Assassins Bane (wof medieval human AU)

Gifts and Shackles

Ocean Flow

Ocean Flow did her best to stay calm as her father approached.

How strange it was, that less than a day ago she hadn't known anything about her family, and now, she was surrounded by them. Nay, imprisoned by them.

Shark was, despite the fact that he wasn't particularly tall for a grown man, an extremely intimidating figure.

His hair was close shaven to his head, his eyes were small and dark, his skin looked rough and battle hardened.

In any case, he didn't give off the sort of air a father would when welcoming his long lost daughter home, but then again, she hadn't done much in the way of acting like the sort of child you might want returned.

Ocean Flow suddenly realized that she was at the moment, quite unable to move. Her hands were tied in a very tight knot and she was chained to an extremely hard stone chair, so should it come to having to defend herself, she would be quite unable to do so.

But he wouldn't hit me, would he? I'm his daughter, his long lost daughter!

Ocean Flow wondered, a panicky feeling starting to spread throughout her body.

Girl you tried to kidnap his niece. Daughter or not, he doesn't seem like the type to just let you get away with anything. Besides, fathers hit their children all the time.

Her brain argued with her.

Shark pulled up a chair, and sat facing her, face hard and cold.

"I think it's time you tell us everything that's been going on. Tell me everything, from your first memory to your last."

"Then will you tell me about the things I don't remember?" Ocean Flow asked. "Like about my mother? And my life before I lost everything?"

"Yes," he said. 

"Do you promise?" 

It felt strangely important that he promised her. 

"I promise."

She took a deep breath. "Okay, the first thing I remember is waking up in a tent. There was sand everywhere, in my mouth, in my nose, in my eyes, in my lungs . . . the first thing I saw, my first memory of a living being, was him . . .

Qibli

"The moon is beautiful tonight, isn't it?" Qibli said, gazing up at the sky. 

After a few moments had past and he had yet to receive a reply, he turned her head towards the young woman beside him.

She was staring out into the dessert, her dark eyes misty and blank.

"Moon?" Qibli prodded.

"Hmm?" She blinked and looked at him.

Qibli smiled patiently. "Look at the moon, it's beautiful huh?"

She followed his gaze with her own. "Oh, yes, very beautiful."

"The Sand Kingdom is the best place to see the moon, there's nothing obscuring it, you don't even need a telescope, it's amazing isn't it?"

He tried to ignore the fact that he was subconsciously pressing her to agree with him, in a subtle act to find the security he had been missing over the past few days.

"It is amazing," she smiled.

There it was again, that smile. That smile that was sweet, but so distant.