Ch 4 of my Luke Skywalker x OC fic. First chapter and a brief explanation of wtf is this, here
Next chapter, here
Btw my capitalization use is at times a matter of artistic license.
@dailydragon08, @a-midwinter-night-dream-86
_
X-wing
She still got out to the gazebo early. He was meditating, and probably waiting for her. He lowered himself to the rail as she leaned against it next to him.
"Hi," she greeted him as his eyes opened, and quickly his face split into a big grin.
"Hi, Ciri. I'm so glad to see you. Did you sleep well?"
"Um, not really… guess I might have been a little too.. e-excited," she admitted sheepishly.
His grin widened. "…Well then I have to apologize, Ciri," he said after a moment, "cuz I'm trying to be sorry about that, but it's not really working. I think I might be a little too excited, too. …Is it bad?"
"N-no, I'm fine, it'll probably just be a bit of an early night."
"Well I am glad that you’re alright…"
She smiled, in enjoyment of him.
“I was wondering if you could help me with something?”
"Sure! What is it?"
“Something new I want to try with the Force… but I can’t practice it, by myself. …You’re curious about what the Force feels like, right? …You’d want to know what I feel through it?”
“Y-yes, absolutely!” she exclaimed, unconsciously standing straighter.
“Then this is something I think you’re going to like… Assuming I pull it off.”
She grinned with anticipation. "OK, great! Let’s do it! W-what should I do?"
“Great, thanks… Hop up here next to me...” She did so, sitting next to him on the wide railing, almost close enough to touch.
"Alright. And now…," he held out his arm to her with a wink and lopsided grin, "an added bonus.. I get to hold your hand, again."
She readily placed her palm in his. "…Um, you d-don't really need an excuse, you know, L-Luke," she told him softly, flushing, and his grin bloomed into a radiant smile.
His fingers closed around hers. "In that case," he murmured, "I'll be hanging on to this for a while… and you can just let me know when you'd like it back…alright?"
She recovered and nodded yes with enthusiasm, feeling her heart thump. Gently smiling, he drew her hand into his lap, and held it firmly.
He settled, facing forward. "Alright then… Now, just close your eyes, and relax… and clear your mind…” A little noise burst out of her, because that was going to be difficult with him so close to her. “…Just do your best,” he amended, with light amusement.
She tried to comply, and felt him still beside her. A moment passed, and another, and then minutes had gone… and finally she felt his deep, steady breath begin to rise and fall through her awareness, like a buoyant wind.
Her breathing appeared to synchronize with his of its own accord. Then she lost track of the difference between his breath and hers, and then of the whole of her body, and their breath became the firmament.
And then she felt light, and water, and shade, and green sugar, and then she felt a tiny, tiny pulse… rapid, so rapid, and slight… She felt warmth, and darkness, and companionship, and hunger’s little naw… there were three little hearts beating together, and tiny rustles in the darkness…
Then within an instant the connection severed, and she jolted into her body and nearly fell back. Instantly, his arm was around her, gently supporting her. Her senses were solely her own once again, as she heard his voice speaking to her, "Are you alright, Ciri? Sorry about the dropout. Was it too much?"
"N-no, I mean– yes, I – I mean… Luke, thank you, I'm fine. I'm… I'm fine…" She probably was a little overwhelmed, though, because the next thing she did was to sag against him and rest her head on his shoulder.
He lightly held her. A large breath heaved through her, and she took a moment to steady herself by focusing on her own breathing. It felt oddly pedestrian, after the sensation of his breath rushing through her entire body.
Then she sighed and whispered, "Luke, thank you…"
"You're welcome, Ciri. I'm glad you liked it," he whispered back.
"W-what was it? I mean… what were they?"
"Baby rodents… some type of squirrel, I'd think, from your collection. They're nesting in that tree."
She registered which tree he was pointing to, and searched its canopy. As she rested against him, an animal bounded up one of the branches and disappeared from view in the tangled limbs.
"Red squirrels… probably," she identified, then hesitated. "…Is that what it's like for you… a-all the time?"
She felt his soft chuckle pass through his ribs. How strange, for his laughter to be only in his body, for her to feel it indirectly, as external. "No, not all the time. Only when I focus."
"Wow… I don't think I really understood, before. You're… you're superhuman."
He blushed intensely, and mumbled bashfully, "aw Ciri, I'm not, I'm…," he tailed off, and sighed a little ruefully. "Well, I don't know, maybe I am a little."
"You are. Luke, you're incredible… wow, I'm so glad I know you..."
He grinned, then after a moment, he said quietly, "Is it cheating if I try to use the Force like this to make you like me?"
"No!" she said strongly… then more quietly, "–I-I mean, no… I like a lot of things about you."
"..Good," he breathed. "..I'm glad I know you too, you know… and I think there's some pretty incredible things about you. Like how fearlessly curious you are.. and how grounded and kind you are… and how you make my heart clench. …You're not like any other person I know."
She flushed under his praise, then kicked her knees out and became slightly sarcastic. "Yeah? Do you like how awkward I am and how I never know what to do?"
He smiled kindly, with a light laugh. "I do like it that you're shy, actually, Ciri… I don't know, it seems earnest, to me. And it's just so gratifying to watch your pretty face blushing at something I've said. So there."
She had to chuckle, even as it made her redden more. "..Ok, point accepted."
“…And I like how you’re innocent," he added in a moment, "I used to be innocent, and I miss it… but you make me feel that, again.”
She raised her head to look at him. He was gazing down at her with perfect tenderness, and the sweetest little smile. She blushed just looking at it, and didn't know what to say.
"You're alright?" he whispered, reaching over to gently take her hand, "Feeling a little more steady?"
"Y-yeah, I'm… I'm good. Thank you, Luke."
Her fingers curled between his.
"Good… I'll get better at it, if you wanted to do it again, sometime."
She smiled giddily. "Yes, Luke, I'd love to do it again!"
His own smile blossomed as he murmured, "Wonderful."
“…Um, y-you’ve really never done that, before? …S-shared…like that?”
“No, Ciri, I haven’t… The only person I would have with, is my sister… and she’s strong in the Force as I, so there’s no need. With anyone else… well, the thought just didn’t feel quite right, if it came. But you… you're so open and curious. ..You make me wanna share a lot.”
She blushed, and had to glance away with a laugh before looking back at him. "Y-you make me feel so.. s-special.. …well, I-I like it, when you share with me, Luke. Thank you."
He blushed, smiling happily, and squeezed her hand. "You know, I feel the same way, when you share with me."
"You're a.. really good first-timer, too…that was incredible!"
Still blushing, he grinned fondly, and chuckled. "Thanks for thinking so…," then, whispered conspiratorially, "Hey, Ciri."
"Y-yeah?"
"You know, you're absolutely gorgeous, princess," he whispered, with that impossibly soft, sweet smile and just a little bit of mischief in his eyes.
She couldn't stop blushing, it seemed, and she had to look down to stammer, "Th-thank you, L-Luke.." When she raised her eyes, she found it had only made him smile the more.
He gently brought her hand to his lips, and kissed it carefully, his eyes lidded. His lips were incredibly soft. Then he whispered, "Ciri? Take me to your woods."
She gulped. "S-sure, of course…" And as his arm dropped from her shoulder, he released her hand and let her get down.
"Um, did you have somewhere specific in mind?" she asked at the bottom of the steps.
"I want to see a beast gate… preferably one that's kind of… that way," he answered, gesturing just above east.
This time when they walked along the grounds to the wood, their fingers were fondly interwoven.
