Meaio shuddered, 'was he really asking this of me, to think he would challenge my desire to let him have me be turned to the question of love, that fleeting fantasy in the world of nobles,' she pulled her hands away, and to his back, and spoke, “I don’t know yet, you are still an oddity and I can’t say for sure how I feel about you.” she leaned away from him while stepping away pulling her dress closed as she did, “I am sorry, I thought you were tense because you wanted this.”
Darak turned around, his face still a bit red, but he reached up to her face, and cupped her cheek, “Do not apologize, you have done nothing wrong.” he said with a soft tone, his hand on her cheek soft and tender, the look within his eyes shows a slowly slumbering longing, but he smiled warmly, “I will wait for as long as you need.”
She watched him pull away and leave her room, his stride not fast as though to escape but not slow to bid his time, a pace that showed that he knew what he had rejected for her honor, his movement showed the well-made man that he was, the now open shirt showing more scars across his chest and abdomen, like a web of lighter tone, but the muscles under the skin showed more to her, and her heart skipped a beat as time seemed to freeze for a second. He was a man of carefully made muscles, tone to a godly refinement, his dark blonde hair shone in a wave against the moonlight through the window, the sharp jawline of a nobleman, yet his fuller face showed the healthy diet he maintained, the green eyes of his heritage show a resolve that made her feel like with him by her side her safety would never be in question, his even arms that were hidden by his sleeve that had held her with ease twice today, the power of his strides while his posture maintained an air of nobility, a proper gentleman if she had ever seen one, and he was walking away.
‘How can you be so refined yet never act like those you are from,’ she thought as he left her room, closing the door as he did, her eye watching the door ‘You will not come back in will you, It is not your way,’ she held her gaze on the door for a second longer then he would be standing there, ‘I don’t understand why you are as you are, but I am happy you are so.’ she turned back to the bed and got undressed and put on a nightgown, climbing into the large bed that felt a bit empty to her.
‘He is the perfect noble, kind and thoughtful, driven yet caring, powerful yet restrained.’ she felt her heartbeat in her ears, ‘why does he leave me so confused, why does he show his desire to me but withdraw when I try to accept it, why does he act like we are nothing but partners in his goal yet then acts as though he is uncertain of his plans.’ she sighed and went to sleep.
Her dreams started with old memories of her childhood, her young life with her parents in the countryside before the Baron came to look over his domain, and she felt an aura off of him, it was cold and uneasy, she spoke out to him, asking him to smile but when he did, he spoke to her parents telling them she was going to be honored by being employed by him. Then the dream shifted to a few months ago, the baroness was having her beaten, demanding the truth of who the father of her child was, and her pleading for an end to the pain. The pain of the dream woke her in a sweat breathing hard, the pain of those days still in her heart, she let loose a few tears but held back from giving the pain a voice, crying in silence for a few seconds but looking to the door to Darak’s room.
She found her feet faster than she realized, opening the door, she saw him turning a bit in his sleep, his own rest not going on comfortably too. As she walked in she spotted the red glow of Zaiz’s eyes on her but they faded after a second, her hand reached down, his exposed chest showed the scars over his skin, the toned form twisted and turned as he slept, his mutterings for an end to something, calls for rest and comfort, her touch on his skin was warm on her palm, the contact slowed his moving, and she crawled up and into the bed with him, the cold of the air beaten back by his body heat, his breathing slowly lulling her to rest, the warm embrace of one arm on her back felt assuring for her safety. She looked up to his face, the turbulence that had racked him moments ago faded to a peaceful rest, and she reached up and felt his lips, They were soft under her finger, his brows furrowed a second and she pulled away, and leaned up hovering over him, the light movement under his eyelids show he was still asleep, the aura of rest and slumber radiated off him in soothing waves that played on her mind.
“Forgive me in the morning.” she whispered and leaned down to steal a kiss, the act soft and tender, the feel of his mana rushing into her at the contact felt inviting, but she pulled back and laid down again letting herself be cradled in his arms, and rest found her soon after.
Her dreams were new and strange, not the memories of her past, no pain or disappointment, but dreams of a future, one where Arcaio and her are having a picnic beside the river, the warm summer sun, and Darak beside her as Acraio played with a kite, their time together warm and filled with love. But her dream is disturbed as she feels the movement and departure of warmth that had enveloped her.
Opening her eyes, the morning sun blinded her for a second, but a hand cupped her face as the sounds of the moment came to her, “Stay here, I will get Arcaio.” Darak’s voice called as the bed shifted at the departure of his form, and she sat up, pulling the blanket a bit to cover herself, and she watched the door as her eyes adjusted to light.
