Private Tales The Lost Princess and The Exiled Prince

[Arun]

He frowned for a brief moment.

That thought was rather...concerning. He had not considered it a possibility that the Fae here in the Falwood would be able to feel Maeve. It made him feel uneasy. Not because he was particularly worried about them coming here, but because of what else it could mean.

"Do you think the Fae here are connected to those upon your isle?" Arun had no idea if she could even know such a thing, but the question was a prudent one to ask.

Especially if they were going to be traveling through the Falwood.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve stretched her other leg out across his lap when her broken ribs began to protest at being cramped up for any longer. Her hand rested there as if she could push the bones back together herself as she moved, grimacing slightly with the painful moment.

"Yes," the word was a little clipped until the pain eased and she leaned her head back against the cushions, the tightness around her mouth the only evidence the pain still rolled through her. "All Fae are connected and seem to be able to sense one another. I think it has something to do with the Sight or maybe their Courts," she gave another small hiss and then finally seemed to find the right position to ease her pain.

"I doubt many will bother us from here, we're marked - Liath by Fiadh, me by Aed," she shrugged. "It's like a scent that marks us."

 

[Arun]

Arun glanced down at her leg for a brief moment, but didn't say anything. It seemed she was comfortable in touching, at least enough to be splayed out over his lap with one leg anyway.

"Mm." The Elf said in thought.

He did not like the idea of the Fae knowing where they were, it seemed a bad omen. Lips thinned for a second, but in truth it did not change much of anything. He was still going to help her, and he doubted even an army would change that.

Even now his word still meant something. It had to.

"If you say it won't be a problem, then I trust you." He still wished he knew more, but there was no helping that in the moment. "Either way, best we find you some iron sooner rather than later."

 

[Maeve]

"You will probably need some too," they all would.

It felt... nice knowing she had his trust. She didn't believe she had done anything to deserve it but it didn't change the warm feeling it caused in the pit of her stomach. She smiled and then grimaced as another sharp spike of pain went through her ribs.

"I don't suppose you have any more of that alcohol do you?" anything to numb the pain. Her back arched a little as she tried to get into any kind of position that would alleviate the pain. "Or... do you want to play another game?" anything to take her mind off the itch that was a sign her body was healing.

 

[Arun]

"I do." He said as he glanced towards the cabinet. There were three other bottles still behind the glass. "But if you have enough of that I'll begin to think you a lush."

It was a joke of course, he could well understand the pain she was in.

For a brief moment Arun watched her wiggle around, changing position every few seconds so that she could actually get comfortable. After a moment he softly touched her leg, shifting it just slightly before he wandered over to get another bottle of Oosqua as well as some cups.

"What sort of game?" He asked. "I'd have thought you'd be tired of losing at stones."

In reality she had won nearly half of their games, though by his count he was a few up.

 

[Maeve]

"What is a ... lush?" her voice was strained. What she didn't know was that her magic was currently working on herself, slowly seeking to mend the broken bones back together which was what was causing the extra discomfort. Perhaps if she did know she would have borne it better. She barely even registered him touching her leg to move it and once he left she stretched both feet out and lay flat on her back which went some way to helping.

Her arm was thrown across her face by the time he returned and her skin looked a little grey. Teeth marks peppered her arm where she had tried to hold in the agony. She did manage to bark a laugh out at his tease.

"Maybe when I have been around for another 200 years it will be you who is tired of losing. Do you play cards?" it would mean she wouldn't have to get up to see a board then too, which she was beginning to doubt her abilities of doing.

 

[Arun]

"A person who enjoys drinking alcohol to the point of excess." Arun explained patiently. "It was a joke."

He stepped back over to her, reaching out and gently pushing her legs to the side so that he could seat himself at least on the edge of the sofa. He didn't want to move or jostle her around too much, it seemed like she was in quite a bit of pain.

"Cards?" Arun considered a moment.

Cards wasn't really common among the Elves, at least not the ones he knew.

"No." He scratched his chin. "Dice?"

 

[Maeve]

"Oh," Maeve shifted her legs for him so he could sit back and when he was settled she stretched both legs across his lap. "That definition I believe in my language translates to 'human'," she threw him a pain-tinged smile then downed the cup he had given her earlier. She set it down on the side. An odd feeling overcame her and her hand rested on her stomach for a minute before she scrambled to her feet, cursing, and managed to get to the bathroom before she was sick.

It was as she was leaning against the wall that she began to notice the faint white glow coming from her sides that now seeped through the bandages and tunic. Another stab of pain shot through her as another rib snapped together and she pulled herself to the toilet before she threw up again.

If this was healing magic she didn't want it.

