1.06 Every Rose Has Its Thorn

[Madeline Merri]

Odetta's feet were crossing the foyer, gathering up her coat as well as a pair of gloves to slip on in the deepest part of winter. Madeline stood in the doorway, her hair slightly unkempt, and with a groggy demeanour. She kept silent as she watched her elder sister began to flex her hands into the gloves, eyes shooting the younger sister a look of severe disappointment.

"You knew we were supposed to be ready for today. This is an important day, you knew this, and you come home on the brewmaster's wagon."
"I'm here though, what more do you want?" Madeline fired back, her voice raising up, firm and defiant.
"I wanted you to look the part that you were going to play, I wanted you to be here with me, cleaned and shined like a silver spoon! And instead I get this rag doll who is still trying to recover from too much booze and too many men! Night after night, Madeline, why!?"
"You know nothing, and assume everything, like always!"
"What else am I supposed to do, when my sister sneaks out of windows and down awnings in the middle of the night to find that vagrant musician? What do you expect me to do when I am occupied with the family business, and my mind is pulled in eight different directions? You are growing into a woman, yet you still act like a child, it's unbecoming of you, and you deserve better, and so does this family!"
"You act as if this is all your doing, that you were the one to hold this city together - our only burden was being born into the family name!"
"Perhaps you are right, but there comes a time when you must put aside your own wants and desires. There comes a time when you have to do what it takes to continue on what good deeds those have placed in your lap. Our father may always see you as his baby daughter, but I see you for what you truly are - and it needs to change, now."

Odetta finished fixing the collar on her coat, striding towards the door, "You had a dress laid on your bed to wear to the council inauguration, but seeing you now, I, along with father and anyone that has respect for you, suggest that you leave it there and sleep till you look like a decent woman again. Do not show your face." Her shoulder brushed hard against Madeline as she closed the door behind her with a forceful thump that rattled the paintings hanging in the foyer of their home. Madeline gritted her teeth together, the jaw rolling with suppressed anger, which she released on the door, kicking it viciously as she stormed up the stairs to her room.

The voice of her sister echoed in her ears as the waking life took hold of Madeline's senses. Slowly her body began to wake to the comfortable feeling of freshly laid linens on her bare flesh - the smoky scent of embers cooking the air to a luxuriously warm temperature, caressing her bare flesh. Wafting up from somewhere downstairs wafted the scent of freshly baked bread, mingling with the sizzling bacon as it drifted up to the room. She didn't remember coming to a room, yet she was pleased enough to be there, rolling over with a purring sound deep in her throat. The hairs on her arm stood as she felt the warm body next to her, a sensation that she hadn't felt for a long time, and one that was welcomed. Anton laid there, half asleep as his arm wrapped about her to rest her head in the crook of his arm. She adjusted to rest on an elbow, examining the man as he slumbered still in the morning light.

She never took the time to look at him as anything more than a travelling companion, but there was a definite charm to his features. From Kislev, his body was built tall and strong, yet his humble beginnings gave him a lean nature, built of wiry muscle and a lanky appearance. Her finger coiled at his hair, twirling it around, the rough waves feeling like the thinnest and finest of wire. His face broke into a mild smile, that same wolfish grin that he wore almost constantly. The man was easily contented, built the very same type as the people she surrounded herself with in her youth. It was hard not to think of the hypothetical lectures she would have recieved from her family not but two years ago. To be free from that scrutiny brought a smile to the girl's lips as she leaned down to press them to his. He stirred somewhat, his calloused hand reaching to stroke at her back as she pulled him from sleep's grip.

"Good morning, Mr. Lupescu." She leaned her lips in, pouting playfully as the man retreated just out of reach with the smallest of movements.
"And to you, Ms. Von Straaden." He finally gave in, laughing as he let her lips catch his in a soft kiss.

The two grinned and stayed like that for some time, basking in the feel of the most fundamental human contact. Anton spoke of the night prior - how the swirl and euphoria of a wonderful performance forced the crowd to shower them in all manner of drinks and ale. At the end of the night, Anton himself could barely escort Madeline away from the bar, at the urgent suggestion of Morton Goldcone, that they should find another inn to sleep in for the night, lest Charlotte recover and come for them, looking for retribution. As far as Morton was concerned, they were already on the road and well away from the Moot by now. Instead, the two of them dressed and retreated down to the dining hall. They passed by more than a few patrons, some of which averted their eyes to them with the most humble of blushes, which was puzzling until they realized that they headed to the room that shared a wall with them. They sat and enjoyed a larger-than-usual fare of linked sausage, and fresh eggs, all riding on top of heaping piles of potatoes and onions. A parting of coins later, and the two were already on the porch of the inn.

