Private Tales Broken Compacts

[Cal]

Cal gently reached up and grasped her chin.

His eyes met hers, and for a few moments he simply lost himself within her gaze. Thumb slowly stroked over her cheek, his touch light and delicate. A breath filled his lungs, and then he leaned in to softly kiss her.

It was the only response he could give her. It said more than any word he might have given her, any reassurance or statement in kind. His lips took her completely, softly caressing and drawing her in as his other arm wrapped around her body and pulled her against him.

There was nothing else to say.

He did not know where his life would have been had he not found her sleeping in his home. He did not know what his days would have looked like or where he would have ended up.

Now?

Now his future was just as unsure, but he didn't care because she was at his side. "Let's make this city ours, if only for a day."

 

[Órlaith]

Órlaith beamed a bright smile at his words and nodded. They could afford that, a single day to explore, to enjoy one another, to pretend that they weren't being hunted down and forget about everything outside of this mountain. It seemed the city really was theirs for as long as they were here, and she'd try not to think about why everyone seemed to have left in a hurry.

She prepared some food for them and even helped herself to some of the wine before they set off to explore a little more, her fingers laced with his as they wandered the halls and corridors before they found a grand ballroom that looked untouched by whatever had shaken the city. Órlaith gaped at it, the high ceilings painted with the night sky, the chandeliers sparkling below it like stars. She imagined hundreds of guests in fine clothes, the music and chatter, the food and the dancing.

She cleared her throat and turned to smirk at him before looking away in feigned shyness.. "Aren't you going to ask me to dance?" she asked in amusement.

 

[Cal]

Cal smirked as his gaze dropped from the ceiling and fell to her.

"Well." He asked with a small smile, stepping over towards her and gently taking both of her hands.

There was a surprising...calm, in this city. He felt none of the urgency he had in the other steps of their journey, not of the press or lingering panic. Perhaps it was the two doors that separated them from the outside world, or perhaps it was the city itself.

The silence of it.

"Would you like you dance?" He asked as he softly kissed her. "My beautiful wife."

Cal said with a bright beaming smile.

 

[Órlaith]

Órlaith returned his kiss and reflected that smile back at him, a soft laugh as she dipped her chin and curtsied as best as she could.

"I would love to." she answered.."Though you may need to teach me." she smirked, letting him lead her onto the floor. She slid her hands up his chest to wrap around his neck, pushing all of her worries from her mind. Here, nothing else mattered. They were King and Queen of their own little world, and her chest tightened as she set her gaze on his face.

"If you're up to the challenge." she quirked a brow.

 

[Cal]

He smiled at her, gently tugging her close as they reached the center of the dance floor.

Though his family had fallen far before his birth, Cal had still been taught the facets of being a noble. He'd attended Gala's, parties, and all sorts of events in his life. Teaching someone to dance wasn't something he had done before, but how hard could it be.

His arms wrapped around her, one hand drawing over the small of her back and the other gently coaxing along her arm. "Okay, follow my steps."

Cal told her softly, his hand slipping into hers.

"Like..." A slow song began to thrum in his throat, the hum just loud enough for both of them to hear. "This."

He said as he began to lead in her a slow waltz.

 

[Órlaith]

Órlaith laughed softly as they began to move, looking down at their feet for a moment before she felt able to follow well enough without watching. She looked up at him instead, a beaming smile on her face, the sound he made reverberating through her bones and soothing her tension. Her eyes closed for a moment as she listened and moved along with him, her imagination filling the room with envious spectators.

"You're good at this.." she smiled as she opened her eyes on his face, the sight of his face robbing her of breath and causing her blood to warm slightly. "Why aren't you married already?..." she asked quietly and bit on her lip at the abruptness of the question. "I mean.. Not that I'm not happy that you're not I just, if I were normal I'd have dreamed of .." she laughed under her breath and dropped her gaze. "I just mean I figured that girls would've likely been fighting to get in line." she smirked.

 

[Cal]

Cal moved slowly across the dance floor, clutching Orlaith so she didn't falter even once.

It was a moment he wanted to savor, to hold close and have with her for the rest of his days. Even if they were short. His fingers tightened gently as they moved, slowly dancing across the floor in that swaying motion. The hum never left his throat, not until she asked her question.

He smiled and kissed her forehead. "Maybe it was never right."

