Speech = ``…..´´
Thoughts = …..
Inner voices = "….."
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Her body refused to move from place, muscle fibre flaring all over her body like they had been set on fire yet her limbs remained static, lifeless. Frozen….
It almost felt like she had become a passenger of her own body, one for the ride….
She could feel herself slowly sink into the white soft sand, the rough texture of the gravel covering her overly expensive heels while a light sea breeze brushed her from behind….dampening her golden mane with humid, transparent pearls that felt into the ground bit by bit...
But she could not move...
Not when those precious golden orbs were still glaring at her with a mix of apprehension and fondness that she had not witnessed in an eternity. How they glowed brightly like the rising sun of morning, dispelling the darkness of the night with beams of pure light.
Her heart aching in protest with the fast pacing she was forcing it…..
Their warmth reflecting back on her cold, bitter self like a soft blanket that she had missed for so long…, pushing away the scorching taste of cinders and replacing in its place that mixed scent embedded in her psyche like a wood carving.
The taste of roses and steel….
Forever
Her muscles tensed even more as she felt an imaginary push, yet relaxed on their own when they could no longer lock themselves in place.
She felt her heart skip a proper beat while her lungs started catching fire, her tongue slowly rubbing against the still bloody remains of the wounds that were almost healed, yet not even that metallic taste managed to break her out of her stupor.
Her battered, broken soul bringing back and forth with the simplicity and swiftness of the wind those so elusive memories of the culprit behind this…
The one and only being that managed to draw such raw emotions out of her.
Not a dream or a memory...
Not a shadow or a wayward sentiment…
Not a faceless voice at the back of her mind….
Just him.
Just her prideful knight….
A person that now seemed to stand before her in flesh and bone rather than shadows and echoes that had made their home in her mind.…
"I am still waiting for you…."
The words echoed softly once again..., this time without none of the coldness and sharpness it possessed but rather a calm, soothing tone. Calling out to her…..
A request that she could no longer ignore as strongly as before…., whether by a by-product of the extenuation that had taken hold of both her mind and body for the last three hundred years or as she felt the walls around her crack…
She took a breath she did not know she was holding as she tried to recall, to extend her metaphorical arm into her insides. A task said easier than done as most of the words she had exchanged with him in the dream were now blurry in her memory.
A strange mixture of raw feelings that contradicted with each other; dark and bright, cold and warm, sweet and-…and-.…
``Forgive them!?´´
She flinched, her feet taking a small step back on their own as a voice very much like her own resonated loudly inside her skull.
Then, before anything else could be done she found herself gasping for breath when she felt her old scars start coming back to live, she pressed her hand over the aching flesh...trying to offer it as much relief as possible.
Unknowing that the searing sting was nothing more than a sharp prelude of what was to come….
Her mind finally rebooted, leaving open the floodgates of what laid inside into the wild. Giving free passing to the flow of memories from the very end of her nightmare came up front view before her very eyes in a series of rapid flashes
"Is it so wrong to let go…?"
"Never…"
"You have changed….."
She could barely heard the way the cloth wrapped around her arms started to creak. Her knuckles growing white under the pressure as she clenched her fist even more tightly. The hourglass necklace sits heavily around her neck.
Growing more and more painfully aware of the cool metal brushing against her now hot steaming skin. Copious sweat sliding down her fair neck, drenching the expensive layers of her dress and furr as she felt those bottled-up emotions stir up once more.
Feeding on this new surge negativity to claw their way out….
Dissapointment….
Anguish…
Bitterness…
Misery..
ANGER...
She closed her eyes, the fear of that endless void of her dreams was ignored as she unconsciously started breathing in and out deeply…., once, then twice. A poor attempt to try quell the wave from drowning her whole, but the only one she could think of….
As her mind and body fought for dominance of what little remained, his form slowly took shape….., edging at the corners of her mind, blurry at first...though quickly gaining momentum as time went on.
Parts of him had been chipped away she realized..., his armour was not as bright as it used to be, nor the shades of the cape were the right ones... a sheath with no blade resting over his hip..,
Yet that easy going smile of his remained intact.
That damn smile….
He was a fool….., bearing the title of wolf pup with pride rather than shame when he was far stronger than those above him.
A complete fool, but what that made of her? She did not want to hear the answer, she already knew it.
In that regard the two had reached a tie….
By the Tsaritza…, even from the grave she could not get the upper hand in their game.
That silent acknowledgement seemed enough to grant her a brief lapse of relief, she quickly steeled herself of any bothersome distractions that clawed at her…., placing layer upon layer of thin barriers between her and the ensuing chaos.
It was easier said than done though, the way she felt the maelstrom fight back, the way it slammed its way through….it never allow her to push it out of her mind.
Always keeping her at her toes...
.. Tsk, how annoying..
To say it was overwhelming…., would be a statement but nothing she could not handle. If she was given five minutes of silence.
Would she? Knowing her luck she doubted it….
By the time she opened up her eyes it may have been hours and not seconds, though what surprised her more was the still standing form of her dearest.
He had not disappeared…, but why?
"Surely you did not expect me to leave your side so hastily?"
He replied curtly, yet his eyes glinted with a hint of barely contained amusement. The sound of his voice reaching her outside, but rather within.
..How?..
A ghost of a smile warping around his features as he regarded her shocked expression.
``What's wrong darling? Cat got your tongue?´´
Such a playful jab…, such insolence...bringing forth scenes long buried. She did not notice the glitches started to form around the edges of her sight, nor the brief changes between transparent or solid in her knights body
She did not answer back…..
