[Scholars' Nook] Two Arcs Later...

[Faith Augustin]

8th Ymiden, 718
Two years after this, give or take

at the Scholars' Nook

Faith loved it here.

Scalvoris, generally, was a place which she called home and loved living. But this place, particularly, the Scholars' Nook, was delightful to her. It served cake, tea and it was full of books. Those were three of her favourite things and the young woman had used to spend quite a lot of time here. Used to being operative words. Because now, she had twins and they took all her spare time and focus. Especially at the moment, with Padraig still away on the expedition which he'd been on since the end of last season. She was busy and tired and she missed her husband so she hadn't been here for quite some time. However, this afternoon her father-in-law, Cyrus, had taken matters into his own hands and he'd told her that Katie and he were taking the babies out for the afternoon. So, their house was empty, since Luna had gone too, and Faith had thought that she'd take the time to catch up on some work.

But it was a conspiracy, it seemed. Trudi had told her very clearly that they didn't need her this afternoon and had more or less thrown her out, which Faith found a little offputting since it was her business. But when Trudi did it, she made a point which Faith couldn't argue with. "When Cyrus asks you what you did with your time, how much pleasure do you think he'll get from hearing you had a nice afternoon, Faith? Go and relax, for the love of all the Immortals!" Faith had to acknowledge that Trudi was right about Cyrus, so she somewhat begrudgingly made her way to the Nook. There, at least, she could sit and cake and drink tea and read. It would be like she was working, almost, but equally when she told Cyrus, he'd be pleased.

"Fine! I'll go and eat cake in the Nook," she'd grumbled and then made her way. She had to it admit, it was a nice feeling. So, she sat in her favourite window seat and kicked her shoes off under the table, enjoying the feeling of freedom in her feet and making fists with her toes in the deep rug. She had a cup of tea, a pile of books on medicine, and three quarters of a slice of chocolate cake uneaten. She had never built her appetite to the point of a normal persons but she very much enjoyed what she ate.

Leaving the cake and tea behind for a moment, Faith made her way to the shelf with the medicine books. There, with her back to the rest of the room, she spied a book on - of course - the top shelf which she wanted. She reached and then tried to jump but neither of them gave her the height she needed and she pursed her lips. "Pick on the short woman, why don't you," she muttered to the book and then stepped backwards with the intention of getting one of the many step ladders in the place. As she stepped, she bumped into someone walking past her, or standing behind her or even, she supposed, reaching for the book she'd been after.

She looked up to apologise and then she caught sight of who it was and Faith stopped dead. "Tristan?" Faith's silver eyes looked up at him, but they had changed. No longer just silver now, but tinged with a deep ruby red colour and her face burst into a smile. "Tristan, what are you doing here? Oh it is so good to see you!" Her first and immediate reaction was to hug him, delight on her face. "How are you? How are things?" She beamed at him "Oh hello!"

[Tristan Venora]

“This place is absolutely fantastic!“ Tristan remarked to his bodyguard Brandon who was also one of his best friends as they walked down the street. He’d just arrived on the island and decided to go on a sightseeing tour before he visited Faith in the evening. She was one of the reasons for his coming here, but he didn’t think that she’d appreciate his interrupting her at work, even though he really, really wanted to see her. “The sun is shining, nobody wants to kill me, nobody wants to kill mages, and nobody cares who I am. I wish I could stay longer. But who would take care of Oakleigh then?”

“Hart?” Brandon replied with a grin, and Tristan laughed. He’d asked Hart, his brother and doppelganger, to pretend to be him while he was gone. He wondered how he was doing. Maybe he should write him sometime. But for now he needed to … He didn’t finish that train of thought as an incredibly delicious smell reached his nose. He stopped dead in his tracks and sniffed, and then he gestured for Brandon to follow him and walked right into the Scholar’s Nook. The smell brought back memories, of a happier, simpler time when he had just been a random noble in Andaris and his neighbour had made cake for him. He loved cake!

