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Helpless // Chpt 10 - Rude Awakenings

Iris and Mephisto the morning after, and certain things are revealed over breakfast

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Golden sunlight filters through the curtains and pales in comparison to the locks of hair strewn across Mephisto's body, the Princess they belong to breathing softly as he holds her close. Clumsy fingers brush tenderly against her cheek, rousing Iris from her sleep.

"Morning sleepyhead," he hums, kissing the top of her head.

Iris smiles and her eyelashes flutter open against his skin, so soft and gentle. Her own fingers trace the marks she's lovingly left on his body.

Her chest heaves as she takes a deep breath in, air from her lungs drifting out slowly and rippling the small scattering of burgundy hairs on Mephisto's chest. A pleasant breeze calling out to the morning and promising good fortune to the two sweethearts.

Propping herself up on her elbows, Iris ducks her head and presses a kiss to his jugular.

Mephisto stays silent and waits.

There's more kisses and then Iris pulls back, tucking the curtain of hair out of her eyes to gaze down at him-

She lets out an ear splitting scream and scrambles away for Mephisto's face is burnt to a crisp, with her magic and her crystals embedded deep into the charred flesh. Her eyes are squeezed shut but she can still see that awful image, the result of her volatile nature. Her mouth opens wide as she screams and gags and cries out and apologises - as if that can help.

Her body shakes, curled up into a ball, and now his hand is on her shoulder. "Iris… Iris…"

"IRIS!" Mephisto shook her, "Wake up you're scaring me!"

She gasped and shot up in bed, sweat pouring from every pore, tears streaming down her face, her nerves all over the place.

Mephisto followed her up, panic etched on his face. His perfectly undamaged face.

Iris shakily reached out and caressed his cheek. Smooth. Unburnt. She collapsed against his chest, sobbing gratefully and clutching at him. "It was just a nightmare, it was just a nightmare, it was just…"

"What was?" Mephisto asked gently, lifting her chin up and wiping away the tears.

She shook her head and buried her face in his shoulder again, and all Mephisto could do was stroke her hair and reassure her calmly, wanting to make everything right.

But he couldn't.

Not right away at least.

He held her for a while, until her hiccups stopped and her heart beat returned to normal.

"Want to talk about it?"

Iris shook her head then stopped and sighed. She knew she should, Mephisto needed to know the danger she posed to him. "I… I hurt you," she whispered slowly, "my magic… it got too powerful and you were exposed to it and…"

"And something happened to my face?" Mephisto guessed, remembering how she'd been shocked when she'd touched it.

She nodded. "And I am afraid that one day…" Iris looked up at him with tears brimming in her eyes once again, and Mephisto wished with all his heart that he could stop them from falling. "One day it might not be just a nightmare."

Mephisto held her close again, rocking her gently. "That won't happen," he reassured her.

This only made Iris cry harder.

"I'm like…" she tried to explain between sobs, "I'm like a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off. One day, all this power inside me, all this energy… it's just going to…" She couldn't bring herself to say the word.

But Mephisto could. "Explode?"

Iris nodded sadly, eyes squeezing shut painfully as she fought the memories.

"Then I guess I just have to make sure I'm there to pick up the pieces," Mephisto said, leaning back so he could look her in the eyes.

But Iris shook her head and covered her face with her hands. "No, you don't understand," she muttered sadly, her words barely intelligible, "I'm afraid you won't be there to pick the pieces up because you'll be the pieces…"

The words rung heavy in the air until Mephisto laughed softly and peeled away her fingers. "Give me some credit," he joked, "I can take care of myself."

"Can you honestly tell me you can take me at my strongest?"

"I-" She had him there. Mephisto remembered how easily she'd shattered the lonsdaleite, how fearsome and deadly she'd looked when she used her shanila, and he shivered ever so slightly. "No," he said eventually. "But!" he firmly held onto her arms and locked eyes with her so she could see the honesty in them, "that just means I need to train harder. And we need to find you an outlet for your power."

Iris blinked. "An outlet?" She hadn't even considered that.

"Yeah like somewhere you can go and just, let it all out." He threw his arms around as if to demonstrate this and Iris found herself smiling. "Destroy some stuff no one cares about."

Her smile grew wider. Finally! Something that might actually work.

Then again there was her mother to deal with, and her father, not to mention An-

"You're still feeling upset huh?" Mephisto murmured, watching the features on her face twist. He interlaced their fingers and squeezed her hand comfortingly.

