| |
Darkseeker
|
That was one thing Lyo knew nothing of. Kings, Queens, and Princesses. He knew a King ruled, but that was just about it. From what he took away from Ethelia's comment, the King not only ruled over his Kingdom and territory, but also his own family. Apparently, even his children had to obey him as full grown adults. Even the idea sounded ridiculous. He couldn't imagine his life and every choice being dictated by someone else. "No, it's alright. This will do." He began sweeping the powder into a pile. Finding a random wooden bowl, he dunked it into the water bucket. He didn't care if it didn't last long, he needed relief. "Wai-" He glanced up, but he was too late. She was already out the doorway and down the hallway. He dusted his hands off on his pants. He glanced down at Koa, "Is she always this stubborn?" He whispered to the dog, as though she would respond. Lyo gave Koa head scratches as, he waited for Ethelia to come back. A wave of pain washed over him, he hissed as he gripped the table. Knuckles turning white. He shifted his shoulders trying to ease the pain, only to realize his shirt was sticking to the small unstitched wounds. His brother couldn't stitch all five of the claw marks, as there wasn't much skin to use to cover them. He stitched the three in the middle and left the two on the ends be. Lyo carefully pulled the shirt off, grimacing at the feeling of the cloth being pulled away from his open wound. He tossed his shirt on the table. He was half tempted to just scoop the powder into the water and drink it like that. More blood dribbled down his back. He didn't doubt that having bumped his back earlier made the wounds bleed again. |
|
|
| |
Darkseeker
|
Ethelia walked the last few steps back to the kitchen. She wasn't entirely sure why she felt so inclined to help Lyo, and she was even more surprised when she realized they hadn't screamed in each other's faces since the beginning of this conversation. That was odd. She slowed her steps as she entered the kitchen, slightly taken aback when she seen Lyo with his shirt off. She hadn't even thought how uncomfortable that alone might be. She set the tin down on the table and grabbed a wash rag, dunking it in the bucket of water. Blood dripped from the two smallest wounds, in places that weren't able to be stitched. She gently wiped the rag over the unmarred bloody skin. This didn't look to be the first time Lyo had dealt with injuries. Scars peppered the skin on his back, the white tissue standing out starkly. When she was finished cleaning around the wounds she dropped the bloodied cloth on the table. She unscrewed the lid to the tin and dipped her fingers in, scooping some of the salve out on her fingertips. "This is going to hurt like hell." She warned. She started by applying the salve around the two smallest wounds. Luckily, there were no sign of infection, yet. She then started applying around the three larger wounds. She was careful to avoid the stitches. The skin was warm to the touch, but that was to be expected. Then she thought about something. "Who stitched these up?" It was impossible that he could have done it himself. |
|
|
| |
Darkseeker
|
Lyo half expected for Ethelia to just hand it him, but instead she wordlessly began to work on his back. He planned on just kaing the small tin and waking his brother to make him do it for him. It wasn't like he'd be able to even reach back there himself. The silence between them was comforting. Her touch was gentle, not rough like his brother. His muscles rippled with tension, as he refrained from expressing just how painful this was. Lyo glanced over his shoulder, as her voice broke the silence. He nodded his head, as he prepared himself. A small pained groaned slipped past, as he squeezed his eyes shut. Knuckles turning white again as they gripped the table, as he tried to keep from squirming away from her. He barely heard her when she spoke. "My brother, Alaric." He answered honestly. "Did he do a bad job?" He questioned, as his brows furrowed. It wasn't like he could see his back to judge his brothers work. He figured she could probably put two and two together to figure out which man Alaric was. The only curly brown haired, and green eyed man Lyo mostly stuck around with. The two never used the word "foster" brother when speaking about each other. They truly considered themselves blood brothers. "Uh-" He thought for a moment. It felt strange to thank her, out of all people, but she was helping him. Even though he tried to reject her help a few times. "Thank you." He spoke into the darkness in front of him, jaw clenched. Maybe this was a fever dream and he'd wake in a pool of his sweat with an infection in the wound on his back. |
|
|
| |
Darkseeker
|
Ethelia finished and wiped her hands on the cloth, screwing the lid back on the tin and handing it to Lyo. She couldn't imagine how much that would have hurt, and he barely made a sound. She remembered the man he had sat with at the pub, guessing that's who it was. "No, he did a wonderful job, actually. I don't see any signs of infection." She said. She started absently picking at her fingers. Ethelia nodded at his thanks, knowing he probably couldn't see her anyways. Ethelia stumbled back in surprise when Koa jumped at her, her two front paws resting on her shoulders. "Well hello there." She said, her lips pulling back into a smile. Standing like this, Koa was nearly as tall as her. And apparently, in perfect licking range. The dog licked her nose, her brown eyes sparkling. Ethelia scratched Koa's ribs, picking her front paws up from off of her shoulders and setting her gently down on the floor. |
