Fable - Ask Among Strangers

[Rosaline]

She took his hand and carefully slid out of the saddle, grunting quietly as he feet his the ground. Her free hand came to rest on Nil's chest, while the other loosely gripped his.

For now, it was quiet in the forest. The trees blocked any harsh wind. It was a good place to set up camp.

She started to step back with a shy smile, but she stopped herself short. Nil had risked everything to reach her, to get her away from Aguilar and Eldrin.

Without thinking about it, she suddenly stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Nil's shoulders, embracing him tightly.

"We're gonna be okay."

 

[Nil]

For a few moments he hesitated, then slowly wrapped his arms around her.

"We will." He was sure of it, though he couldn't have said why. If Aguilar slaughtered the elves both he and Rosaline would surely be hunted. Even if he didn't...he was sure that the King would come after them. The only real hope they had was that the Elf succeeded in his goal.

Still, even with the King dead things wouldn't be easy.

They only had the barest resources, no home, and no real idea of what was happening. All they had was each other, a bag of gold, and horse. A loyal horse, but how much did that add? He frowned for a moment, but decided once again to push those thoughts away.

Now wasn't the time. Instead he leaned in and took a deep breath, calming himself with her scent.

 

[Rosaline]

Rosaline was unsure how long the two of them stood in their little hollow, embracing one another. What she did know was that she missed the connection the moment they separated to make camp.

Though, truthfully, Nil did most of the work. Rosaline had spent her entire life in court, she'd never had to make a campfire nor set up a tent.

She didn't sit idly by, however, she helped wherever she could and she paid rapt attention to the tasks that she didn't know how to do herself. Rosaline refused to be more of a burden on Nil than she already was.

They decided not to light an open fire, worried that someone would be drawn to the flames. Instead, Nil had dug a hole and nestled the fire inside it with stones covering the dancing flames from prying eyes. It would be impossible to hide a fire outright, but the precautions helped.

Rosaline settled down next to the fire, patting the ground next to her as she looked up at Nil with a smile. "You've done enough... Come rest for awhile."

 

[Nil]

A sigh escaped him, his paranoia still clear from the way that he watched the trees.

It was a difficult feeling to shake. He wanted to make sure that Rosaline would be safe, that this escape of theirs actually held through. It wouldn't do any good if Aguilar's scouts fell upon them the moment that they relaxed.

He wouldn't allow her to be taken again.

For a brief moment more he remained standing, then listened to her beckoning. Grabbing his sword Nil made his way to sit beside her, lowering himself to the ground and placing the blade next to him just in case. The lower warmth of the fire washed over him and he gave a small sigh.

"We'll have to get you a horse of your own." He commented quietly.

 

[Rosaline]

"I don't mind walking tomorrow to give Pips a rest." She offered, picking at the food Nil had provided.

"I know you want to put as much space between us and them, but the only ones who know the direction we're heading is the elves. They don't have a reason to come after us."

She glanced to Nil with a small smile and then she tilted her head.

"The King doesn't know that you came to get me yet. So, try not to worry too much for now."

It was then she realized something.

Eldrin, Aguilar, her father... They all had ulterior motives in dealing with her. They'd all wanted something from her, to use her in someway.

But Nil sacrificed everything for her.

He stood nothing to gain by leaving his life behind to keep her safe.

A warmth filled her heart at the realization.

 

[Nil]

He frowned for a moment, remembering all the ways that Aguilar had to make someone talk. He would not wish that fate on his enemies, not even the worst of them. The King had always had a...loose sense of morality.

There was no doubt in Nil's mind that Aguilar could get the information if he wanted.

"It's my job to worry." Nil said with a soft smile. That was what he had been trained to do. He was a Royal Guard. He saw enemies on every corner and did his best to avoid a confrontation with them. He was a problem solver.

"But." He said slowly. "You're right. We'll go slower tomorrow."

Just to give pips a rest. Just to let him breath.

Then they would need to find her a horse too. "I'm going to keep you safe."

He told her quietly.

 

[Rosaline]

Rosaline smiled and she leaned over, pressing her forehead to Nil's as she closed her eyes. For a moment, she stayed just like that, enjoying the warmth of his presence and his scent.

"I'm safe so long as I'm with you.' she whispered, nuzzling just a hair closer.

Her mind was still a little hazy from her time with Eldrin, but she was thinking more clearly now at least.

 

[Nil]

Nil's cheeks colored again, a smile pulling across his lips that he couldn't have stopped even if he'd wanted to.

A breath flowed into his lungs, eyes closing for a moment as he simply allowed himself to revel within the small calm moment. There were few moments in his life like this. Moments where he sat back and simply...was himself.

It was rare, and he knew he had the enjoy it.

The coming days would be hard, but that didn't mean he had to worry about it now. Not in the moment. His hand gently folded, coming to rest on her thigh as he took in another deep breath and let himself relax.