"A little. But I shouldn't be lumping all these worries on you! We're going to get married and-"

Mephisto kissed her nose, cutting her off. "And I'm marrying every single part of you. The love of my life and the anxious princess who's trying to appease far too many people at once."

"What did I ever do to deserve you?" Iris melted into him, her face burrowed in his chest. It almost seemed like she lived there. Not that she minded.

"Hey, that's my line," he chuckled, wrapping his arms around her and keeping her safe.

Iris stayed in his embrace for as long as she dared, ever conscious of the time for Ellira would soon be around to her room to wake her up. But she didn't want this moment to end. She wanted to stay safe and warm with Mephisto, away from the people who cursed and swore at her, away from her parents who demanded so much from her, away from her duties and her frightening power. She felt at peace with Mephisto.

But he wouldn't be allowed to stay if they got caught like this so early on in their courtship.

Iris sighed heavily and moved away, stretching cat like. Mephisto shifted his gaze before he got any dirty ideas and moved to sit on the edge of his bed, tilting his head back when Iris wrapped her arms around his shoulders and neck from behind.

"You should go back to your room," he said, smiling up at her as locks of hair fell around him, tickling him.

"I should," Iris agreed, not moving.

Mephisto chuckled and placed a kiss under her chin. "C'mon, Princess. You need to get dressed and I need my shirt back."

"Didn't you bring other ones?"

"I did, but that's one of my favourites," he grinned, already knowing where this was heading.

Iris grinned back cheekily. "Can I keep it?"

"You don't even need to ask."

She kissed him on the cheek with a giggle and swiveled around, pulling him up off the bed and leading him to the ensuite. "C'mon, shower time."

Mephisto wiggled his eyebrows. "Are things going to get steamy?"

"Maybe," she said with a wink.

They emerged half an hour later spic and span. Iris threw Mephisto's shirt back on until she could get to her room and lay on her stomach on the bed - legs up in the air - watching her husband to be get dressed for the day. He struck a pose for her and she laughed; Mephisto was so good at taking her mind off her troubles.

"Right c'mon, Pumpkin. Your turn." He gathered her up in his arms and teleported back to her room.

But too late.

"So that's where you were," Ellira said with her eyebrows raised.

"Uh…" Mephisto slowly lowered Iris to the floor as she tried to come up with an excuse. "You see um, this is not what it- Mephisto was helping me with the- you know the troubles I have been having with the common folk? With them, and one thing led to another and- not that anything really happened but I needed a nightgown so Mephisto lent me his shirt and… And… Yeah…"

The Ephedian woman sighed and massaged the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. "It's fine, I won't tell. Goodness knows I'd lose my job if I did." She glared at Mephisto. "But this isn't like you Princess Iris."

The young girl bowed her head. "I know. I do not know what came over me."

"Well…"

Iris dug her elbow into Mephisto's side. Now was not the time. "I won't happen again," she promised, stepping on Mephisto's foot when he began to complain.

"Just…" Ellira sighed again. "Just get dressed and go downstairs to breakfast. Prince Mephisto, we will meet you down there," she looked at him pointedly until he got the message and nodded, giving Iris a quick kiss on the cheek before teleporting downstairs.

Making her way to her dressing room, Iris disappeared through the doors, selecting an outfit for the day.

"Wait, don't you need a shower first?" Ellira asked.

Iris popped her head around the door, blushing, "Well um…"

Of course. Ellira rolled her eyes. "I see." There was a pause as she thought best how to put what she wanted to say.

On the one hand, it would probably do Iris good to, for lack of a better word, let some steam off from time to time; on the other, this was completely irresponsible of her and if her mother found out - union agreement or no union agreement - the wedding would be called off.

Iris emerged from the walk in wardrobe wearing a light green summer dress, a pink ribbon tied around the middle, and rather tall wedge heels on her feet.

Ellira walked over and straightened the bow for her. "You need to be more careful Iris," she said kindly, "you know how traditional your father is. I know it's hard, you're in love, and well he is quite the catch. But you need to remember your duties to your kingdom and your people above all else." She held onto her shoulders. "That's why we train everyday, why we all expect nothing short of perfection from you. Especially while the Xerin Queen is still here."

"Is there somewhere I can go to like releases bursts of magic?" Iris asked all of a sudden, remembering what Mephisto had suggested.

"What?"

Iris gestured vaguely. "Y'know, so I have an outlet. A way to use up any excess magic."

"I thought you did that last night," Ellira muttered dryly.

