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Post by Golurkcanfly on Feb 8, 2014 15:40:51 GMT -6
"It might." Graecius admitted before chomping down on his piece himself. "Anyways, do you know where your friends went? They looked quite flustered."
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Post by GX1997 on Feb 8, 2014 15:46:40 GMT -6
"I can't say for sure. It seems Arcturus has a large network of slipspace portals, so they could be in a lot of different places right now."
Elia didn't want to waste food, so she looked for something that might disguise the caviar. Once she saw some diced potatoes, she put some on top of Graecius' creation and took a bite.
That's much better.
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Post by Golurkcanfly on Feb 8, 2014 15:53:25 GMT -6
"Well that's interesting." Graecius spoke as he drank some more of his grape juice. "Tell me, how did you meet him? You haven't been here long, and from his story it seems that he's lived here for quite some time."
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Post by GX1997 on Feb 8, 2014 16:03:05 GMT -6
"We met when I was sent to Grangold Academy, although I actually met Pearl first. She made it a point to introduce us. Knowing that I'm a Type-1, he asked if I would help them retrieve elemental steel from a cave filled with werebats. After we got to know each other a little better, he let me stay at his home, partially as a way to thank me for helping them."
Arcturus will probably come back sooner or later to help his dad get home. So if Graecius is really curious about him, he'll be able to ask these questions to Arcturus.
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Post by Golurkcanfly on Feb 8, 2014 16:15:11 GMT -6
"Well that's interesting." Graecius smiled a smile of competition as he leaned forwards. "So Arcturus is a fighter? I'd like to challenge him sometime. Don't tell me how he fights though, that makes it less fun."
"Mr. Galatine." Titus tapped his glass with a spoon to grab the bearded man's attention. "I'd like to reward you for taking care of Elia. You said you were a blacksmith, yes?"
"Indeed I am." Barbas replied as he set down a glass of wine with slightly drunk movements. "I've been working the forge ever since I was little, probably before your son was born. He looks around thirty-two maybe thirty-three years of age, doesn't he?"
"I'm only twenty-nine." Graecius rolled his eyes a little as he took a large bite out of a cockatrice leg.
"Twenty-nine and still don't have a girl!?" Barbas laughed heartily before quieting down a bit. "Well, one that I can see."
"I'm not really interested in girls. They annoy me." Graecius remarked as he looked towards Elia. "No offense. You're fine."
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Post by GX1997 on Feb 8, 2014 16:18:22 GMT -6
Okay... this has to be the strangest dinner conversation I've ever heard.
Elia didn't take any offense luckily, so she just stayed quiet as the others kept talking.
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Post by Golurkcanfly on Feb 8, 2014 16:41:27 GMT -6
"Anyways, speaking of female members of the human race..." Titus tried to segue from Graecius' somewhat rude comment. "What was your wife like, Barbas?"
"Well, her name was Caesaria, which from my understanding of your naming conventions means that her father's familial name must have been Caesarius, like yourself." Barbas stifled a chuckle as he hunkered over a bit to tell the story. "We met in the city of Gardasha where she worked as a bartender. I was with a travelling caravan at the time, but she was something special. On my first day there, I walked into the bar and ordered a drink from her. She was very beautiful with long blonde hair and fair features, much like Elia. Anyways, my first thought was that the ale tasted terrible, but then the guy next to me started grabbing her. I punched him, and a massive fight broke out, with me as the victor, albeit with a bloodied face. She promptly thanked me and fixed my broken nose with her Magick. She was a-"
"Type-1." Titus interrupted with a face of ghostly pallor. "She was a Type-1."
"Why yes, how did you know?" Barbas asked in bemusement as he looked around at everyone's wide-eyed faces. "What's wrong?"
"You said that she healed your broken nose." Titus answered with obvious care of his word choice. "Only a Type-1 could do that."
The look on his face was partially one of anger, but mostly one of deep thought, like a philosopher. The air felt grim with silence as Barbas continued to try and figure out what was going on.
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Post by GX1997 on Feb 8, 2014 16:45:50 GMT -6
So Barbas didn't know... even as she was dying, she didn't tell him.
Elia sat there, very still and quiet as she waited to see what would happen.
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Post by SwordMasterEX on Feb 8, 2014 16:51:35 GMT -6
"Hard explain. Jam see blood bond between two. See in Master and emperor man. If master want, we go back party and Jam check again." She puts her clothes back on, dusting it off first. Back in human form she lifts him up off the ground and clings to his arm.
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Post by Golurkcanfly on Feb 8, 2014 17:09:52 GMT -6
What is going on? It's something I said, isn't it? I'll just stay quiet, if not, I'll probably just get them even more angry at them.
"When did you move to Shaldra?" Titus asked him in a very serious and somewhat menacing tone.
"Twelve years ago, just a few months before she passed away from illness." Barbas responded nervously as he grabbed a handkerchief. "No doctor could cure her, and she couldn't do it herself. She wanted to move back to her home town before passing away, so that's why we came here. She died quietly, not wanting us to worry about her, especially Arcturus, who was very little. I'm not even sure if he remembers it."
