Private Tales The Mountains Ahead

[Aviana Sabel]

The sudden kiss was entirely unexpected, and caused Aviana to take a sharp breath through her nose. She'd been expecting the man to quip something rather sardonic, but instead, he'd poured himself into the simple act of kissing her.

Briefly, her hands fluttered at her sides, almost as if uncertain as to what she should do in the situation; but eventually, she settled on gently curling her fingers against his hips.

While the world might have been enshrouded in madness, she could find safe harbor so long as she had Kasim at her side. Her lips moved against his own, not shying away from him as she once had.

Try as she might, Aviana couldn't bring herself to pull away from him. The fear and pain of the night's events finally rising to the surface. Between the running, fighting, gathering needed supplies, finding a safe place for her to hide, watching over Kasim as he drew the runes... she'd been able to push those emotions aside. But now that she was able to relax... she could feel that trepidation and exhaustion bubbling up into her chest.

 

[Kasim Areth]

His lips lingered against hers for a long moment, his arms wrapping around her in a tight embrace.

Then, slowly, almost painfully, he pulled away. "I'll take care of it."

All of it. Kasim had never accepted the weight of fate in his life. He'd never allowed to wander a path that he himself had not chosen. Yet one opportunity presented itself, when there was something to do that he wanted to, that was when he could truly devote himself.

A cause.

That was what it was. His father would have hoped that cause was their family, was the radiance of Vel Anir, but instead it turned out to be love.

Funny how that worked.

"You wait here." He told her. "I'll be back."

 

[Aviana Sabel]

The exhausted Aviana managed a tired, but affectionate smile.

Kasim sounded so sure of him, like he knew in his very core that everything was going to be okay. She was aware that it was likely an attempt to put her worries at ease... but that didn't lessen the effect his words and confidence had on her. No matter what happened going forward, she knew that Kasim would help get her through it.

"I'll be right here when you get back then." She answered him in a quiet voice, reaching down to quickly squeeze his hand.

She trusted him.

 

[Kasim Areth]

His hand tightened around hers for a moment, and then that was that. With a glance back at her he wandered towards the now changed corpse, frowning for a single second before he reached down and scooped up the body.

There was a weight there, not just physical.

For some reason he couldn't keep the thought of the real Aviana ending up like this out of his head. He supposed it was the very real danger they were in. The fact that assassins had come after them twice now. It showed just how much trouble they were actually in.

This could have been her as easily as a copy.

A shiver ran up his spine as he made for the exit. "I'll be back."

Kasim repeated the words once more to her, trying to ensure himself as much as he was she.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

There was something... unsettling about seeing her own body carried in Kasim's arms. The closest thing she could equate the experience to was a dream or a nightmare.

If Kiovec hadn't found her when he did... it was very likely that this scenario would have played out for real tonight.

Once Kasim had left, she turned her pale eyes to the sleeping dragon. The red and orange colors on the creatures wings seemed to dance in the flickering light of the nearby fire. It looked as though the membrane was made of flame itself.

Whatever this strange bond between her and the dragon was, she knew that it was something far more powerful than a simple pet and its master. It felt as if the two of them were ingrained into one another's existence, drawing strength from the other.

Kasim had told her that the dragon was unlike any he'd heard of before. Could that have something to do with this innate connection between them? A hand reached up to run through her locks, feeling the hard protrusions that had finally emerged from the bumps on her scalp.

Horns, she realized.

Ancient myths told of elven dragon riders who were as fierce as the draconic companions. The tales all varied to some degree, of course, but the result was just the same: the dragon riders had faded away due to humans. Some said that humans hunted down each lineage and slaughtered those who bore the magic, others claimed that interbreeding caused the inert elven magic to diminish, while the most highly regarded legends spoke of the dragons waiting for a worthy heir to take up the mantle once more.

It was these myths of old that frightened Aviana now, and she suspected, frightened whoever it was hunting her too.

Her lips pursed slightly as she approached the dragon and knelt down in front of him. She gently placed her palm onto the creature's brow and closed her eyes, expelling a soft breath through her mouth.

Kiovec was the first egg to hatch in generations.

His hatching could be dismissed as mere coincidence, but the changes that her body was now undergoing and the bond between them told her that this was something immensely more significant.

