Revelation

[Backabuth]

OCC: Woo! Go Tismri! lol

[micaylah]

Galbatorix sat unwavering under the gaze of the ancient rider. His eyes narrowed as he gripped the edge of the throne tightly under his left hand. “I could tell you more but what would that prove? Nothing.” He thought hard about what Tismri had asked of him. “You ask for what I would ask in your position.” He struggled briefly with his next course of action. “Words cannot be taken at their face value alone. Nothing in any war is black and white. There are many shades of gray which, when crossed, result in great tragedy for some. Collateral damage is unavoidable in any battle no matter the precautions taken to avoid it.” His eyes grew dark as he sat upon the throne. If any other had challenged him in this way he would have struck them down where they stood but he held great respect for this rider. “What would you ask of me to prove to you my cause is just?”

[Tismri]

"All I wish is to know what you felt about the whole thing. I am trying to understand why you did what you've done, to see if there is any reasoning behind it. Perhaps it would do you good as well, to look back at what you've done and see if the reasons for doing it are still just. I have talked with the elves, and I have talked with the Varden. They both explained their thoughts on this war and the reasons behind it. Now I wish to know yours. If anything, your reasons are the most important, for you are at the very center of this conflict." Tismri looked at him seriously, steadfastly, her green eyes as sharp as a cat's.

[micaylah]

Galbatorix gripped the arm of the throne tightly, the leather gloves creaked under his grip. His temper flared and he stared the Rider down. "I have told you my reasons. I will not get into 'feelings'!" he said with a sneer on his lips. "My patience has worn thin Rider. I suggest you go now while you are still able to leave!" He watched the rider closely. The black magic swirled around his arm as he clenched his fist.

[Tismri]

