[FIC] Waltz of the Moon, 04
Title: Waltz of the Moon, Chapter 04
Fandom: Original
Another horizon dissolves
in the light of eyes that want to awaken.
When Leiander was young, his father had told him the story of his parents' courtship. His Ma had been fonder of dresses than swords at the time, and Da was a young soldier trying to impress her. But his mother's parents had wanted their daughter to marry a noble, and when they refused to accept her commitment to the young soldier, the couple eloped and was wed in Lords. When they returned to Seria, Leiander's father and grandfather spent three hours locked in the latter's office, while his grandmother berated her daughter for foolishly marrying someone so beneath her in status. When his father finally emerged, he took his bride's hand and, without a word, they left the house where she had spent most of her years. Her parents never forgave them and cut her out of their will, and when Leiander had asked, "Didn't they love her anymore?" his father had ruffled his hair and explained that sometimes, when mothers and fathers wanted to protect their children, they did things that looked bad to the rest of the world. That didn't mean they stopped loving their child, it just meant they hated the person their child had chosen as a life partner.
Leiander remembered this story when his Ma refused to let him into the house until he had come back to his senses and left the ruffians he had joined, and remembered it again when he was faced with the first sign that his relationship with Mikke would possibly get as complicated as the one in his father's story. Except, in his case, they probably wouldn't settle for just running him off. No, he reflected when he noticed the look in Tylendel's eyes, they would likely feed him to the wolves first, Mikke's three daddies, and hadn't that been a shock when he'd first found out. How was he supposed to guard himself against attacks from three different directions? But even his imagination couldn't have prepared him.
His father had died when he was twelve, killed by a pack of panthers in Ki Baltan, and Leiander had years to get used to the idea of having one parent. He didn't remember how or when the shock and pain began to fade, but his life had eventually gained a semblance of normalcy. He still missed his father, just not every second of every day.
The news that Mikke's mother had passed away spread to the clan like wildfire. He had been with Mikke, sitting on the edge of the old well close to Lorvalis, when Tylendel had called Mikke away. Leiander had seen neither of them since, but when Zairro, ears drooping, told him her mother had died, he was no longer surprised. Worry was another matter entirely, and it increased with every day he went without getting word from her.
He tried to send her a letter after a few days had passed - a short note to offer comfort should she need it. It was sent back unopened with a reply written on the back, informing him that Mikke was not receiving mail at the moment. The handwriting was unfamiliar and enforced Leiander's opinion that her fathers were keeping a close eye on her. The thought that it might be so she didn't harm herself left him cold and sleepless, and he was more determined than ever to find her and see for himself.
When he was still in training, Breiden had made him practice sneaking into Lorvalis. He had taught Leiander which passages and stairs to take to stay invisible and explained that the principles stayed the same for any building he needed to enter. He knew Lorvalis like the back of his hand, knew how to distinguish the different sounds, and had no trouble at all trying to find Mikke's room on the second floor. His problems started when the door opened just as he was slipping from behind the curtain in the hallway, and he found himself face to face with the third father who blinked and quickly shut the door behind him, and in the split second that took Leiander made his choice between getting away with his armor and hide intact and sacrificing a little flesh in exchange for information.
"How is she? She's been locked up for days and no one would tell me anything."
Siercyn crossed his arms over his chest and raised his eyebrow slightly, and Leiander began to regret his choice. Panthers were not known for being gentle with their food. But just as his legs were getting ready to run, he heard a sigh from the older human, and decided staying another minute wouldn't get him killed.
"She's...not handling things well. Tylendel is with her now, trying to entice her to eat. We didn't think it would be a good idea for her to see people yet, but we'll tell her you came by looking for her." The 'when she's ready' was left unsaid but understood all the same.
"Was she close to her mother?" He had been closer to his Da than his Ma and could relate a little to what she was going through. But, "Maybe I haven't known her for long but she doesn't seem the type to need constant supervision."
Even Siercyn's smile looked tired. "She isn't. But, Leiander," and he turned to open the door, "siriyus live for hundreds of years. Her mother was barely thirty." The door closed quietly behind him, the click of the lock the only sound breaking the sudden silence and Leiander stared at the door, imagining Mikke's figure lying forlornly on the bed with one father on each side. He remembered how he had clung to the wooden suit of armor his father had given him, smoothing his hands over it while his mother patted his hair, murmuring soothing words that he didn't hear, couldn't understand. His hand tightened in his pocket as he dropped to the floor, sliding the folded paper butterfly that had occupied his pockets for months under the door. He stayed there until the butterfly was pulled the rest of the way in, pressed his ear to the door until he had reassured himself that they gave it to her, then left the keep as quiet as he had entered it.
