The Princess and the Blade

[Emora Deen]

Laurius arched a brow. “Just walking? That’s it? Havitharon, here, was being tortured by one of those damned little pearl things—in complete agony—and you were… walking.”

Tenara glanced up at Havitharon, concern creasing her brow.

[Soran Nightblade]

Artisuren's hands clenched slowly in his lap.

"Get out of my sight, and don't come back until you're aflame, or your next ring will be a black one. Do not forget you are replaceable."

Artisuren's eyes sharpened. He didn't want to tell them. "I was being escorted to my quarters," he hedged.

[Emora Deen]

Laurius pursed his lips, watching Ren thoughtfully. “If it’s painful, we can discuss in private but it is important for us to know. We’re trying to understand why the blade chose you…” He thought maybe an example would help, so he turned to Tenara. “What do you remember about Havitharon’s entrance in our world? When was the sword complete?”

Tenara turned her concerned gaze from Havi to Laurius. She shifted in her seat. For a princess ever in the spotlight, she hated when it was on her. She writhed her hands as she spoke. “I… Well, I’d just been stabbed through the chest by the sword. My magic had exploded out of me. Everything was collapsing or on fire. I pulled the sword from my chest, and I was bleeding out… My magic was like a terrible pressure in my chest. I felt like I was going to splinter apart, but the bleeding stopped. The heat of my power damaged the sword, though. The sorcerer—Edan—he tried to rip my soul out to fix it or complete the spell. I’m not sure. It hurt so badly…” She was staring into her lap now, lost in the memory of being unmade. “I-I killed him, but I still felt like I was coming apart. I heard a voice. I thought it was my…” She swallowed, thinking about how she had thought it was Knight calling to her from whatever realm he existed in—if he existed at all outside the will of her mother. Laurius wouldn’t know who she was speaking of if she kept it neutral, even though, eventually, she was certain she would need to mention how her existence wasn’t exactly by the usual means. “I thought it was my father and I begged him with everything I was to come and help me.”

Laurius was quiet in the aftermath of her tale, calculating, and then he said, “The voice you heard was Havitharon?”

“It had to be,” she said. “I don’t remember what he was saying. Maybe I couldn’t hear him clearly or I’ve forgotten. But, then, he was there and I ran away.”

“Why?”

Tenara looked at Havi. “I thought he was going to hurt me. He was so angry.”

Laurius looked between Havi and Tenara and then turned to Ren. “I had failed seven times to forge the dagger. I had one day left to prove to my client it could be done. I had already taken the money up front. They are repeat customers, and I’ve never let them down. The problem in this instance is that I had taken the money and invested it. I didn’t have it to return, but also I had never—I have never failed at anything. I couldn’t bear the thought of failing, and made up my mind that I wouldn’t. Even if it meant losing… myself.” He tilted his head skeptically at Ren. “Tenara and Havitharon are bound by pain and… something. Her connection to the sword goes deeper than mine to the dagger, but I am connected to it regardless. I forged it. Something tied us together in it that. Was it really just a walk?”

[Soran Nightblade]

Ren slowly lifted his green eyes as he listened to Laurius's words. These were things he didn't know about the man yet, sides of him he hadn't seen before. How could Ren hide behind his shame when his master was placing his vulnerable thoughts out in the open all alone. "You felt you were out of time. That you were about to lose your last chance...?" He broke eye contact and glowered at the floor next to his chair. Then, cautiously, "Like it's all burning down in slow motion, and you're out of ideas to keep the flames from spreading...?"

[Emora Deen]

Laurius nodded. “Essentially. Yes. I was desperate. Were you desperate, Ren?”

“We can give you some space,” Tenara offered, looking at Havi.

“We can have no secrets between us,” Laurius said. “If we are to make this work, we must be honest with each other.”

Something flashed across the Princess face, and he noted it. A secret. Something he would need to discover, but later. This was most important.

