True Colours
Nov. 13th, 2009 09:42 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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yrae
Title~ True Colours
Authors~ Annarti and![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
creatore_magico
Disclaimer~ Udaya is Ku's, Raykin and (unfortunately) Kaen are Annarti's
Notes~ Joint fics are fun :D Unless your character's being a bastard who deserves a serious kick in the face. Volunteers, anyone? :D;;;
~ ~ ~
Udaya paced the Nira pen a few times, ignoring the animals for the most part as she bit her nails and glanced at the shadows on the ground every so often. It was late afternoon; the sun was slowly dipping itself behind the horizon, its warm colours melting into the sky. It was around this time that she would usually wait for Kaen, on the off chance that the Blade Archer might just pay her a visit, and the wait was usually an exciting experience. Not this time however, this time she felt a twisted shudder running through her stomach and a niggling feeling causing her heart to race uncomfortably. He might not even turn up… that was certainly a possibility, though it didn’t help to calm her at all.
Kaen had already been watching her from the shadows, licking the back of his teeth in anticipation as he watched Udaya’s curvaceous form. Her hips swayed with her ever-present sensuality, and Kaen made his quiet noise of approval in the back of his throat.
He stepped out of the shadows and gave a sharp whistle, slipping his hands into his pockets as he sidled up to the now-familiar nira pen.
Udaya jumped, even though she had been expecting him, and offered the man a nervous smile, moving to the side of the pen and folding her arms over the wood. “Kaen,” She said his name sweetly, leaning forward to give the man a soft kiss on his cheek.
‘Mmm, Udaya,’ he murmured back, then gave her a return kiss on her neck. ‘I’m afraid I can’t wait for you to wash up this evening,’ he said with mock lament. ‘Come to the river with me. I know a special place.’
The girl gave another smile, trying to push down her nerves for the time being. She had to wait for the right moment to tell him what she wanted to say after all. “Of course, I’ll be happy to.” The girl replied to him, hopping over the fence easily and looking up at the Blade Archer. “So long as you don’t throw me in the water,” she warned him, though even her sass was lacking in confidence today.
Kaen snatched her hand and spun her around so her back pressed against his chest, then grabbed at both her breasts and kissed her neck again. ‘Even better.’
The girl blushed heavily, still not used to his smooth actions, though usually she could bite back just as well. “Loosing control already?” She smiled over her own shoulder, giving the man a sultry wink.
‘Oh, no,’ Kaen answered with a shake of his head. ‘I’m in complete control.’ He squeezed her breasts again, then spun her back around and snagged an arm around her waist. ‘Let’s go.’
The girl grinned as she followed him, unsure of this mysterious secret place she was being led to, though she knew, since it was Kaen leading her there, she would be alright. It didn’t help matters that he was so damned charming though, it made what she wanted to tell him even harder, especially because she had no way of knowing how he might react to such a thing. “Are we almost there?” She asked at length.
Kaen shook his head as they walked up the Main Road towards the bridge that crossed the Ra-Lin. ‘Where I have in mind, we’ll be able to make as much noise as we like and nobody will hear or interrupt us.’ He hitched his dagger belts over his shoulder, not having bothered to drop them or his uniform off at home.
“Oh yes?” The girl smirked at him, closing her eyes a little as she sighed, her hand holding on to the man’s waist contently. “I wonder why you’ve never taken me there before, if that’s the case.” She smiled, nuzzling the back of his neck a little.
A warn shiver ran up Kaen’s spine with her attentions. ‘Hmm, so do I,’ he told her ambiguously.
The late afternoon sun was hot on Kaen’s back as they crossed over the bridge that led to the rural side of Ni-Yana. Farms ran along the Ra-Lin’s banks, dotted with windmills and a few palms, under which the cows tried to find shade.
Upstream, the rusty red cliffs that overlooked the city were turning rich red-gold in the dipping sunlight. A few palms and small eucalypts poked their heads out from the Ra-Lin’s gorge, adding a smudge of greenery against the orange cliff face.
‘That’s where we’re going,’ Kaen said with a smirk.
“Down there?” Udaya questioned him, looking at him as if he was mad. “Isn’t that a little dangerous?” She asked before letting out a sigh. “Ah, but of course, you Blade Archers wouldn’t know the first thing about ‘ordinary’ danger would you?”
Kaen chuckled and shook his head. ‘It’s not dangerous at all, even from a born and bred city girl’s perspective. And at this time of day, there won’t be any boats going through either, so we’ll have it all to ourselves.’
“I see,” Udaya smiled with one eyebrow raised. “It would be nice to get a little privacy…” She sighed, remembering the packed household she lived in, and the countless questions fired at her daily in regards to Kaen.
‘You deserve it,’ the Own rider agreed.
