Private Tales Upriver

[Eislyn Gray]

Eislyn found herself believing him when he said he wouldn't tell. Just like he agreed not to tell the others about the plain-looking bangle that kept her powers muted and hidden. Just like he and Geelyn would, hopefully, not tell their Captain.

No, it wasn't fair. But that was life, wasn't it? Still, they were the words she needed to hear. Losing Hannah was a raw wound that would remain sensitive to the touch...maybe forever. Grief was a wound that never quite closed - just changed, with time.

Verdant circlets flickered to meet the swashbuckler's oceanic greens.

And maybe in that moment, Eislyn didn't feel quite so alone. The weight she carried wasn't all on her shoulders. Like she could let the strong facade slip - just a little. She didn't move away as he leaned closer. A part of her wanted to lean into him. Have someone else be stronger for a change. Fingers flattened against her ribs.

"You would've liked her. And I know she would've enjoyed meeting you and watching you fight with your sword on the Paragon that night. She loved reading adventure tales. She was kind and patient. And even though she was two years younger than me, she," a sad smile curled on Eislyn's lips, "was the one to comfort me when I was upset." Mostly after their father's discipline sessions. Eislyn often questioned the will of the gods. They'd gotten it wrong. Hannah should've been the one to live. Eislyn wasn't saying Hannah was perfect but she'd always thought Hannah had been so much braver and stronger.

"Have you...ever lost anyone before?" The pain knotting in her chest was spreading and the princess needed the focus to shift for fear of breaking down completely in front of Rayth. And she hated the idea of that. Maybe she and her father weren't quite so different. They both liked control but in a different way. Eislyn would like to argue maintaining control of emotions was much harder than a kingdom.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

He found his hand squeezing her shoulder gently again without even thinking about it. The persona of uncaring scoundrel was more than skin deep. More than a side of a die, there were pieces that came together to make who he was. Yet ofren he did not let out how perceptive and caring he could be.

"Not family," he replied quickly. "But this is a tight crew. We're together for so many hours a day. The jobs were take are dangerous. The most dangerous I suppose. So yes, I've seen lots of those I'd call friends snuffed out."

Books had always stirred his imagination but it had been the acting troupes that had galvanised the fantasies in his mind. It had been the precise sword fights and magnificent costumes. There was always grief and loss in a story of adventure and often they ended in complete tragedy.

"Adventures always have risk, but it takes time to become accustomed to death. That, erm, wasn't really supposed to sound like a boast. And I'm not. Boasting that is. It just catches you out the first time you see how quickly such a hardened mercenary can be taken from this world by its dangers. Those krakarl would have made short work of us if it hadn't been for you."

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Head shook slightly.

"I don't ever want to get used to it. I mean." Eyes searched his own as she felt the warmth of his hand seep past her dress and into her skin. "That's not who I am. Or, I don't think that's who I could be." It was a fine line to walk. Being able to take loss and death easier while not becoming jaded by it. Eislyn didn't think she'd be able to walk that line quite so gracefully.

The krakarl.

A small shiver ran through her spine even though her face held no hint of fear.

"They almost did. We were lucky. We still are lucky." There was no way they'd survive a full-on attack so soon. Eislyn was still recovering. She might be able to get one or two but not an entire horde. Throat cleared as she forced her thoughts away from the monsters.

"Rayth," and this part was complicated. It was strange to thank the someone who was holding you captive. Even if a certain amount of trust was being formed. Even if she glimpsed a side of him probably not many did. Even if...

"Thank you for listening. About Hannah." Eyes caught the bandaged wound on his arm. A small frown tugged at her lips. "Is that doing okay?"

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"It's nothing to listen," he replied, his own eyes fell to his arm. He had liked it very much when Eislyn had said her sister would have enjoyed his sword fighting.

Unknown to the rest of the crew he was making notes of his adventures in a journal. It was a silly thing, but he hoped to make a book of it all one day. That phrase about being accustomed to death would make a nice opening. He would have to try and scribble something down when they were back on the Paragon.