Darak came back in with the baby in his arms, the pajama trousers he wore to rest were loose, but his form was still clear as he moved, the tone frames of his arms cradling her son with care, as he approached, the cries of the child light and soft at the touch “He might be hungry.” Darak said as he held him out to her but was looking away very intently. Making her glance down and notice the loose and partly see-through nightgown she was wearing.
But she smiled at the bashful manner he showed as she took her son, and got out of the bed, stepping around him, “I don’t mind if you looked.” she said her tone intentionally inviting to him, but he kept from looking to her, “you are my husband, you know.” she left him and made her way to the nursery.
She could feel his eyes on her as she walked away, and turned suddenly, catching his eyes as he blushed, before he turned away. ‘He is still a man’ she thought before turning back and walking to the rocking chair, carefully slipping a part of the gown off and holding her son, his latching on her nipple was a bit uncomfortable, but he fed, and she felt the light coldness in the air.
“Darak, can you get me a blanket?” she called out and heard him move about then enter with her blanket, looking to her for instruction, his eyes actively looking anywhere but at her, “Just drape it over me, it is cold.” she added and found him carefully cradling her in the blanket.
As he leaned back up, he scratched the back of his neck, “I was a bit surprised to find you in my bed this morning.” he said a bit sheepishly as he seemed less distracted by her.
Meaio laughed a bit, but looked up at him, “I had a bad dream and chose to enter your bed for comfort, is it wrong of me to do so in the arms of my husband?” she said back with a fine amount of sass in her voice.
Darak looked away, “No, I guess it is not, I did tend to him a few times over the night.” he said.
“Anything I should know about?” she asked.
“No, just changed his diaper twice, and fed him some mana so you could sleep, didn’t want to wake you.” he said back and turned to walk back out.
“You fed him mana?” she asked a bit confused.
“It's not hard, I used mana as a catalyst to pour nutrients and other things anyone needs to live, adjusted it for a growing baby.” Darak said back, “It's not as good as what you can give him, but it can work as a weaker alternative. Learned how to do that from Master Yuie, she really hated dealing with children.”
“I see, I didn’t realize you left the bed.” Meaio said back as she realized that her sleep was uninterrupted, “Did you use magic to keep me asleep?” She looked up and noticed how he withdrew and nodded, “Which ones?”
Darak waved his hand in the air and took a step to the side, leaving behind a copy of himself, “Shadow Double, and Angel’s Rest spells,” he said while gesturing at the copy, “One makes a copy of the caster with all their qualities that only the caster can’t interact with, the second keeps a person in the state of being they are in when the spell is cast. The double kept you from being moved as I got up, the second kept you from hearing the cries or my walking in and out.” he waved his hand and made the copy disappear, “I am sorry, I just wanted you to rest.”
‘Such a thoughtful man,’ she thought as she smiled at him, “Thank you for taking care of him.” she said to him, “I’ll make some breakfast after he is done, could you please look for a maid today?”
Darak smiled back “Of course, I will go and find one this afternoon, as for breakfast let me handle it.” he said back then left the room.
She looked down at her son, rocking a bit as she did, “What do you think? Can we trust him?” she asked her son, his small body and form too weak to do much then cry, sleep, eat, and other things. “I think we can, and when you are big and tall, he will make you strong too.” she leaned down and kissed Arcaio’s head, “And you will be our prince when he has completed his mission.”
She leaned up and looked at the door, ‘he is a difficult man to understand, but that is not bad, he can’t break his vow to ensure our happiness, and that is something tangible.’ she thought before carefully switching which side Arcaio was feeding on. ‘He will protect us even at the risk to himself, he will fight for us, and he will be king.’ She smiled at the thought of all those who had degraded her bowing to her. ‘And I will be his queen, and we will rule a mighty and just empire.’
She felt Arcaio unlatch and raised him slowly rubbing his back as she stood up, bouncing on her feet to help him settle a bit, then laid him down in his crib, carefully stroking his belly until he fell asleep, and watched him for a few seconds longer before going to change into a dress. And thoughts of things she had forgotten came up ‘I wonder how my parents are doing, I would love to see them.’ She laced up the front of her dress and unruffled the skirt, before turning and going to the door, finding Zaiz waiting by the stairs.
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The cat watched her closely.
She kneeled down and smiled, “Zaiz can you let Darak know if my son wakes up?” she asked sweetly.
Zaiz watched her for a few seconds then let out a meow before walking to the door and passing through the wood and into the room.
Meaio stood up and followed the scent of cooking foods, finding Darak mostly dressed in everything but his vest and suit, cooking on the stove and carefully seasoning the food, his lack of attention to her entry gave her a chance to slip into a chair, and watched him. The scent of some foreign foods does reach her, but he keeps on cooking, snapping a finger and making a tray with a roasted fillet of fish hover over, as he goes about cooking something else while cracking four eggs into a skillet, his energy to cook showed as he pulled the sunny side eggs out and placed them on two plates, and snapped his fingers again sending the plates to the table, before he turns around with a plate of sliced vegetables nearly tripping as he sees her, but catches himself.
