Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 15)

(Gaius: does alcohol and breathing techniques recalibrate children?)

Ky didn’t want mead, she wanted answers and a promise he wasn’t going to send her back to the South. But she obediently drank the entire cup in three gulps and set the glass back down on his desk. “The—“ she realized she had only followed half the directions and took two deep but fast breaths, rushing through them to obey. “The Ainsleys. Are here for me. You and Tomhas already talked to him about me. Please don’t let him take me I’ll do anything please.”

(Rub rum on their gums and they stop crying)

(Also I would love to meet this Tonya you speak of)

Gaius watched her down it in mild distress. "The Ainsleys had no idea you were here," he replied evenly. Damn. They'd run into her on the way back, hadn't they?
The door burst open. "GAIUS!" Tomhas rushed in. "Jerica ran into Ky, what if she--" He froze. "Oh." His face slowly grew red. "Hi, kiddo."

(lmao I just saw that a second ago and edited -- ik a Tonya irl and I do not at all enjoy that my autocorrect has conflated the two of them xD)

Ky flinched, jumping upright and whirling around at the sudden commotion. It was relieving that it was just her father, not one of the Ainsleys here to haul her away. But the fact that he'd cut himself off when he noticed her didn't feel good. It didn't feel good at all. They were both hiding stuff from her, then.

"What if she what?"

(Oh oof)

He looked at Gaius, wincing. "We should get Derik..."
"No, I don't think we should. Not yet." Gaius looked toward Ky. "Sit down, both of you. We have to talk."

(yeahh lol you would love to meet her, though xD she was my master's advisor's wife and took on the role of a surrogate mother to me lol she's an absolutely phenomenal woman all around)(and also would not cheat on her wife if she had one)

Ky forced herself to sit back down, wiping at the tears that she was still failing to keep contained.

(Aw that's freaking amazing She sounds like a good lady.)

Tomhas sat down beside her, glancing at her in concern. "Hey, nothing's gonna happen to you. Ky, look at me for a sec."

( :') )(she may or may not have gotten a happy mother's day text from me before my actual mother did this year oop)

"Please don't let them take me," Ky pleaded, looking at him earnestly. "Please. I know they're here for me please don't let them take me. I promise to do better. I promise to be better. Please."

(That is so cute!!)

"Nobody is taking you anywhere." He wrapped her in a tight hug. "I promise, I promise that from he bottom of your heart. They don't want to take you and I would never, never let them. This is something else entirely. But no matter what comes of this I love you, and you'll always be my daughter, okay? Just please know that."

Ky clung to him tightly. It was like his grasp broke open the floodgates and she lost control of herself entirely, sobbing against his chest. She was so scared and upset. And wanted with everything within her to believe him.

Tomhas rubbed her back gently, keeping his arms wrapped around her. "I promise," he repeated.
Gaius took a long sip from his cup of mead.

Ky forced herself to take slow, deep breaths, hiccuping as she clung to her father. He promised. Tomhas wouldn't break a promise... right? Gods, she hoped he wouldn't. Hoped he would be able to stop them from taking her. She eventually began to calm and reached up to scrub the tears from her face, voice weak and cracked as she asked, "then why are they here for me?"

Did Aleth have any dirt on the Ainsleys? She couldn't remember. Gods. She hoped it wasn't about that. She didn't have anything to give them.

"They weren't here for you," Gaius said. "Not to begin with."
Tomhas nodded. "They came for a diplomatic visit on the Governor's behalf."
"But we need Derik in here if we're going to do this now, so he can elect how much he wishes to tell you at this time. There's a lot, and some of it may be.. .too much right now."

Ky didn't savor the thought of having to meet War Lord Ainsley, but she nodded hesitantly, pulling away from Tomhas and sitting back in her own seat as she wiped the rest of the tears away. She'd need to pull herself together. "Okay."


Jerica had let silence settle in around them as they were walking. Which wasn't her usual behavior when something this perplexing happened. But she figured she had a better shot at getting the truth out of Derik than this woman. "...I want to see Derik," she said, holding the door to the main barracks open for Sera.

Gaius thought to ask Tomhas to fetch a servant so neither of them had to get Derik, then thought better of it and went to find a servant himself.

Sera dipped her head. "I'll take you to his dormitory, then."

"What are they here for?" Ky whispered, looking over at Tomhas.


"Thank you." Jerica nodded, following her inside. She wasn't sure how she was going to get privacy, though. It's not like she could pester him in front of Sera. She wondered if they had... she didn't know. A meeting room. Or, at the very least, an interrogation room or something where they could have privacy. It was one thing not to want them wandering around the Keep unattended; it was something else entirely to strip away all semblance of autonomy.