"We're almost to the Oasis. Stay sharp." Eadric informs me by the time our fortieth day of travel is just beginning to bloom over the horizon.
I nod, noticeable of the sudden shift in the dry environment.
Eadric returns it before turning back to repeat this notion to his men in Simul.
Over these past few days, the gritty, reddish gold sand gradually cultivated into a less shifty floor of a much duller shade given the moisture still no more prevalent in the ground than beforehand, the dirt more compact in this region. While the dunes in the distance are still as prevalent as ever, the land just before us begins sprouting craggy patches of plant life on occasions that become more often the further we travel. The drop offs reveal small pools of emerald water that glisten wondrously against the unrelenting sun. The heat is softened now, however, through the muggy, but humid air that coats my body in an uncomfortable tackiness. But after these past couple weeks of nothing but bone dry heat and sunburn, I welcome the tolerable feeling with open arms. The horses seem to sense this change in the climate as well, both Alfhild and Eileifr having perked up as soon as this environment afforded them some much needed refreshment, and they continue to ride onward determinedly with Eadric and I over their backs.
The already organized pack binds together even more so, forming rectangularly shaped units that decrease in size towards the back. I take note of Lesedi, her pack of all women taking a portion of the rear of the formation. Her strong gaze is unwavering, the woman around her just the same. I cannot help but bristle as soon as I make eye contact with Iolana, however, though her blatant distaste towards me seems to have calmed some since the other day.
If Eadric's observational instincts take note of this, he says nothing as I feel his eyes flit to me before he finally turns back to face the front of the pack.
"You okay?" I ask by the time the tense silence has drawn on long enough.
"Of course." He responds thoughtlessly. "Why do you ask now?"
"Because you tensed as soon as you saw that." I reveal, motioning to the dirt path we are currently taking that is moments away from transitioning into a bridge of similarly colored stone carved with sturdy but cleanly molded railings. The snaked path seems to bend naturally with the elegant, gradual curves of large rock piles and fallout framing the body of water below it, and from this position at the front of the bridge, it is easy to see that it forms many s shapes and continues on from a staggering distance that may very well extend up to a mile. But the walkway never lets off from a level, cleancut surface, and the path is thick, wide, clearly meant to sustain travel both in and out of the city. I imagine the bridge is likely intended to act as the main way in and out of the desert town, and it is suspended above yet another extensive moat, except this one goes on for quite some time now.
"Because the second we reach the end of this bridge," he continues as soon as our mounts have just stepped over its entrance, "everything changes."
"Everything already has changed." I remind him, swallowing thickly upon finishing the statement. I look down as soon as Eadric's eyes flit to my own.
"You're still mad I'm not sure you can win this, aren't you?" He deducts after a moment, his eyes still watching me closely.
"I'm not." I promise. "But it does add an extra amount of pressure to hear from my most objective acquaintance that I may very well not be prepared for this, afterall."
"That isn't what I said."
"It was implied." I retort, but his keen gaze is already distracted with another matter as his eyes drop from my own slightly. "What is it?" I ask, looking off ahead of him to see a large, towering column topped with a bundle of large leaves at the top.
"What? A palm tree?" He attempts to clarify, following my gaze to the peculiar form of plantlife.
My grin is unmistakable by the time he directs his confused gaze back to my own. "Not quite, Sherlock. I meant what's on your mind?"
"Oh, it's nothing." He responds quickly. Too quickly.
"Nothing?" I echo, clearly disbelieving of his statement as I lean towards him intently.
"Kind of. I mean, something you said just confused me a little, is all." He admits, an odd confession when delivered by such a deep, gravelly voice. A curious Commander is an admittedly odd combination anyways, I suppose, given how surely he is always acting.
"What confused you?" I press, wanting a clear answer.
Eadric seems to sense this directness as he sighs, finally relenting. "Acquaintance," he begins once he has looked back to me, "what does it mean?"
