Another World

Lucien stood up straight and took a deep breath. He had been around for most of it. He hadn't had the privilege of seeing their sun but he had read about it. "I am one hundred and fifty-two years old," he said plainly. He stood there waiting for her reaction, terrified of it. He was sure she would reject him. Did they not live that long here? His race could live thousands of years if they had the proper sapphire intake. He looked into her eyes, judging whether or not he needed to put up some sort of protection and decided against it. If she were to smite him with her magic right here and now he would take it. He would not stand to be an outcast here. He was alone, the last of the Lyrakai, and he would be accepted or he would die. No in between.
 
Leila stared at him for just a moment, then nodded and took his hand again to continue leading him up the path as if nothing had happened. So, he was over seven times as old as she was. Elves lived a long time too, hundreds of years. She had assumed that his lifespan was more like her own and was wrong, but that was alright. No point in rejecting him over something that he had no control over. Besides, he was perfectly nice and hadn't done a thing wrong.


"Here it is," she said with a smile, releasing him and gesturing outward with a sweeping motion. They had arrived at the top, and the view was magnificent. The sun lit up a wide valley of nothing but green treetops that they had full view of since they were standing atop a cliff covered in dark red stone. A sparkling river wound through the center, dipping and weaving in a seemingly random manner. Above, the skies were a brilliant shade of light blue, with barely a cloud to be seen. Birds called to each other from both above, and below in the valley.


"What do you think?" she asked softly.
 
Lucien hadn't expected her reaction to be a nod. There was almost no reaction at all. He followed her quietly the rest of the way to the top and looked out over the side of the cliff. He was stunned into silence by the beauty and tranquility of the scenery laid out before him. He had never seen such brilliant colors in his lifetime. The lush forest was a bright green, not the drab dark green he remembered of his homeland. The river looked like it was made entirely of sapphires and the sky, such a wonderful shade of blue, not black. With his jaw slightly dropped, his lips formed into a huge smile. He turned to her then and whispered as to not disturb anything, "This is the most magnificent thing I have ever seen. Thank you for sharing it with me." He brought her hand up to his mouth and pressed his lips against the back of it for a brief moment. She seemed to positively glow in this atmosphere, like this was where she truly belonged. "You are radiant Leila." He hoped he wasn't stepping over any bounds but no one had ever shared anything like this with him before. There were no places of this caliber back home.
 
Smiling as she watched him take it all in, she could tell that this was nothing like what he was used to. The way his eyes widened, the way his jaw dropped just that tiny bit. He seemed almost breathless. It was sort of funny, in a way, because it very much resembled the utter joy that she had felt when she first discovered this place years ago. In the time since, she had only shared it with a few people, but had been up here so many times that she had worn that path with her own two legs. Rain, snow, it didn't matter. She'd be up here, usually crafting a new crystal to keep her fingers occupied.


"You're welcome. It's nice to see somebody else enjoying it," she replied quietly with a smile. A soft blush touched her pale cheeks when he kissed the back of her hand, not expecting the gesture. His compliment made her blush even more and she shook her head a little, unable to keep from smiling. "You flatter me, Lucien, but thank you," she murmured, then got an idea. "Watch this," she said, walking over to the edge of the cliff.


She waved her hand slowly over the open space before her and then drew it upward. From the river came a large ribbon of water, which she held up in the sky. Using both hands now, she separated the single ribbon into dozens, crisscrossing them in an intricate pattern until she had formed a large sphere. A few seconds later it changed into a box, and after that, a star. She let the water fall back to the river after that with a loud splash and grinned at Lucien, taking his hand again.


"Come on, we've got so much more to see!"
 
Lucien chuckled. He felt like a child again, experiencing everything for the first time. Everything was new and fascinating. And she was so playful. He could definitely learn to love living here. There were so many adventures to be had, so many things to do. No doubt Leila would be the source of his learning. He was open to anything she could show him. As she was so open minded about him, he would be of her. It was the start of a great friendship.

