Rhianwen gaped at the pixie prince for a few seconds, not quite believing what she had just heard. "You're telling me that I swallowed a relic belonging to a Greek goddess?"
"Close your mouth, before some flies buzz in there." Pip suggested in what he probably thought was a helpful tone. He was cured from that illusion when Rhianwen took a swipe after him, ducking behind Nuada's back where he would be safe from her grabby hands.
"Look, it's not like I knew that you were going to actually eat the thing. I thought that in the worst case scenario I would have to wipe off some baby spit. But noooooo, you just had to swallow it."
The redhead couldn't believe her ears. She pointed a hand to her stomach, getting ready to stand up and grab the pixie, grouchy elf prince in the way or not. "I was a baby. You can't blame babies for what they do. But now that you've told me, get it the fuck out of me. If this is what the shadows are after, why shouldn't they have it?"
Pip flew up a little bit, a glare from Nuada having indicated that the pixie better rethink his position. "Ah, well, there are two reasons why we can't do that. The most important one for the pixie community as a whole is that… well, since Fortuna can really hold a grudge there is a very good chance she's going to take revenge in the form of limiting fertility for the pixies and all of their friends. We may not be the most popular bunch-"
"I do wonder why." Nuada commented with a dry look on his face, nearly making Rhianwen chuckle with the realization the elf may posses a sense of humor after all.
"-but we do have some friends and it wouldn't be fair to bring them in this entire mess. And the reason that would be most important for you is that the Orb isn't just in your stomach. It's more in this general area." Pip moved his hands in front of his torso, showing that it was in fact the better part of Rhianwen that was now the proud vessel of an artifact.
"You're telling me that this Orb is in my entire body?" Rhianwen asked, suddenly feeling sick in her stomach. She loosened her about to pounce stand, instead dropping on her ass in what was the most inelegant way she could conceive.
"It's kind of been melding with you ever since you swallowed it. Which is why we've been keeping you safe. Once it's completely fused with you Lady Luck won't be able to get it back even if she kills you." Pip said in a tone that suggested she should thank him for this lucky coincidence.
Rhianwen was saved throttling the tiny creature when Lenore grabbed him by one of his ears. "I can't believe how irresponsible you are, Pip! You are supposed to be our prince, and instead you have endangered us all because you wanted to impress a girl."
"Lenore, let go o' me. Sheesh woman, it's how a man expresses his romantic side." Pip complained.
This brought forth a new tirade from Lenore who expressed a more colorful vocabulary than anything Rhianwen had ever heard, and she lived right above a Russian truck driver. The human woman decided to ignore the two fighting pixies for now and instead poked her stomach tentatively, expecting weird noises to come out.
So she had been purely normal when she had been born? The notion felt strange. She had actually been born as a person who had no inkling that there was a magical world out there. She had opted to become an accountant, the most mundane job she could imagine, only because of this 'gift'.
"I could have been normal." She whispered, stupefied with the idea. She could have had sleepovers as a kid, or a date with a cute boy if she hadn't swallowed that Orb. A giggle started to rise as she realized how stupid she had been all those years. She tried to choke it back, only to find it rising up more stubbornly.
Finally she gave in to the urge, throwing her head in her neck as she laughed. All those years of trying to be normal and it hadn't even been her choice, ever, to be anything else.
The pixies all stopped arguing, which she only noticed once her laughing fit had passed. Rhianwen looked up, wiping the tears away from her eyes. Everybody in the room was staring at her, Wink holding a half-eaten apple in his prosthetic hand. "What?"
"The general opinion seems to be that you have gone mad." Nuada said, talking to her directly for the second time.
She chuckled again, forcing a new fit of laughter down. "Not mad. At least, not more than I already was. Just very, very aware of me being an idiot."
Pip flew down near her, though he still maintained a safe grabbing distance. "Look kid, I hope you're not too mad at me. It wasn't like I wanted you to end up like this. But things have happened, so we might as well make the best of it."
When she nodded the pixie continued, rubbing his one pointy ear where Lenore had been yanking him on. "If you could stay put here for a little while longer you'll be one with the Orb, which means the shadows will stop trying to kill you. Think you could do that? We'll make sure you get everything you want."
Rhianwen thought about it, puffing up her cheeks as she did so. "I don't know. I mean… I still have a life up there. Somewhat."
Pip rolled his eyes. "Lenore told me. A dingy two-room apartment in a building that smells like Vietnamese takeout while the only person you talk to on a regular basis is your mother. Crazy old bat."
