Private Tales The Legend's Heir

[Solgrin]

"He always was." Tellim was good at preparation.

Not so good when he was put in the spot, but excellent at least at making sure that everything was right when it had to be. Of course for a soldier, adaption was more important, but everyone had their skillset. It was just important to know how to use it.

A shrug rolled over his shoulders. "You'll get it. Nix and Violet can probably run you through it."

There was always the excuse that they were different in Cortos.

'I wouldn't worry so much about it." Solgrin said as he lead her back towards the tavern. Some of the others were sitting outside, no longer dressed in ragged Bandit clothes, but gleaming armor befitting of proper soldiers.

 

[Serafina]

Sera gave a fraction of a nod as though she were not really listening to whatever nonsense her guard thought to bother her with, her eyes instead lingering on beautiful bits of fabric and trinkets which shimmered from shop windows. She might have even said something when her eyes landed on the group of Bandit's and her mouth nearly fell open as Einar strode towards him.

She'd never seen the Northern so...

"We have rooms for you and your ladies, Lady Maria," he bowed low, though the mischief in his eyes suggested he knew exactly what Sera wanted to say. She snapped her mouth shut and managed an indignant sniff, letting go of Solgrin's arm to stalk off to the inn and her room.

"Have them send up food and a maid to run me a bath, I want to get the stench of those wargs off of me."

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin flashed a brief smile, though only for a moment.

He motioned for someone else to take care of the problem, Einar shrugging his shoulders and quickly setting about doing what he was told. "One of the maids will be with you soon, surely."

The Bandit Chief commented.

"Nix will follow after." There were still some things that they actually needed to discuss. If they left early in the morning the girls would at least have time to settle some of the other things that Serafina hadn't learned yet.

Especially with Tellim's journal. Nix would be able to make sense of that better than most people. She already knew Tel Amos, with that, she'd be able to give Serafina the rest of what she needed.

With that he gave a short bow, then stepped away towards his own room.

 

[Serafina]

Sera and the girls bathed then ate in their rooms, declaring they didn't want to spend their time amongst the guards any more than they had to whenever a maid was in earshot. Nix claimed it was what they would expect even if Sera knew they were no doubt sneering about it to the others downstairs. It felt odd, being on the other side of the social line, but she kept up the act well enough when the maids were about that when her eyes were stinging from tiredness and her head hurt from trying to figure out different forks, she actually relented to Sera's pleading and ended the lessons for the night.

"Rest, Sir will want to leave early," was her only command before slipping out with Violet. It wouldn't do for maids to be seen sleeping with their mistress when she was that wealthy. Instead they were to stay in the room adjacent.

Sera sighed and sunk into one of the chairs, rubbing at her face tiredly when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in."

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin stepped inside quickly, closing the door behind him.

Knocking wasn't exactly common for him, in fact even in the castle he had never done so. It was a sign of how committed he actually was to the act he was playing to now. They needed this to go smoothly, for this time they could not just run into Tel Amos and do as they pleased.

As he stepped inside he quickly walked over towards the window in Serafina's room, glancing out before drawing the shades closed. "We're being watched."

He told her softly.

Serafina had asked not to be treated as a child, had asked to understand what was going on and be shown his plans. Solgrin had decided that meant she needed to understand everything, more than just the 'good' parts of the plan.

"Or rather." He added as he turned to her. "You are."

 

[Serafina]

Sera's magic answered her fear instinctively and filled her with that soft glow. She didn't seem to notice it as she put a hand to her throat and swallowed slowly, trying to calm her mind to think of the possibilities.

"Is it... one of the Viziers?" could they have possibly gotten over the mountain that quickly and tracked them here? But then... they would probably be watching Solgrin and not her more closely; they knew he was the real threat to foiling their plans rather than her. So she ran through a list of other possibilities.

"Or... or another noble trying to suss out who I am?" who she was pretending to be.

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin turned back to her for a moment, his shoulder shifting.

Unlike the others he did not yet wear the shining armor of a guard, but was still dressed in his more ordinary clothing. Perhaps something that would come as a mistake later, but for now at least he thought it appropriate. "I don't know."

He answered honestly as he stepped over towards her.

