(no subject)
Mocha #11. Why didn't I think of that? with Hot Fudge
Story : knights
Rating : PG
Timeframe : 1272 - immediately follows magnanimous
Word Count : 576
So I've been poking through my old stuff, looking to find a direction to move in. And I realized this section had been done before Reida so firmly wormed her way into the plot. So I decided to remedy her lack of inclusion by tacking onto the conversation - the piece leading up to this is highly recommended if you wish to make sense of this and aren't already familiar with the plot
REMOVED FROM CANON 5/15/10 In retrospect, this wasn't enough of a fix to compensate fot Reida's meddling.
“So what,” said Kairn, glancing to the door, half expecting her to burst in on cue, “about Reida?”
Sethan regarded him quietly, one brow raised, and Kairn scanned his face for some hint of what lay beneath. The years had added a few lines, the inevitable bit of sag to the flesh, but the man’s tight-lipped smile was as maddeningly unreadable as ever.
“You sent her after me, didn’t you?”
Sethan’s lips twitched as he returned the key to his pocket.
“You di-” He froze, his voice too thick for words as the thought came to him of Reida walking into his home and dragging Sham out with her. “Where…where is she now? If she‘s-” He lurched to his feet, and his ankle caved and sent him sprawling into Sethan.
Hands braced against his shoulders, Sethan pushed him gently back onto the bench and shook his head. “Reida knows better than to draw that sort of attention. She will not approach him”
“No,” said Kairn, wincing as he shifted to steady himself on the seat. “No. You think Reida’s helping you, but Reida only helps Reida.”
“And it won’t help Reida in the least if Kinu gets the boy.”
“All the same.” He eyed one lacerated wrist, the arm, spotted with purple and pink, leading from it. None of it made sense anymore. Not the last twelve years, not one word of the prophecies. Sethan wanted Shamino, wanted him alive. He cradled the battered limb in his lap and shook his head. He should have known. All the times Reida had come by to rub in his face how easily she‘d found him, he should have known. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
As he looked up, Sethan caught his eyes with his own, sharp blue and devoid of anything but a distant amusement. “You wouldn’t have run,” he said. “You wouldn’t have kept running. You think I could have kept him safe here? Right under everyone’s noses?”
Kairn opened his mouth, but found himself lacking in a protest for that. Instead he let his gaze fall back to his hands. “And Shasa?” he said. “She’s dead, you know.”
He tensed, expecting a cold and casual acknowledgement that it could not be helped. “I know,” Sethan said, quietly.
Kairn ventured a glance. Sethan was still crouched on the floor of the cell, hands together beneath his cloak. The cocky smile had dissipated, and Kairn slowly raised his head to look him over fully.
“Look,” said Sethan, “I would say I was sorry, but you would never believe-”
“Damn right, I wouldn’t.”
“It is not important now.” Sethan pushed himself to his feet and extended a hand, which Kairn stared at numbly. “The boy is what matters.”
“Shamino,” said Kairn.
“Right.” The hand bobbed in front of his face, reasserting its presence. “Come, let’s get you cleaned up and get that letter on its way.”
Kairn pulled his arms tighter against himself and glared at the hand. “How can I trust you? After all you‘ve put me through, how can you even think…”
“Has anyone so much as laid a hand on him yet?”
He opened his mouth and lost the words again. No, they hadn’t, not yet. And, unless he moved fast…He could just see Reida, her arm around his shoulders, triumph on her lips. He braced himself against the bench with one hand and put the other into Sethan’s. What choice did he have?
Story : knights
Rating : PG
Timeframe : 1272 - immediately follows magnanimous
Word Count : 576
So I've been poking through my old stuff, looking to find a direction to move in. And I realized this section had been done before Reida so firmly wormed her way into the plot. So I decided to remedy her lack of inclusion by tacking onto the conversation - the piece leading up to this is highly recommended if you wish to make sense of this and aren't already familiar with the plot
REMOVED FROM CANON 5/15/10 In retrospect, this wasn't enough of a fix to compensate fot Reida's meddling.
“So what,” said Kairn, glancing to the door, half expecting her to burst in on cue, “about Reida?”
Sethan regarded him quietly, one brow raised, and Kairn scanned his face for some hint of what lay beneath. The years had added a few lines, the inevitable bit of sag to the flesh, but the man’s tight-lipped smile was as maddeningly unreadable as ever.
“You sent her after me, didn’t you?”
Sethan’s lips twitched as he returned the key to his pocket.
“You di-” He froze, his voice too thick for words as the thought came to him of Reida walking into his home and dragging Sham out with her. “Where…where is she now? If she‘s-” He lurched to his feet, and his ankle caved and sent him sprawling into Sethan.
Hands braced against his shoulders, Sethan pushed him gently back onto the bench and shook his head. “Reida knows better than to draw that sort of attention. She will not approach him”
“No,” said Kairn, wincing as he shifted to steady himself on the seat. “No. You think Reida’s helping you, but Reida only helps Reida.”
“And it won’t help Reida in the least if Kinu gets the boy.”
“All the same.” He eyed one lacerated wrist, the arm, spotted with purple and pink, leading from it. None of it made sense anymore. Not the last twelve years, not one word of the prophecies. Sethan wanted Shamino, wanted him alive. He cradled the battered limb in his lap and shook his head. He should have known. All the times Reida had come by to rub in his face how easily she‘d found him, he should have known. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
As he looked up, Sethan caught his eyes with his own, sharp blue and devoid of anything but a distant amusement. “You wouldn’t have run,” he said. “You wouldn’t have kept running. You think I could have kept him safe here? Right under everyone’s noses?”
Kairn opened his mouth, but found himself lacking in a protest for that. Instead he let his gaze fall back to his hands. “And Shasa?” he said. “She’s dead, you know.”
He tensed, expecting a cold and casual acknowledgement that it could not be helped. “I know,” Sethan said, quietly.
Kairn ventured a glance. Sethan was still crouched on the floor of the cell, hands together beneath his cloak. The cocky smile had dissipated, and Kairn slowly raised his head to look him over fully.
“Look,” said Sethan, “I would say I was sorry, but you would never believe-”
“Damn right, I wouldn’t.”
“It is not important now.” Sethan pushed himself to his feet and extended a hand, which Kairn stared at numbly. “The boy is what matters.”
“Shamino,” said Kairn.
“Right.” The hand bobbed in front of his face, reasserting its presence. “Come, let’s get you cleaned up and get that letter on its way.”
Kairn pulled his arms tighter against himself and glared at the hand. “How can I trust you? After all you‘ve put me through, how can you even think…”
“Has anyone so much as laid a hand on him yet?”
He opened his mouth and lost the words again. No, they hadn’t, not yet. And, unless he moved fast…He could just see Reida, her arm around his shoulders, triumph on her lips. He braced himself against the bench with one hand and put the other into Sethan’s. What choice did he have?