Jaffar: …
Legault: What? Your silence was a bit angrier than usual. grin
Jaffar: glare Funny. Very funny.
Swordchick: Just a little longer. I've almost got this wrapped up. Dammit, I want to finish this thing.
For the next day Jaffar was treated like a prisoner. He was always watched, sometimes noticeably, watching he walk along the road. But most of the time they were sidelong glances, hard to notice. But still he saw. Those hurt the most.
Jaffar felt like he had when he had been with the Black Fang. Inhuman. Unimportant. Looked down on. It seemed that he was never to escape that fate. For the rest of his life he would remain inhuman, unwelcome, and hated.
He did not try to explain his side of the story. That is not his way. He is silent, bearing the pain for how long it takes. Weeks, years, or a lifetime. Princess Ive, on the other hand, was not silent for hours, persisting and arguing that they had done nothing, although her efforts were in vain. Even Rath seemed suspicious.
Jaffar did not speak to Princess Ive for the rest of the day. He knew if he laid low for a while, avoiding the princess and keeping to himself, this would die down. Hopefully.
But what he had discovered that morning haunted him. How could this happen? Anger he could control. Sadness he could contain. But love…it was wild. It was free. It worked by it's own will. He couldn't hold it back. He could hide it, but he knew it was still there.
Kent told the others that Bern was less than a day's ride from their last camp, which was how he had gotten there and back so fast. But they were considerably slower, so it would take a little more than a day's walk. By the evening of the next day, they should be at the gates of Bern.
The day was long and painful. They were all sore from the continuous hiking day and evening. When night finally fell, they struggled to make camp, then collapsed. Rath was much better off than all of the others, being used to traveling long and hard. He sat back, relaxed, looking at the others sprawled on logs and rocks for seating. Matthew glared at him.
"What are you so smug about?" he asked bad-naturedly.
Rath just gave him a puzzled look. Jaffar knew what he was thinking. Since when have I ever looked smug?
Legault laughed. "Now now, Matthew. Don't play mean with the others."
Matthew's glare shifted to Legault, but he said nothing.
Finally it was too dark to stay up any longer, and soreness and exhaustion forced them to their tents for the night. Jaffar sat up long after the others were asleep, thinking. He felt guilty, hurt, lost, and ashamed all at the same time. He didn't know why. He didn't do anything. It was Kent that should feel bad, not him. But still….
Suddenly Jaffar heard Kent's voice. "Princess? You shouldn't be up this late. You have to be ready for tomorrow. We leave at first light."
"I'll only be a minute," Princess Ive said. Footsteps walked across the camp, towards Jaffar's tent.
"Princess, please get back into bed."
"Don't call me princess."
"Ive, get back into bed."
"No."
Heavier footsteps, Kent, walked quickly up to Princess Ive's light ones. He was probably trying to keep her away from Jaffar's tent. Jaffar felt a pang. So he was a criminal. Just someone who was to be kept away from everyone else, isolated, avoided.
A loud smack and a grunt could be heard from the camp. Princess Ive had hit Kent. Jaffar almost smiled. That was something he regretted not seeing.
"I'll only be a moment," Princess Ive repeated, a hint of anger and determination in her voice. Her footsteps continued briskly across the camp until they reached Jaffar's tent. Then they stopped. "Jaffar?" Her voice was timid, hesitant.
A silence was the reply.
"Jaffar, I know you're awake. You always are."
Silence.
"Jaffar, please?"
There was quiet for a moment longer, until finally the tent flap opened, Jaffar holding it back for her to enter. As she walked in he saw Kent, sprawled upon the ground, rubbing his jaw where Princess Ive had hit him.
Jaffar sat down in the corner of his tent, watching as Princess Ive settled across from him. There was a long silence as the looked at each other, waiting for the other to speak first.
Princess Ive spoke before Jaffar. "I just came to say I'm sorry," she murmured.
Jaffar blinked, surprised.
"I shouldn't have told you to wait. If I hadn't, none of this would have happened."
