"What is it?" you replied hesitantly.
He paced across the room, putting a few yards' distance between the both of you. Abruptly changing the topic, he slung the question at you. "Do you feel like Orson is happy with the way he is living?"
You blinked, unsure of what he was implying. "Yes, I suppose so." After all, he thought that his wife was alive, and Orson's betrayal of his own liege lords hadn't seemed to bother him very much at all. Though you could never comprehend such a betrayal, Orson had taken not even a minute when he made the choice.
He shook his head rapidly. "No. Let me rephrase that. If Orson was still in his right mind, do you think he would be happy with the way he is living?"
You did not have to think as long with that question. "No. My lord is a man of honor…to see his wife's image disgraced by such sorcery and perverted with such unholy rituals…no, he would not be happy."
"Then why don't you bring this madness to an end?" Asher said. "Orson trusts you. You have the power to end this insanity! All you would have to do is slip a little poison into his drink."
Your mind reeled with disbelief. Murder your liege lord? The thought was so…outlandish, so completely against all of your ideals, that you could barely wrap your mind around the idea. And yet…
Asher was still looking at you. "You would save us all. Like I said, blood is thicker than water, and it should be obvious what is more important. The livelihood of your entire family – or an oath made years ago to a ruler who has long lost his mind?"
You were shaking your head, now. "I swore a blood oath to Orson."
Asher punched the wall in frustration. "But we're your family, Janx. Are you really going to choose him over us? Think over it, for a while, please. Look at me –" he gesticulated at his bruised leg and smashed face wildly. "Look at me – what if next time I'm not there to save our family from bandits? If they did this to me, what do you think they would do to Farrah? And Ziv. He's 10! But he's been forced to grow up so quickly, too quickly, that I worry he's lost any resemblance of a happy youth."
You stuttered. "I don't…I can't choose now."
"Then think about it." He stared straight into your eyes. "Take this, go back to your master, and think about it."
He pushed his hands out at you, presenting a vial filled with clear liquid.
You shook your head. "No. I can't."
"Take it." His eyes were imploring now. "For me. For Farrah. For our family."
He and you stared at the vial in between the both of you.
"Janx, please. Just take it."
You took the tiny, capped vial with trembling hands.
A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the long hiatus. Real life has been intruding on my writing...and I've just given up on Nanowrimo, which was taking up the little bit of free time I actually had.