Private Tales Upriver

[Rayth Keirn]

Rayth looked up and down the stream. There was a flash of silver as a fish passed him by, following the current. If she didn't want to go back then where would he take her next? Towards the ocean like the fish?

Captain Deschain would be furious to find out that the Duke had double crossed him and even sent an assassin that had ended up killing one of his crew.

"Well, if I get back to my ship maybe we'll find his flagship and hold it to ransom until he explains himself."

Rayth decided it would feel good to have the boot on the other foot. To feel less powerless than he did now. Rayth didn't like running away.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Finger pointed to a group of rocks that spread out into a natural bridge across the stream.

“I’ll go first.” Feet stepped carefully on the slick surfaces, arms spread at her side for balance. Teetering slightly, she began making her way across.

“What if I went back to the Paragon with you? I’d like to see the duke’s face myself. Unless you think your Captain would hold me against my will again?”

She had to wonder.

And was that when their journey would end? Rayth would go back to the paragon and she would return to her duties as a negotiator and princess?

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"I don't know what he would do," Rayth replied honestly. "I can't see any profit in holding you against your will. Maybe worst case he tries to wrangle a reward for returning you from your father? I think he'll see his contract as null and try and exact some kind of retribution on the Duke. At the least he will probably sink a few of his supply ships."

He stepped lightly out onto a slippery stone. The first was fairly flat and easy to balance on. The second was rounded and Rayth had to tread carefully.

"If you want to hide, we can go to ground. Could even head to home. My home, anyway. But they wouldn't be particularly pleased to see me."

 

[Eislyn Gray]

She took another step and then leaped for the bank. Hand pushed blonde straws away from her face. Stepping aside so Rayth would have room, she turned. Hands fell to her hips as she watched him balance with ease.

Returning to the Iron Fortress didn’t seem like a good option. And going to the Paragon....she just didn’t trust the captain. For good reason. Eyebrows lifted high at his suggestion. She knew how he felt about home and his family.

“Would that even be an option? Don’t you want to get back to the Paragon as quickly as possible?”

Come to think of it, she didn’t even know where he was from.

“I don’t want to be a burden to you,” she continued quite seriously.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

A light hop and he was up onto firm ground again. Without realising it he immediately mirrored her posture, placing his hands on his hips.

"It's an option," he said. "Might not be the best one. They would certainly look after us. Whether they then tried to force me to stay or have me packed away to some foreign country I don't know. Whatever they would consider less embarrassing to the r... family line."

Rayth let his hands fall as he took another step onwards, putting himself side on to Eislyn.

"I know you don't," he said. She had tried to be when she was his prisoner. "Don't tell the others, but I don't always make the best scoundrel."

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Eyes narrowed when he misspoke. R what? She wasn’t liking his option the more he described it. What if something happened to him because of her?

It was the same fear that caused her to initially push him away on that cliff face.

Hands fell and she turned. Lips twitching at his last comment. “But you’re the best swashbuckler, right?”Looked like the ground was beginning to slope with more hills. Specifically downward. Made sense since they’d come from the cliff face. She hoped it wouldn’t get too steep. Wouldn’t want to roll down.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"Well, I'm the best at whatever I choose to be at the time," he said. His voice was firm, but tinged with sadness. And there, at the heart of it all, was some of the truth of him.

He cared what people thought about him. He presented the face that he thought would fit the best and it hurt when it didn't work. From the first moment they had met he hadn't enjoyed keeping her against her will.

"We'll stop at the next bit of woodlands for the night. Won't find us at night in cover."

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Eyes studied him quietly. There was weight behind his words. She remembered when she first started calling him out on who he really was. He’d stated that he didn’t like it when people tried to get his measure. When that easy-going scoundrel’s smile had slipped.

And look at how far they’d come now. Still, he continued to surprise her. Though it didn’t seem like it, she realized they’d come further than she thought. Her muscles were already getting a little weary.

As she maneuvered down the steep slope, she noticed more woods at the bottom. Might be a good place to camp.

“So no fire then,” she whispered.

Heel slipped and she suddenly found herself on her rump, teethed rattling in her mouth. “Oomph.”

 

[Rayth Keirn]

Rayth hadn't even thought that far ahead, but she was entirely right. This stretch of coast had been fully claimed by man. Not many monsters were left in this parts to be kept at bay by fire.

"Will keep us warmer being in the cover of trees too," Rayth agreed, slowing to a stop. Rayth slowly dropped to his haunches until his eyes were almost level with hers.

"Come on," he offered a whole arm to Eislyn. "We'll make a bed of leaves and moss as comfortable as possible."

 

[Eislyn Gray]

"I'm okay," a weary smile pressed briefly on lips. Hand reached out and curled around his arm. She stood carefully with him, her other hand working around to her lower back, fingers pushing into the stiff muscles. Already felt like a bruise was blossoming on skin.

Eislyn didn't release Rayth's arm as they stood and made their way down the slope. Odd that the grass would be so slick this time of day. Dew was usually just in the morning. Maybe it had rained earlier. "I'm not worried about being comfortable. You can survive a lot for a few days. I've been without a bed and bedroll before."

