* * *
Katherine
* * *
Wake up wake up wake up oh shining heavens Khatharina wake up or he's going to notice --
"'m awake, I'm awake." I sit up and look around, staring at the calm blue and black mist filling Elete's mind. "Gedulah?"
You... you Unspoke.
I freeze, unable for a moment to even breathe. I did WHAT?
You did, I heard you... I don't think HE heard you, thank the gods, but you did and suddenly it stopped and I think you somehow told the opening to close.
I blink, looking around me. Ivae is nowhere to be seen, and a few of the threads look different, somehow. Gedulah? Ivae?
She disappeared. I don't think she went through, though. I can still feel traces of her. The sword goes quiet for a moment. I think we should leave that chasm alone, Khatharina. I don't want to risk that happening again and going wrong.
No, I agree with you there. I look around, then reach out and tug lightly on one of the golden ropes. I suppose what we should try next is untangling these.
Actually, I think what we need to do next is leave. A moment later, she's proven correct --I feel 'Sy calling me back out.
* * *
He wraps me in a warm blanket of worry-embroidered reassurance a half-moment before his arms surround me. Elete's eyes are open, and he's gasping for air, but he's focused enough to be fair wiggling with worry as he stares up into my face. I twist and look up at 'Sy, confused.
"You were screaming," he says, just as Gedulah mutters oh shit he noticed between my ears.
He doesn't know what you were screaming, only that it wasn't quite the sort of noise he was expecting, Elete adds, his voice surprisingly calm and even, considering he's drenched in sweat and looking a bit wild-eyed. I just want to know what you thought you were doing?
I flush, prompting a questioning glance from 'Sy. Nothing on purpose, I swear. I was...
There is no reason at all for you to be even thinking in that un-language, Elete growls, much less using it inside someone else's mind! You could have destroyed us both... He pauses, narrowing his eyes at me. Just what were you up to, anyway?
I hesitate, wondering if I really should be telling Elete that we were, in fact, mucking about in his head without his permission.
I already know that much. He closes his eyes and sighs, leaning his head back into my lap. I'm more concerned about what my family may have left... but you're safe, and seem to have learned what not to mess around with in there. Before I can properly wonder what he's on about, the corner of his mouth quirks up, and his memory of his tongue buried between my legs flashes through my head. My flush spreads, and I wriggle my thighs closer together. I also feel it is not in my best interests to, ah, probe too much into what you've been doing. He opens one eye, and his smile warms. Especially as it seems to have helped a touch.
Elete, I... I hesitate.
He watches me, and then smiles. "You have something to say, Poet?"
Formality feels rather odd when one is stark naked and staring down at their superior from between their breasts, but I form some sort of bow anyway. "No, Sire." I untangle myself from Elete and his ropes and begin to dress. I suspect what happens next will be all the more appreciated for the lack of warning.
'Sy looks at us, then glares in my direction. Change of plans?
No. I look up at him and smile. No, we succeeded, as much as we can succeed. I'll tell you about it later. For now... I found something. I shift my weight, shimmying back into my trousers. I need to do a little less office ranching, it seems. Untie him. He's probably still pretty weak and can't work out the knots himself.
'Sy pointedly ignores the implied barb that his knotwork is in any way accidentally escapable. Is this one of your Poet shenanigans?
I laugh, snapping my overcoat into place, then standing on my tiptoes to kiss the bottom of his chin. It is, and it really isn't. It's just a hunch.
'Sy grinds his teeth and sets about releasing our captive King.
* * *
'Sy
* * *
Elete dresses himself with typical slow decorum. He keeps glancing at Katherine, and I can feel the butterfly-edges of their conversation. Whatever they're discussing, it's private. I could excuse the slight impropriety of being left out, but it's making Elete move slower than usual, and that is something I barely tolerate under the best of circumstances.
When the last layer of quilted robe is finally about his shoulders, Katherine walks him to the door. She murmurs something in his ear, and he smiles. The moonlight washes half of his face in a blue-gray glow, and for some reason the contrast to the healthy tones reflected by the room's fires gives me chills. He turns, disappearing past the threshold, and Katherine closes the door behind him.
"Shouldn't we be following him out?"
