A WREATH OF THORNS ADORNS THE DOOR

At his inquiry, she would purse her lips, twisting her hand in a circular motion as she fought the urge to roll her eyes. Her cheeks were stained a blight of pink. Did she have any experience with a weapon? She held her doubts, in all honesty. Her parents wouldn't even let her near a horse, for fear of her ruining her lady-like imagery to the public. She had argued that many women rode side saddle upon steeds, but she had - in the end - come to the conclusion that it was simply another means to keep her on a leash. Civil. A word that often came about in their 'compromises.' They wanted her presentable, civilized. Was she not? Perhaps not by their standards, but she didn't think she was anything close to the barbarian they seemed to pin her as for whatever reason. "While I would say that was fair - how many from other noble houses that answered the call know how to wield one?" She sought in exchange, hand stopping its dismissive motion to raise in an almost exasperated shrug. "I-I don't even remember myself. I-I don't know what I did before." The admittance was bitter, her words escaping too fast to mask her impediment which only furthered the blotch of her features.

However, understanding seemed to bloom from his lips as she had voiced her woes of marriage. Perhaps the sentiment came from a similar experience, though she witnessed no ring upon his finger on a glance. Maybe he had escaped the fate that loomed over her like the gloom she heard shrouded Crue Efros. She leaned into the table as he folded his arms atop it. “If you’re going to run then might I suggest a guide?” His offer came and she held her breath for a moment. It was a dizzying temptation and it made her heart race, a roar and pressure building within her ears before she realized she needed to release the pent breath she had withheld. It left in a deep sigh. “Know these streets like the back of my hand. That you my lost little friend have already admitted to not knowing well.” Her tongue flickered over her lips, a nervous motion as her stare averted to the side in consideration before finding him once again. "Can you t-take me to Anderstel?" she inquired quickly, her vocals dropping to just above a whisper.

At his suggestion that she wanted to work alone, she released another laden exhale and a faint shake of her head. After all, he had already announced her greatest weakness. She knew nothing of the area she was in. More familiarity had been found among the desert she had been whisked away to. Her feet wandering the streets and leading her to rest by the pier as if she had made the journey thousands of times prior. But no such articulation of habit ensued here. Hesitance lingered on her tongue, however at his next question. Her features fell again, bright eyes dulling at the thought of a name her parents expected her to share. "Lyon, something." She omitted, her tone flat, without emotion.

!

NO ONE COMES HOME ANYMORE

Light laugh escaped him at that, “Far too few I imagine. I’ve taught a couple of the noble types, worked with them too and lets just say they were rather lacking in even basic knowledge.” While many had ended up proving their worth with a sword, it was the overconfidence of obvious beginners that stuck clearly to his mind. As for those who answered the draft… all he had was the stories woven by Ajax over it. The surprising option of choice when it had come to weaponry, at least until strengths were found by those who faltered - those who required another hand to sway their mind toward success.

Didn’t remember herself? Well that was more than a little concerning. And judging from the sullen expression which twisted her visage it was better not to press the matter further. Bitterness tainted her words. Distate for being unknowing of her own truths. Was this a part of her sickness? To forget the very essence of life that once shaped her? No plague to ravage her hide and offer forth putrid perfumes but rather a curse of the mind. A thief of memories and action alike. “Well if you want a refresher,” to see if a mind could be jogged, “There’s plenty of time to learn. Not tonight but… another time perhaps?” Another offer to be made yet what falls in a rush catches him by surprise.

“Anderstel? Guessing nobody’s told you the rumors about that place,” assumed truths when tales had been woven from the tongues of vampiric liaison, “Pretty on the outside but a hunting ground for the beasts of Crue Efros.” A term that Augustus would not personally place upon them all yet he could not deny the dangers the damned posed. “It would take a day or so for preparations and at the very least a week to get there on foot, longer if there are unexpected delays.” Journey he wasn’t wholly eager to make though if that is where her heart was set he would at least offer forth information, a chance to witness the land for herself. “Personally I’d suggest Sanctuary, a lot closer to here. Still a few days trip but there’s far less chance of some blood sucker swooping in to devour you there.”

