From being an Abandoned who had rarely left the Hollowed Grounds, to embracing the call of adventure, to dying and being reborn first as an Ascended and then as an Ancient, Maea has gone through quite the amount of changes in her life. One thing remains common, though, in her attempts to find out just where she belongs; she’s always had a craving for knowledge which has brought her to so many places and to meet so many people here in Caido. We can’t wait to see what else is in store for her!
Congratulations, Maea!
Credits
Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
Skinning and hosting by the epically talented Kaons, and functionality fanciness by the coding magic of Neowulf. If you ever see either of them around, make sure to show them some love!
It was an understatement to say getting used to Ascension was easy. There were times when she woke, when the sun would filter though, and go through the process of getting ready only to remember how harmful the light was. There were other times when she’d suddenly forget the last time she’d eaten (though realizing soon after she didn’t need to). There were also times where she’d try to sleep for some sense of normalcy, only to wake up with a glow to her hand and the fear of waking trapped in a manor with a wedding that day.
But she relaxes as she sits up, looks over to see the spot where Bastien lays, sees the familiar room of their home, either the artists guild or her own, and relaxes. It’s been like this for some time, and she hasn’t exactly told Bastien how her mind had changed so suddenly, but she knows she needs to tell them soon. She’s already told Jigano, she’s already told Deimos. And if anyone deserved to know it was the man standing beside her who’d never put her in any of those situations ever.
This day starts a bit differently, just as the sun begins to set along the horizon. There’s no anxiety that sits within her mind, there’s nothing but the facts of what happened and what she didn’t and wouldn’t ever let happen. She decides it might be best to tell him here in the comfort of home, rather than being out and about. She doesn’t know how he’d take it, but if it’s anything like she took it, there would be a fire simmering underneath raging for release.
I used to be an angry man, I wanted things that weren’t mine
At fifteen paces in the sand I left that all behind
Bastien did not need to sleep now that he was Ascended, but he had always been one for physical pleasures, and what else could one call sleep? Still, he found it was much easier to wake whenever he wanted to since he had changed without feeling tired.
He woke this time not from his own will however, but from the feeling of Rexanna sitting up beside him. Bastien opened his eyes and lazily smiled, watching her quietly for a moment. It was moments like this, when the dim orange light of the setting sun through the curtains lit her features, that he thought she looked the most beautiful. He had hardly noticed when she had lost her glamour magic, because that had not been what he had found most attractive. No, that was the turn of her lips when she truly smiled, the way her hair fell on her face so gently when it came undone, the tone of her voice when she was telling him of something true.
WIth a happy mumbling hum, he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her hips, his face buried somewhere in her outer thigh. "Good morning, cara." He spoke into her skin, the sound muffled.
Now my spirits rise when she turns out the bedroom light
I gently haunt my lover in the cold and tender night
She wonders if she’s ever truly known happiness, or if it had always been a ploy. Once, she had thought she was happy, a forced prison of white castle walls, but perhaps it had been her way of coping. There was freedom in the way the light filtered in and accentuated Bastien as he moves, and her sapphire gaze skates over him, watching the way his curls fall into his face and dance across his nose with the movement as he reaches for her. She smiles to him, a soft ‘good morning’ smile that’s filled to the brim with the feeling of joy and tenderness. His arms take her in and his face buries in her thigh as he muffles a good morning that causes a chime of a laugh to leave her chest.
She leans into him, partially across him as she reaches with a pale hand to brush his hair away from his ears and face. “Good morning, Love.” Her voice is soft, and her mind focuses on him and his touch (however muted it may be) to keep her grounded and rooted. The nightmares fade away from the forefront of her mind as she leans further against him onto her back as her dark hair falls in waves along the bed.
She doesn’t need to breathe any longer but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t mimic the intake of a sigh as she stares at the ceiling. It’s such a nice morning, the sun filtering out overhead as night takes over. She doesn’t want to ruin it, but the more she thinks on it the more she realizes she’ll have a very long nice life of waking up just as this. She rolls over onto her side and moves her legs slightly as she regards him. “Now that I’m mostly used to this new me, can I tell you why I decided to do it?” She asks quietly, a question glimmering in her eyes. “Mostly because of this —” She pauses to gesture to him and the bed around them as she smiles a small fanged one to him. “— but there are other reasons too.”