Blushing furiously, Iris stood her ground. "Actual magic not… that. A place where I can go and like, destroy some stuff no one cares about," she repeated Mephisto's earlier words to her. "That way when I do need to use my shanila I'll have more practise at it and it'll be more concentrated."

That was actually a good point. Destroying things not so much, but letting Iris feel the full power of her shanila without any consequences? That would be ideal. "I shall speak to your mother about it."

Iris sighed, relieved and moved to leave her room.

"Before you go-" Iris turned on her heel, slightly exasperated- "your vernacular is slipping. Make sure you are formal at breakfast when you speak to your parents. This 'y'know' and 'like' isn't something you should be picking up from Prince Mephisto, watch your tongue."

A nod and she was finally allowed to leave.

Downstairs Mephisto and Praxina were already at breakfast - the only two there in fact. The dining table was laid out will all manner of fruits, oatmeal, whole grain bread - toasted and untoasted - porridge, yoghurts, parfait, natural juice, and other strangely healthy foods.

The twins pulled their faces.

Where were the pancakes? The waffles? The pastries? The meat???

How did these people live like this?

"Never fear! Chef Dad is here!" Hugo announced, flouncing into the dining room with trays of pastries on each arm. "Fresh from the oven to you. We've got all your home favourites, minus bacon," he glared back at the kitchen, deeply offended, "they don't have bacon."

The twins eagerly snatched rolls and sweet treats off the trays as Hugo pushed some fruit aside to put them down.

"Did you make all this this morning?" Praxina asked, buttering a roll.

Hugo grinned, "You betcha, anything for my kids. I figured they'd be into that whole healthy lifestyle nonsense from last night's dinner, so I got up early. Appreciate it," he said sternly, "you know how much I hate mornings."

They knew alright. It was a wonder they saw him before midday usually.

"Not to mention I didn't get much sleep last night so if I pass out in the middle of the day, you know why." He flopped down next to Mephisto and starting piling breakfast onto his plate.

Speaking of last night… Mephisto reached for one of the slightly less healthy looking yoghurts, already having eaten several hot crossed buns, and focused on mixing up the offending bits of fruit it in while he spoke up. "Father… did you by any chance start playing the violin late last night?"

"I had to," Hugo said solemnly, staring off wisely into the distance, one hand making a fist over his heart, "As a father it was my sworn duty to serenade you with the masterpiece that is B 52's Love Shack."

Praxina snickered under her breath while Mephisto groaned and attacked his yoghurt with a vengeance. "I knew it was that song," he muttered bitterly.

"You're welcome!" Hugo laughed and reached for yet another pastry, offering it to Mephisto. "Cinnamon rolls, great for the morning after."

Both twins groaned at this and Mephisto batted his hand and the offered treat away.

This particular pastry was a sort of inside joke within the Runic family due to a rather controversial incident that had happened a few years ago. It mainly involved Hugo, a novelty apron and not much else. Literally.

As such, Mephisto's reaction to the offering was common place, as well as his response of, "No, thank you, you put me off those for life."

"Same," Praxina curled her lip, "I still have nightmares. You scarred me."

This was the conversation Iris walked in on, but her face soon went from confused to amazed as she saw the vast array of rare pastries and cakes and all sorts of jam filled delights on the table. She made a shrill sort of gleeful sound and sat opposite Mephisto, dragging the tray across to her.

"What is all this?" she asked, not even recognising some of it. "Did you go down to the baker's shop?"

"Nope, Father made it all," Mephisto said proudly.

Iris' jaw dropped. "No way! H-how? What spell did you use?"

Hugo's smile faltered slightly at the mention of magic, but it was soon back and he gestured to the small door off of the dining room. "You have a kitchen, that's all I need. I made them all from scratch."

"Even these?" she held up one of the cinnamon rolls.

Hugo nodded, trying not to laugh at Mephisto's outraged expression at her selection.

Oblivious to the inside joke, Iris bit into the pastry then squealed happily. "Ish so good!" she got out, reaching for a second one, swallowing what she had in her mouth before asking, "How exactly do you make these ones?"

"You don't want to know how he makes them, trust me." Mephisto dug in the bottom of the plastic pot for the last remnants of the yoghurt.

Snickering, Hugo elbowed his son. "You know how to make them, you should show her."

"Nope."

While Hugo laughed some more, Mephisto complained, and Iris sat there looking confused, Praxina noticed Talia wander into the room with her mother. Laina took one look at the scene before her and turned back around. But Talia stayed, dithering at the entrance.

She said something indistinguishable to her mother and then, very determinedly, marched into the room and sat down opposite to Praxina, next to Iris.

