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The Manor of the Red Leopard
#2
Merdyn Gilyard Bio



Merdyn glared at the Aes Sedai’s back as she walked through the gateway. He hadn’t meant to become snappish, but he had meant what he said. Oh, he had fantasized about pulling his father down; for the better part of the year to be sure. Now that the time had come, Merdyn was ready to sick up. That was due in part to the fact that he hadn’t seen his father since that fateful night. But the rest of it?

With a sigh, Merdyn went through the gateway to rejoin his companions. The gateway winked out behind him as he let go of the weaving; he still held Saidin. Familiar scents of home came crashing through his enhanced senses; fleeting memories of happier times accompanied them, intensifying Merdyn’s urge to empty his gut at Vivienne’s feet.

The woman was conferring with her Warder in hushed tones once more, soldiers politely waiting off to the side and doing their best to avoid listening in. Even holding on to Saidin, Merdyn could only make out a few words of the conversation. He ignored them and took stock of his surroundings. A sparse thicket of trees surrounded them, and a wide, open field lay beyond the tree line. He could have brought them closer, but he had chosen not to.

Merdyn had deposited them just along the edge of the Gilyard estates – a large tract of land dotted with farms, vineyards, and the manor grounds. The sun was already past its zenith and it would take them a few hours more to ride on to the manor. Vivienne and Letto would leave ahead of them, Merdyn and the soldiers would rejoin them later after darkness fell across the land. If any one of the farming families on the estates saw Merdyn riding in with Andoran soldiers – well, it was best not to think on that.

Letting go of Saidin, Merdyn walked over to the two women and put his best face on. There was no need to antagonize the pair of them, not when they were so vital to the success of this endeavor. Letto spotted him first and her jaw snapped shut. Vivienne turned almost instantly, her face a mask of Aes Sedai coolness.

“I apologize,” Merdyn said simply.

Vivienne said nothing. She merley adjusted her shawl and held his gaze. Letto had a face that said she was chewing nails at that very moment; her stare not lacking for intensity. Merdyn shifted on his feet uncomfortably.

“It was not right of me to speak to you so, Vivienne Sedai,” Merdyn went on, looking for the right words. His tone was tight, but his face was imploring, “It’s just that… You cannot know how hard this is for me. What my father did was abhorrent, but he is still my father.”

Vivienne cocked an eyebrow and kept her peace. She let the silence stretch on until Merdyn opened his mouth again, but she went right over him, “How can you know what I or my Warder have gone through in our lives? How can you know that we have not had to burden the same tragedies that you bare on your own back? Think before you speak or make such assumptions. A touch of civility would do you well.”

Merdyn’s mouth worked as he sought the words once more. A touch of civility? The woman was as arrogant an Aes Sedai as he had ever heard of. The gall of the woman. Calling him down for rudeness when he had just tried to apologize to her? Unbelievable. He closed his mouth and shook his head. Sometimes the best response was silence.

Vivienne continued to stare at him and he returned the favor. After a time she broke their staring match and looked up to her Warder.

“Well, we better be on with it, Letto. The Daughter Heir has asked for expediency in this effort,” Vivienne said with a snap of her shawl before walking off to a pair of bay geldings that awaited them. One of the soldiers helped her into the saddle as Letto drew nearer to Merdyn. Ice formed at the base of his spine as her face came up to his, less than a handspan separating them.

“The next you speak to my Aes Sedai, you will show her every respect she is due. You will not question her or push her. If I see so much as an eyeroll on your face, I will personally take the skin from your hide and make you dance in your bones – Saidin or no,” Letto spoke to him in a cold tone through bared teeth. Without waiting for reply, she turned on her heel and went off to rejoin Vivienne. The pair rode off from the thicket and onto the packed dirt road that surrounded the estates.

“Bloody, flaming women…” Merdyn muttered to himself before stalking off in the opposite direction.

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The Manor of the Red Leopard - by Rowan Finnegan - 08-20-2021, 01:32 AM
RE: The Manor of the Red Leopard - by Aiden Finnegan - 08-20-2021, 10:26 PM

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