Light the Dark

Countryside Adventure (GranoxFirewind & Light The Dark)

The leather of his armor was cool against her cheek. She blinked, surprised to feel his arms around her. It was an unexpected gesture, and Calliope wasn't sure how to handle it, or what it meant. It was admittedly not the most comfortable of hugs, but Calliope didn't pull away. More than anything else he had done, this simple contact helped soothe her. It was not the answer to anything, not by a long shot, but it did seem to help.

The moment of peace was ruined, however, by distant rumblings of... something. The sound of...drums? And hoof-beats. Calliope looked toward the window. "What is that?" Light - the light of torches, not the moon - was on the horizon. Many torches, the light coming closer and closer to the house, approaching from the side of the house that didn't have the gardens and training grounds. She pulled away from Alexander, looking out the window in a curious sort of daze. What in the world was going on?

Calliope distantly heard the sound of an alarm. She stayed where she was, staring wide-eyed at the approaching group of torches. Were they under attack? The shapes of men on horses started to form, more men a blurred mass behind them, as they came even closer.

Countryside Adventure (GranoxFirewind & Light The Dark)

"Why?" She asked him. "What does it matter to you if I break down? You still see me as the spoiled child that you first met years ago." Calliope swallowed, then turned away, her shoulders sagging a bit. Her sleeping gown clung to all the right places for a moment as she turned, before hanging once more in a slightly more modest manner. The moonlight streamed in, washing the room in its pale silver light. She let out a slow breath. "Is it so wrong of me to want to leave this place? Surely you can understand that sentiment; after all, you leave here as often as you can. I've seen the books you read. They are all about travel. Different places. At least you might get to see them one day."

Her voice was soft as she spoke, sadness in her every word. It didn't matter that she had revealed to him that she had been watching him closer than he knew. Calliope didn't have the energy to care. Not now. Not after tonight had gone. Not when she was feeling so hopeless and empty inside. It had been her one chance to leave, and not only had she not managed it, she had put Alexander's life in danger. Calliope sighed, and wrapped her arms around herself in a hug, trying to get even a little bit of comfort.

Countryside Adventure (GranoxFirewind & Light The Dark)

Calliope didn't look at him. "You may want to reconsider this. If someone were to find you here, with me, unchaperoned at night..." She trailed off. "Well, father would not be pleased. I will stay locked away in here - it seems to be what everyone wants of me." She murmured. She set down her basket, slowly unpacking all of it before taking off her cloak. She retreated into her dressing chambers, and came back out in a sleeping gown. "I don't see why you don't just lock me in here. It would be easier on you. Then you would not have to force yourself to stay with me."

((short post is short. >.< ))

Countryside Adventure (GranoxFirewind & Light The Dark)

She trudged along behind him, each step feeling like her shoes were filled with lead. She hadn't thought that Alexander would be killed. She hadn't thought of anything, really, except for how much she wanted to be free. Free from this place, free from expectations, free from feeling trapped and having nowhere to turn to. It certainly hadn't occurred to her that she was putting anyone in danger. And the matter-of-fact way he said it made her feel small and ashamed she had not thought of it. She drew her cloak tighter around herself as they entered the house - less for warmth and more for the comfort of it. She felt a bit ill, having to enter this place again. It was not a home, but a place that was going to leech the life out of her until she was nothing but a shallow husk.

Still, as he led the way past where they usually parted, right to the door of her own room, Calliope couldn't help but feel like he was treating her as a child once again. Or, perhaps not like a child, but like a prisoner. She looked at him, then looked at the door. She couldn't help the small sob that escaped her as she went inside. "Are you going to lock me in my rooms now?" She asked, her voice emotionless of even the ice it had held earlier. Calliope felt she probably deserved it. She had put him in danger unintentionally. There was something about her voice, her whole way of handling herself that seemed off. Almost... broken. As if she had resigned herself to such a thing as not being allowed out of her rooms; as if she had finally given up.

Countryside Adventure (GranoxFirewind & Light The Dark)

"Well... you stormed out of your room - the whole house could hear your door slamming, I swear." She started, looking everywhere but him. He had not seen her cry before, and the fact that he was seeing the evidence now of her earlier tears was embarrassing. She had not wanted him to see her cry. "After earlier, I could only think that you had simply gotten sick of the job and decided to leave." His hand on her shoulder was both comforting and flustering at the same time. Calliope didn't know if she wanted to step away from it or move closer. "I had given you my word I wouldn't, as you put it, run off. But if you were no longer in service to the house, I didn't see why it would matter if I left of not. Without you to watch my every move, I could sneak off...be free..." Her cheeks became redder, and her voice quieter with every word. She took a step away from him, away from his touch. "But I suppose you are going to force me to go back there."

Countryside Adventure (GranoxFirewind & Light The Dark)

Calliope had nothing to compare Alexander's performance to - she had never watched the guards train before, or anything of the sort. So she had no idea if he was any good or not - but she couldn't help but be a little impressed. Or, rather, she would have been impressed had there not been other things on her mind. Namely the fact that she had run into perhaps the last person she would want to run into at the moment. Calliope shifted nervously, not saying anything for a long moment. She expected him to yell at her, or to perhaps use her for practice as he had the wooden dummies.

