chrysalis

Isla take your medicine There is one person that Isla has been meaning to see ever since coming back from King's End, but naturally, it takes a couple of days before she can find the time. Overseer and doctor bring their own duties, but it's important for her to visit Sam - especially given the news she brings with her. Well... news in the form of the dark haired man who follows at her heels. She has managed to find some better fitting clothes for the Prince at the marketplaces, though she has a feeling that Bastien would be horrified to see him in such drab colours - it's still better than naked, though. Arriving at Wordsworth Books just as the moon is beginning to rise, Isla smiles to the Prince and reaches out to push open the door. "Hello? Sam?" she calls inside, unable to recall if she'd ever visited his place of work before. If not, she won't be a stranger again for long; it seems just her kind of place.

there's an ocean in my body

there's a river in my soul

Ink to page, pages in a binding, glue to hold it together. Sam was busy with the repetitive and regular job of bookmaking, something he had done with his hands for over fifteen years now. He had worried when he had gotten his new fingers that the knack would be lost, but the muscles still left in his hands remembered the tasks well enough to make up the difference. When he wasn't out exploring or helping, he was there at his desk in the bookshop, binding together all the knowledge Caido had to offer.

He looked up at the sound of the door opening and smiled as he saw Isla, though his expression took on a more curious tone as his eyes fell upon the stranger with her - not anyone he recognised. A new arrival from another world, maybe.

"Hello! Do come in. I wasn't expecting a visit from the Overseer." Sam teased a little, standing up from his desk and coming around to the front. "And um, I don't think I've made your acquaintance, sir...?"

if I see a sign in the sky tonight

No one's gonna tell me it's a trick of the light

SAMuEL

Isla take your medicine "Well, I have to make visits to all of the citizens of the Hollowed Grounds these days, you know," Isla responds to Sam's banter, her smile growing a little mischievous as she moves properly into the shop. The Prince stands comfortably at her elbow, offering a polite smile and a shallow bow in greeting as he's addressed. For her part, Isla steps aside so Sam can see him properly, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "He is actually why I've dropped by, Sam. It... well..." With a soft laugh, she can't think of a clever way to put it. "It's the Prince." "I remember you," the Prince continues, having been given his introduction. "Thank you for all the times you tried to help me, Sam. It means a lot."

there's an ocean in my body

there's a river in my soul

Sam laughed, though it was quiet and quickly faded away as his curiosity about the visitor grew. Quiet, polite - and the way that Isla stumbled over the introduction - all of it drew him in. When he finally heard the truth, it didn't make sense; the word Prince bounced around his head, trying to find purchase. Surely she didn't mean the wretched creature they had found in the caves, had chased?

But then the Prince was speaking and confirming it, he was being thanked. The bookmaker blinked a few times, utterly lost for words, then found himself shaking his head. He stepped forward, reached out a hand like he was going to take one of the Princes, then withdrew it. "I...No, no - you shouldn't thank me. I want to apologise. I tried to help, but I only ever seemed to cause you pain. I didn't...know how to do it right. And I had no idea you were-" He gestured up and down. "-That you...would be like this."

if I see a sign in the sky tonight

No one's gonna tell me it's a trick of the light

SAMuEL

Isla take your medicine "It is difficult to help someone who doesn't wish to be helped. Or isn't sure that they deserve the help," the Prince replies with a small smile. "I appreciate it nonetheless. And it is good to meet you properly at last." He holds out his hand where Sam has dropped it, as if to shake it in greeting. There's more, though, and though Isla has to school her expression out of a smile, there's still undeniable happiness on her face as she watches the interaction. "He's a relic," she tells Sam quietly. "One of the relics we were told about. And he... gods, it feels disrespectful to say it, but he's my companion." The Prince doesn't seem to think it disrespectful, at least, straightening with pride to hear her say so.

there's an ocean in my body

there's a river in my soul

"I..." Feeling that he still was not deserving of the gratitude and praise but not knowing how else to deny it, Sam took the hand and shook it. It was hard to connect the normal human flesh that touched his to the acidic, slime-covered beast that he had found in the caves. "I can only say that I'm glad to see you well, then. I have so many questions."

What Isla had to say then only brought more of them, Sam looking between the pair with an almost blank, overwhelmed mind and far too many conflicting emotions. Was he jealous? Perhaps a little, but it hadn't had much time to set in. More than anything he was shocked and confused: "A...companion? Like...like Mia? And a relic? But what does that mean? What can you do?" The last question was directed to the Prince himself, Sam looking the man over as if he might see evidence of amazing ability somewhere on his face.

if I see a sign in the sky tonight

No one's gonna tell me it's a trick of the light

SAMuEL

Isla take your medicine "Well, so long as Isla does not mind staying, I would be glad to answer any questions you might have," the Prince replies with a smile that's as warm as it is unhelpfully handsome, but such is his appearance now. He steps back to stand with Isla once Sam has shaken his hand, the medic nodding to affirm that they will keep the bookmaker company for as long as he has curious thoughts to voice. "Yes, I... Well, it feels the same as when I was a unicorn, and Remi's companion. The link between us is there," she admits, though she will be the first to admit that the Prince is also very different in a lot of ways. Such as in the way he can speak and converse and wears clothes and can cook (and insists on cooking) and do other chores (again, insistently). "Well," he says in response to Sam, "I have vowed to be by Miss Isla's side until such a time that I can repay the debt I owe her for my life. Any way I can help, I will."

there's an ocean in my body

there's a river in my soul

"Oh, wonderful. Well then, sit. Please." Sam gestured to the chairs in the corner of the main room, briefly going to the door to turn the sign to CLOSED before returning and sitting down himself. He took a moment to think, so many things that he'd wondered during the excursions to find the Prince coming to mind, then nodded as he settled on just a few. "Are you an old Ascended? If so, what happened to you?" They'd start there.