It didn’t take too much longer to reach the mouth of the gorge. The sight reminded him of the countless times he’d been through on horseback, on the way to yet another mission in the northern kingdom. It was strange seeing it in such a different light, though the shade of the gorge’s towering walls was always a welcome change.
The strip of red sandy beach ran the length of the gorge, only wide enough for the Own to ride single file most of the way, but here it was wide enough for six of them to ride abreast.
Palm leaves hushed in the cool breeze that puffed through the gorge, and the Ra-Lin continued its sluggish, winding journey towards the sea.
‘What do you think?’ Kaen asked, folding his arms and resting his back against a tree.
“It’s beautiful.” The girl breathed a long sigh, pushing down her initial response to that question. Now was not the time to tell him. “More beautiful, since I’m looking at it with you.” The girl sighed, wondering just how long she could keep the news to herself. After all, not telling Kaen… it was like lies, wasn’t it?
Kaen smirked, oblivious to her moral dilemma. He pushed himself away from the tree and hooked his knife belts on a branch, then pulled his shirt off with a relieved sigh. The nira hide armour always grew heavy and restricting after he’d finished training, and the cool breeze was beautifully refreshing against his skin.
Udaya felt her heart skip, the man was so attractive, and she knew what he wanted. How could she give it to him without first unburdening the heavy weight on her mind? “Kaen I have to tell you something…” She said then her voice cracking a little.
Kaen strode over to her, then slipped his hands around her hips and under her waistband, rubbing them against her arse. ‘You know I’m always listening,’ he promised, then gave her a light kiss on her lips.
“Alright…” She began, taking a deep breath and remaining in that position, she did not want to look at him when she told him this. “I think I…” She shook her head then, changing her mind and turning around to look up at the man’s face. “Kaen, I’m pretty sure… I mean, I think…”
‘It’s all right,’ Kaen rumbled deep in his throat, a calming noise as he lifted one hand to stroke her hair, though he was growing impatient. What was it? I love you? Can I come back to your villa? I’m desperate for money? I think we should stop seeing each other? Whatever her announcement was, it was enough to make the normally brave and outspoken girl nervous and speechless.
‘Take a deep breath and start again,’ he suggested.
She did as instructed, breathing in deeply before sighing outward again, his caring nature helping her along to say what she needed to. “Pregnant…” She uttered the word almost silently, her lips dry. “I think I’m pregnant.”
Kaen stiffened. His eyes narrowed to drill holes in the gorge wall behind her. He could feel the colour draining from his face to be replaced by rising white-hot anger.
‘What?’ he demanded. Though quiet, the single word was laced with his barely contained fury.
“I think I’m pregnant,” She repeated, feeling his hands tense at her hips. “I-in fact I’m sure of it, I… I haven’t been regular for two months now…” The girl’s voice trailed off as Kaen’s expression darkened.
‘To me?’ the blade archer demanded again, snatching himself away from her and putting a hand on his chest. ‘You’re pregnant to me? Why would…?’ He forced himself to take a deep breath, then ran his fingers through his short-cropped hair and paced in a small circle, his other hand on his hip.
Udaya took a step back from him as well, the knotted feeling in her stomach not shifting any now that the news was out in the open. “There’s been no one else…” She said gingerly, her heartbeat thundering in her chest. “Only you, Kaen.”
‘Do you think I care?’ Kaen threw back. ‘You have no idea what this means, none.’
He glared piercing daggers at her sidelong, her beautiful, smooth, perfectly flat belly taunting him. The flower-shaped tattoo drew further attention to it, and Kaen shuddered at the image of it expanding in his mind. He wrapped one arm around his stomach and held his other hand to his sweating forehead. His mind flinched every time he pictured Udaya’s swollen flower tattoo.
The girl took another step, this time toward the man, gingerly lifting her hand to his in some attempt to comfort him. “I-it’s that bad?” She questioned gently, though in truth she was terribly hurt. What did he mean by he didn’t care? She was sure he was just upset, though she knew also that if he flew at her like that again she was more than ready to bite back.
At the lightest feather-touch of her fingers, Kaen’s hand balled into a fist and he slammed his elbow into her jaw, then extended his arm sharply to shove her backwards into the sand.
‘Poor little southern girl,’ he sneered. ‘I live in the public eye, have you ever understood that? Every single move is watched by the entire city. So yes, sweetheart,’ he spat, ‘it is that bad.’
For a long moment Udaya was too shocked to move, to speak, to think. She simply stood there, trembling; her fingers that had only moments ago attempted to caress the man’s hand now shaking against her jaw. The pain was white hot and spreading like fire.
“H-how…” She muttered, her large dark eyes wide with a mixture of rage and terror before she felt her own fists tighten and one emotion give way for the other.
“How dare you strike me,” She said, her voice sounded calm but for the obvious emptiness of her usually voluptuous voice.
