Private Tales The Death of Innocence

[Olvir]

He smiled. "Pinky promise."

The Houses might have had less power, the Weiroons might have been waning, but he knew he could do this at the very least. Something at his very core told him that. A whisper, a small tell. It would have to be enough. He would have to be enough.

All his life he had his own goals, wanted things for himself, wanted to set himself apart from his siblings. Prove that he was actually worth something.

But right now?

Right now he just wanted to make sure Houri would be safe.

"I think that bath is probably ready for you now." He told her. "I'll see if the Innkeeper can't find you some clothes, and tomorrow we'll get you something more to your liking."

 

[Houri]

The tension slowly eased from Houri's body when he gave their childhood vow. He wouldn't break something so sacred. She would be fine... all of them would be fine.

Maybe it would be safer to go back to that Castle... whispered Vayu and Houri couldn't help but linger thoughtfully on those words. It would be safer. For her. For Ollie. For her family. But she didn't want to. She knew she could be good. She knew she could get better. Just not in there.

"I don't need anything fancy," she murmured. The innkeeper was bustling back over to them with warm mugs of ale.

"I'm sure I can find something, pet. I have a daughter about your build," the kindly woman smiled then glanced at Ollie. "The bath is ready."

 

[Olvir]

Ollie smiled at Houri. "Go on."

He told her softly.

"We'll be right out here." There was, of course, no way in the seven hells that Ollie could accompany Houri to the baths. Such a thing was entirely uncouth and outside of any realm of dignity for both of them. "I'll see our rooms are ready."

Maybe make sure she had something else to snack on too. "And finish my meal."

Olvir said with a smile, motioning to the still half full plate.

He hadn't quite managed Houri's speed.

 

[Houri]

Houri eyed the woman suspiciously. Trusting Ollie was one thing, natural even, but a complete stranger? She didn't look at all convinced.

It must have been written over her face for the inn keeper shuffled her feet nervously before gently taking the girls hand and patting it like one might a nervous animal.

"Come on dear, let the master eat his food. We'll sort you out don't you worry," she cooed. Houri threw Ollie a pained look but slowly let the woman drag her from the chair. Given the almost head height of difference between her and the older woman it was rather comical but the inn keeper bustled Houri up the stairs as if she was five.

"It must have been quite the ordeal you've gone through, miss. I don't suppose you've had a bath in a good few weeks, eh?"

"Four years," Houri replied absentmindedly as she took in the room she had been lead into then eyed the bath. The woman almost missed a step.

"Four years? Well... well well well..."

 

[Olvir]

The two knights watched Houri as she walked away. They did not leer, did not judge, Ollie could see it in their eyes. The way they actually looked at her; sympathy, pity.

"My Lord..."​

It was Trik who spoke.

The man was a burly ogre of a brute. Bigger than most orcs and with more muscle than one too. He was one of the few people who stood taller than Olvir. His plate-mail seemed to stretch every time he moved, the sigil of House Weiroon donned proudly upon his armor as he looked down at Ollie.

"Is she...is she ya...I'm sorry I probably shouldn't be asking."​

Both the Knights knew that his father would have them both beaten for even asking, but Ollie was not Sebastian Weiroon. "I don't know, Trik. She was in that place for a long time."

Slowly he looked down at his plate. "It's...it's going to be a big mess when we get home."

 

[Houri]

Houri gasped as the hot water sloshed over her shoulders. Heat. When had she stopped realising she was cold, bone deep cold? The temperature almost felt like it seared her flesh it was that unused to it. The showers in the castle had been cold more often than not, lukewarm at best, and a mere trickle of water.

"Lay back now dear, you just enjoy yourself," the woman ordered gently and Houri was in no mental state to argue. Stiffly she lay back and let the woman and the two other maids fuss over her. They brushed and washed and chatted over her head as if she weren't even there. Houri didn't mind. In fact she was grateful they ignored her so she could close her eyes and... relax.

"She's gone off to sleep My Lord, like a little babe," the innkeeper announced a good hour or two later when she came back down. "Best be leaving her to rest now."

 

[Olvir]

The conversation had turned a little bit more heartening after the last bit of talk about Houri. The three men spoke about who had won the latest tournament bout, whether or not Ollie would be joining the Republic's new Swordsman championships, and other rather droll things.

By the time the Innkeeper returned only one of the two Knights remained at the table. "Thank you."

He said with a quiet nod.

