alexander heroux. (ousado) wrote in mythologs, @ 2012-02-23 01:31:00 |
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Entry tags: | !zurvan, aeneas, elaine of corbenic |
Characters: Elaine (thegrailmaiden) & Aeneas (ousado)
Date/Time: February 23th, midday
Location: Palace barracks, Camlann
Rating: PG-13, implied stuff. You can handle it
Warnings: Nothing much.
Summary: Long needed talks.
It wasn't hard to figure out who had committed the deed against Samael. Or, rather, was suspected of it. That it was Gwynevere was a shock and something of a sad moment for Elaine had thought the woman could have suited her brother. If she had done it...why? It was so terribly puzzling but, then, why had someone killed the Glasthein king?
Yet, Elaine had even heard from her maids that if Gwynevere was responsible maybe the death of her father was an inside job. By the princess herself. It was a chilling thing to think but Elaine expected rumours to fly about. If and when the trial would occur, the truth would out.
Right then, she had other things to think about, things she had control over. With fistfuls of her skirts in hand, she was on a most determined path toward the barracks to see Aeneas, hoping he would have a moment for her.
Leaving had been an option with two results. One, the most important one had dealt with the safety of his region. The other, more private, was very connected with the simple fact that Aeneas didn’t want to think overly much about his own life. It had been a way to hide without realizing he was doing so. Even generals had this kind of weak moment.
But he had never thought things could turn out this way. The second Aeneas had crossed the gates of the city, that he had left Elaine and his princess safe in their own homes (something he had never thought to be possible), he had buried himself in trying to figure out what had happened. That meant practically moving into the barracks, coordinating guards and searches, every trace of evidence who could say, without the shadow of a doubt, that the Glastheim was to be blamed.
Aeneas couldn’t say that just yet and so he stayed. Hair in disarray, light stubble and a meal, a sandwich eaten in between making sense of the paperwork which had been dumped into his desk. A general dealing with paperwork. God help him, it would never make sense to him.
Once informed of where Aeneas was, the redhead ended up at his door. No doubt he was busy but after also being told that he had been so hard at work, she wasn't going to hesitate over disturbing him.
There were many men who could handle things if something went wrong. She only wanted a moment of his time. So she gave a knock and then nudged open the door to peek inside. "General?"
Definitely not an unusual event. Aeneas raised his head from the requirement and swallowed the piece of bread before it lodged itself oddly. He gave her a small smile, straightening instinctively on the chair. “If you use my name, I promise not to throw you out.” After a couple of days with only soldiers around him and more stern – and fearful faces, if he wanted to be honest – around him, Aeneas was ready to even face his brother’s kind greetings.
“Take a seat,” he waved distractedly to the front of his desk, searching for something supposedly hidden by paper. “There should be a chair somewhere. Is something the matter?” It was the default for the last days. Anyone entering through those doors brought bad news.
"Well, I suppose I'll have to face being booted out by my dearest friend in front of all those nice soldiers," she teased with a small smile. Entering, she nudged the door shut with her foot and moved into find a chair. Upon grabbing one that wasn't entirely flimsy or light, she dragged it over (with all the appropriate little grunts) until she wasn't on the other side of the desk but beside him.
Dropping down a bit inelegantly in it, she huffed as her hands smoothed over her skirts. "Something the matter. Something is indeed the matter." But rather than go on, she looked at him critically. "How are you? You look..." Well, the stubble wasn't that bad. Nor his hair, really. But he did look as if he needed sleep and better food. Fresh air, too. He was something like a sexy but wilted plant.
Never let it be said Elaine was not generous or thoughtful with her comparisons. "You don't look healthy."
“Because there is no way they will be waiting to catch you with pillows and assurances of how horrible I am.” General he may be but nothing was more duty-bending than a damsel-in-distress. It spoke a lot about the kind of relationship they shared how he didn’t stand to help her out, watching her progress with a half-smile and slow bites of his would-be lunch.