There was something that kept her from even articulating anything at all.
Like a puppet whose ethereal threads which kept her in place had become too bothersome and visible to ignore any longer yet with no clue of how to toss them aside…..
So she kept quiet….
Before she knew it she already took a step forward, bringing up a gloved hand over her chest. Feeling with ease the way her aged heart throbbed loudly inside the confines of its vessel.
``Rostam….?´´
She mumbled out, more out of than real thought. Her voice a ghastly whimper that barely traversed through the crashing sound of the waves, to the point that she believed she had imagined it.
A look of confusion dawned in those eyes she had become so infatuated with as they heard her query, blinking once, then twice in silence….
Looking at his strange companion before switching his attention back to her. The muscles of his face grew tense for a moment, a vast array of emotions flying through his eyes as he seemingly looked confused of what words to put….
But such hesitance did not last long as he took a step forward...
``I am sorry, but who is...Rostam?´´
..What!?.. She almost spatted, choking in the process.
The words hang over the air like knifes poking at her guts…., each one tearing through flesh and bone with ease. Twisting their ethereal selves within her, almost with reckless abandon as they tried to cause the greatest amount of discomfort if not mental agony.
Yet they could not compared when he took a step back, the sudden motion dispelling the form of her dearest as if he was made of fog once her eyes blinked in confusion.
No, this could not be happening to her…., but she resisted the urge to gasp and try to grab onto the broken shards of her knight, to cry out in anguish as he was taken away from her, again.
If only barely….
She clenched her hands tightly, a mild sensation of pain eruption from where her nails nails clawed her flesh by the exertion.
That did not stop her from feeling the heat of the flames wishing to escape from their imprisonment. Licking and chewing at the cloth covering her arms, but unable to slip through….
The question did not sit well with her, it felt...wrong. Like a cold stung in her heart she was slowly forced to get a better look at what stood before her, picking up a series of details that had gone unnoticed until them…too enthralled by the memories to notice it until now.
And how many they were….
He was rather small for a man, barely reaching her prominent chest…., the fact that she was down a slope of sand been the only thing allowing him to maintain a similar heigh with hers. His clothes were nothing she had saw before, brown with decorations of gold and white from the dual white cape hanging from his shoulders.
Rather exotic outlook if there was one….
He was a bit lanky too, and though she could detect the presence of some muscle over his body…., especially in the mid rift section, there was no trace of the myriad of scars adorning his skin or the tan Rostam had gained after countless hours under the sun.
His hair was also another thing to discuss about, it was not black like a starless sky but rather shaded in gold, the light of day making it glow brighter wherever you looked at it.
The only thing that was right were the eyes….
They shone with life, with unshakable certainty and determination, one not yet dulled by the hazard and gruesome passing of time, with that sweet kindness that sough to made some place in her heart..…
Like it had done before.
Forever
She wanted to throw up…..
She chew her lips, and yet they lacked that familiarity that they should have held once they found her. That silent surprise and gratitude that could only come out from a soul finding a long lost friend. No, even though they looked at her with kindness, with worry, with pity…., they did so as a stranger...
She swallowed her spit with difficulty, its taste foul and burning through her throat like acid.
He wasn't Rostam….
He was not….
He was dead….
She grabbed the sides of her head, her fingers digging through her golden mane, keeping it in place as let her head hung low.
Was he another lost soul to torment her? Another denizen of Mondstat that had perished during the cataclysm she had saw once but was now when she recalled him?
It could be, but something told her otherwise…
It just felt wrong….
He looked far more corporeal than the rest and her eyes as far as she knew were open wide, but if so...why was he still here? What had brought him here?
As far as she knew she did not remember meeting someone like him.
Failing someone like him…
Killing someone like him….
``Miss? You have grown so pale...are you feeling sick? Do you need help?´´
He asked, his words drenched in dread, his jaw clenching in a silent begging, yet one that did not reach her as her attention remained solely in two aspects
Golden eyes..
Golden hair….
Those two aspects kept repeating over and over in her mind, like a broken record catch in an undesirable loop.
Each one dragging with them a horrid realization.
Was this a nightmare within a nightmare? Was he a vision of a future that never was? Was her mind so broken that it was presenting her with possible forms their child could have had their worlds not shatter away?
She wanted to scoff at the absurdity of such notion,
Yet it was one that would not disappear…., though why would it when a part of her agreed with such notion?
She chewed her lips, hiding a look of distaste yet not unable to keep her eyes from showing it.
What if it was that...?
Everything seemed to point in that direction..., both the studies of the sages and that insufferable know-it all had shed as much light as possible over the matter as they too became infatuated with the notion of eternity.
That did not brought her any sort of relief however…
Tevyat had been the home of multiples beings that tread its surface, from the lowliest of gods to the most abominable of monsters, machines…, and even the artificial life created by alchemy. The world held many secrets, but rarely they stayed...
It wasn't their bodies that set them apart from most mortals….., but their essence, the very energies woven into their flesh and bone. It was hard to comprehend, but the more a creature was filled by the energies of this plane of existence, the more it would mould it.
Prepare them..
Adapted them...
To a particular set of needs…
Which ones? Why was that the case? Nothing was clear…., what they could do however when it came to the degradation however was a different story…
Time did not weaken them, did not chip away their mind as it should ravage their bodies. It instead made them grow….stronger.
How could that be possible? Under their watchful gaze...?
The "Heavenly principles" were against that path…., nothing could break them and get away with it unscratched. But if that was the case…. it did not explained why some "acts" were divinely punished while others were not...
