Private Tales The Legend's Heir

[Solgrin]

The door was ripped open, practically torn from it's hinges.

A wash of fresh air pulled into the dank cell, Solgrin's nose crumbling as he finally found Serafina. A sigh of relief escaped his lungs, and his boots echoed as he stepped into the small but relatively empty space. There was a different look to him.

Something wild. Something angry. "Sera."

He called out to her, his voice soft, not matching his features.

"Are you alright?" It was a silly question, given the circumstances. He had seen the instruments out side, had taken note of the state of the other girls. They had been bruised, cut, but not necessarily broken.

Serafina hadn't been gone long, and he hoped her captors had not had time.

 

[Serafina]

Tiredness and pain were momentarily forgotten when it registered in her mind who exactly the voice belonged to. Hope soared and then quickly plummeted. Was it him? Or was it that... that thing. She shivered involuntarily at the memory of its real face, twisted and snarling, before it had taken on a human face once more. Slowly she pushed herself up into a sitting position and ran her eyes over him in a guarded manner. It was only when she saw Einar and Maria behind him in the doorway that she began to relax and then true relief flooded her.

There had only been one shifter.

"A few broken ribs," she answered in a groggy voice but offered a smile. The choker about her neck glinted in the light let in from the hallway. "Some cuts and bruises, but otherwise fine. Is he...?" she bit her bottom lip and swallowed. He had to be dead if Solgrin was here. Wobbly she got to her feet and put a hand out to steady herself as her vision swam.

"Please tell me you bought that key to get this off?"

 

[Solgrin]

"He's dead." Solgrin said in simple answer, reaching out and grabbing both sides of the silvery collar. "They both are."

The magic which had been laid into his flesh was a curse, a mar upon the flesh and the soul. He knew that, he understood it now. In his youth he'd considered it a gift, but now it was different, now he knew what it truly was.

Yet now, now he embraced it. "No."

There was a loud snap, as the metal broke into two around her throat.

It seemed almost like a wash, a change within the air as soon as the collar broke away around her throat. Solgrin felt it through that subtle bond, though it was more of an echo than anything else. As it broke in two he leaned towards her.

"No more chains." He whispered softly, the gem offered up in his hand. "None."

Only choice.

 

[Serafina]

"No don--!"

Sera's hands didn't come up in time to stop the bandit as he seized a hold of the collar and tugged it. She could only brace for the pain. Her eyes screwed shut and she sucked in a breath ready to cry out... but no pain came. Tentatively she opened one eye then the other and let her body relax with a relieved sigh. She had been so focused on what could have happened she hadn't really been paying attention to anything Solgrin had been saying in the meantime. Her eyes landed on the gem uncomprehending then raised to him in confusion.

"I don't... understand. What happened?" she took a hesitant step away from him and the offered gem. The finally complete gem. Without the collar to block her magic it swirled within her like a pool crying out for that gem. For the other half of it. She wet her lips and folded her hands neatly behind her back to keep herself from snatching it from him entirely.

 

[Solgrin]

"I'm done." He said softly.

The decision had been made. Final. Finished.

It was as though a door had been closed behind him, a gate had been sealed shut. For Solgrin the decision was final. There was nothing else to be done, not for him. he had made a solemn promise to the others, to move forward, to do as he could.

"I've wrought my end." He told her quietly. "I know how I will die, and I cannot make up for the sins I have committed."

Solgrin chewed his lip for a second. "But there isn't a point. I've lost friends. My family. My King. Everything."

He took a breath.

"I'm done." He told her. "I can't do it anymore. So All I can do is give back what I can. To those that follow me. To those I stole."

Slowly he offered the gem. "So it starts here."

He knew in an instant she could obliterate him, destroy him with the magic. Yet so be it.

