The Beginning of Something New - The Holdless

Just as he'd expected. Flynn's reaction to his threat was perfect. The corners of the man's mouth pulled into a whit of a pleased grin as she searched frantically for escape routes and then returned his stare. Drien had intervened quickly to put her heart and mind at ease, so it wasn't until they began making their way after Rihan that he shot her a sly, sidelong glance to say, "It was a joke." But the tone of his voice hardly agreed with his words.

The Captain of the Guard quietly walked along side the rest of the group, until they joined back up with Rihan and Eolyn.

“Thank you for all you have done for me and all that you do for my Lord Rihan.”...“It is a great honor to meet you both.”

Bowing deeply to the Lady Eolyn when introductions were made, "My Lady, I'm just glad that I could be of service to see that you remained safe."


The Captain stood then, as a silent guardian while Drien prompted Flynn to step forward and address Rihan directly.


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Rihan simply couldn't help but smile at his betrothed's thoughtful diction as she took time to address them all and thank them. The young lord's eyes were upon her at that time with such infatuation, it would have been easy to imagine he'd tuned the rest of the world out.

But not quite. It stole his interest when Drien so notably stepped up to vouch for the holdless woman. His eyes of course, were upon her then, studying her own.

“She did indeed offer her support and her bow to your cause, my Lord.”...“Least of all were her efforts on my behalf. As you well know, my talents lie in areas other than physical combat.”
“As for her state, my Lord,”...“We will indeed attend to that.”

Glancing back to his cousin, Rihan nodded. Even before the woman Flynn spoke, he'd seen what he felt he needed to see in her eyes. It equably entertained his thoughts when Flynn took Drien's prompting to approach him directly. Rihan's eyes were set curiously upon her as she withdrew her arm from Drien's to approach him on her own.

"M'Lord Rihan,"..."m'Lady Eolyn. I beg a moment, that I might find employment in your Hold."..."At the very least... please consider taking my brother in. He's unbranded and learns quickly."..."I apologize for the trouble the others of my... former camp caused, and I'm willing to take whatever punishment I'm due. I... just please don't punish my brother, he's only a child and had nothing to do with any of this."

For a few seconds long enough that the silence nearly began to become awkward, Rihan was considerate of her words. The serene expression he wore was belied by the intrigue found in his eyes at that point; those grey eyes danced, almost as if they laughed. When he finally spoke, it wasn't a clear answer to her request and probably wasn't the answer they had all expected. "You're interesting. A girl with the courage to address a Lord Holder so directly."

Again, a moment's pause in which he could consider her. "What passion must drive her. There can be found no fault for any man -or woman- possessing such honest conviction. Flynn is deserving of our admiration in that respect."

Without skipping a beat then, Rihan continued his speech more purposefully, "I would not have you separated from your brother if such a thing could be helped. Nor will my hand be forced in this situation -you must know what kind of position you put a Lord Holder in, asking him to take on the holdless? That said," Those silvery grey eyes of his turned upon the Steward then, "My dear cousin, let me ask you something."

Returning his gaze to the woman in Green as he addressed Drien, such words were also for her sake; these words were her answer. "If this little boy were the cares of an entire Hold, would you take him onto your lap? Would you care for his needs? Or would you cast him aside?" Abruptly, Rihan's gaze broke away from Flynn, and his fan opened to continue fanning himself, obviously a little troubled over his own thoughts as he turned to angle himself away from them, so that he was staring off into the sky. His pose became one of thoughtfulness as he sighed softly. "Your punishment, then...? Your punishment should be your loyalty to me, considering that both you and your brother return to Telgar with us. But such a thing is not so easily commanded; nor should it be. So that,... your punishment, I leave unto you to decide, depending on your own honour."

Rihan did not look back at them, but awaited any response from his Steward to his querry. And at that point, he could not consider himself worried over Flynn's character, no matter what Drien or anyone else said. If she possessed such a strength of conviction to address him like this, then she would have the conviction to follow through with whatever it took to fulfill her goal. Likewise, the truth of her character would show based on her response to his 'punishment'. He'd left it up to her to decide how grateful she was, how guilty she was, how honourable she was. But, when it came to an individual's honour and loyalty, that was the only thing he could do -leave it up to the other person to decide. It would be her chance to begin proving herself to him, just as he'd begun proving himself a worthy master to her.

Drien’s brow furrowed at his Lord’s words. He knew the lines were blurred on this subject. It was not deemed politically correct to have dealings with the Shunned. And, truth, the request put Rihan in a hard place. But he couldn’t help but feel Flynn’s heart, especially when she would offer to have only her brother stay on. It was an act of true selflessness.

