Her Majesty's Blade (closed)

[siobhancan99]

He was good. If she didn't know the truth she'd have been taken in by his charade. She stepped back into the hall, not willing to take her eyes off of him. "Honestly you shouldn't be here at all. Best the guards don't catch you." She let him see her subtly check him out, as if deciding on sexual interest. "Come with me and we will get you out of here" She gestured to the right, which would take them to ac ourtyard with easy gate access. "Stick by me so the guards don't bother you." Standing aside, she made it clear she expected him to come out before she turned.

 

[UncleJunior]

The girl was pretty, and clever to understand the situation so quickly.

Severin's smile broadened. The tableau of the open doorway and clear path to success behind it unsettled him. Nothing was ever that easy.

He turned his shoulders to her as he passed, keeping her in front of him. It was an old trick from having walked the stage so many times in his training. Keeping his audience in front of him was a matter of habit.

Noticing her noticing him, he leaned in quickly and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks luv," he growled in her ear, using common tongue.

He then performed a dramatic curtsey and backed out the door while bowing, keeping his eyes on her. In the hallway, he could see no guards and could only hear the distant noise of the festival all around them.

"The way is clear my mouse," he said, covering his sudden action with the flamboyance expected of a salesman.

He looked in the direction she indicated. The path led away from others and toward escape.

"I'll follow. You lead."

 

[siobhancan99]

Tamsin refrained from snorting, but the man was a fool if he thought shed be turning her back to him. She offered a vapid smile instead "Oh sir, I fear if the guard catch you here without legitimate business they'll take their halberds to you. The only way this works is if we walk together. chatter at me as if we're old friends as I walk you out." She reached for his arm, looking to entangle as if they were old friends walking together. of course, she used her left hand, seeking to ecumber his right while leaving her own free to draw a blade if need be.

 

[UncleJunior]

Severin let the girl hang from him. She was slight and could be thrown aside easily if need be. She clutched and grabbed at him with the crude eagerness of a country girl. Aside from her hard cotton corset and whatever burlap sack she slept in, his velvets and silks were likely the softest fabrics she'd ever touched in her life.

He relaxed and considered adding a second conquest to his mission. He'd grown quite adept at mimicking the common drawl of the lower classes and his retellings of his various conquests had earned him quite the audience at his favorite tavern. The things they said in their final moments of passion provided information that toppled houses older than mountains.

Severin doubted there was anything to be gained from the slender little thing clinging to him but a good time. Still, it might be worth it to pump her for information. He fell in step with the young squire as if they were old lovers.

 

[siobhancan99]

Tamsin led him through the passage into a nearby garden. The garden itself was safe, well guarded from the entrance near the gate, but the guards had no reason to watch those that came from this side. After all, the palace proper was a secure area. She led him through the maze of flower beds and trees, off to the much more heavily guarded entrance that led to a narrow hallway and towards the waiting portcullis that signified entry into the City proper. She knew the Balmoran was staying with his people, and this was mostly just to tweak him a bit and make him find some excuse to get back into the castle when he'd left without getting leave. Still, if he wanted to play the local she'd make him pay the price for it. Even if the price was a bit of simple annoyance. Mostly, she wanted to establish herself as truly believing his guise. "What part of the city did that little strumpet scare you up in?" She shook her head, as if dismayed at Gretl's life choices "She also wanted to see what, if anything, he knew about the neighborhoods of the capitol city.

 

[UncleJunior]

"I was in the low quarter, selling toys," Severin said.

"In the mornings, before the stink of manure gets too strong, the well-off come through the low quarter on their way to the castle. Most stop and browse a bit, if only to waste time until the food stalls open, and some will buy."

The girl was like most guards, filled with the nervous energy that came from doing a boring job. It crackled under her skin like an itch, he could see it. Her tone was hard and official, even in jest. It was a pleasant change from the powdered peasants of the merchant class. Severin looked her up and down again.

He'd never fucked a squire.

Falling into step alongside her, he noticed how she seemed to glide down the path. She barely weighed anything at all. She reminded him of the dancers and musicians he'd performed with.

"You are quite agile, my pretty rescuer."

