The Brush Tiger of Derven Ch. 18-20

CHAPTER 18: THE PRINCE OF SCEADU

The moment her eyes open, she knows she has slept too long. The faint sounds of a fight drift up through the floor boards. Furious at herself for falling asleep and not confronting Rick, she scrambles to get up and dressed. Grabbing the gloves Rick got her, she slips them into her pocket. She forces herself to slow down before she exits the room lest she seem too eager and quietly walks out and down the stairs. She is disappointed to see that he is already proctoring a fight on stage. Rick briefly glances at her—suddenly so excited by him, she almost falls down the last step.

She takes a deep breath and makes her way across the tavern to their table. She finds that like before, Sari is the only one left, sitting in Lucas' seat again. Mora sets herself down across from her when she sees that Todd comes over to greet her with food. Suddenly realizing that she didn't eat the night before, her stomach grumbles angrily. Todd places a plate before her; chunks of beef lay neatly on a pillow of mashed potatoes. Without asking, he pours her wine.

"How was last night?" he questions.

Chewing the tender meat, she swallows before answering calmly, "Nice." She continues to eat, knowing that Todd wants more but she doesn't provide him with any details.

"I hear she's quite the talented dancer. Put Rebecca to shame, apparently," Sari adds without looking up from the fight; her voice is cold.

Todd chuckles and squeezes Mora's shoulder, setting down a few bottles of wine before leaving. Mora looks over the woman while she eats her meal in silence, drinking an entire bottle by herself while she tries to get up the courage to confront Sari.

Since her arrival, Mora has had the feeling that Sari dislikes her because she is Rick's slave. She wonders if Sari has feelings for him and that is why she's so rude all the time to Mora. She wants to ask, but is unsure how to word it, so she says "What happened with Rick's previous servant?"

Sari turns her attention from the fight on stage to Mora, "I killed her," she says firmly.

"Oh," is all Mora can respond with. They watch the fight continue. Two men, equally matched, throw punches at each other; neither wanted to use weapons. The smell of blood and sweat wafts from the stage. Finally, one of them manages to knock the other out cold. His opponent and Rick drag him off and into a chair, waiting for him to come to as two more men ready to fight. Mora waits until the next pair gets onto the stage before she blurts out, "If you think there's anything going on between Master Rickan and I, you are mistaken. He is only treating me this way because the Queen told him to make sure I remained unharmed," she stops when Sari looks at her.

"And how do you feel about him?" Sari questions.

"He is my Master and I his servant and nothing more," Mora mumbles, using the start of the fight as an excuse to draw her eyes away from Sari.

"Horse shit," Sari calls her out. Mora ignores her but she continues to taunt her, "I saw the way you got bent out of shape when Rebecca and Fanny threw themselves at him," she laughs roughly, "the way you look at him all the time, like you want to kill him—for a peaceful Derven, that must mean you want him as much as you want to embrace violence. I bet you feel the same way about him as he does about you..."

Mora glares at her before looking back to the fight, "He doesn't feel any way about me. He won't even touch me willingly...only to tend to my wounds."

Sari laughs at her, dropping her voice so that others won't hear, even though there is no one around, "He won't touch you willingly because he is a gentleman. He doesn't want to do anything you don't desire."

Mora shifts uncomfortably, busying her hands with her wine glass. She wonders how many she has had, most definitely an entire bottle's worth, if not two. The more she drinks, the more she wants but the alcohol doesn't make her sick or woozy.

Sari continues, her eyes drawn back to the stage, "He isn't my type. I like a man that I can beat in a fight."

"But you killed his last slave," Mora says under her breath.

"Only because she was sent here to kill him, by King Irron. He has been trying for years to get at Rick."

Mora stiffens at the name; Sari doesn't notice. "Why would King Irron want to kill Rick?"

Sari looks at her, surprised by her question, "You don't know? Prince Varickan of Sceadu...Master Rickan...heavens, Dervens really don't know much about other countries, do they?"

The information sinks into Mora as she falls silent. Prince Varickan. She grabs the bottle off of the table next to her and fills her glass, snorting to herself. She, a Princess, has fallen head over heels for Rick, who just so happens to be a Prince and an enemy of her future husband. To say that her situation just got more complicated is an understatement. The fight ends as Mora turns back to the stage. While the two men walk off, she catches Rick watching her. Pretending not to notice she raises her glass to her lips and drinks slowly until she hears another fight begin.