Though any talk of business halted upon the utterance of a single word. Color draining from the goat as features fell,  any delight fading the moment a name lay spoken. Something he hoped was not as obvious as it felt even as that rose tinted stare lingered unblinking. Lyon. Only one family was known to bear such a name and - unfortunately - it was his own. Yet still a goat would press, attempt to gain more information on the off chance she spoke of some uncle he’d never heard of, a cousin even. But no matter how one may grasp at possibilities the pieces of this disastrous puzzle were falling into place. Everything lain out so plainly the more she said.

Once again that man had gone behind his back to try orchestrating some arrangement. Purposefully kept it from his ears to lessen the chances of ruining the plans made, of finding a way out of what was not desired. Despite the way he wanted to curse, to give verbal affirmation to an identity, a false composure seized him. Nerves slipping upon steadied exhale so that breath could not rise in uneasy laughter. Honeyed lyrics falling upon natural rhythm, “Lyon? Name rings a bell, happen to catch anything else about him?” A first name, identifiable behaviors that were undeniably his. Something he hoped she did not hold while another part ached for confirmation, a reason to tell the truth… but he had to be certain, “One part of a name alone can’t confirm our man.”

A WREATH OF THORNS ADORNS THE DOOR

“Far too few I imagine. I’ve taught a couple of the noble types, worked with them too and lets just say they were rather lacking in even basic knowledge.” The admittance came with an additional pipe of curiosity for her. She knew he had offered to be a guide for her to find a new place through the wilds and navigate, but if he also knew how to fight, she wondered just what line of work he belonged to. He had already informed her that he had not answered the call to arms, and if he was knowledgeable in such affairs, she also pondered what it was that had halted him from doing so. Maybe he simply didn't wish to go to whatever war the king had planned. Yet if it was up to her, she'd have done so. No matter the crown's motivation, there was no denying that the poor would suffer. That those her parents labeled 'miserable commoners' would bear the weight of action all the same as if they would the inaction. Already, the markets were beginning to dwindle with goods. The land outside of Dunmeath being poor and inhospitable to a great many crops. If she had the chance, she would take up arms if it meant feeding the starving and wretches without the plethora of coin those in her family loftily waved. “Well if you want a refresher,” he began and she would smile. “There’s plenty of time to learn. Not tonight but… another time perhaps?” "Then you can teach me too, if you'll b-be my guide." Was the garnered proposition. After all, once she was on her own, she would need to be able to protect herself, and this would be a viable life skill.

His next words, however, had her heart falling slightly. “Anderstel? Guessing nobody’s told you the rumors about that place,” she would shake her head in negative, though she supposed by his tone the rumors were anything but good. “Pretty on the outside but a hunting ground for the beasts of Crue Efros.” The edge of her lips fell, turning into a frown at the inclination. She wasn't sure what beasts he meant, but she could only connect the happenings of Dunmeath to the statement. That was all she truly knew of the place she wished to make way to, and yet she knew of no other places where the reach of her family would fall short. They were at war with Crue Efros, so surely it wouldn't be quite so easy for them to retrieve her from there. “It would take a day or so for preparations and at the very least a week to get there on foot, longer if there are unexpected delays.” The more he said of it, the more unrealistic it was becoming - and yet all the more promising. She wasn't particularly fearful of monsters, if she was to be honest. She already lived with them, and at least those that would strike at her were only doing what was in their nature as predators. It would be straight forward, not simply manipulation and deceit. However, he did offer an alternative. 

“Personally I’d suggest Sanctuary, a lot closer to here. Still a few days trip but there’s far less chance of some blood sucker swooping in to devour you there.” Her sight remained fixated upon the table's top, tracing idly the path of the wood grains. "Would I easily be found there?" The inquiry would come quietly, her stare lifting his to search it for honesty. "Would I be given up for coin?"That's what had pointed them to her to begin with, she had been told, and that was ultimately why they had come. Her ransom obviously less than what they would get for marrying her off. "And what is the price for your services? What would you recommend I b-bring?"