As for Isla's explanation of their connection, Sam tilted his head and considered it. The jealously that was vague before began to make itself more known, though he did try to stamp it out. "I see. Isla, did you let the Voice know that the Prince has been cured?"

if I see a sign in the sky tonight

No one's gonna tell me it's a trick of the light

SAMuEL

Isla take your medicine He invites for them to sit and so they do, the Prince ensuring that Isla is comfortable before he seats himself (of course). The medic merely listens, because although she's aware of so much more than she ever had been before, it's nice to hear it out loud. "Sort of," the Prince explains with a soft laugh. "I'm not not an Ascended? When the barrier fell across the Hollowed Grounds, the Voice was trying hard to improve the Ascended. She did experiments. I was an Accepted, before I became what you saw." Isla glances up as she hears her name, softly shaking her head. "I haven't," she says. "The Prince doesn't particularly want to see the Voice just yet, so I thought I would give it time until we can both go together. Why - do you think it important?"

there's an ocean in my body

there's a river in my soul

Sam nodded along, though the more that the Prince spoke, eloquent and with his dark hair and handsome eyes, the more the only question coming to mind was: are you single? When he realised the Prince had stopped speaking he forced that thought out of his head and tried to ask something more practical. "I see. And...the statues that we saw, down in the caves. Of the man and the woman - do you know who they were?"

Isla's question threw Sam off a little. Of course it was important to see the Voice about this, wasn't it? He had kept her updated of most of the progress during the hunt and he assumed she'd want to know about anything they had gained. "I should think so. It's like we have a new member of the family and I think she might be pleased to know he's alright. Though, if..." He paused, looked back to the Prince. "If you aren't comfortable yet, I suppose you don't have to go with Isla. I just think someone should tell her."

if I see a sign in the sky tonight

No one's gonna tell me it's a trick of the light

SAMuEL

Isla take your medicine "Of course. One of them was me - the other was my lover, Tallulah," the Prince says with a soft and nostalgic smile. "The Hollowed Grounds was not always the Hollowed Grounds, though I'm sure you're aware of that. The world in the Underground is like another life." One that no longer exists, and one that he will not go looking for any longer. Isla nods along with Sam's explanation - she hadn't been involved much in the search for the Prince, after all, not until the end, and the bitterness that might come along with these turn of events does not escape her. "Would you like to go?" she asks Sam. "Or would you like to come with me, if not alone?" Or she supposes he could stay and keep the Prince company while she went.

there's an ocean in my body

there's a river in my soul

Sam paused after the Prince's answer, supposing he did know there had been some kind of underground civilisation once, but he'd never thought he'd meet anyone from it. "So...when you first lived down there, you weren't Ascended? I'm sure Isla has told you there's a war coming now...what an awful thing to wake up to as a new Ascended." He was sure in the Prince's earlier form he hadn't been aware of it.

"Well, I suppose it's been a while since I've seen the Voice...I could go alone. Though she might ask to see you-" He turned to the Prince for a moment, then back to Isla. "I want to speak to her away, because I'm worried. I feel like we're playing with half a deck in comparison to the Old Gods and yet every time I mention it, she says it will be alright and just keeps her secrets...shouldn't we know the plans too?"

if I see a sign in the sky tonight

No one's gonna tell me it's a trick of the light

SAMuEL

Isla take your medicine "No, not Ascended." The Prince smiles and shakes his head. "I was just a man, like everyone else. And I don't believe I am an Ascended now... but a companion to one, certainly." The smile this time is directed to Isla, who considers Sam's points with a gentle nod. "It is entirely up to you," she says eventually. "If you would like us to go with you, I don't see why we ought not to. And you are right, there are... We are on the back foot, it feels, compared to a lot of the Old God follows. But I think if we continue to make the Hollowed Grounds into a place worth defending, that's something." A fortress, almost. At least that's how she's come to look at the place. Indeed, sometimes she believes it might be better if the barrier were to come back up, for their protection this time.

there's an ocean in my body

there's a river in my soul

To hear that the Prince had not been an Ascended before he had been his more monstrous self...Sam reflected on this, wondered if all he'd known since he'd met the Voice had been the misery that had been his existence. "I see. Well, I...hope that you find that makes you happy." It did sound a little bit like slavery, but he supposed if both parties were okay with it...

While it should have probably been concerning to know that Isla had the same concerns, Sam actually found it comforting. At least someone else could see it - that way, they could try and do something about it, though what their power was against that of the Voice was a question he didn't quite dare to consider. "I'll let you know when I'm going and you can decide if you want to come. It'll be...soon. In the Atheneum, probably."

With that organised, he chatted to the Prince a bit longer about his origins, asked if one day he might have him in for an interview to write a book about the society he knew before their own, the ancient days only he had the memories of. Once that was settled and organised, they went their ways, Sam going to sit and stare out of the window for a while. It was still hard to believe that the Prince, the pathetic creature he'd once known only to pity, was a whole and seemingly happy person now.

{FIN}

if I see a sign in the sky tonight

No one's gonna tell me it's a trick of the light

SAMuEL