tsubasa

The gladiator and the princess

Lauralye nodded her head as he explained to her why he had shown her. It was obviously a good idea, considering in previous reaction. It seemed as though his intentions were still to protect her, which was good. She relaxed a little more, still remaining in her corner, "So... You were born with them."

She stood slowly, not taking her eyes off of him, "W-we should probably go back out... It never seems to take long for p-people to start wondering where I am."

Cautiously, she walked out of the room. She still seemed to be afraid of Robert. However, that fear also seemed to less than it was. She wondered if that lump of fear in her chest would ever disappear when he was around.

The gladiator and the princess

Lauralye tried to push herself further into the corner as Robert spoke. She watched as his wings retracted back into his back and bit her lip. She sat there for a moment, weighing her options. Trying to decide whether or not she should believe him. Finally, she decided that if he wished her bodily harm he was more than capable of doing that. She decided if she ran off to tell her father and he wanted to hurt her, she'd be dead before she got the chance. Anyway she saw it, she'd be dead. The only way she could see herself living was if she trusted his word. She relaxed slightly but did not move out of her spot in the corner, "Do they hurt? When... You hide them away like that?"

The gladiator and the princess

Lauralye felt a little uncomfortable sitting the room alone with Robert as he removed his shirt. She sat back a little, clearly uneasy. A moment later, Robert's wings unfurled and Lauralye screamed. Her hands flew to her mouth, shaking as she stared at him, terrified. She stood as he spoke, moving away from him. She bumped into the wall shortly after and found no escape. Her hands still shook as she lowered them slightly to speak, "N-n-no... Angels w-wings are white... Not b-black..."

She moved to the corner, like a frightened animal, trapped by the predator. She sunk down in the corner, staring at him wide eyed, trying to make herself smaller, as if that were going to help. She took a deep breath and whimpered.

The gladiator and the princess

update

The gladiator and the princess

Lauralye looked at him confused when he mentioned his secret for the second time. After a moment, she nodded, "O-okay... Well..." She looked around to see servants and guards wandering. She looked back at him, "Let's go somewhere less open."

She started walking, again just assuming he would follow. She walked over to a tapestry and when the hall was clear, pushed it aside to reveal a door. She opened it and slipped inside. They walked down a small hallway before it opened up into a room. She stepped into it and looked at Robert, "This is one of the many secret rooms in the castle. I haven't found out why the built this one... Other than it is a nice place to relax... I suppose."

She took a seat on one of the chairs, "So..."

The gladiator and the princess

Lauralye stepped away from the chair, leaving it in the corner to its dust. She smiled at him and nodded her head, "You need not thank me... You did not belong down there and certainly not where you were...."

She thought about the man who had grabbed her and shivered a little before turning her attention back to Robert. She looked him over, he was clean now, which made him seem younger than he was with all of the dirt on him. He seemed to be around her age.... She wasn't sure though, looks could often be deceiving. She glanced around the library, she decided that she did not like being in here with anyone. She found reminiscing under foreign eyes to be strange. Especially in front of a man whom she never met before. She hugged herself and slowly started to leave the library, sure that he would follow. She stepped into the hall and looked up at him, "I suppose I should show you around..."

The gladiator and the princess

Lauralye left her father and walked into the library. This place was comforting and held many memories that she liked to hide away in when her father was less than kind. She ran her hand along the spines of the books just barely looking them over. She remembered coming in here with her mother, sitting in a chair in the corner on her lap as she read to her. Lauralye remembered loving her mother's voice, now, she could hardly remember it. She dropped her hand from the books and walked to the corner where a single dusty chair sat. She stared at it. She hadn't sat in it since her mother's death... No one, to Lauralye's knowledge, had. Some days she wanted to sit in it, wondering if the chair would feel like her mother's lap. If the cushions would engulf her like her mother's arms. She knew well that it would not but she liked to imagine that the chair was her mother, waiting to read her a story.

She pulled her gaze away when she heard a noise. She saw Robert standing not to far from her. She blushed feeling as though she had been caught in a intimate moment. She smiled at Robert, "Good to see you are no longer in the dungeon."

Avatar: Trusting your enemy

Jaya woke up slowly. It took her a moment to remember all that had happened the night before, which helped explain the man who sat across from her munching on an apple. She yawned and sat up, pushed her sleep bag off of her as she climbed out of it and grabbed it shoes, pulling them back on. She nodded to Nikko, "Good morning."

She stood and quickly rolled up her bed roll before tucking it back in her bag. She sat back on her heels and yawned, stretching as much as she could while sitting. Jaya wasn't much of morning person. She preferred midday. She seemed to have the most energy then, possibly due to the sun but she never really thought much about it. She reached into her bag and pulled out to small buns. She held out for Nikko, "Want one?" She asked as her other hand engulfed her own in flames for a moment, toasting it.

The gladiator and the princess

"But Father!" Lauralye yelled as her father again ignored her notion to set Robert free, "That dungeon is dank and dirty and is meant for the cruelest of men. Not a slave who was merely protecting himself!"

"Protecting himself from what, Lauralye?" The King asked in an exasperated tone. She looked at him, "The guards. You saw how they treated him, pushing him to the ground when he had no hands to catch himself. They were being cruel, he was protecting himself. Please Papa, take him out of the dungeon. For what does it say to our people when we lock up the innocent with the guilty?"

The King sighed, clearly done with the conversation, "Fine!" He looked to a pair of guards, "Release the slave. Take him to a room and tell him to be prepared to protect the Princess tomorrow."

"What?" Lauralye said in shock. The King looked at his daughter, "Well, dear, if you are so certain of his innocence. Surely you have no problem with him watching over you."

Lauralye kept her mouth shut. This was the cruel side of her father, the side even she got to see. She nodded her head, knowing well that if she denied the protection of the slave that her father would insist that he sleep in dungeon. He turned his attention back to the guards, "And tell him that if he allows anything to happen to her, a sound lashing with be in order."

Lauralye grimaced at the thought of it as the King addressed her, "Now run along, Lauralye, I have things to do."

The gladiator and the princess

Lauralye looked at him as he asked about her father, "If you can so easily say that you could go with our crown for no reason other than it is convenient. You could just as easily do the same for a different crown if it proves more convenient."

When he mentioned his secret, Lauralye made no attempts to find out what it was. People deserved their secrets, they were theirs to keep and choose to tell. She stood when he finished talking and adjusted her shawl, "I should go before someone finds me down here... I will try and convince my father to release to... I cannot make any promises though."

She stood and brushed off any dirt that had clung to her when she fell. She nodded to Robert, "I hope to see you out of her soon."

With that she snuck back along the wall and out of the dungeon, to speak with her father.