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Vale of the White Horse
Topic Started: 5 Jan 2010, 13:03 (19,378 Views)
Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
But she just needed his promise, for what it was worth. 'Then, if I promise to go with you first, will you untie me?'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
He had to think that through for a bit, but then decided that no matter how hard she ran, he could run faster. 'All right.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
'Oh.' She had not really expected him to agree, but it relieved her. It wouldn't make her more free but she'd be spared the indignation of it and at least the pain would cease. 'Thank you.'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Don't mention it. Told you we took care of our people, didn't I?' he grinned and bent towards her to untie her wrist completely. 'Just don't..try anything, okay?' Morcant said.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
'What should I try?' she asked, more to herself than in actual reply. 'You took my knife and I'm not so stupid to go wander about alone in the wild lands.'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'How should I know, you girls are frightfully ingenious when you want to be, there could be all sorts of plans floating around in your head.' Again, Morcant shrugged. It was better never to underestimate anyone, that way you didn't have unpleasant surprised to deal with.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
'I promised to go with you.' No one had ever doubted her word at home. She had to admit that this was not a promise her father would expect her to keep, but he was the one to raise her to be honest and obedient.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Not everyone is as honourbound as you or me, I'm afraid. I'm not taking any chances.' He slid the rope off her wrist and coiled it, putting it in his bag since he had no further use of it. 'Ready to move on?'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
Not particularly. Still, Essylt scrambled to her feet. Her hands were free to dust off her skirt now. 'Will it be long?'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Couple o' days,' he grunted in answer. 'Three, maybe four. Depends on how much ground we can cover.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
She nodded. 'I'll try to walk faster.'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Don't over-exert yourself,' he admonished. It wasn't going to do him much good should she crumple in a heap on the second day with blisters the size of walnuts. 'They'll wait.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
But she wanted to. She wanted it to be over quick. It became a day of restless walking, climbing and descending hills with soggy slopes. She fell one or two times, her good clothes of pale summer-blue quickly becoming soiled with mud. Late in the afternoon, the man found them some refuge between a cluster of low, leafy bushes. Essylt slept quickly, her body needing the rest harder than her mind could stay awake with worry.
She dreamt of the grew owl. His black spots dashed across the sky like a shower of meteorites and he landen close to her face. She had her arms outstretched in the dream. His eyes, two twin lakes of starshine, stared into her own unblinkingly. 'I don't know what you want,' she said to him. 'I don't know what you mean.'
He snapped his bill. His talons scraped over her skin when he pushed himself from her arm up into the sky. It hurt, then everything became cold.
Essylt awoke with a snap. Her hands were still cold. She peered through the darkness, movng her fingers slowly. The ice slipped off her hands like snow slid off the branches of a tree. A small patch of grass hung limply and frozen.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
Morcant sat leaned against a tree, his arms resting on his knees. He'd dozed a little, but thought it prudent to stay awake for the rest of the night. After all, they were in the middle of the wood with little shelter. His eyes were well adjusted to darkness by now, and he could see from Essylt's movements that she had woken up.