Once he had walked through the door, he stopped for the second time in just as many bits and furrowed his brow. This was not a café, but some sort of library. There were books everywhere! He didn’t particularly like books (unless he had written them himself). Maybe the smell had come from somewhere else! But no, he still noticed it. In fact, it was even stronger than before! They sold cake in this place, and he would find it and buy it all!

He was just walking around a corner – he could already see the cakes (there were a lot of them) in front of him – when somebody bumped into him. He was about to open his mouth in order to complain, but as that person turned around, he abruptly closed it again, and his eyes widened. “Faith?” he asked incredulously. “I wanted to visit you later to-trial!” She looked different, he noticed, and not just because she was much more confident. Her eyes were tinged with a deep ruby red colour. He had never seen somebody with eyes like that before!

Tristan on the other hand hadn’t changed at all – on the outside. He was wearing a fine blue silk-shirt and a very eye-catching red leather jacket (and pants and shoes of course), and his eyes were the same bright shade of blue they had always been. His changes were all internal. He had seen a lot of bad things in the past arc, and they had affected him.

“I ran away!” he replied. “At least for a season. I was depressed because of what Cassander is doing to the kingdom, but now I’m fine again because I don’t have to see him anymore. Hart’s playing duke instead of me now. How are you though? And how are the babies? Can I see them?” he asked excitedly. In the beginning he hadn’t liked the idea of Faith being Padraig’s wife and giving birth to his children at all – in fact, he still wished that she were his sometimes – but she seemed to be happy with Padraig, and that was what mattered the most!

“Wait”, Brandon said and nudged Tristan in order to get his attention. “Is this the Faith? The one you always talk about?”

[Faith Augustin]

No matter what happened in her life, no matter where she went or what she achieved, Faith would always love Tristan Venora. She was sure of it because he was the first person to be truly kind to her. Padraig found it hard to understand, she knew - and she in turn understood why he felt that way, but he had not known her when first she had approached Tristan in the grounds outside the University. Her freedom began the moment he bought her, Faith knew. And so, she beamed with delight to see him and there was nothing except delight for a few trill. However, then she looked at him and a slight frown crossed her face. "You look tired," she said, her voice quiet and, as always, more suited to a library than anywhere else. "But by every Immortal, it is good to see you, Tristan."

He had run away? "I hope that if ever you need to run away, you run to where I am. I promise you, I would do the same." Not that Faith could imagine having to run away ever, but if they ever did then as much as Tristan didn't like Padraig - and as entirely reciprocated as that was, Faith knew that should they ever turn up at Tristan's door, they would be safe. Without question. She smiled up at him and answered "I'm good. The babies are beautiful, truly beautiful. I'm so.. I'm so in love with them, Tristan. Padraig is away, on an expedition." She missed him so much there was a hole in her chest.

The man with Tristan nudged him and asked if she was the Faith and she smiled slightly. "I might be simply a Faith. But Faith is my name. It's nice to meet you," she said, offering her hand. Then, to Tristan, she could not help it. "Tristan, they sell such wonderful cakes here! And I have learned to make chocolate and I make chocolate orange cake and think of you every time. Come, will you and your friend have some cake with me?" Putting her arm in his, Faith smiled. "And then, I'd love to show you where we live and you meet the children. Is Ayla with you?" Or had he left his daughter back in Andaris? "How's Mistral?"

[Tristan Venora]

“I watched the Order of the Mantis burn people alive”, Tristan replied with a sigh as Faith observed that he was tired. He hadn’t realized how exhausted he was until she had said those words. Walking around Scalvoris and then seeing her again for the first time in several seasons had made him temporarily forget all the bad things that he had had to face, but they were all coming back to him now. “My cousin is a ruthless murderer, Aelig is still at large, Ayla is still aging much too quickly, and I spent the first twenty trials of the journey terribly sea-sick. I should have made that anti-seasickness potion before I left Rynmere”, he realized. It only occurred to him belatedly that being sea-sick was really quite a minor thing compared to being executed.

