What Shadows May Lie

[Lion]

He nodded with how she answered him.  He expected as much, and he knew he could only voice the same words to her, the only sense he could make out of all the chaos that swarmed inside of him like a ship caught in a whirlpool at sea, crashing and smashing on the rocks of the storm of his thoughts that brought about carnage in him that threatened to crush him to death.  Ghanon wanted only to be with her for as long as he could while he could.

"I know, Lana.  But that is enough for me.  For now," he murmured to her.  He sat up now and tied her in the protective embrace of his arms and he held her there like she was the very thing keeping him on his plane of existence.  It didn't matter how many powers were taken away so long as she was safe and away from that which hunted him...and would inevitably hunt her.  He felt along her back, feeling the jewels that were embedded there.

"I don't know how long I'll stay," he said.  "But remember that necklace I gave you.  It's a part of me, a gift to you.  These crystals....they are a part of you aren't they?  Would you ever be willing to give one as a gift to me?"

[Anonymous]

His request was slightly heart warming, but also odd.  Perhaps he didn't understand how her crystals worked given that she had never taken the time to explain them.

She gave him an understanding look and tilted her head slightly to gaze at him, "I would, if it were as easy as that.  The crystals are as much an extension of myself as a tail, or a wing.  They're biological as well as magical."

She reached back to touch the dark crystal that throbbed now, which often it did, as any implant that didn't agree with its host might do from time to time.  There was even a tinge of dark pink in the skin outlining the edge of the crystal, a constant irritation.

"However, the white crystals are my own.  They are interconnected, and without even one, I would be stripped of my own natural powers.  I would not have the healthy connection with the earth that I do.  Only... I would be left with the dark magic, and though I could wield it, I'm afraid the consequences would be quite changing and grave...  It acts of its own accord.  A force separate from the others, and it pains me even to think of it.  It's almost as if it knows I want to summon it..."

Her crystals began to glow, "And if I were stripped of the dark crystal, that would be very damaging indeed."

[Lion]

Ghanon nodded and his fingers drifted down her back fingering each crystal leading all the way down to the base of her spine.  He did not touch the last one however and just let his fingers glaze over it, feeling it's energy, but not daring to lay a finger on it lest it bring her pain.  He sighed wistfully, and waited for her to finish speaking.

"So it would be difficult to remove one then?  Just the others, not your dark crystal...  Would...removing one hurt you?  Kill you?"  His face looked visibly pained, worried even and he shifted uncomfortably at the thought of it.

All Arcan wanted was one stone, one crystal to sate his desire.  But a burning notion in the back of his mind told him that the Fallen Prince would want more, as much as he could get and the mangled body, bloody and torn open flashed before his vision, and horrified him in a way he never thought the sight would.  He'd seen mass death before and nothing shocked him anymore, but the thought gave him a fear that didn't just make him afraid but angry.  And he vowed then and there that he would tear Arcan apart with his bare hands.

[Anonymous]

She easily read his reactions to the thought of her being hurt, because he easily showed them.  But why was he suddenly so interested in the crystals?  He had his answer...  Removing one for the sake of just having one would be an impossible task.

She made an expression of uncertainty, and while she spoke her voice was very light and tender, "It might.  The pain would be unbearable, and to extract from me something that is infused with my very being would be like ripping away an organ.  I was born with nearly all of them, and the one I was not born with was installed in such a horrific way.  I can only imagine that the consequences would be just as horrendous, and I can't say that I know I would survive.  I am immortal, but I am immortal as I am, and I have never had to suffer through losing a part of myself."

She watched him carefully for his response.  Were he to venture further, she would be particularly suspicious.  She tried to imagine what it would be like to have any of her crystals separated from her, and she felt a sudden striking fear.  The idea was so disgusting to her that she made a face without meaning to.

[Lion]

Ghanon turned and stared down toward her chest, suddenly suspicious that his face betrayed his thoughts and perhaps it did when his eyes peered up to look at her again.  She seemed to know what he was thinking and he knew it was best to say nothing more on the subject.  Instead he smiled and nodded in understanding.  "I was just curious," he said, plainly.  "I never asked about them before, I know.  But I've never met a deity that had them.  You're so unique, you know.  A one of a kind."

Ghanon leaned in and pecked her lips.  "So, what have you been up to all this time I've been gone?  Getting in good with the locals?  Did you buy this place yourself with your own money?  I really did mean what I said that I was glad you were doing well.  You're very beautiful right now, you know.  Glowing, even."  He raised his hands and traced the outlines of her lips.  "So what are we going to go do tonight?  Make love all night?  Or do you want to take a walk with me, show me around, any interesting sites to see?"

