Private Tales The Lost Princess and The Exiled Prince

[Maeve]

Maeve nearly went backwards over the rail as she leapt backwards with a sharp cry as the table turned into some kind of box. The Wind was at her back and held her until her feet were properly under her again and she rested a hand over her heart to try and calm it.

"Not of my fucking nerves it ain't," she muttered under her breath and then went to the tub to wash her arms of the rest of the blood. She didn't want to get anything on the freshly cleaned cottage. Only when she was sure she had got every speck off of her she followed him inside and collected the book she had managed a whole page of before falling asleep, setting it back on the shelf then plopping back down in the chair.

 

[Arun]

Arun began to pull out some pans, as well as a cutting board, another knife, and then of course some potatoes which he had grown in a small plant at the foot of his tree.

"There are many things in my home that I suppose you would never have seen before." Or would ever see again, really.

When one didn't have contact with people for a long time they tended to have other interests, and Arun had most definitely hit that stage. He was no smith, but enchantments and the like had come easily enough for someone like him.

He supposed he had his mother to thank for that. "Spend a century alone and you have a lot of time to create things."

Arun explained.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve kicked her feet up onto the sofa and pulled the blanket down over her.

"A few things," she admitted after a while. "But some things I think you will be surprised I have seen," she threw the mystery back at him. She desperately wanted to ask him why he had been alone for this amount of time but she sensed there was a story there he didn't want to go into. So instead she chewed her lip and tried to think of any question but the obvious.

"I can tell you have a lot of hobbies," her eyes drifted to a few of the things around the room she had presumed he had made. It had had... the feel about it. She couldn't explain it. "Which one's your favourite?"

 

[Arun]

"Perhaps I will be." He said with a smile.

There were many things in this world that still surprised him, whether they came from her or not...well he would enjoy them either way. The pan on the stove finally heated up, and he added a bit of oil before putting the steak into it.

After a moment he turned around, cutting some of the potatoes into thin strips.

"Tree singing." He said quickly. "It is a unique art, lost among even many of my people."

The druid had taught it to him.

 

[Maeve]

"Is that how you got your house so high?" she had been wondering since this morning how he had built it now she had seen just how far off the ground they were. It must have been hard work to get any tools or equipment up here to make it and so she had suspected magic might have had a part to play in its creation. She pulled her knees up and rested her cheek on the back of the sofa to watch him cook.

"Why did you decide to build your house up here? It must be a pain going up and down or do you just jump really high?" she was thinking of the grasshoppers back home who had been able to jump higher than her head, impossible high for a creature so small. Was that what it was like for him?

 

[Arun]

"Aye." He said with a nod of his head.

Singing the Cabin had been difficult. The Druid had taught him the basic steps, but it had taken him quite some time to actually manage to do it all right. This current iteration was actually his fourth try, and over the years he'd added and taken away from it.

The steak in the pan was flipped over once, and then the sliced potatoes were drizzled with a bit of oil and some sort of seasoning before he slipped them into the oven.

"It is safe up here." He explained. "I have little concern of being found even by my own people."

Plus, he had always liked being high up. "And yes, I can jump very high."

Though not quite high enough to reach with just a single bound.

 

[Maeve]

"There are not many trees where my people live," Maeve said after a while of silence. She had been thinking on his words practically, like a Hunter would. She could see the benefits to having a home off of the ground but for a tribe who had horses and herds to tend to, the forests were not the best suited to them. This was a far cry from her comfort zone in stone walls.

"We live on the Plains. In your tongue it is called the Sea of Waving Grass," it felt like a very underwhelming translation but in her language it invoked images across the Isles of famous horse races and Hunts. It was where a man went when he wanted to learn the ways of living as one with the land. "When i first arrived here I couldn't believe how many trees could be in one place."

 

[Arun]

He frowned for a second. Was she of the Steppe?

That was what the humans of Alliria called it, the map makers there. Oddly enough he forgot the Elven word for it, though perhaps that was because they so rarely spoke of such things.

Not many of his kin lived in such an area, though there was rumor of Drow living beneath it's great expanse. "I suppose that is one thing the Falwood isn't short on."

Trees.

"Tell me more of your home." Arun said softly as he pulled the steak from the pan and placed it onto a wooden plate, waiting just a few moments more for the potatoes. "If that would be okay."

 

[Maeve]

Maeve wrapped her arms around her knees as tightly as she could without her ribs protesting and thought, briefly, she should ask him for some more salve for her wounds. The bandages would need changing today to ensure there was no infection. Perhaps after dinner he could do the ones on her back at least before she dealt with the others.

"Hmmm," she thought about his request and what he would find more interesting. "You can ride around the whole Isle within 10 days," she knew this for she had done it on her fastest horse, sleeping under the stars and moon or in her saddle. It was a right of passage for all in her tribe. "I will speak mainly of my lands, the others are vastly different but so are its people. The Plains are vast. There are the odd few things we call forests or woods but not like this, and they are closer to the coast than where our city lies," she stared thoughtfully at her hands.

