Test of Heart as Temperature Rises
Sorry for the wait everyone. Here it is. The beginning of a Daystar and Shiara story. This continues from a previous one-shot, We Need a Break, it may be helpful to read that first before continuing here; it's not absolutely necessary though, if you're one to go with the flow. Comments are appreciated, as always, and with all that, let's begin.
Disclaimer: I don't claim to have any rights or ownership of the Enchanted Forest or its respective characters. I receive no profit, as this is just for fun. I will, however, take credit for original characters that I throw into the mix.
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Chapter One: In which all is introduced, Willin finally completes the dungeon, and guests arrive.
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Shiara's smile erupted into laughter, which caused Daystar to grin as they sat upon the stairway leading to the North Northwest dungeon. Daystar was seated a step above Shiara, enabling her to comfortably lean back against him as they spoke. They had kept their growing relationship a secret since their intimate confrontation in the hidden cavern, though it often times required craftiness from the both of them.
"You're kidding Daystar. There's no way he did that." Shiara smirked as she turned slightly in their embrace to look at him.
"I told you that you wouldn't believe me, but it's the truth." Daystar responded, smiling as he leaned down to kiss her neck.
Shiara smiled, "He slammed the door in the Duke's face." She repeated as a statement, tilting her head ever so slightly as Daystar continued the gentle trail down her skin. He pulled back to respond.
"And broke his nose." He stated with a grin at the memory. Leaning down closer, Daystar managed to scoop Shiara up into his lap. He rested his chin on her shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her to keep her from falling.
"You're getting too good at that," she whispered distractedly with a smile. She returned to her initial reaction, "Willin can be rather unpredictable at times."
"Mm," Daystar agreed, and closed his eyes in contentment.
"Daystar?" Shiara asked hesitantly, which in turn made him hold her closer. She continued, knowing that he was listening. "How…long do you think we should keep this a secret?"
Daystar thought a moment, "For as long as you think we should, love." Shiara couldn't help but laugh.
"Good answer." Smirking, she leaned in and captured his lips with her own.
Honestly, Shiara was rather surprised. She was the only person to see the more confident, thoughtful, and loving side of Daystar that no one else knew existed. It was an interesting relationship to say the least. Around other people they disguised their love and replaced it with the once usual sarcasm and exhausting monotony.
Rather suddenly, Shiara pulled back and placed a finger to his lips before he had the chance to question.
"What are the odds, huh?" She asked in a hushed whisper, to which Daystar smiled and shrugged. She sighed and stood up, helping Daystar up as well. "And I was comfortable too…"
"Don't worry," Daystar whispered back to her, "I know how to fix that."
Shiara smiled and shook her head as she began to descend the steps. She turned back to him and winked when they heard the sounds of footsteps, struggle, and Willin's orders become louder. Waiting for a few moments more, she began to stomp angrily down the stairs.
"How can you accuse me of such a thing?" Shiara asked incredulously, taking another step down from where Daystar stood. The angry tone of her voice echoed down the stairway, which immediately made Willin freeze up; the servants took the gesture as the order to halt, and did so happily as they set down the object they had been carrying.
The Prince feigned a look of disbelief, "All I said was that it was no wonder your magic doesn't work, after the way you treated that poor elf-"
"Who was attempting to rob me!" Shaira interrupted, her hands thrown up in the air at fabricated frustration. "What was I supposed to do, mutter sincere apologies about how I had some nerve carrying items that belonged to me?" Daystar shook his head.
"Tact, Shiara! It was wrong for that elf to try and steal from you, but you didn't have to be so flamboyantly rude."
Shiara's jaw dropped, and looked at him as if he had just sprouted two heads. "Flamboyantly rude?? Is logic a foreign concept that has escaped you completely?!" Shiara argued as she folded her arms across her chest.
"Spending so much time around you has absolutely corrupted me, so it wouldn't be so much of a surprise!"
Shaira's eyes narrowed dangerously, "If I am such a bad influence why don't you just take that polite spell of yours and shove-"
"Well we really should be on our way! So if we could just slip past you two…" Willin interrupted nervously, fearful about the direction their argument was heading. The couple was blocking the pathway leading up the stairway, but neither Willin nor the servants attempted to move.
Daystar looked at Willin and smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry Willin," He continued, knowing that this was the opportunity to end the impromptu fighting. "I didn't mean for our bickering to stop you from…" He looked over the small steward's shoulder, "Completing the dungeon! Really?" The elf nodded excitedly, and Daystar smiled. "I'll just get out of your way then." Twitching his fingers, he lightly grazed the magic crisscrossed threads that weaved throughout the castle. Daystar disappeared instantly, leaving a small puff of smoke in his place.