[Soran Nightblade]

Ren glanced at Thvoros, who mercifully looked away. "Yeah. Desperate fits. I was cast out of my Yurivis's chambers. I think, even had I not been summoned to this world, it would still have been the last time I ever saw her. I couldn't stop thinking of breaking free of my escort and running back. If I were just to think of the right thing to say or try something different, there might still be a way to stop it." He gave a dry husk of a laugh and waved a hand. "She'd probably have killed me if I dared it." He spoke of the worst moment of his life as if it was something that happened to someone else.

He went still then as a thought struck him. If Laurius had been that desperate to succeed in his ritual, didn't that mean that his appearance was a kind of breakthrough for the man? "Is that why the knife is so important to you?" he said, suddenly embarrassed. The thing his master had wanted so badly was.... to summon him? No, no, don't get ahead of yourself. But for some reason, elation snuck through him.

He curled a hand in front of his mouth, dangerously close to happiness.

[Emora Deen]

Laurius felt at his chest where the blade was safely tucked away, trying to understand the strange expression pulling Ren's features—one he seemed desperate to suppress.

Desperate.

Yes. That was it.

"It is a symbol of an impossible task that I made possible. So yes, it is important to me," he said, taking a sip of his drink. "So, pain it seems is the connecting force for Tenara and Havitharon. Depseration is ours..."

"Did you make the poison plants for Arken?" Tenara asked, not lifting her gaze. "You said they are repeat customers."

"I have made a lot of things for them." Laurius waved his hand, as if it was no problem to make weapons for monsters.

"Will you keep making things for them? After this?"

Laurius's brow furrowed and he finished his chewing. "I have lifestyle I've built and grown accustomed to, and I like my work. I will make things for anyone who wishes to bring coin at my door. Arken is no different from Ighten or Hajara or any other kingdom in this world."

She bristled at his words. "There is a difference."

"There isn't," he said.

"If Arken comes to you and asks for the spell to conjure another weapon, will you give it to them?"

Laurius stiffened, not looking away. "Perhaps. I'm not certain."

Fire lit in her blue eyes. "If they want to buy Ren, will you sell him?"

Now, it was Laurius's turn to have fire in his eyes. "No! Of course not."

She pushed her plate away, seemingly disinterested in lunch. "Well, at least you have some moral compass, however small." Tenara excused herself from the table, leaving the lab and going to the main entrance for her coat.

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi rose to follow Tenara, casting a backward glance at the other pair. Artisuren looked strangely smug. Disgust churned his stomach. "Don't look so damned grateful. Not being sold is the bare minimum for treating another living being."

Artisuren's expression iced over. "That's exactly the kind of naive shit I expect from some prick who's only ever served himself."

Havi rolled his eyes, but abandoned the argument so he could join up with Tenara at the door. He held her coat for her, studying her angry expression.

[Emora Deen]

“He’ll do anything to make a coin,” she snarled, slipping her arms into the sleeves of her coat. “He’s no better than…” Rami. She glanced back at the hall leading to Laurius’s laboratory. “I suppose he is better. At least he won’t sell Artisuren. Which is more than I can say for the last human man I put my trust in.”

Tenara glanced at Havi, and then she took his coat from the wall and tried to help him into it. “If he sells Arken that spell again, there is nothing stopping them from trying to use the same ingredients and I prefer to stay off the list this time.” She lowered her voice. “I want to trust him not to betray us… but I don’t know how low he would be willing to stoop for the right price. I want to believe he is kind and wants to help us, but I spent five years loving a man who sold me…” She met his eyes, her anger suddenly softening into something unreadable. “Tell me when I am being too trusting. I cannot seem to do it myself.”