“Does a child not deserve to be cared for? If all he has known is struggle and strife when he should know honor and achievement? What child anywhere can reach the top if they are not allowed to climb. What child can walk the high road if they do not know it exists. Can a clipped wherry dream of flight? Can a blinded wher glory in a sunrise? And if one or another finds what they have been long denied and joins the course with a pure heart and true intent, who can dare nullify that aspiration.”

He paused, watching his cousin as he spoke. And for a moment, searched his own heart in hopes his words were not only selfish.

“I would not ask you to lift one bent on carnage. Nor expect overtures for a ‘snake in disguise. I will always be your own champion at the whiff of subversion. But I know that your heart, cousin, loves sincerity and your soul is enamoured with honor. I have seen you the guardian of noble motives and have witnessed the delightful and formidable outcomes.”

“A Hold does indeed rise and fall as a whole, but it is compiled one citizen at a time and assembled by a master builder with the vision and foresight to sort the honorable from the scoundrel.”

He searched Flynn’s face for a moment, knowing that she would have to decide the level of honor in her own heart. His hope, his belief, was that it was strong and alive.

“My only wish,” he said quietly to his cousin, “is that you don’t let dead ordinances decide in the face of a soul that wants only to flourish.” His voice dropped again in volume, "I, for one, could not do that."

Flynn's mouth went even drier at the Lord's words. Had she already erred in some unforgivable way? His speech was a great deal more cultured than what she was used to, and she was having trouble keeping up with it.

She couldn't have been more grateful when Drien spoke first, giving her the opportunity to rack her brain and try to figure out how to respond to the question posed her. She would do anything, anything, to ensure Tashin's safety. Loyalty... to a man she scarcely knew, who spoke so fancy that she stumbled while understanding it.

Her eyes flitted to the Lady, and that was perhaps what decided her. In a small corner of her mind was a memory, of her mother with that same small smile and spark of love in her eyes, whenever she would look at her father. She had seen that very rarely in her life, and never directed at a harsh man. If she was to be in servitude, at least it would be to a kind master, even if the independent Holdless woman inside her rebelled at the idea.

When Drien had finished speaking, she still had no idea what she was going to say. Her voice sounded so harsh and uncultured compared to... well, all of them. She stood there for a moment longer, mouth opened slightly as if she were just about to speak. Then she unslung her bow from her back and knelt, placing it at the Lord's feet and remaining there. She may not have the words to swear her loyalty to such a lofty man, but she hoped that the gesture was enough.

The young lord of Telgar listened to his cousin attentively, his eyes directed into the late afternoon sky where sparse clouds passed overhead. A deep sense of contemplation was laid bare there, in his expression. Dead ordinances indeed? Rihan did not utter his own thoughts on the matter here, for the discussion of such topics was best left for a time not spent at Gather. It was as one might have believed that his attention had departed from them completely that Rihan turned that silvery gaze over his shoulder to the holdless woman Flynn.

His expression shifted then, imparting such gentle affection that it lent him an almost boyish limn. Slowly, Rihan turned to face her completely, regarding her in this way, even through her hesitance, until she decided on her next course of action. When Flynn came to kneel and place her weapon before him, some whit of surprise shown in his eyes, though he did not seem displeased. "Ooi, oi. Does the heart of Ashflynna the Courageous allow her to serve a master other than herself?" He wondered aloud for the woman's benefit.

Though she was on her knee now, her weapon given over to him, he could not be completely satisfied by her actions, so he continued; his voice he hoped, would become the calming reassurance she needed to put her heart more at ease with him. "If your heart will allow it, and you want to become one of my people, then you should know this much: I trust my people and depend on them, so there are no ripples in the cup of wine that I share to seal such vows of loyalty." His eyes were shadowed then by the same creeping sense of gravity expressed through his low voice. "Let me speak more plainly. In other words, None who make that vow to me... are ever disloyal."

Rihan was quiet again, but just so that she could absorb how serious he was. Circumambient him now, could be felt the strength of authority and absolute Will that Rihan possessed; perhaps oddly, his demeanor was still of utter serenity, even if the sense of his presence had become more heavily exerted. "If you are kneeling before me that I might accept such a vow of fealty from you also, understand that I do not take such promises lightly, and none should make such promises so freely. If you make such a vow to me,...and you break it...it is likely that your life could be forfeit. Do you really think I believe that you are prepared for that?"

Rihan paused just long enough to wet his lips, clasping his hands at the small of his back. "No. I'm afraid you are not. But please, return with us to Telgar so that you and your brother are given care, and over time, discover for yourself the resolve and honour you yourself possess. Then, one day, when your resolve is clear, you may serve me and rightly repay me. Until that time however, consider yourself in debt...or yet to be 'punished', if that be the case.

"Ashflynna, you are a very strong woman to survive as you have, and then fight against the rough men you did earlier so take up your bow. I have no use for it unless it is in capable hands, and in the future I will need that strength of yours."


[END THREAD]