Faith’s voice was so quiet and gentle that he instantly felt better again. “It’s good to see you again as well, Faith. You don’t know how good it is. And I did run away to Scalvoris, didn’t I?” he asked, grinning slightly as she told him to run away to where she was if he ever needed to run away. “If you ever have to leave Scalvoris, you can stay with me, and I’ll do what I can to protect you. I will even confront the Immortals if I have to!” he promised her. A part of him still loved her and always would, he realized, even though he had Valeria now who was better than all of the drugs that his cousin Andráska had ever made him try, but he had accepted that she would never be his again – mostly, at least.

“You must tell me their names!” he demanded as she mentioned how beautiful her babies were. When they had first met, he had considered babies to be really annoying little monsters that he didn’t want to have anything to do with, and he had vowed that he would never become a father, but now he got excited over them. Getting Ayla had changed him, even though he still wasn’t sure who her mother was. He had to admit, he was glad that Padraig was gone and that he would be able to be alone with Faith for a while. He probably disliked the terrible tutor a little less now, but it would still be easier without him.

Brandon watched the exchange with no small amount of amusement. As Faith insisted that she might simply be a Faith, he shook his head and retorted, “No, you are the Faith, the special one. You should have heard the things he said about you. I’m Brandon, by the way. I’m his bodyguard. I protect him from himself, crazy assassins and all kinds of other people, and when he’s lost the key, I pick the lock for him.”

“I would love to have cake with you!” Tristan replied and smiled at her as she put her arm in his. It felt almost, as if they had never parted. “Chocolate’s my favourite. Ayla came with me of course, by the way. She’s just tired from the journey so I left her at the house with Lianne and Hannah. It’s a pretty nice house, even though it only has ten rooms. As for Mistral”, he continued and grinned. “He’s as grumpy as ever, and he loves to beat dogs up! He’ll be excited to see you again, Faith!”

[Faith Augustin]

He'd watched people burn alive? Faith looked at him and, unthinkingly and unconsciously, she put her hand on his cheek. "I'm so sorry you experienced that." Faith had no doubt that it would have been awful for him and she frowned as she considered it. When she had witnessed it, a person being burnt alive, it had been the smell which had been overwhelming, but then she had been very young and maybe that was why. But his cousin was a ruthless murdered? "Which one?!" Ayla was still aging and he had been... sea sick? Perhaps that last one wasn't quite as bad as the others, Faith thought but did not say. "Did you climb up to the Crows Nest?" Faith asked, looking at him with serious ruby and silver eyes. He would remember, no doubt.

They had been together, sitting in the crows nest of U'frek's ship when she had wondered, just for a moment, whether she and he could ever be anything other than slave and owner. They had shared a moment, she supposed. But then, there had been more than one of those and she remembered the Burhan ball and those awful shoes. And the look of eagerness on his face when he told her that they were going to walk there. Her grin was genuine when he said that he had run away to Scalvoris and she nodded. At his words, though, she looked utterly serious. He would confront the Immortals for her? "I know." Faith replied and she said no more than that, because no more needed saying. She would do the same for him. In a heartbeat.

"Noah and Madison," she said and she grinned at him. "I can't wait for you to meet them. You'll come see them, won't you? After cake, of course." She chuckled. slightly "We live in a house with a turret, on an outcropping of rock over a wooden bridge. It's wonderful there." It was, there was no doubting it. "But a little scary getting across," she admitted, honestly. "Padraig's grandfather and his wife live with us. And our friend, Luna." She was excited to introduce him to them, she said, genuinely and she absolutely meant it.

To Brandon, though, she smiled and shook his hand. "Well, I look forward to hearing what he's had to say," she said with a smile. "Oh, I'm glad, Tristan! I would love Noah and Madison to meet Ayla. That sounds wonderful." It did and she promised that she would cook them all a meal, whilst they were here. "You should come to the restaurant, too. Cally's."

