Where would we be now?

[Faith Augustin]

He controlled people's emotions by playing a piano? Faith looked at Tristan and a brief but very genuine smile lit her face. Only he would experience that, she thought to herself. Only him. "I'm sorry," she said, softly. "I know you better than to think that you would ever play with my emotions like that. I'm sorry, Tristan." Looking down at Ayla as she spoke, Faith made a possibly strange offer. "When I was pregnant in Rharne, I was very worried that I would not be able to sing to my child, that I didn't know any nursery rhymes or children's songs. So I learned to sing them. I can teach you some basic singing stuff if you want. Like, breath control and breathing from here, your stomach, not your chest." With a slight shrug she smiled, but he knew her too well, the memory of that pregnancy made her sad.

As they sat there with Ayla Faith had come to a few realisations. Looking at Tristan, she sighed and then spoke. "I think that's exactly what happened. One of them, probably Syroa, looked like me for you and Aelig looked like you for me." Her frown showed just how unhappy she was with that, even as a thought.Would they ever know? She suspected not so she put it out of her head. There was literally nothing that they could do, no way that they could find out and so she put it to one side. It was out of her control, out of their control and so it was not worth worrying about.

Faith looked up at him in surprise as he said that he'd met a woman who looked just like her. "Not the one who brought Ayla? Oh. I... really?" Faith felt her heart do a strange flutter at the thought that he might have met her twin. "Morana is my twin. I spoke to the soul of my father and he told me that. Rey'na is my half sister, his daughter but we do not share a mother." They had been friends since almost the first time they met, her and Tristan and for all that their lives had been very complicated in some ways, they had always been honest with each other. "I am nervous at the thought of meeting either one of them." It was complicated, there was no doubt, but she shook her head when he offered to call her Vesna.

"Before Jamal owned me, I had no name. He gave me the name aith as it was easier for him to have one name only. You kept the same. But now, it's mine, the name Famula, Vri and Moseke called me." With a half-hearted grin she added, "plus Vesna is a stupid name. I... would you do that?" Tristan had offered to contact the woman that looked like her and Faith breathed in a deep breath.

His quiet 'oh Faith' caused tears to spring to her eyes and Faith shook her head at his offer. "I knew. The slavers told me." Looking at him, she didn't hide the emotion she felt or the tears which threatened. "I remember all of it and they told me that I'd been sold at birth, what I was worth in nel. They told me the truth and they branded me at ten trials old." Faith shrugged slightly, trying to pretend not to care as she reached and stroked Ayla's hair, then made funny moo-moo baa-baa sounds to make her laugh. "My parents sold me and they kept Morana. I just hope she had a better life, Tristan. As for Rey'na, I don't know. If you ever come across anyone with that name, would you let me know?" Shaking her head she turned to look at him and she spoke as seriously as she ever had. "It isn't alright. It isn't acceptable. What they do to a human being, it's an abomination. I'm going to end it, Tristan. Slavery, I mean. I'm going to stop it. I know you think that it's acceptable, but I remember every trill and it isn't." She smiled at him then and there was once again a spark of mischief, amusement, her usual expression. "If you change your mind and join the cause, I'd like to talk to your friend Cassander, see if I could persuade him and Emerson Sands."

[Tristan Venora]

“I already know how to control my breath!“ Tristan insisted. “I can hold it for more than three bits!” He only realized that Faith had meant something different belatedly, but he didn’t look embarrassed because it was still an impressive feat in his opinion. He also realized that Teddy could probably have taught him all those things as well. His younger brother had been a terrific singer and composer (he had helped him with the songs for his most successful play so far, the one because of which Zanik had marked him).

He almost refused Faith’s offer because it would remind him of Teddy, and thinking of Teddy still hurt a lot, but then he realized that singing would be a really useful skill to have due to the aforementioned difficulties of carrying a piano around. Besides, he loved spending time with Faith, even though she didn’t belong to him anymore. So he said, “I’d appreciate that. Maybe you could also teach me a few of your nursery rhymes. In exchange I’ll teach you some of my goodnight stories for Ayla!”

