dawn of ancient fire

episode 3

A loud banging on her door roused her from the deep sleep she had fallen into. The grandfather clock on the opposite wall read it had only been 5 hours since she fell into bed and only three since she had fallen to sleep. She grabbed the robe hanging by her bed and wrapped herself up, head and all, and walked to the door. she opened it onto an empty hallway. peering around the door to double-check. a moment of relief flooded through her, maybe she had dreamt it? The knock came from the opposite door. the door leading to cadoc's half of the rooms. she groaned and slumped to the opposite door peering through the c***k.

" I told you not to bother me, we have attendants."

He shoved through the door forcing her aside. She sighed. It was going to be a very long day. She was still wrapped in the robe from head to toe but he made no remark at how she must have looked.

" the rooms too big," he said

" what?"

" The room I can't sleep it's too big." his tone was serious, to the point.

" and that's my problem how?" she rubbed her tired eyes and yawned.

" I'll take the couch,it's practically a bed anyway." there was no swagger in his voice, no flirtatious banter. She knew he wouldn't leave and she didn't feel like arguing with him either.

" fine but just once don't make this a habit."

she turned away heading to grab a blanket she saved in the top of her wardrobe for cold nights. Pausing, she mentioned "there's numerous knives hidden in this room."

He ignored her threat, choosing to ask" how do you do it?' Instead.

"do what?"

" sleep here." He had already made himself home on the couch. He wouldn't look at her.

Blanket in hand and robe forgotten, she said " you get used to it, you buy a plant, fill space with things you like, you start to adapt and you make somewhere that's not ideal, ideal."

She grabbed a pillow from her bed and walked to him holding out the bedding for him to take.

" I couldn't live here."

"It's a good thing you don't then, goodnight." she turned on her heel and swiftly walked to her bed. The room was freezing. even in the middle of the day temperatures could get unbearable. "Drafty ass castles." she thought as she burrowed under her covers and closed her eyes. Before drifting off she heard him mumble "let's hope you're right."

Marlowe didn't usually dream. The mages in the castle made her a tonic for the nights she desperately needed rest but could find none naturally. Those were the nights she had wild elaborate dreams. but tonight, one crept through the halls of her mind. She looked down at her hands, impossibly small and fragile. was seated in a dark space, unable to tell where the walls of the room were, only that she could feel things moving along them in the dark out of sight. a glowing blue orb lit the space in front of her. an older woman with her face stared back at her. she was lovely, draped in a dress of blue velvet.

" You have to stay here, love. we'll be back as soon as we can, open the door for no one do you understand?"

" yes mama," she said to the women

" We must go. Now dear." A man placed his hand on her mother's shoulder. His tone was urgent. Time was running out.

The room began to grow cold, snow-covered the floor and soon she was kneeling in it.

" I'm sorry kid, I can't let you stay." the landlord looked down at her with pity " I would take you home if I could but I can't feed you. It's time you fend for yourself."

"Don't leave me, please." she said, turning to look up at the man but he was gone. in his place stood a group of boys they began closing in around her boxing her in. she shook from fear and began to plead and scream. The boys mocked her.

"Don't leave me." They chanted over and over until her ears rang, her lung began to ache from the screams that she couldn't stop.

she shut her eyes and braced for the pain to come. When none came she opened her eyes again. She was on her back staring up at a grey sky. Red seeped in bathing the world in blood red light. She floated unable to move in a crystal smooth lake. she didn't feel scared though she was floating alone in the freezing water. she laid back and allowed herself to be consumed by whatever was coming.. she could hear ice cracking around her. she couldn't move now. ice keeping her in place. her lips began to turn blue as a dark cloud swelled and aimed toward her, growing bigger by the second. She let it come, let it bury itself in her chest and consume her.

Marlowe lurched forward in bed panting. She frantically patted her chest, trying to release the pressure built there. pulling away her tunic to peer at the red welt now forming on her sternum. She must've hit herself in her sleep, what had she been dreaming about? Marlowe shook her head and took in the room,the floor, cadoc asleep on the couch. she sighed and flung herself from the bed. She had to move, had to get out of here. Cadoc was still snoring on the couch. He could stay asleep for all she cared; she didn't need him tagging along for her day. She looked at the grandfather clock. half past 8. Silas would be up her ass and banging on her door within the next ten minutes if she wasn't out of this room. Silas was a part of the royal family's guard. He was head of the guard in fact. one expected no less from the weapons master's son and Silas delivered in spades. there were few people in the palace that Marlowe was close to, she kept her circle tight. Choosing to rely on herself rather than others. Ryuu had tried multiple times to get her to put together a group to help her on assignments but Marlowe knew full well he wouldn't let her take Morana, part of Ryuus personal Guard, and Silas from their jobs.