Kaen drew his lips back to bare his teeth. ‘How dare you talk back to me!’ he snarled, knuckles turning white as he clenched them into fists again. ‘My life as I know it could be ended because of you. I may have risked my life I don’t know how many times for them, but as far as this city is concerned, that,’ he spat again, pointing at Udaya’s stomach, ‘is all my life will amount to.’
“I don’t have to listen to this!” She suddenly flew at him, her own fists tightening. “If you don’t want anything to do with it that’s just fine with me! I’ll handle it by myself!” She growled, folding her arms and turning away from him. She couldn’t bring herself to leave just yet though, not yet. He might calm down, reconsider… hold her… Love her, something?
The Own rider snarled again and snatched a dagger from his knife belt. He strode over to Udaya, snatching her wrists tightly in one hand and whipping the blade up under her chin with the other. ‘Just remember who you’re dealing with before you turn your back to me,’ he hissed in her ear.
Silence took her again at that point, her breath catching in her throat as the lump in it visibly shifted. “Kaen please…” She said quietly, feeling the cold metal scrape her skin. “I’m sorry…”
‘Better,’ Kaen muttered. ‘But “sorry” isn’t enough.’ He pressed the polished edge of his blade closer to her skin, just enough to ease a drop of blood from her. ‘Don’t come looking for me. Don’t breathe a word of this to anyone. I don’t want to see you, I don’t want to hear about you, and I don’t want to hear about it. Not from you and definitely not from anyone else.’
Udaya spluttered, her pupils narrowing to near nothing as she felt every muscle in her body tighten. Was this the same man? He seemed a different person entirely but she was no fool, she knew that this man was the real Kaen, and every other time had been the seductive ghost of his ego plaguing her.
“Stop,” She pleaded, closing her eyes so as not to see the position she was in any more. “Please?”
Kaen snarled again, but flicked his dagger down and shoved her to the sand, twisting her arms roughly as he did. He glared down at her, wiping the blade against his pants more than was necessary to remove the blood from it. ‘Filthy bitch,’ he muttered, then began walking back to the tree where he’d hung his shirt and dagger belts.
“You bastard…” She growled under her breath but certainly loud enough for him to hear if he had wanted to. She was terrified, angry, and he didn’t want to know what she was capable of when she was angry. The fear would only keep her quiet for so long, that she was sure of. Whether she was afraid of him now or not, that didn’t stop her from cradling the key to his downfall safely within her womb.
Pushing herself to her feet she shakily stepped backward, her eyes narrowed now in anger, her emotions running rampant through her. There was too much going on in her head, pain, betrayal, fear, anger and resentment. She would be vindictive, she would get him for what he had just done.
Kaen took a deep breath as he pulled his shirt over his head. He stared at his dagger belt, flipping one blade idly between his fingers in a motion that usually helped him to think clearly, but he’d never had to think about anything like this before. His thoughts raced too quickly for his mind to catch, leaving him with nothing but icy anger.
He couldn’t think with her here, her still-flat stomach almost smirking at him. He swore briefly at himself, then kicked the tree hard and spun back on his heel.
‘What did I say about talking back to me?’ he barked as he stalked towards her.
With each step he took closer to her she took a faster one away from him, until finally she turned on her heels and ran. Her sandals kicked up the dust under her feet, and she had no idea if Kaen was behind her, but the adrenalin was pumping in her head and her heart, and she could do nothing but put one foot in front of the other over and over to escape that moment.
Kaen wouldn’t let her get far. He spun his dagger once in his hand while he contemplated the thought, then tossed it up and caught the blade between thumb and forefinger. After a brief second to aim, he flung the dagger at Udaya’s fleeing back so the pommel clunked into her head.
The yelp she gave made the hairs on his arms prickle, but his usual smirk at such a sound was replaced this time by a snarl. ‘You’re not getting away that easily,’ he growled.
As he approached her, she felt her head swim with the heat of the now wound. Her eyes welled up with tears and she could not help but whimper no matter how hard she tried to bite it back. The sudden thought rushed through her mind that he might kill her, and that thought alone caused her to keep on moving. Even though she had been knocked down flat on her stomach she started to crawl across the ground, her belly scraping against the dusty terrain.
Kaen bent to scoop up his dagger, flicking it in his fingers as he strode over to her. ‘You can’t tell me something like that, then call me a bastard and expect to just run away.’ He straddled one foot on either side of her hips, then knelt down so his knees pinned her arms down, glittering blade dancing over his fingers the whole time. ‘Especially not when you’re carrying a bastard child yourself.’
“Kaen please, just forget about it!” She said, her voice trembling as he looked up at him with the wide eyes of a trapped animal. “I’ll take care of it!”
The blade archer thrust out his fist, knuckles white as the butt of his dagger struck the side of her head. ‘Forget about it?’ he sneered.
