Staring up at the castle before her, Elisa was suddenly hit with flashbacks she wished she forgot. It had been eighteen years since she last stepped foot inside the palace, she would never have dared to do such a thing, to go back. Now, she had no choice. This was her only option, she had no choice but to come here. She needed answers.
Upon entering through the doors, she took notice of the construction going on before her. The damage from last night's attack had caused considerable damage to the interior, rubble littered the floor and pieces of stone fell from the ceiling.
Elisa carefully stepped over the rubble, making sure to cover her head as well. A servant who had on a cleaning mask was seen frantically dusting a painting of the King. The man was short and stubbish, with a long curly tipped mustache.
Elisa stepped forward and cleared her throat, trying to get his attention, "Hello, I'm here to speak with the King. I have an urgent message to deliver."
The man muttered something unintelligible, then spun around. His face screwed up at her as if he was trying to remember something. "Urgent you say? I'll have you know that the King is currently not seeing guests at the moment." He said, turning around to fixate on the painting.
That's when Elisa spoke up, "My name is Elisa, I was a maid here many years ago."
The old man's shoulders stiffened at the name. He looked up at her, wide-eyed, "That name, it sounds familiar. Ah yes, r- right this way." He stumbled, motioning her to follow.
Elisa nodded and followed him, a pit forming in her stomach. She wasn't sure if she should feel scared about being remembered, or relieved. He led her to the doors that led to the meeting hall and opened them, allowing her to enter.
She swallowed and walked inside, her hand clasping in front of her. Elisa saw the King sitting down at a table with his men, they all seemed to be discussing the plans to move forward in action.
The short old man bowed, addressing the King, "Your Majesty, we have a guest that wishes to speak with you."
The king looked up from the map laid out before him, he waved a hand, "Thank you for bringing them here, you may go now, Theodore." The men in the room excused themselves out of the room as well.
The short man bowed before taking his leave. Now it was only Elisa and the king, there was a short silence between them until she spoke up.
"It has been a long time, your Majesty. I have come to inform you that...Lily has gone missing from home." She spoke out the last words with contained composure.
Link slowly stood from his seat, he took a look at the woman standing before him. Ah, yes, he had foreseen this coming long ago. In truth, it felt like only yesterday since the last he saw her.
"Elisa, It is good to see you again."
Link gestured for her to take a seat, and she reluctantly obliged. When he spoke again, his voice was filled with sadness, "I know, I have witnessed it happen. It was the mage that took her."
Elisa looked at him with bewildered eyes, she had a feeling it had something to do with the attack that happened eighteen years ago. The demon who caused it all.
"This is all my fault, your majesty, It was I that was not thinking of the consequences. How could I have been so blind?" Elisa uttered, her heart swelling with grief. She couldn't help but to be of blame, after all, she was the one who chose not to tell Lily of her inheritance. She thought it was for the best, that the burden would be too heavy for her to bear. She wanted Lily to live a carefree life instead, yes, it was better that she hadn't known. Elisa only wished this hadn't been the outcome.
Link breathed a sigh and took a seat across from her, worry was etched into his features, his cerulean eyes focused.
"None of us knew this would happen, you don't need to blame yourself for anything, Elisa." He stated.
Elisa wiped the forming tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes. She knew he was right, however, that did not help fill the emptiness in her heart, where Lily resided.
"Oh, your majesty, I-" She stopped before breaking into sobs, the grief overbearing her.
Link went over and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as sobs wracked her body. "I'm going to do everything I can to bring her back. This is not the end, I will bring her home."
Through sniffles, Elisa whispered back, "Thank you, your majesty, thank you..."
Lily followed the mage through the vast corridors, taking in the surroundings before her. What a peculiar place this was, peculiar but simply beautiful. She was no longer feeling weak, and instead, she felt adrenaline. Her heart quickened with anticipation as they stopped in front of a door, it's marble exterior held an intricate design. She wondered where this lead to?
