Private Tales The Ways of Magic

[Raea Stormcrow]

It felt like a cage.

It was a gilded cage, to be sure - filled with delightful food and a soft bed, with beautiful people coming and going.

Even if their eyes traced her from head to toe with a frown and unveiled disdain. Her captors - her saviors - insisted that she was other than what she appeared. They claimed her to be a faerie. Immortal, eternal, powerful, terrible - all of these things were words she would use to describe the creature they said they were and claimed she was. None of them could be applied to her, not when she remained pale and sickly.

She sat at a table with Elasha sitting at one end of the table and Thallan at the other. Her eyes flitted across the elegant shape of Thallan's mother, lingering on the arched ears that Thallan shared. She glanced at Thallan as well. She couldn't stand the arrogant bastard, even if he was well made and far too pretty for his own good. She could see some of the elegance of his mother in his face. Whoever his father had been had to have been carved from stone if his son was anything to judge by.

She was not the only guest this evening, merely the only one that had the appearance of humanity. The unconscious grace and power of the other two guests were impossible to miss. The male - she hadn't bothered to learn either name - wore an elaborately embroidered vest over a pearl shirt, sleeves likewise embroidered. His dark eyes regarded her darkly, lip curled up in distaste. The female sitting at his side eyed her too, although her eyes danced with amusement. She was achingly beautiful and made Raea feel less just by her presence.

How could she compare with a cream-skinned beauty like that? Her own dress was drab by comparison; the pale blue with silver embroidery could hardly compare to the sensuous clinging red the fae Lady wore. It accentuated everything that Raea herself didn't have.

"You must do quite well for yourself, Lord Thallan," the male said in a smooth baritone. He eyed Raea quickly before returning his gaze back to the head of the household. He lifted a glass of ruby red wine to his lips and smiled. "You can afford to let that share a table with your family," he said and then sipped his wine. The insult stung more for the casual manner of its delivery. You couldn't be ill mannered to someone or something that was so far beneath you as to barely warrant breathing the same air.

The female at his side tittered, a tinkling laugh that Raea did not share. She remained silent, though; Thallan had wanted her to come to this cursed meal. She still did not understand why. He might think her fae, but the two at this table did not seem to agree with either Thallan or his mother. She gritted her teeth at the continued glances from either of the fae guests. If only dinner could be served so she could politely eat her fill and then retire to anywhere but here.

 

[Thallan]

Thallan sat at one end of the table and his mother at the other. They were eating at the smaller table, considering their small group. Raea sat to one side of him and the Lady Shae to the other side and across from Raea. Shae's father, the Lord Shalyr, sat beside his daughter. As he addressed Thallan, he wore a pompous and self important look on his face. He seemed disgusted that anyone such as Raea could be Fae. Thallan knew the Fae male smelled it on her, even if he would never admit to it.

"I assure you, it is of no cost," Thallan drawled back, drinking some of his own wine. Lord Shalyr reminded Thallan of his father a bit too much and Thallan hoped for Shalyr's sake that the visiting lord would not push his buttons. It certainly hadn't ended well for his father all those years ago.

The servants entered the dining room, bearing platters of food. They were served and for a moment the table was silent.

"Lady Shae, it has been too long since your beauty graced this table," Thallan was the first to speak. She was indeed beautiful, but she was also without a husband or a mate. He was certain she had had her fair share of men, but she had yet to settled down with any of them. He was also certain Shalyr was trying to sell his only daughter off to the highest (and handsomest) bidder, and Elasha just wanted Thallan to marry and start a family of his own. She had spoken recently of what abounding loneliness he suffered but it was a bunch of nonsense.

Raea Stormcrow

 

[Raea Stormcrow]

"I suppose you know best," the Lord said. The words sounded polite but there was an edge of disgust underneath it. The cut of his eyes towards Thallan's guest was enough to confirm that particular detail. As far as he was concerned, Raea was there as either decoration or entertainment. When compared to his own daughter, it proved to be very poor decoration indeed.

Raea served herself, but very little. Even once done only picked at it. The fare was richer than she was accustomed too but she had little appetite.

"You are too kind, Lord Malwyrth," Shae replied, peering at him through long lashes. There was a coquettish air about her person, something long tailored and cultivated and well known among the Court. "Since your father passed, we thought it only proper to wait for an invitation to come back to the estate," she added.

