I wan to thank Anonymous Echo and Gyrogia for reviewing. Thank you so very much.

Anyway, I do not own anything dealing with Fable II, it belongs to Lionhead studios... But I do own Gale, Kivek, Fortenbrasse, and anyone else I happen to make up along the way, whether they be minor or major.

You can find me on DEVIANTART under the name of ESUERC, by the way. I have pictures of my characters and such up there.

FABLE II

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FIENDISH WINDS

ESUERC VOLTIMAND

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CHAPTER 4: THE SCHOLAR

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"So, where ya from?" Kivek asked, his words mumbled like gibberish as they escaped the half parted lips holding his pipe in place. The duo traveled down the elegantly adorned hallway, the plush carpet beneath their feet like walking on the surface of clouds and the high pitched ceiling above them holding a sense of grandeur even in its simplicity. Gale stood a few paces behind him, gazing up with astonishment, highly impressed with the room before her, so much so that it caused her to stop dead in her tracks. Not even Reaver, as far as she was concerned, had such magnificent accommodations and taste, the regality of it all seemingly far too much for Gale to possible imagine the Pirate King handling.

Still, in all the show, she couldn't help but feel in the pit of her stomach a growing, tense feeling, clawing at her like a savage animal. The Castle… it somehow seemed… lonely. Something had to have been missing.

A clearing throat broke her from her silent thoughts, her stoic pose and pondering look up towards the heavens above catching Kivek's attention, not at all annoyed that she had yet to answer his question. Quickly regaining her composure she scampered up to join him, tearing her eyes away from her lavish surroundings and focusing entirely on him. Realising the question that he had asked she was quick to respond upon thinking on it, collecting herself only to watch him walk backwards ahead of her towards an opened door just to the their left in the Throne room.

"Out of Bloodstone." Gale answered in a curt manner, finding herself entertained by the bow-legged walk Kivek was performing as they entered the Grand Dining Hall. She would have much preferred to have looked at the throne room a little more closely, noticing out of the corner of her eye down the length of the hall that the throne sat empty upon the raised dais on the far wall, the pillars running from the floor up to the ceiling casting mysterious shadows upon the darkened walls that could have very well hidden a stranger or two.

A wild, blazing fire that licked at the air hungrily burned within the wide, stone hearth at the edge of the long room, the light cast from it shrouding the set dining ware into strange shadows that danced across the mahogany table, its colour dark and mesmirising as one could see clearly their reflection in its polished surface. "Bloodstone, eh?" Kivek inquired mainly to himself, turning and striding leisurely to the nearest doorway hiding the set of descending stairs behind it, leading down into the kitchen. "How'd you go an' do that? Take a ship? Not many people can make it through Wraithmarsh if that was you're route. What a place that outta been!" he snorted, reflexively wiping away at his nose with his falling sleeve that had once been curled up around his forearm. "Anyway… you'll be needin' a bath before you go an' meet Lord Lucien."

Gale instinctively pulled at the worn fabric of her dirtied, grey overcoat with a look of disdain across her pale features, smudging at some of the dried on mud with her glove. It only proved to make it worse, for the mud smeared under her finger, causing her to sigh. Kivek looked miserably at the stone floor of the kitchen as they entered down the creaking stairs and came upon the landing, taking in a long draw from his pipe. "Poor Codger, he is. Stays in his study most of the time, nowadays." She took a moment from prodding at her coat to stare up at him through her fallen bangs, begging him to go on with a look in her eye.

"Been that way ever since his wife and lil' one died." He finished and stood in the center of the kitchen with his arms hooked over one another, billowing smoke from the corner of his mouth more often than before.

Barely registering the somber attitude Kivek put on Gale was quick to notice the inviting warmth of the kitchen and the delicious smell of the large loaves of bread baking in the many leveled stove at her right, the very sight and smells of the quaint kitchen inviting her to take a closer look. The place, the castle, felt more like a home to her with each passing second, something new always coming along and presenting itself that only made it all the better.