There had to be something between the lines that allowed the likes of Alice whose destructive, childish, even petulant compulsive deeds would prompt a cataclysm if not carefully watched not worth of intervention.
Unlike the alchemy of Kaenri'ah...
It could only be a code of sorts.
A writing within their life force of those who were not quite human. A glitch in the system of that allowed them to either grow without end or stop at a certain point and remain as such until their bodies were forcibly….removed.
Sadly, the human mind was not prepared for the prospect and burdens of night immortality..., even if the body could be kept stable in a timeless hourglass through the passing of time..., the mind would not suffer such luck.
It would constantly download the information obtained through the various external and internal stimulus that the body's senses would catch up. Never stopping, never slowing down...unknowing of the fact that there was so much knowledge it could digest before the thin metaphorical line of a limit was breached and degradation started to settle in…
It could be from just some memory lost…., to the brink of insanity.
Looking down at her arms she could only grimace in silence. Even if she was now more code than human, more mana than flesh…. that did not change the true nature of her origins.
It did not include her in that refined club...
Humans were fragile things, were they not? And five hundred years was far too long….
Her hands started to shake to the point that she found the need to embrace herself to put a stop to it. It was then that she realized that the sound that she was hearing was the sound of her own laugher. One that held no mirth or joy within, but rather the cruellest pangs of despair...rocking her back and forth like an unmanned puppet.
Truly the gods were the cruellest of them all to continue in this torment…, to throw at her a glimmer of hope only to exchange one tomb for another.
She was dying…., again….
The only difference this time would be that when it happened, her body would still roam the earth of this world….
As those thoughts started to cram up whatever space they could find in her mind she was left to witness the pair converse with one another.
``Paymon thinks she has a few screws lose….´´
``Paymon!´´
``W-what?´´
``That is not something nice to say about someone we just met…., especially without taking into consideration what she could be going through...´´
The little girl started rubbing the back of its head, sending a furtive glance her way before switching it back to the gold haired boy.
``Well, perhaps you are right…, but Paymon thinks that speaking to yourself alone and then bursting out with such evil laugher for no reason does seem…..rather strange if not worrisome, wouldn't you say?´´
That seemed to raise an eyebrow from him.
``As strange as speaking always in third person?´´ He asked, rising an eyebrow at his flying companion.
``Hey! Paymon doesn't think there is nothing wrong with the way Paymon speaks with others...is the only way Paymon knows...´´
The flying child exclaimed with apparent outrage before her tone grew meek and sorrowful. Looking down at her feet, or rather the ground...
As if she was stating a universal fact so terrible that she could barely carry its weight over her pint size shoulders...
The boy sighed, the tension that had been building up in his body lessening. Closing his eyes for a moment before directing an apologetic glare at it.
``Its ok Paymon, I understand...it was not my intention to cause you any discomfort. I was only trying not to make her feel...excluded. Or so signalled out and bothered by a pair of total stranger or anything…..´´
He said, sighing in exasperation before he then placed his hand over her diminutive head, giving it a soft pad.
The flying minx seemed to either not notice the sarcasm at the end of his tone or she did not care as the boys words did the job to quell whatever ailment had taken hold of the th-Paymon as she started flying around with a smile too big for her diminutive face.
No…, scratch that, her head was way bigger compared with the rest of her body.
``That is good to know, Paymon humbly accepts your apology….now that I think about it I am feeling a bit hungry, perhaps you can cook those meaty steaks as a token of our renew friendship? ´´
Was she the only one to notice or did sparks came out from her eyes? Did droll start falling down that things mouth now?
``W-what? Again!? I fed you four well done steaks a few hours ago´´ He exclaimed baffled.
Paymon could only nod, placing her hands over her hips as she circle around them.
``Yup…, and this time make it seven. Paymon never jokes about matter as important as these.…, not when those juicy, fleshy steaks are on the line...´´
The boy shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose.
``How you can eat so much being such little thing is still a mystery to me...´´
``That doesn't mean you can not afford it, Traveller...´´
Paymon beamed with joy, clearly not noticing or caring the look of mild surprise or tired acceptance that the boy portrayed.
She stood still, her feet frozen on the spot as she observed the strange situation developing before her….there was only one word to describe how it seemed.
Unrealistic, utterly and completely….unrealistic.
Like the first brushes or artistry of a child who had been given a pack of crayons to use at their leisure, wailing their arms in the air as they went to show their deeds to their parents who looked at them with a simple, amused smile.
Too childish and simple to even consider them part of the world….
..No, her world.. She corrected herself.
Her mind started wandering further and further away from her body to the point that she could swore she could see everything from the heavens. The only thing keeping her body from falling limp on its own been her will power.
Strange little thing, wasn't it?
From a tortured, blacken reality with the tattered remains of her past she was thrown into...this? This nonchalant, easy going conversation with two strangers that had no hold over her heart nor space in her head?
It seemed out of a bad romantic novel…, one where the protagonist would find an escape from her dark reality by the passionate and warmth of her mysterious benefactor...
Utterly risible…., she would have laughed at the notion if she could, but she would be lying if that was the only thing crossing her mind at the moment regarding….that. Especially about the matter of-
What was this supposed to be? What the hell was going on!? And most importantly, why was she seeing this?
No matter how many times she spun it around she could not find a satisfying clue…., it just did not make any sense!
To try was akin to throw herself into a bottomless pit…, a void that was growing in size….
Perhaps had she been of sound mind she could have look at it from another perspective, let the events cool down slowly at the corner of her mind as she planned carefully her every move. Like a spider webbing its webs for any unsuspecting victims….
