Fantasy Gypsy Winds (PC and Tarmagon)

[PrincessCrystal]

Rills voice. The one thing that could reach through the void of her mind and pull her from the depths of her fear. She could hear him calling to her as she was pulled back towards the light. *Sere, you are safe here, the past can not harm you...* Serenity slowly opened her eyes to see Rill kneeling before her. "Memories... " Her voice was shaking as she said the single word and she moved, slowly at first, then a little faster, moving so that Rill would have no choice but to wrap his arms around her. She closed her eyes again as she sat there, huddled in his arms.

After a bit, her shaking stopped and she pulled from his embrace. "If I asked for your help with a potion... One that would cause no harm physically. It... It would take away these memories. Would you help me make it?" Serenity asked him as she wiped the tears from her face.

 

[Tarmagon]

Rill enfolded Serenity in his arms as she came to him, trying to provide a safe haven for the shaking young woman. He murmured wordless reassurance to her as he gently stroked her hair. Slowly, far too slowly, the shudders subsided, and when she made to pull away, Rill released her immediately. Before he could say anything, Serenity spoke, and her words froze him where he sat, his face slack with shock.

"If I asked for your help with a potion... One that would cause no harm physically. It... It would take away these memories. Would you help me make it?"

Take away her memories? Elves, even half-elves such as Rillianthar, lived long, long lives. Those lives could be cut short by misadventures, but for those who were careful, centuries were not unheard of. They grew and changed over the course of those long years, becoming more unique, more wise, more the sum of their experiences. Memory was at the very core of their being, and it was their responsibility to pass along all that they had learned to those following in their footsteps. For Serenity to ask to excise that which made her, well, her. Rillianthar knew his mouth was hanging open in shock, but his stunned brain just couldn't process the words Serenity had spoken.

"You wish to forget me?" Rill asked quietly, his voice shaking with the horror of her request. "You would you know. Not just what you suffered at the hands of your master. The use of such a concoction is far from a precise thing. You could very well wind up an infant in an adults body. No matter how careful you were in calculating your dose, YOU would never know the results. The Serenity that I rescued would cease to exist, replaced by anything from a blank slate to a slave just out of her training and craving the command and touch of a master."

Rill shuddered at the thought, but forced himself to keep speaking.

"No matter that you manage to erase your past... the time is lost to you. What message would you leave for your younger self? What to you tell the one who awakens in a body scarred by years of torment, who knows nothing and no one? How can you explain to the new you when you do not know who shall awaken? I can craft a potion to perhaps blunt the worst effects of past trauma, but erase it completely? I... would have to consider it. "

PrincessCrystal (he's not a fan)

 

[PrincessCrystal]

Serenity sighed. She knew this would be his answer but she had asked it anyway. "I do not wish to remember anything, a blank slate would be better than this. Jumping at every little thing, the fear that his brother could come looking for me at any moment. I..." She looked away from him and towards the floor. "I used it before, at my masters orders, on one of his former slaves. It was so she would forget her master before him and so that she would trust only him. It erased only the stuff he wanted her to forget." Serenity leaned into Rill. "But it is ok if you do not wish me to forget for fear of me forgetting you." She replied quietly. "If you can make the worst memories less? I guess that can work. I do not like this, fear. I liked being happy, without a care towards the painful stuff of my past. I enjoyed sleeping in the shade of the tree and reading my book.... I enjoyed watching you work so hard and learning from you. So for now. I will not ask again about forgetting my past."

Tarmagon (I know, it sounds as though she is just rambling now.)

 

[Tarmagon]

Rillianthar stayed quiet as Serenity spoke, but his body relaxed as agreed to try his potions before resorting to what he considered suicide. As she leaned into him, one arm went around her protectively and he pressed a kiss into the top of her head.

"Thank you," he murmured into her hair. "My beautiful, brave Sere. You are so much stronger than you believe, forged and tempered in the fires of adversity to form a masterwork. If you allow me, I shall help you to hone yourself into someone who will fear neither past nor future."

