|The Sewers|
Nuada had just barely managed to stop his spear from piercing through shaking flesh.
He had been out for a simple walk, a way to release the tension in his muscles after his training of the day. The simple pleasure – for so far one could call walking in the filth of the sewers pleasure – had been disrupted when a small pixie had flown up to him in an agitated state. The little thing bowed quickly in front of him, muttering a greeting before she turned to the corridor that was shielded from his vision. "There is a safe place here, so let's disappear!"
That was enough for him to realize that the pixies were being followed by someone. Judging from the sound of shoes tapping on the concrete it was a female, and if his other senses were correct it was a human. Of course it would be, what other fool would find joy in chasing a pixie?
The impact caused the air to escape the woman's lungs, and left him feeling tainted. She landed on her backside, eyes wide at the sudden interruption of her sport. He traced his spear with a thumb, noting how her eyes landed on it. Pale green eyes swooped up to his face and he could see how her little brain was trying to figure out how she was supposed to react to him. "Hi?"
A quiver in her voice, nails scratching at the hard underground beneath her, her entire body language betrayed her fear for him. Weak, petty and disgusting, she would find some suitable punishment for harassing the tiny fae that flit about. He would make it quick, a mercy she didn't deserve, but he had no time to waste on something as useless as torture. For a reason unknown to him his eyes refused to focus on her, at times darting away while he intended to keep her pinned down with just his gaze.
"No, do not harm her!" The youngest of the pixies screamed, while the lot of them flew to protect her heart from his spear. "I beg of thee, sir!"
Nuada just barely managed to stay his spear before piercing the tiny bodies protecting the human from her death blow. What was going on? Pixies were in general quite tolerant when it came to humans, but only for so long as they were amusing. And they were certainly not opposed to bloodshed, some of them viewing it as the highest form of comedy. So why?
The pixie from before flew in his field of vision, folding her hands in front of her as if she were begging for the life of her kin. "My prince, please forgive us for intruding in your territory." She started out, bowing once again to placate him. He retracted his spear, casting one more glance on the human, which he had to fight to keep in the same spot. She was glaring back at him, but stayed put for the moment. "We would not have done so if we were not followed by an enemy who is after our dear friend." At least she was speaking something different from that wretched human tongue some fae had adapted as easier.
"You owe me no apology, little one." He said, before he glanced to the human. "If you are being followed by an enemy you are welcome in my wards. But as for your… companion…" he muttered the last part, his eyes once again drawn to the member of that hated species.
The woman narrowed her eyes at him, the corner of her mouth pulling in such a way that he would have stricken her down if it hadn't been for the little ones still protecting her. She raised her chin, sending a very clear message. She might be afraid of him, but she certainly did not want to surrender without a fight. "Lenore, must we remain here? The shadows can be here any moment while you chat with this grouch."
This nearly sent the pixies in an apoplexy, hushing her from all sides at once.
"This is prince Nuada-"
"- do well to check your tongue dearest –"
"- please behave while we are –"
With every word they pixies said she started to look more and more out of sorts. She shook her head, getting up from the floor as she placed her hands in her hips. "What does this have to do with us? Let's be on our way. I will not remain in the presence of someone who was intent of turning me into a shish kebob."
She was ignoring him. The cur had the guts to ignore him, going so far as actually almost turning her back on him. The pixie that had been identified as Lenore immediately fell into more bows, taking the word while the human argued with the others. "Please forgive Rhianwen, your highness. I fear she has been having a bad day, and she is quick to take it out on others."
He could almost read the silent reproach in the flying creature's eyes that he was also partly responsible by having drawing a weapon on her. "But if you would lend us quick shelter, for only a little while, you would be doing us a favor we will not forget."
He heard the woman being informed about the wards that would throw 'the shadows' of their trail. Amber eyes focused back on the pixie with the blue flower tattooed on her cheek. "Why are you with that creature?"
Tiny eyes frowned when the prince addressed the human as such. "Rhianwen is not only a dear personal friend, but we are also under orders to protect her." Lenore allowed, waving a hand towards the human who still looked as if she was ready to bite off a piece of his spear should he bring it near her. "I would not ask this of you, prince Nuada, but we can not keep the shadows at bay when they are possessing another body. We would be helpless, and the task entrusted to us would be jeopardized. We will do anything to fulfill it, even sacrifice ourselves. Do it not for her, but for us."
Once again he had to fight to keep his eyes on her form. It was almost as if there was something trying to shield her from fae eyes. "You want me to accept this… mongrel in my home?" During his exile that was what one could call the spot he had taken for himself in the sewers. And they wanted to take that loud-mouthed wench in there?
