Private Tales The Legend's Heir

[Solgrin]

Solgrin continued his rounds within the camp, moving from group to group until he'd visited each one of them.

In these parts fifty men was a small army, enough to conquer a village or two if you played your cards right. Solgrin knew that of course, but his goals were far larger than just a village. That was why he'd taken Serafina, why her magic was so important to him. The Bandits, like everything else, were a simple means to an end.

Some were loyal, some would sell him out as soon as they were offered enough gold. Solgrin was under no illusions about that, and by the time he bedded down on his sleeping mat such thoughts were paramount in his head. Fingers curled around the hilt of the knife tucked in his belt. Eyes closed, if only to catch a few hours rest while he still could.

Eventually most of the other bandits followed suit, all but five sentries bedding down to catch some rest.

Save for one extra.

Ari stayed away, leaning against that tree, gently fingering the hilt of his knife as he waited for the others to catch their rest. He waited with the patience of a predator, watching Solgrin, Maria, the others. His eyes always flickered back to Serafina though, a narrow glow holding to them as he quietly lurked on the edges of the camp.

 

[Serafina]

At some point as she tried to eat the stew - she needed to be strong if she was going to try her plan - one of the younger wargs crept over. At first he growled and snapped at her in the hope it would make her drop her food but she gave it the same look she did the dogs back home. Much to her surprise it reacted in the same way too, laying down with its oversized head on its paws with its large round terrifying eyes looking up at her. As he watched her Sera took the opportunity to actually examine one of the beasts. This one looked a lot smaller and scrawnier than the others, probably the runt if there was such a thing in thing kind. The other ones snapped at him or paid him no mind at all. She thought she had seen a young woman riding him before but she couldn't remember.

Very carefully she dug out the meat and fed it to him. As she did she spoke quietly, if anything just to talk to someone or something and break her loneliness.

By the time they were both finished the odd creature had shifted closer and lay curled up by her side to sleep. Sera would be lying if she said she wasnt grateful for the warmth and soon found herself drifting off to sleep.

 

[Solgrin]

Silence had fallen over the camp, at least as much as it could with those Wargs still awake and the bandits who still clung to a bit of life.

The five sentries were position all around the camp, their attention focused mainly on the forest around them, watching quietly for any signs of pursuit or hunters. The calm was glaringly different than the chaos that had been there just hours ago.

It was in that silence that Ari moved.

His steps were quiet, his movements making not a single sound as he crawled up behind the warg that Serafina had fed. A familiar touch found the great beast, seconded by a piece of meat that distracted it long enough for the Bandit to grab the girl.

A hand closed around her mouth first, clasping over her face and silencing any protest she might have offered as she was snapped awake.

The blade on her throat fell into place a second later. "Shh."

He hissed in her ear.

 

[Serafina]

With a jolt Sera woke as a cold, large hand covered her mouth. It was instinct to scream even if the Bandits thought that she should have learnt by now it did her no good, but it was muffled entirely by the mans rough grip. Still, she thrashed in his grip like a wild thing in an attempt to get herself free of him. She couldn't say how she knew but she knew it wasn't Sol. Perhaps it was because she could sense the gem every waking moment and it was not near her now, or perhaps it was because this man smelt of drink and sweat not the finer notes of fur and smoke that clung to the chief.

The cold sting of a blade against her throat promptly cut off the noise and her struggles. Her breaths came fast against his hand still though and her heart fluttered in her chest like a caged bird. Neither did she removed her hands from where they had risen to grip a hold of his forearm in a desperate attempt to get him off of her.

Whilst she had been sure it wasn't Sol she hadn't known who it was until he spoke. That voice would be in her nightmares for years to come. Her eyes squeezed shut as her breathing grew quicker and her panic rose as realisation dawned. Tears rolled down her cheeks and splashed against his skin as she began to beg.

 

[Solgrin]

Ari held the girl tight against his chest, dragging her up and grasping her so that she was basically being carried backwards. Some of the Wargs perked up their heads, watching Ari but mostly ignoring them both as he pulled Serafina away.

The beasts were used to Ari, they knew his scent and they knew him.

Though some might not have liked him, he was part of the pack they knew, and that meant he wasn't to be disturbed. The Bandits fingers tightened around Serafina, arms tensing as he slowly pulled her away from where the Wargs had been bedded down.

