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Vale of the White Horse
Topic Started: 5 Jan 2010, 13:03 (19,333 Views)
Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'I hope so, for the both of you,' Gwenllian said with a smile as bright as Briallen's. If anyone deserved marital happiness, it was Briallen. 'Shall we get started on them, or do you want to talk to lord Tudwrig first?'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘Why don’t you start on the sunset,’ she replied, squinting her eyes at it. The image was better visible than that of the sunrise, and the colours certainly better preserved. ‘I’ll see if Tudwrig is alright. And I’ll have them removed from the walls and bring you a basket of yarn.’
She left the hall, counting the heartbeats in her throat. She really wanted to work on the sunrise herself. If Tudwrig could talk to her, or even just hear her words, perhaps it would give him a little more strength to keep on to his human form.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
Tudwrig didn't get much rest after eating. He wanted to take a walk with Briallen, but the curse prevented it from happening. He barely made it back to his room in time, and the second she had bolted the door the curse got the upperhand. Now he'd witnessed the sun set and rise again, restlessly prowling his room. There was no room for human thoughts. All he knew was that he wanted to go out and hunt something.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
She gave a knock on the door. ‘It’s me. Can you talk?’
There was no reply, but when she pressed her ear to the wood, Briallen thought she could hear a soft growling. Her fluttery heart sank. Leaning both her flat hands and her brow against the door, she pressed her lips to it as if she could kiss him through that barrier. If only he’d let her in. Wouldn’t there be a safe way for her to comfort his angry beast, this monster that he had to become? She found herself wishing that she could embrace his animal form, comb her fingers through his ragged fur and tell him stories until he remembered who he was. Her hand slid down to the heavy iron bolt. For a moment, she was tempted. But it was dangerous. Briallen remembered the first time she’d found him like this, and how scarcely she had gotten away. Her hand left the bolt again. She felt like a heavy sigh was locked up in her body – she couldn’t even let it out. With slower steps, she removed herself from his door, finding the baskets of yarn herself.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
When he heard a knock and a soft voice, he wanted to claw his way through the door and sink his teeth into whatever it was that made the sounds. No, he wanted to jump through the window and run a mile, or ravage the source of the noise outside. So many things to do... He threw himself against the door in an attempt to open it. His claws couldn't find a way out. He gave a frustrated howl and prowled back to the bed that didn't really belong to him.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
Despite the recent distractions, Rhywallon had not forgotten. With the man who called himself Rufus gone, he had a little time to stick his nose around other places. His list had shortened remarkably with the demise of Aulus Cloelius and Marcus Iulius. There was only one man left now, and he remembered his name like the taste of a poison on the tongue. Spurius Sulpicius. Slithering serpent was probably a better name; one with venom so bitter that he thought no antidote would ever really cure him. His hand found the scorched and maimed half of his face, the place that had been torn apart by knives so roughly and cruelly that he had to flinch from the memory. Tender fingers had also stroked this skin, tracing the scars with delicate circles. It had made him moan, from pleasure or agony he still did not know. A phantom pain, then, nothing more.
He’d be foolish to ask around in the settlement that became livelier by the day. With Iulius’ death still fresh on the streets, he had decided to ride for the other nearest village, a place that had long been the only community around Caer March. It had taken him half a day to arrive, then until the evening to ask around. Yes, they knew of that name. Had they ever seen the man? No one seemed to have a straight answer on that, but all their gazes went to his face and he saw some understanding behind their eyes. Finally, a trace: at the border with the land of the Silures. Well, that was hardly surprising, he thought bitterly. And he had not passed so close to his homeland since he’d fled from there. Well, there would be no time now. Marcus Lentulus had left the household of the White Horse but he was sure to return. Spurius Sulpicius would have to wait.
Rhywallon used the night to ride back, not hindered by the darkness or the need to sleep. His blood was boiling with a restless hunger. Home, to the Silures. If the Roman remained perched there, he would have no choice but to retrace his old, bleeding footsteps.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
The next day, Gwenllian walked down from her room with a soft smile on her face. There were a couple of reasons for that; Rhywallon was on her mind constantly, with his hands that could be gentle or rough; and the work on the tapestries was thankful labour, as they were a beautiful pieces of art that deserved to be restored to its former glory. When she entered the hall, Briallen was already there. She seemed slightly preoccupied, just like yesterday after she came back from Tudwrig's room. Gwenllian didn't need to ask to know that her husband hadn't been approachable and that it had wounded her.
