Post by seraaches on Apr 26, 2008 22:58:55 GMT -5
It was singularly one of the worst days of his entire life. It certainly hadn’t begun that way. It had begun, actually, as a rather good day. Not a great day, but an ordinarily okay day up until when it all got shot to snot and left the stallion in a horribly, terrible, awful, and distinctly ticked off mood.
When he rose, that morning he’d gone almost immediately into business. Things had gone as smoothly as could be expected, which really wasn’t exceedingly smoothly at all. So he had dealt with the emergencies as they arose and shortly after lunch he was humming under his breath as he headed to his main parlour to prepare for his meeting with Samid.
The ram had been gone for awhile looking into Lowland movements. He had returned the night before and Rai was glad for the man’s reappearance. He had come to rely on the Morganberry and this time was no exception.
“Your Majesty,” the ram bowed beside him, surprise showing across his face even as the Lowlander with him, swiftly tried to hide a sheave of papers behind her back.
”Samid,” Rai only just managed to keep his own surprise off his features, instead lofting a quizzical brow at the sight of such filth in his parlour. His eyes had hardened to stone, though he kept his face arranged in a cold, neutral mask.
”We. . . uh, I didn’t expect you so soon.” Samid actually had a brief look of discomfiture and it made the stallion’s breath catch briefly in his throat. Something was very wrong.
”Guards.” Rai’s strong voice rang out, and swiftly brought in the two posted always at his door.
”Your Majesty,” the Morganberry took a brief step forward, and the two guards swiftly descended upon the Lowlander duck. One canine pinioned his wings as the other fetched the papers. The large man turned to hand them to the ram, but Rai quickly interrupted.
”To me.”
The guard blinked, but swiftly turned and moved to the Queen. Rai accepted the papers, but it only took a glance to verify wot was there. Personal documents, important Court information, and a list of his family members and the addresses of all of his places of residence were papers within the packet. His nostrils flared for a moment. ”Take him to Pravus.” His voice was oddly quiet and calm. The guards bowed uneasily.
”Your Majesty,” Samid was quiet as well, but Rai could hear the worry there.”It’s not wot you think.”
The stallion said nothing as the guards hustled the duck from the room. He pursed his lips silently, tapping the papers against his arm before he began to slowly walk back towards the desk.
Samid’s mouth opened for a moment, before he quickly closed it again and took a step back and away from his Queen. Clenched fists fell to his sides, pressing hard into his thighs. Rai straightened the papers by gently dropping their edges along the deep mahogany of his desk. As soon as they were arranged, he carefully dropped them onto the dark surface, turning suddenly and clasping his hands behind his desk. He paced away from the ram.
”How did your trip go?” His voice was almost normal; just the slightest edge sharpened his words.
Samid blinked, expression slipping through his confused emotions before he quickly packed them away to fall back into the rhythms of their normal relationship. An anomaly had entered their interaction, though, and the ram was exceedingly aware of it.
”I found my way to the Lowlands and I have the information you want in my report.” Samid gestured towards his bag, suddenly certain that he really shouldn’t move.
Rai hrmed quietly under his breath as he processed the ram’s words. ”Put it on the desk.”
The ram was silent as he moved slowly to the satchel and pulled out the report. There was no banter between them as Samid put it gently down next to the papers the duck had been handling. The man put it down before turning around to watch the Queen, concerned by the cool look the equine still wore. It wasn’t that Queen Shinrai wasn’t prone to bouts of dark behaviour, but he’d always been very careful to make sure the ram knew it was all work and never personal. Somehow, it had become personal.
”Is it all in there?”
The Queen’s voice made Samid jump and the Ten of Hearts turned to look uneasily at the equine. ”Yes, Your Majesty.” He kept his voice respectful.
They fell into silence again and the ram shifted his weight uneasily. The Queen wasn’t acting like himself. At all.
”Is that it then, Samid?” The stallion’s voice was low and soft again. A dangerous tone. ”Is that all you have?”
The ram blinked, his ears flickering backwards uneasily. ”I don’t know wot you mean, Your Majesty.”
