Pride and Ashes - S01 E27

Story 2 years ago

Pride and Ashes - S01 E27

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 27

In which it happens

She is water

Powerful enough to drown you

soft enough to cleanse you

and deep enough to save you

~adrian michael

Static.

I felt like an old television set that was desperately trying to pick up a signal. My eyes were open, but all I saw was gray. I heard no noise. Nothing, except the static background.

Panic seeped into me as I laid there. I felt nothing. My skin contacted nothing.

I was trapped in my silent void, unable to register where I was.

I don't know how much time passed before my vision cleared out. The gray static soon fuzzed away. I felt lighter, my body exhausted on its own from the experience it had just gone through. Soon I could register the texture under my skin and the feel of cloth.

The static hum in my ears faded- as voices replaced it.

Angry voice. 1

"What's wrong, what's happening?!"

"Get the antidote!" 6

"Fayette"

That one whispered word of pain caught my attention above the other shouts. I tried desperately to fight against the gray static that clung to my vision, but the more I fought, the harder it became.

"She's seizing!"

"Hold her!"

I felt warm, solid hands press me down. His hands. I would know those hands anywhere. I fought through the haze, trying to reach him but the static was too thick. I wanted him to know I was still there. I wanted to ask him what was going on.

But the static consumed me. 2

*

I woke to the steady beeping noise. I felt an uncomfortable air push its way into my nose. I raised my hand, pulling the source of it away.

"Fayette stop."

That voice.

I opened my eyes, closing them again when they met the lights.

I felt the instrument on my nose be readjusted and the uncomfortable air continue to force its way into me.

I flickered my eyes open, squinting them.

He sat next to me. I raised my hand, and he caught it, capturing it in his own.

He exhaled as our skin made contact. I got the bearings of the surrounding room.

My bedroom. I pushed my way up. He got up and helped me, lifting me into a sitting position.

"Wha-," I stopped short and winced at the ragged pull from my throat.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW

Alto turned and poured a glass of water for me. I greedily drank from it, finishing half of the glass before handing it back to him. 4

"What happened Alto?" I questioned.

He looked at me with shattered eyes, his eye bowed as he took his hand and claimed mine again.

"You were poisoned." 164

Silence hung in the air as I processed the information. 1

"But...I-poison?" My eyes widened at the news.

"The doctors said it was a slow agent. Making its way to your system fully before striking." 6

"What poison?" I whispered. Not that I would know any of the names. But it all seemed surreal that someone would want to poison me.

"Agravain," Alto said. I nodded at the word I had never heard of before.

Alto reached up and stroked my face. He shivered before pulling it back. I saw a glimpse of something I had not seen in a long time. Something I had never hoped to see in Alto.

Desperation.

"How serious was it?" I asked. I needed to know all of the facts.

"It was not meant to..." Alto faltered at the unspoken word, his hand clenching mine tightly.

"Kill?" I questioned.

He inhaled a sharp breath of air between clenched teeth as he nodded.

"So what was it suppose to do?" I questioned, thinking of the purpose for the attack.

"To get to me," Alto said.

I looked at his shaking hands and broken eyes. Something in me clicked in irritation at the fact that these actions had somehow done their intended job.

"Alto." I reached out to hold his face in my palm. He surprisingly let it rest there, even leaning in a little. "Alto, look, I'm alive. I'm breathing. You saved me."

Alto's hands clenched mine harder. I could see his knuckles whiten. Ouch.

"They-What-I....If it had been....- what would I....." I watched with sad eyes as Alto struggled to contain his grief and words. 4

I reflected back to my father and his actions over my mothers death. The Queen's voice rose within my head, They will come for you Fayette.

Had she somehow known? My mind boggled down with the weight of thinking the Queen could be behind this. This was bigger than I thought. Why could it never be a simple story of a boy and girl falling in love?

No. I watched as Alto looked like he would fall apart any second. I could not let history repeat itself. What if the roles had been reversed though? I accused myself silently. Would you be acting calm and composed if Alto had been poisoned? No. That was the hard truth. I would break down. But I needed to know that I would rise. Not fall and stay broken. As harsh as the truth may seem, I didn't want to become my father and mothers love story. 1

"Alto."

