Arianna Corelli
Aristocrat
Future Duchessa Bellazza; House Corelli
Posts: 121
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Post by Arianna Corelli on Jul 7, 2011 17:15:53 GMT -5
Before the war, a month into captivity
It was one of the longer days, after having been ordered around the kitchens all morning, then singing the brats to sleep in the evening, they'd sent me to tend to the horses and I was glad of it. It was one of the only times I could get away from the busy, primitively crude lifestyle of those people, and, ashamedly, the only time I could wallow.
As I went about cleaning the stables, then feeding the horses, I began to sing songs of home. It was also one of the only times I could use my mother tongue; the Skaldi didn't like me singing in Caerdicci or D'Angeline and I'd been forced to learn their lullabies despite not understanding the words. The horses listened with pricked ears, and it struck me with a certain irony that we were both unwilling captives.
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Post by Kai “Ill-Begotten” Ungewollt on Jul 7, 2011 17:28:51 GMT -5
When I had nothing to do, but couldn't play my harp without being thrown a pail, I hunted. It was an exercise in marksmanship, and it brought food to the table. Pheasants were easy to catch, this time of year. I'd stay quiet, listening, bow at the ready. I'd wait. When the time was right, I'd shoot, and flawlessly hit. It made me smile without joy.
I was bringing a bird back to the kitchens, quietly locked in the safety of my solitude, when I heard a voice singing in a language I'd never heard. I strayed from my path, then, both lured by her son and by curiosity, and leaned quietly against the shed's wall, a ways away, listening her and ignoring my catch's quiet dribble of blood on the thirsty ground.
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Arianna Corelli
Aristocrat
Future Duchessa Bellazza; House Corelli
Posts: 121
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Post by Arianna Corelli on Jul 7, 2011 17:41:37 GMT -5
I was mid-verse when the horse before me tensed, rearing its head and shying away from me with a nervous whinny. Frowning, I turned around and noticed a man not so very far away, a dead bird dripping blood in his grasp.
"Look what you've done," I snapped in Caerdicci, forgetting myself for a moment. Reaching out gently to stroke the horse, I reverted to the little Skaldic I knew. "You make horse afraid."
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Post by Kai “Ill-Begotten” Ungewollt on Jul 8, 2011 0:08:13 GMT -5
“It's a war horse,” I replied slowly, in my heavily accented d'Angeline. “It must learn to accept blood. It's much worse in battle.”
I didn't move from my observation point, and instead reached to pluck a log and sat, and started plucking the bird's feathers, a job I'd have normally given the slave.
“You sing well. Sing again,” I ordered, eyes on my own task.
If I'd ordered her to do it, then she was safe from any retaliation, but making it obvious would have been stupid of me.
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Arianna Corelli
Aristocrat
Future Duchessa Bellazza; House Corelli
Posts: 121
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Post by Arianna Corelli on Jul 8, 2011 0:27:03 GMT -5
He replied in D'Angeline, comprehensible albeit strongly accented. Then, he sat and started plucking the bird as though it were perfectly normal to be lounging there, demanding I sing again. I almost refrained out of spite, but then thought better of it. I'd managed to keep a low profile so far, I didn't want to be punished over a trivial disobedience like that. It didn't mean I had to like it though.
"As my lord wills," I said icily, before singing; an old folk tune about a woman whose husband was murdered and the spell she cast to kill the man who did it.
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Post by Kai “Ill-Begotten” Ungewollt on Jul 9, 2011 0:59:48 GMT -5
I said nothing and resumed plucking the bird's feathers, throwing them in a pail nearby, though there was fluff flying around me. There was the smell of blood and dung, too, but the meat would be good, and some of the feathers were pretty.
She sang, and I listened, saying nothing, just working, though inwardly, I told myself that she had a beautiful voice, that she was... well, that she was intriguing and different. I wondered what the words meant, too, and if she sounded angry because of the song, or because of her captivity.
After a bit, I found myself nodding to the beat of the song and quietly humming the chorus, under my breath.
