Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree

"And how shall I refer to you, Ky Ruiarc?" Tomhas returned the smile broadly.
"He's a he," Tarr snapped. "For gods' sakes, Loquitur, not everyone jumps from man to--" He shut up as Arianna gave him a scathing look, but Tomhas appeared to have chosen not to hear the insult.

Ky's gaze snapped to Tarr and the ladies, then back to Loquitur, forcing a bit of confidence back into her faltering smile. "I'm happy to answer to whatever it is his lordship wishes to address me by."

This was one of the most bizarre situations Ky had ever found herself in. She was a she, but she answered to he, but... she wanted to continue "But I'm a boy" but that felt... odd to say. So she decided to leave it at that.

"Fair enough." Tomhas released her hand and whirled around. "First order of business, I'd like to see my room and speak with my daughter. We have a lot to catch up on and I bring news of a new sibling for her! Well, potential new sibling. Anneke really did want to make the journey, but we thought it best that she stay behind, what with her condition and all. Lyra, meet me upstairs in...oh, ten minutes." Without waiting for a servant to show him the way, Tomhas swept off.
"You'd think there wasn't a war at all, the way he goes on," Lady Constance said dryly. She turned to Aleth. "Well, I've heard of you in passing. You're supposed to be quite good at what you do."

(Gotta go to bed now but yaayyy, my boy Tomhas is here! I can't wait to do more with him!)

(Night! Whew, we made a lot of progress today!! So much fun ^-^ I already *adore* Loquitur's character)

Aleth watched the interaction between them, satisfied with Ky's performance. He felt uneasy that Loquitur seemed to be sniffing around their secret -- the instant he laid eyes on Ky, no less -- but, he didn't seem particularly phased by it. So perhaps it would be okay... or, perhaps Ky needed a haircut. He turned as one of the women began speaking.

"Yes, ma'am, I am," he answered coyly, offering a hand and a smooth smile. "Aleth Klev. A pleasure to make her ladyship's acquaintance."



Ky was relieved when Loquitur took his attention off her. She didn't know what to make of the man. She'd been a bit surprised at how quickly he noticed her -- most noblemen, she'd found, didn't seem to see her at all, even when she was standing right in front of them. She was even more surprised with the attention he gave her.

Most often, the questions were left at 'A servant of yours, Aleth?' for Aleth to swoop in and explain who she was and then insist that she be allowed to stay. A handful of times the question had been addressed to her directly. But she'd never been told she looked smart. And she'd certainly never been offered a handshake.

She'd been confused by his follow-up question to her. There weren't many options for how he should call her. Ky, Kyber, Ruiarc (she supposed) -- or some other dehumanizing term that identified her as Aleth's property. Tarr's outburst made it clearer -- but also far, far more alarming.

Had Loquitur really seen through her disguise that easily? No one had ever questioned it before. But, thankfully, he'd accepted her non-answer and went on his way. She took a deep breath and turned back towards Aleth and the ladies.

(also sorry for all my typos in these last few, apparently I've lost the capacity to type xD)

"I wish I could say the same." Constance shook the hand firmly. "Meeting someone in a time of war is never exactly pleasant, especially under circumstances such as these." She let go and gestured to Lady Arianna. "And I'm sure you've heard of the Fox of the North, my lovely wife Lady Arianna." Arianna flashed a surprisingly warm smile that contrasted her cold countenance.
"How could he not?" she chuckled.
"And our son, Ewan." Constance rested a hand on the shoulder of the young man who had come in with them. He'd followed close behind his mother's this whole time, remaining silent and watchful. He most closely resembled Lady Constance, with the same open face and heavyset stature. His eyes were quick as hers were, too, missing nothing. It was obvious these new arrivals were very different from Lord Tarr.

Lyra almost ran after her father. She didn't want to be left alone with Tarr, though she knew he couldn't do anything except glare while in the presence of the Barrasters. She was pretty sure Lady Constance would cleave him in two if he harmed her now.
Lyra was glad he'd noticed Ky, too. He'd obviously noticed the same things she had and put the pieces together where she'd fumbled. Either this was a person not born a boy wishing he was one, or this was a girl trying to disguise herself for some reason. But why? There were benefits, of course, but Lyra couldn't see any here.

(It's totally fine! I've had to go back and edit my own posts a few times)

“Unfortunate circumstances to be sure,” Aleth agreed with a smile, glancing at each person in turn. He offered a handshake to Arianna. “But I’m always glad to meet ladies as intelligent as yourselves. I’m sure our time together will be profitable, if grim.” He nodded to the boy. “How do you do?”

Usually he tried flattery, and went for “women as beautiful as yourselves” but something told him complimenting their intelligence would get him further with the ladies Barraster. Each of them — including the young boy — seemed far more intelligent than Tarr would be in his entire life.

"Well enough, thank you," Ewan replied as Lady Arianna shook Aleth's hand.
"I hope Lord Tarr has been hospitable to you," Constance said, nodding at the bruise forming on Aleth's face. "I would hate to hear otherwise." Tarr stalked off down the hallway, leaving them to talk. He didn't want any part of their gossiping; they could get a servant to show them to their rooms.

“He’s been most generous.” Aleth smiled thinly, a fresh pang of anger running through him at Tarr’s shenanigans just before the other guests showed up. His body was stiff and sore from the rest of the beating aside from his face, and now he was embarrassed. Again. “And we are quite agreed that I’m more useful as a dignitary than a sparring partner.”

