Beauty and tragedy and all that lies between

[Quiet Souris]

Samael could only stare in shock, his magic had fought off only a section of it. It was still there, in the man's chest but that was not what worried him at that moment. He knew few spells that caused anything like this- all the ones he did know were Unspeakables. He quickly formed shield around the green... Thing, watching it as it attempted to fight back and escape. He scoured the bookshelves on the wall, selecting a book and scouring through it, glancing at the prince with wide eyes and gently moving him into a chair. "Yes, I believe it's a section of the curse that my magic has managed to remove. I apologise for not warning you further but that curse is poisoning your body, fast. From what I can tell, your enemy has cast the Lenitu spell, an unspeakable spell in our tribes. It's going to slowly destroy you from the inside, unless we can stop the spell and your parents will face the same fate."

 

[Serpentine]

As the sorcerer spoke about the spell inside of Aston, the prince's face paled and he felt his stomach drop. "Destroy me from the inside...?" he was more or less speaking to himself, trying to control the shakiness in his hands. The pain throbbing inside his chest wasn't bothering the prince anymore...it was the fear that numbed it down. Closing his eyes, Aston put his face in his hands, trembling. Never had he felt so much fear before, but he didn't care about what the sorcerer thought of him at the moment. The prince took in shaky breaths and clenched his eyes shut even more, pressing his hands against his face. A sudden realization came over him, a feeling of ice water being dumped over his head. "I don't want to die..." he said quietly, lifting his face from his hands and looking at the wall across from him. Aston's violet eyes were wide and reflected the fear he felt on the inside.

@Quiet Souris

 

[Quiet Souris]

There was a sense of fear in the air and it was a terrible thing, to see all those emotions flitter across the young Prince's face in such short succession. As the man lifted his eyes up, they were wide and terrified- and it scared Samael.
He had no experience with this. How could he comfort him? Pat him on the back and tell him lies? That it was going to be alright and he'd fix everything? There were no guarantees here and somehow, the fear in that violet gaze struck a chord in him. He placed the book on his well worn desk and pulled up a chair next to the distraught prince, looking him in straight in the eyes. "I would like to say I can fix it all- but I can't. But I will try my hardest to allow you and your family to live, by any means necessary."

 

[Serpentine]

The prince's eyes widened when he saw the sorcerer sit in a chair in front of him. He was a little surprised to see some sort of expression cross his face and he tried explaining that he might not be able to stop it. Aston slowly nodded, feeling a slight twinge of defeat. Thinking back, the prince sighed and put his forehead on his hand, noting all of his surroundings. The smell of leather and books, the constant waves of magic that circled around the room...it all felt unreal. Finally, the prince lifted his head, the weight on his shoulders feeling like it had doubled. "I don't know what to do...maybe I should just give up. I have been terrible to so many people...they might even think it good if I die. I just...my family should not deserve to die. They might have done things in the past, but they have changed. Even as I first met you, I was nothing but rude and ungrateful for your help. It is alright if you cannot help me...after all it is probably what you want, given how I have treated you. Samael...I am truly sorry for my behavior." Aston spoke sincerely, lifting his face from his hand, a look of defeat in his eyes as he began to stand, holding onto the chair for support. The worn oak was scratchy against his calloused hands...hardened from years of fighting and defending. Even if it was all in vain...

@Quiet Souris

 

[Quiet Souris]

Samael listened to those words, to the agony behind them and sense of defeat. He recognised that look, the look of having failed ones people and not being able to correct mistakes he had long ago committed. He stood abruptly, chair tipping back at the force and levelling his hard gaze at Aston with a stern face. "Do not dare to give up! No one would wish for your death, at least not the many you believe would. If you give up and die as you are, they will always see you as that person- and you will never be able to prove them wrong." He took a deep breath and let his gaze soften. "I would not wish death upon you, even as you think I would. Your behaviour was terrible, I'll give you that but my own was not far off. I accept that apology and offer my own, if you will look past my standoffish behaviour from before." He watched the other stand, holding fast to the oaken chair and sighed, allowing the stern visage to completely fall from his face. He felt older than his young age right now, faced with a battle against time- and someone he had once known so intimately.

