Private Tales The Legend's Heir

[Serafina]

"That's probably a good thing," she murmured and hid a wince behind her fan at the last step up to the palace doors. Her fingers dug in to the armour as she tried to push her way through the pain. Solgrin's recount of what had happened the last time he came to Tel'Amos kept her distracted from the worst of it. She had known he had been here before and it hadn't been in good circumstances but Solgrin was still a guarded man. Or he had been...

"What kind of choi..." Sera trailed off when they entered the main ballroom. Her eyes nearly popped out of her skull. Never before had she seen a room so large and beautiful. Every surface seemed to be gold or marble and it sparkled in the light of the thousands of candles that hung above them in elaborate chandeliers.

"My Lady!" Lady Jasmine and her entourage appeared from amongst the crowd and curtseyed before her. On Jasmine's arm was a handsome young man with reddish brown hair and deep green eyes. "Might I introduce you to my brother that I told you about..."

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin stood impassive just a few steps behind Serafina.

His face was impassive, stalwart. It was a mask that he had learned to put on long ago. There was a way to make the Nobility ignore you, a way to make sure that none of them even looked at you twice. Some called it a gift, though others knew the skill by heart.

The Bandit Chief only stared.

No one paid him any attention, no one paid him any mind. They looked over him. Their gaze seeming to flicker across shoulders and armor. All of their focus was on Serafina. They saw her for what they thought she was. A foreign Princess.

A thing of wealth.

Power.

She was what they cared about, not Solgrin and his soldiers. Not yet. Gently Solgrin reached forward, pressing Serafina to go forward.

 

[Serafina]

Sera shot him a pleading look over her shoulder as the Lady Jasmine's brother - Dante - stepped up to take her hand. He seemed to find her reluctance charming and befitting that of a lady for he smiled brighter and took extra delight in leading her away. Mentally, Sera cursed the Bandit Chief seven ways to sundown.

"If I may say so My Lady Marie, you look beautiful tonight. My sister had told me how handsome you were but she can be one to elaborate..." he smiled and swept her onto the dancefloor. Perhaps any other day she would have been thrilled and caught up in the magic but tonight every step was pain. A part of her wished Solgrin would burn it all down just so it would be over and she could rest. Still, she managed a pleasant smile and even pleasanter conversation it seemed - unless Dante was being extra polite.

Thankfully the tune was a waltz and one that didn't require much of her attention or effort and once the pain disappeared to a dull background throb she found herself able to enjoy it.

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin watched the room was Serafina was carried away.

His gaze flickered briefly towards Maria. Watch her.

There was a silent command filling his look, one which the woman seemed to immediately understand. She moved across the dancefloor like a Queen within her own realm. Before anyone could object Maria plucked a young man from the row of bachelors, moving with him on the dancefloor.

Though she was not the lead, the bandit carried her partner across the floor. They moved and pranced closer towards Serafina, always sticking close by to her as they moved.

Solgrin watched for just a moment, and then slowly gazing around the room.

He searched quietly, watching, looking. There was someone in particular he knew would be here, someone he knew that he would find. His lips thinned, and then he found what he was looking for. Fingers briefly flickered, and then Einar caught his eye.

A nod ducked the northman's head.

Slowly they broke off, moving on opposite ends of the room.

 

[Serafina]

"If it is not too bold, My Lady, but your choice of guard is... peculiar."

Sera glanced up at Dante with surprise. They had lapped into a companionable silence as they danced and enjoyed the simple pleasure of the music. Isabelle was not there to sing tonight but the band did quite well on their own, or at least that is what she thought. He picked her up and spun her as was the move and she grimaced in pain. Dante seemed to mistake it for displeasure at his words.

"All I mean is... your Captain did once burn our city to the ground... It would seem strange to bring him here as a guard."

"What better man to defend me here than a man who has already beaten it once?" Sera smiled faintly and this time it was Dante's turn to look shocked.

"You truly think our city is that dangerous My Lady?"

"Unfortunately, I know it is."

