Private Tales Read between the lines

[Zana]

"I need a moment."

There was a small side street that seemed devoid of people that she turned to after yet another handshake and words of gratitude sent her over the edge. Dreadlords had been taught not to feel, to lock all emotion away unless it was drive, passion, or anger. Something that would refine and sharpen their military prowess yet still keep them obedient and subservient tools to be used. It had been even truer of Zana. Sloan had been her mentor because she had helped her detach herself from the visions and the emotions that had come through them. If she had been allowed to feel them she would have gone mad a long time ago from the heartache of seeing disease wreck cities, disasters bring nations to their knees.

So the level of emotion she felt right now had reached a point her bath had not only over spilled but was now flooding the room she stood in.

Tears streamed down her cheeks and she wiped at them furiously as she lent her back against the wall. Zana tried to block out the other sensations around her. Even the smoothness of the wall against which she stood she shoved from her mind. She needed to shut it down to breathe.

 

[Talus]

Talus followed after Zana quickly, feeling the shot of anxiety and flood of emotions rushing through the bond like a tidal wave. The feeling of it was almost entirely overwhelming, burning at his core. It made him want to throw up, the tide that rushed from her to him.

His lips thinned, and he pulled Zandor's reigns so the massive Horse blocked off entry to the alleyway from anyone but Grey who slowly wandered beneath his legs.

Slowly he approached Zana, his lips thin. "Love."

He could sense the turmoil inside of her chest, the way she was pushing it away, struggling to breath. Gently, and softly as he could Talus reached out and brushed his knuckles against her face.

"Zana." He said her name. "Zana, look at me."

His hand cupped her cheek, thumb gently stroking over her skin as he tipped her chin to allow their eyes to meet. "It's okay."

Talus drew his arm slowly around her. She did not have to deal with all of this alone. She did not have to let herself be overwhelmed or bare the burdens of life all on her own. He was there. He was there to hold her, be there for her.

Carry the weight as much as her.

"It's all okay." He said softly as he embraced her.

 

[Zana]

His touch was both a gift and a curse for it sought to soothe and yet it jarred against her already frayed emotional limits like nails down a chalkboard. Whether she heard him or not the first two times he called to her was unclear as she leaned against the wall as rigid as the stone she was using for support. But the third time as he spoke a little firmer, his fingers demanding that she come back to him, she could ignore him no longer and her eyes drifted open in an unfocused manner. Zana nodded automatically to his words though she didn't truly comprehend what he was saying as he pulled her into his arms.

Her body lost its rigidity as he held her and the dam burst. Tears fell freely as slowly one arm curled about his waist and the other fisted in his shirt. As she tried to suck in a breath it cracked and shuddered with the effort, burning her lungs further.

"They're so nice," she just couldn't wrap her head around it. How could the Proctors preach hatred when she stood with petals in her hair? How did anyone cope with feeling so welcomed and adored and loved?

What if they got hurt for harbouring them?

 

[Talus]

Talus enveloped Zana, one arm wrapped around her as the other softly rested in her hair. Fingers softly stroke across her skin, soothing touches as he held her.

"They are." He said softly.

It was a jarring difference between here and Vel Anir. There was no fear in the eyes of the citizens of Karak, there was no hatred in the way they were looked at. What they saw were not weapons, but people. Two lovers walking the street.

A man who was near son of the King and a woman who had brought the Dragon Forges back to life.

They saw heroes, not villains.

"This place is special." He said as he kissed the top of her head. "It's a second home."

A memory to keep always. "They love you, us, and they want you to know it."

He breathed, taking her in.

"Love makes us stronger Zana." It had made her stronger, he'd seen it. "It holds us together, binds us, stands us up better than anything else."

The Proctors hadn't understood that, The Houses didn't, but he was starting to.

 

[Zana]

"It feels more of a home than Vel'Anir," her voice was still thick with tears but she had at least managed to stop them flowing down her face. She pulled back just a little bit, not from his arms entirely but just so that her face wasn't pressed so firmly to his chest. The back of her hand wiped at her cheeks again and she took another breath that was less shaky. The emotional storm was beginning to dissipate and she could feel herself able to process them all a bit clearer now.

What did it say about her that love made her cry?

"Thank you for bringing me here but can we go somewhere a little less emotional next time?" she attempted a small laugh which came out of her in a hiccuping rush. Zana didn't think she could remember a time where she had been as emotional as she had been in the last few days. What had this man done to her? If the Proctors had broken her and remade her into a soldier then Talus had broken her and returned her to being a woman with her own heart.

 

[Talus]

Talus kissed the top of her head, smiling. "I know."

