Title: Shades of Grey
Author: Magicallioness
Rating: still only K+, but will definitely be going up, probably all the way to M
Warning(s): no beta.
Beta: none
Word count: 1.312
Disclaimer: Anything belonging to the PoP universe belongs Ubisoft and their partners, not me. Anything that's not theirs is mine, unless stated otherwise. I'm just playing around here, not making money, so please don't sue.
Author's note: I'm trying to feel my way around her, finding out where Prince and Elika stand with each other. This chapter was surprisingly easy to write.
Summary: Arhiman's prison has been weakened once again, his four chosen re-released upon the world. The second destruction of the Tree of Light and the fight in the temple have caused the structure to collapse, leaving darkness and corruption free to spread across the land, with no fertile grounds to stop it. Now Elika and her prince have to find another way to stop the god of darkness, or face the corruption of the entire world. Picks up right after the ending of the game.
Chapter Summary: "Elika?" he asks cautiously, not understanding the expression of pure wonder on her face. She shakes her head and retreats into the cave.
Chapter 2 Lost
She watches the wind chase loose sand across the desert, and muses on how much they are like it: thrown here and there, pushed along by circumstances they haven't created and cannot change. Well, maybe this latest development is of their own making, his to be exact, but she can't help but feel it was just another push towards something bigger. Apparently Ormandz isn't through with her yet. What she fails to understand is, why he has to be involved.
A thief and a traveller, he goes about his life without a goal, no one to serve, nothing to care for but his own hide. It's all she stands against and yet she can't help the bitter taste of envy that sometimes enters her mouth when comparing their lifestyles. Her duty weighs heavy on her mind, and there are moments when she longs for the life he leads, for the weightlessness of it. But she always comes to realize weightlessness also means aimlessness: his life's without purpose, his soul directionless, just as they are right now.
"Do you recognize anything?" she wants to know. He's the traveller, he should know his way around, spot a familiar landscape, a tree, a rock, maybe even a road, to give them a starting point for their journey. She would think about a destination later. But the look on his face as he scans the surroundings is empty and he doesn't need to tell her that he has just as little notion of where they are as she does. He does anyway.
"I haven't got a clue. And on top of that, it's getting dark. I really think we should find a safe place to spend the night, the desert can get awfully cold." She nods, feeling no desire to actually speak to him. The searing heat is already lifting, and while they welcome the cool that seems to seep into the air now, it won't be long before it'll turn icy and they will curse it, whishing for the burning flames of sunlight. She keeps walking, looking around for any appropriate hiding places, but the truth is, she wouldn't know one if she saw one: she grew up in a palace were the rooms were being kept cool during the day and lightly heated during the night. She's never spent a night outside in her entire life.
"Here, I think this cave is uninhabited," her prince motions for her to come over. Her prince… why does she call him that? The Concubine spoke to him in that way and he didn't comment. Then again, she also called him little man and he hadn't said a thing about that either. But the fact that the Concubine called him her prince had irked Elika for some reason. It sparked a burning flame inside her chest that made her claim the name for herself; he was her prince, not the Concubine's. But why? Why the possessiveness of someone she didn't even like? Why did she still think of him that way after his betrayal?
She thinks about it, trying to come up with an answer as she crawls into the darkness behind her prince, but gets nowhere. Using her magic, she lights a small flame in the palm of her hand and lets it travel around the interior of the cave. It's small, almost claustrophobic, leaving just enough room for the both of them, but maybe that's for the best. At least this way no desert creatures will make their way into the cave with them.
"I knew you'd come in handy," the prince mumbles as he crawls back out. It's a joke, his way of asking her to talk to him again, a peace offering of sorts. She's only known him for a couple of days, but she recognises it anyway. And as she crawls out of the tight space after him, she realizes she wants to take it. This man hasn't brought her back from the dead out of spite, he didn't call on Arhiman to gain power or riches - things he seems to be quite taken with - he did it to save her and as thanks she gave him the cold shoulder. She could forgive her father for the exact same thing, why not him? She shakes her head at herself; things aren't quite that simple. She'd made her choice, sacrificed herself so her people, and the world would be safe. It hadn't been easy to just give up her life, especially not after he'd gone and shown her how thrilling and exciting it could be. She'd wanted to live so very much, but to save everybody, to save him, she'd given that all up and he had – for some reason he still hadn't explained – nullified all that, disgraced her sacrifice and pulled her back from darkness into more darkness. A heavy glove on her shoulder brings her out of her thoughts.
"Hey, you ok?" his voice is soft, full of the concern he tries so hard to hide and she feels her anger at him dissipate a bit. Yes, he has royally screwed up on top of being a regular ass, but he has helped her while he didn't need to and he's here now, trying to make it right. She nods at him, still finding no reason to talk, but there's a small smile playing around her lips. It lights a tiny spark in his eyes and it's only now that she realizes how dull they have been.
"We need to get some firewood, or else we'll freeze to death tonight. Food would also be nice, but I'm guessing that would be too much to ask," he explains, before starting out in search of some dead tree branches.
Using two stones he produces from somewhere around his neck, the prince sets alight the branches they've collected. Elika welcomes the warm glow the flames emit; the sun has sunken behind the horizon and a chilling cold has swept over the desert sand. She recognized the fruits on one of the trees they passed on their scavenging hunt for wood and gives half of her harvest to her prince, before biting into one of her own.
"Warmth and food, what luxury," the prince grins. She sends him a small smile. It's no more than the quirking of a lip really, but it seems to be enough for him: he attacks his fruit with vigour.
A couple of fruits aren't much in the way of sustenance, and they are gone quickly, but Elika figures she should be thankful for anything at the moment. After all, they are lost… in so many ways. The knowledge envelops her in a cold the fire can't fight off and suddenly she's so very tired. She hugs herself for a moment before announcing she's going to try and get some sleep. He nods and motions for her to go first, but she's mesmerized by the glistening black tendrils of hair that fall around his face when he pulls the scarf from his head.
His hair reaches a strong jaw line, long enough to cast his face into mysterious shadows, but not so long it looks unkempt. The orange light of the campfire paints his tanned skin a golden brown, the jagged scar under his right eye standing out like a work of art instead of an ugly mark. And amidst all those dark colours, the hellish blue of his eyes. Eyes that give you the impression you could look deeply into them, but that block you out nonetheless.
"Elika?" he asks cautiously, not understanding the expression of pure wonder on her face. She shakes her head and retreats into the cave. But she knows now; she's seen his face completely for the first time and she knows: he's beautiful.