FlightRising - Three Word Prompt

User: Kalypsonite
Words: Prophecy, Dusk, Ribbon

“What do you want?”

Ignoring the growled out question Seyon dropped into the empty seat by the fire. He lifted his hands so the dancing flames could warm the chill out of his fingers. Behind him he could hear the rest of the camp moving about, soft conversations and the occasional thump and rustle as supplies were dispersed or unpacked. Occasionally he felt the pressure of eyes on him, a there and gone flick of awareness that he felt like invisible fingers on his back.

Wyvern sighed when he didn’t receive a response and threw another stick on the fire. There was a burst of sparks and the dancing tongues of flame quickly licked over the dry wood. The black stain of char flowed as smooth and slow as water, devouring with insatiable hunger.

“I need you to take me somewhere.” Seyon said. When he glanced out of the corner of his eye he could see the wary tension spring to life beneath Wyvern’s all encompassing cloak. “And the other’s can’t know where we’re going.”

Wyvern coughed out a laugh. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

Seyon nodded but continued, “If you don’t help me I’ll go by myself. And I doubt I’ll be able to get where I’m going without you.”

“Considering I’ve tried to kill you several times I don’t see why this is supposed to bother me.” One dark eye peeked out from the cover of his cloak. “You’re just making it easy for me at this rate.”

Smirking outright Seyon said, “I’m about to make it even easier than you think. I’m trying to get to the Darkause Ruins.”

Any amusement Wyvern had found in the situation vanished like smoke. Seyon saw the twitch of his cloak and imagined the other man was clenching his hands into fists. There was a betraying rustle where the cloak draped over the back of the log he was seated on. As if he couldn’t keep the scaled length of his tail still. “No one goes there,” Wyvern ground out. “After fighting this hard to live why would you guarantee yourself a death sentence?”

“Would it be?” Seyon asked. Lifting his hands he studied the marks on his wrists with a hard won reserve. A single band as black as pitch encircled each wrist. Beneath the firelight it shone as if it were a mere satin ribbon laying against his skin, but it was as much a part of him as any of his limbs. “I have my doubts about that.”

Surging to his feet Wyvern turned towards the dark line of trees in the distance where the forest ended and the camp began. No doubt to disappear until sunrise as was his usual routine. Seyon gestured and Wyvern froze in place, falling unnaturally still. It dug at something inside Seyon to do it, as if some vast pressure were coming to bear from the skin out but he had come too far and lost too much to stop now. The line had been crossed and there was only one way to go now.

“I am going to release you.” It took effort for Seyon to keep his voice even. The longer he brought his will to bear on Wyvern the greater the pressure grew. Seyon flicked his eyes down to the marks on his wrists and saw miniscule tendrils begin to break up the perfect edges, as if putting down roots. “When I do, you will sit down and hear me out. After I’m done then you can leave.” His mouth curled up into a smile he never thought he could make. “If you still want to.”

With a twist of will he released the hold he had and sagged forward. He barely had the energy to lift his head to see Wyvern take one threatening step toward him before stopping. The shifter’s eyes raked over the rest of the camp and all the watching eyes. Seyon could see the struggle in him, the debate on wondering what would happen if he tried to take Seyon out again. Would he be fast enough to do it considering what Seyon had already proven he could do? Would he be able to get away afterwards? Would it be worth it even if he couldn’t?

Seyon knew what the answer would be before Wyvern dropped back into his seat. “Get talking then. The sooner you get this over with the quicker I can get out of here.”

“It’s not like you’ll go far,” Seyon couldn’t help but point out. “Not while I’m still alive anyway.”

“Without you there is no prophecy,” Wyvern snapped. “If you die everyone else is safe.”

Laughter bubbled out of Seyon, surprising him and judging from the look on Wyvern’s face, him as well. “How noble of you,” Seyon said, still laughing. “You should have said something before. Then I might have let you stab me the last three times you tried.”

If Seyon hadn’t already proven that he could keep Wyvern in place no doubt he would have already stomped his way back to the forest. Off to brood and plot more murder attempts no doubt.