She could never get used to the feeling of being in the Moot. The size of the buildings made her feel tall, and she couldn't help but walk taller, her head having to duck underneath the myriad of hanging signs that swung in the breeze of the back streets. Now and again she would hear a 'thump' behind her, followed immediately by a Kislevite cursing as Anton rubbed a spot on his forehead, a sign swinging madly as the only evidence. The city melted away into the rural atmosphere within hours, letting them set a decent pace as they began to move into the cover of several wooded stretches on the road westward. The pair had a spring in their step, whether it was the bare sun filling their spirits with a gusto, or the normalcy of having a companion again, neither of them shared a quiet stretch, whether it was Anton speaking of his time in the deep north of the Empire, or Madeline humming a tune to which Anton had a hard time even carrying, they enjoyed every single stretch of graveled road as a turn in a fresh new direction with endless possibilities.

They travelled like this for days, bypassing the larger townships in favour of finding quiet and scenic vistas where they could plant their humble tent and share a fire without the worry of passers-by inquiring about their goings-on. And there were goings-on. It was as if the both of them were experiencing youth for the first time, sharing in each other's company freely. Though the joys were simple, soon enough the emptiness of their backpacks urged them to move towards the largest city within a day's travel. They walked until they came to a crossroads, a single tall pole festooned with many different arrows pointing in each of the five road's directions. They stood, looking up at them for a good while, finally realizing that neither of them knew a single thing about which city would be more advantageous, let alone which would be more welcoming to their type of traveller. There were more than a few hamlets they passed through that shared with them the opinion that they should gather their soul's up and find solace in Sigmar's teachings. With all this in mind - they aimed towards the city where most of the wagon-wheels seemed to be cutting ruts in the snow - the city of Kemperbad.

The night was warmer without the winds cutting through the layered wool and cotton of their clothing. The Grey Mountains stood tall like a curtain to the southwest, perpetually visible as they follow the road which ran alongside the River Aver, where it would eventually meet with the Stir and the Reik at the large city. It was hard for two people from the forests to imagine mountains creating walls of earth in such ways - even in Sylvania the mountains rarely reached a height to be confused with anything more than a sharp rise in the forest. She could only imagine what the hills would look like when the sun crested and broke the peaks in the morning. The two sparked a conversation when the road towards Kemperbad became a little less occupied, the dark sweeping in to stay the wheels of carts at the nearest inns and taverns for the night.

"I feel guilty, at times Madalina."
"For what?" She sniffed and wiped at her nose, the chill beginning to set in.
"We travel and walk the roads - but at the end of it, I am but a tail to the dog. I sleep under the luxuries that your voice provides."
"And you are too proud a man to do so, it attacks you deep in your nethers, and some such like that?" Madeline laughed to herself.
"Yes, if you are wishing to put it like that. It's just, there must be something else I could do." His hands found the coat pockets, tucking them in snugly as his vision went down to the road beneath their feet, the lanterns lining the road washing their footfalls in a soft golden tone.
"Be content, Anton. There is one thing that I was told, and it's true now that I experience it. 'One must always be willing to do what it takes to bring their muse along with them in their life.' For some people, it is inside, a deep madness that curls around your every thought like climbing ivy. I am glad that mine is flesh and bone, and something I can touch." Her arm slipped around his, and though her face was still looking to the road, she knew there was a smile across his lips.

"Your feelings for each other are going to make this excruciating for me to go through with."
Their pleasantries were cut apart in the darkness by a voice. It startled them both at the closeness behind where they stood. Fumbling, Madeline turned as Anton placed her behind him, holding her at bay with a hand, catching sight of the man behind them. He was a shorter man, barely Madeline's height, but built sturdy in dark colours, a scarf wrapped around his face to conceal all but the eyes. His hand rested on the hilt of a long-blade, the other was on his hip.
"You must be new to the Reik - walking about like this in the middle of the night." His demeanour seemed pleasant, even a bit hesitant.
"We are not in Reikland yet.." Madeline quipped.
"Do you think me a man to be worried about borders? Since you are new to this, I will make it easy, simply lay your purses in the snow, and continue on your walk."
Anton and Madeline both stood for a moment, the offer sinking into their heads. They had little in their packs, and only enough coin to fill them again. The likelihood of having them full again soon was not to be counted on. Anton's blade was in the middle of his bedroll, well out of reach, and Madeline's guns were tucked inside of her coat, so neither of them could make a hasty move, let this highwayman have a fast enough hand to release his blade before either were ready.