Shiara shook her head and turned to Willin. "Flashy magic. Sorry Willin." And with that, excused herself past the servants, leaving them to continue their task.
"Those two, always at the other's throats.. will they ever learn to get along?" Willin commented quietly before he remembered his assignment. Resuming order, the small brigade resumed their mission.
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Shiara stood with her arms crossed at the bottom of the stairway, her shoulder leaning casually against the cold surface of the stone wall. She suddenly felt a pair of arms encircle her from behind, and without looking, immediately leaned back into the embrace.
"Moron," she said out loud, setting her hands upon the pair across her stomach.
"I know," Daystar whispered back as he smiled.
"We need to work on our arguments," Shiara said as she turned around to face him, her arms automatically wrapping around his neck as his encircled her waist once again.
"You're right. They still believed it though." He leaned in to kiss her quickly upon her lips. "Shall we?"
Shiara smiled and nodded, knowing where they were going. The grays and dim shadowing of the stone corridor melted away as the scene changed and focused to the familiar surroundings of his bedroom.
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The King and Queen of the Enchanted forest were walking casually down to the kitchen, deciding to take a quick lunch break from the recent work they had been doing.
"Arguing with the wooden loudmouth always works up my appetite," Mendanbar said offhandedly to his wife as they descended the last steps of the stairway.
Cimorene fondly rolled her eyes at her husband, "I'm beginning to suspect you like to bicker with the gargoyle, it lets you stall from paperwork."
Mendanbar grinned, "Yes, well.." A loud knock from the door distracted him, and the couple exchanged a look.
"It's only because we're hungry, you know." Cimorene commented as they took a detour to answer the door.
"Of course." Mendanbar agreed, "And now that I think about it, I think Willin ate that last piece of pie leftover from this morning. How bothersome."
Cimorene smiled, "You don't need more pie, my love." She leaned over to kiss him on the cheek, "And if it's something sweet you want, I'll make it up to you later."
Mendanbar stopped distractedly and looked at her, and she in response gave him a quick wink. Grinning, he followed her to the door. Pulling the large door open, they were surprised to see what stood before them.
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Shiara grabbed Daystar's hand as they materialized and led him over to the bed.
"We need to talk about several things, actually," Daystar reflected as they flopped down upon the mattress. They both stared at the ceiling as they stretched for a moment.
"Several things? Like what?" Shiara asked curiously as she turned on her side to look at Daystar.
"Well, the first thing is your magic," The young Prince said, also rolling onto his side to look at her.
"I still believe that's it's a good idea to keep it secret," Shiara said softly, "Think about it, everyone believes that I am still under that ridiculous spell." She smacked him playfully in the shoulder for emphasis, letting him know that she remembered her temporary limitation quite vividly. "It is to our advantage that no one knows that it has been lifted."
Daystar shook his head, not understanding; Shiara's fingers quieted him effectively before he spoke.
"Dearheart, just let me explain." Shiara said gently, to which Daystar immediately relaxed. It was rare to see Shiara so soft-spoken about anything, and he knew he was the only one to see her in such a mood. So he remained quiet, his eyes catching hers as he waited.
"The most obvious reason is our visits. I wouldn't want those to expire just because we finally managed to restore the natural flow of my magic." She gave him a teasing look when she stressed the word 'natural', and watched as he closed his eyes, expecting another light smack. Rolling her eyes, she kissed his cheek just to throw him off. "Another thing, -"
"No, no." Daystar interrupted, "I trust you, your judgment in these matters is the important thing; it is your magic, after all."
Shiara smiled at the great amount of trust he had always placed in her; she was silently honored to have it. Before she stumbled upon the Enchanted Forest, no one trusted her because of who and what she was. Finding this place she eventually was able to call her home, falling in love… she felt things were at the peak of her miraculous fortune.
Daystar noticed the good-natured pause in their conversation, and decided to finally bring up the other thing he wanted to ask about. Rolling over to the edge of the bed, he stood up and walked around to Shiara's side.
"Shiara…" Daystar began quietly, wanting to get her attention before he continued.
"Yes Daystar?" Shiara asked as she sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Taking the few steps needed, Daystar prevented her from standing up by stopping close before her. Bending down to gently kiss her, he dropped to a knee. Shiara looked at him and felt her heart skip a beat in nervousness.
"The other thing I wanted to—need to," he corrected himself as he spoke, "ask, is something I've been meaning to for quite some time…"
Shiara remained quiet, and lifted her hand up to his cheek in encouragement. Daystar found her eyes and smiled, "Shiara…"