A young woman screamed into the night. Her high pitched wailing took on a
rhythmic quality. A sort of gut twisting melody punctuated only by the deep
breaths she took to fuel her song. In any other part of Haven someone
might have rushed to aid her-or at the very least noticed if she was being
murdered. But this was Catchman's Row and the normal rules didn't apply
here. No one reacted to her pleading cries. If it didn't touch their lively
hoods then why should they bother with her after all? In fact, helping her
would most likely bring one of those deuced Heralds to the area and what
thief, murderer, or child trader wants that? So they ignored her pain
wishing only that she would give up and die or be quiet. Silence descended
and no one noticed. Well, hardly anyone.
"Noooo mamma! Mamma!" a child's cry echoed through the night.
"Damn stupid wench. Didn't even get my marks out of you. But what have we here? Come here my pretty. Let's see if your mamma taught you anything." His thoughts were darker than his blackened teeth and the young girl cringed under his alcohol touched breath. As he reached to rip the slight nightgown off her body the door slammed open.
A short stout young woman barricaded the door. Her eyes matched the cold steel resting in her hands.
"Get out before you can't" her voice was level and clear. It almost seemed as though she had asked him what time of day it was or where the pub was located.
"Now, now, there's plenty here to satisfy you both," he leered as he rubbed the juncture of his thighs. As he reached for the child a small knife flew through the air pinning his hand to a beam supporting the room.
"Get out before you can't. Next time I won't be so generous. I never want to see you visit Marlyne again. Do we understand each other?" She held a knife aimed somewhere in the area of his head.
Like most cowards when confronted he ran leaving a trail of blood down the hall. But the woman almost heard his vengeful thoughts echo through the halls
: Damn bitch, wait till she strapped to the ground with five men holding her down. Let's see how much she likes to bleed.
She shook her head trying to rid herself of the feeling that he hadn't actually said those words. But she trusted the sentiment behind them. They had to leave.
"Lana, oh, Lana. He hurt mamma real bad" the small child shrilled as she ran towards the woman. Her oval face smudged with dirt and tears.
"Damn you Marl, damn you." Lana looked with distaste and pity at the broken woman lying on the bed before comforting the tiny underfed girl in her arms. "It's alright poppet. It's all going to be alright now. I've found you both and I'm not letting either one of you from my sight until I'm sure nothing like this will ever happen again."
Lana began moving like a whirlwind through the damp foul room packing what was salvageable and kicking the refuse into the corner.
:They live like animals. Oh, Marl how could you have ever told me you knew how to take care of yourself? How could I have ever believed you? I knew you took what happen with father harder than me but how could you ever have let this happen. And more importantly how could I?
"Lana, are we going to have to live on the street again? Are the bad men going to come back?" the child's lips trembled as she asked that question.
"Oh, poppet I promise you on my mother's grave that I will take care of you both. No matter what sweetling. But right now Eirnay we have to get everything together so we can leave this place. Quickly before that bad man comes back. Then we're going to find your mamma a Healer. Hurry, child. You have to carry this bag. I'm going to carry your mamma," she said as she tossed a small makeshift bag of items at the child.
"Marl, you certainly got yourself into something this time," she whispered over the woman's already bruising face. Her skin stretched tightly over her cheekbones providing little padding from the beating she had taken or space for the bruises blooming on her face.
: Little sister, what has brought us to this.
With a sigh, Lana lifted the woman and struggled with the child out of the room onto the street. This time she looked back.
=====eight years previously===========================================
"Noooo, mamma..Noooo" the child's cry echoed off the marble walls of the nursery wing. Many had often thought this part of the estate looked like a crypt instead of a nursery but Lord Tallmont had insisted it be designed in this manner. Better not to coddle the children with soft surroundings. His wife had disagreed but she had learned quickly what battles to pick in their rocky relationship. Architecture was not one of them.
"Hush, Marl, hush. Mamma is still with us. Father was lying when he said that. Remember that Mamma promised that she would never leave us. Mamma wouldn't I know it."
"But Mamma.died.she left..us..Lana, she left..us" the near adolescent girl's frame shook with her grief.