"And no, I don't think you should ever become accustomed to it. I hope you're never forced to."

As he started to roll up his sleeve and tug the bandage away he met her gaze again briefly. He was not sure why her thanks made him feel more uncomfortable than her scorn.

He had to very gently pull the bandage away. The cut was neat but a long way from healing. Fresh blood welled up where the sharp claw had struck deepest.

"You ever think about breaking completely free form his control?" Rayth asked.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

“Hm,” a shuffle of her feet eliminated more of that space between them. Precise fingers went to his wrist as she gently lengthened his arm. It would be clear to Rayth by now that Eislyn was far from just a figurehead. She had skills that went beyond signing documents and shaking hands.

One hand stayed on his wrist as her other went beneath his elbow, cupping the joint. Verdant gaze inspected the wound. “Should be okay. You’ll need to put on a new dressing.”

She rotated his arm gently toward herself. Lips pursed in thought.

“Would be better if we could find some goldenrod or yarrow.” Circlets shifted to Rayth’s own before dropping back down to his arm.

Breaking free from her father’s control?

“Now how would I go about doing that?”

She didn’t really think it was possible.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

Rayth opened and closed his hand. It stretched the wound which made it itch. He knew he shouldn't have done it. In truth he was just relieved not to see any signs of poison or disease around it yet. He wished the little tingles where her fingers explored could make the pain go away.

"Hope we've got enough clean cloth," he muttered.

He looked up from the arm she cradled to look at Eislyn again. There was more to the story of her family. Or at least there was a deep well of emotion he had barely dipped into.

"Just... leave," he said, with a one sided shrug. "Take what money you have and go to the other end of the world where he could never find you."

 

[Eislyn Gray]

“I think I have a skirt I can spare,” the smallest of smiles graced her face. Eislyn was a practical woman. And it was clear she had some experience in medicine. Lowering his arm, she took the cloth from him and began gently tying it back, making sure to cover the wound with a cleaner side.

Hard to find but she managed. He could always change it out when they got back to the stone house. She blinked up at him and the suggestion.

Fingers finally released his arm.

“I don’t know if I could do that. I’m not sure if he’d ever stop looking.”

She frowned.

And what kind of daughter would she be? He’d already lost one. And his wife. Eislyn was bound to duty. Even if her fingers tingled at the prospect of stepping away from the shadow of the iron fortress. For good.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

Rayth looked down at his arm before finally letting it fall to his side. He did not try and hide the grimace that creased up his face as it was straightened again.

"I have sailed up and down the coast, seen a few places not on any maps. If you took a ship far enough away then your father could search for a thousand years and never even have a rumour of you reach his ears again."

This wasn't a fantasy story any more. He was dealing with real absolutes here. There were so many places in the world. You only have to pick a large one and it could be sanctuary for a lifetime.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

She stepped away from Rayth and turned, very purposefully, walking back toward where those hard rolls and dried meat waited. She tried to imagine it; a place far enough away where he'd never be able to find her. Not his hired men or...anyone.

"I'd be alone," she finally commented quietly. And she'd have to do it alone. "The retinue you saw traveling with me, they're loyal to the crown." In other words, her father. Those men and their families were treated well and taken care of. While they may have respected the Princess more, they wouldn't hesitate to follow the King's orders even against her wishes.

Even dear sweet Reginald with his salt and peppered ginger-beard. The man had two sons and three daughters to think about.

She wouldn't even know where to start with getting away. She'd have to hire someone, like Rayth said, a ship. But who would she be able to trust?

"And my work, I love it," she listed off another reason. Perhaps another excuse. "Even if I started new what if my reputation spread?" How many female negotiators were there in the country? Ones with royal cheekbones and honeyed-wheat hair.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"You'd start alone," he said, having taken a few quick steps to catch up to her. "Obviously if you go to a foreign kingdom and start showing up in court then yes the story of an exquisitely beautiful blonde princess form abroad who enjoys diplomacy would travel far and wide. But you could be...a middle class merchant's assistant. If you can read and write the merchants don't have titles and names but they're starting to make heaps of money. No one would ever find you there."