Jaffar shook his head. "No. You didn't know this would happen."
Princess Ive looked up at him. "Why did you just tell them that I had asked you to stay and talk to me?" she asked.
"Then they would want to know what we talked about."
"And why is that bad?"
"…They would find out that you truly to not want to marry Prince Zephiel. That is a secret you trusted me with."
There was silence for a moment until Princess Ive made an odd sound. Jaffar looked up at her, confused. It wasn't until then that he realized she was smiling, on the brink of giggling. But she wasn't making fun of him, she was pleased. Amazed.
"Would you really keep that secret for me? To keep a secret, you would allow others to blame you for things you did not do?"
"…It is your secret, not mine. I have no right to tell others."
Princess Ive sat back, looking at him. "…I didn't know you were so honorable," she murmured.
Jaffar looked down again, his eyes hidden by his cloak. "…You're the only one who seems to think so…."
Princess Ive looked away. "I had to remind you that you, too, were human. I wondered what made you think you weren't." She looked back up at him. "They…they don't accept you, do they?"
"…"
"It must make it hard to seem like an equal."
Jaffar turned his face away. "…I don't want to talk about this anymore," he said emotionlessly, dark tone returning to his voice.
"I'm sorry…I just felt like I should say something…" Princess Ive trailed off. "You look so…so hurt…."
Jaffar twitched. He hadn't done well hiding his pain then. He wondered how many had noticed.
Princess Ive noticed his slight flinch. "Don't worry. Nobody else could have noticed it. They have to have been studying you closely."
Blinking, Jaffar looked up at her. Studying him? Was she watching him?
Reading his look, Princess Ive blushed slightly, stood, and hurried out of the tent. Jaffar looked after her, even after she was out of view and the tent flap had closed. There was a look in her eyes that her eyes that made him curious.
Jaffar knew what he was thinking. Princess Ive couldn't…. She couldn't be feeling the same way, could she?
---
The next morning Jaffar woke to screaming. He leapt from his tent, daggers clutched clumsily in his hands, looking around blearily. Were they being attacked by Rath's mercenaries again?
But then his eyes fell upon Matthew, cowering behind a boulder. "It's a ghost!" he cried. "A zombie! Help!"
Kent stumbled from his own tent, blinking. "What the hell are you yelling about now, Matthew? We solved your problem, the man is dead. What is wrong?"
"He's back!" Matthew cried. "A ghost! A zombie! I don't know how, but he's back from the dead!"
Legault appeared, rolling his eyes. "Help," he said dryly. "We're being attacked by an undead stalker."
Matthew flushed angrily. "It's true! Go ahead and look if you don't believe me!"
Jaffar promptly strode forwards towards the tent. He was tired of being woken up every morning by the cowardly thief. He was going to find out what was going on, or slaughter Matthew on the spot. The second option was looking better and better by the moment.
The others watched (Sain and Princess Ive had arrived, being woken by the noise) as Jaffar walked towards the tent. Then the assassin pulled back the flap and looked inside. Almost instantly he stumbled back. The others jerked violently in alarm. If it was enough to make Jaffar flinch it had to be big.
But what lunged out of the tent and attached itself to Jaffar's leg was small. When they finally got a good look at it, Legault burst out laughing.
"Nino!" he cried, nearly falling over from a fit of laughter. "You're terrifying mystery man is Nino!"
Matthew gaped at the small mage, still clinging to Jaffar's leg who was trying to shake her off. It took a moment for him to finally speak. "Leave me alone!" was all he came up with, sounding like a two year old. That made Legault laugh harder and Matthew sulk.
"…Nino?" Jaffar stammered, trying to shake the young mage off of his leg. But she was strong despite her size, and held on grimly. "Have you been following us all this time?"
"You wanted to leave me behind!" she cried. "But I had to come! I had to! I made it all this way. See? I'm strong enough! Please let me stay? Please!"
