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Post by Phoenix Garcia on Dec 29, 2012 15:40:22 GMT -5
Phoenix smiled a little as he spotted Kevay sweeping out of the manor, settling in the saddle and waiting for his friend. But it seemed as if the cupid had other ideas. “What?” He blurted as he ran back indoors. “WHAT? KEVAY.” Growling to himself, Phoenix narrowed his eyes and decided not to push the issue today, turning his horse to gallop off towards the edges of the grounds so he could head down to the village. He didn’t stop blurting expletives until the house was long out of sight.
Well, he thought. If Kevay wouldn’t come to the carnival, Phoenix would just have to bring the carnival to him. The thief was looking as smug as humanly possible as he trotted up to the manor come late afternoon, half of the village and all of the parade at his heels. People were whooping and cheering, men were breathing fire, women were dancing and the sound of children’s laughter permeated through it all. It was only a small band for a carnival, but the music and the cheer was enough to make the villagers happy.
Dismounting from his horse, Phoenix let the carnival begin to set itself up in the manor grounds while he meandered away into the house. “Kevay! I brought you a present, you massive coward!” He yelled, already heading upstairs. Well, the cupid had been a disgrace to bravery, so now Phoenix was going to begin his studies (and to have a strong bloody drink) and Kevay could enjoy all that the carnival had to offer.
By himself.
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Post by Kevay Taylor on Dec 29, 2012 15:53:07 GMT -5
Kevay was a dirty rotten coward; he knew this, he accepted this, and he hated himself for it. The cupid had spent his time curled up on his window seat watching out for Phoenix’s return, his eyes widening when he finally did come trotting back up through the grounds with his entourage. “PHOENIX WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!” He yelled down the stairs as the thief’s voice carried up to him. Kevay was trying to hide behind the curtains as he peeked out of the window, trying to scour the crowds for Lexie at the same time as he was trying not to look close enough to find her.
“I’M NOT GOING OUT THERE!” He complained as he padded down the stairs, slinking up to the door to open it a crack and peek outside. Look at all that colour and music and life. Kevay had missed the hustle and bustle of the big cities and it was only now that he realised it. Skulking behind doors to hide wasn’t really his style. Well, that was a lie; it was his style, except for the fact that usually hiding from someone who wanted to hurt his pretty face. “I can’t go out there, Phoenix.” He whispered to himself, rubbing at his eyes. [/size][/font][/right]
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Post by Anathea Lexley on Dec 29, 2012 16:12:20 GMT -5
The carnival was everything Lexie remembered it to be. She had only been travelling with the band of performers for a couple of weeks now, but she had already become a big hit with them. Springing out of the crowd in an elegant jump, she called to the children and conjured up illusions for them to play with, laughing as colourful ribbons chased them away through the crowds. She had appeared just towards the front doors of the manor, the jester straightening up from her fun to turn and look up at the large house. She let a soft smile turn up the corners of her mouth.
The owner must have been very generous to let the whole village come up to celebrate like this, she thought, brushing a lock of honey coloured hair out of her face. The marks of grief had faded substantially since she’d left Kevay, but it would be a lie to say she didn’t miss the cupid. She thought about him often, wondering where he was and if he was okay, but she’d heard nothing of him since leaving the village. She was ashamed of admitting it, but she was starting to think the worst had happened to him.
Sighing, Lexie came back to herself and shook off her thoughts. Her smile brightened and she turned back to the small group of children, laughing and cartwheeling for them, as lithe and acrobatic as ever. She couldn’t afford to brood now; she had a show to put on.
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Post by Kevay Taylor on Dec 29, 2012 16:22:09 GMT -5
Lexie was impossible to miss. All of his fears melted away as he spotted the jester; Kevay felt himself smiling as he watched the show. It was easy to see why he’d become entranced with her; her smile alone was enough to steal hearts. Add in a sprinkling of colour, a dash of magic and a heap of personality and you would realise that Lexie was perfect. What, you don’t agree? Well, you are stupid.