He looked at his daughter and grinned. When Ayla couldn’t sleep, he sat with her and told her of the secret adventures of Mistral and Maxos (because stories about bunnies, ponies and princesses and all that other stuff that little girls usually got to hear were boring in his opinion). In those adventures Mistral was the cat king of Rynmere and Maxos was an anti-tax collector (meaning that he gave people money instead of taking it).

“So you slept with Aelig, and I slept with Syroa?” He looked just as unhappy as Faith. The only Immortal that he wanted to sleep with was Ilaren, thank you very much!

“No”, he replied. “I’m pretty sure that she wasn’t the one that brought Ayla. She acted totally different. And you don’t have to be nervous. If you want to, I’ll not only contact her, I’ll also come with you when you meet her and help you. I have some experience with that kind of stuff. I also have a sibling that I didn’t meet until I was an adult, and he looks just like me!” He was speaking about his half-brother Hart of course.

As Faith told him that she had been branded at ten trials old, Tristan was at a loss for words for the first time in ages. He just stared at her in shock. He’d always been okay with slavery because that was how he had been raised, and the slaves of his family had led better lives than a lot of commoners, but branding little babies was not acceptable in his opinion! If anybody tried to take away his Ayla and brand her, he’d kill them – slowly and painfully!

“If I change my mind, I’ll talk to Cassander”, he promised her. “But Faith, don’t just fight to end slavery. Think about what will happen to the slaves after they have been freed. A lot of people won’t want them to work for them anymore if they have to pay them a normal wage, and then they’ll risk becoming homeless. And then there are those that actually like being slaves because they belong to rich and kind owners. And finally you have people that are used to being slaves and have no idea how to be free …”

He paused and looked at her. He knew that she probably wasn’t like that – she’d always been kind – but he wanted the assurance that she wouldn’t just abandon the slaves she had freed nevertheless. “Promise me that you won’t leave them to their own devices and that you’ll think about what they need besides freedom!”

[Faith Augustin]

Faith said nothing when Tristan misunderstood what she meant about breath control, her expression remained calm and almost placid. He'd seen that look a lot of times before, when he had owned her. The idea of sharing songs and stories, though, absolutely delighted her and Faith nodded. "I'd like that, Tristan, I really would. Thank you." Always, as they spoke, she kept half an eye on Ayla, watching the baby and trying not to think about how much the child looked like the two of them. If they had made a baby whilst he owned her, the baby might look like that. What would she feel, Faith wondered. Would she had loved that child the way that Tristan did? What would it have meant for her and Padraig?

She didn't want to think the thoughts, frankly. She'd much rather not know and not think about it and not feel any sense of what if with Tristan. There was no sense of what if she'd loved him back, because she couldn't. Her heart well and truly belonged where it did, but had this child been theirs, then Tristan and she would have been bound together by ties of blood. If it had happened, her daughter would have been a Venora. That brought Faith down to earth with a thump and a sense of thankfulness. The stories that Tristan had told her about his family was more than enough. Still, Ayla was a beautiful girl and Faith couldn't deny the feeling of fondness she held for her.

He offered to help her and reminded her about Hart, his half brother. "That's kind of you, Tristan, thank you. I just.." If she was going to meet her sister, Faith would want to be with Padraig, no one else. But did she want to meet her? She really wasn't sure. "I need to think about it some more. Is that alright?"

The promise that Tristan made, though, that if he changed his mind he would speak to Cassander caused Faith to smile and feel the swell of her heart as he said it. "Thank you, Tristan. It means more than I can tell you. Thank you." Then though, he did something which he had done consistently since first he bought her. He surprised the living daylights out of her.

Faith listened to everything he said about the slaves and the freeing of them and she nodded. "I've already considered it, I promise you. I've started it, too." Faith looked at him with the kind of expression she wore when she was planning something. Breathing in, she explained. "I hope you're coming to the wedding next season? I'll show you then. The restaurant is just a small part of it, Tristan." She took no wage from the restaurant, she explained, but all the money went back into the business. Because there was a farm, growing plants and rearing livestock. They were more or less self sufficient now, she explained, as a restaurant.

