|The Sewers|

Nuada tried hard to remember a time when he had been this degraded. Oh, there had been the odd incident here and there but that had been in battle where relying on an ally was a necessity. Being carried back by a worried Wink was only slightly better than having to rely on the woman. He shuddered when he remembered the offer of a 'piggy back ride'. If anyone were to ever found out about that he would be the laughing stock of the fae world.

At least his ankle hadn't been broken when he fell, only badly sprained. It was the only bit of information Wink and that insolent human had been willing to take from him before they muttered against each other how he should be healed, thanks to a pixie translating for Wink.

Now he found himself sitting outside the small alcove that was his sleeping place, injured leg stretched out in front of him. Nuada saw red curls bobbing up and down when Rhianwen nodded to something Wink had said before coming over. "I believe the fuss is quite unwarranted, dear friend."

Wink snorted at the remark. "What you believe isn't necessarily the truth, whelp."

Nuada sighed when he heard how he was addressed. Wink had to be in a poor mood indeed if he was to be so straightforward with him. "Perhaps, but all this is-"

"The precise amount of care needed when someone has to act up as if they were hardly older than a century. You have no love for humans, and I know that better than any of those sympathizing with your cause. But I would think that you were able to keep a level head in these circumstances." Wink said, taking a seat next to Nuada.

He didn't reply with the excuse that the shadow had ambushed him, nor that there had been something in the water to help it. He should have been prepared either way. What Wink said next didn't help his situation. "At least the kid came for you instead of running away, which would have been a smarter choice."

This was enough cause for Nuada to feel even more hurt about the situation. "How low have I fallen that I had to accept the help of a mortal?"

There had been a time when he would never have been taken by surprise like that. The time with the human had rendered him irritable and weak. And he was still not rid of her. When he saw pale green eyes observing him and his companion Nuada made sure to glare back.

Wink chuckled, a low rumbling that seemed to reverberate in the room. 'Not as low as you fear. The shadows do belong to a god after all. Not even you can hope to stand up against one of those."

The notion did nothing to comfort Nuada as he raised his eyes to the ceiling. Above them cars were racing, polluting the air with every second that went by. He thought about what was happening. "I wish to speak with Pip."

A few minutes later Pip appeared, a grin spread across his face as he fluttered in front of Nuada. "And here you were thinking my girl wouldn't be good for anything. She sure showed you."

"That is not what I wanted to talk about." Nuada at once clarified, not needing the added insult to his wounds. He added that Pip's pixies had better not spread to story to someone else.

The pixie prince's grin grew more sly as he heard that. "Now why would I want anyone to know Rhianwen is here? The both of you knowing about her circumstances is already too much."

Could it be that Pip had more plans after Rhianwen had been fully fused with the Sphere? Nuada resisted the urge to trail his fingers over his lips as he thought. "What exactly are your plans? I will only protect her until she and the Sphere are one. After that things are out of my hands."

"That's for me to know and for you to keep guessing until you're bald. Look, you're a pretty okay guy when it comes down to business. But in the end you're not a big fan of humans and Rhianwen is human for the most part. At least she's trying really hard to be and you pointing out her flaws isn't helping things. The less you know about what happens later the better for her." Pip made clear, looking over his shoulder to make sure his charge was unaware of their conversation. He shouldn't have worry, since Rhianwen was having a very spirited conversation with Pip's pregnant wife.

"You hold her higher than one of the fae?" Nuada asked in disbelief. The pixies adored being around humans because they could wreak havoc among them, but this had the eerie feel of affection to it.

Pip placed his hands on his hips. "Well duh. I don't value her feelings above you because she's a human. But she's like family."

Hearing those words left a vile taste in Nuada's mouth. The idea that one of his own would consider a mortal to be family tore at his heart. "But humans are vile beings!"

His outburst tore the attention of every pixie in the room, as well as that of the human. Luckily she had no idea what language he had been speaking and turned her attention back to the poultice she was brewing. The pixies on the other hand seemed to be decidedly more agitated. Pip seemed to have taken the outburst personal. "You have your opinion and we have ours. Let's leave it at that."

Wink looked disappointed as Pip flew away. Nuada couldn't believe what had just transpired. This had to be some poorly done jest, there was no other explanation. "I can't believe this."

The sound of metal grinding could be heard as Wink flexed his prosthetic. "How would you feel if someone offended your sister?"

"My sister is nothing like her!" Nuada at once spat out, blood boiling at the very idea Nuala would be compared with a human. It was bad enough his sister would have discomfort due his wound, her honor should not be sullied on top of it.

