A/N: Wowza. It's been a long time since I've written anything. And this is the first fanfic I've ever written for this fandom! I've wanted to write something for this book for many years now, so I'm starting off with a little something small. But enjoy!
The night air hung heavy with humidity. I could tell that the dark, heavy clouds would give way any second now, spilling their contents down to the earth below. In the temporary calmness I could hear the faint sounds of even breathing coming from the room behind me. Inside the small hut slept the Emperor, Kygo. Him and his personal guard. I was supposed to be lying on the mat next to him, but I was too restless for sleep. My skin crawled with discomfort from the heat, and my mind wandered without end. So I sat out on the front steps leading into the hut, alone with my thoughts.
A low rumble sounded in the distance and the sky finally gave way. It was not a hard downpour, but the rains did quickly wet the earth. Something to my right drew my attention. I could feel it prickle my skin, the flow of Hua. I was curious of its origin. Only Lord Ido and I were trained in the arts of energy manipulation, and he was always under the careful watch of armed guards. But if it was him…
I ventured out into the rain, the path slick with mud under my feet. I could feel the energies coming from the North and followed its trail in to the small onset of trees surrounding the village. Under their thick canopy, the rain was reduced to nothing more than a slight dripping through the autumn leaves. But when I came to the place where I could feel the flow of energy the most, no rain fell from above at all, the small storm kept away by the power emanating from a figure in the center of the flow of Hua. I found him meditating on the stump of what had once been a very large tree. His head was tilted back, eyes closed and lips slightly parted. As I approached, he opened his eyes and I could see the silver film peel away to reveal the bright amber beneath.
"Eona." Ido smiled at my arrival.
"Lord Ido," I returned.
"Come now," he broke his posture, waving his hand at me. "As much as I do relish the title, there is no need for formalities out here."
Hesitantly, I nodded. Not only were we alone and away from the others, but we were all refugees, running from the threat of an army until I could learn to fully control my powers. We also needed to devise an actual plan to stand up against the prince's uncle, but my main focus was to train with the older Dragoneye during the day. When he could be safely monitored by the prince and his guard.
Speaking of…
"How did you manage to get out of your bonds and slip away from your guard?"
Ido laughed at my bluntness, giving me a sly smile. "I may be your mentor, but all masters must keep some secrets for themselves."
"You charmed him, didn't you?" I asked, crossing my arms.
"…that's beside the point."
I rolled my eyes. Although it didn't really matter if Ido charmed the guard or not, seeing as the Dragoneye would be the one punished even if the guard willingly set him free and handed him a knife for good measure.
"Although you do bring to my mind an excellent question. What exactly are you doing out here, Eona? Shouldn't you be curled up beside your emperor, protected from dangerous men like me?"
I felt the heat rush to my face, thankful for the darkness to help hide from his watchful gaze. "I couldn't sleep," I said, ignoring the latter part of his question.
"So you came out here looking for me?"
"No," I defended. Too quickly. "I mean, yes, but I didn't know it was you when I came out here."
"Ah," he said, leaning back. "So you felt me channeling my Hua. Impressive, seeing as it's not a technique I've taught you yet."
"Would you be able to teach me?" I asked, hopeful.
He rolled his eyes. "You don't even know what I was doing."
"Well if you were doing it, it must hold some importance."
A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips at that. I felt my face flush, aware of the implications my words seemed to hold. Suddenly Ido stood up, towering over me with the bulk of his body. I took an instinctive step back. He followed, and we continued on like that until my back was pressed up against a sturdy tree with nowhere else to go.
"Wh-what are you doing?" I stammered.
"I thought you wanted me to show you exactly what I had been doing."
"I didn't know it involved this." I tried to push him back, but his body was solid and I was barely able to nudge him.
"Just hold still, will you?" he said dryly. I paused, not wanting to give into him that easily but also curious to see what he would show me.
Ido reached his hand up to touch my face. I started to pull away, but the look in his eyes stopped me. He was intending to teach me, not just touch me. I gave a small nod for him to continue. He lightly touched the crown of my head, then gently touched his fingers to my eyes. Finally, he touched my lips.
"These three points of power. Focus on them all, but especially this one." He emphasized his last words by gently brushing his thumb over my lips once more, making me shiver. Taking a deep breath, I focused my mind on my three highest points of power. My eyes were closed, but I could feel that I had entered the energy world. As if he could sense it, too, Ido leaned in closer, his warm breath on my cheek.
"Try to control the speed at which your points are spinning." I could hear his voice, but it didn't seem quite right. His voice sounded as though it were too far away and inside of me all at once. I concentrated on the point at my crown first. I reached out, willing it to bend to my will and reduce its speed. I imagined a strong wind blowing against it in the opposite direction. At first nothing changed, but soon enough I felt my energy shift, and the light started to slow in speed. I tested my newfound ability on all three points Ido had mentioned, wondering what affect it might have. Curious, I reached within myself and started to spin the points faster, soon the speed picking up to be faster than what the original speed had been.
