Sinister Origins: A "Mother's" Betrayal [M]

[TreeFolk]

He skipped a step before turning around, walking backwards in front of her with his hands shoved in the pockets of his pants. "Good. Never trust no one, 'specially me. Most folk're out there fer theirselves and theirselves alone." An easy grin lit his features, "But," he swung back around to walk forward again in front of her, "Not lookin' fer ransom. Not my bit, to tell the truth. Nope. No killin', rapin', kidnappin', et cet-er-ahhh neither."

"Of course he isn't. Arranged marriage, yeah?" He shook his head bemusedly, "Funny how rich folk got a whole lot of money and next t' no freedom. 'Specially the women." He smacked a passing sign with the flat of his hand, sending it swinging on its hinges. As they passed a food vendor, he plucked up two of the strange fruit, belatedly tossing a coin down to pay for them. He was trying to be on his best behavior! He offered her one. "Ever tried this fruit? Don't know what it's called, but it's bloody delicious." He bit into one, the juices running down his chin, pleased at how well the day was turning out.

[DragonSong]

"And I'm supposed to just take your word that you mean me no harm," she said dryly. Though, for some reason, she had the strong feeling that he was being truthful, at least about that part.

Her spine stiffened as he talked about her betrothal and her brow furrowed. "Arranged, may not be the correct word," Reina said coolly, somehow relishing in the fact that she could speak freely. "I'd say something more along the lines of negotiated."

She took the fruit and turned it over in her hands, sniffing at it curiously and watching Dean take a bite. A little cautiously, she took a small bite. Her eyes widened. "This is good!"

[TreeFolk]

"I just told ya, y' shouldn't take my word for it... But I've had plenty o' opportunities t' harm ya before this and haven't done nothin' yet." He took another big bite of the fruit, chewing the food in one cheek. "Plus, why else would you've come with me if ya thought I'd harm ya? Dearest Matthias can't be that dull."

She was just as expressive when eating fruit! Seeing genuine emotion on other's faces was unfamiliar, and so watching her do- well, just about anything- was refreshingly entertaining. And exhausting. He moved so he was walking on the side of the buildings, keeping a close eye on the alleys. While many "gentlemen" would take the street side to prevent the women they escorted from being splashed with water and other less savory liquids, Dean knew the importance of creating a blockade between them and alleyways. At least in Zantaric. He could not longer count on his fingers and toes how many times he'd been jumped from an alley. Hell, she'd gotten a taste of that lesson the prior day.

"So, how does this negotiation work? Why Matthias, and not another man?" They stepped out onto a street that now looked out on the more open streets of the city's outskirts. He led them down this street, stopping at the gate of a stableyard. Opening up the side gate, he led them down a flight of steps that ran along the horse path until the ground leveled off and they were standing in an empty courtyard. Only one or two stable lads seemed to be about, and neither seemed to pay any mind to Dean or Reina. He had paid them a great amount to keep hushed about his visits here, seeing as this stable yard had access to one of the better entrances that led to his hideout. Not that they were aware of that, they just assumed he was coming to check in on his horse... An old plod of a horse that had just 'happened' to escape its pasture and find its way to him.

[DragonSong]

Reina shrugged, nibbling delicately at the fruit as she followed him. "Because he had the best offer," she said simply, if bitterly. "You seem to understand, at least somewhat, that marriage is not a union- exactly-  for people like me. It's a business transaction."

And Matthias's father was a very wealthy man, the fact that he wasn't of noble birth easily overshadowed by his good business sense and the offer he'd made her parents to pay them back triple her dowery within a year of her marriage to his son. Noble the Bartoks may be, but they were running low on the family fortune lately.

"Why so interested?" she asked as they came to the stable yard.

[TreeFolk]

Dean stopped and turned to face her, wondering if it had been lands or money that had swayed the decision. Sometimes it was even to keep feuds at bay. She was right, it wasn't any of his business to be curious, but he was curious about her nonetheless.

