Disclaimer: ...CHOCOLATE...yeah... (See previous chapters)
Fallen Angel
Chapter 19
'Of all the things to tell him,' Remi thought as she flew over the countryside. 'I wonder if it ever occurred to her that maybe, just maybe, I didn't want him to know about that.' Remi groaned. 'Could my life get anymore complicated?' The moment she had thought it, she wished she hadn't. 'Great, now it will...that's how it always works.' She glided down to a ledge in a remote region of the mountains. "I'll just stay hear a while," she said out loud. She sat down and curled up against the hard stone, watching moon complete its cycle and, with the stars, fade as dawn lit the sky in the east. She watched the whole mountain and the valley below it turn a mellow gold, and smiled. 'I guess its safe enough to go back now...'
She stood, spread her wings, and dove off the mountain, letting herself fall. She twisted in the air, turning her free fall into a spiral. At the last second, she pulled out of the dive and skimmed the grass, laughing like a mad woman. Remi turned and began to fly back feeling a lot more clear-headed.
Back at the Castle...
Queen Hakasha watched her husband pace. He had just made his one hundred and fifty first circuit of the room. She sighed and rubbed her eyes with one hand. 'Why does she do this?' she wondered silently. Hakasha looked back at Tavotar. 'One hundred and fifty two,' she counted, irritated. "Would you stop that? It's annoying me and you doing it is not going to make her come back faster."
"Is that all?" he replied. "You're annoyed because I'm pacing, but not because Reminsha has run off again!" His face turned a dark shade of red. "And not only that! Oh no... She refuses, absolutely refuses to accept her duties as part of the royal family! I offered her the position of High Priestess, but she refused! She won't be Queen if she doesn't have a husband or consort, but she refuses to take one! That-that child is completely shirking her duties, so she can go gallivanting off with some vampire and a group of humans!"
"Technically two of them aren't human," Hakasha told him tiredly. He turned redder. They had had this...discussion before, but the man didn't know when he was defeated. As she pondered, yet again, why she had accepted his proposal of marriage, he continued his ranting.
"I'VE GOT IT!" he yelled suddenly. She snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him. "Oh really? Is it as good as your last plan to get her to accept her place, as you call it? Because, if I remember correctly, the last time wasn't very pretty, was it? We had to rebuild the Great Hall, I believe."
"Quiet!" he growled. "What we're going to do is this..." As he explained, Hakasha got a bad feeling, as her gift of foresight was triggered. She didn't get anything specific, but she knew that this "ball" was going to have the opposite effect of its original purpose. "She will kill you, you know. Reminsha hates it when you do things like this. Like the one time when she was nine, whe—"
"Let's not think about the past!"
Hakasha wanted to say that the best lessons were learned from the past, but kept it to herself. 'He'll learn...someday...'
That night...
'I'm going to freaking kill him,' Remi thought darkly. 'He tells me that it's a masquerade ball in my honor, to celebrate my homecoming. BUT NO! HE TURNS IT INTO A DAMN DATING-TYPE SHOW!' She looked around the room again and suppressed a growl. 'Maybe I can...' She turned and tried to sneak out to a random balcony. She had almost made it when yet another suitor came up to her. 'Not another one.'
"Good evening princess, would you care to dance?" She supposed that he was being nice, but the fact that he was looking at her chest, which was so aptly drawn attention to by her tight top, and not her face really irked her. She did her best not to slap him. 'He is male after all.' She tried repeating that over and over in her head, but her rage increased, not decreased.
"I'm tired," she said shortly. She couldn't be sure because of the mask, but she thought that his face fell. 'Oh well, he'll get over it.' He turned and walked away. She continued towards the exit when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She could practically feel the vein in her temple throbbing. 'I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!' She whirled on the man standing behind her and let loose her anger. "CAN'T YOU DROOLING, MALE OPPORTUNITY-SEEKERS GIVE ME SOME BREATHING SPACE! READ MY LIPS, I'M NOT INTERESTED, SO GO SCREW YOURSELF OR EACH OTHER, I DON'T CARE WHICH!" She halted, breathing a little harder than is normal.
