Rating: PG-13 for language.
Warnings: none, yet
Notes: These are two of my newest babies, and I wanted to add some dimension to their personalities... and what better way to put them through their paces? Anyway, EVERYONE & EVERYTHING in this story is mine. Straight out of my brain. Copyrighted and written in blood somewhere. If you poach, I'll be forced to commit horrid crimes with a rusty Denny's spoon. Please read and review, tell me what you think, and enjoy!
Summary: Two young twin princes are being... well, young, intrepid princes. This is the chronicle of their adventures and maybe soon something more; in this first bit of madness our boys are lost in old tunnels beneath their palace. Will they find their way out in time?
Princes of Destiny
"Fai, wait! Come on, don't leave me back here..."
The pleading, musical voice was enough to stop Faileas in his tracks. A smile cracked the boy's beautiful face and he turned, offering his twin a mocking wink. "I'm waiting, Aluinn," he purred, his own silvery tones more than a match for his brother's.
The two of them sounded exactly alive, looked precisely identical, with ivory skin and bright amethyst eyes - but where Aluinn's hair was sun-kissed gold, Faileas' was the darkest night. The image of the two of them standing side by side, Aluinn just a bit shorter than his brother, was enough to make most people gasp and start saying something about Nalaia blood in the both of them. Of course, there was Nalaia blood in nearly every Chankorian, so that wasn't too much of a stretch.
No, if any bloodline could have been blamed for the twins' spectacular beauty, it would be their fathers', one Laeiryn SummerStorm-Isabourne, who was King in Chankoria, beside their mother Queen Lilith. That bloodline contained the blessings of vampires, of demons of incredible beauty, and it seemed that Aluinn and Faileas had inherited all of that charisma.
However, charisma wasn't of any help when the two of them got lost in the catacombs beneath the castle. Aluinn was quite sure he'd been right in trying to talk Faileas out of going down there, but trying to talk Fai out of anything was almost like trying to grind rocks into Tikari wine. So here they were, dusty, clothes in black, gold, and violet torn and mussed here and there with a bit of blood where one of them had scraped himself, quite lost in the twisting tunnels. Due to the fact that Chankoria was an island nation, these catacombs were mostly underwater, carved into black rock that shone and reflected more clearly than a mirror, and several of the deeper caverns were waist-deep in water, not to mention full of weird, glowing fungus.
Faileas, completely unafraid, was still somewhat certain that he knew where he was. Aluinn, the more rational of them, knew well otherwise, and so was lagging behind, not wanting to get any more lost than they already were. Fai was too impatient to truly wait, though, and once Aluinn had almost caught up, he started off again, striding surely down the smooth floor. The upper levels were rougher, but they couldn't find any passages that sloped up.
Just as Aluinn was about to call out to Faileas to slow down again, the dark-haired twin halted in the archway he'd been making for, one hand on the glassy dark stone at his side, violet eyes wide as they stared in wonder at whatever was beyond. "'Luinn, -look-," Faileas breathed, weakly gesturing his brother closer.
Faileas was not the type to be easily enthralled, and so Aluinn submitted to this beckoning, scurrying closer to his brother and the new passage which had him so entranced. "What is it, Faile..."
Aluinn might have finished his question had it not been incredibly moot. The archway opened onto an absolutely huge cavern, so large its ceiling and falls faded into shadow in the distance. It was lit by a feeble glow emanating from the walls.
What had Faileas so stunned was the immense pile of gold and treasures in the center of the room. Jewels and weapons and magical items glittered from the massive sprawl of it, fading just as surely as the rest of the giant cave, a hoard to be the envy of any dragon. Aluinn, however, was nowhere as intruiged by the gold and gems as he was by the walls. It seemed that they were carved, the whole room around, and they bore figures of men and women whose outlines glimmered in different colors, every color. That was the source of the light, and, mesmerized, Aluinn stepped into the room. Faileas cursed as his brother walked past him, breaking his own hypnotized gaze, and grabbed at the back of Aluinn's torn violet tunic. "'Luinn!" he hissed, stumbling into the room after his twin.
