Private Tales Upriver

[Eislyn Gray]

One hand was on the knob of her door. The other she suddenly found in Rayth's warm fingers. She too, couldn't help the glance up and down the corridor. They weren't in the woods anymore. Eislyn had never been comfortable with public displays of affection.

Her fingers tingled and she didn't think it was only the wine.

The corridor was clear as she took a small step in Rayth's direction. His gaze was warm. So was hers. Hers perhaps a little more worried.

"One kiss," she whispered. "To thank you for dinner," lips twitched slightly in a small smile. She drew forward unsure of if the wine she was smelling was more from his breath or her own.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"Good," he replied softly. He eyed the corridor and the doors coming off it. His free hand had also gone for a doorknob, but his own.

The door swung open behind him. Rayth took a half step back into the shadow of the room. A gentle tug urged her to step after him so he could close the door.

Rayth had never tried to court someone who held to such formal values before. Part of him wanted her away from the corridor for privacies sake. Mostly he just wanted to see if she would follow him.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

She didn't follow him right away. There was hesitation in her gaze. Perhaps the smallest flicker of fear. She couldn't erase what had happened to her with the other man. It made things a little more complicated on top of her principals.

But she knew Rayth.

She'd been alone with him in the pools. In the woods. In the cabin.

He'd proven time and again she could trust him. He wasn't that other man. And the corridor felt too open and exposed. Fingers tightened within his hand and the momentary flicker of fear passed as she stepped into his room and the door closed behind them. There was already a small fire going in the hearth.

Marly must have attended to it while they'd been eating. Eislyn had no doubt there was a fire in her room next door as well.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

Rayth saw that hesitation. There was still a twinkle in his eye as the door was softly pushed shut behind her.

Despite that pause she trusted him. Rayth sighed softly, letting any notion of further teasing float away. Her trust repaid with his moderation.

Rayth placed a hand on her waist, drawing her close. He placed a gentle kiss on her lips before leaning away.

"Good night Eislyn," he whispered.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

He may have drawn away but his hand was still very much on her waist. She was getting better at reading his expressions. For a moment she thought she caught a teasing glint in his eyes. That sparkle of mirth. It had been there the first moment she'd met him after she surrendered.

The moment she'd walked across that plank.

Lips curled into a smile without showing teeth. She leaned forward, a hint of rare boldness set in her shoulders and in her gaze. "One more to keep the nightmares away." She'd press her lips against his one more time before slowly drawing away and retreating quietly to her room.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"You know..." he murmured as he watched her walk away. "Some things are worth waiting for...

"I definitely am." His voice was a sliken sheet drawn slowly over bare skin. His grin was devilry. Yet there was nothing but affection hiding in the verdent forests of his eyes.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Eislyn found herself tossing and turning throughout the night. She couldn't quite get used to sleeping without some extra warmth next to her. A familiar extra warmth. As the fire in her room died down to nothing but ashes and embers, she found herself finally able to nod off.

It seemed like no time at all did she get woken up by a banging on her outside door to a familiar voice.

"BREAKFAST IS READY."

Eislyn found herself reaching to slip off the iron bangle from her wrist on reflex.

It was okay.

Just Marley.

Feet swing out of bed, wearing nothing but that shift. The princess began getting ready for the day, going to pull back on the cotton dress Rayth had gotten her the day before. She wondered how Rayth had slept and if he was already downstairs enjoying a warm biscuit and coffee.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

Rayth woke slowly. It had taken him some time to drift into a peaceful sleep. He had also missed her warmth through the night. His mind had been plagued by his imagination, conjuring images that Eisyln's innocent past would not have been able to create.

Marly's harsh voice had cut through his sleep quite effectively. It just took time for him to roll onto his side and mentally agree with himself that it was time to get up.

Breakfast sounded good. The day also came with the weight of responsibility. It was a day with decisions looking.

"Are you up?" he asked, knocking on the dividing door.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

"Yes," she called, tugging the fabric of the dress over her head. Corset was secured. She took up her brush, running it through long, golden strands of hair.

She crossed the space to that dividing door.

Only if he knew how many times she'd looked at it last night as she was tossing and turning in bed.

"Are you decent?"

Not like she hadn't seen him nude before. Didn't mean she didn't want endless repeats. But she was sure her question would draw out a teasing remark.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"Never! But give me a moment longer and I will at least be dressed," he replied. Sometimes he could be remarkably predictable.

