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Fable : Fall of the Guild	By : Samson Category: +A through F > Fable Views: 8222 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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Chapter List
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A Lord's Daughter.
Fable : Fall of the Guild

Part IV - "Unrest Among The People"

By: Jesse Racine AKA Samson

Original Date Written: July 19, 2011

The three chatted as they walked along, heading through various parts of the Gibbet Woods. After the men from the Bandits of the Black Hand, the trio didn't stumble across anything else that might threaten them. As evening rolled around, they went off the main path, heading into the trees for a bit. When they found a clearing a good distance from the main path, they stopped and began to prepare their campsite, Darrah digging a fire pit. As Bianca readied herself to go off and hunt, Timoteo asked her if she'd like company on her hunting again. With a wink, she knew what he meant, and with a smile, he knew she'd love his company. But before he could slip away with her, Darrah suddenly spoke to him. "Tim, I need you to light the fire pit..." Her voice was a little subdued, and when he turned to look at her, he saw her to be standing by the pit with her face downcast, her eyes towards the ground. Timoteo glanced back to Bianca, and she smiled sweetly at him, softly saying "I won't be far..."
She turned and left, and Timoteo subtly sighed softly, exhaling through his nose. He turned and headed back to Darrah and the fire pit, launching a fireball into the pit rapidly. Just as he turned to walk away, he heard Darrah speak again, still in her subdued tone. "Wait..." Timoteo raised an eyebrow. He turned around and looked at her. "You feeling okay?" He asked curiously. Darrah glanced off to the side, her face still slightly pointed down towards the ground. She was silent for a second or two before saying "Yeah, I was just...Wondering if you'd stay, tonight. Instead of going off, like yesterday night." Timoteo hesitated from walking away. Raising an eyebrow, his face a mix between curiosity and worry, he asked "I came back yesterday, but...What's wrong? Did you want to talk about something?" Darrah slowly looked over to him, but she didn't meet his eyes, and her gaze rapidly fell from his chest to his stomach.
She nodded silently. Timoteo took a few steps closer to her, saying "Well, alright...Can I have a second to tell Bianca not to wait for me, or will this not take long?" Darrah's mouth hung open for a second, but she eventually said, quietly, "...This might take a while. So, tell Bianca you won't be catching up..." Timoteo nodded lightly. He could see that something important was on Darrah's mind, but he couldn't imagine what. She hadn't acted during the day like she was at that moment in time, it was a surprise to Timoteo. "Sure...I'll be back in a second." Darrah nodded silently, never meeting his eyes, taking a seat by the fire. He turned and began to walk off after Bianca, finding her a minute later. She had been leaning against a tree, like the night before, though she approached him as he came near. She was smiling warmly as he approached, though his words caused her to lose her smile just as she came to him. "Sorry, I can't stick around...Something's wrong with Darrah, she wants me to stick around by the fire and talk to her."
Bianca raised an eyebrow curiously, softly asking "Is it something serious?..." Timoteo slowly nodded, saying "I think so...She's acting differently, at least." The two of them standing amid the dark trees, the stars twinkling through the foliage above, they reached over and held one another's hands. Bianca lightly said "Well, I hope you can help her with her problem...But I want to tell you something..." Timoteo raised an eyebrow at her curiously. Bianca's cheeks turned a bit pink, and a small smile came on her face, gazing into his eyes. "...The next time we're alone and have time..." She softly murmured. "...I'll have a little surprise for you...Okay?..." Timoteo couldn't help but begin to grin a little. Raising an eyebrow curiously, he asked "Oh, really? Well, I'm intrigued..." Bianca smiled widely, and she came closer, tilting her head back lightly for a kiss. He came closer, pressing a kiss to her heavenly lips. They kissed twice before they took a step back from one another, Bianca still smiling gently as she softly said "I'll see you when I get back..."
Timoteo was smiling as he raised a hand, giving her a short wave before turning and heading back to the camp. When he had returned to the camp, he found Darrah still seated by the fire, though she had changed out of her armour and left her pack off to the side. "So, what did you want to talk about?" He asked, beginning to pull off his chainmail shirt, draping it over his nearby pack. Darrah was silent, and it wasn't until Timoteo looked over to her that he saw her mouth hang open, her eyes on the fire before her. Her eyes were depressed, only half-open. He walked over, taking a seat close to her side. Half trying to cheer her up and half trying to tease her, he put an arm around her shoulders, saying "Why are you being so mopey, all of a sudden?..." Darrah's brow furrowed, and she closed her mouth. To Timoteo's mild surprise, she shrugged his arm off, continuing to stare in the fire. Now, she was practically glaring into the fire.
