'Alexis. You didn't come back for me.' The light, airy tone lifted petulantly above the noise of the teeming mass of bodies crammed in the public bar at the front of the tavern that spilled seamlessly out into the darkened street and merged with the passing foot-traffic. Alexis had little trouble catching the words and he turned immediately to meet Liviana's golden eyes, who easily stood almost a foot taller than most of the men who lounged or stood about sharing wine and roasted meat in the hot, bustling space just inside the shop-front. The laughter and bubbling hum of conversation gradually lulled around them as every eye of the curious was turned now to the two tall figures who faced each other from either side of the room, one golden and resplendent in a pale blue stola that shimmered with an ethereal gleam in the lamplight, overlaying an expensive-looking ivory silk tunic, the other looking strikingly poorer in comparison with his dirt-stained and torn tunic of once finely woven cloth, though both were breathtakingly beautiful. Liviana's hair spilled out in a long flaxen rope from a thick pearl band fixed to the crown of her head, the shining locks studded with tiny little flowers crafted from lapis lazuli as the braid hung heavily over her one shoulder that was laid bare by the fold of her gown. The opposite shoulder of her stola was secured with a silver and sapphire broach which most likely cost more than most of the men in the tavern could ever dream to earn in a year. Indeed most merrily-glazed eyes were drawn to it as the woman moved deftly around the stools at the open front of the tavern where the hungry could eat on the go, towards Alexis as he stood towards the back of the room surrounded by the tables at which the slightly more wealthier clientele were perched, watching and waiting as they consumed fish hauled fresh that morning from the boats nestled in the docks just a stone's throw away.
'I thought my letter explained everything quite clearly, Liviana,' he said, turning from her as she came to stand before him. The delicate tinkle of a laugh, like wind through a fragile crystal chime left the lips of Liviana as she took in the plate of food that Alexis carried in one hand and the plain brown jug of ale in the other.
'You have somewhat lowered yourself to be waiting on your slave, dear brother.' Her words were still soft, though her tone was feminine enough to drift easily above the coarser sound of the predominantly male conversation that remained hushed and expectant as everyone watched the two majestic creatures face off like peacocks in the midst of a courtship display. All eyes were drawn now to Alexis, some filled with mirth at the woman's words, others too glassy with the copious amounts of cheap wine and ale to be anything but gleeful at the tension of confrontation that suddenly swelled in the room. Alexis' fist clenched with fury around the handle of the jug he held and the rough pottery was in danger of being ground to dust beneath his grip, the clenching of his teeth given away by the taut muscle in his jaw. He closed his eyes for a moment, clearly trying to reign in his temper as his lips were pressed into a hard line.
'Why did you come here?' he asked his words terse and sharp.
'Speak with me outside,' Liviana commanded, haughtily, 'I can't bear to be in this filthy backstreet hovel for one moment longer.' She turned elegantly, swinging her long golden plait over her shoulder and letting it fall straight down her back as she stalked from the room with all eyes following her. The idea that Alexis would not follow her had never crossed her mind as she left the open-fronted tavern and stepped out into the street where the heavy, cloying scent of fresh and rotting fish was strangely less potent than it had been inside. Liviana stalked through the teeming mass of commoners without a backward glance; dock-workers, traders, sailors and travellers alike who did not have a home to go back to or slaves to cook for them, who littered the street outside, hustling for service or a table. Alexis, as every other man in the room did, watched her go with wary eyes. He placed the jug and plate of food down on the nearest and unoccupied table with every expectation of finding both empty on his return. He found Liviana around the corner of the tavern where the bakery next door left a gap of about three feet wide which was usually utilised by passers-by needing to relieve themselves, the fetid stench of piss and human waste caused Liviana to wrinkle her nose.
'How can you bear it here? This place stinks like the foul shit on a dead donkey!' She demanded, whirling around to face Alexis as he approached her.