Rayth pulled a shirt over his head and tugged it down around his waist. It was only his undershirt, but it seemed decent enough. He pulled open the door himself and turned to find his tunic.

"Stay," he said suddenly with his back towards her. "If we're here again tonight."

Rayth looked over his at Eislyn, there was a vulnerability in his questioning gaze.

Sometimes he was not predictable at all.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Verdants like a blooming field in spring widened. She leaned against the door-frame, arms crossed beneath her chest. He'd caught her off-guard. He had a way of doing that.

Eyes tracked away from his questioning gaze to his bed, noting the tangled sheets.

Had he tossed and turned all night as well?

The young diplomat didn't say no immediately. She wasn't sure if that would be a comfort to him or not as he waited for an answer. "If I stayed," she began. "Are you expecting that we..." eyes flickered back to his. "Because I'm not ready yet."

She was ready to fall asleep in his arms again she just wasn't sure if that would be enough for him.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

In truth, he hadn't expected her to even be as forthright as she had. Coming from Eislyn it was a relatively direct approach to what concerned her.

"Despite what I might desire, I place no expectations on you," he replied.

Rayth shifted a little uncomfortably on his feet. That had seemed almost like dodging the question. The swashbuckler was rarely lost for words.

"Just...stay with me. Like in the cabin," he clarified. His heart hammered away and he tried a tentative smile. He hadn't expected to get himself so wrapped up even before breakfast.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Despite what he would desire.

Cheeks warmed. A flash of pink on pale skin framed by rays of sunlight. Hands clasped behind her back so he wouldnt see her fidgeting.

Verdants searched his familiar gaze. The scar down one side. The mop of hair. The twitch at the corners of his lips.

Eislyn thought of the cabin. Curled up next to him. Feeling like he’d protect her from anything. Feeling like she couldn’t imagine a time when they hadn’t been like that...when it had come so easily.

“Okay,” eyes meeting his were louder than her quiet voice.

She broke into a smile.

“Now come on before all the sausage is taken.” Her remark was very innocent as she turned to the door.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

Rayth stood stock still, eyes wide.

Did she just say...

There was absolutely no way that she had done that deliberately. When Eislyn reached the door and turned back to face him he had to stifle his grin. At the least, she had managed to break the tension in the room entirely.

"Yes, you wouldn't want to miss out." It was a testament to his willpower that he said this with an entirely stoic expression.



"So, why do you think some of your men would be here?" he asked as he took a sip of tea. "Have you thought on what you want to do next?"

His plate was half finished. Rayth decided to rip off a chunk of bread to start soaking up the meat juices from his plate. It was quiet in here and out on the docks. Many of the smaller vessels had sailed much earlier in the morning to start their fishing.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Eislyn pushed around the eggs on her plate with a fork. There was crisp bacon on one side. Half of that had already been devoured.

"Well," she took a breath, eyes lifting to meet Rayth's. "Do remember that scarf I conveniently lost on the prow of the Paragon? It was a breadcrumb. I wouldn't be surprised if they found the cave, actually. But if they didn't find the cave."

She hoped they wouldn't with the krakarls and those other men.

"I imagine they would head here next. But who is to say if they ever came or if we missed them?" Shoulders shrugged. "And I don't know what I want to do."

That was half true. What she wanted to do most of all she didn't think was possible. She wanted to disappear with Rayth for a very long time if not forever.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"Oh. That was sneaky. I don't think they'll find the cave though," Rayth replied. This morning it did not seem that his manners extended as far as seperating his chewing and talking. He would act the Prince only when she most needed that from him. Even then he would tease when there was a chance.

"Well, I suggest we take a look around town today. See what we can find out. Let's plan to leave in the morning and put some distance between ourselves and our trail," he suggested.

Rayth hadn't come up with any plans during the night either. Their lives were on the line. Yet there was also the possibility of finding a way to continue on together. This didn't feel like it had to just be a flight of fancy any more. That raised so many questions about what he wanted to do next as well.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Eislyn demurely looked away when Rayth spoke with globs of food smacking around in his open mouth. It didn't bother her too much. They had bigger things to worry about. She thought about the assassin's prone body in the road. A shiver worked its way up her spine.

No matter who they found today, it was wise to move on tomorrow morning.

Still. She didn't know where they'd move onto.

Finishing off the eggs, she began picking at the bacon between sips of tea. The liquid was a nice change to what they'd had in the caves. This would've been good to have after falling in the water.