The girl squealed, pain searing through her skull intrusively.
“Yes! Yes, forget about it! About me, I won’t tell anyone Kaen, I promise! Please just leave me alone!” She sobbed, hating herself for babbling like that, for begging. She was usually so strong, why couldn’t she be strong now. ‘Love makes you weak…’ It must be true after all.
‘Finally talking some sense, are we?’ Kaen growled, grinding one knee against her arm. ‘Aeia’s blood you won’t tell anyone. Not a single word, got it? If I catch the faintest breath of a rumour, you’ll regret ever having met me.’
Udaya didn’t respond, she simply sobbed, nodding her head feebly and trying to not cry out too loudly. Damn that man, he hated him then, how could he be so callous? So evil? It was like she had never known him at all.
Kaen’s lips curled into a snarl and he drove his dagger hilt into the side of her skull again. ‘Got it?’ he growled.
“Yes! Aeia's blood! Yes, I understand, Kaen!” She growled at him, though her fear was still apparent in her eyes. She honestly thought he might kill her if she didn’t answer fast enough.
The Own rider’s eyes narrowed as he flicked his dagger in his fingers for a moment longer, then he swung himself to his feet. ‘Not a word,’ he hissed, then shoved his dagger back in its sheath and turned back to where he had hung his shirt over the tree branch.
For a moment the girl stayed exactly where she was, afraid to move, afraid that if she tried he would come back, or worse, that if she stood she would faint. The pain in the places he had hurt her was swelling with heat and she winced, biting his lower lip to try and stifle her cries.
Eventually, she began to push herself up, her eyes on Kaen as if he were a spider in her bedroom, terrifying enough that she had to keep staring so as not to lose track of the danger.
Kaen flexed his fingers and pulled his shirt back over his head. His hands rested on his hips as he stared up the gorge, not seeing the palms waving in the breeze, nor feeling the cool air on his face. He grit his teeth and slung his dagger belts over either shoulder then turned back to the mouth of the gorge with arms folded.
Udaya watched him, her legs shaking as she remained stood, her head swimming with dizziness. How could she have let this happen? It seemed only moments ago everything was perfect. Now the whole world had caved in, and she was more alone than ever.
She would never tell, out of fear, no one would ever know all though she suspected some would guess. As for her child, it would know the truth even if she suffered for it. She could never lie to her own blood.
Kaen strode up to her, arms still folded and one fist clenched. He glared her up and down, bearing his teeth as his eyes fell on her belly. Lin’s blood, how he hated the sight of it now. He thumbed over his knuckles and gave her one last punch in the gut.
When he had started to approach her again she almost keeled over, and when his fist balled she had expected it, for some reason, to land on her face. When the blow his her abdomen she doubled over, not quite losing her footing, but cringing in pain, tears in his eyes momentarily blinding her.
Logic, sense told her to leave it. But the rage that had suddenly hit her was struggling to overpower that. He had punched her, he could have damaged the child. He could have hurt her baby…
With an almost primal growl she lunged at him, seizing his arm and biting down hard on the flesh of his muscle until she tasted blood.
Kaen snarled, clenched a fist and threw Udaya from him. She had caught him off-guard. He wasn’t used to them fighting back. Usually they were smart enough to know who they were dealing with.
‘You stupid little whore,’ he snarled. He advanced on her crumpled form and kicked her with one steel-capped boot, not caring where the blow landed. Blood dropped from the puncture marks on his arm, only adding fuel to his fire. ‘I’m going to have to cover that up, now, too!’ he shouted, and emphasised his words with another kick.
She let out a scream, rage and desperation fuelling her more than anything as she struggled to her feet through the pain and made to run. She stumbled, but she kept running, back the way they had came, as fast as she could, wailing uncontrollably a mess of incoherent curses and hurt words.
Kaen watched Udaya’s hastily retreating back, then looked down at where she had bitten him and swore. He’d say a mangy cat had bitten him. It wasn’t too far from the truth. He dropped his arm to his side and watched the filthy wretch run back to the city. With any luck, this would be the last he’d hear of any of it. But then, she’d already tried to stand up to him. What if, without the threat of him standing right over her, she spoke out?
Kaen glared after her, thumbing over the hilt of one dagger. ‘One word,’ he muttered under his breath, then shoved his hands in his pockets and began the long, slow walk back to Ni-Yana.
Authors~ Annarti and
creatore_magicoDisclaimer~ Udaya is Ku's, Raykin and (unfortunately) Kaen are Annarti's
Notes~ Joint fics are fun :D Unless your character's being a bastard who deserves a serious kick in the face. Volunteers, anyone? :D;;;
Udaya paced the Nira pen a few times, ignoring the animals for the most part as she bit her nails and glanced at the shadows on the ground every so often. It was late afternoon; the sun was slowly dipping itself behind the horizon, its warm colours melting into the sky. It was around this time that she would usually wait for Kaen, on the off chance that the Blade Archer might just pay her a visit, and the wait was usually an exciting experience. Not this time however, this time she felt a twisted shudder running through her stomach and a niggling feeling causing her heart to race uncomfortably. He might not even turn up… that was certainly a possibility, though it didn’t help to calm her at all.
