Ok just a quick reminder. I do change point of views and that I intend to have more chapters and more spice shall be added. So relax this whole mini fanfic will be done by the end of the week. Then I'll start a new one. I have some ideas…but I want to hear yours as well. So leave a review or comment about it. And I'll try to work it in my scheduale.
I do not own leviathan or any of its ppl. Enjoy.Chapter 2:Deryn pulled out the materials she would need for the sketch. She decided to go with the extra dark sketch pencil and her unmarked eraser. She needed the sketch to come out as close to perfect as possible.
Deryn then pushed herself closer to Alek; she left one leg extended forward while the other held the sketch pad in place on her lap. Deryn then placed the pencil between her teeth and slowly examined the new project before her.
Alek was running his fingers through his hair in an attempt to keep the red brown locks from covering his forehead. Deryn didn't think the action was necessary in the least bit. In fact, something about his bed-headed and disheveled hair seemed quite endearing to Deryn, and slightly sensual.
Deryn quickly broke away from those fluttering thoughts and put her full attention on the boy in front of her. Alek had his head tilted back, his elbows rested against the floor, his legs extended out beside her. His face almost even with her upraised knee was about a good foot and a half away from her.
Deryn did her best to focus on what he was saying, but all she saw were the recently corded muscles half way hidden beneath his white shirt. She could distinctly make out the blue veins that began from his neck and ran down into his pectorals beneath cream colored skin. She could even identify some of the sweat that started accumulating on top of his collarbone.
Maybe she should have rejected his proposal.
After taking all this information in, he decided to look at her with an expectant face.
Barking spiders! I didn't even hear him talking…what did he say? Something about the sketch? Blisters…I have to say something to at least make him think I was paying attention and that I wasn't filling my head with a horde of fanciful yaccum!!
In the end Deryn decided to respond with a small tilt of her chin, she then swooped the pencil from her mouth and poised it over the paper. Focus…Focus.
Ignoring his gaze she flipped through her sketch pad to find a new page hoping against hope that he would think that her blush was merely caused by the heat. She cursed the heat; someone somewhere was getting a good laugh out of this. And Deryn didn't like it at all.
"Do you mind leaning forward a bit, I need to get a good look at you face if I'm gonna do this right".
She made sure that her voice was kept even and fairly masculine and as casual sounding as possible.
However despite her self, she was unprepared for Alek to lean forward so readily, his face was now merely an estimated nine inches away.
She felt the air tighten around her, and she felt once again that odd cracking sensation go through. Even though the room was at its hottest, she felt a shiver go down her spine.
And she knew it wasn't out of fear.
Deryn forced herself to stare directly into his eyes and tried her best to appear as non-chalant as she could. Deryn then stretched out her arm and with her fingertips she ever so lightly grazed the side of Aleck's cheek. She tilted his head to the write, explaining that she needed to sketch his outline and that she needed to get a good look at his jaw. This was true…at first.
Deryn didn't really need to do this; she knew his features almost as well as her own. But a small part of her, a part she thought ceased to exist long ago, was now defying her sense of logic and reasoning. It was making her more feminine…turning her inside and out…almost forcing herself to be exposed. Try as she might she couldn't entirely eliminate the thoughts that entered her head. The thoughts that betrayed her…and that seemed to surround her in an effort to suffocate her until she submitted to its will.
She imagined her hand trailing up into his hair and running its fingers through it. She pictured it stroking his chin felling the faint stubble that grew on top. Then she pictured herself, Deryn sharp leaning forward in an attempt to taste his lips.
In less then a second all of these thoughts passed through Deryn's mind and in another half a second she mentally slapped herself. I'm acting like a complete bun-rag!!! I've got to get over this.
Deryn then quickly pried her fingers from Aleck's face and began to vigorously sketch his outline upon the paper. His face structure was easy enough Deryn thought during her vigorous sketching, and after a while they started to talk. Taking advantage of the situation she let Alek talk mostly while she listened making the occasional comment here and there. He spoke of his home back in Austria, his parents many interests, his skills in fencing(He made vivid motions with his arms to explain or show a certain move to Deryn, she would then tell him to sit still and quit trying to hurt himself), and he even taught her some more Clanker talk.