If she began saving now, she would certainly have enough gold to pay for at least a trip to the continental line that divided Vufrein from Crue Efros. From there, she supposed it was only a matter of finding some place for her to settle. She had not heard of Sanctuary before, and while the name sounded familiar, until he gave her better description, she was not so sure it would suit her needs. However, their conversation took a slight turn. She felt her heart fall through the floor at the look the usurped his face. One that he sought to hide, but it had already unraveled at least part of her ideals. He knew. He knew who it was she spoke of - perhaps not specifically, but certainly at least the family. Her own features darkened slightly. “Lyon? Name rings a bell, happen to catch anything else about him? One part of a name alone can’t confirm our man.” "Augustus." The name was spoken with thinly veiled disdain. Though it had been his father to come to their home, she could not help the bitterness that had long been stewing within her chest.

!

NO ONE COMES HOME ANYMORE

“I see no reason not to be,” nothing that would deter him from attempting to offer assistance where he could. So long as Ajax remained home to keep a watchful eye over Juliet then it would grant him the allowance to wander more freely without leaving the girl on her own. She was grown, had learned much over her time in his care and yet the goat could not help but to fret. If nothing else he could always ask Eiko to look after her. There was no doubts that the fox would enjoy having Miss Julie in her company, may even try to pull the girl into working at her side in the winery or market. Who knows… maybe she’d like it.

“Polearms and swords are what I know best, learned enough about bows in my time to give the basics on them but don’t expect me to be a sharpshooter.” Targets could be hit though a bow and quiver were hardly his go to. “If you’re looking to learn or relearn something else, well... I promise I can at least try depending on what it is.” Daggers just shorter blades, they were easy enough, though he’d never fought with heavier weaponry. Held no desire to bear the weight of a gun either. Though the offer was there should she desire it. Yet as he shifted to speak over her intended destination there came pause. Traveling mauka was more difficult than the relatively straight shot toward the golden fields of Anderstel.

The goat silent for a moment as he considered such askance carefully, “Depends on how hard your hunters tend to look. Sanctuary is over the mountains, surrounded by them and nestled within a thick forest. Each helping keep it from view and away from those who don’t know where to look.” But it did have it’s draw backs as far as he was concerned, it was rather secluded from the realm. “Tends to be a bit colder up there. Isolated but free,” at least it had been the last he’d wandered that way though hardly had it been on a mission of guidance. “Others are hiding out there as well. I doubt they would risk turning on you for coin,” especially if it meant their livelihoods could be ruined as well. Caught up in the fuss, taken from their own homes should the wrong presence be drawn into Sanctuary’s embrace.

“As for the price… I’ve got a soft spot for runaways,” a silent tease though whatever this one could afford would be enough. He was hardly hurting for coin, “What’s your price range?” Question asked though it would hardly change his mind or bring a tongue to issue refusal, “No matter what; all you really need to bring is yourself, your weapons of choice, and whatever you believe cannot be lived without. Anything more would only delay travel without the use of a carriage and that would make our movements more obvious to anyone we wish to avoid.” In the end it would be up to her. The destination, the method of travel, all of it. This was her decision.

Yet as a conversation found momentary shift that sense of dread crept in. A want for more information gnawing away at the mind and yet in the same breath a desire for silence, for there to be no other hints to a fate forged by another’s hand. But there came no escape for she spoke a name he loathed to hear Augustus. Disgust, an undisguised contempt for one unknown to her. Something she could not be blamed for though it wasn’t often he heard a calling spoken with such hatred. A sense of hurt temporarily crossing his gaze, “Shit.” Soft curse uttered as whatever hope had dared creep back into his features melted away beneath a far different look. One twisted by something hardly foreign.

Dejection. The goat unable to hold an inkling of anger toward the one before him now. It wasn’t her fault either of them had been drug into this mess. The blame lay entirely upon the crowns of their supposed guardians, plants orchestrated by parents for monetary gain no doubt. Of course Valerius would not have told him about any of this. Was this all in efforts to save face, to bury all one did beneath the bonds of marriage? It didn’t matter now. Whatever that wretched old man got out of this was not his concern. All Augustus wanted was an out.