The man stared at her, "Um...Remi?"
She took a closer look at him, taking in the dark clothing and mask. Remi realized a little late that she knew him. "Oh, Desh! Sorry, sorry, sorry! I didn't know it was you!"
"Um...I take it this means you're not enjoying yourself."
"What was your first clue?" she grumbled, more to herself than to him. A little louder she said, "I'm going outside. If I spend another minute in here, someone's going to get hurt or dead." As she said this, she walked out onto the balcony and took a deep breath. The view was beautiful to say the least. It overlooked a large lake that was currently showing the moon her full, shining reflection. The air was cool, just right. 'At least the weather's nice.'
"What was that all about?"
Remi jumped. She hadn't realized that Desh had followed her outside. He was leaning on the railing a few feet away. "Nothing..." she sighed. "Just another of my uncle's attempts to tie me to the Draconian throne, but I'm beginning to really understand how Lilith felt when her father kept trying to get her marry some random lord's son. I think that this is the curse of women everywhere," she finished darkly. She knew that she was on untested ground, talking about Lilith, but they had to talk about it sometime. This little revelation had come to her while she had been flying back that morning.
"What else do you remember?" He was looking at her and had moved a little closer.
"Um...a little of this and a little of that," she said lamely. "I don't really have a complete compendium of knowledge about her life, just little bits and pieces."
"Like what?" he pressed.
"Well..." She thought about it for a bit. "I remember the time at the circus, when she gave you that doll...and the whole Swamp Brothers thing, which by the way, completely freaked me out. Hmmm...The hanging and her death, of course, and then a few little things," She stated. She continued as her voice became soft, a little distant, "I recall this one time that we were all sitting, just you, me, Kal, Rett, and Danube, in a small study. We were all laughing. It was snowing I think..." As she talked, she could almost see it in front of her: how everyone was so at ease, smiling. Rett, Kal and Desh were arguing good naturedly over some story that one of them, according to the others, had exaggerated while she and Danube giggled and gossiped over this and that. She smiled.
"You do realize that you said 'we' and 'me,' right?" She looked back at him, startled. He was now leaning on the guard rail right next to her. He was looking at her intently.
"I did? Sorry...it happens sometimes, when it feels so real..." Remi shrugged and met his eyes. She wished she hadn't. She could feel herself drowning in them. She tried to look away and couldn't. It was all too familiar. She stopped trying.
"About last night..." Desh started.
"REMINSHA!"
Remi yelped in surprise and spun, finding her enraged uncle storming towards her. 'Oh no...I hope I don't have to blow up the Great Hall again...this one is prettier than the first one...'
"YOU TURNED THEM ALL DOWN!" he screamed. "HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY BE SO PICKY!"
'Oh that's it,' she thought. "'Picky'! 'Picky' you say?" she laughed evilly. "IT DOESN'T HAVE A FUCKING THING TO DO WITH BEING PICKY! IT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT YOU ARRANGED THIS, AND THAT THEY WERE BEING COMPLETE PERVERTS!" she screeched at him.
THAT'S ENOUGH! THIS IS MY KINGDOM AND YOU ARE MY NEICE! YOU WILL OBEY ME! her uncle mind-shouted at her.
GET REAL! THERE IS NO WAY THAT WILL EVER HAPPEN! She shot back, also in mind-speech.
Desh's P.O.V...
'Am I the only damn person here who can't do that mind-talk thing?' Desh wondered as Remi and the King stared at one another. Of course, he wasn't sure if they were talking like that but...it was kind of a no-brainer. Breaking the silence, however, Remi shouted, "So what if he's a vampire!" She became silent again, her gaze intent on her uncle.
"Um...what?" Desh said. "Mind running that by me again? Uh...anyone?" Both ignored him. He growled in irritation.
