#piecesandpeaces

[heartanddagger]

My Ghost Where'd You Go? | Petra & Edmund

Edmund had been distant. Four simple words to describe the situation, but it was much more impacting to Petra than the mere definitions. It was unusual to their regular interaction, and while she understood his being busy, she wasn't sure what to think of this change -- she only hoped it wasn't permanent. Besides, she'd be lying to say she wasn't rattled over what happened, and after the calculations of the situation had been over she'd found herself without anyone to turn to.

It had been a couple of days after the fiasco at the treaty signing, but the was castle still stirred up, and in a way Petra was rather pleased that she'd left Susans service... the library was busy in many ways, but not like the Network likely was. Though there were benefits -at least the network knew what was going on.

She didn't know what she'd find when she finally knocked on Edmund's door, the days which had stretched between the last time they'd had a proper conversation a trifle worrying. She only hoped he was alright - the memory of the night she'd sworn not to let him overwork himself part of her excuse as she balanced the tray in her hands, he would at least need food.

"Good evening Garin. Is the king in?" she greeted the Knight in waiting who seemed to be leaving Edmunds office. He stared a moment, sending a hesitant greeting back in reply, a following 'Yes he is' before Petra maneuvered the tray onto one hand, the other rapping on the wood.

[heartanddagger]

I’ll Even Fight the Squirrel There | Petra & Corin

“Please find Corin, I’m worried about him.”

Petra could still hear Isla’s voice in her mind as she weaved through the crowd, searching for Archenlander Prince, completely ignorant just what had sent him from his sisters side ‘strangely’ as Isla called it. She’d been too preoccupied with Tommen to come after him herself, a rather cute predicament, in Petras opinion. The young prince was adorable after all.

Finally taking a pause, she looked around in a circle, trying to find the face she’d actually only seen a few times. Her diligence paid off, and when the crowd parted a bit, she finally spotted him standing by himself, and with a smile at a faun who walked by, she approached him. “Your Highness?” she greeted. “Forgive the intrusion, your sister sent me to find you -- are you alright?” He certainly didn’t look happy. 

[heartanddagger]

Wait for It | Petra & Elia

Petra needed air, the warmth of the room beginning to get to be too much -- though Petra highly suspected the wine to have something to do with it, as well as the dancing she had managed to finagle for nearly half an hour with Garin, Easlmus and Rinassa. Therefore, she stepped outside, sighing in relief as the cool air hit her heated skin, a light breeze all she had needed.

“Hello there” She greeted to the back of the woman on the balcony, figuring she might as well talk since she was here. Wine always loosened her tongue more anyway, and friendliness was hard not to do in such a situation.

[mornandevenstar]

Elves All Around | Karliah & Padriac, feat. Ioan

Karliah's eyes scanned the room for familiar faces, the children gone to bed meaning she had her freedom completely back. Already she'd had some fun, her curiosity settling over her as she spotted the Admiral again, amused ponderance in her mind. But she didn't dwell too long, her eyes catching a glimpse of the familiar face of Padriac which she was quite happy to see--

"Io! Cadi!" She called happily to her cousins, the redheaded duo coming over from their place by a table of punch. "Come on, there's someone I want you to meet. You'll like him."She declared, gathering her skirt in her hand so she could move easier, her other arm linked through Ioans who was being gentlemanly with both arms toward the females.

"So who is this person you think we'll like?" Ioan inquired with a playful brow raised.

"You'll see." Karliah replied, keeping her eyes firmly on the prize. Crossing the room took no time, and before they could really notice,they stood just next to Padriac. "Noswaith dda, Padriac." she greeted with a smile.

[asenseofduty]

and all i loved, i loved alone | edmund and peter

Frankly, Peter was afraid.

This was not a novel occurrence, Peter wasn’t made of the sturdier stuff others seemed to be. He cried at night, when it all got too much, too quickly. He liked the smell of the roses in his wife’s balcony. His heart was flooded with fondness every time he looked upon any of his siblings or his son. He was not a cold man with a shriveled heart, for all the moments that had begged to turn him into one. 

So being afraid was something he was bothered about, because fear always hindered performance in some way, but was ultimately used to hiding. He was King. When things happened, he couldn’t lose it, no matter how worried he was. Peter had learnt how to manage his different types of fears as years went by. The small ones, constant worries about minimal things; the nightly ones, when lives he had taken haunted him back; the abstract ones, when he sat and thought and the uncertainty made his throat close up; even the realer, tangible fears that came with being important, a fear not for yourself but for the ones you love and the threats that loom over them.