 

[Serafina]

Sera's eyes were pulled back to that gem like a magnet that she couldn't pull apart as he spoke. Perhaps if it had not been in the room she would have had more sense and thought much along the same lines as Cevil had thought she would think. Most certainly she would have refused to take it out of fear that it was some kind of trick, but unlike Cevil when it was handed out to him, Sera couldn't resist the pull of that gem. Her hand moved slowly to take it though what she wanted to do was snatch it. In a weird way it felt like time was slowing down and dragging at her. Like it didn't want her to reunite the pieces.

Finally her fingers curled around the gem and the room exploded into light.

There was no heat, no pain, just a brilliant white light that forced a human to shield their eyes or suffer blindness. It might have lasted for minutes or it might have lasted for seconds, it was hard to tell to Serafina was time still clutched frantically at her. When it did finally fade however the gem was gone and all that was left was dust which she let go, panting.

Slowly, she stretched out her hands and lightning danced between her fingers. Wonder widened her eyes and then, eventually, she looked back over at him. The man who had beaten her, kidnapped her, broken her into a thousand pieces and remade her. She should have felt rage, she knew, but all she felt was pity.

"Do you still want to die?"

 

[Solgrin]

"Yes." He said simply.

There was no doubt in his mind. Solgrin deserved it. Whatever pit was waiting for him in the afterlife, whatever eternal abyss that had been prepared for him. That was where he belonged, where he needed to be when all of this was done.

That had become clear to him long ago. "But not yet."

He said quietly.

His eyes were closed, though he could not recall when he had actually shut them. Instead he took in a deep breath, before slowly pulling them open.

"I have things to do yet." Though, if she were to burn him down to the bone now then so it would be. "Promises that went unsaid to fulfill."

Sol explained. "To Einar, to Maria, the others."

He would see them done.

 

[Serafina]

Serafina watched him calmly as he shut his eyes lost in his own thoughts and passion. The man jumped from one extreme to the next. From the villain to the hero, though she was certain he would never attribute such a title to himself. But when he was gone these people would. Einar and Maria. The others. They would sit with their families gathered at their feet and tell them the stories of the man they had chosen to follow in their youth. When he opened his eyes and reiterated his pledge she only glanced away to look at the others for confirmation. Einar nodded but Maria still looked to be in shock at hearing her chief admit his desire for death.

Sera put her hands neatly behind her back.

"When you're done, then."

Then she would grant him his wish.

 

[Solgrin]

"When i'm done."[/color[ Solgrin agreed.

He was ready to die.

He could have done it now. He could have accepted that abyss. Whether it was torture or something else that awaited him. Solgrin was prepared for an eternity of death and breaking. Whatever greeted him on the other side, he would embrace it.

Yet it was not time for that, not yet. "Let's get out of here."

The Bandit Chief said as he offered a hand to Serafina.

"This city is not ours." He told her quietly. "And there's much to do."

Near a hundred members of the Band. Near a hundred men and women whom would see their dreams and desires fullfilled. Some of them only wanted gold, others families, and still others echoes of the past they had left behind.

Solgrin would see to all of it.

 

[Serafina]

Sera hesitated only briefly before taking the hand given to her. There was an audible sigh of relief from Einar who flashed her a grin when she glanced over at him and shrugged his shoulder in a poor excuse of an apology. She smiled in return then went back to listening to what it was Solgrin said. She might have had the magic for herself now but she was still naïve to war, strategy and battle. With what swirled inside her in that intoxicating manner she felt as though she could have torn the whole city down if she wanted to but the stab of pain from her ribs reminded her that her body was very much human and could break.

Every few steps she gave an involutory noise of pain.

"If the girls are free why don't we just leave silently?"

She of course had no idea what it was Venrick had revealed about how deeply the whole enterprise went.

 

[Solgrin]

Slowly Solgrin shook his head. "We can't."

He knew that much, understood it down to his very core. There was work yet to be done still, pieces to dismantle. He would not burn Tel Amos, not again, but he would carve out it's core and ensure that nothing like this would happen again.