Wanted to leave this tavern, remove himself from this woman’s sight and spare them both from the situation which unfurled… and yet he could not bring himself to do it. Weight shifting off his arms as pressure lay upon his back now, pressing it to the booth. Disengaging. Little effort made in concealing the way despondence threatened to seize him entirely, “Might need a stronger drink after all.” But he would not call for Fiero nor beckon for the attentions of any other who drifted through the tavern with accommodations for those within. How was he to say this…

“Unfortunately I am well informed over the family you speak of, know this Augustus better than most,” his own name spoken in the very tone she’d taken with it. A bitter disdain before mannerism would fade entirely as ears drooped and arms folded over his chest, “But… personally I prefer August.” Only a tick of silence allowed to pass before that horned crown would shake. Lyrics falling in ever softer tone, “Know this does not change my offer. I will still take you wherever you may wish to go.” With a heavily reduced fee, the price of nothing at this rate, “I’ve gotten out of arrangements my father has thought to make in the past though I admit I don’t know how much time there is to foil this one.” Likely hardly any at all. Though even if he could bring pause on his side of things it did not mean her family would not just find another to pawn her off on.

A WREATH OF THORNS ADORNS THE DOOR

His agreeance gave her the slight boost of confidence. She had hoped in her brief time of planning that she would depart Vufrien all together, put the blessing of distance and higher politics than her family held sway over here into the mix that would gift her her freedom. If she could merely slip from a place they had jurisdiction over, it would at least make it harder for them to reel her back in. She wouldn't be a simple minded girl waking up in the desert with no account of how she got there, who she was, or what she was doing. She would have a purpose, a goal. Any skills she could pick up and develop would only be to her benefit. “Polearms and swords are what I know best, learned enough about bows in my time to give the basics on them but don’t expect me to be a sharpshooter.” She would give a nod, her fingers tapping thoughtfully against the curve of her cheek. “If you’re looking to learn or relearn something else, well... I promise I can at least try depending on what it is.” "A sword would probably be my best option." It would probably be the most comfortable, not too overly lengthy and easily manageable with her size. If it didn't feel right, at least he seemed to have a plethora of options, and it sounded like they would have quite a bit of time.

“Depends on how hard your hunters tend to look. Sanctuary is over the mountains, surrounded by them and nestled within a thick forest. Each helping keep it from view and away from those who don’t know where to look.” She would offer a nod, but uncertainty chewed at her thoughts. Of course they seemed to be quite intent on holding her under their thumb. They even crossed a sea to take her back under their wings, a few mountains wouldn't be an insurmountable feat for them. All they would truly have to do would be to travel mauka. However, it was a bit promising to think that it was a hard place to find judging by his description. Perhaps it would be the best place for her to seek refuge after all. If her inclinations stood a chance of being correct and she had run away before rather than being kidnapped, perhaps they would expect her to flee towards Crue Efros or further. “Tends to be a bit colder up there. Isolated but free.” Perhaps it wasn't perfect after all. If this weather was enough to chill her to the bone, she didn't want to fathom an even colder one high within the arms of the mountains. Isolation also told her that she would need to be self sufficient. Provide solely for herself.

“Others are hiding out there as well. I doubt they would risk turning on you for coin,” another small source of assurance, and yet with it came it's own inquiries and suspicions. "Others such as criminals?" She would question, a slight frown tracing her mouth in contemplation. At either end of the quickly burning wick were downsides.

