Private Tales Whispers Beneath the Battlements

[Talorgan]

Faye Valimir

Talorgan hadn't remained in the city for a period of weeks for a long time. He'd taken Biersys out for a trip in the morning to stretch her wings.

He had spent some time thinking. After the dance he had spent the night with Faye. Theirs was supposed to be a fake courting, even with him joining their evening activities.

Two days and he had missed her presence. And Talorgan didn't quite know how to deal with that. He didn't know how to pretend to court someone whilst he wrangle with his own feelings.

He was once again dressed smartly enough for being out in public. He waited a few minutes from the main plaza for Faye so they could attend together.

 

[Faye Valimir]

Her hand brushed against his arm, her silent greeting before her hand wrapped around his bicep and lured it to move so that her other hand could find his. Faye interlaced their fingers, softly and lazily. To any other, it would appear that they were indeed smitten with one another, that their courting was going well.

Talorgan would see it in her eyes, that this was merely an act.

What transpired between them some nights ago, Faye had resumed her distance. She had felt as if she bared too many cards about herself in one evening, but to her frustration, Talorgan had made it easy to forget her rules.

"Smile, dearest. Your mother and father are watching." Faye smiled at him, doing her best to appear delighted to see him.

Begrudgingly, it was not hard to.

Talorgan's parents nodded to her, turning their backs to attend the festivities. Once they were no longer being watched, she moved to link her arms in his, a far more casual action. "The end of summer already." She mused. "And come autumn in a few weeks." Faye liked the festivals that celebrated harvest and the change of seasons.

Peering up at Talorgan, she could not help but smirk. "Missed me?"

 

[Talorgan]

Talorgan felt a twist deep in his gut. It was two conflicting feelings stirring up into a storm. He didn't understand his own feelings so he didn't know how to express them.

He smiled back at Faye. They were one another's shields in the arena of public perception. He had gone from fearing these events to looking forward to them.

His parents were watching. He offered them a friendly nod and continued to walk with Faye. There was a fire pit for them to roast over but nothing was on the spit. There were wine stands and pastry stands. Decked in particularly colorful flags were various games.

Peering up at Talorgan, she could not help but smirk. "Missed me?"

His smile faltered, but he replied earnestly.

"I did. How have you been?"

 

[Faye Valimir]

His honesty struck her, but Faye did her best to let it not show. Her grey eyes looked forward, taking in the festivities and smiling at anyone that stared at them. Talorgan was a large man, muscled and a brute that preferred being in the wild, and to have someone of Faye's likeness of beauty at his side was going to cause a stir to even those not in the high social circles.

"Well rested." And she was being truthful. She always needed a day or two to recover from a night of participating in the activities of Juny's parties. "All my energy returned just in time to play pretend."

This courting... was going to be tough to navigate. They got along well enough, but Talorgan had a way of making her forget her own rules.

"Shall we stroll past the market stalls?" She suggested.

 

[Talorgan]

"I'm offended you feel well rested already," Talorgan replied.

In fact, it was the 'play pretend' remark that struck him. He didn't know how he felt. Talorgan was still working that out. The intensity with which he had needed her went beyond lust.

At least he enjoyed seeing some people perturbed by their courting, as fake as it was.

"I think we needed that," Talorgan said as they steered one another towards the market stalls. "Got through some tensions."

 

[Faye Valimir]

Faye held her breath for the briefest moment, letting it exhale in a shallow sigh as she stopped at the first stall. Trinkets were laid out onto the table, sorted into compartments by colour. Loose gemstones, pretty pieces of jewellery, and brooches of all shapes and sizes.

She pretended to look through them, digging for a good find. "I suppose. Perhaps a good idea so that there is nothing to distract us from as we court." Faye was hiding her guilt. She felt as if she had taken advantage of his curiosities, had strung him along when she had no true inclination of what she felt for him.

If it was fair of her to even have feelings.

"Keep you eye out for any opals. I have a commission upcoming that wishes for opal accents." She said, pulling him to another market stall.

 

[Talorgan]

I suppose

That hurt a little. It was acknowledging and dismissing what had happened in two short words.

"Of course," Talorgan replied. "No more distractions."

A lump welled in his throat, but he pushed it back down. He told himself that this was better.

He'd always wanted to see one of Juny's party. Now, through their convenient arrangements, he had.

But he wasn't thinking of the party. He was thinking about her quiet breaths as they laid on the broken bed.

"Which ones are opals again?" he asked with a laugh.

