Title: Forever Yours
Author: Noelwing
Email:
Summary: The tale of an English Lady, an Elfin Prince and the events between them that led to Nuada's decision to awaken the Golden Army. Nuada/OC. Pre HB2 universe.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of the HB2 universe. Any other characters are creations of the author and belong to her.
Rating: PG-13
Warnings include domestic violence and some adult situations in later chapters.
Author's Notes: I would like to extend my profound thanks to all of those who encouraged me to keep going with this story. It is my fondest wish to complete this story and now I finally have something to show for it. In the original file that was lost, Sophia's full history was told. But now I have decided to do that in the next chapter which is simply the continuation of this one. Already, I feel more confident about do it that way, so maybe losing the original file was not such a bad thing. But mostly, I did not want to make you wait anymore.
Chapter 9:Monsters
Wink was getting close to the den.
He had journeyed all afternoon and into the late night. The beast had gone far but this did not deter the troll. Initially, Wink had tracked the beast by following Lady Sophia's scent, something the creature had gained when it had bitten, and tasted her blood.
Wink had to fight the urge to growl, he did not want to alert his prey to his presence: not yet anyway.
Harming a ward the prince was terrible enough. Wink was taking it far more personally than that. He owed Sophia for pulling the splinter from his fist the other day. Furthermore, it was not everyday a beautiful lady caught fish for him.
Wink had to tread very carefully now. The creatures made their home in a stinking, slippery bog. Already, the troll's sharp ears could detect the hissing and growls of what had to be the other members of the offending Skin-walker's clan.
It was very dark but Wink, being a troll and used to caves and other areas where light was at a premium, moved with confidence as well as caution.
He cleared yet another treacherous pit, one of many the bog tried to thwart him with and arrived at a patch of more solid ground. Wink peered into a mass of dead trees and spied an orange glow emanating from their center. The smell in the air and the detection of heat told him that it was a burning fire.
Wink had found the den.
Inside the mass of boulders and decaying trees was a den consisting of seven Skin-walkers total. All of them were of form similar to that of a human mixed with one native animal or another: the fox, dog or owl.
Wink worried at first how he was to find the one he had come for, there were several that bore the semblance of a fox. His task turned out to be far easier than he thought. Hunched near the fire was a Skin-walker that looked as though it had been thoroughly pummeled.
Wink charged.
The shrieking and squealing unleashed by the Skin-walkers could not challenge the volume of Wink's mighty bellow. The beasts scattered for the rocks and whatever other cover they could find.
Despite the sudden chaos, Wink never lost sight of his target. The troll's metal fist shot out and flew directly at the offending creature. It shrieked, scratched and clawed at the metal fingers that closed around it body.
The chain clanked loudly as it retracted the mechanical hand back to the body of its owner, dragging the Skin-walker on the ground as it did so.
"So you're the one I have come for," Wink said, sniffing his captive. The smell of Sophia's blood was all about this animal. There was no doubt.
"I am here tonight to deliver justice." Wink proclaimed loudly holding the offending Skin-walker aloft. The other members of its clan poked there heads out of the holes in which they hid. Their lips curled, their voices snarled and that was all their doomed cohort could expect from them.
"This creature here has harmed a ward of his highness, Prince Nuada, the one I am sworn to serve. To attack one in the custody of the royal crown is as serious as harming the prince himself."
Wink's fingers closed tightly around the creature's torso. "The penalty is death."
The creature's shriek was quickly consumed by the sound of its breaking bones as the metal fingers squished the life from it body.
The deed was quick and judging by the cowering of the other creatures, the message was well received.
Wink cast the dead creature back into the center of the smelly den of its pack. It would be no real trouble to exterminate the entire pack, but Wink had only come for the one. He also could have prolonged the creature's suffering. But Wink did not come for torture. He had come only to deliver justice and he had done that. Now he could head back to the cathedral.
The further he got away from the den, the more the forest began feel lighter, more alive and pure.
The troll often enjoyed a good walk at night but his thoughts were less than settled. Not because of his mission but because of the lady. He wondered how Sophia was fairing. He was concerned for her injuries, but he was also curious to see how well Sophia and prince Nuada were getting along.
Nuada dipped his hands into the small creek, sloshing water over them till all the blood was cleaned away. The hare he had captured was a bit skinny but it would be enough for just Sophia and his self. He had just finished skinning and cleaning the hare and went about cleaning his hands and knife.