I raise my head to see his eyes practically glowing against the ebony streaks of paint framing them, his icy blonde fringe that seems to have brightened considerably given all this sun exposure brushing delicately across his forehead as I take in his question with a wry grin. "This is something we haven't done in awhile." I note.
Eadric retreats slightly, as though only just remembering how ridiculously curious he used to be until a lopsided grin spreads across his lips, his shoulders slumping in on himself self deprecatingly. "This is true."
"At least you admit it." I mockingly reassure him, to which he lightheartedly scoffs. I straighten as he does a moment later, getting back to the subject matter. "An Acquaintance is like someone you are either hardly familiar with or someone who you may not understand as well as you wish, someone you are not close with."
Eadric takes in this reveal with a heavy nod. "I see." He states, his voice having dropped in volume slightly. "So, you consider me an acquaintance, then?"
"Maybe that wasn't the best term to use," I admit with a shrug, "but I think we both feel as though there is still a lot we don't know about each other."
"And what we have found out wasn't exactly information granted to one another per our permission." He agrees.
"Right." I press my lips into a hard line then, looking up the fuzzy path that now reveals a grand city perched just at the edge, but it is still difficult to make out anything specific through the sand clouds whipping through here on such a sporadic timeline. "I suppose it's hard to say whether these people will be any different." I wonder aloud.
"Lux Cantavit is a brash group of individuals." Eadric begins, his manner now much more resemblant of that of a Commander with his back locked straight and chin lifted slightly. When he speaks, his already low tone seems to have dropped an octave. "Like us they are strong willed, determined, but they are rash, unrelenting, and it has gotten them in trouble with this Coalition long before the Mountain drove them apart from us."
"As much as I hate to admit it, though, they were brave to come back as boldly as they did. And Vlasta's plan to take me down by leaving you either alone or isolated is nothing short of brilliant." I admit nonchalantly.
"Are you actually admiring that lunatic at a time like this? She wants your head." Eadric reminds me.
"That's why this isn't admiration, or respect, this is an objective assessment of the intricacy of her plan. She's a determined young leader who wants power and will do anything to get it. Make of that information what you will." I offer with a dismissive wave of my hand.
I detect Eadric's eyes on mine as I lift myself to match his posture, now notable of the couple stone walled, mediterranean styled buildings marking the land just aside the edges of the bridge upon the moat diverging farther out to surround the city now much closer than beforehand. The shops of various shades of brown and tan appear to stand tall with an open concept and high arches, and they seem to be selling anything from light clothing to large insects shoved onto skewers with piles more contained in crates along the front. I cannot help but swallow uneasily as some of Eadric's men on horseback lean down to exchange some small goods before picking up a handful to eat on the go. The ceilings of the shops are accented with thick, half cylindrical roofing tiles that are much different than those of Nocte Cantavit, and the open concept every building possesses only ensures this vast difference between the two clans as these people must never experience harsh weather here, unless it be heat. The shopkeepers are shouting out and waving their merchandise to us, uncaring of where we are from and clearly just anxious for our business that could be spent merely ten feet to our left or right. I cannot help but smirk at this, admirable of these people's drive.
"Maybe you will do well ruling over Lux Cantavit afterall." Eadric mumbles lowly after some time, so low I had barely even caught his words.
Regardless of the softness of his remark, I flinch at the underlyingly dark meaning lurking within such a statement, looking to him with my lips parted and eyes narrowed due to more than just the unrelenting sun. "Don't say it like you're saying goodbye." I mutter for reasons unknown to me.
"Aren't I, though?" He snaps, looking over me unhappily.
"Not yet." I counter, to which he merely shakes his head before dropping his gaze from mine.
"You already look like them now that we've been out here for a while," he comments after a moment of analyzing the increasing number of buildings as we near the Oasis, pressing his fingertips against my burnt forehead until I push his hand away, "and now you even sound like them."