At least for now.

He could take the time.

 

[Rosaline]

She placed her hand over the back of his, brushing her thumb against his skin in small circles. The connection between them was intimate, but neither of them rushed headlong into something more than enjoying the others presence.

For the first time, Rosaline didn't have to hide her emotions from herself and the world. It was just the two of them, hidden away in an ancient forest.

Nestled against him, with her forehead pressed to his, Rosaline finally understood -- she was in love with Nil.

A blush colored her cheeks but she didn't shy away from the Knight. She didn't have to hide herself anymore. At least, not with Nil.

"We should get some rest." She murmured quietly, even as she pulled herself a little closer to Nil.

 

[Nil]

His head nodded gently against hers. "We should."

Though the markings gave him more energy than the ordinary person, Nil was only a man. He could only go for so long and far before he was tired. Yet in that moment he felt more energy than he could have put into any words.

Lips thinned, and he took a breath as she pulled herself closer.

Nothing in his life had really prepared him for this. What to do now, what step to take, where to go. He felt his heart quietly beating in his chest. Lips thinned for a brief moment and he let his thumb slowly stroke across her skin.

It felt like time froze.

 

[Rosaline]

It was Rosaline who moved first, though she didn't pull away from him.

Instead, her head tilted ever so slightly to the side and she pressed a tender, loving kiss to Nil's lips. She didn't linger for long, not quite sure how the man would react.

A blush colored her cheeks as she leaned back slightly, running her fingers through her pink hair.

 

[Nil]

Nil felt his heart skip a beat.

His Queen had kissed her. Royalty. The woman he was supposed to protect, respect, hold as a pedestal over everything. It was scandal waiting to happen. He was nothing. A knight, but low-born and worse than that...an orphan.

There was no wealth, no estates. He had nothing. He wasn't worthy of her in the least, not on his best day. Certainly not on his worst.

Yet did any of that matter?

He had given up his position, forsaken his ties and walked away from his Knighthood. Did his name matter anymore? His title?

No.

None of it matter.

Without thinking muchabout it Nil leaned forward and caught Rosaline's lips once more, a deep impassioned kiss.

 

[Rosaline]

The second kiss stole her breath away. She quietly gasped against Nil's lips as he kissed her once more. A smile settled over her and she tilted her head to deepen the kiss.

Her heart was pounding in her chest. It felt like a dream.

She reached up with one hand, running her fingers along Nil's jawline and then through his dark hair.

It never crossed her mind that Nil was an orphan nor that he was a lowborn Knight. None of that mattered to her, it never did. All she wanted was him and the joy that he brought her.

She smiled shyly when they broke apart to catch their breath.

"I've... Been wanting to do that for awhile now." She murmured.

 

[Nil]

"Me too." Nil responded softly.

He was surprised that he meant it. Not because he didn't want it to be true. Not because he wasn't attracted to Rosaline, but because just a few hours before saying it out loud would have seen him executed within the hour of it's utterance.

The Young Knight seemed somewhat stunned.

His hand froze on her thigh, his thumb lingering as he wasn't entirely sure what to do next. He seemed almost paralyzed.

He had faced down Giants. Drakes. Armies. It was only now, here in this clearing that he felt himself be utterly paralyzed. Was it fear? Nerves? He had not a single clue, but he didn't move.

 

[Rosaline]

She tilted her head curiously to the side as Nil went still. Of course, this would be a monumental moment for the Knight. Not only had he just kissed his queen, but he openly admitted to having wanted to do so for quite some time.

Rosaline didn't want to pressure him further, she was just happy that the both of them had wanted the same thing.

There was no going back now.

"You okay?" She asked in a low whisper.

 

[Nil]

He nodded his head slowly. "I am."

Nil took a breath.

There were few times in his life where he had done what he'd wanted. His life had been a cacophony of misery, pain, training, and loyalty. He had never devoted himself to something he'd wanted. He had never managed to push for his own needs.

Perhaps a flaw in it of itself.

"I just..." He frowned. "Don't know what to do next."

Making his own decisions was more difficult than he would have guessed.

 

[Nil]

Rosaline

Life would never be the same.

It would never go back to what it was. It would never be what he had been told all of his life it would be. Yet Nil was entirely okay with that. For not even a second as the dawn came did he regret what he did, for not even a single breath did he have a moment of doubt.

Three little words she had uttered made it all worth it. In the face of that, in the face of that emotion nothing at all mattered to him.

Hands slowly floated over Rosaline as he held her close, the blanket that had covered them not quite enough to keep away some of the morning forest air. A breath filled his lungs as he allowed himself to relax. They would have to move soon, but they could take a few minutes.

Just a few minutes for her to sleep.

 

[Rosaline]

Rosaline had never before slept so peacefully.