Aluinn ignored him, for the most part, instead walking up to a part of the wall and staring at it. Up close, it was obvious that the people - of every gender, and races neither boy had ever seen before - were moving, waging war against even more unfamiliar creatures. Faileas let his own gaze be snatched up by the compelling sway of the unending battle being fought before them, glowing lines of fire in stone. It was beautiful, in its own strange way, and the longer they stared the more real it became. Soon the clang of metal on metal rang in their ears, the screams of the dying; it was only when the smell of blood penetrated the fog around Faileas' mind that he shook his head. The incredible reality of it faded once more, becoming just a carving traced with luminescent mosses.
It did not seem as though Aluinn was so lucky in denying the sweet call of the walls, though; the smell of blood had only pulled him deeper into the image, and his eyes had gained a hint of a glow, fangs slowly sliding forth from their sheaths to dent his lip. Faileas frowned and grabbed his twin firmly by the shoulders, spinning him around until he could catch Aluinn's eyes, so like his, in a fierce, unrelenting gave. "Wake up," Fai hissed, shaking Aluinn a bit more harshly than was necessary.
However, it worked well enough, and Aluinn gasped, seeming to waken from the spell of the dancing battle with a start. His hands, small as of yet, but fingertips well-calloused from the strings of his harp, flew up to clutch at Fai's elbows as the two boys took a horrified solace in the safety of each other's familiar gazes.
Finally Aluinn broke the silence. "Wh-what was that?" he demanded breathlessly, daring a glance over his shoulder. The war was still moving, but now the pictures carved into the wall didn't seem as hypnotizing, instead more like a living tapestry there to watch. He didn't decide to tempt fate, though, and turned wide eyes on his brother, looking a little frightened and looking up to his twin - always the one in front, always the one protecting him - as he always had.
It was beyond Faileas to deny that imploring gaze, and he brushed golden curls back from Aluinn's pale face tenderly. "It's alright," he soothed. "Just an enchanted picture. Don't stare at it too long, and it won't catch you, and even if it does, I'll pull you out."
This seemed to offer Aluinn some measure of consolation, and he nodded, smiling a little up at his brother. "This is why we shouldn't come down here," he admonished, pulling away and turning to examine the massive pile of treasure. Faileas, unwilling to let his twin out of his protection again, followed him, although it was Aluinn who held out a restricting hand when Faileas would have picked something up, out of the periphery of the pile.
"Why not?" Fai wanted to know, quirking one ebony brow at his twin expectantly.
Aluinn swallowed, knowing he could - and had to - stand up to Faileas, especially when things were so very dangerous. "Because it's probably protected by something. A big monster, or a poison that'll eat you apart one layer of skin and intestine at a time if you so much as touch it," he said, wide-eyed. He had quite the active imagination, as did Faileas, and the graphic imagery was enough to make the dark-haired boy swallow and step back from the hoard with a nod.
"You're right," Fai declared, grinning at Aluinn, who smiled softly back. "So..." And then Fai was moving too fast for Aluinn to stop him, stripping off his torn and dirty black tunic and wrapping it around his hand. Then, ignoring his twin's gasp and hurried protest, he reached out, wrapping cloth-covered fingers around the jeweled hilt of a sword that stuck enticingly from the mound.
With a rattle of coins, the sword came free, tumbling Faileas back in a spray of gold and pearls. The blade, of medium length with the slightest curve to its blade, was sharp as a razor on both edges and made of some silvery-black metal that glinted in the dim light. Aluinn, after casting a quick glance around, consented to kneel next to his brother. Only after looking Fai over for injuries caused by his impromptu gymnastics act did Aluinn look at the sword, golden eyebrows raising at the sight of the hilt, made of some metal or stone black as night, studded with amethysts. The two boys exchanged amazed looks, for when Faileas had first reached for the thing, it had had a plain, leather-wrapped handle. Now, it was the kind of blade only a king would bear, perfectly balanced and weighted - for a full grown man, which of course meant that the twelve year old Faileas had to use both hands to hold it up.
