forum The Captive Prince (o/o) closed

Started August 12, 2019 by Deleted user

tune

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Fiori nodded, happy memories drawing a smile across his face. "Mmhmm! It's- how do I explain it?- tiny little crystals made of sugar. They color them red and blue and green and sell them for an usa a pop."

“Oh wow, that does sound appetizing,” he imagined with a growing smile. He sighed with relief when he finally reached the top the stairs, climbing them felt like forever, “I’m sure the Widona ships would be selling food too,” he looked forward to remembering the tastes of home.

"No, not usually." Fiori turned to him with an apologetic shrug before he led Levi further into the castle. Not much longer now, only two more turns. "We only allow merchants in by sea, the journey takes too long to transport good food."

“Oh,” he repeated quieter and followed him, “That makes sense, I suppose. I’m sure I can remember at least one recipe.” He straightened his shoulders back in a stretch when he felt himself growing tense.

"I could help you track down a book of recipes if you want we have to have one somewhere." Fiori led him through the hall until… Finally! He pulled open Tharis' room, sighing happily the balmy air hit him. "Here we are," he said, just as a melodic voice yelled, "Get your asses in here, it's about damn time!!"

Levi trailed behind Fiori inside, scanning the initial view of the room in search of the voice’s source. “This is a nice room,” He murmured under his breath to Fiori.

Indeed it was. The walls were covered in tapestries, some of Usigen gods and some with the Widonian one, and one of the walls had hundreds of slots full of fabrics. An elaborate chandelier hung from the ceiling. Its many glass droplets glimmered in the light as a petite, dark-skinned woman with her hair pulled back in a severe braid stepped from behind a silk curtain. She seemed rather cross as she stalked up to them, taking in Levi with a sneer. "Really, Fi? You make me wait fifteen damn minutes so I could clothe your fucking slave!? Unbelievable."

“Seems it,” Levi uttered even softer with a pursed, anxious smile. His gaze danced around the room, taking in all of the breathtaking objects in the room; the sight of his own god especially soothed him, and the corners of his lips relaxed ever so slightly.

The woman softened a bit at Levi's nervous smile, pinning him with something too sharp to really be comforting but a close enough approximation to a smile to show that she wasn't mad at him. Fiori couldn't help but laugh, muffling it into his palm when she gave him a cool glare. "Don't you laugh at me mister, do you know how expensive it is to keep making you new arm guards?"

Fi shrugged, a tender smile playing across his lips. "I'm sure I don't, Tharis. Why don't you take Leviticus back for a fitting and then complain all about it to me afterward."

Tharis sighed and swatted him on the arm. His smile didn't let up, and she met his gaze with a soft kind of warmth. "Fine, but I fully intend to hold you to that. Come Leviticus." She disappeared behind the curtain again, beckoning for Levi to follow.

Levi quietly chuckled at Fiori and Tharis’ teasing, and followed her behind the curtain. The shirt Fiori had given him had started to fall off his right shoulder, and the oversized sleeves draped across his arms like bags. He was practically swimming in it due to his narrow shoulders—at least more narrow than Fiori’s.

"Fi you whore, how can you put him in shit like this?" Tharis shouted once she got a better look at the clothes he was wearing, gesturing for him to stand in front of a three paned mirror. The sides were tilted inwards slightly so he could see his reflection at different angles. She circled disapprovingly while Fi made himself comfortable at a workbench. "Honestly, that boy is unbelievable. Has he really been letting you walk around like this?"

Levi stifled more laughter, “Yes, He has, but it’s honestly better than the filthy clothes I’d pissed myself in,” he snorted. “That was bad. But clean clothes that fit would be best.”

Tharis' face tightened minutely and she brushed some hair off her shoulder, bringing attention to the slim leather collar around her neck. It was a shade darker than her skin, blending into her neck almost perfectly until you gave it a closer look. "Yes, I suppose they would," She said briskly, stepping forward and pulling out a spooled sewing tape. "Hands up, I need to measure your waist."