Pressing another kiss onto her head, Rillianthar gently disengaged himself from Serenity and moved to his alchemy table. His hands moved swiftly, pulling ingredients from little used drawers and measuring them carefully. Even as he continued to work, he spoke conversationally to Serenity as she watched from the bed.

"When one lives as long as elves," he said, "There are, events in life that can leave scars, some of them terrible indeed, upon the very spirit. Elves hold that all experience, good and bad, help to form the person who we are, and as such consider the erasing of memories to be a form of suicide, or murder if done to an unwilling subject. However, they also know that some experiences can be as agonizing remembered as when felt, so they have concocted several mixtures meant to, blunt the effects. We shall not begin with the strongest, for it has risks and side effects, nor shall we start with the weakest, for I have seen your fear and would not have you suffer. So, we will try The Grey Veil."

Reaching into a hidden compartment, Rillianthar pulled out a tiny vial that glowed with a pale, silver radiance. When he poured out a single drop into the mixture he had made, it was as though a drop of liquid moon light fell from the vial and suffused the herb and wine concoction. Pausing only to stopper the vial, Rillianthar scooped up the small cup and offered it to Serenity.

"Drink it quickly, before the glow fades," he said. "It will do you no harm, but the memories that cause you fear and pain will be, masked behind a greyish film. You will still remember, but it will be as though you observe another, not reliving them, not feeling the fear and pain."

PrincessCrystal (Magical medicine to make the horrible memories more bearable. It is up to you how well it works. The effects will last one month regardless, IF she drinks it.)

 

[PrincessCrystal]

Serenity watched Rill from the bed where she had sat down after he had helped her from the privy. Once the cup was brought to her, she closed her eyes and poured the concoction down her throat. It took only a few minutes for the potion to work, but once it did, her fear lessened within her head and she was able to think more clearly. "Thank you again for saving me Rill." She said quietly.

 

[Tarmagon]

"It was the right thing to do," Rill said. "And I shall continue to help you in all the ways that I can."

Rillianthar quickly cleaned away the detritus of his work as he let Serenity sit and recover from her morning disquiet. Soon his workbench was set to rights again, and he turned his attention to the needs of the day.

"If you feel you are up to it," he said as he moved towards the bathroom, "I would not say no to a bit of assistance with the morning chores. I have a pair of old boots that should fit you well enough with an extra pair of socks should you care to join me this morning. I fear the animals are becoming rather cross with me, and since we depend upon their health for our own sustenance, it behooves us to keep their schedules regular."

PrincessCrystal (Time to find out if she's ready to start helping out around the farm.)

 

[PrincessCrystal]

"Yes sir. I've had no dizzy spells for a while now. Maybe they are gone for good.." Serenity replied as she slowly stood. "I'd like to learn how to feed the animals please. That is if that is ok with you sir. Sorry I mean Rill." She corrected herself.

 

[Tarmagon]

Rillianthar smiled as Serenity made a visible effort, using his name instead of 'sir'. It was a small thing, but it was something, a start. Moving to the chest where he kept his older things, Rill rooted around beneath clothing too good to just discard, but not currently useful to him. It took a couple of minutes, but he unearthed a pair of boots he had long grown out of. The leather was in just too good a shape to have discarded, and he hadn't had time to disassemble the boots for the component parts. They were still too large for Serenity, but with a thick enough pair of socks they would do until he managed to make her proper footwear.

"Here," he said, holding out the boots. "They will be over-large, but with a pair of winter socks they will stay on your feet and not cause discomfort I think. If you will try them while I tend to my morning needs, we can begin to teach you the ways of farm animals."

Rillianthar dug out the thickest pair of socks he had in the chest, handing them to Serenity before heading into the bathroom to take care of his own, much delayed, morning routine. Despite the start of the day, he had high hopes for how it would progress.

PrincessCrystal (They won't hurt her feet or fall off, but she will have to be very careful walking in them.)