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi crouched slightly and allowed Tenara to help him with his coat. It felt extremely awkward, as it always did when she offered such acts of service, but he'd noticed that she seemed saddened whenever he refused them. When they were both dressed and safely outside, the soft powder of recent snow swirled around their ankles. He shut the door behind them and then turned to embrace her. "I am not sure if he is trustworthy either," he said gently. He wasn't surprised by her reaction. She seemed fond of Laurius. It was natural for her to want to think well of someone she was fond of, and to be disappointed when he fell short. "At the least, he is capable of determination, if not true loyalty. I do not know how he got Artisuren to survive a rut in his condition, but it wouldn't have worked unless Laurius was firmly resolved."

[Emora Deen]

Tenara nodded against the warmth of his chest. At least there was some comfort in that. Laurius had also been nothing but truthful with them, even if it meant they would dislike the answers. She didn't think he was hiding anything, or that he would choose to hide anything. They could trust in his honesty.

On the way back to the main house, they passed the hedge maze which, thanks to the fresh snow, was blanketed in white. Tenara squeezed Havi's hand and tugged him to a stop. "I'm not ready to go in," she said. "Let's walk a little more." She pulled him into the mouth of the maze and around a few curves and corners until they reached a dead end. A wicked smile tugged the corners of her mouth. "How about a game? We’re due for some fun, I think.” She backed away a little. "If you catch me before I get to the center of the maze, I’ll kiss you as many times as you like. Count to twenty and then come find me."

Tenara didn't really wait for an answer. Part of her needed to run, to feel the cold air rushing into her lungs. She also wanted to get enough distance to gather the biggest ball of snow she could make. She wove her way through and tucked herself around a bend, gathering snow into her gloved hands.

----

Laurius sighed and stood. "Well, this day has been a fucking disaster," he said, going to a cabinet along one glass wall and opening a door. He pulled out a crystal decanter full of amber liquid. He came back to the table and chucked his and Ren's water in to a plant's pot and poured them both a glass. Then, he sat, and took a sip. He began to pick at his lunch but found that, like Tenara, he had lost his appetite. "You can be grateful… or maybe the right word is thankful…” he said, not looking at Ren. He was staring into his glass. "Normally I don't grow fond of things or people—at least not enough to consider keeping them around for any length of time."

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi blinked at her instructions. A game? Kisses? Before he could clarify the rules with her, she was already off running into the strange bushes. He scratched at his ear and began counting to twenty. He strategized. If he jumped up to the top of the hedge, he doubted it would hold his weight. The branches would likely ruin the clothes Laurius had provided him.
His gaze lowered to the conspicuous footprints his Yurivis had left in the snow. Well, his legs were longer anyway. He grinned as he reached twenty, and took off after her trail.

____________

Ren touched the place between his ribs, blushing. His chest was acting up again. Laurius had made the argument in the past that he kept him around because he was his. This was the first he'd heard the man say he was fond of him. A voice in the back of his head warned him not to get carried away. "...You have my gratitude," he acknowledged stiffly, watching Laurius drink. He took in the ornate room full of his projects and prizes. Laurius had nearly lost all of this by helping him through his rut. Ren drew a deep breath, pressing his fingers between his ribs.

[Emora Deen]

Tenara's breath fogged in front of her face as she peeked around the bush. It was only then that she noticed her footprints in the snow and cursed. But, then Havi was coming around the corner. She threw the ball of snow. It hit him square in the chest, just below his chin, exploding into cold powder over his clothes and face. She cackled and took off running again, darting across the path and down another corridor.

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi shook his head to clear the snow from his face, only to catch sight of her darting out of view. He looked down at the snow on his clothes, rubbing some of it between his fingers curiously. So this stuff could be used in such a way? He crouched slowly and experimented, scooping some of it together between his gloved hands. It compacted, sticking to itself. He glanced up at where Tenara had disappeared, and felt a prickle of excitement. "For some reason, my face is cold," he called out blandly, rising to his feet with his creation cupped between his hands. He stalked near-silently toward where he'd last seen her.

[Emora Deen]

Tenara hid behind a corner again, giggling at his declaration before covering her mouth to stifle it. She ran along another path, appearing for a second as she crossed the corridor he was in.