forum A Thing You Won't Remember

Started September 18, 2022 by @ElderGod-yellowqueen

tune

"Well, maybe someday you tell me about some of your scars. But for now, met me look at those eyes." Elia kissed him softly. It didn't bother her that Lear was watching.
"I might try to sleep in a little bit. Truthfully, I'm not very tired." She had too many thoughts running through her head. And there was that fear that if she fell asleep, something would happen to Romulus. Something terrible that would take her away from him. She wouldn't let that happen.

Romulus did flash those baby blue's at her. They were exhausted, but they both opened better than before. "You could sleep next to me if you wanted to…" he said softly.

Lear smiled at him, then up at her. "I'd swich you spots if you wanted to try to sleep." She had to be more tired than she was letting on, but he also knew that sleeping was a dangerous activity for her at the moment. Vicious nightmares combined with the emotional upheaval she'd had today was just… a terrifying amount of stress on her mind.

Elia stroked his cheek once, twice, before pulling her hand away. She shook her head at him. "I'm alright. I think im going ti try to finish my book. Then maybe I'll try to sleep afterwards "
She doubted sleep would come to her. Or if it did, it would likely be riddled with memories she had tried to hard to forget. She wasn't ready to face that. She would rather stay awake with her book and Romulus by her side.
"Eniygh about me. How are you feeling, darling?"

Romulus frowned. "…If you're sure of that…" he wanted her to rest, but he couldn't make her, so.
"I feel whiny, if you must know. Everything hurts and I just want to sleep." he grumbled, his slurred mumbling serving to make it almost funny.

Lear looked at her, understanding her reticence. He checked one of Romulus's bandages, nodding to himself. "If you go back to sleep, we can reapply salve. See if it will help things hurt less."

Elia giggled quietly at Romulus' words. Whiny fit hik just right at the moment. Though he had every reason to be. She just shook her head as she kissed his forehead. "Go back to sleep, darling. We'll be gentle reapplying salve."
She was trying to cover up the fact that she was worried about him. She hated that he was in so much pain. She wished she could take it all away from him.

Romulus kept muttering to himself as he drifted back off to sleep. "Doesn't matter how much salve… stuff never works… always hurts anyway….."

Lear nodded slowly. "I know, I know, but… let us anyway."

Romulus was back to his slumber too quickly to protest. So Lear went and retrieved the salve and more clean bandages. "It doesn't work for him like for other people. We've never been sure why though. It does help him heal quicker, so it's not pointless." He began undoing the bandages over the top of Romulus's body.

Elia frowned but didn't say anything on the matter. She started to undo his bandages and slowly unwrap them from his body.
"Have you tried finding a healer?" She asked quietly. "If you listen to the whispers, you night be able to find one. They could heal him. Or at least take care of the internal injuries so he's in less pain. If you offer sanctuary, it might be worth looking into."
They already knew she had magic. Not the type, but knew she had some. They hadn't tried to kill her for her. She was sure they would protect any other magic user.

Lear shook his head. "It's illegal, and Romulus tends to do things by the book. He's clever about how he goes about things, but he generally doesn't break rules, even though he seems like the type."
He wasn't sure if Romulus would want him to tell her that the Prince was magic resistant, so it wouldn't work even if he could find a healer.
"Besides, who would believe he's going to offer sanctuary? You didn't, and you weren't doing anything illegal." He worked fresh salve into the wounds, some of which looked visibly better. "And coercing someone to use magic on you is a bad idea, especially when you have no way of knowing what they're doing."

Elitia had noticed that. Romulus was quite the rule follower. It was a bit annoying. And it resulted in his injuries.
She wasn't sure how much they knew about magic. But being a magic user herself, she was very knowledgeable in the fact.
She held up her hand. Focusing, flames shot up in her palm. A small fire. Moving her hand, she let it dance around her fingers. She watched it, almost in awe. She hadn't truly used her magic in so long, it was relieving to use it. "Healers can only heal. They cannot hurt you ir cause further injury. Their magic won't allow it. Their magic encases you, finding the hurts in your body, and convinces your body to speed up to healing using their own energy. It can be quite draining, depending on the severity of their magic. I'm sure a healer could be convinced. It's in their nature to want to heal others. A little prodding and convincing and they will realize healing Romulus is in their best interest. Healers are the least of your worries if you're worried about someone harming him. In fact, the more Healers you have, the better for you and your army."
Her flam snaked around her arm like a ribbon. She watched it in fascination. "Now, it is us fire users you should worry about. Other magic is dangerous yes, but not quiet like fire. A little spark can engulf an entire forest in flames and destroy it. If not weld properly, it can cause extreme damage. We are dangerous and rare. And well sought after. In the wrong hands, devastation could happen." She snuffed out the flames and lowered her hand.

Lear had wondered about her casual reference to magic users, but he hadn't quite deduced her own characteristics.
His eyes widened as she exhibited her flames, and he sat very quietly for a long moment.
"….I really wish you hadn't shown me that…" he eventually said.

"And why is that, Lear? You both already knew I could wield magic. What difference does it make now that you know what I can do? What will Romulus do when he knows? Will he try to burn me for being a witch? I hate to break it to you, but I cannot burn. Your efforts would be in vain. You would have to kill me another way." Elia leaned back against the headboard. She started stroking the prince's hair once more.

