Keeping Safe

Writers: Estelle, Miriah
Date Posted: 14th January 2020
Series: The Assassin's Husband

Characters: Lorican, Lusilk, Silgan
Description: Lorican makes the move
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr
Date: month 1, day 7 of Turn 10
Notes: Mentioned: Dunrik, Urlene, Jayzine, Bryvin

Lusilk

Lorican made the long walk around the bay from the crafters' village to
the main building where the staff were housed, feeling sure that every
eye had to be on him and the bag he was carrying. He'd had an awkward
and mercifully short conversation with Master Dunrik to explain that he
was moving, and he wasn't sure whether the mastersmith disapproved of
his behaviour or was relieved that Lorican had made his choice. Perhaps
both.

He'd miss the privacy of his little room near the smithy, but ever since
he'd shown Urlene's letter to Lusilk, he'd not slept easily there, every
creak and rustle sending his heart racing, thinking that the man - Ilvar
- was creeping into the cot, searching for him. It was for the best, he
told himself as he entered the staff building and approached Lusilk's
door, and tried not to think of how soon the rumors might reach Dolphin
Cove Weyr.

When he came to the door, Silgan greeted Lorican with a somber and
surprisingly wary gaze. The apartment was small but neat, showing
hardly any personal items except the few toys piled in a box that were
obviously Silgan's. A small pile of bedding lay near the door, clearly
preparation for the evening. Lusilk sat on the couch, but looked up as
Silgan opened the door. Her own expression was set in determination as
she waved him in. "Come in, Lorican. Silgan, show Lorican to the other
bedroom please. "

Lorican stepped inside and closed the door hastily behind him, still
instinctively worried about being seen, but hesitated by the door rather
than follow the boy. "Lusilk, I can't turn you out of your bed. It's not
right. I can sleep here." He gestured towards the piled blankets. "I'm
not so soft I need a bed to sleep in."

Her reply was brisk and too the point. "You're softer than me, Lorican.
Most of my life I've slept on the ground. It doesn't bother me and if
he shows up, I'm better suited to stop him at the entrance. Don't let
your chivalry override your common sense. Now unpack. We have to talk. "

For a moment he looked as though he was going to argue, but then he
turned and, shoulders slumped, carried his bag through the door that
Silgan showed him. Since he owned little besides his tools and spare
clothes, he dropped the bag beside the press without taking anything
out, but he did take a moment to sit down on the bed and gently run his
fingers along the line of loose stitches inside the bag where he'd
hidden Urlene's picture inside the lining. Destroying her letters had
been hard enough. He couldn't bear to burn that too.

Tempted as he was to take it out for a few moments, he knew he couldn't
risk it. Instead, he stood and returned to the main room. "Well. Here I am."

She nodded, then gestured to Silgan. "Come here, lad. It's okay." She
soothed as he glanced at Lorican and then back at his mother. He stood
before Lusilk and leaned against her hand as she touched his cheek. Her
voice was gentle, "I promise it'll be okay. Nothing in the apartments
will change. I'll just be keeping us safer, okay?"

He glanced at Lorican, then nodded. "Yes, mama." The voice was
completely normal, a child's voice, but was hesitant.

She turned to Lorican, her eyes sharp. "That is kept here, in these
apartments. Here, he's a normal little boy, do you understand?"

Lorican's mouth had dropped open in surprise and for a moment, he could
only stare at them before he recovered his wits. "Ah - yes, of course. I
won't say anything." All the same, he couldn't help but wonder what the
boy knew that she wanted to hide. Surely she hadn't told him what she
did for a living - or had done.

Feeling awkward, he drew up a chair and sat down near to the couch.
"I've been thinking, since we last spoke. There might be ways I can help
to secure this room. I could change the lock...I know you got past the
one I made before, but with your help I could forge a better one. Or
there are ways to warn of intruders." He took a paper from his pocket
with a neatly drawn design. "I made one of these for the harbor
master's office back at the sea hold. He was worried about people
walking in while he was in the back room. It rings a bell if the door
opens."

"Why do we need a new lock?" Silgan questioned with wide, startled
eyes. "The bad man's coming?"

"That could have waited." Lusilk shot him an annoyed look, then turned
to Silgan, rubbing his back until there visible tension eased. "No,
sweet. The bad man isn't coming for you. Lorican needs to be safe, just
like you. A good lock and a bell might keep us all safe, just in case. "

His nose wrinkled. "It's always just in case." He turned to look at
Lorican, then sighed heavily. "Can I go play now?"

"Yes, go play. I'll be in in a little bit to start your bath."

