"Alright, then, Tiberius, why the hell did you tell me this now of all times?! We killed a cat the size of a gods-damn house and NOW you tell me?!"
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
James's voice fluctuated, defensive. "I didn't think it was relevant! I thought after this I'd never see you again! And I've had so many people backstab me out here I didn't know who I could trust, ok?! This forest is overrun by outlaws!"
"Do I look like an outlaw to you?! Obviously if I risk my life with you to kill a big giant cat I'm not about to backstab you! You think I haven't been betrayed?!"
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
She turns Nightmare and dodges through the trees to lose their pursuers, pissed at Tiberius but not having the time to really talk with him.
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
After a good amount of time of running through the night they finally lost the gang of thieves in the night. James didn't say anything else in the high speed chase, and didn't think he ought to.
She reins in her horse and swings off, yanking him off with her. "I want a full explanation and one good reason why I shouldn't just leave you here. Now."
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
James stumbled a moment as he caught his balance. He looked with downcast eyes and shook his head, face-palming on his own behalf. She wanted a full explanation? He felt he'd summed it up pretty well, and wasn't sure what else to say. He didn't want to justify his secrecy with her because he knew it was all his fault and because of his issues or whatever that he didn't explain it earlier.
"I don't know what to say to you... you saved me from being trapped in the forest until I died alone in that cave. And all I've done to repay you is lie to you about who I am because I'm an ass who can't bring myself to trust anybody even though you've done exceedingly more than enough to show yourself an honorable and trustworthy person. You have no reason to take pity on me and help me. I'm trash and I deserve what's coming to me. If I didn't die alone in that cave or get eaten by the grangor it would've been this, with Rita, or something else."
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
James looked up at her with genuine surprise, finally meeting her eyes. He'd expected her to walk away just then.
"I... I... well I..." He cleared his throat, "I was in the palace guard. Served in the Moonlight Kingdom, under King Blackfield. He... well, I worked closely with him, but I ended up learning about something he was planning. Something corrupt, and disgusting. So I sabotaged it, and with it, of course, my career, my name. And I ran." He paused, clearing his throat again.
"I know that's not the story they'll tell you on the wanted posters. To everyone else I'm just an enemy of the kingdom. A traitor... but..." he trailed off, and sighed, deciding to leave it there. She didn't ask what he thought about the kingdom. So he left it at that.
She studies him for several seconds before sighing and swinging up on her horse. "Let's go."
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
She urges her horse into a trot and they keep moving - it's not like either of them are sleeping that night.
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
James sat in silence, at first, fighting the urge to say something dumb, and then, just fighting to stay awake. Occasionally, they could hear surges of sound - what sounded like the thieves yelling in the night, with indistinct chatter, or the sound of horses approaching from a distance. But fortunately, they didn't see them near or hear them close. Eventually, they stopped hearing signs of them entirely, and as night passed, they found themselves much farther from where they were before.
The next morning she stops to let the horse rest for a while, refilling her waterskin and double-checking she has all her equipment without saying a word to James.
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
Gender:
Points: 481
Reviews: 117