Soren lowered his head against the writing desk, something of a sigh blooming from his lips. The fighting had all at last come to a blissful, hopefully final, end. Two wars in within just as many years of each other was rather exhausting. At last, with the final troops coming back to their homes and a newfound understanding between Laguz and Beroics, peace had spread across the continent. But, as they say, there is no rest to be had for the wicked.
The mercenaries were still as busy as ever despite the drop in crime that came with the prosperity and almost lazily content attitude shared by a large number of the people. Constant, almost petty, missions continued to be thrown at them with each one almost more foolish than the last. Everyone wanted to be saved by the Greil Mercenaries... or well more specifically, by Ike himself.
Said commander, having been dubbed the Radiant Hero, was busy looking into a trip. His journey to the Laguz island had left the young man overcome with wanderlust, a desire that was only amplified by the increasingly stupid attempts of females from all walks of life to have a "hero" sweep them off their feet. Somehow in the midst of war, the entire meaning of the mercenaries had gotten lost along the way and in Ike's eyes, perhaps a soul searching voyage would help to set his mind straight and remind him exactly what he was after. Whatever the reason though, he didn't have the means to plan away. Which was where Soren came in.
A small yawn slipped through the petite tactician's mouth. Three nights with little more than a wink of sleep had left him exhausted. Most of his days were consumed with constant verbal battles between Ike's stalkers, false alarms, and various countries clamoring for solo appointment of their little group.
In the midst of all the growing stress, the rest of the mercenaries seemed even more grateful for his presence. His unflappable attitude and astute logic got them through quite a few tough spots and allowed them to continue to operate freely, even getting them some private contracts or coin for the trouble. Even so, between Boyd and the other constant reckless clashes amid the merry band of misfits and general meal costs, balancing the budget was still a necessary evil. Not that Soren would ever let anyone hear him complain.
Greasy dark locks stuck to his forehead as he finished his fortifying moment and sat up once more to fix the paper with a hateful look. They should have plenty left even after he migrated some money over into the travel fund. So why were they still short?
That little side project, since Ike told him to finish it whenever and gave him no real deadline, was almost more trouble than it was worth. Soren couldn't help but be tempted to simply cast it away and wait to see when Ike brought it up again just to make sure the man was serious before he went to such trouble. That was what he would have done with anyone else under the practically rare change he actually agreed. But this was Ike and Soren was honest enough with himself to admit that he would go to the end of the earth for that man if he so much as asked.
That didn't stop him from complaining about it though. The travel budget was a mess and slow going. The supplies needed to prevent any sea illness were hard to get in season without paying ridiculous taxes to import and why in the ever-living gods was it so hard to find an easy to man ship? All his research had came up with nothing but a few vessels, all being in places he didn't dare trek.
A sudden ruckus that sparked to life outside broke our little mage out of his mental rantings and calculations. Oh wonderful, yet another problem he would have to solve. He couldn't help the small scowl that came to life unbidden. As if Soren needed another thing to distract him. It wasn't like he had enough to do already.
Allowing one final weary sigh free into the air, Soren pushed back his chair and struggled to his feet. With one last glance around his desk he abandoned his half finished work into the confines of his tent.
The flap swung open with the gentlest of shoved, light burning into those red eyes who pupils contracted with a harsh sting. The voices only got louder without the muffle of fabric to hold them at bay. And in Soren's mind, only a single thought continued to play on repeat.
This is going to be a long day…
Soren's pale robes snapped violently around him in response to the brutal pace he set. Dust licked at his legs, kicked up by his favored hard leather boots as he darted through the campground and into the clearing that acted as both an interest and an impromptu meeting ground.
All around that tents of various sizes rose proud and strong, a fortress of canvas flanked by mercenaries with eyes narrowed by general suspicion and mistrust. Looks that weren't unwarranted as Soren at last caught sight of the woman whom Ike seemed to be in a conversation with.
The dark mourning gown hung freely around her form, fine spun lace whose cost could easily be enough to feed the entire camp for a month. Where black silk yielded, veils continued to shadow her creamy dark skin, aided by the dark green tresses of her hair.
This foreign woman stood there, her beauty contracted by the bleak and dusty camp, her very presence like an omen. Meeting her eyes, Soren couldn't help the cold knot that formed in his stomach. For she wasn't any of the fangirls they had grown so accustomed to seeing in the camp, but the very princess of Goldoa, Almedha.
