MysidiaDrakkenbane

Val’eth stood in his chambers that were provided for him in the depths of the Deathfist Citadel. He was agitated. His supposed target was still alive, and more over, had escaped what would have been an easy death.

Val’eth had explained to Drin-Sha his “contingency” plan and Drin-Sha agreed it was a good one. He even arranged to have Akahsha meet Drin-Sha at a later time to further ease any anxiety.

“You play a dangerous game, Val’eth.”, Drin-Sha said.

“Oh? How so?”, Val’eth said at dinner one night.

“Mysidia has escaped and lived through the most dangerous odds anyone could put her up against. It’s my opinion that she is deity blessed and you want to kill her? Who knows what gods you could anger in doing so?”, Drin-Sha said taking a bite off of his mutton leg.

“The gods have turned their backs on Norrath. By the time they realize something is wrong, it could be a hundred years from now. Time to them is insignificant.”, Val’eth said in an egotistical tone.

“As I said, you play a dangerous game.”, Drin-Sha said finishing his mouthful of food. He swallowed and continued. “How confident are you with your Contingency Plan?”

“Akahsha?”, Val’eth said and chuckled quietly. “Confident enough. Innoruk’s hatred flows through her veins and all of it is focused onto Mysidia.”

“You are not one hundred percent certain, though.”, Drin-Sha said, making the observation painfully abundant.

“Mmm…”, Val’eth mumbled as he got up and walked over to the fireplace. His red eyes grew intense as he stared into the flickering flames. “Our fallen queen is highly charismatic. She had turned Akahsha’s mother away from her race and even had her renounce her god. That same blood rests in this Akahsha… You are correct. I am not completely certain of this.”

Drin-Sha grumbled. “That’s a lot of my money resting on a partial certainty from you, Val’eth. You best have something else stirring in the pot for me to be in this.”

Val’eth turned and looked at Drin-Sha. An evil grin tugged at the corners of his mouth and he merely shrugged mildly as he sat down. It was apparent that Val’eth did have something in mind, but as to what, he would not say.

Drin-Sha knew better, though. He knew Val’eth long enough to realize that if he planned it, it was certain to go through one way or the other.

“Now that Mysidia is gone, there is no need of me here. I leave for Freeport in the morning.”, Val’eth said changing the subject.

“Fine, fine. Keep your secret to yourself. If I find out that you have ripped me off, however, there won’t be a barrack, barrier, wall, or spell, that will hide you from me. Your House’s Reputation is on the line, but my life is too, and I take that far more seriously than your financial and societal comfort.”, Drin-Sha said and got up to leave his dining area.

Val’eth turned around and lazily sat down in his chair. He propped his elbow on the table and began to rub his temples, due to the stress. A small knock shattered the silence around him and he looked up sharply, annoyed by the interruption.

“Yes, yes… what is it?”, Val’eth answered back.

A small dirty half orc boy came skittishly through the door and submissively hung his head as he handed over a neatly rolled parchment bound by a silk red ribbon and fastened by an equally red wax seal.

Upon handing off the document, the half orc boy fell to his knees and kept his gaze to the ground. Val’eth raised his eyebrow at how well the slave was trained. He would make a note of buying him off of Drin-Sha before heading to Freeport. If anything, he’d be doing the boy a favor. No self respecting orc (as hard as that term would seem) would ever accept the boy as one of their own. A human would sooner kill the boy. At least with Val’eth, he’d be put to some use and a slave this well trained was too good to pass up.

Val’eth carefully opened up the document and began to read the message. An evil grin began to spread across his face and he raised his eyebrows at the information that was given to him.

“What did Mysidia call him… Drin-Sha, I believe…”, Val’eth said to no one in particular. “Yes… False One indeed. If my plan should fail, this little bit of information will be just the thing for me to keep my head above water.”, Val’eth said and laughed.

“You have done well. Return to your chambers.”, Val’eth said and dismissed the slave.

Val’eth grabbed his goblet of wine and walked over to the fireplace sitting in front of it. He took in a long swig and placed the parchment on the hungering flames. With an evil laugh, he watched the parchment disappear into fluttering ashes.

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Mysidia opened up her eyes. The visions that she had before were stirring rapidly through her mind. Were they real or was it merely a dream? The fog in her head was making it difficult to completely think straight.

