Heirot

"I'm sorry." Tenele lowered her gaze, tilting her head down. "I don't mean to be the way I am," she said softly. "I don't mean to give my life so willingly. I was just raised to be like this." She sat back down in the window, not quite sure if her legs would hold her. "I don't want to abandon Atul, but Vlad I couldn't take you being her and not knowing whether you were alive or not. Either we both stay, or we both go. I've grown to fond of you. Almost to the point where I can't chose between my duty and you. If I had the choice to save you are the Queen, I don't know who I'd choose. I love you, Vlad, more than my own life." Her eyes met his. "Maybe even more than the life of Sinead."

Vlad grimaced and looked away from her. He didn't want to hear her say that. He didn't know what he wanted her to say. After everything that was just spoken, he felt too displeased with his emotions to embrace them, and he couldn't bring himself to talk any more about 'love' or safety or the importance of their relationship. He couldn't satisfy her right now without rejecting those ideas; if he thought about them, he was sure he would be back at square one in their argument.

"We will both return to Lowight, with Fero's help, and report to Sinead," he said with emotionless flatness. "She is our general. If she wishes this alliance with Atul, she has the power to return us both here. I won't quarrel with her decision."

Tenele nodded. Words couldn't make it to her at the moment. She couldn't think of a single thing to say. Had she disappointed him? Made him angry? She had made herself angry. She knew deep down that she had been very stubborn about it, but she just felt so wrong for abandoning Atul. He was right, though. This was not there war. Damn her good heart, she felt any place where innocents were hurt was her war. Sinead would more than likely not agree to send them back, especially after them nearly being lost to her forever in this foreign country.

Good news was he seemed to have forgotten about Verin for the moment... She figured explaining what she had meant would only rial him up again.

Tenele stepped towards Vlad slowly. She didn't look up at him, she just went to him, and when she was close she slipped her small arms around his waist and pressed the side of face against his chest. For the moment it was like hugging a luke-warm emotionless block of stone, and his tone of voice worried her. Was he truly so angry with her that he couldn't even bring emotion into his voice when he spoke to her? Had she pushed him too far on the subject of love and death?

Its all her mind could think about. All she could seem to concentrate on was her human inadequacies. Maybe that is why she pushed so hard to prove she was strong, just to match up with Vlad. Just to prove that she could make it. The problem was she was not that strong. She was mortal. She bled, and did not heal. All she could think about was the fact she could die in this war and leave what behind? No husband, for Vlad could not marry her. No child, for they could not have children. All the things she wanted to do in life would be left unfulfilled. She realized that there were so many more things she wanted to do in life, other than giving her body and soul to a cause.

Her arms hugged tighter around him, never wanting to let go. She wasn't even sure if he wanted her to touch him, but at the moment she could care less. She was going to be selfish instead of selfless... Just for a while. "Please don't be mad at me..."

Vlad's nerves were still bristled with stress and frustration from their conversation, but her embrace was so sudden under the circumstances that it distracted him from the rest for the moment. He didn't understand her right now, and he was having trouble deciding how to make his pride live with the conversation they'd just had. He'd acted exactly like a soppy human husband, cringing pitifully at the concept of outliving her. That wasn't who he was, and it wasn't the relationship she wanted. So she wanted his affection...but not his protection or his concern. No...he corrected himself. She wanted his concern, but he was not to take action on it. He was to observe her choices without judgment. He was usually able to maintain exactly that dichotomy, or at least something close to it. Right now, he was having trouble doing that. He was feeling very human, and he didn't like it.

He put his arms around her shoulders and held her against his chest. There was no sense in pretending not to love her. That cat was out of the bag. "I'm still angry. Give me time. It will pass," he said, his lips just above her ear.

She wanted to say something to him to ease his anger. Apologising wouldn't work, for she had tried that already. She just held him, knowing that she could argue about being strong... but in the end she wanted his protection and is concern. Why else would she cry out to him if she needed help? "You have a right to be angry," Tenele told him.

"Yes," Vlad agreed quietly, more observing the accuracy of her words than actually wanting to rub it in. Overall, it mattered very little if he had a right to be angry. The situation was what it was.

"I will go to find Fero," he said after a few moments, his arms sliding back from their embrace.

Tenele nodded, turning slowly back to the window. She leaned out as the wind tossed her silver hair, her eyes closing. She listened as Vlad's foot steps silented and she was alone.

A cough filtered to her ears and she glanced over, realizing she wasn't quite alone. The captive was sitting very much awake, and she wondered how long he had been that way and how long he had listened.

"Mind losening these ropes, pretty? There rather tight?" he shifted in the seat, and to Tenele that meant they weren't tight enough.

She ignored him, looking back out at the garden. The children had moved to the back yard, well before the battle. She was thankful that they were safe and had not been involved. They seemed a bit spooked, but managed to keep there games going.

Fero and Atul were talking as the last of the dead was being carried away. Atul looked displeased, but then again why wouldn't he be. More innocents had been killed, and he wasn't quite sure how to deal with there victory.

Vlad approached Atul and Fero, taking in the scene. "You don't look pleased," he said to Atul as he reached them. "There will be much more of this before you are able to rule."

Atul reached up and pulled his hair into a tight pony tail. He didn't know what to say to reply to Vlad. "Has Tenele calmed down?" he asked him, watching as the feet of the body disappeared around the wall.

"She is no longer angry with you," Vlad said frankly. "But we have something to discuss," he said flatly as he glanced to Fero. "We have gained you this village, as you asked. Now, we must return to our own capital. This was our deal."

Fero looked at him for a long moment, then glanced to Atul. The prince looked disappointed, but what else could he expect. This was not there fight. He nodded gently.

"I can have it prepared by the morning," Fero replied dully.

Atul looked to Vlad, and held out his hand. "Thanks for your help..."

Vlad looked Atul in the eyes and shook his hand. "I will tell Queen Sinead about your efforts here. She is wary of my judgment, but Tenele may convince her of your character," he said with the faintest smirk. "If she wishes to support you, are you prepared to accept an alliance with Ighten?"

"More than ready," Atul told him.

"Saying good bye already?" Fero muttered as he waddled towards the house. "I still have to prepare the stinking thing. Might as well make yourselves comfortable and prepare to spend the night."

Atul watched Fero as he went inside the house. The sun was lowering behind the house, and it was getting close to evening. "So Tenele's not mad at me, must mean she's mad at you?"

Vlad smirked at Atul. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to cheer me up," he said, though his mirth didn't quite reach his eyes.

Atul walked with Vlad back to the house. "She's a woman... and women get irrate when they don't get there way. If she was mad at you, it probably passed a few seconds after she exploded. That's when they usually come to their senses," he told Vlad as they entered the house. Tenele was still leaning out the window.

The soldier sat fiddling with the ropes with his finger tips, unable to hear the two beings coming into the room. Vlad and Atul both moved in a silent manner naturally. He sat watching Tenele, keeping his eye on her incase she turned around and caught him trying to escape.

"You can stop fiddling with the ropes," she called to him over her shoulder. She could hear his fingers moving against the cording.

"What ropes?" he replied.