His fist slammed into the girl's jaw, knocking her back. She landed nimbly, without losing her balance, but she was a little disoriented. Blood trickled out of her newly-split lip, the coppery scent of blood filling the air. Lightning crackled above and thunder echoed through the vast, grey landscape. He tried to mask it but he was shocked she was still conscious.
"They told me you were strong," Archer said, cocking his head to the side, a dangerous smile playing on his lips.
She bared her teeth at him in response, balling her hands into fists.
He chuckled and his fist flew towards her face. She dodged easily and swept her legs under his feet. She was somewhat short, and he was far taller, she, however, was much faster. He stumbled but regained his balance quickly. He threw a punch aimed at her chest, she dodged and grabbed his arm, brought her knee up and it collided with his elbow, bending it backwards at an alarming angle. He released a cry of pain and swung his fist towards her in a blind fit of rage. She ducked, punching just between his stomach and chest.
Archer coughed and his breathing became uneven, he bent over and put his hands on his knees to try and stay balanced.
Smiling, the girl stalked towards him.
He looked up, still coughing.
"You wanna tell me how you fight like that at 17?" He asked, raising his eyebrows in question.
"16, actually." She cocked her head to the side, much resembling a predator.
"Diaphragm. Winds opponents easily. Who do you work for?" She bent down and looked him in the eye, her long, blonde braid swinging.
Her eyes were striking. One turquoise, one gold and her pupils were bright scarlet.
When her eyes met his, something inside him snapped into place, a crack sealed itself.
His breath caught, but he shrugged the feeling off.
"Oh, I don't know," He said, frowning, as if he couldn't remember.
"Wrong choice, Blue Eyes," She smiled wickedly.
The girl brought her knee up towards his stomach.
A new coughing fit aroused, this time blood spilled onto the floor. His vision went black around the edges, and he had trouble staying focused.
"I have all day. The rest of your life, actually. Since I'm locking you up in one of our tightest prison cells," She smiled innocently. "but if you'd like to continue this little challenge you suggested then-"
"Fine," He hissed.
She grinned.
"C'mon," She insisted. "I lied. I've got places to be."
She grabbed his arm and he, reluctantly, allowed her to drag him away.
"What's your name, by the way. Didn't catch it," She inquired, glancing up at him.
"That, if I remember correctly, was because you stabbed me," He replied, gesturing to the wound on his upper arm.
She shrugged in response.
The walked in silence for a moment, crossing the empty grey landscape.
"Archer."
She glanced at him. "What?"
"My name," He replied, without looking down. "My name is Archer."
She blinked.
"Archer, Prince of... whatever-it-is?" She asked, incredulously.
He raised his eyebrows in question and annoyance. "Vellatrize, and, well, yeah. How do you know that?"
She pursued her lips. "I read a lot," She answered casually.
"No," He said, eyeing her. "That's not it."
She elbowed him and he winced in turn.
"You're a royal, or a family friend of royal, right?" He asked.
She sighed.
"Eris."
He stopped walking immediately. "Of Dynesteia?"
She nodded.
He gaped at her.
Sighing, she grabbed his arm and continued to drag him.
"Where," He swallowed. "Where are we going?"
"Somewhere."
"Very specific," He snapped.
They walked in silence for a few moments before a silhouette began to take shape.
As they got closer, he recognized it as a young girl, maybe Eris's age? He couldn't be sure, in the hazy grey landscape, but she was much taller than Eris.
As they neared, the figure in the distance was grinning. A broad, wicked grin that showed fangs glinting in the fading light. The bleak landscape smelled of ash and burnt, dead trees.
He wondered what it had used to look like.
"It used to be filled with trees and lush life. One of my friends used to come here to study the flowers and birds. She told me their songs filled the entire area, and it was impossible not to smile while they sang their ballads of long-lost love and ancient history," Eris whispered, as if sensing his questions.
"Ancient history and long-lost love?" Archer asked, throwing her a puzzled look. He had been working on an escape plan until he'd found out her name.
Eris.
Shit.
He couldn't risk it. Could not risk getting into a fight with Eris.
This bloody girl.
If all the stories he'd heard were true, he'd be dead in a minute.
"You don't know what birds sing about," Eris smirked.
He shook his head, a grin he couldn't stop spreading across his face.
As they approached, Archer noticed the figure – a girl who seemed familiar, yet couldn't quite place – had moon-white skin, her long, pointed ears became visible as they stuck out her hair. That strangely familiar lavender hair braided behind her, the braid swishing along her thighs.
"Hey Gem!" Eris beamed.
Gem inclined her head to the Eris.
Gem - he'd never heard a more ridiculous name. Still, the name clanged through him, like a school bell that had just been rung echoing through empty halls.