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Arianna Corelli
Aristocrat
Future Duchessa Bellazza; House Corelli
Posts: 121
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Post by Arianna Corelli on Jul 9, 2011 8:10:44 GMT -5
His work was offputting, though I wasn't directly looking at him I could smell the fetid stench of the dead fowl, its feathers hovering about. I'm sure the horse would have wrinkled its nose in disgust were it so inclined, but I kept it docile with my song. Certainly, I might have gagged and ceased, annoyed with the fact he was defeathering the stupid bird and ruining the atmosphere, but then he hummed the chorus, pitch perfect. Sure, the Skaldi could be robust and enthusiastic when singing their battle songs, but I had never heard one of them with actual musicality before.
Despite myself, I found that I was harmonising the choruses with him, it was hard not to. When the ballad finally drew to a close, there was a brief moment of peace, one of those moments at the end of a performance where that feeling of being beyond reality still clings to your consciousness. But then I looked over at him, taking in the Skaldic attire and the hostility returned with a vengeance. Pursing my lips I became stubbornly silent, resuming my chores with grim efficiency, pointedly trying to ignore him.
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Post by Kai “Ill-Begotten” Ungewollt on Jul 10, 2011 2:32:58 GMT -5
I could feel her eyes searing onto me. She hated me, just as almost everyone else did. It shouldn't have bothered me, but it did – it always did.
I finished cleaning the bird in silence, ignoring her as well, and cleaned after myself, the now nude pheasant hung on a hook in the meantime that I did so. All those things I was doing, which clearly disgusted her, were chores any other would have forced upon her. I was loath to do so – it was needlessly cruel.
After a while, I broke the silence with a simple compliment.
“You have a lovely voice. You shouldn't be made to feel that you can't sing in my presence.”
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Arianna Corelli
Aristocrat
Future Duchessa Bellazza; House Corelli
Posts: 121
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Post by Arianna Corelli on Jul 10, 2011 4:07:49 GMT -5
The man was positively unnerving, just sitting there with the bird. I wondered why he was still here enduring the silence when he gave an unanticipated compliment that stunned me into response.
"You people killed my betrothed, stole my freedom and trampled over my dignity. Is it any wonder why I am reluctant to sing for any of you? At least allow me the courtesy of being able to sing of my own volition, in my own language, in private; for what little joy I may garner from it."
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Post by Kai “Ill-Begotten” Ungewollt on Jul 10, 2011 11:40:11 GMT -5
I could have tried to defend myself. I participated in raids only because, ah, Odihnn knew, it was the way of things, and though a half-breed, an angel's whelp, I was Skaldi, too, and that was the way it went.
Instead, I said nothing.
“As you wish,” I replied, simply. I stood, then, and unhooked the bird from the roof. “Sing in your own language, sing in private, woman. Have what joy you can. I'll go find my own.”
With that, I turned to go, frustrated with her – I'd only tried to make her life less unpleasant by being kind to her, I'd only tried to protect her.
“Finish up here,” I added over my shoulder, “and come to see me, there,” I pointed to the hut where I lived alone, now that Hanneke had claimed me grown, “I'll have a task for you.”
With that, I left without turning back. She was irritating me, and I wouldn't let that feeling grow - that, I saved for those who were strong enough to shoulder it. I saved it for the enemy soldiers.
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Arianna Corelli
Aristocrat
Future Duchessa Bellazza; House Corelli
Posts: 121
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Post by Arianna Corelli on Jul 10, 2011 17:53:47 GMT -5
I'd angered him. Oh how foolish of me to have done so, and he seemed the sort who simmered into something more sinister, not one of those who would scream and rail and clout me then be done with it.
I took my time, not relishing the thought of what was awaiting me. I could pretend I hadn't understood him of course, but he'd spoken in D'Angeline, and everyone knew by now that I spoke it too. I didn't dare ignore him, if he told anyone that I had refused to obey him there'd be a sound whipping, and perhaps they would force me into someone's bed. Maybe that's what he intended to do.
With leaden feet, I closed the stable door and trudged up to the hut he'd indicated, knocking on the door, head held high. Whatever happened next, I wouldn't do it submissively.
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Post by Kai “Ill-Begotten” Ungewollt on Jul 10, 2011 20:25:07 GMT -5
By the time the temperamental captive came to meet me, I'd finished putting the bird to roast and the pleasant smell of it was rising outside my hut. I'd sat on my couch, and I played quietly, just pinching the strings of my harp, looking for new and interesting harmonies.
