Author's notes: Well hoooooleee, schnookies! Sorry for the long wait, but
like some of you saw, I got the prequel for Priestess of the Guado up -
it's called "The First Priestess," go check it out if you like.
---***---
On the walls of the Palace, guards walked tensely in pairs, torches held high and hands on their swords. Fairy fire lit the Palace and part of the town below, bathing it in a greenish glow. Despite this, no one noticed the shadow flitting over the wall and down towards a window on the west face of the Palace.
Below that room Seymour paced nervously. The hair on the back of his neck tingled with all the magic that was being used that night; but also with fear for his daughter's life. Yuna slept peacefully in the bed, and every so often Seymour would stop and stroke her face. But still he paced, mulling over the two spells left in the repertoire that the Planet had given him, and wondering what they were for. One was a spell of command, used for opening doors and such - that one he knew, but he did not know what he was to open. The other..
The shadow hovered near the window of the room it wanted into. Inside, a girl slept, her blue hair wrought silver in the moonlight, the pale tracings of an ancestral design across her face. The shadow sensed another in the room with her - an elf, probably that hated princeling that had stolen Ailani away. The shadow shrugged to itself and turned its gaze back to the girl, its target.
Calix's fingers twitched on the sword of his ancestors, given to him when he was old enough to wield a proper blade - Leloup, in the old language - the wolf. Indeed it was said that the sword had a hunger of its own for whatever its handler deemed a threat. Particularly demons.
He had been awake for almost a day straight, and as he stared at the sleeping priestess whom he guarded, Calix could not help but notice how very black the shadows were that night. The moon through the giant silverwood trees created a variety of fascinating patterns with the shadows as well. Why, that one there, that was a man's outstretched hand. And there was a face -
Sleep-deprived as he was, Calix sat up and watched with growing horror as the shadows appeared to slide off the bed and onto the floor. They pooled, then a long strand rose into the air, gradually forming itself into a man's body, covered in a long, heavy black cloak with a silver clasp, with the hood thrown back. The man had light, silvery-white hair and was so pale that he reflected the moonlight, and rivaled it. He reached out with a hand and gently stroked Ailani's cheek; the fingers were tipped with long nails like Seymour's, painted black.
In her sleep, Ailani grimaced.
Calix rose and pointed his sword at Aubrey, muttering a spell. Aubrey laughed and waved a hand, and a wall of purple flame rose between Calix and Aubrey, blocking Ailani from view as well. Angry now, Calix cast a different spell and the flames immediately vanished. Aubrey tucked his cloak around Ailani; her breathing was no longer easy as it had been, but now heavy and labored as though something were on her chest.
"You failed, elf," Aubrey said triumphantly. With that both he and Ailani collapsed into shadows and flew for the window. Calix leapt for the pane, but before he could shut it, the Aubrey-Ailani shadow had slipped out and disappeared into the night.
Slamming his fist into the windowsill, Calix stepped back and half-flew, half-ran down the stairs, banging on doors and waking everyone he thought mattered up. In the midst of the confusion he strode out to the balcony that not too long ago she had been practicing with her sword, and fell to his knees, sobbing.
"AILANI!"
---***---
Bahamut watched very unhappily as the beacon of light that had been Ailani shaded over with gray mist and made for Bloodmoon Tower, Aubrey's personal gateway to hell. Beside him, Shiva, the aeon that had voluntarily chosen to watch over her and guide her to her destiny sighed. The Dragon King thought that Shiva did not look her normal - he smiled at the pun - cool self. Her head hung low and she pulled her cloak about her.
"Shiva."
She turned her back to him. "I failed in my duty to the Daughter of Yuna the Dreamer."
Bahamut sighed. Shiva had experienced failure but little, and for her to fail in protecting the Daughter of Yuna the Dreamer had hit her hard.
Dreamers were the aeons' name for summoners. In truth, an aeon was the dream of all the free people of Spira; formed by their strength, fueled by their determination. All the aeons had known that Yuna the Dreamer was to be the one to finally set them free of their rocky prisons. Now that that was accomplished, they were free to their own business, and all of them set to it with vigor. Their one promise was that they would always keep the goals given to the people of the world in line.
