darkwolf687

A Prized bride (The return)

Okay, the post is done so- oh, hold on, I should probably wait for Liberty before posting. XD

A Prized bride (The return)

I shall make a post later today

@darkwolf687

Well that didn't happen. Sorry, I was busy. I'll definitely get it done either tommorow or Saturday.

A Prized bride (The return)

I shall make a post later today

A Prized bride (The return)

*passionately plays violin in the background*

@Obscene Symphony

What tune though, that is the question... XD

A Prized bride (The return)

Zakroti Unalim

_{Husband of Aymiria Cassiel and Kasari Liesma}

Zakroti listened to Kasari intently and gave a short nod in response to the comment about his grandfather being aggravated. That was true, certainly, but then again when wasn't the old man aggravated?

"There is no need to apologise. I am certain my grandfather won't care that you struck a whimpering wretch, provided it doesn't harm our name. As for his preference of punishment, I am afraid that he does not take lightly to insubordinace, he- is a very unforgiving man." Zakroti gritted his teeth and grimaced as he finished speaking, casting a glance towards the Muthseran. He seemed to relax somewhat as she continued, nodding lightly

"And naturally, I understand your fury, there is no need to apologise for it. I gave you command of his fate, you exercised the power. You let him live which is more than most in this room would do. People have died over less than that." He spoke with noticeable scorn when he said 'most in this room', shaking his head grimly as he spoke about death. This was usually a violent night but so far it was unusually eventful.

"As for your hand I am glad to hear that it shall be fine and again, no apologies are necessary. Ultim-" Zakroti cut off as he heard a flute playing and turned to find the source, noting Miry was standing there in the centre of the room playing on her flute. He cocked a brow and glanced along to his Grandfather, who seemed to have his own brow raised in curiosity. Tyrlal stood up to stop Aymiria, only for Nastaki to raise his hand to signal for him to stop and say something that Zakroti couldn't catch.

It was now that Zakroti recognised exactly what tune she was playing and it wasn't hard to imagine that many would take it as an insult or an act of rebellion. Zakroti glanced back to Kasari in concern for a moment before looking back towards Aymiria "This will end badly." He commented gravely

And indeed it did, as no sooner had Miry finished playing than the consequences began to unfold. There was the sound of a singular applause... One of the southern lords, sitting a table across, had apparently decided to set an example for any other brides who might show approval. He took the girl by the throat and with his powerful grip crushed her neck, letting her fall limp to the floor before raising his goblet in a mocking toast.

A section of the crowd let out a dark, cruel laugh at the macabre display and yelled, mocking the girl as she fled from the room.

And almost as quickly as things had changed, they returned to normal again. The topic of conversation had shifted somewhat, of course, but many a Drakken appeared to be deriving amusement from the occurrence.

Zakroti grimaced as he heard Kasari hiss something that he imagined probably wasn't meant for him to hear, but none the less he glanced over to her and gave a small nod "He didn't have to take the girl in the first place. The Drakken are- every bit as monstrous as you may have been led to believe, I am afraid." He replied, glancing to his grandfather who had already sent Tyrlal after the girl. Nastaki looked his way and gave a bried nod to him before turning his attention back to his food.

Zakroti stood up quickly and motioned for Kasari (after the events of tonight so far, he wasn't willing to risk letting either of them out of his sight for the moment... He did he want Kasari to attempt anything reckless if left with his grandfather.) and two of his Blackguard to follow with a hurried command of "Vain, Kzaar kree, hilyat." The two Blackguard who were named quickly moved away from the table and took up positions flanking him.

***

Gaikus watched in surprise as the little girl, Aymiria, shoved past him and darted into the room. He remained silent as he approached her, peering down and listening to the girls sobs.

. “I killed Astrae, I kill..k-k-killed Astrae, I can’t… I don’t… I n-never wanted a-a-anyone to—to d-die… Liiren… Liiren l-lied… music doesn’t bring… m-music doesn’t make p-people h-happy, it makes them kill each other, i-it’s my f-fault… I’m s-sorry… I’m s-s-sorry, A-Astrae… I d-didn’t… I j-just wanted to make you sm-smile, I just… I’m s-so-so-rry...”