"Do you never tire? I mean, do you ever run out of energy to control the water?" He was curious. His magics drained him if used too much. To have the ability to use it so frivolously would be delightful. He gently squeezed her hand letting her know he was ready and willing to follow her wherever she would lead him. He wanted, no needed, to see more. "Lead on," he said with enthusiasm.
 
"Water is one of the easier elements to control energy wise. If you have the talent, it doesn't take a lot to get it to mold to your bidding. But, yes, I do tire. If I take on a large project, for example, or do a lot at once. Water combat is especially taxing. Fighting somebody includes a lot of ice and crystal, and you have to reform as soon as they shatter. It's exhausting, and many of my people die simply because they are too tired to even control a droplet. That is part of the reason that we do not fight. The majority of our reasoning is simply that we are peaceful," Leila explained with a small smile as she led him back down the hill.


Once at the bottom, she took him back to the road and went toward the downtown area. They passed houses, shops, a large library and even a small schoolbuilding. Everybody that they passed smiled and waved, a few calling out greetings while they loaded up cars and trucks full of their belongings. A few of the more farm-inclined types were taking carriages with horses, but most were using vehicles. To those that had none, a large bus in the center of town was available.


"How did you get here?" she asked curiously after a few minutes, strolling with him along the sidewalk.
 
Lucien nodded as he listened to her explanation of her gift. He could understand dying from exhaustion. Once the supply of sapphires was almost gone many of his people had died due to lack of energy to continue. He followed her around town looking at the different buildings and smiling back at the people busying themselves with packing their vehicles. It seemed as though most were almost ready to leave. He stayed quiet while Leila talked to him, enjoying the sound of her voice. So many people back home lived in silence just because they lacked the want to talk to others even if it was mundane conversation.

He looked to the ground when she asked her question. He knew eventually she would ask. "Well, when the dragons started attacking, they started on the outside of the kingdom and worked their way in quickly. They covered so much ground every day that my father didn't have enough time to do any research on the surrounding worlds. His plan was to find a world that was similar to ours and open a portal for him, my mother and myself. The day that he was going to do so, there was an unexpected explosion. While we were running for cover, my father was casting his spell. Right when I saw the beginnings of an opening there was another explosion and that's the last I remember until I woke up here in your village. I think what happened is the portal opened enough for me to get tossed through but the explosion must have distracted or killed my father and closed it up so they couldn't make their exit." He sighed softly. His parents would have loved this world he was sure of it.
 
Leila listened to his tale in utter silence, stopping her steps to turn and face him to give him her complete attention once she realized it would not be an easy story to listen to. She frowned sadly at the end of it and shook her head a little. His past was tinged with pain and darkness, and she could relate, probably better than he would expect from what he had seen so far. There was no doubt that he would grieve for a long time, she knew. Not only had he lost family and friends, but he had lost his entire world. She had no idea how to send him back there, and didn't know anybody that could. So, she did the only thing that she could think of. She hugged him.


"I am so sorry that happened to you. Perhaps now is the beginning of a new chapter of your life. Already you are hailed as a hero. I think you will do great things in this world. In fact, I believe that someday, thousands will know your name and bards will be singing your stories far and wide," she said, pulling away from the hug as she spoke and giving him a soft smile. "We do not forget the past here, but allow it to build our future. There is much to be seen in you, Lucien, I know that to be fact," she added simply, then took his hand and turned back around to head to her home so that they could grab her bag and get on the bus.
 
Lucien was shocked by the hug. It came out of nowhere. But his body acted instinctually and he wrapped his arms around her for the brief moment he could. She was small and seemingly fragile in his arms but he knew she was quite the powerful package. Appearances were deceiving in this case. He leaned his head down to run his face through her blue locks, liking the tickle it gave his nose, gently breathing in her scent. Her words lifted his spirits, he didn't know why but he believed her wholly. He did look forward to his future here, especially if it was to be around this woman.