[Anonymous]

The rapidity with which he questioned her was so unlike him.  He seemed to turn from the commonplace inquiry as to what she had been doing all this time, to being overly complimentary and suddenly wanting to plan the night out.  If he had gulped he wouldn't have been any more transparent.

And she was not easily persuaded.

"I don't know, Ghanon." She placed her lips around the finger that was so near and bit it  a little, "I'm rather liking this sudden interest in finding out more about me.  Please, ask me more.  I'm an open book."

She smiled and peered at him through knowing eyes.

[Lion]

He wasn't as smooth as he thought he was, but he only grinned when Lana was wising up to him.  She was a smart one she was.  The smart ones were always more pleasing, and she knew that he knew that what he asked was suspicious.  And why shouldn't it be?  He couldn't trust his emotions even if his life depended on it and it very well may.

"Do you?" he chuckled back.  "You were a queen right?  How did you know when you were ready for the position you were given?  Was it more than difficult for you to adjust into it?  And how did you get to be so smart?  Are those inquisitive enough for you?"

[Anonymous]

"Hmmm, those should suffice, I suppose."

Her eyes remained steady, "I was never given time to ready for my position.  I was born into it.  From birth, my lineage defined my destiny.  As a child I ruled, as an adolescent I ruled, as an adult I ruled.  I never adjusted.  I simply –was- Queen."

She smirked, "And what exactly makes me so smart?"

She thought to herself, Was it the fact that she saw right through him?

[Lion]

And those answers sufficed as they did.

Ghanon nodded and met her eyes fire for silvery fire.  "You're smart because you know me.  And I like that you know me.  Perhaps even better than I know myself.  You see me in a way others don't, an honest way and instead of demonizing me, spurning me, you make me face myself, instead of running from the man I was.  The man I am now.  That's why you're smart."

[Anonymous]

Lana laughed a little and placed a hand on his chest, feeling the contours of it, cherishing the excitement his skin gave her.

"That doesn't make me smart, Ghanon, that makes me empathetic.  What makes me smart is that I know when you're eluding the truth, although I would have to be rather stupid in the first place not to see through your transparent façade."

She sighed and shrugged, "Oh well.  Whatever it is, Ghanon,  I'm sure you have a good reason for keeping it from me.  I know what you are, your purpose, and I know what I'm getting into with you.  I'm not surprised there are some things you are not yet fully honest about."

She pulled herself closer to him and kissed his neck, and if he was paying attention, he might feel a bit of himself slip away to her with each kiss, "It is good you ask me these questions.  There's much you don't know about me."

She gave him a gentle nip.

[Lion]

"There is so much I'd like to know, but so much it's probably best that I don't.  You know I'm a thief, a buffoon, a fool.  But here's a fool that cares about you and wants to feel your lips close to his.  Though it does bring to light one question.  If you know so much about me, why do you continue to consort with the likes of a murder and a broken man?

"You could be anywhere else, walk with anyone else.  But you continue to stay with me.  What is it about me that is so drawing?"

[Anonymous]

Lana peered at him, "The easy answer would be, I'm a masochist.  The other answer might be that I'm wiser than that.  The thing is, Ghanon, we spend all of our lives trying to find answers to why things are, why we feel what we feel, what does this mean, why am I the way I am?  What am I meant for?  What kind of person does these things?  The answers we have come up with since our first curiosity have been far from accurate, but now and then, history unveils a deeper understanding that, with time, may be nurtured toward enlightenment.  I think within us there is a small seed of true understanding.  Perhaps I deceive you in describing it that way.  This understanding really isn't an understanding, but an acceptance of the epiphany that nothing takes shape exactly as it did before.  Imagine a world of perceived limitations, which actually is a world made entirely of open doors.  And most of us spend our entire existence leaning against these door frames with no recognition of the open air we're breathing from the outside.  That's where we live, Ghanon.  No two things are exactly alike.  No two men have exactly the same intentions.  One heart may appear precisely the same as another heart, but once unraveled theryare often entirely different."

She hoped she was not being too philosophical for him, and gave him a moment to digest her words.

"You are capable of so much evil.  You have inflicted and suffered through such pain, but Ghanon, your spirit is unique.  I could never see you as only what you represent.  And yet, I also crave you for what you represent.  Maybe others have seen your chaos as frightening, a weapon against them, and I see it as that also.  But Ghanon, I have no ill will for you because of it, in fact, I am impressed by it.  It is a fact of life, something I have accepted and can even covet.  I know that you are more than capable of hurting me."