'Lively dreams?' he inquired. 'You were murmuring in your sleep.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
She jumped. Her first impulse was to hide the trail of frost from his view, spreading her hands over it. The cold slipped from her fingertips, she could feel it seeping out of her like water. 'I...' She stared down, then up. He wouldn't see, couldn't see it with this darkness. 'I can't remember.'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Hm,' he answered, not entirely believing her. She was moving rather furtively. Morcant's eyes travelled down, to her hands which she was spreading over something he couldn't see. Her pale eyes were wide and just a little wild. 'What's that you got there,' he asked lightly and pointed at her hands, 'a pet insect?'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
'No...no. Nothing. I...wouldn't hold pet insects in my sleep, I think.' She felt uncomfortable. He was observant. The frost hadn't died away yet. Oh, she hoped her body warmth would quickly melt the cold so he wouldn't see. What was it? Was something following her? A spirit? The owl? She glanced about, but couldn't see anything but the dark canopy of trees.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
It was some rather odd behaviour she was displaying here. Morcant didn't like it one bit and got to his feet, walking over to where she sat and kneeling down. Without much ado, he took a hold of her wrists and turned them over. Her palms were moist, which was strange since the earth wasn't damp enough for it. Even stranger was the small patch of frost that was now exposed, right where her hands had been. 'Winter's come early this year,' he noticed dryly, 'and local.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
Essylt stared up at him, feeling like a deer caught in a trap. 'Don't touch me,' she breathed. She wanted to say it harder, so that he would listen, but her voice left her weakly. Her hands had already frosted the grass, what if she accidentally injured other people with this? She was too upset to pull her hands away from his grasp. 'It's -'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
He scowled down at her. She looked terribly frightened, which may or may not have anything to do with the patch of frost he'd just pulled her hands off. Morcant was not as superstitious as some of his brothers, but he did have a proper respect and weariness for the uncanny. If this was the work of the Good Folk, perhaps they had better left. 'Lissen, girl, if you've seen anything out of the ordinary, now is the time to tell me,' he said, not letting go of her wrists just yet.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
He hadn't turned to ice. She breathed in and out. His hands felt warm - a lot warmer than her own. 'I don't exactly know,' she muttered, avoiding his gaze now. It was not exactly a lie.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
Her skin was cold to the touch - too cold, he thought. 'You don't exactly know,' he repeated and shook his head. Well, that wasn't of much use. Morcant crouched a little lower, trying to catch her gaze. She was avoiding it for all she was worth. 'All right. If you do exactly know, you best tell me immediately.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
She wanted to move away. She could smell him; a woodsy smell. 'I woke up and it was cold.... I dreamed of an owl. One I've seen before.' She hesitated. He had no reason to know all of this. Yet she had noone else to talk to. 'I think....It might be me.' Essylt looked up briefly before staring beyond him to a point unseen. 'But that's probably not right at all. I'm completely normal.'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
Morcant had never counted himself among the more intelligent men, but he wasn't stupid either - yet he couldn't really quite grasp what Essylt was trying to say. He pressed his lips together and looked at the patch of frost, now all but gone, then back at her. 'You're as normal as they come, as far as I can see. Now, it was probably just one of them Good Folk having a bit of fun. Nothing to worry about, anyway.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
'Probably just?' Her voice sounded a pitch higher. She finally managed to get to her knees. This position was awkward; he wouldn't let go of her wrists. 'It frightens me!'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Frightening or not, we can't move around in this darkness. The chance of one of us breaking something is too big,' Morcant said brusquely. So much for trying to make her feel at ease. 'C'mon, take a few deep breaths, that's a good girl.' He rubbed her hands until they started to feel as warm as human hands should be.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
She didn't know what to think. She didn't know if he believed her. His palms rubbed roughly over her own hands. Essylt sat on her place limply. Her father would never approve of such close contact with a fiend. But then, her father was not here to save his precious daughter. It was just herself. She'd have to manage all alone. Her hands grew warmer but the fright did not leave so easily. He was right, she understood that and didn't want to risk breaking a leg or worse. But what was happening? 'When can we go on?'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'At first light,' he said, letting go of her hands and getting out the flask of water. During the afternoon, he'd refilled it in a crisp, clear stream that cut through the forest like a shimmering ribbon. His bottle of strong drink had also been filled with that same water after he'd emptied it during lunch.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
'Right.' This was the second time she'd woked up before dawn. It was still cold and her clothes, though warm for an afternoon in the open, couldn't protect her against the chill of a nightly forest. If she got sick, she'd be a burden and that would only postpone the moment of her return. She wasn't even sure if he would keep the promise of returning her. For all she knew, he would hand her over to these brothers of his. Perhaps they'd rape her and leave her alone and naked in the forest while they went on to trap her family. The thought of it made her nauseous. Essylt pulled up her legs to wrap her arms around her knees. What did she know of promises from outlaws? 'I don't even know your name.'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'What's in a name,' Morcant shrugged. 'But it's Morcant.'
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