Kaen had already been watching her from the shadows, licking the back of his teeth in anticipation as he watched Udaya’s curvaceous form. Her hips swayed with her ever-present sensuality, and Kaen made his quiet noise of approval in the back of his throat.
He stepped out of the shadows and gave a sharp whistle, slipping his hands into his pockets as he sidled up to the now-familiar nira pen.
Udaya jumped, even though she had been expecting him, and offered the man a nervous smile, moving to the side of the pen and folding her arms over the wood. “Kaen,” She said his name sweetly, leaning forward to give the man a soft kiss on his cheek.
‘Mmm, Udaya,’ he murmured back, then gave her a return kiss on her neck. ‘I’m afraid I can’t wait for you to wash up this evening,’ he said with mock lament. ‘Come to the river with me. I know a special place.’
The girl gave another smile, trying to push down her nerves for the time being. She had to wait for the right moment to tell him what she wanted to say after all. “Of course, I’ll be happy to.” The girl replied to him, hopping over the fence easily and looking up at the Blade Archer. “So long as you don’t throw me in the water,” she warned him, though even her sass was lacking in confidence today.
Kaen snatched her hand and spun her around so her back pressed against his chest, then grabbed at both her breasts and kissed her neck again. ‘Even better.’
The girl blushed heavily, still not used to his smooth actions, though usually she could bite back just as well. “Loosing control already?” She smiled over her own shoulder, giving the man a sultry wink.
‘Oh, no,’ Kaen answered with a shake of his head. ‘I’m in complete control.’ He squeezed her breasts again, then spun her back around and snagged an arm around her waist. ‘Let’s go.’
The girl grinned as she followed him, unsure of this mysterious secret place she was being led to, though she knew, since it was Kaen leading her there, she would be alright. It didn’t help matters that he was so damned charming though, it made what she wanted to tell him even harder, especially because she had no way of knowing how he might react to such a thing. “Are we almost there?” She asked at length.
Kaen shook his head as they walked up the Main Road towards the bridge that crossed the Ra-Lin. ‘Where I have in mind, we’ll be able to make as much noise as we like and nobody will hear or interrupt us.’ He hitched his dagger belts over his shoulder, not having bothered to drop them or his uniform off at home.
“Oh yes?” The girl smirked at him, closing her eyes a little as she sighed, her hand holding on to the man’s waist contently. “I wonder why you’ve never taken me there before, if that’s the case.” She smiled, nuzzling the back of his neck a little.
A warn shiver ran up Kaen’s spine with her attentions. ‘Hmm, so do I,’ he told her ambiguously.
The late afternoon sun was hot on Kaen’s back as they crossed over the bridge that led to the rural side of Ni-Yana. Farms ran along the Ra-Lin’s banks, dotted with windmills and a few palms, under which the cows tried to find shade.
Upstream, the rusty red cliffs that overlooked the city were turning rich red-gold in the dipping sunlight. A few palms and small eucalypts poked their heads out from the Ra-Lin’s gorge, adding a smudge of greenery against the orange cliff face.
‘That’s where we’re going,’ Kaen said with a smirk.
“Down there?” Udaya questioned him, looking at him as if he was mad. “Isn’t that a little dangerous?” She asked before letting out a sigh. “Ah, but of course, you Blade Archers wouldn’t know the first thing about ‘ordinary’ danger would you?”
Kaen chuckled and shook his head. ‘It’s not dangerous at all, even from a born and bred city girl’s perspective. And at this time of day, there won’t be any boats going through either, so we’ll have it all to ourselves.’
“I see,” Udaya smiled with one eyebrow raised. “It would be nice to get a little privacy…” She sighed, remembering the packed household she lived in, and the countless questions fired at her daily in regards to Kaen.
‘You deserve it,’ the Own rider agreed.
It didn’t take too much longer to reach the mouth of the gorge. The sight reminded him of the countless times he’d been through on horseback, on the way to yet another mission in the northern kingdom. It was strange seeing it in such a different light, though the shade of the gorge’s towering walls was always a welcome change.
The strip of red sandy beach ran the length of the gorge, only wide enough for the Own to ride single file most of the way, but here it was wide enough for six of them to ride abreast.
Palm leaves hushed in the cool breeze that puffed through the gorge, and the Ra-Lin continued its sluggish, winding journey towards the sea.
‘What do you think?’ Kaen asked, folding his arms and resting his back against a tree.
