Alain and Atiya

(Wow..., it's been awhile since I posted. And short post!)

Alain gave a nod of his head and turned slightly, though his gaze stayed on Atiya. "Let's."

((....What were we doing again? XD))

"Great!" Atiya gave a wide grin, taking Alain's arm with her own. She swiftly walked them toward their carriage. One short explanation later, Syrien was informed of their sudden stop for the night, and he proceeded to get some blankets and pallets from the back to make two makeshift beds in the carriage; one on the seat, and the other on the floor.

"When you are ready for bed, the two of you can share the carriage for the night. I will sleep outside. In the meantime, I shall fix us something to eat. I am sure the merchant would not mind if I borrowed some foodstuff from his stock."

(Hehe. Look at my longer post one page back, with Ana, and that should answer your question.)

Alain patted his grumbling stomach. "I hope so, because I'm starving." His cheeks were a light red, but he hoped the action and words would help to hide that. There was nothing weird about sleeping alone in the same room as Ana, but with Atiya..., it was different. He just hoped that his bumbling ways wouldn't make things too awkward.


(And I'm thinking we should skip to night soon, because there's not much else to do before Ana makes her move.)

((Time skip, AWAYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!))

After they finished their dinner, the sun had already set, and the light of the Moon was the only thing that illuminated the campsite, aside from a few scattered torches. The merchant and his bodyguards were already asleep in their caravan, and Grandpa Syrien had already laid out a cot for him to sleep on, next to their own carriage. Atiya was beginning to feel tired herself, as she looked at the beds in the carriage.

"Hm, it'll be like those sleepovers we used to have when we were little, Alain! A shame our parents stopped us doing that after I started...heh, well, becoming a woman. Anyway, which do you want? The seat, or the floor?" Atiya asked, glancing over at Alain.

Alain, as tired as he was, blushed a light shade of red. Why oh why was he always so awkward whenever the subject started to shift to... well, to stuff. "I can take the floor," he said. "It can't be too bad, not after some of the places Ana has made me sleep." He made a face at that, and then dropped his bed stuff to the floor.

"Fine with me," Atiya replied, giving Alain a beaming smile.

"I'd suggest we share the floor or seat, but I honestly don't think either have enough room for the both of us. Ah well. I'll just try not to roll over and fall on you, Alain!" she giggled.

"At least your landing will be soft," he said with a smile before laying down and pulling the blanket over him. In almost the same motion, he slid a dagger underneath his pillow, just in case. "Goodnight, Atiya."


Ana crept closer to the caravan, flitting from shadow to shadow with no sound, and nary a movement. She was one with the environment, and it was one with her. She pressed herself against the carriage she knew Alain and Atiya to be in, and a dagger slid into her hands. She was on high alert, ready for anything and everything. There was no telling what Mattias had planned.

"Goodnight, Alain." Atiya replied cheerily, before settling for sleep herself.

---------------------

A few hours later, when Ana crept into the camp and made her way to the carriage containing Atiya and Alain, Mattias appeared, walking calmly toward Ana. Oddly enough, he was still dressed in his merchant's garb, and had no apparent backup.

"Good evening, my dear. So glad you could make it," he purred.

Ana did not move, but simply stood there, a shadow within the shadows. Her dagger was ready, but she did not let it fly, knowing it would be of no use, not now. Her skills had grown in the years they had been apart, but this was his playing field, and he knew things she did not. Like why he was here, for instance.

"Mattias," she said, her voice low, but cordial. "You dropped something." Finally, she moved, her left hand pulling out the deformed dagger. She threw it, and it sunk into the ground just short of the merchant's feet.

Mattias did not flinch or move at all when Ana threw the dagger, and merely chuckled when it embedded itself in the ground near his feet.

"Tsk tsk, Ana. You've grown soft on me; I was fully expecting you to impale my foot. My, what has this barbaric country....and that boy....done to you, I wonder?" Mattias asked, grinning darkly at his former protege.

Her eyes narrowed, just by the slightest fraction, before returning to normal. "I left that life behind me long ago. Now, what do you want from me?" Her next throw would impale something more vital than his foot, that was for sure. But first she needed a better understanding of what was going on.

Mattias merely smiled wider at Ana. "What do I want? Hmm....care to take a guess, my dear Ana? I'm sure you can figure it out...."

Without waiting for her to reply, he carried on.