"Hey Soren, that you? Mind coming over for a minute?" the bluenette called as he recognized the familiar hushness that had fallen over those who had only moments before had been shouting and carrying on. Only the presence of the archsage could silence the entire camp, bring everyone on edge with a mutual desire to both allude Soren's focus and watch him turn that fiendish chill of blatant disregard onto another.
If Ike had so much as turned though, he would have seen a very different expression than what the silence made him assume. His practice in reading his right hand man would have right away given him cause to worry. For, behind Soren's usual cool sneer, the slightest hint of unease shown through. Unease that Ike would have more than likely forced him to divulge or assured him he didn't have to disobey. Yet since none of that was true, said person walked over soundlessly, unwilling to so much as question the implied direct order.
"Yes? What is it that you need?"
Ike turned his head to give Soren the slightest of nods of acknowledgement.
"Thanks for coming over. Though knowing you, I doubt anyone actually actually had to go get you," the burly commander spoke almost conversationally.
"Ah yes. That is true.." Soren responded to him in kind.
"Perhaps we should talk in private for a minute. Will you wait for a moment Almedha?"
The female dragon nodded her head in concession, tagging on a lyrical, "Of course,"
It took Ike but a moment to snatch up Soren's hand and spirit him behind a tent. All the while Soren's mouth hung half open, ready to protest the sudden excitable contact. However one look in his best friend's eyes got him swallowing his protest. Ike stood before him, strong and rigid, his green eyes blazing with a protective sort of expression that Soren couldn't quite place.
"She wants to talk to you in private. I've been doing my best to discourage her, but she doesn't seem to be willing to take no for an answer. The choice is ultimately yours though. I know how much you don't really like Laguz, her in particular. You don't have to talk to her if you don't want to..." all at once Ike was speaking in that soft gentle voice of his, hand clamped on the tiny shoulder. Warmth radiated from that palm, driving Soren to immediately go soft under the gently touch.
"You do not have to worry about me Ike... I can take care of myself..." he struggled to speak, the proximity driving him into relaxation with more ease than any one of Rhys' staves. But he had to stay firm, he couldn't let himself indulge in the kindness his dear friend so easily metted out. It would only hurt him in the-
"Soren, you always are so strong. But when you aren't, you can lean on me. You know?" Ike steamrolled through his thoughts with as much force and grace as a boulder.
"I know.."
"Then show it a little more and stop being so independent," The bluenette's brow scrunched up with an attempt at a firm scowl. All it accomplished was bringing the softest of laughs from the hardest of people.
"I'll try, but I am simply not made that way," Soren continued to grin, "Now then, do us both a favor and stop worrying so we can get back to Almedha and be done with all this,"
"Alright,"
A final concessional from Ike was all it took for Soren's smile to fall, his mask of indifference coming back to life at maximum strength. The hero took the lead as his tactician trails on his heels back to the place they had left the woman awaiting their reappearance.
Her head was bowed as they approached, attention fixed on something cradled in her hands. So wrapped up was she in that item, even her sensitive Laguz hearing didn't seem to pick up the sound of their coming steps. A fact that did little to sooth Soren's growing unease at the situation.
"Ike spoke of you wanting me. Let us make this quick then," the green-haired man chose that moment to speak, his words startling her out of whatever trance she was in. Her graceful hands oh so quickly placed the item back into her bag, quick to keep it away from prying eyes. In the same instant she focused her gaze onto his face, crimson pools mirroring his own.
Almedha was beautiful, some would say breathtakingly so. Something about her features were undeniably pleasing, a same sort of soft yet sharp beauty that Ike had once accused Soren himself of possessing one of the few times Boyd has managed to urge the man to consume enough alcohol.
Soren had seen his own reflection enough to know that as awkward and stuttered as that compliment was, the statement itself wasn't false. Beyond that mark that seemed to catch the eyes of all who beheld it, he possessed an almost annoyingly feminine sort of beauty. A set of looks that held such an uncanny resemblance to Almedha's own.
Anyone with eyes could see the sure resemblance, even more-so when compared to Pelleas. Such a thing bothered Soren since he had first met the woman, first got a decent look at her face. But even now he was not stupid, or brave, enough to comment on it. It would be all the more troublesome knowing the truth, whether it validated his thoughts or not.
"Umm Soren," Ike's voice brought Soren out of his thoughts as surely as a slap to a face. In front of him Almedha stood, brows furrowed and red smeared lips pursed in a sort of vivid frustration akin to that of someone who had been calling someone multiple times only to be ignored...