She turns slightly, her hand still on the handle. "He'll be fine tonight." She looks up and smiles, anticipating my question. "One of those damned Poetic hunches, yes." She glances back, as if she could watch him through the thick oak, and sighs. "We'd better get used to this routine. We can't solve the main issue..." She grimaces. "Might want to make yourself comfortable, hon. This is going to take a while." I allow myself to enjoy the ripple of pleasure I feel at her easy familiarity, and decide lounging on the bed would be the most comfortable way to endure what is sure to be a rigorous back-and-forth report. She takes in my casual repose, then decides to climb over me and curl under one of my arms. Not the most formal way of doing things, but even I can manage to let protocol rest once in a while.
"Tell me what you found," I say, once she's done settling.
She stares up at me, frowning. "Where should I begin?" I close my eyes and sigh. She frowns. "I beg your pardon, but it's not as if I'm delivering a normal report, sir."
I suppress a chuckle at her sullen tone. "Start from the first thing you found that appeared to be out of place."
She describes finding the strange gash in Elete's soul. I frown as she illuminates further what she meant by her report that he was consuming himself, using her hands to illustrate the hole she had found and the way it seemed to be pulling Elete into it.
"And that is when you screamed?"
She winces. "I got too close. Gedulah managed to pull me to safety. After that, it seemed to seal itself."
I let the twinge of half-truth slide. It has the taint of Poetry about it, and the last few times I've tried to explore those sort of circumstances, I had headaches for days afterwards. I'll have to trust that the Jhe h'Logos would alert me to anything I should know about there. "After you went back in...?"
"There were these ropes. Golden ropes everywhere." She frowns. "I can't be sure, but I think they were imposed on him before he came to us."
I frown. She catches my forming question and shakes her head. "No, not his mother. It didn't have that... that feel..." She shudders, and I nod my understanding. She lets her breath out in a gush and continues. "It's training, and whatever it was meant for, it still works. It's mostly inactive but still harmful, and I think it can be removed, but it'll take time." She sighs, her head falling against my shoulder. "Lots of time. 'Sy, even if we could get those binds removed, that chasm is going to devour him from within, and it will do it long before we can free him enough to heal it himself." She turns her head, burying it into my chest. "It's a race we can't win. I can't free him fast enough for him to invoke the Advocate, and without that, the thing eating him can't be stopped."
I stroke her hair, feeling something like the beginning of grief. I push it aside -- there is still plenty of time left in this race, and Poetry has cheated many an honest (and dishonest) effort before. She wriggles her nose against me, then pushes herself back up.
"I suppose we should have tea ready for him. He'll be out there a while."
"How long a while?"
She smiles. I smile back, hooking a finger around a button.
"Don't you think he'd prefer it fresh?"
"I suppose he would."
* * *
Elete
* * *
The last remnants of the storm have blown away, leaving behind a sea of stars surrounding the full moon.
In my bones, I can feel the seconds ticking away.
The water once again licks my toes, burning cold teeth still present in every quiet wash of the surf. Poetry ebbs and flows with it, the gentle cycle of the stories in play. They seem to be particularly intense tonight, close and vivid, but in a certain manner it makes sense. As their King, I am their focus. I'm curious as to what my Poets seem to be doing, especially this early in the morning, but for now... for now, my time is my own. I look over the water, and even though the weight seems lighter, I sigh as the moment of her passing, and my daughter's, washes in with the tide.
I close my eyes and reach out for her, for any trace of them, just as I did that night one year ago. I will allow myself this ache for now.
"I miss you too, love."
The cold of the ocean that has frozen my feet suddenly races through my body. I have to force myself to turn in the direction of that voice, disbelief warring with utter certainty.
Ivae smiles through her tears, her arms wide open. "Come out of the ocean, love."
I race to her.
* * *
Katherine
* * *
I open one eye as I hear the hinges of the door creak, and watch the outline of Elete's head lean in. He slides through the frame, and jumps a little when turns around and sees that I've sat up in bed.
I apologize, I didn't mean to wake you.
Don't fret. I apologize for not having your tea ready. I thought you might like it, but I was a bit distracted.
Elete grins. So I see.