Once they got settled down, Faith asked Caz, the owner, for a selection of cake and the woman was happy to oblige. Chocolate cake was a specialty here, Faith said and slid her half-slice over to Tristan without pause while they waited. She'd ordered herself some vanilla cake and she certainly wouldn't eat it if she finished the chocolate cake.

"So, what plans do you have while you're here? I'd be so happy to show you around," she said, genuinely delighted at the prospect. "It would be a pleasure. Have you got any specifics about the place you'd like to visit or... how much do you know about the locality?" That was probably a good place to start, she thought, as she grinned at the arrival of the cake. Caz couldn't help but look at Tristan with interest, wondering who this man was. Faith smiled to the owner, who also happened to be her friend and explained. "This is my friend, Tristan, and his friend Brandon. This is Caz." Greeting were exchanged and then Faith turned excited eyes to Tristan to hear his response.

[Tristan Venora]

“Pythera“, Tristan replied. “Darcy’s sister. The cousin that we don’t talk about. She’s a bandit – no, she’s the leader of a whole group of bandits that are terrorizing Rynmere and killing people left and right. My other cousins are behaving for the time being, although Alistair …” He looked around in order to make sure that nobody was listening in on them – nobody but Brandon, because he trusted him – and then he leaned closer to her and whispered, “Alistair visited me on my last birth trial. He climbed through my bedroom window and proceeded to tell me that I should be king.” His eyes were wide as he said that. He looked at her for a moment, and then he abruptly pulled back because he wasn’t sure if this was the right time and place to talk about what Alistair and he had discussed that strange, strange night.

“I wanted to”, he replied as she asked him if he had climbed up to the Crow’s Nest. Most people got seasick because of the movement of the ship, Tristan on the other hand got seasick from looking at all the water – so sitting in the part of the ship that was the furthest away from the water helped. Except … “They wouldn’t let me. They told me it was dangerous, and they were worried about me falling to my death, so I hid in my cabin instead and tried to brew potions. Did I ever tell you that I’m practically a master alchemist now?” He smiled at her. Brewing potions was one of the few things that had distracted him during the past, difficult arc – even though he had initially only become an alchemist in order to spite Padraig. He wondered if the terrible tutor would indeed be angry when he found out that Tristan Venora was just as good as him now.

“My father is named Noah as well!” he informed her. “I’ll definitely come and see them. Can I bring my daughter as well? Your house sounds great, by the way. Does it have a normal bridge or a drawbridge? You should get a drawbridge so that you can pull it up and turn your house into a fortress!” he told her in a matter-of-fact tone and nodded. For a moment, for a very brief moment he was the quirky, carefree young man whose head was full of crazy ideas again, but a few trills later the expression on his face got serious once more.

“Most of all I want to forget. I need time to think, about Cassander, about Pythera, about Ayla and about what Alistair and I talked about that night. I’d also like to take a few classes in alchemy, mostly because I haven’t met any alchemists besides Padraig. There’s also an item that I want to get enchanted”, he said and took the half-slice of cake from Faith, smiling gratefully as he did so. He took a bite, enjoying the taste before he admitted, “I don’t know much about Scalvoris, apart from the fact that it was full of pirates that disappeared somehow. Maybe you could tell me what’s worth visiting on this island?” he asked.

Brandon listened to the conversation with unmistakable interest and a grin on his face – and then with a little discomfort. It all seemed rather personal to him. “If you want to, I can give you some time alone”, he offered. “I can just go and bother Caz”, he suggested because it didn’t look as if anybody would try and stab Tristan while he was with Faith.

[Faith Augustin]

"Darcy's sister," Faith said and nodded. Who was Darcy? Presumably Pythera's sibling, but other than that, who knew? Certainly not her. But then he spoke about Alistair saying that Tristan should be king and a deep frown crossed Faith's face. It was nothing to do with her, she reminded herself. Alistair was Tristan's cousin and she'd seen him here, not so long ago. But that was part of the problem. "Hmm." Faith said, and Tristan knew her too well to think there was no opinion there. But, like him, she was of the opinion that it was probably not the time and place to discuss it.