"Good morning."

There was a chorus of 'morning's in reply, and Praxina smiled shyly. "Good morning."

Talia smiled back then cast her gaze across the selection of treats. "I do not even know what half of these pastries are," she declared with a nervous laugh.

Her smile now a genuine one, Praxina replied, "Don't worry, Father made them and he likes to experiment with recipes. Even I don't know what some of this stuff is." She shrugged and nibbled on a knotted thing.

"Well that one's a pretzel," Hugo put in, then returned to chowing down on his pile of food.

"Pretzel, interesting." Talia reached across just as Praxina passed her the tray, knocking it. "Oh sorry, you didn't have to-"

Praxina half dropped the tray. "I didn't mean to-"

They both laughed nervously and Talia quickly grabbed a pretzel and began nibbling on it so she wouldn't say anything else embarrassing.

Dear Melzors, Hugo thought to himself, they're adorably perfect for each other.

"This is exquisite," Talia complimented Hugo.

"I do have a tendency to make exquisite things. Take Praxina for example, though her mother gave me a hand in making her. Obviously." As a blush rose on both the girls' faces, Hugo held his hands up, realising his mistake. "Sorry, inappropriate topic to discuss over breakfast. I'll shut up now."

Mephisto elbowed his father. "Aren't I exquisite?"

"Of course you are, but you already got laid," Hugo whispered, loudly enough for everyone to hear regardless.

There was silence and then Hugo stood up, scraping his chair back.

"I'll just… go. Have fun kids."

And with that he teleported back to his room with his plate of pastries. Acherontia was much better at this socialising lark than he was. Mainly because she didn't just say the first thing that came into her head.

The silence was broken once again as Iris stood up "My mother and father already ate earlier," she said quietly, thanking her lucky stars considering what the Runic King had just shared with the table. "They should be expecting us, y'kn-" she scolded herself for her informal language and started again. "Waiting for myself and Mephisto in the longue in order to exchange pleasantries, as I am sure you are aware." This last part was directed at Mephisto himself.

And judging from the way he stopped mid-lick with his nose in the clearly empty yoghurt pot, he was indeed, not aware.

"I shall brief you on the way," she muttered, gesturing for him to follow her, then turned back to Talia and Praxina. "Please keep what King Runic said to yourselves, I would not want to jeopardize the-"

"Don't worry," Talia smiled at her. "Your secret is safe with me."

Praxina just glared at her plate. "I already knew," she muttered dryly, "and believe me, I don't want anyone else to."

"Oh." Iris suddenly remembered where Praxina's room was and turned bright red. She grabbed Mephisto's hand and ran off towards the doors, slipping through one of them as a confused Mephisto waved good bye to Praxina and Talia.

"So what is this all about?" Mephisto asked. "Also, you're taller than usual," he looked down at her feet, ah-ing as he noticed her heels.

Her face still rather red, Iris mumbled her way through an explanation.

"Ah so it's just to get to know me as a person then. That's fine I can do that." He could pretend to not be weird for half an hour, no big deal. "I'm guessing the actual proposal is a bigger deal."

Iris nodded. "And… Praxina will have to be there for it." She pointedly looked away.

"Look I'm… I'm sorry about Father." Mephisto said in a hurry, "He kinda just says whatever he wants to say, doesn't really think about it."

"I noticed," Iris said through gritted teeth.

Mephisto squeezed her hand comfortingly. "We'll be more careful next time, I'll set up a sound barrier and-"

"Next time will be after our wedding," she muttered quietly, "I can't risk it."

"Oh. Okay." That was fine. He could wait. "Wait what about, y'know, dealing with those buffoons outside your window at night? Do you want me to-"

Iris shook her head. "No. And I don't know how I'll deal with them. But I will deal with them. Somehow." She composed herself and patted down her skirt, checking for creases. "Let's do this." She turned to Mephisto and turned down his collar. "Keep your back straight, good posture, polite, formal language, and-" she stopped as Mephisto placed a hand on hers.

"We'll be fine. I can be formal." He bowed dramatically. "You shall see, Your Highness."

Smiling, Iris nodded. "Okay. Then let's go."

Without further ado, Mephisto offered her his arm and together they walked into the lounge.

Back in the dining hall, Praxina and Talia had managed to move onto small talk regarding kingdom affairs.

"…so my mother is going to see how well she copes with her duties when she gets back, if not it may mean crowning Izira earlier than expected. Which should be fine - she's married and little Mirza is six now, but of course it still has to go through the council, just like everything does."