She paused, stroking his chin, and spoke lightly, "And I am entirely capable of hurting you.  But whatever takes place, though I would hate it, if we ever hurt each other, a part of me would accept it."

[Lion]

Maybe she was right, and Ghanon mulled over it.  Maybe she was wrong.  Ghanon knew the stakes were high on all sides, that the games he played in the lives of dread beings and mere mortals were offtimes no games at all and that one too many times the odds were stacked against him.  Ghanon knew also the opportunities his gifts afforded him and also the limitations were provided.  The words she spoke rang true on many levels and only reminded him further that what he was about to do had to be done, regardless of whatever feelings he might have for her.  He didn't know why he offtimes had to do the things he did.  He knew what he was capable of, and what he wasn't.  And that was enough for now.

Ghanon had nothing to say to that, how could he after she'd proven herself right all this time.  And though it hurt inside to hear to speak the words she did, he just looked at her and with a half-empty gaze.  "But, being who I am, I will hurt you Lana.  It is inevitable.  You shouldn't waste your time with swine.  You're better than me.  You deserve better."

He was a doomed wanderer and knew it was his fate to traverse the universe alone.  The things he had to do, no one else could do but him.  And the words he'd spoken were bitter but true.  He knew nobody was perfect, not even her who he felt so strongly for now more than ever.  But if she could salvage whatever part of her from the taint that he exuded, he wished for her to do so.  But he had no control over the choices she made.  Her fate would always be her own.

[Anonymous]

What did he want her to do?  Say goodbye?  Her eyes widened a little at his confession, and though it didn't surprise her, it did sting.  It seemed love was a never ending cycle of pain, two sides of a flipped coin.  Perhaps it was destiny that she have no one.  And yet, it was too painful to imagine the days of endless travel, mundane discoveries, without him.  The situation did not bode well  for their future together.  It was obvious that she was in a difficult position.  She could embrace her acceptance of him and prepare her mind for the difficulties to come, or she could leave and never know how deeply they might've loved.  There was no contest between the two choices, though she hesitated in responding to him.  For a moment she cast a downward gaze to the ground, childishly fingering the fur of the blanket around them as if she were deep in rapid thought.

She then looked back up at him solemnly, "I can say truthfully that I would rather live having loved and loved fully, than live having been safe, and yet being alone."

[Lion]

Ghanon could look at her fully now, having said what he did and though it might have hurt, it was true.  It was inevitable, for though many wandered life looking for perfection, never knowing what beauty resided right inside of them, the perfection of life itself, he found a small part of it Lana, though both of them were damaged in some way.  Perhaps they had found that in each other, even if it was fragmented perfection, deluded by the tides of time and the pressures of a universe divided.

Ghanon looked into her eyes and saw the beauty in them, beauty he rarely realized could exist.  The honesty of it might have brought tears to his eyes, but the solemnity of her choice told him that there was no need for that.  And he wrapped his arms around her and laid his head against her bosom, wanting only to be close to her.  Ghanon tilted his head upward to look at her and lingered with his lips close to hers.  "Is that the choice you want to make?  If so, then I will always be your, Lana, to hurt and to hold, however you see fit."

[Anonymous]

Lana felt her heart flutter in her chest as a feeling of impending doom came over her.  But she tried to wave it away.  They were just caught in the moment, dramatic and brimming with emotion, and it was carrying away her anxieties.  She dismissed the feeling and instead pressed her lips against his and sank into that feeling of complete security.  In this moment, nothing could touch them.  They were entirely safe together, and she trusted him then.  

"I will always hold you, Ghanon."

[Lion]

Ghanon held her tightly to him when she uttered those words and kissed her fully then, leaning into it and holding her as if she were a part of the wind that was about to flutter away no sooner than when his lips met hers.  He worked open her mouth and felt fully then.  After a long moment, he grinned against her and dragged his mouth against her jaw.  "Thank you," he murmured.  "We should get some rest.  We'll have a long day tomorrow.  We'll have a lot of lost time to make up for, and you'll have to show me around, introduce me to your friends."  He looked behind him and noticed the bed was there the whole time.  "Shall we stay on the floor?  Or occupy the coldness of the bed?"

