Training the People

"Yes she did. Once she started to pick her claws into him he changed. He used to be totally dedicated to his job, but once she came along..."

~He hoped he never became like that.~

"Of course, if he only changed when she came into his life, then I doubt Floyd could have been his son."

~The more he thought about it, the less likely it started to seem. There was the age gap to begin with. There was about 10 years between the pair of them. Not even Artimus was that good, was he?~

"So besides her having green eyes. They fell in love and that was what shifted his way of things... From being all about work to what he changed into...Mom had a shift like that...she was all about protecting the kingdom.. she never told me what had happen just that someone came along and changed her life. I guess sometimes people find that one that makes you see things differently..."

~she wasn't directing it at him just in a casual way. She kept looking up at the ceiling thinking outloud.~

"The green eyes thing must be because of her. If she had brown eyes, maybe he'd have a thing for brown eyed women."

~He shook his head. He still didn't understand all this love crap.~

"Well enough fo this, I should tell the Duke I'm back. And have a look at my new home."

~He was looking forward to finally seeing these chambers in the keep. he turned his head slowly over to Jade, eyeing her sideways.~

"Our new home, if you still want to join me."

~It had to be better than a rented room in the tavern.~

~shrugs~

" Perhaps."

~she made a face without even realizing it when he said my home. but as he corrected she look at him and smiled~

"Only if you still want me there."

~He was still looking at her, and a small smirk crossed onto his face.~

"It'll be nice to have some company."

~It was clear he was joking and that he really did want her there.~

"Get your stuff together and we'll head over."

~she smiled and sat up and moved closer to him kissing him.~


"Good I want to get out of here."


~she got up out of the bed and grabbed the few things she had at the room just a few bags. She never really had much. She was always staying with other people. It was like a closing of a chapter...actually having a home to share with someone she loved. She knew he loved her and they did things there way. But she loved being near to him and knowing he wanted her there made it that much better.~

~He watched her gather her few possessions, partly shocked that this was all she had. He knew she had a wagon still to arrive from Grorr, which would be sent to his new rooms... THEIR new rooms. He had to remember that.~

~Once she was finished collecting he stood up and straightened his shirt.~

"When we walk out, if he's there, just ignore him."

~she looked at him and nodded~

" And who are you talking about again." ~she smirked alittle.~

~she was done with..artimus...if he ever wanted to be back in her life he would have to do something big.. she walked out the door and down the stairs. and headed for the door not even looking around.~

~He walked to the bar and settled the bill, not even glancing over, then left.~

~The walk through the streets was once again uneventful; his eyes once more scanning from side to side, watching people. They reached the keep and he walked over to the head guard on duty, speaking quietly to him and taking a key. Then he walked back to Jade. The key was attached to a short length of chain, and he twirled it on his finger.~

"The man lives. The healers have woken up, although he wasn't very talkative to begin with. Then one of them mentioned I might be round to speak to him, and he apparently is willing to give a full statement, naming his accomplaces."

~He had a slight smirk on his face, hidden from view from the other guards.~

"Nice to know I can intimidate from such a distance. The woman appears safe too, but the healers want to keep an eye on her for a while."

~His face went straight once again. He was guessing Jade would want to go and see her.~

"I think it might be best if you leave her be for a while." ~he paused for a moment~ "And finally, this key is the one which will open the door over on the East tower. Most of the rooms aren't in use, but the ones we're interested in are on the second floor. I'm told there is only one other door to the tower from inside the keep, which has a bolt on the towerside."

~That pretty much meant full privacy for them.~

"Shall we go see?"

Artimus was sitting, still talking to Indis. He knew he had baited Tiberious, but that - to him at least - just confirmed his suspicions. He wasn't done with this, not by a long shot.

He noticed them appear from the corner of his eye, then watched silently as Jade glided past him as if he didn't exist, while Tiberious went to the bar. Then he too left without glancing over. He considered sending a mind link to Jade, but thought better of it at this moment. He'd give her time to settle down first.

