Private Tales The Lost Princess and The Exiled Prince

[Arun]

"It seems the other...piece of me..." He knew that she did not like that terminology, but given this new revelation he did not know how else to put it.

"It is me." Just as she had suspected. "But it was malignant enough that my mother attempted to seal it away."

She had succeeded before the war, but the power he had used there...the magic and the blood had been enough to break the gate she'd put into place. "Much like an infectious disease I suppose."

He glanced at his right hand with a frown.

 

[Maeve]

Mae's lips pressed into a thin line as he explained. It frustrated her she couldn't read the words for herself to see if she could decipher some other meaning herself. Still, she ran her eyes over the page as if somehow she suddenly would be able to.

"And... now it isn't sealed?" she raised a slight brow and turned her eyes instead towards him. Her hand still rested over his and when he frowned at them she merely tightened her grip for a second in the hopes it would make him feel less alone.

"Do you want to reseal it?"

 

[Arun]

His head shook. "No."

He did not know if Maeve was correct about 'embracing' whatever darkside lurked within him, but he knew that using the spell once more would likely only make things worse. It had already failed once, and in truth Arun wasn't even really all that upset about the fact that it had been used at all.

What upset him was the fact that he had never been told.

"I did not consent to this." He said softly. "She never...asked me."

Lips thinned even further, and after a few seconds Maeve would recognize what might have been a deep hurting anguish on Arun's face.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve's face softened into one of sympathy and then, still being on her knees before him, she pushed herself forward and enveloped him in a tight hug. Her arms wrapped about his neck and pulled him in closed so that his face would be buried in her shoulder and hair.

"Parents do what they think is right for us," it was an explanation but not something to take away from the fact that what she had done was wrong. Her fingers stroked down his hair and his back in soothing small motions with her hand.

"I'm sorry Arun, this is not a nice way to discover such things."

 

[Arun]

Arun didn't quite know how to respond to the embrace. At first he simply stiffened, holding himself upright for a moment before eventually relaxing slightly in her arms.

Learning of what his mother had done was...jarring, and in the back of his mind he couldn't help but wonder if she had somehow made the problem...worse. There was no real telling of course, but now he would always wonder.

"I suppose it was the only way." He said quietly.

Had his father known? His brother? Anyone else at all?

Fingers tightened slightly, drawing up over Maeve's skin. What else had been kept from him?

 

[Maeve]

Maeve's hold tightened briefly at his words then relaxed but she didn't let him go. She didn't agree that it was the only way and she was surprised to find herself getting rather angry at this woman she didn't even know. How could you do that to your child?

"You're allowed to be angry and upset, Arun," she said softly after a moment, still keeping herself pressed to him until he made the move to get away. In truth, humans didn't have much else in the way of helping with emotional hurts. "I won't judge you for being either of those things," Gods only knew she had been the same when she had found out about her parents.

 

[Arun]

"I do not know how to feel." Arun said quietly. "I would have expected something like this from my father, but...it appears that he did not even know."

Not from the notes that his mother had left. She spoke of secrets, the ritual being conducted with only one other present. Lips thinned for a brief moment, and he wondered who the other was. Fingers tightened on Maeve's skin.

"Confronting her would have been the only way to really know, but...such a thing is not possible." After a few moments he drew back from her, though did not pull himself free of her grasp.

"I don't know." He repeated, clearly uncomfortable about the fact that he didn't know. "I have never understood what lurked inside, now...even less so."

How dangerous was he?

 

[Maeve]

"Arun, nothing lurks inside of you," her hands slid from about his neck to cup his cheeks when he drew back. Her thumb gently passed over the high cheekbones and she had to resist the urge to touch his ears which were so unusual to her still.

"People are afraid of things they do not understand and their first instinct is to try and get rid of it or contain it," her lips pressed into a thin line for a moment. It was hard not to call Arun's mother what she thought she was which was wrong. After a moment she let her hands drop and she sat back on her heels and picked up the book.

"It's your decision now."

 

[Arun]

Arun considered for a few moments. He wasn't entirely sure what to say, entirely sure what to do with himself. This problem was one he'd known of for almost two centuries now, since the war. Before he had been ignorant, and during his isolation he had been able to control it.

"I just don't know." The Elf admitted quietly.

