Tales of a Synsuous Nature #6 - Her Noble Birth
Malik Poma, was born into a very minor branch of the nobility and lived in relative obscurity in the snowy woods of Snowden Drifts. Through hard earned skill, he eventually became a relatively famous warrior, bringing his noble birth to light.
Centia Perierat was born into a more well-known branch of the nobility, was well loved and always did as she was told. Until she met Malik...
For Centia, the entire trip was a blur. She hated carriages, they simply made her nauseous. She closed her eyes and wished for the trip to be over. Suddenly, the carriage jolted violently and she almost vomited on the spot. She could hear the horses squeal in terror! The carriage gave another violent jolt and began to gain speed, now weaving erratically. She barely stuck her out of the window in time to spew everything she had in her stomach onto the side of the carriage. Looking up, she could see a pack of Icebrood Wolves ravaging the horse. She closed her eyes briefly in prayer, knowing that soon she would meet a hideous fate.
All at once, a man on a horse appeared next to the carriage. He flung open the door, plucked Centia out of the carriage as if she weighed as little as a pillow and spurred the horse, carrying them away from the wolves and to the relative safety of a not too distant inn.
Overcome with emotion, Centia hugs the stranger fiercely and plants a kiss on his cheek! 'I knew that I was about to die a gruesome death and I was about to resign myself to my fate when you appeared', she states. 'There is little I can offer you for saving my life, but my parents will most assuredly provide you with a reward'.
The man bows formally and proclaims, 'I did not save you to receive a reward, but rather because it was the noble thing to do. I am Knight Malik Poma, at your service'.
Centia curtsies gracefully, ' I am Centia Perierat, and I am forever indebted to you for your timely arrival.'
Centia became smitten with the man who had saved her life and began to spend more and more time with him. When her family discovered this, they were not pleased at all! They ordered her to stop seeing him immediately. She refused and continued to see him in secret. After some time, they eloped and were married. Centia naively thought that the news of her betrothal would change her parent's minds, but instead they disowned her on the spot.
After the disheartening news, they moved far from either family. Things went very well for quite some time. Malik moved up the chain of command, never failing to impress his superiors with his talent for combat and leadership.
At home, Centia recreated her former household as best as she could; the house had the finest furnishings they could afford, the walls were lined with exquisite tapestries and various musical instruments could be found. There were shelves lined with books both rare and common. After they been married for 6 years, Centia became pregnant and and 9 months later a daughter was born. Centia was enamored with the name Dulcia and Malik, unwilling to deprive his wife of the smallest shred of happiness, acquiesced, although truth be told, he did not care for the name one bit.
Dulcia was the light of the couples lives and they spent all the time they could with her, showering her with affection. Centia spent every moment Malik was away playing with her daughter and teaching her all of the things that she had been taught, reading, etiquette, the names of plants and animals and the love of music.
Eventually, the father was maimed in combat and was assigned as commander of a garrison. But things soon took an even worse course. Before he was injured, another had been promised the position and they seethed with hatred every time they were forced to report to Malik. Zeli, the jealous adjutant bided his time, plotting his revenge, falsifying documents which Malik unwittingly signed and sowing discontent among the junior officers. When he finally reached a point where he was sure of success, he sprung his trap! Malik was accused of incompetency and dismissed from his post.
Bitter and disillusioned, Malik took to drinking. Because of his now tarnished reputation and his disability, he could only earn coin via menial manual labor. Eventually he drank more and more. His loving wife, neglected and embittered, started to nag. Stuck in a downward spiral, Malik continued to drink and Centia continued to nag. Malik started to beat her, and one night, in a fit of rage, he murdered her and buried the body in secret. Synsuous was 8 at the time. Malik told her that her mother had been killed by bandits.
With the mother out of the picture, Malik stopped any attempts to earn a living, preferring to drink and wallow in self pity. To survive, he begin to sell off their belongings, one at a time. After several years, everything was gone, except for some books and one or two trunks of various documents Centia had kept; writs of an assorted nature, family recipes handed down for generations, sheet music she had written, etc.
With the mother gone, Malik had no one to vent on, and soon he started beating Dulcia. She sheltered herself as best as she could in her imagination and her books, hoping beyond hope for divine intervention.
One night, when she was 16, in a drunken stupor, he sexually assaulted her and a new chapter of horror opened up before Dulcia. She decided that no one was ever going to save her and determined to escape the living hell her live had become, she ran away.