[Medieval] You Say You Want a Revolution

[Avery]

Medieville: July, 1333

The rain lashed from the sky in sheets, pounding the dirt and cobblestone roads beneath with a needle-like intensity. It had sent most of Medieville's residents scampering indoors, but not Lydia Kidde. Cloak pulled over her bright hair, she marched with purpose from the King's Arms Inn to the house of one Xavier Lynn, which was tucked in a neighborhood far more respectable than was the King's Arms. The polished cottage looked almost sad beneath the silvery sky, its modest yard muddy and eaves dripping, and after pushing open the front gate, Lydia wiped her hand off on her skirts. Bloody miserable summer, this one had been-- the coldest July she could ever remember. And the wettest. It had rained more days that not.

As thunder rumbled in the distance, Lydia raised a fist and rapped it against the front door. Woo, she thought, let him be home, let him be home. She needed to talk with him, and soon, before the news she bore started eating through her like acid. It wasn't that Xavier was the only one with whom she could share it... but he was the only one who would really understand. The only one who really could understand.

Just as Lydia was starting to grow impatient, the door creaked open. She smiled down at the small, ginger-haired girl who stood at the other side, barefoot and clutching a mug of what looked like tea. Woo, you knew summer had really messed up when it was cold enough to drink tea. Lydia tried to ignore the pang in her heart that always struck whenever she saw a little girl with red hair. But she couldn't fight back the image that crept into her mind... of another child, small and thin, hair like fire and skin like cream... a child who she knew was a child no more, but who nevertheless stayed that way forever in her mind-- frozen in time over twenty years ago, the last time Lydia had seen her...

She shook away the thought. Now was not the time to get sentimental. Not with what she'd come here to do... the things she wanted to talk about with this little girl's father...

"Ivy," she greeted. "That tea looks awfully nice." Another clap of thunder shook the sky. "I'm here to see your papa. Is he around?"

[Elcie]

"Hi Aunt Lydia," Ivy greeted her cheerfully. Lydia, one of her father's closest friends, was a familiar sight at her house. "Papa's in the kitchen!" The little girl let Lydia into the house, then trotted along into the kitchen at as fast a pace as she could without spilling the tea. "PAPA!" she shrieked. "Aunt Lydia is here!"

Xavier was pulling a loaf of bread out of the oven as Lydia walked in. He turned to her with a warm smile. "Lydia, this is a pleasant surprise!" he said. He wiped his hands off on his apron and then took it off, folding it up as he stepped toward her. Then his smile slipped a bit as he noticed the expression on her face. This was clearly not just a friendly social call. "What's wrong?" he said softly, setting his apron aside. "Did something happen?"

Automatically he put a hand around Ivy's shoulder as the little girl leaned up against him, sipping her tea with a serious but rather pleased expression on her face. She'd done her job.

SPOILER: Click to show

Xavier and Ivy are both happy to see Lydia, but Xavier notices the look on Lydia's face and gets worried.

[Avery]

The cottage smelled of bread, but Lydia's stomach was far too twisted into knots to rumble. Trying not to drip too much rainwater onto Xavier's floor, she trailed Ivy into the kitchen, and watched as Xavier pulled the scent of the delicious aroma out of the oven and set it down. He smiled warmly at her-- but the moment he saw the wrought expression on her face, his own face fell.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" He set a hand upon Ivy's shoulder.

"No, of course not-- I just came by to say hello," she said in Kythian, still smiling down at the fidgeting Ivy with as much sincerity as she could manage. She took a deep breath before lapsing into low Courdonian... for Ivy's benefit, keeping her voice upbeat although her words hardly matched the tone: "A traveler came into the King's Arms. A Courdonian. There... was a small slave rebellion outside Ashel. Slaves of a minor lord... Hyland, he's called-- well, about two dozen of them rose against him, tried to break free..." She watched as Ivy took another sip of the tea, blithely oblivious to the gravity of Lydia's words. "Lord Hyland killed them all in the city square. Slit their throats in front of the rest of his slaves. Of course not before torturing them, though. Trying to wheedle out the names of anyone else who may have been involved..."