The gate she led him to was long overgrown. The trees marched up directly to it, and continued on the other side with barely an interruption for the wall itself. A permanent twilight hung under the canopy. The wall was thick, and the gate tunneled through it. The stones lining its sides were mossy and damp.
The gate couldn't be seen from any appreciable distance. Long familiarity with the wood was the only way she knew it was near, before standing practically before it.
He released her hand as they reached it, and stepped forward to run his palm along the beginning of the arch.
Then he turned to her with a mischievous grin and stepped backward into it.
She watched him steadily receding until she could no longer make him out through the gloom. Then she smirked and followed him under.
She met him somewhere nearly through. Their fingers touched in the darkness, then slid past one another until their hands were clasped. She felt like she could almost sense him smiling.
The shade lightened enough on the other side for her to see that he was. He stopped walking first, so that she inadvertently closed the gap separating them.
"Have you been through this one?" he asked softly, barely inches away.
"I've been through all of them," she returned.
"That's my girl…," he breathed, and she flushed with pleasure. "Have you been to the base of the big hill?"
He was referring to the hill that rose up to one side of the castle. It was much higher on the far side, where an escarpment dropped it down into a large depression on the surface of the land.
"Yes," she answered.
"Will you take me there? …To the base of the hill on the far side from the castle."
"O-of course," she whispered. "Why do you want to go… Luke, are you taking me to see your ship?"
"No…," he answered with soft innocence, "you're taking me to see my ship. …I don't know where I am."
She grinned in delight, and bit her lip, and squeezed his hands. "Thank you Luke!" she said triumphantly. And she wanted almost desperately to give him a hug.
Then she was doing it, dropping his hands to quickly throw her arms around his torso, and squeezing him close. She heard his breath suck in and catch.. then felt his hand ease onto her waist and up her side… Then both his hands were running over her back, and he was hugging her too. His fingers curled into her clothing. His breath shuddered, and she felt the vibrations running through her body, almost like they were still connected through the Force. She just sighed, and relaxed against him, not remembering to feel that she shouldn't. He was amazingly comfortable and had the softest, warmest body, and a delightful musky scent that made her want to drown, and he was holding her close, his chin resting atop her hair. His heart was beating strongly in his chest.
She hugged him for so much longer than she would have thought possible, because he didn't dislodge her or do anything else except cradle her close, as his breath gently rustled her hair.
Then she remembered his starship, and what was happening, and came back to collect herself. She gently loosened her arms, and pulled back, blushing at how long she'd held him for. He let her go, but he didn't drop his hands from her body just yet. Instead they settled upon her waist.
"I-I'm sorry I… j-just…," her cheeks flushed to admit what had just happened. "…for so long," she finished quietly.
"No… you don't get to apologize for that," he protested softly, "it's not fair."
"O-oh…"
"It's fine to be embarrassed, Ciri… but don't apologize. I enjoyed that too much to hear you say sorry for it." His hands were still on her body.
"Oh, I… s-sure. y-yeah, me… m-me t-too…"
"well, good… for me.."
A moment passed as she gazed up into his eyes.
Then he began to gently murmur, "Ciri? …Is it cheating? If I try to use my X-wing to make you like me?" His voice held a note of vulnerability that wasn't normally there.
"I-is that what you're doing?"
A moment passed.
"…No. I'm showing it to you because I like you. But I do want you to like me. And I do have an X-wing. I think I just got hugged for it."
"I don't think it's cheating, Luke. N-not when I already…
I already really l-like you a lot, Luke. I… I w-wouldn't have just… for so long, o-otherwise… I-I've never… " She was blushing terribly.
He breathed, his smile gently returning, seeming shyer than usual. Or maybe it was just the low lighting. His hands on her waist squeezed. "Good… ok, that's good. …I've never, either, Ciri. Thank you." He leaned down slightly, and pressed his lips against her forehead.
Then he sighed, and his hands slowly dropped away from her body. She missed them, instantly. "Um, I guess we'd probably better… get going…"
She nodded, a little reluctantly. "Y-yeah, um...p-probably…" And he refound her hand.
"Hug me again sometime, Ciri." He looked directly into her eyes, and squeezed her palm. "….I'd like it."
"I…," she swallowed. "O-ok, yeah, I - I will," she whispered.
The corner of his lip twerked into a smile. "Thank you," he mouthed, near soundless.
He held on to her hand as she led him into the trees beyond the wall.
When they got to the hill, he took over navigating, and soon located the spot where his ship was hidden. The scree of the hill petered out as the ground leveled, being replaced first with low vegetation and then forest. The trees were sparser, here. As they approached, she made out a rough impression of something large crouched just within them.
When they got closer to the mass, she saw little glints of metal through foliage, and realized he had covered it in branches and fronds broken from the surrounding greenery.
"Hold on," he said, then raised his arms. As he did, she gasped to see the camouflaging vegetation lift into the air, exposing the clean lines of his ship. It was long and tapering, more bulbous at the back, with straight, flat wings jutting out to either side from its hindquarters. They were decorated with thin spurs of metal at their tips. A red stripe ran down the side of its nose.
He spread his arms to the side, and the hovering vegetation floated off to either side of the ship and settled to the ground.
"Wow…," she breathed.
"She's a beauty, isn't she?" Luke murmured appreciatively beside her.
She grinned, and tore her eyes from the ship to look at him. He was gazing at it, a small smile on his lips. "You're proud of your X-wing," she accused teasingly, and he blushed. "All these incredible things about you, and that you've done, and I feel like you'd rather no one knew… but this one makes you proud."
He bit his lip and clasped his hands behind his back, and looked at her with a grin and sparkly eyes. "Yes, Ciri, I'm proud."
She smiled and told him, "Well, she is beautiful."
He practically preened, making her giggle.
Then she jogged to the ship and held her hands up to it, running her palms along the smooth, cool metal of the nose. The surface was periodically marred by pocks and streaks of something like charcoal.
"R2?" she heard him call from behind her, and to her surprise there was an answering trill from the ship. She jerked her hands away and stepped back.
"No, we're not leaving. Why don't you come down here, there's someone I want you to meet."
It sure didn't sound like he was talking to her. A quick series of electronic beeps responded.
Then he raised his hand, and an object lifted up from the back of the ship. It was short and cylindrical, with a domed top. She swiftly returned to his side, as he lowered the object gently to the ground. She felt his other hand come to rest reassuringly on the small of her back.
"R2, this is Princess Ciri. She's a friend."
The domed cylinder twittered, presumably in greeting, and stepped closer, using the struts attached to either side of its metallic body as legs.
Her mouth fallen open, and feeling deeply odd, she said, "H-hi…"
"Ciri, this is my astromech droid, R2-D2. He takes care of the ship…"
A loud blat came from the droid, and Luke laughed. "…and he's my friend, too. R2, you didn't let me finish. …He's been my companion for many, many journeys."
"N-nice to meet you… R2?"
The droid's dome swiveled slightly, seemingly to regard her, and a cheerful beeping trill rose from the unit.
"R2 says he's pleased to meet you, too."
She hesitantly approached the droid, dropping to one knee before it. "May I?" she asked, with her hand raised. R2 beeped, and Luke translated, "He says you may." She gently lowered her hand to his dome.
R2 began twittering and lightly shifting back and forth on his struts. "He likes you," chuckled Luke.
"You just stay on the ship?" she asked R2, "Don't you get bored?"
R2 released a loud trill, followed by softer beeps and chirps. "He really likes you… and he says that's why he's been staying in low-power mode," Luke conveyed, then added, "…Actually he usually comes with me, but… most places we go, droids are nothing unusual to look at. Here… It just seemed more prudent for him to remain hidden."