Rai turned suddenly and the ram may have stood taller in his bipedal than the Queen did in human, but the Queen of Hearts’ aura felt as though it whipped out and slashed the Ten like the equine’s signature weapon. Samid retreated a step without realizing it.
”Don’t know wot I mean?”
The ram could tell he was in trouble by the other man’s voice.
”Don’t. Know. Wot. I mean.” Rai’s voice was almost musing. ”All right, Samid. Let me tell you wot I mean.” He turned back towards the ram and grey-green eyes were those of a stranger. ”I send you on a mission to gather information regarding my sworn enemies, the enemies of my home region, the people who killed my brother. You return. You return in the presence of a Lowlander and you allow him to pilfer through my desk. Though perhaps ‘allow’ is the wrong word since the paperwork he was holding wasn’t just personal and informative, it held some of the most important information about the Court one could obtain from my desk and not very many people know where to find any of it, much less all of it. Explain THAT to me, Samid!”
The ram fell back before the fury of the stallion, and his ears flattened against his head as he decided that it wasn’t just trouble he was in; his very life just might be forfeit.
”I did as you bid, Your Majesty,” he began to explain. ”It’s just that—“
”You’re right,” Rai said quietly, interrupting the ram suddenly. Samid stared uneasily at him as the man shifted suddenly from human to bipedal. ”You did as I bid and I shall reward you fittingly.”
The stallion moved forward and Samid froze as the bone hand came forth to rest lightly on the Ten’s chest. It was eerie staring at the macabre appendage sitting against his one red fur. The ram was tense as his chest began to tingle and he fought the need to close his eyes and not watch; he was certain Queen Shinrai was about to rip his heart out.
After a moment, however, the bone hand pulled away, and the ram looked down in shock to see a J where his 10 had once been. He reached up to touch it gently, a shocked, yet pleased smile slowly spreading across his face. He hadn’t thought. . . he hadn’t dreamed. Not after the Queen had found Nigel in here with him, but he was going to make it all better, all he had to do was explain.
”Your Majesty, I don’t know wot to say. . .”
”Say nothing,” the stallion said, waving his good hand and suddenly his whip appeared. With a sudden, sharp crack, Samid found his air restricted as the whip’s end jerked tightly around his throat. Gasping, the ram swiftly reached to grab the braided leather in shock.
”It will save me the pain of remembering your gratitude after I kill you.”
Samid made a sound of protest, as Rai drew a knife from its hidden sheath, turning pained, angry eyes to the ram. ”You’ve received your reward, Samid. Now collect your punishment for betraying me.”
The ram’s eyes went wide as he tried to shake his head no. Rai jerked the whip, a faint voice in the back of his mind hissing something undeterminable. Samid couldn’t fight the strength of the other man and he grunted as he nearly flew into the stallion’s arms and the knife pierced through his new rank. He stared up at the other man in shock and Rai’s brow lowered dangerously as he looked upon the face of his trusted assistant; one of the few he was slowly counting as a real friend. His face spasmed in anger and he twisted the knife.
Samid’s body shuddered against his, falling suddenly limp. Rai caught the weight carefully then gently lowered the still form to the floor. His head bowed in grief as his form shifted back to human and he stared at the still surprised features of the Morganberry ram.
Rai slid his left hand over the unseeing eyes, closing them. His bone appendage rested on the dead man’s face and the Queen of Hearts covered his own as despair threatened to overwhelm him. Oh, Light. Wot had he done? Wot had Samid done?
@&*$.
A knock sounded at the door, and Rai looked up as the door slipped open enough to let in Ira’s head. The young man paused when he saw his father sitting on the floor beside Samid’s dead body. His ears flicked backwards briefly before he sauntered in.
”Problem, Mommy dearest?” he asked curiously.
Rai looked up at his eldest son for a long moment then rose. ”Dispose of this body and cancel my afternoon appointments.” The stallion strode swiftly to the door, pausing for a moment with his hand on the handle. He seemed about to say something more, but he had no words. With a shake of his head, Rai pushed out the door and disappeared.
Ira’s ears went backwards again and gave his small, strange smile again. ”And I’ll make certain that you won’t remember anything this evening.” He sniffed down at the red corpse thoughtfully then trotted off to get some help with body disposal for the parlour and as much as alcohol as could be quickly assembled for his darling Queen mother.