But as the situation appeared to be…., that would not happen. No, not in the slightest…
She grumble in silence. Those blasted gods, couldn't they give her a dam break?
She wanted to slam her arm against them, to throw a wave of frost and flames to shatter this poisonous illusion into a thousand shards like she had done so back at her ruined home. The desire to follow through with her desires was almost too tempting...
Almost…, but she would not live it down if such responses became the norm from now on. No matter how desirable they sounded.
Only the likes of Childe...or that puppet would debase themselves so low when things never went their way. Always so proud, always so…vain...
Hmm, but no matter how they would try to hide it, once a brat, always a brat….
How that help her? Not much she feared...
He looked at the two of them once more, this time barely concealing the anxiety that creeps into that madness that bordered on the limit.
Her eyes attempting to peer down their flesh to the very bone, the very idea of remaining idle being far worse than trying to decipher if their forms held any other symbolism or message while they remained too engrossed in their argument to notice her.
And act doomed to futility….
Her lips turned into a thin line, then into a deep scowl…., hands clenching tightly in disappointment when she was left without the answers she sought. Nothing, there was utterly nothing to find or discover….just a small itch turn rash inside her chest.
A certain hollowness locked tight in her heart, a sharp thorn gracing her ribs, an invisible hand rubbing on her face something which she had lost with every second she lingered there….
It didn't make sense….
A second passed, then another before she felt a cold shudder crawl through her back….
No…, it was not that. Her woes did not lay whether she could not understand it…, but rather she refused to understand the nonsense that was presented to her. Whatever this was…, whatever it was suppose to be…dream, nightmare or just an illusion of a tired mind it was something that once she could have been part of.
No longer…..
The realization struck harder than she thought possible…
A bitter sense of deja vu mixed with thoughts and voices not her own, their grip tight on her throat as her composure started breaking down more and more. She tried to hold on to them, but those intrusive thoughts slip by her fingers like molten ashes...
Forever
``What's wrong darling? Cat got your tongue?´´
Witch!
``Someone is gonna be´´
Monster!
``Now that was not that hard, wasn't it?
Abomination!
``Don't press your luck, darling..´´
Her hands started to tremble, her body leaning down... obscuring from their sight the way her pupils had shrink into two insignificant dots, unable to hide the grimace that had settle in her features nor the way she had started to hyperventilate, even though her "mortal" body did not need that any more before she took a step back.
Then another…
Her blind eye started to ache. The now rendered useless organ burning out through her skull, the blistering feeling of the scarred flesh kindling up nerves that should have remained dead a long time ago before the hunger of rot had been halted.
Panic spawn out, spiralling out of control as her hands flexed and open time and time again...as if they could grasp the air. Only worsening with each passing second…, like a sickness in the blood, veins about to burst…..
The darkness of that nightmare would have been a welcomed embrace compared to….this.
She would never be free of them...
I am a harbinger…., the executor of her will…I am a harbinger…the executor of her will….I-...
She mumbled internally….., repeating them over and over, words meant to ease this new burden that she found at the mercy of, yet they proved lacking as she took another step back.
She choke a scream, and before she knew it she had already turn around on her feet and walked, no..run away as fast as she could with no destination in sight. Just somewhere apart from these two.
This unfortunately did not go unnoticed. The sound of a pair of footsteps walking over the sand reaching her ears.
``Hey! W-wait, please!´´
Cried out the boy in surprise, his hands lunging forward to grab her…. yet missing a few inches from its intended target, making him only grasp thin air...
``Paymon doesn't know whether to be happy or annoyed you are leaving without saying goodbye..ugh, people these days...´´
She ignored the boys plead, no matter how a small part of her wished to do the opposite. She had to leave, now more than ever before she lost her sanity or what little remained in this well crafted illusion.
Or at least that was what she believed.
She smacked herself. Her men were right, she should have just stayed at the hotel instead of wandering into the wild like a homesick girl…..
It would have saved her time and the need with dealing with this circus...
The skies grew darker while the wind started to blow stronger, ethereal hands tugging her clothes and bright hair while she was set in her path. As if trying to stop her in her tracks…
She brushed the thought aside.
..Nonsense…
There was no way the weather would react to the turmoil inside her…, had she look up she would have received a confirmation in the form of an emerald shaded dragon flying through.
With a scowl she put her feet over the first step of the staircase….the gravel beneath crunching, but just as she was about to rise to the second one she felt something slowed her down, no…, grabbed her was more likely.
With a whiplash and a curse starting to form in her mouth she turned her head to the side...
The last thing she expected was to find the boy from before standing right next to her graving her by her left arm. His gloved fingers holding her arm firmly to keep her from falling down, yet soft enough to not cause harm to the skin below.
"Why so surprised?"
She could have easily broke free from his grasp, perhaps even rip his arms off his sockets if she directed the force of her pull in the right way thanks to the strength she had earned. The look of surprise soon turned to agony flashing before her eyes like an enticing view...
"Still lost in your own delirium? Still unable to mourn?"
But she could not, against her darker wishes her arm remained limp under his grasp while the other clutched her chest tightly, fingers digging through the fabric in an attempt to ease the frigid touch of ice clawing its way out her chest.
How, how could this be...?
"Poor girl, still unable to let go? To open up your eyes to what lays before you?"
He was touching her, she could feel his breaths brush softly against her with each intake. The way his eyes glared at her own vividly and not pass her, the sound of the sand moving under his feet as he repositioned himself.…, or the dim, brief echo of his heartbeat pulsating through the veins below his hand...
He was real…
They were real….
