Young Writers Society

Ky and Tadaaki exchanged a glance. Free. No more slaves. No more Aleth. Ky felt a weight fall off her shoulders, though she still couldn’t quite grasp it. My friend. She could actually have friends again. Be Kylia. Speak without recounting every single word to Aleth.

Tadaaki took her hand and gave it a squeeze, then laughed in relief.

Ky laughed too. But then she sobered, perplexed. Aleth had really left without her? For real? It seemed too good to be true. She’d thought for sure he was going to figure out some nasty plan to get her away from Loquitur.

“He actually left without me,” she said in wonder, smiling again with relief. “Wow. I figured he’d rather kill me than leave me behind. But he left without me.”

"He looked about ready to kill me," Tomhas replied with a grin, flinging himself onto one of the beds. "I think he would have if he were in better shape. But rest assured, he went in poor grace toward Serpent Keep not five minutes ago!"

Ky grinned at him. She still couldn’t comprehend the courage of the nobles in this region. Loquitur had stood directly between them and Aleth. And somehow it actually worked. “Thank you.”

“Yes, thank you! Sir!” Tadaaki said quickly, also smiling.

Tomhas shrugged, still grinning. "The least I could do, I'm sure. You two and Lyra will be coming home with me and General Wai as soon as Tadaaki and Lyra are well enough to travel. In the meantime I'll send word ahead to my family that we're coming home and you," here he pointed at Ky, "are welcome to pick out one of those kittens Alexander suggested to you."

(haha on the placeholder -- I know you edited now -- but honestly I'm terrible with names so you probably could have said anything and I'd have bought it xD)

Ky grinned broadly, bouncing with excitement, before she realized she probably looked like a little kid. She stilled herself but still grinned eagerly. There was no possible way for this situation to get better... well... it'd be better if Papa was coming to join them. But, all things considered, best case.

She turned her head towards Lyra, wondering if she was excited about getting a kitten too.

(I honestly didn't use her as much as I'd like to but maybe on the journey back and at the Keep we can have some interesting conversations!)

Lyra was smiling faintly; she was very excited at the prospect of returning home. She'd missed sleeping in her own bed, alone and unbothered by anyone unless she wanted to be. Her mother and siblings would be wonderful to see as well; she wondered if Anneliese was still working on that tapestry project. And Peter must be busy learning to spar now. He was at that age.

Tadaaki was beginning to feel awkward on Ky's cot, now that they were no longer huddled together whispering. Plus, her eager bouncing -- while endearing -- was hurting his side a bit. So he gently stood up and walked to his own cot.

'Coming home with me'

It hit different. He hadn't had a home since he was seventeen. The slavers had moved in so quickly, grabbing all the older boys and younger men, and disappearing in a matter of minutes. He'd fought, of course. Papi had as well -- the image of blood spurting from his mouth as a slaver drove a sword through his middle haunted him to this day.

Aleth had bought him after a few months. And a few months he managed an escape. But by the time he got home, Aleth had had his mother killed. That was when he learned that Yaminah had given birth to a little girl -- who was, apparently, his. He hadn't expected it. Or, really wanted it. Sure, he liked her a lot. But they were both barely more than kids themselves, and neither of them had the money to raise a child. Still, the instant he had Takiyah in his arms, he fell in love.

And then the mercenaries showed up to drag him back to Aleth. He didn't fight anymore after that. Aleth's abuse was nothing compared to the sorrow of losing his parents -- or the fear of losing Takiyah or her mother.

"I quite look forward to it, sir," he said, deciding it was worth it to risk speaking. Loquitur seemed far less concerned with formality than other noblemen -- helping him up the stairs, apparently letting Ky hug him. "I'm sure it'll be lovely... sir."

"Lovely is right." Tomhas was pleased Tadaaki was speaking up; he'd hoped the fellow would open himself up a bit now that Aleth wasn't looming over him. "Caracal Keep is quite nice, if I do say so myself. We have an excellent garden of ice sculptures and Iron-trees; plenty of space to wander on the grounds. The interior's warm as anything. It's a fairly new castle, honestly. Only a hundred fifty years old, by my count. The Loquiturs were slow to join the other Houses in modernization even after the Union took place." He looked over at Lyra. "Are you eager to get back, little ghost?"
"Very." Lyra nodded. "I'd like to leave as soon as possible, Father." Tomhas knew she did; he did, too. But she and Tadaaki both had severe injuries and they needed time to heal. And Tomhas had some things to hash out with his son in-law, if he could even be called that.