I used to be an angry man, I wanted things that weren’t mine
At fifteen paces in the sand I left that all behind
With a content 'mmm', Bastien wrapped his arms around Rexanna as she leaned on him and kissed whatever part of her was closest with silly, laughing kisses. Feigning upset as she rolled away (pouting for just second) he laid on his side too, mocked the way she regarded him by looking her up and down obviously with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
The question caught him off-guard, though. He thought he knew the reasons she had chosen to Ascend, though when he actually tried to put them to words all he could make was something like 'well she loves me, so, yeah'. "I always love to hear your thoughts, Rexanna. Please, tell me." As long as he was still a part of the reason, he was happy enough to hear any others.
Now my spirits rise when she turns out the bedroom light
I gently haunt my lover in the cold and tender night
She runs a hand gently along his side as he grumbles with her movement, the smile playing on her lips as he does so. But when he regards her, there’s a small pit in her stomach that begins to form as she figures out what words to say. “Well, to start, you know I went to go see Zariah that day.” She begins, her eyes drifting away from him for a moment as she looks toward the ceiling with a small huff. “She told me she wanted me to be a Launceleyn…” She trails off, eyes drifting toward him to see if he’d catch on. She continues, however, because it feels better to say them out loud.
“She mentioned she wanted me to marry a man in their family, that I could keep you on the side because she didn’t fear for heirs from you.” Her eyes linger on him as her smile fades and there’s a serious tone to her voice. “I told her no, that I wouldn’t do that. She locked me in the manor and told me I’d be married by the morning. And so I broke out through the bathroom, immediately ran here to get you, and we went to the Voice.” Of course it’s far more complicated than she makes it sound, and she leans forward, readjusting to cross her legs to look down at him as she softly runs her hand against his cheek. “I wanted to become something so nobody could force me into anything, least of all a baby maker.” There’s a small amount of sadness that hints in her smile. “Least of all an unhappy marriage again when the person that makes me the happiest is right here.”
I used to be an angry man, I wanted things that weren’t mine
At fifteen paces in the sand I left that all behind
With the serious expression that came over Rexanna's face, Bastien was worried she was about to tell him something awful. Last time she'd had 'bad news' it had been managable, just that she had seen Lucas, but..it wouldn't always be that easy.
At 'be a Launceleyn', he frowned, but didn't say anything yet. It was best to wait until the end of the tale to express his disgust at the whole thing - and to complain about the inaccuracy of Zariah's assumptions. While no, Bastien would not be able to have children with Rexanna in any kind of traditional way, The Voice had assured him there could be a child. With Rexanna's Ascension successfully behind them, he believed in her powers more than ever.
"Well...I am glad it did not happen, clearly." Bastien reached out to stroke her shoulder. "What a strange, cruel woman. But I assure you as soon as I had heard of this it would not have happened anyway. I would sooner die than know someone put their hands on you unwanted." This was not just an empty promise, easy to make now the moment had passed - he would have marched right into the mansion.
Perhaps it was for the best he hadn't known.
"I thought the only Launceleyn other than Zariah was Edrei. What man would you even be wed to?" He asked, frowning. "and I can give you a child, if that is something you desire."
Now my spirits rise when she turns out the bedroom light
I gently haunt my lover in the cold and tender night
She tells him her story, perhaps partially why she wakes in the middle of her resting period with panic. No longer were those nightmares of being locked in a prison of dirt and grime, of a world far away. Instead, they’re from here. She leans into him as he strokes her hair, and she presses her cheek into his hand as her gaze drifts to meet his face. There’s a small half smile given to him, knowing he’d show up flame blazing in order to prevent it.