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin and Einar moved through the crowd like Lions stalking their prey.

It was a sight to see, if one knew what was looking for. The way they moved was terrifying. Each of them with practiced motions, hands nowhere near their blades yet ready to be drawn within the span of a breath. There was something uncanny about it, practiced and yet broken.

Slowly they moved, paced around the edge of the room.

Then Solgrin found the man that he was looking for. His hand fell upon a shoulder. His voice echoing in a whisper. "Hello Julius."

Almost in an instant the man seemed to stiffen. His entire body shook, coming to a stillness within the span of a breath. He frowned, but did not look back towards the bandit Chief.

"Solgrin. I did not think the rumors were true."​

"They are, I am sorry to say." He said slowly, his hand not moving. "But I have come to offer you a bargain."

The Chief said plainly. "Ten years ago I burned this city, but this time I intend to do better."

His voice echoed quietly behind the man.

"You can't think anything you do will help. You know what you did to this city. What others have taken after you left, what you ar-"​

The words cut out as a blade stabbed through the man's chest. "I know I am."

As the words were spoken, the sound of a body falling to the floor echoed through the dance hall.

 

[Serafina]

There was an odd moment of confusion as people stopped their dance and glanced around. Most appeared to be looking towards the dancers thinking one had simply got too hot and fainted during the dance. Then, when no body there was to be found, people begun to look around panicked. Soon eyes fell on Solgrin and the dead man at his feet. Somewhere to her left a woman let out a screaming wail and rushed forward, through the ground, to the dead man's side. Sera stared at Solgrin wide-eyed. He had said that this time was going to be different; perhaps she had just been too hopeful to think that meant no killing at all.

Dante swiftly moved her behind him.

"I'll protect you my lady. I fear, your Captain had alternative motives to gold in coming here as your protector."

 

[Solgrin]

Blood began to pool around the corpse at his feet, his blade dripping crimson as he peered around the room.

Everyone had turned to silence.

The musicians had ceased their songs, the gossips had stopped their tongues. Everyone had fallen into quiet, even those who would call for help. They turned and watched, staring at the Captain of the Guard who had once burned their home.

Through the room the sound of doors slamming shut echoed outward. "Ladies, gentlemen. Crowned and noble."

His gaze swept over the crowd.

"I've come to offer you a choice." The Bandit Chief's voice carried through the hall."A choice that Tel Amos has lacked. A choice I did not give you ten years ago."

As Solgrin watched them, Einar stepped into place behind him. "Take what little you have. Leave this city, offer the rest to your people. Tel Amos is not yours. It belongs to the people. Not the Merchants. Not you. The People."

He stared.

"What is your choice?" Solgrin demanded.

 

[Serafina]

Probably unsurprisingly the room erupted into pure chaos.

Women screamed and people begun to rush for the exits. The panic and fear only begun to climb when they found their ways barred from the outside - from the Bandits who had been told to wait. People pounded against the wood screaming for help and trampled over one another as if they thought their hammering might draw people to help when other shouts had failed. More than a few bodies lay strewn on the floor with nasty head injuries from the stampeding.

Dante dragged Serafina close.

"Stay with me!" he shouted over to the noise and drew his blade. He wasn't the only one - other men had begun to rally seeing there was no way of escape. They stood protectively in front of clusters of their own friends or family. Sera found herself being dragged out of the way of the chaos before she too got trampled on in the panic.

"Why don't you just leave?!" she asked in an exasperated tone as Dante nudged her into a seemingly safe corner by a fancy vase. He looked down at her with both brows raised.

"You think he will actually let us go?"

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin stepped forward. "Have I not always been a man of my word?"

Slowly the Bandit Chief began to survey the room. He watched the faces which were now cowering towards the back of the room. Many of the nobles had drawn swords, a few of the guards were stepping towards the Bandits Solgrin had brought.

There was a fight looming, he knew that, but he kept walking forward.

"Lord Eliqun." He pointed towards a man standing behind a young noble, his mustachioed face bristling slightly. "I made you a promise, ten years ago when I burned this place. What was it?"