Nuada had left Sophia within the protection of the cathedral. So long as she was within its walls, his magic of protection would keep her safe. Even so, he had been reluctant to leave her, but she would need to eat if she was to regain her strength. Travel bread and dried meat, just would not do. So Nuada had left to hunt.
The last of the blood was gone and Nuada withdrew his hands, shaking them for several moments causing tiny drops of water to fly into the air.
"Marcus," Nuada called, standing up and holding his quarry by a string. Marcus neighed and came eagerly to the prince's call.
Nuada patted the horse's neck before jumping into the saddle. Nuada desired to return to the cathedral as soon as possible. Marcus was happy to carry the prince back.
Nuada focused greatly on guiding the animal through the dark woods. He did not want Marcus to trip over an unseen obstacle and become injured, so Nuada kept the pace at a moderate speed.
Still, Nuada could feel the power in the stallion's muscles and the feisty spirit in his trot. Nuada easily fell into a fancy of a wide, open field in broad daylight. A perfect setting to push, test and bond with the horse.
Nuada's heart filled with nostalgia. The care and training of horses was among his fondest duties in his homeland of Bethmoora.
The memories were distant but still pleasant. As prince, Nuada's days were mostly filled from dawn until dusk training and preparing for his role as a future king.
Such a life left very little time for recreational exploration and enjoyment. So, the young prince learned to derive enjoyment from his duties: the care of horses being among his favorites.
Nuada would spend as much time as possible with the horses of the royal stables. Even after his duties to them were complete, Nuada would remain with the horses while they rested and grazed in the pastures. If Nuada was not riding them he was either talking to the horses or singing to them.
When he could, Nuada would ride out to the many lakes or through the forest of his father's great realm. Sometimes he rode so quickly that onlookers thought the prince was trying to out run something.
Perhaps he was. Nuada, by birth, had inherited a great lineage and the knowledge felt like a heavy chain upon him sometimes. But when on the back of a horse, he found that he could forget about that weight.
It was a therapy that worked just as well now as it did then.
Nuada had been troubled as of late. The time for him to face the Dark Elemental was soon approaching with the next full moon. It had been his intention to spend every waking hour in training.
It was lonely though, not having Wink's help or support.
The only other person to have faced a dark elemental before him had been Scathach. She had succeeded but did not live long beyond the task. Facing that creature had been suicide. Nuada was well aware that he could meet the same end-therein lay the inescapable challenge.
Nuada looked up to the stars, his features set hard and his frame rigid. "I know what I must do."
He had to become the leader his people would need someday. Scathach had been the greatest warrior Bethmoora had ever known but she did not survive her greatest challenge. Nuada would succeed where she failed. He would face a Dark Elemental and live.
Still, Nuada had his fears. Fears made more potent by being disconnected with his best friend. And then there was that strange dream…
Marcus increased the pace of his gallop, stirring Nuada from his musings. Nuada smiled and patted Marcus' neck. It was so tempting to jab his heel into the horse's side. It was a move that would certainly send the horse into a sprint.
Marcus snorted as though daring Nuada to give the command. Nuada only chuckled. How he would love to see what Marcus could do but Nuada restrained himself. It was time to return to the cathedral.
Marcus had slowed to an even trot as he carried prince Nuada to the edge of the cathedral grounds. The area was peppered with broken headstones and other hidden dangers. Nuada's sight was as good at night as it was during the day, yet the prince still proceeded with caution.
He halted Marcus and leapt from the saddle. His feet landed firmly on the soft, grass covered ground. He took hold of the reigns and guided Marcus a few yards to a patch of grass he knew to be free of stones and other matter that could harm the horse.
"Here we are," Nuada said with quiet enthusiasm. He removed the saddle and tack equipment. "Stay close." That was Nuada's only request before leaving Marcus to graze on the dew covered grass.
When he entered the main chamber, Nuada noticed immediately that Sophia was not where he left her. In her place were the remains of her tattered gown and a few tooth fairies moving in and out of the garment.
To his surprise, Cedric was among them. It seemed odd that Cedric would not be with Sophia as he was practically her pet.
"Where is the lady?" Nuada asked the small contingent of tooth fairies.
Cedric came forward immediately, flapping his wings like a humming bird to get Nuada's attention.
Nuada extended his hand and the tooth fairy floated to it. Nuada repeated his earlier question, "Answer me now," he firmly added this time.
"She went to get water," He chirped before planting himself upon Nuada's shoulder.
"She left me to tell you." Cedric sounded cross over being left behind.
His brow furrowed with disapproval. It was too dark to be traipsing around anywhere in this old structure. The only place to obtain clean water here was from the fountain. That is where she had to be, Nuada was sure of it.