Lydia turned away from Xavier and Ivy, unable now to keep her face from falling. She stared out the kitchen window, shimmering with raindrops, as she continued, "They had no chance, Xavier. Twenty-some slaves against a Courdonian enki? They were dead before they even tried." She bit her lip. "I know we've had this conversation before... talked in hypotheticals and faraway dreams, but... Xavier. I... I'm but a cook at an inn. Not even a Kythian citizen, legally. There's nothing I could ever do about this on my own. But you..." She turned back toward him. "Alone, a group of twenty slaves can't do anything. But if they had backing? If they had organization, funds, weapons? If it were not twenty slaves, but twenty thousand... or more...?"

[Elcie]

Xavier was still and silent for a moment, rendered speechless by Lydia's words. "They must have been desperate to have tried," he said softly. "Two dozen..."

He was distracted by Ivy twisting in his grip, whining a complaint. "Papa...!"

Xavier realized his body had tensed, his grip on her tightening, and he let go quickly. "Sorry, sweetheart," he said, leaning over to kiss her on the head. "Why don't you go play with Ciro? See he's not getting up to any mischief. I need to talk with Aunt Lydia, okay?"

Ivy looked between the two, considering, but not all that curious. The children knew a few scattered words of Courdonian, that strange language that their father and Lydia shared, but not enough to understand it, and Ivy knew from experience that staying to listen to the two adults talk about grown-up matters in a language she couldn't understand would be very boring. Even if Ciro was only practicing his magic, he'd probably be more interesting. "Okay," Ivy said cheerfully. She wrapped her arms around Xavier, hugging him tightly, before leaving the kitchen.

Xavier looked over at Lydia, still tense. "You can't be suggesting what I think you are," he said, his voice tight. "I'm... Lydia, I'm a Jade. I've wished I could do more for years, but that would mean war. We can't even rescue the elves they take from Corvus. If there is ever an uprising, it will have to be led by a..." Xavier trailed off, his brow furrowing as the logic of it hit him. "A Courdonian..."

He found himself reaching up with his left hand to grasp his right shoulder, where the brand of House Duval remained even after all these years. Xavier had not identified as Courdonian for years, though he didn't try to hide his past anymore; his accent remained, and most people in Medieville who knew him well knew he had once been a slave. His position was secure enough that there wasn't much danger in that information anymore. But he didn't really think of himself as Courdonian anymore. He was a Jade, a Kythian. Courdon was in the past; this was his home now, where his family was...

All the same, there was an undeniable appeal in Lydia's words. Xavier could not help but feel a thrill of excitement.

"You're really serious this time, aren't you," he said softly in Kythian. They'd daydreamed about revolution much as he and Muriel had once daydreamed about escape, but there was a force and urgency in Lydia's voice that he had not heard there before in their previous conversations.

[Avery]

As Xavier dismissed Ivy and then tried to wrap his head around what Lydia was implying, Lydia stood there silent, her heart hammering in her ears. She watched as Xavier ran his fingers over his brand, still there even after so many years-- as was hers on her collar bone. It didn't matter how many years Xavier and Lydia spent away from Courdon... they would have their brands until the day they died, ugly reminders of their violent, horrible pasts.

"You're really serious this time, aren't you?" he said, lapsing back into Kythian.

"Yes." Then, in Kythian as well: "I think if anybody has the means, Xavier, it's you. It's us." As Ivy laughed loudly over something from the other room, Lydia sighed. "I made a promise, Xavier. To Ruby. The last time I saw her... That I would come back for her one day. I'm not a fool. I know the chances of me ever seeing my daughter again are..." She considered. "... Well, it's not likely. But that doesn't mean I ought to sit back doing nothing. Xavier, if together you and I could help stop future children from becoming well-- the children we were. The child Ruby was." Her voice hitched as she added, "The child that Ruby's children might be right now..."

