Whispers and Promises (restarted)

[heartofcourage]

Kyra glanced up from her spot in the best of pillows, the book in her lap forgotten as Rath walked in the door with an angry handprint on his cheek. She let out a soft sigh and rose, making her way towards him as he announced that he had talked to his father.

"It looks as if you did more than just speak." She said softly, reaching up to gently touch his cheek and the angry mark. "What did he have to say?"

 

[DrStein]

Rath took the hand that reached for his cheek and kissed it. He didn't let go of her hand but took it in both of his own and led her over to the bed where they sat together. "He said when he entered that he could tell you were upset. And he suspected it was something I said. When I told him of our... conversation... he struck me. He said he thought he had raised me better than that." Rath sighed at that and looked at the floor a moment. "After that..."

A brief silence passed and Rath kneeled on the floor before his beloved with her hand still clutched in both of his. "Forgive me. You wanted to help and I was too busy wallowing in my own frustration and misery to let you in. I want to be your husband. It's past time I started acting like it."

 

[heartofcourage]

"There's nothing to forgive, Rath." Kyra said softly, even as she felt world's better at his apology. "You have the weight of a kingdom on your shoulders and it is a stressful time. There is nothing that I can forgive you for."

She leaned down and kissed him gently, pressing her forehead against his own. "You want to save me, your people, my people, the world. It is too much for one man to try and take on. You must pick and choose what is most important to you and focus on that."

 

[DrStein]

Rath was quiet a moment. "Centuries ago there was a hero named Akim." The prince had read the stories many times as a child. He could recite many from memory still. "He spent his life in pursuit of ever greater challenges. Foes to slay. Evils to right. He was one of the greatest warriors to have ever lived."

Rath sat on the bed beside Kyra. "He battled many challengers. A beast conjured from the desert winds. A warlock of great power who spoke to the dead. A mad prophet to a strange god of fire." By now he had wrapped Kyra up in his arms. He stood up and took her into the bath. As he began to disrobe, Rath helped her slip out of her dress as he continued the store

"Eventually... he was made king. Not because it was his birthright. No. The people insisted it be him." The servants had drawn a bath already in anticipation of the time of day. The two lovers lowered themselves into the water and looked up at the mosaic sky above them.

"On his deathbed Akim called to his son and heir. His son assured him that his legacy was secure and had one question. How did Akim know that he would one day be king? Akim gave his answer and passed his last breath. 'King was only the last stepping stone.'" Rath pointed to the Hero constellation in the mosaic. "That night, new stars burned in the sky as the tales of Akim the Hero-King were destined to be passed down for all time."

Rath turned Kyra to face him. "I do carry many burdens. And if I ever doubt what is the right thing to do, I will look to you. I will never lose sight of the family and the kingdom I would raise with you. And I will bring us closer to that one day at a time."

 

[heartofcourage]

Kyra listened to the story that Rath was sharing with her. It was what made him the man that he was and she understood fully just what all of this meant to him. It was his home, his life, his future. She would never begrudge him any of his feelings but she simply wished that she could have taken some of his burdens away.

Slowly, as he promised that he would look to her when the times were tough, she leaned forward to press her forehead against his own. Her eyes stared into his own, her hands moving to cup his bearded cheeks as they shared an intimate moment together.

"I simply wish to make your life easier, Rath. Anything that I might do to help lessen the burden on your shoulders, I would like to do." She said softly. "And perhaps save you from your father's temper in the future. It seems that he has grown to love and respect me as if I were already your wife."

She gave him a gentle smile then, pressing a kiss to his lips before she sank into his embrace and let out a long sigh. It felt right to be with Rath, loving him as much as she could. He was easy to love. He was easy to be with and he loved her just as much.

 

[DrStein]

The kissed and cuddled as Rath gently washed her body. He just liked being able to hold her and touch her. Kyra had brought him a happiness he had previously thought he wasn't meant for. In between he kisses he whispered softly in her ear, telling her how beautiful and intelligent she was. She really was the one in his vision. There was nothing he wouldn't do for her.

His touches became more insistent and intimate. He kissed her neck several times and whispered in her ear. "What is something you've always wanted me to do to you?" he asked with a note of mischief in his voice.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kyra always knew when Rath was stressed. He would take the time to wash her in the baths when he wanted to drift away from his troubles. She never complained because it was all attention that he gave to her freely. In fact, she smiled as his hands traveled up and down her body, the kisses to her neck becoming more and more insistent as time went one.

She laughed softly at his mischievous question and she tipped her head back against his shoulder. "Is there something that you have yet to do to me?" She asked him with that same smile on her own lips that were currently on his own.