Once the solemn look left his eyes, obviously from having remembered something from the past about the deaths of Lucien's family, Kivek was quick to straighten himself and walk over to the wall just beside the blackened stove, avoiding the large pipe protruding from and running down the rough brick surface of the wall. A simple cabinet stood to his left and with a slight pull from his free hand he managed it away, swinging it like a door on its hinges to reveal a smaller room a bit less spacious than the kitchen- their quarters, Gale deduced.

"You can wash up in there." Kivek pointed out, quite literally with the swing of his pipe in the direction of the room, "Beds be in there, too, if you need to rest up a bit." He smirked, "Mind the mice, though." He jested, making a quiet squeaking sound within his throat. Gale threw him a quick glance of concern, uncertain of bunking with mice, but Kivek only laughed and played it off like the joke that it was.

Later on, the sun already having passed its halfway point in the brilliance of the pure, blue, cloudless sky, Gale looked upon herself in a small, full length mirror within the servants' quarters. Her belongings had been collected by Kivek while she washed up from the Cow and Corset, and she graciously thanked him for the kind gesture. She would rather it be a while before she saw the Bard again and finished the mental breakdown on the poor, somewhat unnerving man that she began not long ago.

But now, she simply scowled at the reflection in the mirror, the image of a wiry girl glaring back at her with the same intensity she sent it. Surely, it was obvious, or at least she hoped it was, that she was a girl but her feminine "features" seemed to be lacking in what she noted to be the most important areas. Gale puffed out her chest vainly but released the air in her lungs a moment later when she was faced with the failure of not helping the situation.

There was a stifled laugh from behind her, Kivek leaning against the doorframe and looking her up and down to gauge the new servant's outfit she had been presented. It amused him to no end, the puffed cheeks and the pursed lips of the young girl that voiced her hatred and malice for the new set of clothes, aimed at him in obvious displeasure. But surprisingly, she released the pent up aggression in a deep sigh that brought her walking over to him.

"What say you in meetin' Lord Lucien?" he asked, stuffing his pipe for a new smoke.

Gale took a second and tugged at the apron hanging on her hips with distaste, attempting to get used to the strange feeling of having it around her. Not even at Reaver's Manor, which was a reoccurring subject in her head for the past few hours, had she been made to wear the uniform of a scullery maid; the Pirate King not caring for the looks of those he knew he simply would not be more… personal… with. "Sounds good to me." She replied, coming out of her contemplation without a bit of hesitance.

It was right of her to worry about the prospect of Reaver, of course. What else would she have to worry about other than the unorthodox reasons Reaver felt in necessary to keep grudges, this one not even worth his while? Soon, that became the point of her thoughts. Gale could not figure out, even to save her life, whether Reaver would bother to pursue her and exact punishment or would simply get over it, which was much more his character, and hire an older, much more beautiful maid that he could actually toy around with. She knew better to rely on her instincts when it involved Reaver, thinking it better not to bother at all and just let things fall into place like they're supposed to.

Kivek handed her a large platter that took up the entirety of her arms before they made their way up the stairs and into the dining room, the cool silver of the tray burrowing into her skin that caused her to shiver involuntarily. He led her across the lighted throne room, the chandeliers swaying gently above her and rocking the small flicker of flames resting high upon the candles from the draft coming down the entrance hallway, a cooling wind that did nothing to relax the tense girl.

What Kivek had said concerning Lord Lucien turned out to be true, Gale came to find out. Lucien, at the moment, was in his study in the tallest tower of the castle, a small spire jutting out from the main body as if it was built in accord with the Lord's own sense of solitude, towering high above the lowly houses of the peasants of Bowerstone.

To Gale, the walk was tedious as she followed slowly in tow behind her friend, circling about a smaller tower lined with a staircase decorated in small torches burning brightly, spiraling upward to an outcropping above, all the while trying to balance the tray laden with an assortment of foods that would cause a horrendous mess if dropped. They soon breached the top landing and collected themselves before the ever scrutinizing glare of Jeeves, who stood off to the side of the large double doors as if awaiting their arrival.

