Post by . s p o r e ♪ on Nov 16, 2011 22:48:24 GMT -5
The day was stifling and damp, steamy despite the harsh yellow sun that burned the landscape. It seemed that all available moisture was being extracted from plant and soil to crowd the air, so that each breath taken felt as though it was being drawn through a wet cloth. Eris Fletcher stood, taking the full brunt of it, wordlessly enduring the sun and heat despite the cool shade of the old trees standing just paces away. Because Valence liked the sun, and where Valence went, Eris did also.
The boy called Valence was flat on the carpet of yellowing grass, smiling as he allowed the sun to beat against his closed eyelids. He loved summer for its long dry days, for Valence was a creature of heat and light. He detested winter, and would rarely enter a body of water any larger than a puddle. In fact, there was very little that valence Rose would do if he did not wish to. As his bodyguard could attest, Master Valence was a boy of his own mind.
“Eris,” he called from his horizontal position, “you should sit down at least. No one said you had to stand all the time.”
“No, thank you, Master,” she said. Valence sometimes wondered if she was capable of saying anything else. She was like a mobile statue, hard and silent, and had always refused his offers to join him instead of standing rigidly nearby. But then the job of a bodyguard wasn’t to enjoy yourself.
Eris wished for what could have been the tenth time that morning that her charge would be more serious. He was only two years younger than she, and undeniably clever, but Valence detested the dull and predictable. He tended to get into trouble, which was what made her job so vital.
Still on the ground, Valence opened one eye so he could look up at his guardian. The seventeen year old girl was damp with sweat, but appeared not to notice or care, instead polishing a dagger while her eyes slowly skimmed the edges of the empty meadow. Valence sighed.
“Let’s go to the lake,” he said, rolling onto his feet. “I’ve had enough of prickly yellow grass. We might as well trade it in for itchy yellow sand.”
Eris nodded and followed the boy as he ambled off. The trip to the lake was short, just a few minutes of brisk walking, a bit longer at Valence’s pace. Eris kept one eye on her ward and the other on the spreading trees that framed their route. She had lived her life for this boy since she was just a child—and took pride in doing her job well.
As they neared the lake they walked abreast of a large stream that drained into the broad, crystalline pool. Valence amused himself by walking on the stones at the edge of the water, and Eris drew closer to him, ever-watchful. The path was drawing away from them, but as they were almost at the lake there was no danger of them becoming lost. The two passed under willows which cling to the water’s edge, casting cool blue shadows over the stones and grass.
Valence’s pace quickened; he was eager to be out of the shade and on the sizzling shore of the lake, although with the claustrophobic press of the air even in the shadows he couldn’t have been cold. Blue glinted at them through the trees, beckoning the travellers onward.
It happened in an eyeblink. Later Eris would curse herself for her own inattention, but at that moment there was only shock and instinctive movement as the stream exploded upward and enveloped them both. She was at the rocks and grasping for Valence before the water began to fall, but their fingers touched only briefly. Then he twisted and fell, leaving Eris alone on the bank.
A grinning silver face surfaced some distance away, towing a struggling Valence. The water nymph lingered for only a moment at the surface, vanishing with a splash by the time Eris focused her eyes on it. She began running along the bank, following the shadow as it headed toward the lake. Valence could barely swim—she couldn’t let him be dragged to deeper water.
Sun scorched her eyes when she left the trees behind. Eris ran half-blinded, kicking up clouds of sand as she raced toward the shore. When stream became lake, she drew her dagger and launched herself into the water. Valence and the naiad surged past a moment later, just within arm’s reach.
Eris snatched at a silvery limb and managed to vise her hand around an ankle. Her eyes scalded the nymph’s features, heedless of the sting of the water—if looks could kill, she wouldn’t have needed her weapon. The naiad spun Valence behind her, where he floated limply to the surface. He was either charmed or unconscious, which meant Eris needed to move quickly.
She slashed at the naiad’s leg and drew blood, causing the creature to hiss and lunge at her face. Throwing up her arm in defence, she lost her grip on the nymph’s leg. Suddenly Eris found herself in the grip of crablike hands, dragging her toward the intense blue of the lake.
She understood her danger. Eris stabbed at the naiad, but it caught her arm and bit until pain forced her fingers open. The dagger spiralled out of her reach. As the chill began to deaden her limbs, the edges of her vision dimmed to black. The need to take a breath grew until she could scarcely contain it.
She shouldn’t have jumped into the water so heedlessly. She couldn’t protect Valence any longer, not when she was dead.
