Why couldn’t I ever just be awesome with no issues?
That was another headstone for me:Awesome, but with issues.
“Okay, thanks, Lhorine. I’ll figure something out.”
She grimaced. “Sorry, I know it’s not the easy answer you were looking for. So… think of that next time before youaccidentallybind someone.”
I gave her two thumbs up and a tight smile. “Will do.”
Now… I had to figure myself out… while getting ready for a war… and do it all really quickly so Bayn and I could get back to figuring out how to convince the titans to help us.
No biggie.
It was a short walk back to Bayn’s residence. I hadn’t figured out anything by then. Luckily, it seemed he wasn’t back from wherever he’d run off to. His sister met me at the door instead.
“I’m sorry my brother is… the way he is,” Wensuria said as I turned away to go in search of the man. I turned back slowly. Perhaps she could help me?
“And… how is that… exactly?” I asked.
She invited me in, and we sat in what remained of the large sitting area. Bayn’s previous tantrum had left the room in tatters. Koar stayed outside, so we could talk privately.
“It’s not my place to say what happened to him, that’s a story for him to tell you, if he ever gets his head out of his ass long enough to see you might be a good fit for him,” Wensuria began.
I laughed at that.
I liked this woman. For one, she made me feel small, which wasn’t something I felt around most women. I’d always been a bit taller and bigger than the girls around me. Luckily, my mother’s binding had also kept me fairly svelte, and I’d never put on a lot of weight, but there had still been a lot of times when I’d felt damn awkward being taller than some guys and most girls. And, having been busty since the age of thirteen, that had added a whole other layer of awkwardness. Yet Wensuria was a full-figured woman, well over seven feet tall, and seemed to have absolutely no body issues. In my mind that made her a damned queen.
She was also understanding and open, which weren’t words I associated with titans, given everything I’d heard about them… and the main example I’d been dealing with, namely Bayn. It gave me hope that maybe other titans weren’t as dickish as I’d imagined.
She had dark hair and fair skin, brilliant golden eyes, and a kind smile.
“What I can say is this… he’s… broken.”
Oh yay, fixing a man, exactly what I wanted to be doing while getting ready for the fight of my life.
“And he has issues trusting… anyone.” She pursed her lips, eyes a bit distant, perhaps trying to figure out what she could tell me. “Someone very close to him betrayed him… badly… in a humiliating way, and my parents were a part of it.”
Yikes! That’s messed up. Your parents helping someone humiliate you? No wonder he was broken and didn’t trust people.
“He had differing views from my parents and spoke out against them, and after this…thing… happened, they imprisoned him for a while to keep him quiet. Then… they released him into Saldrea’s custody, with me as the tool to keep him compliant.”
Talk about shitty parents.
And that was saying something, since I’d been a child in the foster system.
I hesitated before asking, but I really wanted to know, “How doyoufeel about your parents, and what they did to him and you?”
She seemed to sense my hesitancy and waved it away with a grin. “Oh, they’re fucking bastards, but I’ve always known that.”
I had to laugh at that, and she joined me.
Which led me to another question. “Would you say more titans are reasonable, like you, or messed up, like Bayn and your parents?”
That got a roll of her eyes. “Yeah, sorry, I’m the aberrant one. Most titans are too twisted up with rage at the elves to be as charming as me.”
Well fuck, so much for that.
Wensuria must have seen the question in my eyes and smiled again. “Why am I so different?”
