A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews. That last chapter was the
closest thing I've ever gotten to a sex scene, so it's nice to know that I
didn't mess it up too badly. Also, thank you for your suggestions. I have
several new story ideas brewing now. (Pauses as she wonders how she's ever
going to be able to end this story.) Also, as far as punctuation, grammar
stuff is concerned, I realize its pretty bad. As I said I'm writing these
rather quickly, so when I'm done I'll go back and revise it all, sorry if
its hard to read now. I'll also fix the stuff about Lucivar's past. (Kicks
self for screwing that up.) Anyway, this one doesn't have Lucivar in it,
but he'll return in the next one.
Disclaimer: I don't own this world or any of the characters in it except for Malayian and the people in her history.
Black Widow
"Malayian, can I speak with you?"
Malayian looked up from the novel she was reading to see Jaenelle standing hesitantly in her doorway.
"Of course," she said, marking her place in the book and standing up to greet her queen.
Jaenelle stepped into the room. "I wanted to talk to you about something, rather important. You are aware of course, that you are a Black Widow, yes?"
Malayian gave her a sideways smile. "I have no doubt that Lucivar has told you my story."
"Yes, he has." Jaenelle returned the smile, but her eyes were serious. "What I need to know is how much training you have in the arts of a Black Widow."
Malayian hesitated. "I know how to milk the snake tooth, but the healer did not have time to teach me anything else and the assassin who taught me knew nothing about such things," Malayian told her, ashamed of her ignorance.
"I assumed as much." Jaenelle chewed on a fingernail. "Would you permit one of the coven to teach you. There are three of us who are Black Widows as well as Queens and Healers, and any of us would gladly take on an apprentice."
Malayian thought about it for a moment. "I would like that," she said finally.
"Excellent," Jaenelle exclaimed. "One of us will come down following afternoon practice."
Malayian nodded and shut the door behind Jaenelle. Karla's a Black Widow, she thought. But who is the third. She shrugged and decided that she would find out soon enough.
"Gabrielle?" Jaenelle called, stepping into her friend's rooms. "I have a favor to ask you."
In front of the mirror, Malayian ran a brush through her long, wet hair before tying it in a know at the nape of her neck. Nothing felt quite so good as a shower after a long practice. She tilted her head, to the side, trying to stretch the crick out of it. She must have slept on it funny the night before. She smiled to herself, remembering the reason for her odd sleeping position.
A knock on her door pulled Malayian out of her thoughts. That must be Karla, she thought. Aloud she called, "Come in."
The person she saw reflected in the mirror was not Karla, but the Dea al Mon Queen she had seen that first day while she was on her way to see the High Lord. Malayian stiffened and did not turn around.
"What are you doing here?" she asked coldly, her previous cheerfulness fading.
"Hello, Malayian. I'm Gabrielle."
"I know who you are. I asked you what you were doing here." Malayinan knew she shouldn't speak that way to a Queen, but she didn't care at the moment.
"Jaenelle sent me to instruct you in the art of being a Black Widow."
"I don't want you. I'll wait until Karla or Jaenelle are free to teach me."
"You don't have that choice." Gabrielle's voice matched Malayian's for coldness. "I was sent by my Queen and I will obey her." With that Gabrielle seated herself on the floor and began to construct a simple web. Seething, Malayian turned and walked past Gabrielle and towards the door, prepared the leave the Queen alone with her webs.
And she hit an invisible wall.
"I understand that you don't look kindly upon Dea al Mon, but I am not the man who hurt you," Gabrielle told her, not looking up from her work.
"Jaenelle told you." Malayian could not quite bring herself to look at the other woman.
"Yes." She stood up, and Malayian could feel Gabrielle's eyes boring into her. "I thought you might wish to know where he came from."
"I never want to hear about that man again," Malayian said, sharply. "And I have no interest in his heritage. Now would you please let me go?"
"Malayian, I am not Sinori.* He was not a representative of the Dea al Mon. We do not approve of what he did, nor do we practice it as a people. Now sit down an listen."
Knowing that Gabrielle would not leave until she was heard, Malayian reluctantly sat down on the floor, crossing her legs in front of her.
