The Ballad of The Silent Cradle

The Viper found the nursery to be such a comforting place. Even though blood and lust lived beneath its floors, buried beneath stone, such innocence lived within these walls. Two cradles sat side by side, one in black and one in white, each housing a sleeping baby. She peered down into the black cradle, rocking it gently.

The twins were beautiful, they were perfect. She remembered getting to hold them for the first time, and feeling her heart melt, for the first time in ages. They were getting big now. Time was a tricky thing.

The Viper picked up the stuffed bunny that sat in the cradle, just as the door creaked open. The Vasser quietly entered, looking surprised to see her. He was dressed casually, without the uniform or daggers or all the rest.

"Come for a visit?" the Viper asked.

"Did you get them to sleep?" he replied. His voice was a whisper dancing along the edges of surprise.

"Yes," she said. He came up beside her, taking the toy away. "Dawn was asking to see you. Well. Asking. Babbling. I wasn't quite sure. You know how little, tiny children are."

"Oh," the Vasser said, gently. His eyes flitted towards the white cradle. "And Dusk?"

"Still not a sound," she said.

The Vasser ran a hand over Dusk's sleeping head. For such a troubled and brutal man, he was always gentle around the children.

"I need to speak with you, Zanya," he said. "I was actually looking for you."

Once out of the nursery, and in the Vasser's dreary office, the calm feeling immediately escaped the Viper. She did not like the look that had settled across his face.

"As you know," he said, carefully, settling into his chair. "Moniv has been gone for some time now. Omara, even longer."

Moniv, gone the same way as her sister. Slashed to death in her bed, ribbons of blood staining the sheets. The Viper nodded.

"I have been clinging onto the past," he said. It seemed as though he was speaking more to himself. "And people have started to whisper about me. About my wives, about how I've gone mad, about how I'm both too violent and too soft."

"Don't listen to-"

"I've been thinking about Dusk and Dawn, every waking moment," he said. "It has begun to consume me. It never has before, and maybe it should have."

"Well, I mean, what about your marriage to Mon-"

"All I am thinking of now is the future. Omara always told me to cut the past away."

Her stomach sank. "What are you speaking of?"

The Vasser slammed his fist upon the desk. "Rhapsody! He is the last...the last tie, to my past. I became the Vasser so I could forever watch him rot, but I'm sick of that. I want him dead. I want revenge for my family, for what he did to me."

The world began to crash around the Viper's heart.

"Are...are...you-"

"As the Vasser, to his loyal Viper," he said. He looked at her with such malice in his eyes, such torment and torture and terrible glee. "I officially order the execution of Rhapsody."

~

Zez knew that sleep would be impossible in this caravan wagon. It was narrow and dark and smelled of hay. She did not know what the interior of the other wagons looked like, but she had to imagine they were nicer than this. She lay on her back, feeling sweaty and grimy, and stared up at the curved ceiling. She wasn't sure, but she thought the glimmer of a spider web made an appearance.

She pushed herself up, dusting off her dirty clothes. She had not properly bathed in who knows how long. Luckily, Zanya had brought a paste with them to clean their teeth, but everything else about Zez felt grimy. She contemplated for a moment. The little lake, crowded by those beautiful walls of rock and vine, the moonlight upon the water...the cool, clean...water.

Zez carefully crept out of the caravan wagon, her bag slung over her shoulder. Just a few minutes, she told herself. Stay near the shore, just dunk your hair in the water, get back inside before anyone catches you.

The grass was soft and lush beneath her tired shoes. The clearing looked small and quiet, like a tiny settlement in the middle of nothing. She passed the wagon where Tes had gone into, careful not to make any noise. He seemed the type to come out and yell at her.

She reached the shore, kicking off her shoes and socks. Her shirt and pants came next. She knew it was ridiculously stupid to go skinny-dipping, in a mysterious and magical body of water, but everything felt too tight and gross on her skin. So, off went the rest of her garments, as Zez waded into the water. They sat in a neat little pile on the grassy sand.