She pulled her cloak around her more, trying to hide her basket of things. She had been so sure he had left. Now she did feel like she had broken her word. The moon came out from behind a cloud, shining brightly on her face - revealing her tear-stained face and cheeks pink from the embarrassment of being caught. Calliope shifted again, pulling her cloak tighter around her. "I...I thought you had left..." She found herself repeating quietly.

Countryside Adventure (GranoxFirewind & Light The Dark)

Calliope had almost cried herself to sleep when she heard - and felt - Alexander's door slamming. Slowly, Calliope sat up in her bed, the fact that she had been crying - was still crying - plainly visible on her face in the pale light of the moon. She let out a breath. What was that about? What did Alexander have to be slamming doors about? His life was not chained wholly to this home. She let out a breath. Perhaps that was it. He was sick of being here at all. Well, that was that then. If he was no longer here, she did not need to hold on to her word that she would not 'run off'.

Calliope stood. She would do it - she'd run off and be her own person. She went to her study and emptied out her sewing basket. She would need jewels...and dresses...and underthings...she threw a fistful of jeweler into the bottom of her basket, tucked some underclothing on top of that, and a dress on top of it all. Calliope put on a cloak, and her only pair of sturdy boots - a bit too snug, but she figured it would be better than her normal slippers. She didn't have any food, but she wasn't hungry anyway, and most certainly her jewels were worth something. Surely she would find a shop that she could get food at when she became hungry.

Feeling quite well prepared - and really, being not prepared at all - Calliope left her rooms. Luck seemed to be in her favor. She met no one as she hurried along to the gardens. It was only when she reached them that she paused. If anyone looked out and saw someone walking through the gardens, she would surely be caught. So Calliope instead skirted around them, walking along their outer edge, near the training yards. She figured she was safe - after all, it was late, there would be no one training at such a time - until she saw a very familiar figure standing there in the worn grass and dirt. "I thought you had left." Her voice was soft, surprise and shame and, oddly, joy filling her all at once.

An Unsettled Debt (LighttheDark and Pascal)

She came to on a dirty floor, her head pounding, her soaked clothing (and her fear) causing her to shiver. There was a voice talking... Elionwy mind was all fuzzy, and she only heard the last part of what he said. "...redress you myself." She hugged herself, as if to hold her clothing onto her. "You...you will do no such thing." Elionwy tried to sound indignant, but all her voice sounded was weak. "I am not some common whore you can dress-up as you would a doll!" There, that was a little better. She glared up at the man the best she could. "I don't know who you are, but you will release me at once." She demanded. Once she was free, she would seek justice for the maid he had killed. Slowly, she forced herself to stand. Her head was swimming, and she felt like she might faint. Still, she forced herself to stand tall. "Had you wanted me dead, you would have killed me already. What is your purpose? Who sent you?"

It was taking all her effort to stand tall, though the way she shivered and the way her legs were wobbling showed more about her state then she would have liked. Her face, at least, was emotionless. Or so she hoped. She took a small step towards the man, her hand going to her side, where she carried a small dagger in her purse. It was not much more than a pocket knife, but it was all she had. Elionwy licked her lips. "Again. I command you to release me."

Countryside Adventure (GranoxFirewind & Light The Dark)

Calliope noticed very little - not the tone of his voice when he told her to call him Alexander, nor the fact that he slipped her now bloodied handkerchief into his pocket. For the first, she would not, could not call him by his name. After all, if her family heard her calling him by his name, they would think her far too familiar with him. That wouldn't do at all. 'Sir Guard' it was, or no name at all. It was better that way.

As they reached the crossway, she felt his hand on her shoulder. She let out a sigh at his question. The way he said the first part was still as if she were a child. Calliope couldn't help but bristle a bit at that fact. "Yes, I am perfectly capable of walking to my room alone, Sir Guard." She said, her tone icy. "And I never run off. Running off implies leaving the estate. I never go father than the gardens, and even that is only the semblance of freedom. You are not trapped here, you go where you please; you do not find this place a prison." She did not raise her voice, but it was a good thing this part of the halls was empty. Imagine what her father might think if only he knew her thoughts. "Unless I am married, I will never leave here. And when I am married, it will be to trade a prison for a tomb. But no, Sir Guard, I will not 'run off' again. I shall stay inside and rot." Calliope turned on her heel, and swept off to her room.

Thankfully, she found her rooms empty. She threw herself on her bed, and let out a sob. So much for Alexander seeing her any differently. So much for hoping that he would let her sneak out to the gardens again. She was going to be stuck inside for forever, it seemed. The walls seemed to close in upon her, making her large room seem very, very small. Calliope felt trapped, with no where to go, and no way to break free. A bird in a cage. She drew herself into a ball and cried, tears of anger, and frustration, and hopelessness, her cheeks and pillows soon quite wet.

Tea

Oooh, tea.

Big fan of Assam, with cream and sugar. Irish Breakfast is pretty awesome, too. I enjoy Lady Grey every now and then. In the winter, I really like Tea Source Spice which is 'A black tea blend with orange, spice, and cinnamon that is sweet and very spicy.' Reminds me of Christmas.

I like herbals in the summer - the Zingers by celestial seasonings are really good. Haven't found a loose-leaf herbal that I like yet, though.