“I’ll admit the prophecy does make things seem somewhat dire.” The understatement almost made Seyon start laughing all over again. A gate from which the demons would descend upon their world and feast to their heart’s content, and he was the key. Or so the prophecy claimed. “But I’m starting to wonder if that’s what it’s actually saying.”

Seyon had never seen Wyvern dumbfounded so he did his best to commit the expression to memory. “What madness is this?” Then his expression cleared into the murderous one that Seyon was more familiar with. “No, I will not let your cowardice doom our world. You are the key and if you die, then the prophecy cannot be completed.”

“That’s why I need to go to Darkause ruins. That’s where the prophecy was first stated, and I need to know what happened there.”

“The entire castle was murdered by demons. What more do you need to know?” Wyvern’s claws sank into the log he was sitting on. Seyon wasn’t sure he even knew he was doing it.

It was on the tip of his tongue to explain, to mention the letters he had found. They were from Nicola, the first Demon Bound, to her sister but Seyon held his tongue. It was unlikely that Wyvern would believe him if he explained that the demons were the first victims in what seemed to be an endless war. Summoned from their realm and bound with chains of magic and will, they had never had a choice. They were enslaved and used, passed down from one mage to another until they faded into nothing more than violent wraiths. It was difficult to wrap his head around, so much of his country’s history based on a lie, but he had to know for himself.

“I recently discovered something that makes me doubt the way the prophecy has been interpreted.” It was a poor explanation and Seyon knew he deserved the contemptuous look Wyvern threw at him. “I’ll make a bargain with you,” Seyon said, leaning forward. “You take me to Darkause and if you still think I need to die, I’ll let you kill me.”

“You’re lying.” Wyvern snorted, unimpressed. “After how hard you’ve fought and everything you’ve done up to this point there’s no way you’d just let me kill you.”

Which was true, to a point. “It will be just me and you,” Seyon said. “Considering how close you’ve gotten so far, I think you’re chances are good if there isn’t anyone else around to stop you.”

There was a growl and Wyvern lunged toward him only to stop at the last moment. Seyon held up a hand when he heard a shout behind him. “I’m fine,” he yelled. “He isn’t going to hurt me.”

“That confident are you?” Wyvern’s fangs were visible, an obvious sign that his control was slipping. It probably shouldn’t have made Seyon more confident. “Why shouldn’t I kill you right here and now?”

Seyon ‘reached’ and gripped Wyvern once again. He knew it was a stupid thing to do before he did it, but there was that throbbing anger that had been stewing in his gut since he first found that letter and he was tired. TIred of being fed lies and having everyone look at the black marks on his wrist first and who he actually was and did second. “Because you can’t. I’m offering you a choice. Help me find out the truth, the actual truth, and maybe we can stop a war.” He ‘squeezed’ a little tighter and heard Wyvern grunt. “Unless you think you can’t take me by yourself?”

“You think I’ll risk my life to help you?” Wyvern scoffed. “No one goes to Darkhause and comes out alive.”

“But you did,” Seyon said. He didn’t look away as the blood drained away from Wyvern’s face and there was a dull crunch as his claws bit into the log Seyon was sitting on. “Yes, I know you have been there. And I need you to take me back. So, how badly do you want to kill me? Obviously you’ll have a chance to kill me on the way there. Are you going to pass that up?”

“I’ll take you,” Wyvern ground out. The fury laced in every syllable was almost impressive. “Once we get to Darkause I won’t need to lift a finger to kill you.” He snarled in a flash of fangs followed by a snake-like hiss. “That cursed place will do it for me.”

“We’ll see.” Not an inspiring comeback but it was all Seyon had to say. Anything else would reveal the shaky relief that against all odds Wyvern had agreed. Seyon honestly hadn’t thought the shifter would. “What time do we leave?”

Wyvern stepped back and if there was a brief shudder when he was able to move away Seyon chose to ignore it. “Not tonight. We need to make sure we have supplies. And a plan to deal with your ‘friends’.” Wyvern ground his jaw hard enough Seyon could almost hear the teeth grinding together. “Be ready two days from now, dusk.”

Seyon wasn’t given a chance to respond. Wyvern hightailed it away from the campfire and the camp itself as if the demons of old were after him. Seyon couldn’t exactly blame him. So he sat and stared into the dancing, flickering flames until he had the energy to move. When he glanced at his arms the strange black marks had returned to the same satin smooth finish and clear cut lines.