Slipping back into Kythian again, she said, "There's a guest at the inn. One of the long-timers. I think he could afford a place of his own, but he stays for the company, really. And he pays on time every week, so Ilsa's not about to make him go. I think the old bat will die with a scroll in one hand and coin in the other." She smiled ruefully. "Anyway... his name is Evander. He's ex-military, from Elacs, just a few hours away from the Courdonian border. Evander had... well, a good life. A wife, a house, a solid job at the local smithy. Then about ten years ago, his wife died in childbirth. Sad enough. But the baby survived, at least. A healthy little girl. The light of Evander's life. A pretty little thing... blonde and fair, a true beauty."

Lydia studied Xavier's face-- the furrow of his eyebrows, the way he scrunched his lips. As if he still couldn't entirely believe that they were having this conversation.

"Raiders stole her, Xavier," she said. "The baby. When she was seven. Evander tried to fight them back, but well." Lydia turned her palms upward. "It's not as if Courdonian slave raiders fight clean, do they?"

"Why are you telling me this?" Xavier asked, his voice shaky.

"We've both got the Courdonian connections. You have the access to funds and weapons and well-- all those necessities. But we're missing something, Xavier. Strategy." As understanding crept on Xavier's face, Lydia went on, "Evander is ex-military. He's seen war. And he has a very good reason to hate the Courdonians. I know we have people here who could advise us... Sir Sieg, for example... or members of House Jade. But they won't be able to come with us, Xavier. Make sure we're not shooting ourselves in the foot before we even get onto Courdonian land. I-- I think we should go talk to him. Together. See if he won't... advise us, I guess." Before he could object, Lydia finished, "I'll give you time to think on it, of course. Talk to Elin, if you want. But I think that deep down, you know the answer already. ... I think both of us have always known. So... if I'm right about that... come to the inn tomorrow. After the midday rush. And we can talk to Evander, together."

With that, Lydia started out the kitchen, smiling warmly at Ciro and Ivy as she passed them in the hall. As she ducked back out into the rainy afternoon, her teeth chattered. It's just the cold, she told herself. But deep down she knew better.

It was not the cold at all.

[Elcie]

Lydia's mention of her daughter, and of Evander's lost child, lingered with Xavier long after she'd left. If it was Ivy, or Ciro, or Muriel... His throat tightened. Yes, he could certainly understand Lydia's desperation. If one of his children was taken from him, he would do whatever it took to get them back.

He was quiet and pensive the rest of the day, the thought of rebellion burning in the back of his mind, unable to let it go despite his misgivings. He couldn't leave his children, or Elin; going to Courdon with uprising in mind would skirt dangerously close to bringing war on Kyth. He had a life here, he had responsibilities - as a husband and father, as a Jade.

But all the same, he would speak to Elin tonight. At the very least, maybe talking to her and hearing her opinions would help him sort out his own thoughts. And tomorrow, he decided, he would go to the inn to meet with Lydia and Evander. It couldn't hurt to hear what they had to say.

---

The next day, Xavier walked over to the inn. When he got there most of the lunch guests had already left, and Ilsa was busying herself cleaning the dining room. The innkeeper's hair had gone silver and she made frequent complaints about her joints in the chilly weather, but she was as involved with her business as ever. Xavier marveled at how much energy she always seemed to have.

"Hello, Xavier," she greeted him cheerfully. "Want something to eat? If you hurry, leftovers are still hot."

"No, thanks," Xavier said, pulling off his cloak and shaking the water off it. It was raining again. He gave Ilsa an affectionate smile. "I've already eaten. I'm here to see Lydia, is she here?"

"Should be." The old woman looked at him curiously, clearly wondering what he was up to, but she didn't ask. For such an incurable gossip, Ilsa had never pried into his affairs. "I can fetch her."

"No, I don't want to interrupt your work, or hers." Xavier sat down at the bar, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the counter. "She's expecting me. I can wait."