Bahamut sighed again; he hadn't wanted to tell Shiva that she was supposed to fail. He didn't intend to, either; it would only drive the Ice Guardian into a flying rage, and then he would have to ask Ifrit to melt the icicles off his wings again. Instead he tried offering comfort. "Shiva, without you, Ailani would have been dead."
"It was all in accordance; Ailani is the Queen of Air and Water. I failed - "
"You would rather I had given this to Leviathan, or Valefor?"
Shiva glared up at him. "They gave no indication -"
"And neither did you, when Ailani's destiny was to be set in motion. You volunteered, Shiva, remember?"
She looked away again. "I think that an aeon in accordance with her element - "
"Shiva, you're the only one who could have manipulated events so smoothly that she would have thought they were her own doing. Leviathan offered, but you know him. He took one look at Ailani and what her future would be and backed out. And Valefor is too passive. He would have taken it on; but he wouldn't have had the strength to draw out that much power from Nenya."
He walked away from the giant three-dimensional that displayed all the beings on the planet, silently ticking off bits of Ailani's destiny in his mind.
Shiva pondered what Bahamut had said. Indeed, the great steed had taken a special liking to Ailani, but after years of confinement in the deepest basements of Bloodmoon, he hadn't the strength to summon the Inner Protector. Only with a little boost from her had he accomplished it. But he had the strength now. Shiva watched sadly as Ailani's beam of light was further eclipsed by the darkness; she had no doubts that Ailani had woken and that Aubrey was having his way with her. She had cringed every time that damned demon had "made love" to her. Love it was not; in fact, if Shiva had had any say, Aubrey might as well have called it rape.
Shiva turned and looked at the dimmed beam of light that was that elf that continued to amaze all the aeons. Poor boy, she thought, his only love was currently surrounded by a deep darkness. For a year she had prevented that darkness from taking hold in the light of Ailani; for a year more she would, if necessary.
Shiva busied herself with consoling Calix subconsciously, putting thoughts and ideas into his mind and being so skillful she knew he thought it was his own. She moved to the Redeemed next; Spira had given him a chance to prove he could be trusted, and so far he was passing with highest marks. He always had. She turned to the Dreamer Yuna, and gently touched her with a little happiness; she had her love back.
At last Shiva turned back to Ailani, and gave the poor girl what comfort she could. She would see to it that Ailani remained alive. Bahamut was hiding something, Shiva could tell, and she had a distinct feeling that she did not want to know what it was.
---***---
Weeping for the first time in a long time, Ailani quietly set herself in order, dabbing the blood from her neck, repairing as best she could the crescent moon on her forehead, re-braiding her hair. Aubrey watched, sadistically amused, as she put her head in her hands and then ran them over the top of her head.
"Ailani.Princess Ailani.Queen Ailani Braeden," he purred. She looked at him with that icy-fire look that so suited her. Crossing the room, still without a garment covering what he knew was a very well-muscled chest that he knew she watched without wanting to watch, Aubrey stood over her, smiling toothily. His demon half had gotten the best of him and he'd sunk his fangs into her, savoring the hot blood. She had torn herself away from him, silly girl, and ripped half the skin on her neck right off. Not wanting his father to ask questions, Aubrey had repaired the damage. That, and the part of his host body that was still the actual human Aubrey Braeden had nagged at him. Demon Aubrey hated this; more and more he was exterminating the thing that always made him kick himself whenever he caused an ugly purple bruise to come up on Ailani's skin.
Demon Aubrey also desired a son. He had, of course, sired many daughters and various bastard sons by other women, but Aubrey wanted a son with no taint to his parentage. And he would have that son from a priestess of Avalon, and when she was with that child he would make her a demon, forcing her to drink from the Cup of the Damned if need be. Demon Aubrey wanted Ailani, and as he was first in line for the throne, he got what he wanted, through force or persuasion or outright manipulation.
Aubrey smiled a little gentler than he'd intended to at Ailani, and for a moment her staunch defense wavered. The blue moon gleamed between her brows; he reached down and touched it.
