The Legend of...

And just like that her luck ran out.

She'd played her hand and underestimated Dorrance. Ren's face was blank as Dorrance went off. She was afraid, that was for certain, but she needed to keep her composure. She needed to come clean, but she needed to pick her words carefully.

"Okay..." She sighed, but made no sudden moves. Instead, a deathly serious look appeared on her face. "I saw a body and I saw you burying it." She let that hang in the air. "And I did nothing." She stared at Dorrance hard in the eyes. If she wanted to survive, she would not beg. "I have no idea what that was about. It could be anything. Maybe it was an intruder or a bandit or hell you were straight up just burying someone who needed to be buried. I don't know why you were doing that, Lady Dorrance, but I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt. Do you know why?"

She leaned forward. "Whether you believe me or not, I've meant every word I've said. I think you're kind and caring. I felt safe when you were with me and I feel lucky to even know you. You think THAT would change it all? Why do you think I didn't speak a word to Commander Veiller? I could've run when you were asleep or when I 'd been left alone."

"I have faith in you Lady Dorrance, but I understand if you don't have any in me." She shifted uncomfortably. "Yesterday night, when I saw that...I was worried in the moment. I'd been stressed and close to freaking out up to that point. There WAS something in the mansion and I didn't know what it was. I couldn't find you, I couldn't find Viola and then...I saw what I saw." At that point, her stoic face was starting to break. Dorrance could see her shaking slightly.

"I though if I pretended to not see anything we could just...You'd be happy and that nothing would change. I like you and I wanted to keep spending time with you. I was scared that it would all come to an end if you knew...I just...I don't want you to hate me." Slowly, she bent her head down and closed her eyes. "I'm so sorry I lied. Punish me if you need to, but, please, don't hate me."

She didn't open her eyes again. In the end, she was completely at her mercy here. She figured that Dorrance wasn't stupid. If she wanted to have this confrontation here, she probably had a severe advantage over Ren somehow. Oddly enough, the truth was her last gamble. If she was wrong about Dorrance. If her faith was misplaced, maybe she wasn't cut out for the world anyways.

For what seemed like forever, Ren wouldn't hear Dorrance say anything. The noblewoman stood there, frozen, her eyes staring lifelessly back at the bard. Ren would hear the sound of the wall clock ticking, the bustling of the sendings on the other floors doing their chores, but nothing more than heavy breathing from Dorrance.

Finally, Dorrance let go of her pen and paper and placed it on the table. She looked at her own writing.

LIESLIESLIES screaming back at her, reminding her of the wrong Ren did to her.

She sighed.

"You shouldn't be punished for lying," Dorrance said quietly. "After all, I lied to you too."

Her face would lift, and Ren would see the slightest hint of emotion in her face. There was shame.

"I may be a noblewoman, but when my husband died, I learned that he had left us in debt," she said. "All the other women he had spent on, all the frivolous parties he'd go to, all the talk about giving me the finest life...all of it drained whatever wealth we had. We didn't even have that much in the first place."

Dorrance's eyes would move to a portrait on the wall. It was of her and her husband. She was sitting on a chair, mostl likely the one from the living room, and he stood behind her. His swept back blue hair, his embellished suit, and the way he lifted his chin and chest created an air of arrogance about him.

"My father wanted to marry me of to him because he thought he'd provide me a better life," she said. "Apparently, my husband had no money to his name and he was marrying me for my own supposed riches. When he died and his brother refused to give me anything but the estate, I was left with almost nothing. My husband didn't leave any inheritance or will. I was in shambles.

"So I started grave robbing."

Dorrance stood up and moved over to one of the drawers. She pulled out a jewelry box and Ren would see it stacked with gold coins and trinkets. She picked up a blood garnet broach and affixed it on her chest.

"I live quite close to a burial ground," she said. "And I knew many noblemen and women were buried with their possessions--a greedy custom of Saoirisians. So what I did was take those riches for myself. I built up my riches once again, and after doing some snooping around, I even managed to force my brother-in-law to give me back the estate after I found an odd body of a peasant woman, fresh and used, in his family burial grounds."

Dorrance turned back to Ren.

"The woman you saw back there I plucked from one of the other family graveyards," she said. "She didn't belong there. I was just going to leave her be, but then I realized...she was my mother."

Here, Dorrance's voice would go from harsh and cutting edge, to a softer and sadder.

"I never knew here. And I thought I'd gain closure from bringing her here, but I felt...nothing," she said. "In fact, the only time I felt anything was when you saw me."

Dorrance would move back to her seat, slightly slumping.

"I didn't want the one person who's made me feel any semblance of good see me for what I was," she said. "I don't want you to hate me either."