"Ah… well hopefully you'll get back to a place like that soon, R2," she told the droid comfortingly. Then she realized what that would mean, and looked back to Luke with something like worry.
He grinned. "It's alright, Ciri… my business here isn't nearly concluded, and R2 doesn't really notice the passage of time when he's powered down. I'll be here for a long while yet, and R2 won't suffer in the meantime."
She blushed, and smiled back. "Good."
She spent a long time pouring over his ship, inspecting it, asking questions about everything. Some of them could only be answered by R2, and many of the answers she didn't fully understand, but she was beginning to build a basic comprehension of the ship's operation.
At last she summoned the courage to ask her most important question.
"Luke… d-do you think… c-could you… could we, maybe… could we fly in it? I-it wouldn't have to be far! But, maybe just a little?"
A happy little thrum emerged from his throat. "Ciri, I'd be delighted to take you anywhere… and we can go somewhere far. It's a fast ship… we can be gone and back in a day, easily, from a lot of places. Anywhere on the planet." He glanced down, hesitated just a little. "…And I'd take you further… you'd need a proper flight suit, but.. possibly we could reach another planet in this system, quick enough not to be noticed. R2 would know. …And if we had more time…I could take you further still."
She distantly heard R2's affirmative beep. She'd stilled. "…Luke, really? You'd take me to another world?"
He looked up, and gave her a pleased smile. "Really, Ciri… it would make me very happy."
Something happened to her knees, and suddenly she was sitting on the ground.
Her lips parted, as she hung back her head to gaze up past the ship and the trees, into the pearly sky. The stars were concealed by the light of the sun. She knew that some of them were planets, orbiting the same star as her planet. Part of the same system, he would say. She knew which ones they were and where to look for them in the night sky each season of the year. She had no idea what even one of them was like.
She belatedly realized that Luke had taken a seat beside her. Blinking, she withdrew her attention from the sky above.
"S-sorry, I just… guess I got a little overwhelmed. I've never… I've never been farther than a day's hike from the walls," she said quietly.
"Don't apologize…," he said softly, resting his chin in his palm with such a sweet, gentle smile that her breath caught to look at it. "…It is overwhelming. Many would shy away from that…where I just see you being interested, and excited. …Ciri, it would bring me great joy, to help you explore something more of the galaxy.”
She smiled, a little bashful. "Thank you Luke… I can't tell you what it means to me."
"Maybe not… but I do understand a little."
"Right," she said, "…Moisture farmer."
"Yeah."
She smiled, then bit her lip and sucked in a breath to ask hopefully, "–Could, we go somewhere now?"
He grinned, chuckled, "Sure. Somewhere you had in mind?"
"N-no, nowhere in particular. Anywhere!"
"Then I think maybe I know just the spot… Um, but Ciri..," he hesitated, then sidled in a little closer and said, "…there's something I have to tell you about my ship, before we go anywhere in it." He leaned in a bit closer still, and she listened carefully, watching him intently, wondering what it could be, as he watched her. "…It's a single pilot fighter," he murmured softly, "…one pilot, one seat. I am pretty confident we'll both fit, but…. if I take you flying in it, you’ll have to sit in my lap."
She flushed brightly red, and mouthed, "Oh…"
His head cocked slightly. "…It doesn't exactly bother me. Does it bother you?"
"N-no… it's… not a bother…"
He gave her a sweetly conspiratorial grin. "…Good."
R2 released a lengthy, vacillating tone with an oddly condescending edge to it, and Luke blushed. "-R2 is admonishing me for flirting with you."
"O-oh… um, i-it's ok…," she breathed, dazed by his choice of words.
"…then perfect," he said softly with a tiny smile, then turned his head to the droid and called, "You heard that, R2? I have permission. Means you get to keep your opinions to yourself."
R2 emitted a blat.
Then he stood, and offered her his hand. "Well, princess… shall we?" She smiled and took it, suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed for the droid to observe them. He pulled her to her feet, and again they ended up bare inches apart. He offered her a shy smile. "Don't worry about R2," he said gently, "he's just trying to look out for you. …Which, by the way…" he raised his voice and looked at R2 to finish, "...is so unnecessary!"
R2 twittered derisively.
Luke snorted, and switched which hand he was using to hold hers. "Back into the ship, R2." He raised his free hand, and the little droid lifted into the air and settled back into his socket on the ship.
Luke squeezed her hand and turned back to her. "Ciri…," he began gently, then smiled and seemed to become a little lost, as he gazed down at her. He recovered quickly. "…Come on," he said with a smile, and led her to one of the wings of the ship. It jutted out a bit above the level of her head.
"In a proper hangar, they'd bring us a ladder… in the field we just kind of scramble up the S-foils. Here, let me help you."
He positioned her with her back to the wing, and placed his hands around her waist. Her own hands ended up on his forearms, almost of their own accord. They spent a moment paused there, gazing at each other and breathing, before he tightened his grip and lifted her high above him, settling her easily onto the wing. She gaped down at him, in disbelief. "How are you this strong?"
He grinned, reaching up and gripping the wing next to her. "I'm not," he said, and in one smooth motion pulled himself up to sit beside her.
"Oh…," she said, realizing he must have been using the Force to augment his strength.
"It's possible I might be attempting to impress you," he admitted with a small smile, making her laugh. It felt alien, for someone to try to impress her.
"I-I can't believe you'd ever need to impress anyone. -I mean, t-that you'd actually have to try."
R2 warbled, and sounded not at all impressed. "Please, ignore him…," Luke beseeched, climbing to his feet before helping her up too. "You flatter me, princess. ..Consider me a sucker for it."
Then he raised the canopy and stepped inside, and began fiddling with some of the many controls that she saw lining the bay. The seat slid backwards a space, and he straightened, fitting a small device onto his head. "Comlink," he explained, "it'll let me talk to R2 while we're off the ground." Then he held out his hand to her.
It was a little awkward getting in… she took his hand and stepped into the cockpit, nearly stepping on him in the process. His hand immediately found her waist to steady her. Then they had to sidle around each other in the narrow space so she could be in front. Nervous laughter rose from them as they bumped into each other, and the surrounding bays of controls, and then she was in position and standing alone for a moment in the cockpit as he sat, before following suit.
As soon as they got settled, with her back against his chest and his legs rising up on either side of her, the awkwardness abruptly changed its flavor.
At once the only sensations she had any particular awareness of, were those emanating from his body's contact with hers. The canopy sank closed on top of them, and she barely even noticed.
She could feel his breath, gently lifting her as it lifted his chest, and stirring her hair. She could feel his warmth, as it bloomed into her from seemingly almost every direction. She could feel the pressure of him, against her back, on her hips and thighs. Her breath caught, and she tried to release it in a quiet sigh. She felt his chest begin to shudder, and realized he was laughing.
"-What is it? A-are you u-uncomfortable? …Is this… not going to w-work…?" she asked with bashful concern. There were a lot of buttons and switches in front of her that she wasn't sure he'd be able to reach… and a stick rising up diagonally between her legs to end in an ergonomically designed handle a short distance from her stomach.
She felt his answering hum pass into her almost uninterrupted, both felt and heard him as he murmured, "Mmmm, no, Ciri, I'm not uncomfortable at all… are you?"
"N-no." The space was snug, but it was impossible to be uncomfortable with him so close.
