A big thank you to all those who have left their thoughts so far. I always try and respond to each but I can't do that with guest reviewers, so let me say here how much I appreciate them. I published this fic over a year ago now. Probably should have published more than 9 chapters in that time... Also quick reminder that I spell using (UK) English. I only mention it because fanfic tried to have me change a lot of words in this chapter.
Chapter 9
Elissa was startled out of her sleep by Ghost signalling an incoming transmission. Groggily sitting up and wiping the sleep from her eyes, she waved at Ghost to accept the call.
"Good day Guardian."
If she wasn't awake before, she certainly was now. Swinging her legs out of bed, Elissa took a moment to compose herself before responding.
"You always want to chat when I've got my guard down Speaker." Elissa grumbled. "You're irritatingly good at it."
Far from being put out by the Warlock's response, the Speaker chuckled softly. "I apologise if the timing isn't ideal, but we need to discuss the details of your mission. We have heard some troubling things coming from the Reef."
Sighing at the prospect of a long conversation, Elissa launched into the events of the past week, detailing her early interactions, the rebellion and subsequent victory over the Fallen, skirting over the details of her injuries. Pausing momentarily to splash some water on her face to clear some of the cobwebs from her mind before continuing.
"The current political climate is tense. The Queen's reforms have been met with significant opposition chiefly led by a prominent noble family. Since the rebellion their voices have become louder."
The Speaker was quiet for a while as Elissa began to clean her teeth.
"This is a dangerous time. I fear your presence Guardian may soon become untenable, especially if Civil War were to break out."
Elissa felt her insides turn cold. "We aren't seriously discussing abandoning the Queen to her fate are we?" At receiving no immediate response Elissa pressed on. "Speaker, if she were to fall all the progress we have made towards an alliance will crumble and the Reef would revert back to its isolationist ways of old. It would be a mistake to withdraw."
"We cannot involve ourselves in their internal dispute. We would have been happy to assist with an attack from the Darkness, but we will not send Guardians into danger for this. You have killed many Fallen; how would you feel being ordered to take the life of an Awoken?"
Elissa's retort died on her tongue. Fighting members of the Darkness was black and white. They sought to destroy humanity, so she destroyed them in return. An Awoken who wanted their government to change was no direct threat to Humanity. Elissa bit down on her lip as she considered the implications of fighting someone like Guardswomen Ladanya.
"We must see the bigger picture Guardian. If we involve ourselves then more might flock to the traditionalist side, and then we get bogged down in a conflict we have no right to involve ourselves in. If they succeed and the Reef cuts ties with Humanity, then our only option is to wait until things change, like they did when the Queen took power. But for now we must hope she holds onto the throne." The Speaker finished serenely.
"I..." Elissa clenched her fists and lowered her head. "Understand Speaker. What are my orders?"
"Provide what support you can to the Queen for now, but continue to monitor the situation. Should open violence break out, you are to return to the City for immediate debriefing."
Muttering an affirmative, Ghost closed the channel and the room fell into silence. Despite accepting the Speaker's words, Elissa felt her anger build as she stared into her bathroom mirror. Feeling helpless, Elissa clenched her fist and smashed it into the mirror, shattering it into a thousand pieces. She expected to feel some grim satisfaction at the outlet of her anger, but instead felt nothing.
The rest of the day continued with Elissa in a dark mood. She heard nothing from her guards outside after her moment of petulance, and felt no desire to leave the room. Attempting to find some type of centre, the Warlock composed herself by meditating, allowing the simplicity of breathing in and out slowly to calm the rage that was devouring her.
Which turned out to be fortunate, because as evening approached she was summoned to the throne room once more. Attempting to control the excitement coursing through her veins, Elissa wore the same green dress that she had first worn during the ball where she had duelled Drice. It felt like an age since she had dumped that pompous man on his backside. Elissa couldn't help but wonder if the Zapal's recent agitating was partly because she had humiliated one of their family members so publicly.
Instead of meeting the Queen, she was greeted by one of her attendants, and asked to follow the Awoken woman back out from the throne room winding through corridors she had previously not explored. Her curiosity piqued, the Warlock followed before stopping in front of a public building with dozens of Awoken queuing to get through the doors. The Guardian received a few curious looks as she was led straight past the queue and into the building without any hesitation, and began to climb the stairs where the silent girl was leading her.
