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..."

"I'm surprised you care whether he is vile or not." Faline said softly. "I mean, you couldn't get me here fast enough. Not to mention leave just as quickly. You didn't even wait to say goodbye to me in person." Already her button nose was growing a bright pink. "I'm surprised you even still have the orb he gave you! I would have thought you dropped it in the nearest pig pen like you do everything else I give you!"

Cessily stared at the image of her sister, not saying a word as Faline spat all her hatred at her. When she believed the younger woman to be finished, Cessily finally spoke. "I probably won't survive whatever is in the Northern wilds, but I went anyway. I could either die on the executioners block, or I could die out here, not that such a thought entered the space inside that pretty little head of yours! Be well, Faline, because if I do fail in returning with a dragon egg... You finally have to stand on your own two feet." Once she had said that, Cessily rose to her feet and walked away from the crystal.

Faline sat where she was, her fingers shaking as she held onto the crystal. She didn't know where those words of hate had come from. They were not her own and now it was far too late to take them back. "Cessily..." Her breath caught in her throat and she began to sob as the crystal went dark. Her sister was gone and she would never get to tell her how much she truly loved her.

Lucian had heard every word, though he didn't go to Faline right away. It had taken so little to drive to wedge between two sisters.

If Braun came upstairs then he would find Cessily sat in the cooling water of the tub, her knees hugged to her chest as she sobbed. Faline thought she hated her, when all the elder girl had ever wanted was for her sister to never know how cold life could be.

After a while Faline dumped the crystal in a drawer and slammed it shut, shaking her head as she stood there. Her sister was finally rid of her. It was probably the best gift she could ever have given her. Her desire to see the rose garden gone, she turned to head toward the kitchens. She needed to finish her ale anyway. 

"Cessily?" Braun woke, thinking he needed to thank the slender woman for the blanket. He knocked several times on the door and frowned when she never answered. "Come on now. You're not still mad about earlier, are you?"

Lucian had watched her shut the crystal away, and smiled to himself as he blended with the shadows, allowing Faline to pass him by. He didn't share, and he wanted this lovely creature all to himself.

"Go away!" Cessily finally called through the door, though her voice wavered somewhat. She had crawled out of the now cold water and was curled up in the large bed. She looked so small surrounded by all the heavy blankets.

Faline found herself forgetting the fight with her sister. She spent the rest of the afternoon in the kitchens with the maids and the cook, laughing and joking warmly. She assumed that the king had gotten busy and forgotten her as well but for the moment it wasn't really bothering her. She didn't feel totally alone. 

"At least you are warm." Braun said as he entered the room anyway. He had an infuriating ability of not doing as he was asked. He entered the room and sat down on the bed, staring at the cold water of the tub. "Feel better?"

"His majesty sure seems to have taken a shine to you." One of huge maids commented with a grin. "Things have certainly brightened up around here!"

"Not really." Came Cessily's muffled reply from beneath the blankets.

"I'm glad to hear it." Faline sad, hoping that this really was true. "All of you need a little more sunshine in your lives." She held out a small glass of the ale she'd made to the woman with a nervous smile. "Pretend to like it." She said softly.

"Why not, kitten?" Braun asked, resting a large hand on her leg beneath the covers. "What's troubling you? Not the incident in the woods before we got here is it? You're a big girl. I cannot wait until you return fire for that after all."

The other woman glanced around, as though tasting even the tiniest drop of ale was forbidden for her. "Do you make it for his majesty?" She asked as she took the glass and lifted it to her lips.

Cessily didn't jump as she thought she would have when Braun's hand came to rest on her bare leg. "Nothing you need to worry about. It won't affect our quest." She breathed, not wanting to seem weak and allow Braun to see she had been crying.

Faline nodded. "He tried to tell me that only northern land ale is good. I needed to prove him wrong." She said, giving the woman a hopeful smile. "I hope I wasn't getting ahead of myself."

"What's wrong?" Braun asked. "You're so quiet. And you let me take care of your horse. That doesn't seem like you at all."

The young woman was licking her lips and smiling. "It does taste very good, however... I have nothing to compare it to." She admitted sheepishly.

"Nothing." Cessily lied, seeming to burrow a little deeper into the blankets. "Did you make sure she was warm?"

"And you're not suppose to." Faline remind her, clucking her tongue. "I suppose I'll just have to leave the guessing up to him. No come on, t here's no decree that says we can't eat anything." 

"I suppose so." He shrugged. "A blanket and a warm stall. I don't seek how the two of you could ever want to for greener pastures.""

"Maybe there is, and you wouldn't know." The young woman replied with a smirk. "Or maybe there is a decree that only you are allowed to make ale for everyone in the city?" She teased.

"It's easy." Cessily breathed from within her blanket fortress. "I've done my part... I delivered Faline, and now I can never return home."

"There are far too many rules. How do you keep up with them all?" Faline asked as she put a cork in her jar of ale and began to clean the station she'd used. "Being the daughter of a jarl wasn't nearly as hard. There were only half the rules to keep up with."

Braun laid down beside her, his large hands still resting on her slender legs. "How do you know that? How you know your true home isn't waiting for you just around the corner? why the darkness, Cessily? This isn't like the warrior woman I've come to know."