Her comments smoothed his amusement down to nothing down. Wincing a little, Aeneas rubbed his face, as if that would erase the lines born from lack of sleep or the shadows underneath his eyes. Still, it wasn’t that bad. He had done worse in his life. A couple of days were something anyone could recover from easily. And he was a bit more used to it than most.
“You came by to tell me I look ill?” That was… nice? He rested his elbows on the desk, head tilting to the side as he returned an evaluating gaze. “I might prefer when you bring gossip.”
It did speak volumes, though against another male she would have scolded him for his sheer lack of manners and heartlessness to not assist a maiden. And that would have been more or less out of fun because she knew she could manage dragging about a heavy chair or even minding after her own horse. Now, reaching for things on high shelves? She disliked like that quite a bit.
Her eyes sparkled a bit over the gossip comment, knowing she did so enjoy informing him of the most useless little tidbits whenever possible. She didn't know of anyone else who would do that for him if she had gotten married.
Married. The spark dimmed and she averted her eyes for a moment. "I'll tell you what I've heard later."
One of his greatest flaws. Stepping right into landmines and say the worst possible thing. Aeneas might not know exactly what it was this time but her reaction wasn’t right considering they had been joking. His face turned a little more serious, even apologetic. “If you don’t, I can survive. I doubt much of it doesn’t have anything to do with the Prince’s attack. Did she do it, why, how, when. I have heard more than I wished to.”
The remaining piece of the bread was placed on the desk in front of her, a clean change of subject. “You probably haven’t had much either,” he offered as a sort of explanation, a cough added in the end for no real reason. Sheepishness, maybe. Aeneas wasn’t in a mood to ask himself about reasons for his actions. “So, it was a random visit?”
But he was still curious.
"It was just about relationships among the staff. And I'm sure you've heard what's being whispered about the Glasthein princess. That maybe she killed her own father. It's just a little illogical but you know how people get. They enjoy talking about anything." And anyone. She herself had not been spared the rumours and knew it. Even the princess herself was hardly spared despite it being well-known that Polyxena was a quiet, dutiful lass. When people wanted to gossip, they gossiped.
Elaine took the offered bread and began to tear it into bite-sized bits. "Not that random. I was hoping to speak to you about...the way I returned. About Mictlan. About...well, if you have a moment for me."
Heard everything and took his own conclusions. All Aeneas knew is that there had been a women in Glastheim’s clothes and she had used the blade. There was a letter too. But everything was so sketchy in details. The General was more inclined to believe her innocence than not. Irrelevant. The clues told him she had done it and he’d follow them, simple as that. It was comfortable to see things in black and white at times.
The next subject, however, was a different matter. His features got sterner, a little bit more, fingers entwining on the desktop carefully. “I always do.” That was the pure truth. As she had said, they were friends, everything else aside. And if she wanted to talk. “I could use a break. And if you need someone to hear.” He knew the basics already, the same who had made him want to break the other general into two. The specifics, those were unknown. Had she been hurt by it? Did she like the man?
Always. He could say that now because she was back and wouldn't be far from him for some time. Not until the next marriage was arranged and then what? What would happen then? Would that man be a Svargan, a Glasthein? Maybe a Camlannian but how would that make it better when it wouldn't be...
"I need you," she commented, lashes down, her thumb stroking a heavy jeweled bracelet around her wrist. Deciding that was far from good enough, she lifted her head. "Were you really happy for me, Aeneas? What would you do if a few months from now I was engaged to another man?"
It was a good thing he had finished eating because this wasn’t the question he had been expecting. If anything, Aeneas had thought she needed to speak. Not required answers. And this one… The hands in front of him tightened, tanned skin becoming lighter with the increased strength. But he didn’t notice. His eyes were on her, his thoughts circling on the best way to reply. It wasn’t like he hadn’t lied over the matter several times before.
