Rastellion shook his head as they left the Auction House. ''It'll be two days until we can leave; I have to have meetings with those folks while their caravans are still here.'' He sighed. ''Still, that should be just enough time.'' He pulled her close for a quick hug before they start back to the house. ''We'll get this fixed, you'll see.'' Immalaine nodded, looking down the road as she listened to Rastellion, her mind still on the man she'd seen back in the town hall. Not paying attention, she took a step, her foot landing on a large pebble in the cobblestone street. Slipping, she grabbed Rastellion's arm with a flinch. "Sorry," she muttered, smoothing out his sleeve. Rastellion glanced over at her. "Are you sure you're okay? Did you maybe catch an illness while we were in Winter-home?" He took and squeezed her hand as they walked. "Maybe you should try to get some extra rest before we have to take that quick trip to your village again?"
Letting out a small sigh, Immalaine nodded. "Mebbe just tired still from our stay is all. I'm sure I'll be fine afore we go again." Smiling at him, she turned as they slowly make their way down the street. "Besides, I've been watching Althessia the past two days. She's 'nough t' wear anyone out. An' she's trying to crawl. It's so adorable!" Rastellion chuckled, reassured. "Yes, I imagine that'd be enough to tire anyone out."
Behind them, unnoticed by either, a tall figure detached itself from the shadows under a birch tree. The dark-haired man followed the two at a distance, not drawing closer, keeping to the edge of the road, hard grey eyes fixed on the young couple as Immalaine leaned affectionately against Rastellion. "Tell me about the caravans in town? What manner of goods are they selling?" Immalaine asked, partially from curiosity. "If they've any of that wildflower honey that's so hard t' get 'round here, I might be lookin' t' buy some fer Zandrianna's teas."
"No, I"m not buying. And it's gems and cloth, mainly, they've got. I'm trying to set up some more regular coordination with the BAA ... extend our influence. Of course, they don't want the competition, so it's a matter of seeing what goods we trade in that they do not ... and convincing them not to demand a ruinous percentage." He glanced over to see if she was following any of this.
Immalaine scratched at her hip with her free hand, thinking about everything Rastellion had said. "So ... ye want to trade them stuff they don't have, fer stuff they do have, without them charging too much fer the stuff?" She shook her head, completely sure she'd not understood him, but determined to figure it out. "Well, I will have t' just keep looking fer this honey." Rastellion squeezed her hand again, then dropped it as they approached the slight cluster of folk at the town gate. "I'll keep an eye out for it. The Shire folk are more likely to have such than are dwarves." As they paused at the gate, the dark-haired stranger slipped to one side, leaning against a wall, and made a show of picking his nails with a dagger. "I suppose the delay's manageable, really. Bonnie said we've got a week, and this way we can plan ahead, leave early, all that," he mused, returning to his concern about the affidavit..." He takes her hand again as the sleepy guard waved them negligently through. "Just so you get that sleep." Once the two had passed out of sight, the dark figure straightened and strode quickly toward the gate in turn.
"Well it'll be close fer sure and I'm hard pressed t' think of another what could say who I am. Still, we've time. So, while you're getting the trading business done, I can take a rest between helping Lady Zandrianna with the baby and cooking." Thinking, she turned. "That reminds me, Desiare supposed t' be coming tonight fer dinner. Ye wouldn't want t' stay would ye? I'm making stew, I found some real nice elk at th' market yesterday an' been slow roasting it awhile to add to the vegetables. Should be right tasty."
"What, your cooking?” Rastellion grinned. “Of course I'd like to come... And I'd not realized Desiare was coming back, 'til Zandrianna mentioned it yesterday. I think I met her once or twice, when I was first in Bree. I was still gawping at all the buildings and she was kind to me, showed me around town a bit." He turned the corner of a field and glanced back toward the gate as he did, frowning slightly as he saw a lone figure trailing behind them; then shrugging, dismissed it as unimportant, and continued on with Immalaine.
Hearing the hesitation in his voice, she looked up at him. "But ye won't be able t' tonight. I tell ye what, I'll make sure t' save ye a bowl of it, and I'll bring it t' ye later." She looked around, not seeing anyone, and shook her head against the sudden uneasiness she felt. Rastellion sighed. "Yes, I've got some paperwork to finish drawing up for Fiontann, before he leaves town; need to get that done by the morning. And preparations for those meetings. Everything needs to go smoothly... can't have it dragging out and delaying our trip! Not with the deadline looming!"