He sent the two a disgusted glance out of the corner of his eye and popped his nose into the air sourly, folding his lips down into a most unpleasant scowl. "Do not tarry." Jeeves ordered, prying himself from the wall he stood against and walking stiff backed to the doors. "This is the third time this week you have been late with the Lord's lunch. I do suggest you hurry lest I fire you myself." He threatened Kivek, grinning wickedly when he saw that he managed to shake up Gale with the thought of losing her job on her first day. But Kivek knew better and ushered her through the newly opened doors into the dimmed hallway beyond.

Gale stopped in her tracks at the sound of the doors slamming shut with finality behind them, the vibrations and sound echoing down the long stretch of the hall, the end of it not even in sight from the rising stairs into the torch lit distance ahead. The china atop the tray clinked about causing Kivek to look down to inspect the source, coming to find that it had been newly introduced trembles of nervousness running up Gale's arms. She twisted around in a hurry on her heel in an attempt to go back through the door behind them but a firm grasp upon her trembling shoulder held her at bay. The shaking of the china ended abruptly when Gale caught the look that Kivek held in his dark eyes, comforting in their seriousness as his dark gaze swallowed her.

"Relax." He said sternly at length whilst patting her shoulder gingerly in reassurance, "Lucien won't bite. It's fine to be nervous." Kivek began to turn Gale about and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, leading her down the lengthy hallway leisurely despite the comment from Jeeves previously. The flames flickered against the walls within their bases, the walls behind them blackened from years of constant burning in the cool wind that blew in from the opened air balcony just to their left as they continued. From the edge of the balcony a grand view of Bowerstone could be seen, the soaring birds even envious of the splendid height from which the town could be seen.

The ornate door before them stood as the first gauntlet to Gale, the time to meet Lord Lucien having come. She watched the golden shimmer of the large, crafted bolts on the door as it loudly creaked upon opening, Kivek moving to the side to allow her admittance before shutting it quietly afterwards.

The study was certainly a unique room in its own right. All about, encompassing them in ancient texts and statues, knick-knacks and scrolls, laid not a single empty space. In the enormity of the room one could not find a section of wall uncovered by a map or bookcase, the floor covered with scattered sheets of notes and books that had been haphazardly thrown about or just left open. Gale took it all in with an amazed gasp that issued past her lips involuntarily, forgetting the seemingly increased weight of the tray upon her arms as her curiosity mesmerized her.

Kivek soon separated himself from her with a nonchalant shake of his head and traveled off in his lonesome to the right side of the room towards towering rows of bookcases lining the walls. Here, he found, situated upon a perch on the aged ladder ascending the bookcase, a man. No, a scholar; the more appropriate title. He wore a dark coat dyed a deep blue with thin borders of gold along the edges, his apparel littered with small scrolls attached to the fine belt strapped across his chest and a dagger that hung loosely at his side on his hip. An eyepiece, hovering over his left eye, glinted against the light filtering in through the large windows on the far wall, his skin dark like the natives of a distant land Gale was familiar with.

Their eyes looked up from the dirtied, ancient scroll held loosely in their hands and gazed upon the arrival of Kivek, a small, welcoming smile stretching across their visage to greet the man. Gale noted this but knew her duties at that second and moved with haste to the wall opposite Kivek and the man with which he was conversing. Here, she spotted another man in the room that she hadn't noticed before, elegantly dressed in all the finest fashions that showed off his obvious rank in society, his head bowed and shoulders hunched with his keen, calculative gaze that looked as though it could read her as well set upon an opened text on the table he leaned heavily against.

She silently walked up to him and waited as he moved some of the papers he'd been looking at out of the way, placing the tray upon the table to his side with the mindset not to make the china clink around more than it already had. Not once did he tear his fearsome, dark eyes away from the book beneath him, the hunger within them insatiable to knowledge that Gale was not familiar with. The short whiskers running down his attractive high cheek bones twitched as he noticed Gale standing beside him, telling her without words that he wished for her to let him be, the soft tapping of his knee-high boots clicking under the table.