The man paused, then answered.

"You promised to ensure the granaries would not burn, that there would be food for the city."​

It was clear he did not wish to speak of that. "Lady Tellrin! What did I promise you? Ten years ago when I burned this city?"

A woman, near enough Solgrin's age seemed to stiffen. She stood on the otherside of Serafina, and her voice was quiet as she answered.

"You swore to my fathers library, that the knowledge collected there would survive."​

"And I kept those promises." There was a bristle through the nobles, but none could deny the truth of that. "So I say again, leave now, or I will bathe this place in blood."

 

[Serafina]

Sera gave a muted squeak as Dante crowded her till her back was up against a wall. He seemed to be watching the other nobles as much as Solgrin at this point as though unsure what they might do. There was such a tension in the room Sera thought she might have been able to cut through it with a butter knife. They hadn't liked being reminded that the Bandit Chief had kept the promises he had given and she could see more than a few begin to lower their weapons. She tugged the back of Dante's jacket to catch his attention.

"He means it, Dante. Don't be a fool. Your sister... she told me about the men like Venrick," pain flashed across his face. Pain and disgust. "While there's rich here people like that will keep trying to push you off it."

"But if we go, what is there to stop someone else coming in and taking it all? The people could be worse off. At the moment they have grain... there's an economy... An army as small as it is. What if us leaving makes things worse?"

 

[Solgrin]

"You have men selling women into slavery." Solgrin's voice boomed out through the hall once more.

It was a thunderous sound, almost too loud to be truly human. This time there was an edge to it, an accusation. He knew these men and women weren't perfect, knew even the best of cities had problem, yet there was something that bothered him now. The fact that the boy played to the lowest denominator. The least of what the people had.

"Children begging in the streets." Slowly he stepped down from the dais. "Men taking any advantage they see to survive."

He scowled. "What have you don't to solve these problems? What have you offered? Nothing. You throw lavish balls and cling to what authority you have left."

Solgrin settled his gaze on the boy who spoke.

"Parasites, consuming what little this city has left." He finished as he reached the dancefloor, now standing directly opposite the nobles.

 

[Serafina]

"Dante--"

But the man wasn't listening. The other nobles watched with held breath as he stepped forward, his cheeks flushed with contained anger. Sera thought she heard Jasmine utter a cry before she fainted, her body making a soft thud as it hit the floor quickly followed by concerned gasps from her ladies.

"Those men stepped in because of the void you created when you burnt this place," he accused. "By the time the nobility were strong enough again to do anything about it, it was impossible! All these merchants with their own pet witches able to bully and harass us," there was a murmuring of agreement amongst the other nobles who pressed back into the shadows of the hall, still looking for an escape.

Sera finally slipped from behind him to stand between him and Solgrin; the last thing she wanted was for there to be more blood.

"If he is wrong, if this city grows worse, in a year Solgrin will help lead the army needed to reclaim it and establish order."

 

[Solgrin]

He stared down at the boy.

There was a fair point made, in truth. Though the argument lay in the fact that the nobility was what was best for the city. It was wrong, the base of it all was wrong. The boy didn't, couldn't accept that. He was of them, he couldn't see anything else than what he'd grown up with.

Solgrin shook his head for a moment, about to open his mouth to speak once more and put an end to all of this.

Then Serafina spoke up.

His head, followed by a dozen others, quickly turned towards the girl. He did not speak up as Serafina made a promise in his name. For a few seconds his lips thinned, but all that he responded with was a simple nod.

It was an easy enough promise, one that he intended not to need to fulfill.

 

[Serafina]

Sera, along with half of the room, seemed to let out a collective sigh when Solgrin nodded in agreement. Dante still stood rigid, seeming to be making his own assessment as to whether or not he believed him, then he finally nodded too and the other half of the room sighed in relief.