Hopefully he would have his answer soon.

FlightRising - Three Word Prompt

User: LeafeonWarrior

Words: Seraphic, Sly, Betrayal

Isabeau leaned against the railing, eyes closed against the brisk wind that carried the hint of salt.  She ignored the way the wind combed through her hair and turned it into a tousled mess against the back of her neck and in her face.  Once in a while she brushed it aside, or tried to, until giving up and letting the wind push it around some more.

With night having long since fallen it was almost brutally cold up on deck.  Without her cloak she would have been freezing, and even with it her hands felt numb where she gripped the railing.  It was better than the stifling confines of the berth she’d been given. Everything was too close, the walls, her memories.  It was better to up on the deck where there was only the cold, and sea wind to keep her company.

She looked down at the dark waters where they lapped against the side of the ship and her shiver had nothing to do with the cold.  

It hurt, a yawning ache between her ribs to realize she’d been lied to her whole life.  She had so many answers now to questions she didn’t even know to ask. Why her mother had feared the ocean and why she...hadn’t.

She was still having trouble believing it.  The whole mess was just too far-fetched when laid out beneath the hard light of day.  An ancient pact, a sea-monster bound by magic, a prince determined to save his child from the duty passed through his blood.  It should have been a fairytale, something to stay up reading until the candle burned itself out. None of the revelations from the previous day had any place in real life.

Isabeau wanted to deny it, but...even now she can feel...something.  

Ever since she was first brought on board she had an awareness of the sea that didn’t seem strange at first.  She’d never even seen the ocean before how could she have known.

There was something terrifying about how close she had come to falling into the trap.  Three weeks at sea and two sea battles. She’d even fallen into the water during that last battle trying to repair the rigging.  If her blood had touched the ocean water...the magic lying dormant would awaken a creature so terrible that even the legends themselves had tried to erase it.  

If she had any common sense she would be hiding in the middle of the ship and doing her best to avoid so much as catching a splinter.  Isabeau should be feeling vulnerable and frightened, but right now all she felt was a fury that left her almost breathless beneath the weight of it.  Had her mother ever intended to tell her? To explain the invisible weight that had always sat heavy across her shoulders and why she would dream of an ocean she had never seen.  

It had been a shock to recognize something she knew, she knew, she had never seen.  

If there was anything this blasted war had taught her, it was that ignorance was no excuse.  Her mother might have hoped to save her by refusing to tell her the truth, but in the end it had just placed her in more peril.  

“So this is where you retreated to.”

Isabeau startled as Captain Eliza joined her at the railing.  She immediately felt the fool for taking such a drastic risk with everyone’s safety by lingering by the water.   

Her immediate apologies were waved away as the captain leaned on the railing, resting her weight on her elbows.  “Don’t apologize. Considering what we learned yesterday I don’t think you could avoid the ocean even if you tried.”  She eyed Isabeau sidelong. “That does explain things at least.”

Isabeau pressed her lips together to hold back the tirade that tried to pour out of her.  Instead it sat on her tongue, heavy and bitter.

“So what are you out here brooding over?”

Isabeau stared outright in surprise.  “Captain?”

The Captain’s smile was soft, not the usual sly curve of her lips.  It was the look in her eyes that made Isabeau swallow hard and look back out over the water. * “Your world was basically turned upside down yesterday and judging from your reaction you had no idea it was coming.  That kind of thing can cut your feet out from under you faster than any wave.” She looked out over the night-dark ocean. “It might help to talk about it.”

“I don’t think it will,” Isabeau said, the words falling sharp and furious.  “My mother lied to me. She risked my life because she was afraid and let me stumble into this,” Isabeau gestured at herself and the ocean as if that was explanation enough, “without any warning.  She could have given me answers any time but instead she stayed quiet even when I was -”. Biting back the words Isabeau swallowed hard. She imagined the words were an actual physical weight in the back of her throat.

“When you were what?” the captain pressed.  If she had turned to look at Isabeau she would have brushed her off.  But her gaze was still on the endless ocean with its churning black waves gilded in moonlight.  It was as much privacy as Isabeau could expect on the ship and receiving it from the captain now gave her the courage to continue.

