Athynae Sarethi: The Making of a Princess, Entries from Athynae's childhood journals Options

[Athynae]

Hey guys, well seeing as Athynae and sometimes Athlain's antics as children have been referenced in Blood on the Moon and each time I have found myself writing the "memory", mostly in an effort to better understand her, I thought I would share some of those blasts from the past with you. The entries will not necessarily be in order, just snapshots from here and there at different ages and occasionally some entries from the PoV of other friends and family just to add some spice. The first entry will be the story of Athynae getting her first journal and why.




I hope you enjoy Athynae's childhood antics, I have sure had fun writing the handful that I have so far. Even better are some of the "memories" from others who know her. Just be cautious while reading with any beverages close as she has a tendency to speak her mind (like you didn't know that) and we all know what that can mean when a child is involved.




"Mama are housecats baby Khajiitt??" While standing next to a family of Khajiit in market square kind of thing.




*Note: It has been pointed out that Athynae seems a bit mature for her age in some of the entries and if I were gauging her by my two eldest children that would be true(quite normal but no less wonderful), however two ideas mingled together in regard to her intelligence and maturity; One- She is her own person and there is no comparing her to anyone on that level; Two- I sort of combined my two youngest children, my daughter who is and always has been an adult (just ask her) and my son who, at the age of two, slipped out the sliding glass door, off of the deck that was 5 feet off the ground (we have no idea how he did it), climbed the fence and went to the neighbor's to help him work on a car, oh, and he only had on a pull-up, my motorcycle goggles and his sister's paten leather dress shoes.




Please do what you do, comment, correct, suggest but most of all I hope you enjoy.





Athynae Serethi- The Making of a Princess…





I dedicate this endeavor to the three people who are responsible for Athynae's existence:




minque for creating her and graciously sharing her with treydog




treydog for making her a part of Athlain's world and subsequently introducing me to her through his story then allowing me to become her writer




and of course




Black Hand who has allowed me to make Seth such an important person in Athynae's life.

THANK YOU SO MUCH

This post has been edited by Athynae: Feb 3 2012, 03:09 AM

[Athynae]

Mother was walking with the bandit prisoner in front of me and I could hear her talking, but I wasn't paying much attention to the words; I was trying to let my instincts do their job, I was trying to feel my surroundings like Uncle Seth said. Still, there was some thought that this was orchestrated for my benefit because I could sure see Uncle Seth pulling something like this just to see if I really was 'getting it.' But what fool would agree to be assaulted by whatever weapon I had chosen? If this was a test then I really hoped it was worth for the stupid guy that had been talked into it, because Mother wasn't kidding when she told him it was hit or miss whether he would use that arm again. Idiot.

We reached the gate to the fort and were greeted by one of Mother's Guard Captains. Well, he used to be. I don't know why he left Under Skar to come here, but obviously it wasn't anything bad because he smiled when he saw us.

"Arch Mistress, how wonderful to see you. And I see you have your personal body guard with you." He looked toward me and said, "Greetings Captain. Pushed any miscreants off of any platforms lately?" He was one of the new guards that led the charge the day I pushed Athlain off the platform at my 12th birthday celebration. He had teased me relentlessly over that. He thought it was extremely funny. Sometime afterward I had caught a couple of younger kids trying to pilfer baubles from a vendor in the market and he had been the one I had taken them to, and that's when he started calling me "captain."

"No sera. Just flipping darts into bandits' shoulders." I said it like it was something that happened every day.

"Aris, how goes it with the Legion?" Mother asked. But the question was much deeper than 'how are you doing;' there was something going on here for sure.

"Well before we discuss that it looks like we have something else to take care of. Who is this and why do you have his hands tied behind his back?" Aris stepped forward and took the 'prisoner' by the arm and Mother let go.

"He surprised us on the road between Balmora and here. I don't know if his intention was to rob us or just make rude comments about my under-sized bodyguard. Either way he needs to be held responsible, and we need to make sure there isn't a band of them between here and there."

"I will see to it as soon as I get him somewhere secure. I will find you when I am done." And with that he was gone.

"Ok Mother, what was that all about? Why is he going to find you when he is done? There is something going on isn't there?" I was interrogating my Mother like she was suspected of spying, but if I was going to be in the middle of some mysterious espionage game I deserved to know, didn't I?