"It's amazing," Faileas whispered, running a finger along the flat of the blade. "And it's warm."
With a startled look, Aluinn reached out, fingertips pressing to the shimmering metal. It was indeed, and getting warmer by the moment. They both snatched their hands away, the sword clattering to the ground as Faileas' much-abused tunic fell forgotten to the ground.
"What is that thing? What is this -place-?" Aluinn wanted to know, casting an anxious glance up at his brother. Faileas had been about to reassure him again when a loud snarling came from the other end of the room.
This time the looks they traded were those of pure horror, but it was Aluinn who finally shook himself and bent, scooping the blade off the floor with a vibrant, ringing note. The sound of scattering gold and jewels was quite audible as Aluinn shoved the hilt of the sword into his brother's hand, jolting Faileas out of his momentary terror. Aluinn couldn't use a sword, not like Faileas could, and he stepped back as Fai raised the blade in defense. The blonde quickly reached into a pocket, pulling out a long, thin, and gracefully-carved swirling wand of amethyst. Something dark red moved within it as the narrow wand danced in the boy's hand. They thought they were ready for anything that would come, as ready as they could be.
They were wrong.
It was a dragon approaching them over the immense pile of its hoard, and to the two sixteen-year-old boys, it looked absolutely, pants-wettingly huge. It was actually a young dragon, its scales a shifting, phosphorescent orange-and-green, no more than twenty feet including its tail. However, Aluinn and Faileas didn't know that. They knew what it was, of course, EVERYONE saw dragons in books... but they'd never expected to meet one. Especially one that looked so cranky and hungry.
With a bellow the dragon advanced, sickly green and orange flames escaping its many-fanged mouth. Faileas held his ground, the sword held before him only trembling a little, but Aluinn didn't wait, instead pointing the crystalline wand at the dragon and crying out something in a langugage Faileas didn't know and didn't need to. All he needed to know was that it had worked, and the dragon seemed to have run up against some sort of invisible wall, its neon flames splaying over whatever barrier Aluinn's magic had conjured.
"Come on, let's go!" Faileas cried, and Aluinn was -not- going to argue. One calloused hand found another and the two of them ran for it, Fai still clutching the sword in his other hand, Aluinn gripping the wand as though he dreaded having to use it again.
It was a long, frightening run before they felt safe enough to stop again, collapsing onto one another to pant air into their lungs and shake with strain against the rough-hewn wall of the tunnel.
Wait a moment, rough-hewn? Aluinn shifted, the abrasive surface once more digging into his bare shoulder. Yes, that was definitely not as smooth as the older caverns. Which meant...
He glanced upward, amethyst gaze skittering around the tunnel they were in. They'd stopped at an intersection, though Faileas hadn't seemed to notice -anything- yet, still slumped half over Aluinn's lap and trying to regain his breath. However, he couldn't recognize anything about the tunnel and he gave up, crumpling into the rough stone and Faileas, who wrapped arms around him and kept panting.
They sat curled together on the floor for a long time, Aluinn still trembling just a bit from the adrenaline rush brought on by their encounter, and would have stayed there longer had they not heard shouting. One light head and one dark snapped up as the first calls rolled down the passage, and the twins scrambled to their feet, dusting themselves off as best as they could. Aluinn pocketed the wand again, and Faileas readjusted his grip on the sword, which seemed made for his hand for all it weighed a ton. Then his empty hand found Aluinn's once more and they were off, scrambling toward those voices as fast as they dared go in the underground tunnels.
Luckily, the reverberations of the call had not been too marred by the old rock, and they were chanced upon quickly with much ragged cheering and amiable scolding by the guards that had come to look for them.
"Almost thirteen, ye'd think ye could find yer way out on yer own," the captain said teasingly as they were led back up into the castle proper once more. Exchanging worried looks, the twins swallowed. Daddy was going to be mad at them again.