“Umm, how long have you been there?” He asked with a smile as he walked over and put the large plate down.
“From the fish,” She said back with a smile, “never had fish for breakfast before so a bit surprised.”
“Yeah, our conversation last night at dinner got me wanting food from Waino, so I used a teleport spell to get some things before coming back, my friend Hiro and his wife were a bit upset but were happy to help.” he said with a smile, “So the fish is a tuna fillet cooked in soy, the white grain is rice, it's a common staple in the east, I also made some cooked, smoked, and fresh vegetables, then you have sunny side eggs because it is breakfast.”
She looked over the food, the plate of vegetables and tray of tuna looked like it was cooked perfectly again, while the soft steam from the rice and eggs was inviting to her, and she took a careful bite of the rice, the softness of the grains was wonderful, and she looked up as he took a bite of rice with some of the egg whites, and smiled as he tasted his work. He then looked around and waved his hand extending the table a bit then making a tea set hover over from the kitchen, boiling the tea in the pot before it poured out two cups that came to rest beside each of them.
“You know most mages or even seers don’t use magic as often as you do.” she said as she looked at her cup of tea, looking up at him, “Why is this green?”
“It is called green tea, it is popular in the East as a morning drink.” he said with a smile and took a sip, “It is the sweetened kind, I hope you like it. As for the magic usage, I find it great, but then again, I have the mana to use, most mages and seers in this nation are taught to save their magic for duals or challenges to their power or authority.”
‘Yeah, I have seen that happen a few times’ she thought as she nodded along, then took a sip of her tea, it was sweet and rich, and its passage made her feel lighter and more awake, but she put the cup back down, “so, I was thinking about it and I realized that I can now go see my parents, I am hoping you can take me.” she said as she watched him, and noted the slight hesitation.
But whatever thoughts he had were shaken away before he spoke, and asked in a measured tone “When was the last time you heard from them?”
“The last letter I got was about a month ago. They were doing okay, but my father is ill, and my mother has been having a hard time even after my wage got to them.” She said back, “My sister is there too, but she is set to marry the smith’s son by year's end.”
She watched as he sat back, his mind racing over her request, then he looked up and the hard gaze of the calculating son of a baron shattered and he smiled with a warm and affectionate expression, “Right, let’s go today, I’ll even see to heal your father, and we can meet with your sister and congratulate her on the marriage, and I want to also gift them with a dowry for you.”
Meaio looked at him closely, his expression she could see was sweet, but his eyes showed fear, like this excursion would be bad for some reason, and her mind demanded answers, “Why do you look scared to go?”
He shook his head, “I am not scared, I am sure I am overthinking this, but I would like to meet your parents and sister.” he said back, but his eyes still showed her a hesitation to go.
“I am sure they are fine, let us go after breakfast, we can get back before nightfall, and have dinner here.” she said as she looked back down to her food, and ate while her mind thought over his answer, ‘Could this have something to do with his past, his question about when I had spoken with them seemed odd, but that is not uncommon for families like mine, I am in the city whereas they live in my home village. I am sure his caution is because of his plans for sure.’
“We should take Arcaio with us so that your parents can meet him, where are your parents actually?” He said snapping her out of the haze of thoughts she was in.
“High Easter, they live close to the edge by the main road.” She said back.
“Right then I will take us to the edge, and we can glide in as we get closer, please bundle up a bit, flying is a cold experience unless you go slow.” he said slowly as he ate a bit more of his food, a bit of speed behind his actions show he was nervous.
“Right, I will.” Meaio said back, and watched as he finished his plate.
He looked up at her, “Don’t worry about the dishes, just be ready to leave, I will be in my Arcanium, I have some things to prepare.” he said then got up and walked away quickly.
‘Why is he so nervous,” she thought as she kept eating, ‘It is like he is scared that if we take too long, they won’t be there.’ She ate the last of her food and got up walking quickly upstairs, ‘but what if whatever has him like this is true, what could have him so rushed.’ She found a coat she bought and threw it on before finding a thick blanket to bundle Arcaio in, before going back downstairs, finding him at the door.
He had put a coat on that had a latticework of magic formulas she didn’t know of across the whole of it, with a tall black wood staff with an ever shifting gemstone set in the top, his look up to her was still a bit nervous, but he extended his hand to her, and she took it as they stepped out into the street, they drew a few eyes as Zaiz leapt up on to his shoulder opposite her, then he raised his staff and spoke. “Njord, god of the north winds, gift us flight, carry us on mighty winds that are yours alone to hold and allow us passage to our destination.”