Remember, He chided his memory.
Where do you know her from?
Gem's eyes met his and she narrowed her gaze.
"Prince Archer," She spat they words as if they tasted foul in her mouth, like she'd swallowed some of the ash scattered at their feet. Her lime green eyes burned with a fierce hatred and pure, undiluted disgust. It was a look he'd only seen once before.
"Princess Gem of Imera," Archer drawled, grinning from ear to ear as he met Gem's fierce gaze with mocking friendliness.
Gem – probably his favorite member of royalty he'd met, besides Eris, who was turning out to be someone worth befriending – only grinned back, warning sparkling in her eyes, no doubt a promise of a gruesome death should he try to harm the young princess at his side.
Behind Gem, Archer noticed a carriage, no doubt about to take him to wherever they decided to hold him.
"For an evil minion, you don't seem one to be such a good loser," Eris remarked casually, picking at some dirt underneath her fingernails.
"Evil prince, not minion," He choked, cutting her a cold glare.
Gem chuckled and Eris just shrugged and looked up at him innocently.
Rolling his eyes, Archer continued to stroll towards the carriage, holding every shred of confidence he had left to make it look like he still had a trick up his sleeve, or nothing to worry about.
Even if his bag of tricks was empty, and he had everything to worry about.
Truth is he'd just been captured by a princess with considerable power, and a princess who'd vanished without a trace years ago, only to return and knock the whole world upside down.
All worlds, actually.
That very girl striding beside him, her blonde braid swinging behind her.
And he had to hold his cracking confidence together the whole ride to wherever they were going.
Never mind the fact he couldn't even think straight with the blinding pain in his arm.
She'd broken it, if the searing pain threatening to knock him to the ground said anything. Matter of fact, he was still struggling to force air into his lungs.
They climbed into the carriage, which was long and had a row of seats opposite the door, and on either side of the entrance. Almost like one of those silly trains mortals used.
"Sit," Eris chirped behind him.
Sighing, Archer did as he was told, sliding into a chair opposite the entrance. Gem plopped onto the seat next to the doors, and Eris glided elegantly through to the back, where she began fiddling with something on the tables back there. It was almost like a small little block of cupboards, with tables and a sink bordering the block. It had no door and instead the seats ended where the cupboards then began.
She turned and began stalking towards him. She knelt on the floor next to him just as the carriage began moving, bouncing and bumping along. Underneath the coat of ash, she smelled of fresh blooms, moonlight crystals and fruit.
Calmly, Eris opened the first aid box and pulled out a number of tools Archer was too disoriented to place. She began humming as she attended to his arm. He turned his focus from his arm to Eris, whose beauty still shocked him.
He grinned wickedly. "I didn't realize you were the kind of people who attended to the wounds of your prisoners?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm only doing it because we're about to go through a pyli," Eris answered, not looking up at him.
A soft light weaved through her fingers and slipped onto his elbow.
Were it not for Gem, he would have sighed in relief as the light soothed the throbbing in his arm.
Then her words hit him.
He lurched forward but flew back into his seat in a matter of seconds. Under the fingers of the grip Eris had on his arm, a purple bruise blossomed. She eyed him carefully, those hypnotic eyes filled with warning.
"Sorry," He said sheepishly and scowled at himself for his nonsense reaction.
Eris waved his apology off, but loosened the grip she had on his arm, and he spotted her healing magic dance towards it and the bruises faded.
He smiled a genuine smile before he looked up and met Gem's gaze. She was looking at Eris, but as she sensed his gaze she met his stare, and her eyes softened.
He understood it well enough.
Eris was such a perfect, delicate thing. Easy to underestimate in battle, which could get you killed, but she had a kindness in her heart that warmed anyone's soul, no matter how small or large, evil or good it was.
She was pure.
That realization flittered through him, leaving such chaos in its wake he didn't realize that his vision had cleared and his breathing evened out.
He opened his mouth to ask when they'd reach the pyli when Eris stood and slid into the seat next to his.
"Ready?" She asked, eyeing him with a grin as the carriage bounced along.
He nodded, but his stomach did flips. From Gem's pale face, hers was, too. Only Eris looked cheerful.
He blinked at her chirpy demeanor.
He opened his mouth to say something when-
The carriage shuddered and Archer's stomach dropped to his feet.
The magic reached Gem first and she let out a shriek.
It reached Archer and he couldn't help but let out a cry of pain.
