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Vale of the White Horse
Topic Started: 5 Jan 2010, 13:03 (19,293 Views)
Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
He was tempted to finish what he had started in her bedroom, but that'd be a little too close to forcing her for his comfort. Besides, he had not forgotten what it felt like when her fingers dug into his arms, numbing them with the intense cold that leaked from her hands. 'I'll give you one last chance to change your mind. You see, there are a couple of unsolved murders committed here. If you don't start talking, I may get so paranoid about your two friends that they will find themselves accused with them.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘Two murders?’ Essylt hadn’t heard of that at all; it shocked her. For a moment she simply stood and stared at him without thinking that she must free herself. And perhaps, she thought then, that was what she had to do. Not fighting. Not trying to resist him or the coursing river that wanted to swallow him whole if she did not keep it contained…He was counting on her struggle and it seemed he was a good swimmer. Like a salmon he made his way upstream. But if water was the stronger force against the landscape, shaping stones in his own way as it went, perhaps she should turn around and flow the way he wanted her to. Then, maybe, he’d find that the current was very strong indeed.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Yes, the whole thing has been bothering me terribly. I'm anxious to send a report to Rome that it's all solved,' he said quietly. In actuality, he'd already sent his report about the two deaths, describing them to be very unfortunate accidents. She didn't know that, which suited him perfectly. 'You've two minutes until I walk out of that door and dispatch a regiment to arrest Morcant - promise or no promise. Murder is a very serious accusation.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘Yes, it is.’ She wondered if Morcant actually did know something about this….No, he couldn’t. She had no idea who had been killed, but Morcant wasn’t such a brute that he randomly attacked people. And she’d know. If he had done something so terrible, she would see it in his face, somehow. ‘You can let me go, I’m not going to hurt you. I don’t really know anything – that is the truth. He doesn’t confide in me with those things. What I do know is what I’ve seen and I can’t make much sense out of that.’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Tell me anyway,' Rufus said and let go of her wrists, taking a step back. Any information would help him figure this out, and he really did not care whether or not she could make sense of it. She was a young girl; he a consummate politician. He pointed her at the chair she'd occupied before and sat down himself, too.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘Telling you wouldn’t do much at all,’ she said. With one hand she rubbed her other wrist. She was glad that the ice seemed to have disappeared. ‘It’d be like me asking you what sort of city Rome is and you’d say it has houses. But if you really insist on threatening me this way, I can probably show you.’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
He raised an eyebrow. 'Ah? And how exactly will you show me?'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
Her jaws tightened. She had never done it like this before, but it was the only plan she had. ‘It’s not complicated. For you.’ Morcant’s jug of drinking water stood by the door, next to a bucket. She poured the water in. It came to halfway, but that must be deep enough. Essylt put the bucket in the middle of the room, closer to the warmth of the fire, and crouched down beside it. ‘You must come and sit here.’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
Rufus got up again and did as she told him to, looking from her to the bucket and back again. Just because things would get bad for them should he die here, didn't mean he would just let that happen. So he watched Essylt's hands closely, as it was better to be safe than sorry.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
She saw his look and the corners of her mouth moved up a bit. ‘And take my hand. If you dare.’ He could probably hold her anywhere he liked for this, but she willed him to take the risk. It would be a form of justice.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'I already told you I enjoy challenges and danger,' he said with a faint edge to his voice as he grabbed her hand.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
She started from the force with which he curled his fingers around her, but made no attempt to move away. The river must flow his way, s he thought again and bent over to the water. She still saw the bottom of the bucket quite clearly. Things would be easier with the owl by her side, but if she really was kin to Udd Wyll, she must carry the potential for this gift within her veins and bones and not in the bird. Breathing was a key, so she made herself inhale and exhale slowly, willing the water to be more than just a still form. At last something moved. It was like a shadow stirring beneath the surface, whirling out from the round corners of the bucket. Essylt swallowed hard. Now came the hardest part. Lying was probably not possible within the images, but if she could simply choose what he would see…Gods knew that she had only seen terrifying things up till now. Well, nearly almost.