After that everything seemed to go a lot more smoothly. The nobles collected themselves and acted with more poise, began discussing where they planned to move to estates in other cities or kingdoms. The doors were opened and they left in small clusters, though they all still warily glanced at the Bandits and Solgrin as though they expected him to change his mind at any second.

"You could come with us," Dante offered when he was one of the last in the room, hand outstretched to Sera with a wary look for Solgrin. Sera offered a half smile then shook her head.

"I have my own lands I will be returning to. I'm sure we'll meet again though, Dante," the man seemed to debate putting up more of a fight but in the end nodded and gave a bow, kissing her hand and departing with his sister. Eventually it was just her and the Bandits left.

 

[Solgrin]

In truth, Solgrin hadn't expected them to leave.

He had thought they would fight, had thought that blood would have been spilled. For a brief moment he gave an uneasy look to Einar, as if all of this was...unexpected. The Northman only shrugged his shoulders, his features more at ease than some of the others.

Perhaps he'd expected this. "Alright."

The Bandit Chief said with a slight frown.

"Now we need to organize elections." Almost as soon as he said the words Maria seemed to break out into a bark of a laugh. The sound was mirthful, joyful, but so unexpected that it half startled Solgrin.

"So-sorry, just...well..."

She gestured to Solgrin.

A roll of his eyes came forward. "Get me the Captain of the Guard, and the cities Secretary."

The Coin and the Soldiers, the two most important things in the rule of any city. He sighed, and then stepped over towards Serafina.

"I didn't think they'd leave without blood." He said honestly.

 

[Serafina]

Sera managed the wobbly steps over to one of the low chaise lounges and collapsed into it. She thought she might be sick too from the way the room suddenly spun. Maria was by her side in a second with her hand against her forehead. Sera tried to wave her off, to protest, but the medic had that look in her eye that said she should keep her mouth shut if she knew what was good for her.

"We should have just put you to bed," she said with a sigh.

"The plan wouldn't have worked without me," Sera protested and Maria gave her a withering look. "I'll be fine, I just need to catch my breath after all the... excitement," the last word dripped with sarcasm that made Einar throw back his head and laugh.

 

[Solgrin]

A small chuckled passed from his throat. "You did well."

Even if she had made a promise that he might not be able to keep.

In his head everything would work out and there would be no need for him to return, but his own assumptions were nothing to go off of. Not when it came to things like this. He shifted slightly, wandering over to Serafina and Maria.

The others whom he had sent out to collect the pieces they needed quickly rushed away. Both of them knew how important this was, and even given the late hour they would find whom they had been sent out towards.

"Now comes the hard part." He mused. "But you don't need to be awake for that."

It would take a day or two anyway, at least.

 

[Serafina]

"In that case, I'm taking you back to the inn," Maria pulled herself up to her full height with her fists planted on her hips. Sera opened her mouth as if to protest then wisely closed it, her cheeks stained with her embarrassment.

"That sounds like a good idea," she sighed and offered Maria her hand so she could be pulled to her feet. "As long as you don't need me?"

If Solgrin was going to answer he didn't get much of a chance before Maria cut in.

"He'll do just fine on his own, come on," the medic clicked her tongue. It seemed, now she had decided Sera was now properly a part of the Bandit group, she had formed a protectiveness over the younger girl. Sera shot Sol a pleading look over her shoulder as she was marched out the door.

 

[Solgrin]

"We'll be fine." Solgrin confirmed with a nod.

There was no real point in keeping Sera here.

She had learned well over the last few months, but the ways of government and such things were tad beyond her yet. Not that he doubted she would do well, but he did not intend for her to get involved unless she so desired.

He offered Maria a wave. "Bring her to one of the rooms here."

The Bandit Chief said.

"No need to return to the hotel." Some of the nobles would still be doing their best to take what they could, but this palace was theirs now. At least until they turned it over to whatever new Government Tel Amos decided on.

Best to keep Sera close, instead of carting her back to where they had been staying.

 

[Serafina]

Maria nodded before closing the door behind her.

