The Kindgom of Heaven and Hell

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Faline all but cowered at the back of the great hall. She hated meetings. They were often times full of loud angry men who had a tendency to throw things. This night was no different. The entire village had shown up, despite the raging storm outside. Every man from every family was there, shouting to be heard over the next.
Her father, the Jarl, was seated at the head of it all, one long leg draped over his ornate throne. For a while he remained silent, his eyes not one the villagers, but going from the young woman hiding under one of the tables near the door to her sister who sat on top of it, holding onto a rather heavy broad sword. He shook his head at both of them. 
Oalf sighed heavily and held up a hand to silence the crowd. "I am fully aware of the danger we now face from the outlanders. And I am aware that those who cross our borders are far from human. However, I am not sure if we warrant help from out bordering villages. If we decide to seek help, we will need to go to the king. But...he is a bartering man. I am not sure we have anything he will find worthy enough..."

"She has no more destiny than any other silly little girl playing with her fathers sword." Lucian insisted firmly. "She was not born to be queen, but you are."

Cessily paid no attention, she was up the staircase with her pert nose in the air. She wasn't sorry for what she had done. Not one little bit.

Faline laughed at this, shaking off the odd darkness she had allowed to settle over herself. "I am the daughter of a Jarl, sire. I am probably going to be the wife of one at best. I'll spend my life making bread, tending horses, and digging potatoes for my husband's table. There's nothing wrong with that." 

Braun shoved the table over and the cheating man with it. He went thundering up the stairs, despite the protests of the women now lying in a heap in the floor. "What was the meaning of that?!" He roared, catching Cessily at the top. "How dare you interfere!"

"What if you were meant for more? Not everyone is born into the path they are meant to walk." Lucian breathed.

Cessily turned her blazing green eyes on Braun as he caught up with her. "I doubted you would even notice!" She hissed. "Besides, you don't even know what I said! I could have promised a night with a virgin if he bet all his coin right then!"

"And what's wrong with being what you are?" Faline asked as she looked up into his golden eyes. "Not everyone can be a king, Lucian. There's nothing wrong with finding pleasure in being yourself, even if you're nothing but a court magician." She laughed softly. 

"I had that entire thing under control. You were satisfied sitting back there being a prude. Why did you not keep doing that?" Braun demanded, leaning down so that he was nose to nose with her.

Lucian's golden eyes showed a hint of fear when Faline breathed those words. "Why should being born into the right family give you control over the lives of everyone around you?" He asked seriously.

"Why do you even care?" Cessily asked coolly. "Go play with your half dressed whores and leave this virgin in peace!"

"Why should a string dipped in wax be the only thing the provides us light in the darkness?" Famine asked, daring to reach out and tuck a wayward lock of hair behind his ear. "Some questions are impossible to answer. And some are just waiting for the right one." 

"You're mad at me for telling the truth?" Braun grunted. "One would think that you would honored by that. There are not many of your kind left, kitten." His face softened somewhat and he reached out for her hand though stopped short.

"And some answers are wrong." Lucian breathed, afraid to reach out and touch Faline in case he scared her and she never touched him again.

"You made an assumption, believing no one would be foolish enough to come that close to me!" Cessily snapped, taking a step backwards further up the staircase.

"I miss your smile, Lucian." Faline said gently, realizing she'd left him with dough on the edge of his ear. "Come on, help me get this bread in the oven and we'll go find something for breakfast." 

"I did not. I know that you are better than that." Braun said, his tone much more gentle than it had been before. "Not all of us are, kitten."

Lucian did offer Faline a smile and out real effort into helping with the bread. It was a simple task he had never done before, and actually found it quite enjoyable.

"You don't know me though." Cessily whispered, her hands hugged to her chest as though she were afraid they would cause Braun harm in some way.