"We'll be heading that way as well." He said, standing. "Wake me early, would you?"

Tomorrow, he had no doubts, would be a long day. They had nearly a week yet before they made it home, and before that he was still not entirely sure how to...well approach anything of what he had learned today. He was walking back to Vel Anir with a storm in tow.

More so than he knew.

 

[Houri]

As the innkeeper stated, once Houri hit those sheets she was out like a light. She hadn't slept on a feather mattress since before the Academy and her traumatised body fell into the comfort wholeheartedly.

It was deep into the day, closer to midday than morning, when the innkeeper faintly knocked at her door.

"Rise and shine sleepy head," she said softly but even that didn't rouse the young girl. It took a tender shake against the shoulder to send her sitting bolt upright, her hand reaching for a knife that wasn't there and finding instead a bolt of lightning conjured to her hand she raised towards the sudden presence attempting to grab a hold of her.

The womans scream echoed through the inn.

 

[Olvir]

A scream echoed out.

A crack rang through the room.

Ollie jumped out of bed as though he were under attack. His eyes lit up almost immediately, trousers were thrown on and nothing else. The Butcher's Blade swept into his palm as he rushed out into the Inn, following the scream.

"WHAT HAPPENED!?" Olvir called in a panic.

Both of his Knights flickered into view behind him, just slightly slower than the Noble in their pursuit of whatever had rocked the little tavern.

 

[Houri]

Kill them all. Who's to say they won't just put you in another cage? Ahdvi whispered seductively as Houri casually stroked a finger along the crackling bolt in her hands. Her eyes were glazed as though with sleep though fear pinched the rest of her face. It looked as though she were trapped in a waking nightmare. Behind her eyes images flickered, a mix of memories and nightmares gone past. Of tortures. Of people grabbing and dragging her from her bed. She hadn't had her magic then but now...

The bolt seemed to pulse.

"I don't know my Lord! I went to wake her and she just..." the innkeeper babbled, backing away as quickly as she dared, clutching at some trinket around her throat belonging to some minor religion or other. "I didn't mean to startle the girl."

 

[Olvir]

Ollie placed a gentle hand on the Servant's shoulder. His touch soft as he pulled her back and away from where Houri was. One of the Knights stepped forward to join him, but he quickly motioned the hulk of a man backward.

This wasn't exactly the time for a…strong hand. "Houri?"

His voice was the very picture of patience, quiet and yet strong. The type of tone that came only with practice, rarely found in House Weiroon but bestowed upon him like a gift. He took a single step forward, not rushing.

Calm and patience stepped.

"What happened?" He asked softly. "And…what is that."

Ollie said, gesturing to the bolt of lightning.

He knew it was magic of course, he wasn't a fool. The Noble could remember well why Houri had been sent away. The question was what had they done to her?

 

[Houri]

Houri?

Don't you want to be able to do what you want, when you want? Ahdvi continued, the voice curling round her mind like a warm, dangerous embrace. She allowed herself to wander at what that might feel like. Warmth. Safety.

What happened?

Just let go of the bolt, Houri...

"What is that?"
​

Ollie's voice finally popped the bubble that had surrounded her mind. Her eyes regained focus and stopped their odd misty grey swirling. She blinked once at Ollie standing in her room then frowned in confusion at what exactly he was doing in her room when she'd been sleeping. Then she seemed to notice the others crowding at the door behind him and lastly the lightning bolt still crackling in her hand.

With a gasp it vanished.

"I--" she swallowed and glanced between him and the others. Searing heat suddenly enveloped the room as a blush seared her cheeks. "I'm sorry, when I sleep I have less... control," she whispered and gripped the sheets to keep her hands from shaking. "I didn't hurt anyone did I?"

 

[Olvir]

The room suddenly felt as though it were a thousand degrees.

In an instant it went from the chill of fear to an almost rabid heat. Beads of sweat flickered on his brow, and he sucked in a sharp breath that felt more like muck than air. Slowly he took a step forward, his lips thinning as he moved towards Houri. "It's...it's okay."

He told her softly, glancing towards the Knights.

A swift motion of his palm, just a gentle urging. The two men almost immediately took the hint. A hand was placed on the servant, a quick whisper, and then Trik was barring the door so that no one could look inside.

The Innkeeper would be taken care of. The servant would be paid for her shock.

"No ones hurt." Ollie assured her. "Just a little bit, shocked..."

