immediately, glancing at the two Initiates.

“They expect us to wait two weeks?! We’ve barely held out this long.”​

Edric stared at the woman in silence, glancing over to Eleanor for a brief moment as she returned her eyes to the letter. ”We weren’t told of the letters contents, Governor.”

He said in an impassive tone.

The woman looked up at the two of them, scowling. Her head shook and finally she made a wave of dismissal.

“Go get some rest, have the Captain show you to a room. We’ll…we’ll talk later.”
​

Edric gave Eleanor an unreadable look, and then motioned for her to leave first. The other Initiate didn't linger for long, stepping out behind his companion. "Two weeks."

He echoed quietly.

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor walked out before Edric and relayed the governors orders to the Captain. He nodded and set off down the hall. It was a short walk before he stopped before a door and unlocked it for the Initiates.

"If you need anything, let me know."

"Could someone bring us some clothes? Anything is fine as long as they aren't covered in blood." She tried to keep her tone light, but she was tired. The poor Captain was too. He nodded weerily.

Eleanor pushed the door open and stepped inside the room. It must've been some type of guest apartment for visiting dignitaries. It was quaint with a queen sized bed, a table, a couch, two arm chairs, and a fireplace. Ella was just happy to have somewhere soft to sleep after two days of being on a horse.

"Two weeks," she sighed. She rubbed her forehead, her automatic response to stress and looked at Edric. "You can take the bed and I will take the couch." She would wait until someone brought them cleaner clothes before she sat on any of the furniture.

 

[Edric]

Edric had expected barracks, maybe at most a bunk bed, certainly something less comfortable than...all of this.

Initiates at the Academy were not often afforded any sort of luxury. Even on missions they most often slept in barns or servants quarters. Compared to that, this was practically the lap of luxury.

For a few seconds Edric seemed to linger in the doorway, as if he couldn't quite believe that they would be given something like this. A frown touched his face as Eleanor spoke, his head whipping up. Then, a shrug rolled his shoulders.

"Sure you don't want to share?" He jested, his head slowly lulling to peer at Eleanor. "I provide a great deal of warmth at night."

It was a joke of course.

Mostly because he was sure that he'd push Eleanor off the bed in the middle of the night.

He'd never had a bed bigger than a twin.

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor smiled up at him slyly as she set her belt on the table. She had given him the bed because he needed more room than she did. She knew he was joking but she played along none the less. Humor was good sometimes. "I will remember the offer if I am about to freeze to death," she said right before there was a knock on the door.

Ella crossed to the door and pulled it open. A very tired look servant thrust a bundle clothing into her arms and set a bucket of water on the ground then walked off. Eleanor set the clothes on table then went back for the bucket before shutting the door.

On the top of the pile, there sat a couple small towels. Good enough to get the road dirt and blood off of them at least. A nice room, clean water, and clean clothes...it was definitely out of the ordinary but she was not about to complain. Ella picked the bucket up and sat it in the table next to the pile.

 

[Edric]

"Ah yes, the height of luxury." Edric said. "A bucket."

He knew that he had no right to complain.

These people had been under the yolk of a siege for more than a month. It was likely that clean water was one of the few luxuries they actually had. It was obvious from how the guards looked that food was scarce, and thus every resource was precious.

Still, he couldn't help but put some bitterness in his voice. The powers that be had sent them into his hell, likely fully knowing what they would face. "The luxury of being a Dreadlord, I suppose."

He said quietly to Eleanor, a bitter chuckle escaping his throat.

"Suppose it could be worse." Edric said with a shrug. "Though I'm not sure how."

 

[Eleanor]

"The luxury of being an Initiate, you mean. I wonder if they even expected us to deliver the message at all." Her voice held the bitterness now. It was an easy way to weed out the weak students without getting in trouble under the new government.

Eleanor pulled off her shirt and grabbed one of the towels. She dipped it in the water and cleaned off her face. She rubbed away all of the dried blood from her various cuts and then pulled the clean tan shirt over her head.

She then undid her pants and stepped out of them. Her thigh looked pretty terrible with all of the dried blood around it. Luckily the would was closed though. She used the same towel to clean her thigh and then grabbed the darker brown pants off the table.

Once she was dressed again, she went and collapsed onto the couch. She was not sleepy tired but just exhausted tired. She just wanted to relax a little bit.

 

[Edric]

Edric considered her words for a few moments.

The thought behind it made sense. He did not know about Eleanor, but he most certainly knew that some of the newer Proctors would rather be rid of him. His magic was not 'kind', in this new world. The taking of life for his own empowered, the ability to drain the living for his own strength was a disaster waiting to happen.

He'd overheard more than one conversation about that fact. Some between Proctors, others among the politicians that had visited the Academy.

