So with my schedule right now, it looks like this is gonna a biweekly thing, so if you're interested, check every other thursday-sunday? That's usually when I add something

I appreciate all of you!

XOXO, crcookie

September 25th, 5037

The little marble gazebo was perched on a cliff overlooking an abyss, surrounded by a thick mist and the gentle roar of a distant waterfall. Prisms of light refracted off of the thin sheets of water falling around the pavilion, and the wind brought with it echoes of the cry of a lark flying somewhere out of sight. He had come here often to ponder his misfortunes, now he had come to be happy.

Petra was gazing over the edge, arms resting on the railing, a little self-conscious, aware of the way he was watching her as he stood behind her, hands on her waist, admiring her quiet beauty. She probably thought she was a mess, with her hair falling around her face in red waves instead of pulled back into its usual tight bun, and wearing a thin, loose tunic and pants instead of her corsair suit and armor. He wasn't wearing his usual armor, either. It was thrilling, almost, to be here with her like this. If Mara had thought of something like this, there would have been so many more rules, and he would be breaking them. She couldn't keep him in a cage, not forever, this was something he had to have.

"Didn't you say the Queen sent you to bring me to her court?" she asked, trying to come up with an excuse but hoping there wouldn't be one. Exactly how he felt.

"Not until tonight. I came early, to show you this place. We still have a few hours."

The walls around her soul had come down, and though he had known her well for a long while, it was like he was really seeing her for the first time, so sweetly timid and vulnerable with her heart revealed, her desire for his affection mixed with the fear of rejection.

He knew from the way she talked about herself that she had been taught to view herself as a burden on society, that she needed to be useful to be cared for, and that she as a person had no real value. She worked tirelessly to prove her worth to herself and others, and didn't believe she could be loved by someone like him, someone who could get the same use from her as anyone. If only she could understand that it was her that he wanted, that he wanted a deep relationship, not a service. He longed for her to believe that he loved her, rest in his arms, trust in his definition of her worth: that over the months he had known her, she had slowly become the only thing that mattered as he came to love how real she was, came to love everything about her. As he had come to understand that there was no price he could pay for his sister's approval, which he'd have to then fight to keep, when he could give his loyalty to someone who would willingly return his feelings. And this was a better kind of love, a more fulfilling affection, genuinely and freely given. If Mara had been a light on the unreachable other side of his endless storm, Petra was a shelter in the middle of it.

"It's a beautiful place," she whispered, "And it feels so right. Like… like…"

"Like we were meant to be here. We were meant to be together." He pulled her closer and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Why me, though? I… it does feel like this was always supposed to happen but it doesn't make sense. You're a prince. I'm…. nothing. You could have anyone, or anything."

"I care about you. I'm not trying to get something out of this, not something that won't make you happy, too. I know you, I understand you. Is it possible to know someone so well and not care about them like this? We have so much in common. Life has not been kind to either of us. There's not a single person besides you that has ever let me be anything other than the prince. You let me be myself, you know me, you understand me. I might have a lot of other things, but I don't want those things as much as I want you. I need you, just as much as you need me. I promise."

"I.. I'm not…"

"You are to me." He held her gaze, fingers sweeping through her hair. "You're a wonderful person. You might not see it, but I do. You're smart and brave and creative and you're so beautiful, too. All our suffering has brought us together, and it's all worth every stolen moment with you."

"I've stolen many things in my life, but nothing so nice as this," she murmured.

He pressed his head against hers and kissed her, letting go of all the other thoughts and worries in his mind to enjoy the warm pleasure simmering in the pit of his stomach, the wonderful feeling of being so close to her. Perhaps it was reckless, to pour so much into this while it was still so new, but these desires had been driving him mad for months. It was already so much of something he'd never had, and now he knew that she was the one he'd been waiting for.