The place was beautiful. Red carpets and drapes surrounded by still photos of Awoken men and women frozen in various poses. Her admiring was cut short as the girl finally stopped in front of a door at the far end of a walkway. The girl curtsied before scuttling back from where they came, leaving Elissa standing alone.
Opening the door slowly, the Guardian poked her head through the gap and relaxed when she saw a familiar white haired figure sitting in a luxurious chair with her back to the door.
Deciding to ignore etiquette considering it was just the two of them, Elissa smiled and approached. "Mara."
"Elissa." The Queen didn't turn to look, but the Warlock could hear the warmth in the other woman's voice.
Taking the opportunity to sit next to Mara, Elissa leaned forward as she realised they were sitting on a balcony. Rows of seats were below them, all facing a stage. "Are we at the theatre?"
Mara hummed an affirmative in response before the corner of her lips upturned into a slight smile. "I was informed of your interest in our culture and decided it would be best you were educated properly. Theatre is a great love for the Awoken."
"Who better to show me than you right?" Elissa teased gently.
"I confess; with all the recent distractions this feels as much for my benefit as yours." Mara responded, her smile becoming a little forced.
Elissa frowned; this was an escape for the Queen as much as it was for her. Making up her mind to not talk about politics for the rest of the night, the Guardian swivelled in her chair to look directly at Mara. "It would be nice to see what passes for entertainment in this place, the exotic dancing wasn't quite to my taste last time."
"You don't like the art of dancing?" Mara asked, an eyebrow raised.
Feeling bold at their candour, Elissa plunged ahead with the first answer that came to mind. "Depends on who is doing the dancing." She finished, winking.
To Elissa's surprise, the Queen flushed and mumbled an "I see" before ducking her head and turning away. Elissa knew she was safe though by the smile that was struggling to be contained, despite Mara's coyness.
The two lapsed into a comfortable silence and watched as the theatre began to fill up. It was going to be full judging by the amount of people taking to their seats. The silence was momentarily interrupted when Elissa asked about the subject of the performance, but after getting a cheeky smile and a "you'll see" in response, she decided to play along and wait.
After a short time the play began in front of a packed audience. The scene began as Awoken men and women re-enacted the Reef Wars to slow dramatic music. Scores of 'Fallen' fell as the Awoken raised their flag on a battle scarred mountain. While it was strange for Elissa to watch, she could at least appreciate the fast moving set, as each scene brought a different background.
As the play progressed, Elissa began to get the uncomfortable suspicion of where this was leading, as she observed the Fallen's betrayal of their Awoken handlers, literally stabbing them in the back as the music turned sombre. The Guardian watched in dismay as it clearly began retelling the recent events of the rebellion, with Awoken fighters fighting bravely but ultimately falling to the Wolves superior numbers.
Eventually the background changed to the throne room, but as all looked lost, a figure burst dramatically onto the stage. A figure wearing a winged helmet.
"Oh no." Elissa groaned, putting a hand over her face and ignoring the Queen's amused exhale.
The figure brandished a sword and danced around a much larger Fallen that Elissa took to be Skolas. At some point the helmet was knocked off, revealing a rather ridiculous red wig that looked so out of place on an Awoken that Elissa guffawed. Predictably the Guardian prevailed, striking down the beast, before falling to the ground clutching her abdomen. The play ended rather suddenly after that, with a fierce crescendo of music signing off the performance, leaving Elissa dazed as the crowd stood to their feet and applauded.
"Enjoy yourself Guardian?" The Queen asked, far too amused.
Nodding her head, Elissa smiled as she turned to Mara "It was a new experience certainly. Are all Awoken plays that on the ball with current events?"
"Occasionally, if it was especially dramatic." Mara nodded "Such as a rebellion sparked and ended on the same day. And your late entry was in particular very dramatic."
"It ended a little abruptly. I got stabbed and then the shows over. Would have been nice had I at least been confirmed alive before everyone leaves."
"Perhaps." The Queen nodded. "Although it is well known you survived, and the conclusion did leave a certain heroic charm to the piece."
"It wasn't strictly true though was it? It wasn't Skolas that injured me." Elissa pointed out.
"The people are not aware that the Awoken's Queen came within inches of being assassinated. And I would like to keep it that way for now, at least until normality has resumed."
"So now we just have to wait until the next act plays out." Elissa said grimly, forgetting her earlier promise.
Elissa stood up from her chair and offered her hand to Mara to stand up, who accepted it gratefully. The two kept their hands touching for longer than was strictly necessary, and Elissa was left breathless when Mara flashed a genuine smile before they parted.
