forum A Thing You Won't Remember

Started September 18, 2022 by @ElderGod-yellowqueen

tune

Elia ran her eyes over him, observing him. She wasn't subtle about it nor had she meant to. "Because at the end of the day it's all just pretty words. So far, everyone you have rescued is still here. I hope that you being truthful and that there are families lined up to take them in. But I don't know that. I haven't seen them. There's no one coming to take these kids away. How am I supposed to know that they truly are going to get a better life?"
She flexed her hands, itching for something. She wished she brought her wine with her. Instead, she reached for the armor clasped around his legs and started at the clasps, undoing them just like all the rest.
"I'm asking you to put yourself in my shoes. The others might trust you blindly but I have been through enough that I trust no one but myself. I've been through too much. If you value my intellect as much as you say you do, why won't you do this? It ensures both of our safety. It's the best bargain I've had in my entire life."

"Because I got them out in the first place. You said it yourself, no one else is making a move to do anything. Why would I do that only to then screw them over??" Her absolute insistence that he treat her above everyone else was beginning to wear on him again.
He let her undo the fasteners on his greaves, but stopped her before she pulled at the upper leg pieces.
"Nobody is trusting me blindly, Elia. They all trust because I've proven myself. And again, why are you special? Others have been through what you've been through. Others have been hurt and sold and tortured and raped. Others have spent years in hellholes and come out the other side with scars. Nobody has asked for a blood-oath, until you."
He tugged off his boots, before pulling the greaves off. "And by the way, I don't know why you think this is a bargain. For you, maybe, but it in no way benefits me. How does it ensure my safety, like you say?"

"You got me out yes, but at what cost? I keep expecting to be called to service you or any of your men. I don't know you. I don't know any of you. I don't what you're capable of. I don't know your motivations. I keep looking over my shoulder expecting the worst because I have only been given the worst.
She placed her hands on her lap as he stopped her. She picked at her nails as she watched him, listened to him. The irony wasn't lost on her. She almost laughed. This bargain benefitted him more than he would ever know because she couldn't tell him. She couldn't tell anyone. She would be risking everyone. She could only imagine the look on his face if she told him her identity. It would be hilarious. Until he killed her for it. And she didn't like not having the last laugh.
"My loyalty would prove more beneficial than you think it would. I've been underestimated plenty of times and yet I'm still standing. And there's a reason for that. I know how to survive." She needed to give him something. Something to gain a bit of his trust. "And a blood oath can only be preformed by a magic user. It's likely why no one has suggested it before. No one wants to get burned. I have a feeling you won't though. And lucky for you, I am perfectly capable of performing a blood oath."
She had never actually performed one but he didn't know that.
"If you value what I have to offer, at least consider it."

"No."
He flatly refused.
"If this is the only way, then no, Elia. I can't help you." He clambered to his feet, keeping the armored lower torso and upper leg pieces on.
"You've not been called on to service anyone. You'll not be raped, molested, or taken advantage of. And no, you don't know me, yet you hate me. You've had nothing but hatred from the start. In fact, I'm not convinced you'll ever have anything but hatred for me, no matter what I do. I could make you the queen and you would still hate me. Why on earth would I tie myself to that with a blood oath?"
He stepped to his cot and sat on the edge, the frame protesting from the sudden weight.
"You swear up and down you don't trust me, and you're not safe, but you seem perfectly willing to admit to being a magic user, a crime punishable by death." The most insane rule his father had put in place, and one he would abolish post-haste. "And I do value what you have to offer, but clearly not as much as you value yourself. You've seen Lear, and the other men. They are selfless individuals, with a realistic view of their worth and their role. Those are the kinds of people I surround myself with. Not narcissists making demands."
He rubbed his face, where a blow across his helmet had bruised his cheekbone. "My offer will stand, but I cannot force you to accept help. You're free to do whatever you want."

