InkSkin

A Little Jealousy

The following weeks blurred one into another for Alsuha as she and LuSol fell into a sort of routine. She shadowed LuSol as he walked the market square "to be seen" by the masses, a strange pastime she did not understand even when LuSol tried to explain it to her. She had ended up interrupting him mid-speech, informing him that it was a ridiculous thing to do and that she would be hard pressed to protect him if anyone was bent on hurting him in the open, but crowded streets. LuSol had simply assured her he had the upmost faith in her abilities and had walked away from her. A black scowl would adorn her face every time he insisted on partaking of the foolish enterprise. These excursions usually ended the same, with LuSol returning with note after note of the many worries or complaints his father's subjects heaped at his feet. It didn't take long for Alsuha to realize just how much the people cared for and respected LuSol. It took a little longer for her to realize LuSol was the only one, out of his father and brother, who bothered to check in on the residents of Sathein.

She was a silent observer as he passed judgment at the Council Meetings. She had quickly gained a reputation as his black dog with the petitioners who came to the Council Meetings. They no longer thought of LuSol as the fool that they could take advantage of. He had given her rein to intercede whenever she thought a petitioner was getting out of hand and she had, on more than one occasion. She had even gone so far as to physically remove a few petitioners who had disrespected the prince in one way or another. LuSol's manners at the meetings also changed. He no longer tolerated sanctimonious behavior from the petitioners and had even gone as far as requesting Alsuha escort some of them out of the hall if she had not thought to do so herself. There were rumors that LuSol had changed, but the Kingdom seemed divided; some thought it was for the best, while others thought he was becoming too harsh, going so far as to insinuate that perhaps the Ink'd he'd Bonded with had somehow used her Ink to influence him. LuSol insisted that she ignore them. He was adamant that it was just the members of the court latching onto the smallest tidbit in their ever constant battle against boredom and that they would quickly move on to some other, equally ridiculous claim, and all would be forgotten. Alsuha was not completely convinced, but she let it go, tucking it away in a corner of her mind.

She was his constant companion, never letting him out of her sight for even a moment. She even learned, after an explosive confrontation between herself and the stubborn prince, what it was he did when he shut himself up in his suite of rooms at night. He studied. It was a pleasing shock to find that his favorite subject were the Ink'd. Alsuha had been confused as to why he had been so obdurately against her knowing the main subject of his studies, until he pointed out he had been afraid she would have seen his research of her people as him trying to do the Ink'd more harm. She had regarded him soberly, and informed him that of everything she had come to learn from being his Companion, the only thing she was certain of was that he alone had the Ink'd best interest at heart. That had seemed to mollify his irrational fear and Alsuha had not wasted any time in letting herself peruse his study. She quickly found that he was quite detail-oriented and had volumes upon volumes of his own hypothesis and research. She had even found the journal with the original sketches of her Collar. They were crude drawings but they possessed a captivating beauty in their rawness. Alsuha found herself drawn to them.

There were other journals in his study. Some had even belonged to his great, great, great, grandfather; the first King Yraurd, the Slave King. But in all the books and journals Alsuha came across, she got the sense that there was something LuSol was searching for. He followed the three Tribes' histories like a hound with a scent. What he searched for Alsuha did not know, but through their link she learned much about her people. She liked the sound of his voice in her mind as he read and thought his thoughts, and from the images which leaked through to her she was able to shape a half- formed puzzle of what life had been like for her over kind two thousand years ago. Underneath it all, Alsuha could sense a strange combination of desperation and frustration in LuSol. It was almost as though he were just grasping at something but not quite managing to reach it.