Ilsa shrugged. "Suit yourself, then." They chatted easily as she continued sweeping up the room, Ilsa's familiar mixture of gossip and complaints setting Xavier at ease.

[Avery]

When Lydia saw Xavier chatting with Ilsa in the dining area, a swell of relief flooded her. As confident as she'd been that he would come, there had also been a terrified yet persistent part of her afraid that he wouldn't. That her conversation with him would join the many other conversations they'd had on the same topic before-- impassioned yet ultimately baseless, nothing more than dreams and what-ifs.

"Xavier," she said to him, striding from the kitchen to where he sat. Then, turning to Ilsa: "I've started the chickens for dinner. So if you don't mind, I'll be taking a break now... Xavier and I have some ah-- business to tend to upstairs. With a mutual friend."

As Ilsa nodded at her, Lydia smiled and set off toward the stairs that led to the upper level rooms, beckoning Xavier to follow. Evander's room was on the second level, at the very end of the hall. Lydia rapped twice, and then, as she waited for his answer, gazed briefly out the window nearby. It was a grey day again, rain threatening but not yet arrived.

"Thank you for coming," she said to Xavier. "I... I really appreciate it."

When Evander answered a few moments later, Lydia smiled softly at him. He was not a particularly old man, but his face showed every one of his years in spades-- black bags underscored his eyes, and though his hair had once been a deep, smooth black, it now tended toward silver, hanging down to his chin in ringlet curls. A white scar, at least three inches across, slashed across his forehead as if he'd once seen the wrong side of a blade. A smaller brother curved on his chin, slender but twisted.

"Evander," Lydia greeted.

"Ms. Kidde." He looked at Xavier, studying him. "And you must be Lord Xavier."

"You don't need the 'Lord'," Lydia said before Xavier could blush furiously. She'd tried to call Xavier by his title once; but it had only ended up with his stuttering and flushing in something like embarrassment.

"Ah, well, if I had a title I'd wear it like a badge. But eh, to each his own." He stuck out a hand toward Xavier. "I'm Evander Corell, former sergeant at arms in His Majesty's Royal Army-- originally of Adderville, Elacs. You probably haven't heard of it, and that's probably a good thing." He smiled crookedly and stepped aside to let Xavier and Lydia through. "Now come in, both of you, we have much to discuss, I imagine."

For a longterm guest, Evander's room was surprisingly uncluttered. He offered a chair each to Xavier and Lydia, declaring that he'd much rather stand. Once they were settled, he said, "So. Ms. Kidde's told me that you are..." Evander carefully considered his words. "Well, that you're like her, Xavier."

"He means that you're a former slave," Lydia said.

Evander huffed. "Well, yes, but I was trying to be more diplomatic." He waved a hand. "Anyhow, from this I suppose all three of us seem to have somewhat of a... kinship, I guess you'd guess call it. A common purpose. And though of course I trust Ms. Kidde when she tells me of your leanings... well. A man can't be too careful now, can he? Not when the talk is of this sort. So, Enki Xavier. Tell me in your own words. Tell me what Courdon means to you. And then, if I like what you have to say, well..." He shrugged, almost casually. "Tell me why you want to take it down. And tell me why I ought to help."

"Evander--" Lydia started, aghast.

But Evander merely shrugged again. "You've already made your case to me, Ms. Kidde. Now it's his turn. I don't take getting involved in such things lightly. And I want to make sure he doesn't, either. After all, if I'm going into Courdon to tear it from the inside out, well... I want to make sure I'm following someone who has a chance to really do it. I've no intention of landing my head on a pike, you see." He smiled. "Only that of Lord Rylan Duval."

[Elcie]

Xavier stiffened, almost flinched, as Evander called him by that title. He'd only heard anyone call him that once before, and he hadn't liked it much then, either. But he heard the man out, his face stony. When Evander mentioned the name of Rylan Duval, Xavier's brows furrowed and he let in a sharp intake of breath. Rodin's son. Of course. He knew his old master had died, and of course that meant that Rylan now controlled the estates of Talvace and all the slaves that labored there. But for this man to have such a connection to Talvace...

