A/N-Copyright 2009 Amber Burton. All characters and events are the sole property of the author and any unauthorized use of Larien or the events herein will result in a copyright infringement and criminal charges.
Larien was bored. There were no other words to describe her mood as she aimlessly shot bursts of deadly energy from her fingertips at helpless trees. She knew it was a little over the top to destroy the forest just because she was bored and she also knew that if Morgan was aware she was using her powers so recklessly that her mistress would be furious. She shrugged and blew up two trees at once in a show of mock defiance. The reason Morgan would be so angry at her reckless use of powers was because everyone in Camelot knows that when there is trouble the Knights of the Round Table are the first on the scene. Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table were Morgan's, and all her minions' mortal enemies. Larien didn't care about that though; in fact she was hoping to attract the attention of Arthur's knights. One knight in particular actually, Sir Gabriel was her lover...or at least that's what he called it. They weren't exactly on the same side, for she served Morgan and he was a knight of the Holy Grail. They should have hated each other, she was pure evil and he was the ultimate in goodness. He convinced her though that her life didn't always need to be shrouded in darkness and hate. Most importantly though he taught her that she was capable of being loved. And that's really why she was here destroying a forest; she was waiting for him to show up. She was getting more irritated by the second though. If he didn't show up soon she was going to start exploding the wildlife. Larien laughed at that thought and her waist length red hair vibrated around her body at her laughter. "Poor defenseless bunnies" she mused to herself, scanning the forest floor for said thing with her vibrant green eyes.
"Hmm" she thought to herself "Perhaps I am not causing enough problems. After all, who cares if a forest is on fire?" With that thought she waved her hand above her head in a flourish and reappeared just on the outskirts of Camelot. She raised her pointer finger and pointed it towards the gates of Camelot and let forth a burst of deadly purple energy that completely demolished the gate in front of her. She made no move to enter though; she knew she could never enter Camelot with the Merlin's magic that protected the city. She would disintegrate if she so much as stepped one toe within the city borders, that didn't stop her from attacking at a distance though. 'It won't be long now' she thought while sending shots of random energy towards the town and smiling ever so slightly as she watched a townsperson dive for cover.
"Larien!" came the familiar voice she had heard so many times before "Cease fire!" the knight commanded.
"Hello Gabriel" Larien greeted "fancy seeing you here" she teased before blowing up a barrel of water right next to him, completely drenching him in water.
He ignored the spray of water completely and looked directly at her "Why are you destroying Camelot?" he asked simply.
"Oh I was just taking a walk in the forest of Avalon and decided to drop by and see how my favorite knight is faring" she teased.
The Knight looked at her with pity in his eyes for only an instant and then self-loathing flashed across his face. He would never forgive himself for why reason Larien was the way she was. Larien wasn't always a servant to Morgan; she was once the princess of Avalon set to marry one of the Grail Knights to forever secure the land of Camelot and Avalon as united powers. It was the night before the wedding when Larien was traveling in her caravan across the woods towards Camelot where her caravan was ambushed by creatures of Morgan and Larien was taken. The Grail Knights searched endlessly for Larien until it was discovered by Gabriel that Larien was being held hostage by Morgan. Seeing an opportunity to help a damsel in distress, Gabriel foolishly rushed the Fey castle, hoping to rescue Larien. When Morgan learned of Gabriel's actions she set a plan in motion herself. She sent hordes and hordes of enemies at Gabriel all with the orders to merely overwhelm him in numbers but to not kill him. During the battle Morgan made her way to the tower where Larien was being kept and bade her to watch the fight at hand. Of course by the time Larien looked at the window all she saw was Gabriel's back. He was retreating. Morgan convinced Larien then that it was the Grail Knights who were truly the enemy. If they had really wanted to save her, wouldn't they have sent more reinforcements? Instead they sent one cowardly knight who turned his back and betrayed her. That day Larien swore her allegiance to Morgan and vowed to forever be the Dark Princess. Larien never knew that the Knight that walked away from her tower that day was Gabriel but he knew. It haunted his every dream that he could never save Larien and to now see what Morgan made of the once pure princess…he swore he would save her if it was the last thing he did.
He let out a ragged breath as if the memory itself was painful. "Please princess, allow me to help you" he pleaded.
"I don't need your help" Larien sneered and with a wave of her hand she was covered in armor, ready for a battle. "Prepare to defend yourself or die" and without and any further warning she sent a blast right at his chest. Gabriel held his ground and didn't even make a move to unsheathe his sword.
"I will not fight you Larien..." he said in pain, but not from physical pain.
"Then say your last prayers to your King" the red head beauty taunted while throwing up both her hands and letting it practically rain bursts of energy. The blasts came down hard and each one hit Gabriel's chest like a grenade and though they all hurt like hell, denting his armor and making it tight on his chest cavity he advanced towards her slowly. Larien held her ground but feared his advance nonetheless. She knew she could easily win the battle if it came down to it, she wasn't afraid of finding herself at the end of his blade. She was petrified that he would see through her defenses and turn her into that cowardly princess of Avalon she once was. As he advanced ever closer to her about 10 feet away she clapped her hands together and made a blast big enough to seriously damage him.
"Go ahead and fire at me" he said while ripping off his chest plate and throwing it to the ground. "If you want to destroy me so badly then please get it over with" he challenged.