He was just listing ideas now. They may not have been feasible or she may not have had the interest in truly striking out on her own. It was a big decision to leave home. You did not just leave your family behind, you turned your back on your people and culture. It was hard to pinpoint the exact moment that he had decided to stay at sea. Perhaps it was that after being lost and picked up by the crew of the Paragon that he saw the opportunity and immediately decided to grasp it. Those days were so far in the past it wasn't easy to mentally map out the exact chain of events.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

He called her beautiful again. It made her hands come up and pick at the lower half of her hair, fingers running absently through the tangled ribbons. Eislyn was torn between duty and the excitement and possibility of the unknown.

Her father wasn’t a kind man. He was harsh. But what would this do to him? How unfair that her sister and mother had left first. One by the grave and the other...the other was still a mystery.

“I don’t know Rayth,” she said quietly.

Brows scrunched together. “How did you do it?” She realized she didn’t know the details of how he came to be on the paragon. She just knew he’d left his family and here he was.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"I guess it was easier for me. I was on a ship that went down when I was young. The Paragon found me clinging to a piece of the ship, half dead. They were already on their way far from my home port and weren't about to turn around."

He tried to think back to those days. The captain, in his mind, looked exactly the same. Rayth supposed he must have looked much younger then.

"I worked on the ship until my hands were no longer soft. Until my skin was tanned from long hours in the sun. There was something...satisfying about the work. Captain liked that I could scamper up the rigging. Also that I could spot that they were being over charged for dock fees. In the end I guess I just didn't ask to be taken home, which isn't the same as planning to escape?"

 

[Eislyn Gray]

“I can imagine you being very scared but also very excited given the chance to live out your adventure stories.” A brief and fading smile passed across lips at the thought of a young Rayth joining the crew of the Paragon. “Your Captain was willing to take on the danger of a noble family in order to keep you?”

Head turned in his direction.

“And no, I don’t suppose it’s the same. I....”

As they rounded the corner up the cobblestones path, she spied a worried looking Geelyn coming them.

“The hell have you two been? Was about to send Brin on a search.”

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"Just stretching my legs," Rayth replied. "Everything seems quiet."

Geelyn nodded at this, but her eyes narrowed just a fraction. She fell into step behind them as they returned to the house. The stone walls, despite their gaps, kept much of the heat from the fire. Rayth stood close to the fire, letting it seep into his bones. He cast a glance over his shoulder at Eislyn, seeing her in a new light.

"Rayth, can you go check if Brin is alright on watch? And not asleep?" Geelyn asked.

He made a murmur of discontent, having just found the fire again, but set off out of the door. Almost the moment he was gone the half-orc strode over to Eislyn beside the food.

"He's not...bothering you is he?" she asked bluntly.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Eislyn’s eyes widened a fraction. Straightening with a roll in her hands, she slowly turned to Geelyn. The princess thought of the swashbuckler’s hand on her shoulder. The light touch of his fingers on her arm. Their exchange of spitfire words.

She didn’t think this was the type of bothering the half orc meant.

“He’s not trying anything inappropriate,” she took a nibble of roll and swallowed. “If that’s what you mean?”

Did Geelyn have real worry to be concerned? Was this behavior normal for Rayth?

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"Yeah tha's one way of putting it. I can never tell if he's a bothersome cunt-chaser of the highest order or still a naive noble brat with all that chivalry and stuff in mind," Geelyn replied.

Crude Geelyn, crude crude Geelyn. The half-orc shrugged and stepped away. She moved beside the fire and held her hands over it briefly. Sea folk were used to the biting cold but a fire was something of a novelty.

"And, er, thanks for whatever it is you did down and. And I guess thanks for not burning us too?"

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Eyes widened further and blonde brows nearly disappeared up into her hairline. For a moment, a small piece of biscuit caught in her throat. Hunching over, she coughed, trying to clear it out as her face turned bright red. She’d blame it on the nearly choking.