|
|
| |
Darkseeker
|
The salve felt soothing on his back. He accepted the tin greedily, shoving it into his pocket. That didn't surprise him. Alaric has had many times to perfect his work, Lyo being his guinea pig. "Yeah, guess he's used to it at this point." Ethelia didn't seem so bad when she wasn't throwing threats and insults his way. He couldn't exactly put all the blame on her though. He was pretty hot headed and didn't back down from an argument. Lyo turned around to face Ethelia. Now that the pain was slowly fading away he could think a lot more clearly. He watched the woman interact with her dog for a moment. Grabbing his shirt off the table, he glanced at her. "I should head back." He awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. Not waiting around a moment longer, Lyo took his leave. It was much easier to speak to her when she was yelling at him. It felt odd with all the niceties exchanged between them. He still couldn't understand why she helped him, but he wouldn't dwell on it. Everything would be back to normal by tomorrow. |
|
|
| |
Darkseeker
|
Ethelia watched as Lyo grabbed his shirt. He already seemed to be in significantly less pain. "Me too." She said, grabbing her forgotten apple off of the table. She watched as he departed, the air of awkwardness dissipating. It felt weird to not be angry with him. In a way, she still was. He was involved with Aegon's injury and he was an asshole to her when it happened. But he didn't seem as...angry just now. She couldn't quit find a way to describe it. She puzzled over the interaction while she made her way back to her room, eating her apple as well. It had to be close to four now, and morning was going to come to soon. And then her father would make his decision. She prayed he would say no, but the logical part of herself knew he would accept. That was the kind of bargain he would jump for. Gregory and the rest of his crew would have to play their cards right if they didn't want her father swooping in and taking control of everything, which he would most likely try to do. Ethelia couldn't stop thinking about her encounter with Lyo. It was odd how at ease both of them were. There was no screaming, no death threats, or anything of the sort. It was weird, and she wasn't sure if she liked it. She found it was easier to yell at someone than to have a civilized conversation with them. She made it back to her room and climbed back into bed, Koa at her feet. It didn't take long for sleep to claim her. |
|
|
| |
Darkseeker
|
Lyo managed to get a few more hours of sleep when he made it back to the room he was staying in. Alaric threw the door open to Lyo's room. "Lyo! Get up!" The green eyed man, ripped the blankets off of his brother. Lyo protested, but begrudgingly got up. "We have an hour before we have to show in the King's council room. I think he's going to agree." Alaric walked around the room grabbing Lyo's shoes and tossing them at his feet. He placed a pair of clean clothes on the bed. Where his brother managed to find those he had no idea. Lyo stretched gently, as his brother spoke to him. "Hell, I think the King's more conniving than Gregory himself." Alaric rambled on about his observations he's made of the King. "Where's your wrap?" His brother randomly said. Lyo rubbed his face. "It fell off." He lied. That earned an eye roll from his brother. "That stuff is not easy to get, Lyo." He huffed, "I'll see if I can find more, or else you'll be bleeding all over the council room." Alaric said distractedly as he left the room. Lyo took a quick bath. He could count all the times he'd used a bath inside on one hand. Baths were taken in any body of water he came across. Changing into the clean pants his brother brought him, he pulled his boots on. Now he just had to wait for Alaric to come back. Folding up his pants, he felt the pocket. Pulling out the tin can, he rolled it in his hands. Hm, so last night really did happen. |
|
|
| |
Darkseeker
|
Ethelia woke the next morning at seven o'clock. Way earlier than she had wanted to. It took her approximately four seconds to remember her father's meeting that, surprisingly, she was actually allowed to attend. She bathed and dressed quickly in a simple lavender gown and did her hair before she was ready to leave. Koa was reluctant to stay, but she knew her father would have a shit fit if she brought her, so she decided to spare herself the lecture. The meeting would take place in her father's council room. She was one of the last ones to arrive before the door was shut and a suspenseful silence filled the room. "Good morning, everyone. I have thought long and hard about you proposition, and I have ultimately decided to accept. It took lots of thought, but after weighing the pros and cons, I decided to give it a try." Ethelia's heart sank to her toes. She expected this, so she shouldn't be angry. But she was. She was so incredibly angry she couldn't even think straight. She barely managed to keep her temper on a leash and schooled her face into neutrality. It was hard not to glare at the men sitting down the table from her. This was the wrong way to go about this. The only reason the men were offering their weapon to her father in the first place was to secure them a spot of power. And most likely make up for the little 'incident' two days ago. That only happened two days ago. It feels like forever since then. She couldn't help but feel like nothing was going to be the same anymore. |
