Pride and Ashes - S01 E26

2 years ago

Pride and Ashes - S01 E26

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 26

In which it darkens

-Tell me something you are afraid of?

(Eternity. Oblivion. crowded rooms and authority figures and being alone too long and you, I'm terrified of you because you have the power to destroy me and you don't even know it, you have no idea. I'm less afraid of dying than I am of losing you and that scares me too.)

-I'm not afraid of anything.

-Lair. Everyone is afraid of something.

~things i wish you'd never asked| jph

The crash broke me from my slumber. Or at least I think it did. I just felt a jolt go through my body. As if I had been walking down the stairs and missed a step. 17

-Crash.-

The noise finally registered to me, and I swiftly got up from the couch.

Running into the kitchen, I found my father sitting on the floor, small cuts and drops of blood forming on his hands as he picked up the pieces of glass.

"Oops," he said.

I watched as some shards of glass entered into his flesh, but he never showed any pain.

"Daddy made a mess," father said, "stay away Fayette, I don't want you to hurt yourself. Don't touch anything, Okay?"

I nodded, slowly backing away from the kitchen to watch from the safety of the doorway.

"Can you go get Daddy a broom Fayette?"

I raced to the little closet in the hall to do what father had asked me.

Coming back, I silently handed him the broom and dustpan. He quickly swept the small shards up and wiped the floor down with a wet rag.

"Coast is all clear now! You can come in Fayette," father said.

I approached slowly, looking at the ground to make sure it really was safe.

I stopped in front of father, looking up at his tall frame.

He bent down, coming eye level with me.

It was probably the first time he had really looked me in the eyes since-

"You look so much like her," he whispered.

He reached a hand out, softly stroking one of my cheeks. I flinched as I felt the wet blood make contact with my skin.

I dared not say anything.

"So much," he said again as he continued to stroke my cheek.

Over and over and over and over. Hours I stood while he looked into my eyes, a sky of blue looking into the meadow of the green.

Blue and green and swirls and fangs and blood and-

STORY CONTINUES BELOW

-I jolted awake.

I laid there with wide eyes, looking up at the ceiling.

A dream.

No. It was a memory.

A memory from a time in my past.

I continued staring into the silence as I slowed my breathing down. Collecting my thoughts.

My eyes were still wide from the tortured past my mind had lead me through.

A memory. 3

I started when the sound of my alarm went off.

Morning.

I slowly rose and turned the noise off. The silence hung in the air once more.

I ran my hands through my hair, trying desperately to get my bearings.

It's okay. It's okay. It's okay.

Breathe.

Just Breathe.

Be the sun. 77

I lifted myself off the bed and mechanically went through the routine that I had developed now.

We were training today. Actually, we were training all days but it didn't matter to the athletes.

I felt some feeling go back into my body as I registered how much I hated working out. I thought of the only good side to it – Seeing Alto.

I clung to that thought and the feeling of his hands on my body as he helped me train.

The door opened then, as Lizzy and Jane walked through.

"Mooorrnninngg Sunshine!" Lizzy sang at the top of her voice. 2

"Morning you two," I said.

Jane walked closer with a frown on her face, "Fayette are you okay?"

A small bubble of panic arose in me. Did she know?

"Why do you ask?" I said in a strained voice.

"You just look really pale. And you're sweating a little." Jane came closer to me and placed a hand on my forehead. "I can't really tell but you seem warm." 2

"Awwee relax Jane. She's just trying to fake it out so she doesn't have to train." 20

I threw a glare at Lizzy before turning to Jane, "I feel fine Jane. Thanks for worrying though."

A small wrinkle formed on Jane's forehead. A sure sign that she disapproved but she didn't say anything else.

Lizzy jumped forward, putting her arm around my shoulder. 1

"So, tough girl. You survived almost two weeks of torture. What's another month or two more?" 11

I groaned out loud as Lizzy dragged me out of the room, Jane waving a small farewell, her worry still evident on her face.