"Alongside the staff, I take on trainees. Eight to ten people at a time. I give them somewhere to live, medical care and clothing and I train them in a trade. Farming, carpentry, cooking, whatever we can. I've had houses built for them, on the land and I'm going to expand as we do." Her eyes lit with emotion, excitement building as she discussed what she believed in so very passionately. "Those houses, that service, that offer, will be there for the slaves when I free them. This whole charity is one step, Tristan, just one." She looked at Ayla and stroked her cheek then tickled her gently.

"I have to believe that there can be a world where children don't get sold into slavery on the trial they are born. I have to. A world where brands and whips don't exist in young lives. And if I want that world to exist for this little beauty, for all the children then I have to try and build it. So I've started. But yes, I've thought about it." Faith lowered her head, hiding her expression as she realised how pushy and forward she had been. "I do hope you will come to the wedding. I'd love to show you what I've built."

After all, she knew, what she'd done she could not have if he hadn't freed her. Yet, he was right, it was more than just being free. Freedom had been long and slow in coming, in her heart and mind. Sometimes, she still wasn't there. So she promised him earnestly and honestly that she would not just fight for freedom, but for education, housing and everything that went with it.

Looking at him, Faith asked what seemed to be a totally unrelated question but one which was closely aligned in her mind. "What's it like, being a Duke? Do you like it?"

[Tristan Venora]

“Of course that’s alright“, Tristan replied as Faith told him that she needed to think about meeting her sister some more. “Take all the time you need. I won’t be going anywhere in the near future, and neither will she. She seemed to be pretty happy with her toys. Talented as well.”

Faith was so grateful because he’d promised to talk to Cassander, but he didn’t understand why. He’d told her that he’d talk to his friend if he changed his mind, and it might very well not lead to anything, but Faith looked so happy and excited that he decided not to point it out to her. He did of course reply when she asked him about the wedding though. Padraig and he would likely never be friends, but he was semi-okay with him marrying Faith now because Faith was alive and happy instead of lying in a cold, dark grave somewhere.

“Of course I’ll come. I’ll even bring you two a wedding gift. And Ayla. Ayla will come with me as well because I don’t want to leave her alone in Oakleigh for such a long time.” He already knew what kind of gift he’d give Faith and Padraig as well. It would be something made with alchemy because he wanted to show Padraig that he wasn’t totally useless at science and because it would be more unique than something that he had bought at the store. Anybody could go to the store and buy something.

“That’s a great idea”, he remarked as she talked about her restaurant and secretly wondered exactly how Faith did it. Tristan considered himself to be a good person, but he didn’t think he’d be able to do what Faith did. He’d get bored and frustrated. Talking about it on the other hand actually kind of interested him though, even though it was a huge challenge to say the least. “But there are a lot of slaves in Rynmere. And there are other countries where they keep slaves as well. You can’t take care of all of the freed slaves. What will happen to those that you don’t have room for in one of your houses?”

And then she asked him if he liked being a duke, and he looked even more thoughtful than before. “I like some of it”, he finally honestly replied because Faith deserved a little honesty in his opinion even though he wasn’t sure if her idea would ultimately work out. “I have a nice house and lots of servants, and people actually take me seriously now. But some of my subjects don’t like me very much. They’d rather have their independence back. Cassander also wants me to get married, I think, but there’s only one woman that I want to marry, and I’m not sure if she wants to marry me. Maybe I should just pretend that I’m grieving for Ayla’s mother or hopelessly in love with Peake Andaris so that they leave me alone even though he’s probably dead now …”

He stopped, shrugged his shoulders and looked at her, smiling slightly as he did so. “It’s not as easy as I thought it would be. But at least I got Ayla. That’s something to be thankful for, isn’t it?”

[Faith Augustin]

What about those slaves she couldn't take care of in her houses? Faith had considered it, and she nodded. "Well, on Scalvoris, I've been appointed the Officer for Welfare in the government there. I'm going to do the same thing, on a larger scale. Rather than handouts for slaves and just freeing them, so that the slavers and slave owners lose out, I want to make sure that the economy isn't impacted." She smiled at him; revolution wasn't her way. Sensible, practical, logical was her way. It was strange to sit here and talk about it like this with her former owner, but he was her friend and that would not change. Faith knew that Tristan felt differently about slavery than she did, but at the same time she knew that he would have freed her the very trill she'd asked, had she done so. He was fundamentally a very good person, she knew, albeit somewhat naive.

