Kit49: Heh, of course Mithros is going to interfere somehow. But Skyleth is going to get his own way in things...
KatYoukai: Yeah, I thought it was a bit too abrupt too, I'll try to slow things down, but I'm sorta like a 'fast' person so it'll be difficult.
Skyleth and Kris will end up together, that's certain. Some interesting events occur before that, though. That's all I'm going to tell you.
This chapter is mainly Skyleth and Kris sorting out their relationship. And fluff! I'm not very good at fluff but I tried, anyway.
Yeah, an extra note. I don't own any of the books, therefore I may describe some of the settings wrongly, so don't blame me.
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Chapter 4:
Kris was dreaming again.
This time, she was leaning against the wall in the corner of a hall. The marble floor shone with gold and silver light. The hall was empty save for a throne at the front of the hall. Seated at the throne was no doubt Mithros. In front of him, Skyleth was standing with arms crossed, an unusually fierce expression mixed with stubbornness on his face. His eyes were frighteningly hard and furious.
"This is highly improper, Skyleth." Mithros boomed. His voice rang inside Kris's head painfully, making her wince.
"I don't care what's proper or not, and you know it." Skyleth replied stiffly, his voice tight with anger.
Light gleamed from around the two gods, filling the entire hall and blinding her.
She woke, sweating from the intensity of Skyleth's anger. What could have made Skyleth so angry? He was usually very easy-going, rarely losing his temper.
There was a soft croon from her left. Windclaw flapped onto her shoulder, still crooning, and started running his beak through her hair.
After greeting him, Kris suddenly recalled what had happened before she had fell asleep.
"I love you." His voice echoed in her mind as she recalled his words. What did he mean? Was he actually... in love with her?
"Impossible. He's a god, he can't be..." Kris muttered. Even as she spoke, she knew somehow that it was true. Skyleth, a god, loved her, a mortal. The question was, did she return his feelings? Kris was stumped.
Windclaw bit her earlobe gently, then glided out the window again suddenly. Kris scowled after him. Windclaw always came and went without warning.
Kris groaned and put her head in her hands. What a headache! She stared at the tray of food still sitting on her bedside table, and moved to eat the cold food.
As she ate, she reflected, searching her mind, wondering what her own feelings for him was. She liked him, no doubt. But love?
She racked her brains, remembering. When she had first met Skyleth, she had found him a friendly god, extremely likable. Friendship had blossomed. Ever since he had kissed her that first time, a new feeling towards him had developed. Previously she had ignored it, not thinking it was important. Now she looked for that feeling in her mind and found it, and examined it carefully. Then she recalled the warm feeling that enveloped her each time Skyleth kissed her, and how possessive she was of him. She came to a startling realization.
Kris was in love with a god.
The best thing, she thought, was to talk it out with Skyleth. After opening and closing her mouth several times, she took a deep breath, hoping Skyleth's temper had cooled, and called "Skyleth, I need to talk to you."
Almost immediately, Skyleth appeared in front of her, "Yes, my dear?" There was still a trace of anger in his eyes, but that faded away as he gazed at her.
Kris turned to face him uncertainly. Her mouth was suddenly dry. What would she say? Calming her nerves, she said "I've been... thinking about what...what you said."
Hope lit up his charming gray eyes. "And?" he prompted gently, watching her face intently.
"I realized that I... I..." Kris stuttered. Say it, her brain commanded firmly, tell him you love him. Her mouth had clammed up, refusing to obey her.
"Yes?" Skyleth said quietly.
Kris gulped, then blurted, "I...I love you too." She dropped her head to stare at the ground.
There was silence for a few moments, then a pair of hands came into her vision to cup her cheeks, tilting her head up.
Skyleth stared into her eyes deeply. "You mean it?" he asked softly, his voice full of love.
Mutely, Kris nodded.
He gazed at her a moment longer, then moved his face closer to hers. Kris inhaled sharply, then without hesitation closed the distance between them and kissed him.
Skyleth's hands left her cheeks to wind around her neck to deepen the kiss. Her own hands wrapped around his waist. Heat rushed through her body. Delightful trembles ran through her body. The parts of her body in contact with his tingled. Kris had kissed before, but none of her kisses had felt like this.
Some time later, after several more passionate kisses, Skyleth released her.
They sat on a sofa, snuggled against each other, Skyleth's lips aginst her hair.
"Kris? I want permission to court you." Skyleth whispered in her ear after a few minutes of content silence.
