Private Tales The Broken Crown

[Mariana]

"As much as I would be inclined to stay here with you." A small jump at his latest squeeze. She let her teeth gently graze his lip before she pulled back.

"I'd rather not remain in Anirian territory longer than we have to."

Running a hand through her mussed up curls and waves of hair, she finally pulled away from him and stood. Giving him a full view as she went to retrieve her clothes and slide back into them. "But who is to say what will happen when we stop again?" A smirk at him along with a glint in her dark-blue eyes.

She didn't have much time left.

Might as well enjoy it.

 

[Alre Castielle]

"I am to say." Alre mused for a few seconds as he watched her, eyes fixed upon her rear before slowly he pushed himself up from the ground and gathered his clothes.

Before long he drew on his armor and cloak, buckling the sword onto his hip and pulling on his boots so that he would be ready to go. Shoulders rolled for a moment, and he took a deep breath as he cast one last look towards the sun.

They had a few hours yet. "Ready?"

Alre called over to her as he dragged himself up from the floor and began to back up the rest of their campsite.

 

[Mariana]

"Yes," she straddled her horse again, picking up the reins. With a soft nudge of her heels, she'd urge her stallion forward, back toward the road. A glance at Alre.

"Oh you're to say are you?" Head shook mildly, hair shifting over the tips of her ears. "You might need a rest tonight. Need to keep your stamina up for traveling." She couldn't help the small grin. Her horse knickered as if he could understand his mistress' teasing tone.

"Are we camping off the road again tonight?"

As they emerged back on the road, she was grateful to see no one else. At least for now. She hoped they didn't run into any of the guard. Or any of those dreadlords.

 

[Alre Castielle]

"I have more stamina than you'll ever need." Alre mused for a few seconds, though his usual bite was gone. Not because his attitude had disappeared, but because he was paying attention to the road and what was on it.

When he saw no one, Alre slowly lead his horse forward.

"There's a few villages." He told her. "We can ride until we hit one."

Most villages in Anirian Territory were not as...stringent about foreigners, particularly those who were closer to the border. "Why? Eager to take me to a real bed?"

He jested.

 

[Mariana]

"I'm not sure how much better we can do than last night, whether it's a bed of grass or a mattress," her eyes twinkled with amusement as they meandered closer to the outskirts of Vel Anir. "But since you claim to have more than enough stamina that I'll ever need."

A small shake of her head, the smile never leaving her face.

Not until they rounded a hill and came across a small group of Anirian soldiers. Her back became rigid as she squinted ahead. It looked as though they were leading a group of prisoners in chains among the small unit. The frown deepened on her lips. Any playfullness disappearing entirely from her face.

 

[Alre Castielle]

"Stay close." Alre said with a quick snapping motion.

His own body didn't tense up, instead he remained aloof and lazy looking. His eyes glanced over towards the marching column. There were a dozen or so Guardsmen as well as half that number of prisoners. Two elves, one human, and three orcs.

It was a strange band to be in Anirian lands. "Hail!"

He said in a call towards the Guardsmen, motioning for Averey to trail along. It would be more suspicious not to speak to the men. The head of the Guardsmen looked up, glancing at Alre and his companion before offering a wave.

"What's all this?" The once King asked. "Is there danger up ahead? We were traveling to Arenholm."

The Guard grimace.d

"Arenholm? I'd be careful around there. The new King has gone a bit mad. Brigands are running wild and crossing the border. I would suggest you and your...wife head south to Vel Anir. It would be much safer."​

 

[Mariana]

Averey blinked.

Wife.

Wife?

Lips parted a protest just on her tongue to correct the man when she swallowed it. The priestess could see the wisdom in this assumption. It would probably make more sense for a couple to be traveling together. And if he thought they were married his conservative values would probably make him assume she was human as well.

Her hand tightened on the reins.

"Thank you for the warning and suggestion," eyes paused as they fell upon the elven prisoners. Heart lurched in her chest. They might be true criminals but instincts made her question it. "We cannot delay our course. Are these...are these some of the brigands that have crossed over?"

 

[Alre Castielle]

"Aye Ma'am. Burned a windmill in Idel. We caught half the band, rest got away."​

Alre tensed at that.

Idel was a town he knew. It wasn't anything significant really. There was no real value or money in the place. It was a sleepy little crossroad village. No one there had ever hurt anyone else, and the idea that someone would burn down it's windmill?

Lips thinned as he stared at the prisoners. "Glad you caught them."

The Guardsmen nodded.

"It's technically...well, we weren't supposed to, but how can ya stand back and watch something like that? Arenholm's own Watch isn't doing much.

Alre had to bite his tongue.

"Thank you for telling us, Sergeant. We'll be careful." The Guardsmen nodded his head, and then motioned for the others to advance.