The magic ripped and tore at his body, the light blinding him with a searing pain. His ears were ringing and the magic leaped and shrieked in joy, diving into his mind and burying itself there, ripping at his thoughts and tearing at his sanity. He screamed, the soundless music echoing. Blood trickled out of his ears and nose, the scent untraceable, which drove him mad. The magic leaped in joy at that madness, relishing and dancing in it. Basking in the chaos like it was the morning sun. Which seemed fitting, considering the burning pain that lashed his body. He was hotter than the sun in the sky and the fire magic wielded by the fire users, and he was colder than the ice on the planet furthest from the sun and the cold winds wielded by ice or wind users.
He fell out of the other side of the pyli.
Archer gripped the seat as his vision blurred and blackened and the scent of the blood trickling out of his ears and nose filled the air. Barely able to see, he bent over the edge of the seat, about to hurl. A bucket slid under him as he hurled whatever food he'd consumed that day.
He looked up and realized Gem was throwing her guts up too.
He heard Eris humming and looked up at her as she danced down the carriage and attended to the horses up front and the carriage began moving again.
The bouncing did nothing to help his stomach and he hurled again.
His head spun and he greeted the darkness as it consumed him and he fell unconscious.
~
Groaning, Archer opened his eyes to see the ceiling of the carriage.
He groaned again and fixed his awkward position lying in the seats. He'd fell unconscious with his legs sprawled across the arm of one side, his head and arms lying across the back of the chair. He swung his legs in front of him and twisted himself to lie back against the headrest of the chair.
He swept his eyes around the carriage. Gem was sprawled in the same seat she'd been before, the carriage was still moving, and Eris was mixing up some concoction or other in the med-bay at the back. He stood stiffly and walked to her.
"What are you doing here, Princess?" He drawled, attempting to sound unfazed. He hoped she fell for it.
She spun around to face him. "You should be resting."
She hadn't.
Her voice sounded like music and sweet honey, while his was dry and cracked.
He sighed and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.
"Just shut up and pretend I'm fine," he snarled.
She arched a delicate eyebrow and folded her arms in front of her.
"Fine. Then you help me make this antidote for Gem's pyli hangover." She shoved a few ingredients into his hands and turned back to the potion in front of her.
His mouth fell open and for a moment he stood there. She raised her eyes to him and snarled, her eyes glowing. He turned to the work station and hurriedly began crushing the pixie salt.
She chuckled and he glared at her, tossing a shadow to flick her ear. She flashed him a wicked grin and the glow around her eyes faded. He choked and she elbowed him. He shook his head and went back to the pixie salt.
The two worked together in silence for a while until they finished and held up two bottles filled with golden liquid. She handed one to him and slid the other into her pocket. They plopped back into their original seats next to each other.
He downed the potion and almost immediately began to feel better. His head cleared and he realized he should be asking questions.
"Where are we going?"
"I wouldn't know," Eris answered, unfazed and, apparently, unwilling to give him any information.
She pulled magic handcuffs from under her seat and began fiddling with it.
Archer glared at them. "Oh no."
"Oh yes." Eris grinned at him, before proceeding to stick out her tongue.
Royalty incarnate.
Sighing, he held out his hands and she slipped the cuffs onto his wrist, before clicking them shut. He couldn't help but notice they weren't awfully tight.
Tight enough, but not uncomfortable.
He glanced at her face. Her pale skin seemed even paler, almost matching Gem's. She sighed.
"I'm going to sleep, don't disturb me," She snapped, before slipping off her seat and reaching behind it.
Archer heard a faint click, and the two seats next to each other turned to face the other, before one flattened out and the other opened, and two pillows and a blanket flew out. Eris slipped onto the seats and tossed the lavender blanket over herself. Sticking her tongue out at him one last time, she rested her head on the pillows and soundly slipped into unconsciousness.
~
The birds didn't sing.
Eris took that as her first sign today wasn't going to end well. She looked to the sky. Persistent clouds that really had no purpose floated above her, searching for somewhere to rest. Cars bounced and rumbled along the gravel roads, the horrid smoke filling the air, the uncomfortable crunching filling her ears and her heightened senses curled inside of her, cringing at how unnatural it all was.
Eris shifted her backpack, and kicked a loose stone before spotting cream-colored door out of the corner of her eye.
She stopped in her tracks, and paused, before gripping the cold, metal handle, and slipping inside.
Why didn't the birds sing? She asked herself, praying she wasn't loud, and he wasn't home.
She lightly laid her bag in the hallway, and slipped to the kitchen and grabbed a morsel of food. She glanced at her reflection in the glass of the cupboard, and winced. She untucked the hair from behind her ear, and pulled a few makeup products from her pocket. She fiddled with her unnoticeable eyeshadow, using it to dull the color in her eyes down. She used her pink eyeshadow and blush and applied it to her face, hoping to make her skin appear less pale.