When he rose, that morning he’d gone almost immediately into business. Things had gone as smoothly as could be expected, which really wasn’t exceedingly smoothly at all. So he had dealt with the emergencies as they arose and shortly after lunch he was humming under his breath as he headed to his main parlour to prepare for his meeting with Samid.
The ram had been gone for awhile looking into Lowland movements. He had returned the night before and Rai was glad for the man’s reappearance. He had come to rely on the Morganberry and this time was no exception.
“Your Majesty,” the ram bowed beside him, surprise showing across his face even as the Lowlander with him, swiftly tried to hide a sheave of papers behind her back.
”Samid,” Rai only just managed to keep his own surprise off his features, instead lofting a quizzical brow at the sight of such filth in his parlour. His eyes had hardened to stone, though he kept his face arranged in a cold, neutral mask.
”We. . . uh, I didn’t expect you so soon.” Samid actually had a brief look of discomfiture and it made the stallion’s breath catch briefly in his throat. Something was very wrong.
”Guards.” Rai’s strong voice rang out, and swiftly brought in the two posted always at his door.
”Your Majesty,” the Morganberry took a brief step forward, and the two guards swiftly descended upon the Lowlander duck. One canine pinioned his wings as the other fetched the papers. The large man turned to hand them to the ram, but Rai quickly interrupted.
”To me.”
The guard blinked, but swiftly turned and moved to the Queen. Rai accepted the papers, but it only took a glance to verify wot was there. Personal documents, important Court information, and a list of his family members and the addresses of all of his places of residence were papers within the packet. His nostrils flared for a moment. ”Take him to Pravus.” His voice was oddly quiet and calm. The guards bowed uneasily.
”Your Majesty,” Samid was quiet as well, but Rai could hear the worry there.”It’s not wot you think.”
The stallion said nothing as the guards hustled the duck from the room. He pursed his lips silently, tapping the papers against his arm before he began to slowly walk back towards the desk.
Samid’s mouth opened for a moment, before he quickly closed it again and took a step back and away from his Queen. Clenched fists fell to his sides, pressing hard into his thighs. Rai straightened the papers by gently dropping their edges along the deep mahogany of his desk. As soon as they were arranged, he carefully dropped them onto the dark surface, turning suddenly and clasping his hands behind his desk. He paced away from the ram.
”How did your trip go?” His voice was almost normal; just the slightest edge sharpened his words.
Samid blinked, expression slipping through his confused emotions before he quickly packed them away to fall back into the rhythms of their normal relationship. An anomaly had entered their interaction, though, and the ram was exceedingly aware of it.
”I found my way to the Lowlands and I have the information you want in my report.” Samid gestured towards his bag, suddenly certain that he really shouldn’t move.
Rai hrmed quietly under his breath as he processed the ram’s words. ”Put it on the desk.”
The ram was silent as he moved slowly to the satchel and pulled out the report. There was no banter between them as Samid put it gently down next to the papers the duck had been handling. The man put it down before turning around to watch the Queen, concerned by the cool look the equine still wore. It wasn’t that Queen Shinrai wasn’t prone to bouts of dark behaviour, but he’d always been very careful to make sure the ram knew it was all work and never personal. Somehow, it had become personal.
”Is it all in there?”
The Queen’s voice made Samid jump and the Ten of Hearts turned to look uneasily at the equine. ”Yes, Your Majesty.” He kept his voice respectful.
They fell into silence again and the ram shifted his weight uneasily. The Queen wasn’t acting like himself. At all.
”Is that it then, Samid?” The stallion’s voice was low and soft again. A dangerous tone. ”Is that all you have?”
The ram blinked, his ears flickering backwards uneasily. ”I don’t know wot you mean, Your Majesty.”
Rai turned suddenly and the ram may have stood taller in his bipedal than the Queen did in human, but the Queen of Hearts’ aura felt as though it whipped out and slashed the Ten like the equine’s signature weapon. Samid retreated a step without realizing it.
”Don’t know wot I mean?”
The ram could tell he was in trouble by the other man’s voice.
