Private Tales The Broken Crown

[Alre Castielle]

"Always." Alre said as he opened his eyes and let his head tilt slightly to look at the Elf.

The clothing was the same local fare that he had seen other women well, though it displayed some the tattoos on her skin. He frowned for a moment, but decided it was not worth bringing up. There were other things that he had talk about.

Besides, it appeared Tattoos were common enough in this area anyway. "I've found a way to get us out of the city."

Probably.

"I sent a missive out, hopefully we'll get a reply tomorrow." His eyes closed again. "We have to be...careful."

The Prince said quietly.

 

[Mariana]

"Out of the city," she frowned and her hands fell to her hips. "Where we would go?" Fingers dragged through her curls, pushing them away from her face. Hand brushed across the exposed markings on her arm again. Irritatedly.

Her skin was absolutely...buzzing.

Fingers clenched at her sides as they fell away from her skin. Why was it...it was almost as if she needed. She gulped, face paling.

Oh no.

 

[Alre Castielle]

Alre closed his eyes again, not noticing Avery's alarm but rather focusing on her question. "There's a smaller town a few miles out."

He explained.

"Run by some sort of Amir." That was the title for Prince out here, though as far as he could tell anyone with enough coin could actually freely use the term without much of an issue from anyone else. "I think he'll take us in."

With a little bit of convincing anyway. "It should keep us moving, and away from this..."

He frowned for a moment, his head turning as he faced Avery.

"What?" He asked her in confusion.

 

[Mariana]

"I don't know," she grumbled. Averey. Night Court priestess. Calm, cool, collected, and patient.

Actually grumbled.

Fingers rubbed down the length of her arm again. "I can feel it building." Dark blue eyes snapped to his own. She could sense what was coming. Could feel the power she'd stolen from the book building. Perhaps just because it was adjusting to a new canvas. Maybe because it was mingling with her own magic. The one thing she did know was that if she couldn't find a release soon...

Bad things were about to happen.

"I need some space. How long would it take to get out of the city? I need to get out now."

 

[Alre Castielle]

Alre did a small amount of math in his head. "An hour?"

The young Prince said, though it was half a question. He was not entirely sure of Salitra yet. The city itself was rather expansive, and there was a large wall ringing the entirety of the place with only a few gates that he'd actually been able to observe.

He was not entirely sure if free passage was a thing or if they'd have to pay some sort of toll.

"I'm sure we can get out." He told her. "one way or another."

A shrug rolled over his shoulders. "But why?"

Alre was standing now, if only because he was somewhat concerned the Priestess was about to fall over and hit her head on something. He wasn't about to let her kill herself after everything he'd done to even get here here in the first place.

 

[Mariana]

"Just. Get me out," she breathed as if explaining labor pains to a man. That would be easier in this situation. She yanked the door open and stumbled out, mumbling an apology to their host and that they'd be back. The buzzing in her ears continued. The itching and roiling beneath her skin intensified.

She made it outside, some of the magic slipping free and as her foot hit the ground it rumbled. A crack appeared in the earth and it spread down the street in an angry snarl. And still she felt as though she was a damn holding back more that wanted out.

 

[Alre Castielle]

Alre rushed after the elf as fast as he could.

His steps carried him quickly out into the public street and just behind Avery as the earth cracked open."SHIT!"

The prince swore as he realized that the magic was bubbling forth from Avery. His lips thinned in an instant and he stepped forward to grab the woman. Panic pulled across his face and he tried to think of what to do, then remembered back to the Temple.

"Shit." He said as he reached out and grabbed Avery. "Sorry."

The apology came as he swung his fist to strike Avery in her face, hoping to knock her unconscious and stop the magic before it wrecked the entire neighborhood.

 

[Mariana]

She spun, barely feeling his hand on her arm as she faced him. Confusion painted in broad strokes on her face as he apologized. Why wasn't he getting a horse? Why wasn't he..."What're you...," she barely managed to get the words out between her concentration at keeping that bubbling and roiling power beneath her skin at bay.

THWACK.

Eyes squeezed closed. But as his fist buried itself into her skin, he'd find that it was like hitting a rock wall. Averey stumbled backward more out of shock than pain to herself as she felt more of the power release itself. She blinked unsure of what just happened. A protective shield? Perhaps the magic had temporarily hardened her skin.

But it still roiled to get out. She'd turn away from Alre and reach for one of the ponies tied up at the dilapidated inn across the street. Gritting her teeth, she'd haul herself up. She was shivering and hot. She knew she wouldn't be able to hold it much longer.

 

[Alre Castielle]

"Ow." Alre swore as he recoiled and shook out his hand.

He had not expected some kind of magical shield to suddenly appear and stop his blow. The last time all of this had happened was when Avery had already used her magic, she'd fallen into unconsciousness herself. It was clear now that if such wasn't the case the magic would defend her.

Damn it all.

Alre let out another curse as he turned to find Avery already on the run once again. His head bucked back for a moment and from his pocket he fished out a few coins. "Here."

The once King said as he tossed a handful of them towards a nearby man who was shouting towards Avery. A second later he grabbed the reigns of a nearby Horse and dragged himself into the saddle, quickly kicking the beasts haunches to launch himself in pursuit.