Ky and Tadaaki both listened eagerly. It sounded absolutely magical. They were so fortunate to be able to visit such a wonderful place. And without Aleth at that. Ky still couldn't shake the vague uneasiness that when Aleth came back he was going to try to get at her. But, Loquitur had stopped him once. Hopefully, he could do it again.

"What's your favorite part about Caracal Keep?" Ky asked gently, turning her attention to Lyra. She hesitated. This was going to take some getting used to, figuring out how non-slaves were supposed to speak to nobles. Still, she wasn't sure, so she added on a slightly belated, "Ma'am?"

Lyra paused, considering. "I like the garden," she said after a moment. "When it's quiet and it isn't snowing. You can see straight through some of the sculptures, and there's a bench under one of the trees where I like to sit and listen to the wind and the birds." Tombas smiled at that. He knew Lyra much preferred silence to noise. The Loquitur family didn't have a reputation for being particularly quiet; they talked over each other incessantly and played loud games all the time. Even quiet card games and the like soon turned into banterous roaring-matches as friendly competition escalated. Lyra had never been like that. She was always apart from the family, sewing or sitting in the garden or keeping a tally for who won the most games. Tomhas understood that, of course, and he had missed her calm presence on the fringes of the conversation, always the voice of reason if conversation got too heated. It would be good to have her back.

"That sounds nice," Ky said genuinely, smiling at her.

It sounded so peaceful. She wondered what that would be like. Ky had never been a particularly quiet person until she was under Aleth's oppression. There was far too much to see and to do for her to be content to sit still. Even when she was reading at home with Papa, she'd hang upside-down off her cot to make it more interesting -- try to understand words without falling on your head, so it felt more like a sport than homework.

She doted upon the horse and the goats and the pigs and the chickens. Made up songs and stories while she was tending the garden. Got distracted with smooth stones on the beach when she was supposed to be focused on fishing -- and always, before it was over, she'd end up in the water herself.

She was also always the ring leader among the children in her community. If there was mischief, she was probably behind it. She was usually the one who decided what games they'd play, and was the one who convinced the parents to allow them to do it.

She missed that version of herself. The Ky that lived life to the fullest, squeezing every last bit of joy out of every single day and bottling it up to dump upon all her friends all over again.

Still, she'd grown to appreciate the quieter things in life. An afternoon of getting to read a book for pleasure instead of to learn a skill for Aleth. A quiet walk in the afternoon. She'd need to try out that bench Lyra mentioned, too.

"It's about five days' ride from here, so you won't have too long to wait," Tomhas said eagerly. "And Tadaaki, I'll include instructions in my letter to Lady Loquitur about sending soldiers to bring your family to Caracal Keep as well. Please, what are their names and what village or town do they live in?"

Tadaaki smiled at that, excited at the thought. It'd been so long since he'd seen them.

"Takiyah," Tadaaki answered with a small smile. The name felt so nice on his lips. He hadn't dared to speak it when he was with Aleth. "She'd be... oh gods, she's six already." The thought made him feel nervous. What if she didn't like him? He'd need to make sure he was an extra, extra good father to make up for all the lost time. "And her mother's name is Yaminah."

(I have literally no idea what would be a reasonable name xD I'm thinking he's from a very, very small little rural community -- like, everybody knows everybody else -- that's heavily agricultural)

(Sure! He can give information about its location in relation to a bigger town if ya like! I haven't done much worldbuilding in the Southern Realm so you're welcome to make up a name. I expect it would be in the Austraka region.)

"Lovely, lovely!" Tomhas clapped his hands. "Gods, six years old. What an age! My boy Oscar just turned five; perhaps they'll get along!" That was an exhausting time to be a parent, too. Poor Yaminah must be having a terrible time of it, all by herself. Though small communities were often close-knit; perhaps there were others helping to look after the child. "I expect they've never been north before. We'll have to pack them extra furs so they don't freeze."

"Hopefully!" Tadaaki said eagerly with a smile. It'd be easier on Takiyah to have a friend when she arrived, no doubt. "I don't know what she's like, I haven't seen her since she was a new infant... but I know she's incredible. She's absolutely perfect."

Ky smiled at him. There was a certain adoration in his eyes that she'd never seen there before. She couldn't wait to see him getting to be a father. She had no doubt whatsoever dote on his daughter every bit as much as Papa had doted upon her.

"And yes, sir, I imagine so. We live in the Austraka region, in this tiny little community called Fenystrae -- it's maybe a day's ride from the Coast, but we mostly farm. It's..." He looked over at Ky. "You know where it is?"

"Yes." She nodded. "I can point to it on a map if that would help."