Folie à Deux

Chapter 5: Her Shadow; His Light

A/N: I started this chapter so long ago, but I felt the need to rework it over and over again. I'm so excited to write the part coming up where Estelle and Yuri finally cross paths. Also, side note: I was looking at Renoir's painting "Le Pont-Neuf"… doesn't it look like Zaphias? And maybe I'm just primed to see ToV in everything, but… Tangled, anyone?

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She was the most beautiful thing Flynn had ever laid eyes on. Her soft pink hair fell around her smooth pale shoulders and her dark tulle dress matched the midnight sky. Diamonds adorned her neck, glittering like stars that fell around her in the velvety backdrop. Her eyes were fixed on the moon – bright, hollow, and searching.

She paid him no mind, neither seeing nor feeling his presence. She seemed too preoccupied with wishing, or maybe waiting. What for, he couldn't be certain. As much as he wanted to be by her side tonight, he stayed hushed.

The Princess was a poor actress. Though she often pretended otherwise, there were days when it was obvious that her head and heart were elsewhere – far away from the castle, far out of reach. Today was one of those days and so, ever the gentleman, he left her to her privacy and quietly walked away.

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Raven's tired eyes glanced through the window, quietly watching pink petals fall to the ground while the sun rose into the sky. The light cast shadows across his drawn face and, despite his lack of armor, the old man looked more than ever like the late Captain Schwann. He had let his face slip into a more natural, serious expression, but for the moment it was okay – nobody was there to catch him with his guard down. As comfortable as the persona was, being perpetually carefree could be exhausting.

With Terca Lumireis in a state of weakness and confusion after the destruction of all the blastia, the Imperial Knights had no time to rest. They were spread paper-thin, trying to protect the cities from monsters and repairing damages and preventing uprisings from unhappy citizens. Stuck once again with the title of First Captain and all the responsibilities it bore, Raven had his hands full. And if that weren't enough, he was still a highly important member of the Union, helping to handle things in Altosk in the wake of all the chaos. It was just one thing after another. Truthfully, though, as lazy as he liked to appear and as fun as it was to complain about work, he liked being kept busy, always working towards some goal or general direction. Aimless free time led to thinking about what to do next, which led to daydreaming, wishing, reminiscing… all things he tried to do as little of as possible.

It was a strange position that he found himself in.He had betrayed one side and leaked information about the other for many years, yet still both knights and guild members regarded him with an exorbitant, unyielding, undue sense of respect. He wondered vaguely how it was possible that either – let alone both – sides would welcome him back with open arms, but it came down to the fact that the higher ups that he had worked most closely with were no longer around. The Don and Alexei were both dead. The thought left him cold with a sense of déjà vu: again he had been promised another chance at life, while both comrades and adversaries – everyone that had ever meant anything to him – had fallen.

But that was the last time. It wouldn't happen again. He was tired of watching everyone around him die. And that, he supposed, was why he was here.

He sat on a wooden stool next to the beds, strategically positioned such that he could stare out the window but could still catch any motion from the forms before him. "You kids sure have a way of getting yourselves into messes," he muttered quietly.

Rita's small frame would shake every now and then as she coughed. It sounded as if there were knives in her lungs, and it made Raven cringe. Sticky with her fever, her hair was matted and stuck to her face in the most ungainly way. Raven sighed and brushed her hair aside, feeling her rising temperature. He hoped the innkeeper would be able to bring the bucket of water and cloth he had requested soon – if the fever kept rising, it could take the genius out of the girl, and he'd be damned if he let that happen.

While Yuri didn't cough and shiver the way Rita did, his face looked pale and his sleep looked fitful. He had cried out once or twice – a gut-wrenching, tearing sound – but Raven hadn't been able to wake him. Whether he was just exhausted or if there was something else Raven couldn't be sure, but it really was a shame that Estelle wasn't here. She would be able to heal his physical wounds, of course, but the kid just hadn't been the same since she left.

The aged man gave a wry smile. For all his efforts to hide his emotions, he thought, Yuri was easy to read.

In Raven's world, fairytales didn't exist. His eyes had seen too much; his heart was just a machine. He knew that nothing was ever seamless, and happily ever after was just a myth. But even so - no matter what someone had done, no matter how undeserving that person was of redemption or a second chance – things could always get better, even in the direst of circumstances. He recognized it when he saw it: that sinking, hopeless feeling in Yuri's dark eyes – he was lost, weary, and tired. He had seen him wear it before, back when Estelle had been captured and the boy had taken it upon himself to kill her. It was the same expression that Raven – Schwann – had worn for ten years, and it could still be seen in the mirror when he looked hard enough. (Those eyes and his poor excuse for a heart made him avoid his reflection whenever possible.)

He could have shared his own experiences, or comfortingly told the kid that everything would be okay, but Raven never was one to conform to social norms. He rarely tried to comfort others when he figured it wouldn't make much difference in the end. The boy was resilient, and Raven had faith that he'd be able to fight off his demons. "Don't go taking after this old man," was all he said quietly.

There he was again, speaking aloud despite his words falling upon unhearing ears. Then again, his advice was usually taken that way in the first place, bundled in layers of crude humour and lewd comments. It certainly wasn't necessary these days – it wasn't as if he had to uphold a certain persona around them (or anyone, for that matter) – but self-amusement was a pastime that Raven wasn't going to give up any time soon.

He stared lazily out the window, keeping watch in his periphery. He let his mind drift from the anomalous tree barrier to the lack thereof everywhere else; to the new demands put on the Knights; to the way he had put all members of the Schwann Brigade to work except for that do-nothing captain. Always the strategist, he would discuss the potential courses of action with Yuri and Rita when they awoke, but until then he was content just to stare out into nothingness. The sky sure looked nice today; the grass was as green as ever. If patience was a virtue, Raven was a saint.