“I’ve always dreamed of the ocean,” she admitted, speaking barely above a whisper.  Just a touch louder than the quiet shush of the waves beneath them. “When we would visit the nearby lake I could never figure out why I always felt so strange in the water.  As if it was close to what I wanted, but not enough.” She remembered crying once, only the once, not even sure why. Her mother had held her close and wiped her tears away saying, it was okay, it would fade with time.

It hurt to realize what her mother meant now.  “I don’t know if she was ever going to tell me.  Maybe she was going to wait until whatever magic lived in me...died.”

“But then you ended up on the ocean.”

Isabeau nodded and looked down at her hands where she gripped the railing.  The water danced back and forth on the edge of her vision. It was frightening to realize that a part of her belonged down there.

“I saw a Mer once.”  Before Isabeau could pepper her with questions the captain continued, “It was a long time ago, back when I first started sailing.  It was in the middle of a storm and the captain had me up on the mast to help tighten the sails.” She laughed, shaking her head. “It was a wonder I survived the attempt.  I’m pretty sure the captain had done it hoping I would get swept away.” The captain’s smile was deliberately sweet, seraphic as the one gracing the lips of the Lady fashioned on the prow of the ship.  “He didn’t like having a girl onboard. Thought it would bring bad luck. But unfortunately for him I knew what I was doing. I was fighting to keep my grip beneath the wind and driving rain and suddenly lightning slashed across the sky.”

Captain Eliza shook her head and shared a commiserating look with Isabeau.  “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. A Mer in the water several yards off the portside.  It was looking right at me.”

Enraptured by the story Isabeau whispered, “What did you do?”

“I was frozen until a crack of thunder right overhead nearly made my lose my grip.  By the time I had righted myself and was no longer in danger of falling the Mer was gone.”  Captain Eliza’s nails tapped against the railing, her chin braced on the heel of one hand. “I could be imagining things, but I almost think the Mer was waiting to see if I was going to fall.”  Another short laugh. “Hopefully they meant to rescue me, but I don’t know. It’s been a long time since they bothered to speak with us. In fact, I think it was almost two hundred years since any have bothered to speak with the royal family.”

Isabeau pressed her lips together.  “That would fit with when my supposed ancestor took his family and fled the ocean.”

Captain Eliza hummed in agreement.  “That would make them a bit salty about us land-lubbers huh?”

Isabeau blinked and then looked at the captain askance.  “Did you just…?”

The captain’s response wasn’t so much a laugh as an actual cackle.  Isabeau was pretty sure she’d heard seagulls make the same noise. “It did the job didn’t it.  Aren’t brooding anymore are you?”

“If it weren’t too dangerous now I think I would be tempted to throw myself overboard,” Isabeau muttered.

Captain elbowed Isabeau in the side, ignoring Isabeau’s yelp of complaint.  “You talk big. One of the reasons I like you.” The captain didn’t move away but instead slung her arm around Isabeau’s neck.  “One more thing before I leave you to your hopefully much lighter thoughts.”

Feeling a change in the air, Isabeau carefully nodded.

“What your mother did hurt you and only you can decide if you will ever forgive her for it.”  Isabeau tensed but didn’t try to pull away, aware that she wouldn’t be able to escape the captain’s hold.  “But if you learn anything from this, I want it to be that even the people you care about will betray you if they think they are doing it for the right reasons.”

Even with the cloak on Isabeau felt suddenly so cold.  “Captain…”

Letting go, Captain Riley carefully turned her until they were standing face to face.  She put both hands on Isabeau’s shoulders and leaned in, continuing just above a whisper.  “Be careful, Isabeau. Whatever protection your mother tried to give you is gone now. If it were only my crew who knew what you are I could try to buy you more time, but unfortunately I wasn’t the only captain at that encounter.”  She pressed her lips together hard enough to drive the blood out of them before continuing. “We are at war and there will be those who will look at you and see the key to an ancient power. They won’t stop to wonder if they can control it, or what it might do to you in the process.”

Isabeau knew the captain was right, but it hurt to hear it spoken out loud.  This wasn’t something she could hide from.

Not anymore.