Private Tales The Place You Call Home

[Cassidy Ackerson]

Cassidy hummed thoughtfully as Helia finished dressing his arms. He'd escaped with his skin unfrozen, a miracle after what he'd said. The label of 'cute' seemed to confuse her more than anger her though, and in a way that was even more adorable. Who would have thought that being so emotionally clueless could be endearing sometimes? "White Dragon? That could do it. I've seen mages use ice before, but not to the extremities you're capable of."

The bedrolls were unceremoniously torn from him, and he watched as she climbed down from the wagon with a coy smile. She could say she didn't have any emotion all she liked, but he saw through that claim. Having no emotion and not registering them were two different things. "Funny thing is, my family had a magical bloodline..." He sighed as he slid off the wagon to stretch himself out. "But I never was able to use it. The bit I used back at that fight was from my sword, the enchantments on it are pretty strong." A final gift from his late lover, and one that had saved him more times than he could count.

Cass was tempted to insist that he stay on his feet and help out with the campsite; he absolutely loathed sitting around doing nothing. When he raised his arm up, however, he was reminded of his situation by a sharp jolt of pain that ran up and down his spine like a bolt of lightning, causing him to draw back with a wince. "Mmh.. The horse? I wouldn't count on finding that boy. He's wild and free now. It'll have to wait until we get to the next settlement, which should be pretty soon. Until then, I can split the work with you. Damascus and Mar can get this thing moving for a bit at a time, so we'll take turns."

Mar poked her head out of the wagon at the sound of her name as Cassidy limped over to a bed mat and threw himself down on it. "I just hope day three goes smoother than day two did. That was a close one, but you did real good. I was wrong to doubt you." Stroke her already large ego a bit more, why don't you Cassidy? He chuckled to himself as his eyes slid shut. Before he even knew what had happened, he was out like a light.


Helia Glacies Kyxo

 

[Helia Glacies Kyxo]

"Funny thing is, my family had a magical bloodline..." He sighed as he slid off the wagon to stretch himself out. "But I never was able to use it. The bit I used back at that fight was from my sword, the enchantments on it are pretty strong."

She nodded thoughtfully, "I see, I had guessed as much. Your sword is fairly powerful."
Slight praise, he had performed skillfully even though he was wounded in the process, that earned some form of reward.
"What sort of bloodline do you descend from?"

"Mmh.. The horse? I wouldn't count on finding that boy. He's wild and free now. It'll have to wait until we get to the next settlement, which should be pretty soon. Until then, I can split the work with you. Damascus and Mar can get this thing moving for a bit at a time, so we'll take turns."

She raised an eyebrow incredulously, "Your sword and your familiar can pull the wagon? That should be most entertaining to watch, I look forward to it."

"I just hope day three goes smoother than day two did. That was a close one, but you did real good. I was wrong to doubt you."

She gave him a small nod of her head, "I acknowledge your skill as well, Mister Ackerson. My confidence in your abilities has grown, I do not regret my decision to hire you."
She carefully raised the corners of her mouth in a practiced gesture of a sweet smile. A skill she had to learn in order to be successful in court.

As he laid down to bed Helia stayed up for a while, considering all that has happened.
She considered her actions and the consequences, she would have to be more careful if she wanted to keep Ackerson's help and guidance, he may have once been a noble but has given up everything that entails, he sees things on an individualistic level.
She looked at the sleeping form of her guide and wondered if her "imprisoned" self would have liked this man, she had turned away so many before, even roguish men like him. She simply didn't feel any attraction towards others and she saw greater benefits of biding her time till she took the throne and could choose a king herself than marrying herself off early for some political alliance, especially with the end drawing near for her father.

But the real reason she wanted to wait was because she believed her curse could be broken, and if when she recovered her full emotional senses and found herself in an unsatisfactory position with a man she didn't love or desire... Helia knew that she simply wasn't equipped to make that decision for herself. Sometimes it seemed like her emotional self and her cold self were two different beings in a single body, and right now her cold self felt only the responsibility of not leaving her emotional self a horrible mess to clean up... She wondered what her emotional self was like, did it grow and mature locked away in her heart? or was she still emotionally a child stricken with pain and loss of the time?
When the curse is finally broken, would her psychi simply meld itself back together? or would it remain severed but free, able to switch between them at will?
That's why only experts were used to formulate curses, you had to define as many aspects as you could, allowing for a conditions and such to be applied. You could curse a farmers land but you could also leave them a way out by crafting your curse properly... All she wanted was for the pain to stop... And so her curse took away her pain, who even knows what all that means and to what lengths it was applied, let alone how to dispell it.