Princess Ive walked over to them. "Who is this?" she asked, looking down at the young girl with curiosity.
Nino let go of Jaffar's leg and turned to face Princess Ive. "I'm Nino," she said sweetly, smiling. "Are you the princess?"
Princess Ive blinked, suppressing her amusement. "Yes," she said, raising her eyebrows.
Nino whirled on Jaffar again, this time clinging to both of his legs. "Please let me stay! I want to help protect the princess! I want to be important! I'm strong enough! Please!"
The young mage began to hop up and down impatiently, making Jaffar lose his balance. Suppressing a cry, he fell over backwards, hitting the ground hard. He lay dazed for a moment, seeing stars. He heard Legault and Matthew behind them, having settled their argument and now laughing hysterically together, and doing what sounded like placing bets. Either on who would win the argument/battle, how long it would take for Jaffar to go insane and kill Nino on the spot, or probably both.
Nino still clung grimly to Jaffar, refusing to let go. "I want to stay! I want to stay!" she repeated.
Jaffar was about to tell her no and to get off of him, when Princess Ive suddenly said, "Alright. You can stay."
Jaffar looked up at her, surprised. Princess Ive shrugged.
"I don't think she's going to let go any other way. And besides, what harm could it do?" she said, shrugging again.
Jaffar thought for a moment about all the harm the young girl could cause but gave up, finally losing track. But Nino let go, allowing Jaffar to rise to his feet. Brushing off his cloak, Jaffar looked around him. Kent was talking to Sain about the trip ahead of them (actually Kent was talking and Sain wasn't even paying attention, staring at Princess Ive). Legault and Matthew were arguing again. Since neither of their bets had actually been finished since Princess Ive intervened, they were trying to figure out how to settle them. Nino was bouncing around, excited that she would be accepted in the journey. Princess Ive was watching her with amusement. But when she felt his gaze upon her, the princess looked up at him. Jaffar immediately looked away. He was unsure why, but he didn't want her to see him looking at her. It was something about the conversation last night….
"We're leaving," Kent said suddenly. Then he turned to Nino. "Are you coming along too?"
Nino beamed and bobbed her head up and down so fast you couldn't see her face. "Yep yep yep! I get to come with you guys! I can't wait!"
Kent shot a curious glance towards Jaffar, who just looked at him blankly, giving him a look that obviously meant, 'Don't ask me. I have no control over this psychotic midget.' With a sigh Kent nodded towards Nino.
"Okay. If you can keep up, you can come along with us," he said patiently.
"Don't worry, I will!" Nino cried, bouncing up and down again with great enthusiasm. Princess Ive laughed at her excitement.
They started of quickly, but Nino, who was not used to having to get ready so soon, delayed them. Jaffar helped her, but had a look of slight disdain on his face. When they finally set off, the sun was already high in the sky and they were far behind schedule.
While they walked, Princess Ive hurried to Jaffar and matched his stride.
"How do you know Nino?" she asked him.
Jaffar glanced towards Nino, who was now begging Rath for a ride on his horse. "…We…both worked for…" he started, but trailed off.
Princess Ive understood what he meant. "The Black Fang?" she stammered. "Her?" She looked back the innocent Nino as if to make sure they were talking about the same person.
"…"
"How did she become a Fang? Surely it was not of her own will."
"She was…found…as a child," Jaffar said. He struggled on the word "found". That was not how it had happened. Her real parents had been killed, Sonia taking their place.
"What happened to her family? Were they Fangs as well?"
"They were killed, and Nino was taken in for training. The same happened to…." Jaffar stopped himself quickly. But the sharp Princess Ive still understood.
"You, too? You're parents…killed? How old were you?"
"…I do not remember…" Jaffar murmured, trying to dismiss the subject. It was a sore topic, and nothing bothered him more than sympathy. Even if it is from the kind-hearted Princess Ive, I do not want it, Jaffar thought.
"…You were taken from you parents so long ago you don't remember them? I'm so sorry…. I can't imagine not remembering your own parents…."