Or maybe, he had been naive. The man in front of her now was naive no longer.

And how was being a Duke? Tristan answered and Faith looked at him with a calm gaze as he did. "Have you asked her?" she asked, of the woman he wanted to marry. It was Ilaren, she was sure and she smiled at the thought of it. Sitting here with his mortalborn daughter, talking about marrying the Immortal he had slept with, Faith felt a rush of emotion for him. He was lonely, she realised. Not because of being on his own, he was not, but he felt alone. The little girl who was truly a delight mitigated against that, but Tristan was the sort of person who needed people around him. He was a social creature filled with life and this isolated him, she was quite sure.

"You'll charm them, I'm sure," Faith said, when he said that some of his subjects would rather have their independence. He could and would, she was sure. He spoke about Cassander wanting him to marry and Faith raised an eyebrow slightly. "How have your family taken you becoming Duke of Oakleigh?" Both officially, as a whole and as individuals. Faith very much liked a number of the Venora family, specifically Alistair and Andraska, of the surviving ones. Yet some of the stories he had told her of his wider family, his grandmother and so on, their treatment of his brother? It made Faith believe that they were not good enough people for Tristan, in truth.


He had Ayla, though? Faith's smile illustrated her pleasure and delight. "She's perfect, Tristan. Truly." Faith looked at him with a level gaze, her silver eyes almost stern. At least, as stern as she ever got with him. "I want you to stop worrying, alright? I think we can find out what's going on, but she seems more than healthy. She's happy, too, and that's the best thing you can hope for a child." Happy, healthy and loved? That sounded ideal to Faith. "Will you have to marry a noble woman?" What an awful thing, she thought, to have your life choices determined for you. The irony of that thought struck her, but she let it slide. Then she gave a grin to him. "Surely, not a lickspittle?" He'd taught her the word, after all.

[Tristan Venora]

“So you are a politician as well now?“ Tristan asked Faith as she informed him that she’d been appointed the Officer for Welfare. He didn’t look jealous, he wasn’t mocking her as some people without a doubt would, he was just really amazed. “Faith, I think that you are some kind of superhero. In a little over an arc you’ve gone from a slave that sleeps in a room full of corpses to mastering about every trade there is and working for the government. Are you sure that you aren’t a mortalborn as well?”

He looked at Ayla for a moment. Ayla looked back at him and held the toy pig out to him, thinking the adults were finally done talking and would play with her again. Tristan took the toy and moved it around and tried to make pig sounds. Unfortunately he sounded more as if he were choking on something than a pig that was grunting, so Ayla looked a little shocked, but a hug and a little tickling made her smile again. Tristan took her and sat her on his lap, and then he turned to face Faith again. Maybe she would succeed after all …

“No, I haven’t asked her”, he admitted. “I have yet to see her again. Maybe I should send her a letter – or travel to Rharne, although I don’t think that my subjects would like that. Do you think she’d reply to my letter? I sent Zanik fan mail once, and I think he liked it, but fan mail and a love letter aren’t the same.” He’d actually sent Zanik more than just fan mail. He made a whole marble sculpture. The marble alone had been worth several hundred nels, and if one added all the breaks that he had spent working on it and his reputation as an artist … well, the sculpture was probably priceless.

“Grandmother likes my being duke”, he continued. “It gives House Venora a bit of good publicity after all those scandals. I think that father is even genuinely happy for me. I’m not sure about Aunt Willow and Uncle Kaleb though – but I don’t care what they think anyway. I don’t like them particularly.” He stopped here because he didn’t feel comfortable sharing the things he had witnessed in Sabaissant with anybody, not even Faith. They were evil (the things his aunt and uncle had done, that is), and they were disgusting, so he tried to think about them as little as possible. He just hoped that his aunt and uncle would pay for their crimes!

“I’ll stop worrying”, he assured her in a very earnest tone, as if he were really capable of just turning his feelings off and smiled at her. “And I’ll make sure that Ayla stays happy, no matter what. As for whether I’ll have to marry a noblewoman, I’ll probably eventually have to even though I don’t want to – unless I marry her first. I don’t think they’ll mind her becoming my wife even though she’s not a noble and not even a citizen of Rynmere!”