The water felt exquisite. Cold and calming. Zez floated around for a while, making sure to never drift too far, and let the strange music waft over her. It had been playing this entire time, albeit a lot quieter than earlier. It was mostly chimes and strings now.

She thought about everything. Well, she wanted to think about nothing, but everything had taken root in her brain. Strangely, though, most of her thoughts were not consumed with Zanya or Esphina or anything like that. Zez could not stop thinking about her father.

You are useless.

It just kept ringing in her ears. She had come to block out her father. She rarely saw him. He had flitted in and out of her childhood, in expensive clothing and terrible smirks. He never hit her or her mother. Never. But he was cold and uncaring and rude.

Zez sighed, staring up at the stars. The only good memories of him were when they had gone stargazing. When she was little, he was like two different people. When he spoke of Cassiopeia and Orion, his voice was soft and his presence bearable. Most of the time, he was an arrogant prick.

Her mother was not oblivious. She was just busy. She just didn't care.

She righted herself, the water splashing around her. Perhaps it was time to get out and maybe try to get some sleep. As she turned towards the shore, a scream nearly ripped from her throat. A figure was approaching, in the darkness. She looked around, for someone to help or something to throw at the menacing figure.

Then, the moonlight shifted, and it was only Tes. She breathed a sigh of relief, right before the panic set back in. Only Tes? She didn't know this strange man. She was naked, in a magical lake, with a mysterious man strolling towards her, with probably devilish intentions. She scrambled, wondering why she was so goddamn stupid all of the time.

"Go away!" she called out.

Tes stopped. He seemed to squint, running a hand through his white hair.

"Imogen?" he asked. "What are you doing?"

"Swimming," she said. "Don't come in here."

"I'm not coming in," he said, holding his hands up. "I just couldn't sleep. I just wanted to come and sit for a moment, I didn't think you'd be out here," he looked around. "Are you swimming fully clothed?"

"What, no? Why?"

"I just," he said. "I don't see a shirt or, no, there it is. The tides seem to have washed over your clothing."

"My clothing? All of it?"

"What is wrong with you?"

"I needed to wash off," Zez snapped. "I haven't had a proper bath in ages. And I didn't expect you to come around and start yelling at me."

"I'm not yelling at you."

"Well," she waved her hand. "Whatever."

This went on for quite awhile, with neither of them knowing quite what to do. The music grew louder, changing once more, to something a bit more intense. The drums had begun again. Tes kept dipping a foot into the water, looking like he desperately wanted to swim, but he stayed his distance on the shore. Zez didn't know what to do about her clothing.

"I'm sure Dosie has something you can borrow," Tes said, awkwardly. "But I'm also sure she is still passed out. Did you bring anything else with you? I could-"

"These are the only clothes I have," Zez said. She was getting sick of treading water.

Another several moments passed, but not silently, as the music thumped around them. Tes kept looking towards the water, then looking away. Zez wondered how old he was. She had initially put him at a few years (or whatever the Tol Tavian equivalent was) older than her, but he was acting like a nervous teenager. She wondered if he would freak out if she got out of the water, fully naked.

Imogen Zezinger, harbringer of chaos and embarrassed stuttering.

"Maybe you could get-" she started, but stopped herself. Tes was yanking off his shirt. He waved it, like a white flag, and Zez was impressed by the fact there was someone dumber than her out here.

"You can wear this," Tes said. "While you wait for your clothes to dry."

This horrendously stupid plan was carried in several small steps. First, Tes placed the shirt on a spot near the shore, but far enough that it wouldn't be soaked. He turned around, as Zez clambered out of the water, shivering. With hesitation, she slid his shirt on, and it clung to her. Luckily, it was long enough to feel like a dress, as she was small and he was tall, and then Tes turned around.

"Thanks," she said, scooping up her soaking clothes. It was a lot easier to be brave and brash while in the water. And not wearing a strange man's shirt. "I'll just go back to my wagon."