“Where is the Princess Consort?” He had bellowed, back then, when Peridan’s head had rolled out of the wooden box in Tumnus’s hands. (That, he couldn’t even think about. His mind kept turning to the golden eyes and the red staining the marble floor and he didn’t dare look at it much.)

A guard had taken her to the Vault, Akira had answered with a heaving voice, like her mind had caught onto something faster than Peter’s. The Vault was empty, unprotected. The keeper’s head was at the feet of his guests. His wife was down there, and at whose mercy? Akira had watched as he gathered guards and his brother—his sisters, bless them, would take care of the upper level—and marched down the halls to the Vault. He had ordered her to make sure Tommen was alright.

Fear was such a tricky thing.

Every step he had given towards the Vault had been sure and fast and desperate. Every step made his heart beat louder, throw itself against his ribcage with more strength. It had risen up so quickly, so alarmingly, when his mind had caught up to the implications of Isla’s absence, the danger taking tangible form, coiling like a snake in his stomach. It had sprung like lightning, equally as sharp and electric inside him. The fear of the worst: blooming, cutting right from the inside. Every step he gave was a stolen breath, a stab of the lightning bolt he held inside. It was numbing in its overwhelmingness: a fear so absolute it enveloped everything, pounding in his ears, filling his lungs. Gone was any sway in his step, any cloud in his head that didn’t look like worry. Behind him, as he practically ran down the stairs, he could hear the many steps that followed him, his brother’s right behind him: as always, the closest.

Peter could hardly breathe. But Edmund was there, and as long as Ed was there, he’d have something to lean on. The vault’s first doors were open, the silence from inside plunging a dagger to his heart. Silence wasn’t good. He pulled Rhindon out its sheath, the sword gliding silver in the torchlight, a sharp, acute sound being mirrored by the other swords being unsheathed, his men following unspoken command. “We don’t know what might be in there,” Peter said, the tremble at the end of it only for Edmund to hear. Isla is, he wished to think. Isla is, alive and well.

[queeneliaofgalma]

a legacy to protect|| peter x elia

Tamara had just left her presence and she was angry with everything. She had to go speak to High King Peter, about this autrocity called a engagement. A man who was around ten years her senior...or more. She never did know Admiral Dannis’s exact age- but that wasn’t the point.  The point was that she needed to speak to Peter...And she looked over the balcony ignoring the festivites...ignoring the empty goblet of wine that she had earlier chugged down, given to her from Tamara. And yet her dogs have fallen asleep, she leaned down to go rub their bellies, for she had lost count for how many people she had spoken to, already.

She had yelled at Cornelia in front of everyone, swooped away to the gardens by Wilfred, spoken to Queen Lucy, had a word with Prince Enki, and had a moment with Tamara...Tamara was more than a lady to her, but rather family, for she seemed to have nothing. “Send for High King-” began Elia in  heavy Galman to Tulle, who was behind her. 

She stopped only to hear upcoming footsteps, causing her to turn around to the approching figure.

[matthon-sumpter]

and it ends how you'd expect | sapphire, matthon | drabble

She was inconsolable from the moment they reached the hideout. Upon their arrival she said not a word to any of them. She leaned against the wall and eventually sunk down into a chair. But only that lasted a few minutes before she went outside to stand in the darkness and breathe cold air. The others washed the blood off their faces and hands, tended cuts and bruises, drank ale. There would be discussion in the morning. For now, exhaustion and the end of desperation ruled all. They needed sleep - Mercer was already outstretched on a cot, snoring quietly. Ronan had washed up but afterwards, remained in the shadows of the main room. He had a room of his own, but he watched Matthon, his Master, who stood with his hands on the table. The shards rested in the sac, untouched for now. He was contemplating on what came next, if Sapphire proved disloyal, if she couldn’t be reconciled. 

It was still hours until dawn, until a new red blossomed on the horizon with all of the possibilities of the future - a new age, with him at the front. He heard the door budge open and thud shut. Her footsteps. He looked up from the sac and found her face. It was set in hard lines, still dappled with blood.

“You should wash up. You’ll think clearer.” Matthon spoke with concern, all the while calculating. 

“I’m thinking damn clearly,” Sapphire seethed.