Technically, Elia was supposed to be queen. Part of her wanted to scream it at him. Then he would understand. But she couldn't. And he would never understand. No one ever understood.
"If you were going to kill me, you have done it already to be rid of me already. I'm a pain in your backside, we both know that. Anyone else in your position would have likely gotten rid of me by now, so I do appreciate that I am still alive. I wish I could make you realize the position I'm in but I can't. And doubt there is anything I could do to make you understand without compromising myself."
She pushed to her feet, standing. "It seems that we are at an impasse then. I don't understand why you wanted me to come with you. I can't imagine what you saw and decided that I should come with you. But I think we both know that was a mistake. My place is back in Madame Rosette's hand. All I ask for is enough provisions to get me back there. I can find my way back." Hopefully. She would either make it or she wouldn't but she had to try at least. "I wish I could say it's been a joy being here but I would be lying."
She stood there with her hands behind her back, looking up at him. She had a curvaceous body, wide eyes. She was soft and vulnerable. There was no way she could survive through the woods on her own. But despite her features, the young woman stood her ground. She did not tremble. She did not falter. She was strong.

"I wanted you to come with me so that you could be better, Elia!"
Long day. Lots of death. Children hurting. Guards and friends wounded. And she was still pushing his buttons.

He stood as his voice slowly rose in volume. "You're a beautiful girl, with a brain in there somewhere, who has survived terrible things. You're a former noble, so you know that life, and you have a heart that at times wants to help others. I was trying to give you the tools to do that! I'm still trying! I want you to access some of that endless potential and HELP people, Elia!! Don't feed me that garbage about 'oh that was a mistake,' the only mistake was thinking a venomous snake in the grass like you might see past your racism and hatred in order to help your own! How many of those children are Venian? How many more are in trouble? How many more girls are out there, living the hell you've lived? You talk of our savagery, how awful the Harad are, what feral beasts we are, and yet! When given the chance to show us what real mercy looks like, you refuse because you can't have your perfect way!"
He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. "I owe you nothing. What I have given has been out of kindness. If you choose to go back, you choose to go back on your own. Good luck." He pointed at the tent flap, clearly done with the conversation.

Elia scoffed and headed towards the exit of the tent. Before exiting, she turned back to him. "I did try to help today. I don't what you heard but I wanted to help. I was prepared to get into the medical tent and heal your wounded. Soldier or child, it wouldn't have mattered to me. I was ready to help. I gathered the kids because they knew how to help. And what was I repaid with? I got locked up in my tent. So no, I have not been met with kindness here. I have been met with judgment and closed ears. I have asked you to listen. I have asked you to try to understand where I might be coming from but you refuse to. I was hoping you of people would listen to me, given how much you preach. I have nothing here. I have no friends, no security. I feel exposed, just waiting for something bad to happen to me. You can talk about how honorable you and your men are but it doesn't change the fact that there is always a bad seed. Something could happen and I have no way of protecting myself."
She sighed. She hadn't come here for a fight. She had tried to make amends. She should have none better. "I didn't come here to fight. I just wanted to make sure you were alive. Despite everything, someone needs to save them and it might as well be you. You can't do that if you're dead." Baby steps, Elia, baby steps. "I'm not just from some random noble house who perished when your father took over. I come from an important family. If anyone knew that I was alive, it wouldn't be just my head they came from. It would be Madame Rosette and anyone else that might have resided there for harboring me. That includes Lily and Calvin. So asking for your protection isn't just for me, it's for them as well."

He snarled when she opened her mouth again. "Get. Out."
Nothing that she was saying mattered to him right now. Her manipulating ways would get her nowhere.

Lear stepped up to her just before Romulus moved to push her through the tent flap himself. He grabbed her arm and pulled her out, releasing her as soon as she was outside the tent. He didn't say a word to her, just looked at her reproachfully for a long moment, before stepping inside the tent.

