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| Vale of the White Horse | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: 5 Jan 2010, 13:03 (19,373 Views) | |
| Marieke | 18 Apr 2010, 17:54 Post #931 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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Essylt realized she should be grateful for the two men standing up for her, such as it was. But all she really wanted was that they stopped talking about her as if she was a calf on the market. 'Fine,' the man with the blue tattoos shrugged. 'I wasn't intendin' to rape her, brother. Gentle seductions work wonders. But then, what would you know of that, huh.' He flashed a blinking smile at the man next to Morcant. Essylt guessed it was because he had stalked a girl. She wondered when, and if the girl was alright now. And she shuddered. 'Gentle seductions? I wouldn't have it.' 'And what's the lily flower's name, then?' |
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| Sonja | 18 Apr 2010, 17:59 Post #932 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'The girl was delusional,' Cuhelyn sniffed. 'Wanted to save herself for her goddess, or something.' 'That's what you say.' Morcant rolled his eyes, then shot a warning sort of glance at Essylt. 'Her name's Essylt.' With a grin that distorted his tattoes, Elgued looked from Morcant to the girl. 'What, she can't introduce herself?' |
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| Marieke | 18 Apr 2010, 18:03 Post #933 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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Essylt wasn't sure what he had meant by that glance, but it caused her to remain silent now. She waited for Morcant to reply, feeling worse as every heartbeat passed. Her eyes still felt uncomfortably close to crying. Could they see it? Or did it surprise no one? Did they care? |
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| Sonja | 18 Apr 2010, 18:10 Post #934 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'I wouldn't want to introduce myself to the likes of you, and I'm your size,' Cuhelyn remarked before Morcant could say anything. The man leaned back with his hands folded behind his head and grinned at Elgued. 'Why don't you go and find yourself a crazy virgin to stalk?' Morcant got up. 'I've enough of this,' he said. 'Where's Gwyddien, I need to talk to him.' Cuhelyn jerked his thumb to the tent in the middle of camp. 'In his tent, of course.' He nodded. 'Coming, Essylt?' he asked her, wanting to make very clear that, even though a hostage, he considered the girl as much a part of them as Cuhelyn or Elgued, or any of the other men. |
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| Marieke | 18 Apr 2010, 18:13 Post #935 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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She jagged her head up in surprise. 'Um. Yes.' Quickly, before any of the men could stop her if they wanted to, she got up and hurried after Morcant. It wasn't that she wanted to follow him around like a puppy. She just really did not want to stay behind, not even if this other man would stand guard over her. 'Who's Gwyddien?' |
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| Sonja | 18 Apr 2010, 18:15 Post #936 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'He's more or less in command, here. Though we all get the same amount of impact, Gwyddien makes all the final decisions. He's a good man,' he added. |
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| Marieke | 18 Apr 2010, 18:16 Post #937 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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'Good, as opposed to my father?' she asked, eyes downcast to hide the hurt and anger there. |
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| Sonja | 18 Apr 2010, 18:44 Post #938 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'Good in that he will not stand for any raping,' Morcant growled. Really, he was trying to comfort her, and this was the reaction he got? He could understand that she was scared, but it wouldn't sit well with his brothers if she kept asserting that her father was a good man when clearly, he was not. |
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| Marieke | 18 Apr 2010, 18:47 Post #939 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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She bit down hard on her lip, but gave no reply. She had more or less assumed that it was Morcant who was in charge. At least he seemed to have some status. The tent was not large, and well hidden between the trees. |
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| Sonja | 18 Apr 2010, 18:56 Post #940 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'Treat him with some respect, please, and speak when you're spoken to.' He put his fists on his hips and looked down on her. Morcant foresaw some trouble in the very near future, involving her and his brothers. He'd have to prevent that from happening, somehow. |
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| Marieke | 18 Apr 2010, 18:59 Post #941 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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Essylt nodded. I'd be mad if I wouldn't, she thought. There wasn't anyone in this camp to protect her except some of the men with more goodwill. She'd have to stay in their favour, no matter her own feelings on the matter. 'I suppose you want me to tell him about my father and our household.' |
