The Necklace: Part I

Loss

"You can't come in here," Alys exclaimed with a secreted smile, her eyes laughing as she took in the appearance of her fiancé trying to keep his curious glances of her dressing room stealthy out of a sense of propriety. "Image the rumours which would get out about my lost virtue if anyone were to see you."

"What will it matter, once we are wed?" He questioned, standing behind her so that both of their images were distorted in the blurred mirror. He saw a beautiful young lady in her first blush, one with adoring eyes, a modest countenance, and a body which he yearned to reveal from the pearl-white dress encasing and framing her body as the current style dictated. He saw the woman who would soon be his bride, the one hand-picked from society to suit his needs and match his status as heir to the dukedom – by his father, no less.

For one disarming moment the mirror showed her someone else. A man with flowing hair of spun gold and a predatory grin, who looked at her differently out of amesyst fey eyes every time she saw him. His gaze could be vengeful, passionate, exasperated, loving, sincere, mirthful, and seeing him made her love for him swell in her chest. In that second, her smile was real; then the reflection in the mirror presented reality, and yet her face didn't falter despite the familiar disappointment reeling within her heart. She was wearing a costume of wealth and happiness, pretending to be someone she wasn't in a life which was no longer her own. "It won't," she replied quietly, praying it never came to that.

"I have something for you," the man in the mirror, the real one who looked to be barely older than she was but was all wrong, promised, pulling an intricately carved ivory jewelry box inlaid with pearl out of one of the hidden pockets of his black overcoat. The case swirled within her vision, and Alys didn't know whether there were tears in her eyes or if the flaws in the mirror before her echoed off the precious materials and gave them a ghastly blur.

"What is it?" She asked, curiosity muted by this first present from her suitor which would bind her to him forever. Rings were coming next, she knew. Dreaded.

With a flourish, he opened the beautiful case. Alys hadn't expected the necklace within to make the ivory and pearl look like a pauper's box, but when she took in the large pink diamond surrounded by pearls and the clear glow of flawless, standard diamonds against a black velvet background she couldn't help but gasp in feminine pleasure. "It's gorgeous," Alys whispered in awe.

"As you are," he promised with a smile, bending to fasten the gems around her neck. "It was designed to be worn by the woman I am to spend the rest of my life with. You'll wear it tonight." With his dark hair next to hers, eyes raised to watch her in the mirror, Alys realized that life with him would probably be bearable, if it came to that. Maybe the pain in her heart from loving someone else with all her being would ease in time. Her eyes watered and she was trapped.

"As you wish," Alys inclined her head, watching the sparkle through the mirror of her tears.

"I'll leave you to get ready," he said, slipping out the door without being seen. He was familiar with every step and stone in the castle, his black cloak just another shadow. Alys waited until she was sure he had left, then buried her face in her hands and cried. The drops of salt tears slid over her cheeks and fingers, dropping to the precious silk of her dress and washing upon the binding diamonds around her neck. The necklace seemed to tighten like a noose, and she was hanged by her own feelings.

God help her, she was starting to like the man she was supposed to marry.

No, she wouldn't give in to that. It would be so much easier to do what she needed to if she had no regard for him. She couldn't do this anymore, now that it wasn't just her own feelings in jeopardy of being crushed. Alys stood, the bench from her dressing table falling backwards in her haste. The padded cushion met the carpeted floor with little more than a pat. Misery didn't always deserve company. Her life might be in ruins, but that didn't mean her fiancé couldn't find someone who could make him happy. Alys flung open the door to her terrace, the wood slamming against stone making far more of a testimony to her escape than the bench did, but she didn't notice one of the panes of glass shattering as she ran across the stone floor. The pads of her bare feet slammed into the unyielding floor and with a harsh sob she crashed into the balustrade, jerking to such a violent stop her hair tumbled down from the confines of the style her maid had spent upwards to an hour perfecting. Tiny pearls scattered at her feet, rolling between the rails on the balcony and falling down, down into the violent waters crashing against the edge of the cliff far below.

Her tears followed, and she imagined the ocean was created from the laments of women like her, who had lost their loves and spent the ages weeping alone. She stared into the blackness below her, not able to see the water collide with immovable cliff, but she could hear the roar in the dark and the sound of brutality was like a beacon to her weary soul. It would be so very easy for her to climb a few feet and allow herself to fall for hundreds more. Alys's hands tightened on the barrier between her body and death, and she wondered if the grasp was to prevent her body from going over or to brace herself for it. She stood, feet braced slightly apart. The wind plastered her dress against her skin, making her body feel heavy and lethargic when she tried to move, and her long tresses were untamed as the storm at sea got nearer to her place of refuge. On the air, she could taste the salt of the ocean and the spray made her skin clammy, sticky as it was exhilarating.

"I can't," she murmured into the wind, letting the whipping of her hair mute the words as they were carried from her mouth and out to sea. "I'm sorry." These words were more silent, as they weren't only directed towards him but also to the overwhelming part of herself who wanted to be with him always.

"If you've decided not to join me in death," the familiar tones of his voice caressed the shell of her ear in warmth as his arms encased her frozen body. "Will you stay with me in life?"

"Selendrile," she sighed, leaning back against his warm, solid chest. Her mind hadn't quite caught up with what her body recognized. He was really there, not just another figment of her imagination. Alive. "My God," she whispered, warm tears flooding her eyes with bliss as she turned in his arms. Her icy hand reached up, stroking the golden skin of his unmarred cheek. "How are you alive?"

"Does it matter?" He asked, pressing her back against the marble barrier with his body. His hand cupped the back of her head, twisting through the wild curls of her hair on the wind. His face moved so that his lips were close enough to kiss but neither of them moved from the tableau they were in. His fingers had found the clasp of the necklace.

Alys looked into his eyes, the purple deepening to heavy clouds in a violent storm. He ripped the necklace off her neck, letting it drop carelessly to the floor. It bounced, skittering over and lost in nature's grasp. Alys gasped as Selendrile's fingers curled around the back of her neck, claiming the flesh there as his own.

"You let him mark you," he hissed possessively.

Alys lowered her eyes in shame.

"You're mine," Selendrile raged against the tempest washing inland. "Do you hear me, Alys? You're always mine."

"Yes," she breathed as his mouth closed harshly over hers, cutting off her words. His lips were possessive, bruising her with the intensity of his claim. Sliding, griping, pressing, gentle nibbles from his sharp teeth. "I love you," she promised, vowed an eternity when the kiss was over and he had taken a step back to observe her.

In a flash that even her trained eyes couldn't discern, he was a golden beast, dragon neck corded with dangerous muscles as he bellowed into the air. He took flight, reaching towards her with talons which had learned gentleness even as they could rip her apart. His bulk was a shadow above her.

Alys smiled, and they went over the ledge together.

©RelenaFanel.October29.2006

An appology to everyone. I know that those of you who visited Murking Fantasy (see link on my profile) have read this already as it was my entry to the Halloween challenge. Moreover, I'm sorry that I forgot to post this on here. Halloween is a busy time for me, and I honestly thought it was up. This goes out to all of you. I'll put part II up tomorrow (though you can easily find it and other submissions over in the community, if so inclined. I'll pimp it once more by saying that I'm not the only one who wrote something, so go check out the amazing talent of Lady Scribe of Avandell and NautiPirate who both favored us with amazing Kerry/Michel fics.).

Note: Those of you intimately familiar with CotN, can you notice where I pulled a Michel in the above para? Truly, it is a work of art.