Elijah felt like raising his hackles at the tone and the prospect of kneeling down to this human, but he flicked his eyes over to the princess and got down on one knee. His gaze never wavered, staying on Ali as he said, "I do." She's wearing the tooth still, he thought with a flicker of amusement, though his face betrayed nothing. "I swear my loyalty to the princess."
Ali looked up then, eyes wide as her father paused halfway through swearing him in in surprise. And then she met the knight’s eyes. He came back. Her dragon was here, in her palace and swearing himself to her as a knight. Her eyes lit up then, that familiar old fire sparking in them as she lifted herself halfway from her throne, looking to her father.
The King looked between the newcomer and Ali, thinking, before he took a step back and held out the sword to her. “In that case, I believe this one is yours.” Ali lifted herself fully from the throne then, along her way over and accepting the sword, eyes never leaving Elijah’s.
His eyes never left hers as well, and because of that he could see the familiar flame in them that he had associated with her so much. He kept his face stony, but his eyes sparked with joy. She remembered. He had come back, and she remembered him. There had been a secret fear that she would've forgotten him during the year in the palace, that they would've tainted her with thoughts of him being a devilish being that had brainwashed her. And yet, here she was, eager to walk over to him with her eyes solely on him.
It was a bit of a struggle to keep from grinning stupidly, but she managed, face neutral and regal even as her eyes betrayed how happy she was to see him. Stopping in front of the knight, she raised the sword and an eyebrow, lips quirking slightly. “You have sworn your loyalty to me, Elijah Drako. And now, I pronounce you sir. Serve me well.” The last part bugged her a bit, but they were already pushing enough tradition as was. Lowering the sword to each of his shoulders, she sealed the oath, officially knighting him.
Elijah bowed his head as he was knighted, his cool eyes staring back at him through the reflection on the polished floor. "I will devote my life to your safety, Princess Alinta." He lifted his gaze up to meet hers. "May I die in your stead." Oh, how I've missed that spark, Ali. How I've missed your warmth.
“You won’t, if I can help it.” Ali murmured, just loud enough for him to catch as she nodded. She took a step back, something unmistakeably happy flickering across her face for just a moment, before she glanced to her father. At a nod from him, she headed back to the throne, waiting impatiently for him to wrap up before she slipped out of the throne room, heading for a more secluded hall. Elijah would find her. And she wanted to talk, privately.
Elijah waited to be dismissed, standing straight and proud despite how much he wanted to slip away and find Ali. Finally, the king let him go, and Elijah bowed in farewell before turning on his heel and heading down a different hall than the one Ali had gone through. Her scent still lingered in the air, but even that wasn't what he followed. He could always find her, like a sixth sense he had. Soon enough, he made a turn and spotted her, though he said nothing as he approached.
Ali was sitting on the floor, back against the wall just under a windowsill. The fading golden light lit up her hair, turning the normally pale blonde strands a gold just a few shades lighter than her eyes. She glanced up as Elijah turned down the hall, her ears having been listening for his footsteps. His were unfamiliar in the palace, so it was an easy thing. “Hey.” She whispered, not out of choice, but more her voice giving out for a moment.
He stopped in front of her and crouched down, a ghost of a smile on his lips as he examined her face. He hadn't allowed himself to do this when he was being sworn in as her knight. But now they were alone and he was free to soak in her face, the face that had been taken away from him nearly a year ago and he had nearly forgotten. "Hey," he whispered as well, his lips twitching towards a hint of a smirk. "Looks like one of us changed the most."
"I think you mighta won that one." She said, her voice still quiet as a small smile flickered onto her face. And then, without much warning, her face split into a brilliant smile that he didn't get much chance to see, before she was practically launching herself at him for a hug. Her arms wrapped around his neck as she knocked him back onto the ground, a laugh slipping from her lips. "Oh my gods! You're here! You're really here!"
Elijah's eyes widened right before he was knocked to the ground with Ali on top of him, her arms wrapped around his neck, her melodious laugh in his ear, and her undeniable smile radiant. He laughed softly and wrapped his arms around her, that warmth of hers seeping into his skin and his cold settling into hers, balancing out the two extremes that were their body heats. "Yes, I'm here. It took some time, but I'm here."
Gods, she finally felt normal again. Not a million degrees too warm, but normal, and not so alone anymore. Her dragon was here, and he'd come for her. "I missed you." Ali said, pressing her face into the crook of his neck for a moment before lifting her head to look down at him, that smile still on her face. Her hair fell into her face, strands coming loose from the updo, but her eyes sparkled, and she didn't seem to notice the hair.
