Categories > Original > Romance > In the Heart of a Leviathan
Chapter 1
Eri was frightened. No, Eri was horrified. The feathers of his bluish wings were rustled and he had a vague recollection of Nive teasing him about this particular characteristic of his. Eri closed his eyes as he remembered.
It was in the years before the temple, and it was one of the few memories, one of his few precious memories as a child. A snow storm had taken out all the lights in the palace. Snow storms were very rare in Virere, even in the cold season, but when they did happen they brought dense clouds and terrible winds. As a child, he had been terrified of the snow storm, and he'd actually thought that they were all going to die. Nive had laughed and tried to cheer him up: "Would you stop it with your fretting? Yours feathers are all rustled, you look like a big bluish hen. Your wings are bigger than the rest of you anyway. Besides you have a snow storm in your house, why are you afraid of the one outside?" When that hadn't worked, Nive had promised to be there forever for him and then he had held him all through the storm.
Eri wasn't afraid of snow storms any more, but he knew that the king was much worse than any weather phenomenon. He shuddered thinking what their father was going to say if he found out about Nive's new escapade. King Imbris was terrible in his punishments, even with his own children; even if Eri didn't live at the castle anymore, he knew the king did his name justice and Nive himself had been subject to them more than once. Strikingly enough, he and his brother looked very much alike, but their characters were completely different. Sometimes Eri thought that King Imbris was indeed very much like a storm of hail, harsh and stern, while his brother was softer, yet still cold, like the falling snow.
Still, the two could never get along and Nive always got in trouble with the king. Eri inwardly sighed; he knew that partly Nive's rebellious nature was due to his separation from his younger brother which he had never accepted. Partially, he maybe blamed himself for not being able to protect the younger Viridian prince. Eri had gotten used to being an acolyte in the temple of the twin goddesses, but Nive...he had grown more and more frustrated. No one understood that, of course, they all thought his brother was shallow and irresponsible and that it was a miracle he had achieved the highest rank in the military at such a young age. Although he didn't live at the castle, Eri knew the awful rumors about his brother, as well he knew that they had no truth in them whatsoever.
Still, Nive did tend to be extremely rash and proof of this was the fact that Eri was at present looking for him in The Floating City of Sodora. The prince trembled again as he felt eyes on him, eyes of unknown beings analyzing his every move. It was unnerving, no, beyond unnerving, it was unusual and scary. He wasn't used to being in the center of attention, but rather passing unnoticed among other acolytes such as himself.
In fact, he'd never even considered himself beautiful, special, not like his brother was or his sister, who looked like Avria herself, with green eyes and green wings. He was pretty at most, in a common sort of way. Therefore, a long time ago he had concluded that even if he hadn't been an acolyte, prohibited from all sexual contact, he wouldn't have found love in the first place simply because he wasn't beautiful like them. But right then and there that didn't matter. All that matter was finding Nive and the problem was that Sodora the city of sin was simply not very welcoming for an acolyte of Quies and Aecus.
Eri took another deep breath and continued walking on the dark street. He touched the talisman from his neck and prayed for courage and strength. What a bad timing for his brother to leave in one of his nightly escapades, particularly when their father had demanded his presence. If the king found out about this Nive would lose his rank for sure; and Eri couldn't, wouldn't allow that.
In the darkness, the shadows seemed to be getting closer. All of a sudden, Eri felt very trapped; he realized that the closed space didn't allow him to spread his wings and fly away. He heard snickers in the dark. Something was after him.
Eri started reciting every prayer he knew as he ran desperately. Oh Aecus, he was so stupid! Stupid and worthless. How would he help his brother if the creatures trapped him? Tears ran on the pale skin of his face until he couldn't see where he was running to any longer. Or maybe it was just getting darker. Eri didn't know, he just knew he had to run. Then suddenly he ran straight into a wall and fell disgracefully on the ground.
He heard the steps behind him hesitate and then stop. Strange, Eri thought. Looking up, he saw the tall figure of a man looming above him. It was too dark to tell exactly his features, but there was something about him, a feeling, an aura of power...Apparently, whoever had followed him felt it too because he as the tall man looked into the darkness, he could here steps again, but this time they were hastily retreating.