Larien hesitated 'What am I doing 'she mused to herself. She knew that if she destroyed him now then that very small and tiny piece of her that wanted a happy ending would never become a reality. She knew she needed him to make her life complete. But at that same time there was no way she could let him live, could she? The Grail Knights abandoned her in her time of need. Why should she show compassion to them now? "Damnit!" she cursed and then lobbed the energy back towards the forest behind her.
Now he stood directly in front of her face to face "Let me help you" was all he said.
"I don't need your help." She retorted. "I could destroy you right now. Do you have any perception of how close you are to death?" she boasted.
Gabriel pointed to his chest "You have a free shot milady, do as you wish to me. If you truly want to destroy me then by all means, here take all the shots you wish."
Larien's beautiful features scrunched up in frustration and in one last act of defiance she turned a nearby tree into a pile of ashes and then sat down on a nearby tree stump, curling up into a ball and wrapping her arms around her legs.
He knew it was a dangerous thing to do, given the mood Larien was in right now but he could never keep himself from touching her one more time even if she had been driving a knife through his chest. He slowly and cautiously sat down behind her and wrapped both arms around her waist. She stiffened a little at the contact and made to get free but in the end she relaxed into his arms and they both let out a sigh: his of relief and hers of resignation. He had won again. He always won.
She looked at his dented armor lying on the ground and smirked a little to herself "At least I did a little damage, even if you can just hammer out the dents later."
Gabriel scowled and loosened his grip on her slightly "Is that what you want?" he asked in a tone harsher than he actually meant.
"Sometimes" she whispered, barely audible "When you seem invincible." At that Gabriel removed his arms from around his true love and stood on front of her once more "Take your shot" this time he said it like it was a challenge with a hint of bitterness in it. He was fed up with her antics. Why couldn't she just be with him? Sometimes he wondered if she was just fucking with him just because she thought it was fun. Sometimes he was sure that she really had neither emotion nor compassion for others. It was at those times he hated himself the most because this was all his fault. If he could have saved her that day…
"Oh please" she scoffed "don't be so noble all the time. Besides, I've expended too much energy already. My powers are weak right now."
"I can wait" he said deadpan
"I don't want to hurt you" she finally mumbled at length.
"Then don't lie about wanting to see me hurt" he admonished and then went to take his seat behind her once more having proven his point.
"Don't be so arrogant. Next time I may not be bluffing" she said and her green eyes flashed once as if to prove her point.
"It's not arrogance. It's called trust" Gabriel said wisely
"Trust?" Larien mocked "I know nothing of trust" the last part she whispered. Yet even so, she took off her helmet and tossed it near his chest plate "Trust…" she mused once more "I have taken off a piece if critical armor as have you. If either of us strikes the other, they will surely fall. I'm going to test this 'trust' you speak of." Larien suddenly felt extremely nervous without her armor on but some little part of her mind reassured her that Gabriel wasn't going to hurt her. Gabriel held Larien to him tightly and took the liberty of inhaling the fragrance she used in her hair.
"You're a fool" Larien sneered, completely ruining the tender moment the lovers were sharing.
"Why?" he asked simply
"I just shot deadly magick into your chest. Armor or no." Larien responded flatly, shifting ever so slightly. Gabriel only shrugged and picked up a bit of her hair and started playing with it absently to Larien's utter astonishment. Larien couldn't believe the level of commitment Gabriel had for her. It was finally sinking in that Gabriel wasn't lying when he told her once that he loved her and would do anything to ensure their future together. She assumed he was lying. It would be just like a Grail Knight to lie to her. But he seemed to be completely and utterly faithful and committed to her. She was starting to feel a little guilty at her actions now.
"Why is it that now you come to try and save me from the terrors of Morgan, after the damage has already been done? What kind of knight tries to save the princess when she's already been ruined?" Larien teased with perhaps the smallest hint of bitterness in her voice.
"Perhaps a poor one" he admitted, inwardly cursing himself for that day so long ago. He wasn't finding her joke funny. She had no idea how much it haunted him.
After a long silence Larien smirked "Does Arthur" she sneered the name "know that you're consorting with the enemy?"
Gabriel chuckled and shook his head "I don't care if he does." Having said so he pulled Larien up so she was standing, facing him, and kissed her passionately. Larien couldn't resist the knight's charms and for one instant she was the beautiful maiden of Avalon so long ago. "I want you to be that princess again. And I will wait all my life if I have to for her to show up again." His eyes were almost severe with the depth of his emotion. For some reason his absolute commitment to her made Larien freeze in her tracks and for one instant images flashed through her mind and a very happy immediate future appeared before her mind's eye. She could imagine lying with him at night and not only in the sexual way, in a tender and loving way, the way two people can just lay holding one another and no words need to be said. She could picture them strolling down the market together picking out bread and apples for a homemade dinner that night and she imagined him picking her up, twirling her around and kissing her passionately not caring who was looking or staring. She knew at that moment that she wanted all of that and she wanted it with Gabriel. She wanted it more than words could even express. She had no clue how to obtain it though but she would spend a lifetime trying to prove to him how much she loved him in return. She was finally understanding a phrase the Grail Knights keep sacred to them: 'Greatest Thing You'll Ever Learn Is Just To Love, And Be Loved In Return.'
"I love you" she whispered into his neck. Gabriel said nothing, picking her up bridal style and carrying her into Camelot's borders where they both passed, unharmed.