Tismri stood her ground, unafraid of Galbatorix's sudden anger.
"I see the fears of the people are just. I shall go as you ask, Galbatorix, and I shall go peacefully. And, truly I mean this when I tell you I wish you well." She touched her fingers to her lips, then turned and left the room, the guards outside the door following her to make sure she caused no havoc. No bow, no gesture of respect of any kind. In her heart, she felt sorry for him, though. She wished there was some way she could lessen his madness, his pain from losing his dragon. But she knew there was no way she could. It was something he had to do for himself.
~~~~~
During all this time, Marola had arrived at Uru'baen, regretting having to leave her son in Gil'ead. But it was for the best. She couldn't allow people to know about him. Every day she feared that the Black Hand would send someone after him.
Rauthr landed on the balcony of Marola's room and she dismounted. It was then that she noticed something moving inside one of the saddlebags. She carefully opened it to reveal her three-year-old's grinning face.
"Cortell!" she cried out, "What are you doing in there?"
"Uh...sitting?" the boy said, an innocent expression on his face.
"And why are you sitting in there, instead of at home?"
"Because I didn't want you to go. I miss you whenever you leave, Mamma." Marola felt her heart soften, but now she had a new problem. She looked at Rauthr.
We don't have time to take him back to Gil'ead, she told him, What should I do?
Just have him stay in here. He can't cause much trouble from in here. Marola reluctantly agreed.
"Okay, Cortell. Mamma's got to go do something, but I'll be back soon, okay?" The boy nodded his adorable little head.
"Okay, Mamma," he said, looking around the room with curious eyes. Marola glanced at Rauthr, then left the room, closing the door firmly behind her. Rauthr took off to practice flying.
Cortell quickly grew bored sitting in the room. He looked at all the stuff in the room, but couldn't find anything to entertain himself with. He look at the door, suddenly developing a desire to go out and explore. He walked to the door and reached up for the handle. It was too tall for him. He crossed his arms and glared at the handle, angry at it for now coming down to his height. Then his face brightened as he got an idea. He walked over to a chair and dragged it over to the door using all his strength. Standing on it, he was tall enough to reach the handle and he turned it, letting himself outside.
Once he was outside the door, he looked around. He was in a big long hall with a lot of doors. He walked down the hall, looking at everything with big, bright eyes. He kept on until he came to a pair of big bright door that were closed. Curious about what it was, he tried to open the heavy doors. Pushing all his little self against it, he was eventually able of open one of them enough to let himself in.
He tumbled inside, laughing as he did. Then he looked around the room, taking everything in. The first thing he saw was a man sitting in a big pretty chair. He also noticed a big black dragon sitting behind him. He wasn't scared of the dragon, for he had been around his mamma's dragon many times before. He walked right up to the man, a charming smile on his face, and said, "Hi! I'm Cortell, who are you?"

[micaylah]

Galbatorix lessened his grip on the arm of the throne as Tismri left. He closed his eyes, drawing a deep breath as he pulled his anger back into check. He opened them as he felt a presence outside of the throne room. It was different…new to the castle but somehow familiar. His eyes narrowed as he saw the gilded doors open slowly. His brow raised as he saw a very young boy tumble, laughing into the throne room. He sat back against the throne, his hand rising to stroke the stubble on his chin. He felt a small smile come over his lips as the small boy began to talk. He motioned him to come nearer. “I am the King Cortell. It is very nice to meet you. Where are your parents?”

[Tismri]

Cortell walked up to the king, smiling as he struggled to climb up in the man's lap.
"Uh...my mamma's somewhere in here," he said. He smiled, thinking about his mamma. He wished she could be home more often.

[micaylah]

Galbatorix smiled, feeling something within the boy. He reached down and helped him up as he smiled softly. “Tell me son…what is your mamma’s name?” He held the boy as he stroked his hair softly. Shrui’kan raised his head slightly, then lowered it back down turning his face toward the wall. Galbatorix looked closely at the boy. There was something very familiar about his eyes.

[Tismri]

Cortell smiled brightly at the king.
"Mamma," he said in a childish way. His gaze focused on the man's beard. None of the men he knew--neither Zak nor any of the servants--had beards. He gave the king a concerned look.
"Why do you have hair on your face?" he asked, thinking there might be something incredibly wrong with him.
OOC: lol! I find this very funny to write!
~~~~~
Marola went back to her room quickly, wanting to make sure Cortell was all right. She stopped in her tracks when she saw that the door was open, and a chair was standing near it. She groaned and searched around the room, though when she reached out with her mind, she knew he wasn't there. She reached her mind even further until she found him. Her heart quickened its pace. Her son, the boy she had worked so hard to keep hidden from the Empire, was in the very room Galbatorix was sitting in.

[Backabuth]

Zak slowly made his way to Marola's room. His mind was clouded, his eyes distant. He didn't really know where he was going, but he ended up in front of Marola's room...with Marola! He slightly bumped into her, making him come back out of his thoughts. "Oh, hey. I knew I'd run into you sometime."

[Tismri]

Marola looked at Zak, pure agitation on her face.
"Zak, slap me...right now...then help me find my kid."

[micaylah]

Galbatorix let out a soft chuckle. “Because I am very, very old little one.” He smiled softly as he tousled the boys hair. “Someday when you have grown a bit you will have hair too. They are called whiskers and boys get them on their face as the grow older.”

[Backabuth]

Zak's face was blank. "Cortell? Cortell is here? How? Why?" He cursed, gritting his teeth. "He could be anywhere by now...anywhere." He cursed again and slammed his fist against his forehead.

[Tismri]

Cortell blinked a couple of times, then let a smile come on his face.
"Oh," he said in a cute, child-like way. He touched his face to see if he had any yet.
"How long until I get mine?" he asked, blue-green eyes wide. His longish black hair was touseled over his head, and all in all, he was very adorable.
OOC: I love my kid. lol.
~~~~~
Marola growled and shook her head.
"He stowed away," she told him. "I thought he would just stay in my room, but he somehow got out." She rubbed the side of her head a little.
"And that's not the worst. I know exactly where he is."

[Backabuth]

Zak stopped moving; stopped breathing. He had become incredibly close to Cortell over the years. "Where is he?"