As Cassidy slept she knelt before the unlit pile of sticks she designated as the fireplace, she closed her eyes and began a ritual that had become familiar to her over the years. She held her hands out in front of her as if holding an invisible ball, and ice began to swirl around her hands.
She focused and concentrated, she could see the core of ice that covered her heart in her minds eye, and she used her magic to interact with it... It was as if she entered a maze in her mind, one so twisted and tangled that she hadn't been able to solve it in five years. But she tried once again.
"Come... On, you spoiled brat, just... come... out..."
She whispered aloud.
She followed the paths for days in her mind, while only an hour passed in the real world.
The swirling ice in her hands was attached to her heart by a tendril of flowing cold blue mana as she, for the hundredth time exactly, tried once more to remove her curse herself.

 

[Cassidy Ackerson]

Cassidy merely shrugged at her question of his bloodline. That was a complicated story, and one that he didn't feel particularly obligated to share with Helia. Not yet, anyway. "You'd be pretty surprised at what Mar and I are capable of. Even if I don't have magic of my own, the practice I've had with her has taught me some pretty neat tricks." Hopefully, he didn't have much reason to show off those tricks; they weren't safe, and they certainly weren't painless. His muscles still ached from the last time he'd had to pull off a switch.

Of course, he could be mixing that up with the fact he'd just fallen out of multiple wagons and been shot in the shoulder.

"Coming from you, that's high praise. I just might blush, Princess." Cassidy smiled back at her as he shifted himself back and forth, nestling into the bed mat. The merc was certain that her smile was forced, but even a forced smile was an improvement over the chilly reception he'd gotten from her thus far. "I know it's not worth saying, but try to get a little shut-eye tonight. I know that fight must have taken more out of you than you let on. I need you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the morning."

Mar scampered over to Helia, brushing against her legs in a sign of affection before hopping up onto Cassidy's chest and curling up in a furry ball. Cass felt himself slipping into unconsciousness quickly, the events of the day finally catching up with him, washing over his eyes like a thick blanket and sending him to the land of sleep.

To say his dreams were any more peaceful than their trip so far would unfortunately be untrue. Cassidy's sleeping mind was filled with the visions of his own failure, the time that he couldn't save the person who mattered most. She lay dead at his feet, and he'd had no choice but to flee, to denounce his heritage and be hated by his own family for a crime he did not commit.

Ariella... it had been the final night before they were to finally be wed, and Cassidy would take control of his family's estate, gain power over all that they had. He'd no idea his Mother's spite and hate had festered so much, taken root so deeply within her as to drive her to have him and his lover murdered. He'd saved himself, but his failure to save Ariella... that haunted him to this very day.

It was these haunting visions that roused him from his sleep early before dawn had yet broken the sky. Turning quietly onto his side he saw her there, on her knees with a glowing orb of ice forming in her hands. Seemingly so deep in thought, she hadn't noticed him stirring. What inner battle did she fight? What visions haunted her, he wondered?

Helia Glacies Kyxo

 

[Helia Glacies Kyxo]

By the time she decided to give up she had gotten no nearer to the center of the maze, she might as well have remained at the entrance for all the progress she made through the twisting paths of ice.

As Cassidy watched the orb would slowly fade and Helia's hands would drift to her lap. She remained knelt there for a moment, eyes closed, and chin fallen to her chest as if she were asleep. But after that moment her eyes would flutter open, and she would look around the camp to see the sky brightening for the approaching sun.
Immediately she looked to Cassidy, as if she were worried that he might not be there but seeing that he hadn't abandoned her in her trance she nodded with satisfaction. He was awake and watching her... She took a deep breath and decided to answer what she assumed was an unasked question.
"Curses... Sometimes they can be removed if your magic is strong enough to dispel it. You don't always have to figure out the proper conditions in order to cause the curse to unravel itself."

 

[Cassidy Ackerson]

The sun rising in the distance offered him the relief of knowing he'd at least slept a little bit, but he also realized that meant Helia hadn't had a wink. Cassidy couldn't tell if the strange display he'd just witnessed was some sort of meditation, or if perhaps she was so lost in her own thoughts that it manifested through her power. There was too much he didn't know about her to make any sort of real assumption.