"This will be your room, allow me to show you." The mage said, turning to open the door. Once opened, they stepped inside and Lily's eyes widened in shock. It was absolutely stunning!
The ceiling seemed to stretch on forever, the moonlit rays lit up the white columns giving an iridescent glow. In the middle, sat a large bed adorned with canopy curtains. It seemed rather ridiculous that it would be made for a single person, but judging from the luxurious room, it likely was. The room was complete with what looked like an attached washroom.
She had to admit, this place amazed her. It seemed though even the castle paled in comparison compared to this place. Next to her, the mage was leaning against a column, watching her expression in amusement.
"Fascinating is it? I'm surprised myself how well this place held up, even after centuries." He mentioned.
Lily stared back at him with a bewildered look, surely he was exaggerating? If that was the case then this was the most well preserved place she has seen!
"This is...beautiful." Lily admitted.
The mage chuckled at her answer, his red eye gazing at her, "I'm glad you find it befitting, after all, it is yours to have."
All hers to have? she didn't know what to say. This huge room felt like a luxury she never dreamed she could have.
"I- Thank you." Lily spoke softly. She was finding herself at a loss for words. She didn't want to accidentally anger or upset the mage. Besides, she has yet to see what he was truly capable of.
"The pleasure is all mine." The mage replied, he took a step closer, surveying her closely. "I've realized I haven't given you my name yet, my name is Vaati, master of the wind."
Vaati? Lily has never heard of such a name before. She nodded and bowed politely, "It is nice to meet you, Lord Vaati."
The mage smiled a devious smile, "Now, as you should know, you are quite safe here at the moment, my dear. However, as I made myself clear earlier, there are rules that must be followed. I will expect no less from you, is that clear?" He spoke, slowly circling her.
She found herself looking at the ground, She slowly nodded, "Yes, my Lord..."
Lily hadn't realized that she had unknowingly backed up against a column, she turned her head the other way, cheeks turning pink. Up close, she realized that the mage looked undeniable beautiful. A rare, and a unique kind of beauty. He had to have been the most handsome man she had ever seen really.
Safe? Lily found herself not wanting to find out the consequences of changing that statement. Though, now, she found herself just staring at him with her mouth slightly agape.
"I'm sorry, my lord, It's just...This is very overwhelming for me." Lily spoke, her eyes shifting to the floor.
Vaati chuckled at her response, and slowly closed the distance between them. He gently grabbed a hold of her chin and gazed into her eyes, "Overwhelming? I suppose one would indeed find it as such. However, I bought you here for a very important reason."
Lily found herself trapped in between the column and the mage, unable to move or bring herself to look into those dangerous red eyes.
He gently brushed away a strand of hair that fell in her face, "Your place here holds great value to me, one that cannot be traded for anything. You will be wise to accept it sooner, rather than later."
As he said that, she finally looked at him. His eyes were composed, but held the small threat of danger. If compliance was not obeyed, they would result in dire consequences.
With that, he released his hold on her, and a sentry appeared right next to him, "This sentry will be stationed outside of this room. I have some palace manners to attend to right now. You may explore your room as you wish, however, you may not leave this room at the moment. For now, I bid you farewell, until then."
He then vanished in a flurry of wind, leaving Lily alone in her new room. She slowly slides down the column, trying to make sense of everything that has transpired tonight. Everything happened so quickly, and all she remembered was waking up here. She vaguely remembered what happened before she came here, all she remembered was staring into those red eyes before blacking out.
Deciding she wanted to explore the room to distract her from her thoughts, Lily slowly rose to her feet. She walked over to the large bed and put a hand down, it was firm, but soft.
Having not seen the washroom yet, she headed inside the lavish bathroom and was surprised to see a pool that was already filled with water. She went over and sat on the edge and put her hand in the water, it was scented, and smelled like jasmine. It was lovely.
