The Hearts of Dragons (Closed for DarkWarrioress)

[Lucian_Devine]

Lucian offered up a small smile to Zarya when she thanked him, but his gaze lowered from hers and turned away as she spoke of the demon and his father. She sounded sure of herself, which was a little reassuring, but even if the demon was defeated, and his father freed from it's corruption, that still might not absolve him in the eyes of his people. He did truly want to believe her, but as they'd discussed previously, faith wasn't his strong suit. Still, he'd listened to everything she had to say, lifted his gaze again when she mentioned that they should sleep, and nodded.

The pair prepared for bed in companionable silence, unrolling their blankets, setting the fire, laying their weapons nearby in case of a predator attack, and finally nestling into their blankets.

Lucian's mind was still preoccupied with his own thoughts, but when he heard her bid him goodnight, he turned once more towards her, a small smile on his lips. "Good night, Miss Zarya."

Sleep took it's time coming for Lucian that night, but not because of the change in locale or feeling less safe than he had in the village. It was because of the parts of the story he'd left out in his recounting to Zarya. It was true that he'd been ignorant of his father's true intentions when he led the assault on the green dragon, but he'd still ended up helping his father all the same. He tossed and turned all night, and even during the tiny bits of sleep that he was able to get weren't peaceful. He kept seeing the demon in his dreams, making his heart race, his body sweat, and eventually wake up before repeating the cycle all over again.

 

[DarkWarrioress]

Morning came early and Zarya was already making up their breakfast. She was frowning deep in thought about last night. For some reason, Lucian couldn’t settle into sleep. Something was bothering him, but what it could be, she had no idea. The prince, she knew, was troubled about his father and his father’s men. Rightly so, but for some reason she couldn’t fathom, there was more to it than that. There was no way she could force him to confide in her and so, she would bide her time. There was one thing she could ask him about and she was determined to do so before they broke camp and left this cave. Glancing at the still sleeping prince, Zarya stepped into the jungle around them, searching the trees. She found what she was looking for and cut down a few of the fruit, making sure to leave many still hanging. She reentered the cave and began peeling and slicing up the sweet fruit to accompany their small breakfast.

Zaya was almost sure that Prince Lucian traveled with some enormous guilt. What part he had played before realizing what his father was up to, must be a heavy burden. What son doesn’t believe in his father until his father proves, beyond a shadow of doubt, he does not deserve his son’s loyalty? Zarya was not one to judge. Everyone made mistakes. If they learned from them, so much the better. In any case, she was here because her queen asked it of her and perhaps just a little because she was starting to like the prince as a person.

 

[Lucian_Devine]

When Lucian woke up the final time, he was genuinely surprised to see that Zarya wasn't in her blanket. He wouldn't have believed that he'd be able to sleep deep enough, with all the tossing and turning that he'd done, to miss her getting up and heading outside. He was tempted to go to the cave entrance and look out for her, or possibly call to her, but when he saw that her weapons were gone as well, he figured that she'd gone of her own free will. So he chose instead to just sit up, lift his hands to his face, and try to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

Lucian's patience was rewarded by the reappearance of Zarya, complete with a small bounty of fruit that she'd obviously picked from around the cave. He watched her start to peel it the first piece of fruit before he decided to rise to his feet, letting his blanket slide off of his cloaked form. He offered up a small smile in her direction before now walking towards the cave entrance. The light was dim outside, with an array of colors painting the sky above the Eastern tree line, clearly telling him that the sun had indeed risen, even if it hadn't quite made it past the tree line yet.

"Would that I could forget everything and stay in this beautiful forest of yours." Lucian said as he leaned against one side of the entrance, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply, breathing in the fresh morning air.

 

[DarkWarrioress]

Zarya was just climbing up the hill when she heard Lucien. As she came into view, she saw he was enjoying the early morning light.

“I would say there’s nothing stopping you, Prince Lucien but I know you will have responsibilities of your own to see to, eventually. For now…”

She dropped the small branch of bananas at his feet and moved past him to set the rabbit she had caught over the fire. As she squatted down and was spitting her catch, she continued talking.

“Enjoy what we have been given. I have a feeling we are going to wish for times like these in days to come.”

She didn’t know how she knew this but because of where they were headed, the road was bound to be long arduous. Zarya also knew that the prince did not sleep well but in fits. The small cave had been riddled with unspoken tension and perhaps anxiety that did not go unnoticed nor unfelt by her. He could hardly hide his tossing and turning. After a pause of time she softly asked.

“What is bothering you, Prince Lucien?”