An Ebony's Weavings (Alternate Universe) Story
Chapter One
by: Yuuki Miyaka
Ebony's eyes drifted open, and she stared at the room around her. Books rose along the wall on dark wooden shelves, giving the room a warm and comforting air to it. She turned her head to the side, realizing immediately that she was in a very masculine library. And as she looked around slowly, she caught sight of a darkly handsome man concentrating on . . . something.
She stared at him for a long moment, feeling vaguely as though she'd known him in some previous existence. His long, black hair fell to mid-back with the blue-violet iridescence of a raven's wing. She couldn't see his eyes, hidden as they were behind odd-looking glasses. But his profile was lovely, all straight lines and sharp angles, giving him a fiercely determined look. His shirt was maroon, with the matte sheen of silk, and seemed to be opened to the middle of his chest. Black jeans held the tucked ends of the shirt, as well as holding his legs tightly encased. Long, fine-boned fingers grasped for various instruments as he worked on the unusual piece of equipment in front of him.
She rolled her head back to the other side and noticed a wall of brown leather. As she stared at it, realization began to dawn, and she realized she was laying on a brown leather couch, covered by a thin blanket. The couch was soft, as soft as the Sun Village cushions had been so many years before. But Ebony couldn't understand why she was here, and who this person was. She searched her memory, but came up blank. Beginning to grow afraid at the lack of understanding, she sat up, and was immediately greeted by two amber eyes gazing in her direction.
"How are you?" came the soft, deep query. Not quite ready to speak, Ebony shook her head, and found that to be a mistake. Her head began to pound viciously, and she winced. "That bad, hmmm?" His voice was as melodious as any elf's, and yet it seemed that much more musical to her ears. He rose, walking over to her as he pulled off the strange glasses. His eyes watched intently as he reached out a gentle hand to probe her cheek. Although his touch was as tender as a leaf in the season of New Life, a sharp pain still flooded through the cheek, and she jerked away, staring at him. He winced slightly, the expression gone so quickly that she wondered if she'd even seen it.
"It hurt," she said, her voice coming out rusty and hoarse. He nodded, agreeing with her. "What happened?"
"You don't remember?" That musical voice made her want to curl up in his arms, and the tender touch made her want to let him tend whatever wounds she'd gotten until even the scars had faded. Something about him spoke to her, made her want to forget everything and just stay right there.
"N-no . . . ." Her voice was hesitant, she herself unsure of what would happen. His brows furrowed at her confusion.
"When I found you, some humans had already gotten to you." His amber eyes, as he spoke, shadowed with concern. The same concern washed his dark features a pale brown and his thinned lips seemed nothing more than a straight line under a sharp nose. "They . . . had something against elves." The tapered tips of his pointed ears peeked shyly out of his luxurious hair.
"Some things never change," Ebony replied, her voice still hoarse. Her own fingers came up to rest against her neck, and she felt the soreness there. Looking at him questioningly produced no answers however. Instead, he stood, moving to a table on the other side of the room. When he came back, he held a small hand-mirror.
"I expected you would want to see the damage." Was his own voice slightly hoarse? Ebony couldn't tell. She took the mirror, her fingers brushing his as he let go.
When she moved it into position, she gasped. Very little of her pale skin showed the true cream color it was. Most of it was mottled blues and purples. A necklace of bruises encircled her throat, confirming her suspicions that the humans had tried to choke her to death. Her lips were cut and swelled, but it was obvious that the swelling had lowered to nearly normal. "How far does it go?" Her question was horrified, and he took the mirror back slowly. Again their fingers brushed.
"Most of your arms and legs are the same. They managed to avoid actually breaking any bones, but I suspect that was your own skill coming to the fore than any mercy on their part. Your back is covered in bruises, which is why you're here, rather than in one of the bedrooms. The beds are rather firmer than this couch is. Your front is the same. They seemed especially interested in beating your stomach. It's a wonder you had no internal injuries." He tried to make the evaluation matter of fact, but his eyes darkened to a tarnished gold, showing the worry he felt.
She wasn't self-conscious that he'd looked. If he had cared enough to try and help her, of course he would have checked the extent of her injuries. She nodded slowly, amazed that she'd gotten off with nothing more than bruises, then wondered about cubs. With the way the humans had attacked her stomach, odds were she would have no cubs. Small price to pay for her life, though the knowledge hurt.
He must have seen the pain in her eyes, because small lines appeared around his own. "You'll stay here," he muttered softly. "You should be able to heal without a healer, which is good, because there's not one near here. And we can keep a better eye on you."