Fandom: Original
Another horizon dissolves
in the light of eyes that want to awaken.
When Leiander was young, his father had told him the story of his parents' courtship. His Ma had been fonder of dresses than swords at the time, and Da was a young soldier trying to impress her. But his mother's parents had wanted their daughter to marry a noble, and when they refused to accept her commitment to the young soldier, the couple eloped and was wed in Lords. When they returned to Seria, Leiander's father and grandfather spent three hours locked in the latter's office, while his grandmother berated her daughter for foolishly marrying someone so beneath her in status. When his father finally emerged, he took his bride's hand and, without a word, they left the house where she had spent most of her years. Her parents never forgave them and cut her out of their will, and when Leiander had asked, "Didn't they love her anymore?" his father had ruffled his hair and explained that sometimes, when mothers and fathers wanted to protect their children, they did things that looked bad to the rest of the world. That didn't mean they stopped loving their child, it just meant they hated the person their child had chosen as a life partner.
Leiander remembered this story when his Ma refused to let him into the house until he had come back to his senses and left the ruffians he had joined, and remembered it again when he was faced with the first sign that his relationship with Mikke would possibly get as complicated as the one in his father's story. Except, in his case, they probably wouldn't settle for just running him off. No, he reflected when he noticed the look in Tylendel's eyes, they would likely feed him to the wolves first, Mikke's three daddies, and hadn't that been a shock when he'd first found out. How was he supposed to guard himself against attacks from three different directions? But even his imagination couldn't have prepared him.
His father had died when he was twelve, killed by a pack of panthers in Ki Baltan, and Leiander had years to get used to the idea of having one parent. He didn't remember how or when the shock and pain began to fade, but his life had eventually gained a semblance of normalcy. He still missed his father, just not every second of every day.
The news that Mikke's mother had passed away spread to the clan like wildfire. He had been with Mikke, sitting on the edge of the old well close to Lorvalis, when Tylendel had called Mikke away. Leiander had seen neither of them since, but when Zairro, ears drooping, told him her mother had died, he was no longer surprised. Worry was another matter entirely, and it increased with every day he went without getting word from her.
He tried to send her a letter after a few days had passed - a short note to offer comfort should she need it. It was sent back unopened with a reply written on the back, informing him that Mikke was not receiving mail at the moment. The handwriting was unfamiliar and enforced Leiander's opinion that her fathers were keeping a close eye on her. The thought that it might be so she didn't harm herself left him cold and sleepless, and he was more determined than ever to find her and see for himself.
When he was still in training, Breiden had made him practice sneaking into Lorvalis. He had taught Leiander which passages and stairs to take to stay invisible and explained that the principles stayed the same for any building he needed to enter. He knew Lorvalis like the back of his hand, knew how to distinguish the different sounds, and had no trouble at all trying to find Mikke's room on the second floor. His problems started when the door opened just as he was slipping from behind the curtain in the hallway, and he found himself face to face with the third father who blinked and quickly shut the door behind him, and in the split second that took Leiander made his choice between getting away with his armor and hide intact and sacrificing a little flesh in exchange for information.
"How is she? She's been locked up for days and no one would tell me anything."
Siercyn crossed his arms over his chest and raised his eyebrow slightly, and Leiander began to regret his choice. Panthers were not known for being gentle with their food. But just as his legs were getting ready to run, he heard a sigh from the older human, and decided staying another minute wouldn't get him killed.
"She's...not handling things well. Tylendel is with her now, trying to entice her to eat. We didn't think it would be a good idea for her to see people yet, but we'll tell her you came by looking for her." The 'when she's ready' was left unsaid but understood all the same.
"Was she close to her mother?" He had been closer to his Da than his Ma and could relate a little to what she was going through. But, "Maybe I haven't known her for long but she doesn't seem the type to need constant supervision."
Even Siercyn's smile looked tired. "She isn't. But, Leiander," and he turned to open the door, "siriyus live for hundreds of years. Her mother was barely thirty." The door closed quietly behind him, the click of the lock the only sound breaking the sudden silence and Leiander stared at the door, imagining Mikke's figure lying forlornly on the bed with one father on each side. He remembered how he had clung to the wooden suit of armor his father had given him, smoothing his hands over it while his mother patted his hair, murmuring soothing words that he didn't hear, couldn't understand. His hand tightened in his pocket as he dropped to the floor, sliding the folded paper butterfly that had occupied his pockets for months under the door. He stayed there until the butterfly was pulled the rest of the way in, pressed his ear to the door until he had reassured himself that they gave it to her, then left the keep as quiet as he had entered it.