The lilt of the woman's voice made Raea sick to her stomach. There was something there that flowed beneath the surface in very much the same manner as a sewer flowing beneath a street. Pleasant on the exterior, rotten to the core. She had met so very many people like that over the years.

"I am of course delighted that you would invite me into your home once more," she said. She smiled at Thallan. And ignored Raea more than her father did.

 

[Thallan]

Thallan did not miss the look of disgust in the Lord's expression, or the way Raea only picked at the food in front of her. This 'dinner' felt quite off, if he did say so himself-even Shae's words felt empty and meaningless, despite the lilt to her tone trying to convince him otherwise.

At the mention of his father, Thallan's only reaction was to put a mournful face on. Any negative feelings he harbored towards his dead father he kept safely bottled up. "It was quite tragic," he replied. It wasn't tragic that his father had died, rather tragic that it had taken him so long to handle the now-dead Lord's atrocities. "I hear they still haven't caught who killed him," He added. And indeed they hadn't. Thallan was still blameless and guilt free.

Shae went on, continuing to flatter him. Once she'd finished, Thallan nodded her way before eating and drinking some more. The table fell into a bit of silence and Thallan was overcome with the strong urge to bring Raea into the conversation. Then he also thought it would definitely be amusing to bring up marriage, call out Lord Shalyr for trying to sell of his daughter. Even better- he could discuss the matter as if discussing a transaction, something he knew would piss of Shae.

Thallan's eyes darted between Shae and Raea as he considered which route of destruction to take.

Raea Stormcrow

 

[Raea Stormcrow]

Her words made her lips turn down further, and she felt an overpowering wave of nausea wash over her. Shae was a sycophant at best and she did not even want to consider what the delicate looking Fae creature was at worst.

She continued to play with her food, not eating.

"I am sure the Queen's justice will still be kept," Shae said with a light laugh. "Worry not, my Lord. None can hide from Her Radiance."

Raea couldn't contain a disdainful snort. Both of the Fae guests looked at her with disgust. She stared back at them defiantly and they sneered at her with an equal measure of disdain. "Your queen hasn't found them yet," she challenged. Lady Shae sniffed but said nothing.

"You might be Lord Thallan's guest," Shalyr said to her in a voice that was winter itself, "but you should know your place. Duannan blood mingling in your veins is not being high Fae. There are rules." He looked to Thallan with a scowl. "And common decency. Surely you have explained this to your ... pet?"

Shae laughed cruelly. Raea's knuckles turned white round her fork.

 

[Thallan]

Thallan dipped his head at Shae's words, keeping his lips sealed. He really did not hope the Queen's justice was kept, because he did intend to hide from Her Radiance in getting away with his father's murder.

Thallan could not help but grin when Raea spoke for the first time. He knew she couldn't possibly know who the real killer was, but he wondered if perhaps subconsciously, some part of her knew.

"My dear Lord Shalyr," Thallan drawled, pausing dramatically to take a bite of his meal, staring Shalyr down as he chewed and swallowed. "Surely she doesn't bother you? If you think so little of her, why do you give her so much of your anger and frustration? Besides, she brings up a good point," he added at the end, washing his food down with some wine.

He glanced at Raea once he's finished speaking.

Raea Stormcrow

 

[Raea Stormcrow]

"Because she is here at the table with her betters," the Lord replied without a pause. Shalyr cast another disgusted look at her, shaking his head. "Half-breed monkeys can still have an occasional thought in their head. Doesn't make them any less poorly bred."

"Yes," Shae said immediately. "You are a Lord, after all; why waste time on someone so far beneath you when you can spend it with others more deserving of it?"

Raea did not say anything, but a splash of crimson stained her cheeks. Rage or embarrassment, it was hard to say. Judging by the way she gripped her fork, it was likely to be rage.

"It was nice of your mother to invite us to dinner," Shae said after a moment of silence. She smiled brightly at Thallan.

 

[Thallan]

Thallan raised a brow as both father and daughter spoke insulting things about Raea to him, not even bothering to look at her for longer than a few moments. For some reason, Thallan found himself a tad bit annoyed with their two dinner guests.

"I do believe I am the one to decide who is worth my time and who is not," Thallan said, a cool smile on his face but a bite in his tone. His amber eyes bore directly into Shalyr's. He didn't even bother to glance Shae's way.