Perhaps it was more of a home. Perhaps the city waiting for them was...their job. It felt odd to think about, that the little cabin in the woods waiting wasn't where they would feel most safe. It made his heart ache, the idea that they would have to hide again, but he tried to mask it as best he could through the bond.

Zana didn't need his hurt in that moment.

"The Wilds." He said with a smile. "We'll see if you can befriend a Hydra next."

His knuckles gently stroked over her cheek, his lips locked in a soft smile.

This was the woman he loved. The Person that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He knew that better than anything else.

 

[Zana]

Zana pressed her forehead against his shoulder and laughed. This time it was a smoother sound.

"I believe touring your wife around Arethil to tame wild animals in exchange for monetary gifts could be classed as exploitation," she raised her face and gave him a playful cynical frown, her lips pursed into a disapproving line. Despite it being a joke there was no fear in her at the idea of giving it a go though. There was something about creatures and animals that she understood far more than she thought she would about people. Suddenly, Grey nosed his way between the pair to join in on the moment and gave a small howl. She reached down to ruffle his ears.

"I'm okay," she said slowly and took another breath just to be sure before looking back to Talus. "I guess I have money to spend on all the shampoo I can carry now," her lips twitched somewhat.

 

[Talus]

Talus slowly backed away from her, flashing a smile as he looked down at Grey before focusing his attention her once more.

A part of him was still weary of letting her go. He wanted to hold her more, kiss her, but...he knew that if he did they would spend the rest of their day in this damned alley. Nodding his head he smiled. "I guess you do."

He said with a smirk.

"Let's walk through and find what you need. I think Vorak's shop is at the end of the square anyway." From what he remembered.

Talus would have gotten what he wanted from Vorak the night before, but...well things hadn't exactly gone the way he'd thought they would. Both he and Zana had gone a little bit too far.

Just a little bit though.

 

[Zana]

Zana nodded and rolled her shoulders a little before sliding her hand back into his. She wasn't ready to let go of him entirely just yet. She never would. In her other hand she once again too Zandors reins, her thumb running over the delicate work, and she marvelled at how they had managed to do all of this in just one night. Grey brushed his way under the horses legs and trotted back into the main market eagerly. The smell of food that drifted to her a moment later informed her exactly where the wolf was heading and she followed after him with a small smile.

"I think I'm going to leave the saddle and bridal here, they're not fitting for my work," she didn't want to kill people in the spun gold she had earned by trying to bring peace. "Do you think you could make me something to display it on?" it was a shyly asked request and she only looked at him out of the corner of her eye as if she were worried he would say no.

 

[Talus]

"Of course." He said as he slipped his fingers between hers and gently squeezed her hand.

A smile flickered to her. "I'll start on it when we get back."

Well, likely not the same day. There was still the table to rebuild, and the chairs, and the addition to the Cabin...there would be a lot of work over the next few weeks. At least it would keep his mind off other things.

The market was a bustling hive of activity, and as Zana wandered over towards food Talus glanced at this booth and that. It seemed that most everyone was selling some sort of crafted thing. Necklaces, blades, armor, even a few vendors who had wood carvings.

I could do that. Talus mused as he saw a figurine of a Dragon.

 

[Zana]

Zana smiled and returned the squeeze before she finally let him go to go and see to her own stomach, and Greys. The wolf was sat staring up at the dwarf with his best begging face on and when Zana appeared next to him he practically licked his lips, tail thumping on the ground.

"Two please," she wasn't entirely sure how dwarfish money worked and she slid a handful of coins across the counter, receiving more than half of them back, before thanking him and wandering off further down the stalls. Grey dogged her heels as he ate the kebab, hoping she might visit one of the other food vendors. Unfortunately for him the next time she stopped was at a stall that stunk of soap and he moped his way back to Talus.

"I have never used anything that's made my hair so soft," Zana commented to the kindly woman behind the stall. She was practically brimming with the compliment and the two ended up chatting for a good while over the different products on her stall. She left with more than she could carry and was glad for Zandor's saddle bags as she piled them full.

 

[Talus]

Talus did not buy anything, though more than a few times he stopped and chatted with one dwarf or another. Word had spread of who Zana was, and of course most had made the connection to him.

By the time he met up with Zana again Talus was carrying what looked to be three different trinkets. All of them had been given to him for free, and as he saw Zana walking towards him he started to hold them up. "Look I got you some souvenirs."

The trinkets were simple little things.

One was a clear crystal ball with little flecks of white in it that if shook would rise and fall on a mountain depicted in the middle. Another trinket was a simple coin emblazoned with the symbol of Thror's house. The last was a pair of underwear that on the front said 'Your Peak goes between my cheeks'.