 

[Mariana]

Fingers squeezed into the horse’s mane. She hunched over it’s black neck, barely able to keep her eyes on the road. Whether the beast was well trained or it just sensed the magic roiling in its rider, it shot down the city streets toward the gates of its own volition. Averey didn’t even glance back at Alre. She just needed to...
get out.
Before it was too late.

people shouted as she passed. Some barely getting out of the way. Averey gritted her teeth but more cracks appeared on the ground beneath them. Ahead and behind.

“Move,” she breathed as she approached the outer gates. And much to the guard’s dismay, they would find the gates suddenly flung open and those blocking the passage pushed aside by an invisible hand. An invisible force.

 

[Alre Castielle]

Any chance of keeping a low profile was gone.

The people that Avery left in her wake weren't complete morons. Disappointingly, at least some of them would put two and two together. The magic that erupted from the Elven Priestess would be like a beacon, worse than that, it was like a trail of breadcrumbs.

All the gold in the world wouldn't stop that. "Shit shit shit."

Alre swore as he continued to follow after her, his head shooting back and forth as he watched more than a few guards call out for an alarm. He chased after the Priestess, urging on his mount to go faster and faster even as she broke through the gates.

What the fuck else was going to go wrong today?

 

[Mariana]

Her face burned. Her skin burned. Everything felt as if it was on fire.

But she was in the open now. Away from the streets and the city. Flying past the travelers coming toward the city. With a sharp tug on the reigns, she veered off the road and into the sands and rocks of the desert. Up one rise and down the other. Past the scorpions and tumbleweeds. Dust flew up behind her. Without waiting for the horse to slow, she pitched herself off the saddle.

Landing and rolling on the ground, she finally came to a stop lying on her back and screamed. Fingers digging into the ground beneath her. But the sudden splitting rumble of the earth cut off her scream as the lands began to shift and crack beneath her. Some re-forming. On a cloudless sky there were suddenly clouds rolling in. The wind whipped around her face. The rocks were moving and falling around her and a small part of her truly hoped to be crushed with them as the power unleashed itself, her tattooes burning and radiating with an ancient magic.

 

[Alre Castielle]

Alre very wisely decided not to follow Avery all the way.

The young Prince had seen before what would happen when the Priestess exploded with her magics, and he had absolutely no interest in getting caught up in the middle of it. So as she rode further and further into the dunes he pulled the reigns of his horse.

A storm brewed up above, his head turning slightly as the desert sands whipped back and forth. His eyes cast down towards Avery, watching as she tumbled from her horse and fell into the sands.

An angry sky began to scream, roil. "Fuck."

He said to himself with a scowl watching as his fingers tightened on his reigns. This was the power she had, what he could do with it...level a whole kingdom.

 

[Mariana]

The rocks landed around her with death-crushing thumps.

thud.

Thud.

THUD THUD.

The skies opened up with a yearful of rain that the region usually saw. It pelted down her her prone body as she took one more shuddering breath. And just as quickly, the earth stopped shaking. The rain stopped. The skies began to clear. The markings on her skin stopped buzzing.

And Averey closed her eyes, unable to move.

 

[Alre Castielle]

As quick as the storm came it was gone.

Alre stood upon the dune, utterly drenched and completely soaked as the clouds above slowly began to sort and ebb away as the sun beat down upon them. The desert sands around him were wet with rain, an odd sort of calm having formed in the landscape around him.

For a brief moment he remained standing where he was, lips thin, fingers tightly formed into a ball as he looked around. He could see Avery's form half slumped in the sands, but his head swiveled around to look back towards the city in the distance. He could just barely make out alarm bells, the sound a familiar one as Salitra called upon it's City Watch. Lips thinned. "Fuck."

The Prince swore quietly as he pulled himself down from his horse and grabbed the beasts reigns.

Quietly he lead the mount down the dune, moving quickly but never putting the creature at risk. It was a minute or two before he reached Avery, his steps careful as he quietly approached her. A deep sigh escaped him as he stepped to her, his hands slipping beneath her form and lifting her up.

"I'm going to need to find a way to control that." He murmured, remembering the court mages once talking about Mage Collars.

With a quiet grunt he put Avery onto the horse before once again grabbing the beasts reigns and leading it into the desert.

They couldn't go back to the city now.

 

[Mariana]

"I feel like I was run over by a thousand trolls," Averey groaned as she stirred on the horse. She rested forward, against the mane of a horse. He smelled distinctly like sunshine and burned sands. Deep blue eyes blinked against the bright light as she slowly sat straighter, hand not releasing its grip on the horse's neck.

But her skin was calm.

No buzzing.

No fire.

Eyes went to the familiar site of Alre, leading them deeper into the desert. She turned, looking behind them. If she squinted, she thought she could just make out the outline of the city in the distance.

"What're you...what are we going to do? We can't survive out here."

 

[Alre Castielle]

"We can't survive back there either, Thanks to you." The Prince countered almost immediately.