She found it difficult to concentrate on any topic in particular. She surmised she was drugged. Then it struck her. She was not in her cell that she passed out in. In fact, she didn’t recognize where she was at all.

She did an assessment. She wasn’t in any pain, that she could tell, and she was lying comfortably on a fluffy pillowtop mattress with the softest down comforters around her. She was…warm. She looked at her hands and wounds that were on her arms. While although her skin was dotted with several healing wounds, her skin was clean. The only other marks that remained were her new tattoos, which even looked more brilliant in the firelight around her.

She then noticed her ring on her finger. …Her ring? HER RING! She sat up quickly and looked around, feeling the rush of anxiety within her. Her head swam with whatever pain reliever she was given, but there was no mistake about it. She was no longer in the Citadel. Was it her head swimming, or was she actually… Yes… She was on a ship that was moving.

That was when she saw him. She looked over to her left and saw Machene slumped in a chair sleeping. She couldn’t breathe. The lump of tears instantly formed in the back of Mysidia’s throat. Was …this a dream?

She quietly got out of her bed and placed her feet on the ground. The moment she stood up, pain shot through her side and she almost collapsed on the ground. She decided to crawl over to where Machene slept, instead of walk.

And he was asleep. She could hear the beautiful sound of his rhythmic breathing indicating a deep sleep. On his hand, she saw his wedding band. Tears fell off her face and began to wet the floor beneath her.

She reached out slowly, not entirely sure if it was a dream. Her fingers lightly traced his hands as she felt his warm skin. Her delicate fingers traced the hairs on his arms and over the freckles he had dotting his skin. When she got to his wrist, still not believing that he was actually there, Machene opened up his eyes.

They stared at each other for a few moments. One didn’t know what to say to the other. Machene slowly sunk down off his chair and sat before her. He reached out and began to trace her face with his fingers. Mysidia closed her eyes and another set of tears fell. She pushed her face into his hands, gently, ravishing the feeling of his touch.

Machene’s eyes began to well up. “I had seen you fall on the battlefield.. I had thought…thought you were…”

Mysidia held up a finger and gently pressed it to his lips. She shook her head for a moment. “For a while…”, she nodded slowly. “..I was...”

She struggled to get up on her knees for a long embrace, but buckled over in the pain she was in. She gave a small yelp and Machene was right there to catch her if she fell.

Without hesitation, Machene lifted her up off the floor in his arms, and laid her gently on the bed. She instantly clung to him, holding him as close to her as she could manage. The feel of him, the smell of him, it was too much for her and she began to weep.

“I have waited so long…”, Machene managed to say. He carefully laid next to her, simply holding his wife while she cried. She had been through so much, too much for one individual.

He pressed his cheek to the top of her head, feeling her soft blonde hair tickling his skin. She lifted herself again to look down at him. Waves of blond hair surrounded them both and her white streak lightly tickled the top of his bald tattooed head. She traced the tattoo with her finger.

She recognized it immediately as the woad he had gotten when they both had helped a group of friends take down Nagafen. They had truly earned their last name of Drakkenbane that day and the Shaman of Halas awarded him with the tattoo.

Machene traced hers on her face, raising an eyebrow that she actually had gotten a permanent one done. Mysidia closed her violet eyes, looking down slightly embarrassed.

“It suits you.”, he said finally.

“I thought that I was finished, in there. I had said all the prayers… I was ready.”, Mysidia said looking back. Machene stared into her eyes for a moment and saw the change. For the first time in Mysidia’s life, she had been broken. Her spirit had been shattered and she was reduced to a shadow of her former self.

“I wasn’t.”, Machene said finally. The worst was over. All she had to do now was recover. Physically, Machene knew wouldn’t take very long. But mentally… that would take some time. Mysidia was resilient, however. If anyone could do it, it’d be her.

Slavery has such a profound effect on the psyche of a person. Breaking a spirit is tough enough. You shatter their soul and cause a death that’s far worse to recover from than anything physical could give.

Mysidia had to find her strength again. And she would, in due time. Machene wasn’t going to simply let her waste away. He was with her now and nothing was going to change that.

Mysidia laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes hearing the strong thud of his heartbeat. Before long, she had fallen asleep. Machene tried to fight his exhaustion. Simply hearing her breathing was music to his ears. But nature gave way to want, and before he knew it, he was asleep too. The first deep sleep he had gotten in a very long time.

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