Lily stared out the window that was just above her. She gazed at the large moon that shone bright among the fluffy clouds. In truth, she felt as if she were still dreaming. As if she were still blacked out and dreaming, blissfully unaware of what was going on.
No, she wasn't going to sulk. Deciding to brush off her looming thoughts, Lily got up and walked out of the bathroom. Her eyes fixated on the large armoire standing in the corner of the room. Curious, she walked over to it and opened it up. In it, were dozens of dresses, skirts, blouses and petite heels. Lily reached inside and ran her fingers on a short looking dress with frills on the cuff of the sleeves and the hem of the dress. It was a creme color, though it was faded and even brown tinged in some places. Lily grabbed the dress, deciding she would try it on.
A few moments later, she stares at herself in a mirror.
"This dress looks horrible..." She muttered to herself.
The princess continued to look through the wardrobe, deciding that she might as well distract herself from this gloomy situation she was in. She set her eyes on another dress, frowning at the worn out fabric. By the goddess it looked centuries old!
On to the next gown.
Somewhere in the Palace of Winds...
"What are you fool's doing?!" A voice could be heard from practically miles away. In the distance, two armos could be seen, they appeared to be bumping into each other.
They looked to be fighting?
A robbed-floating creature floated in view, it adorned purple robes with a golden sash around the middle. Two yellow glowing eyes peered from out the cloth, gazing accusingly at the two Armos. The wizzrobe franticly waved his wand in front of them, "Stop it right now! If Lord Vaati sees this he will have all three of our heads! I know I'm the one in charge around here, but by the goddess these monsters are down right unmanageable!"
Upon hearing his voice, the two Armos instantly stopped what they were doing and jumped back to their original places.
With that, the wizzrobe huffed and walked off in the direction of the kitchen. In the kitchen, there was a lovely smell of an arrangement of different foods. Who makes the food? Monsters.
Yes, that's right, monsters.
There were huge pots and pans hanging from the ceiling, two darknuts could be seen pinching the right amount of salt and spice into a pot of steaming stew. One Keese flew by overhead, accidentally knocking into one of the darknuts helmets.
Immediately it reacted and pushed the other darknut over. It got back up, wiped itself off, then took the bottle of salt, and poured the entire bottle down the other darknuts helmet. It cried out and stumbled backward, reaching for whatever bottle it could find to throw at the other darknut. Then the wide doors were suddenly thrown open, and in came a very displeased wizzrobe.
He rushed to the source of the sound... to find a complete mess in the kitchen...and two darknuts fighting over... food? The two darknuts looked from him to each other, then wildly began pointing at each other over who started it. The purple robbed wizzrobe could feel his eyes rolling to the back of his skull, that's the last time he leaves darknuts to get the damn job right!
Then he notices a dozen keese flying overhead, in the kitchen?! "Enough, that's it, you two would make better stone decorations than do a simple job that you're asked to do." He looked up and see the keese flying and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I have no choice but to inform Lord Vaati about this." The wizzrobe tutted.
Just then, a pair of heels could be heard clicking against the marble floor, making their way in his general. Robbie quickly turned around, "Ah, Lena! You wouldn't beilive what I've just been subjected to witness-"
The steps stopped in front of them, Lena gave an exasperated sigh, "It's the monsters again, right?"
She continued to walk past Robbie, leaving him to follow after her.
"W-well yes, that too. I had to interrogate some unruly armos back there, the lot of them. Also there more-"
"Armos? those are one of our best! I think we have a serious problem here." Lena huffed, impatiently cutting Robbie off.
They made their way around a corner, "That I have to agree certainly, there has been an incredible degree of insubordination among the monsters. P-erhaps master Gilard could give us a hand?-" Robbie caught up.
The pair stopped in front of the grande porte that led to the kitchens. Lena looked back at Robbie, her eyebrows scrunching up, "You don't mean to tell me?"
Robbie only twiddled him thumbs, "Go ahead, see for yourself."