"You wish to waylay us like this, having no care that we live by the bedroll at our backs?" Anton's voice lilted light at the end of the sentence as his hand squeezed to Madeline's unseenly. She caught the hint as she feigned absolute fear, burying her face into Anton's backpack with the sound of sobbing, tears which were an act to let her hand slip into his bedroll, feeling for the handle of his sword. With a the subtlest of adjustments, her fingers wrapped around it, holding for his signal.
"We are one and the same - the only difference is that I am hungrier than you are, and you have the joys of a woman. Be glad that I will let you keep that, northman." The rogue was far too casual, and Madeline's temper rose at the mention of being taken like an object. Her hand pulled the blade free from the tucked sheath with a song of steel, aiming the blade towards the man's lower regions, obviously surprising him into raising his palms up.
"Be glad that you have the joys of a man, because I will take it and leave it in the snow for the dogs." Madeline held the blade there to watch the man's reaction. He made no advance, and his voice seemed to lose whatever confidence it contained, yet there was something still causing him to stay his feet there. After a few moments silence, Anton's hand reached to take his blade in hand, Madeline moving to his side, carefully unbuttoning her coat, letting the cold wind swirl inside as she freed her holsters up.
"Actors as well as musicians..." He muttered to himself, his head turning slightly to look to either side of him, the darkness of the night was all around them, kept at bay by the lantern that hung just overhead of them. He continued, his voice holding no semblance of strength, quivering the whole time in the quietest of whispers.
"Please do not do this to me. There are three more in the darkness, two to my right, and one to my left. I do not wish it to come to bloodshed, but a single blade does not help you against those numbers. Just let us have your money, please." His voice shifted to complete begging as he clasped his hands together.

Madeline's temper at his gall came to the fore. Reaching into her coat, she drew her guns out, aiming one at the man, and the other towards the darkness as she gave fair warning to anyone in earshot.
"Do not use the darkness like this, I come from a land where the dark is not filled with desperate beggars with knives, but with horrors that humble the nightmares of man! If you do not show your faces, I will light up this darkness and you will regret the choices you have made up to this point!" Her voice rang clear into the night, echoing down the road in either direction, and rattling around the trees that fringed the roads. Her gaze set towards the thief, green eyes alight as she strode towards him, leveling the barrel square to his head, his eyes squinting hard as he expected the worst.
"Your friends had better show themselves, or the patrols will find a gravely cold man laying on the roadside."
The man broke, he reeled back, still keeping his hands visible. "There aren't any others, please, don't kill me like this, I apologize most humbly! I-I-I'm so hungry and desperate, I haven't eaten for days and I just wish a little coin to fill my stomach for another week, if you could but spare a little!"
Anton stepped forward, hoping to stay Madeline's gun arm as she kept it trained. He started to speak a phrase of calming nature, when the words were cut in twain as the crunch of snow under foot sounded to the nearest side. The repeater sung two booming notes towards the man, the flash of light from the gun flickering the woods for a split second. The attacker in the darkness dropped heavily, dead before the fall. Madeline spun to the other side, striding forward as she heard two more pairs of footsteps shockingly begin to move. She emptied the rest of the first pistol in the general direction of the sound, drawing screams from one of the victims, his pain apparent as her shots found a mark. The other's footsteps crunched off into the distance, away into the deepest black where her aim would not be tested.

Anton still could not find the intiative to use his blade, simply watching the girl go about dealing with the rogues, his hand clenching tight as each blast pealed into the deepest dark, visibly shaking with each sudden boom from her guns, the smell of the burning gunpowder filling the vicinity with it's sharp and aggressive scent that assailed his eyes and nose. She turned her attention back to the man on the ground. His voice turned to a soft whimpering cry as he begged.
"Please, please! Don't do this! You have lost nothing, turn me in to the authorities, ju-"
She cocked back the hammer on the fresh repeater, firing off a pair of shots that pushed him down into the snow, his arms going limp as they tore into his chest, leaving him laying in the road, cold as the snows around him. Anton wore the same confused and panicked expression as the men invariably wore before they were silenced. Madeline quickly holstered her guns and shook at Anton's arm, urging him to free himself from the suddenness of what just transpired.
"Come now, Anton, we must get away from here! We do not want to be caught at this scene, come!"

The man followed close behind as she started them on a hard sprint along the road, feet falling into the ruts and myriad of tracks still imprinted in the snows. They moved with an urgency like that for many miles, their breaths growing into plumes more frequently as their lungs began to tire, their legs finding their pace slowing. Soon enough, the lights of the border of Kemperbad were coming into view. The city was surrounded by a palisade, the only lights able to be seen above it were the tall spires and towers of the more affluent structures of the church and nobility. The entire road was lit with lanterns more frequently, allowing a semblance of safety as Anton stopped Madeline in her tracks, holding her at the shoulders.

