Chapter 13 - Preparations (3)

When Roran made it back to the dungeons it was still early enough that most people were awake. People paused their conversations to watch him pass through the door. Murrin was in a circle with Dorval and Kamil. He attempted to rise, to harass Roran like normal, but this time Dorval stopped him. He grabbed the old councilman's arm and forced him to sit down before climbing onto his one remaining leg and the old wooden crutch he hobbled around on.

Watching him hobble over, Roran thought of Karyn's warning about the broken soldier. He stayed near the door so Dorval wouldn't have to hobble far and they would still have a small amount of privacy.

Coming up to Roran, Dorval said, "Take a seat boy, we need to talk."

Roran sat down and waited as Dorval slowly folded himself into a sitting position, using the bars to lower himself to the ground. Placing his crutch between them, Dorval leaned forward and peered into Roran's eyes. Roran gazed back, confused.

After a few awkward moments, Dorval said, "You have your mother's eyes."

"I know," said Roran. His mother had told him more than once that they had the same eyes, though she always said they looked better on him.

"Her eyes were more gentle," Dorval went on, "They didn't have the exhaustion or fear that your eyes do. Did your mother ever tell you how we met?"

Roran shook his head.

"It was in winter during a full moon, back when I still had two legs. I was out late and got lost hunting in the woods. I'll admit that I probably shouldn't have been out hunting that night, I'd been deep in the wine barrel and had brought several skins with me. There wasn't much snow on the ground yet, but a cold wind was blowing. By the time I was sober enough to realize I was in trouble, I was thoroughly lost and starting to shiver. The cold was setting into my bones and I couldn't move my hands.

"I tried finding my way home but I couldn't tell if I was supposed to be heading uphill or down. In my confusion, I ended up slipping on an icy rock and spraining my ankle. I thought that was the end of me. I thought Celine was going to have to bury me young and remarry before the gray hairs settled in. And then I heard humming.

"Hobbling as best I could, I wasn't as good at it back then, I headed for the humming. If nothing else it was more pleasant than freezing to death in silence. That was when I saw Alira. I'd seen her a couple of times around town. She'd moved in a few years prior but she had a habit of disappearing for months at a time so I didn't get to know her until then.

"She was out picking the leaves from winter bushes for her tea. She always made the best tea. Even after all these years I can still remember the smell, sweet and earthy. She saw me there, limping along, and you know what she did? She smiled and asked how I was enjoying the winter evening, as if I wasn't standing there freezing to death. When I told her I'd gotten lost and hurt my ankle she just shrugged and said, 'no problem, I'll take care of you.'

"She helped me hobble back towards town, to the house you knew, and helped me warm up next to the fire with some tea and hot soup. Now, even back then I knew she was a...I knew what her profession was, but I had never partaken before. That night though, in her home, next to the fire and with a cup of tea in my hands, I couldn't resist. I fell victim to her charm and her smile, and it was the easiest thing I'd ever done."

Roran stared at the floor, drawing patterns with his finger and avoiding looking at Dorval. Dorval who preferred pine and winter berry tea.

"I only visited your mother for a year before I was able to free myself from her charm, but after that year was over, she was swollen and bloated with you. Do you get what I'm trying to say?"

Roran didn't respond.

"What I'm trying to say, boy, is that I'm your father."

"Okay."

Roran kept drawing patterns in the dirt, different constellations that his mother had taught him to navigate the night sky by.

"Now, I know we haven't been kind to you. Celine has never been comfortable with that part of my life. That was why we couldn't adopt you like we did Sephyr when your mom died. I couldn't be there like I should have been. I know you never had a proper parent but-"

"My mom raised me, that was all I needed."

"A whore can't raise a boy on her own, not properly."

Roran bit down on his cheek, stopping only when he tasted blood. Again he thought of what Karyn had said and reigned in his anger. His mother was the only parent he would ever need.

"What I mean to say is," Dorval went on, "I want to help you now. Murrin is planning on getting you killed to buy us time to train Toth and Sephyr. He's going to use Sephyr the same way so Toth can become a 'proper warrior' before he steps back into the arena. I want to do what I can to keep you alive."

"Okay."

"Now, there isn't much I can do just now. I can't even train you properly with people watching, but learning from the little girl is better than nothing. Just remember that her training isn't going to get you very far. You need a proper man to teach you how to fight. But until we get that chance, here's what you should do: go topside as much as you can. Run around the city, just run. Build up your endurance. Murrin says that you get free food just walking around up there, so eat as much as you can. Get big and strong like Toth. Do that and you'll have an advantage."

"Okay."

"Just listen to me and do what I say and I'll keep you alive. I should get going now, before Celine gets too angry with me. She doesn't like me talking to you. I'll talk to you again before the event and try to talk you through some swordsmanship, okay?"

"Okay."

Using the bars to help himself, Dorval climbed back to his feet and hobbled back to his little circle. Celine, Murrin, and Kamil glared at Roran the entire time Dorval was hobbling back. Roran sighed, stood up, and returned to his normal little place against the wall. He was getting sick and tired of people talking about how they slept with his mother.