"I wanted to apologize," Tes said. "For my behavior earlier. It was rude."

"To be fair," Zez said, wringing out her hair. "I did just materialize out of the scary woods and interrupt your party. I would have been rude too."

"It is just..." he hesitated. "We'll help you out of the Ballads, and get you to Kelna."

"Cool," she said.

"Cool?"

"It's just," she shrugged. "A saying. Where I'm from."

He tilted his head. "And where are you from?"

"You're a traveling merchant," she said, scooping up her bag, which had just been out of the water's reach. "Take a guess."

"Well," he said. They began walking, in the general direction of the wagons. She was well aware of how the shirt clung to her, and she could feel her cheeks on fire, but Tes did not waver. "You have dark hair. I have never seen dark hair on someone, but I have heard of nobles in the capital using dyes on their hair," he paused. "Are you from Onessa, then?"

"Nope."

"Hm. What about Kaydelo? When Dosie and I were there, the fashions were rather odd," he frowned. "They all wore gemstones in their ears and painted colors upon their eyes."

"Must have been good for business."

He shrugged. "Are you from Kaydelo?"

"Nope," she said. "I'm very, very far away, and I was transported here magically, and I can't decide if it was a blessing or a curse. Probably a curse."

Tes laughed, and the music reached a crescendo. "Interesting."

"Interesting enough. Where are you from?"

Just nod and pretend you understand Tol Tavian geography, she thought to herself. Tes sighed and said the name of someplace she'd definitely never heard of. It sounded made up. Well, then again, everything in this land sounded made up.

They reached the small semi-circle of wagons. The table was still set out, with the seats all around, so Zez began carefully laying her wet garments out. She thought that Tes would disappear into his wagon, but he lingered.

"Would you like to join me inside?" Tes asked. "For some tea?"

Zez spun around, her eyebrows raised towards the sky. "No offense, but, I'm practically naked, and you're a stranger, and you're inviting me back to your wagon, where no one else but a dead-drunk woman is around-"

"Oh," Tes said. His eyes went wide. "I'm...I'm sorry."

"I've fallen into this kind of trap before. Stranger is polite, I'm too trusting, next thing I know I'm in a magical forest, jumping naked into magical lakes-"

"I could...I could bring the tea out here. It's not Dosie's poisonous, vile concoction, it is my own."

"It doesn't seem wise to take things from strangers," she said. "I'm trying to learn my lesson."

"Ah," Tes said. "Okay."

They parted ways. Zez trudged back to her gloomy wagon that smelled like hay. She missed her bed at Mordomus, giant and fluffy with scary stone carvings. She missed her bed in Italy, creaky and hot and always smelling slightly of lemons. She missed her bed at home, piled high with blankets and pillows and strewn with fairy lights.

She did not find herself missing the tent, with Zanya. As she stepped up to the wagon, she thought she should miss Zanya. After all, her opinion had only been swayed by a little monster child. Zez sat down on the steps of the wagon, trying to adjust the shirt. It was soft, and worn, and she rolled the sleeves up.

She stared at her clothes, drying on the stools, and then she noticed Tes also standing in his wagon. He had put on a different shirt. Then, the door to Dosie's wagon swung open and the woman stumbled out. She got to the last step before bending over and retching.

As Tes wandered over to take care of the obviously hung-over woman, Zez smiled. Despite the strange circumstances, she had to admit, they felt a lot more normal than Zanya and Esphina. Those two were all beauty and brooding secrets, friendship pushed aside for magic and vengeance. These two people Zez had stumbled across...she didn't know them well, but she felt their kindness. Trust your heart.

Dosie passed out in the grass.

"Oh, come on!" Tes complained, his voice echoing.

Zez hopped off the steps and went to go help. 

--

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'd really, truly love to hear your thoughts. Sometimes I feel I'm writing this story for myself. 

Thank you for reading!