He dropped the hare carcass on the ground near the fire. "If any one of you takes so much as bite," Nuada coarsely addressed the tooth fairies. "It will be you I roast."
The tooth fairies were quick to adhere to the prince's orders and turned their attentions to anywhere but the dead hare. Those in his path scurried to get clear as the prince walked briskly out of the main chamber.
Sophia submerged the water skin into the icy water of the fountain. Air expelled from the skin by the incoming water formed tiny bubbles that looked more like silver pearls. The bubbles rippled the water's surface, breaking the image of the white moon into a dozen, silver dapples.
"There, that should be enough." The water skin had been filled and she felt a good sense of satisfaction. She had awakened earlier with a terrible a thirst and guzzled down the contents of the water skin left by her side.
Nuada must have left the skin for her. Where he had gone, she could not fathom but knew that he would return. She did not want him to return to the inconvenience of having to get more water because she had consumed it all in his absence. So she took it upon herself to collect more.
She went about the task with the same enthusiasm a little girl might have when she desired to be useful by helping her mother do the dishes or fold laundry. As silly as it was for a woman her age to feel that way, she was still happy to do it. It was one thing she could do to help her hosts, she did not want to burden them in any way.
She set the filled water skin on the edge of the fountain and used the riding quilt to dry her hands. The tartan wool felt scratchy on her cold fingers. That shiver traveled up her arms, to her shoulders and then down her spine. She clutched her fingers into the quilt and pulled it around herself.
Even by the fire, she had still felt cold when she had awakened. She considered putting her polonaise bodice back on. But the smell of blood and that creature still clung to it. Her riding quilt was not much but it would have to do.
England was well into its spring season, but that only meant slightly less cold weather. In the back of her mind, she could hear Dr. Mason lecturing her about the dangers of over exposure to the elements, especially the cold.
She snorted before the arrogant man's voice could finish. A simple cold paled in comparison to what she had been through in just that afternoon alone. Furthermore, none of that had killed her.
Nuada had said that there was no magic involved in his medicines. Words she thought strange coming form a being fabled to be born of magic. But her injuries, though still present, hardly bothered her. Even when rotating her injured wrist or shoulder, only a slight discomfort could be felt.
She did not know what the components of the prince's medicine may have been. She was however, certain that Prince Nuada was a far better healer than any other physician she had ever encountered. Even his bedside manner was far more superior.
Her eye lids closed softly and her inner vision could easily imagine Nuada tending to the wounds of his soldiers. She imagined him using the same skills and tenderness that healed wounds, both physical and moral.
She was startled out of her musings by a rustle, coming from somewhere in the trees. It sounded too large to be a tooth fairy or a group of tooth fairies. Her fingers clawed into the riding quilt and pulled it tightly around her shoulders.
She stood up and looked this way and that. It was so dark though that she could only see a few feet in front of her. Her ears strained, listening for the sound again. Several minutes went by: nothing.
A sigh of relief relaxed the tense muscles in her stomach and her shoulders. Common sense told her to get back to the main chamber. She collected the water skin and set on her way with much purpose.
Something suddenly descended from up above swiftly and loudly. Sophia heard the sound only a split second before she felt the impact.
Hearing her cry of distress, Nuada bolted towards the rest of the way to the fountain. He feared the worst; that a skin-walker had managed to find her here. Here, where he promised to keep her safe. .
He had just stepped on the walkway that led to the lily pond when he collided with her. His instincts flared, his hand went to the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it for attack. The scent of her hair, the feel if her slight body assuaged his senses and he knew it was her and not an enemy.
His hand dropped away from his sword and joined with the other hand that was pulling her protectively to his body.
Even in her panic, Sophia registered the black clad figure and the flash of white hair. She let the prince's body halt her completely and made no move to fight his arms closing around her.
His left arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her into his left side. Once she was secure, his right hand, once again, went to his sword, drawing it defensively.
"What is it? Why did you scream?"
"There's something here." she pressed her head to his shoulder.
"What is here?" He held her closer to him.
She shook her head. "I didn't see it...it attacked me from behind..." She wrapped her arms around his chest and pressed her head on his shoulder again.
"Show yourself!" Nuada commanded loudly.
Both of them held their breath. They waited for the intruder to make its self known.
Hoot…hoot…
Nuada looked to the boughs of the tree. Their, on a limb was the intruder, with piercing orange eyes and snowy white feathers: an owl.