"How come you killed her, not Rick?" She asks, watching the two new men dance across the stage; one of them who already has a black eye, she recalls from a fight earlier in the night.

"From the moment I met her, I knew there was something wrong. Farah, was her name; she tried too hard to please Rick. She would do stupid things like fetch him more wine when he didn't ask her to. It seemed like she was acting. Her dark, beady eyes gave me the creeps. Todd managed to get a hold of steak one night; I noticed that her knife was missing after she and Rick went to bed. I went upstairs to tell Rick and I heard a loud crash. Somehow, she had managed to catch him off guard and break a chair over him. She stabbed him in the back with the knife but missed his heart and got it in his shoulder. I didn't waste any time—I slit her throat right there."

Mora shifts uneasily in her chair, "How did you know she was sent by King Irron?"

Looking sideways at her, Sari answers truthfully, "We thought she was from Derven, actually. After I killed her, I noticed she had a small tattoo behind her ear bearing the crest of Alumenia. Rick doesn't buy slaves; he's only a Master as a favor to the Queen. When someone of importance unknowingly crosses into our borders, she assigns them to Rick to watch after until a suitable arrangement can be made for their release."

"Happens often, then?" She tries to sound nonchalant, despite her mind running through the new information at a mile a minute.

She finally turns to face her, "Yes as a matter of fact but you are the first who is actually from Derven. You make his seventh slave—after Farah, the Queen stopped assigning the captives to Rick. She simply sold them at the market. It has been almost three years since she gave him someone to watch over, which leads me to the question—who exactly are you, that you are so important to her?"

She takes a long swig from her glass, completely draining it before she sets it down on the table, "I'm sorry Sari but I was ordered not to say." She avoids the woman's look by watching the fight.

Sari doesn't look away but instead seems to lean closer to her. She whispers, so quietly that Mora can barely hear her, "You are a Princess, aren't you?"

She turns to Sari, giving her a stern look, pleading with her eyes for her to understand, "It doesn't matter what I am in Derven, right here, right now I am nothing more than an indentured servant to Master Rickan."

"You have to tell him," she urges.

"I cannot, for more reasons than you can understand—"

"But he likes you, don't you see? You two are a match."

"For more reasons than you can understand," Mora reiterates. Though she doesn't think Sari comprehends the full meaning of her words, she understands enough to know that Mora doesn't want her to say anything.

"Fine. Your secret is safe with me but only because I think you need to be the one to tell him, no one else."

Mora rubs her tired eyes; they don't talk anymore. There are so many in the tavern who want to fight, Rick doesn't get a chance to approach Mora until Todd kicks out the last remaining patrons from the bar. Daniel, James and Lucas finally make their way back to the table to grab their stuff. Lucas and James nod to Mora before walking towards the door.

"Good morning, dancing Head Huntress of Derven," Daniel grins at her. She gives him a curt smile.

Sari turns to leave but before she does, she slaps Mora on the back, "Good morning, Princess. Maybe tomorrow we can see you and Rick hash out your aggressions on stage this time, it would be much more entertaining." The way she said 'princess' so mockingly makes everyone else think she uses it as a slur but Mora knows better.

Without waiting for Rick who is bidding good morning to his friends, she gets up and ascends the stairs inaudibly. By the time he realizes that she is gone and heads towards the stairs himself, she has already changed into her night gown and sits solemnly in the pit of pillows.

She lies down with her back propped up against the edge of the pit. Facing away from the door, her legs stretched out before her, crossed at the ankle. She can hear Rick enter. He walks around behind her and changes before he lowers himself into the pit just in front of Mora. She doesn't look at him when he uncrosses her feet and begins to massage the salve into her bite wound. The wound is completely healed.

"I wanted to thank you, again, for..." he tries to find the right words, "saving me from those women."

She watches his strong, tan hands rub her pale knee, "I shouldn't have hurt Rebecca and I shouldn't have danced with you so...flirtatiously." Still hurt from his rejection last night, her ache is increased by the thought that she acted so foolishly in front of a Prince. She also realizes that she doesn't like the idea of women sitting in his lap and definitely doesn't like the idea that there were six servants before her. Did he patch them up, so tenderly? Perhaps he did something more?