There had been a few suitors, women that he'd chased, girls he'd, been interested in.

"Politics is...hard." Perhaps she didn't know. "Most noble families stayed away from us, me. My grandfather fought against much of the Council's policies, railed against...well your family on the streets."

Many had thought of him as a mad man. "We fell into destitution because of that, shame. I spent most of my life trying to claw our reputation back at the behest of my father."

He drew her closer.

"No father wanted his daughter to marry someone like me." Someone who might bring shame. "And I'm better for it."

Cal said quietly as he kissed her.

 

[Órlaith]

She hung on to every word, her brow furrowing slightly. She didn't know much about the ways of nobility and politics, all she knew was that people were cruel and that he was the only 'normal' one she'd known who wasn't. And yet, he was supposed to be one of the cruellest. She returned his kiss with a deep sigh in contentment, and rested her cheek against his chest as he slowly swayed with her.

"You see yourself as some failure, to your family and your city.. I just can't see how that can be true. You chose for yourself, to be a good man. They think that what they do is good, that they're protecting their people but they're not. We just wanted to be able to live freely and in peace, but because we were born with magic in our blood they think we're evil, when it's them who do the evil things. They make themselves the monsters without even realising it.." she frowned and looked up at him.

"They failed you. And you chose to save my life, and.." she paused, her mouth dry.

"And I'm sorry that I haven't told you already that I love you. I, don't know much about it, but I know that I couldn't live without you, not now. Even to think it, hurts.."

 

[Cal]

Cal felt a pang ring through his heart.

It was a feeling of anger, of love, of every color and range of emotion that a man could feel. On his worst of days he could hardly comprehend putting someone like Orlaith through the torture that those men had put her through.

She was so sweet, so kind, so very perfect. Even now she seemed to worry more about him than she did herself. His arms wrapped slowly around her, pulling her even closer and bringing their dance to a full stop. "There's nothing to apologize for."

He said with a soft brush of his lips against her forehead.

"I don't care about them." A fact that he found to be resoundingly true. "My family. Rhagos. Any of them."

Cal breathed. "You matter to me. And I..."

He trailed off as he gently grasped her chin and tipped her eyes up to meet his.

"Would save you a thousand times." Even if it cost him everything. Even if it cost him his life.

 

[Órlaith]

She smiled at the tender kiss to her head and allowed him to tilt her gaze toward him, his words causing her chest to tighten..

"I should've said so outside, when you told me that you loved me. I went over and over it in my mind, and I know that if anything had happened to you without you knowing that I felt the same I'd never have forgiven myself. So, I may not be very good at it, but I do." she laughed under her breath and stood up on her tiptoes to kiss him, her hands pressed to his chest with the intention of sharing her happiness with him.

She flinched as the back of her neck started to heat and her hands recoiled with a quiet gasp that quickly turned into a sigh of frustration. "I wish I could show you.." she murmured and rested her forehead against him.

 

[Cal]

"You do." Cal said softly.

He knew that she couldn't use her magic, that it was sealed away. It was another torture, another thing taken away from her along with everything else. The thought made him angry, and a wave of it flickered over him as he fought to compose himself.

A breath filled him, and after a few seconds he reached out to once again gently wrap himself around her. He drew her closer, took one hand into hers and let the other settle on her cheek.. "You don't need magic for that."

Cal assured her softly.

His thumb slowly stroked over her cheek, his gaze locked on hers.

"All you need." He began. "All we need, is this."

Cal kissed her. "Each other."

 

[Órlaith]

Órlaith beamed at his words, leaning into the affectionate touch and settling her hand over his to keep it there as she pressed a kiss into his palm. She nestled in against his chest and let her eyes close again, allowing him to gently sway her in this, her first ever dance.

She could feel the magic simmering under her skin as her emotions ran so high, it shone in the gold flecks of her hazel eyes as she looked back up at him after a while, a deep sigh tumbling from her lips. It was difficult to believe that this was her life, more believable in fact that it'd be some dream that she hadn't yet woken up from. She reached subconsciously to trail her fingertips along the underside of his jaw at the thought, and smiled. He was real. This was real.

"I think it's time you took your wife to bed." she smirked.

 

[Cal]

A small smirk touched his lips, mirroring hers. "You think so?"