[Anonymous]

The wind picked up outside and whistled around them.  The faint rustling sounds of their neighbors bringing their feast indoors and herding the children to the warmth of their cabins could be heard along with the wind.  Lana braced herself and pulled away from the blanket to pull herself up to the bed.  She reached out her hands to his and pulled him up with her, the bed being small enough that it resulted in him laying atop her.  She smiled and felt the length of his body with her fingertips.  Yes, he was painfully beautiful and aroused her almost to excess.  But to have him so close, their body heat uniting, their skin pressed together, the weight of him making her feel safe and protected, these sweeter thoughts occupied her mind and she felt her heart swell so that she had to take a deep breath to release the intensity of her feelings.  She pulled the blanket over them and turned so that they would lay closely side by side.  With her arm around his waist and her head tucked beneath his chin, nose pressed into his neck where his aroma filled her senses most, she felt herself grow drunk with warmth and fatigue.

[Lion]

Ghanon let her lead him; she'd conquered him already, and the ache of his tangible body was finally getting the better of him.  The weeks of endless travel finally taking their toll.  Despite his best efforts, he couldn't remember the last time that he'd slept as a mortal man did.  He could remember anything and everything, but he could not recall that.  And it dropped one small ounce of sadness into the well of his heart.

Ghanon lay beside her, absorbed into the feel of her, the blanket trapping their heat inside.  His body still had cold chills and he quivered slightly, though he feigned as a response to the cold draft of the wind.  She fit perfectly in the spot underneath his chin, in a perfect even he would deem impossible.  There was no perfection...  What was he doing here?  What was the purpose of all this?  Ghanon knew the price he paid to gain a piece of what others only deemed to be golden glass; he'd done this all before: thrown himself to the wolves, to the pit of fire.  To do whatever he had to do to achieve his goals.  He'd always been prepared to sacrifice his queen to win the game...  Now, he wasn't so sure he was prepared to do it anymore.  He wished nothing had changed, but he couldn't deny that it did, that Lana was not just a pawn anymore...  Yet, no matter what he felt, he knew what he had to do.  And inside it was tearing him apart.

His arm reached up and moved a tress of her hair behind her ear, moving his head slightly to press his lips warmly to her forehead, lingering there for a good long moment.  He knew then that she could never forgive him, not for what he was going to do.  He writhed in despair at the thought, that he might never see her face again when this was all over, that he might never again hold her in his arms, or see the light in her eyes gleam by a blazing fire.  But time moved on, like it always did.  And they would never be here again.

A part of him wanted to tell her everything in that moment, but he just couldn't break his vow of silence....  This should have been easy, to hold it all inside.  It should have been the easiest thing to do...but it wasn't...  Ghanon's hand just brushed through her hair and he rested his chin on her head once more.  The fire was dying in the furnace and the blanket they'd made love on was growing cold.  Her body was all he needed to keep him warm, so he was not worried in that aspect.  Another chill when through him as he gazed headlong into the darkness of the corner of the cabin.  He saw a thickened shadow appear in it and step slightly forward, only partially lighted by the remaining embers.

The shadow's face, partially lit as well, grinned it's evil grin.  "Tomorrow evening.  You know where I will be waiting," Arcan mouthed, not uttering a sound.  But Ghanon knew what he meant.  He only clenched his jaws as the shadow stepped back and disappeared.  Tomorrow evening....

Ghanon closed his eyes, breathed in the scent of her hair and slept his dreamless sleep.  Tomorrow evening.

[Anonymous]

Lana's sleep was occupied by the quiet, unnerving images of formless dreams.  Unease settled upon her unlike any sleepless night before.  The content raced in an endless unsettling stream while her body remained trapped by the longer brain waves of her mind.  She did not toss and turn, but her grip on his side grew firmer during the night and her brow deeply creased.  A thin glistening sweat covered her body after several hours, and unknowingly she pushed away the covers.  The moon rose, sank, followed by the sun gently mimicking its pattern.  Before it rose beyond midway, Lana awoke with a start, a panic having seized her.  It appeared as though she hadn't yet awoken Ghanon, and thankfully so.  He had seemed to be overcome with fatigue in a way she had never seen before in him.  Slowly, she slipped away from the bed and walked toward the fluttering embers of the fire which had died long ago.  She crossed her arms in front of her breasts and stood in the darkness which was made lighter by the orange outside light, and allowed her thoughts to reconstruct into some form of sanity.  All night she had been tormented by unnamed threats, feelings of utter dread that had no cause.  There was no understanding what had gone on in her mind during the night.  She glanced over at what was left of the berries they had munched on the evening before, but hunger evaded her, and the thought of eating rather disgusted her.  She walked over to a pale of fresh water and knelt, cupping her hands beneath the liquid and taking several drinks to comfort her dry mouth.