Information


Leah has a minion!

Baronell the Anpan




Leah
Legacy Name: United


The Common Experiment #104
Owner: Pureflower

Age: 8 years, 8 months, 1 day

Born: July 26th, 2015

Adopted: 8 years, 8 months, 1 day ago

Adopted: July 26th, 2015

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Statistics


  • Level: 145
     
  • Strength: 157
     
  • Defense: 10
     
  • Speed: 10
     
  • Health: 10
     
  • HP: 10/10
     
  • Intelligence: 159
     
  • Books Read: 140
  • Food Eaten: 0
  • Job: Topiary Tender


BREAK OF DAWN

The courtyard shudders with the shock of an explosion. The crate on which his head rests falls to the stage in halves as the blade slices through the wooden platform beneath like a knife through soft butter. Voorik’s enraged snarl echoes across the courtyard as Tauren's rescuer urges her horse to greater speed. He opens his eyes as he recognizes the sweet floral scent of his love. Her auburn hair is braided with tiny white flowers and she wears the green tunic and trousers of a stable hand. The gate guard watches their passage with astonishment, not thinking to do his duty until they are long gone.

They ride through the night, well beyond the boundary line of the untamed forest. There is a cave she knows from her days as a wandering orphan child. She gathered provisions in advance, for she knows they cannot remain there for long.

He takes her by the hand as she dismounts. “I owe you my life though my love was already yours.”

She kisses him sweetly, never letting go of his hand. He can see the sapphire ring he gave her the day before his arrest, his pledge that they would marry. “It is not enough to have you safe. I will help you to prove your innocence, even if it takes the rest of our lives. Your father knew of my plan. He has given us a great cask of jewels for bribes, to aid us in finding proof of Voorik’s lies.”

“You are the only treasure I need.” They stand together and watch the sun rise, its fiery brilliance overpowering the shadows of night as a new day dawns.

I.
II.
III.
IV.
SUNRISE

She could have sat on the floor of that small cave until time ran out, just to watch Tauren sleep.

The needs of the body outweigh even the objections of the heart. Tauren had spent the last month in a dank cell, living on scraps of bad bread and rainwater. He'd suffered at the hands of that slimy little creep Skreev. He needed good food, warm clothes and proper care. Voorik's death had been a miracle but their problems were far from over.

Tauren could hardly go strolling into the nearest village square to buy his bread. His wanted poster would be in all the villages. Hers too, at this point. Voorik's strongest supporters wouldn't believe he could lose even if she had a body to lay at their feet. They'd grow eager for her love's blood as the story of his escape grew and took on new embellishments.

She'd lived five years as a street child. She knew the ugly side of people...especially those who had tasted power and were desperate not to lose it.

She closed her eyes and sighed. She could really go for a hot cup of tea with a sprinkling of cinnamon. No...a mound. More cinnamon than tea, actually. Living with Miranda's family had spoiled her too much.

She could disguise herself as an old woman well enough. She'd go to the nearest town for the supplies she needed. The thought of leaving him alone, even in such a secluded place, sent a bolt of white-hot fear through her core.

Tauren woke with a smile. "I keep thinking it was all a dream, that I'll open my eyes on Voorik's dungeon and hear the sound of the gallows being built. Then I see your face and my fear dissolves like mist in the sun."

She leaned down and kissed him gently. "I still can't believe Voorik is gone. I wish he hadn't just...vanished. Still, there was too much blood for any normal man to survive."

He sighed. "Happy endings seem so final in stories. Voorik's death will be a beginning. His supporters will never stop hunting us."

Leah rummaged in her green bag, coming up with a few cloth sacks tied with colored strings. "These are the last of the medicines I was able to make before word of your capture reached me. They'll bring in enough coin for safe passage to one of the islands. There are territories that never accepted Voorik officially. We can live out our lives there in peace."

He closed her fingers gently over the bags. "I should have spoken against Voorik the day I witnessed him sticking a dagger in a good man's heart. It's long past time I set things right."

"We could go to Julian."

Tauren shuddered. "I know you loved him like a father once but he stood beside me, that night Thor was killed. He said nothing...and he didn't have the excuse of being fifteen years old."

"Voorik had everyone he holds dear. Most of his friends at the time were also supporters of Thor. Many lost their lives that night too. The fire in Julian died with them, at least for a time. Seeing you again will rekindle it...and it's no secret that Julian is our best hope for an Alphan that will work to restore this broken land to its former prosperity."

"You really think he'll help us?"

"He won my trust when I was fresh off the street and wary as a feral cat. I swear to you, he was never Voorik's man at heart."

"I wouldn't even be alive if not for you. Whatever you think is best, I will support you."

SUNSET

She used the coin she'd earned to buy a horse. He was a fine creature, not broken down by the plow or lash but old enough to be slow and patient. Leah dressed Tauren in the neutral gray cloak one would expect of an old man.

She'd seen enough of disease to paint convincing sores on the back of his hands. A few clumps of gray horsehair made a convincing wig as long as he kept his face shadowed under his hood. People kept their distance from an obvious case of pus pox, even the Guards.

They entered the capital through a side gate, waiting until just before the final cry. Leah's medallion, naming her an Herbsian Maestran, got them through. She led the horse through the worst streets in town - streets she'd once known all too well. Many urchins watched their passing with sullen interest but none dared approach.

Leah bribed a Messenger's apprentice with the last of her coin. Daron came at a run, his joy turning icy when he realized his former love was not alone.

"The rumors were true then. You really were the lost lover the bards are mooning over."

Leah couldn't meet his eye. "I was never dishonest with you, Daron. You said that you loved me. I told you that I could not be your wife. If you loved me, truly loved me, I beg you to prove it now. Voorik is dead but his infamy will live on for many years. We've come to beg sanctuary from Julian. You're one of his closest friends. He'll believe you when you tell him who waits at the gate."

"I want to look him in the eye."

Leah shot a fearful look over her shoulder. "Not here. Not where anyone can see."

"It's alright, Lee. I owe him that much."

They stared openly at each other. Daron was the first to speak.

"I would have died for her...but I couldn't fill the gap you left. I was the one holding her every time she wept, these last fifteen years. I want there to be no doubt that what I'm about to do is for her sake."

He ordered the guard to open the gate, beckoning them inside. "Guests of the Beitan. I cleared them personally."

"Yes, Sir."

Leah stayed at Tauren's side, ready to catch him if he fell. Daron paused, then offered Tauren his flask.

"I may not like you, but Mother didn't raise a brute. This stuff tastes like boiled skunk musk but it'll keep you on your feet all day."

Tauren gasped but managed to keep the tonic down. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

Julian sat in a plain wooden chair, ignoring the cushioned behemoth carved with Voorik's Alphan Symbol.

"Hello, Tauren."

Leah took Tauren's hand, lending him her silent support.

"Will you protect me, Julian?"

The medallion Voorik had worn around his neck, carved with the eight-pointed star that symbolized their nation, clattered to the floor. Julian picked it up with trembling fingers.

"At any cost, my friend. I owe you that...and so much more."

credits

Profile template by Lea.
Story by Pureflower
Background from pixabay
Introduction taken from Tauren's Story.
Shared outfit

Outfit created by Pureflower

View In Wardrobe

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Basket of Cinnamon

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Pump Bottle of Cinnamon Syrup

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