12/14/08 con't
She will not give him any advantage it is in her power to deny him. Her contracts coming to her aid and making her as beautiful as him, raising a throne of vines so she can sit regally opposite the throne of hedge thorns he has formed for himself.
I stand at the ready at her left shoulder, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the ground before me. I know better than to look directly at him, my grip on reality taxed more than enough by being this close, hearing the tones of his voice.
He offers to parlay for the return of the two that wandered too deep. He wants to know who else we will offer in exchange. She offers him a challenge instead. If she wins, he will return the two he has caught. And more, he will leave this freehold, its members, and their allies and their families…alone. For now and forever. He will not act against them, directly or indirectly, through physical force or manipulation… no taking, no games, nothing.
It is a steep price, he says. And wants to know what she will offer if he should win.
“Me” She replies quietly
My nails dig into my arm as I unconsciously tense. I had feared she would try something like this, the lost look on her face and the calm resoluteness as she left the protection of the hold. But I hold myself still, I do not even growl. The only indication of my thoughts is my Mantle, blazing as bright and strong as Summer heat is capable of. Goddess, I hope and pray she knows what she is doing.
“Not enough” is his reply, making offer and counter offer. Challenge or not it appears he will take Ugati in exchange for the two, and he calls to the walls for him to come out and join us. I hear the scuffle and disturbance behind us, but he does not come out. I thank the Goddess that Holly has the hold well in hand.
“You, alone, are not enough in exchange for so steep a price” he says again, turning back to the offer of Challenge. “I have much to teach you, much I have learned since I have left” She says, bating him. It is still not enough.
There is something tickling the back of my mind, some repressed memory or knowledge trying to surface. I am not sure how I know, but I know there is one other in this hold he might be interested in having. I lean down and whisper in her ear “Offer me” at the exact same moment he says “I will take her.”
I straighten in confusion, and Edria looks over to me with a look that almost doesn’t dare. “Are you sure?” She asks me in Welsh.
I turn and look into her eyes, bolstered by my calm resolution and rage. “I am not letting you do that alone.” I respond back in the language of our family. Saying so much more with that statement… I trust you... and I will defend you, even into arcadia itself… I swear I will not let you face that alone… and if the worst happens… I will take your life before taking mine. Do not fear loosing yourself to that with me here. Never again, I swear.
He lays the claim again, and in all formality she asks. “As my Queen wills” is my formal agreement.
“Very well,” she replies to him “If I loose, you shall have the both of us.”
And the negotiations continue…
I stand at the ready at her left shoulder, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the ground before me. I know better than to look directly at him, my grip on reality taxed more than enough by being this close, hearing the tones of his voice.
He offers to parlay for the return of the two that wandered too deep. He wants to know who else we will offer in exchange. She offers him a challenge instead. If she wins, he will return the two he has caught. And more, he will leave this freehold, its members, and their allies and their families…alone. For now and forever. He will not act against them, directly or indirectly, through physical force or manipulation… no taking, no games, nothing.
It is a steep price, he says. And wants to know what she will offer if he should win.
“Me” She replies quietly
My nails dig into my arm as I unconsciously tense. I had feared she would try something like this, the lost look on her face and the calm resoluteness as she left the protection of the hold. But I hold myself still, I do not even growl. The only indication of my thoughts is my Mantle, blazing as bright and strong as Summer heat is capable of. Goddess, I hope and pray she knows what she is doing.
“Not enough” is his reply, making offer and counter offer. Challenge or not it appears he will take Ugati in exchange for the two, and he calls to the walls for him to come out and join us. I hear the scuffle and disturbance behind us, but he does not come out. I thank the Goddess that Holly has the hold well in hand.
“You, alone, are not enough in exchange for so steep a price” he says again, turning back to the offer of Challenge. “I have much to teach you, much I have learned since I have left” She says, bating him. It is still not enough.
There is something tickling the back of my mind, some repressed memory or knowledge trying to surface. I am not sure how I know, but I know there is one other in this hold he might be interested in having. I lean down and whisper in her ear “Offer me” at the exact same moment he says “I will take her.”
I straighten in confusion, and Edria looks over to me with a look that almost doesn’t dare. “Are you sure?” She asks me in Welsh.
I turn and look into her eyes, bolstered by my calm resolution and rage. “I am not letting you do that alone.” I respond back in the language of our family. Saying so much more with that statement… I trust you... and I will defend you, even into arcadia itself… I swear I will not let you face that alone… and if the worst happens… I will take your life before taking mine. Do not fear loosing yourself to that with me here. Never again, I swear.
He lays the claim again, and in all formality she asks. “As my Queen wills” is my formal agreement.
“Very well,” she replies to him “If I loose, you shall have the both of us.”
And the negotiations continue…