Drip...Drip...Drip...Clear green tinged droplets fell slowly through the layers of muslin, leaving behind the mush of assorted leaves that had been carefully prepared earlier that morning, into an expensive yet practical glass flask. It was a process that could not be rushed, yet would yield a strong sedative that she hoped would be undetectable. Her work made her, it gave her purpose, it brought forth copious rewards and sometimes it even did good. Change. She made a vow not to cause deliberate, unnecessary harm to innocents, yet it did not mean her work had to change completely, only that she had to be more vigilant, more selective in who she traded with. Change. She was now watched, even though told her affairs were her own, her business to be conducted as usual. Change. Her paranoia had begun to ebb away, looking over her shoulder had started to become a thing of the past, her home less a fortress and more a place of comfort. Change. She had become part of something larger, something stronger, something secretive.
The company that she had kept at her home of late, was absent. Conducting business that she did not pry into too deeply, unless it was a matter that concerned her directly. Her belly grumbled, yet she could not stomach another slice of bread, copious amounts of it already going to waste considering the generous daily order she had placed with the struggling baker. The home was quiet, save the drip...drip...drip...so she wrote..
Mother
Dearest Mother
I have something to announce
She gave up, now was not the time to write to the woman who had not long returned home, especially about such a volatile matter. She took to her diary instead, opening it to a crisp new page, pressing the spine down so as to make it lay flat.
Obsession. I have been here before, yet never with one whom spoke so confidently of future events. No, this is different. This one is sly, has patience enough to wait, watches others in their attempts yet speaks to me with such conviction. I truly believe he would burn the lands and all within them, should it be asked. His focus I envy, my mind strays too often, we are now an amalgamation of the two. Yet, we are two people, seen in the town, dressed in fine clothing with fine wine in our hands. We have, dare I say it, friendships with others, people I actually care for. I have seen how he reacts when one of them suffers at the hands of another, I recognise it, the way the mind suddenly calculates a thousand ways to solve a problem, yet with a calm almost eerie reaction. My mind, whenever faced with such challenges, turns to violence, I am reactive but, I must recognise that I am no longer alone. There are those in the family who now will aid me, stronger, more intimidating, more..practical? I need not react on impulse, even if the tools I use could devastate. I need to calm the tempest that resides in me, I need to change.
He saw her, the wife of a former adversary. It has been years and I thought him long, long gone from these lands. I am assured there has been no sighting of him, though he is cunning, cruel and his mind naught but malice. If she is here, he would not be far away, he wouldn't dare let her stray too far from his watch. There was a time he said I was like him, when he gleefully flayed the flesh from the backs of three men. I am not like him, I never shall be.
Then there is our new problem. Remy informs me I am not to worry, but there is cause for it. His younger brother is on the move. This is meant to be unusual, and I am still learning of the family, but what I know of him, it cannot be good. Provoked by a possible emergence of Efram, a man who disrupted business in the region with his cruel, unconventional ways, causing chaos and retreat. It is likely the news of his wife being seen has caused little brother to go hunting without notice. He must be contained, he is ill of mind, cruel in his task, and I will serve the family as best as I can in this matter.
Change. I have given him a key to my home. I have one to his, although it is currently more of a giant, empty shell than a home. How is it possible to feel great strength and vulnerability all at once? People are becoming more curious, this past eve a woman, a bard I am told, asked if we were wed. We do not hide anything, we are as we present ourselves, though he believes I am the last to recognise that we are indeed as close as we are. I asked him if I was truly so blind. Apparently I was resistant, reluctant, something or other, with good cause I might add. There are those in my past whom I would force a tincture down their throat, causing them to burn from the inside out, excruciating pain that I would relish in witnessing. Change. I cannot be that person now, he doesn't shy away from who I am, but I know I must relegate such experiences to the past, embrace the days to come. He offers me everything I have desired.