 

[PrincessCrystal]

Serenity set aside the thick socks that Rill had handed her and went to her little trunk of books. In the very bottom were several pairs of socks, each with a hole somewhere on the sock, none in the same place. She donned the socks then slid the boots on her feet. After she carefully walked around the room in the boots. They still felt a bit big, maybe a little loose, but if anything, the socks cushioned her feet. She took them off and shoved a single sock in the toe of each boot then put them back on. She smiled as it helped them to fit tighter.

There, she was able to walk around easier. Just before Rill returned, Serenity fell, tripping over her own feet. She frowned as she pulled herself back to her feet, and did not notice Rill standing silently behind her. "Damn! Stupid idiot...."

 

[Tarmagon]

Rillianthar sighed as Serenity berated herself. He knew it was going to take a lot of work to overcome years of conditioning and abuse, but this instant dive into self condemnation...

"At least she limited herself to idiot," he thought as he cleared his throat, causing Serenity to whirl in place, her eyes startled and... fearful? That would not do at all.

"Serenity," he said, his voice gentle and calm, "You are trying to wear a set of boots that are several sizes too large for you. You have managed to find a way to work around this in the best fashion you can until we have you properly fitted shoes. And you are trying to figure out how to move in them here, where it is at least marginally safe should you fall. Don't you think it is better to do your falling here, rather than outside where you could tumble underneath the horse while we were leading him from his stall?"

Rill reached out and gently tapped Serenity on the top of her head with one finger, grinning at her confused look.

"There," he said with finality. "You have been chastised for your use of harsh language at yourself. You may only criticize yourself if you can examine your actions and determine that you failed to try your absolute best. There is no dishonor in stumbling, falling, failing at things, so long as you make your honest and best attempt. I have failed many times in my life, and I shall fail at many more things I am certain. You will fail as well. When you do, I will help you stand, dust yourself off, and try something different. Now, are you ready to go to work?"

PrincessCrystal (Typical farm chores will ensue if she is ready. Let the animals out, feed them, garden chores. He will answer any question she has, and will not let her overexert herself, but will let her help.)

 

[PrincessCrystal]

With the 'sudden' appearance of Rill, Serenity felt her heart jump into her throat. He had told her before that she was to quit calling herself names yet he had just caught her doing it because she had fallen. When he tapped her on the head instead of slapping her, as she had been used to, she breathed a sigh of relief. His asking her if she was ready to get started, got her to thinking, and she finally realized that he was not going to hit her or call her names for something that she actually had no control over. He could see the wheels turning in her head as she finally understood what he had been trying to tell her. She nodded and took his arm so that he could assist her out to where the animals were. She had to walk slow so that she would not fall, and it frustrated her to no end, but he was extremely patient with her and it helped to calm her mind.

Tarmagon (I hope you understand what I wrote. I kinda confused myself as I read it over.)

 

[Tarmagon]

Rillianthar watched the subtle relaxation that came over Serenity as she realized that the gentle tap on the head was all the censure he was going to give her. He thought that he saw glimmers of comprehension behind those emerald eyes as well as she took his arm. Rillianthar moved slowly, aware of the ill-fitting boots as they made their way outside. They wended their way to the chicken coop, where he demonstrated the latching mechanism on the door. Serenity watched the feathered tide flood out of the coop as Rillianthar opened the small storage attached to the coop and pulled out a small bucket of grain.

"Spread this around," he said, handing the bucket to Serenity. "Those greedy birds will find every last morsel. Meanwhile, I need to refill the grain storage here from the main supply in the barn. So, if you will tend to the ladies here, I shall go fetch another sack."

Rillianthar left Serenity to her first task on the farm, heading into the barn to retrieve a fresh sack of grain from the vermin proof lockers he kept in the loft. By the time he had returned and poured the sack into the storage at the coop, the chickens were scratching away, clucking to themselves as they searched for bits of grain.

PrincessCrystal (I think I got the gist of it. She's finally starting to realize that he's not like her old master, and that if she tries, he will support her rather than demean her.)