His eyes squinted in his usual eyes-only smile, the edges of his lips only curving up a tiny bit. He leaned his head back until it hit the floor with a soft bump, but he didn't seem to mind as he reached up and brushed back the strands of hair so he could get a clearer view of her sparkling eyes. "I missed you too," he murmured, holding her gaze. "Took me some time, but I made it."
Her left eye squinted slightly in response to his smile, a widening of her own. It was slightly funny, that only one eye squinted, the corner wrinkling with the movement, but it was slightly adorable too. "You showed up just in time." She said, voice still soft and warm. "I was close to giving up. I tried to leave, a few times, but they always found me."
Elijah almost actually smiled when he saw that adorable smile of hers, with the way her eye squinted. "As you can see," he said with an arched brow as he gestured to himself, "I had to do a few things before coming here. But I'm here now," he added softly, wrapping his arms around her once again, "and I'm not going away any time soon. I swore I'd protect you, then and now. That hasn't changed."
"You're here now." Ali repeated happily, burying her face in his neck again as he held her. It was different, from the scales and wings and claws, but he was still larger than her, and no matter what form he was in, she was just happy to have her dragon back. She had made him promise, back then, that if she was ever found, he would get away. Without a doubt, they would have killed him. And that would have been so much worse than the year she'd spent without him, or even the rest of her life without him. "Just don't be stupid about it, okay? That's my job."
He wound some of his fingers around the loose strands of her hair, leaning his cheek against her head when she settled herself in the crook of his neck. It felt strange, being her size and holding her like this. He wasn't used to this, but he could get used to it. "I know," he murmured, eyelids lowering as he focused on the feel of her in his arms instead of the world around them. He still kept an ear out for anyone that might come near, but that was the extent of his acknowledgment of the outside world. It was just Elijah and Ali, two lost souls that had finally reconnected after an eternity apart, bound together through interwoven threads of fate and memories and promises.
"Hey, Ellie?" She whispered, voice muffled by his skin, but knowing he could hear her. A nap would be so great right now, if only they weren't in the middle of a hallway, and likely to be walked in on. Maybe…maybe she could convince him to sleep in her room tonight. If they pulled it off right. Sleep had always evaded her, but when she was with him, she managed to actually rest. He was the only one who managed to calm that uncomfortable fire and soothe her mind so she could sleep. "I…I keep having this dream. And it's about that night. The one where they showed up."
He smiled faintly at her use of his nickname, at least the one she used for him. No one else was to call him that, it was their own special thing. He tightened his grip on her when she whispered those words, shifting his head so he could press his cheek more against her head as if letting her know that he was there, that he wasn't going to disappear. His smile fell and he frowned, eyes slipping closed. "You can't sleep because of it," he guessed with a whisper, turning so that he was speaking against her hair.
It was comforting, the way he held her tighter. A promise. It felt like promising he wasn't going to leave, like nothing was going to pull them apart again. "I can never sleep." She said quietly, nodding once, gentle to keep from upsetting his head. "But it…makes it harder. Sleeping in the bathtub helped for a little while, but it stopped working. It reminded me of you a little bit."
"Cold," he deduced with a hint of sadness. She had suffered while he was gone, unable to sleep and dreaming of nightmares. He took in a deep breath, inadvertently sampling her unique scent, and tipped his head back some more to look back at the wall behind them, his lips parted ever so slightly. "You need sleep, Ali," he murmured, resenting this castle and everything she had to endure because of it.
She shrugged a shoulder slightly, snuggling into him just a bit more. "Yeah, cold. Everything's always too warm. Everything but you. And I'm fine. I've learned that sleep is hard to come by, and how to manage without it." Not a great thing to say, but she didn't care. She was just happy. In fact, just the high from reuniting with Elijah probably wouldn't fade for a day or two.
"As your knight," Elijah said with a hint of humor, "I'm advising you go take a nap. At least half an hour. For me." She was clearly tired as she laid on him, snuggling close and using him as a pillow. It wasn't anything he wasn't used to—it was more like old times than anything—and he wanted to make sure she was feeling alright under his watch. If that meant dragging her into bed, then so be it.
“But if I take a nap, I don’t get to see you.” She complained, huffing quietly against his neck. “I just got you back. I want to stay here.” To prove that she wasn’t planning on going anywhere, she wrapped her arms tighter around his shoulders. “And there’s nothing you can do about it.”
"You can see me in your dreams, my flame," he murmured, dragging his knuckles down the curve of her shoulder. It was different to be able to interact with her like this, to have a light trough instead of one with claws and great strength. He did it again, but reverse. "I'll be right there with you. I'm not going anywhere."