When a Black Widow Gets Her Way... [Klue]

[J'lyara]

Late Junctior, Summer Era II of the Celestine Mandate, Era XI Post Fractum
Age of the Darkening

Sarilynn Gideon's eyes narrowed and her face contorted into a frown as she looked down at the fidgeting babe of 10 months taking up space in her arms. The list of reasons for her current irritation could have reached all the way back to Candaceburg where she'd come from. To start, she was infinitely dissatisfied with Klue's choice of locale. Why he would have chosen to take up employment in such a small, out of the way village was beyond her but it only served to strengthen her resolve. Next, she hadn't realized how dreadfully long it would take to make the trip across the Empire with one as small as Cateryna in tow. The trip had been utterly miserable and she was sure to take every bit of her experienced discomfort out on the father of her child....once she could find him.

It hadn't been extraordinarily difficult to wrench his location out of his mother. The woman had still managed to hold on to a decent amount of pride, despite her station in life, and she hadn't wanted to suffer the embarrassment and shame of having her son publicly named a thief and a fugitive of Candaceburg. But Georgie Malinconico had had no doubt that Sarilynn would have made good on her threats. She'd expected it, once the old man perished, so it was no surprise when Sarilynn turned up at her door the brightening after Maxwell had mysteriously died while eating rosyun with his young wife...or so the story had been told.

It was deceptive to look upon Sarilynn, for she was typically beautiful. Shapely for an elf with with pointed ears peeking through a mane of deep yellow...pretty, calculating blue eyes capable of pulling in her mark with the batting of an eyelash. Often using her beauty as distraction, she'd grown very much accustomed to getting her way. She'd done it with her late husband, Maxwell and the late husband before him. She'd gotten what she wanted from Klue...and she meant to get what she wanted again. Sarilynn had no plans to leave Frigid River carrying the same amount of baggage she'd been carrying when she'd sauntered in.

Adding to her list of irritations was the exorbitant amount of crowns she'd had to spend on fake Visa's. Need to acquire something illegally in the Empire and you were sure to be gouged for an outrageous sum. But she'd done it, the Visa's looked perfectly legitimate and Cateryna's was in part, at least, true. Sarilynn didn't have time to play games with Klue's commanding officers, so she'd needed a surefire way to get in to see him. She could think of no better way than telling them she was his wife and she'd come to allow him a visit with his child. A child which, interestingly enough, was sporting a tuft of red curls atop her head leading credence to Sarilynn's lies by mixing in the truth.

The elven woman was eager to be on her way back out of Frigid River and to the man she already knew to be waiting on her in the port city of Constantine. If the amount of time this trip had taken cost her the opportunity to re-marry, she would never forgive Klue for moving so far away. Nevermind the fact that she'd insisted that he do so and never return.

Having been directed to the Military Quarter outside of the city once more, she proceeded to go through the necessary red tape in order to be allowed to see her "husband." Presenting the Visa's, one showing Cateryna Malinconico and the other showing Sarilynn Malinconico, had immediately caused a stir in the small regiment. She'd received blank, disbelieving stares and frowns because, quite frankly, the young Malinconico had never mentioned having a wife...or a child! And by the looks of the woman and the darling baby girl they didn't really understand why Klue wouldn't happily claim them.

"It's urgent...please...I need to see my husband. I've come a very long way...and we're so very tired. My daughter, I think she may have a case of the sniffles." Sarilynn spared nothing in making sure her voice and demeanor would appeal to even the harshest soul. Though she was smiling softly and trying to look in distress, the smile didn't reach her chilly blue eyes.

ooc: Posted with permission from GM Shaaw, at the request of Klue.

[Klue Malinconico]

Once she’d been directed to desk inside the Command Center, the beautiful elf was little doubt given a similar reaction to the one she’d received when she’d been passed through the gates. There was the inevitable, and in some cases, not so subtle widening of the eyes…It wasn’t often that beautiful women presented themselves at the military compound, even rarer they stuck around long. So it was a sight to be savored on the rare occasion it happened. That followed by slight frowns and puzzled glances, and equally puzzled…and only slightly hushed debates between guards. Malinconico, one had reminded the other. The Eunesian…The tall, lanky red headed lieutenant that had endangered the whole of the mercantile with the threat of flames that past spring with one of his far flung gadgets.

Off in Midpoint, wasn’t he? Training with the Alyssans…No, the other pointed out, he’d wandered back just a few brightenings past, cooling his heels till collecting his next post. He hadn’t reported in, officially. No, but not so surprising, and Corporal Smyte had likely righted the oversight in the Command Center…Obsessed with tidy records, that one. A wife though? And a child? Cute little thing, her. One of the guards had looked guilty, by association maybe, for having witnessed the young lieutenant, just last darkening in fact, in the company of several women of varied origins and ages, sans clothing all of them and at the local hot springs. But it was the unspoken dress code of the place, after all. Given the discomfort the revelation brought on, there was little more than a glance given the visas before Sarilynn was waved through to her next stop.

And while the reaction was similar at the desk of Corporal Smyte, the locale Sarilynn was eventually shepherded to, it was shorter lived. This young human, studious and tidy looking with light brown hair and fair skin, was a stickler for protocol, organization and manners. He was skinny, she’d note when he stood from his desk to greet her with a smile and a slight tilt of the head, and his eyes were overlarge behind round and thick spectacles…This had earned him the nickname ’The Bug’ by his fellows.

”Please, miss…err, Mrs. Malinconico, won’t you have a seat? Indeed, your journey must have been tiresome. It’s a long one, from Eunesia.” he said and gestured to the chair in front of his desk while the trace of a frown was deliberately smoothed from his young face. Urgent was relative…Protocol and good record keeping, everything.