The pixie stretched out a hand towards him, eyes pleading. "Only until she walks out herself again, your highness! And she will not learn the route towards it, I promise. Until then, please see she comes to no harm."
Nuada glanced down at the out-stretched hand. He had no reason to suspect one of the unseen folk would have a reason to trick him, but these were pixies he was dealing with. If they suspected they could get a laugh out of something they wouldn't think twice. But if he could not trust those who he was trying to protect…
Gritting his teeth slightly he held out his hand, feeling the pixie touch his index finger slightly. He was surprised to find her touch so warm.
"She will not be able to find her way back. If she returns I may kill her without your interference." He said, loud enough to be heard by the mortal.
Green eyes, pale like glass, landed on him without so much as a bit of hesitation. "We are not staying with him." She announced. "I refuse, if you like you may but I-"
She was cut off from her objections by a cloud of pixie dust. It worked as good as knocking her out cold like a sledgehammer would have done, with much of the same aftereffects when she would wake up.
So the pixies intended on making her find refuge even if the mortal had no inclination for it herself. An interesting bit of information, though the thought he had agreed to this nearly made him gag. Lenore flew back to him, the look on her face immediately alerting him he would not like the next request. "Would the prince be so kind as to help transport her?"
As he had guessed, he had no inclination of agreeing immediately, nor would thinking it over make him change his mind. If they left her lying here, perhaps he would be lucky and another, hungrier, creature would pass by. The group of five now floated around him, looking with expectant, big eyes. He had to admit that even if they used magic, they would probably be out cold by the time they reached his refuge.
With what he hoped was a stoic expression he bent over in order to grab her by the collar. If the pixies had hoped he would be carrying her in a more agreeable way they would be sorely surprised at this moment. If they took the trouble of looking at his eyes they would find promise of bloody murder if anything did not go as had been agreed.
|Rhianwen|
Wow… that felt like a serious hangover. Frowning seemed to make it feel worse, so she attempted to relax her face. A high-pitched voice like a silver bell was repeating her name over and over, tiny hands patting her cheeks. "Five… five more minutes." She managed to slur out. She couldn't remember having been drinking, but what else could have made her feel so horribly?
"Ah!" she cried out, sharp teeth biting down on her nose again. She opened up her eyes with a start, scrambling up in confusion. "Lenore, what was that for?" she asked, rubbing the sore spot.
The green-clad critter flew up in front of her, arms clasped over one another. "It takes forever to wake you if we don't have the black brew."
"You dusted me!" Rhianwen realized, indignation heavy in her voice. "I wasn't even through talking and you just knocked me out cold. You little mosquito!" She looked around her, limbs not wishing to agree to any signals she was sending. Her legs were wobbly, and when she looked down she could see something had ruined her nylon stockings. What had happened to her?
She tried to look at her backside, seeing dirt streaks over the pencil skirt she had worn for the interview and all over the lower side of her white shirt. What the actual hell? She asked Lenore for an explanation. "Prince Nuada has done you the extreme honor of dragging you here."
Rhianwen let out an incredulous cough at that choice of words, before she scanned around her to see where said stab-happy elf was residing. The room was half-circular, water dripping from the ceiling a bit ahead of her. To her left there was a fancy mural, fire burning and something that looked conspicuously like a potion set. On a platform she spotted the elven prince, looking down at her with a look that she could recognize from earlier years. Distrust, hate and a generous helping of loathing. Yet she didn't remember having merited the sentiments, then or now. In an instinctive response to those amber eyes looking down she raised her chin, attempting to stand up as straight as possible.
Almost as if he wanted to rival her the elf straightened his back, setting her mouth back into the iron position. Two of the pixies were hovering around the prince, the other two nowhere to be seen. "Is there a reason you wanted me to be in the same room as him?" she asked. Normally she was a bit more polite when dealing with others, be they fae or human, but others usually didn't try to stab her just for saying hello. She thought she could be excused for her rudeness.
"Well…" Lenore started, looking as she wasn't quite sure what she could or could not say. "We wanted to keep you safe from the shadows, so we brought you here. Prince Nuada has excellent wards against evil around his home, alerting him should anything try to approach him with hostile intent."
The way Rhianwen was glaring at him, she hoped alarm bells were buzzing all over the place. Maybe he would end up with a headache that felt like a troll had hit him as well. Would serve him right.
"There is no danger outside, so you might as well leave now." he announced from his vantage point. He had switched the lance for a sword at his side, hand holding the handle in a death grip.
Rhianwen studied him for a moment more, surprised the henna tattoos on her body weren't making her almost invisible for him. The leprechaun had only been able to see her because first the pixies had drawn his attention and then because he had been touching her shoes all the while. Dark amber eyes glared at her, as dark lips were pulled in what was obvious an attempt from biting someone's nose off.