Immalaine nodded, pausing beneath a large tree to pick a stray leaf out of her hair. "Well then, th' stew will be just th' thing t' keep ye going while ye do all that. Will ye be at the trading house fer most o' the day then?" she said, tossing the bits of dry leaf aside. Rastellion smiled. "That it will. And if you were to stop by after, oh, three hours or so, I might be finished up for the night, or at least ready for a little break, should you wish to tarry for a bit?" He caught her arm and swung her, unexpectedly, against him, leaning down to kiss her neck in the way she liked.
Behind them, the dark stranger turned the corner into the far end of the tree-lined lane. His cold gaze met Immalaine's, as she looked past Rastellion, and a half-smile quirked his full lips as he takes a step backwards, slipping out of sight behind the screen of thick bushes and leafless trees. Seeing the man following then, Immalaine turned pale, going stiff in Rastellion's arms as she looked around. 'Zandriana, the baby!' she thought to herself. 'No, he couldn't see where she was going, she couldn't put them in danger!' Pulling back suddenly from Rastellion's embrace, she looked up at him. "Oh! The time! I promised Lady Zandrianna I'd be back long afore now, she's got so much t' do and Desiare is coming ... and ... I have to go!" Immalaine turned, running up the lane, every ounce of energy pumped into the sprint as she headed past houses and turned using the longer path to get home. Breathless, she glanced back behind her to see if anyone had followed, but she saw nothing move along the street. Sighing, she turned and headed back a bit crossing back over to Zandrianna's yard, looking over her shoulder once more as she entered the house, gasping for breath.
Rastellion opened his mouth to reply, startled by the sudden termination of his embrace. "I..." he begins, but the girl had already fled down the path. He saw her pause at the first turn and look back at him with an expression of - what? Apprehension? Distrust? He glanced around, but no one else was in the lane. "What'd I do wrong?" he asked himself, then shook his head sharply, like a horse trying to flick away biting blackflies. "No, just late, like she said," he told himself, sounding almost convinced. Then, blowing out a long breath, he continued on toward his own home, pulling his mind back to the matters of trade and to everything that needed to be done before the trip back out to Immalaine's village in two days.
Later, as Immalaine was preparing the stew in the kitchen, she listened to the sounds from Zandrianna's bedroom as Desiare and her mother spoke to each other. Seemingly engrossed in one of Komatsu's old journals, she could hear snippets of conversation from the pair as they discussed delayed trade caravans and a place near the dwarven outpost called Noglond. Not able to keep up with what they were saying, Immalaine just shook her head and turned her attention back to the stew, the rich aroma of the meat and vegetables filling the small kitchen. As she stirred she heard the door slam and a breathless voice yell out. "Miss Zandrianna! I'm home!" Immalaine shook her head, amused by Merithele, who had entered, racing through the door as she always did. She listened as someone joined the enthusiastic redhead in the common room. The voice, Immalaine recognized as Desiare, filled with amusement and curiosity."I don't believe I've met you before," Immalaine heard Merry's reply "Oh! I .... I don't have the wrong ... house do I?" and chuckled to herself, even as she heard the door open once again and Rossiath's voice. "Landsake child! Could you find somewhere else to stand! And you must be Zandrianna's daughter she spoke about."
Mentally gauging, Immalaine looked down at the pot of stew and smiled to herself. 'There'd be plenty enough for everyone then, and still have some to bring to Rastellion. Nodding, she went over to check on Althessia, as she heard a new voice, a man's voice and momentarily straightened up, panicked. But she heard Desiare greet him, "Sir Klauss," and from the sounds of things, she was happy to see him. With a sigh of relief, Immalaine placed her hand against her chest as if settling her beating heart, and listened to the conversations back and forth, as Zandrianna and Merry, joined them, soon followed by Rossiath.
As the evening wore on, she listened to the ladies talk amongst each other and Desiare and Klauss sit together in conversation. Just before dinner was to be served, Desiare came into the kitchen, telling the others that she would return shortly, but that she had been telling Klauss about a window at her house in need of repair, and he wanted to see it while it was still light out. She'd hugged Zandrianna, the left with the tall man, while the rest of the ladies had sat down to supper. As Zandrianna walked Rossiath home, and Merry went into the back to tend the baby, Immalaine looked out the window for a long while waiting to see if Desiare would return. After some time, she realized she wouldn't and, tired from watching the baby and cooking, she went and laid down. “Just for a minute,” she thought, “Then I'll bring Rastellion his food.”