She[Elia] had never dealt with blood magic herself but she had met those who had. She had the incantation memorized. It had been drilled into her head. If he was worried about her attaching them together, she had no intention of that.

(Tired, I appreciate your level of dedication to stalking this ;) I think it was this assertion that lead me to believe she wouldn't be doing the blood oath thing herself, therefore not admitting she had magic)
(Or perhaps it was perfectly obvious to everyone but me, and if that's the case, I shall apologize once more to all involved. Thanks for your patience)

Lear sighed. It had been rumored that all of the Callistars had been magic wielders, and the thought had crossed his mind when she confirmed who she was. However, he and Romulus had intentionally not asked, because they didn't want it confirmed.
"As long as I hadn't seen it, I had plausible deniability. We did not know you were a magic wielder, no matter how strongly we suspected it." He continued working on the Prince's wounds.
"Obviously we wouldn't burn you. Drown you, maybe." He sounded completely serious, though it wasn't a threat. "Romulus won't be the one to do it, but you do remember we just spoke about how he's a rule follower?" He watched her stroke the Prince's hair.
"He's had some bad run-ins with magic. And he doesn't hate those who use magic, but he also follows the laws of the land. Which, unfortunately currently prohibit magic." Lear looked at her, a sad look on his face. "I certainly won't say anything to him, but if he asks me what I know, I cannot lie to him. Not because of my allegiance, but because I literally can't lie convincingly enough to trick him. He knows me too well."
He finished up rebandaging the wounds. "It's not that I think he would kill you outright. It's not even that I think your magic is a problem. I just… I didn't want to know for sure, and now I do, and I'm sorry I do."
Maybe Elia would be the one to change the Prince's mind. Lear had been trying for a while, but he'd also been attacked by magic users before, and Romulus had been the one to save him, which hadn't helped the case he was trying to make that they certainly didn't need to be executed.

"I have not used my magic in so long, I have very little control over it. I promise I have no intention of using it unless I have complete control. I am not worried about either of you knowing. I do not believe that Romulus would harm me over such a thing. He might try to swear me into never using it, but I don't think he will kill me over it."
Elia frowned softly. She shifted her focus solely to Lear. "You have to understand, people are burned at the stake for a mere accusation with no evidence to follow it up. His father, the king, is responsible for that. Those that you ran into likely saw an opportunity to get back at the man that caused all of this. Magic users are not inherently dangerous. We just are. It's apart of us as much as breathing is. We cannot control or decide to have magic. It shouldn't be something we are killed over." It saddened her, the fate of her people. Before the new king, her father recruited magic users for his army. A legion of magic users only. She wasn't sure how they had all come into his service but she doubted all of them were willing. Magic could be the tipping point in a war. Her father knew that and tried to use it, and he still ended up dead. And now her people were being hunted down for simply existing.

Lear looked at her for a long moment. "I appreciate your reassurance that you're not planning on using it unless you have better control. But, in this instance, it's not actually you I'm worried about being the problem." He fully believed, the way she was acting with the Prince, that she wouldn't do anything that might seriously hurt him. Her magic wouldn't, but she didn't know that, and he trusted her to be careful.
What made him nervous was that he didn't share her confidence Romulus would do nothing over her magic. He wanted to, wanted to believe that the Prince would not hold her to his father's laws, but… "Romulus would never try to make you stop using your magic once he knew you had it. Not in any kind of way that wasn't hostile." He wasn't threatening her. He just wanted Elia to know that this wasn't safe. "He tends to just… neutralize the threat."
He noddded at he. "I'm fully aware of what people are executed for, and I agree that it's terrible. I don't share the Harad taboo on unregulated magic. I can fully understand why people would attack Romulus as the Prince. It's no shocker, but the fact remains that it hasn't helped me convince him to stop following his father's commands on the matter." He paused for a moment.
"I will say that magic users are not inherently malevolent. Having the ability doesn't make you villains. Some are, and some are not, same as the rest of the world. But it does make you inherently dangerous. In the same way that Romulus is inherently dangerous, simply by virtue of being the strongest man in any given room… and people fear that kind of power." His expression softened. "I'm fairly certain you wouldn't… but if you were to decide to incinerate me right now, right where I sit, what would I do? What could I even do in the face of power like that? Similar to Romulus waking up and deciding to strangle me, there's nothing I can do against power like that."
Lear looked down at the sleeping giant next to him. "That doesn't justify killing either of you, or any other peaceful pagic users… but I can certainly understand the motivation."
He reached over after a moment and touched Elia's arm. "Please… not because there's anythig wrong with it, or because it's bad, but because I fear what would happen… please be careful. Keep that secret as long as you can." The look on his face was concern. No condemnation, no threat, just… worry.
He'd come to care about her, as close as she'd gotten to his dearest friend, as much as they had in common, and he didn't want anything to happen to her. Certainly not because of this.

Elia reached across to place her hand on his cheek. She was slow in her movements in case he didn't want her touch or wanted to push her away. "I promise you I will be careful. I won't use it unless it's absolutely necessary."
She kissed his cheek softly before taking her spot back beside Romulus.