She wanted to cover her face and nag away all memory of this unfortunate event as she felt how it started to redden once she realized the shameful display she had unwittingly presented them with.
She would have died right there and then if her body had not already experienced that long time ago
"You have become a shadow of your former self..."
Perhaps he had been right all along…., perhaps she should have-
"Rosalyne, wake up!"
A jolt ran through her spine as her knight mixed with the blond boys voice erupted through her ears in a thunderous fashion..., dispelling in their wake much to her surprise though only momentarily the chaos that had settle in her mind like wind brushing against the morning fog.
A few brief seconds of focus and clarity from this madness turn reality which would she be eternally grateful…
Unconscionably as this was taking place she took a step back, her lips betraying her with an unladylike mannered yelp coming out of her mouth as she fell of balance a second later as her feet collided with one of the steps of the staircase that remained behind her…
Cracking and breaking down under her weight like a thin layer of glass…, but before she could hit the ground her fall was halted mid way thanks to the "Travellers" fortunate intervention.
One swift pull and she was quickly back on her feet.
With unexpected ease….
``Don't worry...I got you´´
``You..got me?´´ She parroted unaware of the way she sounded as she was still...shocked by the revelation.
Rostam´s form flashing flickering over the boy as they were one and the same before it died out and only the brat remained.
Though she soon regained her bearings and she chided herself internally for even considering that for a moment it felt like an eternity.
How many times was she gonna fall for this? By the Tsaritza this was starting to become a bothersome loop.
He was gone, end of story….a grimace forming on her face as that bitter truth settled in her mind. Though if the boy had noticed her souring mood he did not seem to care or show it.…
At least it would have been a refreshing thought to know that she was not the only one feeling aggravated...
He nodded, a calm look in his eyes that hides away the wariness beneath before he gave his floating companion a brief glare who in kind answered with a wordless shrug before he switched his attention back to her.
``To be honest, I may not know the gist of what is actually going on or that our conversation did not start in the best way possible, but know that you have nothing to be afraid of us, so please….´´
He then took a step forward, offering her a bright smile while his grasp over her arm lessened softly, as if he was holding something fragile that could crack at any given moment.
Five hundreds years ago it would have been a touching scene….
Now it was a broken parody of a time long past...
She could feel the way her teeth started to grind against one another, blood slipping through them into her mouth.
All of this because of that lazy, irresponsible, backstabbing abomination….
The grimace in her face must have been far too much to ignore as a frown appeared in his features, worry nearing at the edges of those golden eyes before it was dash away with a new burst of confidence.
``Whatever ails you, whatever it is... I want to help you. We want to help...´´
He corrected himself at the end of the sentence as she sent a glare towards his winged companion who did not seem to share his view though she did not say anything about it though.
She blinked once, then twice as she remained still dumbfounded by what she had just heard. The gears of her mind creaking inside by the effort they were subjected to as they led her to a strange situation...
Help….?
Help Her...?
Him...?
The words tasted foul, even foreign in her mouth before she replaced it with a far more bitter yet known taste as she gritted her teeth.
She portrayed a cold, almost lifeless demeanour as if she had not heard anything he had just said. Yet, if they had been paying attention they would have noticed the way her knuckles started turning a deadly shade of white under her gloves, nails digging through the fabric.
Her body was not the only thing threatening to lash out of control. Arcane power was flowing inside her veins in a tide wave, searing the vessels they came across like melting iron…, spreading further and further through her body like a malignant warm sting of ethereal energy.
The roots reaching far and deep….
How….
How dare he…., how dare this little shit try to worm his way in with such obvious lies? Help her he said!? Preposterous….if he was gonna lie to her he should have just come out with something more creative.
Did he even had any idea of what he was doing to her? What his words entailed? Apparently not with that naive look of total carelessness.
"Witch...!"
..Don't trust him….
"Monster..."
..He lies..
"Failure..."
Her hands slowly rise, holding her ears as if they could block the noise from continuing on. She looked away from what could only be the concerned looks of the two. This time, sensible enough to not say anything….
Yes, how could he forget it when she was not reminded of it for five minutes. that had been all that her efforts had ended up being. That was the only constant that seemed to follow her wherever she went. There was no point in questioning...
Looking back she should have seem the signs, was it fancy hope or just because she was caught in the heat of the moment that she did not question her route? Probably one of the two, perhaps neither...
But did it matter to question it now? No, though that did not put a stop for her to reminisce.
No one had believed her. No one that should had wanted to help her…., instead they cursed her name and made her legacy become the monster that would hunt children in their sleep if they misbehaved.
She gave them everything…and they gave nothing in return.
So was their Freedom to choose…..
Traitors, the lot of them….
The faces of countless men and women paraded before her, bloodied and covered in dirt. Each one kindled with fear and rage, each one she would rain down death and misery for eternity.
Her attention then switched towards that blond, idle fool and that thing floating around that remained without a care in the world, unaware of her misery.
And him, this boy…. what did he thought she was? Another idiotic girl that could be woo with a few words and cheap shows of confidence? Another of those Monsdadt fools bred by the Archons corrupt ideals to be unaware the danger that any strange posed?
Or did in fact his visage hide a far more twisted purpose? A mask of nobility that concealed a dark, deep crookedness. A cheap reflection, mirroring the deeds and true self of that Archon…?
She would not lower her guard around him.
"Their words speak of aid, but their eyes speak of deceit. Strike them down..."
Aid her? Him? Did he really thought that she was that desperate? She would have laughed if she could in a moment…., and then rip his head from his shoulders in the next.
His neck was rather slim, with her hands around his throat….it would snap in a heart beat…..