Nestled in Nil's arms, she barely felt the chill of the cool mountain air. Her face was buried against Nil's chest, soaking in his comforting warmth. Though she couldn't sleep forever.

As the early morning sun started to filter through the trees, she stirred in Nil's embrace with a small moan in the back of her throat. Part of her didn't want to open her eyes, afraid to wake and realize that it had all just been dream.

It was his gentle touch that finally pulled her back into the waking world.

A soft, almost shy, smile spread across her lips as she lifted her head to meet Nil's gaze. In that moment she knew that she wanted to wake up next to him every morning for the rest of her life.

"I overslept..." She murmured blearily, noticing that the sun had already risen.

 

[Nil]

"It's alright." They were still lost in the forest, tucked away and hidden away from the world.

A part of him just wanted to stay there, cloaked in the woods. Yet he knew it wasn't possible. They still had to run, still had to move. They didn't know what happened with Aguilar, with the Elves or anyone else for that matter.

He pressed a kiss to her Temple. "We'll have to go soon though."

There was no pressure in his tone, yet he was still a Knight.

All he wanted to do was protect her, make sure that she was safe. The Forest would not help with that, not forever. He would do what he needed to do to make sure she would always be at his side.

 

[Rosaline]

"Where will we go?" She asked in a soft whisper, tucking her head back down beneath his jaw.

It wasn't that she was afraid, but she was worried what would happen once they found civilization again. She was still the Queen of Maricielo, the Princess of Telrio. People would seek to control her once more, to use her for their own power.

If that happened, it meant losing Nil.

Her hands tightened slightly, holding her beloved Knight closely. He'd shown her a part of life she hadn't truly known she was missing. Now that she had experienced the happiness she felt with Nil, she didn't want to let it go.

She refused to let it go.

 

[Nil]

He considered for a moment. "There are a few villages on the edge of the forest."

Nil thought that they would make a good stopping point at least.

"Technically part of the Kingdom, but far enough away that tax collectors and the like hardly ever go there." He knew that because they had been a problem before. Aguilar had thought about razing them before, calling them a hive for rebels, but he'd never gotten around to it.

"That'll be a good start." Nil said quietly."Then..."

What then? "Maybe Vel Anir or the Empire. Something further away."

Where no one would follow.

 

[Rosaline]

As much as she wanted to stay nestled against Nil beneath the warm blanket, she knew that they couldn't stay that way for long.

With a reluctant sigh, she slowly slipped free from his embrace and then set about cleaning up their small campsite.

They would have to walk quite a ways through the forest -- Pips was in need of a rest after his mad flight across the plains to reach the elves.




"We can figure out where to go once we reach the village. Right now... We don't have enough information. I don't want to rush I to a decision without all the facts." She explained as the two of them walked alongside the stallion.

They were keeping off the main road, sticking to the relative safety of the trees.

"If we're lucky... No one in the village will recognize me. We're rather far from the Capital, after all."

 

[Nil]

He nodded his head, it was good thinking. "Smart and beautiful."

Nil shot her a cheeky smile.

It was the first time he had made a comment like that, the first time that he had given himself the allowance to do so. Things were different now. She was still Queen, still a royal , and he was...well he didn't know what he was anymore.

Yet after what they had shared the night before things seemed more normal. Ordinary.

"I have enough coin to last us a while at least." He told her softly. "Not in the lap of luxury but...we'll get by."

Eventually perhaps he could find work, or something of the sort anyway. Though the only thing he'd ever done in his life was fight.

 

[Rosaline]

"You're not the only one that's full of surprises." She quipped back to the Knight with a playful wink.

Her hand slipped into his and she lightly nuzzled her cheek against his shoulder. She'd never been able to show such affection to someone, and she realized that she'd been starved of physical touch since coming to Maricielo.

"We'll make it work somehow. I don't need luxury to survive, Nil." She chuckled softly at his side and shook her head.

Her hand lightly squeezed his own to reassure him.

"We're just two refugees, trying to start over. People would get suspicious if we were able to buy entire towns."

 

[Nil]

Nil nodded his head. "Okay."

The Young Knight didn't hold any doubts. He had made the right decision. He had done the right thing. Whatever came next...well they would face that too. His hand softly squeezed hers, and then they continued to walk.

For most of the day they carried on small conversations.

Rosaline talked about her home, growing up. They spoke about Cortos, some of the things Nil had seen in foreign nations during the different campaigns. Their conversation flowed easily, smoothly. There was never much of a lull, and before he knew it the sun was starting to set.

The forest had slipped away from around them, trees thinning out and brush growing more and more common. As they came up a hill a small village came into view.

It was nestled into the bottom of a small valley, though calling it that was generous. There were about a dozen or so houses, three of them large enough to be Inns or something of the sort. "I think that's Yallur."

Nil said quietly as he watched some of the people below move around.