Elia held up her hands in response and stepped out of the tent. She said nothing to Lear, she barely looked at him.
She forwent a cup this time and snatched the entire bottle from the mess hall. She made her way back to her small tent, drinking straight out of the bottle. She stood in front of her tent, staring, contemplating. So many choices for her to choose.
She decided she did not want to go into her tent but she also knew she wouldn't survive a night in the woods. So she settled for walking around the camp. Sleep eluded her like always. The dark circles were evident but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't sleep. Perhaps the wine and a walk would help her.
She had gotten perhaps halfway around the perimeter before she felt someone watching her, following her. A shiver crept up her back, her instincts screaming at her to leave. But if she left, if she ran, it would be too obvious. This camp was full of men much bigger and stronger than her. It would be easy to grab her. She needed to be careful about this. She pretended to take another drink, continuing her walk. She tried walking closer to the camp but her attempts were useless.
Hands grabbed her waist and covered her mouth, muffling the scream that came out. She thrashed in the arms of her capture, biting his fingers, trying to scream, trying to be heard.

Lily and Calvin were out in the woods, looking for a few herbs Carth had said they were running out of for the kids.
They'd heard someone walking, and then a rustling, and Lily had gotten scared. "Calvin, we should get back inside the camp…"
Calvin knew she was right, but wanted to find the herbs. "Just a minute longer and we'll go." He kept looking, while Lily looked around them in the dark, her nervous eyes noticing everything.

She saw the struggle happening across the grove of trees they were in, and immediately screamed. "Elia!"
~~~~

Romulus gritted his teeth. "Lear, I swear, in all my life, I have never met a more… a more…"
Words failed him to describe how intransigent and obnoxious and rude and stupid and stuck-up and-
Well. I guess I have words after all.

Lear just nodded, before stepping over to help him finish getting out of the armor. "Romulus… I don't know what to say. I said give her another chance, and you have, but… clearly, she's not interested. I can't imagine why, but… at this point, give her what she's asking for."

The Prince sat, pulling on a pair of trousers. He paused to look at Lear incredulously. "You mean pretend a blood oath would work? Lear, I'm magic resistant, you know this, those won't work on me. They never have. And why would I giv-"

"I meant, since she wants to have her way or leave so badly, give her what she wants and let her leave." Lear handed the Prince a clean shirt. "It wouldn't be your fault."

Romulus took the shirt, pulling off his soiled one and tossing it on the pile. "I know, but-" He paused.
There was an odd sound outside the tent.
And then a scream split the night.
"Elia!"

The tent wall burst inward as the underbelly of Calegon attempted its revenge.
-~-~

Calvin sprinted across the grove, gripping the knife in his hand. "Let her go!" He stabbed at the large man wrestling with Elia.
The man kicked him in the stomach, and the boy dropped to the ground. Lily turned to run for help, and barreled straight into the arms of another townsman. He scooped her up off her feet. "Shut up!" He raised a hand to slap the girl.
Romulus dropped on him like a thunderbolt.
Lily found herself being pulled from the man's limp arms by Lear. Somehow, they had ended up on the ground. She hadn't even seen exactly what had happened.
She turned to see Romulus, shirtless and wearing only a thin pair of pants, beating the tar out of Elia's captor. The big townsman had released her when Romulus had clapped his friend, and had started to run, but the Prince was tired, and frustrated, and angry, and not willing to take chances.
The man didn't stand a chance.

Romulus stood once the man had gone still, and took off sprinting towards the medical tent and the sleeper tents. "Make sure they're alright, Lear." He barked over his shoulder.

If these men had hurt the little ones, he would burn Calegon to the ground without a second thought.

Lear checked Lily, who was dazed but ok, before moving to Elia. "Are you alright?" He didn't touch her, or get close, just walking into her line of sight to get her attention. He moved instead over to Calvin, who was still curled up on the ground, the wind knocked out of him.

(I wish I was. I'm not even hearing back from restaurants. RESTAURANTS. And they hire everyone. I don't understand.)

( :( my friend, I'm so sorry. But you'll find something! Persistence pays off. Things will look up!)

Elia's eyes widened as she saw Lily and Calvin. "No!" Her scream was muffled. She bit harder on her assailant's fingers, tasting blood. He screamed as he rapped his hand away, flesh tearing. She spit out his skin and let out a blood-curdling scream. She earned a punch to the stomach, knocking the breath out of her. She was hauled back up, a hand on her neck, cutting off her airway. All that she could think was Lily and Calvin. She had to get to them. She flung her arms and kicked her feet to avail.
She couldn't breathe. This was it. This was how she died.
And then he was being pulled off of her. She stumbled a few steps away, falling to the ground. Her hand was at her throat, the flesh tender. She taking in huge gulps of air, trying to breathe. She looked up to see the prince and Lear.
The prince was…well let's say her captor was unrecognizable now.
She sat there gasping, trying to breathe. Every breath hurt to take. Tears welled in her brown eyes and slip down her cheeks. Her breath quickened as she hyperventilated. She tried closing her eyes but she flashed to another place, another time. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe!

Calvin was conscious, just winded, and waved Lear off. Elia was clearly in worse shape.
Lear nodded at him, and stepped back over to Elia when he got no response to his question. "Elia? Elia, you're safe, I just need to know if you're ok." He touched her shoulder gently, noting her hand on her throat, her terrified expression, her gasps for air. "It's alright, they're gone, you're with friends." He wasn't sure what she was seeing, but… well, unfortunately, he had some ideas.
~~~~
The medical tent had been fine, the townsmen hadn't wanted the damaged ones, seemingly. The guards had also been hanging around it, so it was a bad target.
The sleeper tents had all been raided, although the sudden scream and the failed attack on the Prince had botched all their plans.
It took Romulus 2 minutes to get the kids all back in the meeting tent. He accounted for them personally, before asking Carth to double check his work. In that 2 minutes, he had killed 22 more people. His knuckles were cut and gouged and bleeding, he had several lacerations across his chest and shoulders, and he was a bit unsteady on his feet since somebody had managed to hit him pretty hard in the head.
But the kids were safe.
He glanced around, noting that Calvin, Lily, Lear, and Elia still weren't back, before turning to go find them.