 

[Arun]

Arun blinked in shock as she suddenly rushed to her feet and began to vomit, the Elf standing up and raising a hand as his eyebrow arched in surprised.

"Umm." He frowned for a brief moment, wondering what the hell he was supposed to do in this situation. Gaze flickered to the familiar white glow beneath her bandages, lips quirking for just a second until she turned around and vomited once more.

"Oh dear." Arun said quietly as he stepped forward around the table. "Uh, are you alright, Maeve?"

It seemed a silly question, but he was not quite sure what else to say.

 

[Maeve]

"I hate magic," Maeve sat slumped back against the wall. Her breathing was uneven and she looked distinctly grey as she wrapped her arms about her ribs as if she could protect them from her own gift. It was like her body didn't have enough energy to do the job fully and the magic swirled in annoyance at the remaining few broken ribs it couldn't fix serving to only make her more nauseous.

"Do you have any water...?" alcohol seemed to be out of the question whilst her body was doing what it was doing. "Have you ever seen anything else like this?"

 

[Arun]

He frowned for a brief few moments as he walked over towards the sink and began to pour a cup of water. The Elf was rather thankful for magic in that moment. "I have a guess."

Arun said as he slowly walked back towards her.

His fingers tightened for a moment as he squatted down besides her, looking at her for a few seconds as if inspecting.

"May I?" Arun asked as he offered her the water but also reached out a hand towards her forehead. "I think you magic may simply be draining too much from you while also trying to continue it's work."

The Elf spoke softly. "Self healing can be...difficult especially."

 

[Maeve]

Maeve took the glass with a slight tremor to her hand and then gulped it down greedily like she had been trekking in the hot desert sands for days. She nodded weakly to his question and when he skin touched her forehead he would feel it burning up at an alarming rate.

"I can't get it to stop," her voice already sounded parched again and her eyes flickered shut. The glow beneath the bandages grew brighter and another spasm of pain shot through her. There was an audible noise this time as another rib reset itself and she slammed her fist into the ground in her anguish.

"I need it to stop," she was beginning to feel light headed.

 

[Arun]

He frowned.

It seemed that the magic was taking whatever energy it could, driving through her in order to heal her body. There was no control to it, nothing she was doing that would make it stop it's progress. A frown pulled over his features, his hand gently resting on her forehead.

For a moment he considered, then tilted his head. "Do you trust me?"

Arun asked softly.

He did not know the answer. They had met not even a week ago, and before that she had been held by his kin in the jungles. He had been kind, but perhaps it would not be enough. He would have understood, but he saw no other way forward.

 

[Maeve]

Do you trust me?

"Yes," there was no hesitation as she opened her eyes and rested them on him for a long moment. She wondered how she could trust him, what made her answer so unflinchingly so so quickly. He had saved her life and been kind yes but he seemed to be the odd one out of all the other elves she had met and who was to say this wasn't just another, longer trick? But all those doubts felt wrong in her mind. Arun wasn't going to betray her. At least not here and not right now.

"Yes, I trust you," her eyes shut once more as she sucked in a breath through another wrack of pain.

 

[Arun]

"Take my hand." He told her as he scooped up her palm, letting the cup of water fall onto the floor.

His other hand remained on her forehead, and slowly he closed his eyes.

Arun was not a sorcerer. He did not have the strength of his mother nor the talent of his sister, but he knew enough of the craft to do what he was about to. A breath slowly flowed into his lungs, eyes closing as he said a slow few words.

She would feel a sudden lurch in her chest, like something was being wrapped around her, and then a tightness as he bound them together.

It would only last a short while, not even a day, but the spell was there. "There."

She would feel the pain ease, and for Arun it would increase. The weight of her magic would fall upon him, not her.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve squeezed his hand hard as the pain grew and grew until....

Her body slumped in relief as it sudden dissipated. If she had known what he had done she probably would have protested but as she did not all she could do was breathe out in a rush. The final rib snapped back into place and after a brief spasm she felt a warm feeling spread through her body like a hot balm. The light slowly began to fade and then ceased altogether.

Her skin was still clammy but even as his hand rested there it would begin to cool.

"I think... that's all my internal injuries healed," she laughed weakly.

 

[Arun]

The amount of energy it took to heal herself was enormous, far more than Arun ever would have guessed.

His people were more hearty than Humanity. It was said that a man would die a hundred times before an Elf could, but as he felt the weight of her magic he could understand why her body had tried to reject it all so violently.

Arun's head spun a little, feeling woozy as he tried to fight the slow draw of energy that came from his core. When she spoke it seemed to snap him awake, his hand suddenly pulling away from her head.

"Good." He breathed, the word nearly catching as he struggled to pull himself together.

