Happy new year everyone!
Hope you're all ok. I'm thinking of writing some prompts for Jariadne as the end of the series is getting me down a bit. Here is my first one, let me know what you think of it.
I have never EVER written a story from a prompt before so here goes...
Prompt: Jason and Ariadne spend New Year's Eve alone together
New Year's Wish
It was New Year's Eve in Atlantis. At first I had no idea if they celebrated it or not, but due to the enormous amounts of food being delivered to the palace and the bunting and streamers decorating the streets, I soon discovered that they did indeed celebrate it: even if it wasn't as big a deal as it was in the 21st century.
Slipping out of a small door in the palace, I saw her standing there, on the balcony, with her back facing me. Her long, dark curls blew around her shoulders slightly in the cool, night breeze as she gazed up at the stars.
She looked like a goddess on earth.
Ariadne wore a dress I didn't recognise. It was deep purple chiffon with silver swirls at the hem, two glittering silver clasps on the shoulder straps and a silver chain tied around her slim waist.
My breath hitched in my throat at the sight of her. She really was the most beautiful girls I had ever seen.
I crept silently towards her- not wanting to startle her- but she seemed to have already sensed my presence way before I had even got close to her.
"It's strange, don't you think." She sighed, gazing up at the stars. "There's so much out there. So much to see. A new year brings so many possibilities Jason. So much could happen this year... it's scary to think that there is a whole world outside of these palace walls."
"Why is it scary?" I asked in a quiet voice, still walking up behind her. "Like you said, this year holds many new possibilities, it's exciting I would say- rather than scary."
Ariadne responded with a regretful sigh.
I reached the edge of the balcony and stood next to her, our bare arms rubbing against each other slightly, yet I noticed that she still would not look at me.
"I am afraid Jason because I know that for me nothing will change. As a Princess I am bound to this City and its people, and I know that it is impossible for me to experience the thrills and excitement that this new year will bring to ordinary people. I will be forever here, stood at a balcony looking out at the world that I will never get the chance to explore."
As her eyes trailed down from the stars to look at me I saw the tears glistening in her eyes and the unspoken turmoil written in her features. And for the first time I truly understood the full weight of the burden she carried as being the heir to the throne.
Yes she may have many things that I didn't: food, position, wealth, power and luxuries I could only ever dream of. But I possessed the only thing that she desperately wanted.
Freedom.
In the spur of the moment I placed my palm over her small hand- which was resting on the balcony rail- in a comforting gesture.
I saw her shoulders relax and some of the tension leave her body, and it warmed me to know that I could provide her with even a small piece of comfort.
Wanting to distract her, I asked her a question I had already guessed the answer to.
"Why are you not inside enjoying the palace celebrations?"
"I could ask you the same thing." She said with a mischievous smile.
I actually laughed at that. It was strange to see this fun, cheeky side of her emerge when I was so used to seeing the stoic Princess facade that she wore in public.
"I was never actually invited." I eventually answered. "I just sneaked in to try and see you. Now your turn, why are you out here in the cold?"
Ariadne sighed and smiled sadly in response. Her face turned upwards to the night sky again and she took a deep breath, steadying herself for whatever she was about to say. It was obvious that she was unaccustomed to confiding her true feelings so to another person so I gently squeezed her hand again, hoping that I could offer her the same comfort as earlier.
She took another deep breath.
"I'm fed up of being pushed at wealthy men and I have no desire whatsoever to be continually forced to dance with lords and other men of high standing. I hate parties such as these. The excessive eating, the raucous noise, the sleazy men, the false smiles: it's all so superficial. I just wanted to be away from it all."
I could feel her small hand under mine tighten around the balcony railing, gripping it in frustration.
Sensing that she needed a better distraction I followed her gaze to the stars.
"You know," I began in a nervous voice, never having told anyone in Atlantis anything about my home before. "Where I come from, on New Year's Eve they always set off the most amazing fireworks and—"
"Fire what?"
"Fireworks. They are kind of like huge colourful explosions in the sky."
"Isn't that dangerous!" She asked me with a slightly shocked, slightly confuse expression.
"No, it's perfectly safe. Someone on the ground would light small packages and they would soar up high into the night sky, and we would stand her together and watch as they exploded in bright, glittering colours. It's the most perfect start to a new year. The sky almost looks as if it is being painted with the most exotic and wild tones as the colours dance across the horizon and with each flash of light the whole city underneath comes alive."
Ariadne's eyes widened in awe and a genuine smile spread across her face.
"That sounds beautiful!" she said in a gasp, her voice filled with wonder.
"It is."
I can't deny it. It's moments like this when I really miss my old home; I imagine how they would be celebrating the arrival of 2014 and a pang of regret shoots through my body.
But then I see Ariadne's smile, her eyes sparkling with awe and her delicate features illuminated in the moonlight and I know I would never be happier back home than I am here.
With her.
"I wish you would speak more often about your home. It sounds so magical and I love hearing your stories; what else do people do on New Year's Eve where you come from?"
Despite my reluctance to talk about my far away home, she sounded so sincerely intrigued to hear more about my former life and I couldn't deny her that.
"Well... we usually drink champagne, count down the seconds until midnight, sing a song that nobody knows the words to and then of course we make New Year's resolutions."
"Resolution?"
"I suppose it's a promise you make yourself of something that you're going to do that year like... lose weight or drink less or buy nicer clothes or... well you get the idea."
Ariadne burst into laughter, "that sounds just as superficial as the people in there." she said with a cheeky grin, gesturing towards the palace.
"Well what do Atlantean people do then?" I said, emphasising the word 'Atlantean' in a posh voice.
She laughed even harder and shoved my shoulder in a playful manner. I couldn't control the wide grin that appeared on my face or the searing heat that spread throughout my body at the contact.
"We Atlanteans ask the gods for a single New Year's wish." she said, copying my exaggerated posh annunciation.
"Tell me Ariadne, what is your wish for this year?"
Her infectious laughter quietened at the question.
She tilted her head away from me and looked down at her hands as she spoke in a levelled voice.
"As the Princess of Atlantis my wish will be the same as it is every year: I wish for the safety and peace of my people."
There was silence for a moment before she turned to look at me again and asked in a small voice.
"What about you Jason? What will your wish be?"
I didn't have to think about that. It was the same thing I wished for at night when my mind was plagued with thoughts of a certain girl, unable to sleep.
"I wish that the girl I am in love with noticed me. That she loved me back."
Why did I just blurt that out? I can already feel my cheeks blushing furiously.
"Jason," Ariadne whispered softly, her eyes locking with mine. "You might have to think of another wish... because that one is already true."
Thank-you for reading. Please review if you liked it. I am thinking of writing some more Jariadne prompts depending on how much time I have (YAYYYY REVISION TIME OF YEAR) so if you have an idea send me a message.