The trip back to her home to get her pack was quick. Everyone was getting ready to go now. He scooped up the strap to her satchel before she could and slung it over his shoulder with a smirk and then followed her back outside. He stopped dead outside the huge metal contraption he thought she had earlier referred to as a bus. There were already people inside it. The doors were gaping open at them and there were many windows but it looked to swallow them whole. He didn't know how long they were going to be travelling but he wasn't sure they could make it in this. "We are riding in this?" he asked hesitantly. He knew he must look a fool. It would certainly take a bit to get used to their mode of transportation.
 
Blinking as Lucien scooped up her bag and smirked at her, she crossed her eyes at him and stuck out her tongue. Well, if he wanted to be chivalrous, she wasn't going to argue with him. She stopped with him outside the bus and looked up at the people already visible through the windows. It was about half full, so there'd be plenty of seats to choose from. She was about to ask if he wanted a window seat when he asked about it. Taking a moment, she examined his expression and realized that they didn't have vehicles where he was from. What did they use, horses? Something else?


"Yes. It's called a bus. The smaller ones are cars, and the ones that are a little bigger than cars and have an open space in the back are trucks," she explained, pointing to examples of each as she spoke quietly to him. "There's a driver who sits in the front and steers which direction we go in, and they control how fast or slow we are moving. It's the most efficient method of travel that we have since the train station is hours away and we can't afford plane tickets for everybody," she went on, then stopped herself and smiled. "I'll explain those ones later. Will you come on with me?" she asked, offering her hand to him.
 
Lucien took another long concerned look at the vehicle. He supposed it looked sturdy enough. There were people on it so they clearly trusted it. He wouldn't let this get the better of him. He straighten up and squared his shoulders determined to win over his fears on confinement. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly looking down at her. He took her hand once again and said, "If you can truly put your trust in this....bus, then I will travel with you. I would prefer to sit between you and the window so that I may protect you from the outside." He smiled at her and began boarding the bus. He nodded to the driver and to the other people already sitting. He picked a seat towards the middle and packed himself against the window allowing her enough room to sit comfortably.

He sat quietly listening to the excited chatter around him. They all seemed sad to be leaving this settlement but happy that they would be in a place similar with more people like them. He wondered what it would be like to stay with them. Hell, he wondered if they would let him. He would most likely have to make his own way in the near future. This village was accepting of him because of what he had done to the soldiers but the other settlement could have a different mentality. He shook his head slightly. His mother had always told him he was a pessimist, always looking toward a bad future. He was going to change that here and now. It was then that he realized he was still holding her hand. He placed the back of his hand on his thigh and loosened his grip in case she wanted her hand back. In such a short time he had become accustomed to having her hand in his whether by her doing or his. He had to admit he liked it though.
 
Leila smiled and nodded, holding in a laugh as he mentioned wanting to protect her from the dangers of a window seat. He was so adorable. She followed him up onto the bus and sat next to him, allowing a couple of inches between them so that he wouldn't feel crowded and claustrophobic. Their window was already open at the top, so hopefully the breeze would keep him calm as well. She left her hand in his without even realizing it, her other hand occupied with pointing out people as they drove or walked by the window.


"And that is Marcia, the librarian. Anything in the world you want to know, that's the woman to ask," she finished up, then paused and glanced around. Everybody that was going to be coming on, was on. She shifted her bag into the empty seat in front of them to allow them more space, then smiled up at Lucien. "Are you ready?" she asked quietly as the bus doors squealed shut. The driver plopped down in his seat and the engine roared to life. People began pulling out small games and books, but Leila was more interested in watching Lucien's reaction as they slowly pulled out into the road and joined the caravan of people driving to their new home.
 