For a brief moment he looked around the ball room, searching for a new door that they hadn't yet used. He found one eventually, and then suddenly before Orlaith could do anything about it she would feel his arms wrap around her.

In one quick swoop he picked her up, tugging her over his shoulder and practically scrambling across the dance floor in a comical run.

"We'll just..." Cal began as they crashed through an ornate set of double doors, his foot crashing against them to throw them open. "Have to find a bed."

His head twisted, half burying in her backside for a moment as he carried her forward and began to search room after room. The loud clattering of doors resounded through his laughter, until eventually he found what he was looking for.

It was an ornate room, half ransacked but with none of the scorch marks or other signs of battle. There was a large bed in the top center, and as he approached it Cal threw his 'wife' upon it.

 

[Órlaith]

She let out a scream as he picked her up, her laugh echoing throughout the ballroom and hallways as he searched for a bed to take her to.

When finally she hit a mattress she flopped back and chuckled, breathless from her laughter. She puffed her hair out of her face and grinned up at him, her head shaking slowly with amusement. "My hero." she sighed and sat up, biting on her lip as she reached to grip at his collar and pull him toward her.

 

[Cal]

His lips pressed against hers, widening in a grin as he slowly drew himself on top of her.

A thousand different fantasies he had never thought that his life would end up like this. He had never thought it would be possible to fall in love with a mage. He had never thought he would kill an inquisitor nor go on the run from the authorities.

He had never thought any of this could happen.

Yet here they were, laying on the bed of a King. His arms wrapped beneath her, his lips softly pressing against her in a slow and passionate kiss. "This palace is what you deserve."

He mused quietly.

"I'll have to find you one just like it on the other side." Wherever they ended up.

 

[Órlaith]

Órlaith let out a breath of a laugh at him and shook her head, her fingertips trailing over his stubbled jaw as she returned his kiss. "I've done nothing to deserve a palace. I don't care what we live in as long as its together. I want you. Nothing else." she whispered.

"Now, let's do the sex." she grinned and seized his lips again as she tore at his clothes.

 

[Cal]

Cal smirked against her lips, shaking his head.

The night was spent exploring each others bodies, intertwined and interlaced in luxury Orlaith had never been shown before. By the time dawn came, or rather, by the time that they awoke Cal found his love half wrapped around him, the heat of her body coursing over his.

His arms wrapped tightly around her form, fingers drawing over her skin. "Good morning."

Cal had no idea what time of day it was, but it seemed appropriate.

A certain silence hung within the room, within the city itself. The only sound was their breathing. Calm, quiet. A life that he could have lived for the rest of his days.

 

[Órlaith]

She never wanted to leave this place. Their place. She didn't care if she never saw the sky again, she'd never felt such peace and happiness than she did upon waking to the sight of his face and the rolling sound of his voice as his fingers caressed her skin.

She grinned sleepily and nuzzled in against him with a deep sigh, purring a soft 'good morning' in response as she kissed at his chest. One kiss trailed to another, and another, slow and gentle until she found his lips and her fingers ran into his hair.

It was when she'd been about to pull herself on top of him that the mountain around them seemed to shudder and a deep, booming sound caused her to freeze, her eyes fixing on his. It sounded again, and the crystals in the chandeliers twinkled above them, dust trickling down from a few cracks in the ceiling.

 

[Cal]

Cal froze with his hands on her hips, lips thinning for a brief moment as he watched the ceiling shudder slightly. "I think..."

Lips thinned.

"It's time to go." There was a pain in his voice. He had wanted days in this place. Weeks perhaps. There was no telling what that sound was, no saying if there had been an explosion or an earthquake...but he did not want to take any chances.

They were still being chased, and they both knew her father had a Long reach.

He leaned up, pressing a kiss to her lips to silence any worry that might flicker through her mind.

"Get dressed." Cal ordered softly. "Grab what you can, then we go."

He squeezed her gently. "We have a palace beyond the Spine to find."

They weren't being chased from their refuge. They were on their way of finding a home.

 

[Órlaith]

The kiss eased her slightly, and she smiled at his words, but she didn't need to be told twice. In an instant, she was out of bed, stumbling around as she pulled on her layers of clothes, though she couldn't help but notice how warm the air felt as she did so..

The mountain around them seemed to shudder again, the vibrations travelling along her bones, causing cracks in the walls and the chandelier on the ceiling to come crashing to the ground. She let out a gasp and reached for Cal's hand. "Let's go!"