Low road was just ahead, the thoroughfare wound through the woods near the castle to meet near the garden. The castle wall, and the garden itself, blocked the view of the peasant quarters and the docks, providing complete cover for an escape. He couldn't have asked for a better exit route.

 

[siobhancan99]

"A woman has to be, to kill a man which is technically part of my profession. I'm tall for a woman, but short for a man. That means he has reach. His longer arm means a longer blade. I suffer from having less strength." What she did not add is that Aladria had, at great expense, obtained for her a blade that would augment her strength. Not to a level of some hulking brute, but enough to even the odds against a fit man. "Which means I have to be fast. Even there, the best solution for me is to be fast enough to not die while I wait for backup." She played down her skill, knowing that if this plan of Aladria's... this stupid stupid plan... went sideways she'd need him to underestimate her. She had thought to probe him, to see if he had sufficient knowledge of the quarter to trip him up but remembered he had opened a shop which was the whole thing that had tipped off the queen. So he at least had a little local knowledge. A pity, but it could be turned to her advantage.

"Have you been to the Stag?" The stag was a tavern near where his shop would have been which boasted the crest of the throne of Balmora and served the food of those people. "I know Balmoran isn't for everyone. All those heavy ales and sausages, but a girl does like a nice fat sausage from time to time."

 

[UncleJunior]

Severin nearly cracked a smile at the name of the Tavern. It was where his room was, purchased for the festival for a bag of coins heavy enough to convince the innkeep to leave his name off the books. His tools were there, his poisons were there, his escape lay just outside the window of his room.

"I may have seen one of the taverns near the market with that name. I've heard it's got a good stew."

Swordsmen loved to talk. If the subject didn't turn to swords, he could keep her talking all the way to the Tavern. If it did, they'd still be talking about swords in the morning. While the prospect of waking up next to this one was interesting, he couldn't stomach another hours-long conversation about cutting things. The journey from Balmora was a two-day long conversation about cavalry swords just from having complimented the captain's saddle-scabbard.

"Do you know it, what's good at The Stag?"

Maybe this was only true of soldiers at the front, due to homesickness and terror, but food was the only other thing soldiers seemed to talk about. As a courier, barely old enough to be a soldier himself, he'd heard men talk about their mother's soup like it was their girl back home. Get one talking about food and they'd talk all night. If he turned the conversation to food, he could shut her up whenever he wanted just by feeding her.

"Maybe we'll sit down and take a bite there."

 

[siobhancan99]

She made an equivocal gesture "I mean it's Balmoran" She winked at him "Honestly they have a decent lamb sausage with garlic and some kind of bread that they make there that's really crusty but pillowy inside. That's what I usually get, though I'm not down that way that often since I'm part of the court."She gestured vaguely back at the castle. Let him think she was some brainless functionary. All the better. "So you know, low town. It isn't a spot that's on our rounds very often. When I was first squired we used to go down there though, as the silver goes quite a bit farther in those neighborhoods. Plus I like the old parts of the city. Though, lowtown burned pretty badly in the last war. From the riots. So a lot of it is newish."

 

[UncleJunior]

Severin's stomach grumbled.

"I like lamb. It's been awhile since I had some," he said, not bothering to conceal his hunger. He'd shown perfect discipline getting his team set up, securing escape routes, and playing the part of the jovial toymaker. He hadn't eaten in all that time, just water at regular intervals. Now, the relaxed atmosphere of the kingdom during festival was gnawing at him, as was his stomach.

He looked at the girl again. She was pretty, in the way commoners often are. Her muscular frame moved like a dancer and even under the dull armor he could see traces of a stunning figure. She was a good soldier as well. Her sword didn't bounce when she walked and what little she carried while on guard duty was secure, not making a sound.

She clearly was of some rank. Usually useless soldiers were assigned to guard duty. This one had the bearing of power. Perhaps it was her soldiers she'd walked off on. Perhaps she was simply good enough to do what she wanted.

"The riots," Severin said carefully. As a merchant, he would of course know about anything that would have disrupted business. He was still a foreigner though, it was best not to tip his hand about how much he knew about the riots, or the part he played in starting them.