"…"
"What did they…what did they do to you?" Princess Ive asked timidly.
Jaffar was silent for a long time, staring at the ground as he walked. Then he finally said, so quietly it was hardly audible, "…Unimaginable things…."
Princess Ive looked at him for a long while, until she, too, looked towards the ground, absorbed by thought.
But everything was interrupted as Matthew, who had been on scouting ahead ran back to them, breathing hard.
"Attack…" he gasped, out of breath. "We're under…attack!"
---
"Rath!" Kent shouted. "Take Princess Ive to safety!"
Rath nodded and helped Princess Ive onto the saddle.
"I'm coming, too," Jaffar said, grabbing firmly onto the horses reins to keep them from leaving. Rath looked down at Jaffar's withering glare.
"I've can handle this. You can fight," Rath said simply.
"Rath, he should come too. He is Princess Ive's personal guard," Kent pointed out, although Jaffar could tell he was hesitant to. He still didn't want Jaffar to be with Princess Ive without him there.
Jaffar gave Rath a daring look as he nodded, signaling that he was ready to go. Rath pulled out his bow, gripped it grimly, and rode his horse hard down the trail while Kent and the others got ready to fight. Jaffar leapt after them, easily keeping up with the nomad's horse.
Rath rode his horse down the path for a moment longer until he finally slowed it to a stop. "Wait here," he said bluntly, and Jaffar helped Princess Ive dismount.
"Where are you going?" Princess Ive asked.
"…I'll be back in a moment," was all Rath answered.
As soon as Rath rode out of sight Jaffar grabbed Princess Ive by the wrist, pulling her away.
"But Rath told us to wait here!" Princess Ive protested as Jaffar pulled her through the woods.
"…We can't wait for him."
"What?"
"…He's trying to kill you."
"What!"
Jaffar stopped and turned to face her. "I saw him talking to some men…the mercenaries that attacked us…Rath has been hiring them. He's trying to kill you."
"What?" Princess Ive stammered, alarmed. "Why?"
Jaffar paused. "I don't know. But all I know is that we need to get you out of here," he said, and pulled her deeper through the forest.
Princess Ive was quiet for a long time. But finally, a few moments later, she spoke. "Why didn't you tell us?" she said in a voice that indicated she thought she knew the answer already.
"…I didn't want to worry you. If I was wrong, I would have falsely accused Rath of attempted murder and got everyone nervous," Jaffar finally answered.
"…You're lying."
"What?"
"You aren't telling me the truth," Princess Ive said, stopping short. Jaffar whirled around.
"Princess, we really must hurry."
But Princess Ive ignored his protests, studying his face. "…You're scared of them."
"…What?"
"Maybe scared is a drastic word, but the others…" Princess Ive continued, taking a step closer, still studying Jaffar's face as if his eyes could tell all that he was thinking. "You were afraid that they wouldn't believe you and…."
"Princess Ive, that isn't true. Now we have to go before anyone finds us."
"Jaffar," Princess Ive interrupted. "What makes you feel like that? What makes you feel that you can't openly speak your fears or ideas to others?"
Jaffar kept his mouth shut, just staring emotionlessly into Princess Ive's face.
"…Can they really distrust you that much?" Princess Ive said so quietly it was almost a whisper. Still Jaffar didn't answer. Princess Ive had a look of pure sympathy on her face.
"Jaffar…I'm so sorry that you have to feel this way…. I can't imagine…."
Jaffar turned away, diverting his gaze from hers. "Princess, we really must go. If Rath or any mercenaries return, it may be difficult to protect you."
But still Princess Ive didn't move. Then she said, so quietly it was hardly audible, "Jaffar, I promise I will make things better for you. I promise I will make you feel human again."
Jaffar turned slowly and met her gaze. She looked sincere and compassionate. "Princess…Ive…?"
"Truly. As soon as the enemy is defeated, I will help you. I will make sure that you one day can feel equal."