"Safe travels. I won't tell you what to do, but I would head south as I said."​

 

[Mariana]

She still had to wonder. Were they really criminals? She swallowed, wishing she had more information. Wishing if she was wrong, she could do something about it. And for a flicker of a moment, the magic beneath her skin roiled and crawled, hoping to be let off its leash.

But Averey clamped down tight.

She dipped her head in thanks to the guard and continued heading beyond the trudging prisoners and the rest of the guard. Keeping close to Alre's side. When she was sure they were no longer in hearing distance, she turned to the king.

"You know the place? Idel? Do you have any idea what's going on back in your lands?"

It was a gentle question, one said with a quiet concern. Not for her own sake but for his. She'd seen the way he'd stiffened at the city's name.

 

[Alre Castielle]

"It's a village, a small one near the border." He had been there more than a dozen times, he could picture it on the map of his Kingdom. It sat right on the border of Vel Anir, likely a day or so away from where they were now.

"Quiet." Alre said softly. "Sleepy. Not the sort to get themselves into trouble."

He frowned, glancing back for a moment. "If brigands really are running wild, it would make a good mark."

For some strange reason Alre hated that he knew that, hated that he could think like a bandit now.

"They don't have any warriors, just...farmers." For once, perhaps, the Anirians really had been the good guys.

 

[Mariana]

"Maybe we should see if we can get there by tonight. I could probably help defend the city."

She pointed to the marks along her exposed arms.

"You and I both know I have enough power. Though." A small, crooked grin in his direction. "We might need to abstain from our nightly activities. Remember when we found out water helped to stem the swell of uncontrolled magic? I think," a delicate clear of her throat. "what we did last night also acts as a damper to the powers."

Averey wasn't innocent or certainly had her fair share of experience as a female elf. But admitting her suspicions to Alre? Well. It made her face feel just a teeny-tad bit warmer.

 

[Alre Castielle]

Alre slowly raised an eyebrow to the last of her words, not entirely sure what to think about it save for the thousand quips that came to his mind.

"Good to know I can soothe you." He said with a smile, though his thoughts were on Idel and the Brigands around it.

"I don't think they would come back to the village." Alre said. "At least if the Anirians were telling the truth."

Which he doubted that they had been lying. The six prisoners had certainly been mixed enough for him to believe they weren't just a random force of some sort. If the brigands had half their number captured he doubted they would return so fast. Though... "I would like to get there though."

He said softly, just wanting to know the state of Arenholm more than anything.

"Then we can find out if some other things soothe you too." Alre winked, trying to carry his thoughts away from more serious concerns.

 

[Mariana]

"Soothe me?" Fingers twitched on the leather of the reins. Brows rose incredulously. "You've been getting under my skin since day one and I believe I've been doing the same to you." There was no bite behind her words, just lightness and humor.

"I can't control how my magic responds to different...stimuli." Her smirk widened for a moment. Then a sigh and shake of her head as her expression grew serious. "To Idel it is. Hopefully there enough of the town left. Do you think this means we'll have your Uncle to worry about in addition to all these outlaws?" It was a lose-lose battle then. They couldn't win being attacked from all sides.

 

[Alre Castielle]

"Except." He countered. "When you're on your back..."

Alre paused for a second, then added. "Or on top of me."

It was only fair to remind of that, if he was going to joke about it in the first place. The smile on his face made him forget about the encounter with the Anirians, though that immediately fell away when she asked about his Uncle.

He shook his head. "Not if what the Anirians said is true."

A breath left him, and his fingers tightened on his reins.

"It sounds like he's keeping the army to the interior. That's the only way Idel would have such problems." Before his death, Alre's father had always kept constant patrols for Brigands and invaders. It would make sense that once they stopped the troubles started coming up.

Though he had no idea why his Uncle would do such a thing.

 

[Mariana]

"I guess we'll find out soon enough," the priestess said quietly. They rode most of the day. The sun was starting to lower in the sky when Averey spotted a small stream.

"I think we should stop for a break. Let our horses rest and get a drink." She pointed to the stream. And she was hot. Even with the cooler clothes. It was the middle of summer and that stream looked inviting. Cool water on her face sounded like something her hot brow needed.

 

[Alre Castielle]

Alre didn't know the area well enough to say how far they were. A guess was all that he could offer, and he realized that they likely wouldn't arrive in Idel until well into the night.

The eagerness he'd felt had worn off some, knowledge coming that it wasn't all that pressing to arrive there at this moment. Despite the constant urging at the back of his head to find out more information about what was going on. "Sure."

He said with a nod of his head.

"Don't want to push them too hard." Alre agreed as he lead his horse over towards the stream.

With grace he pulled himself up and out of the saddle, landing with a muted thud on some of the river rocks.

 

[Mariana]

Wincing from her stiff legs and stiff back, she dismounted. Tending to her horse first, she tied up the reins and gave the stallion a quick brush down so he could get what water he needed. She sighed and sunk down onto a sun-baked rock by the streak, fingers going to unstrap her sandals, the laces winding up her calves.

