(Apologizing for my own delay as well.)
At the cave, nighttime
Pasha listened to Tala's story attentively. He took a sip of the ale as she told him of her first attempt (a somewhat failed one) at thievery, and how the farmer had taken pity on her and let her have the potatos. I may have to find out who this farmer was, and perhaps send him a gift. Anonymously, of course... A little later on, he added, "I hope you killed that bastard," as he took another drink and refilled their glasses. As she finished the story, she moved closer to him, putting her head on his chest.
"Your happiness is my only concern, Tala," he said gently, stroking her hair. The world is pointless and cruel and the only thing I am good at is death, both by my own hand and sending other men to theirs... but if my continued existence makes you happy, then I have a reason beyond animal survival to keep going. He gathered her into his arms. "Well... my stories aren't very exciting, I'm afraid. I was born in Moun, where my mother had escaped after her... association with Dysevik; even he wouldn't attack the holy city."
He paused for a moment to straighten out his own memories. "We lived on the streets. For a poor person, Moun was a decent enough place to live; the priests could be generous if they saw fit, and tried to provide children with a bit of education, mainly reading and writing and religious studies. Presumably so when they grew up they could get a good job and give better donations, but I'm not complaining." He pushed his hair out of his face, still slightly damp from his own jump through the waterfall. "My mother, Yulia, died when I was young. One of the first things I remember." He sighed. "I'm not sure how. I don't remember. I don't think it was thieves in the city, and I was too little to understand much of anything anyway. My memories from that long ago are fairly disjointed, but it seems that the priests were very worried about something. It was probably a sickness."
Pasha took a drink. "So I was a troublemaking kid. I would sneak around and get into all sorts of things I wasn't supposed to. I never stole anything except food, I mean what use is a gold coin to a stupid child who doesn't know any better?" He laughed at himself. "I'm actually a little mad at myself because I'm certain that all the money I found and ignored as a child would be a small fortune today if I'd grabbed it. A ducat's worth at least, anyway. Eventually I got bored of Moun and started making my way south, to warmer climates. I was... probably a young adult by then." He actually wasn't sure how old he was. Up until recently, he hadn't cared enough to pay attention to how many seasons had passed, and now that he was trying to think about it he found his memory wasn't good enough to recall them all. On the other hand, he had seen a portrait of Dysevik painted when the man had just assumed his father's throne at twenty, and he looked almost exactly like him. That had been before he met Tala, so he was probably... twenty one, twenty two now?
"The southern lands were different. Not particularly better or worse, but warmer at least. But I still couldn't find a place to... belong." I guess you know the feeling of being an outsider, too, no matter where you go. "During one particular summer there was a fair in one of the smaller cities. One of the attractions was a game, chess, against an old man. I was bored and it seemed easy enough, so I sat down against him and beat him three or four times fairly soundly." He shook his head. "What I didn't know was that the old man was General Allworthy's old strategist, looking for a successor so he could retire. And that began my career as a military officer."
From there his story was easy enough to find for those who cared to look for it; he had won a few battles here and there, then left to find a new place to ply his trade, bored of working for Allworthy. It continued on for some time, campaigning for one lord, then another... sometimes against the one he had just worked for. It wasn't until two years later that he had made his way south far enough to run into Kothitas, and he glossed over most of that section of his history. "So there I was, working for a rather suicidal lord named Percival d'Aubrani, launching assault after assault on the borders of Kothitas. And to the credit of our soldiers, we actually managed to take two or three border towns before Lord Marlax decided this threat needed to be put down."
He finished his glass and refilled both of theirs. "I think seeing me might have thrown him a bit when we met on the battlefield." He laughed at himself again. "I found out later that with the exception of my mother's eyes, I look almost exactly as he did at my age. The Marlax blood breeds true, it seems. I met quite a few of my half-brothers and sisters when I worked for him, and there were a lot of similarities between all of us. Most particularly the nose and the jaw, although quite a few had hair like mine, albeit darker or lighter. Anyway, the first day of battle went fairly well for us, and we got him to retreat."
"Arrogant thought, that. I'd gotten complacent, comfortable with outthinking the petty lords and ladies of other city-states without two thoughts to rub together. That night I sneaked out to do what I do best and murder his generals as they slept, but I suppose he had anticipated an assassin of some kind coming for him. I got caught, and on seeing that it was me who had been captured, he had his army burn down the city we had garrisoned in and kill anyone attempting to flee, soldier or not."
"So I knew that we had something in common from the start; we were both bastards." That was probably a poor joke, but Pasha had drunk enough of the ale that he felt like making it. "As I found out, Dysevik was my father, and he found a use for all of his children; mine was just more obvious. With his armies at my command, I took back all the ground Kothitas had lost and expanded it further, and I thought that I had found a place to finally be. I wasn't happy with everything that happened in Kothitas, but I felt like I had found somewhere that I didn't have to leave." He shook his head at his foolishness. "I led his armies for a year or two before my father decided I had proved myself enough to him that I could be his regent in another city-state. We all know how THAT turned out, but I'm much the better for it." He kissed Tala's forehead.
"And... I think the time for talking may be through for now. We have this cave all to ourselves and there are much more interesting things we could be doing..."
At the cave, the next day
For once, Pasha's rest was dreamless and he found that a relief. The last few nights, when Tala had been sick, he had done nothing but dream of the dungeons of Kotitas. Perhaps he was so exhausted that he couldn't even muster up the energy to dream? He was barely awake enough to feel her slip from his side, and he watched her go to the front of the cave and wash under the waterfall through his eyelashes, feigning sleep now. ...I think I'll pretend to sleep a little longer. This is too nice a moment to startle her. She came back in, dressed, and started cooking... and now he had to get up, because he was starving and definitely needed some breakfast.
With a yawn, he pushed off the covers and stood with a stretch, grunting with pleasure as his sore muscles flexed. "Good morning," he said as he passed Tala. She'd had an excellent idea and he too cleaned himself off in the waterfall before pulling on his clothes and returning to the fire, taking a seat next to her. "May I say you're the loveliest creature in the world? I've seen graceful cats that would envy the way you move, your hair makes roses seem drab and faded, your green eyes contain all the beauty of a spring meadow no matter what season it is..." he trailed off, attempting to distract her by kissing her ear before trailing down to her neck...
...but before he could even try much of anything, there was a voice outside. A man's voice, calling for Lord and Lady Alanis. He rolled his eyes and sighed, then grinned goofily at Tala. "Remember where I was at, I want to pick up where I left off..." While she finished her cooking, Pasha headed out and spoke to the man briefly before returning. "Nikephoros and Kathos are calling a council today. We'll probably have to leave soon," he said with a disappointed sigh. The pair of them ate their breakfast quickly.
At the meeting
Pasha and Tala had went home right after breakfast to change into more suitable attire for the council meeting, and Tala was quick to give them a piece of her mind for interrupting the vacation. Pasha hid a smile with his hand and a cough as she did so, taking his seat next to her. The meeting passed quickly enough, with she and Nikephoros planning to attempt to expand the borders of Ligoria. Not a bad idea, that. They could use the extra money more lands and businesses would bring in. "No, no objections here," he said.
"We really do need a navy. Fucking vultures... sorry, I apologize for the language. I never did like the people who followed in the wake of battle, looting corpses and abandoned towns..." Pasha rubbed his forehead. Even at his lowest times as an orphan he hadn't done that. "Do you want me to do anything?" Pasha asked, meaning look for capable people, hit the books and learn something about how to command a ship, or other things.
Author
Topic: You Are King II: Tales of the Storm Coast (Winter 416a) (Read 238300 times)