I was bothered, still, but playing and being away from her had done me good. The harp had done me good, too. I knew what I wanted to do.
When she knocked on the door, though, I put my instrument away, and instead of inviting her inside, I stepped out, towering over her whether I liked it or not. “Come,” I said, simply.
I dragged a few logs closer to the pike, and turned it, so that the roast would be more even.
“Sit,” I said, simply.
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Arianna Corelli
Aristocrat
Future Duchessa Bellazza; House Corelli
Posts: 121
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Post by Arianna Corelli on Jul 10, 2011 21:09:33 GMT -5
The smell of food was rather distracting, but I didn't want to be lulled into a false sense of security. With a hostile glare, I sat stiffly on one of the logs, making it clear I was not going to be cooperative. What was he playing at?
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Post by Kai “Ill-Begotten” Ungewollt on Jul 11, 2011 0:20:14 GMT -5
She still looked angry, and so for a time I ignored her, focusing on the bird and its cooking, turning it when I could have ordered her to do so as well.
After a while, I said, quietly, still not looking at her, “My name is Kai. They call me Ill-Begotten.”
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Arianna Corelli
Aristocrat
Future Duchessa Bellazza; House Corelli
Posts: 121
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Post by Arianna Corelli on Jul 11, 2011 1:07:03 GMT -5
Kai, the shortened version of the word for king? I wondered if it was a jest of some sort, or why he'd even bother sharing his name with a prisoner. I didn't know what he was expecting, I wasn't eager to give my name in return, if he knew my true status then they'd know I had ransom value, and I wasn't going to give anyone the satisfaction of using me as a commodity to trade, ever again.
"Why Ill-begotten?" I asked eventually.
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Post by Kai “Ill-Begotten” Ungewollt on Jul 11, 2011 1:15:26 GMT -5
I took my time, turned the bird on the pike again, as if it was important.
“My mother was a captive,” I said slowly. “Like you.”
And then I turned away, not quite sure what to do. Well, not like her, obviously. She wasn't D'Angeline, whatever she was. The point stood, though.
I rarely spoke of it, and even less so with the captives. Most of them thought me one of the worst, because I spoke more D'Angeline than most, and had to attend torture sessions.
Ah, if only they knew.
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Arianna Corelli
Aristocrat
Future Duchessa Bellazza; House Corelli
Posts: 121
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Post by Arianna Corelli on Jul 11, 2011 1:37:17 GMT -5
Whatever I had been expecting, it wasn't that. Although now that he'd mentioned it, it made sense. There was a refinement to his features that the others lacked, and it explained why he spoke D'Angeline.
"Ill-begotten," I whispered again, then my voice increased in volume as my thoughts began to marshal. "It was not her choice then. How can you stand to be here? After what they did to your mother? After what they're doing now? How can you bear to be a part of it?"
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Post by Kai “Ill-Begotten” Ungewollt on Jul 11, 2011 19:56:46 GMT -5
I didn't look at her as she spoke, instead, I took my knife and cut into the spinning bird, checking how cooked it was. It wasn't ready, alas. So much for putting an end to her accusations with food.
“Do you think I would have been welcome on the other side?” I asked quietly, with little to no emotion.
I was so used to being treated poorly that I had learned to pretend not to care well enough. Ironic, that I should use against her the same methods as I did with my own kind.
Ah, well. I was Skaldi, more than I was D'Angeline, wasn't I?
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Arianna Corelli
Aristocrat
Future Duchessa Bellazza; House Corelli
Posts: 121
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Post by Arianna Corelli on Jul 11, 2011 20:12:07 GMT -5
"Have you ever tried?" I countered in the same tone. I had only spent the briefest of times with D'Angelines, and before that had only heard of them by word of mouth, but from all accounts they were an accepting people. The man who would have been my husband was a testament to that.
"A child cannot choose their parents, they cannot be held accountable for the actions of their ancestors. You have a choice, if not Terre d'Ange then somewhere else, yet you remain here." I didn't imagine a half breed Skaldi had been well taken care of, merely tolerated, but I kept that thought to myself.
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Post by Kai “Ill-Begotten” Ungewollt on Jul 12, 2011 20:19:53 GMT -5
I shrugged, and turne the bird one more time, gave it another slice. Almost ready.