She walked to her wardrobe and pulled out a navy silk tunic and black leathers. leaving her weapons discarded in the bottom. She tiptoed to the washroom, bathed quickly and got dressed. When she was done, she poked her head out the bathroom door, thanking shinos that cadoc stayed asleep. She walked to the mirror and began pulling on her clothes. She attempted to tame her wild mass of red curls. Normally it would only stay out of her face in a loose braid that could hold maybe the top half of her hair and today was no exception. she knew Silas would use the loose strands to his advantage, he always did. She would have a headache before noon. She braced her hands on the sink, mentally preparing herself for the day. she rubbed her hand over her face and paused. Were those voices? her face scrunched up in confusion.

She walked to the door and flung it open. Cadoc was still lounging on the couch and to her horror Morana was sitting on the floor beside him. her arms crossed on his legs and her head in her arms, staring at him with her big doll eyes. she let out a smokey laugh that reeled people in. she had a knack for manipulating her targets, when she was appointed to a mission with marlowe information always seemed to be more freely given to Mor than to marlowe.

" You are such a charmer. I think I might just have to keep you darling." she purred

Cadoc leaned forward "I'd love to be kept by you."

" Sweet shinos burn me and put this to an end! morana gets up and off him, he's a prisoner."

" doesn't look like much of a captive all cozy on your couch." morana stood and walked to her

" Hello sugar,been a minute." she pulled marlowe into a quick hug

" Hi Mor." Marlowe pulled her daggers from her wardrobe and began buckling them to her hips and wrists.

"Silas sent me; he says to get your lazy ass down to the training room."

"He couldn't be bothered to come himself?" she replied

" Oh, I volunteered, I wanted to meet your new friend." she turned and smiled at cadoc

Marlowe laughed, gesturing for Morana to leave with her.

" wait." Cadoc jumped up " wait for me."

Marlowe sighed, so much for not having him tag along. They entered the hallway and walked toward the throne room. there was a passage behind the ivy wall that leads down to the training room.

" wait." Marlowe held her hand out to stop morana "let's go through the kitchen."

" what? Why." Marlowe looked at her confused.

" Ingrid is making chocolate tarts for dinner tonight, I wanna get some before Silas has a chance to smooth talk her out of the whole batch!" They turned in the opposite way and walked through the kitchen stopping for a moment to let Ingrid the cook fuss over them and stuff their pockets with pastry.

cadoc spent the rest of the walk blessing Ingrid's baking and making a pig of himself. he had chocolate and crumbs on his face when they walked into the training room

The facility was normally empty this time of day aside from Silas, herself, and occasionally Morana who liked to ogle Silas and shout encouragement to Marlowe. Marlowe had a hunch that Morana had eyes for Silas for years but her friend would never admit it. A shame really, Marlowe looked between the two chatting in the sparring ring, they would be cute together.

" lovely of you to join me today Marlowe". Silas threw a staff to her. "Who's your new friend?"

" nobody important just ignore him" Marlowe smiled at Siolas. " He'll only be here temporarily." Sha watched Cadoc from the corner of her eyes. He took up a spot by Morana on the floor outside the painted ring. He whispered something in her ear that made Mor giggle. She gave him a playful nudge with her elbow and they battered back and forth. At least, if Mor was willing to play Cadocs games, she Didn't have to deal with it. Marlowe scanned the room, Nodding to the four guards posted at the doors and faced Silas.

" You seem on edge today." he pointed out. He motioned for her to set down the staff, guiding her through a set of warm up stretches.

" Well i have been assigned babysitting duty to a man more brute than human who couldn't keep his mouth shut if he tried."

" Did you hear about the elves?" she jerked her head up

" the what? What are you talking about?" he averted his gaze, realizing he let something slip he definitely shouldn't have.

" The delegations from the east arrived this morning to see the king and queen. They called for counsel, my dad said," he hesitated "Well they called for a treaty, a marriage alliance to boost trade between the two continents." Marlowe stared at him, oh this would be a whole mess, one she would have to clean up. The banter between Morana and cadoc had stopped. She looked at Cadoc who stared back at her with far too much interest.