The throne of Minaris had sat empty for ages. It was her families responsibility to stand as regent until...

She forced herself to stop the line of thinking that her mind had wandered down. Of course, she'd known why they were hunting her so doggedly. But that only served to convince her that she'd made the right decision.

Kiovec opened a golden-orange eye and looked up at her, bringing a smile to her features.

"Everything is going to be okay. I swear it."

 

[Kasim Areth]

The trip was not exactly a pleasant one.

Even though Aviana...the body, did not weigh much at all, they had been more than a few miles away from the town. Carrying her that far proved difficult even for him, and he found himself resting more than once. Yet as dawned approached, so did the town upon the horizon.

Kasim did not have to try and stage any of his haggardness. He was tired, broken down, and nearly to the very end of what he had to offer the world.

So he trudged into town, hiding none of himself. Nor any of the wounds he'd acquired throughout the night. He looked like a broken man, someone who had been wandering through the woods for the night. A complete truth, given the fact that was what he had been doing. "HELP!"

He cried out.

"HELP!" His shouts were not unheard, and before even a few moments passed people began to appear in doorways. "THEY KILLED HER! THEY KILLED HER!"

The townspeople began to gather around him as he entered the square, softly placing Aviana onto the ground as he began to cry in heavy sobs. "They killed her."

He heard a woman shriek in horror, and then everything became a blur.

It was a full day before Kasim managed to sneak his way from the village again. The Sun had gone down and an almost depressing silence had settled onto the town itself. He pulled himself through the forest, bathed and wearing new clothes. The townspeople had been kind and there had been a burial on the same time, a small hill outside town.

Fitting for the pilfered corpse, a kind monument for what the deceased woman had allowed him and Aviana to do.

When he came back to the Church Kasim made as much noise as possible. "Hey, it's me."

He called out, not wanting to be mistaken for an intruder.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

He found Aviana asleep on the floor, curled up into a tight ball next to a fading fire that she'd managed to get started in the decrepit hearth.

Her head was resting on the side of Kiovec, who was wrapped around her small frame protectively with a wing draped over her body to keep her warm. It was the dragon who first reacted to Kasim's approach, lifting his head and neck off the floor to look back at the jester.

The dragon sniffed the air and then huffed, seemingly satisfied that Kasim was who he said he was.

As the dragonling moved around, Aviana stirred awake and blinked the sleep from her eyes. If Kiovec wasn't concerned, then there was no reason for her to be worried either.

It took her a moment to register that it was Kasim's voice she heard and she quickly scrambled onto her feet once it clicked.

"You're back! I was so worried. Are you okay?"

 

[Kasim Areth]

"I'm fine." Kasim said as he stepped through the small broken alcove in the church wall.

It was the truth. Kasim seemed absolutely fine, better than he had looked before hand anyway. A frown touched his lips as he looked around the small church, regretting somewhat that she'd had to spend almost the entire day in a dingy place like this.

"They bought it." He told her. 'Well, everyone in the village at least."

He couldn't speak for the assassins. "We buried the body on a hill, and it was pretty clear who it was."

It was the best they were going to do with this plan.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

She took a tentative step towards him at first, and then was quick to close the distance between them shortly after.

While he'd been gone, she'd managed to clean most of the blood off herself and washed her clothes; but the ends of her hair were still stained a faint pink. It would likely be a few weeks before the color was washed away completely.

She reached down and took his hand, biting at her bottom lip as she met his gaze.

"This... it hasn't been easy on you. I'm so sorry that you... that you had to do all this because of me." She stammered, her voice hoarse.

The body had been buried.

It left her somewhat uncomfortable to think about a corpse that bore her semblance to be rotting away beneath the earth. She had to force herself not to dwell on the imagery of it.

Kasim had been forced to bury her, in an effort to protect. It could not have been easy to watch.

 

[Kasim Areth]

He squeezed her hand for a moment, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath before he slowly began to speak. "It's alright."

Was it?

There was no denying the difficulty in what he had done. Burying his love...seeing her put into the ground even when it hadn't really been her...The Jester frowned for a moment, his words catching in his throat before he could actually get them out. The grip on her fingers tightened.

"It's done." He said quietly. "We get on that ship tomorrow and go."