”Don’t. Know. Wot. I mean.” Rai’s voice was almost musing. ”All right, Samid. Let me tell you wot I mean.” He turned back towards the ram and grey-green eyes were those of a stranger. ”I send you on a mission to gather information regarding my sworn enemies, the enemies of my home region, the people who killed my brother. You return. You return in the presence of a Lowlander and you allow him to pilfer through my desk. Though perhaps ‘allow’ is the wrong word since the paperwork he was holding wasn’t just personal and informative, it held some of the most important information about the Court one could obtain from my desk and not very many people know where to find any of it, much less all of it. Explain THAT to me, Samid!”
The ram fell back before the fury of the stallion, and his ears flattened against his head as he decided that it wasn’t just trouble he was in; his very life just might be forfeit.
”I did as you bid, Your Majesty,” he began to explain. ”It’s just that—“
”You’re right,” Rai said quietly, interrupting the ram suddenly. Samid stared uneasily at him as the man shifted suddenly from human to bipedal. ”You did as I bid and I shall reward you fittingly.”
The stallion moved forward and Samid froze as the bone hand came forth to rest lightly on the Ten’s chest. It was eerie staring at the macabre appendage sitting against his one red fur. The ram was tense as his chest began to tingle and he fought the need to close his eyes and not watch; he was certain Queen Shinrai was about to rip his heart out.
After a moment, however, the bone hand pulled away, and the ram looked down in shock to see a J where his 10 had once been. He reached up to touch it gently, a shocked, yet pleased smile slowly spreading across his face. He hadn’t thought. . . he hadn’t dreamed. Not after the Queen had found Nigel in here with him, but he was going to make it all better, all he had to do was explain.
”Your Majesty, I don’t know wot to say. . .”
”Say nothing,” the stallion said, waving his good hand and suddenly his whip appeared. With a sudden, sharp crack, Samid found his air restricted as the whip’s end jerked tightly around his throat. Gasping, the ram swiftly reached to grab the braided leather in shock.
”It will save me the pain of remembering your gratitude after I kill you.”
Samid made a sound of protest, as Rai drew a knife from its hidden sheath, turning pained, angry eyes to the ram. ”You’ve received your reward, Samid. Now collect your punishment for betraying me.”
The ram’s eyes went wide as he tried to shake his head no. Rai jerked the whip, a faint voice in the back of his mind hissing something undeterminable. Samid couldn’t fight the strength of the other man and he grunted as he nearly flew into the stallion’s arms and the knife pierced through his new rank. He stared up at the other man in shock and Rai’s brow lowered dangerously as he looked upon the face of his trusted assistant; one of the few he was slowly counting as a real friend. His face spasmed in anger and he twisted the knife.
Samid’s body shuddered against his, falling suddenly limp. Rai caught the weight carefully then gently lowered the still form to the floor. His head bowed in grief as his form shifted back to human and he stared at the still surprised features of the Morganberry ram.
Rai slid his left hand over the unseeing eyes, closing them. His bone appendage rested on the dead man’s face and the Queen of Hearts covered his own as despair threatened to overwhelm him. Oh, Light. Wot had he done? Wot had Samid done?
@&*$.
A knock sounded at the door, and Rai looked up as the door slipped open enough to let in Ira’s head. The young man paused when he saw his father sitting on the floor beside Samid’s dead body. His ears flicked backwards briefly before he sauntered in.
”Problem, Mommy dearest?” he asked curiously.
Rai looked up at his eldest son for a long moment then rose. ”Dispose of this body and cancel my afternoon appointments.” The stallion strode swiftly to the door, pausing for a moment with his hand on the handle. He seemed about to say something more, but he had no words. With a shake of his head, Rai pushed out the door and disappeared.
Ira’s ears went backwards again and gave his small, strange smile again. ”And I’ll make certain that you won’t remember anything this evening.” He sniffed down at the red corpse thoughtfully then trotted off to get some help with body disposal for the parlour and as much as alcohol as could be quickly assembled for his darling Queen mother.
*applaudes*
Samid's betrayal has hurt him a great deal as well. i think he and Ader should go hangout again.