Private Tales The Lost Princess and The Exiled Prince

[Arun]

"That is not what I meant." Arun rebuked, clearly missing the joke she was trying to tell. "Such a question would be utterly uncouth."

At least from what he remembered.

Courtly graces had not entirely escaped him, but he was fairly sure if he asked that question of any Elven woman he would get a slap to the face so hard it would make him see stars. "Laying down."

He said in answer to her.

"Some of the wounds are quite extensive." Arun frowned. "I am surprised you're moving as well as you are."

Perhaps that was the magic within her. He remembered humans being far more fragile.

 

[Maeve]

His rebuke actually eased the discomfort a little bit by making her laugh as they wandered back through to the bedroom.

"It was a joke," she pulled her hair up and out of the way, knotting it on top of her head so that it stayed out of the way. "I know..." her voice was quiet as she caught another glimpse of herself in the mirror. "I've always seemed to not feel injuries quite so bad. I now wonder if it is part of the pact my parents made; that I wouldn't die through mortal means like pestilence or blade." She paused a moment and then cleared her throat. "Eyes, please," she glanced over her shoulder at him for a moment as her hands gripped the bottom of her tunic. When she was sure he had averted his eyes she pulled it up and over her head then slid beneath the sheets of the bed, tugging them down so they pooled around her lower back.

"Alright," she pulled one of the pillows closer so she could rest her cheek upon it and took a deep breath. "I'm ready."

 

[Arun]

Arun stopped himself from pointing out that he had already seen it all when she'd first come to the cabin, but he decided against it. Instead he closed his eyes and looked away, just as he'd done when holding the towel for her.

Humans were so strangely modest.

"That would make sense, in a Fae sort of way." He frowned for a moment. From what he knew of their kind, Fae were...tricky. They served themselves well, and when a bargain was made they would ensure their end was always met.

Arun opened his eyes when she spoke, stepping over to her and undoing the lid of the jar before placing it to the side. He started first with removing her old bandages.

"It will be another week before you're ready to travel." It was a guess, but judging from how much she had healed already an informed one. "Even then, I would prefer we find you a mount of some sort."

Walking would slow her healing considerably.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve was extremely conscious of his every move as he sat on the bed beside her and began to undo the bandages around her back and side. She gave a wince as they came off completely, tugging at the skin slightly where blood had dried against them. Her face turned back into the pillow to muffle a sob of pain as the worst ones came off her back. They had been the freshest wounds and some of the nastiest. 30 lashes had turned into 60 when the elf who had first discovered her had found another elf had punished her slave.

"You mean you're not going to carry me everywhere?" Mae took a shaky breathy and she wiped a tear from her cheek as she tried to ignore the spreading pain then turned her face once more to the side. "I think you're right about the healing speed," her voice was soft and she thought back over how long it had taken her to heal from injuries she had sustained near the start of her capture. They had taken a little longer but she had been working hard still. Perhaps a week of nothing would speed it up.

"As long as you don't mind..."

 

[Arun]

"It will be alright." He told her softly, beginning to apply the salve to her wound.

It couldn't be helped really.

Arun was not a healer, not by far, and finding one out here was more dangerous than simply staying here. It would be best to simply wait. "There is no imposition."

He assured her, careful not to press too hard as he applied the salve.

"Perhaps it will give you time to read more than one page in a book." Arun commented with a wry smile on his face.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve buried her face back into the pillow as he began slavering the salve onto her back and her body shook as the pain wracked through her body. Her fists bunched into the fabric but she didn't utter a sound other than one or two muffled sobs despite the evident pain it was causing her. She gave a muffled laugh through her tears at his joke but she didn't reply until he had finished applying the cream to her back. Her body slumped and she took a shaky breath.

"Common Tongue is quite tiring to read, it's very... harsh. And I was a little tired after cleaning your cottage - you're welcome by the way," she managed hoarsely as she looked over her shoulder at him.

 

[Arun]

"Thank you." Arun said belatedly, though it was clear that he did in fact appreciate it. Cleanliness was important to him, always had been. He liked his environment to be organized, everything in it's proper place.

As he finished applying the Salve Arun stood, walking over towards another cabinet to retrieve some more bandages to actually bind her wounds.

"You could try Elvish." He told her simply. "Our script is much easier on the eyes, and tongue."

He didn't think that the comment might scare her given her...past, forgetting about that momentarily within the banter.

 

[Maeve]

"I know a little," she switched to Elvish for the length of the sentence as she watched him walk across the room to the linen cabinet. Her eyes flicked away from him and down at the pillow between her hands. "They couldn't speak very good Common Tongue and they called it vile anyway. I think it is the only thing we agreed on," she picked at a tiny feather that was breaking through the linen coverings then twirled it in her fingers. It didn't look like she would be able to do anything else this next week other than laze about. She might as well try and keep her mind sharp and Elvish might have helped her elsewhere on her journeys.

"It is definitely nicer than Common Tongue," she offered him another small smile as he walked back to her.

