Private Tales Whispers Beneath the Battlements

[Faye Valimir]

He planned to be here more often? Such a statement was bold, and somewhere within her, Faye liked hearing him declare such a thing.

She followed him towards the workshop, an amused smile quirking at her lips. "Oh? Intend on becoming best friends with Cathán then?" It was much too easy to tease him. The workshop looked as it always had, except cleaner than the last time. Pausing her projects for a few days allowed her to clean and organise, to make room for the future commissioned work she would start in the next week.

Faye moved to sit at her stool, where a magnifying glass and precision tools were kept. This is where all her fine details were made, with the gentle help of her dragon's fiery breath to make her work malleable.

"Or did you still wish to learn how to cut glass and make a stained window?" She asked, leaning back against the workbench with her elbows. "You can after next week..."

Because she could not cut him out from her life. The harder she tried to push him away, the stronger she wanted to pull him in. Faye knew this was turning hard for him, that she was the one standing in the way of something... that may turn her happier.

 

[Talorgan]

Talorgan’s ears warmed at her teasing, though he tried to play it off with a crooked smile. His gaze flicked toward Cathán, who shifted with a low rumble that made his chest tighten despite the dragon’s clear ease around them.

“Best friends, hm? I’d settle for… tolerated,” he said quietly, half in jest, though there was truth to it. “He seems not to think I mean you any harm.”

Talorgan busied himself by setting the stones gently down upon the bench, careful not to scatter her neatly arranged tools.

“You’d best have patience if you mean to teach me. My hands are better at breaking things than shaping them.”

He leaned against the edge of the bench, arms loosely folded, and for a moment he just watched her framed in the lamplight, elbows propped, hair tumbling around her face. The sight tugged at him in ways he couldn’t name.

“Still,” he added after a breath, softer now, “if it means spending time here, all the better.”

 

[Faye Valimir]

The softening of his face and tone was one she watched. How his eyes fell upon her, and a pause as she watched his gaze take her in. She had seen that before, many times over, but not every person she saw evoked the same from her. Those ones, Faye had let them in.

Why was she fighting against him so much?

"When have I ever given you the impression that I do not have patience?" Mischief, amusement, it glimmered in her grey eyes. "I assure you, Talorgan Vulcarys, that you will have the most fun creating something. Any ideas on what image you would like to create? Biersys?" She knew which panes of glass to use for such colouring. "Perhaps a flower? A gift for your mother or..." Her trailing off had been unplanned, for she lifted her gaze to watch him. Saw the softness still there in all his being, despite how large and imposing he was.

He stole the light, lit up in the warmth of a lamp they both shared the glow of.

"This... courtship..." Hesitation laced her words carefully. "What do you propose now that we have...?"

 

[Talorgan]

He looked at her and immediately fell into her gaze of mischief. Talorgan huffed a laugh, at her glimmering eyes. The way she wielded mischief against him left him disarmed, though he tried to straighten under it.

“You’ve never lacked patience, no,” he admitted, voice touched with fondness. “I only meant I’d test it sorely.”

He leaned his hip against the bench, fingers brushing the edge of a glass shard, careful not to press. Her question about designs gave him pause.

“A flower, maybe. Something simple. My mother would smile at that.”

He had always been closer to his mother. She only tended to express dissapointment in his activities when his father was around.

The thought softened him again, and his gaze found hers, lingering there in the lamplight.



Her next words unsettled him. The courtship. His throat worked, and he looked down.

“I don’t know that I have a perfect answer,” he said at last, quiet. "I'm glad you want to talk about it."

He had feared that she would recede inside herself. He couldn't work out why.

“This began as a shield for us and I meant to honour that. But... ” His shoulders lifted faintly, then fell.

“... The other night..."

He managed to describe it with a single sigh.

"I'm worried you'll reject anything I propose."

 

[Faye Valimir]

Faye lifted her head, angling her neck at the same time. Her eyes peered into his, unwavering as she spoke. "I am not going to make myself vulnerable in places I am not comfortable showing such a truth in."

This was her home, her sanctuary. A place where she trusted she could be herself. Juny had ensured her friend had the same place to retreat to, to have control always.

