Chapter 129: Enter Haer'Dalis!
Haer'Dalis was finding all of these goings on amazingly entertaining. Here they were, on an epic quest of grand dramatic proportions. Their leader seemed to epitomise the tragic hero, from the hamartia through to the inevitable, in Haer'Dalis' opinion, downfall which would eventually come due to that flaw. The party was split with its trials and its emotions, clashing even as they embarked on the same endeavour at this tragic leader's side. Several battles were ahead, all of them with high stakes and scores to be settled. Before then they had a wonderful duty of justice or redemption to be dealt with, and to top it all, had was having an immense amount of fun in the hunt for thespian talent, which he had been fortunate enough to find right there, in their own party.
The abandoned servants' quarters in the Delryn estate had been rearranged, beds and chests pushed to the side to leave a large open space to act as a makeshift stage. Acoustics were poor, there was no audience – nor would there ever be one in this room – but it served a purpose most wonderfully.
At that moment, he was merely perched on a table in one of the shadowy corners, flicking through the book on his lap, relaxing easily, alternating between reading the volume before him and admiring the sun falling through the tinted windows and making dazzling patterns on the polished wooden floor in the centre of the room. Small this room might have been, it suited his artistic musing…
…musing he was broken out of as the door to the room was pushed open hesitantly, and a golden-locked head poked around the corner tentatively. "Haer'Dalis? What… what are you doing up here?" Aerie asked, stepping in as she spotted him in the corner.
The tiefling looked up, smiling absently for a moment until his entire expression changed, lighting up as if someone had turned a cog inside and it had switched his mood entirely. He leapt to his feet dramatically and swept around her as she stepped to the centre of the room, gripping her hands quickly and suddenly with a roguish grin.
"You have come to me, my goddess!" he exclaimed dramatically, eyes wide, voice full of shock and delight all at once. "I have prayed for my love not to be denied, and my majestic queen appears before me!"
There was a pause as Aerie blinked, then realisation dawned a little, and she nodded. "Aye… Tersis has come to you, my Donner," she started, less dramatic or as convincing as he, a slight frown on her face as she replied. "Your yearning has called to me across the void, and against all sober advice, I have come."
"Then let me sing your praises while I can, my Queen!" Haer'Dalis continued, his voice lowering to become less melodramatic; calmer and more serious, sincere. "Let me… let me tell you how I adore your flaxen hair, your porcelain skin…" the tiefling added, stepping forwards as he raised a hand to her cheek gently. "Let me tell you how I long to brush my hand across your pale cheek…"
There was a pause as Aerie, flustered, looked down and hurried through the pockets of her robes quickly, pulling away a little until she emerged with a rolled-up scroll and scanned through it quickly. "Ah… Haer'Dalis…?"
He took the parchment out of her hand and threw it across the room, taking her by the wrists again. "Your breathtaking beauty has captured my heart and I long to cradle your innocence in my arms for the breadth of eternity…" he continued, hesitating for a split second before he continued his speech, his voice still low, quiet and sincere.
"Haer'Dalis? Your words aren't in the play," Aerie told him, not pulling away from his grasp yet not taking his hands either.
"Forget the play, my mourning dove… I speak what is in my heart!" Haer'Dalis replied simply, shaking his head and raising one of her hands to his lips. "My words come unbidden to my lips, for you have captured my soul in your innocent hands. I am yours, my sweet Aerie. Can you not see that?" he asked, a look of surprise and slight anxiousness crossing his face as he pulled back a little to regard her, awe creeping into his expression. "You blossom like a flower before me and I am entranced, swept away and caught in your fragile web all at once…"
Aerie stared at him for a long moment. "I thank you for your words, Haer'Dalis, but really…" Her voice trailed off, and her eyes fixed on a point across his shoulder as she pulled her hands away. "Ah… Haer'Dalis?"
He ignored her. "Do you not feel some spark, yourself, my dove?" the bard continued, unabashed. "Does your heart not quicken in my presence as mine does in yours? I prithee, do not crush my fragile plea!"
A throat cleared behind him, back where the door was, and Haer'Dalis came to a halt, a slight frown of vexation adorning his forehead as he paused. There was a long moment of silence, then the tiefling turned around, his head cocked slightly to one side as he spotted Imoen lounging in the doorway. "My wildflower!" he exclaimed without even the slightest trace of nervousness or embarrassment. "Are you in the habit of interrupting thespians at work in their rehearsals?"
Imoen raised an eyebrow at him, scratching the back of her neck and assuming a very convincing dubious – and above all, casual – expression which contradicted the tightening of her throat. "Rehearsals, hey? How come you never asked me to join in on them?" Her voice was light, her expression unconcerned, and Haer'Dalis' worry increased a little.