Crossing his arms, he ignored her question. "First lesson. What n' where are my weapons?"

[DragonSong]

She blinked at him. "What?" Her eyes flicked over his form, searching, but she couldn't see anything that looked like it could be used as a weapon on his person. "Um...your fists?" she guessed, feeling rather foolish.

[TreeFolk]

"Fair start. But if you were sizin' me up for a fight you'd be in trouble." He unbuttoned his vest, pulling a dagger out of the lining along with a small flat bag with tiny darts and blow gun. Casually he flicked his wrist and the dagger struck straight up in the dirt, while he carefully placed the pack with the darts on a nearby wall. "Always assume your opponent has somethin' sharp n' stabby on 'em." He continued to remove his daggers, pointing out the outlines they made, first in his pants at the small of his back and atop his thighs, and then the small blades in his boots. All in all, he removed seven daggers. "An' there are only this few weapons on me 'cause of how pretty I had t'dress."

"If possible, run from somebody like me... 'Least until ya learn how to fight proper like." He walked over to her, "But you got a lot more weapons than just yer fists. I saw ya using them. Yer entire body is a weapon. Teeth, fists, elbows, knees, feet, head... Y'just gotta know how to use 'em effectively."

[DragonSong]

Reina's eyes got progressively wider the more blades and various other weapons he revealed, and she had to exert a decent amount of willpower not to let her jaw drop open. "Gods above," she muttered, nodding a little jerkily as he pointed out the telltale lines the blades made in his clothes.

She managed to snap out of her stupor a little bit as he approached. "My...really?" She looked down at herself, turning her hands over and clenching her fingers experimentally into fists a few times. "And...that's what you aim to do," Reina said slowly, tilting her head as she looked back up at him. "Teach me to use them...effectively?"

[TreeFolk]

"Seein' as that's what I told you an' yer man I'd do, yeah. I'm a man o' my word..." He grinned and shrugged, "Well, mostly." He just didn't make promises all that often, and at the moment he didn't have any better ideas on how to spend their time together. It was as good a thing as any to pass the time with.

Taking her hands in his, he smoothed them out from the fists she had been making. "With yer size, you'd do best leavin' the fists to the last. If you've not got the chance t'run, that means yer likely caught up. If y've got a hand free, go for the eyes first." He took her hand and leaned down, shaping it so her thumb was at the corner of his inner eye. "It's surprisingly easy t'pop out an eyeball... But if y'can't manage that," He pulled back, "Just jab yer fingers in real hard."

He let go of her hands and then patted her knee and elbow, "These got more strength behind 'em than a fist. Go fer a man's jewels or his throat. But never strike with yer leg extended. Leaves it open to bein' grabbed up."

[DragonSong]

She had to stop herself from flinching with every touch- not necessarily because she didn't like it, she just want used to people taking such liberties with her.

"Alright," she murmured slowly, trying to relax and let him guide her. When he told her not to kick with an extended leg, she arched an eyebrow. "So...like this?" She brought her knee up to the fork of his legs, stopping just before contact.

Reina frowned, not used to moving her body in such a way, at least not with any force behind it. Perhaps learning some attack spells would be useful... If she couldn't rely on physical strength, maybe magic would help her.

[TreeFolk]

Dean flinched slightly when she brought her knee up towards his groin, but otherwise didn't give any indicators of how nervous that made him. "Yeah, 'cept you'll wanna do it pretty hard and swift."

The sudden realization that he was actually helping somebody struck him, well at least that he was helping somebody with little to no benefit to himself. Why was he doing this again? Sure, it was entertaining and she was attractive, but it wasn't as if he was trying to impress her... Or was it? This was the first time in Dean's life that he had actually tried to impress a woman without ulterior motives. He simply wanted Reina to like him.

After his experience with his "mother," Dean had developed a suspicious nature towards women, only supported by the types of women he met. Many of them would steal the shirt off your back or skin him alive if given half the chance. The fact that he somehow didn't suspect this woman of being capable of those things terrified him. He had somehow found himself conversing with her normally without realizing it until this point. He was making some kind of connection with her.