“As for the price… I’ve got a soft spot for runaways,” at his tease, she would relax slightly, a soft simper spreading across her lips. “What’s your price range?” Her eyes fell and her fingertips would tap lightly upon the cusp of her empty glass. "Name your price, and I will meet it." After all, her family was extremely wealthy and whatever her father wasn't explicitly willing to part with to her - through allowance or otherwise - she could certainly get from the estate in.... less savory means. “No matter what; all you really need to bring is yourself, your weapons of choice, and whatever you believe cannot be lived without. Anything more would only delay travel without the use of a carriage and that would make our movements more obvious to anyone we wish to avoid.” She would nod again. There were not many possessions that she could not bear to be away from. The only one she was truly attached to was the ring that did not leave her person. Other than that, she was rather flexible. Spring was on the edge of spilling over across the land, but she would still bring quite warm clothes giving his description fair consideration.

However, her features would darken as he once again muttered under his breath. Her earlier suspicions were confirmed to be true - that he had certainly known the one she spoke of. “Unfortunately I am well informed over the family you speak of, know this Augustus better than most,” she would shift in her seat, losing some of the comfort that she had gained as her posture stiffened and her fingers folded under her chin. “But… personally I prefer August.” She almost flinched. She almost felt as if she had been struck. While she wasn't wholly surprised by the revelation given his prior reaction, she still wasn't.... prepared. Her gaze washed over him anew, a fresh perspective laced and envenomed with all the futile emotion she had temporarily been able to lose.

It was him.
He was the one.

His ears fell, drooping downwards with dejection. His whole presence slumped with his own accordance. If he knew of the made arrangements, he made a passable argument against it. Perhaps it was the very same accusation her brother had affixed to her. Or perhaps he was simply disappointed with the candidate he had been given in betrothal. Either way, it mattered little to her. “Know this does not change my offer. I will still take you wherever you may wish to go.” The words were met with her gaining her feet. "That w-won't be necessary." Her vocals shook, her volume low as she sought to keep from causing the numerous eyes upon her. The last thing she wanted was for any other to behold her at the moment. “I’ve gotten out of arrangements my father has thought to make in the past though I admit I don’t know how much time there is to foil this one.” "I have no intentions of waiting to find out how much time there is. Good bye, August." The words were cold, bittered by frost as she dug into her pocket and allowed a few of the token coins used for currency here to fall from her fingers to pay for the drink which she simply left to mark her now empty seat. Without another word, she would seek to move past him - the bells above the door announcing her departure.

!

NO ONE COMES HOME ANYMORE

A sword she proclaimed. Not too difficult to use though Corvus had given the goat more than a few pointers whith such weaponry, an exchange of knowledge to broaden horizons. It was certainly something he could teach though nothing more than a silent nod acknowledged the request of a blade. Lyrics shifting toward what sounded to be her likely destination, “I wouldn’t call them that. Just wolves and humans who hope for escape. After Dunmeath a number of them fled there… so if running from the after math of war makes one a criminal then yes.”

It didn’t. As far as he’d seen there, many in Sanctuary’s embrace only sought peace from it all in their seclusion. Hiding away in that solitary bastion within the woods. Promised escape from the harsh realities of the world, so long as one could forget what lay just outside their walls. Even to he it had always been an option considered if it came down to it. Though as it stood now, he held little intent to leave Odersten. But this was destination set for another. If she refused it then that was that, she was allowed to wander whatever path she chose. Seek out the gilded fields of Anderstel if she so wished… despite the creatures which prowled beneath its shroud.

Locale not something he would attempt to sway her mind over. One would merely await a decision made though as the topic of price would stir once more upon his shoulders, it was waved off. He was no extortionist, this was why he wanted to hear something from her lips. Not merely a promise of meeting the proclaimed fee. If she held little to nothing to her name then that it what his services would cost. At least until an all consuming sense of dread and guilt washed over him.

Haunting notions heightened as the stranger stood, a sudden leap of denial that perhaps August should have expected though it was the envenomed nature of those shaken lyrics that brought eyes to flicker away. The piercing bitterness of the next nearly bidding him to shrink back further but instead pulled rosen gaze to return in a plea, “Wait!” Calling ignored, muffled beneath the clatter of coin shortly before his own figure braced to the table. Fixating upon retreat as ears swiveled to the gentle chime of the door. He should just let her go. Attempt to solve this on his own and yet a part of him could not let it end on such hostile notes.

