During the next few days of my confinement, I was not allowed outside, but my captors permitted me to explore their establishment freely. I suppose my behavior in the library was to their liking and they were satisfied that I was not about to rip anyone's head off in the near future. I debated that point inwardly for a few hours one day as I gazed at the rotund individual that they called 'Manning.' I had wandered into what looked like a recreational facility; I was aimlessly prowling the sterile halls of their underground lair until an unfamiliar scent led me into a giant room that contained a small lake in the center. Large colorful objects lined the walls, objects that were as unfamiliar to me as the strange smell of the water. There was a bouquet of long pastel tubes in a bin and fat, red and white rings were hung on the walls at frequent intervals. What looked like elongated duck feet were set up neatly against the wall, black and slimy looking. I wondered what sort of creature my captors cut them from, and what use they had here.
As I stood there, my wings folded protectively tight against my back, I looked around with a mixture of curiosity and amazement. The entire place was baffling. I turned my focus towards the lake in the middle of the room again.
It was no lake I had ever seen before, however. The water was crystal clear with a slight blue tinge, and it was in the shape of a perfect rectangle. Thick, dark blue lines snaked along the bottom; I couldn't guess their purpose. The water smelled poisonous and I had shied away from it the moment I entered the large room. Water should not smell like that, and when I saw the fat one they dubbed Manning slowly climbing in wearing nothing but baggy bright green swimming trunks I became instantly curious. Did they have some kind of protective skin layer that allowed them to withstand the harsh chemicals in the water? No human I ever saw possessed such a quality, and I stared in awe as he began to swim laps back and forth in the lake, his face showing nothing of the pain and agony I expected as he stepped in.
Part of me wished to leave; the humid air clung to my skin and breathing it in was suffocating, but another part of me wished to discover what special reinforcement the human was wearing to prevent him from being disintegrated as he swam. I ruffled my wings anxiously—I was not in a hurry to get close to the deceptively pure water—but walked forward anyway.
I drew closer until my toes were touching the edge of the lake. I peered over the edge with my head tilted to the side and saw my distorted reflection in the water. I breathed in deeply, inhaling its toxic scent.
"Evil substance," I grumbled through clenched teeth.
"There's an alarm in here, you know!" The human suddenly called out. I raised my eyes and saw him at the other end of the lake, hanging on to the edge. He had obviously just realized I was there, and was fixing me with a nervous expression. I ignored him and looked back into the water.
"I will discover the spell you used, human," I said, "or whatever it is that allows you to enter the water unharmed. Then it will not be of offense to me and I, too, will be able to go in." I straightened in triumph of my exclamation and turned around to exit the area. Unfortunately, I turned straight into the elf Nuada, who was looking venomously at me, although there was a hint of amusement in his eyes.
"Interesting. You think that Manning has woven a spell over himself so that the water will not hurt him?" he droned smugly. His yellow eyes danced over my face and I immediately felt envy at his knowing the spell as well as Manning. I was about to retort swiftly when I realized that he was not wearing nearly the amount of garment that he was a few days previous, back in the library. In fact, he was wearing something akin to what Manning was; although his trunks were black instead of hideous lime green. My eyes hungrily ate up the details of his naked torso, from the exact muscle ridges of his abdomen to his strong chest and shoulders. He was paler than I was, but I found his pallid complexion oddly attractive. I especially liked the way his long white hair hung down over his shoulders in contrast with his white skin. For a wild moment I considered reaching out and touching it, but thought against it.
I lifted my chin in defiance and rustled my wings again.
"I will uncover it, elf, and when I do, I will be able to enter the water like you and the fat human and eliminate your self-assured behavior." Nuada raised an eyebrow.
"Is that so?" he said quietly, smirking a little. His eyes devoured my haughty expression. I looked down my nose at him, unable to account for his apparent entertainment.
"Yes," I replied. He shrugged.
"Very well. When you have discovered our secret, please let us know so that we may commence in bowing to our respective defeat. I await your triumphant day," he finished sarcastically before swiftly swan diving into the lake, causing little more than a ripple on its surface.
I pivoted swiftly with a huff and left.
I decided to return to the library, for it had become somewhat of a haven for me in the bureau. I found immense comfort in its endless supply of books, and it took my mind off of Venir. I missed him desperately though, and when I silently entered the library and saw the lithe form of Nuala with her back to the door, I decided to voice my desire to see him.
xXxXxXxXx
"What if you were separated from the one you felt closest to?"
Nuala, who had been standing at one of the bookshelves looking for a tome of poetry, jumped at the Valkyrie's silky voice behind her and hurriedly turned to face her. She didn't want the winged being to take her obliviousness as scorn and take her head as compensation. She gasped as she turned.