Kasim frowned for a moment, realizing something. "You'll have to change your hair."

For some reason he sounded sad then.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

Her head tilted slightly when he said that she would have to change her hair and then she glanced down at the wavy locks that tumbled past her shoulders. Cutting it didn't seem to far out of the question, but she wasn't entirely sure what to do about the distinct silvery hue.

There was a blackberry bush in the garden at the back of the temple, perhaps she could use those to make some sort of dye.

"Mmm... I can manage something. I don't have any shears though... we'll have to use a blade." She murmured, then looked him over.

"Will it be suspicious if anyone in the town sees you with me?"

 

[Kasim Areth]

He frowned as she spoke, his hand reaching up to run slowly through her hair. His fingers tightened for a brief moment, grasping softly at her locks before he spoke. "Maybe don't cut it."

Kasim said softly.

"We can create a dye." It would be easy enough with a bit of magic and a few different kinds of plants. He'd seen some Red Hawklets and others around, they would just have to gather them in the morning. That plus some water would do the trick.

"It'd be a shame." He told her as his other hand settled on her hip.

Kasim didn't finish his sentence, pressing his lips against hers so she could not argue.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

It was impossible for her to protest further on the issue.

Returning his kiss was the only thing that mattered to her in that fleeting moment. The temple may not have been much, but it was at least a roof over their head, if only a partial one, and it beat sleeping in a ditch somewhere.

"Mhm..." was the only sound she managed for a short while, letting herself linger in his embrace with their lips tenderly pressed together.

She couldn't quite put a finger on an exact moment in time when she realized that she'd fallen in love with the jester, but she was keenly aware of that truth now. Perhaps it hadn't been a single moment that sparked the emotion, but the combined instances of their time together.

Already they'd been through so much, endured more than most would in their entire lives, in such a short span of time.

And she knew that this was not the end of those trials. There were still many a obstacle to be overcome.

"Let's get some rest... you haven't had a moment's break since... since this all started."

 

[Kasim Areth]

"Rest." He agreed softly, though he did not move. Nor did his fingers unfurl from her hair or his hand leave her hip.

Instead they lingered.

He caught himself in thought. In the idea of then day, of losing her, of their time together being shorter than either of them would have liked. His hands lingered on her body, his breath grew hot and weary. For a moment golden eyes were hidden behind lids as he simply breathed her in.

"Or." He whispered slowly. "Not."

His grip tightened ever so softly.

Neither of them knew what tomorrow would bring. Neither of them knew if they would die. She had all of Minaris after her, and at his back stood the weight of a Great House. They could die any day, be torn from one anothers arms without warning. He felt panic.

A need to enjoy their time together. A need to enjoy her.

His lips pressed against hers again.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

Her cheeks flushed a deep scarlet at the tone in Kasim's voice, just before he kissed her once more.

Though she understood both his meaning and the need that drove him to the sentiment. In truth, it felt almost like they were on borrowed time together. Neither of them knew how long they would have with the other, and she didn't want to live with any regrets if something were to ever happen.

As he tightened his hold on her, so too did her own grip on him. Fingers gently curled into the back of his tunic, pulling him closer against him as she deepened their kiss.

Perhaps it was foolish of her to wish, but she desperately hoped that some day the two of them could enjoy a more peaceful life. One where they didn't have to grapple with desperation and fear.

 

[Kasim Areth]

It had been two weeks since their little ploy back in the village, two weeks since they'd killed a dozen men and gotten away with it.

The time had passed surprisingly quickly. Every day had been spent at sea, and every day had held a small surprise or some sort of new thing that they'd had to deal with.

On the second day the Captain had shared some of his past with Kasim. He'd told him stories of piracy in the west, or smuggling in the South, and some dealings with the Anirian Navy. He even spoke of a stint in Vel Vorak, the great Black Prison of Anir.

The two had quickly befriended one another, and through him Kasim proceeded to do much the same to near enough everyone else on the ship.

It was a marvel of charm and wit, one almost could have wondered if the Jester had used some sort of magic to ensnare the thoughts and hearts of those aboard. Of course not everyone felt the same, but most, and that was enough.

Especially because on the fourth day Aviana's Dragon had revealed itself to the crew. Kiovec had made his presence known, and in quite a spectacular way.