He moved carefully, slowly through the camp.

His eyes flickered from place to place, making sure that none of the sentries could see him as he took Serafina out of the Bandit Camp and into the forest beyond.

No one saw them.

 

[Serafina]

Ari was over a head taller than her so when he lifted her and dragged she was practically off the ground. Every now and then the toe of her boot on her good foot, or the toes of her bad one, scraped the forest floor. Her eyes darted around the clearing in the hopes that one of the other Bandits would wake and question what it was he was doing. She never thought she would be wishing for Sol and his protection but she did right then. She wished it with her whole heart. Through the tears and panic she tried and reached out to the something she could feel which she knew was the gem. Maybe if that...

Ari's rough jostle of her broke her concentration and she whimpered as pain shot through her bad leg.

It wasn't long before the fires of the camp couldn't be seen and the sounds of sleeping men were replaced by the eerie quiet of a sleeping forest. It was much darker and colder away from the camp and despite her new layers and cloak her body shook with it.

"Where are you taking me?" was what she tried to say though it was muffled from his hand.

 

[Solgrin]

"Quiet." The bandit Hissed almost as soon as Serafina opened her mouth.

There was a paranoia that clung to him, one that he hadn't been there in the days before. It was almost like he was a cornered dog, pressed and forced in a direction that he didn't want to go. His features were rough, clouded, and there was a rage in his eyes.

"I don't want to hear a peep from you." He whispered quietly as he continued to slowly move deeper into the forest, his steps careful enough so that he didn't trip over any roots or fall on his face. "The other one was prettier but you'll do."

Ari said, looking up back towards the camp.

"I'll teach him to fucking leave me behind." Serafina would feel his rage as his fingers dug into her skin.

 

[Serafina]

Sera felt her stomach lurch and thought she might be sick there and then. All the things he had whispered into Violet's ear, that she had cried to her about in the depths of night, ran through her mind. The only dull comfort was that she didn't think Sol would actually care if Ari took her. As long as she could channel for him still he would probably barely look at her. It would mean that he wouldn't be truly satisfied with whatever happened in this forest. It wasn't much but it was better than no comfort at all.

It was hard going through the forest with a broken leg with Ari only half carrying her, prodding her along when he didn't. She stumbled and nearly fell on several occasions sobbing her pleas to go back. It was hard hearing herself want to go back but where could she go in a state like this? Even if she did manage to overpower Ari, grab the knife, and make off on her own how long till the others caught up with her?

And what of Violet?

A great hiccupping sob wracked through her as they reached another small clearing after what felt like hours of walking.

 

[Solgrin]

A dry, vicious chuckle escaped Ari's throat. "That's right."

There was not a hint of sympathy within those two words, not a single drip of mercy to be found. The cold steel of Ari's knife pressed against Serafina's neck, the blade biting against her skin as he dragged her quickly up against a nearby tree.

She would feel his weight shift, and then her body practically thrown against the heavy bark of the oak tree.

"He think you're so important?" His words were biting, angry. "So precious?"

The knife suddenly wound it's way from her neck down to her side, the sound of ripping cloth echoing out within the dark of night. "Won't find you that way when you're just a used up corpse."

 

[Serafina]

The air rushed out of her lungs as he slammed her back up against the tree and her eyes squeezed shut as she tried to squirm her way out from under him. His large size meant he boxed her in on every angle making it hard to see or smell anything beyond the drink on his breath or the rage in his tone. She tried pathetically to push against his chest but he hardly seemed to feel it.

"N-no... he doesn't, please," she turned her face away from his with a sob as the woollen coat fell away from her in tattered ruins. "He just wants my magic!" she squirmed more as great, large tears rolled down her rosy cheeks. "W-what if you took the gem, t-then y-you could be in charge," she looked up at him, mind racing. If it was power he wanted then the gem was the most obvious choice. "T-then you c-can control my magic."

All the while she tried desperately to reach that faint call of power and summon it to herself. If she could just use a little, tiny bit she would have a hope of escaping.

 

[Solgrin]

Ari chuckled. "I don't give a shit about your little magic tricks."