Rather gruffly, Dean grabbed a hold of her wrists tightly. "Escape." Was all he said to her, his expression much more serious than before.

[DragonSong]

Reina yelped a bit in surprise and stared at his hands clasping her wrists with wide eyes, then looked back to his face. She really wasn't used to being touched like this. "Escape?" She frowned, pulling lightly, a part of her sort of assuming he'd just let go at the show of resistance.

Which of course he didn't. Frown deepening, Reina twisted her wrists, first out, then in toward his thumbs. It didn't seem to be doing much good. She leaned away from him, putting more force into the tugs, growing increasingly frustrated with each passing moment.

Quite without intent, she gave a small growl of irritation and jerked her wrists inward. A familiar buzzing flashed up her spine and she suddenly yelped, trying to warn, "Let go-!"

Before she could stop it, a flash of magic ran down her arms to her fingertips, skin going ice cold and frost creeping along his fingers.

[TreeFolk]

Dean watched in amusement as she went through several of the incorrect ways to get out of such a hold. She wasn't as weak as she looked, but she was a good deal smaller than he was and he had plenty of reasons to be more physically fit than she.

He wasn't expecting what came next, though. He could tell she was reaching the end of her patience, and was about to give in and let her know how to get out of the hold when he felt the sharp bite of cold spread over his fingers.

It was fortunate that he had quick reflexes, because he yelped in pain and withdrew his fingers to find them turning blue. He was willing to bet he could have lost a finger or two from frostbite if he hadn't been quick enough. His face a bit shocked, Dean stared down at his fingers a moment before shoving them deep into his armpits. He looked over at her with a wide grin on his face as he laughed again, the second time he'd genuinely laughed in front of her. "Bloody hell, lass! If you'd told me ya could do that I wouldn'ta bothered to teach you all that nonsense. Hell! Ya probably don't need the dagger, neither!"

[DragonSong]

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Reina exclaimed, face rather red. She shook her hands a few times and felt the tingle of magic fade, then reached out for his hands unthinkingly. "I didn't mean to- it just sort of happened- I'm really sorry!"

Usually she had better control of her magic, but it seemed intense emotion messed with her concentration. Perhaps that was why she hadn't been able to really fight back with a spell the day before, the fear and shock blocking her connection to her power.

Taking a breath to calm herself, she added a little more softly, "It's...not as reliable as truly learning to defend myself. I'd appreciate you continuing to teach me, if you wouldn't mind."

She was sort of worried he'd want nothing to do with her now, and quite aside from the fact that if he left she'd be stranded in an unfamiliar and clearly dangerous city, she found that- a little despite herself- she was rather enjoying his company.

[TreeFolk]

It was his turn to flinch at the gentle contact. Nobody had touched him out of concern with the gentleness she reached out for his hands. It unnerved him, though she might interpret it as pain. He shook his hands out as if that were the case, grinning at her. "Nothin' to apologize for, lass. Just wasn't expectin' it, s'all. Doesn't seem like you were expectin' it neither."

Her lack of control over herself endeared her further to him. He had plenty of experience of being out of control... Way, way more out of control. So out of control he couldn't recall two years of his life. A quizzical look crossed his features as he tilted his head, looking closely at her. "But what if y'could? Course I can continue t'give ya lessons, but it might do y'better in the long run to learn how to use that trick on command, yeah?"

He stepped out and around her, circling her once before standing in front of her again, reappraising her. "Y'got a mage yer learnin' beneath? Don't much know how that works, but seems like somethin' they've got schools and the like for where you come from. Serendipity, yeah?" He guessed from her clothing, accent, and the like.

[DragonSong]

Assuming she'd hurt him, Reina dropped her hands and flicked her eyes to her feet, murmuring a few more apologies.