"Sinori was his name, I don't know if he ever told you that. As you guessed, he was an exile from the Dea al Mon, as well as most of Kaeleer, which was probably why he moved to Terrielle. I hear that they allowed the practices he enjoyed there." Malayian flinched, and tried to cover it up by crossing her arms and looking impatient. "He never showed any signs of being unbalanced when he was young, but the Dea al Mon live difficult lives, and some cannot handle it. He was one of those, but he hid it well. He married a friend of my mother's and sired a child by her, a girl."
Gabrielle caught Malayian's gaze and held it firmly. "No one noticed what he was doing to her until it was too late. He scared her into silence, and was very careful about where he hurt her. People commented on how oddly she acted, flinching whenever anyone touched her, never showing any interest in lovers. One day she was discovered, dead. He had killed her, beaten her so much that she had bled to death with no one around to heal her. She had no strength to become demon-dead.
"They tried to hunt him down, but he fled our territory. From then on he was no longer considered Dea al Mon, and as the reports of his atrocities trickled in, we told everyone that he was to be killed as quickly and completely as possible. But he was crafty as well as insane and he escaped Kaeleer.
"I am so sorry for what he did to you, but you must understand that it was not our doing. The Dea al Mon are a proud people. We do not like to admit that there are those among us who are evil, who would commit such acts. Perhaps if we had paid closer attention we would have stopped him before he killed the girl, but then you would not even be here. And just as you are not evil as he was, neither am I, nor Chaosti."
Malayian allowed a single tear to roll down her cheek, not caring if Gabrielle saw. Her anger for the other woman trickled away with the tear.
"You must forgive me, Gabrielle," she said, somewhat stiffly. "I have hated that man for so long, I never thought to do anything but hate the people he came from. I…held you responsible, but you must allow me some time to come to terms with the fact that I no longer feel anger towards you. I…I think that it would be wise to postpone this lesson for a while."
Gabrielle nodded, and vanished the supplies on the ground. "Thank you for listening to me. Perhaps one day we might even be friends," she told Malayian, before leaving, shutting the door firmly behind her.
Malayian stood slowly, and walked into her bedroom. She sat down on the bed, then lay down, her nails digging into the pillow as tears coursed down her cheeks. Memories crashed down on her. All the fear, the anger, the horror, swirled around her as she released her iron grip on her emotions for the first time since she had escaped the man she called father.
A/N: Ugh, that was annoying. My muse abandoned me halfway through, so if this one sounds horrid, I'm sorry.
Disclaimer: I don't own this world or any of the characters in it except for Malayian and the people in her history.
Black Widow
"Malayian, can I speak with you?"
Malayian looked up from the novel she was reading to see Jaenelle standing hesitantly in her doorway.
"Of course," she said, marking her place in the book and standing up to greet her queen.
Jaenelle stepped into the room. "I wanted to talk to you about something, rather important. You are aware of course, that you are a Black Widow, yes?"
Malayian gave her a sideways smile. "I have no doubt that Lucivar has told you my story."
"Yes, he has." Jaenelle returned the smile, but her eyes were serious. "What I need to know is how much training you have in the arts of a Black Widow."
Malayian hesitated. "I know how to milk the snake tooth, but the healer did not have time to teach me anything else and the assassin who taught me knew nothing about such things," Malayian told her, ashamed of her ignorance.
"I assumed as much." Jaenelle chewed on a fingernail. "Would you permit one of the coven to teach you. There are three of us who are Black Widows as well as Queens and Healers, and any of us would gladly take on an apprentice."
Malayian thought about it for a moment. "I would like that," she said finally.
"Excellent," Jaenelle exclaimed. "One of us will come down following afternoon practice."
Malayian nodded and shut the door behind Jaenelle. Karla's a Black Widow, she thought. But who is the third. She shrugged and decided that she would find out soon enough.
"Gabrielle?" Jaenelle called, stepping into her friend's rooms. "I have a favor to ask you."
In front of the mirror, Malayian ran a brush through her long, wet hair before tying it in a know at the nape of her neck. Nothing felt quite so good as a shower after a long practice. She tilted her head, to the side, trying to stretch the crick out of it. She must have slept on it funny the night before. She smiled to herself, remembering the reason for her odd sleeping position.