The Bandits grip on Serafina tightened as the sound of cloth being torn echoed out. There were a menace in his eyes, and evil that had always been there but now bubbled even further to the surface. Always his gaze had been on Violet.

Now it was on her.

The worst of it was she was not the epicenter of his anger, she was not even the source. Ari couldn't have cared even an iota less about her. This was about Solgrin, the Bandit Chief who had caused all the misery for Serafina in the first place. She was just a pawn.

"It's better to just ruin you." He smirked. "That way he'll know who did this."

 

[Serafina]

The cold night air touched her bare skin as the last threads were torn from her flesh and fluttered to the ground. It told her skin to goose flesh which was only worsened by the fear the felt in that moment. She tried vainly to cover herself and keep some of her modesty as he spoke and sneered. Great plump tears rolled down her cheek and jaw as his hands tightened on her bruised body.

"He doesn't care! He doesn't care who does what with me as long as I can channel," her voice hitched on a hiccupp and a sob but her anger was beginning to rise to the surface now. Why was she being punished for his mistakes, for Aris anger at him? She had done nothing. She had not asked for this, had not wanted it. Now she had found her anger she had found her tongue.

"The worst you can do to him is kill me or let me go so he has to start his search again," as she spoke she slowly moved her hand down to her side, hiding the movement as one of trying to hide herself when in reality she was getting her hands closer to the dagger.

 

[Solgrin]

”Ha!” There was bile to his tone, a foul bite to it that seemed to hang in the air as he suddenly reached out and snatched the hand that had slowly slipped down towards the dagger.

Ari’s face twisted in a sneer, not having seen the weapon but not caring for the defiance that Serafina showed.

”I told you to shut up.” She would suddenly feel the sting of a palm across her face, the Bandit’s hard calloused hands striking her without a second of thought or care. She was nothing to him. ”So shut up.”

His hands grasped her hips, then he suddenly and violently turned her around.

Her face was pressed against the bark of the tree, Ari’s hands grasping the nape of her neck and the curve of her hip as he pinned her in place.

 

[Solgrin]

​

Again there was a moment of silence, a period where anything could have happened. Where life itself could have stopped or gone on simply within a brief moment of time.

"Can you walk?" The question was an offer as much as it was anything else. Solgrin already knew the answer, already knew that Ari had dragged her here rather than let her move, but The Bandit Chief knew better.

As he waited for an answer Solgrin slowly squatted besides Ari.

The knife, already slick with blood, hovered over the other man's chest. It rested there for a moment, and then slowly Sol looked at his former friend. He blinked, and then without a word slowly drove his knife between the man's ribs.

There was another small, guttural noise, and then Ari's head slowly fell back.

Without another word Sol looked towards Sera, waiting for an answer.

 

[Serafina]

The sound of Ari's final gurgling breaths would haunt her for a long time. For a while all she could do was sit there, staring, her hands curling and uncurling into fists with a rising anger. He had felt himself to entitled that he had planned to do things to her that no man should. He deserved pain. He deserved agony. She found herself wanting to take the blade from Sol and drive it into his chest over and over herself.

The silence stretched on until she realised he was waiting for her to answer. Sera swallowed and shifted her weight to test her leg.

"N-no," Maria was going to string her up no doubt for how her forest meander had ruined the splint and her hard work. "Not well anyway," Sera clarified and wiped the tears off of her cheeks. It smeared bits of Ari's blood further over her and she shuddered when she noticed it on her hands. All of her energy suddenly seemed to flee her body. The last thing keeping her adrenaline pumping had been the fear of Solgrin hurting her for letting Ari do this to her. She found herself feeling almost guilty for thinking that he was that inhumane.

"Is there a river..." she motioned to the blood that covered her skin. "I-I need him off me," her eyes squeeze shut. "Please."

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin couldn't really blame the girl for her request.

He had fought enough battles, killed enough men to understand the feeling she was likely enduring in that moment. Fingers tightened for a brief moment, and then he let out a long sigh was he remembered what he needed to do.

Without a word Solgrin reached down and scooped the girl up. His touch was not rough like Ari had been, not sudden and violent like she had endured so much on this trip. Solgrin's grasp was not exactly gentle, but it was as soft as she had felt this entire journey.

"Alright." He said in agreement.

There was a stream that they had used to refill their canteen. The water would be cold, but that in it of itself was not the worst thing.