 

[Faye Valimir]

She could feel his discontent at her answers, but it only made her feel more inclined to not deviate from her own rules.

Talorgan was an honest man, someone of genuine heart and soul, and she did not deserve someone so good. Even if he was a spare, a noble son still held weight in this society. His family still had standing, and Faye was not right for such a life. The Valimirs were famous artisans, artists throughout the history of Thanasis. They dated back all the way to a city of arts and culture before her ancestors came to find a new home here.

Faye wanted to continue her family line. To teach her own children the art and the world she saw in all it's colours.

Clearing her throat, Faye swept aside her hair and pulled on the golden chain around her neck. Dangling from it, a pale stone polished to perfection and shaped into a tear drop shone. "This is an opal. It is commonly in these colours." It held the brightest green, it could be mistaken for yellow, and blue tones that ranged from soft to indigo. Faye flicked her gaze to look up at Talorgan, her stare not at all ashamed to be peering up at him. "It should be easy to spot."

 

[Talorgan]

The lantern light caught in her hair as she moved beside him, laughter and voices from the festival swirling around them. To anyone else they must have looked the picture of ease. It was a courtship painted in practiced strokes. But Talorgan felt every heartbeat out of step, every word unsaid lingering heavier than the music in the square.

"The necklace suits you," he said as she looked up at him. He thought of her looking up at him at the culmination of Juny's party. How satisfied she had looked to finally claim her prize, her neck well decorated as she cleaned him up first.

“It is a nice day to dress up and take a turn,” he said quietly, tone warm but tinged with something unguarded. His gaze followed hers over the stalls, but his attention never left her.

“Had thought if we might dress down again some time, ”

The words slipped out softly, nearly lost beneath the chatter of the crowd. He offered her a small, tentative smile. It was apologetic. He didn't demand an answer. He felt he already knew she would brush it off.

"Why don't you tell me about the commission?" he asked.

 

[Faye Valimir]

Faye's hand tightened around his arm, fingers pressing into the bicep that flexed as their arms were linked. It was an unfair reminder, that his words of devilish intentions still had an effect on her, and that her physical reaction only reminded her of that night. What may be promised in the future.

She was about to turn him down, to push him away, but he changed the topic quicker than she could make comment.

Faye stared back at him. Her grey eyes watched him with momentary suspicion.

"The piece is a chandelier. What I have drawn as a concept is for it to look like rain during the day, and falling stars in the evening. The opals would simply accent my glass work." Perhaps soon she could show him how she worked, for it had been only a few weeks since she last did some work. Talorgan had proved a distraction, and even when she tried to continue on personal projects, he always interrupted her inspiration and flow.

She wrenched her gaze from him. Even though she was no longer looking at him, he was still pictured clearly in her mind.

"My congratulations, Miss Valimir!"

He eyes flicked to the man stepping before them, a dark skinned leather worker that only smiled at her. "I heard someone finally asked your hand in marriage. Shame for all of us that liked your company..." His gaze flicked to Talorgan, taking in the size of him. Curiosity began to swim in his mind.

Faye snorted. "We are not betrothed, Castille."

 

[Talorgan]

A part of him had hoped that she might backtrack past his question about opals. She didn't. Talorgan could only assume she regretted mixing such activities with their fake courting.

He told himself that he could simply value their friendship. If he repeated that enough times, perhaps it would come true.

Another professional approached them. Once glance and Talorgan knew how they were acquainted.

"No we're not, but thank you for the added pressure," Talorgan tried to joke.

It was a small clique and he imagined by now that they knew Talorgan had been a guest. He didn't think Castille would be so brazen otherwise.

"We were just looking for opals for Miss Valimir's latest project."

 

[Faye Valimir]

"Opals?" Castille turned back to giving Faye his attention. "There is a trader that came back from the western side of the continent. I can show you there, if you'd like."

Faye put on a polite smile as she shook her head. Talorgan standing so close to her, she could feel his defensiveness surge forward. Although it amused her to see him act this way, she also did not want to draw unwanted attention in such a public setting.

She half turned towards Talorgan, placing a hand on his chest. His physique could be felt, unable to be hidden from the nice clothing he donned. "I am sure we will come across this trader as we take our time to wander."

Castille chuckled, but knew it was a lost cause as he slowly slipped away and left them both there. Faye kept her eyes on Talorgan, selling the picture of a woman in love. She dared to step closer to him, lowering her voice. "If you want that sort of relationship with me, Talorgan, than we can pretend to be courting. You will have to choose one."