Not daring to speak up and argue about his sudden rudeness in acknowledging her existence in such a way Gale sauntered away much like he wanted, leaving without a word and a huff under her breath. So much for first impressions, she thought, annoyed with the fact that the man must have been the Lord Lucien that Kivek spoke so solemnly about. But she understood well enough that he was rather engrossed in his studies and could not and would not take his eyes away from the faded words his mind read over and over in complete silence.

Gale found herself walking to Kivek's side across the room, the raised dais to her left in the small alcove catching her attention when she passed. The large, eloquent, dark, demented creature crafted into the multicoloured glass hovered above her like a morbid gargoyle; its twisted, wiry arms stretched high to the heavens above the dais. An involuntary shiver ran down her spine from the look of the creature peering down upon her from the secrecy of its veiling cowl. She couldn't help but notice the beauty of it, though; something spawned from the darkness of the ancient kingdom, and had to admire Lord Lucien's choice in having it there.

Gale waited at Kivek's side patiently after having arrived near him, her arms crisscrossed over her chest as she listened to the men's conversation with little more than bored interest. Of course, Kivek, being the silly, playful man he'd come to be known as in the castle, leaned heavily against the young girl at his side, laying his arm upon her head to prove the difference in their heights. He earned nothing but a lowly growl from Gale and simply continued on with his conversation without ever missing a beat in his words. "Kivek!" Gale piped up and futilely tried to pry his arm from her head, the man ignoring her and continuing as he knew it would chip at her patience.

Finally, he looked down to her and smirked lopsidedly with his pipe hanging lazily from the corner of his mouth, still not relinquishing the added pressure of his arm atop Gale's head. "An' this here Ragamuffin is… uh…" Kivek knew better than to forget Gale's name, but he did so love crawling his way under her skin and messing with her for his own cruel amusement, even if he had only known her for just under a day. He feigned stupidity, his mind going blank of suggestions for Gale's name and took a long, peaceful draw from his pipe. "Galileo, was it?"

"Gale." She replied curtly not a second later, giving up on trying to force his arm away from her head. "Idiot…" Gale slouched to relieve some of the strain cracking her neck in so many places, mumbling under her breath curses aimed at the manservant.

As a response, and as immature as it was for someone of his age to do, Kivek continued on with his jesting by drooping his large hand before Gale's eyes, moving his arm over ever so slightly across the top of her head so it caused her black headband to fall down to her nose. He found himself tumbling forward unexpectedly, eyes widening when he realized that Gale had ducked out from underneath him, thus eliminating his casual support.

He careened, landing face first into the bookshelf to the left of the ladder the other man was sitting on and knocking an assortment of coded, many volume books in a rain of dust on him; his pipe skidding across the floor to Gale's lifted foot. It stopped as she stamped down on it with the toe of her boot, crossing her arms over her chest again and grinning with the sense that she'd managed to accomplish something great by duping the otherwise not-so-bright manservant.

A loud, sickening snap was heard from the quick twist of Gale's neck as she cracked it, removing any and all discomfort that had been created. She gazed up in curiosity to the stoic scholar sitting on the fourth rung of the ladder without so much as a sideways glance to see how Kivek was faring. From beneath the mound of books they heard a stifled groan that made her giggle quietly to herself, reveling in the fact that he had yet to recover from her sly maneuver.

Lord Lucien sneered and shook his head at the loud commotion behind him, choosing to ignore it and return to his studies. He hadn't gotten much of a look at the newest addition to the workforce of Fairfax castle and decided against his best interest to sneak a glance over his shoulder. The newest maid, he figured, stood before his scholarly companion with her back to him, her short, ginger hair stopping just at the nape of her neck and her uniform two sizes too big. Damn it all that the time he decides to look he can see nothing but the scene of his most trusted manservant covered in a mound of books, bringing a hand to his forehead when the dull, numbing pain of an upcoming headache began to grow.