He exhaled, "good… Don't worry, this is definitely going to work. …I was laughing because…" his voice dropped and wavered a little, "you're ah, really distracting… more so than I anticipated… and, I think it's about to be a bit harder to fly than what I'm used to…"
She flushed intensely, and whispered back, "W-well I - I am blocking a lot of the controls, aren't I?"
"You mean these controls?" And she watched as several switches in front of her flipped of their own accord. "You're not blocking anything, Ciri… you're just warm and close." Tingles fled across her body, to hear him say so. "It's a good thing..," he continued, reaching out to flip another switch above her head, "..that I'm a fantastic fucking pilot."
She smiled to hear his description. "So I heard."
"Mmhmm… you heard correctly…," he interrupted his bragging with a chuckle. "-Although actually, R2 can fly this thing pretty handily himself."
"I like you so much, Luke," she whispered, because suddenly she had to.
His nose gently nudged into her hair. "Me too, Ciri. Really much."
"-And I don't at all like you just because you can take me places and make things float, that's just a bonus, you know that, right?"
His chest thrummed. "Yes, I know that… but thank you for saying so… Hey, Ciri.
- you know that I don't just like you because you're a princess and you're very pretty and I'm negotiating with your father, right?"
She laughed. "Yes, Luke, I know."
"Perfect… Now, buckle in, princess." Using the Force, he raised a harness before her, settled it over her, and fastened it behind her so that it covered them both. She couldn't raise her weight off of him now if she tried.
He toggled a few more controls, and she heard an electronic whine, and then felt a rapidly oscillating hum roar to life around them, and knew it had to be the engines powering up. She gulped, her heart suddenly beginning to pound.
And his arm wrapped her stomach, over the harness. "Shh…," he whispered to her, "…it's alright, Ciri. I wouldn't agree to take you if I wasn't confident it would be safe."
She relaxed into him, nodding, placing her hand over his. "I know, Luke. Thank you."
She felt his exhalation rippling through her hair. They spent a moment breathing together, soaking in each other's warmth with the engines thrumming all around them. Her heart began to steady as she briefly closed her eyes. Then he whispered, "Well I am going to need that hand back, unfortunately… You can hold onto my legs, if you'd like. Feel free to squeeze me hard. Let's see… I think I'm gonna need to…" he threaded his arms under hers, so he could reach past her and grip the throttle. "There. Perfect." She settled her hands onto his knees and nodded.
"Ready?" he asked.
"R-ready," she confirmed.
"R2?" he said through the comlink, "We're ready." She heard R2's answering warble crackle over the link.
"Great. Here we go…" Then he huffed quietly. "Oh, and Ciri? Don't touch anything that isn't me."
She didn't mention that she wouldn't dream of it, because the vibrations from the engines had intensified, and she could feel them rising into the air. The trees around the little clearing seemed to fall away, and as soon as they had cleared their tops, Luke was moving the throttle, rotating them to face away from the hill and out to the broader landscape. She saw the forest canopy sweeping gently away to the horizon.
Then the engines punched, and she gasped at being pushed hard into his chest, and they were speeding out over that landscape, inconceivably fast, hugging to the treetops as greenery passed underneath in a blur.
Her heart skittered, and her fingers on his knees clenched, as within about a minute they were farther from the walls than she'd ever been.
"I wanna stay low," she distantly heard Luke explaining, "so no one will see us. Just gotta get out of sight of the castle… and well, probably of everybody. Luckily for us, the scanners show this area is pretty uninhabited for miles around."
Within just a few minutes, she made out a linear break in the trees, and realized it must be the river. She'd never seen it - it was miles from the castle, many too many to be covered on foot in a day - but she knew it was there and that all the streams in and around the castle drained into it.
"Hold on, princess. This is going to be a bit rough," Luke warned her, and she gripped his knees tighter in anticipation.
He slowed the ship as they approached the break. Then they were out over the water, and the river was huge and brown all laced over with white, and their weight slammed forward into the harness as he rapidly decelerated the ship. He twisted the stick and the ship's nose rose swiftly to point straight into the sky, and then the engines punched again and she was knocked back into his chest as they shot directly up over the river into the clouds.
He didn't stop climbing once they'd pierced the cloud cover. Instead, the craft gradually began decelerating as the sky thinned, and then gently went dark, because they were leaving it behind.
He turned them upside down over the planet, and set them to slowly spinning, so that as she watched spellbound through the starship's canopy she saw the distant green-brown patchwork of the land continually falling away, then the brilliant glowing edge of the atmosphere rolling against the dark, and then just the dark, the stars spangled glittering across it… and then the atmosphere and the ground would rise again, in an ever-repeating cycle. Though she could see the spin, she could not feel it. They were weightless. She laughed.
She felt certain that just 10, or perhaps 15 minutes before, she had been standing on solid ground outside her father's castle. Now she wasn't even on the planet.
"R2, keep us in orbit," Luke instructed, and the droid's affirmative bleep sounded over the com. He relaxed his grip on the throttle.
"Luke… Luke thank you!" she said as her giddy merriment was slowly replaced by wonder, "I… I can't thank you enough, for this… you've - oh, gods-" she suddenly had to stop talking and hold her breath, lest she begin to cry.
"Shh, Ciri…," he murmured to her tresses, lifting his fingers to stroke along the underside of her forearm, "It's my pleasure, and you already have."
"-I haven't," she gulped.
"I promise you that you have, Ciri… believe me…" his voice dropped to a soothing whisper nudging into her hair, "it's ok, Ciri… shhh, it's ok…"
She nodded and relaxed into him, placing one hand on his and squeezing, feeling him squeeze back in answer. "ok…" And she focused on her breathing and his presence, until the feeling passed.
Eased, her mind returned to the vision laid out before her. She felt suspended in space, absorbing his warmth on one side and the vast cold spectacle on the other. It was a lot to take in.
"Why are you always so comforting?" she asked mildly, after a space. She didn't think it had been so obvious, how close she’d been to tears.
"Um, welll…" He sounded embarrassed, and she felt him reach back and disconnect his com with R2. "I can sense your discountenance. In the Force. –I’m not trying to read you, Ciri, it’s just… certain things, strong emotions… can kind of force themselves on my awareness. …And for some reason, it's been happening more than I'm used to, with you. I-I'd guess it's something to do with.. how I feel about you, that's making your presence in the Force more… salient, to me. But, I don't really know..why…"
"Oh… OH." Abruptly her curiosity was replaced by mortification, her cheeks flaring red. "S-so y-you can… w-when I'm all, um, I mean… ..a-a–round you.. y-you've been…"
His voice came gently to her ears. "…I can tell what effect I have on you… to some extent. To be more exact, I can feel how nervous and heart-poundy I make you, but it's hard to know why that is exactly without… reaching for more information. Which I wouldn’t do, with respect. But, it's not so hard to put together… by more… conventional means. …That's part of why I've been trying to make how I feel obvious, too. So we can be on more even ground, with each other. ..Because you make me heart-poundy, too, and I like you, too. …um, I-is it… ok?”
“..Um,” she laughed in embarrassment. “Um, y-yeah, s-sure, just…"
She stopped to collect her thoughts, and he waited with outward patience.
"–It t-takes a little getting used to…the idea, but… I-I guess it’s just.. part of getting closer to… y-you…” Her voice nearly failed her on the final word. Could what he'd said about his heart, really be true?
His fingers laced through hers and squeezed. “Ciri, you’re unflappable.” His voice became a breath slipping into her hair, “Thank you, princess…,” and he pressed a kiss to the back of her head. "I was worried… that you wouldn't like it… because people never do… but I can't turn it off, so, I just.. chose not to mention it? I… think I owe you an apology, for that. I'm sorry, Ciri. I should have been more forthcoming. …You would be well within your rights, to find it disturbing, or me.. dishonest." His voice fell on that last word, disappointedly.