Lucien looked around at all the people Leila pointed out. There was no way he was going to remember all the names but he would try to remember the professions at least. The pleasant look on his face faded a little when the vehicle let out a loud growl. His hand tightened slightly on hers and gripped the seat in front of him with a crushing force. His eyes went wide for a second as it lurched forward. He watched the world go by as the bus picked up speed. Then he looked back at her and shook his head slightly, "Do people not have the ability to teleport in this world? It would be faster and safer." Everyone seemed to be at ease except for him. He figured he would just focus on her until he was more comfortable. He gave her a tentative shaky smile.
 
"Some do, but most don't. Nobody in our town did," she explained, gently taking the hand that was clutching the seat and wrapping it in her own on top of the hand that she was already holding. "Relax. I promise you aren't in any danger and won't get hurt, alright?" she assured him quietly, looking up at him with a smile. She lightly kissed his cheek in a friendly manner just to help him relax, then glanced up at the clock. It would be several hours before they reached their new home. No doubt it would mean sleeping in their seats. She yawned at the thought and rubbed her eyes, then replaced her hand on top of his.


"I have an idea, to take your mind off of the bus. I want you to tell me a story. It can be a bedtime story from when you were young, or a real story that you like to tell because it's full of fighting and heroes and legends," she suggested, leaning her head back against the seat and giving him an encouraging smile.
 
Lucien smirked, "Alright, let me see what I can come up with." He leaned back against the seat, his thumb tracing a small trail along the back of her hand. "Once upon a time there lived a beautiful princess. She was the symbol of her people representing everything that they were. She always wore long flowing blue dresses, the color of the sapphires her people lived on. Her eyes were sparkling blue jewels that glittered with happiness and joy. Her hair formed her perfectly shaped face, also blue in color reminding the people of the long lost color of the sky. She was highly revered in the kingdom, everyone loved her, one man in particular. He was her father's advisor's son. He only saw her in passing but every time he did it made him smile."

Lucien smiled over at her trying to keep his voice low as to not disturb everyone else on the bus. He continued, "One day huge poisonous black dragons attacked the kingdom. The guards tried their hardest but could not stop the dragons from taking the princess. The kingdom was left in disarray. The king and queen were lost without their daughter. Countless fleets were sent out to find her but came back empty handed. The advisor's son knew better. The guards, no matter how well they were trained, could not take on even a single dragon for they were not magically intuned. So he packed his satchel and snuck out in the late hours of the night to search for her. He travelled for days until he reached the moutnains he knew the dragons took rest in. He climbed for another half a day, only her face and the need to save her drove him on. Finally he reached the entrance to the tunnel. He could hear the growling and snarling up ahead but despite his fear he pressed on. As he got close he drew his sword and shield, both encrusted with and empowered by sapphire stones. He entered the cave to find three huge dragons, spittle hanging from their mouth, droplets sizzling on the ground when they fell. He took a deep breath and bellowed at the dragons, 'You will release my princess or you will DIE!' The dragons turned to him and growled and roared." Lucien nuzzled his face into her neck and growled at her attempting to make her laugh.

He pulled out his dagger and waved it around in front of him depicting the next part of his story. "A great battle ensued, claws meeting steel, steel meeting scale and blue light magic tearing holes in the dragons. He was a flurry of movement, weaving and dodging the poisonous nails and teeth and spit. His sword was melting as was his shield. He needed something more. He threw the last of his sword at one dragon stabbing it through the heart. He used the last bit of his shield to slice the second dragon's throat and watched it crash to the ground and bleed out. He turned to face the last dragon just in time to feel the dragon's mighty claw swipe into his stomach, knocking him back into the wall." He sheathed his dagger again, and held his stomach with one arm for a dramatic gesture, leaning back against the seat again.

