'It's getting late.'
She said.
She touched my face,
'Let's stay out late as we can.'
Drive around the lake 'Let's go out
just a little too fast,
my eyes on the lights, her hand on my shoulder
Yeah, windows down
wine in our heads
the city lights just a blur
on a dock
we'll bring a bottle and a blanket.
And everything.
Yeah, everything is going our way.'
Lean into me.
MINUS THE BEAR LYRICS "Monkey! Knife! Fight!"
The view from the balcony was gorgeous, but Naga hardly looked up from her plate. The food was also great, twelve-star, and there was lots of it, but she hardly noticed the quality of it. All she wanted was a soft, pleasant bed. Hell, even a little cot or pile of straw would be alright.
Also, all the alcohol she'd drunk before the meal was taking its toll. Why hadn't she listened to that stupid prince before drinking all that wine?
After pushing the mushroom surrounding her steak around for a few minutes, the sorceress looked up at her companion. He looked just as tired as she felt, dark circles underneath his eyes. And like her, he was just picking at the food. She inspected the prince, noticing the rumbled clothing and how pale he seemed despite the hours he'd spend in the sun.
Phil glanced at the tall woman sitting opposite of the little table and their eyes met. They both looked away blushing. The large man poked at his steak, well-done and usually his favorite, before giving up and motioning toward one of the servants.
Naga scrubbed her face with her hands, one still aching, and then ran her fingers through her hair. It helped calm her down slightly and allowed Naga finally noticed how many people were on the large balcony. At least twenty or so were sitting around the scattered table and talking. A few were whispering behind their hands and watching her and Phil.
If she'd had the energy, Naga would have jumped on the table and yelled at them. Right now, all she could do was wave weakly at them and try to gather the energy to stand up. Phil followed her example and stood up as well, managing to do it with more grace than his companion. He helped the servant girl pick up the few dishes, ignoring her protests, and then grabbed Naga to keep her from falling.
She'd never been so grateful for Phil's bulk. The tall woman leaned against the prince, gritting her teeth from the voices from the tables and Phil's booming laughter. She straightened her back and tried desperately to scrape up a little dignity. Naga held her head high, nose in the air and consequently whacked her knees on the corner of a handy table nearby.
"Damn it, damn it." She mumbled quietly, just wanting to leave without a scene. For perhaps the first time, all Naga wanted was to escape quietly and inconspicuously
The prince led her into the castle and put one arm around her back. As soon as she was steady enough, he let go of her with some regret. In the dim light, she looked exhausted and older than Phil had ever seen her before. She was unbelievably beautiful.
The large man grinned at her, hoping to get some reaction. She looked at him wearily, before glancing at the picture hanging on the walls.
"You grew up here?"
Phil nodded and led her up one of the staircases, wincing at how cold her skin felt. She tiredly trudged up further up the castle, hardly paying attention to all the people in the castle. As soon as they made it to the top of the stairs, Naga rubbed her neck, feet and legs sore. What she needed was a bed, and then she could think clearly in the morning.
She looked at some of the people and statues with the same abstract attention, then realized that this area seemed familiar. Where…? Phil scooped her up, wincing again when she began to fight against him weakly.
"What the hell, Phil?"
"You're tired." He shifted her weight slightly and continued through the hallways.
Naga's eyed widened with alarm. "Where are you taking me? Some kind of freaky torture chamber?" She struggled and hit Phil lightly in the head.
"Nope, just one of the guest rooms."
"Really?" The pale woman eyed him suspiciously.
"Yes," He smiled "No torture chamber."
"Uh-huh. You're probably taking me to some sick room where you can have your way with me before decapitating me and doing horrible things with my headless body." She poked him in the chest. "I know your type." Settling down, Naga closed her eyes.
Phil stared at her. "Um, what? Why…? Headless…?"
"My last partner was just like you. Always trying to do sick things to my wonderful body…"Naga stirred in his arms before passing out.
The prince nearly dropped her. Partners? When did Naga have other partners than him? And ones that wanted to do sick things to her wonderful body? Phil made a low grumbling noise and shook Naga slightly. He didn't want to wake her up, but...partners?
"What do you mean sick things?" He paused "And other partners?"
"Mmm, hhhhii, ssssstop." Naga tried to drunkenly roll over and nearly fell out of Phil's arms. The burly man was unable to resist rolling his eyes and pushed the door to the nearby room over.
