Wonderland, The Queen's Chambers, Wednesday Morning (Fandom Time)
Leto
Sunlight fell on his face. Leto slowly opened his eyes. This wasn't the glowglobe-lit chambers of a sietch or the shaded windows of the palace at Arrakeen. And he could feel the Spice essence flow through his body - still? - and enhance the scent of Alice's skin. He shifted and turned to watch the girl next to him, softly pressing his lips against her shoulder.
It was time to go. Any longer and the temptation not to leave at all would grow too strong. Leto sat up and put his feet on the floor, looking for his clothes.
Alice
Alice dragged her eyes open slowly, and watched Leto dress. She swallowed down any number of pleas. Unfair to beg him to stay longer. He had lingered just long enough to regain himself, and now, there was work to be done.
"All dreams must end," she murmured, aloud. "Good morning."
Leto
"Good morning." He turned, smiled at her, then knelt next to the bed and leaned in to kiss her.
Alice
Alice closed her eyes, sliding her arms around him and stretching up to meet the kiss. She would see him again, he had promised that much; but the passage of time until then might be great, and she was going to hold on to this moment, here, as long as she possibly could.
Leto
He pulled back a little, still smiling. "Did you sleep well?" There was a teasing hint in his voice that alluded to having tired themselves out the night before. He didn't want a sad parting.
Alice
"I did," she laughed, a blush creeping up from her neck to cover her face. "As I hope you did, as well."
It seemed ridiculous to be shy about intimacy, especially after aforementioned intimacy, but whatever part of her brain controlled blushing still felt she must at least pretend towards decorum now and again.
"And I do hope there will be gloating, once you return," she added. "Tell your would-be captors that you escaped their clutches and spent the evening bedding a pretty Queen."
Not that Alice considered herself pretty -- she didn't believe she was un-pretty, but the word didn't seem to suit her -- but gloating did not need to be entirely accurate.
Leto
Oh, but the blushing was sweet and made his smile widen. "I hope to avoid further conversation," he said, "But I promise, if the opportunity arises..."
Perhaps joking about it was a good thing.
Alice
"You're right, wiser to deal with them first," she said, offering him a quick smile. "The demands of rubbing one's victory in are often counterproductive to achieving said victory."
It was nearly Zen, except that was entirely accidental.
"Is there anything I might give you?" she asked. "Food, to stash in your pockets. Necessities. Or something less pragmatic, like a trinket to hold close."
Leto
"I have my memories," he said, stroking her hair. "And that's all I need." After what he had to do next, he would have to find what he needed in Jacarutu.
Provided Alice could find a way for him back.
Alice
"Then I fear I've run out of delays," she admitted softly.
One last kiss, then, and she would attempt to pull herself out of bed. Her clothes were nearby, but she wrapped herself in the bedsheets instead, a makeshift dress held under her armpits. One could look regal in anything, if one had the right bearing.
She was Queen. This was no easier for him than for her; the least she could grant him was an exit without histrionics. Tears would only be a nuisance.
"Be careful," she said. "Rest when you can, and show no mercy to those who deserve none."
Leto
"Spoken like a true Fremen." And he couldn't resist, he slipped his arms around her again and leaned in for a kiss. The last one before leaving, he told himself.
Alice
It would need to last a great while; that was her excuse for prolonging the kiss as she did.
Finally -- although it was far too soon -- she eased away again, pressing her lips together as if she could imprint his taste onto them.
"Jacarutu," she said. "I've never tried opening a door to a place I've never been. You'll have to tell me if I get it wrong."
She grasped the door knob with only her fingertips. It was the door to her private bath. Should this fail, she wouldn't like for the Card Guards to see her wearing only a bedsheet.
"Ready?"
Leto
"Ready." As ready as he ever would be. Leto's hand rested on Alice's shoulder, as if this would make the connection between them stronger.
Alice
Alice nodded, once, and then concentrated on the door. She had only ever tried opening doors between Wonderland and Fandom, and to be honest, she wasn't entirely certain how she did it.
It was easier if she remembered that she was only re-opening a door, one that had already been opened the day previous. Whatever machinations had rescued Leto from the water-stealers, they had connected Jacarutu to Wonderland; she only needed a door to retrace those steps, and deposit him back from whence he had come.
This seemed reasonable, and drawing a deep breath, she turned the knob and nudged the door open.
The sight which greeted her, upon peering in, was not her bathroom. The dimly-lit room was unknown to her. Its floor was sand, and the walls worn-down rock. The bare aesthetics hinted that this was not a place of luxury, which did bode well for it being a desert sietch.
She watched Leto's face carefully, to see if he recognized the spot.
"Have we succeeded?"
Leto
Leto drew in a breath. It was the room he remembered, but he saw it clearer now. As the door opened, so did time itself, and once again he saw the constant shifting, like a wind that could pull him off his feet if it hadn't been for than anchor of himself, of inner memories aligned and discrete. He was their realm, offering the only life they could have, and locked in the unknown pattern that was Wonderland it was as if each one of them had come to a halt, just for this brief time, and realised their condition.
Leto took a step away from Alice, but his hand still held on to hers. Pausing on the threshold, he saw his futures spread out in front of him, just a step away. Leto turned his head and smiled at Alice.
"Thank you. I think you willed your land to protect me. I am myself. No inner life can take my place."
Then he released her hand and took another step, tumbling into the room at Jacarutu.
Alice
She watched him go, willing herself not to cling to his hand, or, worse, chase after him.
"Until we meet again," she said, softly; she could not even be sure that he heard her. And with that, she closed the door.
The room seemed empty, somehow hollow without him, as if it were a puppet whose owner had withdrawn his hand. She trudged back over to the bed, pulling the bedclothes along with a sigh.
She held her pillow close. The scent of him lingered. Queen Alice would console herself with such crumbs. They were all she might have of him for a very long time.
(played, once more, with the fantabulous future_sandworm, and this ends our little detour from canon. NFI, NFB, but OOC is love. ♥)