|
|
| |
Darkseeker
|
The entire meeting, Lyo ignored Ethelia's presence. Only glancing at the King when he spoke. 'Good morning, everyone. I have thought long and hard about you proposition, and I have ultimately decided to accept. It took lots of thought, but after weighing the pros and cons, I decided to give it a try.' Oddly enough this was not a satisfying win, as he thought it would be. His gut twisted as he glanced at Gregory. A terrifying glint flashed in the man's eyes. Lyo seemed to be the only one who caught it. His eyes narrowed for a moment, but he decided to ignore it. "We won't disappoint, Your Majesty." Greg confirmed with a nod. Just like that the meeting was dismissed. The men were already heading outside. Their stay was only a night long. Now they had to get right to work and begin preparing and planning for their next target. They had to knock something out the sky to make their King happy. Out the front castle doors the men made their way to their horses and the carriage carry the most valuable weapon that would bring the riches. Lyo had noticed as they were leaving Gregory had disappeared off somewhere in the direction the King had what. The men began mounting their horses. Well, they had done the impossible, yet Lyo didn't feel any excitement of sorts. |
|
|
| |
Darkseeker
|
(timeskip like 2 weeks) Ethelia rested her head on a fist as her history teacher's boring voice filled the small room. She felt her eyelids flutter. This class was so incredibly boring it made her want to crawl under a rock and die. She mercifully made it out of there without falling asleep, and she finally had an hour to herself until lunch. The thought of her bed made her take the stairs two at a time. She hadn't slept well this past week, but she wasn't really sure why. Life had returned back to normal after Gregory's group had left, and she pretty much forgot all about them. That was until she heard her father's whispered conversations with her mother, discussing where to strike first and yada yada. She tried not to let it bother her. It's not like she could do anything about it anyway. Aegon's injuried had nearly healed. She had been taking him on small flights to build up his endurance and strength again, but he wasn't ready for the long flights she was used to yet. That wouldn't be for at least another week. She arrived up to her room and closed her door. The open curtains let in the late spring sunlight, bathing her room in a golden glow. It shone eerily off of the blood red of nearly everything in her room. The sound of hooves and muffled voices in the courtyard drew her attention. She got an eerie sense of deja vu when she looked out her window and discovered the dragon hunting group themselves. Her father really need to come up with a title for them. 'Dragon hunting group' didn't roll off the tongue very well. Maybe 'enemy annihilaters' would work better. They looked to be packing for something, but she was too far away to tell. Whatever they were doing, it looked suspicious. Then Ethelia had an idea. A crazy, stupid, horrible, most likely ending in her death idea. Without another thought she opened her door and dashed down the hallway to Revyn's room. She rapped twice on the door and waited for her friend. He answered momentarily, smiling when he seen Ethelia. He told her to come in, which she did. They sat down on a low lying couch, Revyn starting to look slightly concerned by her presence. "Do you need something?' He asked, cocking one of his eyebrows. Ethelia explained her crazy idea. She knew following the dragon hunters was stupid, but she was bored here. Every day was exactly the same. Wake up, eat, classes, eat, classes, eat, sleep, repeat. And Revyn was the only one in the whole caslte she could trust with the secret. By the time she was done explaining, Revyn's mouth hung open. "That might take the award for worst idea you've ever had, Ethelia." He said slowly, "Do you know what your father will do to you when you come back? And how do you expect me to stay silent? You know I'm going to be the first person he interrogates when you go missing! I'm not going to lie to my King." "Vyn, I'm bored! I have nothing else to do with my life right now! Besides, me and Aegon went on little adventures all the time before his accident." "That's different, you were gone for a few hours, maybe a day at a time. This will take days, maybe even weeks! What do you think those hunters will do if they find you? They are hunters Lia, that's what they do!" Genuine concern crossed his face. Ethelia took a deep breath. "I need to get out of this castle or my head is going to explode. I won't be gone long, and they won't catch me. I promise." She said, putting a hand on his shoulder as she stood. "Take care of Aegon and Koa for me." She said as a goodbye, closing the door before he had time to stop her. It took her ten minutes to change and pack. She changed into a simple pair of leathers and a cloak, and only packed a few extra pairs of clothes and some food. And a book, just in case. She would have to follow on horseback, since a dragon was way to big of a target and to loud. If she followed a few miles back, they shouldn't be able to hear anything. She waited until they left, and had been gone for close to thirty minutes before she said goodby to Koa and ran to the stables. |
|
|
Summer 
Night 
Clear Moon: 
