A Dream of Empire Ch. 008

"You know, I'm not like most sorceresses," she muttered meekly.

"Yeah?" Talos said casually once again. Tatiana replied to his back.

"Sure. You were right, Talos. I don't ever wear clothes like this, or... seek attention. At all."

"Why today, then?" he shrugged.

Why? You should know exactly why! What game are you playing? Tatiana couldn't conjure a response which wouldn't require a haste jump into the water beside her to hide her shame. Talos turned around after a moment of silence, walking backwards without his omnipresent smirk.

"'Cause if it's for my sake, I thought I told you yesternight-"

"Y-you did. It's not."

"Then...?" he squinted. Into the lake!

"I... I... I'm going to change!" Tatiana stammered before spinning on her heel, practically running from the awkward conversation.

"Hold up."

Tatiana froze in place with hammering heart.

"Look, it's uh... hard, to be plain to you Tatiana, but I'm gonna be because you deserve it," Talos declared gruffly. "Before I do, I just want you to know that I enjoy every chance I get to speak with you, and I was already looking forward to sailing to Dun Aysla now that you said you're coming with. But you can't be like..." he extended a palm although she couldn't see it, "this around me, or my mates. They'll see right through it. And I thought I was pretty clear yesternight I couldn't do... this. Do I have to say it again?"

Tatiana gulped, shaking her head. "No. Y-you don't," she replied brittly. And you're right. She felt utterly undressed and bared in his presence, and found she didn't have the courage to flee.

"And... you're right. How... how would you have me, Talos?"

She heard his nearing steps. "Just... act with a hint of believability. Act like you have nothing to gain from today, except for a pleasant time with a friend. The rest will fall into place."

Tatiana nodded instantly. Act. She could do that, right?

"Yes. Okay. Can I change?"

Talos paused, chuckling after a moment. "Don't ask my permission." The red-faced sorceress grimaced, then promptly ran to a dark corner of the grotto clutching her travel bag.

-=-=-

Tatiana returned to the man perched by the subterranean lake after a good ten minutes, calming herself with petty reassurances that would likely fade in an instant had Talos pressed her further. She carefully climbed her way to sit beside him as he ate an apple contentedly. He leaned towards his pack to grab another when she'd arrived, tossing it gently her way with a smirk.

And just like that, Tatiana felt as if she hadn't embarrassed herself whatsoever. All her anxiety washed away in that man's grin, and all seemed to be forgiven between those beating hearts as they sat on that rock inside a mountain with no name. They ate various fruits, jerky, and hardbread with nary a word spoken between them for the next thirty minutes, though smiles were present throughout. Tatiana had never before experienced a shared silence unaccompanied by awkwardness. By all accounts, it should have felt entirely unpleasant, having been completely exposed by Talos so recently. Another well-earned point in the man's favor, although Tatiana would never tell him that.

Talos finally broke the silence after he'd chomped down enough of his foodstuffs, although Tatiana could have spent all day with him on that rock in silence. He rose to his feet, then offered a hand to Tatiana to help her as well. She accepted his hand without delay.

"So, you mentioned 'moon towers' earlier?" he asked, releasing the sorceress when she'd found her feet. She nodded.

"Yes," she answered hoarsely, then cleared her throat. "There were... I believe six or seven of them, built by the royal family of Tor Remilla during the Elven-Imperial wars," she explained, watching Talos crouch, then jump off the rock she still stood upon. He turned toward her after he'd landed.

"Seems a strange time to build monuments, huh?" he said, outstreching his hands as if to catch her if she decided to jump. Tatiana nodded but took the easy route off of the rock, stepping carefully down the side with a quick hop at the end.

"Yes. No human's sure why they built them, and the records were likely lost in the fall of Tor Remilla. I visited one off the coast of Tardia a couple of years ago. Beautiful thing, really."

"This one's the same. Pretty," Talos agreed with a smirk, starting to walk back to the narrow tunnel which had led them here. Tatiana walked beside him. "Though, Dun Aysla's one better. There's an elven princess that lives there in secret, protecting the place."

Tatiana perked up at the mention, glancing at him with wide eyes. "Really? And you met her? Did she know the tower's purpose?"

The man shook his head, smirking. "I did. But, if she does know, she didn't tell me. Although... she did mention a chamber inside which required an elf of royal blood to open. Perhaps the tower's purpose is in there?"

"That's... very likely, Talos," Tatiana giggled. "I'm more intrigued than ever. Didn't you say she was a princess, though? Why wouldn't it open for her?"

He shrugged as the pair continued to meander through the grotto. Neither of them were likely looking forward to the mile-long tunnel out of here. "She mentioned that it didn't recognize her as a princess of Tor Remilla. She asked me to return with Cass later to help her open it."

"What's she going to do?"

"Well, she's a princess of Tor Valliya. The elf on Dun Aysla thought the chamber would open for her, I guess."

"Cass is a princess? Talos, you can't just... keep these things from me," the sorceress giggled again.

"Hadn't been relevant 'til now," he shrugged, smiling in response to the sorceress's rare playfulness. Tatiana had a hundred questions to ask of him now that she were aware of Casiama's ancestry, but decided on helpfulness first and foremost.