Was all of their magic this...brutal?

 

[Maeve]

The last of the light disappeared and let both of them suddenly. Maeve breathed out a sigh of relief and then glanced over to him with a small frown.

"Are you ok?" he looked... startled and sick himself. Almost as bad as she had a few moments ago though she expected she looked a lot worse. Carefully she set the glass of water upright where it had spilled in the urgency of the matter. She wondered what had possessed it to start suddenly on trying to fix her.

Lightning lit up the room again.

"I think... I might go lay down," her head felt stuffed with wool. "Is magic always like this?"

 

[Arun]

"Yo-" Arun suddenly fell back onto his behind, flopping slightly onto the ground as he lost his balance.

A hand came up to touch his head, fingers running through his hair as he blinked a few times and tried to grab ahold of himself. Her magic had truly taken it's toll on him. Just how brutal had her own healing of him been on her?

Lips thinned.

"Yours may be." Arun said as he breathed softly. "I've never quite uhh."

Another deep breath. "Never quite experienced the sort."

He felt tired, his eyes half-lidded as he looked at her.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve blinked then couldn't help the laugh that escaped her when he fell backwards. It was a pathetic sound, weak, tired, but it was happy enough and no longer laboured with pain.

"You are probably still getting over the healing too," she had meant of course his healing, not hers. Though his words made her wonder what exactly he had done to help ease her magic. Had he given her energy? She hoped not too much. With considerable effort she managed to push herself up to her feet and then tugged at his hand, trying to get him to stand too.

"Bed, for you too. Healers orders."

 

[Arun]

It felt like his body weighed a thousand times what he should have. As she tugged on his hand he felt almost like he was being pulled by a fly.

He smiled up at her for a moment, a weary sort of smile that told she likely could not have drawn him up in a hundred years if he hadn't wanted to. After a moment though he let out a loud sigh, slowly using her weight to balance himself out and pull him up.

"Yes." He said quietly.

Perhaps it was time for bed.

It seemed an odd thing to think about. Before he'd met Maeve he had not slept in a century, now he would do it two nights in a row. "Perhaps that's a good idea."

He agreed softly.

 

[Maeve]

"I sometimes have those," they were rare and fleeting things for certain but she did still have them. After a moments hesitation she twined her fingers with his despite the nervous set of her jaw and then led him back towards the bedroom. She was lost in thoughts about the magic she had just experienced. Healing Arun had nearly destroyed her and most of those had just been little cuts. It seemed healing bones was a whole other ballpark which was good to know, she guessed. Less good that she hadn't actually tried to heal herself and it had done it anyway.

Or was that part of the Fae magic? The promise that nothing natural would kill her?

She had so many questions.

When Mae got to the bedroom she slowly let go of his hand and then crawled into bed. The storm outside was still raging but it was oddly comforting and made the bed feel more snug.

"What did you do back there to make the pain go away?" she laid on her side so she could watch his expression still, her face half lost in the pillow.

 

[Arun]

Arun lay himself down in the bed, feeling about as weary as he ever had. There was a heavy weight on his shoulders, and he found himself closing his eyes even as she asked her question. It seemed a strange thing to him, to be this tired.

Even when he had returned from his massacre of the Tribals he had not felt this...drained. Exhaustion had been there, but this feeling was entirely different.

"I bound us together." He said softly. "For a short while."

The knot would likely come undone sometime in the middle of the night. "So that your magic could take from me instead of you."

Arun yawned.

 

[Maeve]

"Oh," Maeve frowned a little but she was too tired to really think more on the matter aside from an uneasiness about just how demanding it was if it reduced him to this level of exhaustion too. A worry for another time when she had to use it again or it just used her, apparently.

"I'm sorry," she yawned. It seemed right to apologise for her magic making him so tired though it had been him who had made the decision to do so. She wouldn't dismiss such an act of kindness. "But... thank you," she wasn't sure where it would have started trying to take energy from next.

She snuggled further down into the bedding and then closed her eyes and fell into the deepest sleep she had had in months.

 

[Arun]

"It's alright." Arun said as another yawn pulled from his lips. "Though your magic is quite bar-"

He cut himself off as he noticed a small snore echoing from the opposite side of the bed. A smile touched his lips for a brief moment, and then he shifted his weight and let out a small sigh as he got comfortable. It seemed odd to sleep in his bed once more, but there was a peace to it.

Arun would have been lying if he'd said he didn't enjoy her being there too.

Dawn came quickly, at least he felt like it did. The storm still lingered in the air, though it was no longer the raging torrent of thunder that it had been the night before. Instead the soft patter of raindrops fell on the roof of the little tree-house as Arun awoke.