His fingers slowly floated through her hair, knuckle gently dashing over her cheek as he spoke in a low voice.

"A noble, if I had to guess. Some of them have quite a reach." Solgrin said as he coaxed her chin slightly, his form looming over her. "But that's not why I'm here."

No. That could have waited.

He was here for something else.

 

[Serafina]

Serafina watched him by the window and his relaxed stance soothed her a little; if he wasn't packing their bags right now and heading for the hills then they had to be safe. A noble was easy enough to deal with for him. For any of them, even.

Such thoughts melted away as he stepped towards her though.

As his hands floated through her hair and grazed her cheek, her skin warmed and her heart began to drum against her chest hard. When he forced her to meet his gaze she could barely whisper the words.

"Why are you here then...?"

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin's thumb slowly ran along her chin.

There was a softness to the touch despite the callouses on his hand. The muscles in his biceps flexed, drawing her features along the way that he desired. There was no hesitation to the way that he moved, not a moment of self doubt.

Everything he did from the moment he'd met her, every second had been calculated. It was impossible to doubt that fact, and even now it was clear. "I'll show you."

There was a calming stillness to his voice, something that invited no doubts nor arguments.

His other hand fell down as he loomed over her, his gaze pointed down at her. The way he looked at her was almost hypnotic, all consuming.

There was no denying him.

 

[Solgrin]

Dawn came quickly the next day.

Perhaps too quickly by most standards.

The town was a quiet one, though perhaps more than it would have been on an ordinary day. There were a few voices chiming from down in the street, some members of the Band who had already dressed and put on their armor.

A few others wandered the streets, but things were suspiciously quiet.

Solgrin woke, his gaze flickering over the inside of the room. Lips thinned for a moment as he took a breath and pulled himself up and off the mattress. Sera lay besides him, her clothes tossed to the floor and forgotten there the night before.

He frowned a moment, glancing out the window as he noticed the relative silence.

For some reason it felt...off. Strange. A beat of the heart flickered through him, and he frowned as he wondered what the odd feeling in his gut was.

 

[Serafina]

Serafina practically glowed in the unusual morning light.

The odd magic that lived inside of her swirled and coiled about her skin like an aura. Tendrils curled and other bits blossomed in the pattern of a lotus flower. If someone were to sit and watch it for a while it would appear as though the magic itself were attempting to create a protective lattice across the vessel which housed it. Only when she began to stir as the sunlight roused her from her deep slumber.

"Goawaysun," she growled into her pillow before burying her face properly in the plump feather bundle. The odd lattice glowed once more against her skin before vanishing altogether.

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin slowly glanced around the room, standing as Sera began to stir behind him. He smiled for a brief moment, glancing back at her before he slowly drew his gaze back towards the window.

He slowly made his way towards the pale glass, pushing it open.

His eyes flickered slowly over the street below, watching some of the milling people as the Guards below in the streets. He still couldn't quite shake the feeling that something was wrong, though why he wasn't exactly sure.

For a moment more he stayed put at the window, then pulled away. "It's time to get up."

Solgrin told Sera softly.

"We need to get going." The Bandit chief said with a smile.

 

[Serafina]

"Five more minutes," she sighed and put the pillow over her head. Sera had grown far to used to waking when she wanted in the mountains and going to bed when she wanted. She was going to have to relearn what it was like to be on the road.

Outside the people moved as though in a trance. There was a lack of birdsong, general morning chatter, and other noises one would associate with a small town going about its early morning tasks. Instead people seemed to hurry along whilst trying to give an air that nothing was wrong. There was a soft knock at the door.

"Beggin' your pardon M'lady, I've got your breakfast out here," Nyx said, ever in the role of the doting serving lady.

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin raised an eyebrow as Nyx slipped into the room.

There was any number of comments that the Bandit Chief could have offered, but instead his head simply shook and he went about getting himself dressed. "How are the boys, Nyx?"

For a few seconds there wasn't much of an answer, instead the girl busies herself with throwing things into the correct place and drawing out some clothes for Serafina. One could almost have believed she really was a servant.

At least if it wasn't for the two long blades on her back.

"It's quiet."​

Was the answer Solgrin received finally.