"Well, I believe I understand her predicament. If the tower's constructors infused the chamber with the hex I think they used, it wouldn't recognize her ancestry since the crown of Remilla is long gone. And yet, she's entirely correct; the blood of Tor Valliya would likely suffice, even if it's looking for Remillan blood, as all elven royal bloodlines have intermarried dozens of times in the past."

"Huh," Talos replied unreadably. Tatiana frowned, glancing towards him.

"Yes?"

"No, I..." he glanced towards her, meeting her gaze for a second before turning away, "I just hadn't thought about it like that. Just sort of took her word for it."

Tatiana giggled again, realizing she hadn't laughed this much since she were a teenager at the College of Redstone. "You were going to take me to an elven ruin, guarded by an elven princess, without even thinking of the repercussions?"

Talos pursed his lips, garnering more giggles before and after his statement. "Yeah?"

"Wow, Talos. You really don't plan ahead." Almost like he's my own personal paradox.

Talos frowned, stopping just before the cramped tunnel which would return them to the valley. "Yeah, well... I'm not going to start now. Tell ya what, you should just drop everything and come with me on all my adventures. Do my thinking for me."

The sorceress gave him a playful half-smile as she watched him crouch into the tunnel, following in his footsteps a moment later. She refused to answer his sarcasm with a reply, even if she would have agreed wholeheartedly.

-=-=-

Tatiana and Talos didn't pause for respite when they rejoined the midday sun in that wondrous valley. Talos told the sorceress that he really had to return to Catriona now, the feeling of guilt for keeping his mates waiting finally catching up to him.

Rather than shy away from conversing about Talos' magical mates, Tatiana inquired about them further. She learned much of an enchantress named Alanna as they made their way back to Talos' tent and horse, and Tatiana asked her hundred questions she'd had about princess Casiama. She couldn't believe how little Talos actually cared about Casiama's royal heritage, as if it were just another minor detail in his life story of a thousand adventures.

The pair continued to converse even as Talos packed his camp and settled his horse, which Tatiana learned was named Meadow. Talos had offered to let the sorceress ride the mare for the journey out of the valley, an offer which she declined. Tatiana wanted to walk with Talos as an equal for the remainder of the journey. They conversed of many topics during the four-hour jaunt to escape the shadow of the valley, shared several comfortable silences, and laughed at one another's stupid jokes.

Tatiana finally understood what Talos had meant earlier, of expecting nothing of this day except for a pleasant time with a friend. It wasn't that they weren't interested in one another, per say. Even Tatiana could pick up on the man's well-hidden feelings towards her, now that they were speaking amicably and openly.

No. Tatiana knew that, since the man was simply unavailable, that a close friendship would be all that he could presently offer her. And rather than watch her flounder in misery and woe, and failing to enact a relationship that he simply couldn't reciprocate, he bluntly defined his own limits to her instead. The most insane part to Tatiana was the feeling that she didn't mind the turn of events at all. Being Talos' friend didn't prevent her from seeing him. Being his friend didn't stop them from speaking deeply or sharing their ideations with one another. It prevented one thing, and one thing only. And Tatiana had fingers for that.

The sun was already setting by the time Tatiana and Talos finally reached the mouth of the valley. They now stood together on the same hill the sorceress had found herself on the day prior, gazing out over the warmly-lit forest before them.

"Well," Talos said gruffly after a minute of silence, "where are you off to now? Planning on coming with me to Catriona?"

Tatiana frowned. She would love to accompany him, of course, but knew he had to make up lost time with his mates. She had to give him his space.

"I... well... go back to your good thing, Talos. I'll find you there soon," she whispered with a pout, extending a gloved hand towards him. Talos rummaged around in his pocket, drawing Dusk's amulet a moment later.

"Do you want this back?" he asked with a gentle frown. "Now that, uh..."

Tatiana shook her head as quickly as she ever had, clencing his hand shut with hers. "No, Talos. That is yours until your last day." Talos nodded and outstreched an arm for a friendly hug, a hug which Tatiana eagerly accepted. It broke far too quickly got her liking, and Talos soon retreated from her.

"Do you not want me to port you to Catriona?" she asked with a pout. Talos shook his head, answering softly.

"No, thank you. That would leave you stranded out here for a day, wouldn't it?"

"It's no matter to me, Talos," she lied with a smile.

The man sauntered towards his mare, stroking its mane once. "I'm fine. I think I'll ride back."

"Alright," Tatiana replied meekly as she absentmindedly swayed back-and-forth. "When should I come see you again? To sail to Dun Aysla?"

Talos mounted his horse, swinging onto the saddle fluidly. He tilted his head towards her, wearing his smirk. "Well, I'll get back in three days, so... whenever you want after that. Door's always open for you."

Aww... always...

Tatiana knew she had to leave immediately, before the man could see her cry. She extended a gloved hand, ensuring her pack was secured on her shoulder with the other.

"Okay. Farewell, Talos," she nodded an instant before the shifting flames of time consumed her, finding herself once again in front of a familiar fireplace back home. Dusk bounded towards her upon Tatiana's return to her tower in Redstone, mewling happily as he nuzzled against her boots.