“It’s beautiful.” The girl breathed a long sigh, pushing down her initial response to that question. Now was not the time to tell him. “More beautiful, since I’m looking at it with you.” The girl sighed, wondering just how long she could keep the news to herself. After all, not telling Kaen… it was like lies, wasn’t it?
Kaen smirked, oblivious to her moral dilemma. He pushed himself away from the tree and hooked his knife belts on a branch, then pulled his shirt off with a relieved sigh. The nira hide armour always grew heavy and restricting after he’d finished training, and the cool breeze was beautifully refreshing against his skin.
Udaya felt her heart skip, the man was so attractive, and she knew what he wanted. How could she give it to him without first unburdening the heavy weight on her mind? “Kaen I have to tell you something…” She said then her voice cracking a little.
Kaen strode over to her, then slipped his hands around her hips and under her waistband, rubbing them against her arse. ‘You know I’m always listening,’ he promised, then gave her a light kiss on her lips.
“Alright…” She began, taking a deep breath and remaining in that position, she did not want to look at him when she told him this. “I think I…” She shook her head then, changing her mind and turning around to look up at the man’s face. “Kaen, I’m pretty sure… I mean, I think…”
‘It’s all right,’ Kaen rumbled deep in his throat, a calming noise as he lifted one hand to stroke her hair, though he was growing impatient. What was it? I love you? Can I come back to your villa? I’m desperate for money? I think we should stop seeing each other? Whatever her announcement was, it was enough to make the normally brave and outspoken girl nervous and speechless.
‘Take a deep breath and start again,’ he suggested.
She did as instructed, breathing in deeply before sighing outward again, his caring nature helping her along to say what she needed to. “Pregnant…” She uttered the word almost silently, her lips dry. “I think I’m pregnant.”
Kaen stiffened. His eyes narrowed to drill holes in the gorge wall behind her. He could feel the colour draining from his face to be replaced by rising white-hot anger.
‘What?’ he demanded. Though quiet, the single word was laced with his barely contained fury.
“I think I’m pregnant,” She repeated, feeling his hands tense at her hips. “I-in fact I’m sure of it, I… I haven’t been regular for two months now…” The girl’s voice trailed off as Kaen’s expression darkened.
‘To me?’ the blade archer demanded again, snatching himself away from her and putting a hand on his chest. ‘You’re pregnant to me? Why would…?’ He forced himself to take a deep breath, then ran his fingers through his short-cropped hair and paced in a small circle, his other hand on his hip.
Udaya took a step back from him as well, the knotted feeling in her stomach not shifting any now that the news was out in the open. “There’s been no one else…” She said gingerly, her heartbeat thundering in her chest. “Only you, Kaen.”
‘Do you think I care?’ Kaen threw back. ‘You have no idea what this means, none.’
He glared piercing daggers at her sidelong, her beautiful, smooth, perfectly flat belly taunting him. The flower-shaped tattoo drew further attention to it, and Kaen shuddered at the image of it expanding in his mind. He wrapped one arm around his stomach and held his other hand to his sweating forehead. His mind flinched every time he pictured Udaya’s swollen flower tattoo.
The girl took another step, this time toward the man, gingerly lifting her hand to his in some attempt to comfort him. “I-it’s that bad?” She questioned gently, though in truth she was terribly hurt. What did he mean by he didn’t care? She was sure he was just upset, though she knew also that if he flew at her like that again she was more than ready to bite back.
At the lightest feather-touch of her fingers, Kaen’s hand balled into a fist and he slammed his elbow into her jaw, then extended his arm sharply to shove her backwards into the sand.
‘Poor little southern girl,’ he sneered. ‘I live in the public eye, have you ever understood that? Every single move is watched by the entire city. So yes, sweetheart,’ he spat, ‘it is that bad.’
For a long moment Udaya was too shocked to move, to speak, to think. She simply stood there, trembling; her fingers that had only moments ago attempted to caress the man’s hand now shaking against her jaw. The pain was white hot and spreading like fire.
“H-how…” She muttered, her large dark eyes wide with a mixture of rage and terror before she felt her own fists tighten and one emotion give way for the other.
“How dare you strike me,” She said, her voice sounded calm but for the obvious emptiness of her usually voluptuous voice.
Kaen drew his lips back to bare his teeth. ‘How dare you talk back to me!’ he snarled, knuckles turning white as he clenched them into fists again. ‘My life as I know it could be ended because of you. I may have risked my life I don’t know how many times for them, but as far as this city is concerned, that,’ he spat again, pointing at Udaya’s stomach, ‘is all my life will amount to.’
“I don’t have to listen to this!” She suddenly flew at him, her own fists tightening. “If you don’t want anything to do with it that’s just fine with me! I’ll handle it by myself!” She growled, folding her arms and turning away from him. She couldn’t bring herself to leave just yet though, not yet. He might calm down, reconsider… hold her… Love her, something?