All of a sudden, Remi threw up her hands with a small, wordless scream of rage and frustration. She marched towards him, pulling out a small black whistle as she came. She blew into it in three sharp, short bursts. Remi grabbed his arm and jumped up onto the railing, forcing him to come with her or fall. Before he could ask her what she was doing she yanked him off the balcony and they fell...
And landed on the back of a silver and black dragon. Desh sat there frozen for a few seconds then yelled, "Would you stop doing that! Are you on drugs or something!" She gave him a look. He bared his fangs at her. She growled at him in response. This, childish as it was, went on for a long time as Dark Moon carried them both away from the castle.
Hakasha's P.O.V...
"WHAT DID YOU DO!" She yelled at Tavotar, postponing him sending the Royal Flight Guard after Reminsha and Deshwitat. "AFTER WHAT I TOLD YOU! YOU KNOW BETTER THAN TO TRY ORDERING HER AROUND DIRECTLY! NEED I REMIND YOU, AGAIN, OF THE DECIMATED GREAT HALL OF A FEW YEARS AGO!" Her husband backed away from her and her rage. She grabbed him by the ear and took flight, with him following meekly behind her. "AND ANOTHER THING!" she screeched, "SHE CAN MARRY WHOM EVER SHE SO PLEASES! THERE WILL BE NO MORE OF YOUR PATHETIC ATTEMPTS AT MATCHMAKING!"
"Yes, milady," he whimpered. Hakasha gave him a feral grin, thinking, 'The man may be the head of the house, but the woman is the neck and can turn the head anyway she chooses.'
Meanwhile...
Dark Moon had brought them both to Dragons Valley. Remi sighed in gratitude. Thank you, my friend. she told the female dragon.
It was nothing. Shall I leave you two alone?
You don't have too...
I shouldn't have asked. I will come back for you tomorrow night. Remi could have sworn Dark Moon smiled.
Not you too! she moaned in mind-speech. Is everyone trying to set me up with some guy?
Ah, but I am different, whereas others try to 'set you up' with males you don't know, I am trying to do it with someone you actually like...maybe even love.
I don't l--
Don't even think it, Princess, because you know your lying to yourself. the dragon said, cutting her off. Remi sighed, and nodded. She slid off her back and Desh followed suit. They both moved back to give Dark Moon the take off clearance she would need and soon the dragon was just a speck on the horizon. She turned to Desh and motioned for him to follow her. She led him to a small out cropping in the Valley's wall that was always shaded from the sun, no matter what time of day, and sat down.
When they were both settled side-by-side on the grass she explained quietly, "This is Dragons Valley. It's generally off-limits to everyone but the dragons, but I'm an exception."
"Why's that?"
Remi shrugged. "I guess they just like me better but anyways... This place is actually considered sacred. We have a lot of legends that are said to have begun here. Mostly about the birth of the first Draconian and about battles and blood. There are some about the tragedies of love and about the betrayals that can occur in friendships..." Remi smiled sadly. "They're all a bit depressing actually. But you want to know a secret? All it is now is the dragons' breeding grounds. Fortunately, it's not mating season yet so none of them should attack us."
"Should? What do you mean 'should'?" Desh asked suspiciously, glancing upward.
"No worries, nothing will happen..." she yawned. Remi could feel her eyes drifting closed. She kept telling him about the Valley, about its geography and where the dragons usually nested. As she talked, her shut and she swayed, landing on something firm and cool, covered in cloth. Her sleep-clouded mind couldn't figure out what it was so she let it go and slipped into the dreamscape.
Desh's P.O.V...
He felt an unexpected weight on his shoulder. He looked over and found Remi fast asleep, using his shoulder as a pillow. Desh surprised himself by leaning back against the stone and putting an arm around her, wedging her body against his side, causing her head to fall onto his chest. He smiled slightly and closed his eyes. He never knew that a few very excited (read: eager for Remi to fall in love) dragons, including Dark Moon, were watching over them both.