You Again? : Pumpkin Pieeee
Title: You Again?
Main Story: Cryptomancy
Flavors: Pumpkin Pie #11: fearsome creatures
Word Count: 680
Rating: PG
Summary: In which a familiar face returns.
Notes: I had to fill in some plot to move on with the prompts, so I put this little filler piece on my personal journal in which Chaill talks with Albion...not really necessary to read if you don't want to, of course, but I just figured I would let people know. This follows that immediately and I'm back on track with the prompts!
“You.” I had come nose to nose with Octavian on my way up out of the dungeons. I hadn’t seen him since the day he and I had run from Raitha with Aiver via the river. He’d managed to talk himself out of whatever trouble he’d been in, not least because he’d left me with her as some kind of trade for his own skin.
The golden-haired gentleman smiled. “I thought you might be happier to see me, after all this time we’ve been apart.”
“You sold me out,” I said flatly.
“I found you a place to live!” he replied.
“What are you doing here?”
He was dressed extraordinarily. He was fully turned out in the fashion of Paris, clad head to toe in green taffeta, with a greatcoat and stockings. The only indication that he was not a gentleman of France was that he wore no wig, allowing his golden curls to spill freely just past his collar. He smiled charmingly. “Why, I came for you, of course!”
I rolled my eyes.
“No, really! I did! There are,” his voice grew suddenly quiet and conspiratorial. “There are unsavory characters about, you know.”
I pushed past Octavian and into above-ground corridor. “You mean Albion.”
The golden haired gentleman turned and bustled along to keep abreast with me. “He is already here then!” His eyes were wide as saucers. “Then we have to go! What if he finds you? What if he finds me?”
“Would you stop it? It’s fine, he’s locked up in the dungeon.”
“Oh.” His relief was palpable. We continued along the corridor. “Well, then, I suppose I shouldn’t tarry. I’m sure Lady Bloodrose has this all well in hand.”
I stopped and turned, poking a finger into his chest. “Nothing is in hand!” I hissed. Now that I thought about it, it did seem that the last time I’d seen Octavian, he’d been taller. Had he shrunk, or was Albion right? Had it really been years since I’d arrived at Merry-Chase? “You don’t know what it’s like, here!”
Octavian put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “Hasn’t she kept her word? You haven’t been picked up by Elspeth’s men yet!”
“I don’t even know if it’s Elspeth I shouldn’t trust!” I exclaimed, but I lowered my hand and went back to walking the corridor. Octavian followed, a pace or two behind. “This place is a prison,” I said. “She keeps their names in artifacts in her bedchamber.”
Octavian shrugged. “That’s not so extraordinary,” he replied. “It’s easier than writing them all down, items are much easier to keep track of, to notice when one goes missing.”
“I don’t care if they’re written down, or in teapots, or flowers, or anything!” I said. “It isn’t right.”
He frowned. “You’re really making a big deal out of nothing.”
I threw up my hands. “See? You don’t understand. You never will. I have to go with him.”
“Him?” For a moment, he was genuinely puzzled. I could almost see the lights go on behind his eyes as he puzzled it out. “Oh, no! You can’t go back to Heart’s-Desire. Not now. Give it just a little while, we’ll go together! That’s why I’m here, I figured it out.”
Again, I rolled my eyes and turned my back to Octavian. I made it a few paces before he called out, “I know how to get you home.”
That stopped me in my tracks. “I don’t believe you,” I told him, turning back to face him.
The smile on his face was maddening. He was a creature of pure mirth in that moment, and in my confusion it only served to frustrate. “You should,” he said. “I really did come back for you, but if you’re already planning on running off with that filthy creature then I suppose I’ll just take my knowledge back home with me.”
“I haven’t planned anything,” I said.
Octavian’s smile widened. “Good,” he said, and he stepped up and threw his arm around me. “Because I think you’re going to want to hear this.”
Main Story: Cryptomancy
Flavors: Pumpkin Pie #11: fearsome creatures
Word Count: 680
Rating: PG
Summary: In which a familiar face returns.
Notes: I had to fill in some plot to move on with the prompts, so I put this little filler piece on my personal journal in which Chaill talks with Albion...not really necessary to read if you don't want to, of course, but I just figured I would let people know. This follows that immediately and I'm back on track with the prompts!
“You.” I had come nose to nose with Octavian on my way up out of the dungeons. I hadn’t seen him since the day he and I had run from Raitha with Aiver via the river. He’d managed to talk himself out of whatever trouble he’d been in, not least because he’d left me with her as some kind of trade for his own skin.
The golden-haired gentleman smiled. “I thought you might be happier to see me, after all this time we’ve been apart.”
“You sold me out,” I said flatly.
“I found you a place to live!” he replied.
“What are you doing here?”
He was dressed extraordinarily. He was fully turned out in the fashion of Paris, clad head to toe in green taffeta, with a greatcoat and stockings. The only indication that he was not a gentleman of France was that he wore no wig, allowing his golden curls to spill freely just past his collar. He smiled charmingly. “Why, I came for you, of course!”
I rolled my eyes.
“No, really! I did! There are,” his voice grew suddenly quiet and conspiratorial. “There are unsavory characters about, you know.”
I pushed past Octavian and into above-ground corridor. “You mean Albion.”
The golden haired gentleman turned and bustled along to keep abreast with me. “He is already here then!” His eyes were wide as saucers. “Then we have to go! What if he finds you? What if he finds me?”
“Would you stop it? It’s fine, he’s locked up in the dungeon.”
“Oh.” His relief was palpable. We continued along the corridor. “Well, then, I suppose I shouldn’t tarry. I’m sure Lady Bloodrose has this all well in hand.”
I stopped and turned, poking a finger into his chest. “Nothing is in hand!” I hissed. Now that I thought about it, it did seem that the last time I’d seen Octavian, he’d been taller. Had he shrunk, or was Albion right? Had it really been years since I’d arrived at Merry-Chase? “You don’t know what it’s like, here!”
Octavian put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “Hasn’t she kept her word? You haven’t been picked up by Elspeth’s men yet!”
“I don’t even know if it’s Elspeth I shouldn’t trust!” I exclaimed, but I lowered my hand and went back to walking the corridor. Octavian followed, a pace or two behind. “This place is a prison,” I said. “She keeps their names in artifacts in her bedchamber.”
Octavian shrugged. “That’s not so extraordinary,” he replied. “It’s easier than writing them all down, items are much easier to keep track of, to notice when one goes missing.”
“I don’t care if they’re written down, or in teapots, or flowers, or anything!” I said. “It isn’t right.”
He frowned. “You’re really making a big deal out of nothing.”
I threw up my hands. “See? You don’t understand. You never will. I have to go with him.”
“Him?” For a moment, he was genuinely puzzled. I could almost see the lights go on behind his eyes as he puzzled it out. “Oh, no! You can’t go back to Heart’s-Desire. Not now. Give it just a little while, we’ll go together! That’s why I’m here, I figured it out.”
Again, I rolled my eyes and turned my back to Octavian. I made it a few paces before he called out, “I know how to get you home.”
That stopped me in my tracks. “I don’t believe you,” I told him, turning back to face him.
The smile on his face was maddening. He was a creature of pure mirth in that moment, and in my confusion it only served to frustrate. “You should,” he said. “I really did come back for you, but if you’re already planning on running off with that filthy creature then I suppose I’ll just take my knowledge back home with me.”
“I haven’t planned anything,” I said.
Octavian’s smile widened. “Good,” he said, and he stepped up and threw his arm around me. “Because I think you’re going to want to hear this.”