"You should be grateful of that at this point." I tell him, referring, of course, to Vlasta's ruthlessness. I will have to match that to some extent if I hope to hold my own against her.
"I'm not." He says simply.
We remain quiet for the rest of the short journey to the city.
By the time we reach the heavily guarded gate to the city's center, I am truly amazed by what we have seen. What differs this place from Nocte Cantavit is how gradual its introduction seemed to be with rock walls and thick, lavish plantlife decorating and bordering many organized regions that merely line the bridge. The curved gate bordering the entire town does not even seem that large in comparison to Nocte Cantavit, but it is still incredibly prominent lined with guards set in small, cylindrical turrets with pointed tips, almost like a castle, who look down on us harshly. Exotically styled buildings shelter anything from shops to grand homes, and breathtaking waterfalls decorate the natural slopes of the land that children with ebony curtains of thick, shiny hair and monotone but breathable clothing splash through the resulting puddles in their wake. But ironically enough they do not do so in a joyous or foolish manner, only in one of haste as they hurry to some sort of destination. The landscaping, I note, is second to none as birds fly out in masses from the thick trees set sparsely throughout the district. But I find my brows furrowing in clear distaste, however, as soon as I peer down one of the narrow alleyways to see several people covered in grime and dirtied rags of clothing currently digging through bins at the corners, the large containers surely containing trash.
Poverty. The closer I look and nearer we stay to the perimeter of the gate, the more it becomes increasingly evident. Men, women, children, entire families and even small animals with their ribs popping out from their sides hobble through the streets if they have not reserved themselves to small huddled bunches along the sides of roads. At one point, I make eye contact with a little girl, her cheeks hollowed out and long, grown out hair ratty with ripped, clumsy fabric of various brown tones covering her frail body. Her eyes widen as she takes in the realization that I have met her gaze, and slowly I lift a hand to the backpack I have brought with me that is currently hung over the side of Alfhild's saddle.
"What are you doing?" Eadric asks as he notices me digging around for something.
"Nothing." I mutter in simple answer, and yet his manner remains intent but quiet as I pull an apple from my pack before leaning over as far as a possibly can with Eadric taking my free arm to help anchor me without request. Gently I roll the apple over the cobbled pathway to the little girl whose large eyes widen even more so once it reaches her feet, and do not look away until I see her pick it up, where she smiles widely before taking a large bite from the fruit.
"Nothing my ass." Eadric mutters with a small grin by the time he has helped me upright over Alfhild again.
"Where do they even sleep?" I cannot help but wonder aloud as I scan the large, nicely built building of shops for structures realistic to their standard of living.
Eadric points down another alleyway as we pass it. "See the small fire going at the end? That's right against the fence. They create small groups of tents in the corners away from the shops and houses so as to stay out of sight as well as out the way of the daily patrols. They have small groupings of others just like them all over the city districts."
"Wait, they have daily patrols here?" I ask, taken aback.
"As well as nightly. The laws here for stealing, vandalism, basically any crime tend to be extremely harsh but conveniently unclear. I once heard of a older man whose hand was severed from his body all for stealing a stale loaf of bread."
I swallow at this before breaking eye contact from Eadric and looking down. For some reason all that I can think of when I hear of older, vulnerable men is of the older man who had been clutching his wife as the radiation seeped into Trident.
"You may find that the dream-like appearance of this place will fool you greatly from its true colors." Eadric continues despite my current manner.
"I see." I mutter once recovered, the haunting memories now pushed back to their respective place in the back of my mind. "I'm just surprised given there appears to be no such living standards present in Nocte Cantavit."
"We have guards posted at night and patrols set, Aurora, just the same as these people."
"But they are set to protect the people, Eadric, not to closely monitor them." I clarify. "And regarding punishments for committing any crimes, I've never seen anything worse than spending a couple nights in a dungeon for a crime as petty as stealing before they are released under close but brief monitoring after. For god sakes, even those who have committed serious crimes are brought under trial to your court and are at least given the chance of defending themselves and explaining their actions before their fate is decided. If I had to I'd say that's a little bit more reasonable than lopping off an old mans paw for taking a measly loaf of bread."