He became more serious, putting his elbows to his knees, staring into the crackling flames for a few seconds, as well. He figured that, when Darrah was ready to, she'd speak. He gave her time, waiting for a minute before she finally willed herself to speak. "I...Guess you're wondering about what the banshee said to me..." She mumbled. Timoteo was silent for a second, neither of the two looking at one another. "I was curious at first...But I didn't ask." He said. Darrah softly said "And I appreciate that..." Timoteo looked over to her face. Her depressed look had faded from her face, but her eyes were still down and unhappy. "Well...I figure...Bianca doesn't want to tell me about her parents...You know, because they're dead..." Her blunt words made Timoteo look back over to the fire, not sure what to say in return. Darrah shrugged lightly, quietly saying "I can understand...I probably wouldn't want to talk about it either...So...I suppose she has a real reason for being secretive..."
Timoteo remained quiet, letting Darrah go on. She was silent for several seconds, sitting cross-legged, like him. She sighed heavily through her nose before saying "...I don't know if you ever noticed, but...Unlike the others, I never talked about my childhood. I guess Bianca and I have something in common." Timoteo looked over to her face, nodding softly, saying "Actually, I did notice. Gibbons kept pressuring you one day to talk about it, and you eventually smacked him. That was a cue to the rest of us to never bring it up." Darrah's face broke into a smile, but a few seconds later, it faded. "Yeah, I was weird about it as a kid...For a bunch of reasons." Darrah quietly cleared her throat for a moment, eventually glancing in his direction, though not meeting his face. "I figured, if you were curious about it...I'd tell you..." Timoteo raised an eyebrow slightly, asking "It's not a coincidence that you chose this moment to tell me, is it? Now that Bianca's gone-"
Darrah cut Timoteo off, her brow furrowing lightly. "She won't tell me about her past, why should I tell her about mine?" She almost snapped. Timoteo looked back to the fire raising his eyebrows slightly. "Because it might make her open up to you and trust you." He thought. He didn't speak his mind, however. "I guess you have a point." He said lightly. Darrah's face relaxed, and she looked back over to the fire. "Well..." She lightly said. "If you...Want to know, I'll tell you...I don't have a problem with letting you know..." She shrugged lightly. "I don't really want any distrust among us, we might have a long way to go in our trip, yet..." Timoteo glanced over to her, raising an eyebrow slightly, though his brow furrowed. "You say that even after everything you've said to Bianca?" He asked, a touch of hostility in his voice. Darrah seemed surprised for a moment before her face began to grow red with frustration. "Fine!" She barked, quickly getting up to her feet. "If you don't want to know, then-!"
Timoteo reached up and grabbed her hand before she could walk away, causing her to fall silent as she angrily looked back to his face. He knew what the problem was with Darrah. She wanted to tell him, but she was hiding her desire behind a veil of satisfying his curiosity. She wanted to tell him about what the banshee had said, to explain things, but she only wanted to do it if she thought he wanted her to. If she didn't think he actually was interested, then she'd never elaborate, she needed to feel like he was actually curious. He was curious, though he figured he hadn't made it clear enough. "No, don't go." He said. Her face softened slightly. He gently pulled on her hand, and she slowly sat beside him again. He released her hand, softly saying "Tell me...What did the banshee mean when it mentioned a crown? And who's Jeremy?" Darrah's face went depressed again. She was silent for several seconds before she said "...We both know Albion doesn't have a royal family, so I hope you don't think I'm a princess or anything..."
Timoteo smiled slightly. "No, I hadn't thought of that." Darrah glanced over in his direction again, eventually mumbling "...My father's a lord of a large plot of land...Not too far north of your old home town, actually..." Timoteo raised an eyebrow at her in surprise. Darrah sighed through her nose again. "...He's always been rich, and I had a very comfortable childhood because of it...He's not royalty, but...He likes to wear a crown." Timoteo smiled a little, saying "That's pretty cool. Did you have a tiara?" Darrah shot him a dark look, saying "No, I told you, I'm not a princess. I had a coronet. It's different from a tiara. And I only wore it for really important events, I didn't prance around in a coloured cloak, telling people how special I was. That was my sister's job." Timoteo smiled a little, and Darrah's face grew a little angry again as she said "Is this funny to you?" Timoteo shook his head, saying "No, I just don't know why you never told any of us. It's not a big deal."