Faye finally looked away. Dropped her gaze to a spot on the stone floor. "Nor would I wish to speak about this, to be overheard." After all, it had started as a ruse. A trick. She needed time to be sure that what happened that night was not pure lust and timing. Things had shifted quickly, and any sane woman would see that and be cautious, especially when they were coming from a place of healing.

"I am wary of my feelings for you, can you understand that? That I had loved someone so much, it consumed all of me, that the moment I began to doubt where it would go... For so long I wanted marriage. To feel like every other wife in this city that just had it easy in their lives. I remind myself I am unlike them. I befriend Marked Ones because they are no different to us." A truth she had no qualms in sharing. She knew Talorgan would not have the same hate for Marked Ones as the rest of the citizens did. "I threatened fate from criminals, have told dragon rider men to do suggestive things with their arses for even looking at me the wrong way... I do so much to protect myself even when I have someone there to protect me." Because she had a life of the rug being swept from under her.

She needed him to know that. Understand her. There was no solution when it came to her. If someone wanted to be in her life, they needed to know and accept the risks.

 

[Talorgan]

Talorgan felt the weight of her words settle over him, each one a careful stone she laid at his feet. He listened quietly, letting her speak without interruption, aware of the fragility she wrapped around herself.

He lowered his gaze for a moment, studying the floor as she had, then lifted it again, meeting her eyes softly.

“I understand,” he murmured, voice steady though gentle.

“I shouldn't have pushed the issue... I don't want to push anything when you aren't ready.

He shifted slightly, keeping the space between them respectful yet present.

“I understand. Or I think I do," he admitted. There was even more he didn't quite know explicitly. He didn't know precisely what had happened to pull her life out from underneath her.

"The courting in public can carry on but separate to that... I want to be part of your life. I don't know what form that takes. I just want a chance to find out.”

He let his words settle, quiet now, hoping they conveyed not just patience, but understanding. That he was willing to meet her on her terms, no matter how long that might take.

 

[Faye Valimir]

All she could do was stare at him. He said the very things she had been afraid to admit, to allow herself the kindness of feeling all of this freely.

It made her want to go to him, to disregard the things they should talk about and go straight to their emotions and feelings.

"Then this is your chance." Her voice was soft, quiet, but clear enough for him to not mistake. She moved, gliding from her seat to stand next to him. "If you stay tonight... here. We can spend this time learning about one another."

Through conversation, listening, perhaps even letting him wander her home and workshop. Whatever questions he had, she would answer.

To go about this too quickly could sabotage something great, and Faye did not want to lose him. Friendship or company.

 

[Talorgan]

For a heartbeat, Talorgan could only stare back at her, as though her words had knocked the air clean from his chest. She had given him an opening he had not dared to imagine, and it left him both humbled and unsure of how to step forward without stumbling.

His mouth parted, then closed again, as if he were afraid to speak too quickly and ruin it. At last, he managed, low and earnest: “You’d have me stay…?”

He searched her face, finding nothing but sincerity there, and something in his chest eased. Slowly, carefully, he nodded.

"Slowly then," the words came quieter still, almost a vow.

He couldn't take the offer lightly. He needed to give his own words of understanding respect as well. He didn't understand her circumstances. He didn't understand their feelings either. Perhaps Juny's party had come too soon.

He shifted closer, not daring to touch, but enough that the warmth of her presence reached him. His eyes flicked toward the tools, the glass. It was her craft. It was her.

"Alright, maybe the party was too soon. Maybe we fucked before we realised we felt a little more than we should. I’d like to listen and learn."

The nervous line of his shoulders softened as he spoke, as though her trust alone had given him a steadiness.

 

[Faye Valimir]

Her lips quirked, a smile a promise away.

"Having regrets, Talorgan?" She asked in slow teasing voice. "I thought you would have learned by now that I like showing how I feel through physical touch."

Her hand moved, finding his easily and began to tug him to follow her. She backed towards the door, and not until she was in the court yard did she release his hand and walk towards her home. Faye led him through the long halls, until they were near the entrance. A room opened up at the side, overlooking to the small front terrace of the house.

"My father's sister is my only living relative. She married a wealthy lord, and this is the home he bought her when they married. My home in the Lower District became... unsafe. This has been my home for nearly a year now." She explained, waiting for him to step up beside her so that her hand found it's way back into his. Faye pulled him into the room, towards a sofa angled to look out to the street. There, she lounged and positioned herself to face Talorgan seated beside her.