The doors were thrown open and they were both assualted by an onslaught of flying keese. Both Lena and Robbie ducked as keese flew by them and out into the halls.
Lena managed to blast some with her magic, her palms glowing yellow, "Your right, this needs to be reported to Gilard quickly!"
Robbie stuttered on his words before speaking, "Y-yes Lady Lena!" With that, he scurried off.
The sorceress pinched the bridge of her nose, annoyance building to the surface. These keese were beginning to drive her mad! not only did she not know where or how they were let in, but she were at least sure it had something to do with the negligence of the palace.
She stood up from her spot and began to make her way out, she would have to report this to Lord Vaati soon...
As Robbie quickly made his way down the halls, he noticed a feminine tune coming from somewhere in the nearby corridors. Who could that be? Surely there could be no other soul in this palace? and if so, they surely couldn't be human!
His curiosity getting the best of him, he slowly starts following the humming. He may have had an urgent message to deliver, but it could wait at least for now. He's lead to a door tucked away in the furthest corner, Robbie gently puts his ear to the door. It sounded like a living person was in there!
He peaks his head in, just enough for his single eye to spot a human girl swaying in an old fashioned dress. She sang a familiar tune, soft and nostalgic, it sounded like a lullaby.
The girl then stopped swaying, she seemed to stare at the mirror for a moment longer. Then her eyes suddenly grew big and she let out a loud yelp, stumbling over in the long dress.
Robbie gasped in return, "Oh my!"
Lily had her hand over her mouth, seemingly frozen in place. She had not expected to be walked in on, by a...She couldn't guess what that was! It had two yellow glowing eyes, it's head covered by a hood.
"St-stay back!, stay where you are." Lily managed to speak, despite the awkwardness of the situation.
The purple clothed wizzrobe stopped in his tracks, his head shaking frantically, "No no no! This can't be! If Lord Vaati finds out there is a human here, he'll..." He trailed off.
Wait a minute.
He surveyed the girl closely, ah yes, he remembered now. This must have been the princess Lord Vaati had mentioned earlier. He silently cursed his weak memory. He quickly straightened up and regained his composure.
"Excuse me, but allow me to introduce myself. My name is Robbie, intermediate wizzrobe. I am terribly sorry for the intrusion." He said.
Lily looked at the 'wizzrobe', her shoulders relaxing a bit. He didn't look threatening, she assumed.
"I-It's nice to meet you Robbie, how did you find me?" Lily asked, then she mentally slapped herself. She must have gotten carried away with her singing.
She surveyed Robbie, then a thought came to her. He must be with Vaati! was he here to bring her to him?
The wizzrobe seem to read her expression and threw his hands up in submission, "Oh no, I am not here to collect you, pardon. I was drawn here by that curious tune I heard. If you don't mind me asking, what was the name of it?"
Lily had to ponder that question for a moment, she had heard Elisa sing it to her when she was little. She vaguely remembers calling it, 'Zelda's lullaby'.
Robbie tilted his head, "Forgive me for asking such a personal question, it was very lovely. I simply couldn't pass it up!" He exclaimed.
Lily blushed a bit, lovely? she had never heard someone call it that. Well, not that anyone ever heard that tune before. Elisa had always told her that it was actually an old royal family lullaby, passed down from generation to generation. She had to admit, she had no idea why Elisa sang it to her.
"It's called 'Zelda's lullaby'. It was sung to me as a baby." Lily softly spoke.
Robbie's glowing yellow eye's fluttered, his hands clasped together, "Even the name sounds lovely! that was the most beautiful song I've heard yet." he said meaningfully.
Lily felt herself smile, she didn't know why but hearing that warmed her heart, if only a little.
"Yes, I guess it is." She said to herself.
The purple robbed wizzrobe suddenly jumped up, as if remembering something,"Oh! how terribly rude of me. I haven't gotten the pleasure of knowing your name yet?"
"My name's Lily."