He didn't like to think what that girl was going through, if she'd been sold to Rylan. Xavier remembered him as a youth, pompous and pointlessly cruel. There wasn't much hope that age had improved him.

Xavier met Evander's eyes and slowly, deliberately rolled up his right sleeve, showing the brand that marked his shoulder. "This," he said, "is what Courdon means to me." He tapped the scar with his left hand, turning slightly so that Evander could get a full view. "As you're Kythian, you probably don't recognize it, but any Courdonian would. It's the mark of House Duval."

Evander tensed. "You belonged to Rylan?"

"No. His father, Rodin." Xavier pulled down his sleeve, hiding the mark once again. "And I've never once looked back since I ran away. People of this kingdom took me in when I had never been shown kindness, and believe me, I'd be more than happy to never set foot in the accursed place again." He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. "I know very well what I'm fighting for, Evander," he said softly. "And I know what would await me if I ever went back there. Courdonian law doesn't acknowledge my title, you know... legally I'm still the property of House Duval. But there's only so much I can do as a Jade without bringing war down on my House, even in Corvus. No matter what laws Lord Joffery passes or how many safehouses and hidden routes I establish, there are still raiders in the south, there are still people being dragged out of their homes, there are still people starving to death or drowning in the bogs because even in Kyth they're too afraid to ask for help..." He looked at Evander, his mouth a grim line. "It has to stop," he said simply.

[Avery]

Lydia sat silently as Xavier explained to Evander his history, and she tried not to betray the relief that flooded into her when he said simply: "It has to stop."

"It does have to stop," Evander agreed, his posture now far less rigid, and his voice taking on a much softer edge. He studied Xavier's brand with equal parts shock and revulsion, and Lydia could tell the thoughts dancing through his head: those of his own daughter being held down and the mark of House Duval being branded into her flesh. Small children they usually first branded on the bottom of the foot, but Evander's girl had been old enough when she was taken where they would have gone right to the collar bone-- the crude diamond shape seared into her as she screamed, just as Lydia had screamed once, very long ago. And just as Xavier had probably screamed, too.

Silence filled the air for several moments, before Evander softly said, "When they took my Sarah, they nearly killed me. In fact, I think they meant to kill me." He gestured at the scars on his face. "It was only a matter of luck that a farmer found me when he did and got me to a healer... though of course, the raiders and my girl were already long gone by then." Evander's voice cracked, even now the memory just as raw, just as visceral, as it had been that balmy afternoon three years ago. "The last thing I heard them say before I blacked out was 'Eest den Enki Rylan kanta'. I... I don't speak any Courdonian, not beyond the snatches and snippets you pick up living so close to the border, as I did. But the name I recognized. And the rest of it, well... I committed it to memory until I could find somebody to translate it for me."

Evander leaned back against the wall and shut his eyes. "'Eest den Enki Rylan kanta. Just what Lord Rylan wanted." Eyes still close, Evander murmured, "I... of course over the years I've come up with so many possibilities of why Rylan Duval would want my Sarah. None of them good, but some... some worse than others. And I... you knew him, didn't you? His father may have been enki then, but Rylan was still..."

As if it pained him, Evander forced his eyes back open and locked his gaze on Xavier. "You probably have a better idea than anybody, Xavier. Why would Rylan Duval have wanted my daughter?"

Before Xavier could reply, Lydia hurriedly said, "Evander-- I don't know if this will be... good for you. It's just... whatever Xavier can tell you is only speculation, and--"

"No," Evander cut in. "I want to know. I need to know. That way when I'm cutting Rylan Duval's throat..." He smiled, almost perversely, as he blinked back tears. "Please, Xavier. Tell me what they meant. Tell me why they wanted her."

[Elcie]

Xavier could not help but grimace as Evander related what he’d heard from the slavers. Just what Lord Rylan wanted… gods, he could think of nothing good that could mean. Certainly nothing a father would want to hear. Some slaveowners in Courdon were simply eccentric, collecting redheads so their maids were a matched set or insisting on using only Cerrish house-slaves. But neither Rylan nor his father had ever been among them. Xavier knew good and well that Rylan was not the sort to whimsically insist on an estate full of blonde slaves.