"It was, wasn't it," Thallan replied flatly, that cool smile still on his face, his gaze still locked firmly on Shalyr even as he responded to Shae's comment. He could feel her eyes on him but did not shift his gaze.

Another moment of silence passed before Elasha finally spoke up, calling in the next and final course in their meal.

Raea Stormcrow

 

[Raea Stormcrow]

The Lord grunted in response to the statement but said nothing further. If Thallan wanted to treat a lesser creature like an equal, that was his prerogative. Even if he was wrong and it flew in the face of tradition and common decency by the lights of Summer.

Shae laughed lightly, either missing the tone and the mood or ignoring it. She had a specific goal for this evening and aside from an amusing diversion, Raea did not figure into that plan. "It really was," she said with a sly lilt. "I am sure she is just looking out for what is best for her son. Why, you haven't been seen in public with a lady in years." She smiled at him. There was something predatory there; she was completely unabashed about what she was saying and Lord Shalyr was likewise unconcerned about the casual suggestion.

The adventuress stood suddenly, dropping her fork on the plate. "If you'll excuse me," she said suddenly, and spun away from the table. She stalked away with a stiff back, Shae's smile following her as she departed.

 

[Thallan]

Thallan finally and slowly met Shae's gaze. He knew what she wanted out of tonight, he could see the hunger for him and his power in her eyes. He opened his mouth to say that who he took to bed had nothing to do with her, but then Raea stood abruptly, excusing herself from the table. He wondered if she felt ill, and stared after her a moment, before turning back to face Shae.

"While I can't speak for the public eye, I can say I'd be willing to see a lady in private tonight, if she was so willing." If she was going to be brazen, then so could he. He had already been brazen enough to seat Raea at his table as an equal with the two other Fae.

As he spoke to her, a smirk tugged at his lips, but his eyes were nearly blank. If Shae wanted a passionate love affair then she would be sorely disappointed. Thallan couldn't even explain why- Fae were naturally promiscuous creatures, driven by desire. But Thallan felt little of that infamous lust and desire sitting here in this moment. Shae was a cold woman, and though he had never laid with her before, he was suspicious that she was also cold in bed.

Raea Stormcrow

 

[Raea Stormcrow]

She smiled like the predator she was, looking upon Thallan like the prize and conquest that he was to her. "Delightful," she murmured. Summer was not known for harboring prudish Fae. Whether it was merely for the pleasure of the flesh or for other reasons, love was to be celebrated.

She would just have to ensure that she was so delightful that he could not get enough. It was wealth and power that she craved, however.

Shalyr sat in silence, looking after Raea as she left the room with an unreadable expression. He only smiled when the sound of a door slamming somewhere else reverberated through the house.

And then he fixed Elasha with a far friendlier smile than he had the now departed guest. "You do this house credit, Lady." He did not look towards his daughter or the open, naked hunger in her eyes.

---

She felt awful.

That was normal of course. It was made worse now, though, by the unrelenting waves of anger that rolled through her. And if that wasn't bad enough, then there was the traitorous and unwelcome sting of jealousy to contend with.

That bastard has done me no favors, she thought to herself as she slammed the door to her room and dropped on a chair therein. I didn't ask for this. She had been content to wander the world on adventures until she died. Soon, she had thought.

How things could change so quickly. Even if the declarations had proven to be empty as yet. When she looked in a mirror, it was the same human features looking back.

Hope was a bastard of a thing, though.

She stared at the wall and waited for the unpleasant company to leave. Maybe she would have an appetite then.

 

[Thallan]

Thallan tasted bile in the back of this throat and attempted to wash it down with another drink of wine. There was a fire in his eyes that could easily be mistaken for lust when in reality it was more murderous. Only his own mother would be able to tell.

Elasha gave Shalyr a small smile. "I thank you, Lord,"

Thallan drank again from his cup, as if he was trying to get drunk. What a shame it took much more to get Fae drunk then it did mortals.

The rest of dinner passed Thallan by. Shae kept her greedy, sultry gaze on him, and Thallan knew had to hold her gaze if he wanted anything to go his way tonight.

And soon enough, the night came. Elasha had excused herself off to bed, Shalyr had taken a drink into the sitting room, and Thallan was leading Shae back to his bedroom.