With slow careful steps Solgrin headed back in the direction of the Camp, shifting the direction only slightly until the sounds of a babbling stream began to echo through the quiet woods.

 

[Serafina]

The cloak they had given her all those days ago had escaped mostly intact with just the cords that had bound it about her throat slit. Her fingers found it in the darkness, digging into the fur with gratitude, before bundling herself up in it like it were a blanket. It was that or have Sol touch her bare skin and after the previous hour she couldn't stomach the thought on mere principal. As he approached to scoop her up the girl still tensed, waiting for him to reveal this kindness as a cruel joke, but when all he did was take her in his arms she let out a breath. With it the last of her fight left. Her head fell against his chest and she closed her eyes against the pain in her leg and across her flesh from the freshly made cuts.

"Thank you," he didn't have to allow it after all. He had made her piss in front of his group of Bandits for his own amusement he could well have just let her walk around covered in blood.

The rest of the journey was quiet until they reached the edge of the icy stream where he finally put her down. Her good leg wobbled under the strain of supporting herself but she clenched her jaw and fought through it to get herself the rest of the way to the edge. There was only so much she dared ask him for help with. For a moment or two she hesitated as she debated the splint. The branches Maria had used were cracked from her rough march across the forest floor and would need to come off anyway so in the end she hastily undid it then slid into the frigid waters.

A small yelp followed by a hiss escaped her lips as the water lapped over her. It was a blissful pain and Sera welcomed it. Using the strips of cloth from what had been her clothes she dunked them into the water and began to scrub herself clean, keeping her back to the Bandit chief.

 

[Solgrin]

They would need to get new clothes for the girl. Solgrin thought to himself as he watched her used the bare scraps of what was left of her garb to wash off some of the blood.

Internally he waskicking himself for not killing Ari when he had the chance.

The man had always been a hot head, always felt like he'd been entitled to every little thing. Solgrin should have seen the signs earlier on, it would have made things easier just to slit his throat or let him die back in the Maw.

Still, this could be useful.

If he used it right. "We'll get you new clothes in Illia."

He told the girl, frowning for a moment as he considered the cold waters. Pulling his own heavy fur cloak off his shoulders.

"You and your friend." It was time to show the other side of the hand, the one that was more kind than cruel.

 

[Serafina]

Sera jumped when he spoke and cast a guarded look at him back over her shoulder. Was this another trick? She slowly ran the cloth up her arm and wrung the water out over her shoulder. Blood ran down her skin then drifted off down the river. After a moment she dropped her gaze from his and looked at the red water with a nod.

"Yes sir, thank you," airs and grace's were not something she was unfamiliar with and knew it went a long way to avoid another punishment. They had an odd... truce tonight and she didn't intend to upset her respite any sooner than necessary. And it would come. She had seen the way he moved like a coiled spring ready to snap and she didn't doubt sometime in the future he would snap with her once more.

After a moment or two having gotten off as much as she could with the cloth she pinched her nose, took a breath and dunked herself under the surface of the freezing water. Sera stayed under for a good few moments before sitting up again with a gasp. Her hands ran through the thick locks of blonde hair, wringing out the bloody water. It was as clean as she was going to get.

Gingerly she eased herself out, wrapping herself tightly in her old cloak. For a moment she stood there dripping wet, watching him like a wary and abused animal uncertain of the step she should take next. Did she make polite conversation? Keep quiet?

"My name's Serafina," she blurted out then looked away. "Violet is my friend."

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin nodded.

He didn't particularly care about either of their names. As far as he was concerned such details were unimportant, especially now. In time she would likely want to choose a new one, and her friend? Well there was still a large possibility she would not make it to Illia.

Not that he would point that out. "Solgrin."

He said by simple way of introduction.

A hundred miles from here Serafina might have recognized that name, if she had been born across a river and been privy to the workings of Courts. He was infamous, at least somewhat, in the nation he had been born in. An attempt on the King's life would do that for you.

Without another word he placed his own cloak over her, and then once again scooped her up off the ground.

Walking on her leg now would likely leave her with a permanent limp.

 

[Serafina]

A name almost made him human. Almost.