Talus held up the last with a grin.

 

[Zana]

Grey was feeling extremely put out by the other Dreadlord not giving him anymore food either and he sat at their feet doing his best impersonation of a starved animal.

Zana's attention, however, was on the trinkets Talus was holding up. The small globe caught her attention straight away and she took it from him with a warm smile, shaking it three times before he could finally coax her attention to the others. The coin she also smiled at but let Talus keep that. Then...

"Talus!" the woman hissed, her cheeks colouring red as she snatched the underwear from where he was flashing it about in great humour. She was having a hard time not laughing as she tucked it into her pocket with a scowl. "I cannot believe one of the first things you've ever brought me was underwear." That she would treasure and wear on special occasions. The slogan across the front deepened her blush as she thought on it and she shook her head slightly. Maybe only on anniversaries.

 

[Talus]

Talus gasped, as if shocked she had been offended by the gift.

Though even as she tucked the underwear into her back pocket he could feel the bubbles of amusement floating through the bond. Flashes of embarrassment were there as well, but there was no real anger at her core.

This bond really had turned out to be a boon. "My love, how dare you."

Talus said in accusation of her.

"You think I would spend money on things like this?" He tsk'd her, waggling his finger. "I'll have you know I spent every last coin I had on a completely different gift, but..."

Talus trailed off and shrugged. "If you're not interested in it..."

 

[Zana]

Zana tucked the globe into a safe pouch on her saddle bags and then glanced back to Talus as he teased her, ready to retort with a comment of her own when he mentioned another gift. Her face was the perfect picture of shock, which slowly turned into wariness. Now she had three things to go off as his idea of a 'gift' she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know what he had spent his money on for her. More than a few images flickered through her mind tainting her cheeks once more. But finally, curiosity won out.

She grabbed his waggling fingers and pressed them to her lips.

"No, no...!" she pressed a kiss to his wrist. "I'll at least look at it," she tried to sound like she didn't care either way but the bond gave her excitement away.

 

[Talus]

He smirked at her.

Talus knew he wasn't great at...many things. There were more than a few times where he had put his own foot in his mouth and messed up what should have been a tender moment, but this? This was something he was sure he'd gotten right.

The idea had come to him on the right back up from Dragons Forge, and he'd asked Vorak to make it. His friend had complied, though Talus had needed to pay for the material. He really had used every last coin he had on ensuring Vorak had everything he needed. It would be worth it though. "Well then I think we best get over to the Smith."

He told her with a smile.

"I'm sure we'll find it near there." The fingers against her lips gently brushed over her cheek, and then he smirked as he once again grabbed her hand and started heading towards the other end of the Market.

 

[Zana]

So this had been the thing he had wanted to pick up from Voruk. Zana's curiosity piqued even more as he tugged her back the way she had just been through the market. She waved at the lady whose store she had brought most of the contents of and made Talus stop when they passed a butchers so she could buy the poor starved wolf a prime cut of steak. Zana merely smiled sheepishly when Talus gave her a questioning look; she couldn't help spoiling her animals.

Soon they got to the edge of the market and into what she was assuming was the forging district for there were loads of smithies spread before them. She wondered how people even made up their minds about who to go to.

"Come on, one tiny clue," she pleaded as he led her over to one of the shops.

 

[Talus]

He smiled at her. "What?"

Talus acted as though he hadn't heard her, the sounds of hammers thundering against anvil's ringing out in a steady rhythm as they came upon Vorak's forge. "Sweetheart what did you say?"

He continued to act as they stepped forward.

It was a surprisingly modest building, smaller than the Manor they had been staying in with only a singular forge tucked into the back. Vorak was already waiting out front, a smile on his face as he smoked tabac in his pipe.

"Morning, My friend." He said with a smile. "Is it done?"

"Oh aye. Just as you requested."

Talus smirked. "Fantastic."

For a second the Dwarf turned around and disappeared into the back of his shop, then a few seconds later came out carrying a box of modest size. Talus took it with one hand, holding it carefully and turning towards Zana.

"Well I think we can go now." He acted as though he'd forgotten why they'd gone there in the first place.

 

[Zana]

"Give me a clue!" Zana groaned as he asked her the second time.

"Talus!" she threw him a dirty look when he acted oblivious again. She could feel his smugness down the bond, that lick of playfulness. He was enjoying keeping this a secret from her and in truth she was enjoying having a secret kept from her when she knew she was most likely going to love it.

She offered her own greeting to Voruk when he came into view and Grey gave a sharp bark and bounded after the dwarf to follow him inside and back, probably in the hopes he would also have some kind of food for him. Zana's excitement could practically be tasted as he came back with a box. She had half wondered if he had commissioned some sort of weapon but nothing like that could fit in that kind of box. She all but bounced then looked absolutely horrified when he went to walk off.