He was quiet, in the process of locking everything behind the doors in his mind, so he could do what he needed to do. He was nearly done when Shae stopped them, holding him still with a firm hand on his arm.

He turned to look at her, realizing that they had stopped outside the doors to Raea's room, which just so happened to be next to his room. Shae would not know that Raea was behind those doors- she only knew that the next doors over led into Thallan's room.

 

[Raea Stormcrow]

She managed to drift off, which was probably just as well. Then, at least, she would not have to listen to anything she didn't want to hear from the next room over. She was already pretty practiced at not hearing what she didn't want to, anyway.

Perhaps it was some latent sense of self-preservation that kept her from falling deeply into sleep. It was certainly a soft sound in the night that made her waken, eyes gleaming in the moonlight coming from her bedroom window. She lay awake, staring at the ceiling for a long minute before kicking her feet out from bed and sitting up.

The house was wreathed in silence. It was late into the evening, well past midnight. It was a time of the night she frequently woke, restless.

She went to the window on bare, silent feet and stared out. The world was etched in silver and black, everything starkly different by the light of the moons than it was by the light of the sun. Nothing moved except the bushes and trees by the faint evening breeze. Sighing, she turned away and quietly left the room. She had eaten nothing and drank nothing; perhaps a snack from whatever was left from that ill-fated dinner would settle her.

Closing the door to her room and heading to the stairs down, she paused. At the top of the sweeping flight of stairs, she hesitated. Whatever it was that had wakened her had brushed that nerve again. Something warned of trouble.

But surely not here.

She stepped down the darkened stairs and halted again. Down in the open foyer, a shadow moved.

Raea did not need to be Fae or to have any access to magic to know that this creature was wreathed in it. As tall as Thallan was, but cloaked in shadows. It was difficult to see them, but the arching shells of their ears marked them as fae...

...and they spotted her.

"Well, well, well," they whispered in a male voice like silken steel. "It looks as if I owe someone an apology after all," he said in that same tone. That shadowed face smiled...

...and then he uncoiled. The male was fast as greased lightning, so much faster than she could ever be. Except she was already moving, stepping sideways. Steel flashed in the pale light from windows. Pottery shattered as the knife that had been aimed for her heart shattered as vase. But even as that attack lashed out, she felt something else strike her. She felt something crack and pain lance through her body as though she had been dipped in acid. A scream of pain escaped her lips before she could seal it in. She staggered, but recovered quickly.

Turned, and fled back towards her room,

"Don't let her escape. She doesn't leave this house alive," the assassin growled as he drew a knife. The shadows coiled round him like a shroud, and he took off up the stairs after her. In the darkness, others closed in as well.

 

[Thallan]

Thallan froze, every muscle in his body tensing at the sound. Something had broken in the hall and then it had been followed by a scream of pain. It was a female scream and for an intense moment his vision flared a hot white when he thought something had happened to his mother, but then his senses caught up to his mind and he realized it was Raea. He could smell her fear, and it had almost a different scent to it now.

He was off Shae and his bed quickly, almost morbidly glad for the distraction that allowed him to keep his pants on. She huffed, sat up, and started to say something to him but Thallan had left his room before she could speak a word.

The hall was dark but his eyes quickly adjusted, in time to see Raea dash past him at a speed that should have been impossible in her glamored human form. Her scent was stronger and she seemed taller but he didn't get a chance to ogle her before an even taller figure that had been chasing her ran up behind her.

Thallan managed to catch the first one by surprise, wrapping a hand around his throat and using the assassin's momentum against him to choke him. With a quick move of his hands, Thallan had snapped the figure's neck. His friends behind him shouted in warning once they'd realized what had happened. Thallan could see three of them, and he made quick work of them. It had been a hot minute since he'd had the chance to fight anyone hand-to-hand and he was glad for the opportunity to get into it again. He definitely had some emotions to release.

Once the three he could see were gone, he was given a moment of reprieve, and he went back down the hall to Raea's room. He burst in the door, the dresser she had somehow managed to move in front of the door scooting aside. He quickly shut and locked the door behind him, moving the dresser back in place as he turned to face Raea. He ignited a small ball of fire in his palm and then it cast up as a makeshift light.

He paused when he saw her clearly. Her brown hair was no longer dull and limp- it was long, shiny, and a deep shade of black. She had shot up a couple feet, and the pointed tips of her ears peeked out between shafts of her black hair. She looked every bit the Fae woman now.