His head lowered again, shaken just a fraction from side to side. It was an answer in itself. “Yes and no. I thought this was what you wanted.” What he would do? Likely feel like hell again, lose time again until he understood that he wasn’t doing things right yet again. There were moments in which Aeneas wanted to be blunt beyond words. That would be one of them.
“You want another marriage?”
Fortunately, she wasn't looking at his hands but his face. "No, not in particular. But it's expected of me. I could live with Hector as an unmarried woman but one day he will marry and I will feel like the odd one. I rather not be a burden to him even if he wouldn't ever think that.
"What I want is someone who won't betray me. Tell me, what did you mean by 'yes and no'?"
That made sense. If he stayed by himself, no one would bat an eyelash. A woman? It was odd to think of. But arranged? It didn’t have to be arranged. “Exactly what it meant.” The words were said slowly, a reply that wasn’t really an answer and he knew it. But for once, Aeneas tried to elaborate. Saying half sentences and hoping for her to fill the blanks have never worked till then.
“If you wanted it, I would have been happy for you. How couldn’t I? You’re my friend. I want you to be… happy with your lot in life. But if you didn’t want this, if it was just by obligation and a wish not to be alone? You could just stay here.” Another half smile followed by an almost inaudible exhale. “It’s not like I’m not going anywhere. And I definitely wouldn’t betray you. I mean.” He opened his mouth, trying to find a way to clarify that but closed it a moment after, actually slightly confused. God help him, he was so not good at this.
One looking in might say this was the oddest revelation of feelings ever. But Elaine supposed there had to have been odder. Yet, would she have asked for things to be any other way? If it had been more romantic, more tailored to way most women would like to hear an admission of feeling, perhaps she would have wondered who was she was speaking with.
So this, with all the strangeness it possessed, was just right. Plucking herself up from the chair, she stationed herself before him, one hand on the arm of his chair and the other moving to comb through his hair, making some effort to see it look a little less like he'd just gotten out of bed.
"Why couldn't you have said something like this before I left," she muttered to him. "But am I only your friend, Aeneas?" She'd wonder if he'd confess more or if any hesitation would make her loosen the laces of her bodice. She'd do it. She was just bold enough to do so.
Elaine hadn’t stormed off yet. That was a good sign, wasn’t it? He waited in silence while she moved, half expecting her to say how she would never think of him that way, turn around and go complain to Hector about him harassing his sister. There was also the possibility of bodily harm, something very easy to manage considering his office was filled with plenty of heavy objects. Instead, he had received a caress?
His hands relaxed a notch, blood returning into circulation, eyes begging to close. He kept them open though, trying to catch a glimpse of her face from the odd position.
“You’re my best friend,” he declared simply, as if it was obvious. “Saying anything out of the normal would displace your plans. It would upset you, Hector. It would make everything more complicated. I couldn’t do that.” That and he could lose her friendship. Lose something he didn’t have was possible to stand. Lose something he cherished, that he wasn’t sure he could do.
He raised a hand to catch hers between his fingers. “And you?”
If she knew what Aeneas had been thinking and if Hector wasn't burdened with a major crisis, Elaine would have loved to have done that just to get back at Aeneas for not saying something sooner. If she hadn't taken that late night stroll, she would have been married to someone else.
"Hector's a big boy. I'm a big girl. You can say what you want." Best friend was good. A better start that what she had with Lancelot. But it wasn't all she felt and she refused to make another mistake, to lay all her hopes on chance. Her hand slipped down to the side of his face, feeling the stubble and wondering things best not said aloud. Yet.
"I want to be here. And wake up every day knowing I'll see you. Knowing that when I walk into the barracks, the soldiers won't think of me as Hector's little sister but as yours. Is that something you feel that can be done?"