Ren would see the slightest bit of water fall on Dorrance's lap. She wiped her eye and then looked at Ren.

"I...I understand if you don't want to stay anymore after I revealed all this to you. I can arrange for the carriage to let you leave. I won't...I won't hold it against you."

Ren opened her eyes, looking at Dorrance hopefully as she began to speak. While her face was apprehensive, internally, she was sighing. She couldn't believe that gamble had paid off. As Dorrance went on, though, her joy and relief quickly melted away. Her husband had cheated on her and spent their fortune irresponsibly. Sure, Ren tended to drink and party all her money away, but she was on her own! If she died of starvation that was on her and her alone! When she was with her group, she NEVER spent group funds on personal stupidity.

Also, her brother was apparently a horrible person too, so that just added to things. Awkwardly enough, Ren...didn't care much about graverobbing. Hell, her group had done it a few times when things had gotten bad. It was odd to think of something like that as so shameful it wasn't like the DEAD needed it.

Dorrance was crying and Ren's heart was quickly breaking. All of the suspicion she'd had before was quickly falling away. She had no idea what Dorrance would've done if things had gone wrong...but did that really matter right now? Quietly, Ren got up and moved over towards Dorrance. In silence, she sat next to the woman and pulled her into a tight embrace. "I'm so so sorry you've experienced such a cruel life, Lady Dorrance." After a few moments, her hand twitched upwards and very gently began to stroke her hair. She didn't know if that was right or proper, but she didn't care about keeping up some bullshit noble appearances right now. "I could never hate you." She whispered. "In my eyes, you're still the kind, caring woman I thought you were. I won't leave you." Just with some odd facial ticks every now and then.

Seriously, she could be really intimidating sometimes.

Slowly, she'd shift pulling back slightly and facing Dorrance. Her face was full of concern for a few moments, though an embarrassed smile began to show. "And um...maybe it was my upbringing but...Is grave robbing that bad here?" Wait, was it bad in Saadedge too? Shit it was one of those things she never thought about. "It must have been hard to tell me this. Thank you for trusting me, Lady Dorrance. I...I want to tell you something about myself. Something I'm a little ashamed of."

She shifted again, her hands sliding down into her lap as she spoke. "I wasn't always the 'Jewel of Saadedge' as you know and I wasn't always a great person either." She paused a moment and bit her lip. "This is hard, sorry...I haven't told anyone this." She let out a small laugh despite herself before continuing. "After my father died, I left home and just...wandered. Looking back? I don't think I expected to make it across the desert. Er, that's a little dark, my apologies. I...somehow ended up getting picked up by a group of bandits." She made a pained expression and glanced downwards. "I ran with them for awhile...They became my family. We robbed people, living and dead. Set up a toll in front of an oasis. For a bit, I'd use my skills as a musician to help pull cons. I would've kept doing it too if...If one of our number hand't betrayed us. He led us into a trap and by the end...we were the only one's left standing. He gave me this as a present." She pointed at her scar. "The point is, I'm not even ashamed of the things I did...and that's what I'm ashamed of. How can I even begin to call myself a decent person if I can still look back FONDLY at those days?" She let out a small sigh before giving Dorrance a sad smile. "I suppose it's my turn. I'd like nothing more but to stay, but...if you don't want me here because of that, I'll leave. I just...I wanted you to know. I suppose its silly...I haven't known you that long but...I want to be able to sing all kinds of songs to you, not just the happy ones!"

Ah, she waxed poetic again didn't she?

"Ahah, wasn't my best metaphor, but I hope you understand." She quickly began to turn red. "But again! If my past bothers you and you don't want me here...I understand."

Dorrance couldn't help but stare at Ren wide-eyed said she could never hate her. Much like at dinner when Ren had offered her solace, her eyes lit up in what could only be described as amazement.

How can she still like me?




How can she still like me after seeing what I did?




I'm not disgusting?







I'm not so repulsive I'm not worth sleeping in the same bed in?








I'm...okay?



Soon enough she learned that Ren had done things rather similar to Dorrance, albeit in somewhat different circumstances. She had always supposed that people had to do harsh things to get by, but Ren made Dorrance feel not just like what Dorrance did was acceptable, but that they were, in a way...kindred to one another. Dorrance's pale face regained its color and as Ren said she could understand if Dorrance wanted her to leave, the noblewoman quickly rushed to her and clasped her hands.

"No!" Dorrance said without hesitation.

Then, realizing her brash actions and inappropriate gesture of closeness, she flushed and looked away...not that she let go of Ren of course.

"I mean..." she said clearing her throat. "I would want...I would want nothing more than for you to stay. I...I..."

Dorrance smiled. For once, there was a warmth to it.

"I would love to hear all your songs. Happy or not," she said.