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| Sonja | 18 Apr 2010, 19:03 Post #942 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'Aye,' he said. 'But let's see how he takes to your presence first, right?' He tapped on the tent and waited until a low voice bade him to enter. Morcant lifted the tentflap to let Essylt enter first. Once inside, he nodded at the older man sitting on a threadbare mat of woven reed. Gwyddien had one of his eyebrows raised. 'We have a visitor, I see?' |
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| Marieke | 18 Apr 2010, 19:06 Post #943 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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It felt wrong to enter first. Now the whole attention of this man was on her. She studied the ground, then glanced shiftily at Morcant. Was she to introduce herself? No, he'd told her clearly to speak only when spoken to, so she kept her mouth. Gwyddien had blue tattoos as well, on his face and on his arms in swirls and patterns that must have taken days to complete. They went all down to his wrists. |
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| Sonja | 18 Apr 2010, 19:10 Post #944 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'This is Essylt,' Morcant said, 'daughter of the chieftain of Two Lakes.' 'Daughter of the chieftain?' Gwyddien repeated. 'Yes. I couldn't get inside to get information, the place was too heavily guarded. The day before I left I found her in the forest. Thought she was a maid at first and that I might get something to share out of here. Then she mentioned being the man's daughter and I decided to bring her here for some constructive blackmailing.' The man had been listening quietly, nodding his head every now and then. Now he turned to Essylt. 'How old are you?' |
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| Marieke | 18 Apr 2010, 19:15 Post #945 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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She had not moved once during his brief explanation. It made her feel like a fool; if only she had not mentioned her father at the time, she could still be home, at mother's side. Now she lifted her eyes. 'Seventeen. Or very nearly.' 'Do you have a lord beside your father?' 'You mean if I'm married?' she shifted her feet. She understood the question, but feared to answer it truthfully. An unmarried girl was more vulnerable, despite Morcant's claim that this man was a good one. But it was impossible to lie, since her kidnapper stood beside her, closely watching her, and he already knew the truth. 'No, I have not.' |
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| Sonja | 18 Apr 2010, 19:21 Post #946 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'I see. And you thought it wise to bring a young girl in the middle of a group of brigands?' Gwyddien asked, turning to Morcant. He shrugged. 'Only Elgued is being a pest right now, and him I can handle. I figured that she is our best shot at getting rid of the Romans in Two Lakes. And she'll give us valuable information.' The older man got up with a grunt and gestured the two of them to sit. 'Fair enough.' He poured drinks into two cups, handing one to Morcant and the other to the girl. 'You have eaten, I suppose?' he asked her. |
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| Marieke | 18 Apr 2010, 19:24 Post #947 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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For a moment, she thought that he was going to order Morcant to bring her back. It was with a sting of sharp disappointment when he had them settle down. So he agreed with the plan, even though he uttered doubts about her safety. It did not make her feel better, but she accepted the cup, staring down into it. The liquid seemed strong of smell. 'Yes,' she whispered. 'Thank you.' |
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| Sonja | 18 Apr 2010, 19:29 Post #948 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'I want you to bring her to a safer place after she's given us her information,' Gwyddien said to Morcant, holding up a hand to silence him when he started to speak. 'You've already risked her safety enough, don't you think?' Morcant pressed his lips together. 'Yes, Gwyddien.' 'Now, my girl, would you please tell us exactly how much influence the Romans have in your household?' |
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| Marieke | 18 Apr 2010, 19:36 Post #949 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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'I hope you understand that it does not please me to do so,' Essylt answered carefully, sipping from the goblet just so that she did not have to stare into the man's face. 'But since I am left with hardly a choice, I'll try. My father agreed on peaceful coexistence with the Roman settlers in our chieftaincy a few moons after they invaded the Dobunni lands. He did it to protect his people from raids and worse,' she added more sharply, looking at Morcant now, before facing Gwyddien. 'He understood the wealth they brought us and our people and saw that they have no intentions to rob us of our customs and law. We do not meet them everyday, but they are common at our markets and sometimes as our guests....' She let her words trail off here, not sure if it was wise to mention her coming engagement again. It had made Morcant very angry. |
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| Sonja | 18 Apr 2010, 19:44 Post #950 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'Her old man wants her to marry one of the pigs,' Morcant interjected, trying to contain his voice to something that was at least partially rational and anger-free. However, Gwyddien didn't nearly seem as impressed as he had been. 'Yes, it's logical,' was all he said. 'I'm sure Morcant already told you, but all we want is to get the Romans off our lands. If your father only wants to protect his people, we'll leave him and his in peace. Apart from road-building and this peaceful coexistance, have you any idea what the Romans are doing?' |