In return Deryn shared in vivid description some of her exploits through her life. She told him of the time she flew over all of London on a Huxley, of the times her and her father would sail high into the air in a balloon. She even told him of her brother jasper and how he is also in the military. Everything seemed to be returning to normal at that moment, even though the air was still thick and muddled around her, but not to the point of suffocation.
But every now and then she had to check herself and make sure she didn't let her eyes linger for to long on a single spot. After silencing him for a third time in order to get an accurate sketch of his lips he asked;
"Dylan…have you ever fallen in love?"
Deryn looked up from her work and stared at him. The question was a surprising one; her face didn't even know how to react to it. Taking this as a sign of confusion Alek went on;
"Its just that…my parents fell in love and went to great lengths to stay together. I'm not really sure what its like to truly be in love with someone. I thought that perhaps you can-"
"No"
"w-what?"
"I just answered your question". Alek blinked, and then said "Oh".
For some reason when she answered in that flat voice, the world seemed to tilt around her. Deryn couldn't really make much sense of it, but did her best to disregard it.
"How can a prince like you not have fallen in love with a lovely lady? Surely they all grab their skirts for you whenever you pass by." Deryn smiled a bit; perhaps a sense of humor could make the situation a little less dense.
Aleck smiled sadly. Deryn bit her lip.
"Surprisingly, when you're the son of an arch duke and a lady in waiting in a left handed marriage. Your best option is either between a commoner or a very lenient princess".
Deryn swallowed, it was sad really how even your emotions and basic desires can be deprived from you. What was even sadder was all those women knew full well what they were doing and they knew they couldn't afford to marry him even if they wanted to. They wouldn't oppose their parents, and no commoner would ever be aloud to wed with the future arch duke of Austria, not after what happened last time. Pity suddenly gripped at Deryn's heart, she knew it wouldn't help Alek's situation, but it still none the less gnawed at her heart. A strong urge to comfort him suddenly overtook her, however instead of following through with it she repressed it and said;
"Well that's just to bad for them dollies, their all just full of clart anyway, no use in wasting your time with the likes of them" Deryn forced out a laugh.
Alek smiled "That's one way to put it but…I guess your right".
Trying to sound casual Deryn asked "and did none of those skirts strike your fancy?"
"some were…attractive if that's what your asking, but other then polite conversation I never really got close to anyone."
Then Alek told her of the many women he had known. He described their beauty, their family struggles, and their eccentric personalities. At times his voice seemed detached and dry and at other times it was nostalgic and sultry. At those moments Deryn would feel a slight irritation towards those females, something that Alek was able to notice.
He spoke of the ones with the flowing hair and the petite bodies along with their full breasts. For some reason an odd feeling of falling overtook Deryn, it was as if she fell off a ledge and landed on some sharp grass. The fall hadn't killed her, but it left her a bruise.
"After meeting all of those ladies it occurred to me…they all lacked a certain something…something I could never place my finger on, perhaps it was sincerity or a non narcissistic personality. What I really wanted was for someone to like me Alek not Prince Aleksander Ferdinand of Austria. I wanted the love that my parents had towards one another; a love that shouldn't be allowed but yet none the less exits."
His lips twitched a little, his eyes clearly in doubt of the possibility of something like love to occur.
"You probably think I sound like a…ninny." He laughed, it was a hollow laugh.
Deryn wasn't thinking that at all.
"Personally, theirs no point in marrying someone you don't like. Plus mostly everyone I know got married out of love including my da and mum, I'm planning on doing the same some day…If I can get someone to even look at me."
A comfortable silence surrounded them; the only noises were the scratching sounds of the pencil against the paper.
"What about…a commoner?" Alek let the statement hang in the air, then;
"If I loved her enough….". The air around them suddenly became heavier, the heat seemed to press itself closer to their bodies. The world around Deryn seemed to tilt, she felt as if she were standing up after falling off a steep ledge. Deryn couldn't help but smile.
Deryn lifted her pencil and held out the notebook.
She showed him her finished work.