She opened her mouth to refuse, but thought better of it. Her dark saviour was right. She had to stay here, needed to be watched while she healed from such extensive injuries. "Yes," she breathed softly, staring at him. He colored slightly, a bare darkening of his high cheekbones. If she'd blinked, she would have missed it. Instead, it brought a slight smile to her lips.
"Who are you?" she asked after a moment, still unable to place the features. That earned her a surprised and wry smile.
"You don't know?" His question was dry, but still gentle. A slight shake of her head managed to show her answer without bringing on the sharp pain it had before. He nodded slowly. "I'm Rayek."
Her eyes widened. "Rayek?" she breathed, amazed. He'd changed since last she saw him. Where before he'd barely topped four feet to her three and a half, now he neared six feet, was perhaps even taller. Though that wasn't the only change, now that she knew his name she couldn't understand why she hadn't been able to make the connection. He was still recognizable, just slightly more defined than he'd been. Her hand came up to touch the side of his face, but just a fingerbreadth before she felt the silk of his cheek, she pulled back, remembering Winnowill's spirit. His eyes grew pained.
"I've changed, I know." His wry smile touched her heart, and she wanted to ask about Winnowill. But she didn't dare. So she kept her mouth closed, just looking at him. He had always been handsome. But now . . . he had so far surpassed everything he'd ever been. And it wasn't just his body. She could see a kindness in his eyes that had displaced the arrogance from before. Oh, she knew that the arrogance was still deep inside. It was too much a part of him to ever truly leave. But before she'd seen that superiority shine through every line of his lean body. Now, it was softened by caring. "She's been dealt with," he said, catching her off- guard.
"Wh-who?" Her voice was husky now, the hoarseness combining with a very physical awareness of his beauty. He smiled, obviously used to such a reaction.
"Winnowill. I still watch over her, but now she's housed in there." He gestured toward one of the bookshelves, where a small, locked chest sat in solitary beauty. The chest was far from plain. A master had obviously fashioned it, and the tiny padlock seemed simple enough to break. As she looked at him, he grinned. "It's protected well. Don't worry. But don't ever try to open it."
She nodded, accepting it as one of the rules she must abide by as long as he cared for her. She didn't want to know the details. Not really. It was enough to know that she needn't be afraid of what would happen if Rayek accidentally brushed against someone like herself.
As she was regarding him, she heard the door open behind her, and a bright, tenor voice rang out, hurting her ears. "Ah, I see our lovely guest is awake."
"Ekuar," she greeted softly, blushing at the compliment. Having seen her appearance in the mirror Rayek had lent her, she knew that Ekuar was far from correct. She looked more like a preserver, all blues and purples, than a real elf.
Ekuar came around to her field of vision, carrying a bowl full of clear broth. He looked her up and down as he sat the bowl down before glancing over at Rayek, who smiled. She caught the communication behind their smiles, and blushed again, which seemed to amuse Rayek a great deal. "He's right, you know," Rayek smiled at her. Her confusion must have shown, because he explained. "You are lovely."
Her eyes grew large, dark drowning pools of pure black. She smiled tentatively, a smile that resulted in Ekuar's only hand, now free, coming up to trace her left temple. It was a place free of the bruises that adorned her face, and so relatively free of pain. Caught up in Ekuar's kind brown eyes, she held her breath for a long moment. It had been some time since anyone had touched her with kindness.
Finally, Ekuar pulled his hand back, and he and Rayek both glanced at the bowl of broth. It was Rayek who voiced their concern. "Do you think you can hold the bowl?" At that point, she looked at her hands. They were also dark with bruises, one of the bruises shaped somewhat like a human's footprint. She didn't recall anyone stepping on her hand, but she didn't recall any of the fight.
She reached out four trembling fingers, and Rayek gently placed the bowl in her hand. She was surprised to find that it had a base on it that allowed easy handling, even when it was hot. The spoon resting inside was round, and Ebony touched it hesitantly.
"You're more than welcome to drink the soup without using the spoon. We didn't know which you'd prefer," Ekuar said, his cheerful voice putting to rest her fears and pains for a long moment. She smiled weakly back at the older elf, and he touched Rayek's shoulder.
Rayek stood, towering above her. "We should let you
rest for now. Feel free to wander around the house when you
can. But rest, for now. If you have need of us, just Send."
He nodded when he saw the comprehension in her eyes, and waited
calmly while she drank the little soup in the bowl. When she
was done, she gave the bowl to him, their fingers brushing once
more before he took his toy and left the room. Ebony lay back
down on the pillow, ignoring the pain, and slept some more.