Elia didn't have the best grasp on reality at the moment. No, she found herself in an entirely different situation. Hands at her throat, squeezing. Hands forcing her down. Hands everywhere. They were touching her everywhere.
She was trying to take them off of her. She dug her nails, she scratched, she drew blood. But the only blood she seemed to be drawing was her own. She was crying, begging. "Stop. Stop. Please, I'll be good. I'll be good."
But it was stopping. In her head, it kept happening over and over again. She wanted to scream but she found her voice stuck in her throat. Her body was shaking. It wasn't a pretty sight to see. She had always been so composed, so in control. She had never let anyone see her like this. Well, at least none of the younger ones.

Calvin managed to sit up, as Lily stepped over and grabbed him, crying. She had already been weeping, but watching Elia tear herself up was making it worse.
Lear realized what she was doing, heard what she was saying, and tried to help. He blocked her nails from her own skin, getting long, bloody scratches for his troubles, but he couldn't get her to calm down. He tried talking to her, soothing her, but it didn't do much, if anything.
Romulus came through the trees, and Lear looked up at him. The look on his face said it all.
The Prince knelt and leaned over Elia. He wrapped her in his massive arms, pulled her against his expansive chest, and squeezed gently, applying the the feeling of being wrapped in a warm blanket. The same feeling as being engulfed by the womb, a primal memory of safety from infancy.
He rolled onto his back, pulling her onto his chest on her back. Lear had seen him do it before, in fact, Lear had been the one in the embrace before, and it worked many times. He hoped it would now, and the Prince was clearly thinking the same thing, his brow knitted in concern.

Elia tried to fight the embrace at first. She didn't like being held down. She didn't like being tied up or restricted. It flared up her fight or flight. And she chose fight. She dug in her nails, she kicked her feet, she flung her arms. But the longer she was in the embrace, the more she began to calm. Her breathing started to normalize, though her lungs still hurt from being choked. There were hand marks on her throat that would be dark bruises by morning. Her stomach was sore from being punched. Her body and ached and stung from the wounds she had made.
But she stopped fighting. She slowly came to her awareness and sunk into the arms that held her. She buried her face into the chest of the prince. She didn't acknowledge him. She didn't acknowledge any of them.
She hoped Lear would take the kids away. They didn't need to see her like this any longer. She felt humiliated they had witnessed her episode.
She hid her face. She curled up her body like a fetus. She wanted to hide from the world. Her violent shaking had lessened but her body still shook. From shock or from fear, she couldn't tell. Her silent tears soaked his skin. No one would even tell she was crying if it hadn't been for her tears.