Nuada relaxed and stood down. He lowered his sword as well and chuckled.
"What? What is it?" Sophia did not see what was suddenly so amusing.
"There on the bough, is our intruder." He pointed with his finger to where the owl was perched.
She looked to where he pointed and saw the large shape and vivid white color of the owl. "It…it is just an owl." She muttered.
"So it would seem. It must have a nest up there. It was simply defending its home."
The owl suddenly gave aloud screech, causing Sophia to yelp and push closer to Nuada.
Nuada laughed out loud. "I cannot believe you made such a fuss over an owl."
She grunted indignantly. "I made a fuss? You were the one who drew your sword on it."
"Only because of your scream; I thought you were being attacked."
Sophia rolled her eyes, she was not going to be to be drawn into a cause and affect argument. Another 'hoot' from the owl did not help much either.
"Oh bullocks," She groaned and pressed her head back into Nuada's shoulder.
"You should not have left the main chamber." He said falling back into his usual, collected manner.
"I was not trying to make trouble. I only came to get more water."
Cedric, who had been hiding in the prince's hair up until now, emerged. "Then why did you take so long?" He did not like having to stay behind.
Nuada waved his hand; a signal to both fairy and woman to drop the argument before they even started it.
"A silly thing to concern yourself with," He slipped his sword back into its sheath. He did not like that she had wandered but appreciated her want to contribute.
"Come," He spoke softly but his baritone voice immersed all other sounds. "The night is cold and your strength is not yet restored."
He was right, of course. Sophia sighed and, reluctantly, stepped out of his secure hold. She adjusted the riding quilt so that it once more, covered her shoulders. Some how, the quilt felt warmer now. It was as though the very warmth of Nuada's hold lingered in the quilt's fibers.
"Let us be off then." She had salvaged enough composure to walk with the posture a lady would normally carry herself with. One loud 'hoot' from the owl was all it took to destroy her efforts.
"Wicked creature," She growled before stomping off.
'Wink would love to see this' Nuada thought with much humor.
The cathedral's main chamber was much warmer and more inviting with the fire burning. She noticed right away the skinned hare lying by the fire. The other tooth fairies were interested as well.
Nuada growled and stomped over to the fire. "Away, away with you." Nuada waved his hands in sweeping motions.
He had commanded them to stay away. But what use was it to try and command a creature that listened to its stomach above all else.
Nuada snatched up the hare corpse and set to work on fashioning a make shift spit to roast it. He worked quickly and quietly and soon had the hare cooking over the fire.
Once satisfied that everything was sufficient, he allowed himself to relax and sat down on his prospective side of the fire. Sophia too, had been quiet the whole time but not idol.
Tooth fairies were all around her. Occupying the choicest spot (her uninjured shoulder) was Cedric. Others sat in her lap or found contentment on the ground near by her.
"You certainly seem to have won them over," Nuada said watching the way she poked at and petted the fairies.
Sophia thought on his words. They did not seem right. She had not forgotten her very first encounter with these creatures, nor would she. The tooth fairies were dangerous but not mindless.
"No, I believe it to be the other way around," She said at long last. "It is they who have won over me."
She held out her hand and Cedric leaped from her shoulder to her open palm. "I was once very afraid of them." She gave Cedric a thoughtful look. "But I am not anymore."
Indeed, the creatures had won her over. A swarm of wily tooth fairies was enough to make, even the mightiest of warriors or burliest of trolls, run for cover. Yet Sophia looked upon them with respect as well as wonder.
She observed Nuada busying himself with roasting the hare for a few minutes before asking if there might be anything she could do to help.
"You already are" He answered. "You are keeping the tooth fairies occupied."
Sophia chuckled. Yes, she had a task on her hands indeed.
Nuada soon had the meat ready for eating. He used his dagger to cut portions right off the roasting carcass. He offered one of the larger portions to Sophia and insisted that she eat it.
She did not want to be greedy but found the wonderful smelling meat impossible to resist. Having to eat with her hands did not bother her much either. Why should it? There she was in the woods, eating the meat of wild animal in her undergarments and in the presence of a man no less.
Propriety had gone out the door a long time ago. Even the way she ate her food was deplorable.
"You are a giant tooth fairy," Cedric said teasingly.
"Oh turn blue." She scoffed at the little fairy. "I have not had anything to eat since that fish I had with Mr. Wink this morning."
'Since this morning' was that all the time had passed since then.
"It feels longer," She said thinking out loud. "When will Mr. Wink return?"