Well that was rude. Not even saying goodbye.

~she nodded as he told about the man living she took a short breath and grin when he said about his influence. She was about to say she wanted to see her when Tib stopped.. geez he knew her so well already. She grinned.~

"Yes. Lets go see....*she glanced around and whispered* our home." ~she smiled softly as her hand went up to the pendent around her neck.~

"Love she is mad at you. You need just to give her a few days. I don't think she will stop talking to you all together. But you may want to try to talk to her in a few days. Maybe on your way from visiting willow."

~she looked at her husband and tilted her head to the side. Leaning on the table alittle.~

He frowned slightly.

Who mentioned going to see her?

But it was true, he had thought about checking she was still alive.

~He walked over to the door - a rather plain looking wooden door with metal hinges - and unlocked it. It opened fairly easily and he gestured for her to enter first.~

~There was a flight of spiral stairs leading up to a small landing area, which contained 2 doors, one of which was the interior door he mentioned earlier. The stairs carried on up and he knew she knew to carry on up to the next landing. The next landing also contained two doors, and he moved past her to unlock one of them.~

~He'd never been here, so didn't know which door was which - all he knew was one room was the office area while the other was the living quarters. The door swung open and he saw it was obviously the office area. He stepped into the room and looked around.~

~There was a desk on one wall, near the corner of the room with a chair against the back wall. The positioning was arranged so anyone sitting at the desk could see the door as it opened. He smiled at that, it was exactly how he would have set it. In front of the desk was a second chair, althougn not looking quite as comfortable as the one behind the desk. There was another door on that wall too, leading through to the other room.~

~The back wall had a fireplace in the middle, and a pair of rather plain looking crossed swords mounted on the wall above. The wall with the main door on it had a large map of the island, so that you could see it when sitting at the desk. In the corner was a set of drawers clearly used for storing paperwork.~

~He looked at Jade, who was also looking around.~

"I guess this is where we work. I can probably find a second desk and a better chair for you, if you want to use this office too."

~There was plenty of room for a second desk, and he didn't plan on doing much paperwork.~

~He opened the door to the other room and walked in.~

~There were several very comfortable chairs around the room, as well as a small table, shelves, and other assorted furniture you would expect in any house. A large modified fireplace stood against one wall, clearly made to allow someone to cook using it. There were three doors fromt his room, the one they had just come through, the one which lead back to the landing and the final one which lead to the bedroom. As he started towards that door he noticed another set of keys on the dresser. He left them there, but indicated them for Jade. This would give her access if he wasn't around.~

~The bedroom was dominated by the large bed which spread itself across most of the room. It had to be at least 12 feet wide, by nearly 20 feet deep. It touched wall to wall, only giving a small area in front of it for furniture. There were two wardrobes and several chests of drawers - more than enough room for all his clothing, and hopefully enough for hers. He openedone set of drawers and looked in. There were a few old remanants of his brothers time in these rooms, but nothing that couldn't be thrown away.~

~What he failed to spot in one of the drawers, was a small leather-bound journal written in very neat female handwritting.~

~she looked at art.~

"Really who knows as well as I do.. I know you going to go see her. "

~she took the keys on the dresser and looked around the room he may not have noticed it but she did..she pulled out this small leather-bound journal written in very neat female handwritting.~

"You said your brother and whom lived here?"