"I thought that you buried yourself in book when you grew pissed at the world, not break necks..."
She sighed, dissipating those therapeutic thoughts from her mind...no matter how tempting she could not just kill them in the spot. Not yet anyway…..,
She doubted those sad excuse of Favonious knights could made the distinction between a human ashes or just a bunch of lumber used. But a missing local would always draw questions….
A troublesome thing to be sure….
"You are too harsh on them…., there has not been a war in five hundred years…."
Her nose flared with disgusted. Harsh judgement should be the least of their worries when there was something harder coming their way. But she was not in a hurry, everyone would get their fair share…
Still, help her?
She had long stopped been that naive little fool that expected any sort of kindness towards her by her own country men, let alone by a completely stranger and his...pet. The abomination had seem to that….thoroughly,
Only her in her frozen throne deserved her adoration.
The day she saved her…., hold her crumbling body, more ashes than bone laying motionless in the snow into her delicate hands and breath new life into her forever carved in her mind.
The flames fanning her heart grew cold as the face of her benefactor passed before her, she ignored the lifeless look of those eyes that had long lost the glimmer they once held for the people of Tevyat.
A smile started to morph around her no longer bloodied lips, easing the tension from her body slightly..as she recalled the frozen touch of her masters will..one that she carried with her even now in the form of her gift...
Yes, only she understood the pain in her heart.., only she cared enough to grant her a second chance. Everyone else were merely tools or obstacles to dispose off in their search for a better and righteous tomorrow….
A world without uncaring gods…..
A world without the abomination….
She almost felt drunk by the euphoria, like a child who had been reminded of a favourite toy that had been lost a long time ago before she managed to calm down, the only sign of her change of mind been the slight upstroke of her lips.
She fixated her attention back on them, though they looked too young to have been tainted by the inner designs of this cruel world, she would have been a fool to believe that age meant nothing in the name of survival.
Children could be incredibly cruel too…..
"You surely love to hold a grudge.., they were brats doing what do, nothing else "
She gritted her teeth for what should be the tenth time that day, she swore that this would be the last time she would show such weakness as she pushed away the boys hand away from her hand. He gasped in surprise as she moved him a few steps back with what could have been a mere touch..
``I did not need your help…, I don't need you...but I do appreciate the effort´´
She spoke out, a regal mask of politeness in her tone even though she did through clenched teeth.
Even if there was nothing but content in her heart for whatever schemes were spawning inside the duo that did not meant that she had the chance to and act like a crude brute as she granted the low vermin's before her a light bow.
In the battlefield or a courtroom….a Harbinger was her representative. She had to act like it and treat them as none combatants…. though no one said she had to be genuine about it.
``Ah, I see….´´
He said, rubbing the back of his head with one arm, his eyes looking around rapidly as he tried to come out with something else. She would not have to wait long.
``To be honest I kind of understand where you are coming from´´
``You do traveller?´´ Asked Paymon surprised, but the boy continued on.
``The fact that we came out of nowhere-...´´
``But we did not, we were just right...over there´´
``And you don't know either of us and you are wary. Its completely understandable, and though I don't like it I would be lying if I said I wouldn't too….´´
``Waah? Paymon would not do such a thing, I trust every single thing that makes its way into my stomach and why are you ignoring Paymon?´´
``And with the way things that have happened…., especially with how they went..I would not hold it against you´´
``Paymon is dizzy already, what do you mean by hold? You don't have anything in your hands traveller. Did Paymon miss something?´´ She said, placing a diminutive thumb over her chin.
Were they just toying with her? Or were they playing to see who was more stupid? She did not know. What she did know was that the desire to spawn an ice spear and skew them increased rather drastically…
``But if you want…, the offer still stands…´´ He said softly, offering a shy smile at her.
``…..´´
``Only if you want of course…, is not like I would like to impose that on you..right?´´
He hastened himself to add at the very end, his words almost tripping over the other when he realized the way her eyes had narrowed at the end.
She remained in place, placing her hands behind her back as the frown grew deeper. Like a hawk staring at its prey…
The blond did seem to take notice of it this time, but apart from a grin he said nothing else.
Still, did he really thought she would still fall for that if her repeated the offer? Did he really thought so low of her.
``How gracious of you to remind me….´´
She replied scathingly, tilting her head to the side as if she was glaring at an insect. Finding every second that she wasted in his company rather vexing.
To make matters worse he did not had the decency to even look baffled or angry about her tone…, but rather the contrary.
What was his end goal?
``Is nothing…., I am glad that you are feeling better now, you had me worried back then..´´
``What?´´
She muttered baffled, a look of confusion breaking her cold demeanour before she realized what she had done.
``Sorry, at first when we spotted you I did not wish to intrude in something that appeared to be so..., personal. but the longer we stood away the more wrong it felt… wrong...´´
``Wrong..?
``Is..not something that can be explained with a few words I am afraid. It felt wrong to stand by while you were...in pain, so I acted..´´ He said, rubbing the back of his head.
``Why..?´´ She pressed, she would not accept a vague answer like that.
``Does one need a reason to help another..?´´
He replied calmly as if he was stating a universal fact, a grin warping around the edges of his lips while his eyes glowed with a glint of….hope?
No, she had to be mistaken.
``I have to say that I did not expect our morning to go the way it has, nor I think anyone would…. but I am not disappointed about that…, it beats been chased by monsters or this thing unending hunger by a long margin ´´
He said jokingly as he pointed at the flying girl with a thumb.
