[Zena] Peaceful Accords | (Ygraine / Asa)

[Painted Moose]

Scarlett Arbuckle

Asa could practically feel Holo's magic at his back; wrapping around his very spine, pulling at the veins in his skin to hold him in place, but thanks to Ygraine they managed to escape. There was a voice inside of his mind reminding him of the thousands of protocols this broke, the mockery he would no doubt make of himself tonight, and that in itself was enough to cause his breathing to hitch. Those thoughts aside, the young heir had never moved this quickly in his life and despite the breathing exercises he was trying to employ he still labored in the small, confined staircase.

At the very least they were safe, and as conflicted as Asa felt there was enough security there to keep him from outright panicking. That didn't stop his light golden eyes from flicking nervously to the door, thin chest fluttering like a spring bird with every little noise. When he canted his head up to meet her eyes his lungs stalled, causing the boy to inhale a sharp breath. She's too close. If at all possible Ygraine's soft tresses glowed silver in the dim light, and her eyes looked like the moon itself.

How could he tell her? How was it possible she didn't know, hadn't heard with all of that gossiping, and did he...did he have the right to say it? Asa leaned back against the wall for support, taking a moment to himself just to focus on calming down and concocting a plan. He couldn't think with her so close-

Tentatively, Asa reached for her hand, thought better of it, and pulled back into himself. "Follow me a little longer, and I promise, I'll tell you everything." The lithe iceling edged around Ygraine's larger frame, and led the way down the staircase, carefully picking his way across the well worn steps. He was stalling; that much was obvious, but what was he supposed to tell her? Even when he made it to the landing, depositing them into a little, modest sitting area barely a fraction the size of his bedroom.

He turned to her then, and only when he was sure all of the attending servants were top side did he speak. "Miss Ygraine, I...I really have no right to tell you this, but it was made clear to me this evening that the letter your grandmother received was....well it..." Between his own exhausted breathing and hesitance to speak, Asa was a mess. He wanted to be someone stalwart; a figure who could provide comfort to her in the times ahead, but that just wasn't him and this....this drove the point home. He really wasn't fit for more than his mother's machinations, and maybe, because of that, he should stop. And yet...."There was an attack in Jauhar against your fathers. I...shouldn't be the one to tell you more than that; I really should go bring Xansa to you."
 

[scarlett arbuckle]

Painted Moose

What on earth could have caused Asa to do this? ... Ygraine didn't want to lie, she was... excited that he'd sought her out, but she had seen enough to understand that this was strange, even dangerous for him - and for her. By following him, she might as well have signed off permission for her family to be pushed from any and all dealings with his family, going forward - which was a blow.

Would Asa put them in this position, if he had a choice? ... And did Ygraine really care? Her great grandfather had already retired; Buru was more focused on her own work, rather than trade, and her grandmothers were keeping up the family business more to liven up their lives, rather than to pass it on to their blood. Odds were, the company would be broken into pieces and the trade routes would be seized upon by up and coming families the moment Xansa and Izuzue retired.

And Asa... Asa was worth so much more than a dying business, if you asked Ygraine. She barely knew him - it was laughable how suddenly fixated she was with him, considering the brief conversations they'd had, and yet ... she felt a desire to be his friend, to be possessive of his time. She gazed down at him, gnawing on her lip worriedly, her hand pressed flat against the door they'd just come from, as if to keep it from slamming open if they were followed.

She was utterly, blissfully unaware of what he had to say. He seemed to consider something, for a long moment, and she waited on bated breath, trying to ignore the almost excited hammering of her chest. What could he have to say, after dragging her here? Evading his mother and keeper? Nothing nefarious, since he'd mentioned fetching Xansa after, but...

When he finally moved past her, she stepped back slightly, watching him go and letting him put a bit of distance between them in the narrow passageway. What felt like hours later, they emerged into a small sitting area, where she stood, nervously, grasping her elbow with her opposite hand, shifting her weight to one hip.

If she'd been expecting anything... it wasn't... that. Her eyes widened, and in that moment her world stalled, and she moved to lean her back against the wall, dazed. An attack...? How -- why?? What happened-- were they... had they--

She had to go to them! But Jauhar was... Jauhar was weeks away - if there had been an attack, then that meant it had happened ... almost at the same time she and Xansa had left. All this time, traveling ... seeing the city, obsessing over a stupid, childish crush - her parents could be...