It was true enough, really. "Is that your...magic?"

Ollie asked softly, positioning himself just close enough to see that he trusted her. That he did not think she would hurt him.

 

[Houri]

No-one's hurt.

"But they could be," Ahdvi murmured. Houri tried to ignore the voice and the deepening pit of despair making her throat close up.

Focus on what he said, Houri, not what the others say.

That voice. She hadn't heard that voice for...

"A-a part of it," she whispered with a jerky nod. Her eyes ran over her hands as if searching for any sign of the bolt she had just been holding. Focus on what he said. Nobody was hurt. He wasn't running. He wasn't scared of her. She let out a tiny bit of the breath she was holding, her shoulders relaxing a fraction. "I can... control the weather. Storms tend to happen when..." How did she even begin to explain the complicated ways her powers worked now?

The heat slowly begun to subside.

"I must have had a bad dream."

 

[Olvir]

Olvir frowned.

He knew next to nothing about magic. The abilities of Dreadlords. All of that was...well it was next to nonsense by his own telling. He believed in it of course, had seen all of their dastardly powers more than once, but trying to explain it?

The Weiroon was about as lost as could be. "Ah."

He said, stumbling over his words.

"Well..." A smile touched his lips. "No one was hurt, It's alright."

Four days until they were home. Four days and then...then what? Fuck he had absolutely no idea what would happen. Not with how the Republic was now. Not with...shit. Ollie smiled, trying to push those thoughts away. "We'll just try for only good dreams from here on out."

He told her softly.

 

[Houri]

Houri gave a bitter and sad laugh. If only it were that simple.

"It's okay Ollie, I know I'm a freak," she gave him a reassuring if somewhat downcast smile before averting her eyes to the pile of clothes that had been left on the wooden chair in the corner of the room. "You don't have to pretend."

Casting off the blankets she rolled to her feet. Sleep felt like the furthest thing from her mind now even though her body begged her to crawl back into those sheets and attempt to get some real rest. Maybe it would be safer for everyone if she didn't until they got to the academy where they could... contain her magic.

You mean put us back in a box, whimpered Vayu.

If needs be, she thought back firmly.

She hadn't been paying much attention to the clothes until she picked it up and her nose wrinkled at the sight of the dress.

 

[Olvir]

Ollie stood there for a moment, not quite sure what to say. His lips thinned, and then he slowly shook his head. "There's a lot..."

It was hard.

She had been thrown away into that place for five years. Stuck in her own tiny little world. She had no idea what had happened in Vel Anir. How the city had been torn apart, how thousands had died because of the vanity of a few who wouldn't bend the knee.

Houri might have been a freak, but she wasn't a monster.

"There's a lot worse things to be." He told her. "And no matter what."

Ollie said as she frowned at the dress. "You're still my friend."

 

[Houri]

He didn't deny it.

Houri's fingers curled into the dress fabric as the errant voice whispered in her ear.

He also said he didn't care.

She let out a breath and threw the dress on to the bed. She shouldn't complain about clean clothes and perhaps, in the city, she could find something she preferred. Beggars couldn't be choosers her father had always said.

"Thank you, Ollie. That... means a lot," she wrapped her arms about herself. "I'll get dressed and we can go," she didn't imagine the innkeeper would want her under her roof for longer than she had to be, even with Ollie's custom. "I think I just want to go home, my father will know what to do."

 

[Olvir]

Olvir flickered a soft smile. It was quick, lingering for more than a heart beat before he slowly nodded his head. "Okay."

A part of him still wanted to tell her everything. Show her what had happened to Vel Anir, everything that had changed over the last year...but the greater whole of him knew that it wasn't his place.

Jiya or another Luana should have that talk.

Someone who was...someone who would actually be able to tell and calm her all at the same time. It wasn't just that he was trying to push that weight on someone else. It wasn't that he was trying to foist responsibility. He just...he just knew he wasn't the best man for it.

"I'll wait out front." He told her with a smile. "We'll get the horses ready and everything'

They had four days left until they reached Vel Anir, and two of those would not be spent in the comfortable beds of a tavern.

 

[Houri]

Houri managed to hold it together until Ollie shut the door and she could no longer hear his footsteps in the corridor. Then, she quietly sunk to her knees and sobbed into her hands. A soft misty rain began to patter all around her but she did not pay it any heed for all it soaked was her. How close had she come to hurting that poor girl because of a dream she couldn't escape from? What would happen if her father didn't know what to do?