Rylan had been cruel, yes. While some of Duval’s children had given the slaves no more thought than if they were furniture, Rylan took after his father; he’d clearly enjoyed his power over them. And his father had never stopped him from doing whatever he pleased with them.

He forced himself to meet Evander’s eyes, trying to force back the sudden surge of disgust he was feeling. “Well, she’s Kythian,” he said carefully. “Foreign slaves are… can be valuable, they’re exotic.” It was not the whole answer, carefully sanitized, and Evander certainly knew that. The man wasn’t stupid. “I… imagine he was after a Kythian girl from the start, and your daughter was pretty enough to catch their eye.”

Immediately, he hated himself for saying that. Evander did deserve the truth, but the truth would only paint a worse picture in his imagination. Once again the thought sprang into Xavier’s mind - that what had happened to little Sarah could as easily have been his Muriel, his Ivy. His fist clenched. “I have daughters, Evander,” he said quietly. “If this… if what we’re talking about becomes a reality… I’ll do whatever I can to help you find Sarah.”

[Avery]

Pretty enough to catch their eye. Even as Xavier seemed to realize the awful implications of this, Evander bit down so hard on his lip that he tasted blood. It wasn't something he hadn't though of himself, of course, but desperately he'd hoped that there would be some alternate, less terrible explanation.

"I want more than anything in the world to make a reality, Xavier," he said weakly. "And I know that Ms. Kidde here does as well. And with the three of us together... I think we might really have a shot at it." He smiled darkly, briefly. "It will take time, of course. And money. And preparation, and dedication. But with enough planning..." His voice trailed off.

"Did you speak with Elin at all, Xavier?" Lydia asked. "I... I think that once we start planning, we must keep planning. We must not stop until we're marching past the border. But to do that, well... Evander has nobody relying on him. I don't either." She sighed. "But you have Elin and the children. And I think that before we start with this seriously, you need to make sure she's on board, Xavier. Given the dangers we'll face."

Evander added, "And while you'll need to use your House Jade connections in order for the money part of the picture to come together, you also need to consider what will likely have to happen, Xavier. If we don't want to draw this war to Kyth, they're going to have to denounce you. Lydia ensures me they'll be amenable to our cause behind the scenes-- but publicly they'll have to condemn everything you do. So if the effort goes badly..." He shook his head. "There will be very little for any of us to fall back on, Xavier. Including you." Evander stared Xavier straight on. "Are you okay with that, Xavier?"

[Elcie]

Xavier nodded, his face grim as he met Lydia's eyes. "I know. And we..." He hesitated, sighed, averting his eyes to stare down at the tabletop. "The children are so young. I can't leave them to start a war in another kingdom. I did talk to Elin last night, and she supports the idea, but... We can't rush into this. For Muriel and Ciro and Ivy's sakes, at the very least." He looked up at Lydia, a small smile at the corner of his mouth. "But - if we're going to do this properly... the planning will take some time. Years, if we're realistic. So when they're older..."

He trailed off, pain underlying his voice. Even if the children were older when the rebellion was set in motion, Xavier didn't like the idea of leaving them - and even though at that point they'd probably be old enough to take care of themselves, he liked the idea of bringing them even less. But... he was only able to raise a family like this because he was free. And living in the capital, he didn't have to worry about raiders taking his family from him. Evander and his Sarah didn't deserve what had happened to them. Neither did Lydia and her daughter. There were things no family should ever have to experience.

At Evander's words he turned again to face the man. "I am," he said, surprising himself by how firm and steady his voice sounded. "Jade has sheltered me for this long. Years ago they protected me when Lord Duval found out where I was. I won't ask more of them than that. Though I think I should speak privately with Lord Joffery about what we're planning, regardless. I owe him and his House that much."