"Priestess Ailani.Priestess of the Guado nation."
---***---
On the walls of the Palace, guards walked tensely in pairs, torches held high and hands on their swords. Fairy fire lit the Palace and part of the town below, bathing it in a greenish glow. Despite this, no one noticed the shadow flitting over the wall and down towards a window on the west face of the Palace.
Below that room Seymour paced nervously. The hair on the back of his neck tingled with all the magic that was being used that night; but also with fear for his daughter's life. Yuna slept peacefully in the bed, and every so often Seymour would stop and stroke her face. But still he paced, mulling over the two spells left in the repertoire that the Planet had given him, and wondering what they were for. One was a spell of command, used for opening doors and such - that one he knew, but he did not know what he was to open. The other..
The shadow hovered near the window of the room it wanted into. Inside, a girl slept, her blue hair wrought silver in the moonlight, the pale tracings of an ancestral design across her face. The shadow sensed another in the room with her - an elf, probably that hated princeling that had stolen Ailani away. The shadow shrugged to itself and turned its gaze back to the girl, its target.
Calix's fingers twitched on the sword of his ancestors, given to him when he was old enough to wield a proper blade - Leloup, in the old language - the wolf. Indeed it was said that the sword had a hunger of its own for whatever its handler deemed a threat. Particularly demons.
He had been awake for almost a day straight, and as he stared at the sleeping priestess whom he guarded, Calix could not help but notice how very black the shadows were that night. The moon through the giant silverwood trees created a variety of fascinating patterns with the shadows as well. Why, that one there, that was a man's outstretched hand. And there was a face -
Sleep-deprived as he was, Calix sat up and watched with growing horror as the shadows appeared to slide off the bed and onto the floor. They pooled, then a long strand rose into the air, gradually forming itself into a man's body, covered in a long, heavy black cloak with a silver clasp, with the hood thrown back. The man had light, silvery-white hair and was so pale that he reflected the moonlight, and rivaled it. He reached out with a hand and gently stroked Ailani's cheek; the fingers were tipped with long nails like Seymour's, painted black.
In her sleep, Ailani grimaced.
Calix rose and pointed his sword at Aubrey, muttering a spell. Aubrey laughed and waved a hand, and a wall of purple flame rose between Calix and Aubrey, blocking Ailani from view as well. Angry now, Calix cast a different spell and the flames immediately vanished. Aubrey tucked his cloak around Ailani; her breathing was no longer easy as it had been, but now heavy and labored as though something were on her chest.
"You failed, elf," Aubrey said triumphantly. With that both he and Ailani collapsed into shadows and flew for the window. Calix leapt for the pane, but before he could shut it, the Aubrey-Ailani shadow had slipped out and disappeared into the night.
Slamming his fist into the windowsill, Calix stepped back and half-flew, half-ran down the stairs, banging on doors and waking everyone he thought mattered up. In the midst of the confusion he strode out to the balcony that not too long ago she had been practicing with her sword, and fell to his knees, sobbing.
"AILANI!"
---***---
Bahamut watched very unhappily as the beacon of light that had been Ailani shaded over with gray mist and made for Bloodmoon Tower, Aubrey's personal gateway to hell. Beside him, Shiva, the aeon that had voluntarily chosen to watch over her and guide her to her destiny sighed. The Dragon King thought that Shiva did not look her normal - he smiled at the pun - cool self. Her head hung low and she pulled her cloak about her.
"Shiva."
She turned her back to him. "I failed in my duty to the Daughter of Yuna the Dreamer."
Bahamut sighed. Shiva had experienced failure but little, and for her to fail in protecting the Daughter of Yuna the Dreamer had hit her hard.
Dreamers were the aeons' name for summoners. In truth, an aeon was the dream of all the free people of Spira; formed by their strength, fueled by their determination. All the aeons had known that Yuna the Dreamer was to be the one to finally set them free of their rocky prisons. Now that that was accomplished, they were free to their own business, and all of them set to it with vigor. Their one promise was that they would always keep the goals given to the people of the world in line.