Saying what he wanted was all good but not so much when his superior was also his friend and someone he truly didn’t want to disappoint. Her words though. They spoke of hope, of being given a chance if only he stopped being so indecisive about it. Aeneas wasn’t sure about marriage still, the sheer idea of a contract, of watching as it made other crumble around him wasn’t something he enjoyed. Elaine had painted a picture of it though and he found himself enjoying the idea. Even if it was something she had done since forever.
“Not having them seeing you as my sister, no.” Bad time for joking, General. Bad time. The man pushed himself from the chair slowly, noticing for the countless time how she was smaller, how her hair was that bright, almost as bright as she could be on a regular basis. Without thinking, he gripped one of the strands, letting it slowly slid through pinched fingers. His free hand had, somehow, found its way to her waist. Slowly, almost as if she’d break if he applied too much pressure, too quickly.
“I think so. I am a general, you know? And Camlann is a good city to live in.”
His sister. Her nose wrinkled but she didn't comment even if she would later when the important part of the conversation had passed. Elaine didn't like to let go of things when she could use them for jest or...blackmail.
With great ease, she put her arms around his shoulders and leaned up to brush her mouth against his chin. "Really? You're a general? I'd have never known!" And then, with the slyness they all knew she had, she added, "But just to be sure, you ought to kiss me. They say you can tell a man's worth that way. Or something like that."
“I have the impression I’m giving you ammunition to make the next years very difficult.” And he wasn’t just speaking over saying the wrong - that was rather normal. He was basically telling her that yes, he wouldn’t mind dealing with her on a permanent basis. If that wasn’t something she’d use at some point, he was the Queen’s brother. To be worried over later. It didn’t matter at that moment. What did was that she was close, she wasn’t pulling him away and he was done with thinking too much.
His hand slipped through her hair, pushing her against him, all hesitation officially out the window. Right then, it was unlikely he would have cared even if half his soldiers were looking in. “If you wanted it this much, all you had to do was ask.” His faint (somewhat lame) version of teasing, over in a moment. Words said, he leaned in, pressing his lips against hers.
If they only were peeking through the windows, they would see a very pleasure Elaine, like a cat that had got the cream. For the first time in a while, she felt a sense of victory. Even a sense of things working out in her favour. No anxiety, no worries. This is what it must feel like to know a good thing was happening, she decided.
"You have the right impression," she confirmed before her lips were sealed against his. It'd be stated in a most fond voice, one that promised that even if she would make those difficult that, hey, at least they would be with her. She well understood what he meant and decided they didn't need to take greater leaps than this.
Though she would be asking for so much more than a kiss.
One week before, Aeneas would have never thought this could have ever happened. Not even after returning, even though he had had some difficulty hiding away his feelings over the failed engagement. But if he had, he’d reach the conclusion it paled when compared to reality. He smiled against her lips, a little amused, pressing a bit more strongly before pulling back.
“That’s a good thing. Because I was about to say you’re not take any more marriage proposals. Please.” The last was added as an afterthought as women were women and he wasn’t completely out of his mind yet. He kissed her forehead too, affectionately. Little things, those were the ones who came easier to him.
She quite literally wriggled from the forehead kiss, a seemingly difficult creature to keep still. Then the please triggered a laugh on her part and she pressed a hand over his heart opposed to her own. "I promise, no more proposals.
"I've all I need right here now."
Good thing Aeneas was pretty much used to her habits. He shook his head, accepting her words as the truth; that was the sort of person she was, after all. “Then you can take it.” As long as she wanted and that was probably the greatest extent of his romantic words. Important and serious conversation out of the way, he took refuge in the every day gestures, flicking her forehead lightly as he would have done to Diana.
“I need to go back to work. You have two choices. Run now, before I force you to help. Or help.”
Oh, she could help alright. The smile she wore was one that said she was not thinking of work productive matters and she stepped back, hip resting against the desk edge. One finger was on the lace of her bodice.
"I'll be staying. We're just going to work on something else."
And then she tugged on that lace, undoing the knot that so properly kept the 'girls' neatly bound in place.
"Let's first have you do something more than use your hands."