"Are you sure you don't want to walk away from all this?" Hesitant gaze lifted to meet his. Those set of eyes she was becoming more and more familiar with. She was giving him a way out again. Less forceful than when she'd tried to push him away on the clifftops. But it was there.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

Rayth wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin that sat on the table beside his hand. He leaned forwards across the table. Whilst he didn't quite reached for her hand, the tips of his fingers came to stop just beyond her own.

"Are you giving me the chance to walk away from all the danger you're currently navigating? You're not just worried that I'm going to turn out like...all those men who have ruined your friends?" he asked.

Rayth always cared about how he was perceived to an extent. He knew that much of the crew thought he was wet behind the years for the position the captain had given him. He did not dwell on it. With Eislyn it was different, he realised suddenly. He genuinely cared how she saw him. There was a world of difference between her frustrated amusement at his antics and any concern she might have that he wasn't being genuine to her.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

The princess searched his eyes for a long moment. Fingers twitched on the table near his, as if fighting the pull of a magnetic force. Lips parted.

"I think sometimes I forget how much you enjoy danger." It was an assumption based on how much he liked adventures.

She leaned forward just the slightest, though her hands remained where they were. Her voice lowered but she didn't break his gaze. "And as for worries of you ruining me. I fear you already have."

 

[Rayth Keirn]

His lips quirked from left to right as he struggled to decide how he wanted to smile. The way she had worded that had his belly twist up in all kinds of knots.

Hardly the image of a man who lived for adventure.

"What I mean to say, in a roundabout fashion, is that I'm not intending to escape once the adventure is less...adventurous..."

He frowned and decided to return to eating his bread.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

"Hmm," she brought the cup of tea back up to her lips, hiding her expression. But she couldn't hide the warming twinkle in her eyes. She was giving him an out in more ways than one. And here he was still sitting across from her. A part of her was surprised he hadn't gone back to the Paragon by now.

Tea lowered.

"Between the both of us, I wonder if there will ever be a less adventurous time." A rare, carefree smile flashed across her mouth. Fork was set down. Tea finished off. Breakfast was done.

"Does this town have a square? Perhaps we should start there."

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"It has a bad part of the docks and an even worse part of the docks," he replied with a shrug. A final swipe made his plate squeak as he removed the last of the meat juices with his bread.



The shops he had perused the evening before were just beginning to open. Some had stone buildings to serve from, others had a canopy of canvas to shield their wares from the worst of the elements.

Rayth was looking for somewhere up on the wall above the docks for a better view. He did not even know what he was looking for, but sometimes pieces just fell into place.

"Yeah about this high. Probably busy preening his hair as he walked and staring at the woman's ass," came a familiar, gravelly voice.

Rayth looked to Eislyn, eyes wide. He turned off the main street to see Geelyn hassling one of the fishermen still getting their nets ready.

"Geelyn!" he called, striding towards her.

"If you hug me I'll rip your fucking arms off."

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Verdant gaze widened. A mixture of feelings crossed her face.

"Geelyn!" Eislyn stepped forward. "But that warning doesn't go for me, right?" She was already throwing her arms around the half-orc with a hug considered fierce by a princess.

Just as quickly, she wriggled free from Geelyn's grasp, perhaps a bit wary about that threat.

A thousand questions swirled in the princess' mind. She chose one to start with.

"Is anyone following you?"

 

[Rayth Keirn]

Geelyn looked torn on the matter of doing bodily harm for an unrequested hug. She still had orders to protect Eislyn, but she valued her personal space. It kept the orc in some kind of violence-limbo.

"Nah just that fucking assassin came out of the caves. That was you that got her?" she asked, looking to Rayth.

"Mostly Eislyn. You see what happened to that ship?"

Geelyn shook her head. "Were they really hired by the same people.

Rayth nodded his head.

"Fuck."

 

[Eislyn Gray]

"I wouldn't say it was mostly me," she shuffled uncomfortably.

Throat cleared and chin lifted. Like a true diplomat. "I'm," she paused and looked to Rayth. Geelyn might note how her gaze softened briefly, then again, she might not. "We're looking for my men. They might be able to help."

They certainly wouldn't be happy to see Rayth and Geelyn again. She knew that.

Would Geelyn insist on dragging her back to the Paragon?

"Perhaps it would be best if you two waited here while I asked around?"