Natalie

Dere Lady Alraune

I have resined from the guards and I am going away becuse I cant stay in Trinsic any more. I will go home to Skara ferst for a few days then somewere a long way of and I will not come back to Trinsic agen. I want to thank you for evrything you did and said and how you tryed to help me. It didnt work out Mordred changed his mind he dosent want me any more and he has gone with Shelly insted Elise and Comander Soleshadow told me. I dont now why he changed his mind but I now it is beter for him to be with another Kaldorian and not me I was never good enogh for him anyway and I hope she will make him hapy.

I am sory I am not saying goodby properly but I have to go away quikly I dont want to see Mordred agen it herts to much becuse I cant stop my feelings for him even thogh he dosent want me and I dont want to be in his or Shellys way or make anything dificult or awkwerd for them. I will go somewere els and try to forget evrything exept I will always remember you and Lord Adammair. I think it is best not to trust anyone relly but I wood still trust you both because you were always kind to me and did not change. But I will stay on my own now it is esier.

I hope you and Lord Adammair will be hapy in Trinsic and get evrything you want.
Natalie

*There are a few round blotches on the letter which might be tear stains*



[OOC: I want to make it clear that Natalie has vanished only because I need to keep my main character(s) in Trinsic. If it wasn't for that, I'd have moved her somewhere else such as Cove and kept her going. But because of the way her personality is, it's now too distressing for her to stay in Trinsic, and I can't take myself elsewhere, so she has to vanish. I'm sorry if that's upset or worried anyone, I've got no OOC problems with what happened apart from a small regret that I can't keep her going *smiles*]

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Alraune Kestrel

Alraune stared at the letter, her tear-misted gaze following the lines of scrawled text over and over again. A cold blast of winter wind ripped through the open door of the Poste Office and pierced the cloth of her robe, chilling her skin. How long had she stood there, the door wide open, disbelief freezing her in place?

Her heart heavy, Alraune pushed the door closed, the messenger bearing Natalie’s letter long gone into the cold morning with his tip. She walked silently on bare feet to the only table within the Old Poste Office’s first floor. The velvet pouch containing her Tarot cards sat upon the table, the dark, soft material mocking her with implied richness. She sat down at the table, the letter rough in her hand. Emotions tumbled over each other like ruffian children on a freshly made bed. She and Adam had truly enjoyed Natalie’s company. She’d been one of the first people to befriend them upon their arrival in Trinsic. Her no-nonsense attitude and her fresh honesty had been a beacon of civility and kindness, and her dedication to the Duchy seemed endless. Alraune knew Natalie held her past close and secretive, that shadows had touched the young woman early in her life. She knew Natalie’s ability to trust others was, kindly put, a work in progress.

But Natalie had seemed, at least, to trust the two of them. Alraune had kept the tarot readings she’d done for Natalie to herself, never turning the information into gossip or exploiting the young woman with inferences to her past. They talked about the readings, but also about life in general. Alraune had advised her to trust Mordred, to talk to him. She so wanted Natalie happy, and soon after the first reading, Natalie seemed closer to that elusive state.

What had happened? When she’d last talked to Natalie, when Kent had made her new clothes, Alraune knew things were tense between the guard and Mordred, that he seemed to be less then attentive. Alraune didn’t believe Natalie to be clingy or overbearing, but if what Natalie had confided was accurate, Mordred all but ignored her when the man’s Kaldorian kin were about. Alraune had tried to justify Mordred’s actions – duty, honor, camaraderie, and such and she tried to help Natalie see beyond her own hurt and disappointment, that perhaps there was a cause beyond the glaringly obvious.

Alraune looked at the letter again, the words upon the page blurring through unshed tears.

She struggled against dark impulses, the bitterness of vengeance rising in her breast. The callous, cold bastard should suffer for breaking Natalie’s heart.

She folded the letter and set it on the table, then opened the velvet bag and removed the cards. The mysteriously light deck sat cold in her hands, burning her thumb as it stroked the top card. Entranced, she slid the three blank cards from the bottom of the deck, her gaze fixing on them. Icy dread flowed through her veins as she stared at them, the vision of fulfilled retribution playing in her mind's eye, the cards complete, their faces painted with horrors befitting such a scoundrel.

“Alraune?” Adam’s voice fell over her like a warm blanket. His hand settled on her shoulder and squeezed it lightly. “What’s wrong?”

She’d not heard him moving around upstairs, or seen him coming into the salon.

Alraune half turned in the chair, handing him the letter. She saw his gaze upon the three blank cards. Concern clouded his face as he took the letter in hand and leaned over and kissed her cheek. His gaze met hers, warm and loving, hopeful and concerned.

Black vengeance retreated, a modicum of heat returning to her palm where the blank cards rested.

He sat in the seat across from her, then opened the folded paper. Alraune watched him as he read, his face slowly revealing his sorrow.

He turned to her, silent for a moment, then glanced at the blank cards before meeting her gaze again.

“We cannot know what has passed, Alraune. What we can do is honor our friend, and wish her well.”

Alraune looked down, the anger that churned in her breast stilled by Adam’s calm. He never judged, never jumped to conclusions.

How often had he spared her from the darkness?

He was right. Perhaps Mordred just hadn’t known what he wanted, and then didn’t know how to minimize the hurt once his mind had been made up? And like Alraune had so often counseled against, the Kaldorian might have delayed in addressing the situation until the damage was beyond repair.

Human behavior was so often cruel in its carelessness, even when no harm was intended.

She placed the three blank cards into the pouch and took the full deck in hand. Slowly she shuffled and cut the deck. Supple and practiced, she squared it and removed three cards, leaving them on the table, the intricate pattern of the backs staring at her.

Past. Present. Future.

For Natalie.

She turned the cards one by one and stared at the images before her. The pieces of life displayed in color and stilled action gave Alraune little comfort.

“What does it say?” Adam asked.

She gathered the cards reverently, her gaze never leaving them.

"The one reading that is always true, no matter how much direction the cards may give. Fate may point to likely paths; the cards may advise, but in the end it is always so.

“That life is unpredictable.”

Alraune rose to her feet and headed for the door.

“Alraune, where are you going?” Adam asked quietly.

“To Skara Brae. Join me?”

Adam smiled at her as he came around the table.

“Of course, my darkness. With you? Anywhere.”

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