 

[DrStein]

A particularly mischievous idea crossed Rath's mind and his smile widened. He leaned in close to whisper in Kyra's ear. "Late at night, when the servants are asleep, I want to sneak out into the gardens and make love to you under the open sky." Rath had not snuck out of his chambers since he was a boy but he still remembered enough of his old stealthy tricks to slip through the shadows of the palace without detection.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kyra turned her head slightly, a smile on her lips as she heard the mischievous tone in Rath's voice. Her lover was a man who had a hidden streak in him. She liked it when he was relaxed enough to tease her and play with her like her were a boy.

"You wish to sneak me out into the gardens and make love to me under the stars?" Kyra asked him in a whispered voice, her lips capturing his own as she told him that she would make his promise happen if she could. "I believe that I could be convinced to let you do that, my lord."

 

[DrStein]

They sealed their agreement with a kiss and finished their bath together. Rath's insistent hands slowly withdrew but only because he was so obviously teasing her, letting her anticipate the passion to come later that night.

They resumed another lesson in Dathish. Rath struggled slightly to remember the grammar but his vocabulary was improving quickly. It was a small thing but it helped strengthen his resolve to make their future together come to fruition. They paused the lesson when the servants came to inform them that dinner was about to start.

King Athmir looked upon the two of them as they entered and smiled softly, pleased to see that his son had made amends with Kyra. He had worried greatly for Rath's peace of mind after Samir died. Though the circumstances were unusual he now had more hope for his kingdom and his family alike with Kyra's presence.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kyra found Rath a very dutiful student when it came to learning Dathish. He wanted to make a commitment to her and her heritage and that meant the world to her. Even more than the promise of a wedding in the future.

Walking into the hall for dinner, she saw the king watching them closely with a smile on his features. It was apparent that he was pleased Rath had made amends to her. Little did he know what they would be doing in the garden later on. She gave Rath a kiss on the cheek and took her spot at her table as he went to join his father at the high table before the meal began.

 

[DrStein]

Rath sat with his father and only briefly looked at him. "Kyra and I have reconciled."

King Athmir smiled as he helped himself to several mutton chops. "Your mother would be amused by this. I'm not, as you suspected, always wrong after all."

Rath offered a small, self-effacing laugh. "And I am not, as you suspected, still a boy."

"You have learned to listen," Athmir noted. "To your credit."

After the meal, Rath and Kyra retreated to the library. They often went there to study the Dathish language or to read the old heroic tales and journals of great wizards. Tonight Rath was reading to Kyra a book of old ghost stories, told most often around festival fires or among soldier encampments.

"Upon closer inspection, they realized that they had found no camp worth visiting, no friend worth knowing, no sight worth seeing. Within the pot over the fire was a stew of meat, barley and chickpeas simmering in blood." Rhagali ghost stories had a strange sensationalism and violence to them. They were shocking to most ears, but undeniably intriguing and unique.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Meat, barley, and chickpeas in blood?" Kyra asked, glancing up from her writing as Rath read her that passage. "Is that suppose to be frightening? It sounds no different from something that might be prepared in the kitchens now."

She gave him a smile as she teased him, placing her pen down to give her fingers a rest. She had been working dutifully on her newest book for weeks. It was shaping up nicely, but she found herself distracted by Rath often. There was something about her sweet prince that gained her attention and held it without yielding.

 

[DrStein]

Rath smiled at the joke. "A sentiment shared by many who have visited the court. But we haven't yet reached the end of the story." The tale continued as the soldiers tried to flee the camp but were held by the magic of a strange old man, bent and ugly. They were force fed the stew and when they tried to flee, the blood in their stomachs sang to the old man and he followed the sound, chasing them through the desert night for hours until the rising sun finally banished the evil presence. Of the five soldiers who started the tale, only two survived to tell it.

"The story was first told to me when I was sixteen. My first military campaign with my father. The soldiers would tell each other ghost stories to remind one another that the enemies we faced at dawn were but mortal men. There are things in this world far more worthy of our fear than that."

 

[heartofcourage]

"It also sounds like a tale to keep young soldiers from wandering into situations that they do not need to be a part of." Kyra said as he finished the story and explained that he had first heard it during his first military campaign. "We have stories that are similar in Dath. Mostly about creatures that live in the snow that will capture you if you are somewhere that you are not suppose to be. My brothers always use to tell me that they had seen those creatures personally, but I think they were simply trying to scare me. No one has ever seen the snow creatures."

 

[DrStein]

Rath shivered at the thought. "I suppose if I lived in snow I'd be rather unpleasant company too."