"He knew he was dead as he held his hand to his gut. When he looked to the side," Lucien turned his head to look at Leila, "He saw the princess trapped inside a bubble of energy. She was crying, pounding her fists on the invisible barrier screaming something at him that he could not hear. It gave him a renewed sense of purpose. He looked back to the malicious dragon stalking toward him, gathering the last of his energy to his hands. Just as the dragon reared back to snap at him, he threw the blue energy at it, disintegrating it completely. The man turned back to her, taking his last breath, smiling as the bubble disappeared and his princess was set free. He closed his eyes."

Lucien closed his eyes but continued the story. "Now the princess ran to him, dropping to her knees beside him crying. Her savior had sacrificed himself for her. She held him close and sobbed, her blue tears falling on him. Then the most peculiar thing happened. Her tears started absorbing into his skin. His flesh turned light blue in color and the wound started closing. The poison was pushed out and the skin healed over, until finally he took a breath. The sound startled her into sitting back and he opened his eyes to look at her." He opened his eyes, "The princess gazed back into his eyes, into his soul, returning the love and warmth from his eyes back to him. They shared a deep passionate kiss before he picked himself up and returned her back to the kingdom. The king was so overjoyed to have his daughter back that he married her to his advisor's son almost immediately. And they lived happily ever after."

Lucien was silent for a few moments, letting the story sink in. He smiled at her, "What did you think? I just made it up."
 
Leila smiled as he agreed, wondering what sort of story that he would choose to tell her. She watched him as he seemed to be thinking about it, relaxing subconsciously as he traced along the back of her hand. As he started, she immediately thought he was telling her a fairy tale. What else would have a princess? She was surprised, however, when the princess had a description that sounded suspiciously like herself, except prettier. Laughing quietly, she listened attentively and simply watched Lucien as he continued on to describe the entrance of the dragons. She gasped appropriately in dramatic horror and shook her head as he went on to the kidnapping, feeling sad for the poor princess who couldn't save herself from such awful events.


She couldn't help but smile as he described how the son went off on his own to search for her. It was truly a heroic tale, and she actually found herself losing herself in it. She worried for his safety, hanging off of every word of the story and clapping quietly as he reached the tunnel. The dragons did sound truly frightening and she looked worried again, but then she started laughing as Lucien started nuzzling and growling at her. She squealed and poked at him as though she had a sword, still smiling as he pulled away and pulled out his own dagger. Seeing him get so into the telling pulled her back in the story and her eyes widened as he described the fight.


"Oh no!" she gasped softly as the last dragon slice into the boy and threw him against the wall. She gazed at Lucien worriedly, staying completely silent as he described what happened with the last battle. Just when she was feeling sad about the poor boy dying, he went on to say that the boy had come back to life. She smiled delightedly and nodded as he asked her opinion. "Oh, that was a lovely story! Perhaps you should try your hand at being a bard when we get home," she suggested with a soft laugh, knowing that most of the others were probably starting to go to sleep now. "I love a happy ending. That was wonderful."


She was just thinking about asking if he wanted the seat to himself to rest when the bus started slowing down. That was odd, they couldn't be close yet. She peered over the seats and saw flashing lights. All of the traffic ahead of them was stopped. She sighed, having hoped they could avoid something like this.


"It's a roadblock. No doubt they're going to question the drivers. They know we're moving because of them but they love causing trouble. You need to make sure you stay down, you still look foreign.. unless.." she mused, pausing as she held up a hand to get him to stay and slipped out of her seat. She went back a few rows and spoke quietly to a man for a few minutes, then came back with a small pile of clothes. "There's no separate space for you to change here, but I can give you my blanket to change under so that nobody can see you?" she suggested, frowning a bit since it wasn't ideal circumstances for anybody.
 
Lucien glared over the top of the seats at the lights outside. It looked like they were stopping everyone in their group. Figures, just when he was starting to let his guard down a bit and have some fun something has to put him on edge again. He looked through the pile of clothes she handed him and picked out a pair of black slacks and a dark blue button up shirt. He smirked at Leila, "Its alright, you won't see anything." In a burst of speed he disrobed and changed into the other clothes. He gathered his stuff and wrapped it in his cloak and slid it under the seat, the only thing he left out was the dagger so that it was easily accessible. He buttoned the shirt up half way to cover tattoo on his side and ran his thumb along the one on his wrist to hide it from view. He tied his hair back at the nape of his neck with a leather strap and then sat back against the seat.