The room was dark, very dark and he could just barely make out the furniture. Eventually, his eyes adjusted and Phil could see relatively well. Empty, smaller than average, and devoid of strange belongings (Phil was well aware of the things that the average room in Saillune's castle held.), it was perfect. His room was close so he could badger her apart previous 'partners' in the morning. Awkwardly, the prince closed the door and did his best to hold his cargo close.
Phil made his way to the bed, narrowly avoiding a well placed table and kicked aside some chairs. Soon, he'd put Naga to bed and then get some sleep himself. Everything would be great and just…in the morning. Today had been miserable. From the moment he'd woken up, (without Naga, something which was a lot more difficult than he'd imagined) the day had been bad. The crappiest, as Naga would have said. Phil smiled and looked at the woman in his arms. Yes, she cursed and drank and had that laugh, but Naga was also kind, beautiful and interesting, a constant surprise, unpredictable and moody.
Yes, if Naga was ready Phil wouldn't mind marrying her. But she wasn't, he was sure. Naga wouldn't be the type to easily settle down and he couldn't just walk away from Saillune and the crown. Everything was here. No, it would be wrong to leave and Phil knew he never could even if he was with Naga, he would be unhappy. Chris was right; he would not just run away.
But, he wasn't going to give up his new friend easily. The black sorceress was the best thing that had happened to him in a long time. Phil had learned a lot from her and there was no one like her. She was the only woman for him and he was going to do everything in his power to make her happy.
But, his father…No, forget his father. Naga was priority. No, that wasn't right. Saillune was…But, Naga…
Phil shook his shaggy head. There would be an answer to this whole mess. They'd all live happily ever after, and Naga and he would be able to do whatever they wanted. In time, the sorceress might want to get married. All they needed was some time.
Naga, as though reading his mind and wanting to have her own say about marriage, began flailing in his arms. She punched him twice in the face, once in the stomach and then tried to awkwardly kick him. The large man dropped her, understandably shocked and in pain.
The leather-garbed woman landed hard on the bed, nearly bashing her head on the headboard, and immediately stopped moving. Phil, whose heart had stopped, forgot how to breathe. He grabbed her hand and tried to check for a pulse using her palm. He listened to her steady breathing and looked at Naga. Yes, she was alive and well. Phil took a deep shaky breath and laughed weakly. What was that? Some kind of nightmare?
For her sake, he hoped it wasn't too frightening. Now that Phil thought about it, Naga wasn't frightened by much. The bravest woman I kn- A boot connected solidly with his head and he saw stars.
When he managed to pull himself off of the ground, a heavy weight fell on his back. Phil lay there, astounded, confused and in pain. The painfully heavy sorceress (why hadn't he noticed how much she weighted before?) snuggled into his back and kicked one of his shins. Phil sighed and tried to make himself comfortable.
Once she's asleep, I can sneak-Wham; Naga punched him in the back and rolled over. As the crown prince of Saillune lay there, wondering just how he could escape, the woman on top of him rolled over and knocked down a chair. She kicked out a foot weakly, then ceased to move. Phil picked himself off the ground and stood up slowly.
Naga made a wide sweeping gesture with one of her long arms and Phil flinched. She stopped, and Phil stepped over her gingerly. With inhuman speed, the still-asleep woman grabbed his ankles. The dark-haired man whimpered and looked down. Although he knew what was probably going to happen, Phil tired to pull his leg away. She yanked and the man in her steel grip went down. He closed his eyes and braced himself.
Twenty assorted servants, sorceresses, guards, artists and nobility raced into the room. The large crash and cry of pain had gotten the attention of everyone in the vicinity. What they saw when they tore open the doors (the guards expecting to see blood everywhere), was one of the weirdest things they'd ever seen:
Two broken chairs, smashed to bits.
One broken table also smashed to bits.
One prince, lying on the ground and trying to drag himself out of the room and away from the abnormally strong sorceress.
One sorceress, asleep and holding the aforementioned prince's foot in one hand.
Phil, eventually realizing he wasn't the only conscious person in the room, looked up at all the people in the doorway.
He stared at the before managing out, "Can someone help me out here?"
It took several hours before Phil managed to convince the guards not to throw Naga into the dungeons and not to even wake her up.