"As you wish." She replied, fighting to keep herself from adding an insult to the reply. If there was a thing like hatred at first sight the elf had certainly gotten a rather bad case from it. What was it that made him dislike her so? With a grimace she turned around, relieved that he had left her lying at the entrance. It saved her the effort of walking across the room while her legs refused to co-operate. She had no intention of sharing breathing space with someone who made clear with every gesture that if she would drop dead, he would accept it as a minor gift.
Lenore attempted to stop her from walking towards one of the exits. "Rhianwen, please think about this again."
With a very unlady-like snort Rhianwen kept moving, trying to ignore the plethora of cuts on the back of her legs. That uncouth elf had not even bothered to try and take a gentle route, judging from the aching she felt. She turned her head slightly when Lenore once again called her name, pleading.
It was that gesture that stopped her from getting a bloody nose on top of the other indignities. Sadly enough she hadn't been prepared for a barrier placed in her way, making her bump into it in a comical fashion. The impact rattled her body, increasing the headache that had no intention of vacating the premises quite so soon.
Stumbling back she looked at the exit. There was nothing obstructing her, at least not visibly. And yet she recognized the sensation from when she had been younger and attempting to sneak out of her house. A pixie ward.
"Lenore!" she snarled, turning on her heels. The pixie was flying to the other side of the room, where a corridor past a stream of water ran. Hoping for another possible exit Rhianwen hastened to the other side of the room, only tripping over her own feet twice. She ignored the pulling of scratches closing up on the back of her legs easier than she ignored the feeling of a pale elf mentally throwing daggers at her.
The pixie stopped flying, looking a tad worried about the situation. "Rhianwen, please listen to my explanation. We are only acting according to your station."
She reached out a hand – noting a few scratches there as well – only to find it stopped by the barrier. It flared up a violent pale green and blue as she touched it, causing her to frown. "Better start explaining now, because I have a feeling I'm not the only one that's wondering why I'm still in here."
Her eyes drew towards a staircase running up, lit by torches. To get there, she would have to pass Nuada, who had already made one attempt at killing her. How long until he would be trying again?
Rhianwen was good at running away, even if others would consider it a cowardly action. She ran, only fighting when she was being driven in a corner. Every bit of self-preservation she had was shouting not to get close to the ivory elf. "I'm just going to take the stairs." She announced out loud, moving in a way that suggested she did not want to get close to him at all. The darkness of his mouth and eyes made him look more than a bit unnerving.
"What is taking you so long? Are you so inept you cannot even exit?" he lashed out at her.
Deep breaths. She just had to get away from here. "Sometimes finding the right exit can be a bit harder than one might think." She replied, stepping up the stairs. If glares could kill they had been cleaning up at least one corpse right now. The hostility in the air sent chills all the way up and down her spine. She put a hand to where Lenore had flittered up, once again repelled by the ward.
No matter how much the prince wanted her to up and leave, even he could not pretend to not have seen the way she was unable to get out of here. Though he did give off the vibe of throwing her at the ward and see what that would do. "Lenore, start talking. Now."
Nuada was stepping closer, causing Lenore to act as a miniature buffer between the two larger creatures. "The terms we agreed to were very clear, you are not to be harmed when you are here. The shadows cannot enter the prince's sanctuary, so danger will not render us weary."
Rhianwen saw how the pale elf considered the words and seemed to realize what had happened. "The agreement… as long as this cur does not walk out on her own feet…"
The mortal nearly felt the floor beneath her drop away. The pixies thought she would be safer cooped up in this place, with the stab-happy prince. Already the grip around his sword was intensifying, though his fingers could not get much paler. "This is a joke." She mumbled, looking back and forth between the two myths. "You are not serious."
Sadly enough for the mortal things were looking deadly serious.
|Moon's Note : Gah, Nuada is a tough one to write. He is the hardest character I have had to write up until now, and I've written about a demon falling for an angel so aaah.
If I ever go out of character with him (heavens forbid) or something else happens that seems OOC with anybody, let me know. Don't let the train wreck evolve. If someone wants to beta, you may be my guest (storyline, grammar, spelling, take your pick).
Charmcaster5 : You are too kind for me, making me blush and everything! Though I am happy to hear you have been enjoying my other stories, that always means a lot for me. I love LOTR and the Labyrinth too! David Bowie made one hell of a goblin king, right? And yes, Nuada is pretty suitable as a movie crush ^^
CrazyNorwegian : thank you so much for the kind words! I'm always happy if someone takes a liking to one of my OC's, especially so early on. I really do hope she won't disappoint.