"Talus," Zana smacked him on the arm not holding the precious box. "You know I can just take it off you, let's not play this game," she folded her arms over her chest.

 

[Talus]

"Game?" He played ignorant, turning around so that he faced her but still taking half a step back. "Is that what I'm doing...?"

He reached up with his free hand and tapped his chin. "You know it might be...and you sure are strong...Maybe I should just..."

Talus appeared as though he was about to reach out and give her the box when suddenly he burst into activity.

"MEET YOU BACK AT THE MANOR!" Before Zana could do anything else Talus suddenly snapped into the other reality, his form falling backwards as he dashed away and through the crowd in a heartbeat. Oddly enough as shifted the box, or something within it, seemed to shimmer.

Vorak stood besides Zana for a moment, shock painting his face.

"Well Lass...I uhh...You should probably follow after him."​

He smiled at her.

 

[Zana]

Zana could only stare after him when he left her, a similar expression to the one Voruk wore on her own face. It quickly vanished though replaced by determination.

"That little..." she swung herself up onto the beautiful saddle without a further hesitation. "Bye Voruk! Thank you in advance for whatever you've made...!" the tail end of her sentence would have gone back to him over her shoulder as she hit her horses flanks and they were off. The saddle was amazing. She had never felt her horse so well through the leather and neither had she felt so comfortable sitting on one. Grey came on her heels but even the wolf couldn't keep up with the horse's long strides.

She tried to avoid the busiest streets as much as possible and called out more than a few apologies as they went racing back towards the manor house. When they got close Zandor practically skidded on the street to bring himself to a stop. They were both panting and Zana looked a little green as her hangover reminded her of its presence.

"Talus I swear I'm going to..." she rolled out of the saddle with a hand over her stomach. Throw up? Probably.

 

[Talus]

As soon as Zana stepped inside she would find the entire entrance of the manor covered in dozens upon dozens of flower pedals. Two rows of them would move like a signal line directly down the middle of the foyer, stretching right to where Talus was standing with the box.

Talus stood patiently, clutching the package with both of his hands as he waited inside for her.

There was a smile on his face, and he knew that his surprise would be an exceptional one. He'd just also known that the moment would be better if had privately rather than in front of Vorak and half of his apprentices.

That was why he'd run back here, the flowers had just been for extra effect.

 

[Zana]

If Zana had harboured any anger for him for leaving her in the square in such a fashion it was gone the moment she had stepped into the foyer. Her boots crunched on the flower petals and she felt an inordinate amount of love rise up in her chest and spread through every little inch of her as she followed the line to where he stood. Her face crumpled with the emotion of it and she bit her bottom lip. No, no more crying, she told herself sternly.

"Talus..." there was a thread of excitement in her voice as her eyes slid from him to the box and back. She stopped just a single step away from him and gave him a smile that was almost so bright her face couldn't contain it. "I swear... if you've just got more novelty underwear in there..." she laughed and raised her hands to tuck her hair behind her ears.

 

[Talus]

He smirked at her. "No such luck, I'm afraid."

Talus smiled at her, and then slowly reached out to offer her the box.

She would first unwrap the thick wax paper from it, and once that was gone she would find a small box of velvet. Within that she would find her true gift.

It was a necklace, forged using the Dwarven metal of Varlea in the one thing that could craft it; Dragon Fire. The metal would shimmer and shine even without the light of sun nor torch, giving off a vibrant glow even in the darkest of nights.

The craftsmanship of it was unparalleled, the first drink created in the Dragon Forges in over six hundred years.

 

[Zana]

Zana took the box with slightly trembling hands and then unwrapped it slowly. Once the wrapper was gone she briefly looked up at him and bit down on her lower lip before returning her attention to the velvet box. She almost didn't want to answer it, the novelty of the surprise was almost as good as getting the gift itself. It felt like a kiss against her very soul. Very, painfully, slowly she opened it.

And almost dropped it. She stared at it in absolute disbelief, her eyes roving slowly over every little tiny piece and intricate detail. It was nicer than anything she had ever owned in her life. Zana tilted it this way and that in the box and watched as it glittered and danced with a kaleidoscope of different lights. It looked like two necklaces joined as one, the top band was at least two finger widths wide and the second was finer and set in the middle a gem that reminded her of the blue of Talus' eyes. To Zana it looked as though the links were dragon scales. Her fingers ran over it and then she looked to Talus, speechless.

"My love..." she looked back down at the gift in her hands and then threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a fierce embrace.