“Sit please”

Uh oh…first a ‘we need to talk’ and now a ‘sit down’. The ultimate ‘you are in for it’ verbal power couple.

Diago tentatively took a seat opposite Sullien in the empty room. If you haven’t guessed by now, Sullien is not overly quick with his words, preferring to think before speaking; a trait Diago always found both respectable and impossible to mimic. Usually, this silence would be short lived, as Diago would impatiently break it, but this time felt different. There was a weight to the air that shut Diago up and forced him to wait.

Sullien wasn’t looking at him…he almost looked…guilty. This was a first for Diago.

Sullien finally stirred, giving a pleading look upward and a deep breath.

“Diago…do you remember the story about how we found you?”

This is definitely not where Diago thought this was going.

“You said you found me lost on the side of the road, crying. You said the sight was so sad that you and Hyra decided then and there to take me with you…that’s the story isn’t it?”

Sullien finally met Diago’s eyes.

“…isn’t it?”

Sullien still did not respond. That was all Diago needed. That wasn’t the story.

Diago spoke again, “Sul…what are you not saying? Why did you lie about how you found me?”

“I had no choice! Hyra and I promised not to say anything until the time was right” From here, Sullien seemed to open the flood gates of what he was bottling up. “Of course we had no idea what the right time was. When you started talking? no, that was far too early. For your birthday? No, that didn’t seem like the right moment. When a thrice cursed fade shows up!? No, no, it can’t be now, it’s too soon. That can’t be right”

“Wait!” cried Diago, trying to stop Sulien, but Sulien was already headed where Diago wanted him to go.

“Yes Diago…I know what a fade is…” Sulien took a shuttering breath before continuing, “I know what a fade is…because one spoke to me…about fifteen years ago”

Diago, once again speechless, was left gaping…fifteen years ago…right around the time he was born.

“I am not originally from Tunaan. I know I look like I am, but that is because of my grandad. He was from Tunaan, but early in life he journeyed to Marien to make a living as a sea trader and land correspondent. That’s where I am from. I grew up on the sea. My familiarity with ropes is actually what helped me master that Kurigan I gave you, which is what gave me such a quick rise in the Honor Guard”

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“Sul, you aren’t…why didn’t you?…I don’t understand” said Diago.

“Hyra and I were happy in Marien” Sulien continued, “but one day during an evening stroll on a pier, we stopped in our tracks. All the stars started to shimmer in unison and the air grew warm and seemed to penetrate our very souls. Suddenly a figure clouded in mist appeared before us. We tried to run, but it was in front of us no matter which way we turned. It was terrifying”

Diago was so on the edge of his seat that he ought to have fallen off of it, but he managed to stay on. He stopped trying to comment and let Sulien go on.

“When it spoke…my life, Hyra’s life, both our lives felt bound to what it said in such a way that we could have never broken from its course. Though unlike you, we were given instructions. We were told to travel to Tunaan and live there. We were also warned that we would be interrupted on our journey and that when we were, kindness would need to be shown. So we left…how could we not? We both knew we had to. We were on edge the entire journey, until we finally had the interruption we were warned about”

Sulien paused. Diago desperately wanted Sul to continue, so he hazarded a question.

“That’s when you found me?” Diago guessed, but was surprised when Sulien shook his head.

“No Diago, that’s when we found your mother”

Diago felt like he’d just been kicked,

“…you knew my mother?!”

“Yes…she was a strong woman. She was being held captive outside a village. I can’t remember which village, that part is blurry, but what is clear in memory was how angry I felt when I saw her chained to a post in a very worn out dress. What made me livid however, was when I saw that she was very pregnant”

“Why was she strung up?” Asked Diago, incredulous. Part of him morbidly thought it curious that even before he was born he had a knack for being in trouble.

“She was a captive to a group from of men. What she did to earn her a spot in the post? I have no idea. We had to act fast though, so we came up with a quick plan. Hyra quickly undid her hair while I grabbed some of the wine we had for the journey. I poured some into the tankards that we had brought and gave them to Hyra who knew a whole lot more about herbs than myself. It was a desperate thing to try and finding the right herbs was a unlikely, but your mom must have had luck on her side, just like you. Hyra found the right herbs that would cause a deep sleep to fall over the men watching your mom. Hyra played the part of one of the village tavern waitresses and gave the men the wine, while I unshackled your mother. The men fell asleep immediately and we managed to get away without raising any alarms”

“woah…you guys thought that out quickly”, hearing of such harrowing behavior on behalf of a total stranger gave Diago a new found respect for his adopted parents,

Sulien smirked, “really it was mostly Hyra’s idea, otherwise I probably would have tried force. Hyra was smarter than that and knew the quiet and stealthy way would be more effective and she was right. We got away unscathed”

“What happened next?”

“We took your mother with us. Kindness was necessary after all. Once we were far enough away from the men, we made camp. We spoke then. Your mother was incredibly polite and regal even in her worn out and pregnant state. We told her who we were and that we were essentially sent to find her by a fade. She seemed amazed, but she thanked us heartily with all the gentility and elegance that you would normally find only in the highest classes. That’s when she told us who she was…”

Sulien took another deep and shuttering breath. Diago danced on the razors edge between unwillingness to breath in suspense and barking at Sul to spit it out already. Thankfully he didn’t have to wait long.

“Diago…your mother…was Queen Fara of Eldaren”