"I remember being warned away during that time. It was war so we were being warned away from everywhere but the merchant who warned me not to come here was evacuating his family, not just his store. I turned north."

Severin looked at the girl to see if she believed him before asking, "Was it very bad?"

 

[siobhancan99]

"he was lucky" She continued "Aladria's father offered to escort the Balmorans living in the capitol back to their own country. Most of them refused. Said they had roots here, or just didn't want to rebuild." She continued through the square and down towards the low quarter, keeping him in tow. "Well you know how war is. Fields are burned, the price of food goes up. In the countryside it is an inconvenience, in the city it's death. People were hungry, despite the efforts of the crown. Most of the treasury was used to fuel the war. Not a lot there for relief for the poor. So they blamed the Balmorans. Burned a bunch of buildings" She shrugged and shook her head "The feudal classes believe that because their sons go to die in war, which is their whole reason for being, that they suffer the most in these conflicts. Not really though right? You know, being a commoner. The poor who don't join the army face starvation or worse at home. So they lashed out. A lot of Balmoran born or even descended were injured or killed. Property confiscated. It was the same for our people in Balmora, except there the crown took everything. Accused them of being spies. Imprisoned and tortured them. So you know, it's the common folk who pay the price for dynastic bullshit."

She wondered if any of that would land, if it would plant some small seed in his mind that murdering Aladria was not going to do his people any good, and might in fact be directly against their interest. "I was a teenager. I worked as a medic in the army, so I didn't see the rioting, just the burned out houses and the improvised gallows that served as the aftermath."

 

[UncleJunior]

Severin remembered his time as a courier during the war, arriving at the front with a small coded message tucked into a bootheel or hatband and leaving with a satchel of messages for home. Some couriers dropped theirs to run from the fighting faster. Severin carried his all the way to base. The shame of running from the fighting wouldn't let him let go of the bag.

He'd handed some of those letters back to wives without husbands and sons without fathers and he knew all too well the cost of the common people. The Balmoran army was made of peasants and commoners. Many had been forced to the front on pain of death. Driven into combat at spearpoint by the sons of wealthy families.

Such was the glory of Balmora.

"I remember the war," Severin sighed. "I was too young to fight as a soldier."

He kicked a wooden noisemaker into the gutter where it landed on it's side with a loud "clonk". The city was wrapping itself around them again as the palace fell into the distance. People moved in groups and couples around them. The smells of roasted meat and burnt onions wafted up from the common square, and the marketplace beyond it.

"Balmora doesn't have dynasties like you. We're just not that old a kingdom. The merchants rule in Balmora."

Severin took this opportunity to give a deep and melodramatic bow. His jewelry, silk, and flowing cable of silver hair made him look all the more ridiculous. A child laughed aloud from a patio and was quickly shushed by their mother. Severin smirked and nodded in that direction as if acknowledging the joke.

"Rule by the astoundingly wealthy is not much different from having proper royals. Overcompensation is a virtue among my peers."

He said this last with a sneer that curled into a snarl. His story was practiced, but his contempt was genuine.

"Exile is the best thing the black sheep of such a family could hope for. Well," he said with a smile, turning down the alleyway that led to the entrance of the Stag.

"The silver sheep of such a family in my case."

 

[siobhancan99]

The man was good. His contempt seemed genuine. Maybe, if she was very lucky, his contempt was in fact genuine. Maybe there was enough anger there to turn him. She had a commoner's contempt for the upper classes, for the divide that kept her from her love. They shared that at least. Aladria had given her a peerage, a silly notion from a time when the queen held the illusion that the lack of a title was what kept them apart, and not her common blood and her lack of a cock. Nobody would accept her as consort. She didn't have the right lineage. Maybe, some day, her children would be allowed to marry into some impoverished noble family on the strength of her title and her nearly empty land. Probably more likely her children's children.

"Too young for the war eh? Your hair, I would have guessed you older." She gestured. "And silver sheep? does your hair and your eyes mark you out then? I admit I've never seen eyes such a hue. Never even heard of them." Her own were nondescript. Brown, dusky as the rest of her. Too tan, her hair not a deep enough brown to be nearly black, her eyes not the deep blue of the queen's that was so in demand at court. She was in shape, and she was comely enough but not to the taste of the upper crust. "Striking at least. You never have to worry about blending in."