For a minute Thallan forgot that four shadowy figures had come to assassinate her and that there might be more coming soon. He merely stared at her, transfixed. He had been right, she was indeed Fae, but what had flipped the switch? And what was that strange feeling tugging at him, as if he was missing something obvious?

 

[Raea Stormcrow]

She spun when the door slammed open, her blade in hand and raised to skewer the intruder. Her stance only changed a little when she saw who it was that had come through the door. She had been expecting shadows and blood.

She felt...odd. She had felt something shatter when the one intruder had lashed out at her with... with something. Magic? She didn't know. All she knew was that her head hurt as though she had been struck with a maul, and strange thoughts were bubbling up from the depths. Memories in particular, and one of them more pressing than others.

"What... what have you done?" she hissed, and then swayed and dropped her blade before clutching at her head. Before Thallan could move, she had stooped to pick up the weapon again. "What have I done?" she added in a whisper.

The memory that surged to the forefront the quickest was one that shocked her to her core. The accusation of her fae ancestry was proven enough; she could see herself in the mirror, reflected in the moonlight. It was the other detail that drove a spike of fear and confusion into her.

Who would have done such a thing to her, glamouring herself to be a human? She had asked Thallan that once before.

And it was she that had.

Something thumped on the roof overhead, and her eyes swiveled up.

 

[Thallan]

Thallan blinked several times, breaking his brief trance when Raea spoke. He took a step forward when she swayed on her feet, clutching her head. She bent to pick up her knife again, and Thallan could tell bits of memories were coming back.

He imagined she was quite confused, and honestly, so was he. Who were these shadows coming after them, that wanted Raea dead so badly? Did they have anything to do with her being glamored, and now her being broken free of the glamor, at least a little bit? There was a thump from above them and he supposed there was only one to find out any answers.

"Come or stay, your choice," he said shortly, pulling a knife out of a hidden pocket in his trousers and pulling another one from a hidden drawer in the dresser pushed against the door. He liked to keep knives hidden in every room of the house, in places only he knew.

He made for the doors to the balcony in Raea's room. The night air bit at his bare torso when he stepped outside but he didn't mind it. The fire ball he had cast in Raea's room went out as he backed up to the edge of the balcony, facing the large house. With a couple steps start, he jumped up unto the roof above, landing on the edge in a crouched position. All his muscles were tense on impact so that he would not fall off the roof backwards and split his head open on the ground below.

 

[Raea Stormcrow]

"You don't get to talk to me like that," she snapped. She lowered the blade, though. "You took that choice, bringing me here," she added in a growl. She wasn't quite sure how, but she knew it was true.

Even the timbre of her voice had changed with whatever it was the assassin had struck her with. She sounded less like a girl and more like a woman fully grown. The lilt was still there. She stepped behind him, fragments of memories whirling in her head in a tumble that made no sense. None at all.

She paused for a breath when he stepped into the moonlight, though. The bare torso was... Well. It was clear he was in shape, anyway. If she hadn't been so unaccountably furious with him she might have stared longer. As it was, she hurried along to catch up. Getting on the roof proved to be a challenge, though; she was able to jump up and catch the eave, but she had to pull herself up bodily.

And as she did, shadows struck.

She felt the sting of iron slice through her shoulder, eliciting a gasp of pain. The thrown weapon sailed off into the night with her blood on it. A moment later, two others rushed forward with soot-darkened blades in their hands. Their eyes were on Raea first, but shifted to Thallan and narrowed.

"Best just forget about all of this, Lord Malwyrth," one of them said in a smooth voice. They had ceased their headlong assault as soon as they realized who it was they were facing. "We're here for her," they said.

Below, a woman's shriek of pain echoed through the house. It came from Thallan's room.

 

[Thallan]

Thallan ignored Raea as they jumped up to the roof, blades of shadow following them. He rose to his feet and turned around to watch Raea pull herself up onto the roof. For a moment he considered offering a hand to help her up or just grabbing her arm and pulling her up himself, but he knew that she would just snap at him again.

No sooner were they both on the roof than Raea gasped in pain as something flew by her shoulder. He took a step forward but then two more dark figures stepped out of the shadows. One of them spoke, and he thought he recognized the voice, but before he could put any pieces together, he heard Shae scream from below them in Thallan's bedroom.