"I suppose you will find that our policies are just the same as those of the other clans, and that they are acted on by those under my authority, not by any shopkeeper who happens to be in a cruel mood for the day."
"How come Lux Cantavit thought it'd be cool for them to just make their own rules?" I ask, genuinely curious by their nerve.
"The isolation, I'm assuming." Eadric guesses. "Trident created a barrier between the clans for a really long time before your people came down to help us stop them. Honestly, much of what I am seeing here is new to me as well, including the state of poverty amongst the lower ranks. At least, I had only been able to infer that it had gotten this bad. In Nocte Cantavit, everyone has a job to do, hence they always have shelter and necessities awarded to them because of it. The quality of those necessities is where it varies given potential occupations."
"Makes sense." I conclude, drawing a firm nod from Eadric.
My next thoughts are abruptly cut off once we have reached a second set of gates that part to reveal the city's center. All around us, exotic homes much larger than those we had seen in the market district line different paths in a crowded but organized matter, like a maze. The entire city is shaped in a cleancut circle I come to realize once I look to see the curve of the incredibly tall gating we had just passed closing us into the royal district. Every district seems to be contained within the cities border, its walls unlike that of Nocte Cantavit which is made up of square and rectangular shaped units whose gating does not reach the farthest edges particularly of the farming district.
But at the very center of it all is a pyramidal castle with no less than six stories, each open level containing elegant arches with waterfalls streaming over the edges of the golden shaded mansion into the manmade moat set around it. Thick vines climb up the sides of the wondrous columbus somehow holding up this mass of a building, other plant life and shallow streams contained in squared off paths set around the architectural marvel as though to add to its significance. At the very top appears to be come sort of a Court Hall to finish off this remarkable building, and given its size, it would probably take a lifetime to walk over every square foot of just this place rather than the rest of the royal district, or even the rest of this densely packed town for that matter.
From where we stand by the time we reach the foot of the castle entrance, however, it is difficult to make out more than just the largest opening set right at the center of the castle once we have finished ascending the other outdoor flights of stairs that now break of directly left and right to lead to a vast garden decorated with the occasional fountain or columned porch to sit at. I notice quickly too that every set of stairs happens to be lined with a flat paths about two feet wide along either side of them for the horses to use instead of the steps. It is incredible how they even take into consideration the ease of traveling over flat paths for horses when making this uneven region so high up.
"This place," I begin breathlessly, now on foot as Eadric and I drop off of Eilefir and Alfhild with no more than Apache and the other twelve members of Eadric's court at our sides to do the same with their own mounts, "is nothing short of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon."
Eadric just nods knowingly, probably already picturing the cover of the book containing information on the seven wonders of the world I had picked up from his collection one slow afternoon as we speak. Apache just releases a sharp exhale before looking around in obvious distaste at the sudden absence of the other warriors as they had taken to dropping off from our pack early on in order to take their horses to the stables before retiring to the guard housing for the night.
"Everywhere is so colorful and vibrant and filled with life... and the historical significance of it all-I mean, if I had to bet, I wouldn't peg this place to be all that different to how historians claim Ancient Rome appeared." I conclude, still looking around in a sort of daze.
"Well, they have a right to build this place like a beacon here." Eadric reminds me, waiting for my gaze to meet his own before nodding to the isolated desert surrounding this place. "That's the one advantage to being set out this far, you can do as you please regarding appearance. They have no reason to utilize the trees as we do in the case of war. When they fight, their home isn't at stake."
"That does not mean we will fight as though it is not." A low, sultry voice suddenly reveals, and I bristle, the hairs at the back of my neck standing on end as I slowly turn to reveal none other than the supposed Queen of Lux Cantavit.
