"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Aleth hobbled after her, making a point of not limping as badly as he wanted to. He wanted their sympathies. But he didn't want to be relegated to bed as a cripple. He needed to be allowed out. Needed to get back to that journal. He put his hand on the door and gestured for her to go through it first. "Please."
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"Thank you." Sara bobbed her head and stepped out of the library.
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Aleth followed her through, sending one final wishful glance back into the library. He glanced down the hall, hoping he wasn’t pushing it. “I know the way.”
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"Oh, I insist I see you back. Some of the stairs here are tricky, even with two good feet."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
“Fair enough.” So much for getting to snoop on the way back. Oh well. He probably couldn’t have gotten away with that anyway, now that his excuse was ruined. “It’s a large Keep.”
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"A true maze," she agreed. "I got lost many times when I first came here, actually."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
"Where'd you come from?" Aleth asked, genuinely curious.
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"There's a little village in Pawholm," she replied. "I worked as a farmer for my family, and we took Lord Ash and Lord Loquitur in when they arrived during their banishment."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
"That was kind of your family to do," Aleth answered. And, evidently, a good move. Farmer to Lady. Not too shabby.
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"I'm quite glad we did it." Sara suppressed a smile; she could never forget that sharp-eyed young man who had stumbled into their barn with his brother early one morning, begging for food. Emaciated to the point of collapse and half-dead with cold, they were both a sorry mess but something about Gaius in particular struck her as something beyond the shivering youth curled up on the hay. He held himself regally, and intelligence was evident even in his feverish gaze. Sara wasn't the sort to fall for someone she'd just met, but she certainly wasn't going to deny he intrigued her.
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
"I'm sure you are," Aleth answered with a small smile. "It seems the two of you must have hit it off."
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"We certainly did." Sara walked on. "Evidently so, I suppose. I would not have married him if I didn't care for him."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
"Of course," Aleth answered. He suspected most noble marriages such as theirs were bourne as an escape from poverty. But it seemed that if they fell for one another before Lord Ash was in fact Lord Ash, then it was likely due to romance instead. "As marriages should be."
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"I fully agree." It had been a slow courtship. Gaius worked with Sara's mother baking bread to sell at the market--his leg and hand had prevented him from being of any use in the fields--so he rarely saw Sara in the daytime. Around evening, though, Sara and her best friend Anneke would lay down their hoes and join the brothers under a great pine tree near the edge of the woods by the farm. They would talk of stars and snow and chew on honeycomb bought at the market, wrapped to their chins in furs as they gazed up at the night sky. Those nights brewed something in all four of them, and it wasn't long before Tomhas and Anneke became an item. With Gaius and Sara it was a bit slower. They became fast friends, naturally, but Gaius was timid, hesitant to engage in anything further than casual banter.
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