These past two weeks had been torture. At one point I felt small resentment towards Alto thinking, why do I have to train? Why do I have to change myself for someone? But he quickly felt my anger through our growing bond and shut those feelings down. I gave a heavy sigh as I remembered his "motivational" speech saying, "It's for your health and protection, and your future position." Though those words did not comfort me they did drive home the point he was trying to make. I had said in front of a lot of people and the King and Queen that I could be a Queen myself someday. 5

Whining and groaning about doing pushups and running seemed the least of my worries, and would look very bad if I gave up because I couldn't handle it.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW

But man did I hate working out.

We entered the training grounds. They were already there of course. They were hard at work training well before I started. Alto and Elden stopped in their sparring session. It didn't look too serious. I think they were actually warming down.

"Morning," Elden said, nodding his head towards us. 1

Alto moved silently towards me until he was towering above me.

He leaned down, his hand coming up to stroke my arm, almost involuntarily.

Over the past few weeks, I had noticed a few things shift within the bond. I felt some emotions trickle from Alto. Those were very few and it had only really happened twice when he felt a strong emotion.

But he was starting to feel what I was feeling also.

And then there is a pull. I just need to be next to him. When he is around I need to touch him. The smallest touch. Just a hand on the waist, a shoulder brushing each other, fingers barely touching. But it soothed my heart and made an ache within my chest disappear when he and I were breathing in the same space.

"Morning Alto," I whispered.

His eyes grew if possible even darker. I fell into the void until his words brought me back.

"Are you okay?"

"What?" I quickly took a step back from him, startled by his question.

A flash of gold showed in his eyes. In that same instance, I registered a similar flash of pain in me. I had hurt him by stepping back.

He stepped closer to me though, still waiting for my answer.

"Yes, I'm okay," I said. Was I still pale?

Alto narrowed his eyes at me as if trying to find something within my words. He nodded though and shifted his body so that he half faced me.

"Let's start then."

I barely repressed the groan from my mouth. Training. Again.

Alto seemed to take on another attitude when training. Lizzy and I quickly realized it when we had tried to joke around once. That never happened again.

Lizzy sobered up at his words. I could see hints of her past life showing in her as the days went by. She had been training every day with us, and I was just beginning to grasp how great of a warrior she formally was.

Alto though.

Alto was something else.

When I watched Alto train and fight I sent a silent prayer to his opponents. Good luck, I said. 17

I had not seen him shift yet. I shuddered at the day when I would watch him strip down and transform. I didn't know if I was scared or excited. Lizzy claimed excitement.

The training had its routine now of warm-ups and different exercises. Alto believed in training not only the body but the mind, as per the warrior's code. Lizzy was familiar with the silent meditations that we did for an hour every mid-day. It had taken me a while to grasp it. Okay, I still didn't have it, and I always fell asleep and was woken up by a laughing Elden and disapproving Alto. 51

And then the day ended with dinner.

Alto and I eating dinner.

We had our garden- our secret hideaway where I alone saw him unwind and talk to me. He still didn't talk much, but I loved the thoughts he had and input he shared.

He was nice to talk to.

I tried hard whenever I was around him to not look at his lips.

Don't stare Don't stare Don't stare.

But I felt his lingering gaze there also.

It was only a matter of time.

Lizzy always laughed at the fact that so much time had already gone by and yet Alto had not done anything. Not even a peck. 11

I didn't know if it relieved me or made me sad.

I had never kissed anyone before. 2

These thoughts always came to my mind as I watched him talk.

I wonder if they are soft?

I wonder how they feel?

I wonder...I wonder...I wonder... 5

I stared hard at his lips as they talked to me now. However, no sound was coming out of them.

I stared even harder, trying to make out the words he was saying. A ringing in my ears though seemed to drown them out. Suddenly the lips that I had been staring so hard at seem to blur and grey around me.

What? I felt dirt under my skin and in my hands. Was I on the ground?

I shuddered in trapped confusion as my vision continued to grey, Alto's words registering as if they had gone through a tunnel and only now the echo was reaching me as he whispered in a scared voice,

"Fayette?!" Fayette?"