"Mora," his hands stop moving but when he doesn't let go of her leg, she looks up to him, "they don't...want me for who I am, they want me for what I am," he says, as if trying to reassure her.

She feels her eyebrow raise, questioningly, "A tavern owner?"

"Yes," he smiles but she can see he is trying to hide what she already knows, "they have no desire to get to know me as a person, nor do they intrigue me or interest me in the way--" he stops short, looking sincerely at her. His hands let go of her leg before he dips his fingers back into the medicine. He scoots up to sit next to her and gently, he raises her collar to rub his fingers against her neck wound though she knows it is no longer there. His touch though soothing, has no effect on her heart this time. She feels betrayed that he lied directly to her face. He continues, speaking softer in that tone that he saves for when they are in private, "They don't interest me in the way that you do," he admits. "Though I doubt there's anyway a woman of your status could ever find someone like me appealing," he draws her in, his face calm.

Her heart skips at the notion that he...likes her? But she still can't get over being hurt like that—though she feels slightly guilty that she more or less did the same thing, in her mind she is justified because the Queen ordered her to keep her mouth shut. She speaks quietly, "Appealing? A tavern owner? Yes..." The glimmer of hope in his eyes makes her heart ache at what she says next, "But a liar? No."

His hands freeze, brow furrowing at her, "A liar? What are you talking about, Mora?"

She keeps her eyes locked on his, "You tell me, Prince Varickan."

"I am not the Prince anymore," his face darkens, "I gave it up. Now, I am no more than who I am."

"You cannot 'give up' something you are born with," she hates herself for the way she speaks to him.

He puts the lid on the salve, rising to his feet. His voice is as dark as the expression on his face, "Have a peaceful rest, Mora." Before she has a chance to respond, he leaves the pit and snuffs the lights.

  CHAPTER 19: THE HUNTER

When she wakes, her body is moist with sweat and her night gown is twisted around her. The soft light of the evening peeks out from behind the curtains. Rick didn't wake her nor is he anywhere to be found. She dresses somewhat quickly, angry at herself for what she said to him last night. Sari was right—he seemed to have feelings for her and admitted as much until she ruined everything. Not bothering to rebraid her hair, she finds some pins near the box that contains the brush and ribbons and quickly secures the loose flyaways. She couldn't figure out if she intentionally tried to sabotage herself or if she just did so out of stupidity. She had no right be upset with him for not telling her; she was doing the exact same thing.

By the time she makes her way down the stairs and to the table, the tavern is in full swing. Two men fight on the stage but it is Lucas who proctors them. When she sits down, only James, Daniel and Sari are at the table. The instant Todd spots her he heads over with a plate of food.

"How did you rest, Mora?" Sari asks but the look in her eyes says she wants to know if Mora told him the truth or not.

"Not well," she responds, "Where is Rick?"

Daniel shrugs, "Not sure, exactly. He wasn't around when we got here."

"He went to visit the Queen," Todd says. Everyone turns to him; he continues, "He wanted to see if he could expedite your release, Mora."

While it should seem like a nice gesture, it pains Mora greatly. He wants her gone and out of his life for good and he can't wait a few more days for that to happen. When Todd tries to offer her a plate of food, she rejects it, her stomach in knots at what she's done, "I'm not hungry, thank you. Just some wine."

The others eat quietly while Mora sits, deflated, staring at nothing. Daniel tires to broach conversation with her; he points at a table near the door, "Do you know them, Mora? They've been staring over here all evening."

She barely turns her head towards the men to glance at them; she doesn't recognize them, but they look similar to the men who come to trade metal in Derven. She returns her weary gaze to the table, "No, I do not, but they look like peddlers." The vacant tone of her voice makes it obvious to everyone that she doesn't want to talk anymore.

It is only an hour later when Rick comes back but he doesn't sit down. Instead he directly relieves Lucas and proctors the next fight. Lucas comes over to the table to eat—everyone else has turned their chairs to watch the fight including Mora, though she only sees Rick. She hopes for a chance to catch his eyes, to apologize, but he doesn't even look her way.