"Aurora." She greets, her manner as sly as ever as she stalks up to Eadric and I. She is adorned in nothing more than a thin, crisp white sheet of a robe, her hair pulled up into a complicated updo with her sides covered at all times by her two towering guards posted along either side of her. Their thick scarves are pulled over their faces like a mask, their sparse leather armor just the same as I remember it, and manner just as intimidating as ever.
I swallow thickly once I have finished my assessment, my expression hardened by the time I greet, "Vlasta."
She offers me a dark grin before looking up to Eadric. "My King." She bows.
Eadric nods, not returning the gesture.
Vlasta bristles at this, though her lips never fall from that disturbing grin of hers. "What, I invite you to my home and you cannot even bow before the Queen of this clan?" She questions lightly.
"If you wish to question my manner then I might as well mention the fact that your men should know to bow before the wife of your King." Eadric challenges with that same effortless air that these confident leaders seem to naturally possess.
If Vlasta is bothered by this retort, she does well not to show it. "Fair enough." She offers, bowing to me. I return it stiffly. "I apologize for the delay as I was taking a swim out back," she explains once the tense introduction are out of the way, "I had only just heard of your arrival well after you all had crossed the gates."
"That explains the indiscretion." Apache mutters lowly.
Eadric clears his throat in warning.
"I trust your journey here was not too brutal?" Vlasta continues, seemingly ignorant of the biting remark, or perhaps not all that minding of it. "I know the desert can seem both long and treacherous to those not prepared to cross it-"
"We were prepared." Eadric declares, to which Vlasta's golden brown eyes dart to my dark expression, her own rather amused.
"I'm afraid your wife was not." She states with a raise of her hand. I stiffen the second the pad of her thumb actually grazes my lips, where she takes in the burnt, rough surface with an air of satisfaction. My body remains stiff long after she pulls away. "But fortunately this can be healed in a matter of days with the help of our Healers. The burns will take some time but we have spared our best for you all. I will have you all washed up and boarded in no time. Einar?"
"Yes, My Queen."
My lips part as one of the guards to Vlasta's right steps forward, pulling the scarf from her mouth and hood from her head to reveal a tall, heavily muscled woman perhaps stood even over six foot tall to have been the guard beside Vlasta all this time. Her judicious face has a fierceness to its features, her eyes thin and of a similar shade to Vlasta's with sparse, heavily arched eyebrows and puckered lips sporting a shade barely any darker than her olive skin. Her ebony hair is pulled elegantly back into a very long braid that descends well past her hips, something I only see once she has turned to face the young Ambassador. There is some grey streaking the sections closest to her face, and the sharpness of her features suggest subtle signs of aging, but even then she appears quite young for her age. She looks as though she cannot be anywhere above her mid-thirties.
"Einar, please have your men take all horses to the Royal Stables, and be sure to have the King's court properly escorted to their rooms. Once finished you will meet me at the top level immediately after. I will need someone to escort Aurora to her own."
"What do you mean, to her own?" Eadric questions, not missing a beat as the guard rushes off swiftly after having received her instructions, all, including Apache and his men, going with her.
"Oh, my apologizes, My King," Vlasta urges with a hand over her heart, "I just assumed Aurora would wish to board in a seperate room for the following days in order to avoid unnecessary... distractions." She clarifies with a bold raise of eyebrows. Jesus, this girl has some nerve. "I trust that is okay?" She follows when neither of us apparently pertain to the ability to be able to speak anymore.
"That is fine." I agree after having swallowed thickly. Eadric clears his throat before nodding as well.
"Good. Let us be on our way, then. I wish to get you two settled no later than sundown." She says, motioning for us to ascend the stairs as she turns to do so.
Eadric and I exchange uncomfortable glances before following in suit.
We are taken to the fifth tall level of the castle before we walk to the rearing the space, revealing an incredibly wide patio that looks over a fast land of both garden and pathways throughout with isolated tracks to the left that would be ideal for racing the horses.