A splash, a roar, and a quick burst of fire.

It had taken nearly a day in it of itself to explain the presence of the Dragon, and another two just to get most of the crew to agree to not attack it. By the end of the first week though most everyone simply kept a wide berth of Kiovec.

All that was, save for the first mate.

He stared at Kiovec nearly every day even into the second week, and each of those stares were added with lingering looks aimed towards Aviana.

They were not leering, not angry, but simply wondering.

Kasim saw them, though there was no concern...at least for now. The Captain was his friend, or an incredible liar, and he figured as long as they were out in the middle of the ocean nothing would happen.

By the end of the second week things had drawn into a routine, and it was during one of those days that Kasim walked across the deck of the ship as he yawned. He wandered to the helm, finding Aviana leaning over the back railing. "I've lost count of the days."

The Jester said as he rubbed his eyes, the dawning sun far past the horizon.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

Aviana did not share Kasim's natural charisma with the sailors. Each interaction with the men was a strain on her. She managed to put on a charming smile, mimicking the Jester's friendliness with a grace that one could only learn through years of wearing a mask at court. That experience was she endured the journey, putting on a friendly face and playing the gracious guest.

While Kasim befriended the crew and the Captain, Aviana kept them all at an arm's distance. The innate desire to help and interact with the locals when she'd first arrived on the mainland had been gradually worn down.

After the repeated assassination attempts, both of which had nearly cost her life, Aviana was wary of anyone who was not Kasim.

There was something good about being out at the high seas, however; and that was the strong winds.

 

[Kasim Areth]

His words were greeted with silence, something he understood.

Trusting the crew of the ship was not easy, but he had taken measures to ensure their protection even here. Their cabin had been inscribed with a dozen runes of protection, a seal put in place whenever they slept. He watched everyone carefully, even those that he would call friend.

The Jester had done his best to gather the good will of the crew, but it did not mean he trusted them. It was better to be sure, that was what his father had always taught him.

As much as he wanted to ignore all lessons from that man, some he simply could not.

Slowly Kasim stepped up behind Aviana, touching the small of her back in order to draw her attention to him. The win gusted against them, buffeting the sails behind them and perpetually pushing them closer and closer to their destination. "The Captain is confident we'll see Minaris in a week."

They had spent literally months traveling from one end of the continent to the other, and now in three weeks they had reversed their entire course.

Funny, that.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

Aviana had been leaning against the railing with her arms lightly folded over one another. The wind tousled the tresses of hair that framed her face. Since setting sail, her hair had faded from the dark red that they'd dyed it before leaving the village, and her locks were now a soft, almost pinkish hue.

It was starting to grow on her, she'd decided.

During the course of the trip, it had become impossible for her to hide the dark horns, which continued to sprout from her scalp, with just her hair alone. The two horns were starting to sweep backwards in an elegant arc, twisting subtly as they grew out. The rate with which they grew should have been alarming, but Aviana realized that it matched Kiovec's growth. To avoid the stares of the crew, particularly the awestruck first mate, she'd taken to wrapping her head and most of her hair in an elegant scarf.

Fortunately, she'd seen a few of the female crew members do the same to keep their locks from getting too wind tossed and coated with salt spray from the waves.

A faint smile touched her lips when she felt Kasim's hand against the small of her back. She gestured out over the water behind the ship by raising her chin.

Kiovec had been putting the strong winds of the sea to good use. In this short time, he'd learned to spread his wings and properly fly.

It seemed that Aviana had been watching the dragon soar through the morning sky.

Her eyes slowly turned to meet Kasim's golden gaze. "You handle ships better than I thought you would." She said with a slight smirk, shifting her weight so that she was facing him more directly.

"A week isn't a lot of time..." She mused, briefly glancing out towards the faint black form that was Kiovec.

"I'm nervous..." She confessed in a low whisper, the wind nearly snatching her words away before Kasim could hear them.

 

[Kasim Areth]

"I'd be concerned if you weren't." From what Kasim understood their return would not necessarily be one welcomed with open arms. He knew things would get dicey, and that was part of the reason he had been preparing so much.

Minaris was their end goal, but Kasim knew that before things were done they would shed blood. He also knew that if the city had been wrested away by the hands of someone else...actually getting Aviana where she needed to go would be all but impossible.