Before Kevay even knew what was happening he was outside, sat on the top step with his chin propped in his hand as he watched her perform. Lexie was ok. She was alive and she was happy and he felt like a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders. The last remnants of depression lifted from his features leaving his smile bright and easy; anyone would think that he was well again if they just ignored the faint smell of stale booze which hung around him. Of course he’d had a drink, or seven, to calm his nerves while he waited for Phoenix, so his gaze was a touch unfocused now.
Drunk or not, he knew that was Lexie. He knew that was his jester and he could laugh he was so happy to see her.
He applauded enthusiastically when she finished her performance, groping for his money pouch before he remembered that he’d left it up in his room. “Oh no! Lexie, Lexie, you have to wait for me to go get my money. I’m not cheap, I promise!” [/size][/font][/right]
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Post by Anathea Lexley on Dec 29, 2012 16:40:35 GMT -5
Lexie laughed as she listened to the applause, the jester giving a flamboyant bow and accepting the coins offered out to her with cheerful gratitude, but she glanced up when she heard someone call her name. Nobody here knew her name. She was Harlequin, or Harley, never Lexie. Nobody here knew Lexie. Except… the voice sounded infuriatingly familiar, the jester turning on her toes to gaze up the steps to the entrance of the manor. The door was open so it was obvious that whoever it was had just come from inside.
And then Lexie spotted Kevay, her eyes widening. He was there. He was alright. Well, she wasn’t actually sure he was alright because she could smell the booze from there, but he was alive and that’s all that mattered right now. “Kevay?” She smiled suddenly, forgetting about the rest of the coins and rushing up towards the steps without warning.
“Oh my God, it is you!” As if she could ever mistake the cupid for someone else; even tipsy as hell, Kevay was stunning. There could only ever be one of him. Lexie flung her arms around him without even waiting for a hello, almost tackling them to the ground at the top of the steps. “I found you!” She laughed breathlessly, kissing his cheek and running her fingers through his fair hair, for once letting the fluttering in her stomach take over. It had been forever and Kevay was gorgeous; he could bewitch her for a little while at least, she thought.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, hugging him tightly. “So, so sorry, Kevay. I shouldn’t have left. I came back, after a couple of weeks, but you’d already gone…”
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Post by Kevay Taylor on Dec 29, 2012 16:53:14 GMT -5
Kevay didn’t have the chance to prepare himself for the onslaught. One minute Lexie was running at him and he just about had the time to hold out his arms to catch her before he was knocked flat on his back. His arms were wrapped around her, Kevay laughing giddily as she hugged him, the cupid beaming up at her as she kissed his cheek, accidentally ensnaring her a little more. He couldn’t help himself, he hadn’t seen Lexie for months and months and he’d missed her. He was allowed to steal cuddles from her now that they had found one another again. It was in the rules, somewhere.
“Lexie! Lexie! You found me!” He hugged her tightly, as though he was scared she’d slip away, kissing her hair as she hugged him back. “I’m sorry, I was trying to cheer you up. I didn’t want you to be angry with me. Please don’t be angry with me. I missed you too much.” He blurted, bursting into tears and hiding his face against her shoulder/ “I didn’t know where you were and I ended up in a war and I don’t like being a solider. I don’t want to be a soldier. Please don’t go away again, Lexie.” He sniffled as he clung to her, not caring that all this was happening in front of the whole village. This might kill a few of those gay rumours. [/size][/font][/right]
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Post by Anathea Lexley on Dec 29, 2012 17:06:47 GMT -5
Lexie was laughing too as they hugged, caught totally by the cupid by now and smiling to him rather dopily, looking more than glad to see him again. That shattered, however, as he blurted out his explanation and quite suddenly burst into tears, the jester not quite knowing what to do. The whole village was watching, but thankfully the majority of people were caught up in the carnival. A few of the children were giving them funny looks, however. “Shh, Kevay…” Lexie smiled sadly and held him close when she’d come back to herself, smoothing down his hair and kissing the top of his head.
“It’s okay, really. I know that now, I know you were just trying to help. How could I ever be angry with you?” She laughed softly and glanced down at him, carefully wiping away his tears. “Don’t be sad, okay. I found you now, things are gonna get better,” she promised. “I’ll not go away again. But... Kevay, did you say a war? You were a soldier?” She looked pretty shocked by that, and had Kevay not been so obviously upset she’d have probably burst out laughing at the idea. “Is that how come you’re here? Or… you’re gonna have to explain everything to me.” She smiled.