Petra was stubborn and independent and tough as nails, but he knew well that the people that were hardest on the outside were that way because they were the softest on the inside. To the world, she was unflinching, shatterproof, but now that she had let her guard down and trusted him, he saw how truly fragile she was. It would only be too easy to break her heart now, too easy to reaffirm her fears of worthlessness if he ever betrayed her. He was afraid that she had been desperate enough for something like this that anyone clever enough could have found her and used her. He was very glad that he had been the one, for he wanted to care for her, and keep her safe from those who would try to hurt her. As he gazed deep into her blue eye, seeing the hope and love and trust captured there, he wished could stay right there with her forever. Here it was only them, no queens ordering them around, no sisters who thought they knew best, no one telling them who they could be and what they could do. In this little place, separated from the rest of the world, they weren't the prince and a corsair, they were simply themselves, and they were together. It was heavenly, and he never wanted it to change.

Petra kept her gaze to the ground, trembling on one knee, as she waited for Queen Mara to cast her judgement. Despite Uldren's earlier reassurance, she could tell he was still nervous as the whole court waited in tense silence.

"The City will not let the deaths of nine of their own go unanswered," Mara said icily, "You have tainted our victory with recklessness The City, now believing we do not value the lives of their soldiers, draws away. Guardians are an invaluable resource. This split must be repaired, and you, having caused it, must be the one to do so." she paused, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes. "My word is thus: you shall be lowered to an emissary and go into the city to speak to the Vanguard for as long as it takes to convince them that an alliance with the Reef is a worthy investment."

Leave the Reef, and live in the Last City? This wasn't real, it was a nightmare. She'd lived on the Reef all her life. She was supposed to go and talk to stuffy city guardians? She could not possibly do that! She was terrible at talking to people she wasn't comfortable with, didn't know, or didn't like. No one ever listened to her. Fieldwork was her passion. Now there would be no more missions, assassinations, scouting, nothing. She loved the thrill of a hunt, the adrenaline of a high-stakes chase, especially when she was with…

"Do you understand what I have said, and you do not have anything to say for yourself?"

"Yes, your majesty," she whispered, trying not to choke. If she was banished, she wouldn't ever be able to see…

Uldren stepped forward. "Come on, Mara, it isn't a corsair's place to do an emissary's work, the two jobs are so wildly different. An Emissary ought to be sent to the city, not a corsair working as one. Perhaps a more relevant punishment would be to-"

"Was it an emissary who made the decision which ended the lives of nine guardians? Nay, and none deserve such to leave our beautiful home. Diplomacy is a skill which all should possess and exercise."

"The Vanguard is just making a big deal about it- they're ignoring the fact that it's their guardians' fault. In my report, I specifically stated that they were given a warning and told Petr- Lieutenant Venj- that she was clear to go ahead."

"The city has sent me a video record of the incident, recorded live from the fireteam leader's suitcam, automatically downloaded into their systems as the feed uploads. They never received any warning and certainly never responded. You clearly misunderstood the situation, so hold your tongue. You simply argue for the sake of a disagreement. As for you, lieutenant, you have until tomorrow evening to pack up and leave the Reef."

Petra looked up to meet Mara's gaze, careful not to look at Uldren, or her heart would break. "Yes, your majesty."

"You are dismissed."

She left the hall in a daze. It was over, everything was over, this was the end. She could not ask him to wait, not when she was in such disgrace, not when she was banished, not when she was nothing. Banishment meant that she would not be allowed to make contact with anyone in the Reef, no one would be allowed to visit her or talk to her. She would only be able to read relevant updates and file reports. They could not be together. By the time she could convince the guardians to reforge the alliance, Uldren would have long moved on, found someone who was actually special and important. He had been so wonderful, why, why, why did it have to end so soon?
She knew that she had sent the guardians a warning, and she KNEW that they had told her to go ahead! What could possibly have happened? Would Uldren think she had been lying? She hadn't! She could have sworn… she didn't understand. It wasn't fair, how did circumstance always make her seem a liar? Would Uldren still trust her? Did it even matter? For this was beyond choice and trust. She was banished. She had to leave everything behind and had no idea if she'd ever be able to get it back.