"If you look down and to your left, you will see the Royal Stables is connected to the first floor of this castle unit leading straight to the lands you see ahead. It is only permitted for royal mounts use. You are free to use it whenever you please while you stay here-"
"What day is the fight?" Eadric interrupts, crossing his burly arms over his barrel chest. I set my own over my hips, turning towards her as I had been wondering this myself.
"As I said, the fight will take place the day of the Summer Solstice, three days from now. The Ambassadors of the other clans will certainly have arrived by then. You may use the training center and such as you wish during this time."
"We will." I confirm without thinking as I set a hand along the railing, my eyes still scanning over the vast land ahead of me. Eadric comes up behind me then, placing his hand over my shoulder before mirroring my position by setting his free hand beside mine over the railing as we continue to look out into the great expanse of the desert much more visible from this high up. The soft sunset tints the sky in a bold red shade, the bright sunlight providing a natural gradiance of gold to surround it that will soon be swallowed up entirely in surely no more than an hours time.
Vlasta scoffs soon after, drawing both our attentions to her. "What, do you two bathe each other as well?"
My gaze snaps to her own. "Excuse me-?"
"Or just speak for one another?"
Eadric bristles from behind me, his breaths quickening out of anger. "You may want to watch how you speak to us from now on. I have already let you get away with too much as is, you will be damned if I make that mistake twice."
"You already have." Vlasta declares with a low chuckle.
"Excuse me?" I echo, confused.
Vlasta's sharp gaze darts to Eadric. "Speaking to you both disrespectfully counts as one, me vowing to kill your wife counts as the other. Besides, the challenge has already been declared and formalized. What would you do to me before then, I wonder? Enslave me? Kill me? Make me an example and warning to the others? If the spirits so choose your wife will already have the opportunity to do so soon enough. I am afraid you will just have to be patient until then, My King."
She takes a pause to gage our shocked reactions, and not so shockingly enough they only seem to fuel her drive even more so as she begins slowly sauntering towards us.
"Also, may I remind you as to where exactly you are standing right now?" She informs us, motioning off the balcony to the heart of the city still beating with life. "I must advise that I do not think killing me here in my own kingdom would be the best course of actions for you if I am being honest. You may not make it out alive, at least your wife certainly wouldn't, but who knows? Maybe the Ambassadors would be okay with that after all? I suppose there's only one way to find out." She challenges, pulling the long hunting blade from Eadric's side before flipping it effortlessly so the handle faces him.
Eadric's hands are clenched tightly into fists at his sides by the time Vlasta has looked back to the arched, hollow hall traveling through the center of this upper level.
"Ah, Einar, you have returned to us." She notes by the time the royal guard has nearly crossed the stretch to join us. She sheaths Eadric's knife back into its holster before winking, goddamn winking to him and looking back to the guard.
The warrior, Einar, I think her name was, nods to her Queen once her feet have reached the stone flooring of the patio.
"Einar, why don't we take Eadric and Aurora to their rooms where they can rest up for the remainder of the evening?"
"Yes, My Queen." Einar turns to us. "Right this way, My King."
Eadric nods before we follow the guard down the hall, turning to the door set at the center of this half of the closed off space once Einar has halted right beside it.
"Ah, yes." Vlasta begins once Einar has opened one half of the elegantly carved doorway. "Here is your room, My King. We have baths drawn and can have servants ready to tend to you in a moments notice." Vlasta encourages as she motions inside.
"I think I can handle bathing on my own." Eadric retorts sharply before turning to me. He steps up to me, keeping his voice low so only I can hear him. "I'll wash up and be over to see you soon, alright?"
"Alright."
He spares one more glare Vlasta's way before finally turning and entering his room, where he immediately slams the door shut behind him.
Vlasta turn to me. "Shall we?"
I bristle before nodding, following her a couple meters to the door straight across from Eadric's.