There work would be far from over after they arrived.

Getting there was only half the job.

"For now…" Kasim frowned slightly. "The best we can do is plan. Beyond that we just need to keep ourselves on an even keel."

The Jester knew that it was easier for him to say and do than it was for Aviana. It was not his city they were returning to, it was not he who would have to stand before the throne. He might have felt differently if it was. Yet for now the best he could do was to act as a rock for Aviana. To be there for her. "We won't know anything until we get there."

The words were meant to be reassuring, but he wasn't positive they were.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

"We won't have any peace until this is done." She said softly, stepping closer to him. Her head bowed slightly so that her forehead could come to rest against Kasim's chest. One hand moved to rest against the jester's hip, the need to feel his touch was almost compulsive. He always managed to calm her nerves.

"I can do this. We can do this." She said quietly under her breath, taking a slow deep breath and then she exhaled steadily through her nose.

"Whatever we find... we can deal with it. One way or another."

 

[Kasim Areth]

Slowly Kasim nodded, though he didn't add the thought that was on his own mind. Even after Minaris, even after he helped her take what was hers, even after all the blood and death that would take…they still might not know peace.

Though their fight here in the east was what they faced now, in the west there was an entirely different problem. One that they had only spoke of briefly, and one that would to cling to him wherever they would go. "We can."

Kasim told her softly.

"We will." As he spoke something in the back of his kind reached out. There was no real words, no comprehension of a sentence or anything of the sort. It was a simple feeling, a call. It ran over his spine and down his back, spreading goosebumps over his skin.

The Well.

It was always there now, quietly, but getting louder. He remembered the feeling from when he'd used it for the first time years ago. It was a siren song, and Kasim knew that every time he reached out it would only grow worse and worse. "Whatever I have to do to make sure you're safe."

He meant those words.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

There was a tremendous roar and then a sudden burst of air as Kiovec soared over the ship, flapping his wings. The dragon's scales glimmered in the pale morning light, shimmering from the spray of water and the clouds. He was growing every day.

Aviana was almost convinced that he'd be the size of a horse in just a few more weeks. As it stood now, the dragon was taller than a mountain pony.

She stepped back from Kasim, tilting her head to watch the dragon's flight path as he arced across the bow of the ship to circle back around. There was another thing the dragon had learned during their journey across the sea -- how to fish. He'd earned a good portion of the crew's trust and fondness by simply providing the ship with fresh fish. A few of the men were already gathered on the deck below, she could hear them shouting boisterous greetings to the dragon.

Her worries briefly dissipated and another smile crossed her lips.

There was some hope that she could make this work.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, turning her attention away from the antics on the other side of the ship to focus solely on Kasim. "You've been carrying so much of this burden on yourself..."

 

[Kasim Areth]

Kasim hesitated a moment.

In a weird way he felt better than he had in years. Using the Wells power had been…enlightening in a way that was difficult to describe. In one way it marred his body in another it opened him up to new limits. Even the runes that he'd carved into his flesh, those with the highest cost, had been partially healed.

It was not something he'd told Aviana. The details of his body slowly changing and shifting due to the consequence of what he'd done were not a topic he wanted to broach with her. Not when he knew the guilt that she would feel because of it.

Aside from the physical changes, he also felt like he had a sense of purpose. For so long he had been running, hiding from who he was. None of that stood in his way now. He had the woman he loved, he had a goal, and a part of himself had even embraced that which he'd thrown away so long ago. It was liberating, in a way that could not quite be put into words.

"I'm feeling determi-" before Kasim could finish his sentence a cry went out from the crows nest.

"SHIP! SHIP ON THE HORIZON FROM THE WEST! BLACK AND ORANGE SAILS!"

Kasim wheeled around in an instance, his face growing pale.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

"Black and orange?" Aviana stepped up next to Kasim, frowning as she looked off towards the horizon.

Fear tightened in her stomach, clawing at her throat.

"They might have seen..." She started to say and then turned away from the railing. "Kiovec! Come to ground!"

The dragon turned his large head towards his Bond, huffing sharply. With a flap of his massive wings, the beast adjusted his course and came to land on the back deck of the ship near Aviana.