It was the early hours of the morning, everyone having fallen asleep for the night. Snuggling down deeper into her bed, Zandrianna muttered restlessly in her sleep. The sound, a vague noise, nudged at the edge of her consciousness in the dark, causing her to rise from her sleeping state and listen closely to the sounds of the house. Again she heard it and leaping from her bed, she grabbed her dressing gown, throwing it on as she moved. As she wiped her eyes of sleep, Zandrianna hurried across the main room to the small bedroom where Immalaine and Althessia slept. She'd been woken by the scream, a voice filled with terror. Getting to the bed, she leaned over, shaking the young woman. "Immalaine! It's alright, it's just a dream"
With a gasp and a small yelp, Immalaine startled awake, curling her body up as though protecting herself against some unknown horror. "Shhh," Zandrianna said soothingly to her, sitting on the side of the bed as she stroked her hair. "It's just a dream. Just a dream ...." Shaking her head, Immalaine took several ragged breaths. "Not just a dream. A nightmare, for real! One I thought I'd left behind." Her voice broke as she begins to cry.
Continuing to stroke Immalaine's hair, Zandrianna murmured soothingly too her. "What do you mean, for real? Immalaine, I know things were bad, but you've told me so little. Talk to me, let me help you." She looked down, her voice filled with worry over Immalaine's apparent nighttime distress, this latest nightmare worse than any she'd witnessed.
Shaking her head, Immalaine was reluctant at first to talk, but with gentle coaxing she began to tell Zandrianna about the darkest days of her life, the horror she had felt ... been subjected to …
10 months earlier -
It'd been two long months of wandering the roads, and Immalaine was tired. She'd paused stopping at small villages and taking jobs at the taverns cooking, but had never stayed long; moving on before anyone could pay much mind to the solitary redheaded girl. It didn't make her much coin, and often she went hungry, but the freedom …
It was getting on late in the day as she looked ahead along the winding path, seeing a thin stream of smoke from a chimney off in the distance. She'd not make it to the town, but if she could find some place to camp for the night, she could get a couple of hours of rest before resuming her trip. Wiping a stray strand of hair from her forehead, she nodded to herself.
So focused on the road ahead of her, she didn't hear the men come up behind her, until one laid his hand on her shoulder and said in a voice, dripping with sarcasm, “Well, well. What have we here?” Her eyes widened as she turned to stare into a pair of cold grey eyes, the man's mouth turned up in a smirk as he looked down at her. She opened her mouth to speak, but only managed a small gasp instead. 'Him …' she thought.
The man continued to look down on her, his hand digging into her shoulder as his gaze wandered her dusty travel clothes and pack. “You caused me a lot of trouble, little girl. I lost some good business in that village because of you.” Moving closer, he stared at her angrily.
Jerking her arm, Immalaine struggled to get away from the grip digging into her shoulder. She stumbled back, her voice shaking as she turned to flee, only to find her way blocked by the man's two bodyguards. “Leave me alone!” she said, kicking one of them in the shin. He howled in fury as her foot connected with his leg, letting out a string of curses as his counterpart reached up to grab the back of the girl's shirt. Stopped short, Immalaine turned in an attempt to push the man away just as a sharp pain exploded inside her head and her world slowly went black.
If only it had stayed that way …
Some time later, the two women still sit on the bed together, Zandrianna's eyes red from crying and wide with all she'd just heard. "Immalaine, honey ... you should have told me. I could have helped, somehow. At least with the nightmares." She shook her head.
"I couldn't though. I've tried so hard t' forget what happened. And now ... it's all come back. What is he doing here in Bree? Why now??" Immalaine's distressed voice rose, threatening to wake the sleeping baby.
Biting her lip, Zandrianna took Immalaine by the shoulders and looks down at her. "You must tell Rastellion. He can help, he'll know what to ...."
"Noo! I can't tell him, he mustn't know! Zandrianna, please, I can't tell him ... I ..." she shook her head violently.
Zandrianna looked down, surprise in her eyes. "But Immalaine, Rastellion loves you, you must know that. Let him help ..." Terror in her eyes, Immalaine pleaded. "Please no! I know he loves me now, but if he ever knew ... the things that happened ... he'd look at me different. I couldn't bear it!"
Blowing out a breath, Zandrianna gathered the distressed redhead in her arms. "Alright, we'll do it your way. I still say you're wrong, but I won't argue with you. However," she added, "This man ... Immalaine, if what you say about him is true, then he's dangerous. We have to think of something."
Immalaine sighed, clinging to Zandrianna, and nodded. And the two women began planning ....
(Credits and love go to Rastellion, who provided the voice of the male characters in this story. *Blows kisses to Rastellion and grins widely*)