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Post by Kevay Taylor on Dec 29, 2012 17:21:24 GMT -5
Kevay didn’t shhhhh, he couldn’t shhhh. He was a ball of conflicting emotions and right now the only way he could get it all out was to sob on Lexie’s shoulder and hope that she understood. Eventually they got inside and she got his story out of him, or what sense she could make of his drunken and over emotional ramblings, before he just sort of…well…passed out. That wasn’t a good start, but at least he had his jester back to look after him now; clearly he wasn’t capable of doing it himself.
*****************************************
Just how terrible Kevay had been at looking after himself only really came to light now that Lexie was back. He felt lighter, physically lighter, looking obviously brighter even though he was pale and sweaty from his withdrawal, sometimes shaking so badly that he couldn’t do anything but curl up and wait for it to stop. He’d been in denial about how much he drank and now Lexie was back to kick him into shape. Breaking an addiction hurt, but whenever it got too hard he had her there to distract him with her illusions and with her stories. Lexie made everything seem a million times easier.
Having one friend back, however, seemed to mean that he didn’t see so much of the other. Phoenix’s brooding feeling were impossible to miss and Kevay thought that it was about time that he did something about it. Phoenix had brought him his jester back, it was about time that he repaid the favour and started the search for the missing Princess.
“Phoenix?” He opened the door to the hall after knocking lightly, slipping inside before Phoenix could send him away. “You know, these studies of yours must be really enthralling lately, I’ve barely seen you. Don’t’ tell me Roux managed to turn you into a bookworm?” He smiled lightly to go with the joke, though that didn’t cover the convern in his voice. [/size][/font][/right]
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Post by Phoenix Garcia on Dec 29, 2012 17:35:43 GMT -5
Kevay’s jester was back, and didn’t Phoenix know it. He’d seen little of his friend over the past week and, while Lexie did seem like everything Kevay wanted and needed and then some, it couldn’t help but remind the thief of what he so sorely missed. He made sure to be polite and as cheerful as he could around the two of them, but otherwise he rarely left the hall where he trained and studied. When he wasn’t in the hall, he was in bed. But wherever he was, it was guaranteed that there’d be a bottle of something with him. Kevay could sober up all he liked, but Phoenix was firmly in alcoholicland where he belonged.
The curtains were all open in the hall to look out onto the breezy grounds; it was a grey day and threatening to rain, but some light was let in, at least. “I’m busy,” he began when Kevay called him, but the cupid had slipped inside before he could shoo him away. Sighing, Phoenix turned from the makeshift desk they’d set up and sat back in his chair to look at Kevay. At a first glance you wouldn’t think there was anything wrong with the thief. Sure, he looked tired, but he had looked tired since Roux had started beating him up every day. And there were dark circles under his eyes and he needed a shave, but that could also be attributed to his being busy.
The empty bottles stacked everywhere where a telling sign, though. The desk was organised but for the bottles, Phoenix having been practicing his handwriting as he always did at midday. It was actually coming along very well, but upon closer inspection you could see that he’d only written one thing over and over again, on sheets and sheets of paper. He hastily covered Rory’s name with a stack of parchment. “I’ve just been trying to keep on top of things,” he told Kevay with a smile that didn’t meet his eyes. “How are you? How’s Lexie?”