Malinconico. The Eunesian. Yes, he was back in Frigid River, having been witnessed by the corporal himself no less, riding through the gates on that odd gelding of his. He’d studiously marked it in his books that very darkening in fact. He’d been quite impressed, after all, that the near boy had proven himself and climbed the ranks so quickly for one so young. Already trained by the best in the Empire, the Alyssans themselves. And recently become an alchemist too, from what Smyte understood. In fact, it was a source of some amusement that the title given to a beginner alchemist was…The Fool. Seemed right, somehow, given Malinconico’s frequent forays into odd innovations and the mishaps large and small that tended to accompany them.

Whatever the case, with a still puzzled smile, the corporal tore his gaze from the baby in the elf’s arms and opened a ledger in front of him, supposedly to confirm Klue’s current whereabouts. It was a volume of pay vouchers in fact, all PMR soldiers marked and listed with their salaries. Smyte had shared a protocol class with Malinconico. He distinctly recalled the regiment’s youngest officer, not much more than a boy grown over tall, being quick to point out that no, he did not have a girl back home. A quick scan of his lists confirmed it. Malinconico’s salary reflected a single officer’s pay, no dependents. He’d seen nothing suspicious about the visas though, and could only assume that the Lieutenant might be as surprised as anyone else by the elf’s arrival. Why, to be the father of this child, the Lieutenant must’ve been young indeed when he’d…The corporal had to wonder, for his lack of knowing, was the Commander aware? He’d guess, not. So he smiled a little, possibly an indication that the corporal was indeed capable of the simplest mischief, and pulled a small slip of parchment from his desk. He scrawled a quick note on it…Lieutenant Malinconico. Sir, at your convenience, please stop by the Command Center to correct our records on your marital status…Signed, Corporal Smyte. Satisfied, he folded it neatly and kept it readied in his hand.

”Well, Mrs. Malinconico. I believe the Lieutenant is currently on the training fields observing Sergeant Darco put his men through their paces. I’ll escort you there myself. No doubt he’ll be pleased to see the two of you,” he added with a smile at the baby as he flipped his book closed and stood to collect his helm. As ordered, these brightenings, all PMR soldiers were to be dressed in battle garb, on or off duty. With a nod to a nearby sergeant to man the desk in his absence, Corporal Smyte waited for Sarilynn to rise and exit in front of him, before escorting her across the grounds to the training fields.

It wasn’t a long walk, and even from the doors of the center, the fields could be clearly viewed one end to the other. For as large a field as it was, there was only a small group of men on the field. Five of them seemed to be navigating an obstacle course comprised of ropes, poles and brambles. Another man stood aside and watched them, occasionally shouting corrections or encouragement. One more figure sat on a bench nearby, with his back to the approaching pair. He glanced up now and again to observe the working soldiers in front of him, before returning to the apparent task of polishing a long sword he held in his hands. He was dressed like the rest, save the red plume in the top of the helm sitting beside him. That, as well as the gold bars on his shoulder, marked him as an officer. Otherwise, he wore a leather kilt…Arguably, he didn’t have the knees for it, boots, and a tunic worn under plate mail breast armor. Bracers on forearms, etc…With his back to the pair, he was unmistakable for the almost unnatural red of his hair. And likely, it would be confirmed as well, his face was still boyish with a look of mixed ambition and mischief in his eyes that time and training couldn’t ever quite rid him of. But he had changed some. Grown taller with the time passed, even when seated it was clear enough, and broader across the shoulders, more fit from training and soldiering. He didn’t notice the arrivals behind him at the edge of the field, nor did the sergeant watching over the privates. If the privates noticed, they didn’t dare let on.

But stopping at the edge of the field, Corporal Smyte turned to Sarilynn with a smile. ”Here we are, Mrs. Malinconico. It's unusual that a civilian should be allowed access like this, no doubt you understand. But you being his wife...Under the circumstances... Well, I’m sure the Lieutenant will be pleased to see the two of you, and so I’ll leave you to surprise him.” With a small smile, he handed her the slip of parchment in his hand. ”Would you be so kind to see that he gets this?” Assured that she would, he offered a small and polite nod of his head before heading off to the Command Center again. He might like to have lingered...Just to observe.

For Klue’s part, he was blissfully unaware of what was unfolding behind his very back.

[J'lyara]

Surely her arms were going to fall right out of their sockets if she had to hold Cateryna for much longer. The child had fallen asleep only a few minutes after they'd arrived at the gates of the city and Sarilynn had been carrying around dead baby weight since. After a prolonged amount of time even a ball of yarn could start to feel like it weighed the same as a blacksmith's anvil. Keeping up her ruse of the doting mother come to see the husband she dearly missed was taking it's toll on the impatient elven beauty. But she smiled at all the right times, never missing a beat...just this side of flirtatious with her gazes while not seeming inappropriately so. She was "married" after all and none of these men earned enough money to hold her attention past a candlemark besides.

By the time Sarilynn was finally shown out to the field exercise and walked right up to her "husband's" back, she gave the Corporal her first genuine smile since she'd arrived. "Thank you Corporal. Yes, I do understand and my daughter and I are grateful for your prudence in handling our matter so efficiently." Again, she smiled at him, her icey blue eyes travelling his form before turning away to look at Klue's back while she adjusted the sleeping baby in her arms once again.