Before Wink could reply the human walked up to them. "How did you manage to upset Pip? I've never seen him in such a sour state and I was around the first three times Lena rejected him."

Nuada looked at the poultice in her hands and the way she seemed to be genuinely curious. This was getting more and more out of hand and he did not have the will to fix things. "None of your concern."

He had tried to sound not too off-putting, just generally warning her to back off. But of course he had sounded more like he was barking orders at her, making her frown in a way that eerily reminded him of Pip.

"Of course. Why should I care about whether the guy that's supposed to protect me gets along with Pip or not? It's not like my life may very well depend on it." Fantastic, now he had gotten her angry as well. Was the entire world that determined to make his life miserable? And Wink didn't seem as if he was planning on helping either, seemingly preferring to gaze around the room instead of distracting his tormentor.

He had to clench his jaw, taking a deep breath for the moment. Of all the people in the room the human was most trouble when angered. He would have to tread lightly. "We had a disagreement and I might have chosen my words poorly."

The only thing that could have gone more poorly today was if he had drowned in the sewers. But it wasn't that far past midday yet so he still had time.

Rhianwen squatted down, motioning Wink to remove the torn shirt from Nuada's foot. The pants she was wearing had a rip in them and she hadn't yet bothered to retrieve a new shirt to wear over her top. Oddly enough she looked vaguely amused. "Should I be surprised at that? The only time you seem to picking the right words is when we fight. You have some good comebacks."

A compliment, even if it was a rather strange one? Perhaps he had hit his head in the fall. "You have quite a way with insults yourself."

The tip of her tongue barely showed as she grinned at that remark. She handed the poultice to Wink as if she was actually taking his wishes in account. "That might be the nicest thing you've said to me so far. Which is actually very sad, now that I think about it."

She frowned, observing how Wink applied the poultice. Nuada almost let out a sigh at the instant relief it brought. This was by no means an ordinary concoction, which raised his level of wariness even higher.

"I made it stronger than what I usually do for the pixies, seeing as how you're bigger than them. Let me know if it starts to feel unpleasant though. I have a feeling you're a horrible patient."

He tried to smile thinly at the comment, only managing to make his mouth quiver somewhat. There was however something more disturbing than a human and her talent for making potions. "You reek. Perhaps you should take a bath."

Yes, wonderful choice of words. It could be he had been too long away from court if he thought 'reek' was a good word to use in regards to a female. If Nuala had heard him she would not let him get away with such language… when they had been younger, that was.

"Well, your name is Silverlance and not Silver Tongue. I shouldn't be too surprised." The redhead replied, her facial expression a very good mimic of an angry Pip.

Nuada coughed, mentally walking the fine line between showing proper gratitude for the poultice and not wishing to do anything for a human that could be deemed too friendly. Things were easier when he could just stab them and get it over with. Not the most honorable of fights but at least he didn't have to tiptoe around lines of friendliness and hostility.

"What I meant was that Wink could give you some of the soap we use. That way you can still take your bath and there will be no fallout for the rest of us."

Clearly taken aback by his offer the human looked him over. "Did you hit your head by any chance? Because you almost seem… nice."

Nuada growled, sending her away from him in a hurry. Wink followed with a look that could have been surprise or approval. The elf prince doubted he would be able to live with the latter. Wink showing approval in this case would mean he was on the precipice of going soft.

|Later|

He could not handle a few months with a human. Most certainly not. Perhaps he would have been better of crawling back to father's court and… no, he wouldn't go that far. But the fact remained that the human in question seemed to be doing her utmost best to drive him insane.

"So, I thought these guys were your allies. Why are they turning on you all of a sudden?" she asked, pointing to the thimble she had used as a representation for the goblins. It was placed on a map where Nuada was explaining to her exactly why humans were vile creatures. He had thought it would be wisest to tell her about the greatest wars and the atrocities humankind had inflicted on the immortal races and their brethren but for now he found the greatest challenge was making her stick to the point he was trying to make.

"Because the Night Elves had made a pact with the Dragons who coveted the Goblin minerals." Nuada explained, pointing to a needle, a piece of cloth and a spot on the map in turn. He had thought that she would see reason soon enough and admit to the misdeeds of her people but instead he felt like crawling up the wall.

She nodded, not noticing the grinding of his teeth. Her wet hair nearly dripped on the map before she wiped it behind her shoulder as she tried to understand the situation. "Oookay. But your main aim was to attack the human settlement."