"I can see that." A smile played about Constance's lips, and she turned away, looking to Lyra. "Gods, it's only been two months and you've aged ten years, darling! Hasn't he been feeding you?" She pulled her into a hug. "Poor thing." Lyra tried to smile politely, but she didn't have it in her.
"He's been very kind," she mumbled. "Thank you." She was sure Constance didn't buy it.
Ewan gazed after Tarr thoughtfully.

Oh gods why did they continue to provoke him?

With anyone else, sure, that might have been playful banter. Ky's breath caught when Aleth locked eyes with her again. His entire demeanor was calm. Which terrified her. It meant he was making an active effort to appear relaxed -- which meant he wasn't -- which means there was going to be hell to pay once they were behind closed doors.

She wished, yet again, that she'd gotten more information out of Lyra. Had some reason why Aleth shouldn't beat her silly later -- aside from, of course, that she'd done literally nothing to deserve it. But Aleth didn't care. He couldn't retaliate against Tarr, or Constance, so she was his option.

She kept her own expression passive and forced herself to meet his gaze for as long as he kept it on her. He said he didn't like her averting her gaze -- acting like a kicked dog. So, she looked at him until he finally looked back towards the others. She forced herself to take a deep breath and go back to observing the group, wondering what would happen now that the secret was out that Tarr was treating Lyra absolutely terribly.

"Well..." Constance glanced over her shoulder to see if Tarr was in earshot, then thought better of it. "I'm glad. You're a sweet girl, Lyra. You deserve better than him." She stepped back. "It seems both the gentlemen have left us to fend for ourselves with rooms. Shall we find our chambers ourselves, my friends?"
"I'll be rooming next to Lord Loquitur," the dark-skinned woman replied. "I expect I should follow him before he gets distracted by a fly on the wall." She strode off without another word.

Aleth wasn't sure where Loquitur was rooming, or what, exactly, he was supposed to do in that moment. So, he decided to take his leave. He could leave the probing for information for later. He bowed respectfully to them, then stepped towards the stairs, glancing at Ky.

Ky obediently fell into step just behind him, heart fluttering. This was it. Oh, gods, this was it. She bit her lip and ducked her head, trying to steel her nerves for whatever it was that was to come. Her mind stabbed back and forth between fear of what was about to happen, and desperately trying to think of something -- anything -- she could tell him about Lyra to placate him.

He stormed up the stairs. She trotted after him as fast as she could. On the top step, her toe caught, and she stumbled forward onto the landing. Aleth whirled around before she caught her balance and grabbed her upper arm savagely, fingernails digging into the soft flesh of her underarm, and yanked her towards him. He stepped into the hall, dragging her after him, as she tried to trot after him quickly enough to keep up without stepping his heels.That would make him truly angry.

She barely breathed and miserably followed him down the hall.

"Keep an eye on that one, son," Constance said to Ewan once Aleth was gone. "He's trouble if I ever saw it."
"All hired ears are, in my experience." Arianna examined her fingernails. "Well, onward and upward, doves." She headed to the stairs as well, and her family followed her.

Tomhas had chosen a room at random. It had turned out to be the Tarr Tapestry Room, and it seemed to be spoken for. Tomhas paused in the doorway, tempted to go through the items there. No doubt this was Aleth's room.
No, best not to meddle just yet. But this was a useful find.
Tomhas backed out of the room and settled for the one beside it. It was quite large, with a suite attached. Just the way Tomhas liked his guest rooms. Anneke would have loved the colors this room had in it. Come to think of it, so would Gaius. All the forest greens and browns reminded him of the general color scheme of Serpent Keep, something Tomhas had always joked was over the top. He seated himself neatly on the bed and waited for Lyra.

Lyra hurried upstairs after Constance and her family, far from willing to have a conversation with her husband right before she spoke with her father. She needed to be composed for this; she needed to maintain at least a small shred of dignity when she asked to back out of this marriage.

Aleth released her suddenly. Ky stumbled forward, still off-balance. Her shoulder already ached, and she could feel that he'd broken the skin under his nails. Her eyes snapped up and she saw Lyra standing in the hallway. Ky straightened back.

Aleth twisted the door handle, and shoved it open, giving Ky a dangerous look. Ky locked eyes with Lyra for the briefest moment, then looked up at Aleth, then rushed into his room. Aleth inclined his head to Lyra. "My Lady."

He followed Ky into the room, shutting the door just a bit too loud.

Lyra stood still for a moment. She knew that look Ky had given her. She knew that fear. But what could she do to help? Nothing. She was a fourteen year-old girl and Aleth was probably twice as strong as she was. Even if she did try to stop him she'd only make things worse for Ky.
But her father...
Lyra saw that the door beside Aleth's was open. Her father had probably done his random selection routine. She hurried inside.
Sure enough, Tomhas was picking at a frayed edge of his cloak when she came in. He looked up and rose immediately, the good humor and distracted interest falling away.
"I'm so, so sorry, Lyra," he said as he strode to the door and shut it. "I'd hoped it wouldn't be that bad. Has he really been so rough?" Lyra glanced anxiously at the wall adjoining Aleth's room, then nodded.
"I want to go home," she mumbled, rubbing her wrist with one hand. "I'm sorry, Father. I can't do this." Tomhas hugged her again, sighing deeply.
"I know, little ghost. I know. I'm working on getting you away, but he can't lose you before the war ends or we could lose. You know what that means, right?" Lyra sniffed, rubbing her eyes. She'd promised herself she wouldn't cry in front of him.
"I understand." She took a deep breath. "I do. I just...I can't do this...he's a savage!" Tomhas huffed out a weary laugh.
"He is, isn't he? I'll do my best to keep you safe, little one. Maybe I'll take you home with me, say your mother wants you there for when the baby comes. He couldn't say no to that."