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Post by Kevay Taylor on Dec 29, 2012 17:46:22 GMT -5
“Oh, I see what’s happened.” Kevay murmured, crossing the room to stand by Phoenix’s desk, picking up one of the bottles. “You have a new best friend.” He smiled to him weakly, trying not to show how badly Phoenix’s depression affected him. He sighed heavily, rubbing at his eyes as he leant back against the desk, looking as though he didn’t know what to do. “You should get out of this hall and come for a walk or something. I’m sure Roux will let you out of your studied for that long. I can leave Lexie here if you don’t want her to come along…”
He rubbed at the back of his head as he asked about him and Lexie, shrugging a shoulder. Things were great, amazing, wonderful, but Phoenix didn’t need to hear that. “We’re okay. She’s making me go cold turkey on the booze though…so that’s not so good. When I’m not sweating and shaking I’m throwing up, or feeling like I’m going to throw up. It gets easier though.” He promised him, clapping him on the shoulder lightly. “You look like you need a good sleep, Phoenix. I can ask one of the maids for a sleeping draught for you, to help…”
He looked away again after that offer, taking a deep breath before he broached the subject he’d come here to talk to Phoenix about. “I’m going to start looking for Rory. I’ll get a map and plot all the towers on them, and I’ll ask Lexie if she’s heard anything. Lexie hears lots of things. If she doesn’t know, I have other people I can ask…” He mumbled, looking nervous as he glanced to Phoenix. “Can you hang in there until I find her?” [/size][/font][/right]
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Post by Phoenix Garcia on Dec 29, 2012 17:56:08 GMT -5
“We were always best friends, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Phoenix muttered on the subject of the empty bottles, raking a hand back through his hair and looking off out of the window so he didn’t have to glance at Kevay. He still didn’t know what exactly was up with him and this cupid business, but he did know that bad emotions affected him much like a sickness would infect a normal person. It wasn’t ideal for him to be there right now. “I have too much to do to take a walk,” he said lightly. “It’s alright. I’ve gotta go down to the barracks later, I’ll get out of the house then.”
Shrugging his shoulders, he made to go back to work, but suddenly Kevay was talking about going cold turkey on the booze; not just going cold turkey, but acting as if Phoenix was going to do it as well. He gave a mirthless laugh. “I’m really happy for you,” he told the cupid honestly, nodding to him. “But I don’t need to cut back, and I don’t need to sleep. Honestly, I just need to get this work done before it’s time to go,” he said, trying to hint that the cupid should leave and be happy with Lexie or whatever it was he was doing with himself these days.
It was obvious that he’d hit a nerve with the mere mention of Rory’s name. Phoenix’s fists clenched, the thief pressing his eyes closed and taking a slow, deep breath to try and keep himself calm. “You won’t find her,” he said in a voice so soft it was practically a whisper. “You won’t, Kevay. She’s gone. Please, just leave it. Actually, just go. Please go.”
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Post by Kevay Taylor on Dec 29, 2012 18:05:36 GMT -5
Kevay shouldn’t have brought her up. He flinched as he felt the spoke of anger, taking a step back away from Phoenix. “I-I’m sorry.” He mumbled quickly, shoving his hands into his pockets as he turned away from Phoenix to shuffle back to the door, looking pretty defeated. “I’ll go, but I won’t leave it. You can give up all you like, and drink as much as you like. Everything will be okay again when I finally find her. You’ll see.” He muttered before he left the room properly, clicking the door closed behind him. Phoenix could wallow in his depression, Kevay had work to do.
He had a map under his arm as he looked for Lexie, bursting into the room where she was, knocking everything off the table to unfurl the map. “We are here.” He mumbled, tapping on the tiny dot which represented Chemin Vert. “I need to find every tower in Ecritetre, even the ones no-one uses anymore. Then I need to find the tower with the Princess on. Will you help me?” He asked, looking oddly serious as he lifted his gaze to Lexie. “I won’t let him drink himself to death because his heart is broken.” [/size][/font][/right]
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Post by Anathea Lexley on Dec 29, 2012 18:14:51 GMT -5
Lexie was in the drawing room. Full of light, it was her favourite room in the manor, and she spent a lot of time there observing the village through the windows, creating little illusions and making sure that Kevay was alright. The whole manor had overwhelmed her at first, as had Kevay’s stories, and the sad red-haired man had made her wonder what exactly was going on, but she had learned not to ask too many questions. She’d been warming her hands by the fire, having just come in from a walk when Kevay burst in, making her jump.
“Whoa.” She glanced over her shoulder as he spread the map out. “Kevay, what’s going… oh, he’s still drinking.” She sighed sadly, brushing her hair out of her face and padding over to lean down by the cupid. She nodded solemnly. “Of course I’ll help you. You can count on me,” she told him, arching an eyebrow as he explained, looking over the map. “That’s funny,” she said after a while. She put her finger to Chemin Vert and traced it away – about a week’s journey, all in all. There was a tower under her finger when she lifted it.
