Kieran followed her. "Where are we going?" He questioned. He continued keeping pace with her, close enough that if she fell, he could grab her. His foot slipped at one point, on a loose shingle, and he breathed a curse in some foreign, unknown language, before continuing to follow her. There were more loose strands of hair hanging into his face now.
“The clock tower.” Elara said, pulling herself up onto a chimney to sort of twirl around the rim, like she couldn’t care less if she fell. She didn’t, and a moment later, was back to walking along shingles and probably rotting wood. “Don’ fall. I won’t be able to catch you. We coulda used the streets, but the way I like t’ go up is, well, up. From here. Plus, less traffic up here.”
Kieran nodded. "I don't plan on falling, your highness. And if I did, i would be fine." He replied. He kdpt an eye out for the clock tower, wondering exactly why she wanted to be there on the hour.
“Take it from someone who’s fallen before, it does a bit more damage than ya’d think. Sure, ya got the Thari thing goin’ for ya, but it’ll still feel like shit.” She didn’t sound winded, which was slightly odd. Just amused and excited and something else that was hard to place. She pointed as she landed neatly on another ledge, towards an old and slightly imposing clock tower that cut through the fog, her grin widening.
"I know. But I have been in worse pain." He replied with a slight shrug. He spotted the tower, and nodded. "How was it built?" He asked suddenly, examining the tower as they moved. He didn't sound winded either; he sounded the same as always. Emotionless, distant.
“The tower?” Elara thought for a moment, her tongue poking out from between her lips slightly with her focus. “Well, my ma used t’ tell me this story ‘bout it. How it was built before even the palace, when the city was new ‘n’ small. Story goes, a boy from lands far from here arrived one day, seekin’ asylum from the war in his country….” she continued to talk, telling a story about a boy and fairies and an evil man, her fingers itching to make it come to life in the air using her magic. She didn’t though, sticking to making the story come to life with her words. She was good at that.
Kieran nodded as he listened. "So it's a folk tale. It may or may not be true." He said, glancing over at her. He had asked to see if it was built with slave labor, but…even if it had been, it didn't make a difference. It was there, and there it would stay. Most likely.
“Bu’ wha’s the fun in believin’ it ain’t?” Elara asked, shooting a look over her shoulder at him. “T’ be honest, it was pro’lly built by townspeople payed by a richer towns person. But the story’s more fun.” They were close now, and from here, it wasn’t hard to tell that the best way into the tower was probably at the base, but Elara seemed to know what she was doing.
Kieran shrugged. "Isn't the truth important?" He replied. He looked at the tower. Best way in would be st the bottom, I think. But…I assume she knows what she's doing. He thought, and kept following her.
“It can be. But sometimes it hurts, ‘n’ sometimes it’s just not as exciting.” Elara said, shrugging a shoulder. They reached the roof of a building near the tower, closer than most due to bad design and planning, but still a good distance. Enough to make someone question Elara’s confidence. “Feel free t’ use the door. Meetcha inside the clock.” And then she stepped back, took a running start, and jumped.
Kieran shrugged. "I'll stay with you." He replied, and raised an eyebrow at her leap, waiting to see where she would land. Once he saw how she landed, he would jump after her.
Elara’s hand caught a stone that jutted out from the tower, her feet finding footholds that weren’t very visible unless you were using them. Without pausing, she began her ascent, laughing. Now she sounded breathless, though it was obviously more out of excitement than anything. Her ankle twinged as she easily scaled the side of the tower, but she was ready this time, only briefly halting before continuing. “Hurry up then, ktherion!”
Kieran raised his eyebrows, but took a leap of faith. Quite literally. His hand found the same stone Elara's had, and after a few moments of kicking and scrabbling, found footholds, and he began to climb up after her. He took a deep breath, and kept climbing. Heights weren't his favorite thing, although they didn't make him panic like some things did.
Elara made quick work of climbing, pulling herself up onto a small ledge next to a door in the face of the clock, only visible close up, and not from the distance most people looked at the clock. She swept her pale hair back from her face with one hand as she turned to look out at the Slums, eyes sparkling. This was where her mother used to take her, after a welldone job. She was always tired, but she’d make the climb anyway, for the view and for what she was here for in the first place. After a few moments she crouched, leaning precariously over the edge to look down at Kieran, grinning. “Need a hand?”
Kieran pulled himself up onto the ledge. "No." He replied in a neutral tone, leaning against the tower. Don't look down don't look down don't look down. He sighed softly, crossing his arms. His sleeves hiked up slightly, showing the ring of scars around his wrists, and he tugged the sleeves back down again.
Curiosity had Elara wanting to ask about the scars, but understanding kept her quiet. There was a reason she always wore pants that covered all the skin of her legs. Shaking off her thoughts, she pushed open the door, motioning for Kieran to enter first, into the gear room and inside of the clock. “No rest yet, but we’re close.”
Kieran hesitated. "I'm supposed to follow you." He said, eyeing the room. It looked small, and dark. Two things that he did not like overly much. He would prefer, almost to remain where he was rather than go in there, if it was as dark and cramped as it looked.
"So much fer bein' polite." Elara said, shrugging a shoulder before stepping through the door. Glancing back at Kieran and deciding he wasn't the worst person to spill another secret to, she reached for the well of energy inside her, drawing it to her fingertips and causing them to glow with light, her freckles doing the same. She used the light her hand gave off to search for the light switch, eventually finding and flicking it on as she let her magic fade.
They were inside the clock, and with the lights now on, it looked much larger than it had in the dark. Large gears turned around the platforms that were connected by ladders and thin walkways, and in the center, hanging from the ceiling, was a large bell. It was strange, being inside something most people only saw the outside of, but Elara loved it.
Kieran followed her after a moment, relaxing very slightly when he saw it wasn't as small as it had looked. He raised his eyebrows slightly at Elara's display of magic. "I was not told you had magic." He said, watching her for a moment, then closing the door. He stretched slightly, looking around the tower.
"Good. Means it ain' public knowledge." Elara said, shoving her hands into her pockets. The glow on her cheeks took a bit longer to fade, but because she hadn't used her light for long, it didn't linger too long. She stepped further into the gear room, making her way along one of the thin catwalks that was noticeably without rails, but luckily didn't drop straight into a moving gear. Rather, the flat side of one. She scanned the room for a moment, seemingly thinking, before a bounce blended into her step. "Righ' on time! We got a minute or so."
"Until… what?" Kieran asked slowly, looking at her curiously. Until doomsday? He thought wryly. He sighed softly, staying near her. This would be his job for years. Stay eith the princess, earn your freedom. Simple as that.
Elara shushed him dramatically, then tapped her left earlobe, before tugging on the small silver hoop in it once. "Ya might wanna cover yer ears." She warned, lowering her hand. Her finger tapped her thigh rhythmically, matching the pace of the clock. And then the hour hit, and the bell began to chime above them.
Kieran winced slightly, covering his ears. He didn't quite understand why she had wanted to be here, but…Not your business. Don't question, don't argue, just follow. Follow and listen and don't ever question your betters. He swallowed, silent.
A laugh slipped from Elara's lips as she bounced in place, her head tilted up to watch the bell as she left her ears uncovered. For a moment, one could almost see the child she'd been once upon a time in that exact spot, pain and troubles forgotten as she listened to the sound of the bell with fascination. And for a second, she almost felt her mother at her side, heard her voice speaking loudly to be heard over the chiming. "You'll go deaf if you don't cover your ears, Divitia!"
Kieran watched her quietly, then closed his eyes, leaning against a pillar. He was very glad that he wasn't scared of loud noises. If he were, this would have been a nightmare.