Thallan heaved a dramatic sigh and grumbled something about women being dramatic (ignoring the irony here). But he could not let Shae or Shalyr die in this house tonight, nor could he let Raea die. He could not explain why, but he knew her story was not finished yet. She was only just coming into her true form, and what a shame it would be if she died on this rooftop before she could truly realize her full potential?

"Well then you really shouldn't have invaded my house. Anything and anyone in my house is under my rule and my protection. If you wanted to kill her you should've done so when she was off my land. But since you're here, I'm afraid it really is my problem."

He spoke as if Shae's scream had not happened. He knew his mother would have been awoken by Raea's scream and most definitely would've investigated especially after hearing Shae's scream. Hells, maybe even Shalyr would be awake and coming up to investigate right now.

 

[Raea Stormcrow]

Other shapes moved in the silvery moonlight, beyond the range of easy sight. The pair that stood facing off against Lord Malwyrth looked quickly to one another and back, scowling.

"Would have if we could have found her," one of them said in a sour voice. The other hissed and anger and took a step forward.

"Idiot. Keep your mouth shut or you'll have to answer to the Lady," he snapped. And then he darted forward to the left while the other, lagging a split second behind, moved in on the right. "Don't kill him, just her."

Raea laughed coldly at the statement. Blood ran down her nightgown, plastering the thin material to her chest and abdomen. The cold bite of iron still burned like fire, but the blade had thankfully not remained in her flesh.

"I have the one to the left," she said as she stepped forward to defend. The parry was faster and stronger than her earlier display, as though some other part of her had been unveiled. The assassin was very good though, and she was not quick enough to touch him with her blade.

No ordinary run-of-the-mill thugs, these.

 

[Thallan]

Thallon matched Raea's steps and moved to the right, taking on the other shadowy assassin. Others moved behind them, as if waiting their turn.

"Not killing me is going to be your biggest regret," Thallan growled as he fought back the thug on his hands. He was winning, but Thallan let the scuffle drag on, if only to find his own rhythm and wear out his opponent. He lost track of the time he was fighting the shadow, but he was still well aware of Raea's own fight with her opponent.

He finally killed the man before him with a slash to the throat. Blood sprayed across his face and bare chest and it was almost hot in the cool of the night. Thallan let go of the body as it convulsed and squirted blood a few more times before finally falling still. He turned to Raea, who was still fighting her opponent. Her speed and strength were much improved than what he had seen when they first met, and he couldn't help but smile.

It was a strange, almost grotesque image- Thallan's dark red hair was loose, his face, chest, and hands were splattered with blood, and he grinned like a maniac, his white teeth glinting in the moonlight.

 

[Raea Stormcrow]

Every ounce of her attention was poured into just staying alive. She might be quicker and stronger, but she had become no less crippled by whatever malady afflicted her.

Magic...of the lack thereof. She could remember glittering fragments of something, could feel the echo of power...but she couldn't remember what. How. It could have been magic, and it could have been something else. Frustration rose in her, doubling and redoubling with every passing moment. She felt the bite of steel again and gasped in pain, batting another stroke away by luck more than anything.

With an angry growl, she did the one thing no one would ever expect in a knife fight with an assassin:

She kicked the bastard in the balls. She twisted aside as he slashed again; the knife skittered off her ribs in stinging rebuke. The assassin gasped, but before he could recover - if he could have recovered - she had already stepped forward and skewered him through his black heart.

She stood there, his weight sagging on the end of her blade as she breathed hard, blood dripping from her arm, shoulder, and beneath her breast on the left side. There wasn't much pain, yet. She turned her head slowly to look at Thallan, her face almost as pale as the moonlight they stood in.

"Fuck... me..," she managed to pant out, sliding the blade out of the corpse and letting the tip slap against the roof.

 

[Thallan]

Thallan nodded in appreciation as she took care of her opponent, kicking him in the balls and then stabbing his heart. "Well done," he said.

He blinked when he spoke and resisted the urge to say something stupid (but hilarious) in response that she would likely hit him for. He kept his mouth shut and bent over to inspect his opponent's body and then walked a couple steps over to see the corpse of the one she'd killed. They both looked very dead, and only once he was sure their hearts would never beat again did he straighten and turn to face Raea.

