~O~
The Faintest Whisper
"I think a bow is more your weapon."
Of course, Lyndon would say that, but once Thalia had held one, she found it was more than suitable to her hands than a sword or a spear.
Imperius stood beside her, gesturing to the makeshift targets in the distance.
"Now, take aim," he instructed, "Inhale slowly."
Thalia did as he said, but her arms were shaking and Imperius noticed it. He frowned at the sight before staring down at her impatiently.
"What's the matter?" he asked.
Thalia struggled to focus and ended up firing the arrow far from the intended target. It veered off course and struck a bird's nest, sending the animals scattering to the skies. Maya shook her head sadly.
Tyrael and the others watched the sight from afar.
"You were intent to learn," Imperius said, annoyance in his voice, "What are you doing?"
Thalia gave a frustrated snort. "I don't know. Maybe I just can't do it."
"Considering my audience, I'm going to make this very quick and very simple." Imperius said. "Your weapon is here. Your target is there. Now shoot!"
Lyndon shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps she would be better with a dagger?"
Thalia pointed the arrow at him and he held out two hands.
"Don't toy with me, thief." she threatened.
Imperius thought of something as he stared down at her scarred hands. Perhaps she needed another tactic to motivate her.
"I believe the problem is that you are trying to hold in your anger," he said, "Don't hold it in. Use that anger you feel. Take every inch of that rage and send it back to your enemies. Let them understand the true nature of righteous fury and tremble before it!"
His words seemed to work because Thalia grinned and felt herself energized in a manner she never did before. She took aim and fired another arrow.
It found its target.
Thalia lowered her bow with a laugh of disbelief. She was also delighted.
"Oh Gods, did you see that, mother?" she cried, yelling over to Hadar. "I shot an arrow without hurting anyone!"
Hadar nodded and waved. "I saw! Very good, dear!" Then, she quipped softly at the corner of her mouth. "It's about time..."
Imperius found her joy a little foolish. "Yes, yes, yes," he said, "You did well for your fifth try. Now we should see how well you do with swords."
"I'm not that good. We tried before."
"Yes. But that was when you did not apply your anger properly." Imperius told her. "Now let's try. Pick up a weapon and face me."
Thalia blinked once and retrieved a sword from a wagon beside them; Lyndon had brought all the necessary weapons they would need for training. He constantly assured them they were not stolen, of course, but some of them suspected otherwise.
Imperius raised his spear. "Find a stance." he ordered.
Thalia shifted her heels awkwardly.
"All right. Now attack me."
She looked stunned.
"Did I waver between breaths, human?" Imperius quipped. "I said, ATTACK ME!"
Thalia lunged, swinging the sword, but Imperius smacked it out of her hands with his spear and seized her wrists tightly with the other. She kicked and squirmed, but his grip held strong.
"That was foolish." he snapped, "Will you face your enemies with the grace of a dismembered animal? If so, you would surely be killed in a moment's notice!"
He tossed her roughly aside and retrieved the sword that he had struck. He held it out to her handle first. "Now, try it again."
While they continued to train, Tyrael decided to talk with Hadar about a particular subject that had been bothering him for a little while.
"Thalia says you were a noblewoman of Caldeum." he said.
Hadar smiled, nodding. "I was."
"How did you come to meet her father?"
"I was a young woman who lived in wealth," Hadar began. Her smile disappeared and she let out a sigh. "I had everything a young girl could want; riches, jewelry, exotic pets. All was given to me at the tip of a hat."
Tyrael studied her as she said this.
"So long as I sat silent..." Hadar continued, "Did not speak unless spoken to... Did not argue. Or laugh. Or smile... Or...well, did anything."
Tyrael's features were of pity now.
"One day, I ventured into the market. It was my last day as a free woman before I would be betrothed to another nobleman; a fellow wealthy man of great blood. Or so I had heard."
Hadar made her way through the market, where she received wary looks from the poor around her. She spotted a man in the crowd, selling miniature jeweled animals. He caught her gaze and smiled, waving. Hadar waved a little, perplexed by his behavior.