Valence… I didn’t ever get to…
The naiad shuddered against her, and its grip loosened. Eris knew nothing but the desperate need for air as she clawed free and swam, hoping that she still knew which way was up. The urge to draw breath overwhelmed her. Cool water rushed into her lungs and she began to convulse. Eris felt hands grasping at her once more, but it didn’t matter now. The blackness thickened, and Eris knew no more.
She swam back into consciousness with the feeling of pressure on her chest. She couldn’t breathe. Eris struggled, rolled over and vomited water from her lungs. Her vision tried to close in again, but she willed her eyes to focus and looked up from the ground.
Valence was kneeling next to her, pale and wet, and more anxious than he had been in his life. He had trusted Eris to take care of the naiad, as she had done with every other danger he had faced, as he floated away from his captor and crawled to shore. If he hadn’t grown worried and gone in after her, she would have died.
“Master,” Eris said, struggling to sit. “Are you alright?”
“Of course I am! I’m just a bit wet. You’re bleeding, and you nearly drowned.”
Eris tried to remember what happened before she had blacked out. She had been certain that she was going to die, but something had happened.
“Master, why am I here?”
“Because you’re too heavy to carry back home. Can you walk?”
“I meant why haven’t I died?”
“Oh.” Valence shifted a look at the lake. “I had to come get you. You dropped your dagger at the mouth of the stream.” And she’d been unable to reach her other weapons. It was pure luck that the naiad had fled after he stabbed it instead of turning on him.
“You can hardly swim.”
“I know, but I didn’t have much choice! You were going to die.”
Eris leaned forward and gripped Valence’s shoulders. “I am your guardian. Never endanger yourself for my sake.”
“I’ll do what I like. I can’t believe you would make an issue out of this. Come on, I’m cold and you need to see a doctor.”
Valence tried to rise, but Eris’s grip on his shoulders pinned him. “My job is to protect you,” she insisted. “You must promise not to do such a thing again—”
“Eris, stop talking. Did the naiad put some sort of spell on you? I think I preferred it when I needed to pry your words out like teeth.”
Startled, she did as she was bid. Eris looked about them, apparently coming back to herself, and rose to her feet while Valence did the same.
“Right,” she said. “Let’s go.”
“Wait! There’s one more thing.” Valence grabbed her hand, still chilled from the lake, and turned her to face him. “Thank you for risking your life for me,” he said, and pressed his lips to her cheek.
The sodden bodyguard stood frozen as her charge’s breath warmed her face. She couldn’t speak until he finally stepped away, looking absurdly cheerful in spite of their recent ordeal. “It is my duty to do so,” she said, speaking to the space somewhere near Valence’s left ear. She began walking back the way they had come, and the boy followed silently.
But her hand was no longer cold, even in the shade of the trees, with Valence’s still warming it.
The boy called Valence was flat on the carpet of yellowing grass, smiling as he allowed the sun to beat against his closed eyelids. He loved summer for its long dry days, for Valence was a creature of heat and light. He detested winter, and would rarely enter a body of water any larger than a puddle. In fact, there was very little that valence Rose would do if he did not wish to. As his bodyguard could attest, Master Valence was a boy of his own mind.
“Eris,” he called from his horizontal position, “you should sit down at least. No one said you had to stand all the time.”
“No, thank you, Master,” she said. Valence sometimes wondered if she was capable of saying anything else. She was like a mobile statue, hard and silent, and had always refused his offers to join him instead of standing rigidly nearby. But then the job of a bodyguard wasn’t to enjoy yourself.
Eris wished for what could have been the tenth time that morning that her charge would be more serious. He was only two years younger than she, and undeniably clever, but Valence detested the dull and predictable. He tended to get into trouble, which was what made her job so vital.
Still on the ground, Valence opened one eye so he could look up at his guardian. The seventeen year old girl was damp with sweat, but appeared not to notice or care, instead polishing a dagger while her eyes slowly skimmed the edges of the empty meadow. Valence sighed.
“Let’s go to the lake,” he said, rolling onto his feet. “I’ve had enough of prickly yellow grass. We might as well trade it in for itchy yellow sand.”
Eris nodded and followed the boy as he ambled off. The trip to the lake was short, just a few minutes of brisk walking, a bit longer at Valence’s pace. Eris kept one eye on her ward and the other on the spreading trees that framed their route. She had lived her life for this boy since she was just a child—and took pride in doing her job well.
As they neared the lake they walked abreast of a large stream that drained into the broad, crystalline pool. Valence amused himself by walking on the stones at the edge of the water, and Eris drew closer to him, ever-watchful. The path was drawing away from them, but as they were almost at the lake there was no danger of them becoming lost. The two passed under willows which cling to the water’s edge, casting cool blue shadows over the stones and grass.
Valence’s pace quickened; he was eager to be out of the shade and on the sizzling shore of the lake, although with the claustrophobic press of the air even in the shadows he couldn’t have been cold. Blue glinted at them through the trees, beckoning the travellers onward.
