Sorry this came out a little later than I meant for it to. I've been busy, busy lately. Holidays and whatnot. Which is also why this chapter is another of my least favorites. I couldn't seem to find the concentration I needed to write it the way I wanted to, but I suppose it still moves things along. Hehe. Oh, and as always, your reviews are appreciated. Thank you to all those who took the time to leave one!
Lyra shivered as she exited the parlor behind Reaver, the foyer being several degrees cooler than the fire-heated room she was leaving behind. The tycoon's butler immediately opened the main doors upon their approach, but as the princess attempted to walk past her host and leave, he caught her right hand and jerked her back against his chest roughly. Still gripping her hand firmly, his left hand snaked around her waist and came to rest on her stomach as he leaned down so that his lips brushed against her ear. The princess stiffened and swallowed nervously. "Remember, my darling little usurper," he said, his left hand slipping inside the mercenary jacket to fill his palm with her breast while he pulled her hand to his lips and spoke against her knuckles, "You have neither the wit nor the guile to double cross me. I'll expect an audience with you immediately after the coronation, should there be one." He chuckled darkly and then released her.
The startled woman staggered forward a few steps before glancing back at him and frowning. That was definitely the most… sensual threat she had ever received. "And that is assuming you'll actually return from that intolerable dust-bowl overseas. Oh, but I do have the utmost confidence in you, of course," he said, making a shooing motion with his hands as if she were free to leave now and indeed encouraged to do so. "Of course," Lyra scoffed, rolling her eyes as she moved out the door at last, "Just make sure Saker and his men get every bit of what you promised." That said, the princess stumbled her way down the front steps. She was tired and hung over, but perhaps the worst of it was the soreness in her thighs from the 'negotiation' with Reaver.
As the potential queen took her leave on bare foot, forgoing the carriage she arrived on, Reaver watched her from the entranceway with a smirk. He drew his pistol and aimed it at her departing form, thinking how simple it would be to shoot the woman and save himself the trouble of this whole thing. After all, he still wasn't entirely convinced she had even a slim chance at succeeding, though the fact that she was a Hero certainly increased the odds. It didn't make up for the fact that going up against Logan and his armies was a completely different matter than what she was going to face in Aurora, of course. He had been there once and the experience had not been pleasant, not even for him. But that was long ago. Perhaps that thing wasn't even there now; which was why he neglected to mention it to his newest conquest.
Reaver chuckled to himself and holstered the pistol. If she made it back alive, he might find it in himself to give her a modicum of respect, but all he really cared about was achieving his own goals. Her brother had proven himself to be quite the tyrant, but Lyra, now she was a monarch the business tycoon could see himself serving under, or over. Whichever position she preferred. She seemed to possess an even smaller degree of compassion for the people than the current king, which was why sitting her on the throne would benefit him in the end. Logan had done terrible things during his reign in the name of profit, but what the people didn't seem to realize was that things could be so much worse. Reaver wasn't exactly trying to cause misery, but it always seemed to be a byproduct of his own personal success.
Lyra dropped her hand away from her pistol when she heard the doors of Reaver's manor finally close behind her. She smiled to herself in relief. For a second, she actually thought he might pull the trigger. She supposed it had something to do with convenience, but it was nice to know the man was greedier than he was lazy. As long as she was alive, he could very well be in for a much richer future, and that was probably the only reason she was still breathing. It was obvious that to him she was merely a thing to be used, but she understood and accepted that because she felt the same way about him and everyone else she had allied herself with so far. Well, perhaps he did mean a little more to her than that since he was the reason she enjoyed life as much as she did, but should he ever prove himself to be less than the perfect, diabolical genius of a man she had in her head, she wouldn't hesitant to abandon that mild sense of attachment.