"Too quiet?" Another short pause, and then a slow nod. Lips thinned, and Solgrin slowly stalked over towards the corner of the room where he snatched up his sword.

 

[Serafina]

"What does too quiet mean?" Sera rubbed her eyes sleepily as she finally scooted herself to the edge of the bed, dragging the covers with her to hide her nakedness. Not that Nyx would care in the slightest. Solgrin hadn't been subtle in the way he barged into her rooms back at the keep and after she and Violet had had their spat she had given up caring about it.

Nyx drew her to her feet and yanked the silk underdress over her head.

"Too quiet means something is wrong," she explained as if talking to a small child. However there was worry behind her contempt as though she were using one emotion to hide the other. "The others are packing up, we'll be ready to go in five minutes."

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin nodded for a second, quickly dressing himself as Nyx watched out the window. "Get dressed as quick as you can."

He told Serafina as he pulled on his leathers, Nyx pulling herself away from the window just long enough to help the Bandit Chief tie on the side of his armor. Lips thinned for a brief moment as he glanced at the heavy platemail still on the floor.

Wearing it seemed...wrong, but he knew that he needed to now.

A sigh escaped him, and he quickly put on the rest of his armor. The gleam of the platemail flickering in the light of the sun as he slipped on the armor and held his sword in his hand. It had only taken a few seconds, but Solgrin seemed almost entirely transformed.

Within seconds he had gone from Bandit Chief to Stalwart General. He would not have looked out of place commanding an army, or charging into one.

 

[Serafina]

Serafina tied off the ribbons that would position the odd frame on her hips. She felt like she was wearing a birdcage but apparently this was the height of fashion where they were going. To test it she bent and touched her toes as Nyx had shown her before tugging the next ridiculous layer over the top. How on earth these women didn't melt wearing all these garments Serafina had no idea. Finally she drew on the pretty blue silk boned overdress and laced it up tightly at the front.

She tied her hair back with the matching ribbon as she turned to Sol and stopped dead.

"You look..." the words died on her tongue and a blush crept up her cheeks. "I mean.. you scrub up well. I mean..."

 

[Solgrin]

He smiled. "It's from an age past."

Solgrin had never liked dressing in full armor. The plate looked nice, it was good in a fight, but he always felt more restricted than protected wearing it. Fingers tightened for a brief moment, shifting before he clutched the scabbard of his sword.

His shoulders hefted the weight he now carried, but he motioned for Serafina to head towards the door. His head jerked for Nyx to do the same.

"You can admire more on the way." Solgrin told her with a smile.

He didn't like the quiet that still hung over the town. It made him feel as though everything was about to explode, like something was coming.

Best to get out while they could.

 

[Serafina]

Gathering up her skirts in both hands so she didn't trip over the damned things she took care on the stairs. There was a brief moment she wasn't even sure if the side skirt would fit but the way the spindles were bowed outwards actually meant they fit perfectly. It suddenly dawned on her that was the reason they were bent at all, not some weird architecture preference she had first thought. Violet was waiting at the bottom of the stairs in a lemon yellow linen gown befitting a serving girl, with far less skirts and much more sensible. She put a hand over her mouth to stop from laughing when she saw her friend.

Sera couldn't really blame her.

"The carriage is waiting m'lady," she curtseyed appropriately before holding the door open for her. Just as she said outside was a sleek black carriage; the type that tried to show how rich they were by not appearing rich. Einar - in a dashing suit of plate himself - opened the door for her to step into. Violet and Nyx squeezed in beside her.

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin peered around the empty street as Serafina boarded the carriage.

Lips thinned, his hand clutching the door besides Einar as he whispered in the mans ears. "Is my friend around this morning?"

The only answer he received was a curt shake of the head, more of a signal than anything else. A curse escaped Solgrin's lips, the sword he'd been clutching quickly tied to his belt as he motioned for the others to quickly mount.

"We're leaving!" He shouted.

It was not the most official order, and for that he cursed himself.

Falling back into the role of the General would take time, and in truth he should have practiced in days passed instead of focusing on other things. Lips thinned, and he quickly headed towards his horse. The others mounted up quickly as well, and within just a few moments the procession began to head out of the small town square.

None of them saw the archers hidden in the buildings.

