1. Willard

    Private The Ballad of the Blighted Shore

    Willard smiled at Hector's question. 'Nope!' He replied. 'I thought, perhaps, the truth might suffice, only... it contradicts what we told them to begin with.' That they had been heading to Drachenberg, to serve the lord there. Willard as a sword-sworn, Venla as a kitchen maid. The lie had never...
  2. Willard

    Private The Ballad of the Blighted Shore

    The older boy's remark as to their trade drew laughs and smiles aplenty. Until his mother got involved. Then they fell as quiet as church mice, which was fine by Willard. 'Only the pretty ones,' he answered the boys, nodding gratefully to the barman. 'Your niece sends her love. Peace be upon you...
  3. Willard

    Private The Ballad of the Blighted Shore

    'Road dust does wonders for my complexion,' came a voice from the back of the group. 'Trap or not, I've never tried tracking a myth before,' said Syr Willard, pulling off his felt cap to check on his bowstrings. 'Besides, from what scuttlebutt tells me, this Lady Lark of the Lanes is a bard.'...
  4. Willard

    Private Venture forth, Young Dawn

    'Lucky's one way of puttin' it,' replied Willard, the idle brush of fingers against fletching reminding the dawnling just how damned lucky Hector really was. 'Hear that?' He smiled. 'Someone's spinning a yarn.' The tale of Sheriff Ronaldly. Classic! Edwynna was reaching the tail end of her...
  5. Willard

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    The moment her eyes found his, Willard knew he was in trouble. 'Damn!' He grinned. 'Beaten at my own game.' The cup in his hands felt hotter than it had any right to be. Placing the vessel aside, he cleared his throat, managing to buy himself a few valuable seconds in which he could regain his...
  6. Willard

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    'It is,' he agreed, risking a sip of his brew. Cooler now. 'So is  this.' He did not elaborate; there was no need to. 'Lovely, and much needed, I think.' Better than what had come before, anyhow. 'You're right, of course, on all accounts.' Smiling, Willard turned to regard Venla, heat...
  7. Willard

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    “Like what colour dress I wore the day we met." 'Green?' Willard hazarded a guess. 'Or was it blue? I can't recall. Was too busy staring at your face to notice.' Even dishevelled, she had been beautiful. Still was. Didn't matter that the question had been a trap. He was just glad to see her...
  8. Willard

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    “If that isn’t honey roasted walnuts, I’ll eat my own boot.” Laughing, Willard shook his head, hands set to the task of serving as he eyed Venla from across the expanse of blankets and pillows. 'A tough meal, that. I don't think they're done cooking yet,' he said, turning away briefly, as if to...
  9. Willard

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    The door whispered shut behind him as Willard made his way off down the hall, half-dressed and all the lighter on his feet for it. Stopping by his room, the dawnling let himself in, allowing his eyes time to adjust to the gloom within. 'Right.' Stripping out of his wet hose, the knight hung them...
  10. Willard

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    'I know,' the young knight replied, gaze taking in the room as he closed the door behind him. 'But I was always taught you should never walk into a lady's room uninvited, and, well,' he shrugged. 'Didn't fancy earnin' myself another slap,' he grinned, making light of a moment in his life that...
  11. Willard

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    She pressed against him, skin flushed and warm beneath the layers of her not-quite-ruined dress. 'It's not easy, being this handsome,' he concurred, positively glowing as the shadows gave way to light and warmth. 'Or did you mean I'm a horror to behold?' Like some sludge monster, perhaps, risen...
  12. Willard

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    'Anything else, Your Ladyship?' Willard shivered at her touch, before growing still. No doubt he looked like a drowned rat. A bit of preening might just be what he needed to appear human again. Though, a soft towel and a dry set of clothes wouldn't go amiss. 'Come on, I'll escort you back to...
  13. Willard

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    'You alright, love?' 'I am now.' Willard reassured her, smiling faintly. Despite the chill, he could feel his face growing warm as her eyes searched his. Cupping her cheek, he took a moment to drink her in, the sight of her drenched to the skin as amusing as it was enchanting. No doubt we look...
  14. Willard

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    Not all questions required answers. Not everything needed saying. Tempting fate, pushing until you got pushed back, that was starting to become something of a habit of his, Willard realised. The kiss was as much a distraction as it was a sign of forgiveness. The shove, when it came, surprised...
  15. Willard

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    “One more chance… to see if we can make it right." Relief flooded Willard's chest as Venla wrapped her arms around him. A balm to his soul, her words reinforced the hope that all would be alright, come the end. 'Thank you.' Slowly, as if stuck in a dream, the dawnling made to return the hug...
  16. Willard

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    'Perhaps I already found who I want to walk beside me,' the dawnling replied, steadfast in his beliefs, if not his actions of late. 'You know me better than most, Venla. I'm not asking you to fight my battles or share my burdens. I like you just the way you are.' Honest, understanding, and far...
  17. Willard

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    Willard listened, quiet as a field mouse, and nigh as vulnerable. 'What would you have of me, then, Venla?' He asked once she had finished saying her piece. 'I would ask you to come with me, if it did not put you in harm's way, or else expose you to the Order's problems.' The Road was an...
  18. Willard

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    The hand fell away. Hurt unlike any he had felt before spread through him, left him paralysed, unable to think let alone speak. An ache settled in his chest, close to his heart. He couldn't blame Venla for thinking what she did; the blame, as ever, lay entirely on him. I guess it was to be...
  19. Willard

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    The weight on his shoulders didn't so much lift as lessen at her words. Relief came and went like the tides, and Willard nodded, appreciating her candidness. 'I don't rightly know either,' he confessed, smiling slightly, his mood buoyed, if but for the moment. 'I know what I would like for us to...
  20. Willard

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    He had given her the knife. That she chose to stick it in his back was no-one's fault but his own. At least she had the good grace to twist, he thought, his composure cracking under the strain of a hundred horrid thoughts. 'I... cannot hold it against you for thinking that,' replied Willard...
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