You'll go back in that cage.

No we won't. We'll fight. Escape.

Houri had dreamt of nothing but home for the last five years, the thought of leaving it was... She choked on a sob.

It took an hour for her to stop, clear up the mess the rain had made and then get dressed in the sensible, sturdy riding habit that the innkeeper had managed to find her. It must have been her daughters best for it was well woven and even had an embroidered edge. It was pure luck the green went well with her complexion. There was a slight red tinge to her cheeks and under her eyes when she came downstairs but otherwise no hint of the tears she'd shed.

She was glad the inn downstairs was empty and she slipped outside without a backward glance.

 

[Olvir]

When Houri stepped outside she found Ollie and his Knights already waiting with the horses saddled.

He had made sure that everything was well put together, made sure they would be able to travel comfortably. Extra food had been purchased, and he'd managed to scrounge up a bedroll and tent for Houri to use once they were in the wilder parts of Anirian Territory.

"Ah there you are." He remarked with a smile.

The morning was apparently already forgotten.

Olvir had made a promise to his friend, and he was fully intending on seeing it through. He would get her home, he would make sure that she would be safe. "It's going to be a bit of a long ride."

He told her. "We'll have to spend some nights in the woods, I'm afraid."

No more comfortable beds.

 

[Houri]

"The woods are fine. At least it's outside," she said quietly and glanced along the line of horses. It appeared it had rained all night for the streets were filled with wide puddles. At least this morning the sun, even weak as it was, had managed at last to break through the clouds. There was nothing worse than sitting in a saddle for days soaked to the skin but this... this was good riding weather.

"Here you go miss," one of the soldiers stepped towards her slowly as one might a mistreated dog, unsure whether or not he might get bitten. Houri's eyes snapped to him and he froze mid step then held out the reins.

Afraid. They're afraid. Of you.

Or, maybe they're just concerned.

Houri attempted a smile and slowly took them much to the relieved look of the soldier.

"Her name's Tawny miss, she'll keep you safe."

"Thank you," she said softly and hesitantly offered a hand out to the horse. The mare pinned her ears back flat and Houri sighed. Horses never liked her scent. Not wasting any more time she put her foot in the stirrup and hurled herself into the saddle.

 

[Olvir]

There was a flicker of a smile on the Knights face, his head bowed, and then he quickly made his way over to his own horse.

Olvir pulled himself into his own saddle, patting his mount on the neck as he pulled himself up. A smile flickered over his features as he glanced towards his friend. A part of him was trying to reassure her, another part was just trying to see if she was okay.

"It'll be like one of those days we sneaked out at night." He reminded her as the two Knights mounted up and they slowly began to make their way out of town.

"When we camped out in the Gardens of Anirius." A place where only the nobility had once been allowed. A park, maintained at the expenditure of all seven of the Great Houses. Some saw it as a relic of older days, but the children of nobility had used it as a playground. "Though maybe a bit warmer this time, given that we actually have blankets."

He said with a smirk as they headed down the street.

 

[Houri]

"You remember that?" Houri said in surprise as she reined her palomino mare in beside his as they started the trip out of town. The mood of the town seemed subdued and taking her mind off it by talking to Ollie might help the voices stop whispering that it was because of her. A soft smile touched her lips as she recalled the memory to her own mind and tuned out everything else. Simple, happier times.

"Those memories are only five years old to me really, but to you they must seem... longer," she glanced out the corner of her eye at him. In a sense time had stopped once she had entered the Castle.

"My mother was so cross," she laughed beneath her breath. "I remember her saying to my father we would have to wed because of the rumours and he just did this great belly laugh and said next time he would show me out to make us a little hut out of sticks instead."

 

[Olvir]

He smiled slightly. "I remember."

They had been happy times, simpler times. Before he'd had to worry about politics, before anyone and everyone had tried to shove him into one role or another.

He was the youngest son of House Weiroon. Unplanned, but still useful for the weight that his own name had carried. Briefly Ollie wondered if Houri had even heard that he'd been betrothed to Elspeth Sirl, though the question answered itself as he remembered where she had been the last five years.

"Some memories stick easier than others." Ollie told her with a smile. "The good ones, mostly."

The slight smile slipped for a moment, then returned. "My father tried to buy the gardens after that."

He remembered. "Said he'd 'make them fit for camping'. Whatever that means in Weiroon terms."

Ollie chuckled.