"N-no, um, it's fine, Luke," she said, blushing, "I understand. …I-It'd be such a weird thing to have to bring up, I sure wouldn't know how… and.. And if I'm fine with it happening at all, I'm fine with not knowing about it immediately. I mean, I… I trust you. I don't think you're dishonest." She smiled to herself, realizing as she said it the reality of how much she did trust him, even after knowing him for just a few weeks. His presence at her back felt comforting and safe. Things he might sense about her, didn't change that. His fingers slid down hers to the major knuckles, and he squeezed, swallowing.
Suddenly, she wanted to be facing him, to be holding him like she had been earlier. She had to content herself with clinging to his hand, and his knee, biting her lip as she did.
"Thank you, Ciri," he whispered, his head ducked against hers and his voice a little thick, "Your acceptance feels amazing… in a way I can't fully describe."
"Well you're easy to accept, Luke," she whispered back. He sighed peacefully.
Gradually, the tension drained out of their mutual grip, and she refocused on the stars.
"…Luke?"
"Ciri?"
"There's so many…I-I… I don't recognize them, like this.."
"Some of them are obscured, by the atmosphere… groundside," he explained.
"I…" she confessed, "I was going to try to impress you by showing you the planets. In my head." She laughed, "They're indistinguishable, now…"
"mm.. Ciri, I'm already very impressed," he softly told her hair, "So there's really no need…"
"-There's one!" she exclaimed, and pointed. "…I-I noticed a constellation.. The brightest stars are the ones you can see from below. There's the Wintry Hart; but I've never seen it at this time of year. The left antler points towards Noxur."
Now he was laughing, the vibrations passing through her back and into her torso. "Nevermind. You're more impressive than ever…"
She blushed, internally preening, and feeling so very pleased.
"…How long can we stay?"
"As long as you like… back down there, sunset is in, say… 5 hours. When will they miss you?"
“N-not till morning, I would guess. But the woods become almost impossible to navigate after dark.”
“Darkness doesn’t bother me… I have other ways to see. -But you'll be tired...”
"We'll see," she replied, doubting it. Then something caught her eye, down below. "I think… Luke, I think I know that shape…!" She pointed out the canopy, to an inland sea shaped like an aster, far below.
"It's the Sea of Cytheae! P-eople think that a great spirit fell from heaven, there, and that’s why it’s shaped like that. ..They always want to make up reasons, for everything. They even make pilgrimages, there. …I-it's amazing… seeing things all the way up here, that I've only seen before on maps…"
"I wondered if you'd recognize anything, down there," he softly told her hair. "You know your geography."
"I know a lot of things… a-about a few things."
"You are my scholar," he murmured appreciatively, and she flushed proudly. "What else can you see, Ciri?"
He stopped their spin, to make the planet's surface easier to study. She realized that the maps she had studied were distorted, not quite accurate. The mapmakers had been unable to properly account for the world's curvature. Nonetheless, she pointed out the landmasses and large bodies of water they passed over, and worked out the names of most of the big mountain ranges that were visible, and rivers.
Then she had him turn the ship so the canopy pointed out to the emptiness yawning spaceside, and she searched the stars for the other planets, slowly pointing them out to him too, one by one.
Eventually, with slight reluctance, she had him bring her home. They reentered the atmosphere above a large cloud bank, then punched back through it right over the river, to come back up the slump they'd left by.
She said goodbye to R2, and watched as Luke re-covered the ship in its foliage. It felt oddly strange, to stand upon the ground. A sense of motion was missing that she’d hardly been aware of, above. Her stomach growled. The light was fading, the western sky growing brilliant with orange fire.
When the light failed and they were inevitably still in the woods, he knelt down in front of her and had her put her arms around his shoulders, then hooked his hands under her knees and lifted her on his back. He carried her, asking sometimes for her direction, and stepping over roots and around trunks in their path with uncanny ease. When she worried about being too heavy to carry over such a distance, he just laughed, saying it was just like training with his old master, and reminded her that size didn't mean much, in the Force.
As they cleared the woods he released her. They wandered to the stream, pausing there in the grass to share the food she'd brought in her pack, then held hands and quietly basked in the night, before crossing the bridge back to the rest of the grounds.
Finally, he brought her yawning back to her door.
As they halted and he turned to face her, he brought up her hand and cupped it in his. “Ciri…,” he whispered softly, stroking his thumb along her knuckles. She looked into his pretty blue eyes, and swallowed as he sweetly kissed the back of her hand.
“Luke…,” she started quietly, “T-thank you for this… for today. …I-I can't even…,” she huffed a laugh at the futility of explanation. “-I feel like you showed me things that I can barely imagine, even after knowing them. Thank you.”
He smiled shyly, blushing in pleasure. She blushed too, to watch him do it, then suddenly she couldn't bear the idea of sending him away without a parting hug, after the day he'd shared with her. With a slight frown and an indrawn breath she dropped her hand from his and caught him up in her arms.
This time he hesitated in surprise rather less before wrapping his arms warmly around her, and returning her embrace. She squeezed him tight as she could, and felt his face nudge into her hair.. felt him swallow. Gradually, his fingers began to stroke her in slow, sweet little circles, wherever they touched her. Nose in her hair, he peacefully breathed in.
She could hardly believe she was being held this way, so comfortably and sweetly, with such care and seeming need, so she hid her face in his chest, carefully adjusted her grip, rubbed her arms along his lithe body, and held him back.
They stood there wrapped in comfort, as the minutes ticked by.
Eventually she recalled how she needed to tell him goodnight and go inside to her bed, and stirred reluctantly in his arms. He swallowed audibly as he felt her slowly pulling away… but she didn't go far, and he didn't take his hands off of her.
Instead he gently ducked his forehead against hers, and sighed. A slight husk marked his voice, as he spoke. “…Ciri… there's something that.. I'm not used to… in the way that you hold me… and Force, I'm finding it enthralling…”
She gave a tiny embarrassed laugh, and blushed, her eyes turned down. She had left her hands upon him this time, too. They rested on his waist, mirroring his on her. “I-I-I think I might, f-feel it too…,” she ventured quietly.
He delicately squeezed her body in his hands, and rubbed his forehead against hers just a little, causing her to gasp lightly and rub into him back. Then he breathed, “Mhmm.. I can sense your contentment. …That sort of emotion, usually isn't so loud… But mine is loud, too. You just can't hear it…”
She involuntarily gasped as she felt a flush travel along her entire body, from her cheeks to her calves, to have him know just how inordinately special it was to her to be so close to him. She pulled back her head, and looked up at him with her mouth hanging uselessly open, and no clue what to say.
Taking in her reaction, he sucked in a breath and winced.. flushed appealingly. "Um. I'm sorry, Ciri.. I'm embarrassed. I should have asked you if it's alright for me to, um. Talk about what emotions I'm picking up from you.
…Maybe you'd be more comfortable, if I didn't…?" he offered, with an abashed, contrite look.
"N-no," she said quickly, accidentally pulling on him by his waist. "Um…," she continued quieter, "Y-you didn't make me, u-uncomfortable. I.. didn't know what to say b-back, but.. I'm fine. I was just a little surprised. I… um, I think I kinda like it, that you can hear me.. f-feeling. So, I think that… in the future, I'd w-want you to, talk about it, if you want to."
He stared. The air hung between them. Then, "You like it?" he said breathlessly into it, "….it's, it's that ok?"