"Catherine, love," A high-pitched, somewhat unpleasant voice called through the house.
Eris winced before shoving her products in her pocket and yanking hair strands forward to conceal her face better, and turned her gaze to the floor, keeping her head bowed as she trudged to the lounge.
"Ah, there you are," Her new adopted father said to her, beaming.
She gave a feeble smile but said nothing. She wished badly to stay here, but she knew it wouldn't last. It never did. She didn't know how many orphanages she'd been in, nor how many homes. She'd stopped counting after twenty. She thought it wouldn't even be possible to go to twenty different homes and twenty different orphanages when you were thirteen, because surely there's an insurmountable amount of paperwork, documents and all kinds of fancy things. She supposed, that when you wanted to get rid of something quickly, laws and stuff like that became less important and not often adhered to.
Besides, there was always at least one thing that ruined a seemingly perfect life.
The door creaked open and then closed.
Speak of the devil.
Eris froze, and the color leeched from her adopted mother's face.
"Perhaps you ought to go, love," She murmured, and Eris gave a quick nod before sprinting up the stairs.
She slipped into her small bedroom and shut the door with a soft click and pressed herself to the door, listening.
She heard the two adults conversing with a younger, angry male voice. They sounded somewhat civilized, and Eris sighed a small, weak sound.
Then the young one raised its voice and she paled, freezing in place. She heard a woman sob as someone stomped up, shout curses.
"Oh, Catherine," He crowed from the other side of the door.
She let out a weak sob, pressing against the door.
Someone from the other side shook the door handle.
He roared at her to let him in, but she pressed herself harder to the door, her body shaking as she restrained her sobs. Her head pounded and screamed. Tears slipped from her eyes but she didn't release the door as someone shoved against it, both the lock and her straining against the powerful force. Voices were yelling from below, but she couldn't tell what her "brother" was doing now.
As far as she knew, he was shoving against the door.
She heard a woman scream and someone yell to call 911.
Eris froze and her stomach dropped.
"Catherine," He called from the other side, and a piercing noise scraped against the door.
Her blood ran cold and something trickled out of her ears. A coppery tang filled the air.
A gun fired and the noise racked Eris's brain and she screamed and fell to the floor.
Someone had fired a blank.
Eris lay on the floor, her body racking with sobs as the door slammed open.
He cocked his head to the side, a gun in one hand and a long, thin knife in the other. He smiled down at her.
Sirens began blaring and a choked sound came from her.
He shut the door behind him and locked it.
Hadn't the lock broken?
No, there. In his pocket.
Eris spotted something gleaming in his pocket.
A lock pick.
A woman from the other side of the door - frantic and panicked - called his name, a plea.
Still, he smiled down at her.
"Let's play."
She sobbed, tears streaming down her face.
He pressed the knife to her side. "What are you, Catherine?"
"Eris," She spat. "My name is Eris."
He cocked his head and pressed the knife harder.
Her white shirt stained red.
Don't scream don't scream don't scream don't scream.
He dragged the knife lower.
Don't scream don't scream don't scream.
Screaming from the other side of the door. Sirens blaring. People talking. Guns loading. Phones ringing. Walkie talkies blaring. Pain flaring in her head.
Blood dripped from her ears.
"Eris."
He slowly moved the knife across her abdomen.
She broke.
Her screams echoed through the room.
Everyone outside stopped.
"Eris."
Someone was calling her.
The room rippled.
Soon, the pain brought her back. She arched, screaming.
"ERIS!"
~
Eyes flying open, Eris lurched forward and awoke with a start.
She panted, and looked around.
She was surrounded by a force field of crystals and shadows.
She blinked.
Magic - it was everywhere. Magic was rippling from her. Magic of all kinds.
Fire speared at the walls of the shield. Water leaped at the shadows. Shadows attacked the crystals and other shadows. Golden light leaped at the walls.
All of that - more, even - was hers.
This - this magic - all of it, belonged to her.
It vanished.
The shield dropped.
She lifted her eyes to Gem and Archer - both panting - as they stared at her, eyes wide.
Gem collapsed onto a nearby chair - half on the floor, her head and arms on the chair.
Archer grabbed a blanket and rushed to her, wrapping her in it.
A baby blue blanket, she realized.
Her original one had been lavender. What happened to it?
She glanced around and spotted a pile of ashes.
Oops.
As if out of nowhere, what had happened - including her dream - she froze, and began sobbing.
As if having expected that, Archer just handed her a mug of hot chocolate.
Gem slipped next to her and slipped her arms around her.
Eris's heart warmed when she realized both were content to just sit there with her while she sobbed.
And - through her tears - she smiled.