"This will act as your temporary dwelling for the next three days. You will have two nights of rest, this one spent in solitude while tomorrow evening will include one gathering to attend before the battle will take place the following night. You will have the entire third day to be prepared and tended to by the servants before the fight takes place at sundown."
"Got it." I say, walking up to the open door.
"And, Aurora?" Vlasta follows, watching me closely.
"What is it?" I question, narrowing my eyes suspiciously.
"I just feel the need to reiterate to you that if you play your cards right, this could all be yours in a matter of days." She reminds me, raising her tanned arms to motion to the grand space around her.
"I'm aware."
"But to do that, you would have to beat me," she mutters lowly as she stalks towards me. I straighten automatically, meeting her disturbingly amused grin with something cool as we stare one another down, "and I'm afraid you will not have your dear husband to protect you when it does come down to it."
I press my lips into a hard line, my eyes refusing to leave her own as I mutter bitterly, "I won't need him to."
Her grin widens before she finally backs of, turning slowly to saunter up to the top level to her own room.
"Well, she's adorable." I cannot help but mock once Vlasta's silhouette has ascended my eyeline, well aware of the attendant still present whose eyes I suspect have been on mine for a while now.
The woman, Einar, walks up to me closely, leaning forward as I raise my narrowed eyes to meet her thin golden brown ones. I notice her spear once held formally behind her back is now set at her side, her hand clutching the thin staff tightly. When she speaks, her tone is taut, restrained, but I detect a sense of fierceness and passion hidden behind her cool expression she hides so well. "I will say this slowly and I will say it only once; if you so much as look at our Queen the wrong way prior to the battle, I will slit your throat, regardless of where you are from or what it would cost me."
I clear my throat, maintaining a relaxed air as I break eye contact. "You know, this isn't the first time I've heard a threat like this from a Royal Guard," I meet her gaze again, "except it was actually legitimate then."
She bristles, her lips pressed in a hard line as she finally retreats some, allowing me passage into the room. I close the door behind me without looking back.
I only spare a moment to take in breezy area, the entirety of the room decorated with light toned furniture with tables and such crafted from what appears to be threaded tan material woven into an intricate pattern of some sort. The translucent curtains dip delicately from the refreshing winds that pass through the space, the air tinged with the perfumy scent of lush plant life that seems to be decorating each corner of the open space. There are uncovered translucent panels taking up the entire wall leading out to a long patio that goes on for the entire length of the wall. When I step out to get a better look at it, I hear soft splashing just beside me and look over to see a waterfall streaming down right beside me in a ridge that extends all the way down to a pool at the bottom. Vines lap up and over the balcony railings, the stone flooring adding to the heavy amount of prominent decorations of a natural origin already present.
I cannot help but chuckle sardonically at the irony of it all as I slowly stroll back into the main room, running my calloused fingers over the soft fabric of the nearest couch. This place oozes of peace at the higher ranks when my true purpose for being here is anything but. An obvious trail of dirt left behind by my darkened fingertips halts my motion almost immediately, and I lift my hand then, not even conscious I had even been covered in so much muck from my travels as these conditions have just become a part of my life, apparently.
I remember when I had first came here, when my skin was pale, the flesh covering my palms soft and being healthy but considerably weak. Now my skin shade has darkened considerably almost to match the olive skin of those here, bruises around my eyes and all over my body adding shadows to my calloused skin with the hardened muscles having transformed what was once a body into a weapon. This reality becomes apparent once I note the staff and backpack still over my shoulders, and I allow both items to fall to the ground at once before following by unclipping the rolled up pack from my side as well. These items I survey over the light flooring, these weapons and necessities sum up with unbelievable clarity what my life has become now; survival and battle.
"To think you could actually come to rule all of this soon enough." I suddenly hear behind me, and sigh, raising my hands to scrape back the damp sections of hair from my forehead to face Eadric immediately.
"To think someone so huge could enter a room so fricken quietly."