After breakfast Lucian was pulled away to deal with an issue and Faline was left to her own devices. She found herself back in the kitchen, convincing the cook to give her enough barely to make a single hug of ale. After promising the burly woman a glass she got to work, pulling back her hair and thing up her skirts. 

"I would like to get to know you, Cessily." Braun confessed. "Not even in that way. Perhaps...friends? To begin with?"

"I've never seen the king act the way he does when he is with you." One of the kitchen maids confessed as she watched Faline. "He just truly like you."

Cessily was shocked to hear this, and didn't quite know how to respond. "And what if I am not a very good friend?" She breathed.

Faline laughed at this, shaking her head. "I think I am something novel to your king. Soon enough he will lose interest in me and be on to the next thing. Did he not smile very often before I came?"

"And if you are?" Braun countered, not about to back down any more than she was. "You're not giving me any credit. I think I can judge the type of people I choose to have as friends very well thank you." He muttered, never knowing he was in fact terrible at it.

"Never." The maid breathed. "He would sit in the throne room and read his books. Oh... So many books."

"I think you would choose me, only at a lack of any other prospects." Cessily breathed, again taking another step up the staircase.

"Really?" This surprised Faline. She didn't see Lucian as being very bookish. Yesterday he'd been seemed to truly enjoy the outdoors. "What kind of books was he reading she asked?" She paused her task to look at the other woman, trying to decide whether or not to believe what she was saying. 

Braun followed her, undeterred. "I would choose you because you are interesting and because you drive me crazy. I'm pretty sure I haven't met a woman yet who has been able to do that." He breathed.

"Sorry, miss, I can't read." The maid confessed as though it was no big deal. "They were heavy looking though, even his majesty was only just able to lift it." She added as she began plucking a goose.

"I don't think..." Cessily's words were cut off right there. The dark haired woman had tried to take another step back, only she was already at the top of the staircase, which left her tumbling backwards to the ground.

Faline cringed every time she saw the woman yank out a feather. She just couldn't handle it. Her sister had used to love watching her squirm. "Uh..." She swallowed hard, trying to regain her thoughts. Her own recipe would need a while to sit. It was the perfect time to go exploring elsewhere. "Do you know where the books are now?" 

Braun followed her, kneeling above her. "Are you all right?" He whispered, hating himself for how quickly he'd moved. He hadn't thought this through at all. His lips were so very close to hers.

"His majesty keeps his books locked in a cupboard in the library." The maid replied without looking up from what she was doing. "He doesn't like anyone going in there, mind you."

Cessily's heart was pounding, and it wasn't from the fall. She could feel the heat from Braun's body so close to her own and was reminded of the kiss they had shared in the dungeon. "I... I fell..." Cessily mumbled, well aware how stupid she sounded.

Faline ignored that part. All she could really hear was feathers leaving the goose. Her stomach churned and it wasn't long before she found herself inside the library and inspecting the locked cupboard. She was surprised to find that it wasn't locked at all and was soon struggling to pull out the first heavy book.

Braun's lips came down hard on hers and he kissed her deeply. Whatever self control he had been fighting so hard for had left him the moment his body had touched hers. Those other women weren't going to be enough. He wanted Cessily. No one else would do.

The books kept locked away were very old, older than the building they were stored in. They also were not a part of the royal library, they were Lucian's 'personal' collection.

Cessily was a little surprised Braun had wanted to kiss her again. The young woman's body arched up against his of its own accord as a wash of different emotions pulsed through her. Before she even knew it her slender fingers were sliding into his dark hair.

Faline was having trouble reading the book she'd picked out. It had little to do with the fact that her dress kept getting in the way. The text was strange. It have her a headache to look at it for too long. But what was most disturbing was the pictures. They were of monsters. Some of them were monsters she'd seem glimpses of while being herded into her father's store house. These were creatures beyond their borders, outlanders, and they were committing unspeakable horrors...