It didn't even look right, Sarilynn Gideon holding a baby...even less a baby that had come from her own shapely body. She looked a woman who had crowns upon crowns to spend on every desire but perhaps it wasn't something that the soldiers would notice. She would hardly have been able to afford the clothes she was wearing on a young soldier's salary. Wearing a long, flowing silk skirt of a deep golden hue with black half moon shapes woven all across it in a diagonally striped design, her equally silky blouse was a pale yellow that moved easily everytime a breeze blew, effectively showcasing her ample breasts. With her glorious crown of yellow hair and stunning, albeit cold, blue eyes she would seem as if she'd broken away from the suns to land in the middle of the desolate training field.

The first thing she noticed about Klue was that he seemed taller, broader...something, oh she couldn't place it entirely. Whatever it was that made for a boy turning into a man, her keen eyes picked up on it. Though by human standards she was only slightly older than he, the red-headed gadgeteer simply wasn't her type. He was pleasant to look upon and she could tell he would likely be even better entertaining her in the bedroom than he had been when they'd conceived Cateryna, not that she'd been dissatisfied even then for he'd dutifully produced the child she needed at the time. It was the type of thing one only got better with as the time passed along she knew. However, he was young and virile and would likely live to a ripe old human age that would waste patterns and patterns of her time. So, it was lucky for Klue that she wasn't interested in trying to snag his heart. No, she simply wanted him to take the child he'd deposited between her legs...back!

Maxwell she'd had turned into ashes as soon as she could and now she had no need whatsoever to be saddled with a child. It was like being in the gaol for Sarilynn and she just didn't think she could take a moment more. Knowing that Klue would be considerably less than happy to see her again, she pursed her pretty, pouty lips together and ran up behind him with steely resolve putting on a show for those watching. She was thankful, however, that the other soldiers were far enough away that at least they wouldn't be able hear the strained words she uttered to him after the first few sentences.

"Oh Klue! Finally, we've found you! I was starting to think we...never would!" Her voice was perfect in its pitch and she sounded like a wife relieved to see her husband once again. Capitalizing on what was sure to be total shock for him, she moved closer and said under her breath through clenched teeth, "Take her and play along or I swear...on your mother's life and everything I could ever think of that you would hold dear...you'll be sorry..." And with that, she dropped Cateryna unceremoniously into his arms and fainted dramatically right in front of him into the grass. The note that the Corporal had given her to give to Klue was laying on the grass face up right next to her.

She was counting on her act gaining them some type of access to the indoors with at least a modicum of privacy so she could tell him precisely why she'd come.

[Klue Malinconico]

For being distracted with polishing his sword, Klue was unaware of the elf’s dramatic approach. Not so, his men, for their vantage of the vision. Though if they’d sensed danger approaching, he’d have sensed it as well. Or maybe even before them. It was a danger of a different sort, anyway. But the first to notice was Kagner. A large, but not so fine figure of a human male with dirty blonde hair…Dirty, not because that was a shade sometimes utilized for lack of a better one, but because of his less than admirable attention to regular hygiene. He was the strongest of the bunch, rumored to have murdered a man before joining the regiment, but a more loyal and capable soldier was unlikely found. But no matter that, he considered himself a ladies’ man. They rarely saw eye to eye there. He was at the head of the bunch, navigating his way over poles laid out on the ground, and with an effort for not tripping and toppling over. He managed that and carried on with his exercises, even when he noticed the beauty running across the field, for being well trained and disciplined enough to carry on. The dwarf behind him was equally disciplined, for having noticed as well. Bimmy, presumably a fine figure of a dwarf and a jovial one at that.

One other noticed as well, the sergeant standing apart from the group, and he watched the scene unfold with a thoughtful frown while he kept the group working and otherwise occupied.

As for Klue, her words barely registered. Only the disturbingly familiar tone that to those not in the know, translated as music to their ears. Not so, Klue. It was like a foreboding hum in the back of a mind that was having trouble processing unfolding disaster. Maybe a little like nails on a slate board. By the time he looked, she was already there. Like an ambush, and the accuracy of that would hit him later. His sword fell from his hands and he stood, or the other way around…and his men might’ve thought he’d seen a ghost if they’d been looking. But it was worse than that, though his mind couldn’t currently grasp the whole of it, stunned as he was. He’d been trained, and trained well. In the field he was collected and deliberate, matured beyond his patterns that way. Even more since Midpoint. He did Commander Kaldres proud as he could. He’d learned self-discipline while on duty, and deliberate thought rather than impulse. Authoritative and mindful of the men he was to watch over. Equally mindful of every manner of possible danger. Nothing caught him off guard. He was, when on duty, what he tended to avoid being when off. A natural and deliberate leader deserving of the commander’s faith in him. This was no field of battle though. Or maybe it was. Whatever the case, no amount of training had prepared him for this. In his defense, even the most disciplined of veterans would've been hard pressed to achieve quick composure under the circumstances.

So if he’d had his wits about him, he’d have told his men to beware…For this was far more insidious than any evil they’d face on the battle field. It was evil wrapped in a fancy package, tied up with silk ribbons and drizzled with toilet water. It could reduce the most disciplined man to rubble. Haya herself, he’d point out, could benefit from learning a thing or two from his woman. He knew this particular menace, but they wouldn’t have listened to him anyway. Truth was, and instinct knew what common sense couldn’t at the moment, he’d fall for it all over again given an effort on her part. There was the real danger.

Whether he processed her words or not, eyes wide then narrowed, something born of instinct had his arms out to receive the baby she as much as tossed at him. Maybe that’s when he dropped his sword…Hard to tell. Even at that, he managed to hold Cateryna at arm’s length and like a rucksack draped between outstretched hands. Sure, he’d noticed and he’d had to have been a complete fool not to realize who the child was. But like he did with anything else that fell into the category of ’If I don’t acknowledge it, it ain’t there’, he had an uncanny ability to convince himself it wasn’t.