Sera gave a muffled noise of pain as he picked her up but she bore it well considering. The extra cloak was more than welcome though and she tried to bundle herself up under them both as best as possible in his arms. He, at least, was warm and she could feel the heat seeping through her cloak to her skin. Tentatively she rested her head against his chest again with a soft sigh, eyes closing. It had been a long day and her body was simply drained as was her mind.

She wanted to ask how he had found her, whether she had managed to somehow use this magic that resided somewhere inside of her to call to him. She wanted to ask more about Illia too and about Violet. She wanted... Sera's eyes grew heavy and by the time they were back in the camp the young mage was fast asleep.

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin carried the girl back to the camp, finding the place in a rather somber mood. Most of his men were smart enough to realize what had happened without even a single word from him, most already knew what he'd done.

There was no need to explain. "How is the other girl?"

He asked plainly, Maria coming up to him. The expression she wore was a grim one, but her shoulders shifted in a shrug.

"Still alive, for now. The medicine helped."​

A small chuckle broke through Solgrin's throat at the irony of that fact. Ari had wanted the girl, more than he'd wanted Serafina, and it now seemed that he had been the one to deliver her from certain death. There was something funny about that.

With his head shaking Solgrin took Serafina towards Violet, laying her down besides her friend and deciding letting them be together was probably for the best.

At least for now.

 

[Serafina]

Sera let out a soft noise of protest when she was lowered to the floor but she quickly settled down, bringing her knees up to her chest and practically disappearing entirely beneath both cloaks. It looked the most peaceful she had been the entire time she had been with the Bandits, her breathing deep and relaxed, lips slightly parted. Violet likewise looked better off. Her face was less pinched and her chest rose and fell in steady regular breaths. Maria looked down at them both for a moment and then carefully lifted a blanket and placed it over the top of them. She might have been willing to follow Sol to the death and would have slit either of their throats if he asked, but she was also a woman and there were some things that just fundamentally she couldn't abide. Content that her charges were in the best state they could be she rejoined the group around the fire.

It was Maria who woke Sera the next morning, much gentler than she had been with her the day before.

"Eat," she commanded gruffly and thrust a bowl of porridge into the girls hands. Sera tried to juggle that and keep the cloak around her in her sleep riddled manner but managed to nod. The medic grunted and roughly went about resplinting the girls leg.

"She will need to ride with someone, I will take the other one with me in case her state deteriorates," Maria said to the person who had appeared behind Sera without so much as raising her gaze from her work.

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin stood behind Sera, nodding his head slowly and considering their options.

Of the forty two men that he had left about a third of them were women. Some were more vicious killers than even Ari had been, and Sol thought it best that he kept them away from both of the girls. Unless he wanted to put some more fear in them.

For now though he thought they'd had enough of that. "She'll go with me."

The Bandit Chief decided ultimately.

There were others that could have taken her probably, a few that might have even taken the role seriously, but this was for the best. He would just have to make sure to keep them gem out of her reach. If the stories were true she couldn't use the magic herself anyway but...better safe than sorry.

 

[Serafina]

Maria didn't respond more than a nod to show she understood then with one final look at the new splint, disappeared to sort out her own mount for herself and Violet.

Sera didn't say anything as the pair spoke about her as though she weren't there or was a possession to be discussed rather than a person to speak to. In truth she didn't mind and was focused more on the warm food in her hands which she ate quickly. If there was anything she had picked up over the last few days it was that Sol didn't take kindly to being kept waiting. She wondered if he was still concerned about the milita from the town following them and as she thought about it her eyes drifted to Violet with concern. Her friend looked better but she still hadn't woken up.

With a soft sigh she shifted the two cloaks slightly around her. The one that had the thonging cut off she wrestled with into a makeshift dress of sorts, twisting an end here and tucking it in there, doing the same with that end over... It wasn't much but it was better than nothing. Once she was done she took a deep breath and carefully pushed herself to her foot, taking care not to put any weight on her bad one. Her teeth ground together with the effort but she didn't cry out, she didn't ask for help. she just swallowed the emotion and set her jaw. As they made their way over to the wargs the younger pup who had been friendly with her the night before trotted his way over suspiciously and banged his head against her elbow for attention. Sera managed to a tired smile and scratched behind his ear, not looking up at Sol as she spoke.

"Front or back?" meaning the positions on the saddle.