"Athynae I have no idea what you are talking about. We were close so I decided to come here for a short visit to see how Aris and some of my other friends are doing. And to let you see how the fort operates now that you are old enough to understand." We were walking toward the dining hall and I was getting hungry. Still, her attempt to divert me was less than successful.

"Mother I don't know why you think that will work with me now; it didn't work when I was five." I cut my eyes at her and waited for the response.

"Very well, but it will have to wait until we are in a more private setting." I was a bit shocked by the look on her face; she meant what she said.

"I do have a question about the bandit though. How did Uncle Seth get someone to agree to that? The likelihood that I would throw something sharp means that either he didn't know what he was getting into or he was just stupid." I looked at Mother and stopped talking because she was staring at me in the strangest way. "What's wrong Mother? Did my skin change color or something? Rah was testing stuff before we left." He was always testing something.

"Do you honestly believe anyone would arrange that? As some sort of game or test or something? That would have been too risky even for Sethyas. The slightest possibility that you would be hurt would have been enough; he would never put you in danger." By the time she was done talking she had her hands on my shoulders, probably because the blood had drained out of my face.

Even though I had done everything I was supposed to, I felt like it was some sort of 'training,' something that could have been stopped if something went wrong. The idea that it had been real was stuck somewhere between my brain and my knees, causing my stomach to feel like a den of kwama had moved in, queen and all. "But Mama, he…, and then you…, and I…." I couldn't put the sentences together; all the words were coming out jumbled. I put my head down and took a deep breath. "Ok, but Mama, you were so calm and," I looked around like I would find the right words floating in the air. "You didn't even think when you turned around. As soon as you started talking you were in control of the entire thing. How did you think to say the dart was poisoned? And why did you tell him I was your bodyguard and that I was a Captain? That just made it seem more like a game; I mean he looked like he believed everything you said."

"And why shouldn't he? He has no reason to believe or not to believe; where he is going it makes little difference. It is all part of that instinctual reaction Seth is always talking about. Allowing your mind to have an expanded focus of everything all the time so that you can capitalize on the slightest detail and it has to happen instantly. Sometimes it is almost as if time has stopped while your mind formulates a plan. Some things you practice to improve, some things you are born with or are gifts from the gods, and some things, well, some things you cannot learn any other way except by experience." We had passed the dining hall and were almost to the visitors' quarters.

"I thought we were going to eat?" I was still trying to get all of the pieces of the puzzle to realign in my head. The picture from my original perspective was quite different than what Mother had said. And to top it off we had thwarted his plan as if it really were a game. But what would have happened if something had gone wrong? That thought caused me pause for a moment, as I pushed back the idea that he really did have buddies hiding that he had waved off so Mother would give him the antidote to a poison that didn't exist. I shuddered.

"I'll have something brought to you. I need to speak to your prisoner. I need to speak to Aris as well. You will be ok here until I get back?" She wasn't stating a fact; she was asking me a question.

"Of course. I'm a captain." And I gave her a flamboyant fake smile. "But why can't I go with you?" I wanted to know why we were really here and I didn't want to be alone really, but I would not let her see that. I was not a scaredy rat.

"Please Athynae, I will tell you what is going on when I return. As far as anyone can tell, we are just visiting friends, do you understand? What's more, the fewer people around here that know you are actually my daughter, the better." Was she really going to tell me the whole thing? Probably not, but I did feel like she was going to tell me more than I knew right now.

"Does it matter whether I understand or not?" She had opened a door with a key that I hadn't seen before and ushered me in to a well-furnished suite. The outside looked like the regular barracks but the inside was obviously secret quarters for officers or dignitaries or something like that. The rooms were pleasant, with big fluffy chairs and rugs on the floor.

"It does matter that you understand the need for secrecy and I will explain all of that soon. Right now you need to remain here until I return. There are things that you do not need to know, not because I think you cannot keep it secret but because it could possibly put you in danger until the reasons for our visit here are resolved. Until then, since the story has already been started, you are my bodyguard and you are a captain. No one will question if they see you with your weapons, especially as the story about the bandit spreads." She was using the voice that she used when she did not want me to argue, she just wanted me to accept what she was saying with the promise that she would explain later.

"Are we really in danger Mother? We are at a Legion Fort; won't they protect you?"

"I don't want to make light of this nor do I want to make it more than it is, so we need to be aware of everything around us and not take any chances. This was supposed to be a sort of learning vacation for us, but I did not want it to be like this." Her eyes were getting darker, which meant she was calculating and strategizing to fix something. "I will be back as soon as I can. I will send a tray for you; it should be here in a short time. Do not open the door; anyone that needs to have access to this room will have a key."

