Zander wasn’t sure he wanted to know what that meant. And yet he’d be able to better support her if he knew.
“How was she when you met her?” He asked, voice quiet.
"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]
"Afraid to speak, even with permission." Tomhas kept his eyes on the ground as he walked. "So, so jumpy. Being alone with anyone without Aleth's express instructions was devastating to her anxiety, and even when I took her away from him she seemed to think of me as her new master."
"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
Zander cringed. God, what a failure he’d been to allow this to happen. How had he not been able to track down where she’d ended up after the first time she got kidnapped? Why hadn’t he put her name on the streets? Someone would have known she was with the bastard and someone would have told him. He took a deep breath. No. He knew why he hadn’t. Associating anyone with his name out them in conceivable danger. It was hard to say who might assume he’d been hired for a hit, and decide to slide in first. Hard to say who might tell Ths Council who he was after. And The Council catching up with her — figuring out who she was — was his biggest fear in the entire world. He’d changed her name when he planted her with Petrir. But he didn’t know if it’d be enough. It was too much to risk.
“I’m glad that wasn’t true,” he murmured. Glad Ky finally had her freedom. Even if it was tainted with fear of assassins now. “Thank you for your kindness to her. She is still so, so different than she was as a child — but it’s clear, now that I know that, that your efforts were invaluable to her… improvement. I’m glad to know she’s got a good man looking out for her.”
That’s what he’d trusted Petrir to do. And he couldn’t help but feel a bit frustrated that he hadn’t. But deep down he knew it wasn’t Petrir’s fault. The man was crippled from the waist down, and still fought hard enough he’d gotten stabbed for his efforts. He couldn’t ask for much more than that. Especially given how crushed Petrir had been over it all.
Hopefully Tomhas would be able to pick up the baton and protect her into adulthood.
"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]
Tomhas dipped his head in acknowledgement, though be sighed. "To tell you the truth, I wasn't going to get involved until Lyra asked me, and even then I was reluctant. It just made things worse, in my experience. I didn't want to hurt Ky by trying to help."
"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
Zander hesitated at that. How could Tomhas not want to help a girl so completely and utterly terrified of her own shadow? How could he watch how Aleth apparently treated a child and not feel compulsion to rescue her? He forced himself to push the thoughts away. They weren’t helpful now. “Well, I’m glad she did. And I’m glad you did. I can’t bear the thought of knowing she would still be going through that, even now, if you hadn’t.”
"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]
Tomhas nodded in agreement. "I'm glad I listened to Lyra, especially knowing what I know now. And seeing how Ky's grown, I can't help but think my intervention was actually more helpful than harmful."
"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 it was,” Zander scoffed. How could he be even remotely questioning that? She’d gone from a slave to a noble. In what universe would that be worse? Well, she supposed it might be about the same if it’d been Tarr or the previous Lord Loquitur or Michael. But it wasn’t. And being with half-decent human would be better than being carved like a holiday fowl. The bar was on the floor. Then he realized he was acting like Tomhas was stupid, which wasn’t his intent. He made his voice gentler when he went on, “I can’t imagine a man as decent as you could come anywhere close to harming her at baseline. Much less be worse than leaving her with a monster like Aleth. Your intervention was a wonderful act of compassion that the two of us will be grateful for until we die.”
"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 not looking for gratitude." Tomhas's brow furrowed. "That was never my goal. I just didn't want to stand by like all the times before."
"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
“Well, you have it all the same,” Zander murmured, glancing at him and wondering what he meant by that. “But I know that wasn’t your motivation.”
He considered poking at what Tomhas meant by ‘all the times before’ — then decided it wasn’t worth it to sully the mood. It already seemed dangerously close to it as it was.
"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]
They were nearing the floor where Gaius and Sara were staying, now. Tomhas continued on in silence, now wondering how long Ky would have lasted with Aleth if he'd let her go to Gaius with him. Would she have tried to kill herself there or later, or at all?
"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
(Not yet lmao) (Jk I don’t think she’s actually gonna make another attempt)
“How long of a journey is it from here to Serpent 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]
"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
Zander nodded. That was an easy journey. “And when will we leave?”
"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]
"Three days' time." They reached Gaius's room, and Tomhas knocked. "Who's that?" came Sara's voice. "Your favorite brother in-law," Tomhas called back, and she opened the door. "Ah, hello Tomhas! And Zander." Sara dipped her head. "To what do we owe the pleasure?" "Zander's offered to help me and Gaius with our search for the other assassins, and he's got a question as well," Tomhas replied with a smile. "Is my dear brother feeling up to visitors?" "I'm not an invalid," came Gaius's voice. "Come in."
"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
Zander smiled slightly at that. It was probably just as well that he'd come to his room; he and Ky probably would have killed each other by now. Or, well, Ky might have died from anxiety at being stuck in a room for so many days with someone she wasn't fully comfortable with.
Zander waited for Tomhas to enter first.
"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]
