A ride Towards Harsh wisdom: Chapter three (5)

Then the tears came, and she rushed over to Rilleux, wrapping her
arms around him as she laid her head upon his shoulder. This was the
last thing he’d expected her to do, and for a moment he simply stood
there, rigid. Then, he put his hand on her back, doing his best to
soothe her as she sobbed.

Eventually Valette, was finished, and lifted her head up. Her eyes were red, and she sniffled as she came back to herself.

“ Tell anyone about that, and I kill you.”

Rilleux smiled, and nodded. “ Understood, I’m sworn to silence.”

She resumed her leaning position on the wall, crossing her arms again.

“ So that’s my situation, in all its fucked up glory. You can see why
I’ve kept quiet about it, and it’s killing me that I can’t work out how
to let Rohais now. But I had to vent to someone, and out of you and
Franclerk, you’re the least idiotic of the pair.”

“ Thanks ever so much Valette, I am truly flattered.” Rilleux gave a low bow, to better accentuate his sarcastic tone.

Valette rolled her eyes at that, and continued. “ I know that
Demlun’s ignorant of the whole thing, or else he’d have brought it up by
now. But I can’t be sure whether or not he’ll go along with it when his
parents do eventually tell him. He never talks about how things are at
home, and he might well have as little choice as I do. That’s what’s
been driving me insane the most, the fact that I can’t be certain if
this hell is avoidable or not, so that’s why I needed to vent.”

Rilleux had nothing to say to that, he understood completely. Still, one thing did puzzle him.

“ But, you seemed so fine when we set out, like nothing was wrong.”

Valette flashed him a sardonic smile.

“ It was all denial, and it’s been denial for most of this trip. The
moment I’d read the letter, I started trying to forget it, even knocking
my head against a wall to try and bash the news out. Being with Rohais
has made it all easier to ignore, and the battles we get into help too.
But every day it’s been clawing at my mind, and it gets worse every time
I have to look at Demlun. Him being an arsehole isn’t the problem, its
more the fact that he’s part of my father’s scheme to ruin my life, and
he doesn’t even know it.

I know I could just run away from all this, just take Rohais and flee
somewhere, maybe Nikralka. Star’s, she’d go with me in a heartbeat, I
can just tell. But if I do that, I know the bastard my father’s become
will take it out on my mother. At best, he’ll cast her out with nothing
to her name, and immediately find some new bride. But my heart tells me
he’d do something worse, maybe even kill her. “

“ Valette, you can’t seriously be thinking of going through with this!”

She was unfazed by this latest outburst from Rilleux, far too wrapped up in her own thoughts.

“ You sound like what a younger version of me would say. But just
lately, I’ve been thinking that if I can just get though one night of
sex with a man, and nine months of pregnancy after that, I can pretty
much go back to my normal life. Once the child is born, my father will
likely be more than happy to ensure its cared for, and keep me well out
of its life. It’ll be the son or daughter he can get right, not like the
failure of his firstborn.

I know Rilleux, I know that sounds insane, and it is, but please
understand me. I can’t let my family line die out with me, I can’t let
my mother be humiliated. I need to be strong enough to put what I want
aside, even if it kills me.”

“ And Rohais, what happens to her?”

Valette sighed. “ It’ll break her heart, I know. But she can get over
it, I don’t doubt that. Maybe, stars be good, we’ll find each other
again.”

Without warning, Rilleux smashed his fist into the wall behind him.
The mail clanged loud against the stone, causing an echo throughout the
old dungeon.

“ Do you even love her, Valette?” Now it was Rilleux’s turn to speak
in a low and deliberate tone, and his teeth ground together between each
word.

“ How can you say that, of course I fucking do!” Valette screamed, her voice cracking a little.

“ Then how can you just do this to her! When you love someone, you
fight with every last drop of blood to keep them by your side, not toss
them aside when things get hard!”

“ I, AM, NOT, tossing her aside! I have to do this, and I hate myself for it!”

“ If you really wanted to stay with her, you could come up with some kind of plan, Instead you’re just giving up!”

Valette’s voice was hoarse now, and her eyes were wide with despair and anger.

“ What do you know of love, besides what you tell Franclerk?! How can
you stand there and lecture me, like you really understand what I’m
going through?!”

For a moment, Rilleux didn’t reply. His heart pounded in his chest, as he pondered how me might say what he need to now.

“ I’ll just say this Valette. You’re not the only one here whose father has an issue with them being gay.”