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Estelle had always been a morning person, but today she hid from the sun. She couldn't go back to sleep, but she hadn't the will to get out of bed.

Her cheeks were stained pink with the thought of last night's dream, and as much as she wished she hadn't dreamt it, a part of her wanted to experience it over and over again. That dream… It was silly, illogical, pitiful, but she couldn't help it. The residual butterflies in her stomach and blood in her head were all too real. If she got out of bed she feared the memory might fade, and the thought of not even having a ghost to get her by left her chest empty and numb.

She curled her sheets around her so that they engulfed her, swallowing her whole. Maybe if she buried herself in blankets her mind would go back…

She was a showstopper, a ravishing beauty. A vixen, even; a coquette. She wore the kind of clothing that made heads turn and made tongues click with disapproval. Dressed in satin and lace, all eyes were on her. She was unabashed, unafraid, the sort of girl that knew what she wanted and knew how to get it. She liked brawls more than books; she was resilient and unwavering; she was the kind of girl that he might like. She was anything but a sheltered little princess.

He stood there before her, beautiful as always, but his eyes were different: she was all he saw. His gaze was fixed on her movements as she walked confidently in his direction. Her eyes locked onto his, and she could read him plain as day. There were no boundaries: nothing to lose, nothing to hide.

He was her shadow, and she was his light.

She drank in his image and then gave no quarter. She slid her hands around him, roaming up to his chest, his shoulders, his face. He was sleek and muscular, and his body conformed to her touch. Her hands ran through his hair in the most sensual manner before she crushed his lips to her own. He had no option but to respond. He held her tightly, kissing her back until she lost all sense of her surroundings, focusing on nothing but the way his mouth moved and the way he tasted….

Andalready it started to fade. She was awake. She didn't know how he tasted; she had never kissed a man. She was alone in her room trying to relive a senseless dream, doing nothing to help anyone at all, least of all herself.

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His arms were stiff and his legs impossibly sore, but it was the incessant ache in his chest that really seemed to leave Yuri immobilized. Sometimes it was a dull throb, other times a shooting surge, but it constantly weighed down on him like a rock, pinning him to the bed. His eyes resisted opening – he was tired, so tired – although inexplicably his stomach seemed active as anything, twisting itself into knots again and again.

"Mornin', sunshine," a familiar voice spoke lazily. "I can tell you're awake. No use pretendin' otherwise."

His heavy eyes struggled open. Raven. Why… How did he –

"I just happened ta be in the area, and one of the knights told me 'bout this sorry lookin' bunch found outside of Halure. Said they found a dirty long-haired rebel and a scrawny kid mage… Just quotin' the source, darlin'," he added as Rita's hoarse but harsh voice began to interject. "Anyway. Rita filled me in on the situation. Ordinarily I'd get some knights ta help out, but they're spread too thin as it is. So it looks like it's up to Ol' Raven ta take over for ya," he said to Yuri with a shrug.

"Take over?" he asked, frowning, his mind still in a haze.

"Have no fear! Damsels in distress juuust so happen ta be Raven the Great's specialty," he said with a wink. Rita groaned. He ignored her. "Ya look pretty beat, kid. Just rest up here and I'll take care of things." So Raven would go and take her to Estelle…

Raven turned to Rita and flashed a grin. "Alright, sweetums. Ready ta go? Hop on my back and let papa give you the ride of a lifetime."

"Oh hell, no!" Rita snapped from the bed. "I'd rather die than be stuck alone with you, Old Man, much less be carried."

"You're breakin' my heart, Rita darlin'," Raven said with a mock sniffle.

"Stop calling me that!" she said viciously.

"Sorry 'bout that, kiddo; old habits die hard. I mean, I like it, but if ya want me ta be a little more original, Ol' Raven'll try his hardest." He put on a simpering grin. "Are ya ready to get goin', puddin' pie?"

"Over my dead body!" Her voice was nearly gone, and would be soon if they kept this up.

Yuri frowned. It was important to get there soon for the mage's sake – something both the hotheaded girl in question and the blasé old man seemed to disregard. "You guys are gonna tear each other apart before you even get to the castle if I don't come along," Yuri said, sitting up.

"Aww, did ya hear that? Sounds like he'd get lonely without us two ta keep him company. Whaddya think?" Raven asked.

"Aren't you tired?" Rita asked Yuri snippily. "But wait… did that sound like an excuse to go visit Estelle to you, Old Man?" Rita asked slyly.

"Oh, it most certainly did," Raven replied, waggling his eyebrows. "Ya don't have to go makin' up excuses around us! We're all friends here!"

Yuri rolled his eyes, blowing stray hair from his face. The only time that those two could get along was when they had some other target. "That's not it at all," he refuted as he got to his feet. "And Estelle's the last person I'd want to have to face right now, like this…" he murmured under his breath.

"Hmm?" Rita asked as he trailed off.

"Let's go," he said with a sense of finality in his voice that left no room for further interrogation. "Now."

"Sir, yes, sir," Raven mock-saluted, and Rita clambered onto his back. The journey would be easier with Raven there to take turns with, alternating between fighting monsters and carrying Rita. The exhaustion and leaden feeling in his body was all in his mind, Yuri reminded himself – it wasn't as if he'd never exerted himself before. He shouldn't feel this way and couldn't let whatever was going on in his head interfere with getting Rita to Zaphias. He gripped the hilt of his sword and geared up for the long trek home.

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