Slowly, he pieced together what he could and guessed that she had... Perhaps played something on her flute which had offended one of the Drakken lords enough to cause him to kill this 'Astrae' girl. "The little girl needs to learn to blame the guilty and not herself; you are not in the Gemminite Kingdom where everyone is nice and polite, you are in Drakka where dynasties are built upon the corpses of the weak. Here, being weak makes one a wounded animal and they circle like vultures, ready to pick the bones clean." Gaikus said quietly to her before turning away and heading back to the door, just in time for Tyrlal and another pair of knights to stride past him.

The trio approached Aymiria and stared down at her, still clutching her rabbit. One of them glanced to Tyrlal and motioned to the flute on the floor with a grin. The young knight chuckled darkly and bent over, snatching the flute from the floor and backing away to be behind the other pair of knights

"What a pretty little thing. Would be a shame if something was to happen to it..." Tyrlal commented mockingly as he examined the flute and gave a wry smile, then glanced down to the rabbit in Miry's hands "You've dragged us away from the feast... And I'm fucking hungry."

"Don't worry. One rabbit stew coming right up." The second knight replied, taking a step in advanced as he drew his sword and glanced down to the rabbit

"Should be enough, if we weren't greedy. Might even be enough for her, the provider should get her share too." The third knight said with a cruel smile

"Hand it over, girl." The Knight raised his blade into the air... Only to find a hand closed tightly around his wrist.

"Zuthi, return to the Muthseran. The girl is not yours to deal with." Gaikus said firmly, staring at the knight... The knight stared back at him for several moments before attempting to pull his hand clean of Gaikus' grip

As quick as a flash Gaikus twisted the knights arm painfully, causing him to drop his sword as he struggled to get loose. Then Gaikus swept the knights leg and sent him clattering to the floor. The knight turned over slowly ontoi his back and looked up to the Blackguard

"The girl is not yours to deal with." The Blackguard repeated simply as he drew his sword and pointed it to the downed knight "My lord shall deal with her. Away with you."

Tyrlal and the other knight drew their blades and readied themselves for a fight "We'll have your head for this." Tyrlal barked as the pair advanced towards him. The knight scrambled out from below Gaikus and away to hide behind his comrades, his sword still lying at Gaikus' feet. The Blackguard brought his shield to hear and prepared to fight the two but the action was halted by the words of Zakroti, echoing from the doorway

"What am I seeing? Sheath your blades, the lot of you." Zakroti shouted as he ran his eyes over the scene, glaring at Tyrlal in particular

"An Muthseran heldon odzi kala haelia geh yuize nit evia, Muth." Tyrlal said as he sheathed his sword and looked towards the short Lord before him. Zakroti examined him for a few moments and took note of the flute that the warrior still had clutched in his hands. Of course they had taken her flute; that may well have been a direct order from Nastaki himself and he was in no position to force them to give it to her, lest he incur his grandfather's wrath. In truth, Nastaki probably didn't care what happened to the girl so long as she was not able to do anything like that again, so it made sense to take her instrument.

What would they do with it? Anybodies guess but he imagined that Nastaki would probably sell it on if he hadn't ordered them to break it.

"Gais haelia?" Zakroti demanded, folding his arms slowly in front of him and giving the knight a stern look

"Haelia." Tyrlal replied with a small shrug "Edeew geheiz 'Bunny' e geheiz 'Flute'... Sepew geh, camorew geh. Naan carac odzi gaiar kala roew."

"Wre jusla Aymiriaeiz emeratu admia, nit a zan haelia ro. Kros odzi, Zuthi." Zakroti said matter of factly as he waved his hand dismissively. Tyrlal nodded, grinned and waved the instrument through the air to taunt Aymiria before dropping it onto the floor and stamping on it several times with an armoured boot, causing it to crack and split on the floor. He chuckled before turning slowly and marching out of the room. The disarmed guard cautiously picked up his sword before backing away, as if expecting another blow, and then followed his comrades out and into the hallway "And wipe that smirk off your face Tyrlal, or my berserker shall do it for you!"