It was. It was surpassing strange, and yet.. Every single time, she'd been embarrassed, or felt exposed before him, he had made it be alright. …And it felt nice, after all, to have him see her, and it be alright. "Y-yes, Luke, I like it. It's OK. Entirely Ok," she softly admitted. His proximity was alternatingly causing her to feel easement and an exciting agitation.
She could barely hear him sigh out a faint, "oh…"
Then he met her eyes, something strangely hopeful and vulnerable marking his face. "..You really don't think this is weird, Ciri?" he asked hesitantly, "…I'm not… I'm really not too much?"
"You're perfect," she answered without thinking, and saw his reflexive blush. Then, "U-um-," she stuttered, "um, I mean, no, y.. you're not too much. …and I don't care, if it's weird. -I guess that it is. Obviously. B-but, I like it. You're strange, and, I like you. ..Maybe I should be uncomfortable, that you can tell what I'm feeling, but… I'm not."
His lips held a secret little smile. "You're not…," he echoed softly, "You like it…"
"I'm not. I… well, I f-feel like it's safe, with you," she said quietly.
For some reason, his blush was intensifying, spreading across his whole face, and spilling up his ears. "You feel safe with me?" he asked gently.
"Y-yeah.. completely."
His smile suddenly broadened so happily that it stole her breath away, and his hands tightened on her waist, and he sussurated out, "Kriff…I'm glad… …Ciri…. I hope you'll always feel that way, princess…"
Now he'd ducked his head down toward his boots and closed his eyes, and was smiling that same little smile from so many days before in the forest, and it seemed so private, like it would flee on observation… but somehow this time she didn't feel it was the only proper thing to look away. Maybe because of how close they were standing, their hands rested on each other… as though his fingertips on her back marked out an inner circle, and she stood within it, privileged to share secrets. She drank his expression in freely.
"I never thought," he mused softly, "I never thought… this could be something someone might like. Or, ah," and he broke off to wryly chuckle, "-associate with safety, in any capacity." He leaned forward, till his forehead rested against hers, and whispered, "..Thank you, Ciri."
She blushed, and instinctively tightened her grip on his clothing. "I-it's nothing to thank me for, Luke, I'm not doing it on purpose. I-it just is…"
His eyes slipped open. "I know.. it's just because of who you are. I'm still thankful for it."
"…Um, well… i-in that case, you're welcome. I… well, you are an unusually safe person, you know. You should get to feel like it. …I-I mean, the other day I think I even heard you according rights to deer. …Few would bother.."
He smiled gently, and snuffed, "All living things should be treated as such."
Then his brows drew, slightly. "…And well… I kinda have to be unusually safe, because of what I can do. …Ciri, I can kill with a thought. With just a bit of focus. That doesn't bother you?"
She blinked. "Why? My father's men-at-arms can kill with a sword, should that bother me?"
"I guess, to most people, the means make a difference."
"Not to me. Plenty of people in this palace can kill and no one ever does it. That's part of civilization. And so are you…"
He laughed, suddenly. As though it had burst out of him. "Oh. You're remarkable. I'm… "
Then he swiftly wrapped his arms back around her, giving her a quick close squeeze with his eyes closed and his cheek tucked against her crown. She smiled, clutched him back, and reveled in it.
As he released her she yawned, and looked away and raised her hand from his waist to cover her mouth.
"I've kept you up too late," he observed, "I'm sorry…"
She gave a dismissive laugh. "No you didn't. I was having fun." Her voice softened, and she hesitated a little before she asked, "…w-will I see you tomorrow?"
"You'll see me tomorrow," he confirmed warmly. "And tomorrow, and tomorrow… I've got some things to do that unfortunately I can't get out of…and I'll come find you when I'm done. …I'll find you, wherever I feel your presence. …Go to bed, Ciri. Sleep in. I want you feeling well-rested.”
She laughed. “You’re mother-hening me…” He blushed, laughed a little too, and she finished, “…it’s sweet.”
He smiled gently. “I'm glad you think so.. I like you so much, princess. You leave me undone…”
He squeezed her body as he left a soft, careful kiss beside her brow, then slowly withdrew, and stepped away, from her grasp - and she quickly reached out and caught his hand.
"L-Luke, thank you again, for today. No one's ever done anything for me that's remotely comparable."
It earned her another sweet smile. “It was only my pleasure, pretty Ciri." He gently squeezed her hand. "…Good night, princess… and thank you very much for the hug.”
"Y-you're welcome," she stuttered with a blushing smile, reluctantly releasing him at last, "G-good night, Luke."
She stepped into her room and closed her door, then put her hands over her face as she leaned back against it and sank down to the floor, hearing his footsteps retreat. Having had him so close all day had left her feeling kind of smashed up, a bit knocked loose, inside. Losing his hands upon her, and leaving him, had been so hard to do. It was overwhelming.
…She thought that she wanted to be overwhelmed by him, in every possible way.
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Rules Of One's Soul Ch2 A Game Of Souls P2
It was a miracle. It was a d*mmed miracle barely anyone saw the scrunched up, sobbing mess of the Duke of Puzzles surrounded by Heart attacks from a certain insane jester. Only the night guard wondering the halls had seen. Curious by the noise of the elevator being used. The same second he saw the duke, he was threatened to be put on 'feeding Jevil' duty if he said a word of what he saw to anyone. Terrified him enough to keep his mouth shut at least. The rest of that awful night was a blur as he couldn't remember stumbling back to his room or managing to even fall asleep with the loud storm or the lingering mixed emotions from the encounter he had less than a minute ago, but he chalked that up to being too emotionally drained from that.
He woke up still groggy in the morning, and wouldn't have gotten up if it weren't for the fact that the King would've been displeased and no one wanted to displease his highness for fear of his anger. And because Lancer needed someone.....
The next few days fell into a similar routine of getting up, putting up a fake smile, and just doing anything but go near that elevator or trying to remember that night. He busied himself with his noble duties of puzzle making and being what Lancer put into terms a 'Lesser Dad'. Or in his own terms, a permanent royal caretaker. Which was basically what he was being told to do anyways, so no real loss. He really didn't mind. He could use the distraction. Honestly he didn't know how much time had passed. Days, weeks, a month or two maybe? Didn't matter. As long as he didn't see that thing ever again he was totally fine. He had a hard enough time dealing with the anxiety and empty feelings that came with the memories. Made him constantly want to vomit.
About maybe a year had passed since the incident and it was slowly starting to get better. He didn't improve on puzzles but he made an upgrade to the control crown that seemed useful. Until the fateful day the lightners fell down. That was a day he truly wished he didn't see the king's anger. But thing's turned out much for the better it seemed. 'King' Lancer was much more friendlier and trustworthy than his father though there was still work needed to be done. It was when he announced releasing all prisoners prior to his father's downfall, that the real melt down started.
The possibility of Jevil running around?? Free?! Where that lunatic could attack him-....anyone at any given moment and spread his insanity like a plague?!?! All the feelings of unwanted belonging, sickness, and that kiss- if he could even call it that- all came rushing back at ounce and he nearly passed out from all the overwhelming thoughts alone. By god he tried as nicely as he could explain to the child that releasing the kings and many common folk were fine, but the Jester would be too mean to let out......
It didn't work.
The overwhelming feeling of dread filled him the very day the other kings were released and slowly everyone were reinstated back to their positions as Kings, servents, civilians, guards, etc. While all of this was going on, the spooked duke didn't see any trace of that menace or hear any of that wicked laugh or gibberish wording. Lots had noticed the Duke's strange behaviors, and only Lancer had a mind to talk-
The child came bounding up to him, tugging on his pants leg to get his attention. "Hey, Lesser Dad. You aren't looking too hot. Are you sick or something?"