She gave his suggestion a shrug and a small sigh. "Honestly, I'd love to learn more, but I've really been teaching myself. No one else in my family is much inclined to practice magic, so they don't really understand why I want to." Except Mikhail. Her brother had always supported her little rebellion.

Another shrug, and she finally raised her eyes to look at his face. "Serendipity," she confirmed with a small nod, impressed but no longer surprised by his astuteness. "I...I've been trying to go to Arca, attend one of the colleges. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that my betrothed would support such a venture."

She had been so close too, wearing down her parents a little more every day. Then along came Matthias and his father and just like that what she wanted had taken a backseat to what the family wanted.

[TreeFolk]

He felt a small thread of guilt at making it seem if he had been hurt rather unnerved, but not enough to make him regret the action. Even with all of her apologies, it was better than letting her know that gentle touches were so unfamiliar to him that they made him nervous.

Instead he guided her hands so she was gripping his wrists this time, hopefully showing her how unafraid of her he was after her loss of control. "Sounds t'me like he's not the man y'should be marryin'. Seems t'me like you oughtta just go to Arca, seeing as you're not a slave or nothin'. Nobody owns you. Y'make your own decisions." He gazed down into her eyes and smiled. "An' now you'll be able t' defend yourself, too."

Rotating his thumbs out quickly, he gave a sharp jerk of both of his arms and dislodged his arms. Holding out his wrists until she took them again, he explained. "If they've got you by the wrists, rotate out yer thumbs," he demonstrated slowly, "an' then jerk your arms back t'yerself." This he demonstrated quickly. "Then, either drive home yer knee to the groin, kick or sweep the back o' their knee," he gripped her shoulders to steady her as he demonstrated how easily her legs might crumple if struck behind the knee, "or use the palm o' your hand to strike up into their nose," he crouched so he was shorter than her and demonstrated slowly against her nose. Rather humorously he turned and jogged a circle, smiling "Then o'course y'run merrily away as they weep in pain. Might even flip 'em t'bird!"

Jogging back in front of her, he took her wrists firmly in his hands again. "Now try it."

[DragonSong]

"It's...not that simple," Reina murmured as he guided her hands again, a little twinge of relief lighting in her chest that he didn't seem to care she'd nearly given him frostbite. Gods she wished it could be that simple...

She shook her head and focused on what he was saying, watching with a slightly furrowed brow and a few soft noises of surprise as he demonstrated what he meant. Then he took her wrists again and she huffed out a breath, frowning determinedly.

"Alright." Quick and sharp as she could, she turned her thumbs out and jerked her hands back toward her body, eyes widening a bit in surprise at how easy it was. She actually forgot to follow up on her "freedom" for a moment, then quickly scrambled to throw her hand up and tap her palm lightly against his nose, not wanting to actually hurt him.

"Like that?"

[TreeFolk]

"An' why not? Here y'are, alone in a city away from your people. Could find someone t'guide you to Arca. Give 'em the slip..." He knew little about familial loyalty, or doing what others told him to do. Since he had escaped from beneath the spell of his "mother," and then the voice, Dean had made certain that no one ever had control over him again. He never knew when the voice might return to take control of him again, so he relished his freedom with a willful abandon.

He took her wrists again. "Close. But do it all together. Practice the runnin' bit, too. Your muscles will remember when your brain is too slow with fear er shock." He added a bit. "Might recommend the leg sweep over the palm strike if y'don't have the advantage of surprise. They might just grab yer wrist again."

[DragonSong]

She sighed as he took her wrists again. "I can't. It's... My family is depending on me. It probably seems foolish to you, but this is what I have to do. I- I love my family, if this is what it takes, then I'll do it." She wouldn't be happy about it, but she'd do it.

Nodding for his advice, she repeated the move, much more quickly this time, and feigned throwing her leg out to kick the back of his knee before turning and jogging a few paces away.

"I feel silly," Reina said, turning with a small frown as she was forced to gather up her skirts so she wouldn't trip.