As soon as she said that, a sound that sounded like a loud crash was heard outside the room and down the halls. Robbie winced and frantically looked behind him, before sighing.
"Oh dear, it looks like one of the Armos is acting out again. Excuse me, Lady lily, I shall go see it at once!" Robbie exclaimed, he began hurrying out of the room.
Lily was once again left alone, she wondered who that might be? and if there were other intelligent creatures in the castle. She really wanted to leave this room and explore the palace! Lily thought about breaking the mage's command to not leave this room, but she just couldn't risk it.
She turned around and started in the mirror, completely forgetting she had this old dress on.
"I should take this off..."
Somewhere on a balcony, outside of the palace des portes, Vaati stood by the ledge, gazing out below the clouds that floated by. A breeze harshly blew by, blowing his hair and cape in the wind. He inhaled deeply, feeling the strength of his power course through his veins. Step one in his plan had been set in motion, now, all he had to do was wait until the time was right, to strike Hyrule along with its pathetic excuse for a King. Yes, with the help of the princess, he would regain his true power and take over Hyrule.
He could picture it now, the kingdom below made his own. The history of the royal family would be no more, and it's place, a new bloodline would prosper.
"Pardon, Master Vaati." A voice was heard behind him. He already knew who it was, without turning he answered, "Speak."
Lena stood up, she addressed him, "I ran into a little problem just now in the kitchens. There has been more keese seen in the palace, a numerous amount. On top of that, Robbie had a little mishap with some Armos earlier, they seem to be getting out of hand lately."
Vaati raised an eyebrow, a mishap? No, he wasn't surprised anymore. There was chaos to be expected after all, the palace has just been revived not long ago.
He turned around, seeing the yellow garbed sorceress up close. She looked like a normal human woman, with golden amber eyes, and raven hair that stopped at her shoulders. Before he brought her to the palace some time ago, he had taken her under his wing when she was just a child. Raising her to be the skilled sorcerer she was today.
"I see, I assume Robbie is on his way to inform Gilard?" The mage, asked. Lena nodded.
He continued, "Well then, as for the monsters I will send some down to him as well to be retrained. If this act of insubordination continues, I will have to rid them all myself."
Lena hesitated a little, she decided to tread carefully on her words, "I understand, I'll stay here and watch over the rest of the sentry." She said, turning to leave.
Vaati raised his hand, stopping her, "That will not be necessary Lena, you may join the others down below for now. You have done well with your duties in the palace, however tonight I will not need your presence here."
He went and turned around to stare at the clouds, his eyes focused, "I will be hosting a special welcome for our new guest, her coming arrival that has been long awaited." He said.
Lena's eyes widened, no, he must be talking about...
"Master, are you talking about?..." She implored.
Vaati closed his eyes, "Yes, the light holder. Her power is within my grasp now." He gripped the rail tightly, the wind began to pick up around him.
Lena looked up at the skies above them, she could see the darkening of the clouds even in the dark of night. The funnel clouds were gathering as a result of the tension surrounding the mage. Lena always felt a little nervous when the weather changed according to his demand, it meant something bad was about to happen soon.
"Even now, with her presence being here. I can feel the essence of her power leaking from her like smoke, her aura shines full of it." The mage said, lamenting on the thought.
Lena thought it would be best to take her leave now, she knew better not to linger around longer when the mage was like this.
"Very well then, Master. I'll head down and join Robbie and Gilard." The sorceress said, then turned around and left the mage to himself.
Vaati opened his eyes, Ah, yes, dinner was starting soon.
He held out his hand, and it materialized a sentry, "Bring the girl to the dining hall, I will be heading there myself." He said.
The sentry blinked and nodded, it then flew off into the palace.
Lily was laying on her back in the bed, she was staring at the ceiling. She wasn't thinking of anything in particular, when suddenly a winged eyeball appeared, in front of her. She yelped, and nearly fell of the bed.