"There are many rooms I do not use in this house. If it was large enough for my sweet beasty, I am sure he would walk these halls with me." She laughed.

 

[Talorgan]

Her hand in his was a shock of warmth - and though he tried not to show it - Talorgan’s breath caught faintly at the simple weight of it. He followed without protest, though each step through the halls felt like crossing some unseen threshold. This was her space, one she had chosen to share with him. He felt the significance of it keenly.

When she spoke of regrets, his mouth curved, though the smile held a thread of nervousness.

“Not regrets,” he said softly, letting her fingers tug him along. “Maybe it just sparked feelings before I had them figured out,”

The admission was honest, but there was no mistaking the quiet gratitude in his eyes when she sought his hand again.

He stepped beside her at the terrace room, gaze lingering briefly on the view before returning to her. Listening to her speak of her aunt, of her old home and this one, he nodded slowly.

Seated at her side, he leaned forward slightly, forearms resting loosely on his knees. A chuckle slipped free at her laughter.

“I can only imagine the sight of your beastie stalking these halls. How much damage to furnishings would he do?” he asked of the blind dragon.

"You ever host your own party with so many rooms?" he asked, trying to lighten the mood.

 

[Faye Valimir]

Faye continued to smile and laugh, for Cathán truly would make a mess purely because he would wish to smell everything and sate his curiosity. It was not because he would be blind, but perhaps she was fortunate he preferred to being outside and haunting his favourite perches.

"Here?" The sounds of chuckles began to sober. She shook her head. "This is sanctuary. Only friends and family. No clients are to come by here either. All payments are now done through the bank and sales are taken care by those that work for me. Delivery teams. Paid handsomely to not speak of where I live."

It was not a threat to Talorgan. She knew he would not break that trust for the very reason she had been drawn to befriending him in the first place. They were similar creatures. Society was a chore but they performed their duties. Peace and quiet, solace and space.

"I have only ever known to live with company. Perhaps it may not be the best way to navigate a new relationship, but I trust you so much, Talorgan. In order to give this a chance, to go against my own darkness and grief... I want to offer you a room here. I extend the invitation for you to come here and spend time with me. To get to know me away from the public eye. A home away from your family, a home to come back to when you are not lost in the wilds."

Hard to look up into his eyes. Faye stared at her hands in her lap instead. She was afraid that if she saw his face, her own feelings would flare and make her hesitate. Regret this offer, when in all honesty she wanted to jump forward, all in, without looking to see what the current looked like beneath the surface.

 

[Talorgan]

Talorgan sat very still while she spoke, her words falling around him like soft stones in a still pond. A room. An invitation. Not just to visit, but to belong.

He glanced at her hands as she stared at them, the tremor of his own breath quiet and unsteady. When he finally spoke, it was low, almost reverent.

“Faye… I didn't realise just..."

He struggled to find the right words. How did he explain that he regretted trying to push her first thing in the morning? She didn't want to be hurt again.

" Not a small thing you’re offering me. I didn't mean to rush you. I don't want to hurt you."

“I've never felt at home anywhere really," he admitted. He had tried to escape his home as soon as possible. Juny's party had been somewhat freeing. No judgement and no concerns. "I've always just... Been on the move..."

He let the thought trail, because he couldn’t quite finish it without his voice breaking. A small, earnest smile found him instead, softening the weight of his features. She had said 'a new relationship'. Despite everything, he liked the sound of that.

“I’d be honoured. And I’ll treat it as what it is. A gift, not a right. I'll try and be good company," he said with a smile.

He shifted slightly, hesitant but wanting her to see the sincerity in his face.

He didn’t reach for her yet, but his hands eased, open on his thighs, a silent mirror of the invitation she had just given him.

 

[Faye Valimir]

She smiled, a soft laugh twinkling in melody throughout the room. Faye leaned forward as she smiled, taking his hands and holding them. It was an intimate act, to be seated so closely and looking to one another, hands clasped. Her face softened, "You are not rushing me... not now. This is my decision."