He recovered quick, remembered his training when she collapsed at his feet, like a diabolical link being severed, but one man’s head cleared quicker. The sergeant, who till now had only observed and thought there was something odd about the whole situation…strode forward after gesturing for his men to continue, and knelt down by Sarilynn, while Klue was left holding the baby. Sergeant Joneth Darco, a human in his thirties and what the average woman would say was a good catch. Not over tall or over handsome, he had a kind but authoritative face with brown hair cropped close and a stocky build. He was a rare sergeant, for his manner. Not harsh on his men, but quieter in his authority. A man they could come to with their problems, Klue included, though he outranked the man.

A touch to a pulse point and a glance under a closed lid and he frowned curiously before he stood and turned to Klue. His voice was low enough to rob the others of a chance to listen in, though Kagner had taken up calling the drills. ”Pull yourself together lad…” He paused then, noticing the scrap of paper on the ground and though he didn’t appear to read it to those not in the know, he did, before slipping it into his belt. He frowned deeper and reached out to take the baby from Klue’s arms. ”Pick ‘er up, Lieutenant, and we’ll find a bit of privacy.” By now, Klue had recovered his composure and viewing the collapsed Sarilynn, he’d be tempted to point out that she was bloody well capable of strolling off the field under her own steam. But as the weight of the situation was starting to dawn on him, he picked up his sword and slipped it in his scabbard, strapped his helm to a tie on his belt and scooped up the limp elf in his arms. He’d like to drop her. ”You men,” Darco said before leaving the field, ”back to the barracks and get yourselves cleaned up. Mess hall in half a candlemark, no stragglers.” Kagner’s shouts and their collective discipline had them off and running.


Klue had never taken a private room in the officer’s compound. He’d been entitled to one, due his rank, but had opted to stay in the barracks with the men he’d grown to see as brothers. It created an uncommon bond amongst them that he favored, and had them working well together. As a result, it left a few rooms open and it was that direction that Darco headed, Cateryna in his arms. The buildings there were smaller than the barracks, comprised of a few rooms each, and those empty ones were left unlocked. Inside, the accommodations were simple. A comfortable bed, an over stuffed chair, a storage chest, a privy and a desk in front of a window. Darco chose one and once inside, laid Cateryna gently at the foot of the bed while Klue entered behind him. Eager to relieve himself of his own burden, the Lieutenant laid the elf gently on the bed as well. Gently, only for the sergeant’s benefit. Regarding the situation in silence for a second, Darco retrieved the note from his belt and handed it to Klue. ”Remember, lad... You’re an officer, and a well trained one. Pick your jaw up off the ground and come out of here acting like one. And,” he added with a nod at the note, ”like a gentleman.” He didn’t say any more, didn’t think he needed to or should, and left the room, and Klue alone to read the note.

His eyes narrowed, given the realization of what Sarilynn had just pulled off. He didn’t know the intent, or what was to come. Couldn’t begin to guess what was going on in her head. But judging by this note and her performance in front of his men, none of it was good. A glance outside the window confirmed that Darco was good and gone, and he turned to the elf with a dangerous tightening of the jaw. ”Ye can stop th’ bloody act now an' tell what yer 'ere for. Ye might’ve had th’ rest of ‘em fooled…But I’ve a’ready been bit once, r’member?”

It was deliberate that he didn't look the baby's way. That was a different variety of danger altogether.

[J'lyara]

She could feel his hands gripping her tightly as if he wanted to snap her in two. And Sarilynn knew that if it weren't for the extraordinary circumstances that she had cleverly orchestrated, he very well might have. As it was, her strong "husband" was forced to carry her all the way to the officer's compound and she tried her best to make the walk as uncomfortable as possible for him, her mind playing back the miserable ride she'd had in Maxwell's fully-equipped coach all the way up to this quaint village as frigid as its name.

Sarilynn lifted one of her eyelids just a tad to try and survey their surroundings and once she saw that no one was looking directly at her in particular, or at least not near enough to notice besides the sergeant several feet in front of them, she shifted in Klue's arms so that her breasts were pressed strategically against him and flung an arm out so that it flailed some from the bouncing of his angered walking. She had a self-satisfied smile on her face that only Klue would see as she tried to make her light as a feather frame as heavy as she possibly could by bearing down on his arms. Deciding that she liked the smell of him a little too much though, she silently scoffed and turned her head the other direction still trying to look as if she were completely out.

She could tell immediately when he'd managed to get her out of the elements and she was feeling rather grand at how things had worked out so far. The feel of the soft bed beneath her travel-wary body almost caused a sigh of contentment to escape her lips but she refrained, continuing her drama until the sergeant had dismissed himself from the room and left her alone with Klue and their child. Sarilynn was content to wait, of course, for however long the sergeant wished to stay in the room. For she needed the rest in order to be prepared for what was sure to come from Klue once the sergeant was gone.

Unfortunately for her, he didn't take long and Klue turned on her as soon as the door clicked shut. Sarilynn raised herself up slowly, leaning back on her elbows as she glowered at him while sprawled across what she presumed was his bed. "Oh come now...who bit who? And...you got your pay...remember?" Her voice was no longer the sweet, innocent, musical sound Klue's commanding officers had heard. No, her natural way of speaking was of a lower consistency, every word deliberate and seeming as if coming from a woman much older than she looked.

