A Risk, a Name, and an Ultimatum ((Continued))
“The simple revelation of my face is more than I have granted anyone else. It gives you leverage. And yet you want a guarantee? There is no guarantee that I can give you.”
He shifted in his seat, resting his elbows on his knees, chin resting on laced fingers. The stillness of the night had grown outside, even the lapping of the waves on the dock growing quiet with the softening wind. That worried him; there was often stillness before a storm.
“What would stop me from giving you another false name, and claiming it is my true name? What memento could I give that might not simply be an expendable trinket that I claimed to have value? You wish to know without doubt that I mean you no harm? That’s not something I can give you. Already I have placed more trust in you than you return; I risk my own safety in revelation of what I have. I had hoped, and apparently vainly, that you would recognize this and honor it in kind. I can make use of your resources, your skills, and your ability. And you can in turn use mine. To thrive in this game you play, you need my expertise, and I need your resources. In that, yes, we are of equal standing, potential partners in a business drenched in blood and poison. I cannot make it sound better than that without weaving in a lie.”
He stood from his chair, and moved around them to his worktables, plucking a small glass cage from the rest containing a long-legged white spider with hair covering its back. Flipping open the top, he reached his hand in, letting the deadly creature climb onto the back of his hand. It did not bite him, but sat on the back of his hand.
“You claim me a coward. You claim me a bully, to be arrogant, even cocky. I prey on the weak, and fear the powerful. I threaten retribution as a means of intimidation, using exaggeration as my tool. "
He let a low chuckle rumble in his throat as he came back toward them, the spider slowly climbing its way up his arm toward his shoulder.
“I wait for the day when I find my next challenge…When I can honor an opponent with battle at its fullest. I have been dishonored in the eyes of my clan, cast aside, never again to join them in their battles. But that does not mean I cannot seek my own. You could not win against me, either of you. It is not arrogance that gives me right to claim this, but knowledge, understanding of my abilities, and of yours. It is why I offer my protection, should you find yourself beyond your own means, and my warning should you cross me. ”
He sat down, the large spider perching on his shoulder. He stared at them both in turn, no matter their reaction.
“You would spurn me as a threat, rather than to risk an uncertain ally. You cannot escape the eyes of authority in this city the way you go about your business now, but with my help, I can keep your dealings in the shadows. Otherwise, you simply toss away what inheritance and hope your parents have placed in you, and betray the unspoken oaths of protection you have placed in each other. What honor is there in that? You undervalue your own lives, but not the lives of each other, I see that much.”
“I offer you this, and ask that you consider it. Whether you believe it or not, as of now I mean you no harm, in the interest of mutual benefit. If you do cross me, you will find your lives cut short, as a declaration of fact. For as much as it is worth to you, my honor will not allow me to betray this agreement simply because I find no more use for you. Competition is not a strong enough reason for me to see you dead, as betrayal would be. As one of Andin descent, Annya should know how much our honor is worth to us.”
“You can take my offer, or leave now. If you leave it, keep your tongue as I will, and we will go about our business as if this never occurred. Know that.”
Outside, the bell told the half hour, a single loud ringing in the silent night. The watch would be changing shifts soon. Many were competent enough to know when someone was sleeping or drugged. This would need to end soon.
Terise could feel the absolute panic rise in the room as Exile took the spider out of the cage. She sighed, pressing her fingers to her temple before looking out of the corner of her eye, watching Annya all but climb the back of her seat. Annya's one weakness. She turned, looking at her sister with an obviously fake smile.
"Sister... If you are going to panic and flail, then you can go home. There is no need for you to sit and panic here, when you can do so in the comfort of your own home, now is there?"
"T-Thank you! I'm sorry... S-spider...."
Annya, without even a second thought, seemed practically to levitate from her chair and make her way towards the door. Once Annya was away from the docks, and it was obvious because of the sound of her running, Terise turned to look at Exile once more.
"Pardon my sister. Spiders are her one phobia in this world..."
She groaned a little as she rubbed at her forehead for a moment, then cleared her throat before leaning back, looking around the room, talking almost to herself, but still directed towards him. Her fingers, laced together, sat in her lap as one leg crossed over the other.
"You offer protection, but at the same time you all but basically say that I am a convenience... You are very talented, yes. But you also are arrogant. You honestly believe that all but saying that I am of little to no importance is going to make me want to just run straight into your arms and all but cry 'please, protect small and innocent me. I have no clue what I'm doing, and I'm just so lost and alone in this big bad world!' "
Terise had started to make a ridiculous voice, swaying in her seat as she held her hands close to her chest, batting her eyes a few times as she gave him an obviously fake love struck stare. Just as soon as she had finished her scene though, she returned to being serious.
"No. That makes me want simply to leave the room, and forget the name Exile ever existed... You've done nothing but belittle me and all but call me a useless herb gatherer since I walked into this place. What, pray tell, is suppose to be so alluring about working with or even under someone who does nothing but take small, though still powerful, bashes at ones ego and pride. Yes, you have your honor... I understand that, and respect that actually. But it doesn't change how you've addressed me since I've been here..."
She leaned forward in the chair, finally getting a solidly good look at his face, still careful of the spider perched on his shoulder. She didn't fear them, but she also knew that knowing him, it was actually poisonous in some fashion.
"Actually treat me and my sister as people, and stop your attempts of bashing any sort of pride or ego that we have left... And I will consider it. Like she had said before, we did not come here to get talked down to like we are nothing..."