Braun gave a loud groan when Cessily's fingers touched his hair. It was even louder when her hips met his. He wasn't so sure he could stop himself anymore. It didn't matter that they were on a staircase...
It was a mixed blessing when the terrified scream echoed from outside. It was followed by several more until a young man came stumbling into the tavern door. "Monsters..." He gasped out, blood spilling past his lips. "They're every..." He fell face forward on the ground. He was very dead.

One of the books fell open, as though it had leapt off the bookcase and right beside Faline. The page showed something looked like a giant crow around the size of a man. It was sweeping a young woman out of her bed and up into the sky.

Cessily and wriggled from under Braun and was already running down the stairs again, her hand at her sword as she reached the door.

Faline leaned over the book she was reading and looked at the new one, her fingers tracing over the picture. It was rather stranger. Almost stranger than the outlanders she'd already been looking at. "What in the name of the gods is that..." She whispered, trying hard to read the text below it. 

Braun was right behind Cessily, his own hand on his sword. He was cursing under his breath. This was supposed to be a short night with a bed full of women. This was not supposed to end with the two of them fighting monsters. This did not make him happy in the slightest.

"None onf your business." Lucian was beside Faline now and had snapped the book shut, sending a cloud of dust up into the air. "Does a locked cabinet mean nothing in the borderlands?"

Cessily was sure she heard Braun growl, and glanced over her shoulder at him. "Fine, you stay here and find your pleasure. I'm going out there!"

Faline had no time to protest and was covering her face to sneeze in a prim manner. "It was not locked." She said after several tiny sneezes, one just like the other. "No one said I could not look at them." She added, still seated on the other book. 

"Oh no you don't." Braun grabbed her by the back of her pants and hauled Cessily back into the tavern. "Get your armor on first, kitten. There's no reason to get yourself beaten up before we even get to the crossroads to the iceland." He reminded her, sending her back inside and closing the door behind her. It didn't need to be said that he hadn't followed his own advice.

Lucian couldn't say for certain if the cabinet had been locked. He was sure he had locked it though. "Why exactly did you feel the need to come in here anyway?"

A dagger slammed into the door from the inside, poking out just beside Braun's head when he shut it. It was obvious that Cessily was most displeased by this treatment.

"I didn't know I wasn't allow to come into the library, sire." Faline said, though she didn't move from where she was sitting. For whatever reason, she was getting the odd feeling that the kitchen maid was right about one thing at least. "No one told me that either. I happen to like to read when it's raining outside." She added, motioning to the window where a thunderstorm was wreaking havoc on the outside of the castle. 

Braun couldn't help but chuckle. Every moment he found his desire for Cessily growing stronger. It was things like that that made it that way. He didn't have time to dwell on this thought, however. He could see outlanders darting in and out of the shadows. He had no more than a few moments to pull a heavy cart in front of the door before he headed after the first group of them.

"You have an entire library to choose from, why these ones?" Lucian asked curiously.

Of course Cessily soon discovered that Braun had tried to trap her in the inn with the other terrified villagers. It didn't take her long to find a window and squeeze her lithe frame out of it. This was her mission, he was just along for the ride, so she told herself.

Faline wasn't all that good at lying. She never had been. Her sister had used to box her on the ears for even trying. It had become habit to cringe when she was about to. It had gotten so bad over the years she no longer even knew she was doing it. "There was a fancy cabinet here." She muttered. "It looked better than those dusty old books by the curtain." 

Braun was surrounded by a group of snarling, snapping beasts. He was swinging his massive sword as if it were nothing but an extension of his arm. He was having fun at this. So much so he didn't even notice that Cessily had gotten free.

Even Lucian already knew that Faline was lying. "And this one, let me guess, just jumped off the shelf at you?" He snorted as he picked up a book, not realising that was exactly true.

Cessily had a somewhat different approach to fighting than Braun. She was part of the shadows, seeming to dance with them as her blade sliced through several of the outlanders. She had spent most of her life fighting these creatures when they encroached on her family land.