Blood Feud [Black Ticket]
Jun 29, 2017 12:38:12 GMT -6
Post by Jule on Jun 29, 2017 12:38:12 GMT -6
Whether intentional or instinctive, the thief's grip remained tight around Sanguineus in one last act of defiance. Its runes started to glow bright hot. The last thing Jule saw before her vision grew hazy was a burst of light. A collective scream. A full-body wave of pain that gave way to weightlessness.
The girl wasn't sure if she was still awake at that point or fully unconscious, but she remembered thinking: why? Why had Isabeau attacked her? Why had any of this happened? What was so important about one sword that she would go to such lengths for it? Jule had thought so highly of her moments before. And she still did, to a certain extent. Isabeau was incredibly strong in the girl's eyes. There was no mistaking that. But now, she wasn't so sure what to think of the one woman she looked up to. She had mentioned a family. A sister. A mother. Jule knew what it was like to lose people so important to you. She had never known what to do with herself after Ostia tore her family apart. But this... This wasn't the answer. She knew that much at least.
Kid. A familiar voice called out to her in her slumber. It was warm and tender, rough, yet comforting. You awake in there? Can you hear me?
"...what was that, pa?"
"Jule. Can you hear me?"
Jule's eyes fluttered open. She was no longer in the castle's underground, its tapestries and magical lights traded for the wooden walls and candlelight of a log cabin. The girl's effects were gone as well, traded for a thin layer of linen resting over top of her wiry frame. As her vision cleared, she realized a figure had been standing over top of her. Berthaldt. "You again?" She coughed, rubbing her throat. "But... what? Why? What about Isabeau?" The man sighed. "Good, you seem alright. I feared the worst."
"W-Where am I, anyway?"
"You are out of harm's way. This is my home away from home, of sorts. I used to hide away in this cabin whenever I needed to think, when I was a younger man. We are quite far from Castle Araphen." The man eased himself into a chair that creaked beneath his weight with a grunt, and Jule noted he was wearing simple clothing, with bandages wrapped around his forehead. In this state he looked like just a harmless villager, a far cry from the stalwart knight she had seen earlier. The girl quickly sat upright, throwing off her sheets. Her head and throat ached like a horse had been stomping on both, but she would manage. "What happened?" "It seemed Sanguineus was telling the truth about choosing you after all. You used its magic. At such a close range and in such a weak state, Lady Isabeau was incapacitated. I must admit, it caught the rest of us off guard as well." The man motioned to his bandaging. "I've never seen a reaction to its magic so strong. And yet, we're all here, with our bodies and minds intact." Something in the back of Jule's mind was quite chuffed to hear that.
"With milord's leave, I carried you off while you were unconscious. I fear that I gravely misjudged my student. I never should have put so great a burden on her shoulders to begin with. Because of my folly, both of my nieces' lives are in danger."
"'Nieces'?"
The knight's gaze was still as stony as ever, but a newfound sparkle of tenderness was in his eyes. "Yes. You are the daughter of my brother, Larsemer. That makes you my niece, and a cousin of the marquess' family."
"So Sang was tellin' the truth after all..."
"With my brother, your father's whereabouts unknown, I cannot say for certain. But Sanguineus has never yet lied when searching through one's hea--"
"Oh, I know where he is. He's over in Bern, drinkin' himself to death."
"What?! Are you serious?"
"Well, last I checked, anyway. It's been a couple years."
"That damn fool..." Halt pinched a hand to his brow and muttered something Jule couldn't quite catch under his breath. "That's a concern for another time. All that matters now is that you're safe. As a member of Araphen's court and my family, I'll be damned if I let you come to harm by the hands of one of my own." All sorts of questions were boiling in Jule's head, but the more Halt spoke the less time she realized she had to ask.
"Unfortunately, this is no time for a touching family reunion. I came here to see you off safe with Sanguineus."
"Whaddya mean, 'see me off'?"
The girl wasn't sure if she was still awake at that point or fully unconscious, but she remembered thinking: why? Why had Isabeau attacked her? Why had any of this happened? What was so important about one sword that she would go to such lengths for it? Jule had thought so highly of her moments before. And she still did, to a certain extent. Isabeau was incredibly strong in the girl's eyes. There was no mistaking that. But now, she wasn't so sure what to think of the one woman she looked up to. She had mentioned a family. A sister. A mother. Jule knew what it was like to lose people so important to you. She had never known what to do with herself after Ostia tore her family apart. But this... This wasn't the answer. She knew that much at least.
Kid. A familiar voice called out to her in her slumber. It was warm and tender, rough, yet comforting. You awake in there? Can you hear me?
"...what was that, pa?"
"Jule. Can you hear me?"
Jule's eyes fluttered open. She was no longer in the castle's underground, its tapestries and magical lights traded for the wooden walls and candlelight of a log cabin. The girl's effects were gone as well, traded for a thin layer of linen resting over top of her wiry frame. As her vision cleared, she realized a figure had been standing over top of her. Berthaldt. "You again?" She coughed, rubbing her throat. "But... what? Why? What about Isabeau?" The man sighed. "Good, you seem alright. I feared the worst."
"W-Where am I, anyway?"
"You are out of harm's way. This is my home away from home, of sorts. I used to hide away in this cabin whenever I needed to think, when I was a younger man. We are quite far from Castle Araphen." The man eased himself into a chair that creaked beneath his weight with a grunt, and Jule noted he was wearing simple clothing, with bandages wrapped around his forehead. In this state he looked like just a harmless villager, a far cry from the stalwart knight she had seen earlier. The girl quickly sat upright, throwing off her sheets. Her head and throat ached like a horse had been stomping on both, but she would manage. "What happened?" "It seemed Sanguineus was telling the truth about choosing you after all. You used its magic. At such a close range and in such a weak state, Lady Isabeau was incapacitated. I must admit, it caught the rest of us off guard as well." The man motioned to his bandaging. "I've never seen a reaction to its magic so strong. And yet, we're all here, with our bodies and minds intact." Something in the back of Jule's mind was quite chuffed to hear that.
"With milord's leave, I carried you off while you were unconscious. I fear that I gravely misjudged my student. I never should have put so great a burden on her shoulders to begin with. Because of my folly, both of my nieces' lives are in danger."
"'Nieces'?"
The knight's gaze was still as stony as ever, but a newfound sparkle of tenderness was in his eyes. "Yes. You are the daughter of my brother, Larsemer. That makes you my niece, and a cousin of the marquess' family."
"So Sang was tellin' the truth after all..."
"With my brother, your father's whereabouts unknown, I cannot say for certain. But Sanguineus has never yet lied when searching through one's hea--"
"Oh, I know where he is. He's over in Bern, drinkin' himself to death."
"What?! Are you serious?"
"Well, last I checked, anyway. It's been a couple years."
"That damn fool..." Halt pinched a hand to his brow and muttered something Jule couldn't quite catch under his breath. "That's a concern for another time. All that matters now is that you're safe. As a member of Araphen's court and my family, I'll be damned if I let you come to harm by the hands of one of my own." All sorts of questions were boiling in Jule's head, but the more Halt spoke the less time she realized she had to ask.
"Unfortunately, this is no time for a touching family reunion. I came here to see you off safe with Sanguineus."
"Whaddya mean, 'see me off'?"