" We'll talk more later." They finished their set and retrieved the staff on the floor. Marlowe crouched into position and on Morana's count, they moved. They were pretty evenly matched. Marlowe had trained under Primos alongside Silas. His father was a strict disciplinarian and She quickly learned that what Primos said was law in this room. She tried many times to imagine Silas' childhood under the weapons master. Silas had been a shy kid, growing to be a friendly and kind adult. The opposite of his father in many ways. Really it was hard to wrap her head around how the stern and commanding master raised such a timid boy, but Primos had trained them well. Every lung and dodge and kick was met with a counter from Silas. In recent years their training has become less training and more competition. Morana had a running score going between Marlowe and Silas and when one managed to beat the other they were met with raucous applause and cheers from their single spectator. The sparring went on for about an hour before silas withdrew, calling it a tie. They walked to a pitcher of water on a table nearby.

" if you keep going like this old man you're gonna keel over." Marlowe teased between pants, he was only a few years older but Morana and Marlowe teased him relentlessly about it. The teasing and training did little to stop her thoughts however and her mind was reeling with thoughts of how her meeting with the prince would go. Especially after learning of the Thalian nobilites arrival.

" I could teach you a few moves if you want, princess." she jumped at Cadocs words in her ear.

" I can honestly say that I would rather choke on a brick than learn anything from you." she heard a choking sound behind her, turning she saw silas with his hand over his mouth, water dripping from his palm.

" When will you stop fighting me? C'mon teach me a lesson." he threw her a wink before walking to a rack of weapons along the far wall. She was gonna have to talk to Morana about encouraging his behavior. He chose a set of short blades and threw her one.

" We don't spar with blades." She looked him up and down trying to figure out his angle.

" If you can keep up with him with only a stick I'm sure you'll have no problem beating me with a blade." a smile stretched over his mouth. " You aren't scared, are you dove?" This man was the head of an entire criminal organization dedicated to privately hired assassinations; she wasn't thrilled with the idea of sparring with him. She wasnt stupid, he was twice her size easily, but she wasnt one to back down from a challenge either. She twirled the blade in her hand and walked to the ring, her advantage was in speed alone and she had to use it carefully. She didn't feel like visiting the mages tower and having to explain to Aldric, the high mage, why she needed something to regrow a limb. They circled each other for a moment before she made the first move, lunging forward to be blocked and shoved back. She assumed he'd be much stronger than her,but she wouldn't win with strength she had to outsmart him. He took the offensive this time, lunging forward in a series of quick strikes in sequence. He shoved her toward the edge of the ring until she found her opening, leaving his left side open she ducked and came up behind him, forcing him on the defense. She only had a moment before his strength would outweigh her speed. She attacked, one strike after the other, he was so busy defending against her he didn't realize how close to the edge he was. Or so she thought, she went to strike that vulnerable left side and he found his opening pushing her back a few steps, she lost her footing and went down on a knee, having no choice but to block him with the side of her blade or lose her head. He wasn't pulling punches either, mustering as much strength as she could she shoved back and rolled. Sweat rolled down her face as she panted hard. He lunged again, the only sound in the room was the Clack Clack Clack of their blades as they danced around each other. She didn't know how long they fought; she had gone on the offensive again when a door slammed open. She threw her head around and Cadoc took advantage of the distraction, disarming her easily and pointing his blade at her throat.

" That means i win dove." he smirked. She didn't dare move an inch, the sharpened tip dug into the skin over her artery.

"Miss Baird, I have a message for you." the courier hesitantly approached the ring. She grunted for him to continue.

"I, Uh, That is, the prince requests your presence." he stammered. " immediately." he timidly reached out a slip of paper for her to take. Cadoc smiled at her like a wolf, chuckling before pulling away and moving to hang the blade. She huffed, glaring at his back. She took the note from the courier and waved him off. She'd never seen anyone so eager to leave a training room.

"I require the pleasure of your company, in my rooms, immediately. His name was half heartedly scribbled at the bottom. She turned to Morana and Silas. Mor was watching Cadoc like an adder. Sizing up the new threat he just revealed himself to be.

" Is everything okay?" Silas asked. She nodded

" I have to meet with the prince," she looked warily at Cadoc. "Keep an eye on him?" Silas nodded and waved her off. She hurried from the training room. If this was a meeting with the elven nobles they would have to excuse the sweat and training clothing and hope she wouldn't be anything more than security.

She reached the door to his room fairly quickly. She paused, scraping the curls from her forehead and retying her braid before she nodded to the guards posted, one gave her a small smile before nodding back and opening the door. She looked around but found the room to be empty. She stepped back looking at the guard once again.

