Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 8)

(I'm just overjoyed by how far we've taken it and the fact that we haven't run out of steam yet!)

"I think in the end it was in her best interest? But I don't know." He took a deep breath. "And maybe Aleth was a mercy. I heard about what she might have been before that."

(me too! I think you and I are kind of perfect RP buddies -- our styles mesh very, very well and we've kept ourselves entertained for over a year now haha)

Zander's gaze snapped towards him as Emery had the audacity to call Aleth a mercy, and then he immediately felt physically sick to his stomach as he thought about his twelve-year-old niece ending up getting raped repeatedly. He needed to go kill Makata, too, once he got Aleth's mess cleaned up.

"She'd made it as a stableboy," Zander grumbled, voice very, very quiet, and, for once, he actually blushed. It was so, so hard to think about what she'd gone through. What she could have gone through. What she would have continued going through, without Tomhas's intervention.

(I fully agree! And the fact that we both have worlds with rich lore to draw on helps a lot as well, and we have a multitude of complex characters.)

"How long would that last?" Emery asked softly. "Men like that have an eye for spotting girls in disguise. I knew some girls in the East who tried that, hoped they could escape. It never worked."

(Very true! We out here bringing canon into RP and bringing this RP back to canon haha)

Zander flinched. "Apparently, two years. Aleth spotted her." He sighed and rubbed his face. "Gods, I fucked up so bad with her. No wonder she's so angry with me. I can't blame her."

(Yess!! I've gotten great material from here.)

"At least you didn't sell her."

(Same! Ada's suggestion to go get revenge on Makata has been living in my head rent-free for a while haha I originally just yanked Ky away from Aleth; then found a way to yank Ky away from Aleth and kill him off at the same time; and now I'm like but killing Makata though-- )

Zander blinked and looked at him. Of course he didn't sell her. He loved her more than life itself. More than his brother. More than his parents. His home. He'd do literally anything to keep her safe and happy. "What?"

(That's the way, that's the way)

"My father sold me," Emery said thinly. "At least Ky can still trust her family and know they'll have her back."

Zander was quiet for a moment. He'd never poke at a wound like this, but if Emery wanted to talk about it... he just needed to be gentle. Sensitive. "... I'm sorry. That had to have hurt. Has to hurt."

Emery shrugged, huffing out a breath. "It does. But I try not to think about it; I've got this home now. It's better than that home or the tents ever were."

"Understandably," Zander said gently. "Did you, uh... how'd you get out -- I mean--" Zander cleared his throat and shook his head. "That's not any of my business; I apologize."

"It's fine." Emery waved a hand. "Gaius found me. He was visiting one of the Grand Reputations and the Reputation mistakenly assumed he was...you know. So they went to one of the tents, and I was sent in to serve them and I just remember how quiet Gaius got when I...He got up and took the Reputation out of the tent and they talked for a long, long time, and then he came back in and talked to me alone. Just talked. Asked me questions, let me relax for the first time in years and years. And then he asked me if I would leave the East if I got the chance--as a free person. Of course I said yes. I asked him to buy me, and he did. And then he freed me. So I came home with him."

Gaius went up in his estimations once again.

And he now understood the visceral reaction Emery had had earlier at Zander critiquing Gaius. He supposed it was exactly the same as Ky getting angry at Kazhra's critique of Tomhas earlier. Undying loyalty towards one's savior.

"I'm glad he found you," Zander said quietly. "I can't imagine what you went through before that."

"I was thirteen when he took me home," Emery murmured. "Ten when Father sold me. So." He shrugged. "There were worse tents to be in. I worked my way up to that one."

Zander cringed. "Three years is a very, very long time."

Somehow ten to thirteen was even more sickening than twelve to fifteen. Even though neither was acceptable in anyone's wickedest imagination. How could you possibly get hard while looking at a literal child? And how could you possibly sell your own child? Zander would sell himself before he sold any of his kiddos. And there was no universe in which Zander would sell himself.

He contemplated offering to go take care of Emery's father, but quickly dismissed the idea. Gaius had no doubt made the same offer long ago, so either Emery didn't want him to, or the problem was already taken care of.

Emery was silent for a long moment. Then he nodded. "It is. It felt longer than it was, though. But I don't dwell on that anymore. Doesn't do to dwell on the past, right?" He smiled ruefully. "This coming from a man who obsesses over Eastern history."