"She seems to want to talk to you if that is okay," the bluenette continued on awkwardly. His voice, somewhere between a statement and a question, effectively ended the muttered outburst from the archsage.
"Yes, though I would prefer to talk to you somewhere more private... and alone... if that would be okay," Almedha herself picked that moment to step in, her own tone almost the same as Ike. Both continued to look at him with matching expressions of concern and confusion.
"O-Of course,"
In his eagerness in order to get those looks off of him, Soren made a mistake. A mistake that may come back to haunt him. For in a single moment of imperfect planning he let the one women he would never like in a million years close to him. And to openly give her an invitation when she was not worthy of such was a mistake in an of itself.
Any further complications, well time would tell now, wouldn't it?
Almedha continued to talk, even as her own soothing voice started to crack and bow beneath the sheer amount of words. Her hands never left the bottle that she found herself toying with once more, the smooth body and chill of the glass almost comforting against her burning palms.
All the while, the young man/boy was silent in front of her, his eyes half-lidded and holding an expression that could be mistake for boredom and disinterest. But Almedha knew better. Each time she would move to lift her hands free of her bag, to try and slip the bottle out, his eyes would immediately lock onto her movements with a focus that some bird Laguz would be envious of.
And each time, that small almost nervous tick of his would drive her to continue to talk about everything and nothing. To put off the inevitably difficult explanation to come. To prepare herself for the skepticism and hurt that would surely come to life in her child's ruby eyes.
Eyes that may be lighter than her own, but they are far more intense.
Soren himself continued to listened to her rambled stories with no much as a single word on his part until she had finally seemed to run out of things to say.
"Was that all you wanted me for? To keep you company while you reminisce over things that have nothing to really do with me? If you are seeking compassion or deliverance for your mistakes, all you have succeeded in doing was make another. So if you have no real point to desiring my presence, then I suggest you do us both a favor and leave,"
So many different expressions of hurt, outrage, and acceptance paced over her face in turns, blending her features into a writhing mess of emotional turmoil that was frankly embarrassing enough for Soren to just watch, let alone if he was experiencing it in her shoes.
Meanwhile Almedha herself continued to war with the decision to go with the easy way out he provided or simply stick it out and tell the truth. So much of her wanted to leave well enough alone, but that desire was overcome by the sheer want that blossomed forth from her bosom.
She wanted to see her son, wanted to get to know what kind of man he had become, wanted to get to help shape what kind of man he would eventually come to be. The dragon princess desired nothing more than to spirit this young and broken man, no not man, child away and make everything for him okay. Almedha wanted to be the mother she never got to be to her son, her true son.
Lust overcame fear and coaxed the truth from her lips.
"No it wasn't. The truth of the matter is, all those stories I shared of myself and Ashnard, of the young infant and the summoner, they do relate to you for you are that infant, and therefore my son. And Ashnard's son via marriage, if not by birth. You are not a Branded, just a cursed Laguz. Cursed to keep you safe from the mistakes I made," Everything burst free from her mouth, all these thoughts and words shared without the slightest of care or tact. An eruption of the summary of the entire story, jumbled by nerves and so fierce in its telling it left her panting.
Tears ran red hot, streaming from her eyes from the sheer emotion, and her heart dropped as she noticed no change in that cool impassive expression of his. There was no joy, no shock, no real reaction, just skepticism.
On his end though, things were vastly different. The second he processed what she was saying, he blood ran cold. Chills wracked his spine, bringing about a shaking that could only be suppressed by completely locking his muscles.
"You expect me to believe I am your son... You haven't necessarily been right about it in the past, so why should I trust you now? To make matters worse your story is little more than glorified impossibilities," Soren struggled to keep his voice from cracking as he spoke, his emotions threatening to overwhelm his logic despite his attempts to keep them from doing so, "And even if you are right, why come now? Need someone else to play house with now that Pelleas is gone? If you will excuse me I have work I actually have to do. Shouldn't you be getting back to the palace and finding a life of your own for once rather than meddling in other's?"