Eislyn managed to straighten and found herself leaning against the inside wall of the cottage. Eyes watered and throat cleared one more time. One hand fanned across her chest as she got herself under control.

Breath. Just breath.

“We-lcome,” words tumbled out between raspy throat sounds. “I’d,” another cough, “would appreciate it if no one else found out. About what happened.”

 

[Rayth Keirn]

Geelyn gave a snort at the girl's clear difficulty in dealing with her coarse language. She wouldn't last long on her alone in the kinds of ports the Paragon tended to visit to resupply. The krakarl were probably safer company.

"You ask Rayth the same thing?" Geelyn asked. She turned to face Eislyn, framed in the firelight. She looked quite serious about this question.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Eislyn gulped, feeling quite small and trapped against that wall. The logical part of her mind was screaming that her own discomfort came from her upbringing. That’s what happened when she was only recently exposed to non-humans. Eyes met Geelyn’s as she took time for another bite. And then some water.

But she couldn’t hold the half-orc’s gaze. Was this a trap? Even if it was, she couldn't lie now.

“I did,” the young woman admitted, finally panning back to the paragon crew member.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"What did he say?" Geelyn asked. She crossed her arms over her chest. They were broader than the arms of probably any man she had met before. The tusks that protruded from her lower jaw gave her voice something like a lisp as she spoke. For her, a ship was a home away from prejudice.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

If the fight with the karakals hadn't happened. If Eislyn thought there was a chance she could still get out of here on her own. If she hadn't seen those other sides of Rayth. This conversation might've gone much differently.

She was able to meet Geelyn's gaze without too much fear. If anything, Eislyn was grateful Geelyn had drawn one of the other straws. There was something to be said about having another female around. Even a half-orc. Even one that Rayth liked to poke fun at. Her concern over Eislyn and what Rayth may have been doing was testament enough.

"I can tell you his answer but I'd prefer it if you asked him," she spoke quietly and there was no disrespect.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

Geelyn scrunched up her face. She was clearly bemused by this answer. The halforc shrugged it off.

"Alright. Was gonna ask him anyway. Not like you can benefit from lying. If he says we're not telling anyone then we're not.

"Way I see it only way anyone could benefit from that knowledge is selling you as a slave to one of the nasty magical academies. Kind that makes magical killers."

There were probably many more ways to benefit from the knowledge, but Geelyn couldn't be accused of having an overactive imagination.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Eislyn shivered. She couldn't imagine that life. And what they'd turn her into. She gave a slow nod.

Her gift was...unique. If it got out, she wondered if the academy would send mage hunters after her. She wondered if her father would put a bounty on her head and think his daughter was an abomination. Hands went to her arms and began slowly sliding up and down. She suddenly had a chill she needed to get rid of.

"If you were going to do that, I'd rather you weigh me down with rocks and push me overboard," quiet grim voice left her throat. Fingers tucked blonde ribbons of hair behind one ear. "Of course, I'd rather it not come to that." Lips pursed.

"How many more days until the Paragon returns?"

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"Two probably. Hard to gauge the wind from down here." Geelyn kept her answer brief. There was something new in her expression. There was anger.

Geelyn's lip curled back to show more of her tusks and she drew herself up straight.

"Now I know, ain't a good place yer in now. But you should understand me and mine we ain't ever and won't ever work on carrying slaves."

Geelyn raised a digit as wide as Eislyn's wrist and pointed it at her. There was something deeply personal about this to Geelyn.

"You understand?" It seemed important to Geelyn that Eislyn did.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Eislyn's eyes widened. Fingers dug down across her arms as she went rigid. The princess felt relieved that Geelyn understood the position she was in. And even more relieved that the half-orc was angry about Eislyn's voiced fear of being sold as a slave.

Geelyn made it very clear about that.

Even if it made Eislyn feel even smaller with that meaty finger pointed in her direction.

"I do. By you and yours, you mean the Paragon?"

It would make Eislyn feel better to know that the Captain was the same. And Eislyn had to wonder about Geelyn's background. Had the woman been on the other side of the slaving ship?