Darrah blinked a few times in surprise, and her face softened. She looked back to the fire. "...It was a big deal to me, as a kid. I didn't...Exactly enjoy every privilege I had as a lord's daughter." Timoteo lost his smile, raising an eyebrow, looking over to her face. "Like what? I figure it must've been a switch, going from a lord's house to the Guild." Darrah smiled a little, saying "It was, but I liked it. The Guild wasn't all that different from the massive estate my father has, but...I liked it." She raised a hand in front of her, twirling it around slightly. "See, when you're that rich, there's always someone to do everything for you. Someone to dress you. Someone to help you walk along without tripping. Someone to bring you your food. There's always someone." Darrah lowered her hands, rolling her eyes slightly, saying "Just about the only things there wasn't someone for was chewing and peeing." Timoteo chuckled lightly, and Darrah smiled slightly.
Timoteo noticed that she must've grown more comfortable, as she hadn't reacted with hostility to his laugh. Darrah was silent for a moment, her smile slowly fading. "...I was always different from the rest of the family. I was the youngest, too, which must've made me seem like a real brat. I didn't like that there was always someone to do everything for me...I liked to do it myself, you know? Experience it on my own." Timoteo nodded. "I can understand." He said lightly.
Darrah continued to gaze into the fire as she slowly said "Well...Even though I was rich, and could've played with other rich kids in the estate's yard...That wasn't fun. The kids always had adults with them to watch them. They were always primp and proper in public. Like I said, there was always someone, right?" Timoteo nodded. Darrah drummed her fingers against her knees for a few seconds as she said "So...At times...I would sneak away. My father let a village grow on part of his land. It was his fiefdom, they were mostly his knights, but they all had families and houses." "Knights? Like an actual king, then?" Timoteo asked. Darrah shook her head. "No. Not like a king. A king gets his power and army through Divine Right. My father simply owned a lot of land...People asked to live on his land, and in return, he asked that they swear to defend him, his family, and his estate in case it was ever attacked. The men agreed, and built houses and raised families."
Timoteo nodded in understanding. Darrah lightly said "I would sneak away, with my least expensive clothing...And I would find the children playing down in the village." Darrah's face went curious, but she began to smile. "They didn't act like anything I had ever known...They acted less civil...But it was fun. They were accepting, which was only something I had known amongst my family, and even then, it was shoddy at best. They didn't recognize me as the lord's daughter. Instead, I was just another kid up for playing a game. Aside from those kids, the only one to ever fully accept me was my father. My mother wanted me to be like her and my sister, and when it became obvious that I just wasn't like that, they began to...Well, more or less shun me." Timoteo's face grew sympathetic, but before he could tell her he was sorry for the apparently unfortunate treatment by her mother and sister, Darrah had already continued.
"Sometimes, I came home with mud on me, or ripped clothes...Sometimes, bruises...Sometimes, cuts. That was basically unheard of in my family, since, you know, there's always someone. But I was always careful to wash up before anyone saw me." Timoteo asked "How did people find out you had Hero blood?" Darrah's mouth hung open for a moment before she said "...That's...Related to what happened to Jeremy." Timoteo fell silent, looking back into the fire. Darrah was quiet for a few seconds before saying "So, yeah...I spent a few years hanging out with the village kids, all in secret...Nobody in my family knew, at first...I never told any of the village kids, I was afraid they'd feel weird, since they'd be compelled to treat me like a lord's daughter. One day...I met a kid named Jeremy." Darrah smiled a little. "He was a silly kid, always with a scheme for something fun to do. I liked him. We were close friends for...Mm...Something like seven or eight months? Almost a year."
Timoteo nodded slightly. Darrah's face grew depressed as she said "...Thing is, Jeremy was weak. Very weak. He was a lot like Gibbons though, he was always happy, and he was always up to trouble...But he wasn't strong. And he wasn't a Hero, so it's not like he could do magic or run really fast. I found out one day that, for all the months I had known him...He was being bullied." Timoteo looked over to Darrah with a raised eyebrow. Darrah's face grew more depressed. Gently, she said "One day, he came up to me with a knife. He was crying. He had a black eye, and I think one of his fingers was broken. He was walking funny, so...I think someone might've kicked him between the legs. He just told me that he couldn't take it anymore, that he was finally going to do something about the bullies." Darrah raised her eyebrows, saying "I had never seen the bullies, and neither did the other kids. They must've been older than he was, and beat him up when he was alone. I...Didn't know what to do. He was panicking, he was practically hyperventilating, and he kept pacing around and telling me he'd make them pay. I wasn't sure what I could do."