Once they were on their own Sera gave up protesting and merely let the other woman support her as they made their way down the grand corridors and up the gilded stairs. The wealth in every sweep of her eyes was eyewatering. One of these tapestries alone could have fed a city for six months. Some of the plinths they passed were empty, no doubt items quickly grabbed by the nobles or servants as they left. The whole palace seemed like an eerie ghost town now. Neither woman knew whose room they ended up in but it was almost three times the size of her room at the inn and the bed was still fresh. One of the guests who hadn't got a chance to sleep in it, no doubt.

With care Maria helped her undress and checked her wounds with greater concern. Then she mixed the girl a strong painkiller and left her to rest.

"She's out of it," Maria said once she had made her way back downstairs and took up one of the chairs the other Bandits weren't using. "If this takes a few days it might not be a bad thing for her."

 

[Solgrin]

The two whom he'd sent out to gather the officials were not back by the time Maria returned, though that was hardly a surprise.

It would take time to track the two of them down. Neither had been at the party, and that meant they were likely engaged in some business or another. Though it could also mean the nobles had simply not valued them enough.

A foolish mistake.

"It's politics." Solgrin said with a shrug. "We'll be here half a week at least."

If not more.

He hoped that it was less of course, dearly so. There were many promises to fulfill, many things yet to do. Tel Amos was only the first step in a long climb. "Make sure she's rested, I'll handle...this situation."

Solgrin gestured to the palace.

As it turned out, the Bandit Chief would be true to his word. Though it took him nearly four days to complete it. The Captain of the Watch and the treasurer was cajoled, the nobles were ejected, and Tel Amos was to have it's first elections. The caucophany would take another month, of that he was sure, but Solgrin's presence would loom.

Two of the Bandits decided to remain behind, and through them he entrusted the election. So it was on the dawn of the fifth day that they were finally ready to head out, finally ready to leave Tel Amos.

 

[Serafina]

Sera didn't take much convincing to rest during the time it took for Solgrin to set Tel Amos on its path to a New World. She split her time between the bedroom and the enormous library Einar told her about - much to Maria's chagrin. According to the medic she shouldn't have been out of bed at all. Kit often found himself ferrying books back and forth and more than a few Bandits stopped by her room to hear her read stories of legendary knights fighting faeries and giants. It would take longer to be fully healed, especially her broken rib, but the swelling and bruising had gone down enough to not cause her too much pain.

She swung up onto her horse, a beautiful black shaggy mare, and gave the horse an affectionate pat. The wargs and the rest of the band were still a day or two away where they had left them behind.

"So... what task is first on your list?" she asked curiously as she drew her horse up beside Solgrin. She'd ditched the offer of a riding dress for the breeches which she had once been so scandalised to be seen in.

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin glanced towards Serafina as she approached. "Einar's daughter."

There seemed to be something solemn to his tone, his gaze flickering towards the northman who was now at the head of the pack.

The man seemed to be issuing commands, ordering some of the bandits left and right to ensure that there was proper coverage. Tel Amos might have been friendlier, but there were rumors a few of the nobles had stuck around to be disgruntled about things.

After the last time there was no taking chances.

"She was killed some years ago." Sol explained quietly. "And her remains were claimed by the Estari."

He glanced towards Serafina. "A cult, they believe in the...remembrance of the dead."

Necromancers, in other words.

"He was never...able to get them back." Solgrin's words were solemn.

 

[Serafina]

Sera's head whipped back towards where Einar road at the front with her eyes wide.

"I never..."

Sera bit her lip. Why would the Northman ever tell her? Until a few days ago and Solgrin's change of heart she had been nothing more than a prisoner. A prisoner on a long leash but a prisoner nevertheless. Her fingers involuntarily clenched and her thumb rubbed over the ring on her finger. The gem had gone when she had taken it but Kit had had a ring made with a fire-stone very much like the one that had once housed her powers. As a reminder of why she needed to be strong and smart now. Her jaw set in determination.

"We'll get them back," she said in a much steadier voice than she had expected. "What.. How can I help?"