He looked up at me. His face was twisted in tight control as he tried to reign in his grief.

"Alto," I said again, tasting his name on my lips. "What would you do if I died?"

Alto choked on whatever he was holding back, "Fayette don't speak anymore," he growled. The command in his tone made me realize that he was used to being listened to. But his words had no sway over me.

"No, Alto answer me," I said, struggling as I sat up straighter, "what would you do if I died?"

The silence in the air was filled with a soul-crushing growl. My toes curled up at the noise. It was frightening. But a fire of determination had been lit under me. I knew I needed to do this.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW

I watched him, waiting for his response.

"I would hunt them down, whoever did it. I would kill them slowly and make them scream, make them feel so much pain that they die from it. Then I would join you."

I balked at the answer.

"What if no one killed me?" I questioned.

He glared at me. I knew then that he didn't like confrontation. He didn't like answering the hard questions and was not used to someone having the guts to force him to answer them.

"What if I died of old age? Or if I tripped down the stairs? My own fault? Would you destroy the stairs? Then kill yourself?"

He continued to glare at me, "this is pointless Fayette. Like you said, you're alive now."

"No!" I shocked both of us with my sudden outburst, "You don't understand Alto. I've seen what the mating band does to souls. I've seen first hand the effect it has."

I watched as slow realization crept into his eyes. He had probably shoved that to the back of his mind after hearing of it.

"What will you do?" I asked again.

He inched closer to me and stared down at our entwined hands, "Fayette," his voice sounded strained. I was pushing him into new places and forcing him to his limit. I could tell. But something inside me just told me that I needed to do this. For us.

"I don't know."

I smiled at his honest answer.

"What would you do?" He reflected the question back to me.

I thought before saying, "I would break. I would probably never be the same. But I would tape myself together. And what if we have children? I would want to be there for them. I wouldn't want them to lose two parents."

Alto's eyes widened at my admission. Who was I kidding though. In this moment I was brave. Even after seeing the heartbreak, I claimed that I would be able to walk from it. But the memory of my father, and his actions towards me after mother's death will forever haunt me.

I realize then that I lost two parents that sad morning when I woke up to my father's mournful howls.

"Children?" Alto looks at me, with a slight twitch to his lips.

I blush and look down.

"Well we are getting married...I mean it's just a thought..." I mumbled, but my ramblings were interrupted by Alto moving closer.

His breath fanned my face as his eyes searched into my own.

Very carefully he removed the object from my face that had been spitting little burst of air into my nose.

Slowly, so as not to startle me, he leaned in closer. 1

I moved towards him, almost impatiently. And we met.

His lips softly brushed mine, feather-light in their touch. 21

A gasp escaped from me at the contact.

And then the foreign feel of his lips on mine collided together.

I didn't know what I was doing. Only moving my mouth to fit the shape of his as we both fell into each other.

My breathing hitched when he placed his hands on my waist. In an attempt to get closer to him I wrapped my arms around his neck. Using his strength, he raised me up, holding and bearing my weight as I stood on my knees on the bed, almost eye level with him.

It felt like fire was consuming me. I wanted to pull away- the burning sensation within my chest hurt so bad. I was greedy and wanting. Who knew a kiss could last so long? Much less a first kiss. But there was nothing in this world that had my focus now except his lips. His breath. His low growls and the way his hair felt in my hands.

He pulled back, and placed a last lingering kiss on my cheek.

I looked into his eyes. I'm sure mine seemed dazed but his- his seemed focused and consuming. They held wonder and at the same time determination in them.

Looking down, I pointed to the breathing tube that had been taken off of me.

"I think I need that," I said. 57

Alto's eyes paused for a second, before his smile broke through.

We stood there, wrapped in each other as we laughed at the memory of the moment.

The troubles could wait. Just a few seconds more. Let the world consume me after I was done with him.