"What?" Kris sat up straighter, looking at Skyleth.
"I want to court you, like mortals do." Skyleth said steadily.
"But...but..." all her doubts came rushing back to Kris. "You're a god! Mithros will object!"
"I don't care. I'll have my own way around things. Look at the wild mage's parents. Sarra was a mortal before, wasn't she?" Skyleth took her hands, then went on, "I just want to woo you like mortals do, Kris. I want to win you fair and square."
"Even if you do win me- which you already have- what then?"
"I have plans. Just say yes?" he pleaded quietly.
Kris paused, considering. It couldn't hurt for him to court him, she decided, "All right."
Skyleth beamed at her. "Right, there's going to be a ball tonight. I'll see you then. Bye, love. Call if you need me." He hugged her and vanished.
"You're as bad at goodbyes as Windclaw!" Kris called crossly.
"I know, my dear. In fact, I know a lot about Windclaw..." His chuckles filled the room, then his presence faded away entirely.
That night...
Kris slipped into her room to begin her preparations for the ball that night. When she had went to the mess hall, her friends had greeted her cheerfully and welcomed her back. Not to her surprise, the king had announced that a ball was to be held that night to get over the scare of the assassination attempt four days ago.
Some time later, Kris stared into the mirror at her appearance. Even though she felt no need to impress Skyleth with her looks, she liked to look decent at a ball. The biggest change in her appearance was her hair: she had let it down. Her hair now fell like a curtain elegantly over her shoulders.
Kris had placed an exquisite butterfly hair pin onto her hair. The butterfly, attached to a silver pin, was a glittery orange and yellow color. Her gown was coral in color, tinged with maroon, short sleeved and showed a little of her cleavage, though not much. It hugged her figure slightly, showing all her curves. She donned gold bracelets on both wrists, a topaz necklace around her neck, and ruby earrings. Kris wore no make-up; she detested it.
Someone knocked on her door. Suddenly nervous, she adjusted her hair pin, glanced at the mirror a last time, then stepped forward to open the door. Skyleth stood there gazing at her, smiling. Despite herself, Kris gasped at his handsome appearance.
He wore an elegant gray robe. The robe had gold patterns traced in spirals around it, and on both sleeves a tiny detailed silver falcon had been stitched. The robe itself was made out of a silky material. Skyleth had changed his hair to be short and black in color, matching his gray eyes and robe.
"You look...magnificent." It was the only word Kris could find to describe him.
"You let down your hair!" he exclaimed, examining her closely with a happy grin.
"Of course."
"You look as stunning as the glorious sunset in the evening sky." He said gracefully, "If I may escort you to the ball?" He offered his arm.
"Why, of course, Lord Nyleth." She said formally, accepting his arm and began walking, a blush creeping up into her cheeks.
When they reached the waiting hall where they would be announced and descend the spiral staircase, they were among the last. Most of the others were already lined up in pairs, and the herald was starting to announce them. No one noticed their entry.
As the queue began to move, Kris started to feel nervous. Her grip on Skyleth's arm seemed clammy. Why was she so nervous? Kris thought to herself. She had descended the stairs before loads of times. 'But not with Skyleth' The small sensible voice at the back of her head reminded her.
When it was finally their turn, the herald looked enquiringly at Skyleth.
"Lord Nyleth of Falcon's Oak." He answered the herald's silent question.
"Lady Millakris and Lord Nyleth of Falcon's Oak!" the herald announced.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped through the wide golden door with Skyleth and proceeded down the stairs.
A hush fell over the people. The ladies' eyes were on Skyleth; the men's on Kris. Shooting a casual glance at Numair, Kris found her teacher was looking extremely furious to find her with Skyleth again. 'I'm in trouble.' Kris mused, fighting to keep a grin from her face.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs and music started, Kris and Skyleth were immediately surrounded by men and court ladies. The court ladies practically dragged Skyleth away, and the men seemed to be drooling at Kris.
Kris tried her best not to look disgusted. It was some time before she was able to slip away from the men; she rejected invitations to dance, thanked the men for their compliments, shrugged off the arms of a few bold men, and stepped on the foot of a persistent man, trying all the time to seem polite.
Kris could not see Skyleth anywhere. From her own experience, Skyleth would have a much harder time shaking the ladies off without offending them. She decided to wait for him in a corner. She emerged from the crowd to find Daine and Numair standing by themselves not far off. Turning, she tried to flee, but Numair had already spotted her.