A flinch. The Duke brought another strained smile to his face and gave the boy the calmest look he could muster. "O-Of course, mine littlest worm. W-What ever gave thou that silly thought?"
He cocked his head to the side and gave an obvious confused look. "Well, you're acting really weird. Like, when Dad used to yell. Are you sure you're ok?"
"Ahahaha. No need to worry about-t mineself. Thy King should just tend towards his d-duties and thine subjects."
"Ok...If you're sure-?"
"I am! Don't worry non. Eh..." His eyes glazed off to the side for a moment as if uncertain about something, before looking back to the child. "B-But on a curious notion......have thee seen thine foolish inmate a-around lately?"
Lancer tilted his head further with a blep, not exactly sure what he was talking about for a moment, before realization flashed across his face. "Oh, you mean Uncle Jevil??" He flinched at the name, but Lancer didn't seem to notice. "Someone unlocked his cell, but he won't come out...But he still eats stuff."
"Well, we cannot simply force thee to cometh out if he doesn't wanteth too, can we? Ahe....W-Will thou excuse me?"
Carefully prying the hands of the child off him, he turned and began to walk away-
"Where are you going?"
He looked over his shoulder for just a brief moment, "I just need to makest sureth of something. G-Go on back to doinge what thou waseth attending too."
"Oh...Ok, Dad."
He watched as Rouxls quickly made his exit towards the other side of the throne room and out one of the giant doors. What was going on with his Lesser Dad?
A few days had passed since the incident and he wasn't sure whether to be relieved or not. On one hand, the lunatic hadn't even left his cell even though it's open, which was good. On the other hand, the stupid cell door was wide open and he could get out at any given moment, which was unacceptable! His own fears escalated by one thousand when Lancer said the words 'Uncle Jevil'. How-.....WHEN did that come to be?! When did Lancer even have time to even sneak down there let alone give that menace the title of Uncle?! Where did he go wrong!?
Luckily, Lancer was too busy with his new duties as King to even worry about Jevil. For the moment at least. But the sensation of knowing the innocent child could be easily influenced by him, and get hurt in the process.....He tried not to think too much about it or let his emotions cloud his trust in Lancer's new abilities as King but it all came to a head when one afternoon the child rammed headfirst into his leg when exiting the kitchen. The small child landed on his rump with a thud and a metal plate clattered against the ground, sending food all over the ounce clean floors.
"Lancer! Watch'est where thou runeths off too," he said scolding the round child, "What would thine people think if they seest their king running into things with food in his hands?"
"Sorry, Rouxls." He quickly got up to give the much taller man a hug around the leg before swiftly turning back around to pick up the scattered dark candies. Rouxls rose a brow at all the sweets and sighed.
"Lancer, you shouldn't eat so much junk food this early into the day. Tis most unbecoming of a king."
"Oh. They're not for me."
"Then whom art thou-?"
"Uncle Jevil likes sweet things. He really seems to like dark candy from Mr. Seam's shop, so he's gotta like these."
Rouxls froze. He suddenly felt his body nagging him and the familiar rock feeling in his stomach fly back at lightning speed. He swore he would've fell over if his body wasn't frozen in utter horror at the moment. Lancer, not noticing his father's sudden silence continued-
"I haven't seen anyone take him food in a while. They say they're too scared of him attacking them, which is weird if you ask me. So I'm going to make sure he's fe-"
"NO!"
The sudden shout startled them both as Lancer flinched back up to meet the melting man's frozen posture. Thinking quickly, Rouxls smiled that strained grin of his and gave a small chuckle, a habit he inherited to mask stress or emotions the King wouldn't be pleased with. Old habits died hard as they say. Lancer was still staring up at him in disbelief before asking-
"N-No?....Why not?"
"I- Um- He-......Y-You can't go down there?!"
"Why not?"
"I-...Because it's..." He could feel the slimy sweat start to run down his face, he had to think quickly if he wanted to keep the child from becoming suspicious. "B-Because thou cannot just s-simply leave thine's position as king now, can thee? W-What if there's an emergency that requires thou's attention? Being king means you have to take a lot more responsibility now."
"Oh. That's a good point. I don't want to miss anything." Rouxls sighed in relief at the notion he wouldn't go- The sickeningly sweet smell of the star shaped candy hit him before Lancer thrusted most of the picked up candies at him with a toothy grin with his tongue sticking out. "Then you can do it instead!"
.....What?
"What?! L-Lancer, you can't be serious? Art thou?"
The young spade held up his paws again. "Yeah! You help me with lots of things, and no one else will do it, but you're really brave Lesser Dad!" His tiny tail wagged behind him. "If you can talk to Ex-King Dad then you can feed Uncle Jevil!! He's not scary anyways, he's actually really fun!!"
"B-B-But-.....Ahehe. L-Lancer, doth thou know that a king needs his royal advisor? I-I won't do it when you-"
"Lesser Dad, who's king?"
He sighed. "Thou art king. But I-"
"Then as King Lancer, I order you to feed the Royal Fun Uncle!"
"Lancer, I shouldn't-"
"Follow the rules, Lesser Dad."
He stared down at the blepping child for a while opening and closing his mouth like a fish. There was no loophole around this, and he must follow the kings given out by his liege.....No matter how young they were or how terrorfying it was. So sucking a deep breath and ignoring the flair up of dread in his stomach, he made a graceful bow before hissing-
"Of course, Mine Majesty. I'll be sureth thine jeaster gets nourishment- OOF!!"
The sounds of candies scattered against the floor as his body was tackled by the happy spade child in a hug. Rouxls fell onto his rump just as the energetic spade let go and hopped off.
"Thanks, Lesser Dad!," he happily shouted over his shoulder before running off, "I have new king stuff to do before bad stuff happens!"
The taller man watched the round child bound off down the hallway and around the corner before disappearing. Leaving him sitting there on the cold stone floor surrounded by scattered dark candies. The sinking feeling in his stomach got heavier. He would have to go bad down there and feed the touched starved lunatic. He just hoped that he wasn't on the menu.
======================================================================
BING!!
He flinched hard at the soft ding of the doors as they slowly opened to show the stone steps leading into the dark abyss below. The Duke remained routed to the spot staring straight down into the unholy darkness, faintly making out the outline of the bars and stairway thanks to the few torches lit up on the walls. But no yellow eyes looked up at him. No insane laughter echoed off the walls. Nothing. He cautiously leaned out and took a good look around the entrance -he wasn't about to let that maniac spring out on him again- and nervously ran his eyes over the cold stone walls with what light was available to him. Nothing.
His body slowly began to melt from the added pressure that the small imp could literally be anywhere in this mess, the emotions of fear and anxiety bubbled up, and the urge to just leave was very strong. But he couldn't. He couldn't ignore the rules to follow when it came to his majesty's orders. He'll just leave the food by the door and run. Yeah that'll work. His body trembled as he slowly took a step forward, and placed it on the first step. Nothing. A small bubble of relief came over him. So taking a deep breath, he slowly placed one foot after another and descended the stairs, the sounds of his footsteps echoing off the walls. A strange feeling nagged him closer to the bars as he lowered into darkness, heartbeat increasing. He ignored that heartbeats and feelings that twisted in his gut and just kept going. When he had gotten to the bottom of the stairs he stopped.
He stared silently ahead. Frozen.