That they hadn't let him climb up in the crow's nest caused her to raise an eyebrow. "That is because you did not have me there to tell them that they must," she said with a grin. They'd gone up there because he'd decided it had been a good plan - although to this trial there were few words she regretted more than suggesting that he got further up that fateful journey. Still. On the subject of alchemy, she nodded. "You mentioned it," more than once, "briefly." His kitchen had been entirely reworked the last time she'd visited him, he might recall. Faith didn't ask him what it was that had caused him to start learning alchemy, she was moderately sure that she understood exactly. "Are you going to continue your study here at the University?" Faith wondered. He might not want to if he thought Padraig would be his tutor, so she added. "I am a professor of medicine there, Padraig of physics. He has his Charter in Physics with a specialism in astrophysics and a Diploma in Chemistry too." Pride shone from her and then she smiled at him as she realised who she was talking to. "But not alchemy."

Tristan answered her question, yes, he was taking some classes and then he spoke about the island. Brandon spoke up and Faith shook her head. "There is no need on my account. Whatever is easiest and most comfortable for you. Both." Either way, she said, she would be happy to take some time to explore Scalvoris with them. "The sands are astonishing. There is orange sand which is always warm and green which is always cool. There are flying rabbits called Flunnies and the mice are the size of small dogs. There's a volcano on a small island with a resort there, ice caves and a jungle. So many wonderful things." She grinned at him, although Faith was tired, there was no doubting it. "My restaurant is flourishing. Oh there are so many things I'd like to show you."

Very genuinely, she told him that she would love to see those things with him to spend time with Ayla. It was just good to spend some time with him. "I hope Ayla and the twins will get on well. " Though, she did have work at the University, in the Council, the restaurant and the associated businesses with that, "we've opened an orphanage, a soup kitchen and a mental wellness clinic. There's also a village of around one hundred people, all of who have jobs now, because of the work." She was enthusiastic, there was no doubt. But Faith was also tired. So very tired. Red eyes looked at him, though, with genuine enthusiasm as she asked. "Where would you like to start?"

[Tristan Venora]

“Yes, of course“, he replied as she asked him if he was going to continue his studies at the university. “I plan on getting my Letter while I’m here so that I can just show it to people when they don’t believe me that I’m a good alchemist. As for Padraig not being an alchemy professor”, he continued and tried his hardest not to show just how relieved he was to hear that. He had been worried that he would run into the terrible tutor during his time at the university. Faith loved him, and he accepted that, but he didn’t think that he could stand seeing him every trial. Such a thing would likely end in a major disaster. “That’s okay. I’m sure that the other professors are great as well!”

“I heard that”, he remarked as she told him that she was a professor as well now. He briefly wondered if he should feel inferior because all of his friends and acquaintances were professors now or in the process of becoming such, but being inferior really didn’t feel good, so he decided to let it be. As long as he was here, he wanted to be happy and relaxed, besides, he wasn’t interested in teaching anybody anyway. “Did I ever congratulate you? If not, I’ll do so now. Congratulations on becoming a professor, Faith!”

“Orange and green sand and flying bunnies?” he wondered and furrowed his brow as if he weren’t sure that he had heard correctly. Faith had never lied to him or made a joke though. She was one of the few people that had always been honest with him. “Can we go to the beach? Do you think I’ll be able to use the sand for my alchemy? I’d also like to see your restaurant – and the flying bunnies. Do you still cook, by the way?” he wanted to know. She had already been the best cook in Rynmere when she had been his life, now she was probably the best cook in all of Idalos!

“I’d like to see your restaurant first”, he decided because he wanted to know what she had done with the place. “And then the sand. I’ve never seen green sand before! And maybe we can take a look at a flying bunny on the way there?” he asked. “Only if you aren’t too tired”, he added, suddenly a little concerned. “You look tired, Faith!”

“Do you know why the sand on Scalvoris is green?” Brandon interjected. Since Faith didn’t seem to mind his presence, he’d decided to stay and listen. Scalvoris, the bodyguard thought, sounded really amazing!