``Hey! Paymon is not a thing! How many times do I have to tell you that!? Apologize, apologize!´´ She exclaimed aggravated, which only increases as the boy ignored her with a knowing smirk.
She had not denied her hunger though…
The boy crossed his arms around his chest. Sending a brief glare at her as if asking for her attention before switching his attention to his winged companion.
``You are right…., to consider you a thing is clearly too demeaning to the word. In fact I believe you are my emergency food...´´
``Yes, that's right. I am...-w-wait..What!? Traveler, how could you!? That's worse than been considered a thing!´´
The look of total complacency that the boy bore spoke of how sorry he felt about that.
``By the way, my name is Aether... though the people around here and her tend to call me Traveller for some reason…., much to my chagrin´´ He whispered the last part to himself, but she managed to hear it nonetheles..
She wanted to scoff. Was she supposed to care? She held her tongue though...
``And I am Paymon, the best wandering guide that have ever been and ever will be…! There is nothing that I don't know, if you are lost somewhere just ask Paymon...´´
She said cheerfully, placing her hands in the air, almost above her head in a V…..pose?
Not very humble, wasn't she?
``What an….. interesting pair you do...´´
She said with fake enthusiasm, her tone calm and collected while she caressed the side of her head from the growing headache that threatened to burst through her skull. Gods...why was she forced to endure this?
They did not seem to notice...
``Right? Though I have been on my own for a few months and Paymon and I met not long ago I do think we make a great team...´´
The floating girl nodded its head in agreement, gone was her previous panic as if had never happened. Crossing her diminutive arms over her chest as if that were to make her seem more serious about the matter.
``Paymon agrees wholeheartedly, is like we were fated to be the best of friends! It also helps that the Traveller saved little old me from drowning.., or that he takes care of the fiends that approach us...or lights the fire when we have to rest at night´´
A sweat-drop started to form at the back of her head as she saw the way Paymon started to point out with her small fingers everything the blond boy did.
In other words, you ran and hide every time problem approaches… and leech the life out of him...
Just like the uncaring gods of this world…
Still, for some reason her brows frowned slightly as her eyes regarded every aspect of the floating child with veiled interest.
Perhaps such belief was rather too harsh and unfair to be bestowed on such…small, sparkling being.. but she had yet to see anything that spoke otherwise.
After that the three of them remained in silence, with only the sound of the waves as a distant echo. For a moment she thought that their conversation was over for good, only to notice that they were staring at her, almost as if expectantly…
She knew that there was nothing behind her but the waves, so what could have drawn their attention could not be that.
She sighed in exasperation, knowing full well that she would have to address the matter to get this over with.
``What is it? If you have anything to say spit it out...´´ She commanded.
``Well, since you now know who we are…, we were wondering what about you?´´
Asked the blond boy, the ghost of a smile warping around his lips as he did. Those two truly were relaxed. Still, though he had done so politely…, he could not hide from her the curiosity nagging inside him from her.
That managed to rose an eyebrow. What they were talking about? It felt like she had missed something important.
She glared at them, her face did not denote any emotion whirling inside as she did so before her lips parted ways.
``Me….? What in the Tsaritzas name are you two implying right now…?´´
The words came out far more weaker than she had intended, making her sound…..unsure. Hesitant..
She detested that…
Was she still shaken by the nightmare? Or just the whole ordeal?
``Your name silly, what else could it be?´´
Butted her way in the little minx in a cheerful display of ignorance and respect for private space, showing her a broad smile as she floated around her before she returned to the Aeth-...the brats side…..
Clearly catching by surprise, though it was short lived….
A searing wave of rage ran through her veins as she glared Paymon down, her pupils burning two holes through her skull. Her killing intent missing by a long shot as the traveller started pulling Paymon by the ear.
A vein popped out in her forehead. If there was one thing that annoyed her more than a little minx, was being ignored so blatantly...
She would have burn alive the little shit on the spot, she would have.., had she not felt his touch over her shoulder.
"Dear, you should be careful with that anger. Those wrinkles in your face are tainting your beauty.."
She had no time to ponder about his words for long as Aether took a step forward, oblivious to the turmoil brewing inside as he rose a gloved hand towards her. Hanging softly over the air, is hand open in waiting…
Her eyes switched attention between his eyes and the offered hand at a rapid pace, unable to come out with a logical assumption of what scheme he was attempting, if there was a scheme to begin with…
His body was relaxed, his smile held no trace of deceit but that stupid smirk of genuine care...there was not even an ounce of fear or distrust showing off from those glowing golden orbs of his that put the sun to shame.
He was just...standing there. Emanating a warm aura around him…..
It was like an oversize kitten had just come out of the woods, abandoned by its previous owners and asking her to be petted...
She wanted to scoff, to laugh at this child who was trying to act like a mature man and walk away so that she could return to her cold world called reality…, but she could not find the strength to do so.
A single question echoing in her mind...
Why? Why was he doing this? What did he had to gain? Why was he….acting like him….
Her surroundings slowly morphed into something else, the calm solitude of the coast with its white sand and the vibrant green lush of forest at the back vanished from her sight like flower petals being drag away by the wind.
Replaced in its place by the joyous and explosive atmosphere of the Mondsdat of old, banners and chants filling the air with the voices of bards competing with one another, the cheerful laughter of children as they run through the crowd in their games.. the people walking by to enjoy the festival.
And in the middle of it all…., leaning against the fountain of the main square in a rather carefree fashion stood a figure she knew very well.
At first he seemed to be looking past her, a calm exterior being portrayed as he slowly cocked his head to the side as if he was not paying attention to the force of gravity. It was then that his lips unveiling a thin smile...