The Valkyrie was standing immediately behind her, her arms at her sides and her wings slightly unfurled. Her yellow eyes were burning bright in her head and contrasted eerily with her long dark hair that hung about her shoulders like clinging shadows. Nuala felt mildly uncomfortable with the look the Valkyrie was giving her—the wide-eyed stare that never needed to blink—but faced her calmly all the same and daintily cleared her throat.
"What do you mean?"
The Valkyrie tilted her head like a curious cat and flashed her white teeth before answering in a silky, sad voice.
"A best friend, one you've known since before you can remember. One you've spent almost every moment with, one who knows you almost better than you know yourself. What if you were suddenly cut off from them without knowing where they are, or knowing if you'll ever see them again. I know you share such a bond with someone," the Valkyrie paused to smile at the pained look on Nuala's face, "or once shared. I see your daily pain at the gradual loss of your connection. I see it dwindle day by day. I now ask you to consider how I feel day by day, for I, too, have a connection with another. I, however, have the advantage of a bond that transcends the concepts of disintegration and distance. The bond I share is constant and unwavering. That makes it more difficult for me to bear it, for it is easier to yearn for the fruit that is ripe than the fruit that is slowly rotting in front of you."
The Valkyrie paused again to gaze at the now pitiable expression on Nuala's face. She looked as though she were crumbling from the inside. Her large orange eyes were brimming with tears and her bottom lip was quivering. The Valkyrie continued.
"I now ask you, as the only being here that I respect enough to address, to allow me the small privilege of speaking with my hesten, the steed I ride into the battles of men. He is my familiar and partner, and I miss him awfully. He has been circling your bureau for four days now, and I can feel that he is anxious and longs to speak with me as well. All I am asking is one hour alone with him, somewhere outside with a view of the sky. I understand the precautions you will take, and I will comply with them all."
Nuala looked ready to burst into tears. She also seemed torn between two inward struggles, and the result was her blinking rapidly to keep the tears at bay and soundlessly moving her lips as if trying to grasp onto something to say. One delicate hand was at the base of her throat, as if there to quench the onslaught of tears that were seconds away from storming down her face.
It was very convenient that at this time, Nuada happened to stroll darkly through the library doors. He had dressed in a beautifully woven red tunic, adorned with a wide golden sash tied expertly around his waist.
The moment it took for him to register the scene was a tense one. One look at his emotionally-stricken sister standing before the looming Valkyrie made his blood boil murderously and in a moment he had the winged creature pinned against a bookshelf with a swiftness that was frightening.
"Brother, don't!" Nuala cried, alarmed at her brother's hostility, but Nuada paid no attention.
"You dare distress my sister, Valkyrie," he snarled, his eyes livid. He was gripping her neck with one hand and held a short, ornate knife to her ribs with the other that he had produced out of nowhere. The Valkyrie gazed at him with the same calmness she reserved for everyone, although there was a kind of resolute yielding and docility in her expression that had not existed before.
"Nuala has done nothing to deserve this from you," he continued, despite not knowing what their exchange had been. Nuala could have been uttering unpardonable death threats to the Valkyrie and Nuada would have said the same thing. He was also oblivious to her newfound meekness, for he continued on.
"You must know, demon, that I am seriously considering abandoning all presupposed leniency towards you and ending your miserable existence. I know not why they insist on keeping you within these walls, but I am almost beyond caring at this point."
"She was asking if she could be let outside to see her…friend," Nuala cut in hurriedly, unsure what to label Venir as. "She was doing me no harm, I insist, brother. Please let her go."
Nuada's composure shifted slightly from anger to annoyed contemplation. He met the Valkyrie's yellow gaze with his own and was momentarily struck by her features, her haughty, indifferent beauty. Submission had given her usually fierce face a tender, undemanding loveliness. When her brow was not narrowed in savage curiosity and was allowed to arch elegantly her large, almond-shaped eyes, her face adopted an open, wonderfully alluring look that drew Nuada's interest like a moth is drawn to a flame. Before he knew it himself, his eyes were roving over the feminine line of her pale cheek and the curvature of her lips. He followed the line of her smooth jaw and down her graceful neck where the open-necked shirt she was wearing revealed a good amount of her milky skin and the tantalizing hint of the swell of her breasts.
Suddenly aware of what he was doing, Nuada snapped his eyes back up to the Valkyrie's face, where a quizzical look was spreading. He felt heat in his face, and could tell that Nuala was looking at him curiously.
"Um," he said intelligently, unable to remember why he had pinned the creature to the bookshelf. He glanced at his sister before stepping away from the Valkyrie and sheathing his knife. He wouldn't meet her eyes, but turned to Nuala.
"I will escort her to the roof of the bureau," he said quietly as Nuala stepped towards him, "and there she may contact her companion."
"I shall come as well," Nuala said, smiling softly. They both turned to the Valkyrie, who was gazing at the pair of them steadily.
"I am glad," she said simply.