Eri shakily got up, steadying himself with his trembling hands. He opened his mouth to thank the man, but before he could say anything, the man started to say:
"What are you doing here, little bird? This is not a place for ones such as you."
Eri chose to ignore the little bird part, supposing that he did look quite pathetic in that particular moment, if not most of the time. He finally answered.
I'm looking for my brother, kind sir. Maybe you have seen him.
The man said nothing and started to walk away. Suddenly Eri panicked, realizing that this man was probably the only chance he had to find Nive and get out of there in one piece. He scrambled after the man who was now heading towards a lighted building.
"I'm really sorry, I'm so rude. I didn't even thank you properly or introduce myself or...."
Eri suddenly stopped. The street they were now in was lighted and he could see the man's face. Oh Aecus, he was breathtakingly beautiful! His shoulder-length hair shone in the darkness with streaks of scarlet and his dark eyes sparkled mischievously. He was impeccably dressed in a black, tight leather pants an that hugged his athletic body, complementing his caramel skin. Eri couldn't speak; it was like his power of speech was gone and he was too busy staring to talk in the first place.
"What's wrong, little bird?" The man looked at him with undisguised amusement.
Then the prince was suddenly painfully aware of how he must look, sweaty after running through the dirty streets, his long hair tangled and his robes dirty. He looked down, feeling humiliated and stupid. What WAS wrong with him?
"No, nothing...I meant to say...Umm...Thank you for before..."
"Yes, Iunderstood that...You already said it before you starting staring at me."
Oh no!! Could he get more humiliated? Eri blushed and barely managed to stutter:
"Ummm...s-sorry...I...I didn't mean to offend...I only..."
The man laughed, a husky sound that made Eri warm all over.
"Come on, little bird. Follow me."
Eri was confused. Nevertheless, he followed the man through the winding streets of Sodora. After a few minutes, he finally asked:
"Umm, sir...Pardon me, but where exactly are we going?"
The man laughed again: "We have been walking for 10 minutes now and it is only now that you ask where we are going?"
"Well, sir...you did help me and if you had wanted to hurt me surely you would have done it already. So I think I can trust you."
The man turned, an unreadable expression on his face. "Silly little bird. So pure and
na
Eri was frightened. No, Eri was horrified. The feathers of his bluish wings were rustled and he had a vague recollection of Nive teasing him about this particular characteristic of his. Eri closed his eyes as he remembered.
It was in the years before the temple, and it was one of the few memories, one of his few precious memories as a child. A snow storm had taken out all the lights in the palace. Snow storms were very rare in Virere, even in the cold season, but when they did happen they brought dense clouds and terrible winds. As a child, he had been terrified of the snow storm, and he'd actually thought that they were all going to die. Nive had laughed and tried to cheer him up: "Would you stop it with your fretting? Yours feathers are all rustled, you look like a big bluish hen. Your wings are bigger than the rest of you anyway. Besides you have a snow storm in your house, why are you afraid of the one outside?" When that hadn't worked, Nive had promised to be there forever for him and then he had held him all through the storm.
Eri wasn't afraid of snow storms any more, but he knew that the king was much worse than any weather phenomenon. He shuddered thinking what their father was going to say if he found out about Nive's new escapade. King Imbris was terrible in his punishments, even with his own children; even if Eri didn't live at the castle anymore, he knew the king did his name justice and Nive himself had been subject to them more than once. Strikingly enough, he and his brother looked very much alike, but their characters were completely different. Sometimes Eri thought that King Imbris was indeed very much like a storm of hail, harsh and stern, while his brother was softer, yet still cold, like the falling snow.
Still, the two could never get along and Nive always got in trouble with the king. Eri inwardly sighed; he knew that partly Nive's rebellious nature was due to his separation from his younger brother which he had never accepted. Partially, he maybe blamed himself for not being able to protect the younger Viridian prince. Eri had gotten used to being an acolyte in the temple of the twin goddesses, but Nive...he had grown more and more frustrated. No one understood that, of course, they all thought his brother was shallow and irresponsible and that it was a miracle he had achieved the highest rank in the military at such a young age. Although he didn't live at the castle, Eri knew the awful rumors about his brother, as well he knew that they had no truth in them whatsoever.
