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Old 09-15-2019, 06:49 AM
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Liri Dazzlebeam Liri Dazzlebeam is offline
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Hellooooo? Anybody around? I know everyone is probably really busy, I know I am, but I hope we can keep this RP alive! I miss writing with everyone!

I have so many exciting ideas for what's up ahead for our characters, and I hope we can make it there!

Also, sorry in advance that this post is crazy long!! There was a lot that I needed to have Ren and Talia say/think/experience from everything that happened in Night's last post for Ansell. Hope everything in it is ok with you all! Let me know if something isn't!



Ren

Talia and I were perfectly paced together as we raced towards our friends in trouble, riding through the night with only brief pauses for the whole team to water and feed the horses and ourselves. Only Talia’s elite team came with us, and they were used to rescue missions racing against time, so they didn’t complain about the lack of rest. As dawn arrived, we drew near where I had “heard” Ansell “call” from, and we slowed a bit to look for tracks. Then we heard a scream of terror nearby, and we rushed towards the sound.

I spotted a Dai Li agent riding off with a small girl thrashing and screaming, and I acted without stopping to think. I levitated a large stone and “threw” it towards the agent with my telekinesis. It hit his shoulder and he immediately dropped the girl and fell off his horse, which continued to gallop away. The girl shrieked in surprise, and I quickly caught her with my Gift before she could hit the ground, gently lowering her. We slowed our horses as we neared the trembling girl, and then three familiar figures charged into view - the blonde Hanna, dark-haired Ezra, and then Ansell with his brown curls and green eyes. Ansell and I met gazes, and we both exhaled in relief - and a bit of disbelief. I wasn’t imagining I heard him after all! I really heard him - from miles and miles away!

I had never been so relieved to see anyone in all my life.

"Looks like you could use some help," Talia called out, smiling at them.
"Talia!" Hanna called out in both relief and excitement. Then she turned to Ansell, "So you really were serious... You managed to contact each other from this far away." There was a note of incredulity in her voice, mixed with awe. It’s crazy, I know, I thought.
"Gifts really are incredible," Ezra marveled. "I wonder if we'll ever discover all that they're capable of."

The trembling girl on the ground finally looked up at me, and shrank away in fear, no doubt recognizing me from when I was Dai Li. I looked down in shame, then heard Ansell tell the girl, Rhea, "It's okay. She's one of us now."
I looked up quickly at that, startled by his words still - even after all the kindness he and the others had shown me lately. Then I raised my chin and met all of their gazes squarely.

"I've spent too much time tearing families apart. If there's a chance that I can help bring some back together again - " My gaze fell on Rhea, full of determination, " - then I will do whatever it takes."
"No time to chat. We have to get going!" one of the agents behind me exclaimed urgently. Talia nodded commandingly, and we quickly pulled the four up on our horses with us and set off at a hard gallop. Talia hugged little Rhea close to her, Ezra and Hanna rode with two other members of the team, and Ansell leaped up behind me.

"How's Finn doing?" He asked quietly.
"He'll be okay," I answered, still feeling relieved that Finn was alive, "He's sleeping now, but the healers have told me that he's going to be just fine."
"And... Haven?" Ansell asked cautiously, almost afraid to hear what my answer would be.
I hesitated, then replied, "She and Talia had a talk. She feels horrible about what she did, but I've told her that Finn will be okay. We decided to give her some space for the time being." Then I added softly, "I can understand what she's feeling right now. She's going to have to live with what she did, and it won't be easy... but she'll learn from it. I'm just glad that we'll be able to bring her sister back to her."

"You really are amazing, Lyren," Ansell murmured, so softly that no one else but me could hear, and I was stunned, at a complete loss for words and barely able to think. No one has ever said that about me.
But before I could really process what he’d said or begin to respond, I felt a probing thought sweep by - just barely missing my mind - and I stiffened in alarm.

"What? What's wrong?" Ansell asked, instantly on high alert.
"I can feel it... They have other telepaths," I replied, then raised my voice so that the others could hear, "It's the Gifted army! The Dai Li have sent them to the border."
Everyone froze in their tracks.
"We won't be able to sneak past them," Ansell said slowly, speaking what everyone else was thinking. "They'll be using them to find our thought waves."
"They've never deployed so many Gifted before," I said, worried.
"Wow, Galy and the troops are pulling out all the stops. Are they really so determined to keep me around? I'm flattered." Ansell replied, with a tight smile, and I noticed the flash of worry hidden behind his joke.


Talia

"What are we going to do?" Rhea whispered, trembling uncontrollably, and I pulled her close into a comforting embrace. "We can't get out of the Capitol, and sooner or later, one of their patrols will find us."
I saw Ansell take a deep breath, then he stated, "I... know a place where we can go."
Ren turned to him in surprise, and Hanna and Rhea looked equally confused, but Ezra and I understood. We both looked at him in concern.
"Are you sure, Ans?" Ezra asked hesitantly.
"Well, anyone else have a better suggestion?" He forced a cheerful tone. "Besides, it seems like a lovely day for a family reunion, doesn't it?"
At this, the others looked even more baffled, and I noted that Ren looked at him with concern and befuddlement, with the same focused look in her eyes that Nyna had when she was speaking telepathically with someone. I took a second glance at the pair as we all began to follow Ansell’s direction, and started to notice how comfortable they appeared with each other - a surprising change for my once-enemy. I thought back over the past few weeks and started to realize that they had become close, and blinked in bewilderment. Ansell and Ren actually becoming friends? Never thought that would happen in a million years!


