Wicked Game

Six

"An alchemist of hearts, she turned my soul to gold."

~

Daniel was tired.

Sleep lingered at the back of his eyes, softly teasing, wrapping its tendrils around his body, threatening to pull him under. But he could not rest, he would not rest, not until he was sure she had fallen asleep.

His ears pricked as the sound of shuffling feet came from inside the bedroom.

He sighed. That difficult girl.

"Athena," he called out. "Don't make me come in there."

The shuffling stopped immediately.

He turned around, knocking on the ebony door once before he entered the room.

She lay in bed, sheets pulled up to her shoulders, her breathing even. It was an admirable charade, but she wasn't fooling him.

"Good attempt, Princess," he said, as his lips quirked at the adorable act she was putting up. She was seventeen now, and was starting to grow out. Her eyebrows arched up perfectly before they curved down again, and her raven hair spilled over her shoulders, softening her sharp features and that strong, assertive demeanor. She quirked open an eye, smiling as she beheld him. The smile lit up her whole face, illuminating her cheekbones and warming the ice in her eyes, and he knew she would grow to be stunning.

"I'm trying, you know," she offered.

"Try harder." he said flatly.

She scowled. "There's too much on my mind. It makes drifting off all the more difficult."

"You have to learn to filter the stimuli you receive. To acknowledge the important, yet to never discard the rest. It's a wild world that you live in, Princess. Mind your surroundings. It'll help you stay sane."

"You say that as if someone will jump out from beneath the bed and stab me." She yawned. "Come, tell me a story."

Daniel fought the urge to laugh. "Aren't you a little too old for bedside stories?"

"Would you rather I stay awake all night and make your life miserable?"

That was a good point, Daniel thought as he crossed the room, making his way over to her. She shifted to give him some space as he sat down beside her, eyebrows furrowing as he wondered what tale would be boring enough to make her fall asleep.

"Tell me again about the Dark War." she pressed her face into the pillow, her voice muffled.

She had requested him to describe it to her over and over again.

He sighed. "Once upon a time, Queen Catriona of the witches reigned over the Western lands," he began. "She had an undying thirst for power as she spread her empire, and the gruesome treatment of both prisoners of war and rebels was infamous. The elves and the Immortals formed an alliance against her, and led by Lord Teyrnon, your grandfather, and King Hayden of the Immortals, the combined army fought as one, and the queen was vanquished, but at an immeasurable cost."

He ran a hand gently through her unkempt hair.

"Realizing that she was surrounded from all sides, and that the end was near, the queen unleased her final weapon. It did not help her survive, but it did weaken the bloodlines of the elves severely. A final vengeance, stemming from her rage, trying to wipe out the elves from the face of the earth."

She shifted to her side, raising her head to place it on his lap, before wrapping her arms around his waist and closing her eyes.

Daniel faltered, his heart constricting in his chest as he looked down at the girl. He closed his eyes, trying not to focus on her proximity, or the way the strands of her hair brushed softly against his skin, or the feel of her arms around him.

"They called it the Galar," he continued, feeling slightly breathless. "The disease spread like wildfire, and one by one, the elves fell to its touch. When they rose again, they were barbarians, with no other motive than to kill. We called them the Ancients. We started hunting them down with fire, but soon they withdrew. We sent out scouts and soldiers far and wide, but they had completely disappeared."

He paused here and looked down at her face, serene in the moonlight. She was fast asleep.
___________________________________

The sun began to set over the horizon, tinting the sky with hues of red and golden, and bathing the blossoms with a soft light. The many wonders of the royal garden, alive with the chirruping of birds and the occasional call of a screech owl made for an alluring sight, but Daniel's attention was on the girl walking beside him.

Throwing her arms around him, she had whispered his name, holding on to him with a desperation, as if he were all that mattered to her, right before she shot him a dirty look, turned around and took off, slamming the door behind her.

"You'll have to talk to me at some point, you know," he ventured, breaking the silence.

She kept her gaze trained on the ground, but he could make out the anger in her eyes. "I woke up one day and you were gone," she said flatly. "If I don't deserve a goodbye, you don't deserve a welcome."

He grabbed her wrist, spinning her around to face him.

She raised her head to look at him, meeting his gaze with those icy blue eyes that seemed to pierce straight into his soul, pulling out his darkest secrets. She had left her hair open, and it tumbled down to her waist, bringing out the flush in her cheeks that the anger caused, and her parted lips trembled ever so slightly.

Gods, he had forgotten how breathtaking she was.

"I'm sorry," he murmured softly. "I thought it was for the best. You weren't of age back then, but you would have wanted to go with me anyway."

"Everyone keeps saying that to me." She sighed and turned away, and they continued walking. "What was your quest, Daniel?"

"To make allies, and reach out to the kingdoms who fought with Arlana during the war," he said. "On behalf of the king, I asked them to pledge their armies to a united cause again."

"Did you succeed?"

Daniel hesitated. He looked away from her, training his eyes upon the horizon.

"Yes and no."