I notice his gaze is not on mine, but rather surveying the large rooms we have been provided with as he smirks darkly. "I did tell you I was coming in here, did I not?"
"How long have you been standing there?" I prompt, shamelessly answering his question with one of my own.
"Long enough." He answers irritatingly vaguely, finally meeting my gaze. "You okay?"
I raise my eyebrows wryly, resulting in him raising a gloved hand to his head in irritated impatience with himself.
"Shit, no, I meant... I mean obviously you're not fine, fine. Not really. I was just-"
"I'm doing well enough, considering the circumstances." I finish for him, to which he merely narrows his eyes, watching me closely. He steps up to me slowly, causing me to instinctively drop my gaze from his observational one to release a heavy sigh. "It's just..."
"It's a lot." Eadric sympathizes, likely inferring back to experience of his own from when he had first taken rule himself, and that was alone and over the entire Coalition.
"Right. I mean, I'm already well aware that this place is riddled with problems, and that's just from what we've seen. The few here who I have actually conversed with loathe me, homeless families riddle the street with poverty that, while kept out of sight, is still prevalent nonetheless, and I have hardly any knowledge on how royal customs work for all the clans in general rather than in this place in particular. All around me I'll have people rooting for me to fail so they can have a goddamn excuse to kill me, and for once in my life I cannot seem devise a plan on how to save my own."
Eadric takes a moment before speaking again, and when he does, his remark completely boggles me. "I'm glad of this."
My eyes dart up to his own, my expression incredulous. "Excuse me?"
"Relax," he soothes, a hand raised in ease, "I just meant I'm glad you're back to this place again." He clarifies, which ironically only acts to confuse me even more.
"What the hell are you talking about, Eadric? What place?"
"The one where you talk to me, and I get to listen." He answers simply enough.
I stall for a second, retreating some in subtle surprise as his gaze refuses to drop from my own. "If you say so." I manage after a moment with attempted wryness, but the sudden wave of anxiousness that courses through my chest just from his unwavering expression seems to convey to myself anything but nonchalance. Jesus, I thought I was past this, past feeling such irritatingly inexplicable sensations around him given our rough history that still has yet to be completely rectified. "But, for now, I'm gonna need you to shut up for a little bit." I finish once completely recovered.
"Oh really?" Eadric challenges, agast, to which I nod. "And why is that?"
"Because it's obviously too late to train, and anyways, I got some shitty drawings to fix up." I tell him, reaching into my pack to pull out the small, black rimmed poem book of his.
He surveys the small journal in my hands for a moment before dropping his head. The motion does nothing to hide the small grin now occupying his lips. "You mind if I stay for a little bit while you work on it, then? You know, just to make sure you're not fucking it up or anything."
"I suppose if you have to." I sigh with sarcastic exhaustion as I turn before heading to the balcony again to claim a seat over one of the longer chairs and splay my legs over the other seat on it. Eadric joins me in the two person chair, lifting my legs up to take a seat beside me before setting my feet back over his lap. He removes my boots and socks as I sketch, leaving his hands to hover over my ankles as he surveys all the cuts and bruises littering the calloused skin. I recall him rising at one point to grab my backpack from a little ways inside, resuming the same position once he is seated again to apply some of the numbing cream Kiche had packed in a small container for me on the go over the wounds marring my feet before taking my role of tape to wrap them up again. He remains by my side long after he has finished.
--- A/N
Late update because apparently I suck and am temporarily out of inspiration? Yeah, I without a doubt owe you guys an apology for this unexplained week of absence so here it is: I am so sorry everyone for the late update, I know you guys have been incredibly loyal readers to stick with the story for so long now, and I promise I'll do better to manage my time from now on as exams (eventually) come to a close. If any of you have any scene ideas you would like to see me play around with or characters you would want to potentially see more of, requests such as these, please feel free to leave them in the comments whether throughout the story or at the end if you please, and I'll be sure to address them! Thanks so much again for reading!