 

[UncleJunior]

"Too young. Too rich," he said with a sigh.

"The merchants sons didn't leave until the fighting got bad and they were running out of commoners. I was in academy by then and protected from conscription. We were drafting terms of surrender by the time I would have been called up."

All true and easily proven in songs and stories. The poor do have their way of tattling on the wealthy. Severin had performed more than a few in his time as a tavern bard. He'd performed them for the troops when he served as a Balmoran courier and spy. His connections as a merchant offered him the same access as a noble without the baggage of recognition. There were times when he'd been caught or cornered and was able to explain his odd behavior away as a merchants' greed.

Being the firstborn disappointment of a highborn family had it's advantages however. He'd never made excuses for his wealth or apologized for his proclivities. His toymaking and tinkering was as off-putting to women as his unearned wealth and position was to men, but his status meant he never had to excuse himself for either.

He considered admitting to the loneliness his status, easily recognizable by his features, brought with it. People lied to him as easily as they breathed. Everyone who hated him flattered him constantly. Not only was his life devoid of any true friends, he couldn't even manage to make enemies.

It did make him the perfect spy however, and his training took over when he responded.

"When you are the son of a merchant family that desperately wants to be noble, blending in is the last thing you want to do. We're just peasants that bathe in their eyes."

He rolled up a sleeve and flexed his bicep, making it swell until the veins popped.

"I grew up working for my family's foundry. Making money for yourself and not the king isn't encouraged anywhere kings rule I imagine. Keeping that money among the common folk instead of sending it to the treasury is considered treason among the royals."

Severin leaned against a column supporting a patio roof and a lamp. On the balcony above, a party laughed at a joke neither he nor the young guard could hear.

"I am Severin Silverlight, my family's shadow. House Silverlight mints the king's coin with silver from our mines. My opinion of our royal family has earned a position where I am generally not present. It's best for everyone that way."

 

[siobhancan99]

"It's technically easy enough here. Nobody gets mad about it overtly. More coin for you is more taxes for the crown." She shrugged. "My mother was as common as they come." She didn't mention her father, as the story on that front changed every time she asked. He was a noble. He was a soldier who died in a war. He was a merchant lost at sea. She gave up asking and had to admit to herself her attractive mother probably had no idea which of her suitors had gotten Tamsin on her. She steered deftly through the crowd, walking with purpose towards the inn. If he was talking he wasn't killing Aladria. He was pleasant enough to look at at least. "But you know, being rich is i'm sure a terrible burden" She winked at him "I would but that that gods would see fit to test me so." She paused and looked up to the sky "do you hear that? please burden me with wealth so that I might discover my true virtue!" She grinned over at him "Let's see if they feel like plaguing me with coin this day."

Truth be told the land she'd been given meant she'd never starve to death, at least. So she probably shouldn't joke about such things lest she discover there's some sort of horrible tree killing insect on her land destroying her timber.

She almost lost it at the admission from him as to who he was, but kept her stride fortunately intact "Well, I'm just Tamsin." That was a risk. He might know the rumors, the queen's lover and so forth, but she didn't feel for some reason like lying to him about her name. There was something about the amount of honesty he'd come with, despite her knowing the reason for that disarming honesty.

 

[UncleJunior]

"Tamsin," Severin repeated slowly.

It was almost musical in the way common names were. It sounded local and lowborn. The lack of a family name was as common as common folk. Severin envied them for it. Belonging to the land and nothing else was it's own kind of freedom. No legacies, no responsibilities.

"Wealth definitely has it's benefits Tamsin," he chuckled. He found he liked the name. It left a sweetness on his lips. An errant thought made him wonder about the sweetness of hers. He looked over at her and saw her lips were moist. She licked them when she spoke more than a few words at a time and he didn't think she knew she did that.

"Our family are merchants by practice. My family name saved me from the mines that feed our treasury but there is a nobility in certain labor in my country. I grew up with the caravans as a quartermaster's apprentice. Handling coin is is a high honor and it was my responsibility to become peerless at it.