"Why did you do that to them?"
"They were bandits, thieves, Anton!"
"You could have warned them, let them live the night!"
"Did you not listen to their snake oil? They were not to be trusted in the light of day, let alone the ease of night!"
"You killed two of them for certain, you realize this, right!?"
"Hush your voice! Do you want us to be found out?" She hissed at Anton, pulling him close to speak.
"I ask you to trust me, Anton. There are a few things I have learned in this life, and it is very simple; There are some people that reason will not work with, desperation can only change someone for the worse. They tried to decieve us there, and if we bargained for our lives, they would only come back again. This is the truth of the roads, a lesson I had learned with Sebastian."
"But this, it is not what..." His voice trailed, obviously unable to find the words to express his thoughts.
"Anton, I do not expect you to understand. I barely understand myself.."

Her hands opened wide to her sides, as if waiting for him to lay expectations down upon her. He looked at her, and all at once, he began to understand the urgency at which she lived her life, which was what most Sylvanians would have to live life as under the condemnation of the world around them, and the condemnation of the rule of the Counts. He stood there for a while as Madeline let him examine her, her body looked tired, and the longer that his eyes roved her frame, the more the lantern lit the glassiness that was building in her eyes. He did not want to wait for her beautiful lips to quiver, and he stepped forward, dropping his blade into the snows to embrace her completely, pressing the hard metal of her guns between the both of them. She clung to him like a flower clings to the sun. It took him only a short minute to understand that the woman that he saw as a fragile creature of song and mirth came at a price. In a world such as this, she was forced to be as brutal as the next man, even if she didn't wish it.

He took her inside the city walls, and they walked along the main street where taverns lit up the street as if it were the daytime. Anton found one of the inns with a cheap rate, and took care of bargaining for a night's rest. Soon enough, he was stoking a fire up while Madeline took care to undress, her shoulders shaking off the shoulder harness for her pistols with a sense of relief, letting them fall to the floor with a sound clatter. Anton stood and walked over to her and took her to the wide bed in front of the fire. She was laid down comfortably beneath the warm blankets, watching to Anton's expression which seemed to soften after the night's events. He leaned in to whisper into the girl's ear a simple and honest offering to Madeline, the minstrels playing soothingly quiet music in the declining mood of the evening beneath them in the commons.

"Thank you."

She let the tears go as she did her best to smile at Anton, before he leaned in to kiss her, the minstrels continuing on one of the older tunes, something meant to draw a bit of joy from the heartache.

We both lie silently still in the dead of the night.
Although we both lie close together,
We feel miles apart inside.
Was it something I said or something I did?
Did my words not come out right?
Though I tried not to hurt you,
Though I tried,
But I guess that's why they say;

Every rose has its thorn.
Just like every night has its dawn.
Just like every minstrel sings a sad, sad song.
Every rose has its thorn.

I listen to your favorite song, sung softly so,
Hear the bard's sing love's a game of
Easy come and easy go.
But I wonder does he know,
Has it ever felt like this,
And I know that you'd be here right now,
If I could have let you know somehow I guess,

Every rose has its thorn,
Just like every night has its dawn.
Just like every minstrel sings a sad, sad song.
Every rose has its thorn.

Though it's been a while now,
I can still feel so much pain.
Like the knife that cuts you,
The wound heals, but the scar, that scar remains.

I know I could have saved our love that night,
If I'd known what to say.
Instead if making love,
We both made our separate ways.

Now I hear you've found somebody new,
And that I never meant that much to you.
To hear that tears me up inside,
And to see you cuts me like a knife, I guess,

Every rose has its thorn.
Just like every night has its dawn.
Just like every minstrel sings a sad, sad song,
Every rose has its thorn.

[Si'anelle of Avelorn]

What I especially like is the depth of personal history your characters have as well as the uniquely detailed world you have created for them within the framework of GW's Empire fluff.

[Madeline Merri]

Thank you

I find the Empire fluff is some of the most conducive to accepting a little liberty taken with them. For the most part, any of the fluff that is written is focused specifically on the larger-than-life-heroes of the regions, and rarely do they seem to talk about the simple social structures, the daily life of the common man. Many other army books have done this to a larger degree - but the Empire is simply too rich in opportunities for this, surrounded by jealousy and greed, both externally and internally.

So yeah - it gives a gal a lot of elbow-room, but they are getting far to safe in the Empire - and lord knows I like killing characters, DUN-Dun-Dunnnnnn... ^_^

-Maddo