The sentry before her only blinked at her reaction, before responding, "Master Vaati has requested your presence to join him in the dining hall. Follow me."
Lily sat upright, she was to join him for dinner?
She stood up and followed the sentry out of the room. Lily stared at the flying eyeball in front of her, what a curious creature it was. She's never seen something like it before.
They headed down a hall that led to two big doors, when they were in front of it, the doors began to open. Lily followed the sentry into the dining hall, where she saw a long table. At the end of the table, the mage. Her heart quickened a little when she saw him. He looked over at her and smiled, he stood, addressing her.
Ah, Lily, have a seat, your just in time."
Obliging, Lily took a seat at the other end of the table. Just as she took a seat, a door slammed open, and out of it, monsters were carrying food.
Lily silently watches them as they gently set all the plates with food down. she cleared her throat, "This is, a lot. Are you sure it's only for us?"
Vaati picked up his glass of wine, an amused chuckle escapes from his lips. "Of course not, did you think I would let all this food go to waste? No, my dear girl, these monsters are going to be joining us tonight." He sips his wine, watching as her jaw practically hits the floor.
He can't be serious? Oh, but he was indeed right, his 'servants' sat down and began picking their plates.
Vaati then stands up, his drink in his right hand and lifted, "Shall we all make a toast to our new and lovely guest?".
Then on cue, all of them clinked their glasses together, some able to make a successful toast, others glasses shattered at the forceful impact. Lily stared at the plate in front of her, expecting to see an unappetizing mess, it surprisingly looked gourmet. Then she looked up at his 'servants', they were all cutting away at their using tableware and gracefully sipping teacups, practically with their pinkies out, well, those that had pinkies anyway.
She half expected them all to just claw away at their foods ravenously. Lily wouldn't lie to say she was a little amused by all this, she grabbed her spoon and began to eat.
As she finished her food, she took a sip of the wine, Lily nearly dropped the glass as she heard two plates crash together. She looked up to see a rather comical scenario.
A tall helmed creature was holding a plate of chocolate cake and on the other end a smaller creature holding onto the plate for dear life. Lily nearly spit out the drink as she watched the scene in front of her, Vaati, on the other hand, did not seem amused at all.
His eye twitched and a small thin-lipped smile formed on his face. "Whoever is closest to the plate, gets it, no exceptions.", he said, his hands folded underneath his chin, watching them.
Finally, the helmed creature gave a final hard tug, and with a triumph 'hmph', got the piece of cake. The smaller creature, however, stumbled forward and fell face-first into a bowl of stew.
A small silence followed after, followed by a chorus of laughter that fills the room.
"That's enough!"
All laughter was instantly gone in the room, there was a pregnant pause. Vaati stood up, a displeased scowl on his face. "All of you, dinner is over, clean up everything and get back to your positions."
Every monster in the room quickly grabbed all the plates and tableware and hurried out the hall. Lily took this as her chance to hurry out of there and leave before the mage turned his attention to her.
She picked up her skirts and ran as far as she could until she ran out of breath of course. Lily stopped behind a pillar to catch her breath, sliding to the ground.
As soon as she caught her breath, Lily slowly stood up. She appeared to be in a courtyard, She stepped on the grass, looking at the giant moon that hung overhead and illuminated against the strange stone statues that stood in the garden.
Great, now she was lost.
Lily stared at her surroundings in awe, she had blindly run in a random direction and now she was lost. Lily slowly walked onto the grass and observed the area. All around her, there were these strange stone statues of people. Men and women. They all seemed to have terrified expressions on their faces. Some of them appeared to be guards, some looked to be of high status, and others looked like some hand ladies.
Who were these people? Lily put her hand against a statue, feeling the cold stone beneath her skin.
"Chilling, is it not?"
Lily froze as she heard his voice behind her, she spun around to see Vaati leaned against a pillar, his arms crossed and his eyes surveying her.