"I don't know about you but it just feels good to sit down on something not moving for a change. I'm so..stiff." She peeled one sandal off, fingers going to work the strap of the next.

"Do you think we're at least out of Anirian territory by now?"

 

[Alre Castielle]

Alre squatted down. "It's a bit of a gray area now."

He thought they were far enough along.

"Arenholm and Vel Anir have been arguing over territory for generation." Alre explained. "Neither side has really wanted to go to War. The Anirians were too busy with the Elves and Arenholm...well we're not strong enough to take on Vel Anir."

It was hard to admit that, but Alre was no fool. Compared to Vel Anir his nation was a mouse fighting against a cat. Picking a fight would have been foolish. "A few hundred years ago the nations agreed to a bit of a...buffer. That's where we are now. Idel is the first village actually in Arenholm."

Slowly Alre leaned over and washed his hands in the stream.

 

[Mariana]

"Good to know," she would be lying if she said she wouldn't be breathing a little easier now. With her second sandel off, she'd come back to her feet and step over carefully to Alre. A hand brushed against the top of his shoulder in comfort.

She imagined it might be hard for him to be this close to his home. To re-live what his uncle had done to him. She'd squeeze once before taken a few more steps into the water until it was up to her calves. Head tipped to the sky, her long wavy hair hanging down her back.

Toes wriggled in the small stones of the stream bed.

"You should come in. It feels divine."

 

[Alre Castielle]

Alre still squatted there, thinking a mile a minute about what they were going to do. What they had to do.

Idel wouldn't be much of a problem. They could get a room in there easily, a nice room by all accounts. Perhaps even a small taste of luxury, but beyond that they would begin to encounter difficulties. Especially if more of the Army was being kept inland.

He wondered if they would even be able to get to his families Keep.

When she prompted him Alre looked up. "Maybe."

He mused, once again trying to draw away his thoughts from the Darker aspects of life.

"Maybe you should tempt me." The once King offered with a smirk.

 

[Mariana]

"Tempt you?"

Eyes opened as she tipped her head back to look at him. The corner of her mouth twisting upward. Fingers fell to her hips.

"Hmm. How would an elf priestess tempt a king?" Fingers reached up, flipping auburn hair over one shoulder, it's golden color coming out in the setting sun. "Would this tempt you?" That same hand brushed away one strap of her dress.

"Maybe I should ask how you would tempt me?"

 

[Alre Castielle]

Alre had never been one to focus on important things.

Back home as he'd grown up most had written him off as a non-entity. A boy that enjoyed parties, women, and liquor. There had been more than a few royals who had plotted to overthrow him as soon as his father died.

He'd always known that of course, and it was a reputation he'd never shake.

Now though? He had focus. He knew what was important. He knew that he had to throw his Uncle from the throne. Knew that he had to retake his Kingdom, but he also knew that getting caught up in hate and anger was not the best way to carry this.

Averey was right. He needed to rest, refocus. Allow himself time even in the midst of all this. "A little more."

He said with a smile, gazing at her.

"You'll find out when we reach Idel." Alre added, smirk widening.

 

[Mariana]

"I suppose I'll have to be the judge of that," she said airily. Turning, she peeled off her dress above her head. Slowly. Moving upstream, she rested it carefully over one of the branches hanging over the water.

A glance over her bare-shoulder at him. Those words on her skin curving around swells, dips, and valleys. The magic always pulsing just beneath. Wanting to be released. Wanting to shape and change the land. The air. The water. The foreign and stolen power always taking a small amount of her concentration to keep it down. To keep in control even in the best of times. But the water provided some relief.

And so, she waded out further, calling over her shoulder to the king grinning on shore like a cheshire cat.

"Is this enough?" The cool water was now pooling at her thighs.

 

[Alre Castielle]

Alre watched her for a few more moments. He let himself rock on the balls of his feet, slowly slipping back and forth before he stood up to his full height.

With quick deft hands he stripped himself of his armor, throwing down the cuirass and gauntlets along with his cloak and everything else. He had no time for modesty, nor did he show and ounce of it as he waded into the cool water of the stream.

It did feel pleasant against the heat of the day.

"Yes." Alre said as he came up behind Averey, his hands sliding onto her hips. Fingers tightened ever so slightly digging into her hips. "I think it might be."

The once King whispered in her ear.

 

[Mariana]

She leaned into him, savoring his touch. The warmth he provided against the coolness of the stream. She'd lead him to the middle of the stream until the water lapped just below her chest. Turning in his arms, her hands cooled by the waters would trail across his face.

"We'll figure this out," she repeated, toes lifting in the stream bed as she pressed a tender kiss on one side of his face and then the other. Thumbs stroked along his stubbled jaw. "We'll get your kingdom back. Your lands. We'll stop your uncle. Together. You're not alone."

The elf held the man's gaze to make sure he knew her promise. The weight of her words.