It happened in an eyeblink. Later Eris would curse herself for her own inattention, but at that moment there was only shock and instinctive movement as the stream exploded upward and enveloped them both. She was at the rocks and grasping for Valence before the water began to fall, but their fingers touched only briefly. Then he twisted and fell, leaving Eris alone on the bank.
A grinning silver face surfaced some distance away, towing a struggling Valence. The water nymph lingered for only a moment at the surface, vanishing with a splash by the time Eris focused her eyes on it. She began running along the bank, following the shadow as it headed toward the lake. Valence could barely swim—she couldn’t let him be dragged to deeper water.
Sun scorched her eyes when she left the trees behind. Eris ran half-blinded, kicking up clouds of sand as she raced toward the shore. When stream became lake, she drew her dagger and launched herself into the water. Valence and the naiad surged past a moment later, just within arm’s reach.
Eris snatched at a silvery limb and managed to vise her hand around an ankle. Her eyes scalded the nymph’s features, heedless of the sting of the water—if looks could kill, she wouldn’t have needed her weapon. The naiad spun Valence behind her, where he floated limply to the surface. He was either charmed or unconscious, which meant Eris needed to move quickly.
She slashed at the naiad’s leg and drew blood, causing the creature to hiss and lunge at her face. Throwing up her arm in defence, she lost her grip on the nymph’s leg. Suddenly Eris found herself in the grip of crablike hands, dragging her toward the intense blue of the lake.
She understood her danger. Eris stabbed at the naiad, but it caught her arm and bit until pain forced her fingers open. The dagger spiralled out of her reach. As the chill began to deaden her limbs, the edges of her vision dimmed to black. The need to take a breath grew until she could scarcely contain it.
She shouldn’t have jumped into the water so heedlessly. She couldn’t protect Valence any longer, not when she was dead.
Valence… I didn’t ever get to…
The naiad shuddered against her, and its grip loosened. Eris knew nothing but the desperate need for air as she clawed free and swam, hoping that she still knew which way was up. The urge to draw breath overwhelmed her. Cool water rushed into her lungs and she began to convulse. Eris felt hands grasping at her once more, but it didn’t matter now. The blackness thickened, and Eris knew no more.
She swam back into consciousness with the feeling of pressure on her chest. She couldn’t breathe. Eris struggled, rolled over and vomited water from her lungs. Her vision tried to close in again, but she willed her eyes to focus and looked up from the ground.
Valence was kneeling next to her, pale and wet, and more anxious than he had been in his life. He had trusted Eris to take care of the naiad, as she had done with every other danger he had faced, as he floated away from his captor and crawled to shore. If he hadn’t grown worried and gone in after her, she would have died.
“Master,” Eris said, struggling to sit. “Are you alright?”
“Of course I am! I’m just a bit wet. You’re bleeding, and you nearly drowned.”
Eris tried to remember what happened before she had blacked out. She had been certain that she was going to die, but something had happened.
“Master, why am I here?”
“Because you’re too heavy to carry back home. Can you walk?”
“I meant why haven’t I died?”
“Oh.” Valence shifted a look at the lake. “I had to come get you. You dropped your dagger at the mouth of the stream.” And she’d been unable to reach her other weapons. It was pure luck that the naiad had fled after he stabbed it instead of turning on him.
“You can hardly swim.”
“I know, but I didn’t have much choice! You were going to die.”
Eris leaned forward and gripped Valence’s shoulders. “I am your guardian. Never endanger yourself for my sake.”
“I’ll do what I like. I can’t believe you would make an issue out of this. Come on, I’m cold and you need to see a doctor.”
Valence tried to rise, but Eris’s grip on his shoulders pinned him. “My job is to protect you,” she insisted. “You must promise not to do such a thing again—”
“Eris, stop talking. Did the naiad put some sort of spell on you? I think I preferred it when I needed to pry your words out like teeth.”
Startled, she did as she was bid. Eris looked about them, apparently coming back to herself, and rose to her feet while Valence did the same.
“Right,” she said. “Let’s go.”
“Wait! There’s one more thing.” Valence grabbed her hand, still chilled from the lake, and turned her to face him. “Thank you for risking your life for me,” he said, and pressed his lips to her cheek.
The sodden bodyguard stood frozen as her charge’s breath warmed her face. She couldn’t speak until he finally stepped away, looking absurdly cheerful in spite of their recent ordeal. “It is my duty to do so,” she said, speaking to the space somewhere near Valence’s left ear. She began walking back the way they had come, and the boy followed silently.
But her hand was no longer cold, even in the shade of the trees, with Valence’s still warming it.
