A/N Holly Black, oh how I worship you my goddess of fairy tales.
Disclaimer: Obviously not Holly Black. I am Rabbit.
Summary: Ravus was always considered brilliant. He wondered how he would be considered now.
Rating: T
Warnings: Naughty implications, my young ones.
She slept like a deer. Quiet and curled, hardly breathing, it seemed. She was under several layers of tattered black blankets, her head on the new pillow, one bare arm thrown over the blankets.
He continued to label bottles, sneaking glances at her out of the corner of his eye. Her friend had drawn tattoos on her in marker, and they snaked all over her arms, shoulders, and down her chest and back. Her short, spiky hair had been colored in with markers, so she resembled a bird from some tropical isle.
He suspected that Ruth was trying to make her more like one of them.
However, Ravus did not want Val to be one of his. He wanted her to be Val. Even so, she was beautiful like this, a living rainbow. She was a prism made flesh, a bird given the shape of a woman, gemstones combined and given breath and blood. She was . . .
He stopped, and allowed one longing glance at last.
She was mortal.
"Gone in one fairy sigh." He mumbled, adding some of the shifting amber-purple sand to his mixture.
Ravus knew many things that one should not know. He knew how to poison without leaving a mark, making the past months a ridiculous waste of time. He would do a cleaner job, if it came down to it. He could create false love, little more then lust, but love all the same. He could even . . .
He could even make a mortal . . . immortal.
He glanced at the still sleeping Val once again.
He could stop death for her.
They could stay together forever.
He just had to convince her to agree. He could not bring himself to force-feed her immortal life. He wanted her to want it. He wanted her to want him. He wanted her to want to stay with him forever. He would not push it upon her.
He sat down at his bench, and buried his face in his hands. Ravus was always considered brilliant. He wondered how he would be considered now. Stupid, he knew. The entire Seelie Court had probably laughed themselves into convulsions. Not to mention everyone else. Silly Ravus, dumb troll, he loves a human.
"Mmm." Val stirred. "Ravus?" He saw her hand reach for him. When she found nothing, she opened her eyes. "What are you doing awake? Its," she checked her watch, "nearly dawn. Normally you sleep through sunrise." He looked away as she sat up, not missing the hurt in her face. She pulled the blanket closest to her body up around her torso. "Is something wrong?"
"No." He knew being short with her was a mistake, but he could not help it.
"Don't do this Ravus."
"Do what?" Ravus was playing dumb.
"Act like I'm not worth your time!" She stood up and grabbed her shirt off the floor.
"Val!" He grabbed her hard enough that she dropped the shirt, and gasped. He uncurled his fingers from her arm, pretending that he had not bruised her in a desperate miscalculation of his strength. Sometimes it was easy to forget that she was weaker.
"What is it?" She stroked her arm. This wasn't the first time he'd miscalculated in his strength. It wasn't his fault, she knew it. She knew that sometimes it was hard for him to adjust to human company.
"Just stay, please." So she sat down on the bed, continuing to get dressed.
"Okay." He knew she'd stay forever.
A/N That's it. Just a drabble.