"Why the long face? Surely you are not attempting to scare the competition away from little old me again, right dear?"
..Rostam, you fool….,
A tired sigh leaved her lips as she closed her eyes, finally pushing back those memories back and their scent of steel and roses, giving way for a strong scent of salt to reach her. A cue that she was back into the beach with those two...
He always had something to say to her even at the possibility of her breaking his face as a result.
But perhaps that was the reason she had fallen for him all those years ago, ...and now this boy was unconsciously reflecting him back into existence. Not as a ghost, but more like a successor...
Making her remember the scent of roses and the cold touch of iron..
Making her go back to those fun and simpler times where spells flew through the air without malice or bitterness…
Only for her to open up her eyes to wake up, realizing hat it was just that... a memory from a long forgotten time from a corpse that had forgotten to died when she should have.
Her hands clenched tightly. She should be hating him for it…., not...whatever she was feeling now!
It took her a few seconds to regain her composure, pulling back that cold yet regal aura around her. Toning down her emotions to a thin thread that she could easily handle and twist to her needs.
But she did not spoke out yet, the words that should have already come out remaining stuck in her throat, an uncharacteristic weight pulling them down…
Unknowingly granting her a few more seconds to question her previous concerns….
Did she trust him? Did she believed that no harm would come to her if she allowed him...close? Was that why she had not just ignore them and walk away?
The idea crossed her mind for a few seconds before she shook her head internally. Absurd, there was no way. That could not be, right? Right?
Trust was overrated, it was just a tool that people used to manipulate others and destroy them completely and utterly when one so desired. That was how kingdoms were built, how gods ruled those below them…
Making use the good will and hearts of those willing to save themselves, and when the deed was done discard them.
Those that suffered from it would be lucky to die soon after, the unlucky ones who did not will carry scars that would never heal…., engraved in their souls like a mark of shame.
Witch
Monster
Abomination
She flinched with each outcry, the light of her eyes dimming just barely as the echoes grew stronger...but the need to cling to those others moments her mind had tried so desperately to forget won them over...
What did mattered what those spineless two-face cowards thought? They had tried everything they could to bring her down, and yet she was still standing…..
Her knight had never betrayed her, never had used her for his own gains…..making his lost all the more tragic. A hole inside her that had never being filled again, nor it ever would as she tread alone.
Gods betray and mortals lie, with that thought in mind there was no need to cling to such weakness. To such delusions when history had proven her wrong every time….
Poor Rosalyne had grown to care to much…., shed too much tears for those that did not deserve it. And died because of that…
No one mourned for her…, no one ever would. That was their freedom to chose, wasn't it?
She starts humming internally the poems he used to recite to her, briefly mesmerized on those times his voice joined with hers while she looked for something worth listening to.
That was her excuse.
No because the thoughts were too loud.
"Trust not your eyes, but your senses….they will always speak true..."
That was easier said than done, but to call him out for it was a waste of time.
Still, trust? The word taste strange….., could she hope for something else in her cold world? To want not for a servant, or a master to command or obey…..but something more like her knight?
She grunted, not out discomfort, but rather amusement at the thought.
No...she doubted that would be the case…., only in a thousand years a man of his calibre was born, no matter how many times her heart tried to speak otherwise...
"To be wary of pain is wise, but to use it as an excuse is not wise my dear…."
"How would you know if you never try it?"
She fought down the ghost of a smile that threatened to warp around the edges of her lips as his voice whispered to her. Of course, it was so much like him to appeal to her pride in such brazen manner even now...
He was right though..., in his own little way his words rang true to those who bothered to listen. She would not dispute that.
The antics of these two…. were surely childish, harmless even…..
It felt….strangely nice.
Yet that was not enough to make her give in… to think anything else about these...strange fools the same way Rosalyne had do so more than five hundred years ago...
But even though she could not do so now, perhaps she could trust the words of her beloved….
``Is something wrong, Paymon sees that you grew veeeeeeery quiet all of a sudden...a Paymon for your thoughts?´´
She shook her head. ``Nothing of the sort, child...now about your question...´´
She simply dismissed, her words trailed off as she placed an arm below her chest, while the other caressed her lips.
``You shall refer to me…...as Signora….´´
She said as calmly as she could, one of her hands graving his hand from below while the other fell over his, feeling the warmth of his limb through the cloth while she shook it softly, almost shyly as she was dealing with porcelain than flesh and bone…
Aether smiled at her, no words coming through his lips as he returned the gesture in earnest, not fully knowing the fact that their meeting would change the gears of destiny into a direction that no one would have expected.
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And here ends the two-shot turned three-shot. The original ending that I had in mind was a little more darker, showing more the de-synchronisation between the three of them.
I scrapped that idea for a later fic if it comes to it…, but if it does come it would be more about the origins of Signora before I touch the main timeline. Then I may recycle this chapter and put the original ending…., but well..time to time.
Though the more upbeat ending that I ended doing does not look bad in the slightest too...
-The brokenness and haughtiness of someone who believes her ability to trust someone else was robbed from her by those she put her faith in the first place as well as carrying some serious PTSD.
-The sympathetic, patient and calm nature of Aether even when dealing with total stranger, though it may have to do with the fact that I think of him as the one of the two twins who even though acts before he thinks, he is not so dense to not put himself in the shoes of others. Though the wiki says he is 15, ignoring the 500 years he went asleep I want to believe he like his sister are more wise than they appear.
-And well.., Paymon is the cheerful honesty that anyone would want in their life, even though she would make someone go crazy in the process with her antics...or she is made into emergency food.