Bahamut sighed again; he hadn't wanted to tell Shiva that she was supposed to fail. He didn't intend to, either; it would only drive the Ice Guardian into a flying rage, and then he would have to ask Ifrit to melt the icicles off his wings again. Instead he tried offering comfort. "Shiva, without you, Ailani would have been dead."
"It was all in accordance; Ailani is the Queen of Air and Water. I failed - "
"You would rather I had given this to Leviathan, or Valefor?"
Shiva glared up at him. "They gave no indication -"
"And neither did you, when Ailani's destiny was to be set in motion. You volunteered, Shiva, remember?"
She looked away again. "I think that an aeon in accordance with her element - "
"Shiva, you're the only one who could have manipulated events so smoothly that she would have thought they were her own doing. Leviathan offered, but you know him. He took one look at Ailani and what her future would be and backed out. And Valefor is too passive. He would have taken it on; but he wouldn't have had the strength to draw out that much power from Nenya."
He walked away from the giant three-dimensional that displayed all the beings on the planet, silently ticking off bits of Ailani's destiny in his mind.
Shiva pondered what Bahamut had said. Indeed, the great steed had taken a special liking to Ailani, but after years of confinement in the deepest basements of Bloodmoon, he hadn't the strength to summon the Inner Protector. Only with a little boost from her had he accomplished it. But he had the strength now. Shiva watched sadly as Ailani's beam of light was further eclipsed by the darkness; she had no doubts that Ailani had woken and that Aubrey was having his way with her. She had cringed every time that damned demon had "made love" to her. Love it was not; in fact, if Shiva had had any say, Aubrey might as well have called it rape.
Shiva turned and looked at the dimmed beam of light that was that elf that continued to amaze all the aeons. Poor boy, she thought, his only love was currently surrounded by a deep darkness. For a year she had prevented that darkness from taking hold in the light of Ailani; for a year more she would, if necessary.
Shiva busied herself with consoling Calix subconsciously, putting thoughts and ideas into his mind and being so skillful she knew he thought it was his own. She moved to the Redeemed next; Spira had given him a chance to prove he could be trusted, and so far he was passing with highest marks. He always had. She turned to the Dreamer Yuna, and gently touched her with a little happiness; she had her love back.
At last Shiva turned back to Ailani, and gave the poor girl what comfort she could. She would see to it that Ailani remained alive. Bahamut was hiding something, Shiva could tell, and she had a distinct feeling that she did not want to know what it was.
---***---
Weeping for the first time in a long time, Ailani quietly set herself in order, dabbing the blood from her neck, repairing as best she could the crescent moon on her forehead, re-braiding her hair. Aubrey watched, sadistically amused, as she put her head in her hands and then ran them over the top of her head.
"Ailani.Princess Ailani.Queen Ailani Braeden," he purred. She looked at him with that icy-fire look that so suited her. Crossing the room, still without a garment covering what he knew was a very well-muscled chest that he knew she watched without wanting to watch, Aubrey stood over her, smiling toothily. His demon half had gotten the best of him and he'd sunk his fangs into her, savoring the hot blood. She had torn herself away from him, silly girl, and ripped half the skin on her neck right off. Not wanting his father to ask questions, Aubrey had repaired the damage. That, and the part of his host body that was still the actual human Aubrey Braeden had nagged at him. Demon Aubrey hated this; more and more he was exterminating the thing that always made him kick himself whenever he caused an ugly purple bruise to come up on Ailani's skin.
Demon Aubrey also desired a son. He had, of course, sired many daughters and various bastard sons by other women, but Aubrey wanted a son with no taint to his parentage. And he would have that son from a priestess of Avalon, and when she was with that child he would make her a demon, forcing her to drink from the Cup of the Damned if need be. Demon Aubrey wanted Ailani, and as he was first in line for the throne, he got what he wanted, through force or persuasion or outright manipulation.
Aubrey smiled a little gentler than he'd intended to at Ailani, and for a moment her staunch defense wavered. The blue moon gleamed between her brows; he reached down and touched it.
"Priestess Ailani.Priestess of the Guado nation."