Timoteo quietly said "I wouldn't have known what to do then, either..." Darrah's brow furrowed, and she said "I could've gotten him help, I could've done something, but...!" She sighed lightly, almost whispering "But...I guess I was afraid...Of being bullied, myself. Of telling my dad I snuck out to the village. Of losing my friends. If everything came out in the open...I could've been in so much trouble, and I could've lost all my friends..." Darrah took in a shaky breath, and Timoteo looked over, seeing her face to be growing more and more depressed. "So...I didn't do anything...I was a scared little girl. I was useless. I didn't realize it at the time, but Jeremy was pretty much begging for help. He was, without words, begging me to stop him. I think he knew that, even with a knife, things wouldn't turn out well. Even though I acted rough with the village kids, I wasn't tough...Not really." Darrah's bottom lip quivered, and she bit it for a moment, her eyes going watery.
When she spoke again, her voice was choked with emotion. "Just before he decided to just go and face destiny, just go after the bullies like he had planned...He asked me for a kiss. Just one. To calm him down and boost his confidence. Just...One kiss..." Darrah sniffled heavily, raising her hands to her head, feeling her fingers through her hair. "I was a kid. I didn't understand what a kiss could do, at the time. I thought he was just being a pervert, I had no idea he even had a crush on me, I was...A stupid little girl, to sum it up. So...I said no. In fact...I pretty much screamed it." Darrah bit her bottom lip again, keeping her hands at the back of her head. "He ran away crying, still holding the knife. He must've thought he didn't even have me as a friend anymore. I should've just kissed him, but...When he left, I sort of walked away laughing." Darrah sobbed lightly, dropping her hands to her knees, shutting her eyes and hanging her head down.
Timoteo's face was saddened as he brought a hand over to her upper back, soothingly rubbing along her shirt. She didn't pull away. When she opened her eyes again, a few tears rolled down her cheeks, but she took in a deep sniffle to try and calm herself down. "I found out, barely an hour later, that...A kid had been killed in the street. Like most other people, I ran over to see what had happened. And..." Darrah grit her teeth tight for a moment, saying "It was Jeremy...He had been stabbed to death with his own knife..." Timoteo softly said "I'm so sorry, Darrah..." Darrah's tearful face turned dark as she said "Don't tell me you're sorry, I don't want pity!...You weren't there, you have nothing to be sorry about..." Timoteo slowly took his hand from her back, Darrah's words stinging. His face a cross between hurt and angry, he looked back to the fire. Darrah realized the impact her words had, grabbing his arm, bringing his hand to her right knee, the knee closest to him.
"No, I'm sorry, don't be mad, okay?" She rapidly said before taking another sniffle. He looked over to her eyes, his face lightening. He didn't say anything, though he kept his hand on her knee, like she wanted. She kept both her hands wrapped around his wrist, seemingly to make sure his hand stayed on her knee. She looked back to the fire, taking another sniffle, her eyes beginning to dry. "I ran crying to my father...I told him everything. About how I had been sneaking to the village for almost three years. How I had been playing with normal kids....About how Jeremy had been killed." Darrah's face grew dark as she said "I wanted the bullies brought to justice, I wanted them executed for the murder! I wanted them gone, I wanted them put in the guillotine! I wanted them dead!" Darrah said, her voice rising in volume near the end until she was nearly shouting. Timoteo looked down to the ground in front of his legs, his brow furrowing lightly.
Darrah's voice lightened as she softly said "...He was stunned...I guess he felt betrayed...My sister mocked me, and my mother just acted like I wasn't even there...My father just told me that children couldn't be executed before he told me to go back to my room. He told me that I was in extreme trouble. I ran away to the village one last time, but...Not until I went into my father's room and stole a sword of his." Timoteo looked over to Darrah, seeing her eyes alight with not only the glow of the fire, but their own internal inferno. "I ran around the village, shouting for the bullies. I was crying and screaming. I broke into a dozen different homes, looking for anybody that might've been one of the bullies. I knew that somebody had killed my best friend, and I figured it was only a matter of time before I finally found them. Well...I eventually did. One of them, anyway." Darrah shook her head lightly, raising her eyebrows sadly. "By then, several knights...Had already dressed and readied themselves to deal with me. A lot of them, like the kids, didn't know that I was one of the lord's daughters. So...They treated me like I was a delinquent. They prepared to beat the shit out of me."