“By the Immortals, I hate lickspittles!” he added and shuddered.

[Faith Augustin]

"Immortals, no!" Faith said, when Tristan said that she was a politician. She looked at him, wide eyed and horrified. His suggestion of what she had done in an arc, though, caused her to shake her head. "I certainly haven't mastered trades, Tristan. I've opened a business and I have good people working for me. I.. " She looked down for a moment at her hands, the pads of her fingers pushed together and she spoke in a quiet voice. "I suppose. It's hard to explain. I was nineteen this season, you know. I know when my birthtrial is now." It was hard to explain, but she tried her best. "Even when I hid them away, denied them from myself, I had things I wanted to do, a person I dreamed I could be. You taught me that I have value, that I am a person. When you gave me my freedom, you gave me a gift but it was the last in a line of them." She smiled a soft smile and continued. "Padraig looks at me and I feel like I can do anything. It's like you opened a door, Tristan, and now all nineteen arcs of wanting to be, of wanting to do, they've all come pouring out at once." She was driven, there was no doubt about it. Still, she grinned at him and shook her head. "But I am not a politician."

It was all quite serious, until Tristan took the toy pig and then tried to oink. Faith looked at him with an expression which mirrored Ayla's and then she burst out laughing. "Oh, I'm sorry. What noise is that?" With an 'oink-oink' noise, she grinned at Ayla, "your daddy is silly, isn't he? Silly daddy." Would Ilaren reply to his letter? Faith didn't know for sure but she saw no reason not to try, she said. As for his subjects liking or not liking his leaving, she thought about it for a moment. "What about Hart?" Faith asked, silver eyes earnest. "He looks exactly like you. He could pretend to be you whilst you're gone - you could get... well, scrolls like we have, and talk to him via those to make sure that he knows what he's doing. That way, you could go to Rharne for a while and he could be Duke, if he didn't mind." There were other things, other options which she might have suggested to other people, but she thought that Tristan would like the idea of Hart being him for a while.

His family, and how they reacted to him being Duke was more or less what she would expect. He didn't like Alistair and Andraska's parents, and Faith watched the frown on his face. "Well, I hope that they're giving you support in a practical way, as well as just being glad you're adding to the family reputation." She gestured around, outside really. "I feel like I'm so out of touch with Rynmere politics. I used to try and keep abreast of everything, in order to be able to help you, but now?" It all seemed to be so far away. Her smile returned, though, at his response to even the word lickspittle and she nodded at his reassurance about worrying. "As soon as I get back, I'll run some tests. Then, I'll send you what I find through the scrolls, alright?" With a sigh, she glanced at him. "I should go, Tristan. It's been so good to see you again, though, it really has. I'll see you for the wedding, if not before?" Before she left, she would hug him and kiss his cheek and she would make a fuss of Ayla, kissing her gently, if she'd have it.

[Tristan Venora]

Faith denied that she had mastered trades and that she was a politician, but Tristan still thought she had and that she was. She was younger than him, and she hadn’t been able to do anything with her life for the previous eighteen or so arcs, but she was probably more skilled than he was now, and in another couple of arcs she would most likely rule Scalvoris. And she knew when … “You know when your birthtrial is?” he asked. “When is it? I want to send you a gift! I could also donate money to a charity of your choice, I suppose”, he added, although he sincerely hoped that she would pick the gift. A birthtrial wasn’t a proper birthtrial without gifts (and cake and lots of guests!).

“Faith, this is a really great idea!” he exclaimed as she suggested that Hart pretend to be him while he went to Rharne to court Ilaren. “I’m sure that Hart would love to play duke. He’ll be good at it as well, judging by what kind of questions he asked when I hired that Eidisi and his men to protect me. I hope that Ayla won’t be confused though.” He had no idea if his daughter could tell his brother and him apart. Even Hart’s own boyfriend hadn’t been able to tell them apart at first! “Maybe I should take her with me when I leave. Ilaren should meet my daughter before we get married anyway!” He felt very optimistic all of a sudden, and he couldn’t wait to see Ilaren again.

