Young Writers Society

She nodded. "Not too much longer." She pointed upward. "See, there are the spires."

Kieran gaped, then looked back at Jerica pleadingly. He was suddenly struck with the horrifying idea of what it would be like if he ended up trapped with Chieftain D’Ara one one side and Lord Ash on the other. He very much wanted to go back to hiding behind Jerica. And soon.

“Alright, c’mon.” Jerica reached over and helped Kieran crawl across her and back onto his own horse. By the time he was situated, the Keep was in full view. Derik subconsciously sat up a bit taller; Jerica emulated him. Kieran copied, too — though there was still a nervous energy buzzing around him that he couldn’t seem to shake no matter how much he wanted to.

As they drew nearer to the Keep, the crashing of branches faded and grew further away.
"Is it going around?" D'Ara wondered.

“Mm… perhaps whatever it is knows it’s not welcome?” Derik suggested.

"Let's hope so." She wrapped her furs tighter around herself. "This place is such a mess, good God. Monsters to your left and right, hell behind you and ahead of you. I'll be glad to get into the Keep and have some tea."

“No doubt,” Derik agreed with a nod, glancing ahead. “It’s too bloody cold out here.”

And at this rate — sure, it was stressful the thought of having to buffer his family with a whole new noble family, especially when they were on their turf. But at this rate he was already having to buffer between Jerica and D’Ara — so may as well shift to doing so while warm and fed.

“Anything we should know before we get there?”

(Turf)

"Be polite," D'Ara said with a shrug. "And don't be offended if Lord Ash acts like a swords up his ass; that's just how he is. And he's observant--very sharp-eyed. He'll notice just about anything, even if he doesn't look like he's focusing on you."

(Oops that’s embarrassing… being hanging out on too much social media lol)

Derik gave Jerica a warning look.

She heard it loud and clear and dropped her gaze. She was going to be good. She was going to be good. For Derik.

“We’ll keep that in mind.” He glanced back at D’Ara. “Thank you.”

(Easy mistake to make; I had to check over it too)

She dipped her head. "He's very intelligent. Frighteningly so, sometimes, but also bullheaded. Stubborn as a stone."

“Sounds like you’ve got your work cut out for you, then,” he said with a little smile. But in reality it just made his gut feel that much worse. He’d need to do his best to keep Jerica away from him. He didn’t seem like the sort of man Derik had any interest in crossing; and it definitely didn’t sound as though he’d be the patient sort. Maybe he’d be able to come up with enough odd tasks to keep Jerica busy and out of sight as much as possible. Let him do the talking.

"You'll meet him soon enough, though." She paused. "He's fluent in quite a few languages, too, so if any of you struggle with Upper Tongue you shouldn't be left out."

“That’s good to know,” Derik said. He needed to make sure Rek knew that, too. Just to keep all bases covered: assume Ash could understand you. Which meant to shut up. Although he usually had far less to worry about from Rek than anyone else. “How many does he speak?”

"Most of them on this continent. He's spotty on some dialects, but he's fluent in Economic Taralli and Rhaebak. Most of the common dialects and languages of the South are in his repertoire."

Derik’s eyebrows shot up. “Impressive.”

"Very. But he's a scholar; that what he does. He absorbs knowledge." She smiled despite herself. "As long as I've known him, he's always been curious."