She regarded him a moment crystal clear blue eyes that showed no trace of a woman having just fainted. He was standing there looking as if he were ready to spit flames as red as his hair and she thought, 'He's so hostile...that may be to my disadvantage...' Yes, he was much too good-looking for her tastes. Men that she might enjoy too much she could never marry for reasons entirely her own. But that didn't stop her eyebrow from raising slightly as she thought of the possibilities. She was due to be marrying another old bugger before long and thus she'd be thrust into another loveless marriage and waiting impatiently while the old man tried to pleasure himself with her youthful charms. She'd wait long enough for him to kill over or she'd push him over the edge herself in order to gain more riches than she rightfully deserved.

A different approach was in order. "Klue...is that any way to greet your wife?" She slid off the bed and in one quick maneuver she'd unfastened the skirt at her waist and let it fall to the floor in a heap of silken fabric. Her blouse was removed just as swiftly and she was left in only her white lacey underthings. Full breasts that hadn't left completely after giving birth to Cateryna, were squeezed close together in the tight-fitting lace corset and her long legs were left entirely exposed. She showed no sense of modesty as she turned around and bent forward some to pull back the heavy quilt on the bed.

After she'd done so and she'd allowed him to spit out whatever he wished at her, she promptly crawled under the covers and turned her back to him. "I need sleep Klue...only a few candlemarks, look after her will you." And with that, she closed her eyes still smiling that self satisfied smirk as she did so. The pillow wasn't the best, but after the time she'd had getting here, it felt like fluffy clouds to her.

Cateryna. The adorable baby girl was still laying where she'd been placed by the sergeant on the bed her mother was now sleeping in. Her legs kicked lightly in the air and her large round eyes, the color of her mother's, looked around with the curiosity only a child of her age could have. She didn't have much in the way of love in her life and so the tiny person tended to take whatever kindness she could get and would gravitate to it like a bear to a cave in winter. Once Klue finally took a moment to look at her, he would see in her...himself and it would be like buckets of cold water raining down on his parade.

Sarilynn hadn't bothered to bring in any of the baby's things yet. They were all still sitting in the coach they'd ridden in to get to Klue.

[Klue Malinconico]

That was the Sarilynn Klue remembered. Not the one melting on the field like a damsel under fire by a dragon. She was the fire spitting one. Usually, truth told, Klue had an uncommon taste for that. But not when it was strolling around the military compound with a babe in it’s arms and making claims of matrimony. Sprawled across the bed, all wicked and calculating...spitting venom behind a smile. Somehow, he’d managed to overlook all of that back when she’d proposed a…trade. And he’d admit, even though he’d had to take matters in hand to assure himself she made good on her end of the deal, he’d gained more than crowns. He’d learned a thing or two, and the learning wasn’t half bad. ”I only took what I had comin’. T’was you that tried t’ back off th’ deal,” he reminded her, but more to distract himself from pondering the thoughtful look on her face as she looked back at him. It was bothersome.

Another glance out the window to make sure there was no one around and he crumpled the note Darco had handed him. ”An’ jus’ who did ye go tellin’ ye were my wife!?” Didn’t matter. She’d told Smyte, so she might’ve strung a banner across the main gates. ”An’ how did ye find me? T’was ye that said t’was part o’ th’ deal, r’member?” His mother…Aye. Damn her.

He glowered at her from the center of the room, arms crossed over his chest and making an effort to pretend there was no squirming baby on the bed. Maybe she’d answer his questions, maybe she wouldn’t. But he forgot them anyway when her clothes puddle on the floor. He refused to look away, just so she’d think he wasn’t interested in what he saw. Her pressing against him when he’d carried her only sparked a memory there was nothing wrong with from the start. The stripping off her clothes only spurred an imagination that was better still than his memory. But kilts were good for something, with their leather gear and metal loops hanging down all around, and heavy as they were. His jaw was clenched already. And so he appeared, at least, unmoved.

But what was she here for? What could she want except to torment him? It was enough, he’d say. And what of old Maxwell, by the way? Surely, she didn’t mean to stay. But he couldn’t wrench an answer from her till she was inclined to supply it. Not without throttling it out of her. And that would stir up too much noise that would make already curious privates and sergeants more curious still over their commanding officer’s visitor. Otherwise, he wouldn’t object to having a go. He’d have to wait then. ”Ye can’t stay here,” he said in a late attempt to keep her from getting in the bed. ”An’ I can’t look after her,” he added while avoiding a glance at the baby. ”or you. I have duties t’ see to.” It was a good story, for his appearance in uniform, though in reality he was on leave for the next few cycles till he received his new post.

But there she was, smirking in a bed she probably thought was his, and him left cooling his heels and thinking up ways to do unto her, what she’d just done to him…He still wasn’t sure what that was, and was left pacing the room. His wife, was she? Well she’d fix it then. He’d make sure she made it right. He had a plan, and it was one sure to get under her skin. That was the appeal of it. Sure, it was a plan based on assumptions, not knowing what she was up to. Things could change. And there’d be a low side for him too. Just how much misery could he endure, to make sure she suffered? A lot, Klue decided with a glance towards the bed and the supposedly sleeping elf. He grinned. It wouldn’t be all bad, now would it? Keeping his eye on the bed, avoiding the end of it, he pulled off the breast plate and set it by the door, unslung his helm and weapon and set them beside it.