“You’re in shock.” Matthon leaned forward, lowering his voice. “I’ll explain everything in the morning - I know it didn’t all go as planned -” 

“- not go as planned?” Sapphire laughed drily. “It went exactly as planned. You didn’t get that wand by accident. You didn’t change into a beast by chance.”

“Freya, I promise all will be made clear to you in the morning, if you just -”

“No! No...I won’t have a part in this.” She walked towards the window, stopped and looked out at the moon. His moon. If she walked into the self-fabricated trap she was weaving, he wouldn’t flinch at reverting to the spider.    

“In this? Sapphire, oh, at what moment do you consider your participation invalid? You’ve had every part in this. Did you not come with me? Plan with me? Unlock doors?” On one hand, he needed her loyalty. On the other, she would henceforth be susceptible to pose problems. 

“You said this was a heist. You said it would turn anything to gold.”

“And yet you knew it was against our rules. You chose to be a part in this.”

“You said you needed me. You said you wouldn’t use me.” 

“I lied.” Sapphire looked scathingly at him. “And you, Freya. You are not naive as you pretend. Tell me, you really never thought this was going to be anything more? You knew me best of all.”

“I... I didn’t know.”

“Come, now.” 

“I suspected. But I thought...I thought we had to be there for each other....But I didn’t want a part in this. Isla?” Her features contorted into unadorned pain. “You tricked me.” 

“You suspected, yet you chose to help. You’re just as guilty as I am. You’re just as responsible for your pretty friend turned stone.”

“No. No, that was you. Don’t you dare suggest otherwise.”

“I think the Pevensies will feel the same. You’re right.”

“Damn you, Matthon.”

“They’ll damn you too. They all will.” Matthon moved away from the table and stood between her and the door. It was his last attempt - show her she had no other options. Which she didn’t. She either helped him, or the alternative. “You have been an active participant through it all. You’ve made certain actions, certain loyalties. There are consequences. The world’s not going to take you back.”

“I’m not staying. I’m not doing this.”

“You’ll stay.”

“Don’t threaten me.”

“You’ll stay,” he said more firmly. He was aware briefly of the Ronan, still watching in the shadows. He wondered what he was thinking. If he thought this show was a warning - but Ronan, Ronan, he was stronger in spirit than Sapphire. That was always her fault. Her fragility. Too damaged; it was a shame.

“No. I’m going.” She looked towards the door. “I’m getting out.”

“And where will you go? No one’s taking back.”

“It doesn’t concern you.”

He laughed. “What a pretty lie.” He stepped towards Sapphire. Her hand gripped the dagger at her side. Matthon grinned, he looked at the smallness of her weapon. He whispered, “Nice blade.” 

Sapphire lunged and he caught her wrist, the dagger’s point edged towards the large vein in his neck. His other hand twisted Sapphire’s arm behind her back. Their torsos pressed into each other, their breath close. His grip tightened and Sapphire gasped. He nudged the bottom of her ear with his nose. “Are you sorry you ever let me kiss your neck?” 

“Matthon, what’s happened to you?” Sapphire whispered. In a flash he remembered an earlier time, right after he killed the hag. The scene recurred; her sad eyes questioning him. But he was stronger now - he didn’t embrace her as before. 

Matthon growled, he began to change his face. “I made a choice.” Teeth sharpened, incisors extended. His jaw lengthened. He sniffed her neck. He could smell the hot blood just under the surface of her pale skin. He could smell equally the guard’s blood, dried thickly on her cheeks. He pulled back and looked at Sapphire. Her eyes were wide. “You’re scared.” The words came through gargled.

“Heartbroken.”

Matthon changed his face back, slowly. “Not quite.” 

He slammed her backwards into the wall. Her skull rattled and she went limp. Matthon picked up his friend. He went out into the night. The cold air whipped his cheeks. Sapphire’s body was warm against his own. She wasn’t dead. But she would be. 

[heartanddagger]

Hey Soul Sister | Petra & Lilia

Petra had watched Edmund head toward her and stop somewhere along the way with a laugh. It seemed kingly duties would come between them for the night, a problem which she was determined to eventually overcome at some point over the course of the evening. She was going to find out a question which she’d been wondering for some time: whether he danced.

But for now the night was young, and her determination was elsewhere. Spotting Lilia, she beelined, wondering at just what state her friend was in considering the circumstances. But she’d let it play out how it would, no need to be a specter at the feast. “You, and that dress...” she stated the moment she stood in front of Lilia, a smile on her face as she admired it. “You have to admit I made a good choice, Lulu.”