Darrah shook her head lightly, closing her eyes, hanging her head down. "The one that was part of the group of bullies was maybe two years older than us. He had been in my path of houses being checked, and he decided to run. It was a stupid move, it made him obvious. But, he ran. And the knights came out to stop me without bothering with the kid." Darrah's grip on Timoteo's wrist tightened a little. "I had no training. I had barely seen a sword before in my life, let alone held one. The knights were experts, well, most of them were. And yet...When they came to stop me, I swung. I swung like crazy. I cut through swords and shields. I cut through their armour like it was butter. I hurt most of them, but...As far as I know, I didn't kill any. I was just trying to get past them to the kid that was running." Darrah, again, shook her head lightly. She looked back up to the fire, sighing through her nose again.
"My sword eventually broke in my hand, but I started punching and kicking. I eventually got past the knights and started chasing the kid down. A knight chased me down and tackled me before I could get the kid. It took three of them to hold me down. When they brought me to my father, raising charges of assaulting and wounding several knights...They wanted my head. They didn't care that my father didn't execute children. They thought I deserved it so much that he should change his policy. I got so angry that one of the bullies had gotten away, and that the knights wanted me dead when they were the ones that had interfered, that I punched a knight across the face. Hit him so hard that he collapsed to the ground, and another knight got so pissed that he slapped me as hard as he could. My father, then, got pissed too, so much so that he ordered the knight's execution right then and there, which shocked all of the other knights, since they still didn't know I was the lord's daughter."
Timoteo remained silent, beginning to lightly rub his thumb along Darrah's knee. Darrah was quiet for several seconds before saying "But...Luckily...There was a Hero visiting. A mage. He told my father that he believed I was a Hero of Strength, considering the way I had held off the village knights all on my own, and how I had punched one right to the ground in a single hit. Before my father even gave any hint as to what my punishment could be, or if I was even going to get any, which I likely was...The mage offered to take me to the Guild for training. Said I'd be away for years. I didn't want to, at first. I didn't care what was in my blood, I just wanted the bullies brought to justice...But...My father agreed. The Hero took me away..." "Is that why you don't trust magic?" He asked. Darrah's brow furrowed lightly. "It's part of the reason." She admitted. She slowly released his wrist, though he kept his hand on her knee. She was silent for several seconds before quietly mumbling "The banshee was right...I'm the reason why Jeremy is dead. If I had just...Done something, anything at all...Maybe he'd still be alive. If I hadn't been so stupid..."
Darrah's bottom lip began to rapidly quiver, and she bit it, though her chin simply began to tremble, instead. She raised a hand, covering her eyes, letting out a soft exhale as fresh tears began to run down her cheeks. "I told myself I needed to be tough so that I'd never lose anyone like him again...And I never will, now that I'm a Hero...I never will..." She confessed in a light voice. Timoteo felt his eyes water for a moment in empathy for Darrah, and he reached an arm around her shoulders. This time, she didn't shrug away his arm. She bit her bottom lip hard again, though tears kept falling from her eyes. "Don't look at me..." She eventually breathed, continuing to hide her eyes. Timoteo's face was depressed as he gently said "Darrah...It's okay..." Beginning to breathe quickly with emotions, she turned her head away from him, lowering her hand from her eyes. "No it's not!" She defiantly said. She sniffled before, in a quivering voice, she said "I was pathetic, and I got someone killed!...H-He was my best friend...And I just sent him to his death!...If I had just fucking kissed him, o-or gotten him some help, realized he needed it, I could've...!"
Darrah trailed off, beginning to hang her head down. Her back gently began to rise and fall with silent sobs. Timoteo's face was saddened as he lightly pulled on Darrah's shoulders, bringing her body to his, her right shoulder to the left side of his chest. "Darrah, I'm sorry...But it's okay...How could you know that Jeremy would get hurt?...You were just a kid, Darrah..." Darrah's head twisted over, her eyes red with stinging tears. "Kids are fucking stupid!" She loudly said. "And I was the most stupid of them all! It was as plain as day! Jeremy needed help. And I was just too stupid to see! E-Even a kiss could've...It could've..." Darrah trailed off for a moment, gritting her teeth tight, shutting her eyes. "I couldn't avenge him!! I couldn't get the ones responsible, and I never will! His bullies, his murderers, they probably laugh wh-when they think of him! When they think of me!" "Darrah..." Timoteo lightly said. She raised her hands to her face, covering her eyes with both hands, turning away from him.
She let off a sob, muttering "I'm so stupid!..." Timoteo was silent for a moment before he reached both arms around Darrah's shoulders, on both sides of her. Hugging her close, he rested his mouth down against her shoulder, against her shirt. "Darrah, you had no way of knowing..." He said softly. "Stop telling me that!!" She almost shrieked. Slamming her fists down against her left thigh, she kept her face turned from him, adding "I should've known!! I could've saved him if I did!" Timoteo sighed gently through his nose. Slowly, he began to release her. He could tell, she was convinced of her own guilt. "She must've been carrying that around her entire life...And if so, just a few of my little words aren't going to change her stubborn mind." He thought. As he released her, however, she shot a hand up. She grabbed his right hand as it came over her collar bones. "Don't...Let me go..." She quietly said, in a slightly firm voice, taking a sniffle a moment after.