Comforted by holding his hands, she began to run her thumbs over the ridge line of his knuckles. "Would it... make you feel more at ease to hear that..." She was quiet, head tilting with thought. The right words needed to be said, even if her instinct was to be terrified of admitting her truth. "You have quickly become someone that I... care about. Yes, perhaps we rushed things, gave into things before thinking of any consequences but it also showed how much you still respected me. Whatever I said, you listened and understood."

Faye did not have to explain herself, or feel anxiety that he would not accept the things she liked to do in order to have control.

"I seem to... feel as if I do not deserve any of this. You. You who is so kind, gentle, and so understanding..." Faye found it healing. The sheer thought caused her pale eyes to glisten, her breath hitching as she fought down any signs of crying. "I think to myself, why would anyone want me?" And yet, she betrayed herself.

A silver tear dropped down her cheek.

 

[Talorgan]

For a long moment, Talorgan said nothing at all. He only looked at her, at the way she couldn’t quite lift her gaze, and felt something shift inside his chest.

He leaned back slightly, hands curling into hers, as if weighing the moment. When he did speak, his voice was quiet, roughened at the edges.

“I… It means a lot to hear that.”

He exhaled slowly, his shoulders loosening.

“Out there, it is always Biersys and I. Wind and stone. No doors to open. No dealing with people things."

His gaze found hers then. It was steady for a moment before it followed the tear down her cheek. It hurt. Not because of anything she said in particularly, but because he knew that she was hurting. She had nearly been broken.

“I don't know what will make those thoughts go away. Maybe time.”

The words were sparse, but his silence carried the rest. The way his jaw set, the way his chest rose and fell a little too heavily, the way his eyes lingered on her as though trying to figure out the way forward.

 

[Faye Valimir]

In that moment, she knew what she wanted.

Him.

There he sat before her, hearing the cracks in her heart still continue to this day. Her heart had been made out of glass, and every time she hid her aches, she felt the physical toll it took on her. Perhaps she had crafted it so carefully that it was able to hold together without falling into all the pieces it had now fractured into.

"There is too much time to endure..." She fell into him. At first, she moved to seat herself in his lap, and then she leaned into him. Her head rested on his shoulder and Faye wrapped one arm around his torso as her other hand came to rest at his chest. She could feel his every breath, and slowly, Faye began to match his rhythm.

She closed her eyes. "Just... hold me." How long had it been since she had been held like this? The fact she could not remember without bringing up hurtful memories... Faye exhaled deeply.

 

[Talorgan]

Talorgan’s breath hitched when she moved into him, but he didn’t resist. The sudden weight of her in his lap, her head against his shoulder, her hand warm at his chest - it surprised him.

For a long moment he only sat there, rigid as stone. Then, slowly, his arms wrapped around her. Careful at first, then firmer, as if the truth of her words had carved something open in him.

He bent his head until his cheek brushed her hair. His chest rose and fell with hers, syncing to the rhythm she sought.

“I’ve got you,” he said quietly, nothing more.

The words were simple, but his hold was not fleeting. His hands settled with steady weight at her back, broad and unmoving, a shelter he intended to keep as long as she needed.

Out in the wilds, he had only ever known how to brace against storms, to endure silence with Biersys. But this - the fragile press of another heartbeat against his own - was something altogether new.

 

[Faye Valimir]

Faye felt all her tension and anxiety melt away when wrapped up in his arms and held into her cradle against him. She took deep, calming breaths, but still it could not stop the silent tears that fell down her face. This is was release looked like, and gods knew she held onto so much in the last few years.

"Have you ever been in love?"

Of course, her voice cracked. Words had to be spoken past the lump in her throat, but Faye still kept pressed against him.

"Loved someone despite the knowledge it had an expiry date..."

She never liked easy questions. She wanted to hear the unprepared answers. The truths too sharp for liars to weave through unscathed. Faye wanted to learn more about him, to understand him. His past would become her present, so that she may understand why he did things in the future. Had he loved someone, for it to sour? Loved someone, only for them not to love him back?

Loved someone that perhaps he loved still?

 

[Talorgan]

Talorgan’s arms tightened around her just enough that she could feel the strength in them, not to restrain, but to steady. He could feel the tremor in her shoulders, the salt of her tears against his neck. Her words landed like stones in the quiet between them.

For a long while, he didn’t answer. His hand drifted slowly up her back, a rough palm tracing slow, grounding circles. When he finally spoke, it was low and close to her ear.