"I have to set things right." Solgrin said quietly. "Put back what I took away from this place."

Order.

Tel Amos had never been the richest city, had never been the most just, but decades ago it had at least been stable. Now it was teetering, with infestations like Venrick enriching themselves through the lives of others. He couldn't let it stand.

That rot was still within this city, still here. He needed it gone.

The first step on a large ladder yet to climb.

 

[Serafina]

Sera cast a sideways glance at the man by her side with open curiosity. What had happened whilst she had been away that had changed him so much? Now and then she had been offered a peak behind the mask to the man behind the monster but this was like having the mask thrown into the fire. She had known there was someone human behind every action even if he had fooled himself. It was rewarding to see that men step once more into the light. He would set things right and then Sera would give him what he wanted.

She grimaced at the first step and stopped to grip the banister as the stabs of agony throbbed through her.

"So what do we do now?" she asked when she found her voice again and took another, slower, step down only to have to stop once more and take a breath.

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin stopped for a brief moment, considering Serafina’s words. He knew what he wanted to do, he knew what they had to do. Yet there was a thousand ways to actually do it. His fingers ran slowly along the knife on his hip, brushing against the hilt in thought.

”We go to the Palace.” He said quietly.

A smile touched his lips, but it was a wicked smile. The kind a man wore when he had played a joke, or knew something that no one else did. Slowly he raised his hand, motioning towards Maria and some of the others.

”We attend the party.” The Bandit Chief said, turning his smiling gaze to Serafina. ”Have a good time.”

He chuckled. ”Then, we make a point.”

There was no need to involve the city, not this time. Tel Amos would not burn, no shops, no homes, nothing. He would carve out the rot in this city, and he would do it in a single night.

”Maria, get the armor ready, Sera’s dress. Make sure you’re seen.” The woman cocked her head, but quickly nodded. There was an energy about the group now, as if this new desire within Solgrin had sparked something. ”Einar, make sure all the girls get out. Feed them, get them gold, whatever they need.”

The northman nodded, quickly turning on his heel to do as ordered.

 

[Serafina]

Sera watched in bewilderment as the others rushed off to complete Solgrin's orders.

"Attend the party?" she looked at the chief as though he had suddenly grown horns and a tail. She hadn't seen herself in a mirror but if she looked half as bad as she felt she wasn't sure if it was the best idea he had ever had. She took another two steps down and breathed through gritted teeth as she forced herself down the rest before pausing for breath. She hadn't quite decided whether she liked this new side to him. He seemed almost caught up in the same feverish excitement that gripped the rest of the bandits.

Kai met them near the front of the house and engulfed Sera in a large hug that made her whimper from pain.

"Sorry, sorry - oh it's good to see you. The real you, I guess," he grinned and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Violet nearly strung me up when she heard... she's waiting outside. She's... leaving."

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin raised an eyebrow as he heard the words, but said nothing.

His gaze flickered over towards Serafina, watching her reaction.

Whatever change had taken over him, whatever he now was, he would stick to it. Violet's family would likely want vengeance, but they would join the list of over a thousand. There was no stopping that, and Solgrin wouldn't even try.

As Kai stepped away, Solgrin watched Sera.

She had a choice, and she would know it. There was nothing stopping her from going with Violet. In fact, there was nothing stopping her from entirely eviscerating Solgrin where he stood. They both knew it.

His curse was strong, but even his flesh would not heal from the power she had.

Around them the Bandits quickly milled about, moving in and through the hotel that had been their home for only such short a time. Now it seemed more of a base, the Bandit's seeming to have almost complete control of the place.

 

[Serafina]

All the colour seemed to drain from Sera's face.

Kai awkwardly glanced over to Solgrin as if to ask what he should do now, before back to Sera. He went as if to touch her shoulder comfortingly then seemed to think better of it. If he had, she wouldn't have really felt it. Her mind was reeling at the information and the sudden choice that stood before her. Did she go with her friend as she would no doubt ask? Or should she stay? She didn't owe these people anything. Over the past year she might have grown to form some attachment to some of them but at the end of the day they had taken her from her home. Her father. His face swam into her mind causing a horrific ache in her chest. All she had wanted was to see him one last time.