"How do you..." She asked, numbly, only to laugh sharply, drawing a shaking hand over her face. Of course. Of course they'd know... gods... she wanted to know, but ... even if she heard what happened... they'd just run back to their inn. Pack up their things, and have to wait until morning.

Slowly, Ygraine released a tight breath, her fingertips twitching where her hand hung, limply, by her side. Then, realizing that he was likely waiting for her permission to leave... Ygraine instead reached out, deciding not to touch him, but instead loosely twining her fingers in the expensive cloth of his sleeve. "Can you... stay...? I... I don't know if I can hear it, yet." She whispered, guiltily, with a weak, shaky smile that clearly didn't reach her eyes.  

[Painted Moose]

Scarlett Arbuckle

His shoulder's sank upon hearing that laugh. What use was there in reiterating a fact she already knew to be true? How else could he have heard that sort of information? Even if Xansa had remained quiet her actions alone, from the subtle stillness of her shoulders to the tight turn of a lip, would have been cause enough for talk. If not tonight then tomorrow or weeks from now word would spread. For a moment thought of the chaos Asa had created was pushed as far from his mind as possible in favor of helping Ygraine the only ways he could.

She didn't need to see his worries over being found out. There were likely servants being scattered throughout the manse in search of them, and once found it would be all over. Asa would be locked away for his inabilities to perform under pressure, and Ygraine would be shunned from "polite society".

So when he heard those words....those whispered, desperate shreds of a girl trying so hard to keep it together when worry clung to her heart, he couldn't find it in himself to refuse her. Consequences be damned, Asa would stay, and when he nodded his head there was no sense of hesitation about him. There was nothing he could give her to ease this sense of pain, nor any sort of words he could say that would come close to making it okay, but if being by her side would help....

...if it would show her the same breed of kindness he'd been shown so many moons ago....

Asa gently rotated his thin wrist and tenderly entwined his fingers with her own. It was such a personal gesture, one that filled his chest with uncertainty and jitters, but maybe...maybe the contact would help.

"I'll stay by your side for as long as I can." He canted his head to the right, motioning towards a well worn bench placed in front of a modest fire. "Would you...like to sit down?" It felt awful, asking her in such a way, but the offer was as much for his own well being as it was for hers. The run had tore through Asa, however brief it had been, and the boy, no matter his facade, was running low.
 

[scarlett arbuckle]

Painted Moose

Ygraine half expected the quiet boy to withdraw. He'd already done so much for her, it was cruel to expect more. But... instead, he shifted his tiny hand and held on to hers tightly. It was such a ridiculous grip, considering the difference of their bodies, but somehow - despite his sheer fragility, she drew comfort from that hold.

She nodded with a meekness that normally was foreign to her, letting him guide her to sit. He was clearly exhausted, but he'd still done that... all of that for her sake. "You're a kind man, Asa." Ygraine murmured, closing her eyes, holding onto his hand for dear life.

Her world would spin out of control soon enough - later, she'd let herself feel guilty for the chaos he would go through for his faux pas of having a damn conscience. But for now, hopefully, the buzzing in their ears would stop long enough for just a moment of rest and respite before the world came in to crush them both.  

[Painted Moose]

Scarlett Arbuckle

"You're a kind man, Asa."

Was he, truly? He couldn't say for sure that keeping Ygraine away was a kind or a selfish act. Ss pure as his initial intentions had been, Asa selfishly clinged to this secular moment. All evening everything that he'd ever been had been laid painfully bare before a crowd of eager predators, with the sole exception of this terribly sweet girl, and he relished in any chance he could spend with her away from prying eyes.

I just wish it could have been different.

He held onto her hand with all of his might, and gave his strength into holding her tight. They would likely be discovered soon, but until then he wouldn't let go Asa knew this was likely his last chance to see her; after all, the same 'polite' society who had gossiped so freely about her familial tragedy would likely shun her for her reaction. If Ygraine had remained quiet she would have been seen as callous while anything akin to 'emotional' would be taken as irritational, and what he'd done...Well, he'd condemned her.

As well as himself.

Any freedoms he'd kept to himself over the years would be striped away. All choice in a future 'bride' would be taken away, and it was all for her.

He wouldn't change a thing.

It was worth it, for this.

The familiar fire in his lungs, the way his body creaked and ached....he should be swallowed alive by anxiety, yet Asa was strangely calm. Giving her this moment of solitude had been something he chose, and that in itself gave him the confidence to 'protect' her.

Asa could only hope that once she left her family would keep her far away from this place, and bathe her in as much kindness as she'd shown him.