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Vale of the White Horse
Topic Started: 5 Jan 2010, 13:03 (19,259 Views)
Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘It can’t stay here,’ Briallen said sharply. ‘That man buried him here for a reason. It’s not hard to imagine what that is.’

Rhywallod nodded. 'We'll burn it. Briallen, heat the ovens. It's the only way.'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
Elgued started shovelling earth back in the grave. As she looked at the pile, Gwenllian wondered if this wasn't just going to shout out to the world that something had been dug up here. But then again, without a body, there was nothing Rufus could do but accuse Briallen of untimely ploughing her garden.

When they were done, Elgued took off his shirt and stuck the branch he'd been using through it. He dragged the body onto the shirt and wiped his hands on the earth. 'Not touching that any more than is necessary,' he grunted.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
That is Cuhelyn,’ Rhywallon replied, but he had to agree. The body was far beyond recognition, and sickening to the touch.
Briallen pulled at Gwenllian’s arm. ‘If we’re going to do this, better do it now. Help me with the stoking. I don’t want to wake up the entire household.’ Though, it would be inevitable that some people would wake to the warmth and smell of fire. ‘I’ll get Braegne and Eiluned. They can sort the rest out.’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'All right,' Gwenllian said and followed Briallen. When they came to the oven, she pushed her sleeves up and started preparing the fire by stacking wood. It reminded her of Higueid's pyre and how she'd felt back then. Not necessarily things she wanted to be reminded of, but she just had to deal with it. 'I cannot believe that man,' she said under her breath to no one in particular. 'Rotten to the very core.' Just like poor Cuhelyn's body. There were tears pricking behind her eyes. Though she knew that each of the brotherhood already considered themselves to be dead men, knowing that what they did was likely to be the end of them, she could only imagine how Cuhelyn's end had been. Rufus, she had the feeling, was not one to simply slit someone's throat when he wanted someone dead. And then there was also the worry whether Cuhelyn had broken down and told him things, or not.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
Essylt wasn’t sure what to do. Oh, she was grateful to be back in the settlement, where she could keep Carwyn safe. Well, saver. And she didn’t have to carry him all of the time. But she did not want to return to the roundhouse. Sharing that place with Morcant seemed an unbearable prospect right now.
They hadn’t talked.
At all.
She was exhausted and sore and just wanted things to be right again – just for once – but they weren’t. Instead, he’d told her to go.
So she went.
There was only one place she could think of going. Well, there was the caer outside the palisade walls, but she didn’t feel she had the strength left to climb the hill, or indeed, explain who she was and where she came from. So, the only place in the world left to her, was Rufus’ villa. If he wasn’t home, she’d crawl in a corner by the doorsteps with Carwyn, and wait till she’d be admitted.
Fortunately, she met a man who worked at the house. He seemed important.
‘I need to see Ru…Lord Lentulus,’ she heard herself tell him flatly. ‘Please.’
The more unfortunate part was that he looked down at her as if she was a ragged beggar. Though, she supposed she must look like one. ‘He knows me,’ she added.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
Rufus had considerably calmed down since his visit to the Caer. He'd given his men the order to double the patrols in the Vale. If Rhywallon was here, he sure as hell was going to make sure he'd catch him before the man had a chance to sneak into his villa and knife him in his sleep. Just as he was enjoying his breakfast, the steward came up to him, lips pressed together as usual. They went over the day-to-day business; Rufus gave some more orders; and finally the man made to leave. Before he went away, though, he seemed to think of something and turned back.

