Curious Spark

Albeit, Dakran was satisfied with the little slice of paradise Maya had gifted him right before their wedding day, his unease remained unchanged for other reasons this time.

Leafing through the expenditure ledger, Dakran quickly found out, that his little stash was wearing thin. That meant he would have to start dipping his fingers into the family coffers. Slamming the ledger shut, he slumped in his chair and sighed. There was no way around it, worrisome but not a reason to panic. A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts " Come in" he said as he straightened himself up, preparing for whoever would walk through the door.

Rom pushed the door open, peeked his head inside, and had a quick look around before entering. Most likely looking for Maya.

" How is Maya?" Rom asked as he padded across the floor to the table, looking like he had weathered a storm. A familiar look after a good toss in the bed. Dakran threw a glance at himself in the mirror and grinned at the sight of his ruffled hair. Tomorrow, Dakran sighed, it will be his turn to wear the same, thoroughly fucked look.

To chase away his lewd thoughts, Dakran waved his hand to the chair, and turned his attention to Rom " She is doing alright." Rom frowned "Better. Edýia?" Dakran added when Rom frowned at his first answer.

Rom cleared his throat trying to stifle a smile " Having a catnap" he answered, pleased with himself "Where is she?" Rom carried on querying further as he finally took a seat at the table, trying, and failing miserably to wipe the smugness off his face.

" In the sewing room. She is putting together a dress," Dakran chuckled, pouring a glass of water, and offering it to Rom. With him away for so long, he hadn't had a chance to have a proper conversation with the man that his sister has chosen to take as her husband.

Rom took a sip of his drink " Hmm, you'll have to drag her out of there. She doesn't know when to stop." Rom amusedly said, placing the glass on the table and sighing.

" I'm leaving for Shadow Valley after dinner" Rom cleared their throat "Edýia would like to join me, but I wanted to speak with you first. I know you care for her dearly and " Rom ran his finger through his hair, trying to find his words" I don't stand a chance against her. I was thinking that maybe, you are the best man to help me with this. She needs to stay here, in Ironstone. I don't know what awaits us in Saddow Valley, and I need to know she is safe." Rom reasoned, concerned about Edýia's safety. Sensible, at least one of them was, but he wasn't far behind Rom when it came to his sister. She was hardhead, unrelenting when she set her mind on something. It was a difficult task, and he would rather clean horse manure than go head-to-head with his little sister.

Dakran clicked his tongue " I will try, but if worse comes to worst. You'll have to take some men with you, along with Edýia. And tomorrow Maya and I are getting married, maybe wait until after." Dakran stood up when Little Dak scratched at the door, to let him in. He hadn't told Maya about the volsa that attacked him in the south lands. Making a quick mental note, Dakran closed the door behind the cub, which strolled to the bed and jumped on it.

" Oh " Rom fell deep in thought at the news " I guess. I will have to leave after. I wouldn't want to miss my sister getting married " Rom perked up at the news, he seemed to be in a better mood. He wanted Edýia there as well, she was his sister, and family, and even if she didn't share blood with him, he never thought of her otherwise.

" She would want you to be here. And I would too. With Haren gone " Dakran wavered for a moment, as Rom's mood plunged at the mention of Haren's name " It doesn't matter." Dakran sighed when little Dak plopped himself on the bed, and stretched in the middle of it, yawning his head off.

" I don't mean to be disrespectful, but Haren is not exactly my favourite person right now. Falkirk said something about Edýia being locked up in her room. Is it true?" Rom asked, concerned about how they had treated Edýia in the past. There was no point in denying it.

" Yes, when she began bursting into flames. We didn't want to scare people, and at the time we thought it was a wise choice. Then the stone came along, and she was able to walk around Ironstone. But, that didn't last very long because we took her with us to the south. She liked it there. Maybe because we weren't around as much, but it did a world of good to her. She'd been sad for so long that I thought I would never see her smile again. And you know the rest." Dakran briefly recounted Edýia's life, while Rom seemed to be beyond displeased with how they behaved towards Edýia. It wasn't with malicious intentions, but at the time seemed to be a good strategy. He couldn't be more mistaken. But there was nothing he could about, water under the bridge.

" I see" Rom hummed, frowning " You know, I did many things that I'm not exactly proud of by I always treasured my sister" Rom took a beat to gather his thoughts " I need to know" Rom straighten himself in his chair " My sister, I need to know that you will do right by her. I need to know that you will do your best to make her happy. She " Rom closed his eyes, and sighed " She has suffered enough, I need to know that, you will be good to her, and not treat her like a rag. It seems to be a common occurrence around here when it comes to women." Rom was spilling all his frustration, and disapproval regarding the northern ways.

It wasn't an unfounded concern, he was right but he had no intention of doing so to Maya " No" Dakran rubbed his chin " Some of my people are still tied to the old religion but-"

" I have heard of that, what is that?" Rom asked with a very deep frown " What does that mean?" Rom carried on asking a little too fervently, and he knew if he told the whole truth, much trouble will ensue afterwards.