Rexanna reaches with the hand not bracing her and grabs his own as her gaze meets his and she gives him a sadder, smaller smile. “Me too.” She acknowledges, knowing it wouldn’t have been an option. She would have fought with everything she had – and Peter, the boy didn’t seem the type. He seemed far too kind to do something like that, especially if she was as unwilling as she would have been. But he asks who it was, and she turns her head into his hand, closing her eyes as her eyelashes brush against his palm. “He’s a very kind man, one I think the Launceleyns adopted. I think he’s just looking for a place to belong.” She adds, recalling the bracelet he had made her.
His next set of words gives her pause, and her head turns to him quickly as her brows furrow together. “What? How? The Voice made sure I knew it wouldn’t be possible before I Ascended…” She trails off, confusion lingering in her mind. “Did you do something?” She asks, quieter, breathless as she regards him with confusion and curiosity in her eyes.
I used to be an angry man, I wanted things that weren’t mine
At fifteen paces in the sand I left that all behind
His hand was taken in hers and he easily let it be taken, watched her press her face near his fingers and wished he could have been there. When Lucas left her at the Spire and when Zariah tried to marry her off. "I am glad the man in question is kind, at least. At least I will not have to beat him away from our doorstep."
Bastien thought he had told Rexanna about his conversation with The Voice regarding children, so her surprise was in turn a surprise to him. "No, not really. Do not worry, I do not have a baby hidden under the bed." He joked, pretending to push something further underneath by leaning to the side.
"But yes, I spoke to her. She said it could be possible, that there was a way - I do not know anything more, but...if you ever wished to have a child, Rexanna...I am anxious about the prospect. But we have the option to discuss." He smiled. "Though, there are things that should come before a child. I have a few things I wanted to tell you anyway."
Now my spirits rise when she turns out the bedroom light
I gently haunt my lover in the cold and tender night
She mimics a small sigh as she buries her face into his hand as she hears him speak. “I don’t think he would have wanted it either, if I’m being honest.” She replies with a quiet snort, but her head tilts as he mentions the idea of children, brows raised and perhaps a bit of worry he might have done something before. Her eyes snap to follow his movement, watching as he pretends to hide something. “Oh, well, good.” She says with a light laugh, feeling better now that she’s told him.
A child though? How would that even work? She finds that she has further questions, and her eyes drift back up to his face as he continues to elaborate. He admits his anxiety toward it, and she nods in understanding. She feels it too, and she inadvertently gnaws on the side of her cheek as Bastien smiled to her. “There are, and you and I have plenty of time now.” She says with a soft smile sent his way.
She sidles closer to him, maneuvering through the covers of the bed to lay beneath him and look up at him, her long dark hair creating a halo of sorts as she waits. “Well? What are these things?” She asks with a half roguish smirk. "Don't leave me waiting." She huffs with a slight whine to her voice, her smile wider now to show her own fangs.
I used to be an angry man, I wanted things that weren’t mine
At fifteen paces in the sand I left that all behind
That they could agree on. Since she had Ascended, the amount of time given to them had Bastien amazed when he really thought of it. Those blessed by The Voice did not seem to age at all; did that mean they had eternity? To dance, fall in love, out of it, back in again, to kiss and talk and sing? It was so wonderful it seemed like it had to be impossible, yet here they were on the first steps of the journey. "We do. Maybe one day, we will have a family to share it with, but for the moment I am quite content with you. How could I not be?"
Adoringly, he stroked a hand over her jaw...then she asked her question, and he knew it was time to ask the one that had been on his mind for a while now. Once she Ascended, made that commitment (true, it wasn't just for him, but it certainly implied them both taking the relationship seriously) he knew he'd wanted it.
"Let me fetch something." He said with a soft smile, standing and going to find his things, pulling something out that he hid behind his back. Coming to her side of the bed, he paused for just a moment (because it would become obvious what he was doing when he got down) then kneeled, reached to hold her hand. "Rexanna. You are the stars and the moon and I am only a lowly beast looking up at your light, but I hope you may see fit to let me declare my love officially and to all. That is to say.." He took out the box and opened it, showing the ring that Remi made.
"Would you marry me? Nothing would make me happier."