Levi’s light expression suddenly fell into an empathetic frown, “Oh…you..” He held out his hands for her to measure. “I didn’t notice that before.”

"Most people don't." She wrapped the tape around his waist, tutting at the number before she did his chest and hips. "It's designed to be… covert. I'm a household slave, we try not to draw attention."

“Ah, I see..” he nodded slowly, “Are you able to keep the money you get from doing this..?” He believed she should; she did all the work, this was her job, right?

Tharis let him set down his arms, leaning over to see how long his legs were. "In some ways yes, in others no. The leather collar means I do skilled work. I'm given materials and allowed to spend the money of the regent, to a certain extent. I don't get a salary, nor am I formally employed."

“Oh..” he squinted. That wasn’t terrible, but still not fair. It still bothered him, but he let it go, and settled that he would never fully understand it. “May I ask where you’re from?”

"Arm." Tharis measured his arms, then his wrists and ankles before she set the tape down and gave him another inquisitive look, very obviously sizing him up. He'd look good in blue or grey. "And you may. I'm from the northerlands. We call it Leboea, but you call it… Agetus.

“Agetus,” he echoed, “I’m from the north too. Nord Widona.” He glanced back to her once she was finished with the measurements, “How do you survive the summers here?”

"Fi, mostly. He gets me ice, makes sure I have good fabrics and the like, always leaves little trinkets by my door to distract me but won't admit it because he's a huge dork." The last part was yelled loud enough for Fiori to hear, and she laughed when she heard his answering "Am not!"

“That’s so nice,” Levi chuckled, “Hopefully I’ll survive. Fiori seems like a good man.” Hopefully he would do the same things for him during the summers; with how Fiori treated him already, he assumed it would be a safe bet.

As he looked at himself in the mirror for the first time in several days, he noted his drab appearance—especially his bloodshot, swollen eyes, the blisters from where his piercings hand been, and his generally sickly looking skin. His hair, however, looked very nice, thanks to Fiori.

Tharis crossed the room to grab some perspective fabrics, finally catching sight of Levi's hair when she turned to head back. It sent a pang of nostalgia through her, seeing the hair so carefully woven by Fiori's hands. "That's a nice braid you've got there, Leviticus. Did Fi get his hands on you?"

“Yeah, this is how I usually wear my hair, even at my home kingdom,” he replied, “Fiori helped me out with it this time. He even asked if he could practice on me.”

She did the strange, sharp, almost smile, one hand reaching out to run her hand over it wistfully. She ached fiercely for her queen, but Fi was almost as good. He was still young, still unused to the ways of the court, but he had the same aura as his mother. The same gentle grace. She shook her head, clearing it, and held up a sedate blue-grey silk to his chest. "Fi's always been a craftsman, though his father worked him into a warrior. Did you say yes?"

Levi affirmed her question before asking in return, “How long have you known Fiori?” He looked down at the fabric, inwardly deciding that he definitely liked that color. It reminded him of winter colors, especially the ice.

Tharis nodded approvingly at the fabric, setting it off to the side of their little fitting room. A richer blue would be good for bringing out his eyes, and a slightly tinted grey would be nice for coloring his skin tone a little. "I've known Fi since he was small. Smaller than I. I'm… 3 years older, I think- time still escapes me, the system here is strange- and I've known him since he was… eleven?"

“Oh wow,” he blinked, “That’s quite some time. Are you two very close?” He watched her set the fabric aside, and turned a question around in his mind, wondering if he should ask it or not. He lightly chewed his inner cheek while he thought.

Tharis left to grab a few more pieces of fabric- one sleek and black and made of some kind of silky material, one in a pretty cobalt blue- and held them up to Levi for a few seconds each before setting them aside. "He's like family to me," she said, voice fond. "I love him like a brother, though he doesn't always deserve it." She grabbed some threads, silver, blue, gold, and considered how they'd look against the fabric. "You have something you want to say," she noticed once she looked up again. "Spit it out, I don't have time for indecisiveness."

He shook his head, “You just answered my question, actually. No need to iterate it,” he dismissed and sought to change the subject, “I like that blue and black you held up.”