The Own rider snarled again and snatched a dagger from his knife belt. He strode over to Udaya, snatching her wrists tightly in one hand and whipping the blade up under her chin with the other. ‘Just remember who you’re dealing with before you turn your back to me,’ he hissed in her ear.
Silence took her again at that point, her breath catching in her throat as the lump in it visibly shifted. “Kaen please…” She said quietly, feeling the cold metal scrape her skin. “I’m sorry…”
‘Better,’ Kaen muttered. ‘But “sorry” isn’t enough.’ He pressed the polished edge of his blade closer to her skin, just enough to ease a drop of blood from her. ‘Don’t come looking for me. Don’t breathe a word of this to anyone. I don’t want to see you, I don’t want to hear about you, and I don’t want to hear about it. Not from you and definitely not from anyone else.’
Udaya spluttered, her pupils narrowing to near nothing as she felt every muscle in her body tighten. Was this the same man? He seemed a different person entirely but she was no fool, she knew that this man was the real Kaen, and every other time had been the seductive ghost of his ego plaguing her.
“Stop,” She pleaded, closing her eyes so as not to see the position she was in any more. “Please?”
Kaen snarled again, but flicked his dagger down and shoved her to the sand, twisting her arms roughly as he did. He glared down at her, wiping the blade against his pants more than was necessary to remove the blood from it. ‘Filthy bitch,’ he muttered, then began walking back to the tree where he’d hung his shirt and dagger belts.
“You bastard…” She growled under her breath but certainly loud enough for him to hear if he had wanted to. She was terrified, angry, and he didn’t want to know what she was capable of when she was angry. The fear would only keep her quiet for so long, that she was sure of. Whether she was afraid of him now or not, that didn’t stop her from cradling the key to his downfall safely within her womb.
Pushing herself to her feet she shakily stepped backward, her eyes narrowed now in anger, her emotions running rampant through her. There was too much going on in her head, pain, betrayal, fear, anger and resentment. She would be vindictive, she would get him for what he had just done.
Kaen took a deep breath as he pulled his shirt over his head. He stared at his dagger belt, flipping one blade idly between his fingers in a motion that usually helped him to think clearly, but he’d never had to think about anything like this before. His thoughts raced too quickly for his mind to catch, leaving him with nothing but icy anger.
He couldn’t think with her here, her still-flat stomach almost smirking at him. He swore briefly at himself, then kicked the tree hard and spun back on his heel.
‘What did I say about talking back to me?’ he barked as he stalked towards her.
With each step he took closer to her she took a faster one away from him, until finally she turned on her heels and ran. Her sandals kicked up the dust under her feet, and she had no idea if Kaen was behind her, but the adrenalin was pumping in her head and her heart, and she could do nothing but put one foot in front of the other over and over to escape that moment.
Kaen wouldn’t let her get far. He spun his dagger once in his hand while he contemplated the thought, then tossed it up and caught the blade between thumb and forefinger. After a brief second to aim, he flung the dagger at Udaya’s fleeing back so the pommel clunked into her head.
The yelp she gave made the hairs on his arms prickle, but his usual smirk at such a sound was replaced this time by a snarl. ‘You’re not getting away that easily,’ he growled.
As he approached her, she felt her head swim with the heat of the now wound. Her eyes welled up with tears and she could not help but whimper no matter how hard she tried to bite it back. The sudden thought rushed through her mind that he might kill her, and that thought alone caused her to keep on moving. Even though she had been knocked down flat on her stomach she started to crawl across the ground, her belly scraping against the dusty terrain.
Kaen bent to scoop up his dagger, flicking it in his fingers as he strode over to her. ‘You can’t tell me something like that, then call me a bastard and expect to just run away.’ He straddled one foot on either side of her hips, then knelt down so his knees pinned her arms down, glittering blade dancing over his fingers the whole time. ‘Especially not when you’re carrying a bastard child yourself.’
“Kaen please, just forget about it!” She said, her voice trembling as he looked up at him with the wide eyes of a trapped animal. “I’ll take care of it!”
The blade archer thrust out his fist, knuckles white as the butt of his dagger struck the side of her head. ‘Forget about it?’ he sneered.
The girl squealed, pain searing through her skull intrusively.
“Yes! Yes, forget about it! About me, I won’t tell anyone Kaen, I promise! Please just leave me alone!” She sobbed, hating herself for babbling like that, for begging. She was usually so strong, why couldn’t she be strong now. ‘Love makes you weak…’ It must be true after all.
‘Finally talking some sense, are we?’ Kaen growled, grinding one knee against her arm. ‘Aeia’s blood you won’t tell anyone. Not a single word, got it? If I catch the faintest breath of a rumour, you’ll regret ever having met me.’