Only a moment ticking by before his own paces would chase after the bell’s toll, a promise called over his shoulder, “Fiero! I’ll be back.” Likely alone but there was certainty he would want to seek that familiar burn when all was said and done. The hyena’s glance lay briefly captured, a shake of his crown even as he made no move to stop the goat from straying from the tavern’s warmth into the early morning chill. Something hardly felt as all focus lay on the unknown - this apparent betrothed - a twinge of regret flickering through him even as he still called out, “Miss please just wait.”

He dared not reach for her though nothing stopped steps from attempting to round into her path, “Running from me now isn’t going to solve either of our problems. I don’t want this any more than you do. Of that I’m certain,” it was just another burning reason to offer assitance. Even if it were fleeting, it was still a chance to stray from the path forged by other’s hands. Each no doubt had something to lose from this arrangement and while he may not know what her losses entailed, it did not matter. It stole away a perception of freedom, of choice… that was loss enough all its own. Breath fell softer then, fogging the air, “I swear to you I did not know.”

A WREATH OF THORNS ADORNS THE DOOR

"Wait!"

The plea would fall upon deaf ears as she departed the tavern. Her eyes stung upon the brash burst of cold air as it encircled her and robbed her of her breath without mercy. Her chest felt tight, burning viciously as her lungs pulled deeply of the malicious air that surrounded her. She suppressed the cough that tickled the back of her throat, a struggle shortly given in vain as it overwhelmed her. The sensation, along with her prior alcohol consumption upon an empty stomach and the influx of emotion resulted in a retching gag.  Her hands shook, trembling as she wiped the corner of her mouth with her sleeve.

“Miss please just wait.” The call was accompanied by the announcement of the door opening the short distance behind her. She spared him a glance over the curve of her shoulder, her gaze narrowed in voiceless warning. She willed him to simply leave, to disappear and give her space. A man she did not know, one encountered by chance that she had been fated in expectation to spend the remainder of her life with. They would only have years for him to spew whatever it was he wished to say.

If their parents had their way.

He did not take the silent request, however, as she caught the muffled thudding of his foot steps catching up to her. The tips of his shoes coming into sight as he rounded in front of her, cutting off her enraged march. She would stop, an amicable distance from him, and he did not reach for her physically. Only did his vocals call to her, “Running from me now isn’t going to solve either of our problems. I don’t want this any more than you do. Of that I’m certain.” At this, she bristled, all of the buried bitterness and anger that she had tried to swallow since dinner. Since she had been forced to conform to the lofty ideals that her parents had pressed upon her. "Should I have just swooned into your arms then?" she nearly snarled, snapped, but there was still the thin veneer of control that lilted upon her tongue.  "Forgive me, but our arrangements are moot. I want nothing from you. Not now. Not ever." She would seek then to step around him, pulling the edges of her cloak back around her to ward off the cold, one she was growing increasingly numb towards. “I swear to you I did not know.” She did not halt, shaking her head. "No, but you knew as soon as I said Lyon." her cheeks seared, and she felt as though she would once again succumb to the sickness that twisted her stomach into knots. A mixture of nerves and alcohol. "I have no plans of letting their plans come to be, but I will find my own way."

!

NO ONE COMES HOME ANYMORE

That glare which bid him to stay back lay pointedly ignored. Ears pinning back though hardly in the anger which consumed the woman before him the moment paces stilled. He could not blame her for this reaction. Once upon a time he had felt such venom course though the mind which each plan crafted by his father’s hand… but over time he’d grown used to it. Tried not to let the hatred consume him and pull a mind away from what was truly important. Yet in these moments it was only she that held focus, a want to help despite knowing it would only lead to further refusals. Of pushing this one away with nothing more than spoken phrase when so much festered upon emotion.

Those which nearly twisted the hound’s own as a harsh bite tainted once gentled tone, “No, that’s not…” Lyrics silenced as her own snarled, interruption drowning in his throat as rosen gaze merely stared back. An unwilling stranger was hardly who he wished to swoon. That wasn’t what he asked of her now and if a way was found neither would it be the expectations of the public eye. Gaze narrowing lightly as it beheld the way she shifted past. And while he would not move to fully block her path a single step faltered in hopes to face her.