These little touches and secret smiles were driving the Warlock slowly mad, but the Speaker's words from earlier slowly returned to her.
Should open violence break out, you are to return to the City.
Her duty was clear. Humanity still needed her. Elissa had always believed in living in the moment, she lived a dangerous life, one that could be snatched away at any moment. Ghost would do his best to resurrect her, but Guardians were not invincible. Were the Darkness strong enough to block his attempts, there would be no going back. Her knowledge, skill and all the memories she had acquired over two lifetimes, gone.
Elissa glanced around the theatre and was relieved to see it completely empty. Turning to Mara who was observing her with an intrigued expression, Elissa stepped closer to the smaller woman and resolved to tell her about her orders. There would be no secrets from her.
"Mara, I need... have to..." Her words failing she took a deep breath before continuing. "I need to tell you something."
Taking Mara's hands in her own, the Warlock looked down. Her hands were so soft in her calloused ones. Years of ruling instead of fighting had been far kinder to the Awoken woman than they had been to her.
"I've not being able to get it out of my head, and being around you only makes it worse." Deciding to look up, Elissa stopped again as she gazed at Mara's bright eyes and pale lips. Losing her train of thought, the Warlock couldn't find the motivation to start again.
Would it be so bad to pretend for a little while that things aren't completely screwed?
The thought whispered in the back of her mind. But the repercussions the rational side of her argued back. The Queen had other ideas.
"Enough of this."
Sensing the red head's hesitation, Mara leaned forward and brought her lips to Elissa's own. The Guardian froze at the contact, before instinct took over and she circled her arms around Mara's waist to support her.
It was a soft almost chaste kiss, but as Mara brought her hands up to frame Elissa's face, the Warlock felt her heart swell as they explored each other. Eventually the two broke apart breathing heavily.
"Well. That was an interesti-mmh!" Mara began, but was cut off as Elissa surged forward to capture her mouth. The Awoken woman gasped as Elissa bit on her lip and used the opportunity to slide her tongue in. The two battled for control as they pushed against each other with the Guardian only ceding once Mara trailed her fingertips down the Human woman's neck, causing her to sigh into the kiss.
The need for oxygen separated them once more, and Elissa felt pride at seeing Mara's blush while she attempted to straighten her clothes and smother her white hair back into place. Smirking when she realised her own attire was in a similar state, Elissa took note that her hair seemed to be of particular interest to the smaller woman. The analytic part of her mind reminded her that the play also made special mention of it as well. Resolving to ask Mara about it later, Elissa tried to calm the arousal coursing through her.
"So what am I to you?" The Queen asked suddenly.
"What?" Elissa responded, still not quite thinking straight.
Crossing her arms and raising her chin defiantly to stare straight at Elissa, Mara's expression turned hard. "Was it all a game? An opportunity to seduce me?" At the Guardian's dumbstruck silence, the Queen's eyes turned downwards. "Was any of it real?"
Elissa couldn't believe it. Mara was the most self assured person she had ever met. Seeing her filled with doubt was startling, and even more so when it was her that had caused it.
"Hey" Elissa said, placing a hand on Mara's cheek "When I was inducted into the Guardians I assumed my life would be nothing but fighting, and when I wasn't fighting then simply drinking myself stupid. It wasn't until I met you that I began to think that things don't have to be that way. That I can be a person again." Elissa smiled gently. "So no, this is no game to me."
Mara nodded slowly. "You thought that during our first meeting? I was hardly personable."
"Well okay maybe not right away. My first thoughts were actually- 'damn she's hot.'" At Mara's rich laugh, the Warlock continued. "It was only when coming back that I realised."
"You know this must remain a secret." Mara said softly.
"I know." Elissa answered quietly, disappointed at the pragmatism.
The Queen placed her hands gently on the Guardian's shoulders. "In another time, another life..." Elisa covered Mara's hands with her own and stood silently; regret building in her chest.
"You should go." Mara said, withdrawing her hands.
Attempting a brave smile that only partially succeeded, Elissa nodded before opening the door. She looked over her shoulder to see Mara with her back to her, gripping the balcony tightly as she gazed over the empty theatre. Feeling like her chest was trying to suffocate her, Elissa stepped out and closed the door gently behind her.
Walking down the corridor deep in thought, she never saw the figure watching in the shadows.