She saw that the gemstone glowed a bit then he pulled her up by the waist as they left the ground behind, the flight was fast, and the wind rushed past them as they made their way northeast to her village, the scenery under them running as they soared onwards, and she felt the lightness of their movement, and laughed a bit at the amazement of traveling so quickly, faster than a horse at full speed, the rush of air and movement as he shifted them over trees and under bridges until finally they slowed and he lowered them down to the road that led into town.
She breathed a bit as the ground greeted her again, then she turned to him smiling wide, “That was amazing, I can’t believe you did that, and with a spell I never heard of before, I had seen the baron use that magic, but his incantation was long and boring.” she said with a boundless amount of enthusiasm.
Darak smiled back, “Yes, rune magic is a bit different,” he said and pulled out a small rune carved stone that was glowing a bit then stopped and crumbled away to dust. “I have prepared for a trip here and back, I also have the materials to teleport us away, and to treat your father.” he pulled her a bit towards the buildings he could see, “Now to see your parents.”
Meaio looked around and recalled the layout a bit, the feelings of nostalgia and familiarity were nice as they made their way through the roads. They had to walk a bit as they had landed on the wrong edge of the village, but she noticed that most of the villagers seemed to ignore them as they moved, though her village was always a bit closed off to outsiders.
However, as they came around the last corner of a house she gasped, and took a faltered step, before she spoke, “What…” She covered her mouth and walked a bit forward then broke to a run as she reached the burned and ruined remains of her parent's home.
The roof beam had been split and rested while pointing inward, while everything else that was flammable had been reduced to black soot that covered the stone walls, the kitchen she had sat and eaten with them was nothing but a fireplace now, she rushed to the bedroom she once shared with her sister, and found nothing, turning to the bedroom of her parents, letting loose a pained wail, as her legs gave way and fell to her knees.
In the closed walls was nothing but the charred remains of three cradling each other, their lags had scorched shackles with locks pinning them to the back wall, the thought of their death haunting her, her agony demanded she let the world know, and she let loose a howl in demand of the heavens, the clouds over them cracking to rain, but she didn’t care now, the soft footfalls beside her told her of Darak’s presence, the butt of the staff resting next to her as her tears fell on Arcaio’s blanket, she heard him shift and a hand rested on her back.
She choked back some tears and asked in a torn voice, “You knew this would happen, didn’t you?”
“I did.” He said back but didn’t add, as his hand rubbed her back, the rain already turning the ground around them to mud.
She cracked a bit more at his word, but she forced a question out between breaths, “Who did this, show me.”
“Are you sure? it will not heal this wound.” He asked back, his tone was soft and concerned.
She nodded and felt his hand leave her back, then the butt of his staff landed twice, and the image of the house changed, she could see the floor come back to the packed dirt and wood it was in her youth, and she looked up as her sister mother and father were chained up by men at sword point, then the form of the baroness stepped into the room, before turning and leaving, and a man of her son threw a lit torch in, the fire growing quickly as her family couldn’t smother the flames because of the placement of their binding, the sight was too much, and the spell faded.
‘Why, why did she kill them, why would Arcaio’s own father light the flame, why did they do this?’ she couldn’t contain it as she let loose a mournful cry for her family, a pain at the fate they were handed, and Darak kneeled beside her and pulled her in, covering her in the coat he wore, the contact forcing her mind to seek answers, and she asked in a choked voice, “Why did this happen?”
Darak let out a sigh, but spoke a second after, “Because the baroness is a purest, she sees any family that had a hand in an illegitimate child as guilty, she likely did this a few weeks ago, just before you were thrown out, she did the same to my mother’s family.”
“Did she have me thrown out to have me die then?” Meaio asked as the thought crossed her mind.
“Yes, she had no intention of letting you back in, but your village was farther than my mother’s, so you didn’t seek them out whereas she did.” his words felt cold around them, “I was praying that your family had not suffered this fate, and hope to get them far away from the baroness, but I knew too late.” he said as he carefully stroked her shoulders.
‘I will not let this stand, it was my sin, I was the one to commit the misdeed, I will not allow this, I will have blood’ Meaio thought and grit her teeth while her tears still fell, ‘I will see that bastard pay for this, he could have been a man, said no to his horrid mother, I will make him beg, I will make him suffer.’
Meaio swallowed hard and forced her mind to stop, to accept this fate for now before she spoke in a cold and wrathful voice “I have a request, and I know that you already plan to do something but I want this one thing,” she looked up to him, as she let her fury at this event rage in her expression, but got a nod from him to continue, “I want to be the one to kill your brother, you can get the baroness but that man, after all the false promises and faked declaration, I want to be the one to end him, please let me have that.”