~she took the journal and moved to one of the chairs across the room. Glancing thru the pages. Scanning for anything that might catch her eye.~

~it started out talking about her life in grorr. and how she was looked down by everyone. *she thought to herself she knew exactly what she had gone thru.* Then she met Art..*she sighed reading.* seems he was nice to her and she seem to think he was a great bloke and not like everyone else. *she thought.. maybe i was to hard on him..* seems he got her out of the endless cycle and she got paired up with tib. *she raised an eyebrow as she read.* she really liked him and seems he did too... *she glanced up at tib as he was going thru things.* Interesting then she seems to have met Mac the twin. *she smiled* the woman went on about what a great lover Mac was..*the thought crossed her mind wondering who was the better one. Tho she loved the way her and tib fit together. she flipped a few more pages* Seems there was an undercover operation they had to do and it talked about how silly tib can be on duty. *then a few more pages* She found out about Mac moving to Salarain.. then some Aaron person offering her the job in the marines. which met they could be together here in these rooms. *she smiled and then closed the journal. She would read more later. She placed it inside one of her bags.*

"Jesse. My former partner, now his wife."

~He looked over at her (before she started reading)~

"Working partner. Not partner partner..."

~He turned away and started checking through things.~

~she looked at him~

"She did seem to fancy you there for a time tho. She seem to think you did too. how she end up with your brother instead?"

~He looked at her, then decided it wasn't worth trying to lie. Her father had probably said something about it anyway.~

"There was some mutual attraction between us, but nothing was ever going to happen. I was her commanding officer and I didn't want to make her career come crashing down before it had ever started. As for her moving to Mac, what can I say? You've never met him but on the outside we're so alike most people can't tell us apart."

Indis Blake wrote:

"Really who knows as well as I do.. I know you going to go see her. "

Artimus gave a small sigh.

I want to check she's alright, I can't help worrying about people. I also want to know more about what happened. Maybe it's my instinct to try and bring the attackers to justice. And of course I want to make sure she isn't going to be arrested for murd...

He trailed off speaking as something occured to him. A flash of memory from years before. he sat in silence for a few moments, his mind clearly working and doing it's thing.

And when he spoke, his tone had changed. His eyes were wide, as if discovering something amazing.
Blood and Ashes!

It was rare for him to swear so badly, but he spoke in a fast pace.

Indis, I've just realised. We've got a problem, right? King Jaric's army is preparing to march, and... well we don't yet know what his intentions are. But we don't have a force large enough to defend everywhere at once. Or so we thought. I'm so stupid! We've got a bloody army! An extra army! Here, on the island! And everyone has forgotten about them! And I think I'm the only one who can get them...

He made to stand up.

I've got to do this alone. Do you trust me?

~she looked at him and she went serious.~

"Of course I trust you...I just don't like it."


~she watch him stand~

"You know if you don't say something to Jade before you leave or get her a note or something she is going to think you are gone again."

~she smiled~

"Now that would be something to see. both of you together.. I wonder if i would know the difference.."

~so many thoughts running thru her head and she giggles alittle~


"So you never... you know with her.."

Artimus didn't want to tell Indis what he was planning, mainly because he knew she would try and talk him out of doing something stupid. He knew he was going to do something stupid, but he couldn't afford not to at least try.

I do need to talk to her. I need her to take over her for me until I get back. I think I also need to borrow her horse.

He had no idea if she would, given how they parted company earlier, but he had to try. He knew he had all his belongings from the room already, so he walked over and spoke to the tavern owner. he paid hsi tarrif, and took a few sheets of blank paper from the man, as well as a quill. Once he was done he walked back to Indis.

Please, trust me on this one. If I get into trouble, I'll call you. In the meantime stay with Jade. She'll need you now. You can help her train the people

There was a slight sadness in his voice, as if backing away from the training was hard to do. Or was it something else?

Let's go find her. I need Azure for this.

"You would know the difference. Mac would be the one with the blood streaming out of his nose!"

~Despite being his brother, he had little love for him.~

"He's spent his whole life trading on my reputation and good looks. Hell, he wasn't even good enough to become a Royal Guard."

~There was a slight tone of venom in his voice, and he turned around and punched the wall. Deep down, Tiberious knew the reason, and it hurt him.~

" I still don't like this. I am not sure how much i can handle being away from you."

~she looked at him a sadness on her face.~