"I can't imagine how hard life must have been for you out in the borderlands." The other woman breathed. "I wouldn't be able to sleep, knowing the outlanders could raid at any moment!"

Cessily didn't say anything for the longest moment. She was beginning to wonder if her father had ever loved her even a little, seeing the different way he treated herself and Faline. "I spoke to Faline." She breathed at last. "I... Don't think she ever saw a single thing I did for her."

Faline shook her head. "It's not that bad. We had plenty of warriors to keep us safe. At least we did until recently. That was why my father went me here, our village needed help more than it needed a woman who could make ale."

"That crystal is filled with darkness." Braun said, gently lifting up the covers. He made no mention of the red nose he saw beneath it. "Whatever was said between you two girls was because he wanted to make sure and keep you away from her."

"What made him choose you?" The woman asked curiosly. "I mean... Oh my, I didn't mean it to sound rude, I just..." She stopped talking and exhaled heavily. "Sorry."

"Even if that vile man hadn't sent me on this stupid quest... I still couldn't go home, or see Faline again." Cessily breathed, seeming so small when surrounded by the heavy blankets. "My father told me I couldn't return unless it was with a husband."

Faline shook her head. "He chose me because my sister wouldn't do it." She whispered, no longer wanting to talk about these things. "He had no one else." She finished cleaning her station and turned to grab the bottle. Deciding not to give it to Lucian she dropped it in the garbage. 

"And you think it would be hard to find one?" Braun asked, pulling back more of the covers to reveal her hair. "You don't give yourself any credit, Cessily. I wish I knew why."

The other woman looked sadly at the garbage, then turned her gaze back to Faline. "His majesty would have been most thankful for the ale you made just for him."

One green eyes peeked out at Braun, though it was rather red rimmed. "You were the first man to ever kiss me." She confessed, clearly rather humiliated by this fact. "Surely there must be something wrong, if no one before you even thought about it?"

"The northern ale is better." Faline said, trying hard to swallow the darkness that was eating her alive inside. "It wasn't the best batch I ever made anyway. I'd rather wait until he chooses a queen and give it to them both as a gift." She shrugged. 

"Or maybe you were just waiting for me." Braun whispered, pulling back the covers a little further to press his lips to hers. "I see nothin wrong with that, Cessily. And maybe it was just that none of them were good enough for you."

"You would give yourself a wedding gift?" The other woman asked with a grin before returning to her own work.

As last time, Cessily was very almost melting right there beneath Braun. She would never confess it out loud, but she enjoyed the way he tried to rule her and in some way make her his own. But marriage? She didn't think either of them wanted that.

Faline shook her head, not for a moment believing she would be a queen. "Have a good day, Maylynn." She said softly as she left the kitchens and headed outside. 

"Get some sleep, Cessily." Braun breathed, this time kissing her on the forehead. "We are hours from the Iceland borders. It's only just beginning, my love."

Lucian wasn't too far away. He had an uncanny knack of always knowing where Faline was. "Making friends?" He asked, falling into step beside her.

Cessily didn't say anything, though she rolled over and curled herself up tight. Sleep was difficult to come by after everything that had been said, but she knew she needed it.

Faline didn't know if she was making friends or they were forced to be kind to her. She wouldn't be surprised to hear that the king had ordered them to. She was feeling lonely and she was missing her family. It was eating her alive inside.

Braun laid down behind her and pulled her into the curve of his body. "It's warm here." He whispered. "I wonder if this is the last time I'll ever be arm again." He admitted, burying his face in her hair. "Let me stay...just tonight.."

"Not even a smile?" Lucian pressed as they walked. "Did you put any more thought into my offer to take you to look for some more clothes?" He asked, suddenly feeling rather nervous.

Cessily's hand came to rest lightly over Braun's where he held her. "I look forward to the ice in the north." She confessed softly.

"I can't accept anymore gifts, sire. I have nothing to give you in return." Faline said, shaking her head. She stopped in the middle of the garden, closing her eyes as the warm breeze blew through her hair. "I have nothing, Lucian. I'm sorry."

"You would." Braun chuckled, pressing his lips to the back of her neck. "Frigid little vixen." He purred, his hands sliding along her hips.

"You have so much more than you think." Lucian breath, lifting a hand to let the ends of Faline's silken hair brush his fingertips. "Who made you doubt how much wor you have simply by being yourself?"

Cessily closed her eyes, a delicious shiver running through her more at Braun's words than his touch. "Maybe I'm just afraid?" She suggested softly.

"Sire, believing in myself has nothing to do with insisting I be giving dresses I do not deserve." Faline told him, watching the gentle way he stroked her curls. "I am not ashamed of myself. I just don't think I have earned the right to gain such favor from you."

Braun turned her over to face him, this time kissng her with a hunger that wouldn't be assuaged wth a just me meeting of the lips. "What are you afraid of?" He breathed against her skin as he bent his head to kiss her neck.

"Why not?" Lucian asked simply. "Is it not enough for you that i believe you have earned such favour?"

A soft moan escaped Cessily before she could answer, Braun's lips a sweet torment against her flushed skin. "That I won't be good enough..." She confessed with a brutal honesty that came from being compared to her sister all their lives.