 

[Arun]

"It is." Arun's voice in elvish was somehow softer than in common, his tone almost a sing-song voice that permeated the air.

There was a natural calm to it, radiating outward and floating on the air like a leaf. It was almost like listening to a tune carried on nothing but his voice.

"It is an old tongue." He continued in that same sing-song voice, soothing, slow. "I would be happy to teach you."

The words came as he stepped back over to her, some of the bandages prepared. "We will have to change these in two days again, but your healing should go well."

That he was confident in.

 

[Maeve]

"I... would like that," she said and then nodded at his healer observation. Every two days sounded about right for changing the bandages though it was not something she was looking forward to doing. Instead of making life difficult for him by staying laid down she pressed the pillow across her breasts and then sat up so he would have an easier time of wrapping the bandages around her torso. She briefly glanced down at the bruises down her left side where they had broken her ribs and sighed.

"I didn't quite realise how bad they were until I saw them," her fingers grazed her mottled skin. "I can't imagine what you thought when you picked me up," she laughed softly then her fingers curled into an angry fist. She should have found a way to escape earlier.

 

[Arun]

As she sat herself up Arun deftly applied the bandages. When his fingers brushed against her skin she would easily notice how soft they were, as though his skin had never once been marred by a day of work.

"I was surprised you were not dead." The Elf said with the same tone as always. Honesty, it seemed, was becoming a bit of a trademark for him. "It is quite impressive you aren't."

He'd seen seasoned warriors die from less grotesque injuries. "It is one of the reasons I would like to find those that did this to you."

A frown touched his face briefly.

"I have...memories of similar treatments." Not of him, but of his brothers and sisters. "I would not wish it on anyone."

 

[Maeve]

"I aim to impress," she sounded tired and as he bandaged her she wiped the tear trails which still stained her cheeks. Her brows pulled down into a frown as he spoke about the reasons why he was so angry about the elves who had done this to her. It helped her to understand him a little better, the way his jaw clenched when his eyes drifted over the bruises on her skin.

She hesitated, her whole body rebelling against the idea, before she reached out and gently put a hand over his and gave it a small squeeze. Then she dropped it like he were on fire and glanced away.

"I'm sorry you have those memories."

 

[Arun]

Arun glanced at his palm.

He was almost certain that it was the first contact he'd had with another person, aside from treating injuries, in over a hundred years. It was clear that he did not know...nor understand how to process it. A frown touched his face for a moment, but he quickly replaced it with a smile as he looked at her. "I appreciate it."

The Elf said softly.

"I am sorry you have to endure them now." His lips thinned for a moment. "It shames me that my people are a part of such barbarity."

Head shook. "It is something I cannot abide."

 

[Maeve]

As Maeve sighed this time, her shoulders rose then fell.

"My father always said there was no point in dwelling on the pains you suffer, they only turn you bitter," perhaps that wasn't the same with elves - they lived a long time. Maybe they had more patience to hold on to things like this. Mae planned on following her fathers words; she was only 18. If she spent the rest of her life brooding over this it would turn her sour against a race of people eventually for a fews mistakes.

"I have more pressing concerns," like the Fae who would soon cross an ocean to claim the prize he thought was his. She planned on having the blade in her hand when he did to ensure he wouldn't be leaving this land, let alone with her.

 

[Arun]

"The Fae?" He inquired.

Arun did not want to pry, but it would have been a lie to say he wasn't interested. There were Fae creatures within the Wilds, Arun had even met some of them. Most of the time they steered clear of Elves, apparently making bargains with his people was more difficult.

The few he had met had all been twisted things, though none had dared to stay around him for long.

He suspected they had seen what lay within him. "Do you know much about him?"

Arun asked.

 

[Maeve]

A single nod.

When he had finished with her bandages she stood and grabbed the tunic she had taken off and pulled it over her head. As it was his it fell over the top of the pillow she still had pressed to her chest, which she fished out once she was decent before climbing out of the bed. She stole a little more of the salve to add bits to the deeper cuts on her face, neck and arms, some of which had been cause in her escape.

"Quite a lot," she said absentmindedly. "It is going to sound really creepy," she frowned then glanced to him. "But... you have to half bear in mind the culture... difference. In my home it is very common for the Fae to be interested in humans, children especially for they are rare for them. But they just kind of drift around human settlements, waiting for something interesting to happen I guess," she sighed and glanced back to the mirror. "It was the Wind that took me to him when I was very young. Then I met him again a few years later. I used to sneak out to go and see him, he taught me different spells and things no human ever could," like sing flowers into bloom or send animals into sleep. It had been a marvel.

"I didn't really think anything of it until I mentioned it to my parents more recently. I had just thought, because of our line, he had seen potential in me for something great," she just... hadn't expected that greatness to mean being his bride.

 

[Arun]

That did sound creepy.

Predatory.