Nuada watched as she moved the acorn that was supposed to depict him to the settlement. When she had first introduced it she had insisted on carving a frown in it to make it more 'realistic'. He placed it back in the hills where he had been waiting to commence the charge.

"That was our main aim. What we didn't know was that one of the humans had bribed one of the dragons to support them, using what appeared to be a pure diamond. The Night Elves hadn't yet paid the Dragons what they had promised so the Dragons then sided with humankind."

He moved the cloth to the human settlement. She nodded, running a hand through her hair, careful not to hurt Lena who was sitting on her shoulder.

"Then that was just poor doing business. I mean, if you knew the dragons wanted payment first it would be smarter to do that. Once they've received payment they don't back out of the deal, do they?" Rhianwen stated, looking at Lena for confirmation. When it was received the two women looked back at Nuada.

He took a deep breath. How was he supposed to explain the intricacies of fae politics to a human? How was he supposed to make clear how it had all been possible in a world that had been wild and young and free to a mere child? He had never been the most brilliant diplomat at the time but he had been among the best strategists. The inability of the human to see the most simple of strategies was frustrating at least.

"Okay, I think I know how this is supposed to play out." Rhianwen said, holding up a finger. She moved the acorn and the needle to opposite sides of the village. She removed the betrayed goblins from the map and then picked up the cloth dragon and draped it around the town.

"So, you and the Night Elves then attacked the village from both sides. The goblins had taken off because they didn't like the nasty trick the Night Elves had played on them. And I'm guessing the diamond was a fake, so the dragons probably got really angry and decided to have a big ol' barbecue."

Well then, maybe she did have some brains. "How did you figure that out?"

"For starters, you are way too stubborn and proud to let a minor setback like dragons hold you back. And you said it 'seemed' like a diamond, so I guessed the humans had probably been lying. That is your whole point isn't it? Showing me all humans are dirty cheats?" she asked, handing a small nut to Lena.

Well, wasn't this a surprise. She'd gotten it. At first he had been hesitant on how to proceed showing her exactly why humans should be wiped out but perhaps she would soon turn around and admit he was right.

"But this is all rubbish." She announced, wiping the tokens from the board.

Well, he had been getting his hopes up. Sooner or later they would have been dashed either way. "I thought you were finally understanding things."

She waved a hand to the map, hurried as if she rather wanted to talk about something else. "No, I get all of that. You and Wink are war heroes and to be respected as amazing warriors. But none of it is personal. You don't talk about how you felt during those battles. I haven't heard you say one thing about a close friend that you lost during a raid or how you feared you'd never see your family again. It just sounds like some horrid history when you tell it like this. It's sad but it doesn't get me outraged."

"We are not discussing my emotions." He made clear at once. He had no desire to share such personal details with her, not even after the tale about her father.

She rolled her eyes at him, eating a nut herself. "Then don't. But make it personal. Like… your scars."

"What about them?" he asked her. He was aware his skin was marred. But every single one of those was a badge of honor and achievement, serving in making him stronger. As the last of the Warrior Elves he was obliged to have a sense of pride in them.

"Tell me how you got those. Who did it, what were the circumstances? No politics, just you and some bad guy going hand to hand." She insisted, gesturing with her hands as she got more excited.

Almost without realizing it he ran a finger across one of the deeper scars that ran vertically across his forehead. Back then his sister had still bandaged his wounds, tending to her other half with a gentleness she showed no other. In the days before the Golden Army when he had been father's pride and joy, crown prince of Bethmoora. Despite the human threat those days held a warm glow to them. After his self-imposed exile the days had grown colder, more harsh as the plague that was humanity spread across the globe.

Nuala had once encouraged him to protect them all. Father had kissed his cheek and placed a warm hand on his shoulder.

But those days had gone when only he had managed to show the resolve to go on the righteous path. He had been the only one with the strength to go on, even in the days when the world was harsh and he longed for his family.

He broke away from his thoughts, seeing the human waiting for him to say something. He took the map, rolling it up in short, brusque snaps. "I may be forced to watch over you, but that does not mean you are privy to my past."

The widening of her eyes told him he had surprised her, along with how she rose, almost regal in her rigidness. Standing like that, she looked down on him with a look he would have deemed as sad had humans ever been able to experience that emotion to the fullest. With a tight smile and a half-nod she took of.
"Then I am sorry to have bothered his Highness."

He placed the map to the sides, closing his eyes for a second. The sooner the pixies found the missing crown piece the sooner he would be rid of this nuisance.