"W-what are these?" Lily had the courage to ask, she looked back at the statues. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something about them seemed...Alive?
"These my dear, are simply prized collections. They are nothing more, and nothing less." Vaati spoke, moving towards the statues to look at them himself.
Prized collections? Lily wondered what he meant by that. She turned to him, "They seem so real though..." She trailed off.
He smirked at her comment and turned to her, "Yes, they seemed to have piqued that curious mind of yours. Come, there is still more to see around the palace." He outstretched his hand to her, motioning her to take it.
She stared at it for a moment before taking it, her cheeks flushing pink upon feeling contact with his hand. Lily briefly met his eyes, finding an unusual sense of safety and protection in them. Though she could have just been imagining it.
He led them through the crowd of statues, Lily kept her head down while passing through. She felt greatly unsettled by the statues around them, they felt as though they were still alive...
They made it through the statue cemetery and entered through two doors that led to another courtyard. Upon entering, Lily set her eyes on a beautiful water fountain that sat in the middle of the sanctuary. It's white marble exterior glistening from the water and moonlight beaming off of it. There seemed to be a mist like steam floating in front of it, making it seem like a mirage out of a dream.
This place was utterly gorgeous, complete with Hydrangea, Chrysanthemum, Carnation, and Iris. They all surrounded the fountain, creating a picturesque portrait of an otherwordly realm.
As they moved closer to the fountain, she could smell the waft of fresh water mixed with the flowers engulfing her senses. That's when the mage's voice interrupted her thoughts, "This is the Sanctuary of rest. It is given that name due to it's tranquil atmosphere, you can always come here to ease yourself from palace affairs."
As he said, a floating bubble flew near them. A soft melodic tune came from it as it appeared to be the one singing. Vaati laid his hand out and the bubble gently floated down, obeying it's masters command.
Suddenly, dozens of other bubbles appeared out of the bushes and flowers. Their voices sing a sleepy lullaby tune, fit for the nighttime. Lily stared at them in awe and wonder, these bubbles seemed to have come out of nowhere. She reached out her hand as well at one of the flying bubbles, without hesitation it flew down to sit on her hand. Lily smiled, enchanted by the tune it sung for her.
Vaati chuckled, he released the bubble and sent it off to float among the others. He watched Lily's adorable reactions, how her mouth hung slightly open and how her eyes seemed to sparkle.
At this point they were directly under the fountain, and the mage found himself unable to tear his eyes away from her. He found himself becoming more captivated by her, and it was beginning to grow difficult to control himself by the moment.
Noticing the sudden silence, Lily snapped out of her trance on the bubbly and let it go. She glanced up at the mage, taken aback by his intense staring. She began to feel uncomfortable under his gaze, she felt as though he were picking her apart underneath a spectacle.
"Uhm, Lord Vaati?" Lily spoke quietly, trying to divert his attention.
With calculated steps he drew closer to her. His eyes never leaving hers. On instinct she took a step back, Lily didn't know if she somehow upset the mage or not, but she was beginning to grow fearful now.
In one swift motion, he grabbed her wrist, catching her in place. Lily yelped, her heart began to quicken as she began to struggle. However this only made him tighten his grip.
"Enough of that, it is useless to fight against me. Let me see you." Vaati said, bringing the struggling girl to him.
Lily gave up struggling and reluctantly fell limp in the mage's arms, though her head fell to the side and her eyes shut. She didn't want to allow herself to look at him.
Vaati could feel the princess light force greatly now from this proximity, it was like a beacon that called out to him, constantly searching for its owner. He was beginning to loose the internal battle of taking it right here, taking her right here.
He grabbed a hold of her chin, "Look at me, Lily."
Lily felt her head spinning, slowly she peered her eyes open to meet his gaze. She saw that his eyes remained calculated, patient even, but something behind them seem to cave with hunger.
His hand began to trace her jawline, to her cheeks, and lastly the corner of her lips.
Finally, he leaned down and kissed her.