'I do not need to justify myself to you, dear sister,' he spat, his eyes glinting dangerous and dark. 'I didn't expect to see you so soon; I would have thought you would still be lapping up each drop of attention spoon fed to you by Cato.'
'I came to my senses soon after you left, sweet, sweet Jinn,' she breathed his true name as gently as a lovers caress, carefully stepping around the dank puddles in the dark street to press herself closer to his tall, hulking frame in the small space. Alexis moved back from her, whipping his dirty dalmatica away from her reaching fingers as he caught the faltering smile on her pretty lips.
'Are you sure you can bear to touch me, Liviana? Do I not smell too disgusting for you? I am surprised you can even look me in the eye after I have lowered myself to depths you cannot comprehend because of the shallowness that stilts the beat of your angelic heart.'
'We must maintain this charade, even now, when I am sure you have told her what we are?' she demanded, her eyes suddenly as hard and as cold as unworked gold.
'Yes. They are but names. Besides, I believe that yours suits the personality you have developed. Envious to the last.'
'Envious?!' Liviana spluttered in surprise, 'of her? Of that common, inconsequential slave of a mortal? I think you are deluded, Alexis, defender of all!' He laughed, shortly, crossing his arms across his chest as he leaned back slightly to let more of the light that crept between the buildings they stood between bathe her upturned face, widening the gap between them as much as he could in the tight space. 'Please,' Liviana stepped closer again, raising her hands palm upwards towards Alexis with fingers splayed to show she meant no harm as she moved with slow deliberation to rest them lightly on the taut muscle of his chest, golden eyes pleading as she peered up at him in the half-light. Liviana's lips, parted and trembling, brushed over Alexis' as she whispered. 'Please don't leave me, Jinn, we've been together so long, roaming the width and breadth of this strange place. I wouldn't cope here on my own without you, I need you.' As Alexis' arms remained impassively folded across his chest Liviana pressed this to her advantage, her warm lips lightly trailing along his tense jaw and up to his ear as she continued to whisper. 'You need me too… remember, all those nights, those long, empty nights we spent together looking up at the glorious stars instead of down on them; that bewilderment we felt in those first few days here as we helped each other understand these feelings and emotions that these humans feel. I couldn't have got through those dark moments without you to show me the light. I understand that now, that we are here to help each other. When I lost my way with Phoibe and Aisha you were there to show me the way and so now I am here to show you that this is not right. These feelings you have, they will pass.' Liviana slid her hands up to clasp either side of Alexis' face with long, elegant fingers as she pulled back enough to lift her wide eyes to search his. 'This girl is nothing but another human that you have been sent to guide, and so guide her you must without falling into this inescapable vortex of emotion that we seem to be drawn into. We are nothing like them, we cannot love their kind the way we can love our own. You must take her back to Rome at once; reunite her with her brother as you were supposed to do so that we may continue on our own journey. Together.'
'You are wrong.' Alexis' eyes were narrowed to harsh slits, his tone low but firm as he stared hard at Liviana and each word was enunciated through clenched teeth. 'I will not let any harm come to her. I cannot lead her to that fate; I love her more than I have ever loved anything or anyone. This is not a passing phase, Liviana, I have truly never felt this way before and I will do whatever it takes to protect her and it does not involve the path she has been given. '
'Then I must do it for you,' said Liviana, taking a resigned step back and letting her fingers slip from his warm face. 'Do what must be done, or I will do it for you.' Her eyes followed his hand as it moved to shift his dalmatica aside and a subtle bluish glow lit up the foul, damp space they stood in, emanating from the sword still sheathed at his hip.
'You will do no such thing!' he growled, dangerously. The still air seemed to shimmer and hum with an eerie vibration that settled just below the arc of one's hearing, thrumming on the threshold of the aural sense as a gentle blue light seemed to envelope them both. The effect on Liviana was instant. She rushed at Alexis, her gracefully solid frame flung at him in the tiny alleyway as she slid to her knees at his feet, her face full of angelic entreaty as she clutched at his ragged tunic, the filth on the floor totally forgotten as it clung to her delicate stola.