He noticed it was a good deal quieter up on the roof and down in the house. The shadowy people were gone from the roof and it sent his heart beating a little faster. He could not count on Shalyr to protect his mother- and if he was honest (and he always was) that was the only life he found worth preserving.

"Mother," he murmured, wiping his knife hurriedly on his pant leg before jumping off the edge of the roof onto the balcony below. He rushed through Raea's room and out into the hallway. The door to his own room was still open and he stopped a moment to peek in. Shae was on the floor, sitting up, her knees pulled up to her chest. She was completely naked, which Thallan found odd, considering he had left her with her pants on. But he didn't think on it long- his mother was in her dressing gown kneeling by Shae's side, a concerned look on her face. Both women looked up at him, and Elasha was the first to speak.

"She was... accosted by one of the attackers,"

Thallan blinked at the two of them for a moment before walking slowly. Something felt off here, and he couldn't put his finger on it, but he thought it had something to do with the strange look in Shae's eyes.

"Shae?" Thallan said, his voice soft and low.

"You left me here, and he came in, and he- he-" she stopped, putting a hand over her mouth, her eyes darting around the room.

He knew Fae could not lie but he also knew they could give half truths. So was this the truth or was it only part of it?

 

[Raea Stormcrow]

She found it harder to catch her breath than it was for Thallan. Her eyes swept over him quickly, noting that he - unlike herself - had managed to escape without so much as a scratch on him. For some reason, that seemed to make a part of her sigh with relief. She wanted to bristle at the compliment. It wasn't as if she was a student of his, seeking his praise.

She cursed under her breath when he mentioned his mother; she had forgotten about the woman. It filled her with not a small amount of shame. Careless of the blood that still ran freely from the numerous wounds, she followed Thallan. The jump elicited a sharp breath and a groan of pain. She was considerably slower moving that the Lord of the manor was. He was already at his own room by the time she managed to make the hallway, but soon enough to hear Shae's words.

Raea stood in the doorway, looking in. It was easy enough to put two and two together, and her mind helpfully filled in the words the Lady had not said. Already pale, she became another shade greyer and felt her gorge threaten to rise.

She missed the odd look in the woman's eyes when Raea appeared in the doorway.

"Those... bastards," she managed after a moment. She hated the noblewoman with a depth that shocked her, but no woman deserved this. Her grip on the hilt of her blade tightened until her knuckles were white. Which was a feat given how pale she had become. She looked to Elasha with a strange expression on her face. "Did they..?"

 

[Thallan]

Thallan glanced behind him when Raea spoke up. Was he the only one who had suspicions, or was he just insensitive?

Shae looked up at Raea, her gaze then shifting to Thallan. If the truth was to be found out, questions must be asked.

One of their family guard appeared in the doorway for Thallan's room. Thallan turned to face him. "Find and kill any intruders in this household, while I think about whether or not to kill you for not showing up in time," he said, his voice short. The guard nodded and left quickly. Thallan shut and locked the door to his room. He walked over to where his mother and Shae were on the ground and he helped his mother up. He picked up Shae's clothes from his floor and tossed them at her. "Get dressed. I'm going to ask you some questions."

He knew first hand how to hide behind a mask of his own creation to save his skin, and he had a feeling thats what she was doing as well. But he could not be sure until he had asked every single question possible.

 

[Raea Stormcrow]

Shae did not rise from the floor immediately, staring at the floor instead. After a long, uncomfortable minute she rose and began to get dressed. The noblewoman's skin held a healthy glow that Raea could not claim, skin unmarred and smooth as silk.

She looked to Thallan. The male was splattered with blood, still bare above the waist. She caught a hint of something in his eyes, something unreadable and dark that blended well with the coppery scent of blood and the sharper tang of sweat. "What the hell happened here tonight?" She asked. Her head was filled with glittering shards of something that swirled round and round. Every now and again a fragment of a memory would surface and then sink beneath the waves of her consciousness.

She looked at Shae again. It didn't make sense that these cold-blooded killers would have done what the Lady was ... not quite saying. Implying, at least. With blood still dripping from her fingers and running down her leg to pool slowly on the floor at her bare feet, she knew what it was that they had been here for.

She just didn't know why. "And why would they take time to accost the Lady here, when they were trying to cut me to ribbons?" She looked to the lady as she dressed, swaying on her feet a little. Her eyes were hard, pained. Confused.