“I'm Skaldi,” I said, simply. “My place is here, woman, and you ask too many questions.”
Too many unsettling questions – too many questions that fed something I'd thought of before, and discarded. Too many questions, too, that made me feel ill to my stomach for what I'd done and not done.
Best to shut her up with food, and let sleeping dragons lie.
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Arianna Corelli
Aristocrat
Future Duchessa Bellazza; House Corelli
Posts: 121
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Post by Arianna Corelli on Jul 12, 2011 20:46:11 GMT -5
"Your place is wherever you choose it to be," I muttered then went quiet, deciding at last to be prudent rather than passionate. It wasn't wise to aggravate him any further, though I hoped at the very least that my words had affected him.
Instead, I stared at him intently while he dealt with the bird on the spit. A petty part of me hoped that might unsettle him too.
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Post by Kai “Ill-Begotten” Ungewollt on Jul 12, 2011 22:48:56 GMT -5
Instead of saying anything further on the matter, I fetched a plate and removed the bird from the pike, slowly proceeding to cut it to pieces that could be eaten with one's hands.
I worked in silence for a while, until I spoke again, on a completely different matter.
“Which part do you prefer?”
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Arianna Corelli
Aristocrat
Future Duchessa Bellazza; House Corelli
Posts: 121
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Post by Arianna Corelli on Jul 12, 2011 23:34:12 GMT -5
Why, why did he have me here? I eyed him warily for a moment, then gave an unhelpful shrug. "Whichever part my lord sees fit to dispense with."
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Post by Kai “Ill-Begotten” Ungewollt on Jul 13, 2011 0:17:00 GMT -5
“My name is Kai,” I said evenly, “and I want you to pick the morsel that you want, and to eat it, and to enjoy it.”
I looked up at her, and gave her a small smile.
“I'm not as monstrous as you seem to think, woman. I'm just trying to treat you kindly.”
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Arianna Corelli
Aristocrat
Future Duchessa Bellazza; House Corelli
Posts: 121
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Post by Arianna Corelli on Jul 13, 2011 0:33:52 GMT -5
"Why bother?" Still stubborn, I didn't move an inch. "What's the point in being kind to a captive? What if I were to set the steading on fire while you all slept? What if you had to interrogate me, like I'm sure you've had to do before? What would be the point in your kindness then?"
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Post by Kai “Ill-Begotten” Ungewollt on Jul 13, 2011 1:44:21 GMT -5
“I'd have done something good,” I said quietly, and shrugged, “and you would have had a good meal.”
I reached for a piece of meat, and ate it quietly for a bit. After a bit, I spoke mildly, again.
“I don't interrogate women.”
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Arianna Corelli
Aristocrat
Future Duchessa Bellazza; House Corelli
Posts: 121
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Post by Arianna Corelli on Jul 13, 2011 1:54:30 GMT -5
That silenced me. I had not yet come across a Skaldi with a conscience let alone a heart. Tentatively, I reached out for the smallest morsel of meat, if he was eating it then it must be safe.
"I'm Arianna," I said finally.
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Post by Kai “Ill-Begotten” Ungewollt on Jul 13, 2011 2:16:44 GMT -5
I ate a bit more, slowly, taking time to suckle the meat's juice where there was some.
“You're not D'Angeline,” I said after a moment.
It was half a question, but not really one – in case she didn't want to answer it.
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Arianna Corelli
Aristocrat
Future Duchessa Bellazza; House Corelli
Posts: 121
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Post by Arianna Corelli on Jul 13, 2011 3:15:52 GMT -5
"No I'm not. I am from La Serinissima." Telling him my nationality didn't really seem like such risk, it was obvious that I wasn't from around here and I wasn't sure he'd even know where it was. I took a small bite, then another, until the morsel was gone. I hadn't realised that I was feeling a little hungry.
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Post by Kai “Ill-Begotten” Ungewollt on Jul 13, 2011 10:25:36 GMT -5
“Arianna, from La Serenissima,” I repeated, tasting the new and odd sounds on my lips. “Such song to your language,” I said slowly. “You were singing in.... Serenissiman?”
I had no idea what the correct appellation was, but it seemed logical.
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