*COMPLETE* Allayria promised to do what it takes to stop the Jarles, to make the ugly decision. She thinks, at last, she understands what the dynast meant. The lesson earned from the top of that lonely cliff and given the dark murky water below.
It...
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Three days.
The start of the morning is a gurgling mess, the campsite a muddy ruin from the downpour the night before. She can hear it outside, everyone waking up, this machine of human beings starting again from its deep slumber. She doesn't sleep much anymore; outside of that strange return to the nowhere space with Isati, her dreams are low, dark things, permeated by a constant murmur, the echoes of voices.
Three days.
Time is winnowing down now, narrowing into a finite timeline, a rapidly approaching end, Allayria can measure it by the tremor in Lei's hands, the way his eyes dart to the flashing sliver of dawn sunlight, marking another day passed.
It will work, she thinks, Finn, the plan, swirling around her head. It must work.
Part of her believes it, part of her fears it, because there's a part, a possibility in the plan she doesn't want to see, doesn't want to think about.
There is no easy way, she tells herself, watching the golden sliver of morning light through the tent flap, no clean path, but I said it, didn't I? I will give up things I never wanted to, give them up to stop the Jarles.
Give them up and then come back, to face Ben.
No. No, she won't think of that, won't contemplate it, not now. After. After everything.
(If there is an after.)
She will deal with him and Feuillles, scheming, conniving Feuilles, who Hiran writes to, who Hiran informs as the High King sits on his comfortable seat in his warm, safe home. Yes, Allayria will deal with him after. She'll deal with him as she sees fit, no matter what Ruben says, what Ruben pleads, soft-hearted for everyone but her, asking her for mercy for everyone but sparing none for her.
The Skill master ducks into the tent as if summoned by her thoughts, his pale, lined face taking in Lei's pacing, then settling on her, sitting, hunched over in her chair, staring at the glowing tent flap from the dark corner.
"Lei," he says, startling the Nature-caller, "The Chieftainess is settling on siege formation in the tent hall this morning—she needs your knowledge of the terrain."
Lei nods, and old habits seem to seize control, set him on familiar, blessedly rigid paths as he strides out, ducking underneath the open flap.
"Take Hiran with you," the Skill master calls after him. "Gods know that man needs to pay attention."
It's only when Lei is gone, off to do Ruben's bidding, that Allayria raises her eyes to meet the old Skill master's. He's watching her again with that peculiar expression, as if measuring things that cannot be seen.
"Let's take a walk," he says.
Dew clings to the yellow grass outside, sparkling in the early morning sunlight, creating a shimmer, a glow on the ground. They walk through the narrow line of tents, past soldiers who halt every time, pulled up short by the sight of the Skill master and the Paragon, who are off to do official things, important things.
That's what Ruben wants, isn't it?
"How are you feeling?" he asks.
She shrugs, uncertain how he thinks she can put that leaden weight, sitting low in her stomach, into words. The doubts murmuring at the back of her head, the low echoes that sometimes bear faces, have familiar voices.
"You should practice more with us," he says, placing a hand on her arm. "Abadi Chaudri will be no easy opponent, even with Hiran's, Lei's, and my help."
She will be relentless, Allayria thinks, remembering Isati's memories, Lei's story. She will be brutal, and the longer she stands, the longer she keeps coming, the longer the rest of the Jarles will stand and the more people will die.
"I'll schedule in some sparring time," she answers.
"There is also the daughter to consider," Ruben continues, hesitating. "Lei's sister. You've met her before."
A young girl with a crumpled face, staring into a mirror... a dark-clad, metal-gleaming monster, staring with glittering, watchful eyes in a space that doesn't exist. Yes, Allayria has.
"I fear..." Ruben hesitates. "I fear she will go after Lei."
Mom's going to be so angry with you, Lei-Lei. What do you think she's going to say when she hears you brought the Paragon home?
"I will deal with her," Allayria says.
He halts and she halts alongside him, curious.
"Isati Chaudri takes after her mother," Ruben tells her, "as Lei, I assume, takes after his father. We are running out of options, out of mercies we can grant each other, but if we make it that far—if we defeat Abadi Chaudri—we will have to kill the daughter too. I would ask of us—you, me, Hiran—that we do our best to not make Lei do it."
"Have to kill?" Allayria echoes. "I thought you believed in mercy, Ruben. Didn't you spare the other—your friend who rose up and tried to conquer everything all those years ago?"
The Skill master contemplates her for a moment.
"Olcay had remorse," he answers eventually, quieter now but his voice firm, resolute. "There was a girl he loved, Sarah, and he killed her on accident. I told you Rast, Dost, and I defeated him, but it was his grief that brought him low, that broke him in half. He came back because he cared about something beyond himself. There is only one thing Abadi Chaudri cares about, one thing she will have taught her daughter to care about: herself. "
He sets a heavy, warm hand on Allayria's shoulder and it feels like an echo of a memory past, of their first goodbye back in Bear's Spear before Quersido, before her recusal, before he told her about Lethinor. He gave her a quail-embossed coin from a dying order then, and he had hugged her like a father would.
"You are entering a viper's nest, Allayria," he says, and his kind eyes are worried, worried. "Don't let Lei's goodness make you forget that."
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A/N: Whew! Hello, everyone, it has been a moment, hasn't it? Sorry, as we approach the end and my life has gotten busier (in a good way), I'm trying to prioritize my free time for writing over posting in a strictly timely manner. I am still going to do my best to keep my weekly schedule—believe me, its always top of mind—but if I've got the writing bug (like tonight) I'm making a conscious choice to write first and then review and post chapters after, if I have time. I'd rather there be a little delay now and a strong bulk of writing buffer/content for after than vice versa. I ain't ignoring you, trust me. Just putting some elbow grease in for your future enjoyment.
Not that Allayria is enjoying herself—do we agree with Ruben, or do we not? How far can we trust Isati Chaudri?
Also, Prodigal just hit 50k! You guys are the best ❤️
Chapter Notes: Isati taunts Lei in Partisan's "Sisterly Love;" Ruben tells Allayria about Olcay in "The Breaking of the Fellowship;" Allayria swears to stop the Jarles no matter the cost in "Did You Love Me in the Firelight." Olcay is defeated by Ruben and Abe in Prodigal's "Thin Red Line."
