Private Tales The Final Days

[Zana]

"Everything seems fine, Lucy. Healthy twins," the doctor turned away from her and towards the bucket of hot soapy water to wash his hands thoroughly. Zana sat up slowly and drew her shirt back down over her swollen belly with a thankful sigh. After the battle against the werewights she had worried that she had accidentally drawn on her child and their magics. If she had done so and had taken too magic she could have easily have killed one or both of her twins - something she would never have been able to forgive herself for. Talus already thought she should be on bedrest and she didn't need him worrying more about her being on active duty. The truth was she couldn't rest; there was simply too much to do for her to put her feet up. Building a crib, finishing their home, oh and that tiny little Rebellion without which they would never be safe.

"Thanks Doc," she smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before hopping off the table. As she did she caught a sight of herself in the mirror opposite amongst the hanging herbs of Wryrot and Kelmp. Smoothing the shirt down over her stomach she grimaced slightly; it wouldn't be long before it would be impossible to hide. If the fighting wasn't done by that point they would have to run or face having their children taken into the system them both hated. After a little more small talk, a few coins, and more herbs to help with the aches, Zana ducked out of the little cottage in some backwater village a league and a half North of Vel'Anir. Even then she hadn't gone for one of the healers in the centre of the village but one down a tiny back alley with chickens roaming freely within the white picket fence that surrounded it. Pulling her hood up against the snowfall Zana turned left and set off back towards the inn where she had left her horse.

Unbeknownst to her a shadow detached itself from the alleyway opposite and followed.

By noon Zana was back on the road towards Vel'Anir which was when she spotted a familiar horse and rider at the back of a small cavalry unit. Surprise widened her eyes for a second or two before she kicked her horse into a trot to catch up with her.

"Sloan?!"

* * *
Sloan​

 

[Sloan]

The sound of her own name dragged her from her thoughts and she turned, a flutter in her chest caused by the familiar voice. A warm smile cracked at the tired expression she so often wore as she turned her horse about.

The dwindled group was tired. They were reaching the end of a two-week long journey, a wagon carried two dozen dead and another carried those too injured to walk on their own.

"Zana." Sloan breathed out. She had worried for the young woman every day since their last talk, it was a relief to see her fit and well. "Where were you coming from?.." she asked, her head tilted curiously as she waited for the woman to catch up to her.

"Onward!" she called out to the soldiers as they slowed their pace as though expecting to stop. If they stopped now she worried she wouldn't get them moving again. "We're almost home!"

 

[Zana]

Zana schooled her face into that signature blank mask as she took in the group; best not to let the soldiers see the grimace she felt rising up inside of her. So many lost was not a good sign but the fact the colours were high signalled a win. The question was though, at what cost? She tore her eyes from the wagon where a limp hand hung out from under the canvas covering and looked back at Sloan. A million emotions rushed at her; joy, worry, excitement to tell her her news, though also a tinge of fear. Those months ago she had told Zana to be careful and since then she had had a secret wedding, launched a rebellion and now...

"A healer - I'm okay," she admitted but kept her voice low and brought the dun gelding closer to the big friesan so that their conversation could remain private. A part of her thought they should wait until they got back to the city but she was so excited, she wasn't sure she could hold it in that far. There was at least a few hours left. A smile tugged at her lips despite her mask. "I need to tell you some things when we get back, why don't you tell me about the mission?" her eyes swept over the group. "It doesn't look like it was as straight forward as they said."

 

[Sloan]

Sloan's brow quirked with concern, and she pulled back on her reins to slow her pace and let the others gain a little distance on them, sensing that it was privacy the woman needed to be able to speak freely. She followed Zana's gaze over the group and her head shook with a huff in frustration. "There were far more elves than we're expected, the scout came back with the wrong count but I'm certain that was the intention.." she frowned, her expression tired. It had been a hard battle, and a long road. "I will be grateful for a soft bed.." she grumbled quietly.

"Are you really going to make me wait another four hours for this news?..." she asked, staring straight ahead as she spoke.

 

[Zana]

What Sloan said was more than a little unsettling especially as she had just returned from her own mission where they had found not one but two traitors in their midst. Was this a part of the same group who wished to bring down Vel'Anir? The thought was unsettling, especially with what it was they were planning. Revolution was so thick in the air of the city now she could practically taste it. To her it was a wonder the nobility didn't seem to sense it. Such dark thoughts were interrupted however as Sloan grumbled her annoyance.

A smile split Zana's face in two but she brought it quickly under control. Oh hells, no she couldn't wait.

"I'm pregnant, mum. Twins."

 

[Sloan]

The friesian stopped in his tracks, and for a moment Sloan stared straight ahead as thought stumbled over emotion in her mind, too rapid for her to keep up with. There was that dull ache in her chest that came to her every time Zana called her mother, and now layered with the news that her daughter was to become a mother herself, twice over, was simply too much to comprehend.

She blinked, and finally let out a breath of a laugh as she turned to her, her dark eyes glassy. She tried, and likely failed to hold her emotions inside her own mind, but when she was overwhelmed it was difficult not to share them. Fear. Fear for her daughter and her children in this world, as a dreadlord, in the midst of plans for rebellion. Joy, knowing how happy she must be, that she was starting this new life of which she had seen in her visions. Sloan reached to take her hand and she squeezed it tightly.