She began to turn her head towards him again, still not able to meet his eyes, looking down to his knees. "I'm sorry...Just..." She mumbled, trailing off. Timoteo slowly reached his arms around her shoulders again, softly saying "Darrah...I'm sure Jeremy wouldn't want you hating yourself over what happened..." Darrah bit her bottom lip, shaking her head. Stubbornly, she said "He would...And he should...Because it is my fault...I was...I was ready to kill the ones that hurt him..." Darrah screwed her eyes shut, a moment later saying "The banshee was right, I'm no better than Bianca!...J-Just one slip, and I could..." Timoteo's brow furrowed as he said "Darrah, Bianca's not a bad person! She's gone through hardships just like you, okay? Nobody has an easy life." To his surprise, Darrah just sobbed. "I know!..." She mumbled. He raised his eyebrows, his eyes widening slightly. "I-I..." Darrah mumbled, tears falling from her eyes again.
"...I thought she could be a friend...But then she killed Travis and got exiled...It made me think of Jeremy...A-And when we kissed, in the Guild Woods?...It made me think about..." Timoteo raised his eyebrows before he softly asked "...Did you love him, Darrah?..." Darrah hung her head down. "...No...But he was my closest friend..." Turning her head towards him, she brought the side of her face to his left shoulder, keeping her eyes shut. Her face streaked with tears, she mumbled out "T-Tell me you'll never leave me...You're my closest friend, Timoteo...I can't lose another best friend..." Timoteo began to fully realize just how extremely personal the situation was to Darrah. He hadn't realized it before, but now, he knew. Her emotional defences had fallen, all of them. This was her moment of vulnerability, perhaps her first one in years. She was telling him of her past, she was openly crying, she was admitting that Bianca wasn't as bad as she had always shown..."This is the real Darrah. The one she's been almost entirely hiding from me throughout our lives..." Timoteo thought, his eyes growing a little watery again.
He raised a hand to the side of her face, comfortingly running a hand along the side of her face, over her hair. She didn't recoil at his touch, in fact, it seemed to ease her. "I get it, now..." He mumbled. "Why you got so upset when I said I had planned on leaving you behind, after Lychfield..." He raised his eyebrows lightly, saying "I can understand any time you've cried, around me...You...You thought I was going to leave you..." She raised a hand, gripping at his shirt. Opening her eyes, looking up to his, she almost sobbed out "Please...Y-You're the world to me...Don't ever leave...Promise me!..." She shut her eyes again, pitifully weeping out "I won't let anybody take you...Not a bandit...Not a banshee...Not the Anti-Hero League...I won't ever be weak with you, like I was with Jeremy...Nobody's gonna take you from me...Nobody's ever gonna take my friends from me...If I'm strong, that means you'll be fine, right?..."
Timoteo gave the side of Darrah's face a light stroke, feeling his hand along her hair. He held her close, pressing a fatherly kiss to her forehead, whispering "It's okay, Darrah...You are strong...You'll never lose me..." Giving her another kiss on the forehead, he softly said "You mean a lot to me, too...You're my best friend...It feels weird to say, but..." He felt his eyes brim with tears, admitting "As a bully, as a rival...Doesn't matter...You were always special...I just...Wanted you to open up. To let me in. I always talked to you about personal stuff, right? It hurt when you would make fun of some stuff, but...Other times...You showed the real you...And I liked it." Darrah buried her face down against his shoulder, her fist over his chest relaxing, releasing the bit of his shirt she had been holding. Keeping her palm against him, she sniffled, trying to calm herself down. "I was stupid then, too...A-And I'm being stupid now, too...I mean...Ask you to promise me, never to go away?...That's ridiculous..."
Timoteo turned towards her, bringing his arms around her shoulders, hugging her properly. She wordlessly hugged him back, slipping her arms under his. She seemed to almost melt in his embrace, pushing her face into the side of his neck. Her crying quickly stopped, though it was a while before they released each other. Eventually, she murmured against the side of his neck. "Thank you...So much..." She sighed softly, saying "I never thought I needed to vent...And I didn't think I would, when I asked you to stay and talk to me...But I feel a little better..." The two slowly began to release each other, though Darrah only slid her hands over his ribs and to his chest, Timoteo moving his hands to her shoulders. "We're both adults...And we'll live adult lives...Move on and follow our destiny...After Lychfield, you wanted to do stuff with Bianca...I guess I'll just do Quest Cards...Or maybe see about stopping this Anti-Hero League..."