She thought about that caged wagon she'd been in. The hard, wooden floor. Stale air and no wind. Unfortunately, her experience with the Paragon hadn't been her first kidnapping.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

The ground levelled out and then became a gentle sloped back up towards the trees. He placed his own hand over the hand she still had around his forearm.

Rayth was no outdoorsman. The sooner they reached a city the better. He didn't fear common bandits, but he slowed up and watched the treeline, listening intently. There were no signs of anyone else having lit a fire.

"Another part of your father's upbringing?" he asked. He imagined a lack of straw was punishment for some kind of misdemeanour.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Fingers tightened a moment around his arm. "No. My father's punishment typically involved banishment from the library or a light flogging."

Her mother had always disapproved and maybe that's why he eventually stopped that type of punishment. Well, the flogging at least.

"It seems that ransoming royals is a popular way to make money," a sideways glance in his direction, though, she made no move to remove her arm from his. "When I was journeying back from the spine, I should've known better than to travel on my own. I was intercepted before reaching home. A group of ruffians. Let's just say their treatment wasn't as civilized as the Paragon's."

She wasn't telling any of this to Rayth to gain his sympathy. The last thing she wanted was to be seen as a victim. She wanted him to know she hadn't had the cushy, perfect life that most assumed royals did. She was strong and was a survivor. Or, she tried to be.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"Did they..." Rayth's voice trailed off. He did not want to ask that question. A hot flash of anger started deep in his gut. He knew that he hadn't earned that. Not when he had willingly been part of kidnapping her again.

He tried to tell himself that it was part of a delicate mission to instigate a war rather than common thuggery. His anger was slowly coloured by shame.

"I am sorry for anything I have done to mistreat you. I was impressed...more than impressed but the right word fails me...by your bravery when we took you. Knowing that it happened before..." Rayth shook his head. He was not often lost for words.

"You are quite remarkable Eislyn Gray."

 

[Eislyn Gray]

When knew exactly what he was going to ask. She slid in front of him, hand transitioning from his arm to his hand. Head shook once.

“No,” there was deeper emotion behind her tone. “They tried but,” she looked down for a moment. “No.” Eyes lifted. She squeezed his hand. Now was not the time to go into details. Nor did she want to relive that in this moment.

She paused. The next part she wanted to speak carefully to. “You didn’t mistreat me. You even managed to catch me when I accidentally swung an oar at you.”

The smallest upturn of her lips. The hint of a smile.

“I think the only time you actually scared me was when you warned me not to yell at the warship. What would you have done if I had?”

She was curious. And she couldn't hold his answer against him. Not now. Maybe then but not now

 

[Rayth Keirn]

A deep frown had settled on his face when she stepped before him. It was dislodged with a firm nod of his head. The past was back there and he did not want to force her to keep thinking about it. The conversation could move on now, with a clear line in the sand put down. One last image crossed his mind of the Krakarl charred to the bone. He hoped the bandits suffered a similar fate.

Rayth canted his head to one side and tried not to smile at her stubborn resolve.

"I almost certainly would have delivered an exasperated sigh and then been forced to gag you," Rayth replied. "People have been lashed to the mast, trust me. You might have got that had you tried to poison the crew..."

That suspicious eyebrow came back up. She still hadn't admitted to the act.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Golden-brow lofted. There was a sparkle in her eyes that spread. The ghost of a smile grew on her face. In that moment, she very much looked like a swashbuckler herself.

Delicate fingers squeezed against his calloused palm. She still wasn’t admitting anything. At least not outright.

“Come now. Would you consider a sleeping drug poison?”

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"Yes I would!" he replied. His voice took on a mock indignant tone.

"Enough of it could kill I'm sure. Though...I do suppose enough rum could kill too. But people do say 'choose your poison' when it comes to alcohol so..." Rayth pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes.

"I think I lost my point there anyway. Doesn't matter."

Rayth squeezed her hand back. He gave a gentle tug but it was the sailor who stepped into the space between them. Verdant green eyes had somehow found a greater depth of colour as he studied her face. With his free hand he reached up to brush an errant strand of silken wheat hair from her face. Rayth let himself enjoy the heady sensations that simple act brought about.

"I did not ask last time," Rayth muttered. "Ungentlemanly of me. I will this time. Would you let me kiss you again?"

The sun had already kissed the ocean. Its fire slowly extinguished in its cold depths. Rayth and Eislyn were not so different as they had first seemed. No fire he felt was going to be damped by her kiss, the flames would only be fanned.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

She tried not to let her smile widen with Rayth’s tailspin argument. Or the rush of excitement that burned on her skin wherever his hand trailed.

His head was backlit by deep violets and darker pinks in the sky. If she looked high enough, she could just make out the first bit of stars peeking through. It was nice to be on the edge of the woods and not completely in the open or stifled within the thick forest from earlier where dark shadows would’ve looked more like monsters.