"Kris! Come here!" he ordered.
Meekly, she obeyed, but Kris stood a careful distance away from Numair, bracing herself for the explosion that would come.
"Him!" Numair roared. Luckily, his holler was lost among the loud din in the hall.
"Of all the men here in court, you had to choose that... that... Lord Nyleth! Haven't you heard that the more handsome the man is, the more likely it is that he is using his looks to cheat you! I thought you would have learnt enough by now not to judge a book by its cover!"
Kris scowled at him, and retorted, "You're contradicting yourself! You're handsome! And you're married to Daine! And you're not cheating on her! Are you?" she added.
Daine raised an eyebrow at Numair; he turned a deep shade of red. "That's different! Anyway, that isn't the point I'm trying to make! That Nyleth is too good-looking! Didn't you see how those court ladies were slobbering over him? Once you've turned your back, he'll be bedding one of them!"
"I assure you, Master Salmalin, that is not going to happen." Skyleth's voice said beside Kris suddenly.
Numair's face was a thundercloud; he did not reply.
Kris was impressed. "How did you escape so quickly? I thought those ladies would be sticking to you like glue!"
"No doubt, but I used a spell to make ladies lose interest in me. They were more than eager to leave me and turn their attentions to other people." He grinned.
Kris stared at Skyleth. He looked no less charming, and she was still attracted to him.
Seeming to read her mind, Skyleth responded mischievously, "The spell doesn't work on you, of course. I can't have the woman I'm courting lose interest in me now, can I?"
"Wait a second. You're courting Kris!" Numair exploded again.
"Certainly, Master Salmalin. Is there a problem?" Skyleth inquired politely.
"Of...of course there's a problem!" Numair sputtered, "I forbid you to court Kris!"
"Numair!" Daine said sharply. "You can't stop Lord Nyleth from courting Kris!"
"Of course I can!" Numair declared.
"And how is that so?" Skyleth said, a note of impatience edging into his voice.
"Numair, please, be quiet!" Kris pleaded. She didn't want Skyleth to be mad at Numair; the consequences would be unthinkable.
Numair was not helping matters. "I'm her teacher!"
"Certainly I understand that you are Kris's teacher, Master Salmalin. But you are not, by any means, a blood relative of Kris's. Therefore you have no legal right to stop me from wooing her." Skyleth's voice had turned icy.
Numair spluttered furiously, "I still do not approve of this!"
"Your approval or disapproval does not change anything. I would advice you not to poke into our affairs too much, Master Salmalin." Skyleth said, a note of warning in his voice.
"Are you ordering me?" Numair hissed. He ignored Daine, who was pulling on his arm.
Skyleth surveyed Numair coolly, then replied stiffly, "I must say I am, Master Salmalin."
Kris, now in a panic, noticed that silver sparks were bouncing off Skyleth's body. Similarly, sparkles of black were dancing over Numair's hands.
"Nyleth! Numair! Stop it right now!" Kris cried, frustrated, and tried to put her hand on Skyleth's arm. She withdrew it immediately with a yelp; his arm was burning hot.
Skyleth's sparks vanished. "Are you all right? I'm sorry, Kris! Did I hurt you?" he asked worriedly, taking her hands in his.
"I'm fine. Would you escort me to my room? I'm feeling tired." Kris lied quickly, anxious to get the two of them away from each other. She glanced up at Numair. His black sparks had also disappeared; now he appeared perplexed by something.
"Of course." Without looking back, Skyleth guided Kris away out of the hall.
"You shouldn't have lost your temper! You could have killed Numair!" Kris said as soon as they were back in her room.
"I'm really really sorry, Kris. I just can't help it." Skyleth sighed and wrapped his arms around her. "He was starting to annoy me."
"Forget it. Just make sure that doesn't happen again. And try to tolerate Numair, will you?" Kris sighed.
"I promise."
"Good." Kris suddenly yawned three times, one after the other. "I guess I was tired."
Silently Skyleth gestured with his hand. Kris suddenly found herself in a night gown, her ball gown folded neatly on the table. Her legs took her to the bed, and she mumbled a quick goodnight before falling asleep.
"Goddess bless, my darling. We have a lot to discuss tomorrow."
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Heh, I loved writing that part about Numair getting all worked up! And I just realized that Skyleth's character is a bit like George's. Right, please review? I'll probably update a few days later.