“Maybe.”

He drew in a breath, the sound of it uneven.

"More like infatuation. Even the strongest ended before it began, I think.'

He shook his head faintly, his chin brushing the crown of her head.

The silence that followed was not empty. His thumb brushed a stray tear from her cheek before he spoke again, quieter still.

"I’ve not looked for it really. Love. Not like that. But…”

He hesitated, then exhaled, his voice almost a whisper.

“I'm glad you're taking a risk on me.”

His arms remained around her, unyielding and gentle all at once. It was an unspoken promise that, for tonight at least, she was safe to feel whatever she needed to.

 

[Faye Valimir]

Faye played with his sleeve, the fine fabric only afforded to those with the coin to purchase it. She rubbed it between thumb and forefinger, liking that softness is gave. "I have been in love only once. I told you bits about it... but we grew up together. My first kiss, my first love, my first time. Everything I had with him... but..."

But he took too long to marry her. Took too long to see she was drowning in herself trying to keep him afloat. She had lost the integrity and sanctity of her father's home.

And then Faye began to learn how to swim. To count on her own arms to break through water and swim with the waves. Independence had been hard fought, and she had so easily wanted to let it all go and allow Talorgan to have all of her.

But he did not see her as desperation. As a woman to love easily. He had seen all the parts she strengthened, all the work she put into herself. Faye deserved to be the woman she was now, to grow beside Talorgan as he too came to realise himself.

"I like your risk." She murmured, tilting her head up to catch a glimpse of him. "I like that my instinct about you was right. A friendship with you would be worth keeping." That was the base of all good relationships, in her belief. "I look forward to the day I will say those words to you, Tal. To tell you something I feel and mean, to remind you are loved."

She felt it now. She knew it. Could feel it... but the timing needed to be right. She wanted him to see it in her, to understand they would not move so quickly through this. Faye lifted her head up, to face him. Found her lips drawing nearer to his. That was their thing, after all. The inability to fight against the tug between them. "Do you know what I speak of, Tal?" She whispered, breath warming his lips.

 

[Talorgan]

Talorgan’s gaze followed the motion of her fingers against his sleeve. It was an achingly human gesture. She had always seemed so strong and sure of herself that he hadn't seen the vulnerability.

He should have done, he realised. There had been hints in how she described her relationship with Juny.

Her words cut through him like the slow pull of a tide, each one settling deeper than the last. He listened without trying to fill the silence, because she deserved to be heard, not answered.

When she tilted her head up, his breath caught. There was something in her eyes that made the world outside fade.

He didn’t move at first, only brushed his thumb over the back of her hand, tracing small, slow lines into her skin.

"Aye," he murmured. "I think I do."

His voice was low, almost rough with the effort of keeping it steady.

"You don’t say such words lightly, Faye. Nor do I. There is no pressure to even say them some day. Let it be when and if it feels right."

He leaned in then, closing the last breath between them. His forehead touched hers — not yet a kiss.

"You’ve got a strength that humbles me," he said quietly. "If you ever forget it… I’ll remind you."

For a heartbeat longer, he stayed like that - his breath mingling with hers, the tension in his shoulders easing - before he let the moment choose whether it became a kiss or simply the kind of silence that meant everything.

 

[Faye Valimir]

Faye brushed her lips against him, barely touching his save for the warmth of breath.

"I will hold you to that, Talorgan."

She felt an ache to not kiss him. A feeling of pressing weight in her chest, felt with every breath. Her cure was a breath away.

The kiss was soft, barely there in terms of heat or action. It was a simple press of lips that lingered a moment before they moved again, as if the breath of the kiss rejuvenated them both. Soft, always soft, until they both wanted more from one another's kiss. Faye curled towards him, pressed into his chest first before moving her legs to straddle his lap. There, sat atop him, she was able to cradle the back of his head and neck with her hands to hold him against her kiss.

"You are worth the risk." She told him, resting her forehead against him when she needed to catch her breath. Faye shifted again, her dress not able to give her much room to move. A chuckle left her. "Did you still wish to go out and eat or shall I change into something more comfortable staying at home in?"

Her invitation for him to stay was still valid, and Faye hoped he would take her up on the offer.