Mood immediately improved, Silgan cheered. "Yay, hot bath!" He grinned,
hugged her and ran to his room. "

She watched until he was gone and then turned on Lorican. "He doesn't
know why you're here. Let's try to keep it closer to the chest." She
looked down at the drawing and paused. "That could be beneficial, but
he'll come in here to check there room out first thing. He'll know
about the bell. We're can still try it though. It might help if there
were a bar to set behind the door to stop it from opening from the
outside after we retire for the night. "

"Sorry," Lorican said guiltily. He certainly hadn't wanted to frighten
Silgan. He'd have to remember that the boy could not only speak, but
understand more than he'd expected. **Bad man?** Had she told her son
about Ilvar, or did he mean someone else? Shells, if Lusilk had more
enemies, which perhaps shouldn't have surprised him, was he actually any
safer with her?

Trying not to think about it, he focused back on his design. "I could
add a bar. Make it easy to remove from the inside so he won't see it in
the day - or the drudges, if they come to clean." He took a pencil from
his pocket to add to the sketch. "If he can't get in during the night,
it reduces his options. What about windows? Are there any in the bedrooms?"

Lusilk had gotten to know Lorican well enough over the past several
sevendays to recognize the looks on his face. She sighed and looked
down at the sketch, knowing that he would have to know more and she
would have to extend at least a measure of trust to the man. If he was
to have real motivation to protect her son, he'd have to know why. She
also knew, that if he revealed the information, that she would have to
end him and whomever he told before she'd allow the information to get
out of the Weyrhold.

The thought of having to do so surprisingly made her hesitate; she
didn't want to hurt Lorican, not really. Her eyes flicked to him as he
looked at the sketch and narrowed. Shaffit, she honestly liked the man
for all of his stupid idealism; she almost wished that she could see
things the way he did, without her knowledge of how grim reality could
be. **He could easily become a weakness...an attachment. Shaffit,
Varlin, I wish you'd never given me this job. I wish you weren't
coming.**

Her gaze flicked back down to the sketch. "Too risky to go for the
windows. We're on the second floor and these apartments are too
visible. It would be a very last resort since any passerby would see
him scaling the walls, even at night. But I can bar the one in the
main bedroom easily enough to make it secure. Silgan doesn't have a
window in his room." She paused, then looked at Lorican again and
spoke softly. "I want your word...your oath, not to repeat what I'm
about to tell you, Lorican."

Catching the shift in her voice, he looked up, concerned, from the
changes he'd been making to his design. The look in her eyes chilled him
to his core and for a moment, he considered whether he really wanted to
hear what she had to say. He'd gone deeper into her world than could
possibly be good for a simple craftsman. But it hadn't been a question,
and, he realized, he trusted her.

"All right. I give you my oath. On my honor, I won't tell anyone else
what you say, unless you give me leave."

Lusilk nodded, leaned back and exhaled. "The bad man Silgan mentioned
isn't the one hunting you. He's Silgan's grandfather, Lord Holder
Rorrigraf… and his only heir. I've been keeping Silgan from him from
before I birthed him. He's cruel, vicious, and without conscience and
he raised his son to be doubly so. I've sheltered Silgan as much as I
can from the life I lead and I don't want him twisted by Rorrigraf to
be like him. Silgan is a sweet, loving child. Rorrigraf would destroy
that sweetness in less than six months. That is why I need him to go
to Lord Bryvin if anything happens to me; Lord Bryvin could shelter
him until he came of age. Beneath my bed is a box of documents and
letters that should go with Silgan. You need to take them with you
when you take Silgan."

Lorican absorbed her words in awed silence, his brown eyes going wide.
Silgan was of a Lord Holder's blood, and threatened by his own kin? Cold
fear gripped him, suddenly. What had he promised her, without knowing?
Would he end up with two Lords pursuing him? He was only a crafter, with
just enough training to know how ill-equipped he was to defend himself
against those who might come for him.

He sensed the parts of the story she wasn't telling, too, about how
she'd come to be the mother of Lord Rorrigraf's heir, and his fears were
overcome by the deep and troubling feelings of compassion towards her.
Perhaps she was right to see the world as she did. If a Lord was without
honor, then who was?

"If," he said, eventually. "If I take Silgan, not when. You might
survive this. Maybe we both will." He laid a hand on the drawing, and
managed a half-smile, forcing himself to sound confident, and warm.
"Together, we'll be more than these Lords expect. I'm not entirely
useless, I hope."

Lusilk's answering smile was grim. She wished she could be as
optimistic as he, but fully expected that this little enterprise would
be the death of her. Her only hope was that she could take Varlin down
with her. "You're not quite useless. You swing that hammer of yours
pretty well and better than most would expect of you." She looked down
at the designs and nodded. "We'll use your plans and hope they're
effective."