"Dying isn't leaving. Remember what Mamma said. You get to go to the Havens when you die" her far too mature voice broke on that word. " Mamma, didn't leave us she's with us now. Looking down from the Havens now. It will be ok Marl. I promise you."
The two sisters held onto one another finding comfort in the contact. But they were lost to their grief and did not notice a lithe blonde woman enter the room.
"Quite, the silly sentiment you know. All this talk about the Havens. Don't you know that your mother was hardly worth the gods taking notice of. I mean really she was a very lowly noblewoman after all. As I understand it she was rather poor as well. Not to mention she was the homeliest women ever made. Pity you two take after her so well. You might have been useful. No matter, you aren't useful and your 'dear departed mother' is most certainly not in the Havens."
The eldest girl flew at the woman. " How dare you say such things about my mother. How dare you, you over girdled excuse for a horse." She tried to scratch at the older woman's face but was held off easily.
"You little brat. And to think I was actually considering letting you stay. Well, now that just isn't going to happen. I must go speak with your father."
"What does she mean Lana? About letting us stay. Where would we go? Father wouldn't send us away! Mamma just left us he can't make us can he?" Her voice held a tremor of fear. Lord Tallmont was not known to love his daughters. They were his one great failure as a man. They proved that he couldn't have sons. Unfortunately, in the way of progeny that was all that mattered.
" Marl, quickly gather as many valuable little things you can. Not things you want to keep but things we can sell and hide in our clothing. I don't think she is joking. Besides, now that Mamma is gone father will probably make up some story about how we aren't his and he was only keeping us to save face. Oh, Marl what are we going to do?"
" Stop being silly Lana. Father doesn't like us but he wouldn't do that right?"
"Why did he want to meet us then? I doubt it is to see how we are faring about Mamma. He had a party the night Mamma died remember. I don't think that he could care less about us."
Sadly, she was right. The two girls were summoned to their father's council chamber. The cold assessing look he passed over his own children reminded Lana of the time their mother had shown them how to pick out good horseflesh. Marl clutched Lana's hand tightly when he cleared his throat.
" Alicealana, do you have any reason for your inexcusable conduct towards my future bride this morning. You have dishonored yourself beyond my tolerance and dared to touch something I value and honor. Your filth required me to expect Dulcine to bath fully before entering my presence later this evening. The inconvenience is expansive. Added to your otherwise sour disposition and poor behavior I have come to a realistic and somewhat tardy solution." His voice was flat and cultured. Though his words were disapproving his tone was ice. The two girls stood frozen in time.
" You and the other creature that have resided under the sanctity of my name will no longer remain within these grounds. I will have the groomsmen escort you out. Please make no fuse else they will be instructed to beat you. Good day, you have required all together too much of my time. Your line has certainly taken far too much trouble to ride from my house."
"Noooo father. You can't mean this!" Marlyne screeched as their father stood to leave the room. He raised an eyebrow at her importance but had no need to answer her.
" No Marl, Lord Tallmont does indeed mean this. Have no fear your lordship we will make our way. But please sir, recall that 'our line' does not give up very easily." Her once grey eyes became steel.
:Impertinent chit, I imagine your corpses will be found littered in the street with the morning refuse. You'll save me the trouble of having to kill you myself. Haven's knows you'd probably take as long to poison as that bitch that whelped you.
The door closed behind him. Lana went cold in every part of her body. She did not hear Marlyne crying in a lump on the floor. She did not hear a servant come into the room. Her heartbeat pounded in her head. She did not question the fact that those words were not spoken. She knew they were his. Her heart encased itself in a ridge of iron. Each beat pounding in her head cried " justice!".
"Oh, Lana we are lost!" Marl may have been lost but she had finally found herself.
"Marl, it will be ok. I promise you that. We're going to find you a temple to serve at till I can come back for you. We will be ok"
"But Lana! I don't want to go to some temple. That's for the poor people. I don't want to stay there! I'm not going to. If you make me I'm going to go out and find Mamma's people. I'm not going to a temple" she whined piteously.