'One last thing, my lord,' he started. 'There's a young woman with a small child requesting audience with you. Says she knows you. Pale, curly hair, light eyes - looks like she's seen a ghost.'
Rufus raised an eyebrow. Everything but the small child said Essylt to him. But why would she appear on his doorstep? She'd left before the winter, hadn't she? 'A pretty thing?' The steward nodded. 'Let her in, then.' It was his usual response to a lady at his door, and his servant wouldn't think much of it.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘Follow me,’ the man told her, rather curtly. She did, clutching Carwyn in her arms. This villa was so big. And made of stone. It smelled odd, but then, she wasn’t sure what any villa should smell of. She had even forgotten what the roundhouse had smelled of, when Morcant and she were still living there.
There was a knot in her belly that tightened with every step. What would he say? What would he think of her, seeing her like this?
‘My lord. The girl.’
Essylt swallowed and looked down.
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Sonja
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So it was Essylt, after all. Rufus waved the steward away and beckoned Essylt to come closer. 'My, my. To what do I owe this pleasure? If I'm not mistaken, last time you made it pretty clear that you didn't appreciate my company in the slightest.' He hadn't forgotten about her uncanny abilities, either. 'And a new mother, I see?'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘Not – that…that’s my brother.’ She swallowed again, then straightened her shoulders. ‘I need your…I need help.’
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Sonja
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He pursed his lips, raising himself from the sofar he was laying on while consuming his breakfast. Her brother - well, at least it wasn't Morcant's brat. Whatever help she needed, he certainly wasn't going to provide for any offspring that man produced. 'Help, hm? Can't your boyfriend help you out?' he wanted to know.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
Oh, why hadn’t she prepared for this moment a little bit better? Maybe, if she had prepared an answer, this wouldn’t be so hard. Or who was she kidding? It was hard regardless. She cleared her throat. ‘He doesn’t want me. I left. He…we fell out.’
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Sonja
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Rufus got up and stepped towards her. Not so close that she could just reach out and touch him - he wasn't that stupid. This was a perfect opportunity to get back at both Morcant and Essylt, but not before he made her sweat a little. 'What a shame,' he said with a slick smile. 'And you have no place to stay, is that it?'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘Yes.’
A part of her had believed, even hoped, that we would just smile and welcome her into his home, as he once might have done. But of course, he wasn’t going to do that…She had never done anything for him, and the winter had been long enough to get over his initial disappointment. She would turn around. She would leave. But even standing straight seemed too much to bear right now.
‘Rufus, please,’ she whispered therefore, lifting her eyes to his. ‘My brother nearly died. He’s only an infant. And I’m…exhausted. If you’re going to send me away, just…say it now.’
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Sonja
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Please? Well, she really had picked up some manners. Rufus thought he rather liked her like this; helpless, begging him for help. 'Poor Essylt,' he said and looked down on her, the smile broadening. 'I might not send you away if you can offer me something in exchange for my help. I recall having offered it to you plenty of times, and yet, you never showed any inclination to take anything I offered before this. So you see why I'm a bit - what's the word? well, I might be put out, you can understand.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
Thank the great mother that Carwyn was asleep against her shoulder. The only thing that could make this worse was him crying.
‘The last time we spoke, you said you cared for my wellbeing,’ she finally replied shakily. ‘But I’ll beg. If you want me to. Or whatever else you want, though I – I don’t have anything left.’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Oh, but you do.' He grabbed her wrist and lifted her arm. 'Quite a useful ability, if I remember correctly.' Nearly froze the shit out of him, that's how useful. 'Not that I could possibly ask you to kill someone,' he added as an afterthought. 'Very well, I will grant you the hospitality of my house. You and your brother will be well-cared for, and in the meantime I'll think of something you can do to repay me.' But in all honesty, he'd already decided on that.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
She startled when he reached out like that, but just curled her other arm more tightly around her brother. ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘And one last thing. It’s not a demand, but could you not tell him? If you see him? I mean Morcant.’
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Sonja
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'I'll be silent as the grave,' Rufus lied with a straight face. Pass up a chance to rub this in the man's face? He'd rather suck Pluto's balls. 'Now, my man Posca will show you where to refresh yourself, and I'll have chambers prepared for you and your brother. After that, you would do me a great honour if you partook in breakfast.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘Thank you,’ she said again, because she really didn’t know what else to tell him. Her mind had gone blank as soon as he had consented to let her stay.
The man – Posca, such a hard name to pronounce – led her away. Someone wanted to take Carwyn off her hands, but she just held on until they left her. After weeks of traveling, she washed all the dirt of her face and hands, brushed her hair until the shimmer returned. They took her old tunic, but that didn’t matter. It was so ragged and torn by now that she felt half-naked, walking around in it. The Roman clothes were incredibly soft and smooth.
The honour of breakfast, he had said. She sighed. Well, if she could leave Carwyn in the room, sleeping like a little rose…He had taken her in, after all. There was no point refusing to see him now.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
When she walked in again, he noticed that she looked particularly lovely. Good, good. Rufus was laying on the divan again, and he motioned her to do the same. Spread on the table was an assortment of delicacies from all over the Roman Empire: cost an arm and a leg to import to this shithole, but it was worth it. 'Help yourself,' he said, 'and then you might tell me how it is you returned from your trip with your infant brother.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
That was right, the Romans preferred to eat lying down. Her father had thought it somewhat lazy. A man sits straight when he drinks, he’d said.
Well, father was not here. She had left him behind with their draughty caer and his broken heart. Oh, and she was hungry! For a while, she couldn’t talk at all, just make sure that she wouldn’t faint from all the food.
Eventually, she looked up. Tell him the truth? He was the only one left to trust, but then he had never been particularly trustworthy. ‘My father believed that Carwyn is cursed.’
Edited by Marieke, 9 Nov 2011, 22:29.
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Sonja
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'Cursed, eh?' That was something to be taken seriously. Cursed by the gods wasn't exactly something you could conveniently ignore. 'By whom?'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘The same who cursed me.’ She sipped from a large cup of wine. She had wine before, when the Romans visited her father. ‘He’s not cursed,’ she added, softly. ‘My father has gone mad.’
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Sonja
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'Who was your father again, Two Lakes, hm?' That was something to remember. If the man had gone mad, it would be all too easy to take over his chieftaincy. 'Sorry to hear that.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘Yes.’ She was sorry too. ‘So I took Carwyn from him and left for…’ What? Home? ‘The Vale.’
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Sonja
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'How exactly did you and Morcant fall out, you said?' he pressed on. Ah, he wondered how many things he could actually ask her before she'd hesitate to answer. This was really quite fun - and just the distraction he needed. Rufus put a fig in his mouth and smiled to himself.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
Couldn’t she just say none of your business? No. You can’t. She hesitated all the same, watching as he enjoyed this food from a distant land.
‘He grew…I don’t know. Impatient. Angry, maybe. He said it was my brother, that he cried too much. We just fought. All the time.’
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Sonja
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Rufus clicked his tongue. 'No patience. How coarse. But then, I suppose that is to be expected from that type of man, you'll understand what I'm saying.' He cleaned his fingers in the bowl of water that stood on the table for that purpose.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
That didn’t mean she was ready to insult Morcant. ‘I don’t want to talk about this anymore.’
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Sonja
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But he did. 'Has your mother never told you that it actually helps to talk about things that bother you? It's a well known saying. My own mother never stopped rubbing my nose into that. So. You must be angry at him, hm?'
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