Slowly the man shifted his weight to the side, looking up into those chilly eyes as they turned to look at him. Even through the smooth beauty of her features, he could see that she was weary, exhausted, and it was a kind of exhaustion that mere sleep wouldn't fix. Something far heavier weighed on the royal's soul. A vulnerability she worked so hard to hide.

She'd made mention of the 'curse' placed over her heart. Cassidy had thought up until now that Helia was being metaphorical with the word; he'd never heard of a curse acting exclusively on one's emotions. Perhaps there was more validity to Kyxo's words than he'd thought. Clearing his throat a bit, Cassidy moved to sit up, crossing his legs as he watched the sunrise.

"You didn't choose to be the way you are then? I assumed that... you made a conscious choice to close your heart in the belief it would make you a stronger leader." Cassidy grimaced. He'd sat on a high horse and dressed her down for her icy demeanor when in reality there was little she could do about it. "I'm sorry..."

Helia Glacies Kyxo

 

[Helia Glacies Kyxo]

(Sorry for the delay. Work has kept me busy and tired. I should have more time over the next few weeks.)

"You didn't choose to be the way you are then? I assumed that... you made a conscious choice to close your heart in the belief it would make you a stronger leader." Cassidy grimaced. He'd sat on a high horse and dressed her down for her icy demeanor when in reality there was little she could do about it. "I'm sorry..."

She looked up at the sunrise herself, but without the appreciation he seemed to have, to her it was simply the sun coming over the horizon that was SUPPOSED to be beautiful.
"I did make a conscious choice, Mister Ackerson. But as a child, it was a mislead and immature decision that has effected my life to this day. I have been forced to live with it and recognize its uses, or risk becoming an invalid."

She stood up with a groan and stretched her legs painfully, she'd spent almost all night on her knees, her legs were in agony.
"I thank you for your apology, If I were myself I imagine that I would appreciate it."
She reached her hands upwards and stretched the stiffness out of her back and arms.
"Should we leave now and eat on the road? Or should we eat first?"

 

[Cassidy Ackerson]

(No worries, life happens, and that comes first.)

Cassidy didn't offer her more gratuitous pity. Even if that had been what Helia wanted, it was clear now she wasn't able to properly appreciate it. With another little groan he got to his feet, walking back to the wagon with a much less dramatic limp in his step. "I'd make an argument that a decision made so young, without a fully developed mind isn't really conscious, but it doesn't make any difference either."

No matter the reasons for why it had happened, she was stuck with the results. He pulled some food out of his sack in the wagon and brought it out to the fire, sitting in front of the flames and unwrapping a few pieces of bread and a decent-sized piece of meat he'd asked Helia to put on ice to keep fresh. Not a glamourous meal, but better than going hungry. Did make him wonder what she got served in her homeland though.

"Still, you hold some desire to break the curse you placed on yourself. You aren't totally lost, are you?" Cassidy looked up at her as she stood, cutting a piece of the meat off and sticking it on the end of his knife before holding it over the fire. "Grab the other half and cook it. I know that little skirmish took just as much out of you as it did me."

If they ate fast, they could make it to shelter before midday. They needed to resupply anyways, and a bath certainly sounded appealing to him. "I don't think we'll have to worry about getting chased around once we get to the next settlement. If those people were bandits, they don't like coming out this far."

Helia Glacies Kyxo

 

[Helia Glacies Kyxo]

"Still, you hold some desire to break the curse you placed on yourself. You aren't totally lost, are you?"

She shrugged as she sat down again and he prepared some food.
""Desire" might be a strong word for it. I treat it as my duty to myself, since I am what is left I am the only one who can do anything, so I should do something. A purpose keeps me from falling into antipathy, or giving in to the wickedness that comes with heartlessness."

"Grab the other half and cook it. I know that little skirmish took just as much out of you as it did me."

She did so and started cooking the meat.
"My magical endurance is not so frail, but I do still need to eat. So long as I am using my affinity for ice I can use it without issue for days at a time."

She turned the meat over the fire, but it was clear she had no clue what she was doing except trying to mimic him.

"I don't think we'll have to worry about getting chased around once we get to the next settlement. If those people were bandits, they don't like coming out this far."

She nodded.
"Whoever they were, they would be fools to try again. They were vastly outmatched."
She yawned and looked up from her cooking.
"Do you know if the next settlement will even have a bath? I cannot remember the last time I had more than a bucket from a well and a dirty rag."