"Well, maybe if you all didn't put in every effort to sabotage all of my attempts at having a social life."
"Pfeh, what you need in your life are people with a sense of humor. Those idiots did not have the appropriate sense of anything."
"Not everybody thinks lighting pants on fire is a great way to pass the time Pip!"
"Has not one of you ever thought about asking me if I am willing to let this human stay for so long?" Nuada finally spoke up, his amber eyes lighting up just enough in the near dark to make sure Rhianwen felt an icy tingle running down her spine. Right, if she were to stay here for a few months that would mean being cooped up with a violent racist. Specist?
She took in the pale prince for a moment, running her tongue past her lips. He was not exactly a ray of sunshine, and this was his home she was invading. Truth be told she could imagine more pleasant places to spend a few months of exile. None of them located underground, and all of them had a zero population of trolls. Or elves. Decidedly less pixies. Maybe a margarita or two.
She realized Nuada was staring at her rather intently, waiting for her to agree with him. "I can't believe the words are coming out of my mouth but I wholeheartedly agree with prince snark. Perhaps it would be better if I were to relocate. I think there's no way she would be looking for me in Hawaii."
"If there would be any relocating done I would be sending you to Siberia." Lenore interjected before she turned to the prince.
"Please your Highness, it would mean so much to us. And Rhianwen is practically Pip's sister, so I'm sure he would consider it a favor to the whole pixie race."
"Don't you go deciding what I will and will not consider." Pip acted up.
"I won't decide that if you stop thinking that stealing people's stuff is a good way to get noticed." Lenore yelled back at him, raising her hand as if she was quite fully prepared to smack him back into last week.
Nuada looked at her, and then back at the pixies. Rhianwen thought the prince looked just as if he had eaten a lemon whole, contorted and twisting as he tried to consider just how much of a nuisance she would be.
"Would that also mean support concerning my own quest?" he finally asked, seemingly slightly horrified at asking it himself.
It was Pip's turn to dart back and forth. "Well, uh… I can't speak for my grandmother… so uh…"
"Otherwise I will demand you all leave and take her with you." Nuada said, more strongly this time. At least the prospect of getting her to leave still managed to rile up his senses.
Pip let out a deep sigh, which coming from a pixie meant it had about as much force as a common mosquito. "I can't promise our open support in your fathers court. But I could offer our help in searching for the lost crown piece. We are still quite a few in number and we are quicker than you are alone. Our aid in search, if you keep Rhianwen safe here."
Nuada's amber eyes flickered between her and the pixies. His jaw moved as if he wanted to lick his dark lips as well, before he decided against it. His entire body language betrayed that he did not like what he was doing at the moment.
"I will keep her safe from any harm that could dream of entering my home, as long as you search for the crown piece." He finally said with a face as if the words were being pulled out of him.
"Now wait a minute! How come this guy gets to decide if he wants to live together but I just have to play by the rules? I say Siberia sounds plenty good." Rhianwen said, scrambling up. She could not believe how these creatures just went about making decisions about her life while she just had to nod along.
|Nuada|
Nuada barely listened how the human started to object to the new arrangements, instead feeling a small sense of accomplishment at having some new allies. Well, somewhat allies. It would have been perfect if they had been willing to support him openly in his cause but it would seem their general attachment to human beings was still too strong.
But for now he would have some aid in his search for the last crown piece. He had managed to track it down to this godsforsaken place, but then his search had hit a dead end. The crown piece had been sold after the last heir of the original family had died, now lost in a sea of humans running about.
He felt a shiver across his back as he thought where the crown piece could be now. In the hands of a beggar? In the office of a rich business man? A trinket stowed away on some attic? He had no clue to go on, other than that it was in this city. A huge place, bigger than even his hometown had once been though it could never be a rival for the beauty he remembered.
The elf got up from his sitting place, motioning some of the pixies floating around the room to come near him. The human had resorted to throwing apple pieces after Pip, who bounced them back with magic as soon as she threw them.
"This is all I know about the crown piece. Look for it, everywhere you can reach. Let me know the moment you hear something."
The pixies shared a look, doubt crossing their tattooed faces. A second later they nodded, flitting out of the room in a hurry. Nuada watched them leave, turning his attention back to his unwelcome guest. Her face was flushed as those pale eyes of hers kept track of the pixies.
How was he going to deal with a wretched human running amok in his own living space? Sure, he could relocate. But the pixies would undoubtedly follow after him, knocking out their friend as often as they deemed necessary in the process.