Zakroti turned back towards Aymiria and noted the expression on her face and the tears. She had been crying.

Well, of course she had been crying. There was absolutely no way this poor little girl had been prepared to see someone's neck broken. He would wager that she had suffered more here tonight than at any point beforen in her life. She had said that the flute was precious to her and now it was shattered on the floor, he wasn't even sure how she would respond to that.

"Have you been touched, girl?! What in Vivari's name possessed you to do that?" Vain exclaimed at her in disbelief, before noticing her state and cutting himself off. Zakroti raised a single hand to his head before sighing heavily. He glanced towards the others before looking back to her and speaking.

"Vivpre Vain, vivpre... Aymiria, I'm sorry about the girl, and your flute. The response has been overzealous. Things were getting heated, the atmosphere is... It was not the right time to do something like that." Zakroti commented as he approached the flute on the floor and knelt over it; it had split into two pieces and cracks ran along it. He didn't know much about musical instruments but it didn't take an expert to get that it was completely ruined. Zakroti muttered a curse under his breath as he shook his head "Vain take Aymiria to the bedchambers... I think she could do with time away from the 'folk of quality.'" Vain nodded in response and looked down towards Aymiria, approaching her and taking her hand

"Come, Aymiria." Vain said in a far calmer and more friendly tone than he had less than a minute earlier.

Well, this had been an eventful evening

@WeepingLiberty@RomanAria

A Prized bride (The return)

I'll post later today. So much to do and so little time.

A Prized bride (The return)

Damn party ended up getting their bill passed because someone from my boyfriend's party betrayed us and voted for them. They absolutely did not deserve a win, as they had no good arguments and their bill was riddled with flaws.

@Obscene Symphony

Welcome to reality, it sucks here :(

A Prized bride (The return)

Zakroti Unalim

_{Husband of Aymiria Cassiel and Kasari Liesma}

"Kind? No, but honest. I am pleased to have your company, Aymiria." Zakroti replied with a curious look in his eye. Something was wrong about this, about her movements and that little smile she wore. Or maybe that was just his mind again, he could never be sure. Perhaps she was simply thinking about playing again or remembering these old things she was telling him. Yes, that had to be it for what else could it be? What was he expecting, that a small girl like her was going to beat someone too death with a flute of all things? Of course not.

He did his best to set his misgivings aside, though they are at the back of his mind and crept back into his thoughts.

"A royal orchestra? I have heard of such things, large ensembles of instruments that play complicated music and are orderly and composed. I imagine only the very best would play in such an institution. I would like to hear more about this- orchestra at some point. And I would like to hear your play."

After a few moments he opened his mouth to speak again, a joking smile on his lips as he considered what she had to say about her playing. "But what a great many surprises this day is bringing, when I go to take a pair of brides I acquire a confident young musician with a beautifully crafted instrument and an experienced dancer with such odd choices of clothing. Vivari preserve me, next I shall acquire a fool, if I am not fulfilling that role myself considering the circumstances, and complete this fair. Then what will my grandfather say."

Zakroti motioned for her to follow and led her down through the halls and talking to her as they went "How well do you know the princess, if you call her your friend?" Zakroti asked, turning his head back towards her to reveal an inquisitive look on his face, his brow furrowed slightly. She had to have known her very well; one wouldn't spend such money on anyone, surely.

Finally, they reached a pair of doors and two guardsmen opened them before him. They entered the banquet hall, which was in the process of having its tables covered with food by rushed servants...