 

[Cal]

His fingers wrapped around hers as he shouldered their things.

"Lets." He agreed with a nod of his head, glancing back for a moment before he tugged her towards one of the nightstands besides the bed. From it he plucked an odd-jeweled broach, likely left there in a panic.

"Memento." Cal said with a smile. "Don't want to forget out Kingdom."

He slipped the jewel into his pocket, and then rushed forward.

With Orlaith besides him Cal moved as quickly as they could. The two of them broke through the ball-room, rushing out another entrance and heading in the opposite direction from where they had come. The palace faded around them eventually, another gate passed through.

"There!" Cal shouted as they crossed a massive bridge that ran to the other side of the city.

He pointed, a huge gate standing near a mile away from them. "That's where we have to go."

His voice broke as the screeching sound of a Rhagosian Fell Drake echoed through the city.

 

[Órlaith]

"How could we ever?.." Órlaith asked hurriedly and tugged him back in the direction of the shuddering doorway. She held tight to his hand as they ran, leaping over debris and avoiding walls that crumbled before their eyes. She noted the scorch marks that ran the length of the street, the buildings to either side of it charred and burnt out. She had only just begun to wonder what had caused it when she heard the sound.

Her grip tightened on his hand and she let out a quiet whine in fear as she looked back over her shoulder, catching only the sight of behemoth wings before she set her sights back on the bridge. Now the empty city and scorch marks made sense, now she realised why these people had left in a hurry.

The screech rang out again, the sound painful in her ears, but she didn't dare look back again as she saw the bright orange flash of flame briefly light up the cavern, giving scope to its size. She heard the sound of structures falling, felt the rumble of it beneath her feet, it only made her run faster.

 

[Cal]

Cal twisted his neck just enough to see the Drake fly above them.

A quiet curse left his lips, head shaking in disbelief. He wondered why they wanted her so much, why they chased her so far. The Inquisition was thorough, they would go far, but this far?

They had already lost two of their Beasts, now a Drake?

Anyone else and they simply would have declared Orlaith dead. They would have told the people that she had either passed from the curse of her own magic or been killed at the center of a great battle. Yet her it seemed they would chase to the ends of the earth.

Cal grimaced, then gently tugged Orlaith into an alleyway as the drake swooped over head.

He pinned her softly against the wall as a brief flash of flame erupted overhead. It scoured the buildings, though did not burn the streets. As it lashed out a voice booked over head, erupting through the city.

"Orlaith! Your father calls you home. He promises you a better life. Cease this nonsense. Return to the monetary and the life of your companion will be spared!"

The voice echoed within the cavern.

 

[Órlaith]

Órlaith let out a gasp as she was pulled into the alleyway, her chest heaving with each panicked breath. She gripped hold of Cal's coat, her body jolting at the voice that called to her. She recognised it as Jared, an interrogator who worked for her father. She knew of his methods, and the fear in her eyes was clear.

He was lying, of course. Her life had been terrible, and she wasn't naive enough to believe that after the trouble she'd caused, including the death of one of their own, that her life would be made anything but worse. It was more likely that they'd make an example of her, and then snuff her out completely.

The mention of Cal's life however had her grip tightening on him. There was the briefest urge to hand herself over, but it was quickly expunged by doubt. He'd kill Cal and make her watch, or he'd drag him along to be made an example of along side her. They were both an embarrassment to their proud city, both vermin, both to be exterminated. Neither of them would live long in their hands.

She looked up the alleyway, searching for a place to hide, wondering if there was a way further underground. They had to make it to one of the tunnels out of here, a place the drake at least would be too large to follow.

 

[Cal]

Fuck.

Cal knew it was no doubt a lie, but the fact that this one took the time to even tell it told him something; he was likely a man of authority. It was an offer that no soldier would make, not when their orders were cut and dry.

He briefly glanced up, searching for the drake before shaking his head and taking a deep breath. "We'll move through the buildings."

They couldn't go out in the open, that thing would burn them alive. Moving through the buildings would be a hell of a lot slower, but it would also stop them from getting roasted alive. His hands slowly drew over her, a smile pulling across his lips.

"We'll make it." He promised, and then quickly pulled her away from the wall and darted through a doorway opposite where they had just been.