Praxina nodded understandingly.

Acherontia enjoyed complaining about the Council of Queens as much as the next, and often did so within ear shot of the twins.

It wasn't that Ati disliked the other Queens themselves of course, she had in fact had a fling with one of the Calixian Queens back in the day before she got married. No, it was more the necessity of every little decision having to go through them.

"Iris has plans to remove the idea of central government you know," Talia continued, "so each individual Kingdom governs itself. Mother was slightly less against Iris when I told her."

"But what about all the Inter-Kingdom wars of old? Didn't they start because of other Kingdoms not being happy with the decisions of others?" As future Queen, Praxina knew her history and knew it well.

Talia nodded. "Yes, which is why Iris intends to set some ground rules with a Peace Treaty that all Kingdoms can agree on rather than checking each and every decision."

Praxina had to admit, that seemed like the obvious solution. "So why only now?"

"Iris is the first Ephedian in centuries to suggest such an idea, and has only done so to certain people like myself or Auriana of Volta. It's all very hush hush, even her own mother doesn't know. I'm trusting you to keep this to yourself."

"You trust me? A Runic?"

Despite herself, Talia smirked. "I've learnt you're not all that bad," she joked. "Besides, as the future Queen of Runic I think you deserve to know for when you eventually take the throne."

"Who else knows?" Praxina asked, adding sugar to a cup of coffee.

Talia thought for a moment and munched on a croissant. "Lyna of Borealis, future Queen. And she told Carissa of Calix… also future Queen. Goodness knows how they're going to sort that out." When Praxina looked confused, Talia clarified. "They're dating, but the Borealian Queen doesn't know. And since they're both heirs to their respective thrones…"

"They can't be together." The Runic Princess, of course, knew this. "They should break up sooner rather than later, save them all the heartache," she said, eyes cast down.

"Too late, it's already pretty serious. Carissa intends on letting her brother take the throne."

Praxina choked on her coffee.

Talia jumped in her seat and then leant across the table to pat Praxina on the back. "Are you okay?"

Waving her off, the Runic Princess nodded, grabbing a drink of water to sooth her throat. A male heir to the throne? It was unheard of. It was only a century or so ago that first born sons were… disposed of, so as to not shame the family. After all, first borns became the heirs, and only a woman could rule.

"How is a Prince going to take the throne?" Praxina asked doubtfully. She herself didn't have a problem with it, it just seemed… strange.

Talia shrugged. "That's what they have to figure out. This is another reason why Iris wants each Kingdom to regain control of its own laws. The Calixian Queens are fine with this arrangement, physical strength is generally seen as more important than magic to a Calix anyway. That's why the Kingdom split over a thousand years ago creating-"

"Creating Runic." Praxina finished for her. "Twin sisters who both wanted the throne and so peacefully decided one would rule on top of the mountain with strength, and one would rule below it with power. I know."

Blushing, Talia bowed her head. "Of course you know. Sorry I just, I like to make sure I know as much as I can. I often forget myself when I get a chance to… well, show off I suppose."

Praxina smiled warmly and reached out across the table to squeeze Talia's hand reassuringly, thumb caressing the back of her hand ever so subtly. "I don't mind. I like how smart you are, it's one of the things I admire about you."

This only made Talia blush harder. The Runic Princess admired her?

With a start Praxina realised she'd left her hand on Talia's and cleared her throat, taking it back. "I think Iris and Mephisto will need me to give them the Runic Kingdom's blessings soon, or whatever it is I have to do."

"Yes, and I need to help my mother pack up her belongings."

"And the flowers."

Talia smiled. "And the flowers. Thank you again."

They stood up and awkwardly shook hands across the table. "I'll see you around, Princess." Talia could swear there was a flirtatious tone to her voice.

"See you around," she said, trying to imitate her tone of voice.

Praxina gave her a tilt of her head then teleported away, leaving Talia blinking at the red light and wishing she could have stayed longer.

As if she could hear her, Praxina teleported back in. "I um, I forgot to give you something."

"What?"

Quick as a flash, Praxina pecked Talia's cheek then teleported a couple of feet away. "Write to me, okay?"

Talia nodded, dumbfounded.

As Praxina left once again, with a shy smile and a wave, Talia stroked her cheek softly. There were stars in her eyes, butterflies in her stomach, and, as she made her way to her mother's room, a skip in her step.

#lolirock #iristo #praxalia #this chapter was meant to cover more but i got held up with the lore #so #next chapter will have the angst in #maybe #my writing

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