And in her mind, she believed this ruse could never amount to turning into something real. That Talorgan would want to make such a permanent decision as to taking her as a wife truly.

 

[Talorgan]

He felt small for a moment. She set out the rules, as she had done before. For a moment, he almost laughed. Not at Faye but at the cruelty of her offer. To be given the choice of masks two masks, when all he wanted was to understand the truth of what he felt

He leaned closer as the crowd swirled past, voice low but steady.

“Faye… I don’t know.”

His eyes searched hers, earnest and unguarded. “I don’t need a ruse to enjoy your company or to wany more time with you.”

He let out a soft breath. He was feeling self-conscious. He feared he’d already said too much.

His hand tightened gently around hers, not possessive but unwilling to let go.

“If we have to play parts, then I’ll play it. I'm not very good at saying...”

"Faye... I can't get you out of my head. It's not another party I'm thinking about. It's you."

 

[Faye Valimir]

Dread filled her like a bucket of cold water poured at her back. Her flesh turned with it, now resembling gooseflesh. It was odd for her to hear such a quiet declaration. One part of her was disappointed it got this far, but the other rose to meet him. It sang tranquility through her, and Faye lifted her head up towards him as if to breath warm breath in answer to his feelings laid out for her.

Time and stillness clung to her, keeping her there a moment too long. She was staring up at him, all too aware her face betrayed her rules and strictness, that she held the same desires he had.

When she did not make a move, opportunity had slipped past them.

"Opals." She blurted, wrenching herself from his side and walking ahead. Her hand slid along his arm, too intimate to be an accident. Her fingers felt every groove and shape of his muscles before catching his hand and pulling him behind her in search of this trader Castille had made mention of.

Her heart was beating, forcefully pumping blood about her person, she knew it begged to be put to work like it had been several nights ago when Talorgan had his taste of her. Her hand squeezed his, and her eyes briefly fluttered shut with regret. She was betraying herself, her promises, her ways of keeping her from hurt.

But why did she hurt now when she was only trying to protect herself?

 

[Talorgan]

Okay

That was strange. That had definitely been strange. Talorgan was pulled into her wake. He wasn't left to stand and gawp and think.

He felt the jolt of words unsaid and longing unspoken as Faye pulled ahead. His hand lingered in hers, warmth searing through his fingertips.

“Opals,” he repeated, quieter this time.

He inhaled slowly, He slid his free hand to brush against her back as they found the stall in question. The cart was drawn close to a wall, an angled stall displayed boxes with goods from the west. Mostly crystals, rocks, lace and cloth.

“I don't understand,” he murmured, voice soft and low. “Maybe that's alright for now.”

His eyes followed her silhouette, slender and sure, as she searched the stalls.

Despite the public courtship, there was no promise of a fairytale ending. They were something smaller. Quieter. Perhaps he needed to offer patience. Last time that had been rewarded. This wasn't the point of her lesson.

"Up at the back there," he directed.

 

[Faye Valimir]

She was beginning to not like how much her own emotions could stir whenever he was around. It felt too easy, too soon. That he could be all the right things she had once wanted in someone before, but her heart and soul had been torn apart by her decision of moving on from her past love.

It hadn't been easy.

This had meant to be a way to ease pressure on themselves.

Now, Faye wanted him in every way they were pretending they were to one another.

It was too easy.

"Oh," she turned to redirect herself, "I can see now." Faye slowed as she neared, leaning forward to rifle through wooden boxes of different gems. Uncut, and raw, but that didn't deter her. She had a neighbour in her old district that could work the stones, for his wife designed the jewellery they were polished for.

She liked shiny, pretty things. Green tourmaline, pink morganite, yellow citrine. A collection began to grow in her hands, and she peered around in hopes there was a small box or bag to place her finds in. When there was none, she looked at Talorgan. "Mind holding these for me?"

 

[Talorgan]

His gaze lingered on her. still unsure whether her retreat was out of fear or something deeper. Did she want to run, or was she afraid to stand still?

He couldn't live inside her head.

It struck him, rather suddenly. He made such blunt confessions but did he know her that well? If he didn't understand her actions now, then he didn't.

Rather than being deterred his thoughts turned pragmatic. When there was something he wanted to understand, he sought it out. If she wanted to keep up the ruse with him, then they had time.

"Of course," he said, offering his hands. She gently tipped the collection of rough stones into them.

"Why don't we get something to eat after?"