The prince walked over to the window and stared out at the city skyline. "The people adore you here. When they read your new book, they will sing your name. You have done what few others have. You listened and came to understand us."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I knew that I couldn't go back to Dath." Kyra answered honestly as Rath talked about the people loving her because she had listened and understood them. "There was no use in holding on to the things I loved there if I couldn't go back. I had to learn your language, your needs, you customs, and I had to learn to never look back."

She had no kingdom, even if Rath promised to return it to her. Perhaps in time she would see her birthplace again, but the plot was still in its early stages. There was no use in crying or mourning over something that she might very well never see again.

 

[DrStein]

Rath looked to his beloved with sadness in his eyes. He wondered if he had the strength to endure hardship as well as Kyra had. She made him want to be that strong. He walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders.

He led the two of them together to the window. He stood behind her as they looked out on the lights of the city below in the early night hours. A soft pink streak sat upon the horizon to the west with the moon and stars chasing after it in their slow march across the sky. The city glowed like coals in an inviting hearth. The Great Library was visible from here and the wizards signaled the hour that all laborers may return home by extinguishing in descending order the lanterns hanging in the center balcony at each floor of the tower. Torches and lamps moved softly, assuredly through the streets.

"Look at it," Rath said softly. "The people flow through Rhagal'anat like blood. That is why it is called Rhagal'anat: Heart of Rhagal. Whether through trade, pilgrimage, duty, justice or happenstance, every Rhagali eventually comes here at least once. It is who we are. I appreciate that now more than ever."

Rath wrapped his arms around Kyra as they continued to stare out the window together. "When we met, I insisted that you were Rhagali. I thought I knew what that meant. I see it better now. Thanks to you. No matter what comes, I can safely speak for my people that you will always be welcome here."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I am Rhagali now." Kyra said softly as he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tightly as they looked out the window. "I see this situation as no different than had we been betrothed in marriage. I don't like to think of myself as being kidnapped. It's very painful to admit that."

"Rath, you need to know that I do love you and I love Rhangal. I miss Dath, yes, but there is no place that I would rather be right now than here with you." She murmured, turning her head to stare up into his warm gaze. "I'll be your wife...someday. Dath will be a long and distant memory in my mind by then and that's alright."

 

[DrStein]

"I love you," Rath said to her softly before he placed a lingering kiss on her lips. He was sublimely happy for this one precious moment. No matter what came at them, he would face it that much stronger. He would be that strong for Kyra. "Tal amari." Kyra had accepted that she may never see the land of her birth again. But he could at least help her remember the language of her people.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kyra smiled as Rath leaned in and placed a lingering kiss against her lips. When he hugged her tightly and whispered against her ear, she felt her heart clench tightly. He was doing his best to love her and make her feel welcome.

"Tal amari." She whispered back, pressing her forehead against his own for a long moment. "And I will love you for the rest of my days, Rath."

 

[DrStein]

A tear of happiness slid down Rath's cheek as he held Kyra to him. They stood together a long while as the moon crawled across the sky. Outside in the city, lights slowly went out on by one, but enough remained lit to bathe everything in a soft, mottled glow. It was a sublime moment.

Finally it was interrupted when a servant came to inform them the rest of the court was retiring for the evening. Rath nodded with a smile and gave the servant leave. "I have a thought." He leaned in and whispered in Kyra's ear, "Let's take the book of ghost stories back to my chambers, read one together and when the moon is at its peak we have our moment in the garden."

 

[heartofcourage]

Kyra grinned as Rath whispered against her ear his devious plan. She tilted her head to look up at him, laughing softly as he suggested taking the ghost stories to their rooms and reading one together before they made off to the garden for their moment together. He seemed to have it all planned out in his mind and she was certainly going to oblige.

"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea." Kyra murmured before she stole a kiss from Rath's lips. "The scarier the story the better. It simply means that I get to hold onto you just a little bit tighter if I get scared."

 

[DrStein]

The two of them returned to their chambers with the book in hand. They lay together in the stack of cushions with a small oil lamp casting a warm glow with deep shadows across the room. Even with the moonlight coming in through the windows, the room had an otherworldly darkness to it as Rath read aloud the story.

"Three nights later, Arila knew she had not been dreaming. As she lay in bed, she heard the same strange knocking from somewhere in the house as before. A chill swept over her because she knew now that she was not alone in the house."

 

[heartofcourage]

Kyra was pressed against Rath's side, one of the silken blankets from the bed pulled around her as body as her head rested against his shoulder. She listened in rapt attention as he told her one of the scary stories in the book, one about a woman named Arila who believed she was going slowly insane while listening to the knocks and noises in her house at night.

"Why did she not simply leave the house?" Kyra asked suddenly, looking up at him with her dark gaze. "That's what I would have done. Left the house or made sure that I was not alone."