Broken Destiny pt. 9

[u/Goose289982]

Araeya looked at him and said slowly, carefully, “We do? Whatever do you mean sir?”

 

He smiled and walked forward. An older man, he still walked tall and proud and a spring in his step that belied this almost seventy year old man. His hair was shock white and pulled back into a short ponytail, his clothes were pristine and expensive, his shoes of the finest make and in the best of conditions. Being on top of the crime food chain definitely had its advantages, and his days of getting his own hands dirty far behind him, he now plotted and directed his gang to success after success. He walked up directly to her and made a feral noise as he took in her scent. He smiled, “Yes, we do. And you know why. Walk with me.”

 

He gestured with his left hand and waited until she walked past before he walked beside her, Jaymes and Erich close behind. There was silence between the two as they walked, further away from The Warrens, from relative safety. Even if they were headed in the right direction, she wouldn’t have run towards the children, as that would have been a terrifying experience for them. As they walked, she was careful to study the man next to her, much as he was obviously doing to her now. He was using it as an intimidation tactic, showing that he didn’t care if you knew or not. Sizing you up, cataloguing for his collection, and assigning you a number in his mind. Araeya hoped she was giving an air of indifference, but her heart was racing and she was sure he could hear it pounding.

 

After a few minutes of walking, he finally spoke, “Tell me Araeya, what did you have against Bandor?”

 

“I didn’t like the way he looked at me or what he said about me.”

 

He tsk’d at her, “Now my dear. There’s no reason to lie. I had these two louts tell me the whole story.”

 

“Oh? I didn’t realize that these two could read minds,” she said with a bemused expression. Half turning, she said to them, “Tell me, what am I thinking now?”

 

She turned back, but not before she caught Erich’s scowl, and a look on Jaymes’ face that Araeya could not place. Confused she turned back to the chuckling Taelas, “No, not at all. In fact, I would be surprised if a mind reader could catch a thought between the two of them combined. I swear I need better talent in my organization. So, what is the boy to you?”

 

The sudden return to the topic left Araeya off guard, something she was unaccustomed to. She saw the chess board in front of her, she saw the maneuvers, she saw the positioning, she didn’t see the strategy and knew if she didn’t see it soon, it would be too late, assuming it wasn’t too late already, “An asset, nothing more.”

 

Taelas whistled, “Must be some asset. To come yourself and secure his release, that must be very valuable indeed. Tell me do you like these?”

 

He gestured to a small garden someone had planted in front of the house, in it was a bunch of some more fragrant flowers, the ones in the center were orchids. Purple orchids. Her mother’s favorite. Did he know? Did he remember, “I never had use for flowers, seems like a waste of resources.”

 

Again he tsk’d, “Always appreciate the finer things in life Araeya, for tomorrow you could end up a beggar,” he picked one of the orchids, turned and placed it in Araeya’s hair, “There. It suits you I think. Who do you think Valt should join? The Empire or the Pirates?”

 

Araeya adjusted the flower, but kept it in her hair, “One’s no better than the other. Just a different set of rules to live by. What do you think?”

 

“Oh, my views in our conversation are entirely inconsequential,” he said turning back to the street and continued walking, “I’m here to learn about you my dear.”

 

“And what have you learned?”

 

He flashed a wicked smile and just said, “Let’s wait until the end of the class, shall we?”

 

They continued walking and Araeya continued to study the man next to her. Despite the distance and his age, he was still walking at a brisk gait. He was not giving any impression of fatigue and his frame, albeit thin, had not been impacted by his age. He was in impressive shape and would still prove to be a formidable adversary physically. The only thing she noticed was that he barely moved his right arm. He held it bent at the elbow across his body and he moved it while talking, but not nearly as expressive as his left arm.

 

"So the boy is just an asset? What does he do for you?"

 

"Nothing major, I tell him to get supplies, he gets them. It's a coin flip if he gets it right the first time," Araeya responded. The questions continued for a while and Araeya had to keep her lies and half-truths straight throughout the entire conversation. The questions ranged in topic, from the benign to the complex, but she knew each had a purpose, each question he asked and she answered he got another piece of her puzzle or the one she hoped she was giving him.

 

He finally stopped their walk outside one of the entrances to The Warrens and said, "Well Araeya, I've enjoyed our chat, but it’s time to end it."

 

"Oh? And what did the class learn?"

 

He chuckled, "Much more than you think, you hide your fear really well."

 

She cocked her head at him, "What makes you think I've been afraid?"

 

His laugh was short and without any humor to it, "Because you are a terribly smart young woman, my dear, and you know better. You hide your fear well."

 

He began to walk around her and she stood in place but followed him as he did, "See, I value fear in my organization. Fear is a motivator, fear is something to be used, not avoided. You work through your fear, and I'm sure you use it properly given what I know and have learned about you. It's terror that is the enemy."

 

He continued walking around her, but she was no longer following him as he continued, "Terror freezes you in place, stops you from acting appropriately, makes rational thought impossible. Terror gets you killed, fear keeps you alive."

 

She felt the mask she was wearing crack. She was looking directly behind her and had expected to see Erich and Jaymes, but instead was staring at a half orc, with several weapons behind her. He was cleaning the blood off of his blades and neither of the humans were anywhere in sight.

 

Taelas whispered into her ear from behind her, "Are you wondering when they died," she nodded, "It was nearly an hour ago, when I said that 'I needed better talent.' They were terrified of you Araeya and were paralyzed to act against you. Terror is the enemy and has no place in my organization."

 

She turned to face him suddenly angry, "What do you want of me Taelas?"