A knock on her door pulled Malayian out of her thoughts. That must be Karla, she thought. Aloud she called, "Come in."
The person she saw reflected in the mirror was not Karla, but the Dea al Mon Queen she had seen that first day while she was on her way to see the High Lord. Malayian stiffened and did not turn around.
"What are you doing here?" she asked coldly, her previous cheerfulness fading.
"Hello, Malayian. I'm Gabrielle."
"I know who you are. I asked you what you were doing here." Malayinan knew she shouldn't speak that way to a Queen, but she didn't care at the moment.
"Jaenelle sent me to instruct you in the art of being a Black Widow."
"I don't want you. I'll wait until Karla or Jaenelle are free to teach me."
"You don't have that choice." Gabrielle's voice matched Malayian's for coldness. "I was sent by my Queen and I will obey her." With that Gabrielle seated herself on the floor and began to construct a simple web. Seething, Malayian turned and walked past Gabrielle and towards the door, prepared the leave the Queen alone with her webs.
And she hit an invisible wall.
"I understand that you don't look kindly upon Dea al Mon, but I am not the man who hurt you," Gabrielle told her, not looking up from her work.
"Jaenelle told you." Malayian could not quite bring herself to look at the other woman.
"Yes." She stood up, and Malayian could feel Gabrielle's eyes boring into her. "I thought you might wish to know where he came from."
"I never want to hear about that man again," Malayian said, sharply. "And I have no interest in his heritage. Now would you please let me go?"
"Malayian, I am not Sinori.* He was not a representative of the Dea al Mon. We do not approve of what he did, nor do we practice it as a people. Now sit down an listen."
Knowing that Gabrielle would not leave until she was heard, Malayian reluctantly sat down on the floor, crossing her legs in front of her.
"Sinori was his name, I don't know if he ever told you that. As you guessed, he was an exile from the Dea al Mon, as well as most of Kaeleer, which was probably why he moved to Terrielle. I hear that they allowed the practices he enjoyed there." Malayian flinched, and tried to cover it up by crossing her arms and looking impatient. "He never showed any signs of being unbalanced when he was young, but the Dea al Mon live difficult lives, and some cannot handle it. He was one of those, but he hid it well. He married a friend of my mother's and sired a child by her, a girl."
Gabrielle caught Malayian's gaze and held it firmly. "No one noticed what he was doing to her until it was too late. He scared her into silence, and was very careful about where he hurt her. People commented on how oddly she acted, flinching whenever anyone touched her, never showing any interest in lovers. One day she was discovered, dead. He had killed her, beaten her so much that she had bled to death with no one around to heal her. She had no strength to become demon-dead.
"They tried to hunt him down, but he fled our territory. From then on he was no longer considered Dea al Mon, and as the reports of his atrocities trickled in, we told everyone that he was to be killed as quickly and completely as possible. But he was crafty as well as insane and he escaped Kaeleer.
"I am so sorry for what he did to you, but you must understand that it was not our doing. The Dea al Mon are a proud people. We do not like to admit that there are those among us who are evil, who would commit such acts. Perhaps if we had paid closer attention we would have stopped him before he killed the girl, but then you would not even be here. And just as you are not evil as he was, neither am I, nor Chaosti."
Malayian allowed a single tear to roll down her cheek, not caring if Gabrielle saw. Her anger for the other woman trickled away with the tear.
"You must forgive me, Gabrielle," she said, somewhat stiffly. "I have hated that man for so long, I never thought to do anything but hate the people he came from. I…held you responsible, but you must allow me some time to come to terms with the fact that I no longer feel anger towards you. I…I think that it would be wise to postpone this lesson for a while."
Gabrielle nodded, and vanished the supplies on the ground. "Thank you for listening to me. Perhaps one day we might even be friends," she told Malayian, before leaving, shutting the door firmly behind her.
Malayian stood slowly, and walked into her bedroom. She sat down on the bed, then lay down, her nails digging into the pillow as tears coursed down her cheeks. Memories crashed down on her. All the fear, the anger, the horror, swirled around her as she released her iron grip on her emotions for the first time since she had escaped the man she called father.
A/N: Ugh, that was annoying. My muse abandoned me halfway through, so if this one sounds horrid, I'm sorry.