[Faith Augustin]

When he was so graceful, so gracious about Padraig Faith smiled at Tristan. "They are," she said and her eyes met his for a moment, sure that he would understand her next two words and exactly what they meant. "Thank you." He and Padraig might never be friends, might well never get on but the simple truth of it was that Faith loved them both. Not in the same way, not at all and her heart belonged to Padraig completely. But this man sitting opposite her had told her that she was a person, that she had a right to have the feelings she did. He had held the door open for her to be ready to realise what she felt when Padraig came into her life and for that, she would always be grateful.

She smiled when he said congratulations on becoming a professor, but she wasn't sure that it was worthy of such. Mostly she was just too tired and overworked and stressed to think it was a good thing, but then she knew herself well enough to know that she wasn't quite her usual self at the moment. With a grin at his enthusiasm, though, she shook her head. "It's all sorts of colours. There is this rainbow sand which is quite astonishing. Many colours, like a rainbow, but no matter how small a piece you have, even one grain. It's all the colours."

His enthusiasm was as contagious as ever and she nodded. "We can go to the beach, yes. And to the restaurant. Anywhere you like." He said she looked tired, though and she stopped and looked at him. How did that happen, she wondered? She'd come back from going to bring back Elyna Burhan, exhausted and having not slept for trials, and he hadn't noticed then. Yet there was no doubting it, the man in front of her had changed and grown. He was a different one than the man she had known, which made sense. And yet, some things were true and always had been for them.

One of which was that Faith could not lie to the man she had once called 'Master'.

"I am tired." Faith said and she smiled at him slightly. "Padraig is away, I have too much to do. Some time off spent with you will be just what the doctor ordered." To Brandon then, she shrugged slightly. "I really don't know, to be honest." she replied. "It is many different colours in different places. This place is a very odd, quirky one." To Tristan she added, with a smile. "I think you're going to love it."

She would wait then, until he was ready and then, suggest that they came to her house, met the twins and joined her for dinner. Then, tomorrow, they could explore?

But only, of course, after they'd finished their cake.

[Tristan Venora]

Tristan noticed the look that Faith gave him when he told her that she looked tired, and he briefly wondered if he had done something wrong. She did look tired though, as if she hadn’t gotten enough sleep recently. Was it just the combination of being a new mother and having a demanding job – or something more? The old Tristan, the one who had bought her because he had always wanted to own a slave, would happily have pried into her private life, the new Tristan wasn’t sure if it was any of his business though.

“I hope I can help you feel better”, he remarked. “If it ever gets too much for you, we can just visit your restaurant and talk. I wouldn’t mind that either.” He paused for a moment. He wasn’t sure if she would like his question, but it needed to be said. “Do you have anybody to help you, Faith? I couldn’t run my duchy without dozens of servants and advisors, and you are doing almost more than I’m doing”, he pointed out. Faith did indeed seem to be everywhere at the same time. He had no idea how she did it!

He still hadn’t finished his cake though, so he momentarily stopped thinking about Faith being tired and started to eat again because he couldn’t let it go to waste. Cake was his favourite food which most people would probably find hard to believe when they saw him since he was comparatively skinny. Tristan ate and ate and struggled to put on any weight (which he didn’t really mind since it allowed him to eat even more of his favourite food).

Soon Tristan (and Brandon) had finished the cake, and both Duke and bodyguard rose to their feet. “I’d love to meet the babies”, he proclaimed and added, “And I missed your food. I hope you don’t mind that. I have a cook in Oakleigh, but he’s not nearly as good as you are.” He was about to offer her his arm, but then he thought about it again. He wanted to walk with her through Scalvoris arm in arm, but he wasn’t sure if it was really appropriate. She was not his anymore. She was a married woman now. Besides, if he did that now, it would be even harder to let her go again.

He decided to contend himself with just walking next to her – which was still more than he had had for the past couple of seasons and likely more than he would ever have again. Before long, her house came into view. He had to admit, he was curious about how she lived.