Aerie also paused, sensibly noticing more than a little of the subtext flying around. "He has a tendency to drag me into these encounters," she sighed, for some reason feeling as if she should apologise. "I had only come up here to discuss spell components."
"We've got plenty down in the cellar," Imoen replied easily, not taking her eyes off Haer'Dalis. "Might not be a bad idea if we took a look at them after dinner; definitely good thinking, Aerie."
The Avariel nodded a little uncomfortably. "I… I'll go, then," she stammered, stepping forwards and hurrying past Imoen.
There was a long pause as the pink-haired mage stepped into the room – Anomen, for the first time in many hours suddenly no longer plaguing her thoughts – and closed the door firmly behind her. "So… rehearsals, hey?"
Haer'Dalis nodded. "The dove has a certain amount of thespian talent, indeed. We have been looking over the play 'Tersis'; it compliments her skills quite adequately, my wildflower," he assured her brightly and without even the slightest hint of concern.
Imoen considered this for a moment as she stepped over to where Aerie's script lay abandoned on the floor. She picked it up and flicked through the open section quickly, one eyebrow raising as she took in the lines. "Huh. Really? Because I don't see the bit you were rehearsing in this script," she commented, again in that far-too-casual tone of voice.
"We were… improvising. A play always benefits from a certain amount of creative license from a skilled cast," Haer'Dalis replied as he himself did a fair amount of improvisation. "Only with the great actors, of course…"
There was a pause as Imoen raised the other eyebrow. "Then I'd suggest that such improvisation is not for you, my bard. I would not think that a 'great actor' would slip out of character to make a shocking blunder like referring to Tersis as 'my dove'; it might get fairly confusing on the stage."
"Aye… perhaps it would…" Haer'Dalis mumbled, actually defeated for a moment. "I shall take that under advisement, my wildflower…"
Imoen shook her head, backing off and opening the door. "Really, Haer'Dalis… don't call me your anything anymore," she replied coldly. "Or if you must, stick with the hound, or a bird, or something generic which you call everyone," she continued, whirling around, ready to step out.
"Shall I call you a raven as I call your brother?" the tiefling called out, stopping her in her tracks and prompting her to close the door very quickly and secretively. There was a pause as she stepped away, still with her back to him, and Haer'Dalis stepped up slowly. "My… Imoen… I know what you are thinking. But it is not like that. Aerie, she… she has an impressive amount of acting talent; some of the greatest I have seen. But she is still a scared child in many ways, and that talent needs to be coaxed out of her. I have tried encouragement, I have tried intimidation, I have tried even something of bribery, but it seems as if the teacher that works the most magic with her is the one who is close."
"How very sporting of you, Haer'Dalis," Imoen mumbled, shaking her head as she rested a hand against the doorframe, still not looking at him.
He sighed, sticking his hands in his pockets and rolling his eyes skywards, suddenly looking defeated and abashed. "I… my wildflower, please hear me. I do not wish to hurt you. I wish to help you however I can. I know that you are lost, and alone, and wounded as it is. I know that there are not many you can turn to, not many you can trust." Out of sight, a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips, but was submerged quickly. "Harrian has his own concerns, Jaheira is concerned with him, Anomen… Anomen would not understand in the least if you were to unburden your heart onto him." He reached out to tentatively place a hand on his shoulder. "I understand… I can fathom the darkness within you, and you know that this sparrow is here to help you on your cause."
Imoen stepped away, shrugging off his hand but still turning to face him. "I just… I feel…" her voice, a voice full of confusion, emptiness and loss, trailed off weakly.
"Alone?" Haer'Dalis asked, moving closer. "My wildflower, if you just trust me, then I can be there for you in your loneliness. Reach out, and I am here for you. I will not judge you, I will not question you. Perhaps I… perhaps I cannot truly understand what you are going through, but I am prepared to listen. You know I am. You know I am here."
Imoen stared at him for a long moment, her expression still one of loss, emptiness and loneliness. There was a long pause as Haer'Dalis waited for her reaction before carrying onwards and the emotions within Imoen wrestled for superiority, but a result was delayed as the door was pushed open bluntly and Anomen stepped in without knocking.
He looked at the two of them impassively, taking in Imoen's state and Haer'Dalis' presence in a moment, then folded his arms across his chest. "Dinner is served," he declared at last, quietly, and as they trooped out past him, heading for downstairs, became acutely aware that there was a very large piece of the puzzle he was missing.