*******
King Laeiryn SummerStorm-Isabourne of Chankoria, Prince of Mitgart, was pacing back and forth in his private study, angry steps narrowly avoiding the large, white-marble desk as he snarled under his breath. Faileas and Aluinn, standing before him with their heads down, glanced at one another. Aluinn's amethyst eyes seemed to hold an accusation for his brother and that stupid plan to go down into the catacombs in the first place, but Faileas was unrepentant, well used to being yelled at by his father.
"What were you THINKING?!? You could have been killed! Maimed! Stuck down there and starving to death! Those tunnels never end, you two! And without a word, after skipping out on your lessons! Faileas," and now the tall, regal, and absolutely beautiful king (it was obvious where the boys got their stunning looks, though not their willow-sapling frames, for the king was built like a barbarian warrior) fixed the dark-haired twin with a piercing silver stare. "Why did you see fit to coax Aluinn down into the catacombs with you at the expense of your learning and maybe your lives? And Aluinn, why did you see fit to give into this coaxing?"
Guilty looks were flashed between the two boys. Their father knew them too well. Looking up, Faileas smiled apologetically. "I just thought it'd be fun," he said sweetly, holding up the sword. "And it was! We found a giant pile of gold and fought a dragon!" he beamed.
King Laeiryn would have had a hard time believing this, as Fai was prone to exaggeration, if it had not been for Aluinn's somber little nod. For a moment, he stared at his children in horror; then, even as Faileas babbled on about how Aluinn had bravely zapped the dragon, he gathered them both into his arms and hugged them tightly, uncaring of the crushing it was committing on the white of his cloak, not minding at all the way Aluinn gave a little whimper and buried his face in his father's long, frost-silver curls, nor the sudden choke of Faileas' ramble and the clang of the sword as it hit the ground. Another nose found its way to burrow into his neck, and he stroked their curls and whispered to them as they tried to hide themselves in his arms.
A polite cough from the doorway alerted them to the presence of one of the king's pages. "The Queen wants you, m'lord," the page said, before scurrying off.
Slowly, Laeiryn let go of his sons, ruby lips twisted into a frown as he gazed down at the twins, who were holding one another's hands tightly. "I trust you've learned your lesson?" Two small, solemn little nods. "And you'll be giving me that sword," Laei informed Fai, holding his hand out for it. With extreme reluctance, the boy handed it over, pouting fiercely even as his father smiled at him patronizingly. "Off you bed with you, then," Laeiryn said gently. "You've had a long day. And no more going down in the catacombs!" he finished, landing a light swat on Faileas' ass as the two princes darted past him, Fai squealing at the hit that startled more than it hurt. The boys were gone then, though, racing down the hallway and talking so fast they didn't so much finish each other's sentences as each other' words.
"That was abso..." Faileas said, amethyst eyes sparkling.
"...lutely -terrifying," Aluinn finished for him, giving an exaggerated shudder as they plowed toward the room they shared.
"What, Daddy angry, or that dragon?" Fai inquired devilishly, pushing the door open and shoving Aluinn inside. It was a large room, with two identical four-poster beds with canopies of dark purple, lined in gold; the carpet was plush and dark as night, the walls a warm splattered mix of violet and sunshine gold. Even the wardrobes against the walls were wood stained a purple hue; the room might well have had a mirror down the middle. The two large chests at the foot of either bed, black as night and bound in gold, held anything that one had that the other didn't.
"Both," Aluinn confessed, hopping up onto Faileas' bed, where he was followed by his brother. They'd been washed and fed after being found, their mother refusing to let their father yell at them while they were still so raggedy and empty. Now they tumbled over one another like puppies, perfectly comfortable without anything remotely resembling personal space, and curled under the blankets. They hadn't slept in seperate beds in either one's memory, and they saw no need to change that.
Fai wound around Aluinn, always just a bit smaller than he was, and smiled. "Yeah, both. Though Daddy didn't have to take the sword." With that he yawned, Aluinn quickly following suit, and then the twins were pillowing their heads on each other's shoulders and shutting those amethyst eyes. It was but a breath until sleep had claimed them; they were, after all, but children, and it had indeed been one hell of a day.
~le fin~
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