Letters to Rautu: The Box

Letters to Rautu: Box of Chocolates

In the early morning before the commander and the Den Asaan were made to begin their duties to the Frewyn armed forced in adding to their cuts and broken bones with a well-needed training session, there was a knock at the door of the commons. The commander, finishing garnishing herself with her leather pauldrons and bracers, hurried to answer the call before her foreboding mate could as he and the herald were not the friendliest of acquaintances. She opened the door and greeted the messenger with a genial look as he presented her with a small box.

"For the Den Asaan from a woman in a less than savory residential area," the herald nervously said, searching for signs of the merciless giant with feverish looks into the commons.

The commander responded with a bemused expression and took the small brown box from the herald to examine it. She thanked him for performing his tasks in the manner he ought and waved him away, returning to the den of the commons with the odd box in her hand.

The Den Asaan emerged from his lair of the bedchamber and inspected the item his mate placed on the table. "What is that package?" the giant asked, circling the strange article with circumspect in his treads, examining it with a shrewd and discerning eye.

"I'm not certain, Iimon Ghaala," the commander said. She raised her dark brows as she looked for the name on the front of the box. "Do you know this name?" The woman pointed to the marked designation and looked to her mate for a positive reply but found none."Would you like to open it or shall I? I know you are desperately hoping it to be some form of trap or sabotage to enliven your day but the rustling of the items within clearly tells me there is nothing delicate or volatile inside."

The commander laughed at her mate's unnecessary suspicion over so small an item and the giant grunted as he drew near, carefully cutting away the packaging about the edges, searching for signs of trickery and deceit. When the Den Asaan found none that concerned his mistrustful scout's mind, he opened the box to find something pleasantly distressing.

There was a card face down lying across a stack of wrapped chocolates. The giant's eyes widened at the prize but he remained cautious, lifting the card with a delicate hand. The design on the back of the card was a print of a multitude of varied cupcakes, all twinkling with tinsel and decoration. He was captivated by the grandeur of some of the small delectable cakes but quickly shook his attention from the image, feeling that it was somehow a ruse, goading him into consideration. He turned the card over to read the message on the front and to his astonishment, there was only one word upon it.

Khostaas was the word written in the traditional Frewyn script. The commander had leaned to read the large inked declaration upon the card and immediately looked to the name of the sender once more. "Why would this person be asking for forgiveness from you? You never bestow that happy right upon anybody no matter now inconsequential the offense," the commander smirked.

The giant hummed in contemplation as he attempted to recall the meaning behind such a generous tribute. Rautu looked at the name, the stack of various chocolate bars within the box and then once more at the hand on the card. He regarded the address from which it was sent and sighed, immediately recollecting the person who had sent it.

"Does this have to do with the incident involving a certain Hollow's Day spider?" the commander asked with an inquisitive tone. The giant made no remark other than a fleeting scowl at the memory of such an event and the commander knew she had inferred correctly. "She apologized for tossing that stuffed and rather adorable spider at you when you opened the door to deprive her of her chocolate by using those children as bait. I suppose she felt further apologies were in order as you tore the poor inanimate creature apart."

"It attacked me," Rautu grumbled.

"It was a spider that has never been nor shall ever be alive."

"It was in the form of one, woman," the giant argued. "I did what was necessary for defense."

The commander snickered at her mate's ridiculous assertion and allowed him to inspect the numerous chocolates given in tribute for pardon. There was an object of some concern as the first item in the box was a small dark chocolate bar that contained morsels of fruits for a more dulcet flavour. Upon reading the contents of the chocolate on the side of the packaging, the commander swiftly snatched the chocolate from the giant's hand, salvaging the intention of the gift and not despoiling it by a misunderstanding.

The giant prepared himself to shout at the action of taking what was clearly given to him but he was distracted by the many differing wrappers of the luxurious dark chocolate beneath the one his mate had taken. He inspected each bar with great interest, humming at the ones he found to be the most appealing, and possibly the most appetizing, and remaining thoughtfully silent at the ones he found to be less attractive.

"Show me the one you have taken," the giant demanded, looking to his mate with a narrow glance.

The commander held up the small square chocolate and allowed him to read the label that boasted of juicy notes of summer fruits within.

"You may have that one," Rautu groaned, pining for the traces of abominable fruit, plummeting the chocolate into ruination.

"I thought I might," the commander laughed. "This is the one I wanted. I'm glad we could agree on a fitting payment for my services as I accepted the box on your behalf, allowing the herald to live."    

The giant gave his mate a mindful look and began opened each of the chocolates. He tasted all of them within the space of a few moments and then placed them in the order that he deemed was most acceptable for consumption. Rautu looked down at his parade of dark chocolates and sighed, nodding in acknowledgement of the fitting means of pardon. "This woman is sincere in her want for Khostaas," the Den Asaan resolved. "I will accept her offer."

The commander's eyes widened in astonishment for the giant's easy acquiescence and said nothing as she believed such an occurrence was never to happen again. She thought perhaps that her stern mate would not accept such a tribute, claiming that the cupcakes on the card lead him to false pretenses and therefore the contents were a mockery instead of a gift of contrition, but she quickly saw the giant's sincerity arise when he took his writing implements from his effects and began to fashion a formal letter of acceptance, making the accepting of the gift all the more charming.