"I am in the right place, correct?"

" He's in there miss, good luck." well that was vague. She took a few steps into the room before spotting the prince. Laying on a couch overlooking a man-made pond with one hand dangling over the water, his fingertips lightly grazing the surface. his mask was off. His face bathed in sunlight from the stained glass window beside him. His expression was serene and calm. He looked up at her and smiled.

" Hello, Marlowe, what brings you here?" he stood and walked toward her

"You requested me." he stood and walked toward her. She looked around noticing the empty decanter on the desk and forgotten bottle of wine on the stones next to the couch.

" Oh? I don't recall why." he stopped before her

" Drinking again Ry?"

" Only when I'm down, dearest, which is most days, come sit with me and make me feel something lovely." He grabbed her by the hand and led her to the couch he had vacated. He sat and pulled her down beside himself and began playing with her hair making little braids that he twirled around his finger

" so?"

"Hmm, oh yes well i suppose you've heard about the meeting this morning"

" elaborate." He removed the tie in her hair. She stopped his hand and stood before he could continue. She didn't come to have her hair played with. It had been a while since he had called for her when he was drunk, the last time ended in a pleasant night that they swore wouldn't happen again. Only it did, for a few months before he stopped asking for her. " The king of the Thaelian wants to sign a trade treaty with us, however, that involves me marrying some eastern princess and I'm not keen on doing that." he leaned into the couch, one hand rubbing his eyes

" Oh? And how long have you known about this?"

" Does it matter? We're supposed to be talking about something else." he stood again and pulled her to him. She was getting irritated. It had been weeks since their last night together and Marlowe had accepted that it was a brief thing and shoved away her feelings. She wasn't going to entertain him whenever he felt sad.

" You do this every time you drink."

"It's much more delightful to drink and be with you than to be sober and put on a show for the courtiers and foreign nobles ." he released her and started pacing in front of the pond.

" you don't get to choose not to be prince your majesty, and keeping up appearances is part of your title."

"You sound like my father." he waved her off "I don't need another lecture on decorum."

"It's not my job to lecture you. Your Highness." he stopped pacing and faced her.

"So now I'm your highness, Your majesty." he took a step toward her. " Since when do you care about my title?"

" I don't but given your recent attitude towards me I could only assume you expected our relationship to be more," she paused trying to find the words. " formal."

"And how have I acted lately Marlowe?" His tone was getting louder, A part of her wanted to have this conversation. To ask him why he wasn't just Ryuu with her anymore. She understood the role he had to take as prince, the pressures that came with it, but he never treated her like she was beneath him until recently. f**k it!

" like an ass." she said. He looked at her in shock. If he wanted to be treated like her childhood friend instead of his majesty then she would talk to him like when they were kids.

" Do you recognize who you're talking to?"

"Must've slipped my mind," she crossed her arms, leaning her weight to one foot. " You don't want me to treat you like your title, fine, I've known you since we were children. That's easy, but don't play prince at me and expect me to take whatever bullshit you give me."

"Don't tell me how to act, I'm not a child!"

"Then stop acting like one!"

They were nose to nose. Practically screaming at each other. He needed to make up his god's damned mind.

" Do you have any idea, s**t I have to deal with on a daily basis?"

" Not really considering you send me all chasing criminals all over the city day and night. My job isn't just being your personal hit man!" she growled and stepped away from him. Pulling her cigarette case from her boot, lighting one and taking a long drag. Sighing out smoke she pinched the bridge of her nose.

" This is getting us nowhere, you need to sober up, I have paperwork that needs to be finished." she crossed her arms again, turning to face him " did you call me here for a reason? Other than what you obviously had planned." she didn't bother hiding her distaste as she spoke. He huffed out a breath, running his hand down his face.

" I just wanted to see you." his shoulders curved inward, making him smaller.

"Oh? That's it." She had a hard time believing that.

" You're right, I've been an ass, it's hard for me to be normal around people anymore. I just wanted a break and to see you." She sighed before sitting on the edge of the desk to her right, putting the cigarette out on the bottom of her boot.

" I care about you alot Ry, it's killed me not being close to you the past few weeks, even if we are not close in that way anymore it's fine." she unfolded her arms and braced herself against the desk. " I can't be though, if you can't make up your mind, friend or hand. Pick one." She stood, there was no reason to linger any longer. Stopping before the door she said over her shoulder. " send for me when you're sober, you can give me the details on this assignment."