Information

Dietrich
Legacy Name: Dietrich

The

Glacier Irion
Owner:

KRONOS

Age: 15 years, 10 months, 2 weeks

Born: May 30th, 2008

Adopted: 12 years, 9 months, 2 weeks ago

Adopted: June 30th, 2011

Statistics

Level: 21
Strength: 53
Defense: 52
Speed: 37
Health: 52
HP: 52/52
Intelligence: 0
Books Read: 0
Food Eaten: 0
Job: Unemployed

MMXIII. The sun and his chariot

The heir to the Russian throne, who is forced to flee to the countryside and work as a small farmhand after a coup d'etat kills his father (an unjust tsar -- dietrich picks up some of his father's prejudices and discrimination). He disguises himself as a peasant woman, but falls in love with a man named Aleksei (who doesn't know of his lineage or that he's actually a man)

Dietrich's father and mother are both killed, along with their closest advisors, but a servant girl rescues Dietrich among the chaos. She takes him to her family out further from the palace. He lives there for a year and half, hidden until his hair grows longer and he can disguise himself as a woman.

He goes out one day. Comes back to find the entire house upturned, furniture in splinters, glass shattered and wet stains of dark black blood on the floor -- streaks as if bodies were dragged away. He mourns for his lost family, and takes the box of money that they showed him before in case of an emergency ("we raised you from a child; you are family"). Not much in it. But he uses it travel to the country side. works as a farmhand for a peasant man named Aleksei ("defender") and his mom in exchange for a roof over his head and bread on the table.

it's a shaky start, at first. dietrich is still full of pride and prejudice, and the loss of his family still stings like an open wound. he is quick to lash out, often harsh with his words and grating on the nerves. he aggravates aleksei to no end, but their family cannot afford to hire anyone else.

aleksei's mother takes a liking to him, though. and as he warms to her, in turn, the ice in his heart slowly begins to melt, too.

with aleksei, dislike turns to annoyance, and annoyance to companionship. aleksei becomes warm, familiar.

There are bruised jaws and bloody noses at first. But then, gradually, slowly, something begins to change.

Dietrich shows Aleksei how to play an instrument (he saves up for a viola because Aleksei has always wanted one, but doesn't know how to play and it's too expensive), write, tells him stories his mother used to read him long ago. Aleksei teaches him how to fish and which berries to eat, how to make pottery and plant seeds and weave baskets and the songs of birds and when a storm is coming, which streams are the best to drink from. And sometimes they just sit, shoulder to shoulder in comfortable silence, breathing in the same warm air in the waning light of the evening.

Aleksei's mom dies two winters later. he is distraught. Dietrich has to bring him food and take care of him and farm himself because aleksei won't get up out of bed. another year passes.

They are sitting by a stream, cool water rushing at their feet and the juice of blackberries sweet on their tongue and sunlight filtering through the leaves, casting dappled patterns on their warm skin-- when aleksei first tries to kiss him.

It's slow. Dietrich feels like the ember that has burned between them is growing hotter, hotter, a fire that burns in his chest and in the pit of his belly. he closes his eyes, helpless to the pull, as if he is a flower and aleksei is his sun.

When he feels warm breath ghosting across his lips, he realizes-- realizes who he is, that he is not irena but instead a man, and most of all a liar. He has nothing but hatred and cruelty to his name and in his black black blood, he has worn ugliness and selfishness like a second skin. And he has spun his web of lies for years and years, deceiving the man who has given him nothing but kindness and love.

He sucks in a shaky breath. Leans away.

Aleksei smiles sadly. They do not speak of what happened.