Ren

:Ansell? What are you talking about?: I asked, confused and concerned, but was met with shielded silence as Ansell took the reigns from me and began to guide our horse. He kept his eyes ahead and mental shield raised, avoiding my gaze. I blinked in surprise at being shut out after how open we had been with each other lately, then faced forward again, worried about him. This must be something really hard for him if he won’t even answer me after how close we have become.

Then I mentally shook my head and started to put up my old walls, closing off my feelings. Who am I kidding, he doesn’t owe me an explanation, we still barely know each other. Just because we shared some hard things with each other doesn’t mean… after all, we used to be enemies. Why would he want a friend like me anyways?

I looked down then, and saw his hands shaking - just a little, barely noticeable, and my walls crumbled back down. Silly Lyren, he doesn’t have the energy to explain anything right now, he is barely keeping his composure. Now that I had stopped trying to hide behind my walls of ice again, I felt the fear leaking through his mental shield. Oh Ansell, whatever it is you are facing, I wish you didn’t have to go through this right now! I reached out and steadied his hands on the reigns, and felt him take a deep breath to brace himself.

The trees began to thin out, and then massive iron gates soared into view in front of us. The guards at the front immediately stood to attention, weapons drawn. Ansell slid off the horse and walked up to them, leaving the reigns back in my hands.
They relaxed when they saw him, sliding into smiles of familiarity. "Welcome back, young master," one said, sliding into a bow. Ansell simply nodded at them without speaking, and the gates began to open before us.
My eyes widened in surprise, and I looked over at Talia. She gave me a nod, then lowered Rhea to the ground and swung off her horse, so the rest of us followed her example.

Ansell stood in front of the gate as it finished opening, then began to stride inside. I hesitantly came up just behind him, leading my horse, uncertain how he would respond if I spoke to him since he was still shutting me out.
"Is this..." I finally whispered as we walked through the immaculately cut hedges and perfect flowerbeds, up the long drive to the massive oak doors, recognizing the estate but unsure how he fit into this world.
"Lord Gervais's estate." Ansell finally turned to face all of us, his expression twisting into a humorless smile. "The home of my father." Then he turned away and continued forward.

I stood frozen for a moment, the rest of the group passing me by until Talia put her hand on my shoulder, pulling me out of my racing thoughts enough to get me walking again. I had heard stories about Lord Gervais when I was Dai Li, the man who had handed over his Gifted little girl to be in the Gifted army and exiled his wife. That little girl had been Ansell’s baby sister, I realized, horror filling me. Once, I would have agreed with his father’s decision, but now it was unthinkable, and my heart ached for Ansell.

We walked all the way up to the enormous oak doors, which swung open before us. Two stableboys came up and took the horses away, and two servants greeted us with smiles and bows, setting everyone up on the plush sofas with trays of food set before them. Rhea curled up in a corner armchair and was asleep in minutes - and after a nod from Talia, her team did the same nearby, exhausted from riding through the night before.

At last Ansell turned towards Hanna and I, "Talia and Ezra already know this. Basically, the short version is: my father was a high-ranking member of the King's council. He used to be a commander of the Dai Li. When I was five years old, my mother had a Gifted child. Adonis gave Father a choice - my sister or his wealth, his power, and his place among the Dai Li. He chose the latter."

Ansell avoided my gaze, knowing I knew the Dai Li gossip version of the story - what the Dai Li saw as a huge scandal. A high-ranking member of the King's council having a Gifted child was a huge disgrace in their eyes, and the scandal was spoken about for years. It was still being spoken about when I was brought in to join the Dai Li at the age of 8, and I had heard that the Lord Gervais had publicly denounced his daughter - and his wife for bearing him such a child. I knew the girl had been sent to the barracks, to be trained as a Gifted soldier as soon as she could walk, but none of us had known which girl she was as the King had ordered her name changed so that no one in her family could find her later if they tried. Anyways, the Gifted army were never spoken to by name, they were each given a number instead. It was likely that the girl didn’t even know she was the daughter of Lord Gervais, since she had been taken at such a young age and likely didn’t know what her name once was - and who knows if she is even still alive in the Gifted army.

And I knew that Lord Gervais’s wife had been banished, stripped of her titles and wealth, and that his sons had disappeared with her, never to be seen at the palace again - or so I had thought.

"He regretted it later." Ansell’s voice sounded distant and remote, like an impartial narrator simply dictating these events. "He would eventually contact the Clann, offering up information and aid from his time on the King's council. He was demoted after the scandal, of course, but was still well respected among the Dai Li and had many connections."
Which was why all of Galy and I's complaints and petitions for Ansell to be removed from the Dai Li were ignored, I realized, beginning to put the pieces together.