Udaya didn’t respond, she simply sobbed, nodding her head feebly and trying to not cry out too loudly. Damn that man, he hated him then, how could he be so callous? So evil? It was like she had never known him at all.
Kaen’s lips curled into a snarl and he drove his dagger hilt into the side of her skull again. ‘Got it?’ he growled.
“Yes! Aeia's blood! Yes, I understand, Kaen!” She growled at him, though her fear was still apparent in her eyes. She honestly thought he might kill her if she didn’t answer fast enough.
The Own rider’s eyes narrowed as he flicked his dagger in his fingers for a moment longer, then he swung himself to his feet. ‘Not a word,’ he hissed, then shoved his dagger back in its sheath and turned back to where he had hung his shirt over the tree branch.
For a moment the girl stayed exactly where she was, afraid to move, afraid that if she tried he would come back, or worse, that if she stood she would faint. The pain in the places he had hurt her was swelling with heat and she winced, biting his lower lip to try and stifle her cries.
Eventually, she began to push herself up, her eyes on Kaen as if he were a spider in her bedroom, terrifying enough that she had to keep staring so as not to lose track of the danger.
Kaen flexed his fingers and pulled his shirt back over his head. His hands rested on his hips as he stared up the gorge, not seeing the palms waving in the breeze, nor feeling the cool air on his face. He grit his teeth and slung his dagger belts over either shoulder then turned back to the mouth of the gorge with arms folded.
Udaya watched him, her legs shaking as she remained stood, her head swimming with dizziness. How could she have let this happen? It seemed only moments ago everything was perfect. Now the whole world had caved in, and she was more alone than ever.
She would never tell, out of fear, no one would ever know all though she suspected some would guess. As for her child, it would know the truth even if she suffered for it. She could never lie to her own blood.
Kaen strode up to her, arms still folded and one fist clenched. He glared her up and down, bearing his teeth as his eyes fell on her belly. Lin’s blood, how he hated the sight of it now. He thumbed over his knuckles and gave her one last punch in the gut.
When he had started to approach her again she almost keeled over, and when his fist balled she had expected it, for some reason, to land on her face. When the blow his her abdomen she doubled over, not quite losing her footing, but cringing in pain, tears in his eyes momentarily blinding her.
Logic, sense told her to leave it. But the rage that had suddenly hit her was struggling to overpower that. He had punched her, he could have damaged the child. He could have hurt her baby…
With an almost primal growl she lunged at him, seizing his arm and biting down hard on the flesh of his muscle until she tasted blood.
Kaen snarled, clenched a fist and threw Udaya from him. She had caught him off-guard. He wasn’t used to them fighting back. Usually they were smart enough to know who they were dealing with.
‘You stupid little whore,’ he snarled. He advanced on her crumpled form and kicked her with one steel-capped boot, not caring where the blow landed. Blood dropped from the puncture marks on his arm, only adding fuel to his fire. ‘I’m going to have to cover that up, now, too!’ he shouted, and emphasised his words with another kick.
She let out a scream, rage and desperation fuelling her more than anything as she struggled to her feet through the pain and made to run. She stumbled, but she kept running, back the way they had came, as fast as she could, wailing uncontrollably a mess of incoherent curses and hurt words.
Kaen watched Udaya’s hastily retreating back, then looked down at where she had bitten him and swore. He’d say a mangy cat had bitten him. It wasn’t too far from the truth. He dropped his arm to his side and watched the filthy wretch run back to the city. With any luck, this would be the last he’d hear of any of it. But then, she’d already tried to stand up to him. What if, without the threat of him standing right over her, she spoke out?
Kaen glared after her, thumbing over the hilt of one dagger. ‘One word,’ he muttered under his breath, then shoved his hands in his pockets and began the long, slow walk back to Ni-Yana.
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Date: 2009-11-13 11:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-13 11:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-13 11:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-13 11:45 am (UTC)Intelligent comment but hey. I love boob squishes :3
OH GOD UDAYA I KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO TELL HIM AND AUBDUBDSFUSBDFS AGHHHHHH. (The boy writes his girls well :D)
... Oh Kaen THAT you were not expecting. And you expected SO many things dbugbdubg Oh just watch the charm fail now. (My Narti writes awesome wife beaters too)
Annnnd not-wife beating DDDDD: Poor Udaya DD:
God you two write so awesomely together with sexy descriptions dfigduig
GOD I WISH I COULD GIVE A BETTER COMMENT. i adore it. Wow. So powerful and tragic and sdufhsdubgdg Love. Love for it.
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Date: 2009-11-13 11:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-13 11:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-13 11:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-13 11:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-13 12:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-13 11:49 am (UTC)*kicks him in the teeth* =|
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Date: 2009-11-13 11:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-13 12:08 pm (UTC)