'Good morning,' she greeted the other girl and took her place next to her.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
He arrived in the morning. Caer March still seemed a little sleepy. He’d had no food since he had left the settlement, so he stalked into the hall. Most servants had their breakfasts early, some even before down. Lady Briallen was already present. She did not seem to be a type to keep to her bed much. Gwenllian was accompanying her, so he decided against approaching them. A single nod would suffice.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
When she saw Rhywallon enter the hall, Gwenllian got up and made her apologies to Briallen. She had occasion to do some thinking the past few days, ever since he had returned with news about lord Lentulus. She walked down the steps until she was near him, and gave him a breathless little smile. 'Had a good trip?' she inquired after greeting him.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
He leaned back on his seat, lading a wooden plate with a torn piece of bread and pieces of a cut apple. He wasn’t so sure if the trip had been a success; whatever he had learned, it must wait. He eyed Gwenllian. She looked genuinely glad to have him in sight again, something that still made him wonder if she had lost her eyesight along the way. ‘Quite. You look radiant. Did something happen?’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
Gwenllian shrugged as she sat down. 'I had a good dream,' she answered and looked at how he filled his plate and started eating. The good side of his face was turned towards her, and it reminded her of the first day they'd met. It was quite a handsome face like this, but Gwenllian thought she preferred the entire picture. The scars and burns that testified his bravery, the terrible choice and incredible sacrifice he had made... 'I was wondering if you would walk with me after breakfast..?'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
He was tired, but he nodded. ‘I will.’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'I won't keep you long, you must be tired,' she said while grabbing a piece of bread herself. She only needed to know one thing, but she wasn't really sure how to ask. She didn't want to offend him by assuming the wrong things.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
He finished his food in silence, emptying his cup before he looked at her again. ‘Anytime you feel like going.’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
Not long ago, his silence would have annoyed her, she thought with a smile and got up. 'Now is as good a time as any.' Gwenllian walked out of the caer, falling silent herself until they were well out of earshot of anyone. He hadn't told her why he had to leave for a couple of days, and though she could hazard a guess she didn't really want to know. She glanced at him, wondering what to say. It was always difficult to start a conversation with him. And she didn't have any money on her, either. 'Have you ever been to Wayland's Smithy?'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
Her question surprised him. ‘Wayland’s Smithy?’ He looked down on her rosy hair that bobbed around her shoulders as she walked. What was it she tried to speak about? ‘I haven’t. I have heard it is something of a burrow in close vicinity of Caer March.’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
She nodded. 'Briallen and I went there on the day you got back. It's a strange place, and it sort of scared me.' She licked her lips and glanced over at him. 'When we were inside, I kept wishing you were there, too.' Oh, this was truly difficult. 'I know it sounds silly...'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
This was only getting more peculiar. ‘What was there that frightened you?’ he asked quietly.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Just a feeling,' she said. 'Like the souls of anyone who had ever been there still lingered in the rocks. It was like that night in the forest, when I'd woken up from that nightmare. Nothing tangible to be afraid of, yet I nearly fainted of freight.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
He remembered that night. He had draped a blanket over her laying form, nearly embracing her slim shoulders. Then he had said all sort of things about the forest, until she’d been asleep again. ‘There is very little I can do against the otherworldly,’ he said, frowning. ‘I believe I told you this sometime earlier.’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Yes, I know,' she said quietly, though she was convinced that he could, in fact. 'I was just wondering - well, I hope you won't misunderstand me, but I thought... Even though I'm not hiring you anymore, would you still protect me if something went wrong?'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
It was the sound in her voice more than her words that made him halt in his track. He turned to face her fully, his hands on either side of her shoulders to stop her too. ‘If someone rode up this hill and brandished a knife at you,’ he said lowly, hands moving up to cup her face, ‘do you think I would stand by and let it happen, Gwenllian?’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'No, I - no,' she said. 'It's not that I'm worried about. I mean, well,... never mind. I'm being silly again.' She reached up and put her hands over his, smiling.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘You’re being rather incomprehensible,’ he corrected her. ‘Have you said what you wanted to say?’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'What if you left for a while, and Higueid found out I was here and somehow managed to take me back to Cavern Hill,' she started after a short silence, 'and when you came back to notice I was gone. Would you...come for me?'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘And free you from his clutches?’ He was silent, staring down on her face ponderingly. He, Rhywallon with the demon-face, was not a man to submit to lovesick fancies. He knew himself better than that. Whatever Gwenllian had consented with, sharing a bed with him at night, was not a string around their hands like a handfasting. Yet he had rushed back from the brotherhood with one sole thought on his mind: Gwenllian in Lentulus’ arms. ‘If I knew who had taken you,’ he answered eventually, running a thumb up and down her cheekbone, ‘and where; I suppose I would.’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
Gwenllian breathed a little easier after that. Though she'd told herself that it wouldn't matter if he said no, that it wouldn't really change anything, she'd been rather afraid of what his answer would be. 'I haven't forgotten the no-obligations thing,' she said then with a smile that was just a little arch, 'I just needed a bit of hope.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
'You feel unsafe in Caer March?' he asked, not letting go of her.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Not really, but I guess I'll never feel truly safe anywhere until Higueid's dead,' she shrugged.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
'I see.' Rhywallon let go of her. Was she asking him to kill her husband? He had no time for that - not with Rufus and his own private list still uncompleted. 'You should speak to lady Briallen on this matter. I won't be here forever to shield you, Gwenllian. As soon as I have dealt with Marcus Lentulus, I must be on my way.'
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