First came the beast. He emerged from over the hill with jaws that opened so wide that it seemed he could swallow the world in it. Then there was a river with wild, grey water that spilled out all over the settlement, drowning people mercilessly. He wanted to see the men in the wood, didn’t he? She had seen nothing of the sort before…but the wood was close to the hill, she could picture it. Yes, it appeared, and many men wavered in and out of view. She recognized Elgued’s blue tattoos and shivered. There was another man as well. She had never seen him, but his face frightened her: one side he was bald, another side covered in brown curls. The bald side looked like he had walked through fire. He extended a hand, but the image shifted. The hill again. Now Essylt nearly drew back, flinching at the sight. It was familiar: Morcant dead, or appearing so. But that was not what she wanted Rufus to see…no, she focused on the man with the red hair. See his face, she willed him. See how terrified you look. The owl fluttered up high, a violent beating of wings and feathers.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
He'd managed to keep his expression controlled when the images unfolded in the water, right until the moment he stared down into his own face. Rufus had experienced a lot of terrifying situations, but never before - at least not as far as he could remember - had there been a look of such nameless fear in his eyes. His first thought was that she must be toying with him, but her flinching when they saw Morcant laying spread-eagled on the grass told him that this was not just something she'd made up that instant. Rufus was so engrossed that he did not even think about how impossible he would have thought seeing such things in a pail of water only a few short months before.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
She wanted to let go. This was quite enough; besides, she hardly needed a reminder about what would or could happen if things ran a certain course. If only she understood what course, at least she could steer clear of it. As it was now, she’d rather destroy that blasted, stirring, attractive hill altogether. But then, just as she wanted to try to pry her hand away, something else flashed before her eyes. It was not something she had conjured up. The face of a baby. Oh, he looked beautiful, with his rosy cheeks and dark lashed that brushed his cheekbones in slumber. But something was wrong. Entirely wrong. The child lay in his cradle, but the room was unlit while the night poured in from the open window. Why were there no covers and blankets to protect him from the breeze? Why was there no fire? Why was he alone, while something smoldered outside, creeping closer to his window as she looked? And when the smoke began to swirl through the chamber, why was no one coming in to take the baby safe and away? ‘Carwyn,’ she mouthed, feeling suddenly very weak. ‘No. Carwyn.’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
He pulled his gaze away from the water. It was hard, as if someone had locked his muscles so that he couldn't move. Essylt muttered something next to him, but he didn't register all the words. Was what she had shown him the unalterable future? On one hand, he hoped so - it'd mean he'd be rid of Morcant. On the other hand, he most certainly hoped it could be changed. The men streaming from the hills had looked fearsome, but what bothered him the most was Rhywallon's appearance among them. He might be able to take on Morcant, but not the other man. Rufus pulled his hand from Essylt's and got up. His legs felt strangely weak. It wasn't something he'd experienced before.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
His movement shook her out of her shock. The straightened up with a snap, pushing the bucket away. It wasn’t real this moment, she told herself. It could not be happening right now. And maybe it was as cryptic as Morcant drowning, or the beast…It hardly helped to calm her heart, nor her trembling. ‘Have you had enough?’ she asked heavily.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
He looked at her with narrowed eyes. It was hardly enough to warrant his coming here and make it worth the while of threatening her, but he found that he really needed some time alone to think this over. As far as he could figure, the men from the hills were Siluri, and knowing Siluri they were bent on destroying him and every Roman in their way. If he had a resistance on his hands, he had to act quickly. 'Quite,' he answered then, after taking a few moments to be sure his voice would not betray his thoughts. He wanted to make her keep her mouth shut about this, but perhaps it was not all bad if these men knew that he knew what they were doing. Maybe it would make them stop to think things over.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
So this was what the man looked like without the mask in place. At least her trick had worked sufficiently, but the expression he bore now was close to terrifying. He was capable of many things and she wasn’t sure that he still favored her as much as he had. Maybe she even preferred him as he had put his hands in her neck and on her breast. She didn’t stand up but simply moved so she was facing the fire, curling her legs up in a sitting position. ‘You should know that not everything in there is real,’ she said softly. ‘I guess it’s up to you to determine what can happen and what is merely symbolic.’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
Oh, great. Just what he needed. Rufus decided that for now he'd take everything literal - except the beast coming from the hill. It looked so out of place it had to be symbolic. The rest, he could figure out later. 'I regret this is the way it had to be,' he told her. 'I will leave you now.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘Wait,’ she said, getting to her feet now that he was preparing to walk to the door. She moved past him swiftly, spreading her arms to each side of the doorpost so he wouldn’t be able to brush past her. ‘I have a question for you too.’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Oh? Ask away, then.' He did not smile, merely shrugged. She could ask whatever she wanted, whether he'd answer was another matter.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
'Are you going to keep your promise to me?'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'That I would not do anything that would affect your friends? I gave you my word, didn't I,' he said. As a politician, he could say things like that with a straight, honest face. 'Though you might want to mention to them it's in their hands as well. If I see the need to defend myself, I will. Promise or not.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
She let her arms drop back from the doorposts but remained standing in the middle, feeling slightly helpless. The image of Carwyn had drained the clever resistance from her. She wasn’t sure if she believed his word. ‘What about myself?’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
He smiled an amused smile. 'What about you? Do you want me to leave you alone, or do you want a promise that I will not harm you?'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘I don’t know,’ she said truthfully. ‘What is more realistic?’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'The latter. As I recall, I've already told you I didn't want to hurt you. I do not want to leave you alone, however. You're far too beautiful for that.' And besides, he might find a way to use that ability of hers to see things to come in the water.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘I recall you only wanted my conversation and friendship,’ she replied. ‘That proved to be untrue.’ But she stepped away from the door. Something swooshed past it from the outside. For a moment she thought it was the owl, but then realized how hard it was raining. Something hard ticked to the walls. Hail, probably. The fire in the hearth shuddered. She took a stick and poked in it. Maybe she and Morcant should prepare a makeshift windshield. With careful fingers, she turned the loafs on the stone around.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
He did not desire to go out into this weather in the least, but there were some things he needed to take care of that couldn't wait. 'I've tried to earn your friendship. You were the one who did not let me.' Rufus shrugged. 'Good day, Essylt.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
Essylt didn’t say anything, but turned to her spindle. She didn’t care if he stayed or left at this point anymore. But she wondered how things would progress from now on. Perhaps she and Morcant should simply move away. It appeared to her the best idea. She thought of Carwyn again. Maybe, if she went home now, that what she had seen wouldn’t happen. And if it did, she could at least take him away before he suffocated from the smoke, or the fire reached him.
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