"Zana. I am..." a warm smile split across her tired face and she laughed, letting a tear fall free. "You deserve this." she nodded firmly, and her brow dipped in a frown. "But you must leave Vel'Anir. Start your new life with your family, some place far away from this. It's not just your own life you have to protect now.. Please tell me you plan on leaving as soon as possible."

 

[Zana]

The familiar tide of Sloan's emotions washed over her and Zana smiled. Despite the fear and concern which mirrored her own emotions, overriding it all was the joy and excitement her mother figure felt for her. That was worth the tiny pinches of negative. She returned the squeeze of her hand and twined their fingers together with her own breathless laugh, cheeks flushed from the excitement of it all. She was mortified to feel tears well up and threaten to spill over as it all hit her.

"We do," she wiped at the wet streaks on her cheek and gave another little laugh at the instability of her emotions. "As soon as the ... as soon as Vel'Anir is on its new path. We've brought some land over by The Spine and Talus has started drawing up plans for a house. It will be ready for when they arrive," a sweet smile as she ran her free hand over her stomach. Pulling the shirt tighter against herself the bump was fairly clear.

"I'm so excited to meet them... For you to meet them."

 

[Sloan]

Sloan's smile faltered as she listened, and her gaze fell to the bump.. She hadn't realised she could feel any more protective of Zana than she already did. The young woman was so capable and yet it never stopped her worrying, now, the worry churned like nausea in her stomach.

"I can't wait to meet them.." she told her quietly.. "But surely you can't be planning on going ahead with everything else now? Zana every day you remain in Vel'Anir you risk not just your own life, but their lives. You have to leave now.. I won't see you hurt when everything you wanted is within your grasp." she frowned.

"He should have made you leave already."

 

[Zana]

Zana winced.

"He tried," it had been her who had put her foot down about it. Every morning she woke in their home and not whisked half way across the world to their new home was a surprise to her. The further the pregnancy got the more protective Talus became and she knew if the revolution didn't happen in the next month or so that he would take matters into his own hands to remove her from the city.

"I can't... leave until this is done," her voice strained with the war that raged inside of her and had since she had first discovered her pregnancy. "I put my name to this, I've asked people to fight for this with me... I just... I can't, mum," she looked over to Sloan with wide, pain-filled eyes that looked like shattered jade stones.

 

[Sloan]

Sloan's jaw clenched.. "You don't just get to call me mum and hope that I let this go, Zana." she grumbled at her.

"I understand, Zana, I do.. But you can't risk what you risk. They're not here yet but you're already a mother, and they need your protection. What sort of mother would I be if I didn't do my best to protect you now, when you need it?.." her head shook.

"No. I won't stand by and watch you fight, I couldn't live with myself if anything happened. I.. Just tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it. I'll take over. They will understand." she frowned desperately at her.

 

[Zana]

The iron curtain of Zana's will came down in the form of a hardening of her jade eyes.

"And I'm not standing by and letting people fight without me - you need me," her visions were an ace in the hole that could save hundreds if not thousands of lives. The guilt she would feel if she could have prevented even one person from dying and hadn't been able to do so would crush her. In some ways her new found humanism was a strength and it had brought her things she never thought she would be able to have - Talus, her twins, a better relationship with Sloan. But it had also brought her cursed things like guilt.

"If something happened to you... or to Talus without me being there to try and stop it..." her jaw clenched. "There are other ways to lose a child than a fall or a knock," grief would end her life and the twins.

 

[Sloan]

Sloan's fingers tightened on her reins until her knuckles paled as Zana argued. "Zana.." Sloan frowned, a single word stated so resolutely that it expressed her chagrin without question.

"And if Talus and I didn't try to stop you and something happened to you or your unborn children? How would either of us cope with that? We are Dreadlords, Zana. We are strong and well capable of fighting and defending ourselves. We are not your responsibility and it is our choice to fight for this cause. But I would rather die myself than see anything happen to you." she sighed and tried to calm herself and soften her tone.

"Please, leave it to the rest of us. Take this chance and go with Talus and build your life before it is torn from your reach before you can even grasp hold of it. I am begging you, Zana.". She was frowning, but her eyes were glassy. She could only try, but she knew well enough that if Zana's mind was made up then there was no changing it..

 

[Zana]

Emotions sharpened by hormones threatened to take physical shape in the form of tears but Zana managed to blink them back. It would do no good for her to blow their cover now by bursting into tears a little way away from a Luana army. They were all loyal to the House after all and a Dreadlord crying was an obvious sign of a conditioning break. Sloan's words tore herself in two. It was an argument she had had with Talus many times before too and now to have it with a woman who was like a mother to her... well it was making her pause.

On the one hand, this was a journey she had helped start and she wanted to see it through to the end. She would be heartbroken if anything happened to either of them and she hadn't been able to stop it. But on the other... She knew Sloan was right. She was going to be a mother and couldn't think of only herself any longer.