 

[Talorgan]

For a heartbeat, Talorgan forgot to breathe. Her words and her her touch turned the air thick, heavy with something that wasn’t just want, but a quiet recognition of what they’d both been reaching toward without saying it.

When she kissed him, he answered with the same gentleness she’d given His hands settled at her hips first, then one came up to the small of her back as she straddled him.

When she pulled away, his eyes opened slowly. The faintest smile ghosted across his face - a rare thing, almost shy.

"Going back out feels like a lot of effort now," he said softly.

When they had first met she had been trekking through the wilderness with a blind dragon. He had seen men fall to their knees to worship her. He supposed that even though all of that had been a real aspect of the woman in his lap, it was also part of her shield.

He brushed his thumb along her jaw, calloused skin against her softness. A pause. A breath.

"I’ll stay."

It was spoken simply, but carried all the weight he felt. His gaze held hers for a long moment before he added, quieter still,

"Change, if you like. I’ll wait. Or I can come with you.

He leaned forward again, just enough to press a final, lingering kiss to her temple. It was a quiet seal to what they’d both already chosen. He held her enough to aid her balance back down in the long dress.

 

[Faye Valimir]

Faye pushed him back by placing her hands on his chest and pressing, effectively pushing her back to stare at him with a coy smile. "There he goes, from being sweet to being a right tease..."

But she liked the idea of him coming to watch her. It meant she could be cruel, show off the many outfits meant for only lovers to see, but such a thing could lead them to bed. Not a bad thing, no, but Faye had wanted to keep things slow, even if it lasted only this day.

The pull towards him did not mean they would not speak more in the future, for she knew they now would both make time to learn about one another. Conversations to be explored over time, and Faye was not the kind to reveal everything in one day.

"Well, you can come with me but only to pick out which room to make your own." She cooed, trailing a flirting finger down his chest where the collar gave way to his flesh. "In the case you need to be punished and kicked out of my bed, of course."

 

[Talorgan]

Talorgan let himself be pushed back, though his chest rose beneath her hands with a slow, measured breath - a faint flicker of instinct beneath the surface, like Biersys stirring at the back of his mind. Her touch grounded him, but also woke that part of him that wanted to claim and protect in the same heartbeat.

He met her gaze, the curve of his lips deepening into something low and knowing. Not quite a smile - more the ghost of one, weighted with patience and heat.

"A room, then," he said quietly. "And a punishment, if I earn it."

Her finger traced down his chest, and he caught it gently in his hand. His thumb brushed over her knuckle, his touch a contrast to the restrained tension running through him.

"Lead the way, Faye."

He stood, moving with the quiet control of someone used to the wild - a man who could command a dragon and still choose to be soft with her. It was very new to him, putting in place that mental divide between everything she had just revealed whilst also accepting everything else she had shown him at Juny's.

Even if they made a real attempt at making this work, they would still being engaging in those other activities. It was a separation he hadn't ever imagined keeping, but somehow it felt like it worked.

The air between them hummed with something deeper and older. An instinct of a wild rider, that same fierce sense of possessive protection, though he held it carefully, reverently.

"Lead the way," he added, voice low, steady. "I’ll follow."

He didn’t reach for her again, the stillness of him made it clear he would move the instant she wanted him to. A quiet promise wrapped in instinct and restraint.

 

[Faye Valimir]

As he moved to stand, Faye found herself moving to get off his lap. Talorgan was larger than her, taller too, and when he stood before her and spoke, she had to look up at him. He made her lip quiver, a breath leaving her as he reminded her of his size...

He made her want to be wicked. To make her give in to this tension they always seemed to create.

Faye stared at him for a moment before forcing herself to turn around. She knew he would watch her, how she moved and make her feel aware he was doing so. She did not change a thing about how she walked, but Faye kept a slow pace to force him to walk slower too. The home she kept was neat and orderly, even the stairs looked polished as she lead him up them to the upper landing. A hall where they could just fit side by side, but the host walked ahead to the room at the end of the hall.

It was quite clearly her own, decorated in colours of grandeur. Purple was a rich colour, only afforded to the rich and royal. Bronze accents softened and warmed the purple, and silks and heavy drapery seemed to sweep across every window and side to the four poster bed.

"Any room along this hall is free for you to use. Just take your pick."