"You have little choice Marl. You are going to go to a temple and stay there. Not to mention behave yourself while I'm gone."
"Why are you leaving me! Why don't you have to stay at the temple?"
"Because Marl, you wouldn't want to do what I'm going to. What I have to. Trust me, little sister I don't want this for you."
They were tossed out of the estates' grounds fifteen minutes later. Lana did not look back.
"Noooo mamma! Mamma!" a child's cry echoed through the night.
"Damn stupid wench. Didn't even get my marks out of you. But what have we here? Come here my pretty. Let's see if your mamma taught you anything." His thoughts were darker than his blackened teeth and the young girl cringed under his alcohol touched breath. As he reached to rip the slight nightgown off her body the door slammed open.
A short stout young woman barricaded the door. Her eyes matched the cold steel resting in her hands.
"Get out before you can't" her voice was level and clear. It almost seemed as though she had asked him what time of day it was or where the pub was located.
"Now, now, there's plenty here to satisfy you both," he leered as he rubbed the juncture of his thighs. As he reached for the child a small knife flew through the air pinning his hand to a beam supporting the room.
"Get out before you can't. Next time I won't be so generous. I never want to see you visit Marlyne again. Do we understand each other?" She held a knife aimed somewhere in the area of his head.
Like most cowards when confronted he ran leaving a trail of blood down the hall. But the woman almost heard his vengeful thoughts echo through the halls
: Damn bitch, wait till she strapped to the ground with five men holding her down. Let's see how much she likes to bleed.
She shook her head trying to rid herself of the feeling that he hadn't actually said those words. But she trusted the sentiment behind them. They had to leave.
"Lana, oh, Lana. He hurt mamma real bad" the small child shrilled as she ran towards the woman. Her oval face smudged with dirt and tears.
"Damn you Marl, damn you." Lana looked with distaste and pity at the broken woman lying on the bed before comforting the tiny underfed girl in her arms. "It's alright poppet. It's all going to be alright now. I've found you both and I'm not letting either one of you from my sight until I'm sure nothing like this will ever happen again."
Lana began moving like a whirlwind through the damp foul room packing what was salvageable and kicking the refuse into the corner.
:They live like animals. Oh, Marl how could you have ever told me you knew how to take care of yourself? How could I have ever believed you? I knew you took what happen with father harder than me but how could you ever have let this happen. And more importantly how could I?
"Lana, are we going to have to live on the street again? Are the bad men going to come back?" the child's lips trembled as she asked that question.
"Oh, poppet I promise you on my mother's grave that I will take care of you both. No matter what sweetling. But right now Eirnay we have to get everything together so we can leave this place. Quickly before that bad man comes back. Then we're going to find your mamma a Healer. Hurry, child. You have to carry this bag. I'm going to carry your mamma," she said as she tossed a small makeshift bag of items at the child.
"Marl, you certainly got yourself into something this time," she whispered over the woman's already bruising face. Her skin stretched tightly over her cheekbones providing little padding from the beating she had taken or space for the bruises blooming on her face.
: Little sister, what has brought us to this.
With a sigh, Lana lifted the woman and struggled with the child out of the room onto the street. This time she looked back.
=====eight years previously===========================================
"Noooo, mamma..Noooo" the child's cry echoed off the marble walls of the nursery wing. Many had often thought this part of the estate looked like a crypt instead of a nursery but Lord Tallmont had insisted it be designed in this manner. Better not to coddle the children with soft surroundings. His wife had disagreed but she had learned quickly what battles to pick in their rocky relationship. Architecture was not one of them.
"Hush, Marl, hush. Mamma is still with us. Father was lying when he said that. Remember that Mamma promised that she would never leave us. Mamma wouldn't I know it."
"But Mamma.died.she left..us..Lana, she left..us" the near adolescent girl's frame shook with her grief.
"Dying isn't leaving. Remember what Mamma said. You get to go to the Havens when you die" her far too mature voice broke on that word. " Mamma, didn't leave us she's with us now. Looking down from the Havens now. It will be ok Marl. I promise you."
The two sisters held onto one another finding comfort in the contact. But they were lost to their grief and did not notice a lithe blonde woman enter the room.