Now my spirits rise when she turns out the bedroom light
I gently haunt my lover in the cold and tender night
Her gaze flickers toward him while he mentions a family, and she nods with a quiet smile. Yes, the future, so beautiful and bright, such a long way away (had she thought harder on it, she would’ve realized she’d never seen herself in this light upon her escape from Halyven) and there was an excitement within her that spread hope throughout every bit of her person. Her eyes close and she leans into his hand as he brushes her jaw, and she almost whines when he withdraws it.
And then he says he has to go and grab something, and she rolls over onto her back with a slight huff if playful impatience. Perhaps Bastien’s dramatics were rubbing off on her? Or perhaps the fact she was just happy to be alive, to be new, to be… Different? She watches as he moves from where he’s gathered the item and returns to the side of the bed and she finally gets up, kneeling on the edge of the bed as she looks to him.
But then he kneels, and her heart if it beat, would’ve fluttered at the sight. Months ago, she would have laughed, would have said no – months ago their relationship had started on the brink of trying something new, and avoiding past mistakes. Rexanna had certainly tried something new, and Bastien had avoided past mistakes, and now, now there was so much ahead of them. Perhaps Ronin and Remi’s beautiful wedding had inspired him, the way they had squeezed one another’s hands as they spoke their vows.
Her eyes flit up to meet his dark gaze, and a smile plays on her lips as she listens and drinks it all in, until he pauses to pull out the box. And when he opens it, it’s the most beautiful thing she’s ever seen. Her eyes devour the red stones and golden metal, the true care put into the creation and design of it, and his question echoes in her ears. She’s speechless, and for a moment she almost laughs. Her gaze flickering back up to his face from the ring.
And in an instant (she, too, is unused to how quick her reflexes are) she pushes herself off the bed and onto him, knocking them both down onto the wooden floor beneath them as she kisses him hard. “Yes!” She says briefly before she kisses him again, pulling away only to find where the ring had gone in her excitement to put it on. Well, wasn’t this a turn of events?
I used to be an angry man, I wanted things that weren’t mine
At fifteen paces in the sand I left that all behind
There was a moment, hanging caught on a string of tension, where Rexanna said nothing; though Bastien hoped from the smile on her face he could assue good news was to follow. If he had seen himself here a year ago he would have called it a ridiculous dream, but here he was, desperately hoping with all his heart this day would end with Rexanna wearing the ring.
Then she was there, holding him, saying yes, kisses sweeter than any others reaching his lips. He began to laugh with joy, holding up the ring as she looked for it. "Here. Let me put it on you, amore." Taking her hand, he slid the ring on her finger slowly, taking his time to watch it go on - the mark of their love, for everyone to see.
If only my family in Venice could see, he thought for a moment, with a twinge of sadness, but this was not the time to dwell. Surging up to kiss her again, then kiss her cheeks, temple, jaw, eyelids, forehead...it was hard to deny the sheer excitement inside. "We shall have so much fun planning the wedding! Just imagine it! What an event it shall be! And the lives that will come after...!"
Holding her hands, he looked her in the eyes and promised: "They will be the richest and most full of love in the whole universe. Caido and any other world."
Now my spirits rise when she turns out the bedroom light
I gently haunt my lover in the cold and tender night
She searches momentarily for the ring before Bastien holds it up, and she can’t help the grin that spreads across her face, fanged and beautiful as her eyes glimmer with love. She hands him her left hand, watching while he slides the ring onto her finer. It’s snug, but not too tight and she admires it and the way it sparkles on her fingers. He then swiftly moves up to capture her with kisses, and she closes her eyes as his lips meet her eyelids; a soft hum of happiness in her as she looks back to him.
“It will be amazing!” She chimes, reaching with her hand adorned with the ring to grasp his gently, lacing her fingers with his. “I never would have imagined this…” She admits, a bit sheepishly at first, but the grin won’t slip from her lips as she listens to him and nods. “I never pegged myself to be one of those that would be so fortunate to find love after everything. But with you, you’ve removed all of my worries and fears.” She feels like she’s talking on and on, but she can’t help the elation she feels.
“I love you Bastien, so much.” She reiterates their jailhouse confession with a grin. She leans forward to kiss him again, this time deeper before she pulls away and her eyes flicker to meet his. “I can’t wait to start this adventure with you.”