She sighed, trying to plan. "But when things happen, we'll have to
have an explanation for Jayzine, Dunrik, and whoever might be in
leadership at the Weyrhold. If the worst happens, tell Jayzine that
I've left to visit sick family and you're taking Silgan to my cousin.
Leave me behind, Lorican, and don't come back for my body. Just get the
box and ask H'ban, the brownrider to take you to Sunstone if he's
available. H'ban's taken me there for...business and believes I have
family there. He won't ask questions. If he's not, there should be
others, unless it comes on a day Thread is falling. I want you to
focus on getting Silgan out. That'll be what you need to do. Agreed?"

"Right. Brownrider H'ban, and take the box with us." Lorican tried not
to think of all the ways that could possibly go wrong, nor of what might
await him at Sunstone. He'd heard some tales from the sailors at Rocky
Bay, which hardly painted it as a haven of safety and lawfulness, but
that was the least of his problems for now.

"Don't fear for him. I'll guard him with my life, I promise." As he
spoke, he realized it was true. Over the months at the Weyrhold, he'd
grown genuinely fond of the young boy, a feeling that was mixed with
regret at the thought that no matter how this turned out, he'd likely
never have a child of his own. Perhaps if he could protect this one, it
would be enough.

Lusilk nodded. "Good." She exhaled softly. "Now, if things go right,
you'll probably still need to watch him for me or take him to Sunstone
while I take care of your little problem. I'm going to find out who is
hunting you and end it, like I promised. Then perhaps, you can move on
with your life." She looked towards Silgan's room and her eyes
flickered with a grief that she didn't explain. Silgan needed more
than what she could give him and it was clear that as long as he
stayed with her, he'd never get it. She would have to let her son go
and dreaded when she would be forced to make that decision for him.

Pushing that to the side, she looked back down at the sketch. "How
long with that take you to finish?"

"I can put up a bar tomorrow; we've got all the parts we need for that.
The bell might take a few days. I'll have to make it without Master
Dunrik catching on, and that's not easy." There was time to work on his
own projects, like the toy he'd made for Silgan, but not much, given the
backlog of jobs for the Weyrhold. He relaxed a little, relieved to have
a more straightforward problem to focus on. "Unless there's a way you
could request it, as one of the Headwoman's staff?"

Her brow arched at the suggestion and there was a flash of a quick grin.
"Aye, I can request it easily enough. It shouldn't be a problem. I'll
just need the size you're thinking of and any specifics. "

"A small bell should do." He made a few notes on the sketch, then handed
it to her. "I imagine you're a light sleeper, so it won't need to be loud."

She took the sketch and looked at it before nodding. "I'll order it
first thing in the morning."

"All right. I expect the Master will make it a priority. He respects
you. And the Headwoman, of course." Lorican looked down at his hands,
suddenly awkward. "Well...I suppose the young lad must be waiting for
his bath. I'll work on some designs. In the bedroom, if you want. I
don't want to disturb your evening."

She shrugged. "It doesn't matter. We're quiet and you're not going to
disturb anything. I don't dance around naked or the like. " Her lips
curled up. "I wouldn't want to offend your delicate sensibilities." She
rose, brushing her hands over her trousers with a smirk. "But if I
decide to, it's up to you of you want to peek." She walked to the small
bathing area, then paused, turning back to grin wickedly at him. "Oh
dear... sharing a bathing space. I can't wait to see the blushes. "

Lorican knew she was baiting him, but much to his frustration he
couldn't help the heat rising to his cheeks. "I...uh, I'll bathe at the
springs near the smithy, if you want. I wouldn't...I would never try to
look..." He scowled. "I was trying to be considerate!"

His reaction brought an honest laugh from Lusilk and she shook her head,
wiping at her eyes. "The look on your face was priceless! You turned
so red..." she bent, catching her breath. "It's just a body, you
know. We all have them. I doubt that you'd get any more of a riser out
of seeing me bare-assed than seeing than I would seeing a woman. " She
waved a hand, still chuckling. "Faranth, just bathe when you need to
here, Lorican. I'm not going to eat you. " She paused, tilting her
head. "Although, you do have a nice looking backside. I promise I
won't look... too much. "

He blushed scarlet and got hastily to his feet. "I'm going to work on my
drawings!" Trying to depart with as much dignity as he could, he
hesitated in the doorway of the bedroom. "Though if you really don't
mind, then I'll work in here." It'd be less lonely, and he found to his
surprise that he liked her company. It wasn't what he'd ever have expected.

Her grin was still full of wicked mirth. "I don't mind. You'll just
have to learn to put up with me."

Last updated on the February 1st 2020

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