By midday, Lyra had made good progress towards the Mercenary Camp. She was already trekking her way along the well-worn path around Mistpeak's lake and would arrive at her destination shortly, but even being this close wasn't quite close enough for the exhausted princess. Everything ached and her head throbbed. She had never missed the Guild Seal and fast travel more, but it was likely still amongst her discarded clothes in her cabin. More than once she had stumbled, falling flat on her face, and hesitated to get up. But if she had closed her eyes, she feared, she wouldn't have opened them again for at least the rest of the day. It wouldn't be wise to pass out on the road dressed in nothing but a coat. Bandits and wolves stalked the area around the lake, after all, and she would make an easy target in her current state.
That lumpy bed and ramshackle cabin was looking more like a palace with every step she took. Unfortunately, Lyra knew that even once she got there she would only have time to retrieve her belongings and Boy before setting off again for Bowerstone. Ben was probably getting antsy waiting for her and though she still harbored a few ill feelings towards Walter, she supposed he might be getting worried too. If knowing she had killed Elliot in cold blood had upset him, she could only imagine how he would react to knowing she had not only negotiated a contract with Reaver, but had sex with him as well. She couldn't help but to snicker at the thought, but that was something the princess would definitely keep to herself. At least for now. There would come a time when everyone would know she was in cahoots with the Hero of Skill.
At long last, Lyra's sore feet carried her into the Mercenary Camp. She could hear Boy barking his little heart out somewhere further in and she supposed he must still be caged or else he would have come running up to her by now. He could wait right where he was. It would teach him to take bread from strangers in the future. For now, she just wanted to get dressed and discuss her newest plot with Saker. However, when she rounded a bend in the road, she saw her path was blocked by a large gathering of the resident mercenaries. They had formed a half-circle around Saker and… Walter. What on earth was he doing there? Without being noticed, Lyra walked right up to the back of the crowd and listened in.
"You'd better hope she's alright or else I'm going to kill every last one of you and burn this bloody place to the ground," the old knight said, poking his finger into Saker's chest. The other man sneered and removed his cigar to exhale a cloud of acrid smoke into Walter's face before replying to the threat. "I'd like to see you try it, old man. I already told you. I'll have the whole camp out looking for her if you'll back off and let me organize my men into search parties. But if you'd rather I kick your ancient ass first, I'll happily oblige you, mate." And that was where Lyra decided she had heard enough. She broke through the crowd and stepped between the men before either could go for their weapons. "Put a pin in that one, Saker. Save it for later," she smirked, shocking both men with her sudden appearance.
"Balls! Are you alright? Where have you been? Where are your clothes!" "Who was it? Merv and One-Eye? Where are they? I'm going to string them up by their balls!" Lyra cringed as she was bombarded with questions from both sides and quickly put her hands up to silence the two before her throbbing head exploded. "Bloody hell! Calm down, will you? I'm fine, I'm fine. And those two are quite dead, I assure you," she said, overlapping the front of her coat tightly to keep herself decent in front of Walter. "Well… I'm glad to see you're alright. I suppose I should have known you could take care of yourself. There were only two of them, after all," her mentor said. It almost made her laugh how quickly he dropped that fatherly demeanor the moment she turned up completely unharmed. Still, she couldn't help but to feel at least a twinge of joy at knowing that despite their argument, Walter had come after her just like he always did.
Once the crowd had somewhat dissipated, Saker draped his arm around Lyra's shoulders and drew her close in a friendly manner as they moved towards her cabin. Walter followed with a scowl, not liking the gesture no matter how 'friendly' it was, but he said nothing. "So what was their big plan anyway? I hope they weren't stupid enough to think they could turn you in to the king personally. They were wanted men, you know." The princess laughed and nodded. Of course she couldn't tell him the truth; at least not so long as Walter was within earshot. "That's exactly what they wanted to do. They never seemed all that bright to me, but I'll admit it came as a shock to me as well. I had to wait a while before I sobered up enough to deal with them or I would have been back ages ago. Now I don't even have time for a nap," she groaned.