The green haired woman recoiled at the sheer venom in his voice, her own words weak and shaky in the face of his as she whimpered a soft, "I understand if you don't wish to believe me-"
"You're right! I don't want to believe you! I was better off not knowing who my parents were! Now you are coming in here trying to tell me I am the bastard of a princess whore who was mistress to the man that tried to pull the whole world into war! And that I am actually a Laguz and not a Brand! Foolish! I don't want to hear it! If you are right then all this is simply the result of your own selfish attitude! Me, Half-Breed scum that doesn't deserve to exist being the heir to two kingdoms, one by birth and the other by lies! Hahaha! You really are stupid!" He screeched back, effectively cutting her off. Soft peels of almost hysterical laughter passed through Soren's lips, on hand rising in an attempt to blot out the tears that threatened to run down his cheeks.
"I-" Maternal instincts took over as Almedha automatically reached out a hand to comfort her child. Yet the second her hand fell upon his slender shoulder, he was flinching away. The worn seams gave away from the sudden tug, and soon the cloth fell away to expose smooth pale skin where puckered silvery scars seemed to form winding patterns over his flesh. There were so many, old and new spider-webbing across the canvas of his back.
A small gasp formed in the back of her throat and Almedha found herself pulling the bottle free, fingers ready to pull the cap at a moment's notice. All the while the child continued to shutter in front of him, a strong tactician coming apart beneath the sudden influx of stress.
So much sorrow this child has gone through... but maybe I can still make it right... I can rid him of the fake curse he bears and take him home to Kurthnaga... Surely brother and the other dragons would treat him like family despite everything that has gone on... But would he even agree to drink it? Would he trust me enough not to believe it is poison? I wonder... The thoughts came unbidden, but not against the realm of agreement. The more Almedha thought on it, the more it seemed like a good idea. So good, she could hardly resist from forcing the reverse agent down his throat. Maybe then he would finally believe her and she could set herself on the path to do something right for one.
Her nimble hand reached out slowly toward the hunched form once more, this time bearing the bottle whose cap would take but a flick of her thumb to dislodge. But this time Soren reacted before she could even come close.
"Don't touch me!" the small hissed as sudden Soren was no longer curled up, but rather lunging at her. His pupils were blown, feral from adrenaline and survival instinct which sent his mind into overdrive. If rational he would have known better than to punch her in the fact. But he had long since left logic behind when emotions took over,
The impact of the blow left her in shock, throwing the bottle from her hands and forcing her to her butt. His moment of strength, to knock over a full grown dragon Laguz, even in human form, didn't come without consequences.
Even as he was recoiling, his hand was already starting to show it's damage. Cradled by the other, she could see knuckles were are starting to bruise and from where she sat she could practically smell the internal bleeding caused by the splinter of bone.
"Here. Let me help you," Almedha moved forward to ease him back down, jaw set. She wasn't afraid he would lash out again, after all he hadn't really hurt her before. Her thoughts and focus was all on her hurting child, who seemed to keen softly in the back of his throat at the pain that surely radiated from his hand.
Even so, Soren still had the strength to fight, at least verbally.
"...Haven't you done enough already? P-please... just leave..." The words came out broken, his face hidden by a sheet of hair but the teardrops were obvious as they fell.
Upon staring at the child, her child, she knew then that no matter how much it pained her, she had to leave him behind right now. She has screwed up far too much already that there was no way Soren would calm down enough for her to explain properly. For her to even hope to succeed in having him come with her.
Almedha released the archsage's shoulders, moving to the flap to see herself out. With a sweeping bow and a curt she left in a swish of fabric and flash of sunlight into the dismal tent.
But in all the excitement she forgot something important. The one thing, the one shred of proof the dragon princess could provide to prove her tale true. And the one key to undoing all her mistakes. The bottle and its liquid countercurse.
||Author Note||
Okay sorry for the long wait. I got busy with school especially since I am getting ready to graduate (yay me!). I finally decided I need to sit down no matter what and finish at least one chapter of a rewrite. This just so happened to be the first document I opened so voila this was the one updated. I hope you enjoy all the changes I made (even if I still suck with dialogue T.T) and I hope those who are already here will stick with me through my one again off again updates and those of you who are new here will give me a chance. Anywho until next time,
~With Luffles, Aureux
||Response Corner||
PINKDIAMOND4000: Yeah that is the entire reason I am rewriting the stuff rather than just adding on. Cause looking back I realized a few places where things didn't 100% make sense and could use more clarifications rather than a three second point at. Anyway I finally update so YAY! Have fun! And thanks for the reply!~
Angel of Darkness and Light: Don't worry nobody is really really good at posting replies. I know I am not. Mine is usually just random fangirl mush and stuff. But thanks for taking the chance to reply. And I hope you will honor me with my presence again. ^^