“Rynmere politics are a mess”, he remarked. “Don’t concern yourself with them. Focus on Scalvoris. As for running the tests, I appreciate that. I’ll see you at the wedding!” With that he set Ayla down and walked over to Faith. The kiss that she placed on his cheek reminded him of what he had lost and that she would never be his lover again, but it also reminded him of what he had gained – a friend – a friend who was alive which was a pretty big thing considering that he had spent a whole while thinking that she had died in his arms.

[Faith Augustin]

Faith looked up at him and she smiled at him. "You taught me that I am a person, Duke Venora. You gave me the greatest gift." None of what she did, what she had achieved, none of it would have been done without him. It was important that he knew that. She loved him, she always would. Yet she couldn't be in love with him, no matter how much he wanted her to be; these trials Faith thought that maybe he didn't want that any more, but then she knew that her wish was a selfish one. She hated the idea of hurting him. He had taught her so much, one thing being that a man could own her and not hurt her, not beat her or abuse her. Before him, no owner ever had.

She smiled though, and answered. "I was nineteen on the first of Saun." He had asked the date and so she told him, as she always would. When he said that he could donate money, to a charity of her choice, Faith grinned at him. "I've never celebrated a birthtrial before, and I have to admit, I loved it. I was very spoiled and, whilst I should say that I would like you to donate money, well. If I'm honest, Tristan, I'd rather the gift." There was a fundamental, child like honesty about Faith when she said that.

He liked her idea about Hart taking his place and his certainty that he and Ilaren were going to be wed caused a fond smile to lift Faith's expression. It was this side of him that Padraig did not see, she thought. The vulnerable, child-like part of him. The part that was so determined to right by that little girl.

So, she kissed him on the cheek, kissed his daughter and bade them both farewell. Making sure that she left the date and time and place of the wedding, Faith then left the home of the man who had once been her owner but would always be her friend, she hoped. Time and space between them had led to a clearer understanding of their relationship and the young woman knew that.

So, she left him to his family, and went home to hers.

[Kali'rial]

Faith

Overview

Do you want to be freed, Faith? (Excuse me whilst I get a tissue) This thread is sooooooo gooooooood. The way Faith interacts with Ayla is precious, so fitting for her personality. Faith is much more open with Tristan than most other PC’s, and I can see why. They have a rich back story, and it shows. Great thread!

Points

XP: 15/15 (Not for magic)

Fame/Loot/Injuries/Overstepping

Give a gift x3 (clothes, blocks and farm animals)

Knowledge

Skill Knowledge:
Caregiving: Playing with a child to put them at their ease
Caregiving: Distracting a child
Caregiving: Using colours as a teaching tool
Detection: What my child would look like
Endurance: Dealing with extreme emotions.
Medicine: Diagnosing developmental delay
Persuasion: Pointing out the reality of slavery
Persuasion: Asking for support
Persuasion: Using personal examples
Surgery: Taking blood samples
Surgery: Methods of removing pain from surgical processes

Tristan

Overview

First time for me reading Tristan I believe, and I am thoroughly delighted! I haven’t read any Faith/Tristan backstory but gosh if this whole thing doesn’t make me want to go sifting through the boards! Thanks for a brilliantly addictive thread!

Points

XP: 15/15 (Not for magic)

Fame/Loot/Injuries/Overstepping

n/a

Knowledge

Skill Knowledge:
Detection: Noticing when something's wrong with your child
Logistics: Planning for what happens after the abolition of slavery
Medicine: Baby development
Medicine: Premature aging
Medicine: Babies chew on things because they are teething
Politics: A duke needs a wife
Politics: Being a duke isn't always easy
Politics: Rynmere politics are a mess!
Politics: Abolishing slavery
Psychology: Babies understand more than you think
Psychology: Some people like being slaves

Non-Skill:
Ayla: Probably a Mortalborn of Syroa (or Lisirra)
Ayla: Healthy
Faith: Was blessed three times by Famula
Faith: Has a twin called Morana
Faith: Has a half sister called Reyna
Faith: Was born in Venora
Faith: Vesna Nardovino
Faith: Was sold by her parents
Faith: Wants to abolish slavery
Faith: Officer for Welfare in Scalvoris
Faith: Owns a restaurant
Faith: Really skilled in medicine
Faith: Was born on the first of Saun

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