"You are locking me in here!?" Now that just wasn't going to work for me; she didn't even lock me in my room when I was little and practicing my escape arts.

"No, of course not. The lock on the inside does not need a key." She kissed my forehead and with her hands holding my face she said "My sweet daughter, this will all be fine but please none of your antics? Ok? Not right now. I love you."

"Ok, no antics I guess…I love you too." I wasn't quite sure what type of antics she expected me to get into at a Legion fort with no friends around. I had a pretty good map of the place in my head, but the first person that saw me would end my exploration; either because I was a stranger to them or they would know me as the Arch Mistress's daughter. She was out the door and I heard the lock click into place.

I looked through the books on the shelf; not many there but the few titles offered better than expected reading material. I pulled a book off the shelf about the history of the Legion and curled up in one of the big cushy chairs to wait for my dinner. Dinner came via one of the kitchen workers that had been here when I had first visited. It was good food, but nothing truly special. I was paying more attention to the reading than the food when Mother returned.

"We cannot stay for the night. I have urgent business I must attend to and time is of the essence. I have sent Thavere a missive that we are enroute. I will only be gone for a day or so, but I must go as soon as possible so I will leave you at the lighthouse." I was very unfamiliar with this particular combination of vocal/facial expressions. Her eyes were dark as if she was mad, but they were also still calculating. I got the feeling someone was going to get a dressing down for being stupid and not a moment was going to be lost to get it done. I sure was happy I wasn't the one on the receiving end of that look; the one I got when I screwed up was bad enough. "Does this have something to do with the idiot on the road?" I asked as she poured herself a glass of juice and ate a piece of the bread that I had left.

"I'm not sure yet. That is one thing I will find out. It does have to do with the conflict between the Houses. Some of the Hlaalu council members are stirring up trouble about trade again. They accuse me of being the reason that deals that have been problem free for ages are now under review. Those accusations and rumors have been attempted before." Mother rolled her eyes and tried to look funny.

"Um, haven't there always been problems between Hlaalu and ALL of the other factions involved in trade? And isn't that because so many of them try to take advantage any way they can?" I didn't mean to sound dense, but it didn't make sense to me.

"Here is where the learning begins I suppose. Diplomacy starts with one's ability to allow negative information to fade into nothing while keeping a close eye on how much real trouble it could be stirring. Anything that needs to be nipped quickly can be. Sometimes it is simple, sometimes it is not, but always it must be handled intelligently. Diplomacy is not just using the correct words, it is the ability to control rumors that could be harmful without anyone knowing where they started or where they stopped."

I got the feeling she was talking in circles so that I would think she was telling me something new, instead of using different words to tell me things she had told me before. She was leaving out the details. "When are we leaving then?"

"I am waiting for a message and then we can leave. Get your things together so we can depart as soon as the message arrives." I had removed my katana, bow and quiver and put them on one of the chairs and I had loosened my boots but that was all, so getting it all together did not take any time. As soon as I tied the straps that held the scabbard in place someone knocked on the door. Mother took the five steps to her staff and picked it up before she said, "Enter". The messenger opened the door, stepped across the threshold and handed Mother a parchment sealed with yellow wax that carried no mark. She broke the seal and read the note before she addressed the young man whose face looked like he had lived far more than he should have at his age. "I will be there as soon as I can. No one is to do anything until everyone has responded and I arrive." She said it as if she was directing one of the manor retainers to dust the drapes.

"Yes Sera, it will be as you say." And just as quickly as he had arrived he was out the door and gone.

"Are you ready to go?" I nodded. "Athynae, I know I do not need to say this, but please continue to practice all that you have learned. I do not want you to be frightened, but I also do not want you to become complacent either. Now you are my captain and must behave as such."

She was uncomfortable, which made me uncomfortable. She didn't want me to see it, so I pretended not to. But I took to heart what she'd said and became a Captain of the Guard. The only way I truly knew to accomplish this was to continue the game I had been playing since I had gotten my first wooden dagger. It was odd to think it was real, so I didn't. I hoped for the same instinctual reaction as I'd had on the road here should anything else go wrong. Thinking of myself as a guard for the Arch Mistress was much easier than trying to fathom that I was protecting my mother from some dark evil that I didn't understand.