Dusk of the Realm

28

Serena did not sleep well. She had not slept well in days.

She had heard Tarin's discussion with the Fae man from the bar, but she had only retained the fact that Tarin would be meeting someone at dawn. She knew that he was not sharing the bed with her, but she assumed that he was not far away. It was not yet time. Not yet time to try.

Her mind remained fogged up all through the night. Fairy juice was different from alcohol in the human world, but that was what she had been counting on. It stuck in her system like gum, most likely due to the sheer amount of it that she drank. She felt it start fading at some point in the night, but by the time she heard Tarin shift on the ground and quietly sneak out of the room, she still felt the buzz that told her that the thoughts in her head were inhibited.

She waited for a while after he shut the door behind him. There was always the possibility that he would come back for something. However, once it seemed clear that he had goone to his meeting, she launched herself out of his bed and, upon realizing that her balance had not yet fully come back to her, got down on her hands and knees and crawled over to Tarin's bookshelf.

She remembered where he kept his things; and by his things, she meant his weapons, since those were the only things that Tarin cared to collect, besides an occasional piece of armor or book or potion. They were hidden all over the place; his room was basically a weapons room. She knew, though, that there were knives tucked into certain books that he always kept sharp and polished.

She pulled out one that he had read to her a long time ago: Descendants of Stars. There was a picture of a Fae on the cover, her arms outstretched to connect with the other stars and form a constellation. Serena was not sure what the constellation signified, and neither did she remember what the story was about. However, she did know that there was a knife inside of it, and she tugged on the hilt to remove it before placing the book back on the shelf.

She sat on the edge of the bed and raised a hand towards the door, squeezing her eyes shut with concentration as she willed her magic to keep people from entering. She knew it would not hold off most Fae for long, but hopefully they would not be coming in to bother her anyway. Tarin's room could not possibly be a popular one for people to barge into.

Before she could allow her thoughts to catch up to her body, and while she was still riding the wave of the fairy juice, Serena brought the knife down.

And again.

And again.

And again...

                  ___________________

Tarin had been hoping that he would like Cleamum's personality as much as he had liked her boyfriend's. He was not disappointed.

They were both down-to-earth, and much less selfish than most. Her admiration of Tarin was nearly unbearable, and he could not get her to stop curtseying, but the gratitude she continuously expressed to him was so genuine that he could not help but smile. He had forgotten how great it felt to do things to help people other than fight. He knew he would not regret helping Xyris and Cleamum, and as he deposited her at Nami's quarters, he wished her the very best as well. He hoped he would soon hear news of their engagement; it would warm his heart, though he would probably not admit it to anyone but himself.

From Nami's, he headed to the training fields to meet with the numerous commanders and see how their newest men were coming along. If there were any significant problems, the commanders informed Tarin of them, and he dealt with them swiftly. Due to this policy, there were very rarely any problems. The last man to have given his commander lip had learned his lesson after going through hours of fighting Tarin. It was a good lesson in humility, to fall on your back so many times that you begin to forget how to stand.