Abruptly she moved past Kai and limped out to where Violet was stood beside the carriage. It seemed as soon as the game was up Violet had given up too. Gone were maid outfits and in their place she wore nice silks, with her hair curled and her face powdered. For the first time in what felt like a lifetime she looked like the girl she had grown up with once more.

"Sera! Thank the Saint you're ok," she flung her arms around her friend and squeezed, only drawing back when she heard Sera's faint mewl of pain. "You're hurt..." a small frown then she shook her head. "We can find healers along the way. Let's go, Sera. Home."

The two paths stretched before her...

"I... I can't," she whispered and dropped her friends hands. Violet's face was the perfect portrait of surprise and then anger.

"It's him isn't it! Sera! I understood when you needed a way to.. to..." pain laced across her features but it was soon replaced by that rising rage. "He's a monster he's--"

"He's trying to fix what he did, I have to--"

A sharp slap echoed across the cobbles and a few turned to look at the source of the noise. Sera's head had been whipped round and her hand came up to the red welt on her cheek. When she looked up, Violet at least had the decency to look surprised at herself. She quickly recovered though.

"He doesn't love you Sera. Get in the coach."

"No," she took a step back, hand still pressed against her cheek. Violet looked as though Sera had punched her in the stomach. "I can't go back with this... People are going to come for me wherever I go, Violet. I don't want to cause my family any more pain."

 

[Solgrin]

Maria took half a step forward as Violet struck Serafina across the face.

Like it or not, over the past few months Sera had become a member of the Band. At least in the eyes of many of the men. When someone laid a hand on one of their own, the reaction was not a good one. Violet too had befriended some of them, but not to the same degree.

Before the woman could take a full step Solgrin stuck out a hand. Fingers wrapped around Maria's arm, and he shook his head. This wasn't their business.

Whatever decision that Sera made was on her, the confrontation on them.

Solgrin knew the girl would be trouble in the future, there was not a single doubt in his mind. Insults like that simply did not go unanswered, not in this world. Yet it was an answer he would be prepared for, something to consider for the future.

Not the now.

So he simply waited.

 

[Serafina]

An uncomfortable silence built between the two girls who had once been like sisters. There was only a few steps between them but it might as well have been a gorge and both seemed to realise it at the same time. On Sera's part she looked crestfallen but Violet looked like a thundercloud. It was she who broke the silence by turning on her heel and marching back to the carriage. She paused with her foot on the steps and turned to look over her shoulder. Smouldering hate was aimed in the direction of Solgrin and it wasn't much gentler when that gaze landed on Serafina.

"Don't ever come back. You are no longer welcome."

Without another word she hurried into the carriage, slammed the door shut, and it was rolling off through the city. All Sera could do was rub her cheek and stare after her oldest friend.

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin stepped up besides Serafina.

There was little he could say. He could have told her that Violet would forgive her, that time healed those wounds, that eventually things would return to the way they had been. Half of those words would have been a lie, the other not so much.

The girl hated Solgrin, not Serafina.

That wound would heal in time, he knew from experience. Yet there was a world out there now, one that Serafina had not seen before. He saw that in her, the craving for something more. Something beyond that little village she had come from.

It was as plain as day in Serafina, her yearning for knowledge, adventure. Whatever the reason she had stayed, that would be the reason she would not return. Solgrin opened his mouth to speak, but before he could Maria spoke from behind him.

"You're welcome here."

She said.

"Aye."

Einar added.

"More than!"

One of the others shouted.

 

[Serafina]

Sera had been battered and beaten over the past day she had been held in captivity but this... this was what had broken her. She stared dumbfounded at the settling dust in the road long after the carriage had turned out of sight and the heel of her palm massaged over her heart. There wasn't a day in her life she could remember where she had been apart from Violet through the best of her days and the worst. And now...