More than a few saw him as a problem. "Suppose it doesn't really matter."

Edric said quietly, never turning around as Eleanor cleaned herself. Modesty wasn't exactly a learned skill among the Initiates, but he had enough common decency to keep from peeking.

"We made it." He said as he heard her ease herself upon the cushions of the sofa. "Now we just have to make it through the next two weeks."

Edric said as he finally turned to regard her. "Unless we want to try to make it back?"

A task he wasn't even sure they could accomplish.

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor barked out a laugh. "Fuck no! I, honestly, don't think we would be able to make it back the same way. They'd be expecting us now. Extra guards and all the shit." She waved her hand in the air to emphasize all the shit.

"I am just trying to figure out what we are going to do for two weeks." She was definitely going to keep her workouts up and if she was feeling nice, she could help train some of the guard here. They certainly needed it. Unfortunately for them, she was not feeling nice.

"I guess it could be worse. I could be stuck with someone that I wanted to murder. I don't mind being stuck with You, Edric." He had grown on her in their short time killing together.

 

[Edric]

Eleanor wasn't wrong.

The chance of getting out the same way was all but impossible. Even without their original general, the army that surrounded the city was more than enough to stop two Initiate Dreadlords. There was no doubt in his mind that they would be caught if they tried to go back.

Still, the thought of trying was more than a little tempting.

He had never much liked the idea of being trapped somewhere. The thought of being kept in a cage made him regress. Thoughts of the box back the Academy crept up on him. Those thin walls pressing in on him. The drag of that tiny space.

A shiver ran down Edric's spine.

"Right." He agreed quietly, swallowing his own spittle.

"Guess we wait." Edric said with a quiet nod. "Two weeks isn't that long."

A frown touched his lips, replaced by an easy smile as she bade him the small complement. "Better you than that Pirian girl."

He chuckled. "Or Chas. That dolt would be staring at the stars right now."

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor chuckled and propped her feet up on the low table in front the couch. "Neither of them would have made it through the camp. Kristen would have been crying as soon as she saw the camp and Chas would've poofed as soon as you suggested going through the camp to deliver the message."

She couldn't deal with classmates who were weak or ones who didn't want to do their jobs. They were weapons and weapons were made to kill not cry about their orders.

"So...what do you want to do?" Eleanor wasn't sure what to do with free time. She didn't have any of her books or her notebook so she was pretty much left with twiddling her thumbs.

 

[Edric]

Edric stayed quiet for what must have seemed like an age.

He thought about what would have looked the best, what would have earned them the most acclaim. He knew that would be expected, knew that the Proctors would have thought about that very fact. There was little doubt to such a thing in his mind.

After what must have seemed like an age Edric finally answered. "I think we wait."

He said quietly, staring at the wall.

It was hard to admit as such, almost impossible to say. A breath flowed through his lungs, and then he turned back towards Eleanor.

"I don't think they want to lose this city." He said quietly. "Not after everything that's happened."

A revolution, a battle for the soul of Vel Anir. "So we do what we can to help defend this place."

He glanced at his companion. "Then we take every reward we can get."

Lips thinned.

"Every medal, every acclaim." His shoulders seemed to stiffen. "Whatever we can seize."

If they were expected to die, then they would defy them. If this city was expected to fall, then they would stop it. He was sure of it. Determined. There wasn't a chance he would fail here. Not now. Not ever.

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor looked up at Edric and nodded solemnly. Of course they would fight. She was not going to sit by and let an enemy take a city that she could help defend.

"I agree," she said quietly and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I more meant what do we do in the meantime...during the waiting." She let a soft laugh. "Neither of us were made for sitting idly by. I'm going to keep up my workout routine and shit, but that doesn't take up every hour of every day."

She also wasn't sure how much free reign they had of the city. She was guessing a significant amount given who they were but everyone was so weary and on edge so perhaps not.

 

[Edric]

"Oh." Edric said, realizing that he had probably been too wrapped up in his own thoughts to properly understand Eleanor.

A hand came up to scratch at the back of his head, a smile flickering over his features. "I don't know."

He said with a shrug.

"I've never been in a siege before." None of them had, as far as he knew. "Suppose I'll just see what everyone else does."

She was right though. Edric wasn't exactly meant for sitting around. Back at the Academy he was one those who was constantly fighting and sparring. There'd never been a break, a pause for any of that. "Might as well explore the city, I guess. I know fuck all about Vel Akaten."

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor nodded at his final understanding of her words. They were both in a new position that they had not been trained for. They were trained to fight and to kill, they were not trained to sit around in a siege and wait.

Ella knew as much about Vel Akaten as Edric did...which was nothing. "Do you mind if I tag along with you to explore?" She asked right before she yawned. "Tomorrow. I think I am done with acting like I give a fuck today." The redhead rubbed her thigh and winced a little.