"We build mostly out of stone, but we like to travel and when we do we sleep out under the stars or in our saddles. We own the greatest herd of horses you would ever see," this she said with pride. "They roam the lands, and they work with us as companions not mere beasts. Only the worthy tame one of the Sea Horses," she smiled as memories of her own mare came to her. She wondered sadly what would happen to her now, she would take no other rider.

 

[Arun]

"Fascinating." Arun said, gently running a hand over his chin as he listened to her speak.

Before speaking further he turned around and opened the oven, taking the potatoes and slowly placing them upon the same plate as before. After a few seconds he retrieved a fork and knife, carrying it over towards Maeve and placing it onto the table in front of her.

Once it was there he took a few steps back, knowing her reaction if he lingered.

"I have no been far from the Falwood." He confessed to her. "I have read of many lands, but never traveled."

A regret that he felt, though a restriction he needed to make.

 

[Maeve]

As usual, Maeve leaned forward only when he had stepped back. Her stomach was growling audibly now and whilst he spoke she took her first bite. A flicker of surprise registered on her face at how good it tasted for a man who didn't eat it, before she threw all thoughts aside and worked on quickly cleaning her plate of everything. He had been right, she had needed the meat. She had been on a vegetarian diet for practically a month now with the odd scrap of meat here and there, usually when one of the goats had died. This tasted like pure heaven.

She let out an unashamed groan.

"I'm discovering that travelling is not all it cracks up to be," she sighed as she finished her food and set the plate back on the table. It had taken her less than five minutes and she flopped back down on the sofa with her hands over her stomach. "That was... delicious."

 

[Arun]

"You are welcome." Arun said simply, nodding his head with a small smile on his face.

He leaned himself back against the far wall, wondering briefly how she was going to deal with having her wounds bandaged if she could not even eat when he was within five feet of her.

"I have not minded staying here." Arun confessed. "Though I am glad for your company."

It was not difficult for him to admit as much. "The last person I spoke to was a Mad Druid who talked to squirrels."

It had been disturbing.

 

[Maeve]

"I imagine it's like having a very weak kitten around the house right now," she laughed as she stared at the ceiling above her now she was back to lying under her blanket. She felt exactly as she had described and it infuriated her. She wanted nothing more than to be able to leave and go and find her grandfather, to get on with her other quest of finding some iron and killing the Fae who tried to claim her as his wife. But all she could do was sleep. Even cleaning the cottage had wrecked her. Her body felt like it had run the length of the plains with no water.

"If you've missed people so much... why... haven't you..." she didn't want to ask the obvious question. "Invited friends over or got a roommate?"

 

[Arun]

"So you assume you are as cute as a kitten." He smiled at her, trying his hand at a little bit of humor. "Well, at least you don't require a litterbox."

He smirked at her.

Lips thinned for a brief moment as her questions came, and Arun realized his mistake in having brought up this topic. It was hardly pleasant to speak of.

"I am an exile." He did not want to lie to her, that seemed...wrong. "I am not allowed to see my friends, or my family."

Even if he'd wanted to.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve scowled at the word cute and when her eyes flicked to his face to see his smirk she threw one of the cushions on the sofa at his face with a soft huff.

When he answered her question she regretted even bringing it up. She had known it wasn't going to be a pleasant reason why he had isolated himself in the middle of nowhere and up a tree but the tone of his voice and the way his face had changed made her uncomfortable. She wasn't good at comforting people or offering pity.

"An Exiled Prince and a Runaway Princess, what a pair," her lips curled into a faint smile. "But... if you miss people, maybe you should travel," she thought about her and her grandfathers quest and chewed on her bottom lip. "You know... my grandfather and I are going on a trip soon to learn how to kill the Fae, if you wanted to join us..."

 

[Arun]

Arun caught the pillow with all the grace of a seasoned warrior, smirking at her.

"I..." Travel was difficult for him, no, that wasn't the right word for it. Travel was easy, it was the outside influences that came with it which he found difficulty with. There was no telling how he would react to certain things, what it would do.

"Will consider it." He told her after a moment. "It does appear that something entering my bubble is joyous, perhaps leaving it would be as well."

Arun said as he shook his head, though lips thinned for a moment. "Kill the Fae?"

He asked, cocking his head slightly.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve nodded somewhat awkwardly. She had made the offer, that was what was important. She wasn't sure if he saw it in the same way but it felt to her as he spoke that he saw himself in his own cage. Just one of his own choosing. Perhaps he had just needed someone to extend a hand and offer him a way out.

"No pressure," she shrugged. Liath would not mind either way. The redhead began to pick at a loose strand on the blanket as she mulled over his question. If he was going to come on the mission then he would need to know, but it was still a piece of personal information and she wasn't used to being open with people.

"The reason I left my home was because I discovered my parents had made a deal with the Fae on my behalf when I was young. Apparently I was very ill, they thought I was going to die. So they did the usual rites, they visited the grove. But instead of something of their own the Fae asked for something of mine and requested when I became of age I would be married to him," she rubbed at her face. God she sounded pitiful even to her own ears.

"I only found out about it a few days before I turned 18, when he would have come to take me. So I fled. When I found my grandfather he said he would help me kill him so I don't have to keep running."