But the flailing limbs distracted him and Klue frowned, realizing his plan would have to wait. Something in him wouldn’t let him launch a strategic move with a baby in the room. And so left with nothing else to occupy him, curiosity got the better of him. With another glance at Sarilynn to make sure she wasn’t looking, he moved closer to the end of the bed to have a look. Truth was, he was possessive and uncommonly proud of what was his, never mind that another man mistakenly claimed it as his. All the better, for while babies didn’t necessarily get in the way of success and ambition…things could always be arranged to accommodate them in that manner, they’d tend to put a hitch in the arts of pillaging and wenching. Especially wenching. Good thing then, Sarilynn wasn’t staying long. No harm then in having a look while he’d the opportunity.

As quiet as he could manage, he pulled the chair closer to the end of the bed and sat down, all the while keeping an eye on the elf. And satisfied she wasn’t looking, he dared a glance at the baby. The resemblance hit him like a kick to the stomach. Truth was, while the contrary might be advised time to time, Klue wasn’t scared of much. He’d faced a swarm of vysstichi on an open field and dispatched at least two single-handed. He’d faced possible murder charges all because of a meddlesome cat and occasional near death experiences due his own innovations gone wrong. He’d faced a water elemental bent on his destruction in the midst of a freak rain storm…As an aside, he still maintained to this very brightening that had he been supplied a rain slicker and been able to manipulate the thing into wearing it, the thing would have been dispatched a lot quicker. He was young and ambitious enough to believe there was nothing he couldn’t accomplish if he put his mind and back into it, and nothing he couldn’t survive. But this small thing in front of him was the most frightening thing the near boy had ever seen. And he didn’t even know it’s name.

Still…A half elf, naturally. And cute too, he’d admit. But of course she was, given her resemblance to him. Another cautious glance at the elf and he leaned closer and whispered low to the baby. ”S’rale…Th’ name’s Klue.” He’d never understood, frankly, why folks were given to babbling, and employed infantile voices when faced with a baby. Hardened war veterans even. Small folk must think large ones were bloody idiots. ”Ye don’t know who I am, bu’ I sent ye a present a few months gone now…I wasn’t s’posed to, but did she give it t’ ye? Or did she toss it out with th’ rubbish. It was a puzzle, see, blocks that fit t’gether t’ make animals. Th’ fellow tha’ sold it t’ me,said ye’d be too young, I told him ye were my neice, by th’ way. Bu’ I said ye’d be extra clever. No’ b’cause of yer mother, mind, but b’cause of yer father,” he added with a wide grin at the baby, then wiped it off his face before it stuck. He hadn’t meant to do that, after all.

[J'lyara]

Only vaguely answering a few of his questions before she'd turned her back to him had Sarilynn grinning as her calculating mind imagined the look on his face and what he was thinking while she "slept." The truth of it was, she wasn't sleeping, she was...manipulating the situation and manipulating him. Why she should receive such a great amount of pleasure from manipulating Klue, in particular, she didn't even try to wager a guess. But if she'd thought about it, she might have discovered the real reason she'd traveled such a long way before her scheduled move to Port Constantine. There were, after all, multiple ways to be rid of a child no longer wanted. And she didn't lack for ideas along those lines.

Did she love her child at all? It was anyone's guess. But to look at Cateryna she didn't appear to be abused. There were no odd, unexplainable bruises marring her delicate skin. There were no bumps on her soft head, her red curls seemed to be growing unhindered and were clean, smelling very much like one would expect an infant babe to smell...and even, if he got a little closer, the pungent buttery smell beginning to waft from her cloth diaper. No, looking at Cateryna Malinconico one might believe she came from a home where she was loved. If Sarilynn had been capable of it, then she would have been forced to love a child as perfect and angelic as Cateryna. But it seemed the woman was very near incapable of such an emotion as love, thus all she could hope to feel in her life was what she felt now...while with Klue. A strange exhilaration born of torturing another human being...a man to be exact.

It rested well with her that she'd managed to turn his life upside down all in the span of one brightening's concentrated effort. And for him, it was only about to flip back the other way and then back around again, which brought that same self-satisfied smile back to her face as she inhaled deeply and exhaled...continuing her latest ruse as exhausted and sleeping. She'd needed time for him to calm down. He'd been much too hostile to hear her out. If she couldn't get him to agree willingly then she'd be forced to take other, more drastic, measures. She meant to move on with her life and that would start by getting as far away from this quaint, little town as possible. By the Aeterian gods, it seemed the perfect place to raise a child and be...domesticated. She couldn't even think the word without feeling as if she'd be sick right after. Sarilynn simply didn't do long term...anything except make money.

She'd ignored his protests that she couldn't stay in his room and that he couldn't look after Cateryna because she knew for a fact that he could...and that he would, if his commanding officers had anything at all to say about it. If he thought otherwise, she'd see to it that he got it very quickly, just how far she was willing to go to stay put until she'd managed to do what she'd come to do.

Listening to his every movement around the room, her cold blue eyes had opened wide when she heard him shedding his armor. She hadn't moved but she'd winced thinking she'd miscalculated somehow, for if he'd climbed into the bed with her she'd have lost her advantage for the moment. And only for the moment. Sarilynn wasn't one for staying down for any amount of the count. But Cateryna, at least, had saved her from the necessity of having to fight Klue off in order to make him believe she wanted nothing to do with taking a jaunt down memory lane until he'd agreed to her demands.

And she knew exactly what would have happened if Cateryna hadn't cooed. There was all sorts of palpable tension in the room that the little red-headed babe just might manage to soothe, in more ways than one. It was the closest Sarilynn would come to appreciating the child she'd given birth to.

She could hear every word he uttered to his daughter and though it didn't make her heart feel warm and fuzzy as it would have some other, more normal, woman...Sarilynn did recall the puzzle he'd sent. It was the only toy she'd brought along for the trip and it was sitting in the coach with the rest of Cateryna's things.