It was rare for any of his people to admit such thing. He was pretty sure in his entire lifetime he had never heard his father say he didn't know anything. There was always a guess, always another step that could be taken.

Yet right now he felt utterly clueless. "But...."

He frowned.

"I do not believe the answer lies here." Slowly Arun looked around the room. "In this isolation."

He needed to find out what he was, really.

 

[Maeve]

Unlike elves, humans were rather used to not knowing.

Maeve nodded in her understanding and sympathy. Slowly at first and then with more enthusiasm when he began to talk of leaving his isolation.

"I agree. Maybe coming faerie hunting will help you," her smile was half playful but half a little sad. She wished she could have invited him on a nicer task, or not on a task at all but just for the pleasure of his company. It seemed odd but she couldn't quite imagine saying goodbye to him now.

"So you have your next step and that's all you need. When you take that step, we come up with a second and so on and so on," as was the way with most of her race.

 

[Arun]

"Yes." He agreed with a nod of his head, taking in a deep breath and closing his eyes for a brief moment.

It was a step, the only one in front of him now.

Briefly he glanced towards the weapons on the wall, then down at the book Maeve was still holding. After a moment he made a decision; he would take them. The weapons were a part of him, just like whatever was in his head.

"Now." He said with a small smile, his hand reaching out to softly brush through her hair. "The ward."

He needed something else to focus on.

 

[Maeve]

Again with that look. A look that was older than she had a right to possess. It rested on him like a weighted blanket, studying him, making sure he was alright. The touch of his hand through her hair broke the spell and her eyes closed for a moment at the sensation. Then, with her cheeks tinged red once more, she set the book down on his lap.

"Okay," Mae could understand the need for a distraction after such a revelation. Something comforting. She deliberately had left it open turned to the next page so he didn't have to see his own face reflecting up at him again and the demonic other half his mother thought he possessed. "Will a ward hurt?"

 

[Arun]

"No." He shook his head. "At least it shouldn't."

Arun had never once in his life heard of a ward hurting the person receiving it. The spells were meant for protection.

He flipped through the book, stopping occasionally as he happened upon something interesting or what he thought might help. After a few seconds he came to a page with some familiarity on it. A frown touched his features, and then he nodded.

"This might work." He traced a finger over the page.

"It was designed for use against a Dreadlord but..." He glanced at Maeve. "I think it will work for a Fae as well."

 

[Maeve]

Mae would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous. She had never had magic done to her before; the wind never felt like magic being done to her and Healing... well that was new and just as terrifying. It was what she had in mind when he announced his spell should work on the Fae.

"What's a Dreadlord?" She cocked her head to the side and tried to buy herself some more time before he attempted to do the spell. Her hands clenched and unclenched on her lap anxiously.

 

[Arun]

"They are the mages of Vel Anir. Taken as Children and trained in the ways of war." There was an almost...sad edge to his tone, almost as if there was a regretful story behind the words that he spoke.

He watched her, recognizing the nerves. "If you do not want me to do this...I will not."

Arun's voice was soft, hand reaching out to cover hers.

"This decision is yours, Mae." The shortening of her name was a small intimacy that he did not even notice he used. "I will only do it if you want."

He could no more force a spell upon her than he could on himself.

 

[Maeve]

Mae looked down at their hands and worried at her bottom lip.

"I don't want him to reach me in my dreams, but..." she took a deep breath and looked up at him then away. She felt like a stupid child. You probably sound like one too, she thought glumly to herself. She tried to figure out a way it might sound less ridiculous to him but every which way she said it it sounded the same.

Maeve sighed.

"I just... haven't been around a lot of magic in my life," she shifted uncomfortable but she didn't remove her hands from his. "This - this house - you, this is the most magic I've seen in my entire life."

 

[Arun]

His fingers gently squeezed hers. "It will be okay."

Arun assured her softly.

He couldn't imagine a life without magic, couldn't imagine how much more...complicated everything must have been, but as soon as she explained The Elf could understand why she might be apprehensive about this in the first place.

"There will be no pain." He told her. "It will be like...I am building a wall around your dreams."

A simple explanation if there ever was one. "It will not be perfect, but it should be strong enough to keep him out."