Luckily he had grabbed his pack before running out after Avery. He had a few rations in there, some water, and most importantly a good chunk of the gold that he had...liberated from the Temple. They would be able to make it a few days at least in the Desert on what he'd taken, but after that?

Avery was probably right. They would be burnt to a crisp and wish they'd been caught by whomever was chasing them.

"Entire city is in a squabble." He told her. "Alarms raised, watch alerted. Even if they don't arrest us, everyone knows your face."

At least something close to it. "It'd be a matter of days before your friends hunt us down."

 

[Mariana]

Averey swung her leg over the horse and dropped to the sand.

"Do you think I wanted this - any of this?" She didn't usually get angry but Alre somehow pulled it out of the priestess. "I didn't plan on running into you on the streets. I didn't plan on my other sisters getting murdered. For the power of this book," a hand motioned to the tattoos along her arms that disappeared behind her clothes.

"For what almost happened in the city." She remained planted in the sand as he continued to lead the horse onward. A shuddering breath.

"I'll go my own way. LIke you said, everyone saw my face. Not yours. So you're free." With that, she stubbornly, spun on her heal and began walking away from him.

 

[Alre Castielle]

"Too late for that." Alre said as he simply tugged on the horses reigns and began to guide the beast after Averey.

They had to head east in order to get out of the desert, at least if they wanted any chance of survival. They needed to find an oasis too, or at least something like it. There weren't many other places for fresh water in a place like this.

"People saw us together." He pointed out. "That family knows we were together."

Some of her things were still there. "Even if they don't find you, they'll find me and probably torture me to find out where you are."

His voice was even, low, but there was a hint of accusation to it still.

 

[Mariana]

A short huff. Small hands curled into tight fists at her side. A sharp look over her shoulder at the human following her.

"I'm sure you'll be fine handling yourself. It's what you've done all these years, right? Stop accusing me for your problems. They'd eventually forget about you. You are better on your own so leave me alone." She changed direction again, purposefully stomping faster. The sky was hot and the sands burned. She was hot, tired, and thirsty and in no mood to be around Alre and his thunderous mood.

 

[Alre Castielle]

Alre persisted. "I didn't say it was my problem."

The Priestess was right of course, he'd dealt with things like this for years. His Uncle had been sending assassins after him almost since the day of the coup. Things hadn't exactly been easy, and that was one of the reasons why she had found him the way he was.

Now there was opportunity.

With an ease to his step Alre continued to followed Averey. His legs were longer, his stride greater. Following after her was not that hard. Even the Horse did not seem to mind.

"It is yours though." He pointed out. "What are you going to do in the next city? Blow up a house?"

The Prince pressed.

 

[Mariana]

She whirled to face the human. Curly-auburn hair stuck messily to her pale skin but her eyes were lit like the fiery sun above them. "I know it's my problem," she hissed at him. "I'll figure something out. I felt this during our stay on the ship and I shouldn't have ignored it then. I almost killed many in the city and that's on me. Which, thank you very much for reminding me of my sins."

Hands came up to tug at her hair.

"Don't you understand? I'm tired of you blaming me for everything that's wrong in your life! I'm tired of your accusatory tone and your pessimistic attitude!" Voice rang out loudly across the desert sands as she huffed at the prince.

 

[Alre Castielle]

"I don't blame you for anything in my life. Just people like you." He stated simply, still persisting in his pursuit of her.

Perhaps he had been rather harsh to her, but we'll his circumstances sometimes called for that. It wasn't like he hadn't tried or done his best to at least keep her alive, though that too was for his own benefit.

Selfishness was a mark of his line, not that it justified anything.

"If the people like you had actually done something my father, mother, and sisters would still be alive." He said plainly. "I don't blame you for that, I just see the same inaction. The same pacifism. The same reckless journey for peace at all cost."

The Prince growled. "You have magic powerful enough to wipe away a city. Why not use it on the people chasing you? Why not save lives instead of putting them in danger?"

He argued.

 

[Mariana]

"It sounds very much like you do blame me for that," she said quietly as her temper continued to flare. He certainly knew how to say all the wrong things to provoke her. "People like me. People. Like. Me." Stepping swiftly forward she'd go to poke a sharp fingers against his chest.

"That's so insulting. You don't even know me. How about people like you? Quick to blame others for things that happen instead of taking responsibility. Selfish and self-serving. How about instead of looking inward so much you take a look around PRINCE. Look at others before yourself for a change."

Another sharp jab.

"Why don't you accept what happened to you was your uncle's fault. How about that?!"

 

[Alre Castielle]

Alre didn’t stop.

Arguing was something he had always done exceptionally well. Not because he was some great debater, not because he was some sort of master of the word, no. It was all because he was stupidly arrogant and stubborn. He did not give up simply because he could not fathom losing.

”I have accepted it.” He countered again, some of the indignation now entering his tone. ”That’s why I’m going to kill him.”

Eventually, once he figured out how.

That was half the reason he was still with her, half the reasons that he was putting up with all of this. She had magic, powerful magic, and that could be used for his own end. He wasn’t fool enough to say that out loud even now...but he did want to scream it. ”I’m going to put an end to it. Just like you should.”

Alre hissed at her.