"I don't know what it was exactly, but his sense of humor and spirit drew me to him."
"What was his name?" Tyrael asked.
Hadar smiled, savoring the memory of the man she had loved. "Faolan Roy. He was an unusual man when we had first met."
Faolan pretended as if he had horns by holding up two daggers to his head. Hadar covered her mouth with one hand and giggled a little.
Later, they spoke alone by a fountain.
"You are an unusual man, Faolan Roy." Hadar said.
Faolan smiled at her. "You probably aren't used to many of those types, I imagine."
"No. I'm not."
"Faolan allowed me to open up and be who I truly was. And I never knew who that was until I met him. The man I loved."
Hadar and Faolan crept into a secret room. Hadar commented that she used it when she needed to avoid her father and his sycophants.
"This is a lovely room." Faolan said. "What sort of things do you do here?"
Hadar smiled a little. "Things. Well...such things a lady should not discuss with a man. At least, one who is not her betrothed."
Faolan smirked, and the look drew a blush from her.
"Faolan certainly had a way with words." Hadar smiled and her features reddened a little. "I suppose he knew how to use them efficiently."
A kiss across her bare shoulder let the noblewoman shudder.
His pale flesh caressing the olive-toned skin beneath.
The rough, farmer's hands cupping that smooth perfect bottom beneath her dress.
Hadar's soft moans of pleasure when he would slowly rock into her, claiming her on the fur rugs beside the fire. The stubble along his chin tickled her own when his mouth would fiercely claim her.
"Father learned of us sooner than expected. All the wealth I had ever known was taken from me and I was cast out of his family. Faolan brought me to live with him. This farm you see before you. He had nothing to offer me but his love. That was enough for me."
Tyrael thought about her words. "So if you could go back... Would you make the same choice knowing its outcome?"
"Yes."
Her immediate answer surprised him.
"That is what love is for our kind, Tyrael," Hadar explained, watching Thalia and Imperius continue training, "It is about sacrificing what you had to be with that one person. It's about seeing yourself in a different light. It's about understanding. But most of all, it's about loving someone despite every flaw and every mess they might make."
Tyrael looked rather moved by those words. "I see..."
"I made a few of them." Hadar added, grinning sheepishly.
O
The following morning, Imperius had been called to speak with Thalia alone.
He was partially curious by this odd request, but nonetheless, indulged. He found her at the chosen meeting spot; far outside from the borders of their farm near a stream of water. She seemed a bit uneasy about being alone with him, but Imperius didn't note that.
"This is strange for me," Thalia said, "I've had to work up a bit of courage to speak to you in such a way."
Imperius wasn't sure where she was going with this. "Yet, here you are."
She glanced at him warily. "Yes, here I am..."
Imperius glanced down and noticed she carried a small book in her hand. In the few days passing, he noticed that she had begun to carry it around with her.
"So what is it you need to speak that you could not do so around the others?" he questioned.
"It's about you, actually."
"Me?"
Thalia grimaced a little. "Well, it..." She struggled with her words and turned. "Oh Gods, this is foolishness. I don't even know where to begin."
Imperius sighed impatiently. "Get on with it while I'm still in a charitable mood, woman."
Thalia wavered a little. "Well, perhaps I..." she attempted again. "Maybe I was thinking that..."
Imperius was losing his patience and scoffed. He rolled his shoulders before his eyes fell on the book in her hands. He attempted to deflect the uncomfortable feeling in the air and snatched it from her arms.
"What is this stupid thing you carry with you?" he snapped. He opened the book and furrowed his brows. "I see the skill of art is in you as well..."
He walked to a stone and sat down, frowning thoughtfully as he studied the pages in front of him. Each page was of a sketch from life around them. Some of them were of people, others of animals. While he was never one for art or images, her skill was quite impressive for a human.
Imperius glanced at her and she shyly looked away.
"These are...rather good, I suppose." he murmured.
Thalia shrugged her shoulders and rubbed her hands together. "Maya doesn't know about them." she said. "When she started to draw...you... Well, I guess I got a little creative too."