You're welcome here.

She turned with tears streaming silently down her cheeks to Maria, her sapphire eyes widening a fraction. And a fraction more as Einar spoke. And the others. She had nothing to say. Word froze in her throat and her mouth worked a little as if her muscles were trying to remember exactly how to speak. It was only when Maria stepped forward and brushed her tears that she managed a wobbly smile.

"I guess it's time to get ready for a party then."

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin didn't say anything, didn't speak.

For once in his life he felt it was not his place.

He had always been a leader of men. Whether in this life or the other, before the curse or after. Always he had been at the forefront. He had inspired, called to arms, pulled men and women back from the Abyss. Yet for once, for this one time.

It was not his place.

The others nodded their heads as Serafina called them to the party, Maria wrapping an arm around the girl as she pulled her towards the hotel to get changed. As the two of them walked away Einar stepped up to Solgrin.

"How will you make up for this?"​

The Northmen asked.

Solgrin stayed quiet for a moment, glancing towards him. "You know as well as I, she is the least of my sins."

The Bandit Chief said quietly.

 

[Serafina]

Maria and Serafina were joined by three other of the women as they dressed for the ball. This time, they didn't bother with their maid outfits but went as equals with Sera, each in a different shade of silk. As they walked down the stairs to meet the rest who would escort them to the dance, all trace of crying had been erased from Sera's face though a sadness still lingered in her eyes.

"Sorry it took so long, they were trying to cover the bruises," she touched her jaw with a wince. On the surface her skin looked flawless but she could still feel the throbbing pain beneath. The corset, bound tighter, had actually helped ease some of the pain in her ribs and her steps didn't look so awkward now. Sera was dressed in a sapphire blue dress the exact same shade as her eyes, throwing them into sharp relief. Her hair had only been half pinned up and the rest floated in loose waves down to the small of her back.

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin nodded.

He himself had donned the armor they'd purchased back in the town. It was a resplendent set of Silver and lined with gold, far more ornate than it was fit for purpose. It reminded him of what he'd worn as a General, though even then he'd hated the garishness of it.

"It's alright." The Bandit Chief said. "It's fashionable to be late."

At least that was what he'd always been told.

His shoulders squared, and he shifted slightly as the sword on his hip slid into it's proper place. The others around him wore the same armor as he, though with a few less lines of gold.

With a sweep of his heel Solgrin offered Serafina a hand, guiding her to the carriage that would take them to the central palace. This time there seemed to be a determination to his step, a fire. He moved quickly, climbing into the carriage after Seraphina as they set off.

 

[Serafina]

The torches outside the palace were just being lit when the carriage pulled up and it looked, by the length of the queue to the doorway, that everyone had decided to be fashionably late there go making nobody late. Everyone seemed to be studiously ignoring the latter part. A sombre looking footman opened the door of their carriage, bowing formally to Solgrin and even deeper to Serafina as she exited slowly. There were a few gasps from others at her dress and murmurings but she paid them no mind. Her heart was hammering in her chest thinking of what it was Solgin was planning to do to 'leave a message'.

Her fingers tightened on his as they walked up the red carpet to the door.

"I haven't ever danced at a place so fancy before," she said to make idle conversation.

 

[Solgrin]

"There probably won't be much dancing." Solgrin admitted with a slight smile.

He did not intend on killing everyone, not this time. Tel Amos was it's own sort of beast, he knew, and this around he would not make the same mistakes.

"When I came here before..." The Bandit Chief mused. "I was still at the head of an army, a real one. I burned Tel Amos practically to the ground. The nobility was on it's knees...and that was what allowed people like Venrick to thrive."

He frowned. "I need to correct that mistake."

Not that he had any love for the nobility.

"It's time this city was given a choice." Even if they did not expect it.