"Tell me, Ana; do you know what's like to be imprisoned for crimes you did not commit? I do. Do you know what it's like to be tortured for information you do not have? I do. And do you know what it's like to rot in prison for years afterward, forgotten by all around you? I certainly know what that's like, Ana. When you left, you doomed me to a living hell. And I've come to repay the favor."

Ana blinked, the only sign that she was taken aback by what he had said, but the action was nearly lost in the darkness. When she had left? But that was... "Over twenty years ago." She took a step towards him, though careful not to move too far from her charge. She did not want to wake them, not with this conversation, but neither did she want to stray too far.

"I was sixteen." She was about to continue on, about how he could not blame her, but she stopped short. Words such as those would mean nothing to him. "Blame me if you must, but take it out on me and only me."

"Oh, I will blame you, Ana." Mattias sneered."Because of you, I was locked up in prison for eighteen years. And I intend to exact my revenge because of that."

His eyes flickered over to the carriage, and Mattias smiled again.

"I wonder...what would happen if I were to kill the boy, hm? Would you care at all?"

"Go ahead," she said and pulled her left hand up, inspecting her nails. In her right she kept hold of her dagger, hidden in the folds of her cloak. "He means nothing to me."

She took a step to the left, away from the carriage, and gestured at it.

"Oh? This, coming from the woman who has virtually raised him since he was a babe? I find it hard to believe." Mattias sneered.

She let her hand fall to her side and, her eyes locked onto his, she took another step to the left. How did he know that? "He means nothing." She brought the dagger up, it gleaming dully in the moonlight, and then she strode forward, eyes on the carriage. "I'll kill him myself."

A wall of light exploded into existence around Ana, blocking her from moving any further. Mattias, taking advantage of the situation, shook his head and waltzed over to Ana.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Ana. I want you to watch as I drain the life out of this boy."

Ana's feet came to a sudden halt and the upper half of her body turned away as she held up a hand to her eyes, blinking as they watered from the brightness. She heard Mattias approaching and, still half blind, she turned to face him, letting her hand drop as she did so.

Magic.

Something she could not fight against.

"Coward," she spat out.

"Perhaps," Mattias acknowledged with a smirk, "But I have you trapped nonetheless, no?"

A column of electricity then filled the wall of light, running through Ana as it attempted to shock her into unconsciousness.

The movement of her dagger was small and quick, as she let it fly at Mattias, but just before it left her fingertips, the electricity coursed through her, and the dagger went spinning off course, landing several feet away from its intended target as Ana sunk to her knees.

Pain. Everywhere. Her fingers dug into her clothing and she bit down hard on her lip, drawing blood. She could not, would not cry out, not in front of this man. Her body shook, and spots danced before her eyes, filling her vision.

There had... had to be a way... to... to... FOCUS! But she could not focus, could scarcely keep herself from fading away completely.

Alain.

The image of the boy cut through the pain for the briefest of moments. That was right, Alain needed her. She couldn't...

A shaky hand reached down, pulling a dagger from her boot. She looked up, for the man she hated so much, but could see nothing, just the spots and the darkness.

"Still conscious, are we?" Mattias asked, a hint of surprise in his voice. "Perhaps you haven't gotten too soft on me, Ana. Still, it matters not. Goodnight and good day, young one. Worry not; I won't kill the boy while you slumber. You will be awaken when I kill him."

The electricity within the column of light then intensified, shocking Ana with ten times the voltage it had before; more than enough to kill her if she resisted too long...

(This song came on just as I was about to start my post, and it reminds me of Ana on this moment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4GF23tthMk )

Ana screamed, but the sound was muffled as she bit down on her clothing. Pain. Pain. Pain. Everything was pain. Nothing else existed. Except Alain. She had to protect him, had to... had to...

Her body convulsed, thrashing about in the darkness and the white hot pain. The dagger started to slip from her grip, and then she let it fly with all the strength and control she had left. Then the pain left, and there was nothing. Her hand fell to the ground, limp aside from the electricity coursing through it.

The dagger spun awkwardly through the air, but still it whizzed just past Mattias's head and landed in the darkness beyond.

Once Ana was finally unconscious, the magic working upon her was dissipated. Mattias snapped his fingers, and two guards emerged from the shadows. They carefully picked Ana up, and moved her body to be secured.

((So....timeskip?))

(Yep! Where are we skipping to? And who's starting?)