"How well do these people know your village? If they know all the people I'm still going to be noticed as new." He was surprised at himself for being so protective, mainly of her. He had grown quite fond of her in the short time he had known her. He waited as the lights got closer and closer to the bus. It seemed like eternity. He looked around at the rest of the people on the bus, those that were awake anyway. Would they fight if necessary? All he could do was wait for the inevitable.
 
"I won't?" Leila asked uncertainly, then blinked as Lucien was suddenly changed. Bizarre. She smiled and tucked his old clothes under their seat and out of sight, along with the spares that he hadn't chosen. "They don't know us well enough to notice a new face as long as you're dressed like us. You've got to understand, they don't view us as people. To them, we are a collective people who are either to be used as a fighting force, or squashed. We've been walking the line of neutrality, but that line is starting to vanish and we're going to be forced to make a decision soon. All of the water people will," she explained quietly, glancing around to see who was awake and who wasn't. Most were asleep, which was good. Less people to get anxious.


"Stay here," she murmured to Lucien, getting up from her seat and wandering up to the front of the bus to sit behind the driver. She watched as they pulled up to the block, listening carefully as the driver was questioned about their destination. As she feared, one of the men with a flashlight wanted to come aboard and search the vehicle. She scrambled back to her own seat and sat next to Lucien, putting her hand in his. "Lay your head down against the window and pretend to be asleep. Make sure your face is tipped downward," she whispered hurriedly, covering them both in her blanket and laying her head on his shoulder as she closed her eyes. Seconds later, she heard the bus door creaking open and the dull thuds that marked the steps of the soldier.
 
Lucien didn't like this one bit and he definitely didn't think it would work, but he did as Leila asked. He rested his forehead against the window. He took the leather strap out of his hair so that it would fall across his face. The eye that it covered the most he left cracked open. He didn't trust these people and would not be left unguarded by closed eyes. He mentally readied himself. Within a second he could have her behind him and ready to fight. He waited, breathing as someone would when sleeping. Still like a dragon waiting for its prey to get close enough to chomp.

He could see the man walk down the aisle, not caring where his flashlight blared. Some of the people stirred but thankfully they either didn't wake up or pretended to still be asleep. He waited for the soldier to get close to them. He gently squeezed her hand under the blanket. He didn't know what they were searching for exactly, he hoped it wasn't him. But how could they know if the other soldiers never returned back? They couldn't possibly know what he had done or what he looked like. Unless they had a magic user....And in that case he would be ready for the fight.
 
Leila thought that she was going to have a heart attack. She just couldn't force herself to breathe normally, but she did manage to keep her features smoothed as though she were asleep. Still, she knew that any close examination would reveal that she was faking it. She squeezed Lucien's hand back nervously and was nearly shaking by the time the soldier approached them. All that she could think about were the things that the soldiers had done - things that they had no proof of, but plenty of stories. Just when she was convinced that the soldier would stop and pull them off the bus, he turned and left. Just like that. She opened her eyes tentatively as she heard the bus doors close, releasing a breath that she hadn't even realized she was holding.


"Oh.. my.." she managed, sitting up and resting her forehead on the seat in front of them. She felt sick from all of her worry, but beyond happy that she could relax again. The bus began to move through the roadblock and she didn't even bother glancing out the windows. Soon they were back up to speed and moving along toward their new home. Just a few more hours now. She rubbed her eyes and fought the urge to sleep, settling back into the seat and looking up at Lucien. "Do you want to stretch out on the seat to sleep? I can take the seat in front of us, or the one across the aisle," she offered, her voice betraying her exhaustion.
 
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