Still, Nive did tend to be extremely rash and proof of this was the fact that Eri was at present looking for him in The Floating City of Sodora. The prince trembled again as he felt eyes on him, eyes of unknown beings analyzing his every move. It was unnerving, no, beyond unnerving, it was unusual and scary. He wasn't used to being in the center of attention, but rather passing unnoticed among other acolytes such as himself.
In fact, he'd never even considered himself beautiful, special, not like his brother was or his sister, who looked like Avria herself, with green eyes and green wings. He was pretty at most, in a common sort of way. Therefore, a long time ago he had concluded that even if he hadn't been an acolyte, prohibited from all sexual contact, he wouldn't have found love in the first place simply because he wasn't beautiful like them. But right then and there that didn't matter. All that matter was finding Nive and the problem was that Sodora the city of sin was simply not very welcoming for an acolyte of Quies and Aecus.
Eri took another deep breath and continued walking on the dark street. He touched the talisman from his neck and prayed for courage and strength. What a bad timing for his brother to leave in one of his nightly escapades, particularly when their father had demanded his presence. If the king found out about this Nive would lose his rank for sure; and Eri couldn't, wouldn't allow that.
In the darkness, the shadows seemed to be getting closer. All of a sudden, Eri felt very trapped; he realized that the closed space didn't allow him to spread his wings and fly away. He heard snickers in the dark. Something was after him.
Eri started reciting every prayer he knew as he ran desperately. Oh Aecus, he was so stupid! Stupid and worthless. How would he help his brother if the creatures trapped him? Tears ran on the pale skin of his face until he couldn't see where he was running to any longer. Or maybe it was just getting darker. Eri didn't know, he just knew he had to run. Then suddenly he ran straight into a wall and fell disgracefully on the ground.
He heard the steps behind him hesitate and then stop. Strange, Eri thought. Looking up, he saw the tall figure of a man looming above him. It was too dark to tell exactly his features, but there was something about him, a feeling, an aura of power...Apparently, whoever had followed him felt it too because he as the tall man looked into the darkness, he could here steps again, but this time they were hastily retreating.
Eri shakily got up, steadying himself with his trembling hands. He opened his mouth to thank the man, but before he could say anything, the man started to say:
"What are you doing here, little bird? This is not a place for ones such as you."
Eri chose to ignore the little bird part, supposing that he did look quite pathetic in that particular moment, if not most of the time. He finally answered.
I'm looking for my brother, kind sir. Maybe you have seen him.
The man said nothing and started to walk away. Suddenly Eri panicked, realizing that this man was probably the only chance he had to find Nive and get out of there in one piece. He scrambled after the man who was now heading towards a lighted building.
"I'm really sorry, I'm so rude. I didn't even thank you properly or introduce myself or...."
Eri suddenly stopped. The street they were now in was lighted and he could see the man's face. Oh Aecus, he was breathtakingly beautiful! His shoulder-length hair shone in the darkness with streaks of scarlet and his dark eyes sparkled mischievously. He was impeccably dressed in a black, tight leather pants an that hugged his athletic body, complementing his caramel skin. Eri couldn't speak; it was like his power of speech was gone and he was too busy staring to talk in the first place.
"What's wrong, little bird?" The man looked at him with undisguised amusement.
Then the prince was suddenly painfully aware of how he must look, sweaty after running through the dirty streets, his long hair tangled and his robes dirty. He looked down, feeling humiliated and stupid. What WAS wrong with him?
"No, nothing...I meant to say...Umm...Thank you for before..."
"Yes, Iunderstood that...You already said it before you starting staring at me."
Oh no!! Could he get more humiliated? Eri blushed and barely managed to stutter:
"Ummm...s-sorry...I...I didn't mean to offend...I only..."
The man laughed, a husky sound that made Eri warm all over.
"Come on, little bird. Follow me."
Eri was confused. Nevertheless, he followed the man through the winding streets of Sodora. After a few minutes, he finally asked:
"Umm, sir...Pardon me, but where exactly are we going?"
The man laughed again: "We have been walking for 10 minutes now and it is only now that you ask where we are going?"
"Well, sir...you did help me and if you had wanted to hurt me surely you would have done it already. So I think I can trust you."
The man turned, an unreadable expression on his face. "Silly little bird. So pure and
na
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