There was a bright smile that appeared across Ren's face as Dorrance said she wanted her to stay. For the second time, she forgot herself and threw her arms around Dorrance, holding her close as she let out a happy laugh. "Thank you so much." She beamed. Truthfully, she couldn't believe Dorrance took her past so well. She had to tell her though...Dorrance had trusted her with something she was ashamed of after all. "Hey...Tell you what."

She would pull back, her hands taking hers lightly. "Let me put on
a show for you tonight hm? It ah, probably won't be as flashy as my performance at the inn, but it's sure to entertain." She titled her head slightly, a curious look on her face. "Or I have a few that could help destress and relax."

She was ecstatic and, briefly, had completely forgotten that someone in the mansion was trying to murder her. "Actually there's a wide range of things I can do, but we can discuss that later if you like." She was all smiles at any rate. Eventually, the weight of the attempt on her life would come back to her. For now though? She'd enjoy the company of Dorrance.

More color rose to Dorrance's cheeks as Ren suggested she do a private performance for her later at night. Dorrance's eyes shone.

"I-I'd like that," she said, unable to tear her gaze away from Ren's.

Not to misinterpret, Dorrance was nervous as all heck, but she also couldn't find it in herself to not stare at Ren. She wasn't sure why, but she hadn't had these feelings since her wedd--


A light rap would come on the drawing room door. As it opened, Ren and Dorrance would see Commander Veiller stand in the doorway. With the way Dorrance and Ren were holding hands, the man's eyes widened a bit and he cleared his throat.

"Ah, I just wanted to say that the carriage is set up," he said. "I've arranged for Jacques to carry you to your destination. Though, it seems I've arrived at an inopportune moment..."

Dorrance had to blink for a moment to get what he meant, but when she looked back at Ren, she squeaked and let go of her hands.

"E-eep, s-sorry!" she let out before turning to Commander Veiller with a nod. "E-err, yes. We...we should probably go."

With her head down and her face bright red, Dorrance walked hastily out the room. Commander Veiller lingered and turned to Ren. He offered a small smile.

"I take it things are going swimmingly between you two?' he asked.

Ren's smile only grew wider at Dorrance accepting her offer. She was clearly ecstatic to play for her. As she stared into her eyes, she felt her heart began to beat faster. She knew the look Dorrance was giving her. Her own face began to flush with the implications. For a moment, a small thought popped into her mind. A small desire began to take hold, but she pushed both back.

Thankfully, her restraint paid off as Veiller appeared in the doorway. She didn't quite feel embarrassed, as she'd certainly been caught in more compromising positions.

Still, she found it all kinds of adorable when Dorrance pulled her hands back with a small squeak. "Tis quite alright." She waved off his apology with a bright smile.

She arose and began to follow after Dorrance, though the Commander's words made her pause a moment. "She's a kind woman." Ren stated simply, her smile growing softly. "Tis hard not to desire the companionship of such a person." She didn't get into specifics really, because, honestly it wasn't any of his business...Plus her husband was recently deceased, as wretched as he was. "But..I'd say we get along quite well." She'd move past him after than, quickly shuffling away after Dorrance.

The commander would eye Ren as she hurried after her hostess. He'd look at the two in concern and exhale. He really did hope the best would come out of this.

An elegant carriage awaited at the front of the manor where Viola was standing patiently. She'd hand Dorrance her cloak and her bonnet.

[color-#9c0008]"Be safe now,"[/color] Viola said in her typical monotone voice as she fastened the caplet.


To this, Dorrance smiled warmly.

"I shall," she said. She beamed at Viola. "In fact, this is the safest I've felt in quite awhile."

Dorrance would hop into the carriage and Viola would then turn to Ren. Considering Ren was wearing her Saad attire, it felt inappropriate to offer her a cloak and bonnet for it. Instead, Viola offered her a polite curtsy and stepped to the side.

Ren would notice a second carriage in which Commander Veiller rode once Dorrance gave him a quick embrace goodbye. Dorrance would then wave at Ren to join her.

Once both were on the carriage, Ren would watch as the manor slipped away from sight and was replaced with trees and houses. the carriage would go at a steady pace, lightly bumping along the cracks in the stone road.

"I'm really looking forward to today," Dorrance told Ren. Without even warning, Dorrance would lean on Ren's shoulder. "I'd really like to think that our time together will be worthwhile."

A hand would reach out to Ren's and wrap around hers.

"I hope they never end," she said softly.

And then, Ren would feel Dorrance's hand grip her even tighter, maybe...a little too hard. It was difficult to say if she meant this, but she wasn't letting go.

"I'm so glad you're in my life..." Dorrance trailed off as her eyes closed.