Valette fell to her knees.

Outside, wind was now starting howl, the first instance of a gale
that would rage for an hour. For a brief instant, Rilleux pondered how
long they’d been down here.

“ Stars, Rilleux, I…… I didn’t.”

Rilleux smiled. “ It’s alright, no need to apologise. Though come to
think of it, I don’t think we can really compare our situations. I have
two younger brothers, both of them already happily betrothed. But before
that, there was someone, and my father…..”

Suddenly, the full memory came back to him, and Rilleux choked on his words.

“ It’s alright Rilleux, you don’t need to say any more.”

Valette was back on her feet now, and her voice had lost its
hoarseness. Both of them felt calmer now, everything now being out in
the air.

“ Look, Valette, there’s nothing you can do about all this now, not
while we’re out here. But maybe, when we’ve left, I can go with you when
you head home, and we’ll have Rohais with us. I’ll help you talk to
your father, and perhaps we can work out a better plan, peacefully.”

Valette’s eyes widened. “ You’d really do that?”

Rilleux grinned “Why not? Remember, I’m the heir to the Lacrossie
family. Your father would have to listen to me, lest he risk offending
my house. If you just make it clear how much you love Rohais, maybe
he’ll put this whole scheme aside. I can’t make any promises, of course,
but it’s worth a try.”

Valette grabbed his hand, and he looked into her eyes. There was such
an expression of joyful gratitude on her face, it almost made Rilleux
blush.

“ Thank you, Rilleux, you’ll never know just how much this means to
me. Now, let’s get out of this miserable place, and get back to-“

“ Seek me, for I am yours by right. Leave me not, for you leave your destiny. Claim me, and conquer.”

This voice, load and clear, was now booming around in Rilleux’s head.

Again, it repeated “Seek me, for I am yours by right. Leave me not, for you leave your destiny. Claim me, and conquer.”

He looked to Valette, and by her face she could tell she could hear
something too. Then as the voice continued to repeat its message, he
could see a faint, golden light shine further down the hall, pointing
the way further down into the dungeon.

Without giving it further thought, he began to walk towards the
golden light, Valette soon following behind. As they walked, the voice
became louder, clearer, and it seemed to Rilleux that it was not
compelling him against his will. Instead, he had a feeling akin to a
perfect mental clarity, as if all that his life boiled down to in that
moment was listening to that voice.

They passed through the old dungeon, featureless and abandoned with
cells empty and locks long broken. Valette had been right to say that
this place was surely cleared out long ago, but that idea was completely
lost to them now.

Eventually, they came to barred wooden door, at the end of a long
hallway. From the small opening, Rilleux deduced that this must have
been the most secure cell, meant for important prisoners. Through this
opening, they could both see the golden light they had followed, and now
the voice changed its message.

“ Open, and I am there. Be bold, and reap reward. Proceed, and to you the glory.”

Before they were fully aware of what they were doing, Rilleux and
Valette lifted their legs in unison, and gave the old door a heavy kick.
Before their combined strength, it flew open, miraculously staying on
its hinges. Rilleux stepped through first, Valette following immediately
after.

For a moment, all the two of them could see was the gold light, now
so bright it was almost blinding. Then after a moment or two, it faded.
Before them was their prize, and both of them took a sharp intake of
breath.

In the small cell, leaning against a wall, there were two swords. One
was a Long sword, the other a greatsword. Both of these had blades of
shining silver, with silver runes inlaid along the edges, ensuring
greater sharpness and quality. They looked completely untouched, and
fresh from the forge, so surely some kind of sage’s spell had led them
to be here, untouched for so long. Their hilts where gold, pure and
unblemished, meaning that these where the kind of swords forged only for
the hands of royalty.

Without further hesitation, they both stepped forward to claim their
respective blades. Upon picking up the Longsword, the voice finally
stopped, and in that moment, he felt more whole and complete than he had
ever felt in his life. A new energy began to fill him as he held the
blade before him, and in his heart he knew that this was indeed his
destiny, his prize.

He looked to valette, and it was clear that she felt the same,
holding aloft her greatsword. Her face, so recently bearing the look of
grief, was now almost serenely calm, and in the light of the dungeon,
she almost seemed to glow. Her eyes were closed, her breathing slow as
she took in this moment of serene fulfilment.

After a while, they looked at each other, and a new understanding was on them both.

Rilleux smiled, and said simply, “ so then, what do we tell the others?”