Arun already knew he could not perfect the spell, at least not the first time.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve looked from their hands to his face and then back down. Her heart was hammering in her chest and her hands felt slick with sweat but she didn't move. She wasn't sure if she wanted to and couldn't or if she didn't want to and couldn't figure out why she didn't want to. The fact he could do magic made him more similar to the Fae than it did to her, which would make him the enemy. Yet thoughts of how he had held her, comforted her last night in the depths of her despair...

She swallowed despite the dryness of her mouth.

"Okay," Mae nodded slowly then a little firmer. "I trust you."

 

[Arun]

Arun took a breath, looking at the spell for a few moments and nodding his head. "It is best we do this on the porch."

He looked at her for a moment, seeing the expression on her face.

For a brief moment Arun hesitated, and then he offered her his hand. "I promise you. I will never do something to harm you."

There was a weight to this word, the whole of his consciousness behind them. Arun could feel it.

 

[Maeve]

Mae slid her hand into his and let him pull her off the bed. Her bottom lip was riddled with evidence of her chewing it hard in her nervous state.

"I know you wouldn't," and for some reason she did. If he had wanted to hurt her there had been plenty of opportunities for him to do it. He hadn't needed to wait for her to get better in order to then do something to her like put a cage around her mind. The Wind picked up suddenly and pushed her forward.

Out on the porch the sun was out and Mae let it brush across her face for a moment before turning herself towards him. Maeve put her hands on the railing behind her and braced herself against them.

"Do I need to do anything?"

 

[Arun]

Arun placed the book on one of the smaller tables on the porch, folding it open to the correct page and studying it for a few moments before he shook his head. "No. Just stand there and look pretty."

The comment was an idle one from the elf, his finger tracing over the page for a few moments in study before he drew himself up. His back stiffened, and he turned back towards Maeve as he righted himself and took on a more serious expression.

Without a word the Elf dropped into a sitting position, crossing his legs and closing his eyes.

There was an odd shift in the air.

Describing it would have been difficult. Nothing really changed, but it was almost like something slowly floated through the air. A second passed, and then Arun opened his eyes. Yellow was replaced with a bright purple. His mouth opened, lips drawing slow words as he spoke in a melodic sing song language.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve glanced down at the oversized tunic she was wearing from his wardrobe and her lips twisted. Pretty was about as far from what she felt or had felt in quite some time. She said nothing though and simply leaned her back up against the banister as she waited for whatever it was that came next.

The Wind suddenly flurried in her hair as the air shifted. It didn't like whatever it was that had changed the current and it tried to press itself as close to her skin as it could as though it might somehow hide within her. She closed her eyes as it whipped at her cheeks and after a moment she said a few words in her own language to soothe it.

It was hard not to flinch a little when his eyes opened and they were purple. A troubled look crossed her face but she held still; he had promised she wouldn't be harmed afterall. She chewed on her bottom lip for a while as he finished the spell and an odd sensation drifted over her, like her head was filling with cotton wool.

 

[Arun]

His eyes focused completely on Maeve, words spoken quicker, a song ringing out within the world.

It seemed to rise in tempo, permeating the air and reaching around Maeve. The leaves around them seemed to shake, branches bend. It was almost as if the entire forest took in a deep breath, holding it tight, and then suddenly it released.

A gust of wind rushed over everything, and then the odd purple light snapped out of Arun's eyes as quickly as it had come.

Maeve would not feel anything, or rather, she should not feel anything. "It should be done."

The Elf said quietly, looking up at her for a reaction.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve looked like a bewildered deer who had just stumbled upon a hunter.

She had expected to feel something but once the spell had come to an end even the cotton wool feeling had disappeared from her mind. Should she be able to feel something? She tried to search inside of herself but she didn't feel any different to how she had been beforehand.

"Is... is that it?" she looked down at her hands half expecting to see purple spots or something on her hands.

 

[Arun]

"Yes." Arun said as he slowly stood up, glancing at the book for a brief moment before reaching out and closing it's pages.

He would have to return it to it's hiding place, though he was unsure of whether or not to take it with him when they went to leave. His fingers tightened for a moment over it's cover, and then he turned to look back towards Maeve.

"The spell is in place." Arun could see it...in a fashion. "Your dreams should be your own."

If it worked.

Arun knew there was no guarantee, but he truly hoped it would.