Imperius turned a page and found an image of himself sitting by the fire, sleeping in one of the chairs. He glanced at her and she laughed, embarrassed.
"Maya's birthday is in a few more days. With the limited gold we have, I thought I could sell them to get her something nice. I suppose I wanted another opinion from someone I know wouldn't say anything to her. Someone who would be pretty honest."
Imperius continued staring at the drawing of him she had made. "I see."
"So...do you think someone might buy them in Westmarch?"
"Perhaps. Your abilities are quite impressive for a human."
Thalia laughed a little. "Do you think so?"
"Angels do not lie."
Thalia stood up. "If you could, maybe you can distract Maya and the others while I venture to Westmarch." she suggested. "I'll see if I can sell some. Make a little extra money for her."
Imperius was still studying the drawings. "I suppose if I must..."
"Thank you. I'll see if I can make it worth your while if I have a little extra left."
"Don't be foolish. There is nothing this mortal world can offer me."
"You never know until you try."
Imperius watched as she mounted her horse. Thalia gave him a smile. "Thank you again," she said.
With that, she galloped away.
O
Thalia was quite pleased with what she had managed to earn.
The art she created for her customers had actually brought more treasure than she had anticipated. It was enough to get her a better spear for Maya as well as some new clothes for her birthday. She was also able to get Imperius a little something; a cloak that had been made with fine wool, so to keep warm. It wasn't much, but she had to figure it was better than nothing on those cold nights he slept on the floor.
There was a faint cracking sound, like the snapping of a branch that halted her.
The horse stirred restlessly and Thalia gripped its reins. "Easy, girl..." she soothed. "Take it easy. It's just the wildlife. Stay calm."
Then, she heard it.
A faint hiss, like the chattering sounds of the dead from Westmarch...
Something whistled through the air and she turned, just as a spike impaled itself through her leg. She screamed in agony and her horse bucked, throwing her to the ground. It raced away in terror and left her lying there, bleeding and in the worst pain imaginable.
Thalia whimpered, clutching at the leg with a massive barb sticking from it. She moaned and cried in pain, struggling to stop the flow of blood.
Another hiss and she looked up. A massive, beastly form made its way through the trees toward her. Thalia's eyes widened and she uttered several, soft gasps of fear, sliding away, despite how useless it was.
A demon.
Its eyes were red, mouth filled with smoke. It had a long, grizzled muzzle and several dangerous spines covering its body. Thick, muscular arms supported an equally massive frame and it had a long, whip-like tail swinging behind it. Those jaws parted with another hiss.
"Where is the angel?" it rasped.
Thalia wanted to cover her ears. The voice was terrible.
"The angel..." the demon repeated. "Where is Valor?"
"Up here!"
The two looked up and Imperius was crouched on a hillside. He snarled and dove down, his spear slicing against the demon's thick sides.
The creature staggered back with an unholy shriek and Imperius stood in front of Thalia, his spear leveled at the demon should it be foolish to try again.
It did try.
Imperius raised his spear when the demon's claws came down. Though mortal, his strength still surpassed that of any human and he was capable of keeping the demon's strength back.
"Valor...We will slaughter you as you have done so many of us." the demon promised.
Imperius glowered up at the demon and roared with fury. He swung his spear, cutting through the demon's jaw, tearing flesh and bone. Thalia watched, weakened from the blood loss as Imperius fought the demon without so much as getting a single scratch.
When the demon lunged, Imperius shoved his spear into its mouth and unleashed a blast of fire that seared the creature's insides. Its flesh bubbled and melted; soon, the entire demon became nothing more than a pile of smoking ash and flesh.
Thalia shuddered and Imperius bent down, retrieving a cloth from her bag she had around her shoulder. He stared down at it and then at her.
Thalia grinned weakly. "A g-gift for you." she said.
Imperius did not respond and simply used it to stop the flow of blood. Once they were out of the forest, they would take care of the barb in her leg.
He decided she was no use trying to walk, so he simply scooped her up in his arms.
Thalia was shocked by this action.
Suddenly, the pain in her leg didn't feel quite as intense now.