 

[Serafina]

It was as if a silent command had been given for the townspeople all seemed to suddenly find reason to be indoors.

"So, when you enter the ball you're going to first address--" Nyx didn't get to finish her sentence as the glass in the carriage door shattered into a thousand pieces and an arrow buried itself in her throat. Sera and Violet screamed. Outside arrows began to rain down upon the group from all directions, embedding themselves into horses flanks or bouncing off of armour that begun to sound like enormous hail stones hitting a tin roof.

From the shadows of the buildings charged men and women in a collection of black and gold armour.

 

[Solgrin]

It was quick. As quick as Solgrin would have planned it.

That alone would have been enough of a mark, a tell to who had done this. He knew. The Flash of armor was something just added on, a bonus to confirm. His fingers drew his sword before his mind ever told them to. The reaction was so instinctual, so intrinsic that Solgrin did not even know he'd done.

"FORWARDS!" He shouted.

His voice boomed through the square like thunder, echoing over the buildings and resounding further than it had any real right to.

"GO!" Solgrim boomed as he slipped off his warg and cut down a man that ran toward him. A spray of crimson echoed over the cobbles. "Get out of the city!"

His hand reached out towards the carriage as it began to rattle forward, the driver urging the horses to continue even through the throng of armored men.

 

[Serafina]

Arrows pierced through the plush interior of the carriage in the spot where Violet had been sitting seconds ago. The lurching motion as well as the threat of death had sent the pair to the floor with their arms over their head to shield their faces from any stray weapons or shards of glass. Violet was whispering a prayer under her breath.

Outside the noises of fighting were growing closer despite the drivers best efforts to get the horses through the city whilst the other bandits attempted to hold off the enemy. Who were these people? Sera risked a glance out of the broken window but the insignia didn't mean a thing to her. Einar slammed into the side mere inches from where she was peeking out. One of the black armoured men had a knife inches from his throat and he was... struggling. She didn't think Einar would ever struggle against a foe but then again she'd never thought Nyx with her deadly twin blades would be sitting dead in the seat opposite her either.

"Pass me the arrows!" she shook her friend as she grabbed up her bow and hastily strung it. The least she could do was help.

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin clung to the otherwise it the cart with a death grip.

His sword swung once or twice, catching the edge plate of one of the men in black and toppling them on the ground. The men around then quickly closed rank, moving around to protect Solgrin and the girls with enough grace that one might have thought of them as actual trained soldiers.

Together the group barrelled forward, clattering through a wall of the armored men and sending them flying to the ground as they broke free of the last of the towns buildings. Shouts echoed behind them, the voices calling for mounts and a "cut off point".

Solgrin scowled, throwing open the door and casting himself into the carriage.

It was only when he sat that he noticed the arrow which had buried itself in his side. A grimace flickered over his lips, though not because of the wound that he'd endured. Instead his eyes caught on Nyx, the expression she wore which had been caught in her death throes.

"Damn it!" He swore, kicking the bench in front of his harm enough to splinter the wood.

The part rode out of the town as fast as they could. A momentary reprieve offered as the pursuing knights gathered their mounts in order to follow in pursuit.

Solgrin swore quietly, then reached over and snapped off the arrow in his side. "Get ready for more."

He growled at the girls.

"Keep your threads down." Solgrin urged as he shifted and loosened his armor slightly, making sure it did not rub against the arrow wound in his side.

 

[Serafina]

Serafina managed to get off three good shots before the armoured men fell behind them in the scrabble for their own mounts. One had gone into the man battling Einar and the other two into the fleshy parts of two other soldiers who had been on others of their band. The Northerner managed to give her an approving nod and a tired smile before leaping from the carriage to the riderless horse that was galloping alongside them intent on not being left behind from the herd. When Solgrin came crashing through the door she swung - as best she could in the ridiculous dress - and pointed the drawn arrow straight at his chest.

Months ago she would have fired, keen to rid herself of the man who held her leash. Today the thought didn't even cross her mind as she lowered her bow, though kept the arrow knocked and ready as Einar had taught her.

"Do you know who they are?" asking to look at his wound was pointless even if she wanted to; his healing abilities would close it sooner than he could take the armour off to inspect it.