 

[Cassidy Ackerson]

Watching her attempt to cook the meat he offered her was a show worth all the trouble they'd had thus far, her clumsy attempts to hold it over the fire without getting too close to the heat, all with that stubborn little glare of indifference, it was all that he could do not do laugh out loud. He controlled himself, silently listening to her as he finished his own excuse for a meal.

"Of course, you gotta eat. You're an emotionally curse Princess with badass ice powers, yeah, but you're still human." Cassidy yawned, using a rag to wipe at his hands after he'd finished. "I can imagine it would be easy to forget that in your shoes though. I don't envy you in the slightest." If he were here, he could imagine it would drive him mad not being able to feel anything besides that blank cold stare in her eyes. Emotions weren't just some little facet of the mind; they were a substantial part of life.

Without them, you almost weren't human.

Regardless, they needed to keep moving, and with only one horse they would need to rely on their magic to keep them going at a reasonable speed. The Portal Stone wasn't too terribly far, only three or four more days if they kept on the move at a consistent rate with no more interruptions. Obviously, it was silly to count on that though. There were always going to be interruptions.

"Oh yeah, when I said settlement I should have been more specific. We're just east of Fal'Addas now, massive city, full of Elves. Ever been?" Cassidy didn't wait for an answer, getting to his feet and beginning to pack everything back into the wagon. He'd take the first turn so Helia could get a bit more rest since his method of moving them wouldn't hold up nearly as long as hers did. "But yeah, they've even got the fancy bath-houses that bring in water from the springs and rivers if you have the money. You'll be able to wash up, and we should find a decent meal there too, probably another horse while we're at it for the last leg of the trip.

Scooping up the glimmering blue blade, Cassidy climbed up into the front seat of the wagon, laying the blade on his lap and placing his hands on its surface. After a moment of eerie silence, the blue shine of the sword turned red, and the telltale mewling of the feline familiar rang out as it reappeared on Cassidy's shoulder. "There's my buddy! Okay, girl, I need you to help out and get us on the road again, can you do that for me?"

A happy meow seemed to confirm as Mar lept from his lap and into the spot in front of the wagon where the other horse was once hooked up. A bright flash filled the air momentarily, and where once a small red tabby cat stood, there was now a sparkling red mare, seeming to emit light most unearthly as it dragged its front hooves curiously in the dirt.

Helia Glacies Kyxo

 

[Helia Glacies Kyxo]

"Of course, you gotta eat. You're an emotionally cursed Princess with badass ice powers, yeah, but you're still human." Cassidy yawned, using a rag to wipe at his hands after he'd finished. "I can imagine it would be easy to forget that in your shoes though. I don't envy you in the slightest."

She scoffs a little, "I'm heartless, not ignorant to my own bodily needs."
She took the food off the fire once it seemed close to the color he got it to and took a bite to punctuate her point. She took in a sharp breath and immediately started blowing to cool the hot food in her mouth, she breathed out a small cloud of steam as she frosted the food to cool it enough to eat.

She coughed as if that would save her dignity and covered her mouth while she chewed. She swallowed the bite and started working on the rest which had a chance to cool down.

"Oh yeah, when I said settlement I should have been more specific. We're just east of Fal'Addas now, massive city, full of Elves. Ever been?"

"Fal'Addas? Yes, I've been there, for political reasons of course. I've had the opportunity to partake in their cuisine and a few of their other luxuries..."

"But yeah, they've even got the fancy bath-houses that bring in water from the springs and rivers if you have the money. You'll be able to wash up, and we should find a decent meal there too, probably another horse while we're at it for the last leg of the trip.

She finished her food and wiped her hands on her handkerchief.
"But, are you sure it's wise to go into Fal'Addas? The elves have been in a continuous war against the humans of Vel Anir for centuries, aside from a select few, every report claims that humans are met with extreme prejudice in these lands."

She helped clean up camp and prepared to leave, climbing in the back of the wagon and watching him work his magic with his sword and familiar.

"There's my buddy! Okay, girl, I need you to help out and get us on the road again, can you do that for me?"

To say she showed interest in the process would be a stretch, but she was curious as she watched him transform little Mar into a large horse.

According to the theories, anyone could do magic even without a natural gift or bloodline. If they have a magical source or arcane focus they can produce and control the magic that natural born magicians produce and channel with their bodies.
"Does Mar help you when you cast magic? Does she enhance your abilities at all or extend your repertoire of spells?"

