Here is another 'set-up' chapter while I try to figure out just where the story is going. Wanted to introduce more of the Guardian's mystery, as well as the Prince's reasons for being interested in her. As always, enjoy and let me know what you think :)
2
Kore, he noticed, never had a hair out of place—despite her Ghost's allusion to a haste escape into space. Cut at the shoulders and parted in the middle, her dark hair style was unlike the other humans he had come across. And perhaps that was what first drew the Prince's attention to his sister's newest trophy. She was, after all, a Guardian that was treading dangerously between loyalty to her people and loyalty to the Queen. Uldren recalled the earlier comment from his sister and sneered. It was his job to watch the enemy, just as he was now, leaning in the shadow outside of her doorway—waiting for what he most desired: a reason to remove the Guardian from the Reef. Permanently.
He tilted his head towards the light coming through the partially opened door, where he could see Kore sitting with her back to him and her little machine hovering over her. Uldren watched the Ghost swing back and fourth in front of her bowed head, before sinking below the warlock's eye level. "I'm sorry," he started, bulb flashing in sync with his words, "I shouldn't have said that—I didn't mean it." The Prince remembered the Guardian's spat with the Ghost and how it came to an abrupt end with a sharp jab on his part.
"Why are you apologizing?" Uldren raised a brow, surprised by Kore's cold response. She stood and walked to the full-length window in the room, revealing the fresh bandage on her wounded arm from this new angle. "What you said was true, I'm not your Guardian," she reiterated as she pressed her hand against the pane of glass that stood between her and open space.
The Ghost flew to her side, less surprised by Kore's answer. "Maybe not originally, but I am now. That's what he—" suddenly the 'ball' caught himself mid-sentence and paused, drawing further curiosity from the Awoken spy at their door. "The Speaker told me I could choose and I chose you. We're a team now Guardian." Despite the continuation, it was obvious the subject of the Ghost's first comment was not the Speaker. Silence met the companions after that, something Ghost quickly tried to avoid. "We'll be expected when we return, the Speaker wonders of our long absence from the Tower. He will want to know why we've been helping the Awoken—"
Uldren took this as an invitation to make his entrance, interrupting the tail of Ghost's words. Kore turned with her arms crossed as he swaggered into the room, taking notice that the warlock was stripped down to the jumpsuit worn under her armor, the top half unzipped and tied around her waist so her injury could be easily attended to. Her Ghost flickered angrily, quickly realizing that Uldren had been eavesdropping, but Kore remained stone faced. Acknowledging the tension, Uldren paced closer towards her, smirking with each step. "Please continue," his voice toned as it always was with the outsiders—resentful and sarcastic. "I too would like to understand why a Guardian with a Ghost that is not even hers is really doing coming out to the Reef?" Uldren harshly inquired.
"Because I owe the Queen," Kore answered simply, arms still crossed and matching his glare—less obedient to his sharp gaze than she was hours prior.
That amused him. "Ah yes, I recall you owing us a favor but not your allegiance—which," he continued his walk until he was close enough to reach out and touch her, "we do have if I'm not mistaken." Uldren sought to unnerve Kore, but she remained the same.
Ghost suddenly came between the two to intervene, but the Guardian gently pushed him above her shoulder. "You doubt I have good intentions?" she questioned him, momentarily catching the Prince off-guard. "I simply aim to heal the Traveler, and your Queen has aided in that pursuit," Kore continued, "if I find my way into the Black Garden and destroy the darkness that lies within, then I will owe the Queen a debt that could never be paid." The Warlock recrossed her arms before finishing, "Once the Queen no longer requires my services, then I will leave...for good. Simple as that."
"Is it truly that simple?" Uldren narrowed his yellow eyes, but Kore was still unaffected. Most curious. Surrendering—at least for now—the Prince sauntered back towards the doorway to leave. "Your ship should be ready by tomorrow, you and your ball of light can return to your precious Traveler," he spat with a simper. And despite the amount of disgust in those last few words, the Guardian looked distraught for another reason.
"Thank you," she forced, erasing the smirk on Uldren's face. He wasn't sure how to respond, so instead he walked off, a little puzzled.
The Prince of Crows would not see her again until later the following day, and only after some insistence from his sister was he slowly making his way to the hangar to give the Guardian a "proper" send off. Uldren wasn't quite sure what game the Queen was playing, but for now, he was willing to play along. Kore's frank coldness towards her Ghost was a stark difference from the prim and proper woman she represented in court. It had left him wondering what mood he would find her in once he reached his destination.
He took the steps two at a time as he made the last descent into the hangar, immediately spotting a tight-lipped Kore with her arms crossed. At her side was Variks the Loyal, off on a wordy tangent as he gestured to the jumpship with his mechanical prostheses. The Warlock was merely nodding, eyes following her Ghost as he disappeared and reappeared through their ship. True to his word, the Guardian's ship was ready to whisk them back to Earth. Uldren masked his presence with a slow approach, trying to catch a candid Kore again, but to no avail. She turned her head, giving him narrow-eyed stare before bringing her attention back to the conversation she was ignoring with Variks. The Prince couldn't help but smirk.
The loyal Fallen silenced once Uldren's presence was known and bowed as gracefully as he could manage, dismissing himself with one look from the Prince, whom was now alone with the Guardian.
"That ship of yours was entirely dreadful," he commented into the silence, stepping past Kore to giver her new jumpship the once over.
From above, Ghost chimed in with agreement. "He's right," his voice slightly echoed as he continued to examine the ship.
Kore's gaze lingered on her overly honest companion before meeting Uldren's, cautious not to betray herself again. "We didn't need a new ship," she argued, brows slightly knitted together.
Uldren's smirk widened, "Another gift from the Queen, surely you're not insisting on refusing?"
"Not that I'd have a choice now," she spat through gritted teeth.
A dark chuckle left his lips, "Ah right." He remembered the fond sound of metal ripping and crunching when they scrapped her previous jumpship, despite the life still left in it. Unfortunately for the Guardian, her damaged ship had provided the Prince with an opportunity he couldn't pass up. In fact, the gifted ship had entirely been of his own doing and not his sister's. "Well, now you have a new shiny ship to take you home..." he added, watching her flinch at the word 'home'. "Unless," he stepped up to Kore so what he could say next would be heard in a whisper, "you'd rather stay?" He only intended to get under the Warlock's skin, to push and pull at those secret motives he knew she carried. But Uldren was surprised to see Kore almost give the notion serious thought.
Before he could probe further, however, Ghost was suddenly clearing his throat between the two. "Ready when you are Guardian," he voiced carefully, glaring—if at all possible—at the Awoken.
Kore untangled herself from Uldren's tempting words and walked towards the new jumpship. "Safe travels...Guardian," he called after her, smirking all the while.
She ignored him this time and allowed herself to be teleported into the cockpit without a proper farewell. Uldren watched satisfied as the jumpship backed from where it had been docked, ready to make the long trek back to Earth. He turned on his heel, ready to depart from the hangar, but was abruptly stopped by a most unlikely voice. The Prince looked back to see Kore's Ghost, hovering just out of reach. "A parting gift from the Guardian," Ghost spoke proudly before materializing the said 'gift'. Uldren held his hand out to catch what fell from mid-air and Kore's companion disappeared with the ship before the anger could reach his face.
The Prince clenched his fist around the handful of little blinking red lights—each belonging to the number of monitoring devices he had hidden in the Guardian's jumpship.