For a long moment they just looked at each other, silent. Princess Ive stood, timidly, hesitant to Jaffar's response. Jaffar was baffled for her concern for him. Did she really want to help him? Did she truly want to make him equal?
Finally, Jaffar nodded. "…Thank you," he murmured. The words felt unfamiliar on his tongue.
Princess Ive looked at him for a moment longer, then smiled. They were still for another moment until Jaffar spoke.
"Now come. We have to move on. If we are hidden quickly enough…."
But suddenly there was the sound of heavy hoof beats and a group of enemy caviler and nomad archers rode into view. Jaffar stepped in front of Princess Ive, protecting her.
"Stay behind me," he said. "No matter what, do not leave my side."
Princess Ive nodded, a terrified look on her face as she pulled out her dagger.
The two groups faced each other silently for a long moment, daring the other to move first. Finally, a nomad from the opposing side rode forwards. He aimed his bow at Jaffar, pulling back the bowstring.
"Stand aside," he said, "and we won't hurt you. We just want the princess."
Jaffar braced, holding his daggers grimly. "Death first," he said darkly.
"Jaffar!" Princess Ive cried, "You don't-!"
But Jaffar cut her off. "You are our mission. I am to keep you safe." But in his head he said something else. Along the same lines, but with different reasons….
The nomad looked at Jaffar long and hard for a moment until he finally said, "Fine. Then you both will die."
Jaffar bared his teeth, bracing even more so that he was in a full attack position. "We'll see who dies first."
And with those words, the two groups attacked. The mercenaries charged. Jaffar waited until they were closer, and he sprang. In a matter of moments three caviler and a nomad had been killed. Jaffar did his best to kill anyone who got near, knowing that Princess Ive would have troubled protecting herself, but there were too many. Both Jaffar and Princess Ive found themselves working hard to keep from being slain.
"Jaffar! I'm here! I can help!"
Jaffar whirled around from the dying myrmidon to see Nino, running to him, carrying her spell book. "What are you doing here? Go!" he shouted, cutting another man's throat.
"You can't fight them all on your own! You need help, and I can!"
"Nino!"
But Nino didn't listen, and cast a column of fire that engulfed several mercenaries. "Trust me! I can help!"
Jaffar hesitated, but finally said nothing. It would be a nuisance if he had to protect her, but maybe she was strong enough to fend for herself. And sure enough, Nino kept close to Princess Ive, making sure to cast Elfire on anyone that was near.
Suddenly there was a flash of red and green, and Kent and Sain were leaping into the fray, fighting alongside Jaffar. But more and more of the enemy mercenaries appeared as well. Almost as many men appeared that were killed. Possibly more. Matthew and Legault arrived as well, picking off the wounded enemies.
By now the entire escort was here, fighting to defend Princess Ive. All except Rath. Jaffar never once saw him in the mob of men.
Suddenly Jaffar something that make his heart skip a beat. Nino was on the ground, her spell book a few feet out of her reach. Above her loomed a caviler, lance poised to kill her. Jaffar started to run to her rescue, when he saw Princess Ive, by herself, fighting for her life against a swordmaster. Jaffar knew she couldn't last against him much longer.
Jaffar hesitated. Both Nino and Princess Ive were in danger. Everyone else was too far away or didn't notice. If he saved one, the other may die….
Heart feeling torn, Jaffar leapt and dug both of his daggers deep into the caviler's chest, killing him instantly. Nino leapt to her feet, snatching her spell book.
"Thank you, Jaffar! I thought I was gone for…."
But Jaffar didn't listen. Princess Ive still needed help. He whirled around just in time to see the sword pierce Princess Ive's chest.
Swordchick: Suspense…
Matthew: Holy crap you killed the main character!
Legault: You're too attached to your angst themes.
Jaffar: I'm not complaining. Even if I like her in the fic, she still bugs. Now all we do is have to get rid of Nino…
Swordchick: plots with Jaffar to kill Nino R&R and no flames for killing Ive.