***

Kzaar released his grasp around the warriors throat and shoved him to the side. For several seconds the Drakken grasped for breath on his knees before finally stumbling back to his feet, looking up to Kasari before turning his head towards Kzaar

"My lord has eyes far and wide; You would do wise not to disobey my lady." Kzaar growled to the injured Drakken, who nodded back miserably as he skulked away, looking down at the floor in embarrassment. Kzaar kept his eyes on the warrior until he was out of sight, then turned to face Kasari

"Ha, so long as you are not going to make a habit of punching people, my lady; We may be free to exact violence here at the Wroth but when we return to the west- Justice is more vigilant." Kzaar grunted with what sounded like approval. Ayltam cast a short glance over to him before looking back to Kasari, her eyes darting down to the girls hand; She had been cradling it just moments before and so she supposed that Kasari had injured it when she had punched the warrior.

"It must be a taxing occasion, I cannot even begin to imagine shat this whole thing must be like for you so such volatility is understandable- I suppose ultimately Zakroti will decide whether it is or not but- I think that he will say something similar. But please do be; It's not good to upset my great grandfather, as you have seen he can be fairly- excessive. Your hand- is it injured?" Ayltam asked with a slight incline of her head and a furrowing of her brow. She had crossed her arms to stave off the cold now that she had lost her cloak, clearly not used to the mountains and their cold climate.

Kzaar motioned for the group to follow and went towards the doors on the far side of the hall. Again, two guardsmen opened them up and allowed the group access into the halls beyond.

After passing through the doors, the small congregation were met by Zakroti, Aymiria and Vain. Zakroti opened this mouth to speak to them but was cut off by another voice; He turned to see his brother standing there beside him

"Hilyat, an Muthseran gaiar kala epe ma odzi."

"Kala epe ma odzi? Ha. Epe kala odzi." Zakroti replied with a light chuckle. Qeynate grinned in response and led the group over too where Zakroti's grandfather sat, the food taster by his side and already at work. Nastaki looked towards the two brides with his intense stare for a few seconds before looking up to Zakroti

"Sev. " Nastaki said, motioning to the chair beside him "Your brides too, on your left side." Zakroti complied with the command, sinking into the chair slowly and cautiously, motioning for Aymiria and Kasari to sit as well "Do you remember your tutelage?"

"I do."

"'An ogim-bar tri o kaoz, o xarxkaoz; karaza tormas ma mishaxi a anga O mittazeoz. O hilyatoz an tor tormas. O sepoz grunis an torze tormad. An Aranhame a an Osh o kalasevoz kzi mu'doon; Alduris o shantaoz. An Aran a an Ish o edeoz. Kala-" Nastaki began; Zakroti knew it all by heart and after it had registered he cut in to finish it off

"-An seran ush norhame o hilyatoz. O shantaoz, O mitta shakaoz. I know it." Zakroti affirmed.

"Then what is the last sentence and who said it?" Nastaki said with a small smile, looking down towards his grandson

"Naan Aran gais gaiar Kala epe geho o meh, oris o hilyatoz, zela geh hilyatew. It was said by Kastaki the Great." Zakroti replied with a small frown. He hoped his grandfather wasn't about to launch into another lecture, that was the last thing he needed at this time.

"Kastaki a acta Unalim."

"Odzi Unalimi zan aranize. Unalim zan muthserani." Zakroti replied with a slow shake of his head.

"Unalim a gais odzi mitta ta. Zu odzi mitta ta seran, ta a seran. Zu odzi mitta ta seranivre, ta a zan seranivre." Nastaki responded with a degree of anger and annoyance in his voice, mixed with pride and determination.

"Wre jusla epeoz niz yui." Zakroti noted with a light nod to affirm what his grandfather was saying; he was right of course, greatness was never achieved by one saying that they were not great and giving up. Things often wwre as you made them, not including lifes misfortunes. "Why do you bring it up now?"

"The count of Seychest, Adhelm Capek, a vassal of house Azinmur, has had his son vanish on the road in Gemminia. It is his first born and his heir."