Lord Gervais must have helped Ansell infiltrate the Dai Li, protecting Ansell as much as he could in that. Ansell just didn’t use his father’s last name, and no one realized he was Lord Gervais’s younger son, after all he wasn’t the charismatic heir that people would have recognized.
"Lucien Gervais?" Hanna spoke up then, sounding hesitant. "So is he..."
Ansell nodded, "He's my older brother."
"He never told us about..." she trailed off, seeming uncertain on how to approach the topic.
"I told him not to. At the time, I had no intention of joining the Clann, and I didn't want anyone there to know about me." He didn't clarify as to why, and he still refused to meet my gaze, keeping his mental shield firmly in place.


Talia

Neither Hanna nor Ren tried to press the matter any further. "I'm sorry," Hanna said after a moment, her face soft with genuine sympathy.

I knew how hard it was for Ansell to talk about all this. Ansell had told Ezra, Nyna, and I eventually, after… well, after the day we lost him. And he hadn’t had to tell us the part about that day… we were all there. It was one of the worst days of my life.
I missed him so much, he had been my closest friend besides Nyna, before Ezra and Ansell became part of our group. He was my teammate. My best friend. He trained with me and fought beside me, always there to have my back. And then he was gone. Not many knew the details of his death, only the Council knew outside of Nyna, Ansell, Ezra, and I.

Ansell shook his head at her apology. "I'm not the one you should be sorry for." He said flatly, "You don't know all that I've done."

The butler entered the room just then and bowed. "His Lordship is ready to see you now."
Ansell got up abruptly. "I'll speak to him. All of you, just ask the staff if you need anything."
I silently followed him out into the hallway. Once we were out of earshot of the others, Ansell turned to me, unable to meet my gaze.
He swallowed. "Talia, I'm so sor - "
I cut him off by pulling him into a tight hug. "I told you four years ago. Never apologize to me again. You have nothing to be sorry for. Lucien never blamed you for what happened, and neither do I."
Wordlessly he nodded against my shoulder.
"You were just trying to figure things out," I whispered. "We all know you never meant for things to get so out of control. You did what you could at the time."
"I know I should tell them everything. The whole truth. Hanna, Ren, the team, and Haven, too, they deserve it... I know they do, but I just - can't."
I shook my head. "Do it when you're ready, and only when you are. They will understand."
Nodding, he pulled away and turned to face the door to his father's office. "Thank you, Talia."

I stood there in the hallway after Ansell went into the office, lost in a memory.

“No!” I screamed, running towards his crumpled body, “Luc!”
I cradled his head in my lap, sobbing.
“T.. Tali… shh, Tali, it’s ok. I.. I’ll be... ok…” He gasped out, “Tali… promise… me… take care of… Ansell… please…”
“I promise,” I vowed through my tears, and then he was still. Too still. “No!!” I sobbed. But he was gone.


I sank to the ground, hugging my knees. Oh Lucien, I miss you so much. Then Ezra came quietly into the hallway, and sat next to me. He looked at me knowingly, and wrapped me in a tight hug.
“Thanks Ez. Thanks for always being there for us,” I said finally, because he had always been the light of our trio. And Ansell was our soul, whether he knew it or not. I don’t know what I would do without the two of them - and Nyna. They were my best friends, my family.


Ren

The entire ride to Telenoria was spent in a darkened carriage, heavy blinds drawn over the windows. The guards at the border didn't question a personal carriage of one of the King's former councilmen, and we made it out of the Capitol with no further complications. I don't think any of us breathed easy, however, until the familiar thatched roofs and tall spires of Telenoria were finally in view.

Ansell was quiet and withdrawn during the ride, mental shields still locked in place, but once we arrived in Telenoria he hopped out of the carriage first and spun around to face us with his usual careless grin already plastered back on.
"I thought that would never end! Seriously, being a nobleman and all, you'd think he could afford more comfortable cushions. Or at least some travel-time entertainment? These Dai Li always have such dour taste in interior design." He chattered, back to his cheerful act. "Well, we'd better get back there before they send out any more rescue parties, eh?" He smirked.

I studied him quietly while he helped the others out of the carriage, then let him help me down too. For a brief second, his mask cracked when he looked at me and I saw his raw grief and shame, but then the grin and the shield were back in place. He started to turn away to follow Talia and the others, but I grabbed his arm.
“I’m here for you, whenever you are ready,” I told him softly, looking him in the eye. For a moment I thought he might say something, then he gave a quick nod and pulled away again. I sighed, but didn’t push him. It was still too raw… he would tell me if and when he was ready - I hoped.

I followed to join the rest of the group where our horses were waiting, Lord Gervais had arranged for them to be brought here by some of his pageboys under the guise of being brought ahead of his “hunting friends” coming in the carriage - us - who were “looking to hunt” in the forests surrounding Telenoria. Soon we were mounted up, me behind Ansell this time so I could finally rest while he ensured I didn’t fall, and then we were on our way back home.



(Hope you guys like it!)
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