 

[Arun]

Arun frowned as she described the circumstances that had lead her here.

Arranged marriages were not uncommon among his own people, but there was always a level of consent from both the parties to be married. There might not always be love, but there was at least a tacit agreement that both parties were accepting.

To do it any other way was utterly barbaric. His lips thinned for a brief moment, a well dug into his stomach. "Then I will help you as well."

After the tribals.

He needed to rid his own lands of those monsters before he could seek out others. Perhaps that would be his ilk. Perhaps he would use the thing inside of him to bring low reflections of himself.

Arun blinked suddenly, the profound realization drawing an odd expression on his face.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve was probably misreading the look in his face and she threw another cushion at him.

"I'm not looking for pity I can fight this on my own," her tone was fierce even if she was tired and bruised and beaten. That fire would always burn. "You can come if you want but don't..." she pointed a finger at him. "Mistake it as me begging for help," then she folded her arms over her chest and have a soft huff. It was bad enough having Liath look at her as though he wanted to wrap her in cotton wool. She had left the Isle thinking she would have nobody to help her and she had done it anyway; she was still determined to stand on her own two feet.

"I'm not a Princess looking for her Prince."

 

[Arun]

Arun blinked at her reaction. He had not been pitying her, not in the least. He'd seen a wrong and wished to right it, nor had he been trying to woo her. She was attractive, but...well she may as well have been a baby in his eyes.

A frown touched his lips, but he slowly nodded his head. "Of course."

Had he misspoken? Perhaps before they went on this trip he would have to ask her more about mannerisms and such.

If he could offend her in some way with just offering his help then he couldn't imagine how his interactions with others would go. He'd likely end up starting a war if he wasn't careful.

"I'm not really a Prince anymore anyway." It was hard to tell from his tone if he was joking or just telling her another truth. "That title is held by my brother."

 

[Maeve]

Maeve felt her spiking anger cool as he didn't press the matter as he agreed with her sentiment. Her eyes flicked to him as curiosity overtook the swell of damaged pride she had sought to save in her outburst. Clearly his exile was a sore subject but perhaps he didn't feel that way about all of his family. She let out a breath she had been holding in and then ran a hand through her hair.

"So you are the eldest - were the heir?" he must have done something pretty bad to have been passed over. In her experience even the most pathetic excuses of men were shoved forward into the spotlight. "You don't seem unkind and if you fought in wars you must have had some ounce of skill with a blade," she was clearly trying to figure out the reason he would be passed over.

"Peoples have had to put up with worse kings."

 

[Arun]

"The decision was my own as much as my fathers." In a way at least.

Arun could have done as his father had wished, he could have embraced what he was and perhaps even become King. It would not have been impossible, but the path would have been far more bloody than the one he'd taken.

It was better this way. "I left my father little choice."

He pursed his lips.

"To most, I am a wastrel. At least that is how they see me." Which was of course not exactly inaccurate. He'd spent five decades doing almost nothing but meditating and shirking his duties as Prince. "I had no interest in becoming King, nor with the duties of a Prince. Once that became apparent..."

He shrugged.

 

[Maeve]

"What is a... wastrel?" Maeve scrunched up her nose as she repeated the word as best she could. It was not one she had ever been taught and it seemed important to the story he was trying to tell her. It did, however, amuse her the stark differences in their tales. Two people destined to rule, one who didn't seem interested and had deliberately shirked his crown and a Princess who had wanted nothing more than to lead her people but had been sold when she was a child and would have never been given the chance of a crown.

"Ruling is a not everyone's path," she sighed. "Whether we desire it or not."

For a moment she was quiet as she looked out of the window, thinking on things far away from here, before she rolled her shoulders a little.

"Do you have any more of the salve? I think I need to change the bandages."

 

[Arun]

"One who wastes their potential." It was a flowery definition of the word, but true nonetheless. "I had many gifts, and I chose to shirk them all."

Arun wasn't bragging, at least he wasn't trying to do, simply make her understand. Once upon a time he had been the jewel of his cities, the pride of his father. Many had said that he would bring a new age to the Falwood.

As it turned out they'd all been wrong.

When she asked after the salve he stood, tossing the pillow he held back onto the Sofa and quickly crossing the room. From one of the larger wooden cabinets he pulled out a small jar. "I do not think you will be able to apply it to your back."

Arun pointed out.

"I am happy to do it, though I do not know your..." He frowned. "Preference."

 

[Maeve]

Maeve tucked the word and definition away in her mind, there were similar words in her language but nothing exactly the same that it translated perfectly. She caught the pillow as it was thrown back towards the sofa and then set it back down where she had pulled it from her perfectly crafted nest on the sofa. She knew what he said was right but the idea of him touching her made her skin crawl. It angered her she felt that way. Arun had been nothing but kind to her, she had no reason to be scared.

"Do you mean like do I prefer men or women?" she tried to smile but there was no hiding this discomfort. "It's either you do it or it gets infected and I get sick," Mae stood slowly. "Would it be easier if I was standing or laying down?"