Silence echoed throughout the cell with the only sounds being the drips from the ceiling and his heavy breathing. He could see the many plates of food that was left there, most likely by a guard in a hurry to get the task done and get out of there, they were all indeed empty which meant two things. Jevil never really left, or they had a rabbick infestation in the lower half of the dungeons. Either way, it was terrible to him, and something that needed to be done. He'd just get it over with. He slowly turned his head over to where the cell door was, to Rouxls horror it was wide open for the world to see. He took a moment just staring at the open doorway with mixed emotions....before starting towards it. He could just leave Lancer's gift right where the other's left the food, but....I don't know. Something just compelled him towards the opening. Like a moth to a flame. It was probably just his parental instincts telling him to make sure, for Lancer's sake, but.....There was something else. The nagging feeling and tugging his soul received everytime he even remotely thought of the dungeon or Jevil. He just needed to look to make them go away. And the only way to do that was too look. If Jevil wasn't in there, then he had a big problem.
The cell door was a little smaller than he anticipated which caused Rouxls to bow down in order to go through, but it didn't shake his feeling of dread whatsoever. And all too soon he found himself just standing a few steps away from the entrance staring out at the surrounding darkness. It was so dark he couldn't tell where the back wall was, it was certainly dark enough to hide a person yet it seemed completely empty. There wasn't any noise at all or anything to indicate any living being was here other than the abandoned empty plates outside. Whatever, he had a bigger problem to deal with now. Keeping Lancer safe from that freed Lunatic-
"Rouxls, Rouxls? Have you come back, back to play our game?"
Two yellow pinpricks appeared from the darkness, making the Duke freeze. From the darkest corner of the room, the jester's face emerged along with the rest of his body. The two just stared at each other for a moment, not moving. Jevil staring almost like not believing the man before him was real, before a wide fanged smile started to spread across his face. Rouxls reacted by giving a small strained smile of his own feeling more of his body start melting. The urge to just turn and bolt grew, but this time....THIS TIME his heartrate increased in a strange way that sent heat to his face and he mentally cursed the stupid soul mate conspiracy.
"Have you come back, back to me? Noone's ever returned on their captured, captured free will?" He asked in a hollow voice. But it didn't sound like the emotionless hollow voice of a madman, it sounded more devoid of any happy expressions except maybe a little hope stuck into it. From the way the yellow orbs eyed the taller male, it seemed he was searching for some concrete. They stopped at the small amount of food in his hands. His smile just became a little bigger and he looked back up to Rouxs with a hopeful feeling in his eyes. "You brought me dark candies, candies? Feeding me?"
"...L-Lancer has toldeth me t-thou has a liking for....s-sweet things? *a-hem* H-Here. These art meant f-for thou," he somehow managed to stammer out while holding out the plate of food towards Jevil.
"For...me, me?" He stared at the plate in Rouxls hands for a moment before he blinked and began to approach the larger man from the other side of the room. "You brought food to me?"
"L-Lancer wouldn't have wished it any other way." His eyes wary looked over the smaller jester approaching. He never really noticed before, but Jevil seemed a lot smaller when he wasn't forcfully hugging him or bouncing around his cell. His clothes looked worn, not exactly old, but had a few tears here and there and missing a patch or stitch. The ruffled collar around his neck and his shoes seemed to be new though. Probably Lancer's doing? He didn't look the least bit grimy or dirty as a prisoner should be. He looked.....strangely almost normal. Or as normal for a court jester to look. The bells on his hat jingled the closer he got to the duke and for maybe the first time, didn't look that threatening. But as he learnt from before, don't underestimate anything down here. "I-I'm surest thou will like thine delicacy to thou's ta-"
The plate was quickly snatched from his out stretched hands, he froze in surprise as the Duke watched a smiling Jevil open his mouth wide and just poor the candies into his open mouth before snapping it shut like a trap puzzle. The snap echoed around the room followed by the clatter of the plate when Jevil dropped it. The jester happily giggled at the shock on Rouxls face, wagging his tail and jumping up into the air to sit crosslegged in mid air. How could he even hover?? A clawed hand grabbed at his own, and when he didn't pull away, clung onto it.
"I almost thought for sure, sure you'd never really, really come back since yesterday. Lancer was kind enough to open my freedom, freedom for others to come join, but sadly, sadly no one has stayed for too long. Only giving me plates and food and nothing more, more." His eyes widened just a little as he let out a series of giggles. "I was sure you'd come back, back!"
"Thou...did?" Was he expecting Rouxls to just waltz down the stairs at any moment any day since ...well since who knows when? That was a bit...sweet. But also a bit weird.
He gave a dry chuckled and gave a face that could've been sheepish. "I knew you'd want to finish the game, game you started.~ Just couldn't resist the urge to back, back down from a challenge to your captured rules.~" Oh, good lord. Did he think Rouxls came down there to give him food because he missed him?! "I admit I maaaaaay over down my heart's, heart's desire for you-" Rouxls internally winced at the mention of the heart attacks. The cut on his shoulder stung for days. "-but it's all in the name of your opponent's affections, affections.~" Wait. Was he saying that the heart attacks was his way of showing his affections?...He wasn't sure how to take this strange news. "But I wonder what the great Duke of Puzzles, Puzzles will make as his next move?~"
Rouxls stared at him for a moment and he couldn't help the next words that stumbled out of his mouth. "Art thou forgetting what happened the last time I visited thine prison cell?"
"Which part?~," he purred almost dreamingly. His hand now kneeding Rouxls's held hand, "The usual, usual retreat and gathering of wits for the game, game is to be expected-"
"How about when thine attacks or didst thou forget my reaction to that...." he shuddered a bit "...kiss? What was that? A surprise sprung on thou's opponent to lower mine defences?"
Jevil giggled and rose a brow to being questioned. "Maybe, maybe. But You can't deny, deny your soul's calling towards me.~"
Without warning, he reached out his other hand to place on his chest, over where his soul throbbed at the touch. Rouxls flinched at the sudden reaction his own soul had towards one touch. What the-? Jevil however looked rather pleased at his soul's reaction to his own and sighed in a content way.
"Opposites, opposites do really attract.~"
"N-Now holdeth on one moment," he stammered out as his face flushed a lighter blue, "Thou does not see t-the rush thou's pushing?! A-And what of mine feelings?"
"Your soul calls out to mine, mine. You came back, back. What more feelings do you possibly need?"
He didn't say anything for a second. "Well....I say we take thou's......game slower."
"Slower?" He asked tilting his head.
"Y-Yes. A-As you can see-" He straightened his back up to speak professionally. "-I-I'm still Lancer's caregiver and thine majesty needs a royal adviser and whomst tis better than I?"
"Understandable.~ Lancer's naivity could cause problems."
"And who'll take care of other things liketh lawkeeping, mine shoppe, thy puzzles,-? Certainly not Lancer."
"Of course not."
"Then you understand?"
"Of course." He sighed in relief, which was shattered by what he said next. "I've always wondered, wondered what the outside of freedom had turned to be. Is Everyone still, still trapped or free? Perhaps it's time to make a journey."
He felt his stomach drop again."Wha....What does thou mean?"
He grinned. "I think it's time to take our game, game.~" He purred and leaned closer to rouxls who gulped and leaned back slightly from Jevil's advancing face. He felt his face flush hard at the sudden closeness as the imp whispered. "To the next level. Level.~"
A quick peck from the imp's cool lips got him to freeze in place as Jevil giggled and seemed to jumped around him and out the cell door behind the frozen duke. Rouxls stared blankly ahead as his brain processed what had just happened, and he could only say one thing about the situation-
"Oh, fucketh me...."
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