For a moment he considered tying her up and then hanging her somewhere. If she couldn't walk around she wouldn't be able to get in his way either. But the coil in his stomach let him know that that would in a way be harming her.
Absentminded he reached for a piece of cheese, trying to see some way out of this mess. He only had to keep her safe for however long it too to get her completely fused with that orb. After that, nobody could blame him if he decided to kick her out of his home. Nobody would blame him.
But… gods be damned, months? After this short amount of time he had been thinking about elaborate 'accidents' that would not have meant he broke his word. After a few weeks he would be ready to jump in the river Styx itself. There was no way he would get through a few months and still be able to claim he had full possession of his mental faculties.
Careful to keep a stone face should the human be watching him he carefully considered the situation. They would have to come to some sort of agreement. But that would imply he had to trust her not to break her word.
Humans always broke their word! It was in their nature to break their word! Getting help in his search was not enough to make up for this kind of misery.
The woman approached him, wary as if she was approaching a predator ready to lash out. His hands itched to somehow be able to do just that. If only he were to be granted such sweet release to his emotions.
When she was standing in front of him she scratched the back of her head. He noted chunks of apple in her dark red curls. Lovely.
"Look… I know we aren't the best of friends. And we probably won't ever be. But… we are going to have to spend a lot of time together…"
"That point has come to my attention, yes." He replied, doing his best to keep his tone of voice civil. The last thing he needed to do was make her cry again. If that happened he might stick his head in the sewer water in uncalled for measures.
"And spending a lot of time in close proximity won't be easy for either of us…" she continued, doing her utmost best not to look him in the eyes, instead keeping her clear green eyes fixed on one of the vials at his side.
"I am painfully aware of that fact as well." He agreed, mentally rolling his eyes. Was she going to keep stating the obvious? Was that a thing that humans did on a regular basis? The sky is blue. Grass is green. Nuada wants me dead. If she was going to keep this up he would end up spending more time above ground than he had in the last century.
"Though it isn't actually my fault, since you were to one to nearly stab me in the first place. Uh, sorry, I hold grudges. But I was thinking that since you are going to be my… that I will be living in your home for a while, it would be best if we could be civil to one another. Like, you will stop referring to me as 'human' and I'll stop referring to you as all the things I've been calling you so far." She finally said, rattling the rest of her speech off so fast he had trouble making out the words.
Well, at least she had had the same general idea as he had. Which was surprising enough on its own. He had lived at court for a long time before going into exile. Surely he could master some front of civility for a short while.
Rhianwen stretched out a hand towards him, clearly with the intention of offering him a handshake. The idea made him highly uncomfortable. He stood up as straight as he could, instead pinning her down with his eyes. Eye contact was to be preferred over physical contact.
"I think that is an adequate suggestion, and perhaps more than I could ever have hoped for coming from you. So yes, I believe I will also do my best to be civil towards you."
By the seven hells, did he have to sound so bloody stuck up when he said that? It had been an attempt at seeming nice-ish, not as if Wink had just shoved an iron bar up his ass.
The woman withdrew her hand, averting her gaze as fast as she could. "As you wish… prince. I'll do my best to not disturb you when you are busy."
No snarky nickname? The truce was working wonders already, much to his amazement. "I will do the same for you then."
Not that he had intended before to disturb her, especially not when she was keeping out of his way. He intended to be as quiet as possible when she was sleeping just so he could enjoy some more 'alone' time. If it hadn't been for his discipline he would probably have been yanking out his own hair by this time.
When he remained silent she finally nodded once, the closest to an actual bow he had ever seen her go to, and walked away. As she did so he could hear her call out to Wink, something about cards and playing poker now that there were more of them.
He reached towards a strand of his hair, stopping himself before he could pull at it. Perhaps tying her up would be more for her own safety. He would have to consider the idea a bit longer.
So yeah, writing is slow due to me having a life, if you squint a little bit at my current arrangement. Bit of a slow chapter for my own taste, but things will be picking up soon. If Nuada becomes pro-human before chapter 15 I'll still eat my favorite pair of shoes though.
Kateskates24 : Hehheh, one of the best tricks to writing is to stop at a place where you know you'll be able to write more... If that makes any sense. Glad you're enjoying the story =)
lillalil : I will continue, slowly but surely. Sadly procrastination is my middle name.
Delacus : I like writing the bantering. It's nice to write a relationship that doesn't start with 'he seems nice' but more like 'you tried to kill me, you ass'. I live for the small things in life.
xSiriuslyPadfoot : one update for the reader =) Glad you don't think she's a Mary Sue... Sure hope I can keep it like that.