“Am I not allowed to hope you meant another?” Even while knowing there were none. No siblings, no unmarried cousin that could be recalled without asking another over family line. There were no other options to cling to and yet Augustus desperately hoped there had been. Something to solidify the fractured belief that a father would not go behind his back… and yet it was foolish to grasp for hope. It would only lead to disappointment. It would be dashed time and time again.

Now was no different. That sense of familiar betrayal spurring him to speak, “Well then, forgive me for being a fool.” But… this wasn’t her problem to face. This was one of his own. A proclaimed union was all they shared, the thought of it bringing a crown to shake. Any venom which had begun to lace when thinking over blood ties fading back upon steadied sigh. “I pray that you do,” though her claims would not stop the goat from attempting to discover his own way out. “Should our paths cross again I do hope it is on better terms,” and should each of their efforts fail, an offer spoken of this night would forever stand.

A WREATH OF THORNS ADORNS THE DOOR

“No, that’s not…” There was a small part of her that harbored resentment towards herself for such a harsh behavior. It went against everything she had been taught in recent days. To speak quietly, and only when she was addressed. To heed and obey and shrink and give into whatever demand another had of her. After all, in every sense of etiquette, she was poised beneath him, simply because of the fact that she was donned in dresses and bonnets. How she quietly wished she had been born to wield a sword and twirl a hat instead of a skirt tail. To be viewed as an equal, to have her words bear weight in a conversation that she did not need an invitation to join. Such sentiments were often times ignored, and yet it was no less constantly being ingrained within her psyche.

The blame didn't reside upon his shoulders, and yet she couldn't help the way that her teeth dripped venom. It was not just him. It was her mother. Her father. Her brother. While he had offered her an option to freedom, a ticket out, it was just as much for his own benefit as it was her own. Perhaps even more so. It would be tainted within her eyes. Just like everything else she owned. Just like the money that had clattered upon the table to pay for her drink. She did not want to accept his aid anymore than she wanted to marry him, in the end.

He turned in an effort to face her, and she would give pause, her eyes remaining locked upon his shoes, rising up his legs. His waist, his chest before settling upon his mouth. His eyes. Those earnest soft rosen quartz gems that she had laughed with mere moments before. She'd have thought them pretty, enchanting even as exotic as he himself. He had seemed so outlandish to her upon first glimpse, long accustomed to the appearance of those deemed family. She stood there for a long pause, one accompanied only by the breath that fogged betwixt the two of them. “Am I not allowed to hope you meant another?” Keen stare searched his features, dissecting the furrow of his brow, the honest dejection that crowned him. The way his ears pinned and twisted. "I wasn't given that luxury." She breathed, the words low, lacking her prior hiss. They were almost mute, matter of fact. No, he hadn't been told, but she had. She had been informed that she was being sold.

Why should the counterpart be given that reprieve?

Finally, her eyes would move past him, back towards the direction she had come at first. Back towards the frigid prison that awaited her without mercy. She had options. Her mother had told her she was planning on sending her to Shanton, a city that she knew bordered Anderstel. Being hunted by beasts still seeming preferable in comparison to being wed. She also had the option to visit a young lady who she hoped would become a friend - if not an unknowing piece vital to her escape. “Well then, forgive me for being a fool.” She would shake her head, the wounded remnants of her pride. Of the quiet hope she had harbored when he had offered to play the role of guide. “I pray that you do,” her foot steps would once again resume, though they were much slower, measured. "The same goes for you." Came the low admittance, a sad smile lingering upon the curve of her mouth, though he would not see it as her back was already towards him. She trembled, and she was uncertain if it was from the threat of tears that once again tore at her, or if it was the returning sensation of the cold. “Should our paths cross again I do hope it is on better terms.” She relinquished a shaken exhalation. "Good bye, August," was the murmur that accompanied it.

!

NO ONE COMES HOME ANYMORE