Arun had seen similar behavior before, though it had not been among his own people. He remembered such treatments from only one place; Vel Anir. His lips thinned for a brief second, and he shook his head as he dismissed the memories. "So that is when you ran."

The worm turned, as some in Alliria would say.

"Do you know his motivations?" Such a question was almost impossible to answer with the Fae. They were more enigmatic than most beings, and even people like his father had trouble understanding.

 

[Maeve]

"For seeking me out when I was younger or for wanting to marry me?" she raised an eyebrow at him as she turned away from the mirror, finished tending to her other cuts. Her skin was beginning to turn numb as the healing agent took effect and her body relaxed a little as the pain dispersed. It would come back slowly until it got to the point she would need to reapply it again.

She shrugged.

"I don't know either way. My grandfather things it is his fault," she tugged her hair out of its knot so it cascaded down her back once more. "He - ah - I call him grandfather but he is centuries old. The start of my bloodline, the first to make a deal with a Fae. The most powerful one. Part of his deal was that his line would be blessed by her and because of that he thinks the one who parted for my soul wanted to do her injury in some way by claiming one of hers."

 

[Arun]

He frowned for a brief moment, wishing that he understood more about the Fae. They were an interesting people, but painfully enigmatic. Arun wondered if this was how other species felt about the Elves. To many their society was the same mystery.

"I see." A frown touched his face. "A centuries old human? Fascinating."

Arun had never heard of such a thing, but if the man made a deal with another Fae then that too would make sense. His lips thinned, and then he shook his head. "I'm sorry to ask you so many questions."

He did not want to bother her.

"It's been a long time since I've spoken to someone else, as I said." Arun smiled. "Longer still since I've met someone interesting."

It was meant as a complement, though he was not entirely sure she would take it that way.

Her earlier reaction had him questioning.

 

[Maeve]

"No, it's fine...I Just..." Maeve awkwardly wrung her hands together. "I've just never had to explain my... people... before. You're the first person I've ever spoken to not from the Isle - who hasn't immediately put me in irons anyway," the elves she had been with had had no interest at all in where she had come from or what she could do unless it was chopping wood, fetching water, and cooking.

"It feels odd is all. I'm not sure I'm doing a good job," she laughed and ran her hands through her hair in an agitated manner. She wondered when the last time anyone but Liath had spoken to someone outside of the Isles was. Definitely not in her parents life time, nor her grandparents. It went far further back.

 

[Arun]

"You've painted a good picture." He said with a smile.

A people could not often be summarized into a few words. Arun certainly would have struggled to do the same with the residents of the Falwood. Life here was not so simple, and he now knew that it was the same for Maeve's people.

"Perhaps it's time we change the subject." He offered. "There is much darkness in this world."

That was what his mother had always said. "It need not be here too."

Arun smiled.

"Tell me of something you like, you enjoy." This was something else his mother used to say to him. It had been a way to calm him, coax back the creature in his mind.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve looked physically relieved when he suggested changing the topic. Speaking in an entirely different language and trying to reduce her people to a few lines was a hard task and she didn't want to paint them into an ugly light through her own incompetence. She liked to think she was a good speaker, a brilliant story teller, but that was in a tongue she was confident in.

She motioned to the door as if to indicate they should go back through to somewhere comfortable then disappeared through herself, heading back to the small nest she had created on the sofa. Mae pulled up the blankets and wriggled down, pondering his question.

"Riding, I miss my horse," her lips twisted painfully. "Art... I like to paint and sing," her cheeks heated a little. "Chess, reading. I like to learn things that would be useful. What about you?"

 

[Arun]

"Lovely." Arun said as he followed her into the living room, taking a chair from the small kitchen area and sitting himself down opposite her to ensure that he kept the distance that he knew she required.

"Much the same, save for the horses." He had always preferred the Eagles. "I've spent a century here alone."

Often he did not think it truly that long. His people lived for a thousand years or more, what was a hundred years here or there. "I've tried to occupy myself as best as I could. Tree-singing turned out to be the most pleasant hobby."

He enjoyed speaking with them, encouraging to grow. It was always quite the conversation.

Especially for someone so isolated.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve tried to imagine what it would be like to be alone for that long but she couldn't. Her eyes skimmed the room and then after a moment of searching landed on what she had seen earlier. She winced as she stood up and made her way over to the shelves, fingers trailing over the items on the shelf.

"Well, if you've been alone all this time, let's do something you can't do on your own," a small smile tugged at her lips as she shifted things off the board and then carried it back to the coffee table. She set it down then set herself on the floor, pulling the blanket down off the sofa and bundling herself up in it. "A game?" she began arranging the chess board.

 

[Arun]

"Stones?" The game was not some he had played in some time, though always enjoyed.

It was a thing of strategy, much like chess or checkers but more complicated. His father had always insisted that a man good at stones was a man who could lead an army. Arun wasn't entirely certain that was true, but he'd always been good.

"Well." He began as he started to set out the board. "As long as you're not a sore loser."

The Elf smiled. "I don't think it'll be aproblem."