"Did she tell you anything about her past?" he continued interrogating Barbas as he took a look at Graecius and Pollux.
"Only that she used to live here, in Shaldra." Barbas admitted as Pollux gave him the eye. "Whenever I asked her about it, she just told me that the past didn't matter in a cheerful way."
"Where was she buried?" Pollux then took a turn questioning him as he stood up.
"Under our house, in a small stone coffin." he told him as he backed away a little. "Why do you ask?"
No one answered his question as Titus called a couple of guards and then sent them away, out of the dining hall.
"We're going to dig her up." Pollux replied as he placed his hand on them table.
"Why would you do that!?" Barbas shouted in anger, fear, and sorrow as he too stood up. "How could you dishonor my house and wife!?"
"Gentlemen!" Titus yelled as he stood up and slammed both hands onto the table. "Sit down, calm yourselves!"
All three of them sat back down in their seats before Titus continued.
"Barbas, your story has lead me to believe something, and I wish to confirm it. You will be kept here until further notice. Guards! Detain him!"
A fleet of eight to ten guards swarmed around Barbas, taking him away into a small room and locking the door.
"Now then," Titus sighed as he softened his expression and looked at Elia. "do you understand what's going on?"
---
"We will go, but first I want to do something." Arcturus told her as they walked back towards the pond.
As soon as they were in just foot deep water, Arcturus wrapped his arms around Pearl, thrusted his lips onto Pearl's, and fell backwards as he hugged her tightly.
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Post by GX1997 on Feb 8, 2014 17:15:51 GMT -6
Elia decided to choose her words carefully as she answered Titus, despite the fact that she was still a little shaken from the whole ordeal.
"Your daughter and Barbas' wife are one and the same."
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Post by Golurkcanfly on Feb 8, 2014 17:18:24 GMT -6
"Correct." Titus answered Elia as he took a sip from his wine glass. "She was alive and well, and she seemed happy according to him. If he's telling the truth of course. That's why we're digging her up, to confirm that it is her. As a Type-7, I can identify her body from its residual mana."
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Post by GX1997 on Feb 8, 2014 17:24:08 GMT -6
Elia no longer had any appetite, so she just sat quietly with her head lowered and her hands folded on her lap.
It seems like grief and heartache for others tend to follow me around. I'll always be a burden...
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Post by Golurkcanfly on Feb 8, 2014 17:29:09 GMT -6
"Don't think like that." Hestus assured her as he tried to simulate the feeling of someone lifting her head. "You've given father hope that Caesaria lived happily, even if it was away from him. Also, if you feel anything weird right now, it's my trying to make you feel better. I might not have the hang of this yet."
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Post by SwordMasterEX on Feb 8, 2014 17:29:50 GMT -6
He does want me. The moment they fell back, she wrapped her legs around him. As their lips came apart to breathe for a moment, she told him, "Jam find bliss." She continued the long kiss holding him close to her.
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Post by Golurkcanfly on Feb 8, 2014 17:35:18 GMT -6
I love you.
Arcturus held Pearl even tighter as he rolled into the pond, putting himself on top of Pearl.
"Pearl, I want you to know that I'll always be with you, no matter what." he told her as he lifted his head up before planting it back on her lips.
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Post by GX1997 on Feb 8, 2014 17:38:57 GMT -6
But I don't belong here. I'm a stranger who brought news of the death of someone dear.
Elia tried to appear rather calm, but at that point she wasn't sure just how well her facade was holding up.
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Post by Golurkcanfly on Feb 8, 2014 17:48:06 GMT -6
"But Graecius brought the news of your families death to you, did he not?" Hestus tried to reason with the gloomy Elia. "Are you angry at him? Are you upset at him? No, you're not. Father is going to need you more than ever. You do belong here, because fate has brought you here. Do you believe in fate?"
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Post by GX1997 on Feb 8, 2014 17:58:34 GMT -6
Fate...? ...Is that what you call being hunted down and kidnapped, and never being told so much as why until it was convenient for them? Because if that's fate, then I believe it's real.
Elia took a deep breath before she continued.
Hestus, you're their son. Graecius is their son. I'm the girl they brought here simply to give Titus a little peace of mind. As it is, I'm only a pawn in their game, not someone they really care about. And there's nothing I can do about it. I'm stuck living like this for the rest of my life.
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Post by Golurkcanfly on Feb 8, 2014 18:08:22 GMT -6
"I was a kid who was abandoned by my own mother who thought it best to just thrust me onto someone else." Hestus told Elia in a harsh tone. "I have to live with the shame that I wasn't even good enough for my own mother. That I can never live up to her expectations, that I can never see her smile of approval. Sure, you might have been taken against your will, but you weren't given up because you were less than exemplary. Don't expect me to throw you a pity party just because you're sad. Everyone experiences tragedy, some just handle it better than most."
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