"Azinmur? Do you suspect Isilmur?" Zakroti said with a frown. Azinmur and Isilmur descended from the same household in the distant past, both lay claim to the others territory and declared themselves to be the descendants with the strongest claim. Isilmur was more friendly with Unalim than Azinmur was. Azinmur had been in steady decline ever since the loss of their most profitable duchy, Karin, to Nastaki some thirty years ago but if was conceivable that Isilmur was growing impatient and were hoping to coerce house Capek using hostages, Seychest being the largest remaining Azinmur vassal it would certainly be a major boon if Isilmur wanted to accelerate the decline.

"No, he was firmly past the Wroth when he was last seen, planning on passing through the mountains of the region. Gem territory" Nastaki explained with a grimace. Zakroti cocked an eyebrow in response to this as he put two and two together

"And as house Azinmur is crumbling, they are no longer capable of dealing with this; They cannot protect what vassals they have left. You want them to be our vassals instead. There's just one problem; Vassals cant just switch liege lords, it defeats the entire basis of the system. They have sworn fealty."

"Azinmur is collapsing. They have nothing left, they are dukes in name alone. Already their vassals have begun to defect from them; The entire County of Allesia defected to Isilmur and several of the barons of Milander swore fealty to Karstagg. Azinmur can bring up all the oaths it wants, nobody is listening any longer. If we want to make Unalim greater, we must capitalise on this opportunity."

"You hope that if we do this favour on the counts behalf and have the Gem Lords find his son he will swear fealty to us instead. We would have to keep a very close eye on him if that is the case; defectors might defect again, once you have broken one such agreement why not break others."

"Yes, he has asked himself and the Gem Lords found, or at least they claim to have found, nothing while the Drakken lords of the border didn't even care so much as to send a response. I will have them send out search parties. I doubt they will refuse our request. You have Gems in your employ, yes?" Zakroti shifted in place and glanced cautiously around before leaning in and whispering

"Grandfather, do you wish everyone to know of that? You know there are ears everywhere. I have some agents in Gemminia, yes; You wish me to have some search for his son. This I can have them do." He whispered to him, glancing to Qeynate as the young Drakken spoke

"Only our men are near us now, I feel we can trust them." Qeynate commented with a small chuckle.

"Gais numad an 'brides'?" Nastaki replied with a grunt, casting another cold glance towards Aymiria in particular as he spoke. Zakroti paused and turned his head towards them, before looking back to his grandfather and nodding lightly.

"Gehdzi zan juze kala ro naan redia, o ulma. Zela gehdzi vru?" Zakroti replied and waited for his grandfathers response. Nastaki paused for a few moments in apparent consideration before nodding and speaking again

"Zela gehdzi vru. I shall inform Capek of our decision and write the letters to the lords. Zakroti will have orders sent in the morning. Qeynate, you will send a handful of men to support the search efforts. That is all." Nastaki reached out and picked up the goblet, drinking from it.

Zakroti turned back towards Ayltam, who was sat across from him with Vain standing a few paces behind her, and gave a short sigh.

"Kasari jorloz an kaan lia." Ayltam commented quietly, before continuing "Kasarieiz zyro- geh camoroz an kaan va an barjeh."

"Arvar." Zakroti said in response, turning slowly to face Kasari and cocking an eyebrow curiously. "Is this right? Did you punch one of the guards in the face? I suppose I should probably have expected as much from a fire gem. Please tell me more about this, I'd like to hear your reasoning behind it all."

@WeepingLiberty@RomanAria

A Prized bride (The return)

I'm almost caught up. ^.^ Finally! I just have a couple more posts to read and/or reread before working on posts and the collab ... that is if Potato doesnt hate my dumbass at this point. XD

@WeepingLiberty

Yay! I can't wait for more posts! :3

A Prized bride (The return)

Uuuugh, I'm so behind on literally everything! Homework, chores, RPs. -_-"

Oddly enough, I tend to be busier on the weekends than during the week, what is up with life?

Anyways, rant aside. How is everyone?

@WeepingLiberty

I'm doing quite good, thank you for asking. I'm sorry to hear that you are so busy, I hope you catch up soon.