'No! We have a duty,' she implored almost apologetically, her voice a fearful gasp.
'And I have told you time enough that my duty now is to protect Eirene and I will do all that is in my power to do so. As will Alastor.' The sword seemed to glow brighter as Alexis mentioned it, causing it to pulse like a living thing at his side.
'You cannot meddle with these things, you should not!' Liviana had a fistful of Alexis' tunic in each of her hands, the desperation in her voice twisting her beautiful features. 'If Uriel finds out about this… Michael,' she gasped, wide eyed. 'If Michael hears...' Her words petered out faintly as she appeared to lose the ability to speak at the thought.
Alexis crouched down so that he was level with the figure kneeling in the stench of human waste at his feet; his swift movement wrenching the fabric from Liviana's fingers as the tip of his nose almost touched hers. Liviana could see that his eyes were as black as his closely cropped hair, as fathomlessly deep as the blackest of nights.
'Then so be it,' he growled. The hum and blaze of light that had steadily grown around them with Alexis' fury, surrounding them in an azure cloud of vibration, began to die down. From having illuminated every crack in each coarse brick in the walls that surrounded them it seemed to settle to a dim glow that fluttered out like a flame that had been snuffed. He straightened up, brushing his hands over the front of his tunic as though wiping away Liviana's touch, before he reached down to grasp her beneath each elbow and pulled her up to her feet. 'Let them know if you must but do not expect such threats to change my mind. Eirene is now my entire reason for being, the whole purpose of my existence. Nothing can change that, not even Michael's scorn.'
The fight seemed to have left Liviana, her perfectly sculpted shoulders drooped, as did the pretty corners of her lips as she scoffed at him, incomprehension clear in eyes that were bright with tears.
'Scorn? If Michael hears of this I seriously doubt there will be any room for scorn amidst his anger at such a betrayal. We were tasked with a great thing, the first two Watchers of the House of QuilYa to be allowed to guide upon the Earth. Do you think that I will be allowed to remain here to continue? Michael will lose faith in me too if you deviate in such a way. You will be cast out and I will be called back to Hiera. I don't want to go back, Alexis, I like it here,' she pouted childishly.
'Then stay here. I will be moving on with Eirene tomorrow, I will take her as far away from Rome as I can get her.'
'You cannot run with her forever.'
'I will fly if I have to.'
Liviana gasped, her breath drawn in a choking rasp. 'You have revealed your wings?'
'Yes.' Sadness filled Liviana's eyes, causing them to soften to a honey coloured topaz in the gloom. He really was serious about this slave-girl. Never before had he revealed his true identity to any of the girls he had strung along on their journey so far, and there had been a few. More than a few. She nodded and her tone was surprisingly gentle when she next spoke.
'You will hurt her beyond reason when she discovers what you know of her brother.' She said.
'I will tell her everything when we are safely away and she will understand.'
'But you cannot stop what must come to pass. Whatever will be will be, it is inventible,' she insisted.
'How will I know for sure if I do not try?' Alexis countered and the silence that fell between them was poignant. After a moment Alexis sighed, heavily as he watched Liviana gather herself up, golden head held high and still a vision resplendent in her pale blue silk despite the filth that now stained most of the expensive and utterly impractical fabric. She walked to the entrance of the alleyway, where the raucous evening sounds of the street began to reach her ears again as though a glass dome had suddenly been lifted from the entire scene beyond.
'I only hope you can find someone to love in the same way that I love Eirene. You will understand the way I feel then, why I must do what I am doing.' Alexis said to the retreating figure, making her pause and look back at him.
'I already have.' With one last, lingering look, Liviana was gone with a gleaming swish of her long braid and a flutter of pale silk, leaving Jinn standing alone in the alleyway as Eirene closed the window shutters to the room they had hired for the night, shutting out all that had passed between the two figures in the alleyway below with clammy palms and a racing heart.
