The Raven (closed)

[KieranSoares]

"... Alrigh'..." that was all he said as he turned from her and made his way over to the fireplace and quietly put together a fire with help from the burned-down embers, and he remained there as it flamed to life, crouched before it in silence. He wouldn't fight her, he loved her too dearly.

 

[heartofcourage]

Emma stared at Boar for a while longer before she moved to get dressed. As soon as her dress was laced and she slipped on a pair of shoes, she was out the door. She needed to leave the keep, to walk to the loch to clear her head.

 

[KieranSoares]

Emma was out for hours before she came upon a small camp and there, she found a familiar figure. It was none other than the estranged younger brother whom Tavish had threatened and thrown out to keep Emma to himself some while ago. Dunham looked ragged and his clothes were very nearly rags themselves. His beard was unkempt and his hair had grown longer and shabby. He was thin from malnutrition, and he was trying to roast a skinny rabbit over his dying fire. He didn't know how to live in the wilderness, in fact it was a miracle he'd survived this long.

He looked up, and his dulled eyes cleared and widened. "....Emma...?"

 

[heartofcourage]

Emma stopped short as Dunham said her name. She never would have thought that she would have run into the man that had abused her along with his brother out on the loch. Instead of being threatened by him, she felt pity. He looked abused himself, like he'd been struggling to survive.

"When was the last time you ate, Dunham?" She asked him softly.

 

[KieranSoares]

"... This'll be th' first time in a week..." he muttered quietly as his gaze returned to the roasting rabbit that wouldn't have hardly fed a toddler. Slowly, he looked back up at her. "I... I'm glad t'see ya lookin' well... I 'eard about what Tavish did.... an' I 'eard y'found a good lord fer yerself..."

 

[heartofcourage]

Emma was quiet for a while longer as she regarded the shadow of the man that she'd once known. She was a compassionate person, even if she had a streak in her that wanted more and better. It didn't matter to her that this man had once abused her in the most horrible way. She wanted to do everything in her power to help him.

"Pack your things. You're going to come with me and we're going to get you a warm meal and a roof over your head."

 

[KieranSoares]

Dunham's eyes registered his deep confusion and he rose to face her, "Are ya mad, Emma...? Yer offerin' help... After all I've done t'ya?" He seemed reluctant to accept her charity, and also reluctant to believe she had good intentions for him.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Someone has to take pity on you. It was your brother who made you do those things." She said simply as if that would explain all of the bad things that happened. "But if you don't want my offer, then I'll just turn and go."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I don' want yer charity... I don' deserve it... but I need it t'survive." He left behind his fire after kicking dirt over it to smother it. He brought a simple sack with hardly anything in it and followed Emma with his head down. He'd needed help since the day he left Tavish. He looked rugged, but he was only a fighter, not a survivalist.

 

[heartofcourage]

Emma didn't look behind her to see if he were following. He had been a follower his entire life. He would come with her whether he wanted to or not. Now, she just had to think of what she was going to tell Boar. This was, after all, a man that had hurt her not that long ago.

 

[KieranSoares]

When they arrived back at the keep, Boar was nowhere to be found. All that was left was a note tacked to his bedroom door telling her that he'd gone into town. Knowing a man such as he, he was probably either headed for the tavern or the loch.

Dunham was almost shy, quietly following and keeping his eyes on the ground.

 

[heartofcourage]

Emma was disappointed to see Boar's note, but she knew that he needed his space. She moved into the kitchen and pointed at a seat for Tavish to settle in. She would make him a simple meal, one that was filling and nourishing. She wouldn't let him starve to death and it would give her time to come up with an explanation for Boar when he did finally return.

 

[KieranSoares]

Dunham had to pace himself when he ate or he would've made himself sick, and when he finished, he looked at Emma and asked quietly again, "... Why?" He clearly believed that he deserved to he killed for what he'd done to her.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Because even though you did horrible things, I know that it isn't my place to decide your fate." Emma said simply, looking at the shadow of the man that had terrorized her for so long. "Boar Ghis is the leader of Inverlochly and he will be the one that decides what happens with you. I would start thinking now of what you will tell him."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'll tell 'im th'truth... what else?" Dunham sighed. He seemed resigned to the idea that any authority figure would put him to the hangman's noose or worse.

It was a few hours before Boar returned, looking calmer now. He'd spent his time at the loch after deciding that the tavern wasn't the right place to be. As he stepped in, he stopped short at the sight of Dunham. At the moment Emma was in another room. Boar's eyes narrowed and Dunham stood quickly. "Who're you?" Boar growled.

"Dunham, sir... Dunham Oleg." At the name 'Oleg', Boar remembered when Emma had told him of Sir Tavish Oleg and his brother who had treated her so horribly. It was just as Emma walked in that she saw Boar draw his axe from his belt, ready to kill or at the least, terribly maim this larger man.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Boar!" Emma barked, stepping back into the dining hall to see Boar pulling his axe free. "Put your weapon away. I will not have blood shed in my name."

 

[KieranSoares]

"It's no more'n he deserves after what 'e's done... Why th'hell is he here, Emma?" Boar growled darkly at her.

Tavish took a slow step forward, "Please, listen... she brought me here to help me. She found me out starving on the highlands-"

"An' you should've stayed there!" Boar grabbed him by the collar. Emma could see this anger was not just his hate for the men who'd hurt her, it was the built-up emotion of the ups and downs in his relationship with her, and his lack of hope for their future together.

 

[heartofcourage]

Emma placed her hands on her hips, watching Boar as he threatened to hurt Dunham. She could hear the hurt and pain in Boar's voice and she knew that she had a hand in that, but she couldn't let him hurt anyone for her.

"Boar. Let him go." She said softly, her eyes softening. "Let him go and we can talk about this."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I don' want t'bloody talk anymore," Boar grunted and shoved Dunham back a couple steps before leaving the dining room altogether and retreating to his chambers. Dunham didn't say a word, simply sitting back down and pretending nothing had happened. But it was clear as day that something had happened between the two.

 

[heartofcourage]

Emma watched Boar go with a long sigh. She knew what he wanted and she couldn't give it to him. Why was that so hard to understand? She didn't even look at the other person in the room as she followed after Boar, standing outside his chamber doors for a long moment before she knocked softly.

"Boar?" She called softly. "Lynndon. We need to talk."

 

[KieranSoares]

For a moment, there was no answer. But soon she heard his boots thud on the floor, and the door latch opened. He let it swing open as he returned to the bed to sit down, not saying a word. He looked so hurt and angry.

 

[heartofcourage]

Emma stepped into his room and gently closed the door behind her, watching him sit there with such an empty expression. It hurt to see him like that. She wanted to wrap him tightly up in her arms and hold him until he made sweet love to her again.

"Tell me what you want from me, Boar." She said softly.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I don' want a thing from you... jus' tell me why y'have so little faith in me..." He lifted his head to look at her. "It doesn' hurt so much tha' y'don't want t'marry me. I can deal with tha' an' y'don't have to. But why d'you think I'd hurt you? Why would I ever ruin this when I 'ave everything I could ever want with you?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"I do have faith in you." Emma said softly, unable to put into words what Boar wanted to hear. The problem was all hers, not his.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Then what's going on, Emma?"

Boar rose to face her, reaching out to take her hand. "We don't have to get married, love... If that's what you're afraid of."