"Anyway, I'm Gale." She reiterated with the polite extension of her small, pale hand to the man, fixing up her hair with her free one. The man couldn't help but smirk at the playful expression plastered across Gale's face whilst she watched Kivek slowly but surely pull himself from the avalanche of books that stormed down on his thick cranium. He returned her gesture with a firm grip around her hand, placing his scroll in his lap for a brief break from study.

"Garth." He said, feeling the young girl gingerly shake his hand as if to avoid seeming too off putting. But as Kivek rose wobbly to his feet, holding a hand to his head as he teetered unbalanced upon stepping out from the mound of books, he swatted Gale on the back with his free hand; the strength of five men behind that one unforgiving slap that snapped painfully through the study. All it made her do was tense up with a hiss through her teeth, her back and body going stiff as the still unreleased hold on Garth's hand tightened reflexively. Pulling away, Gale returned the hit with equal, if not increased, ferocity, nailing Kivek square in the shoulder hard enough for him to reel backwards on his heels and turn to the side.

Garth shook his hand to alleviate the sting left behind by the young girl's mighty grasp, not realising up until then just how strong her grip had become because of the hit from Kivek.

Lord Lucien, not appearing far more than just simply annoyed, spun heel on them and grasped hard at the fine fabric of his vest as if to avoid lashing out. "Enough!" he demanded thoroughly, obviously at his last grasp on his short fuse of patience, Gale and Kivek the very flame that had sparked it. Garth settled comfortably back against the bookshelf and watched the young girl, Gale he had come to find out, being strung up into the arms of her counterpart, a hand covering her mouth as she was near to replying to Lord Lucien. A firecracker, he thought silently, grinning inwardly to himself to avoid showing his amusement. He vaguely made out Kivek whispering "Hard head" into Gale's ear, the one visible eye not hidden by his strange eyepiece scanning the duo incredulously as they whilst they turned to face their employer.

"Sorry 'bout her, Lord Lucien." Kivek apoligised sincerely and held easily Gale under his tight hold, feeling her never-ending struggle to break free from his inhuman grasp. "Neophyte, you see, an' don't know the workin's of the castle yet." Lord Lucien seemed to accept the explanation, all the while scowling at the squirming Gale with a hint of displeasure. It was something that she certainly did not miss when she suddenly looked in his direction, ceasing her struggle when she understood that this truly was to be the very man to whom she would address as her new employer.

Suddenly, Gale was very ashamed. She quickly averted her gaze elsewhere to avoid the calculating, icy eyes that bore into her from across the room. It did not matter, for Lucien brought his attention to an echoing knock coming from the chamber door, Jeeves rolling in a moment later under the admittance of his Lord. The Chamberlain hastily sulked to where Lucien stood and bent slightly towards him, holding a clandestine conversation through whispers passed along nearly in silence. Gale took into account the blotches of what looked to be ashes floating on Jeeves' overcoat and questioned where exactly they had come from, the smell of smoke lingering in from down the hallway and into the room.

Lucien nodded squarely and sent the chamberlain away politely with the wave of his hand, whisking it through his thrown back hair as he turned to face the others that so curiously and patiently watched him. "Kivek." He began, bringing both his hands to hold them behind his back, "You and your," he looked Gale straight in the eye for a split second before returning to the man that still held her, "…subordinate must be leaving. There is something that requires your urgent attention back in the kitchen."

A heavy sigh heaved against the back of Gale's head when it left Kivek's chest, a low rumbling resounding in her ear from the continual rasp in his throat when he spoke. "Yes, sir, Lord Lucien." Kivek replied politely and dragged Gale away under his arm back towards the door. She had no choice but to go along, forcing herself to comply without insult to her previous actions and wave her goodbyes to Garth behind her, the scholar fading into the background amongst the many books still scattered on the floor below him.

As they closed the door shut neither of the other two in attendance noticed the dismal visage upon Lucien's handsome face, his eyes narrowed dangerously at the small girl that had "graced" him with her presence.

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NEXT CHAPTER:

CHAPTER 5- OLD TOWN