Lear smiled slightly as it worked, slowly. Romulus held her, and she clawed at him. The kicks and wild flailing didn't do much, but his bare skin had the same long, bloody marks in it that Lear and Elia's did.
But she calmed.
"My Prince." Lear stood, and motioned Calvin and Lily over. "Let me get you back into camp."
Romulus nodded, and got to his feet with minimal effort, like the weight of Elia in his arms was a feather.
They walked back into camp, and Lear started to walk with Romulus, before the Prince stopped him.
"Take the kids to the meeting tent. If they want, they can all sleep in there. If they want to be in their tents, post a guard outside each one. You and Alak watch the med tent."
Lear nodded, before pulling Calvin and Lily with him into the meeting tent.
Romulus adjusted his grip, settling Elia more easily and comfortably in his arms, before heading to her sleeper tent. They got there, and he had to duck to walk under the flap. He managed to sit on the ground by her cot, which most certainly would not hold his weight.
He didn't say anything, just maintained his grip, not crushing her, but applying a little bit of pressure to her arms, chest, and knees now that she was curled up.

Elia was limp in his arms. The only indicator she was awake was her open eyes. She looked like the shell of the woman she had been only half an hour prior. The stubborn woman was gone in place of a skittish girl. Her hair was a mess, her eyes were red and swollen, and her face was pale. Her neck was red and beginning to bruise. Her arms were bleeding from the scratches she had made.
She let out a soft noise of relief they were settled into her tent and out of sight of the others. She wasn't particularly keen on the prince seeing her like this but she would rather it be him than any of the other children.
She stared blankly at the wall of the tent. Her ear was pressed against his chest and she listened to his heartbeat. She matched her breaths to the beat of his heart, trying to steady herself.

Romulus groaned as he felt the one of the lacerations in his shoulder start bleeding down his back. Squeezing her, even gently like this, for this long, was aggravating the fresh wounds. The low noise was a rumble in his chest that she would have felt more than heard.
He was determined not to let go until she pushed him away or indicated she was alright.
He had seen trauma responses before, dealt with them in children, adults, even his warriors. Not always quite like this, but it tended to work.
He wanted to help, but didn't know how she would react when she came back to herself.

Elia lifted her head off his chest, eyes narrowing. Something was wrong with him. He wouldn't be rumbling as he had.
She looked up at him, looking like a mess. She was a mess. But there was that glint in her eyes, a hint that the woman was resurfacing in her. Her face was pulled in concern.
"What's wrong? And don't lie to me, I know something is."
Demanding as ever. She hadn't moved out of his lap. She would never admit how comfortable she felt sitting there. She felt calm for the first time in her life. That was, until the prince made a noise that alerted her that something was wrong.

Romulus relaxed his arms as she stirred, not wanting her to feel trapped. He hadn't bothered to light a lantern when he came in, so they were sitting in the dark. She wouldn't see the claw marks she'd inflicted, or the cuts and slashes from the townsmen. He was still a little unsteady, his head aching, but otherwise… "I'm just very tired." His voice was low, still rumbling through her. He gently lifted her out of his lap to her cot. "Are you alright, Elia? That looked very intense."

Elia didn't look convinced. She looked into his eyes, searching for any lie. "I haven't been alright for a very long time, Romulus." It was the first time she said his name. She had never felt the need to. He was the prince. That was who he was. But he was more to her tonight. He saved her.
She pulled her knees up to her chest and placed her chin on them. "I am sorry about earlier. I hadn't meant to start a fight." She was quiet for a moment, looking around the small tent before back at him. "I don't want to sleep alone tonight."
I don't feel safe, is what she couldn't say but it was heavily implied. She didn't want to be alone. She didn't want guards creeping at the door. It would only spike her anxiety again.