I carefully climb over 'Sy, gently reassuring him and sending him back into deep sleep. He gets so little, and to be honest, I don't want to miss a rare opportunity to spend informal time with Elete. I pull on a robe and walk over to the tiny stove, setting the pot over low heat. The flames seem oddly bright in the dim light of pre-dawn, and I find myself whimsically reading meaning into the patterns in the shadows the flickering creates. Elete fusses about the cabinets, then brightens when he finds a small container of his favorite personal blend. Well-stocked!
Yes, a little bird hinted at a few things that might be needed around this place at this time.
Elete raises an eyebrow, midway through sniffing the tea. For a moment, he reminds me enough of my father that my heart twists a little. What else did this little bird happen to mention?
Not much. I take down two cups and hand them to Elete. He looks at me, then stares and mentally nudges me with a small smile. I can't stop the blush that heats my face. You... ah, he suggested certain additional supplies for next year.
Ah, so this is to be an annual event.
I tilt my head. You already knew that.
Elete sniffs the pot, then pours the cups and hands me the red one. I'm trying to make conversation. He smiles, but the cheer doesn't entirely reach his eyes. I so rarely get down-time. I can't stop the mental image that flashes through my head, and this time it's Elete's turn to blush.
I cover my grin by taking a sip, then close my eyes and savor the full flavor. How did it go?
Elete stares out the sole window, where the sun is beginning to peek over the water. I... I'm not sure, Katherine. Ivae... it was her, but in the end, I still had to let her go. He sighs gently. I've broken a sacred promise to her, as much as she swears I haven't.
I raise an eyebrow. How?
Xaillyndessen bonds... We... He sips his tea as he gathers his thoughts -- a rare sight. Standard marriages, the ones we see about Radia, are rare enough simply because of the binds they form. They last until death. With the Xaillyndessen bonds, we're... well, we're expected to die together.
I blink. No matter what?
Elete nods, then gulps his tea.
On a purely mercenary note, I can kind of understand why they'd do that. Especially with what I know of Grandmother and her kin. I wince at referring to Thelea in such a fashion, but the slight way Elete relaxes makes up for the nasty taste in my mind. It keeps secrets rather well, as much as the spouses were strategic partners rather than romantic. But... Elete, there was no reason for it for you. I let the unspoken question trail with the words.
Elete stares out the windows, silent. We loved each other, he finally responds. The thought of being separated by death, even temporarily... it may have been selfish of us, but not even taking on the rule of the Poet King was more important to me than Ivae. Until I was given the Crown, I never for a moment even cared for surviving her. I...
Both of us look over at the Crown, resting on one of his robes. The sunrise gleams gently off the curves of the gold facing the window.
That Crown saved my life, but it cost me my wife. Or so I thought. He sighs, draining his teacup. I reach over and fill his cup, and he thanks me with a slight tilt of his head. Instead, that bond means I still have her, however tenuously. And someday... He smiles, looking out of the window. Someday I too will sink into the sea, and I will be with her again.
I think of the thin layer of water in his mind and shiver. Not too soon?
Elete smiles. No, not for a while yet. He glances at the bed, his smile widening. 'Sy sits up, digging at one eye with the palm of his hand, glaring out at the room. I smother a laugh -- the back of his hair is bunched up, making him look for all the world like an angry red chicken. He glares at us, then glares at the teapot.
"I don't want to know." He hauls himself out of bed, scratching and grunting, and glares at us harder when Elete slips a giggle. "Don't you have somewhere to be, Jhe h'Logos?"
Elete grins even harder at 'Sy's gruff tone. "Indeed I do, Jhe h'Akribastes, and I do believe I shall be on my way. Jhe Katherine, thank you kindly for the tea and company. Until we meet again?"
I stand and bow, sharing a hidden grin. Good luck with the beast, he whispers, then vanishes.
I turn and face my partner, managing a pretty crisp attention while in a filmy robe. His scowl drops a notch as the hem slips, revealing half my chest, and then he sighs. "Get dressed, you. We actually have problems to attend to."
Right away?
His lip-twitch gives away the fact that he noticed the added caress to the words. "Immediately, Jhe Katherine."
I smile, and begin pulling on more appropriate clothing.
Must be some damn important paperwork, Elete whispers to me, or did you wear him out that much?
As soon as we emerge into full sunlight, I look back at the shack. Then 'Sy draws Diyn, and we're back in the Armed Hall and everything that passes for normal.
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