She sniffled, keeping her eyes from becoming watery. "I'm sorry for crying so much...And for spilling all that on you...I hadn't planned on getting so into it..." She shook her head lightly, looking down from his eyes, looking to his throat. "I must look so messed up..." Timoteo smiled a little, raising his thumbs to her jaw, soothingly rubbing along her soft skin. "I can understand so many things, now...You act tough because you don't want to be hurt...And you want to protect people." Darrah hung her head down, shutting her eyes, her bottom lip quivering. "I don't act tough...I am tough..." She whispered. Timoteo came closer, gently pressing a kiss to her forehead again. "You're tougher than I am...Toughest girl I've ever seen..." He whispered. "You're already a good Hero...And I bet your name will go down in history..." He murmured. "If your father isn't proud of you the next time you see him, then he's a fool, and you should just smack him to show him just how strong you really are..."
Darrah's sad face was suddenly covered in a smile, and she let out a soft exhale, like a chuckle. "Maybe..." She mumbled. Looking up to his eyes again, she gazed into his eyes for a few seconds in silence. He looked back into her eyes, glad to see that stability was coming to her again, that her emotional defences were rising. He had comforted her, she was returning to her formal self. After a few seconds, she softly said his name. He tilted his head to the side curiously. She raised her eyebrows, taking in a shaky breath, a pair of tears falling from her eyes. "I'm sorry for how I've treated Bianca...She didn't deserve it...And I'm sorry for how I've treated you...You didn't deserve it, either..." Hanging her head down again, keeping her eyes open, she said "I lost a friend by doing nothing...I don't want to lose others by doing too much...I'm just pushing you all away...I can't believe I didn't lose you guys as a kid...I-I know I can be bitchy...Even I don't like it..."
Timoteo raised a hand to the side of her head again, sniffling lightly, himself. She closed her eyes, her mouth hanging open slightly as she tilted her head towards his hand. "It's okay...We all liked you, Darrah...We just thought that's how you were..." Darrah remained silent for several seconds before opening her eyes. When she did, her gaze was locked on Timoteo's. "How come...The only time we've ever kissed...Was because we were on drugs?" She quietly asked. Timoteo raised an eyebrow at her curiously, surprise in his eyes. Darrah rapidly blinked for a second, looking down to his chest. She bit her bottom lip for a second, stopping it from trembling. "The Blue Mushrooms...They must've been some kind of drug...But they got us to k-kiss...S-So..." She shrugged lightly before looking back up to his eyes. "Could you...Calm me down?...I don't want to run off...And end up like Jeremy..." Timoteo raised his eyebrows gently in surprise.
He didn't know what to do. Darrah raised her eyebrows, shutting her eyes, raising her hands to the sides of her head, keeping her arms between his. "I can't stop it! M-My emotions are freaking out! I f-feel like how Jeremy was acting! I don't want to run off and get myself killed!!" She said, beginning to sob afterwards. Timoteo's mind began to race, his face solemn as he looked down to Darrah's throat. Obviously, he hadn't calmed her down as well as he had originally thought. He knew Bianca likely wouldn't return for a while, so the chances of her discovering him and Darrah kissing would be very slim, at best. But would he be betraying her, if he kissed Darrah? It wasn't a romantic kiss, it was just a kiss to calm her down, right? If she really needed a kiss to get herself under control, then it'd be for the best, right? Not kissing her could just devastate her, considering the vulnerable state she was in. "She calmed down with me so much after that drugged kiss...Maybe...It'd be for the best?..." He thought, hopefully.
Timoteo felt so much pity for Darrah, he had never know her to have so much pain on her soul. She was scarred from Jeremy's death, it was clear. "If there's anything I could do to help her...To make her feel better...I should do it. She'd probably do it for me, after being stubborn at first." He finally decided. He had taken a few seconds to think, and during that time, Darrah had continued to weep, hanging her head down. She brought her hands back to his chest, gripping some of his shirt with both hands. "Please..." She choked out. "Don't...Let me die...Like him..." She whispered desperately. Timoteo's bottom lip quivered at the sound of her voice. He brought his hands from her shoulders to the sides of her face. His palms on her cheeks, his thumbs up on her temples, his fingers pushed into her soft and smooth hair. He raised her head, bringing her eyes to his. She took in a brief gasp, perhaps surprised by his sudden touch, or perhaps trying to steady herself.