"Boy, he's in a rotten mood," Lucas says after a few bites.

"Why is that?" Sari asks for Mora.

"Dunno. I guess he went to see the Queen about her," he motions to Mora before shoveling more food into his mouth, "something about trying to shorten her stay here. When I asked him about it, he looked angry, said the Queen said something like 'the wheels are already in motion and you must be patient. Give that girl a chance.' Don't think he liked that answer."

As soon as the words leave Lucas' mouth, everything immediately becomes clear. She now understands the smug quality in the Queen's voice after Rick spoke so gently to her the first time. Queen Sheynne means for them to fall in love. It makes perfect sense—she saw something in Namora—perhaps her defiance—that she thought would peak Rick's fancy. If Namora as Princess, would fall for Rick, the Queen thinks that she would betray her kinsmen and call off the wedding to King Irron, therefore disbanding the threat to Sceadu.

Mora presses her lips together, frustrated that she didn't see the Queen's devious plan before. She stands up and turns her chair around, away from the fight. The others seem somewhat confused; when Sari asks her what's wrong, she ignores her. She glares down at the table, angry that she fed into everything.

The night drags on but Mora continues to burn a hole into the planks with her eyes. Time has no effect on Mora's rage and though she can hear the sounds of the fight, the movement of the people and the conversation of her companions, nothing registers but her anger. When it is early in the morning, perhaps a few hours left until the Tavern closes James puts his hands on the table. He leans against them, bending down into Mora's view.

"All right, time to have a go. Come on," he says.

When she ignores him, he wraps his fingers around her wrists and tugs hard. Before she can reroute her anger towards him he has her up and out of her chair. She is too stunned to react and by the time she realizes what's going on he has drug her half way across the tavern to the stage. Finally letting go of her wrist, he leaves her as he bounds up the steps. Irritated, she folds her arms over her chest and glares at his back.

He goes to the barrel of staffs. Sorting through them he finds the one she used before plus another thicker, heavier one. He walks back across the stage, tossing hers without even looking. Mora has no choice but to catch it or get hit in the face by it. When her hand snatches the staff out of the air and her knuckles tighten around its girth, turning white, the two men who were fighting on the stage stop and leave willingly.

"I don't want to fight you, James," she says coldly, but it is a lie because she desperately wants to beat something into the ground.

"That's all right," he says, shrugging. Mora walks stiffly up onto stage. She stands opposite of James, shoulders back, staff held diagonally in front of her. She can feel her anger well up inside unsure of whom she wants to attack most: King Irron, Queen Sheynne or herself. James throws his staff to Rick, who catches it before he realizes what is going on, "Because you're fighting him."

James walks away from Mora, over to Rick. He takes the proctor whistle out of his hand before he heads to the edge of the stage, intentionally leaving more space between him and the two fighters than he would with anyone else. No doubt he believes their battle will be epic. Rick turns to him to object but James simply tilts his head to the side. He gives Rick a look that says 'you have no choice.' He blows the whistle.

By the time Rick turns to Mora her anger has completely deflated. She does not want to fight him—instead she wants to drop to her knees and apologize, hoping that she can salvage what small amount of friendship they have. Her eyes are down cast, shoulders drooping while she stands before him in a wary, meek manner. His expression is still dark like the night before but he looks at her now; he doesn't wait long before he swings at her. She deflects it, stepping back, making her stance small so that it is obvious she doesn't want to do this.

Twirling his staff in one hand, he says flatly, "Is this another guise of yours, meant to draw me in before you attack?" He swings again.

Mora doesn't deflect it but leaps and rolls out of his reach, "You must know a lot about guises, Prince Varickan..."

He narrows his eyes at her, displeased about being called that but comes after her again, swinging low. She back flips to avoid being hit, leaving her staff behind as she makes her way to the opposite edge of the stage.

"Who told you, anyways?" Rick sounds somewhat angry.

"Come on Head Huntress, beat him senseless!" Lucas shouts. Mora looks past Rick towards their table; Lucas pumps a fist in the air out of encouragement. She notices a man, one of the peddlers, head over to him.

Turning her attention back to Rick, she walks backwards away from him, "Does it matter who told me? It wasn't you and it should have been."