"Do you think this city stands a chance at all?" In all honesty, the only reason she cared was because she was stuck here and two teenagers couldn't take on an army alone.

 

[Edric]

Edric began to strip as his shoulders rolled in a shrug. "Sure."

Eleanor hadn't been bad company so far, though granted things hadn't exactly gone to plan. He still had no idea what he was even going to do in the city, and he suspected that most of the sights would be rather depressing. Still, it was better than just sitting around doing nothing.

Tossing the coat he'd been wearing into the ground Edric sat himself down on the bed.

For a long moment he stayed quiet, not sure of an answer.

"I don't know." He said quietly. "The Governor didn't seem hopeful."

His lips thinned for a moment, his head turning. "But...when your backs against the wall, you tend to fight the hardest."

 

[Eleanor]

"Hopefully the soldiers here feel the same way when their backs are against the wall." Eleanor yawned and laid down on the couch without another word. She was exhausted. They had ridden for two days with little rest and then fought their way through a camp of enemies. They both deserved a good nights rest.

She closed her eyes and went through the days events in her mind. It was a great day and she now knew that Edric was worth fighting with. She had gained a new appreciation for the man and perhaps some respect as well.

"I hope you get some sleep," she said softly as she turned on her side. It was not very long before sleep claimed her.

 

[Edric]

Edric sat there for a moment, musing quietly. It was rare that he felt at a loss. Rarer still that he felt as though there was no answer to give. In his head there had always been a way out, always been something to do.

Here?

He felt trapped, and the truth was they both were. There was a chance, small as it was, that the army would simply disband and retreat. That the death of their general would have the effect he and Eleanor had hoped for.

Yet something in the back of his mind told him it wouldn't be. That those left alive would only be angrier, and their rage would come down on this city like a hammer.

They had both done it. Carried out the plan. But he'd instigated it, suggested it, and perhaps doomed them both.

For a few moments more he remained sitting there on the bed, then his fingers curled around the heavy wool blanket. He dragged it free, stepping over to the couch and silently draping the blanket over Eleanor before returning to his own bed to sleep.

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor unconsciously snuggled under the warmth of the blanket as she slept. Her sleep was dreamless and restful. She woke up as the sun was starting to rise and she just laid there with her thoughts in silence. She was not sure if Edric was awake yet and she didn't want to make any noise if he wasn't.

She was worried. She was a rat in a cage and it was already making her a little crazy. She didn't even have her books to keep her mind off things. The only hope she had was that the army would arrive sooner than two weeks or that the enemy would give up their siege and retreat.

Ella eventually got up from the couch and started pacing around the room. She quickly found a small figurine to float between her hands as she paced. Hopefully Edric would have some insight about their day ahead because she certainly had nothing.

 

[Edric]

Edric didn't sleep in.

They had never been afforded the opportunity at the Academy, and on missions where they had been given the leeway he'd found his body simply incapable. By the time Eleanor was practicing the small craft of her magic Edric was laying in the bed with his eyes snapped open.

He stared up at the ceiling, wondering, planning, bouncing a thousand different ideas in his head.

It was impossible to say how many minutes passed before he finally pushed himself up and out of bed. Hands rubbing over his face and through his hair. "I need a shower."

The Initiate complained quietly.

"And some new clothes." He certainly wasn't going to be wearing the enemies uniform. Not for two fucking weeks.

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor turned around and caught the figurine in her hand when she heard Edric speak. She one hundred percent agreed that a shower and new clothes were in order. She studied for a few silent moments before walking over to the bookcase and depositing the figurine back in its spot.

"Yes and food," she agreed with her partner.

"Did you sleep alright?" She had been out like a light. The exhaustion finally pulling her down with it. The adrenaline running out. "And thank you for the blanket, Edric. I appreciate it."

 

[Edric]

Edric nodded his head as he stretched. "As well as could be expected."

He admitted, though in truth most of his nights had been plagued with thoughts of what might be coming their way over the next few days. Half the time he'd tried to figure out a way they could make it out, some way they would be able to dart through the lines again. Yet each time his mind wandered he couldn't find a sulution, not one that seemed realistic anyway.

The Initiate shook his head as he stepped out of the meager bedroom, not bothering to throw on the rest of the tattered uniform he'd stolent the night before.

"Only fair." He said with a shrug. "You got the couch, so you get the blanket."

It was an odd equilibrium in his head. He wouldn't call Eleanor a friend, but...well she'd certainly risen in his estimations. That alone meant something. Even if so far it had only been giving her a blanket.

A smile flickered on his face. "Let's go find some clothes."

He said with a jerk of his head.