Her throat was suddenly dry and nerves tingled against her skin. She wanted to say some witty remark back. She even thought about saying no because she was worried they wouldn’t be able to stop.

A different and simple answer came to her lips. “Yes.” The space between them quickly dwindled as more stars winked into existence above them.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

The wind rolled in off the ocean and the trees seemed to let out a content sigh on their behalf. It wasn't the heady rush, surprised at their boldness. This time as he drew her to him slowly, following the the constant tug he now felt. He was less rushed, less swept up in the moment.

Rayth nudged her nose aside. Perhaps before they had reached whatever lay at the end of this road they would favour a side to turn their heads to. Trees fell into a respectful silence as their lips finally met.

She could have denied him. Could have told him that she had made a mistake when her emotions were fragile. It was not the thrill of the first, almost unexpected kiss. There was a deeper satisfaction that shot through his very core.

The ardent kiss and close press of her body was an affirmation of what had been building. Rayth tilted his head to deepen the kiss, stroking his tongue across hers. A hand at her back pulled her flush to his chest. She smelled of lavender, but Rayth remember that he did too.

When lips broke he was breathing heavily. There was a sparkle in his eye as he looked down at her.

"I wonder... If my family had tried to pair me off to you would I have turned away to seek a different adventure?" Rayth softly stroked her hair. It reflected to pale light of both moons, which had now come out of hiding.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Her fingers had slipped between his arms and sides, curling around his back. His different belt buckles and straps pressed against her torso. They were that close. The warmth from his body shielded her from the wind and growing chill in the air.

The princess was thankful that he'd chosen to speak first because after the break in the kiss, she found she had to catch her breath - steady herself. Limbs felt like jelly while her spirit felt like it could very well be snatched up by that wind and float away. Fingers tightened around him for fear of tipping over or maybe just to ground herself.

"I don't know," she whispered up to him, verdant eyes searching his in the darkness, catching the sparkle of the moons and starlight. "We both would've been different people." Hannah's death, her mother's disappearance, her journey into the Spine, and then her step into the world of negotiations. All that had changed her. And Rayth, she knew being aboard the Paragon had changed his path forever. How different would their lives have looked if they'd met under different circumstances?

Fingers fanned against his back and eyes narrowed in thought.

"Although, you made it pretty clear to me on the deck of the Paragon, as we approached the cliffs, that your family was not of high enough noble birth to be paired off in marriage to a princess."

 

[Rayth Keirn]

It was hard to imagine a path quite so different from the one he had taken. He had always been jealous of his older brother. He was the one who had been promised to a neighbouring duke's daughter and given command of a cavalry regiment. Rayth wondered if he would have enjoyed living that quite shallow life.

Rayth was smiling fondly, taking the time to comb his fingers through her long hair. A little warning went off in the back of his mind when she narrowed her eyes. When she finished her questions his eyes briefly darted to the side. Rayth was not a diplomat. He wasn't even particularly good at cards and half the crew of the Paragon knew his tell.

"No, quite minor nobility," he replied. "But it was a little game of imagination. You probably wouldn't even have heard of where I came from."

He resumed stroking her hair and meeting her gaze. "We should find somewhere to settle down from the night with a little shelter from this wind."

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Verdant eyes remained narrowed. Small nose scrunched up. Fingers slipped from along his back to his sides.

"Hmm," she mused quietly, his fingers moving through silken hair making it hard for her to pinpoint where something felt off. "We should." Gaze fell to his lips momentarily as if she wanted another kiss. Instead, she began withdrawing from his warm embrace and turned, to look toward the trees. There were a few large dark shapes among the trees.

"Maybe behind some of those rocks?" She pointed. "And try me. Where are you from?" They might end up fleeing there. She wasn't sure because she didn't want to put Rayth back in his family's clutches. She of all people knew what that felt like.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"Erreze," he offered. "It's a fairly large kingdom by size, but not by people. The capital would barely be called a town."

Rayth walked a small circle around by the rocks. Eventually settling beside a patch of mossy grass. It would do better than the bare earth. Eislyn was going to dig into this and would eventually expose another lie, he realised. If not today then another time now that she had the name of his home. Perhaps one lie too many.

"And its a minor kingdom, which is kind of why my nobility - or rather the titles I used to have - are quite minor."

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Eislyn searched her thoughts. He'd been right, she hadn't heard of it before. Trailing after Rayth, she nudged off her pack and set it down at the base of the rocks. Untying the top, she dug inside, taking out a waterskin and one hard roll. Taking a sip of water, she offered the pouch to Rayth and then split a dry piece of bread in two, trying not to let most of it crumble in her hands. She offered him that, too.

"What region is Erreze in?" Maybe something would tickle her memory.

Hands drew out a blanket, next.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

Rayth took a swig of water and grateful accepted the bread. He had spare coin in his pouch for the town but until then they would be eating light.

"It's North of alliria, on the Reach," he explained. "Technically I was titled Duke of one of the smaller regions. I think there might have been a village and a mine inside it..." Rayth started working his straps loose and setting his sword and equipment on the ground beside their bed of moss. He was going to be sore in the morning.