“We were here a couple weeks ago,” she told him. “The locals called it the Princess Tower. That’s not its real name, obviously. But it might be what you’re looking for. They said there was a girl locked at the top and that she was very beautiful. She’d been locked up in there by her father.” Smiling across at Kevay, she shrugged a little. “It might only be a story. But it’s a good place to start, right? I mean, a lot of other towers are closer, but I don’t know about any of them…”
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Post by Kevay Taylor on Dec 29, 2012 18:36:01 GMT -5
“Princess Tower. So close?” Kevay blinked down at the map before beaming to Lexie, sweeping her up into his arms to kiss her full on the mouth and spin her around before he put her back down again. “Lexie you absolute angel! We have so much work to do!” He laughed excitedly, pausing just long enough to make a mark on the map where Lexie had pointed (a little love heart) before he swept off out of the room yelling for Roux.
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The preparations were all a blur, as was the journey. Even with everything that needed to be prepared they’d set off within a day and had barely stopped since. They swapped their horses as every town they passed so they didn’t need to slow down and little things like sleeping and eating had pretty much gone out of the window, replaced snatched naps in the saddle and brief scraps of food. Kevay was exhausted and saddle sore, barely able to stand up without being supported, his hands bandaged to stop the blisters from rubbing even more. In short, the journey had been Hellish.
It was all worth it though. The village wasn’t much more than a gathering of a few tiny buildings and a crumbling inn, but up on the hill the tower stood looking down over it all. The sun was rising behind it, Kevay smiling to himself tiredly. “It looks like the one from the letter…” He mumbled, his horse falling to a stop next to the inn, though the cupid made no move to dismount just yet. “It’s got the ivy and everything. Do you think this could be the place?” He whispered, looking over to Phoenix. He doubted that the thief could take the disappointment if this wasn’t the right place so Kevay had been praying to whatever deities that might be out there that Aurora was here. This just had to be the right place.
“Do you want me to come with you?” He asked, sitting up to roll his shoulders, muscles stiff from the long ride. It was meant to have taken them a week, but in reality they’d arrived within just a few days. With all that effort this just had to be the right place. Fate wasn’t cruel enough for her not to be here, was it? “I could ride up to the door with you? Do you remember the plan to get her out?” [/size][/font][/right]
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Post by Phoenix Garcia on Dec 29, 2012 18:50:29 GMT -5
Phoenix didn’t know whether he was in a dream or a nightmare or reality anymore. The thief still couldn’t actually believe they’d convinced him to go. Out of nowhere. Like that. Lexie had a hunch, so he’d put Roux in charge of the barracks and away he had gone, on horseback, leaving Lexie to watch the manor for them while he was away. The journey was long, arduous and painful, probably, but Phoenix had barely felt it. He was exhausted beyond being able to see by now, every muscle aching. Training was catching up on him, study was catching up on him, three days in the saddle was definitely catching up on him, but mostly it was being sober.
The sobriety made Phoenix jittery and unwell, the thief forced to visit a tavern with every stop they made just to make sure he didn’t pass out or worse. Even so, as they arrived at the tiny village, he looked surprisingly good. Gaunt, yes. A little haunted, yes. And a bit ill to boot. But his uniform was pristine (he’d been saving it for today), the medal of honour on his lapel shone brightly off the morning light, the feather on his hat bobbed cheerfully as they rode into the village and his face was set with grim determination.
“Don’t say that,” he muttered to Kevay simply. “Don’t. “The one from the letter was just a drawing. Don’t. This could be any tower.” He drew up outside the inn, though he didn’t dismount either. He slung his pack from off his horse and let it drop at Kevay’s feet. He shook his head a little at the cupid’s question. “I think I want to do this by myself.” He didn’t mean to be rude or curt, but Phoenix had his life riding on this, and he didn’t want Kevay to witness the breakdown if they’d come all this way for nothing.
“Stay here. Get us a room, yeah? There is no plan. I’ll be back in an hour or so, one way or another.” He nodded down at Kevay and turned, aching in his saddle, to spur his horse away towards the tower. He barely even dared to hope.
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