"I traded art between kingdoms to keep the caravan profitable while fattening my own purse. Nobles love something the rest of them can't obtain and will pay dearly for it. I've made a small fortune off of art made from claws and bone and tribal fertility statues.

"I was supposed to claw my way into a cabinet or chamber position arguing with old men. My punishment for choosing not to is a lifetime spent far from the comfort of home and family. I wouldn't beg for a better life. It lets me send enough money back for them to ignore me while keeping the rest for myself.

The Stag stood before them, blazing with lamps and bouncing with the chorus of a song. The steady pounding of feet rolled down the street at them before they could make out any words. What few could be made out came as a shout at the end of each verse and few could be repeated in polite company.

"That would be my way of saying that the first round is on me."

 

[siobhancan99]

She breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't seem to recognize the name, which means he didn't connect her to the queen. That was good. It was good so why did it feel a little shitty and manipulative? Why, after she'd manipulated so many men and women over her career did she give a fuck now? Questions that would not have good productive answers, she forced them away "Well good." She slid into the booth as she led him inside, hearing the chanting even louder inside. Some Balmoran ditty no doubt. A drinking song maybe, or a celebration song. She called the waitress over, eventually, and gestured for the man to order "Hey you know, just get some stuff and we can share it" she shouted over the din. This wasn't a great place to talk at the moment, but it might be a nice place to share some food and then have an excuse to suggest somewhere quieter.

 

[UncleJunior]

Severin nodded and turned to the tavern keeper. The half table that separated him and his cookstove from the rest of the tavern was largely free of customers. An old man with a fiddle stamped one peg leg against the ground as he swept into another song of young lovers separated by war. There were many versions, but in this, the young lady was chronically unfaithful to her beau while he was at war.

Severin pointed to the bubbling pot and held two fingers aloft, tossing down a silver and three coppers. The tavern keeper nodded and filled two tankards of ale first. Thick brown foam spilled over the side as black liquid sloshed in each cup. A wooden tray was placed before him next. Two bowls of brown liquid filled with lumps that were different shades of brown appeared next, followed by two half-loves, still steaming.

The tavern keeper gave a nod as he tossed two wooden spoons onto the tray before rudely gesturing for Severin to take it all away. Severin carefully moved through the crowd and found Tasmin leaning against a post, nodding her head in time with the fiddler's peg leg.

"Were you aware the Stag had an Inn?"

Giving a wry smile, he made a grand performative gesture to the tavern.

"I only mention it because the public house is woefully short on tables."

 

[siobhancan99]

"Oh do you now.' She rolled her eyes playfully at him, but she was internally glad for the chance. "Well, Why don't you take us somewhere quieter and we can eat our meal in peace" Balmoran food wasn't to her taste, but his company strangely was. Even if he did come off as a rich ponce with a poor little rich boy story. She supposed everyone had something to envy in their lives, though and tried to be charitable about it. She took her food off him, then gestured for him to lead on. "It smells good. And I'd like to eat without shouting above the din" That much was certainly true, and maybe she'd indulge herself in a little post-meal fun.

 

[UncleJunior]

Severin's heart jumped in his chest, surprising him. He hadn't expected her to flirt back. The key to his room felt warm and heavy in his pocket, reminding him of it's presence and it's promise. The fireplace throwing a warm glow over carved wood and heavy quilts.

He had an uncle that was a bad influence on him as a child. Encouraging him to use his station and enjoy his position. Even as a youngster, he considered this one uncle unserious and juvenile but there was one thing he told him that stuck with him to this very day.

Once she says "yes", stop talking.

The inn was larger than it looked from the street, the rooms extending beyond the tavern along the street until the inn stopped at the bridge. Tall trees and a high, spiked fence kept this area far from the public. Murmured conversations could be heard through thick walls and from behind heavy doors but for the most part, the walk to his room was silent.

Inside the room, the floors were covered in rugs. Some were ornate and nearly ancient, others were simply animal skins. Only the table and chairs in a corner next to the fireplace and the bed taking up most of the room sat on the floor's wooden planks.