Nuada answered promptly. "I have told you once before, he will return as soon as he has completed the task he set out to do."
Nuada had finished eating for the night. He cast the bones and any leftovers away to a dark corner of the cathedral. The tooth fairies swarmed over to that spot.
Sophia followed suit and did the same with her left over portions. She washed her hands with water from the water skin.
She moved with nervous energy. Her mind was not at rest. "Does Wink really have to hunt down the Skin-walker and kill it?"
She offered the water-skin to Nuada and he accepted with a nod. Understanding his silent cue, she tossed the skin through the air and over the fire to Nuada's waiting grasp.
"Yes." Nuada copied her method of hand washing while he spoke. "Harming one in the custody of the crown is a grave offense. I have explained already, the Skin-walker is creature born of the most foul of emotions. Therefore, it is capable only of the anger and revenge that it spawned from.
"Believe me my lady it has no remorse for what it has done to you. You yourself said that a monster regrets nothing."
Sophia shifted uncomfortably. "I do not disagree with you nor do I deny what I earlier said. Only, I find myself moved to pity this particular monster. It lives its whole life driven by revenge with no choice to be anything else or anything more"
Nuada felt as though he were caught completely off guard. The Skin-walker was a creature he had never thought too deeply about much less pitied.
"Then tell me, you say you pity the creature for its existence. Does that mean that you can forgive it for its actions, its honest desire to kill you?"
He crossed his arms over his chest, thinking that he had caught the woman in her own intellectual trap. Surely she could not forgive the creature knowing it was a killer through and through.
Sophia thought for several, quiet moments on the prince's question. Nuada, at one point, had threatened to kill her. Now she believed it is not what he wanted and was able to forgive him for choosing to be better than a murderer.
She knew the same was not possible of a Skin-walker. But after a few more minutes, she had an answer.
"Maybe not so much I can forgive it, I just have no hate for it. It is monster but just one type of many. This monster is thought to be terrible and is as terrible as it is thought to be.
"A monster I cannot forgive is the kind that is thought to be good but is really something terrible. It lives its life as lie that others do not question either because they are afraid of that monster's power or are equally terrible."
Her eye lids descended softly over her eyes, the grief welling visibly within them before they were gone from view. Her dark lashes formed two graceful lines on her pale face. Her brow creased, suddenly tightening her normally serene features.
"I know a monster like that. He has destroyed so much but so long as his goals are achieved, he cares not for his methods."
"You are talking about your husband, aren't you?"
She nodded. "Yes. To the world he is a man of great success and firm character. Only I know how horrible he really is. He does not have to be a villain but he chooses to be because this is a world where lying and brutality is rewarded with wealth and power."
Nuada had wondered for a while about the relationship between this woman and the man she was married to. Since the he had first encountered her to now, she had laid a piece of the puzzle her and there.
"I must tell you that when it comes to puzzles, I am without talent. You tell me you hate this man that you are married to yet you fear him as well.
"What has he done to make you fear him more than a tooth fairy and hate him when you cannot hate a Skin-walker?"
She ceased her fidgeting and settled down cross-legged. "You really want to know my story?" She eyed him seriously as she asked her question.
"I fear I must warn you of disappointment as I do not think my experiences have granted me any great insight as you think."
"I shall be the judge of that." Nuada knew the potential but did not much care. He had been curious for some time and now it would appear that the woman was finally opening up to him.
She sighed and began. "Yes, I do hate Richard. I hate him because no one sees the wretch he is, the thief he is. I knew from the first moment he entered my life that he was trouble. I never dreamed the depths to which he was capable of sinking."
She thought bitterly, as she had many times before, that perhaps if she had seen the blackness of his soul, then maybe everything would be different.
"If you despised his character so then why did you marry him? Were you forced by your family?" Nuada prodded.
She shook her head. "No, father wanted me to marry well but he never would have forced me. My older brother was the same way."
Nuada's brow quirked up. This was the first time he had heard her mention her family. Sophia picked up on his apparent curiosity and continued.
"Yes sire, I once had a family. My mother, Dianna, died when I still small but I still had my father, Thomas and my brother, Christopher. Together, we were the Howard family.
She shut her eyes tightly, already able to feel the fine line of moisture creeping out from the reservoir of bereavement long repressed.
"No your highness, I chose to marry Richard. I did so because it was the only way I could have my revenge for what Richard had done to my family.
Nuada settled and assume a more astute position. He believed her story would be anything but disappointing. She was choosing to start it with her family. What better place to start from then the beginning.
TBC: Please review ^_^