Suddenly I was drowning in a wave of fatigue. I was jolted out of the energy world, and my head was dizzy from the jarring shift. I felt Ido's strong arms firmly hold me upright as my body tried to collapse onto the ground.
"I suppose I forgot to mention that part," he said, his smile holding more sympathy that I thought I had ever seen from him.
"What was that? What did I do?" I croaked.
"When you change the speed at which your Hua flows, you are in a sense altering your life force and its durability. When you slow the speed, you reduce the amount of energy that escapes your soul. This is especially efficient when communing with your dragon, as you take the same power from your dragon without giving up as much of your Hua in return.
"Alternatively, speeding the points up increased the rate at which Hua freely flows from your body, much like when your dragon takes your energy from you, but with no exchange. I doubt you did much damage to yourself this time, but it's quite an unpleasant experience when you don't have the leftover singe of dragon power in you to keep you conscious. Our Hua naturally will shift in speed on its own, but it can be a useful tool to be able to control it at will."
I nodded my head, feeling too weak for more words.
After a few minutes of waiting to regain my strength, I stood taller. I could still feel the sting of fatigue plaguing my body and mind, but it was not as bad as it had been. As my mind continued to clear, a thought started to nag in my mind.
"Ido," I started. "What is the significance of those three spheres of power? Why not the others?"
He smirked. "Oh, nothing. I just wanted an excuse to touch your pretty face."
I felt the blood rise to my cheeks. Of course he would use even training as an excuse to touch me!
"One of these days, Lord Ido, I'm going to make you regret your actions."
"Ooh, is that a threat?" he cooed. I glared my eyes at him and he let out another deep laugh in response. I tried to pull away but his grip was still firmly holding me to his chest.
"Let me go." I demanded.
"I'm not done supporting you."
"I'm fine on my own now, thank you."
"But I don't think you are."
I let out a sigh of irritation. It only made his smirk widen. His amber eyes hungrily stared into my brown ones. I couldn't help but squirm under the intensity of his gaze. I felt him pull me even closer, our faces now only a mere breath apart. Our eyes were still locked in a stare. I felt his body relax, though his grip did not let up. Oddly enough, I felt my own body start to diffuse its tension. We stood there like that for a while, neither moving, barely even daring to breathe in the silence suspended between us.
"I could kiss you, you know." Breaking the silence, his voice was a cool whisper against my skin, making me shiver.
"But you won't."
"Are you so certain?" One of his arms snaked around me, hugging the curve of my back.
"I won't let you," my voice sounding much weaker than I had intended.
"But you aren't fighting back."
I do not know where it came from, and I did not care to think about why, but in a surge of boldness I closed the small difference between us, crushing our lips together. His response was immediate. He pushed my body back against the rough bark of the tree, his firm torso and hips holding me in place. My fingers wound into his hair, which was starting to grow back from when it was cut during his imprisonment. And as I tugged at the silky strands and felt his reply in the low rumble of his chest.
His tongue was at my mouth, demanding entrance. I opened up to him, letting him in and relishing in the sweetness of oranges and vanilla that danced across my tongue. I felt his hand cup my jaw, his thump stroking my cheek. I felt myself leaning into his hand, as well as the rest of his body. He moved one of his legs to sit between mine and I wrapped one of my arms around his back, the other around his neck. Between our hungry kisses and desperate gasps of air, I could feel a low moan building in my throat. As Ido bit down on my lip I let it escape, tasting tangy copper mix in with the sweetness of his passion.
His pulled back, a deep laugh rumbling in his body, and effectively mine as I was still pressed tightly between him and the tree.
"What was that about the mighty Mirror Dragoneye not letting me have my way?" his breath was slightly ragged, but he still managed to keep his composure well.
I, however, did not have such luck. But I did not let it alter the confidence in my voice. "I still have allowed you to do no such thing."
He cocked a fine eyebrow at me.
I felt my own smirk play at the edges of my lips. "Why, Lord Ido, was I not that one who kissed you, and not the other way around?"
His eyes narrowed for a moment before his expression shifted into a brilliantly wolfish smile.
I did not have a chance to say another word before he was upon me once more, our lips melding together. But this time the kiss was over as soon as it began.
"There. You didn't stop me."
I tried to glare at his smug expression, but I found myself smiling instead. "Alright, fine. I suppose I will allow you just this one small victory. But don't think it will happen again."
"I wouldn't dream of going against your will, my Lady."
I laughed, and began to pull away from his. Reluctantly, his hold loosened until I could step away. I felt his eyes lingering on me, but I would not meet his gaze.
"So," he finally said, breaking the uneasy silence that was growing between us. "Care to explain the purpose of that kiss?"
"It was nothing more than excuse, my Lord." I met his hard stare with one of my own.
"And excuse? For what?"
I held my chin up. "To get you to shut up and stop your gloating."
"…fair enough."