Severin set the tankards and the wooden tray of food on the table and pulled out a chair for Tamsin to sit.

"And now we feast."

 

[siobhancan99]

Tamsin sat and grinned "and how many other local ladies have sat, feasting in this very seat? I'll bet its more than the little piggie you left sleeping on her father's couch" She didn't like the guildmaster's daughter. She was a nouveau riche social climber and an odious twat. She dug into her food, finding it tasty but very very heavy. She sipped at the ale, also finding it tasty but very very heavy. She liked it well enough though, and set to eating with a soldier's relish. "So how does this fare compare to what you're used to at home? Or does milord have only the finest chefs to prepare this dish with only the softest bits of milk fed lamb and potatoes harvested at the exact moment of perfect ripeness?" She kept her tone teasing, licking her lips, looking around and letting her eyes linger on the bed a moment, as sort of a promise.

 

[UncleJunior]

Severin slurped down a hunk of beef and potato and chewed around his words.

"I find lamb gamey," he said. Half-true when it was prepared the way she described. He also found it unpleasantly chewy and bland. A chore to eat, but it filled the house with a lovely fragrance. Ground up and grilled, filled with spices like the peasants used, he could eat it for every meal.

There was one responsibility that he could not evade, and that had been military service. His house held rank dating back to the founding of the kingdom. He would perform the duty of every son. War forced him into service unusually young, where he served as a courier instead of a proper soldier. He did not fight with them, but he ate with them and was quickly fascinated with the countless ways they made the biscuits and salted meat they lived on palatable.

Onions and the grease from the beef bones they used in the broth formed golden crescents that swirled on top of the bowl. Severin tipped the bowl to his mouth and drank half the brown liquid inside. Gulping down the stew, pausing to chew the few vegetables he sucked up, Severin slammed his bowl on the table before swilling some ale. He'd picked up the half loaf on his side of the table and was just about to tear another buttery hunk off with his teeth when he emitted the most throaty and guttural belch of his life.

"I was not generally welcome among people of status," he said before laying the spoon clenched in his fist gently atop his soup bowl.

 

[siobhancan99]

The belch gave her the ick. It was unavoidable. Still, she had a mission. She paused a moment, then offered a dry "I'm so surprised." she rolled her eyes at him and gave him a smirk, then tucked into her food so she could mentally get over that hurdle. Maybe she wouldn't fuck him tonight after all. Probably she couldn't. She could suck his dick though. Suck it and give him the promise of more. Her full stomach and not her moment of whatever she was experiencing gave her a perfect excuse, and the promise of escalation would surely be enough to hold off his assault on the queen. Besides, a slow build up meant less chance he got bored too quickly and decided to finish the job. She ate a little, finding the food good but heavy, and overly rich. Her stomach wouldn't be just an excuse. She sipped at her ale, leaning back in her chair. "So where have you been in this world besides here and your home? Surely the rich bastard son gets to travel at least, when he's being kept at a polite distance from the peerage."

 

[UncleJunior]

"Oh many places," Severin said, finishing his loaf.

"I traded in ivory for several years. Silver trades higher than gold in the east and ivory is nearly free in the southern continent. My travels have taken me as far east as the gold and emerald palaces of the dragon empire and as far south as the burning mountains."

He smiled, remembering his travels.

"They are fascinating. Completely frozen, but belching fire and rock from their summits. Gemstones are frozen into the ice at the base. A wagonload of dirt holds a queen's ransom."

Severin looked the little guard up and down, examining her for the first time. This is normally where he'd brag about how he loaded some on a merchant ship to bring home but this girl didn't seem like most commoners and very little like a rank-and-file soldier. Her uniform was ceremonial, but a little too clean and tidy, even for one that she only would have worn a dozen times a year.

She would not be impressed by money.

Then there was the way she ate, measured and patient. Soldiers are essentially paid in food, considering how low their monthly wages were. They are also rarely afforded the time to enjoy their food so leisurely. She was also young for her rank. This was common among nobles, but almost entirely unheard of among the conscripts that made up the bulk of the military.

"They make lovely steel there. Their swords are exquisite and even their cookware is of the highest quality."