 

[Serpentine]

The prince snapped his head up at the sorcerer's sudden outburst, a stern expression that shot him like an arrow. Listening intently, Aston was clearly shocked and speechless as the sorcerer continued, making him feel like a childish kid. He sighed and ran a hand gently through his brown hair, slowly moving to sit on the arm of the oak chair. "I-I accept your apology...please excuse my behavior once more. I do not know what has gotten into me...usually I am not like this." Aston said with a small sigh, rubbing his face with his hands. Never before in his life has the prince ever felt the fear and emotion of giving up so strongly...he shook his head to clear it and turned his violet eyes up to the sorcerer. The man looked slightly exhausted, even tired. Aston furrowed his brow slightly and looked out of one of the windows. It was dark out, but he was not sure if the magic made it dark, or if it was really night. "You seem tired...are you alright?" the prince asked, raising an eyebrow as he continued to look out of the window. When he attempted to be kind to others, Aston often avoided their eye contact. Usually because of the feeling that he might show others his true self.

@Quiet Souris

 

[Quiet Souris]

Samael sunk into his own chair once again, eyeing the other as Aston sat on the arm of the chair and looked out the window. It was still dark, though the sun was setting outside the darkness of the storm sent the night creeping in quickly. He lifted the magic protecting the windows and could still see the flashes of red in the clouds, the magic of the Eshnikud still plainly visible. She has always been fiesty, just like her magic.
He chuckled grimly at the question and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. "Tired is one way to put it I believe but it seems much more. The sorceress who cast this spell on your kingdom is a long ago friend of mine, someone I had grown up with and trained with. It is sad to think I will see her once again under such conditions and to think of what I may have to do to save this kingdom."

 

[Serpentine]

The prince listened to the sorcerer, his mouth forming a frown. "It must be rough. I would not know that feeling, but it sounds hard...considering that you speak of her with strong words. I get the feeling that you two had been close. I will not ask about what happened, for I have at least a little decency not to bring up possible wounds." Aston stood from the arm of the chair, stretching an arm over his head. The muscles in his back stretched, relieving some of the tension from the sore areas. He glanced back out of the window, sighing as he saw the clouds. Everything seemed to be happening so fast, the Prince barely had any time to take it all in. Now, it hit him like a dozen swords, leaving him breathless. "I think I will retire for the night. Where will I be sleeping?" Aston asked, turning his gaze to the older man as he crossed his arms across his chest. If he had to be honest, the thought of falling asleep made him a little nervous, fearing what might penetrate his dreams. Yet, he knew that he needed his full rest for the day to come. There was sure to be something bound to happen, Aston knew it.

@Quiet Souris

 

[Quiet Souris]

The sky was indeed growing late and there was a quiet tiredness in the other's face, in the way his shoulders fell and moved, the way his aura curled into the magic of the room like a long lost piece of the furniture. His magic liked the boy- it curled around his aura in a way he had never seen before and the gentle curve of the flowing strands of heavy magic seemed to Samael to be as heavy as dream sand in the coolness of the room. He nodded once and let a wry smile twist his features, a little sadness creeping at the sides unbidden. "Yes, I have you room you may stay in... Though forgive the mess... It has been a very long time since another has stayed in these ruins. A decade or more I believe." He gestured to the hallway outside his study and swept off, leading the exhausted prince to a room just a short way down the hall. His magic travelled ahead of him, stirring the shafts of dust that spiralled through the air like forgotten memories- and to Samael, each particle a remnant of a time long past. "You may use this room but I ask, please try not pry through my things. I bid you good night and I will wake you with the dawn."

 

[Serpentine]

Flowing magic was thick around the room, the prince felt it. In a way, it felt like walking and breathing underwater, yet his movements were not slowed. Aston lifted his head to the sorcerer, tilting his head slightly as he saw the smile on the man's face. Instead of asking, though, the prince kept his mouth shut as the sorcerer explained what room he would be staying in. For some reason he felt some type of thankfulness...it was awfully strange for the prince since he never had a reason to thank anyone. Shaking his head, Aston cleared the thoughts from it as he followed the sorcerer down to a room, supposedly messy according to him. Yet, when the prince arrived to the room, he found that a smile had slowly formed on his face. It wasn't too messy...in fact, it was almost exactly like his own room at home. Aston lifted his violet gaze to the sorcerer and nodded before glancing around the room once more. "It is perfect, thank you. To be honest, this reminds me of my own room, so I am not bothered by it." the prince said softly as he walked forward, touching the books and artifacts only with his curious eyes, not wanting to impede on the sorcerer's privacy. He then turned to the man and gave a small half smile. "I hope you sleep well, and I'll try not to give you any trouble in the morning." Aston said with a slight sigh, once again running his long fingers through his brown hair.

@Quiet Souris