"I'll think about it," Zana conceded reluctantly. "I can't stay when it becomes too obvious anyway," they didn't know when the revolution would take place yet. She could feel it in the air but that could still mean it being months away and even Zana wouldn't stay if there was a risk that they would take her children from her.

 

[Sloan]

There were too many emotions flitting back and forth between the pair of them that Sloan found them impossible to separate. Being an empath was a curse in itself at times. At least there was no other voice in her mind to add to the contention.. though she did miss the other voice, every day.

I'll think about it..

A weak and tired smile tugged at her lips, though the worry was not entirely gone from her dark eyes. It would have to do for now, and she hoped that Talus would be the kind of man who'd also be doing everything in his power to pull her away from what was to come. She believed he was.

"Then lets put the matter to bed, for now. That you'll think about will soothe my mind for the moment." she sighed, and finally let the wavering smile grow with warmth that reached her eyes as she looked at her and turned to smirk at the road ahead..

"I'm too young to be a grandmother..." she laughed under her breath.. "But, I am so happy." she added with a nod and turned to flash her daughter a very rare, bright smile.

 

[Zana]

A startled laugh escaped Zana and she quickly put a hand over her mouth in the hopes of keeping it in. The thought of Sloan being anything like the elderly grandmothers who tottered along the streets pinching cheeks and handing out candy was enough to dimple her cheeks into another smile however.

"I'll dust the rocking chair off for you in our new home for when you visit," she shot her mother a playful grin and then glanced back to the road ahead. In a poetic way it was like looking down the path to their new future. It felt so close, almost as close as Vel'Anir felt and yet also as far away as it felt to the tired men and women marching along. "I never asked you what it is you'll do when it's over," many people had shared their hopes and visions for their futures. Unsurprisingly many of the current Dreadlords wished to leave and never look back; bad memories were hard to forget when you lived on top of them.

"Will you stay here?"

 

[Sloan]

Sloan laughed along with her and nodded.. "Yes, do that.. I'll no doubt need a cushion or two. I'm getting old after all.." she smirked.

Zana's question caused her brow to furrow and she sighed deeply in thought.. She'd never considered a life outside of Vel'Anir. She wasn't sure she'd know how.

"I think so. There, really isn't anything else for me. Then again.." she frowned with a glance at Zana, her gaze falling to her stomach. "How far away are you moving exactly?.." she asked, feeling a dull ache at the thought of being so far from the only family she knew..

 

[Zana]

"Near The Spine," Zana smiled, though there was a touch of sadness to her expression. It was far but it was necessary. She might not fight in the rebellion if it would cost her children their lives but she had still ended up a figurehead for it; all of the rebels knew her whilst the identities of the others had been kept to a minimum in order to mitigate the risk of the whole operation being found out. If the rebellion failed she would be hunted, if it was achieved she would be hunted by those who had preferred the old life. Distance was necessary.

"Do you want to see?" the sadness melted as her grin grew. Her visions had always been fickle things but with Talus they had grown and taken on a whole new level. She had been learning how to share them. Like now. Zana held out her hand towards her, inviting her in.

Spoiler: If she took her hand...

Grassy hills were set against the backdrop of the purple blue smudge of the distant mountains. Fruit trees were pregnant with their swollen, low hanging fruits. Fences penned off different animals which grazed docilely in the warm summer sun. The soft, meandering path cut through the scene like a white river leading up to the main house. It was clear that the farmhouse had not been built in a day but added to over time; a barn to the left looked newer and another half completed workshop had a stack of wood sat nearby. The farmhouse itself was a quaint thing despite its size, as though it feared to trespass on the beauty of the place.

A large door was left open and from it the smell of freshly baked pie wafted. Inside stood a spacious kitchen, the table covered in a mix of children's toys and farm tools. Grey lay curled up by the large oven stove for warmth with his own pups at his feet. Further on through the warren of the house revealed room after room; cozy snugs, a modest library and study, a tacked on workshop covered in wittled sculptures. Out back children laughed and played, taking turning on the swing or swimming in a lake. There was a mix of dark and light hair, blue eyes and green, but in each of their faces were their parents clear as day.

 

[Sloan]

The Spine.. It was so far. Her chest tightened and she forced a hard smile as she nodded at the answer, trying to keep up that wall around her emotions. She glanced down at the offered hand, her smile softening as she reached somewhat hesitantly to take it. On one hand, she wanted to see the future peace that would be her daughter's life, on the other she knew it would only make it more difficult to continue her life in Vel Anir.

She sighed as she took it, and let her eyes close. Her brow furrowed at how perfect it was. How serene. How deserved. It was like nothing Sloan could ever have believed possible in her wildest dreams. A breath caught in her throat as she heard the children laugh, and the vision of them forced a tear to roll down her cheek as her smile warmed and she let out a breathy laugh.

Sloan let go of her daughter's hand and quickly wiped at the tear that had rolled to her chin. "They're so beautiful." she commented, her gaze dropped awkwardly as she composed herself. "It's.." her head shook. "If I had the imagination to conjure such a thing, it would be exactly the life I'd have wished for you, Zana." she looked at her with a warm smile.

"I can't wait to see it."