Finally, after what had amounted to less than a candlemark, Sarilynn turned around and propped her head up on her hand, blonde waves falling restlessly across her bare shoulder, and watched Klue with chilly resolve. "She stinks, her things are out in the coach." Blinking slowly, she was curious as to what he would do. She felt reasonably sure he had already been ready to wring her neck but now that Cateryna was beginning to cry and fidget from discomfort...

The horse-driven Gideon coach was still outside of the main administrative building for the Frigid River Prince Maverius Regiment, however far that might be from where they currently were in the officers' compound. Sarilynn's feet were still throbbing from all the walking she'd done in her fashionable, but impractical, shoes trying to get to him.

[Klue Malinconico]

Klue had spent most of the candlemark in that chair aside the bed, staring back at what was staring at him. A strange feeling came over him, one completely foreign but not necessarily unfamiliar, an odd compulsion that he should smell the baby’s head. It wasn’t unprecedented, though previous events had been forced on him. Sophie, the eldest of his sisters and the one most inclined to produce her own platoon of children, had possessed an uncommon obsession with the smell of an infant’s head. Everyone else seemed to comply with her assessments, given their eagerness to participate. Soon as she’d dragged one from a tub, she’d passed it around. ’Smell his head, Klue…Oh, come on, smell his head. There’s not a sweeter smell on Telath.’ Any refusal on his part had only earned him stares from the females in his family implying he was either daft, or completely cold of heart. Or a cuff from his grandmother for being rude. So he’d cooperated for the opportunity to pass the thing off to the next participant. Still, glancing at Sarilyn to make sure there were no witnesses, he leaned forward and took a whiff. ”Hmm.” Maybe there was something to it, then. This was prior to the ‘other’ smell, naturally.

But it wasn’t long after that the other came round and Cateryna began fidgeting. No doubt he guessed the cause, he was clever enough and there was nothing wrong with his sense of smell. But he could easily ignore what he didn’t want to know. Besides, it appeared the elf hadn’t brought along anything to deal with the problem…And besides, dealing with the problem would’ve meant waking Sarilyn up so she could do it. Instead, he opted to entertain and distract.

He’d a leather strand hanging round his neck, and when he tugged on it, a large stone appeared from inside his tunic. It was a clear and brilliant cerulean blue, egg shaped and with a small, smooth hole in the narrow end where the leather slipped through. Once, it had glowed on it’s own, swirled within and flashed like starlight, even on the darkest darkening. Now, the light from the window was enough to catch it alight with blue flame as it spun on the strand. He slipped it over his head and dangled it over the baby. ”There was once a little girl, older than ye, who r’sided in this stone. A spirit o’ th’ water, see?” he whispered and flicked the thing with a forefinger to send it spinning, first one way, then when it ran it’s course, back the other. ”She saved me from drownin’, I ‘elped t’ set her free, an’ when she went on, sh’ said I should keep it for good luck…

The stone still dangling, he looked up at his eyes narrowed at the now ‘wakeful’ elf. ”Is that wha’ tha’ smell is,” he said with a raised brow and not a trace of a grin. ”I thought t’was only yer disposition.” If pushed, he’d be pressed to explain why it pleased him to poke a stick to her already bothersome temperament. To aggravate her, sure. He didn’t like losing, even a war of words. It would be easier to keep the peace though. But her disposition was one that got him riled in another way he wasn’t about to admit, lest he give her an advantage she could capitalize on. Better he was out of the room so he could think clearer, and have her dressed when he got back. ”A’right,” he said in an odd moment of complacency. So thinking, he draped the stone back round his neck and stood up to walk to the door. His breast plate was snapped back in place, weapon belt slung around his hip and helm strapped on. Before he left, he picked her clothes up off the floor and tossed them at her. ”Why don’ ye spend yer time puttin’ ‘em on…wife,” he said before leaving her alone.

It wasn’t far to the administrative building, but far enough he could bide his time and think. And the elf should know him well enough he was as capable of mischief as she was. Hopefully, it left her worried and wondering. For his part, the whole business worried him. What was she up to? What did she want? The fact that the carriage was still where it was raised several possibilities. Problem was, he didn’t know which. Either she wasn’t staying…the most likely and preferable turn of events, or she was planning on sending it on it’s way once her things had been collected. The most unlikely scenario, and added she hadn’t given him a message to relay to the driver. Klue wanted the advantage, even where he didn’t know what she was up to. And whatever that was, he suspected he wasn’t going to like it. Know your adversary and plot a strategy for an ambush. He’d learned a thing or two from his officer training. Klue grinned slightly when the carriage came into view, a passing private who’d gotten wind of things assumed the grin was related to time spent alone in close quarters with the wife, and Klue let him think what he would. It suited him. There was an odd logic to his thinking, and he’d have a hard time explaining it. And if he could, he wouldn’t care to.

Why, when he wanted her off soon as possible, he’d make it hard for her to do it gracefully, even he couldn’t guess…For not wanting to think on it too hard. Whatever the case, whatever she planned on doing to him, if he couldn’t stop her, he’d make her life harder for doing it. Planning on returning to the carriage soon, was she? Just after she accomplished whatever she meant to then? It was a guess, one made without all the facts, but likely a fairly accurate one. Alright. He grinned wider when he drew up to the coach.