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| Marieke | 18 Apr 2010, 19:49 Post #951 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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Essylt flinched at the anger in Morcant's words but deliberately did not look his way. 'Romans seem less inclined to involve their women in such affairs,' she replied. 'Or any women at all. I know very little, only that they desire to conquer all of the lands and tribes. They call it Britannia. Our north, what they have named the Caledonii, are putting up a fight. They have not entered there.' |
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| Sonja | 18 Apr 2010, 19:56 Post #952 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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Gwyddien stroked his chin, his eyes looking off into the distance. 'Yes, that we know. You see, Essylt, we feel the Romans have no business expanding their empire over the backs of others. They characterize themselves as better, more civilized, far wealthier than any other people, as the saviors of us poor, witless savages. We're convinced we can persuade them to stop taking over our lands, but we need a lot of help for that. I'm sorry you had to be dragged into this so abruptly, but we can only try to make the best of this. So, will you help us?' |
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| Marieke | 18 Apr 2010, 19:59 Post #953 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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'Help you?' she said, snapping up. Her voice was suddenly sharper than it had been before. 'I have already said too much about my father's matters. What is it you want me to do more?' Morcant had told her to show respect. Essylt pressed her lips together. |
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| Sonja | 18 Apr 2010, 20:04 Post #954 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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Gwyddien smiled. 'I'm sure there's a lot more you know about the Romans that could be helpful to us than you yourself even realize. Bits of conversations that you may have picked up here and there, a note you may have seen, names of the officers stationed in your father's household... You don't need to tell us about your father's matters at all, just about the Romans. And I'd rather have you tell of your own accord than forcing you to.' It wasn't a threat, Morcant knew, but he was wondering what the girl would think of that last bit. He kept his mouth shut tightly. Gwyddien never really did things the way you expected him to do them, but he usually got what he was after. |
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| Marieke | 18 Apr 2010, 20:12 Post #955 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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'...Fine.' She put the goblet down and could not hide the sigh. 'But you'll have to ask me about specific subjects, because I can't remember all that I've seen or heard just like this.' 'I wouldn't expect you to, child,' Gwyddien said. Essylt looked up to saw a half-smile on his face. He, at least, showed more consideration than Morcant or the other men she'd seen so briefly. |
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| Sonja | 18 Apr 2010, 20:15 Post #956 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'Tomorrow is early enough for more questions,' Gwyddien decided then. 'You must be tired.' |
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| Marieke | 18 Apr 2010, 20:16 Post #957 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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She didn't say that she did not know how to rest or to sleep soundly among so many unfamiliar men. 'Thank you for your kindness.' |
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| Sonja | 18 Apr 2010, 20:20 Post #958 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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Gwyddien bowed his head at her, then looked at Morcant. 'I would like to have a word with you, Morcant.' 'Hm,' he grunted. 'I'm not leaving her alone with Elgued on the loose.' 'You should've thought of that before bringing her here.' Morcant scowled at the older man. 'I'll ask Cuhelyn to keep an eye on her. If you don't mind,' he said to Essylt. |
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| Marieke | 18 Apr 2010, 20:23 Post #959 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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What if I do, she wondered, would it matter so much to you? 'It's fine,' she forced herself to say, even though she had not forgotten Cuhelyn's eyes. Well, he seemed nicer than that other man - she had not remembered his name. 'Then bring her to him and return here,' Gwyddien said. |
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| Sonja | 18 Apr 2010, 20:25 Post #960 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'Yes, yes, obeying orders, sir,' Morcant grumbled and stalked out of the tent. It wasn't long before he returned with Cuhelyn, whose wolfish grin was firmly in place, as ever. 'Ello, girl. How about I give you the grand tour of our fine encampment?' he chuckled, causing Morcant to roll his eyes. |
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