"Quite, the silly sentiment you know. All this talk about the Havens. Don't you know that your mother was hardly worth the gods taking notice of. I mean really she was a very lowly noblewoman after all. As I understand it she was rather poor as well. Not to mention she was the homeliest women ever made. Pity you two take after her so well. You might have been useful. No matter, you aren't useful and your 'dear departed mother' is most certainly not in the Havens."
The eldest girl flew at the woman. " How dare you say such things about my mother. How dare you, you over girdled excuse for a horse." She tried to scratch at the older woman's face but was held off easily.
"You little brat. And to think I was actually considering letting you stay. Well, now that just isn't going to happen. I must go speak with your father."
"What does she mean Lana? About letting us stay. Where would we go? Father wouldn't send us away! Mamma just left us he can't make us can he?" Her voice held a tremor of fear. Lord Tallmont was not known to love his daughters. They were his one great failure as a man. They proved that he couldn't have sons. Unfortunately, in the way of progeny that was all that mattered.
" Marl, quickly gather as many valuable little things you can. Not things you want to keep but things we can sell and hide in our clothing. I don't think she is joking. Besides, now that Mamma is gone father will probably make up some story about how we aren't his and he was only keeping us to save face. Oh, Marl what are we going to do?"
" Stop being silly Lana. Father doesn't like us but he wouldn't do that right?"
"Why did he want to meet us then? I doubt it is to see how we are faring about Mamma. He had a party the night Mamma died remember. I don't think that he could care less about us."
Sadly, she was right. The two girls were summoned to their father's council chamber. The cold assessing look he passed over his own children reminded Lana of the time their mother had shown them how to pick out good horseflesh. Marl clutched Lana's hand tightly when he cleared his throat.
" Alicealana, do you have any reason for your inexcusable conduct towards my future bride this morning. You have dishonored yourself beyond my tolerance and dared to touch something I value and honor. Your filth required me to expect Dulcine to bath fully before entering my presence later this evening. The inconvenience is expansive. Added to your otherwise sour disposition and poor behavior I have come to a realistic and somewhat tardy solution." His voice was flat and cultured. Though his words were disapproving his tone was ice. The two girls stood frozen in time.
" You and the other creature that have resided under the sanctity of my name will no longer remain within these grounds. I will have the groomsmen escort you out. Please make no fuse else they will be instructed to beat you. Good day, you have required all together too much of my time. Your line has certainly taken far too much trouble to ride from my house."
"Noooo father. You can't mean this!" Marlyne screeched as their father stood to leave the room. He raised an eyebrow at her importance but had no need to answer her.
" No Marl, Lord Tallmont does indeed mean this. Have no fear your lordship we will make our way. But please sir, recall that 'our line' does not give up very easily." Her once grey eyes became steel.
:Impertinent chit, I imagine your corpses will be found littered in the street with the morning refuse. You'll save me the trouble of having to kill you myself. Haven's knows you'd probably take as long to poison as that bitch that whelped you.
The door closed behind him. Lana went cold in every part of her body. She did not hear Marlyne crying in a lump on the floor. She did not hear a servant come into the room. Her heartbeat pounded in her head. She did not question the fact that those words were not spoken. She knew they were his. Her heart encased itself in a ridge of iron. Each beat pounding in her head cried " justice!".
"Oh, Lana we are lost!" Marl may have been lost but she had finally found herself.
"Marl, it will be ok. I promise you that. We're going to find you a temple to serve at till I can come back for you. We will be ok"
"But Lana! I don't want to go to some temple. That's for the poor people. I don't want to stay there! I'm not going to. If you make me I'm going to go out and find Mamma's people. I'm not going to a temple" she whined piteously.
"You have little choice Marl. You are going to go to a temple and stay there. Not to mention behave yourself while I'm gone."
"Why are you leaving me! Why don't you have to stay at the temple?"
"Because Marl, you wouldn't want to do what I'm going to. What I have to. Trust me, little sister I don't want this for you."
They were tossed out of the estates' grounds fifteen minutes later. Lana did not look back.