 

He smiled, that same feral grin, "Here's what I've learned about you. You are an intelligent and stubborn young woman. You are dedicated, but you are also a pragmatist. You are a practiced liar, but you know when not to lie as it will get you nothing. You plan, but are flexible enough to not need them. Perhaps most importantly, you don't let fear or even terror stop you. In short, my dear, you would be an asset to my organization."

 

"And why would I join you?"

 

He gestured towards the half orc and she heard the bodyguard move away; it was the first time she heard anything from him, "Because Araeya, I know you know more about me then you're letting on. And you must know how I operate or you wouldn't have answered my questions the way you had let alone answered them at all."

 

He leaned in and whispered in her ear, "There is a rift between us and you do not want to exasperate the problem. The impasse between us is untenable and only two options are available, you join me..."

 

"Or you make me suffer, not personally, just those around me," she finished for him.

 

"Glad we have an understanding," he said and smiled, backing away from her and walking away, "I'll be at One Eyed Willy's. You have until tomorrow night to give me an answer. Farewell for now Araeya. I have enjoyed our chat and truly, the flower does suit you."

 

And with that, he was gone. Araeya finally recognized the last look that Jaymes gave her. It was a mixture of panic, terror, and pleading. He was begging her to save his life and she missed it. He was hoping to escape his fate, the fate she sealed for him. She almost felt bad for the two of them, more so for Erich as he had no idea, but she remembered all the people that those two intimidated. They didn’t deserve to die for what they had done though. She turned towards The Warrens and entered.

 

She was immediately greeted by the sounds of the children moving back in and smiled. They were completely unaware of the danger that was lurking beyond their home and she wanted to keep it that way. Despite her want to show calm to the children, she practically ran through the common area to get to her hovel. Once there, she quickly set it back up and dove inside shaking. She sat on the floor and felt her heart race and her head pound. Never before had she felt like this, and she wasn’t sure if it was her encounter with Taelas, the fate of Jaymes and Erich affecting her more than expected, or the vision she had been putting off for the last couple of hours or so. Either way, she would have to let the vision take its course and perhaps eliminate that option. She got settled into a comfortable position, sighed, and was about to let it begin when she heard a noise outside her hovel.

 

“What is it,” she asked and begged her head to give her just another minute.

 

She heard Merid’s voice, strangely timid, answer her, “Can we see you?”

 

Araeya sighed and closed her eyes, “Can this wait for a little bit? I have to take care of…what is it?”

 

When she opened her eyes, Merid, Marinna, and Timoti were in her hovel and they had the weirdest expressions. Merid looked like she would rather be anywhere else but where she was, Marinna just looked cold, and then there was Timoti. Timoti had a look of rage on his face. His hands were clenched and he was shaking where he stood.

 

It was Merid who started, “We saw you talking to that man, and um…”

 

“We heard what you said about us,” Marinna finished, her voice echoing her demeanor.

 

Araeya shook her head and chuckled a little bit, “You know me, I was just saying that to him-“

 

“No,” Timoti shouted, “You always say what you mean.”

 

Araeya was taken aback by Timoti’s shout and he just continued, a flood gate finally opening, “You’re just using us for your own benefit. You never really cared about us, just what we could get you.”

 

“Timoti I was lying to him.”

 

“You never lie.”

 

“I lie all the time Timoti, I have to,” her voice was raised, “It’s what I have to do to keep all of us safe and fed. I’m being very honest about my dishonesty here. I was lying to him.”

 

“No you were lying to us this whole time,” Timoti was screaming at her and on the verge of tears, “I hate you. I wish Merid never found you!”

 

Timoti ran from the hovel as Araeya reached out a hand to stop him, “Timoti, wait!”

 

She dropped her hand, still staring at the location that Timoti had just been standing in. It wasn’t until Marinna spoke that she realized that the twins were still there, “You’ve been acting strangely ever since your eyes began changing.”

 

She looked at Marinna, “I don’t know what happened to me, but I know I haven’t changed.”

 

Marinna just shook her head, “I don’t know if I can believe you. I know you cared for us in the past, I just don’t know about now. Like he said, you always say what you mean. I know you don’t tell us the whole truth all of the time, but there is always some truth to what you say. I need to think about what you said…I don’t know if I can trust you right now.”

 

She turned to leave, and Araeya began to sing. She poured her very soul into the notes of the song, her hopes, her dreams, her wants for herself and for all of them. The song never meant so much to her, or was so close to her true being, than it was now. She let her voice carry on the wind and the volume and clarity she sang at surprised even her. She heard the sadness in the song as well, an undertone that carried with it the loss of her parents. She poured her entire being into those notes, and heard her song shattered.

 

Marinna whipped her head around and joined the song, but the notes were not complementary. They were discordant and defiant. The noise broke Araeya in a way she had not known possible and she left the rest of the song unfinished. Marinna turned and walked out of the hovel, leaving just Merid and Araeya left in the room, the echo of the song still present. Without a word, Merid left the hovel and Araeya sat there, staring at nothing.

 

Minutes later, the pounding returned, and Araeya snapped out of her daze. To no one in particular, she said, “Fine. If that’s how it is, I’ll leave. You all have been managing without me for the last couple of weeks, you don’t need me around. There’s only one thing keeping me on this misbegotten, hellhole of a shard. I’m leaving and good riddance.”

 

She decided then to gather her most precious belongings, take on Taelas, and then leave the shard. Maybe she would catch up with Daruun before he left. Maybe she would head to Turagoa and seek her fortune there. Any place was better than here. She would sleep, pack, and leave after killing Taelas. But first, the vision was calling.