He assumed there’d be a driver there waiting. Sarilynn hadn’t given him a message for the driver, but one would surely be delivered. It was a risk, for him not knowing what she’d told her driver, but a risk worth taking for it’s entertainment value. The lady would be longer than expected, he told the driver, and he’d been sent to collect her and the baby’s things. As for the driver himself, she’d agreed that he should wait for her at the Spear and Skull Tavern. Go ahead inside and have himself a drink or two. Klue added ten crowns or so for drinks as incentive, and to look the guileless gentleman officer…For the driver surely knew the lady somewhat. She’d be along later. Nice place, he assured the driver…It wasn’t. It was a dive full of drunks and good for nothings. Safe enough, but definitely not Sarilynn’s style. Naturally, he’d added as an aside, the carriage couldn’t be left here any longer in the compound. Not to worry, he’d added for assurance’ sake, the lady would be seen safe to the carriage when the time came. The story was delivered with ease. He had lots of practice.

Whatever he had to do to accomplish it, he made certain that when he headed back, he was in possession of both the baby’s things, and the elf’s. Laden down with bags as he was, it wasn’t such a long walk back to the room. But a walk from the room to the Spear and Skull and less training than him to lug things around? And with the baby and her things besides? Far less appealing. Especially if a body had to spend even more effort in figuring out where the carriage had gone off to. He grinned wider, looking every bit a young man eager to return to a wife he hadn’t seen in far too long.

But before he reached the room, he stopped and dropped the bags on the ground. A small blade was pulled from a sheath inside his boot, and figuring out which bag was the largest of Sharilynn’s, he did a few alterations. Prying up the edge of the leather strap that held the bag closed, he slipped the blade under it and worked out more than a few threads that held strap to bag. Not so anyone would notice, mind, and it would hold for awhile. But throughout a labored walk to the Spear and Skull? Not so much. He chuckled when he stood and burdened himself with all the bags again. Whatever she was planning, he’d have a last word, even if it was a small one.

So pushing the door of the room open and assuming he’d find the pair still there, he smiled calmly and dropped the bags just inside the room. ”Miss me?”

[J'lyara]

Yet another pouting frown crossed Sarilynn's rose-colored lips as she rifled through the drawers in what she believed to be Klue's personal quarters. But it was anything but personal! In fact, the more she looked about the room, she felt certain Klue had never spent a moment's time in the space before this very brightening. Nothing of his clothing could she find and she was beginning to get desperate sprinting about the room in nothing but what she was born wearing, when she finally found one military-issued shirt and a pair of military breeches hanging in a lonely locker in the small privy. His having thrown her clothes at her on his way out had done nothing but given his sinfully gorgeous nemesis a way to get under his skin. Want her clothes back on did he?

Naturally...she would do the opposite! It was against her nature to be agreeable after all. The room was inexplicably chilly for it being summer, but shed the rest of her underthings she had. She'd explain, of course, that her clothing was soiled from travelling and she simply couldn't wear them on her person any longer. He'd have to find someone to launder her clothing for her if he expected her to be properly dressed in the presence of his commanding officers and those he himself had been assigned to command. She estimated it might take her the entire rest of the brightening to convince him of what she needed before she could be on her way. And for the majority of that time, she planned to remain scantily clad. Whatever it took to keep him just this side of off balance, she'd do...for her own amusement.

Of course, he could always argue that she all she had to do was put on fresh clothing from her things in the carriage but she doubted he'd take out each item in her packs to sniff them and see for himself if they were fresh. She'd lie of course. It had taken her months to reach this village, she hadn't a stitch of clean clothing left! The more she thought it, she could almost convince herself it was true so she knew she'd have no trouble convincing Klue.

Seeing that Sarilynn was used to having others pick up after her, she'd left the clothes strewn carelessly across the floor once again and her lacey underthings in the middle of the bed. Opting to leave the breeches hanging in the locker, she'd snatched the over-sized military shirt and shrugged into it, the rough fabric brushing uncomfortably against her cold, hardened nipples. The shirt stopped abruptly at her mid-thigh and she didn't bother to button it up all the way to her neck. There was really nothing she could reveal, however, that Klue hadn't already seen before. Neither of them was likely to forget just how it was Cateryna had come into existence.

Her daughter fussed and wailed on the lower portion of the bed as she was all but ignored by her busy, calculating mother. Sarilynn stopped only once to look down at the darling red-headed child, her nose wrinkling up as she inhaled the air swirling about the baby's bum. "Let's hope he hurries up Ryna, mother has a deadline. Like him well enough?" Legs kicking discontentedly in the air, Cateryna gurgled her unhappiness at the woman who was supposed to be taking care of her.

~~~

The driver of the carriage had been fast asleep when Klue finally reached it. Having to drive Sarilynn Gideon all the way across the Empire was no easy task and he was likely not being paid nearly enough for having done it. The young lad was exhaustion incarnate and so didn't hear Klue arrive at first. But once the red-headed solider had managed to spin his colorful lie, the driver...whose name was Evanche, was most happy to be on his way to the Spear and Skull. Klue seemed the honest sort to him and he was in no hurry to see Lady Gideon again.

When he re-entered the room, Sarilynn immediately noticed her own bags in his over stuffed but strong arms and momentarily went pale. She knew him well enough to know that it was a strategic move his bringing her things in. And it made her entirely uncomfortable to think of what it could mean so she didn't think about it. Instead, she answered his question with a glare, long legs from her mid-thighs on down exposed as she turned around to face him standing near the bed. "About as much as you missed me," she finally retorted despite not having recovered as quickly as she would have liked from seeing all of her personal things here in the room with them.

"Klue, I...I said the baby things, not mine." She stood there with an unpleasant smirk on her face, eyeing him and her things warily.

Cateryna was now becoming impossible to ignore. So much so that her little baby screams were likely to attract the attention of any of Klue's peers who happened to be passing by.