Saker chuckled and released Lyra once they reached her cabin. The door was still standing wide open and she could see her belongings scattered around the floor just the way she had left them. "That's too bad. I suppose you'll have to catch up on your rest on the boat," he said, squeezing her shoulder lightly, "Well, I'll have someone free your mutt. We were a bit reluctant to let him out until we had you back for fear of being mauled." The man chortled again before turning to go, exchanging a final glare with Walter on his way. "Fine, but I need to talk to you before I leave. Wait for me at the gate," the princess said, moving into her one-room shack. Saker waved over his shoulder, acknowledging the order, and continued on his way.
While Lyra busied herself getting dressed and gathering her things for the trip ahead, Walter leaned himself against the front wall of the cabin and frowned. He crossed his arms and uncrossed them again; fidgeting as he considered all the things he should be saying to the young woman. Just about anything the old knight could say regarding Elliot would only lead to more yelling and he certainly didn't want that. Not right now. As much as it still upset him, he knew that some things just couldn't be brought up again. There was one thing that he couldn't leave alone, though. "You know that I didn't mean it. I know you do," he said, closing his eyes.
Inside the cabin, Lyra lowered the blouse she had been considering and ran a finger down the cheek her mentor had struck. With a sigh, she dropped her gaze to the floor. "I know…" "Good," Walter nodded, reopening his eyes, "If you can forgive me for that, I can try and accept what you've become." The princess sighed again, pulling the blouse on over her head and then slipping on the accompanying corset. "For years I've been following your lead, Walter. I've done just about everything you've asked of me. I can't believe you don't know me any better than you do. I suppose I've been waiting for you to turn around and look back; to see what's been following you. I haven't changed. I've always been this way and I'm only sorry you think otherwise because I know how much you feel I've disappointed you."
Walter smirked, knowing that what she said was the unfortunate truth. When Lyra finally exited the cabin, dressed in her highwayman's outfit, the knight stepped in front of her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I may not agree with everything you've done and I might even openly disagree with your choices, but you'll never disappoint me, Lyra. Remember that," he said, his gaze locking with hers in a look so deep it shook her to the core. Several moments of intense silence passed between them before the princess, blushing, tore her eyes away from her mentor and shrugged off his hands as she grinned. "Hell, Walter, don't act like that. It's not like you at all. I'd rather have you yelling at me." Laughing, the man turned to lead the way out of the camp. "Aye. I must be getting soft in my old age," he agreed.
Upon reaching the gate, Lyra was knocked off her feet by an overly excited Boy. After he had licked her from head to toe, she managed to push the beast off and stand up with Saker's aid. "You damned mutt," she laughed, ruffling his ears. She just couldn't stay mad at him. "He bit Eric when he opened the cage. Nearly took off a few fingers," the mercenary leader said with a grin, "Now what's this you want to talk to me about?" The princess glanced at Walter apologetically as she took Saker by the arm and led him away. "I'll be right back. Won't be long," she said, waving casually. She could tell by the look of confusion and annoyance on his face that he would ask about it later, but she already had a reasonable lie to give him.
Oh, interesting. It seems Saker is beginning to take on a sort of father figure role too, huh? Walter doesn't seem to like that one bit! Saker's like the cool step-dad that lets you get away with stuff your real dad doesn't because he wants you to like him. :P
Anyway, Lyra and Reaver's deal will be made clear next chapter and I will try very hard to get it up this week before I take my annual holiday trip. Also, I'm planning to write up most of the Aurora trip, specifically Crawler related stuff, but I'm thinking about fast-forwarding a bit after that, bypassing that cheap 'boss battle' Lionhead gave us and going straight to the coronation. It's not that I mind doing it, but they didn't give me a lot to work with. Run through the war-torn city, burst into the castle, have Logan give up like a wimp. Unless everyone really wants to see that watered-down 'battle', I'll fast-forward after Aurora as planned. ;)