 

[Cassidy Ackerson]

They were on the move again at last, Mar and their remaining horse getting them underway on the next leg of their trip. There was some truth to Helia's claim of Fal'Addas and the tensions boiling within it. Vel Anir had done a good job of pissing off the elves every chance it got, for what reason who the hell could know? Cassidy wasn't particularly worried though. "They can be prickly towards guests, yeah. Luckily for us, I have a pretty good reputation there, helped out enough that they don't mind me. Long as we're together they shouldn't care much."

To say using Mar like this was exhausting was an understatement, but as Helia so aptly questioned him on, it wasn't because Cass was using magic, rather it was the focusing of that magic through his sword, and by extension Mar that used up his energy. He turned back to the icy Princess, smirking. "Mar is my magic, more or less. She's a familiar bound to my sword, Damascus, by a powerful sorceress. On my own, I really don't have any magical talent of my own." The redhead admitted somewhat sheepishly.

The truth was that he was weak. Pitiful, even. All that he had he'd been given by somebody he hadn't been strong enough to save. Not a day passed that it didn't eat away at him, but he'd learned to hide that shame, to combat it with the need he felt to atone. That was why he sought others to help. That was why he'd chosen to help Helia.

The forest grew increasingly dense the longer they rode forward, though it was approaching midday nary a hint of sunlight baked their wagon through the thick layer of treetop above them. Cassidy was grateful for that, at least. Not only would they be more difficult to track, but they also got a break from the warmth that had enveloped them in the open field the previous day.

After an hour or two, the wagon slowed to a stop, and Cassidy dropped his sword into the back with a long sigh of exhaustion. The horse-Mar dissipated into thin air, the magic spent for the time being. "Whew. That's about all I have in me for now. Your turn, Helia."

Helia Glacies Kyxo

 

[Helia Glacies Kyxo]

"They can be prickly towards guests, yeah. Luckily for us, I have a pretty good reputation there, helped out enough that they don't mind me. Long as we're together they shouldn't care much."

She decided to take his word for it. She wasn't going to be there in an official capacity and that's all she knew about elvish hospitality.
Even though Mardania has acted benevolently towards Fal'Addas, they also haven't risked their precarious relationship with Vel Anir by taking a side one way or another in their conflict. And the immense distance between their countries was only part of it, they physically couldn't support one nation over the other in any capacity other than trade.
While her negotiations went well overall, the elves certainly didn't appreciate the neutral stance of Mardania.

On the plus side, she doubted she would be recognized by anyone outside of the elvish nobility who took part in their negotiations.

"Mar is my magic, more or less. She's a familiar bound to my sword, Damascus, by a powerful sorceress. On my own, I really don't have any magical talent of my own."

She nodded thoughtfully.
"I understand, there is no shame in being unable to use magic.
So, Mar is the fuel for your magic, the sword focuses it, and you use the sword. It is similar to a symbiotic relationship in that case, Mar translates your will into proper spells and casts it for you while you provide Mar with energy via your vitality."
Enchanted weapons were often very complicated. One might conclude that everyone has some level of magical talent simply by being able to activate and use enchanted weapons, but that depends on the enchantment and is only sometimes the case. Many enchantments could be used by a magicless and mundane child simply because it is built into the enchantment spell itself to be activated when held or when some other condition is met.
"My bloodline is essentially magical, by virtue of my ancestry my body acts as a magical reservoir, and my hands and mind are my arcane focus. In other words, it would be like using your own vitality to fuel your magic, instead of Mar."

She talked more about magic as they traveled on until Cassidy's magic wore out and the wagon came to a stop.

"Whew. That's about all I have in me for now. Your turn, Helia."

Helia nodded, stretching out her hands in front of her and closing her eyes as she spoke her incantations.
A magical circle appeared in front of her hands, and a larger mirror of that circle appeared on the ground where Mar had once been.
The circle began generating frost, then began collecting and gathering and growing as it shaped itself into a horse form in the rigging and reins attaching it to the wagon.
When Helia was done there was once again an ice horse ready to pull the wagon.
As the wagon lurched into motion again, she climbed out of the covered portion of the wagon and sat beside him on the bench.
"If you would like, as part of your payment I could perhaps tutor you in some basic cantrips. Simple spells that won't strain you and Mar so much, spells which are low in power but high in utility."