She blinked a few times, gazing into his eyes silently. Timoteo felt a tear begin to roll down from his left eye as he looked back into her's, seeing the pain that writhed inside her, bashing at her like the throbbing pain instilled from her tears. A moment later, he slowly leaned in, hesitating just before his lips met her's. "Will this work?..." He silently wondered. Darrah closed her eyes, and he did the same. He came the final inch closer to her, lightly pressing his lips to her's. Slightly moist at the corners from her tears, he felt her push her lips back to his. Her fists over his chest slowly relaxed, and she kept her palms against his shirt. She trembled after kissing for a second, and Timoteo pulled back lightly, though she came closer, kissing him again. He kissed her back, and before he knew it, they had kissed a third time. The third kiss lasted a few seconds, but that's where they slowly released each other. He softly slid his hands back down to her shoulders, and they pulled away from one another.
They gazed into one another's eyes for a few seconds before she looked down to his chest. Her cheeks were red, and by the burning in his own, he knew he had to be blushing, as well. "Even better than I remember..." She barely whispered. They were silent for a second before Darrah's eyes softened, a little smile coming on her face. She looked back up to his eyes, keeping her hands against his chest. He began to smile back, thinking that his kisses had worked. Darrah smiled widely, sniffling for a moment before saying "I think that worked...I d-don't feel as messed up, now...I think I've got it under control, again..." She slowly lowered her hands from his chest, and he brought his hands back from her shoulders. "I'm here for you, Darrah...You can talk to me..." He said softly. Darrah's mouth hung open for a second before she raised her eyebrows, sighing as she said "I know...I've just never had anything to talk about, before now...Everything was hidden...But...After what the banshee said...You know, the stuff I buried all came back to me..."
Timoteo nodded lightly. "I didn't like what the banshee said to me, either...I hope I never fight one again..." He admitted. Darrah raised an eyebrow. "What, about your family hating you?..." She asked. He nodded, looking down to her stomach, his face twinging with depression. She raised a hand to his chin, gently raising his eyes back to her's. "Tim, why would they hate you?...You're just a guy that was spotted as a Hero, and taken to the Guild..." Timoteo looked down to her chin, saying "But they didn't really want me to go...They just sent me away because they thought it'd be good for me..." Darrah raised her eyebrows, bringing her hand from his chin to his left collar bone, pressing her palm to him. "It was good for you, you're a Hero, the Guild taught you how to use your Will..." "They never visited..." Timoteo said. Darrah comfortingly said "Tim, your home is miles from the Guild...Miles and miles!...I know money was tight when you were a kid, so...Maybe your family just couldn't afford a carriage ride? It's possible..."
Timoteo slowly shook his head. It was possible that she was right, but he wasn't sure if he could accept it. "No...They just...Abandoned me at the Guild...I was just a kid, cast aside..." He mumbled, depression continuing to rise in him. "Do you really believe that?...Do you?..." Darrah lightly asked. He was silent for a few moments before simply shrugging lightly. "Tim..." She quietly said, slipping her hands up to his cheeks. Holding him like he had held her, her thumbs on his temples, her palms on his cheeks, her fingers in his hair, she came close and gave him a peck of a kiss on his chin. "No family forgets a member...Especially one taken away as a child..." She comfortingly murmured, pulling her head back slightly from his. He looked down to her throat, mumbling "Maybe..." She smiled lightly at him, soothingly rubbing a hand along the side of his face, stroking downwards along his skin. "I'm sure they love you, still...Probably miss you...Wondering why you've never come back..."
Timoteo sighed deeply. "Maybe..." He repeated. Darrah lowered her hands from the sides of his face, quietly saying "Now, enough of that...I've cried more tonight than I have in the last three months combined..." She smiled, saying "I'm glad you were there for me...And I'm here for you, too..." She said. Timoteo nodded. "I know..." He said softly. The two slowly looked back to the fire, turning and facing it once again. "...Promise not to tell Bianca about what just happened?..." She asked. For a second, Timoteo thought she meant their kissing, and that would mean that she knew about he and Bianca's feelings for one another. He looked over to her curiously, and she looked over to him, saying "You know...About me crying like a baby." She smiled a little, and Timoteo smiled, stifling a chuckle. "Crying's not a bad thing, but...Sure. I promise I won't tell her." Darrah looked back to the fire, sighing softly through her nose. "Thank you..." She lightly murmured.
The two remained silent for the rest of the time it took Bianca to get back from hunting, simply spending that time sitting close beside each other, gazing into the fire.
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Fable : Fall of the Guild